Image reading apparatus using plurality of media having different length

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11445079-B2
Application number	US-202117470093-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 9, 2021
Priority date	Sep 16, 2020
Publication date	Sep 13, 2022
Grant date	Sep 13, 2022

Abstract

When a transport section transports be a media, a controller of an image reading apparatus determines the lengths of the media in the transport direction, based on detection results of a medium detector. When determining that a length of a medium is equal to or more than a threshold and then determining that a length of a subsequent medium is equal to or more than the threshold, the controller decreases an ejection speed of the subsequent medium to a second speed by the transport section. When determining that a length of a medium is equal to or more than the threshold and then determining that a length of a subsequent medium is less than the threshold, the controller decreases the ejection speed from the first speed to a third speed that is lower than the second speed by the transport section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image reading apparatus configured to sequentially read images from a plurality of media having different lengths in a transport direction, the image reading apparatus comprising:
a transport section that transports the media at a first speed along a transport route, the transport section being driven by a driver;
a reader that reads the images from the media being transported at the first speed along the transport route;
an ejection section that ejects the media from which the images were read by the reader to an ejection stacker, the ejection section being driven by the driver;
a medium detector that detects presence of the media; and
a controller that controls the driver, wherein
when the transport section sequentially transports the media, the controller determines the lengths of the media in the transport direction, based on detection results of the medium detector,
when determining that a length of a medium is equal to or more than a threshold and then determining that a length of a subsequent medium is equal to or more than the threshold, the controller performs weak deceleration control under which the transport section changes an ejection speed at which the subsequent medium is ejected to the ejection stacker from the first speed to a second speed, the second speed being lower than the first speed, and
when determining that a length of a medium is equal to or more than the threshold and then determining that a length of a subsequent medium is less than the threshold, the controller performs strong deceleration control under which the transport section changes the ejection speed at which the subsequent medium is ejected to the ejection stacker from the first speed to a third speed, the third speed being lower than the second speed.

2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the threshold is set to a distance, in an ejection direction, between a point at which the ejection section ejects the media and a point at which the media make contact with the ejection stacker upon ejection.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the image reading apparatus supports a low-speed transport mode in which the transport section transports the media at a fourth speed, the fourth speed being lower than the first speed, and in which the reader reads the images from the media being transported at the fourth speed along the transport route, and
when the low-speed transport mode is selected, the controller controls the driver in such a way that the ejection section ejects the media to the ejection stacker at the fourth speed.

4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
when the transport section sequentially transports a series of media, once the controller employs the strong deceleration control, the controller continues to perform the strong deceleration control on the media.

5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
when the transport section subsequently transports a series of media and then further subsequently transports another series of media, the controller determines whether to switch between the weak deceleration control and the strong deceleration control every time each of the series of media is transported.

6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
when the transport section sequentially transports a series of media, once the controller employs the strong deceleration control, the controller determines whether individual lengths of the media in the transport direction are equal to or more than the threshold,
when a length of a medium in the transport direction is equal to or more than the threshold, the controller performs the weak deceleration control on the medium, and
when the length of the medium in the transport direction is less than the threshold, the controller performs the strong deceleration control on the medium.

7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transport section is configured to transport a plurality of transparent cases containing the respective media, and
the medium detector is a transparent-case detector that detects the lengths of the media in the transport direction, based on locations of the transparent cases transported.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the medium detector is a medium-edge detector that detects locations of edges, in the transport direction, of the media transported along the transport route.

9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the lengths of media in the transport direction are determined in consideration of a fact that the lengths of media increase when the media are diagonally transported.

10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a feeder that feeds the media along the transport route, wherein
the controller controls the feeder in such a way that, after the ejection section ejects a medium from which an image was read by the reader to the ejection stacker, a next medium reaches a reading site of the reader.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Koyanagi Noriyuki
• Nomoto Kosuke
• Anami Akira
• Sakamoto Naoki
• Beppu Wataru

Classifications

• H04N1/00631 Primary

  Ejecting or stacking (H04N1/00641 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04N1/047

  Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position ({H04N1/0402 and } H04N1/17 take precedence) · CPC title