JP2018170533A - Image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An image processing apparatus capable of carrying out chapter division processing without requiring complicated work. An image holding unit 301 selects image data of one or a plurality of originals selected from processing target documents and acquired in advance by an image reading unit 120, and sets chapter break positions in the processing target document. It holds as information to show. The chapter break position determination unit 302 includes image data acquired by the image reading unit 120 when a document to be processed including a document corresponding to the image data stored in the image storage unit 301 is transported by the document transport mechanism 110, and The chapter break position is determined by comparing with the image data held in the image holding unit 301. Based on the chapter break position determined by the chapter break position determination unit 302, the process execution unit 303 performs chapter division processing on the image data of the document to be processed. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus including a document conveying device.

  In an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a scanner, or a multifunction machine, a document conveying device is used. The document conveying device automatically conveys documents stacked on the document tray one by one to the image reading position. As a result, the image processing apparatus can continuously read images of a plurality of documents.

  In such an image processing apparatus, a function of dividing a document image read continuously into chapters has been put into practical use. The chapter division function is a function for dividing continuously read document images into a plurality of chapters. By using the chapter division function, for example, the first page of the chapter is always placed on the front side when printing on both sides, or the first page of the chapter is placed on the first group of images to be gathered during consolidated printing. Is possible.

  In order to realize the chapter division function, it is necessary to make the image processing apparatus recognize chapter divisions. As a technique for recognizing chapter breaks, there is a technique for designating chapter break positions based on the number of documents. In such a configuration, the chapter break position can be easily specified when a page number is assigned to the document. However, for a document with a missing page number or a document without a page number, a complicated operation is required in which the user counts the number of documents up to the chapter break position. In addition, if there is a counting mistake, the desired chapter division process cannot be performed.

  As a countermeasure, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image reading apparatus that performs chapter division processing by bundling originals into chapters and placing the original bundles one by one on an original conveying device. In this configuration, if the chapter division button is selected at the start of reading a document bundle, the first page of the document bundle is recognized as the first page of a new chapter.

JP 2003-101757 A

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since it is not necessary to count the number of originals, the user can perform chaptering processing more easily than in the conventional method. However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user needs to repeatedly set the document bundle on the document conveying device and select the chaptering button at least as many times as the number of chapters. In addition, since it is necessary to perform such work, the user needs to remain in a place where the work can be performed on the image processing apparatus. That is, even with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the work that the user must perform is still complicated and is not fully satisfactory for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of performing chaptering processing without requiring complicated work.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means. In other words, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a document transport mechanism, an image reading unit, an image holding unit, a chapter break position determination unit, and a process execution unit. The document transport mechanism transports the documents placed on the document tray one by one to the image reading position. The image reading unit acquires the image data of the document conveyed to the image reading position by the document conveying mechanism. The image holding unit holds image data of one or a plurality of originals selected from the document to be processed and acquired in advance by the image reading unit as information indicating a chapter break position in the document to be processed. The chapter break position determination unit includes the image data acquired by the image reading unit when the document to be processed including the document corresponding to the image data held in the image holding unit is conveyed by the document conveyance mechanism, and the image holding unit. The chapter break position is determined by comparing the stored image data. The processing execution unit performs chaptering processing of image data of the document to be processed based on the chapter break position determined by the chapter break position determination unit.

  In this image processing apparatus, image data of one or a plurality of documents is acquired and held in advance as information indicating the chapter break position in the document to be processed. Then, the chapter break position is determined by comparing the image data acquired by the image reading unit with the image data held in the image holding unit. That is, the user extracts, for example, a document at the beginning of a chapter from the document to be processed, acquires image data of the document using the image transport mechanism, and then transfers all of the document to be processed to the image transport mechanism. It is possible to make the image processing apparatus recognize the chapter break position simply by performing the operation of acquiring the image data of the document using.

  The image processing apparatus further includes an image forming unit that prints image data on a sheet, and the processing execution unit prints the image data of the document to be processed divided into chapter division positions in the image forming unit. It is possible to adopt a configuration to Alternatively, an image data storage unit that stores image data is further provided, and the processing execution unit stores the image data of the document to be processed in the image data storage unit in association with information indicating the chapter break position. You can also.

  According to the present invention, chapter division processing can be performed without requiring complicated work.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the multifunctional device in one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the chapter division processing procedure which the multifunctional machine in one Embodiment of this invention implements Schematic diagram showing an example of chapter division processing performed by a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral including a document conveying device (document conveying mechanism).

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 includes a main body 101 including an image reading unit 120 and an image forming unit 140, and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 made of a transparent plate such as contact glass is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. An operation panel 171 is provided on the front surface of the multi-function device 100 so that the user can give a copy start or other instruction to the multi-function device 100, and can check the status and settings of the multi-function device 100.

  An image reading unit 120 is provided below the document table 103. The image reading unit 120 reads an image of a document with the scanning optical system 121 and generates digital data (image data) of the image. The document can be placed on the document table 103.

  The scanning optical system 121 includes a first carriage 122 and a second carriage 123. The first carriage 122 is provided with a linear light source 131 and a mirror 132, and the second carriage 123 is provided with a mirror 133 and a mirror 134. The light source 131 illuminates the document. The mirrors 132, 133, and 134 guide reflected light from the document to the condenser lens 124, and the condenser lens 124 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 125.

  In the scanning optical system 121, the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 are provided so as to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 135. By moving the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 in the sub-scanning direction 135, the image of the document placed on the document table 103 can be read by the image sensor 125. The image sensor 125 generates document image data from the light image incident on the light receiving surface.

  The generated image data can be printed on a sheet or the like as a transfer object in the image forming unit 140. The generated image data can also be transmitted to other devices through a network via a network interface (not shown).

  The image forming unit 140 prints the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 and the image data received from another device connected to the network on a sheet. The image forming unit 140 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 151, the paper feed cassettes 152, 153, and 154 to the transfer unit 155 that transfers the toner image. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer unit 155 is discharged to a discharge tray 149.

  In such a multifunction peripheral 100, the platen cover 102 includes a document conveying device 110. The document conveyance device 110 sends out the documents set on the document tray 111 by the pickup roller 113 one by one to the conveyance path 116. An image reading position 117 is on the conveyance path 116. The conveyance roller 114 conveys the document to the image reading position 117. On the upper surface of the image reading unit 102, not only the document table 103 but also a slit glass (reading window) 104 for reading a document with respect to the image reading position 117 is provided. In the multifunction peripheral 100, the slit glass 104 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101 adjacent to the document table 103 in the moving direction of the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123.

  When reading an image of a document set on the document tray 111, the image reading unit 120 temporarily stops the first carriage 122 and the second carriage 123 according to the image reading position 117. When the document passes through the image reading position 117, the light source 131 illuminates the document. Light from the light source 131 is reflected by the original passing through the original table 103 and passing through the original reading position 117, and is guided to the image sensor 125 by the mirrors 132, 133, and 134 and the condenser lens 124. The image sensor 125 generates image data based on the received light. The document that has passed the image reading position 117 is discharged to the discharge tray 112 by the discharge roller 115.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control system in the multifunction machine. The multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 204, an original conveying device 110, and an image reading unit 120. A driver 205 corresponding to each drive unit in the image forming unit 140 is connected via an internal bus 206. The ROM 203, the HDD 204, and the like store programs, and the CPU 201 controls the multifunction peripheral 100 in accordance with instructions from the control program. For example, the CPU 201 uses the RAM 202 as a work area, and controls the operation of each driving unit by exchanging data and commands with the driver 205. The HDD 204 is also used to store image data obtained by the image reading unit 120 and image data received from other devices via a network.

  An operation panel 171 and various sensors 207 are also connected to the internal bus 206. The operation panel 171 receives a user operation and supplies a signal based on the operation to the CPU 201. Further, the operation panel 171 displays an operation screen on a display provided in the operation panel 171 according to a control signal from the CPU 201. The sensor 207 includes various sensors such as an open / close detection sensor for the platen cover 102, a document detection sensor on the document table 103, a temperature sensor for the fixing device, and a detection sensor for the conveyed paper or document.

  The CPU 201 executes, for example, a program stored in the ROM 203 to realize the following means (functional blocks), and controls the operation of each means according to signals from these sensors.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the multifunction peripheral according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the multifunction peripheral 100 of this embodiment includes an image holding unit 301, a chapter break position determination unit 302, and a process execution unit 303.

  The image holding unit 301 holds image data of one or a plurality of originals selected from the processing target originals and acquired in advance by the image reading unit 120 as information indicating chapter break positions in the processing target originals. To do. Here, the information indicating the chapter break position is information for specifying the first document (page) in a chapter in which another chapter exists before. For example, the image data of the first document of the chapter can be used as information indicating the chapter break position. Further, as the information indicating the chapter break position, the image data of the last document in the chapter where another chapter exists later can be used. Even in this case, the original following the original can be specified as the first original of the chapter. Furthermore, it is possible to use image data of a document positioned in a specific order (for example, second) from the end in a chapter in which another chapter exists later. In this case, a document (page) that is behind the document in a specific order can be specified as the first document of the chapter. As the type of information indicating the chapter break position, a configuration specified in advance by the user may be employed. In the present embodiment, the above-described RAM 202 functions as a storage area of the image holding unit 301.

  In the case where a plurality of originals are held in the image holding unit 301 as information indicating the chapter break position, it is preferable that these originals are read by the image reading unit 120 using the original conveying device 110. In this case, the user extracts a document to be held by the image holding unit 301 as information indicating a chapter break position such as the first document of a chapter from the document to be processed, and places the document on the document tray 111 of the document conveying device 110. As a result, the image data of the document can be held in the image holding unit 301. Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the image data is held in the image holding unit 301 in association with the order read by the image reading unit 120.

  The chapter break position determination unit 302 includes image data acquired by the image reading unit 120 when a document to be processed including a document corresponding to the image data held in the image holding unit 301 is conveyed by the document conveying device 110, and The chapter break position is determined by comparing with the image data held in the image holding unit 301. That is, the chapter break position determination unit 302 uses the document feeder 110 to read the image reading unit 120 in a state where the document extracted for holding the image data in the image holding unit 301 is returned to the original position. The acquired image data is compared with the image data held in the image holding unit 301.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the image data is held in the image holding unit 301 in association with the order of reading by the image reading unit 120. Therefore, at the time of the comparison, the chapter break position determination unit 302 first selects the image data read first among the image data held in the image holding unit 301 as a comparison target. When the situation in which the image data is sequentially compared with the image data sequentially acquired by the image reading unit 120 and the two image data match each other, the chapter break position determination unit 302 holds the comparison target in the image holding unit 301. The image data is changed to the image data read second. At this time, as described above, the chapter break position determination unit 302 determines the chapter break position (here, based on the type of information indicating the chapter break position stored in the image holding unit 301 specified in advance by the user. , First page of chapter). Note that the coincidence between the two image data may be determined for the entire image data, or may be determined for a partial region of the image data. Further, when the image data coincide with each other in the determination in a partial area, the determination may be made for the entire image data. Since such image data comparison methods are known, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Based on the chapter break position determined by the chapter break position determination unit 302, the process execution unit 303 performs chapter division processing on the image data of the document to be processed. In this chaptering process, the image forming unit 140 prints the image data of the document to be processed in a state where the image data is divided by the chapter break position, and information indicating the chapter break position of the image data of the processing target document. The image data storage unit 304 stores the data in association with each other.

  Although not particularly limited, for example, the process of printing in a state where the chapters are separated at the chapter break positions is, for example, a process of always printing the first page of the chapter on the front surface in double-sided printing, This includes a process of printing at the first position and a process of inserting a slip sheet such as a blank sheet or colored sheet immediately before the first page of the chapter at the time of printing. In addition, the process of saving the image data of the document to be processed in association with the information indicating the chapter break position includes the process of saving the information indicating the chapter break position as the same file as the image data, and the chapter break position. The process includes storing information as a file separate from the image data. In the present embodiment, the above-described HDD 204 functions as a storage area of the image data storage unit 304.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a chaptering process procedure executed by the multifunction peripheral 100. The procedure starts, for example, as a trigger when the user selects a chaptering process mode for performing chaptering processing through the operation panel 171. Here, a case where the chapter division process is a print process will be described.

  When the procedure starts, first, the process execution unit 303 requests the user to input process conditions (step S401). In the present embodiment, the process execution unit 303 makes the request through a display included in the operation panel 171. Here, since the chapter division process is a print process, the user sets print conditions in response to the request. At this time, in addition to the printing conditions (double-sided printing, aggregated printing, slip sheet processing, etc.) subject to chaptering processing, the user does not perform chaptering processing such as print paper size, number of copies, print density, etc. Also set the printing conditions to be set.

  When a user inputs a processing condition input completion instruction by selecting a setting completion button displayed on the display of the operation panel 171, the chapter break position determination unit 302 sends information indicating the chapter break position to the user. An input is requested (step S402). At this time, the chapter break position determination unit 302 first requests the user to specify the type of information indicating the chapter break position. Although there is no particular limitation, here, “chapter first document” is designated by the user as the type of information indicating the break position.

  Next, the chapter break position determination unit 302 extracts the document at the beginning of the chapter from the document to be processed and places it on the document tray 111 and presses the start button provided on the operation panel 171 after the placement is completed. Require to do. In response to the request, when the user places the document at the beginning of the chapter on the document tray 111 and presses the start button, the chapter break position determination unit 302 instructs the image reading unit 120 to start reading the document.

  In response to the instruction, the image reading unit 120 instructs the document conveying device 110 to start conveying the document, and reads the document conveyed by the document conveying device 110 at the image reading position 117. Further, the image reading unit 120 stores the image data generated at this time in the image holding unit 301 in association with the document reading order. The generation of the image data by the image reading unit 120 and the storage of the generated image data in the image holding unit 301 are continued until there is no document placed on the document tray 111 of the document conveying device 110 (No in step S403). When the reading of all the originals is completed, the image reading unit 120 notifies the chapter break position determination unit 302 to that effect (Yes in step S403).

  Subsequently, the chapter break position determination unit 302 requests the user to place all the documents to be processed on the document tray 111 and press the start button after the placement is completed. In response to the request, the user returns the original document at the beginning of the chapter extracted earlier to the original position, places all the originals to be processed on the original tray 111, and presses the start button. The determination unit 302 instructs the image reading unit 120 to start reading a document (step S404). Although not particularly limited, the image reading unit 120 temporarily stores the image data generated at this time in the above-described RAM 202 or HDD 204.

  At this time, the chapter break position determination unit 302 selects the image data read first among the image data held in the image holding unit 301 as a comparison target. Then, when image data is generated by the image reading unit 120, the chapter break position determination unit 302 compares the image data with the image data to be compared (step S405).

  When the two image data do not match, the chapter break position determination unit 302 compares the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 with the image data that has been compared with the image data to be compared (steps S406 No, S405). ). When the two image data match, the chapter break position determination unit 302 determines the chapter break position immediately before the matched image data in the document to be processed (Yes in steps S406 and S407).

  The chapter break position determination unit 302 that has determined the chapter break position selects the image data read next to the previous image data from the image data held in the image holding unit 301 as a comparison target. Then, the chapter break position determination unit 302 compares the image data generated by the image reading unit 120 with the image data to be compared following the image data for which the comparison has been completed (No in steps S408 and S405).

  In the above processing, the image data for which the comparison has been completed is sequentially processed according to the processing conditions (here, the printing conditions) set in the processing execution unit 303. For example, when double-sided printing is set as the printing condition, the process execution unit 303 sequentially prints the acquired image data on the front and back surfaces of the paper until the chapter break position is determined. When the chapter break position is determined, the process execution unit 303 changes the print surface of the image data so that the image data immediately after the chapter break position (the image data that is the head of the chapter) is the front. That is, when the image data is printed on the front and back surfaces of the paper in order, and the image data immediately after the chapter break position is the back side of the paper, the process execution unit 303 sets the back side as a blank page and sets the chapter break position. The image data immediately after is printed on the surface of the next sheet.

  When the above processing is repeated and the comparison of all the image data held as information indicating the chapter break position in the image holding unit 301 is completed, the chapter break position determination unit 302 ends the comparison (Yes in step S408). When the chaptering process (printing in this case) by the process execution unit 303 for all the documents to be processed is completed, the procedure ends (No in steps S409 and S409). If the chaptering process is a saving process, image data is saved in the image data storage unit 304 instead of printing in the above-described flow.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of chapter division processing performed by the multifunction peripheral 100. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the number of documents to be processed is 20 pages, and each of the fourth, tenth, and fifteenth pages is the beginning of a chapter. FIG. 5A shows a document extracted from a document to be processed for holding in the image holding unit 301. FIG. 5B shows the determined chapter break position. FIG. 5C shows the result of the chapter division process in duplex printing. FIG. 5D shows a result of the chapter division process performed in the consolidated printing (4 in 1). In each figure, a page number is given for explanation in a rectangle indicating a document or printed image data.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the user extracts each of the fourth, tenth, and fifteenth pages from the document to be processed, and the image data of each document is stored in the above-described method. Thus, the information is stored in the image holding unit 301 as information indicating the chapter break position. In this example, the document is processed in order from the first page to the 20th page. Therefore, these originals are read by the image reading unit 120 in the order of the fourth page, the tenth page, and the fifteenth page. Note that the first page document is also the first document of the chapter, but it is the first page of the document to be processed. If it is desired to automatically insert a slip sheet such as colored paper before the first page, the image data of the first page of the original may be held in the image holding unit 301 as information indicating the chapter break position.

  As described above, when “chapter first document” is specified by the user as the type of information indicating the break position, the chapter break position determination unit 302 includes the image data and image holding unit 301 of all the originals to be processed. In the comparison with the image data held in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the third page and the fourth page, the ninth page and the tenth page, the 14th page and the fifteenth page. Is determined as the chapter break position.

  When double-sided printing is performed under the above circumstances, as shown in FIG. 5C, the back side of the second sheet of paper is blank, and the fourth page, which is the first page of the chapter, is placed on the front side of the third sheet of paper. The image data of the eye original is formed. Similarly, the back surface of the eighth sheet is blank, and the image data of the 15th page, which is the first page of the chapter, is formed on the front surface of the ninth sheet. In this example, since the image data of the tenth page, which is the first page of the chapter, is formed on the surface of the sixth sheet, processing such as blank page insertion is not particularly performed.

  In addition, when consolidated printing (4 in 1) is performed under the above circumstances, as shown in FIG. 5D, the fourth image forming position on the first sheet is blank, and 1 on the second sheet. The image data of the fourth page original, which is the first page of the chapter, is formed at the second formation position. Similarly, the third and fourth image forming positions on the third sheet are blank, and the image data of the tenth page, which is the first page of the chapter, is formed at the first forming position on the fourth sheet. The Further, the second, third, and fourth image forming positions on the fifth sheet are blank, and the image data of the 15th page, which is the first page of the chapter, is displayed at the first forming position on the sixth sheet. It is formed.

  As described above, in the multi-function device 100, image data of one or a plurality of documents is acquired in advance as information indicating the chapter break position in the document to be processed and held in the image holding unit 301. Then, the chapter break position is determined by comparing the image data acquired by the image reading unit 120 and the image data held in the image holding unit 301. That is, the user extracts, for example, a document at the beginning of a chapter from a document to be processed, acquires image data of the document using the image transport device 110, and then transports all of the document to be processed as an image. The multifunction peripheral 100 can recognize the chapter break position simply by performing the operation of acquiring the image data of the document using the apparatus 110. Therefore, the user does not have to perform complicated work when performing the chaptering process.

  The above-described embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications other than those already described are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, as a particularly preferable mode, the image reading unit 120 performs image data generation and chapter division processing in parallel. However, the chapter division process may be performed after the image reading unit 120 completes the generation of image data for all documents to be processed.

  Further, it is not essential that the image data held in the image holding unit 301 is held in association with the acquisition order, and only the image data may be held. In this case, the chapter break position determination unit 302 continuously compares one image data generated by the image reading unit 120 with all the image data held in the image holding unit 301.

  Furthermore, the flowchart described above is merely an example, and can be appropriately changed within a range where the same operational effects are obtained. For example, the processing condition setting step (step S401) may be performed before processing such as printing is performed, and acquisition of image data to be processed is started after acquisition of chapter break position information is completed. May be carried out in the meantime.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital multi-function peripheral. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any image processing having an image reading function using a document conveying device such as a scanner, a facsimile, a copying machine, or the like. It is also possible to apply the present invention to an apparatus.

  According to the present invention, chapter division processing can be performed without requiring a complicated operation, which is useful as an image processing apparatus.

100 MFP (image processing device)
110 Document conveying device (document conveying mechanism)
111 Document Tray 117 Image Reading Position 120 Image Reading Unit 140 Image Forming Unit 301 Image Holding Unit 302 Chapter Separation Position Determination Unit 303 Processing Execution Unit 304 Image Data Storage Unit

Claims (4)

A document transport mechanism for transporting documents placed on the document tray one by one to the image reading position;
An image reading unit that acquires image data of a document conveyed to the image reading position by the document conveying mechanism;
An image holding unit that holds image data of one or a plurality of originals selected from the originals to be processed and acquired in advance by the image reading unit as information indicating chapter break positions in the originals to be processed; ,
Image data acquired by the image reading unit when the document to be processed including the document corresponding to the image data held in the image holding unit is conveyed by the document conveying mechanism, and held in the image holding unit. A chapter break position determination unit that determines a chapter break position by comparing the obtained image data,
A processing execution unit that performs chaptering processing of image data of the document to be processed based on the chapter break position determined by the chapter break position determination unit;
An image processing apparatus comprising: An image forming unit that prints image data on paper;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing execution unit prints the image data of the document to be processed in a state of being divided at the chapter break positions in the image forming unit. An image data storage unit for storing image data;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing execution unit stores image data of the document to be processed in the image data storage unit in association with information indicating the chapter break position.   4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data of the one or more original documents acquired in advance is image data of a first document of a chapter.

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