JPH1132173A - Image read system and recording medium for storing control procedure of image read system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely read the images of a size exceeding the read range of a handy scanner while recognizing a read state. SOLUTION: The handy scanner is provided with an image read means 1 for reading the image of an original with the two-dimensional region of a prescribed size as one unit of an image read range and outputting image signals and a position detection means for measuring the position of the image read range on the original 4 and outputting position signals. A host computer 3 is provided with a storage means for relating and storing the image signals and the position information of the position signals and an arithmetic means for computing the relative position of the image read range indicated by the position signals to an image read range position corresponding to image data based on the position information of position related image data and the position signals of the position detection means. A display means 3a for displaying relative information relating to a read position indicated by the position signals to the read position corresponding to the position related image data based on an arithmetic result is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention stores an image reading system for reading an image on a document by adding a coordinate input function to an image reading apparatus such as a handy scanner, and a control procedure of the image reading system. It relates to a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a handy scanner has been known as an image reading apparatus. Such a handy scanner makes it relatively easy to read an image by aligning it with a portion where an image is to be read by an operator and moving it within a predetermined range. However, on the other hand, such a handy scanner has a limited range in which a document can be read at a time (hereinafter, referred to as a reading range).

In particular, an original having a size larger than the reading range of a handy scanner cannot be read at once. Therefore, the operator moves the scanner body sequentially over the document to be read, sequentially reads a plurality of images, and joins the read images together on a screen of a computer display (monitor). There is a need to do.

[0004]

However, when an image is read using the above-described handy scanner, there are problems in the following operations. That is, when the operator manually moves the above-described handy scanner and sequentially moves the reading position of the document to be read, the moving distance and moving direction of the scanner main body, and the portion read by this scanner, are also used. It is difficult to grasp accurately. For this reason, when the read images are joined on a screen of a computer display, a portion where each read image overlaps becomes large, or a portion that is not read occurs.

[0005] In particular, in order to continuously read images using the above-described handy scanner, it is necessary to perform efficient reading with little overlap between the images and no unread portions. Become. However, in a conventional general handy scanner, there is a problem that such a work for reading and joining images is complicated, and furthermore, it is not possible to read an image reliably.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when reading an image having a size exceeding a reading range of a handy scanner as an image reading apparatus, an operator moves a reading position of a scanner body. The image reading system and the control procedure of the image reading system which can perform the image reading easily and reliably by giving the operator the information which can grasp the current position, the moving distance and the moving direction of the scanner main body. The purpose is to obtain a recording medium for storing.

[0007]

In order to meet such a purpose, an image reading system according to the present invention reads an image of a document using a two-dimensional area of a predetermined size as one unit of an image reading range and outputs an image signal. Image reading means, a position detecting means for measuring a position of an image reading range with respect to a document and outputting a position signal, and a storage means for associating the image signal with position information of the position signal and storing position-associated image data And calculating the relative position of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position association image data, based on the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output by the position detecting means. Calculating means, and an image reading range indicated by a position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position-related image data based on the calculation result of the calculating means And it has a display means for displaying information about the relative positions.

[0008] Here, the above-mentioned calculating means calculates the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the associated image data from the position information of the position-related image data and the position signal output from the position detecting means. The relative movement amount and the movement direction are calculated, and the display means is configured to display information corresponding to the movement amount and the movement direction. Further, the above-described image reading range is a rectangular area, and the calculating means determines the size of the side of the rectangular area corresponding to the moving direction from the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output from the position detecting means. By subtracting the moving amount of the image reading range from the approximate value of the above, the remaining moving amount is calculated, and a display corresponding to the remaining moving amount is displayed by the display means.

Further, the image reading system according to the present invention comprises:
Image reading means for reading an image of a document with a two-dimensional area as one unit of the image reading range and outputting an image signal; reading range setting means for designating a whole reading range of the document and setting a whole reading range parameter; And a division setting means for dividing and setting the entire reading range based on the reading range parameter and the one unit reading range.

Here, the above-mentioned reading range setting means includes a whole reading range measuring means for measuring the size of the whole reading range of the document, and is configured to set the whole reading range parameter based on the size. The entire reading range of the document is a rectangular area, and the entire reading range measuring means measures the dimension of the first side of the rectangular area and the dimension of the second side intersecting the first side.

Further, the whole reading range measuring means includes a moving distance measuring means for measuring a moving distance of the document in the image reading range and outputting the moving distance information, and a moving direction by judging a moving direction of the document in the image reading range. Moving direction determining means for outputting information, resetting means for resetting the moving distance information and moving direction information, determining means for determining the end of the measurement of the moving distance measuring means and the judgment of the moving direction determining means, And a dimension calculating means for calculating the size of the first side and the size of the second side based on the outputs of the moving distance measuring means and the moving direction judging means from the reset by the reset means to the end determination by the determining means. Further, the image reading system according to the present invention further includes a display unit for performing a display corresponding to the division setting. The display corresponding to the division setting is a display indicating a state in which the entire reading range is divided by one reading range unit.

Further, in the image reading system according to the present invention, the reading range setting means includes dimension input means for inputting a dimension of the document, and sets the entire reading range parameter based on the dimension. The reading range setting means includes a fixed form original selecting means for selecting a fixed form original, and sets all reading range parameters based on the fixed form original selected by the fixed form original selecting means.

The recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention is an image reading means for reading an image of a document using a two-dimensional area of a predetermined size as one unit of an image reading range and outputting an image signal; Position detecting means for measuring the position of the image reading range with respect to the document and outputting a position signal, wherein the recording medium associates the image signal with the position information of the position signal to generate position-associated image data. And the relative position of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position association image data based on the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output by the position detection means. And calculating the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position-related image data based on the calculation result. It is for storing a display procedure for displaying the information about the relative position of the image reading range.

Further, in the recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention, the calculation procedure includes:
A relative movement amount and a movement direction of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the associated image data are calculated from the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output from the position detection means. And the display step includes a step of displaying information corresponding to the movement amount and the movement direction. Furthermore, the above-described image reading range is a rectangular area, and the calculation procedure is based on the position information of the position-associated image data and the position signal output from the position detecting means, and determines the size of the side of the rectangular area corresponding to the moving direction. The procedure includes calculating the remaining movement amount by subtracting the movement amount of the image reading range from the approximate value, and the display procedure includes performing the display corresponding to the remaining movement amount.

Further, a recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention has an image reading means for reading an image of a document and outputting an image signal with a two-dimensional area as one unit of an image reading range. In, the recording medium is
A reading range setting procedure for setting the entire reading range parameter by designating the entire reading range of the document, and a split setting procedure for split setting for setting the entire reading range based on the entire reading range parameter and the reading range of one unit. It is something to memorize.
In a recording medium storing such a control procedure of the image reading system, the reading range setting procedure includes: an entire reading range measuring procedure for measuring a dimension of the entire reading range of the document; and setting an entire reading range parameter based on the dimension. The entire reading range parameter setting procedure is performed.

Further, the entire reading range of the document described above is a rectangular area, and the whole reading range measuring procedure measures the dimension of the first side of the rectangular area and the dimension of the second side intersecting the first side. This includes a dimension measurement procedure to be performed. Further, the entire reading range measuring procedure described above includes a moving distance measuring procedure for measuring a moving distance of the image reading range with respect to the document, a moving direction determining procedure for determining a moving direction of the image reading range with respect to the document, and a moving distance measuring procedure. And a start determination procedure for determining the start of the movement direction determination, including an end determination procedure for determining the end of the movement distance measurement and the determination of the movement direction, the dimension measurement procedure,
The size of the first side and the size of the second side are measured based on the measurement of the moving distance from the start determination to the end determination and the determination of the movement direction. Further, the recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention further stores a display procedure for performing a display corresponding to the division setting.

According to the present invention, a handy scanner as image reading means is arranged on a document while being connected to a host computer, and the movement of the image reading means displayed on a display which is a display means of the host computer is observed. The required image on the document can be read by manually adjusting the image reading position, the moving direction and the moving amount.

Further, according to the present invention, the next reading position by the image reading means is notified, and the reading position of the image reading means and the unread position are determined based on the information from the whole reading range measuring means of the original by the image reading means. By instructing and displaying the position on the display means, it is possible to instruct image reading by the image reading means. Further, according to the present invention, the plurality of images read from the document by the image reading means are connected and displayed by the display means, and the read images are connected and displayed by the display means after reading the image from the document. Can be. According to the present invention, the operator can digitize image information of a size determined based on the moving state of the image reading unit displayed on the display unit.

According to the present invention, by adding a means for detecting the position signal of the image reading means such as a handy scanner, the reading position, the moving amount (moving distance), and the moving direction of the image reading means on the original are added. Is detected, and the detection result is displayed on a screen of a display as display means of the host computer as information on a moving distance and a moving direction. Therefore, when reading a document larger than the reading range of the image reading means constituting the handy scanner, the operator can sequentially read the image as necessary while checking and grasping the reading position of the scanner.

Further, according to the present invention, the amount of movement and the direction of movement of the scanner are displayed on the screen of the display of the host computer, so that the original having a size larger than the reading range is divided into portions, and the By connecting after reading with the overlapping amount, an image larger than the reading range of the scanner can be read as needed.

The image reading means is, for example, a handy scanner having a position detecting means for detecting an image reading position on a document. This image reading means is capable of reading an image of a document using a two-dimensional area of a predetermined size such as a rectangular area as one unit of an image reading range and outputting an image signal. An image reading system includes a storage unit that associates an image signal with position information and stores position association image data, such as a host computer connected to the image reading unit, and a relative position of an image reading range. And a device that includes display means such as a display for displaying the information.

The recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system is, for example, a memory connected to a CPU provided in a scanner main body or an interface unit of a handy scanner, or a CP provided in a personal computer (personal computer).
HDD, ROM, FD, CD-ROM connected to U,
There are recording media using MO, MD, and other memories. The image reading program recorded on such a recording medium also includes a computer-readable recording medium for installation that stores a control procedure of the system for performing the above-described image reading.

[0023]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 10 show an embodiment of an image reading system and a recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention. In these figures, a handy scanner as an image reading apparatus has two configurations, as shown in FIG. 1, a scanner main body 1 serving as an image reading means and an interface box 2 including a position detecting means for outputting a position signal. Consists of elements.

The scanner main body 1 is formed in a weight, size, and shape that can be moved by an operator by hand. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the scanner main body 1 is moved in an appropriate direction on a document 4 which is an image reading member, and reads an image on the document 4. The scanner body 1 is connected to the interface box 2 via a cable 1a.

The interface box 2 is used by being connected to a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer) 3 serving as a host computer via a cable or other connection means. Here, the devices and devices to which the interface box 2 is connected are not limited to the personal computer 3 described above. Signals from the interface box 2 are transmitted to a computer capable of playing a role as will be described later. Devices and devices similar to the above may be used.

The interface box 2 receives a command from the personal computer 3 to generate an instruction to the scanner main body 1 by calculation or the like. The scanner body 1 receives the command from the interface box 2, starts an image reading operation, and sends the read image information to the interface box 2. Here, the interface box 2 is provided with a CPU and a memory on the scanner side as shown in FIG.

The personal computer 3 is provided with a display 3a as display means. This display 3a
As shown in FIG. 3 to be described later, a command to the scanner main body 1, read image information, and other data information are displayed on the screen. In the personal computer 3, an image reading program is installed from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM on which scanning software described later is recorded via a CD-ROM drive, and an HDD (hard disk) for executing the program is executed. A memory and a CPU that are sometimes used are provided.

FIG. 4 shows a control flow chart in the personal computer 3 for operating the handy scanner including the display on the display 3a as described above. FIG. 5 shows a control flowchart on the scanner side controlled by the personal computer 3. That is, in order to operate the above-described handy scanner including the scanner body 1 and the interface box 2 using the personal computer 3, the display on the display 3 a as shown in FIG. Scanning software (according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) for controlling the box 2, the personal computer 3, and the display 3a is used.

Such scanning software is software for controlling a handy scanner and performing an image reading operation. Display contents (FIG. 3) displayed on the screen of the display 3a based on the scanning software
), The necessary items are set and executed, so that the interface box 2 and the scanner body 1 are set.
You can send the order to

The image reading system constituted by the scanner body 1, interface box 2, personal computer 3 and display 3a of the above-mentioned handy scanner is as follows.
Each has a structure as shown in FIG. The scanner body 1 employs an original reading method as shown in FIGS. That is, the scanner body 1
It has a structure for reading a document in a predetermined range (hereinafter, referred to as a reading range) among the documents 4 on the lower surface. This reading range is, as shown in FIG.
It is constituted by an opening 8a like a rectangular shape opened on the lower surface of the housing 8 of the scanner main body 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the scanner body 1 has a monochrome CCD 5 as an image pickup means. The operator
An image is read while the scanner body 1 is stationary at a predetermined position on the document 4. The scanner body 1 is
As the illuminating means, for example, three Xe tubes (xenon tubes) are provided. The Xe tubes 6R, 6G, and 6B have filters 7R, 7R in order of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), respectively, from the top.
G and 7B are attached. And these Xe tubes 6
By causing R, 6G, and 6B to emit light sequentially, light of three colors can be applied to the reading range of the document 4. In addition,
These Xe tubes 6R, 6G, 6B are connected to the Xe tube light emitting substrate 6
a.

The operator adjusts the reading range (the rectangular area defined by the opening 8a in FIG. 8) of the lower surface of the scanner main body 1 to the portion of the document 4 to be read on the desk. Then, a scan start button 1 on the screen of the display 3a (see FIG. 3) by the scanning software that has been started in advance.
Select 7. Then, the personal computer 3 sends a scan start command to the interface box 2, and the interface box 2 sends a scan start command to the scanner body 1.

Scanner body 1 receiving scan start command
Emits light separately from the three Xe tubes 6R, 6G, and 6B once in the order of red, green, and blue. Here, the arrangement order of the above-described three-color filters 7R, 7G, and 7B, and three Xe
The light emission order of the tubes 6R, 6G, 6B may not be as described above.

The reflected light from the original 4 of each color due to the above-mentioned light emission is reflected by the reflecting mirror 9 and then imaged on the CCD 5 by the projection lens 10. The CCD 5 is provided on the CCD substrate 11 and can be taken in as image data by performing photoelectric conversion of the formed reflected light. That is, the three captured images are red, green,
These are three image data corresponding to blue. The acquired three image data are sequentially sent to the interface box 2,
Further, the interface box 2 sends the image data of three colors to the personal computer 3.

In the personal computer 3, an image on the display 3a can be displayed in color by superimposing the above three image data. Further, the above-described scanning can be instructed by pressing the scan button 18 provided on the upper surface of the scanner body 1. That is, whether or not to instruct the start of scanning by operating either the scan start button 17 in the display screen on the display 3a of the personal computer 3 or the scan button 18 of the scan main body 1 or both of them is described above. It can be arbitrarily selected by scanning software.

As shown in FIG. 8, four rollers 21 are attached to the lower surface of the scanner main body 1. As shown in FIG. 7, each of these rollers 21 is constituted by attaching a cylindrical rotary rubber 14 to a rotary shaft 13 that is supported along the horizontal direction at both ends of an arm bracket 13a formed to be curved downward. Have been. A rotating part 12 is provided on the upper end of the arm bracket 13a.
a. The rotating unit 12 is attached to the lower surface of the scanner body 1.

A part of the rotating shaft 13 is provided with a rotation detecting means 15 as a position detecting means for measuring and detecting the position of an image reading range by a rotary encoder or the like for detecting the rotating state of the rotating rubber 14. I have. The rotation angle and the rotation speed of the rotating rubber 14 are transmitted to the interface box 2 by the rotation detecting means 15. The traveling direction of the roller 21 is detected as a moving direction by the direction detecting means 16 attached to the rotating unit 12 based on the rotation angle of the rotating unit 12 with respect to the scanner main body 1.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the operator holds the scanner main body 1 placed on a flat surface (for example, a desk or the like) and moves it on the flat surface. At this time, each roller 21 is directed in the traveling direction by the friction between the rotating rubber 14 and the desk and the function of the rotating unit 12. This is because the rotating unit 12
Is weaker than the frictional force acting between the rotating rubber 14 and the document surface.

As shown in FIG. 11, by providing a caster angle in the arrangement of the rotating portion 12 and the rotating shaft 13 in the roller 21, the roller 21 can be easily directed in the traveling direction. The rotating rubber 14 of the roller 21 starts rotating due to friction with the desk. At this time, the rotation detecting unit 15 and the direction detecting unit 16 detect the moving direction, the moving amount, and the moving speed of the scanner main body 1. The detected result is transmitted to the interface box 2 as a movement signal of the scanner body 1. Since a plurality of rollers 21 are provided, the movement of the scanner main body 1 can be detected more accurately even when the scanner main body 1 is moved in a direction in which the scanner main body 1 is rotated on a horizontal plane (for example, the θ direction in FIG. 9).

Further, the number of the rollers 21 attached to the lower surface of the scanner main body 1 described above also
It is sufficient that the scanner body 1 can be stably held on a flat surface by grasping the movement of the scanner body, and is not limited to four. Further, in order to grasp the movement of the scanner main body 1, it is sufficient that at least two rollers 21 incorporating the detecting means (the rotation detecting means 15 and the direction detecting means 16) are provided. Furthermore, if one or more rollers 21 are newly added, the scanner main body 1 can be stably held on a flat surface. In the roller to be added in this manner, the above-described detecting means (the rotation detecting means 15 and the direction detecting means 16) may be omitted. For this reason, other than the roller 21 to which the detection unit is attached, the stability of the scanner main body 1 may be maintained by using a sliding member or the like instead of the roller 21.

The means for grasping the movement of the scanner main body 1 and stably holding it on a plane need not be configured as described above. That is, it is only necessary to have a function of detecting and transmitting the moving direction and the moving amount of the scanner main body 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a ball-type detecting means 29 may be used. Such a ball type detecting means 29 has a ball 26. As shown in FIG. 13, the balls 26 are held in the scanner main body 1 by the holding rollers 30a and 30a.
0b, and is held by the X direction detection roller 27 and the Y direction detection roller 28.

The ball type detecting means 29 shown in FIG. 13 is attached to the concave portion provided in the scanner main body 1. The moving amount and moving direction detecting method and function of the scanner main body 1 are the same as those of the roller 21 in FIGS. 7 and 8 described above.
That is, when the scanner main body 1 placed on the desk is moved, the ball 26 rotates due to friction with the desk or the document 4. The rotation of the ball 26 is detected by the X direction detecting means 27,
It is detected by the Y direction detecting means 28. The detected signal is transmitted to the interface box 2 and the X
The direction, the movement amount in the Y direction, and the rotation angle of the scanner main body 1 are displayed on the display 3a.

The interface box 2 transmits a movement signal of the scanner body 1 to the personal computer 3. The personal computer 3 displays the current position and the moving distance of the scanner main body 1 on the screen of the display 3a based on the signal. By looking at the screen of the display 3a, the operator can know in which direction and how much the scanner main body 1 has been moved. The moving distance is displayed as an X direction, a Y direction, and θ (angle) as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, when the reset button 19 is selected, the position of the scanner main body 1 at that time can be set as the origin.

In FIG. 3, the screen of the display 3a displays the above-described scan software window 20A and scan main body movement amount display window 20B. The movement amount display window 20B is also provided with a display unit setting button 19a. Further, a preview button 17a is provided at a position adjacent to the scan start button 17.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, a direction fixing window 20C is formed in the scan software window 20A on the screen of the display 3a, and a direction fixing switch 31 is provided in a part of the direction soft window 20C. (In this case, the scanner body 1 can be moved only in the X direction or the Y direction).

Further, when the direction fixing switch 31 is selected, it is possible to select in which direction the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, or an arbitrary direction is fixed. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the direction fixing means 37 attached to the rotating portion 12 of the roller 21 rotates the rotating portion 12 so that the roller 21 faces in the selected direction, and then fixes the rotating portion 12. . The direction in which the roller 21 faces can be detected by the direction detecting means 16. Although the driving of the rotating unit 12 by the direction fixing means 37 is not shown, an electric motor may be used. Further, a braking member having a large sliding resistance, such as rubber, is used for fixing the rotating portion 12. Then, such a braking member is fixed by pressing against the rotating portion 12.

With such a configuration, the scanner body 1
After reading a plurality of originals 4 larger than the original reading range while shifting the reading position, the images are connected on the personal computer 3 to form one image. 9 and 10 show examples of the work procedure, and FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of the entire system.

That is, in step S 601 in FIG. 16 (hereinafter simply referred to as “S”), the scanner main body 1 is set in a range at an arbitrary position on the document 4 (for example, range A in FIG. 9). Then, the traveling direction of the roller 21 is fixed in the X direction, and when the reset button 19 is selected in S602, the current coordinates are set as the origin. S6
03, the scan start button 17 or the scan button 1
Along with the operation 8, the reading image of the reading range of the document 4 at that position is read.

Next, in step S604, the operator determines whether or not to read the next range while checking the current position and the moving amount of the scanner main body 1 on the screen of the display 3a, and the reading is completed. If so, the process ends and the process proceeds to S605 when reading the next range. In step S605, the moving direction is fixed in the X direction or the Y direction by the direction fixing switch 31. Then, in S606,
The scanning main body 1 is moved to the next range on the document 4 while checking the current position and the moving distance on the screen of the display 3a. That is, the reading is performed by adjusting the reading range of the scanner main body 1 to the next range (the range B in FIG. 9) of the range previously captured. At this time, the range B is overlapped by an appropriate amount with the range read in the range A. And S603
By repeating the steps from S604 to S606, the scanner main body 1 is shifted while the X-direction and the Y-direction are sequentially fixed, and the reading range on the document 4 is read one after another.

As described above, by sequentially shifting the scanner body 1 for reading, the image of the document 4 having a size larger than the reading range of the scanner body 1 can be taken into the personal computer 3 and can be edited. For example, several images captured as shown in FIG. 10 are connected on the display 3a using retouching software. The retouching software is software for editing a read image, and is activated on the personal computer 3 and used. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the retouch software window 20D is displayed on the screen of the display 3a.

In this embodiment, the case where three Xe tubes 6R, 6G and 6B are used in combination as the image reading means has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 18, only one Xe tube 6 can be used, and the three color filters 38R, 38G, 38B can be switched. In this example, a gear portion 38 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the switching filter 38 having the above-described three color filters.
a, which is configured to be driven by a motor 39 provided with a gear 39a. By switching these three color filters 38R, 38G, 38B and placing them on the optical path of the Xe tube 6, light of each color can be applied to the original.

For example, by driving the motor 39, the Xe tube 6
The red filter 38R is aligned with the optical path. And X
The e-tube 6 emits light, and the red reflected light is read by the CCD 5. Green and blue are read in the same manner, and the three color images are overlapped to form a color image. Of course, the reading order is not limited to the above. Further, the image may be read in black and white using only one Xe tube 6 without using the above-described filter 38. Instead of a monochrome CCD, a color CCD may be used. In this case, it is not necessary to attach a filter or the like for performing color separation.
The image can be read by emitting light only once.

Further, the method of reading an image is not limited to the above-described method, as long as the document can be converted into image data. For example, an example using a line sensor and a fluorescent tube is shown in FIG.
Shown in That is, in this example, a line sensor is used as the CCD 22. The CCD 22 and the fluorescent tube 23
Is attached to the carriage 24. The line direction read by the CCD 22 is defined as the main scanning direction, and the moving direction of the carriage 24 is defined as the sub-scanning direction (see the arrow in the figure).

In such a structure, the fluorescent tube 23 is turned on prior to the start of scanning. The CCD 22 captures only one line image from the reflected light of the original 4 using the projection lens 25. The carriage 24 moves in the sub-scanning direction as indicated by the arrow in the drawing. By moving the carriage 24 in this manner, images are taken line by line. As described above, by repeating the image capture for each line, it is possible to capture the entire image in the reading range on the document 4.

The above-described carriage 24 is driven by a drive belt 24b that travels as the drive motor 24a rotates. The CCD 22 is a CCD substrate 22a.
It is provided above and configured to receive reflected light from the document 4 via the reflection mirror 25a and the projection lens 25.

As described above, in the handy scanner according to the present invention, the surface CCD or the Xe
It is not necessary to use a tube, and the image capturing means may use some kind of image sensor. As a lighting device, X
If the document 4 can be illuminated without using the e-tube, another illuminating device can be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the scanner main body 1 and the interface box 2 constituting the handy scanner are separately provided has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a structure may be employed in which the interface unit 2A is integrally attached to the scanner main body 1. It is also conceivable that the arithmetic function or the like in the interface box 2 is provided on software of the personal computer 3 or in the scanner main body 1 and the interface box 2 is omitted or simplified as shown in FIG. In the case of the configuration of FIG. 21, the scanning software has a function of calculating, processing, and transmitting signals from both the scanner body 1 and the personal computer 3.

Here, an example of a control flow for reading an image on the host computer (personal computer 3) side in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
That is, in S101, the display 3 serving as an input device is used.
It is determined whether or not designation in the X direction or the Y direction has been completed by the direction fixing switch 31 (see FIG. 14) on the screen a. When this designation is completed, proceed to S102,
The direction designation command of the roller 21 of the scanning main body 1 is output to the scanner main body 1 side.

In S103, it is determined whether or not a reset command has been input from the reset button 19, which is an input device. This S103 is repeated as long as there is no reset instruction.
When a reset command is input, the process proceeds to S104. S1
In 04, the distance counters in the X and Y directions are reset, and it is determined in S105 whether movement information has been input from the scanner body 1 side. If there is no movement information, S108
The process proceeds to S106 when the movement information is input.

In step S106, the amounts of movement in the X and Y directions are calculated based on the movement information of the scanner body 1 described above.
The result is displayed on the display 3a as shown in FIGS.
Is displayed in the movement amount display window 20B on the screen. Then, the process proceeds to S107, where the remaining movement amounts in the X direction and the Y direction are obtained based on the movement information and displayed on the remaining movement amount table 36 as shown in FIG.

In S108, it is determined whether a scan start signal has been input from an input device such as the scan start button 17 or the scan button 18. If a signal has not been input, the process returns to S105. move on.
In step S109, the image reading command is transmitted to the scanner
Output to the side. Then, it is determined whether or not the read image data on the side of the scanner main body 1 has been input, and when the read image data has been input, the process proceeds to S111.

In step S111, as described above, an identification number for confirming the position in the table 32 (see FIGS. 22 and 23 described later) is assigned to the image data. In step S112, the image data is connected. Then, the image data connected in S113 is displayed on the screen of the display 3a. In S114, the recognition number corresponding to the image data is displayed on the table 32 or the like.

In S115, it is determined whether or not a direction change input in the X direction or Y direction has been made from the input device (direction fixing switch 36). If not, in S116, the direction designation command of the roller 21 is transmitted to the scanner main body. 1 and output to S117. If the input has been made, the process directly proceeds to S117, and it is determined whether or not a full range reading end command has been input from the input device (a switch or a button on the screen of the personal computer 3 or the display 3a).
In this S117, if there is no input, the process returns to S104, and if an end command has been input, this routine ends.

On the other hand, an example of the processing flow in the CPU (in the interface box 2) on the handy scanner side which operates in accordance with the execution of the scan software on the personal computer 3 is as shown in FIG. . This will be briefly described. In S201, the roller 2 of the scan main body 1 is
It is determined whether or not the direction designation command in step 1 has been input from the host computer (personal computer 3).

In step S202, the scanner body 1 is rotated by rotating the roller 21 in the designated direction.
Move on. In step S203, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the movement of the scanner main body 1 to approach the next reading range, and the flow advances to step S204 to calculate the amounts of movement in the X and Y directions on the scanner side. Of the CPU.

In S205, the information on the movement amount obtained in S204 is output to the personal computer 3 side. In S206, it is determined whether or not an image reading command has been input from the personal computer 3 side, and when the command has been input, the process proceeds to S207 to perform an image reading process. In step S208, the read image data is output to the personal computer 3, and the flow advances to step S209 to determine whether a direction designation command for the roller 21 has been input from the personal computer 3 side.

If it is determined in S209 that the input has been made, the roller 21 is rotated in the designated direction to move the scan main body 1 in a desired direction in S210, and then the process returns to S203. If it is determined in S209 that there is no input, S21
The process returns to S203, bypassing 0. This routine on the scanning side is repeatedly performed until the routine on the main computer 3 side ends.

FIGS. 22 to 25 show a second embodiment of an image reading system and a recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention. Here, FIG. 22 shows a display screen of the scan software window 20A by the scanning software, FIG. 23 shows a display example of the table 32 in the scanning software, and FIG. 24 shows a screen of the retouch window 20D by the retouch software. FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a work procedure in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, a function of automatically connecting images after reading a plurality of images is provided by retouch software (retouch software window 20D).
The following is an example in which the present embodiment is added to the scanning software (scanning software window 20A). That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, a large original start button 3 is located below the scan software window 20A.
3, a large original end button 34, a joint button 35, and a remaining movement amount table 36 are displayed. Also, in the retouch window 20D, as shown in FIG. 24, the above-described connection button 35 is displayed.

FIG. 25 shows a work procedure in this embodiment.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, S701
, The image reading operation is started by selecting the START button 33 for a large original. This large manuscript S
After the selection of the TART button 33, the scanner main body 1 is moved to a portion of the document 4 to be read first. In step S702, an image reading operation is performed by selecting the scan button 18 or the scan start button 17.

After the first reading operation is completed, a number and a name are registered in the read image so that the operator can easily identify it. For example, as shown in FIG. 23, (1, 1), (1,
2), (2, 1)... Can be represented by coordinates. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, “1”, “2”, “3”,.
"C" may be used. These numbers and names can be entered by the operator himself, or can be automatically set and registered by software. The registered numbers and names are displayed on the table 32 on the display 3a as shown in FIG. The operator uses this table 3
2, the image can be read or edited.

After the reading of one image and the registration of the number etc. are completed, the next range is read in S704. That is, the scanner main body 1 is adjusted to a portion to be read next to the document 4.
At this time, the scanning software knows the moving direction and the moving amount of the scanner main body 1. Using this function, the original position where the image was read first is used as the origin,
Next, the moving direction and the moving amount to the original position to be read are stored by the scanning software. And S
702 and S703 are repeated, like the first image,
The user selects and reads the scan button 18 or the scan start button 17 to register a number or the like. As described above, the scanner body 1 is sequentially moved to sequentially read the respective reading ranges of the document 4.

After all the images have been captured, the reading operation is completed by selecting the large-size document END button 34 in S705. Thereafter, in S706, the captured images are joined on the display 3a. This image connection is performed after the image reading operation on the scanning software shown in FIG. 22 is completed. Alternatively, after the image reading operation is completed, the images may be connected on the retouch software shown in FIG.

For example, when there are two read images, there are a method in which the software automatically connects and displays the images, and a method in which the operator selects the connection button 35 to display the images. Further, it may be possible for the user to freely rearrange the arranged images. In this case, the operator can replace the actual image by rewriting the number and name registered in the table 32 of FIG. Alternatively, images may be replaced by dragging with a pointing device such as a mouse.

When reading a plurality of images, the scanner body 1
It is also possible to display on the screen of the display 3a how much should be moved. That is, when the first image is captured after selecting the large document START button 33, for example, how much more of the scanner
Is moved, is displayed on the screen of the display 3a as the remaining movement amount table 36 as to whether the next second image is continuous with the first image. In other words, when the scanner main body 1 moves to a position where the end of the first image and the end of the second image can be seen just when they are aligned, the remaining movement amount becomes zero. At the time of this movement, the direction fixing switch 31 may be used so as to be movable only in the X direction.

Here, if it is difficult for the operator to move the scanner main body 1 so that the remaining movement amount becomes zero, the reading may be performed at a position close to zero. That is, this is a method in which one copy is overlapped with the previously captured image. By employing such a method, it becomes easier to capture a plurality of images. By displaying the remaining movement amount table 36 as described above, the operator can very easily and easily perform the positioning of the scanner main body 1 when reading the document 4 larger than the size of the image reading unit. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the function of automatically joining together after reading a plurality of images is used. However, the present invention is not limited to such a method. The processing flow of the CPU on the personal computer 3 side and the processing flow of the CPU on the scanner side in the second embodiment are the same as those described in FIGS. 4 and 5 described above. Omitted.

FIGS. 26 to 29 show an image reading system according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system. The case of incorporating the software will be described. Hereinafter, an example of the operation procedure using the flowchart of FIG. 29 will be described. The following description shows a case where the range to be captured (read range) is rectangular. Of course, in the present invention, the reading range is not limited to such a rectangular area.

When using the automatic division function, the automatic division button 41 (FIG. 26) provided on the scanning software is selected as shown in S801 of FIG. When the automatic division button 41 is selected, as shown in S802, an image capture range window 42 is displayed on the screen of the display 3a. Then, in step S803, the operator inputs a range to be initially captured as image data (usually a range that can be captured at a time).

There are several methods for inputting the capture range. That is, there is a method in which the length is expressed by the coordinates of the four corners of the range to be captured in the image capturing range window 42 and input. In addition, the input of the capture range is performed not by using coordinates, but by using a standard document selection unit that determines the length of the range to be captured such as mm, cm, in, a letter such as A4 or B5, or a regular document such as legal size. There is a way to enter. FIG. 26 shows such an input method.

There is also a method in which the scanner body 1 is sequentially moved to the four corners of the range to be captured, and the scan button 18 or the scan start button 17 serving as the dimension input means of the reading range setting means is designated by designating it. Further, as a method of designating such four corners, by selecting the four corner designation button 44,
Switch to this specification method. At this time, there is no need to actually read the image. Since the position of the scanner main body 1 is known from the signal from the detection means, the order of designation of the four corners does not need to be particularly determined. However, the user is not always required to specify four places. It is also possible to set to specify two places, three places, and if necessary, five or more places.

Of the three types of range designation methods described above, only one of the functions may be incorporated in the scanning software, or a plurality of functions may be incorporated. Other than the function of designating the four corners using the four corner designation buttons 44,
To start the capture operation, it is necessary to specify any one of the four corners of the range to be captured. When the range is set by the method of inputting the coordinates, the operation of designating one place is also the operation of designating the origin. Any point can be set as the origin as long as it is within the range (reading range) at which the scanner body 1 can read at one time.

Which corner is to be designated may be determined in advance, or may be selected by the operator. At this time, the designated position selection function (FIG. 26) is set. After selecting which corner to specify, any position of the document 4 is actually registered as the specified position. As a procedure of this registration, the scanner main body 1 is moved to a position to be registered. When the capture position designation button 45 is selected, a capture position designation window 43 is displayed, and a registration position, that is, any one of four corners is designated.

In FIG. 29, the coordinates, length,
When the size is input, an operation of selecting the capture position designation button 45 is performed in S805, and the process proceeds to S808. On the other hand, S
If the input is made by specifying the four corners at 805, the four corners specifying button 44 is selected at S806, and the four corners are specified at S807, and then S
Proceed to 808.

After setting the reading range and the reading position, the scanning software sets the document 4 for each range that can be captured at once.
Is divided, and the range to be divided is configured to overlap with an adjacent divided range by an appropriate amount. The automatic setting of the overlap amount is performed in S808, and the process proceeds to S811.

Note that such an overlapping amount can be determined by the scanning software, but may be set by the operator. When the operator sets the overlap amount, the process proceeds to S8.
At 09, the overlap amount setting button 46 (see FIG. 28 and the like) is selected. The operator can set the overlap amount by using the overlap amount setting button 46. That is, the overlapping amount is input in S810.

After the above settings are made, the scanning software divides the document 4 into ranges that can be captured at one time. An example is shown in FIG. Then, in S811, the automatic division start button 50 is selected, and
The automatic division at 812 starts. And S813
In, it is determined whether the division is appropriate. Here, each setting can be redone even after the automatic division is started. When the setting is reset, S8 described above is used.
The steps described in 03 to 812 may be performed as needed, and the automatic division may be performed again.

If the automatic division as described above is appropriate, the individual division is performed as shown in S814 in the second embodiment as in the case described with reference to the table 32 in FIG. Register the identification number and name in the range. For example, "1", "2", "3" ...
"A", "B", "C", etc. Of course, as in the above-described second embodiment, the number and the name may be automatically registered by the scanning software, or may be input by the operator.

After setting the above capture conditions, the operator sets
At 815, the order of capture is set, and at S816, the images of the divided portions are sequentially captured one by one. The order of this import is
The scanning software may give instructions automatically,
The order of the operator's preference may be used. Switching of whether or not to automatically set the capture order is performed by selecting a capture order selection button 48 (FIG. 27).
Is possible by selecting.

When the scanning software indicates the order of capture, it indicates the first capture range. The operator moves the scanner main body 1 while viewing the current coordinate position (movement amount window 20B) on the screen of the display 3a. After the scanner body 1 is moved to the designated first range, reading is started. When the first image reading operation is completed, the scanning software specifies the position of the next capture range.

The capture range can be specified by any method as long as it can be confirmed by the operator. For example, in the table 32, the range to be captured next is designated by blinking or changing the color (see FIG. 28). In addition, such a pointing position may be random, but it is usually preferable to point to a range adjacent to the captured first range. The operator moves the scanner body 1 to the second range and reads the same as in the case of the first range. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated, and the operator sequentially reads the entire range.

When the user selects the method for determining the order of capture by switching the capture order selection button 48, the procedure is as follows. That is, the document 4 is read while checking the current coordinates of the scanner main body 1 on the screen of the display 3a. The procedure is the same as that in the case where the scanning software indicates the acquisition order. The operator does not specify the range to be captured next on the scanning software side, and the operator can capture the images divided in his or her favorite order. At the time of this capture, the distance moved to the next range after capturing one sheet is shown on the screen of the display 3a.

Here, if a function to notify the operator when the scanner main body 1 is moved to an appropriate position is provided,
The function is further improved. That is, the function is to notify an operator when it is determined that the scanner main body 1 has reached an appropriate position based on a signal from a detection unit that constantly detects the position of the scanner main body 1 on the document 4.

For example, there is a method of notifying the operator by displaying on the screen of the display 3a. As shown in FIG. 28, the target position reaching display field 4 is displayed on the display 3a.
9 is provided. In this display column 49, a distinction is made between a case where the scanner main body 1 is not at an appropriate position and a case where the scanner main body 1 has been moved to an appropriate position. For example, the display is displayed in red when it is not at the appropriate position, and is displayed in blue when it is at the appropriate position. In addition, such a display is not limited to color coding,
It is sufficient if the operator can confirm whether or not the scanner main body 1 is at an appropriate position, for example, by distinguishing by a character.

There is also a method of notifying the operator without setting the above-described target position reaching display column 49. When the scanner main body 1 moves to the range to be captured, the operator may be notified by flashing or changing the color of the capture range of the table 32 on the display 3a. Not limited to such blinking and color change, the operator may be notified by characters or the like.

There is another method for notifying the operator other than the above. For example, sound may be output from a speaker (not shown) attached to the personal computer 3a, the scanner body 1, or the interface box 2. The method is not limited to the above method as long as the operator can recognize it, for example, by attaching a light (not shown) instead of such a speaker and lighting or blinking the light.

The information notified to the operator is not limited to the case where the scanner main body 1 has moved to an appropriate position. When the scanner main body 1 is located at a position where the reading range does not overlap with the adjacent reading range and a non-reading range occurs, a warning may be issued when the operator attempts to start the reading operation. As the method or means for issuing a warning, the same means as in the case of notifying when the appropriate overlap amount has been described above can be used. When a signal from the position detecting means of the scanner body 1 causes the image in the next range to be too far from the image in the previous range to be read, the operator presses the scan button 18.
When the user presses the scan start button 17 or a warning is issued. This warning function may be added to the scanner main body 1 or the like in combination with a function of notifying when an appropriate overlap amount has been reached, or may be added alone.

Here, an example of a control flow for reading an image on the host computer (personal computer 3) side in the above-described third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. That is, in S301, it is determined whether or not a two-corner designation command has been input by an input device (the screen of the display 3a or the keyboard of the personal computer 3), and after the input, the process proceeds to S302. And the scanner body 1
And outputs the range designation command and the direction designation release command of the roller 21 to the control unit.

In step S303, a message "Press the scan button in the upper left corner of the document" is displayed on the screen of the display 3a. In step S304, it is determined whether or not a position setting signal has been input from the scanner. Proceed to.
In step S305, the distance counters in the X and Y directions are reset, and in step S306, a lower right corner position confirmation command is output to the scanner. In step S307, a message "Please press the scan button at the lower right corner of the document" is displayed on the screen of the display 3a. In step S308, it is determined whether or not movement amount information has been input from the scanner. move on.

Note that, instead of the processing in steps S301 to S308 described above, the reading size of the document may be set by the operator inputting the document size, and these processes may be omitted.

In step S309, the length of the designated range in the X and Y directions is calculated. In step S310, the number of divisions in the X and Y directions of the designated range is calculated.
The display of the divided reading order in the direction and the Y direction is performed. And S3
At 12, a message "Move to upper left corner of document and click reset button" is displayed.

In S313, it is determined whether or not a reset command has been input from the reset button 19, which is an input device. This S313 is repeated as long as there is no reset instruction,
When the reset command is input, the process proceeds to S314. S3
At 14, the distance counters in the X and Y directions are reset, and a range designation release command is output at S315.

In S316, an X direction designation command for the roller 21 is output to the scanner main body 1, and in S317, it is determined whether movement information has been input from the scanner main body 1 side.
If there is no movement information, the process proceeds to S320, and if the movement information is input, the process proceeds to S318.

In S318, the amounts of movement in the X and Y directions are calculated based on the movement information of the scanner body 1 described above.
The results are displayed on the display 3 as shown in FIGS.
The remaining movement amount is displayed in the remaining movement amount table 36 on the screen a. Then, when a scan start signal is input from an input device such as the scan start button 17 or the scan button 18, the scanner main body 1 reads an image.
In S320, it is determined whether or not image data has been input by outputting an image reading command to the scanner main body 1 and reading from the scanner main body 1 side. When the image data is input, the process proceeds to S321 in FIG.

In S321, as described above, an identification number for confirming the position in the table 32 (see FIGS. 26 to 28) is assigned to the image data, and in S322, the image data is connected. Then, the image data connected in S323 is displayed on the screen of the display 3a.
In S324, the recognition number corresponding to the image data is displayed on the table 32 or the like.

In S325, it is determined whether there is a remaining divided area in the X direction. If there is, the flow advances to S327 to display "Please move to the next reading area in the X direction", and S317 in FIG. Repeat steps from. If it is determined that the reading is not S325, it is determined whether reading of the entire range has been completed in S326. If the reading has been completed, "all area reading has been completed" is displayed in S328, and this routine is terminated. I do.

If it is determined in S326 that reading has not been completed, a Y-direction designation command for the roller 21 is output to the scanner body 1 in S329, and in S330, "move to the next reading area in Y treasure box" Is displayed, then S
Repeat steps from 317.

On the other hand, an example of a processing flow in the CPU (in the interface box 2) on the handy scanner side which operates in accordance with the execution of the scanning software on the personal computer 3 side is as shown in FIG. . In brief, in S410, it is determined whether or not a range designation command and a direction designation release command of the roller 21 have been input from the personal computer 3 on the host side.
The process proceeds to S402 at the time of input.

In S402, the range designation setting mode is set, and in S403, the direction designation of the roller 21 is released. Then, in S404, it is determined whether or not the scan button 18 has been turned on. When the scan button 18 has been turned on, the process proceeds to S405. This S
In step 405, a position setting signal is output to the personal computer 3, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the flow advances to step S407 to calculate the movement amounts in the X and Y directions by the CPU on the scanner side.

In S408, it is determined again whether or not the scan button 18 is turned on. If the scan button 18 is turned on, information on the amount of movement of the scanner body 1 is output to the personal computer in S409. And
In S410, it is determined whether or not a range designation release command has been input from the personal computer 3 on the host side. When the command has been input, the process proceeds to S411. In step S411, the range designation setting mode is canceled, and the process proceeds to step S412.

In S412, it is determined whether or not a direction designation command for the rollers 21 of the scanning main body 1 has been input from the host computer (personal computer 3). When the command has been input, the flow advances to S413.

In step S413, the scanner body 1 is rotated by rotating the roller 21 in the designated direction.
Move on. In step S414, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the movement of the scanner body 1 to approach the next reading range, and the flow advances to step S415 to calculate the movement amounts in the X and Y directions on the scanner side. Of the CPU.

In S416, the information on the movement amount obtained in S415 is output to the personal computer 3 side. In S417, it is determined whether or not the scan button 18 (or the image reading command from the personal computer 3) of the scan main body 1 has been input, and at the time of the input, the process proceeds to S418 to perform an image reading process. S
In step 419, the read image data is output to the personal computer 3, and the process returns to step S412. The routine on the scan side is
The processing is repeatedly performed until the routine on the personal computer 3 side, which is the main, ends.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure described in the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that the shape, structure, etc. of each part can be appropriately modified or changed. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the image reading is performed by providing the scanner CPU in the interface main body 1 of the handy scanner and using the CPU of the personal computer 3 together. The invention is not limited to this, and the CPU on the scanner side may be omitted.

As the image reading range of the two-dimensional area on the original from which the image is to be read, there are a method of designating a reading position and a reading range, and a method of selecting a fixed original. Then, the entire reading range may be specified, and the reading range may be set using a reading range setting unit that sets the entire reading range parameter. Furthermore, when sequentially reading a rectangular area readable by the image reading means as one unit, the size of the side of the rectangular area corresponding to the moving direction is determined based on the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output from the position detecting means. The remaining movement amount is calculated by subtracting the movement amount of the range from the approximate value, or the first side of the rectangular area and the second side
It is preferable to measure the size of the side and subtract it according to the size to obtain the remaining movement amount, as appropriate.

[0116]

As described above, according to the image reading system and the recording medium of the present invention, an image is read by an image reading means such as a handy scanner and a host computer including a display as display means connected to the image reading means. In spite of a simple method and a simple structure of adding a detecting means for outputting the position of the reading range as a position signal (position coordinates), a handy scanner serving as an image reading means can be used on a document larger than this. The image reading means constituting the handy scanner is read by detecting the reading position, the moving amount, and the moving direction of the handy scanner on the display screen of the host computer in real time as the information of the moving distance and the moving direction on the screen of the host computer. When reading a document larger than the range, the operator looks at the display screen described above and scans. Check the reading position of the catcher Na, can be grasped, the image reading means can be carried out manually adjusted depending sequentially requires reading of necessary image on a document by the.

In other words, according to the present invention, by displaying the moving distance and moving direction of the scanner main body of the handy scanner as the image reading means on the screen of the display as the display means by a simple structure, It is possible to grasp the amount of movement of the scanner body and the direction in which the scanner body has been moved, so that the image can be easily and reliably read as a reference for the reading operation. Therefore, it is helpful to read a document larger than the reading range by dividing the document into partial parts, to smoothly read an image from the document, and to digitize image information of a required size. .

Further, according to the present invention, by displaying the moving amount and moving direction of the scanner on the screen of the display of the host computer, a document having a size larger than the reading range is divided into portions, and an appropriate By connecting after scanning with the overlapping amount, an image larger than the scanning range of the scanner can be read as necessary,
Further, the images read in such a manner are automatically arranged, and the editing of the images can be performed more quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of an image reading system according to the present invention and illustrating a handy scanner functioning as an image reading unit and a host computer.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram including a recording medium in a handy scanner (a scanner main body and an interface box) and a host computer (a personal computer and a display serving as display means) shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the image reading system according to the present invention and showing an example of display on a screen of a display when reading an image.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process at the time of image reading by a CPU of a host computer (personal computer) for explaining an image reading system according to the present invention and a recording medium storing a control procedure of the image reading system.

FIG. 5 shows a process at the time of image reading by a CPU of a handy scanner (scanner main body, interface box) for explaining a recording medium storing an image reading system and a control procedure of the image reading system according to the present invention. It is a flowchart.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram for explaining an internal structure of a scanner main body constituting the handy scanner in FIG. 1 and a mechanism for reading an image.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing rollers for moving a scanner main body constituting the handy scanner in FIG. 1 on a document.

8 is a perspective view showing a state where the roller of FIG. 7 is attached to a scanner main body.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a case where a document having a size equal to or larger than the reading range of the scanner body according to the present invention is read.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display screen on which images read by the present invention are connected.

11 is a schematic view showing a case where a caster angle is given to the roller shown in FIG. 7 in the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a modification of the scanner main body of FIG. 8 and showing a state where a ball is attached instead of a roller.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view when a detecting means is attached to the ball of FIG.

14 is a schematic diagram when a direction fixing switch is added to the display on the screen of the display at the time of reading the image shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a modified example in which direction fixing means is added to a roller for moving the scanner main body of FIG. 7 on a document.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a work procedure of the entire system in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a modification of the scanner main body according to the present invention and showing a switching filter and an electric motor in a color reading section of an image.

18 is a configuration diagram for explaining an internal structure of a scanner main body employing the color reading unit of FIG. 17 and a mechanism for reading an image.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram for explaining a modification in which a line sensor and a fluorescent tube are used for an image reading unit in the scanner main body according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a case where the scanner main body and the interface box according to the present invention are integrated as a handy scanner.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of the handy scanner according to the present invention when an interface box is omitted.

FIG. 22 shows an image reading system according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and schematically shows an example of display on a screen of a display of scanning software when a function of automatically arranging images at the time of image reading is added. FIG.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged example of a display of the table displayed in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a screen of a display when a connecting button is added to retouching software in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a work procedure of the entire system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 shows an image reading system according to a third embodiment of the present invention and a recording medium storing a control procedure of the image reading system, and explains a screen of a display for explaining an image reading method by scanning software. FIG.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen showing a modification of FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of a screen of a display showing a further modification of FIGS. 26 and 27.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart for explaining scanning software in a work procedure of the entire system in the third embodiment in FIGS. 26 to 28;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart for explaining software according to the third embodiment of the present invention and showing processing steps on the side of a personal computer as a host computer.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing processing steps of the CPU of the personal computer which are continuous with FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a diagram for describing software according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a CP on the scanner side.
6 is a flowchart showing processing steps of U.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Scanner body (image reading means), 2 ... Interface box, 3 ... Personal computer (PC,
Host computer), 3a: display (display means), 4: original, 5: CCD, 6 (6R, 6G, 6B)
... Xe tube, 7a ... red filter, 7b ... green filter, 7c
... blue filter, 8 ... housing, 9 ... reflection mirror, 10 ... projection lens, 11 ... CCD substrate, 12 ... rotating part, 13 ... rotating shaft, 14 ... rotating rubber, 15 ... rotation detecting means (position detecting means), 16 ... direction detection means, 17 ... scan start button, 1
8 scan button, 19 reset button (reset means),
19a: display unit setting button, 20A: scanning software window, 20B: scan body movement amount display window, 20C: fixed direction window, 20D: retouch software window, 21: roller, 22: CC
D, 23: Fluorescent tube, 24: Carriage, 25: Projection lens, 26: Ball, 27: X direction detection roller, 28: Y
Direction detecting roller, 29: ball type detecting means, 30a, 3
0b: holding roller, 31: direction fixing switch, 32: table, 33: large document start button, 34: large document end button, 35: joining button, 36: remaining movement amount table, 37: direction fixing means 38 switching filter,
39 ... motor, 39a ... gear, 41 ... automatic split button, 42
... Image capture range window, 43. Capture position designation window, 44. Four corner designation button, 45.
... overlapping amount setting button, 47 ... overlapping amount setting window, 48 ...
Order determination selection button, 49: target position reaching display field, 50: automatic division start button.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04N 1/04 106 G06F 15/64 320P 1/21 330 15/66 470J 15/70 350B

Claims (19)

[Claims] An image reading means for reading an image of a document using a two-dimensional area of a predetermined size as one unit of an image reading range and outputting an image signal; measuring a position of the image reading range with respect to the document; A position detecting unit that outputs the position information of the position signal and the position information of the position signal and an output of the position detecting unit. Calculating means for calculating a relative position of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to a position of the image reading range corresponding to the position-related image data, based on the position signal to be processed; Based on the relative position of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position-related image data. Image reading system, comprising a display means for displaying information about the location. 2. The image reading system according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit is configured to calculate the image corresponding to the associated image data from position information of the position-associated image data and a position signal output by the position detecting unit. Calculating a relative movement amount and a movement direction of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to a position of the reading range, wherein the display unit displays information corresponding to the movement amount and the movement direction. Image reading system. 3. The image reading system according to claim 1, wherein the image reading range is a rectangular area, and wherein the calculating means includes: position information of the position association image data; and a position signal output by the position detecting means. And calculating the remaining moving amount by subtracting the moving amount of the image reading range from the approximate value of the dimension of the side of the rectangular area corresponding to the moving direction, and the display means corresponds to the remaining moving amount. An image reading system for displaying an image. 4. An image reading means for reading an image of a document using a two-dimensional area as one unit of an image reading range and outputting an image signal, and reading for designating the entire reading range of the document and setting a whole reading range parameter. An image reading system comprising: a range setting unit; and a division setting unit configured to divide and set the entire reading range based on the entire reading range parameter and the one unit reading range. 5. The image reading system according to claim 4, wherein said reading range setting means includes a whole reading range measuring means for measuring a size of the whole reading range of said document, and a whole reading range based on said size. An image reading system wherein parameters are set. 6. The image reading system according to claim 5, wherein the entire reading range of the document is a rectangular area, and the entire reading range measuring unit determines a dimension of a first side of the rectangular area, An image reading system for measuring a dimension of a second side intersecting the first side. 7. The image reading system according to claim 6, wherein the entire reading range measuring unit measures a moving distance of the image reading range with respect to the document, and outputs moving distance information; A moving direction determining unit that determines a moving direction of the image reading range with respect to the document, and outputs moving direction information; a reset unit that resets the moving distance information and the moving direction information; and a measurement of the moving distance measuring unit. Determining means for determining the end of the determination of the moving direction determining means, based on the output of the moving distance measuring means and the moving direction determining means from the reset by the reset means to the end determination by the determining means, An image reading system, comprising: a dimension calculating unit that calculates a dimension of a first side and a dimension of the second side. 8. The image reading system according to claim 4, further comprising a display unit for performing a display corresponding to the division setting. 9. The image reading system according to claim 8, wherein the display corresponding to the division setting is a display indicating a state in which the entire reading range is divided by the one reading range unit. Image reading system. 10. The image reading system according to claim 4, wherein said reading range setting means includes dimension inputting means for inputting dimensions of said document, and sets all reading range parameters based on said dimensions. Characteristic image reading system. 11. The image reading system according to claim 4, wherein said reading range setting means includes a fixed form original selecting means for selecting a fixed form original, and all reading is performed based on a fixed form original selected by said fixed form original selecting means. An image reading system, wherein a range parameter is set. 12. An image reading means for reading an image of a document using a two-dimensional area of a predetermined size as one unit of the image reading range and outputting an image signal; measuring a position of the image reading range with respect to the document; And a position detecting means for outputting a position detecting means for outputting a position-associated image data, wherein the recording medium associates the image signal with position information of the position signal and stores position-associated image data. A storage procedure for storing, based on the position information of the position association image data and the position signal output by the position detection unit, the position signal indicating the position of the image reading range corresponding to the position association image data. A calculation procedure for calculating a relative position of the image reading range; and, based on a result of the calculation, Recording medium for storing the control procedure of the image reading system and to store a display procedure for displaying the information about the relative position of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to the position of the image reading range. 13. The recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 12, wherein the calculation procedure is based on position information of the position association image data and a position signal output by the position detection means. A step of calculating a relative movement amount and a movement direction of the image reading range indicated by the position signal with respect to a position of the image reading range corresponding to the associated image data, wherein the display procedure includes the movement amount and the movement A recording medium storing a control procedure of an image reading system, including a procedure of displaying information corresponding to a direction. 14. The recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 12, wherein the image reading range is a rectangular area, and wherein the calculation procedure includes the position information of the position association image data and Calculating a remaining movement amount by subtracting a movement amount of the image reading range from an approximate value of a dimension of a side of the rectangular area corresponding to a movement direction from a position signal output by the position detection unit. The recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system, wherein the display procedure includes a procedure of performing a display corresponding to the remaining movement amount. 15. A recording medium for storing a control procedure of an image reading system having an image reading means for reading an image of a document with a two-dimensional area as one unit of an image reading range and outputting an image signal, said recording medium. A reading range setting procedure of designating an entire reading range of the document and setting an entire reading range parameter; and dividing and setting the entire reading range based on the entire reading range parameter and the one unit reading range. A recording medium for storing a control procedure of an image reading system, which stores a division setting procedure for performing a division setting. 16. The recording medium storing the control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 15, wherein the reading range setting procedure includes: an entire reading range measuring procedure for measuring a dimension of an entire reading range of the document; A recording medium for storing a control procedure of an image reading system, comprising: an entire reading range parameter setting procedure for setting an entire reading range parameter based on a parameter. 17. The recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 16, wherein the entire reading range of the document is a rectangular area, and the entire reading range measuring procedure is performed on the rectangular area. A recording medium for storing a control procedure of an image reading system, comprising a dimension measurement procedure for measuring a dimension of a first side and a dimension of a second side intersecting the first side. 18. A recording medium storing a control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 17, wherein the entire reading range measuring procedure includes: a moving distance measuring procedure for measuring a moving distance of the image reading range with respect to the document; A moving direction determining step of determining a moving direction of the image reading range with respect to the document; a start determining step of determining the start of the moving distance measurement and the moving direction determination; and an end of the moving distance measurement and the moving direction determination The dimension measurement procedure is based on the movement distance measurement from the start determination to the end determination and the movement direction determination, and determines the dimension of the first side and the second side. A recording medium for storing a control procedure of the image reading system, wherein the control procedure measures the size of the image reading system. 19. The control procedure of the image reading system according to claim 15, further comprising a display procedure for displaying a display corresponding to the division setting. Recording medium for storing.