JP2009017503A - Scanner device and image forming apparatus having scanner device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily remove foreign matters from a platen in a scanner device. <P>SOLUTION: A scanning unit (scanner device) 3 has a scanner housing 35 having a rectangular opening 35a on the upper surface, and a platen 3a and the like arranged from the inner side of the scanner housing 35 to block the opening 35a. A sweep-out groove 36 is formed at the upper side of the scanner housing 35. A light-shielding projection 38 inserted in the sweep-out groove 36 is formed at a platen cover 11. The sweep-out groove 36 is formed with one side of its recess opened to the end edge of the opening 35a so as to dent from the upper surface of the scanner housing 35 in a range from the end edge of the opening 35a to the proximity of the side of the scanner housing 35. The foreign matters can be easily removed from the upper surface of the platen 3a by being swept out of from a part opened at the end edge of the opening 35a in the sweep-out groove 36 to the upper surface and the side of the scanner housing 35. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flatbed scanner device that reads a document placed on a flat platen, and an image forming apparatus having the scanner device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, a so-called flatbed type scanner device that reads a document placed on a document table as image data has been used. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 has a structure of a scanner device that forms a boundary portion of an opening portion where a document table is arranged and at least a part of an edge portion of the opening portion that allows positioning of a document to have an inclined surface. It is disclosed. In this scanner apparatus, an end portion of a document is placed on an inclined surface so that the document can be easily taken out from the document table.

  By the way, in the scanner apparatus in which the document table is positioned below the upper surface of the casing of the scanner apparatus and the document can be positioned at the edge of the opening provided in the casing, When an original is placed on the original and the original is read, even if there is a foreign matter such as dust or dirt on the platen, it is difficult to remove the foreign matter. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a level difference between the upper surface of the document table 83a and the upper surface of the housing 85 by the thickness of the edge of the opening 85a on the upper surface of the housing 85. Even if the foreign matter D on the upper surface is to be removed, the foreign matter D stays at the corner between the document table 83a and the casing 85, and the foreign matter D becomes difficult to remove. In a state where the foreign matter D is on the document table, the foreign matter D is also read, and there is a possibility that proper read image data cannot be obtained.

  Regarding the above problem, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a structure for removing such foreign matter. In addition, in the scanner device disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the inclined surface with a small thickness of the casing is formed long at the edge of the opening, light enters the casing when reading a document. It becomes easy to do. Thus, if the light shielding property is poor, there is a possibility that an image cannot be read properly. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to set the size of the document table larger than the size of the readable document so that light does not leak during document reading.

  Here, Patent Document 2 discloses a scanner device in which inclined portions for facilitating reading of a book document are provided on both sides of a document table. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a scanner operation in which a part of the frame located on the upper surface of the document table is removed so that the document can be easily taken out from the document table. However, these documents do not disclose a structure for removing foreign matter on the document table. In addition, since there is a part where the casing is not arranged on the upper part of the document table, the document table can be securely attached in the above-described problems relating to light shielding properties, for example, in a structure in which the document table is attached to the inner surface of the casing. The problem of difficulty arises.

Patent Document 3 discloses a structure of a scanner device in which a positioning member for positioning an original is bent toward a document table so that a gap is not formed between the positioning member and the document table. Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a scanner device that is provided with a document table that is detachable from the housing, and that can clean the document table with the document table removed from the housing. However, the structures disclosed in these patent documents are for a scanner device having a large number of parts and a complicated structure, and no effective solution is shown for the above-mentioned problems.
JP 2004-170658 A JP-A-2005-214996 JP 2000-216852 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-27206 Canon: Canon Scan LiDE 600F, Canon Marketing Japan Inc., Internet <URL: http://cweb.canon.jp/canoscan/lineup/lide600f/character-02.html>

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a scanner device with a simple structure capable of easily removing foreign matter on a document table and an image forming apparatus using the scanner device. And

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner housing having an opening on an upper surface thereof, a document table disposed so as to close the opening, and an upper surface of the scanner housing so as to cover the document table, A document table cover that presses the document placed on the document table against the document table; and a reading unit that is housed in the scanner housing and reads the document placed on the document table. The scanner device is arranged such that the upper surface thereof is positioned below the upper surface of the scanner housing, and the upper surface of the scanner housing has a recess in a part of the edge of the opening. A recess formed so that a part of the document table is opened, and the document table cover is disposed on a lower surface of the document table cover so as to cover the document table in a portion corresponding to the recess. Fits in a part of the recess in the state Is provided with a shielding protrusion which is urchin formed, in which by sweeping the foreign matters on the platen onto said recess being cleanable configure the platen.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the concave portion is formed in a slope shape such that the height of the bottom portion thereof becomes lower as the end edge portion of the opening portion is approached.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the reading unit is configured to read a document with a part of an edge portion of the opening as a reading reference position. Is provided so that a part of the dent is opened at a part of the edge of the opening that is farthest from the reading reference position or in the vicinity thereof.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the scanner device according to any one of the first to third aspects is provided, on a recording sheet based on image data read by the scanner device or image data input from the outside. The image forming apparatus further includes an image forming unit that forms an image.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the foreign matter can be swept out from the document table through the recess opened at a part of the edge of the opening, the foreign material on the document table can be easily removed. Thus, the document table can be easily cleaned. The concave portion may be small, and by providing the concave portion, it is possible to reduce a portion where the thickness of the scanner housing is thin, and in a state where the document table cover is arranged to cover the document table, the light-shielding projection is the concave portion. Since the light that is fitted in a part of the light and enters the concave portion from the outside is blocked, the light shielding property is hardly deteriorated, and a state in which an image can be read properly can be maintained.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the recess is formed in a slope shape in which the height of the bottom on the opening side is low, foreign matter on the document table can be smoothly removed from the document table onto the scanner housing. In addition, it is possible to further prevent the light shielding property from being lowered.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the concave portion is provided in a part away from the reading reference position of the document, and even if the light shielding property of the part in which the concave part is provided is changed, there is little influence on the reading of the document. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably maintain a state in which an image can be properly read.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus having the flat bed type scanner device, foreign matters on the document table can be easily removed, and the cleaning operation on the document table can be easily performed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus including a scanner device according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is of a so-called all-in-one type, and includes an image forming unit 2 housed in a resin printer housing 10 and a scan unit (scanner device) disposed above the printer housing 10. ) 3, an operation button 4 that can be operated from the outside, and a liquid crystal display unit 5 that displays the operating state of the image forming apparatus 1, and the front of the printer housing 10. For example, it has a connector portion 7 to which an external device such as a digital still camera or a memory card is connected. The scan unit 3 is pivotally supported by a hinge (not shown) in the vicinity of the back portion of the printer housing 10 so as to be horizontally rotatable on the back side thereof. A document table cover 11 is disposed on the scan unit 3. A paper feed tray 15 on which recording paper (not shown) conveyed to the image forming unit 2 is set is provided on the back of the printer housing 10. The paper feed tray 15 is provided with a recording paper guide 15a for positioning the recording paper. In front of the image forming unit 2 on the front surface of the printer housing 10, a paper discharge tray 16 for discharging recording paper on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 2 is provided. The image forming apparatus 1 includes, for example, image data input from an external device connected to the connector unit 7 or the like, or an external personal computer connected via a connector provided on the back of the printer housing 10, for example. And the like, and the image forming unit 2 has a function of forming an image on the recording paper using the image data read by the scan unit 3.

  The image forming unit 2 is configured to form an image on a recording sheet by, for example, a so-called inkjet method. The image forming unit 2 includes, for example, a transporter groove (not shown), an ink jet unit (not shown), and the like. The transport mechanism includes a roller that feeds recording paper one by one from the paper feed tray 15 into the printer housing 10 and discharges it onto the paper discharge tray 16, a motor that drives the roller, and the like. The ink jet unit includes a carriage on which a head for ejecting ink onto recording paper conveyed inside the printer housing 10, a motor and a driving belt for reciprocating the carriage in a direction substantially perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction. Etc. The image forming unit 2 reciprocates the carriage while transporting the recording paper inside the printer housing 10 by the transport mechanism, and ejects ink enclosed in a cartridge (not shown) mounted on the carriage onto the recording paper. Thus, a printing operation for forming an image on the recording paper is performed.

  FIG. 2 shows the scan unit 3. The scan unit 3 is pivotally supported by the printer housing 10 and has a box-shaped scanner housing 35 having a rectangular opening 35a at a substantially central portion on the upper surface, and is made of, for example, glass disposed in the opening 35a of the scanner housing 35. Is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape surrounded by the original platen 3a. Inside the scanner housing 35, a reading unit 30 for reading a document as image data is housed in the lower part of the document table 3a. The reading unit 30 includes, for example, a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) 31 and a drive mechanism 32 that moves the CIS 31 inside the scanner housing 35. The CIS 31 is arranged so that the portion of the document table 3a extending over the entire width in the main scanning direction can be read linearly so that the main scanning direction indicated by an arrow A in the drawing is the longitudinal direction. The drive mechanism 32, for example, drives the pulley 32b by driving the pulley 32b and the belt 32a that is hung on the pulley 32b so that the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow B in the figure is the longitudinal direction. The motor 32c is configured to rotate, and the shaft rail 32d is disposed such that the sub-scanning direction is the longitudinal direction. A part of the belt 32a is connected to the CIS 31, and the CIS 31 is configured to move in the sub-scanning direction along the shaft rail 32d as the motor 32c is driven. The reading unit 30 moves the CIS 31 in the sub-scanning direction inside the scanner housing 35 while contacting the lower surface of the document table 3a, images the document placed on the document table 3a by the CIS 31, and captures the document. It is configured to read as image data.

  In the present embodiment, the opening 35a is formed slightly larger than, for example, A4 size. The document table 3a is formed to be slightly larger than the opening 35a, and is provided so as to cover the opening 35a from the inner surface side of the scanner housing 35 so as to close the opening 35a. Accordingly, the document table 3a is arranged such that the upper surface thereof is positioned lower than the upper surface of the scanner housing 35 by the thickness of the upper surface of the scanner housing 35, and a step is generated at the edge of the opening 35a. Has been. The document table 3 a is fixed to the scanner housing 35 using, for example, an adhesive, and is configured such that the adhesive surface between the document table 3 a and the scanner housing 35 cannot be seen from above the scanner housing 35. . For example, the reading unit 30 uses the reading reference position P defined at the right front corner portion of the edge portion of the document table 3a as a reading reference position of the document to read an A4 size document or a document having a smaller size than that. It is readable. When placing the document on the document table 3a, the document is properly positioned on the document table 3a by aligning the edge of the document along the step at the edge near the reading reference position P of the opening 35a. It is configured to be able to.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the document table cover 11 is disposed above the scanner housing 35 of the scan unit 3 so as to cover the document table 3 a exposed upward from the scanner housing 35. The document table cover 11 is pivotally supported on the upper part of the slide hinge 20 that is slidably mounted in the vertical direction with respect to the scanner housing 35, and is rotatable with respect to the scanner housing 35 and can be displaced in the vertical direction. It is arranged. A sponge pad 12, for example, is attached to the lower surface of the document table cover 11 at a position corresponding to the document table 3 a in order to bring the document into close contact with the document table 3 a. On the lower surface of the document table cover 11, in the vicinity of the rear left side portion, a light shielding projection 38 projects downward so as to correspond to a later-described sweeping groove 36. The operation buttons 4 and the liquid crystal display unit 5 are disposed on a portion of the upper surface of the scan unit 3 that is not covered by the document table cover 11. When the document table cover 11 is in a closed state covering the upper surface of the document table 3a, the document placed on the document table 3a is sandwiched between the document table 3a and the document table 3a by its own weight. Adhere to the base 3a. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured such that the original can be read well by bringing the original into close contact with the original table 3a by the original table cover 11. In this image forming apparatus 1, the document table cover 11 can be displaced up and down by the slide hinge 20, so that the document can be brought into close contact with the document table 3 a when reading a document having a large thickness such as a book. It is configured. The placement of the document on the document table 3a and the removal of the document from the document table 3a are performed in a state where the document table cover 11 is rotated with respect to the scan unit 3 to be opened and the document table 3a is exposed.

  Here, in the present embodiment, on the upper surface of the scanner housing 35, the sweep groove (recess) 36 is located in the vicinity of the left back corner portion farthest from the reading reference position P among the edge portions of the opening 35 a. Is formed. 3, 4 (a), (b), and FIG. 5 show a portion where the sweep groove 36 of the scan unit 3 is provided. The sweep groove 36 is recessed from the upper surface of the scanner housing 35 from the edge of the opening 35a to the vicinity of the side surface of the scanner housing 35, so that a part of the recess opens to the edge of the opening 35a. Is formed. The sweeping groove 36 has a tapered shape that tapers as it approaches the side surface of the scanner housing 35 in a plan view, and as shown in FIG. 4A, the height of the bottom is the edge of the opening 35a. It is formed to have a slope shape that becomes lower as it approaches the part. Since the sweep groove 36 is provided, the portion of the edge portion of the opening 35a where the sweep groove 36 is provided is the upper surface of the document table 3a where the sweep groove 36 is not provided. The distance from the top surface of the document table 3 a to the bottom of the sweep groove 36 is shorter than the distance from the top surface of the scanner housing 35 to the top surface of the scanner housing 35. The sweep groove 36 is formed and provided, for example, when the scanner casing 35 is molded with resin.

  The sweep groove 36 provided as described above is used, for example, to remove foreign matter D when there is foreign matter D such as eraser dust, dust, or dust adhering to the document on the document table 3a. Is possible. That is, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5, the upper surface side and the side portion side of the scanner housing 35 from the part where the foreign matter D on the document table 3a is opened to the end edge side of the opening 35a of the sweep groove 36. The foreign matter D can be easily removed without staying at the corner between the document table 3a and the edge of the opening 35a. In the present embodiment, since the sweep groove 36 is formed in a slope shape and in a tapered shape in a plan view, a plurality of foreign matters D are smoothly swept out from the document table 3a onto the scanner housing 35 to form a tapered shape. Thus, the document table 3a can be cleaned more easily.

  Here, for example, in a state where the light shielding property of the scanner housing 35 is poor and light from the outside can enter the reading unit 30 at the time of document reading, the image cannot be read properly. However, in the present embodiment, the size of the sweep groove 36 may be small enough to easily sweep out the foreign matter D. Even if the sweep groove 36 is provided, the scanner casing 35 is thin. The part which becomes is small. Further, when the document table cover 11 is closed to cover the document table 3a during document reading, the sweep groove 36 is formed on the lower surface of the document table cover 11 as shown in FIG. The light shielding protrusion 38 provided so as to correspond to the above is configured to fit into the sweep groove 36. The light-shielding protrusion 38 is formed in a convex shape that matches the concave shape of the sweep groove 36 formed in a slope shape. When the document table cover 11 is in the closed state, the light-shielding protrusion 38 passes through the sweep groove 36 from the outside of the scanner housing 35. Thus, the light incident on the scanner housing 35 is blocked by the light blocking protrusion 38. Accordingly, light leakage from the upper surface of the scanner housing 35 to the inside of the scanner housing 35 is reduced, so that the light shielding performance is less likely to be reduced as compared with the case where the sweep groove 36 is not provided. Further, when the sweep groove 36 is formed in a slope shape and the upper surface of the document table 3a is covered by the document table cover 11, the sweep groove 36 is also covered with the document table cover 11 and opened to the outside. Since there is almost no loss of light, the light-shielding property is unlikely to deteriorate. As described above, in this embodiment, even if the sweep groove 36 is provided, the light shielding property is not easily lowered, so that an image can be read appropriately. In addition, since the sweep groove 36 is provided at a position away from the reading reference position P, even if the light shielding property changes due to the formation of the sweep groove 36, the change in the light shielding property is changed. The influence on reading can be reduced, and it is possible to more reliably maintain a state in which an image can be read properly.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible suitably in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, instead of the sweep groove formed up to the vicinity of the side surface side of the scanner housing as described above, a small recess is provided so that a part of the groove is opened at the edge of the document table, and the opening is opened. The foreign material may be easily removed from the document table by dropping the foreign material into the dent from the part. Further, by providing a recess having another shape in the vicinity of the edge of the opening, the foreign matter may be easily removed.

  Further, the image forming unit may be capable of forming an image on a recording sheet by, for example, electrophotography. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus provided with the scan unit as described above, but can be widely applied to those configured as a single scanner apparatus that does not have an image forming function.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows the scanning unit of the said apparatus. The perspective view which shows the site | part in which the sweeping groove | channel of the said scan unit was provided. (A) is a side sectional view showing a portion where the sweep groove of the scan unit is provided when the document table cover is in an open state, and (b) shows the same portion when the document table cover is in a closed state. FIG. The sectional side view which shows the site | part in which the sweep groove | channel of the said scan unit was provided. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional scanner device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming part 3 Scan unit (scanner apparatus)
30 Reading unit 35 Scanner housing 35a Opening 36 Sweep groove (concave portion)
38 Shading protrusion D Foreign object P Reading reference position

Claims (4)

A scanner housing having an opening on the upper surface;
A document table arranged so as to close the opening;
A document table cover disposed on the upper surface of the scanner casing so as to cover the document table, and pressing a document placed on the document table against the document table;
A reading unit that is housed in the scanner housing and reads a document placed on the document table;
In the scanner apparatus, the document table is arranged so that the upper surface thereof is located below the upper surface of the scanner housing.
On the upper surface of the scanner housing, a recess is formed in a part of the edge of the opening so that a part of the recess is opened,
A portion of the lower surface of the document table cover corresponding to the recess is provided with a light-shielding protrusion formed so as to fit a part of the recess with the document table cover arranged to cover the document table. And
A scanner device configured to be able to clean the document table by sweeping foreign matter on the document table onto the recess.   The scanner device according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed in a slope shape such that a height of a bottom portion of the concave portion becomes lower as approaching an end edge portion of the opening. The reading unit is configured to read a document with a part of an edge portion of the opening as a reading reference position,
The concave portion is provided at a portion of the edge of the opening that is farthest from the reading reference position or in the vicinity thereof so that a part of the concave is opened. The scanner device according to claim 2. A scanner device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising:
An image forming apparatus further comprising an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data read by the scanner device or image data input from the outside.

Images