JP3363758B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a facsimile apparatus has a problem that it is inconvenient because a reading device called a scanner is irremovably fixed to a main body. For example, in most commercially available facsimile machines, a scanner is fixed to the main body, so that it is impossible to read a book-type document.

Therefore, in recent years, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-8750.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 (H04N1 / 00), Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-11030
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (H04N1 / 00) and the like, and partly commercialized, the scanner is detachable from the main body, and in a state where the scanner is attached to the main body, the original document conveyed by the paper feeding mechanism as before is In the state where the document is sequentially read, and on the other hand, when it is detached from the main body, the user can manually scan the document to read a book-type document as in a so-called handy scanner.

[0004]

By the way, the optical image reading apparatus currently used in this type of scanner is a CCD.
However, when this CCD is used, it is not always necessary to bring the original into close contact with the original reading window, and there is no member that comes into contact with the reading window when the scanner is attached or detached.

However, CIS is used as an optical image reader.
When a (Contact Image Sensor) is used, it is necessary to bring the original into close contact with the reading window, and a platen that is in contact with the reading window is provided inside the main body. Since the platen is usually connected to the drive motor so as to also function as the document conveying means, it cannot freely rotate when the scanner is attached or detached. For this reason, when the scanner is attached or detached, the reading window rubs against the reading window, which may cause the reading window to become dirty or scratched, resulting in deterioration of reading characteristics.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its basic configuration is a scanner having a reading window, a main body having an opening to which the scanner is attached and detached, and the opening. When the scanner is mounted on the main body, the scanner is rotatably supported in the unit, and by moving the scanner in a direction parallel to the reading window of the scanner, it comes into contact with the reading window and imparts rotational force. A platen disposed at a position where the platen is placed, a motor, and a means for transmitting the rotational force of the motor to the platen. When the scanner is mounted on the main body, the transmitting means is configured to detect the rotational force of the platen. It is to cut off the transmission to the motor.

[0007]

1 and 2 are perspective views showing the appearance of a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, an operation panel 2 on which a plurality of operation keys including a numeric keypad and a display 1 made of, for example, a liquid crystal is arranged is rotatably supported at the front end side, and
A main body 5 having a document insertion opening 3 and a recording paper discharge tray 4 formed at the rear end, and a handset 7 placed at the left end of the upper surface of the main body 5 and connected to the main body 5 with a curl cord 6.
It comprises a handy scanner 9 which can be attached to and detached from the opening 8 of the main body 5. 1 shows a state in which the scanner 9 is removed from the main body 5, and FIG. 2 shows the scanner 9 in the opening 8 of the main body 5.
It shows the state of being attached to.

3 and 4 are a perspective view and a top view of a main part for explaining the opening 8 and FIG. 5 (a).
6A to 6E are views showing an upper surface, a front surface, a lower surface, a left side surface and a right side surface of the scanner 9, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are for explaining a state in which the scanner 9 is attached to and detached from the opening 8. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a main part of FIG.

As is apparent from FIG. 6, the scanner 9 has a main body casing 10 having a horizontal step portion and having an L-shaped cross section, and a CIS (contact image sensor) arranged on the horizontal step portion. ) Or a reading unit housing 11 containing an optical reading element such as a CCD. This reading unit housing 11
As is apparent from FIG. 6, the biasing means 12 such as a spring coil always applies a biasing force to the above horizontal step portion. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, when mounted in the opening 8, the opening 8 extends in the longitudinal direction thereof (hereinafter referred to as the main scanning direction) and is rotatably at both ends of the opening. The upper surface of the reading unit housing 11 can come into contact with the platen 13 that is axially supported above the side wall of the opening 8 and is made of an elastic material such as rubber.

As is apparent from FIG. 4, guide projections 14 and 1 are provided below the openings on both side walls of the opening 8.
5, the first connector 16 for electrically connecting to the scanner 9 is arranged on the deepest wall.

On the other hand, as is apparent from FIG. 5, the scanner 9 has a transparent reading window 17 on the upper surface of the reading unit casing 11.
Have. The reading window 17 extends in the main scanning direction, contacts the platen 13 when the scanner 9 is mounted in the opening 8, and passes data between the platen 13 and the data written on the document to the optical disc. To be read by the static reading element. Further, the scanning rollers 18 and 1 are provided on the upper surface of the reading unit casing 11.
8 are arranged. The rollers 18, 18 are used when the scanner 9 is detached from the main body and used as a single handy scanner for reading a book document or the like.
Is rotated in accordance with the movement in the sub-scanning direction, and the sub-scanning speed is detected by interlocking with a rotary encoder or the like (not shown) built in the scanner 9. In order to store the data read by the optical reading element in the scanner 9, in addition to the optical reading element and the encoder, a controller for controlling these circuits in order to be usable as a single handy scanner. And a battery power source for supplying a driving voltage to each of the above units. . Therefore, even when the scanner 9 is detached from the main body 5, the scanner 9 is moved in the sub-scanning direction while pressing the reading window 17 against the original document at a timing corresponding to the moving speed in the sub-scanning direction. The controller controls the optical reading element to optically read the data on the original and store it in the memory. The data stored in the memory may be data read by the optical reading element and binarized, but further encoded data may be stored from the viewpoint of memory capacity. Preferably, in this embodiment, the latter encoded data is stored in the memory.

Among the components arranged in the scanner 9, detachable components such as the battery are arranged in the main body casing 10. As a result, the weight of the reading unit casing 11 is always constant, so that the contact pressure between the reading window 17 and the platen 13 due to the urging force of the urging means 12 can always be constant. Further, since the urging means 12 is provided on the scanner 9 side, the urging means 12 can be repaired only by disassembling the scanner 9 and not the main body 5.

The front side of the scanner 9 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the second connector 19 is arranged. The connector 19 is the first connector 1 arranged on the deepest wall of the opening 8 when the scanner 9 is attached to the opening 8.
6 is connected. By this connector connection, the power supply to each part in the scanner 9 is switched from the battery power source to the power source built in the main body 5, and the scanner 9 is controlled under the control of the main control means built in the main body 5. Access to the memory, drive control of the optical reading element, and the like can be controlled.

On the lower surface of the scanner 9, as shown in FIG. 5C, first to third slide switches 20 to 22, a push button 23, a power source display lamp 24, a memory remaining amount display lamp 25 and a speed warning lamp. 26 are arranged.
The first slide switch 20 is a switch for turning on / off the supply of the drive voltage from the battery power source built in the scanner 9 to each unit, and the second slide switch 21.
Is a switch for setting the reading image quality mode when the scanner 9 is used as a single handy scanner, and the third slide switch 22 is for an erasing mode for erasing the data in the memory and for reading the data by the scanner 9. This is a switch for switching between the reading mode to be performed. When the reading mode is selected by the third slide switch 22, the push button 23 is
The push button 23 is used as a button for instructing start and stop of reading, and when the erase mode is selected, it is used as a button for instructing to erase the data in the memory. The power supply indicator lamp 24 is turned on when the first slide switch 20 is slid to the on position and a driving voltage is being supplied from the battery power source to each part, and the first slide switch 20 is slid to the off position. It does not light when the output voltage of the battery power source is below a predetermined value and it is impossible to supply the drive voltage to each part. The remaining memory display lamp 25
Is composed of, for example, two color LEDs, a red LED and a green LED, and lights up in green when the remaining amount of the memory is equal to or more than a predetermined value, and changes the emission color from orange to red as the remaining amount decreases. The speed warning lamp 26 is also composed of a two-color LED similarly to the memory remaining amount display lamp 25, and lights up in green when the sub-scanning speed detected by the rollers 18, 18 and the encoder is appropriate, and the speed is When the reading value of the optical reading element is not reached due to the predetermined value or more, the emission color is changed from orange to red.
Therefore, the lamps 24 to 26 can visually determine the proper reading operation of the scanner 9 when used alone as a handy scanner.

As is apparent from FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (e), stepped portions 27 and 28, which are lowered by one step, are formed on both side surfaces of the main body housing 10 of the scanner 9, respectively. Both the stepped portions 27 and 28 extend from the front surface of the scanner 9 toward the rear surface thereof, and the upper edge portion thereof is formed in a taper shape which is lowered toward the rear surface. When the scanner 9 is mounted in the opening 8, the upper edges of the stepped portions 27 and 28 are in contact with the upper ends of the guide protrusions 14 and 15 planted in the opening 8 of the main body 5, respectively. It will be pushed toward the deepest wall. The taper is for facilitating the alignment between the guide protrusions 14 and 15 and the step portions 27 and 28 when the scanner 9 is attached to the opening 8.

A slide lever 29 is arranged on the step portion 28 on the right side surface of the main body 10 of the scanner 9. The slide lever 29 is interlocked with the first slide switch 20, and the tip thereof is projected to the surface of the step portion 28 at a first position (partially indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5C), and the tip is the step portion. 28, the other end is pivotally supported so as to be swingable between a second position that does not project to the surface (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5C). Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the slide lever 29 and the first slide switch 20 are connected via a rotary shaft 30 arranged in the scanner 9, whereby the first slide is connected. When the switch 20 is slid to the on position, the tip of the slide lever 29 is in the first position, while when the first slide switch 20 is slid to the off position, the tip of the slide lever 29 is in the second position. To do. Further, when the scanner 9 is mounted in the opening 8 while the first slide switch 20 is slid to the ON position, the tip of the slide lever 29 becomes the guide protrusion 14 as shown in FIGS. Abut,
The scanner 9 is rotated from the first position to the second position by the insertion force of the scanner 9 into the opening 8, and the turning force slides the first slide switch 20 from the on position to the off position via the rotating shaft 30. . Therefore, even if the scanner 9 is mounted on the main body 5 while the first slide switch 20 of the scanner 9 is on, the switch 20 is automatically turned off.

Returning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the platen 13 is
The rotation shaft 31 of the penetrating the left side wall of the opening 8,
Its tip is D-cut. This D-cut tip 3
A second gear 34 is meshed with the first gear 32, a second gear 34 is meshed with the first gear 33, and a third gear 35 is meshed with the second gear 34. The second gear 34 is rotatably supported in the inner part of the opening 8, and the third gear 35 is also supported by the rotating shaft of the motor 36.

The center hole 37 of the first gear 32 is fitted and attached to the D-cut tip portion 32 of the rotary shaft 31, but its shape is similar to that of the tip portion 32 as shown in FIG. Does not have a D-cut shape. Specifically, the tip 3
2 has a shape in which a cylindrical rotation shaft 31 is cut in half on its center line, and a center hole 37 has a shape in which a part of a concentric circular hole slightly larger than the rotation shaft 31 is linearly closed. is doing.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8A, the tip portion 3
From the state in which the one end A1 of 2 and the one end B1 of the center hole 37 are in contact with each other, as shown in FIG. 8B, between the one end A2 of the tip portion 32 and the one end B2 of the center hole 37 in the above contact state, The rotating shaft 31 and the first gear 32 can freely rotate without transmitting rotational force to each other.

On the other hand, with the scanner 9 mounted in the opening 8 of the main body 5 (FIG. 6B), the platen 13 and the reading window 1
When reading a document passing between the first and the second and seventh sheets, the motor 36 rotates the third gear 35 counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. 8A under the control of the main control means on the main body 5 side. Let The turning force of the gear 35 is transmitted to the first gear 3 via the second gear 34.
3 and the first gear 33 also rotates in the counterclockwise direction.

The counterclockwise turning force of the first gear 33 is the D-cut tip portion 3 of the rotary shaft 31 as shown in FIG. 8 (a).
It is not transmitted to the rotating shaft 31 until the one end A1 of the second contacting the one end B1 of the central hole 37, but after the contacting time, the rotation is performed by the counterclockwise rotating force of the first gear 33. The shaft 31 also rotates counterclockwise and conveys the document between the platen 13 and the reading window 17 in the sub-scanning direction.

Thereafter, when the scanner 9 is removed from the opening 8 of the main body 5 after the reading of the original document with the scanner 9 attached to the opening 8 of the main body 5 (FIG. 6B) is completed,
Since the reading window 17 of the scanner 9 and the platen 13 are in contact with each other, the pulling force of the scanner 9 acts as a rotating force of the platen 13 in the counterclockwise direction. However, immediately after the document is conveyed between the platen 13 and the reading window 17 in the sub-scanning direction, as shown in FIG. 8A, one end A1 of the D-cut tip portion 32 of the rotary shaft 31 and the center hole 37 are formed. Since one end B1 of the scanner 9 is in contact with
The counterclockwise rotation force of the platen 13 caused by the removal of the is not transmitted to the first gear 33.

Since the rotational force of the platen 13 generated when the scanner 9 is pulled out is not reliably transmitted to the first gear 33, the contact period (abutment) between the platen 13 and the reading window 17 when the scanner 9 is pulled out (abutment). Distance) and FIG.
As shown in (a), one end A1 of the tip portion 32 and the central hole 37
8B, the rotary shaft 31 and the first gear 32 are contacted with each other while the end A2 of the tip portion 32 and the end B2 of the central hole 37 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 8B. By equalizing the distance (free rotation distance) in which the scanners can freely rotate without transmitting rotational power to each other, one end A2 of the tip portion 32 after the scanner 9 is removed as shown in FIG. 8B. And one end B2 of the center hole 37 are in contact with each other.

On the other hand, on the contrary, the scanner 9 is installed in the opening 8 of the main body 5.
Even when it is mounted on the platen 13, the reading window 17 of the scanner 9 and the platen 13 come into contact with each other, so that the platen 13 is given a rotational force in the clockwise direction. The relationship between the D-cut tip portion 32 of the rotary shaft 31 and the center hole 37 of the first gear 33 immediately before the scanner 9 is mounted in the opening 8 of the main body 5, that is, the scanner 9 shown in FIG. Since the state is the same as the state immediately after the removal of the platen, the clockwise turning force of the platen 13 is not transmitted to the first gear 33.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the scanner 9 is attached to or detached from the opening 8 of the main body 5, the first to third gears 33 to 3 are used.
Since the rotational power transmission path between the motor 36 and the platen 13 constituted by 5 is substantially cut off, the platen 13 can rotate without resistance in accordance with the attachment / detachment operation. Therefore, when the scanner 9 is attached or detached, the platen 13 and the reading window 17 rub against each other and are worn,
Alternatively, damage can be avoided.

In this embodiment, the contact distance and the free rotation distance are made equal, but the free rotation distance may be set larger than the contact distance from the viewpoint of avoiding the wear and damage.

[0028]

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the reading window of the scanner from rubbing against the platen when the scanner is attached or detached, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration of the reading characteristics due to dirt or scratches on the reading window.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of an essential part showing an essential part of the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional top view of an essential part showing an essential part of the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a top view (a), a front view (b), a bottom view (c), a left side view (d) and a right side view (e) for explaining the scanner of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a scanner 9 for the opening 8 in the apparatus of this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a partial cross section of a main part for explaining the mounting and demounting of the device and the configuration of the scanner 9.

FIG. 7 shows a scanner 9 for opening 8 in the apparatus of this embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional top view of a main part for explaining the mounting and demounting of the device and the configuration of the scanner 9.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a rotating mechanism of the platen 13 in the apparatus of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 body 8 openings 9 scanner 12 Biasing means 13 Platen 17 Reading window 31 rotation axis 32 D-cut tip 33 First Gear 34 second gear 35 Third Gear 36 motor 37 Center hole

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Tokuki Sawa 3 201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-9-65073 (JP, A) JP-A-7-322003 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/04-1/207

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A scanner having a reading window, a main body having an opening to which the scanner is attached and detached, and a shaft rotatably supported in the opening so that the scanner can be mounted in front of the scanner.
When mounted on the main unit, parallel to the reading window of the scanner.
Scanning by moving the scanner in different directions
A plastic placed at a position where it comes into contact with the window and is given a turning force.
A platen , a motor, and a rotational force of the motor are transmitted to the platen.
And a means for transmitting the scanner to the main body,
It blocks the rotation power of the platen from being transmitted to the motor.
A facsimile machine characterized by being turned off. 2. A scanner having a reading window, a main body having an opening to which the scanner is attached and detached, and a shaft rotatably supported in the opening so that the scanner is in front of the scanner.
When mounted on the main unit, parallel to the reading window of the scanner.
Scanning by moving the scanner in different directions
A plastic placed at a position where it comes into contact with the window and is given a turning force.
A platen , a motor, and a rotational force of the motor are transmitted to the platen.
And the tip of the cylindrical rotation shaft of the platen is located on the center line thereof.
It has a shape cut in half, and the transmission means
Part of a concentric hole slightly larger than the axis is closed linearly
Center hole with closed shape is fitted to the tip of the rotating shaft
Attaching the gear means and a turning force to the gear means
Facsimile apparatus characterized by comprising a means.