JP2005057628A - Image input/output device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image input/output device in which contact between an FFC and an original platen is prevented and EMC of signals transmitted by the FFC is improved and the read precision of documents is improved. <P>SOLUTION: The image input/output device is provided with; a carriage which has a scanning circuit mounted thereon and moves back and forth in a scanner housing in parallel with a board surface of the original platen; a groove part which extends in a moving direction of the carriage in the bottom of the scanner housing and is formed so as to be stored in a remaining space of a printer housing; a sheet metal member which has a main part which is at least partially stored in the groove part and is bent so as to have a corner part extended in the moving direction of the carriage, and is fixed to the scanner housing and is electrically grounded; and a flexible flat cable having a turning-back part which has a base end part electrically connected to a processing part and has a front end part electrically connected to the scanning circuit and has the base end part side stored in the groove part and brought into contact with the main part and has the front end part side turned back to the base end part side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image input / output device capable of reading and printing an image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a housing (referred to as a scanner housing) that houses a carriage on which an image sensor is mounted and a housing (referred to as a printer housing) that accommodates a printing unit such as an ink jet printer head (so-called second floor). An image input / output device integrated with a building structure is known. The scanner housing is provided above the printer housing to support the document table on which the document is placed. In addition, a circuit mounted on a carriage that reciprocates by mounting an image sensor inside the scanner housing and a circuit provided outside the carriage are electrically connected by a flexible flat cable (FFC).

  When the scanner housing is thinned, the distance between the bottom of the scanner housing and the document table is narrowed, so that the FFC easily comes into contact with the document table. When the FFC comes into contact with the document table, dirt adheres to the back surface of the document table, or the document table is scratched by friction. Conventionally, an image scanner including a housing that prevents friction between the FFC and the document table is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, when the scanner housing is thinned, the rigidity of the scanner housing is reduced, so that the reading accuracy is lowered.
Further, since the frequency of the signal transmitted by the FFC increases as the resolution of the image scanner improves, EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) of the signal transmitted by the FFC is a problem.

JP-A-5-219315 (FIG. 1)

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image input / output device that prevents the contact between the FFC and the document table, improves the EMC of a signal transmitted by the FFC, and further improves the reading accuracy of the document.

  To achieve the above object, an image input / output apparatus according to the present invention includes a printing unit that prints image data, a printer housing that houses the printing unit, and a document table that is provided above the printer housing. A scanner housing, a scanning circuit having a linear image sensor, a carriage mounted with the scanning circuit and reciprocatingly moved in parallel with the platen surface of the document table, and processing an output signal of the scanning circuit A processing unit for outputting image data, a groove formed at the bottom of the scanner housing so as to extend in the moving direction of the carriage and fit in a remaining space of the printer housing, and at least a part of the groove is accommodated. It has a main part that is bent so that a corner part extends in the moving direction of the carriage, and is fixed to the scanner housing. And a sheet metal member that is electrically grounded, a base end portion is electrically connected to the processing portion, a tip end portion is electrically connected to the scanning circuit, and the base end portion side is accommodated in the groove portion to the main portion. A flexible flat cable having a folded portion that is in contact with and is folded back on the distal end side toward the proximal end side. By forming a groove in the bottom of the scanner housing and storing the folded portion of the FFC in the groove, contact between the FFC and the document table can be prevented. By forming the groove so as to fit in the remaining space of the scanner housing, the height of the image input / output device can be suppressed. In addition, a sheet metal member having a main portion bent so that a corner portion extends in the moving direction of the carriage is housed in the groove portion, and the sheet metal member is fixed to the scanner housing, thereby increasing the rigidity of the scanner housing and improving the reading accuracy. be able to. By storing the bent main part in the groove part, an increase in the height of the image input / output device due to the provision of the sheet metal member can be suppressed. Furthermore, the EMC of the signal transmitted by the FFC can be improved by bringing the FFC into contact with the electrically grounded sheet metal member.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of an image input / output device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The scanner housing 36 is formed in a box shape with an open top, and is connected to the printer housing 52 so as to be swingable by a hinge (not shown). A groove 54 is formed in an L shape at the bottom of the scanner housing 36. The groove 54 will be described later.

  The document table 32 is a transparent glass plate that closes an opening formed in the upper portion of the scanner housing 36, and is fixed to the scanner housing 36. A document 28 is placed on the surface of the document table 32. A document mat 56 provided on a document cover 58 (see FIG. 2) slidably coupled to the scanner housing 36 presses the document placed on the document table 32 against the document table 32.

  The carriage 14 is formed in a box shape and is accommodated in the scanner housing 36. The carriage 14 is slidably supported by a guide rod 34 fixed to the scanner housing 36. The carriage 14 is locked to a belt 60 (see FIG. 2) driven by a motor (not shown). The carriage 14 reciprocates in the axial direction of the guide rod 34 as the belt 60 rotates.

  Inside the carriage 14, a scanning circuit board 18 on which a linear image sensor 20 is mounted, a lens 22, a mirror 12 and a light source 16 are mounted. The light source 16 irradiates the vicinity of the scanning line of the document 28, and the mirror 12 and the lens 22 form a reflected light image on the scanning line of the irradiated document on the light receiving surface of the linear image sensor 20. The linear image sensor 20 is mounted on the scanning circuit board 18 in a posture in which RGB light receiving elements are arranged in a straight line in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. The linear image sensor 20 outputs an electrical signal correlated with the density of the optical image formed on the light receiving surface. A circuit that drives the linear image sensor 20 and the light source 16, an AD conversion circuit, and the like are mounted on the scanning circuit board 18.

  The printer housing 52 is formed in a box shape having an open top and is positioned below the scanner housing 36. The printer housing 52 supports the scanner housing 36 so as to be swingable, and swings the scanner housing 36 upward so that the printing unit 50 can be exposed from the opening of the printer housing 52. The printer housing 52 accommodates the processing unit 11, the printing unit 50, a power supply unit (not shown), an operation unit, and the like. When the scanner housing 36 closes the upper opening of the printer housing 52, the upper side wall of the printer housing 52 and the lower side wall of the scanner housing 36 are connected without substantial steps (see FIG. 2). The printer housing 52 forms a large internal space in which elements such as the printing unit 50 accommodated therein are accommodated with a space.

  The printing unit 50 includes a paper transport unit, a print head 44, a drive unit, and the like. A paper transport unit (not shown) includes a paper feed roller, a paper discharge roller, a gear train that drives these rollers, a motor, and the like. The print head 44 is slidably supported by the guide rod 48. The print head 44 is locked to a rotating belt by a driving unit (not shown). The print head 44 reciprocates in the axial direction of the guide rod 48 as the belt rotates. The drive unit of the print head 44 includes a pulley, a gear train, a motor and the like around which a belt is wound.

  The print head 44 includes, for example, a nozzle that ejects ink, a piezo element, an ink passage, and the like, and fixes ink droplets on a sheet by an inkjet method. The ink cartridges 42 and 46 are detachably fixed to the print head 44. The ink cartridges 42 and 46 are containers in which ink of each color is stored. The ink stored in the ink cartridges 42 and 46 is supplied to the nozzles of the print head 44 through the ink passage. The printing unit 50 is not limited to the ink jet method, and may be configured to be compatible with various printing methods such as a laser method.

  The processing unit 11 performs image processing on the signal output from the scanning circuit board 18 by performing gamma correction, shading correction, and the like. Further, the processing unit 11 performs halftone processing, resolution conversion processing, color space conversion processing, interlace processing, and the like on the image data to create print data, and controls the printing unit 50 based on the print data. When the image input / output device 30 functions as an image scanner controlled by a personal computer (PC), the image data created by the processing unit 11 is output to the PC through an interface (not shown). When the image input / output device functions as a printer controlled by a PC, print data is input to the processing unit 11 from the PC through an interface.

  The tip of the FFC 24 is electrically connected to the scanning circuit board 18. The base end portion of the FFC 24 is electrically connected to the processing unit 11. Most of the FFC 24 is accommodated in a posture in which a U-shaped folded portion 38 is formed inside the scanner housing 36. Further, inside the scanner housing 36, the FFC 24 is bent in an L shape along the sheet metal member 40 so as to contact the sheet metal member 40 with little contact with the bottom of the scanner housing 36. The FFC 24 transmits a signal output from the scanning circuit board 18 to the processing unit 11 and transmits a control signal of the processing unit 11 to the scanning circuit board 18. The folding portion 38 is deformed as the carriage 14 moves.

  3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing the shape of the bottom of the scanner housing 36. FIGS. 3B and 3C are cross-sectional views taken along the line BB of FIG. 3A and the cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. . The L-shaped groove portion 54 includes a first portion 64 extending in a direction parallel to the moving direction (sub-scanning direction) of the carriage 14 and a second portion extending from one end portion of the first portion 64 in a direction perpendicular to the first portion 64. 62. As shown in FIG. 1, the groove 54 projects into the remaining space of the printer housing 52 that does not interfere with the print head 44 or the like. The first part 64 accommodates the proximal end side of the folded portion 38 of the FFC 24. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the height of the image input / output device 30 while preventing contact between the FFC 24 and the document table 32. The second portion 62 accommodates the base end side further than the folded portion 38 of the FFC 24. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the height of the image input / output device 30 while preventing contact between the FFC 24 and the carriage 14.

  An opening 66 that penetrates the bottom of the scanner housing 36 is formed at the end of the second portion 62 opposite to the first portion 64. The FFC 24 is inserted into the opening 66, and the FFC 24 is guided from the scanner housing 36 to the printer housing 52.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the sheet metal member 40 provided along the groove 54. The sheet metal member 40 is formed in an L shape as a whole. The main portion 70 that is almost entirely accommodated in the first portion 64 of the groove portion 54 is bent at substantially right angles at two positions so that the corner portions 74 and 76 extend in the moving direction of the carriage 14. The height of the vertical wall 26 sandwiched between the two corner portions 74 and 76 is set so that the vertical wall 26 is substantially contained in the first portion 64 of the groove portion 54. Since the two corner portions 74 and 76 are formed, the main portion 70 has high rigidity against a force to bend in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction axis of the carriage 14. The sheet metal member 40 is formed with a plurality of screw holes 68 into which screws for fixing the sheet metal member 40 to the scanner housing 36 are inserted.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image input / output device 30 in a state where the sheet metal member 40 is fixed to the scanner housing 36 and the document table 32 and the carriage 14 are removed. The sheet metal member 40 is fixed to the bottom of the scanner housing 36 with a plurality of screws 10 so as to be dropped into the groove 54. The sheet metal member 40 is electrically grounded through a wiring (not shown).

  According to the present embodiment, the groove portion 54 that fits in the remaining space of the printer housing 52 is formed in the scanner housing 36, and the base end portion side of the folded portion 38 of the FFC 24 is accommodated in the groove portion 54, whereby the entire image input / output device 30. While suppressing the height, contact between the FFC 24 and the document table 32 is prevented. Further, the rigidity of the scanner housing 36 is improved by fixing the sheet metal member 40, which is bent and formed with the corner portions 74, 76 in the longitudinal direction, to the bottom of the scanner housing 36. As a result, the reading accuracy is improved. ing. Further, since the vertical wall 26 of the sheet metal member 40 formed by bending is almost contained in the groove portion 54, the image input / output device can be used even if the sheet metal member 40 contributing to the improvement of rigidity is provided inside the scanner housing 36. The overall height of 30 can be suppressed. Further, since the FFC 24 is in contact with the sheet metal member 40 that is electrically grounded, EMC of a signal transmitted by the FFC 24 is improved. Furthermore, since the FFC 24 is routed in an L shape along the sheet metal member 40 on the L-shaped sheet metal member 40 to increase the contact area between the sheet metal member 40 and the FFC 24, the effect of improving EMC is high.

  In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the image input / output device including the lens reduction type linear image sensor has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to an image input / output device including the contact type linear image sensor. Good. In the above-described embodiment, the sheet metal member is bent into an S-shaped cross section, but the sheet metal member may be bent into an L-shaped cross section or a U-shaped cross section.

The schematic diagram which shows the internal structure of the image input / output device of one Example. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image input / output device according to an embodiment. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the bottom part shape of the scanner housing 36 of one Example. (B) is the BB sectional drawing of (A). (C) is CC sectional view taken on the line of (A). The perspective view which shows the sheet-metal member of one Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Processing part, 14 Carriage, 18 Scanning circuit board, 20 Linear image sensor, 24 FFC, 28 Original, 30 Image input / output device, 32 Original stand, 36 Scanner housing, 38 Folding part, 40 Sheet metal member, 50 Printing part, 52 Printer housing, 54 grooves, 70 main parts, 74, 76 corners

Claims (1)

A printing section for printing image data;
A printer housing containing the printing unit;
A scanner housing provided above the printer housing and supporting a document table;
A scanning circuit having a linear image sensor;
A carriage mounted with the scanning circuit and reciprocatingly moving inside the scanner housing in parallel with the surface of the platen;
A processing unit for processing the output signal of the scanning circuit and outputting image data;
A groove formed on the bottom of the scanner housing so as to extend in the moving direction of the carriage and to fit in the remaining space of the printer housing;
A sheet metal member that is at least partially housed in the groove portion and has a main portion that is bent so that a corner portion extends in the moving direction of the carriage, and is fixed to the scanner housing and electrically grounded;
A base end portion is electrically connected to the processing portion, a tip end portion is electrically connected to the scanning circuit, the base end portion side is fitted in the groove portion and is in contact with the main portion, and the tip end side is on the base end portion side. A flexible flat cable having a folded portion that is folded;
An image input / output device comprising:

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