JP4514663B2 - Document reading apparatus and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a document reading device having a function of reading the front and back of a document, and an image processing device including the document reading device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that reads and prints image information of an original using an image reading apparatus having a scanner function, the image information is read and printed while sequentially conveying the sheet-like original. An image reading apparatus provided with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) for execution is used. Such an image reading apparatus cannot handle a large amount of originals due to structural problems when transporting paper, and cannot properly read thick originals.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image reading apparatus that can separate and convey a large amount of originals and can efficiently read an image on an original even if it is a thick original. ing. This image reading apparatus includes a document placing tray on which a document is placed, a paper feed roller for picking up the placed documents one by one, a curved conveyance path for conveying the document, and an image reading unit for reading an image of the document. And a registration roller and a feed roller for performing registration adjustment of the document conveyed on the curved conveyance path. The image reading means includes a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) reading unit that reads one side of a document that has passed through a registration roller, and a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) reading unit that reads the other side of the document.

In the configuration as described above, the curved conveyance path is formed with a constant curvature over the entire area, so even a relatively thick document can pass through the conveyance path under a substantially constant conveyance condition over the entire area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of document conveyance failure.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-12719

  Here, there is a demand for an image reading apparatus as described above to be able to transport a thicker document according to various applications. However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the front and back sides of the sheet are reversed by the curved conveyance path, there is a problem that when thicker thick paper is to be conveyed, it cannot be smoothly conveyed.

  Further, in order to smoothly convey a thick paper document, it is conceivable to provide means for conveying the thick paper document substantially linearly toward the reading unit. For example, in the image reading apparatus described in Patent Document 1, The first and second conveying means for conveying the document by reversing the front and back of the document by a curved conveying path and the second conveying means for conveying the document substantially linearly, and both conveying means have the same document surface, for example, the front surface When the first conveying means is set up, the CCD reading unit reads the front side of the original and the CIS reading unit reads the back side of the original, while the second conveying means reads the back side of the original with the CCD reading unit. The front of the document is read by the reading unit. Therefore, if the image data is output in order from the document surface read by the CCD reading unit, the output order is reversed between the first conveying means and the second conveying means (that is, the first conveying means in the order from the front to the back). In the second transport means, the data are output in the order from the back to the front).

  In order to make the output order coincide with each other, it is necessary to reverse the original surface set by the first conveying unit and the second conveying unit. However, it is troublesome for the user to change the original surface to be set one by one by the conveying unit. In addition, many users tend to set the same surface regardless of the conveying means when setting a document on a paper feed tray.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a first transport unit that transports a document by inverting the front and back of the document, and a second transport unit that transports the document substantially linearly. An original reading apparatus which can smoothly convey a thick paper document by the second conveying means, and further prevents the output order from being reversed when the same original surface (front or back) is set on both conveying means. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus including the document reading apparatus.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first technical means of the present invention reverses the front and back of the first original storage section, the second original storage section, and the original from the first original storage section. A first original conveying means for conveying, a second original conveying means for conveying the original from the second original accommodating section without reversing the front and back, and a document conveyed from the first original accommodating section. First reading means for reading the front surface and the back surface of the document conveyed from the second document storage portion, and from the back surface of the document conveyed from the first document storage portion and the second document storage portion In a document reading apparatus having a second reading unit for reading the surface of a document being conveyed, both the first document storage unit and the second document storage unit are such that the front surface or the back surface of the document is the top surface. Storing the first document storage section and the second document storage section; When force out by reading the contained originals to draft housing portion, the front and back relationship of the document to be read by said first reading means and the second reading means, wherein said first document feeder The second document conveying means is switched so as to be reversed .

The second technical means is characterized in that, in the first technical means, the first document storage portion and the second document storage portion are arranged so as not to overlap each other.

According to a third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the document stored in the second document storage unit is thicker than the document stored in the first document storage unit. It is a thing.

According to a fourth technical means, in the image processing apparatus including the original reading device according to any one of the first to third technical means, an image processing means for processing the original read by the original reading means as image data. , the image processing means, based on the front and back relationship of originals, in which is characterized in that for processing as image data from the table of the document in order.

According to the present invention, since the first conveyance unit that conveys the document with the front and back sides of the document reversed and the second conveyance unit that conveys the document substantially linearly, the second conveyance unit is provided. The thick paper document can be smoothly conveyed by the means.
Further, when the same document surface (front surface or back surface) is set on both conveying means, the output order is not reversed, and the user does not need to change the document surface to be set by the conveying means.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of main parts of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus includes a document reading device 1 that can read the front and back of a document, a printer unit 20 that performs image formation, A paper feed unit 30 disposed below the printer unit 20 and a finisher 40 for performing processing such as stapling on the output document are provided. An electrophotographic process section centered on the photosensitive drum 21 is disposed at a substantially central position of the printer section 20.

  In the electrophotographic process section, a charging unit 22, an optical scanning unit 23, a developing unit 24, a transfer unit 25, and a cleaning unit 26 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 21.

  The charging unit 22 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 uniformly. The optical scanning unit 23 scans the optical image on the uniformly charged photosensitive drum 21 and writes an electrostatic latent image. The developing unit 24 reproduces the electrostatic latent image written by the optical scanning unit 23 with a developer.

  The transfer unit 25 transfers an image recorded and reproduced on the photosensitive drum 21 onto a recording medium. The cleaning unit 26 removes the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 so that a new image can be recorded on the photosensitive drum 21.

  The residual developer removed by the cleaning unit 26 is collected in the developer supply unit 27 of the developing unit 24 and recycled. Note that the image processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one provided with a process for recycling the residual developer as described above.

  Next, the paper feeding unit 30 will be described. The paper feeding unit 30 includes a plurality of paper feeding trays 31, 32, 33, and 34. By providing these paper feed trays 31, 32, 33, and 34, the paper feed unit section 30 can accommodate a variety of sheets as a recording medium, for example, by size.

  Then, the image processing apparatus selects one tray from these paper feed trays 31, 32, 33, and 34. Further, the image processing apparatus separates the sheets one by one from the selected tray and supplies them between the photosensitive drum 21 and the transfer unit 25. Then, the transfer unit 25 transfers the image recorded and reproduced on the photosensitive drum 21 to the supplied paper.

  Here, the paper feed trays 31 to 34 will be described more specifically. The paper feed tray 31 and the paper feed tray 32 are arranged in parallel with each other. A sheet feed tray 33 is disposed below the sheet feed tray 31 and the sheet feed tray 32, and a sheet feed tray 34 is disposed below the sheet feed tray 33.

  Further, the capacity of the paper feed tray 33 and the paper feed tray 34 is set to the same capacity. Further, the capacities of the paper feed tray 31 and the paper feed tray 32 are set larger than the capacity of the paper feed tray 33 or the paper feed tray 34.

  The paper feed unit 30 includes a first transport path 35 and a second transport path 36 for transporting the paper stored in the paper feed trays 31, 32, 33, 34 toward the printer unit 20. ing. The first transport path 35 is for transporting the paper stored in the paper feed trays 31, 33, 34 toward the printer unit 20, and the second transport path 36 is stored in the paper feed tray 32. The sheet is conveyed toward the printer unit 20.

  Further, the first transport path 35 extends in the vertical direction along the frame 37 of the paper feed unit 30. On the other hand, the second transport path 36 extends in the horizontal direction along the frame 37.

  Accordingly, the paper feed trays 31 to 34, the first transport path 35, and the second transport path 36 are efficiently arranged inside the paper feed unit section 30, and space saving of the paper feed unit section 30 can be achieved. It has been realized.

  When paper is set in each of the paper feed trays 31, 32, 33, and 34, the target paper feed trays 31, 32, 33, and 34 are pulled out in the front side direction of the image processing apparatus main body to replenish the paper. .

  By the way, when the paper is jammed in the first transport path 35, the guide 35a (indicated by the hatched portion in the figure) constituting the first transport path 35 is used as a fulcrum by the user. It turns to the near side. As a result, the paper jammed in the first transport path 35 can be removed. This removal operation is performed using a work space secured in advance between the first transport path 35 and the frame 37.

  Further, even when the paper is jammed in the second transport path 36, the guide 36a (indicated by the hatched portion in the figure) constituting the second transport path 36 is used as a fulcrum on the front side. To turn. Thereby, the paper jammed in the second transport path 36 can be removed. This removal operation is performed after securing the work space below the second transport path 36 by pulling out the paper feed tray 31 and the paper feed tray 32 arranged in parallel to the front side of the user.

  In the above description, the guide 35a configuring the first transport path 35 is configured to rotate to the user's near side with the back side of the paper feeding unit as a fulcrum, but the lower end of the guide 35a is the fulcrum. Alternatively, the first conveyance path 35 may be opened by rotating to the left together with a part of the left side surface of the sheet feeding unit 30.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the paper feed trays 31 and 32 can be pulled out at the same time. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this configuration, and each paper feed tray can be pulled out independently. It is good also as a structure. In this case, the working space for removing the paper jammed in the second transport path 36 may be secured below the second transport path 36 by pulling out the paper feed tray 31 to the front side.

  Next, the relationship between the paper feed tray 31 and the paper feed tray 32 arranged in parallel will be described more specifically. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed tray 31 is set to have a larger unit width than the paper feed tray 32. This is due to the difference in the size of the paper stored in each of the paper feed trays 31 and 32. Further, this is for securing a larger working space for removing the paper jammed in the second transport path 36.

  In other words, if the width of the paper feed tray 31 is large enough, the second transport path 36 for transporting paper from the paper feed tray 32 toward the printer unit 20 inevitably becomes long. For this reason, when the paper is jammed in the second transport path 36, the second transport path 36 can be opened over a wide range.

  Further, by setting the paper feed tray 31 to be larger than the paper feed tray 32 as a unit, the open width of the second transport path 36 is set to be larger than the length of the paper fed from the paper feed tray 32. Is done. Therefore, a sheet jammed in the second conveyance path 36 can be easily found within the range of the opened second conveyance path 36.

  Next, a description will be given of a coping method when a paper conveyance abnormality occurs when paper is supplied from the paper feed tray 31. The conveyance path from the paper feed tray 31 to the printer unit 20 is configured to be guided to the printer unit 20 via the first conveyance path 35. This is a layout for merging the first transport path 35 and the second transport path 36 before the printer section 20 when paper is forcibly supplied from the paper feed tray 31 to the printer section 20 via the second transport path 36. Because it becomes complicated.

  As a result, the paper feeding from the paper feed tray 31 to the printer unit 20 becomes unstable, and when the jammed paper is removed, the paper removal while opening the vicinity of the merging portion of the transport path becomes a complicated operation. Because. In the worst case, the paper is torn off when the paper is taken out, and the torn paper may remain in the transport path and cause a malfunction.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sheet from the paper feed tray 31 is supplied to the printer unit 20 via the first conveyance path 35 so that the first conveyance path 35 and the second conveyance path 36 are merged. The layout is simplified. Accordingly, a part of the first transport path 35 is largely opened, and the paper jammed in the first transport path 35 can be easily removed.

  Alternatively, a manual paper feed unit 28 on which a relatively small amount of paper is set may be provided on the downstream side of the second transport path 36. This manual paper feed unit 28 may be added later as an optional configuration of the image processing apparatus as required by the user.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the document reading apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. The document reading apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided in an image processing apparatus such as a digital copying machine, for example, and includes a first reading unit that reads one side of a conveyed document and the other side of the document. A first original that conveys the original by reversing the front and back of the original from the upper side of the original reading means including the first reading means and the second reading means toward the original reading means A conveying unit; and a second document conveying unit configured to convey the document substantially linearly from the side of the document reading unit toward the document reading unit.

  In FIG. 2, the first document conveying means is composed of a document placing tray 2 serving as a first document receiving portion, a paper feed roller 6, a document separating means 7, and a curved conveying path 8, and the document placing tray 2. The standard original A set on the paper is supplied to the original reading means with the front and back reversed by the curved conveyance path 8. The second document conveying means is composed of a document placing tray 19 and a paper feed roller 19a as a second document storage section, and the thick paper document B set on the document placing tray 19 is fed to the paper feed roller 19a. To supply the original reading means substantially linearly. Here, the thick paper original B is an original using thick paper as compared with the standard original A. Further, the document reading apparatus 1 includes a glass document table 9, a CCD reading unit 10 as a first reading unit, a registration / skew correction region 13, a registration roller 14, a CIS reading unit 15 as a second reading unit, and a discharge. A roller 16 and a discharge tray 18 are provided. The document reading means includes a CCD reading unit 10 and a CIS reading unit 15.

  The document placing tray 2 and the document placing tray 19 are arranged at positions that do not overlap each other so that the trays do not interfere with each other when setting the documents, and the documents set on both trays are read from the document reading device. Paper is fed in the direction of the center of 1 (the direction of the arrow in the figure).

  The document placing tray 2 is cantilevered from the document reading apparatus 1 and is placed in a fixed state. The document placing tray 2 is provided on an extension of the placing tray securing portion 2a and can be moved up and down. It consists of a tray 3. In the present embodiment, the electric tray 3 is particularly provided in order to smoothly supply the standard document A to the paper feed roller 6. In FIG. 2, what is visible above the electric tray 3 is a side guide wall 3 a erected on the end of the electric tray 3 on the rear side of the document reading apparatus 1.

  The electric tray 3 has a hinge portion 3b on the end side of the mounting tray fixing portion 2a and is rotatably attached. On the other hand, below the free end side of the electric tray 3, a lever 4 that supports the bottom surface of the electric tray 3 on the free end side is provided so as to be rotatable about the lever shaft 4a. The lever shaft 4a extends to the rear side of the document reading device 1, and is rotatably connected to a motor (not shown) provided on the rear side of the document reading device 1 via a gear or the like. Therefore, when the motor is driven, the lever shaft 4a is rotated, so that the lever 4 fixed to the lever shaft 4a rotates around the lever shaft 4a and comes into contact with the tip of the lever 4 The electric tray 3 is pushed up from below. As a result, the electric tray 3 rotates about the hinge portion 3b and moves upward. When the lever 4 is rotated in the reverse direction, the electric tray 3 is lowered.

  The electric tray 3 is further provided with a pendulum 5 and a sensor S1. When the standard original A is placed on the original placing tray 2 by the pendulum 5 and the sensor S1, the electric tray 3 is placed. In addition, the standard document A is raised by the lever 4 with the standard document A placed thereon, so that the standard document A can be smoothly supplied to the paper feed roller 6. Therefore, the electric tray 3 and the lever 4 have a function as document raising / lowering means. A detailed description of the raising / lowering operation of the electric tray 3 including the operation of the pendulum 5 will be described later.

  Next, the paper feed roller 6 is for taking out the standard originals A placed on the original placement tray 2 one by one and supplying them to the curved conveyance path 8. The document separating means 7 is for reliably sending out the standard document A supplied from the paper feed roller 6 to the curved conveyance path 8 one by one.

  The curved conveyance path 8 is a document conveyance path provided in order to make the path for conveying the standard document A from the document placing tray 2 to the discharge tray 18 compact. The curved conveyance path 8 includes feed rollers R1 to R3 for conveying the standard document A.

  Further, the curved conveyance path 8 is formed in a state where the curved portion from the feed roller R1 to the position of the feed roller R3 is curved with a constant curvature. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the curved conveyance path 8 is provided inwardly within the range of the installation width of the document reading apparatus 1. That is, in the document reading apparatus 1, the document placing tray 2 is provided outside the document reading apparatus 1, and the curved portion of the curved conveyance path 8 is curved so as to be convex toward the inside of the document reading apparatus 1. ing.

  The feed rollers R <b> 1 and R <b> 2 are rollers for transporting the standard document A in the curved transport path 8. The feed roller R3 feeds the standard document A conveyed through the curved conveyance path 8 to the registration / skew correction region 13 and performs registration and skew correction together with the registration roller 14.

  The registration / skew correction region 13 is a region provided for performing registration and skew correction of the standard document A between the feed roller R3 and the registration roller 14. The registration roller 14 captures and stops the leading edge of the standard document A sent from the feed roller R3 via the registration / skew correction region 13, and sends it to the reading position at a predetermined timing.

  The glass document table 9 is a document table used when, for example, a book document (not shown) is placed thereon and an image is read by the CCD reading unit 10. The CCD reading unit 10 and the CIS reading unit 15 function as a document reading unit that reads the standard document A from the document placing tray 2 and the thick paper document B from the document placing tray 19.

  The CCD reading unit 10 includes an optical unit 11 and a CCD 12 as moving reading means. The CCD 12 is a light receiving element made of semiconductor that converts light into an electric signal.

  The CCD reading unit 10 reads, for example, one surface of the standard original A by reducing the image at the reading position L1 using the optical unit 11 and forming an image on the CCD 12. In this case, the CCD reading unit 10 reads the standard document A being conveyed while the optical unit 11 is fixed at the reading position L1.

  The CCD reading unit 10 can also read the original by moving the optical unit 10 from the reading position L1 to the reading positions L2 and L3 with respect to the original (not shown) placed on the glass original table 9. However, the reading position L1 is only a reading passing point of the optical unit 10. That is, the reading position L1 is also a standby home position. When the standard document A set on the glass document table 9 is exposed and scanned, scanning is performed within the range from the reading position L1 to the reading position L3. Also, the scan width at this time is not a full scan between the reading position L1 and the reading position L3, but a range determined by the relationship between the document size, the recording size, the magnification, and the like.

  On the other hand, the CIS reading unit 15 has a width substantially equal to the conveyance path of the standard original A (a width slightly larger than the maximum original width) on one side different from the above of the standard original A being conveyed at the reading position L4. Reading is performed using a linear CCD (not shown).

  The reading position L4 of the CIS reading unit 15 is outside the area occupied by the reading positions L1 to L3 of the CCD reading unit 10. According to this configuration, for example, compared with the case where the reading position L4 of the CIS reading unit 15 is inside the area occupied by the reading positions L1 to L3 of the CCD reading unit 10, it is not shown placed on the glass platen 9. When reading a document, it is possible to save time and effort to move the optical unit 11 excessively.

  The discharge roller 16 is for discharging the standard original A or the thick original B to the discharge tray 18. The discharge tray 18 is for discharging and placing the standard original A or the thick original B from which the image has been read by being conveyed.

  A document reading operation in the document reading apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described below using the standard document A as an example. First, when no document is placed on the document placing tray 2, the tip of the pendulum 5 appears on the placement surface of the electric tray 3. That is, the pendulum 5 is pivotally supported on the electric tray 3 by a pivot shaft, is swingable like a seesaw, and the distance of the arm from the pivot shaft to each end portion is small. They are different from each other. Therefore, when no document is placed on the electric tray 3, the tip of the shorter arm of the pendulum 5 appears on the placement surface of the electric tray 3. Then, when the standard document A is placed on the document placing tray 2, the tip of the pendulum 5 is pushed below the placing surface by the standard document A. As a result, the pendulum 5 rotates about the rotation axis, and the other end of the pendulum 5 comes into contact with the sensor S1. Therefore, the rotation of the pendulum 5 is detected by the sensor S1, and the standard is placed on the document placing tray 2. It is determined that the document A is placed.

  As a result, the lever 4 rotates counterclockwise around the lever shaft 4a at a predetermined timing, and at the same time, the end of the lever 4 pushes up the bottom surface of the electric tray 3, and the electric tray 3 rotates and rises. The electric tray 3 is in a position where the uppermost surface of the bundle of standard documents A set on the upper surface of the document placing tray 2 is in contact with the sheet feeding roller 6 so that the standard document A can be smoothly supplied to the sheet feeding roller 6. It comes to stop. That is, the sensor S2 provided on the paper feed roller 6 is used to detect the pressure on the paper feed roller 6 by the uppermost surface of the bundle of standard originals A, so that the electric tray 3 stops in a predetermined pressure state. It has become. In addition, since the electric tray 3 can be raised and the standard original A can be brought into contact with the paper feed roller 6 in this way, the standard original A is always kept parallel to the paper feed roller 6.

  In this state, when a reading start signal for the standard document A is input, the paper feed roller 6 rotates and sequentially supplies the standard document A to the curved conveyance path 8 one by one. In addition, after the electric tray 3 is raised and stopped at a predetermined position, when the above-described reading start signal for the standard document A is not input for a certain time, the electric tray 3 is lowered to a predetermined level.

  The standard original A supplied from the paper supply roller 6 is reliably separated one by one by the original separating means 7 and sent out to the curved conveyance path 8. Even if a plurality of originals are supplied by the paper supply roller 6, only one standard original A, which is positioned at the top on the original placement tray 2, is reliably detected by the original separation unit 7. Can be sent out.

  One standard original A separated by the original separation means 7 is detected by the sensor S3 to reach the standard original A that has been distributed by the original distribution means 7. Thereafter, the standard document A is guided to the curved conveyance path 8 by the feed roller R1.

  The curved conveyance path 8 is configured so that the standard document A being conveyed is within a predetermined range so that the standard document A that can be normally set on the document placing tray 2 and can be guaranteed by the manufacturer can be stably conveyed. Designed to have curvature. Therefore, for example, even when a thick paper document having a certain amount of stiffness is used, the curved transport path 8 can transport the document being transported with a gentle curvature without any trouble. However, when a thicker document (thick document B) is transported, the transport may not be smooth even if the curvature is moderate. Therefore, the document reading apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a second document feeding unit, and is configured so that the thick document B can be set on the document placing tray 19 and smoothly conveyed.

  Further, in the curved conveyance path 8, the standard document A is further sent out through a feed roller R2 composed of a driven roller. In the vicinity of the exit of the curved conveyance path 8, the sensor S4 detects the conveyance state of the standard original A via the curved conveyance path 8, and confirms whether the standard original A has been conveyed without any problem. Then, the standard document A is sent out to the registration / skew correction region 13 by the feed roller R3.

  When the leading edge of the standard document A passes through the registration / skew correction region 13 and is detected by the sensor S5 disposed in front of the registration roller 14, the registration roller 14 is further stopped and stopped. The standard document A is sent out by the feed roller R3. Thus, the registration and skew correction are performed in the registration / skew correction region 13 over a predetermined time.

  The registration / skew correction region 13 is designed so that the standard document A is substantially linear between the feed roller R3 and the registration roller 14 when the above-described registration and skew correction are performed. Specifically, guide surfaces are provided above and below the registration / skew correction region 13. Further, the upper guide surface is formed in an inverted V shape in cross section so that a space is formed above the conveyance path.

  Therefore, for example, even when a thick thick original B is conveyed, the thick open original B is bent using the space opened upward, and the thick original B after resist correction is corrected even when it is waiting. The later state is maintained. Therefore, the registration and skew correction can be reliably performed.

  Specifically, even when the leading edge of the document reaches the nip portion of the registration roller 14 that has stopped rotating, the feed roller R3 provided on the upstream side thereof, that is, at the exit of the curved conveyance path 8, continues to convey the document. The feed roller R3 is a pair of rollers in which the other driven roller is in pressure contact with one drive roller. By pressing a document whose tip is regulated by the registration roller 14 from behind, the conveyance state of the document is changed. If it is slanted, the original is corrected so as to be straight. More specifically, the driven roller of the feed roller R3 presses against the driving roller with a pressure that can convey the document, and grips the document with a pressure that slides when the document in the oblique feed state is corrected. ing.

  Further, in the present embodiment, even after the skew feeding correction of the document is performed, between the registration roller 14 and the feeding roller R3, that is, in the registration / skew correction region 13 so that the document can maintain the state. The original is put on standby in a state where the original is bent. In this case, the document conveyance is resumed with the leading edge of the document abutting toward the nip of the registration roller 14, and the document does not deviate even after the leading edge adjustment and the oblique feeding correction. Is what is considered.

  The length of the registration / skew correction region 13 in the document conveyance direction, that is, the distance between the feed roller R3 and the registration roller 14 is the smallest among the documents that can be used as the document in the document reading apparatus 1. It is set in consideration of the manuscript. As a result, the distance between the feed roller R3 and the registration roller 14 is set to be smaller than the length when the smallest document passes, so that even the smallest document can be reliably conveyed. It can be done. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the distance between the feeding roller R3 and the registration roller 14 is as long as possible and the area of the document fed into the registration / skew correction area 13 is made as wide as possible when performing registration correction, for example, Further, the trailing edge portion of the document stagnating in the curved conveyance path 8 is reduced, and the trailing edge portion of the document is less likely to affect the correction due to resistance.

  As described above, when registration and skew correction are performed, the registration roller 14 is rotated at a predetermined timing, and the document is sent to the reading position L1. At the reading position L1, the CCD reading unit 10 reads one side of the conveyed document. A guide G1 as a first guide member is formed above the reading position L1, and the conveyed document passes through a range guided by the guide G1.

  Here, the CCD reading unit 10 has a relatively wide focal depth compensation range, and the guide G1 is provided at a position where the conveyed document is surely within the focal depth range of the CCD reading unit 10. Yes. For this reason, for example, even if the reading position L1 on the original increases due to the strongness of the original conveyed from the registration roller 14, the reading position L1 on the original decreases due to the thin paper thickness of the original. In addition, the original can be reliably read at the reading position L1.

  Next, when the registration roller 14 further feeds the document, the document passes through the reading position L4. At the reading position L4, the opposite side of the one side of the conveyed document is read. Since a guide G2 as a second guide member is formed below the reading position L4, the conveyed document passes through a range guided by the guide G2. The glass plate at the guide G2 and the CCD reading point is formed by extending the glass platen 9 of the CCD reading unit 10 to be a single glass plate, or the glass at the CCD reading point is not shown. It is also possible to extend the plate and configure it with a single glass plate.

  Here, the CIS reading unit 15 has a relatively narrow focal depth compensation range. However, since the reading position L4 in the CIS reading unit 15 is away from the registration roller 14, there is little deflection of the document conveyed from the registration roller 14. Therefore, the original can be reliably read at the reading position L4. The guide G2 is provided substantially parallel to the document reading surface of the CIS reading unit 15 and is designed so that the conveyed document is within the range of the focal depth of the CIS reading unit 15. Thereby, the reading of the document can be ensured. Further, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of folding the document during reading.

  The document read in this way is discharged by a discharge roller 16 to a discharge tray 18 formed on the side surface of the main body of the document reading apparatus 1 at a position lower than the document discharge point 17. At this time, it is confirmed whether or not the document is discharged by the sensor S6.

  2, the document reading apparatus 1 of the present invention is mounted on the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and includes a document placing tray 2, a sheet feeding roller 6, a document separating unit 7, and a curved conveyance path 8. Further, the first document conveying means, the second document conveying means constituted by the document placing tray 19 and the paper feed roller 19a, the control unit 51 for controlling the document reading apparatus 1, and the CIS reading unit 15 are used for reading. A first memory 52 that is a page memory that stores image data of the original document surface, a second memory 53 that is a page memory that stores image data of the document surface read by the CCD reading unit 10, a display unit 54, and an operation unit. 55, a hard disk (HD) 56, and an image processing unit 57.

  The display unit 54, the operation unit 55, the HD 56, and the image processing unit 57 are provided on the side of an image processing apparatus such as a digital multi-function peripheral. The image processing apparatus performs various processes in cooperation with the document reading apparatus 1. Execute.

  The first original conveying means conveys the standard original A by inverting the front and back of the standard original A from above the original reading means (CCD reading unit 10 and CIS reading unit 15) toward the original reading means. The second document conveying unit conveys the thick paper document B from the side of the document reading unit to the document reading unit substantially linearly. The control unit 51 controls the original to be conveyed from the first original conveying unit or the second original conveying unit to the original reading unit.

  The original document A is set on the document tray 2 with the surface of the standard document A facing up, and the thick paper document B is set on the document document tray 19 with the surface thereof facing up. The setting of each document is detected by the sensors S7 and S8 and notified to the control unit 51.

  The standard original A fed from the original placing tray 2 is turned upside down by the curved conveyance path 8, and the surface of the standard original A is read by the CCD reading unit 10 which is the first reading means. Are stored in the second memory 53. The back side of the standard document A is read by the CIS reading unit 15 as the second reading unit, and the read back side image data is stored in the first memory 52. The document reading apparatus 1 is normally set so that the first memory 52 stores the back side of the document and the second memory 53 stores the front side of the document. Although the front and back sides of the document are used for convenience of explanation, for example, in the case of a double-sided document, the page with the smaller page number is the front in one page.

  Further, the thick paper document B fed from the document placement tray 19 is conveyed substantially linearly, and the back side of the thick paper document B is read and read by the CCD reading unit 10 as the first reading means. The surface image data is stored in the second memory 53. The CIS reading unit 15 as the second reading means reads the front surface of the thick paper document B as the back surface, and the image data of the read surface is stored in the first memory 52.

  Accordingly, the first memory 52 stores the back side of the standard original A and the front side of the thick paper original B, and the second memory 53 stores the front side of the standard original A and the back side of the thick paper original B. Normally, since the image data stored in the second memory 53 is set to be output first as the front surface, the standard document A is output in the order of front and back, but in the case of the thick paper document B, the reverse is output. Are output in the order of the table, and the order is reversed. Therefore, the control unit 51 determines the relationship between the front and back of the document read by the CCD reading unit 10 (second memory 53) and the CIS reading unit 15 (first memory 52) and the first document conveying means (standard document A). Switching is performed so as to be reversed by the second document conveying means (thick paper document B). The control unit 51 stores the image data in a state where the front and back sides are switched in the HD 56.

  In the above description, the back side of the thick paper document B is read by the CCD reading unit 10 as the front surface, and the front surface of the thick paper document B is read by the CIS reading unit 15 as the back surface. Invert the relationship and switch. That is, the image read by the CCD reading unit 10 (second memory 53) is the back side of the thick paper original B, and the side read by the CIS reading unit 15 (first memory 52) is the front side of the thick paper original B, and the front and back images are switched. Data is stored in the HD 56. The image processing unit 57 included in the image processing apparatus sequentially outputs the image data stored in the HD 56 from the surface. As described above, when the same document surface (front surface or back surface) is set on both document conveying means, the output order is not reversed, and therefore, the output can be performed in the correct order.

  In the above description, an example is described in which each document is set with its front side facing up. However, the standard document A is set on the document placing tray 2 with the back side facing up, and the thick document B is placed on the document placing tray 19. You may set it upside down. In this case, the same result can be obtained if the front / back relationship of the standard document A is reversed.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the document reading apparatus 1 of the present invention. In this example, the case where the standard original A is set on the original placing tray 2 with the front side facing up and the thick paper original B is set on the original placing tray 19 will be described as a representative example. First, the document reading apparatus 1 determines whether or not the standard document A is set on the first tray (that is, the document placing tray 2) (step S1), and when the standard document A is set (in the case of YES). Then, the electric tray 3 is raised (step S2), and it is determined whether or not the copy switch is turned on (step S3). If the copy switch is turned on (in the case of YES), the standard document A is fed (step S4). If the copy switch is not turned on (in the case of NO), the process waits in step S3.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the standard document A has been transported without any problem (step S5). If the transport is OK (in the case of YES), reading of the standard document A is started (step S6), and the first memory 52 ( The back side of the standard original A is stored in the CIS reading unit 15), and the front side of the standard original A is stored in the second memory 53 (CCD reading unit 10) (step S7), and the read standard original A is discharged (step S8). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a next document (step S9). If there is a next document (YES), the process returns to step S4 to repeat the process. In step S9, if there is no next original (in the case of NO), the process is terminated as it is.

  In step S5, when there is a problem in conveyance (in the case of NO), the electric tray 3 is lowered (step S10), a document check is performed (step S11), and the process returns to step S1.

  When it is determined in step S1 that the standard document A is not set on the document placing tray 2 (in the case of NO), the document reading device 1 places the second tray (that is, the document placing tray 19). It is determined whether or not the thick paper original B is set (step S12). If the thick paper original B is set (YES), the thick paper original B is fed (step S13), and the thick paper original B is conveyed without any problem. (Step S14), and when the conveyance is OK (in the case of YES), reading of the thick original B is started (Step S15). At this time, the first memory 52 (CIS reading unit 15) stores the front surface of the thick paper original B as the back surface, and the second memory 53 (CCD reading unit 10) stores the back surface of the thick paper original document B as the front surface. The relationship between the front and back of the thick paper original B in each memory is reversed and stored in the HD 56 (step S16). Next, the read thick paper document B is discharged (step S17), and it is determined whether or not there is a next document (step S18). If there is a next document (YES), the process returns to step S13 and the process is repeated. . In step S18, if there is no next original (NO), the process returns to step S1.

  If it is determined in step S12 that the cardboard document B is not set on the document placing tray 19 (in the case of NO), the process returns to step S1. In step S14, there is a problem in conveyance. If (NO), the original is checked (step S19), and the process returns to step S1.

According to the present invention, since the first original conveying means for conveying the original with the front and back sides of the original reversed and the second original conveying means for conveying the original substantially linearly, the second original conveying means is provided. The thick paper original can be smoothly conveyed by the original conveying means.
Further, when the same document surface (front surface or back surface) is set on both document conveying units, the output order does not reverse, and the user does not need to change the document surface to be set by the document conveying unit.

It is a figure which shows the example of a principal part structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the document reading apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the document reading apparatus of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Document reader, 20 ... Printer part, 21 ... Photosensitive drum, 22 ... Charging unit, 23 ... Optical scanning unit, 24 ... Developing unit, 25 ... Transfer unit, 26 ... Cleaning unit, 27 ... Developer supply part, 28: Manual feed unit, 30 ... Paper feed unit, 31, 32, 33, 34 ... Paper feed tray, 35 ... First transport path, 36 ... Second transport path, 40 ... Finisher section, 2, 19 ... Original Placement tray, 3 ... Electric tray, 4 ... Lever, 5 ... Pendulum, 6 ... Paper feed roller, 7 ... Document handling means, 8 ... Curve conveying path, 9 ... Glass platen, 10 ... CCD reading unit, 11 ... Optical Unit: 12 ... CCD, 13 ... Registration / skew correction area, 14 ... Registration roller, 15 ... CIS reading unit, 16 ... Discharge roller, 17 ... Original discharge point, 18 ... Discharge tray, 51 Control unit, 52 ... first memory, 53 ... second memory, 54 ... display unit, 55 ... operation unit, 56 ... HD, 57 ... image processing unit.

Claims (4)

From the first document storage unit, the second document storage unit, the first document transport means for transporting the document from the first document storage unit with the front and back reversed, and from the second document storage unit A second original conveying means for conveying the original without reversing the front side, a front side of the original conveyed from the first original storage unit, and a back side of the original conveyed from the second original storage unit A document having first reading means for reading, and second reading means for reading the back surface of the document conveyed from the first document storage unit and the front surface of the document conveyed from the second document storage unit In the reading device,
The document is stored in the first document storage unit and the second document storage unit so that the front or back surface of the document is the upper surface, and is stored in the first document storage unit and the second document storage unit . when force out by reading the originals, the front and back relationship of the document to be read by said first reading means and the second reading means, in said first document conveying means and the second document conveying means A document reading apparatus characterized by switching so as to be reversed .   The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first document storage unit and the second document storage unit are arranged so as not to overlap each other.   3. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document stored in the second document storage unit is thicker than the document stored in the first document storage unit.   An image processing apparatus comprising the document reading device according to claim 1, further comprising an image processing unit that processes the document read by the document reading unit as image data, the image processing unit comprising: An image processing apparatus which processes image data in order from the front of a document based on the relationship between the front and back of the document.

Images