JPH0748788B2 - Image reader - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus for an image recording apparatus such as a digital copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and in particular, image quality deterioration due to a decrease in light amount with the aging of a lighting light source. The present invention relates to an image reading device for preventing the above.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, in an image reading apparatus, a long illumination light source in the main scanning direction, for example, a document surface is illuminated using a fluorescent lamp, and the reflected light is read by a CCD image sensor arranged along the main scanning direction. Image density is converted into an electric signal.

The CCD image sensor has a structure in which a finite number of pixels are arranged, and it is not possible to capture a continuous space. Instead, it captures a copy by spatial sampling and detects the position of the copy with the sampling accuracy. be able to. Also,
Since the CCD image sensor operates in the photoelectric conversion mode in the charge storage mode, it captures the subject in a fixed storage time. Such an image sensor can obtain an output with very excellent linearity with respect to the input (light amount) as shown in FIG. 44, but as described above, it operates in the charge storage mode, so the output saturation characteristic The output voltage has a dynamic range of about 50 dB.

On the other hand, the light amount distribution in the main scanning direction of the fluorescent lamp, which is a light source for illumination, has a characteristic that it is flat in the central portion and sharply decreases at both ends as shown in FIG. Therefore, normally, the threshold value FL ₁ which is about 20% lower than the light amount FL ₀ in the central portion is used as a threshold value, and the range W in which the light amount of FL ₁ or more is obtained is read by the image sensor.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As shown in FIG. 46, the fluorescent lamp for illumination tends to decrease the output light amount as the lighting time increases. Therefore, the 47th
As shown in Figure (a), the light intensity distribution in the main scanning direction is initially C ₁
However, when used for a long time, the output light amount decreases like C ₂ , and as a result, the light amount decreases below the threshold value FL ₁ at both ends of the document reading range W.

By the way, in the image sensor, in the straight line portion of the input / output characteristic shown in FIG. 44, the S / N is set to 40 to 50 dB by using the A portion where the input light amount is relatively large. However, due to the decrease in the amount of light, for example, B in FIG.
When operated in such a part, the S / N is naturally lowered.
Normally, no matter how good the S / N of the sensor is, noise that is generated due to the actual circuit configuration, external noise, etc. causes random variations in the output density values even when reading a very uniform original. There is. And when such a noise ratio is small, there is almost no effect on the image, but when the S / N decreases and the ratio of random noise increases, there are white areas in the output image. There is a phenomenon in which so-called deterioration of graininess is noticeable, such as black, and image quality is degraded. Therefore, in the shaded portions indicated by D ₁ and D ₂ in FIG. 47 (b) where the light amount is lower than the threshold value FL ₁ , the S / N is lowered and the granular image quality is deteriorated. FIG. 47 (b) shows the case of copying at 100% magnification, but if the D ₁ side is the registration position side that serves as the reference for reduction / enlargement, for example, as shown in FIG. 47 (c), 400% enlargement copying is performed. In this case, the graininess deteriorated portion increases four times, and when it further expands, the graininess image quality deteriorated portion becomes large, and it is extremely important to prevent this image quality deterioration. Of course, the original reading range W
However, a sufficiently long fluorescent lamp may be used, but such a measure cannot usually be taken due to the size limitation of the device.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

A main object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of deterioration of the granular image quality due to the decrease in the light amount of the illumination light source due to the change over time due to use.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent deterioration of image quality of graininess without enlarging the light source for illumination.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent deterioration of image quality of graininess even when magnification is enlarged by a simple method.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems]

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the image reading apparatus of the present invention sets the document set reference position P at a predetermined position on the front side or the rear side in the main scanning direction, and sets the illumination light source 22 that is long in the main scanning direction.
In an image reading device that reads an original image by scanning an imaging unit having 2 and an image sensor in the sub-scanning direction, an illumination light source is used as an image sensor reading area W ₁
It is characterized in that the document is displaced relative to the set reference position side of the document.

The width from the front side to the rear side of the machine is determined by the relationship of the overall size of the machine, and as a result, the position of the image sensor, the length, and the length of the illumination light source are determined, but in the present invention,
After determining such conditions, the illumination light source is moved to the registration position side, which is the original setting reference position, and the distance from both ends of the light source to the end of the platen surface is set to d ₁ (registration as shown in FIG. 1). side), and the use portion of the light source asymmetrically d ₂ <d ₁ when the d _2, without changing the size of the illumination light source so as to take extra cash register side, light amount decrease caused by aging due to use Even if the error occurs, it is possible to prevent the amount of light from becoming less than or equal to the threshold value on the cash register side, and prevent deterioration of the image quality of the granularity.

As a result, in the case of using the entire platen such as A3 copy, the image quality of graininess deteriorates on the side opposite to the cash register side, but the image quality of graininess deteriorates on small documents such as A4 and B5 which are often used frequently. However, since the original is small especially when it is used at a magnifying power, it is possible to prevent deterioration of image quality of graininess.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples.

Contents In this embodiment, a color copying machine will be described as an example of a recording device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that it can be applied to a printer, a facsimile, and other image recording devices.

First, a table of contents is shown prior to the description of the embodiments. In the following description, (I) to (II) are items for explaining the outline of the overall configuration of the copying machine to which the present invention is applied, and an embodiment of the present invention will be described in the configuration. The term is (III).

(I) Outline of device (I-1) Device configuration (I-2) System function / feature (I-3) Configuration of electrical control system (II) Configuration of specific parts (II-1) System (II) II-2) Image processing system (IPS) (II-3) Image output terminal (IOT) (II-4) User interface (U / I) (II-5) Film image reader (III) Image input terminal (IIT) ) (III-1) Imaging unit drive mechanism (III-2) Stepping motor control system (III-3) IIT control system (III-4) Imaging unit (III-5) Increasing light amount on cash register side (I) Device Outline of (I-1) Apparatus Configuration FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a color copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

In the color copying machine to which the present invention is applied, a base machine 30 having a basic configuration is a platen glass on which an original is placed.
31, image input terminal (IIT) 32, electrical system control housing 33, image output terminal (IOT) 34, paper tray 35, user interface (U / I) 36,
As an option, an edit pad 61, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 62, a sorter 63 and a film projector (F / P) 64 are provided.

To control the IIT, IOT, U / I, etc., electrical hardware is required.
It is divided into multiple boards for each processing unit such as IPS, U / I, and F / P that processes the output signals of T and IIT, and the SYS board that controls them, and IOT, ADF, and sorter. It is housed in the electric control system housing 33 together with an MCB board (machine control boat) for controlling the above.

The IIT 32 is composed of an imaging unit 37, a wire 38 for driving the unit, a drive pulley 39, and the like. Using the CCD line sensor and the color filter in the imaging unit 37, the primary color B (blue) of the light of the color original, G
It reads each (green) and R (red), converts it to a digital image signal, and outputs it to the IPS.

In IPS, the B, G, and R signals of the IIT32 are the primary color Y of the toner.
(Yellow), C (cyan), M (magenta), K (black), and in order to enhance reproducibility of color, gradation, definition, etc. The gradation toner signal is converted into an on / off binary toner signal and output to the IOT 34.

The IOT 34 has a scanner 40 and a photosensitive material belt 41, converts an image signal from the IPS into an optical signal in a laser output section 40a, and transmits the photosensitive material through a polygon mirror 40b, an F / θ lens 40c and a reflection mirror 40d. A latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the belt 41. The photosensitive belt 41 is driven by a drive pulley 41a, and a cleaner 41b, a charger 41c,
Y, M, C, and K developing devices 41d and transfer devices 41e are arranged. The transfer device 4 faces the transfer device 41e.
2 is provided and grips the paper fed from the paper tray 35 through the paper conveyance path 35a. For example, in the case of a four-color full-color copy, the transfer device 42 is rotated four times and Y, M, C , K are transferred in this order. The transferred sheet is fixed by the fixing device 45 from the transfer device 42 through the vacuum transfer device 43, and is ejected. In addition, the paper transport path 35a has an SSI
Paper is also selectively supplied from the (single sheet inserter) 35b.

The U / I 36 is used by the user to select a desired function and instruct execution conditions thereof. The U / I 36 is provided with a color display 51 and a hard control panel 52 beside it, and an infrared touch board 53 is further combined to display the software on the screen. I am able to directly instruct with a button. Next, options for the base machine 30 will be described. One is platen glass 31
An edit pad 61, which is a coordinate input device, is placed on top of this, and various image edits are made possible with an input pen or a memory card. In addition, the existing ADF62 and sorter 63 can be installed.

Further, the feature of this embodiment is that a mirror unit (M / U) 65 is placed on the platen glass 31, a film image is projected from the F / P 64, and the image is read by the imaging unit 37 of the IIT 32. This makes it possible to make color copies directly from color films.
The target document can be a negative film, a positive film, or a slide, and is equipped with an autofocus device and a correction filter automatic conversion device.

(I-2) System Functions / Features (A) Characteristics The present invention has a wide variety of functions corresponding to the needs of the user and is fully automated from the entrance to the exit of the copying work. The main feature is that anyone can easily operate by selecting the functions, selecting the execution conditions, and displaying other menus on a display such as a CRT.

Its main functions are to operate the hard control panel to start, stop, clear all, ten keys, interrupts, information, language switching, etc. that cannot be specified in the operation flow, and operate various functions by touching the soft buttons on the basic screen. It is possible to select it. In addition, by touching the pathway tab corresponding to the pathway, which is the function selection area, it is possible to select various editing functions such as marker editing, business editing, creative editing, etc. You can make a copy.

The main feature of this device is the four-color full-color function, and three color colors and black can be selected.

For paper supply, automatic paper selection and paper designation are possible.

Reduction / enlargement can be set in the range of 50% to 400% in 1% increments, and a demagnification function that sets the vertical and horizontal magnification independently and an automatic magnification selection function are provided.

The copy density is automatically adjusted for black and white originals.

Performs automatic color balance adjustment for color originals,
With color balance, you can specify the color you want to reduce on the copy.

A job program can read and write jobs using a memory card, and a maximum of eight jobs can be stored in the memory card. It has a capacity of 33 kilobytes and is programmable for jobs other than film projector mode.

In addition to these, as additional functions, copy output, copy sharpness, copy contrast, copy position, film projector, page programming,
A margin function is provided.

If the copy output has a sorter as an option and Uncollated is selected, the maximum adjustment function works and the set number of sheets is adjusted to the maximum bin storage value.

Copy sharpness for edge enhancement can be optionally adjusted with 7-step manual sharpness adjustment, photo (Photo), character (Character), halftone printing (Print),
It has a photo sharpness adjustment function that consists of a mixture of photos and characters (Photo / Character). And it can be set arbitrarily by default and tool path way.

The copy contrast can be controlled by the operator in 7 steps, and the default can be arbitrarily set with the tool pathway.

The copy position is a function of selecting a position on the paper on which a copy image is to be placed. As an option, the copy position has an auto centering function for placing the center of the copy image on the center of the paper, and the default is auto centering.

The film projector can copy from various films, and you can choose 35mm negative / positive projection, 35mm negative platen placement, 6cm x 6cm slide platen placement, or 4in x 4in slide platen placement. On film projectors, A4 paper is automatically selected unless you select a paper, and there is a color balance function in the film projector popup.
Reddish and “bluish” when the color balance is set to “reddish”
When set to, it is corrected to be bluish, and its own automatic density control and manual density control are performed.

In page programming, a cover function that attaches a front / back cover or a front cover to a copy, an insert function that inserts a blank sheet or color paper between copies, a color mode that can set a color mode for each page of the original, and a page of the original You can select the paper tray, and there is a paper selection function that can be set together with the color mode.

The margin can be set in 1 mm increments in the range of 0 to 30 mm, and only one side can be specified for one document.

Marker editing is a function that edits and edits the area enclosed by the markers, and is intended for documents.Therefore, the original is treated as a black-and-white original, and in the black mode, the specified area is CR.
It is returned to the palette color on T, and black copy is made outside the specified area. Also, in the red-black mode, the image is converted to red, and the outside of the area becomes red-black copy, and the trim, mask, color mesh, and black-to-color functions are provided. The area is designated by drawing a closed loop on the document surface or by designating the area with a ten-key pad or an edit pad. The same applies to the area designation in each of the following editing functions. Then, the specified area is displayed in a similar shape to the bitmap area on the CRT.

For trim, copy only the image in the marked area in black and white,
Images outside the marked area are erased.

The mask erases the image inside the marked area and copies only the image outside the marked area in black and white.

In the color mesh, a specified color net pattern is placed in the mark area, the image is copied in black and white, the color of the color mesh is 8 standard colors (predetermined predetermined color),
You can select from 8 registered colors (up to 8 colors can be registered simultaneously from 16.7 million colors registered by the user),
The net can be selected from four patterns.

In black to color, the image in the mark area can be copied with a designated color selected from 8 standard colors and 8 registered colors.

Business editing is aimed at quickly producing high-quality originals centered on business documents. The manuscript is treated as a full-color manuscript, and it is necessary to specify areas or points for all functions, and multiple functions can be set for one manuscript. it can. Then, in the black / mono color mode, the area other than the designated area is black or mono color copy,
In the area, convert the black image to the palette color on the CRT,
In the red-black mode, the area outside the specified area is red-black copy, and the area is red. In addition to the same trim, mask, color mesh, and black to color as in the case of marker editing, logo type, line, paint 1, collection, and function clear functions are provided.

The logotype is a function that allows you to insert a logo such as a symbol mark at a specified point, and it is possible to vertically or horizontally install two types of logos. However, only one can be set for one manuscript, and the logo pattern is prepared for each customer and supplied from the ROM.

The line is a function that draws a vertical line or a horizontal line with respect to the X axis by displaying two points. The line color can be selected from 8 standard colors and 8 registered colors for each line, and the number of lines that can be specified is unlimited. Up to 7 colors can be used at one time.

The paint 1 has a function of filling one point in the closed loop with a color selected from the eight standard colors and the eight registered colors for each loop. The mesh can be selected from 4 patterns for each area, the number of loops that can be specified is unlimited, and the usable color mesh pattern is up to 7.

The collection function is an area / point change where you can check and modify the setting function for each area, an area / point collection where you can change the area size and point position in 1 mm increments, and an area that deletes a specified area / It has a point cancel mode, and can confirm, modify, change, delete, etc. the specified area.

Creative editing includes image composition, copy-on-copy, color composition, partial image shift, multi-page enlargement, paint 1, color mesh, color conversion, negative / positive inversion, repeat, paint 2, density control, color balance, copy. Contrast, copy sharpness, color mode, trim, mask, mirror image, margin, line, shift, logotype, split scan, collection,
The function clear and Add Function functions are provided. With this function, the original is treated as a color original, multiple functions can be set for one original, functions can be used together for one area, and the area to be specified is It is a rectangle designated by two points and a point designated by one point.

The image composition is a function of performing color copying of the base original in four cycles, holding the paper on the transfer device, and subsequently copying and outputting the trimmed original in four cycles.

The copy-on-copy is a function of holding the paper on the transfer device after copying the first original in four cycles, and subsequently copying and outputting the second original in four cycles.

For color composition, copy the first original with magenta, hold the paper on the transfer device, and then continue to copy the second original with cyan, copy and hold the paper on the transfer device, and then continue on the third original. Is output after being copied in yellow, and in the case of a four-color composition, black is further superimposed and output after copying.

The partial image shift is a function of holding a sheet on a transfer device after color copying in four cycles, and successively copying and outputting in four cycles.

In the full color mode of the color modes, copying is performed in 4 cycles, in the three-color color mode, except when the editing mode is set, in three cycles, when in the black mode, except when the editing mode is set, 1 Copy in cycles, and in +1 color mode, copy in 1-3 cycles.

In Tool Pathway, Auditron, Machine Setup, Default Selection, Color Registration, Film Type Registration, Color Correction, Preset, Film Projector Scan Area Collection, Audio Tone, Timer Set, Billing Meter, Diagnostic Mode, Maximum Adjustment, Memory Card Has formatting. In order to make settings and changes with this busway, you must enter your PIN to enter. Therefore, the key operator and the customer engineer can set / change the tool pathway. However, only the customer engineer can enter the diagnostic mode.

Color registration is used to register a color to a register color button in the color palette and is read by a CCD line sensor from a color original.

The color correction is used to adjust the number of colors registered in the register color button.

The film type registration is used to register the register film type used in the film projector mode. If it is not registered, the register button cannot be selected on the film projector mode screen.

Presets are reduction / enlargement values, copy density 7 steps,
Copy sharpness 7 steps, copy contrast 7
Preset steps.

The film projector scan area collection
Adjust the scan area in film projector mode.

For audio tones, adjust the volume used for selected sounds.

The timer setting sets a timer that can be opened to the key operator.

In addition to this, a crash recovery function that restarts the subsystem when it enters a crash state, a function that sets the fault mode when the subsystem cannot recover normally even after two crash covers, and a jam occurs In the event of an emergency, functions for abnormal systems such as emergency stop are also provided.

Furthermore, it is possible to combine basic copy and additional functions, basic / additional functions and marker editing, business editing, creative editing, and the like.

The overall system of the present invention having the above functions has the following features.

(B) Features (a) Achievement of high image quality and full color In this device, black image quality reproduction, light color reproducibility, generation copy quality, OHP image quality, fine line reproducibility, film copy image quality reproducibility, and copy maintainability are improved. We are trying to achieve high image quality full color that can reproduce color documents clearly.

(B) Cost reduction The cost of image materials and consumables such as photoconductors, developing machines, toners, etc. can be reduced, service costs such as UMR and parts costs can be reduced, and it can also be used as a black and white copier. The black-and-white copy speed is about 30 times higher than the conventional one, which is 30 sheets / A4, to reduce running cost and copy unit price.

(C) Improving productivity ADF and sorter devices (optional) can be used as input / output devices to process a large number of documents, and the magnification can be selected from 50 to 400%.
Maximum document size A3, paper tray is upper row B5-B4, middle row
B5 ~ B4, lower B5 ~ A3, SSIB5 ~ A3, copy speed is 4 full color, A4 4.8 CPM, B4 4.8 CPM, A3 2.4 C
PM, black and white, A4 19.2CPM, B4 19.2CPM, A3 9.6CPM, warm-up time within 8 minutes, FCOT 28 full color 4
We achieved less than 2 seconds, less than 7 seconds in black and white, and continuous copy speed of 7.5 sheets / A4 in full color and 30 sheets / A4 in black and white for high productivity.

(D) Improved operability Hard buttons and CRT on the hard control panel
The soft buttons on the screen soft panel are used together to make it easy for beginners to understand, not to be bothered by an expert, to select the contents of a function directly, and to improve the operability by concentrating operations in one place as much as possible. Is used effectively so that the necessary information can be accurately transmitted to the operator. Hi-Fi copy is performed only by operating the hardware control panel and basic screen, and start, stop, all clear, interrupt, etc., which cannot be specified in the operation flow, are performed by operating hard buttons, and paper selection, reduction / enlargement, copy density, The image quality adjustment, color mode, color balance adjustment, etc. are made natural by the user of the conventional single-color copying machine by operating the soft panel on the basic screen. Further, various editing functions and the like can be opened and the various editing functions can be selected only by touching a pathway tab in the pathway area of the soft panel. Further, by pre-storing the copy mode and its execution conditions in the memory card, it is possible to automate a predetermined operation.

(E) Enrichment of functions By touching the pathway tab in the pathway area of the soft panel, the pathway can be opened and various editing functions can be selected. For example, in marker editing, a tool called marker can be used to edit black and white documents. You can edit and edit, you can quickly create high-quality originals centered on business documents in business editing, and various editing functions in creative editing, with many choices in full color, black, and mono color. , Such as copy service providers and key operators. Further, the area designated by the editing function is displayed by the bitmap area so that the designated area can be confirmed. In this way, abundant editing functions and color creation can greatly improve the textual expression.

(F) Achievement of power saving We have realized a high-performance copying machine with four colors at 1.5 kVA. Therefore, the control method for realizing 1.5 kVA in each operation mode is decided, and the power distribution by function to set the target value is decided. In addition, an energy system table is created to determine the energy transfer route, and management and verification are performed by the energy system.

(C) Example of differentiation The copying machine to which the present invention is applied is a combination of full-color and black-and-white, is easy for a beginner to understand, and allows an expert to make a copy without being bothered. Not only is it possible to produce the original, but it is also possible to deal with the use of professionals and artists because it is possible to make an original, and in this respect it becomes possible to differentiate the use of the copying machine. The usage example is shown below.

For example, posters, calendars,
Cards, invitations, New Year's cards with photos, etc. can be made much cheaper than printing if the number of cards is not very large. Also, if you make full use of the editing function, you can create originals according to your preference, for example, with a calendar, etc. Can be manufactured.

In addition, as seen in interiors and electric appliances in recent years, colors influence sales volume.By copying colored designs at the manufacturing stage of interiors and accessories, it is possible for multiple people , And it is possible to develop new colors that improve consumption. Especially in the apparel industry etc., even when ordering products at distant manufacturing sites, it is possible to more accurately specify colors than before by sending a copy of a colored completed drawing, improving work efficiency. You can

Further, since the present apparatus can be used for both color and black and white, it is possible to copy one original in black and white or in color as many as necessary. Therefore, for example, when studying color science at a vocational school or university,
Colored designs can be expressed in both black and white and color.By comparing and examining both, for example, it is clear that red has almost the same lightness as gray, and the effect on lightness and color vision is shown. You can also learn.

(I-3) Configuration of Electrical Control System In this section, a hardware architecture, a software architecture and state division will be described as an electrical control system of the copying machine.

(A) Hardware architecture and software architecture When a color CRT is used as a UI like this copier, the amount of data for color display increases compared to when a monochrome CRT is used, and the display screen The amount of data increases when trying to construct a more friendly UI by devising the structure and screen transitions.

On the other hand, it is possible to use a CPU with a large capacity of memory, but it is difficult to store it in the main body of the copying machine because the board is large, and it is difficult to flexibly respond to changes in specifications. There are some problems such as high cost.

Therefore, in this copying machine, the technology capable of sharing the value of a CRT controller or the like with a device or a device is used as a remote to disperse CPUs to cope with an increase in the amount of data.

The hardware of the electrical system is
It is roughly divided into three systems, UI system, SYS system and MCB system.
The UI system includes a UI remote 70, and in the SYS system, an F / P remote 72 that controls F / P, an IIT remote 73 that reads a document, and an IPS remote 74 that performs various image processes are distributed. The IIT remote 73 has an IIT controller 73a for controlling the imaging unit and a VIDEO circuit 73b that digitizes the read image signal and sends it to the IPS remote 74, and is controlled by the VCPU 74a together with the IPS remote 74. A SYS (System) remote 71 is provided to collectively manage the remotes described above and described later.

Since the SYS remote 71 requires a huge memory capacity for programs for controlling UI screen transitions, we are using the 8086 equipped with a 16-bit microcomputer. In addition to the 8086, for example, 68000 can be used.

In the MCB system, it is a Raster Output Scan (ROS) interface for receiving a video signal used to form a latent image with a laser on the photosensitive belt from the IPS remote 74 and sending it to the IOT.
VCB (Video Control Board) remote 76, RCB remote 77 for servo of transfer device (turtle), and further I
MCB (Master) to distribute and manage IOB remote 78 as an I / O port for OT, ADF, sorter, and accessory, and accessory mote 79 collectively.
Control Board) Remote 75 is provided.

Each remote in the figure is composed of one substrate. Also, the thick solid line in the figure shows the LNET high-speed communication network of 187.5 kbps, the thick broken line shows the master / slave system serial communication network of 9600 bps, and the thin solid line shows the hot line which is the transmission line of the control signal. Also, 76.8 kbps in the figure is a dedicated line for notifying the IPS remote 74 from the UI remote 70 of graphic information drawn on the edit pad, copy mode information input from the memory card, and graphic information of the editing area. Is. Furthermore, in the figure CCC
(Communication Control Chip) is an IC that supports the high-speed communication line LNET protocol.

As mentioned above, the hardware architecture is UI type,
It is roughly divided into three types, SYS type and MCB type. The phase separation of these processes will be described below with reference to the software architecture of FIG. The arrows in the figure indicate the relationship between the LNET high-speed communication network of 187.5 kbps and the master / slave serial communication network of 9600 bps shown in FIG. Is shown.

UI remote 70 is LLUI (Low Level UI) module 80,
It is composed of a module (not shown) for processing the edit pad and the memory card. LLUI
The module 80 is similar to what is commonly known as a CRT controller, and is a software module for displaying a screen on a color CRT. The SYSUI module 81 Alternatively, it is controlled by the MCBUI module 86. This makes the UI
Obviously, the remote can be shared with other models or devices. This is because the CRT controller is used integrally with the CRT, although the screen configuration and screen transitions differ depending on the model.

The SYS remote 71 is composed of three modules, a SYSUI module 81, a SYSTEM module 82, and a SYS.DIAG module 83.

The SYSUI module 81 is a software module that controls screen transitions, and the SYSTEM module 82 recognizes which coordinate of the soft panel was selected on which screen, that is, what job was selected by F / F (Fea
(ture function) selection software, job confirmation software that finally checks the job to see if there are any inconsistencies in the copy execution conditions, and F / F selection, job recovery, machine state, etc. with other modules. It is a module including software that controls communication for exchanging various information.

The SYS.DIAG module 83 is a module that operates in the customer simulation mode in which a copy operation is performed in the diagnostic state for self-diagnosis.
Customer simulation mode behaves like a normal copy, so the SYS.DIAG module 83 is virtually
It is the same as the SRSTEM module 82, but since it is used in a special state called tire agnostic, SYST
It is described separately from the EM module 82 but partially overlapped.

The IIT remote 73 stores an IIT module 84 that controls the stepping motor used in the imaging unit, and the IPS remote 74 stores an IPS module 85 that performs various processes related to IPS. Is controlled by the SYSTEM module 82.

On the other hand, the MCB remote 75 has a MCBUI module 86 that is software that controls screen transitions in the case of a fault such as a diagnostic, an Auditron, and a jam, a photosensitive belt control, a developing machine control, and a fuser control. IOT module 90 for performing necessary processing when performing copying such as control, ADF module 91 for controlling ADF, each software module of SORTER module 92 for controlling sorter and copying executive module 87 for managing them. It also stores a diagnostic executive module 88 for performing various diagnoses and an auditron module 89 for performing charge processing by accessing an electronic counter with a code number.

The RCB remote 77 also stores a turtle servo module 93 that controls the operation of the transfer device.The turtle servo module 93 is placed under the control of the IOT module 90 to control the transfer process of the xerographic cycle. ing. In the figure, the copying executive module 87 and the diagnostic executive module 88 overlap for the same reason that the SYSTEM module 82 and the SYS.DIAG module 83 overlap.

The sharing of the above processing will be described below according to the copy operation. The copy operation is repeated in a similar case except that the colors to be developed are different, and can be considered by dividing into several layers as shown in FIG. 5 (a).

One color copy is made by repeating a minimum unit called a pitch several times. Specifically, for copying one color, how to operate the developing device, the transfer device, etc., how to detect the jam,
How to detect a jam is an operation. If pitch processing is performed for three colors Y, M, and C, three-color copying is performed, and if four colors Y, M, C, and K are performed. One full-color copy will be completed. This is a copy layer, and more specifically, it is a layer for performing processing of transferring toner of each color onto a sheet, fixing the toner by a fuser, and discharging the sheet from the copying machine main body. Management of processing up to here
MCB system copying executive module 87 performs.

Of course, in the process of pitch processing, IIT included in SYS system
Module 84 and IPS module 85 are also used,
Therefore, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, IOT
A signal called PR-TRUE and two signals called LEREG are exchanged between the module 90 and the IIT module 84. Specifically, the PR (PITCH RESET) signal, which is the reference timing for IOT control, is continuously generated by the MCB by dividing the rotation of the photosensitive belt into two or three. In other words, in order to effectively use the photosensitive belt and improve the copy speed, for example, when the copy paper is A3 size, 2 pitches,
In the case of A4 size, the pitch is divided according to the size of the copy paper used, such as 3 pitches. Therefore, the period of the PR signal generated for each pitch is, for example, 2 pitches. In case of 3 pitches, it becomes long, and in case of 3 pitches, it becomes short of 2 seconds.

Now, the PR signal generated by the MCB is distributed via a hot line to a necessary portion in the IOT such as a VCB remote that handles the VIDEO signal.

The VCB has a gate circuit inside it, and only the pitches that can be imaged in the IOT, that is, the image can be actually exposed on the photosensitive belt, are selectively output to the IPS remote. This signal is the PR-TRUE signal. Note that P based on the PR signal received from the MCB via the hot line
Information for generating the R-TRUE signal is notified from the MCB by LNET.

On the other hand, during the period when the image cannot be actually exposed on the photosensitive material belt, an empty pitch for one pitch is created on the photosensitive material belt. TRUE signal is not output. PR-TRUE like this
An example of the pitch at which the sheet does not occur may be a period from when a sheet of paper having been transferred by the transfer device is discharged to when the next sheet of paper is supplied to the transfer device. That is, for example, if a long sheet such as A3 size is ejected at the same time as the last transfer, the image quality deteriorates due to the shock when the leading edge of the sheet enters the fuser inlet. Even if the transfer is completed, it will not be ejected as it is, but it will be ejected after being rotated by another rotation at a constant speed while being held by the gripper bar described later, so the photosensitive material belt needs to be skipped for one pitch. It becomes.

Also, the PR-TURE signal is not output from the start of copying by the start key until the end of the cycle-up sequence. During this period, the original is not read again, and therefore, the image cannot be exposed on the photosensitive belt.

The PR-TRUE signal output from the VCB remote is received by the IPS remote and also transmitted to the IIT remote as it is, and used as a trigger signal for IIT scan start.

This allows the IIT remote 73 and the IPS remote 74 to perform pitch processing in synchronization with the IOT. Also,
At this time, between the IPS remote 74 and the VCB remote 76, a video signal for modulating the laser light used to form a latent image on the photosensitive material belt is exchanged, and the VCB remote 7
The video signal received at 6 is converted from a parallel signal to a serial signal, and then directly supplied to the ROS as a VIDEO modulation signal to the laser output section 40a.

When the above operation is repeated four times, one 4-color full-color copy is completed, and one copy operation is completed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5B to 5E, the exchange of signals until the image signal read by the IIT is output to the IOT and finally transferred to the sheet at the transfer point, and the timing thereof will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c), when a start shove command is input from the SYS remote 71, the ITO 78b enters a cycle-up sequence such as driving the main motor and starting the high voltage power supply. The IOT78b outputs a PR (pitch lisset) signal in order to form a latent image corresponding to the paper length on the photosensitive belt. For example, every time the photosensitive material belt makes one rotation, PR signals of 3 pitches in A4 and 2 pitches in A3 are output. When the IOT78b cycle sequence ends,
From that point, the PR-TRUE signal, synchronized with the PR signal, corresponds to only the pitch that requires imaging, and the IIT controller 7
It is output to 3a.

Also, the IOT78b sends an IOT-LS (ray sync) signal output for each rotation of one line of ROS (raster output scan) to the TG (timing generator) in the VCPU74a, where it is sent to the IOT-LS. Then, the IPS-LS whose apparent phase is advanced by the total pipeline delay of IPS is sent to the IIT controller 73a.

When the PR-TRUE signal is input, the IIT controller 73a enables the counter to count the IOT-LS signal, and when a predetermined count is reached, starts rotation of the stepping motor 213 that drives the imaging unit 37 to perform imaging. The unit starts scanning the original. After counting T2 seconds, LEREG is output at the document reading start position and sent to IOT78b.

The original reading start position is detected by detecting the position of the resin 217 (near the registration position, specifically, about 10 mm on the scan side from the registration position) by driving the imaging unit only once after the power is turned on, for example. The true registration position can be calculated based on the detected position, and the normal stop position (home position) can be calculated at the same time. Also,
The cash register position varies from machine to machine due to machine variations, etc.
By holding the correction value in the NVM and performing correction when calculating the true registration position and the home position, it is possible to set an accurate document reading start position. This correction value can be changed by a factory, a service person or the like, and it can be carried out only by electrically rewriting this correction value, and no mechanical adjustment is required. The position of the resin 217 is shifted from the true registration position to the scanning side by about 10 mm in order to make the correction always a negative value and simplify the adjustment and software.

Also, the IIT controller 73a synchronizes with LEREG
-AREA signal is output. The length of this IMAGE-AREA signal is equal to the scan length, and the scan length is SYST.
It is defined by the start command transmitted from the EM module 82 to the IIT module 84. Specifically, when the original size is detected and copying is performed, the scan length is the original length, and when the magnification is specified and copying is performed,
Scan length is copy paper length and magnification (100% is 1)
It is set by the divisor of and. The IMAGE-AREA signal passes through the VCPU74a and is renamed IIT-PS (page sync) there.
Sent to PS74. IIT-PS is a signal indicating the time for image processing.

When LEREG is output, data for one line of the line sensor is read in synchronization with the IOT-LS signal, various correction processing and A / D conversion are performed in the VIDEO circuit (Fig. 3) and sent to IPS74. . In IPS74, one line of video data is sent to IOT78b in synchronization with ITO-LS. At this time IOT-BYTE
RTN-BYTE-CLK, which is the inverted signal of -CLK, is sent back to IOT in parallel with video data to delay the data and the clock in the same manner to ensure synchronization.

When LEREG is input to the IOT78b, video data is sent to ROS in synchronization with the IOT-LS signal, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive belt. When LEREG enters, the IOT 78b starts counting by IOT-CLK based on the timing thereof, while the servo motor of the transfer device is controlled so that the leading edge of the paper comes at a transfer position of a predetermined count. By the way, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the PR-TRUE signal output by the rotation of the photosensitive belt and the IOT-LS signal output by the rotation of ROS are not originally synchronized. Therefore, the PR-TRUE signal is input and the counting is started from the next IOT-LS, and the imaging unit 37 is moved at the count m,
When outputting LEREG with count n, LEREG is PR-TR
It will be T1 time behind the UE. This delay is a maximum of one resync, and in the case of four-color full-color copying, this delay accumulates and appears as a color shift in the output image.

Therefore, first, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), when the first LEREG enters, the counter 1 starts counting,
When the second and third LEREGs are entered, the counters 2 and 3 start counting, and when each counter reaches the count number p up to the transfer position, it is cleared and the fourth and subsequent LEREG inputs are input. Then go using the counter in order. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (e), when LEREG enters, the time T3 from the pulse immediately before IOT-CLK is counted by the correction clock. When the latent image formed on the photosensitive belt approaches the transfer position and IOT-CLK counts the count number p to the transfer position, the correction clock starts counting at the same time, and the count number corresponding to the time T3. The point to which r is added becomes an accurate transfer position, and this is added to the control of the transfer position (timing) control counter of the transfer device so that the leading edge of the paper is accurately synchronized with the LEREG input. The servo motor of is controlled.

The above is the processing up to the copy layer.
There is a process for setting the number of copies, which is the number of times a job for each copy is to be performed on a single document, and this is the process performed in the PER ORIGINAL layer. Further above that, there is a job programming layer that performs the process of changing the parameters of the job. Specifically, ADF
Is used, whether or not a color of a part of the original is changed, and whether or not the biasing function is used. These per-original processing and job programming processing are managed by the SYS system SYS module 82. For that purpose SYSTEM module 82
Checks and confirms the job contents sent from the LLUI module 80, creates the necessary data, and uses the 9600bps serial communication network to create the IIT module 84 and IPS module 85.
And the job contents to the MCB system by LENT.

As mentioned above, those that perform independent processing, other models,
Alternatively, the ones that perform processing that can be shared with the device are distributed as remote, and they are roughly divided into UI system, SYS system, and MCB system, and the module that manages the machine according to the layer of copy processing was defined. Person's work can be clarified, software development technology can be made uniform, delivery and cost settings can be clarified, and even if there is a change in specifications, it can be easily handled by changing only the related module It is possible to improve the development efficiency.

(B) State division So far, the division of processing for the UI system, SYS system, and MCB system has been described. In this section, what kind of processing is performed by the UI system, SYS system, and MCB system at each moment of copy operation? Will be described step by step.

In the copier, the state after power is turned on, the copy operation, and the status after the copy operation is completed is divided into several states, and the job to be executed in each state is determined. I try not to shift to the state for efficiency and accuracy of control. This is called state division, and in this copying machine, state division as shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

The characteristic of the state division in this copier is that in each state, the SYS remote 71 has the control right to manage the whole state and the UI master right to use the UI in the relevant state. Is M
Being on CB Remote 75. In other words, by distributing the CPU as described above, the LLUI of the UI remote 70
The module 80 is controlled by the MCBUI module 86 as well as the SYSUI module 81, and the pitch and copy processing is managed by the MCB-based copying executive module 87, while the par original processing and job processing is performed. Since the programming process is shared by being managed by the SYS module 82, correspondingly, which of the SYS module 82 and the copying executive module 87 has the overall control right in each state, and It has different UI mastership. In FIG. 6, the state indicated by the vertical line indicates that the MCB system copying executive module 87 has the UI master right, and the black-filled state indicates the UI master right as SYS.
It is shown that the module 82 has.

The process from power ON to standby in the state division shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the power is turned on and the power is turned on, SYS is displayed in Fig. 3.
The IPS reset signal and IIT reset signal supplied from the remote 71 to the IIT remote 73 and the IPS remote 74 are high.
(HIGH), the IPS remote 74 and IIT remote 73 are released from reset and start operating. When the power supply voltage is detected to be normal, the power normal signal rises, the MCB remote 75 starts operating, establishes the control right and UI master right, and connects with the high-speed communication network LN.
Perform ET testing. In addition, the power normal signal is sent from the MCB remote 75 to the SYS remote 71 through the hotline.

When a predetermined time T0 has elapsed after the MCB remote 75 started operating, the system reset signal supplied from the MCB remote 75 to the SYS remote 71 via the hot line becomes H, and SY
The S remote 71 is released from the reset state and starts to operate.At this time, the SYS remote 71 starts
Two signals, 86 NMI and 86 reset, which are internal signals of 71, cause a further delay of 200 μsec after the elapse of the T0 time. This 200 μsec time is a non-volatile state indicating the state of the machine when it crashes, that is, a momentary power failure, software runaway, or temporary machine trouble caused by software bugs causes the machine to stop or run out of control. The memory is provided for storage in a local memory.

When the SYS remote 71 starts operating, it performs a core test for about 3.8 seconds, that is, checks ROM and RAM, and checks hardware. If undesired data is input at this time, it may run out of control, so under its supervision, SYS Remote 71 sets the IPS reset signal and IIT reset signal to L (Low) at the same time as the start of the core test. Remote 74
And reset the IIT remote 73 to stop the operation.

SYS remote 71, 10-3100m after the core test is completed
The CCC self test is performed for sec, the IPS reset signal and the IIT reset signal are set to H, the operations of the IPS remote 74 and the IIT remote 73 are restarted, and the core test is performed respectively. The CCC self-test is performed by sending predetermined data to the LNET, receiving it by itself, and confirming that the received data is the same as the transmitted data. In addition,
Regarding the CCC self-test, time is allocated to each CCC so that the self-test times do not overlap.

In other words, in LNET, SYS remote 71, MCB remote
Each node such as 75 sends data when it wants to send data, and if there is a data collision, it uses the contention method of sending again after a predetermined time has passed.
This is because, when the S remote 71 is performing the CCC self test, if another node uses LENT, data collision will occur and the self test cannot be performed. Therefore, SY
S When the remote 71 starts the CCC self-test,
B Remote 75 LNET test has been completed.

Upon completion of the CCC self-test, SYS Remote 71 will
Wait until the core test of the remote 74 and IIT remote 73 is completed, and perform the communication test of the SYSTEM node during the period of T1. This communication test is a 9600 bps serial communication network test, in which predetermined data is transmitted and received in a predetermined sequence. When the communication test ends, the LNET communication test is performed between the SYS remote 71 and the MCB remote 75 during the period T2. That is, the MCB remote 75 requests the result of the self test from the SYS remote 71, and the SYS remote 71 issues the result of the test performed so far to the MCB remote 75 as the self test result in response to the request.

When the MCB remote 75 receives the self-test result, it issues a token path to the SYS remote 71. The token pass is a tag for exchanging the UI master right.By passing the token pass to the SYS remote 71, the UI master right is M
It will move from CB remote 75 to SYS remote 71. This is the power-on sequence. Naturally, during the power-on sequence, the UI remote 70 displays a message such as “please wait for a while” and performs various tests such as its own core test and communication test.

In the above power-on sequence, if the self-test result request is not answered or the self-test result is abnormal, the MCB remote 75 makes the machine dead and activates the UI control right to activate the UI remote.
It controls 70 and displays that an abnormality has occurred. This is the machine dead state.

After exiting the power-on state, it then enters the initialize state to set up each remote.
In the initialization state, the SYS remote 71 has overall control right and UI master right. Therefore, SY
S remote 71 initializes SYS system,
Issue the "INITIALIZE SUB SYSTEM" command to the MCB remote 75 to initialize the MCB system. The result is sent from the MCB remote 75 as subsystem status information. As a result, for example, in the IOTB, the fuser is heated, and the elevator of the tray is arranged at a predetermined position to prepare for copying. Up to this point is the initialization state.

When initialization is completed, each remote enters standby, which is a standby state. Even in this state, the SYS remote 71 has the UI master right, so the SYS remote 71
The F / F is displayed on the UI screen based on the master right, and the condition for accepting the copy execution condition is entered. At this time, the MCB remote 75 is monitoring the IOT. In the standby state, the MC is used to check whether there is any abnormality.
B-remote 75 SY sets the background pole every 500 msec.
Issued to the S remote 71, and the SYS remote 71 performs a process of returning a self test result to the MC remote 75 within 200 msec. At this time, if the self-test result is not returned or there is an abnormality in the content of the self-test result, the MCB remote 75 informs the UI remote 70 that an abnormality has occurred, and displays a message to that effect.

When the Auditron is used in the standby state, the Auditron state is entered and the MCB remote 75
Not only controls the Auditron but also controls the UI remote 70 to display for the Auditron. When the F / F is set in the standby state and the start key is pressed, the progress state is entered. The progress state is subdivided into 6 states of setup, cycle up, run, skip pitch, normal cycle down, and cycle down shutdown. These states will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a timing chart in the case of the platen mode, four colors full color, and the copy setting number of sheets 3.

When the SYS remote 71 detects that the start key has been pressed, it sends the job contents to the IIT remote 73 and the IPS remote 74 via the serial communication network, and also sends the job contents with the command of the start job via LNET.
Issued to the copying executive module 87 in the MCB remote 75. This puts the machine into setup and each remote prepares itself for the specified job. For example, in the IOT module 90, driving of the main motor and adjustment of parameters of the photosensitive belt are performed. ACK (Ackno that is the response to the start job
w ledge) is sent back from the MCB remote 75, the SYS remote 71 causes the IIT remote 73 to perform prescan. The prescan includes a prescan for detecting the size of the original, a prescan for detecting the color at a specified position of the original, a prescan for detecting the closed loop when coloring, and a marker for editing the marker. There are four types of prescan for reading, and prescan is performed up to three times according to the selected F / F.
At this time, a message such as "please wait for a while" is displayed on the UI.

When the prescan ends, a command called IIT ready is issued to the copying executive module 87, and the cycle up starts from here. Cycle up is a state of waiting for the rising time of each remote, MCB remote 75 starts IOT, transfer device operation, SYS
The remote 71 initializes the IPS remote 74. UI at this time
Displays the contents of the selected job and being in the progress state.

When the cycle up is completed, the run is started and the copy operation is started. First, when the first PR0 is issued from the IOT module 90 of the MCB remote 75, the IIT scans the first time and the IOT develops the first color. The processing for one pitch is completed. Next, when PR0 is issued again, the development of the second color is performed, and the processing of the second pitch is completed. This process is repeated 4 times, and when the process of 4 pitches is completed, the IOT fixes the toner by the fuser and discharges the paper. This completes the copy processing for the first sheet. By repeating the above processing three times, three copies can be made.

The MCB remote 75 manages the pitch layer processing and the copy layer processing, but the SYS remote 71 performs the processing of the copy set number performed in the par original layer which is the layer above it. Therefore, in order for the SYS remote 71 to recognize which copy is currently being made,
When the second PR0 is issued, the MCB remote 75 issues a maid count signal to the SYS remote 71. When the last PR0 is issued, the MCB remote 75 sends a "RDY FOR NXT JO
Issue the command "B" to request the next job.
At this time, if the start job is issued, the job can be continued, but if the user does not set the next job, the job ends. Therefore, the SYS remote 71 issues a command "END JOB" to the MCB remote 75. When the MCB remote 75 receives the "END JOB" command and confirms that the job has ended, the machine enters normal cycle down. In normal cycle down, MCB remote 75 is IOT
Stop the operation of.

When the MCB remote 75 confirms that all the copied sheets have been ejected during the cycle down, it notifies the SYS remote 71 with the "DELIVERED JOB" command, and the normal cycle down is completed. When the machine is stopped, use the "IOT STAND BY" command to SY
S Notify remote 71. This ends the progress state and returns to the standby state.

In the above example, skip pitch and cycle down shutdown are not mentioned, but in skip pitch, SYS remote 71 initializes SYS system for the next job, and MCB remote 75 copies the next copy. Waiting for Also, cycle down shutdown is the state at the time of fault, so in this state, SYS remote 71 and MCB
Both remotes 75 handle faults.

As described above, in the progress state, the MCB remote 75 manages the pitch process and the copy process, and the SYS remote 71 manages the par original process and the job programming process. Therefore, the process control right is shared by both sides. According to each. On the other hand, the UI master right is held by the SYS remote 71. This is because it is necessary to display the set number of copies, the selected editing process, etc. on the UI, which belong to the par original process or the job programming process and are placed under the control of the SYS remote 71.

When a fault occurs in the progress state, it moves to the fault recovery state. A fault is a general term for an abnormal state of the machine such as no paper, jam, failure or damage of parts, etc.A user can recover by resetting the F / F etc. and a service person such as parts replacement 2 to recover
There are types. As described above, the MCBUI module 86 basically displays the fault, but the F / F is the SYS module 8
Since it is managed by 2, the SYS module 82 is in charge of recovery for faults that can be recovered by resetting the F / F, and the copying executive module is in charge of other recovery.

In addition, fault detection is performed for each of the SYS system and MCB system. That is, IIT, IPS, and F / P are managed by the SYS remote 71, so the SYS remote 71 detects them, and IOT, ADF, and sorter are managed by the MCB remote 75, so the MCB remote 75 detects them. Therefore, it is understood that there are the following four types of faults in this copying machine.

When it is detected by the SYS node and the SYS node recovers For example, when the start key is pressed without preparing the F / P, a fault occurs, but the user can recover by setting the F / F again.

When detected by SYS node and MCB node recovers. This type of fault includes, for example, failure of the registration sensor,
It includes the speed error of the imaging unit, overrun of the imaging unit, PR0 signal error, CCC error, serial communication network error, ROM or RAM check error, etc. And a message such as "Call a service person" are displayed.

When detected by MCB node and SYS node recovers If a sorter is set in F / F even though the sorter is not set, it is detected as a fault in MCB node, but the user does the F / F again. You can also recover by resetting and changing to a mode that does not use the sorter. ADF
Is also the same. In addition, a fault occurs when the toner is used up, when the tray is not set, and when the paper is used up. These faults are
Originally, the user recovers by supplying toner, setting a tray, or supplying paper, but when one tray runs out of paper, it can be recovered by using another tray. However, when the toner of a certain color is used up, it is possible to recover by specifying another color. In other words, because it is also recovered by the selection of F / F, SYS
It is designed to recover at the node.

When the MCB node detects and recovers the MCB node.For example, when the operation of the developing machine is bad, when the toner mixture is abnormal, the motor clutch failure, the fuser failure, etc. are detected by the MCB node and displayed on the UI. Displays the location of the failure and a message such as "Call a service person." Further, when a jam occurs, the location of the jam is displayed, and the method of clearing the jam is also displayed so that the user can recover.

As described above, in the fault recovery state, the control right and the UI master right may be possessed by the SYS node or the MCB node depending on the location of the fault and the recovery method.

When the formal is recovered and the IOT standby command is issued from the MCB node, it moves to the job recovery state and completes the remaining jobs. For example, assume that the copy setting number is 3, and a jam occurs while the second copy is being made. In this case, since the remaining two sheets must be copied after the jam is cleared, the SYS node and the MCB node each perform a management process to recover the job. Therefore, even in job recovery, the control right is SYS node, M
Both CB nodes have it according to their respective processing shares. However, the UI master right is held by the SYS node.
Because, for job recovery, you have to display the message for job recovery such as "Press the start key", "Set the rest of the document", etc. This is managed by the SYS node. This is because it is a matter relating to the per-original processing or the job programming processing.

Even if an IOT standby command is issued in the progress state, it moves to the job recovery state, and when it is confirmed that the job is completed, it moves to the standby state and waits for the next job. By performing a predetermined key operation in the standby state, it is possible to enter the diagnostic (hereinafter simply referred to as "diagnostic") state.

Diag state is used to check input / output of parts, setting various parameters, setting various modes, NVM
This is a state for self-diagnosis such as initialization of (nonvolatile memory), and its concept is shown in FIG. As is clear from the figure, two modes, TECH REP mode and customer simulation mode, are provided as diags.

The TECH REP mode is a mode used when a serviceman performs a machine diagnosis such as an input check and an output check, and the customer simulation mode is a mode in which a customer mode normally used when copying is used by a diagnostic.

Now, assume that the TECH REP mode is entered from the standby state of the customer mode by the route of A in the figure by a predetermined operation. In TECH REP mode, various checks, parameter settings, and mode settings are all done.
When returning to the customer mode again (route B in the figure), if a predetermined key operation is performed, the power-on state can be entered as shown in FIG. 6 and the standby state can be returned by the sequence in FIG. However, since this copier performs color copying and is equipped with various editing functions, after the various parameters are set in TECH REP mode, the actual copying will produce the color requested by the user. It is necessary to confirm whether the editing function works as specified. It is the customer simulation mode that does this, and there is no billing.
The UI is different from the customer mode in that it is displayed as a diag. This is the meaning of the customer simulation mode in which the gas tamper mode is used in the diagnosis. The transition from TECH REP mode to customer simulation mode (route C in the figure) and vice versa
The transition to the P mode (route D in the figure) can be performed by a predetermined operation. Also, since the TECH REP mode is performed by the diagnostic executive module 88 (Fig. 4), the MCB node has both the control right and the UI master right, but the customer simulation mode is SY.
Since the normal copy operation is performed under the control of the S.DIAG module 83 (Fig. 4), the SYS node has both the control right and the UI master right.

(II) Specific Configuration of Each Part (II-1) System FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the system and other remotes.

As mentioned earlier, the remote 71 has a SYSUI module 81 and S
The YSTEM module 82 is installed, and data is exchanged between the SYSUI 81 and the SYSTEM module 82 by the inter-module interface. Also, the SYSTEM module 82 and the IIT73, IPS74
It is connected with a serial communication interface between
B75, ROM76 and RAIB79 are connected by LNET high speed communication network.

Next, the module configuration of the system will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a module configuration of the system.

In this copier, each module such as IIT, IPS, and IOT is considered as a component, and each module of the system that controls these is considered to have a brain. The distributed CPU method is adopted, and the system side is in charge of par-original processing and job programming processing. Corresponding to this, control right to manage the initialization state, standby state, setup state, cycle state, and these states Since we have the UI master right to use the UI, we configure the system with the corresponding modules.

The system main 100 fetches the received data from SYSUI, MCB, etc. into the internal buffer, clears the data stored in the internal buffer, calls each lower module of the system main 100 and passes the processing, and updates the system state. It is processing.

The M / C initialization control module 101 controls the initialization sequence from power-on to system standby.
Performs various tests after power-on by B It is started when the power-on process is completed.

The M / C setup control module 103 is an MCB that performs copy layer processing after the start key is pressed.
Controls the setup sequence until startup, and specifically creates a job mode based on the FEATURE (instruction item for M / C to achieve the user's request) instructed from SYSUI, and the created job Determine the setup sequence according to the mode.

As shown in FIG. 12 (a), the job mode is created by F /
Jobs are separated by analyzing the mode designated by F. In this case, a job is an M / C operation from the start of M / C at the user's request until all requested copies are ejected and stopped, and the work can be divided according to the user's request. It is a collection of minimum units and job modes.
For example, in the case of fitting synthesis, as shown in FIG. 12B, the job mode is composed of deletion, movement, and extraction, and the job is an aggregate of these modes. Further, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), in the case of three ADF originals, the job mode is feed processing for original 1, original 2, and original 3, and the job is a set of them.

Then, the document scan is performed in the automatic mode, the prescan is performed in the coloring mode, the prescan is performed in the marker editing mode, and the sample scan is performed in the color detection mode (prescan is up to 3 times), and the copy cycle is performed. The necessary copy modes are distributed to IIT, IPS, and MCB, and MCB is started at the end of the setup sequence.

The M / C standby control module 102 controls the sequence during M / C standby, and specifically, receives a start key, controls color registration, and enters a diagnosis mode.

The M / C copy cycle control module 104 controls the copy sequence from when the MCB is started until it is stopped, and specifically, the notification of the paper feed counter,
It judges the end of JOB and makes a request to start IIT, and judges the stop of MCB to make a request to stop IPS.

Also, it plays the function of notifying the remote of the other party of the through command that occurs during M / C stop or during operation.

The fault control module 106 monitors the cause of the fall from IIT and IPS, requests the MCB to shut down when the factor occurs, and specifically performs the fall by a fail command from IIT and IPS, and also from the MCB. After a stop request occurs, the recovery at the time of M / C stop is judged and determined, and the recovery is performed by a jam command from the MCB, for example.

The communication control module 107 sets the IIT ready signal from the IIT and enables / disables the communication in the image area.

The DIAG control module 108 controls the input check mode and the output check mode in the DIAG mode.

Next, exchange of data between these modules or with other subsystems will be described.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a data flow between the system and each remote, and a data flow between modules in the system. In the figure, A to N indicate serial communication, Z indicates a hot line, and indicates inter-module data.

Between the SYSUI remote and the initialization control unit 101, SYSUI transfers the control right of CRT to SYSTEM MODE.
The TOKEN command is sent, while the initialization control unit 101 sends a config command.

Between the SYSUI remote and the standby control unit 102, a mode change command, a start copy command, a job cancel command, a color registration request command, and a tray command are sent from SYSUI, while the standby control unit 102 sends an M / C status command. ,
Tray status command, toner status command, collection bottle status command, color registration ANS command, TOKEN command are sent.

Between the SYSUI remote and the setup control unit 103, the setup control unit 103 sends an M / C status command (progress) and an APM status command, while the SYSUI remote sends a stop request command and an interrupt command.

An initialization end command is sent from the IPS remote between the IPS remote and the initialization control unit 101, and N is sent from the initialization control unit 101.
VM parameter command is sent.

Between the IIT remote and the initialization control unit 101, IIT ready command from the IIT mote, NVM parameter command from the initialization control unit 101,
The INITIALIZE command is sent.

Between the IPS remote and the standby control unit 102, the IPS remote sends an initialization freehand area, an answer command, a remove area answer command, and a color information command, and the standby control unit 102 sends a color detection point command and an initialization freehand area. Commands and remove area commands are sent.

An IPS ready command and a document information command are sent from the IPS remote to the setup control unit 103, and the setup control unit 10
3 Scan information command, basic copy mode command,
Edit mode command and M / C top command are sent.

Between the IIT remote and the standby control unit 102, the IIT remote sends an IIT ready command notifying that the prescan is completed, and the standby control unit 102 sends a sample scan start command.
The initialization command is sent.

Between the IIT remote and the setup control unit 103, the IIT remote sends an IIT ready command and an initialization end command, and the setup control unit 103 sends a document scan start command, a sample scan start command, and a copy scan start command. .

An initialization subsystem command and a standby selection command are sent from the standby control unit 102 between the MCB remote and the standby control unit 102, and a subsystem status command is sent from the MCB remote.

Between the MCB remote and the setup control unit 103, the setup control unit 103 sends a start job command, an IIT ready command, a stop job command, and a clear system fault command.
MCB remote IOT standby command, Declare MCB
A fault command is sent.

Between the MCB remote and the cycle control unit 104,
The cycle control unit 104 sends a stop job command, and the MCB remote sends a MADE command, a ready for next job command, a job delivered command, and an IOT standby command.

Between the MCB remote and the fault control unit 106, the fault control unit 106 sends a clear system fault command and a system shutdown complete command, and the MCB remote sends a clear MCB fault command and a system shutdown command.

A scan ready signal and an image area signal are sent from the IIT remote to the communication control unit 107.

Next, the interface between the modules will be described.

The reception remote No. and reception data are sent from the system main 100 to each module (101 to 107), and each module exchanges data with each remote. On the other hand, from each module (101 to 107) to the system main 100
Nothing is sent to.

Upon completion of the initialization process, the initialization control unit 101 notifies the fault control unit 106 and the standby control unit 102 of the system state (standby).

Communication control unit 107 includes initialization control unit 101 and standby control unit 10
2, the setup control unit 103, the copy cycle control unit 104, the fault control unit 106,
The communication availability information is notified respectively.

When the start key is pressed, the standby control unit 102 notifies the setup control unit 103 of the system state (progress).

When the setup is completed, the setup control unit 103 notifies the copy cycle control unit 104 of the system state (cycle).

(II-2) Image Processing System (IPS) (A) IPS Module Configuration FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an outline of the IPS module configuration.

In a color image forming apparatus, a CCD line sensor is used in the IIT (image input terminal) to detect the primary color B of light.
(Blue), G (green), R (red) are separated and a color original is read, and these are read as toner primary colors Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and further K (black or black). Then, the color image is reproduced by exposing and developing with a laser beam at the IOT (image output terminal). In this case, a copy process (pitch) in which Y, M, C, and K toner images are decomposed and Y is used as a process color is performed once, and similarly, M, C, and K are also used as process colors. Each time, the copying cycle is executed four times in total, and the images in full color are reproduced by superimposing the images in these halftone dots. Therefore, when the color separation signals (B, G, R signals) are converted to toner signals (Y, M, C, K signals), how to adjust the color balance, IIT reading characteristics, and IOT How to reproduce that color according to the output characteristics, how to adjust the balance of density and contrast, how to adjust edge emphasis, blurring, and moire are problems.

IPS inputs color separation signals of B, G, R from IIT,
In order to improve color reproducibility, gradation reproducibility, definition reproducibility, etc., various data processing is performed to convert the toner signal of the development process color to ON / OFF and output to IOT. END conversion (Equivalent Neutra
l Density; equivalent neutral density conversion module 301, color masking module 302, original size detection module 3
03, color conversion module 304, UCR (Under Color Re
moval; under color removal) & black generation module 305, spatial filter 306, TRC (Tone Reproduction Control) module 307, scaling processing module 308, screen generator 309, IOT interface module 31
0, area image control module 311 having area generation circuit and switch matrix, area command memory 312, color palette video switch circuit 313, font buffer 3
It consists of an edit control module with 14 etc.

Then, for the color separation signals of I, B, G, and R, 8-bit data (256 gradations) is input to the END conversion module 301 and converted into Y, M, C, and K toner signals, and then the process color Of the toner signal X of the IOT interface module 310 is selected and binarized as ON / OFF data of the toner signal of the process color.
Output to IOT. Therefore, full color (4
In the case of (Color), first detect the document size, detect the editing area, and detect other document information by prescan, and then
For example, every time a copy cycle in which the process color toner signal X is set to Y and then a copy cycle in which the process color toner signal X is set to M are sequentially executed, 4
Signal processing is performed for each original scan.

The IIT uses a CCD sensor to read one pixel for each of B, G, and R at a size of 16 bits / mm,
The data is output in 24 bits (3 colors x 8 bits; 256 gradations). The CCD sensor is equipped with B, G, and R filters on the upper surface, has a length of 300 mm with a density of 16 dots / mm, and scans 16 lines / mm at an process speed of 190.5 mm / sec. Therefore, reading data is output at a speed of 15M pixels per second for each color. Then, in the IIT, the analog data of the B, G, and R pixels is log-converted to convert the reflectance information into density information and further into digital data.

Next, each module will be described.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining each module constituting the IPS.

(A) END conversion module The END conversion module 301 is a module for adjusting (converting) the obtained optical read signal of the color original document into a gray-balanced color signal. In the case of gray, the toner of the color image has the same amount, and gray is the standard. However, the values of B, G, and R color separation signals input when a gray original is read from IIT are not equal because the spectral characteristics of the light source and the color separation filter are not ideal. Therefore, the END conversion uses a conversion table (LUT; lookup table) as shown in FIG. 15A to balance the conversion. Therefore, the conversion table has a characteristic that, when a gray original is read, it is converted into B, G, and R color separation signals with the same gradation and output in accordance with the level (black → white). ,
Depends on IIT characteristics. Further, 16 conversion tables are prepared, 11 of which are tables for film projectors including negative film, and 3 are tables for normal copying, photography, and generation copying.

(B) Color masking module The color masking module 302 converts the B, G, and R signals into a signal corresponding to the toner amounts of Y, M, and C by matrix calculation, and performs gray balance adjustment by END conversion. After processing the signal is processed.

As the conversion matrix used for color masking, a 3 × 3 matrix that purely calculates Y, M, and C from B, G, and R, respectively, is used, but not only B, G, and R, but also B
It is needless to say that various matrices may be used or other matrices may be used because the components of G, GR, RB, B ² , G ² , and R ² are also added. The conversion matrix has two sets, one for normal color adjustment and one for intensity signal generation in the mono color mode.

In this way, when processing IIT video signals with IPS, gray balance is adjusted first and foremost. If you do this after color masking,
The conversion table becomes more complicated because it is necessary to adjust the gray balance of the gray original in consideration of the characteristics of the color masking.

(C) Original size detection module Not only fixed size originals but also originals of any other shape such as cutting and cutting may be copied. In this case, it is necessary to detect the document size in order to select an appropriate size of paper corresponding to the document size. Further, when the copy paper is larger than the original size, erasing the outside of the original can improve the quality of the copy. Therefore, the document size detection module 303 performs document size detection during prescan and platen color erasing (frame erase) processing during document reading scan. For this reason, the platen color is set to a color that is easy to distinguish from the original, for example, black, and the upper limit value / lower limit value of the platen color identification is set in the threshold register 3031 as shown in FIG. 16 (b). Then, at the time of prescan, a signal (using the output of the spatial filter 306 described later) X converted into information close to the reflectance of the original (γ conversion) and the upper limit value / lower limit value set in the threshold register 3031 are compared.
The edge detection circuit 3034 detects the edge of the document and compares the maximum value and the minimum value of the coordinates x and y with the maximum / minimum sorter 3
Store in 035.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15 (d), when the document is tilted or not rectangular, the maximum and minimum values (x ₁ , x ₂ , y ₁ , y ₂ ) in the vertical and horizontal directions are detected and stored. It Further, when scanning a document reading, the comparator 3033 is used to scan the document Y, M,
C is compared with the upper limit value / lower limit value set in the threshold register 3031, and the platen color erasing circuit 3036 erases the read signal on the outside of the edge, that is, the platen to perform the frame erasing process.

(D) Color conversion module The color conversion module 305 is capable of converting a specified color in a specific area.
As shown in FIG. 7C, a window comparator 3052, a threshold register 3051, a color palette 3053, etc. are provided. When color conversion is performed, each Y, M, and
The upper limit value / lower limit value of C is set in the threshold register 3051, and the Y, M, and C values of the converted color are set in the color palette 3053. Then, the NAND gate 3054 is controlled according to the area signal input from the area image control module, and if it is not the color conversion area, the originals Y, M, and C are sent from the selector 3055 as they are, and when entering the color conversion area, the original is read. When the Y, M, and C signals of are in between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of Y, M, and C set in the threshold register 3051, the selector 3055 is switched by the output of the window comparator 3052 and the conversion set in the color palette 3053 is performed. Color Y, M, C are sent out.

For the designated color, by pointing the document directly with the digitizer, B around the coordinates designated during the prescan,
Check the specified color by averaging 25 pixels for each of G and R. By this averaging operation, even a 150-line original can be recognized with an accuracy within a color difference of 5 or less. To read the B, G, and R density data, the designated coordinates are converted into an address and read from the IIT pseudo-correction RAM, and when the address is converted, readjustment corresponding to the registration adjustment is required as in the case of detecting the original size. In prescan, IIT operates in sample scan mode. The B, G, and R density data read from the shading correction RAM are averaged after shading correction by software, and then END
After being corrected and color masked, they are set in the window comparator 3052.

Registered colors can be registered in the color palette 3053 up to 8 colors out of 16.7 million colors at the same time, and standard colors are Y, M, C, G,
14 colors of B, R and their intermediate colors and K, W are prepared.

(E) UCR & black generation module When the Y, M and C are equal in quantity, it becomes gray. Therefore, theoretically, the same color can be reproduced by replacing the equal quantity of Y, M and C with black. However, in reality, when replaced with black, the color becomes turbid and the reproducibility of vivid colors deteriorates. Therefore, the UCR & black generation module 305 performs a process of generating an appropriate amount of K so that such color turbidity does not occur, and reducing Y, M, and C by an equal amount according to the amount (undercolor removal). Specifically, the maximum value and the minimum value of Y, M, and C are detected, K is generated from the conversion table according to the difference between the minimum value and the minimum value, and Y, M, and C are fixed according to the amount. Undercolor is removed.

In UCR & black generation, as shown in FIG. 15 (e), when the color is close to gray, for example, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value becomes small. Therefore, the minimum equivalent values of Y, M, and C are removed as they are and K
However, when the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is large, the removal amount is made smaller than the minimum values of Y, M, and C, and K
By reducing the amount of black ink generated, it is possible to prevent the mixture of black ink and the decrease in the saturation of low-lightness and high-saturation colors.

In FIG. 15 (f) showing a specific circuit configuration example, the maximum / minimum value detection circuit 3051 detects the maximum and minimum values of Y, M, and C, and the arithmetic circuit 3053 calculates the difference. Then, the conversion table 3054 and the arithmetic circuit 3055 generate K. The conversion table 3054 adjusts the value of K, and when the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is small, the output value of the conversion table 3054 becomes zero. Therefore, the maximum value is directly set as the value of K from the arithmetic circuit 3055. When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is large, the output value of the conversion table 3054 is not zero, and the arithmetic circuit 3055 outputs the value subtracted from the minimum value as the value of K. The conversion table 3056 is a table for obtaining a value to be removed from Y, M, and C corresponding to K, and Y, M, and C are calculated by the arithmetic circuit 3059 through this conversion table 3056.
To K are removed. Also, AND Gate 305
Reference numerals 7 and 3058 gate the K signal and the signals after removal of the lower colors of Y, M, and C according to the signals of the mono-color mode and the full-color mode.
Reference numeral 50 is for selecting one of Y, M, C and K according to the process color signal. Thus, in fact, Y,
Since colors are reproduced with halftone dots of M and C, removal of Y, M and C and generation ratio of K are set using empirically generated curves and tables.

(F) Spatial filter module In the device applied to the present invention, as described above, C
Since the original is read while scanning the CD, if the information is used as it is, the information will be blurred, and since the original is reproduced with halftone dots, the halftone dot period of the printed matter and 16 dots / mm
Moire occurs between the sampling period and. Moire also occurs between the halftone dot cycle generated by itself and the halftone dot cycle of the document. The spatial filter module 306 has a function of recovering such blur and a function of removing moire. A low pass filter is used to remove the halftone dot component for moiré removal, and a high pass filter is used for edge enhancement.

In the spatial filter module 306, as shown in FIG. 15 (g), one color of the input signal of Y, M, C, Min and Max-Min is taken out by the selector 3003, and information close to the reflectance is obtained by using the conversion table 3004. Convert to. This is because the edge is easier to pick up with this information, and as one color, for example, Y
Is selected. Also, the threshold register 30
01, Y, M, C, Min and Max-Min to Y, for each pixel using a 4-bit binarization circuit 3002 and a decoder 3005
The hue is separated into eight colors of M, C, K, B, G, R, and W (white). The decoder (g) 3005 recognizes the hue according to the binarized information and outputs from the process color whether or not it is the required color by 1-bit information.

The output of FIG. 15 (g) is input to the circuit of FIG. 15 (h). Here, FIFO 3061 and 5 × 7 digital filter 306
3, generate halftone dot removal information by the modulation table 3066, and use the FIFO 3062 and the 5 × 7 digital filter 3064.
The modulation table 3067 and the delay circuit 3065 generate edge emphasis information from the output information of FIG. The modulation tables 3066 and 3067 are selected according to the copy mode such as exclusive for photographs and characters, and mixed.

In edge emphasis, when reproducing a green character like, for example, FIG. 15 (i), Y and C are
Is emphasized, and M is not emphasized like the solid line. This switching is performed by the AND gate (h) 8. In order to perform this processing, when the image is emphasized as indicated by the dotted line, the edge becomes turbid due to the color mixture of M as shown by.
The delay circuit (h) 5 uses the FI for switching such enhancement by the AND gate 3068 for each process color.
The FO 3062 and the 5 × 7 digital filter 3064 are synchronized with each other. When a bright green character is reproduced by normal processing, magenta is mixed with the green character to cause muddyness. Therefore, if green is recognized as described above, Y and C are output as usual, but M is suppressed and edge emphasis is not performed.

(G) TRC conversion module IOT is Y, M, according to the ON / OFF signal from IPS.
Four copy cycles (in the case of four full-color copies) are executed for each process color of C and K to enable reproduction of full-color originals. However, in reality, the colors theoretically obtained by signal processing are faithfully reproduced. To play back, it is necessary to make a fine adjustment considering the characteristics of IOT. The TRC conversion module 309 is intended to improve the reproducibility as described above.
As shown in FIG. 15 (j), the RAM has an address conversion table that receives 8-bit image data as an address input, and density adjustment, contrast adjustment, negative / positive inversion, color balance adjustment, character mode, watermark composition, etc. are performed according to the area signal. Has an edit function. Bits 0 to 3 of the area signal are used for the upper 3 bits of the RAM address. Also, the above functions can be combined and used in the out-of-region mode. Note that this RAM is, for example, 2 kbytes (2
It is composed of 56 bytes x 8 faces and holds a conversion table of 8 faces. Up to 8 faces are stored during IIT carriage return for each Y, M, C cycle, and selected according to the area designation and copy mode. To be done. Of course, if RAM capacity is increased, it is not necessary to load each cycle.

(H) Reduction / Expansion Processing Module The reduction / expansion processing module 308 is a reduction / expansion processing circuit in the process of temporarily holding the data X in the line buffer 3083 and transmitting it.
The expansion / contraction processing is performed through 3082, and the sampling pitch signal and the read / write address of the line buffer 3083 are generated by the resampling generator & address controller 3081. The line buffer 3083 is a ping-pong buffer consisting of two lines so that the next line data can be written in the other at the same time as the reading of one. In the reduction / enlargement processing, the reduction / enlargement processing module 308 performs digital processing in the main scanning direction, but the IIT scan speed is changed in the sub-scanning direction. Scan speed can be reduced from 50% to 400% by changing from 2x speed to 1 / 4x speed. In digital processing, data can be reduced by complementing thinning out when reading / writing data to the line buffer 3083, and can be expanded by supplementing additional data. When the complementary data is in the middle, it is generated by weighting processing according to the distance to the data on both sides as shown in FIG. For example, in the case of the data Xi ′, from the data X _i and X _{i + 1} on both sides and the distances d ₁ and d ₂ between these data and the sampling point, (X _i × d ₂ ) + (X _{i + 1} × d ₁ ) However, it is obtained by the calculation of d ₁ + d ₂ = 1.

In the case of the reduction processing, the data is written in the line buffer 3083 while complementing the data, and at the same time, the reduced data of the previous line is read from the buffer and transmitted. In the case of enlargement processing, the data is once written as it is, and at the same time, the data of the previous line is read out, complemented and enlarged and transmitted. If complementary expansion is performed at the time of writing, the clock for writing must be raised according to the enlargement ratio, but if the above is done, writing / reading can be performed with the same clock. Further, using this configuration, the shift image processing in the main scanning direction can be performed by reading from the middle or by reading with a delayed timing, and can be repeatedly processed by repeatedly reading, and reading from the opposite side. It is also possible to perform mirror image processing.

(I) Screen Generator The screen generator 309 converts the gradation toner signal of the process color into an on / off binarized toner signal and outputs it. By comparing the threshold matrix and the gradation-represented data value, Binarization processing and error diffusion processing are performed. In IOT, input this binary toner signal and
Almost vertical 80μmφ and width 60μm to correspond to 6 dots / mm
A half-tone image is reproduced by turning on and off the φ-elliptical laser beam.

First, a method of expressing gradation will be described. Figure 15 (n)
A case will be described where a 4 × 4 halftone cell s is formed as shown in FIG. First, in the screen generator, a threshold matrix m is set corresponding to such a halftone cell s, and this is compared with a data value expressed in gradation. In this comparison process, if the data value is “5”, for example, the threshold matrix m
A signal for turning on the laser beam is generated in the portion of "5" or less.

Generally 100sp for a 4x4 halftone cell at 16 dots / mm
Halftone dots with i and 16 gradations result in rough images and poor reproducibility of color images. Therefore, in the present invention,
As a method of increasing the gradation, this 16-dot / mm pixel is divided into four vertically (main scanning direction), and the on / off frequency of the laser beam in pixel units is 1/4 as shown in (o) of the figure. By increasing the unit of 4 times, that is, 4 times higher gradation is realized. Therefore, correspondingly, the threshold matrix m'as shown in FIG. Furthermore, it is also effective to adopt the sub-matrix method to increase the number of lines.

In the above example, the same threshold matrix m in which the center of each halftone cell is the only growth nucleus is used, but the sub-matrix method is composed of a set of a plurality of unit matrices and is shown in FIG. Thus, the growth nuclei of the matrix are arranged at two or more places (plural). If such a screen pattern design method is adopted, for example, bright areas are set to 141spi and 64 gradations, and darker areas are set to 200spi and 128 gradations.
The number of lines and gradation can be freely changed according to the bright place. Such a pattern can be designed by visually observing the smoothness of gradation, fine line property, graininess, and the like.

When a halftone image is reproduced by the dot matrix as described above, the number of gradations and the resolution have a contradictory relationship.
That is, there is a relationship that the resolution becomes worse as the number of gradations increases and the number of gradations becomes lower as the resolution increases. Also,
If the matrix of threshold data is reduced, a quantization error will occur in the image actually output. In the error diffusion processing, the quantization error between the on / off binarized signal generated by the screen generator 3092 and the input gradation signal is converted by the density conversion circuit 3093 and the subtraction circuit 3094 as shown in FIG. It detects and feeds back using the correction circuit 3095 and the addition circuit 3091 to improve the reproducibility of the gradation when viewed macroscopically. For example, the corresponding position of the previous line and the pixels on both sides thereof are digitally filtered. The error diffusion process that folds through is performed.

In the screen generator, the threshold data and the feedback coefficient of the error diffusion process are switched for each document or area depending on the type of image such as a halftone image or a character image as described above to enhance the reproducibility of high gradation and high definition images. .

(N) Area image control module In the area image control module 311, seven rectangular areas and their priorities can be set in the area generation circuit, and area control information is set in the switch matrix corresponding to each area. To be done. The control information includes color modes such as color conversion and mono-color or full-color, modulation select information for photographs and characters, TRC select information, screen generator select information, etc., and a color masking module 302, a color conversion module 304. , UCR module 305, spatial filter 30
6. Used to control the TRC module 307. The switch matrix can be set by software.

(L) Edit control module The edit control module is for reading a document such as a pie chart instead of a rectangle, and for enabling a coloring process of filling a specified area of which shape is not limited with a specified color. As shown in m), the AGDC (Advance
d Graphic Digital Controller) 3121, font buffer 3126, logo ROM128, DMAC (DMA Controller) 3129
Are connected. Then, the CPU writes the encoded 4-bit area command in the plane memory 3122 through the AGDC 3121 and writes the font in the font buffer 3126. The plane memory 3122 is composed of four sheets, and each point of the original can be set by 4 bits of plane 0 to plane 3, for example, in the case of “0000”, the command is 0 and the original original is output. . The decoder 3123 decodes this 4-bit information into commands 0 to 15, and the switch matrix sets which of commands, command 0 to command 15, is to be used for processing of fill pattern, fill logic, or logo. It is 3124. Font address controller 3125
Is for generating an address of the font buffer 3126 corresponding to a pattern such as a halftone dot shade and a hatching shade by a 2-bit fill pattern signal.

The switch circuit 3127 is for selecting the document data X, the font buffer 3126, the color palette, etc. according to the contents of the fill logic signal of the switch matrix 3124 and the document data X. The fill logic is information for filling only the background (background portion of the document) with a color mesh, color-converting a specific portion, masking, trimming, filling, and the like.

In the IPS of the present invention, as described above, the IIT original reading signal is first END converted and then color masked, and full color data processing is more efficient for original size and frame erasing, and color conversion processing is performed. The undercolor is removed and the black ink is generated to focus on the process color. But,
Processing such as spatial filter, color modulation, TRC, expansion and contraction,
By processing the process color data, the amount of processing is smaller than when processing with full color data,
The number of conversion tables used has been reduced to 1/3, and the number of types has been increased accordingly to improve adjustment flexibility, color reproducibility, gradation reproducibility, and fineness reproducibility.

(B) Hardware Configuration of Image Processing System FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the IPS.

The IPS of the present invention is divided into two substrates (IPS-A, IPS-B), and is a basic color image forming apparatus such as color reproducibility, gradation reproducibility, and definition reproducibility. The part that achieves the function is applied to the first board (IPS-A) like editing, and the part that achieves the specialized function is the second board (IPS-A).
It is installed in B). The former configuration is shown in Figure 16 (a)-
It is (c) and the latter structure is (d) of the same figure. In particular, if basic functions can be sufficiently achieved by the first substrate, the second
The application and specialized functions can be flexibly dealt with simply by changing the design of the board. Therefore, when it is desired to further enhance the function of the color image forming apparatus, it can be dealt with only by changing the design of the other substrate.

As shown in Fig. 16, the IPS board has a CPU bus (address bus ADRSBUS, data bus DATABUS, control bus
CTRLBUS) is connected and IIT video data B, G, R,
As the synchronizing signals, video clocks IIT / VCLK, line synchronizing (main scanning direction, horizontal synchronizing) signals IIT / LS, and page synchronizing (sub scanning direction, vertical synchronizing) signals IIT / PS are connected.

Since the video data is pipeline-processed after the END conversion unit, a data delay occurs in the clock unit required for processing in each processing stage. Therefore, the line synchronization generation & fail check circuit 328 generates and distributes the horizontal synchronization signal in response to such a delay of each processing and also performs the fail check of the video clock and the line synchronization signal. Therefore, the line sync generation & fail check circuit 328 has a video clock IIT / VCLK.
And the line synchronization signal IIT / LS are connected, and the CPU bus (ADRSBUS, DATABU
S, CTRLBUS) and chip select signal CS are connected.

The IIT video data B, G, and R are input to the ROM 321 of the END conversion unit. The END conversion table uses a RAM for the CPU
Although it may be configured to load the data from the device as needed, since there is almost no need to rewrite it while the device is in use and the image data is being processed, two 2 kbyte ROMs for each of B, G, and R are provided. LUT (look-up table) method by ROM is adopted. Then, it has a conversion table of 16 planes and is switched by a 4-bit selection signal ENDSel.

The END-converted output of the ROM 321 is connected to a color masking unit composed of three arithmetic LSIs 322 each having two 3 × 1 matrices for each color. Each path of the CPU is connected to the arithmetic LSI 322, and matrix coefficients can be set from the CPU. A setup signal SU and a chip select signal CS are connected for switching from the image signal processing to the CPU bus for rewriting by the CPU, and a 1-bit switching signal MONO is connected for matrix selection switching. Further, the power-down signal PD is input and the internal video clock is stopped when the IIT is not scanning, that is, when image processing is not being performed.

The signal converted from B, G, R to Y, M, C by the arithmetic LSI 322 is color converted through the color conversion LSI 353 of the second substrate (IPS-B) shown in FIG.
Input to 322. The color conversion LSI 353 has four color conversion circuits including a threshold register for setting non-conversion colors, a color palette for setting conversion colors, and a comparator. Owns circuits, etc.

The output of the DOD LSI 323 that has undergone the frame erasing processing is sent to the UCR LSI 324. This LSI includes a UCR circuit, a black generation circuit, and a necessary color generation circuit, and outputs each signal of a process color X corresponding to a toner color, a necessary color Hue, and an edge Edge in a copy cycle. Therefore, a 2-bit process color designation signal COLR and a color mode signal (4COLR, MONO) are also input to this LSI.

The line memory 325 outputs the process color X, the required color Hue, and the edge Edge signals output from the UCR LSI 324 by 5 × 7.
It is composed of a FIFO for accumulating four lines of data to be input to the digital filter 326 and a FIFO for matching the delay. Here, for the process color X and the edge Edge, four lines are accumulated and a total of five lines are sent to the digital filter 326, and the necessary color Hue is delayed by the FIFO and synchronized with the output of the digital filter 326. I am sending it to.

The digital filter 326 is a 3 × 2 × 7 filter LSI.
There are two sets of 5 × 7 filters (low-pass LP and high-pass HP) that are individually configured. On the one hand, the process color X is processed, and on the other hand, the edge Edge is processed. The MIX LSI 327 performs halftone dot removal and edge enhancement processing on these outputs using a conversion table and mixes them into the process color X. Here, edge EDGE and sharp Sharp are used as signals for switching the conversion table.
Has been entered.

TRC342 is a 2-kbyte RA that holds a conversion table for eight screens.
It consists of M. The conversion table is configured to rewrite the conversion table by using the return period of the carriage before each scan, and the conversion table TRCSel of 3 bits is used.
Can be switched by. The processing output from here is sent from the transceiver to the scaling processing LSI 345.
The reduction / expansion processing unit forms a ping-pong buffer (line buffer) using two 8 kbyte RAMs 342, and the LSI 343 generates a resampling pitch and an address of the line buffer.

The output of the scaling processing unit returns to the EDF LSI 346 through the area memory unit of the second substrate shown in FIG. EDF LSI346
Has a FIFO that holds the information of the previous line, and performs error diffusion processing using the information of the previous line. Then, the signal X after the error diffusion processing is output to the IOT interface via the SG LSI 347 that constitutes the screen generator.

In the IOT interface, a signal from the SG LSI 347 input by a 1-bit on / off signal is collected by the LSI 349 into 8 bits and transmitted in parallel to the IOT.

In the second substrate shown in FIG. 16, the actual flowing data is 16 dots / mm, so in the reduction LSI 354, 1/4
, And binarize and store in area memory. The enlargement decoding LSI 359 has a fill pattern RAM 360 and enlarges it to 16 dots when reading area information from the area memory and generating a command, and performs logo address generation, color palette, and fill pattern generation processing. DR
AM356 stores 4-bit area information which is composed of 4 planes and coded. AGDC355 is a dedicated controller that controls area commands.

(II-2) Image Output Terminal (II-2-1) Schematic Configuration FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image output terminal (IOT).

This device uses an organic photosensitive belt (Photo Recepte
A developing device 404 consisting of black (K), magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) for four full colors using a r-belt, and a transfer device (Tow Roll Transfer) that conveys the paper to the transfer unit. Loop) 406, transfer device 40
Vacuum transfer device (Vacu
um Transfer) 407, paper trays 410, 412, paper transport path 4
11 is provided, and the three units of the photosensitive belt, the developing device, and the transfer device can be pulled out to the front side.

The information light obtained by modulating the laser light from the laser light source 40 is irradiated onto the photosensitive material 41 via the mirror 40d and is exposed to form a latent image. The image formed on the photosensitive material is developed by the developing device 404 to form a toner image. The developing machine 404 is composed of K, M, C and Y, and is arranged in the positional relationship shown in the figure. This is arranged in consideration of, for example, the relationship between the dark attenuation and the characteristics of each toner, and the difference in the influence of the color mixture of other toners on the black toner. However, the driving order for full color copying is
It is Y → C → M → K.

On the other hand, the sheets supplied from the two-stage elevator tray 410 and the other two-stage tray 412 are supplied to the transfer device 406 through the transport path 411. The transfer device 406 is arranged at the transfer portion and is connected by a timing chain or belt.
It consists of two rolls and a gripper bar that will be described later, gripping the paper with the gripper bar and transporting the paper,
The toner image on the photosensitive material is transferred to the paper. In the case of 4 full colors, the paper is rotated 4 times in the transfer device section, and Y, C, M, K
Images are transferred in this order. The transferred sheet is released from the gripper bar, transferred from the transfer device to the vacuum transfer device 407, fixed by the fixing device 408, and ejected.

The vacuum transfer device 407 absorbs the speed difference between the transfer device 406 and the fixing device 408 and synchronizes. In this device,
The transfer speed (process speed) is set at 190 mm / sec, and the fixing speed is 90 mm for full-color copying.
Since it is / sec, the transfer speed and the fixing speed are different. In order to secure the fixing degree, the process speed is reduced, while the power of 1.5kVA cannot be supplied to the fuser.

Therefore, in the case of small paper such as B5 and A4, at the moment when the transferred paper is released from the transfer device 406 and placed on the vacuum transfer device 407, the speed of the vacuum transfer device is reduced from 190 mm / sec to 90 mm / sec and fixing is performed. Same as speed. However, in this device, the distance between the transfer device and the fixing device is made as short as possible to make the device compact, so in the case of A3 paper, it cannot fit between the transfer point and the fixing device, and the speed of the vacuum transfer device is reduced. If so, the trailing edge of A3 is being transferred, and the paper will be braked, causing color misregistration.
Therefore, the baffle plate 40 is provided between the fixing device and the vacuum transfer device.
9 is provided, in the case of A3 paper, the baffle plate is tilted downward to draw a loop on the paper to lengthen the transport path, and the vacuum transport device is set to the same speed as the transfer speed, and the end of the paper is fixed after the transfer is completed. The speed difference is absorbed by reaching the device. Also, in the case of OHP, heat conduction is poor, so A3
The same as for paper.

In addition, in this device, not only full color but also black can be copied without lowering productivity, and in the case of black, fixing is possible even if the toner amount is small and the heat amount is small, so the fixing speed is 190 mm / sec. As it is, the speed is not reduced by the vacuum transfer device. This is the same as in the case of a single color toner layer such as a single color toner other than black because the fixing speed does not decrease. When the transfer is completed, the cleaner 405 scrapes off the toner remaining on the photosensitive material.

(III-2-2) Structure of Transfer Device The transfer device 406 has a structure as shown in FIG. 18 (a).

The transfer device of this device is characterized in that it has no mechanical paper support to prevent color unevenness, etc., and also controls the speed to increase the transfer speed.

Paper is ejected from the tray by the feed head 421, and the buckle chamber 422 driven by the paper path servo 423.
It is conveyed inside and is supplied to the transfer device through a registration gate 425 whose opening / closing is controlled by a registration gate solenoid 426. The arrival of the paper at the registration gate is detected by the pre-registration sensor 424. The transfer device is driven by driving the roller 433 via the timing belt with the servo motor 432, and is rotationally driven counterclockwise. The roller 434 is not particularly driven, and two timing chains or belts are hung between the rollers, and the chains are always elastically closed between the chains (the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction). A gripper bar 430 whose opening is opened by a solenoid at the entrance of the apparatus is provided, and the paper is conveyed by being held and pulled around at the entrance of the transfer apparatus. Conventionally, a Mylar sheet or mesh is attached to an aluminum or steel support to support the paper, so unevenness occurs due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, resulting in poor flatness for transfer and partial transfer efficiency. However, by using this gripper bar, it is not necessary to provide a paper support,
It is possible to prevent color unevenness.

The transfer device is not provided with a support for the paper to be conveyed, and the paper is thrown out to the outside by the centrifugal force at the roller portion. Therefore, in order to prevent this, the two rollers are evacuated to roll the paper. It will be conveyed while fluttering after passing the roller. At the transfer point, the paper is transferred by being electrostatically attracted to the photosensitive material on which the detacrotoron and the transfer corotron are arranged. After the transfer is completed, the position of the gripper home sensor 436 is detected at the transfer device outlet, the gripper bar opening is opened by a solenoid at an appropriate timing, the paper is separated, and the paper is transferred to the vacuum conveyance device 413.

Therefore, in the transfer device, one sheet of paper is conveyed by four rotations in the case of full color and three rotations in the case of three colors and transferred.

Timing control of the servo motor 432 will be described with reference to FIG. In the transfer device, the servo motor 432 may be controlled at a constant speed during transfer, and when the transfer is completed, the lead edge transferred to the paper may be controlled to be synchronized with the transfer point of the next latent image. On the other hand, the length of the photosensitive belt 41 is such that three A4 latent images and two A3 latent images are formed, and the length of the belt 435 is slightly longer than the length of A3 paper (approximately 4). / 3 times) is set.

Therefore, when making a color copy of A4 paper, the servo motor 432 is controlled at a constant speed when the latent image I _{1 of the} first color is transferred, and when the transfer is completed, the lead edge transferred to the paper becomes the second color. The servomotor is rapidly accelerated and controlled so as to be synchronized with the tip of the latent image I ₂ . In the case of A3 paper, when the transfer of the latent image I ₁ of the first color is completed, the servo motor is decelerated so that the lead edge transferred to the paper is synchronized with the tip of the latent image I ₂ of the second color. Control to wait.

(II-4) User interface (U / I) (A) Adoption of color display Fig. 19 is a diagram showing the mounting state and appearance of the user interface device using the display, and Fig. 20 is the mounting angle and height of the user interface. FIG.

The user interface supports an easy-to-understand dialogue between the operator and the machine, and must be capable of simple operation and impressing the operator with necessary information while clarifying the relation of information. Therefore, in the present invention, an original user interface corresponding to the usage of the user is created, which is easy for a beginner to understand, does not bother an expert, and is capable of direct operation when selecting the content of a function. The aim of operability is to convey information to the operator more accurately and more quickly by using colors, and to concentrate operations in one place as much as possible.

If a copier has a variety of functions and is highly reliable, it will be highly evaluated as a device, but if those functions are difficult to use, even if it has excellent functions, its value will drop extremely. Conversely, it becomes an expensive device. Therefore, even a high-performance model is difficult to use, and the overall evaluation of the device will be significantly reduced. From this point of view, the user interface becomes a factor that largely determines whether or not the device is easy to use. Especially, as the copying machine becomes multifunctional in recent years, the operability of the user interface becomes a problem. .

In order to improve such operability, the user interface of the present invention is provided with a monitor of a 12-inch color display 501 and a hard control panel 502 beside it as shown in FIG. The color display is devised to provide the user with a menu that is easy to see and understand, and a color display 501 is combined with an infrared touch board 503 to enable direct access with a soft button on the screen. Further, the operation contents are efficiently distributed to the hard buttons of the hard control panel 502 and the soft buttons displayed on the screen of the color display 501, which enables the operation to be simplified and the menu screen to be efficiently configured.

Color display 501 and hard control panel 502
As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, a monitor control / power supply board 504, a video engine board 505, a CRT driver board 506, and the like are mounted on the back side of FIG. As shown in c), the color display 501 has such an angle that it faces the center further than the surface of the color display 501.

Further, the color display 501 and the hard control panel 502 are not directly mounted on the base machine (copier main body) 507 as shown in the drawing, but are supported by the base machine 507.
The 508 is set up and mounted on it. If a stand-type color display 501 is adopted instead of the conventional console panel, it is shown in FIG. 20 (a).
Since it can be installed three-dimensionally above the base machine 507 as shown in,
By arranging at the right rear corner of the base machine 507 as shown in FIG. 20 (a), the size of the copying machine can be designed without considering the console panel, and the apparatus can be made compact. it can.

In a copying machine, the height of the platen, that is, the height of the apparatus is designed to be a suitable waist height for setting a document, and this height regulates the height of the apparatus. Since the conventional console panel is attached to the top of the copier, it is easy to operate because it is almost waist-high and close to your hands, but it is a distance from your eyes to select functions and set execution conditions. The operation unit and the display unit of will be arranged. On the other hand, in the user interface of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 20 (b), the position is higher than the platen, that is, closer to the eye level. It will be on the right side and it will be easy to operate. Moreover, by making the mounting height of the display close to the eye level, the lower side thereof can be effectively utilized as a mounting space for an option kit such as a control board of the user interface, a memory card device, and a key counter. Therefore, a structural change for mounting the memory card device is not necessary, the memory card device can be additionally equipped without changing the appearance, and at the same time, the mounting position and height of the display can be easily seen. Further, the display may be fixed at a predetermined angle, but it goes without saying that a structure capable of changing the angle may be adopted.

(B) System Configuration FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a user interface module configuration, and FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a user interface hardware configuration.

The module configuration of the user interface of the present invention is
A video display module 51 for controlling the display screen of the color display 501 as shown in FIG.
1, the edit pad 513, the edit pad interface module 512 that inputs and outputs information from the memory card 514, and controls the system UIs 517 and 519, the subsystem 515, and the touch screen 5
03, the control panel 502 is connected to the video display module 511.

The edit pad interface module 512
Input X and Y coordinates from the edit pad 513 and jobs and X and Y coordinates from the memory card 514, send video map display information to the video display module 511, and send UI control signals to and from the video display module 511. Are given and received.

By the way, to specify the area, specify the area on the original with red or blue marker and specify the marker to perform trimming or color conversion,
There are two points specified by the coordinates of the rectangular area, and a closed loop specification traced by the edit pad, but there is no particular data for the marker specification, and the two points specification has little data, whereas the closed loop specification is a large area to be edited. Capacity data is needed. This data is edited by IPS, but there is a large amount of data to transfer at high speed. Therefore,
Such X and Y coordinate data is configured to use a dedicated transfer line to the IIT / IPS516, in addition to a general data transfer line.

The video display module 511 inputs vertical and horizontal input points (coordinate positions of the touch screen) of the touch screen 503 to recognize the button ID, and inputs the button ID of the control panel 502. And system UI 517,
It sends a button ID to 519 and receives a display request from system UI 517, 519. Further, the subsystem (ESS) 515 is a printer controller connected to, for example, a workstation or a host CPU and used when the apparatus is used as a laser printer. In this case, touch screen 503
Information of the control panel 502 and the keyboard (not shown) is directly transferred to the subsystem 515, and the contents of the display screen are sent from the subsystem 515 to the video display module 511.

System UI 517, 519 is a master controller 518, 520
Information about the copy mode and machine state is exchanged with. Corresponding to FIG. 4 described above, one of the system UIs 517, 519 is SYS of SYS remote shown in FIG.
The UI module 81, and the other is the MCB UI module 86 of the MCPB remote shown in FIG.

The user interface of the present invention is composed of two control boards consisting of UICB521 and EPIB522 as hardware as shown in FIG. 26, and the function is roughly divided into two corresponding to the above module configuration. And UICB52
1 controls the UI hardware and edit pad 5
2 to drive 13 and memory card 514, and to process touchscreen 503 input and write to CRT 2
6 CPUs (eg Intel 8085 and 6845 equivalents) are used. In addition, EPIB522 has a 16-bit CPU (eg Intel 80C196KA) because the 8-bit drawing area is not sufficient. , And the drawing data in the bitmap area is transferred to the UICB521 by DMA to distribute the functions.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the structure of the UICB. UICB is the CP above
In addition to U, has CPU534 (equivalent to Intel 8051, for example), C
The CC531 is connected to the high-speed communication line L-NET or the communication line of the optional keyboard to control the communication with the CPU534 and the CCC531, and the CPU534 is also used for the drive of the touch screen. The touch screen signal is taken into the CUP 532 from the CPU 534 through the CCC 531 as the coordinate position information, and the CPU 532 recognizes and processes the button ID. It also connects to the control panel through input port 551 and output port 552, and receives video data at 1Mbps with 1MHz clock from EPIB522 and subsystem (ESS) through subsystem interface 548, receiver 549, and driver 550, at 9600bps. It is possible to exchange commands and status information.

As the memory, the boot RO that stores the bootstrap
In addition to M535, it has frame ROMs 538 and 539, RAM 536, bitmap RAM 537, and V-RAM 542. With frame ROM538
539 is a memory that stores display screen data in a software-friendly data structure that is not a bitmap. When a display request is sent via L-NET, the CPU 532 first uses RAM536 as a work area. Drawing data is generated in the V-RAM542 by the DMA541.
Written in. Also, the bitmap data is DMA5
40 is transferred from EPIB 522 to bitmap RAM 537 and written. The character generator 544 is for graphic tiles and the text character generator 543 is for character tiles. The V-RAM 542 is managed by a tile code. The tile code is composed of 24 bits (3 bytes), 13 bits for tile type information, 2 bits for identification information from text, graphic or bitmap.
Bits are used for blink information, 5 bits for tile color information, and 3 bits for background or foreground information. The CRT controller 533 is
The display screen is expanded based on the tile code information written in the V-RAM 542, and the video data is CR-processed through the shift register 545, the multiplexer 546, and the color palette 547.
I am sending it to T. Drawing of the bitmap area is switched by the shift register 545.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the structure of the EPIB. The EPIB has a 16-bit CPU (for example, 80C196KA of Intel Corporation) 555, a boot page code ROM 556, an OS page code ROM 557, an area memory 558, and a RAM 559 used as a work area. Then, the interface 561, the driver 562,
Bitmap data is transferred to the UICB via the driver / receiver 563, commands and status information are transferred, and X, Y coordinate data is transferred to the IPS via the high-speed communication interface 564 and driver 565. Reading / writing on the memory card 525 is performed through the interface 560. Therefore, when the edit area designation information or the copy mode information of the closed loop is input from the edit pad 524 or the memory card 525, the information is appropriately sent to the UICB through the interface 561 and the driver 562, and the high speed communication interface 564 and the driver 565. Transferred to IPS respectively.

(C) Display screen configuration Even when a display is adopted as a user interface, a large display area is required in order to provide information corresponding to multi-functionality. It has the aspect that it is difficult to deal with it. When a compact size display is adopted, it is difficult to provide all necessary information on one screen not only because of the problem of display density, but also because the screen is easy for the operator to see and understand.

In the user interface of the present invention, a display having a compact size is adopted, and the display screen and its control are devised therein. In particular, the color display has a compact size, taking advantage of the fact that it can adopt various display modes by controlling the color, brightness, and other display attributes, compared to the LEDs and liquid crystal displays used in console panels. However, various measures have been taken to make the display easy to understand.

For example, the information displayed on the screen is roughly classified and divided into a plurality of screens, and in each screen, detailed information is popped up and omitted from the primary screen to concisely configure the screen with the minimum necessary information. Are devised so that On the screen containing a plurality of information, the features of color display and highlighting are provided so that the necessary information can be easily recognized and identified on the screen.

(A) Screen layout Fig. 25 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display screen. Fig. 25 (a) shows the configuration of the basic copy screen, and Fig. 25 (b) shows a pop-up screen expanded to the basic copy screen. FIG. 7C is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the paint 1 screen for creative editing.

In the user interface of the present invention, a basic copy screen for setting a copy mode as shown in FIG. 25 is displayed as an initial screen. The screen for setting the copy mode is a soft control panel which is divided into a message area A and a pathway B as shown in FIG.

Message area A uses the top three lines of the screen,
Predetermined messages are displayed for the first line for the state message, for the second line to the third line for the guide message when there is a contradiction in function selection, for the message regarding the abnormal state of the device, and for the warning information message.
In addition, the right end of the message area A is a number display area, in which the set number of copies and the number of copies in progress input by the ten keys are displayed.

Pathway B is an area for selecting various functions,
It has each path of basic copy, aided feature, marker edit, business edit, freehand edit, creative edit, and tool, and a pathway tab C is displayed corresponding to each pathway. In addition, each pathway has a pop-up to improve operability. The pathway B includes a soft button D that is an option and selects a function when touched, an icon (picture) E that changes according to the selected function and displays the function, an indicator F that displays a reduction ratio, and the like. Those displayed and popped up by the soft button D are marked with a pop-up mark G of Δ. Then, by touching the pathway tab C, the pathway can be opened, and by touching the soft button D, the function can be selected. The selection of the function by touching the soft button D is designed so as to be operated sequentially from the upper left to the lower right in consideration of operability.

As described above, the basic copy screen and others are separated to maximize the commonality with other models and the hard console panel, and the edit screen provides screens and functions that match the operator's skill level. It has a multiple layer structure. Furthermore, by combining such a screen configuration and a pop-up function, a highly versatile screen is provided, such as displaying a high-performance or complicated function in one screen in a pop-up.

The pop-up has detailed setting information for a specific function. By providing a pop-up open function and popping up the detailed setting information as needed, the screen configuration of each pathway can be viewed easily and simply. I am doing something. The pop-up opens when you touch the soft button with the pop-up mark. Then, when the close button or the cancel button is selected, the all clear button is pressed, or when the all clear is applied by the auto clear function, it is closed. FIG. 25B shows the state of the screen in which the pop-up is opened by touching the scaling soft button in the reduction / enlargement function.

In the basic copy screen, when the creative edit pathway tab is touched, the screen changes to the creative edit pathway screen, and the screen of Paint 1 is shown in FIG. 25 (c). In this screen,
It has a bitmap area H and a guidance message area I. As the bitmap area H, the upper left of the screen is used, and when an editing area is designated on the edit pad, the area can be displayed in black and white as a bitmap. In addition, the guidance message area I is
The lower left part of the screen is used to guide the user in response to editing work, which changes depending on the work. On the screen,
These bitmap area H and guidance message area I
The area other than the message area A at the top of the screen is used as a work area.

(B) Basic copy screen As shown in Fig. 25 (a), the basic copy path has soft buttons (choices) for selecting each function of color mode, paper selection, reduction / enlargement, copy image quality, color balance, and job program. In addition to the above, it also has marker way, business edit, freehand edit, creative edit, and additional feature and tool pathway tabs. This passway is an initial passway, and is displayed at the time of auto clear after power-on or all clear button on.

For the color mode, select one color from 12 colors: full color (4 pass color) to copy with Y, M, C and K 4 types of toner, 3 pass color to copy with 3 types of toner except K. It has a choice of single color, black, black / red, and the default automatically selected can be set arbitrarily. Here, since the single color and black / red options have detailed setting items, the items are popped up.

Paper selection has automatic paper selection (APS), trays 1, 2, and cassettes 3 and 4. APS is established when a specific magnification is set for reduction and enlargement, and automatic magnification (AMS) is set. If not, it does not hold. The default is APS.

Zoom in / zoom out is 100%, AMS that sets the magnification from the paper size and original size when the paper is selected, has a variable magnification option, the magnification set in the indicator on the top, the calculated magnification, Or, Auto is displayed. With variable magnification, the magnification can be set in the range of 50% to 400% in 1% increments, and the vertical and horizontal magnifications can be set independently (magnification). Therefore, these detailed setting items are pop-up expanded. The default is 100%.

As described above, the reduction / enlargement is performed in the sub-scanning direction (X direction) by changing the scan speed, and in the main scanning direction (Y direction) by changing the reading method from the line memory of the IPS.

For copy image quality, automatic density adjustment is performed for black-and-white originals, and automatic color balance adjustment is performed for color originals. There is also a manual option that allows 7-step density control by pop-up. Done.

For color balance, the color to be reduced on the copy is designated from Y, M, C, B, G, and R by pop-up, and the control is performed in IPS.

The option of the job program is valid only when the memory card is inserted in the slot of the reading device. In this mode, a job can be read from the memory card and a job can be written to the memory card by a popup. For example, a memory card having a capacity of 32 kbytes that can store up to 8 jobs is used, and all jobs except the film projector mode are programmable.

(C) Aided feature screen The aided feature pass way has soft buttons (choices) for selecting each function of copy output, copy sharpness, copy contrast, copy position, film projector, page programming, job program, and binding margin. In addition to that, it has marker way, business edit, freehand edit, creative edit, basic copy, and tool way tabs.

Copy output has a choice of output to the top tray or sort mode. The default is the top tray, this item is not displayed if the sorter is not equipped.

Copy sharpness is standard and 7 by pop-up
It has a choice between a manual that can control steps and a photo that is classified into photographs, characters (characters), prints, and photographs / characters by a popup, and the control is performed in IPS. The default can be set arbitrarily.

For the copy contrast, a 7-step contrast control can be selected. The copy position has the option of the auto center function that puts the center of the copy image on the center of the paper by default.

The film projector is a mode to copy from various films as explained in another section, and pops up 35mm negative and 35mm positive by the projector, 35mm negative on the platen, 6cm x 6cm slide and 4 "
Has a choice of × 5 ″ slides.

The page programming has a cover that attaches a cover to a copy, an insert that inserts a blank or colored paper between copies, a color mode that can be set in a color mode for each page of an original, and a paper selection that allows a tray to be selected for each page of the original. This item is not displayed without ADF.

The binding margin can be set in the range of 0 to 30 mm in 1 mm increments. 1
Only one place can be specified for the manuscript. The binding margin is the amount from the leading edge of the paper to the leading edge of the image area,
The main scanning direction is generated by a shift operation using the IPS line buffer, and the sub-scanning direction is generated by shifting the IIT scan timing.

(D) Editing screen and tool screen The editing screen has four pathways: marker editing, business editing, freehand editing, and creative editing.

The marker edit pathway and the freehand edit pathway have options for each function related to extraction, deletion, coloring (mesh / line / solid), and color conversion, and also have a basic way, an aided feature, and a tool way tab.

Business editing pathways are for extracting, deleting, coloring (net /
It has a selection of functions for line / solid), color conversion, color painting, logo insertion, and binding margins, and also has a basic copy, an aided feature, and a pathway tab for tools like the marker edit pathway.

Creative editing pathways are extraction, deletion, coloring (shading / line / solid), color conversion, color painting, logo insertion, binding margin, negative / positive inversion, embedding composition, watermark composition, paint, mirror image, repeat, enlarged continuous shooting. , Partial movement, corner /
Center movement, manual / auto zoom, manual /
It has a selection of functions related to auto magnification, color mode, color balance adjustment, page continuous shooting, color composition, and basic copy like the marker edit pathway.
It has an Aided Feature and Tools Pathway tab.

The tool pathway is entered by the key operator and the customer engineer by entering the PIN code, and the auditron, machine initial value setup,
Default selection of each function, color registration, fill type registration, fine adjustment of registered color, preset of various machine options, film projector scan area setting, audio tone (tone type, volume), paper transport system and various other ( Auto clear etc.) timer set, billing meter, dual language setting, diagnostic mode, maximum value adjustment, memory card format with each function options.

The default selections are Color Mode, Paper Selection, Copy Density, Copy Sharpness, Copy Contrast, Page Programming Paper Tray, Single Color Colors, Colored Palette Colors and Nets, Logotype Patterns, Binding Amount, Color. Balance is the target.

(E) Other screen control In the user interface, when a jam occurs, the screen corresponding to the jam is displayed by monitoring the execution status of the constant copy. Also, in the function settings,
It has an information screen for the screen currently displayed and can be appropriately displayed.

The drawing display is 3m wide except the bitmap area.
Tile display with m (8 pixels) and height 6 mm (16 pixels) is adopted, with 80 tiles horizontally and 25 tiles vertically.
The bitmap area is displayed with 151 pixels vertically and 216 pixels horizontally.

As described above, in the user interface of the present invention, the display screen is switched according to each mode such as basic copy, aided feature, and editing, and a menu for function selection and execution condition setting is displayed in each mode. At the same time, by touching the soft button, options can be specified and execution condition data can be input. In addition, depending on the options of the menu, detailed items are displayed in a pop-up (overlapping display or window display) to expand the display content. As a result, even if there are many selectable functions and setting conditions, the display screen can be refreshed and operability can be improved.

(D) Hard control panel The hard control panel is mounted on the right side of the color display as shown in Fig. 20 at an angle so that it faces the center further than the screen.
All clear, stop, interrupt, start, information, auditron, language buttons are attached.

The ten-key button is used for setting the number of copies, inputting codes and data in the diagnosis mode, and inputting a personal identification number when using a tool, and is disabled while a job is occurring or a job is interrupted.

The all clear button is used to return all of the set copy modes to the defaults, and to return to the basic copy screen except when the tool screen is open.While the interrupt job is being set, the copy mode returns to the default. , Interrupt mode is not released.

The stop button is used to interrupt the job at a break in copying during job execution, and to stop the machine after ejecting copy paper. In the diagnostic mode, it is used to stop (interrupt) input / output check.

The interrupt button is used to enter the interrupt mode in the primary job except during the interruption of the job and to return to the primary job in the interrupt job. If this button is operated during the execution of the primary job, the reserved state is entered, and the job is interrupted or terminated at the break of the copy paper discharge, and the interrupted job is entered.

The start button is used for starting a job and resuming it after interruption. In the diagnostic mode, it is used for inputting and saving code values and data values and starting input / output. If the start button is scanned during the remaining heat of the machine, the machine will auto start at the end of the remaining heat.

The information button consists of an on button and an off button, and is in a state that can be accepted except during copying. It is used to display the information screen for the screen currently displayed by the on button and save it by the off button. Is.

The Auditron button is operated to input a personal identification number when starting a job.

The language button is operated when switching the language of the display screen. Therefore, each display screen has data in multiple languages and can be selected.

In addition to the above buttons, an LED (light emitting diode) lamp is appropriately attached to the hard control panel to display the operation state of the buttons.

(II-5) Film image reading device (A) Schematic configuration of film image reading device As shown in FIG. 2, a film image reading device is a film projector (F / P) 64 and a mirror unit (M / M). U) consists of 65.

(A-1) Structure of F / P As shown in FIG. 26, the F / P 64 has a housing 601, and the operation confirmation lamp 602,
A manual lamp switch 603, an auto focus / manual focus changeover switch (AF / MF changeover switch) 604, and a manual focus operation switch (M / F operation switch) 605a and 605b are provided.
Further, the housing 601 has an opening / closing portion 606 that can be opened and closed. The original film 6 is placed on the upper and side surfaces of the opening / closing section 606.
The film holding case 607 holding the 33 is provided with holes 608 and 609 each having a size that can be inserted into the housing 601 from the vertical or horizontal direction according to the way of photographing the subject recorded on the original film 633. There is. A hole (not shown) through which the film holding case 607 can project is also formed on the opposite side of these holes 608 and 609.
The opening / closing part 606 is rotatably attached to the housing 601 by a hinge, or detachably attached to the housing 601. By making the opening / closing portion 606 openable and closable, when a small foreign matter enters the housing 601 through the holes 608 and 609, the foreign matter can be easily removed.

As the film holding case 607, a case for 35 mm negative film and a case for positive film are prepared. Therefore, F / P64 is able to support these films. Also, F / P64 is 6 cm × 6 cm or 4 inch
It is designed to be compatible with negative film of 5 inches. In that case, this negative film is brought into close contact with the platen glass 31 between the M / U 65 and the platen glass 31.

As shown in FIG. 29, a projection lens holding member 611 holding a projection lens 610 is slidably supported on the right side surface of the housing 601 in the drawing.

Further, in the housing 601, a light source lamp 613 including a reflector 612 and a halogen lamp is arranged coaxially with the projection lens 610. A cooling fan 614 for cooling the lamp 613 is provided near the lamp 613. Further, on the right side of the lamp 613, an aspherical lens 615 for converging the light from the lamp 613, a heat ray absorbing filter 616 for cutting light rays of a predetermined wavelength, and a convex lens 617 are coaxial with the projection lens 610. It is located above.

On the right side of the convex lens 617, for example, a correction filter holding that supports a correction filter 635 (a correction filter for one film is shown in the figure) for adjusting the film density for 35 mm negative film and positive film, for example. Member 61
8 and a motor 619 for driving the correction filter holding member 618.
And the first and second position detection sensors 620 and 621 that detect the rotational position of the correction filter holding member 618 and the drive motor 619.
And a control device (not shown in the figure) provided to control the automatic correction filter exchanging device. Then, among the correction filters 635 supported by the correction filter holding member 618, the correction filter 635 corresponding to the original film 633 is automatically selected so as to be aligned with the use position coaxial with each lens such as the projection lens 610. I have to. The correction filter 635 of this automatic correction filter exchange device can be arranged at any place on the optical axis of the projection light, for example, between the platen glass 31 and the imaging unit 37.

Further, the light emitting device 623 and the light receiving device 624 for the auto focus sensor which are interlocked with the projection lens holding member 611, and the projection lens
An autofocus device including a sliding motor 625 that slides the projection lens holding member 611 of 610 with respect to the housing 601 is provided. Film holding case 607 has hole 6
08 or when inserted into the housing 601 through hole 609,
Original film 6 supported by this film holding case 607
33 is a correction filter holding member 618, a light emitter 623 and a light receiver
It is supposed to be located between 624 and. Original film 6
A film cooling fan 626 for cooling the original film 633 is provided near the setting position of 35.

The power source of the F / P 64 is provided separately from the power source of the base machine 30, but is housed in the base machine 30.

(A-2) Structure of M / U As shown in FIG. 27, the mirror unit 65 is a bottom plate.
627 and a cover 628 whose one end is rotatably attached to the bottom plate 627. A pair of support pieces 629 and 629 are pivotally mounted between the bottom plate 627 and the cover 628, and these support pieces 629 and 629 form an angle of 45 degrees with the bottom plate 627 of the cover 628 when the cover 628 is fully opened. Cover to be
It is designed to support the 628.

A mirror 630 is provided on the back surface of the cover 628. A large opening is formed in the bottom plate 627, and a Fresnel lens 631 and a diffusion plate 632 are provided so as to close the opening.

As shown in FIG. 29, these Fresnel lenses 63
The 1 and the diffusion plate 632 are made of one acrylic plate, and the Fresnel lens 631 is formed on the front surface of the acrylic plate and the diffusion plate 632 is formed on the back surface. The Fresnel lens 631 has a function of preventing the peripheral portion of the image from becoming dark by converting the projection light, which is reflected by the mirror 630 and diffuses, into parallel light. The diffusion plate 632 diffuses a small amount of parallel light so that the line sensor 226 cannot detect the shadow of the SELFOC lens 224 in the imaging unit 37, which is formed by the parallel light from the Fresnel lens 631. It has a function.

The mirror unit 65 is folded and stored in a predetermined storage place when color copying by the F / P 64 is not performed. Then, the mirror unit 65 is opened at the time of use and placed at a predetermined place on the platen glass 31 of the base machine 30.

(B) Main Functions of Film Image Reading Device The film image reading device has the following main functions.

(B-1) Automatic correction filter exchange function The halogen lamp that is generally used as the light source lamp 613 in the F / P 64 has a spectral characteristic that it generally has a large amount of red (R) and a small amount of blue (B). Since this lamp 613
When projecting a film with, the projected light is red (R) and green (G).
The blue and blue (B) ratio is affected by the spectral characteristics of the lamp 613. Therefore, when the projection is performed using the halogen lamp, the spectral characteristic needs to be corrected.

On the other hand, there are many kinds of films for recording images, such as not only kinds of negative films and positive films but also kinds of negative films or positive films themselves. These films have different spectral characteristics. For example, the negative film has an orange color, and the R transmittance is high, but the B transmittance is low. Therefore, in the negative film, it is necessary to correct the spectral characteristics so that the amount of B light is increased.

Therefore, the F / P 64 is provided with a correction filter for correcting such spectral characteristics.

F / P64 allows these correction films to be replaced automatically. The replacement of the correction filter is performed by the above-described correction filter automatic replacement device. That is, when a 2-bit command signal is output from the microprocessor (CPU) in the system (SYS) so that the correction filter corresponding to the original film 633 is set at the use position, the control device causes the first and second control signals to be output. Position sensor 62
The drive motor 619 is driven and controlled so that the 2-bit signal from 0,621 matches the signal of the CPU. And the sensor 620,621
When the signal from the CPU matches the signal from the CPU, the control device stops the motor 619. When the motor 619 is stopped, the correction filter corresponding to the original film is automatically set to the use position.

Therefore, the correction filter can be replaced easily and accurately.

(B-2) Original Film Insertion Direction Detection Function The original film 633 has insertion holes 608 and 60 formed in the opening / closing portion 606.
The manuscript film 633 can be inserted from any of the nine holes, that is, the manuscript film 633 can be mounted from two directions, that is, from the vertical direction and from the horizontal direction, depending on how the subject is imaged. In that case, a film detection switch is provided in at least one of the insertion holes 608 and 609. That is, at least one film detection switch is provided. When the film detection switch is provided on the hole 608 side but not on the hole 609 side, the film holding case 607 is turned on when the film is detected by inserting the film holding case 607 from the hole 608, and the detection signal is transmitted. Output. When there is this detection signal, the line sensor 226
The required area is set vertically, that is, the sub-scanning direction is set so that the projected image becomes the longitudinal direction. Further, when the film holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 609, this switch holds the off state, and thus does not output the detection signal. When there is no detection signal, the required area is set laterally, that is, the main scanning direction is set to the longitudinal direction of the projected image.

If the film detection switch is provided only on the hole 609 side, or if the film detection switch has both holes 60
Similarly, when the film holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 608, the necessary area of the line sensor 226 is such that the sub-scanning direction is the longitudinal direction of the projected image even when the film holding case 607 is provided on the 8,609 side. The ON / OFF signal of the film detection switch is set such that when the holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 609, the main scanning direction of the required area of the line sensor 226 is the longitudinal direction of the projected image.

(B-3) Auto Focus Function (AF Function) When the film holding case 607 is mounted on the F / P 64, the mounting position of the original film 633 requires accuracy of several tens of mm.
Therefore, it is necessary to focus after mounting the original film 633. When performing this focusing manually, the image of the original film 633 is projected on the diffusion plate 632 of the M / U 65 set at a predetermined position of the platen glass 31, and the projection lens holding member 611 is slid while watching the projected image. Must be done. In that case, the image projected on the diffusion plate 632 is extremely difficult to see, and it is very difficult to accurately focus.

Therefore, when the original film 633 is attached to the F / P64, the F / P6
4 makes it possible to focus automatically.

This AF function is performed by the above-mentioned AF device as follows.

By operating the keys on the display of U / 136 to enter the F / P mode, the light emitter 623 emits light, and in FIG. 26, the AF / MF selector switch 604 of the F / P 64 is selected to AF. As a result, the AF device becomes operable. As shown in FIG. 29, when the film case 607 containing the original film 633 is attached to the F / P 64, the light from the light emitting device 623 is reflected by the original film 633, and the reflected light is reflected. For AF, for example, a two-element type receiver 62
Detected by 4.

Then, the two elements of the light receiver 624 output to the CPU 634 a signal having a magnitude corresponding to the amount of reflected light detected by each of them. CPU6
Reference numeral 34 calculates the difference between these signals, and when the calculation result is not 0, outputs an output signal to drive the motor 625 in the direction in which the difference between the signals from the two elements becomes smaller. Therefore, the projection lens holding member 611 slides, and in conjunction with this, the light emitter 623 and the light receiver 624 both move. When the difference between the output signals from the two elements becomes 0, CPU634
Stops motor 625. When the motor 625 is stopped, it is in focus.

In this way, AF operation is performed. As a result, when the film case containing the original film is attached to the F / P 64, it is not necessary to manually focus each time. Therefore, not only is it time-consuming,
It is possible to prevent the failure of copying due to out of focus.

(B-4) Manual focus function (MF function) By switching the AF / MF switch 604 to MF, the lamp 613 is automatically turned on for a predetermined time, and manual focusing can be performed. MF operation is
This is performed by pressing the operation switches 605a and 605b while watching the image of the original film projected on the diffusion plate 632 of the mirror unit 65. This MF makes it possible to focus a specific portion of the film image.

(B-5) Manual lighting function of light source lamp By pressing the manual lamp switch 603, the lamp 613 can be unconditionally turned on. This switch is not normally used, but when backing up when copying an image recorded on a relatively thick object, when viewing a projected image for a long time during AF, or when checking for a lamp burnout, etc. Used for.

(B-6) Automatic magnification change and scan area automatic change function By setting the paper size with U / I36, the magnification can be set automatically. Also, U / I3
By selecting the type of original film in 6, the copy area can be automatically selected according to the film.

(B-7) Auto-sewing correction function The ROM of the CPU 634 generally contains the orange of each of the negative films FUJI (registered trademark), KODAK (registered trademark), and KONICA (registered trademark) ASA100, which are negative films used for photography. Density data of the mask is stored, and when these films are selected, the CPU 634 can automatically perform the shading correction based on the stored density data. In that case, it is not necessary to attach the base film of these films to F / P64.

Therefore, it is possible not only to save the labor of mounting the base film but also to prevent the base film from being mounted by mistake, and the management of the base film becomes unnecessary.

Further, in addition to these three types of films, the density data of the orange masks of the other films can be registered. This data is stored in the RAM in the copier system. In the case of this registered film, the sewing correction is automatically performed as in the case of the above-mentioned three types of films.

(B-8) Automatic image quality adjustment function It is possible to perform density adjustment and color balance adjustment automatically by making corrections such as Γ correction based on various characteristics such as the density characteristics of the original film and the exposure conditions during film shooting. I am trying.

(C) Image signal processing (C-1) Necessity of correction of image signal and principle of the correction Generally, the density range of the film is wider than the density range of the original. Further, even with the same film, the density range of the positive film is wider than that of the negative film, and thus the density range differs depending on the type of film.
Furthermore, the density range of the film depends on the shooting conditions of the original film, such as the exposure amount of the film, the density of the subject, or the brightness at the time of shooting. In fact, the subject density is widely distributed within the film density range.

Therefore, when an image recorded on such a film is to be copied by a copying machine that copies a document by reflected light, good reproducibility cannot be obtained by performing the same signal processing. Therefore, a good reproducibility is obtained by appropriately correcting the image reading signal so that the density of the main subject becomes appropriate.

FIG. 28 shows the density characteristics of a negative film and the principle of density correction. In this figure, the horizontal axis represents the exposure amount of the subject (corresponding to the subject density) on the right half,
The left half shows the density after the shading correction.
The upper half of the ordinate represents the video circuit output (approximately equal to the negative density), and the lower half represents the output copy density. That is, the first quadrant shows the density characteristics of the negative film, the second quadrant shows the relationship of the pseudo-compliance, and the third
The quadrant represents the Γ correction relationship, and the fourth quadrant represents the relationship between the subject exposure amount and the corrected output copy density.

The density characteristic of this negative film is shown by the line α in the first quadrant of FIG. 28. That is, the density of the negative film is high when the exposure amount from the subject is large, and the negative film density linearly decreases as the exposure amount from the subject decreases. When the exposure amount from the subject decreases to some extent, the linearity between the exposure amount from the subject and the negative film density disappears. When the exposure amount is small, for example, if the image recorded on the film is a human bust, the contrast between the face and the hair cannot be obtained. Further, even when the exposure amount is large, the inclination of the line α, that is, the value of Γ is smaller than 1, so that the copy becomes soft without the Γ correction.

For this reason, Γ correction is necessary.

Next, the principle of correction will be described with reference to FIG. The same figure third
An END curve β for Γ correction is set in the quadrant. The slope Γ ′ of the END curve β is set to Γ ′ = 1 / Γ so that the relationship between the exposure amount from the subject and the output copy density becomes a 45 ° linear relationship in the fourth quadrant. There is.

For example, in the case of the area a where the exposure amount from the subject is relatively large, if the density adjustment value set in the register of the shading correction circuit is a value represented by a straight line in the second quadrant, the density after shading correction is Becomes an area a '. The area of this area a'does not fall within the conversion range of the END curve β, and the portion of this area becomes white when copied. Therefore, the density adjustment value is shifted from a straight line to a straight line in the second quadrant so that the density after shading correction falls within the conversion range of the END curve β. By doing so, the relationship between the exposure amount from the subject and the output copy density follows the straight line of 45 degrees in the fourth quadrant, and the copy has the density having gradation.

Further, in the area b where the exposure amount from the subject is relatively small, the linearity between the exposure amount from the subject and the negative film density disappears. In this case, the density adjustment value of the shading correction circuit is set to a linear value in the second quadrant. Then, the END curve β represented by the line in the third quadrant is selected. By selecting the END curve β, the exposure amount from the subject and the output copy density can be represented by a straight line of 45 degrees in the fourth quadrant. That is, when the amount of exposure from the subject is in the area b, for example, if a person with black hair wears a brown hat, it is prevented that the hair and the hat have almost the same density, and You will be able to obtain a clear contrast.

In this way, the correction is performed so that the density of the subject becomes appropriate.

(C-2) Image signal processing method As shown in FIG. 29, the line sensor 226 reads the projected light of the image of the original film 633 in an analog manner as the light quantity for each of R, G, and B, and expresses it with this light quantity. The passed image signal is amplified to a predetermined level by the amplifier 231. The amplified image signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 235 and further converted from a light amount signal into a density signal by the log converter 238.

The image signal represented by the density is the shading correction circuit 23.
Shading correction is performed by 9. By this shading correction, the unevenness of the light amount of the SELFOC lens 224, the unevenness of the sensitivity of each pixel in the line sensor 226, the variation of the spectral characteristics of the correction filter and the lamp 613 and the variation of the light amount level, or the influence due to the change over time is removed from the image signal. .

Prior to performing this shading correction, first, when the original film is selected from the above-mentioned three types of films and the registered films, the correction filter is set to the positive film filter, and the lamp 613 is not attached to the original film 633. After reading the light amount signal from, the signal is amplified and converted into a digital signal, the data obtained based on the signal further converted into the density signal is stored in the line memory 240 as reference data. That is,
The imaging unit 37 is sampled by step-scanning 32 lines for each pixel of R, G, B, sends these sampling data to the CPU 634 through the line memory 240, and the CPU 634 calculates the average density value of the sampling data of 32 lines. , Take shading data. By taking the average in this way, the error is eliminated for each pixel.

Further, when the original film is mounted and the image of the original film is read, the CPU 634 calculates the density adjustment value DADj from the negative film density data stored in the ROM and sets it in the LSI register in the shading correction circuit 239. Rewrite the DADj value that has been written. Further, the CPU 634 adjusts the light amount of the lamp 613 and the gain of the amplifier 643 according to the selected film.

Then, the shading correction circuit 239 shifts the read density value by adding the DADj value to the actual data obtained by reading the original film. Further, the shading correction circuit 239 performs shading correction by subtracting the shading data for each pixel from the adjusted data.

If the film is not recorded in the ROM of the CPU 634 and is not registered in the system RAM, the base film is attached to obtain the density data of the film, and the DADj value is calculated from the obtained density data. There must be.

After the shading correction is completed, IIT32 sets IPS33 to R, G,
The density signal of B is output.

Then, the CPU 634 selects the END curve based on the actual data of the original film, and outputs a correction signal to perform the Γ correction based on the selected curve. With this correction signal, IPS33 performs Γ correction to correct the ambiguity of contrast that is caused by the fact that Γ of the original film is not 1 and the nonlinear characteristic.

(D) Operation procedure and signal timing The operation procedure and signal timing will be described with reference to FIG. The signal indicated by the broken line indicates that the signal may be used.

The operation of the F / P 64 is mainly performed by the U / I 36 of the base machine 30. That is, by operating the F / P operation key displayed on the screen of the U / I 36, the base machine 30 is set to the F / P mode. Assuming that the original film is one of the three types of films and the registered films, as shown in FIG. 30,
On the U / I36 display screen, "Please put the mirror unit and then select the film type" is displayed. Therefore, first open the M / U 65 and open the platen glass 31.
Set it to the specified position.

Then, when the film selection key on the screen is pressed, "Please wait without inserting film" is displayed on the screen. At the same time, the lamp 613 lights up, and the correction filter control (FC CONT) signal becomes (0, 0) to perform the FC operation. That is, the correction filter automatic conversion device operates to set the positive correction filter to the use position. When the correction filter is set, the replacement of the correction filter is completed. The signal goes LOW.

Collection of shading data for shading correction is triggered by the fact that it becomes LOW and that the lamp 613 lights up and 3 to 5 seconds have elapsed. When this shading data collection ends, FC CONT becomes (0, 1) with this end as a trigger, and the correction filter automatic conversion device operates to set the film correction filter to the use position. Also, with the shading correction as a trigger, the screen displays "Focusing, please insert film" and the lamp 613 goes out. Therefore, the film case 607 containing the original film 633 is attached to the F / P 64. This allows the light emitter 623
Light from is reflected by the film and the reflected light is detected by the receiver 624.

When the difference in the amount of received light between the two elements of the light receiver 624 is not 0, the motor 625 of the AF device operates and the focus is adjusted. That is, the AF operation is performed. When focusing is complete, F / P operation is ready The signal goes LOW. this After the signal goes LOW and After LOW for 1 second, "Ready to copy" is displayed on the screen. When you press the start key of U / I36, "Copying" is displayed on the screen and the lamp
When 613 lights up and the rise time of the lamp 613 is awaited, data collection for automatic concentration adjustment (A / E) is started. That is, density adjustment, color balance adjustment,
The imaging unit 37 scans once to obtain data for performing Γ correction and the like, and reads a part or all of the projected image.

Next, when in full color, the imaging unit
37 is scanned 4 times and copied. In that case, shading correction and density adjustment are automatically performed based on the shading data and the automatic density adjustment data. When the copying is completed, the lamp 613 goes out and the screen displays "Ready to copy". Therefore, when the start key is pressed again, a new copy is made. If you want to copy another image, you have to change the frame of the film. When changing the frame Becomes high and "focuses" on the screen.
Is displayed. And when a new frame is set,
AF operation is performed, and at the same time, Becomes low, and the screen displays "Ready to copy". After that, by pressing the start key,
Copying is done.

(III) Image input terminal (IIT) (III-1) Imaging unit drive mechanism FIG. 31 shows a perspective view of the imaging unit drive mechanism, and the imaging unit 37 is movable on the two slide shafts 202 and 203. Both ends are fixed to the wires 204 and 205. The wires 204 and 205 are wound around drive pulleys 206 and 207 and tension pulleys 208 and 209, and tension is applied to the tension pulleys 208 and 209 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The drive pulley
A reduction pulley 211 is attached to a drive shaft 210 to which 206 and 207 are attached, and is connected to an output shaft 214 of a stepping motor 213 via a timing belt 212. In addition,
Limit switches 215 and 216 are used for the imaging unit 37.
Is a sensor for detecting abnormal operation of
Reference numeral 217 is a sensor for setting the reference point of the document reading start position.

The reason why the stepping motor 213 is used to drive the imaging unit 37 is as follows. The imaging unit 37 must repeat four scans to obtain a single R, G, B, K color copy. In this case, how to reduce the synchronization deviation and the positional deviation within four scans is a major issue. To this end, the fluctuation of the stop position of the imaging unit 37 is suppressed and the arrival time from the home position to the registration position is reduced. It is important that the fluctuations be suppressed and that the scan speed fluctuations be reproducible. However, when the DC servo motor is used, it is difficult to suppress the fluctuation of the stop position of the imaging unit 37 and the fluctuation of the arrival time from the home position to the registration position, so the stepping motor 213 is adopted.

However, the stepping motor 213 generates more vibration and noise than the DC servo motor, and mechanical changes such as changes with time of the timing belt 212, wires 204 and 405, and viscous resistance between the slide pad and slide rails 202 and 203. Vibration also occurs due to instability factors. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to improve the image quality and speed of the image recording apparatus.

Therefore, in this embodiment, two slide shafts 202 (203) are provided in parallel, and as shown in FIG. 32, an angle is provided between the housing 37a of the imaging unit and the slide shaft 202 (203). By interposing the oil-containing pad P by 37b and the leaf spring 37c, the vibration of the imaging unit 37 in the main scanning direction is regulated.

(III-2) Stepping Motor Control Method FIG. 33A shows a driver circuit of the stepping motor 213. The motor windings are connected in a pentagonal shape, and the connection point is connected to the positive side or the negative side by two transistors each, and the bipolar drive is performed by 10 switching transistors. Further, the value of the current flowing through the motor is fed back, and the motor is driven while being controlled so that the current supplied to the motor is constant. The excitation sequence is, as shown in (b), the remaining 1 when the four phases are excited.
The phases are short-circuited to the same positive or negative potential.

FIG. 34 (a) shows a scan cycle of the imaging unit 37 driven by the stepping motor 213. The figure shows the imaging unit when scanning and returning at a magnification of 50%, that is, at maximum movement speed.
It shows the relationship between the speed of 37, that is, the frequency applied to the stepping motor and the time. At the time of acceleration, as shown in (b), for example, it is multiplied by 259 Hz, and is increased up to about 11 to 12 KHz. By thus providing the pulse train with regularity, pulse generation is simplified. And
As shown in (a), the trapezoidal profile is created by accelerating in a regular step shape at 259 pps / 3.9 ms. Also,
A pause time is provided between the scan operation and the return operation and between the return operation and the scan operation so as to wait for the vibration of the IIT mechanical system to decrease and to synchronize with the image output in the IOT.

On the other hand, when reading a color original, since the imaging unit 37 is scanned four times to read out signals of four colors, how to reduce the color misregistration between the four colors is a big problem. It is important to suppress the fluctuation of the stop position of the imaging unit 37, the fluctuation of the arrival time from the home position to the registration position, and the fluctuation of the scanning speed.

FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining the cause of the color shift caused by the occurrence of the vibration, and FIG. 35 (a) shows that the position where the imaging unit scans and stops at the original position is different by ΔL. The color misregistration occurs because the time to the registration position is deviated at the next start. Also, (b)
As shown in the figure, due to the transient vibration of the stepping motor (speed fluctuation until reaching a steady speed) within 4 scans,
Color misregistration occurs with a time difference Δt until reaching the registration position. Further, FIG. 7C shows the variation in the constant-speed scanning characteristic after passing through the registration position to the tail edge, and the variation in the speed variation in the first scan is larger than the variation in the speed variation in the second to fourth scans. Is shown. Therefore, in this embodiment, at the time of the first scanning, the yellow with less noticeable color misregistration is developed.

(III-3) IIT control method The IIT remote has sequence control for various copy operations, service support function, self-diagnosis function, and fail-safe function. IIT sequence control is divided into normal scan, sample scan, and initialization. Various commands and parameters for IIT control are S
It is sent by serial communication from YS Remote 71.

FIG. 36 (a) shows a timing chart of a normal scan. Scan length data is 0 depending on the paper length and magnification.
~ 432mm (1mm step) is set, scan speed is set by magnification (50% ~ 400%), and prescan length (distance from stop position to registration position) data is also set by magnification (50% ~ 400%). Is set. When receiving the scan command, the FL-ON signal turns on the fluorescent lamp and the SCN-RDY signal turns on the motor driver to generate a shading correction pulse WHT-REF after a predetermined timing to start scanning. When you reach the cashier position,
The image area signal IMG-AREA becomes low level for a predetermined scan length, and in synchronization with this, the IIT-PS signal is output to the IPS.

FIG. 36 (b) shows a timing chart of the sample scan. The sample scan is used for color detection during color conversion, color balance correction when using F / P, and shading correction. Based on the stop position from the registration position, the moving speed, the number of minute movements, and the step interval data,
After stopping at a target sample position after performing a primary stop or a micro operation a plurality of times, stop.

FIG. 36 (c) shows a timing chart of initialization. When the power is turned on, a command is received from the SYS remote to check the registration sensor, check the operation of the imaging unit with the registration sensor, and correct the home position of the imaging unit with the registration sensor.

(III-4) Imaging Unit FIG. 37 is a sectional view of the imaging unit 37,
The original 220 has an image surface to be read on the platen glass 31.
The imaging unit 37 is set downward, and the lower surface of the imaging unit 37 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, and the daylight color fluorescent lamp 222 and the reflecting mirror 223 expose the document surface. And the manuscript 220
The erecting equal-magnification image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 226 by passing the reflected light from the SELFOC lens 224 and the cyan filter 225. Selfoc lens
Reference numeral 224 denotes a compound eye lens composed of four rows of fiber lenses. Since it is bright and has a high resolution, it has the advantages that the power of the light source can be kept low and that it is compact. A circuit board 227 including a CCD sensor drive circuit, a CCD sensor output buffer circuit, etc. is mounted on the imaging unit 37. 228 is a lamp heater, 229
Indicates a control signal flexible cable, and 230 indicates a lighting power supply flexible cable. Line sensor 226
Or the fixed housing 37a, the circuit board 2
Circuit board 227 and housing 37a
A heat radiating plate 250 having a protrusion 250b between them is attached, and a punching metal 251 for electromagnetic shield is attached so as to cover the heat radiating plate 250. A drive IC chip 252 is arranged on the circuit board 227, and the line sensor 226 is electrically connected to the circuit board 227 by connection pins 226a.

FIG. 38 shows a detailed view of the daylight fluorescent lamp 222. A reflective film 222b is formed on the inner surface of the glass tube 222a except for the surface having an aperture angle α (about 50 degrees), and the fluorescent light is further formed on the inner surface. film
222c is formed. As a result, the amount of light of the fluorescent lamp 222 is efficiently applied to the document surface, thereby reducing power consumption. In addition, a fluorescent film 222c is formed on the entire inner surface,
The reason why the reflection film 222b is formed on the surface other than the surface of the aperture angle is to reduce the peak of the bright line of mercury although the light amount is reduced. A lamp heater 228 and a heat sink (heat dissipation member) 222d are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the fluorescent lamp 222, and the lamp heater 22 is detected by detecting the temperature of the thermistor 222e.
8 and cooling fan are controlled.

(III-5) Increasing the amount of light on the cashier side FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining the method for increasing the amount of light on the cashier side of the present invention, and FIG. 40 is a perspective view of the imaging unit of the present invention.

An example of a fluorescent lamp as a light source for illumination used in this device will be described with reference to FIGS. 39 and 40.

The daylight color fluorescent lamp 222 used in the present invention uses, for example, side touch type bases 222-1 and 222-2, which are holding members.
It is fixed by fitting it to 235 and 236. The diameter of the fluorescent lamp is 15.5φ,
The end to end of the fluorescent lamp is 410 mm, and the platen surface is A3 size, that is, the width read by the image sensor is 300 mm. Reference numeral 223 denotes a reflector for reflecting the light from the fluorescent lamp and irradiating it on the document surface, and is housed together with the fluorescent lamp in a metal case 251 for electromagnetic shielding.

FIG. 41 and FIG. 42 are views showing the light quantity distribution in the main scanning direction of the daylight color fluorescent lamp.

As shown in FIG. 41, the light amount distribution of the fluorescent lamp has a substantially flat characteristic over the entire region, but the light amount is reduced at both ends thereof. This is, for example, as shown in FIG. 42, the light quantity at the end A is FL ₁ , and 10 mm from the end A.
Comparing the two with the light amount on the inner side B being FL ₂ , a light amount difference of 20% occurs between the two. Therefore, the light amount is increased by 20% with respect to the end portion inside 10 mm.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 39, if the document set reference position (registration position) that serves as a reference for reading the document size and reducing / enlarging is the rear side lead edge side corner (left rear) position P, Move the lamp 222 to the corner register side by about 10 mm, and from the rear end of the fluorescent lamp to the corner register position.
If the length from the end of the fluorescent lamp on the front side to the end of the platen surface is set to 60 mm, the amount of light on the corner registration side can be increased by about 20% as described with reference to FIG. This is performed by moving the holding member 235 of the rear side base 222-1 of the fluorescent lamp 222 to the position shown by the broken line in the figure, as can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. Of course, at this time, the holding member 236 of the front side base 222-2 is moved in the same direction by the same distance.

Next, the relationship between the light quantity distribution and the image quality will be described with reference to FIG.

When the fluorescent lamp is moved to the cash register side as described above, the light amount distribution in the main scanning direction becomes higher on the cash register side as shown in FIG. 43 (a). As a result, the output light intensity changes from C _{1 in the} figure with use.
If reduced to C _2, the side opposite to the register side although lower than the threshold value, the cash register side can be prevented from becoming less than the threshold, it is possible to prevent a decrease in S / N . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 43 (b), when the A3 original magnification is 100%, the grainy positive image quality deterioration occurs in the shaded portion of the drawing which is lower than the threshold value at the end opposite to the registration side. On the cash register side, as shown in FIG. 43 (c), in the case of a small original such as B5 or A4, there is no influence because the original does not reach the portion where the image quality of graininess is deteriorated, and further, FIG. 43 (d). 400% as shown in
In the case of such enlargement copy, the original is small, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration of image quality.

In the above embodiment, an example in which a fluorescent lamp is used as a light source has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other light sources such as a halogen lamp.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by moving the illumination light source to the cash register side, it is possible to prevent the image quality from deteriorating due to a decrease in the light amount due to use in a small document without increasing the size of the light source. In particular, in the case of enlarged copy, it is possible to prevent deterioration of image quality of graininess.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an image reading apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an overall configuration 1 of a color copying machine to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing hardware architecture, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing software architecture, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing copy layers, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing state division, and FIG. Figure shows the sequence from the power-on state to the standby state. Figure 8 shows the sequence of the progress state. Figure 9 shows the concept of diagnostics. Figure 10 shows the system and others. Showing the relationship with the remote, Figure 11 showing the module configuration of the system, Figure 12 explaining the creation of the job mode, Figure 13 data flow between the system and each remote, and the inside of the system Figure showing the data flow between modules, Figure 14 is a figure showing the module configuration outline of IPS, Figure 15 is a figure for explaining each module that constitutes IPS, Figure 16 is IPS Diagram illustrating an example hardware configuration, FIG. 17 Figure showing the schematic configuration of the IOT, Figure 18 Figure showing a configuration example of the transfer device, Fig. 19 was used display
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of mounting the UI, FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining an example of setting the mounting angle and height of the UI, FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a module configuration of the UI, and FIG. 22 is a hardware configuration of the UI. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the configuration of UICB, FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the configuration of EPIB, FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display screen, FIG. 26 is a perspective view of F / P, Fig. 27 is a perspective view of M / U, Fig. 28
The figure is a diagram for explaining the density characteristics of the negative film and the principle of correction, FIG. 29 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of F / P, and a diagram showing the relationship between F / P and M / U and IIT, FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation procedure and timing, FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the imaging unit drive mechanism, and FIG. 32 is FIG.
FIG. 33 (a) is a drive circuit diagram of a stepping motor, FIG. 33 (b) is a diagram showing an excitation sequence, FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining a scan cycle by an imaging unit, FIG. FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining the cause of color misregistration in color copying, and FIG. 36 (a)-
(C) is a diagram for explaining the control mode of IIT, FIG. 37 is a sectional view of an imaging unit, FIG. 38 is a sectional view of a fluorescent lamp, and FIG. 39 is a method for increasing the amount of light on the cash register side of the present invention. FIG. 40 is a perspective view of the imaging unit in the present invention, FIG. 41, FIG. 42 is a diagram showing a light amount distribution in the main scanning direction, and FIG. 43 is a relation between the light amount distribution and the image quality in the present invention. FIG. 44 is a diagram for explaining, FIG. 44 is a diagram showing input / output characteristics of the image sensor, FIG. 45 is a diagram showing light amount distribution in the main scanning direction, and FIG. 46 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between use time and light amount decrease. FIGS. 47A and 47B are diagrams for explaining the deterioration of the image quality of the graininess due to the decrease of the light amount. 222 …… Light source, W ₁ …… Reading range, P …… Reference position of original setting.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A predetermined position on the front side or rear side of the platen surface in the main scanning direction is set as a document set reference position, and an imaging unit having a long fluorescent lamp and an image sensor in the main scanning direction is scanned in the sub scanning direction. In an image reading device that reads an original image, the fluorescent lamp is deviated relative to the image sensor toward the document set reference position side so that the light amount decreases from the platen end position opposite to the reference position when the fluorescent lamp deteriorates. An image reading device characterized in that 2. The fluorescent lamp is deviated to the reference position side of the original so that the inside position of the fluorescent lamp where the light amount increases by 20% or more from the end of the fluorescent lamp becomes the reference position of the original. The image reading device according to item 1.