JP2018186384A - Receiving apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiving device and an image formation device capable of adjusting the timing of image processing by a receiving part side, even when image data is transmitted wirelessly from a transmitting part to the receiving part.SOLUTION: An image formation device 10 comprises: a receiving part 260 which receives an image signal transmitted wirelessly by a transmitting part 470, the image signal being of an image having been acquired by a reading part 450 for acquiring images; and an image processing part 270 which processes the image signal received by the receiving part 260. On the basis of the image signal received by the receiving part 260, the image processing part generates a CLK signal to use for processing the image signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a housing, a movable member that is movable with respect to the housing, a wireless communication element that is attached to the movable member and performs wireless communication, and transmission and reception that performs wireless transmission and reception with the wireless communication element. And a shielding unit that shields communication between the wireless communication element and the transmission / reception unit in a state in which the movable member is positioned in the housing, and the operation of the movable member A mode in which communication between the wireless communication element and the transmission / reception unit is possible when the wireless communication element is exposed to the outside of the housing; and the wireless communication element enters the housing to There is described a detection device that detects a state of the detection device by having a mode in which communication between the transmission and reception units is impossible.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus including a plurality of functional units that perform control related to image processing, and each functional unit performs control for controlling one or more functions that can be mounted on the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus comprising: a communication unit that communicates image data with other functional units by ultra-wide band wireless communication is described.

JP 2007-333411 A JP 2008-236094 A

  When an image signal is transmitted wirelessly from the transmission unit to the reception unit, the operation on the transmission unit side and the operation on the reception unit side become asynchronous, and there is a possibility that the timing of processing the image signal on the reception unit side cannot be adjusted.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transmission device and an image forming apparatus capable of adjusting the timing of processing an image on the receiving unit side even when image data is transmitted wirelessly from the transmitting unit to the receiving unit. .

  The present invention according to claim 1 is an image signal of an image acquired by an image acquisition unit that acquires an image, the reception unit receiving an image signal transmitted by a transmission unit wirelessly, and the image received by the reception unit An image processing unit that processes a signal, and based on the image signal received by the processing unit, the image processing unit generates a clock signal used for processing the image signal.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the processing unit processes the image signal that is packetized by the transmission unit and transmitted by the transmission unit into processing units in which the image processing unit processes image signals. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a clock signal is generated for each image signal packetized in step 1.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the processing unit is an image signal packetized by the transmission unit and embedded with clock information, and the image signal transmitted by the transmission unit is processed to obtain an image signal. The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a clock signal generation unit configured to generate a clock signal from the embedded clock information.

  The present invention according to claim 4 is the receiving device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the receiving unit receives an image signal from the transmitting unit through WiGig standardized by IEEE802.11ad.

  The present invention according to claim 5 includes a document reading unit that reads a document, a transmission unit that transmits an image signal of a document read by the document reading unit, a reception unit that receives an image signal transmitted by the transmission unit, An image processing unit that processes an image signal received by the receiving unit; and an image forming unit that forms an image using the image signal processed by the image processing unit, and the image signal received by the receiving unit Based on the image forming apparatus, the image processing unit generates a clock signal used for processing an image signal.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a transmission device capable of adjusting the timing of processing an image on the receiving unit side even when image data is transmitted wirelessly from the transmitting unit to the receiving unit. it can.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the apparatus configuration can be simplified as compared with the technique using the clock signal generation unit that generates the clock signal.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably generate a clock signal as compared with a technique for generating a clock signal for each packetized image signal.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, data transmission can be performed at a higher speed than a technique in which the receiving unit receives data through other than WiGig.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of adjusting the timing of processing an image on the receiving unit side even when image data is transmitted wirelessly from the transmitting unit to the receiving unit. Can do.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an output unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and an image processing unit included in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of clock signal generation in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a second example of clock signal generation in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus 10 used in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an output device 100 and a document reading device 400.

  The output device 100 is a device that outputs an image to a recording medium such as paper, for example, and has an output device main body 110, and the upper surface of the output device main body 110 discharges the recording medium on which the image is formed. It is used as the discharge unit 112. In the output device main body 110, an image forming unit 130 for forming an image on a recording medium is disposed.

  The image forming unit 130 forms an image using an image signal processed by an image processing unit 270 described later, and forms, for example, a monochromatic image using an electrophotographic method, for example. The image forming unit 130 also includes a photosensitive drum 132 used as an image carrier, a charging device 134 that charges the photosensitive drum 132, and a latent image that forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 132. A forming unit 134, a developing device 136 that develops the latent image into a toner image, a transfer device 138 that transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a cleaning device 142 that cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum 132, and a recording medium. A fixing device 144 for fixing the toner image.

  In the above description, the image forming unit 130 has been described by taking an example of a configuration employing an electrophotographic method. However, the image forming unit 130 employs a method other than electrophotography, such as an ink jet method. Also good. In the above description, the image forming unit 130 has been described by taking a configuration for forming a single color image as an example. However, the image forming unit 130 may be configured to form a multicolor image.

  A supply device 200 is further arranged in the output device main body 110. The supply device 200 supplies the recording medium stored in the storage unit 202 to the image forming unit 130 using the supply roll 204.

  In addition, a conveyance path 230 is formed in the output device main body 110. The conveyance path 230 transmits the recording medium from the supply device 200 to the transfer device 138, further conveys the recording medium to the fixing device 144, and further discharges the recording medium to the discharge unit 112. Transport.

  In the output device main body 110, the supply roll 204, the resist roll 232, the transfer device 138, and the fixing device 144 described above are sequentially provided from the upstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction along the conveyance path 230. A discharge roll 234 is disposed.

  The registration roll 232 temporarily stops the movement of the front end of the recording medium, and resumes the movement of the front end of the recording medium so as to coincide with the timing at which the image forming unit 130 forms an image.

  The discharge roll 234 discharges the recording medium on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 144 to the discharge unit 112.

  A reception unit 260 is further arranged in the output device main body 110. The receiving unit 260 receives an image signal transmitted by a transmitting unit 470 described later.

  An image processing unit 270 is further arranged in the output device main body 110. The image processing unit 270 processes the image signal received by the receiving unit 260. The image forming unit 130 such as the latent image forming unit 134 forms an image using the image signal processed by the image processing unit 270. Details of the image processing unit 270 will be described later.

  The document reading apparatus 400 includes a document reading apparatus main body 402, and the upper surface of the document reading apparatus main body 402 is used as a discharge unit 404 that discharges a document after reading. The document reading device 400 further includes a support unit 406 that supports the document before reading.

  A conveyance path 410 is formed in the document reading apparatus main body 402. The conveyance path 410 uses, for example, a plurality of conveyance members 412 to convey the document supported by the support unit 406 to the reading position P and further convey the document conveyed to the reading position P to the discharge unit 404.

  A light source 420, a condensing unit 422, and a reading unit 450 are further arranged in the document reading apparatus main body 402. The light source 420 irradiates light to a portion passing through the reading position P of the document. The condensing unit 422 includes an optical component such as a lens, and collects the light emitted from the light source 420 and reflected by the surface of the document to the reading unit 450.

  The reading unit 450 is an example of an original reading unit that reads an original and an example of an image acquisition unit that acquires an image. The reading unit 450 is a so-called image sensor, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). ), BBD (Bucket Brigade Device) or the like.

  An output unit 460 is further arranged in the document reading apparatus main body 402. An analog front end can be used as the output unit 460, and the output unit 460 converts the image signal input from the reading unit 450 from an analog signal to a digital signal and outputs the converted signal.

  A transmission unit 470 is further arranged in the document reading apparatus main body 402. The transmission unit 470 transmits the image signal converted into the digital signal by the output unit 460 to the reception unit 260 by radio.

  FIG. 2 shows an output unit 460, a transmission unit 470, a reception unit 260, and an image processing unit 270. The output unit 460 outputs the image signal converted to the digital signal and the CLK signal (clock signal) as described above, and the transmission unit 470 transmits the image signal as described above.

  Here, when the transmission unit 470 transmits the image signal in the unit and order output by the output unit 460, the image processing unit 270 processes the image signal in the unit and order output by the output unit 460. Become. In such a case, it takes time to complete transmission of an image signal for one line, which is a unit of processing in the image processing unit 270, or to complete transmission of an image signal for one tile. There is a risk that the speed and efficiency of image processing due to this will decrease. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10, the transmission unit 470 packetizes the image signal in accordance with the signal processing method of the image processing unit 270 and transmits the image signal in units of packets.

  Here, the image processing unit 270 can be configured to process an image in units of points, can be configured to process an image in units of lines, or can be configured to process an image in units of tiles. Hereinafter, the image processing unit 270 is configured to process an image signal in units of lines extending in the main scanning direction, for example, and the transmission unit 470 is in units of lines extending in the main scanning direction so as to match with this. A configuration for transmitting an image signal will be described as an example.

  The wireless transmission of the image signal from the transmission unit 470 to the reception unit 260 is performed through, for example, WiGig. Here, WiGig is short-distance high-speed digital wireless communication standardized by IEEE802.11ad, using millimeter-wave radio waves with a frequency of 60 GHz, and a maximum communication speed of 7 Gbps.

  As described above, the reception unit 260 receives the image signal transmitted by the transmission unit 470. In addition, the reception unit 260 performs communication with the transmission unit 470 through, for example, WiGig.

  As the image processing unit 270, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a central processing unit (CPU) can be used. The image processing unit 270 performs image processing such as noise removal from the image signal, point processing, error diffusion processing, edge processing, sharpness processing, and the like.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above, data is packetized and transmitted from the transmission unit 470 to the reception unit 260 by radio. For this reason, the operations on the output unit 460 and transmission unit 470 side (document reading apparatus 400 side) are not synchronized with the operations on the reception unit 260 and image processing unit 270 side (output device 100 side), and the image processing unit 270 There is a possibility that the timing for processing the image signal cannot be adjusted. For this reason, the image forming apparatus 10 generates a CLK signal used for processing the image signal in the image processing unit 270 on the receiving unit 260 side so that the timing at which the image processing unit 270 processes the image can be adjusted. Yes.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first example of generation of the CLK signal on the output device 100 side of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, line data, which is an image signal transmitted to the image processing unit 270 in units of lines by the transmission unit 470 and received by the reception unit 260, is line data L1, line data L2, line Data L3 and line data L4 are input in order, and the input data is processed by the image processing unit 270.

  Further, based on the image signals received by the receiving unit 260 such as the line data L1, the line data L2, the line data L3, and the line data L4, a CLK signal used for processing the image signal is generated by the image processing unit 270. The CLK signal is input to the image processing unit 270. More specifically, a CLK signal is generated for each image signal packetized in units of processing by the transmission unit 470 such as line data L1, line data L2, line data L3, line data L4, and the CLK signal is processed by image processing. Input to the unit 270.

  In this first example, when a configuration for processing by hardware such as ASIC is adopted as the image processing unit 270, it is an asynchronous circuit to multiply the CLK signal and use it for processing such as image processing. Therefore, synchronization processing is required. On the other hand, in the case where a process of executing software by a CPU using a CUP as the image processing unit 270 is employed, there is no concept of CLK in image processing. For this reason, this first example is suitable for a configuration in which a CPU is employed for the image processing unit 270.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the generation of the CLK signal on the output device 100 side of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 4, in the second example, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CLK generation unit 280 that can use, for example, a CLK generation circuit on the output device 100 side.

  In this second example, CLK information (clock information) is embedded, packetized for each processing unit by the transmission unit 470, and the transmitted image signal is processed by the image processing unit 270. Also, the CLK generator 280 generates a CLK signal from the CLK information embedded in the image signal, and the CLK signal generated by the CLK generator 280 is input to the image processor 270.

  In the second example, it is necessary to provide the CLK generation unit 280, and the configuration may be complicated. Further, when the image signal is slower than the processing speed of the CLK signal, for example, measures such as inserting dummy data are used so that the data becomes empty and the processing in the image processing unit 270 or the like does not occur. May be required.

  On the other hand, when the image processing unit 270 is configured to perform processing by hardware such as ASIC, there is an advantage that the operation is reliable. For this reason, this second example is suitable for a configuration in which an ASIC is adopted for the image processing unit 270.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Image forming apparatus 100: Output device 260: Receiving part 270: Image processing part 280: CLK generation part 400: Original reading apparatus 450: Reading part 460: Output part 470: Transmission part

Claims (5)

An image signal acquired by an image acquisition unit that acquires an image, and a reception unit that receives an image signal transmitted by a transmission unit wirelessly;
An image processing unit for processing an image signal received by the receiving unit;
Have
A receiving device that generates a clock signal used by the image processing unit to process an image signal based on the image signal received by the processing unit. The processing unit processes the image signal that is packetized by the transmission unit and transmitted by the transmission unit in a processing unit in which the image processing unit processes an image signal,
The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a clock signal is generated for each image signal packetized in units of processing. The processing unit is an image signal packetized by the transmission unit and embedded with clock information, and processes the image signal transmitted by the transmission unit,
The receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a clock signal generation unit that generates a clock signal from clock information embedded in the image signal.   The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit receives an image signal from the transmitting unit through WiGig standardized by IEEE 802.11ad. A document reading section for reading a document;
A transmission unit that transmits an image signal of a document read by the document reading unit;
A receiver for receiving the image signal transmitted by the transmitter;
An image processing unit for processing an image signal received by the receiving unit;
An image forming unit that forms an image using the image signal processed by the image processing unit;
Have
An image forming apparatus that generates a clock signal used by the image processing unit to process an image signal based on an image signal received by the receiving unit.

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