JPH05142672A - Original cassette for image reader, original cassette supply device and original cassette carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the positional deviation of an original in an original cassette by providing an original holding sheet which holds the original by pinching the original between one supporting plate and the holding sheet. CONSTITUTION:An original cassette 1 is formed of resin material, and provided with the holding member 11 constituted by integrally molding a pair of frames 11A and 11B which can be freely folded around a thin hinge part 11a having elasticity. The supporting plates 12 and 13 consisting of a transparent glass plate, etc., are held by fitting inside pawl parts 11b and 11c respectively provided on the periphery of the respective opening parts of the frames 11A and 11B. The original holding sheet 14 is formed of a thin resin sheet or a thin metallic plate, etc., and a window part 14a is opened at a part where the image of an original P is recorded. The original P is placed on the lower supporting plate 12 and covered with the sheet 14 from above so as to pinch the original P, and further pinched by the upper supporting plate 13 from above so as to fix the original P. Thus, the positional deviation of the original P caused by static electricity and wind pressure is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus which reads an image of an original and converts it into an electric signal, and supplies the original cassette while supporting the original in a flat state, and the original cassette as an image reading apparatus. The present invention relates to a document cassette supply device for supplying and a document cassette transport device for transporting a document cassette to a predetermined location.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional multicolor platemaking, an image reading device and a magnification measuring device are used to input an image. The image reading apparatus is called a color separation scanner, and scans (reads) an original such as a two-dimensional color photograph and outputs an electric signal representing the separated color. This electrical signal is used in the color print process.

By the way, in recent years, various document cassettes have been proposed as a device for supporting a document to be read by the above-mentioned image reading device while supporting the document in a flat state and supplying it to the image reading device. With such a document cassette,
Since the original is supported in a flat state, it is easy to handle and
The reading speed of the document in the image reading device can also be achieved without increasing the size of the device.

The basic structure of a conventional document cassette is to support a document P by sandwiching it between two transparent plates 101 and 102 which are rotatably supported around a hinge as shown in FIG. See Kaihei 3-13348). Other,
The same is true of the one disclosed in JP-A-64-84254, and there is a structure in which an original is sandwiched between two support plates fastened by a grommet or the like, but in any of them, there is a space between two support plates. It has a structure in which the original is directly sandwiched and supported.

As the above-mentioned original, for example, 35 mm
There are sizes, 6x9 cm size, 4x5 in size, etc. Further, conventionally, several methods have been proposed in which a plurality of document cassettes as described above are stored in a storage box called a stacker and are automatically supplied to an image reading apparatus.

For example, in the stacker 111 shown in FIG. 14, the original cassettes 112 are arranged in a stepwise manner on a plurality of stepped portions 111a, and are housed side by side in the vertical direction. Then, the stacker 111 is set on the stacker table, and the document cassette 112 is supplied from here to the document table side. The original cassette supplied from each step 111a is returned to the original step after being read by the image reading device.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a stacker 121
Multiple original cassettes 122 are stacked in a stacked state, and the lowest original cassette 122 is pushed out to the front image reading device from the front entrance / exit, while the original cassette 122 after reading is at the top of the stacker 121. There is also one in which the original cassette 122 is returned to and stacked on top of it (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-188446).

On the other hand, there are various conventional document cassette transporting mechanisms for receiving the document cassette on the side of the image reading apparatus and setting it at a predetermined reading position, and setting the document cassette after reading at the discharge port and discharging it. .. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-125562, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the original cassette 131 is supplied from the supply / discharge port 132 and positioned on the rotary table 134 in the center of the original table 133, and the line CCD sensor (not shown, but arranged along the through hole 135 of the illumination). Is illuminated while moving through the sub-scanning transport table 136 in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction parallel to the main scanning direction, the original in the original cassette 131 is transmitted, and the line CCD is transmitted through the through hole 135. The emitted optical image signal is converted into an electric signal and read. Further, when reading at a position rotated with respect to the reference position, the rotary table 134 is rotated by a predetermined angle, or
When trimming and reading a part of a document, a trimming operation is performed to move the document cassette 131 in a direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction. Further, the read document cassette 131 is discharged through the supply / discharge port 132, and the position of the document cassette 131 with respect to the supply / discharge port 132 is adjusted by a trimming mechanism.

Therefore, the transport mechanism in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction), the transport mechanism in the trimming direction (X direction) and the rotation.
Equipped with (θ) mechanism. In addition, in the type in which the manuscript cassette is set on the manuscript table by the operator's hand, there are some types that do not have the supply / discharge port and do not have the trimming mechanism.

[0010]

However, the conventional document cassettes, the document cassette feeding device using the stacker, and the document cassette loading / unloading device in the image reading apparatus as described above have the following problems, respectively. First, in the conventional document cassette shown in FIG. 13, the document P is set on the support plate 102, and then another support plate is set.
When lowering the upper support plate 102 for nipping it with the 102, the position of the document was sometimes misaligned due to static electricity or wind pressure.

Of the above-mentioned conventional document cassette feeder, the one shown in FIG. 14 is provided with a plurality of step portions 111a, so that the overall height is increased and the size is increased. Each of the original cassettes 112 needs to be positioned when it is taken in and out, and there is a drawback that it takes a lot of time to store them. Also,
In the case shown in FIG. 15, the manuscript cassettes 122 are stacked and stored, so that the compactness and the workability are satisfied, but in order to take out the lowest manuscript cassette 122, the weight of the upper manuscript cassette 122 is added to supply. The force required for the mechanism increases, leading to higher costs. Also, after pulling out the bottom original cassette 122,
Since the second document falls due to gravity, the document cassette 122 is damaged, and the documents in the document cassette are misaligned.

Next, even if the conventional document cassette transport mechanism on the image reading apparatus side is provided with the supply / discharge port 132 for the document cassette 131 as shown in FIG. 16, the supply / discharge port 132 is a sub-scanner. Since it is provided at the end portion in the scanning direction, the conveyance mechanism for trimming controls conveyance to the supply / discharge port 132 of the document cassette as described above. However, originally, the trimming operation only needs to have a function of roughly aligning the position of the document with the center of the line CCD, and the document table 133 for trimming is placed on the sub-scanning transport table 136 and the stacking operation is performed. The trimming motor may be smaller in order to reduce the load weight. Therefore, the trimming motor is inferior in speed and resolution to the sub-scanning transport mechanism motor. Supply using /
The performance is poor when the transport control to the discharge port is performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the problems of the above-described conventional document cassette, the device for supplying the document cassette to the image reading device, and the document cassette conveying device on the image reading device side. The purpose is to solve.

[0014]

For this reason, the document cassette according to the present invention sandwiches the document in a document cassette which is supplied while being supported in a flat state by an image reading device which reads an image of the document. An original is sandwiched between at least one of the supporting transparent plate, a holding member for fixedly holding the supporting plate supporting the original document, and one supporting plate before the original document is sandwiched between the supporting plates. A document holding sheet, which is formed of an elastically deformable material for holding and has at least a translucent document recording portion of the document, is configured.

Further, the document holding sheet may be constructed so that a portion other than the recording portion of the document has a light shielding property. Further, the outer surface of the holding member may be a conveying surface in the image reading device of the document cassette. Further, the holding member may have an asymmetric shape with respect to the transport direction.

The original cassette may be provided with a code number display means for indicating the correspondence between the cassette and the supported original. A document cassette feeding device according to the present invention is a device for feeding a document cassette supporting a document in a flat state to an image reading device, and a stacker for stacking a plurality of document cassettes and storing them in the stacker. Supply means for separating the formed document cassettes one by one from one end and supplying the separated document cassettes to the image reading device;
And a moving unit that pushes the document cassettes that are stacked and accommodated in the image reading device from the other end to move the document cassettes.

The stacker may be detachable from the main body of the apparatus including the supplying means and the moving means. Further, the stacker may be formed in an asymmetrical shape that positions the storage direction of the original cassette in correspondence with the original cassette in which the storage space has a cross-sectional shape formed in an asymmetrical shape.

Further, while the supplying means receives the original cassettes from the image reading device by the operation opposite to that at the time of supplying the original cassettes and stacks them on one end side of the original cassettes stacked and accommodated in the stacker, the moving means moves the original cassettes. It may also be configured to have a function of retracting the other end by the amount of the overlapped document cassettes by the operation reverse to that at the time of feeding.

Further, the document cassette carrying device according to the present invention is supplied with a document cassette which supports the document in a flat state, reads the recorded image of the document, and converts it into an electric signal. A sub-scanning transport mechanism for transporting the document cassette through the document table in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction along the line direction of the linear reading sensor; and the document cassette provided on the document table. In an image reading device including a rotating mechanism having a rotatable table which holds the rotating table and a trimming mechanism for moving the rotating table in a main scanning direction which is a trimming direction, the document cassette is external to the image reading device. Supplied to the platen from
Alternatively, a supply / discharge port for discharging the document cassette from the document table to the stacker for storing the document cassette is provided at the end portion side in the main scanning direction.
It consists of one or more.

Further, a plurality of the document cassette supplying devices may be combined and used. Also,
A plurality of the document cassette supply devices may be used in combination for each of the supply / discharge ports.

[0021]

In the document cassette according to the present invention, the document is placed on one of the supporting plates, the document holding sheet is placed to sandwich the document, and the other supporting plate is placed on the document holding sheet to fix the document. To do. In this way, the pair of support plates sandwiching the original document are fixed and set by the holding member.

With this arrangement, when a document is sandwiched, the document can be easily adjusted in position and held at a predetermined position while elastically deforming the thin document holding sheet, and a supporting plate can be placed on the document and held by the holding member. Can be firmly fixed by. At least one of the supporting plates is formed of a transparent plate, and at least the recording portion of the original document has a light-transmitting property, so that the transparent supporting plate is transparent when supplied to the image reading device. The original is illuminated through the light-transmitting original holding sheet portion, and the optical image signal is read.

Further, in the case where the original holding sheet is constructed so that the portion other than the recorded portion of the original has a light-shielding property, the light does not pass through the portion other than the recorded portion of the original. It is possible to prevent deterioration of image quality. Further, in the case where the outer surface of the holding member is configured as the transport surface in the image reading device of the document cassette, it is possible to prevent the support plate from becoming the transport surface and being damaged, and to reduce the transparency of the support plate. It can be prevented.

Further, by making the holding member asymmetrical with respect to the conveying direction, the position of the original in the original cassette can be specified, and thus erroneous setting at the reading position in the image reading device can be prevented. In the document cassette, which is provided with a display means for displaying a code number showing the correspondence between the cassette and the document supported by the cassette, this display is read by an image reading device and prescanned (before the main reading of the image signal). It is possible to store the reading conditions of the original image in correspondence with the cassette during simple reading), and improve the work efficiency of the main scan based on this.

Further, according to the document cassette feeding device of the present invention, the document cassettes stacked and stored in the stacker are separately fed from the one end to the image reading device by the feeding means. At the same time, the stacking and storing of the document cassettes is forcibly pushed and moved by the moving means from the other end, not by gravity, by the amount supplied to the image reading apparatus. As a result, the original cassette is pushed into the supply position of the supply means by the moving means, and no special external force is applied to the original cassette during supply, so the force required for supply is small, and gravity drops after supply. Since no impact is applied to the document cassette, it is possible to prevent damage to the document cassette and displacement of the document.

Further, in the case where the stacker is constructed so as to be detachable from the main body of the apparatus including the supply means and the moving means, the manuscript cassette can be replaced only by replacing the stacker in which the manuscript cassettes are housed. Excellent in Further, in the structure in which the stacker is formed in an asymmetric shape for positioning the storage direction of the original cassette in correspondence with the original cassette in which the storage space has an asymmetrical cross-sectional shape, the original cassette is set in the wrong direction. It can be prevented from being stored in the position, and the set position in the image reading device will not be mistaken.

Further, the feeding means receives the original cassette from the image reading device by an operation reverse to that at the time of feeding the original cassette and stacks the original cassette on one end side of the original cassettes stacked and stored in the stacker, while the moving means moves the original cassette. In the configuration configured to also have the function of pulling the other end by the overlapped amount of the document cassettes by the operation opposite to that of the feeding, the two are assembled in parallel in the image reading device and the feeding function is provided in one. ， If the other side has a discharging function, the reading work efficiency will be improved.

Further, according to the document cassette carrying device of the present invention, in the state where the document cassette is placed on the document table,
After rotating by a predetermined angle on the rotary table as needed, the sub-scanning transport mechanism performs scanning while transporting in the sub-scanning direction that is perpendicular to the line-shaped reading sensor. While having the basic function of reading while rotating the rotary table in the main scanning direction, the configuration in which the supply / discharge port is provided on the end side in the main scanning direction allows the document in the document cassette to be supplied from the supply / discharge port. Positioning of the supply position to the table and the discharge position from the document table to the supply / discharge port can be performed with high accuracy and speed by the movement control using the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism as a drive source.

Further, in the structure in which one or more document cassette feeding devices according to the present invention are used in combination, a plurality of document cassettes housed in the stacker are separated one by one and the image reading device is separated. Supply to
The sheets can be discharged one by one from the image reading device and stored in a stacker, which facilitates automation of supply and discharge.

Further, in the structure in which a plurality of the document cassette supply devices are used in combination for each of the supply / discharge ports, a large number of document cassettes can be supplied to the image reading device at one time to be read. it can.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a document cassette according to the present invention. In the figure, the document cassette 1
Is a thin hinge part that is made of resin and has elasticity
The holding member 11 is formed by integrally molding a pair of frame bodies 11A and 11B that can be freely folded around 11a.
Claws provided at a plurality of locations around the openings A and 11B, respectively
Supporting plates 12 and 13 which are fitted inside 11b and 11c and are made of a transparent glass plate or the like are held, respectively. In addition, the frame 11A, 11
In B, together with the groove portions 11d and 11e that escape the claw portions 11b and 11c when they are stacked, the coupling projection 11f and the groove 11g that elastically couple the frame bodies 11A and 11B, and the document holding sheet described later. A protrusion 11h and a hole 11i which are fitted to each other are formed. Further, the four corners of each frame 11A, 11B are chamfered at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to each side, of which the left and right chamfered portions 11 on the opposite side to the hinge portion 11a are shown.
The sizes j and 11k are different in size, and are asymmetrical with respect to the conveyance direction of the document cassette 1 to the image reading apparatus.

A document holding sheet 14 for sandwiching a document is provided between the lower support plate 11A and the support plate 11A. The document holding sheet 14 is formed of a thin resin sheet or a thin metal plate,
A window portion 14a is opened in the image recording portion of the document P, and holes 14b and 14c for fitting with the claw portion 11b and the projection 11h are opened. Further, the document holding sheet 14 has an opaque light shielding property.

When supporting the original P on the original cassette 1, the original (35) is first placed on the support plate 12 on the lower side in the drawing.
mm, 6 × 9 cm size, 4 × 5 in, etc. film, a pair in the figure) P is placed, and the original holding sheet 14 is sandwiched between the upper end of the figure and the claw portion 11b (or sandwiched from the beginning). While being fixedly deformed and elastically deformed, the original P is gradually brought into contact with the original P from the upper side to the lower side, and the position of the original P is adjusted in the meantime to securely hold the original P at a predetermined position. In particular, in this embodiment, since the window portion 14a is opened in the recording portion, it is possible to position easily by putting a finger there. However, instead of opening the recording portion, even if only the recording portion is made transparent and has a light-transmitting property, the displacement of the document P can be effectively prevented by elastic deformation. Further, by making at least a portion other than the original recording portion of the original holding sheet light-shielding as described above, adverse effects on image quality can be avoided by allowing transmitted light other than the recording portion to enter the image sensor (CCD) of the image reading apparatus. it can. However, such a mask function may be provided on the support plate side, and if the portion other than the recording portion of the lower support plate is formed opaque by silk printing or an opaque film, the original P is not covered with the original holding sheet. Therefore, it becomes easy to set it at a predetermined position.

Further, the sizes of the chamfered portions 11j and 11k are changed so that the document cassette 1 is asymmetrical with respect to the conveying direction to the image reading apparatus, so that the document cassette 1
When the documents are stored in a stacker to be described later and automatically supplied, a reverse insertion prevention function for surely setting the document cassette 1 at the correct reading position of the image reading device by positioning the storage position in the stacker is provided. You can

Further, since the surfaces of the support plates 12 and 13 are provided one step inward with respect to the outer surface of the holding member 11, the outer surface of the holding member 11 serves as a conveying surface in the image reading apparatus of the document cassette 1 and supports it. It is possible to maintain excellent light-transmitting property without scratching the plates 12 and 13. In the present embodiment, both of the two support plates are formed of transparent plates, but there is also a type in which reflected light of illumination light applied to the original from the image sensor side is received by the image sensor, for example. In this case, the support plate on the side opposite to the image pickup element is made of an opaque material.

FIG. 2 shows the second part of the original cassette 2 according to the present invention.
This embodiment has a simple structure as compared with the first embodiment, and has two supporting plates 21 and 22 made of transparent glass or the like, an original holding sheet 23 and supporting plates 21 and 22 sandwiched therebetween. It is composed of a pair of holding members 24 and 25 that sandwich and hold the two opposite end portions of each other. One corner of each of the support plates 21 and 22 and the holding member 24 is tapered to form a chamfered portion 26, which has the same reverse insertion preventing function of the original cassette 2 as described above, and at the same time, the holding members 24 and 25. The outer surface of the support plate 21,
Since it is located on the outer side of the surface of 22 and serves as the conveyance surface of the image reading apparatus, the function of preventing the flaws of the support plates 21 and 22 can be similarly obtained.

A label having a bar code on the surface of the other holding member 25 for allowing the image reading device to read the number of the original cassette 2 and the code number corresponding to the size of the original supported by the original cassette 2. 27 is attached. As a result, the image reading device reads the number and the document size corresponding to each document cassette 2 from the bar code of the label 27, and the prescan (temporary reading) described later is performed according to the size of the document P supported by the document cassette 2. ) Is performed, and various conditions such as color information, magnification, and angle necessary for the subsequent main scanning (main scanning) can be stored in association with the code number, that is, for each document cassette 2. Needless to say, the label having the identification function may be attached also in the first embodiment.

Also in this embodiment, the original P is sandwiched between the original holding sheet 23 and the one support plate 22 and held while the positioning is adjusted, and then the other support plate 21 is overlapped and securely fixed. Therefore, the positional deviation of the document P can be effectively prevented.
FIG. 3 shows a document cassette 3 according to a modification of the second embodiment, in which a pair of support plates 31 and 32 are formed in a foldable and integral structure. In this case, the support plates 31 and 32 are integrally molded with a flexible resin material such as acrylic resin, or
It may be formed by connecting two glass plates or the like via an adhesive tape. Other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and are designated by the same reference numerals.

Next, a description will be given of an embodiment of a document feeding device according to the present invention, which stores a plurality of the above-mentioned plane supporting type document cassettes and supplies them to the image reading device. In FIGS. 4 and 5 showing an embodiment, the document feeding device 4 is composed of a stacker 41 and a box-shaped device body 42 on which the stacker 41 is detachably mounted. The stacker 41 is, for example, the document cassette 2 according to the second or third embodiment.
It has a structure in which a plurality of 3 are stacked one above the other and stored. still,
It is needless to say that the original cassette 1 in the first embodiment and other original flat supporting type original cassettes can be stacked and accommodated by changing the cross-sectional shape.

That is, the stacker 41 has a quadrangular prismatic cylindrical shape, the back wall thereof has an opening portion 41a which is opened except for the upper end portion thereof, and the bottom wall thereof is a holding member for the original cassettes 2 and 3 at the lowermost surface. A flange portion 41b is formed so as to be bent inward so as to contact and support the 24 and 25. Further, at the upper ends of the opposite side walls, openings 41c are formed so that the respective hands can be inserted to serve as a handle, and further, at least the upper end of one of the four corners of the cross section can be formed. Further, a triangular spacer portion 41d for closing a portion of the holding member 24 corresponding to the chamfered portion 24a is provided.

The stacker 41 includes a document cassette 2, 3
However, as shown in the drawing, the upper and lower holding members 24 and 25 are brought into direct contact with each other to be stored in a laminated state. Here, since the chamfered portion 24a of the document cassettes 2 and 3 holding member 24 can be stored by positioning the chamfered portion 24a on the spacer portion 41d, reverse insertion can be prevented. When the original cassettes 2 and 3 have a square shape, the included angle between the chamfered portion 24a and the spacer portion 41d is other than 45 ° in order to reliably prevent the front and back sides from being reversed and stored. The angle should be set to. In the case of a rectangle that is not a square, it can be prevented from being reversed and stored even at an angle of 45 °.

On the other hand, the apparatus main body 42 includes a space for accommodating the stacker 41 therein and an opening portion of the stacker 41.
41a has a space projecting to the outside at a portion facing 41a, and a supply / discharging unit in which only one original cassette 2 or 3 can be put in or taken out at an upper end portion of a wall opposite to the projecting space forming side. The outlet 42a is cut out. Further, in the bottom space, a drive unit 43 as a moving unit that pushes up the document cassettes 2 and 3 housed in the stacker 41 while supporting them on the bottom surface.
Is built in. The drive unit 43 may be configured, for example, by screwing an arm 43b into a ball screw 43a that is rotated by a motor, and inserting the arm 43b through the opening 41a to move the document cassettes 2 and 3 up and down.
It should be noted that the arm 43b may be shaped so as to support only the bottom surface portions of the holding members 24 and 25 that are disengaged from the flange portion 41b of the stacker 41, without needing to scratch the support plates 22 and 32. Further, on the upper open surface of the apparatus main body 42, a cassette carrying section 44 as a supplying means is attached in a cover shape covering the open surface. The cassette transport unit 44 has a pair of drive rollers on the bottom surface.
The roller 44a is mounted so that the roller 44a can be rotated forward and backward by a built-in drive motor.

When the document cassettes 2 and 3 are supplied to the image reading device, the drive unit 43 of the document cassette is used.
By pushing up the document cassettes 2 and 3 stacked in the stacker 41 and bringing the uppermost document cassettes 2 and 3 to a position where they come into contact with the roller 44a of the cassette transport unit 44, the roller 44a is lifted. Only the uppermost original cassettes 2 and 3 which are rotationally driven to come into pressure contact therewith are conveyed and supplied from the supply / discharge port 42a to the image reading apparatus side.

Here, as a mechanism for stopping the pushing-up operation of the arm 43b at a predetermined position where the uppermost document cassettes 2 and 3 come into contact with the roller 44a, the number of stored document cassettes 2 and 3 in the stacker 41 is stored. The rotation amount of the motor (ball screw) corresponding to the distance from the current position of the uppermost original cassettes 2 and 3 to the predetermined position is controlled, and the original cassettes 2 and 3 come into contact with the roller 44a. Switch that sometimes turns on (or off)
It may be configured such that a light transmission / reflection light detection switch and a limit switch are provided to control the ON / OFF of the motor. A switch similar to the above may be provided to detect whether or not the stacker 41 is securely stored in the apparatus main body 42.

Further, the motor of the drive unit 42b and the roller 44a of the cassette transport unit 44 are rotationally driven in the direction opposite to that at the time of supplying the original cassette, so that the uppermost original cassettes 2 and 3 are one sheet from the original time. It is possible to receive the document cassette of which the reading is completed from the supply / discharge port 42a from the image reading device side while setting it at the position lowered to the lower position. That is, at this time, the above-mentioned document cassette supplying device has the function of the document cassette receiving device. Then, the image reading device is provided with two supply / discharge ports, two document cassette supply devices are provided adjacent to these supply / discharge ports, one of the document cassettes is supplied to the image reading device, and the other is supplied with the image. If the document cassette is received from the reading device and stored, the automation is greatly promoted and the reading time can be greatly shortened.

As the other mechanism of the cassette carrying section, in addition to the above-mentioned roller system, an extrusion system or a roller system for carrying by contacting the side surface of the original cassette may be used. next,
An embodiment of a document cassette conveying device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the basic configuration principle of the image reading device 60 including the document cassette conveying device according to the embodiment.

In the figure, the light from the light source 50 for irradiating the original P is collected by the condensing unit 51. The transmitted light from the original P passes through the lens 52, is reflected by the V mirror unit 53, and is then guided to the line CCD sensor 54. The plural document cassettes 2 and 3 are supplied one by one from the document cassette supply device or the like. Further, a recognition unit 55 is provided which recognizes the code number from the label 27 attached in advance to the document cassettes 2 and 3 each time the document cassettes 2 and 3 are supplied.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a document cassette transporting device portion of the above-described device 60. In the figure, fixed base 61
Has a transmission hole 61a, which is long in the main scanning direction and is parallel to the line CCD sensor 54, formed in the center of the fixing table.
A sub-scanning transport table 62 that constitutes a sub-scanning transport mechanism that is freely movable on the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction is mounted on 61, and on the sub-scanning table 62 in a direction parallel to the main scanning direction. A document table 63 that constitutes a freely movable trimming mechanism is mounted. A central portion of the document table 63 is configured to include a rotary table 64 which is freely rotatable in a horizontal plane. Although not shown, the rotation driving motor of the rotary table 64 is arranged on the original table 63 outside the rotary table 64, and the trimming motor is arranged on the sub-scanning table 62. Are arranged on the fixed base 61.

Further, as the structure according to the present invention, the supply / discharge port 65 in the image reading apparatus is provided with respect to the fixed base 61.
It is provided at the end on the main scanning direction side. In this embodiment, two supply / discharge ports 65 are provided on the same end side on the front side and the back side in the sub-scanning direction. The operation of the transport mechanism will be described. One side, for example, the supply / discharge port 65 on the left side in FIG. 8 and the original cassette supply device 4 connected to the image reading device 60 adjacent to the supply / discharge port 65 are connected to the supply port and the supply port during prescan. Device, which functions as a discharge port and a discharge device during the main scan, and is connected to the right side supply / discharge port 65 and the image reading device 60 adjacent to the supply / discharge port 65.
To function as a discharge port and a discharge device during the prescan, and as a supply port and a supply device during the main scan.

In this case, a plurality of original cassettes 2 and 3 to be used are stored in the stacker 41 of the left original cassette feeder 4, and the right original cassette feeder 4 is stored.
Leave stacker 41 empty. Then, from the document cassette supply device 4 on the left side, the document cassettes 2 and 3 located at the uppermost position
Are positioned one by one through the supply / discharge port 65 to the center of the rotary table 64 of the document table 63, and then the size of the document supported by the document cassette 2 or 3 is read from the bar code of the label 27. Next, the sub-scanning table 62 is driven to convey in the sub-scanning direction, irradiate light in the main scanning direction, and pre-scan in the two-dimensional direction. Based on the information obtained by the pre-scan, the reading conditions for the main scan to be performed later are set and stored in association with the code numbers.
The original cassettes 2 and 3 which have moved to the position of the chain line in FIG. 8 (A) after the completion of the pre-scan are moved from the original table 63 through the supply / discharge port 65 on the right side in FIG. The sheet is discharged to the top of the stacker 41 of the feeder 4. The first one is the arm 43 set at the top.
After that, the arm 43b is lowered one by one for the original cassettes 2 and 3 and is superposed and supported on the uppermost original cassettes 2 and 3.

In this way, all original cassettes 2, 3
When the prescan of is completed, the right side document cassette feeding device 4 is driven in the opposite direction to the above to function as a feeding device, and the document cassettes 2 and 3 are re-placed one by one from the upper side again to the rotary table of the document table 63. 64, and this time, according to the reading conditions set corresponding to each original cassette 2 and 3 at the time of the pre-scan, a rotary table is provided if necessary.
The main scan is performed while rotating the 64 by a predetermined angle or driving the trimming mechanism to perform the trimming operation, while conveying in the sub scanning direction in the opposite direction to the above. After the main scan, the original cassettes 2 and 3 are sequentially ejected into the stacker 41 of the left original cassette feeder 4 which also functions as an ejector through the left supply / eject port 65 which functions as an ejector, and before the prescan. Is returned to the state of.

In the present invention, since the supply / discharge port 65 is arranged on the end side of the fixed base 61 in the main scanning direction, the document cassettes 2 and 3 are supplied / discharged by the sub-scan transporting motor. Can be positioned, and the motor for sub-scanning conveyance has high-speed and high-accuracy performance as described above, so that the positioning can be performed at high speed and high accuracy.

Further, if the two supply / discharge ports 65 and the document cassette supply device 4 are provided as described above, automation of a series of supply, reading, and discharge operations is significantly promoted. In particular,
It is possible to easily perform the main scan after finishing the prescan for all the document cassettes 2 and 3 by switching the supply and discharge functions. It is possible to continuously perform the prescan and the main scan for each document cassette, but in that case, it is usually necessary for the operator to set the reading conditions in the main scan after the prescan. Since it is necessary for the operator to wait until the prescan of the next supplied document cassettes 2 and 3 is started, it takes a considerable time to finish setting the reading conditions for all the document cassettes. On the other hand, with the method in which the main scan is performed after finishing the pre-scan for all document cassettes as described above, the main scan can be performed completely automatically, so that the operator's work can be completed before the main scan. Therefore, the working time can be further shortened because the time can be drastically shortened and the transport efficiency of the document cassette in the prescan can be improved as much as possible.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention (70 in the figure), in which the supply / discharge ports 65 are arranged at both ends of the fixed base 61 on the same line in the main scanning direction. It was set up. In this system, the width in the main scanning direction of the apparatus is increased as compared with the above system, but the document cassette that has been read is conveyed to the supply / discharge port 65 having the discharge function while the other is supplied from the other supply / discharge port 65. Since the reading original cassette can be supplied, the original cassette can be continuously conveyed like continuous feeding of a copying machine, and the conveying efficiency can be improved.

10 and 11 show a third embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention (80 in the figure), and two supply / discharge ports arranged at the same positions as in the second embodiment. In contrast to 65, each is equipped with a plurality of document feeders (six in the embodiment), and is a cylindrical storage box that rotates around an axis.
The document feeders 4 are radially accommodated in the 66, and a large number of document cassettes 2 and 3 are set by sequentially setting the feed / discharge ports 42a of the document feeders 4 to positions facing the feed / discharge ports of the image reading device. Can be supplied / discharged, and a large amount of information can be read quickly.

FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention, in which the document feeding apparatus 4 is horizontally arranged.

[0057]

As described above, in the original cassette according to the present invention, the original can be easily adjusted and held in a predetermined position while elastically deforming the elastically deformable original holding sheet. By mounting the support plate and holding it by the holding member, it can be firmly fixed without displacement.

Further, in the structure in which the original holding sheet has the mask function, light is not transmitted to other than the recording portion of the original, so that it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality due to the extra transmitted light, and to prevent the deterioration of the image outside the holding member. In the case where the surface is configured to be the transport surface of the image reading device of the document cassette, the support plate can be prevented from becoming a transport surface and damaged, preventing the transparency of the support plate from decreasing, and transporting the holding member. If the shape is asymmetric with respect to the direction, it is possible to prevent erroneous setting at the reading position in the image reading device, and if the document cassette is provided with a code number display means, the conditions for reading the original image at the time of prescan are set. By storing the data in association with the cassette, the speed of the main scan can be increased.

Further, according to the document cassette supply device of the present invention, the stacked document cassettes are separated from one end one by one and supplied to the image reading device, while the other part is supplied to the image reading device. Since the original cassette is moved by pushing it from the end, the original cassette does not drop from the top due to the supply of the original cassette, and the original can be stably supplied without displacement.

If the stacker is constructed so that it can be freely attached to and detached from the main body of the feeder, the original cassette can be replaced by simply replacing each stacker containing the original cassette. In the configuration in which the asymmetrical shape is formed so that the storage direction of the original cassette is positioned corresponding to the asymmetrical original cassette, the set position in the image reading device is not erroneously moved with the supply means. In the one configured to have a function of causing the other end to be pulled in by an amount corresponding to the overlap of the document cassettes by operating the means in a reverse manner to the time of supplying the document cassettes, the document supply device can also function as the discharge device, In addition, if a plurality of units are provided to distinguish the use of the supply function and the use of the discharge function, the reading efficiency is further improved.

Further, according to the document cassette carrying apparatus of the present invention, the supply / discharge port is provided on the end side in the main scanning direction, so that the supply position of the document cassette from the supply / discharge port to the document table is reduced. The positioning of the discharge position from the document table to the supply / discharge port can be performed with high accuracy and speed using the high-performance sub-scanning conveyance mechanism. In addition, the document cassette supply device is
With one configured to be used in combination with two or more, it is possible to automate the supply of the document cassette to the image reading device and the discharge and receipt of the document cassette from the image reading device. If you switch between the functions, you can significantly accelerate the reading speed,
Further, in a configuration in which a plurality of document cassette supply devices are used in combination for each of the supply / discharge ports,
A large number of document cassettes can be supplied to the image reading device and read at one time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a document cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a document cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a third embodiment of a document cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a three-sided view and an exploded view showing an embodiment of a document cassette feeder according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the above embodiment

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the basic principle configuration of an image reading apparatus equipped with a document cassette transporting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a carrying mechanism portion of the apparatus of the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view and a perspective view of a transfer mechanism portion of the above.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a transport mechanism portion of a second embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an image reading apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a document cassette according to a conventional example.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a document feeding device according to a conventional example.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another document feeder according to the conventional example.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a conveyance mechanism portion of an image reading apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2, 3 Document cassette 11, 24, 25 Holding member 12, 13, 21, 22, 31, 32 Support plate 14, 23 Document holding sheet 14a Window 27 Label 4 Document feeder 41 Stacker 42 Device body 43 Drive unit 44 Cassette transport unit 60, 70, 80, 90 Image reading device 61 Fixed base 62 Sub-scanning transport table 63 Document platform 64 Rotating table 65 Supply / discharge port

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/00 108 C 4226-5C 1/04 106 A 7251-5C

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A document cassette, which is supplied to an image reading device for reading an image of a document while supporting the document in a flat state, at least one of which is a transparent support plate for sandwiching and supporting the document, and supporting the document. A holding member for fixing and holding the supporting plate in a fixed state, and an elastically deformable material for holding the original between the supporting plates before holding the original between the supporting plates. A document cassette, comprising: a document holding sheet having a translucent portion. 2. The document cassette according to claim 1, wherein the document holding sheet has a light-shielding property except for a recording part of the document. 3. The document cassette according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the holding member serves as a conveyance surface of the image reading device of the document cassette. 4. The document cassette according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has an asymmetrical shape with respect to the conveying direction. 5. The document cassette, wherein the document cassette includes a display means for displaying a code number indicating the correspondence between the cassette and the document to be supported. 6. A device for supplying a document cassette supporting a document in a flat state to an image reading device, wherein a stacker for stacking and storing a plurality of document cassettes and a document cassette housed in the stacker A supply unit that separates one from the other end and supplies it to the image reading device; and a moving unit that pushes and moves the stacked document cassettes from the other end by the amount supplied to the image reading device. A document cassette feeding device characterized by being configured. 7. The document cassette feeding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the stacker is attachable to and detachable from an apparatus main body including the feeding means and the moving means. 8. The stacker according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the stacker is formed in an asymmetrical shape for positioning the document cassette in the accommodating direction corresponding to the document cassette whose storage space is formed in an asymmetrical sectional shape. Document cassette feeding device. 9. The feeding means receives the original cassette from the image reading device by an operation opposite to that at the time of feeding the original cassette and stacks the original cassette on one end side of the original cassettes stacked and stored in the stacker, while the moving means includes the original cassette. 9. The document cassette feeding device according to claim 6, further comprising a function of retracting the other end by the amount of the overlapped document cassettes by an operation reverse to that of the feeding of. 10. A document cassette conveying device in an image reading device, which is supplied with a document cassette supporting a document in a flat state, reads a recorded image of the document, and converts the document image into an electric signal, wherein the document cassette is a document table. A sub-scanning conveyance mechanism that conveys in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction along the line direction of the line-shaped reading sensor, and a rotary table that is provided on the document table and is rotatable while holding the document cassette. A rotation mechanism having the same and a trimming mechanism for moving the rotary table in a main scanning direction which is a trimming direction, while supplying the document cassette from the outside of the image reading apparatus to the document table or manuscript from the document table One or more supply / discharge ports for discharging to a stacker for accommodating the cassette are provided on the end side in the main scanning direction. Original cassette transport device. 11. A document cassette conveying device, which is used by combining one or more document cassette supplying devices according to any one of claims 6 to 9. 12. A document cassette transporting device, wherein a plurality of the document cassette feeding devices according to claim 6 are used in combination for each of the supply / discharge ports.