SCANNING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DETERMINING QUANTITY OF REFERENCE LIGHT THEREFOR

• US 20090040575A1
• Filed: 07/29/2008
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Kyung-rok
• Granted Patent: US 8,253,999 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4078 using gradational references, e.g. grey-scale test pattern analysis

Abstract

A scanning apparatus and a reference light quantity determining method includes scanning a patch that does not overlap previously established reference colors but displays each of the previously established reference colors in a plurality of regions that are spaced a portion from each other, and determining reference light quantities based on the scanning result.

Claims

1. An apparatus to scan a given document comprising:

a patch including a first patch row through an N^th patch row each including a plurality of unit patches to correct a reference light quantity,

wherein the plurality of unit patches are repeatedly formed at a previously established interval and N is a natural number.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an optional unit patch of the first patch row and a unit patch of the N^th patch row corresponding to the optional unit patch portionly overlap when the two unit patches penetrate an X axis in a lengthwise direction from an optional location of the first patch row.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein quantities of the plurality of unit patches that overlap are constant.

4. A reference light quantity determining method used for an apparatus to scan a given document, the method comprising:

scanning a patch comprising a first patch row through an N^th patch row each including a plurality of unit patches; and

determining reference light quantities based on the scanning result,

wherein N is a natural number

5. The method of claim 4, wherein an optional unit patch of the first patch row and a unit patch of the N^th patch row corresponding to the optional unit patch portionly overlap when the two unit patches penetrate an X axis in the lengthwise direction from an optional location of the first patch row.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein quantities of the plurality of unit patches that overlap are constant.

7. An image forming apparatus including an apparatus to scan a given document, the apparatus comprising:

a patch including a first patch row through an N^th patch row each including a plurality of unit patches, wherein the patch is used to correct a reference light quantity,

wherein the plurality of unit patches are repeatedly formed at a previously established interval and N is a natural number.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein an optional unit patch of the first patch row and a unit patch of the N^th patch row corresponding to the optional unit patch portionly overlap when the two unit patches penetrate an X axis in a lengthwise direction from an optional location of the first patch row.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein quantities of the plurality of unit patches that overlap are constant.

10. A scanning apparatus usable with an image forming apparatus, the scanning apparatus comprising:

a patch;

a light source to irradiate light on a plurality of points on a surface of the patch that does not overlap previously established reference colors;

a display to display each of the previously established reference colors in a plurality of regions that are spaced a portion from each other;

a sensor to detect light reflected in the plurality of points; and

a determining unit to determine reference light quantities based on the detected light.

11. A scanning apparatus usable with an image forming apparatus, the scanning apparatus comprising:

an input unit to receive an instruction signal to determine reference light quantities for a plurality of colors of a patch;

a determining unit to determine the reference light quantities for the plurality of colors of the patch at a plurality of time periods; and

a light source to irradiate light and to maintain a constant quantity of the irradiated light based on the determined reference light quantity at the plurality of time periods.

12. The scanning apparatus of claim 11, wherein the time periods comprise:

one or more of a period of time after a power-on state is activated and a period of time when a scan operation is completed for a predetermined number of sheets of documents.

13. A scanning method of an image forming apparatus, the scanning method comprising:

irradiating light on a plurality of points on a surface of the patch that does not overlap previously established reference colors;

displaying each of the previously established reference colors in a plurality of regions that are spaced a portion from each other;

detecting light reflected in the plurality of points; and

determining reference light quantities based on the detected light.

14. A scanning method of an image forming apparatus, the scanning method comprising:

receiving an instruction signal to determine reference light quantities for a plurality of colors of a patch;

determining the reference light quantities for the plurality of colors of the patch at a plurality of time periods; and

irradiating light and to maintaining a constant quantity of the irradiated light based on the determined reference light quantity at the plurality of time periods.

15. A computer-readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program to execute a method, wherein the method comprises:

irradiating light on a plurality of points on a surface of the patch that does not overlap previously established reference colors;

displaying each of the previously established reference colors in a plurality of regions that are spaced a portion from each other;

detecting light reflected in the plurality of points; and

determining reference light quantities based on the detected light.