JP2001255713A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor by which the safety of a user is secured by a simple constitution and the number of components and assembly man-hour of which are reduced. SOLUTION: Since the connected part of a bolt 80 to connect a bottom frame member 70 and side frame members 71 and 72 is covered with a coating part 75 from outside, the top part of the bolt 80 is prevented from being projected to the outside of the image processor 100, so that the user is prevented from being injured at a carrying time or the like. Thus, a safety measure is taken by the simple constitution, and the safety of the user is easily secured. Also, the bag-like coating part 75 is integrally formed with the bottom frame member 70, so that it eliminates the need of sticking a sheet made of a resin or the like to the outside of the connection part of the bottom frame member 70 and the side frame members 71 and 72. Thus, the safety of the user is secured by the simple constitution, and the number of the components and the assembly man-hour are reduced, so that a manufacturing cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an image reading section for converting an image of a document into an electric signal and reading the image, and a paper sheet or the like based on the image data read by the image reading section. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus including an image printing unit that prints an image on a print medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image reading apparatus which moves a carriage equipped with a color image pickup means having a line sensor such as a CCD in parallel with a document surface and reads an image of the document.

[0003] For example, in the case of a flat bed type image reading apparatus, a platen made of a transparent plate such as glass for placing a document is provided on the upper surface of a box-shaped casing. A carriage that is moved by a driving device in parallel with the document table is provided. The carriage is provided with a light source and a color imaging unit. Irradiation light from the light source is reflected on the surface of the document on the document table, and is condensed on a color image pickup means by a condenser lens.

In the image reading apparatus as described above, when the read image data is finally printed out, the image is displayed on a monitor by using a processing device such as a personal computer, and a desired image is selected by a printer or the like. And prints it out on a print medium such as printing paper.

[0005]

When performing an image printing process using a personal computer, a user performs a command input operation specified by an operation system, and a print processing application program and a printer driver are stored therein. For example, it is necessary to take the data from a storage device such as a magnetic disk into the internal memory of the personal computer and make it executable.

However, there is a problem that it takes a long time to input a command or to take in a print processing application program and a printer driver, and it takes a long time to start up. In addition, there are many problems to be solved in order to make full use of a personal computer. For example, there are a large number of users who cannot use a computer even if they have a personal computer.These users print out an image read by an image reading device. Even if an attempt is made to install the software, there is a possibility that the installation itself is difficult or that a command input method cannot be understood.

Therefore, an image reading unit that converts an image of a document into an electric signal and reads the image, and an image printing unit that prints the image on a print medium such as paper based on the image data read by the image reading unit are provided. An image processing apparatus that prints an image based on image data read without connecting to a personal computer can be considered. In such an image processing apparatus, it is a general configuration that the image reading unit and the image printing unit have a two-story structure, the image reading unit is arranged in the upper stage, and the image printing unit is arranged in the lower stage. In addition, from the viewpoint of a mounting space, a power supply unit that supplies power to the image reading unit and the image printing unit is arranged at a lower stage together with the image printing unit.

In the above-mentioned power supply unit, it is required by safety standards to surround the power supply circuit with a shielding member. It is generally considered that the above-mentioned shielding member is fixed to a bottom member of the device by a screw or the like. Further, the side member of the apparatus may be fixed to the bottom member by a screw or the like. However, if the shielding member and the side members are simply fixed to the bottom member with screws, the tip of the screw protrudes outside the bottom member, and the user's finger hits the tip of the protruding screw during carrying, and the user is injured. There was a problem that could be.

Therefore, it is conceivable to cover the tip of the screw protruding outside the bottom member with a resin sheet or the like. However, when the tip of the screw protruding to the outside of the bottom member is covered with a resin sheet or the like, there is a problem that the number of parts and the number of assembling steps increase, and the manufacturing cost may increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus which can take safety measures with a simple configuration and easily secure the safety of a user. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that reduces the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, and reduces manufacturing costs.

[0011]

According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the frame member on which the image reading section and the image printing section are mounted forms a framework of a housing and is provided on the frame member. The covering portion covers the connecting portion of the connecting member connecting the frame members from the outside. For this reason, it can prevent that the front-end | tip part of a connection member protrudes outside of an apparatus by a covering part, and can prevent a user from being injured at the time of carrying around. Therefore, safety measures can be taken with a simple configuration, and the safety of the user can be easily ensured.

According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the frame member on which the image reading section, the image printing section and the power supply section are mounted forms a frame of the housing, and the covering section provided on the frame member. Is a frame member,
The connecting portion of the connecting member that connects the shielding member that shields the power supply unit is covered from the outside. For this reason, it can prevent that the front-end | tip part of a connection member protrudes outside of an apparatus by a covering part, and can prevent a user from being injured at the time of carrying around. Therefore, safety measures can be taken with a simple configuration, and the safety of the user can be easily ensured.

According to the image processing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, since the covering portion is formed in a bag shape integrally with the frame member, the distal end portion of the connecting member can be arranged outside the apparatus with a simple structure. Projection can be reliably prevented, and the user can be reliably prevented from being injured when carrying. Further, there is no need to attach a resin sheet or the like to the outside of the connection between the frame members or the connection between the frame member and the shielding member. Therefore, the safety of the user can be secured with a simple configuration, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost.

According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, the connecting member is a screw, the connecting portion has a male screw portion, and the covering portion has a female screw portion corresponding to the male screw portion inside. As a result, the safety of the user can be reliably ensured with a simple configuration, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced reliably.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image processing apparatus provided with a carriage moving type flat bed type image reading unit and an ink jet type dark and light color image printing unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 100
Is a housing 2, a scanner unit 20, a signal processing unit 10,
The printer unit 50, the operation unit 30, the power supply unit 40, the main frame member 60, the bottom frame member 70, and the side frame members 71 and 72 are configured. A carriage 3 of the scanner unit 20 and a signal processing unit 1
0, the printer unit 50, the power supply unit 40, the main frame member 60, and the side frame members 71 and 72 are housed in the housing 2 as a housing. Scanner unit 20, signal processing unit 10, printer unit 50, operation unit 3
0 and the power supply unit 40 are separated by a main frame member 60 made of sheet metal. The signal processing unit 10, the printer unit 50, and the power supply unit 40
, A sheet metal bottom frame member 70 and sheet metal side frame members 71 and 72 on four sides. The main frame member 60 is a side frame member 71
And 72. Side frame member 71
And 72 are connected to the bottom frame member 70 by screws 80 as connecting members, and a handle portion 90 is provided outside the side frame members 71 and 72. Here, the main frame member 60, the bottom frame member 70, and the side frame members 71 and 72 constitute a frame member that forms a framework of the housing 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom frame member 7
Reference numeral 0 designates a connecting portion between the side frame members 71 and 72 is formed in a concave shape in cross section, and has a bag-like covering portion 75 for covering the connecting portion of the screw 80 from outside. The bottomed cylindrical covering portion 75 is formed integrally with the bottom frame member 70, and surrounds the distal end portion 82 of the screw 80 inside.
The connecting part of the screw 80 has a male screw part 81, and the inner wall of the covering part 75 has a female screw part 76 corresponding to the male screw part 81.
Are formed.

The scanner section 20 is provided with a document table 1 made of a transparent plate such as glass on the upper surface of the housing 2. A carriage 3 is provided inside the housing 2 as an image reading unit that can reciprocate in parallel to the document table 1 by a driving unit (not shown), and a light source 4 and a color imaging unit 5 are mounted on the carriage 3. ing. The light emitted from the light source 4 is reflected on the surface of the document 8 on the document table 1, reflected by a plurality of mirrors 6, and then condensed on the color imaging means 5 by the condensing lens 7. The color imaging means 5 is provided with a red (R:
Red), green (G: Green) and blue (B: Blu)
e) convert each light into an electric signal and output. The reflection from the plurality of mirrors 6 increases the optical path length from the document 8 to the condenser lens 7. At the end of the document table 1 in the direction of movement of the carriage 3, a white reference 9 having a highly reflective uniform reflection surface is provided. When reading a transparent original such as a photographic film, a second light source is provided above the original table 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the white reference 9 of the scanner section 20 is provided at one end of the document table 1, and the white reference 9 is set before the image reading of the carriage 3, that is, when the power of the carriage 3 is turned off or when the white It is arranged to overlap the initial position at the time of reference reading. The carriage 3 is electrically connected to the signal processing unit 10 shown in FIG. 1 by a flexible flat cable 31 described later. On the upper surface of the housing 2, near the reading origin 1 a of the document table 1, an origin position display unit 2
1 is provided. That is, the origin position display unit 21
It is provided on one end side of the carriage 3 at the white reference 9 and the initial position.

On the upper side of the housing 2 and on the side opposite to the original platen with respect to the white reference 9 and the initial position of the carriage 3, the maintenance door 2 is provided.
The maintenance door 22 is an opening / closing door that connects or disconnects communication between the inside and the outside of the scanner unit 20. The maintenance door 22 has a projection (not shown), and this projection can be fitted into a hole (not shown) in the closed state of the maintenance door 22 shown in FIG. A light-shielding sensor (not shown) as a sensor is provided in the hole, and this light-shielding sensor is electrically connected to the control means 14 shown in FIG. Therefore, when the power is turned on, the control means 14 can detect whether or not the protrusion is fitted into the hole, that is, the open / closed state of the maintenance door 22 by the light-shielding sensor. Therefore, the control means 1
4 controls the carriage 3 in accordance with the open / close state of the maintenance door 22, and can move the carriage 3 to a retracted position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 4 or an initial position indicated by a solid line in FIG. In this embodiment, when the maintenance door 22 is in the open state, the user inserts his hand through the opening to clean the white reference 9 and the platen 1, or removes the detachable partition 32 described later to remove the printer unit 50. It is configured to be able to maintain paper jams and the like in the inside.

A frame member 33 is provided in an opening formed in the main frame member 60 and communicating with the scanner section 20 and the printer section 50. In this frame member 33,
A removable partition wall 32 made of a transparent member and detachable from the frame member 33 is provided. The removable partition wall 32 can move on a rail (not shown) of the frame member 33 in the same direction as the moving direction of the carriage 3. Removable partition 32
Is moved on the rail portion, thereby the detachable partition 32
Can be removed from the frame member 33, and the removable partition wall 32 can be attached to the frame member 33.

The flexible flat cable 31 has one end electrically connected to the carriage 3 and the other end electrically connected to the signal processing unit 10 shown in FIG. The flexible flat cable 31 has a plurality of conductive wires inside, and the conductive wires are covered with a coating for preventing a short circuit with another member. As the coating, a flexible film is used to secure the flexibility of the flexible flat cable 31. The flexible flat cable 31 has an intermediate portion between the connecting portion of the carriage 3 and the connecting portion of the signal processing unit 10 folded back, the folded portion 35 being sandwiched by the frame member 33, and being fixed to the main frame member 60. The flexible flat cable 31
A sufficient bending is provided between the connection portion of the carriage 3 and the folded portion 35. Further, the flexible flat cable 31 includes the folded portion 35 and the signal processing portion 1.
An L-shaped bent portion 36 is provided between the connection portion 0 and the connection portion 0.
The connection between the flexible flat cable 31 and the signal processing unit 10 is facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing unit 10 includes an amplifier 11, an A / D conversion unit 12, and a shading correction unit 1.
3, a gamma correction unit 16, other correction units 17, and a control unit 14. The control means 14 includes a CPU, R
It is composed of a microcomputer including an AM and a ROM.

The A / D conversion unit 12 converts the data input from the color imaging unit 5 via the amplifier 11 into a digital signal and passes the digital signal to the shading correction unit 13. This digital signal is a signal indicating a numerical value from 0 to 1023 when, for example, the read gradation is 10 bits.
The shading correction unit 13 sets the white reference 9 before starting reading.
Using the data obtained by reading the data, the variation in the sensitivity of each element of the photoelectric conversion element array and the variation in the light amount of the light source 4 are corrected.
Then, the pixel data subjected to the shading correction is sent to the gamma correction unit 16. The gamma correction unit 16 performs gamma correction using a predetermined gamma function, and the A / D conversion unit 1
2 is converted into an image signal. The other correction unit 17 performs various conversions such as color correction, edge enhancement, and area enlargement / reduction.

The operation unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 has an operation panel (not shown) exposed from the housing 2 to the outside, and this operation panel is provided with a print switch (not shown). When the print switch is turned on, the printer unit 5 connected to the scanner unit 20 via the signal processing unit 10 is turned on.
0 enables printing of an image. further,
When the image processing apparatus 100 is connected to a personal computer (not shown), the image data read by the scanner unit 20 is transferred to the personal computer by operating the operation unit 30 or the floppy (registered trademark) is used.
An image can be printed by the printer unit 50 based on image data stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a disk, a CD-ROM, and a magneto-optical disk (MO).

The power supply section 40 has an A / C of 200 V or A / C
And a power supply board (not shown) on which a power supply circuit is formed. The bottom surface member 70, the side frame member 72, and the power supply cover member 74 made of sheet metal have six surfaces. Is enclosed. The power supply cover member 74 as a shielding member includes
It is connected to the bottom frame member 70 by a screw (not shown) as a connecting member. The connection structure of the power supply cover member 74 is the same as the connection structure of the side frame members shown in FIG. The power supply unit 40
Power can be supplied to the scanner unit 20, the signal processing unit 10, the operation unit 30, and the printer unit 50.

The printer section 50 includes a paper feeding means (not shown) and a print head 51 as an image printing section. The print head 51 expands and contracts the volume of the ink chamber by applying a voltage to the pressure generating means in accordance with the drive signal from the control means 14 shown in FIG. It can be ejected on paper that does not. An ink tank (not shown) that stores six color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (c), light magenta (m), yellow (Y), and black (K). It includes six rows of nozzles (not shown) arranged perpendicularly to the direction in which the print head 51 moves. By using six color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (c), light magenta (m), yellow (Y) and black (K),
Extremely smooth gradation can be expressed, and the dots of the ink droplets can be made inconspicuous even in a portion having a high brightness, such as a skin color. A color image can also be printed by combining four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). When printing black by superimposing the C, M, and Y inks, the K ink can be omitted.

Next, the image processing apparatus 100 having the above configuration
FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure of the bottom frame member 70 of FIG.
A description will be given using (A), (B), (C) and (D). First, as shown in FIG.
70 is prepared and pressed into a desired shape.
As shown in (B), a cylindrical bag portion 172 is provided at a predetermined location.
Is formed by drawing, and as shown in FIG. 3 (C), the periphery of the bag portion 172 is also pressed to form a concave cross section. Then, as shown in FIG.
3D, a female thread is formed so as to correspond to the male thread 81 of the screw 80, and as shown in FIG. . Further, the female screw portion 76 shown in FIG.
Can be omitted. When the female screw portion is omitted, the screw 80 shown in FIG. 2 is changed to a self-tap type screw and connected.

Next, the power supply unit 40, the side frame members 71 and 72, and the power supply cover member 74 are attached to the bottom frame member 70 processed in the above procedure, and the printer unit 5 is mounted.
0, a signal processing unit 10 and an operation unit 30, and the signal processing unit 10, the operation unit 30, the power supply unit 40, and the printer unit 5
0 is electrically connected. And the side frame member 7
1 and 72 and the main frame member 60, the carriage 3 is mounted on the main frame member 60, and the carriage 3 and the signal processing unit 10 are electrically connected. The printer unit 50, the power supply unit 40, the partition member 60, and the side frame members 71 and 72 are covered with the housing 2.

Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus 100 assembled as described above will be described. (1) The user places the document 8 on the document table 1 of the scanner unit 20 and presses the print switch of the operation unit 30 to instruct the reading of the document 8. In step S1 shown in FIG. 6, when reading is commanded, the control unit 14 turns on the light source 4 or the second light source, and moves the carriage 3 at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction. One line of the image is read by each photoelectric conversion element array of the color image pickup means 5 by a drive signal generated every predetermined time, and pixel data is output to the signal processing section 10 in step S2 shown in FIG.

(2) In step S3 shown in FIG. 6, the analog pixel data output to the signal
It is converted into digital pixel data by the D conversion unit 12,
The shading is corrected by the shading correction unit 13 and sent to the gamma correction unit 16. Then, gamma correction is performed by a predetermined gamma function.

(3) In step S4 shown in FIG. 6, the other correction unit 17 performs a color correction process on the RGB data to convert it into CMYK gradation bit image data for printing. Then, the obtained CMYK gradation bit image data is distributed to each data of light and shade by a light and shade ink table, and further subjected to halftone processing such as dither method, error diffusion, etc., and distribution of dark and light colors on a bit map for each color or The arrangement is determined, and a binary bitmap is created for each. The bitmap data subjected to the halftone process is temporarily stored in a predetermined area of the RAM of the control unit 14.

(4) In step S5 shown in FIG. 6, the CPU of the control means 14 sends a print preparation end signal to the printer unit 50, and checks the printing operation state of the printer unit 50. The printer unit 50 sends a print data transfer request signal to the CPU of the control device 14 when the printing operation is possible.

(5) In step S6 shown in FIG. 6, the CPU of the control means 14 executes DMA (Direct Memory Access)
The print control data and the bitmap data for each color are sequentially transmitted to the printer unit 50 by the transfer. The printer unit 50 prints an image with the print head 51 based on the print data sequentially taken out of the RAM of the control unit 14.

Next, a comparative example in which the covering portion 75 is not provided on the bottom frame member 70 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the comparative example shown in FIG. 7, the same components as those of the embodiment shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the comparative example, the connecting portion between the bottom frame member 270 and the side frame members 71 and 72 is formed in a cylindrical shape.
Has a hole portion 275 into which the connecting portion is inserted. Hole 2
The inner threaded portion 75 corresponding to the male threaded portion 81
6 are formed. A resin sheet 110 is affixed to a portion of the lower side of the bottom frame member 270 facing the tip end portion 82 of the screw 80. For this reason, the resin sheet 110 covers the distal end portion 82 of the screw 80, thereby preventing the user's finger from hitting the distal end portion 82 of the screw 80 during carrying. However, in the comparative example, since it is necessary to attach the resin sheet 110, there is a problem that the number of parts and the number of assembling steps increase, and the manufacturing cost increases.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the bag-shaped covering portion 75 formed integrally with the bottom frame member 70 surrounds the distal end portion 82 of the screw 80 inside, the bottom frame member 70 and the side frame Frame member 71
It is not necessary to affix a resin sheet or the like to the outside of the connecting portion between the first and second members. Therefore, the safety of the user can be ensured with a simple configuration, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the bottom frame member 70 and the side frame members 71
And 72, and the connecting portion of the bolt 80 connecting the bottom frame member 70 and the power supply cover member 74 is covered from outside by the covering portion 75, so that the tip end portion 82 of the bolt 80 projects outside the image processing apparatus 100. Can be prevented, and the user can be prevented from being injured when carrying it. Therefore, safety measures can be taken with a simple configuration, and the safety of the user can be easily ensured.

Further, in this embodiment, since the bag-shaped covering portion 75 is formed integrally with the bottom frame member 70, the bottom frame member 70 and the side frame members 71 and 72, and the bottom frame member 70 and the power supply There is no need to attach a resin sheet or the like to the outside of the connection portion with the cover member 74. Therefore, the safety of the user can be secured with a simple configuration, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced to reduce the manufacturing cost.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the present invention is applied to the image processing apparatus 100 provided with the carriage moving type flat bed type scanner unit 20. It is possible to apply the present invention to an image processing apparatus having a mirror moving type flat bed type scanner unit for moving a reflection mirror group, and to have another scanner unit such as a sheet feed type for moving and reading an original. It is also possible to apply the present invention to an image processing apparatus that has been used.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is applied to the image processing apparatus 100 having the printer unit 50 using the print head 51 of the ink jet system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Also, the present invention can be applied to an image processing apparatus provided with a printer unit using various print heads such as a dot impact method.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part of the image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are enlarged cross-sectional views showing main parts for describing a processing procedure of a bottom frame member of the image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of an image processing apparatus according to a comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document stand 2 Housing (housing) 3 Carriage (image reading part) 4 Light source 5 Color imaging means 6 Mirror 7 Condensing lens 8 Document 10 Signal processing part 14 Control means 20 Scanner part 30 Operation part 40 Power supply part 50 Printer part 51 Print head (image printing unit) 60 Main frame member 70 Bottom frame member 71, 72 Side frame member 74 Power supply cover member (shielding member) 100 Image processing device

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 AQ01 AQ05 AR01 AS02 BB17 BB30 DD05 2H071 AA22 AA26 DA01 DA05 DA34 5C062 AA05 AB02 AB17 AB22 AC02 AC04 AD06 AE03 BA00

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image reading unit that irradiates a document with light, converts light reflected on the document surface or transmitted through the document surface into an electric signal and outputs the signal, and prints based on image data read by the image reading unit. An image printing unit that prints an image on a medium, a housing that houses the image reading unit and the image printing unit, a frame member that includes the image reading unit and the image printing unit, and that forms a framework of the housing, An image processing apparatus, comprising: a connection member that connects the frame members to each other; and a covering portion provided on the frame member and covering a connection portion of the connection member from outside. 2. An image reading unit for irradiating a document with light, converting light reflected on the document surface or transmitted through the document surface into an electric signal and outputting the signal, and printing based on image data read by the image reading unit An image printing unit that prints an image on a medium; a power supply unit that supplies power to the image reading unit and the image printing unit; a housing that houses the image reading unit, the image printing unit and the power supply unit; A frame member on which the reading unit, the image printing unit, and the power supply unit are mounted, forming a framework of the housing; a shielding member provided in the housing to shield the power supply unit; the frame member and the shielding member An image processing apparatus comprising: a connecting member that connects the connecting member; and a covering portion that is provided on the frame member and covers a connecting portion of the connecting member from outside. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the covering unit is formed in a bag shape integrally with the frame member. 4. The connection member according to claim 1, wherein the connection member is a screw, the connection portion has a male screw portion, and the covering portion has a female screw portion corresponding to the male screw portion inside. 4. The image processing device according to 2 or 3.