JP3669145B2 - Transparent document reader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transparent original reading apparatus capable of fixing a light source and a transparent original at predetermined positions.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in the case of a flat bed type image reading apparatus, an original table made of a transparent plate such as glass is provided on the upper surface of a box-shaped housing. A carriage that moves parallel to the document table by a driving device is provided inside the housing. On this carriage, a light source and a line sensor in which a large number of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged are mounted.
[0003]
When reading a transparent original such as a photographic film or an OHP sheet, a light source or a surface light source that moves as the carriage moves is provided above the original table.
[0004]
When reading an image of a transparent original, the original placed on the original table is irradiated with light from a light source, and the transmitted light from the original is condensed on a line sensor by a condenser lens and detected while moving the carriage. Is converted into an electrical signal.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when reading an original, the original is visually placed on the original table of the reading apparatus with reference to the guide on the periphery of the original table, so the reading position and direction are easily shifted. It is necessary to fix the direction accurately.
[0006]
In particular, when handling a plurality of originals, there is a drawback in that the operation of accurately aligning the reading position and direction is very troublesome and takes a long time.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to read a light source unit and a document by fitting and fixing a unit in which a surface light source unit and a guide for positioning a document are integrated into an upper surface of a document table of an existing image reading apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transparent original reading apparatus that always maintains an appropriate position and orientation of the reading apparatus and facilitates alignment work.
[0008]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a document holder that facilitates alignment work by being fitted inside an alignment guide integrated with a light source.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the transparent original reading apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, a light source unit having a surface light source for irradiating light to an original such as a photographic film or an OHP sheet, and an accurate reading position and reading direction of the original are accurately determined. A document guide for fixing to a state and a reading device main body for reading the document from the amount of transmitted light are provided. The light source unit and the document guide are integrated by a connecting portion that is rotatable by a hinge or the like. The integrated light source unit and document guide can be fixed to the existing reading apparatus main body by fitting them onto the original table lower than the peripheral portion of the original table on the upper surface of the reading apparatus main body. As a result, the positions of the light source, the original, and the reading apparatus main body are always constant, and the position of the light source and the reading position and direction of the original can be fixed to an appropriate reading area of the reading apparatus.
[0010]
According to the transparent document reading apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, the detachable document holder can be fitted into the opening of the document guide. By inserting a document such as a photographic film into the document holder, the document can be held in a fixed position. Since the shape and size of the document holder are almost the same as the opening of the document guide, it can be adjusted to an appropriate reading position simply by fitting the document holder holding the document into the opening of the document guide. Alignment when reading a plurality of documents repeatedly is easy.
[0011]
According to the transmission document reading apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the inner peripheral surface around the opening of the document guide is inclined so that the opening narrows from the upper surface side to the lower surface side of the document guide. Yes. As a result, when a document longer than the width of the opening, such as a photographic negative film, is placed on the document table, the document can be gently bent and thus the document can be prevented from being damaged.
[0012]
According to the transparent document reading apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the document guide is provided with the slit for reading the white reference data for shading correction.
[0013]
According to the transparent document reading apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the document holder has the handle for facilitating the attachment / detachment from the opening of the document guide on the outer periphery. Thereby, when the operation of repeatedly reading a plurality of documents using a plurality of document holders is performed, the document holder can be replaced in a short time.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, examples showing embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
The schematic structure of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
[0016]
A document guide 2 and a light source unit 3 that are connected and integrated so as to be rotatable by a hinge 5 are mounted on the upper portion of the reading apparatus main body 1. The light source unit 3 is provided with a surface light source 7. The surface light source 7 includes a substantially U-shaped light source 71 and a light guide plate 72 as shown in FIG. Grooves are provided in the surface of the light guide plate 72 vertically and horizontally, and the grooves reflect light from the light source 71 and irradiate the original vertically from the light guide plate 72. Further, since this groove is engraved so that the distance from the light source 71 becomes narrower, the original can be irradiated almost uniformly.
[0017]
A document table 4 made of a transparent plate such as glass is provided on the upper surface of the reading apparatus main body 1. The document table 4 is lower than the document table peripheral part 11 having a guide for aligning the document, and is fixed by fitting the document guide 2 and the light source unit 3 integrated in this part. can do. A carriage 6 that moves parallel to the document table 4 by a driving device (not shown) is provided inside the reading apparatus main body 1. Irradiation light emitted from the surface light source 7 in the light source unit 3 passes through the transmission original 10 and is condensed on the line sensor 9 through the condenser lens 8 in the carriage 6. For the line sensor 9, for example, a charge storage type optical sensor such as a CCD is used. An inner peripheral surface 23 around the opening 21 of the document guide 2 is inclined so that the opening 21 becomes narrower from the upper surface side to the lower surface side of the document guide 2. A slit 22 for reading white reference data for shading correction is provided between the opening 21 of the document guide 2 and the connection portion of the hinge 5, and the light amount distribution of the surface light source 7 in the main scanning direction is provided. The white reference data is read directly with a CCD or the like.
[0018]
FIG. 5 shows a state in which six photographic films 33 are held on the document holder 31. The photographic film 33 is passed through the blade holders 34 and 35 of the document holder 31 so that it can be easily attached to and detached from the document holder.
[0019]
Further, the document holder is provided with a handle 32, which can be easily attached and detached from the opening 21 of the document guide 2 and can be easily repeated.
[0020]
FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the light source unit 3 and the document guide 2 in which the document holder 31 holding the photographic film 33 is fitted in the reading device main body 1 and the opening 21. Here, when the inner peripheral surface 23 of the document guide 2 is inclined, when the photographic film 33 is held in the document holder 11 and fitted into the opening 21 of the document guide 2, the document table 4 of the photographic film 33 is placed. This makes it easier to bend and makes it easier to focus and at the same time prevent damage to the film.
[0021]
Next, an operation when a plurality of originals are read by the image reading apparatus configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in step 101, the light source is first turned on. Next, in step 102, the transparent original 10 is placed in the opening 21 of the original guide 2. At this time, the transparent original 10 can be fitted in the original holder 31. Next, in step 103, the light source unit 3 is closed, and in accordance with an instruction from a personal computer (not shown) connected to the reading apparatus body 1, the first set of documents is read in step 104. Next, in step 105, the light source unit 3 is opened, and the document read in step 106 is taken out. Next, it is determined in step 107 whether or not to continue reading, and when reading of the document is continued, the operations of steps 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 are repeated to read the document. When the reading of the document is finished, the process proceeds to step 108 and the light source is turned off.
[0022]
The operation of step 102 described above can simplify the alignment of the transparent original 10, so that the operation can be performed in a short time, and the time required from the start to the end of original reading when reading a plurality of sets of documents. Can be shortened.
[0023]
According to the present embodiment, the light source unit 3 having the surface light source 7 and the document guide 2 for fixing the position and direction of the document can be integrated and mounted on the document table 4 of the reading apparatus main body 1. The reading operation can be performed in an appropriate area of the reading device.
[0024]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the integrated light source unit 3 and document guide 2 can be easily attached to and detached from the reading apparatus main body 1 and can be transported and stored in an integrated state. is there.
[0025]
Further, according to the present embodiment, a removable document holder 31 that can be fixed by inserting a document can be fitted into the opening 21 of the document guide 2, and the document holder 31 can be placed in a state where the document has been inserted in advance. When the operation of repeatedly reading a plurality of documents is performed by fitting into the opening of the guide 2, the alignment of the documents is facilitated and the operation can be performed in a short time.
[0026]
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the document holder 31 is provided with a handle 32 for facilitating removal, the document holder 31 is replaced when the document holder 31 is repeatedly replaced to perform a reading operation. It can be done in a short time.
[0027]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the amount of light that has passed through the white reference correction slit 22 provided in the document guide 2 can be directly read and used as shading correction white reference data.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure for reading a plurality of originals according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a transparent original reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a transparent original reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a surface light source according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a document holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a transparent original reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reading apparatus main body 2 Document guide 3 Light source unit 4 Document stand 5 Hinge 6 Carriage 7 Surface light source 8 Condensing lens 9 Line sensor 10 Transparency original 11 Perimeter of original plate 21 Opening 22 White reference correction slit 23 Inner peripheral surface 31 Original Holder 32 Handle 33 Film 34, 35 Airfoil projection 71 Light source 72 Light guide plate

Claims (5)

A document guide having an opening for positioning the document;
A light source unit rotatably connected to the document guide and having a surface light source for irradiating the document;
A document table including a document table on which the document is placed, a positioning unit that positions the document guide on the document table, and an optical sensor that converts light transmitted through the document into an electrical signal;
A transparent original reading apparatus comprising:   The transparent original reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an original holder that holds the original and is detachably fitted to the opening. The inner peripheral surface around the opening of the document guide is inclined so that the opening narrows from the upper surface side to the lower surface side of the document guide . The transparent original reading apparatus according to any one of the above.   The transparent document reading device according to claim 1, wherein the document guide has a slit for white reference reading.   The transparent document reading device according to claim 2, wherein the document holder has a handle protruding from the opening on an outer periphery.

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