JPS63125057A - Color image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reproduce an optional color in an optional area into another color by providing a color conversion circuit which converts a specific color in a specified area into a converted color according to the outputs from three specification means. CONSTITUTION:As for respective colors data (Yi, Mi and Ci) inputted in a color conversion circuit, the color component ratios are inputted in window comparators 156-158 as a yellow ratio, a magenta ratio and a cyanogen ratio. When the ratios exist between the compared superior value and inferior value of the respective color components set by a CPU bus, the inputted color is decided to be a desirable color and inputted in the S0 input of a selector 175 when the outputs from three inputs AND 165 become one. While the converted desirable color data is inputted in the inputs 1-3 of the selector 175 as a Y component, an M component and a C component respectively, an area signal generated in an area generation circuit is inputted in the S1 as '1' in a specified area and the conversion of colors is executed when the S0 and S1 are '1'.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical fields> The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, when attempting to perform different processes on different areas of a document image and reproduce them on a single sheet of recording paper, the desired images were obtained by copying each area separately and cutting and pasting.

However, when cutting and pasting, the outline of the cut remains, which is very inconvenient for the user.

Especially for color images, image quality is important and was an important problem to be solved.

<Objective> In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a color image forming apparatus capable of converting any color within a designated area to another color.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic internal configuration of a digital color image processing system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system has a digital color image reading device (hereinafter referred to as a color reader) 1 at the top and a digital color image printing device (hereinafter referred to as a color printer) 2 at the bottom. This color reader l has color separation means and C
A photoelectric conversion element such as a CD reads the color image information of the document for each color and converts it into an electrical digital image signal. Further, the color printer 2 is an electrophotographic laser beam color printer that reproduces a color image in each color according to the digital image signal, and records the image by transferring it to recording paper multiple times in the form of digital dots.

First, an overview of the color reader I will be explained.

3 is a document, 4 is a platen glass on which the document is placed, and 5 is a rod array for collecting a reflected light image from the document exposed and scanned by a halogen exposure lamp 1O, and inputting the image to a full-color sensor 6 of the same size. 5. It is a lens. 6. 7
．． 10 as a document scanning unit 11, which performs exposure scanning in the direction of arrow At. The color separation image signals read every one line without exposure scanning are amplified to a predetermined voltage by the sensor output signal amplification circuit 7, and then inputted to a video processing unit (to be described later) via a signal line 501 and subjected to signal processing. Ru.

Details will be described later. 501 is a coaxial cable for ensuring faithful transmission of signals. A signal 502 is a signal line that supplies drive pulses for the same-magnification full-color sensor 6, and all necessary drive pulses are generated within the video processing unit 12. Reference numeral 8.9 denotes a white plate and a black plate for white level correction and black level correction of image signals, which will be described later. By irradiating them with a halogen exposure lamp 10, signal levels of predetermined densities can be obtained, and the video signal Used for white level correction and black level correction. 13 is a control unit having a microcomputer, which is connected to bus 5
08, the display on the operation panel 20, key manual control and video processing unit 12 control, position sensors Sl and S2 detect the position of the document scanning unit 11 via signal lines 509 and 510, and signal line 503 detects the position of the scanning unit 11. Stepping motor 14 for moving the
Stepper motor drive circuit control to pulse drive,
0N10FF control and light amount control of the halogen exposure lamp 10 by the exposure lamp driver via the signal line 504; digitizer 16 and internal key via the signal line 505;
It performs all controls of the color reader part l, such as controlling the display section.

The glass image signal read by the above-mentioned exposure scanning unit 11 during original exposure scanning is input to the video processing unit 12 via the amplification circuit 7 and the signal line 501, and is subjected to various processing described later in this unit 12. and sent to the printer part 2 via the interface circuit 56.

Next, an outline of the color printer 2 will be explained. 711 is a scanner, which includes a laser output unit that converts the image signal from the color reader l into an optical signal, a polygon mirror 712 of a polyhedron (e.g., octahedron), a motor (not shown) that rotates this mirror 712, and a /θ lens. (Imaging lens) 7
It has 13 mag. 714 is a reflecting mirror that changes the optical path of the laser beam, and 715 is a photosensitive drum. The laser beam emitted from the laser output section is reflected by a polygon mirror 712, passes through a lens 713 and a mirror 714, and linearly scans (raster scan) the surface of a photosensitive drum 715, forming a latent image corresponding to the original image. .

In addition, 717 is a primary charger, 718 is a full exposure lamp,
723 is a cleaner section that collects residual toner that has not been transferred; 724 is a pre-transfer charger; these members are arranged around the photosensitive drum 715.

726 is a developer unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 715 by laser exposure, and 731Y, 731M, 731C, and 7318 are developing sleeves that directly contact the photosensitive drum 715 and perform development; 73
0Y, 730M, 730C, and 7308 are toner hoppers that hold spare toner, and 732 is a screw that transports the developer, and these sleeves 731Y~
7318, toner hoppers 730Y to 7308, and the screw 732 constitute a developer unit 726, and these members are arranged around the rotation axis P of the developer unit. For example, when forming a yellow toner image, develop the yellow toner at the position shown in this diagram.
When forming a magenta toner image, the developer unit 7
26 is rotated around the axis P in the figure, and the developing sleeve 731M in the magenta developing device is disposed at a position in contact with the photoreceptor 715. Cyan and black development operate in the same way.

Further, 716 is a transfer drum that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 715 onto paper, 719 is an actuator plate for detecting the moving position of the transfer drum 716, and 720 is a drum that is in close proximity to this actuator plate 719. 725 is a transfer drum cleaner, 727 is a paper pressing roller, 728 is a static eliminator, and 729 is a transfer charger. These members 71
9.720.725.727°729 is the transfer roller 71
It is arranged around 6.

On the other hand, 735 and 736 are paper feed cassettes that store paper (paper sheets), 737 and 738 are paper feed rollers that feed paper from the cassettes 735 and 736, and 739.740.741
is a timing roller that takes the timing of paper feeding and conveyance, and the paper fed and conveyed via these is guided by a paper guide 749, and its leading edge is held by a gripper (to be described later) and wound around the transfer drum 716, forming an image. Shift to process.

Further, 550 is a drum rotation motor, which rotates the photosensitive drum 715.
and the transfer drum 716 are rotated synchronously. 750 is a peeling claw that removes the paper from the transfer drum 716 after the image forming process is completed, 742 is a conveyance belt that conveys the removed paper, and 743 is an image fixing unit that fixes the paper that has been conveyed by the conveyance belt 742. The image fixing section 743 has a pair of heat pressure rollers 744 and 745.

First, the league club control section 13 according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

(Control unit) The control unit is CPU2 which is a microcomputer.
2, including a lamp driver 21.2 for video signal processing control, exposure and scanning. Stepping motor driver 15. Digitizer 16. The operation panel 20 is controlled via the signal lines 508 (bus), 504503, 505, etc. to the program ROM 23. R
AM24. It is controlled organically according to the RAM 25. R
The non-volatility of AM25 is guaranteed by the battery 31.

505 is a commonly used signal line for serial communication.
The operator inputs from the digitizer 16 according to the protocol between the PU 22 and the digitizer 16. That is, 505 is a signal line for inputting coordinates, area instructions, copy mode instructions, magnification ratio instructions, etc. during document editing, for example, movement 1 composition.

The signal line 503 is a signal line through which the CPU 22 instructs the motor driver 15 about scanning speed, distance, forward movement, backward movement, etc. Input pulses to give motor rotational motion. Serial I/F29,
30 is a serial I/F such as Intel 8251
Although not shown in the figure, it is a general device realized by a digitizer 16. The motor driver 15 also has a similar circuit. CPU 22 and motor driver 15
The interface protocol between the two is shown in Figure 3.

In addition, Sl and S2 are document exposure and scanning units (Fig. 11
), the home position is S1, and the white level correction of the image signal is performed at this location. S2 is a sensor that detects the presence of the original exposure scanning unit at the leading edge of the image, and this position becomes the reference position of the original.

(Printer interface) Signals ITOP, BD, VCLK, VID in Figure 2
E.O.

H3YNC and SRCOM (511 to 516) are interface signals between the color printer section 2 and the league section 1 in FIG. 1, respectively. League club! All of the image signals VIDEO 514 read in are sent to the color printer section 2 based on the above signals. ITOP is a synchronization signal in the image forwarding direction (hereinafter referred to as the sub-scanning direction), and is 1
This occurs once for sending out the screen, that is, once for each of the four color images (yellow, magenta, cyan, and Bk), for a total of four times. When the leading edge of the transfer paper receives the toner image transfer at the contact point with the photosensitive drum 715, the transfer drum 716. It is synchronized with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 715, and is sent to the video processing unit in the reader 1, and further to the CPU 2 in the controller 13.
It is input as a second interrupt (signal 511). CPU2
2 performs image control in the sub-scanning direction for editing etc. based on the ITOP interrupt. BD512 is polygon mirror 7
Once every 12 revolutions, or once every raster scan
This is a synchronization signal in the raster scan direction (hereinafter referred to as the main scanning direction) that is generated twice. sent to.

VCLK513 is an 8-bit digital video signal 514
This is a synchronous clock for sending the color printer unit 2 to the color printer unit 2, and for example, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the flip-flop 32
．． Video data 514 is sent out via 35. H3Y
NC515 is generated from the BD signal 512 in synchronization with VCLK513. It is a main scanning direction synchronization signal and has the same period as the BD, and strictly speaking, the VIDEO signal 514 is H3Y
It is sent out in synchronization with NC515. This is BD signal 51
5 is generated in synchronization with the rotation of the polygon mirror, it contains a lot of jitter from the motor that rotates the polygon mirror 712, and if the BD double signal is synchronized as it is, jitter will occur in the image, so there is no jitter based on the BD double signal. VCL
(generated in synchronization with K): 15YNC515 is required. SRCOM is a signal line for half-duplex bidirectional serial communication, and is synchronized with the 8-bit serial clock 5CLK between synchronization signals CBUSY (command busy) sent from the reader section as shown in Figure 4 (C). Then, a command CM is sent, and in response, the printer section sends 5 commands.
Status ST is returned in synchronization with the 8-bit serial clock between BUSY (status busy). This timing chart shows that the status "3CH" was returned in response to the command "8EH", and the league team provides instructions to the printer section, such as color mode, cassette selection, etc., and status information of the printer section, such as a jam. , no paper,
All information such as weights is exchanged via this communication line SRCOM.

Figure 4(a) shows one four-color full-color image.
and a timing chart for transmission based on HSYNC. The ITOP 511 is generated once every one or two rotations of the transfer drum 716, and the image data for ■ is a yellow image, ■ is a magenta image, ■ is a cyan image, and ■ is Bk image data is sent from the league unit l to the printer unit 2. A full-color image with four superimposed colors is formed on the transfer paper. H.S.
For example, YNC has an A3 image length of 420 mm in the longitudinal direction and an image density of 16 pe I! in the feeding direction. /mm, then 42
0x16 = 6720 times, and this is simultaneously input to the clock input to the timer circuit 28 in the controller circuit 13, which causes an interrupt HINT517 to be applied to the CPU 22 after counting a predetermined number of times. . As a result, the C, PU 22 performs image control in the feeding direction, such as control of sampling and movement.

(Video Processing Unit) Next, the video processing unit 12 will be described in detail according to FIG. 5 and subsequent figures. The document is first irradiated by the exposure lamp 10 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and the reflected light is separated into colors for each image by the color reading sensor 6 in the scanning unit 11 and read, and the amplifier circuit 42 adjusts the light to a predetermined level. amplified.

41 is a COD driver that supplies pulse signals for driving the color reading sensor, and the necessary pulse source is generated by the system control pulse generator 57. FIG. 6 shows the color reading sensor and drive pulses. Figure 6(a) shows the color reading sensor used in this example, which is divided into 5 parts in the main scanning direction to read 6 parts.
With 2.5 μm (1/16 mm) as one pixel, 10
24 pixels, that is, 1 pixel as shown in the main scanning direction,
B.

Divided into 3 by R, total 1024X3=30
It has 72 effective pixels. On the other hand, each chip 58-62
are formed on the same ceramic substrate, and the 1st, 3rd and 5th sensors (58, 60, 62) are on the same line LA, and the 2nd
゜The fourth line is 4 lines (62.5 μm x 4 = 2
50 μm) on the line LB, and scans in the direction of the arrow AL force when reading a document. 5 CCDs each
is also the 1st, 3.5th drive pulse group 0DRV5]
8, the second and fourth are driven independently and synchronously by the EDRV519. OOIA, EO2A, and ER5 included in 0DRV518 are charge transfer lock and charge reset pulses in each sensor, respectively.
, 3.5th and 2.4th and due to mutual interference and noise limitations, they are generated completely in synchronization so that there is no jitter between them. Therefore, these pulses are generated by one reference oscillation source 03C.
58' (FIG. 5). FIG. 7(a) shows 0DRV518. The circuit block that generates the EDRV 519, FIG. 7(b) is a timing chart, and is included in the system control pulse generator 57 shown in FIG. Original clock O generated from a single 08C58'
Clock KO335, which is obtained by dividing LKO, is a reference signal 5YNC2 that determines the generation timing of 0DRV and EDRV.
, 5YNC3, and 5YNC2,
The output timing of 5YNC3 is determined according to the setting value of the presettable counter 64.65 set by the signal line 539 connected to the CPU bus.
YNC3 is a frequency divider 66°67 and a drive pulse generator 68
．． Initialize 69.

In other words, the CLKO output from one oscillation source O8C is based on H3YNC515 input to this block.
Note that the pulse groups of 0DRV518 and EDRV519 are all generated by frequency-divided clocks that are generated synchronously, and are obtained as synchronous signals with no jitter at all, which can prevent signal disturbances due to interference between sensors. . Here, the sensor drive pulses 0DRV518 obtained in synchronization with each other are applied to the 5th sensor at l, 3°.
V519 is supplied to the 2.4th sensor, and each sensor 5
8. 59. 60. Video signals v1 to v5 are independently output from 61°62 in synchronization with the drive pulse, and the fifth
Each channel shown in FIG. 40 is amplified to a predetermined voltage value by an independent amplifier circuit 42, and is passed through the coaxial cable 501 (FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. When V3°v5 is EO353417), V2. The V4 signal is sent out and input to the video processing unit.

The color image signal obtained by dividing the original input into the video processing unit 12 into five parts and reading it is converted into G (green) by the sample hold circuit S/H 43.

It is separated into three colors: B (blue) and R (red).

Therefore, after S/H, there will be 3×5=15 signal processing systems. FIG. 8(b) shows a timing chart obtained from digital data A/Dout that has been sampled and held for one channel, amplified, and then input to the A/D conversion circuit 45 and multiplexed. FIG. 8(a) shows a processing block diagram.

Analog color image signals read by the aforementioned 5-chip 1x color sensor are divided into 8th and 8th channels for each of the 5 channels.
The signals are respectively input to the analog color signal processing circuit shown in FIG. Since circuits A to E corresponding to each channel are the same circuit, circuit A will be explained together with the waveform timing shown in FIG. 8(b).

The input analog color signal is 5iG as shown in Figure 8(b).
A (in the order of G→B-H), and the sample and hold circuit (S/H) 250 performs parallel conversion for each color using sample and hold pulses 5HG535, 5HB536, and 5HR537. FIG. 8(b) VDGI, VDBI .

VDRI (538-540) Here, the signals 538-540 separated for each color are offset (0 characteristic in Figure 8 (C)) adjusted by amplifiers 251-253, and then filtered by low-pass filters (LPF) 254-256. After the bands other than the signal components are cassetted, the amplifiers 257 to 259 perform gain adjustment (Fig. 8 (C) G characteristic), and then multiplex the signal into one system again (pulse GSEL).

MP by BSEL, RSEL (544-546)
It becomes one system with X260, and is A/D converted and converted into a digital value (ADOUT547). In this configuration, MPX2
Since it is multiplexed at 60 and then A/D converted,
G.

A total of 15 color signals from 5 channels of 3 colors each for B and R.
This is done using two A/D converters. The same applies to the BE circuit.

Next, in this embodiment, as mentioned above, 4 lines (62.5μ
The five staggered sensors, which have an interval of m x 4 = 250 μm) in the sub-scanning direction and are divided into five areas in the main-scanning direction, are already reading the original, as shown in Figure 9 (a).
As shown in , the channel 2.4 which is being scanned in advance and the remaining channels 1 and 3. 5, the reading position is off.

Therefore, in order to connect this correctly, we use memory for multiple lines. FIG. 9(b) shows the memory configuration of this embodiment, and 70 to 74 are memories each storing a plurality of duplicates, and have a FiFo configuration. That is,
70.72. 74 has a capacity for 5 lines with 1024 pixels per line, and 71.73 has a capacity for 15 lines. Data is written one line at a time from the point indicated by the last pointers WPO75 and WPE76, and writing for l lines is completed. Then, WPO or WPE is incremented by +1. WPO75 is channel l.

3.5, and WPE76 is common to 2 and 4.

0WR5T540. EWRST541 is a signal that initializes the values of each line pointer WPO75, WPE76 and returns them to the beginning, and 0R3T542. ERST543
is a signal that returns the value of the read pointer (pointer at the time of reading) to the beginning. This will now be explained using channels 1 and 2 as examples. As shown in FIG. 9(a), channel 2 is ahead of channel l by 4 lines, so when channel 2 reads and writes to the FiFo memory 71 for the same line, for example line l reads line ■. Therefore, WPE is advanced by 4 from the memory write pointer WPO (and
When read from the FiFo memory at the read point value of -, respectively, the channels 1, 3. 5 and channel 2.4, the same line is read out, and the deviation in the sub-scanning direction has been corrected. For example, in FIG. 9(b), for channel 1, WPO is wP in the first line l of the memory.

At the same time, on channel 2, WPE is pointing to line 5, which is the fifth line from the beginning. If you start from this point,
When the WPO shows 5, the WPE points to 9, and the line ■ on the manuscript is written in the area where the pointer is 5. From then on, if you read out cyclically while advancing both RPO and RPE (read pointer) in the same way. good. Figure 9 (
c) is a timing chart for performing the above-mentioned control, and image data is sent line by line in synchronization with H3YNC515. EWR3T541,0WR3T5
40 is generated with a shift of 4 lines as shown in the figure, and 0
R5T542 is FiF.

For the same reason, ER3T543 is generated every 15 lines for the capacity of memory 70, 72, 74, and therefore every 5 lines. On the other hand, when reading, first one line is read out at 5 times the speed of channel 1, then one line is read out in the same way from channel 2, then 3rd channel, 4th channel, 5th channel and so on. During IHsYNc, channels 1 to 5 are read out. You can get a connected signal. FIG. 9(d) IRD to 5RD (544 to 548) show valid period signals of the read operation of each channel. The control signal for controlling the image connection between channels using this FiFo memory is provided by the memory control circuit 57' in FIG.
is generated.

The circuit 57' is composed of a discrete circuit such as TTL, but since this is not the gist of the present invention, a description thereof will be omitted. Further, the memory has three colors of an image, namely, a blue component, a green component, and a red component, but since they have the same configuration, the explanation will be limited to only one of them.

FIG. 1O(a) shows a point correction circuit. As shown in FIG. 10(b), when the amount of light input to the sensor is small, the black level outputs of channels 1 to 5 vary greatly among the nine pixels between the chips. If this is output as is and an image is output, streaks and unevenness will occur in the data portion of the image.

Therefore, it is necessary to correct the output variation of this black part,
Correction is performed using a circuit as shown in FIG. 10(a). Prior to the copying operation, the original scanning unit is moved to the position of a black plate with uniform density disposed in a non-image area at the tip of the original platen,
Turn on the halogen and input the black level image signal to this circuit. In order to store 1542 minutes of this image data in the black level RAM 78, selector 82 selects A (■), gate 80 closes (■), and gate 81 opens. That is, the data line is 5
51 → 552 → 553, and on the other hand, the output of the address counter 84 initialized by H3YNC should be input to the address input of the RAM (@ is output and the black level signal for 1542 is stored in the RAM 78). (black reference value import mode).When reading the image, RAM7
8 is in data read mode, data line 553 → 5
Each line and each pixel are read out and input to the B input of the subtracter 79 through a path 57. That is, at this time, the gate 81 is closed (■) and the gate 80 is open (■).

Therefore, the point correction circuit output 556 is the black level data DK(
For i), for example, in the case of a blue signal, Bin (i)
−DK(i) = Bout (i) (black correction mode).

Similarly, Green Gin and Red Rin are also 77G, 7
Similar control is performed by 7R. Further, the control lines (1), (2), (2), (2) of each selector gate for this control are controlled by the CPU (FIG. 2, 22) by a latch 85 assigned as Ilo.

Next, white level correction (shading correction) will be explained with reference to FIG. White level correction corrects variations in sensitivity of the illumination system, optical system, and sensor based on white data obtained when the original scanning unit is moved to the position of a uniform white plate and irradiated. The basic circuit configuration is shown in FIG. 11(,a). The basic circuit configuration is the same as that in Figure 1O(a), but the only difference is that black correction uses a subtracter 79, whereas white correction uses a multiplier 79'. Therefore, explanation of the same parts will be omitted. During color correction, first, when the document scanning unit is at the uniform white plate position (home position), that is, before copying or reading, the exposure lamp is turned on and the uniform white level image data is corrected for one line. Store in RAM78'. For example, main scanning direction A
4 If it has a width in the longitudinal direction, it is 16 pejl'/m
m = 16 x 297 mm = 4752 pixels, that is, a small number of pixels (the RAM capacity is 4752 bytes, and the first
As shown in Figure 1(b), the i-th pixel white board data Wi(i
= 1 to 4752), the RAM 78' has the 11th
As shown in Figure (C), data for the white plate is stored for each pixel. On the other hand, with respect to Wi, the data D after being corrected is the read value Di of the normal image of the i-th pixel.

= D i X F F H/ W i. Then, the CPU in the controller (Fig. 2 22) closes the gate 80' for the latches 85'■', ■', @', and ■', opens the gate 81', and selects B by the selectors 82' and 83'. The selected data is output and the RAM 78' is made accessible to the CPU. Next, FFH/Wo for the first pixel Wo, FF/W for W H
, . . . are performed in sequence to replace the data. When finished for the blue component of the color component image (Fig. 11(d))
5 step B) Similarly, the green component (Step G) and the red component (Step R) are sequentially performed for the original image data Di input thereafter.

Gate 80' is open (■'), gate 81' is closed (■') so that = D
Coefficient data F F H / read from 78'
Wi passes through the signal lines 553→557, is multiplied by the original image data 551 input from the negative side, and is output.

With the above configuration and operation, speeding up has been achieved, and correction for each pixel has become possible.

Furthermore, in this configuration, one line of image data can be input at high speed, and the CPU 22 can access the RD and WR, so that it can be input at any position on the document, for example, as shown in FIG. 12 (coordinates on the document (X If you want to detect the component of the image data at point P at point P (m m , ym m ), (1
By moving the 6XX) line and the scanning unit and importing this line into the RAM 78' by the same operation as described above and reading the data of the (16xy) pixel, the component ratio of B, G, and H can be detected (hereinafter, This operation is called "line data capture mode"). Furthermore, with this configuration, those skilled in the art can easily infer that an average of multiple lines (hereinafter referred to as "average value calculation mode") and a degree histogram (hereinafter referred to as "histogram mode") can be easily obtained. Dew.

As described above, the black level and white level are corrected based on a number of factors such as black level sensitivity of the image input system, dark current variation, variation between each sensor, optical system light intensity variation, white level sensitivity, etc. The color image data proportional to the input light amount, which is uniform over the scanning direction, is input to the logarithmic conversion circuit 86 (FIG. 5) in accordance with the luminous efficiency characteristics of the human eye. = OOH, black = FFH (The image source that is converted and further input to the image reading sensor, for example, a normal reflective original, a transparent original such as a film projector, or even the same transparent original as a negative film, a positive film, or Since the input gamma characteristics differ depending on the film's sensitivity and exposure status,
As shown in a) and (b), the LU for logarithmic transformation
It has multiple T (lookup tables) and uses them depending on the purpose. To switch, use the signal line f go, A
gl, i' g2 (560 to 562), and the I10 port of the CPU (22) is used to input instructions from the operation unit or the like. Here, each B, G,
The data output for H corresponds to the density value of the output image, the output for B (blue) is the amount of yellow toner, and the output for G (green) is the amount of magenta toner f.
Since fi and R (red) correspond to the amount of cyan toner, the subsequent color image data will be associated with Y, M, and C.

Image data of each color component from the original image obtained by logarithmic conversion, that is, yellow component and magenta component.

The following color correction is performed on the cyan component. As shown in Figure 14, the spectral characteristics of the color separation filters arranged for each pixel in the color reading sensor have unnecessary transmission areas as shown in the diagonal lines. It is well known that toner (Y, M, C) also has unnecessary absorption components as shown in FIG. Therefore, each color component image data Yi, Mi.

Masking correction is well known in which color correction is performed by calculating a linear equation for each color for Ci. Furthermore, by Yi, Mi, Ci, Min (Yi, Mi, Ci) (Yi,
The minimum value of Mi, Ci) is calculated, and this is sumi (minimum value of Mi, Ci).
As for black), the operation of adding black toner (smear removal) and the under color removal (UCR) operation of reducing the amount of each coloring material added according to the added black component are also carried out. , masking, indentation, and UCR circuit configuration.Characteristics of this configuration are ■It has two masking matrices and can be switched at high speed with one signal line "Ilo"■Presence of UCR , None can be switched at high speed with one signal line "Ilo" ■It has two circuits that determine the amount of smear, and can be switched at high speed with "Ilo". First, image reading. Prior to this, a desired first matrix coefficient M1 and second matrix count M2 are set via a bus connected to the CPU 22. In this example, Ml is set in registers 87-95, M2 is set in registers 96-104.
is set to . Also 111-122, 135, 13
1 is a selector, and when S terminal = "1', A
Select , and select B when it is “0”. Therefore matrix M
, when selecting switching signal MAREA564="l
”, to select matrix M2, set it to “0”. 123 is a selector, and selection signals CQ+C, (
566, 567), outputs a, b, and c are obtained based on the truth table shown in FIG. 16(b). selection signal Co,
C and C2 correspond to color signals to be output, for example, Y, M, C, Bk in the order (C2°CI+co) =
(0,0,0), (0,0,1), (0゜1
, O), (1, O, O), and then (0, 1, 1) as a monochrome signal to obtain a desired color-corrected color signal. Now (Co, CI, C2) = (0゜0
, O) and MAREA="1", selector 1
23 output (a+b+c) has a register 87
゜88.89(7) Contents, ayt, -bM
t, -Cct) is output. On the other hand, the input signal Yi
, Mi, Ci than Min (Yi, Mi,
C4) The black component signal 574 calculated as =1
34, the subtractor 124 undergoes a -order transformation such that Y=ax-b (a, b are constants) (passes through the selector 135),
It is input to the B inputs of 125 and 126. Each subtractor 124
~126, Y = Y i −(a
k −b ), M = M i −(ak
-b), C=Ci-(ak-b) are calculated and input to multipliers 127, 128° 129 for masking calculations via signal lines 577, 578, 579. The selector 135 is controlled by a signal UAREA565, which selects UCR (undercolor removal),
The configuration allows high-speed switching between presence and absence using "Ilo". Multiplier 127. At 128°129, the A inputs are (ayt, -b+vu, -C
ct), the B input has the above-mentioned (Yi −(ak−b),
Mi-(ak-b), Ci-(ak-b)]
= [Yi, Mi, Ci] are input, so as is clear from the figure, the output Dout has Yout=Yi under the condition of C2=0 (Y or M or C selection).
X (ayt) +MiX (-bMl) +CiX
(-CCI) is obtained, and yellow image data that has been subjected to masking color correction and undercolor removal processing is obtained. Similarly, Mout=YiX(-aY2)+MiX(bM2)+C
1X (-CC2) Cout = Yix (-aY3) 10 Mi
X(-bM3)+C:ix(CC3) is output to Dout. Colors are selected according to the development order of the color printer (Co, C+) as described above.

C2) is controlled by the CPU 22 according to the table in FIG. 16(b). Registers 105-107. 108～
Reference numeral 110 is a register for monochrome image formation, and based on the same principle as the above-mentioned masking color correction, MONO=k
, Yi+l 1Mi+m 1C4, each color is weighted by addition. Switching signal MAREA564
゜UAREA565. As mentioned above, KAREA587 performs high-speed switching between coefficient matrices M1 and M2 for masking color correction, UAREA565 performs high-speed switching between UCR presence and absence, and KAREA587 performs black component signal (signal line 569→outputs through selector 131 to Dout). ), that is, K = M i n (Y
i, Mi.

Ci), Y=ck-d or Y=ek-f (c,
d.

(e, f are constant parameters) are signals that can quickly switch the characteristics of the copying screen. It has become. Therefore, this configuration can be applied when images obtained from image input sources with different color separation characteristics or a plurality of images with different black tones are combined as in this embodiment. Note that these area signals MAREA, UAREA, KAREA (5
64,565°587) is a region generation circuit (second
51).

FIG. 17 shows area signal generation (the aforementioned MAREA564°U A RE A 565, K A RE A
587, etc.). The area refers to the shaded area in Fig. 17(e), for example, and this refers to the area in the sub-scanning direction A-B for each line as shown in Fig. 17(e).
It is distinguished from other areas by a signal such as AREA in the timing chart. Each area is designated by the digitizer 16 of FIG. FIGS. 17(a) to 17(d) show a configuration in which the CPU 22 can programmably obtain a large number of 2-section lengths and 9-sections of the region signal. In this configuration, one area signal is R that can be accessed by the CPU.
For example, in order to obtain n area signals AREAO to AREAn, R of n bit configuration is generated by one bit of AM.
It has two AMs. (Figure 17(d) 136.1
37). Now, the area signal AREAO as shown in Fig. 17(b)
, and AREAn, the RAM address X
Set "1" to bit O of l + Set all n to “0”.H3Y
For example, if the data in the RAM is read out sequentially in synchronization with a constant clock using the NC as a reference,
As shown in FIG. 17(C), data "l" is read at addresses X1 and x3. This read data is
FIG. 17(d) 148-0 to 14 J of flip-flop to J- of B-n.

Since it is connected to both K terminals, the output is a toggle operation, that is, R
When “l” is read from AM and CLK is input,
The output changes from “0” to “1”, “l” to “0”, and the AR
An EAO-like interval signal and thus a region signal is generated.

Also, if data = “0” across all addresses,
No area section is generated and no area is set. FIG. 17(d) shows this circuit configuration, and 136 and 137 are the aforementioned RAMs. This can be done, for example, while reading data from the RAM 136 line by line in order to switch between area sections at high speed. For AMB137,
The CPU 22 (Fig. 2) performs memory write operations for different area settings, and alternately generates sections and
Switch memory writing from CPU. Therefore, if you specify the shaded area of the 17th UgL (f), A, B
, A+B-A, RAMA and RAMB are switched as shown in FIG. 17(d).
) = (0, 1, 0), the counter output counted by VCLK is given as an address to the RAM 136 through the selector 139 (Aa), and the gate 142
open, the gate 144 is closed, the RAM 136 is read out, and the full bit width, n bits, are input to the flip-flops 148-0-148-n to J-, and A RE A O-A according to the set value. A period signal of RE A n is generated. During this time, writing from the CPU to the address bus is performed using the address bus A-Bus, data bus D-Bus, and access signal R/W. Conversely, when generating a section signal based on the data set in RAMB137 (0
31C4, C5) ” (1+O+1), you can do the same thing and write data from the CPU to the RAM 126. (Hereafter, these two RAMs will be referred to as A-RAM, B-RAM, C3, and C4, respectively.゜C6 to A
Called REA control signal (ARCNT)...C3°C4
, C51; output from the I10 port of the CPU).

FIG. 17(g) shows a correspondence table between each bit and signal name.

Next, a circuit configuration for color conversion will be shown according to FIG.

Color conversion here means that when each color component data (Y i , M i , Ci ) input to this circuit has a certain color density or a color component ratio, it is converted into another color. say something to replace it with. For example, only the red (shaded area) portion of the original in FIG. 18(c) is changed to blue. First, each color data (Y
i, M i, Ci ) is the averaging circuit 149
．． The average is taken in units of 8 pixels at 150° 151, and (Y i + M i + Ci) is calculated by adder 155 on one side, and sent to the B input of divider 152° 153 and 154, and on the other side, 6 inputs each. Then, the input color component ratio is yellow ratio ray-=Yi/Y i + M i +
Ci, ? Zenta ratio r a m = M i /
Y i + M i + Ci, cyan ratio r a c =
Ci/Yi+Mi+Ci are obtained as signal lines 604, 605, and 606, respectively, and input to window comparators 156-158. Here, the comparison upper and lower limit values of each color component set from the CPU bus, and therefore (y u , m u , cu
) and (yl, ml, cl), that is, when yl≦ray<yu, output = “1′
°.

mI! When ≦ra m< m u, output = “1”, Cf
When ≦rac<Cu, the output is “l”, and when the above three conditions are met, it is determined that the input color is the desired color, and 3
The output of the human power AND165 becomes 1 and the selector 175
S. entered into the input. The adder 155 is connected to the CPU 22
The signal line CHGCNT60 output from the I10 port of
7 output 603=1 is output. Therefore, when the value is "0", the outputs of the dividers 152, 153, and 154 are the A inputs as they are. That is, at this time, color density data is set in registers 159 to 164 instead of desired color component ratios. 175 is a selector with 4 system inputs and 1 system connected output; input 1. In 2.3, the desired color data after conversion is input as the Y component and C component, respectively.
4. Masking color correction for the scanned original image,
The data Vin subjected to UCR is input, and the data shown in Fig. 16 (
Connected to Dout in a).

Switching human power S. is "l" when color detection is "true", that is, when a predetermined color is detected, and "0" otherwise.
is the area signal CHAREA'615 generated by the area generation circuit of FIG. 17(d), which specifies "1" in the area.

When it is “0” outside the area and “l”, color conversion is performed,
When it is '0', it will not be hit. S2.S3 Human power C0°C, (6
16,617) is co of FIG. 16(a).

It is the same as the C0 signal, and (Co, C,) = (0, O).

When (0, 1) and (1, o), yellow and magenta images are formed on a color printer, respectively.

Perform cyan image formation. The truth table of the selector 175 is shown in FIG. 18(b). Registers 166 to 168 store desired color component ratios or color component density data after conversion.
Set from U. When y', m', and c' are color component ratios, C)(GCNT607="1" is set, so the output 603 of the adder 155 is (Y i
10 M i + Ci ), and the multipliers 169 to 171
Since it is input to the B input of selector input 1. 2.
3 have (Yi+Mi+C1)xy' and (Yi
+Mi+Ci)xm'.

(Yi+Mi+C1)xc' is input and color-converted according to the truth table of FIG. 18(b). On the other hand, when y/, /, C/ are envelope component yield data, CHGCNT is set to "O" and the signal 603 is set to "l", so the multipliers 169 to 171
, and hence the inputs of selector 175 1.2. 3, the data (Y', ', C') is input as is, and color conversion is performed by replacing the color component density data. The area signal CHA RE A' 615 is the section length as described above.

Since the number can be set arbitrarily, this color conversion can be applied only to multiple regions rl + r2 + r3 as shown in Figure 18(d), or by preparing multiple circuits as shown in Figure 18(a), for example, the area r, inside is red → blue + r2 inside is red → yellow,
Color conversion over multiple areas and multiple colors, such as from white to red in r3, becomes possible at high speed and in real time. this is,
A plurality of color detection → conversion circuits identical to the circuit described above are prepared, and the output A of each circuit is selected by the selector 230.
The data required from B, C, and D is CHSELo, CH
8ELI and output to output 619. Also, the area signals applied to each circuit are CHAREAO~3,
Further, CHSELo,1 is also generated by the area generation circuit 51 as shown in FIG. 17(d).

Figure 19 shows a gamma conversion circuit for controlling the color balance and color shading of the output image in this system.Basically, it is a data conversion using an LUT (look-up table), and it is controlled by the operation unit. The data in the LUT is rewritten in association with the input designation. RA for LUT
When writing data to M177, select signal line RAM5
By setting L623="0", the selector 176
The input is selected, gate 178 is closed and gate 179 is opened, buses ABUS and DBUS (address data) from CPU 22 are connected to RAM 177, and data is written or read. - After the carrier conversion table is created, RAM5L623="1" and Din62
The video input from 0 is input to the address input of the RAM 177, addressed with video data, and desired data is output from the RAM and input to the next stage magnification control circuit through the opened gate 178. Also, this gamma RAM
Yellow.

There are 5 types, magenta, cyan, black, MONO, and at least 2 types (Fig. 19 (b) A and B), and the switching for each color is C8°C, C2 (5
66, 567, 568), and by the GARA 626 generated by the area generating circuit in FIG. 17, for example, as shown in FIG. The structure is such that it has gamma characteristics and can be obtained as a single print.

This gamma RAM has two types of variable magnification characteristics, A and B, and can be switched quickly for each area, but by adding more of these, it is also possible to switch even more characteristics at high speed. Dout'625 in Figure 19(a)
is the input Din62 of the magnification control circuit in the next stage of FIG. 20(a).
6 is input.

Further, as is clear from the figure, the characteristics of this gamma conversion RAM can be changed individually for each color, and the characteristics can be changed by the CPU 22 in association with operations from the liquid crystal touch panel keys on the operation panel. For example, Figure 33 p.
ooo When the operator touches the density adjustment key e or f on the (standard screen), if the operator touches e from center 0,
As shown in Fig. 19(d) and (e), the settings move to the left from -l to -2, and the characteristics in the RAM 177 also change from -1 to -2 to -3 to -4.
It is selected and rewritten as follows. Conversely, if you touch f, the characteristics will be selected as +l → +2 → +3 → +4 and RAM177
can be rewritten in the same way. That is, on the standard screen,
By touching the e or r key, Y, M, C, Bk
Alternatively, the entire MONO table (RAM 177) is rewritten, and the density can be adjusted without changing the color tone. On the other hand, on the screen P420 in FIG. 37 (color create mode, color balance adjustment), only the areas in the RAM 177 are individually rewritten for y, M, C, and Bk in order to adjust the color balance. That is, for example, when changing the color tone of the yellow component, press the touch key y1 on the screen P420, the black band display will extend upward, and the conversion characteristic will change in the y1 direction as shown in FIG. When the touch key y2 is touched, the characteristic is selected in the y2 direction, and the yellow component becomes lighter. That is, in this operation, the density of only the monochromatic component is changed, and the color tone is changed. The same applies to M, C, and Bk.

Figure 20(a) 180. 181 respectively in the main scanning direction, for l line, for example, 16 p e 1 / m m
, A 4 lengthwise 297mm = 16X297
It is a FiFo memory with a capacity of 4752 pixels,
As shown in Fig. 20(b), A W E , B W E =
During “L o”, write operation to memory, ARE,
Perform section read operation of BRE='Lo', shoulder 1=
When the output is “Hi”, the output of A is in a high impedance state, and when the old 1 is “Hi”, the output of B is in a high impedance state, so each output is as follows.
A wired OR is performed and output as Dout627. FiFoA and FiFoB 180 and 181 each have internal write address counters and read address counters (20th
Since the internal pointer advances as shown in Figure (C), give WCK a CLK obtained by thinning out the video data transfer lock VCLK588 in the system using a rate multiplier 630, as is usually done. R.C.K.
4: If you give CLK without thinning out VCLK5BB,
It is well known that input data to this circuit is reduced when outputting, and enlarged when the opposite is applied, and read and write operations are performed alternately in FiFos A and B. Furthermore, FiFo
W address counter 182 in memory 180° 181.
The R address counter 183 receives an enable signal (WE,
The count by the clock advances only during the period when RE...635°636) is enabled "Lo", and R5T (6
34) Since the configuration is initialized by ="Lo", for example, as shown in FIG. 20(d), after R8T (in this configuration, synchronization signal H3YNC in the main scanning direction is used), n.

From the n2th pixel, set only the m pixel character = "LO" (the same goes for RWE) and write pixel data, and from the n2th pixel, set the m pixel character to "Lo" (the same goes for the 1st element) and write the pixel data. When read, the data moves from ERITE data to READ data in the same figure. That is, AWE (and BWE
), pus 1 (and old [), the image can be arbitrarily moved in the main scanning direction as shown in Figure 20 (e), (f), and (g), and WCK or RC
In combination with K thinning, variable magnification and movement control can be easily performed. AWE, AR input to this circuit
E, BWE.

The BRE is generated by the area generation circuit shown in FIG. 17(d) as described above.

After magnification control is performed in the main scanning direction as necessary in FIG. 20, edge enhancement and smoothing processing is performed in FIG. 21. FIG. 21(a) is a block diagram of this circuit, in which memories 185 to 189 each have a main scan direction.
It has a capacity of 542 minutes, and has a FiFo configuration in which a total of 5 lines are sequentially and cyclically stored and simultaneously output in parallel. 190 is a second-order differential spatial filter that is normally performed (the edge component is detected, and the output 646 is 1
At step 96, a gain having the characteristics shown in FIG. 21(b) is applied. The shaded area in FIG. 21(b) is clamped to 0 in order to remove small components, ie, noise components, from among the components output by edge enhancement. On the other hand, the buffer memory outputs for 5 lines are input to smoothing circuits 191-195, where averaging is performed in units of pixel blocks of 5 different sizes shown in the figure from IXI to 5×5, and each output 6
Among 41 to 645, the desired smoothed signal is selected by selector 1.
97. 5M5L signal 651 is CPU2
It is output from the I10 port of No. 2, and is controlled in association with the designation from the operation panel, as will be described later. Furthermore, 198 is a divider, and for example, when 3x5 smoothing is selected, "15" is set by the CPU 22, and when 3x7 smoothing is selected, "21" is set by the CPU 22 and averaged. .

The gain circuit 196 has a look-up table (LUT) configuration, and is similar to the gamma circuit described above in FIG. 19(a).
RAM to which data is written by the CPU 22 in the same way as
When the input EAREA 652 is set to "Lo", the output becomes "0". Furthermore, this edge emphasis control and smoothing control correspond to the liquid crystal touch panel screen on the operation panel, and the screen shown in FIG. 21(d) (second
-7 Figure P430) As the operator operates the sharpness in the direction of 1°2 and 3.4, the conversion characteristics of the gain circuit change as shown in Figure 21(c).
It can be rewritten by On the other hand, when the operator operates 1', 2', 3', and 4' in the direction of "sharpness", the switching signal 5M of the selector 197 is activated.
With 5L652, the smoothing block size is 3.
X3. They are selected to be as large as 3X5, 3X7, and 5X5. At the center point C, IXI is selected, the gain circuit EAREA651 becomes ``Lo'', the input Din is neither smoothed nor edge emphasized, and the adder 19
9 is output as Dout. In this configuration, for example, the moire that occurs on halftone originals can be improved by smoothing, and the sharpness of characters and line drawings can be improved by enhancing edges.
When a halftone original and text and line drawings are in the same original, for example, when smoothing is applied to improve moiré, the text becomes blurred.
By controlling the EAREA651 and 5M5L652 generated by the area generation circuit shown in FIG. Select smoothing and use EAREA65 as shown in Figure 21(e).
1 is generated as A' and B' and applied to the original cross-dot cross, moiré is improved for the dot image, and sharpness is improved for the character area.

The signal TMAREA660 is generated by the area generation circuit 51 like EAREA651, and when TMAREA="L", the output Dout="A+B".

When TMAREA="0", Dout="0". Therefore, if a signal like that shown in FIG. 21(f) 660-1 is generated under the control of TMAREA 660, the shaded area (
When a signal like 660-2 in FIG. 21(g) is generated, the shaded area (outside the rectangle) can be extracted (
(white outline) is performed.

FIG. 5 200 is a document coordinate recognition circuit that recognizes the coordinates of the four corners of a document placed on a document table.The coordinates are stored in an internal register (not shown), and after a preliminary scan for document position recognition, the CPU 22 registers the coordinates of the four corners of a document placed on a document table. Read the coordinate data.

Since it is disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-74774, a detailed explanation will be omitted. However, in the preliminary scan for main document position recognition, after the black correction and white correction shown in FIGS. 10 and 11(a), the masking calculation coefficient shown in FIG. 16(a) is k. ,,j2. , m, for monochrome image data generation, and C8, C, , C2 in the same figure are (0, l.

l), UAREA to avoid further UCR (undercolor removal)
By setting 565="LO", the image data is input to the document position recognition unit 200 as monochrome image data.

FIG. 22 shows an operation panel section, particularly a liquid crystal screen control section, and a key matrix according to the present invention. From the CPU bus 508 in FIG. ? The illustrated LCD controller 201 and key matrix 209 for manual key and touch keys
This operation panel is controlled by commands given to the I10 port 206, which controls the I10 port. The fonts displayed on the LCD screen are stored in the FONT ROM205, and
RAM refreshed from time to time by program from U22
204. The liquid crystal controller sends screen data for display to the liquid crystal display 2 via the liquid crystal driver 202.
03 and display the desired screen. On the other hand, all key inputs are controlled by the I10 port 206, and the pressed key is detected by a commonly performed key scan, and then passed through the receiver 208 from the I10 port to the CPU 22.
is input.

FIG. 23 shows the configuration when a film projector 211 is mounted and connected to this system (FIG. 1).

The same numbers as in FIG. 1 indicate the same components, and a mirror unit consisting of a reflection mirror 218, a Fresnel lens 212, and a diffusion plate 213 is placed on the document table 4, and the film 216 projected by the film projector 211 is The transmitted light image is scanned in the direction of the arrow by the above-mentioned document scanning unit and read in the same manner as the original document. film 21
6 is fixed with a film holder 215, and the lamp 212 is connected to 0N10F from the lamp controller 212.
F, and PJON from the I10 port of the CPU 2.2 (Fig. 2) in the controller 13 to control the lighting voltage.
655. PJCNT657 is output. The lamp lighting voltage of the lamp controller 212 is determined by the value of an 8-bit input PJCNT 657 as shown in FIG. 24, and is normally controlled between Vmin and Vmax. At this time, the input digital data is DA-DB. Figure 25 (
Fig. 25(b) shows an outline of the operation flow for reading an image from a film projector and copying it, and a timing chart is shown in Fig. 25(b). At SL, the operator sets the film 216 on the film projector 211, determines the lamp lighting voltage Vexp through shave correction (S2) and AE (S3), and starts the printer 2 according to the operating procedure from the operation panel described later. (S4). Prior to the ITOP (image leading edge synchronization signal) signal from the printer, PJCNT=Dexp (corresponding to the appropriate exposure voltage), and a stable light amount is obtained during image formation. ITOP
Seven images are formed according to the signal, and DA(
(corresponding to the minimum exposure voltage), the lamp is kept dimly lit to prevent deterioration of the filament due to rush current when the lamp is turned on, extending its lifespan. Thereafter, in the same manner, after M image formation, C image formation, and black image formation (S7 to 512), PJCNT
= "00" and turns off the lamp.

Next, the processing procedure of AE and shading correction in the projector mode will be shown according to FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b). When the operator selects a projector mode using the operation panel, the operator first selects whether the film to be used is a color negative film, a color positive film, a black-and-white negative film, or a black-and-white positive film. If it is a color negative, set the film carrier l fitted with the cyan color correction filter in the projector, set the unexposed part (film base) of the film to be used in the film holder, and then check the film's ASA sensitivity. If you select 100 or more and less than 400 or 400 or more and press the shading start button, the projector lamp lights up at the reference lighting voltage V. Here, the cyan filter cuts out the orange base portion of the color negative film, and adjusts the color balance of the color sensor equipped with the R, G, and B filters. Also, by extracting shading data from the unexposed area,
Even with negative film, a wide dynamic range can be obtained. If the film is not a color negative film, set the film carrier 2 fitted with an ND filter (or without a filter), press the shading start key on the LCD touch panel, and the projector lamp will light up at the standard lighting voltage v2. . In fact, when the operator selects negative film or positive film, the switching of the reference lighting voltages V, V2 may be performed automatically by recognizing the type of film carrier. Next, the scanner unit moves to near the center of the image projection section, and the CCD
Figure 11 (a) shows the average value of one line or multiple lines as shading data for each of R, G, and B.
into the RAM 78' and turn off the projector lamp.

Next, set the image film 216 to be actually copied in the film holder 215, and if focus adjustment is necessary, turn on the projector lamp with the lamp lighting button on the operation panel, and after visually adjusting the focus,
Turn off the lamp by pressing the lamp on button again.

When the copy button is turned on, the projector lamp is automatically turned on at vl or v2 depending on the selection result of the color negative or not, and the pre-scanning (
AE) is performed. The printer is used to determine the exposure level of the film to be copied at the time of photographing, and is performed according to the following procedure.

That is, the R signals of a plurality of predetermined lines in the image projection area are inputted to the CCD, and the R signals versus frequency of appearance are accumulated to create a histogram as shown in FIG. "Create mode"). From this histogram, find the m a x value shown in the figure, and m a
The maximum and minimum R signal values Rmax and Rmin at which the histogram crosses a level of 1/16 of the x value are determined. Then, the lamp light amount multiple α is calculated according to the film type initially selected by the operator. The value of α is a = 255/Rmax for color or black and white positive film,
For black and white negatives a = C, /Rmin.

For color negatives with ASA sensitivity less than 400, α=C2/R
min, for color negatives with ASA sensitivity 400 or higher a=
It is calculated as C3/Rmin. CI+ C2+0
3 is a value predetermined by the gamma characteristics of the film, and is a value of about 40 to 50 out of 255 levels. The α value will be converted into output data to the variable voltage power supply of the projector lamp using a predetermined look-up table. Next, the projector lamp is lit by the lamp lighting voltage V obtained in this way,
Logarithmic conversion table Figure 3 (a)
) and the masking coefficient in FIG. 16(a) are set to appropriate values and a normal copying operation is performed. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the logarithmic conversion table is selected from eight tables 1 to 8 using a 3-bit switching signal. L is for reflective originals, 2 is for color positives, 3 is for 4 for black and white positives, 4 for color negatives (ASA less than 400), 5 for color negatives (ASA 400 or more), 6 for black and white negatives, and so on. Also, the contents are R,G.

It is assumed that each of B can be set independently. FIG. 13(b) shows an example of the table contents.

The copying operation is thus completed. When transferring to the next film copy, film layer properties (negative/positive).

The operator determines whether or not the color (color/black and white, etc.) changes, and if it changes, the operator returns to ■ in Fig. 29 (a), and if it does not change, returns to ■ and repeats the same operation again. Become.

As described above, print output corresponding to negative, positive, color, and black and white films can be obtained by the film projector 211. However, in this system, as can be seen in Fig. 23, the film image is enlarged and projected onto the document table. There are few fine character and line drawings, and the film's intended use requires particularly smooth gradation reproduction. Therefore, in this system, the following gradation processing on the color LBP output side is different from that when printing from a reflective original. This is done in a PWM circuit (778) contained within printer controller 700.

Details of the PWM circuit 778 will be explained below.

Figure 26(A) is a block diagram of the PWM circuit, and Figure 26(A) is a block diagram of the PWM circuit.
B) shows the timing diagram.

The input VIDEODATA 800 is a latch circuit 90
0, it is latched at the rising edge of VCLK801 and synchronized with the clock. ((B) Figure 800゜801
Reference) VIDEODATA815 output from the latch
A LUT (look-up table) 901 composed of ROM or RAM performs gradation correction, and a D/A (digital-to-analog) converter 902 performs D/A conversion to generate one analog video signal. The generated analog signals are input to comparators 910 and 911 at the next stage and compared with triangular waves, which will be described later. The signals 808 and 809 input to the other side of the comparator are each synchronized with VCLK and are individually generated triangular waves ((B)
09). That is, the triangular wave WVI generated by the triangular wave generation circuit 908 is generated in accordance with the reference signal 806 for triangular wave generation, which is obtained by dividing the frequency of the synchronous clock 2VCLK803, which has twice the frequency of VCLK801, by a flip-flop 906 into, for example, J-. In the other case, 2VCLK is divided by 6 circuit 9
Signal 807 created by dividing the frequency by 6 with 05 ((B) Figure 807
This is the triangular wave WV2 generated by the triangular wave generating circuit 909 according to the following. Each triangular wave and VIDEODATA are generated in synchronization with VCLK as shown in the same figure (B).Furthermore, each signal is inverted to synchronize with HSYNC802, which is generated in synchronization with VCLK.
C initializes the circuits 905 and 906 at the timing of H5YNC. By the above operation, CMPI 910. C
The output 810.811 of MP2 911 has the input VI
Depending on the value of DEODATA800, a signal in a pulse as shown in turn (C) is obtained. That is, in this system, when the output of the AND gate 913 in Figure (A) is "l", the laser lights up and a dot is printed on the print paper, and when it is "0", the laser goes off and nothing is printed on the print paper. Not done.

Therefore, turning off the light can be controlled by the control signal LON (805). (C) of the same figure shows the situation when the level of the image signal changes from "black" to "white" from left to right. PWM
Since the inputs to the circuit are "FF" for "white" and "00" for "black," the output of the D/A converter 902 changes as shown in (C) in the same figure. On the other hand, the triangular wave (
a) Te is wvt, (b) is WV2, so the outputs of CMPI and CNP2 are PW, respectively.
I, PW2, the pulse becomes narrower as it moves from "black" to "white". Also, as is clear from the figure, P
When WI is selected, the dot on the print paper is P, → P2
→ P3 → P4 is formed at intervals, and the amount of change during the pulse is W
It has a dynamic range of l. On the other hand, when PW2 is selected, dots are formed at intervals of P5→P6, and the dynamic range during the pulse becomes W2, which is three times the PWI ratio. By the way, for example, the printing density (resolution) is P
At the time of WI, about 400 lines/inch, PW
2, it is set to about 133 lines/inch, etc. Also, as is clear from this, when PWI is selected, the resolution is improved by about 3 times compared to PW2, and on the other hand, when PW2 is selected, the dynamic range of the pulse width is about 3 times wider than PWI, so The gradation is significantly improved. Therefore, 5CR3EL804 is applied from an external circuit so that, for example, when high resolution is required, PWI is selected, and when high gradation is required, PW2 is selected. That is, 912 in figure (A) is a selector, and 5CR3EL804 is "O".
When the input is selected, that is, when PWI is "1", PW2 is output from the output terminal ◇, and the laser is turned on only during the finally obtained pulse to print dots.

LUT 901 is a table conversion ROM for gradation correction, and inputs KI at address 812.813, table switching signal at 2.814, and video signal at 815, and outputs corrected VIDEODATA. For example, if 5CR3EL804 is set to "0" to select PWI, the output of ternary counter 903 will be all 0" and 90
A correction table for PWI among 1 is selected. Also I
Ku. , , , 2 is switched according to the output color signal, for example, I(o, , .

When K2="0.0.0", yellow output, 0. l.

Magenta output when "O", "1. 0. Cyan output when “0”, “l”, 1. o”, outputs black.

That is, the gradation correction characteristics are changed for each color image to be printed. This compensates for differences in gradation characteristics due to differences in image reproduction characteristics depending on the color of the laser beam printer. Furthermore, by combining 2 and I(., KI), it is possible to perform a wider range of gradation correction. For example, it is also possible to switch the gradation conversion characteristics of each color depending on the type of input image. , to select PW2, set 5CR8EL to “
When set to 1, the ternary counter 603 counts the synchronizing signal of the line, 1” → “2” → “3” → “l” → “2”
"→"3"→... is output to the address 814 of the LUT. Thereby, the gradation correction table is changed for each line, thereby further improving the gradation.

This will be explained in detail according to FIG. 27 and subsequent figures. Curve A in FIG. 5A is a characteristic curve of input data versus print density when, for example, PWI is selected and the input data is changed from "FF", ie, "white" to "0", ie, "black". As a standard, it is desirable that the characteristic be K, and therefore B, which is the opposite characteristic of A, is set in the gradation correction table. In the same figure (B), P
These are the gradation correction characteristics A, B, and C for each line when W 2゛ is selected. ) has three levels of gradation as shown in the figure to further improve the gradation characteristics. In other words, in the part where the concentration change is steep, characteristic A becomes dominant, resulting in steep reproducibility.
A gentle gradation is reproduced by characteristic C, and B reproduces an effective gradation for the intermediate portion. Therefore, as above, PWI
Even if you select , a certain level of gradation is guaranteed at high resolution
When PW2 is selected, extremely excellent gradation is guaranteed. Furthermore, regarding the above-mentioned pulse, for example, in the case of PW2, ideally W during the pulse satisfies 0≦W≦W2,
Due to the electrophotographic characteristics of laser beam printers and the response characteristics of laser drive circuits, etc., there is a region in which dots are not printed (does not respond) during pulses shorter than a certain width (Fig. 280).
≦W≦wp, the region where the concentration is saturated Fig. 28 wq
≦W≦W2. Therefore, the pulse is set so that the pulse and the concentration vary within a linear effective range wp≦W≦wq. That is, when the input data changes from 0 (black) to FFH (white) as shown in Figure 28 (B),
During the pulse, it changes from wp to wq, further ensuring linearity between input data and concentration.

The video signal converted into a pulse as described above is applied to the laser driver 711L via the line 224 to modulate the laser light LB.

Note that the signal K in FIG. 26(A). + K l +
K2+5CR3EL, LON are output from a control circuit (not shown) in the printer controller 700 in FIG. When using a film projector, 5CR8EL is controlled to “1”,
Smoother tones are reproduced.

[Image forming operation]

Now, the laser beam LB modulated according to the image data
The 30th polygon mirror 712 rotates at high speed.
It is scanned horizontally at high speed in the width of arrows A-H in the figure, passes through the r/θ lens 13 and the mirror 714, and forms an image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 715, thereby performing dot exposure corresponding to the image data.

One horizontal scan of the laser beam corresponds to one horizontal scan of the original image, and in this example, the feed direction (sub-scanning direction) is 1716 mm.
It corresponds to the width of

On the other hand, since the photosensitive drum 715 is rotating at a constant speed in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, the above-described laser beam is scanned in the main scanning direction of the drum, and the scanning of the photosensitive drum 715 is performed in the sub-scanning direction of the drum. Since the rotation is performed at a constant speed, planar images are successively exposed and a latent image is formed. From uniform charging by the charger 717 prior to this exposure → above-mentioned exposure →
A toner image is formed by toner development by the developing sleeve 731. For example, in response to the first document exposure scan in the color reader, the developing sleeve 731
If it is developed with Y yellow toner, the photosensitive drum 71
A toner image corresponding to the yellow component of the original 3 is formed on the original 5 .

Next, a yellow toner image is transferred onto a sheet of paper 754 whose leading end is carried by a gripper 751 and wrapped around a transfer drum 716 by a transfer charger 729 provided at the contact point between the photosensitive drum 715 and the transfer drum 716. ,Form. The same processing process is repeated for M (magenta), C (cyan), and BK (black) images, and each toner image is superimposed on the paper sheet 754.
A full color image is formed using colored toners.

Thereafter, the transfer paper 791 is removed by a movable peeling claw 75 shown in FIG.
0, it is peeled off from the transfer drum 716 and transferred to the conveyor belt 7.
42 to an image fixing section 743, and the toner image on the transfer paper 791 is melted and fixed to the fixing section 743 by heat pressure rollers 744 and 745.

<Description of the operation section> Fig. 41 is an explanatory diagram of the operation section of this color copying machine, where the key 401 is a reset key to return to the standard mode, and the key 40 is a reset key for returning to the standard mode.
2 is an enter key for setting the registration mode described later, key 404 is a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values such as the set number of copies, and key 403 is a clear/stop key for clearing the set number or stopping during continuous copying. , 405 displays settings for each mode and the status of the printer 2 using touch panel keys. Key 407 is a center movement key that specifies center movement in the movement mode, which will be described later. Key 408 is a document recognition key that automatically detects the document size and document position during copying. Key 406 is a key that specifies projector mode, which will be described later. The key 409 is a recall key for restoring the previous copy setting state, and the key 410 is a memory key (Ml, M2.
M3°M4), the key 411 is a registration key for each memory.

<Digitizer> FIG. 32 is an external view of the digitizer 16. key 42
2. 423, 424, 425, 426, and 427 are entry keys for setting each mode described later, and the coordinate detection plate 420 is for specifying an arbitrary area on the document or for setting the magnification. It is a position detection board, and the point pen 421 is used to specify its coordinates. These keys and coordinate input information are transferred to the CP via bus 505.
Data is exchanged with U22, and this information is stored in RAM24 and RAM25 accordingly.

<Description of standard screen> FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram of the standard screen. Standard screen P000
is a screen that is displayed when copying or not setting, and allows settings for scaling, paper selection, and density adjustment. At the lower left of the screen, so-called fixed scaling can be specified, and for example, when touch key a (reduction) is pressed, the change in size and magnification are displayed as shown on screen Po1o. When touch key b (enlarge) is pressed, the size and magnification are similarly displayed, and in this color copying apparatus, three levels of reduction and three levels of enlargement can be selected. If you want to return to the original size, press the touch key h (equal size) and the magnification will be 100%. Next, by pressing touch key C in the center of the display, the upper cassette and lower cassette can be selected.

In addition, when you press the touch key d, the APS automatically selects the cassette containing the paper that best matches the original size.
AutoPaper Select) mode can be set. Touch keys e and f on the right side of the display are keys for adjusting the density of the printed image, and can be set even during copying. Furthermore, regarding the touch keys g, explanations of each touch key and how to make copies are provided for operating the color copying apparatus. This is an explanation screen, and the operator can easily operate it by looking at this screen. In addition to the explanation of the standard screen (explanation screens are also provided for each setting mode described later), the black stripe display at the top of the screen shows the explanation of each mode currently set. The status is displayed, allowing you to check for operational errors and settings.Also, the message display section at the bottom of the screen displays the screen P.O.
Messages such as 20 indicating the status of the color copying apparatus, operational errors, etc. are displayed. In addition, JAM and toner replenishment messages are displayed in the printer part 16 on the entire screen, making it easy to determine where the paper is located.

<Zoom variable magnification mode> Zoom variable magnification mode M100 is a mode that prints by changing the size of the original.Manual zoom magnification mode MI
It consists of IO and auto zoom variable magnification mode M120. Manual zoom variable magnification mode MIIO can be used in the X direction (
The magnifications in the sub-scanning direction) and the Y direction (main-scanning direction) can be independently set in units of 1% using the editor or the touch panel. Autosm magnification mode M12
0 is a mode that automatically calculates and copies an appropriate magnification ratio according to the original and the selected paper size, and also supports XY independent auto magnification, XY equal ratio auto magnification, X auto magnification, and Y auto magnification. Four types can be specified. In the XY independent automatic magnification change, the magnifications in the X direction and Y direction are automatically set independently so that the document size or the paper size selected for a specified area on the document is achieved. XY equal ratio automatic magnification is
Y independent auto magnification calculation result X at the smaller magnification
Both Y and Y are scaled at the same rate and printed. X auto magnification, Y
Auto magnification is a mode in which magnification is automatically changed only in the X direction and only in the Y direction.

Next, we will explain how to operate the zoom magnification and modes using the liquid crystal panel screen. When the zoom key 422 of the digitizer 16 is pressed, the display changes to the screen ptoo shown in FIG. 34. If you wish to set manual zoom here, use the point ben 421 to specify the intersection of the magnifications in the X and Y directions written on the coordinate detection plate 420 of the editor 16. At this time, the display changes to screen PIIO, and the specified X and Y magnification values are displayed. Therefore, if you want to finely adjust the displayed magnification, for example, if only in the X direction, press the left and right keys (up, down) of touch key b. If you want to make adjustments at the same rate in XY, use the left and right keys of touch key d, and the display will go up and down at the same rate in XY. Next, if you want to set the auto zoom, from screen P100, use the digitizer 16 as described above.
or press touch key a to advance the display to screen P110. Therefore, the four types of auto zoom mentioned above,
When specifying Y independent auto magnification, XY equal ratio P auto magnification, X auto magnification, and Y auto magnification, press touch keys b and C, touch key d, touch key b, and touch key C, respectively. Press down to obtain the desired autozoom.

Movement Mode> The movement mode M2O0 is composed of four types of movement modes, each of which is a center movement M210, a corner movement M220, a specified movement M230, and a binding margin M240. Center movement M210 is a mode in which the original size or a specified area on the original is moved so that it is printed exactly at the center of the selected paper. Corner movement M220 is a mode in which the original size or a specified area on the original is moved to any of the four corners of the selected paper. Here, as shown in FIG. 43, even when the print image is larger than the selected paper size, the print image is controlled to move from the designated corner as the starting point. Specified movement M230 is a mode in which a document or an arbitrary area of the document is moved to an arbitrary position on the selected paper. The binding margin M240 is a mode in which the paper is moved to the left and right in the feeding direction of the selected sheet so as to create a so-called margin for the binding portion.

Next, we will explain the actual operating method for this color copying machine in the third section.
This will be explained using FIG. 5(a). First, when the movement key 423 of the digitizer 16 is pressed, the display changes to screen P2O0.

On screen P2O0, the four types of movement modes described above are selected.

If you want to specify center movement, press touch key a on screen P2O0 to finish. For corner movement, when touch key b is pressed, the display changes to screen P230, where one of the four corners is designated. Here, the correspondence between the moving direction of the actual print paper and the specified direction on the screen P230 is as shown in FIG. 35(b). It has the same image as the one above. When a user wishes to perform a specified movement, press the touch key C on screen P2O0 to proceed to screen P210, and use the digitizer 16 to specify the destination position. At this time, the display changes to screen P211, and further fine adjustments can be made using the up/down keys in the figure. Next time you want to move the binding margin, use the screen P2
0 touch key d is pressed, and the length of the margin portion is specified using the up/down keys on the screen P220.

Explanation of area specification mode> In area specification mode M300, it is possible to specify one or more areas on the document, and trimming mode M310. Masking mode M3
20. Any of the three image separation modes can be set. The trimming mode M310 described here is
Only the image inside the designated area is copied, and the masking mode M320 is for copying while masking the inside of the designated area with a white image. The image separation mode M330 further includes a color mode M331. Color conversion mode M332', paint mode M333. Any color balance mode M334 can be selected. In color mode M331, the specified area can be printed in 4 full colors or 3 full colors Y, M, C.
.

Any color mode can be selected from nine types: Bk, RED, GREEN, and BLUE. Color conversion mode M33
2 is a mode in which a predetermined color portion having a certain density range within a specified area is replaced with another arbitrary color and copied.

Paint mode M333 is a mode in which a copy is made that is uniformly filled with another arbitrary color over the entire designated area. The color balance mode M334 is a mode in which the specified area is printed with a different color balance (tone) than the area outside the specified area by adjusting the density of each of Y, M, C, and Bk.

A specific operating method in this embodiment of the area designation mode M300 will be explained in order with reference to FIG.

First, when the area designation key 424 on the digitizer 16 is pressed, the liquid crystal display changes to screen P300, and the document is placed on the digitizer 16 and an area is designated with the point pen 421. When two points in the area are pressed, the display changes to screen P310, and if the specified area is correct, touch key a on screen P310 is pressed. Next, this specified area is displayed on screen P320.
Select one of trimming, masking, or image separation and press the key. If the designation at this time is trimming or masking, the user presses the touch key a on the screen P320 to proceed to the next area designation.

If you select image separation on screen P320, screen P33
Go to 0 and select color conversion, paint, color mode, or color balance. For example, if you want to print the image within the specified area 6 in four colors of Y, M, C, and Bk, press touch key a (color mode) on screen P330.
is pressed, and touch key a is pressed from among the nine color modes on screen P360 to complete the designation of printing the area in four full colors.

On screen P330, touch key b for specifying color conversion
If you press , the display advances to screen P340, where you specify by point a point within the specified area that has the color information you want to convert. If the specified position is OK, screen P341
Press touch key a to proceed to screen P370. Screen P3
70 is a screen for specifying a color after conversion, and one of four types: standard color, specified color, registered color, and white is specified. here,
If you want to select the color after conversion from standard colors, please select screen P370.
Press touch key a to select the yellow and magenta displayed on screen P390.

Specify one of seven colors here: cyan, black, red, green, and blue. In other words, the standard color is color information unique to this color copying apparatus, and in this embodiment, the density of the print image is printed at a ratio as shown in Figure 45, which is just an intermediate density. There is. However, there are of course requests to make the density of the specified color a little more intense or darker, and for that purpose, the user can press the density designation key in the center of the screen P390 to convert the color to the desired density.

Next, when touch key C (specified color) is selected on screen P370, proceed to screen P380, specify the point with the converted color information with the point pen using the same specification method as the color coordinates before conversion, Proceed to screen P381. Again, as mentioned above, only the density is changed without changing the color of the specified coordinates,
When it is desired to perform color conversion, it is possible to perform color conversion at the desired density by pressing key a for density adjustment in screen P381.

Next, on screen P370, if the standard color and the desired color are not found on the document, color conversion can be performed using color information registered in color registration mode M710, which will be described later. In this case, touch key C on screen P370 is pressed, and then on screen P391, the user presses the touch key corresponding to the color number that is desired to be used among the registered colors. Here, too, the density of the registered color can be adjusted by changing only the density without changing the ratio of each color component. Further, when touch key C (white) is specified on screen P370, the same effect as in masking mode M310 described above is obtained.

Next, paint mode M333 of image separation mode M330
If you want to specify , touch key C on screen P330 is pressed and the screen advances to PGI1. The subsequent color specification after painting is performed in exactly the same manner as the setting method from screen P370 onwards in color conversion mode M332.

On screen P330, if you want to print only within the specified area with the desired color balance (tone), press touch key d (
color balance). At this time, the display changes to screen P350, where the density adjustment of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, which are toner components of the printer, is performed using up and down touch keys. Here, on the screen P2S5, a black bar graph indicates the state of density specification, and a scale is displayed next to it for easy viewing.

<Description of color create mode> In color create mode M400 in FIG. 41, color mode M410. Color conversion mode 420. Paint mode M430. Sharpness mode M440. One or more of the five color balance modes M450 can be specified.

Here, in the area specification mode M300, the color mode M
331. Color conversion mode M332. Paint mode M33
3. The only difference between color balance mode M334 and color create mode M400 is that the function operates not on a certain area of the document but on the entire document, and the other functions are exactly the same. Therefore, the explanation of the above four modes will be omitted.

The sharpness mode 440 is a mode for adjusting the sharpness of an image, and is a mode for adjusting the rate at which edges are emphasized in a so-called character image or a smoothing effect is produced in a halftone image. Next, color create mode■
The setting method will be explained with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG. 37. When the color create mode key 425 of the digitizer 16 is pressed, the liquid crystal display changes to the screen P400. When touch key b (color mode) is pressed on screen P400, the screen advances to screen P410, where the color mode to be copied is selected. When the desired color mode is a monochrome color mode other than 3-color or 4-color, the display further advances to screen P411, where a negative or positive selection can be made. Touch key C (sharpness) on screen P400
When you press , the screen changes to P430 where you can adjust the sharpness of the copied image. Screen P43
When the strong touch key i of 0 is pressed, the amount of etch emphasis increases as described above, and in particular, thin lines such as character images are copied clearly. Further, when the weak touch key h is pressed, peripheral pixels are smoothed, and the so-called smoothing amount is increased, and settings can be made so that moiré, etc. in halftone originals can be erased.

Also, color conversion mode M420. The operations in paint mode M430° and color balance M450 are the same as those in area designation mode, so they will be omitted here.

Explanation of inset compositing mode〉 Inset compositing mode M6 converts the specified color image area into the specified area of the monochrome image area (color image area is also acceptable) for originals such as E and F in Figure 42. In this mode, the image is moved and printed at the same size or at variable magnification.

We will explain how to set the inset compositing mode using pictures on the LCD panel and touch panel key operations. First, when a document is placed on the coordinate detection plate of the digitizer 16 and the inset synthesis key 427, which is the entry key for the inset synthesis mode, is pressed, the liquid crystal screen changes from the standard screen P000 in FIG. 33 to the screen P600 in FIG. 39. Next, use the point pen 421 to move the color image area that you want to move.
Specify a point. At that time, two dots having a similar shape to the actually designated position are displayed on the liquid crystal screen as shown in screen P610.

If you want to change the area specified at this time to another area, press touch key a on screen P610 and specify two points again.

If you are satisfied with the set area, press touch key b, then specify two points on the diagonal line of the monochrome image area to move to with the point pen 421, and if satisfied, press touch key C on screen P630.
Press. At this time, the liquid crystal screen turns to screen P640, where the magnification of the moving color image is specified. If you want to fit the moving image at the same size, press touch key d,
Press the End touch key to complete the setting. At this time, Figure 2
- When the moving image area is larger than the moving destination area, as in A and B of 12, it will be fitted according to the moving destination area, and when it is small, the placed area will be automatically printed as a white image. controlled.

Next, when the specified color image area is to be scaled and fitted, the touch key e on the screen P640 is pressed.

At this time, the screen changes to screen P650, and the magnification in the X direction (sub-scanning direction) and the Y-direction (main scanning direction) is set in the same manner as the operating method in the zoom magnification mode described above. First, when it is desired to fit the designated moving color image area with automatic scaling at the same XY ratio, the touch key g on the screen P650 is pressed to reverse the key display. Also, if you want to print the moved color image area in the same size as the destination area, select screen P6.
50 touch keys h and i to reverse. Also, when setting manual magnification only in the X direction, only in the Y direction, or at the same ratio in X and Y, you can press the up and down touch keys respectively.

When the above setting operations are completed, press touch key j,
The screen returns to the standard screen pooo shown in FIG. 33, and the setting operation for the inset synthesis mode is completed.

<Enlarged quick copy mode> In enlarged continuous copy mode M500, when copying the original size or specified area of the original at the set magnification,
When the selected paper size is exceeded, the document is automatically divided into two or more areas according to the set magnification and specified paper size, and each part of the divided document is copied onto multiple sheets of paper. This is the output mode. Therefore, by pasting these multiple copies together, it is possible to easily make a copy larger than the specified paper size.

In the actual setting operation, first press the enlarged continuous shooting key 426 on the digitizer 16, and then press the end key of the touch key a on the screen P500 in FIG. 38 to complete the setting. All you have to do is select the desired magnification and paper.

Color registration mode> Registration mode M700 is color registration mode M710. Zoom program mode M720. Manual feed size specification mode M
The one-color registration mode M710 is composed of three types of modes:
0 and area specification mode M300 when specifying the color conversion mode and paint mode, the converted color can be registered in this mode. The zoom program mode M720 automatically calculates the magnification by inputting the size of the original and the length of the copy paper size, and displays the resulting magnification on the standard screen P000. It is V. In the manual feed size specification mode M730, this color copying machine allows copying by manual feed in addition to feeding paper from the upper and lower cassettes, and when you want to use it in the so-called APS (Auto Paper Select) mode, you can specify the size of the manual feed. This mode allows you to

First, when the * key 402 on the operation panel in FIG. 31 is pressed, the display changes to screen P700 in FIG. 40. Next, when you want to register a color in color registration mode M710, select screen P700.
Press touch key a and select digitizer 1 on screen P710.
6 to register a color or place a document thereon, and specify the color portion using the point ben 421.

At this time, the screen changes to screen P711, and the touch key corresponding to the registration number desired to be set is pressed. Furthermore, if you wish to register other colors, press touch key d on screen P711 to return to screen P710, and set using the same procedure. When inputting the coordinates to be registered is completed, touch key e is pressed, and touch key f, which is the start key for reading screen P712, is pressed.

After the touch key f is pressed, the operation is performed according to the process of the flowchart in FIG. 44. First, use a 5700 halogen lamp.
0 is turned on, the number of movement pulses of the stepping motor is calculated from the above specified coordinates (sub-scanning direction) in 5701, and the document scanning unit 11 is moved by issuing the above specified movement command. At step 5702, l lines of the sub-scanning position specified by the coordinates in the line data import mode are loaded into the RAM 78' of FIG. 11(a). 570
In 3, from this captured l-line data, the average value of 8 pixels before and after the main scanning position whose coordinates have been specified is stored in the RAM 78'.
The CPU 22 calculates the result and stores it in the RAM 24.

In step 5704, it is determined whether the specified number of registered coordinates have been read, and if there are still more, the process proceeds to step S701 for line spacing. When all the reading positions have been completed, the halogen lamp IO is turned off in step 5705, and the document scanning unit is moved to the reference position H.
, the operation is completed by returning to the P position.

Next, when touch key a (zoom program) is pressed on screen P700, the screen changes to screen P720, where the length of the document size and the length of the copy size are set using the up and down keys. The result of the calculation is displayed at the magnification display position of the standard screen pooo, and the magnification is set at the time of copying.

Next, on screen P700, when touch key C (manual feed size specification) is pressed, the screen advances to screen P730, where the paper size of the manual feed paper is specified. This mode allows, for example, the APS mode and automatic zoom magnification to be performed on manually fed paper.

In each of the above modes, numerical values and information set by coordinate input on the touch panel or digitizer are stored in the RAM 24 under the control of the CPU 22. They are each stored in a pre-arranged area of the RAM 25, and called and controlled as a parameter during a subsequent copy sequence.

Figure 51 shows a film projector (Figure 24 211)
The following shows the operation procedure for the control unit when equipped with the following. After the film projector 211 is connected, when the projector mode selection key (406 in FIG. 31) is turned on, the display on the liquid crystal touch panel changes to P2O3. On this screen, select whether the film is negative or positive. For example, if you select negative film here, the screen changes to P810, that is, the screen for selecting the ASA sensitivity of the film.

Here, for example, film sensitivity ASA100 is selected.

As detailed in the procedure described in FIG.
After setting the copy button (400 in Fig. 31) ON and performing AE operation to determine the exposure voltage, as shown in Fig. 25 (a), yellow, magenta, cyan,
FIG. 46, in which image formation is repeated in the order of Bk (black), is a flowchart of sequence control of the present color copying apparatus.

This will be explained below according to the flowchart. By pressing the copy key, the halogen lamp is turned on at 5100, and the 5IO
In 5102, the black correction mode, which is the operation described above, is performed, and in 5102, the white correction mode chuding process is performed. Next, if specified color conversion is set in color conversion mode or paint mode, perform color registration and specified color reading processing in 5104, and transfer the color-separated density data of the specified coordinates to registration mode and specified color detection. They are stored in respective predetermined areas accordingly. This operation is as shown in FIG. 5105 determines whether the document recognition mode is set, and if it is set, the scanning unit 16 of 5106-1 scans the maximum document detection length of 435 mm, and the document recognition 200 reads the document via the CPU bus. Detect the position and size of. If the paper size is not set, the paper size selected in step 5106-2 is recognized as the document size, and this information is stored in the RAM 24.

In step 5107, it is determined whether or not a movement mode is set, and if it is set, the document scanning unit 16 is moved in advance toward the document side by the amount of movement.

Next, in step 5109, a bit map for outputting the gate signal of each function generated from RAMA 136 or RAMB 137 is created based on the information set by each mode.

Figure 49 shows R of information set by each mode mentioned above.
AM24. 3 is a RAM map diagram set in the RAM 25. FIG. AREA MODE stores identification information for each mode of operation in each designated area, such as painting, trimming, etc. AREA-XY contains the document size and size information for each area, and AREA ALP
T is information after color conversion.

Information as to whether the standard color or the specified color is a registered color is stored. A
REA ALPT XY is AREA ALPT
This is the color coordinate information area when the content of is the specified color, and A
REA DENS is a density adjustment data area after conversion. AREA PT XY is the information area for color coordinates before conversion in color conversion mode,
The color mode information of the document or the specified area is stored.

Further, in REGI C0LOR, each color information registered in the color registration mode is stored and used as a registered color, and this area is stored in the backup memory of the RAM 25 and is memorized even when the power is turned off.

Based on the information set above, the bitmap shown in FIG. 50 is created. First, from AREA

Next, BITMAP of the start point and end point in the main scanning direction of each area
Mark the position and repeat the same process up to the sub-scanning end point coordinates.

The bit position where "l" is set at this time is RAM136
Or, it corresponds to each gate signal generated from the RAMB 137, and the bit position is determined depending on the mode within the area. For example, area l, which is the document area, corresponds to TMAREA660, and area 5, which specifies color balance, corresponds to GAREA660.
It corresponds to 26. Thereafter, a bitmap for the area is created in the BIT MAP area shown in FIG. 50 in the same manner. Next, in step 51091, the following processing is performed on the mode within each area. First, area 2 is in a cyan monochrome color mode, and is a monochrome image compared to the four colors of the original. Even if a video is sent out during cyan development in area 2, an image of only cyan components will be printed in area 2, and images of other yellow and magenta components will not be printed. Therefore, if the specified area is selected in monochromatic color mode, the image shown in Fig. 16 (a) becomes an ND image.
), sets the next coefficient in the register selected when MAREA 564 becomes active.

αY1. αY2. aY3 0. 0.
0βMl, 8M2. 3M3 0. 0.
0γC1, γC1, γC3'A, 'Ay'Ak2.
12. m2 0. 0. 0, then MA
The data stored in the RAM 23 in FIG. 2 (used in 4-color or 3-color mode) is set in the masking coefficient register selected when REA 564 is "0". Next, for area 2 which is in paint mode,
Respective gate signals CHAREA□ corresponding to bits of the IIMAP area.

Data is set in each register in FIG. 18(a) selected by 1, 2.3. First, in order to convert all input videos, set FF to yυ159 and 0 to y7160.
0. FF for mu161, OO for ml162, Cu
Set FF to l63, 00 to C1164,
AREA
Load from ALPT or REGI C0LOR,
Multiply each color data by the coefficient of density adjustment data of AREA DENS to obtain y' 166 and m' 16, respectively.
7. Set the converted density data in c' 168.

For color conversion of area 4, the above-mentioned yu159. ...
, C1164 are set with a certain offset value added to each of the density data before conversion shown in FIG. 49, and the data after conversion is set in the same way. In the color balance of area 5, the gate signal GAREA
626 indicates “Y, M of RAM 177 selected by
,C.

In the Bk area, set the data value described above from the color balance value AREA BLAN when specifying the area in Figure 49, and in the area selected by GAREA626 "0", set the color balance BLAN when creating the color.
Set data from CE.

3109 sends a startup command to the printer as SROOM.
516. 5lto as shown in the timing chart of FIG. Detect ITOP, Y at 5ill
.

The M, C, and Bk output video signals Co, CI, and C2 are switched, and the halogen lamp is turned on at 5112. The end of each video scan is determined in 5113, and if it is finished, 511
4 turns off the halogen lamp, checks 5114 and 5115 for completion of copying, and if it is completed, 5116
Outputs a stop command to the printer and finishes copying.

FIG. 48 shows the signal HINT5 output from the timer 28.
17 is a flowchart of interrupt processing, and 5200
At -1, it is checked whether the stepping motor start timer has completed, and if it has been completed, the stepping motor is started, and at 5200, the timer shown in FIG.
RA one line of BIT MAP data indicated by ADD
, M136 or RAM1371. Set m. B20
1 increases the address of the data to be set in the next interrupt by +1
do. 5202 has RAM136. Outputs switching signals C3595, C4596, and C5593 for RAM137, and
At step 203, the time until the next sub-scanning switch is set in the timer 28, and the contents of the BIT MAM, hereinafter referred to as X ADD, are sequentially set in the RAM 136 or RAM 137, and the gate signal is switched.

That is, each time the carriage moves in the sub-scanning direction and an interrupt occurs, the processing contents in the X direction are switched, and color processing such as various color conversions can be performed for each area.

As described above, the color copying apparatus of this embodiment enables various color modes and allows free color reproduction.

In this embodiment, a color image forming apparatus using electrophotography has been described as an example, but it is also possible to apply various recording methods such as inkjet recording, thermal transfer recording, etc. without being limited to electrophotography. Further, although an example has been described in which the reading section and the image forming section are arranged close to each other as a copying apparatus, the present invention can of course be applied to a type in which they are separated and image information is transmitted through a communication line.

<Effects> As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce any color in any area with a different color, and it does not affect the outside of the area, so it is possible to reproduce high-quality images. It becomes possible to obtain quality colors.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the digital color copying machine of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the reader part controller, and FIG.
The figure shows the protocol between the motor driver 15 and the CPU 22 in Figure 2, Figure 4(a) is a timing diagram of control signals between the reader part and the printer part, and Figure 4(b) shows the reader part and the printer part. Video signal transmission circuit diagram between sections, Figure 4 (C
) is a timing diagram of each signal of the signal line SROOM, FIG. 5 is a detailed circuit diagram of the video processing unit in FIG. 2, and FIG.
) is a layout diagram of the color CCD sensor, and Figure 6(b) is the layout of the color CCD sensor.
The signal timing diagram of each part in Figure (a), Figure 7 (a) is C
FIG. 7(b) is a diagram showing the OD drive signal generation circuit (circuit inside the system control pulse generator 57).
8(a) is a detailed diagram of the analog color signal processing circuit 44 in FIG.
Figure (b) is a signal timing diagram of each part in Figure 8 (a), Figure 8 (c) is an input/output conversion characteristic diagram, Figure 9 (a), (
b). (c) and (d) are explanatory diagrams for obtaining each line signal from the staggered sensor, Figure 1O (a) is a black correction circuit diagram,
Fig. 11(b) is an explanatory diagram of black correction, Fig. 11(a) is a white level correction circuit diagram, Fig. 11(b), (c), and (d) is an explanatory diagram of white level correction, Fig. 12 13(a) is an explanatory diagram of the line data capture mode, FIG. 13(a) is a logarithmic conversion circuit diagram,
Figure 3 (b) is a logarithmic conversion characteristic diagram, Figure 14 is a spectral characteristic diagram of the reading sensor, Figure 15 is a spectral characteristic diagram of developing color toner, Figure 16 (a) is a masking, inking, UCR circuit diagram, FIG. 16(b) shows the selection signal C8+ CI+ c2
Figures 17(a) and 17(b) showing the relationship between color signals and color signals.
, (c), (d), (e), (f). (g) is an explanatory diagram of area signal generation, FIG. 18(a),
(b). (C), (d), and (e) are explanatory diagrams of color conversion, and FIG. 19 (a). (b), (c)', (d), (e), and (f) are explanatory diagrams of gamma conversion for color balance and color shading control;
a). (b), (c), (d), (e), (
f), (g) are explanatory diagrams of variable magnification control, and Fig. 21 (a)
, (b), (c), (d). (e), (f), and (g) are explanatory diagrams of edge enhancement and smoothing processing, FIG. 22 is a control circuit diagram of the operation panel section, and FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram of the film projector.
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the relationship between the control input of the film exposure lamp and the lighting voltage, FIGS. 25(a), (b), and (C) are explanatory diagrams when using the film projector, and FIG. 26(A). (B) and (C) are explanatory diagrams of the PWM circuit and its operation, Figures 27 (A) and (B) are gradation correction characteristic diagrams, and Figures 28 (A) and (B) are triangular waves and laser lighting time. 29(a) and 29(b) are control flowcharts when using a film projector, FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the laser printing section, FIG. 31 is a top view of the operation section, and FIG. 32 is a top view of the digitizer, Fig. 33 is an explanatory diagram of the standard LCD display screen, Fig. 34 is an explanatory diagram of zoom mode operation, Figs. 35 (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams of movement mode operation, and Fig. 36 The figure is an operation explanatory diagram of area specification mode, No. 37.
The figure is an explanation diagram of the operation of the color create mode, Figure 38 is an explanation diagram of the operation of the enlarged continuous shooting mode, Figure 39 is an explanation diagram of the operation of the inset composition mode, Figure 40 is an explanation diagram of the operation of the registration mode, and Figure 41 is an explanation diagram of the operation of the registration mode. A functional diagram of the color copying apparatus of this embodiment, FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram of the inset composition mode, FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a print image when a corner is moved, FIG. 44 is a control flow chart diagram in color registration mode, and FIG. Fig. 45 is a diagram showing the color components of standard colors, Fig. 46 is a control flowchart of the entire system, Fig. 47 is a time chart of the entire system, Fig. 48 is an interrupt control flowchart, and Fig. 49 is a diagram showing the color components of standard colors.
50 is a diagram showing a memory map of the RAM, FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram of a bit map, and FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the projector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Area specifying means for specifying a predetermined image area of an original, color specifying means for specifying an arbitrary predetermined color within the specified area, conversion color specifying means for specifying a conversion color for the predetermined color, and A color image forming apparatus comprising a color image forming means for forming a predetermined color in the specified area using the converted color in accordance with the outputs of the three specifying means.