IMAGE CAPTURING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF GENERATING IMAGE DATA

• US 20150138432A1
• Filed: 02/24/2014
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: TAKABATAKE, Masanari, KASAHARA, Yuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,060,115 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/370
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means

Abstract

An image capturing system includes an image capturing unit configured to photograph the medium on a medium installation face, a lighting configured to irradiate the medium installation face, a lighting control unit configured to control the lighting, and a non-readable area determining unit configured to determine whether there is a non-readable area from which the image capturing unit is unable to read information of the medium due to reflected light of the lighting. The non-readable area is determined based on an image acquired by photographing the medium in a turned-on state of the lighting. When the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the medium is photographed in different lighting states set by the lighting control unit, and among the image data generated in photographing process, image data corresponding to the medium is generated by synthesizing areas except an area corresponding to the non-readable area.

Claims

1. An image capturing system comprising:

a base unit arranged on a medium installation face on which a medium that is a reading target is installed;

an arm unit extending upwardly from the base unit;

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

an image capturing unit configured to photograph the medium;

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

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

a non-readable area determining unit configured to determine whether or not there is a non-readable area from which the image capturing unit is unable to read information of the medium due to reflected light of the lighting by the medium, based on an image corresponding to the medium that is acquired by performing a photographing process in a turned-on state of the lighting before image data of the medium captured by the image capturing unit is stored,

wherein, when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, a lighting state of the lighting is set to be different by the lighting control unit, and the medium is photographed by the image capturing unit in states in which the lighting states are different from each other, and

wherein, among the image data generated in each photographing process, image data corresponding to the medium is generated by synthesizing areas except for an area corresponding to the non-readable area.

2. The image capturing system according to claim 1,

wherein the lighting state is the amount of light of the lighting, and

wherein, when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the image capturing unit photographs the medium in states in which the amounts of light of the lighting are differently set by the lighting control unit.

3. The image capturing system according to claim 2, wherein, when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the image capturing unit photographs the medium in states in which the amounts of light of the lighting are differently set to a turned-on state and a turned-off state by the lighting control unit.

4. The image capturing system according to claim 1,

wherein the lighting includes a first lighting and a second lighting, which are disposed at mutually different positions and irradiate the medium installation face,

wherein the lighting states are a state in which the medium is irradiated using the first lighting and a state in which the medium is irradiated using the second lighting, and

wherein, when the non-readable area determining unit determines that there is the non-readable area, the image capturing unit photographs the medium in states in which irradiation to the medium installation face is switched over irradiation using the first lighting and irradiation using the second lighting by the lighting control unit.

5. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein the top unit includes a mounting face to mount the image capturing unit at a position for photographing the medium installed on the medium installation face.

6. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein, after the medium is photographed by the image capturing unit, the lighting control unit returns a lighting state of the lighting to a lighting state before the photographing.

7. A method of generating image data in an image capturing system that includes:

a base unit arranged on a medium installation face on which a medium that is a reading target is installed;

an arm unit extending upwardly from the base unit;

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

an image capturing unit configured to photograph the medium; and

a lighting disposed in the top unit and configured to irradiate the medium installation face,

the method comprising;

performing a first photographing process in a turned-on state of the lighting to acquire an image corresponding to the medium;

determining whether there is a non-readable area from which the image capturing unit is unable to read information of the medium due to reflected light of the lighting in the medium based on the image corresponding to the medium that is acquired in the first photographing process;

setting lighting states of the lighting so that the lighting states are different from each other in a case where it is determined that there is the non-readable area in the determining step;

performing second photographing process to photograph the medium in states in which the lighting states are different from each other by using the image capturing unit;

generating image data corresponding to the medium by synthesizing areas except for an area corresponding to the non-readable area among image data generated in the second photographing process; and

storing the image data generated in the generating step.