Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Wataru Nara

Hiroyuki Kawamoto

Motoya Sano

Hiroshi Fukano

Yoshikazu Inoue

Hiroyuki Takahashi

Hiroshi Kubo

Hitoshi Hattori

Yutaka Hasegawa

Yasuyuki Nomizu

Kunio Hayakawa

Norifumi Ito

Akira Ota

Kazuhiro Ando

Kouichi Kamon

Midori Aida

Takanobu Fujioka

Yasushi Kamo

Seiji Tsuchiko

Toshiyuki Aihara

Hajime Hojo

A device for scanning a document includes a photoelectric conversion unit which scans a document, and supplies image data of the scanned document, a background detecting unit which detects a background level of the image data, an image processing unit which applies one or more types of image processing to the image data, and applies image processing identical to the one or more types of image processing to the detected background level, and a background removal unit which removes background noise from the image data having undergone the image processing according to a threshold that is derived from the background level having undergone the image processing.

Document image scanning device that provides image of proper appearance while preserving image density

A CCD photoelectrically converts image information obtained from optically reading an original image, line by line, and outputs an image signal. Several of the photoelectric sensors of a CCD of the CCD portion form an optical black portion. A black shading correcting portion corrects the image signal using a black reference level. The black reference level is obtained from the optical black portion of the CCD for each line during an operation of the reading of the original image. The black reference level used by said black shading correcting portion for each line is obtained using black reference values, each of the black reference values being data of the optical black portion for a respective one of a plurality of lines.

Image reading apparatus

An image processing device includes a background noise detecting device configured to detect from image data of an image, background noise data of the image data. An image memory stores the image data, and an inputting/outputting device inputs and outputs the image data into and from the image memory. A background noise data removing device removes the background noise data from the image data outputted from the image memory by the inputting/outputting device. An on/off device turns on and off a background noise data removing operation of the background noise data removing device according to an external control signal.

Removal of background noise of image data by an image processing device or image reading apparatus

A lighting device includes a light source that illuminates an object of illumination, a reflecting member provided opposite the light source so as to direct a first part of illuminating light emitted therefrom to the object of illumination, and a light-blocking member provided between the light source and the object of illumination and between the reflecting member and the object of illumination. The light-blocking member blocks the first directed part of the illuminating light and a second part of the illuminating light directly illuminating the object of illumination with a certain ratio of a light-blocking rate for the first directed part of the illuminating light to a light-blocking rate for the second directly illuminating part of the illuminating light.

Lighting device having a light blocking mechanism

An image reading-out apparatus including a background level detecting circuit, an analog-to-digital converter, and a black-shading compensation circuit. The background level detecting circuit is configured to detect the background level of the original document from the image data. The analog-to-digital converter is configured to remove an influence due to the color of the background on the original document from the image data and configured to perform the analog-to-digital conversion of the image data in accordance with the detected background level. The black-shading compensation circuit is configured to perform black-shading compensation of the image data after the analog-to-digital conversion. The black-shading compensation circuit includes plural black level values calculating circuits which are configured to respectively obtain, per each one line, black level values employed for the black-shading compensation from the image data by use of respective different calculation members; a selection circuit which is configured to select and output one black level value among plural sorts of the black level values outputted by the plural black level values calculating circuits; and a subtracter which is configured to subtract the selected black level value from the image data after performing the analog-to-digital conversion and the black-shading compensation.

Image reading-out apparatus, copying machine and facsimile device utilizing the same, and method of reading out image

An image-reading device is provided. The image-reading device comprises a photoelectric converting element reading a first image from a subject copy, a reference-white member functioning as a reference white used in a white-shading correction, reading means for reading a second image from a constant range on a surface of the reference-white member by using the photoelectric converting element, averaging means for dividing image data of the second image into a plurality of blocks in a sub-scanning direction so that each of the blocks includes a plurality of lines and obtaining average values of image data of the lines in the blocks respectively, peak-value determining means for obtaining a peak value of the average values, and white-shading correcting means for performing the white-shading correction to image data of the first image by using the peak value as white-shading data.

Image-reading device performing a white-shading correction by obtaining a peak value of average values of image data and read from a reference-white member in blocks as white-shading data

A remote-controlled copying apparatus includes a main copying part, a storage unit for storing image signals from the main copying part, a facsimile part connected to a first telephone line for receiving image signals from an external facsimile unit and for transmitting the image signals of the storage unit to an external facsimile unit, a facsimile control part connected to a second telephone line for receiving a first tone signal from an external telephone unit after a ringing signal is received from the external telephone unit, and for repeatedly transmitting a set of control signals to the external telephone unit in response to the first tone signal, a first conversion part for converting a tone signal into a control signal so that the control signal is transmitted to the external telephone unit, a second conversion part for converting a control signal into a tone signal, and a control part for carrying out a remote control operation of the copying apparatus by controlling the facsimile control part in accordance with a tone signal received from the external telephone unit.

Remote-controlled copying apparatus having facsimile interface unit

An image scanner for reading a document optically with a CCD image sensor or similar line image sensor, and electrically processing, e.g., amplifying and digitizing the resulting image signal. When an error occurs in the scanner, it can be located easily and rapidly.

Image scanning and processing apparatus with error checking

In a folding-order image forming apparatus, image data provided by reading an original image are stored to a page memory. When a copy is made in an electrostatic photographic process in accordance with the image data, the read image data are processed to divide the original image into a plurality of divisional images. Required images with respect to the divisional images are rotated, rearranged and outputted by the operation of a page memory control circuit in accordance with a divisional number of a recording image, etc. Thus, the images are formed in an opening shape by folding or cutting a sheet of recording paper along a divisional boundary of images thereon. The image forming apparatus generally has an image signal memory for storing a digital image signal, a memory region controller for controlling an operation of the image signal memory in a memory region thereof and an image rotational processor for rotating an image by judging the necessity of rotational processing of an image every memory region of the image signal memory.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Wataru Nara