Image capturing system

• US 9,350,894 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2014
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Kasahara, Yuki, Takabatake, Masanari
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Cheukfan
• Application Number:
  US14/230,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20150181072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• Field of Search: 358/474, 358/497, 358/475, 358/509, 358/505, 358/453, 358/486, 382/282
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00562 Supporting the apparatus as a whole, e.g. stands
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0282 Using a single or a few point light sources, e.g. a laser diode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/19594 using a television camera or a still video camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0096 Portable devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0446 Constructional details not otherwise provided for, e.g. mounting of scanning components H04N2201/0448 takes precedence

Abstract

An image capturing system includes an image capturing unit to photograph a medium placed on a medium installation face, a lighting unit disposed in a top unit to irradiate the medium installation face, a lighting control unit to perform driving control of the lighting unit, a scan instruction unit to issue an instruction to perform scanning to photograph the medium and to generate image data of the medium, and a non-readable area determining unit to determine whether or not there is a non-readable area based on an image of the medium obtained by photographing the medium with in a turned-on state of the lighting unit. When there is the non-readable area, the scanning is performed by turning off the lighting unit when the lighting unit was in a turned-on state, and when there is not the non-readable area, the scanning is performed in the turned-on state of the lighting unit.

Claims

1. An image capturing system comprising:

a lighting device including;

a base unit arranged on a medium installation face on which a medium to be read is placed;

an arm unit extending upward from the base unit;

a top unit extending from the arm unit so as to face the medium installation face;

a lighting unit disposed in the top unit to irradiate the medium installation face;

a lighting control unit configured to perform driving control of the lighting unit; and

a scan instruction unit arranged on the base unit and configured to issue an instruction to perform scanning to photograph the medium, and to generate image data corresponding to the medium; and

an image capturing unit configured to photograph the medium based on the instruction to perform scanning, the image capturing unit mounted on the top unit so as to be capable of mounting or dismounting, the image capturing unit including;

a communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with the lighting device; and

a non-readable area determining unit configured to determine whether or not there is a non-readable area at which information from the medium is unable to be read by the image capturing unit due to reflection of light that is emitted from the lighting unit and reflected at the medium, based on an image corresponding to the medium obtained by photographing the medium in a turned-on state of the lighting unit, after the instruction to perform scanning is issued and before the image data is generated, wherein

when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the scanning is performed in the state that there is not the non-readable area in any parts of the medium by turning off the lighting unit by the lighting control unit when the lighting unit is in a turned-on state, and

when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is not the non-readable area, the scanning is performed in the turned-on state of the lighting unit.

2. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein when the instruction to perform scanning is issued in the turned-off state of the lighting unit, the scanning is performed maintaining the turned-off state of the lighting unit.

3. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein

the driving control is performed through pulse width modulation (PWM) control, and

when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is not the non-readable area, the scanning is performed with the lighting unit lit at 100% duty ratio of the PWM control.

4. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein after the scanning is performed, the lighting control unit resets a lighting state of the lighting unit to a lighting state before the scanning is performed.

5. The image capturing system according to claim 1, further comprising

a notifying unit configured to notify that there is the non-readable area on an image corresponding to the medium obtained by photographing with the image capturing device, wherein

when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the notifying unit notifies that there is the non-readable area in the image corresponding to the medium obtained by photographing with the lighting unit in the turned-on state.

6. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the scanning is performed in the turned-on state and in the turned-off state of the lighting unit, and both image data obtained in the turned-on state and image data obtained in the turned-off state are stored.

7. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein responsive to the determination that there is the non-readable area, the scanning is performed by irradiating the medium with no light.