JP4253993B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus configured by combining a flat bed scanner and an automatic document feeder, and more particularly to an apparatus capable of easily peeling an elastic body arranged on the back surface of a platen cover.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an image forming apparatus configured as a facsimile machine, an electrophotographic copying machine, or a multi-function machine having a plurality of functions, an image reading device for reading an image of a document is provided. The image reading apparatus includes a so-called flatbed scanner (FBS) and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as “ADF”) in which a document is set on a platen glass and read by a reading device that moves on the lower surface of the platen glass. Device) is used in combination. In the ADF, a plurality of documents can be set on a document tray, and an image can be read while conveying the documents one by one toward a reading unit. By arranging the two reading mechanisms of ADF and FBS on the platen cover, it is possible to arbitrarily read a sheet original and a book original.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the image reading apparatus in which the ADF and the FBS are combined and arranged, it is required to arrange a part of the ADF function on one side of the platen cover portion of the FBS in order to reduce the size of the apparatus as much as possible. A white film is disposed on the upper part of the platen glass of the platen cover, and a portion of the platen cover that presses the document, and an elastic body (sponge) is attached to the back surface of the platen cover. When the ADF is configured to rest on the elastic body portion of the platen cover, when performing maintenance on the discharge roller device of the ADF, the elastic body is attached to the back surface of the platen cover. It is necessary to do this after peeling off the double-sided tape. However, when the elastic body is peeled off from the back surface of the platen cover, there is a problem that the sponge attached to the platen cover is damaged. Therefore, a solution to such a problem is required.
[0004]
The present invention solves the problem of performing maintenance of the ADF by removing the elastic body from the back surface of the platen cover, and can prevent damage to the elastic body and easily expose the opening. The purpose is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a platen cover provided with an automatic document feeder. According to a first aspect of the present invention, an elastic body is attached to the back surface of the platen cover except for a portion corresponding to the automatic document feeder , a film member is integrally provided on the lower surface of the elastic body, and a support plate is provided. the portions of the both end portions with attached along one side of the automatic document feeder side is extended on both sides outside of the elastic member, corresponding to the automatic document feeder of the film member of the elastic body, the The support plate is detachably attached to the back surface of the platen cover via both end portions of the support plate. Therefore, by arranging the elastic body on the back surface of the platen cover through the support plate, when performing maintenance or the like of the discharge roller device of the ADF, the support plate is attached and detached, so that a white film or a sponge as an elastic body Can be prevented from being damaged, and the maintainability of the discharge roller device is improved.
[0006]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the support plate is locked by a locking member provided on the platen cover. And in the maintenance of ADF, a support body can be removed easily. The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the locking member is formed integrally with the platen cover. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of parts mounted on the platen cover, and to simplify the configuration of the platen cover. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the support plate is detachably attached so as to cover an opening on a lower surface of a fixed frame integrally formed with the platen cover in the automatic document feeder.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The configuration of the image reading apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. First, the configuration of the ADF incorporating the sheet conveying apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An image reading apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a platen 3 corresponding to an FBS (flatbed scanner) function and a platen 4 corresponding to an ADF (automatic document feeder) function arranged on an upper portion of a main body frame 2. A movable scanner device 5 is provided inside the main body frame 2. When the scanner device 5 is used in correspondence with FBS, an image of a document set on the platen 4 is read while moving at a constant speed by a driving unit (not shown). When the ADF function is used, the scanner device 5 is fixed at the position indicated by the phantom line in the figure, and the image of the document conveyed using the ADF function is read.
[0008]
The scanner device 5 is provided with a lamp 6 that irradiates an image surface of a document, a plurality of mirrors (not shown), and a lens 7 that forms an image of light on the CCD 8. And the signal is transmitted to the image signal processing means of the image reading apparatus. The image signal transmitted to the image reading apparatus is used as an image writing signal for the photoconductor in the recording unit of the copying machine. In the case of an image forming apparatus provided with a facsimile function, the image signal is transmitted through a telephone line. It is also possible to transmit to the facsimile machine.
[0009]
The platen cover 10 and the ADF device 20 are integrally combined on the upper part of the main body frame 2 so as to be opened and closed via hinge means (not shown) arranged at the rear side end of the main body frame. When the FBS function is used, an original is set on the platen 3 and pressed by the elastic body 11 of the platen cover 10, and the image surface is brought into close contact with the platen 3 to read the image. Further, a discharge tray 13 is disposed on the upper surface of the platen cover 10, a document tray 12 is provided above the discharge tray 13, and the discharge tray 13 and the document tray 12 are provided corresponding to the ADF device 20. ing. The ADF device 20 includes a curved document conveyance path 27 connected to a straight path as a document conveyance path from the document insertion opening 14 connected to the document tray 12 to the platen 4, and a discharge path from the reading unit to the discharge tray 13. 28 is provided, and a roller device for transporting the document in the document transport path is provided. The curved document conveying path 27 is formed by the outer guide 37 of the upper frame 35 and the upper guide plate 42 of the central fixed frame 40, and the discharge path 28 is the lower guide of the fixed frame 32 and the swing frame 45. And the plate 47.
[0010]
The roller device disposed in the document conveyance path includes a pickup roller 21 and a sheet separating device 22 disposed with respect to the document insertion port 14, a conveyance roller device 23, and two reading roller devices 24 disposed on the upstream and downstream portions of the platen 4, 25, and a discharge roller device 26 provided at the discharge port. Then, the pickup roller 21 takes in the original from the original tray 12 and performs a paper separation action between the feed roller 22a of the paper separation device 22 and the retard roller 22b, and the original separated into one sheet is directed toward the original conveyance path. Send it in. In the curved document conveyance path 27, the document is conveyed by the conveyance roller device 23 toward the reading roller device 24, and the document is conveyed at a constant speed with the reading roller device 25 disposed in the downstream portion of the platen 4. The image is read by the scanner device 5 fixed at the position of the platen 4. The document that has been read is sent to the discharge roller device 26 by the reading roller device 25 and discharged to the discharge tray 13 by the discharge roller device 26.
[0011]
2 and 3, the ADF device 20 is configured as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 shows the assembled ADF device 20 in the same manner as in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is shown as an explanatory diagram of a state in which is swung. In the ADF device 20, the upper constituent members are swingably provided with respect to the fixed frame 30 and the discharge guide 34 disposed on both sides of the platen 4 at the upper portion of the main body frame. The upper frame 35 positioned at the top of the swinging member can swing counterclockwise about the support shaft 36. The upper frame 35 has an inner surface on the outer side of the curved document conveying path 27. A guide 37 is provided. An upper cover 38 is detachably disposed on the upper surface of the upper frame 35 using connection means (not shown). The upper cover 38 is provided on the upper frame 35 by removing the upper cover 38 from the upper frame 35. Maintenance on the roller device or the like that can be performed can be performed from the upper part of the device.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 3, in the ADF device 20, the central fixed frame 40 provided with the inner guide plate 42 of the document conveyance path is provided with the shaft 41 of the driving roller 24 b of the reading roller device 24 as an input shaft. A swing frame 45 is swingably provided at the other end of the center fixed frame 40 via a support shaft 46. The support shaft 46 can use the shaft of the driving roller 23b of the transport roller device 23, and is arranged on the center fixed frame 40 with respect to the driving shaft 24b of the reading roller device 24 as described above. Is transmitted from the input shaft 41 to the drive shaft 46 of the swing frame 45 via a drive transmission system (not shown), and the retard roller 22b of the sheet separating device provided in the swing frame 45 is driven. I am doing so.
[0013]
The input shaft 41 is provided with a guide plate 44 for guiding the document to the platen 4 provided in the reading unit. The guide plate 44 is provided so as to be swingable via the input shaft 41. The swing guide member 43 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the swing guide member 43 is supported to be swingable with respect to the platen 4 by a torsion coil spring (not shown) with respect to the input shaft 41. A document conveyance path is secured by a protrusion (not shown) provided at the side end of the guide member 43. As shown in FIG. 3, the swing guide 43 can be separated from the platen 4, but is biased toward the platen 4 by the coil spring, so that the degree of freedom is limited. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the swing guide member 43 is set at the operating position, the guide plate 44 is supported so as to be detachable from the platen 4.
[0014]
In the reading roller device 25 arranged at the downstream portion of the platen 4 of the reading unit, a pinch roller 25a is arranged on the fixed frame 32, and a driving roller is arranged via a driving shaft 51 arranged at a fixed position of the frame of the ADF device. 25b is arranged. The drive shaft 51 supports a discharge side guide member 50 provided with a guide plate 52 so as to be swingable. The discharge side guide member 50 is centered on the drive shaft 51 as shown in FIG. By swinging, the upper surface of the platen 4 can be opened.
[0015]
The swing guide member 43 swingable about the input shaft 41 with respect to the central fixed frame 40 swings from the operating position indicated by the chain line to the swing position indicated by the solid line. Is possible. Further, the discharge side guide 50 arranged corresponding to the fixed frame 32 is provided so as to be able to swing between an operating position indicated by a chain line and an open position indicated by a solid line. The document jam processing and the maintenance of the members around the platen 4 can be performed in a state where the 43 and the discharge side guide 50 are swung. Further, the guide plate 52 provided on the discharge-side guide member 50 is combined with the guide plate 44 of the swing guide member 43 to guide the upper surface of the document moving on the platen 4 and toward the discharge path. It can comprise so that it can guide.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the ADF device 20, when the sheet conveying operation is not performed well inside the curved document conveying path 27, the upper frame 35 is opened around the support shaft 36 to open the upper frame 35. Operations such as removal of jammed paper can be performed. Further, when the sheet jams in the reading section or the discharge path 28 with respect to the platen 4, the upper frame 35 is opened, and then the swing frame 45 is supported on the central fixed frame 40 as shown in FIG. It is opened by swinging it largely counterclockwise around 46. Furthermore, arbitrary maintenance can be performed by opening the discharge side guide member 50 around the drive shaft 51. When the removal of the jammed paper and the maintenance on the roller device are completed, the ADF device 20 can be returned to a usable state by setting each component member in combination as shown in FIG.
[0017]
In the apparatus configured as described above, a white film 15 is attached to the lower surface (document pressing surface) of the elastic body 11 provided in the platen cover 10, and the back surface of the document is covered with the white film 15. Therefore, the background of the original is not smudged. When reading the image of the document using the FBS function, the document set on the platen 3 is pressed by the white film 15 through the elastic body 11 having the predetermined thickness, so that the reading operation is performed. It can be done well.
[0018]
In the ADF 20 configured as described above, maintenance on the transport rollers and the like at the top of the document transport path can be performed by opening each frame as shown in FIG. However, the roller member disposed on the fixed frame 32 at the lower part of the document conveyance path has a problem that maintenance cannot be performed from above with each frame opened as shown in FIG. Therefore, in this embodiment, as will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an opening 32a is provided on the lower surface of the fixed frame 32 formed integrally with the platen cover 5, and the platen cover 10 and the ADF 20 are connected via a rear hinge. Swing together. In this state, the end of the elastic body 11 on the ADF side is released from the locking member 18 so that the opening 32a is exposed and maintenance work can be performed.
[0019]
4 shows a bottom view of the platen cover 10, and FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 4. As shown in FIGS. The white film material 15 disposed at a position corresponding to the back surface of the document is integrally provided on the lower surface (surface on the platen side) of the elastic body 11. A support plate member 17 is provided on one side of the elastic body 11 on the ADF side, and the elastic body 11 and the white film 15 are supported by the support plate 17 so as to cover the opening 32a. Then, the white film 15 is held so as not to sag.
[0020]
As described above, the elastic plate 11 and the white film 15 are formed on the ADF side via the support plate member 17, and the support plate member 17 covers the opening 32 a of the fixed frame 32. And the ADF device 20 provided integrally with the rear side hinge is swung to release the locking state of the support plate member 17 with respect to the locking member 18 so that the opening 32a is exposed, Work such as maintenance of the rollers disposed on the fixed frame 32 can be performed. When the maintenance is completed, the support plate member 17 at the end of the white film 15 is locked to the locking member 18, and the film member 16 is attached so as not to sag, and the document using the FBS function is attached. The reading operation can be dealt with.
[0021]
Note that the support plate member 17 to be locked and held by the locking member 18 holds the elastic body 11 and the white film 15 at the ends thereof, so that the support plate member 17 is locked to the locking member 18. It is required to be kept in an immovable state. Therefore, for example, an arbitrary locking means such as a ball biased by a spring is provided in the plate locking portion of the locking member 18 so that the support plate member 17 can be fixed when locked. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the elastic body 11 and the white film 15 from sagging. Further, as the latch holding means for the support plate member 17, any conventionally known detachable latch means such as a cloth fastener can be provided.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
Since the apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, a white film is attached to the back surface of the platen cover, and a support plate is attached to a portion of the white film corresponding to the automatic document feeder. As a result, when performing maintenance or the like of the ADF discharge roller device, the film member is attached and detached via the support plate, so that the film member and sponge can be prevented from being damaged, and the maintainability of the discharge roller device and the like is improved. Is done. Further, since the support plate is locked by a locking member provided on the platen cover, the elastic body can be easily attached and detached together with the film member during the maintenance of the ADF. Further, since the locking member is formed integrally with the platen cover, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of parts equipped on the platen cover and to simplify the configuration of the platen cover.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an image reading apparatus combined with an ADF.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an ADF.
FIG. 3 is an exploded explanatory view of ADF.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a film member provided on a platen cover.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 image reader, 2 frames, 3/4 platen,
5 scanner device, 6 lamp, 7 lens, 8 CCD,
10 platen cover, 11 elastic body, 12 document tray,
13 Ejection tray, 14 Document insertion slot, 15 White film,
17 support plate member, 18 locking member, 20 ADF,
21 pickup roller, 22 paper separation device,
23 Conveying roller device, 24/25 Reading roller device,
26 discharge roller device, 27 curved path, 28 discharge path,
30/32 fixed frame, 31/33 guide plate,
32a opening, 34 discharge guide, 35 upper frame,
36 spindles, 37 outer guides, 38 top cover,
40 center fixed frame, 41 support shaft, 42 guide plate,
43 Swing guide, 44/47 Guide plate, 45 Swing frame,
46 spindles, 50 auxiliary guides.

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus including a platen cover provided with an automatic document feeder,
Excluding a portion corresponding to the automatic document feeder on the back surface of the platen cover, an elastic body is attached , and a film member is integrally provided on the lower surface of the elastic body,
The support plate is attached along one side of the elastic body on the side of the automatic document feeder, and both ends thereof are extended outward on both sides of the elastic body,
An image reading apparatus, wherein a portion of the film member corresponding to the automatic document feeder is detachably attached to a back surface of the platen cover via both end portions of the support plate.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the support plate are locked by a locking member provided on a platen cover.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locking member is formed integrally with a platen cover. The said support plate is attached so that attachment or detachment is possible so that the opening part of the lower surface of the fixed frame integrally formed with the said platen cover among the said automatic document conveying apparatuses may be covered. Image reading device.

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