JP2001230901A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader, with which a simple conduction structure can be attained between a sensor board and a amounting board and further reliability is improved. SOLUTION: A mounting board 8, on which an LED 7 for leading light into a light transmitting body 6 is mounted, and a sensor board 3, on which a line sensor 4 for receiving reflected light from an original 50 receiving linear emitted light from the light transmitting body 6 and for performing signal conversion is mounted, are conducted and connected by a conductive connector 9, which is fitted onto both the front side and back side of any one of these boards 3 and 8, fixed and conducted to a wiring pattern.

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 which receives reflected light of light applied to an image of a document and converts the reflected light into an image signal in, for example, a facsimile apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image reading apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus or a scanner apparatus is configured to read an image of a document using a reduction optical system. Such an image reading system is a combination of a light source that irradiates light to a document image and a line sensor that receives reflected light from the document, and has many line sensors in a line direction (a direction perpendicular to the document feeding direction). Are used. As a light source, a number of light-emitting diodes (hereinafter, referred to as “LEDs”) are arranged in a line direction, or a light guide molded with one elongated acrylic resin is incorporated, and an end of the light guide is attached to the end. A configuration is adopted in which LEDs are arranged to cause a part of the light guide to emit light. Recently, those using a light guide are becoming mainstream in terms of cost and assembly workability.

[0003] In the case where an LED and a light guide are provided as an illuminating means, it is necessary to conduct the LED disposed close to the end face of the light guide to the power supply side. In order to reduce the occupied space, a conventional assembly method is to form a conductive circuit to the LED on the mounting board of the line sensor connected to the power supply circuit and connect the wiring pattern of the board on which the LED is mounted to the conductive circuit. It has been adopted from. FIG.
The outline of the conductive structure to the ED is shown.

[0004] In FIG. 8, a light guide 51 formed in an elongated rod shape by a transparent acrylic resin and a sensor substrate 52 on which a line sensor (not shown) is electrically mounted are arranged at a distance. A light-shielding cap 51a is connected to the end of the light guide 51, and the cap 51a is
3 is fixed to the mounting substrate 54. The sensor substrate 52 includes an LED 5 in addition to a conduction circuit to the line sensor.
In this example, a wiring pattern for conducting to No. 3 is formed. Similarly, the mounting board 54 has a wiring pattern for conducting from the sensor board 52 to the LED 53. Then, the sensor board 52 and the mounting board 54
Are connected by lead wires 55. The sensor board 52 and the mounting board 54 are previously incorporated and fixed inside a housing (not shown) of the image reading apparatus. After this assembling, the lead wires 55 that are previously attached to the mounting board 54 with the solder 55b are attached. Is soldered to the sensor substrate 52 to make it conductive.

[0005] Here, the LED 53 is a monochromatic one.
If only a single document is mounted, it is possible to read a monochrome document image. On the other hand, when reading an image of a color original, R
(Red), G (green) and B (blue) LEDs are required. Therefore, the number of lead wires 55 also increases according to the number of LEDs.

[0006]

The size of the image reading apparatus can be reduced by making the distance between the light guide 51 and the sensor substrate 52 as small as possible. In this case, the lead wires 55 attached to the light guide 51 and the sensor board 52 with the solders 55a and 55b, respectively, also become short. However, the lead wire 55
If the length is shorter than an appropriate length for the wiring, it is extremely difficult to form a wiring that bends at a substantially right angle at a corner of the sensor substrate 52 as shown in the figure. For this reason, the lead wire 55 may be lengthened to some extent, and as shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure, it may be possible to cope with such a wiring that a loop bulging outward is formed.

[0007] If the wiring is such that the lead wire 55 swells, the wiring space is expanded, and the light guide 5 is expanded.
Even if the distance between the sensor substrate 1 and the sensor substrate 52 is reduced, the overall bulk cannot be reduced. In addition, the lead wire 55 is often of a small diameter in order to reduce the occupied space. In particular, if the wiring swells outward, the lead wire 55 is liable to be cut off by interference or contact with other members. The reliability is impaired.

When the lead wire 55 is used,
Solder 55a between sensor board 52 and mounting board 54,
55b addition is added to the working process. These solders 55a, 55
The work of attaching b can be relatively easily performed using an automated jig, but a jig according to the specifications of each product is required, and the inspection in the management process is also troublesome. In particular, in the case where a plurality of LEDs 53 are provided, the number of lead wires 55 also increases, so that the effect on assembly workability is great.

As described above, in the conventional image reading apparatus,
A lead 55 is connected between the sensor board 52 and the mounting board 54.
In this case, the assembling work and the inspection process are complicated, and there is a possibility that a failure may occur due to breakage of the lead wire 55.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus which can realize a simple conduction structure between a sensor substrate and a mounting substrate and has high reliability of light emission from a light guide.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an illumination means for irradiating light on a document on an image reading section in a line direction, an imaging optical system for receiving light reflected from the document, and an image forming optical system. A line sensor that receives light imaged by the image optical system and converts the light into an image signal, and further includes a conduction path from a sensor substrate on which the line sensor is conductively mounted to a mounting substrate on which the illumination unit is mounted. In the device, a conduction path between the sensor board and the mounting board is elastically fitted and fixed to at least one of the front and back surfaces of the sensor board and the mounting board, and is connected to a wiring pattern of the sensor board and the mounting board. It is characterized by being constituted by a conductive connector that conducts contact.

According to such a configuration, the wiring pattern can be conducted by fixing the conductive connector to one or both of the sensor board and the mounting board, and assembling is simpler and the device is simpler than a conducting structure using lead wires. Can be downsized.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminating means for irradiating a document on an image reading section with light in a line direction, and an imaging optical system for receiving reflected light from the document. A line sensor that receives the light imaged by the imaging optical system and converts the light into an image signal, and further comprises a conduction path from a sensor substrate on which the line sensor is conductively mounted to a mounting substrate on which the illumination means is mounted. In the image reading apparatus provided with, a conduction path between the sensor substrate and the mounting substrate,
An image reading apparatus, comprising: a conductive connector elastically fitted and fixed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of at least one of the sensor substrate and the mounting substrate, and configured to contact and conduct with a wiring pattern of the sensor substrate and the mounting substrate. There is an effect that the conductive connector can be fixed to one or both of the sensor board and the mounting board to make the wiring pattern conductive.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the illuminating means are provided, and the mounting board is provided with a plurality of electrodes which are electrically connected to the illuminating means, respectively. The conductive connector is provided on each of the plurality of electrodes. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of conductive members that conduct, and a holding member that holds them integrally.
Even in the case of a plurality of lighting means, a conductive structure can be obtained only by incorporating one conductive connector, which has an effect that the assembling is simplified.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminating means for irradiating light on a document on an image reading section in a line direction, an image forming optical system for receiving light reflected from the document, and the image forming apparatus. An image reading device comprising: a line sensor that receives light imaged by an optical system and converts the image signal into an image signal; and further includes a conduction path from a sensor substrate on which the line sensor is conductively mounted to a mounting substrate on which the illumination unit is mounted. In the above, the concave and convex engaging portions are provided at the butting portions of the sensor substrate and the mounting substrate, and the wiring patterns of the sensor substrate and the mounting substrate are developed and provided to the concave and convex engaging portions. This is an image reading device characterized in that the wiring patterns can be made conductive by each other, and a conductive structure is obtained by directly engaging the substrates,
This has the effect of eliminating the need for conductive members and further simplifying assembly.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the image reading apparatus has an outer shell composed of a housing 1, an image reading section 2 made of transparent glass disposed on an upper surface thereof, and a sensor substrate 3 integrally fixed on a lower surface. . These members are formed to have a size larger than the length in the width direction (the depth direction in the figure) of the document 50 that passes over the image reading unit 2 from right to left or the opposite direction in the figure. Sensor board 3
A line sensor 4 in which a large number of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged so as to cover the entire width of the document 50 is provided above the lens sensor 5. A lens array 5 is held and fixed inside the housing 1 directly above the line sensor 4. I have.

A lens array 5 is provided inside the housing 1.
A light guide 6 for irradiating light is disposed at a position where the optical axis of the light beam intersects orthogonally with the upper surface of the image reading unit 2. The light guide 6 is an elongated rod having a circular cross section formed of a transparent acrylic resin, and emits light by introducing light from one or a plurality of LEDs (described later) disposed at an end. . For example, a triangular wavefront 6a is formed in a part of the light guide 6 in the axial direction, and this wavefront 6a is formed.
Direction, ie, original 5 using refraction and reflection by
The light is irradiated on the surface of No. 0 at an incident angle of 45 °. An upper engaging portion 6b and a lower engaging portion 6c are formed on the light guide 6, and these are engaged with a predetermined position of the housing 1 for positioning, and the upper engaging portion 6b is read with an image. The light guide 6 is fixed in the housing 1 by being pressed by the portion 2.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part on one end side of the light guide 6 and showing a conduction structure between the LED and the sensor substrate 3.

In FIG. 2, similarly to the conventional example, the LED 7
The light guide 6 and the mounting substrate 8 are integrally connected by integrally fixing a light-shielding cap 8a to the mounting substrate 8 on which the light guide 6 is mounted, and fitting the cap 8a to the end of the light guide 6. You. In the illustrated example, one LED 7 is connected to the light guide 6.
The light from the LED 7 is incident from the end face of the light guide 6 and is introduced into the whole, and is indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 1 by refraction and reflection by the wavefront 6a shown in FIG. To irradiate the image of the document 50 with light.

The reflected light from the original 50 is imaged by the lens array 5 on the light receiving portion of the photoelectric conversion element of the line sensor 4, and the photoelectric conversion element of the line sensor 4 converts the received light information into an electric signal. The data is transmitted to a system image processing unit (not shown).

The sensor substrate 3 is formed with a wiring pattern for electrically connecting a large number of photoelectric conversion elements of the line sensor 4 to the power supply side and a wiring pattern for electrically connecting the LED 7. The mounting board 8 has L
The electrodes 7a on the bottom of the ED 7 and the wires 7b bonded to the electrodes on the top are electrically connected to each other, and the sensor substrate 3
The wiring pattern connected to the wiring pattern is formed. Then, the respective wiring patterns of the sensor board 3 and the mounting board 8 are electrically connected by the conductive connector 9.

The conductive connector 9 is made of metal or other conductive material and is made of an elastic material. The forked portion 9a fitted to the edge of the sensor board 3 and one sheet seated on the surface of the mounting board 8 are provided. It has a cross-sectional shape composed of an object seating piece 9b. The forked portion 9a is fitted and fixed on both the front and back surfaces of the sensor substrate 3, and is brought into contact with and electrically connected to the wiring pattern formed on the sensor substrate 3. On the other hand, the seating piece 9b is
And is electrically connected to the wiring pattern, and is fixed to the mounting board 8 by the solder 9c.

In the above configuration, the wiring pattern of the mounting board 8 on which the LED 7 provided as the light source of the light guide 6 is mounted is connected to the wiring pattern of the sensor board 3 via the conductive connector 9. The conductive connector 9 is one in which the seating piece 9b is applied to the back surface of the mounting board 8 in advance and soldered 9c is integrated, and can be easily mounted by fitting the forked portion 9a to the sensor board 3. . The distance between the sensor substrate 3 and the light guide 6 is determined by the seating piece 9.
Since b is determined by the length covered by the surface of the mounting board 8, the longer the covered length, the narrower the interval. Therefore, the space occupied by the sensor substrate 3 and the light guide 6 can be reduced, and the size of the device can be reduced.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic longitudinal sectional views showing a main part of a conductive structure provided with another example of the conductive connector.

The conductive connector 10 shown in FIG.
And a fork 10b which is fixed to the wiring pattern while being fixed by the solder 10c, and a bifurcated part 10b which covers the upper end of the mounting board 8 and fits on both sides. Also in this configuration, the fork can be easily assembled by fitting the forked portion 10b to the mounting substrate 8 and attaching the base 10a to the sensor substrate 3.

The conductive connector 11 shown in FIG.
And first bifurcated portion 11 fitted to each of mounting substrate 8
a and the second forked portion 11b. In this configuration, if the second forked portion 11b is fitted to the edge of the mounting board 8 and is electrically connected to the wiring pattern, the first forked portion 11a is simply fitted to the sensor board 3. A conductive structure can be obtained. Therefore, fixation by soldering is not required, and assembling by an even simpler operation becomes possible.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a conduction structure between a mounting board 8 on which four LEDs are conductively mounted and the sensor board 3, and FIG. 5A is a rear view of the mounting board 8 viewed from the back.
(B) is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part.

Three LEDs (not shown) for reading a color image are conductively mounted on the front side (left side in FIG. 2) of the mounting board 8, and four LEDs are connected to these LEDs on the rear side. Of the electrodes 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e. These electrodes 8b to 8e are connected to the conductive connector 1
2 electrically connects to the wiring pattern of the sensor substrate 3. The conductive connector 12 includes a holding member 12a made of an insulating resin and four conductive members 12b partially sealed therein. The conductive member 12b uses a metal plate, and the cross-sectional shape shown in the example of FIG. 4 can be used as it is. That is, the conductive member 12b includes a first forked portion 12c fitted to the edge portion of the sensor substrate 3 to be electrically connected to the wiring pattern, and a second forked portion 12d fitted to the mounting substrate 8, as shown in FIG. ), The leg 12d-1 of the second forked portion 12d, which covers the back surface of the mounting board 8, is brought into contact with the electrode 8b (8c, 8d, 8e).

In such a conductive connector 12, by fitting the first and second forked portions 12c and 12d of the four conductive members 12b to the sensor board 3 and the mounting board 8, respectively, the four LEDs can be connected. Conduction paths can be formed simultaneously. Therefore, compared to the operation of connecting each LED with a lead wire, only one-fourth of the work is required, and the assembly is significantly simplified.

The conductive connector in which a plurality of conductive members are integrated by the holding member may have a structure as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the same components as those in the example of FIG. 5 are indicated by common reference numerals.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views showing an example in which the sensor board and the mounting board are directly connected to each other to make them conductive. FIG. 7A is a rear view of the mounting board viewed from the back side, FIG. c)
Is a side view of the main part.

The sensor board 21 and the mounting board 2 in the illustrated example are shown.
2 has the same wiring pattern and mounting structure as the previous example. That is, the sensor substrate 21 is provided with a wiring pattern for conductively mounting a line sensor (not shown) and forming a conductive path to the LED, and the mounting substrate 22 is provided with a light guide (not shown) via a cap. ), The front side (left side in FIG. 3 (c)).
And three LEDs are electrically mounted.

The upper end of the mounting board 22 is formed in a rectangular sawtooth shape, and has three concave portions 22a.
Wiring patterns 21d are formed at four positions sandwiching a. The sensor substrate 21 has these recesses 22a.
Are provided with three projections 21a to be fitted therein, and a wiring pattern 21e is formed at a position facing the wiring pattern 21d of the mounting board 22. Then, when the projection 21a is fitted into the recess 22a, the wiring pattern 21e formed on the sensor board 21 is electrically connected to the wiring pattern 21d connected to each of the three LEDs on the mounting board 22 by the solder 21c. To be configured.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 7, a conductive path to the LED can be formed only by fitting the projection 21a and the concave portion 22a, and assembling is easier than in the case of using the conductive connector as in the above example. In addition, miniaturization of the device is promoted.

[0037]

According to the present invention, conductive connection is made between the sensor substrate on which the line sensor is mounted and the mounting substrate having the illuminating means by a conductive connector which is fitted and fixed to at least one of the substrates and conducts with the wiring pattern. Therefore, assembling becomes simpler and the device can be downsized as compared with the conventional conducting structure using lead wires.

Further, if the sensor board and the mounting board are configured to be electrically connected to each other by the concave-convex engagement between them, members such as conductive connectors are not required, so that assembling is further simplified and the number of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part schematically showing a conduction structure between a sensor substrate and a mounting substrate in the image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a conductive structure having another example of a conductive connector.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a conductive structure having still another example of a conductive connector.

FIG. 5 is an example of a conduction structure to four LEDs,
(A) is a rear view of the main part as viewed from the back side of the mounting board. (B) is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of a conductive connector that can be used for a conductive structure to four LEDs.

7A and 7B are examples in which the respective wiring patterns of the sensor board and the mounting board are directly conducted, wherein FIG. 7A is a rear view of the mounting board viewed from the back side, FIG. 7B is a front view, and FIG. Side view of

FIG. 8 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Image reading part 3 Sensor board 4 Line sensor 5 Lens array 6 Light guide 6a Wavefront 6b Upper engaging part 6c Lower engaging part 7 LED 7a electrode 7b Wire 8 Mounting board 8a Cap 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e electrode Reference Signs List 9 conductive connector 9a bifurcated part 9b seating piece 9c solder 10 conductive connector 10a base 10b bifurcated part 10c solder 11 conductive connector 11a first bifurcated part 11b second bifurcated part 12 conductive connector 12a holding member 12b conductive member 12c first bifurcated part 12d first 2 bifurcated part 12d-1 leg piece 21 sensor board 21a projection 21c solder 21d, 21e wiring pattern 22 mounting board 22a recess 50 document

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Takesako 1-1, Komachi, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electronics Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C051 AA01 BA03 BA04 DA03 DB01 DB06 DB29 DC01 DC07

Claims (3)

[Claims] An illumination unit configured to irradiate light on the original on the image reading unit in a line direction, an imaging optical system receiving reflected light from the original, and an image formed by the imaging optical system. A line sensor that receives light and converts the light into an image signal, and further comprising a conduction path from a sensor board, on which the line sensor is conductively mounted, to a mounting board, on which the illuminating means is mounted. The conductive path between the sensor board and the mounting board is constituted by a conductive connector which is elastically fitted and fixed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the sensor board and the mounting board, and is in contact with and conductive to the wiring pattern of the sensor board and the mounting board. An image reading apparatus, comprising: 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting board includes a plurality of electrodes connected to the lighting units, and the conductive connector includes a plurality of conductive members connected to each of the plurality of electrodes. 2. A holding member for holding these together.
An image reading device according to claim 1. 3. An illuminating means for irradiating light on the original on the image reading section in a line direction, an imaging optical system for receiving reflected light from the original, and an image formed by the imaging optical system. A line sensor that receives light and converts the light into an image signal, and further comprising a conduction path from a sensor board, on which the line sensor is conductively mounted, to a mounting board, on which the illuminating means is mounted. The concave and convex engaging portions are provided at the butted portions of the board, and the wiring patterns of the sensor substrate and the mounting board are developed and provided to the concave and convex engaging portions, and the wiring patterns can be conducted by the engagement of the concave and convex engaging portions. An image reading device, comprising: