JP3487366B2 - Feeder for image input 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 input device which is mounted on an image input device for reading image information of a document such as a photographic film by illumination light and automatically inserts and discharges the document with respect to the image input device main body. The present invention relates to a feeder, and more particularly to a small-sized image input device feeder capable of surely inserting and ejecting a document.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 28 shows the configuration of an example of a conventional image input device and auto feeder. In FIG. 28, a casing 101 of the main body of the image input apparatus has a concave shape in the optical axis direction, and a holder 103 for detachably holding a film mount 102 having a film as a document mounted in the concave portion 101a, and a holder 103. And a stage (not shown) that holds and moves along the recess 101a.
A light source unit 104 and a CCD reading unit 105 are built in the housing 101 so as to face each other on both sides of the recess 101a in the optical axis direction. A light source (not shown) is provided in the light source unit 104, and the CCD reading unit 105 is provided. Linear CC not shown inside
D is provided. The light emitted from the light source is condensed on the film mount 102 by the projection lens 106 provided in the light source unit 104,
The light transmitted through is read by the linear CCD. The linear CCD reads one line of the document, but the entire aperture surface of the film mount 102 can be read by driving the stage with a motor.

In the image input device having the above-mentioned structure, the recess 101a is formed in the housing 101 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.
Since it is formed by penetrating the
The side for inserting 2 and the side for discharging can be made independent. Therefore, in the conventional auto feeder, as shown in FIG. 28, the insertion side magazine 107 for holding the plurality of film mounts 102 and the discharge side magazine 108 for storing the film mounts 102 that have been read are formed by the recess 10.
It was provided on both sides of 1a.

In the above structure, the insertion side magazine 107
The film mount 102 stored in the
Is pushed out from the insertion side magazine 107 by the holder 1
Retained within 03. A plurality of film mounts 102 can be held in series in the holder 103, and the film mount 102 newly fed into the holder 103 can be held.
However, by pushing the film mount 102 already held in the holder 103, the film mount 102 is sequentially advanced to the reading position. The film mount 102 that has finished the reading operation and has been pushed to the discharge side is dropped and stored in the discharge side magazine 108 arranged at a position lower than the recess 101a. By repeating the above operation, a plurality of film mounts 102 are continuously supplied to read an image.

[0005]

In the conventional image input device having the above structure, the film mount 102 is inserted and
The discharge ports were not the same, and they were arranged independently on both sides of the recess 101a of the housing 101. According to such a configuration,
The auto feeder can complete all the operations by repeating the inserting operation, but there is a problem that the space of the device becomes large and the size becomes large.

On the other hand, if the film mount 102 has the same insertion / ejection port, the insertion and ejection by the auto feeder must be performed separately, and the corresponding auto feeder has not been realized so far.

Further, when the film mount 102 has the same insertion / ejection port and the apparatus is downsized, the inserted film mount 102 and the ejected film mount 102 interfere with each other, and the insertion / ejection is performed. It was difficult to reliably perform the operation.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced by using the same insertion / ejection opening of the film mount, and the insertion / ejection operation of the film mount can be achieved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a feeder for an image input device that can perform the operation easily and reliably.

[0009]

For an image input device of the present invention
Feeder, arranged adjacent and parallel to the the insertion magazine and discharge magazine, the end face and the end face of the discharge magazine insertion magazine, is the insertion magazine and discharge magazine
The document transport surface so that the documents are transported along the line
The is characterized in that provided.

[0010] feeder can be made to have a single opening for inserting the discharge of the original.

[0011] The document fed from the insertion magazine guided in the opening, a partition plate for guiding the ejected magazine originals discharged from the opening, Ru provided along the document transport surface
You can

With respect to the main body of the image input apparatus, the ejection side magazine is arranged on the front side and the insertion side magazine is arranged on the back side .
You can

[0013] The partition plate may be so provided at an end face of the discharge magazine.

[0014]

In the feeder for the image input device of the present invention ,
The insertion magazine and discharge magazine is disposed adjacent and parallel to the end face and the end of the discharge magazine insertion magazine
In the direction that the insertion side magazine and the ejection side magazine line up.
A document transport surface is provided so that the document can be transported along
It

[0015]

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the image input device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Image Input Device Main Body) FIGS. 1 to 4 show the structure of the image input device main body according to an embodiment of the present invention. The main body of the image input device is an illuminating optical unit as an illuminating unit that guides illuminating light onto a film as a transparent original, a scanning unit that moves a carriage as a holding unit that holds the film and scans an image, and CC transmitted light
It is composed of a projection optical unit which forms an image on D and reads it, and is housed in a housing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing is made of an aluminum die-cast body 1, an aluminum upper cover 2 for covering the upper portion of the body 1, and a polycarbonate body for covering the front surface of the body 1. It is configured with the front panel 3. Further, a mechanical body 4 for accommodating an image reading system composed of the scanning section, the illumination optical section and the projection optical section, and a main board 5 are screwed to the body 1. Further, the front side of the upper cover 2 is locked to the front panel 3, and the rear side is fixed to the body 1 with a screw (not shown). The upper cover 2 and the front panel 3 cover the image reading system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main board 5 and the mechanical body 4 are connected by four sets of harnesses 6, and the front panel 3 has an opening 7 for inserting a film mount.
And an LED window (not shown) for displaying the status is provided. Further, the surface of the body 1 opposite to the front panel 3 has a large opening so that it can be connected to various connectors provided on the main board 5, and the host computer etc. can be connected by an interface such as SCSI. Connected to.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the scanning portion has a carriage portion having a film mount holding and moving mechanism and a film focus adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting a motor driving force to the carriage portion. It is composed of a motor unit. The motor unit includes a stepping motor 11 and a reduction gear 14 a (integrated with the pinion gear 14) that reduces the rotation of the stepping motor 11, and is fixed to the motor mounting plate 12. The motor mounting plate 12 is fixed to the mechanical body 4 with screws.

The stepping motor 11 screwed to the motor mounting plate 12 rotates the motor gear 13 press-fitted into the motor shaft, and rotates the pinion gear 14 via the reduction gear 14a. Here, the stepping motor 11 rotates 0.9 degrees per step corresponding to one line of the image.

The carriage portion is composed of a carriage 15 and a rack carriage 16 which are integrally arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. One end is fitted in the groove portion 4a of the mechanical body 4 and the other end is fitted in the focus block 25. It is movable by being guided by a pair of parallel guide bars 17. In addition, the carriage 15 and the rack carriage 1
Two film pressing springs 18 are fixed in series at both ends of the surface facing the carriage 6.
The film mounts inserted between 16 are brought into contact with each other.

By balancing the urging force of the film pressing spring 18, even if a film mount having a different thickness is inserted between the carriages 15 and 16, the film mount is always centered between the carriage 15 and the rack carriage 16. Located in. Since the centers of the carriage 15 and the rack carriage 16 are in the optical focus position,
Even if the mounts have different thicknesses, if the emulsion surface of the film is located at the center of the mount, the manual focus cam 27, which will be described later, is located at the center, so that focus adjustment becomes unnecessary.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rack carriage 16 is integrally formed with, for example, a lotus rack 16a of a module 0.3 in parallel with the moving direction, and the pinion gear 14 is meshed with the lotus rack 16a to form a step. The driving force from the motor 11 is transmitted to move the carriage 15 and the rack carriage 16. The movement direction (sub-scanning direction) is determined by the arm 15a protruding from the carriage 15 and the photo sensor 48 fixed to the mechanical body 4.
The origin detection is performed.

(Eject Mechanism) The eject mechanism will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the rack carriage 16
As shown in FIG. 4, an eject spring 23 attached to the rack carriage 16 is in contact with the eject plate 22 slidably attached to the eject plate 22, and the eject plate 22 is biased in the film mount ejecting direction. is doing.
The eject plate 22 is restricted from moving in the ejecting direction by a locking plate 24 attached to the rack carriage 16 so as to be vertically rotatable. A portion 24a, which is on the opposite side of the portion of the locking plate 24 that locks the eject plate 22 and extends outside the rack carriage, has an inclined surface of about 45 degrees.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an eject button 19 is attached to the front panel 3 by being biased to the front side by a button spring 20. Eject button 1
The eject rod 21 is press-fitted into the ejector 9, and an E-ring (not shown) is fitted into the eject rod 21 to prevent the eject rod 21 from coming off. The tip of the eject rod 21 has a conical surface of approximately 45 degrees.

The carriage portion of the film mount storage portion always returns to the carriage return position I shown in FIG. 3 when the film is inserted and after the image data is read. Carriage return position I
If there is a carriage part in the eject button 19
When is pressed, the conical surface of the tip of the eject rod 21 of approximately 45 degrees hits the approximately 45 degree surface of the locking plate 24, and when the eject button 19 is further pressed, the eject plate 22 of the locking plate 24 is locked. The existing portion is rotated and retracted in the direction away from the rack carriage 16. The eject plate 22 is unlocked so that it can move in the film mount ejection direction.
The film mount is discharged by the spring force of the eject spring 23, and the film mount can be taken out.

Further, in the auto eject, the film mount can be automatically ejected by rotating the carriage portion of the film mount housing portion to the film mount eject position II by rotating the stepping motor 11.

(Focus Adjustment Mechanism) Next, the focus adjustment mechanism will be described. Focus adjustment is performed by moving the guide bar 17 up and down. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the guide bar 17 is in contact with the focus block 25, and the other end thereof is in contact with the mechanical body 4 to be the center of rotation. As shown in FIG. 1, parallel pins 26 fixed to the mechanical body 4 are fitted to both ends of the focus block 25 so that they can slide in the focusing direction. Focus block 25
At the center of the two guide bar pressing portions 25a, there is a projection 25b having a spherical tip, and the projection 25b is in contact with the focus cam 27 by the spring force of the focus block pressing spring 28. The cam surface 27a of the focus cam 27 is formed as an inclined surface having a height of approximately 2 mm in the focusing direction, and the focus adjustment is performed by rotating the focus cam 27. In the case of this embodiment, the focus cam 27 is rotated by 90 degrees so as to be displaced by 2 mm in the focusing direction. The projection 2 of the focus block 25 that abuts on the focus cam 27
By making 5b the center of the guide bar 17, even if there is a looseness between the focus block 25 and the parallel pin 26, the guide bar 17 can be moved up and down without tilting in the focusing direction. The image reading position is at the center in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar 17, and one end of the guide bar 17 is displaced by about ± 1 mm by the focus cam 27, so that the focus can be adjusted by about ± 0.5 mm at the reading position. .

As shown in FIG. 1, a gear is formed on the side surface 27b of the focus cam 27, and the AF motor gear 3 is provided via two idle gears 29 coaxially provided.
It is linked to 0. The AF motor gear 30 is press-fitted into the shaft of the AF motor 31, and rotation of the AF motor 31 enables autofocus. The origin is detected by the protrusion 27C on the side surface of the focus cam 27 and the AF limit switch 49 fixed to the mechanical body 4.

(Shading Correction) Shading correction will be described below. As shown by hatching in FIG. 4, there is a plain space 34 between the film mount and the edge detection plate 32. Shading correction is performed by moving the carriage so that the space 34 is on the optical axis. The space 34 is a space that is never closed even when the eject plate 22 moves to the eject position. By using this space 34 to perform the shading correction, the shading space is not closed even if the film mount is inserted or the eject operation is performed during the shading correction, so that the shading correction is surely performed. be able to.

When reading a color original, red,
The green and blue lights are used for illumination, and in this case, the space 34
It is possible to measure the light intensity level of each illuminating light and adjust the color balance.

(Illumination Optical Section) As shown in FIG. 2, the illumination optical section is composed of an illumination base 36, an LED block 37, a toric mirror 38, a 40-degree mirror 39, and an illumination system lid 40, and the entire mechanical body. It is screwed to the 4 with a screw.

The LED block 37, which is a light source, is fixed on the illumination base 36 via an insulating sheet with an insulating collar and screws. The toric mirror 38 is rotatably attached to the illumination base 36 about a cylindrical protrusion 38a provided on the side surface, and is fixed with a screw after adjusting the angle. The 40-degree mirror 39 is adhesively fixed to the bent portion 36a formed on the illumination base 36. Lighting system lid 4
0 is an LED block 37, toric mirrors 38, 40
The illumination mirror 36 is fixed via two locking portions formed on the illumination base 36 so as to cover the mirror 39. Further, the illumination system lid 40 below the 40-degree mirror 39 in the figure is provided with a slit 40a for passing the illumination light toward the film mount. It should be noted that the illumination system lid 40 blocks external light entering the interior of the illumination optical system.

(Projection Optical Unit) As shown in FIG. 2, the projection optical unit includes a 45 degree reflection mirror 41, a projection lens 42, and a CC.
The mechanical system 4 is composed of a D43 and a projection system lid 44, and is arranged in a portion partitioned by walls from the central three sides of the bottom of the mechanical body 4. The 45-degree reflection mirror 41 is adhesively fixed to the mechanical body 4. The projection lens 42 is configured symmetrically with six groups of six lenses, and is fixed to the lens chamber by a separation ring and a pressing ring, and the lens chamber is fixed to the mechanical body 4 by a set screw. CCD board 45 mounted with CCD 43
Is screwed to the mechanical body 4 via a CCD holder 46. Further, a projection system lid 44 is screwed to the outer periphery of the part partitioned by the wall.

In the above structure, the light transmitted through the film original is converted by the 45-degree reflection mirror 41 in the optical path by 90 degrees, and thereafter, is imaged on the CCD 43 by the projection lens 42. The CCD holder 46 also serves as a light shield and a dust proof. Further, the projection system lid 44 also serves as a light shield and dustproof for the entire projection optical section, and also serves as a retainer for the guide bar 17 of the scanning section.

(Auto Feeder) Next, the construction of an embodiment of an auto feeder for automatically inserting and ejecting a film mount into the image input device will be described with reference to FIGS. The auto feeder includes an insertion-side magazine part for accommodating a film mount 102 for reading an image with the image input device, a discharge-side magazine part for accommodating the film mount 102 for which image reading is completed, and a film for the image input device. An insertion mechanism for inserting the mount 102,
It is composed of a discharge mechanism section for taking out the film mount 102 from the image input device, and is attached to the feeder block 51 and the feeder chassis 52, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the insertion side magazine section is provided with a film mount 1 for reading from now on.
It is composed of an insertion-side magazine 53 for accommodating 02 and a mount holding plate 54 for pressing the film mount 102 against the feeder block 51. The mount pressing plate 54 is biased toward the feeder block by a tension spring A55. The extension spring A55 has a cylindrical portion 51a of the feeder block 51 in order to save space.
The direction is changed by 180 degrees and it is energized. On the bottom surface of the insertion side magazine 53, as shown in FIG.
A pair of left and right rails A56 are attached in the moving direction of 4 to guide the mount holding plate 54. Rail A5
There is a notch 56a at the end of 6, and the mount holding plate 54
The mount holding plate 54 is locked so that it does not go to the feeder block 51 side by dropping it.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the ejection side magazine portion, an ejection side magazine 61 for storing the film mount 102 ejected from the image input device, a partition spring 62, and a partition spring 62. It is composed of a mount holding plate 54 for pressing the film mount onto the. The mount pressing plate 54 is biased toward the partition spring 62 by a tension spring B63. Extension spring B
63 is a feeder block 5 to save space
The cylindrical portion 51b of No. 1 changes the direction by 180 degrees and biases it. A rail B64 is attached to the bottom surface of the ejection-side magazine 61, similarly to the insertion-side magazine portion, to guide the mount holding plate 54. There is a notch 64a at the end of the rail B64, and the mount pressing plate 54 is dropped into the notch 64a so that the mount pressing plate 54 can be fed to the feeder block 51.
It is designed to be locked so as not to go to the side.

The spring force of the tension spring A55 that urges the mount pressing plate 54 on the insertion side is stronger than the spring force of the tension spring B63 that urges the mount pressing plate 54 on the discharge side.

This is because, on the insertion side, if the film mount 102 is not strongly pressed against the feeder block 51, the extrusion plate 78 may cause the film mount 102 to be idle when it is pushed out. In fact, even if the maximum number of film mounts 102 that can be stored is inserted into the insertion-side magazine 53, it is desirable that the film mount 102 closest to the feeder block 51 be in close contact with the feeder block 51.

On the other hand, on the discharge side, a rubber roller 85, which will be described later, discharges the film mount 102.
This is because if the force of the tension spring B63 is made too strong, the discharging operation by the rubber roller 85 may be overloaded, and the discharging may not be successful. In fact, it is desirable that the film mount in the ejection side magazine 61 not fall over.

The spring constants of the tension spring A55 and the tension spring B63 are the film mount 10 in the magazine.
Even if the number of 2 changes, it is desirable to keep the constant so that the ability does not change so much.

(Partitioning Spring) A partitioning spring 62, one end of which is fixed to the end face of the ejection side magazine 61, is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape as shown in FIG. A tongue-shaped sorting portion 62a is provided on one side of the fixed side of the partition spring 62 so as to prevent two or more film mounts 102 supplied from the insertion side magazine 53 from being piled up and fed to the fixed end side. Has been. Further, on both sides of the intermediate portion of the partition spring 62, the film mount 102 to be inserted is pressed against the feeder block 51, and the film mount 102 discharged to the discharge side magazine 61 functions to be parallel to the feeder block 51. The pair of arm portions 62b are provided so as to project to the opposite side with respect to the fixed end. Further, the opening end of the partition spring 62 is provided with a partition portion 62c for separating the film mount 102 to be inserted and the film mount 102 to be discharged.

The width c of the partition portion 62c of the partition spring 62 is determined by the aperture frame 102 of the film mount 102.
The roller shaft 84, which is larger than the dimension of a in the lateral direction of a and is described later.
The size is smaller than the inner size of the rubber roller 85 bonded to the. This prevents the partition spring 62 from falling into the aperture frame 102a of the film mount 102 and damaging the film itself when the film mount 102 pushed out by the pushing plate 78 passes through the partition spring 62.

Also, the film mount 1 in the normal magazine
The No. 02 aperture frame 102a is placed so as to be horizontally long according to the reading range of the image input apparatus.
However, when the user mistakenly places the aperture frame 102a so as to be vertically long, the partition spring 62 falls into the aperture frame 102a with the dimension c of the partition portion 62c of the partition spring 62. Therefore, the collar 62d is provided so as to project on both sides of the partition 62c of the partition spring 62, and the dimension d from the collar 62d to the tip of the partition 62c is determined by the aperture frame 102 of the film mount 102.
If the length e is shorter than the dimension e between the lengthwise direction and the outer side, the film will not be damaged even if the user mistakenly places the aperture frame 102a so as to be vertically long. The width dimension f of the collar portion 62d is larger than the dimension of the aperture frame 102a of the film mount 102 in the longitudinal direction. Further, the gap between the sorting portion 62a and the feeder block 51 is set to the minimum film mount thickness 2
If the size is made smaller than the number of sheets, the film mount 102 will not be fed by stacking two or more sheets. Note that reference numeral 6
2e is a horizontal portion provided on the fixed side.

(Insertion Mechanism Section) The insertion mechanism section will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. A feeder motor 71 is attached to the feeder chassis 52. In the case of this embodiment, the motor is a DC motor with a reduction gear head. A motor gear 72 is attached to the feeder motor 71, and a spur gear portion 72 a of the motor gear 72 transmits a rotational force to the reduction gear 73. The rotational force of the reduction gear 73 is transmitted to the belt pulley 75 via the friction spring 74. Here, a slip mechanism, which is a known technique, is used to prevent an excessive torque from being applied to the motor. A belt 76 is stretched around the belt pulley 75 via three idler pulleys 77 rotatably supported by the feeder chassis 52, and an extrusion plate 78 is fixed to the belt 76. The push-out plate 78 is slidably guided by a hole 51c formed in the feeder block 51. Further, the protruding amount of the mount extruding portion 78a shown in FIG. 5 of the extruding plate 78 from the feeder block 51 is
The thickness of the film mount 102 is not more than the minimum thickness. As shown in FIG. 6, an origin side limit switch 91 and an insertion side limit switch 92 are attached to the feeder chassis 52 at respective ends of the operating range of the pushing plate 78. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a micro switch 57 is attached in the middle of the feeder block 51,
It is detected that the film mount 102 is stopped or clogged for some reason during the inserting operation, and that the film mount 102 to be inserted is gone.

(Discharge Mechanism Section) The discharge mechanism section will be described with reference to FIG. The feeder block 51 rotatably supports a pair of gear shafts 87a and 87b in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the feeder motor 71. One of the gear shafts 87a has a bevel gear portion 81a and a spur gear portion 81b.
And are concentrically and integrally fixed, and the bevel gear portion 81
a is a motor gear 7 attached to the feeder motor 71
It meshes with the second bevel gear portion 72b. On the other gear shaft 87b, a spur gear portion 81b fixed to the gear shaft 87a and a spur gear portion 81c having the same shape are concentrically fixed integrally, and the spur gear portions 81b and 81c are meshed with each other.

To the gear shafts 87a and 87b, levers 86a and 86b are respectively attached near one ends thereof so as to be rotatable around the shafts 87a and 87b.
Roller shafts 84a, 84 are provided near the other end of 86b, respectively.
b is rotatably supported in parallel with the gear shafts 87a and 87b. Further, roller pulleys 82a and 82b are concentrically press-fitted and fixed to one end sides of the roller shafts 84a and 84b, and rubber rollers 85a and
85b is concentrically bonded and fixed. Also the gear shaft 87
roller pulleys 82c and 82 are also provided on a and 87b, respectively.
d is concentrically fixed to the roller pulley 8
Round belts 83a and 83b are stretched between 2a and 82c and between 82b and 82d, respectively. Roller 85
A and 85b may be composed of other elastic members, but rubber is preferable.

(Insertion Operation) A series of operations in the insertion operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) and 11 (a). When the feeder motor 71 is viewed from the direction a in FIG. 6, C
When rotated to CW, the push plate 78 moves in the insertion direction. The film mount 102 inserted in the insertion-side magazine 53 is pushed out in the insertion direction by the pushing plate 78. The amount of protrusion of the mount push-out portion 78 a of the push-out plate 78 from the feeder block 51 is equal to the film mount 102.
Since the thickness is less than the minimum thickness, the number of film mounts 102 to be extruded should be one, but two or more film mounts may be extruded due to frictional force or the like. At this time, the upper portion of the film mount 102 is hooked by the sorting portion 62a of the partition spring 62, and as a result, the film mount 102 can be sorted.

Next, the film mount 102 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), it abuts on the arm portion 62b of the partition spring 62 and pushes up the arm portion 62b. Due to the reaction, the film mount 102 is pressed against the feeder block 51, and the film mount 102 can be reliably fed without the extrusion plate 78 swinging the film mount 102. Further, the tip end of the pushed up arm 62b pushes up the film mount 102 discharged to the discharge side magazine 61, and the film mount 102 discharged from the image input device is leveled horizontally as shown in FIG. 10 (a). It also acts. Due to this action, the discharging operation of the auto feeder can be smoothly performed. When the film mount 102 is further fed, the film mount 102 is pressed against the feeder block 51 by the partition portion 62c of the partition spring 62, and can be reliably fed by the pushing plate 78 until the film mount 102 is completely pushed out from the feeder.

The film mount 102 pushed out from the feeder is housed in the carriage section of the image input device described above. When the film mount 102 is securely stored up to the film mount limit of the carriage part,
The tip of the push-out plate 78 projects from the feeder block 51. This is because the insertion / ejection opening of the auto feeder and the carriage portion of the image input device cannot be brought into close contact with each other because of the front panel 3. Then, when the push-out plate 78 turns on the insertion-side limit switch 92, the feeder motor 71 stops and the insertion operation ends. The push-out plate 78 is sized so that the film mount 102 comes into contact with the film mount limiting portion of the carriage portion of the image input device at the position where the insertion side limit switch 92 is turned on.

Before the film mount 102 is inserted into the carriage portion, the carriage portion of the image input device uses the AF mechanism to move the position in the focusing direction to the approximate center of the adjustment width. This is because, as shown in FIG. 11A, the film mount 102 is fed along the feeder block 51, so that the carriage portion of the image input device is preferably located substantially parallel to the feeder block 51. As described above, the carriage part is the film mount 1
Since 02 is sandwiched between two leaf springs 18, even if the film mount thickness changes, it is always urged to the center of the carriage section. In that case, as shown in FIG. 10, the center position y of the carriage portion of the image input apparatus is set to the film transport surface 51 of the feeder block 51 of the auto feeder.
The position is shifted by about half (z) of the minimum mount thickness with respect to d. In this embodiment, the shift amount is 0.6 mm. As a result, even if the thickness of the film mount 102 changes, the film mount 102 and the extrusion plate 78 do not run idle, and the film mount 102 can be reliably housed in the film mount limiting portion of the carriage unit.

During the insertion operation, the rubber rollers 85 rotate about the shaft 87 in the directions away from each other by the frictional rotating force between the roller pulley 82 and the lever 86. Therefore, the inserting operation is performed only by the pushing plate 78,
The rubber roller 85 does not participate in the inserting operation.

(Discharging Operation) Next, a series of operations in the discharging operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (b) and 11 (b). First, the AF mechanism is used to move the position in the focusing direction to a position where the center of the carriage portion of the image input device substantially coincides with the center of the rubber roller 85. This is because the film mount 102 is present at the center of the carriage portion at the position of the carriage portion in the focusing direction during the inserting operation, and the focusing operation is performed in the image input device to shift the position of the carriage portion in the focusing direction during the inserting operation. This prevents the ejected film mount 102 from hitting the feeder block 51 and being unable to be discharged by the rubber roller 85.
Also on the feeder side, the centers of the two pairs of rubber rollers 85 and the film transport surface 51d of the feeder block 51 are arranged so as to be offset from each other. The shift amount x is more than half the maximum film mount thickness. In this embodiment, the shift amount x
Is 1.6 mm. By moving the position in the focusing direction using the AF mechanism to the position where the center of the carriage portion of the image input device substantially coincides with the center of the two pairs of rubber rollers 85, the film mount 102 is surely engaged with the rubber rollers 85. You can

Next, the eject operation is performed in the image input device. Ejected film mount 1
02 is ejected to a position where it is sandwiched by the rubber roller 85 when the rubber roller 85 is closed.

When the feeder motor 71 rotates CW when viewed from the direction a in FIG. 6, the pushing plate 78 moves toward the origin.
The ejecting operation of the image input device and the ejecting operation of the auto feeder are performed so that the tip of the ejected film mount 102 is pinched by the rubber roller 85 when the tip of the pushing plate 78 comes to a position where it does not extend beyond the feeder block. Synchronize approximately. The main board 5 of the image input device, the feeder motor 71 of the auto feeder, the limit switches 91 and 92, and the micro switch 57 are electrically connected and controlled by the CPU 113 of the main board 5 shown in FIG.

The rubber roller 85 is the roller pulley 8
By the frictional force between the lever 2 and the lever 86, they rotate about the shaft 87 in the directions in which they are in close contact with each other, and the film mount 1
02 is sandwiched and pulled toward the auto feeder by the rotation of the rubber roller 85. The film mount 102 is housed in the ejection-side magazine 61 along the partition spring 62.
As described above in the inserting operation, since the film mount 102 is horizontal in the ejection side magazine 61 by the arm portion 62b of the partition spring 62, the newly ejected film mount 102 is in the ejection side magazine 61. It does not happen that the film mount is not ejected by hitting the end face (P part in FIG. 10B) of the film mount. Further, the film mount 102 in the ejection side magazine 61 is the mount holding plate 5
4 and the horizontal portion 62d of the partition spring 62 exerts a moment to make the spring horizontal, thereby preventing the discharge operation from being hindered.

When the pushing plate 78 shown in FIG. 6 turns on the origin side limit switch 91, the feeder motor 71 is stopped and the discharging operation is completed. The origin side 78b of the mount push-out portion 78a of the push-out plate 78 is a sloped surface and pushes away the film mount 102 contained in the insertion-side magazine part to move forward. It is possible to return to the origin position where the origin side limit switch 91 is turned on without the 78 hitting and stopping.

Of course, if only the inserting operation is continued, the film mount 102 will be clogged. Therefore, if it is done, the continuous issuing of the inserting operation command is invalidated and an error is displayed on the host computer or the image input device. As an invalid method, the memory of the host computer or the image input device is used, and when the insertion operation command is issued, it is stored in the memory. The memory may be retained until the discharging operation command is issued, and cleared by the discharging operation command. When the insertion operation instruction is stored and the insertion operation instruction is input, an error is displayed on the host computer or the image input device and the instruction is not executed.

As described above, in the image input apparatus in which the film mount insertion opening is on the front surface, the insertion / ejection opening is the same, and the image reading is performed from the front surface to the back, the auto feeder is configured so that the magazine portion is used as the insertion opening. They are placed at a substantially right angle to each other, and the insertion magazine section and the ejection magazine section are arranged side by side,
In addition, it is possible to realize the simplest auto feeder by adopting a configuration in which the pushing operation is performed by the pushing plate and the discharging operation is performed by the roller.

FIG. 12 shows an electrical connection configuration of each member provided in each of the image input apparatus main body 111 and the auto feeder 112. The main board 5 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a control circuit (CPU) 113. The stepping motor 11 provided on the image input apparatus main body 111 side is connected to the CPU 113 via a motor driver circuit 114, and the LED block 37 has an LED driver circuit 115.
It is connected to the CPU 113 via. CCD4
3 is driven by the CPU 113 via the timing generation circuit 116, and the output from the CCD 43 is the preamplifier 11
7 and the A / D converter 118 to the CPU 113. Further, the photo sensor 48 and the limit switch 49 are respectively connected to the CPU 113, and
The F motor 31 is connected to the CP via the motor driver circuit 119.
It is connected to U113.

On the other hand, the micro switch 57 and the origin side limit switch 9 provided on the auto feeder 112 side.
1, the insertion side limit switch 92 is connected to the CPU 113 via the connectors 120, 121, 122, respectively, and the feeder motor 71 is connected to the CPU 113 via the connector 123 and the motor driver circuit 124. Further, the CPU 113 is connected to the host computer 127 via the image input device side interface 125 and the host computer side interface 126. In addition, the CPU 113 and the interface 12
A memory 128 for storing commands issued from the host computer 127 and various data in the image input device is provided between the memory 5 and the memory 5.

Next, the sequence of main operations in this embodiment will be described.

(Sequence at power-on) When the power is turned on, it is first checked whether the film mount 102 is already in the image input device 111, and if it is, the image input device 111 ejects and the auto feeder 112.
Performs the ejecting operation of the film mount 102, thereby mistakenly inserting the next film mount 102, thereby preventing the film mount 102 and the mechanism from being broken or broken. It also prevents errors in the insertion operation immediately after the power is turned on.

The automatic feeder 112 is the image input device 11
When ejecting the film mount 102 from No. 1, the push plate 78 for inserting the film mount 102 into the image input device 111 is returned to the origin position, but it moves in the origin position direction regardless of the position of the push plate 78. Take action.

Immediately after the power is turned on, the pushing plate 78 may be stopped at an indefinite position. The film mount 102 may detect the indefinite position, but the film mount 102
Since it is always taken out when it remains in 1, the take-out operation may be performed for a fixed time of the normal discharging operation (the time when the pushing plate 78 moves from the origin side limit switch 91 to the insertion side limit switch 92). . In this embodiment, the fixed time is 10 seconds.

Depending on the state when the power is turned on, the mount push-out plate 78 may return to the original position quickly within a fixed time. At this time, the push-out plate 78 turns on the origin side limit switch 91, and the operation is restricted due to the limitation of the feeder chassis 52. However, since the belt mechanism for driving the push-out plate 78 is provided with the slip mechanism, the belt 76 is There is no failure such as breaking or destruction.

(Sequence Without Auto Feeder) Next, the sequence when the image input device 111 is not equipped with the auto feeder 112 will be described.
Whether or not the auto feeder 112 is mounted is determined by the main board 5 of the image input device 111 and the auto feeder 1.
It suffices to provide a joint portion that electrically connects 12 with each other, that is, a sense pin through which a signal passes when the connector is connected to the connectors 120 to 123 and the like. If the auto feeder 112 is not attached, the presence / absence of a film mount in the main body of the image input apparatus 111 is not detected when the power is turned on. In addition, since it is not necessary to match the timing with the automatic feeder 112 when the film mount is discharged, the carriage unit of the image input apparatus 111 is not moved to the automatic feeder discharging operation start position. This can reduce the time when the auto feeder 112 is not mounted.

(Method of Confirming Presence / Absence of Film Mount) Next, a method of confirming the presence / absence of the film mount 102 in the image input apparatus 111 will be described. Move the carriage part in the sub-scanning direction to move the CCD within the image reading aperture position.
The data of one line 43 is read. This data is compared with the data obtained in advance as shown in FIG. As this plain data, shading-corrected plain data as shown in FIG. 13B may be used. If the two data are the same, the film mount 102 does not exist, and if they are different, the film mount 102 is not present.
Is determined to have been inserted.

As another confirmation method, since the aperture of the carriage portion and the light receiving range of the CCD 43 are longer than the film mount aperture and the aperture of the film holder, the film mount 102 is used in the image input device 1.
If it exists within 11, the pixels near both ends of the CCD signal are shielded from light, and the pixel data is 0 as shown in FIG. 13 (C).
Alternatively, the value becomes almost 0, and it is determined that the film mount 102 is inserted.

As a data comparison method between the plain data and the image reading aperture position, the integrated values of both data are obtained and compared, and if they are almost equal, it is determined that the film mount 102 does not exist. Further, it may be determined that the film mount 102 does not exist if the difference between each pixel of both data is calculated and the sum is almost zero. Naturally, the data of one line in the image reading aperture position is the same storage time of the CCD as when the plain data is taken, and the data without shading correction.

As another embodiment, the film mount 102
It can also be realized by using the outside of the aperture frame (where there is no film). In that case, if one line data outside the aperture frame is taken, it becomes equivalent to the light-shielded state, and the output of the CCD signal becomes all zero or almost zero, and it is judged that the film mount 102 is inserted.

The film has a base and has a certain density. Therefore, under the same accumulation time of the CCD 43, the output is always lowered when the film is present, as compared with the CCD output when the film is directly passed. So film mount 1
Using the 02 film portion, if the film is present,
It is also possible to set a threshold value that never exceeds a certain output value under the certain storage time of the CCD 43 and detect the presence or absence of the film mount 102 depending on whether the threshold value is exceeded.

Since the auto feeder 112 and the main board 5 of the image input apparatus are electrically jointed as described above, the image input apparatus 111 is the automatic feeder 11.
It is possible to recognize whether or not 2 is attached. When the auto feeder 112 is not mounted, the presence / absence of the film mount 102 in the image input device 111 is not detected, and the time required for initialization when the power is turned on can be shortened.

(Jam Detection) Next, the film mount 10
The jam detection of No. 2 will be described. Film mount jam detection is performed when the power is turned on, when inserting, and when ejecting.
First, the state of the micro switch 57 provided in the center of the feeder block 51 is detected. If it is ON, there is a problem during the previous insertion operation, and film mount 1
It can be seen that 02 remains in the middle of the insertion path. When the next film mount 102 is inserted and ejected in this state,
Since the film mount 102 may be damaged, an error message is issued to the main body to display an error. If the micro switch 57 is not turned on, there is no problem in inserting and ejecting the next film mount 102.

During the insertion operation, the push-out plate 78 after the jam is detected.
Check the state of the origin side limit switch 91. This is because the user may move the push-out plate 78. If the origin side limit switch 91 is not turned on, it means that the pushing plate 78 is not at the origin position.
Even if it is moved in the inserting direction as it is, the film mount 10
I can't press 2. Therefore, the feeder motor 71
Is rotated to move the pushing plate 78 to the origin position side until the origin side limit switch 91 is pressed.

(Film Mount End Detection) Next, the insertion film mount end detection will be described. The end detection is performed by the following procedure during the insertion operation of the film mount 102. If the film mount 102 is pushed and moved by the pushing plate 78 during the inserting operation, the micro switch 57 is temporarily turned on from the OFF state and then returned to the OFF state. However, without passing through this state, that is, when the insertion side limit switch 92 is turned on in the OFF state, it means that the film mount 102 has not been sent and the end of the film mount 102 is detected.

When the end of the film mount 102 is detected, the pushing plate 78 is moved to the position where the insertion side limit switch 92 is turned on, and the feeder motor 71 ends the operation. The operation when the mount end is detected ends with this operation. If the push-out plate 71 is stopped at the insertion side at the end of the operation, the initial action of moving the push-out plate 78 to the origin side becomes unnecessary when the film mount 102 does not exist in the image input device 111 at the next power-on. , The initialization time can be shortened. In the image input device 111,
Even if the film is present, if a slip mechanism is provided in the drive mechanism of the extrusion plate 78, even if the extrusion plate 78 is on the origin side, the ejection operation is performed for a fixed time, that is, 10 seconds in the present embodiment. The film mount 102 may be ejected from the image input device 111.

When the host computer 127 or the like terminates the image processing of the film mount 102 currently inserted in the image input device 111, the film mount 102 is terminated or ejected. Then you can choose whether to finish or support. If the end is selected while remaining in the main body, the image input device 1
In No. 11, the discharging operation is not performed, and only the feeder moves the pushing plate 78 to the origin side and finishes. When discharging from the main body and ending is selected, the image input device 111 and the feeder 112 perform a discharging operation, and the pushing plate 78 moves to the origin side and ends. This is effective when it is desired to image-process the same film again when the power is turned on again. In this case, the operation of detecting the presence or absence of the film when the power is turned on and forcibly discharging the film is not performed.

The end of the film mount 102 may be detected by directly detecting the empty space of the insertion side magazine section by using a sensor.

The film mount 10 is attached to the magazine portion on the insertion side.
When the number 2 disappears, the end of film mounting is notified to the main body side, and the insertion / ejection operation thereafter is not performed. As a result, it is possible to prevent useless operation during unmanned operation.

(Sub-scanning carriage movement sequence) Next, the operation procedure of the image input device 111 and the automatic feeder 112 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 14 to 27. 14 to 17 are flow charts showing a movement sequence of the carriage 15 on the main body side of the image input apparatus 111 in the sub-scanning direction. As shown in FIG. 17, the carriage 15 is moved in the eject (EJ) position (address 0) direction of the film mount 102 by rotating the stepping motor 11 in the CW direction, and is rotated in the CCW direction to finish reading. Move toward the position (address 5). The address 1 between the address 0 and the address 5 is the insertion position of the film mount 102, and the address 2 is the position where the photo sensor 48 is turned on.
Shading correction is performed at address 2. Address 3 is an image reading start position of the film mount 102, and address 4 is a discharge operation start position of the auto feeder 112 when the film mount 102 is discharged. Address 4 is also the AF origin detection position.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart when the power is turned on. In step S101, it is detected whether or not the photo sensor 48 is shielded from light by the arm 15a provided on the carriage 15. If not shielded, step S1
In 02, the stepping motor 11 is rotated in the CW direction, and when it is detected that the photo sensor 48 is shielded from light in step S103, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped in step S104. Next, in step S105, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 2 shown in FIG. 17 by the rotation of the stepping motor 11, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped in step S106, and the shading correction is performed in step S107.

When it is detected in step S101 that the photo sensor 48 is shielded from light, the process proceeds to step S105. After performing the shading correction in step S107, it is detected in step S108 whether or not the auto feeder 112 is attached to the main body of the image input apparatus 111. If the auto feeder 112 is attached, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 3 shown in FIG. 17 by the stepping motor 11 in step S109, and the presence or absence of the film mount 102 in the carriage 15 is detected in step S110.
If the film mount 102 is present, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 4 in step S111, and the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped in step S112.

If the film mount 102 is not detected in step S110, the process proceeds to step S113. Regardless of the presence or absence of the film mount 102, steps S113 to S115 and step S116 are performed in parallel. In step S113, since the carriage 15 has moved to the AF origin position which is the sub-scanning address 4, the AF motor 31 detects the autofocus origin in step S113. Next, in step S114, the carriage 15 is moved to the EJ position which is the sub-scanning address 0, and in step S115, the movement of the carriage 15 is stopped. In step S116 which is performed in parallel, an auto feeder control I described later is performed. Then, in step S117, the carriage 15 is driven by the stepping motor 11.
After moving to the sub-scanning address 1, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped in step S118. When it is detected in step S108 that the auto feeder 112 is not attached, the process directly proceeds to step S113, and steps S114, S115, S117, and S118.
Perform the operation.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart when the film is inserted when the auto feeder is attached. First, in step S201, the focus position 1 that changes the height of the carriage 15 in the optical axis direction is controlled. Next in step S20
In steps 2 to S205, the same operations as in steps S101 to S104 when the power is turned on are performed. After that, in step S206, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 1 by the stepping motor 11, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped in step S207, and the automatic feeder control II described later is performed in step S208.

When it is detected in step S202 that the photo sensor 48 is shielded from light, the stepping motor 11 is rotated in the CCW direction in step S209, and in step S210, the release of light from the photo sensor 48 is detected. At step S205, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped. In this state, the origin of the carriage 15 in the sub scanning direction is detected.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart when the film is discharged. In step S301, the auto feeder 112
Detects whether or not is attached to the main body of the image input device 111. If attached, in step S302,
The focus position 2 which will be described later is controlled, and this control is not performed unless the focus position 2 is attached. Step S30 below
The operations of S3, S304 and S305 are similar to the operations of steps S101, 102 and 103 when the power is turned on, and the operations of steps S306, S307 and S308 are steps S205, S209 and
It is similar to the operation of S210.

In step S306, the stepping motor 1
After the rotation of No. 1 is stopped, the presence / absence of attachment of the auto feeder 112 is detected again in step S309, and if it is attached, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 4 by the stepping motor 11 in step S310. This is an image input device 111 and an auto feeder 112.
This is to synchronize the operations with and. Next in step S31
1, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 0 by the stepping motor 11, and then the step S31
At 2, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped. At the same time, in step S313, automatic feeder control III described later is performed. Next, in step S314, the carriage 15 is moved to the sub-scanning address 1 by the stepping motor 11, and then in step S315, the rotation of the stepping motor 11 is stopped and the process waits for the next film mount 102 to be inserted.

(Autofocus Sequence) FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation sequence of the autofocus mechanism provided on the main body of the image input apparatus 111.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotation of the AF motor 31 and the variable position of the focus cam 27. 19, the protrusion 2 formed on the side surface 27b of the focus cam 27 shown in FIG.
The rotation angle of the focus cam 27 when the limit switch 49 is turned on by 7c is 0 degree, and the position where the projection 25b of the focus block 25 abuts the cam surface 27a at this time is the origin. Further, the projection 25 when the focus cam is rotated by −45 degrees in the CCW direction by the AF motor 31
The position where b comes into contact with the cam surface 27a is the focus position 1
And the position when rotated by -90 degrees is the focus position 2. The rotation of the AF motor 31 when rotating the focus cam 27 from the origin to the focus position 1 is 5
There are 3 steps, and when rotating to the focus position 2, there are 106 steps. Also focus position 1
If the amount of displacement of the protrusion 25b in the optical axis direction is 0,
The displacement amount at the origin position is +1 mm, and the displacement amount at the focus position 2 is -1 mm. As described above, each displacement amount at the reading position is +0.5 mm,
-0.5 mm.

FIG. 18A is a flow chart for detecting the autofocus origin when the power is turned on. Step S401
At, it is detected whether or not the limit switch 49 is ON. If it is ON, in step S402,
After rotating the AF motor 31 in the 50-pulse CCW direction,
In step S403, the rotation of the AF motor 31 is stopped. Next, in step S404, it is confirmed whether the limit switch 49 is ON or OFF. If it is OFF, the limit switch 49 is judged to be normal, and step S
At 405, the AF motor 31 is rotated in the CW direction,
In step S406, the limit switch 49 is turned off.
When N is detected, in step S407, the AF
The rotation of the motor 31 is stopped. When it is detected in step S404 that the limit switch 49 is still ON, it is determined to be abnormal, and an error display is performed in step S408. When it is detected in step S401 that the limit switch 49 is OFF, the process proceeds to step S405.

FIG. 18B is a flow chart for controlling the focus position 1 when the film is inserted. Step S5
At 01, the AF motor 31 is rotated by 53 pulses in the CCW direction from the focus address 0 to move the focus cam 27.
After setting to the position of the focus position 1 shown in FIG. 19, the rotation of the AF motor 31 is stopped in step S502.

FIG. 18C is a flow chart for controlling the focus position 2 when the film is discharged. Step S6
At 01, the AF motor 31 is rotated by 106 pulses in the CCW direction from the focus address 0, and the focus cam 2
After setting 7 to the position of the focus position 2 shown in FIG.
In step S602, the rotation of the AF motor 31 is stopped.

(Auto Feeder Sequence) FIGS. 20 to 27 are flow charts showing the sequence of the auto feeder 112. Fig. 20: Auto feeder control at power-on
It is a flow chart showing I. First, in step S701, it is detected whether the micro switch 57 provided in the film transport path 51d is ON or OFF. If the micro switch 57 is OFF, the image input device 111 is operated in step S702 by the method described in detail in the preceding sentence.
It is detected whether or not the film mount 102 exists inside the main body. If the micro switch 57 is ON in step S701, the film mount 102 remains in the film transport path 51d, and thus step S703.
Display an error in.

If the film mount 102 is present in step S702, the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction for 10 seconds to eject the film mount 102 in step S704. Step S
If the film mount 102 does not exist in 702, it is detected in step S705 whether or not the origin side limit switch 91 is ON. If the origin-side limit switch 91 is ON, the push-out plate 78 is at the origin position, so the operation ends. If it is OFF, in step S706, the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction, and the pushing plate 78 is moved in the direction of the origin to be initialized.

Next, in step S707, when the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction in steps S704 and S706, the origin side limit switch 91 is turned on.
Is detected. If it is ON, step S7
At 08, the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped to end the operation. Even if the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction for a certain period of time (OFF), if it is OFF, it is determined in step S709 that an error such as damage to the switch 91 has occurred, and the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped. An error is displayed in S710.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the automatic feeder control II when the film is inserted. First, in step S801, it is detected whether the micro switch 57 is ON or OFF. If the micro switch 57 is ON, an error message is displayed in step S802 and the operation ends. If it is OFF, it is detected in step S803 whether or not the origin side limit switch 91 is ON. If it is OFF, in step S804, the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction to move the pushing plate 78 in the origin direction. Then steps S805, S806, S
807 and S808, steps S707, S708, S709 in the automatic feeder control I, respectively.
The same operation as S710 is performed.

When the origin side limit switch 91 is detected to be ON in step S803, or the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped in step S806 and the pushing plate 78 comes to the origin position, the feeder motor 71 is CCWed in step S809. Then, the film mount 102 is inserted by the pushing plate 78. Then in step S810.
In, after the insertion operation within 10 seconds, it is detected whether the insertion side limit switch 92 is ON or OFF. If ON, the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped in step S811, and if OFF, in step S812.
The rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped, and step S813 is performed.
Display an error in. When the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped in step S811, step S814
, The micro switch 57 is moved during the movement of the pushing plate 78.
It is detected whether or not is OFF-ON-OFF. If so, the film mount 102 is the film transport surface 5
1d has been passed, and if not, in step S815, it is determined that the insertion film in the insertion-side magazine 53 has run out, and the operation ends.

Although the micro switch 57 is used as the detection switch in this embodiment, a photo sensor or the like may be used.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing the automatic feeder control III when the film is discharged. First, step S901.
At, it is detected whether the micro switch 57 is ON or OFF. If the micro switch 57 is ON, an error message is displayed in step S902 and the operation ends. If it is OFF, whether or not the insertion side limit switch 92 is ON is detected in step S903. If it is OFF, the pushing plate 78 is located away from the insertion side limit switch 92, and in step S904, the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction to push the pushing plate 7.
Move 8 toward the origin. If you do this movement for 10 seconds,
The extrusion plate 78 reaches the origin side at any position, and the rubber roller 85 ejects the film mount 102 during that time. Then, in step S905, it is detected whether the origin-side limit switch 91 is ON or OFF,
If it is ON, it is assumed that the operation is normal, and in step S906, the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped and the operation is ended. If it is OFF, the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped in step S907, and an error is displayed in step S908. The micro switch 57 described here may be a photo sensor.

If the insertion side limit switch 92 is ON in step S903, the pushing plate 78 is at the insertion end, and in step S909, the feeder motor 72 is placed.
When is rotated in the CW direction, the pushing plate 78 moves to the origin side. At this time, in step S910, it is detected whether or not the origin-side limit switch 91 is turned on within the movement time within 10 seconds, and if it is turned on, it is assumed that the limit switch 91 is normally operated, and the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped in step S911. Then, the operation ends. If it is not turned on, the rotation of the feeder motor 72 is stopped in step S912, and an error is displayed in step S913.

(Image Processing End Command) Next, the correspondence when the image processing end command is issued from the host computer 127 shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S1101, it is determined whether the command is a command to end with the film mount 102 left in the main body of the image input device 111. If the command is to finish without leaving, the film discharging operation shown in FIG. 16 is performed in step S1102. If the command is to end with leaving, in step S1103, the feeder motor 71 is rotated in the CW direction for 10 seconds to move the pushing plate 78 to the origin side. Next step S1
In 104, it is detected whether the origin side limit switch 91 is ON or OFF, and if it is ON, in step S1105, the rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped and the operation is ended. If it is OFF, in step S1106,
The rotation of the feeder motor 71 is stopped, and step S110 is performed.
An error is displayed in 7.

Next, regarding the processing in the case where the insert operation command is continuously issued from the host computer 127,
This will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 24 to 27.

(Discharge Operation Command) FIG. 24 is a flow chart when the discharge operation command is issued from the host computer 127. When the ejection operation command is issued from the host computer 127 in step S1201, it is determined in step S1202 whether the insertion operation command is stored in the memory 128 shown in FIG. The insertion operation instruction is stored in the memory 128 in step S described later.
1303, S1403, S1407, S1507, and S1503. If the insert operation command is stored, the insert operation command in the memory is erased in step S1203, and the process proceeds to step S1204. If no insert operation command is stored, the process directly proceeds to step S1204. In step S1204, the stepping motor rotates in the CW direction to move the carriage 15 in the discharging direction, and the discharging operation is executed. By performing the processing when the ejection operation command is issued as shown in FIG. 24 and by performing the processing of any one of the following three insertion operations, the insertion of two or more films into the scanner main body is prevented. .

(Insert Operation Instruction) FIGS. 25 to 27 show three correspondences when consecutive insert operation instructions are issued.

In the case shown in FIG. 25, step S1301.
Then, when the insert operation command is issued, step S1302.
Then, it is detected whether or not the previous insertion operation instruction is stored in the memory 128. If the instruction is not stored, the insert operation instruction is stored in step S1303, and the flow advances to step S1304 to execute the insert operation. If the commands are stored, it is determined that the insertion operation commands have been issued successively, and an error operation (error display and voice, invalidation of new insertion operation command) is performed in step S1305. Figure 2
6, unlike the flow chart of FIG. 27, no new insertion operation instruction is stored.

In the case shown in FIG. 26, step S1401.
When the insert operation command is issued in step S1,
In 402, it is detected whether or not the previous insertion operation instruction is stored in the memory 128, and if stored, the new insertion operation instruction is stored and held in the memory 128 in step S1403. Next, in step S1404, after the image reading process of the previous film mount 102 is completed, the ejecting operation of the film mount 102 is executed in step S1405, and then in step S1406, the inserting operation is performed based on the new insertion operation command. Perform an action. If the previous insertion operation instruction is not stored in step S1402, the insertion operation instruction is stored in the memory 128 in step S1407, and the insertion operation is executed based on this insertion operation instruction in step S1408.

Step S1501, shown in FIG.
S1502, S1503, S1505, S1506, S
1507 and S1508 are steps S1401, S1402, S1403, and S1405 shown in FIG. 26, respectively.
Similar to S1406, S1407, and S1408, only the process of stopping the reading process of the film mount 102 already inserted in step S1504 is different. That is, even if the image input apparatus 111 is in the image reading operation, the processing is interrupted and step S1505 is performed.
In step S1506, the ejection operation is executed, and the insertion operation is executed based on the new insertion operation command.

[0110]

As described above, according to the feeder for the image input device of the present invention , it is possible to reduce the size of the entire device .

Further , the operation of inserting and ejecting the original can be performed easily and surely.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an embodiment of an image input apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where the carriage of FIG. 1 has moved to a front panel side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a feeder for an image input device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the feeder shown in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG.

9A and 9B are a side view and a plan view showing the configuration of the partition spring of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining the action of making the film mount of the ejection side magazine section parallel by the partition spring.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the position of the carriage in the focus direction when the film mount is inserted and ejected.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection configuration of an embodiment of the image input device and the feeder of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of data read by a CCD.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a movement sequence when the sub-scanning carriage is powered on.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a movement sequence of a sub-scanning carriage when a film is inserted.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a movement sequence of the sub-scanning carriage during film discharge.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an address of a sub scanning carriage.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an autofocus sequence.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a focus position of autofocus.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a control sequence when the power of the auto feeder is turned on.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram showing a control sequence when a film is inserted in the auto feeder.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a control sequence at the time of film discharge of the auto feeder.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the correspondence in the case where an image processing end command is issued from the host computer.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart showing the correspondence when a film discharge operation command is issued from the host computer.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the correspondence in the case where a film insertion operation command is issued from the host computer.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing another correspondence when a film insertion operation command is issued from the host computer.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing still another response when a film insertion operation command is issued from the host computer.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an example of a conventional image input device feeder.

[Explanation of symbols]

51d Film transport surface (original transport surface) 51e opening 53 Insert side magazine 61 Discharge side magazine 62 Partition spring (partition plate) 102 Film mount (original)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/04-1/207 G03B 27/32 G03B 27/58-27/64

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An insertion-side magazine for storing the document to be inserted into an image input device body for reading image information of the document, and a discharge-side magazine for storing the document discharged from the image input device body, wherein the image input device for a feeder that is attached to the image input unit body, is arranged adjacent and parallel to the said discharge magazine and the insertion magazine, the end face and the end face of the discharge side magazine of the insertion magazine, the Insert side magazine and discharge side magazine
So that the original is conveyed along the direction in which the gin is lined up
A feeder for an image input device characterized in that a document conveying surface is provided on the. 2. The feeder for an image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeder has one opening for inserting and discharging the original. 3. A partition plate that guides the original supplied from the insertion-side magazine to the opening and guides the original discharged from the opening to the discharge-side magazine,
The image input device feeder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feeder is provided along the document conveying surface. 4. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the ejection side magazine is arranged on the front side and the insertion side magazine is arranged on the rear side with respect to the image input device body. feeder. 5. The feeder for an image input device according to claim 3, wherein the partition plate is provided on an end surface of the ejection-side magazine.