JPH0514598Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of the Invention) The present invention consists of a casing in which a reading window is provided on the bottom surface and a reading position confirmation window is provided on the top surface for confirming the position of the reading part in the reading window. , comprising a light irradiation section, a reflecting mirror, a lens, and an imaging section, the light irradiation section irradiates the reading section with light through the reading window, the image of the reading section from the reading window is reflected by the reflecting mirror and sent to the lens, and then The image formed by the lens is captured by the imaging unit,
The present invention relates to an image scanner configured to output the image signal to a connected device.

(Prior art and its problems) In this type of image scanner, the position of the read image relative to the reading window is usually confirmed through the reading position confirmation window. At this time, whether the read image is accurately positioned with respect to the reading window is determined based on reading position markers integrally provided on both sides of the reading window surface.

However, in the conventional product, the marker is simply provided in a platform-like manner and integrally protrudes from the upper surface of the transparent reading window, so there is a problem that it is very difficult to see.

If an opaque sheet or the like is pasted as a marker, it will be easier to see, but the pasting process is time-consuming and there is a problem in that if the pasting position is misaligned, accurate alignment cannot be performed.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is such that the reading position marker of the reading window is easy to see, and the position of the reading image on the reading window can be easily confirmed through the position confirmation window. The purpose is to provide an image scanner.

(Structure and effects of the invention) In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention has the following features:
In the image scanner described at the beginning, the reading window surface is provided with a reading position marker having an uneven surface structure including a recessed part that forms a shadow part by the irradiation light from the light irradiation part.

According to this configuration, a shadow part is formed in the recessed part of the reading position marker by the irradiation light from the light irradiation part and becomes dark, so that the part appears black and can be clearly confirmed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, an easy-to-manufacture and easily visible reading position marker is formed on the reading window, and this marker makes it possible to easily confirm the position of the read image on the reading window.

(Description of Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external shape, FIG. 2 is a sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration.

In these figures, reference numeral 1 indicates an upper case, and 2 indicates a lower case, which are joined together to form a casing 3. Upper case 1, lower case 2
Both have a wide front part.

A reading window 5 to which a resin transparent cover 4 is attached in the width direction is formed in the wide front part of the lower case 2. At the front upper part of the reading window 5, a reading window 5 can be read through the reading window 5. An LED array 6 that irradiates light onto the surface is continuously provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transparent cover 4 is integrally provided with a total of four reading position markers 7 near both ends thereof. The reading position marker 7, as shown in FIG. are inclined to face the LED array 6, and each of the other surfaces 8b is positioned at an angle of approximately 90 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the transparent cover 4.

By having the reading position marker 7 configured as described above, when the reading position marker 7 receives illumination from the LED array 6, each of the concave portions 9 that are difficult to reach the illumination light becomes a dark shadow, and that portion appears black to the eye. The structure is such that it can be easily identified.

On the rear side of the reading window 5 of the lower case 2, there is a roller body 1 that rotates in contact with the reading surface during reading.
0 is provided so that a portion thereof protrudes from the protrusion opening 11 in a freely rotatable manner. The roller body 10 is
As shown in FIG. 4, a rubber roller 12, a pulley 13 provided on one side of the roller 12,
It consists of a shaft rod 14 protruding from both ends.

The roller body 10 is mounted on the lower case 2 at opposing positions on both sides of the protruding opening 11 on the upper surface of the lower case 2.
A pair of bearing parts 15 that are integrally provided during molding.
It is installed and provided. Bearing part 15
Each has a lower base part 17 provided with a bearing recess 16 located on the inside, and a bearing port 1 located on the outside.
8, the bearing port 18 of one of the curved portions 19 (the one on the left in FIG. 4) penetrates, and the other bearing port 18 is closed at the outer end and does not penetrate. It is becoming.

To install the roller body 10, first install the pulley 13.
The side shaft 14 is placed in the bearing recess 16 of the lower stand 17, and in this state, the roller body 10 is slightly inclined and moved in the direction of arrow A, and the one shaft 14 is placed in the bearing recess 16 of the curved portion 19. Insert into the opening 18 until the tip protrudes from the opposite side of the bearing opening 18. Next, the roller body 10 is slid in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned direction, and the other shaft rod 14 is inserted into the bearing opening 18 of the curved portion 19 until its tip touches the closed surface.

Due to the second slide movement mentioned above, one shaft rod 1
4 fits into the bearing opening 18 of the curved portion 19, and in this state, the roller cover 20 is attached to the lower case 2 by welding so as to cover the roller body 10. One side portion 20a of the roller cover 20 is brought into contact with the outer surface of the open curved portion 19 of the bearing port 18, and the tip of one shaft rod 14 is positioned by abutting against this one side portion 20a. The roller body 10 is rotatably provided at a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the roller cover 20 is provided with a belt drawer opening 21 at a position corresponding to the pulley 13 when installed.
A bearing portion 23 of a rotary slit plate 22, as shown in FIG. 7, constituting the encoder is provided at a position of the lower case 2 facing the draw-out opening 21. A rotary slit plate 22 is attached with both ends of the shaft being supported by the bearing portion 23, and a pulley 24 of the rotary slit plate 22 and the roller body 1 are connected to each other.
A belt 25 having a circular cross section is stretched between two pulleys 13.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which the belt 25 is hooked to both pulleys 13 and 24, and the cross-sectional shape of the locking recess 26 in which the belt 25 is locked is also a part of a circle. The curvature (for example, the curvature radius is 0.75 mm and the curvature is 1/0.75) is the curvature of the belt 25 shape (for example, the curvature radius is 0.9 mm and the curvature is 1/0.75).
0.9) is formed to be smaller.

Therefore, when tension is applied to the belt 25, the belt 25 contacts the pulleys 13, 24 only at the lowermost portion 26a of the locking recess 26, and power is transmitted only at this contact portion.
In this way, the amount of power transmitted from the pulley 13 to the belt 25 and from the belt 25 to the pulley 24 for a certain amount of rotation of the roller 12 is made constant, and the rotation ratio between the roller 12 and the rotating slit plate 22 is kept constant. The configuration is such that it is maintained.

The output signal from the encoder accompanying the rotation of the rotary slit plate 22 is used as a capture timing signal when capturing an image of the CCD image sensor, which will be explained later. By maintaining the rotation ratio constant and with high precision, it is possible to accurately output a capture timing signal each time the image scanner is moved by a set amount during reading.

A first circuit board 30 is mounted on the rear upper surface of the lower case 2.
is installed. On this first circuit board 30, a photoelectric element 31 and other various elements 3 that constitute an encoder together with the above-mentioned rotary slit plate 22 are mounted.
2 is attached, and furthermore, a start switch 33, a photo/text changeover switch 34, and a shade changeover switch 35, which are operated from the outside, are installed on the periphery.

The structure of concealing the photo/text changeover switch 34 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The photo/character switching switch 34 is operated by sliding an operating section 37 that projects outward from a switch opening 36 of the casing 3. Reference numeral 38 denotes a film body made of black polyethylene resin, and its mounting hole 39 has a cross-sectional shape almost equal to that of the operating section 37, and the operating section 37 is fitted into the mounting hole 39 and attached. The film body 38 includes a thick portion 40 whose lower portion is formed to protrude inward from the inner surface of the side wall of the lower case 2, and an end of the first circuit board 30 located close to the surface of the thick portion 40. A thick part 41 is sandwiched between the parts 30a and is provided at a position where the upper part faces the thick part 40 of the lower case 2 of the upper case 1.
Positioning in the upright position is performed in a state along the .

Then, the film body 38 is positioned in a stable state and moves along the inner surfaces of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 as the operating section 37 slides, and the film body 38 moves along the inner surfaces of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 to cover the part of the switch opening 36 where the operating section 37 is not located. It functions as a blindfold. In addition, the film body 38 performs the blinding function as described above, and is always located close to the inner surfaces of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2, so that the casing 3 can be seen through the gap.
This serves to prevent dirt and dust from entering the interior.

50 is an optical system holder, shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.
As shown in the figure, it is made of an integrally molded resin product. The optical system holder 50 has a wide front part and a narrow rear part, and a first reflecting mirror 52 is inclined along the inner surface of a rising inclined part 51 at the front part.
is attached, and a second reflecting mirror 54 is attached in an inclined manner along the inner surface of the rear rising inclined portion 53. First and second reflecting mirrors 51, 54
A cylindrical lens holder portion 55 is located at an intermediate position.
is integrally provided so that its axial direction is the direction connecting the first and second reflecting mirrors 52 and 54.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the upper surface of the lens holder portion 55 is provided with two notches 56 and a position adjustment hole 58 for the lens body 57. The portion serves as a fixing piece 60 for fixing the lens body 57 mounted in the mounting hole 59. A pressing part 61 that presses the lens body 57 of the fixed piece 60 is formed to project slightly inward from the circumferential surface of the mounting hole 59. The peripheral surface of the lens body 57 to be mounted is elastically pressed and held. Both notches 56 and fixing piece 60
The upper portion is a flat portion 62 so as not to obstruct the passage of light from the first reflecting mirror 52 to the second reflecting mirror 54 .

As shown in FIG. 15, the front side of the lens holder section 55 is connected to the accommodating section 7 of the CCD image sensor 70.
1, and a CCD image sensor 70 is installed inside it.
is accommodated. The CCD image sensor 70 is attached to a second circuit board 72, and by attaching the second circuit board 72 to the front surface of the housing section 70 with screws 73, the CCD image sensor 70 is installed inside the housing section 71. There is. Reference numeral 74 denotes an insulating fixing member that presses and fixes the surface of the second circuit board 72 by tightening the screws 73.

The mounting hole 75 of the second circuit board 72 through which the screw 73 is inserted has a horizontally elongated shape. The mounting position of the CCD image sensor 70 can be adjusted with respect to 57.

The effect of adjusting the mounting position of the CCD image sensor 70 on the lens body 57 will be explained below using FIG. 16.

Figure 16A shows the reading pixel density (the number of pixels of the CCD image sensor required for a reading width of 1 mm) of 8 dots/
mm, the length Y of the image G1 formed on the imaging surface of the CCD image sensor 70 (total length X is 14μ×1024dots=14.336mm, 14μ is the length of one square pixel) is 14μ× 8dots x 105mm = 11.76mm (105mm is the reading width).

FIG. 16B shows a case where the positional relationship between the lens body 57 and the CCD image sensor 70 is the same as in FIG. image G2
The length Z is 14μ×7.08dots×105mm≒10.40mm, and the image G2 is located at the imaging surface 70a with respect to the image G1.
A short image is formed near the center of the image.

However, the image extraction position on the imaging surface 70a is always on one end side 70b of the imaging surface 70a.
Since it is the nth pixel position N from
Since one end of the image G2 formed in the state does not coincide with the pixel position N, the image G2 cannot be extracted normally. Therefore, as mentioned above, the lens body 5
By shifting the mounting position of the CCD image sensor 70 relative to the image G2 by L (corresponding to the length of the mounting hole 75), the pixel position N is shifted to the image G2 as shown in FIG. 16C.
This is to match one end of the . In this way, even in image scanners with different reading pixel densities, the second circuit board 72
The CCD image sensor 70 is integrally attached to the same member so that it can be used for both purposes.

Note that the image reading pixel density in the image scanner is changed by changing the lens to a lens with a different reduction magnification, and the reading pixel density is determined by the specifications of the printer to be connected and used.

Fixing parts 80 are provided below both sides of the lens holder part 55.
is provided, and the optical system holder 50 is fixed at approximately the center position of the lower case 2 by being fastened with a screw 81 at this portion.

In a state where the optical system holder 50 is attached to a predetermined position, an optical path from the reading window 5 to the first reflecting mirror 52 to the second reflecting mirror 54 to the lens body 57 is configured. And the optical path length is the reading window 5
The first and second reflecting mirrors 52, 5 are arranged between the lens body 57 and the lens body 57.
It is sufficiently long by reflecting it twice through 4.

Generally, when using a lens with a constant contraction magnification,
For image formation, it is necessary to maintain a predetermined inter-image distance (corresponding to the above-mentioned optical path length) between the image and the lens, and this distance needs to be long when the image size is large. Therefore, by adopting a configuration in which the optical path length can be increased as described above, the length of the reading window 5 corresponding to the size of the read image can also be increased, making it possible to read a read image with a long width. There is. In terms of external configuration, upper case 1,
In both the lower case 2, only the front part corresponding to the reading window 5 is wide, and the rear part is narrow, and this configuration allows the narrow rear part to be used as a grip part 82 to facilitate reading operations.

The upper case 1 is provided with a reading position confirmation window 83, and the positional relationship between the reading window 5 of the lower case 2 and the reading position confirmation window 83 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The first reflecting mirror 52 described above is provided at the front upper part of the reading window 5 with an inclination angle B of about 60 degrees, and the optical path from the lens body 57 side is refracted and reflected by the first reflecting mirror 52. It extends backward and downward from the position of the reflecting mirror 52. That is, the portion that is imaged by the CCD image pickup device 70 through the lens body 57 is the rear and lower portion of the reflecting mirror 52, and the reading window 5 is provided in that portion. Therefore, since there is no first reflecting mirror 52 above the reading window 5 that blocks the view, the reading position confirmation window 83 is arranged almost above the reading window 5.

The reading position marker 7 provided on the transparent cover 4 of the reading window 83 is easily visible from almost directly above the reading position confirmation window 83.
The structure is such that it is easy to check whether the read image matches the image. The position of the read image with respect to the read position marker 7 can be confirmed by using an imaginary line K1 connecting a pair of read position markers 7, one of which is located far away, and a line from the other pair of read position markers 7 perpendicular to the imaginary line K1. This is done by positioning the read image in a portion surrounded by two imaginary lines K2.

The operation of the image scanner having the above configuration will be briefly described below.

First, turn on the start switch 33, and
Switch the character changeover switch 34 and the shade changeover switch 35 to the desired side. Then, as described above, the read image of the document is aligned in the reading window 5, and when the alignment is completed, the user holds the grip portion 82 and moves it over the document.

The read image on the document brightly illuminated by the irradiation light from the LED array 6 is reflected by the first reflecting mirror 52 and the second reflecting mirror 54, respectively, and reaches the lens body 57.
An image is formed on the image sensor 70.

As the roller 12 rotates due to the reading movement, the rotary slit plate 22 rotates and the encoder outputs an image capture timing signal, and each time the roller 12 is moved by a set amount according to the timing signal, the image of the CCD image sensor 70 is read as image data. The image data signals are sequentially output to a connected device such as a word processor, and the read contents are displayed on the CRT.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 16 relate to embodiments of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the external appearance, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the internal structure, Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the roller body, and Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the reading position marker portion. 6 is a plan view of the roller cover, FIG. 7 is a side view of the rotating slit plate, FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the pulley portion, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the attachment of the film body. 10th
11 is a plan view of the optical system holder, FIG. 12 is a front view including a cutaway section of the same part, FIG. 13 is a front view of the lens holder, FIG. 14 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the attachment of the second circuit board, and FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the position adjustment and attachment structure of the lens and the CCD image sensor. 3 is the casing, 5 is the reading window, 6 is the LED
array (light irradiation part), 7 is a reading position marker,
9 is a concave portion, 52 is a first reflecting mirror, 54 is a second reflecting mirror, 57 is a lens body, and 70 is a CCD imaging device (imaging section).

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A light irradiation unit and a reflecting mirror are provided in a casing which is provided with a reading window on the bottom surface and a reading position confirmation window on the top surface for confirming the position of the reading unit in the reading window. , comprising a lens and an imaging section, irradiating light from the light irradiation section to the reading section through the reading window, reflecting an image of the reading section from the reading window on the reflecting mirror and sending it to the lens; In an image scanner configured to capture an image formed by the lens with the imaging unit and output the image signal to a connected device, a shadow area is formed on the reading window surface by the irradiation light from the light irradiation unit. 1. An image scanner characterized in that a reading position marker having an uneven surface structure and having a concave portion forming a concave portion is integrally provided.