Image reading device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To allow accurate placement of mixed documents with a plurality of width sizes.SOLUTION: An image reading device comprises: a document tray that has a document placement surface on which one or more documents are placed; a wall surface with which the documents placed on the document tray are brought into contact; a conveying unit that conveys the documents one by one; an image reading unit that reads images of the documents conveyed by the conveying unit; and a position instruction member that is provided on the wall surface and has graduations indicating the placement positions of the documents on the document placement surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image reading device and an image forming device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology that enables continuous scanning of documents with a mixture of multiple width sizes, such as standard sizes and non-standard sizes, using an ADF (Auto Document Feeder). In order to continuously transport documents with a mixture of multiple width sizes in this way, it is necessary to properly place the documents with a mixture of multiple width sizes relative to the document pickup position.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a plurality of position indicators are provided at the center position above the ADF and at positions symmetrical to the center position in order to indicate the appropriate setting position for documents with a mixture of different width sizes. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, according to the conventional technology, there is a height gap depending on the number of documents that can be loaded between the position of the position indicator, which indicates the set position above the ADF, and the loading surface on which the documents are actually placed, which makes it difficult to visually recognize the positional relationship between the position of the position indicator and the edge of the documents, making it difficult to set documents with multiple width sizes, or causing misalignment after setting documents with multiple width sizes.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to enable accurate setting of documents having a mixture of a plurality of width sizes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention is characterized by comprising an original tray having an original placement surface on which one or more originals are placed, a wall surface against which the originals placed on the original tray abut, a transport section that transports the originals one by one, an image reading section that reads an image of the originals transported by the transport section, and a position indicating member provided on the wall surface and having a scale that indicates the set position of the original on the original placement surface. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an effect that documents having a mixture of a plurality of width sizes can be accurately set. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration in the vicinity of the document tray of the ADF. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the problems with the conventional ADF. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the set position indication by the position indication member. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of the position indicating member. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of an image processing unit included in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the scale width and the skew in the position indicating member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, an image forming apparatus 100 generally called a multifunction peripheral / printer / product (MFP) having at least two functions of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 mainly includes a scanner 110, which is an image reading device, and a plotter 120. The scanner 110 includes an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 110A and an image reading unit 110B. The plotter 120 includes a paper feed unit 103 and an image forming unit 105.

[0011] ADF 110A includes document tray 125, and document feed roller 121, document transport belt 122, document discharge roller 123, and document discharge tray 124, which constitute a transport section. ADF 110A is attached to image reading section 110B via an opening / closing mechanism (not shown) such as a hinge so as to be able to open and close freely. One or more documents to be scanned are placed or stacked on document tray 125. In other words, the upper surface of document tray 125 is the "document placement surface."

[0012] Original feed roller 121 separates originals one by one from a stack of originals placed on original tray 125 and abutted against wall surface 128, and transports them toward image reading unit 110B. Original transport belt 122 transports the originals separated by original feed roller 121 to image reading unit 110B. Original discharge roller 123 discharges the originals discharged from image reading unit 110B by original transport belt 122 to original discharge tray 124 below original tray 125.

[0013] After the user sets the document on document tray 125, document tray 125 moves up toward paper feed port 126 (see FIG. 2), so that the document placed on document tray 125 is ready to be fed.

[0014] The image reading section 110B includes a housing 140, a scanning optical unit 141, a contact glass 142, and a driving means (not shown). The scanning optical unit 141 is provided inside the housing 140 and includes an LED unit. The scanning optical unit 141 irradiates light from the LED unit in the main scanning direction, and is scanned in the sub-scanning direction within the entire irradiation area by the driving means. In this way, the scanning optical unit 141 reads a two-dimensional color image of the original.

[0015] The contact glass 142 is provided on the upper part of the housing 140 of the image reading unit 110B, and constitutes the upper surface part of the housing 140. The driving means includes a wire (not shown) fixed to the scanning optical unit 141, a plurality of driven pulleys (not shown) and a driving pulley (not shown) that are bridged by the wire, and a motor that rotates the driving pulley.

[0016] The paper feed unit 103 includes a paper feed cassette 130 and a paper feed means 131. The paper feed cassette 130 stores paper (not shown) as recording media of different paper sizes. The paper feed means 131 transports the paper stored in the paper feed cassette 130 to a main transport path 170 of the image forming unit 105.

[0017] Further, manual feed tray 132 is disposed on the side of image forming unit 105 so as to be openable and closable with respect to image forming unit 105, and a stack of papers is manually fed onto the upper surface of the tray in a state where the tray is open with respect to image forming unit 105. The topmost sheet of the manually fed stack of papers is sent towards main transport path 170 by a feed roller of manual feed tray 132.

[0018] A pair of registration rollers 170a is disposed on the main transport path 170. The pair of registration rollers 170a sandwich the paper transported through the main transport path 170 between the rollers, and then send the paper toward the secondary transfer nip at a predetermined timing.

[0019] The image forming section 105 includes an exposure unit 151, a tandem imaging unit 150, an intermediate transfer belt 154, an intermediate transfer roller 155, a secondary transfer device 152, a fixing unit 153, etc. The image forming section 105 also includes a main transport path 170, a reverse transport path 173, a paper discharge path 160, etc.

[0020] 1, the exposure unit 151 is disposed adjacent to the tandem imaging unit 150. The exposure unit 151 exposes the photoconductor drums 174 provided corresponding to each of the colors yellow, cyan, magenta, and black.

[0021] The tandem imaging unit 150 is composed of four imaging units 175 for yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, which are arranged on the intermediate transfer belt 154 along the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 154. Although detailed illustration is omitted, each imaging unit 175 is equipped with a charging device, a developing device, a photoconductor cleaning device, a discharging device, etc., around a photoconductor drum 174 provided corresponding to each of the above colors. Each photoconductor drum 174 and the above devices provided around it are unitized to constitute one process cartridge.

[0022] Based on image information read by the image reading section 110B and separated by color, the tandem imaging unit 150 forms a visible image (toner image) formed of toner in different colors on each photoconductor drum 174. The visible image formed on each photoconductor drum 174 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 154 between each photoconductor drum 174 and the intermediate transfer roller 155.

[0023] Meanwhile, a secondary transfer device 152 is provided on the opposite side of the tandem imaging unit 150 with the intermediate transfer belt 154 in between. The secondary transfer device 152 has a secondary transfer roller 521 as a transfer member. This secondary transfer roller 521 is pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 154 to form a secondary transfer nip. In this secondary transfer nip, a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 154 is transferred to paper transported from the paper feeder 103 via the main transport path 170.

[0024] The paper onto which the toner image has been transferred in the secondary transfer nip is sent to a fixing unit 153 by a paper transport belt 156 stretched around two support rollers 157 .

[0025] The fixing unit 153 is configured by pressing a pressure roller 159 against a fixing belt 158, which is an endless belt. The fixing unit 153 applies heat and pressure to the paper by the pressure roller 159, thereby melting the toner of the toner image transferred to the paper and fixing the toner image on the paper as a color image.

[0026] The paper on which the color image has been fixed in this manner is passed through a paper discharge path 160 as a paper discharge transport path, and is stacked on a paper discharge tray 161 outside the apparatus.

[0027] 1, a reversing conveying path 173 is provided below the secondary transfer device 152 and the fixing unit 153. The reversing conveying path 173 is for reversing the paper discharged from the fixing unit 153 and supplying it again to the secondary transfer device 152 via the main conveying path 170 in order to form images on both sides of the paper.

[0028] Further, in the main transport path 170 and the reverse transport path 173, a plurality of transport detection sensors (not shown) are arranged along the transport path as paper jam detection means. The number and locations of the transport detection sensors are set appropriately. When each transport detection sensor does not detect the passage of paper within a predetermined time, it determines that a paper jam (non-feed, paper jam) has occurred, and notifies a display unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 100 or the like of the occurrence of the jam.

[0029] Next, a detailed description will be given of an example of the configuration of the ADF 110A near the document tray 125.

[0030] Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration near document tray 125 of ADF 110A. As shown in Fig. 1, image forming apparatus 100 is provided with ADF 110A at the top of the main body. A pair of side fences 200 are provided on document tray 125 of ADF 110A.

[0031] The side fence 200 is configured to be movable in the main scanning (width) direction of the document, and guides both ends of the document in the width direction. In addition, by mounting a main scanning length detection sensor using a known variable resistor or the like, whose output changes continuously as the side fence 200 moves, on the side fence 200, it can also serve as a function for detecting the length of the document in the main scanning direction. In this case, the length of the document in the main scanning direction is detected by detecting the position of the side fence 200 with the side fence 200 aligned with both ends of the document.

[0032] ADF 110A also includes opening / closing cover 127 having paper feed port 126 through which documents placed on document tray 125 are fed. Document feed roller 121, which is composed of a group of rollers and a group of gears for transporting documents on document tray 125, is disposed inside opening / closing cover 127. Opening / closing cover 127 is a cover that is disposed so as to be freely opened and closed so as to conceal or expose the downstream end of document tray 125 and document feed roller 121. In this embodiment, document feed roller 121 is provided at a position that communicates with approximately the center of document tray 125.

[0033] In addition, ADF 110A arranges a position indication member 129 having a scale indicating an appropriate set position of the document on a wall surface 128 provided with paper feed port 126 of opening / closing cover 127. Position indication member 129 has scales indicating the center position of document tray 125 and a symmetrical position with respect to the center position in order to indicate an appropriate set position of documents loaded with a mixture of a plurality of width sizes. Position indication member 129 is printed on wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127. Position indication member 129 may be attached to wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 with a sticker-like sheet. Position indication member 129 is not limited to being printed on wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 or attached with a sticker-like sheet, and position indication member 129 may be configured to indicate a combination of the center position and the left and right symmetrical positions in the width direction with respect to the center reference by irradiating light toward the document at a predetermined interval by a light emitting body such as an LED or changing the color of the light.

[0034] 3 is a block diagram showing the main components of image forming apparatus 100. Image forming apparatus 100 has paper stacking section 300, paper feeding section 301, image creating section 302, operation display section 303, storage section 304, control section 305, image processing section 310, and image reading section 110B.

[0035] In paper stacking section 300, paper to be fed is loaded in paper feed cassette 130 and manual feed tray 132. Paper feed section 301 includes paper feed section 103 as shown in Fig. 1, which includes paper feed cassette 130, paper feed means 131, and manual feed tray 132, and feeds and transports paper to main transport path 170. Imaging section 302 corresponds to image forming section 105 in Fig. 1, and forms an image based on an image creation process and transfers the image onto the fed and transported paper.

[0036] The operation display unit 303 includes various operation keys, a display such as a liquid crystal display, lamps such as LEDs, etc. The operation keys are used to input operations required when using each function of the image forming apparatus 100 such as copying, printing, and scanning, and operations for specifying the type of paper, etc. Furthermore, the display shows the command contents input from the operation keys and various information notified to the user by the image forming apparatus 100.

[0037] The storage unit 304 is configured with, for example, an HDD (hard disk drive), a ROM, a RAM, and the like.

[0038] The control unit 305 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 306, a read only memory (ROM) 307, and a random access memory (RAM) 308.

[0039] The CPU 306 controls the entire image forming apparatus 100. The ROM 307 stores programs executed by the CPU 306, and the CPU 306 reads and executes the programs from the ROM 307. The RAM 308 is used as a working memory when the CPU 306 is performing control.

[0040] The image processing unit 310 performs a predetermined image processing on the image read by the image reading unit 110B.

[0041] Here, the problems with the conventional ADF will be described.

[0042] Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining the problems of the conventional ADF. As shown in Fig. 4, the conventional ADF 400 is provided with a position indicator 402, which indicates the center position and a symmetrical position with respect to the center position, on the upper part of the opening and closing cover 401 for the purpose of indicating the appropriate placement position and placement direction of the document. By using this position indicator 402, it becomes possible to guide the document to be appropriately placed in the center or at both ends of the document.

[0043] However, in the conventional ADF 400, there is a height gap between the position of the position indicator 402 on the top of the opening / closing cover 401 and the document tray 403 on which the document is actually placed, which is in accordance with the number of documents that can be loaded. In reality, a user who sets a document stands at the front of the image forming apparatus and sets the document, so the viewpoint is to look diagonally down from the front of the ADF 400 to the back. In this case, the height gap between the position of the position indicator 402 and the document tray 403 on which the document is placed makes it difficult to visually recognize the positional relationship between the position of the position indicator 402 and the edge of the document, which causes problems such as difficulty in setting the document or misalignment after the document is set.

[0044] In addition, for the conventional ADF400, the provision of an indicator on the side wall has been considered, but in order to make it easier to set the document, the document and the indicator need to come into contact to display the indication, and providing an indicator on the side wall does not solve the problem.

[0045] In addition, conventional ADFs 400 are designed for standard-sized documents and generally use side fences 404, so the impact of misalignment of the document set position is small. However, in recent years, mixed loading of non-standard-sized documents has also been considered. In such mixed loading, large and small sizes are combined, and positioning by the side fences 404 is no longer effective. If misalignment of the document set position occurs for documents of different sizes, it will have a significant impact on reading quality, such as skew quality, so some ingenuity is required to accurately set the document set position when documents of different sizes are mixed.

[0046] Therefore, in this embodiment, a position indicating member 129 for indicating the setting position of the document is provided on a wall surface 128 of the opening / closing cover 127, so that the setting position of the document can be accurately recognized even when viewed obliquely from the front of the ADF 110A toward the back, and the center of the document can be easily set on the document tray 125. This will be described in detail below.

[0047] 2, in ADF 110A of this embodiment, position indicating member 129 for setting a document is provided at a position that comes into contact with the document or on wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 that is in the vicinity of the position that comes into contact with the document. In the example shown in Fig. 2, position indicating member 129 is provided on wall surface 128 that is used to align the leading edges in the transport direction, so that the leading edges of the documents come into contact with position indicating member 129.

[0048] After the user sets the document in accordance with the position indicating member 129, the document tray 125 moves up toward the paper feed port 126, whereby the document is ready to be fed and can be read.

[0049] The position indication member 129 does not necessarily have to be provided at the position where the leading edge of the document touches, and can be effective even in the vicinity of the position where the leading edge of the document touches. For example, the vicinity of the position where the leading edge of the document touches is within 10 mm of the position where the leading edge of the document touches, which can sufficiently reduce the difference between the visual position and the actual position.

[0050] 2, the set position indicated by position indicating member 129 is not only the center, but is also indicated at a predetermined interval on both sides in the width direction from the center reference. This allows the user to adjust the position to align both ends of the document, and allows the document to be set in document tray 125 at an appropriate position even if the center of the document is difficult to determine.

[0051] Furthermore, the position indicating member 129 indicates the combination of left and right target positions in the width direction with respect to the central reference so that the combination can be understood. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the combination of left and right target positions in the width direction with respect to the central reference is indicated by the same number. This allows the user to set the document in the center position of the document tray 125 in a pseudo manner by checking whether both ends of the document are in the same combination position.

[0052] By providing position indication member 129 on wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 in this way, the set position and the position of the document can be directly and visually confirmed, which has the effect of making setting easier and suppressing misalignment when setting. In this embodiment, by using wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 with which the leading edge of the document comes into contact, there is an advantage that the display can be confirmed even when multiple documents are set. It is also possible to provide position indication member 129 on document tray 125, but if a large document is placed on document tray 125, the display cannot be confirmed for small documents.

[0053] Next, the effect of the position indication by the position indication member 129 will be described in detail.

[0054] Here, Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the set position indication by the position indication member 129. Fig. 5 shows an example in which the document feed roller 121 provided inside the opening and closing cover 127 is in the center. Fig. 5(a) shows an example in which documents of a mixture of multiple width sizes are placed in the center with respect to the document feed roller 121, and Fig. 5(b) shows an example in which documents of a mixture of multiple width sizes are not placed in the center with respect to the document feed roller 121.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 5(a), according to this embodiment, when documents of a plurality of mixed width sizes are set and scanned at the same time (mixed width sizes), documents of any width size can be set so as to be placed on the document feed roller 121. When documents of a plurality of mixed width sizes are set and scanned at the same time (mixed width sizes), if there is a misalignment between the position of the document feed roller 121 and the center position of the document, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a phenomenon occurs in which the document is likely to be skewed due to the force in the rotation direction. A large skew needs to be suppressed because it is considered that the document will reach outside the transport area, causing damage to the document, and the skew itself will affect the image quality. For this reason, when documents of a plurality of mixed width sizes are set and scanned at the same time (mixed width sizes), it is preferable to set the document so that the center position of the document and the position of the document feed roller 121 match as much as possible.

[0056] In other words, according to this embodiment, by indicating the position where the document will be in contact with the document, the set position can be accurately determined even when viewed from an oblique direction, making it easy for the user to accurately set documents containing a mixture of multiple width sizes and also improving print quality.

[0057] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, even when the side fence 200 is in a free state, it is possible to instruct the user to set the document at a position where the document is less likely to be skewed.

[0058] In the present embodiment, position indication member 129 is described as being printed on wall surface 128 of opening / closing cover 127 or attached as a sticker-like sheet, but the present invention is not limited to this. Modifications will be described below.

[0059] 6 is a diagram showing a modified example of the position indication member 129. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the position indication member 129 indicates the combination of left and right target positions in the width direction with respect to the central reference by the same numbers, but as shown in FIG. 6(a), the position indication member 129 may indicate the combination of left and right target positions in the width direction with respect to the central reference by changing the color pattern of the area. Compared with symbols such as numbers and letters, colors have high visibility because it is sufficient to check whether the document ends are in areas of the same color on the left and right. Note that the position indication member 129 may indicate the combination of left and right target positions in the width direction with respect to the central reference by combining colors and symbols.

[0060] Also, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the position indicating member 129 may be configured to indicate the position by hanging a string-like body 129a such as a string or tape from a wall surface 128 on which the paper feed port 126 of the opening / closing cover 127 is provided, in the form of a curtain, onto the document.

[0061] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described.

[0062] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an image of the same size as the original is provided to the user. In the following description of the second embodiment, the description of the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

[0063] As described above, it is possible to instruct the user on a document setting position that is less likely to cause skew even when the side fence 200 is free. This reduces the possibility of large skew occurring, but on the other hand, it does not mean that skew can be completely reduced. Also, when scanning documents of multiple width sizes, which is the purpose of scanning with the side fence 200 free, documents of irregular shapes can also be input, so the exact size is not known at the time of reading, and an image of the same size as the document cannot be provided to the user.

[0064] 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image processing unit 310 included in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the image processing unit 310 includes an edge detection unit 3101, a straight line detection unit 3102, a skew correction unit 3103, a registration adjustment unit 3104, and a size cut-out unit 3105.

[0065] The edge detection unit 3101 detects edges from an image based on input image data. The edge detection method used by the edge detection unit 3101 is not limited to a specific method, and may be, for example, a method of detecting a density difference between a background area and a document area, or a method of detecting a shadow on the boundary between a background area and a document area.

[0066] The line detection unit 3102 detects lines that are each side from the result of edge detection by the edge detection unit 3101 .

[0067] The skew correction unit 3103 executes skew correction in accordance with the edge information detected by the edge detection unit 3101 and the straight line detected by the straight line detection unit 3102 .

[0068] The registration adjustment unit 3104 adjusts the registration position. The registration adjustment method by the registration adjustment unit 3104 is not limited to a specific method, and may include detecting and correcting the intersections of the straight lines that are the respective sides detected by the straight line detection unit 3102.

[0069] The size cutout unit 3105 cuts out the document size from the result of edge detection by the edge detection unit 3101. The size cutout unit 3105 may detect the widths of the top and bottom sides and the left and right sides from the result of edge detection by the edge detection unit 3101, detect the size, and correct it, but the specific method is not limited thereto.

[0070] This makes it possible to provide the user with an image of the same size as the original document, so when original documents of multiple width sizes are set and scanned at the same time (mixed width sizes), not only is quality improved by the setting position, but by combining it with image processing corrections in image processing unit 310, further quality improvement can be achieved.

[0071] Next, the scale width of the position indicating member 129 will be described.

[0072] 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the scale width and skew on the position indicating member 129. The scale width on the position indicating member 129 affects the ease with which a user can set a document. For example, when the scale width on the position indicating member 129 is fine as shown in FIG. 8(a), if the user sets the document so that the same numerical values ​​are covered on both the left and right sides, the positional accuracy required of the user also becomes finer, and adjustment takes time.

[0073] On the other hand, when the scale width of the position indicating member 129 is large as shown in FIG. 8(b), if the user places the document so that the same numerical values ​​are covered on both the left and right sides, the user can place the document more easily.

[0074] If the document is set far from the center, the center of gravity of the document will be misaligned with the center of gravity of the document during transport, which will easily cause skew during transport. For example, as shown in Figures 8(a) and 8(b), when the scale width is small, the rotation effect is small, and when the scale width is small, the rotation effect is large. In other words, the likelihood of skew occurring varies depending on the scale width of the position indicator member 129.

[0075] Therefore, it is preferable to determine the width of the scale taking into consideration the amount of skew that can be tolerated by the skew correction unit 3103 of the image processing unit 310 as described above.

[0076] In the example shown in FIG. 8(c), a configuration will be described in which the accuracy based on the scale width of the position indicating member 129 and ease of use are compatible.

[0077] The ADF 110A has a set maximum size width (for example, A3 size width), and there is a regulating member (side fence 200) in the width direction. For large documents, the side fence 200 limits the skew angle, so even if the set position is slightly misaligned in the width direction, the impact is small. As mentioned above, the interval between the scale widths on the position indicating member 129 affects usability, so it is desirable to set it as wide as possible.

[0078] In the example shown in FIG. 8(c), the scale width of the position indicator 129 is changed so as to become wider as it moves away from the center in the width direction. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the scale width of the position indicator 129 is made smaller as it gets closer to the center (w1 <w2<w3)。

[0079] This makes it possible to give instructions so as to reduce the effect of skew due to the set position as much as possible, while simplifying adjustment of the set position as much as possible.

[0080] In each of the above embodiments, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is described as being applied to a multifunction device having at least two of the functions of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. However, the image forming apparatus can be applied to any image forming apparatus, such as a copier, printer, scanner device, or facsimile device.

[0081] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, each embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Each of these embodiments is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 100 Image forming device 105 Image forming section 110 Image reader 110B Image reading unit 121 Conveyor 125 Document Tray 128 Wall 129 Position indicator 129a Cord 310 Image Processing Unit [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0083] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-063044

Claims

1. a document tray having a document placement surface on which one or more documents are placed; a conveying unit that conveys the originals one by one; an image reading unit that reads an image of the document conveyed by the conveying unit; a position indicating member for indicating a position where a document should be placed on the document tray; Equipped with the position indicating member is indicated at a position where it contacts the document or in the vicinity of the contact position with respect to the document; 1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

2. a document tray having a document placement surface on which one or more documents are placed; a wall surface against which the document placed on the document tray comes into contact; a conveying unit that conveys the originals one by one; an image reading unit that reads an image of the document conveyed by the conveying unit; a position indicating member provided on the wall surface and having a scale indicating a position where a document is set on the document placement surface; An image reading device comprising:

3. the position indicating member has the scales indicating positions at predetermined intervals on both the left and right sides of the document width direction relative to a central reference; 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

4. the position indicating member has the scale so that a combination of target positions on the left and right in the width direction of the document can be known with respect to a central reference; 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

5. the position indicating member indicates a combination of left and right target positions in the width direction of the document relative to a central reference by at least one of a symbol and a color; 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4,

6. the position indicating member changes the width of the scale in accordance with the distance in the width direction of the document from the central reference; 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4,

7. the position indicating member changes the width of the scale so that it becomes wider as it moves away from the central reference in the document width direction; 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4,

8. an image processing unit that performs at least one of the following processes: detecting edges from a read image of a document; correcting skew based on the detected edge information; adjusting a registration position based on the detected edge information; and cutting out a document size based on the detected edge information; 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

9. The position indicating member is attached to the wall surface as a sticker-like sheet.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

10. The position indication member is a string-like body hanging from the wall surface.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus comprises:

11. An image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; An image forming unit; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images