JP2003179725A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader for accelerating a read speed by appropriately feeding shorter originals at short original intervals. <P>SOLUTION: In a facsimile machine 1, originals 80 on an original platen 31 are sent one by one by a feed roller 33 and fed to an R1 roller 36 by an R0 roller 35. When reading images at a read mechanism 50 while feeding the originals 80 by the R1 roller 36, the linear velocity of the feed roller 33 is set lower than the linear velocity of the R0 roller 35 and when the original 80 on the original platen 31 is sent out by the feed roller 33, the next original 80 is sent out by the feed roller 33 turning together. Then, the original interval between the first original 80 and the next original 80 is provided by a difference between the linear velocities of the feed roller 33 and the R0 roller 35. When passing of the rear end of the first original 80 is detected by an S2 sensor 42, the presence/absence and size of the next original 80 are discriminated from the detected results of an S1 sensor 39 and a B4/A3 size detecting sensor 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading device, and more particularly, to an image reading device that appropriately conveys a short document at a short document interval to improve the reading speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A document feeding type image reading apparatus conveys a document to a reading unit on a document feeding path and scans the image of the document by the reading unit to read the image.

A document reading device and a document reading / recording device which detect and determine the size of the document being read earlier and accelerate the recording start timing have been conventionally proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-136030). .

Further, conventionally, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with an original document presence / absence sensor on a document table to detect the presence / absence of a final document earlier and to provide an automatic document feeder for improving productivity. (See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-297663).

Further, a sensor for detecting the length of the original is provided on the original tray and the original conveying path, and even if the sensor on the original tray malfunctions, the automatic sheet material feeding device and the automatic sheet material are minimized. An image forming apparatus provided with a feeding device has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-218426).

[0006]

However, in the image reading apparatus and the image forming apparatus described in the above publications, a short document is accurately detected at low cost and at high speed to read an image. Needed improvement above.

That is, the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-136030 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-297663 are:
We are trying to improve productivity by detecting and determining the presence or absence of the original and the size of the original as soon as possible, but there is no description about detecting short originals. , It was necessary to improve in order to read the manuscript quickly.

Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-218426, the sensors for detecting the length of the original are arranged at two places so as to minimize the influence even if one is erroneously detected. In terms of technology, sheet-type ADF
In (Auto Document Fieder), there is no description about how to convey a short document at low cost and promptly. In order to detect the shortened document quickly and at low cost, and to read the document quickly, There is a problem that the cost is high due to the addition of the sensor as well as the need for improvement.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by an original sending roller, and the sent originals are read by a carrying roller to a reading and carrying roller. After the document is conveyed and conveyed to a predetermined reading standby position by the reading conveyance roller and the conveyance of the original document is once stopped, the original document is conveyed by the reading conveyance roller at a predetermined conveyance speed to the reading position of the reading unit. When the image of the original is read by the reading means, the linear speed of the original feed roller is set to be slower than the linear speed of the feed roller by a specified amount, and the original on the platen is fed by the original feed roller, the next original is swung around. The document is fed by the document feed roller, and the document gap between the previous document and the next document is set by the difference in the linear velocity between the document feed roller and the feed roller. Original tip-to detect the leading and trailing ends of the document conveyed are disposed on the document reading position between the
When the trailing edge detection sensor detects that the trailing edge of the previous document has passed, the document presence sensor that detects the presence of the document on the document table and the document size sensor that detects the size of the document on the document table By determining the presence and size of the next original based on the result, the trailing edge of the next original has already been sent to the reading position side of the original presence sensor at the end of the reading and conveying operation of the previous original. Even in the case of a short original that cannot determine the presence or absence of the original, the presence or absence of the original and the original size can be appropriately determined without further provision of sensors, and the original interval can be conveyed even shorter to make the reading process inexpensive. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus which processes at a higher speed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by an original sending roller, and the sent originals are conveyed to a reading / conveying roller by a conveying roller. Then, the reading / conveying roller conveys the original to the predetermined reading standby position and once stops the conveyance of the original, and then the reading / conveying roller conveys the original at a predetermined conveying speed to the reading position of the reading unit. When the image is read by the reading means, if the linear velocity of the document feeding roller is set to be lower than the linear velocity of the conveying roller by a predetermined amount and the document on the document table is fed by the document feeding roller, the next document is swung around. Send it out with the sending roller,
The document interval between the previous document and the next document is set by the difference in the linear speed of the document feed roller and the transport roller, and the fact that the trailing edge of the previous document has passed is placed between the read transport roller and the document reading position. The presence or absence of the next document based on the detection result of the document front / rear edge detection sensor detected by the document front / rear edge detection sensor that detects the front and rear edges of the original that is conveyed to the document reading position. By determining the above, the trailing edge of the next original has already been sent to the reading position side of the original presence sensor at the end of the reading and conveying operation of the previous original, and the presence or absence of the original cannot be determined. In the case of image reading, the presence / absence of the original and the original size are appropriately determined without further provision of sensors, and the interval between the originals is conveyed shorter, so that the reading process is performed at a low cost and at a higher speed. Providing equipment It is an object.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the document presence / absence sensor detects the absence of a document, the document size detected by the document size sensor is displayed on the document table immediately before the document presence / absence sensor detects the absence of the document. An image reading apparatus capable of appropriately obtaining the original size of the final original by obtaining the original size of the set original and performing the reading process at a higher speed and reading the original appropriately Is intended to provide.

[0012]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus in which a plurality of originals set on an original platen are separated and sent out one by one by an original sending roller, and the sent originals are sent. Is conveyed to the reading conveyance roller by the conveyance roller, is conveyed to the predetermined reading standby position by the reading conveyance roller, and the conveyance of the original document is once stopped, and then the original document is read at the predetermined conveyance speed by the reading conveyance roller. An image reading apparatus that reads the image of the document by the reading unit while conveying the reading position of the document reading unit, and a document presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of the document on the document table and a size of the document on the document table. A document size sensor for detecting, and a document front end disposed between the reading and conveying roller and the document reading position to detect the leading and trailing ends of the document conveyed to the document reading position.
A rear end detection sensor, and when the linear velocity of the document feeding roller is set to be lower than the linear velocity of the conveying roller by a predetermined amount and the document on the document table is fed by the document feeding roller, the next document is fed. The original feed roller that rotates around the original feed roller feeds the original and the next original is separated by a linear velocity difference between the original feed roller and the conveyance roller. The above object is achieved by determining the presence / absence and size of the next document based on the detection results of the document presence / absence sensor and the document size sensor when it is detected that the trailing edge of the document has passed. .

According to the above construction, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by the original feeding roller, and the fed originals are conveyed to the reading and conveying roller by the conveying roller, After the reading and conveying roller conveys the original to the predetermined reading standby position and once stops the conveyance of the original, the reading and conveying roller conveys the original at the predetermined conveying speed to the reading position of the reading unit to display the image of the original. When the document is read by the reading means, the linear velocity of the document feeding roller is set to be lower than the linear velocity of the feeding roller by a predetermined amount, and when the document on the platen is fed by the document feeding roller, the document feeding roller rotates around the next document. The document interval between the previous document and the next document is set by the difference in the linear velocity between the document feed roller and the transport roller, and the distance between the document transport roller and the document reading position is set. If the document front / rear edge detection sensor that detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the original that is conveyed to the document scanning position detects that the trailing edge of the previous document has passed, the presence or absence of the document on the document table Since the presence / absence of the next document and the size of the next document are determined based on the detection result of the document presence / absence sensor to detect and the size of the document on the document table,
Sensors are added even for a short document that cannot detect the presence or absence of a document because the trailing edge of the next document has already been sent to the reading position side of the document presence sensor at the end of the reading and feeding operation of the previous document. It is possible to appropriately determine the presence or absence of a document and the size of the document without providing the document, to convey the document at a shorter interval, and to perform the reading process at a lower cost and at a higher speed.

According to another aspect of the image reading apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by an original feeding roller, and the fed originals are read and conveyed by a conveying roller. After being conveyed to a roller, the reading / conveying roller conveys the original to a predetermined reading standby position to stop the conveyance of the original, and then the reading / conveying roller conveys the original at a predetermined conveying speed to the reading position of the reading means. An image reading apparatus that reads the image of the original document by the reading unit, and includes a document presence sensor that detects the presence or absence of the document on the document table, and a document size sensor that detects the size of the document on the document table. An original front end / rear end detection sensor arranged between the reading / conveying roller and the original reading position to detect a front end and a rear end of the original conveyed to the original reading position. The linear velocity of the delivery roller is set to be lower than the linear velocity of the transport roller by a predetermined amount, and when the original document on the original table is delivered by the original document delivery roller, the next original document is sent around by the original document delivery roller, The document interval between the previous document and the next document is provided by the difference in the linear velocity between the document feeding roller and the transport roller, and the document leading edge / trailing edge detection sensor detects that the trailing edge of the preceding document has passed. The above object is achieved by determining the presence / absence of the next document based on the detection result of the document front / rear edge detection sensor after the above.

According to the above construction, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by the original feeding rollers, and the fed originals are conveyed to the reading and conveying rollers by the conveying rollers, After the reading and conveying roller conveys the original to the predetermined reading standby position and once stops the conveyance of the original, the reading and conveying roller conveys the original at the predetermined conveying speed to the reading position of the reading unit to display the image of the original. When the document is read by the reading means, the linear velocity of the document feeding roller is set to be lower than the linear velocity of the feeding roller by a predetermined amount, and when the document on the platen is fed by the document feeding roller, the document feeding roller rotates around the next document. The document interval between the previous document and the next document is set by the difference in the linear speed between the document delivery roller and the transport roller, and the document is read and conveyed when the trailing edge of the previous document has passed. And the original reading position, which is disposed between the scanner and the original reading position, and which detects the leading and trailing ends of the original that is conveyed to the original reading position Since the presence or absence of the next original is determined based on the detection result of, the trailing edge of the next original has already been sent to the reading position side of the original presence sensor at the end of the reading and conveying operation of the previous original, Even in the case of an even shorter document that cannot determine the presence or absence of a document, the presence or absence of a document and the size of the document can be appropriately determined without providing additional sensors, and the document interval can be conveyed even shorter to read. The processing can be performed at low cost and at a higher speed.

In the case of claim 2, for example, as described in claim 3, in the image reading apparatus, when the document presence / absence sensor detects the absence of the document, the document presence / absence sensor detects the absence of the document. Immediately before, the document size detected by the document size sensor may be acquired as the document size of the final document of the document set on the document table.

With the above arrangement, when the document presence sensor detects the absence of the document, the document size detected by the document size sensor is set on the document table immediately before the document presence sensor detects the document absence. Since the original size of the final original is acquired as the original size of the original, the original size of the final original can be appropriately acquired, the reading process can be performed at a higher speed, and the original can be read appropriately. .

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore have various technically preferable limitations. However, the scope of the present invention refers to the present invention particularly in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

1 and 2 are views showing a first embodiment of an image reading apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a facsimile apparatus 1 of the embodiment of the image reading apparatus of the present invention. It is a block diagram.

In FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus 1 includes a scanner 2, a read image buffer 3, a plotter 4, an operation display section 5, an image memory 6, a parameter memory 7, a battery 8, a communication control section 9, a modem 10 and a network control section. 11, encoding / decoding unit 12, CPU (Central Processing Unit)
13, ROM (Read Only Memory) 14, host PCI
An / F unit 15 and a clock circuit unit 16 are provided, and the above units are connected by a bus 17.

The scanner 2 is, for example, a CCD (Charge Co
A line image sensor using an upled device) is used, and includes an ADF 30 (see FIG. 2).
A plurality of documents 80 (see FIG. 2) are set on the ADF 30, and the ADF 30 feeds the set documents 80 one by one to the document reading position of the scanner 2. Scanner 2
Scans the document 80 conveyed from the ADF 30 while conveying it, reads the image of the document 80 at a predetermined resolution, and outputs the image information to the reading buffer 3. The scanner 2 will be described in detail later.

The read image buffer 3 stores several to several tens of lines, or several hundreds of lines, or one page of the image information read by the scanner 2 in line units, and the CPU 13 causes the read image buffer 3 to read. The image information is read line by line by each output method, subjected to appropriate processing, and then transferred to the plotter 4 or the image memory 6.

As the plotter 4, for example, a thermal recording device having a thermal element, an electrophotographic recording device, an ink jet recording device, or the like is used. The plotter 4 is one kind or a plurality of kinds. It is equipped with a recording paper cassette that can set cut recording paper of the recording paper size. The plotter 4 records and outputs a received image, an image of an original read by the scanner 2, and the like on a recording sheet supplied from a recording sheet cassette, and also outputs a necessary report on the recording sheet.

The operation display unit 5 is provided with operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key and various function keys, and a display as a display means, for example, a liquid crystal display. Various commands such as a transmission operation are input from the operation keys of the operation display unit 5, and the contents of the commands and operation contents input from the operation keys and various information notified from the facsimile device 1 to the operator are displayed on the display. .

The image memory 6 is usually a DRAM (Dynami
c Random Access Memory) is used to store received image information, image information read by the scanner 2 and the like in a compressed state.

The parameter memory 7 is an SRAM (Static
RAM), etc., destination telephone number for memory transmission, dial information such as destination telephone number and destination name associated with one-touch dial and speed dial, own station such as telephone number and name of own station Information and various setting information such as read density information and recording density information are stored.

The image memory 6 and the parameter memory 7
Is backed up by the battery 8, and even when a power failure or the power of the facsimile apparatus 1 is turned off,
Each information in the image memory 6 and the parameter memory 7 is held. For example, since the image memory 6 is backed up by the battery 8, the stored contents are retained for several hours even when the power is off, and the parameter memory 7 retains the stored contents for several years even when the power is off. Hold.

A line, for example, a public telephone line is connected to the network control unit 11, and the network control unit 11 uses the CPU 1
It operates under the control of No. 3 to automatically receive an incoming call from the line and also perform an automatic outgoing call process to the line.

The communication control unit 9 exchanges a facsimile control signal with a destination facsimile machine connected via a line, converts data, and executes a facsimile communication procedure.

The modem 10 operates under the control of the CPU 13, modulates a transmission signal into a form suitable for transmission of a line at the time of transmission, and demodulates a modulation signal sent from the line at the time of reception.

The encoding / decoding unit 12 is intended to improve the efficiency of storing the image information in the image memory 6 and to shorten and improve the transmission time of the image information. The compressed image information is compressed (encoded) by the encoding method, and when received, the encoded image information is reproduced (decoded) into original information.

The ROM 14 stores various programs such as the basic processing program of the facsimile apparatus 1 and the document conveyance control processing program, and also stores various system data and other data necessary for executing each program.

The CPU 13 uses the RAM (not shown) as a work memory on the basis of the program in the ROM 14 and controls each part of the facsimile apparatus 1 to perform the basic processing as the facsimile apparatus 1 and to convey an original document described later. Perform control processing.

An information processing device, for example, a personal computer (PC) 18 is connected to the host PCI I / F unit 15, and the host PCI I / F unit 15 exchanges command / response data with the personal computer 18. And image information data transfer.

The clock circuit section 16 is provided with an oscillating circuit, a frequency dividing circuit, etc., clocks the present time, and generates various clocks necessary for the operation of the facsimile apparatus 1.

The scanner 2, as shown in FIG.
The ADF 30 includes a DF 30, a reading mechanism (reading means) 50, an MDF (manual transport mechanism) 60, a stamp mechanism 70, and the like.
2, feed roller (original feeding roller) 33, reverse roller 34, R0 roller (conveying roller) 35, R1
Roller (reading / conveying roller) 36, R2 roller 37, discharge roller 38, S1 sensor (document presence / absence sensor) 39, B4
A / A3 size detection sensor (original size sensor) 40, an original pressing plate 41, an S2 sensor (original leading edge / rear edge detection sensor) 42, and the like are provided.

The reading mechanism 50 irradiates the lower surface of the original 80 conveyed to the reading position (scan line) of the original pressing plate 41 with light from the xenon lamp 51 and reflects it on the lower surface (reading surface) of the original 80. The incident light is incident on a reading sensor (not shown) and photoelectrically converted by the reading sensor, so that the original 80
Read the image.

The R1 roller 36 is the ADF 30 or MD.
The original 80 from F60 is conveyed to the reading position of the original pressing plate 41, and the R2 roller 37 causes the original 8 that has been read to be read.
0 is conveyed to the discharge roller 38. The discharge roller 38 is R
The original 80 sent from the second roller 37 is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

The S2 sensor 42 detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the original 80 conveyed to the reading position by the R1 roller 36 and outputs it to the CPU 13.

The stamp mechanism 70 imprints a completed stamp on the document 80 that has been read.

In the ADF 30, a plurality of documents 80 are set on the document table 31, the S1 sensor 42 detects the presence or absence of the document 80 on the document table 31, and outputs it to the CPU 13. B4
The / A3 size detection sensor 40 detects the size of the document such as whether the document 80 set on the document table 31 is B4 size or A3 size, and outputs it to the CPU 13. The ADF 30 uses the pickup roller 32 to feed the original 80 set on the original table 31 to the feed roller 3
3 and the reverse roller 34, the feed roller 33 and the R0 roller 35 are reverse rollers 34,
The original 80 is pulled back toward the original 31 and fed out by the feed roller 33 to separate the originals 80 one by one,
Send it to the R0 roller 35.

The R0 roller 35 conveys the original 80 sent out by the feed roller 33 to the R1 roller 36, and the R1 roller 36 conveys the sent original 80 to the reading position.

The S2 sensor 42 detects the leading and trailing ends of the original 80 conveyed to the reading position by the R1 roller 36 and outputs it to the CPU 13.

In the MDF 60, the document 80 is manually set on the MDF document table 61, and the MDF S1 sensor 62 and the MDF B4 / A3 size detection sensor 63 are arranged at the same position. The S1 sensor 62 for MDF is the MD
The presence / absence of a document 80 manually set on the F document table 61 is detected and output to the CPU 13 for MDF B4 / A3.
The size detection sensor 63 is used for the document 8 on the MDF platen 61.
Detect whether 0 is B4 size or A3 size,
Output to the CPU 13.

The scanner 2 conveys the original 80 set on the MDF original table 61 to the reading position by the R1 roller 36.

The R0 roller 35 and the R1 roller 36 are set to the same linear velocity, but are set to different linear velocities from the feed roller 33, which is higher than the linear velocity of the feed roller 33. The linear velocity, that is, the linear velocity of the feed roller 33 is the R0 roller 35 and the R1 roller 36.
It is set slower than the linear velocity of. Therefore, ADF
The first original 80 is sent out from 30, and the original 80
Even when the feed roller 33 starts feeding the next original 80 when the trailing edge passes through the reverse roller 34, which is a separating portion, the linear velocity of the feed roller 33 is higher than that of the R0 roller 35 and the R1 roller 36. Due to the linear velocity, a gap is generated between the first original 80 and the second original 80.

The scanner 2 uses a step motor as a motor used to convey the original 80, and the facsimile apparatus 1 controls the original conveying position by managing the number of steps.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the facsimile apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, even when a short original 80 is conveyed, when conveying multiple pages, the conveyance position of the original 80 is appropriately controlled and the page interval is shortened.
The feature is that the reading processing speed is improved.

First, basic document conveyance control in the facsimile apparatus 1 using the ADF 30 will be described.
Basic document conveyance control in the facsimile apparatus 1 using the ADF 30 is performed by the ADF 30 in the pre-feed operation,
It consists of three basic operation controls: reading operation and paper discharge operation.

The pre-feed operation by the ADF 30 is A
This is an operation mode in which the document 80 set on the DF document table 31 is conveyed to the front of the reading position (scan line). When the document conveyance is started and the leading end of the document 80 reaches the S2 sensor 42, it is set in advance. 8 manuscripts by the amount
0 is transported and the leading edge of the document is at the reading position (scan line)
It is stopped at the front pre-reading standby position. The pre-feed operation by the ADF 30 is performed by the original 80 of the first page.
Not only is it executed page by page. However, the facsimile apparatus 1 does not execute the pre-feed operation by the ADF 30 if the original 80 is already in the ON position of the S2 sensor 42 at the start of the pre-feed operation by the ADF 30.

Next, in the reading operation, the image of the original 80 is read while the original 80 conveyed by the pre-feed operation by the ADF 30 is conveyed at a speed according to the linear density designated by the user. In this reading operation, when the document 80 after the pre-feed operation by the ADF 30 is conveyed by a preset length, image reading is started and the image is read by a predetermined length, or the S2 sensor 42 After being turned off, after reading for a preset length, it is conveyed for a preset length and stopped at the stamp imprint standby position. Therefore, the operation of conveying to the stamp imprinting position is also included in the reading operation control.

In the paper discharge operation, the motor is rotated in the forward direction by a preset number of pulses to discharge the last page of the original 80. This paper discharge operation is not executed during the multi-page reading, but is operated only when the final page is discharged. In addition, except for the last page, the ADF of the original 80 of the next page
It is naturally discharged by the pre-feed operation and the reading operation by 30.

Then, in the multi-page reading, the facsimile apparatus 1 controls the conveyance of the original 80 as follows in order to shorten the inter-page distance and improve the reading processing speed.

That is, in the facsimile apparatus 1, for example, when a plurality of short originals 80 of A6 size or the like are set on the original table 31 of the ADF 30, and when multi-page reading is performed, first, they are set on the original table 31. The presence or absence of the original 80 is detected by the S1 sensor 36 and output to the CPU 13.

When the original 80 is set on the original table 31 and the start button is pressed on the operation display section 5, the facsimile apparatus 1 feeds a plurality of originals 80 on the original table 31 under the control of the CPU 13. The rollers 33 and the reverse roller 34 separate the sheets one by one, and first, the conveyance of the first (first page) original 80 is started. Feed roller 33
The original 80 sent by the
5 is conveyed to the R1 roller 36,
Is conveyed to the reading position in the reading position direction.

At this time, when the trailing edge of the first original 80 and the leading edge of the next original 80 are separated, the second original 80, which is the second original from the time of this separation, is also conveyed by rotation. Be started.

Then, in the facsimile apparatus 1, the first original 80 is conveyed to the pre-reading standby position by the pre-feed operation, and then the R1 roller 36 and the R2 roller 37 conform to the linear density specified by the user. When the image of the original 80 is read while being conveyed at a speed, when the reading of the first original 80 is completed, the original 80 is conveyed by a preset length, and the original 80 is conveyed at the stamping standby position. Stop.

When the first original 80 is stopped at the stamping standby position, the rear end of the second original 80 is the S1 sensor 36 and the B4 / A3 size detecting sensor 4.
It may have passed the 0 position.

However, in general, the size and presence / absence of the next original 80 are determined when the reading of the previous original 80 is completed and the stamp imprint standby position is reached. When the original 80 is conveyed with the gap between the originals 80 shortened, as shown in FIG. 3, the trailing edge of the next original 80 has already passed the positions of the S1 sensor 36 and the B4 / A3 size detection sensor 40. In this case, when the size and presence / absence of the next original 80 are detected when the reading of the previous original 80 is completed and the stamping waiting position is reached, the size of the next original 80 is detected. Therefore, the information about the presence or absence cannot be acquired.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a previous original (P.1 original) 40 as shown in FIG.
When the S2 sensor 42 is turned off during the conveyance of the sheet, the size and presence of the next original (P.2 original) 40 is detected based on the detection result of the S1 sensor 36, and the S1 is stored in the RAM or the parameter memory 7. The detection information of the sensor 36 is stored,
When the previous original (P.1 original) 40 reaches the stamping standby position, the size and presence / absence of the next original (P.2 original) 40 is judged based on the information stored in the RAM or the parameter memory 7. To do.

As described above, the facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of originals 8 set on the original table 31.
0 is separated and fed out one by one by a feed roller 33 which is an original feeding roller, and the fed original 80 is conveyed to an R1 roller 36 which is a reading conveying roller by an R0 roller 35 which is a conveying roller, and the R1 roller concerned is conveyed. 36
After transporting to the predetermined pre-reading standby position (scanning standby position), the document 80 is once stopped, and then the R1 roller 36
When the image of the original 80 is read by the reading mechanism 50 while the original 80 is being conveyed at the predetermined conveyance speed to the reading position (scan line) of the reading mechanism 50, the linear velocity of the feed roller 33 is higher than the linear velocity of the R0 roller 35. When the original 80 on the original table 31 is sent out by the feed roller 33 with a predetermined amount set slower, the next original 80 is rotated by the corresponding feed roller 33, and the original gap between the previous original 80 and the next original 80 is sent. Is provided by the difference in linear velocity between the feed roller 33 and the R0 roller 35, and when the S2 sensor 42 detects that the trailing edge of the front original 80 has passed, the S1 sensor 39, which is the original presence sensor, and the original size sensor Yes B4 / A3
Based on the detection result of the size detection sensor 40, the presence or absence of the next original 80 and its size are determined.

Therefore, at the time when the reading and conveying operation of the previous original 80 is completed, the trailing edge of the next original 80 has already been sent to the reading position side from the S1 sensor 39, and the short original 80 in which the presence or absence of the original cannot be determined. In this case, the presence / absence of a document and the document size can be properly determined without additionally providing sensors, and the document interval can be conveyed even shorter, and the reading process can be performed at a lower cost and at a higher speed. can do.

5 to 8 are views showing the second embodiment of the image reading apparatus of the invention. The present embodiment is applied to a facsimile machine similar to the facsimile machine 1 of the first embodiment, and in the description of the present embodiment, the first embodiment is used as necessary. The description will be made using the same reference numerals used in the description of the above embodiment.

In the present embodiment, a shorter original 80 is conveyed while shortening the page interval, and the information of the original 80 is acquired more appropriately and accurately, and the reading is processed appropriately and at high speed.

That is, in the first embodiment, when the rear end of the front original 80 passes the S2 sensor 42,
This can be appropriately processed when the trailing edge of the next original 80 has not passed the S1 sensor 36 or the B4 / A3 size detection sensor 40, but the original 80 is shorter and the original conveying path is longer. Then, the trailing edge of the next original 80 may have already passed the S1 sensor 36 or the B4 / A3 size detection sensor 40. In such a case, the S1 sensor 36 or the B4 / A3 size detection sensor 40 may be used. Then, manuscript 8
It is impossible to properly discriminate the size and presence of 0 and process it.

Therefore, the facsimile apparatus 1 of the present embodiment determines the size and presence / absence of the original 80 based on the S2 sensor 42 and appropriately processes the original 80.

That is, in the facsimile apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the original 80 is set on the original table 31 (step S101), and the reading conditions of the original 80 are set on the operation display unit 5 (step S102). When the start key is pressed (step S103), the pre-feed operation is executed to start the rotation of the motor of the ADF 30 to start the conveyance of the document 80 (step S104), and the rotation speed (the number of steps) of the motor of the ADF 30. Is incremented (step S105).

When the facsimile machine 1 starts counting up the number of steps of the motor of the ADF 30, the ADF 30
It is checked whether the number of motor steps of 30 exceeds the preset number of non-feed error steps (step S106). If not, the S2 sensor 42
It is checked whether is turned on (step S107).

When the S2 sensor 42 is not turned on in step S107, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that the original 8
0 is determined not to be conveyed between the S2 sensors 42,
When the process returns to step S105, the document 80 is continuously conveyed (steps S105 to S107), and the counting of the number of steps of the motor of the ADF 30 is started without turning on the S2 sensor 42. When the number of non-feed error steps is exceeded, it is determined that there is a non-feed error, and the reading operation is stopped (step S108).

When the S2 sensor 42 is turned on in step S107, the front end of the original 80 in the facsimile apparatus 1 is S.
2 It is determined that the sheet has been conveyed to the sensor 42, the number of ADF motor steps is cleared (step S109), and the original 80
Is conveyed to the front standby position to stop the motor, and the number of steps of the motor of the ADF 30 is counted up (step S110).

Next, the facsimile apparatus 1 executes pre-reading processing such as shading (step S111), and starts the reading operation as shown in FIG. 6 (step S11).
2), the motor of the ADF 30 is rotated (step S1
13), the number of steps of the motor of the ADF 30 is counted up (step S114).

The facsimile apparatus 1 checks whether the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 exceeds the preset maximum (MAX) long jam error step number (step S115). If not, checks whether the S2 sensor 42 is off. Yes (step S116). Step S
116, the maximum number of motor steps of the ADF 30 (MA
X) When the number of long jam error steps is not exceeded, the process returns to step S113, the rotation of the motor of the ADF 30 is continued, and while the number of steps of the motor is counted, the maximum (MAX) motor jam error occurs. It is checked whether the number of steps is exceeded, and whether the S2 sensor 42 is turned off (steps S113 to S11).
6), the S2 sensor 42 is not turned off, and the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 is the maximum (MA
X) Long jam error When the number of steps is exceeded, the maximum (MA
X) When it is determined that a long jam error has occurred, the reading operation is stopped (step S117).

When the S2 sensor 42 is turned off in step S116, the facsimile machine 1 clears the motor step number of the ADF 30 (step S118), and the ADF
Rotate the motor of 30 (step S119), AD
The number of motor steps in F30 is incremented (step S120).

In the facsimile apparatus 1, whether the S2 sensor 42 is turned on, that is, the leading edge of the next document is the S2 sensor 4 is detected.
Check if it has been transported to 2 (step S12
1), when the S2 sensor 42 is not turned on, AD
It is checked whether the number of motor steps in F30 exceeds the number of steps up to the stamp imprint standby position (the number of stamp imprint standby position steps) (step S122).

In step S122, when the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 does not exceed the number of steps of the stamping standby position, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 is the maximum number of steps between pages of the document 80 (the maximum number of steps between pages). (Step S124), and when the motor step number of the ADF 30 does not exceed the maximum inter-page step number,
Returning to step S118, while rotating the motor of the ADF 30 and counting the number of steps,
Whether the S2 sensor 42 is turned on or the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 exceeds the number of steps of the stamping waiting position,
It is checked whether the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 exceeds the maximum number of steps between pages (steps S119 to S1).
24). When the S2 sensor 42 is turned on in step S121, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that there is the next original 80, and as shown in FIG. 7, checks whether the motor step number of the ADF 30 exceeds the stamp standby position step number. (Step S126).
Then, the process returns to step S119 and is processed in the same manner as above (steps S119 to S124). At this time, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines the size of the next original 80, and the size of the original 80 on the original table 31 when there is a further original 80 on the original table 31, the B4 / A3 size detection sensor 40.
It can be determined by detecting with.

When the motor step number of the ADF 30 exceeds the stamp standby position step number in step S126, the facsimile machine 1 stops the rotation of the motor of the ADF 30 (step S127) and checks whether or not there is a stamp stamp request (step). S128).

When the stamp imprinting request is made in step S128, the facsimile apparatus 1 executes the stamp imprinting control process (step S129), and step S11 in FIG.
Returning to step 2, the next document 80 is processed in the same manner as the above from the reading process.

If there is no stamp imprinting request in step S128, the process returns to step S112 in FIG. 6 and the next document 80 is processed in the same manner as the above from the reading process.

Further, in the processing of FIG. 6, the S2 sensor 4
2 is not turned on, and in step S122, ADF3
When the motor step number of 0 exceeds the stamp waiting position step number, the facsimile apparatus 1 checks whether there is a stamp stamp request (step S123), and if there is a stamp stamp request, as shown in FIG. Is stopped (step S130), and the stamp imprinting control process is executed (step S131).

When the stamping process is completed, the facsimile apparatus 1 rotates the motor of the ADF 30 (step S132), counts the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 (step S133), and the S2 sensor 42.
It is checked whether is turned on (step S134).

When the S2 sensor 42 is not turned on in step S134, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that the ADF 30
It is checked whether the number of motor steps of No. exceeds the maximum number of inter-page steps (step S135). When the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 does not exceed the maximum number of inter-page steps, the process returns to step S132 to perform the same processing as above ( Steps S132-S135).

If the motor step number of the ADF 30 exceeds the maximum inter-page step number in step S135 without turning on the S2 sensor 42, the facsimile apparatus 1
Determines that there is no next original 80, starts the paper discharge process, and ends the read control process (step S136).

When the S2 sensor 42 is turned on in step S134, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that the next original 80 is present and determines whether the motor step number of the ADF 30 has reached the pre-read standby position step number, that is, the next step. Manuscript 80
Is conveyed to the pre-reading standby position (step S137). If the number of motor steps of the ADF 30 is not the pre-reading standby position step number, step S137 is performed.
Returning to 132, the rotation of the motor of the ADF 30 is continued, and the conveyance of the next original 80 is continued (step S132).
~ S134, S137).

When the motor step number of the ADF 30 reaches the pre-reading standby position step number in step S137, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that the next original 80 has been conveyed to the pre-reading standby position, and the motor of the ADF 30 is rotated. The process is stopped (step S138), the process returns to step S112 in FIG. 6, and the same process is performed from the next reading operation of the original 80 (steps S112 to S2125).

In step S121 of FIG. 6, the S2 sensor 4
2 is not turned on, the ADF 3
When the motor step number of 0 exceeds the maximum inter-page step number, the facsimile apparatus 1 determines that there is no next original document 80, starts the paper discharge process, and ends the reading control process (step S125).

As described above, the facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of originals 8 set on the original table 31.
0 is separated one by one by the feed roller 33 and sent out,
The fed document 80 is conveyed to the R1 roller 36 by the R0 roller 35, conveyed to a predetermined pre-reading standby position (reading standby position) by the R1 roller 36, and once the conveyance of the document 80 is stopped. When the image of the original 80 is read by the reading mechanism 50 while the original 80 is conveyed by 36 at the reading position of the reading mechanism 50 at a predetermined conveying speed, the linear velocity of the feed roller 33 is slower than the linear velocity of the R0 roller 35 by a predetermined amount. When the setting is made and the original 80 on the original table 31 is sent out by the feed roller 33, the next original 80 is sent out by the orbiting feed roller 33, and the previous original 80 and the next original 8 are sent.
The distance between the document and the feed roller 33 and the R0 roller 35
The presence or absence of the next original 80 is determined based on the detection result of the S2 sensor 42 after the S2 sensor 42 detects that the rear end of the previous original 80 has passed.

Therefore, at the end of the reading / conveying operation of the previous original 80, the trailing edge of the next original 80 has already been sent to the reading position side of the S1 sensor 39, and the presence or absence of the original cannot be determined. Even in the case of 80, the presence or absence of a document and the document size can be appropriately determined without additionally providing sensors, the document interval can be conveyed further, and the reading process can be performed at a low cost and at a higher speed. Can be processed.

Further, the facsimile apparatus 1 cannot determine the paper size of the final original 80 in the reading control process, but in this case, the S1 sensor 39 is constantly monitored after starting the reading operation. , B4 / A3 immediately before the S1 sensor 39 changes from the ON state to the OFF state
The width size of the document 80 detected by the size detection sensor 40 is stored, and when it is determined that there is the next document 40 in the reading control process of FIGS. 6 to 8, the final page is stored based on the stored width size information. The document size may be determined.

By doing so, the original size of the final original 80 can be appropriately acquired, the reading process can be performed at a higher speed, and the original can be read appropriately.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0091]

According to the image reading apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by the original sending rollers, and the sent originals are conveyed. The document is conveyed to the reading / conveying roller by the roller, conveyed to the predetermined reading standby position by the reading / conveying roller, and once the conveyance of the original document is stopped, and then the original is read by the reading means at the predetermined conveying speed by the reading / conveying roller. When the image of the original is read by the reading means while conveying the position, the linear velocity of the original feeding roller is set lower than the linear velocity of the conveying roller by a predetermined amount, and the original on the original table is fed by the original feeding roller. The original feeding roller that circulates the original document is sent out, and the interval between the original and the next original is set by the difference in the linear speed between the original sending roller and the conveying roller. When the document leading edge / trailing edge detection sensor that detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the original document that is disposed between the document reading position and the document reading position detects that the trailing edge of the preceding document has passed The presence / absence of the next original is determined based on the detection results of the original presence / absence sensor that detects the presence of an original on the original table and the original size sensor that detects the size of the original on the original table. At the end of the document scanning operation, add sensors even if the trailing edge of the next document has already been sent to the reading position side of the document presence sensor and the presence of the document cannot be determined. It is possible to appropriately determine the presence or absence of a document and the size of the document without providing the document, convey the document at a shorter interval, and perform the reading process at a lower cost and at a higher speed.

According to the image reading apparatus of the present invention, the plurality of originals set on the original table are separated and sent out one by one by the original sending roller, and then sent out. The original is conveyed by the conveying roller to the reading conveying roller, is conveyed to a predetermined reading standby position by the reading conveying roller, and the conveyance of the original is once stopped, and then the original is conveyed by the reading conveying roller at a predetermined conveying speed. When the image of the original is read by the reading means while being conveyed at the reading position of the reading means, the linear speed of the original feeding roller is set to be lower than the linear speed of the conveying roller by a predetermined amount, and the original on the original table is fed by the original feeding roller. When the document is sent by, the next document is rotated by the relevant document feed roller, and the document interval between the previous document and the next document is determined by the linear velocity of the document feed roller and the conveyance roller. The leading edge and trailing edge of the document that is provided between the reading and conveying roller and the document reading position to detect the leading edge and trailing edge of the original document The presence / absence of the next original is determined based on the detection result of the front / rear edge detection sensor of the original after the detection sensor detects it. Even if the original is sent to the reading position side of the original presence sensor and the original presence cannot be determined, the presence or absence of the original and the original size can be appropriately determined without providing additional sensors. Therefore, it is possible to carry the reading process at a low cost and at a higher speed by conveying the document interval shorter.

According to the image reading apparatus of the present invention, when the document presence sensor detects the absence of the document, the document size detected by the document size sensor is detected immediately before the document presence sensor detects the absence of the document. Is acquired as the document size of the final document of the document set on the document table, the document size of the final document can be appropriately acquired, and the reading process can be processed at a higher speed. The original can be read properly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a main part of a facsimile apparatus to which a first embodiment of an image reading apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a scanner of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

3 is a front view of an original document in front of the scanner shown in FIG. 2 when being conveyed to a stamping standby position;
/ Schematic block diagram when passing the position of the A3 size detection sensor.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a state in which the size and presence / absence of the next document is detected by the S1 sensor when the trailing edge of the document in front of the scanner of FIG. 2 passes the S2 sensor.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a document reading control process by a facsimile apparatus to which the second embodiment of the image reading apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the document reading control process of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the document reading control process of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the document reading control process of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Facsimile machine 2 scanner 3 Read image buffer 4 plotters 5 Operation display section 6 image memory 7 Parameter memory 8 battery 9 Communication control unit 10 modem 11 Network control unit 12 Encoding / decoding section 13 CPU 14 ROM 15 Host PCI interface 16 Clock circuit section 17 bus 18 Personal Computer (PC) 30 ADF 31 Platen 32 pickup rollers 33 Feed roller 34 Reverse roller 35 R0 roller 36 R1 roller 37 R2 roller 38 Ejection roller 39 S1 sensor 40 B4 / A3 size detection sensor 41 Document holding plate 42 S2 sensor 50 reading mechanism 60 MDF 61 MDF platen 62 S1 sensor for MDF 63 B4 / A3 size detection sensor for MDF 70 Stamp mechanism 80 manuscripts

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2H108 AA14 CB01 DA06 FA22 FA27                       FA29 FC04 JA15                 3F048 AA04 AB02 BA02 BA07 BB10                       CB03 CC02 CC03 CC04 DA01                       DA06 DB07 DB13 DC00 EB37                 5C062 AA05 AB02 AB17 AB32 AC02                       AC67 AF10                 5C072 AA01 BA03 NA05 RA01 RA02                       XA01

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of documents set on a document table are separated by a document sending roller and sent one by one, and the sent documents are carried to a reading and carrying roller by a carrying roller, and the reading and carrying roller is provided. After the document is conveyed to a predetermined reading standby position and the conveyance of the document is temporarily stopped, the image of the document is read by the reading conveyance roller while the document is conveyed to the reading position of the reading unit at a predetermined conveyance speed. An image reading apparatus for reading with a document presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a document on the document table, a document size sensor for detecting the size of a document on the document table, the reading / conveying roller, and the document reading position. And a document front and rear end detection sensor for detecting the front and rear ends of the document conveyed to the document reading position, the linear velocity of the document feeding roller being set to the conveyance roll. When the original on the platen is sent out by the original sending roller by setting a predetermined amount slower than the linear velocity of the roller, the next original is rotated by the original sending roller, and the previous original and the next original are fed. And the document presence / absence sensor when the document leading edge / trailing edge detection sensor detects that the trailing edge of the preceding document has passed. An image reading apparatus, wherein the presence or absence of a next document and the size thereof are determined based on the detection result of the document size sensor. 2. A plurality of documents set on a document table are separated by a document sending roller and sent one by one, and the sent documents are carried to a reading and carrying roller by a carrying roller, and the reading and carrying roller is provided. After the document is conveyed to a predetermined reading standby position and the conveyance of the document is temporarily stopped, the image of the document is read by the reading conveyance roller while the document is conveyed to the reading position of the reading unit at a predetermined conveyance speed. An image reading apparatus for reading with a document presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a document on the document table, a document size sensor for detecting the size of a document on the document table, the reading / conveying roller, and the document reading position. And a document front and rear end detection sensor for detecting the front and rear ends of the document conveyed to the document reading position, the linear velocity of the document feeding roller being set to the conveyance roll. When the original on the platen is sent out by the original sending roller by setting a predetermined amount slower than the linear velocity of the roller, the next original is rotated by the original sending roller, and the previous original and the next original are fed. Is set by the difference in the linear speed between the document feeding roller and the conveying roller, and the document leading edge / rear edge is detected after the document leading edge / rear edge detection sensor detects that the trailing edge of the preceding document has passed. An image reading apparatus characterized in that the presence or absence of the next original is determined based on the detection result of the edge detection sensor. 3. The image reading apparatus, when the document presence / absence sensor detects a document absence, sets the document size detected by the document size sensor immediately before the time when the document presence / absence sensor detects the document absence. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image size is acquired as a document size of a final document set on the table.