JPH10136132A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To read accurately an image on an original face by blowing air onto the face of an original placed on an original platen so as to prevent an undesired page turn-over of the original. SOLUTION: A sensor 3 such as a photocoupler is provided to left and right sides of an original platen 1 on which an original 2 with a plurality of pages such as a book original is placed while its original face is directed upward to sense a floating state (turn-over) of pages of the original 2. Furthermore, a blowing air amount control circuit 4 is provided in the inside of the original platen 1 to control a blowing air amount of a blowing fan 5 provided respectively opposite to left and right pages of the original placed on the original platen 1 in a spread state based on the sensing result of the sensors 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document table on which a document such as a book is placed with its document surface facing upward, and an image reading section for reading an image of the document surface of the document placed on the document table. The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus having

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image reading apparatus in which a document such as a book is placed on a document table with its document surface facing upward and an image on the document surface of this document can be read by a reading unit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-14228.
No., etc.

Such an image reading apparatus has a structure in which an image on a document surface of a document (book) placed on a document table and opened upward is read by a reading section provided above the document table. .

[0004]

In the above-described image reading apparatus, since an original such as a book is opened and an image on the original surface is read, especially when the number of pages of the original is large,
When reading an image, the page of the document is turned over, and the page to be read is changed to another page, or the page is turned up during reading and the image cannot be read accurately.

An image reading apparatus according to the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and blows air to a document surface of a document placed on a document table to prevent page turning of the document and to prevent the image on the document surface from being turned. Is intended to be able to be read accurately.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus comprising: a document table on which a document such as a book is placed with a document surface facing upward; An image reading unit that reads an image on the original surface of the placed original; and a blower that blows the original placed on the original platen to prevent the original from floating. According to the above configuration, air is blown from the blower to the original placed on the original plate in a state of being opened upward, thereby preventing the pages of the original from floating.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus, comprising: detecting means for detecting the floating of a document placed on the document table; and a blowing means for controlling a blowing amount of the blowing means based on a detection result by the detecting means. Air volume control means is provided. According to the above configuration, the pages of the document are prevented from floating regardless of the stiffness due to the paper quality of the document.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus, wherein two blowers are provided so as to face each other on one side of the document, and the blower controller controls the blower of the blower from the detector. It is controlled individually according to the detection result. According to the above configuration, even if the number of pages of the spread original is different on the left and right, and one of the pages is easily turned, the turning of the page can be reliably prevented.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a hood is provided around the document table to prevent wind from the blower from being blown around the document table. According to the above configuration, the wind from the blower is not blown around the document table, and it is possible to prevent documents and the like placed around the document table from being scattered by the wind.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus, the hood is formed by a baffle plate for guiding wind from the blowing means into the document table. According to the above configuration, the components inside the document table can be cooled by the wind that prevents the pages of the document from being turned.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus, the hood is provided around the original table except for the front of the original table. According to the above configuration, since no hood is provided on the front of the document table, operations such as turning the page of the document to the next page after image reading is completed can be easily performed.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the image reading apparatus of the present invention, the state in which the pages of the document 2 are lifted (the degree of turning over) on the left and right sides of the platen 1 on which the document 2 of a plurality of pages such as a book is placed with the document surface facing upward is displayed. A sensor 3 such as a photocoupler, which is a detecting means for detecting, is provided.
A blower fan, which is a blower provided as opposed to left and right pages of a document placed inside the document table 1 in a state of being opened upward on the document table 1 based on the detection result of the sensor 3. 5 is provided with an air volume control circuit 4 for controlling the air volume. On the front side of the blower fan 5, there is provided a wind direction hood 6 for guiding the blown air from the blower fan 5 to the document 2 without being blown to the operator side.

Then, the wind from the blower fan 5 is prevented from being blown around the document table 1 around the document table 1 except for the front face thereof, and both sides of the document table 1 are introduced into the document table 1. Hood 7 guided through ventilation opening 8 provided in
And a reading unit 9 for reading an image on the original surface of the original is provided above the original platen 1. Further, a ventilation port 8 for exhausting air after cooling the components in the document table 1 is provided in a lower portion of a rear surface of the document table 1.

The operation will be described. First, the document 2 is placed on the document table 1 with the document 2 opened and the document surface facing upward. When the original 2 has a thickness and the pages of the original 2 are likely to be turned up due to the thickness, the sensor 3 detects that the pages of the original 2 move. The sensor 3 sends the turning state of the page of the document 2 to the air volume control circuit 4 as a signal of binary data or multivalued data.

Here, the photocoupler is used as an example of the sensor 3, but the present invention is not limited to this, and another infrared sensor or the like can be used.

Taking the above-mentioned binary data as an example, if the page of the document 2 is not turned, a "Lo" voltage is output, and if the page of the document 2 is turned, a "Hi" voltage is output. Taking multivalued data as an example, if the page of the original 2 is not turned, the voltage level is “0000”, and if the pages of the original 2 are turned up to a certain voltage level “1111”, the change in the turning state of the original 2 up to that point Is expressed in 16 stages, and this signal is output to the air volume control circuit 4 as 4-bit data.

When the detection signal from the sensor 3 is binary, the blower amount control circuit 4 stops supplying power to the blower fan 5 if the detection signal is "Lo" voltage, and the detection signal becomes "Hi". If the voltage is “voltage”, power is supplied to the blower fan 5.

When the detection signal from the sensor 3 is multi-valued, the air flow control circuit 4 detects the degree of turning of the page of the document 2 by the sensor 3 and outputs the signal divided into 16 stages to the air flow control. The airflow control circuit 4 receives the detection signal, and switches the power supply to the blower fan 5 based on the detection signal.
Supplied in six stages. For example, if the voltage level of the detection signal is “0000”, power supply is stopped, and if the voltage level of the detection signal is “1111”, the strongest wind is set.

However, the change in the voltage level of the detection signal and the change in the power supply level supplied to the blower fan 5 need not be the same. If the voltage level is "1111", the supply of power is stopped and the voltage of the detection signal is changed. If the level is "0000", the strongest wind is possible. Similarly, when the detection signal is binary, the supply of power to the blower fan 5 is stopped if the detection signal is “Hi” voltage, and the power supply to the blower fan 5 is stopped if the detection signal is “Lo”. Can also be supplied.

The blower fan 5 receives power supplied by the blower amount control circuit 4 and rotates to blow air to the document 2. When the rotation of the blower fan 5 is controlled by binary data, the document 2 is determined by whether or not the blower fan 5 rotates.
Prevent page turning. When the control is performed by multi-value data, the number of rotations of the blower fan 5 is changed to 16 steps to prevent the pages of the document 2 from being turned.

Here, the wind direction hood 6 of the blower fan 5 is designed so that the blower fan 5 directs the blown air toward the document 2 and does not hinder the operation by blowing it toward the operator. To adjust the wind direction.

In the above example, when the control is performed by using multi-valued data, the control is not necessarily limited to 4-bit data as shown in the example.
It is also possible to control the blowing amount (blowing intensity) in two steps or the like.

The shape of the wind direction hood 6 is a flat plate. However, the shape is not limited to this. It is possible to use a hood having an optimum shape such as a nozzle shape. The fan 5 is not limited to the one shown in the drawing, and other air blowing means can be used.

When the wind blown by the blower fan 5 suppresses the turning of the page of the document 2, if the wind is controlled by binary data, the sensor 3 outputs a “Lo” signal indicating that the page of the document 2 is not turned. Therefore, the air volume control circuit 4 receives this, and the power supply to the air blowing fan 5 is kept constant, and the state where the pages of the document 2 are turned over is kept.

In the case of control by multi-valued data, a wind corresponding to the voltage level of the detection signal obtained by the sensor 3 is blown, and when the pages of the document 2 are turned up, the voltage level output from the sensor 3 is reduced. The air blowing amount control circuit 4 receives the detection signal of "0000", and keeps the power supplied to the air blowing fan 5 constant to keep the pages of the document 2 from being turned.

When the thickness of the document 2 is offset to one side (when the number of pages is different on the left and right), the level of each sensor 3 for detecting the degree of page turning of the document 2 is different, and the detection signal is also different. Since the detection signal is output, the power supplied from the blower amount control circuit 4 to the two blower fans 5 is different from each other, and the blower amount of the page of the document 2 that is more likely to be turned is increased (the blower intensity is increased). As a result, the pages of the document 2 can be prevented from being turned over.

Further, in the above example, the number of the blower fans 5 is one for each page of the document 2, that is, the structure is such that the turning of the pages of the document 2 is suppressed by the two blowers 5. This is not a limitation, and the number of the blower fans 5 can be increased as necessary.

FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory views showing the direction of air flow in the image reading apparatus having the above-described configuration.
When the document 2 is blown to the document 2, the wind is blown as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, and the wind hitting the document 2 and suppressing the page turning of the document 2 flows in the side direction. This is guided to the inside of the original table 1 by the hood 7 through the ventilation holes 8 provided on both sides of the original table 1 as shown in FIGS. The circuit 4 etc.) and the mechanism are cooled.

The air after the cooling is exhausted from a ventilation port 8 provided on the rear surface of the document table 1 shown in FIG. Have been.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus for placing an original such as a book with the original surface facing upward;
An image reading unit for reading an image on the original surface of the original placed on the original platen, and a blowing means for blowing air to the original placed on the original platen to prevent the original from floating. By blowing air from the air blowing means to the original placed on the original platen in a state of being opened upward, the floating of the pages of the original can be prevented, and the image of the original can be read accurately.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus, comprising: detecting means for detecting the floating of a document placed on the document table; and a blowing means for controlling a blowing amount of the blowing means based on a detection result by the detecting means. Since the air volume control means is provided, it is possible to prevent the pages of the document from floating, regardless of the stiffness due to the paper quality of the document.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus, wherein two air blowing means are provided so as to be opposed to one side of the document, respectively, and the air blowing amount control means detects the air blowing amount of the air blowing means from the detecting means. Since each page is individually controlled according to the detection result, even if the number of pages of the opened document is different on the left and right, and even if one of the pages is easily turned, the turning of the page can be surely prevented.

In the image reading apparatus according to the present invention, a hood is provided around the document table to prevent wind from the blowing means from being blown around the document table. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the documents and the like placed around the document table from being scattered by the wind.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus, the hood is formed by a baffle plate for guiding the wind from the blowing means to the inside of the platen. The components inside the platen can be cooled.

In the image reading apparatus according to the present invention, since the hood is provided around the original plate except for the front of the original plate, no hood is provided on the front of the original plate. After the image reading is completed, operations such as turning the page of the document to the next page can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of an image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of wind when a document table is viewed from above in the image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of wind when the document table is viewed from the front in the image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of wind when a document table is viewed from a side in the image reading apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of wind when the document table is viewed from the rear surface in the image reading apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 platen 2 document 3 sensor 4 blower amount control circuit 5 blower fan 6 wind direction hood 7 hood 8 ventilation port 9 reading unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: a document table on which a document such as a book is placed with the document surface facing upward; and an image reading section for reading an image on the document surface of the document placed on the document table. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blower that blows the document placed on the platen to prevent the document from floating. 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: detecting means for detecting the floating of the document placed on the document table; and blowing air amount controlling means for controlling an air blowing amount of the air blowing means based on a detection result by the detecting means. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein two air blowing means are provided so as to oppose each other on one side of the original document, and said air blowing amount control means individually controls the air blowing amount of said air blowing means based on a detection result from said detecting means. The image reading device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a hood is provided around the document table to prevent wind from the blower from being blown around the document table. 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the hood is formed by a baffle plate for guiding the wind from the blower into the document table. 6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the hood is provided around the original plate except for the front of the original plate.