JP2000115430A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make positioning and installation to a specified position of an original reading part surer and easier and to attain improvement of image- reading performance and maintenance workability by performing positioning of the original reading part by a positioning means in a state in which a reading cover part is released, when the original reading part removed from a device body is fitted to the device body. SOLUTION: An original reading part B is inserted into a device body A from almost above and stored there, and its upper part is covered by a reading cover part C. When the original reading part B is put into the main body A, the reading cover part C is released, slopes 17b and 18b of positioning ribs 17 and 18 provided to a lower cover 4 of the main body A become as rough guides, the original reading part B is naturally guided to the device body side, and moreover, the original reading part B slips down by gravity and is held in a state in which it is upon flat parts 17c and 18c. Also, an upward direction of the original reading part B is controlled by a pressure of a paper ejecting roller 39 by a plate spring 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, and more particularly, to an image reading apparatus having a reading section for reading an image of a document and applied to a facsimile, a copying machine, a scanner, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a so-called hand scanner type reading apparatus in which a reading section is configured to be detachable from a facsimile apparatus main body has been widely used. Such prior art is shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-44118. The hand scanner detached from the apparatus main body can read an image by manually scanning a document.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the reading section is exposed from the main body and the reading section can be directly removed, the following drawbacks have occurred.

When the original reading section is touched when cleaning or moving the apparatus main body, the reading section may easily come off the main body, and it may be difficult to normally transport and read the original. Incorrect reading tends to occur, such as an image drop due to a positional shift between the document and the reading unit, and an image blur caused by floating between the document and the reading unit.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art, a special method is required for attaching the reading section to the main body. That is, first, the hook provided on each of the reading unit and the main body is fitted, and then, the reading unit is rotated about the hooked portion, and further, is fitted into the elastic member provided on the main body. The position with the reading unit is fixed. Therefore, such a troublesome mounting method causes a mounting error of the reading section, and eventually causes the above-described problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus in which positioning and attachment of a document reading section to a predetermined position can be performed reliably and easily, and image reading performance and maintenance workability are improved. is there.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
An apparatus main body having an original conveying path for conveying an original, and a detachable readable main body for reading the original to be conveyed when mounted on the main body, and reading the original by manual scanning when detaching from the main body. A document reading unit having means for storing the document from substantially above the apparatus main body; and a state in which the document reading unit is openably and closably mounted on the apparatus main body so as to cover an upper surface of the document reading unit, and is closed to the apparatus main body. A reading cover section for holding the document reading section in the apparatus main body, and positioning means for positioning the reading section at a predetermined position when the document reading section is mounted on the apparatus main body; Can regulate the position of the document reading section in the document transport direction and the position in the direction intersecting the document transport direction, respectively, A plurality of first regulating member provided on one of the cover portion taken, characterized in that it comprises a second regulating member for positioning the document reading section in the vertical direction.

In the invention according to a second aspect, the first regulating member can be positioned by contacting a notch formed at each corner of the document reading section and both wall surfaces of the notch. And a plurality of positioning ribs provided on the apparatus main body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first regulating member has a positioning hole provided in the document reading portion, and a plurality of positioning holes engageable with the positioning hole and provided in the reading cover portion. And a positioning boss.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the second regulating member is provided on the reading cover portion, and is biased by biasing means so as to press the document reading portion against the apparatus main body. It has a transport roller and a lock mechanism for locking the reading cover to the apparatus main body.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the positioning rib is formed so as to guide a notch of the document reading section.
It has an inclined surface in the direction.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the reading cover section includes an operation section having operation keys for operating the reading apparatus main body.

[Operation] When the original reading section detached from the apparatus main body is mounted on the apparatus main body based on the above configuration, the original reading section is positioned by the positioning means with the reading cover opened. The document reading section is securely arranged at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body, and the performance of reading an image of a conveyed document is improved.

The document reading section can be inserted into and stored in the apparatus main body from substantially above, and the upper portion is covered with a reading cover section. Ingress is prevented.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <Embodiment 1> An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a facsimile machine will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the entire facsimile apparatus, FIG.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing the positional relationship, configuration, and attachment / detachment operations of the apparatus main body, the document reading unit, the reading cover unit, and the operation unit.

First, the configuration of the entire apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The facsimile apparatus is roughly divided into a main body section A, a document reading section B, a reading cover section C, and the like.

First, regarding the configuration of the main body (apparatus main body) A, a tray 1 is provided in the main body A, and a recording paper 2 and a document 3 are held. The lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5 form an exterior. The lower cover 4 includes a paper feed unit 9 that separates and feeds a plurality of recording papers 2 on a pressure plate 7 prepared by a slider 6 by a paper feed roller 8, and an ink cartridge 1.
A recording unit 11 for forming an image on the recording paper 2 by a recording head including “0”, and a reading paper feed roller 12 for feeding the original 3 to the original reading unit B are provided. 60 is
The document conveyance path is shown.

The lock shaft 16 is provided on the lower cover 4 and engages with a lock member 31 rotatably provided on the reading cover portion C by a support shaft 31a, thereby connecting the reading cover portion C to the main body portion. A is held at a predetermined position with respect to A. Also,
The upper cover 5 is provided with a document guide 13 for loading the document 3, a document slider 14, a rotation fulcrum 15 serving as a rotation center of the reading cover C, and the like.

Next, the document reading section B is held at a predetermined position in the apparatus by an attachment / detachment structure described later, and reads image information of the document 2. Reference numeral 21 denotes a contact sensor (reading means) for converting a document image into an electric signal.
Is an encoder loader that reads the document feed amount,
Also serves as a discharge roller. The contact sensor 21 and the encoder loader 22 are detachable from the main unit A as an integrated unit having a document reading unit B with an outer package composed of a reading guide 23 for guiding the lower surface of the document and a housing 24.

The reading cover C constitutes an integrated unit consisting of an upper document guide 32 and a reading cover 33. The upper document guide 32 has a part of a structure for conveying a document. Is provided. That is, the document 3 is guided by the upper document guide 32 and the lower document guide 34, the document 3 is separated by the separation roller 35 and the separation piece 36, and sent to the reading paper feed roller 12.

The pinch roller 37 is arranged to face the reading paper feed roller 12, the white background 38 is arranged to face the contact sensor 21, and the paper ejection roller 39 is arranged to face the encoder roller 22. Pinch roller 37, discharge roller 39
Are pressed by the leaf spring 40 and sandwich the original 3. The reading cover 33 also serving as an operation panel includes operation keys such as a start key 41 and a display unit such as an LCD 42.

The paper discharge roller 39 and the leaf spring 40 for urging the paper discharge roller 39 constitute a second regulating member for pressing and positioning the document reading portion B against the main body portion A.

Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

The recording paper 2 is pulled out from the paper supply unit 9, forms an image in the recording unit 11, and is discharged from below the reading unit B to the outside of the apparatus. The original 3 is separated by a separation roller 3.
5. After the image is captured by the document reading section B via the reading paper feed roller 36, the document is discharged out of the apparatus. Further, the document reading section B detached from the main body A brings the contact sensor 21 into close contact with the document and manually operates to take in the read image.

Next, the attachment / detachment structure of the document reading section B will be described with reference to FIGS.

The upper document guide 32 is provided with a hinge 43, the base of which is supported by a fulcrum 15, as shown in FIGS.
It turns at the position. The reading cover 33 has a support shaft 3.
The lock member 31 pivotally mounted by 1a releases the engagement of the recess 31b of the lock member 31 with the lock shaft 16 by a release lever (not shown). Therefore, with these configurations, the reading cover C is held at a predetermined position with respect to the main body A.

On the other hand, in the document reading section B, notches 25, 26, 27, and 28 (FIG. 4) are provided at the four corners of the housing 24. Positioning ribs 17, 18, 1
9 and 20, the position of the document reading section B becomes
It is held at a predetermined position with respect to the main body A.

Further, the document reading section B will be described in detail. FIG. 2 shows the positioning of the document reading section B in the document feeding direction with respect to the main body section A. That is, the vertical portion 17a of the positioning rib 17 and the vertical portion 18 of the positioning rib 18
The length L2 formed by the notches 25 and 26 of the document reading section B is equal to or slightly smaller than the length L1 formed by the length a. In addition, positioning rib 1
7 and 18 each have an inclined surface formed on the inner side of the upper part, and are formed such that L1 becomes larger as going to the upper side of the rib.

Therefore, when the document reading section B is inserted into the main body A, the inclined surfaces 17b and 18b serve as rough guides (rough guides), and guide the document reading section B naturally to the apparatus main body side. And the original reading section B has its own weight
, And is held while riding on the flat portions 17c and 18c.

FIG. 3 shows the positioning of the reading unit B relative to the main unit A in the document width direction. That is,
The width W1 formed by the root 17a of the positioning rib 17 and the root 19a of the positioning rib 19 has a notch 2
The width W2 formed by 5 and 27 is configured to be the same or slightly smaller. Also, positioning ribs 17,
In No. 19, an inclined surface is formed such that W1 increases as going upward.

Therefore, when the original reading section B is inserted into the main body A, the inclined surfaces 17b and 19b serve as rough guides, and guide the original reading section B naturally to the apparatus main body side. Slides down toward the main body A under its own weight, and is positioned in the document width direction by the vertical portions 17a and 19a.

As described above, the plurality of positioning ribs 17,
18, 19, and 20 constitute a first regulating member that positions the document reading unit B in the document conveying direction and positions the document reading unit B in a direction intersecting the document conveying direction.

Further, the upward direction of the document reading section B is regulated by the pressing force of the sheet discharging roller 39 (second regulating member) by the leaf spring 40.

In this manner, the document reading section B is positioned with respect to the main body section A, which is the apparatus main body, so that the original 3 can be transported stably. Also, the reading cover C
Is locked to the main body A by the lock member 31 and the lock shaft 16, and the document reading section B is held at the mounting position without detaching from the main body A.

When the original reading section B is inserted into the main body section A, the original reading section B is moved from above to the positioning rib 1.
7, 18, 19, and 20, the position of the document reading unit B is naturally determined. Conversely, when the document reading unit B is removed, a large space can be secured above and below the document reading unit B. If you put your hand here, it can be easily removed. Also, the reading paper feed roller 12 and the positioning rib 17
20 are provided on the same lower cover 4, the positional relationship between the reading paper feed roller 12 and the contact sensor 21 is accurately maintained, and the image quality of the read image information of the document 3 is improved.

<Embodiment 2> In this embodiment, the length L1 is set to be sufficiently larger than L2, and the width W
1 is set to be sufficiently larger than the width W2, and the main unit A of the reading unit is set.
Has been loosened. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a positioning boss 51 is provided on the upper document guide 32, and a positioning hole 52 for fitting the positioning boss 51 is provided on the housing 24 of the document reading section B.

Therefore, the original reading section B is positioned with high accuracy with respect to the reading cover section C. Therefore, when the reading paper feed roller 12 is provided on the reading cover C, the quality of the read image of the document 3 can be improved.

<Embodiment 3> FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment. In the first embodiment, the document reading unit B is provided below the document conveying path 60, but in the third embodiment, the document reading unit B is positioned above the document conveying path 60 (that is, when the contact sensor 21 is (Facing down). Further, a reading cover C for covering the reading cover C is provided rotatably in a counterclockwise direction in the figure. Further, the recording unit 11 may include a thermal recording roll paper 53, a recording head 54, a feed roller 55, a cutter 56, and the like.

With such a configuration, as in the first embodiment, in addition to the effects of protecting the reading unit and improving the positioning accuracy, the operability is further improved by the reading unit being located at the upper part, and the original surface faces upward. The effect is obtained that the document is not stained by the recording paper because it is discharged.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the original reading section is mounted on the apparatus main body, the positioning means for positioning the original reading section is provided on the apparatus main body or on the reading cover which can be opened and closed on the apparatus main body, so that the original reading section is securely positioned at an appropriate position on the apparatus. It can be arranged, and the read image quality of the conveyed document can be improved.

The document reading section can be inserted into and stored in the apparatus main body from substantially above, and the upper portion of the document reading section is covered with a reading cover section, so that jam clearance can be easily performed, and the document reading section can be easily read. The action of external force on the part, the entry of dust, and the like are prevented.

Further, since the position of the document reading section in the document conveying direction, the position in the width direction of the document, and the position in the up-down direction are reliably positioned by the first and second regulating members, the document is read. It is possible to prevent troubles such as a defective document conveyance and a defective image due to a poor positioning of the unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical side view of a facsimile apparatus as an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view showing the attachment operation of a document reading unit.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a positioning unit of a document reading unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an apparatus main body, a document reading unit, and a positioning unit.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of a document reading unit and a positioning unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical side view of a facsimile apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List A main body (apparatus main body) B original reading section C reading cover section 2 recording paper 3 original 4 lower cover of apparatus main body 17, 18, 19, 20 positioning rib (positioning means, first regulating member) 21 contact sensor (reading) Means) 33 reading cover 39 paper discharge roller 40 leaf spring 39, 40 second regulating member (positioning means) 41 operation key 51 positioning boss (positioning means, first
52) Positioning hole (positioning means, first restricting member)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hideyuki Terashima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Katsumi Obana 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Naohiro Iwata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. F Terms (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB17 AB32 AC02 AD02 AD05 AD06 5C072 AA05 NA01 PA08 SA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] An apparatus main body having a document conveying path for conveying a document; a document detachable from the apparatus main body, reading a document conveyed when mounted on the apparatus main body, and manual scanning when detaching from the apparatus main body. A document reading unit that has a reading unit that reads a document according to a document, and is capable of being stored in the apparatus main body from substantially above; and an apparatus that is openably and closably mounted on the apparatus main body so as to cover an upper surface of the document reading unit. A reading cover unit that holds the original reading unit in the apparatus main body when closed to the main body; and a positioning unit that positions the reading unit at a predetermined position when the original reading unit is mounted on the apparatus main body. Wherein the positioning means is capable of regulating the position of the document reading section in the document transport direction and the position in a direction intersecting the document transport direction. A plurality of first regulating member provided on either Okimoto body or the reading cover section,
An image reading device, comprising: a second regulating member that positions the document reading unit in a vertical direction. 2. The apparatus main body according to claim 1, wherein the first restricting member is positioned by contacting a notch formed at each corner of the document reading section and both wall surfaces of the notch. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of positioning ribs provided on the image reading device. 3. The first regulating member includes: a positioning hole provided in the document reading portion; and a plurality of positioning bosses engageable with the positioning hole and provided in the reading cover portion. The image reading device according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. A transport roller provided on the reading cover section, the second regulating member being urged by urging means so as to press the original reading section against the apparatus main body, and the reading section. 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lock mechanism for locking a cover to the apparatus main body. 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the positioning rib has an inclined surface in two directions so as to guide a notch of the document reading section. 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading cover section includes an operation section having operation keys for operating a reading apparatus main body.