JP2019050450A - Lighting device, reading device, and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a structure of a lighting device which can arrange a light source portion at an appropriate position with respect to a light guide and is also advantageous in terms of manufacture.SOLUTION: A lighting device includes a rod-shaped light guide, a light source portion for introducing light into the light guide, a cover member which covers the side surface of the light guide and which accommodates the light source portion, and a housing which accommodates the cover member, and the cover member has a housing portion for housing the light source portion, and an opening of the housing portion is inclined to guide the light source portion to the housing portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting device, a reading device and a recording device.

  A reading device such as a scanner includes, for example, an illumination device that emits light to a document, and a light detection device that detects reflected light from the document, whereby images (text, graphics, photographs, etc.) on the document are detected. ) Can be read.

JP, 2014-33440, A

  Among lighting devices, a rod-like light guide for guiding light received from a light source unit such as an LED is assembled to a cover member, and the cover member is fixed to a casing (see Patent Document 1). The cover member is extended so as to expose a part of the side surface of the light guide as a light emission surface, and is configured to reflect light traveling from the light guide toward the cover member toward the light emission surface.

  The light source unit is required to be disposed at an appropriate position with respect to the light guide so as to face the surface (end surface) of the end of the light guide, so that a structure capable of realizing this is manufactured. It should be designed in consideration of work efficiency at the time.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a lighting device capable of arranging a light source portion at an appropriate position with respect to a light guide and also advantageous in terms of manufacture.

  One aspect of the present invention relates to a lighting device, and the lighting device covers a rod-like light guide, a light source unit for introducing light into the light guide, and a side surface of the light guide, and the light source unit A cover member for housing the cover member, and a housing for housing the cover member, the cover member has a housing portion for housing the light source portion, and the opening of the housing portion is the light source portion It inclines so that it may guide to the said accommodating part.

  According to the present invention, the light source unit can be disposed at an appropriate position with respect to the light guide.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating the example of the structure of a reader. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the example of the structure of a reader. It is a perspective view for explaining the example of the structure of a cover member. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the example of the structure of a reader. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an example of the structure of a recording apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Each drawing is only a schematic drawing described for the purpose of explaining the structure or configuration, and the dimensions of the illustrated members do not necessarily reflect the actual ones. Moreover, in each figure, the same reference number is attached | subjected to the same member or the same element, and the description of the overlapping content shall be abbreviate | omitted in the following.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a reader RO relating to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the reader RO at a cutting line d1-d1. Note that in the drawings, X, Y, and Z directions orthogonal to one another are shown (the same applies to the other drawings) in order to facilitate understanding of the structure. The reader RO has a long structure extending in the X direction. The X direction may be expressed as an extending direction or a long direction (first direction). The Y direction corresponds to the width direction of the reader RO (third direction). The Z direction corresponds to the height direction of the reader RO (second direction).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reader RO includes a lighting device 1, a rod lens array 2, and a line sensor 3. The lighting device 1 includes a light guide 11, a cover 12, a housing 13, and light sources 14A and 14B.

  The light guide 11 is a rod-like member extended in the X direction. The light guide 11 receives light from the light source unit (first light source unit) 14A and the light source unit (second light source unit) 14B respectively disposed at both ends thereof, and guides the light in the X direction. For example, an optical fiber made of acrylic or the like is used for the light guide 11, and the end face on the light source unit 14A side of the light guide 11 and the end face on the light source unit 14B side function as light incident surfaces.

  The cover member 12 is extended in the X direction so as to expose a part of the side surface (a side surface extending in the X direction) of the light guide 11 and to cover the other part, thereby fixing the light guide 11 Or support. The exposed part (exposed surface) of the side surfaces of the light guide 11 functions as a light emitting surface for emitting the light in the light guide 11. This light emitting surface corresponds to the exposed surface on the + Z side in FIG. 2 in the present embodiment.

  The housing 13 fixes the cover member 12 and accommodates the cover member 12 together with the light guide 11 and the light source units 14A and 14B. Although the details will be described later, the cover member 12 includes one end (end on the + X direction) 121 and the other end (end on the -X direction) 122 as shown in FIG. 1. The light guide 11 and the light source unit 14A can be held on the end 121 side. In the present embodiment, the light source unit 14B is fixed at the end 122 side.

  As can be seen from the enlarged view of the region indicated by an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1, the housing 13 has a locking portion 131 and an abutting portion 132. In the enlarged view, the light guide 11 and the cover member 12 are not shown in order to make the structure of the housing 13 easy to understand.

  The locking portion 131 extends in a hook shape so as to lock the cover member 12, thereby fixing the cover member 12. Thus, the locking portion 131 indirectly fixes the light guide 11 fixed to the cover member 12. Further, the contact portion 132 contacts the light guide 11 fixed to the cover member 12, thereby supporting the light guide 11.

  The cover member 12 is formed of a member having a relatively high light reflectance, such as white, so as to reflect the light from the light guide 11 to the light emitting surface side. For example, polycarbonate to which titanium oxide is added may be used for the cover member 12. On the other hand, the housing 13 is formed of a member having a relatively high light absorptivity, such as black, so as to absorb the light from the light guide 11. For example, the housing 13 may be made of polycarbonate including glass fiber. As a result, it is possible to prevent leakage of light from the light guide 11 to other than the light exit surface and to prevent stray light in the housing 13.

  The rod lens array 2 is fixed in the housing 13 at a position adjacent to the light guide 11 in the Y direction, as shown in FIG. The light emitted from the light guide 11 is reflected by the object to be read (not shown) above the reader RO (on the + Z direction side), and the reflected light is collected by the rod lens array 2 and is directed downward (− Led to the Z direction). An example of the object to be read includes a recording medium on which an image is formed, such as a document or a magazine.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the line sensor 3 is fixed to the lower side (−Z direction side) of the rod lens array 2, and can detect the light collected by the rod lens array 2. For the line sensor 3, for example, a known photoelectric conversion element such as a CMOS image sensor is used. The line sensor 3 is mounted on the upper surface (the surface on the + Z direction side, mounting surface) of the substrate SB, and the substrate SB is fixed to the housing 13. In the present embodiment, the external communication connector CN is provided on the lower surface (the surface on the -Z direction side, the surface on the opposite side to the mounting surface) of the substrate SB. A signal or data corresponding to the detection result of is output.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views for explaining the structure of the end portion 121 of the cover member 12. Here, the light source unit 14A is illustrated together with the end 121 for the purpose of explanation. In the present embodiment, the light source unit 14A is a packaged LED device, and is mounted on a substrate SB indicated by a broken line in the drawing. More specifically, the light source unit 14A includes a terminal TA for receiving a power for light emission and a signal for driving, and the terminal TA is electrically connected to the substrate SB. In the present embodiment, the light source unit 14A is fixed to the substrate SB by soldering the terminal TA to the substrate SB, and is in a posture of being erected in the + Z direction from the substrate SB by the terminal TA.

  Although not shown here, the light source unit 14B is mounted on the substrate SB at a position opposite to the mounting position of the light source unit 14A similarly to the light source unit 14A, and the line sensor 3 is mounted on the light source unit 14A and It is implemented during 14B.

  FIG. 3A shows a mode before the substrate SB on which the light source unit 14A is mounted is fixed to the housing 13 (not shown), and FIG. 3B is a housing of the substrate SB. 14 shows the embodiment after fixing to 13;

  In the present embodiment, the end portion 121 includes a holding portion 1211 and a housing portion (or a recess) 1212. The holding portion 1211 has two arm portions extending in the + Y direction, whereby the end portion of the light guide 11 can be held. The housing portion 1212 is provided recessed in the + Z direction in a portion extended in the Y direction on the outer side (+ X direction side) of the holding portion 1211 or has a shape opened in the −Z direction, The light source unit 14A can be inserted.

  Here, the side wall of the housing portion 1212 has inclined surfaces F1 to F3 that are inclined such that the opening of the housing portion 1212 is expanded. The inclined surface F1 is provided on a part of the side wall on the −X direction side of the accommodation portion 1212 (the side wall on the light guide 11 side) in the −Z direction side. The inclined surface F2 is provided on a part of the side wall on the + X direction side of the accommodation portion 1212 (the side wall facing the inclined surface F1) on the −Z direction side. The inclined surface F3 is provided on a part of the side wall on the -Z direction side among the side walls on the -Y direction side connecting the two side walls.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, when the substrate SB is fixed to the housing 13, the light source unit 14A mounted on the substrate SB is inserted into the housing 1212 and held in the housing 1212. At this time, since the housing portion 1212 has the above-described shape, the light source portion 14A is smoothly guided into the housing portion 1212 by the inclined surfaces F1 to F3. That is, according to the present embodiment, the light source unit 14A can be easily inserted into the storage unit 1212, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

  Further, the end 121 further includes a restricting portion 1213. In the present embodiment, the restricting portion 1213 is a slit-like long hole (or may simply be expressed as “slit”) provided extending in the Z direction on the side wall on the + X direction side of the housing portion 1212. . Moreover, the protrusion part 141 is provided in the surface which opposes the said side wall of the accommodating part 1212 among the side surfaces of 14 A of light source parts. The projecting portion 141 has a shape projecting in the + X direction continuously formed along the Z direction, and when the light source portion 14A is inserted into the accommodating portion 1212 / held in the accommodating portion 1212, the projecting portion 141 Engages with the restricting portion 1213. Thereby, the positional deviation in the Y direction of the light source unit 14A is regulated, and the position of the light source unit 14A with respect to the end face (light incident surface) of the light guide 11 is fixed.

  FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional structure of the + X direction side end portion (the end portion 121 of the cover member 12 and its peripheral structure) of the reading device RO as a cross-sectional view along the cutting line d2-d2 of the reading device RO. . Similarly, FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional structure of the −X direction side end portion (the end portion 122 of the cover member 12 and its peripheral structure) of the reader RO.

  The substrate SB on which the light source units 14A and 14B are mounted is assembled to the housing 13 in the + Z direction. At that time, as described above (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) and as can be seen from FIG. 4A, the light source unit 14A is inserted into the housing 1212 and held in the housing 1212. Ru. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the light source unit 14B is inserted into the space between the end 122 of the cover member 12 and the housing 13 and is fixed at that position.

  In the present embodiment, the relative position of the light source unit 14B of the two light source units 14A and 14B with respect to other members (here, the case 13 and the case member 12 incidentally) is preferentially determined. That is, the arrangement position or the fixed position of the light source unit 14B in the housing 13 is determined preferentially to the light source unit 14A. This can be said that the positional deviation of the light source unit 14A with respect to the housing 13 relative to the light source unit 14B is permitted.

  As an example, manufacture or production of lighting installation 1 can be realized by a worker in the following procedure. That is, after the light guide 11 is assembled to the cover member 12, the cover member 12 is fixed together with the light guide 11 in the housing 13. Thereafter, the substrate SB on which the light source units 14A and 14B are mounted is fixed to the housing 13. At that time, first, the light source unit 14B is inserted into the space between the end 122 of the cover member 12 and the housing 13, and then the substrate SB is pivoted with the light source unit 14B as a fulcrum. Then, the light source unit 14A is inserted into the housing 1212 of the end 121. In this manner, the substrate SB is fixed to the housing 13 so that the light source unit 14A faces the end face on one end of the light guide 11 and the light source part 14B faces the end face on the other end. Ru.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, it can be said that the substrate SB is positioned with reference to the light source unit 14B. Therefore, the substrate SB is firmly fixed to the housing 13 closer to the light source unit 14B than the light source unit 14A (at a position closer to the light source unit 14B than the light source unit 14A).

  In the present embodiment, a convex portion 139A is provided in the vicinity of the end portion of the housing 13 on the light source portion 14A side, and a convex portion 139B is provided in the vicinity of the end portion on the light source portion 14B side. The positioning of the substrate SB with respect to the housing 13 can be performed by inserting each of the convex portions 139A and 139B into the opening provided in the substrate SB. At this time, the width of the opening corresponding to the convex portion 139B may be set smaller than the width of the opening corresponding to the convex portion 139A. Thus, the position of the light source unit 14B in the housing 13 can be fixed more firmly.

  And as above-mentioned, by providing inclined surface F1-F3 in the accommodating part 1212, it is easy to insert the light source part 14A in the accommodating part 1212. As shown in FIG. Therefore, according to this embodiment, dimensional tolerances of the case member 12, the housing 13, and the substrate SB can be buffered, which is further advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

  Here, the inclination angles of the inclined surfaces F1 to F3 may be inclined with respect to the Z direction. Assuming that the angle (inclination angle) between the inclined surface and the Z direction is θ, if the inclination angle θ is too small, the allowable range of the dimensional tolerance narrows, and if the inclination angle θ is too large, the light source part 14A can not be introduced into the housing 1212. Therefore, the inclination angle θ may be set, for example, in the range of 0 ° <θ ≦ 45 °, and more preferably in the range of 5 ° ≦ θ ≦ 30 °.

  At the deep position of the housing portion 1212 (ie, on the + Z direction side with respect to the inclined surfaces F1 to F3), the side wall may be provided substantially vertically. As a result, the light source unit 14A held in the housing unit 1212 is maintained in an upright posture along the Z direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, a gap GP is provided between the light guide 11 and the light source unit 14A. In the present embodiment, the substrate SB is positioned with reference to the light source unit 14B, and accordingly, the light guide 11 is fixed at the end 122 by a fixing unit (not shown) (more rigid than the holding unit 1211 at the end 121). ) Fixed. Therefore, the light guide 11 may thermally expand toward the light source unit 14A. According to the present embodiment, by providing the gap GP between the light guide 11 and the light source unit 14A, the light guide 11 abuts on the light source unit 14A and an unexpected stress is generated in the light guide 11 You can prevent that. As a result, it is possible to improve the reading accuracy of the reading device RO or maintain the reading accuracy high. The gap GP may be provided larger than the distance between the light source unit 14B and the light guide 11 (substantially zero in this embodiment).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the housing portion 1212 is provided at the end portion 121 of the cover member 12. The housing portion 1212 is provided so that the light source portion 14A can be inserted and the light source portion 14A can be held so as to face the end face which is the light incident surface of the light guide 11. The side wall of the housing portion 1212 has inclined surfaces F1 to F3 that are inclined such that the opening of the housing portion 1212 is expanded.

  According to the present embodiment, when the light source unit 14A is inserted into the storage unit 1212 in the manufacturing process of the lighting device 1, the inclined surfaces F1 to F3 guide the insertion of the light source unit 14A. Therefore, the light source unit 14A is smoothly inserted into the storage unit 1212. Therefore, the light source unit 14A can be disposed at an appropriate position with respect to the light guide 11 with a relatively simple configuration.

  Although the structure which provided three inclined surfaces F1-F3 in the accommodating part 1212 was illustrated in this embodiment, as another embodiment, the inclined surface F3 may be abbreviate | omitted (it may be perpendicular | vertical). Further, as still another embodiment, one of inclined surfaces F1 and F2 may be omitted based on the design dimension of substrate SB or based on the design distance between light source units 14A and 14B. .

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of a recording device PA as an application example of the reading device RO provided with the above-described illumination device 1. As the recording apparatus PA, a known recording method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method can be adopted. The recording apparatus PA may also be referred to as a printing apparatus including an inkjet printer, a laser beam printer, a copying machine, an MFP (multifunction printer), and the like, an image forming apparatus, and the like. The recording device PA includes a recording unit H, a processor PR, and a plurality of transport rollers R in addition to the reading device RO.

  For the recording unit H, for example, a head for discharging a liquid such as ink is used. The recording unit H is driven by an electrical signal based on printing data, and discharges a liquid onto the recording medium P to record an image on the recording medium P. The processor PR outputs an electrical signal based on the print data to the recording unit H to drive the recording unit H. The transport roller R transports the recording medium P based on the drive signal from the processor PR. In the present embodiment, the transport roller R transports the recording medium P on which the image is recorded by the recording unit H toward the reading device RO in the direction indicated by the one-dot chain line in the drawing.

  The reader RO is detachably accommodated in the recording device PA, and reads the image on the recording medium P recorded by the recording unit H. The processor PR receives the reading result by the reading device RO, and can correct, for example, the driving force (for example, liquid discharge amount) of the recording unit H based on the reading result, and it is necessary to re-record. It is also possible to notify the user that there is a certain. In addition, the illumination device 1 is also applicable to a reading device having no recording function, such as a document reader and a flatbed scanner.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments exemplified above, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, the individual terms described in the present specification are merely used for the purpose of describing the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the exact meaning of the terms, It may also include its equivalents. For example, it may be expressed as assembly / unit / module / device or the like instead of the term “device”, and vice versa.

  1: Lighting device, 11: light guide, 12: cover member, 13: case, 14A: light source unit, 1212: housing unit, F1 to F3: inclined surface.

Claims (11)

A rod-shaped light guide,
A light source unit for introducing light into the light guide;
A cover member that covers the side surface of the light guide and accommodates the light source unit;
A housing that accommodates the cover member;
Equipped with
The cover member has a housing portion for housing the light source portion,
An opening of the housing portion is inclined to guide the light source portion to the housing portion. The light guide extends in a first direction,
The cover member is extended in the first direction so as to expose a part of the side surface of the light guide extending in the first direction as a light emission surface for emitting light.
The cover member is configured to reflect the light from the light guide toward the light emitting surface.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is configured to absorb light from the light guide. The side wall of the housing portion is provided so as to expose the end face of the light guide to the light source portion as a light incident surface for causing light from the light source portion to be incident into the light guide body. The lighting device according to claim 2. A direction in which the light source unit is inserted into the housing unit is a second direction,
A direction orthogonal to both the first direction and the second direction is a third direction,
The light source unit has a protrusion,
The cover member engages with the protrusion on the surface of the housing opposite to the light guide so as to restrict positional deviation of the light source inserted in the housing in the third direction. The lighting apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a slit for fitting. It further comprises a substrate on which the light source unit is mounted,
The light source unit has a terminal,
The said terminal is being fixed to the said board | substrate. The illuminating device in any one of the Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate further includes a substrate extending in the first direction, the light source unit mounted as a first light source unit at one end, and a second light source unit different from the first light source unit mounted at the other end.
The substrate is attached to the housing such that the first light source unit faces the end surface of the light guide and the second light source unit faces the end surface of the light guide opposite to the end surface. The lighting device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the lighting device is fixed. The substrate is more firmly fixed to the casing at the other end side where the second light source unit is mounted than at the one end side where the first light source unit is mounted. The lighting device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lighting device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a distance between the first light source unit and the light guide is larger than a distance between the second light source unit and the light guide. The side wall of the housing portion has an inclined surface for guiding the light source portion to the housing portion on at least one of the two parts facing each other in the first direction. A lighting device according to any one of the preceding claims. A reader comprising the illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, a rod lens array, and a line sensor. 11. The reading device according to claim 10, which reads a medium.
Recording means for recording on a medium based on the reading result by the reading device;
Transport means for transporting the medium;
A recording apparatus comprising:

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