JPH1056541A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smooth feeding without applying unnatural force to an original to be fed by expanding a spacing between a continuously fed original reading part and a still original reading part by extending a focal distance from a light source to a lens. SOLUTION: Because of relationship separating a still original cover 3 and a continous original feeding part A, a continuously fed original reading part 5 is also positioned away from a still original reading part 2 for a certain degree so that the still positions of scanning bodies B1 and B2 are away from a lens 14a. Even in such a case, the focal distance of the lens 14a is secured long so as to properly form an image on the lens 14a. Naemly, the length of an optical path is extended by securing the focal distance of the lens 14a long just for the component separating the continuously fed original reading part 5 from the still original reading part 2. The gentle tilting from the continuously fed original reading part 5 to an original ejecting part can be provided by extending the length of the optical path from a light source 10 to the lens 14a by extending the focal distance of the lens 14a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to a copier, an image recording apparatus having both a facsimile function and a copy function, and the like, capable of reading a continuously fed document and a still document. The present invention relates to an improved configuration of a reading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image recording apparatus having both a static original reading section and a continuous feeding original reading section, wherein both scanning sections have a photoelectric conversion section having a lens and a scanning section having a light source and a reflecting mirror. A structure in which an optical reading device composed of a body is shared is known. That is, a stationary original reading section and a continuous feeding original reading section are arranged adjacent to the upper part of the apparatus case, and an optical system reading apparatus is installed in the apparatus case. Is moved below the stationary original reading section, and the scanning body is stopped below the continuous feeding original reading section when reading the continuously fed original. Among these, the position of the scanning body that is stationary below the continuous feeding document reading unit is the position farthest from the lens (maximum moving position).

[0003]

When such an image reading apparatus is constructed, the position of the continuous feed document reading section on the upper part of the apparatus case is determined by the maximum moving position of the scanning body. However, the maximum movement position is limited because the optical path length from the light source of the scanning body in the optical system reading device to the lens of the photoelectric conversion unit (that is, the focal length of the lens) is limited. Could not be arranged. Therefore, conventionally, the continuous feed document reading unit has to be disposed within the range of the cover of the static document reading unit or at a short distance from the cover. In many cases, the continuous document feeding portion formed above is integrally formed, and there is a problem that the weight of the cover increases and operability deteriorates.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a stationary original reading section and a continuous feeding original reading section are disposed adjacent to an upper portion of an apparatus case, and the stationary original reading section and the continuous feeding original reading section are provided in the apparatus case. An optical reading device also used for reading originals, comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit having a lens fixed to the device case; and a scanning body having a light source and a reflecting mirror. In an image reading apparatus provided with an optical reading device having a structure in which a scanning body is moved below a stationary original reading section and the scanning body is stopped below the continuous feeding original reading section during continuous feeding original reading, In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the following means are used.

First, the distance between the continuous feed original reading section and the stationary original reading section is increased, and the focal length from the light source of the optical reading apparatus to the lens is increased by the amount of the enlargement.

Second, a continuous document feeding section formed on the continuous feeding document reading section is fixed to an upper portion of the apparatus case, and a cover of the stationary document reading section is separated from the continuous document feeding section. I do.

Third, a document feed path from the document introduction portion to the document discharge portion of the continuous document feed portion is formed in a U-turn shape, and a paper supply portion connectable to the document introduction portion; And a discharge unit that can be connected to the unit is integrally formed vertically with the cover of the stationary original reading unit.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an image recording apparatus.
FIG. 2 is an internal side view of a continuously fed original reading state (a state in which the scanning bodies B1 and B2 are at the initial movement positions) in an image reading portion of the image recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is a stationary original reading state (scanning bodies B1 and B2). State in the middle of movement)
FIG. 4 shows a continuous feed original reading state (scanning members B1 and B2).
FIG. 5 is an internal plan view of a stationary original reading state (a state in which the scanning bodies B1 and B2 are at the movement end positions), and FIG. 6 is an internal front view of the same.

The overall outline of the image recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The reading case 1 is used as the housing structure of the entire apparatus.
And a recording case 9 are arranged vertically. The image reading device is formed on an upper portion of the image recording device. An optical system reading device described later is built in a reading case 1 which is a device case of the image reading device. A stationary original placing plate 2 which is a transparent flat plate made of glass or the like, which is a stationary original reading unit, is disposed on the upper surface of the stationary original reading unit. The mounting plate 2 can be covered.

On the other hand, a continuous document feed cover 4 is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the reading case 1 adjacent to the stationary document cover 3, and a document transfer path is provided in the continuous document feed cover 4.
A continuous document feeding section A is formed by internally providing various transport rollers. The continuous feed document reading section is disposed on the upper surface of the reading case 1 at the lowermost portion of the continuous document feed section A. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like.

As described above, the stationary document reading section and the continuous feeding document reading section are provided in the upper portion of the reading case 1, and an optical reading device shared by both reading sections is provided inside the reading case 1. The image of the document is read by the image reading device. In the lower recording case 9, a recording section is formed, and facsimile information transmitted based on the read information of the image reading apparatus or transmitted (the recording case 9 has a built-in modem. ) Based on the recording paper.

Among the configurations of the image reading apparatus formed above the image recording apparatus as described above, first, the configuration of the continuous original feeding section A and the configuration of the stationary original cover 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. explain. In the continuous document feeder A, a document feed path 4b is formed in a C-shape (U-turn) in a continuous document feed cover 4 fixed on the upper surface of the reading case 1. On the side of the continuous document feeding cover 4 near the stationary document reading section, a document introduction section 4a which is an entrance of the document feeding path 4b is provided at an upper portion, and a document discharge section 4c which is an exit thereof is provided. It is arranged and formed at the bottom. In the continuous document feeding cover 4, a separation roller 6 for separating and introducing the stacked documents one by one is provided at the document introduction portion 4 a.
In addition, various rollers are provided such as a feed roller 7 in the U-turn portion of the document feed path 4b, and a discharge roller 8 in the document discharge section 4c. The feeding section A is formed. Then, on the upper surface of the reading case 1 corresponding to the lowermost portion of the document feeding path 4b, a continuous feeding document reading plate 5 made of a transparent plate material such as glass, which is a continuous document feeding / reading section.
Is arranged.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stationary document cover 3 is attached to the reading case 1 so as to be rotatable up and down, and can be opened and closed separately from the continuous document feeding section A, so that the opening and closing operation is light. A paper feed section 3a is formed on the upper surface of the stationary document cover 3. Further, inside the stationary document cover 3, the continuous document feeding section A side is opened and a certain height is set up and down. And a discharge chamber (discharge section) 3b having the following. As shown in FIG. 2, the stationary original cover 3 is
When it is closed upward, the paper feed unit 3a on the upper surface is
The vicinity of the upper end of the opening of the paper discharge chamber 3b is connected to the document discharge section 4c. In other words, if the stationary document cover 3 is closed, it can be used as it is as a paper feed tray and a discharge tray of the continuous document feeding section A, and the tray does not protrude from the apparatus. The troublesome work involved in the interference between the stationary document cover 3 and the tray, such as the need to attach and detach the tray each time the tray is opened and closed, can be eliminated. The paper feed unit 3a on the upper surface can be easily removed, and the fed document stored in the paper discharge chamber 3b can be taken out.

In the continuous document feeding section A, the portion from the lowermost continuous feeding document reading plate 5 to the document discharge section 4c in the document feed path 4b is moved into the discharge chamber 3b. In order to secure the stock amount of the discharged document (for this reason, the discharge chamber 3b of the stationary document cover 3 is provided with a certain height), the document discharge section 4c is located at a relatively high position. (As described above, it is connected to the vicinity of the upper end of the paper discharge chamber 3b.) It is formed to be inclined upward. It is desirable that the inclination angle is set as gentle as possible so that the original to be fed is not overloaded. However, in the related art, since the optical path length of the optical reading apparatus is short, the distance between the continuous feeding original reading section and the stationary original reading section cannot be made too large. I didn't get it. In this respect, in the image reading apparatus of the present embodiment, as described later, the optical path length of the optical system reading apparatus is set to be long, and the continuous feeding original reading section is also arranged at a certain horizontal distance from the stationary original reading section. Therefore, the inclination of this portion in the document feeding path 4b is also formed gently.

Next, the structure of the optical reader in the reading case 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a photoelectric conversion unit 14 having a lens 14a and a photoelectric converter 14b is fixedly provided at the bottom in the reading case 1. The scanning body to be moved when reading a stationary document includes a first scanning body B1 and a second scanning body B2. The first scanning body B1 is configured by connecting the light source 10 and the first reflecting mirror 11 to the second scanning body B1. In B2, a second reflecting mirror 12 is provided at an upper portion, and a third reflecting mirror 13 is provided at a lower portion in a horizontal direction in the left and right directions.

An outline of a method of reading a document will be described. The light source 10 illuminates the stationary original placing plate 2 when reading a stationary original, and irradiates the continuous feeding original reading plate 5 when reading a continuously fed original. The light is reflected by the reflecting mirror 11. The image reflected by the first reflecting mirror 11 is a second reflecting mirror 12 and a third reflecting mirror 13.
, Is projected on the lens 14a, and the image content is converted into an electronic signal by the photoelectric converter 14b.

When reading a continuously fed original, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, both scanning members B1 and B2 are kept stationary at the initial movement position, and
And reflects the image of the original conveyed thereon onto the lens 14a of the photoelectric conversion unit 14 by reflecting the image of the original on the first reflecting mirror 11, the second reflecting mirror 12, and the third reflecting mirror 13. It is. In this case, each roller for document feeding of the continuous document feeding unit A, for example, the separation roller 6, the feeding roller 7, the discharging roller 8, and the like are rotationally driven to be closed as shown by the arrow in FIG. The originals are separated one by one from the originals stacked on the paper feeding unit 3a on the upper surface of the stationary original cover 3, and the originals are continuously fed to the original feeding path 4b and discharged to the paper discharge chamber 3b.

Next, when reading a still original, the light source 1
The first scanning body B1 and the second scanning body B2 must be moved in order to read the original by illuminating the entire surface of the document by moving the scanning body 0. As means for moving both scanning bodies B1 and B2,
A first driving pulley 15 and a second driving pulley 16 driven by a motor or the like are disposed on both left and right sides near an initial position (a reading position of a continuously fed original) in the moving range of the scanning bodies B1 and B2. The two pulleys 15 and 16 are supported by the same shaft, and the first driving pulley 15 has a diameter twice as large as that of the second driving pulley 16. A driven first pulley 17 and a driven second pulley 18 are disposed on both left and right sides of the scanning body B1 and B2 on the moving end portion side, respectively, and are the same as the first driving pulley 15 and the second driving pulley 16, respectively. Diameter. Then, the first transport belt 19 is wound between the driving first pulley 15 and the driven first pulley 17 on the same side, and the second transport belt 20 is wound between the driving second pulley 16 and the driven second pulley 18 on the same side. Turning. By rotating the driving first pulley 15 and the driving second pulley 16 which are supported by the same shaft and are integral with each other, the first transport belt 19 is rotated.
Is twice as fast as that of the second conveyor belt 20.

Both end portions of the first scanning member B1 are on the left and right first conveyor belts 19, 19, and both end portions of the second scanning member B2 are on the left and right second conveyor belts 20, 20, respectively. It is engaged and fixed. Thus, the first conveyor belt 1
When the first scanning body B1 and the second scanning body B2 attached to the ninth and nineteenth conveyor belts 20 and 20 are transported and driven, the first scanning body B1 moves at twice the speed of the second scanning body B2. Will be done. When reading a stationary original placed on the stationary original placing surface 2, as shown in FIG. 3 from the state shown in FIGS. The scanning bodies B1 and B2 are moved. At this time, the first scanning body B1 moves at twice the speed of the second scanning body B2. As a result, the light emitted from the light source 10 and the photoelectric conversion unit 14
The entire length (optical path length) of the optical path L until an image is formed on the lens 14a is always constant during movement. When the first scanning body B1 and the second scanning body B2 reach the end of movement as shown in FIG. 5, they reciprocate to return to the initial state of FIG. 4 (FIG. 2).

The optical path length is maintained even when the scanning bodies B1 and B2 are stationary at the reading position of the continuously fed original as shown in FIGS. The stationary position (moving initial position) of the scanning bodies B1 and B2 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4
Is located farthest from the lens 14a, but in the case of the present embodiment, the continuous feed document reading unit (the continuous feed document reading plate) is used because the stationary document cover 3 and the continuous document feed unit A are separated from each other. 5) is also located at a position somewhat distant from the static original reading section (static original placing plate 2).
The stationary position of B2 is a position farther from the lens 14a than before. Even in this case, the lens 14a
Lens 14a so that an image can be correctly formed on the lens 14a.
Has a longer focal length than before. That is, the optical path length is increased by increasing the focal length of the lens 14a by the distance that the continuous feeding document reading unit is separated from the stationary document reading unit.

Separation of the stationary document cover 3 from the continuous document feeding section A, or the continuous feeding document reading plate 5 and the document discharging section 4c in the document feeding path 4b in the continuous document feeding section A.
The gentle inclination up to the above can be realized by increasing the focal length of the lens 14a and increasing the optical path length from the light source 10 to the lens 14a.

[0022]

According to the present invention, a stationary original reading section and a continuous feeding original reading section are arranged adjacent to the upper portion of the apparatus case, and the stationary original reading section and the continuous feeding original reading section are provided in the apparatus case. An optical reading device, which comprises a photoelectric conversion portion having a lens fixed to the device case, and a scanning member having a light source and a reflecting mirror. As described above, in an image reading apparatus in which an optical reading apparatus having a structure in which the scanning body is moved below the document reading unit and the scanning body is stopped below the continuous feeding document reading unit when reading the continuously fed document is installed. The configuration has the following effects.

First, by increasing the focal length from the light source to the lens, the distance between the continuous original reading unit and the stationary original reading unit is increased. The document feed path from the continuous feed document reading section to the document discharge section, which must be arranged at a relatively high level to secure the stock of discharged documents, can be formed at a gentle slope. No excessive force is applied to the document to be sent, and the document is fed smoothly.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cover of the stationary original reading section and the continuous original feeding section are separated from each other to reduce the weight of the cover and facilitate opening and closing operations. Becomes In addition, since the continuous original feeding unit is not integrally formed with the cover but is fixed to the apparatus case, the transmission mechanism for the driving means in the continuous original feeding unit considers the disengagement of the transmission due to the opening and closing of the cover. This can be fixedly provided between the driving source and the like provided in the device case without performing the above, and the assembling configuration can be simplified.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the feeding portion and the paper discharging portion for the continuous document feeding portion are integrated with the cover of the stationary document reading portion, and the opening and closing of the cover is performed. In addition, the trouble of attaching and detaching a tray for feeding or discharging paper can be eliminated, and the tray does not protrude from the apparatus, which contributes to downsizing of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an image recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an internal side view of a continuously fed original reading state (a state in which scanning bodies B1 and B2 are at initial movement positions) in an image reading portion of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an internal side view of a still original reading state (a state in which scanning bodies B1 and B2 are being moved).

FIG. 4 is also a state of continuously feeding originals (scanning bodies B1 and B
FIG. 2 is an internal plan view of a state in which the second position is at a movement initial position.

FIG. 5 is an internal plan view of a still original reading state (a state in which the scanning bodies B1 and B2 are at the movement end positions).

FIG. 6 is an internal front view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Continuous Document Feeding Unit B1 First Scanning Body B2 Second Scanning Body L Optical Path 1 Reading Case (Device Case of Image Reading Device) 2 Stationary Document Placement Board (Static Document Reading Unit) 3 Static Document Cover 3a Feeding Unit 3b Paper discharge chamber (paper discharge section) 4 Continuous document feed cover 4a Document introduction section 4b Document feed path 4c Document discharge section 5 Continuous feed document reading plate (continuous feed document reading section) 6 Separation roller 7 Feed roller 8 Discharge roller 10 Light source 11 First reflecting mirror 12 Second reflecting mirror 13 Third reflecting mirror 14 Photoelectric conversion unit 14a Lens 14b Photoelectric converter

Claims (3)

[Claims] A stationary original reading section and a continuous feeding original reading section are disposed adjacent to an upper portion of an apparatus case, and the apparatus case is used for both static original reading and continuous feeding original reading. An optical reading device, comprising: a photoelectric conversion unit having a lens fixed to the device case; and a scanning body having a light source and a reflecting mirror. In the image reading apparatus having an optical system reading device having a structure for moving the scanning body below the continuous feeding document reading section when reading the continuous feeding document, An image reading apparatus, wherein the distance from a stationary document reading unit is increased, and the focal length from a light source to a lens of the optical reading apparatus is increased by the enlargement. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A continuous document feeding section formed on the continuous feeding document reading section,
An image reading apparatus fixed to an upper portion of the apparatus case, wherein a cover of the stationary document reading section is separated from the continuous document feeding section. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
A document feed path from the document introduction section to the document discharge section of the continuous document feed section is formed in a U-turn shape, and a paper supply section connectable to the document introduction section, and a paper discharge section connectable to the document discharge section An image reading device, wherein the upper and lower portions are integrally formed vertically with a cover of the stationary document reading portion.