JP5215113B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading equipment having a function of reading images.

After the document on the document table is once transported on the image reading sensor to read the image, it is sent to the reverse transport path, the front and back sides of the document are reversed, and transported again onto the image reading sensor to be the back side image of the document. There is a two-pass scanning technology for reading. This is a method in which the original is discharged after both sides are read, the subsequent original is conveyed onto the image reading sensor after the end of discharge, and the same operation is repeated thereafter (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent No. 3745045 JP-A-10-101257

In an image reading apparatus that transports an original and reads an image by an image reading sensor, when the user sets and reads the paper size to be read, it is often the case that the original having a size different from the set paper size is scanned. is there. For example, when reading a document in which two A4 originals are allocated to A3 paper with the A3 paper size setting in a conventional image reading apparatus, the A4 size original is read without changing the setting. The operation when placed on the table and read will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6 to 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading apparatus 1 includes a document table 201 on which documents 216 are stacked, a document detection sensor 219 that detects whether or not the document 216 is on the document table 201, and documents on the document table one by one. Separating and feeding roller pair 202, feeding roller pairs 203 and 205, platen rollers 206 and 207, back surface image reading sensor 208, back surface document passage detection sensor 209, front surface image reading sensor 210, front surface document passage detection sensor 211, A conveyance path switching claw 212, a conveyance path switching roller 213, a control board 214, a document discharge table 215, a pickup roller 217, a document length detection sensor 218, and a document discharge sensor 220 are provided. In addition, a front / back reversing conveyance path 221 for reversing the original is provided.

2 and 12 and FIGS. 6 to 6 illustrate operations when a document is read twice by two-pass scanning in which the document is conveyed twice by turning the document and the images on both sides are read by one image reading sensor. 8 will be used for explanation. First, the document detection sensor 219 confirms whether or not the document 216 is on the document table 201. If there is no document 216 (NO in step S1001), the process is terminated. When the document 216 exists, the pickup roller 217, the separation feed roller pair 202, and the transport roller pairs 203 and 205 start transporting the document 216 (step S1002). If it is determined that the document 216 is present at the reading position of the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S1003), the surface image of the document is read by the surface image reading sensor 210. Line scanning (main scanning) for reading is performed (step S1004). Line scanning is repeated until it is determined that the trailing edge of the document 216 has passed the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S1005). Thereafter, the document 216 is stopped when the conveyance of the document 216 reaches a predetermined movement distance (step [1006]).

Next, after the conveyance path switching claw 212 is switched to the reverse conveyance path 221 (step S1007), the document 216 is conveyed to the reverse conveyance path 221 (step S1008). In this way, the back side of the document is conveyed with the front side image reading sensor 210 side. If it is determined that the document 216 is present at the reading position of the front image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the front document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S1009), the front image reading sensor 210 reads the back image of the document. Line scanning (main scanning) for reading is performed (step S1010). Line scanning is repeated until it is determined that the trailing edge of the document 216 has passed the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S1011). Thereafter, if it is determined based on the detection result of the document discharge sensor 220 that the document 216 has been conveyed to the document discharge table 215 and discharged (YES in step S1012), image data is output at a predetermined timing. (Step S1013).

When the above processing is performed, the document is inverted in the order of (A) to (B) and (B) to (C) shown in FIG. 6 and passes the surface image reading sensor for the second time. The image on the back side is read from the document by the front surface image sensor. Since the operation is when the A4 document is read from the left edge with the paper size set to A3, the left edge reference image with the left edge of the document as the front edge reference from the read signal output by the image reading sensor. Data is generated. The image data output from the image sensor when scanning the front and back surfaces is an A3 size image that is left-justified and an A4 size original image and an A4 size background image on the right side. The image of FIG. 8 is output as the image 7 and the back side scanned image.

On the other hand, an operation when an A4 document is read with A3-size paper setting by one-pass scanning for reading images on both sides of the document with one document conveyance will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 13, and 9 to 11. First, it is confirmed by the document detection sensor 219 whether or not the document 216 is on the document table 201 (step S2001). If there is no document 216, the process is terminated. When the document 216 exists, the pickup roller 217, the separation feed roller pair 202, and the transport roller pairs 203 and 205 start transporting the document 216 (step S2002). If it is determined that the document 216 exists at the reading position of the back image reading sensor 208 based on the detection result of the back document passage detection sensor 209 (YES in step S2003), the back image of the document 216 is detected by the back image reading sensor 208. Line scanning (main scanning) is performed for reading (step S2004).

If it is determined that the document 216 is present at the reading position of the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S2005), the surface image reading sensor 210 detects the document 216. Line scanning (main scanning) for reading the surface image is performed (step S2006). The processing from step S2003 to step S2006 is performed until it is determined that the trailing edge of the document 216 has passed the reading position of the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (step S2007). YES) is repeated. Thereafter, if it is determined based on the detection result of the document discharge sensor 220 that the document 216 is conveyed to the document discharge table 215 and discharged (YES in step S2008), the image data is output at a predetermined timing. (Step S2009).

In the image reading apparatus as described above, at the time of one-pass scanning, the front side image data is acquired using the front side image sensor, and the back side image data is acquired using the back side image sensor (FIG. 9). The image data of the surface is the same as when using the two-pass scan, and the image of FIG. 10 is output. However, since the back side of the document is read sequentially from the right edge of the document when the image data is scanned, the image data output from the image sensor is right-justified and an A4 size document image is arranged on the left side. The A3 size image of FIG. 11 in which the background image is arranged is output. Some users desire that the back side image when the A4 document is read with the A3 size paper setting by using the one-pass scan is set to the same left side reference image as the front side image. In such a case, it is necessary to convert the left-side reference image under the same conditions as the front image using an image editing application after obtaining the back image, which causes a problem that the conversion is troublesome.

The object of the present invention is to make it possible to match the output format of the scanned image on the front side and the scanned image on the back side when reading a document smaller than the set paper size, and to match the output format of the scanned image on the front and back sides after acquiring the image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus that can eliminate the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a document feeder that holds a plurality of documents, a surface image reading sensor that reads the surface of the document, a back surface image reading sensor that reads the back surface of the document, and the document feeding device. Stores separation means for separating originals loaded on the paper table one by one, original length detection means for detecting the length of the original separated and conveyed by the separation means, and scan size setting of the read image In the image reading apparatus provided with the scan size storing means, the front side read image and the back side read image are transported once with the left side or the right side edge of the document at the top by the front side image read sensor and the back side image read sensor. read, it is determined that the set is smaller than the original detection result and the scan size than the set scan size in said storage means of said document length sensing means is read In case, to align the position where the document surface image portion in the top side scanned image is present, the positions the to the document back side image portion extracted from the back side scanned image, and other document the front and back image portions on the front and back sides of the document It has a function of generating another back side scanned image in which the positions of the background image portions are aligned .

The present invention also provides a document feeding table for holding a plurality of documents, a front image reading sensor for reading the front side of the document, a back image reading sensor for reading the back side of the document, and a stack on the document feeding table. Separating means for separating the originals one by one, original length detecting means for detecting the length of the original separated and conveyed by the separating means, and scan size storage means for storing the scan size setting of the read image In the image reading apparatus, the front side read image and the back side read image are read by the front side image reading sensor and the back side image reading sensor with one conveyance starting from the left end or the right end of the original, and the length of the original is read. when the detection result and setting a smaller document in the storage means and the scan size than set the scan size detection means determines that the read, the back reading To align in a position to present the document back side image portion in the image, it is positioned the extracted document surface image portion from the top side scanned image and the position of the background image portion other than the original front and back image portions on the front and back sides of the document And having a function of generating other surface-read images.

According to the image reading apparatus of the present invention, the output format of the read image on the front side is different from that on the back side when the original smaller than the set paper size is read by the one-pass scan and when the original is read by the two-pass scan. Since the output format of the image is also output in the same output format, the user can save the trouble of processing the output format of the read images on the front and back sides under the same conditions after the image acquisition by the image reading apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the following embodiments should be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. It is not intended that the scope of the present invention be limited to the following embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the image reading apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is connected to a host computer. As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading apparatus 1 of this embodiment is connected to a host computer 2 via a USB cable 3. The host computer 2 is connected to a display 304 that displays scanned images and situations, and a keyboard 302 for a user to issue scanning conditions and instructions. The image reading device 1 reads an image of a document and transfers the read image data to the host computer 2 via the USB cable 3. The host computer 2 stores the image data transferred from the image reading apparatus 1 in the hard disk 305 in the host computer 2 described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a control system of the image reading apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the image reading apparatus 1 includes a CPU 250 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, a front surface image reading sensor 251, a back surface image reading sensor 252, a ROM 254 that stores a control program executed by the CPU 250, A RAM 253 that functions as a memory, a USB interface 255, and a system bus 256 to which various processing units are connected are provided. The CPU 250, ROM 254, RAM 253, and USB interface 255 are connected to each other via a system bus 256. Further, the front-side image reading sensor 251 and the back-side image reading sensor 252 are connected to the system bus 256 via an image processing unit (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the host computer 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the host computer 2 includes a CPU 301, a memory 303, and a hard disk 305. In addition, the host computer 2 includes a keyboard 302 and a display 304. The CPU 301 acquires the image data sent from the image reading device 1 via the USB cable 3 and the USB interface 307. The memory 303 stores control programs and image data temporarily. The hard disk 305 stores image data of a document read by the front surface image reading sensor 210 and the back surface image reading sensor 208 of the image reading apparatus 1. The keyboard 302 is used for performing an input operation by the user. The user uses the keyboard 302 to set document reading conditions and the like. The display 304 displays a screen necessary for obtaining a document image, such as an image obtained by reading the document with the image reading apparatus 1 and information on an error.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining image scanning processing using the one-pass scanning function of the image reading apparatus 1 of the present invention shown in FIG.

First, before proceeding to the processing of this flowchart, setting information including reading resolution and document reading conditions such as scan size is received from the host computer 2 and stored in the RAM 253 (scan size storage means). To do. In the case of an image reading apparatus having an operation unit, a user may operate an operation unit (not shown) to store a scan size or the like in the RAM 253 or the like. When there is an image scan start command from the host computer 2 or an operation unit (not shown), the CPU 250 detects whether or not the document 216 is on the document table (document feeding table) 201 for holding a plurality of documents. If the document 216 is not on the document table, the process is terminated. When the document 216 is present, the pickup roller 217, each roller pair 202, and the transport roller pairs 203 and 205 are driven by a drive unit (not shown) to start transporting the document 216 (step S0002).

If it is determined that the document 216 is at the reading position of the back image reading sensor 208 based on the detection result of the back document passage detection sensor 209 (YES in step S0003), the back image of the document 216 is read by the back image reading sensor 208. Scanning for reading (main scanning) is performed (step S0004).

If it is determined that the document 216 is at the reading position of the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S0005), the document image is read by the surface image reading sensor 210. Scanning (main scanning) for reading the surface image of 216 is performed (step S0006).

In the processing from step S0003 to step S0006, it is determined that the trailing edge of the document 216 has passed the reading position of the surface image reading sensor 210 based on the detection result of the surface document passage detection sensor 211 (YES in step S0007). Repeat until.

The image data read by the front surface image reading sensor 251 and the image data read by the back surface image reading sensor 252 are subjected to processing such as A / D conversion by an image processing unit (not shown), and are sent to the system bus 256. The data are stored in the memory areas prepared individually for the front and back surfaces in the RAM 253 in the order obtained.

After that, if it is determined based on the detection result of the document discharge sensor 220 that the document 216 has been conveyed to the document discharge table 215 (YES in step S2008), the CPU 250 determines the length of the discharged document. Is obtained from the detection result of the document length detection sensor 218 (step S0009).

Next, the scan size set by the user is compared with the detection result of the document length obtained in step 8, and the scan size set by the scan setting from the user is compared with the length of the document obtained in step 8. If the length is longer (YES in step S0010), a process of matching the back side read image with the same left side reference format as the front side read image is performed (step S0011). Further, instead of the process of matching the read image on the back side with the same left side reference format as that of the front side read image, the process of matching the front side read image with the same left side reference format as the back side read image may be performed.

On the other hand, if the length of the original obtained in step S0009 is longer than the scan size set by the scan setting from the user (NO in step S0010), step S0011 is skipped.

It should be noted that another back side scanned image is generated in which the back side image portion of the original document extracted from the back side scanned image is positioned so as to be aligned with the position where the front side scanned image portion of the front side scanned image exists. The process is the following process. Since the scanned image on the front side is read with the left edge of the document as the leading edge, the scanned document size (for example, A3 horizontal image) set by the user is left-justified and the front side original image (for example, A4 vertical image) and the right side image are scanned. The background image in the remaining area is combined. Since the scanned image on the back side is scanned with the right edge of the document as the leading edge, the scanned image of the set size is right-justified and the back side document image is combined with the background image of the left-side area. .

Therefore, in order to make the output image on the back side the left side reference image with the left side as the leading end, the length of the original is obtained from the right end of the back side image by using the length of the original obtained by the original length detection means. Image data whose background color and density are the same or similar to the surplus portion so that the image size set in the scan settings is extracted (extracted) after that image (image back side image portion) is cut out (extracted). The process to add in. Note that the surplus portion may be made up using image data remaining when an image corresponding to the length of the document is cut out.

Further, another front side read image is generated in which the original surface image portion extracted from the front side read image is positioned so as to align with the position where the original back side image portion exists in the back side read image of claim 3. The processing is the following processing, which is suitable in the present embodiment when the read image on the front surface is read with the right edge of the document as the leading edge. When scanning with the right edge of the document as the leading edge, the scanned image on the front surface is an image of the scan size set by the user (for example, A3 landscape image), right-justified and the left side of the document image (for example, A4 portrait image). The image is a combination of the background image of the selected area. At this time, since the scanned image on the back side is scanned with the left edge of the document as the leading edge, an image of the set scan size with the left-justified document image and the background image of the remaining area on the right side combined. Become.

Therefore, in order to make the output image of the front surface the left end reference image with the left end as the front end reference, the length of the original is detected from the right end of the front image by using the length of the original obtained by the original length detection means. Cut out (extract) the image of the same size (image surface image portion), and then the background color and density etc. of the right surplus portion match or similar so that the image size set in the scan settings is the same as the cut image This refers to the process of adding image data. Note that the surplus portion may be made up using image data remaining when an image corresponding to the length of the document is cut out.

Thereafter, the CPU 250 transfers the image data on the front and back surfaces to the host computer 2 via the USB interface 255 and the USB cable 3 in the order requested by the host computer 2 at a predetermined timing (step S0012). Note that the front and back image data may be transferred to the host computer 2 by SCSI, wired LAN, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, infrared communication or the like instead of USB.

As described above, the direction in which the document is conveyed in the horizontal direction may be either conveyance starting from the left end or conveyance starting from the right end. In the first embodiment, the back side scanned image is processed when transporting with the left end as the head. However, the front side scanned image may be processed to match the back side scanned image. In addition, when the conveyance is performed with the right end as the head, the front side read image is processed, but a process of processing the back side read image so as to match the front side read image may be performed.

In addition to the image reading apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment, a function of switching between a two-pass scan mode for performing a two-pass scan for reading the opposite surface by the second conveyance of the document and a one-pass scan mode for performing the one-pass scan can be added. . This switching may be performed by a user operating the host computer 2 or may be switched by a user operating an operation unit (not shown). In the two-pass scan, the document image positions in the front-side scanned image and the back-side scanned image are aligned, and in the one-pass scan, the document image positions in the front-side scanned image and the back-side scanned image are not aligned before performing the cutting and filling process. In this embodiment, in order to match the output image format between the one-pass scan and the two-pass scan, either one of the two-pass scan front and back scan images and the one-pass scan front and back scan images is used. The original image portion is cut out and filled from the front or back side scanned image. As a result, when scanning in the two-pass scan mode and when scanning in the one-pass scan mode, the scan results can be consistent, and the user can use the two-pass scan and the one-pass scan separately without being aware of the detailed settings. Will be able to.

In each of the above embodiments, all or part of the image processing may be performed by the host computer 2. In this case, an image reading system including the host computer 2 and the image reading device 1 corresponds to the image reading device of the present invention. In this case, the scan size storage means may be the memory 303 of the host computer 2 or the like. Further, the image processing of the present invention may be performed by hardware, or a part or all of the image processing may be performed by software.

  The object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium that records a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is the process of reading the code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Moreover, the following can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, Flash memory, ROM, etc. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, the present invention includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on an instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Is also included.

  Furthermore, a case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the following processing is also included in the present invention. That is, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing.

The figure which shows the whole system containing an image reading apparatus Sectional drawing which shows the structure of an image reading apparatus Control system block diagram of image reader Block diagram showing internal configuration of host computer Flowchart of one-pass scan processing of the present invention Diagram showing how a document is read during two-pass scanning Left side reference surface output image Left side reference back side output image Diagram showing how a document is read during one-pass scanning Left side reference surface output image Right side edge reference back side output image Flow chart of conventional two-pass scan processing Conventional one-pass scan processing flowchart

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image reading apparatus 2 Host computer 3 USB cable 201 Document stand 202 Separation feeding roller pair 203 Conveying roller pair 204 Conveying roller pair 205 Conveying roller pair 206 Platen roller 207 Platen roller 208 Back side image reading sensor 209 Back side document passage detection sensor 210 Surface Image reading sensor 211 Front document passage detection sensor 212 Conveyance path switching claw 213 Conveyance path switching roller 214 Control board 215 Document discharge table 216 Document 217 Pickup roller 218 Document length detection sensor 219 Document detection sensor 220 Document discharge sensor 221 Reverse conveyance Road 250 CPU
251 Front side image reading sensor 252 Back side image reading sensor 253 RAM
254 ROM
255 USB interface 301 CPU
302 Keyboard 303 Memory 304 Display 305 Hard disk 307 USB interface

Claims (4)

A document feeder that holds multiple documents,
A surface image reading sensor for reading the surface of the document;
A back side image reading sensor for reading the back side of the document;
Separating means for separating the documents stacked on the document feeding table one by one;
An original length detecting means for detecting the length of the original separated and conveyed by the separating means;
In an image reading apparatus comprising a scan size storage means for storing a scan size setting of a read image,
Reading the front side scanned image and the back side scanned image with a single conveyance with the left side or right side of the document at the top, by the front side image reading sensor and the back side image reading sensor,
If it is determined that the set is smaller than the original detection result and the scan size than the set scan size in said storage means of said document length sensing means is read,
The document back image portion extracted from the back side scanned image is positioned so as to be aligned with the position where the document front surface image portion exists in the front side scanned image , and the background image other than the document front and back image portion on the front and back sides of the document An image reading apparatus having a function of generating another back side read image in which the positions of the parts are aligned . A reversing conveyance path that reverses the front and back of the document is provided.
After the original is conveyed onto one of the front and back image reading sensors and the image is read, the front and back of the original are reversed in the reverse conveying path, and the one image is again displayed. A two-pass scan mode in which an image on the opposite side of the document is read by being conveyed onto a reading sensor;
Having a one-pass scan mode for reading a front side read image and a back side read image with one transport by the front side image read sensor and the back side image read sensor;
When it is determined that a document smaller than the scan size set in the storage unit is read based on the detection result of the document length detection unit,
Alignment between the position where the document image portion exists in the front and back side scanned images read in the one-pass scan mode and the position where the document image portion exists in the front and back side scanned images read in the two-pass scan mode In order to perform, for either one of the front and back side scanned image read in the one-pass scan mode and the front and back side scanned image read in the two-pass scan mode,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus has a function of generating another front side scanned image from the front side scanned image or generating another back side scanned image from the back side scanned image. A document feeder that holds multiple documents,
A surface image reading sensor for reading the surface of the document;
A back side image reading sensor for reading the back side of the document;
Separating means for separating the documents stacked on the document feeding table one by one;
An original length detecting means for detecting the length of the original separated and conveyed by the separating means;
In an image reading apparatus comprising a scan size storage means for storing a scan size setting of a read image,
Reading the front side scanned image and the back side scanned image with a single conveyance with the left side or right side of the document at the top, by the front side image reading sensor and the back side image reading sensor,
If it is determined that the set is smaller than the original detection result and the scan size than the set scan size in said storage means of said document length sensing means is read,
The document front image portion extracted from the front side scanned image is positioned so as to be aligned with the position where the document back side image portion exists in the back side scanned image , and the background image other than the document front and back image portion on the front and back sides of the document An image reading apparatus having a function of generating another surface-read image in which the positions of the portions are aligned . A reversing conveyance path that reverses the front and back of the document is provided.
After the image is read on one of the front and back image reading sensors and is read, the image is sent to the reverse conveying path, the front and back of the document are reversed, and the one image reading sensor is again. A two-pass scan mode that scans the image on the opposite side of the document
Having a one-pass scan mode for reading a front side read image and a back side read image with one transport by the front side image read sensor and the back side image read sensor;
When it is determined that a document smaller than the scan size set in the storage unit is read based on the detection result of the document length detection unit,
A position where a document image portion exists in the front side and back side scanned images read in the one-pass scan mode;
The front and back read images read in the one-pass scan mode, and the two-pass scan in order to perform alignment with the position where the original image portion exists in the front and back read images read in the two-pass scan mode. For either the front or back side scanned image scanned in mode,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image reading apparatus has a function of generating another front side scanned image from the front side scanned image or generating another back side scanned image from the back side scanned image.

Images