JP3567683B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an image reading apparatus having a function of reading a still original, and is applied to, for example, an optical image reading apparatus in a copier or an image processing apparatus having both functions of copying and facsimile. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an optical image reading apparatus which is applied to the above-described image processing apparatus and the like and has a function of reading a still original, the scanning body provided with the light source is moved to irradiate the original, and the image is read. In order to apply a voltage to the light source, a harness must be provided from the power source to the light source. Further, as a light source, there is a light source that uses a fluorescent lamp because it has high luminance and can be read in a short time. In this case, since the luminance of the fluorescent lamp must be stabilized in order to stabilize the image quality, an inverter unit is used as a stabilizer. Conventionally, this inverter unit is provided on a scanning body provided with a fluorescent lamp.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional image reading apparatus in which the above-described inverter unit is provided on the scanning body, the inverter unit protrudes from the scanning body. It is necessary to provide an arrangement space for Therefore, it is necessary to extend the left-right direction or the depth direction of the image reading apparatus, and there is a problem in that the image reading apparatus is made compact. From this, it is conceivable that the inverter unit is separated from the scanning body and moved separately and at different speeds. That is, the inverter unit (the second traveling body) is moved at a lower speed than the scanning body (the first traveling body) to reduce the moving range of the inverter unit. When the scanning body reaches the start or end of the movement, the inverter moves. The unit does not protrude.
[0004]
As described above, when the inverter unit (second traveling body) and the scanning body (first traveling body) provided with the fluorescent lamp are moved separately, a harness (low-pressure harness) is provided between the power supply unit and the inverter unit. In addition to the connection, a harness (high-pressure harness) must be connected between the inverter unit and the fluorescent lamp. In each of the harnesses, the distance between both ends of the harness fluctuates when the scanning body and the inverter unit move, and accordingly, interference with other members must be avoided and bending of the harness must be regulated. Among them, measures such as a V-shaped bent structure are taken for the low-pressure harness. However, for the high-pressure harness, the inverter unit and the scanning body come closest to each other in the entire moving range, and this time, In the case of (1), the complexity of the wiring of the harness is required in that the scanning body passes the inverter unit and the distance between the two is increased. A structure in which the harness is formed of a flexible wiring sheet and its movement is regulated by a guide roller can be considered, but it is complicated and expensive.
[0005]
Therefore, a flexible link mechanism including two links is provided between the inverter unit and the scanning body, and the high-pressure harness between the inverter unit and the scanning body is supported by the link mechanism. Thus, the amount of bending of the harness when the inverter unit and the scanning body are moved is regulated, and interference with other members is avoided. However, in the entire moving range, when the inverter unit and the scanning body are closest to each other on the way, and each connection point of the link mechanism is aligned, the connection point of the two links moves in an unstable manner. In some cases, the operation of the mechanism becomes unstable or stops moving.
[0006]
That is, when the connection points of the links are aligned on a straight line, the stress for moving the connection points of the two links is exerted, which may cause abnormal movement of the link mechanism or a locked state. For this reason, there have been problems such as an abnormal operation of the movement of the inverter unit and the scanning body, and a stop of the movement of the inverter unit and the scanning body. Along with this, problems such as instability of the brightness and image quality of fluorescent lamps have been developed. In order to solve these problems, measures such as giving a large play to the attachment of the connection point have been considered, but another problem such as applying extra stress to the harness has occurred.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the conventional disadvantages described above and to attach a harness connecting an inverter unit and a scanning body moving at different speeds to a link mechanism provided between the inverter unit and the scanning body, and to provide a link mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus capable of reliably stabilizing the operation of the image reading apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bendable link mechanism including at least two links between a first traveling body and a second traveling body, and electrically connects the first traveling body and the second traveling body. An urging means for urging a connecting portion between adjacent links when a connecting point of the link mechanism is aligned on a straight line, the image reading device having an intermediate portion of a harness connecting to a traveling body attached to the link mechanism. Was provided. The urging means is an elastic member provided on the apparatus main body, and the elastic member is located near a connecting portion between adjacent links when connecting points of the link mechanism are aligned. Further, the first traveling body includes a fluorescent lamp unit serving as a light source, and the second traveling body includes a fluorescent lamp inverter unit.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the image reading apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in an image processing apparatus having a print function. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the image reading device. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside of a reading case of the image reading apparatus, in which a scanning body is at a reading position of a continuously supplied original. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the scanning body of the image reading apparatus is scanning for reading a still original. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the scanning body of the image reading apparatus is at the moving end position of the still original reading. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state where the urging means is acting on the link mechanism of the image reading apparatus. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a locus of a moving harness link.
[0010]
First, the image reading apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. The image reading apparatus is provided in an upper part of the image processing apparatus, which is covered with a reading case 1, and below it, image information of a document read by the image reading apparatus or transmitted image information is provided. Based on this, a recording section P for recording on recording paper is provided.
[0011]
A schematic configuration of the image processing device will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the reading case 1, a stationary original placing surface 2 made of a transparent member such as glass and a continuous original supply unit A are provided. An original such as a book is placed on the stationary original placing surface 2 in a stationary state, and a scanning body is moved below the original (inside the reading case 1) to perform scanning and reading. On the other hand, one or a plurality of originals can be continuously supplied to the continuous original supply section A, and a scanning body is arranged in a stationary state below the original, and scanning and reading are performed by supplying the originals. Is what you do.
[0012]
As a member for scanning and reading, first, a photoelectric conversion unit 22 including a lens 22a and a photoelectric converter (CCD) 22b is provided at the bottom in the reading case 1, and a protective cover 23 is provided above the photoelectric conversion unit 22. Covered. In the protective cover 23, the later-described harnesses 14, 15 and the like are allowed to pass above the later-described inverter unit 9 side.
[0013]
There are a first scanning body 3 and a second scanning body 6 as scanning bodies to be moved when reading a still original. The first scanning body 3 includes a fluorescent lamp 4 as a light source and a first mirror 5, the second scanning body 6 includes a second mirror 7 at an upper part, and a third mirror 8 at a lower part. It is provided in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction. As the reading method, the fluorescent document 4 irradiates the stationary document placing surface 2 or the supply document reading unit 26 provided at the lowermost part in the continuous document supply unit A, and the image of the document content thereabove is illuminated. The light is reflected by the first mirror 5. The image reflected on the first mirror 5 is projected on the lens 22a via the second mirror 7 and the third mirror 8, and the image content is converted into an electric signal by the photoelectric converter 22b.
[0014]
When reading a stationary document, the first scanning body 3 and the second scanning body 6 must be moved to move the light source and irradiate the surface of the document to perform reading. A first driving pulley 16 and a second driving pulley 19 driven by a motor or the like as a transporting means for the scanning members 3 and 6 are located at an initial position of the moving range of the scanning members 3 and 6 (a reading position of a continuously supplied original). , Both pulleys 16 and 19 are supported by the same shaft, and the first driving pulley 16 has a diameter twice as large as that of the second driving pulley 19. A driven first pulley 17 and a driven second pulley 20 are provided on both left and right sides of the scanning body 3 and 6 at the end of movement, and have the same diameter as the driving first pulley 16 and the driving second pulley 19 respectively. It has become. Then, the first transport belt 18 is wound between the first driving pulley 16 and the driven first pulley 17, and the second transport belt 21 is wound between the second driving pulley 19 and the driven second pulley 20. I have. By rotating the driving first pulley 16 and the driving second pulley 19 which are supported by the same shaft and are integral with each other, the transport speed of the first transport belt 18 becomes two times that of the second transport belt 21. Double.
[0015]
Both end portions of the first scanning member 3 are fixed to a part of the first transport belts 18, and both end portions of the second scanning member 6 are fixed to a part of the second transport belts 21, 21. Is done. (The first scanning member 3 is fixed to the first conveyor belts 18, 18 via fixing portions 3a, 3a as shown in FIG. 2.) Thereby, the first scanning member 3 and the second scanning member 6 are provided. Is transported, the first scanning body 3 moves at twice the speed of the second scanning body 6. First, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the first scanning body 3 and the second scanning body 6 are closest to each other, and this position is a position below the continuous document supply unit A. The scanning bodies 3 and 6 are stationary, and read the original supplied to the continuous original supply unit A.
[0016]
When reading a still original placed on the stationary original placing surface 2, the scanning bodies 3 and 6 are moved from the state shown in FIG. 3 toward the opposite side. At this time, the first scanning body 3 moves at twice the speed of the second scanning body 6. Thus, the distance during which the light L emitted from the fluorescent lamp 4 reaches the photoelectric conversion unit 22 is always constant during movement. When the first scanning member 3 and the second scanning member 6 reach the reading end portion as shown in FIG. 5, they reciprocate to return to the initial state of FIG. Of course, when returning to the state of FIG. 3 from FIG. 5, the speed of the first scanning body 3 is twice as fast as that of the second scanning body 6.
[0017]
Note that horizontal guide plates 25, 25 are provided on the left and right inner surfaces of the reading case 1, and both side ends of the first scanning body 3 and the second scanning body 6 are placed on the guide plates 25, 25. It is slid and guided for conveyance.
[0018]
The light source of the image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment is a fluorescent lamp (cold cathode tube). In this case, an inverter unit as a ballast is required to stabilize the light source luminance. In the present invention, this inverter unit is separated from the first scanning body 3. First, a guide frame 24 is provided at the bottom of the reading case 1 along the running direction of the scanning body, and the inverter unit 9 is engaged with the guide frame 24 so that the inverter unit 9 is slidable along the guide frame 24. . The inverter unit 9 is provided with a substrate 10, on which an inverter 11 is provided, which is covered with an inverter case 12. By fixing the inverter unit 9 to the second conveyor belt 21 via the fixing portion 9a as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the conveyance speed is the same as that of the second scanning member 6, that is, the first scanning member. The speed is set to 1/2 of 3.
[0019]
Thereby, the first scanning body 3 passes the inverter unit 9 from the state of FIG. 3 to the end of scanning as shown in FIG. 5 through the state of FIG. It is not necessary to provide a storage space for the inverter unit 9 so as to protrude beyond the scanning end portion of the first scanning body 3, so that the reading case 1 can be prevented from becoming large and can be made compact. In FIG. 4, the first scanning body 3 and the second scanning body 6 are omitted.
[0020]
A low-voltage harness 15 is connected to the inverter unit 9 by a power supply (not shown) provided below the reading case 1 via a hole provided at the bottom of the reading case 1. When the inverter unit 9 is moved, the inverter unit 9 is bent in a V-shape. However, the low-pressure harness 15 is freely bendable so that the bent portion is not broken by frequent movements.
[0021]
On the other hand, the high-voltage harness 14 must be connected between the inverter 11 and the fluorescent lamp 4 of the first scanning body 3. In this case, it should be noted that first, it is necessary to prevent the high-pressure harness 14 from interfering with another member (for example, the photoelectric conversion unit 22). Further, since the transport speeds of the inverter unit 9 and the first scanning body 3 are different, the distance between them fluctuates, so that the bending motion applied to the high voltage harness 14 increases, and the distance between the high voltage harness 14 and the inverter 11 increases. The conduction state or the conduction state between the high-pressure harness 14 and the fluorescent lamp 4 changes. Then, the voltage fluctuates, the brightness of the fluorescent lamp becomes uneven, and the image quality becomes unstable. If the inverter 11 is provided in the first scanning body 3, such a problem does not occur. However, in the present invention, since the inverter 11 is separated from the first scanning body 3, the high-voltage harness is required when moving. It is required that the first scanning member 3 be connected to the first scanning member 3 at a distance as short as possible so as not to move largely.
[0022]
Therefore, a harness link 13 is provided between the inverter unit 9 and the first scanning body 3 by connecting the first link 13a and the second link 13b of resin molding so as to be freely bent. Wire along this. When moving from the state of FIG. 3 to the state of FIG. 5 through the state of FIG. 4 or through the state of FIG. 4 to the state of FIG. 3, the first scanning body 3 and the inverter unit 9 , And the harness link 13 is bent accordingly. Since the high-pressure harness 14 is arranged along the harness link 13, a large bending movement is not applied. In addition, it is possible to prevent the high-voltage harness 14 from largely moving and interfering with the photoelectric conversion unit 22.
[0023]
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state where the urging means is acting on the link mechanism. As shown in FIG. 6, the link connection points are aligned on a straight line in the entire movement range in which the first scanning body 3 and the inverter unit 9 move while the distance between the first scanning body 3 and the inverter unit 9 fluctuates. There is a position. That is, a connection point 13x connecting the scanning body 3 and the first link 13a, a connection point 13y connecting the first link 13a and the second link 13b, and a connection connecting the inverter unit 9 and the second link 13b. The point 13z is a position on a straight line.
[0024]
FIG. 7 shows the trajectory of the harness link 13 moving from left to right in FIG. In FIG. 7, the state of the harness link 13 shown at the center is the state shown in FIG. That is, the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are in a straight line. The arrow vx indicates the traveling speed at which the connection point 13x travels, and the arrow vz indicates the traveling speed at which the connection point 13z travels. An arrow fy indicates a stress applied to the connection point 13y with movement of the two links 13a and 13b (movement of the connection points 13x and 13z).
[0025]
The connection points 13x and 13z move together, but the connection point 13x moves at the same speed as 13z. Accordingly, the stress fy applied to the connection point 13y changes as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 7, the direction of the stress fy is substantially downward in FIG. 7 until the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned, but the direction slightly changes counterclockwise. In addition, the stress fy until the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned is reduced.
[0026]
When the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned, no stress is applied to the connection point 13y.
[0027]
After the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned, the direction of the stress fy in FIG. 7 is substantially upward, and the direction slightly changes clockwise. In addition, when the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z pass a state in which they are aligned, the stress fy increases.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 6, a sheet-like elastic member S, which is urging means, is provided at a position where the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned. One end of the sheet-like elastic member S is attached to the protective cover 23 on the device side by a stopper Sv. The other end S1 of the sheet elastic member S biases the connection point 13y of the harness link 13 in which the connection points 13x, 13y, and 13z are aligned as described above.
[0029]
Next, the operation of the sheet-like elastic member S as the urging means will be described. The connection point 13y of the harness link 13 in the state shown in FIG. 6 is different from the connection point 13y of the harness link 13 in the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 (see FIG. 7). fy does not work and is affected by component accuracy and the like. That is, if the dimensional accuracy of the first link 13a and the second link 13b is poor, the connection point 13y in the state shown in FIG. 6 is located at the position of the connection point 13y determined by the first link 13a and the second link 13b. A situation occurs in which the position of the connection point 13y determined by the shift is shifted. In this case, a situation may occur in which the connection point 13y moves in an unstable manner, causing an abnormal movement of the harness link 13 or a locked state.
[0030]
However, since the other end S1 of the sheet-like elastic member S urges the connection point 13y of the harness link 13 in which the connection points are aligned, the connection point 13y moves stably, and the abnormality of the harness link 13 occurs. There is no such thing as a sudden movement or a locked state. In addition, there is no problem of giving an abnormal operation to or stopping the movement of the inverter unit 9 and the scanning body 3.
[0031]
In the above embodiment, the case where the elastic member serving as the urging means is a sheet-shaped member has been described. However, the elastic member may be a spring or the like, and the design can be changed as appropriate.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention is configured as described above in an image reading apparatus that reads a still original by reciprocating a scanning body having a fluorescent lamp as a light source for illuminating the original, and has the following effects. As described above, the harness can be prevented from interfering with other members when the scanning body and the stabilizer are moved by moving along the link mechanism, and furthermore, the bending of the harness can be restricted and the link mechanism can be controlled. It is possible to prevent abnormal movement of the device or a situation in which the device is locked.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in an image processing apparatus having a print function.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the image reading apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside of a reading case of the image reading apparatus in a state where a scanning body is at a reading position of a continuously supplied original.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a scanning body of the image reading apparatus is scanning for reading a still original;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a scanning body of the image reading apparatus is at a movement end position of still document reading.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which an urging means is acting on a link mechanism of the image reading apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a locus of a moving harness link.
[Explanation of symbols]
3 First scanning body (fluorescent lamp unit, first traveling body)
4 Fluorescent lamp 9 Inverter unit (second traveling unit)
11 Inverter 13 Harness link 13a Link 13b Link 13x Link connection point 13y Link connection point 13z Link connection point 14 High-pressure harness S Sheet member (biasing means)

Claims (3)

A bendable link mechanism including at least two links is provided between the first traveling body and the second traveling body, and a halfway portion of a harness that electrically connects the first traveling body and the second traveling body is connected to the link. An image reading apparatus attached to a mechanism, wherein an urging means is provided for urging a connecting portion between adjacent links when connecting points of the link mechanism are aligned on a straight line. The biasing means is an elastic member provided on the apparatus main body, and the elastic member is located near a connecting portion between adjacent links when connecting points of the link mechanism are aligned. The image reading device according to claim 1. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the first traveling body includes a fluorescent lamp unit serving as a light source, and the second traveling body includes a fluorescent lamp inverter unit.

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