JP2001197265A - Method for adjusting image reader, image reader and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader which improves adjustment of an original edge hitting the reference member, mounting accuracy, the rapidity of an adjustment and reproduction accuracy of an original side hitting the reference member mounting position. SOLUTION: This image reader is provided with original platen glass 11 on which the original edge hit the reference member 14 is arranged, an exterior member 10D which positions the glass 11 and holds the glass 11, a device man body 10A having a positioning projecting part provided in the member 10D and a positioning reference hole that is fitted to the positioning projecting part, and a jig 9 for optical system adjustment which is mounted on the main body 10A in an exchangeable way and adjusts an optical system, and the member 14 is positioned at the prescribed position of the main body 10A by making the positioning projecting part provided in the jig 9 adjusting the optical system of the image reader fittable into the positioning reference hole provided in the main body 10A.

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 such as a scanner for reading an image of a document placed on a document table glass, and an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc. provided with the image reading apparatus. And an image forming apparatus having a composite function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image reading apparatus, a document is placed on a platen glass, and a reference member for abutting a document side edge on the back side of a body of the image reading apparatus and a reference for abutting a leading end of a document on a side of the apparatus body. After the two orthogonal side edges of the document are brought into contact with the member and positioned, the document image is scanned and exposed by the optical system of the image reading device and read. The read document image is stored in an image processing unit, an image writing unit,
A copy image of the document is formed in the image forming unit.

In a conventional image reading apparatus, when assembling the original side edge abutting reference member at a predetermined position of the apparatus body, the original is placed on an original platen glass, and the original side abutting reference member is attached to the original side abutting reference member. The position of the document side edge abutting reference member is adjusted in accordance with the image read by scanning and exposing the document.

In some cases, an intermediate member is provided to ensure reproducibility of assembly after the document side edge abutting reference member is removed from the apparatus main body. The intermediate member is positioned at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body, and the document side edge abutting reference member is adjusted and positioned with respect to the intermediate member.

[0005]

There are the following problems in the positioning adjustment of the document side edge abutting reference member fixed to the conventional image reading apparatus.

(1) In the conventional image reading apparatus, it is difficult to finely adjust the position of the original with respect to the copy image, and a large amount of adjustment work time is required.

(2) In order to improve the accuracy of the document side edge abutment reference member and the fixing member for attaching the document side edge abutment reference member with respect to the reading optical axis of the image reading apparatus, the cost of component manufacturing must be reduced. With rise.

(3) The document side edge abutting reference member is mounted so as to be position adjustable with respect to the apparatus main body. When cleaning the back side of the platen glass, inspecting and adjusting the optical system of the image reading device, remove the original side abutting reference member and the original platen glass, and then re-attach the original platen glass and the original side abutting reference member. Is attached, reproducibility of the attachment position of the document side edge abutting reference member cannot be obtained.

(4) When an intermediate member is provided in the apparatus main body and the original side edge abutting reference member is adjusted and positioned for assembling, there are problems such as an increase in the number of parts, an increase in manufacturing cost, an increase in adjustment man-hours, and the like. .

The present invention solves the above problems and achieves the following objects. : Enables fine adjustment of the position of the document side edge abutment reference member with a simple configuration.: Improves the mounting accuracy of the document side edge abutment reference member and measures the speed of the adjustment work. Improve the reproducibility of the mounting position of the member.

[0011]

A method for adjusting an image reading apparatus according to the present invention, which achieves the above object, is a document side edge abutting device which is arranged on a document table glass and abuts a side edge of the document to position the document. In an adjusting method of an image reading apparatus for positioning and adjusting a relative position between a reference member and an optical system for scanning and exposing a document image, an optical system for adjusting the optical system which is exchangeably mounted on an apparatus main body of the image reading apparatus. The positioning projection provided on the system adjustment jig is fitted and mounted in a positioning reference hole provided on the apparatus main body, and after the optical system is positioned and adjusted, the optical system adjustment jig is connected to the apparatus main body. The positioning projection hole provided at a predetermined position of the exterior member holding the original platen glass is fitted into the positioning reference hole of the apparatus main body, and is mounted. And abutted against not the platen glass, it is characterized in that positioning the original side edges abutting reference member (claim 1).

An image reading apparatus according to the present invention that achieves the above object is a document side edge abutting reference member that is disposed on a document table glass and abuts a side edge of the document to position the document, and scans and exposes the document image. An image reading apparatus having an optical system for reading and reading, a document table glass on which the document side edge abutting reference member is arranged, an exterior member for positioning and holding the document table glass, and a positioning provided on the exterior member. The image reading device, comprising: a projection, an apparatus main body having a positioning reference hole fitted into the positioning projection, and an optical system adjustment jig which is exchangeably mounted on the apparatus main body and adjusts the optical system. By allowing the positioning projection provided on the optical system adjustment jig for adjusting the optical system to fit into the positioning reference hole provided on the apparatus main body,
The document side edge abutting reference member is positioned at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body (claim 2).

[0013] An image forming apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object is characterized by comprising the image reading apparatus described in (2) above, an image writing section, and an image forming section ( Claim 6).

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image reading apparatus and an image forming apparatus provided with the image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an image reading apparatus (scanner) 1.
1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus equipped with an automatic document feeder 20 and an automatic document feeder 20.

The illustrated image forming apparatus main body A includes an image forming section 1, an image processing section 2, an image writing section 3, a high voltage power supply section 4,
The paper feeding / conveying unit 5, fixing unit 6, paper discharging unit 7, and re-conveying means (ADU) 8 for automatic double-sided copying are provided. A paper discharge tray 7C or a paper post-processing device (not shown) can be connected to the paper discharge unit 7 at the upper left of the image forming apparatus main body A in the figure.

A document d2 placed on a document feeder table 21 of the automatic document feeder 20 with the first surface facing upward is sent out by a feed roller 22 and a separation roller 23, and is conveyed via a registration roller 24. At a position where the document guide member 26 and the upper surface of the slit exposure glass 12 pass through the path 25, an image on one side or both sides of the document d2 is read by the optical system of the image reading device 10. The document d2 after the reading process is discharged by the discharge roller 27 and is placed on the discharge tray 28.

The automatic document feeder 20 has a one-sided document reading function and a two-sided document reading function.

The optical system of the image reading apparatus 10 includes an exposure unit 1 having an exposure lamp 162 and a first mirror 161.
6, a V mirror unit 17 including a second mirror 171 and a third mirror 172, an imaging lens 18, and a CCD image sensor 19.

The image reading of the document d2 by the automatic document feeder 20 is performed at a position where the exposure unit 16 stops below the slit exposure glass 12. The document reading is performed when the document d2 passes through the stopped exposure unit 16.

Document d1 placed on platen glass 11
Is read by the exposure unit 16 and the V mirror unit 1
Scanning exposure is performed while moving 7.

The analog signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 19 is subjected to analog processing, A / D conversion, shading correction, image compression processing and the like in the image processing section 2 and then sent to the image writing section 3. .

In the image writing section 3, the output light from the semiconductor laser is applied to the image carrier 1A of the image forming section 1 to form a latent image. In the image forming section 1, charging,
Processing such as exposure, development, transfer, separation, and cleaning is performed, and an image is transferred to the sheet S fed from the sheet cassette 5A of the sheet feed unit 5. The sheet S carrying the image is fixed by the fixing unit 6 and is discharged to a discharge tray 7C by a discharge roller 7B of a discharge unit 7. Alternatively, the single-sided image-processed sheet S sent to the re-conveying unit 8 by the sheet discharge path switching plate 7A is subjected to double-sided image processing again in the image forming unit 1, and then discharged by the sheet discharge rollers 7B of the sheet discharge unit 7. The sheet is discharged to the tray 7C.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus main body A in which the automatic document feeder 20 is swung to open the upper surface of the document table glass 11.

On the upper portion of the image reading device 10, a document table glass 11, a glass for slit exposure 12, a document leading end reference member 13 containing a reference density sheet 15 for shading correction, and a rear side of the image reading device 10 are provided. A document side edge abutting reference member 14 is disposed.

The document leading end abutting reference member 13 is installed in parallel with the short side direction of the document table glass 11, and positions the document placed on the document table glass 11 by abutting the tip of the document.

The document leading end abutting reference member 13 on the rear side of the image reading apparatus 10 is installed in parallel with the long side direction of the document table glass 11, and a side edge of the document placed on the document table glass 11. Is brought into contact with and positioned.

The document abutting end surface 13a of the document leading edge abutting reference member 13 and the document side edge abutting reference member 1 on the back side
The four document abutting end surfaces 14a are disposed so as to be orthogonal to each other.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an optical system for reading an original placed on the original platen glass 11 by a scanning exposure reading method.

Exposure unit 16 of image reading device 10
Is the traveling body 160, the first mirror 161, the exposure lamp 16
It consists of 2 etc. The V mirror unit 17 includes a traveling body 17
0, a second mirror 171 and a third mirror 172.

A document leading end reference member 13 is fixed to the end of the document table glass 11 with an adhesive or a double-sided adhesive tape. A reference density sheet 15 for shading correction is positioned and fixed on the upper surface of the original table glass 11 by a double-sided adhesive tape or the like inside the original front end document abutting reference member 13. The reference density surface of the reference density sheet 15 is in close contact with the upper surface of the platen glass 11.

The reference density sheet 15 is a platen glass 11
And the bottom surface of the document leading end abutting reference member 13 are hermetically mounted inside a joint surface bonded with a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. As a result, dust, liquid, or the like does not enter the document leading end abutting reference member 13 from the outside, and erroneous detection due to dust adhesion or dirt on the reference density sheet 15 is prevented.

The reflected light of the reference density sheet 15 illuminated by the exposure lamp 162 passes through an exposure unit 16, a V mirror unit 17, and an imaging lens 18, and is incident on a CCD image sensor 19 as an image pickup device. The analog signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 19 is subjected to analog processing and A / D conversion in the image processing unit 2.
It is held as first shading correction data.

The light amount of the exposure lamp 162 is always accurately corrected by the optical system of the image reading apparatus 10 based on the reference reading data read by the reference density sheet 15, and the image of the original is written in the image writing section 3 and the image forming section. Part 1
As a result, a high-quality image is formed on a recording sheet as a copy image.

FIG. 4A shows the document table glass 11, the document leading end contacting reference member 13, and the document side edge contacting reference member 1.
4 is a perspective view showing an assembled state, and FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view.

The end surface of the platen glass 11 is generally not an accurate plane. Two small area portions near both ends of the platen glass 11 were set as representative reference surfaces 11a and 11b. With reference to the representative reference surfaces 11a and 11b, the document abutting end surface 14a of the document side edge abutting reference member 14 and the representative reference surfaces 11a and 11b are adjusted in parallel so as to have a predetermined interval a. The side edge abutting reference member 14 is bonded and fixed to the upper surface of the document table glass 11.

Next, the original abutting end surface 13a of the original abutting reference member 13 is adjusted to be orthogonal to the original abutting end surface 14a with reference to the original abutting end surface 14a. The reference member 13 is bonded and fixed to the upper surface of the document table glass 11.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the image reading device 10. The optical system of the image reading apparatus 10 is housed in an apparatus main body (main body frame) 10A. A left-side exterior member 10B, a right-side exterior member 10C, a rear-side exterior member 10D, and a front-side operation panel 10E are fixed to the outer periphery of the apparatus main body 10A.

Two positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2 are formed at predetermined positions on the back side of the apparatus main body 10A. In these two positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2,
A positioning protrusion 10D1 of a rear side exterior member 10D, which will be described later,
10D2 and positioning projection 9 of optical system adjusting jig 9
1, 92 are exchangeably mounted.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the document table glass 11 on which the document leading end contact reference member 13 and the document side edge contact reference member 14 are positioned and fixed is mounted on the back side exterior member 10D. FIG. 7A shows the platen glass 11.
10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which is attached to the back side exterior member 10D.

At the front end of the back side exterior member 10D, there are three reference positions 10D3, 10D4, 10
D5 protrudes and is arranged on the same horizontal plane. Both ends 2
Original platen glass mounting reference surface portions 10D3, 10D5
Is set for positioning the platen glass 11, and the central platen glass mounting reference surface portion 10D4 is
1 is provided to prevent bending.

Document table glass mounting reference surface portion 10D3, 10
Document table glass abutment reference planes 10D6 and 10D7 protrude from two vertical surfaces near D5 and are arranged on the same vertical surface.

The two positioning projections 10D1 and 10D2 of the back side exterior member 10D and the two platen glass abutment reference surfaces 10D6 and 10D7 are set at a predetermined distance b and arranged in parallel. Therefore, the positioning protrusions 10D1 and 10D2 and the document side edge abutting reference member 14
Of the document abutting end surface 14a is a predetermined distance (a
+ B).

The bottom surface 11c of the platen glass 11 is connected to the platen glass mounting reference surface portion 10D3, 1 of the back exterior member 10D.
It is placed on 0D4, 10D5 and positioned in the horizontal direction. In addition, the representative reference surface 1 on the side edge of the platen glass 11
The reference numerals 1a and 11b abut on the original table glass abutting reference surfaces 10D6 and 10D7 of the rear side exterior member 10D, and are positioned in the front-rear direction. The bottom surface 11c is a surface on which the document d1 is placed and read.

After the two positioning projections 10D1 and 10D2 of the rear side exterior member 10D are inserted and positioned in the two positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2 formed on the rear side of the apparatus main body 10A, respectively. It is fixed by screws (not shown).

Next, the original platen glass 11 on which the original leading end abutting reference member 13 and the original side edge abutting reference member 14 are positioned and fixed is moved to the original placing glass placing reference surface portions 10D3, 10D4 of the rear exterior member 10D. Place on 10D5. Furthermore, the representative reference surface 11 on the side edge of the platen glass 11
If the a and 11b are brought into contact with the original platen glass abutment reference surface portions 10D6 and 10D7 of the rear side exterior member 10D, the original side abutment reference member 14 is always positioned at a predetermined position, and is positioned relative to the optical system. Position is accurately maintained.

Replacement of the exposure lamp 162, adjustment of the optical system,
Even when the platen glass 11 is removed and remounted for repair or the like, the document side edge abutting reference member 14 is always reproduced at a predetermined position and positioned.

Prior to mounting the platen glass 11 on the back exterior member 10D, two positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2 formed on the back side of the apparatus body 10A for positioning the back exterior member 10D; Performs relative position adjustment with the optical system.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the optical system adjusting jig 9. FIG. 7B shows that the optical system adjusting jig 9 is attached to the apparatus main body 10.
It is a partial sectional view showing the state where it was attached to A.

The optical system adjusting jig 9 comprises a jig body 90 on which the positioning projections 91 and 92 are implanted, and a chart plate 93. The outer shape of the chart plate 93 is formed to have substantially the same dimensions as the platen glass 11, and the thickness t of the chart plate 93 is equal to the thickness of the platen glass 11. The distance c between the bottom surface 93c of the chart plate 93 and the upper surface of the apparatus main body 10A is equal to the distance between the bottom surface 11c of the platen glass 11 and the apparatus main body 10A.
Positioning projection 9 so as to be equal to the distance c from the upper surface of
A height d of 1,92 is set. Accordingly, the bottom surface 11c of the platen glass 11 and the bottom surface 9 of the optical system adjusting jig 9
3c is formed on the same horizontal plane.

On the bottom surface 93c of the optical system adjusting jig 9, a test chart 93a is formed. The bottom surface 93c is
This is a surface corresponding to the bottom surface 11c of the document table glass 11 on which the document d1 is placed. The test chart 93a is a standard document pattern in which parallelism, squareness, vertical dimension, horizontal dimension, and the like are formed with predetermined accuracy.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the original table glass 1
1 and the rear side exterior member 10D are removed from the positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2 of the apparatus body 10A, and the optical system adjusting jig 9 is replaced with the positioning reference hole 10A of the apparatus body 10A.
A1 and 10A2.

With the optical system adjusting jig 9 mounted, the exposure unit 16 and the V mirror unit 17 are scanned and exposed, and the standard original pattern of the test chart 93a is read by the imaging lens 18 and the CCD image sensor 19. . The standard document pattern is analyzed using an oscilloscope or the like, and the mounting positions, angles, and the like of the first mirror 161, the second mirror 171, the third mirror 172, and the like that constitute the optical system are adjusted and fixed at a predetermined position.

After the optical system adjusting operation is completed, the optical system adjusting jig 9 is moved to the positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A of the apparatus body 10A.
2, and place the platen glass 11 and the back side exterior member 10D in place of the positioning reference hole 10A of the apparatus main body 10A.
1, 10A2, and set to the position shown in FIG.

As described above, the positioning reference holes 10A1 and 10A2 of the apparatus main body 10A share the adjustment reference of the optical system adjustment jig 9 and the assembly reference of the platen glass 11, thereby abutting the document side edge. The document abutting end surface 14a of the reference member 14 can be positioned with high accuracy. Further, even if the document glass 11 is attached or detached, the reproducibility of the setting position of the document abutting end face 14a is maintained.

Further, if the image reading apparatus is provided in the reading section and the image read by the reading section is formed on a recording material, the image is accurately positioned by the document side edge abutting reference member 14. The image of the original is formed as a copy image at an accurate position and accuracy on the recording material by the image writing means and the image forming means.

[0057]

As described above, the following effects can be obtained by the image reading apparatus and the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

The improvement of the mounting accuracy of the document side abutment reference member and the quickness of the adjustment work are achieved: the right angle adjustment of the document front end abutment reference member is made sure and easy: the document side abutment reference member And the reproducibility of the mounting position of the document leading end abutting reference member is improved: the reproducibility of the original image perpendicularity, parallelism, etc. is improved, and the copied image is accurately formed on the recording material.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus equipped with an image reading device and an automatic document feeder.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus main body A in which an upper surface of a document table glass is opened.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an optical system for reading a document.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of a document table glass, a document leading end contact reference member, and a document side edge contact reference member;
And an exploded perspective view.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the image reading device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the original table glass is mounted on a rear exterior member.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a document table glass is mounted on a rear side exterior member, and a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which an optical system adjusting jig is mounted on an apparatus main body.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an optical system adjusting jig.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming part 3 Image writing part 9 Optical system adjustment jig 90 Jig main body 91, 92 Positioning protrusion part 93 Chart plate 93a Test chart 93c Bottom surface 10 Image reading device (scanner) 10A Device main body (body frame) 10A1, 10A2 Positioning reference hole 10D Back side exterior member 10D1, 10D2 Positioning protrusion 10D3, 10D4, 10D5 Document table glass placing reference surface section 10D6, 10D7 Document table glass abutting reference surface section 11 Document table glass 11a, 11b Representative reference plane 11c Bottom 12 slit Exposure glass 13 Original document abutment reference member 13a Document abutment end surface 14 Document side edge abutment reference member 14a Document abutment end surface 16 Exposure unit 17 V mirror unit 18 Imaging lens 19 CCD image sensor A Image forming apparatus Main body S Paper a, b, c Interval A Image forming apparatus main body

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A relative position between a document side edge abutting reference member, which is arranged on a document table glass and abuts a side edge of the document to position the document, and an optical system that scans and exposes the document image. In the method for adjusting an image reading device to be adjusted, a positioning projection provided on an optical system adjustment jig which is exchangeably mounted on the device main body of the image reading device and provided on the device main body is provided on the apparatus main body. After fitting and mounting in the reference hole and positioning and adjusting the optical system, the optical system adjusting jig is detached from the apparatus main body, and the exterior holding the document table glass in the positioning reference hole of the apparatus main body. The positioning projection provided at a predetermined position of the member is fitted and mounted, and the original table glass is brought into contact with the abutting surface of the exterior member to position the original side edge abutting reference member. A method for adjusting an image reading apparatus, comprising: 2. An image reading apparatus which is disposed on a platen glass and has a document side edge abutting reference member which abuts a side edge of the document to position the document, and an optical system which scans and exposes the document image to read it. A document table glass on which the document side edge abutting reference member is disposed, an exterior member for positioning and holding the document table glass, a positioning projection provided on the exterior member, and fitting to the positioning projection. An optical system adjusting jig for adjusting the optical system of the image reading apparatus, comprising: an apparatus main body having a positioning reference hole to be adjusted; and an optical system adjusting jig which is exchangeably mounted on the apparatus main body and adjusts the optical system. By positioning the positioning projection provided on the document to the positioning reference hole provided on the apparatus main body, the document side edge abutting reference member is positioned at a predetermined position on the apparatus main body. An image reading device, comprising: 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the document side edge abutting reference member positions a document placement position in a direction orthogonal to a scanning exposure direction of the optical system. 4. The exterior member has an abutting surface that abuts at least two side edges of the platen glass, and at least two supports that support a bottom surface near the side edge of the platen glass. The image reading device according to claim 2, further comprising a surface portion and the positioning protrusion. 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical system adjusting jig has an optical system adjusting test pattern diagram and the positioning projection. 6. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the image reading device according to claim 2; an image writing unit; and an image forming unit.