Image reading apparatus and image reading method

• US 7,990,582 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2008
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashizume, Yusuke, Ide, Naoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Worku; Negussie
• Application Number:
  US12/335,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20090097078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 358/473, 358/509, 358/475, 358513-518, 358/505, 358/497, 358/486, 382/107, 382/169, 382/254, 399/367, 399/371, 399/351, 399/370
• US Class Current: 358/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/401 Compensating positionally unequal response of the pick-up or reproducing head H04N1/403 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/46 Colour picture communication systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/486 with separate detectors, each detector being used for one specific colour component

Abstract

An image reading apparatus having a color line sensor and a monochromatic line sensor starts to read on the basis of the color reading start position when reading the image of a document in color and starts to read on the basis of the monochromatic reading start position when reading the image of a document in monochrome.

Claims

1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

a scanner which relatively exposes a document, and which receives and outputs light beams reflected from the document;

a reader which comprises a plurality of color line sensors for reading a color image and having a plurality of reading elements aligned in a first direction, and a line sensor for reading a monochromatic image, the reader receiving the light beams output from the scanner;

a driving motor which moves the scanner in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

a reference member which is arranged in front of a leading edge of a reading face of the document, in the second direction; and

a controller which corrects image data on the document on the basis of data obtained by reading the reference member using the plurality of color line sensors,

wherein a region in which the line sensor reads the reference member is in a region in which the plurality of color line sensors read the reference member.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the line sensor which reads a monochromatic image makes two outputs, and the two outputs are replaced with any two of the plurality of color line sensors and input to the controller.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a position at which one of the color line sensors starts reading the reference member is the same as a position at which the line sensor starts reading the reference member.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction arc equal to each other.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an interval between the line sensor and the plurality of color line sensors is wider than the intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction, and

the controller causes any one of color line sensors to start to read the reference member in turn after the scanning position of the line sensor whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction, and

the controller causes any one of the color line sensors to start to read the reference member at the same time at the time when the scanning position of the line sensors whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction are equal to each other.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an interval between the line sensor and the plurality of color line sensors is wider than the intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction, and

the controller causes any one of color line sensors to start to read the reference member in turn after the scanning position of the line sensor whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference plate.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction, and

the controller causes any one of the color line sensors to start to read the reference member at the same time at the time when the scanning position of the line sensors whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

12. A method of reading an image, comprising:

relatively exposing, by a scanner, a document, and receiving and outputting light beams reflected from the document;

reading, by a plurality of color line sensors of a reader and a plurality of reading elements of the reader aligned in a first direction, a color image based on the light beams output from the scanner, the scanner being driven in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

reading, by a line sensor of the reader, a monochromatic image based on the light beams output from the scanner; and

correcting, by a controller, image data on the document on the basis of data obtained by reading a reference member using the plurality of color sensors, the reference member arranged in front of a leading edge of a reading face of the document in the second direction,

wherein a region in which the line sensor reads the reference member is in a region in which the plurality of color line sensors read the reference member.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the line sensor which reads a monochromatic image makes two outputs, the method further comprising:

replacing the two outputs with any two of the plurality of color line sensors and input to the controller.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein a position at which one of the color line sensors starts reading the reference member is the same as a position at which the line sensor starts reading the reference member.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction are equal to each other.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein an interval between the line sensor and the plurality of color line sensors is wider than the intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction,

the method further comprising:

causing, by the controller, any one of color line sensors to start to read the reference member in turn after the scanning position of the line sensor whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction,

the method further comprising:

causing, by the controller, any one of the color line sensors to start to read the reference member at the same time at the time when the scanning position of the line sensors whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction are equal to each other.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein an interval between the line sensor and the plurality of color line sensors is wider than the intervals in the plurality of color line sensors in the second direction.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction,

the method further comprising:

causing, by the controller, any one of color line sensors to start to read the reference member in turn after the scanning position of the line sensor whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein

each color line sensor is composed of a plurality of line sensors whose scanning positions are arranged at specific intervals in the feed direction,

the method further comprising:

causing, by the controller, any one of the color line sensors to start to read the reference member at the same time at the time when the scanning position of the line sensors whose scanning position is at the rear in the color line sensor in the feed direction reaches the predetermined reading start position for the reference member.