JP3178914U - Portable scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable scanner capable of performing automatic paper feeding or manual scanning is provided.
A housing installation space 11 is installed inside a housing 10, a handheld scanning area 12 and a document feed scanning area 13 are respectively defined on the outer surface, and a scanning window is provided in the handheld scanning area 12 and the document feed scanning area 13. 14 is installed, whereby the accommodation installation space 11 in the housing 10 communicates with the outside through the scanning window 14. Further, a movable first image sensing device 20 is installed in the accommodation installation space 11, and the first image sensing device 20 includes at least a switching device 21 and an image sensor 24 installed on the switching device 21, thereby providing an image. The direction in which the sensor 24 faces is switched by the switching device 21, and the original in the handheld scanning area 12 or the original feeding scanning area 13 is selected and scanned. The paper feed mechanism 30 is installed at the surface position of the document feed scanning area 13, and thereby passes the document through the feed scanning window 14.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable scanner having the functions of automatic paper feed scanning and manual scanning.

In order to realize convenient and speedy use when storing and creating document data, applications of optical scanners are expanding.
By using an optical scanner, text or graphic data placed on paper can be converted into electronic data, making data processing convenient.

Currently, the most frequently used optical scanner is the platform scanner 90.
The platform scanner 90 includes a transparent scanning plane 91.
A movable scanning device 92 is installed below the scanning plane 91.
In use, the document is placed flat on the scanning plane 91, and the scanning device 92 moves over the document to perform scanning.
This type of platform scanner 90 has excellent scanning quality but is generally large in volume and cannot meet the needs of users to carry it around, so a portable scanner has been developed.

Current portable scanners can be broadly classified into two types: document feed scanners and handheld scanners.
FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional view of the document feed type scanner 93.
An image sensor (not shown) of the document feed type scanner 93 is fixed and does not move.
Instead, an automatic paper feeder 94 for sending a document is installed on the document feed scanner 93.
The document is interlocked with the automatic paper feeder 94 and gradually passes through an image sensor (not shown) so that the entire content of the document can be scanned and captured.
The image scanned by this type of document feed scanner 93 is excellent in quality, but can scan only a document having a size smaller than that of the apparatus main body.
In other words, the document feed scanner 93 is portable, but cannot scan a larger document than the scanner.

Another type of scanner is a handheld scanner 95.
As shown in FIG. 3, the handheld scanner 95 does not include a paper feed mechanism.
Therefore, in order to read the contents of the original, it is necessary to pass the entire surface of the original by a method in which the user manually moves the scanner during use.
When scanning the document feed scanner 93 using the handheld scanner 95, combining an optimal scanning route and an image calculation method makes it possible to scan a large document.
However, the quality of the image scanned by the handheld scanner 95 is inferior to that of the document feed scanner 93.
The cause is that it is difficult to keep the speed at which the user moves the scanner constant.
In addition, various factors such as deviation from a planned scanning route during scanning and occurrence of tremors cause distortion and deformation of an image obtained by scanning.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks of conventional portable scanners.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a portable scanner having both manual scanning and automatic paper feed scanning functions, and having the advantages of scanner portability and production cost reduction.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following portable scanner.
The portable scanner includes a housing, a first image sensing device, and a paper feed mechanism.
The casing has an elongated shape, and a housing installation space is installed inside the casing, and a handheld scanning area and a document feeding scanning area are respectively defined on the outer surface, and the handheld scanning area and the document feeding scanning area are defined in the handheld scanning area. Each of which has an elongated scanning window, and the accommodation installation space communicates with the outside by the scanning window,
The first image sensing device is movable and installed in the accommodation installation space. The first image sensing device includes at least a switching device and an image sensor. The image sensor is installed on the switching device, and the switching is performed. The direction in which the image sensor is directed by the apparatus can be switched to the handheld scanning area or the document feeding scanning area for scanning, and the paper feeding mechanism is installed on the surface of the document feeding scanning area,
The document is fed through a scanning window on the document feeding scanning area, and in the embodiment, the handheld scanning area and the document feeding scanning area are installed on opposite sides of the casing,
The switching device includes a rotating shaft and a switching switch connected to the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is movably connected in the accommodation installation space, and the angle of the rotating shaft is switched by the switch.
The image sensor of the first image sensing device and the rotation shaft are connected to each other, and when the rotation shaft rotates, the image sensor is interlocked and the direction of the image sensor can be changed,
In the embodiment, the paper feed mechanism is installed on the surface of the document feed scan area, forms a scan route for feeding the document in cooperation with the document feed scan area, and the paper feed roller and the drive motor that interlocks the paper feed roller. With
The paper feed roller is rotatably connected in the paper feed mechanism, and the roller edge of the paper feed roller protrudes onto the scanning route, thus feeding a document, and the paper feed mechanism further includes A second image sensing device is installed, and the second image sensing device is installed relative to the first image sensing device.

  The portable scanner of the present invention has a movable first image sensing device installed in the scanner, the first image sensing device is installed in the scanner, and includes at least a switching device and an image sensor, and the image sensor is on the switching device. It can be installed and the direction of the image sensor can be changed by the switching device, and it can be switched to either hand-held scanning or automatic paper feed scanning. Thus, the present invention only uses a set of image sensors. While being used, scanning can be performed in different scanning modes, the scanner structure can be simplified, and the production cost can be reduced.

It is a three-dimensional view of a conventional platform type scanner. It is a three-dimensional view of a conventional document feed scanner. It is a three-dimensional view of a conventional handheld scanner. It is a three-dimensional view of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that a dial is turned and scanner mode is changed. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the scanner of this invention is switched and used for automatic paper feed scanning. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that this invention scanner is switched and used for handheld scanning.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the portable scanner of the present invention includes a housing 10.
The housing 10 is manufactured in an elongated shape that is easy to hold and convenient for document scanning. An accommodation installation space 11 is installed inside the housing 10.
A handheld scanning area 12 is installed above the housing 10, and a document feed scanning area 13 is installed below the housing 10.
In this way, the hand-held scanning area 12 and the document feed scanning area 13 are respectively installed at the relative positions on both sides of the housing 10.
Thereby, the handheld scanning area 12 and the document feed scanning area 13 are partitioned from each other.
On the surfaces of the handheld scanning area 12 and the document feed scanning area 13, elongated scanning windows 14 are respectively installed.
The extending direction of the scanning window 14 is the same direction as that of the housing 10, whereby the internal accommodation installation space 11 communicates with the outside.

In the accommodation installation space 11, a movable first image sensing device 20 and a control circuit (not shown) for controlling the scanner are installed.
However, since the control circuit is not a feature of the present invention, description thereof is omitted here.
The first image sensing device 20 includes a switching device 21 and an image sensor 24 installed on the switching device 21.
The switching device 21 switches the direction in which the image sensor 24 faces.

In the embodiment, the image sensor 24 is a contact image sensor and includes a plurality of image sensing units.
Each image sensing unit is arranged in a straight line to form a row. As a result, the overall length of the image sensor array becomes a width capable of scanning the document.
Each image sensing unit includes a photosensitive component 25, a focus lens 26, and a light source 27, respectively.
When scanning, each image sensing unit scans each data in a small area on the document and then combines them to form the complete document content.

The switching device 21 includes a rotation shaft 22 and a change-over switch 23 connected to the rotation shaft 22.
The rotating shaft 22 is movably connected in the accommodation installation space 11, and the angle of the rotating shaft 22 is switched by a changeover switch 23.
The image sensor 24 and the rotation shaft 22 are connected to each other.
Thereby, when the rotating shaft 22 rotates, the image sensor 24 is interlocked and the direction in which the image sensor 24 faces is changed.
Thus, the image sensor 24 can switch between the handheld scan or the automatic document feed scan and the scan mode according to the actual use situation.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the changeover switch 23 is a manual dial, and the changeover switch 23 further includes a position sensor 28.
When the user turns the manual dial to change the direction in which the image sensor 24 faces, the position sensor 28 senses the position of the rotary shaft 22 and transmits a position signal to the control circuit.
Thus, scanning can be controlled by different methods.
However, this manual dial is only used for convenience of explanation, and is not limited to this.
The changeover switch 23 can be an electric motor or other device, depending on actual needs.

On the surface of the document feed scanning area 13, a paper feed mechanism 30 is further provided for sending the document via the scan window 14.
In this embodiment, the paper feed mechanism 30 is installed on the surface of the document feed scan area 13 and is separated from the document feed scan area 13 by a predetermined distance.
In this way, a scanning route 31 through which the document passes is formed between the paper feeding mechanism 30 and the scanning window 14 in the document feeding scanning area 13.

The paper feed mechanism 30 includes a paper feed roller 32 and a drive motor 33 that drives the paper feed roller 32.
The paper feed roller 32 is rotatably connected to the paper feed mechanism 30, and the roller edge protrudes from the paper feed mechanism 30 onto the scanning route 31 and outward.
A passive roller 34 is installed on the surface of the document feed scanning area 13 corresponding to the position of the paper feed roller 32.
As a result, the document that has entered the scanning route 31 is interlocked with the paper feed roller 32 and the passive roller 34, passes through the scanning window 14 at a uniform speed, and a high-quality scanning image can be obtained.

In another embodiment, the paper feed mechanism 30 is further provided with a second image sensing device 40.
The second image sensing device 40 is installed below the scanning window 14 in the document feed scanning area 13 and is installed relative to the first image sensing device 20.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the document passes through the scanning route 31, the first image sensing device 20 and the second image sensing device 40 simultaneously scan both the front and back sides of the document.

5 and 8 illustrate the process by which a user performs a scan using the present invention.
When the user needs to scan a large number of documents of a constant size, the dial is set to the document feed scanning position and the mode is switched to the automatic paper feed scanning mode.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, at this time, the switching device 21 rotates downward, and the first image sensing device 20 aims at the scanning window on the document feed scanning area 13.
A position signal is transmitted by the position sensor 28, whereby the scanner is switched to the document feed scanning mode.

Subsequently, the document is placed in the scanning route 31.
As a result, the original automatically passes through the scanning route 31 at a constant speed according to the correspondence between the paper feed roller 32 and the passive roller 34, and a high-quality scanning image can be obtained.
If there is data on both sides of the document, the back side of the document is scanned simultaneously by the second image sensing device 40 installed in the paper feed mechanism 30.

When it is necessary to scan a document that is not suitable for scanning by the paper feed mechanism 30 such as a large document or a book, the manual dial is switched to the handheld scanning position.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, at this time, the first image sensing device 20 is aimed at the scanning window 14 on the handheld scanning area 12, and further, a signal is transmitted by the position sensor 28, whereby the scanner is in a handheld operating mode. Can be switched to.
Thus, the user can scan the surface with the handheld scanner along the surface of the text.
Each time the scanner scans the surface of the document, a document image within the scanning range can be acquired.
Since handheld scanning is employed, scanning can be performed even when the document is too large or too thick to be fed into the scanner.

As described above, the difference between the present invention and the prior art is that the first image sensing device 20 is installed in the scanner.
The first image sensing device 20 is installed in a scanner and includes at least a switching device 21 and an image sensor 24.
The image sensor 24 is installed on the switching device 21, the direction in which the image sensor 24 faces can be changed by the switching device 21, and can be switched to either a hand-held scanning or an automatic paper feed scanning.
In this way, the present invention can perform scanning in different scanning modes using only a set of image sensors, simplifying the structure of the scanner and reducing the production cost.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing 11 Storage space 12 Handheld scanning area 13 Document feeding scanning area 14 Scanning window 20 First image sensing device 21 Switching device 22 Rotating shaft 23 Switching switch 24 Image sensor 25 Photosensitive component 26 Focus lens 27 Light source 28 Position sensor 30 Paper feeding Mechanism 31 Scanning route 32 Paper feed roller 33 Drive motor 34 Passive roller 40 Second image sensing device 90 Platform scanner 91 Scan plane 92 Scanning device 93 Document feed scanner 94 Automatic paper feeder 95 Handheld scanner

Claims (5)

The portable scanner has a housing, a movable first image sensing device paper feed mechanism, a housing installation space is installed inside the housing, and a hand-held scanning area and a document feeding scanning area are partitioned on the outer surface, respectively. On the surfaces of the handheld scanning area and the document feed scanning area, scanning windows are respectively installed, whereby the accommodation installation space communicates with the outside,
The movable first image sensing device is installed in the accommodation installation space, and includes at least a switching device and an image sensor. The image sensor is installed on the switching device, and the switching device faces the image sensor. The direction can be switched and scanning can be performed by switching to the handheld scanning area or the document feeding scanning area, and the paper feeding mechanism is installed at the surface position of the document feeding scanning area, thereby feeding the document, A portable scanner characterized by passing a scanning window on a feed scanning area.   The portable scanner according to claim 1, wherein the handheld scanning area and the document feed scanning area are installed at relative positions on both sides of the casing. The switching device includes a rotating shaft and a switching switch connected to the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is movably connected in the accommodation installation space, and the angle of the rotating shaft is switched by the switch.
The image sensor and the rotation shaft of the first image sensing device are connected to each other, and when the rotation shaft rotates, the image sensor is interlocked to change a direction of the image sensor. The portable scanner according to 1. The paper feeding mechanism is installed on the surface of the document feeding scanning area, forms a scanning route for feeding a document in cooperation with the document feeding scanning area, and includes a driving motor that interlocks the paper feeding roller and the paper feeding roller,
The paper feed roller is rotatably connected to the paper feed mechanism, and a roller edge of the paper feed roller protrudes onto the scanning route so that a document can be fed in this way. Item 2. The portable scanner according to Item 1.   The portable scanner according to claim 4, wherein a second image sensing device is further installed in the paper feed mechanism, and the second image sensing device is installed to be opposed to the first image sensing device.

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