JP2014126594A - Image reader and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader which can be miniaturized while keeping an angle of view smaller and an image forming apparatus using the image reader.SOLUTION: An image reader 19 includes a placing member 23 on which an original is placed, a light source 1 irradiating the original placed on the placing member 23 with light, a photoelectric conversion element 3 receiving the light reflected from the original and converting the light into an electrical signal, a first mirror 4, a second mirror 6, and a third mirror 7 constituting an optical path 16 for guiding the reflected light to the photoelectric conversion element 3, a first freely travelable traveling body 5 supporting the light source 1 and the first mirror 4, a second travelable traveling body 8 supporting the second mirror 6 and the third mirror 7, a driving shaft 9 driving the respective traveling bodies 5 and 8, and driving force transmission means 14 for transmitting a driving force to the respective traveling bodies 5 and 8 from the driving shaft 9. The driving shaft 9 is arranged in a position between the second traveling body 8 and the photoelectric conversion element 3 in the width direction of the image reader.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to an image reading apparatus that scans an original surface by optical scanning and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus in which an image reading apparatus that scans an original surface by optical scanning is arranged on the upper part of the apparatus main body. In such an image forming apparatus, sheet trays of various sizes are generally stored in a stacked state at the lower part of the apparatus main body, and a paper discharge tray is disposed at the upper part of the apparatus main body. A space for taking out the sheet on the paper discharge tray is required above the paper discharge tray, and the height of the main body of the image forming apparatus is inevitably high. It was placed in a fairly high position.

  In addition, an automatic document feeder (ADF) is often used at the top of the image reading apparatus, and the size in the height direction of such a multifunctional image forming apparatus is made as small as possible from the viewpoint of improving operability. This is a big problem in the conventional image forming apparatus. Further, the width direction size of the image forming apparatus may be determined by the image reading apparatus. Therefore, in order to reduce the height and width of the image reading apparatus, the drive shaft is disposed between the second mirror and the third mirror in the height direction, and the drive shaft is disposed on the rear side of the photoelectric conversion means in the width direction. The configuration is disclosed in, for example, “Patent Document 1”.

  Although the above-described technique can reduce the height and width of the image reading apparatus, there is a problem that the angle of view becomes narrow and the angle of view cannot be kept small while downsizing the image reading apparatus.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide an image reading apparatus capable of reducing the size while maintaining a small angle of view and an image forming apparatus using the image reading apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a placing member on which an original is placed at least partially transparent, a light source for irradiating light on the original placed on the placing member, and reflected light from the original A photoelectric conversion element that receives light and converts it into an electrical signal; a first mirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror that form an optical path that guides the reflected light to the photoelectric conversion element; and the light source and the first mirror. A travelable first travel body, a travelable second travel body that supports the second mirror and the third mirror, a drive shaft that drives each travel body, and a driving force from the drive shaft to each travel body In the image reading apparatus having the driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force, the driving shaft is disposed at a position between the second traveling body and the photoelectric conversion element in the apparatus width direction.

  According to the present invention, the angle of view of the lens can be kept small by disposing the drive shaft between the second traveling body and the photoelectric conversion element.

1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image reading apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied. 1 is a front sectional view of an image reading apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side sectional view of an image reading device used in an embodiment of the present invention. It is an internal top view of the image reading apparatus used for one Embodiment of this invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a copying machine as an image forming apparatus adopting an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the copying machine 17 includes an image forming unit (not shown) having a known configuration such as a photoconductor, a charging device, a developing device, and a transfer device (not shown) inside the apparatus main body 18. In addition, a sheet feeding device (not shown) including a sheet feeding tray, a sheet feeding roller, a sheet feeding path, and the like (not shown) is provided inside the apparatus body 18, and a sheet feeding tray (not shown) is provided outside thereof. Yes. The paper fed from the paper feeding device forms an image on one side or both sides in the image forming unit, and is then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 21.

  An image reading unit 19 serving as an image reading device that reads an image of a document on which an image is formed is disposed on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 18, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 20 is disposed above the image reading unit 19. Yes. A document directly placed on the image reading unit 19 or a document set on the automatic document feeder 20 is read by the image reading unit, and image formation is performed by an image forming unit (not shown) based on the read image information. Is done.

  FIG. 2 shows an image reading unit 19 that is a feature of the present invention. The image reading unit 19 includes a scanner cover 22, a flatbed reading surface contact glass 23 that is a placement member for placing a document, a document feeder reading surface contact glass 24, a scanner frame 25, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the image reading unit 19, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof. The image reading unit 19 irradiates a document to be read with light from a light source, and reads reflected light reflected by the document by the imaging device 3 as a photoelectric conversion element made of a CCD, a CMOS, or the like.

  The image reading unit 19 includes a light source 1, and irradiates light emitted from the light source 1 to a document placed on the flat bed reading surface contact glass 23 or a document conveyed on the document feeder reading surface contact glass 24. . Diffuse reflected light from the document is guided to the image sensor 3 through the lens 2, and image information is converted into an electric signal in the image sensor 3. An image reading unit 19 of a general reduction optical system includes a first traveling body 5 that supports the first mirror 4 that deflects reflected light from the original and the light source 1, and a first deflector that further deflects light from the first mirror 4. A second traveling body 8 that supports the two mirrors 6 and the third mirror 7 is provided.

  The first traveling body 5 and the second traveling body 8 read a document by traveling on rails 10 a and 10 b formed integrally with the scanner frame 25. The driving force that causes the traveling bodies 5 and 8 to travel is transmitted from the motor 12 to the drive shaft 9 by the belt 13, and when the driving shaft 9 rotates, the traveling bodies 5 are connected to the traveling bodies 5 via the wires 14 a and 14 b serving as driving force transmission means. , 8 are transmitted.

  In the configuration of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 9 is disposed at a position between the second traveling body 8 and the lens 2 (imaging device 3) in the width direction of the image reading unit 19. In the prior art, a configuration in which the drive shaft 9 is arranged on the right side of the image sensor 3 in FIG. 3 is known. However, in this configuration, the optical path length becomes shorter than that in the configuration shown in FIG. The problem arises that becomes narrower. In the configuration of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 9 is disposed between the second traveling body 8 and the lens 2 (image pickup device 3), so that the size of the lens can be reduced while keeping the angle of view of the lens small. . In the configuration of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 9 is disposed at a position between the second mirror 6 and the third mirror 7 in the height direction of the image reading unit 19. With this configuration, the height of the image reading unit 19 can be kept low.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the configuration of the present invention, the plate members 15a and 15b in which the rails 10a and 10b that support the traveling bodies 5 and 8 so as to be able to travel support the drive shaft 9 rotatably. Is formed by. That is, the rail surface and the drive shaft 9 that determine the heights of the traveling bodies 5 and 8 are positioned by the same plate members 15a and 15b. With this configuration, the drive shaft 9 can be accurately arranged with respect to the optical path 16 formed by the first mirror 4, the second mirror 6, and the third mirror 7.

  In the above embodiment, the copying machine is shown as the image forming apparatus. However, the image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applied to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a plotter, a facsimile, and a multi-function machine. Is applicable.

1 Light source 3 Photoelectric conversion device (imaging device)
4 First mirror 5 First traveling body 6 Second mirror 7 Third mirror 8 Second traveling body 9 Driving shaft 14 Driving force transmitting means (wire)
15a, 15b member (plate member)
16 Optical path 17 Image forming apparatus (copier)
19 Image reading device (image reading unit)
23 Mounting member (Flatbed reading surface contact glass)

Japanese Patent No. 3701527

Claims (5)

A placement member on which at least a part of the document is placed is transparent, a light source for irradiating light on the document placed on the placement member, and a reflected light from the document is received and converted into an electrical signal. A photoelectric conversion element, a first mirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror that constitute an optical path that guides the reflected light to the photoelectric conversion element, and a free-running first traveling body that supports the light source and the first mirror; A travelable second traveling body that supports the second mirror and the third mirror, a driving shaft that drives each traveling body, and a driving force transmission means that transmits a driving force from the driving shaft to each traveling body. In an image reading apparatus having
An image reading apparatus, wherein the drive shaft is disposed at a position between the second traveling body and the photoelectric conversion element in the apparatus width direction. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1.
An image reading apparatus, wherein the drive shaft is disposed at a position between the second mirror and the third mirror in the apparatus height direction. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
An image reading apparatus characterized in that a member that supports the second traveling body so as to be able to travel is the same as a member that supports the drive shaft. The image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An image reading apparatus, wherein a member that supports the first traveling body so as to be able to travel is the same as a member that supports the drive shaft.   An image forming apparatus comprising an image reading unit according to claim 1, further comprising an image forming unit that forms an image.

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