Patent Description:
Specifically, the present invention relates to a scanning device defined in the generic part of claim <NUM> attached, to an image forming device comprising such scanning device, and to a scanning method defined in the generic part of claim <NUM> attached.

Document <CIT> discloses a scanning device and a scanning method of the respective generic type as specified above, and a related image forming apparatus.

Specifically, this document discloses a duplex document scanning apparatus and a related method. The duplex document scanning apparatus includes a first image sensor, a second image sensor, a switch module, a data conversion unit, and a scanning control device. The first image sensor senses the first analog image signal, and the second image sensor senses the second analog image signal. The switch module switches the first image sensor and the second image sensor to select the first analog image signal and the second analog image signal. The data conversion unit converts the first and second analog image signals to generate first and second digital image signals. The switch control module of scanning control device generates a switch signal to control the switch module. The scanning control device has a switch control unit and processes the first digital image signal and a second digital image signal. The switch control unit generates a switch signal for controlling the switch module and the switch module simultaneously outputs the first analog image signal and the second analog image signal to the data conversion unit during a signal period of the switch signal.

At present, to increase the efficiency of reading a document and to improve quietness, etc., a scanning device having a double-sided scanning function is employed in existing technologies.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a scanning device used for double-sided scanning in the existing technology. As shown in <FIG>, in order to support double-sided scanning of a to-be-scanned document, a scanning device of the existing technology needs to separately configure a corresponding set of hardware modules for each side of the to-be-scanned document. Each set of hardware modules includes a sensor, a convertor, an image processing unit, a boundary processing unit, a frame memory, a selector, an interface. Therefore, in the existing technology, the hardware cost is relatively high when implementing double-sided scanning.

In view of this, the present invention provides a scanning device, an image-forming apparatus, and a scanning method for solving the problems of high hardware cost of the scanning device for realizing double-sided scanning in the existing technology.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a scanning device according to claim <NUM> attached.

This technical solution has the following beneficial effects:
The scanning device provided by the present invention acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device in the existing technology. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

In another aspect, the present invention further provides an image-forming apparatus according to claim <NUM> attached.

This technical solution has the following beneficial effects:
The image-forming apparatus provided by the present invention acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

In another aspect, the application further provides a scanning method according to claim <NUM> attached.

This technical solution has the following beneficial effects:
The scanning method provided by the present invention, acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in dependent claims attached.

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, the drawings to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. A person of ordinary skills in the art, other drawings can be acquired from these drawings without any creative work.

In order to better understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments acquired by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive scope are the scope of the present invention.

The terms used in the present invention are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include a plurality of forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein is merely describing relationships of contextual objects, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, A and/or B, which may indicate that A only, A and B, and B only. In addition, the character "/" in this present invention generally indicates that the contextual object is an "or" relationship.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used in this invention to describe sensors, etc., these sensors and the like should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish sensors and the like from each other. For example, the first sensor may also be referred to as a second sensor without departing from the scope of the present invention. Similarly, the second sensor may also be referred to as a first sensor.

Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "if" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting. " Similarly, depending on the context, the phrase "if determined" or "if detected (conditions or events stated)" can be interpreted as "when determined" or "in response to determination" or "when detected (stated condition or event)" or "in response to a test (condition or event stated)".

The present invention provides a scanning device. <FIG> is a first schematic structural diagram of a scanning device provided by the present invention. <FIG> is a second schematic structural diagram of the scanning device provided by the present invention.

As shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the scanning device includes a first sensor <NUM>, a second sensor <NUM>, a first channel <NUM> corresponding to the first sensor <NUM>, and a second channel <NUM> corresponding to the second sensor <NUM>, and selector <NUM>;.

Specifically, in the present invention, the to-be-scanned document may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a document, a credential, an image, or a photo, which is not specifically limited in the present invention.

It should be noted that, as shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the scanning device provided by the present invention may include, but is not limited to, two channels including the first channel <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>. The two channels may be arbitrarily selected by the selector <NUM> from at least two channels in the scanning device as the first channel <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>, to acquire the first image data through the first channel <NUM> and acquire the second image data through the second channel <NUM>. This invention does not specifically limit this.

Specifically, in the present invention, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the selector <NUM> uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, also referred as to an acquisition mode as a pixel by a pixel, to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>. The pixel of the first image data is acquired through the first channel <NUM> and the pixel of the second image is acquired through the second channel <NUM> in one acquisition cycle. For example, the pixel of the first image data may be a first image-data pixel and the pixel of the second image data may be a second image-data pixel.

In the present invention, the selector <NUM> uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, that is, the selector <NUM> can utilize the time interval of the first sensor <NUM> outputting two first image-data pixels to acquire the pixel of the second image data output by the second sensor <NUM>, and similarly, also can utilize the time interval of the second sensor <NUM> outputting two second image-data pixels, to acquire the pixel of the first image data output by the first sensor <NUM>, thereby improving the efficiency of the selector to acquire pixel points of image data.

Specifically, in the present invention, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> selects a channel is greater than or equal to twice the output frequency of the first sensor <NUM>; and/or, the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> selects the channel is greater than or equal to twice the output frequency of the second sensor <NUM>.

In a specific implementation process, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, when the output frequency of the first sensor <NUM> is the same as the output frequency of the second sensor <NUM>, the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> selects the channel is greater than or equal to twice the output frequency of the first sensor <NUM>. Therefore, in the case where the data lengths processed by the first sensor <NUM>, the second sensor <NUM>, and the selector <NUM> are the same, the output frequency of the data output by the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> is f1; and the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> selects the channel is greater than twice the output frequency when the first sensor <NUM> outputs data, that is, the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> selects the channel is greater than <NUM>×f1.

Further preferably, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, if the number of bits when the first sensor <NUM> outputs data is n1, the number of bits when the selector <NUM> acquires data is n2, the selection frequency when the selector <NUM> in the image acquisition unit selects the channel is greater than or equal to <NUM>×n2/n1 times the output frequency of the first sensor <NUM>. That is, even if n1>n2, the selection frequency of the selector <NUM> is very fast, the data of the first sensor <NUM> and the data of the second sensor <NUM> can be simultaneously acquired, and the selector <NUM> in one cycle can select the data of first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> in n2/n1 cycle. In this way, the data length that the selector <NUM> can collect in one acquisition cycle is smaller than the data length output by the sensor, thereby ensuring that the selector <NUM> can acquire the image data collected by the first sensor <NUM> and the image data collected by the second sensor <NUM> in an uninterrupted, continuous, and cross-flow manner.

Therefore, in the above technical solution provided by the embodiment, the scanning speed of the double-sided scanning of the to-be-scanned document is the same as the scanning speed of the single-sided scanning, which greatly saves the scanning time and improves the scanning efficiency.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of signal frequency of the scanning device provided by the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the VSMP (video sample timing pulse) represents a clock control signal, and the first sensor <NUM> collects the first image data after receiving the clock control signal, and the second sensor <NUM> collects the second image data after receiving the clock control signal. The signal transmitted by the first sensor <NUM> is Sig1, the signal transmitted by the second sensor <NUM> is Sig2, and <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> in the Sig1 signal line and the Sig2 signal line represent image-data pixels. DATA CLK is a selection signal when the selector <NUM> selects the first channel <NUM> or selects the second channel <NUM> to acquire image data. In <FIG>, two vertical dashed lines indicate different channels, and the data signal is the image-data signal acquired by the selector <NUM>. Specifically, the <NUM> and <NUM> in front of the dash line of <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM> in the data signal line respectively represent the channel selected when acquiring data. The <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> behind the dash line respectively represent different image-data pixels in each channel.

As shown in <FIG>, the VSMP signal is loose, i.e., the output frequencies of the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> are low, assuming it is f1. The DATA CLK signal is dense, indicating that in a selection cycle the frequency of the selector <NUM> selecting the first channel <NUM> or selecting the second channel <NUM> is relatively frequent, that is, the selection frequency of the selector <NUM> is high, assuming that the selection frequency of the selector <NUM> is f2. In a specific implementation process, in order to implement the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode by the selector <NUM>, the image data is acquired alternately from the first channel <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>, and the selection frequency f2 of the DATA CLK signal may be twice or more of the signal frequency f1 of the VSMP signal, that is, the selection frequency f2 when the selector <NUM> selects a channel needs to be greater than or equal to 2f1.

In a specific implementation process, after receiving the control signal sent by the sensor control unit, the first sensor acquires first image data of the color indicated by the control signal, and after receiving the control signal sent by the sensor control unit, accordingly the second sensor acquires the second image data of the color indicated by the control signal.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, the control signals received by the first sensor and the second sensor may include, but are not limited to, at least one of a clock control signal or a lighting control signal.

Specifically, the first sensor may acquire the first image data at a specified time point according to the received clock control signal, or acquire the first image data immediately after receiving the clock control signal. And the second sensor may acquire the second image data at a specified time point according to the received clock control signal, or acquire the second image data immediately after receiving the clock control signal.

Specifically, the first sensor may collect the first image data of the color indicated by the lighting control signal according to the received lighting control signal, and the second sensor may collect the second image data of the color indicated by the lighting control signal according to the received lighting control signal.

Specifically, the control signals sent by the sensor control unit to the first sensor and the second sensor may be the same and may be different, which is not specifically limited in the present invention.

Specifically, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a control signal in the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, TR is a clock control signal sent by the sensor control unit to the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM>, and Sig1 is a signal diagram of the pixel of the first image data acquired by the selector <NUM> through the first channel <NUM>, and Sig2 is a signal diagram of the pixel of the second image data acquired by the selector <NUM> through the second channel <NUM>, where R represents a red image data signal when the red light is turned on, G represents a green image data signal when the green light is turned on, and B represents a blue image data signal when the blue light is turned on.

It should be noted that, after receiving the control signal, the first sensor and the second sensor acquire image data of a color indicated by the control signal, the selector acquiring the image data through the first channel and the second channel is one cycle later after the lighting control signal is sent out.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, when the sensor control unit transmits the clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the red light at the time point Ta, the R signal changes from the low level to the high level when the TR is at the time point Ta, and the red light is turned on. At this time, the first sensor collects the first image data of red color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the red light, and the second sensor collects the second image data of red color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the red light. The Sig1 signal is represented as R at the time point Tb, that is, the selector acquires the first image data of red color through the first channel at the time point Tb, and the Sig2 signal is represented as R at the time point Tb, that is the selector acquires the second image data of red color through the second channel at the time point Tb.

Similarly, as shown in <FIG>, when the sensor control unit transmits the clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the green light at the time point Tb, the G signal changes from the low level to the high level when the TR is at the time point Tb, and the green light is turned on. At this time, the first sensor collects the first image data of green color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the green light, and the second sensor collects the second image data of green color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the green light. The Sig1 signal is represented as G at the time point Tc, that is, the selector acquires the first image data of green color through the first channel at the time point Tc, and the Sig2 signal is represented as G at the time point Tc, that is the selector acquires the second image data of green color through the second channel at the time point Tc.

Similarly, as shown in <FIG>, when the sensor control unit transmits the clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the blue light at the time point Tc, the B signal changes from the low level to the high level when the TR is at the time point Tc, and the blue light is turned on. At this time, the first sensor collects the first image data of blue color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the blue light, and the second sensor collects the second image data of blue color according to the received clock control signal and the lighting control signal of the blue light. The Sig1 signal is represented as B at the time point Td, that is, the selector acquires the first image data of blue color through the first channel at the time point Td, and the Sig2 signal is represented as B at the time point Td, that is the selector acquires the second image data of blue color through the second channel at the time point Td.

Based on this, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, and the image data acquired alternately from the first channel and the second channel is the intersection data of the first image data collected by the first sensor and the second image data collected by the second sensor.

Taking <FIG> as an example for illustration, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of the image data acquired by the selector in the present invention.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image-data pixel point may be represented by the "X-Y-Z" form, where X represents the light is turned on, Y represents the channel, and Z represents the image-data pixel. Specifically, X can be R, G, and B, where R represents the red light, G represents the green light, B represents the blue light. As shown in <FIG>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, and R-<NUM>-<NUM> are the first image-data pixels collected by the first sensor, where R-<NUM>-<NUM> represents when the red light is turned on, the first channel, and the second image-data pixel. B-<NUM>-<NUM>, B-<NUM>-<NUM>, and B-<NUM>-<NUM> are the second image-data pixels collected by the second sensor, where B-<NUM>-<NUM> represents when the blue light is turned on, the second channel, and <NUM> in the <NUM>-<NUM> represents the third image-data pixel of blue color collected by the second sensor.

As shown in <FIG>, when the red light is on, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, after acquiring the first image-data pixel R-<NUM>-<NUM> through the first channel, acquires a second image-data pixel R-<NUM>-<NUM> through the second channel, and then acquires the image data alternately through the first channel and the second channel. Further, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, to acquire the image data R-<NUM>-<NUM>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, R-<NUM>-<NUM>, and R-<NUM>-<NUM> alternately through the first channel and the second channel. The image data is the intersection data of the first image data collected by the first sensor and the second image data collected by the second sensor.

Similarly, as shown in <FIG>, when the green light is on, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, after acquiring the first image-data pixel G-<NUM>-<NUM> through the first channel, acquires a second image-data pixel G-<NUM>-<NUM> through the second channel, and then acquires the image data alternately through the first channel and the second channel. Further, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, to acquire the image data G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and G-<NUM>-<NUM> alternately through the first channel and the second channel. The image data is the intersection data of the first image data collected by the first sensor and the second image data collected by the second sensor.

Similarly, as shown in <FIG>, when the blue light is on, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, after acquiring the first image-data pixel B-<NUM>-<NUM> through the first channel, acquires a second image-data pixel B-<NUM>-<NUM> through the second channel, and then acquires the image data alternately through the first channel and the second channel. Further, the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, to acquire the image data B-<NUM>-<NUM>, B-<NUM>-<NUM>, B-<NUM>-<NUM>, B-<NUM>-<NUM>, B-<NUM>-<NUM>, and B-<NUM>-<NUM> alternately through the first channel and the second channel. The image data is the intersection data of the first image data collected by the first sensor and the second image data collected by the second sensor.

Specifically, in the present invention, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the scanning device further includes a data remapping unit <NUM>, and it should be noted that the data remapping unit <NUM> can be not only configured as belonging to a portion of the scanning device, but also can be configured as belonging to a portion of a computer connected to the scanning device.

As shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the data remapping unit <NUM> is configured to remap the acquired image data according to an acquisition sequence to acquire a first image-data series and a second image-data series. The first image-data series includes first image data arranged in the sequence of acquisition of the selector <NUM>, and the second image-data series includes second image data arranged in the sequence of acquisition of the selector <NUM>.

Taking <FIG> as an example for illustration, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a process of processing image data in the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, when the G light is turned on, the first image-data pixels collected by the first sensor are G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and the second image-data pixels collected by the second sensor are G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and G-<NUM>-<NUM>. Then the selector uses the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode, to acquire the image data G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM> alternately through the first channel and the second channel. The data remapping unit remaps the image data according to the acquisition sequence of the selector, so as to acquire the first image-data series and the second image-data series, where, the first image-data series includes the first image-data pixels G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and G-<NUM>-<NUM> acquired according to the acquisition sequence of the selector; and the second image-data series includes the second image-data pixels G-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and G-<NUM>-<NUM> acquired according to the acquisition sequence of the selector.

In a specific implementation process, the data remapping unit remaps the acquired image data according to the acquisition sequence, which may include, but is not limited to, the following implementation manners.

For example, for the acquired image data, the data remapping unit extracts by interval form the image-data pixels in the image data according to the acquisition sequence, arranges the image-data pixels extracted by interval whose sequence numbers are odd numbers according to the acquisition sequence of the selector to acquire the first image-data series, and arranges the image-data pixels extracted by interval whose sequence numbers are even values according to the acquisition sequence of the selector to acquire the second image-data series. It can be understood that the example is only used to explain how to acquire the image data in the order of acquisition, and is not used to limit the solution.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, the type of image data acquired by the selector is not particularly limited. Specifically, the image data acquired through the first channel and the second channel by the selector using the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode may be an analog signal, or the image data acquired through the first channel and the second channel by the selector using the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode may be digital signal.

It can be understood that the position of the converters for performing analog-to-digital conversion in the scanning device varies as the type of image data acquired by the selector varies.

Specifically, in a specific implementation process, referring to <FIG>, the scanning device further includes a first converter <NUM> configured between the selector <NUM> and the data remapping unit <NUM>;.

It can be understood that, as shown in <FIG>, when the first converter <NUM> is configured between the selector <NUM> and the data remapping unit <NUM>, the format of the image data acquired by the selector <NUM> is analog signal, and the format of the image data sent by the selector <NUM> to the first convertor <NUM> is analog signal. After the analog-to-digital conversion by the first converter <NUM> the first converter <NUM> acquires image data in a digital signal format, and the first converter <NUM> sends the digital signal formatted image data to the data remapping unit <NUM>.

Specifically, in another specific implementation process, referring to <FIG>, the scanning device further includes a second converter <NUM> configured between the first sensor <NUM> and the first channel <NUM>, and a third converter <NUM> configured between the second sensor the <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the second converter <NUM> is configured to perform the analog-to-digital conversion on the first image data collected by the first sensor <NUM>, and the third converter <NUM> is configured to perform the analog-to-digital conversion on the second image data collected by the second sensor <NUM>.

It can be understood that, as shown in <FIG>, when the second converter <NUM> is configured between the first sensor <NUM> and the first channel <NUM>, the format of the image data collected by the first sensor <NUM> is analog signal. After the second converter <NUM> performs the analog-to-digital conversion, the selector <NUM> acquires image data in a digital signal format through the first channel <NUM>, and the selector <NUM> sends the image data in the digital signal format to the data remapping unit <NUM>.

Similarly, as shown in <FIG>, when the third converter <NUM> is configured between the second sensor <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>, the format of the image data collected by the second sensor <NUM> is analog signal, and after the third he converter <NUM> performs the analog-to-digital conversion, the selector <NUM> acquires image data in a digital signal format through the second channel <NUM>, and the selector <NUM> sends the image data in the digital signal format to the data remapping unit <NUM>.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, as shown in <FIG>( a ) or as shown in <FIG>, only one-time analog-to-digital conversion needs to be performed on the first image data and the second image data, and therefore, the first converter <NUM> between the selector <NUM> and the data remapping unit <NUM> performs the analog-to-digital conversion on the image data acquired by the selector <NUM>, so that there is no need to provide a second convertor <NUM> between the first sensor <NUM> and the first channel <NUM>, and there is no need to provide a third convertor <NUM> between the second convertor <NUM> and the second channel <NUM>. Or, the second converter <NUM> between the first sensor <NUM> and the first channel <NUM> performs the analog-to-digital conversion on the first image data acquired by the first sensor <NUM>, the third convertor <NUM> between the second sensor <NUM> and the second channel <NUM> performs the analog-to-digital conversion on the second image data acquired by the second sensor <NUM>, so that there is no need to provide the first convertor <NUM> between the selector <NUM> and the data remapping unit <NUM>.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, the location of the first image data collected by the first sensor and the location of the second image data collected by the second sensor are not particularly limited. Specifically, the locations of the first image data and the second image may include, but is not limited to, the following three types.

A first type: the first image data is the front-side image data of the to-be-scanned document, and the second image data is the back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document.

It can be understood that the scanning device provided by the present invention can be used for double-sided scanning. In this case, the first sensor and the second sensor can be located on the upper and lower sides of the to-be-scanned document. At this time, the first image data is the front-side image data of the to-be-scanned document, and the second image data is the back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document.

A second type: the first image data and the second image data are frontal image data of the to-be-scanned document.

A third type: the first image data and the second image data are the back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document.

It can be understood that the scanning device provided by the present invention can also be used for single-sided scanning. At this time, the first sensor and the second sensor are located on the same side of the to-be-scanned document, and at this time, according to the scanning side that is required according to the to-be-scanned document, the first image data and the second image data are the front-side image data of the to-be-scanned document, or the first image data and the second image data are the back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document.

Specifically, in the present invention, application scenarios for the second type and third type may include, but are not limited to, a combination of two A4 format sensors to implement A3 format scanning; or, in flatbed scanning, two sensors are scanned simultaneously from both ends of the to-be-scanned document; or, in the case of flatbed scanning, two sensors are simultaneously scanned from the middle of the to-be-scanned document to both ends; or: in the case of flatbed scanning, one sensor is at the end and the other sensor is in the middle, in this way scanning simultaneously in the same direction.

Specifically, when the scanning device provided by the present invention is used for double-sided scanning, the first sensor and the second sensor may be in a positional relationship that is not exactly facing up and down, so as to avoid the first sensor and the second sensor the interference with each other while collecting image data and in the lighting process. The design of staggering the position of the two sensors can allow the timing of the first sensor collecting the first image data of the to-be-scanned document to be different from the timing of the second senor collecting the second image data of the to-be-scanned document. When the double-sided scanning is performed, assuming the front-side data of the to-be-scanned document is first scanned, after the front-side data is scanned, the useless data in the image data collected by the sensor needs to be deleted, and before the revise-side data is scanned, the useless data in the image data collected by the sensor needs to be deleted.

Specifically, in the present invention, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the scanning device may further include a data filtering unit <NUM>. Specifically, when the data filtering unit may use the following but not limited to two methods to remove useless data.

A first type: a first time point and a second time point are determined; and the first image data in the first image-data series collected by the first sensor after the first time point is deleted, and the second image data in the second image-data series collected by the second sensor before the second time point is deleted.

It should be noted that the first time point is the time when the to-be-scanned document leaves the first sensor, and the second time point is the time when the to-be-scanned document reaches the second sensor.

It can be understood that one or more pixels of the first image data collected by the first sensor after the first time point is useless data, which can be performed with a removal processing can be performed; and one or more pixels of the second image data collected by the second sensor before the second time point is useless data, which can be performed with the removal processing.

For example, it is assumed that the first sensor and the second sensor may be in a positional relationship that is not exactly facing up and down, and the first sensor first scans the front-side data of the document to be processed. At this time, <FIG> can be referred to, which is a schematic diagram of a process for removing useless data in the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, at time point T1, the first sensor and the second sensor simultaneously perform image acquisition, and in the scanning device, the first sensor first scans the front-side data of the to-be-scanned document, so that the first image data collected by the first sensor at the time point T1 is the front-side data of the to-be-scanned document. However, at this time, the to-be-scanned document has not reached the second sensor, thus, the second image data collected by the second sensor at the time point T1 is useless data. Till the time point T2, the to-be-scanned document reaches the second sensor, the second image data collected by the second sensor beginning from the time point T2 is the reverse-sided data of the to-be-scanned document. At the time point T3, the to-be-scanned document leaves the first sensor, and the first image data collected by the first sensor after the time point T3 is useless data. At the time point T4, the to-be-scanned document leaves the second sensor, the first sensor and the second sensor stop the acquisition of the image data. As shown in <FIG>, xxxxx represents useless data, and the useless data needs to be removed.

As shown in <FIG>, only the first time point T3 and the second time point T2 need to be determined. Therefore, one or more pixels of the first image data in the first image-data series collected by the first sensor after the time point T3 is deleted. One or more pixels of the second image data in the second image-data series collected by the second sensor before the T2 time point is deleted, so that the useless data collected can be deleted.

A second type: one or more pixels of the first image data at the end of the first image-data series is deleted according to the first specified value, and one or more pixels of the second image data at the start of the second image-data series is deleted according to the second specified value.

Specifically, in the present invention, the first specified value and the second specified value may be preset according to actual needs, and the present invention does not specifically limit this.

It can be understood that, in the present invention, after the data acquired by the selector is remapped by the data remapping unit to acquire the first image-data series and the second image-data series, the acquired first image-data series and the second image-data series are stored separately.

Specifically, in the present invention, the scanning device may further include at least one memory.

In a specific implementation process, the first image-data series and the second image-data series may be separately stored by two memories, that is, the first image-data series are stored by a first memory, and the second image-data series are stored by a second memory.

Specifically, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of storing a first image-data series and a second image-data series in the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the first image-data series acquired by the data remapping unit <NUM> are: R-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and B-<NUM>-<NUM>; the acquired second image-data series are: R-<NUM>-<NUM>, G-<NUM>-<NUM>, and B-<NUM>-<NUM>. The first image-data series may be stored by the first memory on the left side in <FIG>, and the second image-data series may be stored by the second memory on the right side in <FIG> to acquire the separately stored first image-data series and the first two image-data series.

It can be understood that storing the first image-data series and the second image-data series separately by two memories is only a specific implementation manner and is only used to indicate how to separately store the acquired first image-data series and second image-data series and is not intended to limit the present invention. Specifically, in the present invention, the first image-data series and the second image-data series may be separately stored in different locations through a memory to acquire the separately stored first image-data series and second image-data series. The specific implementation of the present invention for separately storing the first image-data series and the second image-data series is not particularly limited.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, the acquired first image-data series and the second image-data series may further perform image processing, such as image edge sharpening processing, background removal processing, etc., and the first image-data series and the second image-data series after processed can be stored, which is not limited by the present invention.

It should be noted that, in the existing technology, there is also a scanning device that can be used for double-sided scanning. The scanning device in the existing technology includes two sensors and an image acquiring unit, where the two sensors respectively collect the front-side image data and the back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document, so as to acquire the image data collected by the two sensors through an image acquisition unit using an alternate line-by-line manner. Therefore, the scanning device must acquire the data collected by the other sensor after acquiring one line of data of one sensor. Therefore, when the scanning device is used for double-sided scanning of the to-be-scanned document, the scanning speed is half of the scanning speed of a single-sided scanning, the scanning time is long, and the scanning efficiency is low.

In contrast, as shown in <FIG> or as shown in <FIG>, the selector in the present invention acquires image data alternately from the first channel <NUM> and the second channel <NUM> by the pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode. In the present invention, the selector <NUM> may acquire a second image-data pixel output by the second sensor <NUM> by using a time interval after the first sensor <NUM> outputs a first image-data pixel, acquire a first image-data pixel output by the first sensor <NUM> by using the time interval after the first sensor <NUM> outputs a second image-data pixel. Therefore, the length of the data that the selector <NUM> can collect in one acquisition cycle is smaller than the data length output by the sensors, so that the selector <NUM> can uninterruptedly and continuously acquire the image data collected by the first sensor <NUM> and the image data collected by the second sensor <NUM> alternately. As such, for the to-be-scanned document, the scanning speed of the double-sided scanning is the same as the scanning speed of the single-sided scanning, which greatly saves the scanning time and improves the scanning efficiency.

One technical solution in the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
the scanning device provided by the present invention acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

The present invention also provides an image-forming apparatus.

<FIG> is a first structural diagram of an image-forming apparatus provided by the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the image-forming apparatus includes the scanning device <NUM> and the image-forming device <NUM> according to Embodiment <NUM>.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the image-forming device <NUM> is configured to form an image on the image-forming medium based on the image data processed by the scanning device <NUM>.

Specifically, in the present invention, the material of the image-forming medium can be determined according to actual needs, which is not specifically limited in the present invention.

Specifically, the present invention does not particularly limit the image-forming method of the image-forming device <NUM> shown in <FIG>. For example, the image-forming device <NUM> may employ any one of image-forming methods such as laser image-forming and inkjet image-forming.

<FIG> is a second schematic structural diagram of the image-forming apparatus provided by the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, the image-forming apparatus <NUM> includes the above-described scanning device and image-forming device <NUM>, and a control device <NUM> which simultaneously serves as a controller of the scanning device and the image-forming device <NUM>.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the image-forming device <NUM> is configured to perform image-forming according to image data acquired by the scanning device.

In the present invention, as shown in <FIG>, the scanning device includes an automatic document feeder (ADF), and the ADF includes a paper-pickup roller assembly <NUM> and a paper-discharge roller assembly <NUM>, a first motor <NUM> for providing a driving force to the paper-pickup roller assembly <NUM> and the paper-discharge roller assembly <NUM>, a first sensor <NUM> for collecting the first image data of the to-be-scanned document, the first sensor located in the ADF frame, and a second sensor <NUM>, the second sensor <NUM> located below a flatbed scanning platform <NUM>.

In the present invention, as shown in <FIG>, the models of the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> are not particularly limited. Preferably, the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> may be configured as a contact image sensor (CIS); or the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> may also be partially or completely configured as a charge coupled device (CCD).

The process of performing double-sided scanning by the scanning device shown in <FIG> is: after the to-be-scanned document passes through the paper feeding port <NUM>, the paper-pickup roller assembly <NUM> transports the to-be-scanned document along the predetermined paper path in the A/DF to pass through the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM>. The first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM> respectively collect the first image data and the second image data of the to-be-scanned document. After the first sensor <NUM> collects the first image data and the second sensor <NUM> collects the second image data, after the completing scanning, the to-be-scanned document is discharged to the paper-discharge tray through the paper-discharge roller assembly <NUM>.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the scanning speed when the scanning device performs double-sided scanning, that is, the number of pages that are scanned per minute, can be set based on predetermined parameters, according to the image data collected by the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM>, the data transmitting speed, the rotating speed of the first motor <NUM>, which is not particularly limited in the present invention.

The process of performing single-sided scanning by the scanning device shown in <FIG> is: placing the image to be scanned in the to-be-scanned document facing down on the flatbed scanning platform <NUM> and moving the second sensor <NUM> through the second motor <NUM>. At this time, the second sensor <NUM> can acquire the side of the document with data and complete the single-sided scanning.

Specifically, <FIG> is a third schematic structural diagram of the scanning device provided by the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, the scanning device provided in this embodiment is provided with a first sensor <NUM> (first sensor <NUM> in <FIG>), a second sensor <NUM> (second sensor <NUM> in <FIG>), a data acquisition unit <NUM>, and a scanning interface <NUM>. The data acquisition unit <NUM> is also provided with four data channels, a first channel, a second channel, a third channel, and a fourth channel. The data acquisition unit <NUM> is also configured with a selector <NUM> for selecting data from different channels and a convertor <NUM>. A data acquisition controller <NUM> can perform data processing on the data sent by the selector <NUM> and provide control signal when the data acquisition unit <NUM> collects data from different channels. A sensor control unit <NUM> is configured to send control signal such as clock control signal, lighting control signal, etc., to the first sensor <NUM> and the second sensor <NUM>. In addition, the scanning device is also configured with a register bus <NUM> connected to the scanning interface <NUM>. The CPU1002 of the scanning device is connected to the scanning interface <NUM> through the register bus <NUM>. The CPU1002 can share data with external memory and the USB interface, etc. though the data bus <NUM>. The CPU1002 can send control instruction to the motor controller <NUM> though the register bus <NUM>. The motor controller <NUM> can send clock signal to the motor <NUM> according to the received control instruction.

In a specific implementation process, the scanning interface <NUM>, the data acquisition unit <NUM>, the register bus <NUM>, and the CPU <NUM> and the data bus <NUM> in the dashed-line frame in <FIG> can be integrated into one controller, so there is no need to add additional image acquisition unit hardware circuit, reducing the cost.

One technical solution in the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
the image-forming apparatus provided by the present invention acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

Based on the scanning device provided in the first embodiment, the present invention further provides a scanning method.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a scanning method provided by the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the method includes:.

Specifically, the method further includes:
the data remapping unit remapping the acquired image data according to an acquisition sequence of the selector, to acquire a first image-data series and a second-image-data series, where the first image-data series includes the first image data arranged in the acquisition sequence of the selector, and the second image-data series includes the second image data arranged in the acquisition sequence of the selector.

In a specific implementation process, before the data remapping unit remaps the acquired image data according to the acquisition sequence of the selector, the method further includes:
the first converter performing an analog-to-digital conversion on the image data acquired from the first sensor and the second sensor and sending image data acquired after the analog-to-digital conversion to the data remapping unit according to the acquisition sequence of the selector.

In another specific implementation process, the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, the method further includes:.

Specifically, in the present invention, after the data remapping unit remaps the acquired image data according to the acquisition sequence of the selector to acquire the first image-data series and the second image-data series, the method further includes:.

In a specific implementation process, the selection frequency when the selector selects the channel is greater than or equal to twice the output frequency of the first sensor; and/or, the selection frequency when the selector selects the channel is greater than or equal to twice the output frequency of the second sensor.

In a specific implementation process, the first image data is front-side image data of a to-be-scanned document, and the second image data is back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document; or the first image data and the second image data are both the front-side image data of the to-be-scanned document; or the first image data and the second image data are both back-side image data of the to-be-scanned document.

Since the scanning method provided in this embodiment is used for the scanning device shown in <FIG> or <FIG>, the part not described in detail in this embodiment can be referred to <FIG> or <FIG> related instructions.

One technical solution in the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
The scanning method provided by the present invention, acquires images by scanning the document simultaneously by two sensors, and processes the images collected by the two sensors through a selector, thereby saving hardware costs and solving the problems of high hardware costs of the scanning device to realize double-sided scanning device. Moreover, the working mode that the selector uses a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode to acquire the image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel, so that the scanning speed of the scanning device when performing double-sided scanning is approximately equal to that of single-sided scanning, improving scanning efficiency.

A person skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the system, the device and the unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division, and the actual implementation may have another division manner. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or it can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed herein may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and may be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware and software functional units.

The above-described integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The software functional unit described above is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to perform partial steps of the methods of the various embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium may be various medium can store program codes including: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc., which can store program codes.

Claim 1:
A scanning device (<NUM>), comprising: a first sensor (<NUM>), a second sensor (<NUM>), a first channel (<NUM>) corresponding to the first sensor, a second channel (<NUM>) corresponding to the second sensor, and a selector (<NUM>);
the first sensor, being configured to collect first image data of a to-be-scanned document;
the second sensor, being configured to collect second image data of the to-be-scanned document; and
the selector is configured to acquire the image data collected by the first sensor and the image data collected by the second sensor in an uninterrupted, continuous and cross-flow manner;
the selector, being configured to acquire image data alternately from the first channel and the second channel to acquire a first image data from the first channel and a second image data from the second channel by using a pixel-by-pixel acquisition mode in one acquisition cycle; and characterized in that
a selection frequency of the selector to select the first channel or the second channel is greater than or equal to twice of an output frequency of the first sensor; and/or, the selection frequency of the selector to select the first channel or the second channel is greater than or equal to twice of an output frequency of the second sensor.