JPH03235578A - Reader and recording system provided with the reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the reader small in size by connecting a part of signal cable connecting to a read means to a lower projection of the read means. CONSTITUTION:A bottom being a part of read unit 3 is protruded lower than the highest part of a recorder P and one terminal of a signal cable 7 is connected to the part. Since one terminal of the signal cable 7 is connected to the lower projection of the read unit 3 in this way, the loop height formed by the signal cable 7 when a read carriage 2 is moved reciprocatingly is lowered. Thus, the height of the entire reader is decreased without losing the durability of the signal cable 7 and the device is made small.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a reading device that reads images by serial scanning, and a recording system equipped with the reading device, and more specifically to a signal cable connected to the reading means. A reading device with a low loop height! and a recording system including the reading device.

<Prior Art> A copying device reads a document and records on a recording sheet based on the read information, and includes a reading device for reading the document and a recording device for recording images in the recording sort. have.

Some of the reading apparatuses have a configuration in which a carriage is serially scanned to read a document. As shown in FIG. 5, this moves a sub-scanning unit 52 carrying a carriage 51 that is movable along a rail 50 in the main scanning direction (arrow X direction) in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. A reading optical system such as a light source 53, a lens 54, and a CCD 55 is mounted on the carriage 51.

When reading a document with the reading device configured as described above, the document 5
6 is placed on the document table glass 57, the carriage 51 is scanned along the rail 50 to read one line of information, and then the sub-scanning unit 52 is moved line by line in the sub-scanning direction and the same process is performed. It reads the information from the next line onwards.

In a copying machine having the reading device and the recording device, the reading device is arranged on top of the recording device so that the installation floor space is reduced.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In the copying apparatus as described above, in order to connect the reading optical system and the electrical unit, the carriage 5 is used as shown in FIG.
1 and the sub-scanning unit 52 are connected by a signal cable 58, and one end of this signal cable 58 is connected to the carriage 5.
1, and the other end is fixed to the bottom surface of the sub-scanning unit 52, forming a loop shape as a whole.

This loop shape changes as the carriage 51 moves, and the loop diameter d1 is the lowest when the carriage 51 comes to the end A position of the stroke, and the loop diameter d2 is the lowest when the carriage 51 comes to the position B in the middle of the stroke. is the highest. For example, if the stroke of the carriage 5 is about 250 degrees and the diameter of the signal cable 58 is about 1.51,
The maximum loop diameter d2 is approximately 65 mm. At this time, if the document table glass 57 is lower than the loop height of the signal cable 58, the signal cable 5 will rub the document table glass 57 every time the carriage scans, staining the surface of the glass 57. Therefore, the bottom surface of the sub-scanning unit 52 has the loop diameter d.
Must be set to 2 or more.

For this reason, conventionally, the distance between the objects of the lens 54 constituting the reading system can be freely selected. For example, in FIG. 5, even if the height h of the reading system part is 55 m, the signal cable The height of the reading system part is also 6B for the day loop.
++a or higher, making the height of the copying machine unnecessarily high (68m - 55 countries = 13m +).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a method has been proposed in which a cable holding member 60 is attached to the signal cable 58 to suppress the loop diameter to the minimum diameter d□.

With this method, the height h of the reading system can be kept low, and the height of the apparatus can be reduced.

However, in this configuration, the signal cable 58 is forcibly held down, so the durability of the signal cable for 5 days is a problem.1For example, in Fig. 6, the height h of the reading system is set to 55 cm, and the loop height is Set sd3 to 3511Il,
Furthermore, if information with a width of 8.128 l1m is read in one scan, the carriage 51 needs to be scanned 37 times to read an A4 size original 56, and if 30,000 copies of that size original are to be copied. The signal cable 58 will be bent 1.11 million times.

The signal cable 58 that is bent many times in this way is
When durability is considered, it is not preferable to suppress the loop height, but it is preferable to form a natural loop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a reading device that can keep the height of the device low without pressing down on signal cables, and a recording system equipped with the reading device.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A typical means according to the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a reading means for reading document information; The reading carriage has the reading means so as to be reciprocally movable in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction, and a part of a signal cable connecting to the reading means is connected to a downward protrusion of the reading means. .

In the above means, since one end of the signal cable is connected and fixed to the downward protrusion of the reading means, the height of the loop formed by the signal cable when the reading carriage is reciprocated is reduced. Therefore, the height of the entire device can be reduced without impairing the durability of the signal cable, and the device can be made more compact.

<Embodiment> Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the above means is applied to a copying apparatus will be described.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of the structure of a copying apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view thereof.

(Overall Description) First, the overall configuration of the copying apparatus will be explained. This apparatus consists of a reading device R and a recording device fP.

The configuration of the reading device R is such that a reading means 1 is provided on a reading carriage 2, and this carriage 2 is configured to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction (direction of arrow a). Further, the carriage 2 is attached to a reading unit 3, and the unit 3 is configured to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction (in the direction indicated by the arrow).

Therefore, when the original 5 is placed face down on the original platen glass 4 attached to the top of the apparatus, the original is fixed with the cover 6, and the copy switch (not shown) is pressed, the carriage 2 is moved to the main scanning position. The robot moves in the direction to read one line of the original, and transmits the information via the signal cable 7 to a control system (not shown).

When the reading of one line is completed as described above, the carry and holder 2 are returned to the home position, and the reading unit 3 is moved one line in the sub-scanning direction, and the next line and subsequent lines are read in the same manner as described above. It is.

Further, the configuration of the recording apparatus P is such that a recording means 8 is mounted on a recording carriage 9, and a sheet a feeding means I is moved to a position of the recording means 8.
The configuration is such that the recording sheet 11 is conveyed by O.

Therefore, when the reading signal from the reading device R is transmitted via the signal cable 7, the recording sheet 11 is transferred to the conveying means 1.
When the sheet 11 is conveyed in the direction of arrow C at 0, and the sheet 11 is conveyed to the recording position, the recording carriage 9 moves back and forth in the direction of arrow d in FIG. The recording sheet 11 is driven to record an image on the recording sheet 11. When a portion of recording is completed, the recording sheet 1 is conveyed by one line in the direction of arrow C, recording is performed in the same manner, and the sheet 11 after recording is discharged to the discharge tray 12.

Here, a portion of the bottom portion of the reading unit 3 is configured to protrude so as to be lower than the highest portion of the recording device P, and one end of the signal cable 7 is connected and fixed to this portion.

Next, the configuration of each part of the copying apparatus will be explained in detail.

(Reading means) The reading means 1 optically reads the information written on the original 5 and converts it into an electrical signal.As shown in FIG. The reflected light is directed to a photoelectric conversion element 1c such as a CCD through a lens 1b, and the element 1c converts the reflected light into an electrical signal, which is then sent to the recording device P as an image signal.

Note that the photoelectric conversion element 1c is attached to the substrate 1d,
One end of the signal cable 7 is connected to this board 1d.

(Reading Carriage) The reading carriage 2 moves the reading means 1 in the main scanning direction, has the reading means 1 attached thereto, and is slidably attached to the main scanning rail 2a. Drive pulleys 2b are located near both ends of the rail 2a.
A timing heald 2d stretched between both pulleys 2b and 2c is connected to the reading carriage 2. Furthermore, a reading carriage motor 2e is connected to the driving pulley 2b, and therefore, when the carriage motor 2e is rotated forward and backward, the carriage 2 is guided by the rail 2a and reciprocated in the main scanning direction.

(Reading unit) The reading unit 3 moves the carriage 2 in the sub-scanning direction, and the reading unit 3 moves the carriage 2 in the sub-scanning direction.
b, 2c and a carriage motor 2e are attached to this reading unit 3.

One end of the reading unit 3 is slidably attached to a sub-scanning rail 3a, and a guide roller 3b is attached to the other end, and this roller 3b is movable along a guide portion 13a formed on the apparatus main body frame 13. It is configured. Further, a driving pulley 3c and a driven pulley (not shown) are attached near both ends of the sub-scanning rail 3a, and a timing heald 3d is stretched between the two pulleys. The belt 3d is connected to the reading unit 3, and a unit motor 3e is connected to the drive pulley 3c.

Therefore, when the unit motor 3e rotates forward and backward,
The reading unit 3 reciprocates along the sub-scanning rail 3a in the sub-scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the main-scanning direction, which is the moving direction of the carriage 2).

(Recording means) The recording means records an ink image on the recording sheet 11, and in this embodiment, an ink side recording method is used.

The ink side recording method includes a liquid ejection port for ejecting recording ink liquid as flying droplets, a liquid flow path communicating with the ejection port, and a part of this liquid flow path. and ejection energy generating means for providing ejection energy to fly the ink liquid inside. The ejection energy generating means is then driven in accordance with the image signal to eject ink droplets and record an image.

Examples of the ejection energy generating means include a method using pressure energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer such as a Viez element, and an electromagnetic energy generating means that generates flying droplets by irradiating and absorbing electromagnetic waves such as a laser into the ink liquid. There are two methods: a method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter, and a method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter. Among these methods, a method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter is preferable because it allows the ejection ports to be arranged in a high density manner and also enables the recording head to be made compact.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the configuration of this embodiment includes a recording head 8b attached to the lower end of an ink cartridge 8a. In FIG. 3, 8bl is a heater board, on which an electrothermal converter (discharge heater) 8b and an electric conductor made of aluminum or the like to supply power to it are formed and arranged. ing. For this heater board 8b+, a recording liquid liquid path (nozzle) 8
It is constructed by adhering a top plate 8b& having a partition wall for partitioning b4.

The ink supplied from the ink cartridge 8a is
The recording head 8 is supplied from the supply port 8by provided on the top plate 8b.
The common liquid chamber 8bs in b is filled with this common liquid chamber 8b,
It is guided into each nozzle 8b4. These nozzles 8b
, are formed with ink ejection ports 3b, and 128 ejection ports 8bs are arranged in a 63.5-pinch configuration in the sheet+S feeding direction of the recording head 8b. As a result, when liquid ink is stored in the ink cartridge 8a and the recording head 8b is driven, the electrothermal transducer generates heat in response to an image signal from the reading device R, and the ink is discharged downward from the ejection port corresponding to the generated heat. fly to

Therefore, when the recording carriage 9 is scanned in the main scanning direction (direction of arrow d in FIG. 1) in synchronization with the driving of the recording head 8b, 8.1
Recording is performed with a width of 28an.

(Recording Carriage) The recording carriage 9 is for reciprocating the recording means 8 in the main scanning direction, and is slidably attached to a main scanning rail 9a as shown in FIG. The recording means 8 is mounted on the.

Driving boots 'J9 are provided near both ends of the main scanning rail 9a.
b and a driven pulley (not shown) are attached,
A timing carrier (9c) stretched between both pulleys is connected to the recording carrier (9c).

Furthermore, a recording carrying motor 9 is attached to the drive pulley 9b.
d is connected.

Therefore, when the carrying motor 9d is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, the recording carrying 9 is guided by the rails 9a and reciprocated in the main scanning direction.

Incidentally, the electrical signal to the recording head 8b is transmitted through the signal cable 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, one end of this cable 14 is connected to an arm 9 that is part of the recording carriage 9 and is formed at approximately the same height as the ink cartridge 8a.
e, and the other end is connected and fixed to the recording unit (15).

(Sheet Conveying Means) The notebook conveying means IO is for conveying the recording sheet 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the configuration is such that a case 10a is removably attached to the lower part of the apparatus, and a plurality of recording sheets 11 are stacked and stored in this case 10a. This recording sheet 11 is separated by a pickup roller 10b and a separating claw 1 provided at the tip of the feeder 10a.
0a, the sheets are separated and fed one by one in the direction of arrow C,
The recording head 8b is configured to be transported by a pair of transport rollers 10c and 1Ocl disposed upstream and downstream in the sheet transport direction.

This conveyance operation is performed by recording by the recording means 8 at 8.12.
Since the recording is performed in a width of 8 ml, the sheet 11 is intermittently conveyed in a 8.12 ha pinch manner in synchronization with the recording operation, and the sheet 11 after recording is discharged to the discharge tray 12.

(Signal Cable) Next, the connection state of the signal cable 7 will be explained, but prior to that, the arrangement relationship between the reading device R and the recording device P will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement relationship between the two is that the reading device R is arranged at the top of the main body of the apparatus, and the recording device P is arranged below it. In the recording apparatus P, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording means 8 is arranged on the left side, and the electric unit 16 for supplying signals etc. to each part is arranged on the right side.

Further, the upper end of the electrical equipment unit 16 is the highest part of the recording device P (in this embodiment, the ink cartridge 8a and the arm 9e)
(upper end). A portion of the reading unit 3 is configured to protrude downward from this lowered portion. That is, the bottom part of the reading unit 3 is formed such that a low bottom part 3g protrudes downward relative to a high bottom part 3f, and above the recording means 8, the high eaves part 3' is formed.
The low bottom portion 3g is located above the electrical equipment unit 6, and the low bottom portion 3g is connected to the ink cartridge 8a and the arm 9e in the recording apparatus P.
It is configured to protrude further downward. Even with this configuration, the reading unit 3 can be moved in the sub-scanning direction (in the direction indicated by the arrow) without any problem.

In the above configuration, one end of the signal cable 7 is connected to the reading means 1.
0 board 1d, and is connected to the carriage part 2f of the reading carriage 2.
At the same time, the other end is connected and fixed to the low bottom portion 3g of the reading unit 3.

In this embodiment, the height H from the high bottom part 3f of the reading unit 3 to the document table glass 4 shown in FIG. 2 is 55 m.
s, and the height Ht between the high bottom portion 3f and the low bottom portion 3g is set to 191. and reading carrying stroke about 250
When using the cable 7 with a diameter of 1.5 mm, the reading carriage 2 is positioned at the right end A as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
When the signal cable is moved to the roof diameter D+=
48 m, and the maximum loop diameter Da when the carrying 2 moves and reaches the stroke position B is set to be 65 m.

As described above, even if the maximum loop diameter D2 is larger than the height H from the high bottom part 3f of the reading unit to the platen glass 4, since one end of the signal cable 7 is fixed to the low bottom part 3g, the signal The cable 7 never comes into contact with the document table glass 4. This eliminates the need to unnecessarily increase the height of the reading device R located above the recording device P.

Note that the signal cable 7 is connected to the electrical unit 16 via a cable 17.

Furthermore, since there is a sufficient distance between the bottom of the recording unit 15 and the arm 9e, the recording signal cable 14, which forms a loop as the recording carriage 9 moves, is connected to the high bottom of the reading unit 3, where the cable 14 is located at the top. There is no contact with 3f.

[Other Embodiments] In the embodiments described above, an example was shown in which the inkjet recording method was used as the recording means 8, but among the cough recording methods, the bubble jet recording method is more preferably used.

Here, the principle of ink flying in the bubble jet recording method will be explained with reference to No. 41i1(a) to (b).

In the steady state, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the nozzle 8b4
The surface tension and external pressure of the ink 17 filled therein are balanced on the ejection port surface. When the ink 17 is to be ejected in this state, the electrothermal converter 8b2 in the nozzle 8b is energized to cause the ink in the nozzle 8b to rapidly rise in temperature beyond nucleate boiling. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 To), the ink adjacent to the electrothermal converter 8bz is heated and produces microbubbles, and the ink in the heated portion is vaporized to cause film boiling, and the second As shown in FIG. 4(C), the bubbles 17 grow rapidly.

When the bubble grows to a maximum as shown in FIG. 4(d), an ink droplet is extruded from the ejection opening in the nozzle 8b. When the electricity supply to the electrothermal converter 8bz is finished, the grown bubbles 18 are cooled and contracted by the ink 17 in the nozzle 8ba, as shown in FIG. 4(e), and due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the ink Droplets fly from the ejection port. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4(f), the electrothermal converter Sb
The ink contacts the z-plane and is rapidly cooled, causing the bubbles 18 to disappear or shrink to an almost negligible volume. When the bubble [8] contracts, the nozzle 8b (as shown in FIG.
Ink is supplied from a to prepare for the next energization.

Therefore, an ink image is recorded on the recording sheet 11 by energizing the electrothermal transducer 8bz in synchronization with the movement of the recording carriage 9 in accordance with the image signal.

In the above configuration, it is preferable to provide a camping means near the moving area of the recording head '8b to prevent ink from drying near the ejection openings of the recording head 8b and from solidifying accordingly.

Further, the recording head 8b described above is an ink cartridge 8a.
This is a disposable type recording head that supplies ink from within the recording head, but has an ink storage chamber inside the recording head, and when the ink storage chamber runs out of ink, the recording nozzle is replaced. You may also use

In addition to the ink transfer method, the recording means may be a so-called thermal transfer recording method in which an ink sheet coated with a heat-melting ink is heated in accordance with an image signal and the melted ink is transferred to the recording sheet 11, or a recording method may be used in accordance with the image signal. Various recording methods may be employed, such as a so-called wire dot recording method in which ink from an ink ribbon is transferred to recording sheet 1 by wire dots driven accordingly. Therefore, the recording head need not be limited to the inkjet 5-head of the above-described embodiment, but a thermal head, a wire dot head, etc. can be used.

Furthermore, it is also possible to use a plurality of recording heads 8b to perform color recording. Further, the recording means need not be limited to a serial type, and may be constructed as a so-called full line type.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned recording device may take the form of, for example, a printer, a copying machine, a Japanese word processing sensor, a facsimile machine, or an electronic typewriter.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, in the present invention, since a part of the signal cable connected to the reading means is connected to the downward protrusion of the reading means, the signal cable is formed when the reading carriage is reciprocated. The loop height can be lowered. Therefore, the height of the entire device can be reduced without impairing the durability of the signal cable, and the device can be made more compact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the recording head, FIGS. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the prior art.R is a reading device, P is a recording device, l is a reading means, la is a light source, 1b is a lens, IC is a photoelectric conversion element, ld is a substrate,
2 is a reading carriage, 2a is a main scanning rail, 2b is a driving pulley, 2C is a driven pulley, 2d is a timing belt,
2e is the reading carriage motor, 2f is the balance part, 3 is the reading unit, 3a is the sub-scanning rail, 3b is the guide roller, 3C is the drive pulley, 3d is the timing belt, 3e is the unit motor, 3" is the high bottom part, 3g is a low bottom part, 4 is an original table glass, 5 is an original, 6 is a cover, 7 is a signal cable, 8 is a recording means, 8a is an ink cartridge, 8b is a recording head, 8b1 is a heater board, 8b2 is an electrothermal converter , 8b+ is an electrode, 8b4 is a nozzle, 8bs is a discharge port, 8bb is a top plate, 8bt is a supply port, 8bi is a common liquid chamber,
9 is a recording carriage, 9a is a main scanning rail, 9b is a drive pulley, 9C is a timing held, 9d is a recording carriage motor, 9e is an arm, IO is a sheet conveyance means, 1
0a is the cage yh, 10a is the separation claw, 10b is the pink up roller, ], 0c10d is the conveyance roller, 1] is the recording sheet, 12 is the ejection tray, 13 is the main body frame,
13a is a guide portion, 14 is a signal cable, 15 is a recording unit, 16 is an electrical unit, 17 is ink, and 18 is a bubble.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) a reading means for reading document information; a reading carriage that is movable back and forth along the conveyance path of the document and has the reading means that is movable back and forth in a direction intersecting the direction of the reciprocating movement; A reading device characterized in that a part of a signal cable connected to the reading means is connected to a downward protrusion of the reading means. (2) A recording system comprising: the reading device according to claim (1); and a recording means disposed below the reading device for recording on a recording sheet based on recording information. (3) The reading carriage is mounted on a reading unit that is movable back and forth in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the reading carriage, the recording means is mounted on a recording carriage that is movable back and forth in the width direction of the recording sheet, and the recording 3. The recording system according to claim 2, wherein the reciprocating direction of the carriage is configured to match the reciprocating direction of the reading unit. (4) The recording means is an inkjet recording system that records an image by ejecting ink according to a signal.
) or the recording system described in (3). (5) The recording system according to claim 4, wherein the recording means uses an inkjet recording method that records an image by ejecting ink using thermal energy. (6) The recording means energizes the electrothermal transducer in accordance with the signal, and records an image by ejecting ink from the ejection port due to the growth of bubbles generated by heating exceeding film boiling by the electrothermal transducer. 6. The recording system according to claim 5, which uses a bubble jet recording method.