JPH0810898B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for processing image information.

[Prior art]

A digital copying machine has been proposed which reads a document image and prints an image corresponding to the document image. In such an apparatus, if you want to combine other data with the original image and print it, you can enter the data in the original image in advance or supply the paper on which the original image is recorded to the printer section again. Then, it is necessary to carry out an operation to record other data in an overlapping manner.

Also, to combine a standard format into the original image,
Processing is performed such that the format data stored in advance in the memory is combined with the read original image data in synchronization with the reading of the original image.

However, it is difficult to output charactors such as arbitrary characters and symbols in arbitrary density, arbitrary position, and arbitrary size, and a large-scale device such as a work station is required.

〔Purpose〕

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and with a simple configuration, characters such as characters and symbols can be arbitrarily combined with an original image, and the characters can be appropriately arranged according to the original image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device capable of setting the arrangement direction.

That is, the present invention has a digitizer which has a placement surface on which an original is placed and which outputs coordinate data indicating the position of a point designated by the operator on the above-mentioned placement surface, and a reading unit which reads an original image. , Storage means for storing character data,
The combination mode setting means for setting a combination mode for combining the image of the original read by the reading means and the character data, and the character data to be combined when the combination mode is set by the combination mode setting means First input mode setting means for setting a first input mode for input by the digitizer, and second for designating a composite position of character data by the digitizer when the composite mode is set by the composite mode setting means. Second input mode setting means for setting the input mode of No. 1, arrangement direction setting means for setting the arrangement direction of the character data to be combined, and the first input mode setting means for setting the first input mode. The coordinate data output from the digitizer indicating the position of the point designated by the operator If the data is in the character data area, character data corresponding to the coordinate data is generated from the storage means, and if it is outside the character data area, the instruction by the operator is invalidated, and the second input mode setting means is used. When the second input mode is set, the character data is synthesized based on the coordinate data output from the digitizer indicating the position of the point designated by the operator and the arrangement direction set by the arrangement direction setting means. And a control unit that determines the position.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied,
31 is an editor used for point input and mode setting, 32 is a touch pen for point input on the editor 31, 33 is an operation unit for performing various mode settings, 34
Is a reader for reading a document, and 35 is a printer for outputting an image read by the reader 34.

FIG. 2 shows a structural diagram of the reader and the printer. The document is placed on the platen glass 3 facing downward, and is pressed onto the glass by the document cover 4. The original is illuminated by the fluorescent lamp 2, and the reflected light is condensed on the surface of the CCD 1 via the mirrors 5 and 7 and the lens 6.

The mirror 7 and the mirror 5 move at a relative speed of 2: 1. These optical systems move forward (from left to right) at a speed corresponding to the reading magnification while applying a PLL by the DC servo motor 26.

The backward movement (from right to left) is performed at a constant speed regardless of the magnification. The maximum document size that can be processed is A3, and the resolution is 400 dots.
Since it is s / inch, a CCD1 with about 5000 bits is used.

In this way, while moving the mirrors 5 and 7 to move the document reading position, the CCD 1 sequentially scans the document image by line scanning,
An image signal indicating image density is obtained.

The image signal processed bit-serially by the reader is the so-called laser scanning optical system unit of the laser beam printer.
Entered in 25. This unit 25 comprises a semiconductor laser collimator lens, a rotating polyhedral mirror Fθ lens, and a tilt correction optical system.

The image signal from the reader is applied to a semiconductor laser to be converted into an electric light, which is irradiated through a collimator lens onto a high-speed rotating polyhedral mirror, and the reflected light is made incident on a photoconductor 8 and scanned. As a process component that enables image formation on the photoconductor 8, a front static eliminator 9, a front static erasing lamp 10,
Primary charger 11, secondary charger 12, front exposure lamp 13, developing device 14, paper feed cassette 15, paper feed roller 16, paper feed guide 17,
A registration roller 18, a transfer charger 19, a separation roller 20, a conveyance guide 21, a fixing device 22, and a tray 23 are arranged. A photosensor (not shown) for detecting a laser beam to be scanned is provided outside the photoconductor 8, and a horizontal synchronizing signal BD indicating the start of each laser scanning is obtained from the output of this photosensor.

The copying machine of this example has intelligence such as image editing, and its function is variable magnification of 0.35 → 4.0 times in 1% increments, trimming or image trimming to extract only the specified area from the paper. There is a moving function to move it to any position above.

 Figure 3 shows the external appearance of the reader.

The document reading device includes an operation unit 143 and a document table pressure plate 142 having an editor.

This will be described below in order. The operation unit 143 is also connected to the document reading apparatus and also displays information of a printer unit (not shown) that forms an image based on the image information.

A start key 101 gives an instruction to start reading a document.

The asterisk key 102 is used for setting the service mode and the like.

The recall key 103 is used to specify a recall mode in which the previous copy mode can be called. The reset key 104 is used to reset various settings to the standard mode. The ten-key pad 105 is used to set the number of copies.

The clear stop key 106 is used to stop the clear and copy operations for the number of sheets designated by the ten-key pad. The density keys 107, 108, and 109 specify manual density adjustment and automatic density adjustment (AE) of copying, and the instruction is displayed on the indicator 110.

The photo key 111 is designated when a copy of a photo original is desired. The high contrast key 112 is designated when it is desired to make the contrast (black and white) of the image clear. negative/
The blur inversion key 113 inverts the white level and the black level of the image.

The number-of-sheets display unit 114 displays the set number of sheets and the number of sheets remaining during the copy operation. The indicator 115 displays the placement direction of the document based on the copy magnification and the paper size. The indicator 116 displays the paper size. The cassette selection key 117 indicates the paper feed stage of the printer. Magnification key 11
8. The standard variable magnification key 119 and the automatic variable magnification key 121 instruct the magnification of variable magnification copy, and the indicator 122 displays the magnification at the time of standard variable magnification.

The auto paper selection key 120 is used when the paper size is automatically selected according to the document size and the like. The liquid crystal display unit 123 is composed of 240 dots × 64 dots liquid crystal, and is displayed under the control of a microcomputer described later.

The liquid crystal display unit 123 has a surface covered with a transparent touch panel. This touch panel has a built-in 4 × 10 matrix transparent electrode switch, and is configured so that the coordinate value when designated by a finger or the like can be incorporated into the microcomputer and the designated position can be known. Both sides /
The multiplex key 124 is used to specify double-sided / multiplexing operation of the printer. The sort / collate key 125 is used to specify the operation of the sorter connected to the printer. The center move key 126 is used when moving the image information to the center of the paper. The document recognition key 127 is used when selecting whether or not to recognize the document size.

The memory key 128 stores various operation modes,
It is a key that can be called collectively.

The original platen pressure plate 142 holds an original document on an original platen (not shown) and has an operation unit so that various settings of the copy mode and input of characters, numbers, symbols and the like can be performed.

The digitizer 139 can incorporate the coordinate data on the board surface indicated by the touch pen 138 into the microcomputer. The coordinate data is recognized as position information and magnification information on the document from the coordinate magnification input surface 141 and character information from the character input surface 143 depending on the combination with the operation mode. Incidentally, since the coordinate information of the magnification information is converted into magnification information by the program of the microcomputer, it is possible to take a large display of the necessary magnification range as shown in the figure (35% in this embodiment). From 100% is displayed larger).

The zoom key 129 is a key for designating the magnification. After pressing this key, the touch pen 138 is used to designate the coordinate magnification input surface 141 to designate the magnification.

The area designation key 130 is a key for designating an area for image processing, and after pressing this key, the position on the document to be processed placed on the coordinate magnification input surface 141 is designated by the touch pen 138. You can specify any area.

The move key 131 is a key for moving an image, and after pressing this key, the position to be moved on the coordinate magnification input surface 141 is designated by the touch pen 138 or designated by the touch pen 123.

The page continuous copy key 132 is used when it is desired to divide an original into a plurality of sheets for output.

The magnified continuous shooting key 133 is used when the magnified image of the original is desired to be divided into a plurality of sheets and output.

The mirror image key 136 is used when it is desired to reverse the original image in the main scanning direction for copying.

The image create key 137 is used when various image processing (such as italic characters) is desired.

The character input key 134 is used to insert characters, numbers, symbols, etc., into an original image for recording, and after pressing this key, the character pen 138 is instructed by the touch pen 138 to input characters and numbers. ， Specify the symbol.

The image repeat key 135 is used when the entire original document or the trimmed image is repeatedly recorded on the same recording material a plurality of times.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control unit of the copying machine shown in FIG. 201 corresponds to the CCD shown in FIG. 2 and converts the document image set on the document table 3 into an electric signal and outputs it as an image signal. An image processing circuit 202 performs image processing on the image signal from the CCD 201, such as a shading correction for correcting output nonuniformity and a γ correction for correcting density characteristics. Reference numeral 207 is an add-on display RAM that stores code data representing characters or symbols to be added on, 208 is an add-on ROM that outputs dot data representing characters such as characters or symbols corresponding to the code data, 205 is add-on ROM 208 An add-on RAM for storing dot data from 206, an add-on image generation circuit for controlling the output of the dot data stored in the add-on RAM, and generating an add-on image data to be inserted into the original image in response to an add-on start signal ADST, Reference numeral 203 denotes a combining circuit that combines the original image data from the image processing circuit 202 and the add-on image data from the add-on image generation circuit 206.
Reference numeral 04 denotes the above-described printer that performs a printing operation based on the image data from the composition circuit 203.

Reference numeral 210 denotes a control unit CPU that controls the operation of each block of the reader, and controls and operates using a RAM 215, an I / O 216, and the like according to a program stored in the ROM 214.

Reference numeral 213 denotes an editor provided on the original table pressure plate 142, 212 corresponds to the operation unit shown in FIG. 3, 211 is a buzzer for emitting a buzzer sound to the operator, and 209 is a sub-scanning counter for counting the number of recording lines of the printer.

With the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 11, an image (B) or (C) in which information such as characters and symbols of a desired size is inserted at a desired position of the document image (A) read by a reader is printed out. It will be possible.

Hereinafter, setting of various parameters for character input will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows a display state of the liquid crystal display unit 123 when setting various parameters for character input, and FIG. 6 shows an operation procedure of the CPU 210 for setting various parameters.

When the character input key 134 on the editor is pressed, the screen of FIG. 5 (A) is displayed on the liquid crystal display section 123 (S1).

As described above, the liquid crystal display unit 123 is a touch panel display, and the display portion surrounded by an ellipse on the screen, that is, "character input", "character density", "character size", "layout", "AC" portion When the operator touches, the CPU 210 considers that there is an input from the liquid crystal display unit 123 as a part of the operation unit 143, sets necessary data, changes the display screen, waits for input of new parameters, etc. It shows the operation.

If the add-on character has already been input by the method described later, the key part of "character input" is displayed in reverse video (reverse display) as shown in Fig. 5 (B), and (S3), add-on to the operator. Notify that a character has been entered.
Hereinafter, this will be referred to as a key reverse check. The operator selects the type of editing of character input in the display state of FIG. 5 (a) or FIG. 5 (B), and sets the parameter of character input on a new screen (S4, S5, S).
6, S7, S8).

Hereinafter, the case where each of the character input key 1001, the character density key 1002, the character size key 1003, and the layout key 1004 of the liquid crystal display unit 123 is pressed will be described.

When the character input key 1001 is pressed, it is determined whether a character input character (hereinafter referred to as an add-on character) has been input (S9). When the add-on character is input, the input add-on character is displayed as shown in FIG. 5 (E) (S17).

On the contrary, if the add-on character is not input, after setting the 10-second timer (S10), it means that the operator presses the add-on character on the character input surface 143 on the editor with the point pen 138. The display is as shown in FIG. (C) (S11). This display is controlled so that it automatically changes to the display of (D) in FIG. 5 after 10 seconds have passed (S13).

If the editor's point pen 138 is pressed on the editor before the elapse of 10 seconds (S12), it is checked whether the pressed position is the character input surface 143 of the editor (S14). When the pressed position is the character input surface 143, the CPU 210 sounds the buzzer 211 to notify the operator that the character input surface 143 has been pressed (S15). CPU210 calculates which character was pressed from the point information from the editor, and add-on display RAM207
This character code is registered in (S16).

There are 150 characters on the character input surface 134, which are registered in the add-on display RAM 207 with codes of 0 to 149. This code is used when displaying the input characters on the liquid crystal display unit 123.

Conversely, the position pressed by the point pen 138 is the character input surface 134.
If not, the buzzer 211 does not sound, so that the operator knows that it is necessary to perform the character input operation with the point pen 138 again, so that an input error can be prevented.

In this way, inputting characters using the character input surface 143 of the editor and the point pen 138 is performed by, for example, the numeric keypad 105.
Compared to the method of inputting a character code using, this is a method that is more intuitive for the operator and has less error input. The editor can also be used for setting other editing modes such as zoom magnification designation and area designation as described above.

Although the add-on character input in this way is displayed, the CPU 210 first displays the screen shown in FIG. 5 (D) on the liquid crystal display unit 123 (S17). In FIG. 5 (D), 1006 is a delete key, 1007 is an insert key, and 1008 is a cursor movement key.

The contents stored in the add-on display RAM 217 are displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 123 (S18). When an add-on character is specified in FIG. 5 (B), only one character is displayed. However, after inputting a character, after setting another copy mode, for example, moving mode, the character input mode key is pressed again. , When this screen is displayed, all previously entered characters are displayed. On the LCD display 123, add-on display RAM20
The contents of 7 are displayed in an area of 3 lines × 17 characters with 8 × 8 dots as shown in FIG. 5 (E). The CPU 210 moves the position of the cursor to the position of "A" in FIG. 5 (E) (S19). After that, in the insert mode, the insert key 1007 is reversely displayed (S20).

If an add-on character is specified with the point pen 138 in this state (S22, S23), the buzzer 211 sounds (S24),
Notify the operator that a character has been entered. If the insert mode is not set here (S25), the character currently specified is displayed at the cursor position regardless of whether or not the character is displayed at the position indicated by the cursor (S2
6) The character code is written and displayed at a position corresponding to the cursor position in the add-on display RAM 207 (S27), and the cursor position is advanced by one (S28).

When the add-on character is pressed with the point pen 138 and the insert mode is selected, the insert key 1007 shown in FIG. 5 (D) is displayed in reverse, and the selected character is inserted immediately before the cursor. To be done. The display state at that time is No. 7
This will be described with reference to the drawings. Now, as shown in Fig. 7 (1), "A, B, C
…, P, Q ”17 characters are displayed, and“ X ”and“ Y ”
Shows a state of being inserted between "C" and "D". The rearrangement of characters by insertion is performed only on the line where the cursor is, the last character (that is, the 17th character) of the line on which the character is inserted is erased from the add-on display RAM 207, and the rearrangement is performed one after another.
The process is performed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (S29). After this, the position of the cursor is moved forward by one (S30), and since the characters have been rearranged in the line in which the characters have been inserted, one line is displayed again (S31).

Next, the operation when the delete key 1006 is pressed will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 (1), "A, B,
The character string "C, ..., P, Q" is displayed. In (1), when the character of cursor "D" is shown, delete key
When 1006 is pressed (S32), the character indicated by the cursor on the add-on display RAM 207 is deleted, and the rearrangement from the next character to the character at the end of the line is performed as shown in FIG. 8 (2) ( S36). One character is deleted, so at the end of the line Enter the (space code).

When the delete key 1006 is pressed, the character strings of the lines are rearranged in this manner, and after the rearrangement operation is completed, one line is displayed again (S36) and the key input waiting state is resumed. If the insert key 1007 is pressed (S33), the mode is changed to the insert mode if the mode is not the insert mode, and the insert mode is canceled if the mode is the insert mode (S37), and a character is pressed with the point pen 138. It is used for the check of the insertion mode.

When any of the four cursor movement keys 1008 is pressed (S34), the cursor is moved in the direction indicated by the pressed key (S38), and the key input waiting state is entered. Previous screen key 1
If 009 is pressed, the screen returns to the screen for setting each character input mode (S35).

If any key other than the above is pressed, for example, the numeric keypad 10
5, edit mode key 129-137, density key 107-109
When, for example, is pressed, each key processing is performed (S39), and the key waiting state is resumed.

Next, in the state of FIG. 5 (A) or (B), the character density key
The operation when 1002 is pressed will be described.

There are two types of character density for add-on characters: forced output mode and overlay output mode.
The values can be set by pressing the forced output key 1010 and the overlay output key 1011 in the display state of FIG.

Here, the forced output mode and the overlay output mode will be described with reference to FIG.

As described above, when the characters set in the character input mode are combined with the document and the image information read by the reader and output by the printer, the forced output mode reads the add-on character area and the document set as described below. When the image information overlaps, only the information in the add-on character area is output to the printer. On the other hand, in overlay output mode, the black part (character part) of the addon character font information is output to the printer at the specified density, and the font information is output. The white part of is output to the printer as an OR with the document image information. In FIG. 9, (A) is original image information read by a reader, (B) is font information, (C) is output result in forced output mode (black), and (D) is in overlay output mode (black). It is an output result example.

When the character density key 1002 is pressed in the display state of FIG. 5 (S) (S5), a screen in which the keys shown in FIG. 5 (F) are not reverse-displayed is displayed (S40). Next, in the forced output mode, the forced output key is displayed in reverse, and in the overlay output mode, the overlay output key is displayed in reverse (S41). FIG. 5F shows the overlay output mode in which the overlay output key 1011 is displayed in reverse. The key input waiting state continues until there is a key input (S42). If the forced output key 1010 is pressed (S
43), "1" is set in the selector 432 (S47), and the key input waiting state is resumed (S42). When the density output key 1011 is pressed, the selector 432 is set to "0" (S4
7) Then, the key input waiting state is resumed (S42).

When the black key 1012, the white key 1013, or the gray key 104 is pressed (S44), the value corresponding to each density OFFH, 00H,
07FH is set in the concentration register (S48). Then, it again enters the input waiting state (S42).

When the previous screen key 1015 is pressed (S45),
The screen shown in FIG. 5B is displayed, and the screen for selecting each mode of character input is displayed. If any other key is pressed, the processing corresponding to the input key is performed (S46), and the key input waiting state is resumed (S42).

Next, the case where the character size key 1003 is pressed in the state of FIG. 5 (A) will be described. The read clock from the add-on RAM 205 is controlled to output add-on characters of three sizes of 1 mm, 2 mm, and 4 mm from the contents of the same add-on RAM 205. When the character size key 1003 is pressed, the screen shown in Fig. 5 (G) is displayed (S49), and the 1mm key and 2mm
Perform a key reverse check of the key and 4mm key (S50). 1
When any of the mm key 1016, 2mm key 1017, and 4mm key 1018 is pressed (S51), the resolutions corresponding to each are set (S52). If the key 1019 is pressed (S54),
The display of FIG. 5 (B) is performed.

Next, the case where the layout key 1004 is pressed in the state of FIG. 5 (A) will be described. With the layout key 1004, it is possible to select whether to output the character string input as described above to an arbitrary position on the output paper and in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Layout key 1004 to set these two parameters
By pressing. That is, when the key 1004 is pressed, the screen for selecting the output direction of the character string shown in FIG. 5 (H) is displayed (S56). The output direction key of the selected character string is highlighted (S57), and if the horizontal layout key 1021 or the vertical layout key 1022 is pressed (S59), the output direction is set. (S60).
This data in the output direction is used when accessing the contents written in the add-on font ROM 208. Specifically, there are vertical writing fonts and horizontal writing fonts, which are used as data when accessing.
When the key 1020 is pressed, the display of FIG. 5B is displayed (S61), and when the OK key 1023 is pressed, the display of FIG. 5I for layout setting is displayed.

Next, an output reference position is set in order to determine at which position on the output paper the character string will be output. Here, the output reference position will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
FIG. 10 shows the liquid crystal display unit 123 displaying the character string input by the method described above. At this time, in the case of horizontal output, the upper left corner of the first character "M" on the first line or the lower left corner of the first character of the third line (space 2) is output during vertical output. It is controlled so as to coincide with the point shown in the reference position. Then, in the case of horizontal direction output and in the case of vertical direction output, they are output on the paper according to the output reference position KP as shown in FIGS. 11 (B) and 11 (C). Incidentally, FIG. 11 (A) shows a document image to be read.

In order to determine the output reference position KP, the OK key 1023 is pressed after selecting the vertical and horizontal outputs in the state shown in FIG. 5 (H). Then, FIG. 5 (I) is displayed on the liquid crystal display section 123 (S64). Then, the output reference position KP currently input is displayed on the screen as a dot (S65).

If there is new input with the point pen 138 (S6
6), the point information is converted to a new output reference position KP, stored (S67), and displayed again (S65).

If the previous screen key 1024 is pressed, the screen is changed to the screen shown in FIG. 5 (H), and if the OK key 1025 is pressed, the screen is changed to the screen shown in FIG. 5 (B). .

As described above, the input of characters and symbols to be inserted in the original image and the setting of the character size, insertion position, character direction, density, etc. are completed, and when the start key 101 is pressed thereafter, the original image and the characters are displayed. Printing of a composite image of information is executed.

 Next, the operation during the printing operation will be described.

FIG. 16 shows the control procedure of the CPU 210 regarding the print operation.

Further, the add-on image generation circuit 206 is shown in FIGS.
The hardware configuration of is shown.

Now, as a specific example, a case of outputting the character string shown in FIG. 12 (B) to the position shown in FIG. 15 in the character mode will be described.

After inputting the copy start key (S101), the CPU 210 determines whether or not it is the vertical output (S102), and if it is the vertical output, sets the vertical writing font, and otherwise sets the horizontal writing font (103, S104). . Then, it is stored in the add-on display RAM 207. The font data corresponding to the character code information is expanded to the add-on RAM 35 which is a bit map memory by accessing the add-on font ROM 208 (S10
Five). In this embodiment, each font is composed of 8 × 8 dots as shown in FIG.
Has 8 x the maximum number of main scanning characters bytes, which is sufficient for the maximum number of characters that can be displayed. FIG. 12 (C) to FIG. 12 (B)
The following shows how the character string of is expanded in the add-on RAM 205. 12th
In the figure (C), an address corresponds in the vertical direction and a 1-byte memory corresponds to each address in the horizontal direction. Further, in the figure, since the space for 13 characters following "1 2 3 4" on the first line does not have to be output, it is expanded as character input information of vertical 2 characters x horizontal 4 characters.

Add-on image generation circuit 20 for this add-on RAM 205
In FIG. 12 (C), when 6 is read as a, a + 8, a + 16, a + 24, it becomes one main scanning line. Then, when 1 is added to each address and it is read out as a + 1, a + 9, a + 17, a + 25, the next main scanning is performed. One line is output. By repeating this operation,
The binarized image data corresponding to FIG. 15 can be obtained. Also, the character size can be changed by controlling the clock when reading the add-on RAM 205. In this embodiment, each character can be output at a resolution of 50, 100, 200 dpi and 8 × 8 dots as shown in FIG. 12 (A). If you output the font at a resolution of 50 dpi, it will be about 4 mm, and if you output it at a resolution of 8 x 8 dots, 100 dpi, the output will be about 2 mm. Further, the information corresponding to "1" and the image information corresponding to "0" of the binarized data read from the add-on RAM 205 are output with the densities set in the add-on density information 422 and the specified density information 423, respectively. By
Character density can be realized.

The CPU 210 sets the number of main scanning characters (“4” in FIG. 12B) to the main scanning character number latch 428 (S106). By this, the order is determined by reading the add-on RAM 205. Next, set the resolution corresponding to the character size
9 is set (S107), and the density of the image information corresponding to "1" read from the add-on RAM 205 is set in the add-on density latch 422 (S108). Further, the mode latch 436 is set to 1 in the forced output mode and set to 0 in the overlay output mode (S109). In the forced output mode, the density of the image information corresponding to “0” read from the add-on RAM 35 can be set to the specified density latch 423, and the specified density information is selected by the selector 432. In the overlay output mode, the signal line
The document image information input to the selector 432 via 431 is selectively output.

Main scanning start position of image information to be added next,
Specifically, FIG. 15 Yout corresponding to the above-mentioned reference output position KP
The data corresponding to is set in the main scanning start latch 437 (S110). Specifically, the CPU 210 uses the main scanning counter 435.
Then, the ripple carrier output timing is calculated and set in the main scanning start latch 437 as the load value of the counter 435. Here, the main scanning counter 435 loads the initial value from the latch 437 in response to the BD signal (main scanning reference signal) and starts counting. RC output from counter 435
The signal becomes the add-on main scanning start signal corresponding to Yout in FIG.

Further, the sub-scanning start position Xout and the number of sub-scanning characters, that is, "2" in the example of FIG.
The value of _END is calculated and set in the sub-scanning counter 209 so that the add-on sub-scanning section signal ADST can be generated (S111).

Next, the X _END calculated as described above and the Y _END calculated from the resolution and the number of main scanning characters are obtained, and these values and the sub-value of the paper stored in the cassette selected by the cassette selection key 117 are calculated. The scan size and the main scan size are compared, and it is determined whether or not the input character is out of the paper (S112). If either X _{END or} Y _END is larger than the paper size, it is determined that the characters will stick out of the paper,
Image formation is blocked, and a warning display as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed to the operator on the liquid crystal display unit 123 (S113). When this warning is displayed, the operator changes the size of the paper or changes the layout position of input characters, the number of characters, the resolution, and the like.

If the input characters can be recorded without protruding from the paper, it is further determined whether or not another editing mode such as magnification, movement, trimming, or masking is set (S114), and the setting is made. If so, the parameters necessary for the processing are set in the image processing circuit 202 (S115), and then the document reading is executed and the document reading is continued until the printing of the required number of sheets is completed (S116, S117).

Next, the add-on image generation circuit 206 shown in FIGS.
The operation of the synthesizing circuit 203 will be described.

Binarized image information from the add-on RAM 205 is input from the signal line 420 to the shift register 419 for each byte. A signal indicating the beginning of one main scanning line made from the BD signal from the printer is input from the input unit 401 to the flip-flop 402.
One pulse is input to. Then, the flip-flop 402 is set, and the main-scan character number counter 403, which is a synchronous up counter, is initialized. The flip-flop 408 is reset and the main scanning character number counter 403
And the enable signal of the resolution counter 414 becomes L.
The clock is counted from the main scanning counter 435 in synchronization with the main scanning reading of the reader, and when the image information comes to a position where the output of the add-on image data is started in one main scanning line, that is, the main scanning start latch 437 is set. When the count of the value is completed, the LST signal of H is input to the input unit 404 by one clock, the main scanning character number counter 403 counts up by the set output of the flip-flop 405, the resolution counter 414 is initialized, and the shift register 414 is initialized. Four
19 is loaded and 1 byte of add-on information, for example, the information of address a in the example of FIG.
Loaded at 9. The resolution counter 414 sequentially counts down from the initial value. The 0 decoder 416 judges that all the lower 3 bits of the resolution counter 414 become 0, and outputs to the shift register 419 every time the lower 3 bits become 0, and binarized from Q _{H of the} shift register 419. The add-on image data is sequentially output bit by bit.

For example, when the data read from Q _{H of the} shift register 419 is “1”, the A input is selected from the selector 426 and the add-on density set in the latch 422 is output from the selector 427 via the latch 424.

When the data read from Q _{H of the} shift register 419 is “0”, the selector 426 selects the B input. Then, in the overlay output mode, the document density of the signal line 431 is selected, and in the forced output mode, the white density set in the designated density latch 423 is selected by the selector 432 and output from the latch 425. When the one-byte add-on information is output from the shift register 419 in this manner, the resolution counter 414 outputs the ripple carry RC, the main scanning character number counter 403 counts up by one, and the counter 414 is initialized again. The shift register 419 stores the next 1-byte add-on information, the 12th
In the figure (C), the information of the address a + q is loaded.

In this way, the number of main scanning characters in one main scanning line is counted by the main scanning character number counter 403, and when the number of characters is set in advance in the main scanning character number latch 428 (4 in FIG. 12), H is output from the comparator 409. And counter 4
14 stops. At this time, in the forced output mode, even if the information of the designated density latch 423 is selected by the selector 432, the original density from the signal line 431 is selected by closing the gate 433. The same thing is repeated for the next main scanning line.

For changing the resolution, the resolution counter 41
This is performed by controlling the output value from the 4 to 0 decoder 416. For example, in order to gate the output value from the resolution counter 414 and lower the resolution, it is possible to realize by shifting the output value by 1 bit higher. In this case, it is necessary to add similar control to the RC output of the resolution counter 414.

Next, the hardware for accessing the add-on information expanded on the RAM 205 described in FIG. 12 and supplying it to the shift register 419 illustrated in FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. First, an add-on start address (a in FIG. 12 (C)) is set from the signal line 509 to the latch 520, and an address jump value (32 in FIG. 12 (C) is sent from the signal line 510 to the latch 521. This value changes according to the number of characters in one line, and m is the number of characters in one line and m × n is the font size). The input section 502 has a first
The same signal for the first main scanning line as that input to the input unit 401 in FIG. 3 is input, and the number of main scanning characters from the counter 403 in FIG. 13 is input from the signal line 512. However, for add-on address 515, 514 is the lower 3 bits, 512
Will output lower 4 bits or more. In addition, the input unit 501 has a CPU
The sub-scanning direction address section signal set by 210 is input.

The flow of addresses will be described below with reference to FIG. 12. First, L is input to the input unit 501, and the counter 5
The start address a is loaded from the latch 520 to 11. Next, every time the number of main scanning characters is counted, the number of characters is counted up from the lower 4 bits of the signal line 512, so that the add-on address 515 has a + 8, a + 16, a + 24 ...
Is output. When one main scanning line is accessed in this way, one clock is input from the input unit 502 and the address counter 505 counts up by one. Then, 1 is added to the output of add-on address 515, and the address is a + 1, a
It is accessed as +9, a + 17 .... Repeat this in sequence a
When access is made to + 7, a + 15 ..., the ripple carry RC is output from the counter 505, and the addition value 32 corresponding to the jump value is added to the counter 511 from the latch 521 a + 32, a + 40, a +
48 ... is accessed.

In this way, the add-on character data expanded in the add-on RAM 205 is sequentially output to the shift register 419.

As described above, according to the configuration of this embodiment, information such as characters, numbers, and symbols having a desired size and a desired density can be inserted at a desired position of an original image read by a reader and an overlaid image can be printed. It will be possible.

As input characters, not only alphanumeric characters and numbers but also Chinese characters and various marks are prepared as font patterns so that various information can be inserted into the original image.
Overlay is possible.

As the font information, in addition to the information shown in FIG. 18 (A) as described above, as shown in FIG. 18 (B), 1,
By preparing those in which 0 is inverted and making them selectable as necessary, various processes such as output of blank characters can be easily executed.

[Effect]

As described above, according to the present invention, the character data corresponding to the coordinate data representing the position of the point designated by the operator output from the digitizer when the first input mode is set is stored in the storage means. The composite position of the character data is generated based on the coordinate data representing the position of the point instructed by the operator output from the digitizer when the second input mode is set and the arrangement direction of the character data. By deciding, character data such as characters and symbols can be easily specified by the digitizer, and the combining position can also be easily specified in an arrangement direction suitable for the original image, and the original image and character data can be combined. Can be executed with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is an external view of a copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of the copying apparatus, FIG. 3 is an external view of a reader, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the copying apparatus. Fig. 5,
FIGS. 10 and 17 are views showing the display state of the liquid crystal display unit, FIGS. 6 (A) to (H) and FIG. 16 are flow charts showing the control procedure of the CPU, FIG. 7 and FIG. Is a diagram showing a character display state, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a compositing operation, FIGS. 11 and 15 are diagrams showing an example of compositing output, FIGS. 12 and 18 are diagrams showing font data, FIG. And FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of the add-on image generation circuit. 134 is a character input key, 138 is a touch pen, 139 is a digitizer, 201 is a CCD, 230 is a synthesis circuit, 205 is an add-on RAM, 2
06 is an add-on image generation circuit, and 210 is a CPU.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A digitizer having a placement surface on which an original is placed, which outputs coordinate data representing the position of a point designated by an operator on the above-mentioned placement surface, and a reading unit for reading an original image. In the case where the storage means storing the character data, the combination mode setting means for setting the combination mode for combining the image of the original read by the reading means and the character data, and the combination mode set by the combination mode setting means A first input mode setting means for setting a first input mode for inputting character data to be synthesized by the digitizer, and synthesizing character data when the synthesis mode is set by the synthesis mode setting means. Second input mode setting means for setting a second input mode for specifying a position by the digitizer, and a key to be combined. Arrangement direction setting means for setting the arrangement direction of the tractor data, and the position of the point indicated by the operator output from the digitizer when the first input mode is set by the first input mode setting means. If the coordinate data representing the character data area is in the character data area, character data corresponding to the coordinate data is generated from the storage means, and if it is outside the character data area, the instruction by the operator is invalidated, and the second input mode is set. Second by setting means
When the input mode is set, the composite position of the character data is determined based on the coordinate data output from the digitizer and representing the position of the point designated by the operator and the array direction set by the array direction setting means. An image processing apparatus comprising: a control unit for determining. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein character data to be designated is printed on the mounting surface of the digitizer.