JP2002064687A - Image scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a proper scanning of an image possible at all times by preventing the attachment of foreign matters such as the dust on a contact glass and a white reference plane. SOLUTION: When a white roller 3 is turned anticlockwise, a cleaning section 12a of a first cleaning member 12 is brought into contact with the contact glass 7 by the opening part of a slender hole 8a due to the dead weight of the first cleaning member 12, at such a position that the cleaning section 12a is brought into contact with the surface of the contact glass 7, to clean the contact glass by removing the dust or the like, A fixed second cleaning member 13 cleans the white roller 8 by removing the dust or the like from the surface of the white roller 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contact glass provided at a document reading position and an image reading apparatus having a structure for cleaning a white reference surface for shading correction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image reading apparatus, a contact glass is provided at a reading position of a reading sensor for reading manuscript information, and the manuscript information is optically read by the reading sensor on the contact glass. There is a configuration in which a white reference member is provided at the reading position in order to perform reading correction of the reading sensor, and reads white reference information for shading correction.

[0003]

In the configuration of the conventional reading apparatus, a problem is that an abnormal image is generated due to the presence of dust at the reading position of the reading sensor. Particularly, in a configuration in which a document is conveyed on a contact glass, the frequency of occurrence of an abnormal image due to dust is high. That is,
In some cases, the original document itself transports dust, and the dust adheres to the contact glass or the white reference surface for shading correction due to static electricity or the like. In this case, the dust includes paper dust, dust on a document, and abrasion pieces of rubber constituting a document conveying member.

For example, an image reading section of a facsimile apparatus usually does not have a function of confirming a read image to be transmitted, and a user often does not notice dirt on the image. The abnormal image will continue to be sent to the transmission side.

[0005] Therefore, in order to read an appropriate and good image, it is desired that reading is always performed in a state where foreign matter such as dust does not adhere to the contact glass or the white reference surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to prevent a foreign substance such as dust from adhering to a contact glass and a white reference surface so that an image can be always read normally. Is to provide.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact glass provided at a reading position where original information is read, and a shading correction provided above the contact glass. An image reading apparatus comprising a white reference member for reading white reference information for using a white roller as the white reference member, rotatably supporting this white roller, and white A contact glass cleaning member for cleaning the contact glass by moving with the rotation of the roller is provided, and a roller cleaning member for cleaning a white reference surface of the white roller is fixed near the white roller. Depending on the configuration, by rotating the white roller as a white reference member, the contact glass and the surface of the white roller itself can be removed. Sweep is performed, and it is possible to prevent adhesion of foreign matter such as dust.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus of the first aspect, a contact glass cleaning member is provided in the white roller so that the cleaning portion can enter and exit. , Except when cleaning, house the contact glass cleaning member in the white roller,
The cleaning portion of the contact glass cleaning member can be taken out of the white roller only during cleaning.

The invention described in claim 3 is the first or second invention.
In the image reading device described in the above, the cleaning portion of the contact glass cleaning member is configured to protrude out of the white roller by its own weight at a position where the contact glass cleaning member is in contact with the contact glass. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus of the first, second or third aspect, the roller cleaning member is disposed on a side opposite to a contact glass installation position of the white roller. The contact glass cleaning member is disposed so as to enter the white roller by its own weight at the roller cleaning member installation position, and the contact glass cleaning member is rotated by the rotation of the white roller during cleaning, whereby the roller cleaning member is disposed. Contact even if you move to the installation position of This makes it possible to smoothly rotate the white roller and prevent the cleaning members from contacting each other and scattering collected dust and the like.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, 3
Or the image reading device according to 4, wherein the white roller is rotated only in the document conveying direction during cleaning,
With this configuration, the dust and the like removed by the cleaning can be moved from the reading position to the downstream side in the document conveying direction, and the influence on the reading of the removed dust and the like can be prevented.

[0011] The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, 3
Or the image reading device according to 4, wherein the contact glass cleaning member and the roller cleaning member are flexible members such as a sponge or a brush, and with this configuration, a flexible cleaning member is used. At the time of cleaning, it is possible to prevent the contact glass and the surface of the white roller from being damaged.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a document reading apparatus for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a document setting table, and 2 denotes a document set on a document setting table 1 in a document conveying direction. Roller to send to the downstream side of, 3 and 4
Is a feed roller and a separation roller that constitute a document separation and conveyance unit that separates and conveys the documents one by one, 5 is an intermediate conveyance roller,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a charge-coupled device (CCD) that optically reads document information at a reading position A, a contact image sensor (CIS).
A reading glass 7 provided at a reading position A where a document passes on the reading sensor 6; and a white glass 8 provided above the contact glass 7 for reading white reference information for shading correction. White roller (white roller) as reference member, 9, 10
Reference numeral 11 denotes a document transport roller installed on the upstream and downstream sides of the reading sensor 6 in the document transport direction for transporting the document. Reference numeral 11 denotes a paper discharge roller for discharging the document after the reading is completed to the outside.

An outline of the document reading operation in the present embodiment will be described.

That is, the originals stacked on the original set table 1 are sent to the original separating / conveying section downstream in the original conveying direction (the direction of arrow D) as the pickup roller 2 is lowered and rotated. In the document separation and conveyance section, the feed roller 3
The originals are conveyed one by one by a separating action caused by a difference in friction coefficient between the original and the separation roller 4 and the originals. Further, the original is conveyed on the contact glass 7 by the original conveying rollers 9 and 10 at a predetermined speed, and the original information is optically read by the reading sensor 6 at the reading position A. Before the original reading operation by the reading sensor 6, white reference information for shading correction using the white roller 8 is read. Then, the document whose document information has been read is discharged to the outside by the document conveying roller 10 and the discharge roller 11.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the white roller and the reading sensor portion. The outer surface of the white roller 8 has a prescribed white color, and a long hole 8a reaching the center of the roller is formed in the white roller 8. A first cleaning member 12, which is a contact glass cleaning member having a cleaning portion 12a made of sponge at its tip, is slidably provided in the elongated hole 8a. Further, a second cleaning member 13 made of a sponge, which is a roller cleaning member, is fixed to the apparatus main body of the white roller 8 on the side opposite to the installation position of the contact glass 7 so as to be in contact with the surface of the white roller 8.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the configuration of a rotation driving mechanism for the white roller. Reference numeral 15 denotes a driven gear provided on the white roller 8, reference numeral 16 denotes a driving gear that meshes with the driven gear 15, and reference numeral 17 denotes a driving gear. Motor. Normally, the rotation of the white roller 8 is regulated, and the white roller 8 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, that is, in the same direction as the document conveying direction D only during cleaning.

The cleaning operation according to this embodiment will be described.

The white roller 8 is stopped at the position shown in FIG. 2 because the motor 17 does not rotate when reading the original and when reading the white reference information. However, at the time of cleaning, the motor 17 is energized and rotates, the rotational driving force is transmitted via the driving gear 16 and the driven gear 15, and the white roller 8 rotates counterclockwise. Due to this rotation, as shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning portion 12 a of the first cleaning member 12 is brought into contact with the surface of the contact glass 7 at the position where the cleaning portion 12 a comes into contact with the surface of the contact glass 7 by the weight of the first cleaning member 12. The cleaning is performed by slightly projecting or moving to the same position as the opening position and removing dust and the like by contacting the contact glass 7.

On the other hand, the fixed second cleaning member 13
Accordingly, cleaning for removing dust and the like from the surface of the rotating white roller 8 is performed.

At the time of cleaning, the rotation of the white roller 8
The long hole 8a reaches the side opposite to the installation position of the contact glass 7. At that position, the second cleaning member 13 is installed. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the first cleaning member 12 enters the elongated hole 8a by its own weight, and the cleaning portion 12a contacts the second cleaning member. I will not touch you. For this reason, the rotation of the white roller 8 is performed smoothly, and the first cleaning member 12 is further rotated.
And the second cleaning member 13 are in contact with each other, and the collected dust and the like can be prevented from scattering.

When the white roller 8 further rotates and returns to the position shown in FIG. 2, one cycle of cleaning is completed, and the cleaned surface of the white roller 8 is located at the reading position A as a white reference surface. Will be.

As described above, the cleaning of the reading position A of the contact glass 7 and the cleaning of the white reference surface of the white roller 8 located at the reading position A are simultaneously performed by one rotation of the white roller 8.

The cleaning can be performed at any time other than when the original is read. For example, after completing one original reading, a cleaning operation is performed several times, and a sensor for monitoring the contact glass 7 or the white roller 8 for contamination is installed. Thus, it is conceivable to perform a cleaning operation based on the detection signal of this sensor.

In the present embodiment, the first cleaning member 12 moves in the elongated hole 8a by its own weight, so that the cleaning portion 12a can move in and out of the white roller 8.
Therefore, even if the cleaning portion 12a is worn, the cleaning portion 12a
Comes into contact with the contact glass 7 with a substantially constant pressing force. If necessary, a biasing means such as a spring may be provided for the first cleaning member 12.

In this embodiment, the first cleaning member 12
The cleaning portion 12a and the second cleaning member 13 are formed of a sponge, and have soft and flexible contact with the contact glass 7 or the white roller 8 so that the contact glass 7 can be cleaned.
Alternatively, the surface of the white roller 8 can be prevented from being damaged, and the durability of the cleaning member itself can be increased. Further, a large load is applied to the rotation of the white roller 8 from the contact portion by appropriately bending. Without this, the cleaning effect is enhanced by the increased contact area.

However, the material of the cleaning member is not limited to the sponge used in this embodiment, but may be a flexible material such as a soft brush material.
Alternatively, any material that does not damage the surface of the white roller 8 can be used.

Also, by rotating the white roller 8 only in the same direction as the document conveying direction D (counterclockwise direction in this example), foreign matter such as dust removed by cleaning is transported from the reading position A to the original. It can be moved to the downstream side in the direction D, and when the original moves, the dust and the like can be moved to the downstream side in the original conveying direction D together with the movement of the original. It is possible to prevent the data from being present at the reading position A and adversely affecting the reading.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A white roller as a white reference member is rotated, and the white roller is provided with a contact glass cleaning member that moves with the rotation of the white roller to clean the contact glass, and a white reference surface of the white roller is provided near the white roller. By fixing the roller cleaning member to be cleaned, it is possible to simultaneously clean the contact glass and the white roller, and it is possible to prevent foreign substances such as dust from adhering to the contact glass and the white reference surface. An image reading apparatus capable of normal image reading can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a document reading apparatus for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a white roller and a reading sensor portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation during cleaning according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating a rotation driving mechanism of a white roller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 6 reading sensor 7 contact glass 8 white roller (white roller: white reference member) 12 first cleaning member (contact glass cleaning member) 12a cleaning portion of first cleaning member 13 second cleaning member (roller cleaning member) 17 motor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/04 H04N 1/12 Z

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: a contact glass provided at a reading position where document information is read; and a white reference member provided above the contact glass for reading white reference information for shading correction. In the apparatus, using a white roller as the white reference member,
The white roller is rotatably supported, and the white roller is provided with a contact glass cleaning member for moving with the rotation of the white roller to clean the contact glass. Further, a white reference of the white roller is provided near the white roller. An image reading apparatus wherein a roller cleaning member for cleaning a surface is fixed. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact glass cleaning member is provided in the white roller so that a cleaning portion can enter and exit. 3. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning portion of the contact glass cleaning member is configured to protrude outside the white roller by its own weight at a position where the cleaning member contacts the contact glass. apparatus. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller cleaning member is installed on the side of the white roller opposite to the contact glass installation position, and the contact glass cleaning member enters the white roller by its own weight at the roller cleaning member installation position. The image reading device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein: 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the white roller is rotated only in a document conveying direction during cleaning. 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said contact glass cleaning member and said roller cleaning member are flexible members such as sponges and brushes.