JP2021190888A - Image reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image reading device that can easily remove a frame member from a device main body.SOLUTION: A device main body 121 of an image reading device 101 has a lower housing 71 and an upper frame 172. The upper frame 172 has an insertion and support part 141 that receives the insertion of a column 36 of a document cover 29 and supports the column, and is configured to be rotatable between a posture covering an opening 41 of the lower housing 71 and a posture opening the opening 41 with a hinge part 135 as the center of rotation. A document cover 29 is configured to be rotatable, in a state in which the column 36 is inserted into the insertion and support part 141 of the upper frame 172, between a posture covering a top face of the upper frame 172 and a posture opening the top face of the upper frame 172 with the hinge part 35 as the center of rotation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading device that reads an image of a document placed on a document placing surface.

Conventionally, an image reading device for reading image information of a document is known. The image reading device is provided with a transparent contact glass on the upper surface of the main body of the device, and the image of the document placed on the contact glass is read by the reading unit. The image reading device is provided with a document cover (cover member) in order to hold the document placed on the contact glass and prevent leakage of light emitted to the document during image scanning. The document cover is rotatably supported by the device body of the image reader, and can be opened and closed between a closed position that covers the upper surface of the device body and an open position that exposes the contact glass away from the upper surface. Has been done.

By the way, the device main body of the image reading device may be composed of a lower housing that supports the reading unit and the like, and a frame member attached so as to cover the upper opening of the lower housing. In this configuration, the contact glass is provided on the frame member, and more specifically, the contact glass is attached to the back surface side of the frame member with an adhesive or the like. Further, the cover member is inserted into the inside of the main body of the device through an insertion port formed in the frame member, and the support member is supported by the lower housing.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-29582

However, in an image reading device in which the main body of the device is composed of the lower housing and the frame member, it is necessary to remove the frame member in order to perform maintenance and inspection inside the device and to replace parts such as contact glass. In this case, the complicated work of first removing the document cover from the main body of the apparatus and then removing the frame member from the lower housing is involved.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading device capable of easily opening an opening of a lower housing of a device main body.

The image reading device according to one aspect of the present invention is an image reading device having a contact glass on the upper surface of the device main body, and has an opening on the upper surface and a lower housing constituting the lower part of the device main body. A frame member connected to the lower housing so as to cover the opening and holding the contact glass, and a cover member covering the upper surface of the frame member are provided. The cover member has a support member supported by the frame member at one end thereof, and a first cover member that covers the upper surface of the frame member with a first hinge portion provided on the support member as a rotation center. It is configured to be rotatable between the posture and the second posture that opens the upper surface of the frame member. The frame member has an insertion portion for inserting and supporting the support member, and covers the opening with a second hinge portion provided at one end of the lower housing as a rotation center. It is configured to be rotatable between the three postures and the fourth posture that opens the opening.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily open the opening of the lower housing of the apparatus main body.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus provided with an image reading apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an image reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the main body of the image reading device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an upper frame of the image reading device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a document cover of the image reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a support structure of a document cover of the image reader according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front frame is removed from the image reading device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the document cover and the front frame of the image reader according to the second embodiment of the present invention are lifted upward. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the document cover and the front frame of the image reader according to the second embodiment of the present invention are lifted upward. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the main body of the image reading device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a support structure of a document cover of the image reader according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a support structure of a document cover of the image reader according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view showing an insertion support portion of an upper frame of the image reading device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state in which the document cover and the front frame of the image reading device according to the third embodiment of the present invention are lifted upward.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are merely examples that embody the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the following description, the vertical direction, the front-back direction, and the left-right direction shown in each figure may be used.

<First Embodiment>
First, a schematic configuration of an image reading device 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention and an image forming device 10 provided with the image reading device 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the image reading apparatus 11.

The image forming apparatus 10 is a multifunction device having an image reading function, a facsimile function, an image forming function, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading device 11, an image forming unit 15, an operation display unit 16, a paper feed cassette 17, and a paper ejection unit 18. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 including the image reading apparatus 11 according to the present invention will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be an image reading device 11 independent of the image forming device 10, or may be a facsimile device or a copying machine provided with the image reading device 11.

The image forming unit 15 performs color or monochrome image forming processing (printing processing) according to an electrophotographic method based on the image data read by the image reading device 11 or the image data input from an external information processing device such as a personal computer. ) Is executed. The image forming unit 15 includes an image forming unit, an exposure device, an intermediate transfer belt, a secondary transfer roller, a fixing device, and the like. The image forming unit includes a photoconductor drum, a charging device, a developing device, a primary transfer roller, a cleaning device (all not shown), and the like. These components are provided in the housing of the image forming unit 15. In this embodiment, the electrophotographic image forming unit 15 will be described as an example, but the image forming unit 15 is not limited to the electrophotographic type, and may be an inkjet recording type, or other than that. It does not matter whether it is a recording method or a printing method.

The image reading device 11 is mounted on the upper part of the image forming device 10. The image reading device 11 reads image data from the original. As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading device 11 includes a device main body 21, a document cover 29 (an example of a cover member of the present invention), an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 13, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 13. It is equipped with.

The device main body 21 is a housing of the image reading device 11. The document cover 29 covers the upper surface of the device body 21 and presses the document placed on the contact glass 27 (see FIG. 2), and is rotatably attached to the device body 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading device 11 further includes a reading unit 22, a contact glass 27 (an example of the contact glass of the present invention), a contact glass 28 (an example of the contact glass of the present invention), and the like. These components are housed inside the apparatus main body 21 of the image reading apparatus 11.

The ADF 13 is provided on the document cover 29. The ADF 13 takes out the documents placed on the document setting unit 13A one by one and continuously conveys the originals to the image reading position 122 by the image reading device 11 along the conveying path 12. As a result, the image reading device 11 can read the image data from the document conveyed by the ADF 13. Here, the transport path 12 is a path that sequentially passes through the folded-back portion 121 in which the transport direction of the document is reversed and the predetermined image reading position 122. The image reading position 122 is a position where the image of the original can be read by the image reading device 11, and is a position where the document conveyed by the reading unit 22 is irradiated with light.

Both the contact glass 27 and the contact glass 28 are attached to the upper part of the apparatus main body 21. The contact glass 27 is an area on which a document (sheet member) to be read of an image is placed. The contact glass 28 is a region that transmits light emitted from the reading unit 22 to the document conveyed by the ADF 13.

The carriage 220 of the reading unit 22 is configured to be movable in the sub-scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) by a conventionally known moving mechanism using a drive device (motor) such as a stepping motor. As the moving mechanism, a belt transmission mechanism or a gear transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force from the motor to the carriage 220 can be considered. In the image reading device 11, the reading unit 22 moves in the device main body 21 in the device main body 21 in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the document while the document is placed on the contact glass 27 and the document cover 29 is closed. Will be done. Then, the light emitted to the contact glass 27 while the reading unit 22 is moving is scanned in the sub-scanning direction, whereby the image of the original document is read. Further, in the image reading device 11, when reading an image from a document conveyed by the ADF 13, the reading unit 22 is moved to a position where light is applied to the contact glass 28, that is, below the contact glass 28. Then, the contact glass 28 is irradiated with light from the light source 221 of the reading unit 22 while the document is being conveyed, whereby the image of the document is read.

Hereinafter, the support mechanism of the apparatus main body 21 and the document cover 29 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. 3 is a perspective view showing the device main body 21 of the image reading device 11, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the upper frame 72 of the image reading device 11, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the document cover 29 of the image reading device 11. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a support structure of a document cover 29 of an image reading device 11, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front frame 722 of the upper frame 72 is removed from the image reading device 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus main body 21 includes a lower housing 71 (an example of the lower housing of the present invention) constituting the lower portion of the apparatus main body 21 and an upper frame 72 (frame member) constituting the upper portion of the apparatus main body 21. One example) and. Both the lower housing 71 and the upper frame 72 are molded products made of synthetic resin.

The lower housing 71 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the left-right direction, and has an opening 42 (see FIG. 7) on the upper surface. The upper frame 72 is attached to the upper part of the lower housing 71 so as to cover the opening 42 of the lower housing 71.

The upper frame 72 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction, corresponding to the shape of the lower housing 71. The upper frame 72 is attached to the upper part of the lower housing 71 to cover the opening 42 of the lower housing 71.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper frame 72 has a rear frame 721 (an example of a first frame) and a front frame 722 (an example of a second frame). The rear frame 721 and the front frame 722 are separated in the front-rear direction. That is, the upper frame 72 is divided into a rear frame 721 and a front frame 722, and the rear frame 721 and the front frame 722 are configured as separate members.

In the conventional image reading device, the upper frame 72 is not divided in the front-rear direction and is integrally formed. Therefore, maintenance and inspection of the inside of the device main body 21 and replacement of parts such as contact glasses 27 and 28 are performed. When the need arises, the document cover 29 must be removed from the apparatus main body 21, and then the upper frame 72 must be removed from the lower housing 71, which complicates the removal work. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, the front frame 722 of the upper frame 72 can be removed with the document cover 29 attached, so that the removal work can be easily performed, and the removal work can be performed. It is possible to easily perform maintenance and inspection of the inside of the device main body 21 and replacement of parts.

With the upper frame 72 attached to the lower housing 71, the rear frame 721 covers the rear portion of the opening 42 and the front frame 722 covers the front portion of the opening 42. Specifically, the rear frame 721 is formed in an elongated shape in the left-right direction, and covers a portion of the opening 42 rearward of the scanning range of the reading unit 22. Further, the front frame 722 covers a portion of the opening 42 on the front side including the scanning range of the reading unit 22.

In this embodiment, the rear frame 721 is fixed to the lower housing 71 by a well-known fixing tool such as a screw. On the other hand, the front frame 722 is detachably connected to the lower housing 71 in a state of being joined to the front end portion of the rear frame 721 fixed to the lower housing 71 without a gap. Specifically, the front frame 722 is attached to a plurality of side plates constituting the side peripheral surface of the lower housing 71 by engaging or fitting from above.

The front frame 722 has two openings 31 and 32 formed at positions separated from each other to the left and right. The contact glass 27 is exposed on the upper surface from the opening 31 on the right side, and the contact glass 28 is exposed on the upper surface from the opening 32 on the left side.

Both the contact glasses 27 and 28 are held on the back surface of the front frame 722. Specifically, the contact glass 27 is joined to the outer peripheral edge of the opening 31 on the back surface of the front frame 722 by an adhesive member such as double-sided tape. Further, the contact glass 28 is joined to the outer peripheral edge of the opening 32 on the back surface of the front frame 722 by an adhesive member such as double-sided tape. Further, the upper frame 72 is attached to the lower housing 71 in a state where the contact glasses 27 and 28 are attached to the back surface of the front frame 722 with an adhesive member, so that the lower side surface of the contact glasses 27 and 28 is the lower housing 71. It is supported from the lower side by a support rib (not shown) formed on the inner surface of the side plate of the. Therefore, the contact glasses 27 and 28 are vertically sandwiched and fixed by the support ribs of the upper frame 72 and the lower housing 71.

As shown in FIG. 5, the document cover 29 has a cover body 33 formed in a rectangular shape so as to correspond to the upper surface of the device body 21, a white pressing plate 34 for pressing the contact glass 27, and two hinge portions. It has 35 (an example of a first hinge portion of the present invention) and two columns 36 (an example of a support member of the present invention) supported by a lower housing 71. The ADF 13 is attached to the upper part of the cover body 33.

The two hinge portions 35 are fixed to the rear end portion 33A of the lower surface of the cover main body 33. Each hinge portion 35 is a member that makes the document cover 29 rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body 21, and is provided on the fixing portion 351 fixed to the upper end of the support column 36 and the fixing portion 351 as shown in FIG. It has a support shaft 352 and a movable portion 353 rotatably supported by the support shaft 352. The movable portion 353 is fixed to the lower surface of the cover main body 33. As a result, with the support column 36 supported by the lower housing 71, the document cover 29 rotates with respect to the device main body 21 between the posture of covering the upper surface of the device main body 21 and the posture of exposing the upper surface of the device main body 21. It becomes possible to move.

The hinge portion 35 is provided at the rear end portion 33A at a predetermined distance in the left-right direction. Specifically, the left hinge portion 35 is provided near the left end portion of the rear end portion 33A, and the right hinge portion 35 is provided. The portion 35 is provided near the right end portion of the rear end portion 33A.

The two columns 36 are provided at the rear end 33A of the lower surface of the cover body 33. Each column 36 is a columnar member formed in a square columnar shape, and its upper end is fixed to a fixing portion 351 of a hinge portion 35. The strut 36 projects downward from the fixing portion 361.

As shown in FIG. 6, a support portion 711 through which a support column 36 is inserted and supported is provided at a rear end portion of the lower housing 71. The support portion 711 is a cylindrical member formed in the shape of a square cylinder, and is integrally formed with the lower housing 71. The document cover 29 is supported by the lower housing 71 by inserting the support column 36 through the support portion 711.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear frame 721 is provided with an insertion port 41 at a position corresponding to the two columns 36. The insertion port 41 is a through port through which the support column 36 is inserted into the inner side of the lower housing 71 in a state where the upper frame 72 is connected to the lower housing 71. The column 36 inserted into the insertion port 41 is supported by the support portion 711 of the lower housing 71.

As described above, in the image reading device 11 of the present embodiment, the upper frame 72 is divided into a rear frame 721 fixed to the lower housing 71 and a front frame 722 detachably connected to the lower housing 71. Has been done. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the document cover 29 is supported by the lower housing 71, and the front frame 722 can be removed from the lower housing 71 with the document cover 29 open. .. That is, in the image reading device 11 of the present embodiment, the front frame 722 can be easily removed without removing the document cover 29, and the opening 41 of the lower housing 71 of the device main body 21 can be easily opened. .. This makes it possible to easily perform maintenance and inspection of the inside of the device main body 21, replacement of the contact glasses 27 and 28 held by the front frame 722, and replacement of other parts in the device main body 21.

<Second embodiment>
Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above will be designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIGS. 8 and 9 are views showing a state in which the document cover 29 and the front frame 721 of the image reading device 11 are lifted upward.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the front frame 722 is rotatably supported by the rear frame 721. Specifically, the hinge portion 51 is attached to the joint portion between the front end portion of the rear frame 721 and the rear end portion of the front frame 722. That is, the front frame 722 is supported by the rear frame 721 via the hinge portion 51. Therefore, the front frame 722 can rotate around the hinge portion 51 between a posture that covers the opening 41 (first posture) and a posture that exposes the front side of the opening 71 (second posture). Become.

With this configuration, the front frame 722 can be lifted upward from the lower housing 71 while the document cover 29 is supported by the lower housing 72. As a result, the front frame 722 can be easily removed from the lower housing 71 without removing the document cover 29, and the opening 41 of the lower housing 71 of the apparatus main body 21 can be easily opened.

<Third Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the image reading device 101 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. The same configurations as those of the first and second embodiments described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the device main body 121 of the image reading device 101, FIGS. 11 and 12 are partial cross-sectional views showing a support structure of the document cover 29 of the image reading device 11, and FIG. 13 is an image reading device. A partial perspective view showing the insertion support portion 141 of the upper frame 172 of 101, FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state in which the document cover 29 and the upper frame 172 of the image reading device 11 are lifted upward. Note that FIG. 11 shows a state in which only the document cover 29 is in the open posture, and FIG. 12 shows a state in which both the document cover 29 and the upper frame 172 are in the open posture.

In this embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the apparatus main body 121 is composed of a lower housing 71 and an upper frame 172 that is not separated from the front and rear, and is a document cover. The image reading device 101 of the present embodiment is different in that 29 is rotatably supported by the upper frame 172 and the upper frame 172 is rotatably supported by the lower housing 71. Except for these differences, it has the same configuration as the image reading device 10 of the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above.

As shown in FIG. 10, the image reading device 101 includes a device main body 121, a document cover 29 (see FIG. 5), and an ADF 13 (see FIG. 5).

The device main body 121 is a housing of the image reading device 101. The document cover 29 covers the upper surface of the device body 121 and presses the document placed on the contact glass 27, and is rotatably attached to the device body 121.

The apparatus main body 121 includes a lower housing 71 (an example of the lower housing of the present invention) constituting the lower portion of the apparatus main body 121 and an upper frame 172 (an example of the frame member of the present invention) constituting the upper portion of the apparatus main body 121. Have. Both the lower housing 71 and the upper frame 172 are molded products made of synthetic resin.

In this embodiment, the upper frame 172 is connected to the lower housing so as to cover the opening 41 (see FIG. 14) of the lower housing 71. Contact glasses 27 and 28 are held on the back surface of the upper frame 172 by an adhesive member such as double-sided tape.

As shown in FIG. 11, the rear end portion of the upper frame 172 is provided with a hinge portion 135 (an example of the second hinge portion of the present invention) provided at the rear end portion 171 located on the rear side of the lower housing 71. It is rotatably supported with respect to 71. The front side of the upper frame 172 is a free-rotating end, which is detachably connected to the lower housing 71. Specifically, the front end portion of the upper frame 172 is engaged or fitted from above to a plurality of side plates constituting the side peripheral surface of the lower housing 71. Since the upper frame 172 is attached to the lower housing 71 in this way, the upper frame 172 has a posture of covering the opening 41 with the hinge portion 135 as the center of rotation (the posture shown in FIG. 11, the third posture of the present invention). (Example)) and the posture in which the opening 41 is opened (the posture shown in FIG. 12, an example of the fourth posture of the present invention) can be rotated.

As shown in FIG. 13, the rear end portion of the upper frame 172 is provided with an insertion port 41 at each position corresponding to the two columns 36 of the document cover 29. The insertion port 41 is a through port through which the support column 36 is inserted into the inner side of the lower housing 71. Further, the upper frame 172 is provided with an insertion support portion 141 (an example of the insertion portion of the present invention) extending downward from the insertion port 41. The insertion support portion 141 is a cylindrical member formed in the shape of a square cylinder, and is integrally formed with the upper frame 172. The document cover 29 is supported by the upper frame 172 by inserting the support column 36 of the document cover 29 into the insertion support portion 141. In this embodiment, the lower housing is not provided with the support portion 711.

As shown in FIG. 11, a hinge portion 35 is provided at the upper end portion of the two columns 36 of the document cover 29. Therefore, the document cover 29 has a posture of covering the upper surface of the upper frame 172 with the hinge portion 35 as the rotation center in a state where the support column 36 is inserted through the insertion support portion 141 and supported by the upper frame 172 (shown in FIG. 11). It is rotatable between a posture (an example of the first posture of the present invention) and a posture in which the upper surface of the upper frame 172 is opened (a posture shown in FIG. 12, an example of the second posture of the present invention).

As described above, in the image reading device 101 of the present embodiment, the upper frame 172 of the device main body 21 has an insertion support portion 141 that inserts and supports the support column 36 of the document cover 29, and has a hinge portion. It is configured to be rotatable between a posture of covering the opening 41 of the lower housing 71 and a posture of opening the opening 41 with 135 as the center of rotation. Further, the document cover 29 has a posture of covering the upper surface of the upper frame 172 with the hinge portion 35 as the center of rotation and the upper surface of the upper frame 172 in a state where the support column 36 is inserted through the insertion support portion 141 of the upper frame 172. It is configured to be rotatable between the open posture and the open posture. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper frame 172 can be lifted upward from the lower housing 71 while the document cover 29 is supported by the upper frame 172. As a result, the upper frame 172 can be easily removed from the lower housing 71 without removing the document cover 29, and the opening 41 of the lower housing 71 of the apparatus main body 21 can be easily opened. As a result, it becomes possible to easily perform maintenance and inspection of the inside of the apparatus main body 21, replacement of the contact glasses 27 and 28 held by the front frame 722, and replacement of other parts in the apparatus main body 21.

10: Image forming apparatus 11, 111: Image reading apparatus 12: Transfer path 13A: Document setting unit 21: Device main body 22: Reading unit 27: Contact glass 28: Contact glass 29: Original cover 31: Opening 32: Opening 33: Cover Main body 33A: Rear end 34: Holding plate 35: Hinge 36: Support 41: Insertion 42: Opening 71: Lower housing 72: Upper frame 111: Image reading device 135: Hinge 141: Insertion support 172: Upper Frame 351: Fixed part 352: Support shaft 353: Movable part 361: Fixed part 711: Support part 721: Rear frame 722: Front frame

Claims (2)

An image reader equipped with a contact glass on the upper surface of the main body of the device.
A lower housing having an opening on the upper surface and constituting the lower part of the main body of the apparatus,
A frame member connected to the lower housing so as to cover the opening and holding the contact glass, and a frame member.
A cover member that covers the upper surface of the frame member is provided.
The cover member has a support member supported by the frame member at one end thereof, and a first cover member that covers the upper surface of the frame member with a first hinge portion provided on the support member as a rotation center. It is configured to be rotatable between the posture and the second posture that opens the upper surface of the frame member.
The frame member has an insertion portion for inserting and supporting the support member, and covers the opening with a second hinge portion provided at one end of the lower housing as a rotation center. An image reading device configured to be rotatable between the three postures and the fourth posture that opens the opening. The support member is a columnar member extending downward from the first hinge portion.
The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion is a cylindrical member through which the support member is inserted.

Images