JP2006184739A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader whose original document cover folded at center in order to cope with a thick original document is constituted to avoid interference with a hinge by making the sponge part of a press-fit sheet shorter than a white sheet, and which is downsized. <P>SOLUTION: The image reader has a hinge part having the center of turning in an image reader main body, and the original document cover having the center of turning at the hinge part and comprising a plurality of components including a press-fitting part for pressing an original document on an original platen glass. The press-fitting part of the original document cover comprises the press-fit sheet constituted of the sponge and the white sheet, and the sponge part of the press-fit sheet is made shorter than the white sheet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a document cover portion of an image reading apparatus that reads a document on a platen glass.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image reading apparatus, as a device for reading a thick original, there are two parts, a hinge part and an original cover including a pressure-bonding sheet, which are folded when the thick original is pressed, and the original cover becomes a thick original. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-34842

  However, in the conventional document cover that is folded halfway, the pressure-bonding sheet and the sponge have the same width, and can only be arranged at the position where the hinge when folded is folded away, and the apparatus is enlarged.

  According to the present invention, the sponge portion of the pressure-bonding sheet is made shorter than the white sheet to avoid interference with the hinge, and the apparatus is miniaturized.

  As described above, in order to cope with thick originals, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus by avoiding interference with the hinge by shortening the sponge part of the pressure-bonding sheet shorter than the white sheet in the folded original cover. did it.

  Next, an embodiment of the image reading apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a color image reading apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, an original is set on an original platen glass 2 mounted on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1, and the contact image sensor 3 is scanned in parallel with the original platen glass 2 so that an image described on the original is displayed. read.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the contact image sensor 3 forms three-color LEDs 3R, 3G, and 3B, which are light sources for illuminating the document, and the reflected light from the document on the light receiving element of the image sensor. A rod lens array 3L and an image sensor 3S are incorporated. The three color light sources are sequentially switched and turned on, and the image sensor reads the reflected light from the original for each color, thereby performing color separation reading.

  The contact image sensor 3 is pivotally supported by a sensor holder 103 and, as shown in FIG. 32, a spring 104 positioned on the sensor holder 103, through spacers 101 and 102 made of a material having good slidability, It is pressed against the platen glass 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor holder 103 is fixedly supported on a slider 5 that slides on a guide shaft 4 fixed to the apparatus main body 1. (A unit integrated with a slider such as the sensor 3, the sensor holder 103, the spring 104, and the slider 5 shown in FIG. 33 is hereinafter referred to as a carriage 501). A belt 15 that transmits power from a motor that is a scanning drive source is fixed to the slider 5. The carriage 501 is capable of reciprocating scanning within the range of the platen glass 2 by forward and reverse rotation of the motor. The flexible cable 105 for electrical input / output of the sensor 3 is connected to the sensor 3 on one side and connected to the control board (not shown) of the image reading apparatus main body on the opposite side. As shown in FIG. 32, the apparatus main body 1 is thinly configured to the position where the slider 5 scans, and the right side in the figure is separated from the sensor and the clearance, and 30a is rotated to that position. A stand (31 to 33) is disposed at the center. Details of the stand will be described later.

  In addition to the above, the image reading apparatus includes an electrical component including a control board and a power source. These components are arranged in the apparatus main body 1 that fixedly supports the platen glass.

  A document cover 6 as a cover member for pressing the document onto the glass is mounted on the document table glass 2 through a hinge 7 so as to be openable and closable. A document pressing sheet 8 composed of a sheet member 8a and an elastic member 8b is attached to the surface of the document cover inner surface facing the document table glass 2.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of read image data processing by the image reading apparatus. The image output signal read by the image sensor 3 in synchronization with the sequentially blinking LEDs is sent to the amplifier 9 and amplified, and then converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 10. The A / D converter 10 divides the dynamic range of the image sensor 3S (reading output difference between the pure white portion and the true black portion on the original) by the number of bits, and the number of gradations according to the brightness of the image on the original. Assign. For example, when an 8-bit resolution A / D converter is used, the range from white to black can be identified with 256 gradation levels, and with a 10-bit A / D converter, it can be identified with 1024 gradation levels. Therefore, in an image reading apparatus using an 8-bit A / D converter, it is possible to identify 24 bits = about 16.7 million colors in color reading using RGB three-color light sources, and 30 bits = about 1,074 million colors in the case of 10 bits.

  There are several types of image signal output forms of the image reading apparatus, and an output form suitable for the use of the read image can be selected. When reading the text and subjecting the contents to OCR, or reading a monochrome line drawing, a monochrome binary image is suitable. For example, an image signal obtained by lighting only G of the RGB light sources described above is used. In the image processing circuit incorporated in the gate array 11, image data binarized at a certain threshold value is used. When reading an image for the purpose of reading an image such as a photograph and outputting it to a monochrome printer, the image data binarized using halftone processing such as dithering and error diffusion using the image signal from the G light source. Is used. When processing a color image, multi-value (24 bit etc.) image data is suitable.

  The image signal that has passed through the image processing circuit is output to a device such as a personal computer 13 via the interface circuit 12.

(Original cover / hinge configuration)
Next, the opening / closing configuration of the document cover 6 with respect to the apparatus main body 1 will be described. 4 to 6 are explanatory views of a hinge structure that connects the apparatus main body 1 and the original cover 6 so that they can be opened and closed. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the original cover 6 closed. FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the document cover 6 is opened by about 180 °, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams of a state in which only the hinge 7 is opened by about 60 °.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 19, the apparatus main body 1 includes a document cover 6 and a hinge 7 for pressing the document P against the document table glass 2, and a recess 1 a provided at the rear end of the apparatus body 1. It is pivotally supported pivotally around two points: a fitting part with the convex part 7a at the hinge rear end and a fitting part between the concave part 7b at the hinge front end and the convex part 6a at the rear end part of the document cover. A document cover 6 is attached to the apparatus body 1 so as to be openable and closable.

Here, the recess 1a of the apparatus main body 1 has a substantially gourd shape as shown in detail in FIG. 12, and has two upper and lower rotation centers A1 and A2. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the projection 7a at the rear end of the hinge has both ends of the tip of the projection cut into a plane, and the distance between the two planes is set slightly narrower than the constricted portion of the substantially gourd type. Has been. This is because the flat portion of the convex portion passes through the gourd-shaped constricted portion only when the hinge is opened at a certain angle, and can be arbitrarily moved between the rotation centers A1 and A2 within the condition of the opening angle of the hinge 7. This is because of doing so. When the opening angle of the hinge is other than the specific angle, 7a is rotatably held at either position A1 or A2.
The following describes how to open the document cover 6 in three ways.

(Open 100 °)
When the document cover 6 is opened with the document cover 6 shown in FIG. 7 closed, only the document cover 6 starts to open with the pivot portions 6a and 7b as rotation centers (FIG. 15). Thereafter, the rotation angle restricting projections 18 and 20 provided on the document cover 6 and the hinge 7 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 stop the rotation angle of the document cover 6 at a position opened approximately 40 ° with respect to the hinge 7. (FIG. 13, enlarged view 19). If the document cover 6 is further opened, the document cover 6 does not open at an angle greater than that of the hinge 7, so that the shaft 7a of the hinge 7 is positioned below the recess 1a of the apparatus body 1 while maintaining the angle of about 40 °. Opening with the rotation axis A2 as the rotation center (FIGS. 12 and 15).

  When further opened, the projection 19 at the rear end of the hinge is locked to the projection 17 of the main body when it is opened approximately 100 °, and the document cover is maintained in the open posture at this position. be able to. (FIG. 8).

  Thereafter, when the document P is set and the document cover 6 is closed, the document cover 6 and the hinge 7 are rotated by the rotation axis A2 until the hinge is completely closed on the main body due to the balance between the rotational moment and gravity acting at this time. Are pivoted together (FIGS. 12 and 15), and then only the document cover 6 is pivoted around the pivotal support portions 6a and 7b. By such an opening / closing operation, the original cover sheet 8 disposed on the original platen glass 2 side of the original cover 6 comes into close contact with the original, and the original P is accurately fixed to the original table glass 2.

  During the above operation, the weight of the hinge 7 works, so that the shaft 7a only rotates below the hole 1a of the main body, that is, at the position A2.

(Only hinges open 60 °)
When the opening position of the document cover 6 with respect to the apparatus main body 1 shown in FIG. 8 is maintained at an opening angle of approximately 100 °, a thick document D such as a book is set and the document cover 6 is closed. The document cover 6 and the hinge 7 are closed together until the document cover 6 comes into contact with the thick document D, but after contacting the thick document D, the document cover 6 and the hinge are hinged according to the thickness of the thick document D as shown in FIG. 7, the posture is determined at a balanced position according to the height of the document D. At this time, the hinge 7 is set so that the opening angle of the hinge 7 can freely rotate in the range of approximately 0 ° to approximately 60 ° depending on the thickness of the document D, and a thick document having a maximum of about 25 mm can be pressed.

(Open 180 °)
As shown in the above-described embodiment, when the document cover 6 is opened, if the angle formed with the hinge 6 exceeds about 40 °, the hinge 6 also starts to rotate with the document cover 6, but opens about 60 °. As shown in FIG. 14 at the position (FIGS. 14 and 16), when the rotating front end Z of the document cover 6 is pulled up in the direction of the arrow Y, the projection 7a at the rear end of the hinge is provided at the rear end of the apparatus main body 1 accordingly. It passes through the constricted portion of the substantially gourd-shaped recess 1a and moves from the lower position A2 to the upper position A1 (FIG. 17). Thereafter, when the document cover 6 is further raised and further rotated, the shaft 7a rotates about the rotation axis A1 at the upper position of the substantially gourd-shaped recess 1a. At this time, since the protrusion 19 moves upward integrally with the shaft 7a, even if it is rotated, it is not locked to the protrusion 17 of the main body and is rotated as it is to a position of approximately 180 ° as shown in FIGS. Can move. This opening method is suitable for scanning a document larger than a document table such as a map or a magazine, and can scan an arbitrary place of a large document without damaging the document.

  Further, when the document cover 6 is closed from this state, it rotates about the rotation axis A1 until the opening angle of the hinge 7 that rotates substantially integrally with the document cover 6 with respect to the apparatus main body is closed to about 45 °. . The convex portion 7a at the rear end of the hinge 7 automatically passes through the constricted portion of the substantially gourd-shaped concave portion 1a provided at the rear end portion of the apparatus body 1 by its own weight, and moves from the upper position A2 to the lower position A1. Thereafter, when the document cover 6 is closed, the convex portion 7a at the rear end of the hinge 7 rotates about the lower position A1, and the document cover 6 is completely closed as shown in FIG.

  By selecting one of the three opening methods described above, scanning of any document is possible regardless of the thickness, size, type, etc. of the document, and operability is greatly improved. become.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a magnet 21 is attached to the rotating front end portion of the document cover 6, and a metal member 22 for attracting the magnet 21 on the apparatus main body 1 facing the magnet 21. Is arranged. The elastic member 8b provided integrally with the original pressure-bonding sheet 8 has such a thickness that the elastic member 8b is slightly crushed when the original cover 6 is closed and the magnet 21 is in close contact with the original table glass 2. When the document is placed on the document table glass 2 and the document cover 6 is closed, the magnet 23 is brought into close contact with the document table glass 2 due to the effect of the magnet 23. At this time, since the elastic member 8b of the original pressure-bonding sheet 8 is bent, the reaction force is applied to the original through the original pressure-bonding sheet 8, and even if the original is wrinkled or curled, the original is closely attached to the original table glass 2. To do. The magnet 21 exerts its effect particularly when the document cover 6 is placed in a vertical position in which the weight of the document cover 6 does not act on the document and is floating. The vertical placement will be described in detail in a stand configuration to be described later.

(Stand configuration)
Next, the structure of the stand for the apparatus main body 1 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the stand is housed on the back side of the apparatus main body 1. FIGS. 21 to 34 are diagrams illustrating a state in which the stand is installed in the vertical position. FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a document cover is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the stand built in the apparatus main body 1 is composed of three parts, a stand L31, a stand M32, and a stand S33, and is arranged at the end of the stand L31 shown in FIG. The convex portion 31a is pivotally supported by the concave portion 30a of the apparatus main body 1, and the concave portion 31b disposed at the other end portion is pivotally supported by the convex portion 32a disposed at the end portion of the stand M32 shown in FIG. . Further, the concave portion 32b disposed at the other end portion of the stand M32 is pivotally supported by a convex portion 33a disposed at the end portion of the stand S33 shown in FIG.

  The rotation angles of the stand L31, the stand M32, and the stand S33 are regulated by the relationship between the angle regulating projections and the grooves provided in the shaft and the hole, respectively, and the receiving portion 34 of the stand L31 is the receiving portion 35 of the apparatus main body 1. The stand M32 has a pivotable angle of approximately 140 °, the stand M32 has a projection 36 that abuts the receiving portion 37 of the stand L31, and the stand S33 has a pivotable angle of approximately 80 °. The rotatable angle is set to approximately 70 ° by contacting the receiving portion 39 of M32.

  27 is detachably incorporated in the stand M32 so as to operate in the W direction in the figure, and in the storage state shown in FIG. 20, the protrusion 41 of this elastic member is shown in FIG. It falls into the recess 42 arranged in the apparatus main body 1 and maintains its position. Unless the elastic member 40 is forcibly released from the concave portion 42 of the apparatus main body 1, the stand L31, the stand M32, and the stand S33 maintain the storage state shown in FIG.

  Next, a method for installing the stand in the vertical position will be described with reference to FIGS. In order to change from the stowed state shown in FIG. 20 to the vertically placed state shown in FIG. 24, first, a finger is put into the recess 50 of the apparatus body 1 and the knob 51 of the stand S33 is lifted. By this operation, the elastic member 40 incorporated in the stand M32 described above is released from the recess 42 arranged in the apparatus main body 1 (FIG. 21). The stand L31, the stand M32, and the stand S33 are rotated around a rotation angle range around the above-described three rotation axes, and each of the stands L33 reaches the position where the stand S33 gets over the hinge 7 when the rotation angle is substantially the maximum. Will reach. When the projection 52 of the apparatus main body 1 is dropped into the recess 53 of the stand M at this position, it can be assembled as shown in FIGS. 22 and 33. In this state, when the outer surface of the stand M32 is placed on a horizontal surface such as a desk, It can be installed in a vertical position such as 24.

  When the stand is installed vertically, the stand S33 is locked with the upper surface of the hinge held down, and the main body 1 is positioned by the fitting of the protrusion 52 and the concave 53, so that the hinge 7 is attached to the main body 1. Fixed in close contact. Further, the 54 portion of the hinge 7 is located at the lowermost part of the entire apparatus, and it also functions as a foot by landing on the installation surface. On the other hand, the document cover 6 is rotatable about the other shaft support portion 7b of the hinge 7. However, when the document cover 6 is rotated about the support shafts 6a and 7b, the document cover 6 is approximately 40 as described above. Although it is regulated by the hinge 7 when it is opened, the receiving portion 55 of the stand S33 further supports this as shown in FIG. This has the purpose of determining the opening angle of the document cover 6 in the vertically placed state and the purpose of preventing stress from concentrating on the shaft support portions 6a and 7b due to the weight of the document cover 6.

  Further, a high friction elastic member 56 shown in FIG. 28 is arranged on the stand S33. 28 and 29, the high friction elastic member 56 is arranged slightly higher than the stand S33 on the hinge 7 / document cover 6 side of the stand S33 in the vertically placed state. There is no direct contact with the document cover 6. The purpose of this is to prevent scratches and dirt on the hinge and the document cover, which are external parts, and to prevent the collision between the resin material and the resin material generated when the document cover is opened.

  On the other hand, the high friction elastic member 56 is positioned on the bottom surface of the apparatus body 1 in the stand storage state shown in FIG. In this state, the high-friction elastic member 56 is also configured to be located on the lowermost surface of the apparatus main body 1. The same member prevents the scratches / dirt and the abnormal noise described above, and prevents the entire apparatus from slipping. It also functions as a prevention member.

  Next, the pressure-bonding sheet 8 that holds the document on the platen glass 1 provided on the document cover 6 in the vertically placed state will be described.

  When the document cover 6 is opened, the document cover 6 rotates around the fitting portion between the concave portion 7b at the front end of the hinge and the convex portion 6a at the rear end portion of the document cover, and the projection 18 of the document cover 6, the projection 20 of the hinge 7, and the stand. The rotation angle is regulated by the receiving portion 55 (high friction elastic member 56) of S33, and the posture is maintained at a position opened approximately 40 °. At this time, the lowermost piece 57 of the pressure-bonding sheet 8 is positioned in the vicinity of the abutting portion 58a (see FIG. 8) provided in the apparatus main body 1 in the short direction. FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the abutting portion in detail. As shown in FIG. 29, the distance a between the document table glass 2 of the apparatus main body 1 and the lowermost portion of the pressure-bonding sheet 8 is larger than the step b of the abutting. It is configured to be narrow.

  With the above configuration, the user does not need to hold the document until the edge of the document contacts the abutting portion 58a of the apparatus main body 1 at the time of setting the document, that is, the document is placed on the abutting portion of the apparatus main body 1 from a certain height. Even if it falls freely, it will step on the abutment step and set the document easily and reliably.

  Furthermore, if the original is freely dropped from the pressure-bonding sheet 8 along the pressure-bonding sheet 8, even a strongly bent original can be surely placed on the abutting step 58a, and a more reliable original can be set and the operability is dramatically improved. improves.

(Configuration of the document abutment section of the document table)
The document table glass 2 incorporated in the apparatus main body 1 is provided with a total of four opening steps 58a, 58b, 58c, and 58d shown in FIGS. Two sides 58a and 58b perpendicular to the opening step 58 serve as a document abutting reference when determining the document reading start position in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction when the document is placed on the document table glass 2. Yes. Since one side 58a in the vicinity of the document abutting reference hinge 7 is positioned at the lower part when the stand is placed in the vertical position, it is desirable that the side 58a has a sufficient height to receive the document dropped by gravity. Therefore, the height is set to about 3 mm from the platen glass surface.

  On the other hand, when reading a large document such as a map, the opening step 58 is preferably as small as possible for the purpose of minimizing the floating of the document due to the step. Therefore, the opening step 58c located at the position facing the side 58a serving as the document abutting reference near the hinge is set to a height of about 0.5 mm from the document table glass 2.

Then, the remaining two side opening steps 58b and 58d perpendicular to the two sides are gradually increased from a height of about 3 mm to a height of about 0.5 mm so that there is no step in the helicopter of the opening as shown in FIG. It is configured to change the height by strange. Unnecessary steps should be avoided as much as possible because they can affect the scanned image and cause damage to the original.
By adopting such an opening step difference structure, it is possible to reliably receive a document set in a vertically placed state, and to improve reading of a large document such as a map.

(Compression sheet configuration)
The pressure-bonding sheet 8 incorporated in the document cover 6 is mainly used to press a thin document from the upper surface to correct wrinkles or curls on the document, to bring the document into close contact with the document glass 2, and to the document. It is desirable that extra external light that is not irradiation light of the reading device does not enter. For this reason, the document should be configured so as to cover it as much as possible. Therefore, it is generally incorporated in the document cover 6 with a size slightly smaller than the positions of the helicopters 58a, 58b, 58c, and 58d in the above-described opening, that is, the opening of the document table glass 2. In addition, with such a configuration, the configuration of a <b can be easily realized at the time of placing a document in the portrait state as described above.

  On the other hand, in the configuration of the document cover 6 and the hinge 7 as described above, when a thick document D such as a book is placed on the document table glass 2 and the document cover 6 is closed, the document cover 6 is shown in FIGS. Is bent downward by its own weight with the shaft support portions 6a and 7b between the hinges 7 as the center, so that the original pressure-bonding sheet 8 presses the thick original D. In this posture, the posture is maintained when the opening angle of the document cover 6 with respect to the apparatus main body 1 is approximately 0 °.

  At this time, in the pressure-bonding sheet 8 composed of the sheet member 8a and the elastic member 8b such as sponge, as shown in FIG. 30, the ends of the edges 57 and 60 near the hinge are arranged at the same position. The hinge 7 is located at the edge of the helicopter 58a of the opening described above, and the hinge 7 is centered on the fitting portion between the concave portion 1a provided at the rear end portion of the apparatus body 1 and the convex portion 7a at the hinge rear end. The elastic member 8b hits the hinge 7 when it rotates more than a certain angle within the rotatable angle range (shaded portion 59).

  In order to avoid this, the hinge 7 is enlarged, and the rotation angle about the fitting portion between the concave portion 1a provided at the rear end portion of the apparatus main body 1 and the convex portion 7a at the rear end of the hinge is reduced. Thus, there is no choice but to avoid interference or to separate the edge 57 of the sheet member 8a from the document abutting portion. However, in this method, the former causes an increase in the size of the apparatus, and the latter causes adverse effects such as an adverse effect on the read image and a deterioration in the document placement property when the document is placed vertically.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 31, the elastic member 8b is shorter than the sheet member 8a. In this way, the elastic member 8b does not collide with the hinge 7 without enlarging the apparatus, and the document D can be surely brought into close contact with the document table glass 2, and the document can be placed in the vertically placed state. To be able to do that.

The perspective view which opened the original cover of the image reading apparatus of this invention Cross section of contact image sensor Block Diagram The figure which removed the original cover of the image reading apparatus of this invention Document cover single item drawing of the image reading apparatus of the present invention Single hinge drawing of the image reading apparatus of the present invention The perspective view which closed the manuscript cover of the image reading device of the present invention Figure with the document cover opened 100 degrees Figure with the document cover opened approximately 180 degrees Perspective view with only hinges opened 60 degrees Front view with hinges opened 60 degrees Detailed view of the part of the device body that supports the hinge Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Explanatory drawing of 180 degree opening of document cover Illustration of how to install the stand Illustration of how to install the stand Illustration of how to install the stand Illustration of how to install the stand Figure with the hinge held by the stand Figure with the hinge held by the stand Single item drawing of stand Single item drawing of stand Single item drawing of stand Figure showing the relationship between the original cover and the pressure-bonded sheet in the vertical position Relation between crimping sheet and hinge when only hinge is opened 60 degrees The figure which extended the crimping sheet by this invention A figure in which a half of the main unit is thinned and a stand is placed. Perspective view of carriage unit

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Original plate glass 3 Contact image sensor 4 Guide shaft 6 Original cover 7 Hinge 31, 32, 33 Stand

Claims (1)

An image reading apparatus that reads an original on a platen glass, and includes a hinge part having a rotation center in the image reading apparatus main body, and a crimping part that has the rotation center in the hinge part and presses the original on the platen glass. Has a document cover made up of
An image reading apparatus, wherein a pressure-bonding portion of the original cover is made of a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet made of a sponge and a white sheet, and the sponge portion of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is made shorter than the white sheet.

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