JP2015195500A - image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader which is constituted so that a guide section that can guide a mobile body in a uniaxial direction is manufactured more easily than a metal shaft in a round bar shape.SOLUTION: An image reader includes: a resin base section 31; a resin guide section 34 which is integrally formed in the base section 31; a mobile body 35 constituted so that it can move along the guide section 34; a reading section 15 which is fitted to the mobile body 35 and can read an image of a document; and a metallic reinforcing member 37 extended along the guide section 34. At least a part of the reinforcing member 37 is fixed to the base section 31 by a screw 41A.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus.

  An image reading apparatus called a flat bed type generally includes an image sensor having reading elements arranged in a main scanning direction, and a moving body such as a carriage that moves the image sensor in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. . The moving body is structured to be movable along a round bar-shaped metal axis (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

JP-A-11-266347

  However, in the case of a round bar-shaped metal shaft as used in the above-described image reading apparatus, there is a problem that it takes a considerable amount of time for the processing. There is also a problem that the manufacturing cost is likely to increase due to the time and effort required for processing. For this reason, there is a demand to use an alternative with higher productivity than a round bar-shaped metal shaft. In addition, an alternative product is required to have the same strength as a metal rod.

  In view of the above circumstances, there is provided an image reading apparatus capable of forming a guide part capable of guiding a moving body in one axial direction without using a round bar-like metal shaft and maintaining the strength of the guide part. It is desirable.

  An image reading apparatus described below includes a resin base portion, a resin guide portion integrally formed with the base portion, a movable body configured to be movable along the guide portion, and the movable body. A reading portion configured to be able to read an image of a document and a metal reinforcing member extending along the guide portion, wherein the reinforcing member is at least one place by a screw in the base It is fixed to the part.

  According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, the guide portion can be formed without using the metal shaft by integrally forming the guide portion on the resin base portion. The resin guide portion is reinforced by a metal reinforcing member. Therefore, although the guide portion is made of resin, deformation of the guide portion can be suppressed, and the moving body or the reading portion can be moved along the guide portion with high accuracy. The reinforcing member is fixed to the base portion with screws. Therefore, in the vicinity of the screwing location, the reinforcing member and the base portion can be brought into close contact with each other by tightening the screws to such an extent that no gap is generated between the reinforcing member and the base portion. Therefore, the effect of suppressing the deformation of the base portion in the vicinity of the screwing point can be enhanced, and the effect of suppressing the deformation of the guide portion can be improved.

The image reading apparatus as described above may further include the following configurations.
First, in the above-described image reading apparatus, the reinforcing member may be fixed to the base portion with the screw at a portion near the end portion closer to the standby position of the moving body among both ends in the longitudinal direction. .

  In the image reading apparatus configured as described above, in the standby position, the load from the moving body is likely to act on the portion corresponding to the standby position in the guide portion over a long period of time, compared to other positions. However, if the configuration as described above is employed, the reinforcing member is fixed to the base portion by screws in the vicinity of the end portion closer to the standby position as described above. Therefore, the rigidity of the guide portion in the vicinity of the standby position of the moving body is enhanced by the reinforcing member and the screw. Therefore, compared with the case where screwing is performed near the end far from the standby position among both ends in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing member, the effect of suppressing deformation of the guide portion by screwing can be effectively exhibited.

In the above-described image reading apparatus, the base portion may include a holding portion that holds an end portion of the reinforcing member that is farther from a standby position of the moving body.
According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, both ends do not need to be fixed with screws, so that it is possible to reduce the labor required for screw tightening work and to improve workability when assembling the apparatus. Can do.

  The image reading apparatus includes a support portion that supports a sheet read by the reading portion, and a cover portion that holds the support portion around the support portion, and the screw is screwed onto the cover portion. The base part and the reinforcing member may be fastened together by the screw.

  According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, the reinforcing member and the base portion are fastened together with screws that are screwed into the cover portion. Therefore, the reinforcing member is fixed to a portion having a highly rigid structure by fixing the base portion and the cover portion with screws. Therefore, apart from the cover part, the deformation of the base part in the vicinity of the screwing location can be suppressed and the effect of suppressing the deformation of the guide part can be improved compared to the case where the reinforcing member is fixed to the base part with screws. Can do.

  In the above-described image reading apparatus, the support portion and the cover portion include an adhesive portion that is bonded to each other via an adhesive material, and the screw is screwed to the cover portion in the vicinity of the adhesive portion. May be.

  According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, the cover portion is bonded to the support portion having high rigidity. Therefore, the rigidity of the cover part is also high in the vicinity of the adhesive part. A screw is screwed into such a portion having high rigidity. Therefore, it can suppress that a screw displaces with a deformation | transformation of a cover part, and can suppress that a base part and a guide part deform | transform due to the displacement of a screw.

  Further, in the above-described image reading apparatus, the guide portion has an opening on a side opposite to a position where the moving body is disposed, and has a groove for accommodating the reinforcing member. There may be a plurality of convex portions protruding toward the opening side and in contact with the reinforcing member at a position on the opposite side.

  According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, the plurality of convex portions are in contact with the reinforcing member inside the groove. Therefore, unlike the case where an equivalent convex portion is not provided, the contact portion with the reinforcing member inside the groove can be surely set at a position where the convex portion is present. Thereby, a reinforcement member can be made to contact | abut reliably to a guide member, and the intensity | strength of a reinforcement member can be made to act on a guide member reliably. Therefore, for example, a guide part can be appropriately reinforced by providing a convex part in a place where load is easily applied, or increasing the convex part according to the magnitude of the load.

In the above-described image reading apparatus, at least one of the plurality of convex portions may be provided at a position corresponding to a standby position of the moving body.
In the image reading apparatus configured as described above, the load from the moving body is more likely to act on the guide portion at the standby position over a long period of time than at other positions. However, since the convex portion is provided at a position corresponding to such a standby position, the portion with the convex portion can be reliably brought into contact with the reinforcing member, and the guide portion at the standby position can be favorably deformed. Can be suppressed.

  In the above-described image reading apparatus, the reinforcing member has an L-shaped cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the first corresponding to one of the two sides forming the L-shape. A plate-like portion enters the groove, a second plate-like portion corresponding to the other side is fixed by the screw, and a position of the base portion facing the first plate-like portion and the second plate-like portion A plurality of ribs that protrude toward the reinforcing member side and abut against the reinforcing member may be formed at locations opposite to the reinforcing member.

  According to the image reading apparatus configured as described above, each rib comes into contact with the reinforcing member at a position where each rib is formed. Therefore, unlike the case where the equivalent rib is not provided, the reinforcing member can be prevented from being tilted from the designed position, and the rigidity of the reinforcing member can be increased in the guide portion by holding the reinforcing member at an appropriate position. It is possible to enhance the effect of effectively acting and suppressing the deformation of the guide portion.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multifunction machine. FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view showing the reading unit in a state where the center cover is in the closed position. FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the reading unit with the center cover in the open position. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the FB unit. FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the FB unit. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the FB unit taken along the line IVA-IVA in FIG. 3B. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the FB unit taken along the line IVB-IVB in FIG. 3B. It is sectional drawing of the FB unit in the cut location shown by the VV line in FIG. 3 (B). It is a bottom view which shows a scanner base, a convex part, and a rib. It is a perspective view which shows a scanner base, a convex part, and a rib. FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the FB unit at a position where the sliding portion can be seen. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the FB unit taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB in FIG. 8A. It is explanatory drawing which expands and shows the IX part shown in FIG.8 (B). It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the sliding part shown in FIG. 9 inclined.

Next, an exemplary embodiment of the above-described image reading apparatus will be described.
[Configuration of MFP]
A multifunction device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration corresponding to an example of the above-described image reading apparatus. In the following description, in order to briefly explain the relative positional relationship between the respective parts constituting the multi-function device 1, the vertical and horizontal directions are also shown in the figure (FIGS. 2 to 10). The explanation will be made using each direction. Among these directions, the up and down direction is the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane when the multifunction device 1 is installed on the horizontal plane, the front is the direction in which the operation panel 14 described later is directed, the rear is the opposite direction of the front, and the left and right directions are the above This is the left-right direction when the multifunction device 1 is viewed from the front. In addition, since the direction of the movable part or the like can be changed, the direction shown in the drawing is not always maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-function device 1 includes a main unit 2 and a reading unit 3 (corresponding to an example of an image reading device in this specification). An opening (not shown) is formed on the upper surface of the main unit 2. The reading unit 3 is attached to the upper part of the main unit 2 and is configured to be displaceable between a closed position and an open position. When the reading unit 3 is in the closed position, the opening of the main unit 2 is closed by the reading unit 3. When the reading unit 3 is in the open position, the opening of the main unit 2 is opened. In addition, it is comprised through this opening part so that maintenance of the component accommodated in the main body unit 2 etc. can be implemented. The reading unit 3 includes an FB unit 5 and an ADF unit 6. The structures of the FB unit 5 and the ADF unit 6 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main unit 2 is provided with a control unit 11. The control unit 11 includes a known CPU 11A, ROM 11B, RAM 11C, NVRAM 11D, interface unit 11E, and the like. The CPU 11A executes a predetermined process according to a control program stored in the ROM 11B or the RAM 11C, and thereby controls each part of the multifunction device 1.

  Control targets by the control unit 11 include an image forming unit 12, a LAN communication unit 13, an operation panel 14, an image sensor 15 (corresponding to an example of a reading unit in the present specification), a motor 16, a motor 17, and sheet detection. A sensor 18 and the like are provided. Among these, the image forming unit 12, the LAN communication unit 13, and the operation panel 14 are provided in the main unit 2. The image sensor 15 and the motor 16 are provided in the FB unit 5. The motor 17 and the sheet detection sensor 18 are provided in the ADF unit 6.

  The image forming unit 12 is configured to be able to form an image by an inkjet method on a recording medium such as cut paper. More specifically, the image forming unit 12 includes a transport mechanism for transporting a recording medium, a recording head for ejecting ink, a drive mechanism for reciprocating the recording head, and the like. However, since these are well-known configurations, further explanation and illustration are omitted. Note that the image forming unit 12 may be configured to be able to form an image by electrophotography.

  The LAN communication unit 13 includes a communication interface device compatible with a wireless LAN and a communication interface device compatible with a wired LAN. The operation panel 14 is an input device (for example, a touch panel, various buttons, and switches) that is operated when the user gives various commands to the multifunction device 1, and an operation state of the multifunction device 1. Output device (for example, a liquid crystal display device and various lamps).

  The image sensor 15 is a one-dimensional image sensor including a plurality of reading elements arranged in one direction. In the case of this embodiment, a contact image sensor (CIS) is adopted. The motor 16 is a power source for moving the image sensor 15 in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction with the arrangement direction of the reading elements of the image sensor 15 as the main scanning direction. The motor 17 is a power source for conveying the sheet in the ADF unit 6. The sheet detection sensor 18 is a sensor that detects that the leading end and the trailing end in the transport direction of the sheet transported by the ADF unit 6 have passed a predetermined detection position.

  As the sheet detection sensor 18, in the case of the present embodiment, a contact type sensor that switches on and off depending on whether or not the sheet being conveyed is in contact is employed. However, whether or not to use a contact type sensor is arbitrary, and a sensor that can detect in a non-contact manner that the leading end or the trailing end in the transport direction of the sheet has passed a predetermined detection position may be used. For example, an optical sensor capable of detecting whether the sheet being conveyed is in a state of blocking the optical path, an optical sensor capable of detecting whether light is reflected by the sheet being conveyed, or the like can be used. .

[Details of reading unit]
Next, the structure of the reading unit 3 will be described in more detail. In the reading unit 3, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the ADF unit 6 includes a sheet along a predetermined conveyance path (refer to a path indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2B). The conveyance part 20 which conveys is provided. The transport unit 20 includes a suction roller 21, a separation roller 22A, a separation piece 22B, a relay roller 23A, a relay pinch roller 23B, a reverse roller 24A, a first reverse pinch roller 24B, a second reverse pinch roller 24C, and the like. .

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a central exterior cover 26, a left exterior cover 27, and a right exterior cover 28 are provided on the upper surface of the ADF unit 6. The central outer cover 26, the left outer cover 27, and the right outer cover 28 are rotatably supported by shaft support portions 26A, 27A, and 28A, respectively. When the central exterior cover 26 is displaced to the open position (the position shown in FIG. 2B), the central exterior cover 26 constitutes a sheet supply / discharge tray 29 that supports sheets.

  The sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit 20 is conveyed along a conveyance path indicated by a broken line in FIG. At that time, the sheets fed from the sheet supply / discharge tray 29 to the downstream side in the transport direction by the suction roller 21 are separated one by one by the separation roller 22A and the separation piece 22B. The separated sheet is sent out downstream in the conveying direction by the relay roller 23A. The leading edge position and the trailing edge position of the sheet sent out by the relay roller 23 </ b> A are detected with the contact with the sheet detection sensor 18. The sheet that has passed through the contact point with the sheet detection sensor 18 is further conveyed downstream in the conveying direction by the reverse roller 24A. As a result, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet supply / discharge tray 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the FB unit 5 includes a scanner base 31 (corresponding to an example of a base portion referred to in this specification) and a scanner top cover 32 (referred to in this specification). Equivalent to an example of a cover portion). Each of the scanner base 31 and the scanner top cover 32 is formed of a resin molded product. A platen 33 (corresponding to an example of a support portion in the present specification) made of a transparent glass plate is disposed on the scanner base 31. The platen 33 is sandwiched between the scanner base 31 and the scanner top cover 32 around the platen 33.

  A first opening 32A and a second opening 32B are formed on the upper surface of the scanner top cover 32 as shown in FIG. The platen 33 is exposed on the upper surface of the FB unit 5 at the location where the first opening 32A and the second opening 32B are formed. In the first opening 32A, the platen 33 constitutes a support surface that supports the reading object. Further, in the second opening portion 32 </ b> B, the platen 33 constitutes a contact surface with which the document conveyed by the conveyance unit 20 comes into contact. In the present embodiment, the platen 33 that is a single component is exposed in both the first opening 32A and the second opening 32B, but in each of the first opening 32A and the second opening 32B. Two corresponding platens may be provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a resin guide rail 34 (corresponding to an example of a guide portion in this specification) is provided on the inner surface of the bottom of the scanner base 31. . The guide rail 34 is integrally formed with the scanner base 31. The guide rail 34 extends in the left-right direction in FIG. 2B in a state parallel to the lower surface of the platen 33.

  On the upper side of the guide rail 34, a carriage 35 (corresponding to an example of a moving body in the present specification) is disposed. The carriage 35 is supported so as to be capable of reciprocating in the left-right direction along the guide rail 34. The carriage 35 is connected to an endless toothed belt (not shown), and when the toothed belt is circulated and driven by the motor 16 (see FIG. 1), the carriage 35 follows the toothed belt. It is configured to reciprocate in the left-right direction.

  In the image sensor 15, the main scanning direction is the front-rear direction in FIG. 2A (that is, the direction perpendicular to both the left-right direction and the up-down direction shown in FIG. 2A), and The reading element is mounted on the carriage 35 in a state of being directed upward. As a result, when the carriage 35 reciprocates in the left-right direction, the image sensor 15 moves in the sub-scanning direction together with the carriage 35. When reading the image of the sheet placed on the upper surface of the platen 33 in the first opening 32A, the image sensor 15 reads the image while moving below the first opening 32A together with the carriage 35. Further, when reading an image of a sheet conveyed by the conveying unit 20, the sheet passes through the second opening 32B while being in contact with the upper surface of the platen 33 on the way from the relay roller 23A to the reverse roller 24A. The image sensor 15 stands still below the second opening 32 </ b> B, and reads the sheet image through the platen 33.

[Details of guide rail]
As shown in FIG. 3B, a metal reinforcing plate 37 (corresponding to an example of a reinforcing member in the present specification) is attached to the bottom outer surface of the scanner base 31. The reinforcing plate 37 extends along the guide rail 34 in order to improve the rigidity of the resin guide rail 34. As shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), the guide rail 34 is opposite to the portion where the carriage 35 is disposed (that is, the bottom inner surface side of the scanner base 31) (that is, the scanner base). And a reinforcing plate 37 is accommodated in the groove 39.

  More specifically, the reinforcing plate 37 is formed by bending an elongated rectangular metal plate, and a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is formed in an approximately L shape. The first plate-shaped portion 37 </ b> A corresponding to one of the two sides forming the L shape enters the inside of the groove 39. As shown in FIG. 4B, the second plate-like portion 37B corresponding to the other side is fixed by a screw 41A. The screw 41A is also a screw that fixes the scanner base 31 and the scanner top cover 32 to each other.

  That is, the scanner base 31 and the scanner top cover 32 are fixed by the six screws 41A to 41F. These six screws 41A to 41F all pass through the scanner base 31 and are screwed into the scanner top cover 32 (FIG. 4A shows the screwed structure of the screws 41A and 41F, FIG. (B) illustrates a screwing structure of the screw 41C (the screw 41B, the screw 41D, and the screw 41E are also substantially the same screwing structure and are not shown). The scanner base 31 and the reinforcing plate 37 are fastened together with the screw 41A among the six screws 41A to 41F described above.

  Of the end portions 37C and 37D on both sides in the longitudinal direction, one end portion 37C (the end portion closer to the carriage 35 from the standby position) of the reinforcing plate 37 is fixed to the scanner base 31 with screws 41A. Yes. The other end 37D (the end far from the standby position of the carriage 35) is held by a holding portion 43 formed on the scanner base 31, as shown in FIG. That is, the reinforcing plate 37 can be fixed to the scanner base 31 with only one screw 41 </ b> A by using the holding portion 43. Therefore, both ends of the reinforcing plate 37 need not be screwed. Therefore, the labor required for the screw tightening operation can be reduced, and the workability when assembling the FB unit 5 can be improved.

  The platen 33 and the scanner top cover 32 have an adhesive portion 45 bonded to each other via a double-sided tape (corresponding to an example of an adhesive material in the present specification) at the peripheral portion of the platen 33 (see FIG. 45 is an example.) As shown in FIG. 5, the above-described screw 41 </ b> A is screwed to the scanner top cover 32 in the vicinity of the bonding portion 45.

  The platen 33 is made of glass and has higher rigidity than other resin parts. Since the scanner top cover 32 is bonded to the platen 33 by the bonding portion 45, the rigidity of the scanner top cover 32 is increased in the vicinity of the bonding portion 45. When the screw 41A is screwed into the scanner top cover 32 in the vicinity of the adhesive portion 45 having high rigidity in the scanner top cover 32, the scanner top cover 32 is difficult to deform, and the screw 41A is also difficult to be displaced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the scanner base 31 and the guide rail 34 from being deformed due to the displacement of the screw 41A.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a plurality of convex portions (in this embodiment, six on the inner side of the groove 39 opposite to the opening side (that is, a portion corresponding to the bottom of the groove 39). Two convex portions 51A to 51F.) Are provided. These convex portions 51 </ b> A to 51 </ b> F protrude from the inner upper end of the groove 39 toward the opening side of the groove 39 (downward in the present embodiment) and abut against the upper end of the reinforcing plate 37. Among these convex portions 51 </ b> A to 51 </ b> F, the convex portion 51 </ b> A and the convex portion 51 </ b> B are provided at positions corresponding to the standby position of the carriage 35.

  Providing such convex portions 51A to 51F makes it possible to reliably place the contact portions with the reinforcing plate 37 inside the groove 39 at the positions where the convex portions 51A to 51F are present. Therefore, the guide rail 34 can be appropriately reinforced by arranging the convex portions 51 </ b> A to 51 </ b> F where load is likely to be applied. For example, in the standby position, the load from the carriage 35 is likely to act on the guide rail 34 for a long period of time compared to other positions, and thus the convex portions 51A and the convex portions 51B are provided at such positions. Thereby, the location with the convex portion 51A and the convex portion 51B can be reliably brought into contact with the reinforcing plate 37, and the deformation of the guide rail 34 at the standby position can be satisfactorily suppressed.

  A plurality of ribs (in the present embodiment, five ribs) projecting toward the reinforcing plate 37 side (first plate-like portion 37A side) are provided on the inner side of the groove 39 and facing the side surface of the first plate-like portion 37A. Ribs 52A to 52E.) Are formed. Further, in the scanner base 31, a plurality of ribs (in this embodiment, five ribs) projecting toward the reinforcing plate 37 side (second plate-like portion 37B side) are provided at locations facing the second plate-like portion 37B. Ribs 53A to 53E.) Are formed.

  Each of the ribs 52A to 52E and the ribs 53A to 53E is in contact with the reinforcing plate 37, and maintains the position and inclination of the reinforcing plate 37 with respect to the inside of the groove 39 in an appropriate state as designed. Therefore, unlike the case where the equivalent rib is not provided, it is possible to suppress the reinforcement plate 37 from being inclined from the designed position. Thereby, since the position and inclination of the reinforcing plate 37 are maintained in an appropriate state, the rigidity of the reinforcing plate 37 is effectively applied to the guide rail 34, and the effect of suppressing the deformation of the guide rail 34 is enhanced. Is available.

  That is, even if it is designed to receive a load in the direction in which the bending rigidity of the reinforcing plate 37 is the strongest, if the reinforcing plate 37 is inclined unexpectedly, the bending rigidity of the reinforcing plate 37 is effectively increased. It may become unavailable. For example, when the structures corresponding to the ribs 52 </ b> A to 52 </ b> E and the ribs 53 </ b> A to 53 </ b> E are not provided, the reinforcing plate 37 comes into contact with the inner wall of the scanner base 31 and the groove 39 on the surface. In this case, if the scanner base 31 is distorted within the tolerance range, the contact position between the reinforcing plate 37 and the scanner base 31 varies, and the position and inclination of the reinforcing plate 37 are likely to vary.

  In this regard, if the scanner base 31 can be reliably brought into contact with the reinforcing plate 37 at the locations where the ribs 52A to 52E and the ribs 53A to 53E are present, it is possible to suppress variations in the position and inclination of the reinforcing plate 37. The reinforcing plate 37 can be held at an inclination as designed, and the bending rigidity of the reinforcing plate 37 can be exhibited as designed.

[Carriage details]
As shown in FIG. 8A, on the guide rail 34 side of the carriage 35 (the lower side in FIG. 8A), a resin material having high wear resistance and slidability (for example, engineering plastic or the like) .) Is attached. When the carriage 35 moves along the guide rail 34 described above, the slide portion 55 contacts the guide rail 34. As shown in FIGS. 8B and 9, the sliding portion 55 straddles the guide rail 34 when it is placed on the upper side of the guide rail 34, and the guide rail 34 is placed on both sides (FIG. 8B ) And the front and rear sides in FIG. 9). Protruding portions 61, 62, 63, 64 that slightly protrude toward the guide rail 34 are formed at both ends in the moving direction of the sliding portion 55 (the left-right direction in FIGS. 8B and 9). Has been.

  The distance between the protrusions 61 and 62 and the distance between the protrusions 63 and 64 are slightly larger than the width of the guide rail 34, so that the sliding portion 55 can smoothly slide on the guide rail 34. It is said that. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, the width W1 of the guide rail 34 is 6 mm, while the minimum dimension W2 between the protrusions 61 and 62 and between the protrusions 63 and 64 is 6. 4 mm. By providing such a slight gap (0.4 mm gap in this embodiment), the sliding portion 55 can smoothly slide on the guide rail 34.

  Further, in the projecting portions 61, 62, 63, 64, the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, 64A facing the guide rail 34 are moved in the moving direction of the sliding portion 55 (the left-right direction in FIGS. 8B and 9). .) Is inclined by a predetermined angle α. Therefore, the distance between the protrusions 61 and 62 and the distance between the protrusions 63 and 64 are larger than the minimum dimension W2 as the sliding part 55 moves closer to both ends in the moving direction. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, the predetermined angle α described above is 0.71 °.

  When the gap as described above is provided in the sliding portion 55, the sliding portion 55 may be slightly tilted within the gap as shown in FIG. However, if the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A facing the guide rail 34 are provided with the inclination of the predetermined angle α as described above, the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A are at the end portions in the moving direction. It does not contact the guide rail 34 at the corner, but contacts the guide rail 34 at the surface. In other words, the inclination of the predetermined angle α as described above assumes that the inclination of the sliding portion 55 is the largest, and even in that case, the angle at the end in the moving direction is in contact with the guide rail 34. The angle is such that it will not be.

  When the sliding portion 55 is tilted as described above, each of the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A is configured to come into contact with the surface, so that the sliding portion 55 is angled to the guide rail 34. The contact pressure between the guide rail 34 and the sliding portion 55 can be reduced as compared with the case where the contact rails are configured to contact each other. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the guide rail 34 and the sliding portion 55 from being worn or damaged.

  In the case of the sliding portion 55 described above, the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A facing the guide rail 34 are inclined at a predetermined angle α, and the chamfered portions 61B and 62B are arranged at the movement direction end. , 63B, 64B are provided. If the chamfered portions 61B, 62B, 63B, and 64B are provided, the corners at the ends of the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A that face the guide rail 34 become obtuse. Therefore, such a configuration also has an effect of suppressing the guide rail 34 from being damaged. Further, the surfaces 61A, 62A, 63A, and 64A facing the guide rail 34 may be configured as curved surfaces that are convex toward the guide rail 34 side.

[effect]
As described above, according to the above-described multifunction device 1, the guide rail 34 can be formed without using a metal shaft by integrally forming the guide rail 34 on the resin scanner base 31. Further, since the guide rail 34 is reinforced by the metal reinforcing plate 37, the deformation of the guide rail 34 can be suppressed even though the guide rail 34 is made of resin. Therefore, the carriage 35 or the image sensor 15 can be moved along the guide rail 34 with high accuracy.

  The reinforcing plate 37 is fixed to the scanner base 31 with screws 41A. For this reason, in the vicinity of the place where the screw 41A is screwed, the screw 41A is tightened to such an extent that no gap is formed between the reinforcing plate 37 and the scanner base 31, thereby allowing the reinforcing plate 37 and the scanner base 31 to play between them. It can be brought into close contact to the extent that does not occur. Therefore, the effect of suppressing the deformation of the scanner base 31 in the vicinity of the screwing position is enhanced compared to the case where a structure having some play between the member corresponding to the reinforcing plate 37 and the member corresponding to the scanner base 31 is adopted, and the guide rail is improved. The effect of suppressing the deformation of 34 can be improved.

  The reinforcing plate 37 is fixed to the scanner base 31 with screws 41A at the end 37C closer to the standby position of the carriage 35. The screw 41A is screwed into the scanner top cover 32, whereby the scanner base 31 and the reinforcing plate 37 are fastened together. Therefore, compared with a structure in which a scanner plate 31 is simply attached to the scanner base 31 with an adhesive, or a structure in which a plate corresponding to the reinforcement plate is screwed into the scanner base 31 itself, the screwed portion by the screw 41A is used. The vicinity can have a highly rigid structure. Thereby, the deformation suppressing effect of the guide rail 34 can be effectively exhibited in the vicinity of the standby position of the carriage 35.

  Furthermore, by providing the reinforcing plate 37, not only the bending rigidity of the guide rail 34 is improved, but also the bending rigidity of the scanner base 31 is improved, and the rigidity of the FB unit 5 as a whole is also improved. Therefore, even when an impact or a large force is applied to the FB unit 5, the FB unit 5 is hardly deformed as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an unexpected trouble (for example, trouble that the carriage 35 is detached from the guide rail 34) accompanying such deformation.

[Other Embodiments]
The exemplary embodiments of the image reading apparatus have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. can do.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the reinforcing plate 37 is fixed to the scanner base 31 with the screw 41A at the end 37C closer to the standby position of the carriage 35 is shown. It is good and you may screw two or more places. However, as described above, the position close to the standby position of the carriage 35 is a place where higher rigidity is required. Therefore, considering this point, the configuration as in the above embodiment is preferable.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the structure which hold | maintains edge part 37D of the reinforcement plate 37 with the holding | maintenance part 43 was employ | adopted, whether such a holding | maintenance part 43 is provided is arbitrary. Instead of the holding portion 43, a configuration in which screws are used may be employed.

  In the above embodiment, the convex portions 51A to 51F, the ribs 52A to 52E, and the ribs 53A to 53E are provided in order to bring the reinforcing plate 37 and the scanner base 31 into contact with each other at predetermined positions. Whether or not is provided is arbitrary. Even when these are provided, the number of them is arbitrary.

  In the above-described embodiment, the reading unit 3 included in the multifunction device 1 is illustrated as an example of the image reading device. However, whether or not it is configured as a multifunction device is arbitrary. The above-described configuration may be employed in a facsimile machine or the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... MFP, 2 ... Main body unit, 3 ... Reading unit, 5 ... FB unit, 6 ... ADF unit, 11 ... Control part, 11A ... CPU, 11B ... ROM, 11C ... RAM, 11D ... NVRAM, 11E ... Interface part , 12 ... Image forming unit, 13 ... LAN communication unit, 14 ... Operation panel, 15 ... Image sensor, 16 ... Motor, 17 ... Motor, 18 ... Sheet detection sensor, 20 ... Conveying unit, 21 ... Suction roller, 22A ... Separation Roller, 22B ... Separation piece, 23A ... Relay roller, 23B ... Relay pinch roller, 24A ... Reverse roller, 24B ... First reverse pinch roller, 24C ... Second reverse pinch roller, 26 ... Central exterior cover, 26A ... Shaft support, 27 ... Left exterior cover, 28 ... Right exterior cover, 29 ... Sheet feeding / discharging tray, 31 ... Scanner base, 32 ... Scanner top cover -, 32A ... first opening, 32B ... second opening, 33 ... platen, 34 ... guide rail, 35 ... carriage, 37 ... reinforcing plate, 37A ... first plate-like portion, 37B ... second plate-like portion, 37C ... one end, 37D ... the other end, 39 ... groove, 41A-41F ... screw, 43 ... holding part, 45 ... adhesive part, 51A-51F ... convex part, 52A-52E ... rib, 53A-53E ... ribs, 55 ... sliding parts, 61-64 ... projecting parts.

Claims (8)

A resin base,
A resin guide part integrally formed with the base part;
A movable body configured to be movable along the guide portion;
A reading unit attached to the moving body and configured to be able to read an image of a document;
A metal reinforcing member extending along the guide portion,
The image reading apparatus, wherein at least one portion of the reinforcing member is fixed to the base portion with screws. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member has a portion in the vicinity of an end closer to a standby position of the moving body among both ends in the longitudinal direction fixed to the base by the screw. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the base portion includes a holding portion that holds an end portion of the reinforcing member that is farther from a standby position of the moving body. A support unit for supporting a sheet read by the reading unit;
A cover portion for holding the support portion around the support portion,
The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the screw is a screw that is screwed into the cover portion, and the base portion and the reinforcing member are fastened together by the screw. The image reading according to claim 4, wherein the support part and the cover part include an adhesive part bonded to each other via an adhesive material, and the screw is screwed to the cover part in the vicinity of the adhesive part. apparatus. The guide portion has a groove that opens on a side opposite to the place where the moving body is disposed and accommodates the reinforcing member,
6. The plurality of convex portions that protrude toward the opening side and are in contact with the reinforcing member are provided at a position opposite to the opening side inside the groove. 6. The image reading apparatus described. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the plurality of protrusions is provided at a position corresponding to a standby position of the moving body. The reinforcing member has an L-shaped cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the first plate-like portion corresponding to one of the two sides forming the L-shape enters the groove, A second plate-like portion corresponding to the other side is fixed by the screw;
In the base portion, a plurality of ribs that protrude toward the reinforcing member and are in contact with the reinforcing member are formed at a location facing the first plate-shaped portion and a location facing the second plate-shaped portion. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6 or 7.

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