JP3609775B2 - Information reader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information reading apparatus applied as, for example, a form movement type optical character reading apparatus or an image reading apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
This type of information reading apparatus has a reduction optical system composed of an imaging lens and a CCD sensor as a light receiving element, irradiates a moving form with light from a lamp, and is reflected from the form by this irradiation. Characters recorded on a form are read by causing the CCD sensor to receive light through an imaging lens.
[0003]
By the way, in order to read information correctly, it is necessary to adjust the position of the CCD sensor correctly. That is, it is necessary to adjust the position of the CCD sensor in the X, Y and Z axis directions and around the axis.
[0004]
Conventionally, a holding plate is attached to a lens fixing plate to which an imaging lens is attached via an adjusting screw, and a CCD sensor mounting substrate is held on the holding plate. Then, first and second nuts that hold the holding plate with pressure are attached to the adjustment screw, and the position of the CCD sensor is adjusted by moving the holding plate by rotating these first and second nuts. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, conventionally, one of the first and second nuts is disposed between the lens fixing plate and the holding plate. Therefore, in order to adjust the position of the CCD sensor, the lens fixing plate and the holding plate are There is a problem in that work efficiency is lowered because a hand or a tool must be put in a narrow space between them to rotate the nut.
[0006]
Further, in an optical character reader or an optical image reader using an imaging lens with a low magnification, the distance between the lens fixing plate and the holding plate is short, and in this case, workability is further reduced. There was a problem.
[0007]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and it is easy to adjust the position of the light receiving element without inserting a hand or the like in a narrow space between the fixed substrate of the imaging lens and the holder of the light receiving element. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information reading apparatus which can be performed in a simple manner.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Since the present invention is to solve the above problems, those of claim 1, wherein the predetermined light irradiating means for irradiating light to the scanners, the light reflected from the object to be read body is irradiated from the light irradiating means An optical system that guides in the direction, reading means that reads information guided by the optical system on a light receiving element through an imaging lens, and a fixed substrate to which the imaging lens is attached An adjustment screw fixedly attached to the fixed substrate; an insertion hole through which the adjustment screw is inserted ; a holding body that holds the light receiving element; and an screw that is screwed to the adjustment screw to be inserted into the insertion hole. A flange portion is formed at an end portion on the side facing the fixed substrate, and an end portion on the side opposite to the flange portion is protruded to the outside from the insertion hole and rotated to adjust the position of the holding body. The first nut It is screwed to the counter-flange side of the first nut, characterized by comprising a second nut which clamp holding the holding plate by said flange portion.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
[0010]
FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire information reading apparatus, in which 1 is the apparatus main body. On the lower side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 1, a loading unit 2 for loading paper P as a body to be read is provided. In the apparatus main body 1, a supply roller 3 that supplies the paper P that has been input to the input unit 2 is provided. The paper P taken out by the supply roller 3 is transported by the transport mechanism 4.
[0011]
The transport mechanism 4 includes, for example, a lower-side horizontal transport unit 4a, a vertical transport unit 4b, and an upper-side horizontal transport unit 4c. A plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers 5 for nipping and conveying the paper P is disposed in each of the conveyance units 4a to 4c.
[0012]
A switching gate 7 and upper and lower discharge roller pairs 8a and 8b are arranged on the carry-out side of the upper horizontal transfer section 4c. Upper and lower paper discharge trays 9a and 9b are disposed on the paper discharge side of the pair of paper discharge rollers 8a and 8b. The upper and lower sheet discharge trays 9 a and 9 b protrude forward from the front surface of the apparatus main body 1.
[0013]
On the other hand, a reading device 11 as a reading unit for image information is provided in the central portion of the apparatus main body 1. The reading device 11 includes a light source 12, an optical system 13 that includes reflection mirrors 13 a and 13 b that guide light emitted from the light source 12 and reflected from the paper P along a predetermined optical path, and light guided by the optical system 13. And a CCD sensor 15 as a light receiving element for receiving an image formed by the imaging lens 14.
[0014]
A control unit 16 is provided on the back side in the apparatus main body 1, and a power supply box 17 is provided on the inner bottom.
[0015]
Next, a form character reading operation will be described.
[0016]
The paper P that has been input into the input unit 2 is taken out by the supply roller 3 and is conveyed by the horizontal conveyance unit 4a on the lower side. The conveyed paper P is irradiated with light by the light source 12 of the reading unit, and the reflected light from the paper P is reflected by the reflection mirrors 13a and 13b and guided in a predetermined direction, and is passed through the imaging lens 14 to the CCD sensor. 15 is imaged and received. An image is read by the light reception of the CCD sensor 15. After the image image is read, character recognition processing is performed. On the other hand, the paper P is transported along the vertical transport unit 4b and the upper horizontal transport unit 4c. Thereafter, the switching gate 7 is operated according to the recognition result, and the paper P is discharged into the paper discharge tray 9a or 9b.
[0017]
2 to 4 show the mounting structure of the imaging lens 14 and the CCD sensor 15 described above.
[0018]
The imaging lens 14 is fixed to a lens fixing sheet metal 20 via a lens frame 19. A plurality (three places) of adjusting screws 21 a to 21 c are fixedly attached to the lens fixing metal plate 20. The CCD sensor 15 is attached to an attachment substrate 23, and this attachment substrate 23 is fixed and held on a holding plate 25 as a holding body by fixing screws 24.
[0019]
The holding plate 25 is attached to the adjusting screws 21 a to 21 c via the first and second nuts 27 a to 27 c and 28 a to 28 c, and is opposed to the lens fixing metal plate 20.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the mounting structure of the holding plate 25 (the same shape at all three locations).
[0021]
The first nuts 27 a to 27 c are screwed into the adjustment screws 21 a to 21 c, inserted in the insertion holes 25 a to 25 c formed in the holding plate 25 in a loosely inserted state, and end portions on the side facing the lens fixing metal plate 20. Are integrally formed with flange portions 27a 'to 27c'. The ends of the first nuts 27a to 27c on the side opposite to the flange are projected to the outside from the insertion holes 25a to 25c. Second nuts 28a to 28c are screwed to the opposite side of the first nuts 27a to 27c. The holding plate 25 is clamped and held by the second nuts 28a to 28c and the flange portions 27a 'to 27c' of the first nuts 27a to 27c.
[0022]
Further, third nuts 29a to 29c are screwed to the adjusting screws 21a to 21c, and the first nuts 27a to 27c are fixed to the adjusting screws 21a to 21c by screwing the third nuts 29a to 29c. .
[0023]
Next, a method for positioning the CCD sensor 15 (common to all three locations) will be described.
[0024]
First, the first nuts 27 a to 27 c are screwed onto the adjustment screws 21 a to 21 c fixed to the lens fixing metal plate 20 with the flange portions 27 a ′ to 27 c ′ facing the lens fixing metal plate 20. Next, after fixing the mounting substrate 23 of the CCD sensor to the holding plate 25 with fixing screws 24..., The first nuts 27 a to 27 c are inserted into the insertion holes 25 a to 25 c of the holding plate 25 to adjust the holding plate 25. It is attached to the screws 21a to 21c. After that, the second nuts 28a to 28c are screwed onto the first nuts 27a to 27c, respectively, and the second nuts 28a to 28c and the flange portions 27a 'to 27c' of the first nuts 27a to 27c are used. The holding plate 25 is loosely pinched and the assembly is completed.
[0025]
After assembling in this manner, the light source 12 is turned on and the light is received by the CCD sensor 15 via the imaging lens 14, and then the first nuts 27a to 27c are rotated so as to be in focus and the holding plate is rotated. 25 is moved in the Z direction. At this time, the holding plate 25 is also moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and is further rotated in the direction around the axis to position the CCD sensor 15. When the CCD sensor 15 is arranged at a desired position by this positioning, the second nuts 28a to 28c are tightened, and the second nuts 28a to 28c and the flange portions 27a 'to 27c' of the first nut 27 are As a result, the holding plate 25 is firmly clamped and held. Thereafter, the third nuts 29a to 29c are screwed onto the adjusting screws 21a to 21c to fix the first nuts 27a to 27c to the adjusting screws 24a to 24c, and the positioning of the CCD sensor 15 is completed.
[0026]
As described above, the flanges 27 a ′ to 27 c ′ are integrally formed at the end of the first nuts 27 a to 27 c on the side facing the lens fixing sheet metal 20, and the end on the side opposite to the flange is attached to the holding plate 25. Since the first nuts 27a to 27c are rotated from the outside of the holding plate 25 to project the CCD sensor 15 from the insertion holes 25a to 25c, the CCD sensor 15 can be positioned.
[0027]
Accordingly, the conventional work of inserting a hand into the narrow space between the lens fixing metal plate 20 and the holding plate 25 and rotating the first nuts 27a to 27c becomes unnecessary, and the adjustment workability can be remarkably improved. .
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, the first nuts 27a to 27c are fixed by the third nuts 29a to 29c. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. May be fixed by brazing or soldering 30 or the like.
[0029]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the holding body.
[0030]
The holding body 31 in this embodiment includes a substrate portion 32 attached to the adjusting screws 21 a to 21 c and a holding portion 33 joined to the substrate portion 32, and the CCD attachment substrate 23 is fixed to the holding portion 33 by a fixing screw 35. Is fixed.
[0031]
A spherical concave portion 32 a is formed at the central portion of the substrate portion 32, and a spherical convex portion 33 a is formed at the central portion of the holding portion 33. The convex portion 33 a of the holding portion 33 is fitted into the concave portion 32 a of the substrate portion 32, and the holding portion 33 is fixed to the substrate portion 32 by a fixing screw 34.
[0032]
According to this embodiment, the rotation of the mounting substrate 23 of the CCD sensor 15 around the Z axis is facilitated, and the position adjustment of the CCD sensor 15 is further facilitated.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 8, a spherical convex portion 32 b is projected from the central portion of the substrate portion 32 of the holding body 31, and a spherical concave portion 33 b is formed at the central portion of the holding portion 33, thereby forming the substrate portion. The 32 convex portions 32 b may be fitted into the concave portions 33 b of the holding portion 33.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
In the present invention, as described above, the flange portion is integrally formed at the end portion of the first nut that is screwed to the adjustment screw on the side facing the lens fixing substrate, and the end portion on the side opposite to the flange portion is the holding body. Therefore, the CCD sensor can be positioned by rotating the first nut from the outside of the holding plate.
[0035]
Therefore, adjustment work can be performed without inserting a hand into a narrow space between the lens fixing substrate and the holding body as in the prior art, and the working efficiency can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an information reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of an imaging lens and a CCD sensor provided in the information reading apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of a CCD sensor.
4 is a diagram showing a state in which the CCD sensor mounting structure of FIG. 3 is viewed from the direction of arrow Z. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a holding body mounting structure.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another fixing method of the first nut.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a holding body for holding a mounting substrate for a CCD sensor.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of a holding body for holding a mounting substrate for a CCD sensor.
[Explanation of symbols]
P ... object to be read (paper), 11 ... reading device (reading means), 12 ... light source (light irradiation means), 13 ... optical system, 14 ... imaging lens, 15 ... CCD sensor (light receiving element), 20 ... lens Fixed metal plate (fixed substrate), 21a to 21c ... adjustment screw, 23 ... mounting substrate, 25a-25c ... insertion hole, 25, 31 ... holding body (holding plate), 27a'-27c '... flange, 27a-27c ... 1st nut, 28a-28c ... 2nd nut.

Claims (4)

A light irradiating means for irradiating the object to be read with light;
An optical system that guides light emitted from the light irradiation means and reflected from the read object in a predetermined direction;
Reading means for reading the information of the read object by imaging light guided by the optical system on a light receiving element through an imaging lens;
A fixed substrate to which the imaging lens is attached;
An adjustment screw fixedly attached to the fixed substrate,
A holding body for holding the light receiving element, having an insertion hole through which the adjustment screw is inserted ;
Screwed into the adjustment screw and inserted into the insertion hole, forming a flange portion at an end portion facing the fixed substrate, and projecting an end portion on the side opposite to the flange portion from the insertion hole to the outside; A first nut that adjusts the position of the holding body by being rotated;
A second nut that is screwed to the opposite side of the first nut and holds the holding plate by the flange portion;
An information reading apparatus comprising: The information reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third nut that is screwed onto the adjustment screw and fixes the first nut. The holding body includes a substrate portion attached to an adjustment screw, and a holding portion that is bonded to the substrate portion and holds the light receiving element, and a spherical recess is formed in one of the substrate portion and the holding portion. 2. The information reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a spherical convex portion that fits into the concave portion is provided on the other side. The information reading device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving element is held by the holding body via a mounting substrate.

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