JP2005049612A - Document reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document reader capable of effectively preventing an FFC from being wound round a reading means with extremely simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A cable guiding means 6 having a slide part 62 energized to the base 11 side of a housing 1 by the force of a compression spring 61 is provided on the lower surface of the reading means 3, and constituted to slide while it presses the FFC 4 to the base 11 side of the housing 1 when the reading means 3 is moved by the slide part 62 of the guiding means 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an original reading apparatus such as a scanner that reads an original placed on a contact glass, converts it into digital data, and outputs the digital data to a computer. In particular, a flexible flat cable (hereinafter simply referred to as FFC) reads the original during scanning. It is intended to effectively prevent winding around the means.

  As is well known, in a document reading apparatus such as a scanner, when reading a document placed on a contact glass of a document placement table, a reading means provided under the contact glass is moved from a home position to a reading final position, that is, The document is scanned in parallel from the start point to the end point of the document. At this time, FFC is used for power supply during scanning and transmission and control of the read signal to the reading means.

  However, particularly when this type of device is thin, the FFC is disposed horizontally on the contact glass surface, so that the contact glass surface and the FFC slide as the reading means moves, and the FFC buckles, or Wrapping around the reading means hinders the movement of the reading means, which causes the FFC to break or stop moving, causing a failure of this type of apparatus.

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By the way, in consideration of the above-mentioned points, conventionally, for example, an FFC is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the contact glass surface, and the FFC is biased to the side surface of the frame body by a torsion coil spring (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
JP 2002-247291 A

  However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the FFC is horizontally arranged on the contact glass surface, and the FFC is moved in the lateral direction in the frame body. It is impossible to arrange a driving source such as a motor, a driving means including a transport mechanism, and other related parts. For this reason, there exists a subject that this kind of apparatus tends to be large-sized, and becomes a momentary and expensive thing.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an original reading apparatus capable of effectively preventing the FFC from being wrapped around the reading unit with a very simple configuration. With the goal.

  In order to achieve this object, in the invention according to claim 1, a document placing table having a contact glass for placing a document, reading means for reading the document stored in a housing and positioned on the contact glass, In a document reading apparatus comprising the reading unit and an FFC for connecting a connector disposed in the housing, the FFC being arranged in a horizontal direction on the contact glass surface, a compression is applied to the lower surface of the reading unit. Cable guide means having a slide portion biased toward the bottom surface side of the housing by a spring force is provided, and when the reading means moves by the slide portion of the cable guide means, the FFC is pressed against the bottom surface side of the housing. Configure to slide.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a document placing table having a contact glass for placing a document, reading means for reading the document stored in the housing and positioned on the contact glass, and the reading means and the housing In the document reading apparatus, the FFC is disposed on the contact glass surface in the horizontal direction, and the FFC is disposed on the bottom surface of the housing. Cable guide means having a slide portion that slides while being held down is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the slide surface in contact with the FFC of the slide portion of the cable guide means is formed in a hemispherical shape.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the slide surface of the slide portion is formed by a part of a sphere.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the slide surface in contact with the FFC of the slide portion of the cable guide means is formed in a semicircular shape.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the slide surface of the slide portion is formed by a part of a roller.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, both end portions of the sliding surface in contact with the FFC of the sliding portion of the cable guiding means are formed in curved surfaces.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the width of the slide surface in contact with the FFC of the slide portion of the cable guiding means is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the FFC.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, when the reading means moves, the FFC that moves following the reading means is moved by the spring force through the slide portion of the cable guiding means with an appropriate pressing force. Since it moves while being pressed to the bottom surface side, the FFC does not buckle or wrap around the reading means. Therefore, the reading means moves smoothly, and there is no disconnection of the FFC and the reading means do not move as in the prior art, and this type of apparatus can be used stably over a long period of time. In addition, since the FFC is arranged in the horizontal direction on the contact glass surface, the area in which the FFC moves is a part of the lower side of the area in the housing where the reading means moves, that is, the width of the FFC. Only minutes. Therefore, the other part below the area where the reading means moves is not limited at all. For example, a driving source such as a motor for driving the reading means, a driving means including a transport mechanism, and other related matters. It is also possible to arrange parts and the like, which is convenient because the design restriction area is reduced and there is no flexibility.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect of the invention, when the reading means moves, the FFC that moves following the reading means moves while being pressed to the bottom surface side of the housing by the slide portion of the cable guiding means. It does not buckle or wrap around the reading means. Therefore, the reading means moves smoothly, and there is no disconnection of the FFC and the reading means do not move as in the prior art, and this type of apparatus can be used stably over a long period of time. In addition, since the FFC is arranged in the horizontal direction on the contact glass surface, the area in which the FFC moves is a part of the lower side of the area in the housing where the reading means moves, that is, the width of the FFC. Only minutes. Therefore, the other part below the area where the reading means moves is not limited at all. For example, a driving source such as a motor for driving the reading means, a driving means including a transport mechanism, and other related matters. It is also possible to arrange parts and the like, which is convenient because the design restriction area is reduced and there is no flexibility.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect of the invention, since the slide surface in contact with the FFC is formed in a hemispherical shape, the contact movement with the FFC is smooth, and the FFC is not damaged, which is convenient.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the invention, since the slide surface that contacts the FFC is formed by a part of the sphere, the contact movement with the FFC is smooth, and the FFC is not damaged, which is convenient.

  According to the configuration of the fifth aspect of the invention, since the slide surface in contact with the FFC is formed in a semicircular shape, the contact movement with the FFC is smooth, and the FFC is not damaged, which is convenient.

  According to the configuration of the sixth aspect of the invention, since the slide surface in contact with the FFC is formed by a part of the roll, the contact movement with the FFC is smooth, and the FFC is not damaged, which is convenient.

  According to the configuration of the invention described in claim 7, since both end portions of the sliding direction in contact with the FFC are formed in curved surfaces, the contact movement with the FFC is smooth, and the FFC is not damaged. convenient.

  According to the configuration of the eighth aspect of the invention, the width of the slide surface in contact with the FFC is substantially the same as the width of the FFC, and the entire width direction of the FFC is pressed by the slide surface. , FFC does not shift to the side and can be moved with a uniform pressing force, which is very convenient.

  A document placing table having a contact glass for placing a document, a reading means for reading the document stored in the housing and positioned on the contact glass, and a connector disposed in the housing are connected to the reading means. In the document reading apparatus, the FFC is arranged in a horizontal direction on the contact glass surface, and a semicircle that is biased toward the bottom surface of the housing by a compression spring force on the lower surface of the reading means. And a cable guide means having a slide portion formed in the shape of a sliding surface. When the reading means is moved by the slide surface of the cable guide means, the FFC is slid while being pressed to the bottom surface side of the housing. To do.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an original reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the reading means is located at a home position. FIG. 2 shows the original reading apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an example of the cable guide means of the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. It is an expanded partial sectional view shown.

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a housing, on which an original placement table 2 having a contact glass 21 for placing an original (not shown) is formed. Reference numeral 3 denotes a reading unit, which is disposed in the housing 1 and reciprocates under the contact glass 21 as indicated by an arrow X by a driving unit including a driving source (not shown) or a transport mechanism. When moving to the final reading position B, the original is scanned.

  Although not shown, the reading unit 3 includes, for example, LEDs of three colors (R, G, B) that are light sources for irradiating a document, a lot lens array that forms an image of reflected light from the document on a light receiving element of the image sensor, and an image sensor. And is arranged on a frame (not shown).

  An FFC 4 is used for supplying power to the LED of the reading unit 3 and transmitting and controlling a reading signal such as an image sensor, and connects the reading unit 3 and the connector 5 provided in the housing 1.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a cable guide means attached to the lower surface of the reading means 3 according to the present invention, more specifically to a frame for supporting the reading means 3 (not shown). In this example, as shown in FIG. 61, a slide part 62 provided at the tip thereof, and a body part 63, and a slide surface S in contact with the FFC of the slide part 62 is formed in a hemispherical shape. The spring force of the compression spring 61 is only required to lightly press the FFC 4 toward the bottom surface 11 of the housing 1, and it is needless to say that the spring force need not be particularly large. The slide portion 62 may be formed of a material with low wear and a small friction coefficient, for example, a synthetic resin such as polypropylene resin or polyester resin, or a synthetic resin or other material, or the slide surface S may be wear resistant. Of course, a thin film having an excellent friction coefficient and a small friction coefficient may be coated.

  Further, the portion of the FFC 4 that does not expand, contract, move, or deform, that is, the home from the point C where the reading means 3 starts to deform into the U-shape of the FFC 4 in the state where the reading means 3 is at the home position A as shown in FIG. Until the position A, it may be fixed to the bottom surface 11 of the housing 1 by using, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape, or by other means. In this way, the bonded or fixed portion is not affected at all even if the reading means 3 moves, and there is no possibility of buckling or the like in the portion, which is convenient.

  Next, the operation of the document reading apparatus provided with the cable guide means 6 configured as described above will be described. First, when a scanning command is issued from a control unit (not shown) with the reading unit 3 as shown in FIG. 1 positioned at the home position A, a driving unit (not shown) operates and the reading unit 3 reads from the home position A. The document moved on the contact glass 21 is scanned while moving to the final position B side (left direction in the drawing), the document is read, and the information is transmitted to the CPU (not shown) via the FFC 4. Along with this movement, the cable guiding means 6 moves to the reading final position B side while pressing the FFC 4 on the bottom surface 11 side of the housing 1 with the spring force of the compression spring 61 by the slide surface S formed in a hemispherical shape. . Thereafter, the driving means is driven in the reverse direction, and the reading means 3 moves to the home position A. Accordingly, the cable guiding means 6 uses the slide surface S formed in a hemispherical shape to place the FFC 4 in the housing as in the forward path. 1 is moved to the home position A while being pressed by the spring force of the compression spring 61 on the bottom surface 11 side, and waits for the next command.

  In the embodiment having the above-described configuration, when the reading unit 3 reciprocates, the FFC 4 that moves along with the reading unit 3 is connected to the compression spring 61 via the slide surface S formed in the hemispherical shape of the cable guide unit 6 slide part 62. With this spring force, the cable guide means 6 smoothly contacts and moves while being pressed against the bottom surface 11 side of the casing 1 with an appropriate pressing force, so that the FFC 4 is not buckled or wound around the reading means 3. . Therefore, the reading means 3 can be used stably for a long period of time without the disconnection of the FFC 4 as in the prior art or the reading means 3 not moving. In addition, since the FFC 4 is arranged in the horizontal direction on the surface of the contact glass 21, the area in which the FFC 4 moves is a part of the lower side of the area in the housing 1 where the reading means 3 moves, that is, , Only the width of FFC4. Therefore, the other part below the area where the reading unit 3 moves is not limited at all. For example, a driving source such as a motor for driving the reading unit 3, a driving unit including a transport mechanism, and the like. It is also possible to arrange the related parts, etc., and the design restriction area is reduced.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 will be described. In this embodiment, the slide portion of the cable guiding means is a sphere, and a slide surface in contact with the FFC is formed by a part of the sphere. FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing another example of the cable guiding means in an enlarged manner. In FIG. 5, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 4 are substantially the same. Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

  In this embodiment, as the cable guiding means 6, a compression spring 61 and a sphere 64 are accommodated in a cylindrical body 63, and a part of the sphere 64 is formed through a through hole 65 provided in the bottom surface of the body 63. The slide part 62 is formed so as to come out, and the slide surface S in contact with the FFC 4 of the slide part 62 is at least hemispherical.

  Also with this configuration, as in the previous embodiment, when the reading means 3 moves, the FFC 4 that moves along with this moves the compression spring by the hemispherical slide surface S of the slide portion 62 of the cable guide means 6. With the spring force of 61, it is pressed to the bottom surface 11 side of the housing 1 with an appropriate pressing force, and the cable guide means 6 also smoothly contacts and moves, so that the FFC 4 buckles or winds around the reading means 3. There is no.

  Next, still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described. In this embodiment, the slide surface of the cable guiding means is semicircular. FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means, and FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 denote substantially the same parts. Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

    In this embodiment, the slide surface S of the slide portion 62 in contact with the FFC 4 of the cable guiding means 6 has a semicircular shape, and the width L of the slide surface S of the slide portion 62 is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the FFC 4. Is.

  According to this configuration, in addition to the same effects as the above-described embodiments, the width L of the slide surface S of the slide portion 62 is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the FFC 4, and the entire width direction of the FFC is extended. Since it is formed so as to be pressed, the FFC does not shift sideways and can be moved with a uniform pressing pressure, which is very convenient.

  Next, still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 8 will be described. In this embodiment, the slide portion of the cable guide means is a roller, and a slide surface in contact with the FFC is formed by a part of this roller. FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means. In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 7 denote substantially the same parts. Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

  In this embodiment, as the cable guiding means 6, a compression spring 61 and a support shaft 66 are provided in a cylindrical body 63, a support frame 67 is provided at the tip of the support shaft 66, and a roller 68 is supported. The slide portion 62 is configured by the above, the slide surface S in contact with the FFC 4 of the slide portion 62 is at least semicircular, and the width L of the roller 68 forming the slide surface S is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the FFC 4. Is.

  According to this configuration, in addition to the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments, the slide unit 62 roller 68 rotates when the reading unit 3 moves, so there is almost no friction with the FFC 4. It is extremely convenient that no dust is generated due to wear.

  Next, still another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 9 will be described. In this embodiment, both end portions in the traveling direction of the slide surface of the slide portion of the cable guide means are formed into curved surfaces. FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 8 denote substantially the same parts. Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

  In this embodiment, both end portions 69 in the traveling direction of the slide surface S in contact with the FFC 4 of the slide portion 62 of the cable guiding means 6 are curved, and the width of the slide portion 62 is set to the FFC 4 in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment. It is formed to have substantially the same width as the width.

  According to this configuration, in addition to the same effects as the above-described embodiments, the width of the slide portion 62 is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the FFC 4 so as to press the entire width direction of the FFC. Therefore, the FFC does not shift to the side and can be moved with a uniform pressing pressure, which is very convenient.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an original reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a state in which a reading unit is located at a home position. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the reading unit is located at a final reading position in the document reading apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the document reading device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing an example of cable guide means of the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner. It is an expanded partial sectional view which expands and shows the other example of a cable guide means. FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means. FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means. FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing still another example of the cable guiding means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 11 Bottom surface 2 Document mounting base 21 Contact glass 3 Reading means 4 Flexible flat cable (FFC)
5 Connector 6 Cable guide means 61 Compression spring 62 Slide part S Slide surface 64 Spherical body 68 Roller 69 End part A Home position B Final reading position

Claims (8)

A document placing table having a contact glass for placing a document, a reading means for reading the document stored in the housing and positioned on the contact glass, and a connector disposed in the housing are connected to the reading means. In a document reading apparatus provided with a flexible flat cable to be arranged in a horizontal direction on the contact glass surface,
Cable guide means having a slide portion urged toward the bottom surface side of the housing by a compression spring force is provided on the lower surface of the reading means, and when the reading means moves by the slide portion of the cable guide means, the flexible An original reading apparatus configured to slide while pressing a flat cable toward a bottom side of a housing. A document placing table having a contact glass for placing a document, a reading means for reading the document stored in the housing and positioned on the contact glass, and a connector disposed in the housing are connected to the reading means. In a document reading apparatus provided with a flexible flat cable to be arranged in a horizontal direction on the contact glass surface,
An original reading apparatus comprising a cable guide having a slide portion that slides while pressing the flexible flat cable toward a bottom surface of a housing on a lower surface of the reading unit. 3. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a slide surface of the slide portion of the cable guide means that comes into contact with the flexible flat cable is formed in a hemispherical shape. The document reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the slide surface of the slide part is formed of a part of a sphere. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a slide surface of the slide portion of the cable guide unit that contacts the flexible flat cable is formed in a semicircular shape. 6. The document reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the slide surface of the slide portion is formed by a part of a roller. 3. The document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the sliding surface of the sliding portion of the cable guide means in contact with the flexible flat cable are formed in curved surfaces. The width of the slide surface in contact with the flexible flat cable of the slide portion of the cable guide means is formed to be substantially the same as the width of the flexible flat cable. The document reading apparatus described.

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