JP2014150489A - Image reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inform a user of information with a position of a reading section.SOLUTION: A CIS unit 117 reads an image of a document 116 placed on a document table glass 115 while moving, at the time of reading the image. Target position table is stored in a memory 135 in which a first, second, and third target positions are associated with a first, second, and third areas. A CPU 133, on the basis of signals of paper transfer path sensors 170 to 174, monitors an occurrence of paper jam, identifies an occurrence area when paper jam occurs, refers to the target position table, determines the target position corresponding to the identified paper jam occurrence area, and moves the CIS unit 117 to the target position to stop it.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document while a reading unit moves.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image reading apparatus such as a scanner apparatus that reads an image of a document while a reading unit moves is known. This type of apparatus has an image having a so-called copying function that can form a read image on a sheet material. What is configured as a forming device is also widely known.

  By the way, in general, a small-sized image forming apparatus mainly focuses on reducing the outer dimensions and reducing the cost, and therefore, a UI (User Interface) such as a display unit is minimized. Therefore, the UI for notifying the user of information such as the occurrence of an error is usually the minimum necessary number or configuration.

  For example, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, there are three types of information that can be notified to the user. The first is information indicating whether the print mode is the auto density mode. The second is information indicating whether a paper jam has occurred. The third is information indicating the content of out of paper or error. The first information and the second information are notified by turning on / off the illumination, and the third information is notified by a combination of the lighting states of the seven segments using a display called seven segments.

“Canon Family Copier FC520 / FC500 User's Guide” Canon Inc., 2003, p. 15-16

  However, in the above conventional apparatus, since the means for transmitting information is limited, a large amount of information cannot be transmitted to the user. Therefore, it is not always possible to prompt the user for an appropriate treatment.

  For example, when a sheet on which an image is formed is jammed due to a malfunction of the apparatus or the like, the user can process without hesitation if there is one place (area) where the paper can be jammed. However, when there may be a plurality of places where paper jam occurs, it is very troublesome for the user to check whether the paper is jammed at all the places where there is a possibility of paper jam.

  In the above-described conventional apparatus, even if it is possible to notify that a paper jam has occurred, it is not possible to notify the location where the paper jam has occurred. In order to be able to notify up to the location where a paper jam has occurred, it is usually necessary to add notification means therefor. That is, in order to increase the information transmitted to the user, a display unit such as a liquid crystal screen may be added as a UI. However, in that case, the apparatus becomes large in size and the configuration becomes complicated in order to secure a new UI arrangement space. In particular, since a small device is often required to be inexpensive, it is not preferable in terms of cost to newly provide an expensive liquid crystal screen.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide an image reading apparatus capable of notifying a user of information according to the position of a reading unit.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image reading apparatus having a reading unit that reads an image of a document while moving, and a driving unit that drives and moves the reading unit.
Control means for controlling the drive means, monitoring means for monitoring the state of the image reading device, and determination means for determining notification contents to be notified to the user based on the result of monitoring by the monitoring means, The control unit controls the driving unit to move the reading unit to a target position corresponding to the determined notification content when the determination content to be notified to the user is determined by the determination unit. Features.

  According to the present invention, information can be notified to the user by the position of the reading unit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the image forming apparatus as the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention when the door is closed (FIG. (A)) and when the door is opened (FIG. (B)). It is the perspective view which looked at the CIS unit and its drive mechanism from diagonally upward (Fig. (A)) and diagonally downward (Fig. (B)). It is sectional drawing which looked at the CIS unit from the front. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is an enlarged view of a display part. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating operations from paper feeding to paper ejection during a copying operation in time series. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus as viewed obliquely from above, and is a diagram illustrating a movement mode of the CIS unit when a paper jam occurs in the first, second, and third regions. It is a flowchart of the alerting | reporting process by the movement of a CIS unit.

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

  1A and 1B are schematic longitudinal sectional views of an image forming apparatus as an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 is configured as a so-called copying machine having a reading function for reading an image of a document and an image forming function for recording and forming the read image on a sheet material.

  Hereinafter, with respect to the direction of the image forming apparatus 100, the upper direction is defined as the Z direction with respect to the state where the image forming apparatus 100 is horizontally placed on the floor surface or the like, and the right side of FIG. Let the X direction and the depth direction be the Y direction.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a main body 118 and includes a paper feed tray 101 and a paper discharge tray 111 that protrude from the main body 118 in opposite directions. In the main body 118, doors 151 and 152 are provided on the paper discharge tray 111 side and the paper feed tray 101 side, respectively. Each of the doors 151 and 152 can be manually opened and closed. FIG. 1B shows the opened state of the doors 151 and 152.

  A bundle of sheets 102, which is a sheet material to be image-formed, is placed on the sheet feed tray 101. When the image forming operation is started, the sheets 102 are taken out one by one from the bundle of sheets 102 set on the sheet feed tray 101 by the pair of feed rollers 103, and an arrow heads from the pair of rollers 103 to the pair of rollers 112. The sheet 102 is conveyed in the direction of F1.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a CIS (contact image sensor) unit 117. Further, as a forming unit for forming an image read by the CIS unit 117 on the sheet 102 which is a sheet material, a charger 104, a laser scanner 105, a mirror 106, a developing unit 107, a photosensitive drum 108, a fixing roller pair 109, and the like. Prepare.

  The photosensitive drum 108 rotates about a rotation axis parallel to the Y direction. In parallel with the sheet feeding, the surface of the photosensitive drum 108 is uniformly charged by the charger 104, and electrostatically is applied on the photosensitive drum 108 by the laser scanner 105 and the mirror 106 that changes the optical path according to the image to be formed. A latent image is formed. A toner is placed on the electrostatic latent image by the developing unit 107. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 108 is transferred to the conveyed paper 102 at the transfer position T by the transfer roller 119. Further, the sheet 102 is conveyed, and the toner image on the sheet 102 is fixed and fixed by the fixing roller pair 109. Thereafter, the paper 102 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 111 by the paper discharge roller pair 110, and the image forming operation ends.

  A roller pair 103, a roller pair 112, a fixing roller pair 109, and a paper discharge roller pair 110 are arranged in this order substantially along the direction of the arrow F1 to form a paper transport path from the paper feed tray 101 to the paper discharge tray 111. . Paper transport path sensors 170, 171, 172, 173, and 174 for detecting the transported paper 102 are sequentially arranged on the paper transport path. Specifically, a sensor 170 is disposed between the roller pair 103 and 112. Between the roller pairs 112 and 109, sensors 171 and 172 are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the transfer position T (or the photosensitive drum 108), respectively. A sensor 173 is disposed between the roller pair 109 and 110, and a sensor 174 is disposed on the sheet discharge tray 111 on the downstream side of the sheet discharge roller pair 110.

  Each of the sensors 170 to 174 has the same configuration, and when the paper 102 reaches its own position, each sensor falls down and reacts to output an on signal. Each sensor stands up before the paper 102 arrives or after it passes, and is in an off state where it does not react. These sensors 170 to 174 grasp the current transport position of the sheet 102.

  The document 116 is placed on the document table glass 115. The CIS unit 117 is disposed immediately below the document table glass 115. The CIS unit 117 is a reading unit that reads an image of the document 116 through the document table glass 115 while moving in the arrow F2 direction parallel to the X direction. The configuration of the CIS unit 117 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of the CIS unit 117 and its driving mechanism as viewed from obliquely above and obliquely below, respectively. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the CIS unit 117 as viewed from the front.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage motor 129, the pulley 125, the guide shaft 121, and the belt 122, which are drive sources (drive means), serve as a drive mechanism that drives the CIS unit 117. The extending direction of the guide shaft 121 and the belt 122 is the X direction, and the CIS unit 117 is disposed with the Y direction as the longitudinal direction.

  The carriage motor 129 drives the pulley 125 by a gear attached to the shaft of the carriage motor 129 or a gear engaged therewith. The CIS unit 117 is fixed to a part of the belt 122. When the pulley 125 is driven, the belt 122 rotates and the CIS unit 117 is guided by the guide shaft 121 and can reciprocate along the direction of the arrow F2. By reversing the rotation direction of the carriage motor 129, the moving direction of the CIS unit 117 is switched between the forward direction and the backward direction.

  By controlling the position and speed of the carriage motor 129, the position and speed of the CIS unit 117 can be controlled. A home position (HP) sensor 128 provides a position serving as a reference for these controls. The HP sensor 128 is a photo interrupter type sensor, and is fixed to a non-movable part in the image forming apparatus 100.

  When the CIS unit 117 is moved, there is a position to which the HP sensor 128 responds. Therefore, the position and speed of the CIS unit 117 can be controlled using the position to which the HP sensor 128 responds as a reference (home position).

  The CIS unit 117 includes a line sensor unit that reads an image of a document, and a holder that holds the line sensor unit. As shown in FIG. 3, the line sensor unit of the CIS unit 117 includes an image sensor 163 made of a CCD, a CMOS, or the like, in addition to two illuminations 161 and one SELFOC (registered trademark) lens 162. The original 116 placed on the platen glass 115 is irradiated with light by the illumination 161, and the reflected light is read by the image sensor 163 through the SELFOC (registered trademark) lens 162. Thereby, a one-dimensional image in the Y direction can be read.

  The CIS unit 117 reads the entire image of the document 116 two-dimensionally by scanning the Y-direction one-dimensionally while scanning by moving the X-direction as the sub-scanning direction driven by the driving mechanism. .

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 100.

  The above-described carriage motor 129 and various sensors are controlled by the control device 134, and more specifically controlled by the CPU 133 (control means). The control device 134 includes a CPU 133, a motor driver 132, an input / output device (I / O unit) 131, and a lighting device 130. The CPU 133 incorporates a memory 135 as a storage unit.

  Carriage motor 129 is controlled via motor driver 132. The HP sensor 128 and the paper transport path sensors 170 to 174 are connected to the CPU 133 through the I / O unit 131, and their output signals are supplied to the CPU 133.

  A stepping motor is employed as the carriage motor 129. When moving the CIS unit 117, first, the CPU 133 rotates the carriage motor 129 and detects the home position (predetermined position) by the HP sensor 128. Then, based on the detected home position, the position control of the CIS unit 117 is performed by the number of pulses for driving the carriage motor 129, and the speed control of the CIS unit 117 is performed by the pulse interval.

  The CIS unit 117 is provided with a carriage illumination 126 as an illumination unit (not shown in FIG. 2). The controller 134 is mounted with a lighting device 130 for lighting the carriage illumination 126. The control device 134 further has a function of controlling the display unit 127 for transmitting information to the user via the I / O unit 131.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the display unit 127. The configuration of the display unit 127 is the same as that described in Non-Patent Document 1. Since the image forming apparatus 100 is small, the display unit 127 has a simple configuration as much as possible in order to reduce the outer dimensions and reduce the cost.

  There are three displayable portions of the display unit 127. First, the auto density mode display unit 140 and the paper jam mark 141 are both locations that convey information to the user by turning on / off the illumination. The auto density mode display unit 140 is lit when the print mode is set to the auto density mode. The paper jam mark 141 blinks when a paper jam occurs. The 7-segment display unit 142 conveys information to the user by combining seven small parts called segments. For example, information such as the number of copies, the content of the error, and the number of copies is displayed.

  Next, a mode in which a malfunction such as a conveyance failure in the sheet conveyance path occurs during the copying operation and is detected and notified to the user will be described by taking the occurrence of a paper jam as an example.

  FIGS. 6A to 6D are diagrams showing, in time series, operations from paper feeding to paper ejection during a copying operation.

  The paper 102 is sandwiched between a pair of rotating rollers in each of the roller pairs 103, 112, 109, and 110, and is successively transferred to the next roller pair, so that the paper 102 is discharged from the paper feed tray 101 to the paper discharge tray 111. Be transported. From the viewpoint of correcting the inclination of the paper 102 and reducing power consumption, the roller pairs do not always rotate, but normally stop rotating and rotate only when necessary. The rotation timing of each roller pair is controlled based on the detection signals of the paper conveyance path sensors 170 to 174, and depends on the conveyance position of the paper 102 which is grasped by relying on the signal of the sensor installed on the downstream side of each roller pair. Thus, the rotation of each roller pair is controlled.

  Specifically, the switching from OFF to ON of the sensors 170, 172, and 173 defines the start of rotation of the roller pair 112, 109, and 110. The switching from on to off of the sensors 170 and 171 defines the rotation stop of the roller pair 109 and 112.

  These states will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the timing diagrams shown on the right side in FIGS. 6A to 6D show the states of the roller pair and the sensor. In the timing diagram, Low represents that the roller is not rotating and the sensor is not responding (off). On the other hand, “High” indicates that the roller is rotating and the sensor is responding (ON).

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the rotation of the roller pair 103 is started when the feeding of the sheet 102 from the sheet feeding tray 101 is started. In FIG. 6A, the roller pair 103 rotates to feed the paper 102, but since the paper 102 has not reached the sensor 170, the sensor 170 is in an off state.

  When the conveyance of the sheet 102 proceeds and reaches the next roller pair 112, the sheet 102 reaches the sensor 170 and the sensor 170 is turned on as shown in FIG. 6B. The rotation of the next roller pair 112 is started a predetermined time after the signal of the sensor 170 is switched from Low to High.

  When the sheet 102 is further conveyed and the rear end of the sheet 102 passes the sensor 170 as shown in FIG. 6C, the sensor 170 is turned off. Then, the roller pair 103 stops because it is no longer necessary to rotate. When the leading edge of the paper 102 passes the sensors 171 and 172, the sensors 171 and 172 are turned on. The rotation of the next roller pair 109 is started after a predetermined time from when the signal of the sensor 172 switches from Low to High.

  When the sheet 102 is further conveyed and the rear end of the sheet 102 passes through the sensor 171 as shown in FIG. 6D, the sensor 171 is turned off. Then, the roller pair 112 stops because it no longer needs to rotate. When the leading edge of the sheet 102 passes the sensor 173, the sensor 173 is turned on. The rotation of the next roller pair 110 is started after a predetermined time from when the signal of the sensor 173 is switched from Low to High.

  If the state smoothly transitions from the state shown in FIG. 6A to the state shown in FIG. 6D, no paper jam has occurred. However, if the sensor that defines the start of rotation of a certain roller pair does not react (turn on) even when the paper 102 arrives, the paper 102 is placed on the roller pair that should have rotated but has not yet started rotation. Will reach.

  For example, in FIG. 6B, it is assumed that the paper 102 reaches the roller pair 112 without the sensor 170 being turned on. In this case, since the roller pair 112 is not rotating, the paper 102 is folded in an accordion shape before the roller pair 112, and a paper jam occurs between the roller pair 112 and the roller pair 103. Similarly, when the roller pair 112 is rotating and the sensor 172 does not react and the roller pair 109 is not rotating, or the roller pair 109 is rotating and the sensor 173 does not react and the roller pair 110 is not rotating. Sometimes paper jams occur.

  When a paper jam occurs, as shown in FIG. 1B, the user can handle the paper by opening the doors 151 and 152 and removing the jammed paper 102. When a paper jam occurs on the upstream side or the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 108, it can be easily handled by opening the doors 152 and 151, respectively. When a paper jam occurs at a position overlapping with the photoconductive drum 108, the user can remove the photoconductive drum 108 having a unit configuration for processing.

  When the image forming apparatus 100 causes a paper jam, the paper jam mark 141 on the display unit 127 is turned on to notify the user that the paper jam has occurred. In order to remove the jammed paper 102, the user investigates three places that may be jammed (the upstream side, the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 108, and the position overlapping with the photosensitive drum 108), and finds the jammed paper 102. Remove. However, when there is no notification of the location where the paper jam has occurred as in the conventional apparatus, the user must investigate all the locations where there is a possibility of the paper jam. If an appropriate paper jam can be displayed, the jammed paper 102 can be quickly found and processed.

  Since the amount of information that can be displayed on the display unit 127 is small, it is desired to add a display unit for notifying the location where a paper jam has occurred, but it is not always desirable to add a new display unit from the viewpoint of space and cost. Therefore, in this embodiment, without providing a new display section, the location where the paper jam occurs is presented to the user, that is, the location where the paper jam occurred is notified in the manner of movement of the CIS unit 117 (particularly the stop position). Realize.

  The CPU 133 can control the carriage motor 129 and control the position of the CIS unit 117 in the X direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, with high accuracy. For example, when the reading resolution of the CIS unit 117 is 600 dpi and the position can be controlled in units of one pixel, a positional accuracy of about 42 μm can be obtained. Therefore, by controlling the position of the CIS unit 117 in the sub-scanning direction with high accuracy and associating the position of the movement destination with information, it is possible to convey a lot of information to the user.

  An example of notification processing by movement of the CIS unit 117 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The target position to which the CIS unit 117 is moved at the time of the notification process is set in advance for each of the three paper jam occurrence areas, and information on the correspondence between the paper jam occurrence area and the target position is as follows. Are stored in the memory 135 in the form of a table that can be referred to. This is referred to as a “target position table”. Regarding the three paper jammed areas, the first area is the area upstream of the roller pair 112 in the paper conveyance path. A region between the roller pair 112 and the roller pair 109 is a second region, and a region downstream from the roller pair 109 is a third region. In the target position table, the first, second, and third target positions are associated with the first, second, and third areas.

  For example, the second area is an area where the jammed paper 102 overlaps the photosensitive drum 108. In actuality, the CPU 133 determines in which region the paper jam has occurred based on the detection results of the sensors 170 to 174.

  FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are perspective views of the image forming apparatus 100 as viewed obliquely from above, and a CIS unit when a paper jam occurs in the first, second, and third regions. 117 shows movement modes.

  When a paper jam occurs, the CPU 133 turns on the paper jam mark 141 on the display unit 127 and moves the CIS unit 117, and further turns on the carriage illumination 126 until the paper jam is cleared.

  The target positions of the CIS unit 117 when a paper jam occurs are the first, second, and third target positions corresponding to the first, second, and third areas in the X direction. In the image forming apparatus 100, displays 165, 166, and 167 are provided at positions corresponding to the target position of the CIS unit 117 in order to convey the paper jam location to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. These displays 165, 166, and 167 may be contents corresponding to notification contents. A place where these displays are provided is a non-movable part of the image forming apparatus 100 such as the main body 118 and the original platen glass 115, and a position close to the CIS unit 117 moved to the target position is preferable.

  When a paper jam occurs in the first area, the CPU 133 controls to move the CIS unit 117 to the first target position and stop it (FIG. 7A). From the position where the CIS unit 117 is stopped, the user knows that a paper jam has occurred in the upstream area of the paper transport path in the apparatus. In particular, by looking at the display 165 displayed at the position where the CIS unit 117 is stopped, the occurrence of a paper jam in the upstream area is quickly known, so the process of removing the jammed paper 102 by opening the door 152 Can be done.

  Similarly, when a paper jam occurs in the second area, the CPU 133 controls to move the CIS unit 117 to the second target position and stop it (FIG. 7B). Processing for removing the jammed paper 102 by opening the door 151 or the door 152 immediately after the user quickly knows from the stop position of the CIS unit 117 and the display 166 that a paper jam has occurred near the middle of the paper conveyance path in the apparatus. Can be done.

  When a paper jam occurs in the third area, the CPU 133 controls the CIS unit 117 to move to the third target position and stop (FIG. 7C). From the stop position of the CIS unit 117 and the display 167, the user quickly knows that a paper jam has occurred in the downstream area of the paper transport path in the apparatus, and opens the door 152 to remove the jammed paper 102. Can process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of notification processing by movement of the CIS unit 117. This process is started at the same time as the power of the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on, and is periodically executed at regular time intervals in parallel with the copying (image reading, image forming) process.

  First, the CPU 133 of the control device 134 monitors the state of the device based on signals input from the paper transport path sensors 170 to 174 to determine whether or not a paper jam has occurred (step S101). The CPU 133 continues to monitor whether a paper jam has occurred (monitoring means). Therefore, regarding the movement control of the CIS unit 117, the movement control for normal image reading is performed until a paper jam occurs. When a paper jam has occurred, the CPU 133 identifies a paper jam occurrence area based on the detection signals of the paper transport path sensors 170 to 174 (step S102). The notification content to be notified to the user is determined by specifying the occurrence fact of the paper jam and the generation region (determination means).

  The monitoring of the occurrence of the paper jam and the specification of the generation area will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when the conveyance further proceeds from the state where the sensor 170 is turned on and the roller pair 112 is rotating (FIG. 6B), the sheet 102 normally passes through the roller pair 112 and tilts the sensor 171. Then, the sensor 171 is turned on. However, if the CPU 133 detects that the sensor 171 is not turned on even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 170 is turned on, the paper 102 is jammed before the leading edge of the paper 102 reaches the sensor 171. Can think. In this case, the CPU 133 determines that a paper jam has occurred in the first area.

  Further, when the CPU 133 detects that the sensor 172 is turned on and the conveyance further proceeds from the state in which the fixing roller pair 109 is rotating (FIG. 6C), the sheet 102 normally moves the fixing roller pair 109. The sensor 173 is turned off by falling and tilting the sensor 173. However, when the CPU 133 detects that the sensor 173 is not turned on even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 172 is turned on, the paper 102 is jammed before the leading edge of the paper 102 reaches the sensor 173. Can think. In this case, the CPU 133 determines that a paper jam has occurred in the second area.

  Further, when the conveyance further proceeds from the state in which the sensor 173 is turned on and the roller pair 110 is rotating (FIG. 6D), the sheet 102 normally passes through the roller pair 110 and tilts the sensor 174. The sensor 174 is turned on. However, if the CPU 133 detects that the sensor 174 is not turned on even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 173 is turned on, the paper 102 is jammed before the leading edge of the paper 102 reaches the sensor 174. Can think. In this case, the CPU 133 determines that a paper jam has occurred in the third area.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the CPU 133 turns on the paper jam mark 141 (FIG. 5) on the display unit 127 (step S103). Next, the CPU 133 refers to the target position table stored in the memory 135 and determines a target position corresponding to the identified paper jam occurrence area (step S104). Then, the CPU 133 controls the motor driver 132 to operate the carriage motor 129, moves the CIS unit 117 to the target position, and stops it (step S105). As a result, it is possible to notify the user of the occurrence of a paper jam and the occurrence area by the stop position that is the destination of the CIS unit 117.

  At that time, the CPU 133 drives the lighting device 130 to light the carriage illumination 126 (step S106). The carriage illumination 126 may be blinked instead of lit. Thus, the user can be more clearly alerted about the occurrence of a paper jam.

  The user who knows the paper jam takes an appropriate action to eliminate the paper jam. In step S107, the CPU 133 determines whether the paper jam has been cleared. When a paper jam occurs, the paper transport path sensor that is turned on at that time remains on unless any action is taken. Therefore, the CPU 133 monitors the turn-off of the paper conveyance path sensor that is turned on when a paper jam occurs, and determines that the paper jam has been removed when detecting that the sensor is turned off.

  When the paper jam is cleared, the CPU 133 controls the motor driver 132 to operate the carriage motor 129 and moves the CIS unit 117 to return to the home position so that the document reading operation can be resumed promptly (Step S1). S108). At that time, the CPU 133 turns off the paper jam mark 141 and the carriage illumination 126. Thereafter, this process ends.

  According to the present embodiment, the CPU 133 notifies the user of the contents to be notified (the fact of the occurrence of the paper jam and the location of the occurrence) based on the result of monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus 100 (for example, whether there is a paper jam). To decide. Then, the CPU 133 controls to move the CIS unit 117 to a target position corresponding to the determined notification content. This makes it possible to notify the user of the information (the fact that a paper jam has occurred and the location where it has occurred) based on the position of the existing CIS unit 117 without adding a new or dedicated UI.

  In particular, a permanent magnet is incorporated in the carriage motor 129, and a force to stay in place acts. In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 is often placed at a horizontal location, and no force is required to move the CIS unit 117. From these, even when the apparatus is turned off, there is an advantage that the fact that a paper jam has occurred and the notification state of the occurrence location can be maintained. In other words, in the case of a configuration in which notification is performed with a display device using a power supply, the display content disappears when the power supply of the device is turned off, but this embodiment does not have such disadvantages.

  Further, when the notification content is not to be notified to the user, that is, when the paper jam is eliminated, the CIS unit 117 returns to the home position. Thereby, it is possible to notify that the paper jam has been eliminated by the subsequent movement operation of the CIS unit 117 once stopped at the first to third target positions.

  In addition, for each target position where the CIS unit 117 can move in accordance with the notification content, a display (display 165) corresponding to the notification content (the fact that a paper jam has occurred and the location of the occurrence) is displayed at a position corresponding to each target position. ~ 167) are provided in advance. Thereby, the notification effect can be enhanced. Further, the notification effect is further enhanced by turning on the paper jam mark 141 and the carriage illumination 126.

  Although the CIS unit 117 has been described as having three target positions, since the position control of the CIS unit 117 can be performed with high accuracy, it may be at least one position different from the home position, and may be subdivided into four or more. The set position may be set. The more target positions, the more information can be notified to the user. Further, it is possible to report more information by combining the already-provided notification mechanism such as the 7-segment display unit 142 and the moving operation of the CIS unit 117. When the target position of the CIS unit 117 is increased, the display corresponding to the displays 165 to 167 may be increased corresponding to the target position.

  The display content corresponding to such displays 165 to 167 may be a display corresponding to the notification content, and is not limited to the mark for displaying the paper jam position, and may display the error content with characters or marks.

  In the present embodiment, information on the correspondence between the paper jam occurrence area and the target position is stored as the target position table, but the information holding form is not limited to the table form.

  In the present exemplary embodiment, conveyance failure, particularly a paper jam is exemplified as the notification content. However, the notification content determined to be notified to the user as a result of monitoring the state of the image forming apparatus 100 may be used. Although the occurrence of errors can be considered as notification content, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be an abnormality related to the temperature or power supply of the apparatus, a paper out, a component life reached, a line sensor output abnormality, or the like. Examples of notification contents that are not necessarily included in the concept of error include a set mode, that a component has reached the end of its life, and that the number of sheets and toner have decreased below a specified level.

  Further, the destination (target position) of the CIS unit 117 at the time of the notification process is not limited to the area where the error has occurred, and may be set for each notification content (such as the type of error).

  The present invention is not limited to an apparatus belonging to the category of image forming apparatuses, but can be applied to an apparatus having a reading unit that reads an image of a document while moving, and can also be applied to an apparatus called an image reading apparatus. For example, it is also possible to apply a line sensor output abnormality as a notification content to a scanner device without a copying function.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included.

117 CIS unit 126 Carriage illumination 129 Carriage motor 133 CPU
134 Controller 170, 171, 172, 173, 174 Paper transport path sensor

Claims (8)

An image reading apparatus having a reading unit for reading an image of a document while moving,
Driving means for driving and moving the reading unit;
Control means for controlling the drive means;
Monitoring means for monitoring the state of the image reading device;
Determining means for determining notification contents to be notified to the user based on the result of monitoring by the monitoring means;
The control unit controls the driving unit to move the reading unit to a target position corresponding to the determined notification content when the determination content to be notified to the user is determined by the determination unit. A characteristic image reading apparatus.   2. The monitor according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit monitors the occurrence of an error as the state of the image reading apparatus, and the notification content is a content for notifying the occurrence of an error in the image reading apparatus. Image reading device.   The storage unit stores information on the correspondence between the notification content and the target position, and the control unit refers to the information on the correspondence stored in the storage unit and responds to the determined notification content. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is controlled to determine a target position and move the reading unit to the determined target position.   The reading unit includes an illumination unit, and the control unit controls the illumination unit to be turned on when the reading unit is moved to a target position corresponding to the determined notification content. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1.   For each target position where the reading unit can move according to the notification content, a display corresponding to the notification content is provided in advance in a position corresponding to each of the target positions in the image reading device. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is an image reading apparatus.   The control unit sets the reading unit at a predetermined position when the notification content determined by the determination unit is not to be notified to the user based on the result of monitoring by the monitoring unit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is controlled to be moved. It further has a forming means for forming an image read by the reading unit on a sheet material,
The monitoring unit monitors a conveyance failure of the sheet material as a state of the image reading device,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification content is a content for notifying the occurrence of a conveyance failure of the sheet material.   The monitoring means identifies an area where the sheet material is jammed, and the control means controls the driving means to move the reading unit to a target position corresponding to the identified jammed area. The image reading apparatus according to claim 7.

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