JPH05316331A - Picture information recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exclude the effect due to dust and dirt. CONSTITUTION:Picture information fetched by a picture information fetch means 1 is stored in a memory means 2. A black picture element in each line of the picture information is detected by a black picture element detection means 3. Then a space detection means 4 sums black picture element numbers up to lines above a final line and the sum is compared with a threshold level. Then it is discriminated that a first line not including a black picture element among lines under the line reaching the threshold level is a head line of a space and lines lower than the head line are space parts. Then a black picture element due to dust and dirt is discriminated to be a space. Then a valid information length calculation means 5 calculates a valid information length by eliminating the space from the picture information in the memory means 2 and a reduction rate is calculated by dividing a recordable length of recording paper by the valid information length. Then the valid information is reduced by the reduction means 7 based on the reduction rate and the result is fed to a recording means 8, in which data are printed out on recording paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image information recording apparatus suitable for application to a facsimile machine, a copying machine and the like.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For example, in a facsimile machine that uses cut paper as recording paper, the received image information for one page is
When it is longer than the length of the cut sheet set, it is usual to reduce the image information and record it, or to divide it into several cut sheets and record it without reducing it.

[0003]

When the image information is reduced and recorded, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, even if the lower end of the image information L has a margin, it is recorded with the entire length L1 including the margin. The value K1 / L1 obtained by dividing the recordable length K1 of the paper K is the reduction ratio. In this example, the reduction rate is 72%. Therefore, the image information may be reduced more than necessary. In such a case, there arises a problem that it becomes difficult to see a fine portion of the image information.

There is also a facsimile apparatus in which a margin portion of the received image information is detected and only effective information obtained by excluding the margin portion from the image information is reduced. In this case, for example, the margin portion is caused by dust or dirt. If there is even one black pixel, that portion is determined to be valid information.
The reduction ratio is often calculated based on the total length L1 of the image information.

When the image information is divided and recorded,
Since the image information originally created as one piece of image information is divided, there is a problem in that it is also difficult to see.
Such a problem is not limited to facsimile machines, but is a common problem to apparatuses such as copying machines that record image information.

Therefore, the present invention has solved the above-mentioned problems, and when image information is reduced and recorded,
The present invention proposes an image information recording apparatus that can reduce the degree of reduction by reducing the influence of dust and dirt (make the reduction rate as large as possible).

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, image information capturing means for capturing image information, memory means for storing image information, and black pixels in each line of image information are detected. Black pixel detecting means, a margin part detecting means for detecting the margin part by adding the number of black pixels in order from the last line of the image information to the upper line, and comparing this with a threshold value, and the margin part from the image information. By removing the effective information length, the effective information length calculation means, the reduction rate calculation means for calculating the reduction rate of the image information based on the effective information length, and the reduction rate calculated by the reduction rate calculation means. It is characterized by comprising a reducing means for reducing the information and a recording means for recording the image information reduced by the reducing means on a recording paper.

[0008]

In FIG. 1, the image information (FIG. 4) taken in by the image information taking means 1 is stored in the memory means 2. The black pixel in each line of this image information is the black pixel detection means 3
Detected in. Then, the margin detection unit 4 adds the number of black pixels from the last line to the upper line, and compares this with the threshold value. Lines Reaching Threshold In this example, it is determined that the first line of the lines below the 09th line that does not include black pixels, that is, the 12th line is the leading line of the blank space, and the lower line is the blank space. .. As a result, dust, dirt, etc. can be determined to be the blank portion.

Then, the effective information length calculating means 5 calculates the effective information length L2 by removing the margin portion from the image information L (FIG. 5) in the memory means 2, and the recordable length K of the recording paper K is calculated.
Reduction ratio K1 / L2 by dividing 1 by the effective information length L2
Is calculated. Next, the reduction means 7 reduces the effective information at the reduction rate K1 / L2, and this is supplied to the recording means 8 and printed out on the recording paper.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which the image information recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a facsimile machine will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows functional blocks of an image information recording apparatus according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is an image information fetching means, which is composed of a receiving means 9 and a reading means 10 in this example. The receiving means 9 is connected to the communication line and receives image information from the facsimile machine on the other side. The reading unit 10 optically reads image information written on a document. Reference numeral 2 is a memory means for storing the captured image information. Reference numeral 3 denotes a black pixel detecting means, which detects a black pixel of the image information stored in the memory means 2.

Numeral 4 is a margin portion detecting means, which adds black pixels of each line from the last line of the image information to the upper line, and when the added value exceeds a threshold value, the line below the line. Among them, a line not including a black pixel is set as the leading line of the blank space portion, and the lower side is determined as the blank space portion. Reference numeral 5 denotes an effective information length calculating means, which has a length obtained by subtracting a margin from the length of image information for one page in the memory means 2 as the effective information length. Reference numeral 6 denotes a reduction rate calculation means, and a value obtained by dividing the recordable length of the recording paper by the effective information length of the image information is the reduction rate. A reduction unit 7 reduces only the effective information length range of the image information for one page in the memory unit 2 at the reduction ratio calculated by the reduction ratio calculation unit 6. A recording unit 8 prints out the image information reduced by the reducing unit 7 on a recording sheet.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, 11 is a CPU that manages transmission / reception control, 12 is a ROM that stores various control programs such as a transmission / reception program, and 13 is a RAM that stores image information to be transmitted. The image information read by the document reading unit 14 is transferred to the RA through the interface 15.
After being stored in M13 or directly, it is supplied to a modem and network control circuit (NCU) 16 which functions as a transmitting / receiving means. The image information input from the communication line is stored in the RAM 13 via the modem and the NCU 16 or is directly supplied to the recording unit 18 functioning as a printer via the interface 17 to record the content.

The telephone number of the transmission destination is displayed by being supplied to the display unit 20 through the interface 19. The operation unit 21 is provided with a plurality of keys (not shown), and when these keys are operated, the contents thereof are taken into the CPU 11 via the interface 22. Further, the facsimile device is provided with the black pixel detecting means 3, the blank area detecting means 4, the effective information length detecting means 5, the reduction ratio calculating means 6, and the reducing means 7.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the blank space detection processing 30 in this facsimile apparatus. This will be described below with reference to FIG. First, the line pointer is set to the head line of the image information for one page (FIG. 4) stored in the memory means 2 (FIG. 1), here the 00th line (step 31). Next, the number of black pixels of the line for which the line pointer is set, here "1", is detected and set in the table (step 32).

Next, the line pointer is incremented (step 33). Here, the line pointer is set to the 01st line. Next, it is determined whether or not the line pointer has exceeded the lower end of the image information, here the fifteenth line (step 34). If not, the black pixel number of that line is detected in step 32, and the same as above. This process is repeated. If it is determined in step 34 that the line pointer has exceeded the lower end of the image information, here the 15th line, then the accumulator is set to "0" (step 35).

Subsequently, the line pointer is decremented (step 36), and then it is determined whether or not the line pointer reaches the upper end of the image information, that is, the 00th line (step 37). If not, the table contents of the line, that is, the number of black pixels is added to the accumulator (step 38). Next, it is judged whether or not the value of the accumulator is equal to or more than the threshold value (step 39). Here, the threshold value is “10”. If it is determined that the threshold value is not equal to or more than the threshold value, the line pointer is decremented in step 36, and the same processing as described above is performed.

When it is determined in step 39 that the value of the accumulator has exceeded the threshold value, that is, "10", when the line pointer reaches the 09th line in this example, the line pointer is incremented (step 4).
0). Next, it is judged whether or not the table content of the line, that is, the number of black pixels is "0" (step 41). If the number of black pixels is not "0", the line pointer is incremented in step 40 and the same processing as described above is performed.

When it is determined in step 41 that the number of black pixels is "0", in this example, when the line pointer reaches the 12th line, that line is the leading line of the blank space and it is determined that the space below it is the blank space. (Step 42). That is, here, it is determined that the black pixels on the 13th, 14th, and 15th lines are due to dust or dirt and need not be recorded. As a result, the blank space detection process 30 ends. If it is determined in step 37 that the line pointer has reached the upper end, that is, if the line with the black pixel is only the 00th line, it is determined in step 42 that this image information is blank. The blank area detection process 30 ends.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 5, the margin portion of the image information is detected, and a value K1 obtained by dividing the recordable length K1 of the recording paper K by the range excluding the margin portion from the image information, that is, the effective information length L2. / L2 is the reduction ratio. Therefore, in the present example, the image information, which has been reduced at a reduction rate of 72% (FIG. 6) in the past, is reduced at a reduction rate of 90% in the present example, that is, the reduction rate becomes large (the degree of reduction is small), and therefore it is fine. It also makes it easier to see the parts. When the length L1 of the image information or the effective information length L2 is shorter than the recordable length K1, the image information is printed out without being reduced.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the image information taking-in means for taking in the image information, the memory means for storing the image information, the black pixel detecting means for detecting the black pixels in each line of the image information, The number of black pixels is sequentially added from the last line of the image information to the upper line, and the margin part detecting means for detecting the margin part by comparing this with a threshold value, and the effective information by removing the margin part from the image information. Effective information length calculation means for calculating the length, reduction ratio calculation means for calculating the reduction ratio of the image information based on the effective information length, and reduction means for reducing the image information at the reduction ratio calculated by the reduction ratio calculation means. The recording means records the image information reduced by the reducing means on a recording sheet.

Therefore, according to the present invention, dust and dirt on the lower end side of the image information can be detected as the margin portion and only the effective image information can be detected, and reduction can be performed based on the effective image information excluding the margin portion. Since the rate is determined, it is possible to prevent the image information from being reduced more than necessary, and it is possible to easily view the recorded image information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image information recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a procedure of a margin portion detection process.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a margin portion.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating reduction processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional reduction process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 image information fetching means 2 memory means 3 black pixel detecting means 4 blank area detecting means 5 effective information length detecting means 6 reduction ratio calculating means 7 reducing means 8 recording means 9 receiving means 10 reading means 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 original reading Section 18 recording section 20 display section 21 operation section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image information capturing means for capturing image information, a memory means for storing the image information, a black pixel detecting means for detecting a black pixel in each line of the image information, and a last line of the image information. To the upper line, the number of black pixels is added in order, and the added value is compared with a threshold value to detect a margin part, and the effective information length is determined by removing the margin part from the image information. Effective information length calculation means for calculating, reduction ratio calculation means for calculating the reduction ratio of the image information by comparing the effective information length and the recordable length of the recording paper, and the reduction calculated by the reduction ratio calculation means An image information recording apparatus comprising: a reducing means for reducing the image information at a rate; and a recording means for recording the image information reduced by the reducing means on the recording paper.