JP2010114807A - Image reading device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out processing such as printing, storage, transmission and the like by reliably reading an image of a document designated by a user from among a plurality of documents through simple operation without making the document dirty. <P>SOLUTION: An image reading device 120 includes: an automatic document feeder (ADF) 130; and an image reader 90 for reading an image of a document fed by the ADF 130 to produce image data. A feeding path 132 of the ADF 130 includes a heater 136 for heating the document. In first reading of the document image, a document marked in a prescribed area is determined and the document is heated by the heater 136. Thus, marking plotted with a coloring material, which is denatured and discharged by heating, is erased. In second reading of the document image, an image of the document from which marking has been erased is then read. The read image is appropriately subjected to printing, transmission to external equipment, storage into a prescribed storage means, and the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, an image reading apparatus that can extract a document specified by a user from a plurality of documents and perform printing, storage, and transmission. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with the image reading apparatus.

  An image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document and generates image data is well known. When an operation for reading a plurality of documents is performed by the image reading apparatus, the user can output any specific document from the plurality of documents, print it out, send it to an external device, or store it in a predetermined memory. There is a request to execute an operation such as holding. As described above, if printing or the like can be executed for only a specific document from among a plurality of documents, higher convenience for the user can be obtained.

  In order to discriminate a user's specific original from among a plurality of originals, for example, a specific original can be discriminated by marking the original and detecting the presence or absence of the marking when reading the original image. Conceivable. A method is also conceivable in which marking is performed on image data by marking a predetermined area of the document and editing the image data read from the document.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an in-frame region detection apparatus that is intended to detect a region in a specific frame from an image signal and facilitate image editing of the detected in-frame region. Patent Document 2 discloses a decolorizing ink whose color disappears when heated to a specific temperature. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses that a scanned mark is imprinted on a document that has been read using ink having erasable characteristics.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-17787 JP 2006-63238 A JP 62-154949 A

  By marking a document, if a specific document is discriminated and used from a plurality of documents, the document is soiled by the marking, which is a problem. Also, there is a method of reading a document image once, displaying the image data on, for example, a display screen, and allowing an area to be specified by performing an editing operation on the display screen. Although it is not soiled, there is a problem that the editing operation is necessary for the read image data, and the operation becomes complicated.

  Further, when a method is adopted in which the user extracts only the document to be printed from the document bundle and prints it, the user reads the image of the extracted document and prints it, and then copies the document to the original document bundle. Must return to place. For example, when printing only 30 sheets that the user wants to print out of 100 originals, it is not easy to extract the 30 sheets and return them to a predetermined position on the original.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and reliably scans an image of a document specified by a user from a plurality of documents with a simple operation without staining the document, and prints, stores, transmits, and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus that can execute the above processing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first technical means of the present invention generates an image data by reading an image of a document conveyed by the automatic document feeder and an automatic document feeder for conveying a placed document. And an image reading unit that includes a heater that heats the document in a transport path of the automatic document feeder, and has a predetermined area from a plurality of documents that are placed on the automatic document feeder and transported A document determination unit for determining a document marked on the document is provided, and the document determined to be marked by the document determination unit is drawn with a coloring material that is denatured and decolored by heating by heating the document with a heater. The image marking is erased and the image reading unit reads the image of the document.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the conveyance path includes a loop-shaped conveyance path, and when the image reading unit reads an image of the document, the document is conveyed twice through the loop-shaped conveyance path. It is characterized by being.

  A third technical means includes, in the second technical means, an operation input unit that receives an input by a user operation, and an area selection unit that selects a predetermined area in accordance with an input to the operation input unit. In the predetermined region selected by the region selection unit, the presence or absence of marking is detected, and the marked document is determined.

  A fourth technical means includes a display unit according to the third technical means, and the area selecting unit is specified according to an input to the operation input unit from among a plurality of predetermined marking positions displayed on the display unit. The region including the marking is selected as a predetermined region for determining the marked document.

  According to a fifth technical means, in the third or fourth technical means, the image reading unit performs an operation of continuously reading an image of the same original twice, and is determined to be marked by the original determination unit When reading the first document, the image of the document is read without heating by the heater. When the second document image is read, the marking is erased by reading the image of the document heated by the heater. It is characterized by reading an image of a document.

  According to a sixth technical means, in the fifth technical means, the heater is provided on the downstream side of the loop-shaped conveyance path after the placed document passes through the image reading unit. Is.

  According to a seventh technical means, in the fifth or sixth technical means, when the transported original passes through the heater, the transport speed of the original when the heater is heated is the transport when the heater is not heated. It is characterized by being slower than the speed.

  According to an eighth technical means, in any one of the fifth to seventh technical means, when the image reading unit reads the first original, the partial area of the original including at least the predetermined area selected by the area selecting part The image of the entire original is read at the time of reading the original image for the second time.

  According to a ninth technical means, in any one of the third to eighth technical means, when the original is heated by the heater, the partial area of the original including the predetermined area selected by the area selecting unit is heated. It is a feature.

  A tenth technical means includes an image reading apparatus which is any one of the first to ninth technical means, and an image forming unit which forms an image of a document read by the image reading apparatus on a recording medium. It is a feature.

  According to the present invention, an image of a document specified by a user can be reliably read from a plurality of documents by a simple operation without contaminating the document, and processing such as printing, storage, and transmission can be executed. An image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus to which the image reading apparatus of the present invention is applicable. The image forming apparatus 100 forms multicolor and single color images on a predetermined sheet (recording paper) in accordance with image data transmitted from the outside. The image forming apparatus 100 includes an apparatus main body 110 and an image reading apparatus 120. It is configured. The apparatus main body 110 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper feed cassette 81, a paper discharge tray 91, and the like. Configured.

  An image reading device 120 is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 110. The image reading device 120 mainly includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 130 and an image reading unit 90 for reading a document image. The image reading unit 90 is provided with a document placing table 92 made of transparent glass on which a document is placed, and an automatic document feeder 130 is attached to the upper side of the document placing table 92. The automatic document feeder 130 automatically conveys the document on the document table 92. The automatic document feeder 130 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow M, and the document can be placed manually by opening the document table 92.

  The image data handled in this image forming apparatus corresponds to a color image using each color of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four developing devices 2, photosensitive drums 3, charging devices 5, and cleaner units 4 are provided to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors, and are respectively provided in black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. These are set to form four image stations.

The charger 5 is a charging unit for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. In addition to the charger type as shown in FIG. 1, a contact type roller type or brush type charger is used. Sometimes used.
The exposure unit 1 is configured as a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser emitting portion, a reflection mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 1 includes a polygon mirror that scans a laser beam and optical elements such as a lens and a mirror for guiding the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror to the photosensitive drum 3. The configuration of the optical scanning device constituting the exposure unit 1 will be specifically described later. As the exposure unit 1, for example, a technique using an EL or LED writing head in which other light emitting elements are arranged in an array can be employed.

  The exposure unit 1 has a function of forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface thereof by exposing the charged photosensitive drum 3 according to the input image data. The developing unit 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 with toner of four colors (YMCK). The cleaner unit 4 removes and collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 disposed above the photosensitive drum 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, an intermediate transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. I have. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to each color for YMCK.

The intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and the intermediate transfer roller 64 are driven to rotate by stretching the intermediate transfer belt 61. Each intermediate transfer roller 64 provides a transfer bias for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61.
The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided so as to be in contact with each photoconductor drum 3, and the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoconductor drum 3 are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 61 and transferred. Further, it has a function of forming a color toner image (multicolor toner image) on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is formed in an endless shape using, for example, a film having a thickness of about 100 μm to 150 μm.

  Transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 is performed by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 61. A high-voltage transfer bias (a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)) is applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 in order to transfer the toner image. The intermediate transfer roller 64 is a roller whose base is a metal (for example, stainless steel) shaft having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm and whose surface is covered with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM, urethane foam, or the like). With this conductive elastic material, a high voltage can be uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 61. In this embodiment, a roller shape is used as the transfer electrode, but a brush or the like can also be used.

As described above, the electrostatic images visualized on the respective photosensitive drums 3 according to the respective hues are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61. As described above, the laminated image information is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer roller 10 disposed at a contact position between the sheet and the intermediate transfer belt 61 described later by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 61.
At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the transfer roller 10 are pressed against each other at a predetermined nip, and a voltage for transferring the toner onto the sheet is applied to the transfer roller 10 (the polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)). (+) High voltage). Further, in order to obtain the nip constantly, the transfer roller 10 uses either the transfer roller 10 or the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 as a hard material (metal or the like), and the other as a soft material (elasticity such as an elastic roller). A rubber roller, a foaming resin roller, or the like) is used.

  Further, as described above, the toner attached to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by contacting the photosensitive drum 3 or the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 without being transferred onto the sheet by the transfer roller 10 is used in the next step. Therefore, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 is configured to remove and collect the toner. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes a cleaning blade as a cleaning member that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 that comes into contact with the cleaning blade is supported by an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 from the back side. ing.

  The paper feed cassette 81 is a tray for storing sheets (recording paper) used for image formation, and is provided below the exposure unit 1 of the apparatus main body 110. A sheet used for image formation can also be placed in the manual sheet feeding cassette 82. A paper discharge tray 91 provided above the apparatus main body 110 is a tray for collecting printed sheets face down.

  Further, the apparatus main body 110 has a substantially vertical sheet conveyance path S for feeding the sheets of the sheet feeding cassette 81 and the manual sheet feeding cassette 82 to the sheet discharge tray 91 via the transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. Is provided. In the vicinity of the paper transport path S from the paper feed cassette 81 or the manual paper feed cassette 82 to the paper discharge tray 91, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a plurality of transport rollers 12a to 12d, a registration roller 13, a transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit. 7 etc. are arranged.

  The conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are small rollers for promoting and assisting conveyance of the sheet, and a plurality of conveyance rollers 12 a to 12 d are provided along the sheet conveyance path S. The pickup roller 11 a is provided near the end of the paper feed cassette 81, picks up sheets one by one from the paper feed cassette 81, and supplies them to the paper transport path S. Similarly, the pickup roller 11 b is provided near the end of the manual paper feed cassette 82, picks up one sheet at a time from the manual paper feed cassette 82, and supplies it to the paper transport path S.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the image reading apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in more detail. The image reading device 120 includes an image reading unit 90. The image reading unit 90 includes at least a rod-shaped light source 98 such as a halogen lamp or a xenon lamp that illuminates the document and a first mirror 99 for reading the document placed on the document placement table 92 on which the document is placed. The lamp unit 96 includes a second mirror 95, a third mirror 94, a lens 97, and a CCD 93. The original reflected light illuminated by the light source 98 and the reflector 100 passes through a slit provided in the lamp unit 96, passes through a first mirror 99, a second mirror 95, a third mirror 94, and a lens 97 to form a line such as a CCD 93. Form an image on the sensor.
On the other hand, the automatic document feeder 130 includes a document tray 131 on which documents are placed, a document transport path 132, and a paper discharge tray 133.

The document placed on the document tray 131 is picked up by the pick roller 134, proceeds to the curved conveyance path 132 a, and is guided to the upstream side of the registration roller 139. The automatic document feeder 130 detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the document by the document input sensor 141 provided on the upstream side of the registration roller 139, and measures the timing based on the detection signal, while the document is SPF glass 92a. And the reading guide 140 are controlled to be conveyed.
Here, the lamp unit 96 of the image reading unit 90 is positioned below the SPF glass 92a, and an image on one side of the document is read.

  In the embodiment according to the present invention, the conveyance path 132 is formed in a loop shape, and the document picked up from the document tray 131 is read twice by the image reading unit 90 on the same surface of the document. At the time of the first reading, the document on which the document image is read by the image reading unit 90 is transported by the transport roller 142 and guided to the circulation transport path 132b. At this time, the gate 137 is controlled so as to be in the position of the solid line, so that the document discharged from the transport roller 142 advances toward the circulation transport path 132b.

  The document that has advanced to the circulation conveyance path 132b is guided again to the curved conveyance path 132a, and the image reading unit 90 reads the document image again. The document for which the second reading has been completed is transported by the transport roller 142 and discharged onto the discharge tray 133 by the document discharge roller 138. At this time, the gate 137 is controlled so as to be in the dotted line position, and guides the document that has been read for the second time to the paper discharge tray 133.

  Further, when reading a double-sided document, the automatic document feeder 130 discharges the document halfway by the document discharge roller 138 and then reverses the document discharge roller 138 to switch back to circulate the document. It is guided to the transport path 132b and transported to the curved transport path 132a again. At this time, by switching the gate 137 to the dotted line position, the document can be easily conveyed to the target conveyance path. This time, the image reading unit 90 can read the image on the back side of the document.

  As described above, in the automatic document feeder 130, the conveyance path 132 for conveying a document has a loop shape including the curved conveyance path 132a and the circulation conveyance path 132b. The conveyance path 132 is provided with a heater 136 for erasing the decoloring ink added to the document. The heater 136 is downstream after the document conveyed from the document tray 131 to the heater 136 passes through the image reading unit 90 so that the document read by the image reading unit 90 can be heated in the loop-shaped conveyance path. It is arrange | positioned in the circulation conveyance path 132b which is a side. In this way, by providing the heater 136 in the conveyance path on the downstream side of the image reading unit 90, the temperature of the image reading unit 90 is suppressed because the original is not heated (cools) at the time of the next image reading. can do.

  With the above configuration, the image reading apparatus 120 has a mode for reading a document placed on the document placement table 92 (hereinafter referred to as “OC mode”) and a mode for reading a document by conveying it with the automatic document feeder 130 (hereinafter referred to as “SPF mode”). Have. In the OC mode, a lamp unit 96 having a light source 98 and a first mirror 99 for illuminating a document to read the document placed on the document placing table 92 is used to display image information of the document in the sub-scanning direction Y (this sub-scanning). The second mirror 95 and the third mirror 94 are moved at the speed v / 2 in synchronization with the movement of the line sensor in the main scanning direction X). Thus, image information is read by two-dimensional scanning in accordance with the arrangement direction of the line sensors such as the CCD 93 (that is, the main scanning direction X).

  On the other hand, in the SPF mode, the uppermost document is fed out by the pick roller 134 from the document placed on the document tray 131 and conveyed on the document conveyance path 132. Then, on the SPF glass 92a, the original on which the rod-shaped light source 98 of the lamp unit 96 is conveyed is irradiated. Here, similarly to the OC mode, the reflected light is imaged on the CCD 93 via the first mirror 99, the second mirror 95, the third mirror 94, and the lens 97, and the image information is read. However, the difference from the OC mode is that in the SPF mode, the original is irradiated with the light source light with the lamp unit 96 stopped below the SPF glass 92a. Normally, in the OC mode and the SPF mode, an original is read using the same optical system (lamp unit 96, first mirror 99 to third mirror 94, lens 97, and CCD 93).

  Image information imaged on a line sensor such as a CCD 93 is converted into an electrical signal, subjected to image processing, printed on a recording medium such as recording paper, or a personal computer connected to a network via a storage device or the like Transmission to an external device. Further, the image information can be stored and held in a storage unit such as a memory provided in a device built in the image reading apparatus or connected to the image reading apparatus.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the main part of the electrical configuration in an embodiment of the image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus 120 of the present embodiment mainly includes a control unit 201, a scanner unit 202, an image processing unit 203, a storage unit 204, a communication unit 205, an operation panel unit 206, a driver 207 for driving and controlling a document scanning unit driving motor 207a, The driver 208 is configured to drive and control the document conveying roller driving motor 208a.

  The control unit 201 is a part that manages operation control of the entire apparatus, and is configured by a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown). The control unit 201 implements a document determination unit that determines marking of a document according to the present invention and a region selection unit that selects a predetermined region for determining the presence or absence of marking.

  The scanner unit 202 constitutes a scanning optical system of the image reading unit 90 shown in FIG. The image processing unit 203 converts the optical data read by the scanner unit 202 into electrical image data in units of pages. The storage unit 204 includes, for example, a RAM, an EEPROM, a hard disk, an MO, and the like. Data under control controlled by the control unit 201, various input instructions, image data of a document read by the scanner unit 202, and the like Remember.

  The communication unit 205 communicates with an external device 300 such as a connected computer or printer, and includes a memory for expanding data transmitted from the external device 00 into data that can be handled by the apparatus. Yes. The communication unit 205 can include a function of performing bi-directional communication with the external device 300 via a LAN, a function of transmitting image data by FAX, or a machine that transmits and receives electronic mail via a telephone line. The image data read by the scanner unit 202 and processed by the image processing unit 203 by the communication unit 205 can be transmitted to the external device 300. The image data stored in the storage unit 204 can be printed (image formation) on a recording medium such as a recording sheet by the image forming unit 210.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of the operation panel unit 206. The operation panel unit 206 is disposed on the front side of the image reading device 120. Specifically, the casing of the image reading unit 90 is extended to the front side of the automatic document feeder 130, and the operation panel unit 206 is disposed on the upper surface portion thereof. The operation panel unit 206 includes a display unit 206a as a display unit for displaying various information, a hard key 206b for performing key input, a start key 209 for starting reading of a document, and the like. The display unit 206a is provided with a touch panel, and the user can perform an operation input according to the display screen. The operation panel unit 206 is used when inputting an operation mode at the time of document reading. This operation panel unit 206 constitutes an operation input unit of the present invention.

  In order to read an original image using the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, a user marks a predetermined area using a decoloring ink. The decolorizing ink is denatured by being denatured by heating, and various types have been proposed. In the present invention, the composition and characteristics of the decolorizing ink are not limited, and any ink that is colored and decolored by heating can be applied as appropriate. For example, the technology of decoloring ink is disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-18642.

  By reading a document drawn with the color erasing ink with the image reading apparatus of the present embodiment, the image can be read without being affected by the color erasing ink. As a result, it is possible to determine a marked document from among a plurality of documents placed on the automatic document feeder 130, perform image reading on the document, and execute processing such as printing and transmission.

  The automatic document feeder 130 of the image reading device 120 is provided with the heater 136 for heating and decoloring the decoloring ink as described above. The automatic document feeder 130 determines which document is marked when the first document image is read. For a document with a marking, the document is heated to erase the marking with the decoloring ink, and then again. Read the original image. As described above, the document reading apparatus performs a process of reading the same document twice. The user can select an area for marking. The area selected by the user is a predetermined area for determining the presence or absence of marking.

  Then, the image reading device 120 reads an image of a partial area of the document including at least a predetermined area based on the user selection at the first reading, and the document including at least the predetermined area is also heated by the heater. It can be controlled to heat only a partial region. At the time of the second document reading, the entire image of the document from which the marking is erased is read. As a result, it is possible to print, transmit, record, etc. a user-desired document simply by setting a plurality of documents on the document tray without making the document dirty by marking by reading the document image by determining the presence or absence of marking. In addition, there is no need for complicated image editing work and work for returning the taken out document, and the convenience for the user can be greatly improved.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing in one embodiment of the present invention, and an example of the processing will be described with reference to the configurations of FIGS. 2 and 3.
First, the user operates the operation panel unit 206 to select a document extraction mode (step S1). A screen for mode selection can be displayed on the operation panel unit 206. Here, an icon for selecting a document extraction mode is displayed. The user performs input by touching the icon via the touch panel, and the document extraction mode is selected.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the original extraction mode screen. When the user selects the document extraction mode on the operation panel unit 206 as described above, a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 206a of the operation panel unit 206. This screen prompts the user to select a marking location on the document. In other words, here, on the screen of the operation panel unit 206, a message 301 “Select a marking location from the following 6 locations. A document 302 showing the marking locations 302a to 302f is displayed. Using this display, the user performs an operation of selecting an arbitrary marking location among the marking locations 302a to 302f, and presses an OK button 303 to confirm the selection of the marking location (step S2). The selection can be canceled by a cancel button 304.

  Then, when the user wants to print only the image of a specific document when the image reading device 120 reads a plurality of documents, the user performs marking using the color erasing ink only on the document to be printed (step). S3). At this time, the marking position is matched with the marking position selected on the operation panel unit 206. Here, for example, the user performs marking on the document using a magic pen or the like containing decoloring ink. The same marking is performed when it is desired to store a document image read by the image reading device 120 or to transmit it to a predetermined external device. Marking can be performed, for example, by drawing a circle with a decoloring ink at a selected marking location.

  The user places all the originals for reading the original image on the original tray 131 of the image reading apparatus (step S4). Then, the user turns on the start key 209 of the operation panel unit 206 (step S5), thereby feeding the documents one by one from the document tray 131 of the image reading device 120 (step S6). When the first original is fed by the image reading device 120, the heater 136 is turned off. Here, the image reading unit 90 reads a partial image of the document including the marked area and stores it in the storage unit 204 (step S7). That is, in the first reading, the image reading unit 90 reads a partial image of a document including at least a predetermined area selected according to a user operation. The predetermined area is an area of a predetermined range including the marking position selected on the screen of FIG.

  Then, the control unit 201 reads out the image data from the storage unit 204, and determines whether or not there is a marking in a marking area that is a predetermined area of the document (step S8). In other words, since the document that the user wants to print or want to record, transmit, etc. is marked in the marking area selected by the user, it can be printed, recorded, and transmitted by determining whether or not the marking is present. It is possible to determine whether or not the document is desired by the user.

  When the control unit 201 determines that there is a marking in the marking area, the heater 136 is turned on (step S9), the gate 137 is switched to the position indicated by the solid line, and the document is conveyed to the circulation conveyance path 132b (step S10). . The circulation conveyance path 132b is provided with a heater 136, and the marking drawn with the decoloring ink is heated and erased (step S11). At this time, in the circulation conveyance path 132b, the document conveyance speed is decreased to a preferable speed for reliably erasing the marking. By reducing the document conveyance speed, the heating time by the heater 136 is secured and the document is sufficiently heated. Further, the heating area of the document by the heater 136 can be limited to only a partial area of the document including at least the marking area.

  When the control unit 201 detects that the document has passed through the heater 136 by a sensor (not shown) provided close to the downstream side of the heater 136, the control unit 201 turns off the heater 136 (step S12). Then, the original from which the marking has been erased is conveyed again through the curved conveyance path 132a, the original image is read by the image reading unit 90, and the data of the read image is stored in the storage unit 204 (step S13). The image data stored in the storage unit 204 is printed by the image forming unit 210 in accordance with a user instruction or transmitted to a predetermined external device 300 via the communication unit 205.

  Then, the gate 137 is switched to the broken line position (step S14), and the document whose image has been read by the image reading unit 90 is discharged onto the discharge tray 133 by the document discharge roller 138 (step S15). . Thereafter, it is determined whether or not reading of all the documents placed on the document tray 131 (determination of the presence / absence of marking and reading of a document image with marking) has been completed (step S16), and reading of all the documents has been completed. If not, the process returns to step S6 to feed the next document. If all the originals have been read, the process of this example ends.

On the other hand, when the control unit 201 determines in step S8 that there is no marking in the marking area, the gate is switched to the solid line position and the document is conveyed to the circulation conveyance path 132b (step S17). At this time, the heater 136 remains OFF, and it is not necessary to reduce the document conveyance speed. Then, the document is conveyed again to the curved conveyance path 132a and passed through the upper part of the image reading unit 90. In this case, the document is not read and stored (step S18). As a result, the heater 136 is not turned on unnecessarily, and unnecessary image reading is not performed, so that power consumption can be suppressed and memory capacity can be reduced.
Thereafter, the gate 137 is switched to the broken line position (step S14), and the original is discharged onto the discharge tray 133 by the original discharge roller 138 (step S15).

  FIG. 7 is a view for explaining heating and reading processing of a document marked with decoloring ink. As described above, in the automatic document feeder 130, the heater 136 is turned on when the presence or absence of the marking M is detected during the first reading of the document image. Since the marking is drawn with the decoloring ink by the user, the marking is erased by the heating of the heater 136, and the second image reading process is performed.

  When heating by the heater 136 is performed, the leading edge of the conveyed document is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the heater is turned on based on the conveyance speed, the marking area, and the time. At this time, the heating by the heater 136 is controlled so as to heat at least a partial region of the document including at least a predetermined region without heating the entire document P. The predetermined area is an area including a marking position selected by a user operation on the screen as shown in FIG. 5, and the heating area is a partial area of the document including at least the predetermined area. This partial area has a predetermined length in the document transport direction, and has a length corresponding to the entire width of the document in the direction perpendicular to the document transport direction. In this way, by heating the partial area including the predetermined area and erasing the marking, it is possible to prevent a temperature rise and reduce power consumption.

On the other hand, the same applies to the case of reading a document image. In the image reading device 120, the leading end of the document P conveyed by the automatic document feeder 130 is detected by a sensor (not shown), and based on the conveyance speed, the position of a predetermined area, and the time. Thus, the image reading unit 90 reads a document image of a partial area of the document including at least the predetermined area, and determines whether or not the image is marked in the predetermined area. In this case, the predetermined area is an area including a specific marking position selected by a user operation from among a plurality of marking positions displayed on the display unit. Further, the partial area of the document including the predetermined area is an area having a predetermined length in the document transport direction and having a length corresponding to the entire width of the document in the direction perpendicular to the document transport direction. The predetermined area including the marking position selected by the user operation can be determined by the reading position of the CCD of the image reading unit 90.
In this case, even if there is a marking at another position outside the predetermined area, the marking is not determined as a marking within the predetermined area, so that malfunction can be prevented. Furthermore, the memory capacity can be reduced.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus to which an image reading apparatus of the present invention can be applied. It is a figure for demonstrating in detail the structure of the image reading apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part of an electrical configuration in an embodiment of an image reading apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of an operation panel unit 206. 6 shows an example of a screen in a document extraction mode. The flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the heating and reading process of the original document marked using the decoloring ink.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure unit, 2 ... Developing device, 3 ... Photoconductor drum, 4 ... Cleaner unit, 5 ... Charger, 6 ... Intermediate transfer belt unit, 10 ... Transfer roller, 11a ... Pickup roller, 11b ... Pickup roller, 12a ... Conveyance roller, 13 ... Registration roller, 61 ... Intermediate transfer belt, 62 ... Intermediate transfer belt drive roller, 63 ... Intermediate transfer belt driven roller, 64 ... Intermediate transfer roller, 65 ... Intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit, 7 ... Fixing unit, 81 ... Paper feeding cassette, 82 ... Paper feeding cassette, 90 ... Image reading unit, 91 ... Lens, 92 ... Original placement table, 93 ... CCD, 94 ... 3rd mirror, 95 ... Second mirror, 96 ... Lamp unit, 97 ... Discharge tray, 98 ... light source, 98 ... bar light source, 99 ... first mirror, 100 ... reflector, 110 ... device main body, 120 Image reading device, 130 ... automatic document feeder, 131 ... document tray, 132 ... document conveying path, 132a ... curved conveying path, 132a ... curved conveying path, 132b ... circulating conveying path, 133 ... discharge tray, 134 ... picking Roller, 136 ... Heater, 137 ... Gate, 138 ... Document discharge roller, 139 ... Registration roller, 140 ... Guide, 141 ... Document entry sensor, 142 ... Conveyance roller, 201 ... Control unit, 202 ... Scanner unit, 203 ... Image processing unit 204 ... Storage unit 205 ... Communication unit 206 ... Operation panel unit 206a ... Display unit 206b ... Hard key 207 ... Driver 207a ... Document scanning unit drive motor 208 ... Driver 208a ... Document transport Roller drive motor, 209 ... start key, 210 ... image forming unit, 300 ... external device, 301 ... message 302 ... manuscript, 302a ... marking point, 303 ... OK button, 304 ... cancel button.

Claims (10)

An image reading apparatus comprising: an automatic document feeder that conveys a placed document; and an image reading unit that reads an image of the document conveyed by the automatic document feeder and generates image data.
A heater for heating the document in the conveyance path of the automatic document feeder;
A document determination unit for determining a document marked in a predetermined area from a plurality of documents placed and conveyed on the automatic document feeder;
The original determined to be marked by the original determination unit is heated by the heater to erase the marking drawn by a coloring material that is denatured and decolored by heating. An image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document by a reading unit.   2. The conveyance path according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance path includes a loop-shaped conveyance path, and the document is conveyed twice along the loop-shaped conveyance path when the image reading unit reads an image of the document. The image reading apparatus described. An operation input unit for receiving input by a user operation;
An area selection unit that selects the predetermined area in response to an input to the operation input unit;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the document determination unit detects the presence or absence of the marking in the predetermined area selected by the area selection unit, and determines the marked document.   A display unit, wherein the region selection unit is configured to mark a region including a specific marking designated according to an input to the operation input unit from a plurality of predetermined marking positions displayed on the display unit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image reading apparatus is selected as a predetermined area for determining a document.   The image reading unit performs an operation of continuously reading an image of the same document twice, and the document determined to be marked by the document determination unit is heated by a heater during the first document reading. The original image is read without reading, and when the original image is read for the second time, the original image with the markings erased is read by reading the original image heated by the heater. 5. The image reading apparatus according to 3 or 4.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the heater is provided on the downstream side of the loop-shaped conveyance path after the document placed above passes through the image reading unit.   6. The document transport speed when heating by the heater when the document to be transported passes through the heater is slower than the transport speed when heating by the heater is not performed. 6. The image reading apparatus according to 6.   The image reading unit reads an image of a partial area of the document including at least the predetermined area selected by the area selection unit when reading the first document, and reads the document when reading the second document image. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the entire image is read.   The partial area of the original including at least the predetermined area selected by the area selection unit is heated when the original is heated by the heater. Image reading device.   An image forming apparatus comprising: the image reading apparatus according to claim 1; and an image forming unit that forms an image of a document read by the image reading apparatus on a recording medium.

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