Image reading apparatus with correction of image signals

• US 5,616,914 A
• Filed: 03/13/1995
• Issued: 04/01/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsuda, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): ALLEN, STEPHONE B
• Application Number:
  US08/402,918
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 250/208.1, 250/559.04, 250/559.05, 250/559.06, 250/559.07, 250/559.08, 250/216, 250/234, 250/235, 358/471, 358/474, 358/486, 358/493
• US Class Current: 250/208.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00681 Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning H04N1/047 takes precedence; mode signalling H04N1/333; skew detection or correction in image signals H04N1/3878
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00716 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00737 using the scanning elements as detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0473 in subscanning direction, e.g. picture start or line-to-line synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1013 with sub-scanning by translatory movement of at least a part of the main-scanning components H04N1/107 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/1043 of a sensor array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/193 using electrically scanned linear arrays , e.g. linear CCD arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0434 specially adapted for scanning pages of a book
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/04703 using the scanning elements as detectors, e.g. by performing a prescan
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/04737 by detecting the scanned medium directly, e.g. a leading edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/04787 by changing or controlling the addresses or values of pixels, e.g. in an array, in a memory, by interpolation

Abstract

An image reading apparatus for reading a document such as book, constructed to detect a height of the document. A line sensor captures an image of the document and a lateral side view of the document reflected on a mirror. Then the height of the document detected by the line sensor is corrected based on a deviation between a positions of the document image projected on the line sensor and the lateral side view of the document projected on the line sensor.

Claims

1. An image reading apparatus for reading an open book document placed face up on a document table by optical scanning comprising:

a mirror arranged along a lateral side of the document table in a subscanning direction and which reflects a lateral side view of the book document placed on the document table;

a projection lens disposed above the document table and which projects an image of the book document placed on the document table and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror;

a scanner disposed above the projection lens which includes a line sensor arranged along a main scanning direction and sequentially moves a reading position of the line sensor in the subscanning direction, wherein the line sensor captures an image of the book document projected by the projection lens and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror to generate image signals at every reading position;

detection means for detecting a height of the book document placed on the document table at every reading position based on the image signal of the lateral side view of the book document; and

correction means for correcting the detected height of the book document at every reading position based on a deviation between a position of the image of the book document projected on the line sensor and a position of the lateral side view of the book document projected on the line sensor with respect to the subscanning direction.

2. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mirror is arranged at an inclination to the surface of the document table, and determines a setting position of the document by having contact with an edge of the document.

3. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a lens driver which controls an amount of the movement of the projection lens along the direction of an optical axis in order to project an image of the .book document on the line sensor.

4. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising;

control means which magnifies a document image compression generated from a inclination of the book document in the subscanning direction based on the height of the book document corrected by correction means.

5. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the document image compression generated from the inclination of the book document is magnified by modifying the scanning speed.

6. An image reading apparatus for reading an open book document placed face up on a document table by optical scanning comprising:

a mirror arranged along a lateral side of the document table in a subscanning direction and which reflects a lateral side view of the book document placed on the document table;

a projection lens disposed above the document table and which projects an image of the book document placed on the document table and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror, wherein said projection lens is movable only along the direction of an optical axis thereof;

a scanner disposed above the projection lens which includes a line sensor arranged along a main scanning direction and sequentially moves a reading position of the line sensor in the subscanning direction, wherein the line sensor captures an image of the book document projected by the projection lens and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror to generate image signal at every reading position;

detection means for detecting a height of the book document placed on the document table at every reading position based on the image signal of the lateral side view of the book document; and

correction means for correcting the detected height of the book document at every reading position based on a deviation between a position of the image of the book document projected on the line sensor and a position of the lateral side view of the book document projected on the line sensor with respect to the subscanning direction, wherein said deviation is generated from the movement of the projection lens in the direction of the optical axis thereof.

7. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said mirror is arranged at an inclination to the surface of the document table, and determines a setting position of the document by having contact an edge of the document.

8. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising;

a lens driver which controls an amount of the movement of the projection lens along the direction of the optical axis in order to project the document image on the line sensor.

9. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising;

control means which magnifies a document image compression generated from a inclination of the book document in the subscanning direction based on the height of the book document corrected by the correction means.

10. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the document image compression generated from the inclination of the book document is magnified by modifying the scanning speed.

11. An image reading apparatus for reading a book document placed face up on a document table by optical scanning comprising:

a mirror arranged along a lateral side of the document table in a subscanning direction and which reflects a lateral side view of the book document placed on the document table;

a projection lens disposed above the document table and which projects an image of the book document placed on the document table and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror;

a line sensor arranged above the projection lens and along a main scanning direction and sequentially moves in the subscanning direction, wherein the line sensor captures an image of the book document projected by the projection lens and the lateral side view of the book document reflected on the mirror to generate an image signal;

detection means for detecting a height of the book document placed on the document table based on the image signal of the lateral side view of an book document; and

correction means for correcting the detected height of the book document at a reading position based on a deviation between a position of the image of the book document projected on the line sensor and the lateral side view of the book document projected on the line sensor with respect to the subscanning direction, wherein said reading position is the position at which the prolongation line of the optical path connecting the line sensor and a principal point of the lens intersects the document table.

12. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the height of the book document detected by the detection means is equal to the height of the position of an intersection between a document surface and a perpendicular line of the document table passing through the reading position.

13. The image reading apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the height of the book document corrected by the correction means is equal to the height of the position at the intersection between the document surface and the optical path.

14. An image reading apparatus for reading an open book document placed face up on a document table by scanning comprising:

means for providing an image of a lateral side view of the book document;

a projection lens disposed above the document table and which projects an image of the book document placed on the document table and a lateral side view of the book document;

a scanner disposed above the projection lens which includes an image sensor, wherein the image sensor captures an image of the book document and the lateral side view of the book document projected by the projection lens to generate an image signal at every reading position;

means for moving the scanner to enable the generation of the image signal;

detection means for detecting a height of the book document placed on the document table at every reading position based on the image signal of the lateral side view of the book document; and

correction means for correcting the detected height of the book document at every reading position based on a deviation between a position of the image of the book document and a position of the lateral side view of the book document.

15. The image reading apparatus of claim 14 wherein the correction means further includes a CPU and means for determining an angle of inclination of the book document to the optical path based on a change in a document reading angle as the scanner is moved;

the CPU computing a correction in the detected height based on the determined angle of inclination.

16. The image reading apparatus of claim 15 further including means for correcting any compression of the image signal by storing the image signals of a scan line and using them in a subsequent scan line generation of image signals.