JP5942806B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, an image reading unit that includes a reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a document placing surface, and an openable / closable covering the document placing surface. The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus provided with an original cover.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image reading unit including a document placement surface and a reading unit that reads an image of a document placed thereon, and an openable / closable document cover that covers the document placement surface, the document cover is a document placement surface. There is an image reading device that detects whether or not it is disposed at a closed position that covers the placement surface. For example, when performing shading correction according to the reading result of the reading unit with respect to a so-called white reference plate, accurate shading correction may not be performed unless it is confirmed that the document cover is securely closed. . Therefore, it has been proposed to provide an actuator that descends in response to the operation of closing the document cover in the vicinity of the hinge portion that connects the document cover to the image reading unit so as to be opened and closed, and detects the operation of the actuator by an optical sensor or the like. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-23990 A

  However, the image reading unit as described above may be provided above the image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium such as a sheet so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the image forming unit. In such a case, a control unit may be provided on the image forming unit side, and a detection signal from the optical sensor or the like is sent to the image forming unit through a hinge unit that connects the image reading unit to the image forming unit so as to be opened and closed. Need arises.

  As described above, when a detection signal of a detection unit such as an optical sensor provided in the image reading unit is sent to the image forming unit through the hinge unit, it is necessary to consider the arrangement of signal lines such as a harness. Accordingly, the present invention provides an image reading apparatus in which an image reading unit is provided in an image forming unit so that the image reading unit can be opened and closed, and a document cover is provided in the image reading unit so that the document cover can be opened and closed. It was made for the purpose of detecting opening and closing by the image forming unit.

  An image reading apparatus of the present invention made to achieve the above object includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, and an original placement surface on which an original to be read is placed, A first reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on the document placement surface is provided below the document placement surface, and is swingably connected to the image formation unit. An image reading unit that opens and closes between an open position to be exposed and a closed position that covers the upper surface; and an open position that is swingably connected to the image reading unit and exposes the document placement surface; A document cover that opens and closes between a closed position that covers the mounting surface; an exposure unit that is exposed on an upper surface side of the image forming unit; and a detection unit that detects the position or movement of the exposure unit; and the image reading unit The image reading unit and the document cover are respectively closed. A transmission unit configured to transmit a force acting in a closing direction of the document cover from the operation unit provided on the lower surface of the document cover to the detection unit through the image reading unit It is characterized by that.

  In the image reading apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the detection unit detects the position or movement of the exposed portion exposed on the upper surface side of the image forming unit. Here, the image reading unit is provided with the following transmission unit. That is, when the image reading unit and the document cover are disposed at the closed position, the transmission unit applies a force acting in the closing direction of the document cover from the operation unit provided on the lower surface of the document cover through the image reading unit. It is transmitted to the detection unit (for example, a pressing force against the exposed portion). Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to detect whether or not a force acting in the closing direction of the document cover is transmitted to the exposed portion without sending a detection signal through the hinge portion. . Therefore, the opening and closing of the document cover can be detected on the image forming unit side.

  In addition, although various forms can be considered as a structure of a transmission part, the following structures can be considered as an example. For example, the transmission unit is a member that is movably held by the image reading unit, and that moves in the direction of the image forming unit by contacting the action unit while the document cover is moving to the closed position. Also good. In this case, the force acting in the closing direction from the acting portion is indirectly transmitted as a pressing force to the exposed portion via a member (transmitting portion) held movably in the image reading portion. Therefore, even if liquid is spilled on the upper surface of the image reading unit or static electricity is applied to the upper surface, the liquid or static electricity can be prevented from reaching the detection unit directly.

  In this case, the action portion protrudes from the lower surface of the document cover, and the transmission portion is moved more than the upper surface of the image reading portion by the action portion while the document cover moves to the closed position. By pressing downward, the pressing force is transmitted to the exposed portion, and when the document cover is in the open position, the image reading portion may be disposed on the same plane as the upper surface. In this case, it is possible to facilitate the reading operation by the operator using the image reading unit when the document cover is in the open position.

  In this case, the action unit may engage with the surrounding image reading unit after the transmission unit is pushed below the upper surface of the image reading unit. In this case, when the document cover is disposed at the closed position, the action unit engages with the surrounding image reading unit to position the document cover in the horizontal direction. It is possible to suppress the deviation of the position of the document.

  When the transmission unit is a member that is movably held by the image reading unit as described above, the action unit is located on the same plane as the lower surface of the document cover, and the transmission unit is When the document cover is in the open position, it protrudes from the upper surface of the image reading unit, and is pushed into the upper surface of the image reading unit by the action unit while the document cover moves to the closed position. The pressing force may be transmitted to the exposed portion. In this case, the flatness of the upper surface of the image reading unit when the document cover is in the closed position can be improved, and reading of the document that protrudes from the document placement surface can be facilitated.

  The action part protrudes from the lower surface of the document cover, and the transmission part is a hole that allows the action part to pass through the image reading part and directly press the exposure part. Also good. In that case, the image reading unit need only be provided with a hole as a transmission unit, so that the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

  Further, the action portion is located on the same plane as the lower surface of the document cover, the exposed portion protrudes from the upper surface of the image forming portion, and the transmitting portion has the exposed portion that reads the image. It may be a hole that penetrates the part and allows it to be pressed directly by the action part. Even in this case, the image reading unit only needs to be provided with a hole as a transmission unit, so that the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

  In the present invention, the image reading unit is swingably connected to one side of the upper surface of the image forming unit, and the document cover is on the same side as the one side of the upper surface of the image reading unit. The action portion is disposed on a side closer to a side opposite to the one side than the one side of the lower surface of the document cover, and the exposed portion is configured to form the image forming portion. The upper surface of the portion may be disposed closer to the side opposite to the one side than the one side.

  In this case, both the opening and closing of the image reading unit and the opening and closing of the document cover are performed with the one side as the center of swinging. On the other hand, since the action part and the exposure part are disposed on the side close to the opposite side of the one side, the opening and closing of the document cover can be detected more accurately.

  In this case, a first white reference plate may be disposed on the lower surface of the document cover. In this case, if the document cover is not accurately placed at the closed position during the shading correction by the first reading unit, there is a case where accurate shading correction cannot be performed due to the influence of external light. On the other hand, when the opening / closing of the document cover can be accurately detected as described above, the shading correction can be performed more accurately.

  Further, when the action part and the exposure part are arranged on the side close to the opposite side, the image by the first reading part provided on the document cover and arranged at a predetermined position in the image reading part. A document conveying unit that conveys the document to a reading position where it can be read may be further provided. In that case, if the document cover is not accurately disposed at the closed position, the document transport unit may not transport the document satisfactorily. On the other hand, when the opening / closing of the document cover can be accurately detected as described above, the document conveyance by the document conveyance unit can be performed well.

  In this case, the document conveying unit includes a second reading unit capable of reading the image of the document from the lower surface of the document cover, and a second white reference plate is disposed on the upper surface of the image reading unit. May be. In this case, if the document cover is not accurately placed at the closed position at the time of shading correction, there is a case where accurate shading correction cannot be performed due to the influence of external light. On the other hand, when the opening / closing of the document cover can be accurately detected as described above, the shading correction can be performed more accurately.

  Further, in the case where the action part and the exposure part are arranged on the side close to the opposite side, a control part that performs control based on the detection result of the detection part is provided inside the image forming part. It may be provided on the side closer to the opposite side than the one side. In this case, since the detection unit and the control unit that executes control based on the detection result can be easily arranged close to each other, it is possible to prevent the wiring in the apparatus from becoming complicated.

  In that case, a panel provided on the opposite side of the housing of the image forming unit and capable of displaying or inputting may be further provided. In this case, since the control unit and the panel capable of display or input are arranged close to each other, it is possible to further suppress the complicated wiring in the apparatus.

  In the present invention, the detection unit includes the exposed portion at one end, and an actuator that swings when the exposed portion is pressed in the closing direction of the document cover is different from the exposed portion of the actuator. There may be provided a detected part provided at a position and a detection circuit for detecting that the detected part has moved in response to the swing of the actuator. In this case, it is possible to dispose the exposed portion and the detection circuit at positions separated from each other, and the degree of design freedom can be improved.

  In this case, the exposed portion and the detected portion of the actuator are disposed at a position separated in the horizontal direction, and the exposed portion is disposed at a position off the upper side in the vertical direction of the detection circuit. Also good. In that case, even if the liquid is spilled from above the exposed portion, the liquid can be prevented from reaching the detection circuit directly.

2A and 2B are perspective views illustrating the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is when the document cover is closed and FIG. 2B is when the document cover is opened. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the multifunction machine from two different angles when the image reading unit is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the image reading unit when a document conveying unit is used. It is a central sectional view showing the configuration of the image reading unit. 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view taken along line AA and an enlarged view of a B section showing the configuration of the multifunction machine when the image reading section is opened. 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view taken along line AA and a magnified view of part C, illustrating the configuration of the multifunction machine when the image reading unit is closed. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating a configuration when an image reading unit is opened (A) and when closed (B) in a multifunction machine according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating a configuration when an image reading unit is opened (A) and when closed (B) in a multifunction machine according to a third embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which represents typically the principal part of the multifunctional device of 4th Embodiment.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example. The image reading apparatus exemplified in the present embodiment is configured as a multi-function peripheral that has other functions (for example, a print function, a copy function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, etc.) in addition to a function (scan function) as an image reading apparatus. Is. In the following description, each part of the multi-function peripheral will be described using the respective directions of the top, bottom, left, and right, which are also shown in the drawing, in order to make the relative positional relationship thereof easy to understand.

[Structure of MFP of First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1A, the multifunction device 1 includes an image forming unit 2, an image reading unit 3 mounted on the upper side of the image forming unit 2, and a document cover 4 mounted on the upper side of the image reading unit 3. And. As shown in FIG. 1B, the document cover 4 is configured to be swingable about a rear side on the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 by a hinge unit 10 (see FIG. 5A). The document cover 4 opens and closes between a closed position shown in FIG. 1A and an open position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading unit 3 is configured to be swingable about a rear side on the upper surface of the image forming unit 2. The image reading unit 3 is between a closed position that covers the upper surface of the image forming unit 2 as shown in FIG. 1A and an open position that exposes the upper surface of the image forming unit 2 as shown in FIG. Open and close.

  The image forming unit 2 incorporates a printer engine (not shown), a control unit 90 (see FIG. 5) described later, and the like, and various mechanisms provided in the image forming unit 2, the image reading unit 3, and the document cover 4. Is controlled by a control unit 90 provided in the image forming unit 2.

  When the document cover 4 is displaced to the open position, the document placement surface (upper surface of a transparent portion 25 described later) on the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 is exposed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1A, when the document cover 4 is disposed at the closed position, the document cover 4 covers the document placement surface.

  An operation panel 7 (an example of a panel) operated by an operator is provided on the upper front side of the image forming unit 2. Further, in the image forming unit 2, a discharge port 8 for discharging the recording medium after printing is formed below the operation panel 7, and further below, a paper feed for storing the recording medium before printing is stored. A cassette 9 and the like are mounted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 3, an openable top cover 11 is provided on the top surface of the document cover 4. The top cover 11 is configured to be swingable with respect to the document cover 4 about an axis extending in the front-rear direction near the right end of the top cover 11. When the upper surface cover 11 is in the closed position, the rear surface side of the upper surface cover 11 that is directed downward as shown in FIG. 1A is when the upper surface cover 11 is displaced to the open position as shown in FIG. To be directed diagonally upward. Then, the document table 12 is exposed on the upper surface of the document cover 4.

  A pair of document guides 13 are provided on the document table 12 to guide the document in the left-right direction by sandwiching the document from the front-rear direction. Both document guides 13 are slidable in the front-rear direction, and the other is slid in the opposite direction to the other in conjunction with one. Therefore, when changing the distance between the pair of document guides 13, the user can slide both in the direction of approaching or separating from each other by operating only one of them.

  A partition plate 15 is provided at the upper end of the document guide 13. A document to be conveyed is set below the partition plate 15. Further, when a document is transported along a transport path to be described later, the transported document is discharged above the partition plate 15.

[Details of Image Reading Unit and Document Cover]
FIG. 4 is a central sectional view showing the configuration of the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 in a state where the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 are disposed in the closed position and the upper surface cover 11 is disposed in the open position. . As shown in FIG. 4, the image reading unit 3 is provided with a first image sensor 21 (an example of a first reading unit), and the document cover 4 has a second image sensor 22 (an example of a second reading unit). Is provided. In the present embodiment, both the first image sensor 21 and the second image sensor 22 employ a contact image sensor.

  The first image sensor 21 is driven by a motor (not shown) and reciprocates in the left-right direction (sub-scanning direction) inside the image reading unit 3. The second image sensor 22 is attached to the frame inside the document cover 4.

  Further, on the image reading unit 3 side, a transparent unit 25 and a first transparent unit 27 are provided at a position above the reciprocation path of the first image sensor 21. A second transparent portion 28 is provided on the document cover 4 side at a position below the second image sensor 22.

  The transparent part 25 and the first transparent part 27 are both positioned at the upper surface of the image reading part 3. In the present embodiment, the transparent part 25 and the first transparent part 27 use a single glass plate. Configured. Moreover, the 2nd transparent part 28 is comprised using the glass plate different from the transparent part 25 and the 1st transparent part 27 in this embodiment (refer FIG.1 (B)).

  As shown in FIG. 1B, a first white reference plate 31 for performing shading correction or the like related to the first image sensor 21 is located at a position facing the first transparent portion 27 in the document cover 4. Is provided. Further, a second white reference plate 32 for performing correction such as shading correction related to the second image sensor 22 is provided at a position facing the second transparent unit 28 in the image reading unit 3.

  In addition, each of the transparent part 25 and the first transparent part 27 may be configured using different glass plates. The material of the transparent part 25, the first transparent part 27, and the second transparent part 28 may be other than glass as long as it is a transparent material that can be read by the first image sensor 21 and the second image sensor 22. It may be a material.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the document cover 4 is provided with a group of rollers (an example of a document conveyance unit) such as a supply roller 41, a separation roller 42, a conveyance roller 43, and a U-turn conveyance roller 44. A member for providing a guide surface for guiding the document in an appropriate conveyance direction is also disposed therebetween. As one member for providing such a guide surface, a movable path switching member 45 is provided on the left side of the U-turn conveyance roller 44.

  The path switching member 45 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the document cover 4 with an axis extending in the front-rear direction on the lower end side of the path switching member 45 as a rotation center. A cover member 46 that can be opened and closed is provided on the outer surface of the document cover 4 on the left side of the U-turn conveyance roller 44.

  In the multi-function device 1 configured as described above, an image of the original can be read as follows while conveying the original using the original cover 4. That is, when the roller group included in the document cover 4 is operated, the documents supplied from the upstream side in the transport direction by the supply roller 41 are separated one by one by the separation roller 42 and further transported downstream in the transport direction. Is done.

  Then, the document is transported to the downstream side in the transport direction by the transport roller 43 and passes through the first reading position facing the first image sensor 21 with the first transparent portion 27 interposed therebetween. Subsequently, the document passes through the second reading position facing the second image sensor 22 with the second transparent portion 28 interposed therebetween, and is further conveyed by the U-turn roller 44.

  At this time, if the path switching member 45 and the cover member 46 are in the positions shown in FIG. 4, the document is folded back via the path switching member 45 and discharged above the partition plate 15. On the other hand, if the path switching member 45 and the cover member 46 are swung counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 4, the original is discharged to the left of the original cover 4 so-called straight. Such straight sheet discharge is used when the original is thick paper such as a business card. 1 and 2, the cover member 46 is not shown.

  Further, when single-sided reading is designated while the document is conveyed in this way, for example, the first image sensor 21 reads an image of the document that passes through the first reading position. On the other hand, when double-sided scanning is designated, the first image sensor 21 reads the image of the document that passes the first reading position, and the second image sensor 22 reads the document that passes the second reading position. The operation of reading an image is executed in parallel.

[Open / close state detection mechanism]
Here, both the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 perform the document transport by the roller group such as the U-turn roller 44 and the shading correction using the first white reference plate 31 and the second white reference plate 32 described above. If it is not securely placed in the closed position, it is difficult to execute well. Therefore, in this embodiment, the open / close state of the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 is detected using the following open / close state detection mechanism.

  As shown in FIGS. 1B and 5A, a columnar protrusion 61 (an example of an action portion) is projected from the left end of the front end of the lower surface of the document cover 4. In addition, a first actuator 63 (an example of a transmission unit) is provided on a portion of the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 facing the protrusion 61. 5A shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 1B in a state where the document cover 4 is closed rather than the state of the document cover 4 shown in FIG. 1B. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 5B as an enlarged view of the B part in FIG. 5A, the cylindrical part 63 </ b> A of the first actuator 63 is formed in a cylindrical shape facing the protrusion 61, and is formed on the upper surface of the image reading part 3. It is exposed from the formed hole 65. The first actuator 63 is biased upward by a spring 67. The upper end of a prismatic operating piece 63B provided integrally on the front side of the cylindrical portion 63A comes into contact with the housing constituting the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 from below. Thus, when the image reading unit 3 is in the closed position and the document cover 4 is in the open position, the upper end surface of the cylindrical portion 63A is disposed on the same plane as the upper surface of the image reading unit 3.

  For this reason, when the document cover 4 is disposed in the closed position after the image reading unit 3 is disposed in the closed position, the projection 61 contacts the upper end of the cylindrical portion 63A during the movement thereof. When the document cover 4 is disposed at the closed position, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the protrusion 61 has the upper end surface of the cylindrical portion 63 </ b> A of the first actuator 63 as the upper surface of the image reading unit 3. Push down below. Below the operating piece 63B, a lever-like second actuator 71 (an example of an actuator) is provided inside the image forming section 2 and supported at one end so as to be swingable about a shaft 71A. The other end 71B (an example of the exposed portion) of the second actuator 71 is exposed below the operation piece 63B, and when the cylindrical portion 63A is pushed in as described above, the other end 71B is pushed down. In the present embodiment, the open / close state of the document cover 4 is detected by detecting the swinging state of the second actuator 71 via the detection circuit 91.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 6B, holes 73 and 83 are provided at positions near the front end of the upper surface of the image forming unit 2, and below those holes 73. The other end 71B of the second actuator 71 is exposed. A hole 83 disposed adjacent to the hole 73 and an operation piece 81 (see FIG. 2A) protruding from the image reading unit 3 so as to face the hole 83 are for detecting the open / closed state of the cover member 46. Although there is no direct relationship with the present invention, the explanation is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B, the control unit 90 is configured by a printed wiring board disposed closer to the front end than the rear end of the image forming unit 2. The detection circuit 91 is configured by an optical sensor or the like mounted on the surface of the control unit 90, and detects the position of the portion (corresponding to the detected portion) ahead of the shaft 71A of the second actuator 71. The detection circuit 91 may be a contact type limit switch, or may use a Hall element or the like.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the first actuator 63 transmits the force acting in the closing direction of the document cover 4 from the projection 61 provided on the lower surface of the document cover 4, thereby forming the image. The other end 71B of the second actuator 71 of the portion 2 is pressed. Therefore, the opening and closing of the document cover 4 can be detected on the image forming unit 2 side without sending a signal by arranging a harness or the like through the hinge unit 10. In addition, in the present embodiment, when the document cover 4 is in the open position, the upper end surface of the cylindrical portion 63 </ b> A is disposed on the same plane as the upper surface of the image reading unit 3. For this reason, the flatness of the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 when the document cover 4 is in the open position can be improved, and the reading operation by the operator using the image reading unit 3 can be facilitated. Further, when the document cover 4 is in the closed position, the projection 61 engages with the hole 65, so that the document cover is positioned in the four horizontal directions and the document placed on the document placement surface or the document cover 4 is placed. It is possible to prevent the position from shifting during reading.

  Further, the projections 61, the first actuator 63, and the other end 71B of the second actuator 71 are all disposed on the side close to the front end of the apparatus on the opposite side to the hinge portion 10. For this reason, in the present embodiment, it can be satisfactorily detected that both the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 are reliably disposed in the closed position. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily execute the conveyance of the original by the above-described roller group such as the U-turn roller 44 and the shading correction using the first white reference plate 31 and the second white reference plate 32. Further, since the operation panel 7, the detection circuit 91, the control unit 90, and the like are also arranged on the side close to the front end of the apparatus, the control unit 90 executes the detection process of the open / closed state and displays using the processing result. The wiring for executing the above on the operation panel 7 can be greatly simplified.

  Furthermore, as in the present embodiment, when the detected portion by the detection circuit 91 of the second actuator 71 is disposed at a position horizontally separated from the other end 71B, the degree of freedom in design can be improved. In addition, even if a liquid is spilled from above the other end 71B, the liquid can be prevented from reaching the detection circuit 91 directly.

[Machine Open / Closed State Detection Mechanism of Second Embodiment]
7A and 7B show the open / close state detection mechanism of the multifunction machine according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7A shows a state where the document cover 4 is in the closed position, and FIG. 7B shows a state where the document cover 4 is in the open position. , Respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, the first actuator 163 in which the balance between the size of the cylindrical portion 163 </ b> A and the operating piece 163 </ b> B is different from that of the first actuator 63 is used. That is, when the image reading unit 3 is in the closed position and the document cover 4 is in the open position, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper end of the operating piece 163B forms a housing that forms the upper surface of the image reading unit 3. The upper portion of the columnar portion 163A protrudes upward from the upper surface of the image reading unit 3.

  The lower surface of the document cover 4 is provided with an action portion 161 located on the same plane as the lower surface, instead of the projection 61. When the document cover 4 is closed, the action portion 161 reads the cylindrical portion 163A. Push to top of part 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, the lower end of the operating piece 163B presses the other end 71B of the second actuator 71 configured similarly to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the flatness of the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 when the document cover 4 is in the closed position can be improved, and reading of the document that protrudes from the document placement surface can be facilitated.

When the operation of the document cover 4 is indirectly transmitted to the image forming unit 2 via the first actuator 63 or 163 provided in the image reading unit 3 as in the first and second embodiments, The following effects occur. That is, even if liquid is spilled on the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 or static electricity is applied to the upper surface, the liquid or static electricity can be prevented from reaching the image forming unit 2 directly.

[Mechanism for detecting opening / closing state of multifunction machine of third embodiment]
8A and 8B show the open / close state detection mechanism of the multifunction machine according to the third embodiment. FIG. 8A shows a state where the document cover 4 is in the closed position, and FIG. 8B shows a state where the document cover 4 is in the open position. , Respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, a hole 65 (an example of a transmission unit) passes through the image reading unit 3, and an actuator 263 provided in the image forming unit 2 passes through the hole 65 to perform an image. It protrudes from the upper surface of the reading unit 3.

  The actuator 263 passes through the hole 65 and is connected to the cylindrical portion 263A (an example of an exposed portion) whose upper end protrudes from the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 and the lower end of the cylindrical portion 263A coaxially and is provided in the control unit 90. And a shaft portion 263B facing the detection circuit 291. The actuator 263 is configured such that the lower end of the cylindrical portion 263 </ b> A has a large diameter, and that portion is urged upward by a spring 67. The lower ends of the spring 67 and the cylindrical portion 263A are disposed in a hollow portion of a cylindrical support portion 280 attached to the upper surface of the image forming portion 2, and the upper end of the cylindrical portion 263A is disposed on the upper surface of the support portion 280. It protrudes upward through an opening having a smaller diameter than the lower end.

  In the present embodiment, when the document cover 4 is in the open position and the image reading unit 3 is in the closed position, the support unit 280 passes through the hole 65 of the image reading unit 3 as shown in FIG. It penetrates to the inside, and the upper end of the cylindrical part 263A protrudes from the upper surface of the image reading part 3.

  An action portion 161 similar to that of the second embodiment is provided on the lower surface of the document cover 4, and when the document cover 4 is closed, the action portion 161 pushes the cylindrical portion 263 </ b> A to the upper surface of the image reading portion 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, the shaft portion 263B of the actuator 263 is inserted into the detection circuit 291. The detection circuit 291 detects that the document cover 4 is disposed at the closed position based on the insertion of the shaft portion 263B.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the flatness of the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 when the document cover 4 is in the closed position can be improved, and the document can be read out of the document placement surface. Can be easily. Further, in the present embodiment, as the transmission unit, it is only necessary to provide the hole 65 in the image reading unit 3, so that the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

[Other Embodiments of the Present Invention]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment at all, It can implement with a various form in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, when the hole 65 is provided as a transmission portion as in the third embodiment, a protrusion that passes through the hole 65 and reaches the detection circuit 291 may be provided on the lower surface of the document cover 4 when the document cover 4 is closed. .

  Further, as the configuration of the transmission unit, various forms other than the above-described various forms are conceivable. For example, it is possible to consider a configuration that rotates around a horizontal axis inside the image reading unit 3 by being pressed by a protrusion provided on the document cover 4. In this case, for example, a configuration in which the other end 71B of the second actuator 71 is pulled up when the document cover 4 is closed is also possible.

  More specifically, a configuration like the fourth embodiment schematically shown in FIG. 9 is considered as an example. The transmission unit of the present embodiment includes a rod-shaped first actuator 363 that swings around a shaft 363 </ b> C extending in the left-right direction inside the image reading unit 3. One end 363A of the first actuator 363 is biased downward by a compression spring 369, and the image reading unit 3 is in the closed position and the document cover 4 is in the open position, as shown in FIG. Thus, the other end 71B of the second actuator 71 is pressed. From this state, when the document cover 4 is moved to the closed position and the projection 61 similar to that of the first embodiment presses the other end 363B of the first actuator 363, the one end 363A rises and the other end 71B of the second actuator 71 rises. Also rises. In this case, the detection signal of the detection circuit 91 that is issued in response to the opening / closing of the document cover 4 is opposite to that in the first embodiment.

  Further, the transmission unit may use the repulsive force of the permanent magnet. For example, even if the action part 161 of the second embodiment and the first actuator 163 of the first embodiment are combined and the opposing parts are configured with permanent magnets of the same polarity, the same as in the first and second embodiments An effect is produced. Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the opening and closing direction of the image reading unit 3 and the document cover 4 (that is, the position of the hinge unit) is set to the same side, but the present invention is similarly applied to apparatuses in which both are different. can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... MFP 2 ... Image formation part 3 ... Image reading part 4 ... Document cover 7 ... Operation panel 10 ... Hinge part 10 ... Hinge 21 ... 1st image sensor 22 ... 2nd image sensor 25 ... Transparent part 31 ... 1st white Reference plate 32 ... second white reference plate 41 ... supply roller 42 ... separation roller 43 ... conveying roller 44 ... U-turn conveying roller 44 ... U-turn roller 61 ... protrusions 63, 163, 363 ... first actuators 63A, 163A, 263A ... Cylindrical part 63B, 163B ... operation piece 71 ... second actuator 90 ... control part 91, 291 ... detection circuit 161 ... action part 263 ... actuator

Claims (15)

An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium;
A document placement surface on which a document to be read is placed is provided on the upper side, and a first reading unit that reads an image of the document placed on the document placement surface is provided below the document placement surface. An image reading unit that is swingably connected to the image forming unit and that opens and closes between an open position that exposes an upper surface of the image forming unit and a closed position that covers the upper surface;
A document cover that is swingably connected to the image reading unit and that opens and closes between an open position that exposes the document placement surface and a closed position that covers the document placement surface;
A detection unit that includes an exposed portion exposed on an upper surface side of the image forming unit, and detects a position or movement of the exposed portion;
A force that acts in the closing direction of the document cover from the action portion provided on the lower surface of the document cover when the image reading unit and the document cover are provided in the closed position. Is transmitted to the detection unit through the image reading unit,
An image reading apparatus comprising:   The transmission unit is a member that is movably held by the image reading unit, and is a member that contacts the action unit and moves in the direction of the image forming unit while the document cover moves to the closed position. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1. The action portion protrudes from the lower surface of the document cover,
The transmission unit is configured to transmit a pressing force to the exposure unit by being pushed below the upper surface of the image reading unit by the action unit while the document cover is moved to the closed position. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image reading apparatus is disposed on the same plane as the upper surface of the image reading unit when in the open position.   4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the action unit engages with the surrounding image reading unit after the transmission unit is pushed below the upper surface of the image reading unit. The action portion is located on the same plane as the lower surface of the document cover,
The transmission unit protrudes from the upper surface of the image reading unit when the document cover is in the open position, and the action unit performs the operation of the image reading unit while the document cover moves to the closed position. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pressing force is transmitted to the exposed portion by being pushed to the upper surface. The action portion protrudes from the lower surface of the document cover,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is a hole that allows the action unit to pass through the image reading unit and directly press the exposure unit. The action portion is located on the same plane as the lower surface of the document cover,
The exposed portion protrudes from the upper surface of the image forming portion,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is a hole that allows the exposed unit to pass through the image reading unit and be directly pressed by the action unit. The image reading unit is swingably connected to one side of the upper surface of the image forming unit,
The document cover is swingably connected to one side of the upper surface of the image reading unit on the same side as the one side,
The action portion is disposed on a side closer to a side opposite to the one side than the one side of the lower surface of the document cover,
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposed portion is disposed on a side closer to a side opposite to the one side than the one side of the upper surface of the image forming unit. 9. Image reading apparatus.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a first white reference plate is disposed on the lower surface of the document cover. A document transport unit provided on the document cover and configured to transport the document to a reading position where the image can be read by the first reading unit disposed at a predetermined position in the image reading unit;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: The document conveying unit includes a second reading unit capable of reading an image of the document from the lower surface of the document cover,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a second white reference plate is disposed on the upper surface of the image reading unit.   9. The control unit that executes control based on a detection result of the detection unit is provided in a side closer to the opposite side than the one side in the image forming unit. The image reading apparatus according to any one of 11. A panel provided on the opposite side of the casing of the image forming unit and capable of display or input,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: The detector is
An actuator that includes the exposed portion at one end, and swings when the exposed portion is pressed in the closing direction of the document cover;
A detected portion provided at a position different from the exposed portion of the actuator;
A detection circuit for detecting that the detected portion has moved in response to the swing of the actuator;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   In the actuator, the exposed portion and the detected portion are disposed at a position separated in a horizontal direction, and the exposed portion is disposed at a position deviated from above in the vertical direction of the detection circuit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 14.

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