CN100418342C - Image capture device with function of rotating file image and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An image capturing device with the function of rotating document images includes a scanning module, a driving mechanism, a selection module, a control/processing unit and a memory. The scanning module cooperates with the driving mechanism to scan documents. The selection module selects a specific mark of the first file as a basis for judging the flipping status of the subsequent second file. The control/processing unit generates a digital sign signal and stores it in the memory according to the results of the scanning module and the selection module. The control/processing unit judges the position of the digital mark signal in the digital signal obtained after scanning the second document, and generates an inversion signal, and inverts the digital signal according to the inversion signal to generate a normal image signal, so as to automatically invert the document image for use It becomes the normal state.

Description

Image capture device with function of rotating file image and method thereof

technical field

The present invention relates to an image capture device with the function of rotating document images and its method, in particular to an image capture device and its method that allow a user to select a specific mark of a document as a reference for image rotation.

Background technique

If a traditional scanner wants to flip the scanned document image 180 degrees, most of it needs to be executed by computer application software. The way to determine the flip can be determined by the results seen by the user, or by using specific software to perform optical symbol recognition (OCR) to determine the flip angle, such as U.S. Patent No. 6,011,877; No. 6,546,215; and No. 6,574,375 revealed. Alternatively, conventional copiers already allow the user to select the direction of the document to be copied, as disclosed in US Patent No. 6,314,213.

Today, however, more and more scanners are standalone devices, that is, not directly connected to a computer. For example, some scanners can be directly connected to a printer, and the scanned result can be directly processed into a print signal acceptable to the printer. Alternatively, some scanners can be directly connected to the Internet or fax network and directly process the scanned results into digital signals that can be transmitted on the Internet or fax network. When a user scans a stack of documents by manually loading paper or feeding paper by an automatic document feeder, some documents may be arranged in the opposite direction to other documents. In this case, it is inconvenient to manually flip the image on the computer application software or directly use a method such as a copier to flip the image; and using OCR to process the entire stack of documents will require a considerable amount of memory , and cannot identify pure graphics files.

Therefore, how to provide a method that can simplify the judgment of the file direction according to the initial setting is actually the problem to be solved by the present invention.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image capture device with the function of rotating document images and its method, which simplifies the judgment of the document direction according to the initial setting, and then completes the flipping of the image.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image capture device with the function of rotating document images, which includes a scanning module, a driving mechanism, a selection module, a control/processing unit and a memory. The scanning module cooperates with the driving mechanism to scan documents. The selection module selects a specific mark of the first file as a basis for judging the flip status of the subsequent second file. The control/processing unit generates a digital sign signal and stores it in the memory according to the results of the scanning module and the selection module. The control/processing unit judges the position of the digital mark signal in the digital signal obtained after scanning the second file, and generates an inversion signal, and inverts the digital signal according to the inversion signal to generate a normal image signal, so as to automatically invert the file image for use It becomes the normal state.

Alternatively, the inversion signal and the digital signal can be directly output to an image processing device for subsequent inversion processing.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 shows first and second documents to be scanned by the image capture device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an image capture device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the selection module of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the selection module of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an image capture device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of the image capturing method of the present invention.

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 shows first and second documents to be scanned by the image capture device of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an image capture device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the image capture device 10 of the present invention includes a scanning module 12 , a driving mechanism 14 , a selection module 16 , a control/processing unit 18 and a memory 20 . The scanning module 12 is used for sequentially scanning the first and second files D1 and D2 to generate first and second analog signals SA1 and SA2. A specific mark M is contained in a specific position P of each file. Usually, the position of the specific mark M is located within the four dashed rectangles shown in FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, two files are used for illustration, but the present invention is not limited thereto. When the number of files is greater than 2, the processing method of the files after the second file is the same as that of the second file.

The driving mechanism 14 is used to drive the scanning module 12 and one of the files. Therefore, the driving mechanism 14 may be a scanning module driving mechanism used to drive the scanning module 12, or an automatic paper feeding mechanism used to drive documents. The selection module 16 is used to select a standard position SP of the specific mark M on the first document D1 to generate a standard position signal SSP.

The control/processing unit 18 is used to process the first and second analog signals SA1 and SA2 into first and second digital signals DS1 and DS2 respectively, which may include processing of analog front-end amplification, analog-to-digital conversion and gain, etc. . Then, the control/processing unit 18 generates a digital mark signal SDM corresponding to the specific mark M according to the first digital signal DS1 and the standard position signal SSP. That is, the video signal of the specific marker M is frame-selected.

The selection module 16 can automatically determine the standard position SP according to the first digital signal DS1, or can provide a selection interface for the user, so that the user can select the standard position SP by making an input on the selection interface.

The memory 20 is used to store the digital mark signal SDM as an inversion basis for the control/processing unit 18 to judge the second digital signal DS2. The control/processing unit 18 judges a position of the digital mark signal SDM in the second digital signal DS2 to generate a toggle signal ST. That is, when it is judged that the digital mark signal SDM of the second digital signal DS2 is also at the standard position SP, or when it is judged that the digital signal at the standard position SP in the second digital signal DS2 is the digital mark signal SDM, it means that the second The digital signal DS2 does not need to be inverted, or its inverted signal ST can be defined as 0 degrees. When it is judged that the digital mark signal SDM of the second digital signal DS2 is not at the standard position SP, or when it is judged that the digital signal at the standard position SP in the second digital signal DS2 is not the digital mark signal SDM, it indicates the second digital signal DS2 needs to flip 180 degrees, or its flip signal ST can be defined as 180 degrees. Of course, it can also be determined in a simple way that the second digital signal DS2 needs to be flipped by 90 degrees or 270 degrees. Therefore, the flip signal ST represents that the second digital signal DS2 should be flipped by 0, 90, 180 or 270 degrees. As for the method of judging the digital mark signal SDM in the second digital signal DS2, it is possible to use a complete image comparison method, or to calculate the ratio of black pixels to white pixels, or grayscale distribution, and these methods can be used within a limited range The matching condition within the error is used as the benchmark.

Then, the control/processing unit 18 inverts the second digital signal DS2 according to the inversion signal ST to generate a normal image signal SN. The normal image signal SN can be output to an image processing device 30 through an input/output port 22 . The image processing device 30 includes but not limited to Internet, fax network, personal computer, notebook computer, workstation and so on.

In a modification, the control/processing unit 18 can also process the normal image signal SN into a printing signal, and the printing signal is output to a printing device through an input/output port 22 for printing.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the selection module of FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the selection module 16 includes a preview window 16A and a pointer device (mouse or trackball, etc.) or a keyboard device 16B. The preview window 16A is used for a user to preview the first file D1. The pointer device or the keyboard device 16B is used for the user to select the standard position SP on the preview window 16A or for the user to input a set of parameters to select the standard position SP.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the selection module of FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the selection module 16 includes a plurality of buttons 16C for the user to select the standard position SP on the preview window 16A. Each button 16C corresponds to a preset location on the document, which is particularly useful for simplifying the process of selecting standard locations, since most of the document-specific marks are usually located at these locations. Therefore, in this embodiment, the user may directly select the standard position of the specific mark before scanning the first document. That is, the user can select a preset standard position of a specific mark on the known layout of the paper size. Alternatively, the standard location can be input by the user via the keyboard without previewing the image of the first file. Furthermore, the standard position can also be input by the user through the above-mentioned buttons according to the preview window. In this case, the above-mentioned buttons may be distributed around the preview window. Alternatively, the preview window can be a touch-sensitive display that includes multiple buttons that the user can directly press to select.

Compared with the known technique of using OCR to judge the file orientation, the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention can save memory, and the judgment method is simpler and less complicated.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an image capture device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the image capture device of this embodiment includes a scanning module 12, a driving mechanism 14, a selection module 16, a control/processing unit 18', a memory 20 and an input/output port 22'. The scanning module 12 , the driving mechanism 14 , the selection module 16 and the memory 20 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here. The control/processing unit 18' is used to respectively process the first and second analog signals SA1 and SA2 into first and second digital signals DS1 and DS2, and generate corresponding A digital mark signal SDM of a specific mark M, the control/processing unit 18' judges a position of the digital mark signal SDM in the second digital signal DS2, and generates an inversion signal ST. The input/output port 22' is used to output the second digital signal DS2 and the inversion signal ST to the image processing device 30', so that the image processing device 30' performs inversion according to the second digital signal DS2 and the inversion signal ST.

Compared with the first embodiment, the structure of the second embodiment is simpler, the memory capacity is effectively reduced, and the user operation process is more convenient.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of the image capturing method of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the image capture method with the function of rotating document images of the present invention is used to sequentially scan the first and second documents D1 and D2 to generate first and second analog signals SA1 and SA2 . A specific mark M is contained in a specific position P of each file. The image capture method of the present invention includes the following steps:

Step 51: Scan the first file D1 to obtain a first analog signal SA1;

Step 52: Process the first analog signal SA1 into a first digital signal DS1;

Step 53: Select a standard position SP of the specific mark M located on the first document D1 to generate a standard position signal SSP;

Step 54: Generate a digital mark signal SDM corresponding to the specific mark M according to the first digital signal DS1 and the standard position signal SSP;

Step 55: storing the digital mark signal SDM as a basis for judging the reversal of the second file D2;

Step 56: Scan the second file D2 to obtain a second analog signal SA2;

Step 57: Process the second analog signal SA2 into a second digital signal DS2;

Step 58: Determine a position of the digital mark signal SDM in the second digital signal DS2, and generate a flip signal ST; and

Step 59: Invert the second digital signal DS2 according to the inversion signal ST to generate a normal image signal SN; or

Step 60: Output the inversion signal ST and the second digital signal DS2 to an image processing device 30. It is worth noting that the first digital signal DS1 in step 52 will also be output along with the inversion signal ST representing 0 degrees inversion to the image processing device 30.

Step 53 may comprise the following sub-steps: provide a selection interface for a user, this interface can be similar to 16A shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, 16B, 16C and other any reasonable combination; The input of the selected standard position SP. Alternatively, in step 53, a selection unit automatically determines the standard position SP according to the first digital signal DS1.

Likewise, the above-mentioned inversion signal ST preferably represents that the second digital signal DS2 should be inverted by 0 or 180 degrees, but may also represent that the second digital signal DS2 should be inverted by 90 or 270 degrees.

Through the above-mentioned image capture device and method of the present invention, the user only needs to make a simple setting when scanning the first page, so that the image capture device can automatically turn over to the normal state for subsequent scanned pages, so that the document The alignment of images on each page is the same. Compared with the known technology using OCR technology, the required memory capacity can be effectively reduced. Alternatively, if the scanned digital signal and inverted signal are output to the computer system for processing, the required memory capacity can be reduced to a smaller size, and the user can operate the device more conveniently.

The specific embodiments proposed in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments are only used to facilitate the description of the technical content of the present invention, rather than restricting the present invention to the above-mentioned embodiments in a narrow sense, without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the claims Under the circumstances of the range, the implementation of various changes all belong to the scope of the present invention.

Explanation of reference numbers

10~ Image capture device

12~ Scanning module

14~Drive Mechanism

16~Select module

16A~Preview window

16B~pointing device or keyboard device

16C~ button

18, 18'~ control/processing unit

20~memory

22, 22'~ input/output port

30, 30'~ image processing device

D1~first file

D2~second file

DS1~first digital signal

DS2~Second digital signal

M ~ specific mark

P ~ specific position

SA1~first analog signal

SA2~Second analog signal

SDM ~ digital marker signal

SN~normal image signal

SP~standard position

SSP~standard position signal

ST~ flip signal

Claims (28)

1. the image capture unit with rotation document image function is characterized in that, comprises:

The one scan module is used for scanning in regular turn one first and one second file and produces one first and one second analog signal, all contains a specific markers on the ad-hoc location of described file;

One driving mechanism is used for driving one of them of described scan module and each file;

One selects module, is used for selecting described specific markers to be positioned at the normal place on described first file and to produce a standard position signal;

One control/processing unit is used for respectively these first and second analog being become one first and one second digital signal, and produces the figure notation signal corresponding to described specific markers according to described first digital signal and described standard position signal;

One internal memory, be used for storing described figure notation signal, to judge a upset foundation of described second digital signal as described control/processing unit, wherein said control/processing unit is judged a position of the described figure notation signal in described second digital signal, and produce an energizing signal, and described second digital signal is overturn and produce a normal images signal according to described energizing signal.

2. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One the preview window is used for for described first file of user's preview.

3. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One indicator device is used for selecting described normal place for described user on described the preview window.

4. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One key board unit is used for importing one group of parameter to select described normal place for described user.

5. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

A plurality of buttons are used for selecting described normal place for described user.

6. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 5 is characterized in that described button is to be positioned at around described the preview window.

7. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 5 it is characterized in that described button is to be positioned on described the preview window, and described the preview window is a touch-sensitive display.

8. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

A plurality of buttons are used for selecting described normal place for the user.

9. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that described selection module is judged described normal place automatically according to described first digital signal.

10. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that described normal images signal is to output to an image processor by an input/output end port.

11. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that, described control/processing unit also becomes described normal images signal processing a dozen seal signals, and described print signal is to output to a printing equipment by an input/output end port to print.

12. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, on behalf of described second digital signal, described energizing signal should be reversed 0 or 180 degree.

13. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, on behalf of described second digital signal, described energizing signal should be reversed 0,90,180 or 270 degree.

14. the image capture unit with rotation document image function is used for being connected to an image processor, it is characterized in that described image capture unit comprises:

The one scan module is used for scanning in regular turn one first and one second file and produces one first and one second analog signal, all contains a specific markers on the ad-hoc location of described file;

One driving mechanism is used for driving one of them of described scan module and described file;

One selects module, is used for selecting described specific markers to be positioned at the normal place on described first file and to produce a standard position signal;

One control/processing unit is used for respectively described first and second analog being become one first and one second digital signal, and produces the figure notation signal corresponding to described specific markers according to described first digital signal and described standard position signal;

One internal memory, be used for storing described figure notation signal, to judge a upset foundation of described second digital signal as described control/processing unit, wherein said control/processing unit is judged a position of the described figure notation signal in described second digital signal, and produces an energizing signal; And

One input/output end port is used for exporting described second digital signal and described energizing signal to described image processor, makes described image processor carry out upset according to described second digital signal and described energizing signal.

15. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One the preview window is used for for described first file of user's preview.

16. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One indicator device is used for selecting described normal place for described user on described the preview window.

17. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

One key board unit is used for importing one group of parameter to select described normal place for described user.

18. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

A plurality of buttons are used for selecting described normal place for described user.

19. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 18 is characterized in that described button is to be positioned at around described the preview window.

20. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 18 it is characterized in that described button is to be positioned on described the preview window, and described the preview window is a touch-sensitive display.

21. the image capture unit with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that described selection module comprises:

A plurality of buttons are used for selecting described normal place for the user.

22. image acquisition method with rotation document image function, be used for scanning in regular turn one first and one second file and produce one first and one second analog signal, all contain a specific markers on the ad-hoc location of described file, it is characterized in that described image acquisition method comprises following steps:

Scan described first file, to obtain one first analog signal;

Described first analog is become one first digital signal;

Select described specific markers to be positioned at the normal place on described first file and produce a standard position signal;

Produce a figure notation signal corresponding to described specific markers according to described first digital signal and described standard position signal;

Store described figure notation signal, with a upset foundation as described second file of judgement;

Scan described second file, to obtain one second analog signal;

Described second analog is become one second digital signal; And

Judge a position of the described figure notation signal in described second digital signal, and produce an energizing signal.

23. the image acquisition method with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that, also comprises following steps:

The described energizing signal of foundation overturns to described second digital signal and produces a normal images signal.

24. as described in claim 22, have the image acquisition method that rotates the document image function, it is characterized in that the step that produces described standard position signal comprises:

For a user provides an option interface; And

Receiving described user imports and selected described normal place in one of described option interface.

25. the image acquisition method with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that the step that produces described standard position signal is to judge described normal place by a selected cell automatically according to described first digital signal.

26. the image acquisition method with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that, also comprises following steps:

Export described energizing signal and described second digital signal to an image processor.

27. the image acquisition method with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that, on behalf of described second digital signal, described energizing signal should be reversed 0 or 180 degree.

28. the image acquisition method with rotation document image function as claimed in claim 22 is characterized in that, on behalf of described second digital signal, described energizing signal should be reversed 0,90,180 or 270 degree.

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