JP6024422B2 - Scanning apparatus, image reading apparatus, and image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a scanning device, an image reading device, and an image recording device.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a conventional scanning device. The scanning device includes a base member, a carriage that reciprocates on the base member in a predetermined scanning direction, and a scanning mechanism that reciprocates the carriage in the scanning direction.

  The scanning mechanism includes a drive pulley, a driven pulley, a timing belt, a pulley holder, and an urging member. The drive pulley is positioned on one side of the base member in the scanning direction and is driven to rotate. The driven pulley is positioned on the other side of the base member in the scanning direction and is driven to rotate. The timing belt is connected to the carriage and is wound around a driving pulley and a driven pulley. The pulley holder is supported by the base member so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction, and rotatably supports the driven pulley. The urging member is provided between the base member and the pulley holder, and urges the pulley holder toward the other side in the scanning direction. The carriage can reciprocate in the scanning direction by forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive pulley.

  The pulley holder is configured to be detached from the base member when the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction and reaches the separation position.

  A rib is provided on the base member. When the urging member tries to displace the pulley holder from the disengagement position to the other side in the scanning direction, the rib is separated from the urging member to allow the displacement. On the other hand, when the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction and tries to reach the disengagement position against the urging force of the urging member, the rib contacts the urging member and restricts the displacement. Thereby, in this scanning device, even if an impact or the like acts and the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction, the pulley holder is detached from the base member by the rib, or the timing belt is loosened and detached from the driven pulley. That is restrained.

JP 2006-221064 A

  However, in the above-described conventional scanning device, the biasing member abuts on the rib protruding from the base member, so that the pulley holder that is displaced to one side in the scanning direction due to an impact or the like acts to reach the disengagement position. Regulate indirectly. For this reason, if the degree of impact is excessive, after the urging member abuts against the rib, the urging member bends to one side in the scanning direction on the pulley holder side from the rib, and the pulley holder reaches the disengagement position. There is a fear. More specifically, in the above-described conventional scanning device, the urging member is a torsion coil spring, and an arm portion extending straight from the spirally wound coil portion attaches the pulley holder toward the other side in the scanning direction. It is fast. Then, when the arm portion comes into contact with the rib, the pulley holder that is displaced to one side in the scanning direction due to an impact or the like is indirectly restricted from reaching the disengagement position. For this reason, if the degree of impact is excessive, there is a possibility that after the arm portion comes into contact with the rib, the arm portion bends to one side in the scanning direction on the pulley holder side from the rib, and the pulley holder reaches the disengagement position. is there. In this case, the pulley holder may be detached from the base member, or the timing belt may be loosened and detached from the driven pulley.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and even when an impact or the like is applied and the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction, the pulley holder is detached from the base member or the timing belt is loosened. It is an object of the present invention to provide a scanning device, an image reading device, and an image recording device that can prevent the pulley from coming off from the driven pulley.

The scanning device of the present invention includes a base member,
A carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined scanning direction on the base member;
A scanning mechanism that reciprocates the carriage in the scanning direction,
The scanning mechanism is located on one side of the base member in the scanning direction and is driven to rotate.
A driven pulley positioned on the other side of the base member in the scanning direction and driven to rotate;
A timing belt connected to the carriage and wound around the drive pulley and the driven pulley;
A pulley holder supported by the base member so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction, and rotatably supporting the driven pulley;
A biasing member that is provided between the base member and the pulley holder and biases the pulley holder toward the other side;
The carriage can be reciprocated in the scanning direction by forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive pulley,
The pulley holder is configured to be detached from the base member when the pulley holder is displaced to the one side and reaches a separation position,
Between the base member and the pulley holder, there is provided a restricting means for restricting the pulley holder from reaching the disengagement position while allowing the pulley holder to be displaced from the disengagement position to the other side .
The restricting means includes a protruding portion provided on the pulley holder and protruding toward the one side, and an abutting portion provided on the base member and blocking the protruding portion from the one side . A scanning device characterized by the above.

  In the scanning device of the present invention, the restricting means is provided between the base member and the pulley holder. The restricting means allows the pulley holder to be displaced from the disengagement position to the other side in the scanning direction, while directly restricting the pulley holder from reaching the disengagement position. For this reason, in this scanning device, compared to the conventional scanning device in which the rib indirectly regulates the pulley holder, after the regulating means regulates the pulley holder, the pulley holder is less likely to be displaced further to one side in the scanning direction. For this reason, in this scanning device, the arrival of the pulley holder at the separation position can be reliably regulated.

  Therefore, in the scanning device of the present invention, even when an impact or the like is applied and the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction, the pulley holder is detached from the base member, or the timing belt is loosened and detached from the driven pulley. Can be suppressed.

  It is desirable that the restricting means has a protruding portion provided on the pulley holder and protruding toward the one side, and a contact portion provided on the base member and blocking the protruding portion from the one side. If the base member is provided with a protrusion, the protrusion easily interferes with a member assembled to the base member prior to the pulley holder, and the protrusion may interfere with the assembly work. In this regard, according to the above configuration, since the protrusion is provided on the pulley holder, the protrusion does not interfere with a member that is assembled to the base member before the pulley holder, and the protrusion does not hinder the assembling work.

  The urging member preferably has an arm portion that urges the pulley holder toward the other side by swinging around the urging axis from the one side to the other side. The pulley holder sandwiches the arm portion between the first receiving portion positioned on the base member side with respect to the arm portion and the second receiving portion positioned on the opposite side of the base member from the arm portion, and from the urging member. It is desirable to be configured to receive a biasing force. And it is desirable for the protrusion part to protrude toward the said one side from the 1st receiving part. According to this configuration, the pulley holder can reliably receive the urging force from the urging member by the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion, and the arm portion of the urging member is reliably suppressed from coming off from the pulley holder. it can.

  The pulley holder desirably supports the driven pulley rotatably on the second receiving portion side with respect to the arm portion. According to this configuration, when the tension of the timing belt acts on the driven pulley, a moment that causes the second receiving portion side of the pulley holder to approach one side in the scanning direction acts on the pulley holder around the arm portion. This moment acts to make the protruding portion protruding from the first receiving portion toward one side in the scanning direction closer to the base member, so that the pulley holder can be further reliably prevented from being detached from the base member.

  The base member is preferably formed with a support portion that extends in the scanning direction and supports the pulley holder so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction. The distance at which the support portion can support the pulley holder in the scanning direction from the position farthest away from the other side to the separation position is the maximum separation distance at which the protrusion and the contact portion are most separated in the scanning direction. Longer than that is desirable. According to this configuration, even if an impact or the like is applied and the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction, and the contact portion holds the protruding portion from one side in the scanning direction, the support portion supports the pulley holder. It can suppress more reliably that a pulley holder detaches | leaves from a base member.

  The base member is preferably formed with a bottom wall portion that extends over a range in which the carriage reciprocates in the scanning direction and a recess that is recessed from the bottom wall portion toward the opposite side of the carriage. It is desirable that the pulley holder and the urging member are disposed in the recess. And it is desirable for a part of side wall which forms the circumference | surroundings of a recessed part to comprise the contact part. According to this configuration, since a part of the side wall also serves as the contact portion, for example, the shape of the base member can be easily simplified as compared with a case where a rib-shaped contact portion is provided on the base member.

  The base member is preferably formed with a support portion that extends in the scanning direction and supports the pulley holder so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction. The support part is preferably located on the other side with respect to the contact part and the pulley holder in the recess. Then, the pulley holder is attached to the support portion on the other side of the pulley from the state where the other side of the pulley is inclined so that the other side of the pulley holder is positioned inside the recess, and the protruding portion is recessed. It is desirable that the length in the scanning direction is set so as to be within the range. According to this configuration, the pulley holder can be easily assembled in the recess.

  The base member extends in the scanning direction and supports the pulley holder so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction, a bottom wall that extends over a range in which the carriage reciprocates in the scanning direction, and a bottom wall It is desirable that the concave portion recessed on the opposite side of the carriage is integrally formed by resin injection into the mold. The mold preferably has a slide core that forms a support portion. And it is desirable for the slide core to be configured to slide to the one side after resin injection and to come out into the recess.

  If a configuration is adopted in which the slide core slides to the other side in the scanning direction after resin injection and then comes out of the base member, a hole in the slide core is formed in the base member. In this regard, according to this configuration, the slide core is pulled out into the recess, so that the slide hole of the slide core is not formed in the base member. As a result, it becomes easy to make the outer surface of the base member a design surface.

An image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes the scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
And an image reading unit that is mounted on the carriage and reads an image of a read medium by moving in the scanning direction.

  In the image reading apparatus of the present invention, even when the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction by the impact of the scanning apparatus of the present invention, the pulley holder is detached from the base member or the timing belt is loosened and the driven pulley Since it is possible to suppress detachment, it is possible to improve durability.

An image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes the scanning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
An image recording unit mounted on the carriage and configured to record an image on a recording medium by moving in the scanning direction.

  In the image recording apparatus of the present invention, even if an impact or the like is applied and the pulley holder is displaced to one side in the scanning direction by the scanning apparatus of the present invention, the pulley holder is detached from the base member or the timing belt is loosened and the driven pulley Since it is possible to suppress detachment, it is possible to improve durability.

1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus using a scanning device according to an embodiment. 2 is a schematic side view of the image reading apparatus. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the base member, the scanning mechanism, and the like in a state where the platen glass is removed in the image reading apparatus. FIG. 4 is a top view showing the base member, the scanning mechanism, and the like in a state where the platen glass is removed in the image reading apparatus. It is the fragmentary perspective view which expanded a part of FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the state which decomposed | disassembled each component shown by FIG. It is the partial top view which expanded a part of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the AA cross section of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the BB cross section of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows CC cross section of FIG. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9, showing a state where the abutting portion stops the protruding portion. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9, showing the pulley holder in the detached position. 1 is a partial perspective view of an image recording apparatus using a scanning device according to an embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Example)
As shown in FIG. 1, an image reading apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is an example of a specific mode of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the scanning device 2 of the embodiment is used for the image reading device 1. The scanning device 2 is an example of a specific aspect of the scanning device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the side on which the operation panel 5 is provided is defined as the front side of the apparatus, and the side that comes to the left hand when facing the operation panel 5 is defined as the left side, and the front, rear, left and right directions are displayed. . 2 are displayed in correspondence with the directions shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, the schematic configuration of the image reading apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and the like, and then the scanning apparatus 2 will be described in detail.

<Outline configuration>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image reading apparatus 1 includes a main body portion 8 and an opening / closing portion 9. The main body 8 is a flat, substantially box-shaped body, and accommodates an image reading unit R on the upper side and an image recording unit F on the lower side. The scanning device 2 is mounted on the image reading unit R. An operation panel 5 shown in FIG. 1 is provided on the front side of the main body 8. A platen glass (not shown) is disposed on the upper surface of the main body 8, and the upper surface of the platen glass is a mounting surface 8 </ b> A shown in FIG. 2. The document is placed on the placement surface 8A when the document is read in a stationary state. The document is a sheet of paper or an OHP sheet. The document is an example of the “read medium” in the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the opening / closing part 9 is supported by the body part 8 so as to be swingable around an opening / closing axis X9 extending in the left-right direction by a hinge (not shown) disposed at the upper rear edge of the body part 8. ing. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the opening / closing part 9 covers the placement surface 8 </ b> A from above in the closed state. On the other hand, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the opening / closing part 9 swings around the opening / closing axis X9 so that its front side is displaced upward and backward, thereby opening the upper part of the mounting surface 8A. To do. Thus, the user can place the document to be read on the placement surface 8A.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a document table 9 </ b> A is provided on the upper side of the opening / closing unit 9 so as to be opened and closed. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an automatic document transport mechanism 4 is disposed in the opening / closing unit 9. Since the automatic document conveying mechanism 4 is well known, the description thereof will be simplified. However, a plurality of documents placed on the opened document table 9A are separated one by one and sequentially conveyed along the conveying path P1. .

  A reading unit 3 is provided in the image reading unit R. The reading unit 3 is an example of the “image reading unit” in the present invention. As the reading unit 3, a known image reading sensor such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is employed.

  More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the image reading unit R includes a base member 10, a platen glass (not shown) whose peripheral edge is held by the base member 10 from below, and a peripheral edge of the platen glass. And a frame (not shown) that is assembled to the base member 10 while abutting from above. A carriage 20 and a scanning mechanism 30 are disposed in the base member 10.

  The scanning mechanism 30 is a main part of the scanning device 2 and reciprocates the carriage 20 in the left-right direction within the base member 10. The horizontal direction is an example of the “scan direction” in the present invention.

  The reading unit 3 is mounted on the carriage 20. The reading unit 3 moves in the left-right direction together with the carriage 20 as the carriage 20 reciprocates.

  In this image reading apparatus 1, when reading a document placed on the placement surface 8A, as shown in FIG. 2, the scanning mechanism 30 operates, and the reading unit 3 mounted on the carriage 20 is placed in the image reading unit R. Move from the left end side to the right end side. As a result, the reading unit 3 reads the image of the document placed on the placement surface 8A. Thereafter, the scanning mechanism 30 moves the reading unit 3 that has finished reading from the right end side to the left end side in the image reading unit R, and returns it to the original position.

  Further, in this image reading apparatus 1, when reading images of a plurality of documents placed on the document table 9A, the scanning mechanism 30 is operated and mounted on the carriage 20 as shown in FIGS. The reading unit 3 is moved to a fixed position that is a position on the left end side in the image reading unit R. Then, when the automatic document conveyance mechanism 4 sequentially conveys the document placed on the document table 9A along the conveyance path P1, the document passes above the reading unit 3 at the fixed position. The image of the original that passes is read.

  Thus, the image reading apparatus 1 can read the image of the document placed on the placement surface 8A or the document table 9A. Next, the scanning device 2 of the embodiment that realizes such an image reading operation of the image reading device 1 will be described in detail.

<Details of scanning device>
The scanning device 2 according to the embodiment includes a base member 10, a carriage 20, and a scanning mechanism 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base member 10 is an injection molded product of a thermoplastic resin. The base member 10 is formed with a bottom wall portion 11, peripheral walls 12A, 12B, 12L, 12R, a concave portion 13, and the like.

  The bottom wall portion 11 extends horizontally in a substantially flat plate shape below the carriage 20. The peripheral walls 12 </ b> A, 12 </ b> B, 12 </ b> L, 12 </ b> R protrude from the front, rear, left, and right edges of the bottom wall portion 11 upward to surround the bottom wall portion 11.

  A guide shaft 29 that is a metal round bar is disposed on the bottom wall portion 11. The guide shaft 29 is positioned substantially at the center of the bottom wall portion 11 in the front-rear direction and extends in the left-right direction. The left end of the guide shaft 29 is fixed to the lower portion of the left peripheral wall 12L. The right end of the guide shaft 29 is fixed to the lower portion of the right peripheral wall 12R.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 10, the recess 13 is recessed from the bottom wall 11 toward the opposite side of the carriage 20, that is, downward. The recess 13 is adjacent to the right peripheral wall 12 </ b> R and is located on the rear side with respect to the right end of the guide shaft 29.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the recessed portion 13 is formed with a support portion 17, an accommodating portion 13 </ b> B, a spring holding portion 18 </ b> A, and a spring locking portion 18 </ b> B.

  The support portion 17 includes a guide groove 17C and a pair of pressing pieces 17A and 17B. The guide groove 17C extends toward the left side along the guide shaft 29 from the right peripheral wall 12R. The guide groove 17 </ b> C is recessed in a shallow groove shape with respect to the bottom wall portion 11. The pair of pressing pieces 17A, 17B extends in the left-right direction above the guide groove 17C. Further, the holding piece 17A and the holding piece 17B face each other with a gap in the front-rear direction.

  The concave portion 13 has a housing portion 13B on the left side of the guide groove 17C. The accommodating portion 13B is recessed deeper than the guide groove 17C and extends rearward. When viewed in a plan view, the accommodating portion 13B has a substantially rectangular shape. 18 A of spring holding parts are formed in the approximate center of the bottom face of the accommodating part 13B. 18 A of spring holding parts protrude in the column shape toward the upper side from the bottom face of the accommodating part 13B. The spring holding portion 18A defines an urging axis X40 extending in the vertical direction. The spring locking portion 18B is formed at the corner on the rear side and the right side of the accommodating portion 13B. The spring locking portion 18B is a small piece protruding toward the left side.

  Of the side wall 13A that forms the periphery of the accommodating portion 13B, the side wall that faces the support portion 17 from the left side is a contact portion 15.

  The support portion 17, the bottom wall portion 11, the recessed portion 13, and the like are integrally formed with the base member 10 by injecting resin into a molding die (not shown) in the injection molding process of the base member 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the mold has a slide core 90 that forms a guide groove 17 </ b> C of the support portion 17 and pressing pieces 17 </ b> A and 17 </ b> B. The slide core 90 is configured to slide to the left after the resin is injected and to come out into the accommodating portion 13B as indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow S1.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carriage 20 is a resin member that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and extends to the vicinity of the front and rear peripheral walls 12 </ b> A, 12 </ b> B. By being guided by the guide shaft 29, the carriage 20 can reciprocate in the left-right direction above the bottom wall portion 11 from the vicinity of the left peripheral wall 12L to the vicinity of the right peripheral wall 12R. In other words, the bottom wall portion 11 extends over a range in which the carriage 20 reciprocates in the scanning direction.

  The reading unit 3 mounted on the carriage 20 is for a document (maximum size document that can be read by the apparatus) placed on the placement surface 8A in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, that is, the front-rear direction. It has a length exceeding the front-rear width.

  The scanning mechanism 30 includes a drive source 30 </ b> M, a drive pulley 31, a driven pulley 32, a timing belt 33, a pulley holder 50, and a torsion coil spring 40 that are respectively disposed in the base member 10. . The torsion coil spring 40 is an example of the “biasing member” in the present invention.

  The drive source 30M includes an electric motor and a plurality of gear groups that mesh with the electric motor. The drive source 30M is located adjacent to the left peripheral wall 12L and in the vicinity of the left end of the guide shaft 29. The drive source 30M rotates under the control of a control unit (not shown).

  As shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, the drive pulley 31 is integrally formed with a gear farthest from the electric motor in the gear group of the drive source 30M. The drive pulley 31 is adjacent to the left peripheral wall 12 </ b> L and is located on the rear side with respect to the left end of the guide shaft 29. The drive pulley 31 is rotatable around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The left peripheral wall 12L side adjacent to the drive pulley 31 is an example of “one side of the base member in the scanning direction” of the present invention.

  When the electric motor of the drive source 30M rotates under the control of a control unit (not shown), the drive pulley 31 is rotationally driven. When the control unit switches the rotation direction of the electric motor, the drive pulley 31 rotates forward or backward. With respect to the drive pulley 31, the counterclockwise rotation toward the paper surface of FIG. 4 is a forward rotation, and the clockwise rotation is a reverse rotation.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 10, the driven pulley 32 is adjacent to the right peripheral wall 12 </ b> R and is located on the rear side with respect to the right end of the guide shaft 29. The driven pulley 32 is supported by the pulley holder 50 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The right peripheral wall 12R side to which the driven pulley 32 is adjacent is an example of the “other side of the base member in the scanning direction” of the present invention.

  The timing belt 33 is an endless belt wound around the drive pulley 31 and the driven pulley 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the portion of the timing belt 33 that extends in the left-right direction along the guide shaft 29 is connected to the carriage 20 by a connecting portion 33A.

  When the drive pulley 31 rotates forward, the connecting portion 33A of the timing belt 33 moves from the left side to the right side, and the carriage 20 also moves from the left side to the right side. On the other hand, when the drive pulley 31 rotates in the reverse direction, the connecting portion 33A moves from the right side to the left side, and the carriage 20 also moves from the right side to the left side. Thus, the carriage 20 can reciprocate in the left-right direction by the forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive pulley 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 10, the pulley holder 50 is an injection molded product of a thermoplastic resin. The pulley holder 50 is accommodated in the recess 13. The pulley holder 50 is formed with bearing portions 59A and 59B, supported portions 58A and 58B, a first receiving portion 51, a second receiving portion 52, and a protruding portion 55.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, etc., the driven pulley 32 is formed with a pair of upper and lower shaft portions 32A and 32B protruding in the vertical direction. The lower shaft portion 32A is illustrated only in FIG. The bearing portion 59 </ b> A has a shaft hole formed in a rectangular plate-like portion formed on the lower side of the pulley holder 50. The bearing portion 59B is formed by forming a shaft hole in a plate-like portion that is bent toward the right side after being bent upward from the left end edge of the bearing portion 59A. As shown in FIG. 8, the lower shaft portion 32A of the driven pulley 32 is inserted through the bearing portion 59A, and the upper shaft portion 32B of the driven pulley 32 is inserted through the bearing portion 59B, so that the pulley holder 50 is driven by the driven pulley. 32 is rotatably supported.

  As shown in FIGS. 7, 9, and 10, the supported portions 58 </ b> A and 58 </ b> B protrude in a rib shape in a direction away from the front and rear edges of the bearing portion 59 </ b> A. The bearing portion 59A comes into contact with the guide groove 17C of the recess 13 from above, and the supported portion 58A and the supported portion 58B are respectively pressed by the pressing piece 17A and the pressing piece 17B from above, so that the pulley holder 50 is supported by the base member 10 so as to be positioned in the vertical direction and displaceable in the horizontal direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the first receiving portion 51 protrudes from the lower side to the left side from the bearing portion 59 </ b> A in the pulley holder 50. The second receiving portion 52 protrudes from the upper side to the left side from the bearing portion 59 </ b> A in the pulley holder 50. That is, the space between the first receiving portion 51 and the second receiving portion 52 in the vertical direction of the pulley holder 50 is recessed toward the right side.

  The protruding portion 55 protrudes from the left end edge of the first receiving portion 51 in a tapered shape toward the left side along the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 13B.

  When the pulley holder 50 is displaced to the left and reaches the position shown in FIG. 11, the contact portion 15 stops the projecting portion 55 from the left, so that the displacement of the pulley holder 50 to the left is restricted. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, an escape portion 58C that is recessed upward is formed on the lower side of the right end edge of the supported portions 58A and 58B. When the left end side of the protrusion 55 is lifted upward while being slightly bent, and the protrusion 55 is pulled to the left side, the pulley holder 50 is also lifted on the left side and inclined. At this time, since the pulley holder 50 is inclined at a certain large angle by the escape portion 58C, the protruding portion 55 is displaced to the upper side of the accommodating portion 13B. Thereby, the pulley holder 50 can be further displaced to the left side. Then, the supported portion 58A and the supported portion 58B cannot be pressed from above by the pressing piece 17A and the pressing piece 17B, and the pulley holder 50 is detached from the base member 10. The position of the pulley holder 50 shown in FIG. That is, the pulley holder 50 is configured to be detached from the base member 10 when the pulley holder 50 is displaced to the left and reaches the separation position.

  On the contrary, the right side of the pulley holder 50 is positioned in the recess 13 so that the protruding portion 55 is inclined so as to be positioned outside the recess 13, and the supported portion 58A and the supported portion 58B are respectively pressed with the holding piece 17A and the holding piece The pulley holder 50 is displaced from the disengagement position to the right side by being positioned below the piece 17B. By doing so, the pulley holder 50 is attached to the support portion 17.

  Here, the length L50 in the left-right direction of the pulley holder 50 shown in FIG. 9 is such that the right side of the pulley holder 50 is located in the recess 13 and the protrusion 55 is located outside the recess 13 as shown in FIG. When the right side of the pulley holder 50 is attached to the support portion 17 from the inclined state, the protrusion 55 is set to have a length that can be accommodated in the recess 13.

  FIG. 9 shows a state in which the support portion 17 supports the pulley holder 50 at a position farthest to the right from the disengagement position in the left-right direction. In this case, the timing belt 33 is tensioned without slack. As shown in FIG. 9, the distance L1 at which the support portion 17 can support the pulley holder 50 is substantially equal to the length in the left-right direction of the pressing pieces 17A and 17B that can press the supported portions 58A and 58B. The distance L1 is longer than the maximum separation distance L2 at which the protruding portion 55 and the contact portion 15 are most separated in the left-right direction. By setting the distance L1 and the maximum separation distance L2 in such a length relationship, even if the pulley holder 50 is displaced to a position where the protruding portion 55 contacts the contact portion 15, the supported portion by the pressing pieces 17A and 17B. Since the support states of 58A and 58B are maintained, the pulley holder 50 does not come off the support portion 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the torsion coil spring 40 is provided between the base member 10 and the pulley holder 50. The torsion coil spring 40 is disposed in the recess 13. The torsion coil spring 40 has a coil part 43, an arm part 41, and a locked part 42. The coil portion 43 is extrapolated to the spring holding portion 18A and is wound around the urging axis X40 in a spiral shape. The arm part 41 extends from the coil part 43 toward the front side. The first receiving portion 51 is located on the base member 10 side with respect to the front end of the arm portion 41. The second receiving portion 52 is located on the side opposite to the base member 10 with respect to the front end of the arm portion 41. That is, the front end of the arm portion 41 is sandwiched from above and below by the first receiving portion 51 and the second receiving portion 52 of the pulley holder 50. The locked portion 42 extends from the coil portion 43 toward the rear side. The rear end of the locked portion 42 is locked to the spring locking portion 18B. In the torsion coil spring 40 having such a configuration, the arm portion 41 swings around the biasing axis X40 from the left side to the right side to bias the pulley holder 50 toward the right side.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the pulley holder 50 rotatably supports the driven pulley 32 on the second receiving portion 52 side, that is, on the upper side with respect to the arm portion 41. When the tension T <b> 1 of the timing belt 33 acts on the driven pulley 32, a moment that moves the second receiving portion 52 side of the pulley holder 50 toward the left side acts on the pulley holder 50 around the arm portion 41.

  A regulating means 35 is provided between the pulley holder 50 and the base member 10. The restricting means 35 is configured to include a protruding portion 55 formed on the pulley holder 50 and an abutting portion 15 that is a part of a side wall surrounding the concave portion 13 of the base member 10.

<Effect>
In the scanning device 2 of the embodiment, the restricting means 35 provided between the base member 10 and the pulley holder 50 has the protruding portion 55 on the right side with respect to the contact portion 15 as shown in FIGS. The pulley holder 50 is allowed to be displaced to the right side by being separated. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the restricting means 35 directly restricts the pulley holder 50 from reaching the disengagement position shown in FIG. For this reason, in this scanning device 2, compared to the conventional scanning device in which the rib indirectly regulates the pulley holder 50, after the protrusion 55 and the contact portion 15 regulate the pulley holder 50, the pulley holder 50 is further leftward. It is difficult to displace. As a result, in this scanning device 2, the arrival of the pulley holder 50 at the separation position can be reliably regulated.

  Therefore, in the scanning device 2 of the embodiment, an impact or the like acts on the scanning device 2 due to the fall of the image reading device 1 or the collision of an obstacle with the image reading device 1, and the carriage 20 and the reading unit 3 are inertial due to the impact. Even if the force acts and is pulled by the timing belt 33 and the pulley holder 50 is displaced to the left side, the pulley holder 50 can be prevented from being detached from the base member 10, or the timing belt 33 can be loosened and detached from the driven pulley 32. Thereby, the durability of the image reading apparatus 1 can be improved.

  Further, if the base member 10 is provided with a protrusion, the protrusion easily interferes with a member assembled to the base member 10 prior to the pulley holder 50, and the protrusion may interfere with the assembly work. . In this respect, in the scanning device 2, since the protrusion 55 is provided on the pulley holder 50, the protrusion 55 does not interfere with a member that is assembled to the base member 10 before the pulley holder 50. Will not hinder.

  Further, in this scanning device 2, the pulley holder 50 receives the urging force from the torsion coil spring 40 by sandwiching the arm portion 41 from above and below by the first receiving portion 51 and the second receiving portion 52. The protruding portion 55 protrudes from the first receiving portion 51 toward the left side along the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 13B. The pulley holder 50 rotatably supports the driven pulley 32 on the second receiving portion 52 side with respect to the arm portion 41. Accordingly, in the scanning device 2, the pulley holder 50 can reliably receive the biasing force from the torsion coil spring 40 by the first receiving portion 51 and the second receiving portion 52, and the arm of the torsion coil spring 40 can be used. It can suppress reliably that the part 41 remove | deviates from the pulley holder 50. FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the moment M1 acts on the pulley holder 50 due to the tension T1 of the timing belt 33, and this moment M1 acts to bring the protruding portion 55 closer to the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 13B. Can be more reliably suppressed from separating from the base member 10.

  Further, in this scanning device 2, as shown in FIG. 9, the distance L1 at which the support portion 17 can support the pulley holder 50 from the position farthest to the right with respect to the disengagement position in the left-right direction to the disengagement position shown in FIG. In the left-right direction, the protruding portion 55 and the contact portion 15 are longer than the maximum separation distance L2 at which they are most separated. Thereby, in this scanning device 2, even if an impact or the like acts to displace the pulley holder 50 to the left side and the contact portion 15 holds the protruding portion 55 from the left side, the support portion 17 supports the pulley holder 50. The pulley holder 50 can be more reliably suppressed from being detached from the base member 10.

  Furthermore, in this scanning device 2, the pulley holder 50 and the torsion coil spring 40 are disposed in the recess 13, and a part of the side wall 13 </ b> A that forms the periphery of the recess 13 also serves as the contact portion 15. For example, the shape of the base member 10 can be easily simplified as compared with the case where a rib-shaped contact portion is provided on the base member 10.

  In the scanning device 2, in the base member 10, the support portion 17 is positioned on the right side with respect to the contact portion 15 and the pulley holder 50 in the recess 13. Then, the pulley holder 50 is protruded by attaching the right side of the pulley holder 50 to the support portion 17 from a state in which the right side of the pulley holder 50 is positioned in the recess 13 while the protrusion 55 is positioned outside the recess 13. The length L50 in the left-right direction is set so that the portion 55 fits in the recess 13. According to this configuration, the pulley holder 50 can be easily assembled in the recess 13.

  Further, if a configuration is adopted in which the slide core 90 slides to the right side after resin injection and comes out of the base member 10, a hole in the slide core 90 is formed in the right peripheral wall 12 </ b> R of the base member 10. Will be. In this respect, in this scanning device 2, since the slide core 90 is pulled out into the accommodating portion 13B, a hole for the slide core 90 is not formed in the peripheral wall 12R on the right side of the base member 10. As a result, the right outer surface of the base member 10 can be easily designed as a design surface, so that the design cover that covers the right outer surface of the base member 10 can be omitted, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be appropriately modified and applied without departing from the spirit thereof.

  The scanning device of the present invention can also be used for the image recording unit F. FIG. 13 shows a modification in which a scanning device similar to the scanning device 2 of the embodiment is used in the image recording unit F. The image recording unit F of the modification is an example of a specific aspect of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

(Modification)
In the modification, the image recording unit F is an ink jet printer. The image recording unit F is a so-called serial type that forms a color image on a sheet SH by ejecting ink droplets while conveying the sheet SH as a recording medium.

  The scanning device used for the image recording unit F includes a base member 110, a carriage 120, and a scanning mechanism 130.

  The base member 110 is formed by punching a single metal plate into a predetermined shape and then bending it into an upwardly open box shape. A scanning mechanism 130 is assembled to the base member 110.

  The carriage 120 includes a recording head 103 instead of the reading unit 3 in the scanning device 2 of the embodiment. Since the other configuration of the carriage 120 is the same as that of the carriage 20 of the embodiment, the illustration is simplified.

  The scanning mechanism 130 includes a drive source 130M, a drive pulley 131, a driven pulley 132, a timing belt 133, a pulley holder 150, and a torsion coil spring 140. The driving source 130M, the driving pulley 131, the driven pulley 132, the timing belt 133, the pulley holder 150, and the torsion coil spring 140 are the driving source 30M, the driving pulley 31, the driven pulley 32, the timing belt 33, the pulley holder 50, and the torsion of the embodiment. Since it is similar to the coil spring 40, the illustration is simplified. Similar to the scanning mechanism 30 of the embodiment, the timing belt 133 is coupled to the carriage 120, and the scanning mechanism 130 scans the carriage 120 by being driven by the driving source 130M and the driving pulley 131 rotating forward or backward. Reciprocate in the direction.

  A regulating means 135 is provided between the pulley holder 150 and the base member 110. Since the regulating means 135 is the same as the regulating means 35 in the scanning device 2 of the embodiment, the illustration is simplified. The restricting means 135 has the same effect as the restricting means 35 of the embodiment.

  A first guide member 111 and a second guide member 112 for supporting the carriage 120 are attached to the upper side of the base member 110 while ensuring a space for the recording head 103 to reciprocate together with the carriage 120. Each of these guide members 111 and 112 is a part of a member constituting the base member 110.

  Further, guide rails 113 and 114 are arranged on the guide members 111 and 112 in the base member 110, respectively. These guide rails 113 and 114 are opposed to each other with a predetermined distance in the conveyance direction of the sheet SH, and extend in the scanning direction. The carriage 120 is supported by the guide members 111 and 112 as a whole, and is placed on the guide members 111 and 112 so as to straddle the guide rails 113 and 114. As a result, the carriage 120 can slide in the scanning direction along the guide rails 113 and 114.

  The recording head 103 is of a so-called piezo type in which voltage application to the piezo element is controlled to apply pressure to the ink flow path and eject ink droplets from the nozzles. In this modification, inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) are supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) arranged separately from the recording head 103 through a tube. Each of these color inks is selectively ejected as fine ink droplets from the recording head 103 while the carriage 120 reciprocates, thereby forming an image on the sheet SH.

  In the image recording unit F of the modified example having such a configuration, the restricting means 135 has the same effect as the restricting means 35 of the embodiment. Accordingly, in this image recording unit F, even if an impact or the like is applied, the pulley holder 150 can be prevented from being detached from the base member 110 and the timing belt 133 can be prevented from being loosened and detached from the driven pulley 132. Can be improved.

  The present invention can be used for an image reading apparatus, an image recording apparatus, a multifunction peripheral, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image reading device, 2 ... Scanning device, 3 ... Image reading means (reading part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Base member, 20 ... Carriage, 30 ... Scanning mechanism 31 ... Drive pulley, 32 ... Drive pulley, 33 ... Timing belt 50 ... Pulley holder, 51 ... 1st receiving part, 52 ... 2nd receiving part 40 ... Energizing member ( Torsion coil spring), 41 ... arm portion, X40 ... biasing axis 35 ... regulating means, 55 ... projection portion, 15 ... contact portion 11 ... bottom wall portion, 13 ... concave portion, 17 ... support portion L1 ... scanning direction The distance at which the support portion can support the pulley holder from the position farthest away from the other side in the scanning direction to the separation position L2... The maximum separation distance 13A at which the protrusion and the contact portion are most separated in the scanning direction. Side wall that forms the periphery of the recess L50 ... Length of the pulley holder in the scanning direction 90 ... Slide core F ... Image recording unit R ... Image reading unit 103 ... Image recording means (recording head) )

Claims (8)

A base member;
A carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined scanning direction on the base member;
A scanning mechanism that reciprocates the carriage in the scanning direction,
The scanning mechanism is located on one side of the base member in the scanning direction and is driven to rotate.
A driven pulley positioned on the other side of the base member in the scanning direction and driven to rotate;
A timing belt connected to the carriage and wound around the drive pulley and the driven pulley;
A pulley holder supported by the base member so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction, and rotatably supporting the driven pulley;
A biasing member that is provided between the base member and the pulley holder and biases the pulley holder toward the other side;
The carriage can be reciprocated in the scanning direction by forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive pulley,
The pulley holder is configured to be detached from the base member when the pulley holder is displaced to the one side and reaches a separation position,
Between the base member and the pulley holder, there is provided a restricting means for restricting the pulley holder from reaching the disengagement position while allowing the pulley holder to be displaced from the disengagement position to the other side .
The restricting means includes a protruding portion provided on the pulley holder and protruding toward the one side, and an abutting portion provided on the base member and blocking the protruding portion from the one side . A scanning device characterized by the above. The biasing member has an arm portion that biases the pulley holder toward the other side by swinging around the biasing axis from the one side to the other side,
The pulley holder sandwiches the arm part between a first receiving part located on the base member side with respect to the arm part and a second receiving part located on the opposite side to the base member with respect to the arm part. And configured to receive a biasing force from the biasing member,
The protrusion scanning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein projecting toward the one side from the first receiving portion. The scanning device according to claim 2 , wherein the pulley holder rotatably supports the driven pulley on the second receiving portion side with respect to the arm portion. The base member is formed with a support portion that extends in the scanning direction and supports the pulley holder so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction.
The distance at which the support portion can support the pulley holder in the scanning direction from the position farthest from the other side to the separation position from the separation position is the distance between the protrusion and the contact portion in the scanning direction. maximum distance scanning apparatus according to any one of the long claims 1 to 3 than to farthest. The base member is formed with a bottom wall portion that extends over a range in which the carriage reciprocates in the scanning direction, and a concave portion that is recessed from the bottom wall portion toward the opposite side of the carriage,
The pulley holder and the biasing member are disposed in the recess,
Scanning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 a part of the side wall forming the periphery of the recess constitutes the contact portion. The base member is formed with a support portion that extends in the scanning direction and supports the pulley holder so as to be displaceable in the scanning direction.
The support portion is located on the other side with respect to the contact portion and the pulley holder in the recess,
The pulley holder is mounted on the support portion on the other side of the pulley holder from a state where the other side of the pulley holder is positioned in the recess and the protruding portion is inclined so as to be positioned outside the recess. The scanning device according to claim 5 , wherein the length in the scanning direction is set so that the protruding portion is accommodated in the concave portion. The scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
An image reading apparatus comprising: an image reading unit that is mounted on the carriage and reads an image of a read medium by moving in the scanning direction. The scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
An image recording apparatus comprising: an image recording unit that is mounted on the carriage and records an image on a recording medium by moving in the scanning direction.

Images