Image reading apparatus and image reading method
AssigneeKonica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
InventorMasaki Kakutani
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention provides an image reading apparatus including a light source unit which has a plurality of light sources in the same direction as the main scanning direction of an original and irradiates the original to read the original, a reader which reads the original on the basis of irradiation by the light source section and outputs reading information, an original region identificator which identifies an original existing region where the original exists, and a lighting control unit which executes lighting control of the light sources corresponding to the original region identified by the original region identificator. An image reading method using the image reading apparatus is also provided.
Claims8
An image reading apparatus comprising:
- a light source unit which comprises a plurality of light sources in a main scanning direction of an original and irradiates the original;
- a reader which reads the original in a sub-scanning direction based on irradiation by said light source unit and outputs reading information;
- an original region identifier which determines, in one line of the original, at least one area of black data extending from a corresponding at least one end of the original in the main scanning direction as an original non-existing region and a remaining region outside of the area as the original existing region;
- and
- a lighting control unit which, when a subsequent line is to be read by said reader, determines a part within the original non-existing region adjacent to the original existing region as a margin region, and which executes lighting control of the light sources to turn off light sources corresponding to a region of the original non-existing region except for the margin region and to turn on light sources corresponding to the original existing region and the margin region,
- wherein said lighting control unit executes said lighting control, when one of the end portions of a newly obtained existing region does not spread to the entire preceding margin region on the side of that end portion, to determine new margin regions on both sides to be a predetermined width within the original non-existing regions, and
- wherein said lighting control unit executes said lighting control, when one of the end portions of a newly obtained existing region spreads to the entire preceding margin region on the side of that end portion, to determine new margin regions on both sides as the entire original non-existing regions.
An image reading method in an image reading apparatus including a plurality of light sources in a main scanning direction of an original, said method comprising:
- reading each line of the original in a sub-scanning direction by irradiation of light from the light sources;
- outputting reading information corresponding to the read original;
- determining, in one line of the original, at least one area of black data extending from a corresponding at least one end of the original in the main scanning direction as an original non-existing region and a remaining region outside of the area as the original existing region;
- determining, for a subsequent line, a part within the original non-existing region adjacent to the original existing region as a margin region,
- controlling, for the subsequent line, the light sources to turn off light sources corresponding to a region of the original non-existing region except for the margin region and to turn on light sources corresponding to the original existing region and the margin region,
- wherein the controlling comprises:
- determining new margin regions on both sides to be a predetermined width within the original non-existing regions when one of the end portions of a newly obtained existing region does not spread to the entire preceding margin region on the side of that end portion, and
- determining new margin regions on both sides to be the entire original non-existing regions when one of the end portions of a newly obtained existing region spreads to the entire preceding margin region on the side of that end portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.