Image Processing Alignment for Multi-Document Duplex Scanning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses struggle to align and coincide front-side and back-side images of small documents, such as business cards, on a single recording paper sheet, especially when dealing with multiple documents concurrently, and require printing correcting patterns which is not feasible for general business cards.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with an image reading section, control section, and image processing section that reads and processes front-side and back-side images separately to align and coincide them on a single recording paper sheet, allowing for simultaneous formation and cutting out of multiple documents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If deviations and tilt of recording paper sheet are corrected with reference to the origin of an image read by a scanner, then alignment accuracy is improved, but only single document processing is enabled and multiple small documents cannot be processed concurrently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the recording paper sheet into multiple regions and processes multiple small documents concurrently by assigning each document to a specific region. The image processing section independently detects and aligns front-side and back-side images for each document within its assigned region, enabling parallel processing while maintaining alignment accuracy through region-based segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a document identification dimension by detecting document edges and assigning unique identifiers to each document. This allows the system to distinguish between multiple documents in the scan area and process them concurrently without interference, transforming the problem from sequential single-document processing to parallel multi-document processing.
2Manufacturing precision
If correcting patterns are printed on the front and back sides of recording medium to detect misalignment, then alignment correction is enabled, but general business cards and other cards without correcting patterns cannot be processed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables documents to self-align by having the image processing section detect the document edges and automatically determine the document region. The system uses the document's own visual characteristics (edges, content distribution) to identify its boundaries and calculate alignment, eliminating the need for external correcting patterns while maintaining alignment correction capability for any general document.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the document image and processes this copy to detect edges and calculate alignment parameters. By working with the digital representation rather than requiring physical correcting patterns on the document, the system can align any document type without modifying the original document structure.
3Measurement precision
If front-side and back-side images are read separately in sequential scans, then image reading accuracy is maintained, but processing time increases compared to simultaneous reading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by reading both front-side and back-side images in sequential scans and storing them in memory before the alignment processing begins. This allows the image processing section to access both images simultaneously for alignment calculation without requiring sequential processing during the alignment operation, reducing overall processing time while maintaining reading accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous useful action by overlapping the image reading and alignment processing operations. While the image reading section continuously captures images in sequential scans, the image processing section simultaneously performs alignment calculations on the captured images, keeping both sections active and productive without idle waiting time.
Data Source
AI summary
Even from a plurality of small documents, their front-side and back-side images to be formed on a recording paper sheet, with alignment and coincidence of the front-side and back-side images of each document between the front and back sides of the recording paper sheet. In an image forming apparatus, an image processing section detects a front-side image of an original document from a scan area read in a first scan by an image reading section, detects a back-side image of the original document from a scan area read in a second scan, and moves or rotates the front-side image and the back-side image of the original document in terms of a whole image of the scan area so that the front-side image and the back-side image of the original document are brought into alignment and coincidence between a front side and a back side of a recording paper sheet.