JPS62198261A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a circuit by identifying the color information of a color information carrier based on the output signal of the 1st and 2nd detection means and extracting the output signal of the 1st and 2nd detection means alternately one by one picture element. CONSTITUTION:Light condensed by a color information read lens 29 is made incident on a beam splitter 30, and the light transmitted through the beam splitter 30 or the reflected light is made respectively incident on the 1st and 2nd image sensors 34, 35 comprising, e.g., a CCD line sensor and converted into an electric signal. Reset signals RS1, RS2 are fed respectively to the 1st and 2nd image sensors 34, 35 and the picture element signal stored in the 1st and 2nd image sensors 34, 35 by the reset signals RS1, RS2 is outputted alternately, e.g., one by one picture element.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application)
Regarding.

(Prior Art) A conventional electronic copying machine uses an exposure lamp to detect if
i is irradiated with light, the reflected light from the original is guided to a photoreceptor drum to form an electrostatic latent image, and after this electrostatic latent image is developed, it is transferred and fixed onto paper to obtain a copy image. It has become.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic copying machine, iiiai
It only has the function of forming an image that corresponds to your preferences,
For example, it does not have a function of reading color information added to a document and copying only the image of the portion to which this color information is added. .

Furthermore, it has not been thought of in the past to process the output signal of the detection means for reading color information with a simple circuit configuration.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a light source for irradiating light onto a color information carrier, a spectroscopic means for separating light reflected by the light source into a specific wavelength range, and an output of the spectroscopic means. first and second detection means each detecting light and outputting a pixel signal alternately for each pixel;
and a control means for identifying the color information of the color information carrier based on the output signal of the second detection means.

(Function) The present invention exposes and scans a color information carrier using a light source, spectrally reflects light from this by a spectroscopic means, detects the output light of the spectroscopic means by first and second detection means, and detects the output light from the spectroscopic means. The control means identifies the color information of the color information carrier based on the output signals of the first and second detection means, and in particular, the output signals of the first and second detection means are detected pixel by pixel. By alternately extracting the signals, it is possible to simplify the configuration of a circuit that processes the extracted signals.

(Example) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, a document table 12 on which a document (color information carrier) G is placed is provided on the upper surface of the main body 11 of the electronic copying machine. Further, a photoreceptor drum 13 is rotatably supported on a shaft substantially in the main body 11, and around the photoreceptor drum 13, a charging charger 14 and an erasing array 51 are sequentially arranged along the direction of rotation. , a developing device 15, a transfer charger 16, a peeling charger 17, a cleaning device [18], and a static elimination lamp 19 are arranged.

Further, on the back side of the document table 12, there is a first carriage 20a1 and a second carriage 20b which are movable along the document table 12 and which expose and scan the document G placed at (12). It is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, this first carriage 20a is provided with a halogen lamp 21 as a light source for copying, a fluorescent lamp 32 as a light source for reading color information, a reflector 52, and a mirror 24. The halogen lamp 21 and the fluorescent lamp 32 are integrally provided within the main reflection section 22 and the sub-reflection section 23 of the reflection plate 52. Further, the reflective plate 5
A slit 52a is provided at the boundary between the main reflecting plate 22 of No. 2 and the reflecting plate 23 of N1, and the light from the halogen lamp 21 and the fluorescent lamp 32 reflected from the original G is reflected onto the mirror 24 through this slit 52a. It is meant to be guided. Further, the second carriage 20b includes a mirror 25.2.
6 is provided, and the light guided by the mirror 24 passes through mirrors 25, 26 and a mirror 27 disposed opposite to the mirror 26, and reaches the photosensitive drum 13.
The erase array 51 and the current purifier 15 are designed to be guided between each other.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a copying magnification setting lens 28 and a color information reading lens 29 are arranged in parallel between the mirror 26 and the mirror 27. The focused light is sent to the beam splitter 3
0. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this beam splitter 30 has, for example, two
triangular prisms 53 and 54 are joined together, and a dichroic mirror layer (filter) 56 is formed on the joining surface 55. Therefore, this dichroic mirror 156 allows light of a specific wavelength to pass through and reflects light of other wavelengths. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the light transmitted through the beam splitter 30 has a spectral characteristic in which wavelengths other than those between wavelengths λ1 and λ2 are cut off, and the light reflected by the beam splitter 30 has spectral characteristics that are cut off between wavelengths λ1 and λ2. It is configured to have spectral characteristics cut between λ2.

The light transmitted or reflected by the beam splitter 30 is transmitted to first and second image sensors (detection means) 34 and 35, respectively, each consisting of, for example, a CCD line sensor.
It is designed to be incident on the beam and converted into an electrical signal.

FIG. 1 shows the control circuit. The control section 81 controls the overall operation of the electronic copying machine, such as controlling the operation of a plurality of motors (not shown), and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. Further, the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 are supplied with a reset signal R8I.
, R82 are supplied respectively, and by these reset signals R31 and R82, the pixel signals accumulated in the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 are outputted alternately, for example, one pixel at a time. .

The signals output from the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 are supplied to an A/D converter 83 via an amplifier 82, and converted into digital signals by the A/D converter 83. The pixel data output from this A/D converter 83 is stored in a memory 84 under the control of the control section 81.
are stored sequentially.

In addition, an operation panel 85 provided on the surface of the electronic copying machine main body 11 includes a numeric keypad (not shown) for setting the number of copies,
A magnification setting key for setting a copy magnification and the like are provided, as well as a copy key 85a for instructing the start of a copying operation, and an identification key 85b for instructing an operation for color identification of an original image. The output signal of this operation panel 85 is
1, and the control unit 81 controls copying operations and the like based on this input signal.

Further, the fluorescent lamp 32 is connected to the control unit 81 via a well-known lighting circuit 86 , and the halogen lamp 21 is connected via a lamp regulator 87 .

Further, the erasing array 51 consisting of a plurality of light emitting elements is connected to the control section 81 via an array driving section 89. The array driving section 89 is configured to drive the erase array 5, for example.
It is composed of switch elements etc. provided corresponding to each of the light emitting elements constituting the 1lJiNls.
The erasing array 51 is turned on and off by controlling on/off of each of the switch elements according to the erasing data supplied from the erasing data 81.

The control unit 81 is also provided with a signal generation circuit 90, which specifies the reset timing (readout timing of pixel signals) of the first and second image sensors 34 and 35. The reset signals R81 and R82, pixel signal transfer clock signals φ1a to φ2b, etc., which are offset by 1/2 clock from each other, are generated.

In the above configuration, the operation will be explained.

Normally, the first carriage 20a is on standby at position Ya shown in FIG. In this state, the operation panel 85
When the copy key 85a is operated, a normal copying operation is performed. That is, first, the first carriage 20a is moved to position Yb shown in FIG. 6, and at this position, the halogen lamp 21 is turned on. In this state, the first carriage 20a is moved in the Ya force direction at twice the speed of the second carriage 20b, and the original G is exposed and scanned. The reflected light from the original G passes through the mirrors 24 to 26 and the lens 28.
, via the mirror 27 to the photoreceptor drum 13 which has been charged in advance by the charger 14, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the document G is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 13.

This static IR latent image is developed by the developing device 15 and transferred to the paper p fed from the paper feed cassette 57 in the transfer charger 16. The paper p to which the pixels have been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 13 by a separation charger 17, and then is ejected to a paper ejection tray 33 via a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, the developer remaining on the photoreceptor drum 13 is removed by the cleaning device t! After that, the surface of the photosensitive drum 13 is neutralized by one static eliminating lamp, and the copying operation is completed.

Next, a case will be described in which specific color information added to the document G is identified and, based on this identification information, for example, only the image of the portion to which this color is added is copied.

In this case, for example, color information is added to the portion of the document G to be copied using, for example, a blue highlighter pen, and then the document Gf is set on the document table 12. In this state, after operating the identification key 85b of the operation panel 85, the copy key 8
5a, the first carriage 20a moves to y as described above.
The fluorescent lamp 32 is moved from the a position to the Yb position, and the fluorescent lamp 32 is turned on at this position. In this state, the first and second carriages 20a and 20b are moved from the Yb position to the Ya position while the photoreceptor drum 13 and the like are stopped.
The original IG is moved in the positional direction, and the original IG is exposed and scanned by the fluorescent lamp 32. The reflected light from the original G passes through mirrors 24 to 26 and a color information reading lens 29 to a beam splitter 30.
is incident on the Of this incident light, light in a specific wavelength range passes through the dichroic mirror layer 56 and enters the first image sensor 34, and other light is reflected by the dichroic mirror layer 56 and enters the second image sensor 34. The light is incident on the image sensor 35. The output signals of the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 are supplied to an A/D converter 83 via an amplifier 82 and converted into digital signals. The output data of this A/D converter 83 is sequentially stored in the memory 84. For example, when exposure scanning of the original G is completed, the control section 81 performs color identification processing of the original G based on the data stored in the memory 84. This identification process is performed as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the blue highlighter pen has a wavelength of λ.
t (-570na+) ~λ2 (-(360n
Since the transmittance is low in the range m), the dichroic mirror layer 56 used is one that transmits light in this range and reflects light in other areas, as shown in FIG.

Further, reference levels necessary for color identification are stored in advance in the control unit 81. This reference level is set as follows.

For example, if a white original is colored with a highlighter pen and this original is read by the first and second image sensors 34 and 35,
Assuming that the white background output of each image sensor 34 and 35 is 100%, the ratio of transmitted light or reflected light to this is rl and r2, respectively, rl-(output on the transmitted light side)/
(White background output on the transmitted light side), r2- (output on the reflected light side)/
(white background output on the reflected light side). Here, when the highlighter is sky blue, rl is 51% (see Figure 15 (a)) and r2 is 95% (see Figure 15 (b)), so 51% and 95%. between the reference level rf
By setting , it is possible to identify the color of the highlighter pen. In other words, the first and second image sensors 34
．． When rl is lower and r2 is higher than the output signal of No. 35, the color is identified as a highlighter pen color. Furthermore, when rl and r2 are both high, the color is identified as white, and when both are low, the color is identified as black.

Also, the rate of change between transmitted light and reflected light R (=rt /r
2) is R-1,0 for white background, R-0,6 for highlighter color (sky blue), and R-1 for text (black).
, 0, and for other colors (colors with valleys (low i!l transmittance) in the wavelength range of 100% transmittance), for example, yellow (see Figure 16 (a)), R >1.0 (see Fig. 16 (b) in green) becomes R-1.0.

As described above, by comparing the data stored in the memory 84 and the reference level, the color of the highlighter pen attached to the document G is identified, and the color is added by the highlighter pen. The location is determined.

Next, n-light scanning of the original is performed in the same manner as the normal copying operation described above, and with this foggy scanning, based on the position information determined above, parts of the original G other than those specified by the highlighter pen are Charges on the corresponding photosensitive drums 13 are selectively erased by the erasing array 51 prior to forming a latent image.

In other words, along with the n-light scanning of the original 8iG, 11169 parts 81
Then, erase data corresponding to the portion other than the determined position is generated, and this erase data is supplied to the 7-ray drive unit 89. In this array driving section 89, the erasing array 51 is turned on ll1111 in accordance with the supplied erasing data. Therefore, the charge on the photoreceptor drum 13 is erased in the portion of the erasing array 51 where the light emitting element is turned on, and even if this portion is subsequently exposed to light, it remains static! Since no latent image is formed, only the image specified by the highlighter pen is copied.

Note that the photosensitive drum 13 has a wavelength of λ1-5700I.
Se(
(Selenium) If you use a photoreceptor drum, you can use a blue highlighter to
The color information given to the original IG will not appear on the fusuma copy image.

Next, the gist of the invention will be further explained.

In this invention, pixel signals are alternately output from the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 one pixel at a time by the reset signals R81 and R82 which are shifted by 1/2 as described above. There is.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) show examples of the first and second image sensors 34 and 35, respectively, and FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the COD line sensors 34a and 35a shown in FIG. It is something. Here, the COD line sensor 34a,
35a is, for example, TCD107G (manufactured by Toshiba), and φ
la and φ2a are the respective clocks, φib is the jln stage clock (combined first phase), φ2b is the final stage clock (combined second phase), φIC is the final stage clock (separated first phase), φ
2C is the final stage clock (separated second phase), SH is the shift gate, R3 is the reset gate at the time of composite output, R31, R8
2 is the output gate at separation (reset signal input gate), O
D is an output transistor drain, O8 is an output transistor source during synthesis, oSl and O82 are output 1 to transistor sources when separated, SS is a sev straight, Is is an input source (test bin), and IG is an input gate (test bin).

In such a configuration, reset signals R8t and R32 as shown in FIG. 4 are sent to the first and second image sensors 3.
4.35, these reset signals R8i,
For the R82kit, pixel signals are alternately output pixel by pixel, as shown by O8t and 082. The pixel signal output in this way is supplied to an A/D converter 83 via an amplifier 82. The A/D converter 83 samples some of the alternately input pixel signals and converts them into digital signals. This converted pixel data is stored in different storage areas of the memory 84 under the control of the control unit 81.

That is, the control section 81 performs control as shown in FIG.

First, in step ST1, the first ll of counter I]
Settings are performed, and in step ST2, it is determined whether the reset signal R8s is in the on state. As a result,
If it is in the off state, the control is transferred to step ST3, and if it is in the on state, in step ST4,
After the pixel data corresponding to 081 outputted from the A/D converter 83 is stored in the storage area D1 (1) of the memory 84, control is transferred to step S3. In this step ST3, it is determined whether or not the reset signal R82 is in the on state. As a result, if it is off, the control is transferred to step ST5, and if it is on, in Stella 1S-6, After the pixel data corresponding to 032 output from the A/D converter 83 is stored in the storage area D2(1) of the memory 84, the control moves to step S5. In this step ST5, it is determined from the value of the counter 1 whether or not one line's worth of storage has been completed. As a result, if the process has not yet been completed, the value of the counter I is incremented in step ST7, and then the control is transferred to step ST2. Also, if processing for one line has been completed, step S
At T8, it is determined whether or not the processing for one page has been completed. If the result is that the processing for one page has not been completed, the control is transferred to step ST2, and if the processing for one page has been completed, Control is transferred to the color identification process described above.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to identify the color information attached to the document, and based on the identified color information, only the image of the portion corresponding to the color information can be copied. This makes it extremely convenient in practice.

Furthermore, since the first and second image sensors 34 and 35 alternately output pixel signals one pixel at a time, the amplifier 82. The A/D converter 83 is connected to two systems, first and second.
Only one system is required for each of the image sensors 34 and 35, and the circuit configuration can be simplified.

It should be noted that the beam splitter 30 is not limited to the thin acid, for example, a half mirror is used as the beam brick 30, and the first and second image sensors 34 . 35 may be provided with a necessary filter.

Furthermore, if the fluorescent lamp 32 is turned on together with the halogen lamp 21 during normal copying operations, the document can be irradiated with light from multiple directions, so even if the document has irregularities, it will be possible to It is possible to prevent the formation of unnecessary images due to shadows.

Further, in the above embodiment, the color information of the document is identified and only the portion corresponding to this color information is copied, but the invention is not limited to this.
Other processing may also be performed.

Of course, various modifications can be made to the pond without changing the gist of the invention.

(Effects of the invention J, details above)! According to the present invention, it is possible to identify a specific color on a color information carrier and perform various image processing according to the identification result, and it is also possible to perform color information on the color information carrier. By alternately extracting the output signals of the first and second detection means for reading and charging conversion pixel by pixel, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the circuit for processing the signal output from the detection means can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control circuit, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing first and second image sensors, and FIG. 3 is a COD line sensor. A configuration diagram showing an example. Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams shown to explain the processing operation of signals output from the first and second image sensors. Figure 6 is a partially cutaway diagram of the electronic copying machine. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the main part showing the light source, FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing the entire optical system, FIG. 9 is a plan view of the main part showing the lens part of the optical system, and FIG. The figure is a block diagram of the main parts showing the first and second image sensors, Figure 11 is a block diagram showing the beam splitter, Figure 12 is a diagram showing the spectral characteristics of the beam splitter, and Figure 13 is the spectrum of the highlighter pen. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the spectral characteristics of a single dichroic mirror, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are diagrams for explaining the principle of identifying color information. G... Color information carrier (original), 21... Halogen lamp, 30... Beam splitter, 32... Fluorescent lamp, 34.35... First and second image sensors, 81
... IIJrla section, 83 ... A/D converter, 84
...Memory, 90...Signal generation circuit, R81, R8
2...Reset signal. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 2 (a) Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure @11 Figure Transmission 9 ('/,) Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 16

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A light source that irradiates light onto the color information carrier, a spectroscopic means that separates the light reflected by the light source, and a first unit that detects the output light of the spectroscopic means and outputs pixel signals alternately for each pixel; An image forming apparatus comprising: a second detection means; and a control means for identifying color information of the color information carrier based on pixel signals output from the first and second detection means. (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source is a fluorescent lamp. (3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color information has an absorption wavelength range of 500 to 7001.