JP2019029854A - Image reading device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it possible to detect a document size while eliminating the influence of disturbance light and efficiently perform automatic cropping when reading a document with a document holding cover opened.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 comprises: a reading control unit 102 that, when receiving an instruction to start a real-time scan operation from a user, moves a first mirror to an acquisition disabled area determined by a first determination unit 104 and causes a reading unit 5 to perform the real-time scan operation for the acquisition disabled area; a second determination unit 106 that, when the reading unit 5 performs the real-time scan operation for the acquisition disabled area, determines whether a document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of a document in the acquisition disabled area; and a display control unit 105 that, when the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the size of a document in the acquisition disabled area, causes a display unit 473 to perform display for urging execution of a coping operation to a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus using the same, and more particularly to a technique for determining whether or not a reading operation for a document such as a card in a reading unit is possible.

  In recent years, for example, in an image reading apparatus mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral, the reading unit performs a reading operation in a state where a plurality of cards such as business cards are placed on a document table, and thereby the plurality of sheets are read. It is known that the image data of each card is read at once, and the image data of each card is organized by performing a cropping process from the read image data. Further, in such a reading operation for a large number of cards, a user can open and close the apparatus body in the image reading apparatus so as to be openable and closable, and a document pressing cover that presses the card (document) placed on the document table in the closed state. By performing the reading operation in the open state, the trouble of opening and closing the document pressing cover can be saved, and the image data of many cards may be acquired in a short time.

  By the way, in the crop processing, the image sensor provided in the reading unit receives the reflected light of the reading light applied to the card, whereby the edge of the card is read, and the size of the card is further detected and read at a time. Image data of each card is cut out from image data including a plurality of cards.

  However, as described above, in the image reading apparatus, when the reading operation is performed with the document pressing cover open, for example, light from a lighting device such as a fluorescent lamp installed just above the document table. May enter the image sensor as disturbance light, and the image data of all cards placed on the document table can be obtained without accurately detecting the card size by the cropping process. There was something I couldn't do. Therefore, in the prior art, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, in the region of the document placement surface of the document table, the region where the card size cannot be detected due to ambient light is excluded, A technique for acquiring only image data of a card placed in an area where the size of the card can be detected has been proposed. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 below, a service man is notified of the magnitude of disturbance light, and the service man adjusts the angle of the document pressing cover with respect to the document table, thereby eliminating the influence of disturbance light. Has been proposed.

JP 2001-346209 A JP 2009-111908 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot eliminate the influence of ambient light when reading a document with the document pressing cover open. Further, in this conventional technique, only the image data of the original placed on the area where the size of the original can be detected in the area of the original placement surface of the original table is acquired. It was difficult to do efficiently. Further, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is possible to eliminate the influence of ambient light by the action of the serviceman, but the manuscript is contacted until the serviceman finishes the action of the serviceman. It was difficult to perform a document reading operation in which the holding cover was opened and disturbance light was excluded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. When reading a document with the document pressing cover open, the influence of ambient light can be eliminated, the document size can be detected, and auto cropping can be performed efficiently. It aims to make it possible to do.

  An image reading apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is translucent and has an original platen on which an original is placed, and an original placed on the original platen in an openable and closable manner on the apparatus body. An image sensor that receives reflected light of reading light applied to the document placed on the document table, and a light incident member that causes the reflected light to enter the image sensor from the document table side. And a moving mechanism capable of reciprocating in a predetermined document reading direction, and a reading unit that reads an image of the document while the moving mechanism moves in the document reading direction; The reading control unit that controls the operation of the reading unit, the original size acquisition unit that acquires the size of the original by using the detection result of the image sensor, and the original pressing cover when the original pressing cover is open. When the reading unit performs a pre-scan operation that performs scanning in a state where no document is placed on the table, it is determined whether the document size acquisition unit can acquire the size of the document on the document table, When it is determined that the size of the document cannot be acquired, a first determination unit that determines an unacquireable area where the size of the document cannot be acquired on the document table, and the document pressing cover is open. When the reading unit performs a real-time scanning operation for scanning in the unacquirable area determined by the first determination unit, the size of the original in the unacquirable area is determined by the original size acquisition unit. A second determination unit that determines whether or not the information can be acquired, an operation reception unit that receives an operation instruction from a user, a display unit, and a display control unit that controls the operation of the display unit, The reading control unit receives the execution instruction of the open scan process for reading the image of the document placed on the document table with the document pressing cover being opened by the operation receiving unit. Whether the reading control unit performs a pre-scan operation, and the display control unit determines whether or not to execute the real-time scan operation on the unacquirable area when the first determination unit determines the unacquireable area The reading control unit causes the display unit to perform a display for prompting the selection, and the reading control unit detects the acquisition failure determined by the first determination unit when the operation reception unit receives an instruction to start the real-time scan operation from a user. The light incident member is moved to a possible area, the real time scanning operation for the unacquirable area is performed by the reading unit, and the display control unit When the second determination unit determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit in the unacquirable area, execution of a predetermined response operation related to disturbance light to the user Is displayed on the display unit.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the image reading device and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording sheet by reading the image read by the reading unit.

  According to the present invention, when a document is read with the document pressing cover open, the influence of ambient light can be eliminated, the document size can be detected, and automatic cropping can be performed efficiently. .

1 is a front sectional view showing a structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is an internal side view which shows schematic structure of a reading part. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the display screen displayed on a display part.

  Hereinafter, an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a main configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 47, an image forming unit 120, a fixing unit 13, a paper feeding unit 14, a document feeding unit 6, and a reading unit 5 as an image reading device of the present invention in the apparatus main body 2. Configured.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is translucent and includes a contact glass 161 as a document table on which a document is placed. In the image forming apparatus 1, the document feeding unit 6 serving as a document pressing cover that is provided in the apparatus main body 2 so as to be freely opened and closed and that presses the document placed on the contact glass 161 in the closed state is closed or opened. In the state, the original is read. That is, in the image forming apparatus 1, when the user closes the document feeding unit 6, the user performs a closed scan process in which the reading unit 5 performs a document reading operation, and opens the document feeding unit 6. Then, any one of the scanning processes of the open scanning process for causing the reading unit 5 to perform the document reading operation is selected, and the image of the document is read. Further, the image data of the original document generated by the reading operation of the reading unit 5 is stored in a storage unit described later or a network-connected computer or the like.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 performs an image forming operation, the image data generated by the above-described reading operation, image data received from a user terminal device such as a network-connected computer or smartphone, or the storage unit is stored. Based on the image data and the like, the image forming unit 120 forms a toner image on the recording paper P as a recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit 14.

  The image forming units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12Bk of the image forming unit 120 are a photosensitive drum 122, an illumination device that irradiates light on the surface of the photosensitive drum 122, and neutralizes the surface, and the photosensitive drum 122. A charging device that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 122, an exposure device that exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 122 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface, and a surface of the photosensitive drum 122. A developing device that supplies toner and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image, a toner cartridge (not shown) that contains the toner, and a primary transfer roller 126 are provided.

  When performing color printing, in the magenta image forming unit 12M, the cyan image forming unit 12C, the yellow image forming unit 12Y, and the black image forming unit 12Bk of the image forming unit 120, the photosensitive drum 122 is used. The surface of the photosensitive drum 122 is once charged and then uniformly charged, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 122 is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the color component image on the surface. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner of the color component to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum 122, and the toner image is stretched between the driving roller 125A and the driven roller 125B by the primary transfer roller 126. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 125.

  The intermediate transfer belt 125 is driven by a driving roller 125 </ b> A in a state where an image carrying surface on which a toner image is transferred is set on the outer circumferential surface thereof and in contact with the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 122. The intermediate transfer belt 125 runs endlessly between the driving roller 125A and the driven roller 125B while being synchronized with each photosensitive drum 122.

  The toner images of the respective color components transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 125 are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 125 with the transfer timing adjusted to become a color toner image. The secondary transfer roller 210 conveys the color toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 125 from the sheet feeding unit 14 through the conveyance path 190 at the nip N between the intermediate transfer belt 125 and the driving roller 125A. The recording sheet P is transferred. Thereafter, the fixing unit 13 fixes the toner image on the recording paper P to the recording paper P by thermocompression bonding. The recording paper P on which the color image has been formed after completion of the fixing process is discharged to a discharge tray 151.

  The paper feed unit 14 includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes. The control unit (not shown) rotates the pickup roller 145 of the paper feed cassette in which the recording paper P of the size specified by the instruction from the operator is rotated, and the recording paper P contained in each paper feed cassette. Is conveyed toward the nip portion N.

  Here, the reading unit 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an internal side view showing a schematic configuration of the reading unit.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the reading unit 5 includes an optical scanning unit 7 and an imaging unit 8.

  The optical scanning unit 7 includes a first optical system unit 71 and a second optical system unit 72. The first optical system unit 71 includes a light source 10 such as an LED and a first mirror 711. The light source 10 is disposed below and facing the contact glass 161 so as to irradiate the reading light toward the reading surface of the document, that is, upward.

  The first mirror 711 receives the reflected light from the image reading surface of the reading light irradiated by the light source 10 on the document placed on the contact glass 161 and changes the direction in the horizontal direction. The first mirror 711 is disposed below the contact glass 161. The light source 10 and the first mirror 711 are attached to a support member 34A included in a carriage 34 described later. The first mirror 711 is an example of a light incident member in the claims.

  The second optical system unit 72 includes a second mirror 721 and a third mirror 722. The second mirror 721 receives the reflected light reflected by the first mirror 711 of the first optical system unit 71 and further changes the direction downward substantially vertically. The third mirror 722 guides the reflected light reflected by the second mirror 721 in the direction of the image pickup unit 8 by further changing the direction substantially horizontally. The second mirror 721 and the third mirror 722 are attached to a support member 34B included in the carriage 34.

  Note that the light source 10 and each of the mirrors provided in the first optical system unit 71 and the second optical system unit 72 have an elongated shape extending substantially the same length as the contact glass 161 in the main scanning direction.

  Inside the reading unit 5, a rail for movement (not shown) for guiding the movement of the optical scanning unit 7 in the direction of the arrow in the figure is provided, and a carriage 34 as a moving mechanism is attached to the rail. ing. Thus, the optical scanning unit 7 including the first optical system unit 71 and the second optical system unit 72 reads image information on the entire reading surface of the document placed on the contact glass 161 by the operation of the carriage 34. Parallel to the surface of the contact glass 161, it can be reciprocated in a sub-scanning direction (a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction) as a predetermined document reading direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

  The imaging unit 8 is fixed to the inside lower part of the reading unit 5. The imaging unit 8 includes an imaging lens 81 and an image sensor 82 formed of, for example, a contact image sensor (CIS (Contact Image Sensor)) or a CCD sensor. Reflected light from the reading surface of the document reflected by the third mirror 722 of the second optical system unit 72 is incident on the imaging lens 81. The imaging lens 81 forms an image of the reflected light on the surface of the image sensor 82 provided on the downstream side of the optical path. The image sensor 82 obtains a pixel value indicating the brightness of each of the plurality of pixels included in the formed image, generates a signal indicating the pixel value, and outputs the signal to a control unit described later.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the operation unit 47 receives instructions such as an image forming operation execution instruction and a document reading operation execution instruction from the operator regarding various operations and processes that can be executed by the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 47 includes a display unit 473 such as an LCD for displaying operation guidance to the operator. The display unit 473 is a touch panel, and the operator can operate the image forming apparatus 1 by touching buttons and keys displayed on the screen.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, an image memory 32 that temporarily stores image data of a document obtained by a reading operation of the reading unit 5, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), The storage unit 92 includes a large-capacity storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive).

  The control unit 10 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a dedicated hardware circuit. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an MPU (Micro-processing unit). The control unit 10 includes a control unit 100 that controls overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1, an operation reception unit 101, a reading control unit 102, a document size acquisition unit 103, a first determination unit 104, and a display And a control unit 105.

  The control unit 10 is operated by the processor in accordance with a control program installed in the storage unit 92, so that the control unit 100, the operation reception unit 101, the reading control unit 102, the document size acquisition unit 103, and the first determination unit 104. , And the display control unit 105. However, the control unit 100 or the like can also be configured by a hardware circuit, regardless of the operation of the processor according to the control program by the control unit 10.

  The control unit 100 is connected to the document feeding unit 6, the reading unit 5, the image forming unit 120, the image memory 32, the operation unit 47, the fixing unit 13, the paper feeding unit 14, the operation unit 47, the storage unit 92, and the like. Drive control of these parts is performed. For example, when the image data read by the reading unit 5 is stored in the image memory 32 for a plurality of cards (originals) placed on the contact glass 161, the control unit 100 stores the stored image data. On the other hand, by performing known crop processing, the image data is cut out from the image data into the image data of each card and arranged.

  The operation receiving unit 101 receives an operation instruction from a user.

  The reading control unit 102 controls driving of the reading unit 5. For example, the reading control unit 102 performs control for causing the reading unit 5 to read a document placed on the contact glass 161.

  The document size acquisition unit 103 acquires the size of the document by using the detection result of the image sensor 82 (FIG. 3). For example, in the open scan process, the document size acquisition unit 103 acquires the pixel value indicating the brightness of each of the plurality of pixels included in the image formed on the image sensor 82 from the image sensor 82, and acquires the acquired pixel Based on the value, by detecting a pixel having a pixel value higher than the pixel value of an adjacent pixel, four edges that are the outer periphery of the document are detected, and based on the detected four edges, the document Detect and get the size. The document size acquisition unit 103 may not be able to detect a pixel having a high pixel value indicating the edge from the detection result of the image sensor 82 when ambient light enters the image sensor 82. In some cases, it may be impossible to detect the edge of the document, and thus the size of the document.

  When the reading unit 5 performs a pre-scanning operation in which a document is not placed on the contact glass 161 when the document feeding unit 6 is open, the first determination unit 104 It is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document with the contact glass 161. Further, when the document size acquisition unit 103 determines that the document size cannot be acquired, the first determination unit 104 determines an unacquireable area in the contact glass 161 where the document size cannot be acquired.

  The pre-scan operation is an operation that is performed in advance before the execution of the open scan process in accordance with an operation instruction from the user. When the open scan process is performed, illumination such as a fluorescent lamp installed on the upper side of the contact glass 161 is performed. Due to the fact that light from the apparatus (not shown) enters the image sensor 82 as disturbance light, the above unacquirable area where the original size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the original size is contacted. This is an operation for determining in advance whether or not the glass 161 exists in the entire area. Further, in the pre-scan operation, the first determination unit 104 is an image in a state where the document feeding unit 6 is in an open state and the light source 10 is turned on with no document placed on the contact glass 161. Using the detection result of the sensor 82, it is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document with the contact glass 161.

  The display control unit 105 has a function of controlling the display operation by the display unit 473. Further, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a scan processing instruction from the reading unit 5 from the user, the display control unit 105 reads an image of a document placed on the contact glass 161 with the document feeding unit 6 open. A display for prompting selection of whether or not to execute the open scan process is displayed on the display unit 473.

  The reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the pre-scan operation when the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction to execute the open scan process from a user.

  When the first determination unit 104 determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit 103 using the contact glass 161, the display control unit 105 determines a predetermined response regarding disturbance light to the user. The display unit 473 is caused to display a message prompting the execution of the operation.

  The corresponding operation is at least one of moving the position of the image forming apparatus 1 (that is, the image reading apparatus) from the current position or turning off the illumination device on the upper side of the image forming apparatus 1.

  When the pre-scan operation is performed, the first determination unit 104 obtains a pixel value indicating the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the entire area of the contact glass 161 from the detection result of the image sensor 82. In addition, the first determination unit 104 detects the size of an area composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold. Further, when the first determination unit 104 detects that the size of the detected area is equal to or larger than a predetermined first size, the first determination unit 104 determines the detected area of the document on the contact glass 161. It is determined that the size cannot be acquired, and it is determined that the size of the document cannot be acquired by the contact glass 161 using the contact glass 161. As a specific example of the first threshold, for example, when the brightness of a pixel is defined by 256 gradations, the first threshold is 150. The first size is 2% of the area of the contact glass 161, for example.

  When the first determination unit 104 determines that the detected area is the unacquirable area, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display the unacquireable area.

  The display control unit 105 displays a display prompting the execution of the pre-scan operation again after the first determination unit 104 determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit 103 using the contact glass 161. To the unit 473.

  The reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the re-pre-scan operation again when the operation reception unit 101 receives a re-pre-scan operation start instruction from the user.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. In the following description, an operation for eliminating the influence of ambient light in the reading operation of the reading unit 5 will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation reception unit 101 has received a request for instructing execution of a document scanning process (reading operation) by a user (S1). For example, the control unit 100 determines whether the scan processing key 473A is designated by the user when the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display the display unit 473 as shown in FIG. By detecting whether or not, it is determined whether or not a request to instruct execution of the document scanning process has been made. If the operation receiving unit 101 has not detected that the scan processing key 473A has been designated (NO in S1), the control unit 100 does not proceed to S2, but sets the image forming apparatus 1 in a standby state.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the scan processing key 473A is designated by the user and accepted by the operation accepting unit 101 (YES in S1), the control unit 100 determines that execution of the document scanning process is requested. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to perform a display prompting selection of whether or not to execute the open scan process (S2).

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the user has requested execution of the open scan process (S3). For example, when the control unit 100 detects that the closed scan process execution key 473C is designated by the user on the display screen illustrated in FIG. 6 and is received by the operation reception unit 101 (NO in S3), the open scan process is performed. It is determined that the execution of the closed scan process is requested without requesting the execution of. Then, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to execute a closed scan process (S4).

  On the other hand, when the control unit 100 detects that the open scan process execution key 473B is designated by the user on the display screen shown in FIG. 6 and is accepted by the operation accepting unit 101 (YES in S3), the open scan process is performed. Is determined to have been requested. Subsequently, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the display control unit 105 determines whether the user can normally perform the open scan process over the entire area of the contact glass 161 without being affected by ambient light. Is displayed on the display unit 473 to confirm that the reading unit 5 is to perform the pre-scan operation (S5).

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation receiving unit 101 has received a request for instructing the start of the pre-scan operation by the user (S6). For example, the control unit 100 detects whether or not the operation reception unit 101 has received a request to instruct execution of the pre-scan operation by detecting whether or not the pre-scan operation start key 473D is specified by the user on the display screen of FIG. Determine if. If the operation receiving unit 101 does not detect that the pre-scan operation start key 473D has been designated (NO in S6), the control unit 100 sets the image forming apparatus 1 in a standby state without proceeding to S7.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the prescan operation start key 473D is designated by the user and received by the operation receiving unit 101 (YES in S6), the control unit 100 determines that the start of the prescan operation is requested. Then, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a pre-scan operation.

  And the 1st discrimination | determination part 104 detects whether the said unacquirable area | region exists in the whole region of the contact glass 161 from the detection result of the image sensor 82 at the time of prescan operation | movement being performed. Then, it is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document (S7). When the first determination unit 104 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the document size in the entire area of the contact glass 161 (YES in S7), the reading control unit 102 reads the open scan process. The process is executed by the unit 5 (S8). Thereafter, the control unit 100 performs, for example, auto cropping. That is, when the reading unit 5 performs a reading operation on, for example, a plurality of cards (originals) placed on the contact glass 161 in the open scan process in S8, the control unit 100 reads the plurality of cards. The included image data is stored in the image memory 32. At this time, since the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document over the entire area of the contact glass 161, the control unit 100 performs the auto cropping on the image data stored in the image memory 100. By doing this, the image data is cut out from the image data into the image data of each card and arranged.

  On the other hand, when the first determination unit 104 determines that the unacquirable region exists in the entire contact glass 161 (NO in S7), the display control unit 105, for example, as indicated by the hatched portion in FIG. Then, the unacquireable area ImA determined by the first determination unit 104 is displayed on the display unit 473 (S9).

  Subsequently, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to perform a display that prompts the user to perform the above-described corresponding operation relating to ambient light (S10). Thereafter, the process returns to S5 and starts again. That is, as shown in the display screen of FIG. 7, the display control unit 105 determines whether or not the open scan process can be normally performed over the entire area of the contact glass 161 without being affected by ambient light. Then, the display unit 473 is caused to display that it is confirmed that the reading unit 5 is to perform the pre-scanning operation again (S5). When the control unit 100 detects that the pre-scan operation start key 473D is designated by the user on the display screen of FIG. 7 and is received by the operation reception unit 101 (YES in S6), the pre-scan operation starts. The reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a pre-scan operation.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a scan processing instruction from the reading unit 5 from the user, the display control unit 105 opens the contact feeding glass (document pressing cover) 6 and the contact glass. (Original platen) The display unit 473 displays a display for prompting selection of whether or not to execute an open scan process for reading an image of an original document placed on the original document 161. When the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction to perform an open scan process from the user, the reading control unit 102 does not place a document on the contact glass (document table) 161 when the document feeding unit 6 is open. The reading unit 5 is caused to perform a pre-scan operation for scanning in a state. The first determination unit 104 determines whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document with the contact glass 161 when the reading unit 5 performs the pre-scan operation. When the first determination unit 104 determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit 103 using the contact glass 161, the display control unit 105 determines a predetermined response regarding disturbance light to the user. The display unit 473 is caused to display a message prompting the execution of the operation. Thereby, in this embodiment, unlike the above-described conventional example, the user can eliminate the unacquirable area ImA caused by the influence of disturbance light when the open scan process is executed, and the user himself / herself can cancel the contact. The open scan process can be appropriately performed over the entire area of the glass 161. That is, in this embodiment, unlike the above-described conventional example, when reading a document with the document pressing cover open, it is possible to detect the document size by eliminating the influence of ambient light, and to perform auto cropping efficiently. Can be made possible.

  In the present embodiment, when the pre-scan operation is performed, the first determination unit 104 determines the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the entire area of the contact glass 161 from the detection result of the image sensor 82. The indicated pixel value is obtained. In addition, the first determination unit 104 detects the size of an area composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold. Furthermore, when the first determination unit 104 detects that the size of the detected area is equal to or larger than a predetermined first size, the first determination unit 104 determines the detected area as the size of the document on the contact glass 161. It is determined that the area cannot be acquired, and the contact glass 161 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the size of the document. Thus, since the 1st discrimination | determination part 104 discriminate | determines quantitatively whether the said non-acquisition area | region ImA exists in the contact glass 161 based on the said pixel value, the said non-acquisition area | region The presence or absence of ImA can be accurately determined.

  Further, in this embodiment, when the display control unit 105 determines that the area detected by the first determination unit 104 is the unacquirable area ImA, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display the unacquirable area ImA. Thereby, in this embodiment, the user can visually recognize the unacquirable area ImA, can appropriately perform the corresponding operation, and can execute the open scan process at an early stage.

  In this embodiment, the display control unit 105 executes the pre-scan operation again after the first determination unit 104 determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit 103 using the contact glass 161. Is displayed on the display unit 473. In addition, when the operation reception unit 101 receives an instruction to start another pre-scan operation from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the pre-scan operation again. Thereby, in this embodiment, the user can eliminate the unacquirable area ImA, and can surely execute the open scan process.

  In the present embodiment, the corresponding operation is at least one of moving the position of the image forming apparatus 1 from the current position or turning off the illumination device on the upper side of the image forming apparatus 1. By performing such a corresponding operation by the user, in the present embodiment, it becomes possible to eliminate the influence of ambient light and appropriately execute the open scan process.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 10 includes a second determination unit 106. In the second determination unit 106, the reading unit 5 performs a real-time scanning operation in which scanning is performed in the unacquirable area ImA determined by the first determination unit 104 when the document feeding unit 6 is in the open state. In this case, it is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA.

  In the real-time scanning operation, after the user performs the corresponding operation, the influence of disturbance light is eliminated by the corresponding operation in accordance with an operation instruction from the user, and the unacquirable area ImA determined by the first determination unit 104 This is an operation for determining in real time whether or not the document size can be acquired in FIG. Further, in the real-time scanning operation, the second determination unit 106 is an image in a state where the document feeding unit 6 is opened and the light source 10 is turned on with no document placed on the contact glass 161. Using the detection result of the sensor 82, it is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document in the unacquireable area ImA.

  When the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA, the display control unit 105 displays a display that prompts the user to perform a predetermined action related to disturbance light, and the unacquireable area The display unit 473 is caused to display a display prompting selection of whether or not to execute the real-time scanning operation for ImA.

  When the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction to start the real-time scanning operation from the user, the reading control unit 102 moves the first mirror 711 (FIG. 3) to the unacquirable area ImA determined by the first determining unit 104. Thus, the reading unit 5 is caused to perform the real-time scanning operation on the unacquirable area ImA. Further, when the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA, the reading control unit 102 determines the position of the pixel having the highest pixel value among the pixels included in the unacquireable area ImA. The first mirror 711 is moved to cause the reading unit 5 to perform the real-time scanning operation.

  When the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size cannot be acquired by the document size acquisition unit 103 in the unacquirable area ImA, the display control unit 105 performs a new response operation for the user. The display unit 473 causes the display unit 473 to perform execution.

  When the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction from the user that the real-time scanning operation is not performed, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display a message prompting the execution of the pre-scanning operation again. In addition, when the operation reception unit 101 receives an instruction to start another pre-scan operation from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the pre-scan operation again.

  When the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display the user to perform the corresponding operation, the display control unit 105 displays the display unit 473 to prompt the execution of a new real-time scan operation for the unacquirable area ImA. Make it. In addition, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a new real-time scan operation start instruction from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a new real-time scanning operation for the unacquirable area ImA.

  When the real-time scanning operation is performed, the second determination unit 106 obtains a pixel value indicating the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the unacquirable area ImA from the detection result of the image sensor 82. In addition, the second determination unit 106 detects the size of an area composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold. In addition, when the second determination unit 106 detects that the detected size of the area is equal to or larger than a predetermined second size, the second determination unit 106 sets the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA. It is determined that the size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire. As a specific example of the second threshold value, for example, when the brightness of the pixel is defined by 256 gradations, the second threshold value is 150. The second size is 2% of the area of the contact glass 161, for example.

  When the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the document size in the unacquirable area ImA, the display control unit 105 performs a new pre-scan operation for the user. Is displayed on the display unit 473. Further, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a new pre-scan operation start instruction from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the new pre-scan operation.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA (NO in S7), the display control unit 105 performs a predetermined response operation related to disturbance light to the user. The display unit 473 causes the display unit 473 to perform a display that prompts execution and a display that prompts the user to select whether or not to execute the real-time scan operation for the unacquireable area ImA (S11). For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the display control unit 105 displays a display that prompts the user to select a real-time scan operation or a pre-scan operation again, and a display that prompts the user to perform the corresponding operation. To do.

  Then, the control unit 100 determines whether or not a real-time scan operation instruction is requested by the user by detecting whether or not the real-time scan operation key 473E is designated by the user on the display screen of FIG. 12 (S12). . When the control unit 100 detects that the user has designated the pre-scan operation key 473F on the display screen in FIG. 12 and has been received by the operation reception unit 101 (NO in S12), the control unit 100 performs the pre-scan operation again. Is determined to have been requested, the process returns to S5 and the process is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 100 detects that the real time scan operation key 473E is designated by the user on the display screen of FIG. 12 and is accepted by the operation accepting unit 101 (YES in S12), the control unit 100 performs the real time scan operation. Is determined to have been requested. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display that the reading unit 5 confirms that the real-time scanning operation for the unacquirable area ImA is performed (S13). ).

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the operation receiving unit 101 has received a request for instructing the start of the real-time scanning operation by the user (S14). For example, the control unit 100 detects whether or not the operation reception unit 101 has received a request to instruct execution of the real-time scan operation by detecting whether or not the user has designated the real-time scan operation start key 473G on the display screen of FIG. Determine if. If the operation receiving unit 101 has not detected that the real-time scan operation start key 473G has been designated (NO in S14), the control unit 100 sets the image forming apparatus 1 in a standby state without proceeding to S15.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 100 detects that the real-time scan operation start key 473G is designated by the user and received by the operation reception unit 101 (YES in S14), the control unit 100 determines that the start of the real-time scan operation is requested. Then, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a real-time scanning operation.

  Then, based on the detection result of the image sensor 82 when the real-time scanning operation is performed, the second determination unit 106 has an area where the document size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the document size in the unacquirable area ImA. By detecting whether or not to do so, it is determined whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA (S15). Thereafter, when the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA at this time (NO in S15), the display control unit 105 The display unit 473 is caused to display a message prompting the execution of the corresponding operation. That is, the process returns to S13 and is performed again, and the display control unit 105 displays the display screen of FIG. 13 on the display unit 473 and prompts the user to execute a new corresponding operation. That is, the control unit 100 eliminates the unacquirable area ImA in the corresponding operation (for example, the operation of moving the image forming apparatus 1) performed by the user before the real-time scanning operation instructed to start in S14 is performed. If the second determination unit 106 determines that the operation has not been performed, a new corresponding operation (for example, an operation for turning off the illumination device) needs to be performed in order to appropriately execute the open scan process. to decide. And the display control part 105 displays the display screen of FIG. 13 on the display part 473 as mentioned above.

  On the other hand, when the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the document size in the unacquirable area ImA (YES in S15), the display control unit 105 Then, the display unit 473 is caused to display to prompt execution of a new pre-scan operation (S16). For example, the display control unit 105 prompts the user to perform a new pre-scan operation by causing the display unit 473 to display the display screen of FIG. When the control unit 100 detects that the pre-scan operation start key 473D is designated by the user on the display screen of FIG. 7 and is received by the operation reception unit 101 (YES in S6), a new pre-scan operation is performed. It is determined that the start of is requested. Thereafter, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a new pre-scan operation. As a result, after it is determined that the size of the document can be acquired by the corresponding operation by the user in the unacquirable area ImA by the real-time scanning operation, the entire area of the contact glass 161 is newly caused by the corresponding operation. Whether or not a non-acquirable area has occurred is determined by performing a new pre-scan operation.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA, the display control unit 105 selects whether to execute a real-time scan operation on the unacquireable area ImA. Is displayed on the display unit 473. In addition, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction to start a real-time scanning operation from the user, the reading control unit 102 moves the first mirror 711 to the unacquireable area ImA determined by the first determining unit 104, and The reading unit 5 is caused to perform a real-time scanning operation on the unacquirable area ImA. Further, when the reading unit 5 performs the real-time scanning operation in the unacquirable area ImA, the second determination unit 106 determines whether the original size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the document size in the unacquirable area ImA. Is determined. Further, the display control unit 105 executes a response operation to the user when the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA. Is displayed on the display unit 473. Thereby, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the user himself / herself resolves the unacquirable area ImA caused by the influence of ambient light when the open scan process is executed. Therefore, when reading the document with the document pressing cover open, it is possible to detect the size of the document by eliminating the influence of ambient light, and to perform automatic cropping efficiently. In the present embodiment, since the real-time scan operation is performed after the corresponding operation is performed by the user, it is possible to immediately determine whether or not the unacquirable area ImA has been eliminated by performing the corresponding operation. It is possible to execute an appropriate open scan process earlier than that of the first embodiment.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to display that prompts the user to perform the corresponding operation when the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA. . For this reason, in this embodiment, the user can perform a corresponding operation when the unacquirable area ImA is determined, and can eliminate the unacquirable area ImA at an early stage.

  In this embodiment, when the first determination unit 104 determines the unacquirable area ImA, the reading control unit 102 has the highest pixel value among the pixels included in the unacquireable area ImA. The first mirror 711 is moved to the pixel position to cause the reading unit 5 to perform the real-time scanning operation. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the real-time scanning operation can be performed at a place where the influence of the disturbance light is the largest, and the determination accuracy of the real-time scanning operation is improved, and the area where the document size cannot be acquired is detected. It can be determined with high accuracy.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives an instruction from the user that the real-time scanning operation is not performed, the display control unit 105 causes the display unit 473 to perform a display prompting the execution of the pre-scanning operation again. In addition, when the operation reception unit 101 receives an instruction to start another pre-scan operation from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the pre-scan operation again. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the user can reliably eliminate the unacquirable area ImA.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the display control unit 105 displays a message prompting the user to execute a new real-time scanning operation for the unacquirable area ImA when causing the display unit 473 to display that prompts the user to perform the corresponding operation. Is displayed on the display unit 473. In addition, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a new real-time scan operation start instruction from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform a new real-time scanning operation for the unacquirable area ImA. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the user can surely and quickly resolve the non-acquisition area ImA.

  In the present embodiment, when the real time scanning operation is performed, the second determination unit 106 indicates the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the unacquirable area ImA from the detection result of the image sensor 82. Get the pixel value. In addition, the second determination unit 106 detects the size of an area composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold. In addition, when the second determination unit 106 detects that the detected size of the area is equal to or larger than a predetermined second size, the second determination unit 106 sets the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA. It is determined that the size acquisition unit 103 cannot acquire. As described above, the second determination unit 106 quantitatively determines whether or not the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA based on the pixel value. Therefore, the determination can be performed with high accuracy.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the display control unit 105 determines to the user when the second determination unit 106 determines that the document size acquisition unit 103 can acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area ImA. The display unit 473 causes the display unit 473 to perform a display prompting execution of the new pre-scan operation. Further, when the operation receiving unit 101 receives a new pre-scan operation start instruction from the user, the reading control unit 102 causes the reading unit 5 to perform the new pre-scan operation. Thereby, in this embodiment, after it is determined that the size of the document can be acquired by the corresponding operation by the user in the unacquirable area ImA by the real-time scanning operation, the corresponding operation is performed in the entire area of the contact glass 161. It is possible to determine whether or not a new unacquirable area has occurred due to a new pre-scanning operation.When reading a document with the document cover open, Therefore, it is possible to detect the document size and to perform the auto cropping efficiently.

  In the above embodiment, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiment using FIGS. 1 to 13 are only one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration and processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 5 Reading part 6 Original feeding part (original pressing cover)
34 Carriage (movement mechanism)
82 Image sensor 101 Operation receiving unit 102 Reading control unit 103 Document size acquisition unit 104 First determination unit 105 Display control unit 106 Second determination unit 120 Image forming unit 473 Display unit 711 First mirror (light incident member)

Claims (11)

A document table having translucency and on which a document is placed;
A document pressing cover provided on the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and pressing a document placed on the document table in a closed state;
An image sensor for receiving the reflected light of the reading light applied to the document placed on the document table, and a light incident member for allowing the reflected light to enter the image sensor from the document table side are mounted in advance. A moving mechanism capable of reciprocating in a predetermined document reading direction, and a reading unit that reads an image of the document while the moving mechanism moves in the document reading direction;
A reading control unit for controlling the operation of the reading unit;
A document size acquisition unit that acquires the size of the document by using the detection result of the image sensor;
When the reading unit performs a pre-scanning operation in which the document holding cover is opened and the document is not placed on the document table, the size of the document is adjusted on the document table. First, it is determined whether or not the size acquisition unit can acquire, and if it is determined that the size of the document cannot be acquired, a first non-acquisition area on the document table where the size of the document cannot be acquired is determined. The discriminator of
When the reading unit performs a real-time scanning operation for scanning in the non-acquisition area determined by the first determination unit when the document pressing cover is in an open state, the original in the non-acquisition area A second determination unit that determines whether the document size acquisition unit can acquire the size of
An operation reception unit for receiving operation instructions from the user;
A display unit;
A display control unit for controlling the operation of the display unit,
When the operation receiving unit receives an instruction from the user to execute an open scan process for reading an image of a document placed on the document table with the document pressing cover open, the pre-scanning unit Causing the reading unit to perform an operation;
When the first determination unit determines the unacquirable area, the display control unit displays a display on the display unit that prompts the user to select whether or not to execute the real-time scan operation on the unacquirable area. Let
When the operation receiving unit receives an instruction to start the real-time scanning operation from a user, the reading control unit moves the light incident member to the unacquirable region determined by the first determining unit, and acquires the acquisition Causing the reading unit to perform the real-time scanning operation on the impossible area;
The display control unit determines in advance a disturbance light for a user when the second determination unit determines that the document size acquisition unit cannot acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area. An image reading apparatus that causes the display unit to perform display prompting execution of the corresponding operation.   The image according to claim 1, wherein when the first determination unit determines the unacquirable region, the display control unit causes the display unit to further display the user to perform the corresponding operation. Reader.   When the pre-scan operation is performed, the first determination unit obtains a pixel value indicating the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the entire area of the document table from the detection result of the image sensor. Detecting the size of an area composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold, and detecting that the detected size of the area is equal to or greater than a predetermined first size. 3. If detected, the detected area is determined as the unacquirable area, and it is determined that the original size acquisition unit cannot acquire the size of the original on the original table. The image reading apparatus described.   When the first determination unit determines the unacquirable region, the reading control unit is configured to detect the incident light at the position of the pixel having the highest pixel value among the pixels included in the unacquirable region. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a member is moved to cause the reading unit to perform the real-time scanning operation.   5. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display the unacquirable area when the first determination unit determines the detected area as the unacquirable area. Image reading apparatus. When the operation receiving unit receives an instruction from the user that the real-time scan operation is not performed, the display control unit causes the display unit to perform a display prompting the execution of the pre-scan operation again.
6. The reading control unit according to claim 1, wherein the reading control unit causes the reading unit to perform the second pre-scan operation when the operation receiving unit receives an instruction to start the second pre-scan operation from a user. The image reading apparatus described. When the display control unit causes the display unit to perform a display prompting the user to perform the corresponding operation, the display control unit displays a display prompting the user to perform a new real-time scan operation on the unacquirable area. Let
The reading control unit causes the reading unit to perform the new real-time scanning operation on the unacquirable area when the operation receiving unit receives an instruction to start the new real-time scanning operation from a user. Item 7. The image reading apparatus according to any one of Items 6 to 6.   When the real-time scanning operation is performed, the second determination unit obtains a pixel value indicating the brightness of each pixel for all pixels corresponding to the unacquirable region from the detection result of the image sensor. , Detecting the size of a region composed of pixels having a pixel value equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and detecting that the size of the detected region is equal to or greater than a predetermined second size. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if detected, the document size acquisition unit determines that the document size cannot be acquired in the unacquirable area. When the second determination unit determines that the document size acquisition unit can acquire the size of the document in the unacquirable area, the display control unit performs a new pre-scan operation for the user. Display to prompt the execution of the
9. The reading control unit according to claim 1, wherein the reading control unit causes the reading unit to perform the new pre-scan operation when the operation reception unit receives an instruction to start the new pre-scan operation from a user. The image reading apparatus described.   10. The response operation according to claim 1, wherein the corresponding operation is at least one of moving the position of the image reading apparatus from the current position or turning off the illumination device on the upper side of the image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus described. An image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image read by the reading unit on a recording sheet.