Abstract:
The present invention provides a controlling apparatus and method for an image scanning system that includes a direct current (DC) motor and an image sensor driven by the DC motor to move. A position signal representative of the position associated of the image sensor is generated and the controlling apparatus and method is performed according to the position signal.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a controlling apparatus and method for an image scanning system, and especially to a controlling apparatus and method for an image scanning system comprising a direct current (DC) motor.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     In the prior art, the image scanning system scans the image by utilizing a stepping motor. To control the stepping motor, a controlling apparatus outputs a phase to enable the stepping motor to feed a micro-step, so as to drive the image sensor to scan the image step by step. Since the controlling apparatus knows the number of outputted phases, the number of forward or backward micro-steps is also realized. Therefore, the controlling apparatus can detect the corresponding position of the image sensor. When the corresponding position is detected, the controlling apparatus can control the exposure time of the image sensor. As long as the controlling apparatus output the phase to the stepping motor at a constant rate, the image sensor driven by the stepping motor moves at a corresponding constant rate.  
         [0005]     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  shows the timing signals for controlling an image sensor. A contact image sensor (CIS) comprises red, green, and blue color channels. A start signal SS comprises a plurality of start pulses SP used to sequentially trigger each of the color channels of the CIS, so as to sense the image data. The control signals  12 ,  14 , and  16  respectively control the red, green, and blue light emitting diode (LED) of the CIS to sense the image data. The image data sensed by the CIS is then read out sequentially according to the read-out timing sequence  18  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The way to control the charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor driven of the stepping motor is similar to the above mentioned way to control the CIS, so the related description is neglected.  
         [0006]     As the demand for a scanner with improved scanning speed increases, a stepping motor with greater twist force is necessary. However, such kind of stepping motor usually has big volume. Hence, a DC (direct current) motor replaces the stepping motor and the following problem is that the position of the image sensor driven by the DC motor is more difficult to control. Accordingly, it is quite important to control the position of the image sensor and the timing to sense the image, so as to make sure of the quality of the scanned image.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a controlling apparatus and method for controlling an image scanning system comprising an image sensor driven by a direct current (DC) motor.  
         [0008]     According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a position signal corresponding to the position of the image sensor is generated. The controlling apparatus of the present invention comprises a clock control logic. The clock control logic is used for generating a plurality of start pulses and exposure signals according to the position signal. Moreover, the clock control logic outputs at least one read signal to the image sensor for outputting an image scanning. Each start pulse mentioned above represents the start of a scanning period of the image sensor.  
         [0009]     According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controlling apparatus further comprises a timer. The timer is used for counting a time interval of the scanning period.  
         [0010]     According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controlling apparatus further comprises a judgment logic. The judgment logic is used for judging whether the position signal occurs only once between two adjacent start pulses. If the judging result is yes, the image scanning data is determined to represent an effective image scanning data within the scanning period.  
         [0011]     The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a timing diagram of the control timing for triggering the image sensor according to the prior art.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram of the peripherals of the timing apparatus according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2B  is a schematic diagram of the position signal PS shown in  FIG. 2A .  
         [0015]      FIG. 3A  is a control timing diagram of the first mode according to the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3B  is a control timing diagram of the second mode according to the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4A  is a timing diagram of the control timing of the second preferred embodiment according to the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4B  is a control timing diagram of the fourth mode according to the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a control timing diagram of the fifth mode according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram of the peripherals of the timing apparatus according to the present invention. An encoder strip  20  is cooperated with an optical encoder  22  to detect the position of the image sensor. In general, there is a criterion on the encoder strip  20  to be a reference for dots per inch (dpi) subsequently. For example, the criterion on the encoder strip  20  is {fraction (1/150)} inch to be the reference for 150 dpi subsequently. The optical encoder  22  transmits a signal PHA and a signal PHB to a position decoder  24 , wherein the difference between the signal PHA and the signal PHB is ¼ phase. The position decoder  24  processes the received signals PHA and PHB to output a position signal PS to be a reference for 600 dpi. The related prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,884.  
         [0021]     The function block  2  marked by dotted lines shown in  FIG. 2A  is what the controlling apparatus of the present invention covers. Besides, the time intervals between the position pulses PP of the position signal PS is not constant, reflecting that the image sensor  28  is driven by a DC (direct current) motor.  
         [0022]     The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following preferred embodiments.  
         [0023]     First, the timing control for the CIS (Contact Image Sensor) is described. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the timing control logic  26  is designed for the typical CIS having three color channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the related control timing sequence is shown in  FIG. 3A . This preferred embodiment is referred as the first mode in the following. As shown in  FIG. 3A , the timing control logic  26  is controlled by each of the position pulses PP to generate start pulses SP, exposure signals  322 ,  324 , and  326 , and read-out pulses R, G, and B. The pulses of the exposure signals  322 ,  324 , and  326  are outputted by the timing control logic  26  to turn on the red, green, and blue LED of the CIS  28  respectively and sequentially, so as to sense images. Meanwhile, the timing control logic  26  outputs the corresponding read-out pulse RC to output the data sensed by the CIS to an analog to digital converter (ADC)  30 . The ADC  30  translates the data into digital form and transmits the digital data to a memory  34  through a bus  32 .  
         [0024]     In the first mode, a first time interval T 1  between start pulses SP is equal to a second time interval T 2  between start pulses SP. A third time interval T 3  between start pulses SP is inconstant. Otherwise, the read-out pulses R, G, and B respectively correspond to the first time interval T 1 , the second time interval T 2 , and the third time interval T 3 . Since the image sensor is a CIS, the lengths of the pulses of the exposure signals  322 ,  324 , and  326  can be controlled by the timing control logic  26 . Therefore, the difference between the time intervals T 1 , T 2 , and T 3  will not affect the quality a lot, and the scanning system of the first mode may be adapted to high scanning speed.  
         [0025]     Please refer to  FIG. 3B  which shows another preferred embodiment referred as the second mode in the following. As shown in  FIG. 3B , the first, second, and third time interval T 1 , T 2 , and T 3  between the start pulses SP are equal to each other while the fourth time interval T 4  is inconstant. The lengths of the pulses of the exposure signals  322 ,  324 , and  326  are equal to each other in the second mode. Moreover, the scanning system of the second mode may be adapted to high scanning quality.  
         [0026]     In the following description, a CCD is used as the image sensor and the timing control sequence comprising the timing signal for triggering the CCD and the related signals for controlling the CCD is described.  
         [0027]     A preferred embodiment for the CCD image sensor is referred as the third mode in the following. As shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 4A , the timing control logic  26  provides constant exposure time as in the second mode and the timing control logic  26  is controlled by each of the position pulses PP of the position signal PS, so as to generate start pulses SP. The first start pulse SP is used for triggering the CCD  28  to perform the exposure, so as to sense the image of the object being scanned. The timing signal EX for controlling the exposure of the CCD  28  is shown in  FIG. 4A . Accordingly, the first time interval T 1  between the first start pulse SP and the second start pulse SP is constant, and the second time interval T 2  between the second start pulse SP and the next first start pulse SP is inconstant. Furthermore, the read-out pulses R/G/B carried by the signal RC are outputted immediately after the timing control logic  26  outputs the second start pulse SP. During the period of the pulses R/G/B, the data stored in the buffer  44  is transmitted to the memory  46 . In this embodiment, a reset pulse may be outputted during the period of the first time interval T 1  to reset the CCD  28 .  
         [0028]     In another preferred embodiment, the timing control logic  26  is designed to providing inconstant exposure time for the typical CCD, and the related control timing sequence is shown in  FIG. 4B . This preferred embodiment is referred as the fourth mode in the following. As shown in  FIG. 4B , the pulse of the signal EX represents the period of exposure time of the CCD  28 , and the pulse is determined by the time interval between adjacent start pulses. The period of each exposure time of the CCD  28  is inconstant in the fourth mode, that is to say the time interval T 1  not equal to the time interval T 2 . In the fourth mode, the controlling apparatus  2  can further comprise a timer (not shown) for recording the time interval between two adjacent start pulses SP and for outputting a signal TICNT as shown in  FIG. 4B . The marks T 1  and T 2  on the signal TICNT represent the time interval T 1  and the time interval T 2  recorded by the timer respectively. Furthermore, the fourth mode may compensate the image data linearly according to the length of exposure time.  
         [0029]     The exposure and read-out timing of the image sensor do not always have to be controlled by the position signal PS. Referring to  FIG. 5  (the fifth mode), the time interval T 1 ˜T 6  between the start pulses SP of the start signal SS is constant and each pulse of the timing signal EX is constant, too. Meanwhile, the time interval of the position signal is inconstant. In the fifth mode, the controlling apparatus  2  can further comprise a judgment logic (not shown). The judgment logic judges whether the position signal PP occurs only once in a time interval T 1 , T 2 , . . . , or T 6 . If the judging result is yes, the image data corresponding to the time interval is accepted. If the judging result is no, the judgment logic determines that the image data corresponding to the time interval must be rejected, that is to say, the image data corresponding to the repeated scanning line. Accordingly, the image data corresponding to the time intervals T 1 , T 2 , T 4 , and T 5  shown in  FIG. 5  is accepted and the image data corresponding to the time intervals T 3  and T 6  shown in  FIG. 5  is rejected.  
         [0030]     Table 1 shows the characteristics of the above-mentioned five modes. The information listed in table 1 is for example, not restriction for the present invention.  
                           TABLE 1                           Suitable image   Quality of scanning           Mode   sensor   image   Scanning speed                   First mode   CIS   Good   Fast       Second mode   CIS   Better than first   ⅓ scanning time               mode   more than first                   mode       Third mode   CIS   Better than fourth   Slower than fifth               mode and fifth   mode               mode       Fourth mode   CIS   Good   Slower than fifth                   mode       Fifth mode   CIS   Good   Fast                  
 
         [0031]     With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.