JP2003319136A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader having a cleaning means with a simple configuration and inexpensively mounted capable of cleaning a mirror getting dirt in the reader. <P>SOLUTION: A mirror cleaning apparatus mainly comprises: a mirror cleaning section 19, a cleaning pad 20, and a wire 21. The mirror cleaning section 19 is fitted to a wire 21 stretched between a couple of wire fitting components 23, 23, mounted on a first mirror 3 fitted to a first carriage 6, a user has a wire engagement section 22 in hand to reciprocatingly drive the mirror cleaning section 19 for the purpose of cleaning the mirror 3. One side of the wire fitting component 23 with which the wire 21 contacts is curved semicircularly or over. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading device such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a scanner, and more particularly to a device for cleaning a mirror arranged on an optical path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image reading apparatus that irradiates a document placed on a contact glass with light, receives the reflected light, and converts the information into an electric signal, an image is formed. In order to make the device compact,
The lens, photoelectric conversion element, and arrangement of multiple mirrors are devised. In such an image forming apparatus, since the mirror is fogged or soiled when used for a long period of time, the amount of light sent to the lens or the photoelectric conversion element is reduced, which may hinder image reading.

In particular, in an image forming apparatus equipped with an automatic document feeder (ADF), the processing speed is fast and the paper is rubbed relatively strongly when separating the stacked documents, so that a large amount of paper dust is generated. Since the dust is easily generated due to the scraping of the rubber roller, they are likely to adhere to the mirror and hinder image reading.

However, in this type of image forming apparatus, since the mirror is incorporated in the apparatus main body, it is not easy to clean it. Therefore, some techniques have been proposed to prevent dust and the like from adhering to the mirror, but all of them are designed to reduce the gap to prevent the paper dust or the like from adhering to the mirror. Forcibly collecting mirrors and the like prevents the mirror from becoming dirty, and does not clean the mirror once it has become dirty.

Therefore, for example, in the image reading apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-281625, a cleaning means for cleaning the reflecting surface of the mirror is provided, and a moving means for moving the cleaning means along the mirror reflecting surface. By extending one end out of the main body of the apparatus, a means for cleaning a dirty mirror is provided to solve the above problem. Further, in the image reading apparatus and the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-164289, the cleaning means contacts the surface of the optical member with the cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the optical member and the posture position of the cleaning means. A switching means for switching between the first position where the optical member can be cleaned and the second position where the optical member is retracted from the surface of the optical member, and a moving means for moving the cleaning means back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the optical member. The above-mentioned problem is solved by adopting the configuration having the above.

The present invention has a simpler construction than the above-mentioned conventional technique for cleaning a dirty mirror.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus having a new cleaning means that can be mounted at low cost.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an image reading device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image reading device including an optical system using a mirror,
A cleaning member for cleaning the reflecting surface of the mirror, the cleaning means comprising: a cleaning member for cleaning the reflecting surface of the mirror; and a moving means for moving the cleaning member along the reflecting surface of the mirror. The moving means is a wire, the cleaning member is locked to the wire, and the wire is formed in a loop shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus according to the first aspect, the loop-shaped wire is wound around a pair of cylindrical parts.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus according to the second aspect, the pair of cylindrical parts has a semicircular shape at least on one side in contact with the wire. To do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus of the second aspect, the pair of cylindrical parts are pulleys.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image reading apparatus which is an object of the present invention. This image reading apparatus irradiates a document 10 placed on a contact glass 1 forming a document surface with light from a lamp 2 and reflects light reflected by a first mirror 3, a second mirror 4 and a third mirror 5. It is condensed by the lens 8 and forms an image on the CCD 9. The second mirror 4 and the third mirror 5 travel a distance L / 2 while the lamp 2 and the first mirror 3 travel a distance L. This keeps the optical path length of the optical system constant and scans the entire original.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a device configuration of the image reading apparatus of FIG. The first carriage 6 with the lamp 2 and the first mirror 3 is attached to the drive wire 11,
In the second carriage 7 including the second mirror 4 and the third mirror 5, the drive wire 11 is wound around the pulley 12. The drive wire 11 is connected to the wire pulley 15 connected to the drive shaft 14.
And the drive of the motor 18 is transmitted by the timing pulley 16 and the timing belt 17. The home position is defined as a position where one end of the first carriage 6 has crossed the home position sensor 13 and then returned by a certain distance.

FIG. 3 is a front view (A) and a side sectional view (B) showing the configuration of an embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention. The mirror cleaning device of the present embodiment mainly includes a mirror cleaning unit 19, a cleaning pad 20, and a wire 21. The mirror cleaning unit 19 includes the first carriage 6
It is attached to the first mirror 3 attached to. Mirror 3
A felt material, polyurethane, or the like may be used for the cleaning pad 20 for cleaning the reflection surface of the.

The mirror cleaning section 19 is attached to a wire 21, and the wire 21 is looped and connected by a connecting section 22. The wire 21 is wound around a pair of wire attachment parts 23, 23 in a tensioned state as shown in the drawing, and the wire cleaning part 19 is reciprocally driven by holding the wire engaging part 22 to clean the mirror 3. You can do it.

The wire attachment part 23 is the wire 21.
In order to perform the operation of the
It is desirable that one side portion in contact with 1 be curved over a semicircle or over a semicircle. Further, as the material thereof, a metal, a resin molded product or the like can be adopted, but in order to make the operation of the wire 21 smoother, a slidable molded product (for example, POM, PBT) is desirable.

That is, in the structure of the present embodiment, by arranging the wire 21 in a place where it is easy to operate (a place where the hand can be easily used), it is possible to put the hand in a place that is difficult to clean, for example, in the back side of the component. It is possible to easily clean the mirror in a place that is not there. Further, by using the wire 21, the optical path of the optical system can be easily avoided and the degree of freedom of layout is large.

FIG. 3 is a front view (A) and a side sectional view (B) showing the configuration of another embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention. The mirror cleaning device of the present embodiment uses a pulley 24 instead of the wire attachment part 23 of the previous embodiment,
Further, the mirror cleaning device 19 can be driven smoothly. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

[0018]

As described above, the image reading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes the cleaning means for cleaning the reflecting surface of the mirror, and the cleaning member for cleaning the reflecting surface of the mirror.
Since the cleaning member is composed of moving means for moving along the reflecting surface of the mirror, and this moving means is a wire, the cleaning member is locked to the wire, and the wire is formed in a loop shape. It is possible to easily clean the mirror attached to the device body without damaging it or taking it out to the outside, and operate it with the mirror in a place that is difficult to clean, such as the back side of the running body. Even if it is difficult to clean, there is an effect that it can be easily cleaned.

In the image reading apparatus according to the second aspect, as described above, the loop-shaped wire is wound around the pair of cylindrical parts. Therefore, in addition to the common effect, the wire can be smoothly moved. There is an effect that it can be moved and cleaned.

As described above, in the image reading apparatus according to the third aspect, at least one side of the pair of cylindrical parts that comes into contact with the wire has a semicircular shape.
In addition to the common effects described above, there is an effect that the wire can be moved more smoothly for cleaning.

As described above, in the image reading apparatus according to the fourth aspect, since the pair of cylindrical parts are pulleys, in addition to the common effects described above, the wire can be moved more smoothly for cleaning. There is an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image reading apparatus which is an implementation target of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a device configuration of the image reading apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view (A) and a side sectional view (B) showing a configuration of an embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view (A) and a side sectional view (B) showing a configuration of another embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 contact is lath 2 lamps (light source) 3 first mirror 4 second mirror 5 Third mirror 6 First carriage 7 Second carriage 8 lenses 9 CCD 10 manuscripts 11 drive wire 12 pulley 13 Home position sensor 14 Drive shaft 15 wire pulley 16 Timing pulley 17 Timing belt 18 motor 19 Mirror cleaning section 20 cleaning pad 21 wires 22 Connection 23 Wire mounting parts 24 pulley

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Sachiko Nishino             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Company Ricoh F-term (reference) 2H108 AA01 CA01 CB01                 2H109 CA21                 5C072 AA01 DA02 DA04 XA01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus having an optical system using a mirror, comprising: a cleaning means for cleaning the reflection surface of the mirror, the cleaning means comprising a cleaning member for cleaning the reflection surface of the mirror. Moving means for moving the cleaning member along the reflection surface of the mirror, wherein the moving means is a wire, the cleaning member is locked to the wire, and the wire is formed in a loop shape. An image reading device characterized by the above. 2. The image reading device according to claim 1,
An image reading device comprising the loop-shaped wire wound around a pair of cylindrical parts. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2,
An image reading apparatus, wherein the pair of cylindrical parts has a semi-circular shape at least on one side in contact with the wire. 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2,
An image reading apparatus, wherein the pair of cylindrical parts are pulleys.