Image reading device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To solve a problem in which: operability in loading documents is not good when loading documents with different sizes in a width direction in a mixed state.SOLUTION: An image reading device has: a paper feeding unit that feeds a sheet placed on a placement surface in a feeding direction; a reading unit that reads an image of the sheet fed by the paper feeding unit; and a display unit that is provided at a position different from the placement surface and displays a position on the placement surface at which the sheet should be placed. The display unit displays a position of a center in a sheet width direction of the sheet placed on the placement surface in an identifiable manner, and the display unit includes a first portion extending in one of the width directions from the center position and a second portion extending in the other of the sheet width directions from the center position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a fed sheet and an image forming apparatus including the same.

Background Art

[0002] In an image reading apparatus such as a scanner or an image reading apparatus provided in a copying machine or the like, a sheet placed on a placement unit is fed, and an image of the sheet is read by a reading unit. In Patent Document 1, in order to cope with sheets of indefinite sizes, a scale capable of measuring the width of the sheet is arranged.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, consideration has not been given to making it easy to recognize the position of the sheet to be placed. Therefore, the operability when placing the sheet has become unfavorable.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus that improves the operability when placing a sheet, in view of the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention includes a placement portion on which a sheet is placed, a feed roller that feeds the sheet placed on the placement portion in a feed direction, a sheet conveyance portion in which a plurality of rollers for conveying the sheet fed by the feed roller along a conveyance path are arranged, a reading portion that reads an image of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance portion, an opening / closing cover that is rotatably provided with respect to the sheet conveyance portion and is openable and closable so as to open the conveyance path from a closed position with respect to the sheet conveyance portion, a pair of regulating members that are provided on the placement portion so as to be movable in a sheet width direction orthogonal to the feed direction and that abut on both end portions in the sheet width direction of the sheet placed on the placement portion to regulate the position of the sheet, a size indicator that is provided at an upstream end portion of the opening / closing cover in the feed direction, includes characters indicating a plurality of standard sizes of the sheet, and indicates positions at which the regulating members should be moved when a standard-size sheet is placed on the placement portion, and a set position display portion that is provided at the upstream end portion of the opening / closing cover and displays positions at which sheets having a size smaller in the sheet width direction than the plurality of standard sizes indicated by the size indicator should be placed. The set position display portion includes a central portion indicating a central position in the sheet width direction of the sheet placed on the placement portion, a first straight portion extending a predetermined length from the central portion to one side in the sheet width direction, and a second straight portion extending the predetermined length from the central portion to the other side in the sheet width direction. The image reading apparatus is characterized by this configuration. Another aspect of the present invention includes a placement portion on which a sheet is placed, a feed roller that feeds the sheet placed on the placement portion in the feed direction, a sheet conveyance portion in which a plurality of rollers for conveying the sheet fed by the feed roller along a conveyance path are arranged, a reading portion that reads an image of the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance portion, an opening / closing cover that is rotatably provided with respect to the sheet conveyance portion and can be opened and closed so as to open the conveyance path from a closed position with respect to the sheet conveyance portion, a pair of regulating members that are provided on the placement portion so as to be movable in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the feed direction and abut against both end portions on both sides in the sheet width direction of the sheet placed on the placement portion to regulate the position of the sheet, a size indicator that is provided at the upstream end portion of the opening / closing cover in the feed direction, includes characters indicating a plurality of standard sizes of the sheet, and indicates a position where the regulating member should be moved when a sheet of a standard size is placed on the placement portion, and a set position display portion that is provided at the upstream end portion of the opening / closing cover and displays a position where a sheet having a size smaller in the sheet width direction than the plurality of standard sizes indicated by the size indicator should be placed. The set position display portion includes a central portion indicating the central position of the feed roller in the sheet width direction, a first straight portion extending a predetermined length from the central portion to one side in the sheet width direction, and a second straight portion extending the predetermined length from the central portion to the other side in the sheet width direction. The image reading apparatus is characterized by the above.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the operability of placing the sheet is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] <Configuration of the image forming apparatus 101> First, the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 includes an image reading apparatus 103 and an apparatus main body 101A that forms an image on a recording material based on the image of the document read by the image reading apparatus 103. The image reading apparatus 103 disposed above the apparatus main body 101A includes a reader 20 and an ADF1, and optically scans the document D to read image information. "ADF" represents an Auto Document Feeder. The document D is a sheet such as paper and envelopes, a plastic film such as a sheet for an overhead projector, or a sheet such as cloth. The image information converted into an electrical signal by the image reading apparatus 103 is transferred to a control unit 132 shown in FIG. 5 provided in the apparatus main body 101A.

[0011] The apparatus main body 101A includes an image forming unit 133 which is an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet P as a recording material, and a sheet feeding unit 34 for feeding the sheet P to the image forming unit 133. The sheet feeding unit 34 includes sheet storage units 137a, 137b, 137c, 137d capable of storing sheets of different sizes. The sheets stored in each sheet storage unit are fed out by a pickup roller 32, separated one by one by a feed roller 33a and a retard roller 33b, and delivered to a corresponding pair of conveying rollers 131. Then, the sheet P is sequentially delivered to a plurality of pairs of conveying rollers 131 arranged along the sheet conveyance path, and thus conveyed to a registration roller pair 136.

[0012] In addition, the sheet P loaded on the manual feed tray 137e by the user is fed into the apparatus main body 101A by a feed roller 138 and conveyed to the registration roller pair 136. The registration roller pair 136 stops the leading edge of the sheet P to correct skewing, and resumes the conveyance of the sheet P in accordance with the progress of the image forming operation which is a toner image forming process by the image forming unit 133.

[0013] The image forming unit 133 for forming an image on the sheet P is an electrophotographic image forming unit including a photosensitive drum 121 as a photoreceptor. The photosensitive drum 121 is rotatable along the conveyance direction of the sheet P, and a charger 118, an exposure device 123, a developing device 124, a transfer charger 125, a separation charger 126, and a cleaner 127 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 121. The charger 118 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121, and the exposure device 123 exposes the photosensitive drum 121 based on the image information input from an image reading device 103 or the like to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

[0014] The developing device 124 stores a developer containing toner, and develops an electrostatic latent image into a toner image by supplying the charged toner to the photosensitive drum 121. The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 121 is transferred to the sheet P conveyed from the registration roller pair 136 by the bias electric field formed by the transfer charger 125. The sheet P transferred with the toner image is separated from the photosensitive drum 121 by the bias electric field formed by the separation charger, and is conveyed toward the fixing unit 129 by the pre-fixing conveyance unit 128. In addition, deposits such as transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 121 without being transferred to the sheet P are removed by the cleaner 127, and the photosensitive drum 121 is prepared for the next image forming operation.

[0015] 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 sandwiched and conveyed by a roller pair. As a result, the toner melts and then adheres, so that the image is fixed on the sheet P. When the image output is completed, the sheet P on which the fixed image is obtained is discharged to the discharge tray 130 protruding outside the apparatus main body 101A via the discharge roller pair 40. When forming an image on the back surface of the sheet P in double-sided printing, the sheet P that has passed through the fixing unit 129 has its front and back surfaces reversed by the reversing unit 139 and is conveyed to the registration roller pair 136 by the double-sided conveyance unit 140. Then, the sheet P on which the image is formed again by the image forming unit 133 is discharged to the discharge tray 130.

[0016] The above-described image forming unit 133 is an example of an image forming means, and for example, an inkjet type image forming unit or an offset printing type printing mechanism may be used as the image forming means.

[0017] <Configuration of the image reading device 103> Next, the schematic configuration of the image reading apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5. FIG. 2 is a top view of the image reading apparatus 103, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image reading apparatus 103. FIG. 4 is a view seen along the feeding direction for showing the set position display portion and the size indicator provided on the opening / closing cover. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the image reading apparatus (cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2). FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the m set position display portion.

[0018] Note that the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those, unless otherwise specifically described.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 5, the image reading apparatus 103 is composed of a scanner unit 20 and an ADF 1. The image reading apparatus 103 includes a first reading unit 14 disposed in the scanner unit 30 and a second reading unit 15 disposed in the ADF 1.

[0020] The first reading unit 14 and the second reading unit 15 constitute a duplex reading unit E capable of reading both sides of a document D as a sheet conveyed by the ADF 1. The first reading unit 14 disposed in the scanner unit 20 reads the image information of the first side of the document D. Also, the second reading unit 15 reads the image of the second side opposite to the first side of the document D.

[0021] The first reading unit 14 and the second reading unit 15 include a light source composed of an LED array arranged in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the document D, and a plurality of light receiving elements also arranged in the main scanning direction. The reflected light emitted from the LED array and reflected by the document D is imaged on each light receiving element via a lens and is photoelectrically converted by the light receiving element.

[0022] The scanner unit 20 is fixed to the upper surface of the printer main body 101A (see Fig. 1). As shown in Fig. 5, a flatbed document table 31 is arranged on the upper surface of the scanner unit 20. The first reading unit 14 is supported by a carriage (not shown) that can move in the left - right direction in Fig. 5 and can move along the entire length of the document table 31 along the document table 31.

[0023] The ADF1 is supported by a hinge mechanism (not shown) arranged on the back side of the scanner unit 20 so as to be openable and closable in the vertical direction with respect to the scanner unit 20.

[0024] The ADF1 includes a document tray 2 having a placement surface 2a on which documents are placed, a document conveyance unit 12, and a document discharge unit 3. The document tray 2 supports the document D placed by the user. The document conveyance unit 12 has a document conveyance path formed therein and feeds the document D placed on the document tray 2 to the duplex reading unit E along the document conveyance path. The document D fed by the document conveyance unit 12 has its image read in the duplex reading unit E and is discharged to the document discharge unit 3.

[0025] The document conveyance unit 12 has a pickup roller 4 as a feed roller, a feed roller 5, a retard roller 6, a registration roller pair 7, conveyance roller pairs 8, 9, and a discharge roller pair 10. The opening - closing cover 11 is rotatably attached to the document conveyance unit 12 about a fulcrum 11b. The inner part of the opening - closing cover 11 is a guide for guiding the document. When the opening - closing cover 11 is opened, the document conveyance path is opened. Therefore, by opening the opening - closing cover 11, the document remaining in the document conveyance path can be removed.

[0026] The pickup roller 4 is movable vertically with respect to the upper surface of the original tray 2, and abuts on the original D on the original tray 2 to feed the original in the feeding direction F. The feed roller 5 conveys the original D received from the pickup roller 4 downstream in the conveying direction. The retard roller 6 is pressed against the feed roller 5, and rotational drive in the direction opposite to the conveying direction is input via a torque limiter. Thereby, the feed roller 5 separates the conveyed originals D one by one.

[0027] The registration roller pair 7 receives the downstream end (hereinafter referred to as the leading end) in the conveying direction of the original D conveyed by the feed roller 5 with rotation stopped, bends the original D, and corrects skew. Further, the registration roller pair 7 delivers the original D to the conveying roller pair 8. The conveying roller pair 8 feeds the original D into the duplex reading unit E and delivers it to the downstream conveying roller pair 9. At this time, the first reading unit 14 and the second reading unit 15 read the image of the original D. The conveying roller pair 9 delivers the original D that has passed through the duplex reading unit E to the discharge roller pair 10. The discharge roller pair 10 discharges the original D to the original discharge unit 3.

[0028] On the original tray 2, a first side regulating plate 201 and a second side regulating plate 202 are respectively provided so as to be movable in the width direction W (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The first side regulating plate 201 and the second side regulating plate 202 are in contact with both sides in the width direction W of the original placed on the placing surface 2a of the original tray 2 to regulate the position of the original. Here, the width direction W as the sheet width direction is the main scanning direction when the surface reading unit 14 and the back surface reading unit 15 as the reading units read the image of the original D, that is, the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction.

[0029] The first side regulating plate 201 and the second side regulating plate 202 are interlocked by an interlocking mechanism including a pinion gear 977 disposed inside the document tray 2 such that when the user moves one of them in the width direction, the other moves in the opposite direction by the same distance. That is, the pinion gear 977 moves in the width direction W while keeping the distance from a predetermined position (hereinafter referred to as the conveyance center) in the width direction W to the first side regulating plate 201 and the distance from the conveyance center to the second side regulating plate 202 constant. The document D set on the placement surface 2a of the document tray 2 has its set position and posture determined, for example, when the user operates the second side regulating plate 202.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the opening / closing cover 11, a size indicator 301 for enabling recognition of the size of the regular paper and a set position display section 13 are provided on an inclined portion 11a at the right end of the opening / closing cover 11. The size indicator 301 and the set position display section 13 are provided at positions different from the placement surface 2a so that the size indicator 301 on the inclined portion 11a, the set position display section 13, and the document placed on the placement surface 2a can be visually recognized simultaneously. In the present embodiment, the size indicator 301 and the set position display section 13 are printed on the inclined portion 11a of the opening / closing cover 11 above the downstream portion of the placement surface 2a. Therefore, when viewed from above in the direction of arrow H in FIG. 5, the size indicator 301 on the inclined portion 11a inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, the set position display section 13 on the inclined portion 11a, and the placed document can be visually recognized simultaneously.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the second side regulating plate 202 as a regulating member is provided with a convex portion 202a as an indicating portion at a position corresponding to the size index 301. That is, the size index 301 includes a plurality of characters indicating the size of the template paper. When the first and second side regulating plates 201 and 202 are positioned at positions corresponding to both sides in the width direction of the placed document, the convex portion 202a is arranged to indicate the character representing the size of the placed document among the plurality of characters included in the size index 301. Therefore, based on the character of the size index indicated by the convex portion 202a of the second side regulating plate 202, the user can confirm the size of the document. In this way, the user can recognize the size of the document by the size index 301 of the opening and closing cover 11 indicated by the convex portion 202a. Also, when the user already knows the size of the document, the second side regulating plate 202 is moved based on the size index 301 to a position corresponding to the known size. In this state, the user can easily recognize that it is sufficient to set the document between the first side regulating plate 201 and the second side regulating plate 202, that is, to set the document with both sides in the width direction aligned with the first side regulating plate 201 and the second side regulating plate 202.

[0032] As described above, when setting a batch of documents with the same width direction together, by operating the second side regulating plate 202, the document size and the document setting position become clear.

[0033] Here, for example, when setting a plurality of documents with different sizes in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as irregularly mixed documents), the document with the largest size among the documents to be set has both sides in contact with the first and second side regulating plates 201 and 202, so the setting position is clear. On the other hand, when setting irregularly mixed documents, there is a concern that it is difficult to recognize at which position to set a document with a size smaller than the largest size among the documents to be set. In this embodiment, in order to address this concern, a setting position display portion 13 is provided. Below, the setting position display portion 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0034] The set position display unit 13 includes a first width display unit 401 as a first portion extending in the width direction W and a second width display unit 402 as a second portion extending in the width direction.

[0035] The first width display unit 401 includes a first upstream line 431 extending a predetermined length in the width direction W and a first downstream line 411 disposed downstream of the first upstream line 431 in the feeding direction and extending in the width direction. Further, the first width display unit 401 includes a first end line 421 located on the outermost side of the width direction W and extending in the feeding direction F and a first inclined line 441 inside the width direction W. In the first width display unit 401, the region surrounded by the first upstream line 431, the first downstream line 411, the first end line 421, and the first inclined line 441 is made a color different from the background so that the first width display unit 401 can be easily confirmed.

[0036] The second width display unit 402 includes a second upstream line 432 extending a predetermined length in the width direction W and a second downstream line 412 disposed downstream of the second upstream line 432 in the feeding direction F and extending in the width direction W. Further, the second width display unit 402 includes a second end line 422 located on the outermost side of the width direction W and extending in the feeding direction F and a second inclined line 442 inside the width direction W. In the second width display unit 402, the region surrounded by the second upstream line 432, the second downstream line 412, the second end line 422, and the second inclined line 442 is made a color different from the background.

[0037] The first inclined line 441 and the second inclined line 442, which are inclined so as to be on the outer side in the width direction W as going downstream in the feeding direction F, intersect at an intersection 403. The set position display unit 13 displays so that the central position in the width direction W of the document placed on the placement unit can be identified by the intersection 403. That is, the first inclined line 441, the second inclined line 442, and the intersection 403 constitute a set center guide portion 13a that guides the central position to the user. In other words, the combined region of the first width display unit 401 and the second width display unit 402 is a substantially rectangular shape lacking the set center guide portion 13a, which is a portion indicating the central position in the width direction.

[0038] The first width display unit 401 and the second width display unit 402 have a shape that is symmetric in the width direction W with respect to the intersection point 403 (i.e., the position at the center of the manuscript to be placed).

[0039] The distance from the first end line 421, which is one end of the width direction W in the first width display unit 401, to the second end line 422, which is the other end of the width direction W in the second width display unit 402, is the same as the width of the manuscript with the minimum size in the width direction that the image reading device 1 can read, that is, can feed. Here, the manuscript with the minimum size that the image reading device can read means the minimum size in the specifications of the image reading device.

[0040] Here, the position of the intersection point 403 in the width direction (i.e., the position at the center of the manuscript indicated by the set center guide portion 13a) coincides with the center in the width direction W of the pickup roller 4.

[0041] Hereinafter, regarding the manuscript setting related to the set position display unit 13 and the operations and effects associated with the set position display unit 13 will be described.

[0042] When setting a plurality of manuscripts with different sizes in the width direction W (hereinafter referred to as irregularly mixed manuscripts) at once, the user moves a pair of side regulating plates 201, 202 to a position corresponding to the size of the manuscript with the maximum size in the width direction W among the irregularly mixed manuscripts to be set. The manuscripts D with sizes other than the manuscript with the maximum size among the irregularly mixed manuscripts are set so that the center of the width direction of the manuscript D coincides with the central position indicated by the set center guide portion 13a. The presence of the set center guide portion 13a improves the setting property as compared with the case where there is no set center guide portion 13a.

[0043] In addition, the first and second width display units 401 and 402 extend symmetrically in the width direction by the same length with respect to the set center guide 13a. Therefore, the distance between one end of the original document D to be set on one side in the width direction W and the first end line 421 of the first width display unit 401, and the distance between the other end of the original document D in the width direction W and the second end line 422 of the second width display unit 402 are the same, so that the original document can be set. As a result, it is easy to set the original document by aligning the center of the original document in the width direction W with the center of the pickup roller 4 in the width direction. By aligning the center of the original document in the width direction W with the center of the pickup roller 4 in the width direction, skew during feeding can be suppressed, and stable feeding of the original document can be achieved.

[0044] Furthermore, the combined length of the first and second width display units 401 and 402 in the width direction W is set to a length corresponding to the width of the minimum size of the original document that the image reading apparatus can handle (guaranteed as an apparatus). Therefore, the user can confirm whether the placed original document is equal to or larger than the minimum width of the guaranteed original document based on the first and second width display units 401 and 402 without referring to the manual. As a result, the possibility that the user accidentally feeds an unguaranteed original document is reduced.

[0045] As described above, even when setting an irregularly mixed original document, it is possible to set the original document for stably feeding the irregularly mixed original document while maintaining the operability of the original document setting.

[0046] Note that in the above description, the setting of the irregularly mixed original document has been described. However, the same effect can be obtained not only when setting the irregularly mixed original document, but also when feeding the original document without operating the pair of side regulating plates 201 and 202.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the conveyance center in the width direction W, the center position of the pickup roller 4, and the center position indicated by the set center guide unit 13a are aligned in the width direction W. However, the present invention can also be applied to a device in which the conveyance center and the center position of the pickup roller 4 are offset in the width direction W. In this device, the center position of the pickup roller 4 and the center position of the document indicated by the set center guide unit 13a are aligned in the width direction, and the conveyance center is offset by a certain amount in the width direction W from the center position of the document indicated by the set center guide unit 13a. In this case, the conveyance center is the intermediate position in the width direction between the first regulating plate 201 and the second regulating plate 202, so that intermediate position and the center position of the document indicated by the set center guide unit 13a are offset in the width direction.

[0048] In the embodiment described above, the set position display section 13 is provided on the inclined section 11a of the opening / closing cover 11, but it is not limited thereto and may be provided, for example, on the document tray 2 at a location other than the placement surface 2a.

[0049] In the embodiment described above, the convex portion 202a is exemplified as the indicator provided at the position corresponding to the size indicator 301 on the second side regulating plate 202. However, the indicator is not limited to the convex portion and may be, for example, an arrow provided on the second side regulating plate 202.

[0050] The embodiment has been illustrated in which the distance from the first edge line 421, which is an end on one side in the width direction in the first width display section 401, to the second edge line 422, which is the other end in the width direction W in the second width display section 402, is the same as the width of the smallest size document in the width direction that can be read by the image reading device 1. However, the distance from the first edge line 421, which is an end on one side in the width direction in the first width display section 401, to the second edge line 422, which is the other end in the width direction in the second width display section 402, may be set to a length longer than the minimum size and shorter than the maximum size. In this case, although it is difficult to check whether the placed document is equal to or larger than the guaranteed minimum width of the document, the effect is achieved that the center in the width direction of the document can be easily set by aligning it with the center of the position to be placed in the width direction.

[0051] Although the first width display section 401 and the second width display section 402 shown in FIG. 6 are exemplified as the set position display section 13, modifications of the set position display section will be described below.

[0052] As the first width display section 401, a form in which the area surrounded by the first upstream line 431, the first downstream line 411, the first end line 421, and the first inclined line 441 is colored differently from the background is exemplified. However, the first width display section 401 may be constituted by the first upstream line 431, the first downstream line 411, the first end line 421, and the first inclined line 441, which are colored differently from the background, and the color of the internal area surrounded by each line may be the same as the background color.

[0053] As the second width display section 402, a form in which the area surrounded by the second upstream line 432, the second downstream line 412, the second end line 422, and the second inclined line 442 is colored differently from the background is exemplified in the second width display section 402. The second width display section 402 may be constituted by the second upstream line 432, the second downstream line 412, the second end line 422, and the second inclined line 442, which are colored differently from the background, and the color of the internal area surrounded by each line may be the same as the background color.

[0054] A form indicating the center position of the document by the intersection 403 of the first inclined line 441 of the first width display section 401 extending in the width direction and the second inclined line 442 of the second width display section 402 extending in the width direction is exemplified with reference to FIG. 6. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the center mark 503 indicating the center position of the document may be provided separately from the first width display section 501 extending in the width direction and the second width display section 502 extending in the width direction.

[0055] The form in which the first end line 421 of the first width display unit 401 and the second end line 422 of the second width display unit 402 are parallel to the feeding direction, and the first inclined line 441 of the first width display unit 401 and the first inclined line 442 of the second width display unit 401 are in a straight line shape was illustrated with reference to FIG. 6. However, a form as shown in FIG. 8, for example, may also be used. That is, the outer end 621 in the width direction of the first width display unit 601 may be inclined with respect to the feeding direction. The outer end 622 in the width direction of the second width display unit 602 may be inclined with respect to the feeding direction. The inner end in the width direction of the first width display unit 602 may be an inclined line 641 having an arc shape. The inner end in the width direction of the second width display unit 602 may be an inclined line 642 having an arc shape. And the intersection point 649 between the inclined line 641 and the inclined line 642 indicates the central position of the document placed thereon.

[0056] Also, the form in which any of the first upstream line 431, the first downstream line 411 of the first width display unit 401, the second upstream line 432, and the second downstream line 412 of the second width display unit 402 are straight lines parallel to the width direction was illustrated with reference to FIG. 6. However, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, the first upstream line 731, the first downstream line 711 of the first width display unit 701, the second upstream line 732, and the second downstream line 712 of the second width display unit 702 may be inclined with respect to the width direction. In FIG. 9, 705 indicates a center mark showing the position at the center of the document.

[0057] In any of the modification examples of FIGS. 7 to 9, in the width direction W, the length of the first width display unit 501 and the length of the second width display unit 502 are the same.

[0058] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the set position display unit 13 was printed on the opening / closing cover 11.

[0059] However, instead of printing on the opening / closing cover 11, a label having, for example, a set position display section 13 may be attached to the opening / closing cover 11. That is, by using the set position display label 113 including the set position display section 13 as a separate part, it can be selectively attached for each machine. By doing so, it becomes easy to handle each user differently, that is, attach the set position display label 113 to the opening / closing cover 11 only for users who scan irregular-sized originals in a batch, and not attach the set position display label 113 to other users. It is possible to avoid confusion in operation due to the presence of the set position display section 13 for users who do not read irregular-sized originals in a batch. Fig. 10(a) shows an enlarged view when the set position display label 113 is attached to the opening / closing cover, and Fig. 10(b) shows an enlarged view when the set position display label is not attached to the opening / closing cover.

[0060] In the modification shown in Fig. 10(a), the set position display label 113 is a separate part. The size index 114 may also be a separate part and selectively attachable for each machine (for each user).

[0061] In a configuration where both the set position display section 13 and the size index section 114 are printed on the opening / closing cover 11, a masking label (masking sheet) may be attached to the set position display section 13 or the size index section 114. By making it selectively attachable for each machine, it is also possible to invalidate either index. In Fig. 11, a masking label (masking sheet) 911 is attached to the set position display section 13. Thereby, it is possible to avoid confusion in operation due to the presence of the set position display section 13 for users who do not read irregular-sized originals in a batch.

Explanation of Signs

[0062] D Original E Double-sided Reading Section 2 Original Tray 2a Placing Surface 13 Set Position Display Section

Claims

1. a placement section on which a sheet is placed; a feed roller that feeds the sheet placed on the sheet placement section in a feed direction; a sheet conveying section including a plurality of rollers arranged to convey the sheet fed by the feeding roller along a conveying path; a reading unit that reads an image on a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying unit; an opening / closing cover that is rotatably provided with respect to the sheet conveying unit and that is openable and closable from a closed position with respect to the sheet conveying unit so as to open the conveying path; a pair of regulating members provided on the sheet placement section so as to be movable in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, the regulating members contacting both ends of the sheet placed on the sheet placement section in the sheet width direction to regulate a position of the sheet; a size indicator provided at an upstream end of the opening / closing cover in the feeding direction, the size indicator including characters indicating a plurality of standard sizes of sheets and indicating a position to which the regulating member should be moved when a sheet of the standard size is placed on the sheet placement section; a set position display unit provided at an upstream end of the opening / closing cover and displaying a position where a sheet having a size in the sheet width direction smaller than the plurality of standard sizes indicated by the size indicators should be placed, an image reading device characterized in that the set position indication unit includes a central portion indicating the central position in the sheet width direction of the sheet placed on the placement unit, a first straight portion extending a predetermined length from the central portion to one side in the sheet width direction, and a second straight portion extending the predetermined length from the central portion to the other side in the sheet width direction.

2. a placement section on which a sheet is placed; a feed roller that feeds the sheet placed on the sheet placement section in a feed direction; a sheet conveying section including a plurality of rollers arranged to convey the sheet fed by the feeding roller along a conveying path; a reading unit that reads an image on a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying unit; an opening / closing cover that is rotatably provided with respect to the sheet conveying unit and that is openable and closable from a closed position with respect to the sheet conveying unit so as to open the conveying path; a pair of regulating members provided on the sheet placement section so as to be movable in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, the regulating members contacting both ends of the sheet placed on the sheet placement section in the sheet width direction to regulate a position of the sheet; a size indicator provided at an upstream end of the opening / closing cover in the feeding direction, the size indicator including characters indicating a plurality of standard sizes of sheets and indicating a position to which the regulating member should be moved when a sheet of the standard size is placed on the sheet placement section; a set position display unit provided at an upstream end of the opening / closing cover and displaying a position where a sheet having a size in the sheet width direction smaller than the plurality of standard sizes indicated by the size indicators should be placed, an image reading device characterized in that the set position display unit includes a central portion indicating the central position of the feed roller in the sheet width direction, a first straight portion extending a predetermined length from the central portion to one side in the sheet width direction, and a second straight portion extending the predetermined length from the central portion to the other side in the sheet width direction.

3. 3. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the set position indication portion includes a first end line extending in the feed direction from the one end of the first straight portion, and a second end line extending in the feed direction from the other end of the second straight portion.

4. An image reading device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the distance from the one end of the first straight portion in the sheet width direction to the other end of the second straight portion is smaller than the width of a maximum size sheet in the sheet width direction that the device can feed.

5. An image reading device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the distance from the one end of the first straight portion in the sheet width direction to the other end of the second straight portion is the same as the width of the smallest size sheet in the sheet width direction that the device can feed.

6. The smallest standard size among the multiple standard sizes indicated by the size indicator is A6 size, 6. An image reading device as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a distance from the one end of the first straight portion in the sheet width direction to the other end of the second straight portion is shorter than a length of an A6 size sheet in the sheet width direction.

7. 7. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream end of the opening / closing cover is an inclined portion inclined with respect to a horizontal plane.

8. 8. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein a middle position of the pair of regulating members in the sheet width direction and a position of the central portion coincide with each other in the sheet width direction.

9. 9. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the setting position indication portion is provided on a label attached to an opening / closing cover.

10. 9. The image reading device according to claim 1, further comprising a screen for hiding the set position display portion.

11. An image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, an image forming section for forming an image on a recording material based on the image read by the image reading device;

Images