Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Hironobu Machida

Hitoshi Yoneda

Takefumi Nosaki

Jiro Egawa

Moriya Nagasawa

Koichi Watanabe

Naoaki Ide

Hiroki Kanno

Toshihiro Kasai

Naruhito Yoshida

Koji Tanimoto

Hajime Nakamura

Kazuo Sasama

Haruyoshi Hasegawa

Kenji Takano

Toshiharu Takahashi

Masami Taoda

Masahiko Taniguchi

Kouichi Watanabe

In an initializing process at a time of switch-on, a scanner CPU sends an initialization command request to a system CPU. Upon receiving the initialization command request from the scanner CPU, the system CPU sends an initialization command to the scanner CPU. The scanner CPU, which has received the initialization command, executes an initializing process. When the initialization is completed, the scanner CPU informs the system CPU of the completion of initialization. After the system CPU is informed of the completion of initialization from all sub-control units (including a printer CPU and a panel CPU in the embodiment), the system CPU instructs an LCD to display 'Ready' and enters a standby state.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

Detection of the direction of an original is effected not at the time of scanning the original, but at the time of standby for the start of printing. Thereby, the scanning performance is prevented from deteriorating.

Image forming apparatus

In an image forming apparatus and method of the present invention, a control section determines whether or not a document is copied first, and determines, on the basis of the determination result, whether or not the orientation of the document should be detected. If it is determined that the orientation of the document should be detected, a document orientation detecting section extracts character data from image data, recognizes the character data, and detects the orientation of the document on the basis of the recognition result. On the basis of the detection result, a page memory control section executes a rotation process on the image data. The image data subjected to the rotation process is read and printed onto an image forming medium.

Image forming apparatus and method having document orientation control

An image forming apparatus comprises a writing circuit that writes the image data read by a scanner into an image memory, a coding circuit that reads and codes the image data stored in the image memory and stores the coded data in a code memory, a decoding circuit that decodes the coded data stored in the code memory and writes the decoded data into the image memory, and a printer that forms an image using the decoded image data in the image memory. The writing of the scanner image data into the image memory and the coding of the image data in the image memory or the decoding of the image data in the image memory and the printing of the decoded data in the image memory are advanced simultaneously, improving the processing speed.

Image forming apparatus in which a read address may not surpass the

An apparatus relates to the switching of the flow of image data so as to optimize the data flow in accordance with the connection state of the respective optional boards of a PM unit, a FAX unit, a PRT unit, and an HDD unit. The flow of image data can be switched to optimize the data flow depending on the connection state of various optional boards.

An access control apparatus comprises a memory accessed by a plurality of devices, a circuit for giving priority levels to the requests of these devices in access to the memory, a circuit for selecting one from these access requests according to the priority levels, and a control circuit for allowing a device not selected to access the memory in preference to the other ones, after a specified time has elapsed since the access was started. Use of the control circuit assures efficient access for a low-priority access request.

Circuit for controlling access to a common memory based on priority

An image forming apparatus has a function for recognizing a sorting mode, a function of recognizing a copy specification, a function of storing an original image, and a function of rotating this stored image. The apparatus has a function of alternately outputting sets of copy sheets in an angular difference of about 90.degree. in accordance with the copy specifications. An operator can discriminate the sets of copy sheets from each other using landscape and portrait copy sheets without using a mechanical sorter mechanism. When a binding unit is added to this image forming apparatus, the apparatus has a function of reversing the reading order of the pages of each set to reproduce the images and alternately binding and outputting the copy sheets at an angular interval of about 90.degree. in units of sets.

Image forming apparatus having electronic sorting by image rotation

An apparatus for printing an image which is stored on an optical disk is read by a scanner. A plurality of images read out from the optical disk are edited to form an abstract image on the basis of a predetermined unit (e.g., one page), and code data (i.e., retrieval data) is added to the abstract image. The resultant image, including both the abstract image and the code data, is printed on a sheet. The code data is extracted from the printed image, and desired images are retrieved from the optical disk on the basis of the code data.

Image forming apparatus with filing function which can store image data

An image forming apparatus capable of magnifying a target image to any desired magnification, includes functions for detecting the maximum and minimum densities from limited image information, including a data piece representing a picture element of the target image, functions for determining from the difference between the maximum and minimum densities detected by the detection means, whether the picture element is in a photographic region or a character region, functions for determining a picture element density appropriate for magnifying the target image from the density of the target picture element and that of a picture element close to the target picture element, and functions for outputting the picture element density determined by the density-determining means, in accordance with whether the target picture element is in a photographic region or a character region.

Image processing apparatus for variably magnifying image and controlling

An extractor extracts, from image data to be binarized, a feature amount of a target pixel including at least a maximum density difference among pixels in a local region including the target pixel. A predictor predicts an image type of the target pixel in accordance with a minimum density value among the pixels in the local region. A selector selects one of the feature amount of the target pixel from the extractor and a feature amount obtained by adding the feature amount of the target pixel to feature data of neighboring pixels in accordance with the image type predicted by the predictor. A discriminator discriminates the image type of the target pixel in accordance with the feature amount selected by the selector. A weighting section weights the discrimination result from the discriminator with respect to the neighboring pixels of a predetermined range preceding the target pixel in accordance with distances from the target pixel to the neighboring pixels so as to generate feature data of the neighboring pixels selectively used by the selector. A determinator adaptively determines a threshold value for binarizing the image data in accordance with the discrimination result. A binarizing section binarizes the image data in units of target pixels by using the threshold value determined by the determinator.

Image data processing system with adaptive binary quantization

A feature-analyzing section determines whether a given picture element included in image information supplied from a line buffer represents a character portion or a photograph portion. In accordance with the determination made by the feature-analyzing section, a threshold value selection section selects either a threshold value calculated by a first threshold value calculation section, and to be used in relation to charcter portion, or a threshold value calculated by a second threshold value calculation section, and to be used in relation to photograph portion. By using the threshold value selected by the threshold value selection section, a binary-encoding section binary-encodes image information which is supplied thereto through a delay circuit. On the basis of the determination made by the feature-analyzing section, a determination section determines whether or not the given picture element represents a bold character portion. If the determination section determines that the given picture element represents a bold character portion, a selection section then selects a predetermined value supplied from a value generation section, in place of an output of the binary-encoding section.

Image binarization apparatus

An image processing apparatus comprises a memory for storing image data and character data, a display for displaying data stored in said memory means, and a three-address generating section for generating three addresses for addressing the memory to execute simultaneously two processings, one of which transfers the data from the memory to the display and the other of which writes character information into said memory.

Data processing apparatus for editing, filing, and printing image data

A recording apparatus according to the present invention in which a data is recorded by charging a recording medium, scanning laser beams on the recording medium to form electrostatic latent images thereon, and developing and transferring the electrostatic latent image, comprises a charger for charging the recording medium; and at least two image forming device disposed around the recording medium for recording multi-colored and/or uni-colored data in a plurality of print modes. In the recording apparatus, the print modes is controlled so as to drive the second image forming device corresponding to the second print mode after the operation of the first print mode is closed, when the second print mode is designated in the operation of the first image forming means corresponding to the first print mode. And, the driver for driving the recording medium is controlled so as to continuously drive the recording medium when the first print mode is switched to the second print mode by the switching device. The image forming device comprises device for forming an electrostatic latent image on the recording medium by scanning laser beams in accordance with the recording data and device for developing the electrostatic latent image.

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Tokyo, Japan

Hironobu Machida