JP3080447B2 - Color image reader - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color image reading apparatus, and more particularly to a color image reading apparatus which performs reading by reading each of the RGB planes sequentially.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are schematic diagrams of a conventional apparatus of this type to which the present invention belongs.

An original table glass 102 on which an original 101 is placed is provided on the upper surface of the main body. Below the platen glass 102, an imaging lens 103 and a reading element 10
4 and three fluorescent lamps 105 emitting red, green and blue colors,
A reading unit 108 including 106 and 107 is provided to be able to reciprocate along the document table glass 102.

[0004] Each fluorescent lamp in the reading unit 108 is connected to three inverters 11 provided in the main body by a bundled wire 109.
0 is supplied with power, and lighting can be independently controlled by a CPU (not shown). The original 101 placed on the original platen glass 102 is illuminated by a fluorescent lamp, and the reflected light forms an image on the reading element 104 by a lens, and the image information is sequentially converted into an electric signal.

When an image reading start signal is sent from a host computer (not shown), first, a red fluorescent lamp 105 is sent.
Lights up, and the reading unit 108
While moving along, the data of the R component of the color image is transferred to the host computer by handshaking for each line. When the reading of the R component is completed, the reading unit 108 that has moved to the document end returns to the reading start position. Thereafter, the fluorescent lamps are switched in the order of the green fluorescent lamp 106 and the blue fluorescent lamp 107, and the G component and the B component of the image are read and transferred to the host computer as in the case of the red fluorescent lamp 105. When the reading of each of the RGB components is completed, the reading unit 108 returns to the reading start position and waits for the next reading start signal.

[0006]

However, in these conventional apparatuses, three fluorescent lamps 10 for illuminating a document are used.
Lighting inverter 110 for 5, 106, 107
Were provided respectively. For this reason, compared to a black-and-white image reading apparatus, the same circuit has three systems, so that the cost is wasteful and expensive. In addition, it is difficult to reduce the size of the device because a space is required inside the device. In addition to the inverter, the bundle that supplies power from the inverter to the fluorescent lamp is tripled, which further reduces cost.
There was much waste in space, and the degree of freedom in design was small.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a color image reading apparatus capable of reading an image with a smaller number of power sources than a plurality of light sources. It is in.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a plurality of light sources for illuminating a document and a reading element for reading an image obtained from the document illuminated by the light source are provided. a carriage, and the power supply to the light source, and when reading a sheet of a color original, pre
Serial moved along while lighting a single light source the carriage to the document among the plurality of light sources, the movement, in the color image reading apparatus for reading a color image by performing a plurality of times by switching the light sources to be lit, the power supply Source from the source
A number of light sources are disposed in a power supply path, and a distributor for selecting one of the plurality of light sources to supply power is provided on the carriage, and the carriage is moved by moving the carriage. Latch or
When the slider comes into contact with a part of the device body, the latch or
The lidar moves and the light source to which power is supplied is switched.

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

In the present invention having the above structure, switching of a plurality of light sources is provided in the distributor by moving the carriage.
Latch or slider contacts a part of the device body
When the operation is performed by moving the latch or the slider , the image can be read with a smaller number of power sources than the plurality of light sources, and the mechanical and cost can be reduced.

[0013]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are schematic structural diagrams of a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic structural and operational diagrams of a distributor. I have.

Unlike the conventional example, on the reading unit 8 as a carriage , in addition to the imaging lens 3, the reading element 4, and three fluorescent lamps, a power supplied from an inverter 10 as a supply source is supplied to each fluorescent lamp. , And a distributor 11 for distributing the data.

The distributor 11 is a housing 12 of the reading unit 8.
The supporting member A13 and the supporting member B14 are fixed to the supporting member A13 by a fixing screw 28, and the latch 15 made of an insulator provided on the supporting member A13 and rotatable around an axis is provided.

The bundle 9 from the inverter 10 is connected to a contact A16 and a contact B17 which are fixed through the support member A13. The contacts A16 and B17 are connected to the latch 15
, And is always in contact with the contact C18 and the contact D19, which are fixed through. The contact point E20 and the contact point F2 on the support member B14
1, contact G22, contact H23, contact I24, contact J25
Are fixed in the circumferential direction, and diagonal contacts are paired (for example, contact E20 and contact H23) and connected to each fluorescent lamp. As the latch 15 rotates, the contacts C18 and D19 sequentially switch diagonally.

When an image reading start signal is sent from a host computer (not shown), the red fluorescent lamp 5 is turned on and the R component is read. When the reading of the R component is completed, the power supply from the inverter 10 is cut off, and the red fluorescent lamp 5 is turned off.

The reading unit 8 further moves in the reading direction, and the latch 15 of the distributor 11 is rotated by the lever 26 provided on the main body as shown in FIG. 5 to green fluorescent light 6
Switch to. Read unit 8 after switching is completed
Returns to the reading start position, the power supply from the inverter 10 is restarted, and the green
The upper original 1 is illuminated, and the transfer of the G component of the color image to the host computer is started. Thereafter, similarly to the case of the red fluorescent lamp 5, the color fluorescent document 6 is switched from the green fluorescent lamp 6 to the blue fluorescent lamp 7, and the color original 1 is sequentially read.

When reading of all the RGB color components is completed, the blue fluorescent lamp 7 is turned off, the distributor 11 is again switched, the latch 15 is rotated once, and the red fluorescent lamp 5 is again connected to the lighting position. The reading unit 8 moves to the position, and the next image is ready for a reading signal.

As described above, according to this embodiment, R
Inverter 1 controls switching of fluorescent lamp lighting for each color of GB
By switching the contacts between the inverter 10 and the fluorescent lamp using the period in which the power supply from 0 is stopped,
Only one system of the inverter 10 for lighting the fluorescent lamp is required. In addition, since the contacts are switched while the power supply from the inverter 10 is stopped, the switching can be performed by the simple distributor 11 even though the voltage applied from the inverter 10 is as high as 500 to 2000 V. Therefore, the cost of the device can be reduced and the inverter 1
Since the number of zeros is reduced, the space of the device can be reduced and the size of the device can be reduced. In addition, inverter 10
As a result, the bundle of fluorescent lamps 9 that was conventionally required was 6 pieces.
, The cost and space are reduced, and the degree of freedom in design can be improved.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same components as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. (Other Embodiments) FIGS. 4 and 5 show a schematic diagram and a schematic operation diagram of a distributor according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The distributor 11 is composed of a support member A13 and a support member B14 fixed to the housing of the reading unit 8, and a slider 27 made of an insulator and supported to be movable back and forth in the reading direction. I have. Inverter 1
The bundle 9 from 0 is connected to the contact points A16 and B17 fixed through the support member A13. The contact A16 and the contact B17 are always in contact with the contact C18 and the contact D19 which are fixed through the slider 27. Support member B
14, contact E20, contact F21, contact G22, contact H
23, a contact I24, and a contact J25 are fixed in one row, and every third contact is paired (for example, like a contact E20 and a contact H23) and connected to each fluorescent lamp. The contact C18 and the contact D19 are provided with an interval so as to sequentially switch a pair of contacts on the support member B14 as the slider 27 moves.

When an image reading start signal is sent from a host computer (not shown), the red fluorescent lamp 5 is turned on, and the R component is read. When the reading of the R component is completed, the supply of power from the inverter 10 to the distributor 11 is cut off, and the red fluorescent lamp 5 is turned off.

When the reading unit 8 further moves in the reading direction as shown in FIG. 5, the slider 27 of the distributor 11 hits the main body 29. When the reading unit 8 further moves by the contact interval of the support member B14 from there,
The contact switches from the red fluorescent lamp 5 to the green fluorescent lamp 6. With this position as the first return point, the reading unit 8 returns to the reading start position and starts reading the G component of the color image.

Next, when the reading of the G component is completed, the green fluorescent lamp 6 is turned off as in the case of the red fluorescent lamp 5, and the reading unit 8 moves in the reading direction. When the reading unit 8 reaches the first return point, the slider 27 comes into contact with the main body 29. Here, if the reading unit 8 is further moved by the contact interval of the support member B without returning, the contact is switched from the green fluorescent lamp 6 to the blue fluorescent lamp 7. Using this position as a second return point, the reading unit 8 returns to the reading start position again and starts reading the B component of the color image.

When the reading of all the RGB color components is completed, the blue fluorescent lamp 7 is turned off, and the reading unit 8 returns to the reading start position. And the other side makes contact. Here, when the reading unit 8 is further moved by twice the contact interval of the support member B, the contact is switched from the blue fluorescent lamp 7 to the red fluorescent lamp 5. With this point as the third return point, the reading unit 8 returns to the reading start position, and waits for the next image reading signal.

In this embodiment, the switching of the fluorescent lamp is performed by changing the stop position of the reading unit 8 as shown by the first to third return points. Absolute position detection means can be easily implemented by means such as open loop control using the number of pulses using a pulse motor, or by directly detecting the position by placing a sensor such as a micro switch at each stop position. It goes without saying that it can be detected .

(Reference Example) FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a reference example of the present invention. What
The basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
The first embodiment differs from the embodiment in the present reference example, the latch 1
5 is a gear, and is rotated by a pulse motor (not shown) via a gear 30. When the power supply is switched, the fluorescent light after the reading of each of the RGB components is completed as in the first embodiment. Switching is performed by rotating the latch 15 with the gear 30 during a period in which power is not supplied to the lamp.

[0029] In this reference example, it also becomes possible to further reduce the size of the first color component read after completion immediately return are possible also read direction.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the carriage moves, the latch or the latch provided on the distributor is provided.
Latch or slide slider in contact with a portion of the apparatus main body
When the ida moves and the light source of the power supply destination is switched, only one system is required for lighting the light source, and a mechanical and inexpensive color image reading apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of a color image reading apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a distributor of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic operation diagram of a distributor of the same device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a distributor of a color image reading device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic operation diagram of a distributor of the apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a distributor of the color image reading device according to the reference example of the present invention.

7A is a schematic plan view of a conventional color image reading apparatus to which the present invention belongs, and FIG. 7B is a schematic sectional view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Original 3 Imaging lens 4 Reading element 5-7 Fluorescent lamp (light source) 8 Reading unit (optical system) 10 Inverter (supply source) 16-25 Contact 30 Gear (drive means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/04-1/207 G03B 27/54

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A carriage for holding a plurality of light sources for illuminating a document, a reading element for reading an image obtained from the document illuminated by the light source, and a power supply source for the light source; When reading one color document, a color image is read by moving a carriage along the document while turning on one of the plurality of light sources, and performing this movement a plurality of times by switching the light source to be turned on. In the image reading device, the image reading device is arranged in a power supply path from the power supply source to the plurality of light sources.
Are location, is provided to the distributor said carriage for selects one light source supplied from said plurality of light sources power, provided in the distributor by the carriage moves
Color image reading apparatus was latch or slider, characterized in that the switched part and abuts against the latch or slider is moved power supply destination source of the apparatus main body.