Image reading device, image forming apparatus, and image reading method

Abstract

To provide an image reading device, an image forming apparatus, and an image reading method that allow a user to set a desired partial area of a document as a reading range, while seeing a reading surface of the document.SOLUTION: An image reading device comprises: a document platen for placing a document; touch sensors that are arranged along an end in a first direction of the document platen and an end in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation for the touch sensors, with a surface on the opposite side of a reading surface of the document being placed to face the document platen; an inversion unit that inverts the range designated by the range designation unit; and a reading device that reads the range inverted by the inversion unit on the reading surface, with the reading surface of the document being placed to face the document platen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] A technique for setting a reading range on a document table using a sensor is known.

[0003] As a technique for setting the reading range, a technique has been disclosed in which sensors are placed on two sides of the document placement surface and the document range and page boundaries are set to read only the double-page spread, excluding the pages outside the book frame even when the pages are turned (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] In addition, a technology has been disclosed that uses an optical array around the document table to display the scan area so that the user can correctly recognize the scan area and prevent inaccurate scanning by placing the document (for example, Patent Document 2). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that it can only read the entire spread page by setting the page range and the boundary of the spread, and cannot read a partial area of ​​the document. Also, the technology described in Patent Document 2 has the problem that, for a thick document, when the document surface is placed on a glass surface, it is not possible to determine whether the desired area of ​​the document is within the scan area, and therefore it cannot accurately read a partial area.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an image reading device, an image forming device, and an image reading method that allow a desired partial area of ​​a document to be set as the reading range while viewing the reading surface of the document. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention is characterized by comprising a document table for placing a document, touch sensors arranged along the end of the document table in a first direction and along the end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction, a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor when the document is placed so that the surface opposite to the reading surface faces the document table, an inversion unit that inverts the range designated by the range designation unit, and a reading device that reads the range on the reading surface inverted by the inversion unit when the document is placed so that the reading surface faces the document table. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a desired partial area of ​​the document can be set as the reading range while viewing the surface of the document to be read. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vicinity of the contact glass of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional block configuration of the control device of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a designated range on a document and a reading range after inversion in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a modified example. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the periphery of a contact glass of an image forming apparatus according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of an image reading device, an image forming device, and an image reading method according to the present invention will be described in detail. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and the components in the following embodiments include those that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalents. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiments.

[0011] (Hardware configuration of image forming device) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0012] 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control device 10, a reading device 11, a touch sensor 12, an input device 13, a display device 14, a printer 15, and a memory 16. The image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to the "image reading device" and the "image forming apparatus" of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is also provided with a printing function using the printer 15, but is not limited to this and may also be a scanner device with a reading function based on the reading device 11.

[0013] The control device 10 is a controller including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

[0014] The reading device 11 is provided below the contact glass 21 shown in FIG. 2 described later, and is a flatbed scanner device that uses a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or the like to read a document placed on the contact glass 21.

[0015] The touch sensors 12 are provided on the upper and left ends of the contact glass 21, and are sensors for specifying ranges in the X and Y directions (see FIG. 2) when touched by the user.

[0016] The input device 13 is a key or a touch panel that accepts operations by a user, etc. The display device 14 is a display device configured with a liquid crystal or organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) or the like for displaying various setting information and the like.

[0017] The printer 15 is a device that prints the scanned data of the document that has been read by the reading device 11 and stored in the memory 16 .

[0018] The memory 16 is a storage device that stores various programs, data, and scanned data of the document scanned by the scanning device 11. The memory 16 also temporarily stores coordinate information indicating the ranges in the X and Y directions specified by the touch sensor 12.

[0019] (Contact glass peripheral configuration) 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vicinity of the contact glass of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. The configuration of the vicinity of the contact glass 21 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a contact glass 21, abutment members 22a and 22b, and touch sensors 12a and 12b.

[0021] The contact glass 21 is a glass member that serves as a document table on which a document is placed so that the reading device 11 can read the document.

[0022] The abutment members 22a and 22b are graduated members that are used to abut the document placed on the contact glass 21 in order to align it with the origin O. With the origin O as the starting point, the right direction on the paper is defined as the X direction, and the downward direction is defined as the Y direction.

[0023] Touch sensor 12a is provided at the upper end of contact glass 21 and is a sensor that the user touches to specify a range in the X direction. Touch sensor 12b is provided at the left end of contact glass 21 and is a sensor that the user touches to specify a range in the Y direction. In other words, the user can specify a range on a document placed on contact glass 21 by performing a touch operation on touch sensors 12a and 12b. Touch sensors 12a and 12b correspond to touch sensor 12 shown in FIG. 1.

[0024] (Configuration and operation of functional blocks of the control device of the image forming apparatus) Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of functional blocks of a control device of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specified range on a document and a reading range after inversion in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. The configuration and operation of the functional blocks of the control device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

[0025] The control device 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 includes a range designation unit 101, a reversing axis setting unit 102, and a reversing unit 103, as shown in FIG.

[0026] Range designation unit 101 is a functional unit that designates a range that is one area of ​​document P placed on contact glass 21, based on coordinate information of a range in the X-axis direction designated by a touch operation on touch sensor 12a and coordinate information of a range in the Y-axis direction designated by a touch operation on touch sensor 12b. The X-axis direction corresponds to the "first direction" of the present invention, and the Y-axis direction corresponds to the "second direction" of the present invention.

[0027] 4(a) shows an example of a specified range identified by range designation unit 101. In the example shown in FIG. 4(a), the range (X-axis specified range) from coordinate X1 to coordinate X2 (>X1) in the X-axis direction is designated by touch sensor 12a, and the range (Y-axis specified range) from coordinate Y1 to coordinate Y2 (>Y1) in the Y-axis direction is designated by touch sensor 12b, thereby designating the area where "ABCD" is printed on document P. Also, in FIG. 4(a), coordinate X3 in the X-axis direction indicates the end of document P in the X-axis direction, and coordinate Y3 in the Y-axis direction indicates the end of document P in the Y-axis direction.

[0028] The method of specifying coordinates by touching the touch sensors 12a and 12b may be a method of touching the ends of a range, or a method of tracing the coordinates X1-X2 on the touch sensor 12a and tracing the coordinates Y1-Y2 on the touch sensor 12b, etc. The method of specifying the coordinates X3 and Y3, which are the ends of the document P, may be a method of specifying by touching the touch sensors 12a and 12b, a method of calculating from the paper size set by the input device 13, or a method of calculating from the ends of the document P by performing a reading operation by the reading device 11 once.

[0029] The inversion axis setting unit 102 is a functional unit that sets whether the range on the original P specified by the range specification unit 101 is to be inverted based on the X axis or the Y axis, in response to an operation on the input device 13.

[0030] The inversion unit 103 is a functional unit that inverts the range specified by the range specification unit 101 based on the axis set by the inversion axis setting unit 102. Then, the inversion unit 103 specifies the inverted range as a reading range to be read by the reading device 11.

[0031] The specified range shown in FIG. 4(a) is inverted by the inverting unit 103 about the Y axis, resulting in the dotted line reading range shown in FIG. 4(b). Specifically, the inverting unit 103 specifies a reading range in the X axis direction, with the start position defined by the coordinate calculated as X3-X2 and the end position defined by the coordinate calculated as X3-X1, and in the Y axis direction, with the start position defined by the coordinate Y1 and the end position defined by the coordinate Y2. Note that even when inverted about the X axis, the reading range is specified by a method similar to the calculation method described above. As a result, by placing the document P on the contact glass 21 with the reading surface facing the contact glass 21 and performing a reading operation with the reading device 11, the area including the printed characters "ABCD" specified by the touch sensors 12a and 12b is read by the reading device 11 as the reading range, as shown in FIG. 4(a).

[0032] The above-described range designation unit 101, reversal axis setting unit 102, and reversal unit 103 are realized, for example, by a program being executed by the control device 10 shown in Fig. 1. Note that at least some of the range designation unit 101, reversal axis setting unit 102, and reversal unit 103 may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0033] Note that the functional units of the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 are conceptual representations of functions, and are not limited to such configurations. For example, the multiple functional units illustrated as independent functional units in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as a single functional unit. On the other hand, the function of a single functional unit in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 may be divided into multiple units and configured as multiple functional units. Furthermore, the functional units of the control device 10 do not need to be configured as distinct software modules as shown in FIG. 3; it is sufficient that the functions of the functional units as a whole are realized by executing a program on the control device 10.

[0034] (Flow of operation of image forming device) 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, and the flow of operations of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0035] <Step S11> The control device 10 determines whether the operation mode of the image forming device 1 is a range-specified reading mode for setting a reading range on the document P. The range-specified reading mode is specified, for example, by operating the input device 13. If the operation mode is the range-specified reading mode (step S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12, and if the operation mode is not the range-specified reading mode (step S11: No), the process proceeds to step S17.

[0036] <Step S12> The user specifies a range in the X-axis direction by touching touch sensor 12a, and a range in the Y-axis direction by touching touch sensor 12b. In this case, it is assumed that the document P is placed with the surface opposite the reading surface facing the contact glass 21. Then, the range designation unit 101 of the control device 10 designates a range that is an area of ​​the document P placed on the contact glass 21, based on coordinate information of the range in the X-axis direction designated by the touch operation on touch sensor 12a and coordinate information of the range in the Y-axis direction designated by the touch operation on touch sensor 12b. The range designation may be explicitly confirmed by operating the input device 13, or may be automatically confirmed when all necessary ranges have been designated using the touch sensor 12. Then, the range designation unit 101 stores the coordinate information of each coordinate indicating the designated range in memory 16. Then, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0037] <Step S13> In this case, the range specifying unit 101 checks the consistency of the coordinate information of each coordinate specified by the touch sensors 12a and 12b. For example, as shown in Fig. 4(a), the range specifying unit 101 checks whether the magnitude relationship is X1 < X2 < X3 and Y1 < Y2 < Y3 for each coordinate specified by the touch operation on the touch sensors 12a and 12b. If the consistency is achieved (step S13: OK), the process proceeds to step S14. If the consistency is lacking (step S13: NG), the process proceeds to step S16.

[0038] <Step S14> The inversion axis setting unit 102 of the control device 10 sets whether to invert the range on the original document P specified by the range specifying unit 101 with respect to the X-axis or the Y-axis according to the operation on the input device 13. That is, the inversion axis setting unit 102 sets the axis (inversion axis) for inverting in order to read the range on the original document P specified by the range specifying unit 101. Then, the process proceeds to step S15.

[0039] <Step S15> The inversion unit 103 of the control device 10 inverts the range specified by the range specifying unit 101 with respect to the axis set by the inversion axis setting unit 102. Then, the inversion unit 103 specifies the inverted range as the reading range to be read by the reading device 11. Then, the inversion unit 103 stores the coordinate information indicating the reading range, which is the inverted range, in the memory 16. For example, the X-axis is stored in the memory 16 in advance as the default inversion axis. The inversion unit 103 may invert with respect to the default inversion axis and automatically calculate the coordinates of the reading range after inversion when there is no setting of the inversion axis in step S14 or the setting itself is omitted. Then, the process proceeds to step S17.

[0040] <Step S16> The control device 10 displays an error on the display device 14 to indicate that the coordinate information of the coordinates specified by the touch sensors 12a and 12b is inconsistent. Then, the process returns to step S12. That is, the user starts over from the touch operation on the touch sensors 12a and 12b.

[0041] <Step S17> The user then places the document P with the reading surface facing the contact glass 21. The user then sets printing conditions such as the printing paper type and the aggregation conditions via the input device 13. The process then proceeds to step S18. The control device 10 may also display on the display device 14 the fact that the range-specified reading mode has been set at this time, as well as the document placement method (reversal method).

[0042] <Step S18> Then, the reading device 11 performs a reading operation on the document P placed on the contact glass 21 within the reading range specified by the reversing unit 103. Then, the process proceeds to step S19.

[0043] <Step S19> Then, the printer 15 performs printing on printing paper based on the read data of the original P obtained by the reading operation by the reading device 11. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 performs a copying operation on the read range of the original P.

[0044] As described above, in image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, contact glass 21 is a platen for placing a document, touch sensor 12 is disposed along the end of contact glass 21 in the X-axis direction and the end of contact glass 21 in the Y-axis direction intersecting the X-axis direction, range designation unit 101 designates a range corresponding to an operation on touch sensor 12 when document P is placed so that the surface opposite the reading surface faces contact glass 21, reversal unit 103 inverts the range designated by range designation unit 101, and reading device 11 reads the range of the reading surface inverted by reversal unit 103 when document P is placed so that the reading surface faces contact glass 21. This allows a desired partial area of ​​the document P to be set as the reading range while viewing the reading surface of document P.

[0045] (Variation) The image forming apparatus according to the modified example will be described, focusing on the differences from the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment.

[0046] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a modified example, and the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 1a according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] 6, the image forming apparatus 1a includes a control device 10a, a reading device 11, a touch sensor 12, an input device 13, a display device 14, a printer 15, a memory 16, and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 17. The reading device 11, the touch sensor 12, the input device 13, the display device 14, the printer 15, and the memory 16 are the same as those in the above-described embodiment.

[0048] The LED 17 is an LED device that lights up a portion corresponding to a range designated by a touch operation on the touch sensor 12 .

[0049] The configuration of the functional blocks of the control device 10a is the same as the configuration of the functional blocks of the control device 10 shown in FIG.

[0050] (Contact glass peripheral configuration) 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vicinity of the contact glass of an image forming apparatus according to a modified example. The configuration of the vicinity of the contact glass 21 of the image forming apparatus 1a according to this modified example will be described with reference to FIG.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 7, the image forming device 1a includes a contact glass 21, abutting members 22a and 22b, touch sensors 12a and 12b, and LEDs 17a and 17b (an example of a lighting device). The contact glass 21, abutting members 22a and 22b, and touch sensors 12a and 12b are as described in the above embodiment. The image forming device 1a corresponds to the "image reading device" and "image forming device" of the present invention. The image forming device 1a is also equipped with a printing function using a printer 15, but is not limited to this and may be a scanner device equipped with a reading function using a reading device 11.

[0052] LED 17a is a group of LEDs that are arranged along the outside of touch sensor 12a. LED 17b is a group of LEDs that are arranged along the outside of touch sensor 12b. LEDs 17a and 17b correspond to LED 17 shown in FIG. 6.

[0053] When a specified range on the document P is set by the range designation unit 101, the control device 10a lights up the LED 17a for the range on the X axis that corresponds to the specified range, and the LED 17b for the range on the Y axis that corresponds to the specified range. This allows the user to easily determine whether the range that he or she wants to read matches the specified range designated by the reversal axis setting unit 102.

[0054] Furthermore, when the inverting unit 103 specifies a reading range in which the above-mentioned specified range is inverted, the control device 10a lights up the LED 17a in the range on the X axis corresponding to the reading range and the LED 17b in the range on the Y axis corresponding to the reading range, thereby enabling the user to easily confirm whether the reading range intended by the user has been specified.

[0055] Instead of LEDs 17a and 17b, other lighting devices such as lamps or organic EL devices may be provided. Also, instead of touch sensor 12a and LED 17a, a touch panel that detects touch operations and also functions as a lighting device may be provided. The same applies to touch sensor 12b and LED 17b.

[0056] Each function of the above-described embodiments and modifications can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices designed to execute each of the above-described functions, such as an ASIC, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), an SoC (System on a Chip), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and conventional circuit modules.

[0057] In the above-described embodiments and modifications, when at least one of the functional units of the control devices 10 and 10a is realized by executing a program, the program is provided in advance in a ROM or the like. In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the program executed by the control devices 10 and 10a may be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the program executed by the control devices 10 and 10a may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the program executed by the control devices 10 and 10a may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments and variants, the program executed by the control device 10, 10a has a modular structure including at least one of the above-described functional units, and in terms of actual hardware, the CPU reads and executes the program from the above-described auxiliary storage device (e.g., memory 16), thereby loading and generating each of the above-described functional units onto the main storage device.

[0058] The aspects of the present invention are as follows. <1> a document table for placing a document thereon; touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the document is placed with the surface opposite to the reading surface facing the document table; an inversion unit that inverts the range specified by the range specification unit; a reading device that reads a range of the reading surface of the document that has been inverted by the inverting unit, with the reading surface of the document placed on the document table so as to face the document table; The image reading device is provided with the above. <2> Further, lighting devices are provided along the touch sensors, The lighting device lights up a portion corresponding to the range specified by the range specifying unit. <1> The image reading apparatus is described in <3> The lighting device lights up a portion corresponding to the range inverted by the inverting unit. <2> The image reading apparatus is described in <4> The lighting device is an LED. <2> or <3> The image reading apparatus is described in <5> The touch sensor and the lighting device are configured as a touch panel. <2> or <3> The image reading apparatus is described in <6> an inversion axis setting unit that sets whether the range specified by the range specifying unit is to be inverted based on the axis of the first direction or based on the axis of the second direction, The inversion unit inverts the range specified by the range specification unit with respect to the axis set by the inversion axis setting unit. <1> ~ <5> 1 is an image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <7> the range designation unit confirms consistency of coordinate information of the range designated by an operation on the touch sensor; The method further includes a display device that displays a lack of consistency when the consistency of the coordinate information is lacking. <1> ~ <6> 1 is an image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. <8> a document table for placing a document thereon; touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the document is placed with the surface opposite to the reading surface facing the document table; an inversion unit that inverts the range specified by the range specification unit; a reading device that reads an inverted range of the reading surface of the document, with the reading surface of the document placed on the document table so as to face the document table; The image forming apparatus is provided with the above. <9> The apparatus further includes a printing device that prints on a printing sheet based on the read data of the document read by the reading device. <8> 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: <10> An image reading method for an image reading device including a document table on which a document is placed, and touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction, the method comprising: a range designation step of designating a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the surface of the document opposite to the reading surface of the document faces the document table; An inversion step that inverts the specified range, a reading step of reading an inverted range of the reading surface of the document while the reading surface of the document is placed on the document table so as to face the document table; The image reading method has the following features. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1, 1a Image forming device 10, 10a Control device 11 Reading device 12, 12a, 12b Touch sensors 13 Input Devices 14 Display device 15 Printers 16 memory 17, 17a, 17b LEDs 21 Contact Glass 22a, 22b abutting members 101 Range specification section 102 Reverse axis setting section 103 Inversion section P Manuscript [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0060] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-186698 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-097419

Claims

1. a document table for placing a document thereon; touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the document is placed with the surface opposite to the reading surface facing the document table; an inversion unit that inverts the range specified by the range specification unit; a reading device that reads a range of the reading surface of the document that has been inverted by the inverting unit, with the reading surface of the document placed on the document table so as to face the document table; An image reading device comprising:

2. Further, lighting devices are provided along the touch sensors, The image reading device according to claim 1 , wherein the lighting device lights up a portion corresponding to the range specified by the range specifying unit.

3. The image reading device according to claim 2 , wherein the lighting device lights up a portion corresponding to the range inverted by the inverting unit.

4. 4. The image reading device according to claim 2, wherein the lighting device is an LED.

5. 4. The image reading device according to claim 2, wherein the touch sensor and the lighting device are configured as a touch panel.

6. an inversion axis setting unit that sets whether the range specified by the range specifying unit is to be inverted based on the axis of the first direction or based on the axis of the second direction, 3. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the reversing unit reverses the range specified by the range specifying unit with respect to the axis set by the reversal axis setting unit.

7. the range designation unit confirms consistency of coordinate information of the range designated by an operation on the touch sensor; 3. The image reading device according to claim 1, further comprising a display device that, when the coordinate information is inconsistent, displays a message indicating that the coordinate information is inconsistent.

8. a document table for placing a document thereon; touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a range designation unit that designates a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the document is placed with the surface opposite to the reading surface facing the document table; an inversion unit that inverts the range specified by the range specification unit; a reading device that reads an inverted range of the reading surface of the document, with the reading surface of the document placed on the document table so as to face the document table; An image forming apparatus comprising:

9. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a printing device that prints on a printing sheet based on the read data of the document read by the reading device.

10. An image reading method for an image reading device including a document table on which a document is placed, and touch sensors disposed along an end of the document table in a first direction and an end of the document table in a second direction intersecting the first direction, the method comprising: a range designation step of designating a range corresponding to an operation on the touch sensor in a state where the surface of the document opposite to the reading surface of the document faces the document table; An inversion step that inverts the specified range, a reading step of reading an inverted range of the reading surface of the document while the reading surface of the document is placed on the document table so as to face the document table; An image reading method comprising:

Images