JPH04156166A - Picture reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain reading of both a transparent original and a reflecting original and to improve the workability by moving a rod light source arranged to an upper part synchronously with a light source unit for reading a reflection original in the case of reading the transparent original and allowing a reader main body to read a transmitted light of the transparent original. CONSTITUTION:The reader consists of a reader main body 12 and a transparent original unit 14 used while being mounted on the upper face of the main body and in the case of reading a reflecting original, while a light source unit 20 is moved, the light from light sources 30a, 30b radiates the reflecting original to scan the entire face. On the other hand, in the case of reading a picture of the transparent original A, the transparent original A is placed on an original platen 18, a cover 46 is closed and a transparent original unit 14 and the light source unit 20 are moved synchronously and the light from a rod light source 42 radiates the transparent original A, a transmitted light T is sequentially read by a CCd camera 24 to read the picture information of the entire face of the transparent original A. Thus, both of the reflecting original and the transparent original are read and the workability is improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention is an image reading device that is applicable to printing plate-making devices, copying devices, etc. and is capable of reading original images of both reflective and transparent documents. Regarding.

<Prior Art> In recent years, image reading devices applied to printing plate-making devices and copying devices are capable of reading images not only of reflective originals such as photographs and printed matter, but also of transparent originals such as reversal film and negative film. That is required.

Conventionally, when reading a transparent original using various image reading devices, a transparent original unit that is placed on a document table and illuminates the transparent original is used. This is done by reading with the reading optical system of the main body. Transparent original units include a backlight type that uses a halogen lamp as a light source to illuminate the entire surface of a transparent original, a Schaakasten type that uses multiple rod-shaped light sources to illuminate the entire surface of a transparent original, and
A light source scanning type is known, which scans the entire surface of a transparent original by moving a bar-shaped light source in the scanning direction.

FIG. 5 shows a light source scanning type transmission original unit as an example.

The transparent original unit 100 is used by being placed on the original table 98 of the main body of the image reading apparatus when reading a transparent original, and basically includes a light-shielding housing 102 with an open bottom surface and a light-shielding housing 102 inside. A rod-shaped light source 104 having a longitudinal direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction (arrow a direction)
and a moving means 106 for the rod-shaped light source 104. The moving means 106 is composed of rollers 108 and 110, a belt 112 stretched around the rollers, and a motor 114 as a driving source, and the belt 112 supports a lamp house 116 of the rod-shaped light source 104.

Transparent original A is created using such transparent original unit lOO.
When reading the image of the bar-shaped light source 104, the optical system of the reading device and the bar-shaped light source 104 are moved synchronously.
This is carried out by scanning the transparent original A with the irradiated light from 4 and reading the transmitted light of the transparent original A with the optical system of the main body of the reading apparatus.

That is, the rod-shaped light source 104 of the transparent original unit 100 is moved in the direction of arrow a by the moving means 106, and illuminates the transparent original A placed on the original platen 98 to scan the entire surface thereof.

Here, since the optical system of the reading device and the rod-shaped light source 104 are moving synchronously, the transmitted light T (double-dashed line in the figure) of the transparent original A is transmitted from the light source for the reflective original moving in the direction of arrow a. Part 1
18 (the light source is not lit) through the slit 120,
It is reflected by a mirror 122 that moves integrally with the light source section 118, and is reflected in a predetermined direction by mirrors 124 and 126 that move at 1/2 the speed of the light source section 118 in the direction of arrow a. The light enters the field, undergoes photoelectric conversion, and is processed as image information.

In the illustrated reading device, the light source section 1
18 in the direction of arrow a, the transmitted light T of the transparent original A is
are sequentially incident on the CCD camera 128 to read the entire image information carried by the transparent original A.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> By using various transmissive light source units including the transmissive original unit 100 to read the transmissive original A, it is possible to read the image of the transmissive original A using an optical system for reading reflective originals. It becomes possible. However, there is a problem in that reading a transparent original using such a transparent light source unit has poor operability.

The transmitted light source unit includes a light source, a glue flap for irradiating the light from the light source to the transparent original, and, in the case of the light source scanning type mentioned above, a driving device for the rod-shaped light source, etc., making the device complex and heavy. turn into.

Here, the transparent original is read by placing the transparent original on the document table of the reader main body, and then placing the transparent document unit on the document table (reading device main body) so as to cover the transparent document. . Therefore, when reading images of multiple transparent originals, it is necessary to take down the heavy transparent original unit from the document table and place it again each time the transparent original is replaced, resulting in very poor work efficiency. .

Another problem is that vibrations generated when the transparent original unit is placed on the reading device have a negative effect on the main body of the reading device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and to provide an image reading apparatus that can read images of both transparent originals and reflective originals, and which improves the workability of reading images of transparent originals. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading device which improves the quality of image reading and does not place any burden on the main body of the reading device.

Means for Solving the Problems> To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image reading device capable of reading image information carried on a reflective original and a transparent original. a light source unit that includes a light source for reading a reflective original and a reflective mirror that is movable in the scanning direction on the lower surface of the stand; a reading device main body that includes a mirror that reflects light reflected from the reflective original in a predetermined direction; and the reading device a rod-shaped light source for reading a transparent original disposed on the upper part of the main body and movable on the document table; a driving means for moving the rod-shaped light source in the scanning direction in synchronization with the light source unit; An image reading device is provided, characterized in that it has an openable and closable cover that covers the top surface of the table along with the rod-shaped light source.

Further, the driving means is disposed on a side surface of the reading device main body,
Moreover, it is preferable that the cover is removable.

Further, it is preferable that the rod-shaped light source, the driving means, and the cover are formed into a unit and configured to be able to be placed on the main body of the reading device.

<Operation of the Invention> The image reading device of the present invention is an image reading device that can read original images of both reflective originals and transparent originals, and when reading reflective originals, it reads in the same way as a normal reading device. On the other hand, when reading a transparent original, place the transparent original on the document table, move the bar-shaped light source placed at the top of the reader main body in synchronization with the light source unit for reading reflective originals, and This is done by reading the transmitted light of the transparent original with the main body.

Here, the image reading device of the present invention has an openable/closable cover that covers the top surface of the document table together with a rod-shaped light source when reading a transparent original, and replacing the transparent original when reading a plurality of transparent originals is carried out by this method. This can be done by opening the cover.

Therefore, according to the image reading device of the present invention, unlike conventional devices, each time a transparent document is replaced, the transparent document unit for heavy transparent documents is taken down from the document table, and the document is replaced and placed again. There is no need to perform any work, and the workability is extremely good. In addition, the main body of the reading apparatus is not adversely affected by vibrations caused by placing the transparent original unit when exchanging transparent originals.

Preferably, the drive means for the rod-shaped light source is provided on the side surface of the reading device body, and the cover is made removable, so that there is no need to place a transparent original unit or the like in order to read the transparent original. Since the driving means is located on the side surface of the main body of the reading device, it does not interfere with the reading operation of the reflective original.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, an image reading device according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of an image reading device of the present invention.

The image reading device 10 shown in FIG.
The apparatus is capable of reading image information carried on any of reflective originals such as originals and transparent originals such as negative film and reversal film, and in the illustrated example,
Basically, it is composed of a reading device main body 12 and a transparent original unit 14 that is placed on the top surface of the reading device main body 12 and used.

The basic structure of the reading device main body 12 is the same as that of a normal reflective original reading device, and includes a main body housing 16 of the reading device main body 12, a document table 18, and a reflective original reading device arranged inside the main body housing 16. It is composed of a light source unit 20, a mirror unit 22, and a CCD camera 24.

The main body housing 16 is made of a light-shielding material, and a document table 18 made of a transparent material such as glass is provided on the upper surface.
will be deployed. In the image recording apparatus 10, the document table 18 serves as a document table for both a reflective document and a transparent document, and in the illustrated example, a transparent document A is placed thereon.

The light source unit 20 includes a rod-shaped light source 30 for reading reflective documents.
a and 3'Ob, lamp cover 28, and mirror 34
and is configured to be integrally movable in the scanning direction indicated by arrow a.

The mirror unit 22 includes two mirrors 36a and 36b.
172 of the light source unit 20
They move in the same direction at a speed of , and reflect the reflected light or transmitted light R from the reflective original in a predetermined direction.

The reflected light or transmitted light T reflected in a predetermined direction by the mirror unit 22 is incident on the CCD camera 24 . The CCD camera 24 has an imaging lens and a CCD optical element, and the reflected light or transmitted light T incident thereon is time-divided as necessary, photoelectrically converted, and read as image information. It is processed.

In such an image reading device 10, when reading a reflective original, place the reflective original at a predetermined position on the original platen 18, cover the original platen 18 with an unillustrated original presser, and move the light source unit 20 in the direction of arrow a. Light sources 30a and 3 while moving
The reflective original is irradiated with light from 0b and the entire surface is scanned.

The reflected light from the reflective original passes through the slit 38 of the lamp cover 28, is reflected in a predetermined direction by the mirror 34 and the mirror unit 22, and enters the CCD camera 24, where it is photoelectrically converted and processed as image information.

In the image reading apparatus 10 of the present invention, the transparent original unit 14 is used when reading the transparent original A. FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the image reading device 10.

The transparent original unit 14 includes a housing 40, a rod-shaped light source 42, a lamp house 43 containing the same, a driving means 44, and a cover 46. When reading a transparent original, the transparent original unit 14 is read so as to cover the original table 18. Device body 12
will be placed on.

The housing 40 has an opening 48 on the lower surface, and has a light-shielding structure with an open front surface (the front surface is the side that the operator faces when reading an image; the same applies to the reader main body 12) and the upper surface. It is a casing made of material.

The opening 48 corresponds to the document table 18 of the reading device main body 12, and the illustrated transparent document unit 14 is placed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the reading device main body 12 so that the document table 18 is inside the opening 48. Ru.

Note that the housing 40 preferably has various positioning means, such as a positioning bin for placing the transparent original unit 14 at a predetermined position on the reader main body 12.

The lower surface of the housing 40 has support surfaces 49 and 50 on the front and rear sides for supporting the lamp house 43, and grooves 54 and 56 for guiding the wheels 52 of the lamp house 43 on both support surfaces. are formed respectively.

A cover 46 is provided on such a housing 40. The cover 46 closes open portions such as the front and top surfaces of the housing 40, and covers the document table 18 and the lamp house 43 (rod-shaped light source 42) when reading the transparent document A.
It is rotatably supported on the back side of the housing 40 in the direction of the arrow, and opens and closes the housing 40.

In the image reading apparatus 10 of the present invention, by having such a cover 46, even when reading images of a plurality of transparent originals, the transparent original unit 14 can be moved to the reading apparatus main body 12 in order to replace the transparent originals. There is no need to perform operations such as taking it down and placing it again, and the workability can be extremely improved.

The cover 46 is not limited to a lid-like one as shown in the illustrated example, but may be of any kind as long as it can close the open portion of the housing, such as a bellows-like one or a shutter-like one.

The rod-shaped light source 42 is a light source for reading a transparent original, which irradiates the transparent original to generate transmitted light, and is arranged with its longitudinal direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The rod-shaped light source 42 is not particularly limited, and may be a fluorescent lamp, a rod-shaped halogen lamp, or a number of other sources as long as it can illuminate the entire width of a transparent document of maximum applicable size in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of arrow a, which is the scanning direction. Any of various known rod-shaped light sources can be applied, such as a combination of a point light source and a fiber array.

In the illustrated example, the rod-shaped light source 42 is enclosed in a lamp house 43. The lamp house 43 has an opening 58 on the lower side through which the light from the rod-shaped light source 42 passes, and wheels 52 are provided on the lower surface to facilitate movement of the lamp house 43 (rod-shaped light source 42) by the driving means 44. It is provided. This wheel 52 is connected to the housing 40 as described above.
The lamp house 43 is inserted into grooves 54 and 56 formed in the lamp house 43 to facilitate movement of the lamp house 43.

A driving means 44 for moving the lamp house 43 (rod-shaped light source 42) in the direction of arrow a and the opposite direction is provided on the rear side inside the housing 40.

The driving means 44 includes pulleys 60 and 62, a belt 64 stretched between the pulleys 60 and 62, and a pulley 62.
A motor 66 as a drive source is connected to the motor 66. In the illustrated device, the lamp house 43 is fixed to a belt 64, and as the motor 66 rotates, the belt 64 rotates and the lamp house 43 is moved in the scanning direction indicated by arrow a or in the opposite direction. Moving.

In the image reading device 10 of the present invention, when reading the transparent original A, place the transparent original A at a predetermined position on the original platen 18! Then, while illuminating the transparent original A with light from the rod-shaped light source 42, the lamp house 43 is moved in the direction of arrow a to scan the entire surface of the transparent original A.
This is done by reading the transmitted light.

The drive means is not limited to the belt and boot shown in the example, but any known drive means may be used, such as one using a drive shaft and a traveling nut, or one using a rack-and-binion. It is.

In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reader main body 1
Although the transparent original unit 14 which can be placed on the transparent original unit 2 is used to read the transparent original, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as shown in FIG. It may be arranged on the side of the reading device main body 12 and configured to drive a rod-shaped light source.

Note that in this case, the side surfaces of the reading device main body 12 refer to the front, back, and left and right surfaces, excluding the top and bottom surfaces.

The image recording device 70 shown in FIG.
A driving means 72 is fixed to the back side of the lamp 2, and a lamp house 74 containing a rod-shaped light source is connected to the driving means 72.

Further, the driving means 72 is configured to drive the document platen 1 when reading the transparent document A.
8 and a lamp house 74 (bar-shaped light source). Note that FIG. 4 shows a view of the image reading device 70 from the rear side with the cover 76 removed.

Here, the image reading device 7 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4
0 has basically the same structure except that the drive means 72 is fixed to the back of the reader main body 12 and the lamp house 74 (rod-shaped light source) is connected to this, so similar parts have the same numbers. , and its explanation will be omitted.

The drive means 72 is basically the same as the above-mentioned drive means 44 except that it is fixed to the back side of the reading device main body 12, and is a known drive means such as a bobbin and a belt, a drive shaft and a traveling nut, a rack and pinion, etc. The lamp house 74 is moved in the scanning direction indicated by the arrow a.

Although the driving means 72 of the present invention may be arranged on the left and right sides and the front side, it is preferably on the back side in terms of workability, appearance, space required for the entire reading device, etc.

The lamp house 74 and the rod-shaped light source included therein have the same configuration as that in the image recording device 10 shown in FIG. 1, except that they are connected to the driving means 72 and fixed to the reading device main body. . In this embodiment, the lamp house 74 (rod-shaped light source) may be configured to be detachable from the driving means 72.

The cover 76, like the previous cover 46, is for covering the document table 18 and the lamp house 74 (rod-shaped light source) when reading a transparent document.

This cover 76 is detachably supported by the driving means 72, and when supported by the driving means 72, it is rotatable in the direction of the arrow, so that the document table 18 can be closed or opened.

That is, in the illustrated example, when reading a transparent original, the transparent original is placed on the original table 18 and the top of the original table 18 is closed with the cover 76, while the reflective original is read. When reading an image, the cover 76 is removed, a normal document holder is loaded, and reading is performed. With this configuration, there is no need to place the transparent original unit on the main body of the reading apparatus or to remove the entire reading apparatus, thereby further improving work efficiency.

There is no limitation to the method of attaching and detaching the cover 76 to the drive means 72 and making it rotatable, and various known methods may be used.
Note that the cover 76 may not be removable from the driving means 72 as long as it does not interfere with image reading of the reflective original.

Hereinafter, using the image reading apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the operation when an image of a transparent original is read by the image reading apparatus of the present invention will be explained.

First, place the transparent original unit 14 at a predetermined position on the reading device main body 12, then open the cover 46, place the transparent original A at a predetermined position on the document table 18, and then close the cover 46. Obstruction. As described above, in the image reading device 70 shown in FIG. 3, the work of placing the transparent original unit 14 is not necessary.

The operator selects the transparent original mode of the image reading device 10, and then turns on the start switch. Note that the selection of the transparent original mode may be configured to be automatically performed at the same time as the transparent original unit 14 is mounted and the reading apparatus body 2 is connected.

When the switch is turned on, the rod-shaped light source 42 of the transparent original unit 14 is turned on, and after a predetermined period of time, the driving means 44 is activated and the lamp house 43 starts moving in the direction of arrow a, and at the same time the light source of the reading device main body 12 is turned on. The unit 20 and the mirror unit 22 are also synchronized with the lamp house 43 by arrow a.
Start moving in the direction. That is, the light emitted from the rod-shaped light source 42 and passed through the aperture 58 scans the entire surface of the transparent original A on the original platen 18 while irradiating it, and the light that has passed through the transparent original A (transmitted light T) is transmitted to the light source unit 20. incident on .

The transmitted light T of the transparent original A passes through the slit 38 of the light source unit 20, is reflected in a predetermined direction by the mirror 34 and the mirror unit 22, enters the CCD camera 24, is photoelectrically converted, and is read as image information. Note that at this time, the light sources 30a and 30b for reflective originals are turned off.

In this way, the transparent original unit 14 and the light source unit 2
0, the light from the rod-shaped light source 44 illuminates the transparent original A, and the transmitted light T is transmitted to the CCD camera 2.
4, the image information of the entire surface of the transparent original A is read.

When reading is completed, the cover 46 is opened, the transparent original for which reading has been completed is put away, and the next transparent original to be read is placed at a predetermined position.

In the example described above, it is of course possible to perform shading correction or the like of the rod-shaped light source 42 before reading the transparent original A.

Although the illustrated image reading device is a digital image reading device using a CCD camera, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be used with various types of copying bags. Of course, the present invention may also be applied to an analog slit scanning type image reading device, which is applied to, for example.

Although the image reading device according to the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes and improvements may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained in detail above, the image reading device of the present invention has the following features:
It has an openable/closable cover that covers the top surface of the document table together with a rod-shaped light source when reading a transparent original, and when reading a plurality of transparent originals, the filtered transparent original can be replaced by opening this cover. Unlike conventional image reading devices, there is no need to take down the light source unit for heavy transparent originals from the document table when replacing transparent originals, replace the original, and then place it again, resulting in extremely high workability. It is. Further, vibrations caused by placing the light source unit when exchanging transparent originals do not adversely affect the main body of the reading device.

Furthermore, preferably, the driving means for the rod-shaped light source is provided on the side surface of the reading device main body, particularly on the back side, and the cover is made detachable as required, so that a light source unit etc. can be mounted for reading transparent originals. There is no need to place the
Since the driving means is located on the side surface of the reading device main body, it does not interfere with the reading of the reflective original, and reading can be performed simply by removing the cover, resulting in better workability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of reading a transparent original in an image reading apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the image reading device shown in FIG. 1. 3 and 4 are schematic perspective views showing another example of the image reading device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional image reading device. Explanation of symbols 10.70... Image reading device, 12... Reading device main body, 14... Transparent original unit, 16... Main body housing, 18... Document table, 20... Light source unit, 22...Mirror unit, 24...CCD camera, 28...Lamp cover, 30a, 30b-light source, 34, 36a, 36b...Mirror,
38...Slit, 40...Housing, 42...Bar-shaped light source, 43.74...Lamp house, 44.72...Driving means, 46.76...Cover, 48.58...・Opening 49.50...Support surface, 52...Wheel, 54.56...Groove, 60.62...Pulley, 64...Belt, 66...Motor, A...Transmission Original, T...Transmitted light FIG, 1 FIG, 3 FIG, 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An image reading device capable of reading image information carried on reflective originals and transparent originals, which includes an original platen, a light source for reading the reflective originals that is movable in the scanning direction on the lower surface of the original platen, and a reflection device. a reading device main body having a light source unit consisting of a mirror, and a mirror that reflects reflected light from the reflective original in a predetermined direction; and a transparent original reading device disposed on the upper part of the reading device main body and movable on the document table. a rod-shaped light source; a drive means for moving the rod-shaped light source in the scanning direction in synchronization with the light source unit; and an openable/closable cover that covers the upper surface of the document table together with the rod-shaped light source when reading a transparent original. image reading device. (2) the driving means is provided on a side surface of the reading device main body;
The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the cover is removable.