JP2023096791A - Document reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a document reading device capable of automatically reading documents in various sizes including non-standard document sizes without missing document regions of the documents.SOLUTION: A document reading device comprises: a document size determination unit for determining whether a size of a placed document corresponds to which one of a plurality of standard sizes in a preliminary manner on a first stage on the basis of, document size information relating to a combination of a longitudinal length and a lateral length detected by a document size detection unit; and a document region determination unit. On a second stage after the first stage, the document size determination unit determines whether the size of the document is a standard size or a non-standard size on the basis of the standard size detected on the first stage and the document size information. The document region determination unit decides a reading region of the document in a mode different from a document determined as a standard size for a document which is determined as a non-standard size by the document size determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a document reading apparatus capable of reading a document by discriminating the document size of the document and determining the document area.

In document reading devices such as multifunction devices and image scanners, there are two modes for reading documents: a mode in which the document placed on the document platen is scanned (platen mode), and a mode in which the document is conveyed by the document feeder and read (feeder mode). It is used properly. In either case, the document size is input or detected, and only the document area is read. For this reason, many document reading apparatuses have a function of detecting the document size. Document sizes that can be detected by the document reader are usually limited to so-called standard sizes such as A3, A4, A5, 11″×17″, 8.5″×11″, and 5.5″×8.5″. A means for manually inputting the vertical and horizontal sizes of a document is prepared for reading an irregular size (irregular size).

Even if it is rare to read an irregular size document, it is troublesome to manually input the document size. If the document size can be detected accurately even if the document size is irregular, it is convenient because it saves troublesome input.
As a means of detecting the correct size of a document even if it is a non-standard size, the area corresponding to the background color plate is extracted from the image of the document scanned with the background color plate, for example, gray instead of the general white color. Cropping processing can be considered. This method assumes that the edges of a general document are white, the same color as the background color of the paper, and determines the outline of the document based on the density difference between the white at the edges of the document and the gray color of the background color plate. is.
However, making the background color plate gray also has a negative side. If you use a gray background color plate to scan a thin paper document, the gray color of the background color plate may show through to some extent, and as a result, the document paper may be read as if it were light gray. be.

The following techniques are known for detecting a document area of a document in a document reading device.
If the size of the document to be scanned cannot be specified (in the case of an irregular size document), the document is scanned in the maximum scanning area, cropping is performed to cut out the image data of the document from the obtained image data, and the image of the cropped document is processed. File the data (for example, Patent Document 1).
Also, if the user repeatedly repositions the document, or if it takes time to determine the detected document size, it is determined that the detected document size may be incorrect, and the manual size setting screen or the destination setting screen is displayed. to prompt the user to operate (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2019-36891 A JP 2012-222764 A

In the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200013, the required memory capacity increases and the crop processing takes time.
Further, in the case of Patent Document 2, the user has to manually input the document size, which is complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and provides a document reader capable of automatically reading document areas of various sizes including irregular document sizes without lacking. It is.

This invention (first invention) is
a document reading unit for reading a document;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit for pre-storing standard sizes related to long side lengths and short side lengths of a plurality of standard size originals;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
In a first step, it is determined to which of the plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document corresponds based on the document size information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection unit. A document size determination unit that makes a preliminary determination with
and a document area determination unit,
In a second step after the first step, the document size determination unit determines whether the size of the document is a standard size or a non-standard size based on the standard size determined in the first step and the document size information. and determine whether
The document area determination unit determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination unit to determine a document of irregular size.

Moreover, this invention (second invention) is
a document reading unit for reading a document;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit that stores in advance the vertical length and horizontal length of each of a plurality of standard sizes related to a document;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
a document size determination unit that determines the size of a document;
and a document area determination unit,
The storage unit stores lengths in one or more increments as the vertical length and horizontal length of each standard size, and
The document size detection unit detects the length of at least one of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document in increments greater than the number of types of the standard sizes,
The document size determination section determines the size of the placed document as one of the standard sizes based on the document size detection information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection section. Determine whether it is an irregular size that corresponds to or does not correspond to either,
The document area determination unit determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination unit to determine a document of irregular size.

According to the document reading apparatuses according to the first and second aspects of the invention, it is possible to automatically read images of documents of various sizes including non-standard size without lacking. In the case of an irregular size document, the reading time can be shortened, the memory capacity can be reduced, the crop processing time can be shortened, etc. compared to the method of reading in the maximum reading area. In addition, manual size input operation by the user can be omitted even if the document is of an irregular size.

1 is a perspective view showing a part of the appearance of a multi-function peripheral as one aspect of a document reading device in this embodiment; FIG. (When the document feeder is closed) 1 is a perspective view showing a part of the appearance of a multi-function peripheral as one aspect of a document reading device in this embodiment; FIG. (with the document feeder open) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the MFP shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document reading unit and a document conveying unit in the document reading device of the multifunction machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a document reading unit in the document reading device of the multifunction machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the document reading device of the multifunction machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing document size information of main standard size documents; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the interval between document guides matches the horizontal length of the document; FIG. 10 is a first explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is wider than the horizontal length of the document; FIG. 10 is a second explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is wider than the horizontal length of the document; FIG. 11 is a first explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is narrower than the horizontal length of the document; FIG. 10 is a second explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is narrower than the horizontal length of the document; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a document detection size table regarding various standard size documents; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing lateral lengths (reference value widths) in the orthogonal direction for various standard size originals; 6 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a document detection size table for AB standard size documents; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a document detection size table regarding INCH standard size documents; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the horizontal length (reference value) in the orthogonal direction for an AB standard size document; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the horizontal length (reference value) in the orthogonal direction for an INCH-based fixed-size document; 9 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the third embodiment; FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the fourth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the fifth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 shows a first example of a user setting screen displayed on a display device in the fifth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 15 shows a second example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the fifth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 15 shows a third example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the fifth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 shows a first example of a user setting screen displayed on a display device in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 13 shows a second example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 13 shows a third example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 14 shows a fourth example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 15 shows a fifth example of a user setting screen displayed on the display device in the sixth embodiment; FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by a control unit in the seventh embodiment; FIG.

The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

(First embodiment)
<<Structure of document reader>>
First, the document reader in this embodiment will be described.
1 and 2 are perspective views showing a part of the appearance of a multi-function peripheral as one aspect of the document reading device according to this embodiment. The part related to the reading of the manuscript is shown. 1 shows a state in which the document conveying section is closed, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which the document conveying section is opened and the document table is exposed. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the MFP shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the MFP 100 includes a control section 11, a document reading device 12, a storage device 13 as a storage section, an image forming unit 14 as an image forming section, a user interface unit 19 (UI unit ), a communication circuit 21 and an image processing circuit 40 .

Control portion 11 includes UI control portion 11U, file control portion 11F, job management portion 11J, job execution portion 11X, image processing control portion 11P, communication control portion 11C, and reading control portion 11S. The control unit 11 controls the MFP 100 .
The document reading device 12 includes a scanner unit 15 as a document reading section for reading a document, a document feeding device 16 as a document conveying section, and a document size detection section 10 .
The UI unit 19 includes an operation input device 19I such as a touch panel and a display device 19D as a display section.
The image processing circuit 40 includes an input processing circuit 41 , a document area determination circuit 45 as a document area determination section, and an output image generation circuit 47 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the UI unit 19 is provided on the housing of the MFP 100 .
The operation input device 19I detects a user's operation on the display screen of the display device 19D. The display device 19D is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and displays a screen according to the control of the UI control section 11U.
The UI control unit 11U recognizes an operation signal detected by the operation input device 19I and recognizes which element of the screen displayed on the display device 19D has been operated.
The file control unit 11F saves and reads files to and from a storage device such as an HDD, and develops files to a storage device such as a memory.

The job management unit 11J registers, deletes, and stops various jobs such as copy jobs, scanner jobs, and print jobs. When the job registered in the job management section 11J becomes executable, the job management section 11J requests the job execution section 11X to start executing the job.
The job execution section 11X determines whether or not to start execution of the job registered by the job management section 11J, and causes the image forming unit 14, the scanner unit 15, and the image processing circuit 40 to execute the job according to the settings. The job executing section 11X recognizes the states detected by sensors (not shown) arranged in the scanner unit 15 and the image forming unit 14 . Then, it controls the operations of motors, actuators, devices, etc. (not shown) arranged in the scanner unit 15 and the image forming unit 14 . Further, the image processing control unit 11</b>P controls image processing of the image processing circuit 40 . Then, it executes processing related to the job, such as reading the image of the document, printing, and previewing.
The reading control unit 11S uses a predetermined area for each standard size as the reading area in the mode for reading the standard size, and determines the boundary of the document from the image read from the document in the mode for reading the irregular size. The document area determination circuit 45 is controlled so as to cut out the document area.
Based on the document size information regarding the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document detected by the document size detection unit 10, the reading control unit 11S determines which of a plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document is. A preliminary determination is made in the first stage as to whether it corresponds to That is, in the first step, it is determined that the size of the document detected by the document size detection unit 10 is associated with one of the standard sizes. Further, in the second step after the first step, the reading control unit 11S determines whether the size of the document is a fixed size or irregular size based on the standard size determined in the first step and the document size information. Determine if it is the size. The document size detection unit 10 detects the length of at least one of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document in steps greater than the number of standard size types. In this embodiment, the document guide 10a for detecting the horizontal length of the document detects the horizontal length in more increments (for example, 0.1 mm units) than the number of detectable types of horizontal lengths of a plurality of standard sizes. For example, if there is a difference exceeding the range of a predetermined allowable value between the width of the standard size linked in the first step and the width of the document detected by the document guide 10a, the document is of irregular size. I judge.

As a specific configuration mode, the control unit 11 is configured mainly by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), for example. In addition to the processor, it consists of hardware resources such as a work memory, an input/output interface circuit, and a timer circuit. Various jobs related to recognition of operations, control of display, reading of original images, printing of images, etc., that is, a series of processes related to image formation, are performed by the processor executing a control program stored in the storage device 13 in advance. to run. The functions of the control unit 11 are realized through the cooperation of software resources and hardware resources.

The storage device 13 includes volatile memory such as DRAM and nonvolatile memory such as HDD and flash memory. The storage device 13 stores control programs executed by the processor and images read by the scanner unit 15 and processed by the image processing circuit 40 . Further, it stores data related to the control of the file control section 11F, the job management section 11J, the job execution section 11X, and the image processing control section 11P. In addition, the storage device 13 stores in advance standard sizes (details will be described later) related to the lengths of the long sides and the lengths of the short sides of each of a plurality of standard size originals. Note that the storage device 13 may be configured integrally with the memory of the control section 11 .

The control section 11 and the image forming unit 14 are connected so as to be able to transfer data, and the control section 11 and the scanner unit 15 are connected so as to be able to transfer data.
The communication circuit 21 is a circuit for communicating data with an external device via a network.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the multifunction machine 100 places a document and conveys the placed document in a document transport direction A (see FIG. 6) toward a scanner unit (document reading section) 15. A document feeder (document conveying section) 16 is provided on the image forming unit 14 .
In addition, the multi-function machine 100 includes a document platen 17 in the image forming unit 14 that is exposed when the document feeder 16 is opened upward. The platen 17 is made of a transparent glass plate and arranged on the top surface of the scanner unit 15 . Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a front side reading window 18 is arranged next to the left end of the document platen 17 . The front side reading window 18 is made of a transparent glass plate like the document platen 17 . A front background color plate 51 is arranged on the lower surface of the document feeder 16 . When the document feeder 16 is closed, the front side reading window 18 and the front side background color plate 51 are positioned to face each other.

The scanner unit 15 reads the image of the document under the control of the job execution section 11X and converts it into RGB (red, green and blue) color image signals (RGB analog signals). That is, it executes image reading processing in copy, facsimile and scanner jobs.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the scanner unit 15 and the document feeder 16 of the multifunction machine 100 shown in FIG.

The document feeder 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 separates and feeds the documents one by one from the document stack placed on the document set tray 31 (see arrow IN shown in FIG. 4), and reads the front side. The document is conveyed via positions R1, R2 and reading position R3 on the back side and discharged to the document discharge tray 33 (see arrow OUT shown in FIG. 4). It is assumed that the document is set on the document set tray 31 with the front side facing up. By doing so, it is possible to switch the reading positions R1 and R2 in the mode of reading only one side (front side) of the document.
The reading positions R1 and R2 on the front side are located between the lower front side reading window 18 and the upper front side background color plate 51 . The transported document is exposed below the front background color plate 51 at reading positions R1 and R2.

The scanner unit 15 has the first carriage 55 stopped at either the reading position R1 or R2 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and reads the front side of the passing document. The first carriage 55 carries an LED for illuminating the document surface and a reflecting mirror, and the second carriage 57 carries two reflecting mirrors. An image of the document passing through the reading position R1 or R2 is formed on the image sensor 61 through the reflecting mirror and the optical lens 59 . The first carriage 55 is movable along the platen 17 (see arrow S in FIGS. 4 and 5), and in the platen mode moves the document placed on the platen 17 as indicated by the arrow S in FIG. Read by scanning from below. When the first carriage 55 moves, the second carriage 57 moves in the same direction at half the speed, and forms the image of the document placed on the document platen 17 on the image sensor 61 . The image sensor outputs an image signal corresponding to the document image. The reflecting mirrors of the first carriage 55 and the second carriage 57 and the optical lens 59 form a reduction optical system for forming an image of the front surface of the document on the image sensor 61 .

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a mechanism for moving the first carriage 55 and the second carriage 57 of the scanner unit 15 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the scanner unit 15 as seen obliquely from above on the rear left side. As shown in FIG. 5, wires are fixed to both ends of the first carriage 55 . Both ends of the second carriage 57 have pulleys on which the wires are hung. The wire is wound around a wire pulley 65 that is driven to rotate by the scanner motor 63 . As the wire pulley 65 rotates, the first carriage 55 and the second carriage 57 move in the direction of arrow S and in the opposite direction. The second carriage moves like a movable pulley at half the speed of the first carriage.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the document reading device of the multifunction machine shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, on the document set tray 31 of the document feeder 16, the vertical length of the document D placed on the document set tray 31 along the document transport direction A and the direction perpendicular to the document transport direction A are measured. A document size detection unit 10 is provided for detecting the horizontal length of B (hereinafter referred to as the orthogonal direction B) (see FIG. 3).
In this embodiment, the document size detection unit 10 includes a vertical length detection unit that detects the vertical length of the document D (document transport direction A) and a horizontal length detection unit that detects the horizontal length of the document D (perpendicular direction B). including. When the document D is placed on the document set tray 31 with the longitudinal direction of the document D aligned with the document transport direction A, the vertical length of the document D is the length of the long side, and the horizontal length is the length of the short side. is. When the document D is placed on the document set tray 31 with the longitudinal direction of the document D aligned with the orthogonal direction B, the vertical length of the document D is the length of the short side, and the horizontal length is the length of the long side. be.

A horizontal length detection portion of the document size detection portion 10 is provided on the document set tray 31 so as to be connected to a pair of document guides 10a provided on the document set tray 31 so as to be movable in the orthogonal direction B. A pair of parallel slide members (not shown) slidably provided in grooves in the orthogonal direction B, tooth surface portions (rack portions) (not shown) provided on the pair of parallel slide members, and a pair of It comprises a gear member (pinion) (not shown) rotatably provided between the tooth flanks of the parallel slide member and meshing with each tooth flank, and an encoder (not shown) for measuring the movement distance of one of the slide members. .
The pair of document guides 10 a are wall-shaped guide plates that extend along the document transport direction A and rise vertically from the upper surface of the document set tray 31 .
The pair of parallel slide members are rod-shaped members that extend along the orthogonal direction B and are arranged side by side in the document transport direction A with a gear member (pinion portion) interposed therebetween. A face portion (rack portion) is provided.

According to this lateral length detection unit, the pair of document guides 10a opposed to each other across the center line C in the orthogonal direction B on the document set tray 31 are positioned at equal distances from the center line C in the direction B in which they approach or separate from each other. Moving. At this time, the distance between the pair of document guides 10a is detected in units of 0.1 mm, for example, by measuring the moving distance of one slide member with an encoder. Therefore, by placing the document D on the document set tray 31 and moving the pair of document guides 10a to the positions of the pair of opposite sides of the document D (the pair of long sides of the document D in FIG. 6), The lateral length of the document D in the orthogonal direction B (in the case of FIG. 6, the length of the short side of the document D) is detected. Details of this will be described later.

The vertical length detection unit of the document size detection unit 10 includes a first sensor 10ba embedded on the center line C of the document set tray 31 at a predetermined distance L1 and a predetermined distance L2 from the document set position P. It is configured including a second sensor 10bb. In this embodiment, the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb are reflective photosensors having a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion integrally. It may be a contact type sensor or the like that detects by pressing. In this embodiment, the distance L1 is set to 232 mm and the distance L2 is set to 305 mm, which will be described later in detail.
A document sensor 10bc for detecting the document D set on the document set tray 31 is provided near the document set position P on the center line C of the document set tray 31 . This document sensor 10bc can also use a reflective photosensor, a contact sensor, or the like. A cover member 32 is provided above the document setting position P and the document sensor 10bc.

Returning to the description of FIG. A back side reading unit 67 for reading the back side of the document and a back side background color plate 53 are arranged at the reading position R3. An image of the back surface of the document passing through the reading position R3 passes through a plurality of reflecting mirrors of the back surface reading unit 67 and forms an image on the image sensor of the lens/image sensor unit 69 . The image sensor outputs an image signal corresponding to the document image. The lens/image sensor unit 69 is a unit in which an optical lens and a line image sensor are assembled together. A plurality of reflecting mirrors of the back surface reading unit 67 and the optical lens of the lens/image sensor unit 69 constitute a reduction optical system for forming an image of the back surface of the document on the image sensor of the lens/image sensor unit 69 .
The back surface reading unit 67 is positioned inside the substantially U-shaped document transport path. Therefore, the scanner unit 15 reads the front side of the document conveyed by the document feeder 16 and the back side of the document is read by the back side reading unit 67 .
Note that, unlike the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the document feeder 16 may not include the back side reading unit 67. For example, it is configured to read only the front side of the document placed on the document set tray 31 . Alternatively, it is a mode provided with a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the original whose front side has been read after passing through the reading positions R1 and R2, and then transporting the document to the reading positions R1 and R2 again for reading the back side. .

The image processing circuit 40 generates image data based on the image signal output by the scanner unit 15 . Alternatively, image data for printing is generated based on the print data received via the communication circuit 21 . The image processing control unit 11P controls those processes of the image processing circuit 40. FIG. The generated image data is put together into an image file for each page, for each front and back page, or for each copy of the document. The file control unit 11F performs processing for generating and managing an image file from image data and control related to reading and writing of the image file. The image file is printed by the image forming unit 14 or transmitted to an external device via the communication circuit 21 .

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the image processing circuit 40 for image processing related to the present invention. Each block shown in FIG. 3 does not cover all of the image processing circuit 40, but shows elements necessary for explaining the present invention.
The input processing circuit 41 receives image signals for each page from the image sensors of the scanner unit 15 (the image sensor 61 for reading the front side and the lens/image sensor unit 69 for reading the back side) and performs image processing. It is a circuit block that generates an image that is the basis of an image for document area determination and an image for output. The input processing circuit 41 performs A/D conversion of image signals, shading correction, gradation conversion, and the like.

A document area determination circuit 45 as a document area determination unit is a circuit block for determining a document area of a read image based on a determination image output from the input processing circuit 41. A document determined as a standard size is different from a document determined as a standard size, and the document area determination circuit 45 determines the reading area of the document.
In the mode for determining the reading area (original area) of an irregular size original, the original area determination circuit 45 determines the rectangular original area based on the density difference or color difference between the edge of the original and the gray color of the background color plate. decide. Since the determination of the document area is to determine the outline of a rectangular document, for example, an image obtained by lowering the resolution of the read image and converting it to black and white is used as the determination image in order to lighten the processing. can be done. In this embodiment, the document area determination circuit 45 not only detects the outline of the document in determining the rectangular document area, but also performs character recognition processing to detect the inclination and the top and bottom of the document, and detects the detection results. may be used to determine the document area. The determined document area is provided to the output image generation circuit 47 and used for cropping the output image.

The output image generation circuit 47 further performs image processing on the output image output from the input processing circuit 41 to generate an image file of the format to be output. The image processing performed by the output image generation circuit 47 includes crop processing of the image of each page based on the document area determined by the document area determination circuit 45 . In addition, it includes image processing such as image quality adjustment, color correction, spatial filter processing, and displacement processing. For example, when an image of a read document is transmitted to a designated destination as a PDF format image file via the communication circuit 21, the output image generation circuit 47 generates a PDF format image file from the image data of each page. output.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing document size information of main standard size documents.
The storage device 13 (see FIG. 3) stores, for example, the long side lengths and Document size information, which is a standard size related to the length of the short side, is stored in advance. Note that the storage device 13 may also store in advance document size information for documents other than these standard sizes.

As is clear from FIGS. 6 and 7, when documents D of various standard sizes are placed on the document set tray 31 of the document reading device 12 in the correct state, the document size can be detected depending on the size and/or the placed orientation. A first pattern in which both the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb of the unit 10 are not covered with the document D (in the OFF state), and only the first sensor 10ba is covered by the document D (in the ON state). ), the second pattern in which the second sensor 10bb is not covered by the document D (in the OFF state), and both the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb are covered by the document D (in the ON state) a) the third pattern. The correct state when placing the document on the document set tray 31 is the state in which the document D is straight and planar without being bent or folded, and the document D is placed on the center line C. and one end of the document D is placed at the document set position P on the document set tray 31 .

The combinations of the ON/OFF states of the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb for main standard size documents are as follows.
For A5 size (long side length 210 mm x short side length 148 mm), standard size documents should be placed vertically with the document feeding direction A aligned, and standard size documents should be placed horizontally with the document longitudinal direction aligned with the orthogonal direction B. The first pattern applies to any placement (ie, regardless of placement orientation).
In the case of B5 size (long side length 257 mm×short side length 182 mm), the second pattern applies when a standard size document is placed vertically, and the first pattern applies when it is placed horizontally.
In the case of B4 size (long side length 364 mm×short side length 257 mm), when a standard size original is placed vertically, the third pattern applies. It should be noted that the B4 size document cannot be placed horizontally.
In the case of 11"×8.5" size (long side length 279.4 mm×short side length 215.9 mm), the second pattern applies when the standard size document is placed vertically, and the first pattern applies when the standard size document is placed horizontally.
In the 11″×17″ size (long side length 431.8 mm×short side length 279.4 mm), the third pattern applies when a standard size document is placed vertically. Note that the 11×17 size document cannot be placed horizontally.
In the case of A4 size (long side length 297 mm×short side length 210 mm), the second pattern applies when the standard size document is placed vertically, and the first pattern applies when the standard size document is placed horizontally.
In the case of A3 size (long side length 420 mm×short side length 297 mm), when a standard size original is placed vertically, the third pattern applies. It should be noted that standard size originals of A3 size cannot be placed sideways on the original set tray 31 .

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the case where the interval between the document guides matches the horizontal length of the document. Also, FIG. 9 is a first explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is wider than the horizontal length of the document, and FIG. 10 is a second explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is wider than the horizontal length of the document. Also, FIG. 11 is a first explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is narrower than the horizontal length of the document, and FIG. 12 is a second explanatory view when the interval between the document guides is narrower than the horizontal length of the document.
In addition to placing the documents in the correct state on the document set tray 31 as described above, as shown in FIG. It is desirable to bring the document guide 10a into contact with or close to it (correct guide setting) in order to read the document area of the document D correctly. At this time, when the document D is placed vertically, the pair of short sides and the pair of document guides 10a abut or approach each other, and when the document D is placed horizontally, the pair of long sides and the pair of document guides 10a abut. or close to.

However, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, there is a gap S between the pair of document guides 10a and the document D, so that the gap between the pair of document guides 10a becomes the short side of the document D (or document bundle Dx). 11 and 12, or the distance between the pair of document guides 10a is too narrower than the length of the short side or the length of the long side of the document D. D may be set. When the document D set in such a state between the pair of document guides 10a is conveyed to the scanner unit 15 by the document feeder 16, the read document area may be missing or the read document area may be tilted. Trouble is likely to occur. 11 and 12 may also cause jams. FIG. 11 shows a state in which both ends of the document D are in contact with or close to the document guides 10a, but the document D is flexed so as to bulge upward, and FIG. , but the original D is bent.

Therefore, the document reading device 12 of the present embodiment detects whether or not it is in the inappropriate guide setting state (the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10), and also detects whether the document is a fixed size document or an irregular size document. is determined, and a document detection size table as shown in FIG. 13A is used so that the document area can be correctly read without causing missing or tilting. Here, FIG. 13A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a document detection size table for various standard size documents, and FIG. 13B is an explanatory view showing the lateral length (reference value) in the orthogonal direction for various standard size documents. In FIGS. 13A and 13B, for example, A4R is a notation when an A4 standard size document is placed vertically, and A4 notation is placed horizontally. The same applies to A3R, B5R and A5R.

The document detection size table of FIG. 13A is stored in the storage device 13, and indicates the ON/OFF states of the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb when documents of various standard sizes are placed vertically or horizontally. Combination patterns (first to third patterns) and guide width W when documents of various standard sizes are placed vertically or horizontally and correctly set by the pair of document guides 10a (see FIG. 8) and are included as sensing elements.
The guide width W is based on the length of the short side when documents of various standard sizes are placed vertically or the length of the long sides when placed horizontally (that is, the horizontal length of the placed standard size documents). , plus a predetermined value (±α) to the reference value. Note that ±α is arbitrary, and is set to ±6.0 in this embodiment.

Specifically, in the case of this embodiment, the allowable value of the guide width W for detecting various standard sizes is a range of max 303.0 to 291.0 (mm) with a reference value of 297.0 (mm) for A3R/A4 size, and 11". The range of 285.4 to 273.4 (mm) with the reference value of 279.4 (mm) for the ×17"/11"×8.5" size, the range of 263.0 to 251.0 (mm) with the reference value of 257.0 (mm) for the B4R/B5 size, Range of 216.0 to 204.0 (mm) with a standard value of 210.0 (mm) for A4R/A5 size, range of 188.0 to 176.0 (mm) with a standard value of 182.0 (mm) for B5R size, standard value of 148.0 (mm) for A5R size ) is in the range of 154.0 to min142.0 (mm). Note that max is the upper limit guide width W at which the pair of document guides 10a are the farthest from each other, and min is the lower limit guide width W at which the pair of document guides 10a are the closest to each other.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, an A4 size standard document D is placed vertically on the document set tray 31, and a pair of document guides 10a are brought into contact with both ends of the document D in the orthogonal direction B as shown in FIG. By bringing them close to each other, the document size detection unit 10 detects the vertical length (the length of the long side in the document transport direction A) and the horizontal length (the length of the short side in the orthogonal direction B) of the document D. FIG. At this time, the vertical length of the document D is detected by the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb of the document size detection unit 10 in steps of three steps of the first to third patterns. The second pattern of OFF applies to the 2 sensors 10bb (see the A4R display portion in FIG. 13A). Also, the guide width W is detected by a pair of document guides 10 a of the document size detection section 10 .

Therefore, the dimension of the document D actually set on the document set tray 31 in the document transport direction A is detected as the second pattern, and the dimension of the document D in the orthogonal direction B is within the allowable range of 235.9 to 196.0 (mm). , the size of the document D is determined to be A4R as shown in the document detection size table of FIG. 13A.
Here, as shown in FIG. 13B, the length of the short side of an A4R size document is equal to the length of the long side of an A5 size document. I can't tell if it's A5 size or not. However, when only the first sensor 10ba is turned on in addition to detecting the vertical length of the document D, it can be tentatively determined that it is A4R size. Therefore, in the document detection size table of FIG. It is said to be Alternatively, if both the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb are turned off due to the vertical length detection, it can be tentatively determined that the document is A5 size. The size is said to be A5. Alternatively, if both the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb are ON with the addition of vertical length detection, it can be tentatively determined that the A4R size, which is the larger one between A4R and A5, is highly likely. In the document detection size table of FIG. 13A, the document size under this condition is A4R.
In the document detection size table of FIG. 13A, the relationship between A4 size and A3R size, the relationship between 11"×8.5" size and 11"×17" size, and the relationship between B5 size and B4R size are generally similar. You can judge by your way of thinking.

Also, regarding the B5R size standard document, regardless of whether the vertical length detection is any of the first to third patterns, the detection of the guide width W (horizontal length detection) will provisionally determine that there is a high possibility that the document is B5R size. Therefore, the document size under this condition is set to B5R in the document detection size table of FIG. 13A.
Also, regarding the A5R size standard size document, it is provisionally determined that there is a high possibility that it is A5R size by the detection of the guide width W (horizontal length detection) regardless of which of the first to third patterns the vertical length detection is. Therefore, the detected document size table in FIG. 13A indicates that the document size under this condition is A5R.

≪Reading operation of document reader≫
Next, a document reading operation by the document reading device 12 configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the first embodiment.
The procedure of processing executed by the control unit 11 will be described below with reference to the flowchart.
As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 14, the control unit 11 as the UI control unit 11U detects from the document sensor 10bc that the document D is placed on the document set tray 31 of the document reading device 12. A signal is detected (step S11). Here, a case where a document image to be read is provided only on the front side (upper surface) of the document D will be described.
When the placement of the document is detected, the control section 11 as the reading control section 11S receives the document size information from the document size detection section 10 (the pair of document guides 10a, the first sensor 10ba, the second sensor 10bb, etc.). acquire (step S13). This document size information includes document size information relating to a combination of the vertical length along the document transport direction A and the horizontal length along the orthogonal direction B of the placed document D. FIG.

After step S13, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S preliminarily determines in a first step which of the plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document D corresponds to, based on the acquired document size information. provisionally (provisionally) (step S15).
In this step S15, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the user places the document D on the document set tray 31, and the distance (guide width W) between the pair of document guides 10a is set to A4R or A5 size. If the horizontal length (reference value) of the standard size document is adjusted to the vicinity of the standard size, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S preliminarily determines that the document size is likely to be A4R or A5. Based on a combination of the ON/OFF states of the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb, the control section 11 serving as the reading control section 11S preliminarily determines the size of the document D as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 13A, when the combination of the ON/OFF states of the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb is the second pattern or the third pattern, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S reads the document. Preliminarily determine the size of D to be A4R. Note that if one end d1 of the document D is in contact with or close to the document set position P, the third pattern does not occur. One end d1 is greatly displaced from the document setting position P, and as a result, the opposite end d2 of the document D may cover the second sensor 10bb to form the third pattern. is also determined as A4R.
On the other hand, if the combination of the ON/OFF states of the first sensor 10ba and the second sensor 10bb is the first pattern, the size of the document D set on the document set tray 31 is likely to be A5. The control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S preliminarily determines that the size of the document D is A5.

After step S15, the control unit 11 as the UI control unit 11U detects that an instruction to start a document reading job (scanner job, copy job, etc.) has been given (step S17).
When an instruction to start a document reading job is given (Yes in step S17), the control section 11 as the job control section 11J recognizes it and starts executing the job. Here, in the second step after the first step, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S determines the size of the document D based on the standard size preliminarily determined in the first step and the document size information. It is determined whether the size is a standard size or an irregular size (step S19). Although not shown, when an instruction to start a document reading job is given (Yes in step S17), the job management unit 11J registers the job whose execution start is indicated as a job to be executed. Then, the job execution unit 11X is requested to execute the job. In response to this, the job execution unit 11X performs processing according to the job settings.

In step S19, for example, the reference value 210.0 mm in FIG. X mm) does not exceed the allowable range of 216.0 to 204.0 mm (when X mm is within the range of 216.0 to 204.0 mm), the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S has a standard size. I judge. On the other hand, when the X mm is, for example, 216.1 mm or more or 103.9 mm or less, it is determined to be an irregular size.

The determination that the size of the document D is irregular is made when the size of the document D set on the document set tray 31 is not A4R, or when the size of the document is A4R as shown in FIGS. If there is a gap S that exceeds the allowable range between the bundle Dx and the pair of document guides 10a, or if the document size is A4R as shown in FIG. 11 or 12, the document D exceeds the allowable range. Determined if it has a degree of bending or folding. In other words, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S not only when an irregular size document is actually set, but also when a standard size document is set inappropriately as shown in FIGS. , determines that an irregular-sized document is set.

In step S19, the reading control unit 11S decides the reading area of the document in the normal mode when it is determined to be a standard size (step S21), and when it is determined to be an irregular size, the normal mode is selected. determines the reading area of the document in a different predetermined mode (step S23).
In the normal mode of step S21, the document area determination circuit 45 determines the reading area of the document D determined to be A4R size, for example, as A4R size.
In the predetermined mode of step S23, the document area determination circuit 45 sets the reading area of the document D, which is determined to be an irregular size other than the A4R size, to the minimum area that completely surrounds the A4R size. decide. In the case of this embodiment, the predetermined mode is the crop scan mode for reading irregular size originals.

After step S21 or step S23, the controller 11 drives the document feeder 16 to transport the document D set on the document set tray 31 toward the scanner unit 15 in the document transport direction A (step S25). . Then, when the document D passes through reading positions R1 and R2 provided in the middle of the document transport path, the scanner unit 15 reads the document area of the document D (step S27). At this time, the scanner unit 15 reads at the reading position R1 in the normal mode, and reads at the reading position R2 in the crop scan mode. The reading position R1 is a position where the front-side background color plate 51 is white, and the reading position R2 is a position where the front-side background color plate 51 is gray.

In step S27, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S controls the scanner unit (original document) so as to determine the boundary of the original document from the image obtained by reading the entire area of the original document and cut out the original document area in the predetermined mode for reading the irregular size. reading unit) 15; Further, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S controls the scanner unit (original reading unit) so as to read the area determined in step S23 (the minimum area where the entire area of the original can be read) in the predetermined mode for reading the irregular size. ) 15.

Further, in step S27, the control section 11 as the image processing control section 11P controls the input processing circuit 41, the document region determination circuit 45 and the output image generation circuit 47 of the image processing circuit 40, and the image read by the scanner unit 15 is The image of the document D is subjected to image processing. The document area determination circuit 45 determines the document area based on the image read at the reading position R2, and causes the output image generation circuit 47 to crop the document image. Then, the cropped images of the originals are collectively output as an image file.
After the image data created by reading the image of one document D in this way is stored in the storage device 13, the control unit 11 as the job execution unit 11X reads the fed document D. It is determined whether or not it is completed (step S29).

When it is determined that the reading of the image of one document D is completed (Yes in step S29), the control section 11 as the job execution section 11X determines whether or not there are any remaining documents to be read (step S31). If it is determined that the document is read, the process returns to step S25, and the processing related to reading is repeated for the next document. Then, when reading of all documents is completed (No in step S31), execution of the job is completed.
As described above, according to the first embodiment, when an irregular-sized document is set, or when a standard-sized document is improperly set, crop scanning is automatically performed so as not to cause chipping or tilting. Since the original image can be read in the mode, the user's convenience is improved.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 15A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the document detection size table for the AB system standard size document, and FIG. 15B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the document detection size table for the INCH system standard size document. FIG. 16A is an explanatory diagram showing the horizontal length (reference value) in the orthogonal direction for the AB standard size document, and FIG. 16B is an explanatory diagram showing the horizontal length (standard value) in the orthogonal direction for the INCH standard size document. 15A is substantially the same as FIG. 13A, and FIG. 15B is substantially the same as FIG. 13B.
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, a case will be described in which a document detection size table for AB system standard documents and a document detection size table for INCH system standard documents are used. Note that the document detection size table for AB standard size documents shown in FIG. 15A includes some of the INCH standard size documents (particularly those with high frequency of use), and the document detection size table for NICH standard size documents shown in FIG. 15B. The table includes some of the AB system standard document sizes (especially frequently used ones).

In the following, the differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be mainly described.
As shown in FIG. 15B and FIG. 16B, the INCH standard size manuscripts are 11"×17" size, 11"×8.5" size, 8.5"×13" size, 8.5"×11" size, 8.5"×5.5" size. Size and 5.5" x 8.5" size included.
As shown in FIGS. 15B and 16B, the allowable value range of the guide width in the document detection size table for the INCH standard size document is 11"×17" size and 11"×8.5" size as in the first embodiment. Similarly, for 8.5" x 13" size, 8.5" x 11" size and 8.5" x 5.5" size, the range is 221.9 to 209.9 (mm) with the standard value of 215.9 (mm), and for 5.5" x 8.5" size It ranges from 245.7 to min133.7 (mm) with the standard value of 139.7 (mm).

In addition, although not shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the MFP 100 of the second embodiment has a destination specification setting unit in the UI unit 19 for setting a specific destination specification.
In addition, the storage device 13 stores in advance a plurality of standard sizes for each destination specification. That is, the document detection size table for the AB system standard size document shown in FIG. 15A and the document detection size table for the INCH system standard size document shown in FIG. 15B are stored in the storage device 13 in advance.
When the multifunction device 100 is used in a country or region (destination) where AB standard size documents are mainly used, the destination specification setting unit is set to AB standard size documents in advance, and INCH standard size documents are mainly used. When the MFP 100 is used in the country or region (destination) in which it is used, the destination specification setting unit sets in advance to the INCH standard format document specification.

Next, the document reading operation of the document reading apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the second embodiment.
In the case of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, steps S11 to S17 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The control unit 11 of determines as follows. That is, when the document size information detected in step S13 is related to a specific combination of vertical length and horizontal length, the horizontal length related to the document size information is different from the length predetermined by the different destination specifications. is within the allowable range, it is determined in the second step that the size is irregular even if it is determined in the first step that the size corresponds to the standard size of the specific destination.

That is, for example, the allowable value range for the guide width of A4R/A5 size for AB standard size manuscripts is 216.0 to 204.0 (mm), while for INCH standard size manuscripts 8.5"×13"/8.5"×11"/ The range of allowable values for the guide width of the 8.5″×5.5″ size is 221.9 to 209.9 (mm), which partially overlap each other. Also, the allowable value range for the guide width of A5R size for AB standard size manuscripts is 154.0 to 142.0 (mm), while the allowable value range for guide width for 5.5" x 8.5" size of INCH standard size manuscripts is 145.7. ~133.7 (mm), and they partially overlap each other. Therefore, if the MFP 100 is set in advance to AB standard size documents, it is assumed that if an INCH standard size document is set, the document may be chipped and appropriate document reading may not be performed.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, AB system standard document specifications are set in advance, and when the document size information acquired in step S13 relates to a specific standard size (that is, A4R/A5 size or A5R size), the AB If the detected actual guide width W of the specific standard size of the system is the length predetermined in the INCH system standard document specifications x 8.5" size) is within the allowable range, the control section 11 as the reading control section 11S determines in the first step that it corresponds to the standard size of the AB system standard document specifications. is also determined to be of irregular size in the second step. Alternatively, it is preset to the INCH system standard document specifications, and the document size information acquired in step S13 is a specific standard size (i.e., 8.5" x 13"/8.5" x 11"/8.5" x 5.5" or 5.5"). "×8.5" size), the detected actual guide width W of the specific standard size of the INCH system is the length predetermined in the AB system standard document specifications (that is, the horizontal length of A4R/A5 size or A5R size). ) is within the allowable range, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S determines in the first stage that the size corresponds to the standard size of the INCH system standard document specifications, but in the second stage it is not correct. It is judged to be a standard size.

Note that in the second embodiment, when the document size information relates to a standard size other than a specific standard size, step S19 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. If (Yes in step S19), steps after step S23 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
If a document with a destination specification different from the set destination specification is set, or if there is an error in the setting of the destination specification, if the document image is read as it is, a missing part will occur and the output desired by the user will not be obtained. Although there is a risk that the result will not be obtained, according to the second embodiment, since the document image can be automatically read in the crop scan mode, the image can be output without missing.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the third embodiment.
The third embodiment is generally the same as the first and second embodiments, except that the irregular size determination process in step S19 is different from the first and second embodiments.
In the following, the differences of the third embodiment from the first and second embodiments will be mainly described.

In the case of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, steps S11 to S17 are performed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments. The control unit 11 as the unit 11S determines as follows. That is, when the document size information detected in step S13 is related to a specific combination of vertical length and horizontal length, the horizontal length related to the document size information is different from the length predetermined by the different destination specifications. is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of the allowable value, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the standard size of the specific destination, in the second step, it is an irregular size. Determine that there is.

In other words, when AB system standard document specifications are set in advance and the document size information acquired in step S13 relates to a specific standard size (that is, A4R/A5 size or A5R size), the AB system specific standard size document The detected actual guide width W is a length predetermined for the INCH system standard document specifications (i.e., 8.5" x 13" / 8.5" x 11" / 8.5" x 5.5" size or 5.5" x 8.5" size landscape ) is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of allowable values, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the standard size of AB system standard document specifications, in the second step It is judged to be a standard size.
For example, even if the actual guide width W is within the allowable range of 216.0 to 204.0 (mm) for the guide width of A4R/A5 size, the actual guide width W is 8.5″×13″/8.5″×11″/8.5″. If the overlap range is within the range of 216.0 to 209.9 (mm) within the allowable range of 221.9 to 209.9 (mm) for the guide width of the "×5.5" size, it is highly likely that an INCH standard size document is set and is not acceptable. Determined as standard size. In this example, instead of the overlapping range of 216.0 to 209.9 (mm), the guide width reference value of 8.5" x 13" / 8.5" x 11" / 8.5" x 5.5" is 215.9 (mm) ± α (mm). (α is about 3.0 to 6.0).

Alternatively, it is preset to the INCH system standard document specifications, and the document size information acquired in step S13 is a specific standard size (i.e., 8.5" x 13"/8.5" x 11"/8.5" x 5.5" or 5.5"). "×8.5" size), the detected actual guide width W of the specific standard size of the INCH system is the length predetermined in the AB system standard document specifications (that is, the horizontal length of A4R/A5 size or A5R size). ) is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of allowable values, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the standard size of the INCH system standard document specification, it is not correct in the second step. It is judged to be a standard size.
For example, even if the actual guide width W is within the allowable range of 221.9 to 209.9 (mm) for guide widths of sizes 8.5" x 13"/8.5" x 11"/8.5" x 5.5", the actual guide width W is within the allowable range of 216.0 to 204.0 (mm) for the guide width of A4R/A5 size, the overlap range is 216.0 to 209.9 (mm). Determined as standard size. In this example, instead of the overlapping range of 216.0 to 209.9 (mm), the standard value of the guide width of A4R/A5 size is 210.0 (mm) ± α (mm) (α is about 3.0 to 6.0). .

Judgment of the possibility of setting the INCH fixed-size original in the AB fixed-size original specifications or the possibility of setting the AB fixed-size original in the INCH fixed-size original specifications is based on the A5R size and the 5.5"× The 8.5" size can also be determined to be an irregular size in the same manner as described above.
Note that in the third embodiment, when the document size information relates to a standard size other than a specific standard size, step S19 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. If (Yes in step S19), steps after step S23 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
If a document with a destination specification different from the set destination specification is set, or if there is an error in the setting of the destination specification, if the document image is read as it is, a missing part will occur and the output desired by the user will not be obtained. Although there is a risk that the result will not be obtained, according to the third embodiment, since the original image can be automatically read in the crop scan mode, the image can be output without lacking. Further, in the case of the third embodiment, it is possible to further improve the determination accuracy between standard size documents of similar sizes for different destination specifications (AB system standard size document specifications and INCH system standard size document specifications).

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the fourth embodiment.
The fourth embodiment is generally the same as the first to third embodiments, except that the irregular size determination process in step S19 is different from the first to third embodiments.
The points of the fourth embodiment that are different from the first to third embodiments will be mainly described below.

In the case of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, steps S11 to S17 are performed in the same manner as in the first to third embodiments. The control unit 11 as the unit 11S detects that there is a difference exceeding a predetermined allowable range between the vertical length of the standard size determined in the first stage in step S19 and the vertical length related to the document size information acquired in step S13. If there is, it is determined that the document is of irregular size.

6, 7, and 15A, when the document D is set on the document set tray 31, the distance between the pair of document guides 10a (actual guide width) is 303.0 to 303.0. 291.0 (mm) and based on the document size information that the vertical length detection is the second pattern in which the first sensor 10ba is ON and the second sensor 10bb is OFF, reading is performed in step S19. At the first stage, the control section 11 as the control section 11S determines that the set document D is A3R size. However, for A3R size, both the first and second sensors 10ba and 10bb should be ON (third pattern). There is a difference exceeding a predetermined allowable value range (in this case, at least 305 mm) with the vertical length related to the acquired document size information (the distance from the document setting position P that does not reach the second sensor 10bb, which is less than 305 mm). Therefore, in the second step, the control section 11 as the reading control section 11S determines that the document D is irregular. In addition, the ON/OFF state of the first and second sensors 10ba and 10bb is likely to be A4 size (a state in which the long side is placed along the orthogonal direction B) in the second pattern. The control unit 11 determines that the document D is irregular in the second stage.

If an A4 size document is detected to be A3R size and the document image is read, there is a risk that a missing or marginal portion may occur. Images are not missing or output with margins.
Note that the vertical length detection described above is the same for 11″×17″/11″×8.5″ size, B4R/B5 size, etc., in addition to A3R/A4 size.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the fifth embodiment. 21A to 21C show first to third examples of user setting screens displayed on the display device.
In the first to fourth embodiments, when it is determined in step S19 that the document D set on the document set tray 31 is of an irregular size or that the document D is not properly set, the crop scan mode is automatically set. The case where the image reading process is performed after switching is exemplified (see FIGS. 6, 14, and 17 to 19).
On the other hand, the fifth embodiment is different from the first to fourth embodiments as follows, and the rest is generally the same as the first to fourth embodiments.
In the case of the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, when it is determined in step S19 that the document D set on the document set tray 31 is of irregular size, the document D is determined to be of irregular size depending on the situation and reason. Any one of the user setting screens shown in FIGS. 21A-21C is displayed on the display device 19D (step S21). This user setting screen is a mode switching selection screen.

On the screen shown in FIG. 21A, when the guide width does not match the document size as described in the first embodiment (FIGS. 9 to 12), for example, "There is a gap in the guide width with respect to the document size. ” is displayed.
On the screen shown in FIG. 21B, as described in the second and third embodiments, when the INCH standard size document is set when the AB standard size document specification is set, or when the INCH standard size document specification is set When the AB standard size original is set, for example, "There is a possibility that the setting of the original detection device is incorrect." is displayed.
On the screen shown in FIG. 21C, as described in the fourth embodiment, when there is a difference between the document size information and the detected length regarding vertical length detection, for example, "There is a difference in the document length with respect to the document size. .” is displayed.

In any case of FIGS. 21A to 21C, "Yes" and "No" buttons are displayed on the screen. is determined (step S25), and if the "Yes" button is pressed (Yes in step S23), the document reading area is determined in the crop scan mode (step S27). If the X mark on the screen is pressed to cancel (cancellation in step S23), the process ends without reading the original. After step S25 or S27, the same processes (steps S29 to S35) as those after step S25 in the first to fourth embodiments are executed, and the process ends.
As described above, in the fifth embodiment, when it is determined that the document D set on the document set tray 31 is of an irregular size or that the document D is not properly set, the user setting screen is displayed on the display device 19D. The user is asked to select whether to process in the crop scan mode or in the normal mode.

(Sixth embodiment)
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the sixth embodiment. 23A to 23E show first to fifth examples of user setting screens displayed on the display device in the sixth embodiment.
The sixth embodiment differs from the first to fifth embodiments as follows, and the other points are generally the same as the first to fifth embodiments.
In the case of the sixth embodiment, when the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S determines that the size is an irregular size, the scanner unit 15 reads the irregular size in the irregular size reading mode. A preview image is displayed for the case of cutting out an area corresponding to the determined standard size and the case of cutting out the boundary of the document, and either selection is accepted.

That is, in the case of the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the processes up to step S31 are executed in the same manner as up to step S31 in the first to fourth embodiments or up to step S35 in the fifth embodiment. After that, it is determined whether or not the operation has been performed in the crop scan mode (step S33), and if the operation has been performed in the normal mode (No in step S33), the process is terminated.
On the other hand, if the operation is in the crop scan mode (Yes in step S33), image clipping processing is performed (step S35), and one of the image selection screens shown in FIGS. 23A to 23E is displayed according to the crop scan situation. It is displayed on the display device 19D (step S37).

In the screen shown in FIG. 23A, the pair of document guides 10a is misaligned with respect to the document D set on the document set tray 31, causing the document D to be displaced in the document transport direction A with respect to the center line C. 6 shows a read image before cropping and a read image after cropping (see FIG. 6).
In the screen shown in FIG. 23B, the pair of document guides 10a is misaligned with respect to the document D set on the document set tray 31, causing the document D to be obliquely displaced with respect to the center line C. The scanned image before cropping and the scanned image after cropping in the situation are shown (see FIG. 6).
The screen shown in FIG. 23C shows a read image before cropping and a read image after cropping in a situation where lack or blank space occurs due to an error in destination specification setting for the read standard size document. For example, if you set an A4R size standard document, and it is set to the INCH standard size document specification, it will be detected as a standard size document of 8.5" x 11" size. Display the later scanned image.
The screen shown in FIG. 23D shows a read image before cropping and a read image after cropping in a situation where missing parts or margins are caused by reading a special document having a size similar to that of a standard document. For example, if you set a special document with a width (guide width W) of ±10 mm for A4R, it will be detected as an A4R size standard document because it is set to AB standard size document specifications, and it may be a special document, so it will be cropped. Display the previous scanned image and the scanned image after cropping.
The screen shown in FIG. 23E shows a read image before cropping and a read image after cropping in a situation where missing parts or margins are caused by reading a special document of A3 length with respect to A4R width, for example.

In FIGS. 23A to 23E, by selecting an image before or after cropping, the selected image is output (step S39), and the process ends.
As described above, in the sixth embodiment, when operating in the crop scan mode, the user is asked to select and output either the read image before cropping or the read image after cropping.

(Seventh embodiment)
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing document reading processing executed by the control unit in the seventh embodiment.
The seventh embodiment differs from the first to sixth embodiments as follows, and the rest is generally the same as the first to sixth embodiments.
In the case of the seventh embodiment, the reading control unit 11S (see FIG. 3) reads the entire area of the document based on the standard size determined in the first stage and the document size information in the crop scan mode for reading the irregular size. The scanner unit (original reading section) 15 is controlled so as to read the smallest possible area. In the crop scan mode, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S determines the required memory based on the standard size information stored in the storage device 13 and the document size information detected by the document size detection unit 10. Determine the capacity and read size of the image.

In other words, in the case of the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 24, after operating in the crop scan mode (step S23), the document area determination circuit 45 determines the size of the document based on the standard size information and the document size information. The width and length of the image to be read are determined (step S24), the capacity of the image storage memory is determined from the width and length of the image to be read (step S25), and then document feeding is started (step S26).
For example, the main scanning width (perpendicular direction B) is the width of the detected document size + α and the actual guide width + α, whichever is larger, and the sub-scanning length (document transport direction A) is the detected document size length + α to determine the reading size of the document. .
Alternatively, for example, in the case of a special document with a horizontal length (perpendicular direction B) of 240 mm and a vertical length (original transport direction A) of 250 mm, the main scanning width (perpendicular direction B) is larger than the detection document size width + α and the actual guide width + α. On the other hand, the sub-scanning length (document transport direction A) is the distance L2 (305 mm) from the document set position P to the second sensor 10bb, and the read size of the document is determined (see FIG. 6).
If the maximum size is read, the amount of memory to be secured increases and the crop processing takes time. Become.

(Eighth embodiment)
The document reading apparatus of the eighth embodiment has the configuration shown in FIG. 3, but differs from the first to seventh embodiments in the following points, and is generally similar to the first to seventh embodiments in other respects. is.
In the case of the eighth embodiment, the storage device (storage unit) 13 has one or more increments for the vertical length and horizontal length of each standard size (for example, a length of about 0.1 mm to 310.0 mm in units of 0.1 mm). length range). For example, the storage device 13 stores the length range of a plurality of increments in at least one of the vertical and horizontal multi-step detection directions in which the document size detection unit 10 detects the length in increments greater than the types of standard sizes as one standard size. may be stored in advance as a length belonging to .

In addition, the document size detection unit 10 detects the length of at least one of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document in steps greater than the number of standard size types. For example, if there are nine kinds of standard sizes (see FIG. 7), the center line is set so as to detect one end of each standard size in the longitudinal direction (the upstream end in the document transport direction A in FIG. 6). Sensors are provided on C at 11 increments in the document conveying direction A from the document setting position P. As shown in FIG. These are not evenly spaced, but are provided at positions slightly shorter than the vertical length of each standard size document. Also, the eleventh sensor, which is the farthest from the document set position P, detects an irregular size longer than the A3R size.
On the other hand, horizontal length detection by a pair of document guides 10a of the document size detection unit 10 is the same as in the first to seventh embodiments. Note that the vertical length of the document may also be detected using a one-piece document guide that can be slid in the document transport direction A. FIG.

Further, in the case of the eighth embodiment, the control unit 11 as the reading control unit 11S is placed based on the document size detection information regarding the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection unit 10. It is determined whether the size of the original document corresponds to any standard size or to an irregular size which does not correspond to any of them.
Further, the document area determination circuit 45 determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from the mode for the document determined to be the irregular size by the control section 11 as the reading control section 11S.
Further, the control unit 11 serving as the reading control unit 11S preliminarily determines to which of a plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document corresponds, and determines the length of the preliminarily determined standard size in the multi-step detection direction. If there is a difference between the length of the original and the detected length of the original that exceeds the range of a predetermined allowable value, it may be determined that the original is a non-standard size original.
Moreover, the characteristic elements of the second to seventh embodiments may be combined with the eighth embodiment.

(summary)
As mentioned above,
(i) The document reading device according to the first invention corresponding to the first embodiment,
a manuscript reading unit for reading a manuscript;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit for pre-storing standard sizes related to long side lengths and short side lengths of a plurality of standard size originals;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
In a first step, it is determined to which of the plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document corresponds based on the document size information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection unit. A document size determination unit that makes a preliminary determination with
and a document area determination unit,
In a second step after the first step, the document size determination unit determines whether the size of the document is a standard size or a non-standard size based on the standard size determined in the first step and the document size information. and determine whether
The document area determination unit determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination unit to determine a document of irregular size.

In the document reading apparatus according to the first invention, the size of the document is preliminarily (tentatively) specified, and then the image of the document is read in a size corresponding to the document size information. At this time, in the case of non-standard sizes, the crop scan mode, which is different from the standard size, scans a size slightly larger than the actual document size instead of the maximum size. can be reduced, the crop processing time can be shortened, and the like. In addition, an output image having tilts, shifts, defects, etc., which has conventionally occurred can be correctly cut out, and tilted images can be output after performing skew correction. In addition, the user does not need to manually input the document size.

In the first invention, the document reading section scans a document to read an image. As a specific aspect thereof, for example, it is common to use a linear image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CIS (Contact Image Sensor). Generally, documents up to A3 size or A4 size are to be read, so if an area image sensor is used, the reduction optical system and the size of the sensor become large. Therefore, a linear image sensor is used, and a scanning mechanism that moves the document relative to the image sensor in the sub-scanning direction is used to realize the miniaturization of the entire apparatus. In the feeder mode, generally, the reading position of the image sensor in the sub-scanning direction is fixed, and the document is conveyed and moved for reading. In the platen mode, the document is generally fixed on the platen and the reading position is moved. In the case of CIS, the image sensor is mounted on the carriage and the reading position is moved in the sub-scanning direction, and in the case of the CCD image sensor, the mirror constituting the reduction optical system is mounted on the carriage and the reading position is moved in the sub-scanning direction. .

Furthermore, the document area is an area corresponding to the document among the areas readable by the image sensor. The area readable by the image sensor is usually slightly larger than the maximum readable size of the document. This is because the adjustment tolerances of the document conveying mechanism and the optical system are taken into consideration. The document reading device cuts out a document area corresponding to the detected or set document size from the read image.

Cutting out a document area means making an image to be output, that is, an image to be printed or transmitted, correspond to the document area (cropping processing). When the size of the image to be output is larger than the document area, the area outside the document area is filled with predetermined pixels (usually white pixels) and output.

Furthermore, a preferred embodiment of the first invention will be described.
(ii) The manuscript size determination unit selects between the length of the standard size determined in the first step and the length according to the manuscript size information, or the width of the standard size determined in the first step and the manuscript size information. If there is a difference exceeding the range of a predetermined allowable value, it may be determined that the document is of an irregular size.
According to this configuration, for example, when the document guide is used to detect the horizontal length of the set document, the horizontal length can be generally accurately detected while allowing some positional deviation of the document guide with respect to the document.

(iii) further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting to a specific destination specification;
The storage unit is capable of pre-storing the plurality of standard sizes according to destination specifications,
When the document size information relates to a combination of a specific vertical length and a horizontal length, the document size determination unit determines that the vertical length related to the document size information is different from the set specific destination specifications. or when the horizontal length related to the document size information is within the range of the allowable value with respect to the length predetermined in the another destination specification When it is within the range of the allowable value, even if it is determined in the first stage that it corresponds to the standard size of the specific destination, or it is determined in the second stage that it is an irregular size. good.
If the setting of the destination specification is incorrect, for example, if the AB standard format document is mainly used but the INCH standard format specification is set (and vice versa), reading missing or margins may occur in the original image. According to this configuration, even if the destination specification setting is incorrect, it is possible to determine that the size is irregular and to operate in the crop scan mode.

(iv) further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting to a specific destination specification;
The storage unit is capable of pre-storing the plurality of standard sizes according to destination specifications,
When the document size information relates to a combination of a specific vertical length and a horizontal length, the document size determination unit determines that the vertical length related to the document size information is different from the set specific destination specifications. or when the horizontal length related to the document size information is within the range of the allowable value with respect to the length predetermined in the another destination specification When it is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of the allowable value, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the regular size of the specific destination, it is an irregular size in the second step. It may be determined that
According to this configuration, it is possible to specialize in discriminating between standard-size documents having different destination specifications (AB-system standard-size document specifications and INCH-system standard-size document specifications) but having similar sizes.

(v) further comprising a reading control unit that controls the document reading unit;
The reading control unit sets a predetermined area according to each standard size as a reading area in the mode for reading the standard size, and determines the boundary of the document from the image obtained by reading the entire area of the document in the mode for reading the irregular size. The document reading section may be controlled so as to determine and cut out the document area.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain a document image without missing or margins.

(vi) In the irregular size reading mode, the reading control unit reads the smallest possible area for reading the entire document based on the standard size determined in the first step and the document size information. The document reading unit may be controlled.
According to this configuration, the crop processing time can be shortened without requiring extra reading time or memory capacity.

(vii) further comprising a display unit capable of displaying a screen for reading a standard size and a mode for reading an irregular size;
The display section may display a user setting screen for setting either a mode for reading a standard size or a mode for reading an irregular size.
According to this configuration, when it is determined that the document set on the document set tray is of a non-standard size or that the document is not properly set, the user setting screen is displayed on the display section to prompt the user to enter the crop scan mode. You can choose whether to process with or in normal mode.

(viii) further comprising a display unit capable of displaying a screen for reading a standard size and a mode for reading an irregular size;
When the document size determining unit determines that the document is of irregular size, after the document reading unit reads the document in the irregular size reading mode, the display unit cuts out an area corresponding to the standard size determined in the first step. It is also possible to display a preview image of a case and a case of clipping the boundary of the document, and accept selection of one of them.
According to this configuration, when operating in the crop scan mode, the user can select either one of the read image before cropping and the read image after cropping and output it.

(I) In addition, the document reading device according to the second invention corresponding to the eighth embodiment includes:
a document reading unit for reading a document;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit that stores in advance the vertical length and horizontal length of each of a plurality of standard sizes related to a document;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
a document size determination unit that determines the size of a document;
and a document area determination unit,
The storage unit stores lengths in one or more increments as the vertical length and horizontal length of each standard size, and
The document size detection unit detects the length of at least one of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document in increments greater than the number of types of the standard sizes,
The document size determination section determines the size of the placed document as one of the standard sizes based on the document size detection information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection section. Determine whether it is an irregular size that corresponds to or does not correspond to either,
The document area determination unit determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination unit to determine a document of irregular size.

Furthermore, a preferred embodiment of the second invention will be described.
(II) The storage unit stores the length range of a plurality of increments in at least one of the vertical and horizontal multi-step detection directions in which the document size detection unit detects the length in increments greater than the types of the standard size into one. Stored in advance as a length belonging to a standard size,
The document size determination unit preliminarily determines to which of the plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document corresponds, and detects the length of the preliminarily determined standard size in the multistage detection direction. If the length of the document exceeds the range of a predetermined allowable value, it may be determined that the document is a non-standard size document.

(III) further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting a specific destination specification,
The storage unit is capable of pre-storing the plurality of standard sizes according to destination specifications,
When the document size detection information is a specific combination, the document size determination unit determines that the length detected in the multi-stage detection direction is different from the set specific specification of the destination. If the length predetermined in the specifications is within the allowable range, it is determined to be an irregular size even if it is preliminarily determined to correspond to the standard size for the specific destination. There may be.

(IV) further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting to a specific destination specification,
When the document size detection information is a specific combination, the storage unit stores the length detected in the multi-step detection direction in accordance with another destination specification different from the set specific destination specification. If it is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of the allowable value for the predetermined length, it is an irregular size even if it is preliminarily determined that it corresponds to the standard size of the specific destination. It may be determined that there is.

(V) Even if the length detected in the multi-step detection direction corresponds to any standard size, if the combination of lengths and widths does not correspond to any standard size, It may be determined to be a standard size.

Preferred aspects of the present invention include combinations of any of the aspects described above.
Various modifications of the present invention are possible in addition to the above-described embodiments. Those modifications should not be construed as not belonging to the scope of the present invention. The present invention should include all modifications within the scope of the claims, the meaning of equivalents, and the scope.

10: document size detection section 10a: document guide 10ba: first sensor 10bb: second sensor 10bc: document sensor 11: control section 11C: communication control section 11F: file control section 11J: job management 11P: image processing control unit 11S: reading control unit 11U: UI control unit 11X: job execution unit 12: document reading device 13: storage device (storage unit) 14: image forming unit (image forming section), 15: scanner unit (document reading section), 16: document feeder (document feeding section), 17: document table, 18: front side reading window, 19: user interface unit (UI unit), 19I: operation Input device 19D: Display device (display unit) 21: Communication circuit 31: Document set tray 32: Cover member 33: Document ejection tray 40: Image processing circuit 41: Input processing circuit 45: Document area Determination circuit (original area determination unit) 47: Output image generation circuit 51: Front background color plate 53: Back background color plate 55: First carriage 57: Second carriage 59: Optical lens 61: Image sensor 63: Scanner motor 65: Wire pulley 67: Back side scanning unit 69: Lens/image sensor unit 100: MFP A: Document transport direction B: Direction perpendicular to the document transport direction C: Center line D: Document d1, d2: Edge Dx: Document bundle L1, L2: Distance P: Document set position R1, R2, R3: Reading position S: Gap W: Gap (guide width )

Claims (9)

a manuscript reading unit for reading a manuscript;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit for pre-storing standard sizes related to long side lengths and short side lengths of a plurality of standard size originals;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
In a first step, it is determined to which of the plurality of standard sizes the size of the placed document corresponds based on the document size information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection unit. A document size determination unit that makes a preliminary determination with
and a document area determination unit,
In a second step after the first step, the document size determination unit determines whether the size of the document is a standard size or a non-standard size based on the standard size determined in the first step and the document size information. and determine whether
The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document area determination section determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination section to determine a document of irregular size. The document size determination unit determines whether the vertical length of the standard size determined in the first step and the vertical length related to the document size information, or the horizontal length of the standard size determined in the first step and the horizontal length related to the document size information is determined. 2. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document is judged to be of irregular size when there is a difference exceeding a predetermined allowable range between the two. further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting to a specific destination specification,
The storage unit is capable of pre-storing the plurality of standard sizes according to destination specifications,
When the document size information relates to a combination of a specific vertical length and a horizontal length, the document size determination unit determines that the vertical length related to the document size information is different from the set specific destination specifications. or when the horizontal length related to the document size information is within the range of the allowable value with respect to the length predetermined in the another destination specification 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when the size is within the allowable range, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the standard size of the specific destination, in the second step it is determined that it is an irregular size. Document reading device described. further comprising a destination specification setting unit for setting to a specific destination specification,
The storage unit is capable of pre-storing the plurality of standard sizes according to destination specifications,
When the document size information relates to a combination of a specific vertical length and a horizontal length, the document size determination unit determines that the vertical length related to the document size information is different from the set specific destination specifications. or when the horizontal length related to the document size information is within the range of the allowable value with respect to the length predetermined in the another destination specification When it is within the range of a predetermined minute error within the range of the allowable value, even if it is determined in the first step that it corresponds to the regular size of the specific destination, it is an irregular size in the second step. 3. The document reading device according to claim 2, wherein the document reading device determines that further comprising a reading control unit that controls the document reading unit;
The reading control unit sets a predetermined area according to each standard size as a reading area in the mode for reading the standard size, and determines the boundary of the document from the image obtained by reading the entire area of the document in the mode for reading the irregular size. 5. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said document reading section is controlled so as to determine and cut out a document area. The reading control unit reads the document so as to read the minimum readable area of the entire document based on the document size information and the standard size determined in the first stage in the irregular size reading mode. 6. The document reading device according to claim 5, which controls a unit. It also has a display unit that can display a mode for reading standard sizes and a mode for reading irregular sizes.
7. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display unit displays a user setting screen for setting either a standard size reading mode or a non-standard size reading mode. Furthermore, it has a display unit that can display the screen of the mode for reading standard size and the mode for reading irregular size,
When the document size determining unit determines that the document is of irregular size, after the document reading unit reads the document in the irregular size reading mode, the display unit cuts out an area corresponding to the standard size determined in the first step. 8. The document reading device according to claim 1, wherein a preview image is displayed for a case and a case of clipping the boundary of the document, and selection of any one of them is accepted. a document reading unit for reading a document;
a document transport unit for placing a document and transporting the placed document in a document transport direction toward the document reading unit;
a storage unit that stores in advance the vertical length and horizontal length of each of a plurality of standard sizes related to a document;
a document size detection unit that detects the vertical length of the placed document along the document transport direction and the horizontal length of the document in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction;
a document size determination unit that determines the size of a document;
and a document area determination unit,
The storage unit stores lengths in one or more increments as the vertical length and horizontal length of each standard size, and
The document size detection unit detects the length of at least one of the vertical length and the horizontal length of the document in increments greater than the number of types of the standard sizes,
The document size determination section determines the size of the placed document as one of the standard sizes based on the document size detection information relating to the combination of the vertical length and the horizontal length detected by the document size detection section. Determine whether it is an irregular size that corresponds to or does not correspond to either,
The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document area determination section determines the reading area of the document in a mode different from that of the document determined to be of a fixed size by the document size determination section to determine a document of irregular size.

Images