JP2579505B2 - Support mechanism - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support mechanism for supporting a document reading unit such as a charge-coupled device (CCD).

<Prior Art> Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile or a digital copying machine is provided with a reading unit for reading a document and a recording unit for forming an image on a recording sheet. As an example of the reading unit, for example, a document is placed. And a reading mechanism for reading the original on the transparent plate, and a supporting mechanism for moving the reading means along the transparent plate. Such a support mechanism is
A support rod mounted between a pair of substrates, a sliding member movably mounted on the support rod, a mounting member supported on the sliding member via an elastic member, and a function of the elastic member rotatably mounted on the mounting member. The reading means is mounted on the mounting member. In such a reader, the reading means is moved along the transparent plate via the elastic member and the mounting member by moving the sliding member along the support rod.
At the time of movement of the reading means, the roller pressed by the action of the elastic member is rotated by the movement following the movement and moves, whereby the distance between the transparent plate and the mounting member is kept constant by the action of the roller. Thus, the reading of the original on the transparent plate is performed as required.

However, the above-described support mechanism has the following problems to be solved. That is, when the mounting member (for example, the reading means is mounted) is moved, the sliding member and the roller move in contact with the support rod and the transparent plate, respectively. As a result, vibrations and the like are likely to occur, and when the reading means is supported, it becomes difficult to read the document accurately by the reading means.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and a main object of the present invention is to suppress a vibration or the like generated when a sliding member to which a document reading means or the like is attached is moved and to smoothly move the sliding member. To provide an excellent support mechanism.

<Summary of the Invention> According to the present invention, along a transparent plate on which a document is placed,
A support mechanism for moving the detection means for detecting the information on the document surface or the optical means for guiding the reflected light from the document surface as required, and being disposed at intervals in the moving direction of the detection means or the optical means And a pair of support members movably mounted in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of approaching and separating from the transparent plate, and each of the pair of support members facing each other toward a reference surface of the transparent plate. A biasing means for biasing, support rods respectively connected between the pair of support members, and a sliding means slidably supported by the support rods in the axial direction thereof and provided with the detection means or the optical means. A supporting member configured to press the upper end surfaces of the pair of supporting members against the reference surface of the transparent plate or an auxiliary member that defines the same plane as the reference surface by the action of the biasing means. Mechanism provided .

<Preferred Specific Examples of the Invention> Hereinafter, specific examples of the support mechanism configured according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the specific example will be described by applying the present invention to supporting reading means in a reading unit of a copying machine.

1 to 3, mainly with reference to FIG. 1, the illustrated digital copying machine has an elongated box-shaped housing 2, which is a lower body housing 4, and a first body of the lower body housing 4. 1 shows an upper housing 6 and a lower body housing 4 mounted on the left part in FIG.
It is composed of

The copying machine shown in FIG. 1 has a reading section 10 disposed at a position defined by a left portion, ie, a lower body housing 4 and an upper housing 6, and a right portion, ie, a lower body housing 4 and an upper opening / closing portion in FIG. The recording unit 12 is provided at a position defined by the housing 8.

The reading unit 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The reading unit 10 shown in FIG.
A reading unit 16 for reading image information of a document placed on the transparent plate 14, a support mechanism 18 for movably supporting the reading unit 16 along the transparent plate 14, and a driving system 20 for moving the reading unit 16 are provided. Have. A rectangular opening is formed in the upper surface of the upper housing 6 over substantially the entire area, and a transparent plate 14 is provided in the opening. In a specific example, support pieces 22 for supporting the transparent plate 14 are attached to the four corners of the upper housing 6 (two shown in FIG. 1). It is sandwiched between the defined protruding edge 24 and the supporting piece 22. An original pressing member 26 is mounted on the upper surface of the upper housing 6 so as to be openable and closable, and covers the transparent plate 14 and the original placed on the transparent plate 14 when in the closed position shown in FIGS.

The illustrated support mechanism 18 includes support members 28a, 28b, 28c disposed at four corners on the left side of the lower main body housing 4.
And 28d. Each support member 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d
Have substantially the same configuration, and their lower portions 30a, 30b, 30c
And 30d are rods having a circular cross section, and upper portions 32a, 32b, 32c and 32d are rods having a rectangular cross section. On the other hand, columnar portions 36a, 36b, 36 projecting upward from the bottom wall 34 are provided at the four corners on the left side of the lower body housing 4.
c and 36d are provided. Each column 36a, 36b, 36c and 3
6d defines receiving portions 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d whose cross-sectional shape extending downward from the upper surface is circular, and receiving portions 38a, 38b,
38c and 38d have corresponding support members 28a, 28b, 28c, respectively.
And 28d, the lower portions 30a, 30b, 30c and 30d are movably received in the vertical direction. These receiving parts 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d
A coil spring 40 constituting a biasing means is disposed at the bottom of the coil spring. The coil springs 40 correspond to the corresponding support members 28a, 28b, 28
The upper and lower surfaces of the supporting members 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d are pressed against the lower surface of the transparent plate 14 by acting on the members c and 28d so as to be elastically biased upward. A pair of support members 28a and 28 located on the right side in FIG. 1 and on the lower side in FIG.
One of the support rods 42 is connected between 8b (specifically, approximately the center in the vertical direction). That is, the support rod 42
Is fixed to the support member 28a by press-fitting, and the other end is fixed to the support member 28b by press-fitting.
2 is one side of the lower body housing 4 in a predetermined direction (first
It extends substantially horizontally in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing (in the left-right direction in FIG. 3). A pair of support members located on the left side in FIG. 1 and on the upper side in FIG.
The other support rod 44 is connected between 28c and 28d (specifically, approximately the center in the vertical direction). That is, one end of the support rod 44 is fixed to the support member 28d by press fitting, the other end is fixed to the support member 28c by press fit,
The support rod 44 extends substantially horizontally in a predetermined direction (a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 and a horizontal direction in FIG. 3) on the other side of the lower body housing 4. In order to prevent the support rods 42 and 44 from coming off, each support member 28
On the a, 28b, 28c and 28d, detachment preventing pieces 45 acting on the end faces of the support rods 42 and 44 are mounted.

Sliding members 46 and 48 are mounted on the support rods 42 and 44, respectively. The sliding member 46 includes a main body 50a slidably mounted on the support rod 42, an upper protrusion 50b protruding substantially vertically upward from an outer end of the main body 50a, and a support 50c protruding inward from the main body 50a. have. Also, the other sliding member 48
Also, the main body 52a slidably mounted on the support rod 44,
The main body 52a has an upper protruding portion 52b that protrudes substantially vertically upward from the outer end thereof, and a support portion 52c that protrudes inward from the main body 52a. In a specific example, as is clearly shown in FIG. 1, the sliding member 48 is supported by the support rod 44 so as not to move substantially in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support rod 44 (this being the case). Relatedly, a circular through-hole corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the support rod 44 is formed in the slide member 48), while the slide member 46 moves somewhat in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support rod 42. So that the above support rod 42
(In this connection, the sliding member 46 is formed with a substantially elliptical through-hole that is slightly elongated in the transverse direction than the cross-sectional shape of the support rod 42).
Is moved in the axial direction with reference to the support rod 44.

The reading means 16 includes a well-known charge-coupled device (CCD) (not shown) (constituting detection means) for reading image information of a document placed on the transparent plate 14, and has an elongated CC.
D is provided on the upper surface of the unit book 54. As shown in FIG. 1, one end (the right end in FIG. 1) of the unit body 54 is supported by the support 50c of the sliding member 46, and the other end (the left end in FIG. 1) is the other sliding member 48. Support
The unit body 54 is supported by the sliding members 46 and 48
Are located between the upper protrusions 50b and 52b.

The illustrated drive system 20 includes an electric motor 56 that constitutes a main drive source. The bottom wall 34 of the lower main body housing 4 is provided with a plurality (three in the specific example) of projections 58 projecting upward, and these projections 58 are provided with support plates.
The electric motor is mounted on the lower surface of the support plate 60.
56 are installed. The output shaft of the electric motor 56 penetrates the support plate 60 and protrudes upward. An output gear 62 is mounted on the protruding end. A short shaft 64 is implanted on the upper surface of the support plate 60, and a large gear 68 of a gear member 66 rotatably mounted on the short shaft 64 is meshed with the output gear 62. The support plate 60 is also provided with a short axis 70 implanted therein.
The gear 72 rotatably mounted on the gear member 66 meshes with the small gear 74 of the gear member 66. The support plate 60 has a shorter axis
A gear 76 of a transmission member 78 rotatably mounted on the short shaft 76 is meshed with the gear 72. The transmission member 78 is provided with a pulley portion 82, and the pulley portion 82 and the sliding member 48 are drivingly connected as follows. That is, a stationary pulley (not shown) is rotatably mounted on the left end of the lower body housing 4 in FIG. A pair of protrusions 84a and 84b are provided on the lower surface of the support portion 52c of the sliding member 48. A transmission belt (not shown) such as a timing belt has one side portion wound between the pulley portion 82 and the stationary pulley (not shown) passing between the projections 84a and 48b, and the tooth portion of the transmission belt is formed. The teeth provided on the inside of the projection 84a are engaged with each other as required. Thus, the transmission member 78
When the pulley portion 82 rotates, the sliding member 48 (and the reading means 16 and the sliding member 46 together therewith) are moved along the support rod 44 by arrows 86 and 88 (FIGS. 2 and 3) via the transmission belt.
It is moved in the direction shown by.

Reading of the original is performed as follows. That is, the electric motor 56 is energized and rotated in a predetermined direction. Thus, the transmission member 78 is rotated in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction via the output gear 62, the gear member 66, and the gear 72, and the sliding member 48 (integrally with the unit body) is connected via a transmission wire (not shown). The arrow 86 (see FIGS. 2 and 3)
(Fig.)
The reading of the original on 14 is performed. In the specific example, as can be easily understood from FIGS. 1 and 2, the supporting members 28a, 28
The upper end surfaces of b, 28c, and 28d are pressed against the inner surface of the transparent plate 14, and the inner surface serving as the reference surface of the transparent plate 14 and the support rod 42.
And 44 are kept constant by the support members 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d, so that the sliding members 42 and 44, that is, the reading means 16 attached thereto, are mounted in a substantially horizontal state. It moves along the inner surface of the transparent plate 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow 86, and the original on the transparent plate 14 can be accurately read. During the reading movement, the support rods 42 and 44
The sliding members 46 and 48 are only in contact with each other, so that the number of contact points is smaller than in the prior art, and the occurrence of vibration, noise, and the like is reduced. When the reading of the original is completed, the electric motor 56 is rotated in the opposite direction, and the reading means 16 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 88, contrary to the above, to the original position (for example, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). (Position shown in the figure).

The image signal read as described above is sent to the recording unit 12 shown in FIG. 1, and is recorded on a recording sheet as required based on the image signal. Referring to FIG. 1 again, the recording unit 12 shown in FIG.
A platen roller 94 is provided opposite to the roller 92. A ribbon cartridge 96 is detachably mounted on the recording unit 12, and the ink ribbon 98 built in the ribbon cartridge 96 passes from one supply unit 100 to the other winding unit 102 through the space between the thermal head 92 and the platen roller 94. It is wound. An introduction opening 104 and a delivery opening 106 are defined in the upper opening / closing housing 8, and a sheet member such as a recording sheet is introduced from the introduction opening 104, passes through a pair of guide plates 108, and a thermal head 92 and a platen roller 94. Led in between,
Thereafter, the paper is delivered from the delivery opening 106 through the space between the guide plate pairs 110. Then, while the sheet member is transported between the thermal head 92 and the platen roller 94, an image is formed on the surface of the sheet member based on the image signal from the reading unit 10.

In the specific examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the inner surface of the transparent plate 14 is used as a reference surface, and the reading means 16 moves substantially along the inner surface. Instead, as shown in FIG. It can also be configured as follows. In FIG. 4, members substantially the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 4, in this modification, the size of the transparent plate 14 is somewhat smaller than the specific examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and each of the support members 28 (one of the four support members in FIG. The upper end surface of the upper housing has a protruding edge 24 of the upper housing (the lower surface of the protruding edge 24 functions as an auxiliary member that defines a substantially same plane as the upper surface of the transparent plate 14 on which the document is placed). Is pressed by the action of the coil spring 40 on the lower surface of the coil.

In such a modification, as can be easily understood from FIG. 4, the upper surface of the transparent plate 14 serves as a reference surface, and the distance between the upper surface and the support rod 42 is kept constant by the support member 28, and therefore, The reading means 16 is moved substantially along the upper surface of the transparent plate 14, and is not substantially affected by an error in the thickness of the transparent plate 14, thereby enabling more accurate reading of the document.

As described above, the specific examples of the support mechanism according to the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific examples, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the specific example shown in the drawing, the present invention is applied to the support of a document reading means for reading a document on a transparent plate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be similarly applied to support of optical means such as a reflecting mirror for guiding the light in a predetermined direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a copying machine equipped with a specific example of a support mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a reading unit of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1 omitting an upper housing and components related thereto; FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a part of a copying machine equipped with a modification of the support mechanism. 2. Housing 10 Reading section 12 Recording section 14 Transparent plate 16 Reading means 18 Supporting mechanisms 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d Supporting members 40 Coil springs 42 and 44 Support rods 46 and 48 ... Sliding member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tsukasa Matsushita 1-2-28 Tamazo, Higashi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Katsumi Nagata 1-2-28 Tamazo, Higashi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-61-264960 (JP, A) JP-A-63-60667 (JP, A) Jpn.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A supporting mechanism for moving, as required, detecting means for detecting information on the original surface or optical means for guiding reflected light from the original surface as required along a transparent plate on which the original is placed. A pair of support members disposed at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the detection means or the optical means and movably mounted in directions approaching and separating from the transparent plate; Biasing means for biasing each of the pair of support members toward the reference plane of the transparent plate, support rods respectively connected between the pair of support members, and sliding in the axial direction of the support rods; A sliding member freely supported and equipped with the detection means or the optical means,
A support mechanism configured to press each upper end surface of each of the pair of support members against the reference surface of the transparent plate or an auxiliary member that defines the same plane as the reference surface by the action of the biasing means.