US20070013976A1 - Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module - Google Patents
Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module Download PDFInfo
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- US20070013976A1 US20070013976A1 US11/250,493 US25049305A US2007013976A1 US 20070013976 A1 US20070013976 A1 US 20070013976A1 US 25049305 A US25049305 A US 25049305A US 2007013976 A1 US2007013976 A1 US 2007013976A1
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- scanning
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- scanning module
- image scanning
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/04—Scanning arrangements, i.e. arrangements for the displacement of active reading or reproducing elements relative to the original or reproducing medium, or vice versa
- H04N1/047—Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position
- H04N1/0473—Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position in subscanning direction, e.g. picture start or line-to-line synchronisation
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
- H04N1/00684—Object of the detection
- H04N1/00687—Presence or absence
- H04N1/00689—Presence
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
- H04N1/00684—Object of the detection
- H04N1/00702—Position
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
- H04N1/00729—Detection means
- H04N1/00734—Optical detectors
- H04N1/00737—Optical detectors using the scanning elements as detectors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
- H04N1/00742—Detection methods
- H04N1/00745—Detecting the leading or trailing ends of a moving sheet
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00681—Detecting the presence, position or size of a sheet or correcting its position before scanning
- H04N1/00763—Action taken as a result of detection
- H04N1/00774—Adjusting or controlling
- H04N1/00782—Initiating operations
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/04—Scanning arrangements, i.e. arrangements for the displacement of active reading or reproducing elements relative to the original or reproducing medium, or vice versa
- H04N1/12—Scanning arrangements, i.e. arrangements for the displacement of active reading or reproducing elements relative to the original or reproducing medium, or vice versa using the sheet-feed movement or the medium-advance or the drum-rotation movement as the slow scanning component, e.g. arrangements for the main-scanning
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/04—Scanning arrangements
- H04N2201/047—Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04701—Detection of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04703—Detection of scanning velocity or position using the scanning elements as detectors, e.g. by performing a prescan
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/04—Scanning arrangements
- H04N2201/047—Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04701—Detection of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04731—Detection of scanning velocity or position in the sub-scan direction
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/04—Scanning arrangements
- H04N2201/047—Detection, control or error compensation of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04701—Detection of scanning velocity or position
- H04N2201/04739—Detection of scanning velocity or position by detecting the scanning head or scanning carriage
Definitions
- the invention relates to an image scanning device, and particularly to an apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module
- a conventional image scanning device 1 such as a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP), image scanner, or copier is equipped with an image scanning function to duplicate and transform images into electronic data for storage or into documents by printing.
- the image scanning device 1 has a scanning platform 2 , an image scanning module 3 below the scanning platform 2 , and a conveyor 4 to drive the image scanning module 3 back and forth. While scanning images on a document, one side of the document to be scanned is placed on the scanning platform 2 .
- the conveyor 4 drives the image scanning module 3 back and forth to scan the images on the document.
- an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) 5 is used to feed the documents sequentially into the image scanning device 1 .
- the documents 6 to be scanned are moved above the image scanning module 3 to perform scanning.
- the documents 6 are fed by the ADF 5 , and the image scanning module 3 remains stationary.
- the image scanning module 3 is at a standby state in normal conditions.
- the image scanning module 3 is activated to process scanning.
- Such a design aims to save power and increase the life span of the image scanning module 3 . It also prevents the image scanning module 3 from scanning the area outside the document 6 . So that the memory buffer space occupied by the electronic data transformed from the image of the document 6 will be minimized.
- the document 6 is driven by a plurality of feeding rollers 5 a.
- a trigger 5 b of a detector is used to be pushed by the front edge 6 a of the document 6 .
- the feeding rollers 5 a rotate and feed the document 6 through a document feeding track 7 towards the image scanning module 3 .
- the front edge 6 a of the document 6 pushes the trigger 5 b to generate a trigger signal.
- a control circuit in the scanning device 1 starts counting the revolutions of the feeding rollers 5 a.
- the image scanning module 3 is activated to process scanning.
- the trigger 5 b is a mechanical structure, its precision is lower.
- the conveyor 4 drives the image scanning module 3 to perform scanning operation from the home position until reaching another edge of the document. After the scanning operation is finished, the conveyor 4 moves the image scanning module 3 back to the home position. Then the conveyor 4 stops driving the image scanning module 3 .
- the image scanning module 3 stops on the home position to wait for the next scanning operation.
- the general approach is to install a first sensor 8 a and a second sensor 8 b on the image scanning module 3 and the image scanning device 1 respectively.
- the first sensor 8 a corresponds to the home position.
- induction occurs between the first sensor 8 a and the second sensor 8 b and a detection signal is generated to stop operation of the conveyor 4 .
- This approach requires additional sensors on the image scanning module 3 and the image scanning device 1 . Thus fabrication time and cost are higher.
- the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module that can operate precisely and simplify the structure of a scanning device.
- the apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module is installed on an image scanning device to detect the front edge of the document or determine the home position of the image scanning module.
- the apparatus of the invention includes an image scanning module, a document feeding track and a detecting light source.
- the image scanning module includes an image reader and a scanning light source.
- the document feeding track has an inlet end and an outlet end. The inlet end is to feed documents sequentially into the document feeding track, and the outlet end is to receive the documents discharged from a paper path of the document feeding track corresponding to the image scanning module.
- the detecting light source is located on the documents feeding track and over which the document passes to emit detecting light received by the image reader of the image scanning module. Thereby, when the front edge of a document arrives between the image reader and the detecting light source, the detecting light is blocked by the document and then the image scanning module is activated. The scanning light source starts emitting scanning light to perform scanning operation.
- the detecting light source emits the detecting light simultaneously corresponding to the home position of the image scanning module.
- the image reader can receive the detecting light and generate a stopping signal to enable the image scanning module to stop on the home position precisely.
- the invention can achieve the following results: by merely adding a detecting light source to cooperate with image scanning module, detection of the document front edge and determination of the home position of the image scanning module can be accomplished at the same time. Besides, the structure of the apparatus is simplified, so that fabrication is simpler.
- the present invention can precisely detect the front edge of the document above the image scanning module. The precision is higher than the conventional mechanical detection design.
- the present invention also can position the image scanning module on the home position at the same time without adding extra detection elements.
- FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional automatic document feeder and scanning device
- FIGS. 2A and 2B are fragmentary enlarged views of a conventional automatic document feeder
- FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded view of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic views of an embodiment of the invention for detecting a document front edge
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic views of an embodiment of the invention for positioning an image scanning module on a home position.
- the apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module of the invention is installed on an image scanning device that has an automatic document feeder to detect the front edge of the document and positioning the image scanning module precisely on a home position.
- the image scanning device may be a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP), flatbed scanner, copier, or the like for scanning a large amount of documents.
- MFP Multi-Function Peripheral
- the scanning device generally includes a body 100 to perform scanning operation and an automatic document feeder 200 .
- the body 100 includes a housing 110 with a scanning platform 111 to hold a document 300 to be scanned. Under the scanning platform 111 , there are a conveying module 120 and an image scanning module 130 .
- the conveying module 120 is for conveying the image scanning module 130 from a home position back and forth under the scanning platform 111 , so that the image scanning module 130 can scan the document 300 which is placed on the scanning platform 111 .
- the conveying module 120 includes a motor 121 and a conveying element 122 .
- the motor 121 may be a step motor or a DC motor.
- the conveying element 122 may be a screw, a belt, a combination of gears and racks, or a combination thereof to be coupled with the motor 121 and the image scanning module 130 , so that the image scanning module 130 can be driven by the motor 121 to move back and forth.
- the body 100 has a control circuit (not shown in the drawings) to control the image scanning module 130 and the motor 121 .
- the image scanning module 130 includes at least an image reader 131 and a scanning light source 132 .
- the image reader 131 has a photosensitive element (such as CCD, CIS or the like), lenses and reflective mirrors to receive a light and transform the light to electronic signals.
- the scanning light source 132 such as a tubular fluorescent lamp, irradiates a light to the document 300 , and then a reflex reflected from the document 300 is received by the image reader 131 . Details and operation principles of the image reader 131 and the scanning light source 132 are known in the art and are thus omitted hereinafter.
- the automatic document feeder 200 is located on one side of the top of the body 100 . It has a feeding tray 210 , a document feeding track 220 , a plurality of feeding rollers 230 and an exit tray 240 .
- the feeding tray 210 is to hold a plurality of documents 300 to be scanned.
- the documents 300 are fed sequentially into the document feeding track 220 .
- the document feeding track 220 has an inlet end 221 and an outlet end 222 .
- the inlet end 221 is connected to the feeding tray 210 to receive the documents 300 sequentially into the document feeding track 220 .
- the outlet end 222 is adjacent one side of the scanning platform 111 and also is connected to the exit tray 240 for receiving the documents 300 discharged from a paper path P (as the dotted line) of the document feeding track 220 , so that a scanning window 223 is formed over the scanning platform 111 corresponding to the home position of the image scanning module 130 and opposite the image scanning module 130 .
- the image scanning module 130 can scan the document 300 passing over the scanning window 223 from the home position through the scanning window 223 .
- the feeding rollers 230 are located on two sides of the document feeding track 220 and rotate on two sides thereof to drive the document 300 from the inlet end 221 towards the outlet end 222 .
- the document feeding track 220 has a detecting window 224 over which the document 300 passes corresponding to the scanning window 223 .
- a detecting light source 250 is mounted in the detecting window 224 near the outlet end 222 and aligned with the image reader 131 .
- the image scanning module 130 is located on the home position, it is corresponding to the detecting light source 250 .
- the detecting light source 250 can emit a detecting light S to be received by the image reader 131 of the image scanning module 130 , so that the image scanning module 130 maintains a selected voltage potential.
- the image scanning module 130 is located on the home position to scan the document 300 through the scanning window 223 .
- the document 300 are stacked on the feeding tray 210 and loaded sequentially into the document feeding track 220 by the feeding rollers 230 from the inlet end 221 towards the outlet end 222 .
- the image scanning module 130 scans each of the documents 300 passing over the scanning window 223 .
- the image scanning module 130 is on standby mode so that the scanning light source 132 does not emit scanning light to waste power and reduce the life span of the scanning light source 132 .
- the image reader 131 also does not have to read a great amount of blank data occupying unnecessary memory buffer space of the scanning device.
- the control circuit transmits a trigger signal to activate the image scanning module 130 , and the scanning light source 132 starts to irradiate scanning light to the document 300 through the scanning window 223 .
- the image reader 131 receives a reflex reflected from the document 300 and transforms the image of the document 300 into electronic data. After the document 300 has passed over the scanning window 223 completely and leaves the outlet end 222 of the document feeding track 220 , the image scanning module 130 suspends scanning operation.
- the scanning light source 132 is turned off, and the image scanning module 130 enters the standby mode. Meanwhile, the detecting light S emitted from the detecting light source 250 is continuously received by the image reader 131 of the image scanning module 130 and waits the detecting light S to be blocked to activate the scanning operation again. Only when the front edge of the document 300 arrives above the image reader 131 to block the detecting light S, the image scanning module 130 can be activated, so the precision of detecting the front edge of the document is enhanced.
- the document 300 can be placed on the scanning platform 111 individually, and the image scanning module 130 is driven by the conveying module 120 from the home position to move back and forth horizontally to scan the document 300 .
- the image scanning module 130 has to perform the scanning operation from the home position, otherwise the area scanned of the document will be smaller than the actual size of the document 300 and a portion of image data could be lost. Or the area scanned of the document will be greater than the actual size of the document 300 and result in scanning a large amount of blank data occupying unnecessary memory buffer space.
- the embodiment of the invention can also determine the home position of the image scanning module 130 precisely.
- the image scanning module 130 if the image scanning module 130 is not located on the home position, the image reader 131 cannot receive the detecting light S emitted from the detecting light source 250 in the event. As a result, the image scanning module 130 maintains at another voltage potential.
- the scanning light source 132 is turned off, and the conveying module 120 starts driving the image scanning module 130 moving from another side of the scanning platform 111 towards the home position.
- the image reader 131 receives the detecting light S emitted from the detecting light source 250 .
- the voltage potential of the image scanning module 130 is altered to the selected one and a stopping signal is generated.
- the control circuit of the scanning device stops the conveying module 120 to drive the image scanning module 130 , the image scanning module 130 stays on the home position, and determination of home position of the image scanning module 130 is completed.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Facsimile Scanning Arrangements (AREA)
- Controlling Sheets Or Webs (AREA)
- Handling Of Sheets (AREA)
- Length Measuring Devices By Optical Means (AREA)
- Image Input (AREA)
Abstract
An apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining home position of an image scanning module has a detecting light source near an outlet end of a document feeding track and aligned with an image reader of the image scanning module. The detecting light source emits a detecting light to be received by the image reader. By detecting whether the detecting light is received by the image reader, the front edge of the document can be detected to activate the image scanning module. And it can also determine whether or not the image scanning module has arrived on a home position.
Description
- This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 94123801 filed in Taiwan on Jul. 13, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
- 1. Field of Invention
- The invention relates to an image scanning device, and particularly to an apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module
- 2. Related Art
- Referring to
FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, a conventionalimage scanning device 1 such as a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP), image scanner, or copier is equipped with an image scanning function to duplicate and transform images into electronic data for storage or into documents by printing. Theimage scanning device 1 has ascanning platform 2, animage scanning module 3 below thescanning platform 2, and aconveyor 4 to drive theimage scanning module 3 back and forth. While scanning images on a document, one side of the document to be scanned is placed on thescanning platform 2. Theconveyor 4 drives theimage scanning module 3 back and forth to scan the images on the document. - For scanning a greater amount of documents, an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) 5 is used to feed the documents sequentially into the
image scanning device 1. Thedocuments 6 to be scanned are moved above theimage scanning module 3 to perform scanning. Thedocuments 6 are fed by the ADF 5, and theimage scanning module 3 remains stationary. - The
image scanning module 3 is at a standby state in normal conditions. When thefront edge 6 a of a document arrives at the upper side of theimage scanning module 3, theimage scanning module 3 is activated to process scanning. Such a design aims to save power and increase the life span of theimage scanning module 3. It also prevents theimage scanning module 3 from scanning the area outside thedocument 6. So that the memory buffer space occupied by the electronic data transformed from the image of thedocument 6 will be minimized. In the conventional approach thedocument 6 is driven by a plurality offeeding rollers 5 a. Atrigger 5 b of a detector is used to be pushed by thefront edge 6 a of thedocument 6. Thefeeding rollers 5 a rotate and feed thedocument 6 through adocument feeding track 7 towards theimage scanning module 3. Before thedocument 6 arrives at theimage scanning module 3, thefront edge 6 a of thedocument 6 pushes thetrigger 5 b to generate a trigger signal. Depending on the distance between thetrigger 5 b and theimage scanning module 3 and the displacement of thedocument 6 generated by rotation of thefeeding rollers 5 a, a control circuit in thescanning device 1 starts counting the revolutions of thefeeding rollers 5 a. When the document displacement generated by the rotation of thefeeding rollers 5 a is approximate to the distance between thetrigger 5 b and theimage scanning module 3, theimage scanning module 3 is activated to process scanning. However, thetrigger 5 b is a mechanical structure, its precision is lower. When thetrigger 5 b is pushed by thedocument 6 to generate the trigger signal, an error occurs on the actual position of thefront edge 6 a of thedocument 6. In addition, an error in document displacement is occurred while thefeeding rollers 5 a drive thedocument 6. The error in actual position of thefront edge 6 a and the error in document displacement result in theimage scanning module 3 not being activated as thefront edge 6 a just arrives, so that distortion of image scanning is occurred. - If the ADF 5 is not used, and manual feeding of a single document is employed, one document is placed on the
scanning platform 2 with the text or image side down. One edge of thedocument 6 has to be aligned on a starting line (not shown in the drawings). The starting line corresponds to the home position of theimage scanning module 3. During scanning operation, theconveyor 4 drives theimage scanning module 3 to perform scanning operation from the home position until reaching another edge of the document. After the scanning operation is finished, theconveyor 4 moves theimage scanning module 3 back to the home position. Then theconveyor 4 stops driving theimage scanning module 3. Theimage scanning module 3 stops on the home position to wait for the next scanning operation. To control theimage scanning module 3 to stop precisely on the home position, the general approach is to install afirst sensor 8 a and asecond sensor 8 b on theimage scanning module 3 and theimage scanning device 1 respectively. Thefirst sensor 8 a corresponds to the home position. When theimage scanning module 3 is located on the home position, induction occurs between thefirst sensor 8 a and thesecond sensor 8 b and a detection signal is generated to stop operation of theconveyor 4. This approach requires additional sensors on theimage scanning module 3 and theimage scanning device 1. Thus fabrication time and cost are higher. - In view of the aforesaid problems, the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module that can operate precisely and simplify the structure of a scanning device.
- In order to achieve the foregoing object, the apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module according to the invention is installed on an image scanning device to detect the front edge of the document or determine the home position of the image scanning module. The apparatus of the invention includes an image scanning module, a document feeding track and a detecting light source. The image scanning module includes an image reader and a scanning light source. The document feeding track has an inlet end and an outlet end. The inlet end is to feed documents sequentially into the document feeding track, and the outlet end is to receive the documents discharged from a paper path of the document feeding track corresponding to the image scanning module. The detecting light source is located on the documents feeding track and over which the document passes to emit detecting light received by the image reader of the image scanning module. Thereby, when the front edge of a document arrives between the image reader and the detecting light source, the detecting light is blocked by the document and then the image scanning module is activated. The scanning light source starts emitting scanning light to perform scanning operation.
- As the image scanning module is moved back to a home position after scanning a document placed on the scanning platform, the detecting light source emits the detecting light simultaneously corresponding to the home position of the image scanning module. When the image scanning module is located on the home position, the image reader can receive the detecting light and generate a stopping signal to enable the image scanning module to stop on the home position precisely.
- The invention can achieve the following results: by merely adding a detecting light source to cooperate with image scanning module, detection of the document front edge and determination of the home position of the image scanning module can be accomplished at the same time. Besides, the structure of the apparatus is simplified, so that fabrication is simpler. When adopted for detecting the front edge of a document, the present invention can precisely detect the front edge of the document above the image scanning module. The precision is higher than the conventional mechanical detection design. The present invention also can position the image scanning module on the home position at the same time without adding extra detection elements.
- Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
-
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional automatic document feeder and scanning device; -
FIGS. 2A and 2B are fragmentary enlarged views of a conventional automatic document feeder; -
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded view of an embodiment of the invention; -
FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic views of an embodiment of the invention for detecting a document front edge; and -
FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic views of an embodiment of the invention for positioning an image scanning module on a home position. - The apparatus for detecting the front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module of the invention is installed on an image scanning device that has an automatic document feeder to detect the front edge of the document and positioning the image scanning module precisely on a home position. The image scanning device may be a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP), flatbed scanner, copier, or the like for scanning a large amount of documents.
- Referring to
FIG. 3 , the scanning device generally includes abody 100 to perform scanning operation and anautomatic document feeder 200. - The
body 100 includes ahousing 110 with ascanning platform 111 to hold adocument 300 to be scanned. Under thescanning platform 111, there are a conveyingmodule 120 and animage scanning module 130. The conveyingmodule 120 is for conveying theimage scanning module 130 from a home position back and forth under thescanning platform 111, so that theimage scanning module 130 can scan thedocument 300 which is placed on thescanning platform 111. The conveyingmodule 120 includes amotor 121 and a conveyingelement 122. Themotor 121 may be a step motor or a DC motor. The conveyingelement 122 may be a screw, a belt, a combination of gears and racks, or a combination thereof to be coupled with themotor 121 and theimage scanning module 130, so that theimage scanning module 130 can be driven by themotor 121 to move back and forth. Also, thebody 100 has a control circuit (not shown in the drawings) to control theimage scanning module 130 and themotor 121. - The
image scanning module 130 includes at least animage reader 131 and ascanning light source 132. Theimage reader 131 has a photosensitive element (such as CCD, CIS or the like), lenses and reflective mirrors to receive a light and transform the light to electronic signals. Thescanning light source 132, such as a tubular fluorescent lamp, irradiates a light to thedocument 300, and then a reflex reflected from thedocument 300 is received by theimage reader 131. Details and operation principles of theimage reader 131 and thescanning light source 132 are known in the art and are thus omitted hereinafter. - The
automatic document feeder 200 is located on one side of the top of thebody 100. It has afeeding tray 210, adocument feeding track 220, a plurality of feedingrollers 230 and anexit tray 240. The feedingtray 210 is to hold a plurality ofdocuments 300 to be scanned. Thedocuments 300 are fed sequentially into thedocument feeding track 220. Thedocument feeding track 220 has aninlet end 221 and anoutlet end 222. Theinlet end 221 is connected to thefeeding tray 210 to receive thedocuments 300 sequentially into thedocument feeding track 220. Theoutlet end 222 is adjacent one side of thescanning platform 111 and also is connected to theexit tray 240 for receiving thedocuments 300 discharged from a paper path P (as the dotted line) of thedocument feeding track 220, so that ascanning window 223 is formed over thescanning platform 111 corresponding to the home position of theimage scanning module 130 and opposite theimage scanning module 130. Theimage scanning module 130 can scan thedocument 300 passing over thescanning window 223 from the home position through thescanning window 223. The feedingrollers 230 are located on two sides of thedocument feeding track 220 and rotate on two sides thereof to drive thedocument 300 from theinlet end 221 towards theoutlet end 222. - The
document feeding track 220 has a detectingwindow 224 over which thedocument 300 passes corresponding to thescanning window 223. A detectinglight source 250 is mounted in the detectingwindow 224 near theoutlet end 222 and aligned with theimage reader 131. When theimage scanning module 130 is located on the home position, it is corresponding to the detectinglight source 250. The detectinglight source 250 can emit a detecting light S to be received by theimage reader 131 of theimage scanning module 130, so that theimage scanning module 130 maintains a selected voltage potential. - Referring to
FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B, when theautomatic document feeder 200 conveys thedocument 300, theimage scanning module 130 is located on the home position to scan thedocument 300 through thescanning window 223. Thedocument 300 are stacked on thefeeding tray 210 and loaded sequentially into thedocument feeding track 220 by the feedingrollers 230 from theinlet end 221 towards theoutlet end 222. Then theimage scanning module 130 scans each of thedocuments 300 passing over thescanning window 223. Before thedocument 300 arrives in thescanning window 223, theimage scanning module 130 is on standby mode so that thescanning light source 132 does not emit scanning light to waste power and reduce the life span of thescanning light source 132. Theimage reader 131 also does not have to read a great amount of blank data occupying unnecessary memory buffer space of the scanning device. - When the front edge of the
document 300 arrives in thescanning window 223 and between theimage reader 131 and detectinglight source 250, the detecting light S is blocked by thedocument 300, so that theimage reader 131 cannot receive the detecting light S. Then theimage scanning module 130 changes its voltage potential. Hence the control circuit transmits a trigger signal to activate theimage scanning module 130, and thescanning light source 132 starts to irradiate scanning light to thedocument 300 through thescanning window 223. Theimage reader 131 receives a reflex reflected from thedocument 300 and transforms the image of thedocument 300 into electronic data. After thedocument 300 has passed over thescanning window 223 completely and leaves theoutlet end 222 of thedocument feeding track 220, theimage scanning module 130 suspends scanning operation. Thescanning light source 132 is turned off, and theimage scanning module 130 enters the standby mode. Meanwhile, the detecting light S emitted from the detectinglight source 250 is continuously received by theimage reader 131 of theimage scanning module 130 and waits the detecting light S to be blocked to activate the scanning operation again. Only when the front edge of thedocument 300 arrives above theimage reader 131 to block the detecting light S, theimage scanning module 130 can be activated, so the precision of detecting the front edge of the document is enhanced. - When the
automatic document feeder 200 is not in use, thedocument 300 can be placed on thescanning platform 111 individually, and theimage scanning module 130 is driven by the conveyingmodule 120 from the home position to move back and forth horizontally to scan thedocument 300. Theimage scanning module 130 has to perform the scanning operation from the home position, otherwise the area scanned of the document will be smaller than the actual size of thedocument 300 and a portion of image data could be lost. Or the area scanned of the document will be greater than the actual size of thedocument 300 and result in scanning a large amount of blank data occupying unnecessary memory buffer space. The embodiment of the invention can also determine the home position of theimage scanning module 130 precisely. - Referring to
FIGS. 6A and 6B , if theimage scanning module 130 is not located on the home position, theimage reader 131 cannot receive the detecting light S emitted from the detectinglight source 250 in the event. As a result, theimage scanning module 130 maintains at another voltage potential. After theimage scanning module 130 has finished a prior scanning operation, thescanning light source 132 is turned off, and the conveyingmodule 120 starts driving theimage scanning module 130 moving from another side of thescanning platform 111 towards the home position. When theimage scanning module 130 arrives at the home position, theimage reader 131 receives the detecting light S emitted from the detectinglight source 250. Thus, the voltage potential of theimage scanning module 130 is altered to the selected one and a stopping signal is generated. The control circuit of the scanning device stops the conveyingmodule 120 to drive theimage scanning module 130, theimage scanning module 130 stays on the home position, and determination of home position of theimage scanning module 130 is completed. - The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Claims (15)
1. An apparatus for detecting front edge of a document that is installed on a scanning device to detect the front edge of the document, comprising:
an image scanning module which includes an image reader and a scanning light source;
a document feeding track which has an inlet end for feeding documents sequentially into the document feeding track and an outlet end for receiving the documents discharged from a paper path of the document feeding track corresponding to the image scanning module; and
a detecting light source located on the document feeding track and over which the document passes corresponding to the image reader to emit a detecting light which is received by the image reader;
wherein when the front edge of the document arrives between the image reader and the detecting light source to block the detecting light, the image scanning module is activated and the scanning light source starts emitting a scanning light to perform a scanning operation.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scanning device includes a housing which has a scanning platform on an upper side, the image scanning module being located under the scanning platform.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the document feeding track has a scanning window corresponding to one side of the scanning platform and opposite to the image scanning module.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a conveying module located under the scanning platform to drive the image scanning module to move back and forth under the scanning platform.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the conveying module includes a motor and a conveying element, the conveying element is coupled with the motor and the image scanning module.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a control circuit to control the image scanning module and the motor.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of feeding rollers which are located on two sides of the document feeding track and rotate to drive the document from the inlet end of the document feeding track towards the outlet end.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the document feeding track has a detecting window over which the document passes corresponding to the image reader, the detecting light source being located in the detecting window.
9. A scanning device equipped with an apparatus for determining the home position of an image scanning module, comprising:
a housing having a scanning platform on an upper surface;
an image scanning module which is located under the scanning platform, having an image reader and a scanning light source;
a conveying module to drive the image scanning module to move back and forth from a home position under the scanning platform; and
a detecting light source which is located above the scanning platform corresponding to the home position of the image scanning module, to emit a detecting light to be received by the image reader.
10. The scanning device of claim 9 , wherein the conveying module includes a motor and a conveying element, the conveying element is coupled with the motor and the image scanning module.
11. The scanning device of claim 10 further comprising a control circuit to control operations of the image scanning module and the motor.
12. An automatic document feeding mechanism, comprising:
a document feeding track which has an inlet end and an outlet end, to receive a document from the inlet end moving towards the outlet; and
a detecting light source located on the document feeding track and over which the document passes to emit a detecting light.
13. The automatic document feeding mechanism of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of feeding rollers located on two sides of the document feeding track rotating to drive a document from the inlet end of the document feeding track moving towards the outlet end.
14. The automatic document feeding mechanism of claim 12 , wherein the document feeding track has a detecting window over which the document passes, the detecting light source being located in the detecting window.
15. The automatic document feeding mechanism of the claim 12 , wherein the detecting light source is located near the outlet end of the document feeding track.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/205,007 US7672025B2 (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2008-09-05 | Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
TW094123801A TWI280780B (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2005-07-13 | Paper front edge detection and optical scanning module restoring device |
TW94123801 | 2005-07-13 |
Related Child Applications (1)
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US12/205,007 Division US7672025B2 (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2008-09-05 | Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module |
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US20070013976A1 true US20070013976A1 (en) | 2007-01-18 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US11/250,493 Abandoned US20070013976A1 (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2005-10-17 | Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module |
US12/205,007 Expired - Fee Related US7672025B2 (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2008-09-05 | Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module |
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US12/205,007 Expired - Fee Related US7672025B2 (en) | 2005-07-13 | 2008-09-05 | Apparatus for detecting front edge of a document and determining the home position of an image scanning module |
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US (2) | US20070013976A1 (en) |
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Cited By (3)
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US20060226233A1 (en) * | 2005-03-30 | 2006-10-12 | Benq Corporation | Scanners |
US20090109500A1 (en) * | 2007-10-31 | 2009-04-30 | Canon Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha | Image reading apparatus and control method therefor, as well as storage medium |
US11172080B2 (en) | 2018-09-07 | 2021-11-09 | Avision Inc. | Peripheral and control method of control component thereof |
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KR101164814B1 (en) * | 2007-06-26 | 2012-07-12 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Scanning apparatus and multi-function printing apparatus having the same |
US8467110B2 (en) * | 2009-05-21 | 2013-06-18 | Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. | Image reading apparatus, image forming apparatus, and image reading method |
TWI420893B (en) * | 2010-05-14 | 2013-12-21 | Primax Electronics Ltd | Scanner with auto document feeder |
JP5935547B2 (en) * | 2012-07-03 | 2016-06-15 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Image reading apparatus and document edge determination program |
TW201414279A (en) * | 2012-09-21 | 2014-04-01 | Primax Electronics Ltd | Scanning apparatus |
JP6024350B2 (en) * | 2012-09-28 | 2016-11-16 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Image reading apparatus and document edge determination program |
JP5983440B2 (en) * | 2013-01-31 | 2016-08-31 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Image reading apparatus and document edge determination program |
TWI561055B (en) * | 2014-05-22 | 2016-12-01 | Avision Inc | Sheet-fed scanner and image scanning method using the same |
JP6759747B2 (en) * | 2016-06-21 | 2020-09-23 | コニカミノルタ株式会社 | Conveyor and image forming equipment |
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TWI258980B (en) * | 2005-03-30 | 2006-07-21 | Benq Corp | Scanners |
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- 2005-10-17 US US11/250,493 patent/US20070013976A1/en not_active Abandoned
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US6252684B1 (en) * | 1998-11-13 | 2001-06-26 | Umax Data Systems Inc. | Automatic paper feeder including an upper light source |
US7130090B2 (en) * | 2001-12-18 | 2006-10-31 | Ncr Corporation | Method of operating an image-based document processing system and an apparatus therefor |
US7327502B2 (en) * | 2003-12-26 | 2008-02-05 | Avision Inc. | Sheet-fed scanning device capable of detecting a document edge |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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US7672025B2 (en) | 2010-03-02 |
US20090002781A1 (en) | 2009-01-01 |
TWI280780B (en) | 2007-05-01 |
TW200704144A (en) | 2007-01-16 |
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