Image Forming Apparatus With Character-Direction Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, forming a single image from multiple reading sheets can result in misaligned images due to improper placement on the document platen, leading to vertical and horizontal relationship mismatches.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a reading unit, image forming unit, and display unit that analyzes the direction of character strings on both surfaces of a reading sheet, compares it to predefined correct answer patterns, and displays warnings or corrects the image orientation to ensure proper alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If reading sheets are not appropriately placed on the document platen, then the operation process is simpler and faster, but images of multiple reading sheets formed in a single image do not match each other in up, down, left, and right or vertical and horizontal relationships
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects the orientation of character strings on reading sheets and provides feedback information to the user about whether the placement direction is excellent or poor. This feedback mechanism allows users to understand the alignment status without manually checking, thereby maintaining ease of operation while ensuring image matching precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and mechanical adjustment with automated optical character recognition (OCR) technology. The reading unit automatically reads character strings and determines orientation, eliminating the need for users to manually verify placement alignment while maintaining high precision in image matching.
2Productivity
If the reading unit automatically determines character string direction without user input, then the processing speed increases, but the system complexity increases due to additional detection and comparison mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The reading unit performs self-service by automatically determining the direction of character strings and comparing them with correct answer patterns without requiring user intervention. The system independently completes the orientation detection and validation process, which speeds up processing while the automated nature consolidates complexity into a single integrated unit rather than requiring multiple separate systems.
Data Source
AI summary
In a case where a single image is formed by reading one or more reading sheets multiple times, and if the reading sheets are not appropriately placed on a document platen, images of the plurality of reading sheets formed in the single image do not match each other in up, down, left, and right or vertical and horizontal relationships desired by a user. An image forming apparatus includes a display unit configured to, based on a direction of a character string obtained from an image obtained by reading a first surface and a direction of a character string obtained from an image obtained by reading a second surface, display information regarding whether a direction of a reading sheet relative to a predetermined reference is excellent or poor.