JP5784072B2 - Business card transport device, business card reading method, and business card reading system - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a business card transport apparatus that automatically transports business cards, and a business card reading method and a business card reading system using the business card transport apparatus.

  Conventionally, there is an image reading apparatus that reads an image on a sheet (original). For example, in an apparatus that prints an image of an original by an electrophotographic method, an image reading apparatus reads an image of a sheet conveyed by an automatic original feeder (ADF) or a sheet placed on an original placing table.

  However, it has been difficult to use an automatic document feeder for small-sized media such as business cards. Therefore, it is necessary for the user to set the business card one by one on the document table of the image reading apparatus and perform the reading process.

JP 2011-86988 A

  The problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a business card transport device that automatically transports business cards, and a business card reading method and a business card reading system that make it easy to digitize business cards by using such a business card transport device It is to be.

The business card transport apparatus of the embodiment includes a transport mechanism, a sensor, and a drive mechanism. The transport mechanism transports a business card to be read to a reading position. The said sensor detects the light at the time of reading the business card conveyed by this conveyance mechanism. The drive mechanism drives the transport mechanism in response to a detection signal from the sensor.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a scanner unit according to the first embodiment. Sectional drawing of the business card conveyance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a scanner unit and a business card transport device of an image forming apparatus that executes a business card reading process according to the first embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart of a business card reading process related to each operation of the server, the image forming apparatus, and the business card transport apparatus in the first embodiment. Sectional drawing of the business card conveyance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the business card conveyance apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)

  The first embodiment will be described below. The business card conveying apparatus according to the present embodiment uses a scanner unit of an image forming apparatus as an external image reading apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 110, a paper feeding unit 130, an image forming unit 140, an operation unit 150, a communication interface (I / F) unit 160, and a scanner unit (image reading device) 170. Each unit is connected to each other via a bus 200.

  The control unit 110 includes a processor 112 made up of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a memory 114, and a storage device 120. The memory 114 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, and includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 116 that stores various control programs, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 118 that provides a temporary work area to the processor 112. The storage device 120 may be, for example, a hard disk drive, another magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory, or any combination thereof. The control unit 110 communicates with an external server 210 described later.

  The sheet feeding unit 130 includes a cassette unit that stores a plurality of sheets and a manual feeding unit. A plurality of cassette units may be provided. The sheet feeding unit 130 takes out the sheets placed on the cassette unit or the manual feeding unit one by one and conveys them to the image forming unit 140.

  The image forming unit 140 has a known configuration, and includes, for example, an image forming unit including a photosensitive drum and a developing unit using toner as a developer. The image forming unit 140 prints an image obtained by reading a document with the scanner unit 170 or an image based on print data received from the communication I / F unit 160 on a sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit 130. In the present embodiment, the image forming unit 140 can employ either a configuration for forming a color image or a configuration for forming only a monochrome image.

  The operation unit 150 includes a display unit 155 including various operation keys and a touch panel type input unit. The operation keys include, for example, a numeric keypad, a reset key, a stop key, and a start key. The display unit 155 displays instruction items related to printing conditions such as sheet size, number of copies, print density setting, and finishing (binding, folding, bookbinding), for example. The operation unit 150 receives input from the user from the operation keys or the display unit 155.

  The communication I / F unit 160 is an interface that connects an external user terminal such as a PC or the print server 210 and the control unit 110 via a network. The communication I / F unit 160 includes an appropriate wireless or wired interface such as IEEE802.15, IEEE802.11, IEEE802.3, IEEE1284 such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared connection, and optical connection. The communication I / F unit 160 may further include a USB connection unit or a parallel interface to which a USB standard connection terminal is connected. The control unit 110 communicates with a user terminal, a USB device, or other external device via the communication I / F unit 160. The communication I / F unit 160 receives print data from a user terminal, for example.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the scanner unit 170 according to the first embodiment. The scanner unit 170 includes a document placement table 172, a first carriage 178 having a first reflection mirror 174 and a first reflection mirror 174, a second carriage 184 having a second reflection mirror 180 and a third reflection mirror 182, a lens 186, and It has a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 188. The scanner unit 170 performs a reading process of reading an image of a document on the document table 172. The scanner unit 170 can employ either a configuration for reading a color image or a configuration for reading a monochrome image.

  The document placement table 172 is a table on which a document to be read is placed. The first carriage 178 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the first carriage 178 with reference to the standby position by driving a motor (not shown). The exposure lamp 176 irradiates the original with light. The exposure lamp 176 is constituted by, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp. The first reflection mirror 174 reflects the reflected light from the document irradiated by the exposure lamp 176 to the second reflection mirror 180. The second carriage 184 interlocks with the first carriage 178 and reciprocates and conveys the second reflection mirror 180 and the third reflection mirror 182 in the sub-scanning direction. However, the speed of the second carriage 184 is half the speed of the first carriage 178. That is, the second carriage 184 moves a half of the moving distance of the first carriage 178 with reference to the standby position. The second reflection mirror 180 and the third reflection mirror 182 reflect the reflected light from the first reflection mirror 174 to the lens 186. The lens 186 guides the reflected light from the third reflecting mirror 182 to the CCD sensor 188. The CCD sensor 188 converts light into an electrical signal and outputs it as an image signal to the image forming unit 140.

  Next, the server 210 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The server 210 communicates with the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 using a web browser communication function (for example, HTTP communication). The server 210 receives input from the user via the browser of the display unit 155 of the image forming apparatus 100. The server 210 sends various instructions to the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to input from the user.

  Further, the server 210 acquires an image read by the scanner unit 170 and performs an acquisition process of saving the acquired image on the server 210 or the storage device 120 of the image forming apparatus 100. The server 210 starts and ends the business card reading process by reading a predetermined start image and end image. The start image and the end image of the present embodiment are, for example, blank images obtained by performing a reading process without placing a document. That is, when the first blank image is acquired from the scanner unit 170, the server 210 discards the image and starts business card reading processing. In the acquisition process of the business card reading process, the server 210 stores the acquired business card image together with the management number. After that, when the server 210 acquires the second blank image from the scanner unit 170, the server 210 instructs the control unit 110 to end the reading process.

  Next, the business card transport device 220 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the business card transport device 220 according to the first embodiment. The business card transport device 220 includes a business card paper feed tray 222, a paper feed roller pair 224, a plurality of transport rollers 226, a paper discharge roller pair 228, a drive mechanism (not shown), a sensor 230, a reading glass 232, and a paper discharge tray 234. Have

  The business card feed tray 222 is loaded with business cards to be read. The business card feed tray 222 has a slope that decreases toward the downstream (hereinafter referred to as downstream) in the business card conveyance direction. By adopting this configuration, the downstream end of the business card loaded on the business card paper feed tray 222 contacts the paper feed roller pair 224, so that the business card can be aligned in the transport direction. Further, the business card feed tray 222 may have an alignment member in order to perform alignment in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) orthogonal to the transport direction of the stacked business cards.

  The sensor 230 is provided at an end in the width direction of the business card transport device 220. In this embodiment, two sensors 230 are provided on the business card feed tray 222 side and the paper discharge tray 234 side. The sensor 230 detects light emitted from the exposure lamp 176 of the scanner unit 170. The reading glass 232 is positioned in the middle of the conveyance path that connects the business card paper feed tray 222 to the paper discharge tray 234. The scanner unit 170 reads a business card conveyed to a reading position on the reading glass 232.

  The pair of paper feed rollers 224 conveys the business cards stacked on the business card paper feed tray 222 one by one from the top to the inside of the business card transport device 220. The plurality of transport rollers 226 transport the business card transported by the paper feed roller pair 224 to the reading position. The conveyance roller 226 conveys the business card on the reading position where the reading process has been performed to the paper discharge roller pair 228. The paper discharge roller pair 228 conveys the business card received from the conveyance roller 226 to the paper discharge tray 234. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the paper feed roller pair 224, the transport roller 226, and the paper discharge roller pair 228 are collectively referred to as a transport mechanism.

  The drive mechanism controls the operation of the transport mechanism according to the input signal of the sensor 230. The drive mechanism is, for example, a stepping motor. The drive mechanism performs a first operation for conveying the business card on the business card feed tray 222 to the reading position via the conveyance mechanism, and a second operation for conveying the business card placed at the reading position to the paper discharge tray 234. Do. The driving mechanism performs each operation in conjunction with each other so that a jam due to a plurality of business cards does not occur. For example, in the present embodiment, the drive mechanism performs each operation simultaneously.

  The paper discharge tray 234 stacks business cards that have been read on the reading glass 232. The paper discharge tray 234 has an inclination that increases toward the downstream in the positional relationship shown in FIG. With this configuration, the business card discharged to the paper discharge tray 234 first falls on the paper discharge tray 234, and its rear end abuts the casing of the business card transport device 220 along the inclination of the paper discharge tray 234. The transport direction can be aligned.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the scanner unit 170 and the business card transport device 220 of the image forming apparatus 100 that executes the business card reading process according to the first embodiment. The business card conveyance device 220 is placed on the document placement table 172 of the scanner unit 170. The business card transport device 220 is placed such that the distance between the sensor 230 and the standby position of the first carriage 178 is maximum in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of arrow a in the figure). That is, the business card transport device 220 is placed so that the sub-scanning direction of the scanner unit 170 and the business card transport direction (the direction of arrow b in the figure) are orthogonal to each other.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 100 and the business card transport apparatus 220 are not connected by wire or wireless. That is, the image forming apparatus 100 and the business card transport apparatus 220 operate independently of each other. However, in order to supply power from the image forming apparatus 100 to the business card conveying apparatus 220, these two may be connected by a USB cable, for example.

  Next, business card reading control according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of a business card reading process related to each operation of the server, the image forming apparatus, and the business card transport apparatus in the first embodiment. A dotted line in the drawing represents communication between the image forming apparatus 100 and the server 210. In executing the business card reading process, the image forming apparatus 100 (scanner unit 170) and the business card transport apparatus 220 are arranged as shown in FIG.

  When receiving a business card reading process start instruction from the user via the operation unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100, the server 210 instructs the control unit 110 to start the reading process (ACT 101). Upon receiving an instruction from the server 210, the control unit 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 starts reading processing by the scanner unit 170 (ACT102). The first carriage 178 moves in the sub-scanning direction and reads an image on the reading glass 232 of the business card conveying device 220 placed on the document placing table 172 as shown in FIG. The control unit 110 transmits the read image to the server 210 (ACT 103). When the exposure lamp 176 irradiates the sensor 230 of the business card transport device 220 in the reading process, the sensor 230 of the business card transport device 220 detects the light of the exposure lamp 176 (ACT 104). When the sensor 230 detects light and outputs a detection signal (input signal) to the control unit 110, the control unit 110 drives the transport roller 226 via the drive mechanism and reads a business card to be subjected to the next reading process. Transport to position (ACT 105). In the meantime, the control unit 110 moves the first carriage 178 and the second carriage 184 to the original standby position (ACT 106).

  The server 210 acquires an image from the scanner unit 170 (ACT 107). Next, the server 210 determines whether a business card reading process is being performed and whether the acquired image is a blank image (ACT 108, ACT 109a, ACT 109b). When the business card reading process is not performed (ACT 108: No), the server 210 continues to acquire images from the scanner unit 170 until a blank paper image is acquired (ACT 109b: No). When a blank page image is acquired (ACT 109b: Yes), the server 210 recognizes this blank page image as a reading process start image, discards the blank page image (ACT 110), and proceeds to a business card reading process (ACT 111). Thereafter, when an image (business card image) other than the blank image is acquired (ACT 108: Yes, ACT 109a: No), the server 210 stores the image together with the management number (ACT 112). This operation (ACT 107, ACT 108, ACT 109a, and ACT 112) is repeatedly executed until the result of ACT 109a is Yes. After that, when a blank image is acquired again (ACT 108: Yes, ACT 109a: Yes), the server 210 recognizes this blank image as an end image of the reading process and discards the blank image (ACT 113). An instruction to end the reading process is issued to 110 (ACT 114).

  The control unit 110 repeats the reading process until an instruction to end the reading process described above is received from the server 210 (ACT 115: Yes).

  On the other hand, after the business card transport device 220 transports the first business card, when the sensor 230 detects light for image reading, the drive mechanism reads the business card on the business card feed tray 222 via the transport mechanism. At the same time, the business card on which the reading process at the reading position has been executed is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 234. The business card transport device 220 determines the presence or absence of a business card on the business card feed tray 222 every time a business card is transported. When all the business cards are lost (ACT 116: Yes), the drive mechanism stops driving the transport roller 226 and shifts to a standby state (ACT 117).

  When the back side is read, the business card discharged to the paper discharge tray 234 of the business card transport device 220 may be reset on the business card paper feed tray 222. At this time, the user may rearrange the business cards so that the back side of the business card can be read, or may read sequentially from the back side of the last business card. Based on an instruction from the user, the server 210 determines whether to read the back side in the order of reading the front side or the reverse side, and finally stores the front side image in association with the back side image.

According to the first embodiment described above, the business card transport device automatically transports the business card according to the operation of the scanner unit as the image reading device. In addition, since the scanner unit automatically performs a reading process on the conveyed business card, the business card can be easily digitized.
(Second Embodiment)

  The second embodiment will be described below. The business card transport apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment uses a portable device 250 with a camera function as an external image reading apparatus, instead of the scanner unit as the image reading apparatus of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment. . The portable device 250 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The portable device 250 is placed on the upper part of the case of the business card transport device 220 and reads the business card transported to the reading position located below through the reading hole 236.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a business card transport device 220 according to the second embodiment. The business card conveyance device 220 according to the present embodiment is different from the business card conveyance device 220 according to the first embodiment in that it has a reading hole 236 and a timer, and a belt conveyor 238 instead of some conveyance rollers 226. It is.

  The reading hole 236 is provided in the upper part of the housing. The portable device 250 placed on the top of the housing reads the business card image by aligning the camera lens 186 with the reading hole 236. The reading hole 236 may be fitted with glass so that dust or the like does not enter the housing.

  The timer drives the transport mechanism intermittently by measuring a predetermined time. The business card transport device 220 drives the transport mechanism with a predetermined interval by a timer, thereby transporting the business card placed on the paper feed tray 222 to the reading position and transferring the business card on the reading position to the paper discharge tray 234. Transport to.

  The belt conveyor 238 is provided in place of the conveyance roller 226 as a conveyance member on the reading glass 232 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the paper feed roller pair 224, the transport roller 226, the paper discharge roller pair 228, and the belt conveyor 238 are collectively referred to as a transport mechanism.

  In addition, the business card transport device 220 may include an illumination device 240 in order to improve the image quality of the business card image. A plurality of illumination devices 240 are provided, for example, in the upper part of the housing of the business card transport device 220, and irradiate light to the business cards transported to the reading position.

  Next, the portable device 250 used in this embodiment will be described. The portable device 250 has a camera function. The portable device 250 has a function of executing a predetermined application to repeatedly release the shutter of the camera in accordance with the conveyance interval of the business card conveyance device 220 and store the photographed image in, for example, a built-in memory. The portable device 250 may be set so that the camera shutter is released each time an image within the photographing range is stopped at the reading position.

  In addition, the illuminating device 240 in this embodiment may be provided in the portable device 250. When using the lighting device 240 of the portable device 250, the business card transport device 220 may start transporting the business card by light emission from the lighting device 240. In this case, the business card transport device 220 includes a sensor 230 (see FIG. 3) that detects light from the illumination device 240 included in the portable device 250. Unlike the first embodiment, the business card transport device 220 according to the second embodiment drives the transport mechanism by detecting light when the sensor 230 performs the reading process of the illumination device 240.

According to the second embodiment described above, the business card can be digitized more easily by using a portable device instead of the scanner unit of the image forming apparatus.
(Third embodiment)

  The third embodiment will be described below. In the business card transport apparatus 220 according to the third embodiment, a user uses a business card when using the scanner unit 170 of the image forming apparatus 100 as an external image reading apparatus and when using a portable device 250 with a camera function. The casing of the transfer device 220 is used by turning it upside down.

  The difference between the business card transport apparatus 220 of the present embodiment and the business card transport apparatus 220 of the first embodiment will be described. In the business card transport apparatus 220 of the present embodiment, a business card paper feed tray 222, a paper feed roller pair 224, and a paper discharge tray 234 are provided movably. The business card feed tray 222, paper feed roller pair 224, and paper discharge tray 234 are positioned depending on whether the scanner unit 170 (see FIG. 4) or the portable device 250 (see FIG. 6) is used as an external image reading device. To change.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a business card transport device 220 according to the third embodiment. The business card paper feed tray 222, the paper feed roller pair 224, and the paper discharge tray 234 of this embodiment are selectively moved to a first position and a second position, which will be described later. The business card paper feed tray 222 is provided so as to be pivotable downward (arrow A in the figure) around the connection portion with the housing. The pair of paper feed rollers 224 move toward the business card paper feed tray 222 along the circumference of the lower roller while the upper roller maintains the nip with the lower roller (arrow B in the figure). The paper discharge tray 234 is formed to be removable, for example, and can be installed at a position that is vertically symmetrical about the paper discharge port (arrow C in the figure).

  FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the business card transport device 220 when the scanner unit 170 of the image forming apparatus 100 is used as an external reading device. In this case, the business card conveying device 220 is located on the document placing table 172 of the scanner unit 170 as in FIG. When the scanner unit 170 is used, the business card transport device 220 is placed in a first direction in which the reading glass 232 is positioned below the housing. Each part of the business card transport device 220 is provided at the same position (first position) as the business card transport device 220 in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the business card transport device 220 when the portable device 250 is used as an external reading device. When the portable device 250 is used, the housing of the business card transport apparatus 220 is placed in the second orientation that is turned upside down, and the portable device 250 is placed on the reading glass 232 that is the upper portion of the housing. The portable device 250 reads a business card conveyed to the reading position through the reading glass 232. In this case, each part of the business card transport apparatus 220 is moved to the second position. The business card feed tray 222 is inclined to the downstream in the transport direction by being rotated to the second position. The pair of paper feed rollers 224 comes into contact with the downstream end portion of the business cards stacked on the business card paper feed tray 222 as the upper roller moves in the direction of the paper feed tray 222. The discharge tray 234 has an inclination that becomes higher toward the downstream in the transport direction by setting the installation location to the second position.

  According to the third embodiment described above, the business card can be digitized by properly using the scanner unit of the image forming apparatus or the portable device having a camera function as the external apparatus.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, the business card can be easily digitized by the business card transport device.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In each embodiment, when the business card image is stored, the business card image may be stored after trimming by an external reader. In each embodiment, the business card conveying device and the external reading device do not perform communication by wired or wireless connection. However, the present invention is not limited to this mode. In any of the embodiments, the timing of the reading process and the conveyance may be synchronized by connecting the business card conveyance device and an external reading device.

  In addition, the business card reading system of the above-described embodiment is a system via a server, but the control unit of the image forming apparatus assumes the function of the server, and may be configured only by the business card conveying apparatus and the image forming apparatus. .

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 ... Control part 152 ... Document mounting stand 156 ... Exposure lamp 170 ... Scanner part (image reading apparatus)
180 ... business card transport device 182 ... business card paper feed tray 186 ... transport roller 190 ... drive mechanism 192 ... sensor 196 ... paper discharge tray 224 ... paper feed roller 226 ... transport roller 228 ... paper discharge roller

Claims (5)

A transport mechanism for transporting a business card to be read to a reading position;
A sensor for detecting light when reading a business card transported by the transport mechanism;
In response to a detection signal from this sensor, a drive mechanism that drives the transport mechanism;
A business card transport device having A transport mechanism for transporting a business card to be read to a reading position;
A timer for measuring a predetermined time;
A drive mechanism for driving the transport mechanism in accordance with the timing of the timer;
Have
The drive mechanism is a business card transport device that stops transport when the business card is transported to the reading position . A business card feed tray on which the business card to be read is placed;
A paper discharge tray on which the business card on which the reading process has been performed is placed;
The business card paper feed tray, the transport mechanism, and the paper discharge tray are provided in a housing, and a first position when the reading process is performed in a state where the housing is positioned in a first direction; The first direction according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first direction can be selectively arranged to a second position in the case where the reading process is performed in a state where the reading process is performed in a vertically inverted second direction. Business card transport device. Transport the business card to the reading position,
The image reading process is executed at this reading position,
By executing this reading process, when a start image different from the image of the business card to be read is read, the business card reading process is started,
Save the business card image obtained by the business card reading process,
A business card reading method of ending the business card reading process when an end image different from an image of a business card to be read is read after reading the start image. In a business card reading system having a business card conveying device for conveying a business card and an image reading device for reading an image,
The business card conveying device includes a sensor for detecting light at the time of image reading from the image reading device;
A conveyance roller that conveys the business card, and a drive mechanism that drives the conveyance roller in response to a detection signal from the sensor,
The image reading device executes a business card reading process of a business card conveyed to a reading position by the conveying roller, and repeatedly performs the business card reading process until an end image different from the image of the business card to be read is read. Business card reading system.

Images