JPS6359688A - Control system for image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive the partial charge of a load between processors by controlling a control stage corresponding to a hopper mechanism and picking mechanism by a second processor at the time of carrying a form and controlling the processor corresponding to a feeding mechanism and a stacker ejecting mechanism by a first processor. CONSTITUTION:The master processor 4 and the slave processor 10 cooperate to control on reading an original. At the time of carrying the form, the control corresponding to the hopper mechanism 15 moving the originals stacked on the hopper to a prescribed preparation position and the control corresponding to the picking mechanism 16 for fetching the originals placed on the preparation position one by one are executed by the slave processor 10. The control corresponding to the feeding mechanism 17 for feeding the fetching original to a reading part and the control corresponding to the stacker ejecting mechanism 18 for ejecting the read original to a stacker are executed by the master processor 4. In such a manner, the plural microprocessors are used to correctly disperse the load.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Summary] An image input device having an automatic reading unit that automatically reads documents stacked on a hopper.

A second processor controls a control stage corresponding to a hopper mechanism and a pick mechanism that constitute the paper transport mechanism, and a first processor controls a control stage that corresponds to a feed mechanism and a stacker discharge mechanism that constitute the paper transport mechanism. An image input device control method has been disclosed in which the two processors operate in a so-called pipeline control manner while sharing the load between the processors.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a nine-image input device control method, and more particularly to an image input device control method in which a paper conveyance mechanism in one image input device is controlled by a plurality of processors, so to speak, by pipeline control.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, nine image input devices have been used to read and recognize items written on manuscripts, forms, etc. (in this specification, they are collectively referred to as manuscripts because of the hour wheel), and input them into a data processing device. Are known.

Such image input devices generally do not have the above-mentioned recognition function, and are designed to extract image information by reading characters and the like on a document. Such an image input device is equipped with an automatic reading unit that automatically feeds and reads a large number of originals, and also has an automatic reading unit that automatically feeds and reads a large number of originals. Often equipped with a flatbed reading unit.

The above automatic reading unit generally includes (i) a hopper mechanism that moves documents placed on a hopper to a predetermined preparation position, and (ii) a pick mechanism that takes in documents placed in the preparation position one by one. (iii) a feed mechanism that feeds the original; (iv) a reading unit that reads the fed original; (■) a printing mechanism that prints on the original as necessary; (vi) a The printer is equipped with a stacker ejecting mechanism that ejects the original document onto the stacker. In the present invention, the above mechanisms (i) (ii) (iii) (vi)
These are collectively called the paper transport mechanism.

The above hopper mechanism, pick mechanism, and feed mechanism.

Stacker ejection mechanisms are now commonly controlled by microprocessors.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventionally, image input devices such as those described above have been considered, but in order to read documents one after another at high speed, it is necessary to provide control corresponding to the hopper mechanism, control corresponding to the pick mechanism, and control corresponding to the feed mechanism. and a control corresponding to the stacker ejection mechanism.

It is desirable to execute them one after another in a so-called pipeline control manner. For this purpose, so to speak, parallel processing is performed, but since the load on the microprocessor increases, the problem is how to distribute the load.

Of course, processes related to document reading, control of the printing mechanism, and other processes including troubleshooting such as paper jams are also executed by the microprocessor, but it is necessary to correctly distribute the load including this. .

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the above problems and correctly distributes the load by using a plurality of microprocessors.

FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration diagram of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a bus for the first processor (hereinafter referred to as mask processor), 2 is a bus for the second processor (hereinafter referred to as slave processor), and 3 is a bus for the external controller (host processor).
4 is a mask processor, 5 is a control memory, 6 is a main memory, 7 is a video processing section, 8 is a printing mechanism, 9 is a flat bed reading unit, 10 is a slave processor, 11 is a control memory, 12 and 13 are registers for communication between processors, respectively.
14 is a paper conveyance mechanism, 15 is a hopper mechanism, 16 is a pick mechanism, and 17 is a feed mechanism.

18 represents a stacker ejection mechanism.

The mask processor 4 includes a video processing section 7. Printing mechanism 8
．． Flat bed reading unit 9 (will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, but can be considered as a unit for reading a single-sheet document).

Feed mechanism 17 in paper transport mechanism 14. Similarly, the stacker ejection mechanism 18 is controlled. The slave processor 10 also includes a hopper mechanism 15 . in the paper transport mechanism 14 . Similarly, the pick mechanism 16 is controlled.

Furthermore, communication between processors 4 and 10 is carried out through register 1.
2.13. Further, communication with an external controller is performed via the interface section 3.

[Effect]

The mask processor 4 and the slave processor 10 cooperate to control document reading, but regarding paper transport, (i) control corresponding to the hopper mechanism that moves the document loaded on the hopper to a predetermined preparation position; and (ii
) The control corresponding to the pick mechanism that takes in the originals placed in the preparation position one by one is the slave processor 10.
On the other hand, the control corresponding to the feed mechanism that feeds the captured original to the reading section and the control related to the stacker ejection mechanism that ejects the read original to the stacker are controlled by the mask processor 4. .

The mask processor 4 controls a printing mechanism that performs printing as necessary on the document fed by the feed mechanism, and also controls the flatbed reading unit. It also controls processing related to image information obtained by reading a document.

In connection with paper conveyance, the hopper mechanism 15. Pick mechanism 16. Feed mechanism 17. The stacker ejecting mechanisms 18 are activated in sequence, but the slave processor 10, which operates according to instructions from the mask processor 4,
In cooperation with processor 4, for each manuscript, in the form of pipeline control.

Move each mechanism above. That is, while the ninth document is in the feed mechanism 17 or the stacker ejection mechanism 18, the (p+1)th document is in the hopper mechanism 15 or the pick mechanism 1.
As shown in 6, high-speed processing is performed one after another.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a cross-sectional view of the image input device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the top surface of a flat bed reading unit, and FIG. 4 is a position of the flat bed reading unit and automatic reading unit. Explanatory diagram showing relationships, 5th
6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a state diagram of a paper transport mechanism, FIG. 7 is a mask processor operation flow, and FIG. 8 is a slave processor operation flow.

In the figure, 20 is a flat bed reading unit;
1 is an automatic reading unit, and 22 is a document holder.

23 is a flat bed on which a single sheet original is placed; 24 is a reading section which serves as both the first reading section and the second reading section according to the present invention; and 25 is a light source. 26 is a reading light beam from the flat bed reading unit 20 side, and 27 is a reading light beam from the automatic reading unit 21 side.

28 is a hopper, 29 is a stacker, 30 is a print head, 3
1 is a platen, and 32 is a manual insertion slot for inserting a single sheet original for printing or the like.

33, 34, 35 are mirrors (mirror 33 is the light beam 2
6 into the light beam 25.

When guiding light beam 27 into light beam 25.

(It is rotated and retracted as shown in 33'),
Reference numeral 36 represents a reference guide for positioning when inserting a document from the manual insertion slot, and 37 represents a drive roller. Further, 38 and 39 represent lamps.

When reading a single document, or for a document that you want to avoid curving as much as possible, open the document presser 22, place the document on the flat bed 23, and press the document presser 22 as shown in FIG. close.

Reading is performed by issuing a start instruction, just as in the case of copying with a copy machine. That is, the lamp 38 and mirror 33 shown in FIG. 2 move together in the horizontal direction shown in the drawing, while the light beam reflected from the document passes through the glass on the flat bed 23.

Light beam 26 (the position of the light beam 26 also moves horizontally)
It is guided by the light beam 25 and read by the reading section 24 as image information.

When reading a large number of documents, the documents are stacked on the hopper 28. The hopper 28 is then raised to a predetermined ready position by the hopper mechanism.

Next, the pick mechanism picks up the originals placed in the preparation position one by one, starting from the topmost one, and corrects any undesired tilt of the originals using the leading edge of the original as a reference. .

The document whose tilt has been corrected is fed by the feed mechanism.
It is fed across the position where the illustrated lamp 39 is present. As a result, the light from the lamp 39 is reflected from the original, and the light beam 27 becomes a light beam 25, and the reading unit 2
4.

The document traverses the position of the print head 30 and is optionally numbered, e.g. 2, by a printing mechanism.

Then, it is discharged to the stacker 29 by the stacker discharge mechanism. During this time, the hyperactive drive roller 37 is rotated,
Feed the original.

If it is necessary to perform numbering, for example, on the original read by the flatbed reading unit 2o, the original is inserted through the nine-hand insertion slot 32 as clearly shown in FIG. Ru. In this case, the inserted original is fed vertically as shown in FIG.
Numbering is performed by print head 30.

The automatic reading unit 21 is as shown in FIG.

It is attached to the flat bed reading unit 20 with a hinge so that it can be opened and closed. For example, when a paper jam occurs, the automatic reading unit 1-21 is opened as shown in FIG. 4 to remove the paper jam.

Note that during automatic reading by the automatic reading unit 21, the mirror 33 is rotated and retracted as shown at 33 in FIG.

Although the image input device used in the present invention is not limited thereto, it may be considered that the image input device shown in FIGS. .

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to FIG. Reference numerals 1 to 18 in the figure correspond to those in FIG. 1, 40 is a timer, 41 is a fluorescent lamp, and the second
It corresponds to lamps 38 and 39 shown in the figure. 42 is a light amount sensor, 43 is a CCD in the reading section 24, 44 is a video signal amplification section, 45 is a gain control section, and 46 is a white level control section.

Details of control related to the paper transport mechanism 14 will be described later, but problems related to the video processing section 7 will be briefly described here.

While the document is being fed, the fluorescent lamp 41 (lamp 38.3
The light from 9) is reflected on the original, becomes a light beam 25, and is converted into an electrical signal by a CCD 43 shown in FIG. The electrical signal is amplified by the video signal amplification section 44 and output as video data output (image information). At this time.

The gain in the amplification section 44 is controlled by the gain control section 45, and the white level is controlled by the white level control section 4.
Controlled by 6.

Furthermore, the following checks are performed. That is, while the document is being fed, the amount of light from the fluorescent lamp 41 is detected by the light amount sensor 42, and the light amount at the start and end of reading the document is compared, and the lamp burnout is detected while the document is being read. Check for lamp abnormalities including. Also, check the amount of light above,
The signal is fed back to the gain control section 45 to obtain the optimum gain.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram of the paper transport mechanism, and will be explained while comparing the mask processor operation flow shown in FIG. 7 and the slave processor operation flow shown in FIG. 8, respectively. 6th
Reference numbers 29, 30° 39 shown in the figure correspond to those in Fig. 2, and 43
corresponds to the CCD shown in FIG. In addition, the "hopper part" shown in the figure is a hopper mechanism, the "pick part" is a pick mechanism, and the "hopper part" shown is a hopper mechanism.
"Feed section" corresponds to a feed mechanism, "stacker section" corresponds to a stacker mechanism, [slave MPU J corresponds to control by a slave processor, and "mask MPU" corresponds to control by a mask processor. Furthermore, S
l to Sl□ are various sensors, MGl to MG3, respectively.
The electromagnetic magnets MOT1 to MGl5 represent motors, respectively.

The hopper mechanism, as shown in FIG.
The rising operation is performed until 8 is detected by the sensor S2.

The pick mechanism is for picking up one sheet at a time from a group of documents placed in the preparation position, and is an electromagnetic magnet (MO2).
, the aligning stopper 47 is pulled up on the original moving route, the roller is closed by the electromagnetic magnet <MGl), the motor (MGl2) is started, and one original is taken in by the belt 48 or the like. Of course, in order to correctly take in only one sheet, the lower roll 4
It is equipped with a known mechanism for rotationally driving 9 in the opposite direction. Furthermore, the feed mechanism is equipped with a mechanism that checks the amount of light that passes through the document, detects the thickness of the document, and detects and eliminates undesired double feed.

The document captured by the heald 48 etc. is sent to the sensor S4.
(occurrence of jam, etc.) is detected, and the entire leading edge of the document is brought into correct contact with the stopper 47 at the aligning stopper 47, thereby correcting the undesired inclination of the document. After such corrections have been made, the aligning stop 47 is lowered and the document reaches the parked position shown and is drawn into the feed mechanism which is under the control of the mask processor 4.

In the feed mechanism, the presence of a document is detected by sensors s5 and s6, a motor (MG13) is activated, and the document is fed. During this time, the document passes under the lamp 39, and the CCD 43 reads characters and the like on the document as image information. Further, if necessary, the print head 30 performs numbering on the document.

Next, in the stacker mechanism, the motor (MGl4) is activated, and the stacker 29 on which the original is to be stacked is selected by the operation of the electromagnetic magnet (MG3).

As shown in FIG. 7(A), when reading is started, the optical system is checked for abnormality, and if normal, the mask processor 4 sends a message to the slave processor 10 through the process 50 shown in FIG. A start request is issued, and thereafter, processing 51 waits until notification that sensor S5 is turned on. When an error occurs, error processing shown in FIG. 7(C) begins.

In response to the above start request, the slave processor 10
is started as shown in FIG. 8(A). If it is started from the mask processor 4 for the first time, the process 52 proceeds to the YES route, and for the second and subsequent manuscripts, the NO route is followed.

Processing 53 is performed by an electromagnetic magnet (MG2).

Pull up the above-mentioned aligning stopper 47.

A process 54 starts the motor (MOTI), and a process 55 checks whether the original reaches the position of the sensor S2 correctly. If it is reached correctly, the motor (MOTI) is stopped in step 56. Then, in process 57,
It is checked whether the hopper 28 is empty.

If it is not empty, the process proceeds to the flow shown in FIG. 8(B), and in process 58, the motor (MGl2
) is activated. If the motor (MGl2) rotates by the specified pulse amount before the sensor S4 turns on, the motor (MGl2) is stopped in process 59. If sensor S4 is turned on before rotating by the specified pulse amount, Fig. 8(C)
Proceed to the route shown.

When the process proceeds to process 59 shown in FIG. 8(B), the motor (MOTI) is started in process 60 and the hopper 28 is lowered.
In process 61, the motor (MOTl) is stopped, in process 62 the motor (MCI2) is started, and in process 63 it is checked whether sensor S4 is turned on.

If you turn it on.

The process proceeds to process 64 shown in FIG. 8(C).

In FIG. 8(C), in process 64 the motor (MCI2)
is stopped, and in process 65 the electromagnetic magnet l-(MCI
) is turned on, the electromagnetic magnet (MG2) is turned off in process 66, the above-mentioned aligning stopper 47 is pulled down, and the motor (MCI2) is started in process 67 to move the original to the "standby position" shown in FIG. ”. Slave
If the processor 10 has received the restart command, it proceeds to the route shown in FIG. 8(D).

When the restart process is started, it waits until a request to stop the pick mechanism is received, and in process 68 shown in FIG. 8(D), it is confirmed that the sensor S4 is turned off, and then
At step 9, the mask processor 4 is notified that the sensor S4 has been turned off, and the process returns to the starting point in FIG. 8 (A>).

When the mask processor 4 is notified that the sensor S4 is turned off, it performs the process 7 shown in FIG. 7(A).
At 0, the motor (MOT3) is activated. Then, in process 71.

When sensor S6 is turned on, by process 72.

For the slave processor 10, the motor (MCI2
) Request a stop.

Next, the process proceeds to the route shown in FIG. 7(B), and in process 73, the trailing edge of the document is connected to the phototransistor P shown in FIG.
It is checked whether or not TI has been passed, and if TI has been passed, the motor (MCI3) is stopped in step 76. Then, a check is performed in steps 77 and 78, and after it is determined whether the stacker 29 should be placed in the upper or lower stacker 29, in step 79
The motor (MCI3) is started.

Next, the process proceeds to the route shown in FIG. 7(C), and in step 80, reading of the next document being fed is started. Then, checks are performed in steps 81 and 82, and in step 83, a restart request is made to the slave processor.

The process in FIG. 7(D) represents an interrupt process during paper ejection. In process 84, which stacker 2
After confirming whether 9 has been selected, it is checked whether the paper is normally ejected to the selected stacker.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of micro-
The processors can work together to efficiently transport the document and read it during that time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the basic structure of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a conceptual block diagram of a cross-sectional view of the image input device of the invention, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the top surface of a flat bed reading unit, and Fig. 4 is a flat bed reading unit.・An explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the bed reading unit and the automatic reading unit, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a state diagram of the paper transport mechanism, FIG. 7 is a mask processor operation flow, FIG. 8 shows the slave processor operation flow. In the figure, 4 is a mask processor (first processor), 1
0 is a slave processor (second processor), 8 is a printing mechanism, and 14 is a paper transport mechanism. 15 is a hopper mechanism, 16 is a pick mechanism, 17 is a feed mechanism, 18 is a stacker discharge mechanism, 20 is a flat bed reading unit, 21 is an automatic reading unit, 24 is a reading section, 28 is a hopper, and 29 is a stacker. There is. Patent applicant: Usatsuk Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. (1 other person)
Agent: Patent Attorney Mori 1) Hiroshi (1 other person) Y52IXl Mature 3 diagram Mamata MPIJt force 1 move flow (III) Figure 7 (C
) I11 βn I Hidemi "Ki W, September m Kei 4 Flash (B) Output low oil 1 mechanism end m Force 6 m '7, Shi - 7 MPUMs 1 hands 0 - + I [I) 5 s
w<c)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A paper transport mechanism (14) that automatically feeds a plurality of documents stacked on a hopper (28);
4) a reading unit that reads the original fed by the photoelectric conversion means; a printing mechanism (8) that prints the fed original as necessary on the fed original; In an image input device including an automatic reading unit (21) having at least a stacker (29) for storing originals sent by the paper transport mechanism (14), the paper transport mechanism (14) However, at least a hopper mechanism that moves the originals loaded on the hopper (28) to a predetermined preparation position, a pick mechanism that takes in the originals placed at the preparation position one by one, and a feed mechanism that feeds the originals. and,
a hopper mechanism control stage that is provided with a stacker ejection mechanism that ejects the original read by the reading section to the stacker, and that corresponds to the hopper mechanism;
a pick mechanism control stage corresponding to the pick mechanism;
A feed mechanism control stage corresponding to the feed mechanism and a stacker discharge mechanism control stage corresponding to the stacker discharge mechanism are configured to be controlled by processors (4) and (10), respectively, and the feed mechanism control stage and the stacker discharge mechanism control stage correspond to the stacker discharge mechanism. a stacker discharge mechanism control stage is controlled by a first processor (4); a second processor (10) controls the hopper mechanism control stage and the pick mechanism control stage; ), while the first processor (4) is performing control, the second processor (10) is configured to perform control corresponding to the next document, sharing the processor load, An image input device control method characterized in that a plurality of processors (4) and (10) are operated substantially in parallel.