JP3098614B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus used for a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, and the like, and more particularly, to an image reading apparatus capable of pulling out a scanner portion from an image reading apparatus main body. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as one form of a copying machine, a copying machine with a built-in copying machine in a drawer of an office desk has been developed. More specifically, as shown in "Desk with Built-in Copying Machine" in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 55-6986, a copying machine is built in a drawer of an office desk, and an image forming unit and a document exposing unit or a document are exposed. Only the exposure unit can be pulled out to the front, and all operations such as replenishing paper, inserting a manual feed sheet, taking out discharged paper, and feeding a sheet original using the ADF can be performed from the front of the main unit. Copiers are being developed.

[0003]

However, according to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 55-6986, the upper surface of the copying machine can be completely part of the desk by pulling out and using the original exposure unit as necessary. However, since the image reading is performed in a state where the original exposure unit is completely pulled out, there is a problem that a large space is required at the time of use and the usability is poor.

In particular, even when reading an image of a small original, it is necessary to pull out a predetermined amount or more, which is inconvenient. Further, there has been a problem that the copier itself cannot be disposed in a place where a space for pulling out the original exposure unit by a predetermined amount or more cannot be secured, or that the copier cannot be used.

[0005] Further, since it is necessary to pull out the document exposing portion by a predetermined amount or more, there is a problem that it is obstructive if it is pulled out, and it is troublesome to pull it out every time it is used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to be able to read an image with an arbitrary required amount of pull-out without being limited by the amount of pull-out of an original exposure unit.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to use an upper surface of a copying machine completely as a part of a desk and to read an image without pulling out an original exposure unit. With the goal.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image reading means for reading an original image as digital information, an image reading means movably housed along the original surface, and A drawer portion provided to be able to be pulled out with respect to the image reading apparatus main body, first document placing means comprising a transparent member provided on the upper surface of the drawer portion, and a second document placing portion for placing a document Means, an original feeding means for feeding the originals placed on the second original placing means one by one to a predetermined original reading position, and an original which stops the image reading means at the predetermined original reading position. Two kinds of control are performed, a first control for reading an image and a second control for reading an original by moving the image reading means from a reading start position on the near side in the drawing direction of the drawer unit to the back side. Image reading apparatus provided with control means It is intended to provide.

[0009]

According to the image reading apparatus of the present invention, when the drawer is pulled out by a required amount and the original is placed on the first document placing means, the control means sets the image reading means to the first document placing means. The original is read by moving along the surface of the original placed. When the second document placing means is pulled out, the document is placed, and returned into the image reading apparatus main body, the control means stops the image reading means at a predetermined document reading position and controls the document feeding. The document is fed one by one from the second document placing means by the feeding means, and the image is read.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, as an example, a case where the image reading apparatus of the present invention is applied to a cabinet copying machine will be described. [Schematic configuration of cabinet copying machine], [Configuration of control system], [Configuration of scanner unit (image of the present invention) Reading device)] will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Schematic Configuration of Cabinet Copier] FIG.
1 shows a schematic configuration of the cabinet copying machine 10 of the present embodiment. The cabinet copying machine 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a plurality of units obtained by dividing each unit related to an image forming process for each process and forming a unit are housed in a unit housing section of the body of the copying machine. As shown in the figure, a scanner unit 101 (an image reading device of the present invention) for reading a document image, a sorter / discharge unit 102 for sorting and discharging the transfer paper, and an image forming unit for transferring the transfer paper are provided. An image forming unit 103, a reversing unit 104 for reversing the transfer paper, a paper feeding unit 105 for feeding the transfer paper,
106. In addition, the cabinet copier 10
A main control box 107 is disposed on the back side of the main body.

The height of each unit is the reversing unit 104
Is 50 mm, the image forming unit 103 and the sheet feeding unit 10
5, 106 are 100 mm, and the scanner unit 101 and the sorter / discharge unit 102 are 150 mm. The cabinet of the cabinet copier 10 that houses these units has a dimension from the top surface of the apparatus to the bottom plate of 650 mm, which is a common multiple of the height of each unit.
It is configured to be. Although illustration is omitted,
Instead of the sorter / discharge unit 102, only the discharge unit may be configured with a height of 50 mm.

The cabinet copier 10 can be set to have a total height of about 700 mm with casters mounted thereon, a height equal to the height of a general office desk, and can be laid out on a desk side. And

The width of each unit is equal to or less than a predetermined size, and is set by inserting the unit from the front of the cabinet copying machine 10. The other units except the scanner unit 101 also have a depth equal to or less than a certain size, and the cabinet copier 1
A sufficient space for accommodating the main control box 107 is secured at the rear of the “0”.

[Configuration of Control System] The cabinet copying machine 10 according to the present embodiment includes a main control unit 107a (master unit) provided in a main control box 107, and various units such as a scanner unit 101 and a scanner unit 101. Hereinafter, various functions (copy, FAX, printer, etc.) can be realized in combination with a master unit and a slave unit.

FIG. 2 shows an overall control block diagram. As described above, the slave unit can be mounted at any stage of the unit storage section of the copying machine main body. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the number of signal lines via the connector as much as possible. Accordingly, the main control unit 107a is provided in the main control box 107 on the main body side, and each slave unit has a sub-control unit that controls each unit.

As shown in FIG.
There are a control unit 108a, a scanner control unit 108b, a sorter control unit 108c, a reversing unit control unit 108d, an image forming control unit 108e, and a paper feed control unit 108f.

By mating the connector mounted on the main control box 107 with the connector mounted on the slave unit, a communication signal for performing communication between the main control 107a and each sub-control, A common signal bus 109 used for a carrier synchronization signal and the like, a video signal necessary for real-time operation between slave units,
The dedicated signal bus 110 used for the video synchronization signal and the wiring for supplying power from the main power supply unit 107c to the slave unit are simultaneously performed. Although detailed description is omitted, control signals of the main control unit 107a and each sub-control unit are performed by serial communication using optical fibers to facilitate electrical connection.

In the main control box 107,
An operation panel control unit 107b is provided, and optional controllers such as a printer controller control unit 107d and a FAX controller control unit 107e can be added.

The main control unit 107a executes sequence control, communication control, various mode controls in the copy mode, and serviceman mode control.

The sequence control is a control for giving a command to each sub-control unit so as to form a sequence according to each image forming mode. At this time, the sub control unit that has received the command operates at a predetermined timing based on the video synchronization signal and the paper transport synchronization signal. The communication control is a control for exchanging commands and status with the sub control unit. In each operation mode,
Arbitration between the control units is performed. Various mode controls in the copy mode are performed so as to perform operations corresponding to the respective copy modes. At this time, necessary commands are transmitted to the sub-control units so that the operations required for the slave units are executed. In the serviceman mode control, control is performed so that operations necessary for inspection, repair, and the like are performed. [Configuration of Scanner Unit (Image Reading Apparatus of the Present Invention)] The configuration of the scanner unit 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Scanner unit 1 for reading original images
01 is a section A (automatic document feeder) for conveying and discharging sheet documents, and a section B (drawer section) for reading copy documents.
They are roughly divided into

An A section includes a document tray 101a for stacking sheet documents, a pickup roller 101b for feeding the sheet documents one by one, a tray bottom plate 101c for bringing the sheet documents into contact with the pickup roller 101b, and reading the document by reversing the sheet documents. And a discharge roller 104e that discharges a sheet document on which an image has been read from the reading unit.

A portion B includes a contact glass 101f, a carriage (traveling body) 101g, a roller 101h for moving the carriage 101g, a fluorescent lamp 101i incorporated in the carriage 101g, a lens array 101j, and a 1: 1 CCD linear image. It comprises a sensor 101k, a CCD preamplifier substrate 101l, and a CCD drive substrate 101m. Incidentally, P ₀ in the figure indicates the position of 101g carriage when reading the sheet original, P ₁ is a carriage 10
1g shows a home position.

Parts A and B are shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), they are attached so that they can be pulled out. In the figure, reference numeral 500 denotes an arrangement of the operation panel unit.

In the above configuration, the operation will be described in the order of copying a sheet document and copying a book document.

When copying a sheet document First, as shown in FIG. 4B, the section A is pulled out, and the sheet document is placed on the document tray 101a.
01n is moved to the original size. Thereafter, when the section A is pushed back and set in the apparatus, the scanner control section 108b lifts the tray bottom plate 101c and hits the sheet document against the pickup roller 101b.

Thereafter, when the copy start key of the operation panel section 500 is pressed, the scanner control section 108b
Moves the 101g carriage from the home position P ₁ to position P ₀ at the time of the sheet document reading. On the other hand, the pickup roller 101b is driven to feed out the sheet originals one by one. The fed sheet original is reversed via the turn roller 101d and reaches the reading unit. The carriage 101g reads the image of the sheet document conveyed to the reading unit. That is, the original image is read by the original moving method. The sheet manuscript from which the image has been read is delivered to the contact glass
f and stacked. When the above operation is completed for all sheet documents, the part B is pulled out and the sheet documents are taken out.

As shown in FIG. 4 (c), when copying a book original, a portion B is pulled out by a necessary amount according to the size of the book original, and the book original is set on the contact glass 101f. When the copy start key of the operation panel section 500 is pressed, the scanner control section 10
8b is the home position P pulled out together with the part B
_The book document is read while the carriage 101g in ₁ is moved toward the back of the apparatus. At this time, since the image is read by the digital method, it is not necessary to pull out and use the entire portion B. In other words, the contact glass 101
Even when f is pulled out and copied, the work can be performed in the minimum necessary space.

Here, the case where the book original is copied has been described, but it is needless to say that a sheet original or a cut and pasted original can be similarly copied.

As described above, the image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment can easily read an image by automatically transporting sheet documents one by one. Further, the image reading of the book document can be performed simply by pulling out the B portion by a necessary amount, and the operation is simple.

Further, by setting the home position (image reading start position) of the carriage at the front side in the pulling-out direction of the portion B (drawing portion), the amount of pulling out according to the document size can be performed immediately without performing unnecessary reading scanning. The image reading can be started immediately, and the reading productivity can be improved.

In accordance with automatic conveyance of a sheet document,
Since the image is read by the original moving method, the automatic original transport mechanism can be simplified and the size of the apparatus can be reduced. Also,
By using the contact glass as a paper discharge tray, the number of parts of the apparatus can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the sheet A is pulled out and the sheet document is set on the document tray 101a.
For example, an insertion port may be provided on the front surface of the document tray 101a, and when a sheet document is inserted from the insertion port, the sheet may be automatically conveyed to the position of the pickup roller 101b.

[0034]

As described above, the image reading apparatus according to the present invention comprises an image reading means for reading an original image as digital information, an image reading means which is movably housed along the original surface, and an image reading apparatus. A drawer portion provided so as to be able to be pulled out with respect to the main body, first document placing means comprising a transparent member disposed on the upper surface of the drawer portion, second document placing means for placing a document, A document feeding means for feeding the documents placed on the second document placing means one by one to a predetermined document reading position, and reading of a document image by stopping the image reading means at the predetermined document reading position. Control means for performing two kinds of control, that is, first control for performing image reading, and second control for reading an original by moving the image reading means from the reading start position on the near side in the drawing direction of the drawer unit to the back side. The document exposure section. Without Restricted possible to the amount of out, it is possible to perform image reading in any drawer required amount. Further, the upper surface of the copying machine can be used completely as a part of the desk, and the image can be read without pulling out the document exposure unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a cabinet copying machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall control block diagram.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a scanner unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a portion A and a portion B of the scanner unit are pulled out, and an arrangement of an operation panel portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Cabinet copier 101 Scanner unit 101a
Document tray 101b Pickup roller 101c
Tray bottom plate 101d Turn roller 101e
Discharge roller 101f Contact glass 101g
Carriage 107a Main control unit 108b Scanner control unit

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromi Ogiyama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Shozo Ishibashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaru Shiina 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd. Ricoh Company, Limited (56) References: Shokai 55-6986 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated ( Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image reading means for reading a document image as digital information, and a drawer portion which accommodates the image reading means movably along the document surface and is provided so as to be able to be pulled out with respect to the image reading apparatus main body. First document placing means comprising a transparent member disposed on the upper surface of the drawer portion, second document placing means for placing a document, and placing on the second document placing means. A document feeding means for feeding the scanned documents one by one to a predetermined document reading position, a first control for stopping the image reading means at the predetermined document reading position and reading a document image, and Control means for performing two kinds of control of second control for moving the image reading means from the reading start position on the near side in the drawing direction of the drawer section to the back side and reading the document. Image reading device.