JP7158325B2 - Illuminators, readers and recorders - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to lighting devices, reading devices and recording devices.

2. Description of the Related Art As a lighting device used in a reading device or the like, there is known one in which light emitted from a light source is turned into a linear light source by a rod-shaped light guide and irradiated onto an object to be irradiated. Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which a light guide cover attached to a light guide is housed in a light guide housing chamber provided in a frame. A pressing claw is formed on the wall surface of the light guide housing chamber of the frame to prevent the light guide cover from slipping out of the light guide housing chamber.

JP 2016-15643 A

Since the pressing claws of the frame need to be elastically deformed when the light guide cover is attached, both sides of the pressing claws may be cut off. Since the rigidity of the wall surface cut out to form the presser claws is reduced, it is necessary to install an additional wall outside the wall surface where the presser claws are formed to ensure the rigidity of the frame, making the lighting device more compact. difficult to do

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that is advantageous for downsizing a lighting device.

In view of the above problems, an illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a rod-shaped light guide including a light emitting surface for emitting light emitted by a light source toward a surface to be illuminated, and a guide attached to the light guide. A lighting device including a light body cover and a holding part provided with a housing for housing the light guide and the light guide cover, the holding part comprising a side wall surrounding the housing part, the side wall , a first side wall arranged along the longitudinal direction of the holding portion, and an elastically deformable bending portion is arranged on a side portion of the light guide cover facing the first side wall, and the bending portion is a bending portion. A part of the portion is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes toward the first side wall from the side portion, and the upper surface of the protruding portion is in contact with the removal prevention portion provided on the first side wall.

The above means provide a technology that is advantageous for downsizing the lighting device.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a reading device including a lighting device according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the reader in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a frame of the reader of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a light guide cover of the reader of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a modification of the flexible portion of the light guide cover of FIG. 4; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a recording apparatus using the reading apparatus of FIG. 1;

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. Also, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

An illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a reading device to which this illumination device is applied, and a recording device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. In each figure, three-dimensional directions are indicated by X, Y, and Z arrows. The X direction is the longitudinal direction of the illumination device of this embodiment, and is the main scanning direction of the reader to which this illumination device is applied. The Y direction is the lateral direction of the illumination device of this embodiment, and is the sub-scanning direction of the reader to which this illumination device is applied. The Z direction is the vertical direction of the illumination device and the reading device. In this specification, the side of the light exit surface of the illumination device is referred to as the "upper" side.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reading device 200 incorporating a lighting device 100 of this embodiment. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in the plan view of the reader 200 shown in FIG. 2(c), and FIG. 2(b) is a reader shown in FIG. 2(c). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along BB' in the plan view of the device 200; The reading device 200 includes an illumination device 100, a light collector 202 that collects light from an illuminated object illuminated by the illumination device 100, and a sensor unit 201 that detects the light collected by the light collector 202. ,including. The sensor unit 201 can be a line sensor whose main scanning direction is the X direction (longitudinal direction) shown in FIG. Light collector 202 can be, for example, a rod lens array.

The illumination device 100 includes a rod-shaped light guide 102 including a light emitting surface for emitting light emitted by a light source 101 toward a surface to be illuminated, a light guide cover 103 attached to the light guide 102, and a light guide 103. 102 and a holding portion 104 provided with a housing portion 124 for housing the light guide cover 103 . The light source 101 is also arranged in the housing portion 124 as will be described later. The holding part 104 can also be called a frame or housing. In the present embodiment, the illumination device 100 is incorporated in the reading device 200 and shares the holding portion 104 with the sensor portion 201 and the light collector 202, but is not limited to this. For example, the holding portion 104 may be used alone as the illumination device 100 without the sensor portion 201 and the light collector 202 arranged thereon.

The light source 101 can include, for example, light-emitting elements that emit red (R), green (G), and blue (B) lights. For example, a light emitting diode (LED) may be used as the light emitting element. The configuration such as the emission wavelength and the number of the light emitting elements of the light source 101 may be appropriately set according to the specifications of the illumination device 100 and the reading device 200 . For example, the light-emitting element may emit infrared light or ultraviolet light in addition to the visible light described above. In this embodiment, the illumination device 100 is provided with a substrate 105 on which two light sources 101 are mounted. The substrate 105 is fixed to the holding portion 104 so that the light guide cover 103 to which the light guide 102 is attached is arranged between the two light sources 101 . That is, the light sources 101 can be arranged at both ends of the illumination device 100 in the X direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only one light source 101 may be arranged at one end of the illumination device 100 in the X direction.

The light guide 102 is an optical member that converts the light emitted by the light source 101 into a linear light source (linear). The light guide 102 has a rod-like configuration with its longitudinal direction in the X direction, and can be integrally formed using a transparent resin material such as acrylic resin. An incident surface on which the light emitted from the light source 101 is incident is provided at the end of the light guide 102 in the X direction. In addition, an emission surface for emitting incident light is provided on the upper side of the side surface of the light guide 102 in the Z direction. Further, the side surfaces of the light guide 102 other than the exit surface may be provided with a diffusion surface having a diffusion pattern for diffusing the light. A part of the side surface of the light guide 102 may be in contact with the holding portion 104 as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b).

The light guide cover 103 is a member that is attached to the light guide 102 and covers a part of the outer circumference of the light guide 102 . As shown in FIG. 1, the light guide cover 103 is a rod-shaped member having its longitudinal direction in the X direction, like the light guide 102 . The light guide cover 103 may be a member having high light reflectance, which is made of resin such as polycarbonate mixed with powder such as titanium oxide. The light guide cover 103 may be a member that is integrally molded using the materials described above. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the light guide cover 103 is a member having a U-shaped or U-shaped cross section in a direction crossing the X direction. As a result, the light guide 102 is inserted inside the light guide cover 103, and the light guide 102 is fixed to the accommodating portion 124 of the holding portion 104 using the configuration described later. The inner side of the light guide cover 103 may be provided with a reflecting surface that reflects light leaking from the side surfaces of the light guide 102 other than the exit surface to the light guide 102 . By providing a reflecting surface inside the light guide cover 103, the efficiency of light utilization can be improved.

Next, a configuration for housing the light guide cover 103 in the housing portion 124 of the holding portion 104 will be described. 3 is a perspective view of the holding portion 104, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view of the light guide cover 103. FIG. The holding portion 104 has side walls surrounding the housing portion 124 . The sidewalls include sidewalls 134 that run along the length of retainer 104 . In the present embodiment, the side wall 134 is a wall surface on the side opposite to the side on which the light collector 202 is arranged among the side walls surrounding the housing portion 124 of the holding portion 104, but is not limited to this. It may be the wall surface on the side where the body 202 is arranged. The side wall 134 is provided with a removal preventing portion 114 for preventing the light guide cover 103 inserted into the housing portion 124 from slipping out of the housing portion 124 . The retaining portion 114 may have a claw-like shape as shown in FIGS.

On the other hand, a flexible portion 113 that can be elastically deformed is disposed on a side portion 123 of the light guide cover 103 that faces the side wall 134 of the accommodating portion 124 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the flexible portion 113 has a protruding portion 1131 in which a part of the flexible portion 113 protrudes from the side portion 123 toward the side wall 134 of the holding portion 104 . As shown in FIG. 2B, the upper surface of the protruding portion 1131 comes into contact with the removal preventing portion 114 arranged on the side wall 134 of the holding portion 104, whereby the light guide cover 103 is removed from the accommodating portion 124. is suppressed. As shown in FIG. 2B, the upper surface of projecting portion 1131 of flexible portion 113 and the lower surface of retaining portion 114 disposed on side wall 134 of accommodating portion 124 are arranged so that light guide cover 103 is attached to accommodating portion 124 as shown in FIG. It can be a structure in which the flat surfaces abut against each other when housed.

The flexure 113 comprises an arm 1130 continuing from the side 123 and the projection 1131 described above. The projecting portion 1131 is provided on a portion of the arm portion 1130 that extends along the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. The arms 1130 may be arranged entirely longitudinally, as shown in FIG. At this time, the arms 1130 may be arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2(b) and 4, the side portion 123 of the light guide cover 103 is provided with two outer edges of the flexible portion 113 (arm portion 1130) extending in the longitudinal direction. , openings 115 are provided respectively. With this configuration, the flexible portion 113 can be elastically deformed.

When the light guide cover 103 to which the light guide 102 is attached is attached to the accommodating portion 124, the flexible portion 113 is elastically deformed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2(b). On the other hand, the retaining portion 114 provided on the side wall 134 of the holding portion 104 is not significantly deformed. The protruding portion 1131 of the flexible portion 113 may be chamfered at the lower portion as shown in FIGS. When the light guide cover 103 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 124 , the projecting portion 1131 of the flexible portion 113 may abut against the side wall 134 of the accommodation portion 124 . As a result, part of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 abut on the side wall 135 of the accommodating portion 124 facing the side wall 134 . For example, the projecting portion 1131 of the flexible portion 113 may press against the side wall 134 of the housing portion 124 . As a result, movement of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 in the X direction (longitudinal direction) and the Y direction (lateral direction) is suppressed. Further, as described above, the upper surface of the protruding portion 1131 abuts against the removal prevention portion 114 arranged on the side wall 134 of the accommodating portion 124, thereby preventing the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 from moving in the Z direction. Suppressed. With these, the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 are fixed to the holding portion 104 .

As described above, the light guide cover 103 is attached to the accommodating portion 124 of the holding portion 104 by bending the bending portion 113, and then the contact between the projecting portion 1131 and the removal prevention portion 114 causes the guiding portion 113 to bend. Movement of the optical cover 103 in the Z direction is suppressed. The protruding portion 1131 of the flexible portion 113 is provided on a portion of the arm portion 1130 along the longitudinal direction, as described above, and is provided above and below the arm portion 1130 in the Z direction as shown in FIG. 2(b). , openings 115 are provided. Therefore, when a force is applied between the projecting portion 1131 and the retaining portion 114, the bending portion 113 may bend in the Z direction. In order to suppress bending of the flexible portion 113 in the Z direction, the flexure 113 (arm portion 1130) is adjacent to the flexible portion 113 (arm portion 1130) in the direction along the surface of the side portion 123 and crossing the longitudinal direction (that is, the Z direction). The width of each opening 115 is preferably 1/2 or less (50% or less) of the portion of the arm 1130 along the longitudinal direction. Further, it is more desirable that the width of the opening 115 is 1/5 or less (20% or less) of the portion of the arm 1130 along the longitudinal direction. By reducing the width of the opening 115 in the Z direction, the arm 1130 is in contact with the portion of the opening 115 facing the arm 1130 even when the bending portion 113 is bent in the Z direction. Therefore, further bending can be suppressed. In other words, while enabling displacement (deformation) of the flexible portion in the Y direction (while ensuring ease of displacement in the Y direction), the amount of displacement (deformation) of the flexible portion in the Z direction is reduced ( It is possible to prevent the amount of displacement from becoming too large).

As described above, in the present embodiment, by bringing the protruding portion 1131 provided on the light guide cover 103 via the bending portion 113 into contact with the removal prevention portion 114 provided on the holding portion 104, It is possible to prevent the light guide cover 103 from coming off. In such a configuration, when the light guide cover 103 is attached to the holding portion 104, the light guide cover 103 is attached to the holding portion 104 while the protruding portion 1131 is in contact with the holding portion 104 by bending the flexible portion 113. is inserted into After that, the bending of the bending portion 113 is at least partially restored, so that the upper surface of the protruding portion 1131 comes into contact with the retaining portion 114 . Therefore, it is not essential that the holding portion 104 deforms to receive the light guide cover 103 when the light guide cover 103 is attached. For example, in order to allow deformation of the holding portion 104 around the removal prevention portion 114, a slit is provided around the removal prevention portion 114, or a holding portion 104 is provided to prevent a decrease in rigidity of the holding portion 104 due to the provision of the slit. It is not necessary to provide 104 with additional sidewalls for reinforcement. As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, since it is easy to use the holding portion 104 with high rigidity, the surface of the side wall 134 opposite to the surface on which the removal prevention portion 114 is disposed is a holding portion. It may constitute the outer surface of the portion 104 . This makes it possible to downsize the illumination device 100 .

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when the light guide cover 103 is housed in the housing portion 124 provided in the holding portion 104 , the projecting portion 1131 of the flexible portion 113 comes into contact with the side wall 134 . At this time, part of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 further contacts the side wall 135 facing the side wall 134 of the housing portion 124 provided in the holding portion 104, so that the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 are separated. The optical body cover 103 can be held in the housing portion 124 of the holding portion 104 to restrain their movement in the Y direction. Further, when the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 are accommodated in the accommodating portion 124 of the holding portion 104, the projecting portion 1131 can be configured to press the side wall 134 by the force from the bending portion 113. . In such a configuration, part of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 also presses the side wall 135 of the housing portion 124 provided in the holding portion 104 , which faces the side wall 134 . These pressing forces also make it possible to suppress the movement of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 in the X direction. In this way, in order to prevent the light guide cover 103 from coming off, the protruding part 1131 provided via the bending part 113 and coming into contact with the removal prevention part 114 is positioned between the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 in the X and Y directions. , and Z-direction movement. As a result, the mechanism for suppressing the movement of the light guide 102 and the light guide cover 103 can be simplified. structure is easier to obtain.

Flexure 113 may comprise a cantilever structure, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(c). In this case, a protruding portion 1131 can be arranged on the free end side of the arm portion 1130 of the flexible portion 113 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 5( a ) and 5 ( c ), a projection 1131 may be arranged at the free end of the arm 1130 of the flexible portion 113 . The flexible portion 113 may also have a beam structure with both ends fixed, as shown in FIGS. 5(b) and 5(d). In this case, a projecting portion 1131 can be arranged in the center of the arm portion 1130 of the flexible portion 113 . The arm portion 1130 of the flexible portion 113 may be arranged entirely along the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). Also, the arm portion 1130 of the flexible portion 113 may be bent as shown in FIGS. 5(c) and 5(d). That is, the arm 1130 may include a portion along the X direction (longitudinal direction) and a portion along the Z direction. Even when arm 1130 is bent, openings are provided adjacent to both outer edges along the longitudinal direction of arm 1130, as shown in FIGS. 5(c) and 5(d). A portion 115 may be provided respectively. Regardless of the shape, the bending portion 113 is elastically deformed when the light guide cover 103 is inserted into the housing portion 124 , and after the light guide cover 103 is inserted into the housing portion 124 , the projecting portion 1131 is provided on the holding portion 104 . It suffices that it abuts against the side wall 134 of the accommodation portion 124 and fits with the removal prevention portion 114 . Further, as described above, the light guide cover 103 including the flexible portion 113 and the projecting portion 1131 can be integrally molded with resin or the like. The light guide cover 103 can be integrally molded in any of the shapes shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(d).

The retaining portion 114 provided on the side wall 134 of the accommodating portion 124 provided in the holding portion 104 protrudes from the side wall 134 so as to come into contact with the upper surface of the projecting portion 1131, as shown in FIGS. It may have a structure. Further, for example, the removal preventing portion 114 may be a recess provided in the side wall 134 . Even in this case, the movement of the light guide cover 103 in the Z direction can be suppressed by the contact between the upper surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the projecting portion 1131 . Also in this case, the projecting portion 1131 contacts and presses the concave portion of the side wall 134 and the periphery of the concave portion, thereby suppressing the movement of the light guide cover 103 in the X and Y directions.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the retaining portion 114 may be partially arranged on the side wall 134 of the holding portion 104 at a position corresponding to the projecting portion 1131 . Also, the removal prevention portion 114 may extend along the side wall 134 in the entire X direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of flexible portions 113 may be arranged on the side portion 123 of the light guide cover 103 . In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, on the side wall 134 of the housing portion 124 provided in the holding portion 104, a plurality of removal prevention portions 114 are provided so as to correspond to the projecting portions 1131 of the plurality of flexible portions 113, respectively. may be distributed. Further, even in this case, the removal preventing portion 114 may extend over the entire side wall 134 in the X direction.

The reading device 200 incorporating the illumination device 100 of this embodiment can be used as a component of a recording device. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the recording apparatus 8 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The recording device 8 includes a reading device 200 incorporating an illumination device 100 for reading a medium, a recording unit 9a for recording on the medium based on the result of reading by the reading device 200, a conveying unit 9b for conveying the medium, Prepare.

The recording unit 9a can record characters, images, or the like on a medium P (for example, paper) by any method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method. Further, as the transport unit 9b, a transport roller that transports the medium from upstream to downstream can be used. In one embodiment, the recording device 8 can perform copy processing, and in this case, the recording unit 9a records the image read by the reading device 200 on a medium. In one embodiment, the recording device 8 can also provide feedback control. For example, the reading device 200 can read a medium on which recording has been performed by the recording unit 9a, and transmit the read data to the recording unit 9a. Based on this read data, the recording unit 9a can confirm the recording state on the medium, and can control the recording parameters for the next recording.

Further, the recording device to which the reading device 200 incorporating the illumination device 100 of the present embodiment is applied is not limited to the device that records on the medium P such as paper. An image or the like read by the reading device 200 may be recorded as electronic data in a medium such as a memory. In this case, the recording apparatus may not include the transport section 9b described above.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, a determination device comprising a determination unit that illuminates a target object with the lighting device of this case, detects light from the target object with a sensor such as a photoelectric conversion element, and uses the detection result of the sensor to determine various things. It is also applicable to For example, the determination may be determination of the authenticity of bills, determination of the presence or absence of food defects (missing biscuits, etc.), determination of spoilage of food, or determination of the temperature of an object. Alternatively, it may be determination of the presence or absence of a specific gas.

Reference Signs List 100: lighting device, 101: light source, 102: light guide, 103: light guide cover, 104: holding portion, 113: bending portion, 114: removal prevention portion, 123: side portion, 124: housing portion, 134: side wall, 1131: protrusion

Claims (20)

a rod-shaped light guide including a light emitting surface for emitting light emitted by a light source toward a surface to be illuminated;
a light guide cover attached to the light guide;
a holding section provided with a housing for housing the light guide and the light guide cover,
The holding portion includes a side wall surrounding the accommodation portion,
the side wall includes a first side wall arranged along the longitudinal direction of the holding part;
An elastically deformable bending portion is disposed on a side portion of the light guide cover facing the first side wall,
the flexible portion has a protruding portion in which a portion of the flexible portion protrudes from the side portion toward the first side wall;
The illumination device, wherein the upper surface of the projecting portion is in contact with the removal preventing portion arranged on the first side wall. the flexure comprises an arm,
2. The illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion is provided on a portion of the arm portion that is arranged along the longitudinal direction. 3. The lighting device according to claim 2, wherein the entire arm portion is arranged along the longitudinal direction. 3. The lighting device according to claim 2, wherein the arm is bent. 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein openings are provided in the side portions adjacent to both outer edges of the arms along the longitudinal direction, respectively. A lighting device as described. 2. A width of said opening in a direction along the surface of said side portion and intersecting said longitudinal direction is 1/2 or less of a portion of said arm portion along said longitudinal direction. 6. The illumination device according to 5. 7. A lighting device according to any preceding claim, wherein the flexure comprises a cantilever structure. 8. The illumination device according to claim 7, wherein the protrusion is arranged on the free end side of the flexible portion. 7. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the flexible portion has a beam structure with both ends fixed. 10. The lighting device according to claim 9, wherein the projecting portion is arranged at the center of the bending portion. When the projecting portion abuts on the first side wall, a part of the light guide and the light guide cover abuts on a second side wall of the accommodating portion facing the first side wall. 11. A lighting device according to any one of the preceding claims. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the removal prevention portion protrudes from the first side wall so as to come into contact with the upper surface of the protrusion. 13. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the drop-out preventing portion is partially arranged on the first side wall at a position corresponding to the projecting portion. A plurality of the flexible portions are arranged on the side portion,
14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the first side wall is provided with a plurality of the retaining portions so as to respectively correspond to the projecting portions of the plurality of flexible portions. lighting device. 15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein a surface of the first side wall opposite to a surface on which the removal preventing portion is arranged constitutes an outer surface of the holding portion. lighting system. The lighting device further includes a substrate on which the light source is mounted,
The light source includes a first light source and a second light source,
The substrate is fixed to the holding portion so that the light guide cover to which the light guide is attached is arranged between the first light source and the second light source. Item 16. The lighting device according to any one of Items 1 to 15. 17. The illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the light guide cover is an integrally molded member. a lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 17;
a light collecting body that collects light from an object to be illuminated illuminated by the lighting device;
a sensor unit that detects the light condensed by the condensing body;
A reading device comprising: a reader according to claim 18;
a recording means for recording on a medium based on the result of reading by the reading device;
A recording device comprising: 18. The illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, which illuminates a target object;
a sensor that detects light from the target object;
a determination unit that performs determination according to the detection result of the sensor;
A determination device comprising:

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