JP5573322B2 - Image illumination apparatus, image reading apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image illuminating device that irradiates a document with light for reading the document, an image reading device equipped with the image illuminating device, and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image reading apparatuses mounted on image forming apparatuses and the like use an image illumination device that irradiates light on a document for reading the document.

  In a conventional image illuminating device, as a method of fixing a substrate to which a plurality of point light sources are attached to a support member, a plurality of holes are provided in the light source arrangement direction (main scanning direction) of the substrate, and the holes of the support member and the substrate A device that is fixed in a spiral manner together with a hole is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, as a conventional image illuminating device, there is known an image illuminating device in which an emission surface of a point light source is directed downward to irradiate a document with light through a reflection mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, since the substrate is easily bent downward due to its own weight, it is possible to eliminate the bending of the substrate by fixing the substrate in a spiral manner as in Prior Document 1. If a hole for fixing the spiral is provided in the substrate as in Document 1, there is a problem that the substrate becomes large in the sub-scanning direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 13 which shows a cross section of the main part of Patent Document 2, when the substrate on which the light source 6 is mounted is extended toward the side of the document table 3 on which the document is placed (upward in the drawing), the reflector 20 , 21 is blocked by the substrate from the reflected light toward the document table 3, and the illuminance distribution on the left and right sides sandwiching the reading optical axis 15 is not symmetric.

  Here, in the optical unit 705 shown in FIG. 13, the light source 706 is supported by the support frame 718 via the support 719, and the reflection plates 720 and 721 are supported so that their inner surfaces face the light source 706. By being provided on the support frame 718 via 722 and 723, the reflected light that is irradiated from the light source 706 and reflected by the reflectors 720 and 721 is condensed with an appropriate spread in the range of the reading unit R. ing.

  Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as shifting the substrate in the direction opposite to the substrate extension direction (downward in FIG. 12) so as to obtain an appropriate illuminance distribution, which may increase the size of the apparatus.

  On the other hand, if the substrate is extended in the direction opposite to the original, the length of the traveling body in the sub-scanning direction becomes longer. Therefore, it is necessary to enlarge the scanner unit so that the traveling body does not interfere with the inside of the scanner frame. There is a problem that becomes larger.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a substrate in which point light sources are arranged and arranged to emit light in a direction opposite to the irradiation target is directly fixed by a spiral. The present invention provides an image illuminating device, an image reading device, and an image forming device that can be fixed to a support member without doing so.

  The image illuminating device according to the present invention includes a substrate on which a plurality of light sources arranged linearly in a main scanning direction are mounted on one surface, and the light source facing in a direction opposite to an irradiation target of the light source. A support member that supports the substrate; a reflection member that is disposed at a position facing the light source and spaced apart from the light source; and that reflects the light emitted from the light source to the irradiation target; and one surface of the substrate A substrate fixing member that abuts one end in the main scanning direction and one end in the sub-scanning direction, and the support member is sandwiched between the support member and the substrate fixing member. The substrate is supported.

  With this configuration, the substrate can be fixed to the support member without the substrate being bent downward without directly fixing the substrate in a spiral manner. Therefore, it is possible to fix the substrates arranged so that the light sources are arranged and emit light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target to the supporting member without directly fixing the spiral.

  In the image illumination device according to the present invention, the support member supports the substrate by sandwiching one end of the substrate in the main scanning direction between the support member and the substrate fixing member. The other end in the main scanning direction is not fixed.

  With this configuration, the other end of the substrate in the main scanning direction is not fixed, so that when the substrate expands in the main scanning direction due to heat, the substrate is prevented from expanding in the main scanning direction and becomes a bow. It is possible to prevent deformation.

  In the image illuminating device according to the present invention, the substrate fixing member extends in the main scanning direction, and a main scanning support member contact portion that contacts the support member and a main scanning substrate contact that contacts the substrate. A sub-scanning member extending in the sub-scanning direction, a sub-scanning support member abutting portion that abuts on the support member, and a sub-scanning substrate abutment portion that abuts on the substrate. A main scanning support member abutting portion of the main scanning direction extending portion has a plurality of substrate fixing member fastening holes formed in the main scanning direction, and the supporting member includes: A plurality of support member fastening holes formed in the main scanning direction are provided, and the substrate fixing member is attached to the support member by spirally fastening the substrate fixing member fastening hole and the support member fastening hole at the same position. It is fixed.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member is spirally fastened to the support member, and the substrate is sandwiched between the support member and the substrate fixing member, so that the substrate has a hole for fastening to the support member. The length in the sub-scanning direction can be shortened.

  In the image illumination device according to the present invention, the surface of the substrate fixing member is black.

  With this configuration, the light reflected from the original to be irradiated is absorbed by the substrate fixing member, so that flare can be prevented from occurring in the read image. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide a member for preventing flare in addition to the substrate fixing member, cost reduction can be achieved.

In the image illuminating device according to the present invention, the main scanning substrate contact portion and the sub-scanning substrate contact portion each include a first contact portion that contacts one surface of the substrate, and the first contact portion. A second abutting portion adjacent to the abutting portion of the substrate and abutting against the end surface of the substrate, and abutting the end surface of the substrate against the second abutting portion, whereby the main scanning direction of the substrate The position in the sub-scanning direction is determined.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member can be easily positioned by forming the substrate fixing member with the second contact portion that abuts against the end faces of the substrate in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. .

  In the image illuminating device according to the present invention, the substrate fixing member is formed by connecting the main scanning direction extending portion and the sub scanning direction extending portion in an L shape. To do.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member can be handled as one member, so that assembly can be easily performed.

  In the image illumination device according to the present invention, the substrate fixing member is configured by dividing the main scanning direction extending portion and the sub scanning direction extending portion and arranging them in an L shape. The sub-scanning support member abutting portion of the scanning direction extending portion has a substrate fixing member fastening hole formed on the side of the main scanning direction extending portion from the center in the sub-scanning direction, and the support member A support member fastening hole is provided at a position corresponding to the substrate fixing member fastening hole of the sub-scanning support member contact portion.

  With this configuration, the main scanning direction extending portion and the sub-scanning direction extending portion can be accurately and individually positioned, and the degree of freedom of the board mounting position can be increased.

  In the image illuminating device according to the present invention, the substrate fixing member is integrally formed with the support member, and an upright portion that stands up from the support member and is set shorter than the thickness of the substrate, and the upright portion And a biasing portion that elastically contacts one surface of the substrate, and the support member supports the substrate by sandwiching the substrate by the support member and the biasing portion. It is characterized by that.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member is integrally formed with the support member, so that cost reduction can be achieved and the positional accuracy of the substrate with respect to the support member can be increased.

  The document reading device according to the present invention includes the image illumination device, and image reading means that receives reflected light from the document irradiated by the image illumination device and reads an image of the document. Features.

  With this configuration, in the image reading apparatus, the light source is arranged in a row and the substrate arranged to emit light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target is fixed to the support member without directly fixing the spiral. Can do.

The document forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the image reading unit and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on image information read by the image reading unit. .

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus, the light source is arranged in a row and the substrate disposed so as to emit light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target is fixed to the support member without directly fixing the spiral. Can do.

  According to the present invention, a substrate arranged with point light sources arranged and emitting light in a direction opposite to the irradiation target can be fixed to the support member without directly fixing the spiral. An image illumination device, an image reading device, and an image forming device can be provided.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of an image reading apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention obliquely from above. 1 is a side view showing an internal configuration of an image reading apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention from the side. It is a top view which shows the relationship between the light irradiation unit of the image reading apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and contact glass. It is a bottom view of the board | substrate of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a top view of the board | substrate fixing member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is Y1-Y2 sectional drawing of a board | substrate fixing member, (c) is a board | substrate fixing member. It is X1-X2 sectional drawing. It is a top view of the support member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the state which attached the board | substrate and the board | substrate fixing member to the support member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a top view of the 1st modification of the board | substrate fixing member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is Y1-Y2 cross section of the board | substrate fixing member of (a). FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X1-X2 of the substrate fixing member of FIG. (A) is a top view of the 2nd modification of the board | substrate fixing member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is Y1-Y2 cross section of the board | substrate fixing member of (a). FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X1-X2 of the substrate fixing member of FIG. (A) is a top view of the structure which divided | segmented the board | substrate fixing member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is Y1-Y2 sectional drawing of the board | substrate fixing member of (a), (C) is X1-X2 sectional drawing of the board | substrate fixing member of (a). (A), (b) is sectional drawing of the Y1-Y2 cross section of FIG. 8 which shows the state which attached the board | substrate and the board | substrate fixing member to the support member of the light irradiation unit which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. . It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional image illuminating device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
First, the configuration of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 500 includes an image forming unit 1, a paper supply device 40, and a document conveyance reading unit 50. The document conveyance reading unit 50 includes an image reading device 150 fixed on the image forming unit 1 and an ADF 51 as a document conveyance device supported by the image reading device 150.

  The paper supply device 40 has two paper feed cassettes 42 arranged in multiple stages in the paper bank 41, a feed roller 43 that feeds paper as a recording medium from the paper feed cassette 42, and separates and feeds the fed paper. A separation roller 45 supplied to the path 44 is provided.

  The image forming apparatus 500 also includes a plurality of transport rollers 46 that transport the paper to the paper feed path 37. The paper in the paper feed cassette 42 is fed into the paper feed path 37 in the image forming apparatus 500.

  The image forming apparatus 500 includes the optical writing apparatus 2, the four process units 3K, 3Y, 3M, and 3C that form K, Y, M, and C color toner images, the transfer unit 24 that includes the intermediate transfer belt 25, and paper. A transport unit 28, a registration roller pair 33, a fixing device 34, a paper discharge roller pair 35, a switchback device 36, a paper feed path 37, and the like are provided.

  Then, a light source such as a laser diode or an LED (not shown) disposed in the optical writing device 2 is driven, and the laser is directed toward the photosensitive members 4K, 4Y, 4M, and 4C of the process units 3K, 3Y, 3M, and 3C. Irradiate light L.

  By this laser light irradiation, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the drum-shaped photoconductors 4K, 4Y, 4M, and 4C, and this electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image through a predetermined development process. The Note that the subscripts K, Y, M, and C added after the reference sign indicate specifications for black, yellow, magenta, and cyan.

  In the image forming apparatus 500 having the above-described configuration, the toner images formed on the surfaces of the photoconductors 4K, 4Y, 4M, and 4C are sequentially superposed on the intermediate transfer belt 25 that moves endlessly in the clockwise direction in the drawing to perform primary transfer. Is done.

  By this primary transfer, a four-color superimposed color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 25. In addition, the paper supplied from the paper supply device 40 is sent to the secondary transfer nip formed between the paper transport unit 28 and the intermediate transfer belt 25 by the registration roller pair 33 at a predetermined timing, and the intermediate transfer belt. The color toner image on 25 is secondarily transferred onto the paper at once.

  The sheet that has passed through the secondary transfer nip is separated from the intermediate transfer belt 25 and conveyed to the fixing device 34. The sheet conveyed to the fixing device 34 is fixed to the full color image by pressure or heating in the fixing device 34, then sent from the fixing device 34 to the paper discharge roller pair 35, and then discharged outside the apparatus. .

  The image reading device 150 disposed on the image forming unit 1 includes a first carriage 162, a second carriage 163, and the like. The first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 are disposed directly under a contact glass (not shown) fixed to the upper wall of the casing of the image reading apparatus 150 so as to contact the document MS.

  The first carriage 162 is provided with a light source, a reflection mirror, and the like, and the second carriage 163 is provided with a reflection mirror and the like. When reading the image of the document MS conveyed by the ADF 51, the first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 move to the position A in FIG. 1, and the document MS conveyed by the ADF 51 is stationary there. While passing through the contact glass, the light emitted from the light source is sequentially reflected by the original surface, and the image of the original MS is read by the CCD as the imaging means via a plurality of reflecting mirrors.

  On the other hand, when reading the image of the document MS placed on the contact glass, the first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 are moved from the left side to the right side in the drawing. Then, in the process of moving the first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 from the left side to the right side in the figure, the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the document MS placed on the contact glass, and a plurality of reflecting mirrors and The image of the document MS is read by a CCD as an imaging means via an imaging lens or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first carriage 162 as a first traveling body and a second carriage 163 as a second traveling body that can move integrally are provided in a housing 160 of the image reading device 150. Is provided. The first carriage 162 includes a light irradiation unit 190 that is a light irradiation device, and a first mirror 162a. The second carriage 163 includes a second mirror 163a and a third mirror 163b.

  In the housing 160 of the image reading device 150, two metal first rails extending in the longitudinal direction are fixed at a predetermined interval in the short direction, although not shown. A first carriage 162 is bridged between the first rails so that it can travel along the longitudinal direction on the first rail.

  Below the first rail, two metal second rails (not shown) extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing are fixed at a predetermined interval in the lateral direction of the casing. A second carriage 163 is bridged between two second rails (not shown) so that the second carriage 163 can travel along the longitudinal direction on the second rail.

  Further, a metal beam plate 164 is fixed to the housing 160, and an electronic circuit including an imaging lens 200 screwed to the upper surface of the case by the metal beam plate 164 and a CCD 221 as an imaging unit. A lens unit 210 having an image reading board unit 220 as a substrate is supported.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a drive motor 170 is provided at the upper right in the drawing, and a drive timing pulley 172 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the driven gear 171 that meshes with the drive gear of the drive motor 170.

  In addition, a rotation shaft 173 is rotatably supported at one end portion in the longitudinal direction in the casing on the right side in the drawing. A driven timing pulley 174 is fixed to one end portion of the rotating shaft 173, and a driving timing belt 175 is stretched between the driving timing pulley 172 and the driven timing pulley 174.

  Further, the first pulley 180 is fixed in the vicinity of both end portions of the rotating shaft 173. In addition, two second pulleys 181 are rotatably supported at a predetermined interval in the short side direction of the other end in the longitudinal direction in the housing on the left side in the drawing, and the first pulley 180 and the second pulley 181 are supported. The first timing belt 182 is stretched between the two.

  The second carriage 163 includes a pair of mirror stay portions 163c that support both ends of the second mirror 163a and the third mirror 163b in the main scanning direction, and arm portions 163d that respectively extend from the mirror stay portion 163c toward the first carriage. doing.

  Further, a third pulley 183 is rotatably supported on the side surface of the housing of the mirror stay portion 163c. A bracket 163e is provided at the tip of the arm portion 163d, and a fourth pulley 184 is rotatably supported by the bracket 163e.

  A second timing belt 185 is stretched around the third pulley 183 and the fourth pulley 184, and a part of the second timing belt 185 is fixed to the bottom of the housing 160 by a fixing member (not shown). .

  Further, the first timing belt 182 and the second timing belt 185 are fixed to the bottom of the first carriage 162, respectively.

  When the image reading is started, the light irradiation unit 190 irradiates light to a document MS (not shown). Further, the drive motor 170 is driven, and the rotational driving force of the drive motor 170 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 173 via the drive timing belt 175, so that the rotary shaft 173 rotates.

  As the rotating shaft 173 rotates, the first timing belt 182 rotates clockwise in the drawing. As a result, the first carriage 162 fixed to the first timing belt 182 moves from the left side to the right side in the drawing.

  Further, when the first carriage 162 moves, the second timing belt 185 fixed to the first carriage 162 moves to the right side in the drawing. Since a part of the second timing belt 185 is fixed to the bottom of the housing 160, the second timing belt 185 does not rotate on the spot but moves the second carriage 163 to the right in the drawing. It rotates with it.

  Here, since the diameters of the third and fourth pulleys 183 and 184 are twice the diameters of the first and second pulleys, the second carriage 163 is half the speed of the first carriage 162. Move to the right in the figure.

  Thus, the second carriage 163 moves in the same direction as the first carriage at half the speed of the first carriage 162 so that the optical path length of the light flux from the document surface to the imaging lens 200 does not change. ing.

  A control unit that controls the drive motor 170 controls the drive motor 170 in accordance with an image reading request signal for each line sent from the host computer, and controls the moving speed between the second carriage 163 and the first carriage 162. I have control.

  In the process of moving the first and second carriages 162 and 163 from the left side to the right side in the drawing at a speed ratio of 2: 1, the light emitted from the light irradiation unit 190 is placed on the contact glass 155, not shown. Reflected by the document MS as an illumination object.

  The optical image obtained by this reflection is guided to the imaging lens 200 via the first mirror 162a, the second mirror 163a, and the third mirror 163c, and is imaged on the CCD 221 that is an imaging means.

  The CCD 221 photoelectrically converts the formed reflected light image of the document MS and outputs an analog image signal that is a read image. When the first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 move to the positions indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 3, the reading of the document MS is finished, and the first carriage 162 and the second carriage 163 are in the home position positions indicated by the solid lines in the drawing. Return to

  The analog image signal output from the CCD 221 is converted into a digital image signal by an analog / digital converter, and each image processing (binarization, multi-value conversion, gradation) is performed on a circuit board on which an image processing circuit is mounted. Processing, scaling processing, editing processing, etc.).

  Hereinafter, details of the light irradiation unit 190 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a light irradiation unit 190 as an image illuminating device includes a base 330 in which slits 331 are formed, a support member 320 that is detachably formed on the base 330, and a substrate provided on the support member 320. The fixed member 310, the substrate 300 in which the plurality of light sources 301 are arranged in the main scanning direction (the direction penetrating the paper surface of FIG. 4, the left-right direction of FIG. 5), and the light emitted from the emission surface of the light source 301 are reflected. And reflectors 400 and 410 for guiding the document MS.

  The light source 301 is disposed above the reflecting plate 400 with a space therebetween, and the lower surface in FIG. 4 is used as an emission surface (top view type), and the light is emitted radially. Each light source 301 functions as a point light source. That is, the substrate 300 on which the light sources 301 are arranged is supported by the support member 320 in a state in which the light sources 301 face the direction opposite to the irradiation target (the downward direction in the figure). In addition, the reflector 400 is disposed at a position facing the light source 301 (a position below the light source 301) at a distance from the light source 301, and the reflector 410 is disposed below the light source and in a lateral direction. The reflectors 400 and 410 are configured to reflect light emitted from the light source 301 to an irradiation target.

  A part of the light emitted radially from the light source 301 is converted into parallel light by the reflecting plate 400 and the other by the reflecting plate 410, and has a predetermined width R in the sub-scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4). Irradiation is directed toward the contact glass 155. The lengths of the reflection plates 400 and 410 in the sub-scanning direction are longer than the overall length of the light sources 301 arranged in the substrate 300.

  Instead of providing the reflection plate 410, the light irradiation unit 190 includes a base 330, a support member 320, a substrate fixing member 310, a substrate 300, a light source 301, and a reflection plate 400. Two units 190 may be arranged opposite to each other in the sub-scanning direction with the reading optical axis A interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 300 extends in the main scanning direction, and a plurality of substrates 300 are arranged on the surface of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction (a direction penetrating the paper surface of FIG. 4, a horizontal direction of FIG. 5). A light source 301 is arranged.

  The substrate 300 is provided with a connection portion 302 that is a connection terminal for electrically connecting to a control portion (not shown).

  Here, in the region where the light source 301 is arranged in the substrate 300, the distance B from the end of the light source 301 to the end 300 a in the sub-scanning direction of the substrate 300 is the sub-scanning direction of the light source 301 (up and down in FIG. 5). Direction) is set shorter than the length.

  Further, regarding the relationship between the end of the substrate 300 (the end on the right side of the drawing) and the light source 301 in the direction opposite to the connection portion 302, the light source 301 disposed on the outermost side (the rightmost side of the drawing). The distance C from the right end to the main scanning direction end 300b is set to be equal to or shorter than the sum of the length of one light source 301 in the main scanning direction and the pitch between adjacent light sources.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate fixing member 310 includes a main scanning direction extending portion 311 extending in the main scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 6A) and a sub-scanning direction (FIG. 6A). ) In the sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 and having an L-shape.

  The main scanning direction extending portion 311 includes a main scanning support member contact surface 313c that contacts the support member 320 and the substrate 300, as shown in FIG. Subscanning of the substrate by contacting the main scanning substrate contact surface 313a that contacts one end 300c in the sub-scanning direction of the surface on which the light sources 301 are arranged, and the main scanning direction end 300a of the substrate 300 And a main scanning substrate end face abutting surface 313b for determining the position in the direction, and the cross-sectional shape is L-shaped.

  The height of the main scanning substrate end surface contact surface 313b is set to be substantially the same as or slightly lower than the thickness of the substrate 300. That is, the vertical width of the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b in FIG. 6B is set to be substantially the same as or slightly shorter than the thickness of the substrate 300.

  Accordingly, when the substrate 300 is sandwiched between the substrate fixing member 310 and the support member 320, the main scanning substrate contact surface 313a presses the end portion 300c of the substrate 300, so that the substrate 300 can be more firmly fixed. .

  Further, a plurality of substrate fixing member fastening holes 317 for spirally fastening with the support member 320 are formed in the region of the main scanning support member abutting surface 313c in the main scanning direction. The substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 has a long hole shape having a long diameter in the main scanning direction. Further, the side of the substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 along the main scanning direction is formed along the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b.

  Therefore, the substrate 300 positioned by being in contact with the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b fastens the substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 of the substrate fixing member 310 to the support member fastening hole 321 of the support member 320, thereby reflecting the reflecting plate. 400 and 410 are accurately positioned in the sub-scanning direction.

  Furthermore, positioning holes 315 and 316 for positioning with respect to the support member 320 before being spirally fastened to the support member 320 are provided in the main scanning support member contact surface 313c on both sides in the main scanning direction, respectively. Is formed. The positioning holes 315 and 316 are configured to engage with positioning convex portions 322a and 322b formed in the support member 320, respectively.

  On the other hand, the sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 has a sub-scanning support member contact surface 314c that contacts the support member 320, as shown in FIG. The main surface of the substrate is brought into contact with the sub-scanning substrate contact surface 314a that contacts the end portion 300d in the sub-scanning direction of the surface on the side where the light sources 301 of the substrate 300 are arranged, and the main scanning direction end portion 300b of the substrate 300. It has a sub-scanning substrate end face abutting surface 314b whose position in the scanning direction is determined, and the cross-sectional shape is L-shaped.

  The height of the sub-scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b is formed continuously from the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b, and is also set to be approximately the same as or slightly lower than the thickness of the substrate 300.

  Thus, when the substrate 300 is sandwiched between the substrate fixing member 310 and the support member 320, the sub-scanning substrate contact surface 314a presses the end portion 300d of the substrate 300, so that the substrate 300 can be more firmly fixed.

  The substrate fixing member 310 is formed of a black resin that hardly reflects light, and prevents the generation of flare light that is reflected from the light source 301 by the substrate fixing member 310 and directed toward the document MS.

  The substrate fixing member 310 may have a shape other than the L shape. Specifically, by providing a second sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 (not shown) at the left end portion in FIG. 6A of the main scanning direction extending portion 311, the substrate fixing member 310 is substantially U-shaped. The second sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 is formed in a shape so as to extend in the sub-scanning direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5) between the leftmost light source 301 and the left-side connection portion 302 in FIG. It may be. In that case, the second sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 may sandwich the substrate 300. In consideration of the thermal expansion of the substrate 300, the substrate 300 is not sandwiched, but is held so as to support the bending of the substrate 300 from below (that is, the substrate 300 moves to the left side by the amount of thermal expansion). In order to achieve this, the height of the sub-scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b may be slightly higher than the thickness of the substrate 300 to such an extent that the illuminance distribution does not change.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the support member 320 has a mounting surface 325 on which the substrate 300 and the substrate fixing member 310 are mounted extending in the main scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 7). A support member fastening hole 321 corresponding to the substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 is formed on the mounting surface 325 of the support member 320.

  The support member 320 is formed with positioning protrusions 322a and 322b for engaging the positioning holes 315 and 316 of the substrate fixing member 310 to position the support member 320 and the substrate fixing member 310, respectively. .

  Further, at both ends of the support member 320, a fixing surface 323 is formed by being bent from the placement surface 325 and for fixing the support member 320 to the base 330 (see FIG. 4).

  A fixing hole 324 is provided in the fixing surface 323 and is screwed in a spiral manner in alignment with a fixing hole (not shown) formed in the base 330.

  Next, a procedure for attaching the substrate 300 to the light irradiation unit 190 will be described.

  First, the positioning hole 315 of the substrate fixing member 310 is engaged with the positioning convex portion 322 a of the support member 320.

  Next, the positioning hole 316 of the substrate fixing member 310 is engaged with the positioning convex portion 322b while being aligned.

  Then, the substrate 300 is inserted into the gap between the mounting surface 325 and the main scanning substrate contact surface 313a and the sub scanning substrate contact surface 314a, and the main scanning substrate end surface contact surface 313b and the sub scanning substrate end surface contact surface Two side surfaces of the substrate 300 are brought into contact with 314b.

  After that, the substrate 300 is held between the support member 320 and the substrate fixing member 310 as shown in FIG. 8 by passing the spiral through the fastening hole 317 while holding the substrate 300 by hand so as not to move. Fix it.

  Then, the fixing hole 324 of the support member 320 to which the substrate 300 is attached is helically fastened in alignment with a fixing hole (not shown) formed in the base 330.

  With the above-described configuration, the substrate 300 can be fixed to the support member 320 without the substrate 300 being bent downward without directly fixing the substrate 300 to the support member 320 with a spiral.

  Further, since one end (the left end in FIG. 8) of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction is not fixed by the substrate fixing member 310, even if the substrate 300 expands due to heat, the substrate expansion in the main scanning direction is hindered. Since one end of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction can move to the left side of FIG. 8 due to expansion, the substrate 300 can be prevented from being deformed like a bow due to thermal expansion.

  Note that the main scanning substrate end surface contact surface 313b and the sub-scanning substrate end surface contact surface 314b of the substrate fixing member 310 are not necessarily limited to flat surfaces, as shown in FIGS. 9B to 9C. As a curved surface, the top portion of the curved surface is brought into contact with the end surface of the substrate 300, or is formed in a square shape as shown in FIGS. You may contact. Further, the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b and the sub-scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b are not necessarily formed continuously, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 10A. It may be provided intermittently in the present direction. In that case, it is preferable that the main scanning substrate end surface contact surface 313b is provided on at least both sides in the main scanning direction (both sides in the left-right direction in FIGS. 9A and 10A of the substrate fixing member 310). Furthermore, if it is also provided at substantially the center, positioning can be performed more reliably.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, the substrate fixing member 310 is arranged in an L shape by dividing the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312. A substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 formed on the side of the main scanning direction extending portion 311 from the center in the sub scanning direction is formed on the sub scanning support member contact surface 314c of the sub scanning direction extending portion 312. You may comprise so that it may have. In this case, although not shown, the support member 320 is configured to have a support member fastening hole 321 at a position corresponding to the substrate fixing member fastening hole 317. By configuring the substrate fixing member 310 by dividing the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312, the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312 are individually provided. Therefore, the degree of freedom of the mounting position of the substrate 300 can be increased.

  As described above, the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment includes the substrate 300 on which one of the plurality of light sources 301 arranged linearly in the main scanning direction is mounted, and the light source 301 is an irradiation target of the light source 301. And a support member 320 that supports the substrate 300 in a state facing the opposite direction, and a light source 301 that is spaced from the light source 301 at a position facing the light source 301, and reflects the light emitted from the light source 301 to the irradiation target. And a substrate fixing member 310 that abuts one end in the main scanning direction and one end in the sub-scanning direction on one surface of the substrate 300, and includes a support member 320 and a substrate fixing member. The support member 320 supports the substrate 300 by sandwiching the substrate 300 with 310.

  With this configuration, the substrate 300 can be fixed to the support member 320 without the substrate 300 being bent downward without directly fixing the substrate 300 in a spiral manner. Therefore, the substrate 300 in which the light sources 301 are arranged and emitted so as to emit light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target can be fixed to the support member 320 without being directly screwed.

  Further, the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment supports the substrate 300 by supporting the substrate 300 by sandwiching one end of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction between the support member 320 and the substrate fixing member 310. The other end of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction is not fixed.

  With this configuration, when the other end of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction is not fixed, the substrate 300 is prevented from expanding in the main scanning direction when the substrate 300 expands in the main scanning direction due to heat. And can be prevented from being deformed like a bow.

  In the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment, the substrate fixing member 310 extends in the main scanning direction, and the main scanning support member abutting surface 313 c that abuts on the support member 320 and the main substrate 300 abuts on the substrate 300. A main scanning direction extending portion 311 having a scanning substrate abutting surface 313a, a sub scanning substrate extending in the sub scanning direction, abutting on the supporting member 320, and a sub scanning substrate abutting on the substrate 300 A sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 having an abutting surface 314a, and a plurality of main scanning support member abutting surfaces 313c of the main scanning direction extending portion 311 are formed in the main scanning direction. The support member 320 has a plurality of support member fastening holes 321 formed in the main scanning direction, and the positions of the board fixing member fastening holes 317 and the support member fastening holes 321 coincide with each other. Allowed to by spiral engagement, characterized in that to fix the board fixing member 310 to the support member 320.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member 310 is spirally fastened to the support member 320, and the substrate 300 is sandwiched between the support member 320 and the substrate fixing member 310, whereby a hole for fastening to the support member 320 is formed in the substrate 300. Compared with the structure to perform, the length of the substrate 300 in the sub-scanning direction can be shortened.

  The light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the surface of the substrate fixing member 310 is black.

  With this configuration, the light reflected from the document to be irradiated is absorbed by the substrate fixing member 310, so that flare can be prevented from occurring in the read image. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide a member for preventing flare in addition to the substrate fixing member 310, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Further, in the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment, the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312 are each in contact with one surface (mounting surface) of the substrate 300. A main scanning substrate contact surface 313a and a sub scanning substrate contact surface 314a as contact portions, and a second contact that is adjacent to the main scanning substrate contact surface 313a and the sub scanning substrate contact surface 314a and contacts the end surface of the substrate 300. A main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b and a sub scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b as the abutting portions of the main scanning substrate end surface 313b and the sub scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b. The positions of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction are determined by abutting against each other.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member 310 is formed with the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b and the sub scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 314b that are abutted against the end surfaces of the substrate 300 in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction. Can be easily positioned.

  Further, in the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment, the substrate fixing member 310 is configured by connecting the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312 in an L shape. It is characterized by.

  With this configuration, the substrate fixing member 310 can be handled as one member, so that assembly can be easily performed.

  Further, the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the substrate fixing member 310 is formed by dividing the main scanning direction extending portion 311 and the sub scanning direction extending portion 312 into an L shape. The sub-scanning support member contact surface 314c of the sub-scanning direction extending portion 312 has a substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 formed on the main scanning direction extending portion 311 side from the center in the sub-scanning direction. The member 320 has a support member fastening hole 321 at a position corresponding to the substrate fixing member fastening hole 317 of the sub-scanning support member contact surface 314c.

  With this configuration, the main scanning direction extending part 311 and the sub-scanning direction extending part 312 can be precisely positioned individually, and the degree of freedom of the mounting position of the substrate 300 can be increased.

  The image reading device 150 according to the present embodiment receives the light irradiation unit 190 as an image illuminating device and the reflected light from the document irradiated by the light irradiation unit 190 and reads the image of the document. And image reading means such as a CCD 221.

  With this configuration, in the image reading apparatus 150, the light source 301 is arranged in a row and the substrate 300 arranged so as to emit light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target is directly fixed to the support member 320 without being spirally fixed. Can be fixed to.

  The image forming apparatus 500 according to the present embodiment includes the image reading apparatus 150 described above and the image forming unit 1 that forms an image on a recording medium based on image information read by the image reading apparatus 150. It is characterized by that.

  With this configuration, in the image forming apparatus 500, the support member 320 is arranged without directly screwing the substrate 300, which is arranged so that the light sources 301 are arranged and emits light in the direction opposite to the irradiation target. Can be fixed to.

Note that the image reading apparatus 150 according to the present embodiment simply removes the unit of FIG. 8 (a unit formed by fixing the substrate 300 to the support member 320 by the substrate fixing member 310) when performing maintenance on the substrate 300. It ’s also good. In the image reading apparatus 150 according to the present embodiment, the positional relationship between the substrate 300 and the reflection plate 400 is determined by positioning and fixing the substrate 300 to the support member 320. It is also excellent in that it is only necessary to consider fixing 300 to the support member 320.
(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the substrate fixing member 310 and the support member 320 are integrally formed, and the same configuration as the first embodiment is provided. The same reference numerals are used and detailed description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, in the present embodiment, the substrate fixing member 310 and the support member 320 are integrally molded with resin, and the portion from the substrate fixing member 310 to the support member 320 is substantially U-shaped. The height (length in the vertical direction in the figure) of the scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b is shorter than or substantially equal to the thickness of the substrate 300. Note that the sub-scanning direction (X1-X2 cross section in FIG. 6A) has the same configuration as that in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, in the present embodiment, the substrate fixing member 310 and the support member 320 are integrally formed of a sheet metal, and the sheet metal is bent.

  Here, when the substrate fixing member 310 is bent at the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b, the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b is curved, and the side edge of the substrate 300 abuts against the curved main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b. 9B, the position of the substrate 300 is shifted in the sub-scanning direction and the position accuracy is deteriorated. Therefore, in FIG. 9B, the height (length in the vertical direction in the figure) of the main scanning substrate end surface abutting surface 313b is set. The substrate fixing member 310 is bent so that the bending portion 340 generated by bending is disposed at a position higher than the thickness of the substrate 300 and higher than the upper surface of the substrate 300.

  Further, the distance from the lower surface of the main scanning substrate contact surface 313 a to the upper surface of the support member 320 is set to be smaller than the thickness of the substrate 300.

  In this way, by bending the substrate fixing member 310 integrally formed with the support member 320 by sheet metal, the main scanning substrate contact surface 313a of the substrate fixing member 310 is pressed against the upper surface of the substrate 300, and the substrate fixing member 310 is pressed. And the support member 320 can sandwich the substrate 300. Note that the sub-scanning direction (X1-X2 cross section in FIG. 6A) has the same configuration as that in FIG. In addition, about the structure of FIG.12 (b), you may form not only with a sheet metal but with resin.

  With the configuration as described above, the work of fixing the substrate fixing member 310 to the support member 320 can be made unnecessary, and the position of the substrate fixing member 310 with respect to the support member 320 is not displaced. The positional accuracy of the substrate 300 with respect to can be improved.

  As described above, in the light irradiation unit 190 according to the present embodiment, the substrate fixing member 310 is integrally formed with the support member 320 and is set up to be shorter than the thickness of the substrate 300 while standing from the support member 320. The support member 320 includes an upright portion and an urging portion that extends from the upright portion and elastically contacts one surface of the substrate 300, and the support member 320 and the urging portion sandwich the substrate 300. Supports the substrate 300.

  With this configuration, by integrally forming the substrate fixing member 310 with the support member 320, it is possible to achieve cost reduction and increase the positional accuracy of the substrate 300 with respect to the support member 320.

  In the first and second embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to the light irradiation unit 190 that irradiates light to the document MS placed on the contact glass 155 and stopped is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the light irradiation unit 190 may irradiate light on a document that is transported and moved on the contact glass 155.

  As described above, the image illumination device, the image reading device, and the image forming device according to the present invention are arranged so that point light sources are arranged and light is emitted in a direction opposite to the irradiation target. It has the effect that the substrate can be fixed to the supporting member without directly fixing the spiral, and is useful as an image illuminating device, an image reading device, and an image forming device for irradiating light on the original for reading the original. .

1 Image forming unit (image forming means)
150 Image Reading Device 155 Contact Glass 190 Light Irradiation Unit (Image Illumination Device)
221 CCD (image reading means)
300 Substrate 301 Light source 302 Connection portion 310 Substrate fixing member 311 Main scanning direction extending portion 312 Sub scanning direction extending portion 313a Main scanning substrate contact surface (main scanning substrate contact portion, first contact portion)
313b Main scanning substrate end surface contact surface (second contact portion)
313c Main scanning support member contact surface (main scanning support member contact portion)
314a Sub-scanning substrate contact surface (sub-scanning substrate contact portion, first contact portion)
314b Sub-scanning substrate end surface contact surface (second contact portion)
314c Sub-scanning support member contact surface (sub-scan support member contact portion)
315, 316 Positioning hole 317 Substrate fixing member fastening hole 320 Support member 321 Support member fastening hole 322a, 322b Positioning convex part 323 Fixing surface 324 Fixing hole 325 Mounting surface 330 Base 340 Bending part 400, 410 Reflecting plate (reflection member)
500 Image forming apparatus

JP 2006-025303 A JP 2002-142082 A

Claims (10)

A substrate on which a plurality of light sources arranged linearly in the main scanning direction are mounted on one surface;
A support member that supports the substrate in a state in which the light source faces a direction opposite to an irradiation target of the light source;
A reflecting member that is disposed at a position facing the light source at a distance from the light source, and reflects the light emitted from the light source to the irradiation target;
A substrate fixing member that comes into contact with one end in the main scanning direction and one end in the sub-scanning direction on one surface of the substrate;
The image illuminating apparatus, wherein the support member supports the substrate by sandwiching the substrate between the support member and the substrate fixing member. The image illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the surface of the substrate fixing member is black. The support member supports the substrate by sandwiching one end portion of the substrate in the main scanning direction by the support member and the substrate fixing member, and the other end portion of the substrate in the main scanning direction is not fixed. The image illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the image illumination device is an image illumination device. The substrate fixing member is
A main scanning direction extending portion that extends in the main scanning direction and has a main scanning support member contact portion that contacts the support member and a main scanning substrate contact portion that contacts the substrate;
A sub-scanning direction extending portion that extends in the sub-scanning direction and has a sub-scanning support member abutting portion that abuts on the support member and a sub-scanning substrate abutting portion that abuts on the substrate,
The main scanning support member contact portion of the main scanning direction extending portion has a plurality of substrate fixing member fastening holes formed in the main scanning direction,
The support member has a plurality of support member fastening holes formed in the main scanning direction,
The said board | substrate fixing member is fixed to the said supporting member by making the position of the said board | substrate fixing member fastening hole and the said supporting member fastening hole correspond, and helically fastening, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image lighting device. The main scanning substrate contact portion and the sub-scanning substrate contact portion are respectively a first contact portion that contacts one surface of the substrate and an adjacent one of the first contact portion and the substrate. A second contact portion that contacts the end surface,
The image illumination apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the position of the substrate in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction is determined by abutting the end surface of the substrate against the second contact portion. The said board | substrate fixing member is comprised from what connected the said main scanning direction extension part and the said sub-scanning direction extension part in L shape, The Claim 4 or Claim 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Image lighting device. The substrate fixing member is configured by dividing the main scanning direction extending portion and the sub scanning direction extending portion and arranging them in an L shape,
The sub-scanning support member abutting portion of the sub-scanning direction extending portion has a substrate fixing member fastening hole formed on the side of the main scanning direction extending portion from the center in the sub-scanning direction,
Wherein the support member, the image illumination device according to claim 4 or claim 5, further comprising a support member fastening hole at a position corresponding to the substrate fixing member engagement hole of the sub-scan support member contact portion. The substrate fixing member is integrally formed with the support member, and rises from the support member and is set to be shorter than the thickness of the substrate, and one surface of the substrate extends from the stand up portion. An urging portion that abuts elastically,
The image illuminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member supports the substrate by sandwiching the substrate by the support member and the biasing portion. The image illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An image reading apparatus comprising: an image reading unit that receives reflected light from a document irradiated by the image illumination device and reads an image of the document. An image reading apparatus according to claim 9,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on image information read by the image reading unit .

Images