阅读说明：本技术 图像读取装置和图像形成装置 (Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus ) 是由 山本祐一 福岛贵之 于 2021-05-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种图像读取装置,包括：第一堆叠单元,其具有堆叠表面,以及抵接堆叠在堆叠表面上的原稿的抵接部分；进给单元；读取单元；第二堆叠单元；检测单元；旋转轴；驱动单元；以及控制单元。第二堆叠单元接收由进给单元进给并由读取单元读取的原稿。检测单元检测是否存在堆叠于第二堆叠单元上的原稿。驱动单元使第一堆叠单元围绕旋转轴旋转,所述旋转轴可旋转地支撑第一堆叠单元。基于由检测单元检测到在第二堆叠单元上不存在原稿,控制单元控制驱动单元以使第一堆叠单元在使抵接部分降低的方向上旋转。本公开还涉及一种图像形成装置、一种用于图像读取装置的方法、以及一种非暂时性计算机可读存储介质。(An image reading apparatus comprising: a first stacking unit having a stacking surface and an abutting portion that abuts the original stacked on the stacking surface; a feeding unit; a reading unit; a second stacking unit; a detection unit; a rotating shaft; a drive unit; and a control unit. The second stacking unit receives the original fed by the feeding unit and read by the reading unit. The detection unit detects whether there is an original stacked on the second stacking unit. The driving unit rotates the first stacking unit about a rotation shaft that rotatably supports the first stacking unit. The control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stack unit in a direction to lower the abutting portion, based on detection by the detection unit that there is no original on the second stack unit. The present disclosure also relates to an image forming apparatus, a method for an image reading apparatus, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.)

1. An image reading apparatus, comprising:

a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts;

a feeding unit configured to feed the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction;

a reading unit configured to read an image of the original fed by the feeding unit;

a second stacking unit configured to receive the original read by the reading unit and discharged to the second stacking unit;

a detection unit configured to detect whether or not an original exists on the second stacking unit;

a rotating shaft extending in the feeding direction and configured to rotatably support the first stacking unit;

a drive unit configured to rotate the first stacking unit around the rotation shaft; and

a control unit configured to control the driving unit,

wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stack unit in a direction to lower the abutting portion, based on detection by the detection unit that there is no original on the second stack unit.

2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second detection unit configured to detect whether or not a document exists on the first stacking unit,

wherein, in a case where the second detection unit detects the original on the first stack unit, the control unit does not control the drive unit even in a case where the detection unit detects that the original is not present on the second stack unit.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the drive unit rotates the first stacking unit around the rotation shaft, the first stacking unit transitions from a first state in which a feeding operation can be performed by the feeding unit to a second state in which a feeding operation cannot be performed by the feeding unit, the position of the abutting portion in the second state is lower than the position of the abutting portion in the first state, and the feeding operation cannot be performed by the feeding unit, and

wherein the control unit is configured to control the driving unit to make the first stacking unit transition from the first state to the second state.

4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the drive unit regardless of whether or not there is an original on the second stacking unit after a predetermined time has elapsed from when an original reading operation is ended.

5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit configured to accept a reading start instruction,

wherein the abutting portion is provided on an operation unit side of the first stacking unit.

6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein based on the operation unit accepting a reading start instruction, the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stacking unit in a direction to raise the abutting portion.

7. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion is fixed to the first stacking unit.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second stacking unit is disposed below the first stacking unit.

9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying unit including a plurality of conveying rollers for conveying the original fed by the feeding unit to a reading position,

wherein the first stacking unit is provided to be rotatable with respect to the conveying unit.

10. An image reading apparatus, comprising:

a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts;

a feeding unit configured to feed the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction;

a reading unit configured to read an image of the original fed by the feeding unit;

a second stacking unit configured to receive the original read and discharged by the reading unit;

a detection unit configured to detect whether or not an original exists on the second stacking unit;

a rotating shaft extending in the feeding direction and configured to rotatably support the first stacking unit;

a drive unit configured to rotate the first stacking unit around the rotation shaft; and

a control unit configured to control the driving unit,

wherein, at a downstream end in the feeding direction, the stacking surface has a first edge and a second edge, wherein the first edge is close to the abutting portion in the original width direction, and the second edge is distant from the abutting portion in the original width direction than the first edge, and

wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stack unit in a direction in which the first edge becomes lower than the second edge, based on detection by the detection unit that there is no original on the second stack unit.

11. The image reading apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an operation unit configured to accept a reading start instruction,

wherein the abutting portion is provided on an operation unit side of the first stacking unit.

12. The image reading apparatus according to claim 11, wherein based on the operating unit accepting a reading start instruction, the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stacking unit in a direction in which the first edge becomes higher than the second edge.

13. The image reading apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second stacking unit is disposed below the first stacking unit.

14. The image reading apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a conveying unit including a plurality of conveying rollers for conveying the original fed by the feeding unit to a reading position,

wherein the first stacking unit is provided to be rotatable with respect to the conveying unit.

15. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts;

a feeding unit configured to feed the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction;

a reading unit configured to read an image of the original fed by the feeding unit;

a second stacking unit configured to receive the original read by the reading unit and discharged to the second stacking unit;

a detection unit configured to detect whether or not an original exists on the second stacking unit;

a rotating shaft extending in the feeding direction and configured to rotatably support the first stacking unit;

a drive unit configured to rotate the first stacking unit around the rotation shaft;

a control unit configured to control the drive unit, an

An image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording material based on the image read by the reading unit,

wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stack unit in a direction to lower the abutting portion, based on detection by the detection unit that there is no original on the second stack unit.

16. A method for an image reading apparatus including a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts, and having a second stacking unit and a rotation shaft extending in a feeding direction, the method comprising:

feeding the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction;

reading an image of a fed original;

receiving the read original discharged to a second stacking unit on the second stacking unit;

detecting whether a manuscript exists on the second stacking unit;

rotatably supporting the first stacking unit by the rotating shaft;

rotating the first stacking unit about the rotation axis; and

controlling rotation of the first stacking unit around the rotation axis,

wherein, based on detecting that there is no original on the second stack unit, controlling includes rotating the first stack unit in a direction in which the abutting portion is lowered.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to cause a computer to execute a method for an image reading apparatus including a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts, and having a second stacking unit and a rotation shaft extending in a feeding direction, the method comprising:

feeding the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction;

reading an image of a fed original;

receiving the read original discharged to a second stacking unit on the second stacking unit;

detecting whether a manuscript exists on the second stacking unit;

rotatably supporting the first stacking unit by the rotating shaft;

rotating the first stacking unit about the rotation axis; and

controlling rotation of the first stacking unit around the rotation axis,

wherein, based on detecting that there is no original on the second stack unit, controlling includes rotating the first stack unit in a direction in which the abutting portion is lowered.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of an original document and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus.

Background

An image reading apparatus included in a scanner and a copying machine is conventionally provided with an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) that sequentially feeds documents stacked on a document tray, conveys each document to an image reading position, reads an image of the document, and discharges the document to a discharge tray. In the ADF, the ADF is configured to align the original in the width direction by a user operation of placing the original on a horizontal original tray and operating a side regulating plate provided on the original tray.

As an original tray used in the ADF, a technique for aligning an original with an original tray inclined to the front side by the self-weight of the original in an original setting operation by a user is known. Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2003-323084 discusses a technique for enabling a user to see an original stacking surface of an original tray even from a low viewpoint position, for an ADF configured to incline the original tray to the front side. More specifically, when the user having the low viewpoint position changes the tilt angle of the operation panel unit for easier viewing, the tilt angle of the document tray is automatically changed.

In the configuration discussed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2003-323084, the user needs to perform an operation for tilting the operation panel unit to tilt the document tray to the front side. Further, in a case where the user holds the original, the user is to perform an operation for tilting the original tray to the front side while holding the original. This may adversely affect the operability of original setting.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure relates to improving operability of an image reading apparatus on which an original is placed in a state where an original tray is tilted to a front side, and improving operability of an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image reading apparatus includes: a first stacking unit having a stacking surface on which originals are stacked, and an abutting portion on which an original end in a width direction of an original stacked on the stacking surface abuts; a feeding unit configured to feed the original stacked on the first stacking unit in a feeding direction orthogonal to an original width direction; a reading unit configured to read an image of the original fed by the feeding unit; a second stacking unit configured to receive the original read by the reading unit and discharged to the second stacking unit; a detection unit configured to detect whether or not an original exists on the second stacking unit; a rotating shaft extending in the feeding direction and configured to rotatably support the first stacking unit; a drive unit configured to rotate the first stacking unit around the rotation shaft; and a control unit configured to control the drive unit, wherein, based on detection by the detection unit that there is no original on the second stacking unit, the control unit controls the drive unit to rotate the first stacking unit in a direction to lower the abutment portion.

Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the image reading apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the document tray according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a right side view illustrating a state in which an original is set in the image reading apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a right side view illustrating a state in which an original is fed in the image reading apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a control section of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an original reading operation according to the present exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

< arrangement of image Forming apparatus 101 >

The overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment. In the following description, a position where a user faces the operation unit 104 for performing various input/setting operations on the image forming apparatus 101 is referred to as a "front side" of the image forming apparatus 101, and a back side is referred to as a "back side" of the image forming apparatus 101. More specifically, fig. 1 shows an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 when viewed from the front side.

As shown in fig. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 includes an apparatus body 101A and an image reading apparatus 103. The image reading device 103 arranged on the top of the apparatus body 101A includes a reader 20 and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF)1 (described in detail below). The image reading device 103 optically scans the original D to read image information. The original D is paper such as a print sheet and an envelope, a plastic film such as an overhead projector (OHP) sheet, and a sheet such as cloth. The image information converted into an electric signal by the image reading device 103 is transmitted to a control unit 132 (described below) shown in fig. 6 included in the device body 101A. The apparatus main body 101A forms an image on a sheet P as a recording material based on the image read by the image reading apparatus 103.

The apparatus body 101A includes an image forming unit 133 that forms an image on a sheet P as a recording material, and a sheet feeding unit 34 that feeds the sheet P to the image forming unit 133. The sheet feeding unit 34 includes sheet storage units 137a, 137b, 137c, and 137d capable of storing sheets of different sizes. The sheets stored in the sheet storage units 137a, 137b, 137c, and 137d are picked up by the pickup roller 32, separated from other sheets by the feed roller 33a and the retard roller 33b, and then conveyed to the corresponding conveying roller pairs 131. Then, the sheet P is sequentially conveyed to a plurality of conveying roller pairs 131 arranged along the sheet conveying path, and then to a registration roller pair 136.

The sheet P placed on the manual feed tray 137e by the user is fed to the inside of the apparatus body 101A by the feed roller 138, and then conveyed to the registration roller pair 136. The registration roller pair 136 stops the leading edge of the sheet P to correct skew, and resumes conveyance of the sheet P in synchronization with the progress of the image forming operation for the toner image forming process by the image forming unit 133.

An image forming unit 133 that forms an image on the sheet P is an electrophotographic image forming unit including a photosensitive drum 121 as a photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum 121 can rotate in the conveying direction of the sheet P. Around the photosensitive drum 121, a charging device 118, an exposure device 123, a developing device 124, a transfer charging device 125, a separation charging device 126, and a cleaner 127 are provided. The charging device 118 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121. The exposure device 123 exposes the photosensitive drum 121 based on image information input from the image reading device 103 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 121.

The developing device 124 including a developer containing toner develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image by supplying the charged toner to the photosensitive drum 121. The toner image carried by the photosensitive drum 121 is transferred onto the sheet P conveyed from the registration roller pair 136 by a bias electric field formed by the transfer charging device 125. The sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 121 by a bias electric field formed by the separation charging device 126, and then conveyed to the fixing unit 129 by the pre-fixing conveying unit 128. The adhering substance on the photosensitive drum 121, such as residual toner (toner not transferred onto the sheet P), is removed by a cleaner 127. Then, the photosensitive drum 121 is ready for the next image forming operation.

The sheet P conveyed to the fixing unit 129 is subjected to a fixing process including pressurization and heating of the toner image while being held and conveyed by the roller pair. After the toner is melted and then firmly adhered to the sheet P, the image is fixed to the sheet P. When the image output is completed, the sheet P having the fixed image is discharged to the discharge tray 130 protruding to the outside of the apparatus body 101A via the discharge roller pair 40. When an image is formed on the back side of the sheet P in the duplex printing, the sheet P passed through the fixing unit 129 is reversed by the reversing unit 139, and then conveyed to the registration roller pair 136 by the duplex conveying unit 140. Then, the sheet P on which another image is again formed by the image forming unit 133 is discharged to the discharge tray 130.

The above-described image forming unit 133 is an example of an image forming unit. For example, an inkjet image forming unit or an offset mechanism may be used as the image forming unit 133.

< arrangement of image reading apparatus 103 >

The overall configuration of the image reading apparatus 103 will be described below with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the image reading apparatus 103. The size, material, shape, and relative arrangement of the elements described in the following exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described below.

As shown in fig. 2, the ADF 1 includes a document tray 2 as a first stacking unit, a conveying unit 12, and a discharge tray 3 as a second stacking unit. The discharge tray 3 is disposed below the document tray 2. The ADF 1 is attached to an upper surface of the reader 20 in an openable and closable manner. The ADF 1 conveys the original D to a reading position on an original feeding reading glass provided on an upper surface of the reader 20. The original D is set to an original tray 2 in the ADF 1. The original tray 2 is supported by a rotary shaft 11 extending in the feeding direction F so as to be rotatable relative to the conveying unit 12. The rotation shaft 11 is disposed near the center in the width direction of the document tray 2. The feeding direction F according to the present exemplary embodiment is a direction in which the original D is fed by a feeding roller 4 (described below) and a direction along the original stacking surface 2a at the time of paper feeding. The feeding direction F is orthogonal to the width direction of the document tray 2 when feeding a sheet. The width direction is a main scanning direction when the image reading apparatus 103 reads an image of the document D.

The document tray 2 is supported by a rotary shaft 11 so as to be rotatable with respect to the conveyance unit 12. Since the original tray 2 is fixed to the rotation shaft 11, the rotation of the rotation shaft 11 rotates the original tray 2 integrally. The document tray 2 is rotated by a driving force from a motor 13 as a driving unit. Although the motor 13 is provided inside the conveying unit 12 in the present exemplary embodiment, the arrangement of the motor 13 is not limited thereto. For example, the motor 13 may be provided inside the original tray 2, or on the side of a driving unit for applying a rotational driving force to each conveying roller (described below).

As shown in fig. 2, the ADF 1 includes an original detection sensor 16, a discharged original detection sensor 17, and a discharge sensor 18. The original detection sensor 16, the discharged original detection sensor 17, and the discharged sensor 18 are connected to an input port of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and are used to monitor the behavior of the original D. A document detection sensor 16 is provided on the document tray 2 to detect whether or not a document D is present on the document tray 2. A discharged original detection sensor 17 as a detection unit is provided on the discharge tray 3 to detect whether or not the original D is present on the discharge tray 3. A discharge sensor 18 is provided on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair 10 in the original conveying path to detect the trailing end of the original D. The discharge sensor 18 is used to detect that the original D has been discharged. When the original detection sensor 16 detects that there is no original D on the original tray 2 during the feeding operation, the CPU21 (described below) may determine that the original D fed immediately before the detection is the final original.

As shown in fig. 2, the ADF 1 includes a feed roller 4, a feed roller 5, a separation roller 6, conveying roller pairs 7, 8, and 9, and a discharge roller pair 10. The image reading portion E is disposed on the downstream side of the conveying roller pair 8 in the conveying direction. The image reading section E includes a front surface reading unit 14 provided on the reader 20 and a rear surface reading unit 15 provided on the ADF 1. The original D on the original tray 2 is fed to the feed roller 5 by the rotational driving force of the feed roller 4 as a feeding unit. The original D is separated one by friction between the feed roller 5 and the separation roller 6 urged from below by a spring. The separated original D is sent to the image reading portion E by the rotational driving force of the conveying roller pairs 7 and 8. The original D that has been sent to the image reading portion E is subjected to image reading on both surfaces by a front surface reading unit 14 and a rear surface reading unit 15 as reading units. Then, the original D is conveyed to the discharge roller pair 10 by the conveyance roller pair 9, and is discharged to the discharge tray 3 by the discharge roller pair 10. According to the present exemplary embodiment, a series of operations from the feeding of the original D set on the original tray 2 by the feeding roller 4 until the discharge of the original D to the discharge tray 3 by the discharge roller pair 10 is referred to as an "original reading operation".

< arrangement of document tray 2 >

The configuration of the original tray 2 will be described below with reference to fig. 3, 4, and 5. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the document tray 2. Fig. 4 shows a state of the original tray 2 when the original D is set. Fig. 5 shows a state of the original tray 2 when the set original D is fed.

As shown in fig. 3, the original tray 2 includes an original stacking surface 2a and an original abutment portion 2b as a stopper member. The original abutment portion 2b is fixed to the original tray 2 on the side (front side) of the operation unit 104. The original stacking surface 2a has a first edge 200a near the original abutment portion 2b at the downstream end 200 in the feeding direction F, and a second edge 200b on the opposite side of the first edge 200a in the width direction.

The user sets the original D in a state where the original tray 2 is tilted to the front side. In this state, the original tray 2 is in a second state inclined to the front side, as shown in fig. 4. When viewed from the direction along the feeding direction F, since the original stacking surface 2a is inclined to the front side at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction, the original D set by the user moves to the front side by its own weight. Since the original abutment portion 2b is disposed on the front side of the original tray 2, one end in the width direction of the original D moved by its own weight abuts on the original abutment portion 2b, and thus the originals D are aligned. This makes it possible to omit the conventional action of aligning the original D that the user originally intended to perform, making it easier to set the original D. In a state where the original stacking surface 2a is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction, the original stacking surface 2a is not smoothly connected with the conveying path of the conveying unit 12. More specifically, a downstream end of the original stacking surface 2a in the feeding direction F is offset from an upstream end of a guide (which forms a conveying path of the conveying unit 12). Therefore, in the second state where the original tray 2 is inclined to the front side, the ADF 1 cannot perform the feeding operation.

Although the angle θ according to the present exemplary embodiment is 30 degrees, the angle θ is not limited thereto, but may be 0< θ < 40. The upper limit 40 degrees of the angle θ is the maximum inclination angle at which the set original D abutting on the original abutting portion 2b is not bent. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the length of the original abutment portion 2b in the feeding direction F is set to 150mm in consideration of visibility when the original D is set, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

As described above, the user sets the original D in a state where the original tray 2 is inclined to the front side. However, in a state where the original tray 2 is inclined to the front side, the ADF 1 cannot perform the feeding operation. Therefore, after the original D is set, the original tray 2 is rotated while the original D is set on the original tray 2 so that the position of the original abutment portion 2b is higher than the state shown in fig. 4. More specifically, the original tray 2 rotates in a direction (the direction of arrow B in fig. 4) in which a first edge 200a on the original abutment portion 2B side in the width direction becomes higher than a second edge 200B on the opposite side. After the original tray 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow B in this manner, the original tray 2 is in a first state (the state in fig. 5) in which the height of the front side is substantially the same as the height of the rear side. Then, the ADF 1 starts the feeding operation of the original D. More specifically, when the original tray 2 is in the first state, the ADF 1 may perform the feeding operation. In this operation, the original tray 2 starts rotating in response to a user instruction for starting an original reading operation from the operation unit 104.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, when the original tray 2 is in the first state, the angle θ of the original stacking surface 2a with respect to the horizontal direction is set to zero degrees when viewed from the direction along the feeding direction F. However, it is sufficient if the original stacking surface 2a is smoothly connected with the conveyance path of the conveyance unit 12 at the start of the feeding operation. Therefore, when the feeding operation is started, the original stacking surface 2a may be slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal direction within a range in which the feeding operation can be performed.

After the final original is subjected to image reading and discharged, and when the user takes out the read original D from the discharge tray 3, the original tray 2 rotates to lower the position of the original abutment portion 2 b. More specifically, the original tray 2 is rotated in a direction (the direction of arrow C in fig. 5) in which a first edge 200a on the original abutment portion 2b side in the width direction becomes lower than a second edge 200b on the opposite side. After the original tray 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in this manner, the original tray 2 is again in the second state in which the feeding operation cannot be performed. In the case where the user takes out the original D on the discharge tray 3 before the final original is discharged, the original tray 2 is not rotated and is held in the first state. This means that, when the original D is present on the original tray 2, the original tray 2 does not transit from the first state to the second state even after the original is taken out from the discharge tray 3.

< control means of image reading apparatus 103 >

The control section of the image reading apparatus 103 will be described below with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the image reading apparatus 103 according to the present exemplary embodiment and a control section of the image forming apparatus 101 including the image reading apparatus 103.

In the image reading apparatus 103, a CPU21 as a central processing unit executes a program to completely control each unit of the reader 20 and the ADF 1. A Read Only Memory (ROM)24 is a storage device for storing control details to be executed as a program by the CPU21 and data to be used for the program execution. A Random Access Memory (RAM)25 is a storage device used as a work area for the CPU21 to execute control.

To realize the original conveying function, a conveying motor 19 as a driving source for driving each conveying roller arranged in the ADF 1 is connected to the CPU21, and a motor 13 as a driving source for rotating the original tray 2 is also connected to the CPU 21. The CPU21 controls the driving of the conveyance motor 19 and the motor 13. The document detection sensor 16, the discharged document detection sensor 17, and the discharge sensor 18 are also connected to the CPU 21. The CPU21 receives signals from these sensors and controls each unit based on the received signals.

An optical system motor 22 for moving the front surface reading unit 14 in the sub-scanning direction and an optical system HP sensor 23 are connected to the CPU 21. The optical system HP sensor 23 detects the position of the front surface reading unit 14 in the moving direction in which the front surface reading unit 14 is moved by the optical system motor 22. The front surface reading unit 14 and the rear surface reading unit 15 are image sensor units for scanning an image of the original D to perform image reading on a line basis.

The control unit 132 is an information processing apparatus that integrally controls the image forming apparatus 101 as an image reading system including the reader 20 and the ADF 1. The CPU21 exchanges control commands and control data for image reading control via the control unit 132 and the communication line 51. For example, the control unit 132 receives an instruction from the operation unit 104 by the user to start an image reading operation, and transmits a request to start image reading to the CPU 21.

The CPU21 may measure the elapsed time t from the end of the original reading operation. The CPU21 also determines whether the elapsed time T from the end of the original reading operation is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T (60 seconds according to the present exemplary embodiment). In a case where the elapsed time T from the end of the original reading operation is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T, the CPU21 drives the motor 13 to tilt the original tray 2 to the front side. Thus, when the user forgets to take out the discharged original D, the original tray 2 is shifted to the state inclined to the front side when the predetermined time T has elapsed from the end of the original reading operation.

< document reading processing procedure >

A process for reading the image of the original D will be described below with reference to fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for reading an image of an original D stacked on the original tray 2. The processing of the flowchart is executed by the CPU 21.

In a case where the CPU21 as the control unit receives a signal generated when the user sets the original D on the original tray 2 from the original detection sensor 16 (yes in step S1001), the processing proceeds to step S1002. In this operation, the original tray 2 is in the second state inclined to the front side.

In a case where the control unit 132 receives an instruction for starting a document reading operation by the user (yes in step S1002), the processing proceeds to step S1003. In step S1003, the CPU21 drives the motor 13. The driving force from the motor 13 rotates the original tray 2 in the direction of arrow B in fig. 4. Accordingly, the original tray 2 is transitioned from the second state in which the feeding operation cannot be performed to the first state in which the feeding operation can be performed.

When the original tray 2 is shifted to a state in which the feeding operation can be performed in step S1003, the process advances to step S1004. In step S1004, the CPU21 starts a document reading operation. When the CPU21 starts the original reading operation, the image reading apparatus 103 conveys the original D stacked on the original tray 2 by the above-described rollers and reads the image of the original D.

In a case where the CPU21 receives a signal from the original detection sensor 16 indicating that the original tray 2 has fed the final original and there has been no original D on the original tray 2 (yes in step S1005), the processing proceeds to step S1006. Meanwhile, in a case where there is still an unread original D on the original tray 2 (no in step S1005), the CPU21 repeats or performs the feeding operation of the original D until the CPU21 receives a signal indicating that there is no original D on the original tray 2 from the original detection sensor 16.

When the CPU21 receives a signal indicating that the final original has been discharged from the discharge sensor 18 (yes in step S1006), the processing proceeds to step S1007. In step S1007, the CPU21 ends the original reading operation. In step S1008, the CPU21 starts measuring the elapsed time t from when the original reading operation ends.

When the CPU21 receives a signal from the discharged original detection sensor 17 indicating that the user has taken out the discharged original D from the discharge tray 3 (yes in step S1009), the processing proceeds to step S1011. The signal indicating that the user has taken out the original D from the discharge tray 3 means that the signal output from the discharged original detection sensor 17 to the CPU21 has shifted from the signal indicating the presence of the original D to the signal indicating the absence of the original D. In step S1011, the CPU21 drives the motor 13. The driving force from the motor 13 rotates the original tray 2 in the direction of arrow C to shift the original tray 2 to a state in which the original tray 2 is tilted to the front side. Accordingly, the original tray 2 is transitioned from the first state in which the feeding operation can be performed to the second state in which the feeding operation cannot be performed. Then, the CPU21 ends the processing of the flowchart.

Meanwhile, when the user forgets to take out the discharged document D from the discharge tray 3 (no in step S1009), the processing proceeds to step S1010. In step S1010, the CPU21 determines whether the elapsed time T from when the original reading operation ended is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T (60 seconds according to the present exemplary embodiment). In a case where the CPU21 determines that the elapsed time T from the end of the original reading operation is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T (yes in step S1010), the processing proceeds to step S1011. On the other hand, in a case where the CPU21 determines that the elapsed time T from the end of the original reading operation is shorter than the predetermined time T (no in step S1010), the processing returns to step S1009. Although the predetermined time T in the present exemplary embodiment is 60 seconds, the value is not limited thereto.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, as described above, based on the determination that the original D on which the image reading has been performed is taken out from the discharge tray 3, the original tray 2 rotates to shift from the first state in which the feeding operation can be performed to the second state inclined to the front side. This makes it possible to omit an operation for tilting the original tray 2 when setting the next original D. Even in a case where the user holds the original D to be image-read, the user can set the original D to the original tray 2 before operating the image reading apparatus 103.

Further, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the user can easily take out the original D from the discharge tray 3. This is because the original tray 2 remains in the state shown in fig. 5 until the original D is taken out from the discharge tray 3. More specifically, since the original tray 2 is disposed above the discharge tray 3, if the original tray 2 is shifted to the state inclined to the front side shown in fig. 4 before the original D is taken out from the discharge tray 3, the original tray 2 interferes with the action of the user to take out the original D from the discharge tray 3. On the other hand, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the original tray 2 is in a state in which: in which the position of the original abutment portion 2b is raised until the user takes out the original D from the discharge tray 3. This makes it easier for the user to take out the original D from the discharge tray 3.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described above based on the case of an example in which the original tray 2 is shifted from the first state in which the feeding operation can be performed to the second state inclined to the front side based on the absence of the original D on the discharge tray 3 (second stacking unit). Alternatively, when the user takes out the original D from the discharge tray 3, the original tray 2 may be tilted to the rear side. In this case, based on the absence of the original D on the discharge tray 3, the original tray 2 is shifted from the state inclined to the rear side to the state inclined to the front side.

According to the configuration of the present disclosure, the original tray is rotated based on the absence of the discharged original detected by the detection unit, whereby the image reading apparatus having high operability can be provided.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads and executes computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (also may be more fully referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform the functions of the above-described one or more embodiments and/or includes one or more circuits (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of the above-described one or more embodiments, and by a method performed by a computer of a system or apparatus, e.g., by reading and executing computer-executable instructions from a storage medium to perform the functions of the above-described one or more embodiments and/or controlling one or more circuits to perform the functions of the above-described one or more embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), Micro Processing Unit (MPU)) and may include a separate computer or a network of separate processors to read out and execute computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), memory for a distributed computing system, an optical disk such as a Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), or blu-ray disk (BD)^TM) One or more of a flash memory device, a memory card, etc.

Other embodiments

The embodiments of the present invention can also be realized by a method in which software (programs) that perform the functions of the above-described embodiments are supplied to a system or an apparatus through a network or various storage media, and a computer or a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Micro Processing Unit (MPU) of the system or the apparatus reads out and executes the methods of the programs.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.