JPH0944635A - Image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the cost of turn table part and to satisfactorily read an original at any arbitrary rotating angle position. SOLUTION: A rack gear member 65 is stuck on the outer peripheral face of a disk-shaped turn table part 52. Connecting parts 68 at both the ends of the rack gear member 65 are discountinous and the area near this position is defined as a dead zone N. When reading an original 80A at the rotating angle position corresponding to the dead zone N, the position of the turn table 52 is set at a temporary rotating angle position inverted 180 deg.. Then, the original 80A is scanned oppositely to the ordinary case. Thus, the same image as an image to be acquired at the angle position corresponding to the dead zone N can be acquired.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image input device for reading an original image for printing and plate making.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when making a printing plate from a photo original, an image input device for optically reading the original is used. The image input device outputs image data corresponding to a document. This image data is input to the host computer and processed for printing plate creation.

One of the image input devices for this type of application is a flat scanner. The flatbed scanner includes an original table that is movable along a predetermined sub-scanning direction. The document table includes a rotatable table section that is rotatably provided. A document holder holding a document between a pair of transparent plates is fixed to the rotary table section. The original is a transmissive original such as a 35 mm film original, and the original is illuminated from above the original table. Then, the light transmitted through the document passes through the optical system to the line CCD.
Is incident on a one-dimensional image pickup device such as. An image signal corresponding to a document image can be obtained by performing detection by the line CCD while moving the document table in the sub-scanning direction while holding the rotary table unit at a predetermined rotation angle position.

With this structure, the original can be read at an arbitrary angle by changing the rotational angle position of the rotary table section. The rotational angular position of the rotary table section is controlled based on a command from the host computer. It is also possible to perform rotation processing after image reading by software processing in the host computer. However, this is not preferable because the burden on the software increases and the image may be deteriorated due to the arithmetic processing.

FIG. 19 is an illustrative view showing a drive mechanism for rotating the rotary table portion. Rotating table 10
0 and the motor 103 are both supported by a document table body (not shown). The rotary table 100 is rotatably supported, and an opening 101 for allowing light from the original to pass is formed at the center of the original holder mounting position. A gear portion 102 is formed on the outer periphery of the rotary table portion 100. In this gear part 102,
A pinion gear 104 fixed to the drive shaft of the table rotation motor 103 is meshed. With this configuration, by driving the motor 103, the rotary table unit 10
The rotation angle position of 0 can be changed.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned structure, since the gear portion 102 is directly formed on the outer circumference of the rotary table portion 100, the rotary table portion 100 is required to have high processing accuracy. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost is significantly increased. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is conceivable to attach a rack gear member 65 made of an inexpensive and flexible material instead of forming a gear portion on the outer periphery of the rotary table portion 52. In this way, since high processing accuracy is not required for the rotary table part 52, the cost for rotating the rotary table part 52 can be reduced.

However, in the configuration according to this proposal, both ends 65a and 65b of the rack gear member 65 are provided.
Need to be connected continuously. This is to enable document reading at an arbitrary rotation angle position. Therefore, the number of teeth and the pitch of the rack gear member 65 must be appropriately set according to the circumferential length of the rotary table portion 52. Then, after all, an inexpensive ready-made rack gear member cannot be used, and it is necessary to use a precisely processed rack gear member. Moreover, the rotary table 52
Care must also be taken when attaching the rack gear member 65 to the outer periphery of the. Therefore, even if the rack gear member is used, the overall cost reduction cannot be effectively achieved.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, to rotate a rotary table with an inexpensive structure, and to obtain a read image of a document at an arbitrary rotation angle position. An image input device capable of Another object of the present invention is to provide an image input device capable of speeding up document reading processing.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problems is a rotary table capable of changing a rotation angle position while holding a document, and a rotary table held by the rotary table. If the reading means for reading the document while scanning and the command rotation angle position are outside the predetermined angle range, the rotation angle position of the rotary table is controlled to the command rotation angle position. When the rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range, a rotation table control means for controlling the rotation angle position of the rotation table to a temporary rotation angle position having a predetermined relationship with the command rotation angle position is included. Is an image input device.

According to the above construction, when the command rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range, the angle position of the rotary table is controlled to the temporary rotation angle position having a predetermined relationship with the command rotation angle position. It Therefore, an image equivalent to the image read at the command rotation angle position is obtained by changing the scanning method of the document based on the above-mentioned predetermined relationship or by performing the rotation process on the image read by the reading unit. Can be obtained.

In this way, the predetermined angle range can be set as, for example, the dead zone angle range, and the read image of the original at the rotation angle position within the dead zone angle range can be acquired. Therefore, even if the control of the rotation angle position in a part of the rotation angle range cannot be accurately performed, no inconvenience occurs. Further, the predetermined angle range may be, for example, an angle range in which it takes a long time to control the rotation of the rotary table. In this case, the time required for reading the original can be shortened by reading the original at the temporary rotation angle position.

According to another aspect of the image input device of the present invention, a rotary table that can be positioned at a rotation angle position other than the prohibited rotation angle position while holding the original document, and the original document held on the rotary table are scanned. Reading means for reading while
When the command rotation angle position is a rotation angle position outside the predetermined angle range determined based on the prohibited rotation angle position and the rotation table rotation angle position, the rotation table rotation angle position is set to the command rotation angle position. When the command rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range, the rotation angle position of the rotary table is controlled to a temporary rotation angle position having a predetermined relationship with the command rotation angle position. And a rotary table control means for controlling the rotation table.

As described above, if the rack gear member attached to the outer periphery of the rotary table can be constructed discontinuously, the manufacturing cost will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, since the gear that meshes with the rack gear member to rotate the rotary table cannot pass through the discontinuous portion, some measure is required. In this case, the rotation angle position of the rotation table when the gear passes through the discontinuous portion is set as the prohibition rotation angle position of the rotation table, and the rotation table is rotated in the process of rotating the rotation table from the current rotation angle position to the command rotation angle position. When it is located at the prohibited rotation angle position, the rotation angle position of the rotary table has a predetermined relationship with the command rotation angle position, assuming that the command rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range. To control.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a document is to be read with the rotation angle position of the rotary table set as a temporary rotation angle position, the method of scanning the document is set between the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position. 3. The image input device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for setting in correspondence with said predetermined relationship. According to this configuration, when the rotation angle position of the rotary table is the temporary rotation angle position, the document is scanned in a manner different from that when the document is scanned at the command rotation angle position. By appropriately setting this scanning method based on a predetermined relationship between the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position, the same image data as when the document is scanned in the normal mode at the command rotation angle position is set. Can be output from the reading means. Moreover, since the scanning method is only changed, the image data is not deteriorated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the provisional rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position are different from each other by 180 degrees, and when the rotation angle position of the rotary table is set as the provisional rotation angle position, a document should be read. , The scanning direction of the original,
3. The image input device according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting a scanning direction opposite to the scanning direction when scanning the document at the command rotation angle position.

In this configuration, the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position are rotation angle positions different by 180 degrees. For this reason, when the original is read by controlling the rotary table to the temporary rotation angle position, the scanning direction of the original is opposite to the normal direction. This makes it possible to obtain the same image data as when the document is scanned in the normal manner at the command rotation angle position. Moreover, since the scanning direction is only changed,
Image data does not deteriorate.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the provisional rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position are 90 °, 180 ° and 270.
When the original is to be read with the rotation angle position of the rotary table as the provisional rotation angle position, the image read by the reading unit is designated as the provisional rotation angle position. The image input device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an image rotation unit that rotates an angle of 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees based on a relationship with a rotation angle position. Is.

In this configuration, the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position have a relationship of being different by 90 degrees, 180 degrees or 270 degrees. Based on which relationship between the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position, the image rotation means
90 degrees to the image read by the reading means,
Rotate 180 degrees or 270 degrees. As a result, it is possible to obtain image data equivalent to the case where a document is read at the command rotation angle position. Moreover, the rotary table is 90
It only needs to be able to rotate over a range of degrees.

The image rotating means can store image data representing one image read by the reading means, for example, as described in claim 6, and each of the image forming means can form an image. Image storage means having a plurality of storage areas for storing the data of the pixels, and each storage area is provided with an address, and when the image data is written in the image storage means, a temporary rotation angle position and a command rotation Address control means for changing the address generation order based on the relationship with the angular position and for storing in the image storage means image data representing an image rotated by any one of 90 degrees, 180 degrees and 270 degrees. It can be realized by a configuration including and.

With this configuration, when the image data is written in the image storage means, the rotation order of 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees is realized by changing the generation order of the write addresses. Therefore, the arithmetic processing for the image data is unnecessary, and the image data is not deteriorated. Therefore, if the rotation of the rotary table and the rotation processing of 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees by the image rotation means are combined, the document can be read at any angle within the range of 360 degrees. , The read image does not deteriorate.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a flat scanner 40 according to an embodiment of an image input apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a simplified configuration of a main part of FIG. An insertion opening 2 for inserting the document holder 1 is formed in the upper portion of the front panel 11 of the apparatus main body 15. Device body 1
A document table 5 for receiving and holding the document holder 1 inserted through the insertion port 2 is provided inside the document table 5. The document table 5 is provided so as to be horizontally movable along the sub-scanning direction x.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a simplified structure for reading the original document held by the original document holder 1. A quartz rod 6 is arranged above the moving path of the document table 5 along the main scanning direction y orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction x. Light from the halogen lamp 7 is incident on the quartz rod 6 from one end thereof. The quartz rod 6 diffuses the incident light to the surroundings. This diffused light illuminates the original document held in the original document holder 1.
The light transmitted through the document is guided below the document table 5,
A light receiving section 10 including a CCD line sensor, which is reflected in the horizontal direction by a reflecting mirror 8 and passes through a diaphragm 12 and a lens 9.
Is incident on. Therefore, the document is scanned by the sub-scanning by horizontal movement of the document table 5 and the electrical main scanning by the light receiving unit 10, and the reading of the document image is achieved. The electrical signal output from the light receiving unit 10 is subjected to appropriate processing and then transferred as image data to a host computer (not shown).

The light receiving portion 10 and the lens 9 are provided with a support plate 11
Supported above. The lens 9 is movable along its optical axis, whereby focus adjustment is performed. The support plate 11 is movable along the main scanning direction y and the sub-scanning direction x, whereby the reading range in the main scanning direction y can be changed and the image can be enlarged or reduced. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the document table 5.
The manuscript table 5 includes a moving table portion 51 that is horizontally movable along the sub-scanning direction x, and a moving table portion 5.
1 and the rotary table portion 52 held at 1. The rotary table part 52 is held by the movable table part 51 so as to be rotatable along a horizontal plane. A rack gear member 65 is attached to the outer periphery of the rotary table portion 52. A pinion gear 67 fixed to a drive shaft of a table rotation motor 66 meshes with the rack gear member 65. Table rotation motor 66
Is attached to the lower surface of the moving table section 51,
For example, it is composed of a pulse motor capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions.

A pair of guide members 53 and 54 for guiding the document holder 1 on the rotary table are provided near the front end of the moving table 51. The rotary table section 52 has an opening 55 in the center for passing the light transmitted through the document holder 1. The opening 55 has a substantially rectangular shape, and the guide plates 57 and 58 are fixed along the pair of opposite sides, respectively. The manuscript holder 1 includes a rotary table 52 with guide plates 57 and 58.
You will be guided to a predetermined position above. The positioning pins 59 and 60 that come into contact with the leading edge of the document holder 1 and the document holder 1
The holding rollers 61 and 62 that engage with the notches 71 and 72 formed on the both sides of the above position perform positioning on the horizontal plane. Positioning in the vertical direction is achieved by pressing rollers 63 and 64 for pressing the front end of the document holder 1 against the rotary table 52 and three support pins 69 that support the lower surface of the document holder 1. The holding rollers 61 and 62 are provided so as to be retractable through holes formed in the guide plates 57 and 58, and hold the document holder 1 from the left and right by the spring force of a spring member (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 4, the document holder 1 is composed of a pair of transparent document protection plates 81 and 82 which are openably and closably coupled by hinges 83 and 84. Original protection plate 81,
A document 80 such as a film document is sandwiched between 82.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the rotary table section 52,
(a) is an exploded perspective view and (b) is a plan view. The rotary table portion 52 has a disk shape and has a smooth outer peripheral surface 52a.
Having. A rack gear member 65 made of a flexible material is attached to the outer peripheral surface 52a by using, for example, an adhesive. The rack gear member 65 may be a ready-made inexpensive one, and the connecting portion 6 at both ends 65a and 65b may be used.
There is no problem if the gear is discontinuous in 8. The pitch of the rack gear member 65 is exclusively the pinion gear 67.
It may be determined in relation to. The rack gear member 65 is, for example, such that the connecting portion 68 is located on the left side in the insertion direction of the document holder 1 when the rotation angle position of the rotating table portion 52 is the initial position shown in FIG. Pasted on.

In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the rotation angle range in which the pinion gear 67 meshes with the connecting portion 68 is set as the prohibited rotation angle position. Then, when the pinion gear 67 meshes with the connecting portion 68 in the process of rotating the rotary table portion 52 from the rotation angle position before rotation to the rotation angle position corresponding to the commanded reading angle, the position of the rotary table portion 52 is , 180 degrees different from each other are set to temporary rotation angle positions.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the structure of a carrying drive mechanism for carrying the moving table portion 51 along the sub-scanning direction x. A coupling piece 21 for transmitting the driving force from the conveyance driving mechanism 20 is fixed to one side of the document moving table 51. The transport drive mechanism 20 is
A motor 22 capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions for generating a driving force is provided. The motor 22 is, for example, a pulse motor. The rotation of the motor 22 is transmitted to the toothed belt 24 from the toothed pulley 23 fixed to its rotation shaft. The toothed belt 24 is wound around the toothed pulley 25. The toothed pulley 26 is attached to the shaft to which the pulley 25 is fixed.
Has been fixed. The pulley 26 is located on the insertion port 2 side with respect to the sub-scanning direction x. On the back side of the apparatus main body 10 with respect to the sub-scanning direction x, another toothed pulley 27 is provided.
Is arranged. This toothed pulley 27 and pulley 2
A toothed belt 28 is wound around 6 along the sub-scanning direction x. The above-mentioned coupling piece 21 is fixed to an intermediate portion of the toothed belt 28. With this configuration, by rotating the motor 22 in the forward and reverse directions, the original table 5
5 can be horizontally moved along the sub-scanning direction x.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the flat scanner 40. The flatbed scanner 40 is connected to the host computer 30. The host computer 30 gives a reading command to the flatbed scanner 40.
The reading command includes an instruction regarding the reading angle of the document and the reading range of the document. The flatbed scanner 40 provides the host computer 30 with data representing the read image of the original document. The host computer 30 internally has a memory 31 utilized for temporary storage of data and the like, and is connected to a disk device 32 as an external storage device for storing image information.

The flatbed scanner 40 is provided with a control section 41 for exchanging information with the host computer 30 and controlling the operation of each section of the scanner. Control unit 41
Controls the table rotation motor 66 and the motor 22 of the conveyance drive mechanism based on the read command given from the host computer 30. The control unit 41 has a CC
The image data from the light receiving unit 10 including the D line sensor is
It is input via the line memory 43. Line memory 4
3 is capable of storing image data from the light receiving unit 10 for about 2 or 3 lines. The line memory 43 performs a FIFO (first-in first-out) operation for outputting a plurality of pixel data forming each line in the input order, and an L operation for outputting the pixel data of each line in the order opposite to the input order.
Both the IFO (last-in first-out) operation is possible. Which operation is performed is determined by a control signal supplied from the control unit 41. More specifically, the control unit 41 controls the writing order when the data from the light receiving unit 10 is written to the line memory 43 to the normal order or the reverse order, whereby the FIFO by the line memory 43 is controlled. And LIFO operation.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining how to scan an original image by a combination of sub-scanning by horizontal movement of the moving table section 51 and electrical scanning by the light-receiving section 10. (a) shows the case where the rotation angle position of the rotary table portion 52 is the initial position, and (b) shows the connecting portions 68 at both ends of the rack gear member 65 at the pulley 6 of the table rotation motor 66.
7 shows the case of position 7, (c) is the rotary table 52
The rotation angle position of is different from the case of (b) by 180 degrees.

When the original 80A is read with the rotational angle position of the rotary table 52 set to the initial position (see FIG. 8).
(See (a)), the moving table section 51 is conveyed in the normal reading direction xN along the sub-scanning direction x. The direction of electrical scanning by the light receiving unit 10 is the direction yS along the main scanning direction y.
It is. In this way, the document 51 is scanned from left to right in FIG. 8 and from top to bottom.

When the rotary table 52 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the original reading angle instructed by the host computer 30, when the connecting portion 68 of the rack gear member 65 reaches a position where it meshes with the pulley 67 (see FIG. 8 (b)), the connecting portion 68 and the pulley 67 do not always mesh well. Therefore, it is highly possible that the reading angle is not set accurately. Therefore, an area of the rack gear member 65 (for example, an area of about 20 degrees) near the connecting portion 68 is set as a dead zone N (see FIG. 8 (a)).

That is, the control unit 41 is different from the normal case when the pulley 67 is in the dead zone N in the process of rotating the rotary table unit 52 so as to correspond to the reading angle instructed by the host computer 30. Execute control. Next, a method of determining whether or not the pulley 67 is in the dead zone N when rotating the turntable portion 52 so as to correspond to the reading angle will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 18A, point P is the origin of the moving table section 51, and point Q is the origin of the rotary table section 52. Then, the rotation angle position of the rotary table portion 52 is expressed by the angle in the clockwise direction from the point P to the point Q. Therefore, the rotation angle position of the rotary table portion 52 in the case of FIG. 18 (a) is 0 degree, and the rotation angle position in the case of FIG. 18 (b) is 120 degrees.

As described above, the rotation angle position of the rotary table portion 52 when the dead zone N meshes with the pulley 67 is defined as the prohibited rotation angle position. If the size of the dead zone N is 10 degrees, the prohibited rotation angle position of FIG. 18 is 235 degrees to 245 degrees as shown in FIG. 18 (c). In addition, the rotary table unit 5 when performing a control different from the normal case
The rotation angle range of 2 is set as a predetermined angle range. For example, the predetermined angle range of the rotary table portion 52 having the phase shown in FIG. 18A is 240 degrees or more and less than 360 degrees.

That is, even if a command is issued to the rotary table section 52 having the phase shown in FIG. 18A to set the reading angle to 320 degrees, the rotary table section 52 will reach a position where the rotary angle position is 240 degrees. When rotating in the clockwise direction, the rack gear member 65 cannot rotate any further because it is not continuous. As described above, the above-mentioned predetermined angle range is an angle range determined by the rotation angle position and the prohibited rotation angle position of the rotary table unit 52 before the reading angle is given.

In this embodiment, the rotary table section 52 is designed to rotate only in the clockwise direction to realize the reading angle, but if it can also rotate in the counterclockwise direction, it will be predetermined. The angle range matches the prohibited rotation angle range. The document reading operation will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the document reading position and reading angle are set in the host computer 30 (step S1). Following this, the host computer 30 sends an original reading command to the flatbed scanner 40 (step S2). Flatbed scanner 40
The control unit 41 makes a determination regarding the rotation angle position of the rotary table unit 52 corresponding to the reading angle instructed by the reading command (step S3). In particular,
It is checked whether or not the rotational angular position of the rotary table portion 52 falls within the above-mentioned predetermined angular range. If it does not fall within the predetermined angle range, the processing from step S7 is performed.

That is, the table rotation motor 66 is controlled (step S7), and the rotation angle position of the rotation table portion 52 is controlled to the position corresponding to the commanded reading angle. The rotation angle position can be controlled by, for example, applying a drive pulse to the table rotation motor 66 while counting it. Next, the motor 22 of the transport drive mechanism 20 is controlled (step S8). As a result, first, the moving table section 51 holding the rotary table section 52 is moved to the reading initial position. In this case, the reading initial position is a position where the original 80A can be scanned from the upper end in FIG. After that, the moving table section 51 is conveyed in the above-described normal reading direction xR. And line C
The original is read by the light receiving unit 10 including the CD (step S9), and the image data is written in the line memory 43 (step S10). At this time, the line memory 43
Are controlled to perform a FIFO operation. Control unit 41
Transfers the image data given from the line memory 43 to the host computer 30 (step S11).

When the reading of the original 80A is completed, the rotary table 52 is reset. That is, it is returned to the initial state (position where the rotation angle position is 0 degree) (step S12). In step S3, the turntable unit 52
If it is determined that the rotation angle position of (1) falls within the predetermined angle range, the rotation angle position of the rotary table unit 52 is reset to an angle position (temporary rotation angle position) different by 180 degrees (step S4). Furthermore, the moving direction of the moving table section 51 is
The dead zone reading direction xN (Fig. 8), which is the opposite of the normal reading direction xR.
(see (a)) (step S5). Further, the control unit 41 reverses the order of the write addresses of the image data to the line memory 43 from the normal case (step S6). As a result, the line memory 43 becomes LIFO.
It will work.

Thereafter, the table rotation motor 66 is controlled to control the rotation angle position of the rotation table section 52. At this time, the rotation angle position of the rotary table portion 52 is
The rotation angle position corresponding to the commanded reading angle is 180
The rotation angle position is set to a different degree (the rotation angle position reset in step S4). That is, when the rotation angle position corresponding to the commanded reading angle is the position as shown in FIG. 8B, the table rotation motor 66 is controlled so as to be in the state of FIG. 8C.

Further, the motor 22 of the transport drive mechanism 20 is controlled (step S8). As a result, the moving table section 51 is first moved to the reading initial position. In this case, the reading initial position is a position where scanning of the original 80A can be started from the lower end in FIG. Then
The moving table 51 is conveyed in the dead zone reading direction xN. The image reading operation by the light receiving unit 10 is performed in synchronization with the horizontal movement of the moving table unit 51 (step S).
9). The image data output by the light receiving unit 10 is written in the line memory 43 in the reverse order of the normal reading (step S10). As a result, the image data given from the line memory 43 to the control unit 41 becomes data equivalent to that obtained by mirror-reversing the electrical scanning direction of the light receiving unit 10. This image data is transferred to the host computer 30 (step S11).

As described above, when the rotational angular position of the rotary table portion 52 falls within the predetermined angular range, as a result, both the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction when scanning the original 80A are reversed. Therefore, the host computer 3
The image data given to 0 is the image data obtained by scanning the original 80A in the mode indicated by the reference numeral 91 in FIG. 8 (c). Therefore, the image data to be obtained by scanning the original 80A in the mode indicated by reference numeral 90 in FIG. 8B is obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the rotation angular position of the rotary table 52 is within the predetermined angular range, the rotation angular position is reversed by 180 degrees, and the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction are respectively changed. The original is read upside down. As a result, the original reading angle can be set in the entire 360-degree angular range, and since the scanning direction is only changed, the read image is not deteriorated and any reading angle can be set. The original can be read well.

Therefore, at the connecting portion 68 of both ends 65a and 65b of the rack gear member 65 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary table portion 52, the pinion gear 67 of the table rotating motor 66 and the connecting portion 68 must mesh smoothly. There is no. Therefore, an inexpensive ready-made rack gear member 65 can be used. This can contribute to cost reduction of the entire device.

In this embodiment, since the rotary table section 52 is returned to the initial state every time one original reading is completed, the predetermined angle range is constant (300 degrees or more and 36 degrees or more).
However, it is not always necessary to return the rotary table unit 52 to the initial state each time the document reading is completed. In this case, the size of the predetermined angle range will change each time it is read. That is, the predetermined angle range in the case of rotating the rotary table unit 52 so as to correspond to the reading angle instructed from the state (rotational angle position = 120 degrees) of FIG. 18B is a range of 300 degrees to 360 degrees. , 0 ° or more and less than 120 °.

In the present embodiment, the scanning direction of the original is reversed when the rotational angular position of the rotary table portion 52 corresponding to the read command is within the predetermined angular range, but other than this case. Alternatively, the scanning direction of the original may be reversed. For example, depending on the position of the original table 5 or the rotation angle position of the rotation table unit 52, the rotation table unit 5 may reach up to the rotation angle position corresponding to the read command.
It may take a relatively long time to rotate 2 and further move the moving table unit 51 to the reading initial position. In such a case, the rotation angle position of the rotation table unit 52 is controlled to a rotation angle position different by 180 degrees from the rotation angle position corresponding to the read command, and the sub-scanning direction is set to the dead zone sub-scanning direction xR. Good. Of course, at this time, the line memory 43 is controlled to perform the LIFO operation. More specifically, the control unit 41 requires a normal reading operation and a dead zone reading operation based on the state of the document table 5 (the angular position of the rotary table unit 52 and the position of the moving table unit 51). The time may be calculated in advance and the reading operation with the shorter required time may be performed. As a result, the document reading process can be performed more quickly.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a configuration related to the rotary table section used in the image input apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the description of this embodiment,
Reference is also made to FIGS. 1 to 9 above. The turntable unit 52A shown in FIG. 10 should be used in place of the turntable unit 52 in the first embodiment. On the outer peripheral surface of the rotary table portion 52A, 180
A rack gear member 65A made of a flexible material is attached to a circular arc area extending over a degree.

In the present embodiment, the rack gear member 6
The dead zone N is an angular range in which 5A does not exist. Therefore, if the rotation angle range of the turntable 52A corresponding to the dead zone N is set as the predetermined angle range, the same process as the process described with reference to FIG. 9 described above can be applied. That is, by applying the processing described with reference to FIG. 9, it is possible to favorably perform the reading operation at an arbitrary document reading angle within the angle range of 360 degrees.

According to this embodiment, the cost can be reduced by using the inexpensive rack gear member 65, and the rotation angle range of the rotary table 52 can be reduced. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a configuration related to the turntable unit used in the image input device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the description of this embodiment, reference will also be made to FIGS. 1 to 9 described above.

The rotary table portion 52B shown in FIG.
Is to be used in place of the rotary table portion 52 in the first embodiment. Rotary table 52
On the outer peripheral surface of B, in an arc region extending over about 90 degrees,
A rack gear member 65B made of a flexible material is attached. In this embodiment, the dead zone N is an angular range of about 270 degrees in which the rack gear member 65B does not exist. The rotation angle range of the turntable 52B corresponding to the dead zone N is the predetermined angle range NR. This predetermined angle range NR further includes three predetermined angle ranges NR (90), NR.
(180) and NR (270). These predetermined angular ranges NR (90), NR (180), and NR (270)
Is a region N (90), N divided by 90 degrees of the dead zone N.
It corresponds to (180) and N (270) respectively.

In this embodiment, the reverse processing in the sub-scanning direction and the reverse processing of the output order of the pixel data under the control of the line memory 43 are not performed, and the processing corresponding to these is executed exclusively in the host computer 30. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the image reading operation. In FIG. 12, steps in which the same processes as those of the steps shown in FIG. 9 are performed are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, when it is determined in step S3 that the rotation angle position of the rotation table portion 52B corresponding to the read command is within the predetermined angle range NR, the rotation angle position is further divided into the predetermined subdivisions. It is checked which of the angular ranges NR (90), NR (180) and NR (270) belongs (step S21).

The rotation angle position corresponding to the reading angle instructed by the host computer 30 is determined by the predetermined angle range NR (9
If the position is within 0), the angle obtained by adding 90 degrees to the rotation angle corresponding to the read command is set as a new rotation angle (step S22). As a result, the turntable 52B is controlled to a position rotated by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction in FIG. 11 from the rotation angle position corresponding to the read command (step S7).

If the rotation angle position corresponding to the reading angle commanded by the host computer 30 is within the predetermined angle range NR (180), 180 degrees is added to the rotation angle corresponding to the reading command. The angle is set as a new rotation angle (step S23). This allows
The rotary table portion 52B is moved in the clockwise direction in FIG. 11 from the rotation angle position corresponding to the read command.
It is controlled to a position rotated by 0 degree (step S
7).

Further, when the rotation angle position corresponding to the reading angle instructed by the host computer 30 is within the predetermined angle range NR (270), 270 degrees is added to the rotation angle corresponding to the reading command. The angle is set as a new rotation angle (step S24). As a result, the rotary table portion 52B is rotated by 270 degrees in the clockwise direction in FIG. 11 from the rotation angle position corresponding to the read command (90 in the counterclockwise direction).
The position is controlled to be rotated by a degree) (step S
7).

The subsequent operation is the same operation regardless of whether or not the rotation angle instructed by the read command is within the predetermined angle range NR. That is, the moving table unit 51 is slid to an initial position where the document can be read from the leading end, and the moving table unit 5 moves from the initial position in the normal reading direction xR (see FIG. 8A).
1 is moved (step S8). At this time, line CC
The image data output from the light receiving unit 10 including D is input to the control unit 41 via the line memory 43, and further,
It is provided to the host computer 30.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for explaining the processing by the host computer 30. According to the processing shown in FIG. 12, the image data given from the flat scanner 40 to the host computer 30 is not necessarily the data corresponding to the reading angle instructed by the host computer 30. That is, when the commanded reading angle corresponds to the predetermined angle range NR, the host computer 30 must perform rotation processing on the image data given from the flat scanner 40.

More specifically, first, it is checked whether the reading angle commanded by the reading command is a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR (step H1). If the reading angle is not a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR, "0 degree rotation processing (no rotation processing)" is performed (step H2), and the processing ends. When the reading angle has a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR, the subdivided predetermined angle range NR (9
0), NR (180) or NR (270) is checked (step H3). When the reading angle is a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR (270),
"90 degree rotation processing" is performed (step H4). When the reading angle is a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR (180), "180 degree rotation processing" is performed (step H).
5). Further, when the reading angle is a value corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR (90), "270 degree rotation processing" is performed (step H6).

The 90-degree rotation processing means that the image is rotated by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction (that is, in the counterclockwise direction by 2 degrees).
This is a process for rotating by 70 degrees). Also, 18
The 0 degree rotation process is a process for inverting the image by 180 degrees. Similarly, the 270-degree rotation process is a process of rotating the image in the clockwise direction by 270 degrees (that is, in the counterclockwise direction by 90 degrees). 0 degrees, 9
An image memory area provided in the RAM 31 included in the host computer 30 is used for each rotation processing of 0 degree, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees.

FIGS. 14, 15, 16 and 17 show
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the above rotation processing performed by the host computer 30. The image data given to the host computer 30 from the flat scanner 40 is supplied to the image memory area 300 provided in the RAM 31. The image memory area 300 is a square storage area capable of storing all image data corresponding to one original image. The image memory area 300 has a plurality of areas for storing data of individual pixels forming one image, and an X address and a Y address are assigned to each area. By designating these X and Y addresses, the data of each pixel can be written to the designated addresses.

For designating an address, an X coordinate clock and a Y coordinate clock are generated by a configuration not shown. The X coordinate clock is a clock that represents an X address, and the Y coordinate clock is a clock that represents a Y address. The X coordinate clock is given to the first switch 301. The Y coordinate clock is given to the second switch 302. The first switch 301 uses the X coordinate clock
The signal is given to the third switch 303 or the fourth switch 304. In addition, the second switching unit 302 supplies the Y coordinate clock to the third switching unit 303 or the fourth switching unit 304. The third clock switch 303 gives the given coordinate clock to the image memory area 300 as it is or after inverting it by the first inverting unit 305, and specifies the X address. The fourth switch 304 gives the given coordinate clock to the image memory area 300 as it is or after inverting it by the second inverting unit 306, and specifies the Y address. For example, depending on the coordinate clock, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., N (N
Is the number of pixels in the X and Y directions. ), The address designation by the inverted coordinate clock output from the inverting unit 305 is N, (N-
1), (N-2), ..., 3, 2, 1 in this order.

When the "0 degree rotation process" is performed, the state shown in FIG. That is, the first switch 30
1 is connected to the third switch 303 side, and the third switch 303
Uses the given coordinate clock as it is to specify the X address. On the other hand, the second switch 302 is connected to the fourth switch 304 side, and the fourth switch 304 uses the given coordinate clock as it is for designating the Y address. Therefore, the X coordinate clock is used for X addressing and the Y coordinate clock is used for Y addressing. As a result, the storage area for the individual pixels of the image memory area 300 is scanned in the manner indicated by reference sign L1. That is, the rotation process is not performed, and the rotation process is performed as illustrated in FIG.
As shown in, the input image 4 represented by the image data
00 is stored in the image memory area 300 as the stored image 401 without being rotated.

On the other hand, when the "90-degree rotation process" is performed, the state shown in FIG. 15A is obtained, that is, the X coordinate clock is the first switch 301 and the fourth switch 304.
After that, it is used as it is for Y addressing. The Y coordinate clock is used for X addressing after being inverted by the first inverter 305 via the second switch 302 and the third switch 303. As a result, the storage area for each pixel in the image memory area 300 is scanned in the manner indicated by the reference symbol L2. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15B, the image 402 stored in the image memory area 300 is an image obtained by rotating the input image 400 clockwise by 90 degrees.

When the "180 degree rotation processing" is performed, the state shown in FIG. 16 (a) is obtained, that is, the X coordinate clock is the first switch 301 and the third switch 30.
After being inverted by the first inverter 305 through 3, it is used for X addressing. Further, the Y coordinate clock passes through the second switching unit 302 and the fourth switching unit 304,
After being inverted by the second inverter 306, it is used for Y addressing. As a result, the image memory area 300
The storage area for the individual pixels within is scanned in the manner indicated by the reference L3. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16 (b), the image 403 stored in the image memory area 300 is
It becomes an image obtained by rotating the input image 400 by 180 degrees.

Further, when the "270 degree rotation processing" is performed, the state shown in FIG. 17A is obtained, that is, X
The coordinate clock is the first switch 301 and the fourth switch 3.
It is used for Y addressing after being inverted by the second inverter 306 via 04. In addition, the Y coordinate clock passes through the second switch 302 and the third switch 303,
As is, used for X addressing. As a result, the storage area for each pixel in the image memory area 303 is scanned in the manner indicated by the reference symbol L4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17B, the image memory area 300
The image 402 stored in is the image obtained by rotating the input image 400 by 270 degrees in the clockwise direction.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the inexpensive ready-made rack gear member 65B is attached over the area of about 90 degrees on the outer circumference of the rotary table portion 52B. Then, in the predetermined angular range NR corresponding to the dead zone N without the rack gear member 65B, the rotational angle position rotated clockwise by 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees from the rotational angle position corresponding to the read command is Is set. As a result, the document reading operation in the predetermined angle range NR is replaced by the reading operation in the angle range in which the rack gear member 65B exists. The image data obtained by such a reading operation is input to the host computer 30. Then, when the reading angle corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR is instructed, the processing for rotating the input image data in the counterclockwise direction by 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees is performed. To be done.

In this way, the rack gear member 65 is provided only in the region of the outer circumference of the rotary table portion 52 extending over about 90 degrees.
Despite being provided, the document can be read at any reading angle in the range of 360 degrees. Moreover, the rotation processing for every 90 degrees on the image data is performed in X and Y.
Since it is achieved by address replacement and inversion, image deterioration does not occur. Therefore, by combining the rotation of the rotary table unit 56 in the range of about 90 degrees and the rotation processing of the host computer 30 for each 90 degrees, the rotation processing without image deterioration is realized.

According to the present embodiment, the cost can be reduced by using the inexpensive rack gear member 65, and the rotation angle range can be further reduced as compared with the case of the second embodiment. . Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the above first
In the second embodiment, the FIF is controlled by controlling the write address order of the image data to the line memory 43.
Although the O operation and the LIFO operation are realized, similar control can be performed by controlling the read address order. Further, instead of controlling the line memory 43 to perform the 180-degree inversion process, in the host computer 30,
The 180-degree inversion process may be realized by the process disclosed in the description of the third embodiment.

In the third embodiment, 90 degrees,
Although each rotation processing of 180 degrees and 270 degrees is realized by the processing in the host computer 30, the method of the first embodiment and the second embodiment can be adopted for the rotation processing of 180 degrees. That is,
The line memory 43 may be controlled to perform the LIFO operation, and the sub-scanning direction due to the movement of the moving table unit 51 may be reversed from the normal case.

Further, the rotation process by controlling the writing order of the image data in the image memory area 300 is as shown in FIG.
It may be realized by hardware corresponding to the configurations of FIGS. However, when it is not preferable to change the configuration of the host computer 30, it is preferable that the above rotation processing is realized by software.

In the third embodiment, the flat scanner 40 also determines whether or not the rotational angular position of the rotary table 52 corresponding to the command by the read command is within the predetermined angular range NR. Such determination may be performed exclusively on the host computer 30 side. That is, the host computer 30 checks in advance whether the reading angle to be instructed is an angle corresponding to the predetermined angle range NR of the turntable 52. Then, when the predetermined angle range NR is reached, the reading angle may be changed by 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees, and a reading command indicating the changed reading angle may be given to the flat scanner 40. In this way, the processing in the flatbed scanner 40 can be simplified.

Besides, it is possible to make various design changes within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims.

[0072]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined dead zone angle range can be set with respect to the rotation angle position of the rotary table, and the original is read at the rotation angle position within this dead zone angle range. Image data equivalent to time can be obtained. Therefore, in the configuration for rotating the turntable, even if the control of the rotation angle position in a part of the rotation angle range cannot be accurately performed, no inconvenience occurs. Therefore, the cost of the structure for rotating the turntable can be reduced.

Further, for example, in the angle range in which it takes a long time to control the rotation of the rotary table, the original reading can be performed at the temporary rotation angle position instead of the command rotation angle position. By doing so, the time required for reading the original can be shortened, and the speed of the original reading process can be increased. According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the rotary table has a prohibited rotation angle position where it cannot be located, the command rotation angle position is the rotation angle position of the rotation table before the rotation control and the prohibition rotation angle. Since the rotation control is changed depending on whether or not it is within a predetermined angle range determined by the position, an arbitrary angular position can be commanded. Therefore, the cost of the structure for rotating the turntable can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by appropriately setting the method for scanning the document, the document is normally operated at the command rotation angle position even when the rotary table is at the temporary rotation angle position. It is possible to output the same image data as when the scanning is performed from the reading unit. Moreover, since the scanning method is only changed, the image data is not deteriorated.

According to the invention described in claim 4, when the original is read by controlling the rotary table to the temporary rotation angle position,
The scanning direction of the document is opposite to the normal direction. As a result, the same image data as when the document is scanned in the normal manner at the command rotation angle position can be obtained. In this case, since the scanning direction is only changed, the image data does not deteriorate. Therefore, by combining the rotation of the rotary table and the reversal of the scanning direction, the original can be read at an arbitrary reading angle of 360 degrees without causing deterioration of the image. Also, the rotary table is
Since it suffices to be able to rotate over an area of about 180 degrees, it is possible to reduce the rotation angle range.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the image read by the reading means is rotated by 90 degrees, 180 degrees or 270 degrees. As a result, image data equivalent to the case of reading a document at the command rotation angle position can be obtained. Moreover, the rotary table only needs to be able to rotate over an area of about 90 degrees, so that it is possible to reduce the rotation angle range.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, when the image data is written in the image storage means, the rotation order of 90 degrees, 180 degrees or 270 degrees is realized by changing the generation order of the write addresses. It Therefore, the arithmetic processing for the image data is unnecessary, and the image data is not deteriorated. Therefore, the rotation of the rotary table and the 90 °, 180 ° or 270 by the image rotating means.
If combined with the degree rotation processing, the document can be read at any angle within the range of 360 degrees. In that case,
The read image does not deteriorate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a simplified internal configuration of a flat scanner that is an image input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a simplified configuration for reading a document.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a document table.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a document holder.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a rotary table section. (a) is an exploded perspective view and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conveyance drive mechanism for horizontally moving the document table.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the flatbed scanner.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative view for explaining a document reading operation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a document reading operation.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a rotary table section used in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a turntable unit used in a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a document reading operation according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for explaining the processing in the host computer.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining 0-degree rotation processing.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a 90-degree rotation process.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining 180-degree rotation processing.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining 270-degree rotation processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining rotation control of the turntable unit in the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a rotary table used in the conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Document Holder 5 Document Table 51 Moving Table Part 52 Rotating Table Part 52A Rotating Table Part 52B Rotating Table Part 6 Quartz Rod 7 Halogen Lamp 10 Light Receiving Part 20 Transport Drive Mechanism 22 Motor 30 Host Computer 31 RAM 41 Control Part 43 Line Memory 65 Rack Gear Member 65A Rack gear member 65B Rack gear member 66 Table rotation motor 67 Pinion gear 300 Image memory area 301 First switching device 302 Second switching device 303 Third switching device 304 Fourth switching device 305 First reversing device 306 Second reversing device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A rotary table capable of changing a rotational angle position while holding a document, reading means for reading the document held on the rotary table while scanning, and a command rotational angle position outside a predetermined angle range. When the command rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range, the rotation table is rotated when the command rotation angle position is within the predetermined angle range. An image input device, comprising: a rotary table control means for controlling the angular position to a temporary rotational angular position having a predetermined relationship with the command rotational angular position. 2. A rotating table capable of being positioned at a rotation angle position other than the prohibited rotation angle position while holding a document, a reading means for reading the document held on the rotation table while scanning, and a command rotation. When the angular position is a rotational angular position outside the predetermined angular range determined based on the prohibited rotational angular position and the rotational angular position of the rotary table,
The rotation angle position of the rotary table is controlled to the command rotation angle position, and when the command rotation angle position is the rotation angle position within the predetermined angle range, the rotation angle position of the rotation table is set with respect to the command rotation angle position. And a rotary table control means for controlling to a temporary rotation angle position having a predetermined relationship with the image input device. 3. When the original is to be read with the rotary angle position of the rotary table as the temporary rotary angle position, the method of scanning the original is determined by the predetermined relationship between the temporary rotary angle position and the command rotary angle position. The image input device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for correspondingly setting. 4. The temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position are 1
The rotation angle positions are different by 80 degrees, and when the document is to be read with the rotation angle position of the rotary table as the temporary rotation angle position, the scanning direction of the document is the scanning direction when scanning the document at the command rotation angle position. The image input device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for setting in opposite scanning directions. 5. The temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position are
The images read by the reading means are read when the original is to be read with the rotary angle position of the rotary table set as the temporary rotary angle position, because there is a difference in any angle of 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. The image rotation means for rotating by any one of 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees based on the relationship between the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position. Item 2. The image input device according to item 2. 6. The image rotation means is capable of storing image data representing one image read by the reading means, and a plurality of storages for storing data of individual pixels forming the image. Have an area,
When the image data is written in the image storage means to which an address is given to each storage area, the address generation order is changed based on the relationship between the temporary rotation angle position and the command rotation angle position, 90 degrees in storage, 1
6. The image input device according to claim 5, further comprising address control means for storing image data representing an image rotated by any one of 80 degrees and 270 degrees.