JPH02223275A - Edition control system for picture processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the priority of an annotation function to make the adjustment function adaptable to all faces by adding the annotation function such as halftone, hatching, set-solid and insertion of logo after the adjustment functions such as a color mode and copy picture quality adjustment function and a magnification reducing function. CONSTITUTION:The system is provided with an area edit processing means 2 switching a parameter for picture processing for each designated area to adjust the picture and an annotation edit processing means 2 pasting a pattern of the annotation on the picture, and the edit is implemented by designating an optional area on the picture so as to use the picture adjustment function and the annotation. Then the priority of the processing such as logo insertion, trimming and masking implemented by the annotation edit processing means 1 is improved and the priority of the picture adjustment by the area edit processing means 2 has given lower priority. Thus, a copy output is easily imagined independently of before and after the operation and the copy is used simply.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention converts original reading color separation signals into recording signals of each developed color, selects the recording signal of the developed color for each development cycle, and records and reproduces the signal. The present invention relates to an image processing device that performs.

[Conventional technology]

By using a CCD line sensor, documents containing photographs, text, prints, and a mixture of these can be easily read out as color-separated signals. Then, a latent image is formed on the photoreceptor by converting it into a recording signal for toner or other color material, and irradiating the photoreceptor with a laser beam driven by the recording signal, which is then developed, transferred, and fixed to form a color original. Can be played. Moreover, the color separation signals obtained using the CCD line sensor can be stored as digital signals by converting them from analog signals to high-gradation digital signals.
Since conversion, adjustment, composition, etc. can be performed freely, a wide variety of image editing becomes possible. Therefore, by utilizing such technology, color image processing devices such as color copying machines, color printers, and color facsimiles can be realized.

By processing digital signals as described above, for example, trimming (extracting images) and masking (erasing images)
Of course, you can add a variety of editing functions such as inserting a logo, coloring, painting, color conversion, negative/positive inversion, reduction/enlargement, and more. Note that detailed descriptions of these functions will be described later, and will therefore be omitted here. In addition, with such image processing devices, it is possible to further improve definition, graininess, and gradation reproducibility by making adjustments according to the type of document, such as photographs, text, printing, or a mixture of these. .

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Image processing devices equipped with a wide variety of editing functions as described above require a large number of operations for selection and settings (as a result, usability greatly depends on how you set the priority of function combinations, the order of operations, etc.). In other words, even if a device with a wide variety of copying capabilities is provided, if it is not easy to use, those functions will become useless.

For this reason, when a device is equipped with many functions, it becomes very important to incorporate those functions into the device in a way that makes it easy to use.

By the way, conventional image processing devices have many functions such as color conversion, painting, etc.
Image separation functions such as color mode and color balance are set with high priority, and color conversion, painting, etc.
Color creation functions such as color mode, color balance, sharpness, etc. are set with low priority, and mask/trim is positioned between these (for example, JP-A-6
3-125055). Moreover, in the image separation function, priority is given to post-designation, and in the color creation function, overlapping is performed as much as possible. In the example of this device, if you become familiar with the priorities and order of operations and use them properly, you may be able to expand your copy variations, but because you always have to consider the priorities and order of operations, it may be difficult for first-time users to use it. It has a neck.

Next, the relationship between copy output and operation order in the conventional apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 73 as an example. In the figure, #1,
#2, . . . indicate the order of operation, and the diagonal line indicates the image portion of the copy output.

Figures 73(a) and 73(b) are examples where the order of operations for trim and mask is different, but even if you imagine copy output using trim and mask as shown in Figure 73(a), , if the order of operations is changed, the copy output will be different as shown in the same figure). In addition, (C) and (d) in the same figure are examples where the method of specifying the color mode is different in the relationship between the color mode and the trim. Multiply the same figure (C)
However, if you specify an area and apply color mode, the trimming of that part will be ignored and a color mode image as shown in FIG. 3(d) will be output. Even when attempting to trim the image by partially converting the color, priority is given to the color-converted image as shown in FIG. 3(e). Further, since the area is often specified as a rectangular area, the mask area and the color conversion area may overlap. Even in such a case, from the point of view of the person who specifies the area, it is normal to mask and apply color conversion to the remaining image part, but since the color conversion area takes priority, some parts are not masked. Put it away.

If the copy output differs depending on the context of the operation, or if the user's intention is not reflected when selecting and using each function, it will confuse the user and cause the user to have trouble imagining the copy output. It will also happen.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to make copy output easily imaginable and easy to use regardless of before or after the operation. Another object of the present invention is to punch out the image by ORing the trim and mask at the end, regardless of before or after the operation. Yet another object of the invention is to combine functions in a way that is easy to understand for the operator. Still another object of the present invention is to configure a data processing system corresponding to a combination of functions.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] To achieve this, the present invention converts original reading color separation signals into recording signals of each developed color, selects the recording signal of the developed color for each development cycle, and performs recording and reproduction. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus includes a region editing processing means 2 which performs image adjustment by switching image processing parameters for each designated region, and an annotation editing processing means 1 which overlays an annotation pattern on the image. The present invention is characterized in that an arbitrary area on an image can be specified and edited using an image adjustment function and annotation.

The priority of logo insertion and trim mask processing performed by the annotation editing processing means 1 is set high, and the priority of image adjustment performed by the region editing processing means 2 is set low. Further, for this purpose, the region editing processing means 2 is arranged on the upstream side and the annotation editing processing means 1 is arranged on the downstream side in the flow of image data processing.

The area editing processing means issues editing commands to each of the plurality of image area adjustment units for each specified area, so a color masking circuit separates each specified area and cuts parameters depending on whether it is monochrome or full color. 3. Color conversion circuit 4 that performs conversion with specified color; UCR (undercolor removal and black generation) circuit 5 that performs black plate generation and removal of each undercolor; TRC (tone correction control) that performs copy image quality adjustment, etc. Image adjustment of circuits, etc. can be performed. The annotation is outputted to the subsequent image data by the annotation editing processing means 1.

The annotation editing processing means 1 includes a plain memory 6 that holds annotation editing area commands, a font memory that holds annotation patterns based on font data, a color memory that holds annotation color data, and reads/writes the data held in each memory. It has a processing circuit that performs annotation editing on the image data in accordance with the processing timing of the written image data, and the plane memory is composed of a plurality of planes of memory, and the area command is drawn and held in a bit pattern.

The annotation function includes coloring inside a closed area, which fills the inside of a closed area that includes a specified point with any color or pattern, and coloring inside a rectangular area, which fills the inside of a specified rectangular area with any color or pattern. Has a function.

In this way, the image data processed by the editing processing means 2 relating to the image adjustment function is processed by the editing processing means 1 relating to the annotation function, and is converted into colors and patterns corresponding to the bit images in the plane memory of multiple planes. Therefore, the priority of this process is high. Moreover,
Since the part on which the annotation function operates is processed by the image adjustment function, the processing by the image adjustment function is applied throughout the entire image.

A logo is often designated as a mask area, but even in such a case, the logo can be copied and output with the highest priority by setting in the annotation editing processing means 1. Therefore, the operator can insert a logo into any area without considering any other editing functions.

〔Example〕

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

Table of Contents In this embodiment, a color copying machine will be described as an example of a recording device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to printers, facsimile IJs, and other image recording devices.

First, prior to explaining the examples, a table of contents will be shown.

In the following description, (I) to (n) are sections that outline the overall configuration of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied, and sections that explain the present invention in detail within the configuration. (I
I[).

(1) Overview of the device (1-1) Device configuration (1-2) System functions and features (1-3) Electrical control system configuration (II) Specific configuration of each part (II-1) System ( II-2) Image input terminal (ItT) (n-
3) Image output terminal (IOT) (n-4>User interface (U/I) (II-5) Film image reading device (III) Image processing system (IPS) (II[-
1) (I[[-3) (III-4) (II[-5) (III-6) (III-7) IPS module configuration IPS hardware configuration IPS control editing control system configuration GDC MC RE ( III-8) Annotation processing (III-9) Area specification (III-10) Color conversion (III-11) Features of LS I (I) Overview of the device (1-1) Device configuration Figure 2 shows the present invention applied 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a color copying machine.

A color copying machine to which the present invention is applied has a base machine 30 as a basic configuration, a platen glass 31 on which a document is placed, an image input terminal (IIT) 32, an electrical control storage section 33, an image output terminal ( IOT)
34, paper tray 35, user interface (U/I
) 36, and optionally an edit pad 61 and an auto document feeder (ADF) 62.
, sorter 63 and film projector (F/P) 6
4.

Electrical hardware is required to control the above-mentioned 11T, IOT%U/1, etc., but these hardware are IIT, IIT, which performs image processing on the output signals of IIT, etc.
It is divided into multiple boards for each processing unit such as PS%U/I, F/P, etc., and there is also a SYS board that controls them.
and IOT.

It is housed in an electrical control system storage section 33 together with an MCB board (machine controller board) for controlling the ADF, sorter, etc.

The IIT 32 consists of an imaging unit 37, a wire 38 for driving the unit, a drive pulley 39, etc. The IIT 32 uses a CCD line sensor and a color filter in the imaging unit 37 to convert color originals into primary colors of light B (
(blue), G (green), and R (red), convert them into digital image signals, and output them to the IPS.

In IPS, the B%G and R signals of IIT32 are used as toner primary colors Y (yellow), C (cyan), M (magenta).
, K (black), and furthermore, in order to improve the reproducibility of color, gradation, definition, etc., various data processing is performed to convert the process color gradation toner signal into on/off binary toner. It is converted into one signal and output to l0T34.

10T34 has a scanner 40, a sensitive material belt 41,
Laser output section 4. At Oa, the image signal from the ['S is converted into an optical signal, and the polygon mirror 40b, F/θ
A latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the sensitive material belt 41 via the lens 40c and the reflecting mirror 40d. The sensitive material belt 41 is driven by a driving boo! Driven by J41a,
Around it are cleaner 41b1 charger 41c, Y, M,
A developing device 41d and a transfer device 41e are arranged at C and C, respectively. A transfer device 42 is provided opposite to the transfer device 41e, and holds the paper sent from the paper tray 35 through the paper conveyance path 35a. Rotate 4 times and apply 7% M and C to the paper.

Transfer in the order of K. The transferred paper is transferred to the transfer t! The image is transferred from the storage device 42 to the vacuum conveyance device 43, fixed by the fixing device 45, and then discharged. Further, in the paper conveyance path 35a, 5SI (
Paper is also selectively supplied from the single sheet inserter (single sheet inserter) 35b.

The U/136 allows the user to select a desired function and instruct its execution conditions, and is equipped with a color display 51, a hard control panel 52 next to it, and an infrared touch board 53 to control the screen. Direct instructions can be given using soft buttons.

Next, options for the base machine 30 will be explained. One is to place an edit pad 61, which is a coordinate manual device, on the platen glass 31, and make it possible to edit various images using an input pen or a memory card. Furthermore, it is possible to attach the existing ADF 62 and sorter 63.

Furthermore, the feature of this embodiment is that the platen glass 31
A mirror unit (M/U) 65 is placed on top, and a film image is projected from the F/P 64 onto it.
By reading the image signal as an image signal with the imaging unit 37, it is possible to make a color copy directly from the color film. The target document can be negative film, positive film, or slide, and is equipped with an autofocus device and an automatic correction filter exchange device.

(1-2) Functions and Features of the System (A) Functions The present invention provides a wide variety of functions that meet the needs of users and fully automates the copying process from start to exit. A major feature of this system is that it can be easily operated by anyone by displaying functions, execution conditions, and other menus on a display such as a CRT.

As its main function, the m(
'F- allows start, stop, all clear, numeric keypad, interactive, information, language switching, etc. that cannot be specified in the operation flow, and various functions can be selected by touching soft buttons on the basic screen. In addition, by touching the pathway tab corresponding to the pathway in the function selection area, you can select various editing functions such as marker editing, business editing, creative editing, etc., and you can make full-color and black-and-white copies with easy operations that feel like conventional copying. It can be performed.

A major feature of this device is its four-color full-color function, in addition to which three colors and black can be selected.

For paper supply, automatic paper selection and paper specification are possible.

The reduction/enlargement can be set in 1% increments within the range of 50 to 400%, and a biasing function for independently setting the vertical and horizontal magnifications and an automatic magnification selection function are provided.

Copy density is automatically adjusted for black and white originals.

Automatic color balance adjustment is performed for color originals.
Color balance allows you to specify the colors you want to reduce on your copy.

The job program can read and write jobs using a memory card, and up to eight jobs can be stored on the memory card. It has a capacity of 32 kilobytes and is programmable for jobs other than film projector mode.

In addition, additional functions include copy output, copy sharpness, copy contrast, copy position, film projector, page programming, and margin functions.

For the copy output, if a sorter is attached as an option and Uncollated is selected, the maximum adjustment function will work to adjust the set number of sheets to within the maximum bin storage value.

Copy sharpness, which emphasizes edges, is available as an option with 7-step manual sharpness adjustment,
Photo), Character (Character), Halftone printing (Print), Mixing of photo and text (Photo).

/Character) is provided. You can also set the default and tool pathways as you like.

Copy contrast can be controlled by the operator in 7 steps, and the default can be set as desired using the tool path.

The copy position is a function for selecting a position on a sheet of paper to place a copy image, and has an optional auto-centering function for placing the center of the copy image on the center of the sheet, and the default is auto-centering.

The film projector is capable of making copies from various types of film, and includes a 35a111 negative/positive projection, a 35ml 11 negative platen holder, and a 6c
11x6cffl slide platen holder, 4inx4i
nSlide platen placement can be selected. With film projectors, A4 paper is automatically selected unless you specifically select paper, and there is a color balance function in the film projector pop-up. When set to ``Taste'', the color is corrected for a bluish tinge, and unique automatic density control and manual density control are also performed.

Page programming includes a cover function that attaches a front/back cover or front cover to copies, an insert function that inserts blank or colored paper between copies, a color mode that allows you to set the color mode for each page of the original, and a page of the original. There is a separate paper tray selection function and a paper selection function that can be set in conjunction with the color mode.

The margin can be set in steps of 1nII in the range θ to 30aus, and only one side can be specified for one document.

Marker editing is a function that edits the area surrounded by markers, and is intended for documents. Therefore, the original is treated as a black and white original, and when in black mode, the specified area is
Return to the palette color on RT, copy black outside the specified area, and 1. Ru. In addition, in red-black mode, the image is converted to red, and the area outside the area is a red-black copy, and trim, mask, color mesh, and black to color functions are provided. Note that the area specification is performed by drawing a closed loop on the document surface or by specifying the area using the numeric keypad or edit pad. The same applies to area specification in each editing function below. The designated area is then displayed in a similar shape in the bitmap area on the CRT.

Trim copies only the image within the marked area in black and white,
Images outside the marked area are erased.

The mask erases the image within the marked area and copies only the image outside the marked area in black and white.

With color mesh, a specified containment pattern is placed within the marked area, the image is copied in black and white, and the colors of the color mesh are 8 standard colors (predetermined colors),
8 registered colors (1670 colors registered by users)
You can select from a wide variety of colors (up to 8 colors can be registered at the same time), and you can select from 4 mesh patterns.

With black to color, the image in the marked area can be copied in a specified color selected from 8 standard colors and 8 registered colors.

Business editing aims to quickly create high-quality originals mainly for business documents. The manuscript is treated as a full-color manuscript, and all functions require specifying areas or points. ■Multiple functions can be set for the manuscript. .

When in black/mono color mode, black areas other than the specified area are copied in monochrome, black images within the area are converted to palette colors on the CRT, and in red/black mode, areas outside the specified area are red and black. Copy and convert the area to red. In addition to trim, mask, color mesh, and black to color, which are the same as in marker editing, the following functions are provided: logotype, line, paint 1, collection, and function clear.

Logotype is a function that allows you to insert a logo such as a symbol mark at a specified point, and two types of logos can be placed vertically and horizontally. However, only one logo pattern can be set for one document, and the logo pattern is prepared for each customer and supplied from the ROM.

Line is a function that draws perpendicular or horizontal lines to the X-axis using a two-point display.The line color can be selected for each line from 8 standard colors and 8 registered colors, and there is no limit to the number of lines that can be specified. Up to seven colors can be used at one time.

Paint 1 is a function that fills the inside of a closed loop with a color selected from 8 standard colors and 8 registered colors for each loop by specifying one point inside the closed loop.

The net can be selected from four patterns for each area, the number of loops that can be specified is unlimited, and the number of included patterns that can be used is up to seven.

The collection function allows you to check and modify the setting function for each area, change the area/point, and change the area size and point position.
It has area/point collection that can be performed in increments, and area/point cancellation mode that erases specified areas.
It is possible to change, delete, etc.

Creative editing includes image composition, copy-on-copy, color composition, partial image shift, multi-page enlargement, paint 1, color mesh, color conversion, negative/positive inversion, repeat, paint 2, density control, color balance, copy contrast. , copy sharpness, color mode, trim, mask, mirror image, margin, line, shift, logotype, split scan, collection,
Function clear and ^dd Function functions are provided. With this function, the original is treated as a color original, multiple functions can be set for one original, functions can be used together for one area, and the specified area can be set. is a rectangle with two points and a point with one point.

Image composition is a function that copies a base original in color in 4 cycles, holds the paper on a transfer device, then copies the trimmed original in 4 cycles and outputs the same.

Copy-on-copy is a function that, after copying the first original in four cycles, holds the paper on the transfer device, and subsequently copies and outputs the second original in four cycles.

The color composition is made by copying the first original in magenta, then holding the paper on the transfer device, then copying the second original in cyan, holding the paper on the transfer device, and then copying the third original. There is a function to overlay yellow and output after copying, and in the case of a 4-color composition, further overlay black and output after copying.

Partial image shift is a function that holds the paper on the transfer device after color copying in 4 cycles, and then copies and outputs the paper overlappingly in 4 cycles.

Among the color modes, in full color mode, copies are made in 4 cycles, in 3-color color mode, copies are made in 3 cycles, except when edit mode is set, and in black mode, copies are made in 1 cycle, except when edit mode is set. Copies in cycles, and in plus 1 color mode copies in 1 to 3 cycles.

Tool Pathways include Auditron, Machine Setup, Default Selection, Color Registration, Film Type Registration, Color Correction, Presets, Film Projector Scan Area Correction, Audio Tone, Timer Set, Pilling Meter, Diagnostic Mode, Maximum Adjustment, and Memory. Card formatting is provided. In order to make settings or changes to this pathway, you must enter your PIN number. Therefore, only key operators and customer engineers can make settings/changes in the tool pathway. However, only the customer engineer can enter the diagnostic mode.

Color registration is used to register colors to register color buttons in a color palette, and is read from a color original using a CCD line sensor.

Color correction is used to fine-tune the colors registered in the register color buttons.

Film type registration is used to register the register film type used in the film projector mode, and if it is not registered, the register button cannot be selected on the film projector mode screen.

Presets include reduction/enlargement values, copy density 7 steps,
Copy sharpness 7 steps, copy contrast 7
Preset steps.

Film projector scan area collection
Adjust the scan area in film projector mode.

Audio tone adjusts the volume used for selected sounds, etc.

The timer setting is for setting a timer that can be released to the key operator.

In addition, there is a crash recovery function that restarts the subsystem when it enters a crash state, a function that puts the subsystem into fault mode if it cannot return to normal even after performing crash recovery twice, and a function that causes jams. There are also functions to deal with abnormal systems, such as an emergency shutdown function in the event of an abnormality.

Furthermore, combinations of basic copy and additional functions, basic/additional functions and marker editing, business editing, creative editing, etc. are also possible.

The entire system of the present invention having the above functions has the following features.

(B) Features (a) Achievement of high image quality and full color This device has improved black image quality reproduction, light color reproduction, generation copy quality, OHP image quality, fine line reproduction, film copy image quality reproducibility, and copy maintainability. The aim is to achieve high-quality, full-color images that can clearly reproduce color documents.

(b) Lower costs Reduce the costs of art materials and consumables such as photoreceptors, developing machines, and toner, reduce service costs such as LIMR and parts costs, and make it possible to use it as a black and white copying machine. Black and white copy speed is also 3 times faster than conventional ones.
By achieving approximately double the printing capacity of 30 sheets/A4, we aim to reduce running costs and unit copy costs.

(c) Improving productivity The input/output device is equipped with an ADF and a sorter (optional) to enable processing of multiple documents.The magnification can be selected from 50 to 400%.The maximum document size is A3, and the upper paper tray is B5.
~B4, middle row B5-B4, lower row B5-A3.5SIB5
~A3, and the copy speed is 4 full colors, 4.8 CPM for A4.

4.8CPM for B4, 2.4CPM for A3, black and white, A4
19.2CPM with SB4 19.2CPM.

9.6CPM in A3, warm-up time within 8 minutes, F
COT achieves 28 seconds or less for 4 full colors and 7 seconds or less for black and white, and the continuous copy speed is 7 seconds for full color.
．． We are aiming for high productivity by achieving 5 pages/A4 and 30 black and white pages/A4.

(d) Improved operability Hard buttons and CR on the hard control panel
By using the soft buttons on the T-screen soft panel, it is easy for beginners to understand, does not bother experts, allows direct selection of functions, and concentrates operations in one place to improve operability. Colors are used effectively to accurately convey the necessary information to the operator. High-fidelity copying can be performed using only the hard control panel and basic screen operations.
Start, stop, all clear, interrupts, etc. that cannot be specified in the operation flow are performed by operating the hard buttons, and paper selection, reduction/enlargement, copy density, image quality adjustment, color mode, color balance adjustment, etc. are performed by operating the basic screen soft panel. This allows users of single-color copying machines to use it naturally. Furthermore, various editing functions can be opened and selected by simply touching the pathway tab in the pathway area of the soft panel. Furthermore, by storing the copy mode, its execution conditions, etc. in advance in the memory card, it is possible to automate certain operations.

(e) Enhanced functionality By touching the pathway tab in the pathway area of the software panel, you can open a pathway and select various editing functions.For example, marker editing uses a tool called marker to edit black and white documents. With business editing, you can quickly create high-quality originals mainly for business documents, and with creative editing, you can quickly create high-quality originals for business documents.Creative editing offers a variety of editing functions, allowing designers to choose from full color, black, and monochrome. −
, copy service providers, key operators, and other specialists. Furthermore, the area specified in the editing function is displayed as a bitmap area, allowing you to confirm the specified area.

In this way, the rich editing functions and color creation can greatly improve your ability to express your writing.

(to) Achievement of power saving of 1.5! /A realizes a four-color, high-performance copying machine. Therefore, 1,5k in each operation mode
The control method for realizing VA is determined, and power distribution by function is determined to set target values.

In addition, an energy system table is created to determine energy transmission routes, and energy system management and verification are performed.

(C) Example of differentiation The copying machine to which the present invention is applied is capable of full-color and black-and-white printing, is easy for beginners to understand, allows experienced users to make copies without bothering them, and is equipped with various functions to make copying easier. Since it is possible not only to take pictures but also to create originals, it can be used by professionals and artists, and in this point, it is possible to differentiate the use of copying machines. An example of its use is shown below.

For example, posters, calendars, which were traditionally printed,
Cards, invitations, New Year's cards with photos, etc. can be produced at a much lower cost than printing if the number of cards is not very large. In addition, by making full use of the editing function, you can create original calendars according to your tastes, for example, and instead of printing uniformly by company, you can create original and diverse prints by section. It becomes possible to create.

In addition, as seen in interiors and electrical products in recent years, colors affect sales volume, and by copying colored designs at the production stage of interiors and clothing items, multiple people can work on the design and colors as well. It is possible to develop new colors that improve consumption. In particular, in the apparel industry, when ordering products from distant production sites, by sending a colored copy of the finished drawing, colors can be specified more accurately than before, improving work efficiency. Can be done.

Furthermore, since this apparatus can be used for both color and black-and-white printing, it is possible to make the required number of copies of a single document in black-and-white or color, as required. Therefore, for example, when learning color studies at a vocational school or university,
Colored designs can be expressed in both black and white and color, and by comparing the two, it is possible to understand the impact of brightness and coloring on visual perception, for example, it can be clearly seen that red has almost the same brightness as gray. You can also learn.

(1-3) Configuration of electrical control system In this section, the hardware architecture, software architecture, and state division of the electrical control system of this copying machine will be explained.

(A) Hardware architecture and software architecture When a color CRT is used as the U[ as in this copier, the amount of data for color display increases compared to when a monochrome CRT is used, and the display screen If you try to create a more friendly UI by devising the structure and screen transitions, the amount of data will increase.

On the other hand, although it is possible to use a CPU with a large memory capacity, the board becomes large, making it difficult to store it in the copier itself, and making it difficult to respond flexibly to changes in specifications. However, there are problems such as high cost and so on.

Therefore, in this copying machine, a technology that can be shared with other models or devices such as a CRT controller is used as a remote to distribute the CPU to cope with the increase in the amount of data.

The electrical hardware is as shown in Figure 3.
It is broadly classified into three types: tJI system, SYS system, and MCB system. The UI system includes U I U Mort 70, and SY
In the S system, the F/PIJ mote 72 controls the F/P, the IT IJ mote 73 performs document reading,
IPS remotes 74 that perform various image processing are distributed. The IITIJ mote 73 includes an IIT controller 73a for controlling the imaging unit, and a V that digitizes the read image signal and sends it to the IPS remote 74.
[) It has an EO circuit 73b and is controlled by the VCPU 74a together with the N'S remote 74. SYS (S
system) A remote 71 is provided.

Since the 5YSIJ mote 71 requires a huge memory capacity for programs and the like to control the screen transitions of the UI, an 8086 equipped with a 16-bit microcomputer is used. Note that in addition to 8086, for example, 68000 etc. can also be used.

Furthermore, in the MCB system, a raster output scan (Raster output 5can) is used to receive the video signal used to form a latent image on the photosensitive material belt with a laser from the IPS remote 74 and send it to the IOT.
VCB (Video
Control Board) remote 76,
PCB'J motor 77 for the servo of the transfer device (turdle), as well as IOT, ADF, sorter, and accessories.
The IOB remote 78 as Nodame's I10 port and the accessory remote 79 are distributed and an MCB (Master Control) is used to centrally manage them.
rol Board) A remote 75 is provided.

Note that each remote in the figure is composed of one board. Also, the thick solid line in the figure is 187°5 kbp
In the LNET high-speed communication network of s, thick broken lines indicate a 9600 bps master/slave type serial communication network, and thin solid lines indicate a hot line which is a control signal transmission path. Also, in the diagram, 76 and 8 kbps are
The graphic information drawn on the edit pad, the copy mode information manually entered from the memory card, and the graphic information in the editing area are transferred from the U I +J mote 70 to the IP S IJ mote 7.
This is a dedicated line for notifications to 4. Furthermore, CCC in the figure
(Community.

n Control Chip) is an IC that supports the protocol of the high-speed communication line LNET.

As mentioned above, the hardware architecture is roughly divided into three types: UL system, sys system, and MCB system.The division of processing among these systems is explained as follows with reference to the software architecture in Figure 4. It is. Note that the arrows in the figure indicate data transfer via the 187.5 kbps LNET high-speed communication network and 9600 bps master/slave type serial communication network shown in Fig. 3, or control signals carried out via the hotline. shows the transmission relationship.

The Ul remote 70 is LLU I (Low Lev
el l11) module 80, and a module (not shown) for processing the edit pad and memory card. LLUr module 80
is similar to what is normally known as a CRT controller, and is a software module for displaying a screen on a color CRT.What kind of picture is displayed on the screen at any given time is determined by the 5YSUI module 81 or MCBUI. Controlled by module 86. It is clear that this allows the UI'J mote to be shared with other models or devices. This is because the CRT controller is used integrally with the CRT, although the screen configuration and screen transitions vary depending on the model.

SYS remote 71 and 5YSUT module 81,
SYSTEM module 82, and SYS, DIAG
It is composed of three modules: module 83;

The 5YSUI module 81 is a software module that controls screen transitions, and the SYSTEM module 82 is an F/F (Feature Function) that recognizes which screen and which coordinates of the soft panel have been selected, that is, what kind of job has been selected. )
Selection software, job confirmation software that ultimately checks the job to see if there are any inconsistencies in the copy execution conditions, and various information such as F/F selection, job recovery, machine state, etc. between other modules. This is a module that includes software that controls communication for sending and receiving information.

The SYS, DIAG module 83 is a module that operates in a customer simulation mode in which a copy operation is performed in a diagnostic state in which self-diagnosis is performed. Since the customer simulation mode operates in the same way as normal copying, the SYS and DIAG modules 83 are essentially the same as the SYSTEM module 82, but since they are used in a special state called diagnostic, the SYSTEM module 82
These are written separately, but with some overlap.

In addition, the IIT remote 73 includes an IIT remote controller that controls the stepping motor used in the imaging unit.
The PS remote 74 stores IPS modules 85 that perform various processes related to IPS, and these modules are controlled by the SYSTEM module 82.

On the other hand, the MCB remote 75 includes an MCBUI module 86, which is software for controlling screen transitions in the case of faults such as diagnostics, Auditron, and jams, controls the photosensitive material belt, controls the developer, and controls the user. Each software module includes a 10T module 90 that performs necessary processing when performing copying, an ADF module 91 that controls the ADF, a 5ORTER module 92 that controls the sorter, a copier executive module 87 that manages them, and various other software modules. A diagnostic executive module 88 performs diagnosis, and an audiotron module 8 uses a code number to access the electronic counter and process charges.
9 is stored.

Further, the RCB IJ motor 77 stores a turdle servo module 93 that controls the operation of the transfer device, and the turdle servo module 93 is connected to the IOT module 9 in order to control the transfer process of the xerography cycle.
It is under the control of 0. The reason why the copier executive module 87 and the diagnostic executive module 88 overlap in the figure is the same as the reason why the SYSTEM module 82 and the SYS and DIAG modules 83 overlap. - The division of the above processing is explained as follows according to the copy operation. The copying operation is a repetition of similar operations except for the difference in the color to be developed, and can be considered divided into several layers as shown in FIG. 5(a).

One color copy is made by repeating the smallest unit called pitch several times. Specifically, for one-color copying, how to operate the developing machine, transfer device, etc., how to detect jams, and how to perform pitch processing in Y, M, Y, M, etc. If you do this for the three colors C, the three-color copies will be Y, M, C, K.
If you do this for the four colors, you will be able to make one full-color copy of the four colors. This is a copy layer, and specifically, it is a layer that performs a process of transferring each color toner onto a sheet of paper, fixing it in a user, and ejecting the sheet from the main body of the copying machine. The processing up to this point is managed by the MCB-based Cobia executive module 87.

Of course, in the process of pitch processing, the IIT module 84 and the IPS module 85 included in the SYS system are also used, but for this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the IOT module 90 and the IIT module 84
Two signals, PR-TRUE and LE@REG, are exchanged between them. Specifically speaking, ■ PR (PIT
The CHR (SOT) signal is continuously generated by the MCB by dividing the rotation of the photosensitive material belt into two or three. In other words, in order to make effective use of the photosensitive material belt and improve copying speed, the photosensitive material belt is designed to fit the size of the copy paper being used, such as 2 pitches for A3 size copy paper and 3 pitches for A4 size copy paper. Since the pitch is divided according to the pitch, the period of the PR signal generated for each pitch is, for example, as long as 3 sec in the case of 2 pitches, and as short as 28 eC in the case of 3 pitches. .

Now, the PR signal generated by the MCB is distributed via a hotline to necessary locations within the IOT, such as the VCB U mote that handles VIDEO signals.

The VCB has a gate circuit inside it and selectively scans only the pitches that can be imaged within the IOT, that is, the pitches that can actually expose the image onto the photosensitive material belt.
Output to IJ mote. This signal is PR-TRU
This is the E signal. Note that information for generating the PR-TRUE signal based on the PR signal received from the MCB via the hotline is notified from the MCB via LNET.

On the other hand, during a period when the image cannot actually be exposed on the photosensitive material belt, an empty pitch for one pitch is created on the photosensitive material belt, and for such an empty pitch, PR- A TRUE signal is not output. P like this
Examples of pitches where R-TRUE is not generated include:
An example of this is the period from when a sheet of paper that has been transferred by the transfer device is discharged until the next sheet of paper is supplied to the transfer device. In other words, for example, if a long sheet of paper such as A3 size is ejected with the final transfer, the image quality will deteriorate due to the shock when the leading edge of the sheet enters the entrance of the fucosa, so if the sheet is longer than a certain length, the last Even after the transfer is completed, the material is not ejected as it is, but is held by a gripper bar (described later) and rotated one more time at a constant speed before being ejected, so the photosensitive material belt has a skip of one pitch. It becomes necessary.

Furthermore, the PR-TRUE signal is not output from the start of copying using the start key until the end of the cycle-up sequence. This is because the document has not yet been read during this period, and therefore no image can be exposed on the photosensitive material belt.

The PR-TRUE signal output from the VCB remote is
- While being received by the PS remote, it is also transmitted as is to the IIT remote, where it is used as a trigger signal to start the IIT scan.

As a result, IIT remote 73 and PS remote 7
4 can be synchronized with the IOT to perform pitch processing. Also, at this time, a video signal for modulating the laser beam used to form a latent image on the sensitive material belt is exchanged between the IPS remote 74 and the VCB remote 76. The video signal received by RO5 is converted from parallel signal to serial signal and then directly sent to RO5.
is applied to the laser output section 40a as a VIDEO modulation signal.

When the above operations are repeated four times, one four-color full-color copy is completed, and one copy and one operation are completed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5(b) to 5(e), a description will be given of the signal exchange and timing from when the image signal read by the IIT is output to the IOT until it is finally transferred to paper at the transfer point.

As shown in FIG. 5(b) and (c), the SYS remote 7
When a start job command is entered from 1, [)T78
At step b, a cycle up sequence including driving the main motor and starting up the high voltage power supply begins. 10T78b is used to form a latent image on the photosensitive material belt corresponding to the paper length.
Outputs R (pitch riseft) signal. For example, each time the photosensitive material belt rotates once, a PR multiplied signal of 3 pitches for A4 and 2 pitches for A3 is output. When the cycle up sequence of the l0T78b is completed, from that point on, a PR-TRUE signal is outputted to the IIT controller 73a in synchronization with the PR multiplication signal, corresponding only to pitches that require imaging.

In addition, l0T78b is l0T- which is output for each rotation of one line of RO3 (raster output scan).
The LS (line sync) signal is sent to the TG (timing generator) in the VCPU74a, where l0T
-Ps-LS, which is apparently advanced in upper phase by the total pipeline delay of IPS, is sent to the rfT:+ controller 73a.

When the IIT:17 troller 73a receives the PR-TRUE signal, it enables a counter to count the l0T-LS signal, and when a predetermined count is reached, the stepping motor 213 interlocks the imaging unit 37.
The imaging unit starts scanning the document. Further count and after T2 seconds, output LE@REG at the manuscript reading start position and send this to l0T78
send to b.

This document reading start position can be determined in advance by driving the imaging unit only once after turning on the power, and then moving the resin sensor 217.
(near the register position, specifically approximately 1011I11 on the scan side from the register position), calculate the true register position based on the detected position, and at the same time detect the normal stop position (home position) can also be calculated. In addition, since the registration position differs from machine to machine due to machine variations, etc., by storing the correction value in NVM and making corrections when calculating the true registration position and home position, an accurate document reading start position can be set. can do.

This correction value can be changed by a factory or a service person, etc., and can be implemented by simply rewriting this correction value electrically, and no mechanical adjustment is required. On the right, Resinsa 21
Position 7 is approximately 10111 points closer to the scan side than the true register position.
The reason for this shift is to always set the correction to a negative value and to simplify adjustment and software.

Also, IIT:+ controller? 3a is L E@REG
The IMAGE-AREA signal is output in synchronization with the IMAGE-AREA signal. The length of this IMAGE-AREA signal is equal to the scan length, which is the length of the SYSTEM module 8.
2 to the IrT module 84. Specifically, when copying by detecting the original size, the scan length is the original length, and when copying by specifying the magnification, the scan length is the copy paper length and the magnification (100%). is set as the divisor of 1). IMAGE-AREA signal is VCP
It is sent to the IPS74 via UT4a, where it is renamed IIT-PS (page sync). IIT-P
S is a signal indicating the time for performing image processing.

When LE@REG is output, data for one line of the line sensor is read in synchronization with the [)T-LS signal,
The VIDEO circuit (FIG. 3) performs various correction processes and A/D conversion, and sends the signal to the IPS 74. In the IPS74, one line of video data is sent to the 10T78b in synchronization with the [)T-LS. At this time l0T-BYTE-CL
RTN-BYTE-CLK, which is an inverted signal of K, is sent back to the IOT in parallel with the video data, and the data and clock are similarly delayed to ensure synchronization.

When LE@REG is input to 10T78b, l
Video data is sent to RO3 in synchronization with the 0T-LS signal, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive material belt. When LE@REG enters, l0T78b uses that timing as a reference.
Counting is started with 0T-CLK, and on the other hand, the servo motor of the transfer device is controlled so that the leading edge of the paper is at the transfer position of a predetermined count number. By the way, Figure 5(d)
As shown in the figure, the PR output by the rotation of the photosensitive material belt
- l0T output by TRUE signal and rotation of RO5
- Originally not synchronized with the LS signal. For this reason, P
When the R-TRUE signal enters and starts counting from the next l0T-LS, moves the imaging unit 37 at count m, and outputs LE@REG at count n, L
E@RE G will be delayed by T1 time with respect to PR-TRUE. This delay is a maximum of 22 minutes,
In the case of a four-color full-color copy, this delay accumulates and appears as a color shift in the output image.

To do this, first, as shown in FIG. 5(C), when the first LE@REG is input, the counter 1 starts counting, and when the third LE@REG is input, the counter 2.
3 starts counting, and when each counter reaches the count number p up to the transfer position, it is cleared, and the counters are sequentially used for the fourth and subsequent inputs of LE@REG. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(a), when LE@REG is input, the correction clock counts the time T3 from the pulse immediately before l0T-CLK. The latent image formed on the photosensitive material belt is close to the transfer position, l0T
- When CLK counts the count number p to the transfer position, the correction clock starts counting at the same time, and the point where the count number r corresponding to the above time T3 is added becomes the accurate transfer position, and this is the point of the transfer device. In addition to the transfer position (timing) control counter control, LE@R
The servo motor of the transfer device is controlled so that the leading edge of the paper is accurately synchronized with the EG input.

The above is the process up to the copy layer, but on top of that, 1
There is a process of setting the number of copies, i.e., how many times a copy job is to be performed on a sheet of original, and this process is performed in the PERORIGINAL layer. Further above that, there is a job programming layer that performs processing to change job parameters. Specifically, these are whether to use the ADF or not, and whether to use a magnification function that changes the color of a part of the document. These per-original processing and job programming processing are managed by a SYS module 82 of the SYS system.

For this purpose, the SYSTEM module 82 checks the job contents sent from the LLUI module 80,
Confirm, create the necessary data, and send it to 9600bps.
The job contents are notified to the IrT module 84 and IPS module 85 via the serial communication network, and to the MCB system via LNET.

As mentioned above, those that perform independent processing, other models,
Alternatively, we distributed those that perform processing that can be shared with devices as remote units, divided them into UI systems, SYS systems, and MCB systems, and established a modular system for managing machines according to the copy processing layer. This makes it possible to clarify the work of people, standardize development technology for software, etc., clarify delivery dates and cost settings, and easily respond to changes in specifications by changing only the relevant modules. Therefore, the development efficiency can be improved.

(B) State division Above, we have discussed the division of processing between the UI system, SYS system, and MCB system.
What kind of processing is performed by the system at each time of a copy operation will be explained step-by-step through the copy operation.

In a copier, the state from power-on to copy operation and after the copy operation is divided into several states, and the jobs to be performed in each state are determined.If all jobs in each state are not completed, the next This is done to ensure efficiency and accuracy of control by not transitioning to the state.

This is called state division, and in this copying machine, state division is performed as shown in FIG.

A characteristic feature of the state division in this copying machine is that in each state, the control right to manage the entire state and the UL master right to use the UI in the state are given to the SYS remote 71 at some times, and at other times. is in the MCB remote 75. In other words, by distributing the CPUs as described above, U
LLUI module 80 of I U mote 70 is 5YS
It is controlled not only by the UI module 81 but also by the MCBUI module 86, and while pitch and copy processing are managed by the MCB-based copier executive module 87, bar original processing and job programming processing are controlled by the SYS module. 8
Since the processing is divided such that the processing is managed by 2, correspondingly, in each state, which one has the overall control right, the SYS module 82 or the copier executive module 87, and which has the U■ master right? The difference is that In FIG. 6, the states indicated by vertical lines indicate that the MCB-based copier executive module 87 has the UL master right.
SY the blacked out state 1tUI mastership
This shows that S Moginir 82 has the following properties.

The state division shown in FIG. 6 from power ON to standby will be explained with reference to FIG. 7.

When the power is turned on and the power is turned on, the S
From YS remote 71 to IIT remote 73 and IP
The N'S reset signal and IITIJ set signal supplied to the S U mote 74 become H (old G11), and the I
The PS remote 74 and the IIT remote 73 are reset and start operating.

Further, when it is detected that the power supply voltage has become normal, the power normal signal rises, the MCBIJ mote 75 starts operating, establishes control rights and UIl master rights, and tests the high-speed communication network LNET. In addition, the power normal signal is sent to MCB via the hotline.
It is sent from the remote 75 to the SYS remote 71.

MCB! 7 When a predetermined time TO has elapsed after the start of operation of the mote 75, the system reset signal supplied from the MCB remote 75 to the SYS remote 71 through the hotline becomes H, the reset of the SYS remote 71 is released, and the operation is started. However, at this time, the operation of SYS U mote 71 starts at SYS! Two internal signals of the J-moat 71, 86NM and 86 reset, cause a further delay of 200 μsec after the TO time has elapsed. This 200μsec time is a crash,
In other words, the machine may stop due to a temporary problem such as a momentary power outage, software runaway, or a software bug.
Alternatively, it is provided to store in nonvolatile memory the state in which the machine is in the event of a runaway.

SYS! When I-mote 71 starts operating, it takes about 3°8 seconds.
Core test during ec, i.e. ROM, RAM check,
Check the hardware, etc. At this time, if undesired data etc. are input manually, there is a possibility that the SY
Under its own supervision, the S'J mote 71 sets the IPS reset signal and IrT reset signal to L (Low) at the start of the core test, and the IPS remote 74 and T
The IT remote 73 is reset to stop its operation.

SYS remote 71 will be set to 10 when the core test is completed.
The CCC self-test is performed for ~3100msec, and the IPS reset signal and IIT reset signal are set to H.
IPS remote 74 and IIT +J mote 7
The operations in step 3 are restarted, and each core test is performed.

The CCC self-test is performed by transmitting predetermined data to the LNET, receiving it by itself, and ensuring that the received data is the same as the transmitted data. In addition, C.C.C.
When performing a self-test, time is allocated to each CCC so that the self-test times do not overlap.

In other words, in LNET, SYS remote 71, M
Each node such as the CB remote 75 transmits data whenever it wants, and if a data collision occurs, it retransmits after a predetermined period of time. 71 is performing a CCC self-test, if another node is using LNET, a data collision will occur and the self-test cannot be performed. Therefore, S Y S IJ Mort 7
1 starts the CCC self-test, the LNET test of the MCB remote 75 has finished.

When the CCC self-test is completed, the SYS remote 71
■Wait until the core test of PS remote 74 and IITIJ mote 73 is completed, and then
Perform a communication test of the TEM node. This communication test
This is a test of a 9600 bps serial communication network, and predetermined data is transmitted and received in a predetermined sequence. When the communication test is completed, S Y
L N between S U mote 71 and MCB remote 75
Perform an ET communication test. That is, MCBIJ Mort 7
5 requests the self-test result from SYS remote 71, and SYS! In response to the request, J-mote 71 issues the results of the tests it has conducted so far to MCB remote 75 as self-test results.

Upon receiving the self-test result, the MCB remote 75 issues a token bus to the SYS remote 71. The token bus is a tag that exchanges UI master rights,
By passing the token bus to SYS remote 71,
The Uil master right will be transferred from the MCB remote 75 to the SYS remote 71. This is the power-on sequence. During the period of the power-on sequence, U■
The remote 70 displays a message such as "Please wait for a while" and also performs various tests such as its own core test and communication test.

In the above power-on sequence, if there is no response to the self-test result request or if there is an abnormality in the self-test result, the MCB remote 75 makes the machine dead and activates the UI control authority to
It controls the IQ mote 70 and displays that an abnormality has occurred. This is the machine dead state.

After the power-on state is completed, the system enters the initialization state to set up each remote.

In the initialization state, the SYS remote 71 has overall control rights and UL master rights. Therefore, the SYS U motor 71 initializes the SYS system and also initializes the SYS system.
BSYSTEMJ:] Issues T7 to MCBIJ mote 75 and also initializes the MCB system. The results are sent from the MCB remote 75 as subsystem status information. As a result, for example, in the IOT, the user is heated, the tray elevator is placed in a predetermined position, and preparations are made for copying.

This is the initialization state.

When initialization is completed, each remote enters a standby state. Even in this state, the SYS remote 71 has the Ur master right, so the SYS remote 71 displays the F/F on the UI screen based on the Ur master right.
F is displayed and a state is entered in which copy execution conditions are accepted.

At this time, the MCB IJ mote 75 is monitoring the IOT. In addition, in the standby state, MCBIJ mote 75 checks whether there are any abnormalities.
5YSIJ background ball every 500m5ec
The self-test result is issued to the remote 71, and the SYS remote 71 issues the self-test result to the MCB within 2QOmsec.
'Perform the process of returning to J Mort 75. At this time, if the self-test result is not returned or if there is an abnormality in the content of the self-test result, the MCB remote 75 notifies the UI remote 70 that an abnormality has occurred, and causes a display to that effect.

When the audiotron is used in the standby state, the audiotron state is entered and the MCB'J mote 75 performs audiotron control and U
The I-remote 70 is controlled to display information for the audiotron. F/F is set in the standby state, and when the start key is pressed, the product enters the production state. The production state is subdivided into six states: setup, cycle up, run, skip pitch, normal cycle down, and cycle down shutdown, and these states will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a timing chart when the platen mode is set and the number of 4-color full-color copies is set to 3.

When the SYS remote 71 detects that the start key has been pressed, it transmits the job contents via the serial communication network.
ITIJ Mote 73 and IPS! The contents of the job are sent to the J-mote 74, and the contents of the job are issued to the copier executive module 87 in the MCB remote 75 together with a command "start job" via LNET. This causes the machine to go into setup, where each remote prepares to perform its designated job. For example, the IOT module 90 drives the main motor, adjusts the parameters of the photosensitive material belt, and the like. ACK (Acknowledge) is a response to the start job.
) is sent back from the MCB remote 75, the SYS remote 71 causes the IIT remote 73 to perform a prescan. Prescanning includes prescanning to detect the document size, prescanning to detect the color at a specified position on the document, prescanning for closed loop detection when coloring, and marker editing for marker editing. There are four types of prescans for reading, and prescans are performed up to three times depending on the selected F/F. At this time, a message such as "Please wait for a while" is displayed on Ul.

When the pre-scan is completed, a command IIT ready is issued to the copier executive module 87, and cycle-up is started from here.

Cycle up is a state where each remote waits for the start-up time, and the MCB remote 75 starts operating the transfer device at 10T, and the SYS IJ mote 71 starts operating at 10T.
Initialize PS remote 74. At this time, Ul displays that it is currently in a progress state and the contents of the selected job.

When the cycle up is completed, the run starts and the copy operation starts, but first, when the first PRO is output from the IOT module 90 of the MCBIJ mote 75, the IIT is 1
Perform the first scan, IOT develops the first color,
This completes the process for one pitch. Next, when PRO is issued again, the second color development is performed and the second pitch processing is completed.

This process is repeated four times, and when the four-pitch process is completed, the IOT uses the user to fix the toner and discharges the paper. This completes the first copy process. By repeating the above process three times, three copies can be made.

Pitch layer processing and copy layer processing is performed by MCB
! J-Mote 75 manages the copy settings, but processing of the copy setting number performed on the par original layer, which is a layer above it, is performed by S.
Performed by YSU Mort 71. Therefore, so that the SYS remote 71 can recognize how many sheets are currently being copied, when the first PRO of each copy is issued, the
The CB remote 75 is configured to issue a maid count signal to the SYS remote 71. Also, when the last PRO is issued, the MCB remote 75 sends rRDY FORNXT to the SYS remote 71.
Issue a command called JOBJ to request the next job. At this time, if you issue a start job, you can continue the job, but if the user does not set the next job, the job will end, so the SYS remote 71 will
A command called JOBJ is issued to the MCB remote 75.

When the MCB remote 75 receives the rEND JOBJ command and confirms that the job is finished, the machine enters a normal cycle down. In normal cycle down, the MCB remote 75 stops the operation of the IOT.

During the cycle down, when the MCB remote 75 recognizes that all the copied paper has been ejected, it sends a message to that effect using the rDEL IVERED JOBJ command.
Notify the S remote 71, and also notify the rIOT when the normal cycle down is completed and the machine stops.
SYS remote 71 with 5TAND BYJ command
Let me know. This ends the progress state and
Return to standby state.

Although skip pitch and cycle down shutdown are not mentioned in the above example, in skip pitch, the SYS remote 71 initializes the SYS system for the next job, and the MCB remote 75 initializes the SYS system for the next job. Waiting for. Also,
Since the cycle down shutdown is a state in the event of a fault, both the SYS remote 71 and the MCB remote 75 perform fault processing in this state.

As mentioned above, in the progress state, MCB'
J Mort 75 manages pitch processing and copy processing,
Since the SYS remote 71 manages the per-original processing and the job programming processing, both parties have the right to control the processing according to their share of the processing. On the other hand, UI master rights are SYS remote) 71
has. This is because Ur has the set number of copies,
It is necessary to display the selected editing process, etc., and these belong to per-original processing or job programming processing, and SYS! This is because it is placed under the control of J-Mote 71.

If a fault occurs in the progress state, the process moves to the fault recovery state. Fault is a general term for machine abnormal conditions such as no paper, jam, failure or damage of parts, etc., and there are those that can be recovered by the user by resetting the F/F, and those that can be recovered by a service person such as replacing parts. There are two types of things that must be recovered. As mentioned above, fault display is basically performed by the MCBUI module 86, but the F/F is
Since it is managed by the YS module 82, the SYS module 82 is in charge of recovery for faults that can be recovered by resetting the F/F, and the copier executive module 87 is in charge of other recoveries.

Further, fault detection is performed for each of the SYS system and the MCB system. In other words, IIT, IPS.

F/P is SYS! SY because it is managed by J Mort 71
S remote 71 detects, l0TSADF.

Since the sorter is managed by MCB remote 75, MCB
IJ mote 75 detects. Therefore, it can be seen that there are the following four types of faults in this copying machine.

■If the SYS node is detected and the SYS node recovers.For example, if the start key is pressed before the F/P is prepared, a fault will occur, but the user will be able to restart the F/P.
You can recover by setting .

■When detected by the SYS node and recovered by the MCB node This type of fault includes, for example, failure of the cash register sensor,
Imaging unit speed abnormality, imaging unit overrun, PRO signal abnormality, CCC abnormality,
This includes errors in the serial communication network, ROM or RAM check errors, etc. In the case of these faults, the U
I displays the details of the fault and a message such as ``Please call a service person.''

■If the fault is detected in the MCB node and the SYS node recovers If the sorter is set in the F/F even though the sorter is not set, the fault will be detected in the MCB node, but if the user recovers the F/F You can also recover by resetting F and changing to a mode that does not use the sorter. The same applies to ADF. A fault also occurs when the toner runs low, when the tray is not set, or when the paper runs out. Normally, these faults can be recovered by the user replenishing toner, setting a tray, or replenishing paper, but if one tray runs out of paper, another tray may be used. You can also recover by doing this, or if you run out of toner for a certain color, you can recover by specifying another color. In other words, since recovery is also performed by F/F selection, recovery is performed at the SYS node.

■When detected by the MCB node and recovered by the MCB node For example, if the developing machine is malfunctioning, toner distribution is abnormal, motor clutch failure, user failure, etc. are detected by the MCB node and the UI The location of the failure and a message such as ``Please call a service person'' are displayed. Furthermore, if a jam occurs, the location of the jam is displayed as well as a method for clearing the jam, leaving the recovery to the user.

As described above, in the fault recovery state, the control rights and the Ul master rights may be held by the SYS node or the MCB node depending on the location where the fault occurs and the recovery method.

When the fault is recovered and an IOT standby command is issued from the MCB node, the job recovery state is entered and the remaining jobs are completed. For example, suppose that the set number of copies is 3 and a jam occurs while copying the second copy. In this case, after the jam is cleared, the remaining two sheets must be copied, so the SYS node and the MCB node perform respective management processes to recover the job. Therefore, even in job recovery, the control right is SY
Both the S node and the MCB node have them according to their respective processing assignments. However, the SYS node has UI master rights. This is because when performing job recovery, for example, "Press the start key",
A job recovery message such as "Please set the remaining originals" must be displayed because this is a matter related to per-original processing or job programming processing managed by the SYS node.

Note that even if an IOT standby command is issued in the production state, the process will move to the job recovery state.
When the job is completed (6I), it moves to the standby state and waits for the next job. In the standby state, a diagnostic (hereinafter simply referred to as "diag") state can be entered by performing a predetermined key operation.

Diagnosis state includes component input check, output check, various parameter settings, various mode settings, NVM
This is a self-diagnosis state for initializing (nonvolatile memory), etc., and its concept is shown in FIG. As is clear from the figure, TECHREP mode is used for diagnosis.
Two modes are provided: customer simulation mode.

TECHREP mode is a mode used by service personnel to diagnose the machine, such as input check and output check.Customer simulation mode is a mode in which the customer simulation mode, which is normally used by the user when copying, is used for diagnosis. .

Now, assume that the TECHREP mode is entered from the standby state of the customer mode by a predetermined operation via route A in the figure. If you want to exit the TECHREP mode by simply performing various checks, setting parameters, and setting the mode, and then return to the customer mode (route B in the figure), press the specified key and the screen shown in Figure 6 will appear. It is possible to move to the power-on state as shown and return to the standby state using the sequence shown in Figure 7. However, since this copier makes color copies and is equipped with various editing functions, various operations can be performed in TECHREP mode. After setting the parameters, it is necessary to actually perform copying and check whether the colors requested by the user appear and whether the editing functions function as specified. This is done in the customer simulation mode, which differs from the customer mode in that pilling is not performed and a display indicating that it is a diagnosis is displayed on Ul. This is the meaning of the customer simulation mode in which the customer mode is used for diagnosis. Note that the transition from TECHREP mode to customer simulation mode (route C in the diagram) and the reverse transition from customer simulation mode to TECHREP mode (route D in the diagram) can be performed by respective predetermined operations. .

Furthermore, since the TECHREP mode is performed by the diagnostic executive module 88 (Fig. 4), the MCB node has both control rights and II master rights.
Customer simulation mode is SYS, DIAG
Since the normal copy operation is performed under the control of the module 83 (FIG. 4), the SYS node has both control rights and UI master rights.

(n) Specific configuration of each part (II-1>System! Figure 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the system and other remotes.

As mentioned above, the remote) 71 is equipped with the 5YSUI module 81 and the SYSTEM module 82, and the 5Y
Data is exchanged between the SUI 81 and the SYSTEM module 82 through an inter-module interface, and the SUI 81 and the IIT 73 and the IPS 7
4 is connected with a serial communication interface,
LNE between MCB75, ROS76, and RAIB79
It is connected by the T high-speed communication network.

Next, the module configuration of the system will be explained.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the module configuration of the system.

In this copying machine, each module such as IITS IPS and IOT is considered to be a component, and each module of the system that controls these is considered to have a brain. Adopting a distributed CPU method, the system side is responsible for per-original processing and job programming processing, and correspondingly has control rights to manage the initialization state, standby state, set-up state, and cycle state. Since I have the tel master right to use the UI, I have configured the system with the corresponding modules.

The system main 100 takes in the received data from the 5YSUI, MCB, etc. into an internal buffer, clears the data stored in the internal buffer, and
It calls each lower-level module and passes the processing to update the system state.

The M/C initialization control module 101 controls the initialization sequence from when the power is turned on until the system enters a standby state, and is activated when the power-on processing for performing various tests after the power-on by the MCB is completed.

The M/C setup control module 103 controls the setup sequence from when the start key is pressed until starting the MCB that processes the copy cycle.
EΔTURE (M/C to achieve user requirements
Create a job mode based on the instructions for
Determine the setup sequence according to the created job mode.

As shown in Figure 12(a), job mode creation is as follows:
Analyzes the mode specified by F/F and separates jobs. In this case, a job is an M/
It refers to the M/C operation from when C starts, until all requested copies are ejected, until it is stopped, and it is the minimum unit that can divide the work according to the user's request, and is a collection of job modes. For example, in the case of embedding synthesis, as shown in FIG. 12, job modes consist of deletion, movement, and extraction, and a job is a collection of these modes. Further, in the case of three ADF originals as shown in FIG. 12(C), the job mode is feed processing for original 11, original 2, and original 3, respectively, and the job is a collection of these.

Then, in automatic mode, document scan, in coloring mode, pre-scan, in marker editing mode, pre-scan, in color detection mode, sample scan (pre-scan up to 3 times), and copy cycle. The copy mode required for I IT, I PS, MC
Distributed to B, MC at the end of the setup sequence
Start B.

The M/C standby control module 102
It controls the sequence during C standby, and specifically accepts start keys, controls color registration, and enters diagnostic mode.

The M/C copy cycle control module 104 controls the copy sequence from when the MCB is started until it is stopped, and specifically sends a paper feed count notification, determines the end of a JOB and requests IIT startup, and sends a request to start up the MCB. It determines whether to stop and issues a request to shut down the IPS.

It also has the function of notifying the remote destination of through commands that occur while the M/C is stopped or in operation.

The fault control module 106 is ■IT, [
'S monitors the cause of the fall, and when the cause occurs, the MCB
Specifically, the shutdown is performed by a fail command from IIT and IPS, and the MC
After a shutdown request is issued from B, recovery is determined when the M/C is stopped, and recovery is performed by, for example, a jam command from MCB.

The communication control module 107 is
It sets the IIT ready signal from IT and enables/disables communication in the image area.

The DIAG control module 108 performs control during the manual check mode and the output check mode in the DIAG mode.

Next, the exchange of data between these modules or with other subsystems will be explained.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing data flows between the system and each remote, and data flows between child modules within the system. In the figure, A-N indicates serial communication, 2 indicates a hot line, and ■ to ■ indicate inter-module data.

5YSUI remote and initialization control section 1
01, the control right of the CRT is transferred from the 5YSUI to S
Y S T E M N O D E +, :WataritT
.

A KEN command is sent, and on the other hand, a configuration command is sent from the initialization control section 101.

5YSUIIJ mote and standby control section 10
2, the mode change command, start copy command, job cancel command, color registration request command, and tray command are sent from the 5YSU[, while the standby control unit 102 sends the M/
A C status command, tray status command, toner status command, collected bottle status command, color registration ANS command, and TOKEN command are sent.

5YSUI remote and setup control section 10
3, the setup control unit 103 sends M/C status commands (progress), APMS
A status command is sent, while a stop request command and an interwoven command are sent from the 5YSU I remote.

IPS remote and initialization control section 101
Between us, IPS! The I-mote sends an initialize end command, and the initialize control unit 101 sends an NVM parameter command.

IrT remote and initialization control section 101
The IIT ready command is sent from the IIT remote, and the NVM is sent from the initialization control unit 101.
A parameter command, INIT[ALIZE command, is sent.

Between the IPS remote and the standby control unit 102, the IPS remote sends the initialize free hand area, answer command, remove area answer command, and color information command, and the standby control unit 102 sends the color detection point command and initialize free. Hand area command and remove area command are sent.

Between the IPS remote and the setup control unit 103, the ['S ready command,
A document information command is sent, and a setup control R103 scan information command, basic copy mode command, edit mode command, and M/C stop command are sent.

I IT! l-mote and standby control unit 102
Between IIT! An IIT ready command is sent from I-mote to notify that the pre-scan has been completed.
A sample scan start command and an initialize command are sent from the standby control unit 102.

Between the IrT remote and the setup control section 103, the IIT remote sends an IIT ready command and an initialize end command, and the setup control W 103 sends a document scan start command, sample scan start command, and copy scan start command. will be sent.

MCB'J-E--) (!NiStandby Control R
102, an initialization subsystem command and a standby selection command are sent from the standby control unit 102, and a subsystem status command is sent from the MCB remote.

Between the MCB remote and the setup control unit 103, the setup control unit 103 sends a start job command, IIT ready command, stop job command, and declare system fault command, and the MCB remote sends an IOT standby command and declare MCB fault command. command is sent.

Between the MCB remote and the cycle control section 104, a stop job command is sent from the cycle control I1104, and a MADE job command is sent from the MCB remote.
A command, ready for net job command, job deliver command, and IOT standby command are sent.

Between the MCB remote and the fault control unit IO6, the fault control unit 106 sends a declare system fault command and a system shut down completion command, and the MCB IJ remote sends a declare MCB fault command and a system shutdown command.

rlT! A scan ready signal and an image area signal are sent from the IIT remote to the remote communication control unit 107.

Next, the interface between each module will be explained.

From system main 100 to each module (101 to 10
7) The reception remote number and reception data are sent to each module, and each module exchanges data with its respective remote. On the other hand, nothing is sent from each module (101 to 107) to the system main 100.

When the initialization process is completed, the initialization control R1ot notifies the fault control section 106 and the standby control section 102 of the system state (standby), respectively.

The communication control section 107 notifies the initialization control R101, the standby control section 102, the setup control section 103, the copy cycle control section 104, and the fault control section 106 of communication availability information, respectively.

When the start key is pressed, the standby control unit 102 notifies the setup control unit 103 of the system state (progress).

When the setup is completed, the setup control section 103 notifies the copy cycle control section 104 of the system state (cycle).

(U-2) Image input terminal (IIT) (A) Original scanning mechanism FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the original scanning mechanism, and the imaging unit 37 has two slide shafts 202.2.
03, and both ends are connected to the wire 2.
It is fixed at 04.205. This wire 204.2
05 is wound around the drive pulley 206, 207 and the tension pulley 208, 209, and the tension pulley 208
．． 209 is under tension in the direction of the arrow in the figure. A reduction pulley 211 is attached to the drive shaft 210 to which the drive pulleys 206 and 207 are attached, and is connected to an output shaft 214 of a stepping motor 213 via a timing bell (212). Note that the limit switches 215 and 216 are connected to the imaging unit 37.
The register sensor 217 is a sensor that detects the position of both ends when the document is moved, and the registration sensor 217 is a sensor that detects the document reading start position.

To obtain one color copy, IIT needs to repeat the scan four times. In this case, the major issue is how to reduce synchronization and positional deviations within four scans.To do this, it is necessary to suppress fluctuations in the stop position of the imaging unit 37 and shorten the arrival time from the home position to the registration position. It is important to reduce variation and to reduce variation in scan speed. For this purpose, a stepping motor 213 is employed. However, since the stepping motor 213 has greater vibration and noise than a DC servo motor, various measures have been taken to improve image quality and speed.

(B) Stepping motor control method The stepping motor 213 has motor windings connected in a pentagonal pattern, and each connection point is connected to the positive side or negative side of the power supply using two transistors. Bipolar drive is performed using switching transistors. Furthermore, by feeding back the current value flowing through the motor and smoothly switching the current value, vibration and noise are prevented from occurring.

FIG. 15(a) shows a scan cycle of the imaging unit 37 driven by the stepping motor 213. The figure shows the relationship between the speed of the imaging unit 37, that is, the frequency applied to the stepping motor, and time when performing forward scanning and back scanning at a magnification of 50%, that is, the maximum movement speed. During acceleration, as shown in FIG. 6 (6), for example, 259 Hz is multiplied to a maximum of about 11 to 12 KHz.

By providing regularity to the pulse train in this way, repulse generation is simplified. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, regular acceleration is performed in a stepwise manner at 259 pps/3.9 ms to create a trapezoidal profile. In addition, a pause time is provided between the forward scan and back scan to wait for the vibration of the IIT mechanical system to decrease, and to wait for the vibration of the IIT mechanical system to decrease.
This is synchronized with the image output at T. In this embodiment, the scan cycle time is shortened by increasing the acceleration to 0.7G compared to the conventional one.

As mentioned above, when reading a color original, a major problem is how to reduce the positional deviation during four scans and the resulting color deviation or image distortion for the system. Figures 15(C) to 15(e) are diagrams for explaining the causes of color shift, and Figure 15(C) shows that the position at which the imaging unit scans and stops at the original position is different. , when starting next time, the time to the registration position will be different and color misregistration will occur. Also, the same figure (
As shown in 6), due to excessive vibration of the stepping motor (speed fluctuation until reaching a steady speed) within 4 scans, the time required to reach the registration position deviates and color misregistration occurs. In addition, the same figure (e) shows the variation in constant speed scanning characteristics from passing through the registration position to the tail edge, and it is clear that the variation in speed fluctuation in the first scan is larger than the variation in speed fluctuation in the second to fourth scans. It shows. Therefore, for example, during the first scan, Y is developed in which the color shift is less noticeable.

The causes of the color shift described above are thought to be mechanical instability factors such as aging of the timing belt 212 and the wires 204 and 205, and viscous resistance between the slide pad and the slide rails 202 and 203.

(C) IIT control method IIT! The I-mote has sequence control for various copy operations, a service support function, a self-diagnosis function, and a fail-safe function. IIT sequence control is divided into normal scan, sample scan, and initialization. Various commands and parameters for IIT control are sent from the SYS remote 71 via serial communication.

FIG. 16(a) shows a timing chart of normal scanning. The scan length data is set from 0 to 432 mm (1 mm steps) depending on the paper length and magnification, the scan speed is set according to the magnification (50% to 400%), and the briscan length (distance from the stop position to the registration position) data is also set by a magnification (50% to 400%). When a scan command is received, the FL ON signal turns on the fluorescent lamp, the 5CN-RDY signal turns on the motor driver, and after a predetermined timing, a shading correction pulse WHT-REF is generated to start scanning. When passing through the registration sensor, the image area signal IMG-AREA becomes low level for a predetermined scan length, and in synchronization with this, the IT-PS signal is output to the IPS.

FIG. 16 et al.) show a timing chart of sample scanning. The sample scan is used for color detection during color conversion, color balance correction and shading correction when using F/P. Based on the data of the stop position, movement speed, number of minute movements, and step interval from the register position,
Go to the desired sample position, pause or repeat small movements multiple times, then stop.

FIG. 16(C) shows a timing chart of initialization. When the power is turned on, it receives a command from the SYS remote, checks the register sensor, confirms the operation of the imaging unit by the register sensor, and corrects the home position of the imaging unit by the register sensor.

(D) Imaging unit FIG. 17 shows a cross-sectional view of the imaging unit 37, in which the original 220 is set with the image surface to be read facing downward on the platen glass 31, and the imaging unit 37 moves its lower surface in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure. Then, the document surface is exposed to light using a 30W daylight color fluorescent lamp 222 and a reflecting mirror 223. Then, by passing the reflected light from the original 220 through the SELFOC lens 224 and the cyan filter 225, a royal life-size image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 226. The SELFOC lens 224 is a compound lens consisting of four rows of fiber lenses, and because it is bright and has high resolution, the power of the light source can be kept low.
It also has the advantage of being compact. Further, the imaging unit 37 is equipped with a circuit board 227 including a CCD line sensor drive circuit, a CCD line sensor output buffer circuit, and the like. In addition, 228 is a lamp heater, 229 is a flexible cable for lighting power supply, 23
0 indicates a flexible cable for control signals.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the arrangement of the CCD line sensors 226. As shown in FIG. 18(a), five CCD line sensors 226a to 226e are arranged in a staggered manner in the main scanning direction X. This is because it is difficult to form a large number of light-receiving elements without missing parts and with uniform sensitivity due to the number of CCD line sensors, and when multiple CCD line sensors are arranged in one line, the CCD line This is because it is difficult to configure pixels to both ends of the sensor, resulting in unreadable areas.

The sensor section of this CCD line sensor 226 is shown in FIG.
), three color filters of R, G, and B are repeatedly arranged in this order on the surface of each pixel of the CCD line sensor 226, and three adjacent bits constitute one pixel during reading. The reading pixel density of each color is 16 dots/+a+s,
Assuming that the number of pixels per chip is 2928, the length of 1 chip is 2928/(16×3)=611III, and the total length of 5 chips is 61×5=305n. Therefore, as a result, a CCD line sensor of equal magnification capable of reading A3 size can be obtained. Furthermore, each R and GSB pixel is arranged at a 45 degree angle to reduce moiré.

In this way, a plurality of CCD line sensors 226a to 22
When the CCD line sensors 6e are arranged in a staggered manner, adjacent CCD line sensors scan different document surfaces. That is, when the CCD line sensor is moved in the sub-scanning direction Y orthogonal to the main scanning direction X of the CCD line sensor and a document is read, signals from the first row of CCD line sensors 226b and 228d that scan the document in advance are detected. A time difference corresponding to a positional difference between adjacent CCD line sensors occurs between the signal and the subsequent signals from the second row of CCD line sensors 226a, 226c, and 226e.

Therefore, in order to obtain one line of continuous signals from image signals divided and read by a plurality of CCD line sensors, at least the signals from the first row of CCD line sensors 226b and 226d that scan the document in advance are stored. A second row of CCD line sensors 226a, 226 follows.
It is necessary to read out the data in synchronization with the signal output from 226e and 226e. In this case, for example, if the amount of deviation is 250 μm and the resolution is 16 dots/fi, a delay of 4 lines is required.

Generally, reduction/enlargement in an image reading device is performed in the main scanning direction by IPS thinning and padding and other processing, and in the sub-scanning direction by increasing/decreasing the moving speed of the imaging unit 37. Therefore, the reading speed (the number of lines read per unit time) in the image reading device is fixed, and the resolution in the sub-scanning direction is changed by changing the moving speed. That is, for example, if the resolution is 16 dots/field when the reduction ratio is 100%, the relationship is as follows. Therefore, as the reduction ratio increases, the resolution increases, and therefore, the difference in the staggered arrangement mentioned above is 25
The number of line memories required to correct 0 μm also increases.

(E) Video signal processing circuit Next, as shown in FIG. 19, the CCD line sensor 226 is used to read the color original as a reflectance signal for each of R, G, and B, and convert this into a digital value as a density signal. The video signal processing circuit will be explained below.

The original is divided into 5 parts by the 5 CCD line sensors 226 in the imaging unit 37, separated into 5 channels into R, G, and B, and read, and each amplified to a predetermined level by the amplifier circuit 231. After that, it is transmitted to the circuit on the main body side via a transmission cable connecting the unit and the main body (Fig. 20, 231a). Next, in the sample-and-hold circuit SH232, noise is removed and waveform processing is performed using the sample-and-hold pulse SHP (FIG. 20, 232a). However, since the photoelectric conversion characteristics of a CCD line sensor differ for each pixel and each chip,
Even if originals with the same density are read, the output will be different, and if this is output as is, streaks and unevenness will occur in the image data. For this purpose, various correction processes are required.

Gain adjustment circuit AGC (8UTOMATIC GAIN
C0NTR0L) 233 adjusts the amplification factor of the sensor output signal. This is called white level adjustment, and in the circuit that amplifies the output of each sensor and inputs it to the A/D converter 235 via the AOC 234 (described later), the A/D
This is provided to reduce conversion errors. To do this, each sensor reads the white reference data, digitizes it, stores it in the shading RAM 240, and stores this one line of data in the SYS! Imo) 71 (
In FIG. 3), a comparison is made with a predetermined reference value, and a digital value that provides a predetermined gain is D/A converted and output to the AGC 233, so that the gain can be adjusted in 256 steps.

, t7 set t'l adjustment circuit A OC (AIITOMATI
COFS[1TCONTROL) 234 is called black level adjustment, and adjusts the dark output voltage of each sensor. To do this, the fluorescent light is turned off and the dark output is read by each sensor, this data is digitized and stored in the shading RAM 240, and this one line of data is stored in the SYS U mode) 71 (Figure 3). The offset value is compared with a predetermined reference value, and the offset value is D/A converted and output to the AOC 234, and the offset voltage is adjusted in 256 steps. The output of this AOC is 234 in Fig. 20.
As shown in a, the output density is adjusted to a specified value with respect to the density of the document to be finally read.

The data thus converted into digital values by the A/D converter 235 (Fig. 20, 235a) is GBRGBR.
It is output in the form of a continuous 8-bit data string. The delay amount setting circuit 236 is a memory that stores a plurality of lines, has a FIFO configuration, and has a first row of CCD line sensors 226b and 22 that scan the document in advance.
6d is stored, followed by the second column of CC.
It is output in synchronization with the signal output from the D line sensors 226a, 226c, and 226e.

The separation and synthesis circuit 237 has R, R, and R for each CCD line sensor.
After separating the G and B data, one line of the original is separated into each C.
This is to serially synthesize and output each R, G, and B of the CD line sensor. The converter 238 is composed of a ROM, and stores a logarithmic conversion table LUT "1". When a digital value is input as an address signal of the ROM, the reflectance of R, G, and B is determined by the logarithmic conversion table LUT=1". information is converted to concentration information.

Next, the shading correction circuit 239 will be explained.

Shading characteristics may be caused by variations in the light distribution characteristics of the light source, the amount of light decreasing at the edges of a fluorescent lamp, variations in sensitivity between each bit of a CCD line sensor, or variations in reflector, etc. These appear when there is dirt.

To this end, at the start of shading correction, the CCD line sensor receives the reflected light from the white plate that serves as the reference density data for shading correction, and the signal processing circuit performs A/D conversion and log conversion. Standard concentration data! Line memo for og (R1)! 1240. Next, scan the original and read the image data j! og(DI) to the reference concentration data log(Rt
), then Jog (Dt) log (Rt) = log
(Dt /R+), and the logarithm value of the data of each pixel subjected to shading correction is obtained. By performing shading correction after log conversion in this way, there is no need to build a hard logic divider in a complicated and large-scale circuit as in the past, and the calculation process can be simplified by using a general-purpose full adder IC. It can be carried out.

(II-3) Image output terminal (TOT) (A)
Schematic Structure FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of the image output terminal.

This device uses an organic photosensitive material (Bel) (Ph) as a photoreceptor.

to Receptor belt), and black (K), magenta (M), cyan (
C), a developing device 404 consisting of yellow (Y), and a transfer device (TowRoll Tr) that conveys the paper to the transfer unit.
ansfer Loop) 406, and a vacuum conveyance device (Va) that conveys the paper from the transfer device 404 to the fixing device 408.
Cuum Transfer) 407, paper tray 4
10.412, a paper conveyance path 411 is provided, and the three units of a photosensitive material belt, a developing device, and a transfer device are configured to be pulled out to the front side.

The information light obtained by modulating the laser light from the laser light source 40 is irradiated onto the sensitive material 41 via the mirror 41]d to perform exposure and form a latent image.

The image formed on the photosensitive material is developed by a developing device 404 to form a toner image. The developing machine 404 is KSM, C.
, Y, and are arranged in the positional relationship as shown in the figure.

This arrangement takes into account, for example, the relationship between dark attenuation and the characteristics of each toner, and the difference in influence caused by mixing other toners with black toner. However, in the case of full color copying, the driving order is YCM-.

On the other hand, the other 410° consisting of two elevator trays
The paper fed from the tray 412 of the stage is transported through the conveyance path 411.
The image is supplied to the transfer device 406 through the transfer device 406 . Transfer device 406
is placed in the transfer section and consists of two rolls connected by a timing chain or belt and a gripper bar as described below.The gripper bar grips the paper and transports the paper, transferring the toner image on the photosensitive material. Transfer it to paper. 4
In the case of full color, the paper rotates 4 times in the transfer unit, and the Y
The images on 1C and 1C are transferred in this order. After the transfer, the paper is released from the gripper bar, transferred from the transfer device to a vacuum conveyance device 407, fixed by a fixing device 408, and then discharged.

The vacuum conveyance device 407 is connected to the transfer device 406 and the fixing device 40.
It absorbs the speed difference with 8 and maintains synchronization. In this device, the transfer speed (process speed) is 190 fl
/sec, and in the case of full color copying, the fixing speed is 90 mm/sec, so the transfer speed and fixing speed are different.

In order to ensure the degree of fixation, the process speed is reduced, and on the other hand, in order to achieve 1.5 kVA, power cannot be applied to the fuser.

Therefore, in the case of small paper such as B5 or A4, the transferred paper is released from the transfer device 406 and transferred to the vacuum conveyance device 40.
7, the speed of the vacuum transfer device is set to 190m/sec.
c to 90 mm/sec to make it the same as the fixing speed. However, in this device, the space between the transfer device and the fixing device is kept as short as possible to make the device compact, so A3 paper cannot fit between the transfer point and the fixing device, and the speed of the vacuum conveyance device is reduced. If you drop it, the A3
Since the trailing edge is being transferred, a brake is applied to the paper, resulting in color misregistration. Therefore, a baffle plate 409 is installed between the fixing device and the vacuum conveyance device, and in the case of A3 paper, the baffle plate is tilted downward to make the paper draw a loop and lengthen the conveyance path. The leading edge of the paper reaches the fixing device after the transfer is completed at the same speed as the transfer speed, thereby absorbing the speed difference. Further, in the case of OHP, heat conduction is poor, so the same method as in the case of A3 paper is used.

Note that this device is capable of copying not only full color but also black without reducing productivity. In the case of black, there is a small toner layer and it is possible to fix even with a small amount of heat, so the fixing speed is 190 rats/ sec,
No speed reduction is performed in the vacuum transfer device. This is done in the same way when the toner layer is one layer other than black, such as a single color toner, because the fixing speed can be reduced. When the transfer is completed, the toner remaining on the photosensitive material is scraped off by a cleaner 405.

(B) Structure of transfer device The transfer device 406 has a structure as shown in FIG. 22(a).

The transfer device of this apparatus is characterized by having a structure that does not have a mechanical paper support to prevent color unevenness and the like, and by controlling the speed to increase the transfer speed.

The paper is ejected from the tray by a feed head 421, conveyed through a buckle chamber 422 driven by a vapor pass servo 423, and supplied to the transfer device via a registration gate 425 whose opening and closing are controlled by a registration gate solenoid 426. A pre-registration gate sensor 424 detects that the paper has reached the registration gate. The transfer device is driven by a servo motor 432 driving a roller 433 via a timing belt.
It is rotating counterclockwise. The rollers 434 are not particularly driven, and two timing chains or belts are hung between the rollers, and between the chains (in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction), the chains are normally closed with elasticity, and the transfer A solenoid opens the mouth at the device entrance (gripper bar 4
30 is provided, and the transfer device conveys the paper by holding it in its mouth and pulling it around. Conventionally, paper was supported by attaching a Mylar sheet or mesh to an aluminum or steel support, but due to differences in thermal expansion coefficients, unevenness was created, resulting in poor transfer efficiency. In contrast, color unevenness occurred due to differences in color.
By using this gripper bar, there is no need to provide a special support for the paper, and the occurrence of color unevenness can be prevented.

The transfer device does not have a support for the paper to be conveyed, and the paper will be thrown outward by centrifugal force at the rollers.To prevent this, two rollers are vacuumed and the paper is transferred to the rollers. The paper bows toward the direction of the paper, and as it passes the rollers, it is transported while fluttering. At the transfer point, the paper is attracted by electrostatic force toward the sensitive material on which the corotron and transfer corotron are arranged, and the transfer is performed. After the transfer is completed, the gripper home sensor 436 detects the position at the exit of the transfer device, and at an appropriate timing, a solenoid opens the gripper bar to release the paper.
It will be passed to the vacuum transfer device 413.

Therefore, when the paper is in the transfer device, the - sheet is fed four times in the case of full color, and three times in the case of three colors, to perform the transfer.

The timing M control of the servo motor 432 is shown in FIG. 22(b).
This is explained by: In the transfer device, the servo motor 432 may be controlled at a constant speed during transfer, and once the transfer is completed, the latent image may be transferred to the paper or the edge may be controlled to synchronize with the transfer point of the next latent image. On the other hand, the length of the sensitive material belt 41 is such that latent images are formed on three sheets of A4 paper and two sheets of A3 paper, and the length of the belt 435 is slightly longer than the length of A3 paper (approximately 4 /3 times) is set.

Therefore, when performing color copying on A4 paper, the servo motor 432 is controlled at a constant speed when transferring the first color latent image I, and when transfer 1 is completed, the second color is transferred to the paper. The servo motor is rapidly accelerated and controlled so as to be synchronized with the tip of the latent image I. In addition, in the case of A3 paper, when the transfer of the first color latent image 1 is completed, the servo motor is decelerated so that the lead edge transferred to the paper is synchronized with the leading edge of the second color latent image 2. Control to wait.

(II-4>User interface (U/I')
(A> Adoption of color display Figure 23 is a diagram showing the state and appearance of the installation of a user interface device using a display, and Figure 24 is a diagram to explain the corners and height of the installation of the user interface. It is.

The user interface supports easy-to-understand interaction between the operator and the machine, and must enable simple operation and clearly relate information while impressing the operator with the necessary information. To this end, in the present invention, we created an original user interface that corresponds to the user's usage, making it easy for beginners to understand and not bothersome for experts, and allowing direg B1 creation when selecting the content of the function. There is something
By using color, the aim of operability is to convey information to the operator more accurately and quickly, and to concentrate operations in one place as much as possible.

When it comes to copying machines, the more reliable they are with a variety of functions, the higher the reputation of the device will be. However, if those functions are difficult to use, the value will drop dramatically even if it has excellent functions. On the contrary, it becomes an expensive device. As a result, even if the device is a highly functional model, it is difficult to use and the overall evaluation of the device is significantly lowered. From this point of view, the user interface is a factor that greatly influences whether a device is easy to use or not, and especially as copying machines become more multi-functional in recent years, the operability of the user interface becomes an issue. .

In order to improve such operability, the user interface of the present invention includes a hard control panel 502 next to the monitor top of a 12-inch color display 501, as shown in FIG. The color display is designed to provide the user with a menu that is easy to see and understand, and the color display 501 is combined with an infrared touch board 503 to allow direct access using soft buttons on the screen. Furthermore, by efficiently distributing operation contents to the hard buttons on the hard control panel 502 and the soft buttons displayed on the screen of the color display 501, it is possible to simplify the operation and efficiently configure the menu screen.

On the back side of the color display 501 and the hard control panel 502, there is a monitor control/power board 504 and a video engine board 50, as shown in FIGS.
5. CRT driver board 50H! When the J card is installed, the hard control panel 502 has an angle such that it faces further toward the center than the surface of the color display 501, as shown in FIG. 5(C).

Further, the color display 501 and the hard control panel 502 are not directly mounted on the pace machine (copying machine main body) 507 as shown, but are mounted on a support arm 508 erected on the pace machine 507. If a stand-type color display 501 is used instead of a conventional console panel, it can be mounted three-dimensionally above the base machine 507 as shown in FIG. 23(a). By placing the color display 501 at the back right corner of the base machine 507 as shown in FIG. 24(a), the size of the copier can be designed without considering the console panel, making the device compact. It is possible to aim for

In a copying machine, the height of the platen, that is, the height of the device, is designed to be at a comfortable waist height for setting a document, and this height regulates the height of the device.

Conventional console panels are mounted on the top of the copier, so they are located at waist height and close to your hand, making them easy to operate, but they are also placed quite far away from your eyes to allow you to select functions and set execution conditions. An operating section and a display section will be arranged for this purpose. In this regard, the user interface of the present invention is positioned higher than the platen, that is, close to eye level, as shown in FIG.
Moreover, it is on the right side, making it easier to operate. Moreover, by bringing the height of the display close to eye level, the space underneath can be used effectively as space for installing optional kits such as user interface control boards, memory card devices, and key counters. . Therefore, there is no need to make any structural changes to attach the memory card device, and the memory card device can be added without changing the appearance at all, and at the same time, the display can be installed in a position and height that is easy to see. Additionally, the display may be fixed at a predetermined angle;
Of course, a structure that allows the angle to be changed may be used.

(B) System Configuration FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the module configuration of the user interface, and FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user interface.

The modular configuration of the user interface of the present invention is as follows:
As shown in FIG. 25, it consists of a video display module 511 that controls the display screen of a color display 501, and an edit pad interface module 512 that processes information on an edit pad 513 and a memory card 514. Controls Luciste AUI517.519 and subsystem 5
15, touch screen 503, control panel 5
02 is connected to the video display module 511.

The edit pad interface module 512 receives the X and Y coordinates from the edit pad 513 and the job and X coordinates from the memory card 514.

In addition to inputting the Y coordinate, video map display information is sent to the video display module 511, and a U control signal is exchanged with the video display module 511.

By the way, area specification includes marker specification, which specifies an area on the document with a red or blue marker and performs cropping or color conversion, two-point specification using the coordinates of a rectangular area, and closed loop specification, which is traced using the edit pad. However, marker designation requires no particular data, and two-point designation requires little data, while closed loop designation requires a large amount of data as an area to be edited. Editing of this data is performed by IPS, but the amount of data is too large to transfer at high speed. Therefore, such X, Y coordinate data is configured to use a dedicated transfer line to the IIT/IPS 516, separate from the general data transfer line.

The video display module 511 inputs the vertical position of the touch screen 503 (coordinate position R of the touch screen), recognizes the button ID, and inputs the button ID of the control panel 502. Then, the button ID is sent to the system UI 517.519, and a display request is received from the system UI 517.519. Also,
A subsystem (ESS) 515 is connected to, for example, a workstation or host CPU, and is a printer controller when this apparatus is used as a laser printer. In this case, information on the touch screen 503, control panel 502, and keyboard (not shown) is
The content of the display screen is transferred as is to the subsystem 515, and the content of the display screen is sent from the subsystem 515 to the video display module 511.

The system UI 517.519 exchanges information on the copy mode and machine state with the master controller 518.520. Corresponding to FIG. 4 described above, one of the system UIs 517 and 519 is the SYS remote 5YSUI module 81 shown in FIG. 4, and the other is the MCB remote MCBUI module 86 shown in FIG.

The user interface of the present invention includes a UICB 521 and an EPIB 52 as hardware, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of two control boards consisting of 2, and its functions are broadly divided into two, corresponding to the above module configuration. The UICB 521 controls the UL hardware and has an edit pad 513 and a memory card 514.
In order to drive, there is also a touch screen 503
Two CPUs (e.g., Intel's 8085 equivalent and 6845 equivalent) are used to process the 0 input and write it to the CRT, and furthermore, the EPIB522 has an insufficient ability to draw in the bitmap area at 8 bits. Therefore, a 16-bit CPU (for example, Intel's 80C196KA
) to DMA the drawing data of the bitmap area.
Functional distribution is achieved by configuring the data to be transferred to the UICB 521.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the configuration of the UICB.

In addition to the above-mentioned CPUs, the UICB has a CPU 534 (for example, equivalent to Intel's 8051), and the CCC 531 is connected to the high-speed communication line L-NET and the communication line of the optional keyboard, and the CPU 534 and CCC 531 control communication. is also used for touch screen drives. The touch screen signal is sent from the CPU 534 to the CCC 5 with its coordinate position information intact.
31 to the CPU 532, and the CPU 532
The button ID is recognized and processed. It is also connected to the control panel through the input port 551 and output port 552, and from the EPIB 522 and subsystem (ESS) through the subsystem interface 548, receiver 549, and driver 550.
Video data is received and received at IMbps along with the Z clock, and commands and status information can be exchanged at 9600 bps.

The memory is BootR, which stores the bootstrap.
In addition to OM535, frame ROM538 and 539, RA
M536, bitmap RAM537, V-RAM54
It has 2. Frame ROMs 538 and 539 are memories in which display screen data is stored not in a bit map but in a data structure that is easy to handle with software, and when a display request is sent through L-NET,
First, drawing data is generated by the CPU 532 using the RAM 536 as a work area, and written to the V-RAM 542 by the DMA 541 . Further, the bitmap data is transferred by the DMA 540 from the EPIB 522 to the bitmap RAM 537 and written therein. Character generator 544 is for graphic tiles, and text character generator 543 is for character tiles. The V-RAM 542 is managed by a tile code, which consists of 24 bits (3 bytes), 13 bits for tile type information, 2 bits for identification information of text, graphics, or bitmap, and 1 bit for tile type information.
One bit is used for blink information, five bits are used for tile color information, and three bits are used for background or foreground information. CRT controller 533
develops the display screen based on the tile code information written in the V-RAM 542, and displays the shift register 545.
, multiplexer 546, and color palette 547 to send the video data to the CRT. The drawing of the bitmap area is switched by a shift register 545.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the configuration of EPIB.

The EPIB includes a 16-bit CPU (for example, equivalent to Intel's 80CI9BKA) 555, a boot page code ROM 556, an OS page code ROM 557, an area memory 558, and a RAM 5 used as a work area.
It has 59. And interface 5611
U through driver 562 and driver/receiver 563
The high-speed communication interface 5 transfers bitmap data, commands, and status information to the ICB.
64, the X and Y coordinate data are transferred to the lPS through the driver 565. Note that reading/writing to/from the memory card 525 is performed through the interface 560.

Therefore, the edit pad 524 and memory card 5
When the closed-loop editing area designation information and copy mode information are manually entered from 25, these information are appropriately transferred to the UICB through an interface 561 and a driver 562, and to the IPS through a high-speed communication interface 564 and a driver 565, respectively.

(C) Display screen configuration Even when using a display as a user interface, the amount of information needed to provide information corresponding to multi-functionality increases, so if you think about it simply, a large display area is required, making it difficult to make it more compact. This has the aspect of making it difficult to respond. When a compact size display is adopted, it becomes difficult to provide all necessary information on one screen not only because of display density issues, but also because it is difficult to provide a screen that is easy for the operator to view and understand.

In the user interface of the present invention, a compact size display is used, and the display screen and its control are devised.

In particular, color displays have the advantage of being able to adopt a variety of display modes by controlling color, brightness, and other display attributes compared to the LEDs and liquid crystal displays used in console panels. Various efforts have been made to display information in an easy-to-understand manner, regardless of size.

For example, by broadly classifying the information displayed on the screen and dividing it into multiple screens, and then, for each screen, creating a pop-up with detailed information and omitting it from the primary screen, the screen can be configured concisely with the minimum necessary information. We are trying to do this. For screens containing multiple pieces of information, features of color display and highlighted display are designed to make it easier to recognize and identify the necessary information on the screen.

(a) Screen layout FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the display screen.
Figure (a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the basic copy screen, Figure 2) is a diagram showing an example of a pop-up screen expanded to the basic copy screen, and Figure (C) is a diagram showing the configuration of one creative editing paint screen. It is.

In the user interface of the present invention, a basic copy screen for setting a copy mode as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed as an initial screen. The screen for setting the copy mode constitutes a software control panel, which is divided into two areas, message area 8 and busway area, as shown in FIG.

Message area A uses the top three lines of the screen,
Predetermined messages are displayed on the first line for state messages, and on the second and third lines for guidance messages when there is a contradiction in function selection, messages regarding abnormal conditions of the device, and warning information messages.

The right end of the message area A is a sheet count display area where the set number of copies manually entered using the numeric keypad and the number of sheets currently being copied are displayed.

Pathway B is an area for selecting various functions,
It has each pathway of basic copy, aid feature, marker editing, business editing, free hand editing, creative editing, and tool, and a pathway tab C is displayed corresponding to each pathway. Additionally, each pathway has a pop-up to improve operability.

Pathway B displays a soft button D that is an option and selects a function when touched, an icon (picture) E that changes depending on the selected function and displays that function, an indicator F that displays the zoom ratio, etc. and soft button D
△ pop-up mark G on the item that will be popped up with
is attached. By touching the busway tab C, the pathway can be opened, and by touching the soft button D, the function can be selected. The selection of functions by touching the soft button D is designed to be operated in order from the upper left to the lower right in consideration of operability.

As mentioned above, the basic copy screen and others are separated to maximize commonality with other models and with the hard console panel, and the editing screen provides screens and functions tailored to the skill level of the operator. It has a multi-layer structure so that Furthermore, by combining such a screen configuration with a pop-up function, a screen that is easy to use in a variety of ways is provided, such as displaying advanced or complex functions within a single screen as a pop-up.

A pop-up has detailed setting information for a specific function, and by having a pop-up opening function and opening the detailed setting information as needed, the screen structure of each pathway can be easily viewed. I keep it simple. A pop-up opens when a soft button with a pop-up mark is touched. Then, it closes when the close button or cancel button is selected, when the all clear button is pressed, when all clear is applied by the auto clear function, etc. FIG. 29(b) shows the state of the screen when a pop-up is opened by touching the magnification soft button in the reduction/enlargement function.

When the creative editing busway tab is touched on the basic copy screen, the screen changes to the creative editing busway screen, of which the Paint 1 screen is shown in FIG. 29(C). This screen has a bitmap area H and a guidance message area ■. The bitmap area H is located at the upper left of the screen, and when an editing area is specified on the edit pad, the area can be displayed as a bitmap in black and white. Further, the guidance message area (3) uses the lower left corner of the screen to guide the user in response to editing work, and changes depending on the work. On the screen, the area excluding the first leading message area I on the bitmap area and the message area A at the top of the screen is used as a work area.

(b) Basic copy screen As shown in Figure 29 (a), the basic copy busway has soft buttons (options) for selecting each function: color mode, paper selection, reduction/enlargement, copy image quality, color balance, and job program. It also has busway tabs for marker editing, business editing, freehand editing, creative editing, aid feature, and tools. This bus and ray are initial pathways, and are displayed when the power is turned on, after turning on the all clear button, and when auto clearing, etc.

The color mode is full color (4 bus color), which makes copies using 4 types of toner: Y, M, and C5K, and 3 colors excluding K.
It has 3-pass color that copies with seed toner, single color that allows you to select one color from 12 colors, black, and black/red, and the automatically selected default can be set as desired. Here, since the single color and black/red options have detailed setting items, those items are expanded as a pop-up.

Paper selection is automatic paper selection (APS), ) Ray 1.2,
Cassette 3.4 options are available, and APS is valid when a specific magnification is set for reduction/enlargement, but not valid when automatic magnification (AMS) is set. The default is APS.

Reduction/enlargement is 100%, AMS sets the magnification based on the paper size and original size when paper is selected,
It has options for arbitrary magnification, and the set magnification, calculated magnification, or automatic is displayed on the top indicator. In variable magnification, the magnification can be set in 1% increments in the range from 50% to 400%, and the vertical and horizontal magnifications can also be set independently (unbalanced magnification). Therefore, these detailed setting items are expanded as a pop-up. Note that the default is 10.
It is 0%.

As mentioned earlier, this reduction/enlargement can be achieved in the sub-scanning direction (X direction) by changing the scan speed, and in the main scanning direction (Y direction) by changing the reading method from the IPS line memory.
direction).

Copy image quality has two options: automatic, which performs automatic density adjustment for black-and-white originals, and automatic color balance adjustment for color originals, and manual, which allows 7-step density control via pop-up. It will be done.

For color balance, specify the color you want to reduce on the copy from Y, M, C, B, G%R by pop-up, and select IPS
The control is performed at

The job program options are valid only when the memory card is inserted into the slot of the reader, and in this mode, a pop-up allows you to select between reading jobs from the memory card and writing jobs to the memory card.

For example, the memory card can store up to 8 jobs.
Use a film projector with a byte capacity.
All jobs except modes are programmable.

(c) Aidit feature screen The Aidit feature pathway has soft buttons (choices) for selecting each function: copy output, copy sharpness, copy contrast, copy position, film projector, page programming, job program, binding margin. It also has pathway tabs for marker editing, business editing, freehand editing, creative editing, basic copy, and tools.

Copy output has the option of outputting to the top tray or sorting mode. The default is the top tray, and if a sorter is not installed, this item will not be displayed.

Copy sharpness is 7 for standard and pop-up.
It has a manual that allows you to control the steps, and pop-up options for photos that are categorized into photos, text (characters), prints, and photos/text, and these controls are performed in the IPS. The default can be set arbitrarily.

For copy contrast, you can select a 7-step contrast control. The copy position has the option of an auto-center function that places the center of the copy image on the center of the paper by default.

As explained in a separate section, the film projector is a mode for making copies from various types of film.
5mm positive, 35mm negative or 6cm x 6 on the platen
There are options for cm slides and 4' x 5' slides.

Page programming includes a cover for covering copies, an insert for inserting blank or colored paper between copies, a color mode that can be set for each page of the original, and a paper option that allows you to select a tray for each page of the original. Note that this item will not be displayed unless you have an ADF.

The binding margin can be set in 1 mm increments within the range of 0 to 30 mm, and only one position can be specified for each document. The binding amount is the amount from the leading edge of the paper to the leading edge of the image area, and is generated in the main scanning direction by a shift operation using the IPS line buffer, and in the sub-scanning direction by shifting the scan timing of the IIT.

(d) Editing screen and tool screen There are four pathways for editing screens: marker editing, business editing, freehand editing, and creative editing.

Marker editing pathway and freehand editing pathway have options for each function related to extraction, deletion, coloring (halftone/line/solid), and color conversion, and also have pathway tabs for basic copy, aid feature, and tool.

Business editing pathways include extraction, deletion, and coloring (shading/shading).
It has options for each function related to line/solid), color conversion, color filling, logo insertion, and binding margin, and it also has pathway tabs for basic copy, edit feature, and tool, just like the marker editing pathway.

The creative editing pathway includes extraction, deletion, coloring (halftone/line/solid), color conversion, color filling, logo insertion, binding margin, negative/positive inversion, inset composition, watermark composition, paint, mirror image, repeat, enlarged continuous shooting. , R official business o, corner/center movement, manual/auto magnification, manual/auto polarization, color mode, color balance adjustment, page continuous copying, color composition, and similar to the marker editing pathway, etc. Basic covey aided feature, with Pathways tab of the tool.

The tool pathway is entered by the key operator and customer engineer by manually inputting the PIN number, and is used to set up the audiotron, machine initial values,
Default selection for each function, color registration, film type registration, fine adjustment of registered colors, presetting of various machine options, film projector scan area setting, audio tone (sound type, volume), paper transport system, and other miscellaneous items It has options for various functions such as timer settings (such as auto clear), pilling meter, dual language settings, diagnostic mode, maximum value adjustment, and memory card formatting.

Default selections are color mode, paper selection, copy density, copy sharpness, copy contrast, paper tray for page programming, single color, color pallet color and shade for tinting, logotype pattern, binding position, and color. The subject is balance.

(e) Other screen control user interfaces constantly monitor the execution status of copying, and if a jam occurs, display a screen appropriate for the jam.

Further, in the function setting, an information screen is provided for the currently displayed screen, and the screen is set to be able to be displayed as appropriate.

Note that the screen display has a width of 3, excluding the bitmap area.
It uses a tiled display of mm (8 pixels) and height of 6 mm (16 pixels), with 80 tiles horizontally and 25 tiles vertically. The bitmap area is 151 pixels vertically,
Displayed at 216 pixels horizontally.

As described above, in the user interface of the present invention, the display screen is switched according to each mode such as basic copy, edit feature, and edit, and menus for selecting functions and setting execution conditions are displayed in each mode. At the same time, by touching soft buttons, you can specify options and enter execution condition data manually. In addition, depending on the menu option, detailed items are displayed in a pop-up (superimposed display or window display) to expand the displayed content. As a result, even if there are many selectable functions and setting conditions, the display screen can be kept clean and operability can be improved; (D) Hard Control Panel The hard control panel is designed as shown in Figure 23. It is attached to the right side of the color display at an angle that points further toward the center than the screen, and the numeric keypad, numeric keypad clear, all clear, stop, interrupt, start, information, audiotron, and language buttons are attached.

The numeric keypad buttons are used to set the number of copies, input codes and data in the diagnosis mode, and input passwords when using tools, and are disabled while a job is being generated or a job is interrupted.

The All Clear button is used to return all set copy modes to their defaults and return to the Basic Copy screen, except for Oven on the Tools screen.While setting an interrupt job, the copy mode returns to the default. , interrupt mode is not released.

The stop button is used to interrupt the job at a copy break during job execution and to stop the machine after ejecting the copy paper. Furthermore, in the diagnosis mode, it is used to stop (interrupt) checking of human output, etc.

The interrupt button is used to enter an interrupt mode during a primary job except when a job is interrupted, and to return to the primary job during an interrupt job.

If this button is operated during execution of the primary job, the printer enters a reservation state, interrupts or ends the job at the end of copy paper ejection, and enters an interrupt job.

The start button is used to start a job and restart it after interruption, and in the diagnosis mode, it is used to manually save code values and data values, start manual output, etc. If the start button is scanned while the machine is preheating, the machine will auto-start when the preheating ends.

The information button consists of an on button and an off button, and is in a ready state except when copying is in progress, and is used to display the information screen for the currently displayed screen with the on button, and to retreat with the off button. It is.

The Auditron button is operated to enter a password when starting a job.

The language button is operated to switch the language on the display screen. Therefore, each display screen has data in multiple languages so that it can be selected.

In addition to the buttons listed above, the hard control panel also has LEDs as appropriate to display the operation status of the buttons.
<Light-emitting diode) lamp is installed.

(II-5) Film image reading device (A) Schematic structure of film image reading device As shown in FIG. 2, the film image reading device includes a film projector (F/P) 64 and a mirror unit (M
/U)65.

(Δ-1) Configuration of F/P As shown in FIG.
3. An autofocus/manual focus changeover switch (AF/MF changeover switch) 604 and manual focus operation switches (M/PI operation switches) 605a and 605b are provided. Further, the housing 601 includes an opening/closing part 606 that can be opened and closed.

A document film 6 is provided on the top and side surfaces of this opening/closing section 606.
Holes 608 and 609 are respectively formed in a size that allows the film holding case 607 holding the original film 633 to be inserted vertically or horizontally into the housing 601 depending on how the subject recorded on the original film 633 is to be photographed. has been done. A hole (not shown) through which the film holding case 607 can protrude is also provided on the opposite side of the holes 608 and 609. The opening/closing part 606 is rotatably attached to the housing 601 by a hinge, or detachably attached to the housing 601. By making the opening/closing part 606 freely openable and closable,
This allows small foreign matter to be easily removed when it enters the housing 601 through the holes 608, 609.

The film holding case 607 includes a case for 35 mm negative film and a case for positive film. Therefore, F and /P64 are designed to be compatible with these films. Also, F/P 6
4 is designed to be able to handle negative films of 6cm x 6cm or 4 Vch x 5 channels. In that case, this negative film is attached to M/U65 and platen glass 31.
The platen glass is placed in close contact with the 3rd platen glass.

As shown in FIG. 33, a projection lens holding member 611 that holds a projection lens 610 is slidably supported on the right side of the housing 601 in the drawing.

Further, inside the housing 601, a beam flap 612 and a light source lamp 6I3 made of a halogen lamp or the like are arranged coaxially with the projection lens 610. A cooling fan 614 for cooling the lamp 613 is provided near the lamp 613. Further, on the right side of the lamp 613, an aspherical lens 615 for converging the light from the lamp 613, a heat ray absorption filter 616 for cutting light rays of a predetermined wavelength, and a convex lens 617 are arranged coaxially with the projection lens 610. is placed on top.

To the right of the convex lens 617 is a correction filter holder that supports a correction filter 635 (the correction filter for one film is shown in the figure) for adjusting the film density for, for example, 35 mm negative film and positive film. A member 618, a motor 619 for driving the correction filter holding member 618, and first and second position detection sensors 62 that detect the rotational position of the correction filter holding member 618.
An automatic correction filter exchange device is provided, each having a control device (provided within the F/P 64 but not shown) for controlling the 0° 621 and the drive motor 619. Of the correction filters 635 supported by the correction filter holding member 618, the original film 6
A correction filter 635 corresponding to No. 33 is automatically selected so as to be aligned with the use position coaxially with each lens such as the projection lens 610. The correction filter 635 of this correction filter automatic exchange device can be placed anywhere on the optical axis of the projection light, such as between the platen glass 31 and the imaging unit 37, for example.

Furthermore, it includes a light emitter 623 and a light receiver 624 for an autofocus sensor that are linked to the projection lens holding member 611, and a sliding motor 625 that slides the projection lens holding member 611 of the projection lens 610 with respect to the housing 601. An autofocus device is provided. When the film holding case 607 is inserted into the housing 601 through the hole 608 or 609, the original film 633 supported by the film holding case 607 is placed between the correction filter holding member 618, the light emitter 623, and the light receiver 624. Being located.

A film cooling fan 626 for cooling the original film 633 is provided near the position where the original film 635 is set.

The power supply for this F/P 64 is provided separately from the power supply for the base machine 30, but is housed within the base machine 30.

(A-2>M/U Configuration As shown in FIG. 31, the mirror unit 65 includes a bottom plate 627 and a cover 628, one end of which is rotatably attached to the bottom plate 627. Bottom plate A pair of support pieces 629 and 629 are pivotally mounted between the cover 627 and the cover 628, and these support pieces 629 and 629 support the cover 628 and the bottom plate 6 when the cover 628 is opened to the maximum.
The cover 628 is supported so that the angle formed with the cover 628 is 45 degrees.

A mirror 630 is provided on the back surface of the cover 628. Further, a large opening is formed in the bottom plate 627, and a Fresnel lens 631 and a diffusion plate 632 are provided so as to close this opening.

As shown in FIG. 33, the Fresnel lens 631 and the diffusion plate 632 are made of a single acrylic plate, and the Fresnel lens 631 is formed on the front surface of this acrylic plate, and the diffusion plate 632 is formed on the back surface of the acrylic plate. A plate 632 is formed. The Fresnel lens 631 has a function of preventing the periphery of the image from becoming dark by converting the projection light that is reflected by the mirror 630 and attempting to diffuse into parallel light. Further, the diffusion plate 632 diffuses a small amount of parallel light in order to prevent the line sensor 226 from detecting the shadow of the Selfoc lens 224 in the imaging unit 37 formed by the parallel light from the Fresnel lens 631. It has a function.

When the mirror unit 65 is not making color copies using the F/P 64, it is folded and stored in a predetermined storage location. When the mirror unit 65 is used, it is opened and placed at a predetermined location on the platen glass 31 of the base machine 30.

(B) Main functions of the film image reading device The film image reading device has the following main functions.

(B-1) Correction filter automatic exchange function The halogen lamp generally used as the light source lamp 613 in the F/P 64 has the following spectral characteristics: - For boat fishing, there is a lot of red (R) and a little blue (B). Therefore, when a film is projected using this lamp 613, the projection light is red (R).
), green (G) and blue (B) are affected by the spectral characteristics of the lamp 613. Therefore, when projecting using a halogen lamp, it is necessary to correct the spectral characteristics.

On the other hand, there are many types of film for recording images, such as negative film and positive film (there are also several types of negative film itself or positive film itself.

Each of these films has different spectral properties. For example, a negative film has an orange color and has a high transmittance of R, but a low transmittance of B. Therefore, in a negative film, it is necessary to correct the spectral characteristics so as to increase the amount of B light.

Therefore, the F/P 64 is provided with a correction filter for correcting such spectral characteristics.

The F/P 64 allows these correction filters to be replaced automatically. The correction filter is replaced by the above-mentioned correction filter automatic exchange device. That is, the system (SYS) causes the correction filter corresponding to the original film 633 to be set at the use position.
When a 2-bit command signal is output from the internal microprocessor (CPU), the control device
The 2-bit signal from the position detection sensor 620.621 is C
The drive motor 619 is controlled to match the signal from the PU. Then, when the signals from the sensors 620 and 621 match the CPU signal, the control device stops the motor 619.

When the motor 619 stops, the correction filter corresponding to the original film is automatically set to the use position.

Therefore, the correction filter can be replaced easily and accurately.

(B-2) Original film insertion direction detection function Original film 633 is inserted into insertion holes 608 and 60 formed in opening/closing part 606.
In other words, the original film 633 can be inserted from any of the holes 9, that is, the original film 633 can be inserted from two directions, vertically and horizontally, depending on how the subject is to be photographed. In that case, the insertion hole 608.60
A film detection switch is provided on at least one of 9. That is, at least one film detection switch is provided. When the film detection switch is provided on the hole 608 side but not on the hole 609 side, the film holding case 607. When the film is inserted through the hole 608 and the film is detected, it is turned on and outputs a detection signal. When this detection signal is present, the required area of the line sensor 226 is set vertically, that is, the sub-scanning direction is set in the longitudinal direction of the projected image.

Furthermore, when the film holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 609, this switch remains off and does not output a detection signal. When there is no detection signal, the required area is set horizontally, that is, so that the main scanning direction is the longitudinal direction of the projected image.

Similarly, when the film detection switch is provided only on the hole 609 side, or when the film detection switch is provided on both the hole 608 and 609 sides,
When the film holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 608, the required area of the line sensor 226 is such that the sub-scanning direction is the longitudinal direction of the projected image, and when the film holding case 607 is inserted through the hole 609, the line sensor 226 is required area. 2
In the required area 26, the on/off signal of the film detection switch is set so that the main scanning direction is the longitudinal direction of the projected image.

(B-3) Autofocus function (AP function) When the film holding case 607 is attached to the F/P 64, an accuracy of several tens of mm is required for the attachment position of the original film 633. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the focus after mounting the original film 633. When performing this focusing manually, the image of the original film 633 is projected onto the diffuser plate 632 of the M/U 65 set at a predetermined position on the platen glass 31, and the projection lens holding member 611 is slid while viewing the projected image. It has to be done by moving.

In that case, the image projected onto the diffuser plate 632 is extremely difficult to see, making it extremely difficult to focus accurately.

Therefore, when the original film 633 is mounted on the F/P 64, the F/P 64 is configured to be able to automatically adjust the focus.

This AF function is performed by the above-mentioned AF device as follows.

By operating the keys on the display of the U/136 to switch to F/P mode, the light emitter 623 emits light, and in FIG. 30, the AF/MP selector switch 604 of the F/P 64 is selected to AF. By doing so, the AF device becomes ready for operation. As shown in FIG. 33, a film case 60 containing an original film 633
7 is attached to the F/P 64, the light from the light emitter 623 will be reflected by this original film 633,
The reflected light is used for AF by a two-element type light receiver 62, for example.
Detected by 4.

Then, the two elements of the light receiver 624 output to the CPU 634 a signal of a magnitude corresponding to the amount of reflected light detected by each element. The CPU 634 calculates the difference between these signals, and when the result of the calculation is not 0, it issues an output signal and drives the motor 625 in a direction that reduces the difference between the signals from the two elements. Therefore, as the projection lens holding member 611 slides, the light emitter 623 and the light receiver 6
24 move together. Then, when the difference between the output signals from the two elements becomes 0, the CPU 634 stops the motor 625. The image is in focus when the motor 625 stops.

In this way, AP operation is performed. This eliminates the need for manual focusing each time a film case containing original film is attached to the F/P 64. Therefore, not only is it time-saving, but also copying failures due to out-of-focus can be prevented.

(B-4) Manual focus function (MFfi function) By switching the AF/MP changeover switch 604 to MF, the lamp 613 is automatically turned on for a predetermined time,
You will be able to manually adjust the focus. M
F is operated by pressing the operation switch 605 while viewing the image of the original film projected on the diffuser plate 632 of the mirror unit 65.
This is done by pressing a, 605b. This MP makes it possible to focus on a specific part of the film image.

(B-5) Manual lighting function of light source lamp By pressing the manual lamp switch 603, the lamp 613 can be turned on unconditionally. This switch is not normally used, but it is used when backlighting images recorded on relatively thick materials, when viewing images for a long time during AP, and when checking if the lamp is burnt out. used for.

(B-6) Automatic magnification change and scan area automatic change function By setting the paper size using U/136, the magnification can be automatically set. Also,
By selecting the type of original film using U/136, a copying machine can be automatically selected according to the film.

(B-7) Automatic shading correction function The ROM of the CPU 634 generally contains FUJ I (registered trademark) and KODAK (registered trademark), which are negative films often used for photography.
(registered trademark) and KONICA (registered trademark) ASA
Density data for 100 orange masks are stored, and when one of these films is selected, the CPU 634 can automatically perform shading correction based on the stored density data.

In that case, the base film of these films is F/P.
There is no need to install it on 64.

Therefore, not only can the trouble of attaching the base film be saved, but also it is possible to prevent the base film from being attached by mistake, and there is no need to manage the base film.

Furthermore, for one type of film other than these three types of films, the density data of the orange mask of that film can be registered. This data is stored in RAM within the copier system. In the case of this registered film, shading correction is automatically performed as in the case of the three types of films described above.

(B-8) Automatic image quality adjustment function It is possible to perform corrections such as r correction based on various conditions such as the density characteristics of the original film and the exposure conditions when shooting the film, and automatically adjust the density and color balance. That's what I do.

(C) Image signal processing (C-1>Need for image signal correction and principle of correction The density range differs depending on the type of film, with the range being wider than that of negative film.

Furthermore, the density range of the film is influenced by the photographing conditions of the original film, such as the exposure amount of the film, the density of the subject, or the brightness at the time of photographing. In fact, the subject density is widely distributed within the film's density range.

Therefore, when an image recorded on such a film is to be copied using a copying machine that copies an original using reflected light, good reproducibility cannot be obtained by performing the same signal processing. Therefore, good reproducibility is obtained by appropriately correcting the image reading signal so that the density of the main subject becomes appropriate.

FIG. 32 shows the density characteristics of a certain negative film and the principle of density correction. In this figure, the right half of the stirring axis represents the exposure amount of the subject (corresponding to the subject density), and the left half represents the density after shading correction. Further, on the vertical axis, the upper half represents the video circuit output (equal to the negative density), and the lower half represents the output copy density.

In other words, the first quadrant describes the density characteristics of the negative film,
The second quadrant shows the relationship between shading correction, and the third quadrant shows the relationship between r
The fourth quadrant represents the relationship between the correction and the relationship between the subject exposure amount and the corrected output copy density.

The density characteristics of this negative film are shown by the line α in the first quadrant of FIG. That is, when the amount of exposure from the subject is large, the density of the negative film is high, and as the amount of exposure from the subject decreases, the density of the negative film decreases linearly. When the amount of exposure from the subject decreases to a certain extent, the linearity between the amount of exposure from the subject and the density of the negative film disappears. If this exposure amount is small, for example, if the image recorded on the film is a bust of a human being, the contrast between the face and the hair will not be adequate. Furthermore, even when the exposure amount is large, the slope of the line α, that is, the value of r, is smaller than 1, so unless F correction is performed, the copy will be soft.

For this reason, r correction is necessary.

Next, the principle of correction will be explained using FIG. 32.

In the third quadrant of the figure, an END curve β for r correction is set. The slope r' of this END curve β is the fourth
In order to make the relationship between the exposure amount from the subject and the output copy density a linear relationship of 45 degrees in the quadrant, r”
=1/r'.

For example, in the case of area a where the amount of exposure from the subject is relatively high, if the density adjustment value set in the register of the shading correction circuit is a value represented by a straight line ■ in the second quadrant, then after shading correction The concentration is in area a
'. This region a' no longer falls within the conversion range of the END curve β, and this region becomes white when copied. Therefore, in the second quadrant, the density adjustment value is shifted from the straight line ■ to the straight line so that the density after shading correction falls within the conversion range of the END curve β. By doing this, the relationship between the amount of exposure from the subject and the output copy density will follow a 45 degree straight line (2) in the fourth quadrant, and the copy will have a density with gradations.

Furthermore, in the case of a region where the amount of exposure from the subject is relatively small, the linearity between the amount of exposure from the subject and the negative film density is lost. In this case, the density adjustment value of the shading correction circuit is set to the value of the straight line ■ in the second quadrant. Then, the END curve β represented by the line ■ is selected in the third quadrant. By selecting this END curve β, the exposure amount from the subject and the output copy density can be adjusted to the fourth
It can be represented by a 45 degree straight line (■) in the quadrant. In other words, when the amount of exposure from the subject is within the range, for example, if a person with black hair is wearing a brown hat, the hair and hat will be prevented from having almost the same density, and the hair and hat will be You will be able to clearly bring out the contrast between.

In this way, correction is performed so that the density of the subject becomes appropriate.

(C-2> Image signal processing method As shown in FIG. 33, the line sensor 226 reads the projection light of the image on the original film 633 in analog form as the light intensity for each RlG and B, and the light intensity is expressed by this light intensity. The amplified image signal is amplified to a predetermined level by an amplifier 231. The amplified image signal is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter 235, and further converted from a light amount signal to a density signal by a log converter 238.

The image signal expressed in density is sent to the shading correction circuit 2.
Shading correction is performed in step 39. This shading correction removes from the image signal the effects of uneven light intensity of the SELFOC lens 224, uneven sensitivity of each pixel in the line sensor 226, variations in the spectral characteristics and light intensity level of the correction filter and lamp 613, and changes over time. .

Before performing this shading correction, first, when the above-mentioned three types of films and registered films are selected as the original film, the correction filter is set in the positive film filter, and the lamp is turned on without the original film 633 attached. Read the light amount signal from 613,
After the signal is amplified and converted into a digital signal, data obtained based on the converted density signal is stored in the line memory 240 as reference data.

That is, the imaging unit 37 is RSG.

Each pixel of B is scanned and sampled in 32 line steps, and these sampling data are sent to the CPU 634 through the line memory 240.
Calculate the average concentration value of the two lines of sampling data,
Take shading data. By taking the average in this way, errors for each pixel are eliminated.

Furthermore, when an original film is loaded and an image of the original film is read, the CPU 634 calculates a density adjustment value DADj from the density data of the negative film stored in the ROM, and stores it in the register of the LSI in the shading correction circuit 239. Rewrite the set DADj value. Further, the CPU 634 adjusts the light intensity of the lamp 613 and the gain of the amplifier 643 in accordance with the selected film.

Then, the shading correction circuit 239 shifts the read density value by adding the DADj value to the actual data read from the original film. Further, the shading correction circuit 239 performs shading correction by subtracting shading data for each pixel from the adjusted data.

In addition, in the case of a film that is not recorded in the ROM of the CPU 634 and is not registered in the RAM of the system, the base film is attached and the density data of the film is obtained, and the D ADj value is calculated from the obtained density data. must be calculated.

When the shading correction is finished, IIT32 is ■PS33
R, G, and B density signals are output to.

Then, the CPU 634 selects an END curve based on the actual data of the original film, and outputs a correction signal to perform r correction based on the selected curve. Based on this correction signal, Ps33 performs r correction to correct the fact that r of the original film is not 1 and the unclearness of the contrast caused by nonlinear characteristics.

(D) Operation procedure and signal timing The operation procedure and signal timing will be explained based on FIG. 34. Note that a signal indicated by a broken line indicates that the signal may be used.

The operation of F/P 64 is mainly performed by U/1 of base machine 30.
36. That is, by operating the F/P operation key displayed on the display screen of the U/136, the base machine 30 is placed in the F/P mode. Assuming that the original film is one of the three types of films mentioned above and one of the registered films, the third
As shown in Figure 4, the message "Please select the film type after placing the mirror unit" is displayed on the U/136's display screen. Therefore, first, the M/U 65 is opened and set in a predetermined position on the platen glass 31.

Next, when the film selection key on the screen is pressed, the screen displays the message "Please wait without loading film." At the same time, the lamp 613 is turned on and the correction filter control (FCC0NT) signal becomes (0,0) to perform the FC operation. That is, the correction filter automatic exchange device is operated and the positive correction filter is set in the use position. When the correction filter is set, the correction filter replacement end (-5ET) signal becomes LOW.

In addition to this being LOW, the lamp 613 is lit and 3
The collection of shading data for shading correction is started using the fact that ~5 steps have passed as a trigger.

When this shading data collection is completed, this completion is used as a trigger to set FCC0NT to (0, 1), the correction filter automatic exchange device is activated, and the film correction filter is set in the use position. In addition, the shading correction is triggered and a message appears on the screen to adjust the focus.

Please insert film" is displayed and the lamp 613 turns off. Therefore, the original film 633
Attach the film case 607 containing the film to the F/P 64. Thereby, the light from the light emitter 623 is reflected by this film, and the reflected light is detected by the light receiver 624.

When the difference in the amount of reflected light received between the two elements of the light receiver 624 is not O, the motor 625 of the AF device is activated to focus. That is, AP operation is performed. When focusing is complete, F/P is ready for operation (7v-
KrY) signal becomes LOW. After this 77th-πrY signal becomes LOW and one second has elapsed since FCSET becomes LOW, "Copy ready" is displayed on the screen. When you press the start key of the U/136, the screen displays "Copying" and the lamp 613 lights up. After waiting for the lamp 613 to start up, the data for automatic density adjustment (A/E) is displayed. Collection begins. That is, in order to obtain data for density adjustment, color balance adjustment, r correction, etc., the imaging unit 37 partially scans and reads part or all of the projected image.

Next, in the case of full color, the imaging unit 37 scans four times to perform copying. In that case,
Shading correction and density adjustment are automatically performed based on the shading data and automatic density adjustment data. When the copying is completed, the lamp 613 turns off and the screen displays "Copy ready".

Therefore, when the start key is pressed again, a new copy is performed. If you want to copy another image, you have to change the frames of the film. When changing frames, 77T
- The camera becomes HIGH, and the screen displays the message "Adjust focus."

Then, when a new frame is set, the AF operation is performed, and at the same time, 1)'F-] becomes LOW, and the message ``Ready to copy'' is displayed on the screen. After that, copying is performed by pressing the start key.

(III) Image processing system (IPS) (I[r-
1) IPS module configuration FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an overview of the IPS module configuration.

In a color image forming apparatus, a CCD line sensor is used at the rlT (image input terminal) to read a color document by separating the light into the primary colors B (blue), G (green), and R (red), and convert these into the primary colors of toner. The image is converted into Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and further K (black or black), and is exposed to a laser beam and developed at an image output terminal (IOT) to reproduce a color image. In this case, a copying process (
A total of four copy cycles are executed, one copy cycle for M, C, and K (pitch) and one copy cycle each for M, C, and K as process colors, and the images created by these halftone dots are superimposed to produce full color. The image is reproduced by Therefore, the color separation signal (B, G%R signal)
When converting to toner signals (signals to 7% M, C1), how to adjust the color balance and IIT
The key issues are how to reproduce the color in accordance with the reading characteristics of the IOT and the output characteristics of the IOT, how to adjust the balance of density and contrast, and how to emphasize edges, blur, and moiré.

IPS manually inputs B, G, and R color separation signals from ITT and performs various data processing to improve color reproducibility, gradation reproducibility, definition reproducibility, etc. It converts the toner signal on/off and outputs it to the IOT, and as shown in Figure 35, it performs END conversion (Eq
uivalent Neutral D en sit
y; equivalent neutral density conversion) module 301, color masking module 302, [document size detection module 303, color conversion module 304, UCR (Und
er Co1or Removal; Undercolor removal) &
Black generation module 305, spatial filter 306, TR
C (Tone Reproduction.

n Control; color tone correction control) module 30
7, reduction processing module 308, screen generator 309, IOT interface module 310,
(area generation circuit, switcher) area image control module 311 with IJ box, area command memory 312
The editing control module includes a color palette video switch circuit 313, a 7-onto buffer 314, and the like.

Then, 8 dot data (256 gradations) for the B, G, and R color separation signals from the FIT are manually inputted to the END conversion module 301, and Y is inputted.

After converting to the toner signal of the MSC, select the process color toner signal X, binarize it, and use it as on/off data of the process color toner signal
It is output from the interface module 310 to the IOT. Therefore, in the case of full color (4 colors), after prescanning first detects the document size, editing area, and other document information, for example, first, process color 〇 Copy cycle in which toner signal X is set to Y Then, every time a copy cycle is sequentially executed in which the process color toner signal X is M, signal processing corresponding to four document reading scans is performed.

1[T] uses a CCD sensor to read one pixel for each of B and GSR at a size of 16 dots/mm, and converts the data into 24 bits (3 colors x 8 bits;
It is output on the 256th floor Em). The CCD sensor has a length of 300 mm with a density of 16 dots)/mm and a filter of BSG and R attached to the top surface, and a length of 19
16 lines/at a process speed of 0.5 mm/sec
Since it scans mm, it scans 15M per second for each color.
It outputs read data at pixel speed.

In the FIT, the analog data of B, G, and R pixels is log-converted to convert reflectance information to density information, and then to digital data.

Next, each module will be explained.

FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining each module constituting the IPS.

(A) END Conversion Module The END conversion module 301 is a module for adjusting (converting) an optical reading signal of a color original obtained at IIT into a gray-balanced color signal. The amount of toner in a color image is equal in the case of gray, and gray is the standard. However, the values of the B, G, and H color separation signals manually generated when a gray original is read from IIT are not equal because the spectral characteristics of the light source and color separation filter are not ideal. Therefore, a conversion table (LUT; lookup table) as shown in FIG. 36(a) is used.
END conversion uses . Therefore, the conversion table has the characteristic that when a gray original is read, it is always converted into B, G, and H color separation signals at the same gradation corresponding to the level (black → white) and output. , depends on the characteristics of the IIT.In addition, 16 conversion tables are prepared, of which 11 are for film projectors containing negative film, and 3 are for normal copying, photography, and generation copying. This is the table.

(B) Color masking modinir The color masking module 302 has B, G.

Y, M by performing matrix calculation on the R signal.

It converts into a signal corresponding to the amount of toner C,
The signal after gray balance adjustment by END conversion is processed.

The conversion matrix used for color masking is a 3x3 matrix that calculates Y, M, and C purely from B%G1R, but B, G.

Of course, in order to take into account not only R but also the components of BGSGRSRB%B2 and G'R2, various types of IJ soaps or other IJ pastes may be used. Two sets of conversion matrices are provided: one for normal color adjustment and one for generating intensity signals in monochrome mode.

In this way, when processing IIT video signals with IFS, gray balance adjustment is performed first and foremost. If this were to be performed after color masking, the conversion table would become more complex because it would be necessary to perform gray balance adjustment using the gray original in consideration of the characteristics of color masking.

(C) Original Size Detection Module Not only standard size originals but also originals of arbitrary shapes such as cutouts or other forms may be copied. In this case, it is necessary to detect the document size in order to select a paper of an appropriate size corresponding to the document size. Furthermore, when the copy paper is larger than the original size, erasing the outside of the original can improve the quality of the copy. Therefore, the document size detection module 303 performs document size detection during pre-scanning and platen color erasing (frame erasing) processing during document reading and scanning. For this purpose, the platen color is set to a color that can be easily distinguished from the original, for example, black, and the upper and lower limits of platen color identification are set in the threshold register 303 as shown in FIG.
Set to 1.

During pre-scanning, a signal converted (T-converted) into information close to the reflectance of the document (spatial filter 300 to be described later) is used.
) X and threshold register 3031
Comparator 303
2, and the edge detection circuit 3034 detects the edge of the document and determines the coordinate X.

The maximum and minimum values of y are stored in the maximum/minimum sorter 3035.

For example, as shown in Figure 36 (6), if the document is tilted or not rectangular, the maximum and minimum values (
Xl, ) Ca , Y+, yt) are detected and stored. Also, when scanning the original, the comparator 3033
In the original Y, M, C and threshold register 3031
The frame is erased by comparing the upper limit value and the lower limit value set in , and erasing the outside of the edge, that is, the read signal of the platen in the platen color erasing circuit 3036.

(D) Color Conversion Module The color conversion module 305 enables conversion of a specified color in a specific area, and as shown in FIG. 36(C), a window comparator 305
2. A threshold register 3051, a color palette 3053, etc. are provided, and when performing color conversion, the upper and lower limits of each Y, M, and C of the converted color are set in the threshold register 3051, and each YS of the converted color is set.
M.

The value of C is set in the color palette 3053.

Then, according to the area signal manually inputted from the area image control module, the NAND game) 3054 is controlled, and if it is not the color conversion area, Y%M%C of the document is sent out as it is from the selector 3055, and when it enters the color conversion area, Y and M for the manuscript.

When the C signal falls between the upper and lower limit values of Y and MSC set in the threshold register 3051, the selector 3055 is switched by the output of the window comparator 3052, and the conversion color Y%M%C set in the color palette 3053 is switched. Send out.

Specified colors can be specified by pointing directly at the document with the digitizer, such as B, B, etc. around the coordinates specified during prescanning.
The designated color is recognized by taking the average of 25 pixels each of G and R. Through this averaging operation, for example, even a 150-line original can be recognized with an accuracy within a color difference of 5. To read the B, G, and R density data, specified coordinates are converted into addresses from the IIT shading correction RAM and read out. When converting addresses, readjustment for registration adjustment is required as in the case of document size detection. In prescan, IrT operates in sample scan mode. B%G read from the siniding correction RAM.

The R1 degree data is subjected to shading correction by software, averaged, and further subjected to END correction and color masking before being sent to the window comparator 3052.
is set to

Up to 8 colors out of 16.7 million colors can be registered in the color palette 3053 at the same time, and the standard colors are 7% M1.
14 colors are available: CSG1B, R, their intermediate colors, and KSW.

(E) UCR & black generation module If the amounts of Y, M, and C are equal, the result will be gray.Theoretically, the same color can be reproduced by replacing equal amounts of YSM and C with black, but in reality Specifically, when it is replaced with black, the colors become muddy and the reproducibility of vivid colors deteriorates. Therefore, the UCR & black generation module 305 generates an appropriate amount of K to prevent such color turbidity, and performs processing to reduce M and C by the same amount by 7% (undercolor removal) according to the amount. . Specifically, the maximum and minimum values of Y, M, and C are detected, K is generated below the minimum value from the conversion table according to the difference, and a certain value is determined for Y, M%C according to the amount. Undercolor removal is being performed.

In UCR & black generation, as shown in Figure 36(e), for example, when the color is close to gray, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value becomes small, so the minimum value of YSMSC is directly removed to generate K. , if the difference between the maximum and minimum values is large, the amount of removal is Y, M.

By setting the value of C to be less than the minimum value and also reducing the amount of K generated, mixing of black ink and deterioration of the saturation of low brightness and high saturation colors are prevented.

FIG. 36 shows a specific example of the circuit configuration (at 0, Y and M are detected by the maximum value/minimum value detection circuit 3051;

The maximum value and minimum value of C are detected, the difference is calculated by the calculation circuit 3053, and the conversion table 3054 and the calculation circuit 3 are calculated.
055 to generate K. Conversion table 3054 is K
When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is small, the output value of the conversion table 3054 becomes zero, so the minimum value is directly output from the arithmetic circuit 3055 as the value of K. If the difference between the value and the minimum value is large,
Since the output value of the conversion table 3054 is no longer zero, the arithmetic circuit 3055 subtracts that amount from the minimum value and outputs it as the value of K. A conversion table 3056 is a table for determining the value to be removed from Y%M%C corresponding to K. Through this conversion table 3056, the calculation circuit 3059 converts Y
, M, performs the removal corresponding to K from C. Further, AND gates 3057 and 3058 output signals and YSM according to each signal of monocolor mode and 4 full color mode.

It gates the signal after removing the C undercolor, and the selectors 3052 and 3050 select either Y or M%C% according to the process color signal. In this way, in reality, Y, M.

Since the C halftone color is reproduced, the removal of Y and M%C and the generation ratio of K are set using empirically generated curves, tables, etc.

(F) Spatial filter module In the device applied to the present invention, the IIT
Since the document is read while scanning the CCD, if the information is used as is, the information will be blurry.Also, since the document is reproduced by halftone dots, the halftone dot period of the printed matter and the sampling period of 16 dots/mm Moiré occurs between the two. Furthermore, moiré occurs between the halftone dot period generated by the user and the halftone dot period of the document. Spatial filter module 306
is equipped with a function to recover such blur and a function to remove moiré. A low-pass filter is used to remove halftone dots, and a bypass filter is used to emphasize edges.

In the spatial filter module 306, as shown in FIG. Convert.

This is because it is easier to pick up edges with this information, and part 1
For example, Y is selected as the color. In addition, a threshold register 3001.4-bit binarization circuit 30
02, Y, MSC for each pixel using the decoder 3005
.

7% M, C, B from Min and Max-Min.

The colors are separated into eight hues: G, R%W (white). Decoder 30
05 recognizes the hue according to the binarized information and outputs 1-bit information indicating whether the color is a necessary color from the process color.

The output of Fig. 36 (8) is input to the circuit of Fig. 36 (Company).
066 generates halftone removal information, and FIFO 306
Edge enhancement information is generated from the output information shown in the figure ((to)) using a 2 and 5x7 digital filter 3064, a modulation table 3067, and a delay circuit 3065. selected according to the copy mode.

In edge enhancement, for example, if you want to reproduce a green character like ■ in Figure 36 (i) as ■, change Ylo to ■,
Emphasis processing is performed as shown in (2), and no emphasis processing is performed for M as shown in (solid line). This switching is performed by an ant game (3068). To carry out this process, by emphasizing as indicated by the dotted line (■), the edges become muddy due to the color mixture of M as shown in (■). The delay circuit 3065 uses a FIFO 3062 and a 5X7 digital filter 306 to switch such emphasis using an AND gate 3068 for each process color.
This is to synchronize with 4. When characters with bright edges are reproduced using normal processing, magenta is mixed into the characters with bright edges, resulting in muddiness. Therefore, if you recognize it as green as described above, Y
, C are output as usual, but M is suppressed and edges are not emphasized.

(G) The TRC conversion module 10T converts Y according to the on/off signal from the IPS.
, M, and C1 are used to perform four copy cycles (in the case of 4 full-color copies), making it possible to reproduce full-color originals, but in reality, the colors calculated theoretically through signal processing are To faithfully reproduce the
Subtle adjustments are required that take into account the characteristics of IOT. T.R.
The C conversion module 309 is designed to improve reproducibility as described above, and it inputs 8-bit image data into an address as shown in FIG. RA is the address translation table for
It has editing functions such as density adjustment according to area signals, contrast adjustment, negative/positive inversion, color balance adjustment, character mode, and watermark composition. Bits 0 to 3 of the area signal are used for the upper three bits of this RAM address. Furthermore, the above functions can be used in combination using the out-of-area mode. Furthermore, this RAM
For example, it consists of 2 bytes (256 bytes x 8 sides) and has 8 conversion tables, and up to 8 sides are stored during IIT carriage return for each cycle of Y, M, and C. and copy mode. Of course, if the RAM capacity is increased, there is no need to load it every cycle.

(H) Reduction/enlargement processing module The reduction/enlargement processing module 308 uses the line buffer 3083
In the process of temporarily holding and transmitting data
1 for sampling pitch signal and line buffer 3083
Generate read/write addresses for. The line buffer 3083 is configured as a ping-pong buffer consisting of two lines, so that it is possible to read one line and write the next line data to the other at the same time. In the reduction/enlargement processing, the reduction/enlargement processing module 308 performs digital processing in the main scanning direction, but the scanning speed of the IIT is changed in the sub-scanning direction. The scan speed can be changed from 50% to 4 by changing from 2x speed to 1/4x speed.
Can be scaled up to 00%. In digital processing, when reading/writing data to/from the line buffer 3083, data can be reduced by thinning and complementing, and can be expanded by adding and complementing. If the complementary data is located in the middle, it is generated by weighting according to the distance from the data on both sides, as shown in FIG. 1 (1). For example, in the case of data xi', the data on both sides X1-, Xt++ and the distance between these data and the sampling point fid+
, di, (Xt Xdz )+ (X+++
Xd,) However, it is obtained by calculating d+ +di =1.

In the case of reduction processing, data is complemented and written to the line buffer 3083, and at the same time, the reduced data of the previous line is read out from the buffer and sent. In the case of enlarging processing, the data is written as-is, and at the same time the data of the previous line is read out, supplemented and enlarged, and then sent out.

If complementary enlargement is performed at the time of writing, the clock at the time of writing must be increased according to the enlargement ratio, but if it is done as described above, writing/reading can be performed with the same clock.

In addition, using this configuration, it is possible to perform shift image processing in the main scanning direction by reading from the middle or by reading with delayed timing, and by repeatedly reading, it is possible to perform repeated processing by reading from the opposite direction. It is also possible to perform mirror image processing.

(1) Screen generator The screen generator 309 converts the process color gradation toner signal into an on/off binary toner signal and outputs it, and compares the threshold matrix with the gradation-expressed data value. Binarization processing and error diffusion processing are performed. [)T, input this binarized toner signal, and convert it to approximately vertical 8 to correspond to 1 day dot)/mm m.
A half-tone image is reproduced by turning on and off an elliptical laser beam with a diameter of 0 μm and a width of 60 μm.

First, the method of expressing gradation will be explained. Figure 36 (n
), for example, a case where a 4×4 halftone cell S is configured will be explained. First, in the screen generator, a threshold matrix m is set corresponding to such a halftone cell S, and this is compared with a data value expressed in gradation. In this comparison process, for example, if the data value is "5", a signal is generated to turn on the radar beam at a portion of the threshold matrix m that is equal to or less than "5".

A 4×4 halftone cell with 16 dots/mm is generally referred to as a halftone dot with 100 spi and 16 gradations, but this results in a coarse image and poor color image reproducibility. Therefore, in the present invention, as a method of increasing the gradation, this 16 dots/mm pixel is divided into four vertically (main scanning direction), and the on/off frequency of the laser beam for each pixel is adjusted to (0) in the figure. As shown in FIG. 2, by increasing the gradation by a unit of 1/4, that is, by a factor of 4, a gradation level that is 4 times higher is achieved. Therefore, in response to this, a threshold value matrix m' as shown in FIG. 3(0) is set. Furthermore, it is also effective to employ the subma) Qx method to increase the number of lines.

The above example uses the same threshold matrix m with the only growth nucleus near the center of each halftone cell, but the submatrix method is constructed by a set of multiple unit matrices, as shown in Figure (b). In this way, the growth nuclei of the matrix are set at two or more locations (plurality). If such a screen pattern design method is adopted, for example, the bright areas will be set to 141spi and 64 gradations, and as it gets darker, the number of lines will be changed to 20091)i and 128 gradations. You can change the gradation. Such a pattern can be designed by visually determining the smoothness, fineness, graininess, etc. of gradations.

When a halftone image is reproduced using a dot matrix as described above, the number of gradations and resolution have a contradictory relationship.

In other words, there is a relationship in which increasing the number of gradations causes a decrease in resolution, and increasing the resolution causes a decrease in the number of gradations. Also,
If the threshold data matrix is made smaller, a quantization error will occur in the image that is actually output. The error diffusion process is
As shown in the same figure (Q), the screen generator 309
The quantization error between the on/off binary signal generated in step 2 and the input gradation signal is converted to a density conversion circuit 3093 and a subtraction circuit 3.
094, correction circuit 3095, addition circuit 30
91 to improve the reproducibility of gradation from a macro perspective. For example, error diffusion processing is performed by convolving the corresponding position of the previous line and the pixels on both sides of it through a digital filter. ing.

As mentioned above, the screen generator switches threshold data and error diffusion processing feedback coefficients for each document or area depending on the type of image, such as a halftone image or character image, to improve the reproducibility of high-gradation, high-definition images. .

(J) Area image control module The area image control module 311 has a configuration in which seven rectangular areas and their priorities can be set in the area generation circuit, and area control information is set in the switch matrix corresponding to each area. be done.

The control information includes color conversion, color mode such as monochrome or full color, modulation selection information for photos and text, TRC selection information, screen generator selection information, etc., including a color masking module 302 and a color conversion module 304. , U
CR module 305, spatial filter 306, TRC
Used to control Mogicor 307. Note that the switch matrix can be set by software.

(K) Editing control module The editing control module reads a manuscript that is not a rectangle but a pie chart, for example, and enables coloring processing in which a specified area of any shape is filled in with a specified color. As shown in (e), the AGDC (
Advanced Graphic Digital
Controller) 3121, font buffer 3126, logo ROM 3128, DMAC (DMA
Controller) 3129 is connected.

Then, the encoded 4-bit area command is written from the CPU to the plain memory 3122 through the AGDC 3121, and the font is written to the font buffer 3126. The plain memo IJ 3122 consists of four sheets, and each point of the original is written in 4 bits from plane 0 to brain 3, for example, "0000J is command O and the original original is output." The decoder 3123 decodes this 4-bit information into commands θ to 15, and it is possible to set commands O to 15 to perform fill pattern, fill logic, or logo processing. is a switch matrix 3124.A font address controller 3125 generates an address for a font buffer 3126 corresponding to a pattern such as halftone shade or hatching shade based on a 2-bit fill pattern signal.

The switch circuit 3127 is a switch matrix 3124
Based on the fill logic signal and the contents of the document data X, the document data x1 font buffer 3126, color palette, etc. are selected. Fill logic is information for filling only the background (background part of the document) with color mesh, color conversion for specific parts, masking, trimming, filling, etc.

In the IPS of the present invention, as described above, the IIT original reading signal is first subjected to END conversion and then color masking, and processes such as original size, border erasure, and color conversion, which are more efficient when processing with full color data, are performed. After removing the undercolor and generating ink, I focused on process colors.

However, processing such as spatial filters, color modulation, TRC, and scaling can reduce the amount of processing by processing process color data, and reduce the number of conversion tables used by 1/2 compared to processing full color data. 3, and the number of types is correspondingly increased to improve the flexibility of adjustment, reproducibility of color, reproducibility of gradation, and reproducibility of definition.

(III-2) Hardware configuration of image processing system FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an IPS.

The IPS of the present invention includes two substrates (IPS-A).

The first substrate is divided into IPS-B) and achieves the basic functions of a color image forming device such as color reproducibility, gradation reproducibility, and definition reproducibility.
In addition, the parts that achieve applied and specialized functions, such as editing, are the second part.
It is mounted on the board (IPS-B). The former configuration is shown in Figures 37 (a) to (e), and the latter configuration is shown in Figure 37 (6).
It is. In particular, if the basic functions can be sufficiently achieved with the first board, applications and specialized functions can be flexibly handled simply by changing the design of the second board. Therefore, if it is desired to further enhance the functionality of the color image forming apparatus, this can be achieved simply by changing the design of the other substrate.

The IPS board has CPU buses (address bus ADR3BUS, data bus DATAB) as shown in Figure 37.
US, control bus CTRLBUS) is connected,
(2) Video data B1GSR of rT, video clock IIT/VCLK as synchronization signals, line synchronization (main scanning direction, horizontal synchronization) signal IIT-LS, and page synchronization (subscanning direction, vertical synchronization) signal IIT-PS are connected.

Since video data is subjected to pipeline processing after the END converter, processing is required at each processing stage, resulting in a data delay in units of locks. Therefore,
The line synchronization generation and fail check circuit 328 generates and distributes horizontal synchronization signals in response to delays in each process, and performs a fail check on the video clock and line synchronization signals. Therefore, the video clock IIT-VCLK and the line synchronization signal IIT-LS are connected to the line synchronization generation & fail check circuit 328, and the CPU
bus (ADH3BUS, DATABUSSCTRLB
US) and chip select signal C8 are connected.

11T video data B, G, R are RO of END converter
It is input to M321. The END conversion table may be configured to be loaded from the CPU using RAM, for example, but since the device is in use and there is almost no need to rewrite it while processing image data, the BSG%
Two byte ROMs are used for each of R, and R
It uses an LUT (look-up table) method using OM. It has 16 conversion tables and 4
It is switched by the bit selection signal ENDSe+.

The output of ROM321 after END conversion is 3 for each color.
Three calculation LSI322s with two X1 matrices
connected to a color masking section consisting of Arithmetic LSI
Each bus of the CPU is connected to 322, and the coefficients of the IJ bus can be set from the CPU. A setup signal SU1 and a chip select signal C8 are connected to switch from image signal processing to a CPU bus for rewriting by the CPU, and a 1-bit switching signal MONO is connected to switch matrix selection.

A power-down signal PD is also input to stop the internal video clock when the IIT is not scanning, that is, when not performing image processing.

YSM from B, G, and R using the calculation LSI 322.

The signal converted to C is transferred to the second substrate (
After color conversion processing is performed through the color conversion LSI 353 of the IPS-B), the data is manually input to the DOD LSI 323. The color conversion LSI 353 has four color conversion circuits consisting of a threshold register for setting non-converted colors, a color palette for setting converted colors, comparators, etc.

The D#JLSI 323 has a document edge detection circuit, a frame erasing circuit, and the like.

The output of the DOD LSI323 that has undergone frame erasing is UCR.
The data is sent to the LSI 324 for use. This LSI is UCR
It includes a circuit, a black generation circuit, and a necessary color generation circuit, and outputs each signal of process color X1, necessary color Hue, and edge corresponding to the toner color in the copy cycle. Therefore, this LSI has a 2-bit process color designation signal C0LR and a color mode signal (4COL
RSMONO) is also input.

The line memory 325 stores process color X1, necessary color Hue, and edge E d output from the UCR LSI 324.
It consists of a FIFO for storing data for four lines in order to input each signal of ge to a 5x7 digital filter 326, and a FIFO for matching the delay.

Here, 4 lines of process color
The signal is delayed by an IFO, synchronized with the output of the digital filter 326, and sent to the MIX LSI 327.

The digital filter 326 is a 2×7 filter LS
There are two sets of 5x7 filters consisting of three I (low pass LP and bypass HP). One performs processing for process color X, and the other performs processing for edge E dg.
Processing for e is being performed.

The MIX LSI 327 performs halftone removal and edge emphasis processing on these outputs using a conversion table, and mixes them into process color X. Here, Edge EDG E and Sharp 5harp are manually input as signals for switching the conversion table.

The TRC 542 consists of a 2 byte RAM holding eight conversion tables. The conversion table is configured to be rewritten using the carriage return period before each scan, and is switched by a 3-bit switching signal TRCSel. Then, the processing output from here is sent from the transceiver to the L
Sent to SI345. The reduction/enlargement processing section has 8 bytes of R.
A ping pong buffer (line buffer) is configured using two AM344s, and an LSI 343 generates a resampling pitch and a line buffer address.

The output of the reduction/enlargement processing unit returns to the EDF LSI 346 through the area memo Ul of the second board shown in FIG. 6(6).

The EDF LSI 346 has a FIFO that holds information on the previous line, and performs error diffusion processing using the information on the previous line. Then, the signal X after error diffusion processing
is the SG LSI3 that constitutes the screen generator.
47 and is output to the engineering OT interface.

With the 10T interface, the signal from the SG LSI 347, which is manually input using a 1-bit on/off signal, is transferred to the LSI.
349, and sends it to the IOT in parallel in 8 bits.

In the second board shown in FIG. 37, the data actually flowing is 16 dots/mm, so the reduced LSI 3
At step 54, the image is reduced to 1/4, binarized, and stored in the area memory. The enlarged decoding LSI 359 has a fill pattern RAMa 60, which is enlarged to 16 dots when reading area information from the area memory and generating a command, and generates a logo address, color palette, and fill pattern. DRAM356 is 4
It stores 4-bit area information that is configured and coded as a plane. AGDC 355 is a valley controller that controls area commands.

(I[[-3)['S Control (A) VCPU In the present invention, the VCPU manages and controls the image data processing system consisting of IIT and iS.

At each stage of image data processing in the IPS, a conversion table (LUT) is used, as described above, to provide flexibility in processing such as image data conversion and correction. In other words, by using a conversion table, you can freely set data for nonlinear conversion and correction, and
By setting the value of the calculation result in advance, a desired calculation value can be obtained quickly by simply reading the conversion table without performing calculation processing. Furthermore, by preparing multiple tables and configuring them so that they can be selected according to the type of image, it is possible to convert and correct image data according to photos, text, printing, and a mixture of these. It is possible to guarantee the reproducibility of specific images depending on the original. Moreover, by using a conversion table, the number of gates and memory capacity in processing circuits for conversion and correction can be reduced, and desired data can be obtained by reading out table data using human data as an address. It is possible to increase the processing speed. The VCPU 74a is
It not only sets and controls various tables and registers of IIT, but also controls the image data processing system of IIT.

VCPU board (VCPU
PWBA) is connected after the analog board (ANALOGPWBA) in terms of the flow of image data shown in FIG.
Various circuits such as timing generator) and 5HC (shading correction circuit) are also incorporated. VCPU74
As mentioned above, the section a sets and controls the various tables of the LSI that constitutes the IPS, and also controls the ITG and SHC as well as each circuit built into the analog board.

The bus shown in FIG. 37 is the bus of this VCPU 74a, and not only data settings for each register and memory of the LSI, but also settings for other LSIs are performed by the VCPU 74a.
This will take place through this bus. In VCPUT4a,
It has basic parameters and executes write processing at copy start or IIT carriage return (backscan) depending on execution conditions such as copy mode.

For example, before prescanning, predetermined data is written in each register and table depending on the copy mode and type of prescanning, and before each copying scan, each developing color M
, C, . . . , predetermined data is written to each register and table in correspondence with the data.

Therefore, in a screen generator that changes the screen angle according to the developed color, data is rewritten every time a copy scan is performed.

In addition, writing processing by the VCPU 74a is also executed for color masking, UCR, TRC, etc. tables, registers, etc., so in order to efficiently write these in the short carriage return time, it is necessary to , the VCPU 74a calculates the next data to be written during scanning.

Next, an outline of IIT-related control by the VCPU 74a will be explained.

On the analog board, when the color separation signals (video signals) for the five layer elements of the CCD line sensor are input from the IIT sensor board, they are sent via each amplifier to the corresponding A/D converter (235 in Figure 19). Here, it is converted into an 8-bit digital data string GBRGBR...
Send to CPU board.

For this analog board, the VCPU 74a sets the amplification degree of the gain adjustment amplifier and offset adjustment amplifier.

The ITG on the V CPU board controls the delay amount setting circuit (236 in Figure 19) that performs staggered correction and the separation/synthesis circuit (237 in Figure 19), and these circuits are configured by setting registers from the vCPUT4a. is under control. The delay amount setting circuit that performs staggered correction corrects the mounting misalignment amount of the five-layer CCD line sensor in the sub-scanning direction, and the separation and synthesis circuit has a line memory and performs GBRGBR in each channel.
. . . are separated into respective color signals and held for one line, and the color signals of each channel are combined.

The SHC receives pixel data for each color from the ITG and performs pixel shift correction and shading correction. Shading correction is a process that calculates and outputs the difference between image input data and reference data written in SRAM.As reference data, in ΔV dark correction, the average value of the dark output when the fluorescent lights are turned off is , In white correction, the read output of the white reference plate is corrected for pixel deviation and SRA
Written to M.

In the case of color detection, when 50 m5 have elapsed since the IIT carriage was moved to the specified point, writing processing to the SRAM is performed in synchronization with the IPS line sync signal TPS-LS. Then, the next line sync signal IPS-LS
Then, the pixel data of the designated point is transferred to the RAM of the VCPU 74a. This color detection targets, for example, 5 pixels in the main scanning direction and 5 pixels in the sub-scanning direction from the specified point. Therefore, from the pixel data of one line in the main scanning direction written to the SRAM, the specified point and the pixel data of a total of five points following it are
The pixel data is read into the RAM of the CPU 74a, and the IIT carriage is moved four times with one pulse at a time to similarly read the pixel data at five points at a time.

The above is the process when the number of designated points is one. therefore,
If there are multiple designated points, the same process will be repeated for each designated point.

(B) IPS control system configuration Figure 38 is a diagram showing the layer structure of the IPS control system.
Figure 39 is a diagram showing the configuration of the IPS control system, Figure 40
The figure is a diagram for explaining communication between SYS and IPS,
FIG. 41 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between scan operation and IPS settings.

Each LSI of the above TPS consists of ■P
Necessary information is set according to the copy mode and other modes by the S control system, and the layer of the IPS control system has a communication layer above it, and a monitor layer below it, as shown in Figure 38. It has a three-tiered structure with application and application layers. The monitor creates communication clocks and other necessary locks, periodically runs the application and counts the timer to monitor whether the work registered by the application is being executed accurately, and also monitors the application when an interrupt occurs. It functions as an original O5 that calls an interrupt address and executes a predetermined task. An application has a predetermined job to perform on the IPS, and
settings, and execute the LSI in the IPS system.
They handshake the end of the process and grasp the harvest.

The configuration of the IPS control system (VCPU) is as shown in Figure 39.
A lower module that has the function of setting necessary information corresponding to each LSI such as ND and CC (color masking), an IPS system that instructs the content and timing to be set for each of these lower modules, a transmission buffer, and a reception buffer. , consisting of a monitor. The IPS system instructs setting items from NVM information and ROM parameters depending on the situation such as power-on, start, cycle change, etc.
Do a handshake. That is, the IPS system sequentially calls each module to instruct execution of LSI settings. In contrast, when each module finishes execution, it reports its completion to the IPS system.

If communication is performed between the monitor and the IPS system via a sending buffer and a receiving buffer, for example, the monitor
When a certain command is sent from YS, a reception interrupt is generated, and the command is set in the reception buffer and a flag is set.

Then, the IPS system looks at the command set in the receive buffer and calls the necessary lower module. When the lower module reports the end of execution, the IP
The S system sets end information in the transmission buffer and sets a flag, and the monitor receives 5YSI from the transmission interrupt L.
:is READY to report completion.

As shown in Figure 40, between the SYS and the IPS (VCPU), an NVM command is first sent at power-on, and the NV command required for ['S, such as the register adjustment value and magnification adjustment value,
M information is set in IPS.

When this setting is completed, the IPS reports the completion to the SYS using IPSREADY. Then, by copy start, 5CAN INF command, BASICCC0P
Y command, EDIT MODE if editing is required
command is sent.

The 5CAN INF command gives information on whether it starts with a normal copy scan, a scan that detects the original, and what kind of scan is to be performed before the copy scan. , contrast, density, sharpness mode), paper size, magnification, etc., and EDIT M
In the ODE command, if a region is designated, information such as the region designation coordinates, editing function, color conversion, etc. is given. Then, after taking the necessary run length, 5YSI! IP
S1. :MC5TOP is sent, and IPS sends ['S R
Respond with EADY.

The BASICCOPY command has a number indicating the development order. This development order has several combinations such as 4-color full color, 3-color full color, monocolor, etc. In IPS, as shown in Figure 40 etc., information on the number of development cycles and development order is stored in the ROM table. Information in the ROM table is selected by setting the number to the pointer. Then, the development cycles are counted by the IIT page sync PS using a counter.

For example, the number of development cycles is "4" and the development order is rl (M) 2 (C) O(Y) 3 (K)
If it is J, then at count "1" we will get M, at count "2" we will get C, and at count "4" we will get "1" again.
Return to IPS and continue turning until the IPS 5TOP command is issued.

Next, the lower modules of the IPS system will be explained. These operations are performed by M and C as shown in FIG. 41(a).
, Y,, then the processing for setting the LSI is performed one cycle prior to this development cycle. For example, spatial filter or T
Setting RC etc. takes time to calculate the setting values, so the IPS system determines the next color, calculates and sets the data corresponding to the next color in the lower module, and then
Select the developing color using CR. At the start, BASIC
When a C0PY command is received, the signal to be developed first is determined from the color mode number, and Y, for example, is entered in the development cycle variable. As shown in FIG. 5(b), for END, a table is selected; for a color selector, a set of development color Y is set; for a spatial filter, a multiplication table of coefficients of filter 1 is set; for TRC, a table for Y is set. Calculation and setting, setting the magnification for R/E, setting the buffer output effective range and image shift amount for the line buffer, setting the TRC table, spatial filter mode, color mode for area memory 1, etc. Since the contents of the processing to be performed at the start are stored in the ROM, each lower module is sequentially called according to the contents, and each LS
Give setting instructions to I and pass setting information. When each setting is completed and the job end comes from each lower module,
The IPS system uses S in the UCR control register.
Set the development color to the E bit, change to the next color for data calculation processing, etc., and set the TPS REA to SYS.
Return DY. In this way, the IPS system
An interrupt is generated at the rising edge of Page Sync PS, leading to one cycle of development color. For example, information on magnification, sharpness adjustment value, sharpness mode, and development color is passed to the spatial filter, and to the TRC,
Color balance adjustment, contrast adjustment, density adjustment, character mode, negative/positive inversion, watermark composition, monocolor, O
Pass information such as HP.

Note that (C) in the same figure is the process when the power is turned on, (ω is the process when the original is detected and scanned, (e) is the process when the sample is scanned, and (f) in the same figure is the process when the frame is colored during scanning.) (The chain is the processing at the time of marker scanning, but in this way, the IPS system has the contents to be set for each lower module according to each scan, and calls each lower module sequentially to set each LSI.) Give setting instructions and pass setting information.

(DI-4) Configuration of editing control system (A) Combination of editing functions The present invention sets combinations and priorities of functions based on object thinking so that the final copy envisioned by the user can be realized. Therefore, the system is divided into an adjustment function that adjusts the image according to various modes and requests, and an annotation function that overpaints a specific pattern on the image, and the latter is configured to have a higher priority. Adjustment functions include, for example, color mode (full color or single color conversion), reduction/enlargement, and copy image quality adjustment (sharpness,
There is a function to set basic copy, at feature, copy quality busway such as density, contrast, etc.), copy position (gutter, center movement, etc.), and basically the entire area is processed in the specified area, and then Copied as an image that overlays the annotation. In other words, annotation is overlaid on top of processing such as full color, single color, and color conversion, and a combination of functions is used in which annotation has an advantage over adjustment functions. These priorities are set by the arrangement of each function realization module from the hardware perspective, and by the configuration of logical processing as software. That is,
In terms of the flow of image data, generally, image data that is processed upstream is further processed downstream, so downstream has a higher priority. Also, from the perspective of setting processing, for example, logical processing between images or setting processing that overwrites images in the specified order and gives priority to later specification is performed.

Based on the above position, the editing control module is placed at the rear as shown in FIG. 35, and in front of it is a color masking module, a color conversion module, a UCR module, a spatial filter, and a TRC module controlled by the area image control module. are placed. and,
In the color masking module, select one of the two LUTs for monocolor and full color, select whether to bypass the UCR module (monocolor), select the conversion circuit in the color conversion module, The spatial filter selects a modulation LUT with 5 levels of strength and weakness depending on whether it is a photograph, text, print, or a mixture, and the TRC module selects an 8-sided LUT to perform sharpness, density, contrast adjustment, inversion, etc. Further, a reduction/enlargement processing module placed before the editing control module performs reduction/enlargement, binding margin, center movement, etc.

As mentioned above, the priority of the editing function is determined by configuring the hardware connection relationship so that the editing control module processes the annotation after the adjustment function processes in accordance with the flow of image data. It has a higher priority than the adjustment function. Therefore, for example, in the relationship between the adjustment function and trim, the editing control module performs trim processing on the image data that has been processed by the adjustment function, so trimming is performed using the original image and adjustment function regardless of before or after the operation. be done.

The relationship between the adjustment function and the mask is also similar, and in this case, the area size changes with the image due to the reduction and expansion of the preprocessing rather than the annotation. In addition, between adjustment functions, the region image control module performs region setting processing to give priority to the later specification, so that the function for which the region is specified later is given priority, and between the annotations, editing is performed. Priorities are set in the software that sets commands in the control module.

For example, when trimming and masking (mask group), if the copy output differs depending on the context of the operation, it will confuse the operator. Therefore, in the present invention, an AND (logical product) is performed between images and the result is output. By doing this, the operator can easily understand the image of the copy output because he or she only needs to think that the image is punched out by ANDing the trim and the mask regardless of before or after the operation.

Furthermore, when a mask group is combined with other functions other than a logo, priority is given to punching using the mask group. So, for example, if you combine coloring or painting with trim, the colored or painted image will be trimmed.

However, considering that the logo is likely to be designated as a mask area, processing is performed so that it is output regardless of the punching by the mask group. Even when a logo is combined with other features, the logo is processed with top priority.

In the combination of frame coloring (Paint 1) and other annotation functions, Paint 1 is given the lowest priority. Therefore, for example, if pane) 1 and another annotation are specified so that they partially overlap, the other annotation will take priority for that part, and if paint 1 is combined with full-scale coloring, the full-scale coloring image will be It will be output.

As described above, in the present invention, logo insertion is given the highest priority on the software, mask, trim, other annotations, and paint 1 are given the next priority, and color conversion is given the highest priority in the flow of image data. By placing it upstream, it is given the lowest priority. Therefore, means for realizing each function are arranged so that the higher the priority, the later the processing is performed. For example, color conversion and paint 1
If you combine them, Paint 1 is applied to the color-converted image in that part. Since the priority is fixed by object thinking aimed at the final copy, it becomes easier to use and it becomes easier to imagine the output image.

(B) Overview of overall configuration of editing control circuit FIG. 42 is a diagram showing the configuration of an editing control circuit board equipped with an LSI that performs annotation, area specification, and color conversion processing.

On the editing control circuit board, as shown in FIG. 42, an AGDC (Advanced Graphic
Display Controller) 701,
Plain memory 704, DMC (DMA Control)
oller) 706, FIF○707.715, IRE
(Image Reduction and Enla
controller) 714, F
AC (Font Address Control
er) 716, PLT (Palette) 7 t
7, etc., and a region specifying circuit 71 as a circuit that constitutes a region image control module and generates region commands for adjustment functions.
1. A color conversion circuit 710 is provided as a circuit for converting the color of a document in a designated area and color.

In a circuit that processes annotation, in marker areas, closed areas, rectangular areas, and free-form areas, text parts only, both text parts and background parts, or only background parts can be replaced with mesh, hatching, or solid. ,Also,
Process logo insertion. To do this, the area specified by marker scan, closed area scan, or coordinate input from Gesitive is first written into the plain memory 704, then a processing command is drawn within that area, and this is executed during the main scan. Read and replace with image data. In addition, in the circuit that generates the area command for the adjustment function, the area and command are set according to the coordinate values input from U■, and during the main scan, this is read out and the adjustment function is controlled. There is a color conversion circuit 710. Therefore, in the main scan, processing related to color conversion and other adjustment functions is performed on the image data in a designated area, and annotation processing is performed on the subsequent image data. Next, an overview of each of these blocks will be explained.

The plain memory 704 is used to also register commands when replacing a human image with something else, such as masking or a logo. Annotation is processed for a certain area, and human images do not need any resolution, so for the plain memory 704, the resolution is lowered to 4 dots/mm to reduce the memory capacity, and the sub-scanning It has four A4 size sides measuring 432 mm in the direction and 300 mm in the main scanning direction, and is configured to send out colors and patterns corresponding to the bit images written on the four sides.

Therefore, 24.16 types of processing are possible. This function is called "Coloring within a closed area," which fills the inside of a closed area that includes a specified point with any color or pattern.
, coloring within a rectangular area, which fills in a rectangular area specified by two points with an arbitrary color or pattern. These include coloring within the frame by specifying one point within the area, color conversion by specifying the area with a marker and converting black to a desired color for black and white documents, shading that leaves the image of the document, and color conversion within the area. There are masks that fill the area with white (make it transparent), trim that fills the outside of the area with white, specified movement similar to extraction, and paint that does not leave the original image.

The AGDC 701 performs hardware control of the memory, and captures marker images and closed area frame images on the document during closed area scanning and marker scanning, writes them to the plain memory 704, and writes them to the plain memory 704. This is a graphic display controller that draws bit patterns and sends out bit patterns from the plain memory 704 during main scanning.

IRE714 performs binarization and reduction processing of image data using FIF○715 during bliscan, and converts it to DMC (DMC).
direct Memory Access Control
olIer) 706 to the AGDC 701, and the transfer data of the AGDC 701 is transferred to the F during the main scan.
It is input from the IFO 707 and enlargement processing is performed.

DMC706 transfers data from IRE714 to AGDC701 by DMA write and put commands,
Data is transferred from the ACDC 701 to the IRE 714 using DMA read and get commands. In addition,
From AGDC701 to IRE714, there is a FIFO on the way.
707, data is transferred to the plain memory 70.
Data transfer is performed for the 4 planes. Also, IR
From E714 to AGDC701, plain memory 70
Data transfer is performed for one brane of 4.

If the area command is shading or a logo, the FAC 716 reads the bitmap pattern data from the font buffer and sends it to the PLT 717.

The PLT 717 synthesizes the hatching pattern and logo from the FAC 716 onto the document, and sets the color corresponding to the area command on the plane memory 704 on the four sides.
, M, C, and color component data to be output are set for each developed color. In this case, in order to reflect density, contrast, and color balance, settings are made after conversion using TRC-LUT.

In addition, the logo pattern ROM 705 is set for each user, and a signal indicating whether or not the logo pattern ROM 705 is attached is sent on/off. The logo pattern is stored in the font buffer 708 by the ACDC 701 in the logo pattern ROM.
705, and after processing such as rotation, is copied or a mesh pattern is drawn. The line sync generator 713 generates a synchronization signal corresponding to an image signal delayed by pipeline processing. PIF0718
is to delay the image data one line at a time in accordance with the amount of delay in pipeline processing, and the FIF
O719 is for adjusting the amount of delay less than one line.

The above circuit constitutes the editing control module described above and executes annotation processing, but the area specifying circuit 711 constitutes the area image control module,
When the area by xY coordinates and editing contents of that area are set from Ul, area commands are generated in each area, and a table selection signal is given to color masking, color conversion, UCR, spatial filter, TRC, etc. It is. A color conversion circuit 710 is configured to specify a comparison color and a conversion color for determining a target for conversion processing, and an area specification circuit 711
Match color conversion to the area command given by /
This process performs mismatch color conversion.

(C) Overall operation overview Next, an overview of the overall operation of the above circuit will be explained.

First, regarding editing, an area is specified from the UI and the editing contents of that area are specified. Of these, area specification data using coordinate values using a digitizer or keys is taken into the plain memory 704 from data buses DO to 15 of the VCPU to the AGDC 701, and the area specified by the coordinates manually is written. The command is set in each register of the circuit 711.

Furthermore, if a marker scan or closed area scan is performed prior to the main scan, the image input data ZR
EO~7 is 2 using FIFO715 with IRE714
Valued, reduced, and sent to AGDC7 via DM0706
Transferred to 01.

Then, the marker image and closed area frame image are AGD
The data is taken into the C701 and written into the plain memory 704. Next, command settings (bit pattern drawing) are performed from the VCPU through the ACDC 701 in the editing area of the plain memo 'J704. Note that during marker scanning, the color conversion circuit 710 converts the marker color to black for the entire surface, and converts the other areas to white, and converts the image manual data ZRE, which contains only the marker image, to
Processed by 0-7.

Next, when moving to the main scan, the area specifying circuit 711
In this case, since area commands are generated for each area with priority given to later specification for 8 areas including the entire document, the color conversion circuit 7
10, processing related to color conversion and other adjustment functions is performed. On the other hand, when the bit pattern of the plane memory 704 is sent out from the AGDC 701, it is written one plane at a time to the FIFO 707 via the DMC 706. IR
At E714, this data is summarized into four blocks of data, enlarged, and an area command ACMD is sent to the FAC716. In FAC716, this area command ACM
The bitmap pattern data is read out from the 7-ontobama 708 by D, and the PLT 71 'l', :tL is combined with the image data synchronously adjusted by the FIFOs 718 and 719, and image output data RZREO~7 is sent out.

(III-5) AGDC (A>Register AGDC contains register 5TAT, which indicates the status of AGDC.
Register C0NTR0 that controls the operation of US and AGDC
L, a register that defines the configuration of the plane memory, a register that specifies coordinates, a register that specifies a clipping area, a register that sets the type of logical operation during drawing, and various other registers are provided. Here, the clipping area is an area where only the inside or outside of an arbitrary defined rectangular area is to be drawn. In addition, the register M
There are ODO, register MOD1, and register PLANS. The register MODO specifies a logical operation for the plane whose bit in the register PLANS is set to "0," and the register MODI specifies the logical operation for the plane whose bit in the register PLANS is set to "IJ." In the register PLANS, each bit has a one-to-one correspondence with a plane.In other words, the register PLANS has a hardware configuration that allows up to 16 plane memories.

(B) Command FIG. 43 is a diagram for explaining command setting timing.

It was explained earlier that the functions of editing processing regarding annotation according to the present invention can be broadly classified into "coloring within a rectangular area" and "coloring within a closed area," and the commands for performing these processes are RRECF ILL and PAINT.

The command RRECFILL is a register that sets the coordinates for plane memory.X%Y (number of dots from the origin)
, DXlDY (number of dots from XSY) This is a command that fills in the rectangular area specified by
INT is a command that starts from the coordinates indicated by the X and Y registers and fills in a closed area including that point.

These coloring patterns are then set in other registers.

The drawing process of AGDC is performed by the commonly used one (for example, NEC II's microprocessor μPD721'20).
), the processing is divided into the preprocessor processing that performs preprocessing and the drawing processor processing that performs the actual drawing. The setting of the command is performed on the condition that the preprocessor processing is completed as shown in FIG. 43. The processing status of this preprocessor is shown in register 5TATUS.
For example, when bit 0 is "0", it is determined that the preprocessor processing has finished.

Further, as commands for controlling data transfer, there are a put command PUTC and a get command GETC.

The put command PUTC is a command for transferring image data onto the plane memory, and specifies the coordinate values of the transfer destination plane memory using registers X%YSDH, DV.

The get command GETC is a command for sending data on the plane memory, and specifies the coordinate values of the transfer source plane memory using registers X%Y, DH, and DV. These commands are issued after rDMAWRJ is set in the control register of the DMC in order to perform DMA transfer.

Furthermore, the setting timing of this command is when data transfer is possible, and whether or not it is possible is determined by the register 5TATU.
The determination is made by referring to rPUT GET READYJ in bit 7 of S.

(C) Setting operating conditions at power-on, etc. Figure 44 is colored to explain the settings for the logical operation method when executing a command, and Figure 45 is a diagram to explain drawing with priority given to later specification. It is.

Setting processing at power-on includes initial setting of AGDC (register CTRLSBANK), setting of clipping area, etc.

The clipping area is an area in which only the inside or outside of an arbitrarily defined rectangular area is to be drawn, and is equivalent to the document detection effective range. Also, the clipping area is
In addition to when the power is turned on using the DC register rcLIP, marker area coloring is set after completion so that only the inside is subject to drawing, and this is reset after the marker scan is completed to prevent clipping.

Also, when the power is turned on, coloring is done by command (RRECF
ILL, PAINT) The logical operation method at the time of execution is set, but if the bit to be drawn is 81, the bit already on the plain memory is D1, and the bit D' is drawn on the plain memory as a result of the logical operation, then As shown in FIG. 44, the register MODO draws the AND of the inversion of the bit S to be drawn and the bit D, and the register MODI draws the logical sum of the bit S and the bit D. Make settings. However, as an initial state, it is assumed that the plane memory is all cleared with "0" data, and that the bit S to be drawn is set to "1".

When you execute the command to color using the above logical expression,
Priority will be given to later specifications. For example, as shown in FIG. 45(a), area 1 - area 2 are specified in order, and rl
After drawing area 1 with ``0011'', when drawing area 2 with ``0011'', the drawing of area 2 takes priority over the drawing of area 1 shown in the same figure (b), as shown in the same figure (C). be done.

(D) Coloring is processing. Figure 46 shows the coloring of the marker designated area to explain the process. Figure 47 shows the coloring within the frame to explain the process. Figure 48 shows the rectangle. The coloring of regions is a diagram for explaining processing.

Coloring is done in processing, marker editing, and frame coloring.
A marker scan and a closed area scan are respectively executed as pre-scans. During these marker scans and closed area scans, it is necessary to transfer the image data read by the IIT onto the plain memory. When transferring to this plain memory, registers X, Y%DH, D
Processes such as setting the coordinate values of the plane memory to V, setting rDMAWRJ in the control register CTRL of the DMC, setting the PUTC command, notifying rREADYJ to SYS, and canceling rDMAWR after the end of Briscan are performed.

In the coloring process, first, after the marker scan is completed and the marker area is drawn as shown in FIG. 46(a), the clip area is canceled, registers 9 PO (After setting the register PTNCNT in the D-plane memory to a pattern (FF,) for filling in the entire surface with "1", set the command PAINT for filling in any closed area.After that, the drawing process will be started by the drawing processor. , lomsec
Bit 2 of register 5TATUS per rDRAWIN
G PROCESSORBUSYJ is monitored, and when the drawing process by the drawing processor is completed, the message “NOT BUS
Wait until it becomes YJ.

Next, set registers XSY to 0, DX to 1200,
By setting DY to 1728, the entire surface of the plane memory is specified as a rectangular area, and the filling pattern is set in register PTCCNT, and register MOD
Exclusive OR (04n) is set as the type of logical operation in I, and a command RRECFILL is set to fill in the rectangular area (the entire surface of the PO's plain memory) indicated by the registers X, Y, DX, and DYt'. After that, 10ms e c
Bit 2 of register 5TATUS per rDRAWIN
G PROCESSORBUSYJ and rNO
Wait until it becomes T BUSYJ.

In this way, after completing the marker scan as shown in FIG. 46(a), the outside of the marker area is colored as shown in FIG. 46(b), and then the inversion process is performed. ), coloring within the marker area is processed. Note that during marker scanning, only the markers are color-converted to black and the others to white, so that only the markers are drawn as image data in the plain memory, as shown in FIG. 4A.

In addition, for coloring inside the frame, after completing the closed area scan, register PLANS settings and register PTNCNT are all set.
Set the pattern to be filled in with , set the closed area designation coordinates in registers X and Y, and set the command PAINT. From then on, register 5T every 10m5 e c
ATUS bit 2rDRAWING PROCES
SORBUSY", waits until rNOT BUSYJ, and returns rREADYJ to SYS.

In this way, the inside coloring process is executed as shown in FIG. 47(b) for the plane memory into which the original image is taken in by the closed area scan shown in 471m(a).

In a rectangular area, register PLANS settings, register P
Set a pattern to fill TNCNT with all 1s, set specified coordinate values in registers X, YSDX, and DY, and set command RRECFIL. From then on,
Bit 2 r of register 5TATUS every 10m5ec
Monitor DRAWING PROCESSORBUSYJ and wait until rNOT BUSYJ. In addition, if extraction is selected, reverse the rREAD to SYS
Return “Y”.

In this way, the inside of the rectangular area with the specified coordinate values as shown in FIG. 48(a) is colored as shown in FIG. will be done.

In the freeform area, the digitizer recognizes the area drawn freehand by the user and performs editing on this area. Edits that can be performed include coloring, masking, trimming,
There are four ways to convert from black to color.

In this process, first, when the digitizer coordinates are transmitted from Ul, they are stored in the memory of the VCPU. In this case, if the user first specifies the position [PO2, then Pl, P3, ......, and finally P6, the coordinate data will be the freeform area start coordinates PO1 freestyle area according to this order. Intermediate coordinates P1,..., free-form area final coordinates P6, free-form coloring starts coordinates P7 from Ul to v
The data is sent to the CPU, and information indicating that the coordinate manually has been completed is finally set.

On the other hand, the ACDC setting procedure is performed as follows from data stored in the memory of the VCPU.

First, clear each plane memory including the work brain. Then, set the area start coordinates PO to AGDC,
Furthermore, set the area intermediate coordinate P1 and set the coordinate PO and coordinate P1.
Connect with a line. Next, the area intermediate coordinate P2 is set, the coordinate P1 and the position [P2 are connected with a line, and the same process is repeated until the area final coordinate P6. Note that when setting to ACDC, a value obtained by multiplying the coordinate data by a magnification is used. next,
For coloring, set the start coordinate P7 and set the command PAINT. After that, register 5TATUS every 10m5ec
I:” 2rDRAWING PROCESSO
Monitor RBUSYJ and wait until it becomes rNOTBUSYJ.

(E) Pattern setting Pattern settings are made using the register FI L-PTN-REG.
According to the editing function selected in -1, for example, in trim, mask, and paint, only the annotation is output as a solid pattern, and in the case of shading, the background is colored with the selected pattern. In addition, in frame coloring, the background is colored with a solid pattern, and in color conversion, the foreground is colored with a solid pattern.

(nl-6>DMC Figure 49 shows the circuit configuration of DMC, Figure 50 shows the IR
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data transfer line to and from ESAGDC.

(A) 4! l! Required DMC requires IR by DMA write/put command.
Data is transferred from E to ACDC, and DMA read/
Data is transferred from the AGDC to the IRE via the FIFO in the middle using the get command. IRE to AC
Data transfer to the DC is performed in units of one plane using the plane memory, and data transfer from the AGDC to the IRE is performed using the plane memory in units of four planes.

DMC is a control register DMC-CTR-RE
G-n (n=o~3), register that sets the number of words in the main scanning direction during DMA transfer DMC-FWORD-REG
-n (0~?), register that sets the number of lines in the sub-scanning direction during DMA transfer DMC-3LINEO-REG-
n (lower 8 bits), DMC-9L I NE 1-
It has REG-n (upper 4 bits). These registers can be read and written from the VCPU, and the control register DMC-CTR-REG-3 is set to "0" by a power-on reset, but the contents of other registers are undefined when the power is turned on. It is.

The register is rewritten after 10 clocks have passed since the page sync PS became deactive.
This is done at least 4 clocks before S becomes active. At power-on, RAM and control register DMC-C
After writing to the three registers other than TR-REG is completed, write the control register DMC-CTR-R.
Write EG.

The control register DMC-CTR-REG has a RESO bit that sets whether to reduce to 8 dots/mm or 4 dots/mm, a DMA write mode that transfers data from IRE to AGDC during bliscan, and AGDC during main scan. D to transfer data from to IRE
Bit to set MA read mode, DMA stop,
It consists of a DMA bit that sets start, and an NRT bit that sets reset or normal operation.

(B) Circuit configuration MC has latch circuits 681 and 6 as shown in FIG.
The latch circuit 681 is used to sample external signals and the outputs of various counters (SSLINE counter 686, etc.) using a clock. 685 is used to synchronize a signal with a clock when outputting a memory output to an external device or an internal counter. The memory 684 is 36 bits wide, of which the upper 29 bits are used. When the reset register DMC-CTR-REG-3 is "0", the memory address is fixed to "0". Then, a counter 682, a selector 683, and a memory (RAM) 68
4 constitutes a sequencer section, and the details of the circuit are shown in the same figure).

In the sequencer shown in FIG. 49(c), an 8-bit selector, an 8-bit FF 697, and an 8→1 multiplexer 698 correspond to the selector section 683 shown in FIG. 49(a),
The 6-bit selector, the 6-bit FF, and the +1 increment circuit 699 correspond to the counter section 682 shown in FIG. It is something.

The human power required for the selector section 683 in FIG. 6(a) is 13 bits, whereas the 8-bit selector requires 16 bits of human power, but this requires pulling up 2 bits as shown in the table below. , 1 bit is used as a pull-down, so the condition input is 13 bits.

(The number 686.6 in the column of CNDSεL=O
87. . . . indicates the symbols of the counters etc. shown in FIG. 49. ) Pull-up is required when performing an unconditional jump, so originally it would be possible to configure a 1-bit selector from 14 bits with 13 conditional input bits + 1 pull-up bit, but doing so will slow down the speed. . Therefore, the signal CNDS is
EL selects 16->8 bits, and during actual conditional branching, CND2-O selects one condition with an 8->1 multiplexer. In other words, C.N.
A necessary extra-condition input is selected using a total of 4 bits consisting of DSEL and CND2-0.

Further, the counter section 682 normally operates to count up one clock at a time. At this time, A is selected by the 6-bit selector, delayed by 1 clock by the 6-bit FF, and added by the +1 increment circuit. In this way, since it returns to the input of the 6-bit FF, the memory 684 is manually incremented by 1 every clock.

Since a microprogram is stored inside this memory 684, instructions corresponding to the address indicated by the counter are output. In this instruction, conditional branching is performed depending on the upper 11 bits. In this case, C
Determine NDSEL and use JUMP, CND at conditional branch
Branch control is performed using a total of 10 bits: 2 to 0 and JA5 to 0.

JUMP is a signal that determines whether or not to take a conditional branch. When this bit is "0", no branch is taken, the output of the 8→1 multiplexer is forced to "0", and the 6-bit selector is input Select to.

At this time, the memory 6840 input becomes a value incremented by one. Further, when the bit of JUMP is "l", a conditional branch is performed.

When the condition human power selected by the 4 bits CNDSEL and CND2 to CND0 is true, it becomes "1", and the 6-bit selector selects human power B. Human power B is memory JA5~
0, which indicates the jump destination address at the time of branching. Further, if the condition input is not true, the output of the multiplexer becomes "0", and the value counted up by 1 is input to the memory in the same way as when JUMP is "1".

As mentioned above, the conditional input of the sequencer section is 16 bits, but a 16→1 multiplexer would not be able to keep up with the speed at the time of conditional branching, so an 8-bit selector is passed one clock before the conditional branching, and then 8→
1 multiplexer.

WORD counter 687 is an 8-bit down counter that counts the number of words during DMA transfer, and data is loaded from register DMC-FSWORD-REG. The LINE counter 686 is a 12-bit down counter that counts the number of lines during DMA transfer, and the data is stored in the register DMC-3SL INEO-R.
Loaded from EG and DMC-3SLINEI-REG.

The plane counter 688 is a 2-bit down counter that counts the number of transfer lines during READ transfer, and the data is stored in the register DMC-CTR-REG-0 (RES
When the value of O) is "0", it is "l", and the value of (RESO) is "
1”, “3” is loaded. A load signal and a count pulse are given by the sequencer, and when the count value of these counters reaches 0, the output becomes rHJ.

UBANK689 divides the frequency of the line to determine the timing of FIFO crossing during read transfer.
When SO is "0", the output becomes "H" every two lines, and when RESO is "1", the output becomes "H" every four lines, and the reset signal from the sequencer returns to "L".

UEND692 divides the line frequency and uses F during read transfer.
It generates the IFO read enable signal NGDO1NGDE. This circuit can be reset from the sequencer, and is reset within four clocks after the page sync PS falls.

The FIFO control unit is UllF690, UFSL691,
It is composed of UFLT693.694 and operates only during read transfer. FIFO write reset signal N
R3W is output from the sequencer, and every time data is loaded into the word counter, all FIFOs are reset. The selection of the FIFO is performed by a counter UFSL 691, and this count pulse is given by the sequencer and counts up two by two. The load data is created in hardware so that it becomes , and the load signal is given from the sequencer. FIFO write data is
It is latched in the UFLT section and divided into 8 bits each for the upper and lower bits. The select signal at this time is UFIF
Made with.

(C) Data transfer operation Next, the data transfer operation will be explained.

Data transfer from the IRE to the AGDC during pre-scanning is processed as follows using the lines shown in FIG. 50(a).

(2) First, the IRE binarizes the image data, reduces it from 16 dots/mm to 8 dots/mm or 4 dots/mm, and packs it into 16 pixels < 16 bits.

(2) Next, when the IRE becomes ready for data transfer, it sets the put strobe signal PSB to "H". DMC
In response to this, the DMA request signal DMQ of the ACDC output becomes rHJ, and READY becomes rl (if J, then D
MA write signal NDW is set to "L" and the start of writing is notified to AGDC.

After this, AGDC sets READY to "L". Also, D
MC sends a put acknowledge signal NPA to IRE.
Set K to "L".

■ When the put acknowledge signal NPAK becomes "off", the IRE puts data on the AGDC system bus.

■ When AGDC is ready to import data on the system bus, it sets READY to rHJ, so DMC
j, set the DMA write signal NDW to "H". This D
At the rising edge of MA write signal NDW, AGDC takes in data internally.

By repeating the above operations, you can convert ACDC from IRE.
Transfer data to.

Data transfer from the AGDC to the IRE during main scanning is processed as follows using the lines shown in FIG. 50(b).

■ First, ACDC's DMA request signal DMQ is
If READY is rH, the DMC
The read-do word NDR is set to "L" 1 to notify the ACDC of the start of reading. After this, AGDC changed READY to “L”.
”.

■ AGDC sets READY to "H" after loading the read data onto the system bus.

- When READY becomes r) (J, the DMC takes in the data on the system bus and double buffers (EVEN) the upper 8 bits and the lower 8 bits in that order.

ODD> is written to the FIFO constituting the data, and the DMA mode signal NDR is set to "H".

- The DMC writes the data of the four plane memory planes of the AGDC into one FIFO, one line per plane.

■ When writing to the four FIFOs (for one bank) is completed, the DMC returns to
DO or ACDC get end EVEN signal NEDE
By setting it to "L", the IRE is notified that FIFO reading is possible.

■ DMC is the other FIF that IRE is not reading.
Data is transferred from ACDC to O.

By repeating the above operations, r
Transfer data to RE.

(III-7) IRE Fig. 51 is a diagram showing the block of the IRE (image reduction/enlargement circuit), Fig. 52 is a diagram showing the configuration of the S/P conversion circuit, and Fig. 5
Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the OR circuit, Figure 54 is a diagram to explain data transfer from IRE to ACDC, Figure 55 is a timing chart of output control in the timing generator, and Figure 56 is a diagram of the FIFO readout circuit. 57 and 59 are diagrams showing the flow of FIFO read data, and FIG. 58 is a diagram showing the configuration of the multiplexer circuit.

In the present invention, as explained earlier, the plain memory 704
After writing an editing area to the area, an editing command is drawn in that area, and the editing command is read from the plain memory 704 in synchronization with the image data during main scanning to process the annotation (16 dots).
/ mm The plain memory 704 lowers the resolution for image data read at a resolution of 4 dots/m.
m. Therefore, the image data of the editing area obtained by reading the document by pre-scanning cannot be directly written into the plain memory 704.

Since the resolution of the image data and the resolution of the plane memory 704 are different as described above, the IRE LSI mainly performs conversion and adjustment processing between them. As for this conversion and adjustment processing, when writing the editing area obtained from the image data during pre-scanning into the plain memory 704, the image data is binarized in order to extract area information from the image data, and then the binarized data is By reducing the size and transferring it to the AGDC 701, the editing area can be written at a resolution suitable for the plain memory 704. Furthermore, when reading an editing command, the AGDC 701 enlarges the editing command read from the plain memory 704 and sends it.
The resolution of the plane memory 704 is adjusted to match the resolution of the image data.

FIG. 51 shows the circuit configuration.

(A) Registers and setting information The register group 722 is always readable and writable from the VCPU, and the selection information of the OR circuit 725 (OR3E
It consists of a register for setting L), a register for setting scaling threshold information, and a register for setting control information.

The selection information of the OR circuit 725 is information for setting whether or not to add the binarized data of the specified 4X4 matrix to the OR circuit 7250, and is 4 bits each in the main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction, for a total of 16 bits. Each bit can be set individually. The matrix according to the reduction resolution is 16 dots/mm → 4 dots/mm
In the case of 16 dots/mm → 8 dots/mm, a 2×2 matrix is used.

As explained earlier, the plane memory 704 has a resolution of 4 dots/mm, so when writing to the plane memory 704, it is necessary to reduce the resolution from 16 dots/mm to 4 dots/mm. Conversely, when reading from a file, it is necessary to enlarge it. A matrix is used to perform this reduction process, and the fifth
In the example shown in FIG. 1, it is configured so that it can be reduced to 7 mm (8 dots), providing versatility. For example, 4 dots) 7
When reducing to mm, 1 dot data is generated from 4×4 matrix data, 8 dots) / mm
1 from the 2×2 matrix data
Dot data is generated.

The reduction/enlargement threshold selection information is a threshold value when input image data is binarized, and is expressed as an 8-bit absolute value.

The control information is information (RESO) that sets either the reduction resolution from 16 dots/mm to 8 dots/mm or from 16 dots/mm to 4 dots/mm.
, setting information (NWRO) for reduction or enlargement processing.

As mentioned earlier, during pre-scanning to output data to the 0MC706, reduction processing is performed to match the resolution of the plain memory 704, and the data is transferred from the FIFO 707 to the AGD.
During main scanning for inputting C transfer data, enlargement processing is performed to enlarge to the original resolution, so settings are made in accordance with this timing.

(B) Processing circuit during pre-scanning The processing circuit during pre-scanning consists of a comparator 721 that binarizes image data, an S/P conversion circuit 724 that reduces 4 lines of 4×4 dot data to 1 dot, and an OR. It consists of a circuit 725 and an S/P conversion circuit 726 that combines the reduced image data into 16 bits.

The comparator 721 constitutes a binarization circuit, and compares the input image data VDIO-7 with threshold information to binarize it. This threshold information is set in the register group 722, and the binarized data is
Three lines of binarized data are held in the FIFO 715 in order to be sent to the IFO 715 and input into the next S/P conversion circuit 724 along with the human input data for four lines.

The S/P conversion circuit 724 performs processing to convert the binarized data into a matrix matching the resolution to be reduced, and combines the output of the comparator 721 and the binarized data for 3 lines held in the FIFO 715. A total of four lines of binarized data are taken in, and this is made into a matrix that matches the resolution to be reduced. For example, as shown in FIG.
Data in Jx LB30-33, LB20-23,
When LBLO~13 and LB00~o3, the reduction resolution is 16 dots)/mm → 8 dots) 7mm, LBL
o, LBII, LBOOlLBOI. Therefore, in reduction to 4 dots/mm, four 1-bit to 4-bit serial-to-parallel conversion circuits are used. In addition, when reducing to 7mm (8 dots), the data of LB3, LB2, LB12, LB13,
Since LBO2 and LBOI are no longer necessary, a circuit configuration is adopted in which these unnecessary data are cleared by hardware so that they do not affect the OR circuit 725 at the next stage. Examples of the circuit configuration are shown in FIGS. 52 and 52) and (C).

The OR circuit 725 uses the gate circuit shown in FIG. 53 to logically OR the binarized image data according to the reduction resolution. For example, select information 0 set in the register
When each bit 0ROO to 0R33 of R3EL is “1”, the data LO input manually from the S/P conversion circuit 724
If at least one bit of O to L33 is "1", one of the AND gates will output "1", so "1"
This is the OR output. By setting this selection information 0R3EL, for example, when the reduction resolution is 4 dots/mm, the logical sum of 4x4 or 3x3 matrices is calculated, so the logical sum of 16 dots of binary image data is calculated. Take. In addition, in the case of 8 dots) and 7 mm, since the logical sum of 2×2 matrix is calculated, the logical sum of the binary image data of 4 dots is calculated.

The S/P conversion circuit 726 performs 1-bit → 16-bit conversion, and converts the output of the OR circuit 725 into the DMC 706.
The data is grouped into 16-bit units in order to be transferred to the AGDC 701 via. For example, when reducing the resolution from 4 dots to 7 mm, the clock used for 1 bit → 16 bit conversion is 4 video clocks VC, as shown in FIG.
The clock used to collect 16 bits of OR data has the cycle of 64 video clock vCLK. Similarly, when reducing the resolution from 8 dots to 7 mm, the clock used for 1 bit → 16 bit conversion has a cycle of 2 video clocks VCLK, and the clock used to combine 16 bits of OR data is 32
This is the period of the video clock VCLK.

With the above configuration, the processing circuit at the time of pre-scanning first compares the image data with a threshold value using the comparator 721 and binarizes it. Then, the S/P conversion circuit 72 transfers the data for 4 lines including the 3 lines of data accumulated in the FIFO 715.
4, and the S/P conversion circuit 724 converts each 4-bit binary image data into halal values and extracts it. This 4×4 image data is reduced by an OR circuit 725. Here, 4
Performs a logical OR operation on the 3x3 image data specified in the register among x4, and if any of them is "1", that is, the 3x3 dot image data is selected from the 4x4 dot image data. , if there is even one image data of "1", by reducing the image data of 4 x 4 dots to 1 bit image data of "1", 16 dots/
Reduce the image data of mm to 4 dots/mm.

When the image data is reduced through the OR circuit 725 in this way, the S/P conversion circuit 726 collects it into 16 bits and transfers it to the AGDC 701 as shown in FIG.

(C) Processing circuit during main scan The processing circuit during main scan consists of a FIFO readout circuit 727 and a multiplexer 728.

The FIFO read circuit 727 is
This is to read out the 4-brane area data written in the IFO 707. The area data is 1 for each l plane.
It is written to one 1lFO707, and the FIFO70
7 is a double buffer. Here, IRE71
Since the data buses GDO-7 of 4 are 8 bits, it is not possible to read data for 4 blocks at the same time. Therefore, the FIFO 707 is selected by the FIFO reading circuit 727 shown in FIG. 56, and data for one of four planes is read out.

In this reading, first, the signal NEDE of the DMC 706 is
When the bank to be read is determined by /NEDO, the signal NE
While DE/NEDO is active, signal NREO~7
Select the PIFO 707 to be read. And F
Each read data from the IFO 707 is latched with timing signals F1 to F3, and when the read data for four planes is complete as shown in FIG.
In step 4, the data for one four pres are latched together into the next stage latch circuit and output to the multiplexer circuit 728.

Note that the video clock VCLK is used as the clock for FIFO reading. Therefore, the signal NREO~7
The active period is one video clock VCLK, and an interval is provided between one active signal and the next active signal NREO-7 to prevent data of different planes from colliding on the data bus.

A multiplexer circuit 728 converts the data format from a plain type to a pixel type, and converts the data format to 16 dots/m.
The data is output as m data, and as shown in FIG. 58, it is configured using four 8 tol multiplexers. There are 4 planes of area data written from AGDC 701 to FIFO 707, but the reduced resolution is 4 dots)
/ mm, as shown in Figure 59, the area command data is set to 4 as all 4 bits are valid data.
It is enlarged to 16 dots/mm and sent out. but,
If the reduced resolution is 8 dots) / mm, AGD
Since the area data written from C701 to FIFO 7Q7 is 2 planes or 1 brane, valid area command data is 2 bits for 2 planes and 1 bit for 1 plane.

With the above configuration, the processing circuit during main scan:
The image data transferred from AGDC701 and written to F■F0707 in synchronization with image data reading is
The FO reading circuit 727 reads four planes, and the multiplexer 728 enlarges this to 16 dots/mm as a command ACMD and sends it to the FAC 716.

(D) Timing generator The timing generator 729 controls the AGDC 70 through the DMC 706 to perform reduction and enlargement processing.
1, and DMC 706
This is a circuit that performs control for reading out the area data of 4 planes written in the FIFO 707 by DM.
The timing for transferring data to the ACDC 701 via the C 706 is as shown in FIG. That is, when 16 bits of data are complete, the signal PSTB is activated and output to the DMC 706. And DMC706
When the signal NPACK becomes active, the signal P
Make STB inactive. During the period when the signal NPACK is active, data ADO~15 is output onto the bus. This operation is performed every 4 lines when the resolution is 4 dots/mm and every 2 lines when the resolution is 8 dots/mm.

(III-8>Annotation processing circuit Figure 60 is FA
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the flow of signals between C, font buffer, and PLT.

(A) Overview of the configuration The annotation processing circuit reads out 4-bit area commands ACMD3-0 corresponding to each annotation from the plain memory 704 in synchronization with the image data, area commands ACMD3-0 for a total of 16 types of annotations. is enlarged to the same resolution as the image data using IRE and transferred, the area commands ACMD3 to 0
By executing , the text and background can be recognized in marker areas, closed areas, rectangular areas, and free-form areas, and the text and background can be selectively colored with netting, hatching, solid patterns, etc. using preset colors. This is for replacing or inserting a logo. For this purpose, as shown in Figure 60, font data such as netting, hatching, and logos (
pattern) font buffer 70 storing FD3-0
8. Font buffer 708 based on area command
It is provided with a FAC 716 that generates an address and reads out font data FD3-O, and a PLT 707 that replaces image data with a font color signal using font data FD3-0 and area commands ACMD3-0.

The font buffer 708 can be set and registered from the logo pattern memory (ROM) 705 set by the user or from the VCPU.
Fonts for patterns such as logos are registered. If the font buffer 708 has a one-plane configuration, two
Switch colors. Therefore, with a maximum of four plane configurations, it is possible to switch up to 16 colors using font data FD3 to FD0.

The FAC 716 stores a table for selecting patterns from area commands ACM03 to 0, and stores font data of the pattern selected by the table in the font buffer 708.
It consists of a counter for generating an address for reading from the font buffer 708, and a circuit for sending font data ACMD3 to ACMD0 from the font buffer 708. In the table, 16 patterns such as netting, hatching, solid pattern, logo, etc. can be registered in advance in correspondence with each area command ACMD3 to ACMD0.

PLT707 is a color palette that consists of 16 sets of color data corresponding to area commands ACMD3 to ACMD0 and provides color data of up to 16 colors for one annotation.
(COLOR-PALT) 731, Forepalette (FORE-PALT) 732 that gives up to 16 colors of color data to the text area when outputting annotations to both the text area (foreground)/background area (background)
, a logic LUT (LGIC-LUT) 734 that provides switching information (logical operation selection signal) between the image data and the output data of the color palette 731 or the forepalette 732 in response to area commands ACM03 to ACM03-O, and a logical operation selection signal. A multiplexer 733 is provided for switching between manuscript data and annotation data.

Next, an overview of the operation will be explained.

First, as a premise, font data such as netting, hatching, logos, etc. is registered in the font buffer 708 in advance.
Area command ACM03 is in the table of FAC716.
The start address of the font data corresponding to ~0 is set. Similarly, in the PLT 707, the logic LUT 73
A logical operation selection signal is registered in 4. Note that, as mentioned above, the color palette 731 has 16 sides, and one side of the color palette 731 is
Further, the data therein is selected by the font data FD3 to FD0, and the forepalette 732 selects the character part,
The colors of the text portion when annotations are output to both the background portions are registered, but these are rewritten every development cycle.

For example, the hatching pattern is area command ACM0.
ro O10 of 3 to 0", in the hub tick area, only one of the four plane memories 704, Pl corresponding to bit l, is drawn as "1". Therefore, in this area, roolOJ' is stored from the plain memory 704 in synchronization with the image data.
) Area command data ACMDO-3 is read.

In the FAC 716, when the area command data ACMDO~3 of ``roolo'' is entered manually, the font buffer 708 is created based on the area command data ACMD3~0.
Font data FD3 with hatching pattern
~0 is read and these area command data ACM0
3 to 0, sends font data FD3 to O to the PLT 717.

In PLT717, area command data ACMD3~
Based on 0, the logical operation selection signal for the hatching pattern registered in the LGI is selected in the logic LUT 734, and 2 is selected in the color palette 731,
The color palette of CPl is selected. Then, from the 16 color data of this color palette, font date '9F
One color is selected by D3-0. For example, if the font data FD3-0 is "rllol" (rl3 in decimal), the color data of CPI-13 in the CPI color palette will be selected. multiplexer 73
In step 3, a character portion and a background portion are recognized in image data, and image data is output for the character portion and color data is output for the background portion in accordance with a logical operation selection signal.

In this way, the font data FD3-0 and logical operation selection signal are read out corresponding to each area command data ACMDO-3, and further the area command data ACMDO-3 is read out.
Editing processing is performed by selecting an annotation color from the font data FD3 to FD0 and replacing the image data with a specific font. Therefore, the font data FD3-0 are data that have patterns such as netting, hatching, solid, logo, etc., and also have color information.
By changing O to 3, patterns with different color combinations can be output.

For example, the same pattern on FAC716 is
If the font data FD3~3 is registered in ro O10J, even if the font data FD3~0 are the same, the PLT
In 717, different color palettes 731 such as CPI and CF2 are selected.

Also, even with the same pattern, in font data FD3-0, for example, "0101", "0110", roll
” (A, B in color palette 731.

rllol", "1110", rl 1
11J, color data different from the color data of A, B, and C will be selected in the color palette 731.

(B) PLT configuration Next, the configuration of the PLT will be explained.

61 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a PLT, FIG. 62 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a logic LUT, FIG. 63 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a color palette, and FIG. 64 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a forepalette. It is.

As shown in FIG. 61, the PLT includes registers 741 and 742 that can be read and written by the VCPU at all times, and also includes the logic LUT? 45. Color palette 7
43, it has a forepalette 744 as internal RAM.

Register 741 has a set-up bit NSU;
By writing “0” here, VCP is stored in the internal RAM.
This allows access from U, and prevents internal data from being rewritten due to noise, for example, during copy execution. Further, the register 742 is used to set a threshold value for determining the character/background part of the colored part selection bit, and this threshold value is set before the start of each development cycle for Y, M, and C. .

The logic LUT 745 is the area command ACMDO~
Logical operation selection signals LGIC2 to LGIC0 as shown in FIG. 62 are written to addresses LGO to LG15 corresponding to 3 to determine the processing corresponding to that area command, and are set when setting the editing function.

The logical operation selection signals LGIC2 to LGIC0 are used to output the original as it is as shown in FIG. Processing to replace the text with a logo, processing to replace it with a logo, and processing to replace only the text portion or only the background portion in monochrome with netting, hatching, or solid are defined.

For example, when the logical operation selection signals LGIC2-0 are "000", the original is output as is by selecting the image data VDI, but when it is "001", when the foreground (text) is recognized, In this part, the color data of the color palette based on the font data of the mesh, hatch, or solid pattern read from the font buffer 708 is output, and the image data is replaced with 0 (white) in the background. Also, r
o In the case of 10J, when the foreground is recognized,
Once the color data output from the forepalette 744 is selected in this part and the background is recognized, the color data output from the color palette 743 is selected in this part. In other words, the text is converted to a specific color, and the background is filled in with mesh, hatching, or solid color using the specific color. In addition, in the case of ro l IJ, by comparing the image data and the color data output from the color palette 743 and outputting the larger one, only the background part can be filled with mesh, hatching, or solid patterns -NOO, +
In the case of ``rlol'', the logo is output in a rectangular area by replacing the image data with the color data output from the color palette 743 as described above, and in the case of ``rlol'', only the arbitrary logo pattern is output from the color palette 743. Replace the image data with the color data output from . rl 1
0J, rill, . . . + are logical operation selection signals for monochrome, which recognize the foreground and background, and replace the image data with the color data output from the color palette 743.

The color palette 743 consists of 16 sets of palettes CPO-CP15, as shown in FIG. 63, and each palette consists of color data of 16 colors in 16 bytes. Then, one of the 16 palettes CPO to CP15 is selected by the area command, and one byte of color data (CPO-0 to 15, CPI
-0 to 15, . . . CP 15-0 to 15) are selected and output. Therefore, up to 16 colors can be selected and output for one gamma coloration (mesh, hatching, solid, logo, etc.), that is, for one area command. Note that the number of bytes to be used varies depending on the plane configuration of the font buffer, and whether a set of color data is used or not is determined by processing the corresponding logical operation selection signals LGIC2 to LGIC0.

These settings are set before starting each development cycle for Y, M, and C to determine the annotation color.

The foreground palette 744 has color data of 16 colors in 16 bytes as shown in FIG. This is to give color data of the character portion when outputting annotations to both. This color data is set before starting each development cycle for Y, M, and C.

The comparator 748 compares the image data with a threshold value and generates a foreground or background identification signal, and the comparator 749 compares the image data with the output of the color palette 743 and generates the magnitude signal. It is something to do.

This magnitude signal is valid for the logical operation selection signal of ``r011'' which outputs an annotation only to the background portion. Further, the AND gate 750 detects ro OOOJ font data.

The multiplexer 746 receives a logical operation selection signal LG output from the logic LUT 745 as a selection information signal.
According to the IC, image data and annotation data such as font data and color data are separated by the identification signal output from the comparator 748, the magnitude signal output from the comparator 749, and the font data "0" signal output from the AND gate 750. Check the relationship between image data and color data, and output image data VD.
Send as O. For example, when the logical operation selection signal LGIC is rOQIJ, when the foreground is recognized by the identification signal, the color data of the color palette is output, and an annotation in which only the text portion is color-converted is output. Further, when the logical operation selection signal LGIC is ro OIJ, when the foreground is recognized by the identification signal, the color data of the foreground palette is output, and when the background is recognized, the color data of the color palette is output. Outputs annotations to each part of the text and background.

(III-9) Area specification FIG. 65 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of the area specification LSI.
The figure shows the setting area and the setting contents of the area setting register.

(A) Features The IPS of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Convert to C recording signal,
After each process of document size detection, color conversion, and UCR is performed in sequence, various processes such as spatial filtering, TRC, and reduction/enlargement are performed depending on the developing color. The γ annotation processing described earlier is performed immediately before the screen generator, but the area specification LSI is
The above adjustment function is realized in a rectangular area based on the Y coordinate, and commands are generated for each specified area in real time to perform color masking, color conversion, UCR, spatial filter, and TRC.

It controls the screen generator, etc., and performs switching between full color and monochrome, four-color color conversion, edge emphasis mode and sharpness mode, negative/positive inversion, tone adjustment, etc. for each designated area. The area that can be specified is 8 h, including the entire surface of the manuscript, and 1
A 6-bit command is generated. In this setting, a circuit is configured in which the priority is gradually increased in the order of designation, giving priority to later designations.

(B) The circuit for specifying the circuit configuration area has counters 801 and 802 for detecting the position as shown in FIG. It is configured to generate area commands by dividing them into circuits that generate area commands. The counter 801 counts the line sync LS to detect the position in the sub-scanning direction (Y-scanning direction), and the counter 802 counts the video clock CK to detect the position in the main-scanning direction (X-scanning direction). It is something to detect. Based on the output of this counter, each circuit detects an area in the sub-scanning direction and an area in the main scanning direction, generates an area signal, and generates an area command.

First, a circuit for generating area signals in the sub-scanning direction will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 66, the register 805 holds the start position y of area specification in the sub-scanning direction, and the register 806 holds the end position y of area specification in the sub-scanning direction.
2. The comparator 807 compares the start position y1 of the register 805 and the value of the counter 801, and the comparator 808 compares the end position y2 of the register 806 and the value of the counter 801.
The comparison process is performed in synchronization with the output of the Nandogator 803, which uses the lower three bits of the counter 801 manually. In other words, comparison processing is performed every 8 lines. J
- The flop 809 is set using the line sync LS as a clock from when the comparator 807 detects a match until the comparator 808 detects a match, and outputs an area signal in the sub-scanning direction, and based on this area signal. A gate circuit 810 controls the area signal in the main scanning direction.

Next, a circuit for generating area signals in the main scanning direction will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 66, the register 811 holds the area specification start position X in the main scanning direction.
2 holds the end position x2 of area designation in the main scanning direction. Comparator 813 is register 8
11 start position x1 and the value of the counter 802,
The comparator 814 outputs the end position x2 of the register 812.
The value of the counter 802 is compared with the value of the counter 802, and the comparison process is performed in synchronization with the output of the NAND gater 804 which uses the lower three bits of the counter 802 manually. In other words, comparison processing is performed every 8 lines. The flop 70 block 815 in J- is set from when a match is detected by the comparator 813 to when a match is detected by the comparator 814 using the video clock CK as a clock, and outputs an area signal in the main scanning direction.
The output of 0 is used as a reset signal for the flip-flop 815 for this J-. The gate circuit 810 is J-
When the output of the flop-flop 809 is at a high level (within the area in the sub-scanning direction) or when the line sync LS is at a low level, a low level is output, and the flop-flop 815 is reset to J-.

Therefore, the output of flop-prop 815 to J- is:
It is reset in the sub-scanning direction (line) outside the specified area in the sub-scanning direction or when the line sync LS is low level, and when it enters the specified area in the sub-scanning direction, " 1”. Area signal generation circuit 816-7 generates area signal AR? Area signal generating circuits 816-6 to 816-1, which generate area signals AR6+ to ARI+, have exactly the same configuration.

The priority encoder 821 receives the area signal ART generated by the area signal generation circuits 816-7 to 816-1.
It generates an encode signal by performing priority processing of +~ARI+, and is an area signal AR? + is the highest priority, and the priority is decreased in the order of AR6+, AR5+, . . .

This priority encoder 821 outputs a value corresponding to the number of the area signal with the highest priority when a plurality of signals among the area signals ART+ to ARI+ become "l". Therefore, for example, when the area signals AR6+ and ARI+ become "1", the outputs S2+~
SO+ becomes "110". Registers 822-7 to 82
2-0 are area signals ART+ to ARO+(A
RO+ is for setting a 16-bit area command corresponding to an unspecified area (in other words, an area other than ART+ to ARI+), and selectors 823-15 to 823-0 each set a register 822-7 corresponding to an encode signal. ~
822-0 data is selected. For example, when the encode signals S20 to SO+ are "110", the area command consisting of 16 bits of the register 822-6 is selected in each selector 823-15 to 823-0, and the latch circuits 824 to 825 (4 bits) are selected. 4 bits each) are held by the latch circuit. Each bit of this area command is assigned to a monochrome, full color, or other command.

Note that the enable signal EN? input to the gate circuit 810? + is used to individually enable/disable the generation of unused area signals, and is an enable signal EN11.
5+ to EN100 are selectors 823-15 to 823-
The area command is enabled/disabled on a bit-by-bit basis by inputting a manual input to the 0 enable terminal.

(C) Area Designation and Operation When editing a rectangular area using the adjustment function in the circuit configured as described above, the area in terms of xY coordinates and its editing contents are manually specified.

Then, prior to the main scan, area data based on xY coordinates are sent to area signal generating circuits 816-1.
816-2, . . . each register 805.806
．． 811.812, and area commands corresponding to the edited contents are set in registers 822-11... Then, the main scan is executed, and the area signal AR? When one or more of +~ARI+ becomes "1", the priority encoder 821 outputs the encoded signal S2+~So+ with higher priority, and the corresponding area command is sent to the selector 823-15.
~823-0 is selected and sent out. Note that when all of the area signals ART+ to ARI+ are "0", the area command of the register 822-0 is sent.

As described above, in the area designation LSI circuit according to the present invention,
Area signal AR? If +~ARO+ overlap, the area signal AR with higher priority is selected according to the priority order.
Encode signals S20 to SO+ of 7+ to ARI+ are generated, and area commands corresponding to the area signals ART+ to ARO+ are held in the latch circuit 824 in synchronization with scanning and sent out as 16-bit commands consisting of F150 to FO+. do.

These 16-bit commands F15+ to FO+ use, for example, 1 bit each for monocolor, full color, and edge emphasis, 2 bits for sharpness, 3 bits for TRC, and 4 bits for color conversion. In the configuration shown in FIG. 37, the area specifying LSI is used for the area command generation LSI 352 shown in FIG. 37 (6), and the 16-pit command F1
5+ to FO+ are the same as color conversion LSI353 (a)
, (b) are sent to other LSIs as AREA CMD 8. Therefore, for example command F15
If + is a monochrome bit (MONOI in FIG. 37), this bit is supplied as a color masking matrix switching signal and a UCR control signal.

Furthermore, by assigning a 4-bit command to color conversion, it is possible to specify color conversion for a maximum of four colors in one area.

(III-10) Color Conversion (A) Function and Features One of the major features of the digital color image processing apparatus is that it has recording data of, for example, 256 gradations for each color. Therefore, colors can be selectively recognized in color originals, and 256-gradation recording data can be generated regardless of the color of the color original, and this can be freely replaced with the image data of the original. Become. Color conversion takes advantage of this feature.

Color conversion is a useful function in a digital color image processing device in the sense that it can provide users with editing versatility, expanded usage, and possibilities.

In color conversion according to the present invention, as outlined above, a comparison color and a conversion color are specified, and by detecting the comparison color in a color document, the portion of the detected comparison color is converted to the specified conversion color. You can select either matching color conversion, which changes the color, or mismatch color conversion, which changes parts other than the detected comparison color to a specified conversion color, and this conversion process can be performed for four colors. Furthermore, since this color conversion is designated for each region by the region designation circuit, it can be performed for a plurality of regions that can be designated by the region designation circuit.

With the color conversion function, specify the area as above,
If you can change the specified comparison color or a color other than the comparison color in that specific area to the specified conversion color, when reproducing a color original, you can emphasize the inconspicuous color part of the image as necessary. In addition, conversely, it is possible to make the image of the conspicuous color part less conspicuous in the whole image. This means that by using color conversion, the user can reproduce a color original by freely changing the color tone expression, for example, and can change the image of the original to express it. Therefore, it becomes possible to create images using the manuscript.

In order to provide a function that satisfies the user in color conversion, detection of comparative colors is one of the important elements. For example, if the quality of the image data is poor, the detected color may deviate from the comparison color specified by the user, resulting in an unintended color range or a portion of the intended color missing. Color conversion processing will be performed within the range. Furthermore, if the color-converted and outputted image data is distorted by downstream processing, the reproducibility of the specified converted color will deteriorate. Viewed in this way, when performing various conversion and adjustment processes on image data, the position at which the color conversion is performed influences the evaluation. Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 37, color conversion (304) is performed after END conversion (301), color masking (302), and document size detection (303), and The system is configured to perform color conversion using high-quality image data that has been adjusted for equivalent neutral density and color balance with respect to the read image data.

(B) Circuit structure FIG. 67 shows the circuit structure of the color conversion LSI, FIG. 68 shows the structure of the color detection section, FIG. 69 shows the circuit structure of the color conversion section, and FIG. 70 shows the circuit structure of the color conversion section. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a priority circuit.

In the color conversion circuit according to the present invention, a color to be converted is detected from three colors Y, M, and C, and a matching color conversion is performed in which the color to be converted is converted into another color, and a color other than the color to be converted is converted into another color. It performs mismatch color conversion to convert to , and a maximum of four colors can be set as the conversion color. The output image data is controlled by a color conversion control signal, a control signal for matching color conversion/mismatching color conversion, and a color to be converted detection signal.

In FIG. 67, the CPU interface 831 has a register, and selection and setting of matching color conversion/mismatching color conversion is performed in the I control register for conversion colors. The selection signal for defeating color conversion/mismatching color conversion is ICCAS I.
CCB11CCC, ICCD, and these bits are set to "1" when performing matching color conversion.
When performing mismatch color conversion, "0" is set.

Four color detection R833A to 833D, and color conversion section 8
348 to 834D each have a register as shown in FIG. 68 and FIG. 69, and can independently set the color to be detected and the color to be converted.

Each of the color detection units 833A to 833D has a register 8 in which lower limit values are set for three colors, as shown in FIG.
41.843.845 and a register 842.844.846 in which an upper limit value is set. These and input image data are compared by comparators 847 to 852, and an AND gate circuit 853 outputs a designated color detection signal of "1" on the condition that all three colors are between the upper and lower limits. It is configured to do so.

The color converters 834A to 834D each have a register 86 that holds converted colors of Y, M, and C, as shown in FIG.
1 to 863, data WR is written by the write signal NWE and read by the read signal NOE. Then, by the selection signal CLSEL, the AND gate 8
64 to send out the converted color.

The priority circuit 835 receives the color detection signals IDTΔ, IDTBl IDTC, as shown in FIG.

[) TD and matching color conversion/mismatching color conversion selection signal ICC
A, ICCB, ICCC, ICCD EXOR circuit 86
5, and if only one of the signals is "1", the AND gate 866 converts the converted color control signals CHAE, CHBE,
AND's CHCE and CHDE, and the priority processing gate circuit 867 performs priority processing to generate the conversion processing signal CLSELA, .
B.C., O.T.

Either CCOT or DCOT is sent in priority order.

The video data selector 836 outputs the conversion processing signal CLSE.
LA, BCOT, CCOT, DCOT are all rQ
In the case of J, human image data THY, THM% THC
are output as they are, and if any of them is "1", the corresponding color conversion units 834A to 834 are output instead of the input image data.
D output (AY, AM, AC), (BY, BM, BC)
, (CY, CM, CC), (DY, DMSDC) are selected and output.

Each of the above color detection units 8338 to 833D and color conversion unit 83
The internal register settings for 48 to 834D are set by the CPU.
This is done from the VCPU through the interface 831.

As shown above, the color conversion control signal is “1” (high level)
When , color conversion processing is enabled, and when it is "0" (low level), the input image data that undergoes color conversion processing is output as is. Then, in the color conversion process, −defective color conversion/
When the detection signal becomes "1" in the match conversion mode when the selection signal for mismatch color conversion is "1", the converted image data is output, and it is detected in the mismatch conversion mode when the selection signal for -defeating color conversion/mismatch color conversion is "0". When the signal becomes "0", converted image data is output. In this case, when color conversion processes overlap at the same time, the converted image data with the highest priority is selected and output according to the priority order.

For example, a case where color A is converted into a matching color and color D is converted into a mismatched color will be described.

In this case, the converted color control signals CHAE and CHDE are r
l', CHBE and CHCE are set to '0', -defective color conversion/mismatched color conversion selection signal ICCA is set to '1', ICCD
is set to "0". And color detection sections 833A and 833
The lower limit value of each color is written in the register 841.843.845 of D, the upper limit value of each color is written in the register 842.844.846, and the YlM ,
The converted color of C is written.

Therefore, the input image data is
Examples of combinations in which the value falls between the upper limit value and the lower limit value set in the register will be explained.

■ If the detection signals IDTA and [lTD of the color detection units 833A and 833D are both "1", that is, the input image data is between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of both, then the first of the AND gates 866 in FIG. Only the upper output becomes rlJ, and the conversion processing signal CLSELA becomes "1". Therefore, the converted color signals AYSAM and AC are output from the color conversion unit 834A.
are output, and the converted color signals AY, AM%AC are selected by the video data selector 836 and sent out.

■ Conversely, the detection signal ID of color detection units 833A and 833D
If both TA and IDTD are "0", that is, the input image data does not fall between the upper and lower limits of both, then only the bottom output of the AND gate 86B in FIG. 70 will be "1".
”. Then, since the outputs of the AND gate 866 other than the lowest one remain "0", these inverted signals are inputted to the lowest AND gate of the priority processing gate circuit 867 through the inverting circuit. The AND condition of the gate is satisfied and only the conversion processing signal DCOT becomes “
1”. Therefore, the color conversion section 834D outputs converted color signals DY, DM, and DC, and the video data selector 836 selects and sends out the converted color signals DY, DM%DC.

■ Also, the detection signal IDTA of the color detection unit 833A is “
l”, the detection signal IDTD of the color detection unit 833D is “0”
In this case, both the top and bottom outputs of the AND gate 866 in FIG. 70 become "L". In such a case, in the priority processing gate circuit 867, as is clear from the circuit configuration shown in FIG. When the top becomes "l", one of the lower AND gates becomes "0", and only the conversion processing signal CLSELA becomes "1". Therefore, as in the case of ■, the converted color signals AY and A are converted from the color conversion R834A.
M1AC is output, and the converted color signals AY, AM, and AC are selected by the video data selector 836 and sent out.

■ Contrary to the example of ■ above, the detection signal I of the color detection section 833A
When DTA is "0", the detection signal IDT of the color detection section 833D
If D is "1", AND gate 866 in FIG.
All outputs will be "0".

Therefore, the conversion processing signal CLSELASBC○T,C
C0T and DCOT both become "0" and no converted color signals are output from the color converters 834A to 834D, so the image input data input image data THY, THM, and THC are sent out as they are from the video data selector 836.

(C) Operation Timing FIG. 71 is a diagram showing operation timing waveforms of the color conversion LSI.

In the read cycle of VCPU access, Figure 71 (a
), the address set-up time tAs is as shown in
After the data pass DA?
Enable I~DAOI.

In the write cycle, after the address set-up time tA5 has elapsed, the write signal NW of the in-chip register is
Set R to low level.

In the image data processing, input image data VIA7-0, VIB7-0, VIC7-0 and conversion color control signals CHAE and CHBE are used as shown in FIG.

CHCESCHDE is the image data set up time jD+ until the video clock VCLK becomes high level.
s, other control signal set-up time tass, image data hold time jDII+, and other control signal hold time t01N become effective.

Then, output image data VA7-0, VB7-0, VC
7 to 0 are image data output delay times t from the next cycle of the video clock VCLK. , becomes effective later.

(1111-11) Features of LS I FIG. 72 is a diagram showing an example of the pin arrangement of an LSI.

In the PS of the present invention, loading efficiency is increased by incorporating circuits into the LSI for each function, and the device configuration is made more compact. Furthermore, the connection pins of the LSI are arranged on the top, bottom, left and right as shown in FIG.
They are grouped to facilitate layout and wiring when mounting I on a printed circuit board. In the illustrated example, pins related to image data output are arranged at the top, pins related to image data input are arranged at the bottom, pins related to the CPU interface are arranged on the left, and pins related to control are arranged on the right. The IPS of the present invention divides each functional unit into LSI circuits, and as shown in Fig. 37, the LSIs are arranged along the flow of data that is manually inputted from the IIT and outputted to the [)T. are doing. In the LSI with the pin arrangement shown in FIG. 72, if the lower part where the pins related to image data input are arranged is rotated to the left, that is, 90 degrees to the right, the image data will flow from left to right. This orientation matches exactly the arrangement shown in Figure 37, in which the CPU bus is passed through the upper side, the control signal line is passed through the lower side, and the LSIs are successively connected in cascade from left to right along the flow of image data. . Therefore, if the pin arrangement of each LSI is unified as described above, the packaging density will be increased, and
Noise problems can also be reduced by shortening the wiring length.

Furthermore, the LSI used in the present invention has a latch circuit (D
Q) performs pipeline processing in synchronization while latching image data, and an internal clock controls the operation of this latch and each circuit. The internal clock generation circuit generates an internal clock from the video clock VCLK, and has a circuit configuration consisting of a flip-flop circuit and an AND gate, and generates the power down signal NP.
C is used to stop the internal clock. This internal clock stop control allows L
The power consumption of the SI is reduced, heat generation is suppressed, and noise resistance is improved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, annotation functions such as netting, hatching, solid printing, logo insertion, etc. are added after adjustment functions such as color mode, copy image quality adjustment function, and enlargement function. Therefore, the annotation function can be given a high priority, and the adjustment function can be configured to work on the entire surface.

In other words, the image data processed by the editing processing means related to the image adjustment function is processed by the editing processing means related to the annotation function, and is converted into colors and patterns corresponding to the bit images in the plane memory of multiple planes. Processing related to the annotation function has a higher priority. Moreover, since the part on which the annotation function operates is processed by the image adjustment function, the processing by the image adjustment function is applied to the entire area.

In addition, by configuring the trim to replace the outside of the area with white, and the mask to replace the inside of the area with white and output a logical sum, it is easy to imagine copy output by a combination of trim and mask, regardless of the order of operations. can. Since the priority is fixed in this way, and changes before and after operations are minimized, the device can be handled according to the output image without worrying about the order of operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows one of the editing control methods of the image recording device according to the present invention.
2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a color copying machine to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware architecture; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the software architecture. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the copy layer, Figure 6 is a diagram showing state division, Figure 7 is a diagram explaining the sequence from the power-on state to the standby state, and Figure 8 is a diagram showing the sequence of the production state. Figure 9 is a diagram explaining the concept of diagnostics, Figure 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the system and other remotes, Figure 11 is a diagram showing the module configuration of the system, and Figure 12 is a diagram explaining the concept of diagnostics. Figure 13 is a diagram explaining the creation of a job mode, and Figure 13 is a diagram showing the data flow between the system and each remote, and the data flow between modules within the system.
4 is a perspective view of the document scanning mechanism, FIG. 15 is a diagram explaining the control method of the stepping motor, FIG. 16 is a timing chart explaining the IIT control method, FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the imaging unit, and FIG. 18 19 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a CCD line sensor, FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video signal processing circuit, No. 20rIA is a timing chart explaining the operation of the video signal processing circuit, and FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of the IOT configuration. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the transfer device, FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of mounting a UI using a display, and FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of corner and height settings for mounting a UI. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the module configuration of the UI, FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the UI, FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the configuration of the UICH, and FIG.
Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of EPIB, Fig. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the display screen, Fig. 30 is a perspective view of the F/P,
Figure 31 is a perspective view of the M/U, Figure 32 is a diagram for explaining the density characteristics of negative film and the principle of correction, and Figure 33 is a diagram for explaining the density characteristics of negative film and the principle of correction.
The figure schematically shows the configuration of the F/P, and also shows the F/P and M
A diagram showing the relationship between /U and IIT, Figure 34 is a diagram for explaining the operating procedure and timing, and Figure 35 is a diagram showing the relationship between IIT and IIT.
Figure 36 shows the outline of the PS modular configuration.
FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the IPS, and FIG. 38 is a diagram for explaining each module that constitutes the I
Figure 39 is a diagram showing the layer structure of the PS control system.
A diagram showing the configuration of the PS control system, Fig. 40 is SYS,
! = A diagram for explaining communication with the IPS, Figure 41 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between scan operation and IPS settings, and Figure 42 is a diagram for explaining the LSI that performs each process of annotation, area specification, and color conversion. Figure 43 is a diagram showing the configuration of the installed editing control circuit, Figure 43 is a diagram for explaining the command setting timing, Figure 44 is a diagram for explaining the setting contents of the logical operation method at the time of command execution, Figure 45 is a diagram to explain drawing with priority to later specification, Figure 46 is a diagram to explain the process of coloring the marker specified area, and Figure 47 is a diagram to explain the process of coloring within the frame. No illustration, No. 48
The figure shows the coloring of the rectangular area to explain the process, No. 49.
The figure shows the circuit configuration of the DMC, and Figure 50 shows the IRE, A
Figure 51 is a diagram showing the data transfer line between GDC and Figure 52 is a diagram showing the configuration of the IRE (image reduction circuit).
The figure shows an example of the configuration of an S/P conversion circuit, Figure 53 shows an example of the configuration of an OR circuit, and Figure 54 shows an example of the configuration of an S/P conversion circuit.
Figure 55 is a timing chart for output control in the timing generator, Figure 56 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a FIF○ readout circuit, Figures 57 and 59 are FIFO readout data. 58 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a multiplexer circuit, FIGS.
62 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a logic LUT, FIG. 63 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a color palette, FIG. 64 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forepalette, and FIG. 65 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forepalette. 66 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of the area specifying LSI, FIG. 66 is a diagram showing the setting area and setting contents of the area setting register, FIG. 67 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of the color conversion LSI, and FIG.
Figure 69 shows the configuration of the color detection unit, Figure 69 shows the circuit configuration of the color conversion unit, Figure 70 shows the configuration of the priority circuit, and Figure 71 shows the operation timing waveforms of the color conversion LSI. 72 is a diagram showing an example of LSI bin arrangement,
FIG. 73 is a diagram showing an example of copy output due to a difference in the order of operations in a conventional apparatus. 1 and 2... Editing processing means, 3... Color masking circuit, 4... Color conversion circuit, 5-... Under color removal processing circuit, 6... Plain memory. Applicant Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Ryukichi Abe (5 others) Figure 1 Deployment Bulk Figure 5 Figure (b) Figure (d) @Txi- Figure '(e) -T3- Coral Coral plate No. 5 Kuushitako Q -------------P Figure 14 Figure 15 (d) (e) EGI TAILEOG! Fig. 15 (a) (b) Fig. 16 (a) Fig. 16 (b) Fig. 18 (b) HwSeH 50mg Fig. 17 Fig. 20 Fig. 32a G Co B Co R Co 34a 35a z 21st L -2111'' 410 412/口===ko Figure 22 (a) Figure 22 (b) Atsushi 26 Figure Seat 29 Figure 29 Figure 36 (a) Figure 36 (d) (e ) Fig. 36 (f) Fig. 36 (i) ■y- ``Two ■ C-- Gohi (reduced)) \) (thick) Fig. 36 (k) Fig. 36 (n) Fig. 36 (p ) (q) Fig. 37 (C) Fig. 38 Fig. 39 Fig. 40 (b) Fig. 43 Fig. 44 (b) Fig. 45 (C) Jar t<pe Fig. 50 (a) (b) Figure 52 Figure 54 Figure 53 Figure 1 shows He L, IN) and In-H Hu (n-g,
Figure 58 Figure 62 (b) Figure 64 Figure 63 Figure 66 Support! (X direction 1'Q1) -> Fig. 71 (b) Fig. 72 Fig. 73 Fig. 73

Claims (33)

[Claims] (1) In an image processing device that converts original reading color separation signals into recording signals of each developed color, selects the recorded signals of the developed color for each development cycle, and performs recording and playback, image processing parameters are set for each designated area. and an annotation editing processing means for overlaying an annotation pattern on the image;
An editing control method for an image recording device, characterized in that an arbitrary area on an image is specified and edited using an image adjustment function and annotation. (2) The logo insertion and trim mask processing performed by the annotation editing processing means are given a high priority, and the image adjustment processing performed by the area editing processing means is given a low priority. Editing control method for image recording device. (3) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area editing processing means is arranged on the upstream side and the annotation editing processing means is arranged on the downstream side in the flow of image data processing. (4) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area editing processing means issues an editing command to each of the plurality of image area adjustment units for each designated area. (5) The area editing processing means has a plurality of areas and means for holding editing commands corresponding to each area, detects the area in synchronization with image data processing, and outputs the editing command corresponding to the detected area. 5. The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 4. (6) The area editing processing means has a priority processing circuit that processes the detected area according to a preset priority, and when multiple areas are detected at the same time, selects one area according to the priority and 5. The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising outputting a corresponding editing command. (7) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the area editing processing means holds the areas in the specified order to give priority to later specification. (8) The annotation editing processing means reads the data held in each memory, including a plain memory that holds area commands for annotation editing, a font memory that holds annotation patterns using font data, a color memory that holds annotation color data, and a plain memory that holds area commands for annotation editing. 2. The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processing circuit that performs annotation editing on the image data in accordance with processing timing of the written image data. (9) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plane memory is composed of a plurality of planes of memory, and the area command is drawn and held in a bit pattern. (10) The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plane memory is configured to have a size with a resolution lower than that of the image data. (11) Claim 8 characterized in that the font memory has font data of mesh, hatching, solid, and logo.
Editing control method of the described image recording device. (12) The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the font data has color data selection information of a color memory. (13) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the font data can be set using a logo pattern memory or a designated input pattern. (14) The color memory is characterized in that it consists of a color palette having color data for each annotation, and a forepalette that provides color data to the other when outputting annotations to both the foreground and background of each document. An editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8. (15) The color palette has a plurality of sets of color data, and the set of color data is selected by an area command, and the selected set of color data is selected by font data. Editing control method of the described image recording device. (16) The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the color memory is rewritten in accordance with the developed color every development cycle of image data. (17) The processing circuit includes a graphic display controller that performs drawing in the plain memory and output processing of the drawn bit pattern, a scaling circuit that scales and scales data according to the resolution of the plane memory and the resolution of the image data, and area commands. Claim 8 characterized by comprising a font reading circuit that reads font data from a font memory, and an output control circuit that reads color data from a color memory based on an area command and font data, controls switching with image data, and outputs an annotation. Editing control method of the described image recording device. (18) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit has two sets of line buffers that hold bit pattern data of the plurality of plane memories for each line. (19) Editing of an image recording device according to claim 17, wherein the graphic display controller writes data of a given editing area to a work area of a plain memory, and then draws an area command in the editing area. control method. (20) The editing control method for an image recording device according to claim 17, wherein, when coordinate values are given, the graphic display controller draws a line connecting the coordinate points on a plain memory to write an editing area. . (21) The graphic display controller is characterized in that when image data such as a marker image or a closed area frame image on the document is given from the reduction/enlargement circuit, the graphic display controller writes the image as an editing area.
Editing control method of the image recording device according to 7. (22) The image recording device according to claim 17, wherein the graphic display controller first performs coloring processing on the outside of the editing area and then inverts the area to color the inside of the editing area in the plain memory. Edit control method. (23) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 22, wherein in the coloring process, processing is performed with priority given to later designation by logical operations between bits in the plain memory and drawing bits. (24) The reduction/enlargement circuit is a binarization circuit that binarizes image data by comparing it with a threshold value, and a binarization circuit that holds multiple lines of binarized data, extracts it in a predetermined matrix size, and performs logical sum processing. Claim 17, further comprising a reduction circuit that reduces the binary data, and transfers the reduced binary data all at once to the graphic display controller.
Editing control method of the described image recording device. (25) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the resolution of the plane memory can be changed by switching the matrix size by controlling the OR processing circuit. (26) The reduction/enlargement circuit is characterized in that it sequentially reads the data corresponding to each plane memory held in the line buffer, parallelizes the data, and sends it out as an area command after enlarging it from the resolution of the plane memory to the resolution of the image data. The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 17. (27) Claim characterized in that the output control circuit has a selection table of pattern information of the font buffer from the area command, and a setting table of the logical operation selection signal for switching between the image data and the color data of the annotation from the area command. Editing control method for an image recording device according to 17. (28) Claim characterized in that the output control circuit identifies foreground and background by comparing a threshold value and image data, and switches between image data and annotation color data using a logical operation selection signal. Editing control method for an image recording device according to 17. (29) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit outputs only the annotation using a solid pattern to realize trimming, masking, and painting. (30) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit colors the background according to the selected pattern to realize shading. (31) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is configured to color the background using a solid pattern to realize coloring within the frame. (32) The editing control system for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is configured to realize color conversion by coloring the foreground with a solid pattern. (33) The editing control method for an image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the mask and the trim are outputted by logical AND processing between images.