Image reading device, image processing apparatus, and image reading method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9930195-B2
Application number	US-201614988802-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2016
Priority date	Jan 23, 2015
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

An image reading device includes a shooting unit, a light source unit, a shooting controller, and a combining unit. The light source unit sequentially irradiates the bound document with light from first and second irradiation positions opposing each other with respect to a first straight line orthogonal to a direction of a binding portion of the document. The shooting controller controls the shooting unit to shoot a first region positioned at the second irradiation position side on the document when the light source unit irradiates the document with light from the first irradiation position, and controls the shooting unit to shoot a second region containing a region other than the first region on the document when the light source unit irradiates the document with light from the second irradiation position. The combining unit combines a shot image of the first region and a shot image of the second region.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image reading device comprising:
a camera that shoots a shooting target from a position facing the shooting target and outputs a shot image as a two-dimensional image;
a light source unit that, at least when the shooting target is a bound document, sequentially irradiates the bound document with light from a first irradiation position and from a second irradiation position opposing each other with respect to a first straight line, which is in a plane of the document, and which is orthogonal to a direction of a binding portion of the document, the first straight line dividing the shooting target into an upper portion which includes the first irradiation position, and a lower portion which includes the second radiation position;
a shooting controller that
controls the camera to shoot a first region positioned at the second irradiation position side on the document when the light source unit irradiates the document with light from the first irradiation position and the light is regularly reflected by the document at the first irradiation position side, and
controls the camera to shoot a second region containing a region other than the first region on the document when the light source unit irradiates the document with light from the second irradiation position and the light is regularly reflected by the document at the second irradiation position side; and

a processor that combines a two-dimensional image obtained by the camera shooting the first region and a two-dimensional image obtained by the camera shooting the second region to generate an image of the entire document.

2. The image reading device according to claim 1 , wherein the light source unit includes:
a first light source that is provided at the first irradiation position and irradiates the document with light; and
a second light source that is provided at the second irradiation position and irradiates the document with light.

3. The image reading device according to claim 2 , wherein
the light source unit further includes a third light source and a fourth light source that sequentially irradiate the document with light from a third irradiation position and a fourth irradiation position, respectively, opposing each other with respect to a second straight line, which is in the plane of the document, and which is orthogonal to the first straight line;
the image reading device further comprises:
a user interface that receives input of selection of sequential irradiation performed by the first light source and the second light source or sequential irradiation performed by the third light source and the fourth light source, for the light source unit; and
a light source controller that performs control to switch to the sequential irradiation performed by the first light source and the second light source or the sequential irradiation performed by the third light source and the fourth light source, based on the input received by the user interface, and

the shooting controller assumes the third irradiation position as the first irradiation position and the fourth irradiation position as the second irradiation position when the user interface has received the input of the selection of the sequential irradiation performed by the third light source and the fourth light source.

4. The image reading device according to claim 2 , wherein
the light source unit further includes a third light source and a fourth light source that sequentially irradiate the document with light from a third irradiation position and a fourth irradiation position, respectively, opposing each other with respect to a second straight line orthogonal to the first straight line;
the image reading device further comprises:
a detector that detects whether the direction of the binding portion of the document is a direction orthogonal to the first straight line or a direction orthogonal to the second straight line; and
a light source controller that performs control to switch to sequential irradiation performed by the first light source and the second light source or sequential irradiation performed by the third light source and the fourth light source based on a detection result by the detector, and

the shooting controller assumes the third irradiation position as the first irradiation position and the fourth irradiation position as the second irradiation position when the detector has detected that the direction of the binding portion of the document is the direction orthogonal to the second straight line.

5. The image reading device according to claim 1 , wherein
the light source unit includes at least one light source that irradiates the document with light while a position of the light source varies when driven,
the image reading device further comprises a driving controller that controls driving for the light source unit so as to cause the light source unit to sequentially irradiate the document with light from the first irradiation position and the second irradiation position.

6. The image reading device according to claim 5 , further comprising a detector that detects the direction of the binding portion of the document, wherein
the driving controller controls driving for the light source unit based on the direction of the binding portion of the document detected by the detector.

7. An image processing apparatus comprising:
the image reading device according to claim 1 ; and
a processor that processes an image generated by the image reading device.

8. An image reading method comprising:
sequentially irradiating a bound document with light from a first irradiation position and a second irradiation position opposing each other with respect to a first straight line, which is in a plane of the document, and which is orthogonal to a direction of a binding portion of the document;
shooting a two-dimensional first region positioned at the second irradiation position side on the document when the document is irradiated with light from the first irradiation position and the light is regularly reflected by the document at the first irradiation position side;
shooting a two-dimensional second region containing a region other than the first region on the document when the document is irradiated with light from the second irradiation position and the light is regularly reflected by the document at the second irradiation position side, the first straight line dividing the shooting target into an upper portion which includes the first irradiation position, and a lower portion which includes the second radiation position; and
combining the two-dimensional image obtained by shooting of the first region and the two-dimensional image obtained by shooting of the second region to generate an image of the entire document.

Assignees

• Shirado Hiroki
• Nagase Masaki
• Asaba Naoki
• Hashimoto Hideki
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shirado Hiroki
• Nagase Masaki
• Asaba Naoki
• Hashimoto Hideki

Classifications

• H04N2201/0084

  Digital still camera · CPC title

• H04N2201/0434

  specially adapted for scanning pages of a book · CPC title

• H04N2201/0426

  Scanning an image in a series of contiguous zones · CPC title

• H04N2201/0068

  Converting from still picture data · CPC title

• H04N1/00835

  Detecting external or ambient light · CPC title