JP2021180413A - Document reading device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a document reading device that prevents peeling of the ends of a decal without increasing its size.SOLUTION: A document reading device has: a document placement part that includes a reading area; a display member that is provided with adhesion parts outside the reading area of the document placed on the document placement part; a transparent support member that supports the display member and has surfaces to be adhered of the adhesion parts; a platen part that holds down the display member and the placed document; and optical scanning means that can move within a scan range including the reading area and the adhesion parts and can irradiate the adhesion parts with light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a document reader and an image forming apparatus.

Image forming devices such as multifunction devices and copiers equipped with a document reading device for reading characters and images of a document placed on a contact glass by scanning an optical scanning unit are widely known.

In a document reading device, there is known a configuration in which a document reading device can be opened and closed separately at the upper and lower sides with a document placing portion composed of a contact glass or the like on which a document is placed as a boundary.
By the way, in such an image forming apparatus, there is known a configuration in which a display member called a decal is attached to the apparatus in order to display an instruction of an operation method or the like.
In particular, the scale decal used for determining the size of a document has a problem that it is difficult to secure a sufficient adhesive area in the document placing portion and the edge portion is particularly easily peeled off.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a document reading device provided with a display member for preventing size increase and peeling of edges.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the document reading device of the present invention includes a document placing portion provided with a reading area and a display member provided with an adhesive portion outside the reading area of the document mounted on the document placing portion. Includes a transparent support member that supports the display member and has an adhered surface of the adhesive portion, a pressure plate portion that holds the display member and the original document placed therein, and a reading area and the adhesive portion. A document reading device comprising an optical scanning means capable of moving the scanning range and irradiating the adhesive portion with light.

According to the present invention, peeling of the end portion of the decal is prevented so as not to increase the size.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a document reading apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example when a document is placed on the document reader shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the transparent member from the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the cross section of the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a transparent member and a display member. It is a figure which shows an example when the document reading apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is seen from the lower surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation when the display member is attached to the document reading apparatus.

As an example of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100.
The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming unit 101 that forms an image on a recording medium, and a so-called scanner for reading characters, images, and the like from a document placed on a document placing unit. It has a scanning reading unit 102 having a function, a document transport reading unit 103 provided on the upper part of the scanning reading unit 102 in an openable / closable manner, and a control unit 104.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 101 is an image forming unit that performs so-called electrophotographic image formation.
The image forming unit 101 is arranged so as to surround a plurality of photoconductor drums 81 corresponding to each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk), and each photoconductor drum 81. It has a charging unit 82, an exposure device 83, a developing device 84, a transfer roller 85, and a cleaning device 86.
In this embodiment, a so-called color image in which a photoconductor drum 81, a charging unit 82, an exposure device 83, a developing device 84, a transfer roller 85, and a cleaning device 86 are provided for each color. The image forming unit 101 is described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.
The image forming unit 101 also includes an intermediate transfer belt 90 on which the toner image formed on each photoconductor drum 81 is transferred, a resist roller 92 that transfers the sheet P to the intermediate transfer belt 90 at the right timing, and the like. The transfer device 87 that transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 90 to the sheet P, the fixing device 88 that fixes the toner image formed on the sheet P, and the discharge tray 89 for discharging the sheet P after fixing are provided. Have.
A cassette 91 storing the sheet P, which is a recording medium, is provided below the image forming unit 101, and the sheets P are taken out one by one from the cassette 91 and waited by the resist roller 92 on the intermediate transfer belt 90. The head of the formed toner image is aligned with the head of the toner image, and the toner image is sent to the transfer device 87.

The charging unit 82 uniformly charges the surface of the rotating photoconductor drum 81.
The exposure apparatus 83 scans a laser beam on the surface of the uniformly charged photoconductor drum 81 to form an electrostatic latent image.
The developing device 84 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image and develops it as a toner image.
The transfer roller 85 transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 81 to the intermediate transfer belt 90.
The cleaning device 86 removes the toner remaining on the photoconductor drum 81 after transfer to prepare for the next image formation.

The intermediate transfer belt 90 is an endless belt wound around a plurality of rollers including a secondary transfer roller 93, and rotates in the A direction in the drawing.
In the intermediate transfer belt 90, at the secondary transfer position N, the secondary transfer facing roller 94 facing the secondary transfer roller 93 abuts on the intermediate transfer belt 90 to form a nip portion.
At the secondary transfer position N, the intermediate transfer belt 90 is sandwiched between the secondary transfer facing roller 94 and the secondary transfer roller 93 together with the sheet P, and a secondary transfer bias is applied to obtain a toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 90. Transfer to sheet P.

The sheet P to which the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 90 is subjected to heat and pressure by the fixing device 88, and the toner image is melted and fixed on the surface. The fixed sheet P is discharged to the discharge tray 89 and loaded.

The control unit 104 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory (MEM-P), a north bridge (NB), a south bridge (SB), and the like.
The control unit 104 also has an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a local memory (MEM-C).
The control unit 104 also has an HD (Hard Disk), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a PCI bus, and a network I / F.

The CPU processes and calculates data according to a program stored in the main memory, and controls the operation of each of the above-mentioned parts. The main memory functions as a storage area of the control unit 104, and stores programs and data that realize each function of the control unit 104. Alternatively, the program may be configured to record and provide a file in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, FD, CD-R, or DVD. ..

The local memory (MEM-C) is used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD is a storage for accumulating image data, accumulating font data used at the time of printing, and accumulating forms. The HDD controls reading or writing of data to the HD according to the control of the CPU. The network I / F transmits / receives information to / from an external device such as an information processing device via a communication network.

The control unit 104 operates as a communication control means for controlling bidirectional communication with a host device (for example, a personal computer) via a communication network or the like.

The document transport reading unit 103 includes a document tray 40 on which the document S before transfer is placed, and various rollers and the like that separate the documents S placed on the document tray 40 one by one and transfer them to the scanning reader 102. ,have.
As shown in FIG. 3, the document transport reading unit 103 includes a hinge portion 42 provided so as to rotate up and down with the scanning reading unit 102, and a pressure plate portion 41 attached to the lower portion for scanning. It is attached to the upper part of the scanning reading unit 102 so that it can be opened and closed separately from the reading unit 102 at the top and bottom.

The scanning / reading unit 102 generates RGB image information by optically reading the document S, which is conveyed by the document transfer reading unit 103 and placed on the contact glass 7 that functions as the document placing unit. Specifically, the scanning / reading unit 102 shines light from below on the original S placed on the contact glass 7 with the surface facing down, and the reflected light is reflected by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). ), Etc., the RGB image information is read by receiving light. The RGB image information is information representing an image formed on the sheet P, and includes the brightness of each color of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

As shown in FIG. 3, the scanning reading unit 102 includes a housing 4a and optics as an optical scanning means that is provided in the housing 4a and can be scanned by extending in the C direction, which is the main scanning direction, and moving in the B direction. It has a scanning unit 16, a contact glass 7 as a document placing portion, and a transparent member 11 arranged on the contact glass 7.
The scanning reading unit 102 also has a decal 15 which is a display member attached on the transparent member 11 and an opening portion 13 provided on a surface facing the adhesive portion of the decal 15 as described later. There is.
In the following description, a configuration in which the document S is particularly arranged on the contact glass 7 of the scanning / reading unit 102 to read an image will be described. It is not limited to the configuration.

The optical scanning unit 16 is a scanner that holds a light source, a lens, a charge-coupled device (CCD), and a mirror and can be moved by a driving means in the sub-scanning direction shown in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Function.
The optical scanning unit 16 scans the light from the light source with respect to the document S placed on the contact glass 7 along the C direction, which is the main scanning direction, and moves in the B direction to form the document S2. Read a dimensional color image. In the present embodiment, in particular, among the planes perpendicular to the Z direction and the Z direction toward the upper side of the contact glass 7, the direction along the sub-scanning direction is the X direction, and the direction along the main scanning direction is the Y direction.
The scanning region of the optical scanning unit 16 can scan at least within the range of the contact glass 7, includes an opening 13 outside the reading region W in at least the Y direction and as will be described later, and a white reference plate in the X direction. It is possible to irradiate a range including 33 with light. As described above, the scanning area of the optical scanning unit 16 is set to be wider than the reading area W.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transparent member 11 is a linear transparent member of the contact glass 7 that extends longer in the main scanning direction than the reading area W in which the document S can be read, and is a decal. It is a transparent support member that supports 15. Here, "transparent" means that the irradiation light from the optical scanning unit 16 is transmitted to some extent, and is applied to at least the adhesive portion 18 in order to secure the amount of light emitted to the adhesive portion 18 as described later. It is desirable that the transmittance is high within the wavelength range to be irradiated to the photocurable adhesive.
In this embodiment, the reading area W is indicated by a broken line, indicating that the area W is substantially the same as the exposed area of the contact glass 7.
A decal 15 is attached to the transparent member 11 on the side opposite to the contact glass 7, that is, on the upper surface side.

The decal 15 is, for example, a display member such as a scale decal on which characters, scales, and the like are displayed in order to determine the size of the original S. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the reading area of the contact glass 7 is used. It is used to measure the size of the document S placed in W.
The decal 15 is not limited to such a configuration, and may describe, for example, how to use the image forming apparatus 100.
Further, the decal 15 may have a structure that is directly attached to the contact glass 7 or the housing 4a. In that case, the contact glass 7 functions as a transparent support member that supports the decal 15.

FIG. 5 is a view when the scanning reading unit 102 shown in FIG. 3 is viewed from the upper side on the Z direction side. It should be noted that here, for the sake of explanation, the transparent member 11 is removed.
An opaque housing 4a is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the contact glass 7 so as to cover the upper portion.
The housing 4a is provided with an opening 13 outside the reading area W in the Y direction. With such an opening 13, light from the optical scanning unit 16 is irradiated to the bonded portion 18 via the opening 13 and the transparent member 11, as particularly shown in FIG. 6 (b). Is possible.

As shown by diagonal lines in FIG. 6A, two adhesive portions 18 are formed on the surface (back surface) of the decal 15 on the side of contact with the transparent member 11 outside the Y direction, which is the main scanning direction from the reading area W. Is provided.
The adhesive portion 18 is a photocurable adhesive applied so as to occupy both ends of the decal 15 in the present embodiment, and is cured by irradiating light having a predetermined wavelength.
FIG. 6B shows a cross section taken along the line AA'in FIG. 6A. As is clear from the AA'cross section, the adhesive portion 18 is arranged at a position facing the opening portion 13 when the transparent member 11 is attached to the scanning reading portion 102, and the optical scanning unit 16 is lit. When light is incident on the opening 13, it passes through the transparent member 11 and is irradiated to the adhesive portion 18.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a double-sided tape 31 whose adhesive material is cured over time is attached between the adhesive portions 18 attached to both ends of the decal 15 in the main scanning direction.
7 (a) is a view of the decal 15 attached to the transparent member 11 from the back surface side (the back side of the contact glass 7), and FIG. 7 (b) is a view of the decal 15 attached to the transparent member 11 from the front surface side (upper surface side). The figure seen is shown.
In the present embodiment, the double-sided tape 31 is arranged outside the X direction, which is the sub-scanning direction of the reading area W, but the double-sided tape 31 straddles the portion overlapping the reading area W of the decal 15. May be placed.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a white reference plate 33 for correcting the image density is provided between the openings 13 in the main scanning direction on the back side of the adhered surface of the decal 15. There is.
The white reference plate 33 is a white member that reflects the irradiated light, and when the control unit 104 reads RGB image information, the light reflected and read by the white reference plate 33 is used as a “white” reference. This is a density correction unit that corrects the density of the scanned image.
In this way, if the white reference plate 33 is arranged between the openings 13 in the main scanning direction, when the optical scanning unit 16 is arranged at a position to irradiate the white reference plate 33 for adjusting the image density. In addition, the optical scanning unit 16 is arranged at the position of the opening 13 in the sub-scanning direction. That is, when the optical scanning unit 16 scans the light in the main scanning direction when adjusting the image density, the light is transmitted from the opening 13 arranged outside the reading region W to the adhesive portion 18. It will be irradiated. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a position for the optical scanning unit 16 to irradiate the adhesive portion 18 with light, and space can be saved.

As described above, by arranging a plurality of openings 13 outside the reading area W and using the white reference plate 33 as a portion between the plurality of openings 13 in the Y direction, space saving can be achieved.
Further, the position of the white reference plate 33 corresponds to a position overlapping with the position where the double-sided tape 31 is attached. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the light from the optical scanning unit 16 from passing through the transparent member 11 and being reflected by the double-sided tape 31, resulting in unintended stray light.
In the above-described form, the white reference plate 33 may be provided on the housing 4a, the transparent member 11, or the contact glass 7.
Most preferably, the transparent member 11 is provided on the back side of the adhered surface to which the decal 15 is adhered, that is, the surface on the side where the transparent member 11 comes into contact with the contact glass 7. With such a position, the light equivalent to the light emitted to the document S is applied to the white reference plate 33, so that the light reflected by the white reference plate 33 corresponds to the white color of the document S. This is because it is sufficient to make the correspondence as such, and it becomes easy to correct the density of the scanned image.
Further, in the present embodiment, the double-sided tape 31 of the decal 15 is attached so as to overlap the white reference plate 33 when viewed from the Z direction. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to separately attach the double-sided tape 31, and the width of the transparent member 11 can be further suppressed to save space.

In the present embodiment, the decal 15 is attached to the transparent member 11 to irradiate light from the opening 13 of the housing 4a, but the decal 15 is in contact with the upper surface of the contact glass 7 and the white reference plate is in contact. As a configuration to be attached to the lower surface of the glass 7, a configuration in which light is irradiated from the lower side of the contact glass 7 by the optical scanning unit 16 may be used.

Further, as already described, a pressure plate portion 41 is provided in the lower portion of the transport reading unit 103.
The pressure plate portion 41 is provided with a pressing portion 12 that abuts on the decal 15 and presses from above when the pressure plate portion 41 is closed.
Specifically, the pressing portion 12 is a linear convex portion extending downward from the flat pressure plate portion 41 in the main scanning direction, and the width thereof is the width of the decal 15 as shown in FIG. It is desirable that they are almost the same.
When the transport reading unit 103 is closed with the document S placed on the contact glass 7, the pressure plate section 41 presses the document S and the pressing section 12 abuts against the decal 15 from above to press the document S.
Since the operation of the optical scanning unit 16 is basically performed in a state where the transport reading unit 103 is closed, with such a configuration, the adhesive portion 18 is cured while the pressing portion 12 presses the position of the decal 15. be able to.

By the way, the decal 15 which is such a display member may need to be replaced because the end portion thereof is particularly peeled off due to rubbing or warping of parts. In addition, it is naturally necessary to attach the decal 15 at the time of shipment from the factory.
Therefore, an operation when an operator such as a user or a serviceman attaches and fixes the decal 15 to the housing 4a will also be described with reference to FIG.

First, the upper part of the transparent member 11 is cleaned to expose a clean surface so that it can be adhered (step S101). Specifically, for example, by peeling off an old decal, the adhered surface on the upper part of the transparent member 11 can be adhered.

Next, the double-sided tape 31 is attached to the decal 15 and then attached to the adhered surface of the transparent member 11 cleaned in step S101 (step S102).
By such step S102, the decal 15 is temporarily fixed on the transparent member 11.

When the transport reading unit 103 is closed (step S103), the pressing unit 12 abuts on the decal 15 from above and presses the decal 15, so that the position of the decal 15 is not displaced and is maintained in the temporarily fixed state. ..
In such a temporarily fixed state, as a matter of course, as shown in FIG. 6, the position of the opening 13 is a position facing the adhesive portion 18.

Further, the operator selects the decal paste mode from the operation mode of the image forming apparatus 100 (step S104).
The decal pasting mode is specifically a mode for moving the optical scanning unit 16 to a state where the optical scanning unit 16 is brought closer to the end of the sub-scanning direction, which is the pasting position, and the decal pasting mode is selected in step S104. Then, the control unit 104 moves the position of the optical scanning unit 16 to the pasting position, turns on the light source, and irradiates the light (step S105).
When the optical scanning unit 16 turns on the light source, light is emitted from the opening 13 opened in the housing 4a to the adhesive portion 18, so that the optical scanning unit 16 emits light until the adhesive portion 18 completes photocuring. (Step S106).
After the photocurable adhesive of the adhesive portion 18 is cured, the optical scanning unit 16 turns off the light source and moves to an arbitrary standby position (step S107).
When the optical scanning unit 16 returns to the standby position, the image forming apparatus 100 displays that the work has been completed and ends the fixing operation of the display member (step S108).

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a contact glass 7 having a reading area W, a decal 15 having an adhesive portion 18 provided outside the reading area W of the document S placed on the contact glass 7, and a decal 15. It has a transparent member 11 which supports and has a surface to be adhered to the adhesive portion 18.
Further, the image forming apparatus 100 can move the scanning range including the pressure plate portion 41 for holding the decal 15 and the placed document S, the reading region W, and the adhesive portion 18, and emits light to the adhesive portion 18. It has an optical scanning unit 16 capable of irradiating.

Generally, when the decal 15 is attached, it is preferable that there is little warpage or distortion on the surface to be adhered. Further, in order to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus 100, it is difficult to make it difficult to peel off by increasing the area of the bonded surface and the area of the bonded portion 18.
Therefore, in the present invention, the pressing portion 12 is provided on the pressure plate portion 41, and the adhesive portion 18 is cured by light while the decal 15 is pressed straight.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the size of the scanning reading unit 102 and the document transport reading unit 103 from being increased and to prevent the end portion of the decal 15 from being peeled off.
By pressing the decal 15 by the pressure plate portion 41 in this way, the decal 15 can be attached without using a jig or the like.
Further, it is more preferable that the photocurable adhesive is provided at the end of the decal 15 which generally has a higher adhesive strength when cured than the time-curing adhesive and is easily peeled off.

Further, in the present embodiment, the adhesive portion 18 is cured by being irradiated with light by the optical scanning unit 16 after being coated with the photocurable adhesive.
According to such a configuration, since a photocurable adhesive having a relatively strong adhesive force can be used especially at the end portion where peeling is likely to occur, the peeling of the end portion can be further suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the double-sided tape 31, which is a time-curing adhesive, is applied to the region other than the adhesive portion 18 of the decal 15.
According to this configuration, the decal 15 can be temporarily fixed at the temporary fixing position when irradiated with light before being cured by the photocurable adhesive. Therefore, for example, it is desired to change the mounting position of the decal 15. Even in this case, it can be changed to some extent before the photocurable adhesive is cured.

Further, in the present embodiment, the pressure plate portion 41 is irradiated with light by the optical scanning unit 16 in a state where the decal 15 temporarily fixed by the double-sided tape 31 is pressed, and the photocurable adhesive is cured.
According to this configuration, the decal 15 can be temporarily fixed at the temporary fixing position when irradiated with light before being cured by the photocurable adhesive. Therefore, for example, it is desired to change the mounting position of the decal 15. Even in this case, it can be changed to some extent before the photocurable adhesive is cured.

Further, in the present embodiment, the decal 15 is a linear member extending in the main scanning direction of the optical scanning unit 16, and the adhesive portions 18 are formed at both ends of the decal 15 in the main scanning direction.
According to such a configuration, the adhesive portion 18 can be arranged without covering the reading region W.
Further, in the present embodiment, a white reference plate 33 as a density correction unit is provided at a position sandwiched between the adhesive portions 18 in the main scanning direction.
According to this configuration, since the white reference plate 33 required for adjusting the image density can be arranged between the adhesive portions 18, it is not necessary to increase the size due to the provision of the adhesive portions 18, which contributes to space saving.
Further, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a scanning reading unit 102, a document transport reading unit 103, and an image forming unit 101, and the image forming unit 101 uses a scanning reading unit 102 and a document transport reading unit 103. The read characters or images are formed on the surface of the sheet P.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the size of the image forming apparatus 100 from being increased and to prevent the end portion of the decal 15 from being peeled off.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and unless otherwise specified in the above description, the present invention described in the claims. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above.

For example, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 including the document transport reading unit 103 and the scanning scanning unit 102 as the document reading device has been described, but there is no document transport reading unit 103 as a so-called ADF, and scanning reading is performed. The present invention may be applied as an image forming apparatus having a portion 102 and a pressure plate portion 41.

The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention merely list the most suitable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects according to the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not it.

7 Document mounting portion 11 Support member 15 Display member 16 Optical scanning unit (optical scanning means)
18 Adhesive part 33 White reference plate (Density correction part)
41 Pressure plate unit 100 Image forming device 101 Image forming unit 102 Scanning reading unit (Original reading device)
103 Document carrier reading unit (document reader)
P paper (recording medium)
S Document W Reading area Y Main scanning direction

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-340964 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-058432 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-061058 Utility Model Registration No. 3027524 Gazette

Claims (8)

A document placement unit with a reading area,
A display member having an adhesive portion outside the reading area of the document placed on the document placing portion, and a display member.
A transparent support member that supports the display member and has an adhesive surface of the adhesive portion,
A pressure plate portion that holds the display member and the mounted document, and
An optical scanning means that can move in a scanning range including the reading area and the adhesive portion and can irradiate the adhesive portion with light.
Document reader with. In the document reading device according to claim 1,
A document reading device characterized in that the adhesive portion is coated with a photocurable adhesive. In the document reading device according to claim 2,
A document reading device characterized in that a time-curing adhesive is applied to a region other than the adhesive portion of the display member. In the document reading device according to claim 3,
A document reading device characterized in that the photocurable adhesive is cured by the optical scanning means while the pressure plate portion holds down the display member temporarily fixed by the time-curing adhesive. In the document reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The display member is a linear member extending in the main scanning direction of the optical scanning means, and the adhesive portion is formed at both ends of the display member in the main scanning direction. .. In the document reading device according to claim 5,
A document reading device characterized in that a density correction unit is provided at a position of the display member facing the support member and sandwiched between the adhesive portions. The document reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The document reading device is characterized in that the pressure plate portion has a pressing portion that abuts on the adhesive portion of the display member and presses from above when the pressure plate portion is closed. The document reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
An image forming apparatus comprising an image forming portion for forming characters or images read by the document reading apparatus on the surface of a recording medium.

Images