Patent Application
20200059570
The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/218,189, filed on Dec. 12, 2018, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-253607 filed in Japan on Dec. 28, 2017. The entire disclosure of such parent application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to an image reading device and an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a multifunction device, and a fax machine, including the image reading device.
An image reading device including the following type of image reader is known (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. H5-30293 and H7-56242, for example). The image reader scans a document so as to read an image of the document by using an image sensor via plural mirrors and a condenser lens.
In the image readers of the image reading devices disclosed in the above-described publications, light reflected by a document is reflected multiple times by using one mirror. This configuration disturbs the balance of the arrangement of plural mirrors. This also varies the optical path lengths among the mirrors, thereby failing to arrange the plural mirrors in a well-balanced manner. The size of the image readers is thus increased, which also makes the image reading devices larger.
It is thus desirable to arrange plural mirrors in a well-balanced manner so as to reduce the size of an image reader and also the sizes of an image reading device and an image forming apparatus including the image reading device.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an image reading device including an image reader that scans a document so as to read an image of the document. The image reader includes a scanning body in which at least a plurality of mirrors, a condenser lens, and an image sensor are disposed. In the scanning body, concerning positional relationships among the plurality of mirrors as viewed from a main scanning direction, the plurality of mirrors are disposed on two sides with respect to an imaginary line extending along an optical axis of reflected light from the document. A plurality of the mirrors on a corresponding one of the two sides are disposed such that a reflecting position of a mirror on a downstream side in a traveling direction of the reflected light is positioned closer to the document and also to the imaginary line than a reflecting position of a mirror on an upstream side in the traveling direction of the reflected light. According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus including the above-described image reading device.
An embodiment of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, components having the same name and the same function are designated by like reference numerals, and thus, a detailed explanation thereof will not be repeated.
The image forming apparatus 100 includes a document feeder 108 and a body 110 of the image forming apparatus 100. The body 110 includes an image forming system 102 and a sheet transport system 103.
The image forming system 102 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing unit 2, a photoconductor drum 3 which serves as an electrostatic latent image carrier, a cleaning unit 4, a charger 5, and a fixing unit 7. The sheet transport system 103 includes a sheet feeder tray 81, a manual sheet feeder tray 82, a discharge roller 31, and a discharge tray 14.
The image reading device 200 for reading an image of the document G is provided on the top of the body 110. The image reading device 200 includes a document table 221 (more specifically, document glass) on which the document G is placed and a document reading plate 222 (more specifically, document reading glass). The document feeder 108 is provided above the document table 221 and the document reading plate 222. In the image forming apparatus 100, the image of the document G read by the image reading device 200 is supplied to the body 110 as image data and is recorded on a sheet P.
A sheet transport path W1 is provided in the body 110. The sheet feeder tray 81 or the manual sheet feeder tray 82 feeds a sheet P to the sheet transport path W1. The sheet transport path W1 guides the sheet P to the discharge tray 14 via a transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. The fixing unit 7 heats a toner image formed on the sheet P and fixes it on the sheet P. In the vicinity of the sheet transport path W1, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a transport roller 12a, a registration roller 13, the transfer roller 10, a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72 in the fixing unit 7, and the discharge roller 31 are disposed.
In the image forming apparatus 100, the sheet P fed by the sheet feeder tray 81 or the manual sheet feeder tray 82 is transported to the registration roller 13. Then, the sheet P is transported to the transfer roller 10 by the registration roller 13 at a timing at which the sheet P will face the toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 3. The toner image is then transferred to the sheet P by the transfer roller 10. Thereafter, the sheet P passes between the heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 of the fixing unit 7 and is discharged to the discharge tray 14 via the transport roller 12a and the discharge roller 31. If an image is formed on the back side of the sheet P as well as on the front side, the sheet P is transported back to a reverse sheet transport path W2 from the discharge roller 31 in the reverse direction. After the sheet P is turned over from the front side to the back side via reverse transport rollers 12b, it is supplied again to the registration roller 13. A toner image is transferred to the back side of the sheet P and is fixed on the sheet P, as in the front side, and then, the sheet P is discharged to the discharge tray 14.
The image reading device 200 includes an image reader 300 (more specifically, an image reading unit) that scans a document G so as to read the image of the document G. The image reading device 200 scans the document G placed on the document table 221 while moving the image reader 300 along the bottom surface of the document table 221 in the image reading direction Y1 of the scanning direction Y. In this manner, the image reading device 200 reads the image of the document G placed on the document table 221 by using a reduction-type image sensor 340 (an example of an image sensor). Additionally, the image reading device 200 stops the image reader 300 at a position under the document reading plate 222 and causes the image reader 300 to scan a document G transported by the document feeder 108 and passing on the document reading plate 222. In this manner, by using the reduction-type image sensor 340, the image reading device 200 reads the image of the document G transported by the image feeder 108.
The image reader 300 is provided to be reciprocatable under the document table 221 and the document reading plate 222 within a housing 201 of the image reading device 200 in the sub-scanning direction Y. The image reader 300 is driven by a driver, which is not shown.
In the image reader 300, at least plural mirrors 320, a condenser lens 330, and the reduction-type image sensor 340 are provided. The image reader 300 reads an image by using the reduction-type image sensor 340 via the plural mirrors 320 and the condenser lens 330. The image reader 300 includes the light source unit 310 (see
The light source unit 310 illuminates the document G. The light source unit 310 includes a pair of light sources 311 and a pair of reflection members 312. The light sources 311 oppose the document G. The light sources 311 are disposed at different positions in the sub-scanning direction Y and are disposed on the respective reflection members 312. The reflection members 312 reflect light from the light sources 311 and apply it to the document G. The reflection members 312 are disposed on the top surface of the housing 350.
The plural mirrors 320 are constituted by the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 in this example. Reflected light L from the document G is sequentially reflected by the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 and the light reflected by the fifth mirror 325 is guided to the condenser lens 330.
In the housing 350, concerning the positional relationships among the plural mirrors 320 as viewed from the main scanning direction X, the plural mirrors 320 are disposed on two sides S1 and S2 with respect to an imaginary line Q extending along the optical axis of the reflected light L from the document G. More specifically, concerning the positional relationships among the plural mirrors 320 (first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325) as viewed from the main scanning direction X, the mirrors (second through fifth mirrors 322 through 325) other than the first mirror 321 which reflects the reflected light L from the document G are disposed on the two sides S1 and S2 in the following manner. Among the mirrors (second through fifth mirrors 322 through 325), the mirrors disposed on the side S1 and those disposed on the side S2 with respect to the imaginary line Q are the same number or substantially the same number. For example, if the number of mirrors (second through fifth mirrors 322 through 325) other than the first mirror 321 is an odd number, one more mirror can be disposed on one of the two sides S1 and S2.
The condenser lens 330 concentrates and condenses the reflected light L from the fifth mirror 325 to the reduction-type image sensor 340. The reduction-type image sensor 340 converts the reflected light L from the condenser lens 330 into an electric signal. As the reduction-type image sensor 340, a sensor including an imaging element, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), may be used.
Concerning the positional relationships among the plural mirrors 320 as viewed from the main scanning direction X, the plural mirrors on one of the sides S1 and S2 (second and fourth mirrors 322 and 324 on the side S1 in this example) are arranged in the following manner. The reflecting position of the mirror on the downstream side (fourth mirror 324 in this example) in the traveling direction E of the reflected light L is positioned closer to the document G and also to the imaginary line Q than the mirror on the upstream side (second mirror 322 in this example). This makes it possible to arrange the mirrors (second through fifth mirrors 322 through 325) other than the first mirror 321 in a well-balanced manner. With this arrangement, the size of the image reader 300 can be reduced, which also makes the image reading device 200 smaller. Additionally, the phenomenon where the reflected light L is blocked by the condenser lens 300 (vignetting) can effectively be prevented. To put it more precisely, the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 can be arranged in a well-balanced manner. It is thus possible to reduce the size of the image reader 300 using five mirrors.
The mirrors on the other side (third and fifth mirrors 323 and 325 on the side S2 in this example) are arranged such that the reflecting positions of the mirrors are aligned or substantially aligned in parallel with the imaginary line Q. This makes it possible to arrange the mirrors 320 (first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325) in an even better-balanced manner. The size of the image reader 300 can further be reduced.
In the reduction-type optical system, as shown in
In the present embodiment, among the plural mirrors 320 (first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325), the second through fourth mirrors 322 through 324 other than the first mirror 321 positioned on the most upstream side (closest to the document G) in the traveling direction E of the reflected light L and the fifth mirror 325 positioned on the most downstream side (closest to the condenser lens 330) have the same length in the main scanning direction X (see
In the first embodiment, the lengths D1 through D5 (D) of the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 in the main scanning direction X are about 215 mm, 175 mm, 175 mm, 175 mm, 54.6 mm, respectively. The thicknesses of the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 are all about 3.8 mm.
In the reduction-type optical system, as shown in
In the second embodiment, the widths W1 through W5 (W) of the first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325 are about 7 mm, 7 mm, 7 mm, 9 mm, and 10 mm, respectively. The same mirror can be used for the second and third mirrors 322 and 323.
In the present embodiment, concerning the positional relationships among the mirrors and the reduction-type image sensor 340 as viewed from the main scanning direction X, the second and fourth mirrors 322 and 324 located on the side S1 and the reduction-type image sensor 340 are disposed on the upstream side in the image reading direction Y1 of the sub-scanning direction Y with respect to the imaginary line Q. With this configuration, fewer components (parts) can be disposed on the downstream side (side S2) in the image reading direction Y1 with respect to the imaginary line Q. This can reduce the size of the housing 350 in the sub-scanning direction Y on the downstream side (side S2). This can also reduce the size of the image reading device 200 in the image reading direction Y1 without decreasing the moving region of the image reader 300 in the sub-scanning direction Y.
In the present embodiment, concerning the positional relationship between the second and fourth mirrors 322 and 324 and the condenser lens 330 as viewed from the main scanning direction X, the second and fourth mirrors 322 and 324 disposed on the side S1 do not overlap the condenser lens 330 in the sub-scanning direction Y. Hence, the plural mirrors 320 (first through fifth mirrors 321 through 325) can be arranged in an even better-balanced manner, thereby making it possible to further reduce the size of the image reader 300.
In the present embodiment, five mirrors are used. However, more than or fewer than five mirrors may be used.
The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2017-253607 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Dec. 28, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure is not restricted to the above-described embodiments and may be embodied in other forms. The embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. The scope of the disclosure is indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-253607 | Dec 2017 | JP | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16218189 | Dec 2018 | US |
| Child | 16664300 | US |
