JP4237653B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and an image forming system in which the image forming apparatus is connected to a plurality of networks.

  Conventionally, when a copy image of an original is formed by an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the original is first placed on a platen glass, irradiation light applied to the original is scanned, and reflected light reflected by the original is solid-state imaged. The image is received by the element, or the document is moved by the automatic document feeder, and the reflected light of the light irradiated from the fixed position to the moving document is received by the solid-state image sensor, and the image recorded on the document is read. Image data consisting of density gradation values divided into pixels is acquired. Then, the acquired image data is image-processed, the density gradation value is modulated, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating the photosensitive drum with a laser beam based on the modulated signal. develop. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum by development is transferred and fixed on the recording medium, and an image composed of the fixed toner image is formed on the recording medium. In addition, document data or the like is created by a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “PC”), and the data input from the outside in order to print the document data or the like on paper is subjected to image processing, and the document Through the same process as that for forming the copied image, an image composed of the fixed toner image is formed on the recording medium.

  Since an image formed on a recording medium by area modulation may be formed by superimposing a net pattern, when the recording medium is read by a scanner or the like, it has a larger period, which is different from the original pattern. Moire stripes may be observed, and the image quality of the copied image may be degraded. Further, in order to copy an original, an image recorded on the original is skewed when the original is moved by, for example, an automatic original feeder, uneven charging on the photosensitive drum, or uneven transfer that occurs during transfer, Alternatively, micro image defects may occur depending on the peeling state of the recording medium after fixing. Furthermore, the manuscript may become dirty due to human dirt, stains, etc., and the read image data may contain noise. These image defects are conspicuously appearing when copying from the manuscript over the last generation, causing image quality deterioration.

  In view of the current situation in which most documents are created by using PCs with the spread of PCs and the like today, electronic data created by PCs are managed centrally and recorded by image forming apparatuses. A method for improving the image quality of an image formed on a medium can be considered.

  However, since electronic data may be frequently revised, editing such as enlargement / reduction and double-sided printing may be performed at the time of printing, so that electronic data management is complicated. Further, it is complicated to search for necessary documents and necessary pages from centrally managed electronic data, and productivity may be significantly reduced.

  Therefore, identification information is attached to a recording medium on which an image is formed based on electronic data, the identification information and electronic data are linked and stored, and identification is made when there is a copy request using the recording medium as a document. A method of reading information and extracting predetermined electronic data is conceivable.

  However, for the identification information, for example, a method of inputting from the keyboard using the title or author name of the document image as a search key, or a structural model indicating the logical structure of the document image is set in advance, and the document information detected from the document image is used. There is a method of assigning an identifier, but the former requires keyboard input, and the latter has a problem with certainty.

  Therefore, it has a document element dictionary in which position features and order are set in advance, extracts a plurality of partial areas from the document image, extracts position features from each of the plurality of partial areas, and arranges them in order. A method has been proposed in which line regions whose position features are matched with the document element dictionary are allocated, and line regions allocated to a plurality of document elements are selected (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, all the arrays obtained by dividing the binary image by doubling vertically and horizontally into 4 pixel units are changed according to the array replacement rules to create two types of array replacement images, and each image is identified by 1 bit. There has been proposed a method of outputting a print from image data of an array replacement image in which information is embedded and identification information is embedded (see Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-212514 JP 2001-211308 A

  However, if an attempt is made to link identification information to electronic data using the proposed method, it is necessary to form an image on the recording medium with the electronic data and read the recording medium again with a scanner. It is troublesome to manually set the recorded recording media one by one.

  In addition, the image quality of an image formed on a recording medium by an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is constant by monitoring patch images and controlling image forming conditions such as toner density, developing bias, charging voltage, and exposure amount. The level is adjusted to be maintained. However, while image formation conditions vary depending on user preferences, environmental conditions, and factors over time, it is difficult to follow the fluctuations in real time. There is a risk of fluctuating each time.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is capable of automatically reading image data from an image formed on a recording medium by externally input electronic data, and features unique to the recording medium from the read image data. By extracting an identifier based on the ID and linking the identifier with electronic data, an image forming apparatus capable of obtaining a good image based on initial data even when copying is repeated, and the image forming apparatus are connected via a network. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plurality of connected image forming systems.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object forms a toner image on an image carrier based on input data input from the outside or image data acquired from a document, and the toner image is recorded on the recording medium. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image composed of a fixed toner image on the recording medium by transferring and fixing to the recording medium,
The original is irradiated with light from the first direction, while the recording medium on which the image composed of the fixed toner image is formed is irradiated with light from the second direction. An image reading unit that acquires each image data from the original and the recording medium by receiving each reflected light of the light with a solid-state imaging device;
A conveyance path for conveying the recording medium on which the fixed toner image is formed to an irradiation position where light is irradiated from the second direction of the image reading unit;
An identifier extracting unit that extracts the original document identifier and the recording medium identifier from the respective image data acquired by the image reading unit;
A storage unit is provided that stores the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit in a linked manner with the corresponding input data.

  In this way, when forming an image from the input electronic data, the image formed on the paper is read and the ID is extracted and stored linked to the electronic data, so that the image is formed later. When the copied paper is used as a document for copying, the electronic data stored in a linked manner is read based on the document ID extracted from the document, and the stored electronic data is used instead of the read image data. Can be used to form a good image.

An image forming system of the present invention that achieves the above object is an image forming system that forms an image on a recording medium based on input data or image data acquired from a document,
The original is irradiated with light from the first direction, while the recording medium on which the image composed of the fixed toner image is formed is irradiated with light from the second direction. An image reading unit for acquiring respective image data from the original and the recording medium by receiving each reflected light of the light with a solid-state imaging device;
The input data input from the outside or the image data acquired by the image reading unit is subjected to image processing to form a toner image on the image carrier, and the toner image is transferred and fixed to the recording medium to thereby fix the recording medium An image forming unit for forming an image composed of a fixed toner image thereon;
A conveyance path for conveying the recording medium on which the fixed toner image is formed to an irradiation position where light is irradiated from the second direction of the image reading unit, and the respective image data acquired by the image reading unit. A plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network, each having an identifier extracting unit that extracts an identifier of the document and an identifier of the recording medium from
The storage unit that stores the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit linked to the input data, and the storage unit are searched, and the same identifier as the document identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit is extracted. A storage device connected to a network having an identifier search unit;
When the same identifier as the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit is extracted by the identifier search unit, the image forming unit replaces the image data acquired by the image reading unit with the same identifier. The input data stored in the storage unit linked to the image is subjected to image processing to form a toner image on the image carrier, and an image composed of a fixed toner image is formed on a recording medium.

  As described above, electronic data linked to an ID is stored in a storage device shared by a plurality of image forming apparatuses, so that a copy image can be formed by using a sheet on which an image is formed by a different image forming apparatus as a document. Even in this case, a good image can be formed based on the electronic data.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when forming an image from the input electronic data, the print ID is extracted from the image data obtained by reading the image formed on the paper and linked to the electronic data. Therefore, when copying with the paper on which the image is formed as a document, it is possible to form a good image free from moire and skew using the stored electronic data.

  Also, image data is extracted from a copy image of the original, and the original ID and the print ID are collated, and if they do not match, both are linked with the electronic data and stored, so that it is several generations after the initial original. Even when copying is performed using the original, it is possible to obtain an image similar to that of the initial original.

  Further, by assigning an ID to the print on which the image is formed based on the feature amount including image defects peculiar to electrophotography, the operator stores the ID for the troublesomeness of the ID assignment and the search. You are freed from the hassle of keeping it.

Embodiments of an image forming apparatus and an image forming system according to the present invention will be described below.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

An image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an image reading unit 10, a data processing unit 11 and a storage unit 18 (not illustrated), a toner image forming unit 12, a secondary transfer unit 13, and a fixing unit 14. A paper storage unit 15, a conveyance path 17, and a paper discharge unit 16.
The image reading unit 10 includes a first light source 10a that irradiates light while moving from a lower side of a document placed on a platen glass, and a fixed toner image is formed. By rotating the second light source 10b to be irradiated, the plurality of fixed mirrors 10c that reflect the reflected light of the light irradiated from each of the first and second light sources 10a and 10b and direct the light in a predetermined direction, and the reflecting surface Reflecting light imaged by the optical system including a rotating mirror 10d for switching the optical path of the reflected light of the light emitted from the second light source, an imaging lens 10e for imaging each reflected light on a predetermined light receiving surface A CCD solid-state imaging device 10f that receives light and obtains electric charge according to the amount of light.
When the document is placed on the platen glass, as shown in FIG. 2, the first light source 10a is turned on, and the rotary mirror 10d is placed horizontally on the reading surface of the document, and is arranged upward of the first light source 10a. The original is irradiated with light, and the reflected light is imaged on the light receiving surface of the CCD solid-state imaging device 10f by the imaging lens 10e via the optical path indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2 to obtain image data of the original.
On the other hand, when the toner image is formed by the toner image forming unit 12 based on the acquired image data and the sheet on which the fixed toner image is formed by being transferred and fixed is conveyed by the conveyance path 17, FIG. As described above, the second light source is turned on, the rotating mirror 10d is rotated by a predetermined angle, the downward light from the second light source is irradiated onto the passing paper, and the reflected light is indicated by a broken line in FIG. Through the optical path, an image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD solid-state imaging device 10f by the imaging lens 10e, and image data of the document is acquired.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the document is placed on the platen glass and irradiated with light from below, but the document does not necessarily have to be placed on the platen glass. For example, an automatic document feeder It is also possible to irradiate light from an obliquely downward direction by the first light source 10a that is sent out and fixed. The paper on which the fixed toner image is formed does not necessarily have to be irradiated with light while passing, and the light is irradiated while moving the second light source 10b from above while still in a predetermined position. May be.

  The data processing unit 11 (not shown) calculates respective feature amounts from the image data of the document acquired by the image reading unit 10 and the image data of the paper on which the fixing toner image is formed, and an ID and fixing for identifying the document. An identifier extracting unit 21 that extracts an ID for identifying a sheet on which a toner image is formed, and an ID of a document extracted by the identifier extracting unit 21 or an ID of a sheet on which a fixed toner image is formed correspond to external input data. And an image processing unit 22 that performs color conversion and gradation correction on the external input data or image data, and the external input linked to the ID extracted by the identifier extraction unit 21 When the data is stored in the storage unit 18, the external input data is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 22. When the data is not stored, the data is acquired by the image reading unit 10. Performing image processing on the image data by the image processing unit 22. Details of the data processing unit 11 will be described later.

  The toner image forming unit 12 forms four different color toner images, contacts four photosensitive drums 31 rotating in the direction of arrow A, and circulates in the direction of arrow B in contact with each of the four photosensitive drums 31. A primary transfer unit 33 that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 32 and each photosensitive drum 31 via the intermediate transfer belt 32 and sequentially superimposes and transfers the toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 31 onto the intermediate transfer belt 32. And have.

  As shown in FIG. 3, around each photosensitive drum 31, a charging unit 34 that charges the photosensitive drum 31 and an image signal that has been subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 22 on the charged photosensitive drum 31. The exposure unit 35 that emits a laser beam modulated for each color to form an electrostatic latent image and the toner of each color are charged by stirring, and the charged toner of each color is converted into an electrostatic latent image by a developing bias voltage. A developing unit 36 that forms a toner image for each color by being attached, and a cleaner 37 that removes toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 31 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt are provided.

  The charging unit 34 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 31 rotating in the direction of arrow A, and the exposure unit 35 charges the laser beam modulated by the image signal image-processed by the image processing unit 22. The drum 31 is irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image, and the developing unit 36 forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image.

  The secondary transfer unit 13 includes a pair of transfer rolls that sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 32. The secondary transfer unit 13 sandwiches a sheet between the intermediate transfer belt 32 and one roll and applies a bias voltage between the pair of transfer rolls. As a result, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 32 is transferred to a sheet.

  The paper storage unit 15 stores paper of a predetermined size, feeds the stored paper one by one by the feed roller 15 a, and sends the fed paper to the secondary transfer unit 13.

  The fixing unit 14 includes a heating roll and a pressure roll. The toner image transferred by the secondary transfer unit 13 is heated and pressed by sandwiching the sheet onto which the toner image is transferred between the heating roll and the pressure roll. Is melted and fixed on the paper.

  The conveyance path 17 conveys a sheet on which an image composed of a fixed toner image is formed by the fixing unit 14 to a position where light is irradiated downward from the second light source 10 b of the image reading unit 10.

  The paper discharge unit 16 finally stores a paper on which an image including a fixed toner image has been formed and image data has been acquired by the image reading unit 10.

  The image forming apparatus of the present embodiment has been described based on a tandem type image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt. However, the image forming apparatus always uses an intermediate transfer belt and includes a plurality of photosensitive drums. It is not necessary to use an intermediate transfer drum, a single photosensitive drum may be used, and a direct transfer method using no intermediate transfer member may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the data processing unit.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus acquires image data from a document or an image reading unit 10 that acquires image data from an image formed on a sheet, and image data acquired by the image reading unit 10. An ID for identifying a document (hereinafter referred to as a “document ID”), an ID for identifying a sheet on which an image is formed (hereinafter referred to as a “print ID”), or image data or externally input electronic data is extracted. A data processing unit 11 that performs image processing to acquire an image signal, a storage unit 18 that stores a print ID or document ID linked to externally input electronic data, and a toner image that forms a toner image based on the image signal And a forming portion 12.

  The PC and the image reading unit 10 are connected to the data processing unit 11, and the data processing unit 11 is connected to the storage unit 18 and the toner image forming unit 12.

  The data processing unit 11 searches for an identifier extraction unit 21 that extracts a document ID and a print ID, a storage unit 18, an identifier search unit 23 that extracts the same ID as the document ID extracted by the identifier extraction unit 21, There is provided an identifier collating unit 24 that collates a document ID with a print ID for identifying a sheet on which a fixed toner image is formed based on the document, and collates whether the IDs are the same. Details of the document ID and print ID extraction method will be described later.

  When electronic data is input from the PC to the data processing unit 11, the electronic data is stored in the storage unit 18, and the stored electronic data is subjected to image processing such as color conversion and gradation correction by the image processing unit 22. The image signal subjected to the image processing is sent to the toner image forming unit 12. The toner image forming unit 12 forms a toner image based on the image signal, and then performs primary transfer onto the intermediate transfer belt and secondary transfer onto the paper to form an image composed of the fixed toner image on the paper. To do. The sheet on which the image is formed is conveyed through the conveyance path 17, and the formed image is read by the image reading unit 10 to acquire image data. A print ID is extracted from the image data by the identifier extraction unit 21. The extracted print ID is linked to the electronic data stored in the storage unit 18 and stored in the storage unit 18 together with the electronic data.

On the other hand, when a document is set in the image reading unit, the document is read by the image reading unit 10 and image data is acquired. The image data is sent to the identifier extraction unit 21 to extract the document ID, and the extracted document ID is sent to the identifier search unit 23. The identifier search unit 23 searches the storage unit 18 to search for the same ID as the document ID. If the same ID is stored, the image processing unit 22 uses the electronic data linked to the ID. Is processed and sent to the toner image forming unit 12. If the same ID as the document ID is not stored, the image processing unit 22 performs image processing on the image data read by the image reading unit 10 and sends the image data to the toner image forming unit 12.
The toner image forming unit 12 forms a toner image based on the image signal, and then performs primary transfer onto the intermediate transfer belt and secondary transfer onto the paper to form an image composed of the fixed toner image on the paper. To do. The sheet on which the image is formed is conveyed through the conveyance path 17, and the formed image is read by the image reading unit 10 to acquire image data. A print ID is extracted from the image data by the identifier extraction unit 21. The extracted print ID is collated with the document ID in the identifier collation unit 24. If the two do not match, and the same ID as the document ID is stored in the storage unit, the extracted print ID is also electronic. The data is linked with data and stored in the storage unit 18.

  As described above, when an image is formed from the input electronic data, the print ID is extracted from the image data obtained by reading the image formed on the paper, and the image data is linked to the electronic data and stored. Therefore, the document ID extracted based on the image data read from the original when the paper on which the image is formed is copied later is the same as the print ID. A good image free from moire and skew can be formed using stored electronic data instead of image data.

  Also, image data is extracted from a copy image of the document, the document ID and the print ID are collated, and if they do not match, both are linked with the electronic data and stored. Even when a post-generation document is used, an image similar to that of the initial document can be obtained.

Next, a method for extracting a document ID or print ID from image data acquired from a document or a sheet on which a fixed image is formed is performed according to the flow of processing. Scanning procedure for acquiring image data by irradiation, (b) data storage procedure for storing image data in the storage unit, (c) location selection procedure for selecting a plurality of locations for feature extraction from image data based on extraction criteria, (D) A feature extraction procedure for obtaining a feature amount in a predetermined range centering on a selected location, and (e) an ID acquisition procedure for obtaining an ID from the feature amount of the entire selected location.
(A) Scanning procedure A sheet of paper immediately after an image composed of a document or a fixed toner image is irradiated from the image reading unit, the irradiated light is scanned, and reflected light is received by a CCD solid-state imaging device. To obtain image data. The resolution and resolution of the solid-state image sensor need only be those generally used as a scanner. For example, one having a resolution of about 600 dpi (42 μ square resolution) and 10 bit resolution (1024 gradations) can be used.

The image reading unit of the present embodiment includes a solid-state image sensor used for acquiring image data necessary for copying, a solid-state image sensor used for acquiring image data from an image of a sheet on which a fixed toner image is formed, and Are common, and there is almost no variation due to the light receiving element at the time of reading, so that the document ID and the print ID can be accurately extracted.
(B) Data storage procedure The image data read by the image reading unit is temporarily stored in, for example, an identifier extraction unit because it is used for feature extraction or, if necessary, for toner image formation.
(C) Location selection procedure The image read by the image reading unit is set at a position where the paper setting position is shifted or tilted in the X direction or Y direction, or the image direction is rotated 180 °. There may be. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately extract the same feature amount regardless of the posture of the sheet to be set. Therefore, a plurality of the same print positions are determined from the read image data according to the extraction criteria. The extraction standard is provided in the identifier extraction unit, and among the first read character image, the central portion of the first character image, the central portion of the solid density portion having a specific intermediate density, and the highest density in the image The central part of the part is set. Specifically, for example, it is possible to configure a program that is preset as a program that performs an operation on image data, and that a plurality of locations for calculating feature values are selected by executing the program.
(D) Feature extraction procedure When a plurality of locations are selected, feature amounts are extracted from the gradation values of pixels in a predetermined range in the vicinity thereof. The target range from which the feature amount is extracted may be a small window size of about 16 × 16 dots, for example.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, feature amounts are extracted by paying attention to a phenomenon that unique image unevenness occurs. For example, in a digital image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating a photosensitive member with laser light, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner and transferred and fixed on a sheet. Fine unevenness of the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface, charging unevenness in the axial direction of the charging device, unevenness in the axial direction of the developing device and the circumferential direction of the developing roller, unevenness in the conductivity of the paper during transfer, fluctuation, fixing device Many fluctuation factors such as the fixing roller pressure axis and circumferential unevenness are randomly involved. For this reason, even if it seems that the image formation is repeated stably depending on the vision, if the detailed measurement and analysis of how the pixels are formed in a small window size, it will vary greatly each time. Is observed.

  In this embodiment, the feature amount of an image is, for example, “a degree of unevenness occurring at an edge portion of a character (hereinafter referred to as sharpness)”, “a spatial frequency variation state of density in a halftone portion (hereinafter referred to as granularity). ")", "Degree of toner missing at the center of the character (hereinafter referred to as defect degree)", and "distance between a plurality of selected locations" by classifying by binary code.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example in which the feature amount is obtained based on the degree of unevenness that occurs in the edge portion of the character.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, there are four types classified according to the degree of unevenness occurring in the edge portion 40 of the character.

  FIG. 5A shows a case where the edge portion 40 is not uneven at all, and a binary code “00” is given.

  FIG. 5B shows a case where aliasing 41 is generated in the vicinity of the edge portion 40, and a binary code “01” is assigned.

  FIG. 5C shows a case where unevenness 42 is slightly generated in addition to the aliasing 41 in the vicinity of the edge portion 40, and the binary code “10” is given.

  FIG. 5D shows a case where the edge portion 40 has a considerable unevenness 42, and a binary code “11” is given thereto.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example in which the feature amount is obtained based on the state of the spatial frequency fluctuation of the density in the halftone portion, that is, the degree of so-called roughness.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, there are four types according to the degree to which a rough feeling is generated.

  FIG. 6A shows the case where the pixels 43 having gradation values without regular spatial frequency fluctuations are regularly arranged, and the binary code “00” is given.

  FIG. 6B shows a case where the spatial frequency variation of the density slightly occurs, and only a part of the pixels 43 having the gradation value is out of the regular array position. The binary code “01” is shown in FIG. Is granted.

  FIG. 6C shows a case where the variation in the spatial frequency of the density is relatively small, but the unevenness 44 of the gradation value of the pixel 43 having the gradation value is considerably caused by the variation in the amplitude, and the binary code “10” is Is granted.

  FIG. 6D shows a case where the gradation value unevenness 44 due to density spatial frequency fluctuation and amplitude fluctuation is considerably generated, and a binary code “11” is given.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example in which the feature amount is obtained based on the degree of toner loss at the center of the character.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, there are four types according to the degree of toner loss.

  FIG. 7A shows a case where there is no toner omission and a solid image 45 is formed, and a binary code “00” is assigned.

  FIG. 7B shows a case where the toner missing pixel 46 is generated in a skipped manner, and a binary code “01” is given.

  FIG. 7C shows a case where the toner missing pixels 46 are continuously generated, and a binary code “10” is given.

  FIG. 7D shows a case where the toner missing pixels 46 are gathered and a binary code “11” is given.

Next, the distances between the plurality of selected locations are classified into six types by, for example, three digits of the binary code, and are “000”, “001”, “010”, “011”, “110”, “111”. Any one of the binary codes is given.
(E) ID acquisition procedure
For example, the five feature quantities selected in the feature extraction procedure are sharpness S1 to S5, granularity R1 to R5, defect degree K1 to K5, and distances D1 to D10. By arranging like this, the ID can be obtained.
"D1-D10, S1-S5, R1-R5, K1-K5"
As a result, for example, “001, 010, 110, 001, 100, 101, 111, 101, 010, 001, 01, 01, 10, 01, 01, 01, 10, 10, 01, 01, 10, 10, 10 , 01, 01 "is obtained as an ID consisting of a 60-digit binary code.

  Here, it is desirable that the extraction of the ID is accurately calculated, but since it is assumed that an error may occur, when collating the extracted IDs or when searching the stored ID, If a predetermined number or more of feature quantities match, control may be performed so that the same ID is evaluated. Thereby, the matching rate at the time of search or collation can be improved, and the number of IDs stored linked to the storage unit can be reduced.

In addition, since an ID is assigned to the print on which the image is formed based on the feature amount including the image defect peculiar to the electrophotography in this way, the operator is required for the troublesome ID assignment and the search. This frees you from the hassle of storing your ID.
(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, among the image forming apparatuses described in the first embodiment, a storage unit that stores an ID linked to electronic data and an identifier search unit that searches the ID are independent as a storage device. Although the image forming apparatus and the storage apparatus share the same functions, the image forming apparatus and the storage apparatus share the same functions.
As described above, electronic data linked to an ID is stored in a storage device shared by a plurality of image forming apparatuses, so that a copy image can be formed by using a sheet on which an image is formed by a different image forming apparatus as a document. Even in this case, a good image can be formed based on the electronic data.

1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the optical path when the 1st light source is turned on. FIG. 3 is a view showing the periphery of a photosensitive drum on which a toner image is formed. It is a figure explaining a data processing part. It is a figure which shows typically the example which calculates | requires feature-value by the extent of the nonuniformity which arises in the edge part of a character. It is a figure which shows typically the example which calculates | requires a feature-value with the extent which the spatial frequency fluctuation state of the density | concentration in a halftone site | part, what is called a rough feeling is produced. It is a figure which shows typically the example which calculates | requires feature-value by the grade of the toner omission in the center part of a character.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Image reading part 10a 1st light source 10b 2nd light source 10c Fixed mirror 10d Rotating mirror 10e Imaging lens 10f CCD solid-state image sensor 11 Data processing part 12 Toner image formation part 13 Secondary transfer part 14 Fixing part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Paper storage part 15a Feed roll 16 Paper discharge part 17 Conveyance path 18 Storage part 21 Identifier extraction part 22 Image processing part 23 Identifier search part 24 Identifier collation part 31 Photosensitive drum 32 Intermediate transfer belt 33 Primary transfer part 34 Charging part 35 Exposure unit 36 Development unit 37 Cleaner 40 Edge portion 41 Aliasing 42 Unevenness 43 Pixel having gradation value 44 Unevenness of gradation value 45 Solid image 46 Toner missing pixel

Claims (5)

Based on input data input from the outside or image data acquired from an original, a toner image is formed on an image carrier, and the toner image is fixed on the recording medium by transferring and fixing the toner image on the recording medium. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image consisting of an image,
The original is irradiated with light from the first direction, while the recording medium on which the image composed of the fixed toner image is formed is irradiated with light from the second direction. An image reading unit that acquires each image data from the original and the recording medium by receiving each reflected light of the light with a solid-state imaging device;
A conveyance path for conveying the recording medium on which the fixed toner image is formed to an irradiation position where light is irradiated from the second direction of the image reading unit;
An identifier extraction unit that extracts the identifier of the document and the identifier of the recording medium from the respective image data acquired by the image reading unit;
A storage unit that stores the identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit linked to the corresponding input data ;
An image forming unit that performs image processing on the input data or image data acquired from the document and forms a toner image on the image carrier;
An identifier search unit that searches the storage unit and extracts the same identifier as the document identifier extracted by the identifier extraction unit;
When the same identifier is extracted by the identifier search unit, the image forming unit is stored in the storage unit by linking to the same identifier instead of the image data acquired by the image reading unit. An image forming apparatus that performs image processing on the input data and forms a toner image on the image carrier,
The image reading unit obtains image data composed of gradation values of an image recorded on the original and an image formed on the recording medium;
The identifier extraction unit extracts a predetermined range of image data centered on a predetermined portion of the original or the recording medium from the image data acquired from the original or the recording medium, and the extracted image of the predetermined range Obtaining a feature quantity of the document or the recording medium based on the data, extracting the identifier by classifying the obtained feature quantity, and
The identifier extraction unit includes a density fluctuation amount of an edge portion and a halftone portion of an image of the original or the recording medium, toner missing, and a distance between the predetermined portions based on the extracted image data of the predetermined range. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the feature amount is obtained. The image forming unit performs image processing on the image data acquired by the image reading unit to form a toner image on the image carrier when the identifier searching unit does not extract the same identifier. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The image reading unit irradiates light from the first direction to the original, and irradiates light from the second direction to the recording medium on which the fixing toner image is formed. A light source, and an optical system that forms an image of each reflected light on the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging device by switching the optical path of the reflected light emitted from each of the first and second light sources,
The optical system uses an optical path of reflected light of the light emitted from the second light source when the recording medium on which the fixing toner image is formed is transported to the irradiation position by the transport path on the light receiving surface. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is switched. An identifier verification unit that compares the identifier of the document with the identifier of the recording medium on which the fixing toner image is formed based on the document;
When the identifier collated by the identifier collating unit does not match and the document identifier is stored linked to the input data, the storage unit stores each of the mismatched identifiers in the input data. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is stored in a linked state. The identifier extraction unit includes an extraction reference for extracting the image data, the extraction image of claim 1, wherein based on the reference and extracts the image data of a predetermined range centered on the predetermined portion Forming equipment.