JP3456823B2 - Information equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information device having a reading means for reading a document while it is being conveyed, and more particularly to an information device having a function of detecting a document conveyance error such as a jam or a slip.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an information device such as a facsimile machine or a copying machine, when an original is conveyed and an image on the original is read, the original is jammed or jammed, or a slip occurs between the original conveying means and the original. May occur, and the moving length of the document may be shorter than the moving length (rotational peripheral surface length) of the document conveying means. Therefore, conventionally, at the time of image reading, the document trailing edge is not detected even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the document leading edge was detected, or the document trailing edge is not detected even when the number of reading lines is counted by a predetermined number or more. If the error occurs, it is processed as an error in document transportation.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the document feeding error occurs when a certain predetermined time has elapsed or when the number of reading lines reaches a certain number, regardless of the length of the document. When scanning a document with a short document length and sending it by facsimile, the document will be sent without a transport error even if it is a transport error, or unnecessary scanning will be performed due to the delay in the detection of the transport error. I will be broken. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to reliably detect a conveyance abnormality such as a jam or a slip even when reading a document having a short document length, and thus useless transmission or waste It is to provide an information device that does not need to be read.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 reads an original while conveying it.
For information devices equipped with reading means,
Maximum document length or maximum line corresponding to the document length of
The document length registration method to register the number and the original to be scanned.
Document size acquisition means for acquiring the document size of the draft, and transport
Document Edge Detection Hand that sequentially detects the leading and trailing edges of the document
And the reading obtained by the document size obtaining means.
Or the maximum original length corresponding to the original size of the original
Read the maximum number of lines from the document length registration means
Maximum line calculated from maximum number of lines or maximum document length
The number of originals is acquired and the originals are detected by the original edge detecting means.
If the leading edge is detected, start scanning the original
The number of reading lines is sequentially counted, and then the original
When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the edge detection means
Before reading the number of read lines to the maximum number of lines
If it reaches, it is equipped with a control means to judge that a transport error has occurred.
Get In the information apparatus according to claim 1 configured as described above, if there is a stagnation in the conveyance of the document being read due to a jam or a slip, the number of read lines becomes the maximum number of lines corresponding to the document length slightly longer than the document length. When it reaches, a transport error occurs. Therefore, even when reading a document having a short length, it is possible to reliably detect a conveyance abnormality such as a jam or a slip, and avoid unnecessary transmission or unnecessary reading.

The invention according to claim 2 is based on the apparatus configuration according to claim 1, and registers the actual document length and the maximum document length, or the regular line number and the maximum line number in the document length registration means. with to have a function, control hand
As further components of the stage, when the trailing edge of the document becomes end reading is detected by the document end detecting means, exceeds the number of normal lines <br/> reading line number of the original document corresponds to the actual document length above the case of less than the maximum number of lines corresponding to the maximum original length, the number of read lines read image information before
It is characterized by having a thinning means for thinning so that the serial number of normal lines. According to the information apparatus according to claim 2 configured as described above, when the number of read lines exceeds the number of regular lines due to slippage or the like,
Since it is possible to evenly thin out and transmit the image information of the increased line from the read image information, even in such a case, an image that is not stretched in the transport direction can be output on the recording paper.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized by further comprising a range setting means for setting the thinning range by the thinning means on the premise of the apparatus configuration according to the second aspect. According to the information device of claim 3 configured as described above, the thinning range can be set (restricted) in advance so that thinning is not always performed on a portion in which characters or the like are written.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus showing an embodiment of an information device according to the present invention.
As shown in the figure, this facsimile apparatus has a control unit 1 that manages and controls the entire apparatus according to a built-in program.
1. An operation display unit 12 including a keyboard for an operator to give an instruction to a facsimile device and a display means for the facsimile device to give a message or the like to the operator.
A RAM 13 for temporarily storing image information, a scanner 14 for reading an image on a document, an encoding / decoding unit (DC
R) the received image information decoded by the RAM 13
A network controller (NCU) 16 for setting up a call with a remote facsimile device via a public telephone network, a communication controller 17 for performing facsimile transmission / reception according to a G3 transmission control procedure, A modem 19 including a low-speed modem and a high-speed modem, an image memory 20 for storing image information, a parameter memory 21 for storing control information and backed up by a battery in case of power shutdown, and the like are provided. The scanner 14 includes various document sensors 1 (document presence sensor 1a, document edge detection sensor 1).
b, a paper discharge sensor 1c), and similarly, the plotter 15 is equipped with various paper sensors 2. Further, the control unit 11 inputs a document size of a document to be read by the scanner 14, and a document size acquisition unit for acquiring the inputted document size, and a document length of a document of each size in advance (corresponding to the document length smaller than the document length. It has a document length registration means for registering a (long) maximum document length and the like. The original size acquisition means and the original length registration means are composed of a CPU and a ROM containing a program executed by the CPU.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the scanner 14.
As shown in the drawing, a sheet feeding roller 2 as a document conveying unit is provided on the upstream side (left side in the figure) and the downstream side in the conveying direction indicated by arrow A.
2 and a discharge roller 23 are provided, and a reading unit 24 is provided at an intermediate portion between the two. Then, the document presence / absence sensor 1a and the reading unit 24 are provided on the document placement unit upstream of the paper feed roller 22.
Immediately before the above, a document edge detection sensor 1b and a paper discharge sensor 1c are provided downstream of the discharge roller 23. FIG. 3 shows a document length registration table in which the maximum document length and the like are registered by the document length registration means. This document length registration table is provided in the parameter memory 21, for example. In FIG.
Each maximum document length is shown when the longitudinal direction of the document is the transport direction. Therefore, for example, the maximum document length in the case of the A4 size and the conveyance direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is the maximum document length of the A5 size. As shown in the figure, when the maximum document length is registered in the document length registration table with the maximum number of lines, the maximum document length does not necessarily have to be registered. In the illustrated example, when the maximum document length is set, the maximum number of lines is calculated and automatically set by the document length registration means.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. It is assumed that the maximum number of lines of each size document has already been registered in the document length registration table. This first
In the embodiment, when the facsimile apparatus is in the standby state (steps S1 → S2 → S1), the user places a document on the information device, and the document presence sensor 1a detects the document presence state ( Yes in step S2
s), the document size acquisition means causes the display in the operation display unit 12 to display a message as shown in FIG. 5, and prompts the user to input the size of the document placed (step S).
3). When the user inputs a number corresponding to the document size and the placement direction from the ten-key pad in the operation display unit 13 (yes in step S4), the document size acquisition means acquires it and sets the corresponding maximum number of lines to the parameter memory 21. It is read from the document length registration table in the table and set in a predetermined area (comparison counter) in the parameter memory 21 (step S5). Then, the control unit 11 uses the scanner 14
To instruct the start of document transportation. As a result, the paper feed roller 22 starts to rotate, and the conveyance of the first document starts.

After that, when the document edge detection sensor 1b detects the leading edge of the document and recognizes that the signal line output from the sensor 1b is turned on, the scanner controller in the scanner 14 drives the paper feed roller 22. The number of pulses applied to the stepping motor is counted, and the original is read by advancing the original by a predetermined distance from that time, and the read image information is passed to the control unit 11. At this time, the control unit 11 monitors whether or not the reading has started (step S6). When the image information starts to be transferred, it is determined that the reading has started (yes in S6), and the image information for one line is obtained. The value of the reading counter is incremented by 1 each time a message is received (the initial value of the reading counter is set to 0) (step S
7). The reading counter is provided in the parameter memory 21, for example.

The controller 11 increases the value of the read counter by 1 each time the value of the read counter is increased.
The value is compared with the value of the comparison counter set to (step S
8). If the two counter values do not match (S
No in 8), it is determined whether the scanner 14 is in the reading completed state (step S9). It should be noted that the scanner 14 terminates the document reading when the document is conveyed a predetermined distance after the document edge detection sensor 1b is turned off (after detecting the trailing edge of the document), and then the control section 11 is set to the reading finished state. Indicates that it has become.

In this way, if the reading is completed before the maximum number of lines corresponding to the maximum document length, which is slightly longer than the actual document length, that is, the comparison counter value is reached (yes in S9), it is determined that the conveyance is abnormal. When it is determined that the jam or slippage to be considered does not occur, the control unit 11 executes various instructed processing operations such as transmission or copy output (step S10), and the process ends. On the other hand,
In step S8, if the reading counter value matches the comparison counter value before reading is completed (yes in step S8).
s), it is judged that the count value for comparison (maximum number of lines) has been reached as a result of being repeatedly read at the same position when the document does not move due to a jam or slip that is considered to be an abnormal conveyance, and jam processing etc. A predetermined transport error process is performed (step S11). Note that the flow chart of FIG. 4 is a flow when the number of originals is one, but if there are multiple originals, steps S6 to S11 are repeated for the number of originals. In this way, according to the first embodiment, if the document length in the document transport direction is short, it is determined whether or not there is a transport error at a timing as short as possible. Even if the document length is short, the comparison counter value is large, so even if there was a jam or slip that should be judged as a conveyance error, the reading was completed before reaching the comparison counter value, There is nothing to be regarded.

Second Embodiment Next, a facsimile machine of a second embodiment of the information equipment according to the present invention will be described. The overall construction of the facsimile apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 1, but the document length registration means in the control section 11 has an actual document in addition to the maximum number of lines as shown in FIG. Also register the number of regular lines corresponding to the length. It should be noted that, at the time of registration, the actual line length and the maximum line number can be automatically set by inputting the actual document length. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 11 has thinning means 11a in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. This thinning-out means is realized by a thinning-out circuit or a ROM having a CPU and a program built-in, and the number of read lines corresponds to the actual document length registered in the document length registration table shown in FIG. When the number is larger than the number and smaller than the maximum number of lines, the thinning process is performed so that the number of regular lines is obtained.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the second embodiment, first, in step S20, the same operations as in steps S1 to S6 of FIG. 4 are executed,
The read image information is stored in the image memory 20 or the like (step S21). Then, every time one line is read, the value of the reading counter is incremented by 1 (step S22), and each time it is determined whether or not the number of regular lines is exceeded (step S23). If the number of regular lines is not exceeded (NO in S23) and the reading is not completed (NO in S24), the reading is continued and the read image information is stored in the image memory 20 or the like ( Step S2
1), the value of the reading counter is incremented by 1 (step S2
2). After that, if the reading is completed before the number of regular lines is exceeded (Yes in S24), the control unit 11 determines that no jam or slippage has occurred, and transmits the image information stored in the image memory 20 or A predetermined processing operation such as copy output is executed (step S28). On the other hand, the number of regular lines is exceeded (yes in S23), but before the maximum number of lines is reached (step S
No at 25), when reading is completed (step S
26), which is not enough to handle as a conveyance abnormality, but considers that some jam or slip has occurred, and thins out one or more image information from the image information accumulated in the image memory 20 or the like, The number of lines of image information is reduced to the number of normal lines (step S27).

The thinning-out processing is performed by the thinning-out means in the control unit 11. This thinning-out means is a thinning-out circuit or C.
It is realized by a ROM containing a PU and a thinning program. For example, in the method using a CPU or the like, when the number of thinned lines is determined, first, the thinned line numbers (plurality) are determined so as to thin out almost all the read lines. Then, since the address of the read storage area of each line can be obtained, the image information of the next line is stored in the storage area address of the thinned line number and the determined line number according to the obtained address. As described above, the image information of the succeeding line is sequentially moved to fill the previous storage area (see FIG. 9).

FIG. 10 shows the data structure of a management table for managing the image information read and stored in the image memory 20. Image information read from one-page or multiple-page originals is accumulated as one accumulated file, and the management information of each accumulated file in the above management table stores the file number, document size, regular line number, etc. To be done. Further, following these pieces of information, the number of read lines (the number of input lines) and the start address of the storage area are stored for each page. The top address is used to read the image information of each page from the image memory 20. The image memory 20 generally stores image information compressed (encoded) by the DCR 18. In that case, as shown in FIG. 11, the compressed image information in the image memory 20 is set to D
The data is decompressed (decoded) by the CR 18 and stored in the line buffer in the RAM 3, the thinning processing as described above is performed, and the DCR 18 compresses again. Then, the thinned and compressed image information is transmitted (step S28). In this way, according to the second embodiment, when the number of read lines becomes larger than the normal line number due to slippage or the like, the number of read lines is corrected (decimated) so that the normal line number is transmitted, It can be copied and output.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a facsimile apparatus according to a third embodiment of the information equipment according to the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, the C
It has a range setting means composed of a PU and a ROM containing a range setting program, and can set a thinning range. In this embodiment, the thinning range setting is selected in advance by menu selection or the like, a message is displayed by the range setting means, and the user is made to input the thinning range or the non-thinning range with the start line number and the end line number, The range setting means acquires it and stores it in a predetermined area of the parameter memory 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a range that is not thinned or a thinned range (a)
When (b) is set, when the thinning process is performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment, the thinning lines are uniformly thinned out of the line numbers belonging to the thinning ranges (a) and (b). It is decided to be drawn. In this way, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to perform thinning out within a range excluding a specific range, so that, for example, a character addition area of a facsimile document (for example, an area to which TTI or the like is added), etc. If the range is set so as not to be thinned out, it is possible to prevent a situation where a horizontal line of characters is erased by thinning out when the data is output to the recording paper on the receiving side. It should be noted that the above-described embodiment is applied to the facsimile apparatus, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to other information equipment provided with means for reading a document, such as a copying machine.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. According to the information apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when there is a stagnation in the conveyance of the document being read due to a jam or a slip, the number of read lines reaches the maximum number of lines corresponding to the document length slightly longer than the document length. Since a transport error occurs at this point, it is possible to reliably detect a transport abnormality such as a jam or slip even when reading a document having a short document length, and prevent useless transmission or useless reading. According to the information apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the number of read lines exceeds the number of regular lines due to slippage or the like, the image information of the increased lines is uniformly thinned from the read image information. Even in such a case, it is possible to output an image that has not been stretched in the transport direction on the recording paper. According to the information equipment according to the invention of claim 3,
Since it is possible to set not to thin out a portion in which characters and the like are always written, there is no problem that a horizontal line of characters disappears by thinning transmission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment in which an information device according to the present invention is applied to a facsimile device.

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

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a document length registration table registered in a document length registration means of the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operation contents of the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a document size input screen on the operation display unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a document length registration table registered in a document length registration means of the facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main part of a facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation contents of the facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing storage states before and after thinning-out by a thinning-out unit of a facsimile apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing contents of a management table for managing image information stored in an image memory of the facsimile apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a processing system of image information read from an image memory in a facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting a thinning range by a thinning range setting means of a facsimile apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Document Sensor 1a Document Presence Sensor 1b Document Edge Detection Sensor 1c Paper Ejection Sensor 11 Control Unit (Document Length Registration Unit, Document Size Acquisition Unit,
Conveyance error detection means, thinning means, thinning range setting means 12 Operation display section (original size input / display means, thinning range setting means) 13 RAM 14 Scanner (reading means) 20 Image memory 21 Parameter memory (thinning range setting information recording means)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information device equipped with a reading unit for reading a document while it is being conveyed, and a document length registration unit for previously registering a maximum document length or a maximum number of lines corresponding to the document length of each size document, and a reading unit. Original size to obtain the original size of the target original
Acquiring means and document edge detection for sequentially detecting the leading edge and trailing edge of the transported document
Output means and reading target acquired by the original size acquisition means
Maximum document length or maximum document size corresponding to the document size of
The number of INs is read from the document length registration means and the maximum
The maximum number of lines obtained from the
At the same time, the document edge is detected by the document edge detection means.
If detected, start scanning the original and
The number of lines is counted sequentially, and then the document edge is detected.
Before the end of reading is detected by the means
And the number of read lines reached the maximum number of lines.
If so, an information device including: a control unit that determines that a transport error has occurred . 2. The original length registration means has a function of registering an actual original length and a maximum original length, or a normal line number and a maximum line number, and the control means detects the original end of the original by the original end detecting means. when it is detected end reading, exceeds the number of normal lines number of read lines document corresponds to the actual document length, reading line of the case of less than the maximum number of lines corresponding to the maximum original length, read image information information device according to claim 1, wherein the number and further comprising a thinning means for thinning such that the number of normal lines. 3. The information device according to claim 2, further comprising range setting means for setting a thinning range by the thinning means.