Image reading device

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: in an image reading device having two or more conveyance paths including a conveyance path on which switchback is performed, it is requested to perform different types of stop processing on the respective conveyance paths.SOLUTION: An image reading device comprises: a first conveyance path RT1 for conveying a document S; a second conveyance path RT2 that is different from the first conveyance path RT1 and performs switchback conveyance to eject the document S fed from a paper feed port 2a to the same paper feed port 2a; conveying means 21 that conveys the document S; image reading means 70 that reads an image of the document S conveyed by the conveying means 21; and stop input means 832 that can input a stop instruction for stopping the conveyance of the document S. When the stop instruction is input by the stop input means 832, the image reading device changes conveyance stop control on the basis of which of the first conveyance path RT1 and the second conveyance path RT2 the document S is conveyed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image reading device that reads an image on a document while transporting the document. [Background technology]

[0002] Some conventional image reading devices are equipped with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder). In image reading devices equipped with an ADF, documents are loaded onto the image reading device and the image is read. If there is an error in the loaded documents or if the documents are skewed during transport, the user can press the stop button to stop the image reading process.

[0003] An image reading processing device is known that, in the process of stopping an image reading process, determines whether the document is of a specific type, and based on the result of that determination, switches between completing the paper discharge process for the document currently being transported and not feeding the next sheet (paper feed stop), or immediately stopping the transport operation currently being transported (immediate stop) (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-93672 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, as in the image reading device described above, switching the stop process according to the type of a specific document does not always result in the process that meets the user's intention.

[0006] Furthermore, in an image reading apparatus having two or more transport paths, including a transport path that performs a switchback, there is a demand for different stopping processes to be performed on each transport path.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide an image reading device that is easy for users to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In view of the above, an image reading device according to the present invention comprises: a first transport path for transporting the document; a second transport path that is different from the first transport path and that discharges the document fed from the paper feed port to the same paper feed port by switchback transport; a conveying means for conveying the document; an image reading means for reading an image of the document conveyed by the conveying means; a stop input means for inputting a stop instruction to stop the transport of the document; Equipped with When the stop instruction is input by the stop input means, the transport stop control is changed based on whether the document is being transported on the first transport path or the second transport path. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, in an image reading device having two or more transport paths including a transport path that performs a switchback, convenience can be improved by performing different stopping processes on each transport path. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the conveying direction from route RT1-1 to route RT1-2. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the conveying directions of routes RT2-1 to RT2-3. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6]10 is a flowchart showing an image reading stop process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of a stop processing management table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of a paper feed stop message according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is an example of an immediate stop message according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an image reading stop process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of a stop processing management table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 10 is an example of an immediate eject message according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is an external view of an image reading device A according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image reading device A taken along line I1-I1 in FIG.

[0012] <Device configuration> The image reading device A is an image reading device that has two transport paths: one that transports one or more transport media S1 loaded on a loading table 1 one by one through a route RT1 shown in FIG. 3 (the route RT1 is the route along which the transport media S1 passes from routes RT1-1 to RT1-2), reads the image, and discharges the medium from the paper discharge port 2; and one that feeds the transport media S2 from the paper feed / discharge port 2a (paper feed port), transports the transport media S2 through a route RT2 shown in FIG. 4 (the route RT2 is the route along which the transport media S1 passes from routes RT2-1 to RT2-3), transports the transport media S2 toward the card U-turn port 5, reads the image, reverses the drive, and discharges the transport media S2 from the card U-turn port 5 toward the paper feed / discharge port 2a. The transport method using route RT2 is called switchback transport. Image reading during switchback transport can be performed on either the outbound route (RT2-1) or the return route (RT2-3). In Figure 4, path RT2-2 indicates the path from the point at which the leading end (end S2-T) of the conveying medium S2 protrudes from the card U-turn opening 5 until the trailing end (end S2-B) of the conveying medium S2 is detected by the media detection sensor 61 described below, and the conveying medium S2 is driven in reverse toward path RT2-3 and returned to a position where the leading end does not protrude from the card U-turn opening 5, and before and after this are the outbound path (RT2-1) and the return path (RT2-3).

[0013] The conveyance medium S1 to be read is, for example, a sheet of paper such as an office paper, a check, a cheque, etc. The conveyance medium S2 is, for example, a card such as an insurance card, a driver's license, or a credit card.

[0014] A first conveying unit is provided as a feeding mechanism that feeds the conveying medium S1 along the path RT1. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the first conveying unit includes a feed roller 11 and a separation roller 12 arranged opposite the feed roller 11, and sequentially conveys the conveying medium S1 on the mounting table 1 one by one in the direction of the path RT1-1. A driving force is transmitted to the feed roller 12 from a drive unit 3 such as a motor, and the feed roller 12 is rotated in the direction of conveying the conveying medium S1 along the path RT1.

[0015] The separation roller 12, which is disposed opposite the feed roller 11, is a roller for separating the conveyed media S one by one, and is pressed against the feed roller 11 with a constant pressure. To ensure this pressed state, the separation roller 12 is configured to be swingable and to be biased toward the feed roller 11. A driving force is transmitted from the drive unit 3 via a torque limiter (not shown) to the separation roller 12, and the separation roller 12 is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the feed roller 11.

[0016] Note that the feed roller 11 and separation roller 12 of the first conveying unit are not present on the cross section taken along line I1-I1, but are present at the center of the conveying direction of path RT1 (on the cross section taken along line I2-I2), so the first conveying unit does not interfere with conveying along path RT2, which will be described later. Also, for convenience, drive units 3 and 4 are drawn outside image reading device A, but in reality they are located inside the device.

[0017] The second transport unit, which serves as a transport mechanism located downstream of the first transport unit in the transport direction, includes a drive roller 21 and a driven roller 22 that is driven by the drive roller 21, and transports the transport medium S1 transported from the first transport unit downstream. A driving force is transmitted to the drive roller 21 from a drive unit 4 such as a motor, and the drive roller 21 is driven to rotate. The driven roller 22 is pressed against the drive roller 21 with a constant pressure and rotates along with the drive roller 21. The driven roller 22 may be configured to be biased against the drive roller 21 by a biasing unit (not shown) such as a spring.

[0018] The third transport section, located downstream in the transport direction from the second transport section, includes a drive roller 31 and a driven roller 32 driven by the drive roller 31, and transports the transport medium S1 transported from the second transport section to the paper discharge outlet 2. In other words, this third transport section functions as a paper discharge mechanism. A driving force is transmitted to the drive roller 31 from a drive unit 4 such as a motor, and the drive roller 32 is driven to rotate. The driven roller 32 presses against the drive roller 31 with a constant pressure and rotates along with the drive roller 31. This driven roller 32 may be configured to be biased against the drive roller 31 by a biasing unit (not shown) such as a spring. Note that the paper discharge outlet 2 shares a transport path with the paper feed / discharge outlet 2a, which feeds and discharges the transport medium S2 described below, but a configuration in which independent transport paths are provided for the transport media S1 and S2 may also be used.

[0019] In the image reading device A of this embodiment, the image is read by the image reading unit 70 disposed between the second and third conveying units, and the second and third conveying units convey the medium S1 at a constant speed. By always maintaining the conveying speed at or above the conveying speed of the first conveying unit, it is possible to reliably prevent the subsequent medium S1 from catching up with the preceding medium S1. For example, in this embodiment, the conveying speed of the medium S1 by the second and third conveying units is controlled to be faster than the conveying speed of the medium S1 by the first conveying unit.

[0020] Furthermore, even if the conveying speed of the conveying medium S1 by the second conveying unit and the third conveying unit and the conveying speed of the conveying medium S1 by the first conveying unit are set to the same conditions, it is also possible to form a minimum distance between the preceding conveying medium S1 and the succeeding conveying medium S1 by controlling the drive unit 3 to intermittently shift the timing at which the feed of the succeeding conveying medium S1 begins.

[0021] The medium detection sensor 61 is an example of a detection sensor (a sensor that detects the behavior and state of a sheet) located downstream of the second conveying unit and upstream of the image reading unit 70 in the conveying direction. It detects the position of the conveyed medium S1 conveyed by the second conveying unit, specifically, whether the edge of the conveyed medium S1 has reached or passed the detection position of the medium detection sensor 61. Various types of medium detection sensor 61 can be used, but in this embodiment, it is a lever-type sensor that protrudes into the path RT1. Alternatively, an optical sensor equipped with a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element may be used, which detects the conveyed medium S1 based on the principle that the intensity of received light (amount of received light) changes as the conveyed medium S1 reaches or passes through. The medium detection sensor 61 may also be located downstream of the first conveying unit and upstream of the second conveying unit.

[0022] The image reading unit 70, located downstream of the media detection sensor 61, for example, optically scans, converts it into an electrical signal, and reads it as image data, and is equipped with a light source such as an LED, an image sensor, a lens array, etc. In this embodiment, one image reading unit 70 is arranged on each side of the path RT1, and reads both the front and back sides of the conveyed medium S1. However, it is also possible to arrange one image reading unit 70 on only one side of the path RT1, and read only one side of the conveyed medium S1. Also, in this embodiment, the image reading units 70 are arranged facing each other on both sides of the path RT1, but they may also be arranged, for example, with a gap in between in the direction of the path RT1.

[0023] Separate from the medium detection sensor 61, the medium detection sensor 62 is an example of a detection sensor arranged downstream of the third conveying unit and upstream of the paper discharge port 2, and detects the position of the conveyed medium S1 conveyed by the third conveying unit. Various types of medium detection sensor 62 can be used, but in this embodiment, it is a lever-type sensor like the medium detection sensor 61. Like the medium detection sensor 61, the medium detection sensor 62 detects whether the edge of the conveyed medium S1 has reached or passed the detection position. This makes it possible to determine whether the conveyed medium S1 has been discharged.

[0024] The medium detection sensor 62 is also used to determine whether the medium S2 is placed when feeding the medium during switchback transport, and to determine whether the medium is discharged when discharging the medium. However, since switchback transport will be described in the second embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0025] The control unit 8 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the control unit 8 of the image reading device A.

[0026] The control unit 8 includes a CPU 81, a storage unit 82, an operation unit 83, a communication unit 84, and an interface unit 85. The CPU 81 controls the entire image reading device A by executing a program stored in the storage unit 82. The storage unit 82 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a ROM, etc.

[0027] The operation unit 83 is composed of, for example, various buttons and a display 833 as a display unit, and accepts operations from an operator. The buttons of the operation unit 83 can be configured as a start button 831, a stop button 832, etc., and the CPU 81 can detect the press states of the various buttons and determine the button press method from the state transition. Specifically, the CPU 81 can determine a press method in which a button is pressed and released within a certain time Ta seconds (e.g., 200 milliseconds) as a single click, a double click (multiple clicks) in which a single click is performed twice (multiple times) within a certain time Tb seconds (e.g., 400 milliseconds), and a press method in which a button is continuously pressed for a certain time Tc seconds (e.g., 500 milliseconds) or more as a hold, and control the CPU 81 to perform processing corresponding to each button press method. The display 833 can display the status of the image reading device A, etc. The stop button 832 is an example of a stop input means capable of inputting a stop instruction, which will be described later. Although the determination of the button press method has been described, these are merely examples, and the input method may be determined according to the stop input means.

[0028] The communication unit 84 is an interface for communicating information with an external device. If the external device is a PC (personal computer), the communication unit 84 may be, for example, a USB interface or a SCSI interface. In addition to such a wired communication interface, the communication unit 84 may be a wireless communication interface, or may include interfaces for both wired communication and wireless communication.

[0029] The interface unit 86 is an I / O interface that inputs and outputs data to and from the actuator 85 and the sensor 87. The actuator 86 includes the drive units 3 and 4. The sensor 87 includes the medium detection sensors 61 and 62, the image reading unit 70, and the like.

[0030] The following describes the basic operation of image reading device A. When control unit 8 receives an instruction to start image reading from, for example, an external personal computer to which image reading device A is connected, it starts driving the first to third conveying units. The conveyed media S1 loaded on mounting table 1 are conveyed one by one, starting with the lowest conveyed media S1.

[0031] The control unit 8 starts reading the image of the conveyed medium S1 conveyed by the second conveying unit using the image reading unit 70 at a timing based on the detection result of the medium detection sensor 61, and temporarily stores the read images and sequentially transmits them to an external computer. The conveyed medium S1 from which the image has been read is discharged to the paper discharge port 2 by the third conveying unit, and the image reading process for the conveyed medium S1 is completed.

[0032] When a stop instruction is given by the user pressing a stop button 832 provided on the operation unit 83 during image reading, the control unit 8 performs processing to stop image reading (transport stop control). The stop processing includes a paper feed stop, which normally completes the processing of the document currently being read and ejects the paper, but does not perform the paper feed operation for the next document, and an immediate stop, which immediately stops the transport without completing the processing of the document currently being read.

[0033] <Image reading process> Here, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of the image reading stop process in Fig. 6. The flowchart in Fig. 6 shows a process in which a user places a stack of documents consisting of multiple conveying media S1 on the image reading device A shown in Fig. 1 and starts the process by issuing an image reading instruction from the operation unit 83 or a personal computer (PC).

[0034] When processing begins, in S1001 the control unit 8 starts the operation of the first conveying unit, second conveying unit, and third conveying unit. This starts the conveyance of the conveyed medium S1. The control unit 8 starts reading the image when the conveyed medium S1 reaches the image reading unit 70, and ends reading the image when the conveyed medium S1 passes the image reading unit 70. The control unit 8 then temporarily stores the read images and sequentially transmits them to an external computer.

[0035] In S1002, the control unit 8 checks whether the stop button 832 of the operation unit 83 has been pressed. If the stop button 832 has been pressed, the process proceeds to S1005. If the stop button 832 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to S1003.

[0036] In S1005, the control unit 8 determines whether the button was pressed in a hold mode. The determination of whether the button was pressed is a hold mode if the stop button 832 has been pressed for a certain period of time or more, for example, 500 milliseconds or more. If the button was pressed in a hold mode, the process proceeds to S1007 for immediate stop processing. If not, the process proceeds to S1006 for paper feed stop processing.

[0037] In S1007, the control unit 8 stops the operations of the first conveying unit, the second conveying unit, and the third conveying unit, thereby stopping the conveyance of the document and completing the image reading process.

[0038] If it is determined in S1005 that the conveyed medium S1 is not held, in S1006 the control unit 8 performs paper discharge processing until the conveyed medium S1 is discharged based on the detection result of the medium detection sensor 62. Note that if the processing of S1006 is performed while the image reading unit 70 is reading an image, the reading processing continues and the reading processing is completed normally. After the reading processing and paper discharge are completed, step S1007 is performed, and the image reading processing ends.

[0039] If it is determined in S1002 that the stop button 832 has not been pressed, then in S1003 the control unit 8 determines whether or not the paper has been ejected based on the detection result of the medium detection sensor 62. If it is determined that the paper has not been ejected, the process loops to step S1002, and if it is determined that the paper has been ejected, the process proceeds to step S1004.

[0040] In step S1004, it is determined whether or not the next document is present, and if it is determined that the next document is present, the process loops to step S1002, but if it is determined that the next document is not present, step S1007 is performed, and the image reading process ends. Whether or not the next document is present is determined by operating the first transport unit and determining whether or not the document reaches the media detection sensor 61 within a certain period of time. Note that a new media detection sensor may be added on the mounting table 1 upstream of the first transport unit to determine whether or not the next document is present.

[0041] In this embodiment, immediate stop and paper feed stop processing are assigned to holding the stop button 832 and other buttons, respectively, but the assignments may be reversed. That is, in step S1005, it is sufficient to determine whether the first button pressing method or the second button pressing method is used, and this embodiment is characterized in that the stop processing is switched based on the result of that determination.

[0042] In addition to holds, any stop process can be assigned to single clicks, double clicks, three clicks (triple clicks) or more within a certain period of time (in this article, clicks of double clicks or more are collectively referred to as multi-clicks).

[0043] A method for allocating stop processing according to the pressing method will be explained using Fig. 7. The control unit 8 switches the stop processing for each pressing method by referring to the stop processing management table stored in the memory unit 82. In the example shown in the figure, a single click causes paper feed to stop, and multiple clicks and holds cause an immediate stop.

[0044] The allocation of stop processes to each pressing method may be configured so that the user can change it as desired. In this case, the contents of the stop process management table may be displayed on a display 833 attached to the operation unit 83, and the user may change the contents of the stop process using various buttons. Alternatively, by providing the user with a stop process management table change application that runs on a PC, the changes may be made via the PC.

[0045] 8, the control unit 8 may display a message that the paper feed has stopped on the display 833 of the operation unit 83. Furthermore, the occurrence of the paper feed stop may be notified to the PC via the interface unit 86, and the PC may display a message that the paper feed has stopped.

[0046] Furthermore, when an immediate stop is performed, a message indicating that an immediate stop has been performed may be displayed as shown in FIG. 9, in the same way as when a paper feed stop is performed.

[0047] In this way, in this embodiment, when stopping image reading, the user can switch between paper feed stop based on the pressing method and immediate stop, allowing the user to switch the stop process at will. This makes it possible to realize an image reading device that is easy for the user to use.

[0048] <Second embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below, which performs image reading processing by switchback transport in addition to the processing described in the first embodiment.

[0049] The switchback transport process will be explained using Figure 4.

[0050] When a user inserts a conveying medium S2 into the paper feed / ejection slot 2a, the control unit 8 detects the conveying medium S2 using the medium detection sensor 62 and causes the drive roller 31 to rotate in the direction of the arrow on path RT2-1. The driven roller 32 rotates along with the drive roller 31 because it is pressed against the drive roller 31. As a result, the conveying medium S2 is caught in the conveying unit 3, and the conveying medium S2 can be held without the need for support from the user. When the image reading process is started with the conveying medium S2 held, the third conveying unit and the second conveying unit are driven in the direction of the arrow on path RT2-1 to convey the conveying medium S2. Note that the conveying path of path RT2-1 is sometimes called the outbound path, and path RT2-3, described below, is sometimes called the return path.

[0051] On the outward path, if the end S2-B of the transported medium S2 is transported to the right of the second transport unit in the drawing, the switchback process cannot be performed. Therefore, when the end S2-B of the transported medium S2 passes the medium detection sensor 61, the transport stops and the reversal drive starts as shown by path RT2-2.

[0052] On the return path, the medium S2 is transported in the direction of path RT2-3, which is the opposite direction to the forward path. In this embodiment, the image reading unit 70 performs the reading process on the return path. Note that the reading process may also be performed on the forward path. On the return path, reading begins when the end S2-B of the medium S2 reaches the image reading unit 70, and the read images are temporarily stored and sequentially sent to an external computer. The medium S2 is then transported toward the paper feed / discharge port 2a.

[0053] In the paper discharge process, after the medium detection sensor 62 detects the arrival of the end S2-B of the transported medium S2, the third transport section is driven for a certain period of time, and paper discharge is completed when the end S2-T of the transported medium S2 is caught in the third transport section. This allows the user to easily pull out the transported medium S2, and is convenient because the transported medium S2 is held in the image reading device A. Note that the transported medium S2 may also be controlled to be completely discharged.

[0054] The difference from the first embodiment will be described with respect to the behavior when the user presses the stop button 832 provided on the operation unit 83 during image reading during switchback transport.

[0055] In the second embodiment, when the stop button 832 is pressed, the control unit 8 performs a process to stop image reading. The stop process during the reading process of the conveyed medium S2 includes a paper feed stop (S1006) that normally completes the processing of the currently read document and ejects the document before not feeding the next document, as described in the first embodiment, and an immediate stop (S1007) that immediately stops the conveyance without completing the processing of the currently read document. It also includes an immediate paper ejection process that immediately stops the conveyance on the outbound path (path RT2-1) and immediately switches back and ejects the document. Of the stop processes during conveyance on paths RT2-2 and RT2-3, the immediate paper ejection process can be performed by simply ejecting the document without stopping the conveyance. However, in this embodiment, image reading by the image reading unit 70 is stopped. However, when the stop button 832 is pressed during conveyance on paths RT2-2 and RT2-3, a process similar to the paper feed stop may be performed, completing image reading without stopping.

[0056] <Image reading process> The operation of this embodiment will now be described with reference to the flowchart of the image reading function in Fig. 10. The flowchart in Fig. 10 shows that after a user inserts a medium S2 to be conveyed into the paper feed / discharge port 2a of the image reading device A shown in Fig. 1 and the medium S2 is held in the image reading device A, image reading processing is started by switchback conveyance along the route RT2 in response to an image reading instruction from the operation unit 83 or a personal computer (PC).

[0057] The processing in steps S2001 to S2004 is the same as steps S1001 to S1004 in Fig. 6, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. However, the operation of the first conveying unit is not required, and the operations of the second conveying unit and the third conveying unit differ from those of the first embodiment in the direction of rotation on the outward and return journeys, but this has been explained above, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0058] In S2005, the control unit 8 determines whether the button was pressed to hold. If it was hold, the process proceeds to S2007 for immediate stop processing. If not, the process proceeds to S2006 for paper feed stop processing.

[0059] In S2007, the control unit 8 stops the operation of the second transport unit and the third transport unit to execute an immediate stop, stops the transport of the original, and ends the image reading process.

[0060] If a paper feed stop is set for a pressing method other than hold during the stop process, and if it is determined in S2005 that the method is not hold, the image reading process is performed while the switchback transport continues, and paper discharge processing is performed on path RT2-3. On the other hand, if immediate paper discharge is set for a pressing method other than hold during the stop process and the paper is being transported on path RT2-1, in S2006 the control unit 8 stops the operation of the second transport unit and the third transport unit, then switches back from that position, performs paper discharge processing on path RT2-3, and ends the image reading process. If the paper is being transported on path RT2-2 or RT2-3, the transport process continues and paper discharge is completed. Note that if image reading by the image reading unit 70 is being performed at this time, reading is stopped. Then, step S2007 is performed, and the image reading process ends.

[0061] In this embodiment, immediate stop and paper feed stop / immediate paper discharge processing are assigned to the hold and other functions of the stop button 832, respectively, but the assignments may be reversed.

[0062] In addition to holds, any stop process can be assigned to single clicks, double clicks, three clicks (triple clicks) or more within a certain period of time (in this article, clicks of double clicks or more are collectively referred to as multi-clicks).

[0063] 11, it is also possible to allocate stop processing to each of the routes RT1 and RT2 according to the method of pressing the stop button 832. In the example of Fig. 11, if stop processing is performed by multi-clicking while transporting on route RT1, immediate stop is executed, but if stop processing is performed by multi-clicking while transporting on route RT2, immediate paper discharge processing is executed. In other words, immediate paper discharge is set to be executable only during switchback transport.

[0064] The allocation of the stop process for each pressing method may be configured so that the user can arbitrarily change it.

[0065] 12, the control unit 8 may display a message indicating that the paper has been immediately discharged on the display 833 of the operation unit 83. Furthermore, the control unit 8 may notify the PC via the interface unit 86 that the paper has been immediately discharged, and the PC may display a message indicating that the paper has been immediately discharged.

[0066] In this way, in this embodiment, when image reading is stopped, the stop process can be switched based on the pressing method. Also, the user can freely assign each stop process to the route RT1 and the route RT2. This makes it possible to realize an image reading device that is easy for the user to use.

[0067] <Third embodiment> A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described, in which image reading processing is performed by the switchback conveyance described in the second embodiment.

[0068] In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the control based on the method of pressing the stop button 832 is changed depending on whether the transport path RT1 or RT2 is being used, but the details are different.

[0069] In this embodiment, when the stop button 832 is pressed, different stop control is executed depending on the position of the medium S being conveyed.

[0070] First, as shown in FIG. 11, during transport on the path RT1, the sheet feeding is stopped at the time of a single click, and is immediately stopped at any other time.

[0071] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, during transport on path RT2, the setting is such that paper feed stops when a single click is performed, paper is immediately ejected when a multiple click is performed, and paper is immediately stopped when a hold is performed, but the control for immediate paper ejection is changed depending on the position of the transported medium S2.

[0072] That is, if the transport medium S2 is in path RT2-1 when the stop button 832 is clicked multiple times and an immediate discharge command is issued, the transport medium S2 is discharged from the card U-turn opening 5. Also, if the transport medium S2 is in path RT2-3 when the stop button 832 is clicked multiple times and an immediate discharge command is issued, the transport medium S2 is discharged from the paper feed / discharge opening 2a. Also, if the transport medium S2 is in path RT2-2 when the stop button 832 is clicked multiple times and an immediate discharge command is issued, the transport medium S2 is discharged from the card U-turn opening 5 or the paper feed / discharge opening 2a, which are located in the transport direction. In summary, in this embodiment, when an immediate discharge command is issued, the transport medium S2 is controlled to be transported and discharged in the same direction as it was being transported.

[0073] In another embodiment, when the transport medium S2 is located on path RT2-1 or path RT2-3, it may be discharged from the paper feed / discharge opening 2a, and when the transport medium S2 is located on path RT2-2, it may be discharged from the card U-turn opening 5. In summary, it may be configured so that the medium is discharged from the opening that is closest when an immediate discharge command is issued. Furthermore, it may be configured so that the medium is discharged from the opening that is closest when an immediate discharge command is issued, regardless of path RT2-1 to path RT2-3.

[0074] In this way, it is possible to perform different stop control when the transport medium S is transported along path RT1 and when it is transported along path RT2. Note that in the example described above, the system may be configured to perform immediate paper discharge processing without performing immediate stop processing while the transport medium S2 is being transported along path RT2. This can meet the demand for discharging the medium in a shorter time rather than stopping it, since the transport medium S2 transported along path RT2 is a card or the like that has a relatively high rigidity.

[0075] In addition, when an instruction to immediately discharge the paper is given while the paper is being transported along route RT1, the paper is discharged from the paper feed / discharge port 2a, and when an instruction to immediately discharge the paper is given while the paper is being transported along route RT2, the paper is discharged from the card U-turn port 5. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] A Image reader 1. Mounting table 2 Paper output slot 2a Paper feed / output port 3 Drive unit 4 Drive unit 5 Card U-turn entrance 11 Feed roller 12 Separation roller 21 Drive roller 22 driven roller 31 Drive roller 32 driven roller 61 Media detection sensor 62 Media detection sensor 70 Image reading unit 831 Start button 832 Stop button 833 Display

Claims

1. a first transport path for transporting the document; a second transport path that is different from the first transport path and that discharges the document fed from the paper feed port to the same paper feed port by switchback transport; a conveying means for conveying the document; an image reading means for reading an image of the document conveyed by the conveying means; a stop input means for inputting a stop instruction to stop the transport of the document; Equipped with An image reading device characterized in that, when the stop instruction is input by the stop input means, transport stop control is changed based on whether the document is being transported along the first transport path or the second transport path.

2. an input method discrimination means for discriminating a method of inputting the stop instruction to the stop input means, 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the transport stop control is changed when the input method discrimination means determines that a first input method has been input and when the second input method has been input.

3. When the stop instruction is input, if the document is being transported on the first transport path, a first transport stop control corresponding to the input method determined by the input method determination means is executed; The image reading device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when a document is being transported on the second transport path when the stop instruction is input, the direction in which the document is discharged is changed based on the position of the document when performing a document discharge process as a second transport stop control corresponding to the input method determined by the input method determination means.

4. ejecting the document when the input method discrimination means discriminates that the first input method has been input; 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the input method discrimination means discriminates that the second input method has been input, the document is not discharged and transport of the document is stopped.

5. The input method determination means A click is when a button is pressed and released within a certain time period. Multi-click, where multiple clicks are made within a certain period of time; 3. The image reading device according to claim 2, wherein the image reading device can distinguish between two or more input methods of holding a button down for a certain period of time.

6. an input method discrimination means for discriminating a method of inputting the stop instruction to the stop input means, The transport stop control includes: a paper feed stop process in which the document is discharged while the image is being read by the image reading means and the next paper feed operation is not performed; An immediate stop process that stops the transport of the document without ejecting the document; and an immediate paper discharge process in which the document is discharged without reading the image by the image reading means. When the input determining means determines that the first input method has been input, the paper feed stop process is executed; 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein when the input method determination means determines that a second input method has been input, at least one of the immediate stop processing and the immediate paper discharge processing is executed.

7. 7. The image reading device according to claim 6, wherein when the second input method is input during transport along the second transport path, the document is discharged toward the paper feed port without being transported in a direction away from the paper feed port.

8. It has a display unit, 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the transport stop control is executed, the display unit displays the transport stop control that has been executed.

9. a communication means for communicating with an external device; 9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the transport stop control is executed, the communication unit notifies the external device that the transport stop control has been executed.

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