Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Nippon Telegraph

Tetsuo Harano

Eiichi Ohta

Kenji Sakakibara

Shuji Otsuka

Suzuyo Murai

Kouichi Mino

Koji Matsumura

Takayuki Matsumoto

Kouzi Takeyama

Hakudai Kondo

Yasuhito Bandai

Kazuhiro Kuwabara

Chikamasa Hattori

Hiroya Inagaki

Michio Tsuchiya

Mutumi Otobe

An optical image reading apparatus for photoelectrically reading images formed in at least two colors on a surface of an original having a base color different from the at least two colors, including a first reading device for obtaining a first image signal for each of a multiplicity of reading spots in a predetermined area on the original. The first image signal has two different levels one of which corresponds to the base color and the other of which corresponds to the at least two colors. The apparatus further includes a second reading device for obtaining a second image signal for the each reading spot. The second image signal cooperates with the first image signal to discriminate each of the at least two colors from the other of the at least two colors. Provisions are made for determining whether the levels of the first image signals for all of the multiplicity of reading spots are equal to the above-indicated one level corresponding to the base color, or not. If so, the second reading device is inhibited from operating to obtain the second inage signal for each reading spot.

Optical image reading apparatus capable of reading multi-colored original

An optical reading including a device for effecting discrimination between a dither-matrix reading area and a non-dither-matrix reading area on a subject copy, an irradiating device for irradiating local segments of the subject copy with light beams having different intensities, a reading device for obtaining image data representative of the presence or absence of an achromatic tone in each local segment based on an amount of the light beam reflected by each local segment, a control device for operating the irradiating and reading devices to irradiate the local segments in a predetermined discriminating zone of the subject copy with the light beams having different intensities at different times, to obtain first and second image data, a device for comparing the first and second image data of each local segment in the discrimination zone, to determine whether the first and second image data agree with each other or not for each local segment, and a device for determining that the discrimination zone is the dither-matrix reading area, if a degree of disagreement of the first and second image data exceeds a predetermined reference value, and determining that the discrimination zone is the non-dither-matrix reading area, if the degree of disagreement does not exceed the reference value.

Optical reader having apparatus for discrimination between dither-matrix

An input/output device including a reading and a printing head of reciprocating shuttle type for reading and printing of images on respective first and second media. The reading head has reading portions spaced apart along the width of the first medium at a pitch greater than a desired reading pitch, while the printing head has printing portions spaced apart along the width of the second medium at a pitch greater than a desired printing pitch. The printing and reading heads are reciprocated as a unit along the width of the media to effect reading and printing with desired reading resolution and printing density, with the reading head pressed on the first medium, and with the printing portions pressed on the second medium. The input/output device comprises an actuator for selectively effecting either separation of the reading and printing heads from the first and second media, respectively, or pressed contact of the reading and printing heads with the media, respectively.

Input/output device for image reading and printing

An optical reader comprises a plurality of light emitting elements which illuminate a plurality of points through a plurality of optical fibers, a plurality of light receiving elements which receive reflected light from the plurality of reading points through a plurality of optical fibers, and read means for reading an image on a paper on the basis of outputs from the light receiving elements. Amounts of light emitted by the individual light emitting elements are established at a plurality of halftones for illumination, thus eliminating the need for a compensation of a reference value to be used with the individual light emitting elements, thus enabling an image to be read in multiple halftones.

Optical Reader

An image reader for reading images on a surface of a medium, having a feeding device for feeding the medium, carriage movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of feed of the medium, a driving device for moving the carriage, and a reading head mounted on the carriage for reading the images on the medium surface. The image reader comprises an area setter for setting a reading area on the medium surface within which the images are read by the reading head. The reading area is set while the reading head is moved relative to the medium by the feeding and driving devices. The image reader further comprises a controller for controlling the feeding and driving devices and the reading head, to cause the reading head to read the images within the set reading area while the reading area is scanned by the reading head.

Image reader

An optical reader with a reading head including first optical fibers for transmitting light beams from an emitter to emit light beams from their first ends to irradiate corresponding illumination spots on a medium, and further including second optical fibers having first ends which are located adjacent to the first ends of the respective first optical fibers and which receive the beams reflected from corresponding reflection spots on the medium, for transmitting the reflected beams to a light-sensitive device. The first and second optical fibers constitute plural reading units, and their first ends constitute their image-reading portions. The light-sensitive device produces a signal indicating a light reflectance in an overlapping spot where the illumination spot overlaps the reflection spot. The image-reading portions are spaced apart at a pitch sufficient to prevent the illumination spot of one of the reading units from overlapping the reflection spot of the adjacent reading unit. The reading head and the medium are moved relative to each other to move the overlapping spot to read the images on the medium. The light emitter and light-sensitive device are controlled so as to read each reading spot each time the moving overlapping spot is aligned with the reading spot.

Optical image-reading apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Inazawa, Japan

Tetsuo Harano