JPH0614139A - Picture reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent staining due to dust and to stably perform the reading operation of a picture with high quality by providing an original insert port cover choking an original insert port after passing of an original. CONSTITUTION:An original insert port cover 4 has a light shield section 4a to shield light for a photo sensor 7 and a separation weight section 4b in contact with a paper feed roller 8 to prevent supply of originals other than an original 1a at the lowermost part of an original bundle 1 supplied by the paper feed roller 8 and to separate the originals, and similarly the reader is provided with an original carrier entry cover 14, a light shield section 14a to shield light for a photo sensor 17 and a white color face 14b used to read a white level reference. In the case of the standby state where no original bundle 1 is set, the original insert cover 4 is suspended down by its self-weight, the separate weight section 4b of the original insert cover 4 is contained in an original insert port cover tip containing opening section 6 to completely close the original insert port.

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 used in a facsimile or the like, and more particularly to an image reading apparatus suitable for efficiently preventing dirt or loss of an image due to dust or foreign matter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a facsimile, an electronic file system or the like, an image reading device is used to convert a document into an electric signal in order to transmit or register document information. In this image reading device, in order to read the document correctly,
It is equipped with a mechanism for conveying the document to a predetermined reading position. For example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-14026, a paper feed / separation mechanism is used to normally convey an original even when the original is taken in.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the structure of a facsimile using a conventional image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus of the facsimile shown in the figure is for automatically separating and feeding the document stack 1 one by one, and reading the document stack. The document insertion portion is located on the document insertion guide plate 3 and the document insertion guide. The bottom of the plate 2 guides the leading end of the original stack 1 to the original separating / conveying mechanism. Further, in the document separating / conveying mechanism, in order to determine whether or not the document stack 1 is inserted, an actuator 23 for a document presence / absence sensor having a width of several millimeters and an opposed photo sensor 7 are provided in the document inserting portion. ing. That is, when the document stack 1 is inserted, the actuator 23 is pushed and moved by the document stack 1 to shield the detection area of the photosensor 7 from light, and a signal indicating the presence or absence of the document stack 1 is obtained. To occur. Further, the document separating / conveying mechanism includes a sheet feeding roller 8, a separating friction piece 24, and a separating friction piece pressing leaf spring 24.
Only the lowermost original 1a of the original bundle 1 is provided to the original reading mechanism. At this time, in order to apply a conveying force to the originals that come into contact with the paper feed roller 8, separation conveyance springs 25 are provided on both the left and right sides of the separation friction piece 24 so that the lowermost original 1a of the original stack 1 is fed to the paper feed roller. It is pressed against 8.

In the document reading mechanism, the carrying rollers 9 and 10 and the carrying rollers 11 and 12 are provided to carry the document 1a at a constant speed and irradiate the LED array 19 with the reflected light from the document 1a. , The image sensor 2 through the document reading opening 26, the mirror 20, and the lens 22.
1 to read the image of the original 1a. Also, manuscript 1
When reading the image of a, the standard white level is
It is necessary to read the image sensor 21 in advance. For this purpose, the original 1a is sandwiched, and a white sticker is attached to the original conveying guide plate 27 facing the original reading opening 26, or white is colored. Then, the white color is radiated by the LED array 19 and the image sensor 2
The white reference is made by reading in 1.

Further, the timing of starting the reading operation for the original 1a conveyed onto the original reading opening 26 is detected by pushing the actuator 28 having a width of several millimeters, which is provided in front of the reading position, at the leading edge of the original. It is performed by moving (rotating). That is, the timing control for starting the reading operation is performed from the time when the actuator 28 pressed by the leading edge of the original shields the detection area of the opposed photo sensor 29 or the like from light. When the trailing edge of the document passes, the actuator 28 returns to the original standby position and releases the light blocking of the photo sensor 29. The timing of releasing the light shielding is used to control the end of the reading operation.

However, in the case of reading an original with such a configuration, since the original insertion portion is open to the outside, dust or foreign matter may adhere to the original separating mechanism and adversely affect the separation performance. . In addition, dust and foreign matter also enter the image reading mechanism, which adversely affects the reading of the document.

Further, the width of the actuator 23 provided in the document insertion portion is about several millimeters, and the contact width with respect to the document 1a is small. Therefore, the contact resistance at the time of document transportation is concentrated on a narrow portion, and there is a high possibility that skew (document skew feeding) occurs.

Further, although the separating / conveying spring 25 obtains the pressing force of the original 1a against the sheet feeding roller 8 by the separating friction piece 24, the separating / conveying spring 25 is generally space-saving due to structural restrictions. It uses a flat leaf spring type. The pressing force applied to the deflection of the leaf spring is less accurate than the coil spring. Further, even when viewed in terms of time, the user mistakenly pulls out the set original 1a without neglecting the procedure for releasing the pressing force, or touches the leaf spring itself to bend it. Then, appropriate weight cannot be obtained.

Further, in the document reading mechanism portion,
The document reading opening 26 at the position where the document image is taken in is merely a cutout, and the LED array 1
There is a risk that dust or foreign matter may enter the scanner optical system including the mirror 9, the mirror 20, the lens 22, and the image sensor 21, and the read image data may be lost. By making the document reading opening 26 a transparent plate glass, it is possible to prevent dust and foreign matter from entering and to stabilize the height of the document. However, when the facsimile is in the standby state, there is no document in this part and it is open, so dust easily accumulates on the glass surface, and rather dust is attached, which causes the document to be conveyed. And scratch the glass surface.

Further, depending on the environment in which the facsimile is installed, light enters from the outside into the document reading portion through the conveyance path along which the document is conveyed. The entering light becomes ambient light different from the original document illumination light from the LED array 19, the density of the image to be read becomes uneven, and the image reading quality is deteriorated.

Further, it is ideal that the height position of the white member, which is the reference for white when reading the image of the original, coincides with the height of the surface of the original to be fed, but since this is displaced, An illuminance difference occurs due to a difference in the irradiation distance of the LED array 19, the reference white level is not the level at the height of the surface of the document to be passed, and the reading density is not appropriate.

Further, the actuator 28 used for detecting the timing of starting the reading operation has a width of several millimeters, and the contact width of the actuator 28 with respect to the original 1a is small. For this reason, the contact resistance when the document 1a is conveyed is concentrated on a narrow portion, and there is a high possibility that the document 1a is skewed. When the actuator 28 detects the front end and the rear end of the skewed original 1a, depending on the position where the actuator 28 is attached in the horizontal conveyance direction of the original, the timing for starting the image reading operation may be delayed or the reading operation may be terminated. Since the timing is detected too early, the reading range of the document in the sub-scanning direction is narrowed, which causes so-called missing of the front and rear end read image data.

[0013]

The problem to be solved by the prior art is that in the prior art, the entrance and exit of the document to the document separating / conveying mechanism and the document reading mechanism is always open, and dust or foreign matter enters. Points and contact resistance of the actuator for notifying the entry of the document are concentrated,
The point that causes skew, the pressure that presses the originals on the paper feed roller cannot be stabilized, and the problem of separation and feeding occurs, and the disturbance light enters the scanner optical system, which causes scanning. That the density of the image is not uniform,
The height of the reading surface of the original does not match the height of the white surface of the member that is the white level reference, and the reading density of the original becomes unsuitable. An object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art and to solve the problems of dust on the document separating / conveying mechanism and the document reading mechanism, skew of the document by the actuator, deterioration of image reading quality due to ambient light, and inappropriate whiteness. An object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus capable of preventing an inappropriate setting of the reading density of a document based on a level standard and stably performing a high-quality image reading operation.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the image reading apparatus of the present invention comprises: (1) transporting a document inserted in a document insertion port to a document reading position, and at this document reading position, An image reading apparatus for converting an original into an image signal is characterized by being provided with an original insertion port lid which is pushed by an inserted original to open the original insertion port and closes the original insertion port after the original has passed. Also,
(2) In the image reading device described in (1) above,
The original insertion lid is pushed up by the inserted original,
After the document passes, the document is lowered by its own weight to close the document insertion port. (3) In the image reading apparatus described in (1) or (2) above, the document insertion port cover has a document insertion port for a document that is provided in advance when the document insertion port is opened. It is characterized in that the document insertion detecting means for detecting the insertion into the document is activated. (4) In the image reading apparatus described in any one of (1) to (3) above, the document insertion port cover has a document feeding roller that feeds the document, which is preliminarily provided when the document passes, and the document is fed to the document feeding roller. It is characterized by pressing.
Further, (5) in the image reading device that conveys the original inserted in the original insertion port to the original reading position and converts the original into an image signal at the original reading position, the original is conveyed to the original reading position. A document carrying-in lid is provided which is pushed to open the document carrying-in port to the document reading position of the document and closes the document carrying-in port after the document has passed. (6) In the image reading apparatus described in (5) above, the document carry-in port cover is pushed up by the inserted document and, after passing the document, is lowered by its own weight to close the document carry-in port. Also,
(7) In the image reading apparatus described in (5) or (6) above, the document carry-in lid carries the document, which is provided in advance, to the document reading position in accordance with the opening operation of the document carry-in port. It is characterized in that the document carry-in detection means for detecting the above is activated. (8) In the image reading device described in any one of (5) to (7) above,
The document carry-in port cover is provided with a white surface for automatic density adjustment, which has the same height as the surface of the document when the document is not passed. (9) In the image reading device described in any one of (5) to (8) above,
It is characterized by comprising a document inlet port cover and the document insertion port cover described in any one of (1) to (4) above.

[0015]

In the present invention, in the image reading apparatus, in the standby state, the document insertion port cover closes the document insertion port to prevent dust or foreign matter from entering the document separating / conveying mechanism. Further, the original insertion lid is also used with an actuator for detecting the insertion of an original such as a photo sensor, thereby eliminating the need for a narrow actuator. The document insertion port cover has a width sufficient to close the document insertion port, and there is no concentration of contact resistance on the document,
Prevents document skew. Further, since the separation / conveyance spring and the like are also used in the original insertion lid, the separation / conveyance mechanism is simplified and the performance is stabilized, the cost of the parts is reduced, and the yield of the parts is improved. Further, the original carrying-in port cover closes the carrying-in port of the reading mechanism portion in the standby state to prevent dust and foreign matter from entering the scanner optical system in the standby state and disturbing light from entering the scanner optical system. Further, the height of the reading surface of the original is matched with the height of the white surface of the member serving as the white level reference, and the irradiation distance from the LED array and the like are matched to eliminate the inappropriateness of the original reading density.
Further, the document carry-in lid is also used with an actuator for detecting the carry-in of a document, such as a photo sensor, thereby eliminating the need for a narrow actuator. The document carry-in lid has a width sufficient to close the document carry-in port, the contact resistance is not concentrated on the document, the skew of the document is prevented, and the leading edge of the document is added to the skewed document. Prevents loss of read image data due to the detection timing shift at the trailing edge.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the configuration of a facsimile equipped with the image reading apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a document stack to be read, 2 and 3 are a document insertion guide plate for guiding the front end of the document stack 1 to a document separating / conveying mechanism, and a document insertion guide plate below 4; According to the present invention, in the standby state where the document stack 1 is not set, the entrance to the document separating / conveying mechanism is closed, and when the document stack 1 is set, it is pushed up by the leading end of the document stack 1 and the entrance is set. The opening 5 for opening the original insertion opening supports the original insertion opening lid 4, and serves as a fulcrum for rotational movement.
Reference numeral 7 denotes an original insertion opening lid front end storage opening for storing the front end portion of the original insertion opening lid 4 in a standby state. Reference numeral 7 denotes an opposed photo sensor for detecting insertion of the original stack 1 by light shielding by the original insertion opening lid 4. , 8 are the lowermost originals 1 of the original stack 1.
Paper feed rollers 9a to 12a feed a document 1a fed by the paper feed roller 8 to a paper exit 13 at a constant speed, and a feed roller and a feed roller 14, and the present invention is a feed roller. Therefore, in the standby state where the original 1a is not loaded, the original 1
When the original 1a is loaded, the document inlet 1a is pushed up by the leading edge of the original 1a, and the original inlet lid that opens the inlet 1a supports the original inlet lid 14 and serves as a fulcrum for rotational movement. Is a balance weight for reducing the load of the document carry-in lid 14 on the document 1a, 17 is a photo sensor for detecting the carry-in of the document 1a by light shielding by the document carry-in lid 14, and 18 is the document carry-in lid. In order to surely block the document inlet by 14,
The original carry-in lid contact portion having a concave portion, 19 is the original 1a
An LED array for illuminating the image of the original 1a, a mirror 21 for reflecting the image of the original 1a, an image sensor 21 for converting the image of the original 1a into an electric signal, and a reference numeral 22 for displaying the image of the original 1a on the image sensor 21. It is a lens.

The document insertion port cover 4 according to the present embodiment is in contact with the light-shielding portion 4a for shielding the photosensor 7 and the paper-feeding roller 8 as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 8 has a separating load portion 4b for separating the originals other than the lowermost original 1a of the original stack 1 for separating the originals. Similarly, as shown enlarged in B in the drawing, The document carry-in lid 14 has a light-shielding portion 14a for shielding the photosensor 17 from light and a white surface 14b used for reading a white reference.
have.

With such a configuration, the facsimile image reading apparatus of this embodiment automatically separates and feeds the original bundle 1 sheet by sheet and reads it as image information. Hereinafter, such operation of the image reading apparatus will be described. First, in the standby state where the document stack 1 is not set, the document insertion lid 4 is lowered by its own weight, and the separation load portion 4b of the document insertion lid 4 is stored in the document insertion port lid tip storage opening 6. The original insertion port is completely closed.

Next, when the original stack 1 is inserted while being guided by the lower original insertion guide plate 2 and the upper original insertion guide plate 3, the original insertion cover 4 is pushed by the original stack 1, The hinge 5 is rotated about a fulcrum, and the light shielding portion 4a of the document insertion lid 4 is moved.
Thus, the detection area of the photo sensor 7 is shielded from light. As a result, the photo sensor 7 generates a signal indicating that the document stack 1 is inserted.

Then, the paper feed roller 8 conveys and feeds the lowermost original 1a of the original bundle 1 in contact. At this time, other originals in the original stack 1 are also fed, but stopped by the separation load portion 4b of the original insertion cover 4. Here, the separation load portion 4b presses the original 1a against the paper feed roller 8 by the weight of the original insertion lid 4, and the original 1a by the paper feed roller 8 is pushed.
Increase the carrying power of.

The separated and fed original 1a is further conveyed by the conveying roller 9 and the conveying roller 11 in synchronism with the sub-scanning reading speed of the scanner, and the original carrying-in lid 14 of the present invention is used. Push up. In this manner, when the document carry-in lid 14 is pushed by the document 1a and rotationally moves about the hinge 15 as a fulcrum, the light-shielding portion 14a of the document carry-in lid 14 shields the detection area of the photosensor 17 from light. As a result, the photo sensor 17 causes the original 1
A signal indicating that a has been loaded is generated. While the original 1a is conveyed, the original carry-in lid 14 and the original 1a are in contact with each other. However, due to the balance weight 16, the original 1a is hardly weighted by the original carry-in lid 14, so that the original 1a can be easily conveyed. Has no effect.

When the trailing edge of the original 1a passes, the original carry-in port cover 14 returns to its original position and is set in the concave portion of the original carry-in port cover contact portion 18 to close the original carry-in port. Further, the light-shielding portion 14a of the document carry-in lid 14 does not shield the detection area of the photosensor 17 from light, and the photosensor 17 detects the passage of the rear end of the document.

Further, the original 1a which is conveyed by the conveying roller 9 and the conveying roller 11 and reaches the reading position of the original is L
It is illuminated by the illumination light of the ED array 19. The image of the original 1a thus illuminated is reflected by the mirror 20 and the lens 2.
It is input to the image sensor 21 by 2 and is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor 21.

Immediately before reading the original 1a, the LED array 19 is turned on to illuminate the white surface 14b of the original carry-in inlet cover 14, and the white is set as the white level of the read image. The height position of the white surface 14b of the document carry-in lid 14 of the present embodiment is
The height of the original 1a coincides with that of the surface of the original 1a, and the LED array 19
The distance from is the same, and the white reference is the same level. In this way, the document that has been read is ejected to the outside from the paper ejection port 13 by the conveyance roller 10 and the conveyance roller 12.

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, in the image reading apparatus of the present embodiment, in the standby state, the document insertion port lid 4 closes the document insertion port to prevent dust and dirt from entering the document separating / conveying mechanism. Prevent foreign matter from entering. As a result, it is possible to prevent the separation failure due to the dirt of the paper feed roller 8 or the like and the paper feed failure.

Further, with the document insertion port cover 4 having a width sufficient to close the document insertion port, the light-shielding actuator of the photosensor 7 is also used to eliminate the concentration of the contact resistance with respect to the document 1a and to reduce the document skew. Can be prevented. Further, since the separating friction piece is also used in the original insertion port lid 4, the separating and conveying mechanism can be simplified and the performance can be stabilized, the cost of the parts can be reduced, and the yield of the parts can be improved.

Further, the document carrying-in port cover 14 closes the carrying-in port of the reading portion in the standby state, and the LED array 19 and
It is possible to prevent dust and foreign matter from entering the scanner optical system including the mirror 20, the image sensor 21, the lens 22, and the like, and to prevent ambient light from entering the scanner optical system, and to prevent deterioration of image quality. it can. Also, the original 1a
The height of the reading surface of the LED array 1 and the height of the white surface 14b of the document carry-in lid 14 that serves as the white level reference are matched.
The irradiation distance from 9 is the same. This makes it possible to eliminate the improper reading density of the original 1a.

Further, in the document carry-in port cover 14, a light-shielding actuator of the photo sensor 17 for detecting the document carry-in is also used, and a narrow actuator is not required. The original carry-in port cover 14 has a width sufficient to close the original carry-in port, so that contact resistance is not concentrated on the original 1a and the original 1
It is possible to prevent the skew of “a” and also to prevent the scanned image data from being lost due to the deviation of the detection timings of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the original 1a even for the skewed original 1a. Further, the original insertion port lid 4 presses the original 1a against the paper feed roller 8 by the separation load portion 4b by its own weight, and imparts the separating force and the paper feeding force of the original 1a, thus simplifying the structure and stabilizing the performance. This is advantageous for a leaf spring that can be made more compact and has a relatively high cost of parts itself and a low yield.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. For example, in this embodiment,
The separation load section 4b of the document insertion port cover 4 separates the document 1a. A separation friction piece and a separation friction piece pressing plate spring are provided for separating the document 1a, and the separation load section 4b of the document insertion port cover 4 is provided. May be used as a spring for separating and conveying the document.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the image reading apparatus is
In the standby state, the entrance of the document to the document separating / conveying mechanism and the document reading mechanism is blocked to prevent the entry of dust or foreign matter, and the actuator for notifying the entry of the document is not required. Stabilizes the density of the read image by eliminating the entry of ambient light into the document, and matches the height of the reading surface of the document with the height of the white surface of the white level reference member to optimize the reading density of the document. It is possible to prevent the contamination of the document separating / conveying mechanism and the document reading mechanism due to dust, and the skew of the document due to the actuator.
It is possible to prevent deterioration of the image reading quality due to ambient light and inappropriate setting of the reading density of the document due to an inappropriate white level reference, and it is possible to stably perform a high quality image reading operation.

[0031]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a configuration of a facsimile equipped with an image reading apparatus of the present invention according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a facsimile using a conventional image reading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Document Bundle 2 Document Insertion Guide Plate Lower 3 Document Insertion Guide Plate Upper 4 Document Insertion Port Cover 4a Light-shielding Part 4b Separation Load Part 5 Hinge 6 Document Insertion Port Cover Tip Storage Opening 7 Photo Sensor 8 Paper Feed Roller 9, 10 Conveyor Roller 11, 12 Conveyance Rolls 13 Paper Discharge Port 14 Document Carrying Inlet Cover 14a Light-shielding Part 14b White Surface 15 Hinge 16 Balance Weight 17 Photo Sensor 18 Document Carrying Inlet Lid Contact Part 19 LED Array 20 Mirror 21 Image Sensor 22 Lens 23 Actuator 24 Separation Friction Piece 25 Separate Transfer Spring 26 Original reading opening 27 Original conveyance guide plate 28 Actuator 29 Photo sensor

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus which conveys a document inserted into a document insertion port to a document reading position and converts the document into an image signal at the document reading position, is pushed by the inserted document. The image reading apparatus is characterized in that a document insertion port cover is provided which opens the document insertion port and closes the document insertion port after the document passes. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the original insertion opening lid is pushed up by the inserted original, and is lowered by its own weight after passing through the original.
An image reading apparatus characterized by closing the document insertion port. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the document insertion opening lid is configured to open the document insertion opening by the document.
An image reading apparatus, which activates a document insertion detection unit that detects insertion of the document, which is provided in advance, into the document insertion port. 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the original insertion port cover is provided on an original document conveyance roller that conveys the original document when the original document passes therethrough. An image reading device that presses a document. 5. An image reading apparatus which conveys a document inserted in a document insertion port to a document reading position and converts the document into an image signal at the document reading position has been conveyed to the document reading position. An image reading apparatus provided with a document carrying-in lid which is pushed by the document and opens a document carrying-in port of the document to the document reading position, and which closes the document carrying-in port after the document has passed. 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the original carry-in port cover is pushed up by the inserted original, and is lowered by its own weight after passing the original to close the original carry-in port. Image reading device. 7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the original carry-in port lid is provided with the original document in advance along with the opening operation of the original carry-in port. An image reading apparatus, which activates a document carry-in detection unit that detects carry-in to a reading position. 8. The image reading device according to claim 5, wherein the original carry-in port cover has the same height as the surface of the original in a state where the original is not passed. An image reading apparatus having a white surface for automatic density adjustment. 9. The image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, further comprising: the document carry-in port cover and the document insertion port cover according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An image reading device.