JP2010028260A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a composite apparatus that displays a reading time for every direction of an original before reading an image of the original. <P>SOLUTION: The composite apparatus 100 includes an automatic original feeding device which conveys originals laid on a placing stand one by one, and reads the image of the originals. The composite apparatus 100 includes: a reading time calculation means 602 which calculates a longitudinal direction reading time which is a required time for reading the original placed in a longitudinal direction where a short side is parallel to a main scanning direction of a reading section, and a traverse direction reading time where a long side is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading section based on the characteristics of the reading originals and the characteristics of the image data established by a user before carrying the original; and a reading time display means 609 which displays the calculated longitudinal direction reading time and the traverse direction reading time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of displaying a reading time for each direction of an original before reading an image of the original.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses are provided with a plurality of functions that can be provided, and are becoming multifunctional. The functions include a facsimile transmission / reception function, a scan function, a print function, a post-processing function represented by a staple function and a punch function, a power saving function, and the like in addition to a copy function, and various types. Further, along with the diversification of the above functions, an automatic document feeder (ADF) capable of automatically and sequentially feeding documents to be provided with functions has been installed.

  When a user causes the image forming apparatus to read an image of a document using the automatic document feeder, the user places a document on a mounting table (also referred to as a document tray or a document tray) provided in the automatic document feeder. When the start button is pressed, a pick-up roller or the like provided in the automatic document feeder rotates, and the loaded document is conveyed one by one, and the reading unit that reads the image captures the image of the document. read. The document whose image has been read is discharged onto a paper discharge tray.

  By the way, the number of documents to be read and the number of sheets to be output may greatly affect the speed of functions provided by the image forming apparatus. As a technique relating to the number of sheets, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-30770 (Patent Document 1) discloses a sheet bundle that detects the thickness of a sheet bundle in a sheet processing apparatus that processes a plurality of sheets in a bundle. A thickness detecting unit; and a changing unit that changes the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be bundled or the upper limit of the sheet thickness based on the sheet bundle thickness information detected by the sheet bundle thickness detecting unit. A sheet processing apparatus characterized by the above is disclosed.

With the above configuration, the thickness of the sheet bundle to be processed can be detected, and the upper limit of the number of sheets that can be bundled or the sheet thickness can be changed based on the detected thickness of the sheet bundle. According to the thickness, it is possible to perform an optimal bundling process such as a bookbinding process, eliminate wrinkles and bookbinding mistakes in finishing, etc., and perform a bundling process up to the upper limit as much as possible.
JP 2006-30770 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is a technique exclusively related to a sheet processing apparatus, and cannot be directly applied to image reading of a document.

  For example, the orientation of the document placed on the placement table greatly affects the image reading speed of the document. Specifically, when the orientation of the document to be placed is a portrait orientation in which the short side of the document is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit, the orientation is horizontal (with respect to the main scanning direction of the reading unit). Compared to the case where the long side of the original is parallel), the reading time, which is the time required for image reading of the original, is longer. This is because, when reading an image of a document placed vertically, the reading length of the reading unit in the sub-scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction or direction parallel to the document conveying direction) becomes long. Due to

  When the number of originals is small, the reading time is not significantly affected by the difference in the orientation of the originals, but when the number of originals increases, the difference in the reading times increases according to the difference in the orientation of the originals. However, even when the number of originals reaches several tens (e.g., 20 or more), the user usually starts the copying operation without being aware of the direction of the original, and therefore, the user takes a reading time without knowing the original. There is a case where copy operation is performed in the direction. In such a case, there is a problem that hinders daily work such as a long waiting time for the user who has been followed up.

  The read image data of the original is temporarily stored (stored) in a predetermined memory, but the reading time is greatly affected by the storage format (also referred to as storage format) of the image data and the resolution of the image data. . For example, when an image of a document is read with the document oriented in the portrait orientation, the image data read in the portrait orientation may be rotated 90 degrees horizontally and temporarily stored in a predetermined memory. When the image data storage format is JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, it takes a long time, and when the image data storage format is PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) format, That's it. Since the 90-degree rotation processing time is applied to each piece of read image data, the reading time when the original is placed vertically is long compared to the horizontal reading time. There is a problem of becoming.

  Furthermore, since the 90 degree rotation processing time is affected by the length of the image resolution, it is difficult for the user who actually uses it to finally understand the efficient orientation of the document. Even if the user can recognize the direction of the document efficiently, changing the direction of the document once placed is time-consuming work, which in itself reduces the user's motivation. After all, the actual situation that the user places the document without worrying about the direction of the document continues.

  If the user can recognize in advance how long it takes to read the image according to the orientation of the document before the image forming apparatus reads the image of the document with respect to the above problem, the user's subsequent response, for example, the orientation of the document can be determined. It is considered that the response such as change is also changed, and it is considered that the user eagerly performs the task for the troublesome task of re-mounting the orientation of the document.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an image forming apparatus capable of displaying a reading time corresponding to the orientation of a placed document before reading the image of the document. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an automatic document feeder that conveys documents placed on a placement table one by one and reads an image of the document. In the image forming apparatus, before transporting the original, an orientation in which the short side is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit based on the characteristics of the original to be read and the characteristics of the image data set by the user. Reading time for calculating a vertical reading time that is a time required for reading a document image placed in a certain vertical direction and a horizontal reading time in which the long side is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit Calculation means and reading time display means for displaying the calculated vertical reading time and horizontal reading time are provided.

  The characteristics of the original to be read are parameters indicating the characteristics of the original, and include, for example, the number of placed originals, the size of the placed originals, and the like. The thickness, the paper quality of the document, the presence or absence of gloss, the surface roughness, etc. may be included.

  The characteristics of the image data set by the user are parameters indicating the characteristics of the image data, for example, numerical values indicating the density of pixels in the image data, corresponding to the fineness of the grid representing the image. The resolution of the image data to be read, the direction of the image data when storing the read image data, the storage format of the read image data, etc., other information such as whether the content of the image data is an image or text, image data May include information on whether the color is monochrome or monochrome, the size of characters in the image data, the density of characters in the image data, and the like.

  The storage format of the image data is expressed in, for example, a file format of the image data, and is a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, a PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Format) format, a TIFF (Tagged Image File) format, A format, a GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) format, and a file format related to these can be adopted.

  The direction of the image data is the direction of the image data when the read image data is temporarily stored in a predetermined memory. For example, the orientation of the document is vertical and the image data is displayed in the same orientation as the orientation. When it is temporarily stored, it is referred to as “portrait”, and when the orientation of the original is landscape and image data is temporarily stored in the same orientation, it is referred to as “landscape”. As another representation method, when the image data is stored in the portrait orientation and the image data is temporarily stored in the portrait orientation, “Okuten” is used, and the orientation of the document is the portrait orientation and the image data. May be temporarily stored in landscape orientation, “left sky” and the direction of the image data may be indicated. Note that the back sky means that the back direction is located above the character of the original toward the document placement table of the image forming apparatus, and the left direction refers to the character of the document toward the left side of the document placement table. It is located in the upward direction.

  As the image reading method of the reading unit, for example, a CCD method using a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) as an image sensor, a CIS method using a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) as an image sensor, or the like can be used. May be adopted. For example, the image sensor may be changed to a CMOS sensor.

  The main scanning direction is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the image sensor provided in the document or the reading unit moves when the reading unit reads an image of the document. A direction parallel to the direction in which the reading unit moves is called a sub-scanning direction. Scanning means irradiating a document with light to read reflected light, decomposing the image of the document into pixels based on the reflected light, and performing color separation on the separated pixels to convert color shading into an electrical signal. It means a series of work until conversion.

  The reading time, which is the time required for reading the original image, is, for example, the time from the start of reading the first original image to the completion of reading the last original image when reading all the images of the placed original. However, it may be a case of reading some original images.

  Although the orientation of the document related to the reading time includes portrait orientation and landscape orientation, other orientations such as an oblique orientation may be included.

  Any method may be used for calculating the reading time. For example, a unit reading time required for reading an image of one original is measured in advance, and the unit reading time and the placement table are placed on the mounting table. And a method of calculating the total reading time based on the number of originals. Since the unit reading time is greatly influenced by the characteristics of the original and the characteristics of the image data, it is preferable to prepare a unit reading time corresponding to these characteristics in advance.

  In some cases, the reading time can be uniquely determined according to the characteristic value. Therefore, a formula that associates the predetermined characteristic value with the reading time is prepared, for example, set by the user. The reading time may be calculated based on the characteristic value and the mathematical formula.

  Any method may be used for displaying the reading time. For example, the reading time may be displayed on a screen on a touch panel provided in the image forming apparatus, or on a small liquid crystal display provided in the image forming apparatus. A display method, a method of displaying on a liquid crystal display of a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus, and the like can be employed.

  Further, the reading direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the placed document, and a reading time comparing means for comparing the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time calculated by the reading time calculating means with each other, are provided. When the time display means matches the orientation of the document with the longer reading time compared with the orientation of the document detected by the orientation detection means of the reading times compared by the reading time comparison means, the portrait reading time and the landscape reading It can be configured to display time.

  As a method for detecting the orientation of a document, for example, a document presence detection sensor (contact sensor, optical sensor) that detects the presence of a document corresponding to the orientation of the document is used, and an ON signal / OFF signal of the document presence detection sensor is used. There is a method for detecting the orientation of the original from the combination.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time are calculated based on the characteristics of the original to be read and the characteristics of the image data selected by the user before conveying the original. A reading time calculation unit and a reading time display unit for displaying the calculated vertical reading time and horizontal reading time are provided.

  As a result, the reading time generated when the image forming apparatus reads the image of the document before the image forming apparatus reads the image of the document is displayed for each direction of the document. Therefore, the user can easily recognize the reading time and can quickly determine whether or not to change the orientation of the document. As a result, it is possible to make the user aware of the orientation of the document that the user has not been aware of before, and the repositioning operation can be performed without lowering the user's motivation with respect to the repositioning of the document. It is possible to prompt the user.

  Further, as a result of the reading time display means comparing the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time by the reading time comparison means, the orientation of the document having a long reading time coincides with the orientation of the document detected by the document orientation detecting means. In this case, the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time can be displayed.

  Thus, when the direction of the original is changed, which leads to a reduction in the reading time, the reading time for each direction of the original is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to display the reading time in a timely manner, and it is possible to easily recognize that the reading time can be shortened by changing the orientation of the document to the user. Further, when the reading time is not shortened, the reading time is not displayed, so that it is possible to smoothly perform the function provision without forcing the user to perform troublesome work. As a result, the calculated reading time can be appropriately displayed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.

<Image forming apparatus>
In the following, the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a multi-function machine, a digital copying machine, a printer, and the like provided with a printer, a copy, a scanner, a fax, etc., and a copy service, a scanner service, a facsimile service, and a printer service. And the like function as an image forming apparatus including the above.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multifunction machine. However, details of each part not directly related to the present invention are omitted. As an example, the operation of the image forming apparatus when copying a document using a multifunction machine will be briefly described.

  For example, when a user prints a document using the multifunction peripheral 100, the document is placed on the document table 103 or the mounting table 105 shown in FIG. 1 and printed on the operation unit 200 provided near the document table 103. The instructions are given. When the instruction is given, printing is performed by operating the following units (drive units).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction peripheral 100 according to the present embodiment includes a main body 101 and a platen cover 102 attached above the main body 101. A document table 103 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 101, and the document table 103 is opened and closed by a platen cover 102. The platen cover 102 is provided with an automatic document feeder 104, a placing table 105, and a sheet discharging table 109.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the placing table 105 of the automatic document feeder 104 includes a first regulating plate 210 that is fixed in the vicinity of the upper end of the placing table in a plan view and that regulates the end portion of the document. A second restricting plate 211 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end of the mounting table 105, which is a position facing the restricting plate 210. The second restricting plate 211 is movable in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as F direction) that is a direction in which the document is conveyed. It can be adjusted by the regulation plates 210 and 211.

  The mounting table 105 is further provided with a predetermined number of document presence detection sensors 212a to 212g that detect presence / absence of documents (contact of documents). The predetermined number of document presence detection sensors 212a to 212g are arranged so that the corners of the document can be detected according to the size and orientation of the placed document. For example, the arrangement method is as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, a first document presence detection sensor 212a is provided in the vicinity of the lower left side of the first regulating plate 210, and a document whose end is regulated by the first regulating plate 210 is placed on the placing table 105. When the document is placed, the corners of the document are reliably detected. When the first document presence detection sensor 212a transmits a signal (ON signal) corresponding to the presence of the document, it is considered that the document is placed on the placement table 212a.

  The other document presence detection sensors 212b to 212g are arranged according to various document sizes and orientations. For example, when a document of a predetermined standard size (also referred to as a prescribed size) is placed on the placement table 105, one corner of the document is detected by the first document presence detection sensor 212a. The other document presence detection sensors 212b to 212g are arranged so as to detect the other corner that faces one corner of the document and is located on the diagonal line of the document.

  For example, a standard-size A5 size document is placed in a portrait orientation (hereinafter referred to as a portrait orientation) in which the short side of the document is parallel to the main scanning direction of a reading unit 110 (described later) provided in the multifunction peripheral 100. The first document presence detection sensor 212a and the A5 vertical document presence detection sensor 212c contacting one corner of the document placed in the A5 vertical direction transmit an ON signal. The other document presence detection sensors 212b and 212d to g do not transmit an ON signal. Based on the combination of ON signals of the document presence detection sensors 212a to 212g, it is possible to detect the orientation of the document, and it is also possible to detect the size of the document (described later).

  Further, for example, when an A4 size document that is a standard size is placed in a landscape orientation (hereinafter referred to as landscape orientation) in which the long side of the document is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit 110, In addition to the first original presence detection sensor 212a and the A4 horizontal original presence detection sensor 212d, the A5 horizontal original presence detection sensor 212b and the A5 vertical original presence detection sensor 212c, which are smaller than the A4 size, inevitably contact. However, in this case, based on the ON signals of the first document presence detection sensor 212a, the A4 landscape document presence detection sensor 212d, the A5 landscape document presence detection sensor 212b, and the A5 portrait document presence detection sensor 212c. Direction and size are detected.

  Next, the automatic document feeder 104 includes a document conveyance path 108 formed inside the platen cover 102, a pickup roller 106 and conveyance rollers 107A and 107B provided inside the platen cover 102, and the like. The document conveyance path 108 is a document conveyance path that leads from the placement table 105 to the sheet discharge table 109 via a reading position P where reading is performed by the reading unit 110 provided in the main body 101.

  The automatic document feeder 104 pulls out each document placed on the placement table 105 to the document conveyance path 108 by the pickup roller 106 and passes the document drawn by the conveyance rollers 107A and 107B through the reading position P. Then, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 109. When the document passes the reading position P, the document is read by the reading unit 110.

  As shown in FIG. B1, a lift plate 214, an upper limit sensor 215, and a lower limit sensor 216 are located in the vicinity of the drawing port 213 through which the document is drawn into the document transport path 108, in the transport direction (F direction) of the mounting table 105. A roller 217 and a pickup roller 106.

  The lift plate 214 is a plate-like member on which a document can be placed, and can be moved up and down in the document stacking direction by a lift plate driving unit 218 provided on a side surface of the lift plate 214. The upper limit sensor 215 is a sensor for stopping the lift plate 214 from rising at a predetermined position, and is constituted by an optical sensor. The upper limit sensor 215 is optically detected and stopped when the lift plate 214 rises and the leading edge of the document on the lift plate 214 pushes up the roller 217 (FIG. B2). The lower limit sensor 216 is a sensor for detecting that the lift plate 214 has been lowered to the lowest position (home position).

  The roller 217 is disposed at a distance above the lift plate 214 disposed at the home position, and is positioned at a lower position by its own weight in a free state, but follows the force received from below by the lift plate 214. Thus, it is configured to be movable upward. The roller 217 corresponds to a roller.

  The lift plate driving unit 218 is for moving the lift plate 214 up and down, and includes a stepping motor 219, a rack and pinion mechanism (hereinafter referred to as a rod 220, a tooth material, a gear material 221 and the like) and the like. A bar body 220 is connected to one side surface of the lift plate 214 along the document stacking direction. A gear tooth material (not shown) is provided on the side surface of the bar body 220 and can be engaged with the tooth material. In addition, a stepping motor 219 including a gear member 221 that can freely rotate forward and reverse is provided.

  When the document is placed on the lift plate 214, the stepping motor 219 rotates the gear member 221 in the forward direction, and the rod member 220 having the tooth material engaged with the gear member 221 is raised in the stacking direction. The lift material 214 connected to is raised. Note that when the lift material 214 is moved down to the home position with respect to the loading direction, the stepping motor 219 rotates the gear material 221 in the reverse direction.

  Next, the reading unit 110 is provided below the document table 103 and the automatic document feeder 104, and details thereof are shown in FIG. The reading unit 110 includes a first light source 111 that illuminates the document table 103 in the main scanning direction, a slit 116 that selectively passes light from the document table, and a mirror 112 that guides light from the document table. The moving carriage 117, the second moving carriage 118 including mirrors 113A and 113B that reflect the reflected light from the first moving carriage 117 again, and the lens group 119 that optically corrects the light guided by the mirror, An image sensor 115 that receives the light corrected by the lens group 119, and an image data generation unit 114 that converts the light received by the image sensor into an electrical signal and performs correction / correction as necessary. .

  When reading a document on the automatic document feeder 104, the light source 111 moves to a position where the reading position P can be irradiated and emits light. Light from the light source 111 is reflected by a document that passes through the document table 103 and passes the reading position P, and is guided to the image sensor 115 by the slit 116, mirrors 112, 113 A, and 113 B, and the lens group 119. The image sensor 115 converts the received light into an electrical signal and transmits it to the image data generation unit 114. The light received by the image sensor 115 is input to the image data generator 114 as analog electrical signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), where analog-to-digital conversion is performed. Digitized. Further, the image data generation unit 114 uses the sequentially converted digital signal as unit data, and corrects and corrects the unit data to generate image data including a plurality of unit data.

  The reading unit 110 can read not only the document conveyed by the automatic document feeder 104 but also the document placed on the document table 103. When reading a document placed on the document table 103, the first carriage 112 moves in the sub-scanning direction while emitting light from the light source 111, so that the optical path length from the light source 111 to the image sensor 115 is constant. The second moving carriage 118 moves in the direction of the image sensor 115 at a half speed of the first moving carriage 117.

  The image sensor 115 electrically outputs light from the document placed on the document table 103 based on the light guided to the mirrors 112, 113 </ b> A, 113 </ b> B, as in the case of the document conveyed to the automatic document feeder 104. The signal is converted into a signal, and based on this, the image data generation unit 114 generates image data.

  A printing unit 120 that prints image data is provided below the reading unit 110 of the main body 101. The image data that can be printed by the printing unit 120 is transmitted together with an image formation instruction from the network 202 via the data generated by the image data generation unit 114 as described above or the communication cable 201 connected to the multifunction peripheral 100. Sometimes it is done.

  As a printing method performed by the printing unit 120, an electrophotographic method is used. That is, the photosensitive drum 121 is uniformly charged by the charger 122, and then the photosensitive drum 121 is irradiated by the laser 123 to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum 121, and toner is attached to the latent image by the developing device 124. In this method, a visual image is formed and the visible image is transferred onto a sheet by a transfer roller.

  Note that in the image forming apparatus corresponding to the full-color image, the developing device (rotary developing device) 124 is rotated in the circumferential direction around a rotation axis configured in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. A developing unit in which color toner is stored is disposed at a position facing the photosensitive drum 121. In this state, the latent image on the photosensitive drum 121 is developed with toner stored in the developing device 124 and transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 125A. The developing device 124 includes four developing units 124 (Y), (C), (M), and yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). (K). By repeating the transfer to the intermediate transfer belt 125A for each color, a full color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 125A.

  The paper on which the visible image is printed is placed on a paper feed tray such as the manual feed tray 131 and the paper feed cassettes 132, 133, and 134.

  When the printing unit 120 performs printing, one sheet of paper is pulled out from any one of the paper feed trays using the pickup roller 135, and the pulled-out paper is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 125 </ b> A by the transport roller 137 or the registration roller 138. Feed between rollers 125B. When pulling out the paper, the paper placed on the manual feed tray 131 may be pulled out by using the manual feed tray pickup roller 136.

  When the visible image on the intermediate transfer belt 125A is transferred onto the sheet fed between the intermediate transfer belt 125A and the transfer roller 125B, the printing unit 120 fixes the visible image on the conveyance belt 126 with a fixing device. Send paper to 127. The fixing device 127 includes a heating roller 128 with a built-in heater and a pressure roller 129 pressed against the heating roller 128 with a predetermined pressure. When the sheet passes between the heating roller 128 and the pressure roller 129, the visible image is fixed to the sheet by heat and the pressing force to the sheet. The printing unit 120 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 127 to the discharge tray 130.

  The basic copy service processing in the multifunction peripheral 100 has been described above. Note that the multifunction peripheral 100 operates other units such as a facsimile transmission / reception function, a printing function, and the like by appropriately operating the above-described units (the automatic document feeder 104, the reading unit 110, and the printing unit 120) as appropriate. Provides the user with scan functions, post-processing functions, memory functions, etc.

  The means for detecting the orientation of the document (document size) based on the ON signals of the plurality of document presence detection sensors is the document orientation detection means (document size detection means), and means for controlling the lift plate driving unit. The lift moving means, the means for receiving an instruction (command, request) such as printing performed by the user to the operation unit 200 as the condition receiving means, and the means for reading the image of the document by the reading unit 100 as the image reading means, Based on the received instruction and the read image data, the means for providing the function is generally referred to as function providing means (described later).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance of the operation unit 200 provided in the multifunction peripheral 100. Using the operation unit 200, the user inputs the setting conditions for providing the function as described above, writes write information, or transmits the write information to a predetermined transmission destination. The touch panel 401, the touch pen 402, and the operation keys 403 provided in the operation unit 200 are used when setting conditions are input and execution of each service is started.

  The touch panel 401 has both a function for inputting the above-described conditions and a function for displaying the input setting conditions. That is, by pressing a selection item or the like in the screen displayed on the touch panel 401, a setting condition associated with the selection item or the like is input, and by pressing a key or a transmission destination on a predetermined keyboard screen An instruction related to the function is input. In addition, the pressed selection item, the input instruction, and the like can be visually recognized at any time by displaying on the touch panel 401, for example, by changing the background color from white to gray.

  A touch pen 402 is provided in the vicinity of the touch panel 401. When the user touches the tip of the touch pen 402 to the touch panel 401, a sensor provided below the touch panel 401 detects the touch destination. Therefore, by touching the touch pen 402, it is possible to press a key on the keyboard screen or input predetermined handwritten information. The touch pen 402 may not be provided.

  Further, a predetermined number of operation keys 403 are provided in the vicinity of the touch panel 401. For example, a ten key 404, a start key 405, a clear key 406, a stop key 407, a reset key 408, and a power key 409 are provided. The numeric keypad 404 is used to input specific numbers when setting the number of copies and the magnification.

  Next, the configuration of the control system hardware of the multifunction peripheral 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of control system hardware in the multifunction peripheral 100. However, details of each part not directly related to the present invention are omitted.

  The control circuit of the MFP 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 504, and a driver 505 corresponding to each drive unit. They are connected by a bus 506. The CPU 501 uses, for example, the RAM 503 as a work area, executes a program stored in the ROM 502, the HDD 504, and the like, and sends data and instructions from the driver 505 and the operation unit 200 (not shown) based on the execution result. Further, signals transmitted from the document orientation detection sensor, the upper limit sensor, the lower limit sensor, and the like are transmitted and received, and the operation of each drive unit shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is controlled. In addition to the driving unit, the CPU 501 executes the program to implement each unit. The ROM 502, the HDD 504, and the like store programs and data for realizing each means described below.

<Embodiment of the present invention>
Next, a procedure for displaying the reading time corresponding to the orientation of the placed document before the image forming apparatus of the present invention reads the image of the document will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the multifunction peripheral according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for illustrating the execution procedure of the present invention. Details of each part not directly related to the present invention are omitted.

  When the MFP 100 is in a sleep state in which power consumption during standby is suppressed, when a user places 20 A4-size originals on the placement table 105 in a portrait orientation and touches the touch panel 301, The sleep state of the multifunction peripheral 100 is canceled and the MFP 100 shifts to a usable state, and the condition receiving unit 601 displays an initial screen (here, the copy setting screen illustrated in FIG. 8C) on the touch panel 301. The time when the condition receiving unit 601 displays the initial screen may be the time when the user turns on the power to the multifunction device 100.

  In the initial screen, as shown in FIG. 8C, in addition to the normal selection items (paper selection, density selection, magnification selection, etc.) for setting the copy service, the quality of the image when reading the document image is displayed. A mode “character” for reading an image of an original as image data having a relatively low resolution (200 dpi), and an image of an original as image data having a relatively high resolution (600 dpi). A mode “photo” for reading an image, a button “others” that enables the user to select a reading mode, and the read image data are temporarily stored in a predetermined memory (for example, a predetermined HDD called a Document Box). Image data direction 802 indicating the direction of the image data at the time of storage (for example, the read image data is the direction of the original "Vertical orientation" temporarily stored in the orientation equivalent to "Portrait orientation", "Horizontal orientation" in which the scanned image data is temporarily stored in the orientation equivalent to "Original orientation", and the storage format of the scanned image data Save format mode 803 (for example, “jpg” for saving image data in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, “pdf” for saving image data in PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) format, “pdf” , A button “Others” etc. for enabling selection of the storage format mode is displayed.

  While viewing the initial screen, the user inputs his / her desired conditions (for example, “character” 804 for reading mode, “vertical” for image data 805, and “jpg” 806 for storage format mode), and a start key When the user presses 405, the condition receiving unit 601 receives the condition input from the initial screen, and transmits a signal to the reading time calculating unit 602 to calculate the reading time for each document orientation (FIG. 7: S101). .

  The reading time calculation unit 602 receives the reading mode “character” 804, the image data orientation mode “vertical orientation” 805, and the storage format mode “jpg” 806 from the condition reception unit 601, and the document orientation detection unit 603 receives the placement table. The direction of the document placed on 105 is detected. The document orientation detection unit 603 also serves as a document size detection unit, and detects the document size and the document orientation.

  The document orientation detection means 603 detects ON signals from any or a plurality of document presence detection sensors 212a to 212g. At this time, since the A4 size document is placed vertically on the placement table 105, the first document presence detection sensor 212a, the A4 portrait document presence detection sensor 212e, and the A5 portrait document presence detection sensor 212c. Then, the A5 horizontal document presence detection sensor 212b transmits an ON signal.

  Upon receiving the ON signal, the document orientation detection unit 603 refers to the document orientation table stored in the document orientation storage unit 604 and detects the size of the document and the orientation of the document (FIG. 7: S102). .

  In the document orientation table 900, as shown in FIG. 9, information 901 indicating whether each document presence detection sensor 212a-g is transmitting an ON signal (for example, the document presence detection sensor 212a transmitting an ON signal). ˜g for “◯” 902, “×” 903 for the document presence detection sensors 212a to 212g not transmitting the ON signal), and the document size 904 determined based on the information (for example, “A3”) , “A4”, etc., where information such as “−” is stored when the document size is not specified or the document is not placed), and the document orientation 905 (“vertical”, “ "Landscape", "-") are stored in association with each other. The document orientation detection unit 603 detects the size of the placed document and the orientation of the document by acquiring the document size 904 and the document orientation 905 corresponding to the combination of the received ON signals.

  The document orientation detection means 603 corresponds to ON signals of the first document presence detection sensor 212a, the A4 vertical document presence detection sensor 212e, the A5 vertical document presence detection sensor 212c, and the A5 horizontal document presence detection sensor 212b. ”906, when the document size“ A4 ”907 and the document orientation“ vertical ”908 are acquired from the document orientation table 900,“ A4 ”907 and“ vertical ”908 are transmitted to the reading time calculation unit 602. To do.

  Upon receiving “A4” 907 and “portrait” 908, the reading time calculation unit 602 causes the document number detection unit 605 to detect the number of documents placed on the placement table 105.

  The document number detection means 605 drives the lift movement means 606, and the lift movement means 606 raises the lift plate 214 on which the leading edge of the document is placed in the document stacking direction from the home position. When the leading edge of the document on the lift plate 214 that has moved up pushes up the roller 217, the upper limit sensor 215 detects this, and the lift moving means 606 stops the lift plate 214.

  The document number detection means 605 monitors the lift movement means 606, calculates the amount of rotation of the motor required to raise the lift material 214 from the home position to the current position of the lift material 214, and the document number detection means 605 Based on the thickness of the original bundle (a plurality of originals) per rotation amount of the motor stored in advance in a predetermined memory, the thickness of the placed original bundle is calculated. Further, the number-of-documents detection unit 605 determines the thickness of the placed document based on the calculated thickness of the bundle of documents and the thickness per document stored in a predetermined memory of the number-of-documents detection unit 605 in advance. The number of sheets is calculated (FIG. 7: S103).

  For example, if the thickness of the original bundle per rotation amount of the motor is 1 mm / rotation amount, the thickness per original document is 0.25 mm / sheet, and the rotation amount of the motor is 5 rotations, the original sheet number detecting means 605 By multiplying 5 rotations by 1 mm / rotation amount, the thickness of the original bundle is calculated as 5 mm, and 5 mm is divided by 0.25 mm / sheet, and the number of originals is calculated as 20.

  When the document number detection means 605 calculates the number of documents “20”, it transmits “20 sheets” to the reading time calculation means 602.

  The reading time calculation means 602 receives the input conditions (reading mode “character” 804, image data orientation mode “vertical” 805, storage format mode “jpg” 806), and received conditions (original size “A4” 907, The reading time, which is the time required to read the image of the document, is determined by referring to the reading direction table stored in the reading time storage unit 607 and the reading direction table ‘vertical direction’ 908 and the number of sheets “20 sheets”). Calculation is performed for each orientation of the document (FIG. 7: S104).

  In the reading time table 1000, as shown in FIG. 10, the orientation 1001 of the placed document (“vertical”, “landscape”) and the size 1002 of the placed document (for example, “A3”, “ A4 "," A5 ", etc.), image data orientation 1003 (" vertical orientation "," horizontal orientation "), reading mode 1004 (also displayed as image resolution) (for example," character "(resolution 200 dpi), "Photo" (600 dpi), etc.), image data storage format 1005 (for example, "jpg", "pdf", etc.), and unit reading time 1006 (unit: s / sheet) required per document are associated with each other. Is remembered. Among the above items (for example, document orientation 1001, document size 1003, etc.), small items associated with each other (for example, “portrait”, “landscape”, “A3”, “A4”, “A5”, etc.) ) Stores “◯” 1007, and “X” 1008 is stored in small items that are not associated with each other.

  With the above configuration, the reading time calculation unit 602 acquires a unit reading time required for one original corresponding to a predetermined condition, multiplies the unit reading time by the number of originals, and reads the reading time for each orientation of the original. Is calculated.

  The unit reading time 1006 stored in the reading time table 1000 may be a numerical value derived from the result of an experiment, or the performance (conveying speed (also referred to as reading peripheral speed), reading speed, 90 It may be a numerical value determined based on the degree rotation processing speed or the like.

  In the reading time table 1000, when the conditions other than the document orientation 1001 (“vertical”, “horizontal”) are all equivalent, the difference between the unit reading time in the vertical direction and the unit reading time in the horizontal direction is as follows. Only the difference between the reading length of the reading unit 110 in the vertical direction and the reading length of the reading unit 110 in the horizontal direction is affected. When the document size is a standard size, the reading length in the horizontal direction is a length obtained by multiplying the reading length in the vertical direction by 1.4 times. Therefore, in the reading time table 1000, for example, the unit in the vertical direction In the reading time, a unit reading time obtained by multiplying the unit reading time in the horizontal direction by 1.4 times is stored.

  Further, under the condition that it is not necessary to perform the 90 degree rotation process, that is, under the condition where the document orientation and the image data orientation mode are the same, although depending on the performance of the reading unit 110, if the image resolution is high, the unit Reading time becomes longer. Therefore, for example, in the reading time table 1000, the unit reading time obtained by multiplying the unit reading time of “character” (200 dpi) by a predetermined time (for example, twice) is stored as the unit reading time of “photograph” (600 dpi). The

  Also, under the same conditions for the original orientation and the image data orientation mode, the difference in the storage format affects the unit reading time, although it depends on the speed of image processing (for example, the performance of the CPU). Therefore, for example, in the reading time table 1000, a unit reading time obtained by multiplying a unit reading time of “pdf” by a predetermined multiple (for example, two times) is stored in the unit reading time of “jpg”.

  Further, when it is necessary to perform a 90-degree rotation process, that is, under a condition where the orientation of the original and the image data orientation mode are different, the number of image conversions is affected by the number of coordinate conversions (for example, the performance of the CPU). When the resolution is high, the unit reading time becomes long. Therefore, for example, in the reading time table 1000, the unit reading time of “photograph” (600 dpi) is stored as a unit reading time obtained by multiplying the unit reading time of “character” (200 dpi) by a predetermined multiple (for example, four times). .

  Also, under conditions where the orientation of the document and the image data orientation mode are different, the unit reading time is determined when the image is stored in a storage format inappropriate for the rotation processing, although it depends on the speed of image processing (for example, the performance of the CPU). Becomes longer. Therefore, for example, in the reading time table 1000, the unit reading time of “jpg” is stored as the unit reading time obtained by multiplying the unit reading time of “pdf” by a predetermined time (for example, twice).

  When the reading time calculation unit 602 calculates the reading time in the received document orientation “vertical” 908, the size of the document corresponding to the document orientation “vertical” 908 in the reading time table 1000 is referred to. , Refer to the image data orientation mode belonging to “A4” 907. Further, the reading time calculation unit 602 refers to the reading mode belonging to the image data orientation “vertical” 805, and the unit reading time “jpg” 806 belonging to the reading mode “character” 804 corresponds to the unit reading time “ 11s / sheet ”1010 (corresponding to the row 1009 in FIG. 10) is acquired. The reading time calculation unit 602 calculates the vertical reading time 220 s, that is, “3.7 minutes (3.67 minutes)” from the number of originals “20”.

  Further, the reading time calculation unit 602 calculates the reading time in “landscape”, which is a different document orientation from the received document orientation “vertical” 906. The reading time calculation unit 602 reads the reading time “8 s” from the reading time table 1000 based on “horizontal” and predetermined conditions (“A4” 907, “vertical” 805, “character” 804, “jpg” 806). / Sheet "1012 (corresponding to the row 1011 in FIG. 10) is obtained, and the horizontal reading time 160 s, that is,“ 2.7 minutes (2.67 minutes) ”is calculated from the number of documents“ 20 ”.

  When the reading time calculation unit 602 calculates the reading time “3.7 minutes” in the vertical direction and the reading time “2.7 minutes” in the horizontal direction, the reading time comparison unit 608 indicates “3.7 minutes” and “2. 7 minutes ".

  When the reading time comparison unit 608 receives the vertical reading time “3.7 minutes” and the horizontal reading time “2.7 minutes”, the reading time comparison unit 608 compares the two with each other to determine the orientation of the document with a long reading time. (FIG. 7: S105). In the above case, since the reading time “3.7 minutes” in the vertical direction is longer than the reading time “2.7 minutes” in the horizontal direction, the reading time comparison unit 608 determines the direction of the document having a long reading time as “ “Vertical”.

  Further, the reading time comparison unit 608 is configured to display the orientation “vertical orientation” 906 of the document placed on the mounting table at the present time (the orientation of the document detected by the document orientation detection unit 603) and the orientation “longitudinal orientation” of the document having a long reading time. Are compared with each other (FIG. 7: S106). When the orientation “vertical orientation” 906 of the document placed on the mounting table matches the orientation “longitudinal orientation” of the document having a long reading time, the reading time comparison unit 608 needs to display the reading time. Then, a signal indicating that the reading time for each direction of the document is displayed and the reading time “3.7 minutes” in the vertical direction and the reading time “2.7 minutes” in the horizontal direction are transmitted to the reading time display unit 609. (FIG. 7: S106 YES).

  When the reading signal is received, the reading time display unit 609 uses the reading time for each direction of the received document to display a reading time display which is a screen for displaying the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time on the touch panel 401. A screen is displayed (FIG. 7: S107, FIG. 8D).

  On the reading time display screen, as shown in FIG. 8D, a message 807 “Please change the orientation of the document” prompting the user to change the orientation of the currently placed document is displayed vertically. Reading time (vertical reading time) “3.7 minutes” 808, a vertical document image 809 that is an image imitating the state of a document placed on the mounting table in “vertical”, An arrow image image 810 for instructing to change the “direction” to “landscape”, a reading time in landscape orientation (horizontal reading time) “2.7 minutes” 811, and a document placed on the placing table in “landscape orientation” Are displayed, and a “OK” button 813 that is a confirmation button to be pressed after the user changes the orientation of the document is displayed.

  When the user checks the reading time display screen and confirms that the document orientation is shorter in the landscape orientation than in the portrait orientation, the user changes the orientation of the document from portrait orientation to landscape orientation and places the document again on the table. 105. Further, when the user presses an “OK” button 813 displayed on the reading time display screen, the reading time display unit 609 deletes the reading time display screen from the touch panel 401 and is input to the condition receiving unit 601. A signal indicating that the function provision is executed under the specified conditions is transmitted.

  For example, when the user changes the orientation of the document to the landscape orientation without pressing the “OK” button 813, the document orientation detection unit 603 redetects the orientation of the document “landscape”, and the reading time display unit 609. However, when it is detected that the orientation of the placed document is “landscape”, the reading time display screen may be automatically deleted, and the function provision to the condition receiving unit 601 may be executed.

  The condition receiving unit 601 receives conditions (image data orientation “vertical” 805, reading mode “character” 804, image data storage format “jpg” 806), document orientation “landscape”, and document size “ A4 "907 is transmitted to the image reading means 610, and the image reading means 610 reads the image of the document (FIG. 7: S108). In the above case, the image reading unit 610 reads the image of the document at a resolution of 200 dpi (“character” 804), processes the image data in the storage format JEPG, and further converts the image data read horizontally to 90 vertically. After performing the degree rotation process, it is temporarily stored in a predetermined memory.

  When the image reading unit 610 reads an image of a document, the document number correcting unit 611 counts the number of documents read by the image reading unit 610. When the image reading unit 610 reads all the images of the placed document, the document number correcting unit 611 calculates the total number of documents, and the total number of documents and the document bundle calculated by the document number detecting unit 610 are calculated. Based on the thickness, the thickness per document stored in a predetermined memory of the document number detecting means 610 is recalculated and stored again in the predetermined memory. Specifically, the document number correcting unit 611 calculates the thickness “0.25 mm / sheet” per document by dividing the total number of documents “20” from the thickness “5 mm” of the document bundle, The value is stored again in a predetermined memory.

  With the above configuration, the thickness per document is corrected every time the image reading unit 610 provides a function (1 JOB), so that the number of documents subsequently placed on the placement table is detected. The means can calculate with high accuracy.

  When the image reading unit 610 temporarily stores the image data of all the originals in a predetermined memory, the image reading unit 610 transmits a message to that effect to the function providing unit 612. The function providing unit 612 outputs the image data as printed matter based on the temporarily stored image data (FIG. 7: S109). When the orientation of the sheet to be output is not designated by the user, the function providing unit 612 outputs the image data with a sheet corresponding to the size and orientation of the temporarily stored image data. That is, the function providing unit 612 outputs the image data with the sheet size as A4 and the sheet orientation as landscape.

  According to the above procedure, it is possible to display the reading time for each direction of the document before reading the image of the document, and for the user who is not normally aware of the direction of the document, It becomes possible to prompt the user to change the orientation from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation. When the orientation of the document is changed to the landscape orientation, the reading time is shortened. As a result, efficient image reading can be performed.

  On the other hand, when the reading time comparison unit 608 does not match the orientation of the document placed on the table 105 and the orientation of the document having a long reading time, image reading and function provision are performed according to the following procedure. .

  When the user places 20 A4-size originals on the placement table 105 in the portrait orientation and touches the touch panel 301, the condition receiving unit 601 displays an initial screen (FIG. 7A) on the touch panel 301.

  While viewing the initial screen, the user inputs his / her desired conditions (for example, the reading mode is “Photo” 814, the image data orientation is “Landscape” 815, and the save format mode is “jpg” 806), and the start key 405 When the button is pressed, the condition receiving unit 601 receives the condition, and transmits a signal to the reading time calculating unit 602 to calculate the reading time for each document orientation (FIG. 7: S101).

  When the reading time calculation unit 602 receives the reading mode “photo” 814, the image data orientation “landscape” 815, and the storage format mode “jpg” 806 from the condition reception unit 601, the document orientation detection unit 603 determines the orientation of the document. The number of documents is detected by the document number detection means 605, and the detected document orientation “landscape”, document size “A4”, and number of documents “20” are acquired (FIG. 7: S102 → S103).

  The reading time calculation unit 602 receives the input conditions (reading mode “photo” 814, image data orientation “landscape” 815, storage format mode “jpg” 806), and received conditions (original orientation “landscape”), original With reference to the size “A4” and the number of documents “20”) and the reading time table 1000, the reading time is calculated for each direction of the document (FIG. 7: S104).

  When the reading time calculation means 602 calculates the reading time in the received document orientation “landscape”, the conditions (document size “A4”, image data orientation “landscape” 815, reading mode “photo” 814, storage format The unit reading time “16 s / sheet” 1014 (corresponding to the row 1013 in FIG. 10) corresponding to the mode “jpg” 806) is acquired from the reading time table 1000, and from the document number “20 sheets”, the horizontal reading time 320 s. That is, “4 minutes” is calculated.

  Based on the “vertical” and predetermined conditions (“A4”, “horizontal” 815, “photo” 814, “jpg” 806), the reading time calculation unit 602 reads the reading time “45s / s” from the reading time table 1000. Sheets ”1016 (corresponding to the row 1015 in FIG. 10) are acquired, and the vertical reading time 640 s, that is,“ 15 minutes ”is calculated from the number of documents“ 20 sheets ”.

  The reading time calculation means 602 transmits the horizontal reading time “4 minutes” and the vertical reading time “15 minutes” to the reading time comparison means 608, and the reading time comparison means 608 reads the horizontal reading time “4 minutes”. ”And the vertical reading time“ 15 minutes ”are compared with each other to determine the orientation of the document with a long reading time (FIG. 7: S105). In the above case, the reading time comparison unit 608 determines that the orientation of the document with a long reading time is “vertical”.

  Further, the reading time comparing means 608 compares the orientation “horizontal orientation” of the document placed on the mounting table 105 at this time with the “vertical orientation” of the orientation of the document having a long reading time (FIG. 7: S106). In the above case, the reading time comparison unit 608 needs to display the reading time because the direction “horizontal” of the document placed on the table 105 does not match the direction “vertical” of the document having a long reading time. It is determined that there is no function, and a signal indicating that the function provision is executed under the input condition is transmitted to the condition receiving means 601 (FIG. 7: S106 NO).

  The subsequent operation procedures of the condition receiving unit 601, the image reading unit 610, the document number correcting unit 611, and the function providing unit 612 are the same as those described above, and are omitted (FIG. 7: S108 → S109). Although the orientation of the placed document is landscape, its reading time is shorter than the portrait reading time, so that the image reading is performed efficiently, and as a result, the reading time required for reading the image of the document is shortened. .

  In this way, the reading time calculating means for calculating the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time based on the characteristics of the original to be read and the characteristics of the image data selected by the user before conveying the original, Reading time display means for displaying the calculated vertical reading time and horizontal reading time is provided.

  As a result, the reading time generated when the image forming apparatus reads the image of the document before the image forming apparatus reads the image of the document is displayed for each direction of the document. Therefore, the user can easily recognize the reading time and can quickly determine whether or not to change the orientation of the document. As a result, it is possible to make the user aware of the orientation of the document that the user has not been aware of before, and the repositioning operation can be performed without lowering the user's motivation with respect to the repositioning of the document. It is possible to prompt the user.

  Further, as a result of the reading time display means comparing the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time by the reading time comparison means, the orientation of the document having a long reading time coincides with the orientation of the document detected by the document orientation detecting means. In this case, the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time can be displayed.

  Thus, when the direction of the original is changed, which leads to a reduction in the reading time, the reading time for each direction of the original is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to display the reading time in a timely manner, and it is possible to easily recognize that the reading time can be shortened by changing the orientation of the document to the user. Further, when the reading time is not shortened, the reading time is not displayed, so that it is possible to smoothly perform the function provision without forcing the user to perform troublesome work. As a result, the calculated reading time can be displayed appropriately.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, when the condition accepting unit detects that the start key is pressed by the user, the reading time calculating unit calculates the reading time for each direction of the document. The document number detection unit may detect the number of documents when the document is placed on the table, and the reading time calculation unit may calculate the reading time when the number of documents exceeds a predetermined number. I do not care.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the reading time display means matches the direction of the document with the long reading time out of the reading times compared by the reading time comparison means with the direction of the document detected by the document orientation detection means. In this case, the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time are displayed, but the reading time comparison unit is omitted, and the reading time calculation unit calculates the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time. The reading time display means may display both of them without passing. With the above configuration, the user can confirm the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time, so that the user can be aware that the orientation of the document affects the reading time. Regarding the omission, for example, an omission permission unit that allows omission of the reading time comparison unit is provided, and a button corresponding to whether or not to omit is prepared in advance on the initial screen, and the button is pressed. The omission permission unit may omit the comparison procedure of the reading time comparison unit.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the reading time display means displays the reading time when the condition receiving means detects the pressing of the start key from the user. You may comprise so that it may display. For example, when a condition that can calculate the reading time is set, a reading time display screen is displayed, or a screen that does not overlap the selection items on the initial screen in a pop-up format (prevents selection of selection items by the user) You may comprise so that it may display on a screen of no range. Furthermore, the reading time display screen may be displayed each time the user selects an item that affects the reading time (for example, reading mode). With the above configuration, since the user can recognize the reading time even before all conditions are input, the user can promptly determine the condition input.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the first restriction plate provided on the mounting table is fixed and the second restriction plate is movable. However, other configurations, for example, the first restriction plate is movable. The design may be changed such that the second restriction plate is fixed, or the first restriction plate and the second restriction plate are both movable.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the document orientation detection unit is configured to detect the orientation of the document based on the combination of the ON signal of the document presence detection sensor. This method may be adopted. The document size detection means is also configured to detect the size of the document based on the combination of the ON signals of the document presence detection sensors. However, the design may be appropriately changed as described above.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the reading time display means is configured to display the same reading time display screen. However, for example, a reading time display screen corresponding to the size of the document is created and the size of the document is displayed. In response to this, various reading time display screens may be displayed.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the document bundle per motor rotation amount and the thickness per document are stored in advance in a predetermined memory of the document number detection unit, and both are used. Although the document number detection means is configured to detect the number of documents, other methods may be adopted to detect the number of documents.

  For example, the relationship between the amount of rotation of the motor and the number of documents includes the size of the gear material provided in the motor, the size of the tooth material, the paper type of the document (monochrome paper, colored paper, postcard, envelope, business card, etc.), Since it varies depending on characteristics such as paper quality (quality paper, plain paper, recycled paper, etc.) and thickness, it may be difficult to calculate the exact number of originals corresponding to the amount of rotation of the motor from experiments. . In view of this, a document number table is prepared for storing a document number of one unit in association with a predetermined range of the rotation amount of the motor, and the document number detection means detects the number of documents using the document number table. It may be configured. Of course, it goes without saying that the document number correcting means works properly if the document number correcting means is configured to correct the unit number of documents stored in the document number table.

  Among the methods for detecting the number of documents, for example, a method of irradiating a placed document with light and detecting the number of documents from the intensity of the transmitted light, conversely, the number of documents is determined from the intensity of reflected light. A detection method may be adopted.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the MFP is configured to include each unit. However, a program that realizes each unit may be stored in a storage medium, and the storage medium may be provided. In the above-described configuration, the above-described program is read by the multi-function peripheral, and the multi-function peripheral implements the above-described units. In that case, the program itself read from the recording medium exhibits the effects of the present invention. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a storage method for storing the steps executed by each means in a hard disk.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing with the copy function is adopted. However, for example, the processing can be employed for processing such as a scanning function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, a printing function, a network scanning function, a post-processing function, and a memory function.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is useful for a copying machine, a printer, a multifunction machine, and the like, and is capable of displaying a reading time for each direction of an original before reading the original image. It is effective as a forming apparatus.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall configuration inside a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mounting table of the automatic document feeder according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an automatic document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the touchscreen which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control system hardware of the invention which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart for showing the execution procedure of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the touchscreen of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the original direction table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the reading time table which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 MFP 104 Automatic document feeder 601 Condition reception means 602 Reading time calculation means 603 Document orientation detection means 604 Document orientation storage means 605 Document number detection means 606 Lift movement means 607 Reading time storage means 608 Reading time comparison means 609 Reading time Display means 610 Image reading means 611 Document number correcting means 612 Function providing means

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder that conveys documents placed on a table one by one and reads an image of a document,
Before transporting the document, the document is placed in a portrait orientation in which the short side is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit based on the characteristics of the document to be read and the characteristics of the image data set by the user. Reading time calculation means for calculating a vertical reading time which is a time required for reading the original image and a horizontal reading time which is a direction in which the long side is parallel to the main scanning direction of the reading unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a reading time display unit that displays the calculated vertical reading time and horizontal reading time. Furthermore, a document orientation detection means for detecting the orientation of the placed document,
A reading time comparison means for comparing the vertical reading time and the horizontal reading time calculated by the reading time calculation means with each other;
When the reading time display means matches the orientation of the document with a long reading time among the reading times compared with the reading time comparison means and the orientation of the document detected by the document orientation detection means, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal reading time is displayed.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristics of the original include at least one of the number of originals and the original size. The characteristic of the image data includes at least one of a resolution of the image data, a direction of the image data when storing the read image data, and a storage format of the read image data. The image forming apparatus according to 2.

Images