JP3810928B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus used for reading a document image by being incorporated in a facsimile apparatus or various scanner apparatuses.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A general configuration of a conventional image reading apparatus is shown in FIG. This image reading apparatus includes a synthetic resin case 90, a transparent plate 97, a substrate 92 on which a plurality of LED light sources 91 are mounted, a lens array 93 in which a plurality of imaging lenses are connected in series, and a plurality of light receiving elements 94. It is set as the structure which assembled | attached the board | substrate 95 which mounts. The plurality of LED light sources 91 are arranged in a line at an appropriate interval in the main scanning direction so that light can be irradiated to the entire length of the line-shaped image reading area Sa on the surface of the transparent plate 97. The case 90 is entirely made of black resin.
[0003]
The light emitted from the plurality of LED light sources 91 travels through the illumination optical path 96 formed in the case 90 and is guided to the image reading area Sa. When the light guided to the image reading area Sa is reflected by the document D located in that area, the light is received by the plurality of light receiving elements 94 via the imaging lens of the lens array 93, and the plurality of light receiving elements are received. An image signal having an output level corresponding to the amount of received light is output from the element 94. Since the case 90 is entirely made of black resin, the wall surface 90a around the plurality of light receiving elements 94 can be made black, and the light transmitted through the imaging lens is surrounded by the plurality of light receiving elements 94. It is possible to prevent scattering and reflection. When scattered and reflected light enters the plurality of light receiving elements 94, the quality of the read image is deteriorated. However, the image reading apparatus can solve such a problem.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional image reading apparatus has the following problems.
[0005]
That is, in the conventional image reading apparatus, the distribution of the amount of irradiation light from the plurality of LED light sources 91 to the image reading area Sa is not uniform in each place, and as shown in FIG. There was a phenomenon in which the amount of light applied to the light was considerably smaller than the amount of light applied to the central portion in the longitudinal direction. Originally, the light radiated to the image reading area Sa is not limited to the light directly traveling from the plurality of LED light sources 91 toward the image reading area Sa, but various light depending on the wall portion of the illumination optical path 96 of the case 90. Although light that has traveled while repeating reflection in the direction should also be included, conventionally, the entire case 90 is made of a black resin that absorbs light, so that it is reflected by the wall of the illumination optical path 96. After that, almost no light reaches the image reading area Sa. Therefore, the distribution of the irradiation light quantity to the image reading area Sa corresponds to the light output distribution of the plurality of LED light sources 91, and the difference in the irradiation light quantity between the end and the center of the image reading area Sa is considerable. It was getting bigger. However, when such a difference in the amount of irradiation occurs, for example, even when a white document is read, the amount of light received by the plurality of light receiving elements 94 varies, and the document image is read faithfully. Can not be. Such a problem similarly occurs when a cold cathode tube having a light emitting surface of a certain length is used as a light source instead of the plurality of LED light sources 91, for example.
[0006]
In order to solve such a problem, the length of the plurality of LED light sources 91 may be formed to be considerably longer than the image reading width. However, employing such a means is not appropriate because the size of the image reading apparatus in the main scanning direction becomes large. For this reason, conventionally, image processing for correcting variations in the amount of light received by the plurality of light receiving elements 94 is performed after setting the length of the row of the plurality of LED light sources 91 to a length substantially equal to the image reading width. It was the actual situation. However, even if such image processing is performed, in order to obtain an appropriate read image with excellent reproducibility, it is required to make the irradiation light amount distribution in the image reading region Sa as uniform as possible.
[0007]
The present invention has been conceived under such circumstances, and the amount of light applied to the line-shaped image reading region has a large difference between the longitudinal end portion and the longitudinal center portion. It is an object of the present invention to appropriately prevent this by simple means and to improve the quality of a read image.
[0008]
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.
[0009]
The image reading device provided by the present invention includes a light source device that forms a line-shaped light emitting region, and a case in which an illumination optical path for guiding light emitted from the light source device to the image reading region is formed inside, A lens array having a plurality of imaging lenses that focus the light reflected from the document arranged in the image reading area onto a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a row to form an image of the document; And at least part of the wall surface at the longitudinal end of the illumination optical path reflects light traveling from the light source device to the longitudinal end of the illumination optical path toward the image reading area. An image reading apparatus having a possible light reflecting surface, wherein the case is formed separately from the case, and at least a part of the outer surface is white. Is assembled, and the light reflecting member is formed with a side wall portion extending in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the illumination optical path extends, and the white side surface of the side wall portion serves as the light reflecting surface. On the other hand, the lens array is fitted into a groove formed in the case, and the lens array is pressed against the side wall portion of the light reflecting member by pressing both longitudinal ends of the lens array downward. It is characterized in that a pressing portion for preventing escape from the groove portion is integrally formed .
[0010]
In the present invention, when the light emitted from the light source device travels toward the image reading region via the illumination optical path, the light reflecting surface is used for the light traveling to the longitudinal end of the illumination optical path. By reflecting the light with a high reflectance, the light can be advanced to the image reading area. And it becomes possible to increase the irradiation light quantity to the longitudinal direction edge part close | similar to the said light reflection surface among the longitudinal direction places of an image reading area | region. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, it is possible to prevent the irradiation light amount at the longitudinal end portion of the image reading area from becoming considerably smaller than the irradiation light amount at the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and to make the illuminance uniform in the image reading area. Can be achieved. As a result, the quality of the read image can be improved. Of course, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to make the length of the line-shaped light emitting region of the light source device considerably longer than the image reading width, it is convenient to reduce the size of the entire image reading device.
[0015]
In the present invention , the case is formed separately from the case, and a light reflecting member in which at least a part of the outer surface is white is assembled, and the light reflecting member includes the above-described case. A side wall portion extending in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the illumination optical path extends is formed, and the white side surface of the side wall portion is the light reflection surface. Therefore, a light reflection member formed separately from the case is used. By doing so, the light reflecting surface can be easily formed.
[0017]
In the present invention, the lens array is fitted in a groove formed in the case, and the side walls of the light reflecting member are pressed downward on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lens array. Since the pressing part that prevents the lens array from escaping from the groove part is integrally formed , the light reflecting member can also be used as a so-called pressing member of the lens array, thereby suppressing an increase in the total number of parts. However, the lens array can be properly attached and held.
[0019]
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the illumination optical path has a white color extending in the longitudinal direction of the light reflecting member by accommodating the light reflecting member in a hole formed in the case. It is formed as a space portion sandwiched between the side surface and the white one side wall surface of the hole facing the side surface.
[0020]
According to such a configuration, since the illumination optical path is a space portion sandwiched by white surfaces, the light emitted from the light source device is reflected by the white surfaces with high reflectivity while the image is reflected. It is possible to efficiently lead to the reading area. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of using an expensive light source device that emits a large amount of light or increasing the number of light sources as much as possible, while reducing the manufacturing cost and running cost of the image reading device, and the amount of light applied to the image reading region Can be more. Also, by devising the cross-sectional shape of the light reflecting member, it is possible to easily make the overall cross-sectional shape of the illumination optical path into a shape that is convenient for increasing the light irradiation efficiency to the image reading area. Become.
[0021]
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned case one Ru white resin der, it allows incidence of light to the light receiving element from said lens array and surround the plurality of light receiving elements light An antireflection member is further provided.
[0022]
According to such a configuration, even when the illumination optical path having a relatively complicated shape is formed in the case, the entire side wall of the illumination optical path has high light reflectance by molding the case with resin. It can be easily made white. Further, when the light reflected from the image reading area is received by the plurality of light receiving elements, the light can be prevented from being scattered and reflected around the plurality of light receiving elements. That is, when the case is made of white resin, the wall surfaces around the plurality of light receiving elements are also white, so that the light that originally traveled from the image reading area toward the plurality of light receiving elements is It may be scattered and reflected by the white wall surface, which may be a factor of deteriorating the quality of the read image. However, according to the said structure, such a fear can also be prevented appropriately.
[0023]
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the image reading apparatus shown in FIGS.
[0026]
The image reading apparatus A of the present embodiment is configured as a so-called contact image sensor. In FIG. 1, the image reading apparatus A includes a case 1, a transparent plate 2, a light reflecting member 8, a selfoc lens array 3, a light reflection preventing member 4, a substrate 5, a plurality of LED chips 6, a plurality of light receiving elements 7, And one or a plurality of attachments 51.
[0027]
The case 1 has a form extending in a certain direction as shown in FIG. The material of the case 1 is, for example, a synthetic resin in which titanium oxide is contained in polycarbonate, and the color of the resin is white. Therefore, all parts of Case 1 are white. The light reflectance of the surface of the case 1 is a high value of about 90% to 98%, for example. The case 1 has a hole 10 extending in the longitudinal direction of the case 1 and penetrating in the thickness direction of the case 1.
[0028]
The transparent plate 2 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and the overall schematic shape in plan view is formed in an elongated rectangular shape. A plurality of engaging projections 21a and 21b are provided at appropriate intervals on the two side edges 20a and 20b extending in the longitudinal direction of the transparent plate 2. Further, on the back surface (lower surface) of the transparent plate 2, a protruding portion 22 protruding downward is formed in a series extending in the longitudinal direction of the transparent plate 2. The protrusion 22 is useful for pressing the SELFOC lens array 3 as described later. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the transparent plate 2 is mounted in a state in which the upper part of the case 1 is prevented from coming off so as to close the upper opening of the hole 10 of the case 1. . As means for attaching the transparent plate 2 to the case 1, the plurality of engaging protrusions 21a are engaged with the plurality of convex portions 11a provided on the upper portion of the case 1 from below, The engaging protrusion 21b is engaged with a recess 11b provided on the upper portion of the case 1. If a force is applied to the upper portion of the case 1 so as to widen the width in the short direction and the portion is elastically deformed, the transparent plate 2 can be appropriately mounted on the upper portion of the case 1. . A platen roller P is disposed at a position facing the surface (upper surface) of the transparent plate 2, and the document D is transferred along the surface of the transparent plate 2 by the platen roller P.
[0029]
The Selfoc lens array 3 is formed by holding a number of Selfoc lenses 31 for image formation in a line on a long block-shaped holder 30 made of synthetic resin or the like. The SELFOC lens array 3 is fitted in the groove 12 having an opening on the upper surface of the case 1 and disposed below the transparent plate 2. The protrusion 22 of the transparent plate 2 is in contact with the upper surface of the middle region in the longitudinal direction of the selfoc lens array 3. Thus, the Selfoc lens array 3 is assembled to the case 1 so as not to float upward. Of course, the protrusion 22 is in contact with only one side edge of the upper surface of the holder 30 so as not to cover the Selfoc lens 31. Of the surface area of the transparent plate 2, the area immediately above the Selfoc lens array 3 is an image reading area S, and this image reading area S is a linear area extending in the same direction as the Selfoc lens array 3. .
[0030]
The plurality of light receiving elements 7 have a photoelectric conversion function. When light that has passed through the plurality of lenses 31 of the SELFOC lens array 3 is received from the image reading region S, the light receiving element 7 has an output level corresponding to the amount of light received. An image signal is output. The plurality of light receiving elements 7 are mounted in a line along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 5 on the upward surface of the substrate 5. A space chamber 13 having a bottom opening extending in the same direction as the Selfoc lens array 3 is formed below the mounting position of the Selfoc lens array 3 in the case 1. The plurality of light receiving elements 7 are arranged in the space chamber 13 when the substrate 5 is assembled to the bottom surface of the case 1. The substrate 5 is assembled and held on the bottom of the case 1 by the attachment 51. The attachment 51 is configured to always press the bottom surface portion of the substrate 5 upward by being hooked on the convex portions 14 formed on the outer surface of the case 1.
[0031]
The light reflection preventing member 4 is made of, for example, black ABS resin or polycarbonate, and the surface of each part has low light reflectance. The light reflection preventing member 4 has a length substantially equal to or longer than the arrangement length of the plurality of light receiving elements 7, and the general cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction is a substantially U-shape opened downward. . The light reflection preventing member 4 is fitted into the space chamber 13 so as to surround the plurality of light receiving elements 7. However, the light reflection preventing member 4 is provided with a slit 41 that allows light passing through the SELFOC lens array 3 to travel toward the plurality of light receiving elements 7. The light reflection preventing member 4 is attached to the case 1 by, for example, fitting a plurality of projections 40 provided on the upper surface portion of the light reflection preventing member 4 into a recess 15 provided continuously with the upper portion of the space chamber 13. Yes.
[0032]
The light source device of the image reading apparatus A includes the plurality of LED chips 6. The plurality of LED chips 6 are mounted on the same surface as the surface of the substrate 5, that is, the surface on which the plurality of light receiving elements 7 of the substrate 5 are mounted. The plurality of LED chips 6 are arranged in a row at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 5 so that a line-shaped light emitting region extending in the main scanning direction can be formed.
[0033]
The substrate 5 is made of, for example, ceramic or epoxy resin. On the surface of the substrate 5, wiring patterns (not shown) for supplying power to the plurality of LED chips 6 and the plurality of light receiving elements 7 and inputting / outputting various signals are formed. As clearly shown, wiring connection with an external device can be performed via the connector 50. Although omitted in the drawing, the peripheral area of the surface of the substrate 5 where the plurality of LED chips 6 are mounted is white with high light reflectance, and the other areas are light. The reflectance of black is low. In FIG. 1, the surface portion of the substrate 5 facing the space chamber 13 is a black region except for the wire bonding portion.
[0034]
Like the case 1, the light reflecting member 8 is made of a white resin in which, for example, polycarbonate is made to contain titanium oxide, and the surface of each part is white having a high light reflectance. As clearly shown in FIG. 5, side wall portions 80, 80 projecting in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the light reflecting member 8 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the light reflecting member 8. The light reflecting member 8 is accommodated in the hole 10 of the case 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion 8 a at the longitudinal end of the light reflecting member 8 is the hole 10 of the case 1. The light reflecting member 8 is positioned by being fitted into narrow portions 10a provided at lower portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction.
[0035]
In this image reading apparatus A, the remaining space in which the light reflecting member 8 is accommodated in the hole 10 of the case 1 is used as the illumination optical path 16. In FIG. 1, the spatial region between the upper surface of the Selfoc lens array 3 and the lower surface of the transparent plate 2 positioned immediately above is also part of the illumination optical path 16. Wall surfaces 16 a and 16 b extending in the longitudinal direction of the case 1 of the illumination optical path 16 are formed by one side surface of the light reflecting member 8 and one side wall surface of the hole 10. The plurality of LED chips 6 are disposed below the illumination optical path 16. Since the illumination optical path 16 is a part for guiding the light emitted from the plurality of LED chips 6 to the image reading region S, the wall surfaces 16 a and 16 b of the illumination optical path 16 are emitted from the plurality of LED chips 6. At least a part of them is inclined so that it can travel toward the image reading region S by reflecting the emitted light. Both the wall surfaces 16a and 16b remain white surfaces with high light reflectance. The surface region of the substrate 5 facing the illumination optical path 16 is also white.
[0036]
As clearly shown in FIG. 3, each side wall 80 of the light reflecting member 8 is provided so as to define a longitudinal end of the illumination optical path 16, and faces the illumination optical path 16. The entire side surface of each side wall 80 is a light reflecting surface 81. The white inner wall surfaces 17 and 17 of the case 1 that define both ends in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path 16 are formed substantially flush with the light reflecting surface 81, and these inner wall surfaces 17 and 17 are also formed as described above. The light reflecting surfaces 81 and 81 are part of the light reflecting surfaces 81 and 81. As it is shown clearly in FIGS. 2 and 4, in the previous end of each side wall 80 of the light reflecting member 8, the SELFOC lens array 3 in the longitudinal ends and the transparent plate 2 and longitudinal ends It enters, and the pressing portion 80a of the longitudinal ends Ru pressing down the SELFOC lens array 3 is formed between. In addition, since the pressing portions 80a formed on the side wall portions 80 are arranged above the Selfoc lens array 3, the side surface 81a of the pressing portion 80a, which is a part of the light reflecting surface 81, It faces the illumination optical path 16 between the Selfoc lens array 3 and the transparent plate 2.
[0037]
Next, the operation of the image reading apparatus A will be described.
[0038]
First, in FIG. 1, some of the light emitted from the plurality of LED chips 6 travels directly toward the image reading region S in the illumination optical path 16. In addition, most of the other light is efficiently applied to the image reading region S while being reflected with high reflectivity by the white wall surfaces 16 a and 16 b extending in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path 16. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the light emitted from the plurality of LED chips 6 travels while spreading in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path 16. The light traveling toward both ends in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path 16 is reflected with high reflectance by the white light reflecting surfaces 81 and 81, and part of the reflected light reaches the image reading region S. In this case, most of the light reflected at the upper part of the light reflecting surfaces 81 and 81 and the vicinity thereof travels toward both ends in the longitudinal direction of the image reading region S. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the portions 81 a of the respective light reflecting surfaces 81 are located above the Selfoc lens array 3 and are close to the image reading region S. The light that has reached 81a is efficiently reflected toward the end in the longitudinal direction of the image reading region S. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the amount of light irradiated to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the image reading region S, and the illuminance at the longitudinal end of the image reading region S is extremely low compared to the illuminance at the central portion in the longitudinal direction. Can be solved appropriately.
[0039]
Further, in the image reading apparatus A, a light shielding region La in which light irradiation is prevented by the upper portion of the light reflecting member 8 is formed on the lower surface of the transparent plate 2. The light shielding area La plays a role in preventing light from being radiated unnecessarily to portions of the transparent plate 2 that are considerably distant from the image reading area S. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the light irradiation efficiency to the image reading region S.
[0040]
The light that has traveled to the image reading area S is reflected by the surface of the document D located in the image reading area S, and then passes through each lens 31 of the SELFOC lens array 3 and travels into the space chamber 13. Light is received by a plurality of light receiving elements 7. In this case, since the periphery of the plurality of light receiving elements 7 is covered with the black light reflection preventing member 4 having a low light reflectance, the reflected light from the document D is scattered and reflected around the plurality of light receiving elements 7. It is possible to prevent the scattered light from entering each light receiving element 7. Further, as described above, in this image reading apparatus A, the illuminance of the image reading region S can be increased and the uniformity thereof can be achieved. Therefore, the light receiving amount of the light receiving element 7 is increased, and each light receiving element 7 It is also possible to make the received light amount accurately correspond to the shading of the original image. As a result, this image reading apparatus A can obtain a high quality read image.
[0041]
The specific configuration of each part of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various design changes can be made.
[0042]
For example, in the above embodiment, the light reflecting surface 81 is configured by using the light reflecting member 8 formed separately from the case 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, a part of the case 1 may be formed as a light reflecting surface. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although each wall surface of the longitudinal direction both ends of the optical path 16 for illumination is made into the light reflection surfaces 81 and 81, when it is desired to raise only the illumination intensity of the longitudinal direction one end part of an image reading area | region, illumination is carried out. Only the wall surface at one end in the longitudinal direction of the optical path 16 may be a light reflecting surface, and such a configuration also belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.
[0043]
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the entire wall surface at the end in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path 16 is a light reflecting surface having a high light reflectance, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, only a part of the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path may be a light reflecting surface, and the light reflected by the light reflecting surface may efficiently travel to the end portion of the image reading area. However, when only a part of the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path is used as the light reflecting surface, it is desirable to provide the light reflecting surface at a position as close to the image reading region as possible. In the present invention, the light reflecting surface is preferably a white surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a metal deposition surface capable of reflecting light with a high reflectance may be used. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of increasing the amount of light applied to the image reading region, it is preferable that the color of the other wall surface of the illumination optical path is white, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other colors are also used. It doesn't matter.
[0044]
In the present invention, the configuration of the light source device is not limited to that configured using a plurality of LED chips. For example, you may comprise using the cold cathode tube which has a light emission surface of fixed length, and what is necessary is just the light source device which can form a linear light emission area | region. The image reading apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a so-called contact image sensor type image reading apparatus. For example, a light source or a light receiving unit is provided below a transparent document placing plate for placing a document. A case in which an element or the like is incorporated may be configured as a so-called flat bed type image sensor that moves in a sub-scanning direction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.
5 is an exploded perspective view of the image reading apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional image reading apparatus.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a distribution of irradiation light quantity in a conventional image reading apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
A Image reading device S Image reading area D Document 1 Case 2 Transparent plate 3 Selfoc lens array 4 Light reflection preventing member 5 Substrate 6 LED chip 7 Light receiving element 8 Light reflecting member 10 Hole 12 Groove 16 Light path 30 for illumination Holder 31 Cell Fock lens 80 Side wall part 81, 81a Light reflecting surface

Claims (4)

A light source device that forms a line-shaped light emitting region, a case in which an illumination optical path for guiding light emitted from the light source device to the image reading region is formed inside, and a reflection from a document placed in the image reading region And a lens array having a plurality of imaging lenses for focusing the light on a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in a row to form an image of the original, At least a part of the wall surface at the end in the longitudinal direction is a light reflecting surface capable of reflecting light traveling from the light source device to the end in the longitudinal direction of the illumination optical path toward the image reading area. A device,
The case is formed separately from the case, and a light reflecting member in which at least a part of the outer surface is white is assembled. The light reflecting member has the illumination optical path. A side wall portion extending in a direction intersecting with the extending direction is formed, and the white side surface of the side wall portion is the light reflection surface,
The lens array is fitted into a groove formed in the case, and the lens array is pressed into the side wall of the light reflecting member by pressing both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lens array downward. An image reading apparatus, wherein a pressing portion for preventing escape is integrally formed .   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light reflecting surface is a white surface.   In the illumination optical path, the light reflecting member is accommodated in the hole formed in the case, so that the white side surface extending in the longitudinal direction of the light reflecting member and the white color of the hole facing the white side surface The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the image reading device is formed as a space portion sandwiched between one side wall surface of the image reading device. The above case one Ru white resin der, allowing incidence of light from the lens array to the light receiving element, and the light reflection preventing member surrounding the plurality of light receiving elements are additionally provided, wherein Item 4. The image reading apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3.

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