JP2005072760A - Double-side reading system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a double-side reading system capable of realizing reading of a front side and a rear side at different magnification factors with a simple configuration, even in the case of adopting a configuration wherein images of both the sides are read with one carrying. <P>SOLUTION: When double-side reading processing is selected by a reading mode selection key 5a, and a magnification setting key 5b sets different magnification factors between the front side and the rear side, the carrying speed of an original is determined on the basis of a resolution being the least common multiple of the resolution of the front side, in response to its setting magnification and the resolution of the rear side in response to its setting magnification, and a read section 2 carries the original once at the determined carrying speed to read the images of the front and rear sides, and applies resolution conversion (interleaving of read lines), in response to the magnification to the image data obtained by the reading. A mode-switching key 5c is used to select a first mode, wherein read processing at different magnification factors between the front and rear sides is available or a second mode where read processing is carried out only at the same prescribed magnification applied with respect to the front and rear sides. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a double-sided reading apparatus that reads images on the front and back sides of a document by a single conveyance of the document.

  Some readers such as facsimile machines and digital copiers can read images on the front and back sides of a document. In the conventional general configuration of such a double-sided reading apparatus, after reading the image on the front side in the first transport of the document, the front and back of the document is reversed and the document is transported again, and the image on the back side is scanned. I try to read it. In the double-sided scanning device, it is possible to set different magnifications for the front surface and the back surface of the document. With the configuration described above, the conveyance speed when reading the image on the front surface based on the resolution according to the magnification of the front surface is set. By setting and setting the conveyance speed for reading the image on the back surface based on the resolution corresponding to the magnification on the back surface, the magnification on each of the front surface and the back surface can be easily adjusted.

There is also known a double-sided reading device configured to read images on the front and back sides of a document by a single conveyance instead of performing the conveyance twice as described above (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5). 3). In such a double-sided reading device, an optical unit including a CCD image sensor provided below the document conveyance path reads an image on the surface of the document, and an optical including a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) provided above the document conveyance path. With the configuration in which the image on the back side of the document is read by the unit, it is possible to read the image on the front and back sides of the document with a single conveyance without performing the front-back reversing operation of the document.
JP 7-177308 A JP 2002-77596 A JP 2002-314801 A

  Even in such a double-sided reading device that reads images on both sides with a single transport, there is a user's request to read at different magnifications on the front and back sides. Unlike the double-sided double-sided scanning device that can change the document transportation speed, the method of making the transportation speed different cannot be applied because the front and back images are read simultaneously in one transportation. Therefore, it is desired to develop a single-sided double-sided reading apparatus that can realize reading at different magnifications on the front and back surfaces.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when configured to read double-sided images with a single conveyance, the double-sided reading can be easily performed at different magnifications on the front and back sides. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  The double-sided reading device according to claim 1 is a double-sided reading device that reads the images of the front and back surfaces of the document by a single transport of the document by a transport unit, and independently sets the magnification of the front surface and the back surface of the document. And a means for determining the conveyance speed of the document by the conveyance means based on the resolution of the least common multiple of the resolution according to each magnification when the received magnification of the front surface and the magnification of the back surface are different. And means for performing resolution conversion on at least one of the image data on the front surface and the image data on the back surface obtained by conveying the document at the determined conveyance speed.

  In the first aspect, when the magnifications set for the front surface and the back surface are different, the document conveyance speed is determined based on the resolution of the least common multiple of the resolution according to each magnification, and the determined conveyance speed is used. The original is transported once to read the images on the front and back sides, and resolution conversion (such as thinning of the reading line) corresponding to the magnification is performed on the image data obtained by reading. Therefore, it is possible to perform reading processing with different desired magnifications on the front and back surfaces with a simple configuration.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a double-sided reading apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the image on the front surface and the back surface of the document is read at different magnifications received by the receiving unit, and the image on the front and back surfaces of the document is the same. It is further characterized by further comprising means for switching between reading processing read at a magnification.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is switched between a reading process in which the magnification is different between the front surface and the back surface as in the first aspect and a reading process in which an image can be read only at the same magnification on the front surface and the back surface of the document. Therefore, when reading at different magnifications is not necessary, reading can be completed at high speed, so that reading processing can be performed quickly.

  In the present invention, the front and back images are read by scanning the document once at the document transport speed based on the resolution of the least common multiple of the two resolutions corresponding to the set magnifications of the front and back surfaces, and obtained by reading. Since the resolution conversion corresponding to the magnification is applied to the image data to be obtained, even with a double-sided reading device configured to read the images on the front and back sides of the document with a single transport, at a desired magnification different on the front and back sides. Can be easily performed.

  In the present invention, the scanning process with different magnifications on the front and back sides and the scanning process that can read images only with the same magnification on the front and back sides of the document can be switched. When it is unnecessary, reading can be completed at high speed, and reading processing can be performed quickly.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile complex apparatus 100 as a double-sided reading apparatus according to the present invention.

  The facsimile multifunction apparatus 100 includes a control unit 1, a reading unit 2, a recording unit 3, a display unit 4, an operation unit 5, an encoding / decoding unit 6, a ROM 7, a RAM 8, an image memory 9, a modem 10, an NCU (Network Control Unit). ) 11, a PC interface unit 12 and the like. The facsimile multifunction apparatus 100 converts a reading function for reading a document by the reading unit 2 to obtain image data, read image data, image data received by facsimile communication, or image data received from a PC via the PC interface unit 12. The recording unit 3 has a recording function for recording the corresponding image and a transmission function for transmitting the read image data or the received image data by facsimile.

  Specifically, the control unit 1 is constituted by a CPU, and is connected to each hardware unit as described above of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100 via the bus 13. The control unit 1 controls them and is stored in the ROM 7. Various software functions are executed according to the control program.

  The reading unit 2 reads a document using, for example, a CCD image sensor or CIS, and outputs the read image data. Further, the reading unit 2 can read images on the front surface and the back surface of the document by carrying the document once. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the reading unit 2. The reading unit 2 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 20, a first optical unit 40 provided below the ADF 20, and a second optical unit 50 provided inside the ADF 20.

  A series of document transport paths 29 are formed in the ADF 20 from the document feed port 31 to the document discharge port 32. A document tray 21 on which a plurality of sheet-like documents are placed is provided outside the document feed port 31, and the document tray 21 has a sensor 41 that detects the length of a document placed thereon. , 41 are provided. In the vicinity of the document feed port 31, a pickup roller 22 and a separation roller 23 are arranged in this order from the upstream side. A separation pad 24 is provided on the side opposite to the document conveyance path 29 of the separation roller 23, and a sensor 42 is provided between the pickup roller 22 and the separation roller 23 to detect the presence or absence of the document. A sensor 43 that detects the width of the document is provided on the downstream side.

  Registration rollers 25 that control the conveyance of the document are provided at a plurality of locations from the midstream area to the downstream area of the document conveyance path 29. The rotation of these registration rollers 25 is driven by a motor 30. The rotation speed of the registration roller 25, that is, the document conveyance speed is controlled according to the rotation drive of the motor 30 based on the control signal from the control unit 1.

  A first original pressure roller 26 is provided on the upper side of the middle area of the original conveyance path 29. A first optical unit 40 including a light source, a CCD image sensor, and the like is disposed at a position facing the first document pressure roller 26 with the document conveyance path 29 interposed therebetween. The position where the first document pressing roller 26 and the first optical unit 40 face each other is the front surface reading position, and the image on the surface of the conveyed document is read by the first optical unit 40 at the front surface reading position. It has become. Further, a sensor 44 for detecting the leading edge (or trailing edge) of the document at the time of single-sided reading and double-sided reading is provided on the upstream side of the surface reading position.

  In the downstream area of the document transport path 29, a second document press roller 27 is provided on the lower side thereof. A second optical unit 50 including a light source, a CIS, and the like is disposed at a position facing the second document pressing roller 27 with the document conveyance path 29 interposed therebetween. The position where the second document pressing roller 27 and the second optical unit 50 face each other is the back surface reading position, and the image on the back surface of the conveyed document is read by the second optical unit 50 at the back surface reading position. It has become. Further, a sensor 45 that detects the leading edge (or trailing edge) of the document when reading both sides is provided on the upstream side of the back surface reading position. Further, a discharge roller 28 is provided in the vicinity of the document discharge port 32.

  In the reading unit 2 having such a configuration, the document placed on the document tray 21 is separated and conveyed one by one by the pickup roller 22 and the separation roller 23 from the document feeding port 31, and the document conveyance path 29, and further conveyed by the registration roller 25. When the mode for reading an image on only one side (front side) (one side reading mode) is selected, the first optical unit 40 reads the image on the front side of the conveyed document. On the other hand, when a mode for reading both-side (front and back) images (double-side reading mode) is selected, after the first optical unit 40 reads the image on the front side of the conveyed document, The second optical unit 50 reads an image on the back side of the conveyed document.

  The recording unit 3 is an electrophotographic printer device, and is an image corresponding to image data of a document read by the reading unit 2, image data received by facsimile communication, image data sent from an external PC, and the like. On the paper. The display unit 4 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a CRT display, displays the operation state of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100, displays a screen prompting the user to input an operation, or reads an image of a document read to be transmitted. Data, image data transmitted from other facsimile machines or PCs, etc. are displayed.

  The operation unit 5 includes character keys, numeric keys, abbreviated dial keys, one-touch dial keys, various function keys, and the like necessary for operating the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100. The operation unit 5 includes, as function keys, a reading mode selection key 5a for the user to select either the single-sided reading mode or the double-sided reading mode, a magnification setting key 5b for the user to set a magnification, and front and back surfaces. And a mode switching key 5c for switching to either the first mode in which reading processing can be performed at different magnifications or the second mode in which reading processing can be performed only at the same magnification on the front and back surfaces. Note that the magnification setting key 5b can set the magnification independently for the front and back surfaces in the double-sided reading mode. However, when the mode is switched to the second mode by the mode switching key 5c, setting of different magnifications on the front surface and the back surface becomes invalid. In addition, it is also possible to substitute a part or all of the various keys of the operation unit 5 by using the display unit 4 as a touch panel system.

  The encoding / decoding unit 6 encodes and compresses image data and also decodes the encoded and compressed image data. The ROM 7 stores various software programs necessary for the operation of the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100 in advance. The RAM 8 is configured by SRAM, flash memory, or the like, and stores temporary data generated when software is executed. The image memory 9 is constituted by a DRAM or the like, and stores image data obtained by reading and encoding a document, image data received and encoded from another facsimile machine or a PC, and the like.

  The modem 10 is connected to the bus 13 and is composed of a facsimile modem capable of facsimile communication. Similarly, the modem 10 is directly connected to the NCU 11 connected to the bus 13. The NCU 11 is hardware that performs operations for closing and opening a line L1 with a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and connects the modem 10 to the PSTN as necessary. The facsimile complex apparatus 100 is connected to other facsimile apparatuses by PSTN so that normal facsimile communication can be performed.

  The PC interface unit 12 is connected to an external PC via a communication line L2 such as a LAN, and exchanges data with the PC. Various image data created and edited by an external PC are transmitted to the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100 (PC interface unit 12) via the communication line L2, and an image corresponding to the transmitted image data is transmitted to the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100. The data is printed out on a sheet at (recording unit 3).

  In the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100 of the present invention, when the user selects either the single-sided reading mode or the double-sided reading mode by the selection operation of the reading mode selection key 5a, and the single-sided reading mode is selected, the reading unit 2 When only the image on the front side of the document is read and the double-sided scanning mode is selected, the reading unit 2 reads the images on the front and back sides of the document. When images on both sides (front and back) of the document are read, when the mode is switched to the first mode by the switching operation of the mode switching key 5c by the user, the setting is made by the setting operation of the magnification setting key 5b by the user. Reading processing corresponding to the magnification of each of the front surface and the back surface is performed. On the other hand, when images on both sides (front and back) of the document are read and the mode is switched to the second mode by the switching operation of the mode switching key 5c by the user, the same magnification is applied to the front and back sides of the document. A reading process according to the above is performed. The same magnification may be a predetermined magnification set in advance, or may be set by the user.

  The operation will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the document image reading process in the facsimile multifunction peripheral 100 of the present invention.

  First, the control unit 1 determines whether or not the double-sided reading mode is selected (step S1). When the double-sided scanning mode is not selected, that is, when the single-sided scanning mode is selected (S1: NO), the control unit 1 sets the magnification set by the magnification setting key 5b (there may be the same magnification). A document conveyance speed (rotational speed of the registration roller 25) based on the corresponding resolution is determined (step S13). Then, a control signal based on the conveyance speed is sent from the control unit 1 to the motor 30 to control the rotation of the registration roller 25, and an image reading process on the surface of the document is executed (step S14). The image data obtained by the reading process is encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 6 and then stored in the image memory 9 (step S15), and the operation ends.

  When the duplex reading mode is selected (S1: YES), the control unit 1 determines whether or not the mode is switched to the first mode (step S2). When the mode is switched to the first mode (S2: YES), the control unit 1 determines whether or not the front side magnification and the back side magnification set by the magnification setting key 5b are equal (step S3).

  When the magnification on the front surface and the magnification on the back surface are different (S3: NO), the control unit 1 obtains the resolution of the least common multiple of the resolution according to the magnification on the front surface and the resolution according to the magnification on the back surface. The document transport speed (rotational speed of the registration roller 25) is determined (step S4). For example, when the resolution corresponding to the magnification of the front surface is 300 dps (Dot Per Second) and the resolution corresponding to the magnification of the back surface is 200 dps (first example), the document conveyance speed is based on 600 dps which is the least common multiple of both resolutions. To decide. When the resolution corresponding to the magnification on the front surface is 300 dps and the resolution corresponding to the magnification on the back surface is 100 dps (second example), the document conveyance speed is determined based on 300 dps which is the least common multiple of both resolutions.

  Then, a control signal based on the determined conveyance speed is sent from the control unit 1 to the motor 30 to control the rotation of the registration roller 25, and reading processing of the image on the front side and the image on the back side of the document is executed (step S5). Next, line thinning processing (resolution conversion processing) corresponding to each magnification is performed on at least one of the front surface image data and the back surface image data obtained by the reading processing (step S6). For example, in the first example, thinning is performed every other line for the image data on the front surface, and two lines are thinned every three lines for the image data on the back surface. In the second example, thinning is not performed on the front surface image data, and thinning of two lines is performed every three lines only on the back surface image data. The thinned image data is encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 6 and then stored in the image memory 9 (step S7), and the operation ends. In this way, according to the present invention, the image on the front surface and the image on the back surface can be read at a desired magnification by a simple process.

  When the magnification on the front surface and the magnification on the back surface are equal (S3: YES), the control unit 1 determines the document conveyance speed (rotation speed of the registration roller 25) based on the resolution corresponding to the equal magnification (step S8). . Then, a control signal based on the determined conveyance speed is sent from the control unit 1 to the motor 30 to control the rotation of the registration roller 25, and reading processing of the image on the front side and the image on the back side of the document is executed (step S9). The image data obtained by the reading process is encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 6 and then stored in the image memory 9 (step S10), and the operation ends.

  On the other hand, when the mode has not been switched to the first mode, that is, when the mode has been switched to the second mode (S2: NO), the controller 1 determines the document that has been determined in advance based on the resolution corresponding to a predetermined magnification. A control signal based on the conveyance speed (the rotation speed of the registration roller 25) is sent from the control unit 1 to the motor 30 to control the rotation of the registration roller 25, and read processing of the image on the front side and the image on the back side of the document is executed (step S11). The image data obtained by the reading process is encoded by the encoding / decoding unit 6 and then stored in the image memory 9 (step S12), and the operation ends. When the mode is switched to the second mode, the magnification set by the magnification setting key 5b is invalid, and the front and back images are forcibly read at a predetermined equal magnification. Therefore, in this case, reading can be performed at the maximum speed of the motor 30, and high-speed reading processing can be performed.

  In the above example, the resolution conversion process is performed by line thinning of the image data. However, the resolution conversion may be performed by other image data processes.

  In the above example, when the mode is switched to the second mode, both-side reading processing is performed according to a predetermined magnification that is determined in advance. You may make it set by operation of the magnification setting key 5b.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile multifunction machine according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a reading unit of the facsimile multifunction machine according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a reading process in the facsimile multifunction machine according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Reading part 5 Operation part 5a Reading mode selection key 5b Magnification setting key 5c Mode switching key 7 ROM
20 ADF
25 Registration Roller 29 Document Transport Path 30 Motor 40 First Optical Unit 50 Second Optical Unit 100 Facsimile Composite Device

Claims (2)

  In the double-sided reading device that reads the images of the front and back surfaces of the document by a single transport by the transport unit, a receiving unit that independently receives setting of the magnification of the front surface and the back surface of the document, and the received front surface When the magnification of the back surface and the magnification of the back surface are different, the document is transported at the determined transportation speed by means for determining the transportation speed of the document by the transportation means based on the resolution of the least common multiple of the resolution according to each magnification. And a means for performing resolution conversion on at least one of the image data on the front surface and the image data on the back surface obtained in this way. The apparatus further comprises means for switching between reading processing for reading the images on the front and back sides of the document at different magnifications received by the receiving means and reading processing for reading the images on the front and back surfaces of the document at the same magnification. The double-sided reading device according to claim 1.

Images