JP2001139188A - Medium handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium handling device capable of determining the presence or absence of the occurrence of double sending when an operator completes image operation even if documments having different size and thick ness are set to be processed, at a low cost. SOLUTION: Standards for distinguishing between a double sending state where at least two kinds of media having different outside shapes travel while superimposing plural sheets and a sending state sheet by sheet, for example the length of documments, the outside shape of a linear property, a parallel property, and a right angle property, and a change in form thickness, are defined and memorized. The standards are compared with standards detected and memorized from the media at the time of carrying to determine whether double sending is occurred or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medium handling apparatus having a mechanism for transporting a medium, such as an image scanner, an optical character reader, a facsimile, and a copying machine.
When a form set in the insertion section is transported and the image is read, and the form is discharged to the discharge section or when a form loaded on the hopper is continuously transported, a plurality of sheets such as forms overlap. This is useful for detecting heavy running.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hereinafter, an image scanner will be described as an example of a medium handling apparatus. Generally, in an image scanner,
When a form set in the insertion section is transported and the image is read, and the form is discharged to the discharge section or when the form loaded on the hopper is continuously transported, a plurality of forms run while overlapping. Heavy running may occur. In such a case, the operator needs to recognize the presence or absence of the overrun, select the relevant form, and read the image of the relevant form again. For this reason, the operator transfers the image obtained by the image scanner to an external device such as a personal computer and displays the image on a display device such as a CRT, and checks the read form for a match to determine whether or not there is a double running. I went and sorted out the relevant forms. However, in this case, it takes an enormous amount of time to determine the presence or absence of heavy running and to select a corresponding form. Therefore, various types of image scanners having a function of determining the detection of heavy running are known.

A conventional image scanner handles only a form having a constant length, thickness, light transmission amount, and the like. To detect a heavy running, the length, thickness, and light transmission amount of one form to be processed are determined in advance. When transporting, length detection, thickness detection, transmission detection, etc. are performed, and by comparing the detected amount with the stored amount, it is known that a heavy running is detected. Have been.

[0004] For example, the number of conveyed forms is counted and displayed, the operator counts the sheets at the time of discharging, and the counting results are compared. If the two sheets differ, it is notified to the operator that a double running has occurred. A means for detecting the thickness of the form when determining, and a means for detecting the thickness of the form when detecting heavy running by comparing with the thickness of one type of form registered in advance; It is known that the thickness of the first form conveyed from the form loaded in the first form is detected, and then the form conveyed thereafter is compared with the thickness of the form conveyed first to detect double running.

In particular, when dealing with forms having different sizes and thicknesses, an image of the form is acquired, and when the image is processed, the operator is allowed to judge whether or not the vehicle is running by looking at the image data. It was necessary to make a judgment based on the data difference between the number of forms and the number of processed images.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned conventional medium handling apparatus, for example, an image scanner having a mechanism for continuously transporting a form loaded on a hopper, a multi-running detection of the form is performed.
There are the following problems to search for the relevant form. When detecting and displaying the number of conveyed forms, the operator must count the number of forms loaded on the hopper, compare it with the number of forms detected, and check for the presence or absence of heavy running. If there is a heavy run, the acquired image is displayed on a CRT or the like, and the operator must check the read form against the form and select the form. There is a problem that search takes an enormous amount of time.

[0007] In the case of having a means for detecting the thickness of a form and detecting a heavy running by comparing with a thickness of a form registered in advance, the thickness of the form loaded on the hopper is measured with a dedicated device, and The complicated procedure of inputting the thickness information to the apparatus and the form loaded on the hopper all need to be the same thickness, so the complicated work of preparing the form of the same thickness is necessary. There is a problem that forms of different thickness cannot be transported at the same time.

There is means for detecting the thickness of the form, detecting the thickness of the first form conveyed from the form loaded on the hopper, and determining the thickness of the form conveyed thereafter as the thickness of the form conveyed first. When detecting heavy running in comparison with the above, all forms to be loaded on the hopper need to be the same thickness, and it is necessary to perform complicated work such as preparing forms of the same thickness, There is a problem that can not be transported at the same time.

Further, in the conventional medium handling apparatus, since a fixed form must be used, it is necessary to classify and process the size and thickness, and the versatility of the form is low. Further, since a mechanism for detecting heavy running must be attached, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and expensive. Also, especially when dealing with forms of different sizes and thicknesses, it is not possible to confirm the overrun until the image is confirmed. There is a problem that must be spent.

In view of the above, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and in particular, enables the operator to confirm a form at the time of completing the image operation even when the form and the thickness are set and processed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive medium handling device capable of judging the occurrence of heavy running.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a medium handling apparatus for sequentially transporting at least two types of media having different outer shapes, acquiring and storing an image of each medium, and providing at least two types of media having different outer shapes. However, a criterion for distinguishing between a case of running multiple vehicles and a case of running one by one is defined and stored, and the criterion is detected and stored from the medium during transport. The feature of the configuration is to determine the occurrence of heavy running by comparing with a reference.

The length of the longest medium among the media to be handled is stored as a reference, the length of the medium is detected at the time of conveyance, and the result of the length is stored in advance as a reference length. And if it is longer than the reference length, it may be determined that the vehicle is running heavy. In addition, the medium to be handled is rectangular, and the criterion for distinguishing the media is the linearity of each side of the outer shape. The outer shape is detected from the acquired image, each side of the outer shape is recognized, and the linearity of each side is recognized. May be determined, and if there is no linearity, it may be determined that the vehicle is running heavy.

Further, the medium to be handled is rectangular, the basis for distinguishing the media is the parallelism between opposing sides of the outer shape, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, and each side of the outer shape is recognized. Alternatively, the parallelism between the opposing sides may be determined, and if there is no parallelism, it may be determined that the vehicle is running multiple times. In addition, the medium to be handled is rectangular, and the criterion for distinguishing the media is the perpendicularity between adjacent sides of the outer shape. The outer shape is detected from the acquired image, each side of the outer shape is recognized, and the adjacent side is recognized. The right angle may be determined by recognizing the inner angles of each other, and if there is no right angle, it may be determined that the vehicle is running multiple times.

Further, the thickness of the medium may be set as a reference, and the thickness of the medium may be detected. If there is a change point in the detected thickness, it may be determined that the running is a double running. In this case, the thickness of the largest medium among the media to be handled is stored as a reference, and when there is no change in the thickness, and when the thickness is equal to or more than the reference thickness, it may be determined that the running is heavy. . Furthermore, in a medium handling device that sequentially transports at least two types of media having different outer shapes, acquires and stores an image of each medium, a predetermined character is printed at a predetermined position of the medium during transport, and the medium is printed. The configuration is characterized in that the operator is allowed to determine whether or not a plurality of sheets of medium have traveled in a running state based on a printing state of a predetermined character on a predetermined position of the discharged medium. A media handling device is provided. In this case, it is preferable that the predetermined position at which the predetermined character is printed be the upper side and the lower side of the medium.

In the following embodiment, the detection of heavy running based on the above-described length, linearity, parallelism, and right angle (rectangularity) will be described.
In the following, a case will be described in which all of the heavy running detection based on the outer shape inspection, the heavy running detection based on the thickness, and the heavy running detection based on the printing are performed. Good.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of the image scanner according to the embodiment. The image scanner includes a hopper 1 for stacking a plurality of forms 2, a separation mechanism 3 for separating the forms 2 stacked on the hopper 1 one by one,
The form 2 is moved by the separating mechanism 3 in the direction of the arrow (left direction in the figure).
Transport section 4 for transporting the form 2 at a predetermined speed, transport rollers 4a appropriately arranged to transport the form 2 in cooperation with the transport section 4, a medium detecting section 5 for detecting the form 2 to be transported, and the medium detecting section 5 , An image acquisition unit 6 composed of a CCD or the like arranged at a predetermined position, a medium thickness detection unit 7 for detecting the thickness of the form 2 arranged at a predetermined position from the medium detection unit 5, and the medium detection unit 5, a printing unit 8 arranged at a predetermined position, and a form 2 conveyed by the conveying unit 4.
And a stacker unit 9 for stacking. The printing unit 8 is fixed at a fixed position from the right side of the transport unit 4, and operates on a printing pin (not shown) to print on the form 2 when the form 2 passes below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an image scanner according to the embodiment. The description will be made with reference to FIG. This image scanner has a counter 10a.
A control unit 10 that has an
A medium transport unit 15 that transports the form 2 by controlling the separation mechanism 3, the transport unit 4, and the transport roller 4a; a medium detection unit 5 that detects the form 2; an image acquisition unit 6 that acquires an image of the form 2; An image memory unit 11 for storing an image acquired by the unit 6, a personal computer 1 as an external device
3, an interface unit 12 for transferring an image to the medium 3, a medium thickness detecting unit 7 for detecting the thickness of the conveyed form 2, a form 2
And a printing unit 8 for printing on the internal bus 14.
Connected by The personal computer 13 includes:
A keyboard 13a operated by an operator is connected.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the heavy running detection processing according to the embodiment, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as appropriate. Note that the image scanner having the above-described configuration handles various types of forms 2 having different outer diameters and thicknesses, and it is assumed that several types of forms 2 are stacked on the hopper 1. The form 2 is a rectangular sheet having a predetermined range of outer dimensions and a predetermined range of sheet thickness for each type.

First, the operator operates the keyboard 13a of the personal computer 13 to instruct whether or not to print, print characters,
Various data such as an upper side print area and a lower side print area to be described later are input (S1). Next, when the operator sets the corresponding form on the hopper 1 and presses an execution key (not shown) on the keyboard 13a (S2), the control unit 10 executes the processing at S2.
Transfer to 3. The control unit 10 determines whether or not the form 2 is set in the hopper 1 depending on whether or not the medium detection unit 5 detects the form 2 by a predetermined time after the execution key is pressed. If it is determined that the document 2 exists, the process proceeds to S3. If it is determined that the document 2 does not exist without being detected, the process ends (S3). Next, the control unit 10 issues a command to the medium transport unit 15 to separate the form 2 loaded on the hopper 1 by the separation mechanism 3 and to transport the form 2 by the transport unit 4 or the transport roller 4a in the transport direction (see FIG. 1). (Rightward) (S4). The form 2 being transported passes below the medium detection unit 5, and at this time, the front and rear ends are detected by the medium detection unit 5. The medium detection unit 5 sends information on the detected front end and rear end to the control unit 10. And the control unit 1
In the case of 0, the length of the form 2 is calculated from the relationship between the speed of the form 2 being conveyed and the detected leading and trailing ends (S5). When calculating this length, the control unit 10 performs a heavy running detection process of detecting a heavy running based on the length of the form 2. In this heavy running detection processing, as described later, the length of the longest form 2 among the forms 2 to be handled is stored as a reference, and the result of the detected length is compared with a previously stored reference length. Then, if the length is equal to or longer than the reference length, processing is performed so as to determine that the vehicle is in a heavy running (S6). If it is determined that the vehicle is in the overrun, the corresponding form 2 is discharged to the stacker unit 9, an error is displayed on the display screen of the personal computer 13 to notify the user of the process, and the processing is terminated. If it is determined that there is, the process proceeds to S8 (S7).

Next, when the form 2 passes below the image acquisition unit 6, an image of the front surface is acquired by the image acquisition unit 6 (S8). The image acquiring unit 6 stores the acquired image in the image memory unit 11, and the control unit 10 calls up the image from the image memory unit 11 and performs a double running detection process based on an outer shape inspection described later (S
9). In the heavy running detection processing here, all the media to be handled need to be rectangular, and this is set in the memory 10b before the form 2 is transported. The criteria for distinguishing between heavy running and running one by one are the linearity of each side of the outer shape, the parallelism of opposing sides of the outer shape, or the perpendicularity of adjacent sides of the outer shape. In the case of linearity, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, each side of the outer shape is recognized, and the linearity of each side is determined.
Judge as a heavy run. In the case of the parallelism, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, each side of the outer shape is recognized, and the parallelism between the opposing sides is determined. In the case of right angle, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, each side of the outer shape is recognized, the inner angle between adjacent sides is recognized, and the right angle is determined. Is determined to be a heavy run. And the control unit 10
In the case where it is determined that the running is a heavy running after the outer shape inspection process is executed, the corresponding form 2 is discharged to the stacker unit 9, an error is displayed on a display screen of the personal computer 13 to notify the process, and the process is terminated. However, if it is determined that the sheet is normally conveyed as a single sheet, the image is transferred to the personal computer 13 via the interface unit 12, and the process proceeds to S11 (S1).
0).

Thereafter, the form 2 passes below the medium thickness detecting section 7, and at that time, the thickness is detected by the medium thickness detecting section 7. The medium thickness detection unit 7 sends the detected thickness to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 executes a heavy running detection process based on the detected thickness value of the form 2 (S11). In this heavy running detection processing, as described later, when there is a change point in the detected thickness, the running is determined to be heavy running, and the thickness of the thickest medium in the form 2 to be handled is stored in advance. When there is no change in the thickness, and the thickness is equal to or more than the reference thickness, it is determined that the vehicle is running heavy. Then, when the control unit 10 determines that the running is a heavy running, the control unit 10 discharges the corresponding form 2 to the stacker unit 9, displays an error or the like on a display screen of the personal computer 13, notifies the end, and ends the processing. If it is determined that one sheet is normally conveyed, the process proceeds to S13 (S12).

Thereafter, the form 2 passes below the printing unit 8, and at this time, various data are printed by the printing unit 8 and a predetermined printing is performed at a predetermined position (S13).
As described above, when a predetermined character is printed at a predetermined position of the form 2, the operator can determine whether or not a heavy running has occurred based on a printing state of the predetermined character at a predetermined position of the discharged form 2. Can be. It is preferable that the predetermined position where the predetermined character is printed be the upper side print area and the lower side print area of the form 2, and this case is also assumed here. In addition, whether or not to print on the form 2, various characters such as characters to be printed and the positions of the upper side print area and the lower side print area are input by the operator in advance by operating the keyboard 13 a of the personal computer 13, 10b. The positions of the upper side print area and the lower side print area are defined by the distance from the upper side of the form 2 to the upper end of the upper side print area and the distance from the lower side of the form 2 to the lower end of the lower side print area.
The input is performed by operating the keyboard 13a of the third controller 3 and stored in the memory 10b of the controller 10. Further, the predetermined character may be of any kind. The size of the predetermined character to be printed on the form 2 only needs to be within the width of the printing unit 8. As for the number of characters, for example, 1 to 4 characters are printed in the upper print area and 1 to 16 characters are printed in the lower print area. However, the number of characters is merely an example and is not limited to this.

For this reason, when the form 2 being handled is designated to be printed, the operator operates the keyboard 13a of the personal computer 13 to input a command for executing the image reading of the form 2, thereby controlling the image scanner. The unit 10 retrieves data of a predetermined character or the like from the memory 10b, calculates a printing position as described later, and prints a predetermined character at a predetermined position when reading the image of the form 2.

The print position is calculated by the control unit 10 by the form 2
The distance from the upper side to the upper end of the upper print area and the distance from the lower side of the form 2 to the lower end of the lower print area are stored in the memory 10.
b, for a predetermined time after the medium detection unit 5 detects the upper side of the form 2, for example, the sum of the distance from the medium detection unit 5 to the print unit 8 and the distance from the upper side of the form 2 to the upper end of the upper side print area. Divided by the transport speed of the form 2, more specifically, after a specified number of milliseconds, the printing unit 8 reaches the upper end of the upper side print area, or a predetermined value after the medium detection unit 5 detects the lower side of the form 2. The time, for example, the sum of the distance from the medium detection unit 5 to the printing unit 8, the distance from the lower side of the form 2 to the upper end of the lower side print area, and the distance for the number of characters to be printed in the lower side print area is divided by the transport speed of the form 2. This is determined by the number of milliseconds after which the printing unit 8 reaches the upper end of the upper printing area.

Finally, the printed form 2 is discharged to the stacker 9 (S14). Thereafter, the same processing is repeated until the form 2 on the hopper 1 is exhausted. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection by length. In the figure, the state of the form is shown in the upper part, the graph shown in the lower part is the length on the horizontal axis, the output value of the medium detection unit 5 is on the vertical axis, and the output value of the form presence / absence determination slice is parallel to the horizontal axis. It is indicated by a simple broken line. The output value may be set to a value smaller than the output value of the medium detection unit 5 having the shortest form 2a that can be conveyed. In addition, the case where the short form 2a is one sheet, the case where the longest form 2b is one sheet, the case where the form 2c and the form 2d overlap and the case where the running is repeated, are shown. , The length of the form 2a calculated in the same case is H1, the length of the form 2b calculated in the same case is H2, and the calculated length of the form 2c and the form 2d in the same case is H3. The length H2 of the longest form 2b handled by the image scanner of the present embodiment is defined as Hmax.

In the case of heavy running detection by length, the control unit 1
A value of 0 compares the calculated length with Hmax. If the calculated length is longer than Hmax, it is determined that the vehicle is running multiple times. That is,
In the case of, H1 is equal to or less than Hmax, and in the case of, H2
Is equal to Hmax, and in this case, it is determined that one normal sheet is conveyed. In this case, since H3 is longer than Hmax, it is determined to be a heavy running.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the detection of the heavy running by the outer shape inspection. In the figure, (1) shows an example of a heavy running pattern,
(2) shows an example of an outer shape inspection of an image acquired on the image memory unit 11. In the case of this heavy running detection, it is preferable that the transport unit 4 of the image acquisition unit 6 be black, so that the outline of the white form 2 can be clearly recognized, for example. I do. As described above, the form 2 is intended for a plurality of rectangular shapes having different outer dimensions.

As shown in (1), in the multiple running pattern that can be detected by the outer shape inspection, when the side of the form 2 is not a straight line, when the opposite side of the form 2 is not parallel,
There are four cases where the outer shape of the form 2 is not rectangular. Is a state in which the form 2f overlaps the form 2e, and one side portion of the outer shape protrudes by the form 2f, and the portion is not a straight line. Is a state in which the form 2h overlaps the form 2g, and one side portion of the outer shape protrudes by the form 2h portion, and the portion is not a straight line. Indicates a state in which the form 2j overlaps the form 2i, and opposing sides as the outer shape are not parallel. Indicates that the form 2l overlaps the form 2k and the form 2l
This is a case where the form 2m is overlapped three times on the top, and there is no linearity, no parallelism between the opposing sides, and no rectangularity itself. In the drawings, the traveling direction is upward.

As shown in (2), the image memory unit 1
1, the black portion of the acquired image is represented as the image of the transport unit 4, and the white portion is represented as the image of the form 2. Here, in the image of the form 2 in the white portion, characters and the like are omitted. The address space on the image memory unit 11 is
With the upper left in the figure as the origin (0, 0), the horizontal axis represents X and the vertical axis represents Y, and the right direction in the figure is represented by + X and the downward direction is represented by coordinates (X, Y). Further, the left side edge, the right side edge, the upper side edge, and the lower side edge of the rectangular form 2 are referred to as side L, side R, side B, and side B, respectively. An example of checking the parallelism of the side R) and an example of checking the rectangularity of the side L and the side T will be described in order.

In the example of the linearity inspection of the side L, predetermined addresses (0, Y (1)), (0, Y (2)), (0, Y) on the Y axis are used.
(3)), (0, Y (4)), a change point from black to white is extracted on an address parallel to the X axis, and the change point coordinates (X (1), Y (1) )), (X (2), Y (2)), (X (3)
, Y (3)) and (X (4), Y (4)). Next, the change point coordinates (X (1), Y (1)), (X (2), Y (2)
), (X (3), Y (3)), (X (4), Y (4)), the slope LT of the left side L at a predetermined interval is determined by a predetermined formula, and the slope LT at each predetermined interval is obtained. Is used to determine the linearity of the left side L. For example, the change point coordinates (X (1), Y
(1)) and (X (4), Y (4)), when the slope LT of the left side L is obtained, the slope LT = (X (4) −X (1)) / (Y (4) −Y
(1)). Then, the slope LT (i) of the left side L between the coordinates of each change point is obtained by the following equation. LT (i) = (X (1 + i) -X (i)) / (Y (1 + i) + Y (i))
(I = 1 to 3), and | (LT−LT (i)) / LT | ≦ 0.05 (i = 1 to 3)
3) The linearity of the left side L is determined by. Note that each side T, R,
The same processing is performed for B, and the slopes TT, RT, BT
And determine the linearity of each.

In the example of checking the parallelism of the opposing sides (side L and side R), the inclination of each opposing side (LT and RT or TT) is obtained from the inclination of each side obtained in the above-described processing for obtaining the linearity.
And BT) to determine the parallelism between the opposing sides. That is, the slope LT of the side L and the slope R of the side R
The parallelism between the opposing sides L and R is determined by the following relational expression of T: | (LT−RT) /RT|≦0.05. In addition,
Similar processing is performed on the sides T and B to determine the parallelism between the sides T and B.

In the rectangularity inspection example in which the side L and the side T are inspected, the sides L and T, the side T and the side R, which are close to each other are obtained from the inclination of each side obtained in the above-described process of obtaining the linearity. The rectangularity is determined by detecting the angle between the side R and the side B and the angle between the side B and the side L. That is, the right angle between the side L and the side T is determined by the following relational expression of the slope TT of the side T and the slope LT of the side L: 0.95 ≦ | LT · TT | ≦ 1.05. The same processing is performed on the side T and the side R, the side R and the side B, and the side B and the side L to determine the perpendicularity between the sides and determine the rectangularity.

Therefore, the control unit 10 reads out the image data of the form 2 from the image memory unit 11 and changes the image data at predetermined intervals from the outside of the outline to the inside of the outline. A change point at which the color changes from black to white is detected to calculate the inclination, and the inclination is used to determine the linearity of each side, the parallelism of the opposing sides, and the rectangularity of the outer shape, thereby detecting a double running.

In this embodiment, when detecting a change point, as shown in (2), two orthogonal coordinate axes are determined in advance, and the change point is detected from a direction along the coordinate axes. In this case, this case is assumed. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as the change point can be detected and the linearity of each side, the parallelism of the opposite side, and the rectangularity of the outer shape can be determined.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection based on thickness. In the figure, the upper row shows the form status, the graph showing the interruption shows the length on the horizontal axis, the vertical axis shows the output value of the medium thickness detector 7, and the output value of the form presence / absence judgment slice is parallel to the horizontal axis. It is indicated by a simple broken line. The output value may be set to a value smaller than the output value of the medium thickness detection unit 7 having the thinnest form 2n that can be conveyed. In the lower graph, the horizontal axis represents the length, and the vertical axis represents the value obtained by differentiating the output of the medium thickness detector, and the portion where the change point exists in the figure is indicated by “↑”. Form 2 of various thicknesses with different external dimensions
The following shows a heavy running pattern when heavy running occurs in a case where is loaded on the hopper 1. 1n thin report 2n
In the case of one sheet, the form 2o of the maximum thickness is one sheet,
In the case where the form 2q overlaps the form 2p on the form 2p and the form 2s overlaps, the form 2s overlaps the form 2r and the form 2s overlaps, and the form 2u on the form 2t In the case of overlapping and running, it indicates that the form 2w overlaps the form 2v, and the thickness of the form 2n calculated by the control unit 10 in the case of W1 is calculated in the same manner. W2 is the thickness of the form 2o, W3 is the thickness when the form 2q is overlapped on the form 2p calculated in the same manner, and W3 is the thickness of the form 2r calculated in the same case. The thickness when the form 2s overlaps and forms a double run is W4, and the thickness when the form 2u overlaps the calculated form 2t in the same manner and forms a double run is W4.
5. Form 2w on form 2v calculated in the same manner
Is the longest form 2 handled by the image scanner of the present embodiment.
The thickness W2 of o is Wmax.

The control unit 10 detects the thickness of the medium, calculates the derivative of the output value of the medium thickness detection unit 7, determines whether or not the output value has a change point, and determines the detected thickness. When there is a change point, it is determined that the running is a heavy running, and stored based on the thickness Wmax of the thickest medium among the media to be handled,
If there is no change in the thickness and the thickness is equal to or more than the reference thickness Wmax, it is determined that the running is heavy. Therefore, the control unit 10
In the cases (1) and (2), since there is no change in the thickness in the form 2 determined to be one sheet on traveling and is smaller than the thickness Wmax, it is determined that one sheet is traveling normally. In the cases of,, and, since there is a change point in each case, it is determined that the vehicle is running heavy. In the case of, the thickness when there is no change in the thickness and when the form 2w overlaps the calculated form 2v and the running is heavy, the thickness W6 is equal to or more than the reference thickness Wmax. Judge as running.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the detection of a double running by printing. In this case, when the form 2 is conveyed by the printing unit 8, characters such as predetermined characters are printed at predetermined positions and discharged. For this reason, the operator himself / herself determines whether or not the vehicle is running, by looking at the printed character. That is, based on the printing state of the predetermined character on the predetermined position of the discharged form 2, the operator is caused to determine whether or not the plurality of forms 2 have run. As described above, the control unit 10 calculates the printing position from the presence / absence information of the form 2 detected by the medium detection unit 5, the transport speed of the form 2, and the distance between the medium detection unit 5 and the printing unit 8. Here, in the figure, by heavy running type,
It shows a double running mode, a printing mode, and a printing state.

In the case of ordinary heavy running, a form 2y is superimposed on a form 2x having substantially the same shape, and only 2y is properly printed on the upper side print area P1 and the lower side print area P2.
In the form 2x, the upper side print area P1 and the lower side print area P
In this case, there is no printing in both of them, and at this time, the operator can judge that the vehicle is running in a heavy state. At this time, generally,
Since the image of the form 2y has been acquired and transmitted to the personal computer 13, the operator can determine that it is necessary to acquire the image of the form 2x again.

Is an example of partially running, in which a form 2y overlaps a form 2x, an upper print area P1 is normally printed on the form 2y, and only a part of a lower print area P2 is printed on the form 2x. In 2x, when the upper side print area P1 is not printed and only the lower side print area P2 is partially printed,
At this time, the operator can determine that the vehicle is running heavy. Note that, at this time, in general, the operator can determine that the image of the form 2y has already been acquired and transmitted to the personal computer 13, and the image of the form 2x needs to be acquired again, as described above.

Is an example of partially running, in which the form 2y overlaps the form 2x, the upper side print area P1 is normally printed on the form 2y, the lower side print area P2 is not printed, and the form 2x is printed on the form 2x. Indicates that the upper side print area P1 is not printed and the lower side print area P2 is normally printed. At this time, the operator can determine that the vehicle is running multiple times. At this time, in general, the operator can determine that the image of the form 2y has already been acquired and transmitted to the personal computer 13, and the image of the form 2x needs to be acquired again, similarly to the above.

Is an example of multiple runs of forms 2y and 2z having different external dimensions. A large form 2z is overlaid with a small form 2y, and the upper print area P1 of the form 2y has a partial print and a lower print area P2. In the form 2z, there is also a partial print in the upper side print area P1 and a partial print in the lower side print area P2, so that the operator can determine that the child turtle type is overrunning. At this time,
Generally, the image of the small form 2y has been acquired and transmitted to the personal computer 13, and the operator can determine that it is necessary to acquire the image of the large form 2z again.

In this way, in the double running detection by printing, the printing is performed at a predetermined position of the form 2, for example, the upper side printing area and the lower side printing area. In this way, it is possible to immediately confirm the occurrence of heavy running. So, for example,
As shown in FIG. 8A, when the form 2y is conveyed on the form 2z, the discharged forms 2z, 2
As shown in (2) of the figure, y indicates that the form 2z is printed only on the upper side print area P1, and the form 2y is printed only on the lower side print area P2. Will be able to confirm.

In the above embodiment, a case is assumed in which a print area is set on the front side of a form. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and printing may be performed on the back side. Also, printing in the upper printing area after starting the image capture, and printing in the lower printing area after the image capture is completed,
The image acquisition unit 6 and the printing unit 8 are arranged in reverse, and after the image is printed on the upper side printing area, the capture of the image is started.
The image capturing may be completed after printing on the lower side print area. Further, the positional relationship between the image acquisition unit 6 and the printing unit 8 is such that the printing unit 8 detects the leading end and the lower end of the form 2 when the inside of the carrying unit 4 is not capable of separating the form 2 conveyed by multi-running. Any arrangement is possible if possible. In addition, although it is assumed that the upper print area and the lower print area are printed separately, the print may be performed continuously or at regular intervals from the upper side to the lower side. Also,
It is assumed that printing is performed on a predetermined portion of the front surface of the form 2, but the printing surface is not limited to the front surface, and the same effect can be expected on the back surface or both surfaces.

According to the image scanner of the above-described embodiment, even when a plurality of forms 2 having different external dimensions and thicknesses are handled, the effect that the multiple running of the forms 2 can be easily detected is obtained. As described above, when the external dimensions of the medium loaded on the hopper 1 are provided, the thickness of the form 2 loaded on the hopper 1 is made uniform, and the form 2
It is not necessary to measure and input the thickness in advance.

[0045]

As described above, according to the medium handling apparatus of the present invention, even when a plurality of media having different external dimensions and thicknesses are handled, the effect that the heavy running of the medium can be easily detected is obtained. Therefore, as in the conventional case, the external dimensions of the medium loaded on the medium setting section such as the hopper are provided, the thickness of the medium loaded on the medium setting section such as the hopper is uniform, and there is no change point of the thickness. Has the effect that it is not necessary to measure the thickness of the medium in advance and input it to the apparatus. Therefore, even when handling media having various external shapes, heavy running can be easily detected, so that the degree of freedom in design is increased and a medium handling device can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an image scanner according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an image scanner according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a heavy running detection process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection by length.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection by external shape inspection.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection based on thickness.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of heavy running detection by printing.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of heavy running detection by printing

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hopper 2 Report 3 Separation mechanism 4 Transport part 4a Transport roller 5 Medium detection part 6 Image acquisition part 7 Medium thickness detection part 8 Printing part 9 Stacker part

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A medium handling apparatus for sequentially transporting at least two types of media having different outer shapes and acquiring and storing an image of each medium, wherein a plurality of at least two types of media having different outer shapes run while overlapping each other. A criterion for distinguishing between the case of heavy running and the case of running one by one is defined and stored, and the reference is detected from the medium at the time of conveyance and compared with the stored standard. A medium handling device characterized by determining occurrence. 2. A medium according to claim 1, wherein the length of the longest medium among the mediums to be handled is stored as a reference, the length of the medium is detected during conveyance, and the result of the length is stored in advance. A medium handling apparatus characterized in that it is compared with a predetermined reference length, and if the length is equal to or longer than the reference length, it is determined that the vehicle is running heavy. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a medium to be handled is rectangular, a criterion for distinguishing the media is linearity of each side of the outer shape, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, and each side of the outer shape is recognized. A medium handling device for determining the linearity of each side, and determining that the vehicle is in a heavy running when there is no linearity. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the medium to be handled is rectangular, the reference for distinguishing the media is the parallelism between opposing sides of the outer shape, the outer shape is detected from the acquired image, and each of the outer shapes is detected. Recognize the side,
A medium handling apparatus characterized by judging the parallelism between opposing sides, and judging a double running when there is no parallelism. 5. The medium according to claim 1, wherein the medium to be handled is rectangular, the reference for distinguishing the medium is the perpendicularity between adjacent sides of the outline, the outline is detected from the acquired image, and each side of the outline is detected. A medium handling device that recognizes an inner angle between adjacent sides to determine a right angle thereof, and determines that the vehicle runs in a heavy running when there is no right angle. 6. The medium handling method according to claim 1, wherein the reference is the thickness of the medium, the thickness of the medium is detected, and when there is a change point in the detected thickness, the medium is determined to be a heavy running. apparatus. 7. A medium according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of the thickest medium to be handled is stored as a reference, and when there is no change in the thickness, and when the thickness exceeds the reference thickness, the weight is A medium handling device characterized by determining that the vehicle is running. 8. A medium handling apparatus for sequentially transporting at least two types of media having different outer shapes and acquiring and storing an image of each medium, wherein a predetermined character is printed at a predetermined position on the medium during transport. A medium, wherein the medium is ejected, and an operator determines whether or not an overrun occurs in which a plurality of sheets of the medium overlap and runs based on a printing state of a predetermined character at a predetermined position of the ejected medium. Handling equipment. 9. The medium handling apparatus according to claim 8, wherein predetermined positions for printing the predetermined characters are an upper side and a lower side of the medium.