JPH1042098A - Scanner unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scanner unit by which both sides of a contact glass plate are effectively cleaned with a simple operation when the contact glass requires cleaning. SOLUTION: The operator supplies a cleaning liquid to a cleaner 20 contained normally in a container and provided with a front side cleaning member 10 and a rear side cleaning member 13 respectively on both the front side and the rear side of a contact glass plate 2 through a supply hole of the container in the case of cleaning the contact glass 2 so as to allow a felt member 12 of the front side cleaning member 10 and a felt member 14 of the rear side cleaning member 13 to absorb the cleaning liquid. When the front side cleaning member 10 is gripped and extract from the container 17 and skided on the surface of the contact glass 2, the rear side cleaning member 13 is skided integrally with the front side cleaning member 10 through a magnetic attraction force by a magnet 11 so as to allow the felt members 12, 14 absorbing the cleaning liquid to clean the front side and the rear side of the contact glass 2 simultaneously in a short time efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scanner unit which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus and optically reads an original placed on a contact glass by a scanning optical system provided on the back side of the contact glass. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, an original placed on a contact glass is optically read from the back surface of the contact glass by a scanning optical system to perform an image forming operation. Therefore, if the contact glass is dirty, the dirt is read by the scanning optical system when reading the original, and high-quality image formation of the original image cannot be performed. It is necessary to put in a state without.

[0003] In this cleaning of the contact glass, the surface of the contact glass can be cleaned relatively easily by the user. However, during the image forming operation, scattered toner and dust are scattered in the apparatus, and these scattered toner are dispersed. Contact and dust adhere to the inner surface of the contact glass, so that the back surface of the contact glass becomes dirty.

In order to clean the back surface of the contact glass, unscrew the scanner unit, remove the scale and the cover member, take out the contact glass, clean the back surface side, return the contact glass to its original position, A complicated operation of assembling the scale and the cover member, tightening the screws, and returning the scanner unit to the original state is required, and a service engineer has gone to the site to perform a cleaning operation.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Utility Model Application
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3855 discloses a cleaning device in which a member of a scanning optical system that moves along the back surface side of a contact glass is provided with a cleaning member that slides on the back surface of the contact glass to clean the back surface of the contact glass. ing.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3855, the cleaning member is always disposed in contact with the back surface of the contact glass, so that the load at the time of reading the document is increased, which may cause a defective scanning operation. There is a problem in that good image formation may not be performed due to reading, and a cleaning member is used every time a document is read, thereby shortening the operating life of the cleaning member.

The present invention has been made in view of the current situation of the scanner unit of the image forming apparatus as described above,
The purpose is when the contact glass needs cleaning,
An object of the present invention is to provide a scanner unit capable of effectively cleaning both sides of a contact glass by a cleaning device driven by a simple operation and having a long operating life.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a document mounted on an image forming apparatus and placed on a contact glass is placed on the back side of the contact glass. A scanner unit for optically reading by a scanning optical system provided, a surface cleaning member slidably disposed on the surface of the contact glass and cleaning the surface of the contact glass, and a back surface of the contact glass A back surface cleaning member for slidably disposed on the back surface of the contact glass for cleaning the back surface of the contact glass, and a suction moving unit for magnetically attracting the front surface cleaning member and the back surface cleaning member to each other to move them integrally. It is characterized by having a cleaning device provided.

Similarly, in order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 is different from the invention according to claim 1 in that the storage section for storing the cleaning device is located outside the image reading area of the scanner unit. It is characterized by being provided.

[0010] Similarly, in order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 3 is different from the invention according to claim 1 in that the rear surface cleaning member of the cleaning device has an end portion that is always provided with the scanner unit. A string located outside is attached.

[0011] Similarly, in order to achieve the above object, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanner unit according to the second aspect, wherein the accommodating portion has a supply hole for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning device. It is characterized by being provided.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the cleaning device of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the storage portion of the cleaning device of the present embodiment.

An image forming apparatus in which the present embodiment is incorporated is provided with a scanner unit 1 for reading a document image in a configuration as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a contact glass 2 on which an original is placed is arranged on the upper surface of a case 1a, and a scanning optical system 3 for optically reading an image of the original is arranged below the contact glass 2 in the case 1a. Has been established.

The scanning optical system 3 includes an illumination lamp 5 for irradiating the original with illuminating light, mirrors 6a to 6c for receiving the reflected light of the illuminating light from the illumination lamp 5 on the original and for changing the optical path. And a lens 7 on which reflected light from the mirror 6c is incident and converges the incident light, and a photoelectric conversion element 8 such as a CCD on which an optical image of a document image is formed by the lens 7.

The scanning optical system 3 includes an illumination lamp 5 and mirrors 6a to 6c, an illumination lamp 5 and mirror 6a, and a mirror 6b and mirror 6c at a speed ratio of 2: 1 in the longitudinal direction of the case 1a. , The entire surface of the document can be optically read.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a cleaning device 20 slidable in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 1 with the contact glass 2 interposed therebetween is provided.
The felt member 12 is arranged on the surface side of the contact glass 2 and is attached to a contact portion with the contact glass 2.
Surface cleaning member 10 with magnet 11 housed inside
And a felt member 14 attached to both sides of the contact glass 2, and the felt member 14 on one side includes a back surface cleaning member 13 in contact with the back surface of the contact glass 2.

Further, one end of a string 15 is fixed to the back surface cleaning member 13, and the other end of the string 15 is led out through an opening 18 formed in the case 1 a of the scanner unit 1. A retaining ring 16 is attached to the leading end to the outside of 1a.

Further, in this embodiment, the scanner unit 1
Outside the image reading area on the upper surface of the case 1a, a substantially cylindrical storage portion 17 in which the cleaning device 20 is stored when the cleaning operation is not performed is attached. An opening 17 d into which the container 20 is inserted is formed, and a supply hole 17 a for supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface cleaning member 10 housed in the housing 17 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 17. The lower surface cleaning member 13 penetrated through the plate surface of the case 1a and stored in the storage portion 17
Further, a supply hole 17b for supplying a cleaning liquid is formed.
The above-mentioned opening 18 is formed in the vicinity of the storage section 17.

The document reading operation of the scanner unit 1 having such a configuration will be described. An original is placed on the upper surface of the contact glass 2 of the scanner unit 1, illumination light is emitted from the illumination lamp 5 to the original surface, reflected light from the original surface is reflected by mirrors 6 a to 6 c, and the reflected light is transmitted to the lens 7. The light is incident, and the read optical image of the document is formed on the photoelectric conversion element 8 by the lens 7. In this case, the reading of the original is performed by the illumination lamp 5 and the mirrors 6a to 6c.
And the mirror 6b and the mirror 6c are moved in the longitudinal direction of the case 1a at a speed ratio of 2: 1 with respect to each other, so that a vibration filter for color separation (not shown) is connected to the illumination lamp 5 By arranging the read optical image of the original in three primary colors by arranging it in the optical path from to the photoelectric conversion element 8.

In this way, an electric signal corresponding to the optical image of the read original image is output from the photoelectric conversion element 8, and based on the electric signal, the image processing unit performs γ correction,
Image processing such as color correction and gradation processing is performed. Exposure to a photoconductor, development, transfer to transfer paper, and fixing are performed in an image forming unit, and image formation of a document image is completed.

Next, the operation of cleaning the contact glass 2 of the present embodiment will be described. When the cleaning operation is not performed, the cleaning device 20 is stored in the storage unit 17. When cleaning the contact glass 2, the operator supplies a cleaning liquid such as alcohol into the storage section 17 through the supply hole 17 a, and the cleaning liquid enters the storage section 17 through the supply hole 17 a and cleans the surface. Felt member 1 of member 10
2 and is further supplied to the back surface cleaning member 13 from the supply hole 17 b and absorbed by the felt member 14.

With the cleaning liquid absorbed by the felt members 12 and 14 in this manner, the operator holds the protruding end of the surface cleaning member 10 and pulls it out of the storage section 17, and
By moving the surface cleaning member 10 along the surface of the contact glass 2, the dust on the surface of the contact glass 2 is wiped off by the felt member 12 in which the cleaning liquid has been absorbed, and the surface of the contact glass 2 is cleaned. Do.

When the front surface cleaning member 10 slides on the surface of the contact glass 2 in this case, the rear surface cleaning member 13
Is magnetically cleaned by the magnet 11 using the surface cleaning member 1.
In the state where the cleaning liquid is sucked, the back cleaning member 13 slides on the back surface of the contact glass 2 integrally with the front cleaning member 10 along with the sliding of the front cleaning member 10, and the felt in which the cleaning liquid is absorbed. The member 14 cleans dust and adhered toner on the back surface of the contact glass 2 simultaneously with the front surface.

When the cleaning of the contact glass 2 by the cleaning device 20 is completed, the cleaning device 20 is moved along both sides of the contact glass 2 to the position of the storage portion 17, and is stored until the next cleaning. 17 for protection and storage. Even if the rear cleaning member 13 falls off the rear surface of the contact glass 2 during this cleaning operation, the rear cleaning member 13 is pulled out of the housing portion 17 by pulling the retaining ring 16 located outside the case 1a. , And the repairing operation of the cleaning device 20 is easily performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the operator cleans the contact glass 2, it is stored in the storage section 17, and the front surface cleaning member 10 and the back surface cleaning member 1 are stored.
The supply hole 1 of the storage unit 17 is
The cleaning liquid is supplied through 7a and 17b, and then the cleaning device 20 is pulled out of the storage unit 17, and the surface cleaning member 10 is held, and the felt member 12 of the surface cleaning member 10 is slid on the surface of the contact glass 2. By moving the contact glass 2, the surface of the contact glass 2 is cleaned. With this cleaning operation, the back surface cleaning member 13 moves integrally with the front surface cleaning member 10 by the magnetic attraction force of the magnet 11, and the back surface side of the contact glass 2 is simultaneously moved by the felt member 14 of the back surface cleaning member 13. Be cleaned. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to simultaneously and effectively clean both surfaces of the contact glass 2 in a short time, and the cleaning device 20 is always stored in the storage portion 17, and the contact glass 2 In order to operate only at the time of cleaning of 2, the cleaning device 20
The operating life of the device can be greatly extended.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a document incorporated in the image forming apparatus and placed on the contact glass is optically optically read by the reading optical system disposed on the back side of the contact glass. For the scanner unit to be read, a surface cleaning member slidably disposed on the surface of the contact glass for cleaning the surface of the contact glass, and a surface cleaning member slidably disposed on the back of the contact glass for cleaning the back of the contact glass. The cleaning device is provided with a back surface cleaning member for performing the cleaning, and a suction moving unit that magnetically suctions the front surface cleaning member and the back surface cleaning member to each other and moves them integrally. When cleaning is required, the cleaning device is driven by a simple operation, and the front surface cleaning member and the rear surface cleaning member are moved by the suction moving means.
By sliding both sides of the contact glass while magnetically attracting both sides of the contact glass, both sides of the contact glass can be simultaneously and effectively cleaned in a short time, and a cleaning device. The operating life of the device can be greatly extended.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the present invention, since the storage section for storing the cleaning device is provided outside the image reading area of the scanner unit, cleaning is achieved. When the cleaning is not performed, the cleaning device can be safely protected and stored in the storage portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects obtained by the first aspect of the present invention, a string whose end is always located outside the scanner unit is attached to the back surface cleaning member of the cleaning device. Therefore, even if the back surface cleaning member falls off the contact glass, the back surface cleaning member can be guided to a predetermined position by the string.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the second aspect of the present invention, the supply section is provided with a supply hole for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning device. By supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning device housed in the cleaning device, the contact glass can be more effectively cleaned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a storage section of the cleaning device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of a scanner unit of the image forming apparatus to which the exemplary embodiment is applied.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a scanner unit of the image forming apparatus to which the exemplary embodiment is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner part 1a Case 2 Contact glass 3 Optical scanning system 5 Illumination lamp 6a-6c Mirror 7 Lens 8 Photoelectric conversion element 10 Surface cleaning member 11 Magnet 12 Felt member 13 Back surface cleaning member 14 Felt member 15 String 16 Stop ring 17 Storage part 17a , 17b Supply hole 20 Cleaner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A scanner unit incorporated in an image forming apparatus and optically reading an original placed on a contact glass by a scanning optical system disposed on a back side of the contact glass. A surface cleaning member slidably disposed on the surface of the glass and cleaning the surface of the contact glass, and a back surface cleaning member slidably disposed on the back surface of the contact glass and cleaning the back surface of the contact glass A scanner unit comprising: a cleaning unit comprising: a suction moving unit that magnetically suctions the front surface cleaning member and the back surface cleaning member to each other to move them integrally. 2. A scanner unit according to claim 1, wherein a storage section for storing said cleaning device is provided outside an image reading area of said scanner unit. 3. The scanner unit according to claim 1, wherein a string whose end is always located outside the scanner unit is attached to the back surface cleaning member of the cleaning device. Scanner unit. 4. The scanner unit according to claim 2, wherein a supply hole for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning device is provided in the storage section.