Image input and output apparatus selecting processing according to colored pattern
AssigneeOki Data Corporation
InventorNoriyuki Eda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image input and output apparatus such as a facsimile machine or multifunction printer recognizes a colored image pattern on an input document and processes the document according to the color of the image pattern. Information that can be encoded by the color of the image pattern includes an electronic mail address, facsimile number, or file server address to which an image of the document is to be sent, a folder in which the image is to be stored, or a number of copies of the image to be printed. The color recognition capability of the apparatus can thereby be used effectively even in the processing of basically black and white documents. Information may also be encoded by the shape of the colored image pattern.
Claims7
An image input and output apparatus comprising:
- a scanner for scanning a document to obtain image data representing an image in a first area of the document and an image pattern in a second area of the document;
- a color recognition unit for recognizing a color of the image pattern;
- a plurality of output units with different functions such that the output units perform their corresponding functions on the image data;
- a storage unit storing a table of colors, each of the colors representing a corresponding one of the output units;
- and
- a controller for directing the image data obtained by the scanner to the corresponding one of the output units.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.