Image analysis – Applications
Reexamination Certificate
1995-08-04
2002-01-15
Chang, Jon (Department: 2623)
Image analysis
Applications
C358S401000, C358S403000, C399S042000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06339650
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to image information processing, and more particularly, to a novel image information processing apparatus suitable for reproduction of hard copy images.
Copying equipment of the electrophotographic type has been widely employed in many fields of businesses and personal uses, since such equipment is capable of readily copying various documents at the location and at the number required.
Meanwhile, along with improvements in the performance of the copying equipment, the development of additional functions therefor has been continuously achieved, and a variety of such additional functions have already been placed into actual applications.
By way of example, there has been proposed a copying apparatus provided with a memory mode copy function in which, by storing the last read image formation in a semiconductor memory, processing at a higher speed is intended by omitting reading of a document in recopying, or provided with a communication function for notifying conditions of use or necessity of maintenance, etc. to external managing apparatus.
Moreover, in order to prevent secret information from being released, there is also proposed a print control practice in which outflow route search information such as date of copying, copying apparatus number, and the like is formed into codes to be padded into the copied images so as not to be recognized by the naked eye.
Incidentally, documents subjected to copying by copying equipment are broadly divided into original documents and reproduced documents obtained by the copying thereof Here, the word “original document” means an original text for the management of documents by a user of the copying apparatus. Normally, such original documents include documents prepared not by the copying apparatus, such as various printed matters including books, printed items by a printer, or hand-written documents, etc. However, there may be cases where documents prepared by other copying apparatus are used as the original documents.
In general offices, circulation or distribution of copied items by a copying apparatus is frequently carried out, and there are many cases where copied items are further made from the copied items (i.e., the cases where copying of the reproduced document is effected). The reproduced item from the original document (a primary reproduced item) is referred to as a “child” copy, and a reproduced item from the child copy (a secondary reproduced item) is called a “grandchild” copy.
In such a case as noted above, although the image reproducibility in the electrophotographic process is high, the image quality is gradually deteriorated as the reproduction is repeated, and the image quality of the “grandchild” copy tends to be slightly inferior to that of the “child” copy.
Therefore, there are often cases where it is desired to obtain a “child” copy with a favorable image quality by using the original document instead of the reproduced document when the document available at hand is of the reproduced document.
Apart from the problems related to the image quality, in the case where, for example, the document at hand is of a reproduced document copied from part of a book, it is sometimes desired to know the content of pages before and after the page at hand, i.e., the content in the pages not available at hand.
Moreover, when the document at hand is of a reproduced document prepared by amending part of the original document, there have occurred many cases where it is desired to know the content of the amended portion.
However, in the conventional practice, there have been such problems that the place where the original document is kept (or person keeping the original document) can not be easily found, and thus, the work for searching the original document is troublesome, or that it is impossible to obtain the “child” copy in the case where the original document has already been discarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an essential object of the present invention is to provide an image information processing apparatus in which, in a reproduction of a document by a copying apparatus, it is intended to readily obtain a reproduced item which is based on the original document.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image information processing apparatus of the above described type, which is simple in construction, functionally stable and with a high reliability.
In accomplishing these and other objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image information processing apparatus which includes an image reading means which reads an image of a document and outputs image data, a document judging means which judges whether the read document is an original document or a reproduced document according to whether or not specific data is present in the image data, an inquiry means for visualizing inquiry data related to the original document into a visible image, the inquiry data comprising bibliographic data about the original document, and a control means which controls the inquiry means to visualize the inquiry data designated by the specific data into a visible image, when the read document is judged to be a reproduced document by said document judging means.
In another aspect of the present invention, the image information processing apparatus includes an input means for inputting inquiry data related to the original document, said inquiry data comprising bibliographic data about the original document a data forming means for producing specific data designating the inquiry data, an image information reading means which reads an image of a document and outputs image data, a document judging means which judges whether the read document is an original document or a reproduced document according to whether or not specific data is present in the image data, a composing means for preparing composed data based on the image data and the specific data, an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the composed data, and a control means which controls said composing means to prepare composed data based on the specific data and image data prepared by the data forming means, thereby to execute the image formation by said image forming means based on said composed data, when the read document is judged to be the original document by said document judging means.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the image information processing apparatus includes an image reading means which reads an image of a document and outputs image data, a document judging means which judges whether the read document is an original document or a reproduced document according to whether or not specific data is present in the image data, a memory means which preliminarily stores the image data of the original document, an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on the image data, and a control means which controls said image forming means to execute image formation based on the image data stored in said memory, a reproduced document by the document judging means.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, the image information processing apparatus includes an image reading means which reads an image of a document and outputs image data, a memory means which preliminarily stores predetermined image data, an image judging means for judging whether or not the image data of the read document is the same data as the stored predetermined image data, an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium based on image data, and a control means which controls said image forming means to execute image formation based on the image data of the read document when the image data of the read document is judged to be different from the stored image data by said image judging means, and for controlling said image forming means to execute image formation by said image forming means based on the predetermined image data stored in the memory means when the read image da
Ikenoue Yoshikazu
Morikawa Takeshi
Yoshida Eiichi
Chang Jon
Minolta Co. , Ltd.
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
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