JPH07287477A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device capable of easily setting required image processing conditions without requiring that an operator stores data on image processing conditions. CONSTITUTION:When a bar code printer is instructed with the touch panel of a liquid crystal display part 2, the data on the image processing conditions at this time is printed as a bar code 19. When a paper sheet on which the bar code 19 is printed is placed on an original platen 6 and the input of the bar code is instructed from the touch panel of the liquid crystal display part 2, the bar code 19 is read and the image processing conditions are set based on the data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming a required hard copy on a recording medium, and more particularly to setting image processing conditions thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many image forming apparatuses of this type have been proposed in which a hard copy is obtained by performing some image processing on an input image. Since the operator cannot remember all the data regarding the image processing conditions, a memory or an external storage device for storing the conditions is used.

[0003]

The above-mentioned memory and external storage device have problems that the storage capacity is insufficient as compared with the image processing function, and that the storage device must be purchased separately from the image forming apparatus. .

The present invention has been made under such a circumstance, and it is not necessary for an operator to store data regarding image processing conditions, and image formation in which required image processing conditions can be easily set. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an image forming apparatus is constructed as in the following (1) and (2).

(1) First processing means for processing so as to print out data concerning image processing conditions,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a second processing unit that reads data regarding image processing conditions printed on a recording medium and performs processing so as to set image processing conditions based on the read data.

(2) The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein a bar code is used to display data regarding image processing conditions.

[0008]

With the configurations (1) and (2) described above, it is possible to print out the data on the required image processing conditions, read the data on the printed image processing conditions, and set the processing conditions. You can

[0009]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a "full color copying machine".
It is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of.

In the full-color copying machine 1 of the present invention, the original on the platen glass 6 for placing the original is illuminated by the illumination lamp 7, and the reflected light is imaged on the photoelectric conversion element 9 via the lens 8. , To obtain manuscript information. The photoelectric conversion element 9 is moved from the front to the bottom as shown by an arrow under the document by a motor (not shown) to sequentially obtain image information.

The photoelectric conversion element 9 is a full-color reading element in which fine elements are arranged in a line, R, G, and B filters are attached to each row, and three elements represent one pixel (400 pixels).
128 pixels (dot / inch resolution) can be read at once. The photoelectric conversion element 9 has a width of 128 pixels (1
With the band), the image is read by moving from the front to the back and moving one band to the right to read the next band. The above operation is repeated to obtain an image signal for one original.

Image signals obtained by the photoelectric conversion element 9 are subjected to image processing and converted into image signals of cyan, yellow, magenta and black which are colors of ink for reproducing an image, and the print head 10 Paper 16 by 13
Printed on top.

The print heads 10 to 13 are ink jet type print heads, each of which has the same structure, but has four colors because the colors of inks to be printed are different. Each head has an ink outlet of 128 nozzles, and forms an image on the paper 16 by controlling the ejection of ink according to the image signal.

In other words, in this embodiment, each head is the paper 1
6 moves from right to left while ejecting ink. First, the black head 10 prints black, and then the cyan head 11 prints a cyan component. Photoelectric conversion element 9
Reads the same position as the black head 10, the cyan head 11 prints because it has a memory for the distance between the black and cyan nozzles, and the cyan nozzle reaches the black printed position. Start printing. The magenta head 12 and the yellow head 13 are similarly controlled.

Then, after printing one band in the left-right direction of the paper 16 (referred to as the main scanning direction), the paper 16 is fed to the front (called the sub-scanning direction) for one band to print the next band. To do. The above operation is repeated for one sheet to obtain a reproduced image. Reference numeral 17 is a paper exit, and 18 is a roller for feeding the paper.

The cap 14 is used to apply the sponge 15 to the head so that the surface of the head does not dry and dust is not generated when printing is not performed. Even when ink is forcibly ejected, the sponge is used. Do for 15.

The liquid crystal display unit 2 is for displaying various settings and information, and has a transparent touch panel mounted on the surface, and by pressing a key in accordance with the display, settings such as image processing and area processing are set. You can do it.

The start key 3 and the numeric keypad 4 are used to instruct copying start, coordinates, and the like.

The digitizer 5 is also used for suppressing the original, and in accordance with the image processing in the liquid crystal display unit 2, the original is placed on the left of the original and the coordinates on the original to be processed are set. It can be set.

Next, the internal structure of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the image reading processing unit 201, the photoelectric conversion element 9
The output image signal is subjected to processing such as amplification, analog-digital conversion, and input to the input image processing unit 202. The input image processing unit 202 converts illumination unevenness of the illumination lamp 7 and unique color unevenness of the photoelectric conversion element 9 into standard ones. The area processing unit 203 is for controlling the output and non-output of the image in the image area designated by the digitizer, and the color conversion processing 204 is the color conversion designated by the operation unit 217 or the output by one color. It is a circuit that converts the color of. The brightness / density conversion circuit 205 outputs the R, G, and B outputs of the photoelectric conversion element 9 as print colors of the printer.
This is a circuit for converting density of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black.

The scaling circuit 206 decimates the image signals in order to make the size of the image instructed by the operation unit 217.
In this embodiment, the circuit is used for padding, and in this embodiment, the scaling of the arrangement direction of each pixel of the photoelectric conversion element 9 is performed by this circuit. The scaling of the movement direction of the photoelectric conversion element 9 is performed by the motor. It depends on the moving speed. Output image processing 20
A density correction unit 7 performs density correction according to an instruction from the operation unit 217 and a characteristic of the ink of the head.

Finally, the binarization circuit 208 binarizes the image signal, which has been expressed in 256 gradations up to now, into a binary signal which does not strike. In this embodiment, a pseudo halftone process capable of expressing density information in a certain area is performed so that the image looks smooth. The binarized image information is stored in the memories 209 to 212 for correcting the distances between the heads, and is sent to the heads 213 to 216 at a timing to be ejected for color matching.

The operation unit 217 displays various messages and
A key is being input, and the digitizer 218 is inputting coordinates. Input / output and setting of parameters are performed by the CPU 219 via the CPU bus. C
The PU 219 controls each unit of the copying machine using the RAM 221 according to the program and data written in the ROM 220. The I / O 222 is used to control a portion such as a motor (not shown).

Next, the screen of the liquid crystal display unit 2 with a touch panel according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The illustrated screen is a standard screen and is a screen before entering each process. On this screen, when each processing key such as the scaling key is pressed, the screen of the child appears, depending on the case, and various settings are made to return to this screen.

The scaling key 301 is a key for scaling, and the scaling is set on the screen of the child. The area processing key 302 is a key for performing area processing. With the child screen, trimming for extracting a part, masking for deleting a part, setting for partial processing for changing a part of color and processing can be performed.
In addition, the coordinates are input by a digitizer. In the color processing 303, color balance adjustment, color conversion, filling with a certain color, setting of a color mode for copying with a specific color, and the like can be performed on the child screen. The special processing 304 can specify special image processing such as leaving only a mirror image or a contour.

The bar code print 306 is a key for designating that the data of the condition setting for various image processing described above is printed out in the form of a bar code. When this key is pressed, the paper on which the bar code 19 is printed is printed. Comes with one.

The bar code input key 305 is such that when the bar code print key 306 is used to place the paper on which the bar code is printed on the document table 6 and this key is pressed, the bar code is read, the code is analyzed, and various image processing is performed. This is a key for setting the conditions. That is, if even complicated processing is set once and the barcode is printed, it is not necessary to manually perform the complicated setting by reading the sheet by inputting the barcode.

Next, an outline of control of the copying machine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the copy start key of the operation unit 217 is pressed (stp401), various parameters are set according to the image processing conditions designated by the operation unit 217 and the like, the paper is fed, and the image is printed while being read. ,
A set number of copies are obtained (stp402). The details of the copy operation are well known and will not be described.

If the key for instructing condition setting of image processing such as scaling and area processing is pressed without pressing the copy key (s
tp403), the child screen is displayed, and the detailed processing conditions are set by the digitizer or numeric keypad (st).
p404).

When the bar code input key is pressed (stp
405), the original illumination lamp 7 is turned on, pre-processing for the reading operation is performed, and then the document is moved to the bar code position (s
tp406, 407). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the bar code is printed at a predetermined position from the edge of the paper, so if the edge of the paper is at the reference position of the document, the bar code position can be specified. Move the reading element to the vicinity. The bars are placed orthogonal to the array of reading elements. Then read the bar and CP the data
U219 analyzes and converts to code (stp40
8).

The bar code used in this embodiment has a ratio of thin bar to thick bar of 2: 5, and three thick bars and 6 bars.
Numbers and alphabets are expressed by the thin bar of the book.
One thin bar is about 0.5 mm and one character is about 7 mm. In this embodiment, the width of the reading element is about 8 mm, so one character can be read by one reading. If there is no code corresponding to the bar that has been read, an error is displayed as a code error, termination processing such as lamp extinguishing is performed, and key input waiting is returned (stp409, 410, 423).

Next, the end code is judged (stp4
11). In this embodiment, the asterisk code is used as the end code. If it is the end code, the data is analyzed and it is judged whether the code string is the specified one or each data is within the processing range (stp413). If it does not match, the code is wrong. And an error is displayed as (step 414, 410) and the process proceeds to the end process.

If the code strings match, it is used as a set value for each setting (stp415).

Then, processing such as turning off the lamp is performed, and the process returns to waiting for key input (stp423).

If the end code does not come, the reading element 9 is moved to the position of the next digit of the bar code, and the bar code is read again (stp412).

When the bar code print key is pressed (stp416), first, the data to be a bar code is organized (STP417).

In this embodiment, the bar code is composed of the numbers 0 to 9, the letters A to F, and the English letters of asterisks. The data to be printed is information of various settings expressed in hexadecimal notation. The first digit is the start mark (asterisk), and the next 1
The digit is the number of copies, the next 3 digits are the magnification in the main scanning direction, and the next 3
Since it is determined that the digit represents what the digit represents, such as the magnification in the sub-scanning direction, the data is arranged according to that. Then, the arranged data is converted into the above-mentioned bar code (STP418). As described above, when converting a bar code to a bar code, a thin bar has a thickness of about 0.5 mm.
If the pixel is ejected, the thickness becomes the same. Therefore, the bar code can be printed by controlling whether or not the ink is ejected according to the type of the code. The length of the bar is about 8 mm for the nozzle of the head.

After the conversion into the bar code, the data is written in the black memory 209 for controlling the printing of the head (stp419). Then, the paper is fed (STP4
20), the bar code can be printed 19 by printing the contents of the black memory 209 (STP421).
Then, the paper is ejected and the process returns to the key waiting (STP42
2).

As described above, according to this embodiment,
The image processing condition data can be printed out, so the operator does not need to store the data, and by reading the printed out data as necessary, the desired image can be easily read. The processing conditions can be set. In addition, it does not require a special circuit such as character recognition for print output and reading of data, and the existing function of the copying machine can be used, so that it can be implemented at low cost.

(Modification) In the above-mentioned embodiment, the bar code is read by the photoelectric conversion element which is the reading element of the copying machine. However, this function is used only for print output, and the bar code which is inexpensive for reading is used. A code reader may be used.

Further, although the bar code is printed by using the memory, the method of ejecting on the paper by using the ejection function for removing the clogging of the nozzle, moving by one pixel, and ejecting again. You may form a barcode with. In addition to the image processing conditions themselves, the bar code may be implemented by including indirect data that satisfies the conditions, such as device control values.

Although the embodiment is a copying machine, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image scanner, a personal computer,
It can be implemented in the form of a combination of printers. In addition, the image input is not limited to the manuscript
An appropriate one such as a magneto-optical disk can be used.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Data about image processing conditions is printed out in the form of a bar code, etc., and by reading the data, the image processing condition settings can be set, so that the operator can set the required image processing condition setting data. Need not be stored, and the required image processing conditions can be set easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a display device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Photoelectric conversion element 219 CPU

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first processing means for processing so as to print out data concerning image processing conditions, and data concerning image processing conditions printed on a recording medium are read and based on the read data. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a second processing unit that performs processing so as to set image processing conditions. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bar code is used to display the data regarding the condition of the image processing.