Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-01
2004-10-05
Coles, Edward (Department: 2722)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
C358S473000, C358S496000, C358S498000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06801344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus having sheet conveying device.
Moreover, the present invention relates to an image reading device, particularly to an image reading device, for example, which has a reading section detachably attached to a device body and an openable/closable operating section.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an image reading device, particularly to an image reading device which is provided, for example, with recording means for recording an image on a recording sheet, or a rolled sheet storage section for feeding the recording sheet to recording means, below separating means for conveying a document to reading means.
Additionally, the present invention relates to an image reading device, particularly to an image reading device which is provided, for example, with a reading section for taking in an image of document, and which is applied to a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a scanner, and the like.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional image reading device of a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and the like will be described with reference to
FIGS. 35
to
38
.
Additionally, also according to the present invention, in the image reading device, sheets are conveyed. Examples of the sheets include paper, a thin resin sheet as a substitute for the paper, a post card, a board, a letter, a thin plastic plate, and the like. An example where the paper is conveyed will be described.
In the drawings, a separating piece
1102
is disposed opposite to a separating roller
1101
, and pressed onto the separating roller
1101
by spring means
1103
. The separating roller
1101
and separating piece
1102
separate and convey a plurality of sheets of document sheet by sheet.
Numeral
1104
denotes a conveying roller for determining the conveying speed of the document. A conveying roller
1105
is rotatably attached so as to hold and convey the document with the conveying roller
1104
. Additionally, numeral
1106
denotes a discharging roller for holding the document with a discharging roller
1107
to discharge the document to the outside of a body.
Numeral
1108
denotes an upper document guide for guiding the document, numeral
1109
denotes a lower document guide, and numeral
1100
denotes an image reading device for reading the image of the conveyed document. The separating piece
1102
, conveying roller
1105
, and discharging roller
1107
are attached to the upper document guide
1108
. The separating roller
1101
, the conveying roller
1104
, the discharging roller
1106
, and a motor
1111
for operating the rollers are attached to a frame via a drive substrate
1112
.
On the other hand, the upper document guide
1108
is rotatably supported on a protrusion formed on the frame as a support point to open and close using a document path as a boundary so that document jam handling, and cleaning of an image processing device can be performed. Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 38
, by unlocking a lock (not shown) to rotate the upper document guide
1108
upward, abutment states of the separating roller
1101
and separating piece
1102
, the conveying rollers
1104
and
1105
, and the discharging rollers
1106
and
1107
can be released. Thereby, the document stopped halfway during conveying can easily be removed by a user.
The operation of the rollers will next be described.
The conveying roller
1104
is constituted of a metal shaft
1104
a
and a rubber portion
1104
b
. The rubber portion
1104
b
is bonded to the metal shaft
1104
a
to integrally rotate with the metal shaft
1104
a
. To one end of the metal shaft
1104
a
, a feeding roller gear
1113
is attached so as to integrally rotate with the metal shaft
1104
a
. The feeding roller gear
1113
is connected to the reading motor
1111
via reduction gears
1114
,
1115
, so that it rotates at a reduction ratio N with respect to a step angle of the reading motor
1111
.
In the same manner as the conveying roller
1104
, the discharging roller
1106
is constituted of a metal shaft
1106
a
and a rubber portion
1106
b
. A discharging roller gear
1116
attached to one end of the metal shaft
1106
a
is connected to the motor
1111
via reduction gears
1117
,
1115
.
The separating roller
1101
is constituted of a holder portion
1101
a
and a rubber portion
1101
b
. A protrusion
1118
is formed on the end surface of the holder portion
1101
a
. To a separating roller shaft
1119
a disk-shaped mechanical timer
1120
provided with a protrusion
1120
a
is attached so as to integrally rotate with the shaft
1119
.
The protrusions
1118
and
1120
a
are formed to be in the same position in a radial direction, so that when the separating roller
1101
is attached to the separating roller shaft
1119
and rotated, a play only of a constant angle is formed between the shaft
1119
and the roller
1101
.
Moreover, attached to one end of the separating roller shaft
1119
is a separating roller gear
1121
which incorporates a one-way clutch to transmit drive only in one direction. Therefore, the rotating force of the reading motor
1111
is transmitted to the shaft only in a document conveying direction. The separating roller gear
1121
is connected to the motor
1111
via a connecting gear
1122
, the conveying roller gear
1113
, and the reduction gears
1114
,
1115
. The separating roller gear
1121
is rotated in the same direction as the conveying roller
1104
by the drive force of the motor
1111
.
As shown in
FIG. 38
, the conventional image reading device
1100
can be opened/closed on the boundary of the document path. The separating piece
1102
and the separating roller
1101
are separately supported by the upper document guide
1108
and the member of the frame. Therefore, since it is very difficult to manage a positional relation between the separating piece
1102
and the separating roller
1101
and the spring state, there is a problem that sheet separating performance is unstable.
Moreover, for the conventional image reading device
1100
, three drive rollers of the separating roller
1101
, conveying roller
1104
and discharging roller
1106
, and the reading motor
1111
are all arranged in the frame, and the positional relation among shafts can be managed by the dimension of a support portion on the frame. When the gears are interconnected, a highly efficient and precise sheet conveying system can be formed. However, when this constitution is incorporated in a reading/conveying system having a hand scanner, the discharging roller
1106
is disposed in the hand scanner. Therefore, it becomes necessary to disconnectably connect the drive of the discharging roller
1106
with the drive system of the sheet conveying device body, and there arises a problem that the highly efficient and precise sheet conveying system cannot be provided.
Furthermore, even if the highly efficient and precise sheet conveying system can be constituted, there is another problem that the number of components is increased and cost is also increased.
Additionally, in recent years, it has been desired that the image reading device should be able to read thin sheet documents as well as thick documents such as brochures and books. Moreover, there is a demand for means for removing the document from the device body when the reading operation of the device is abnormally stopped halfway.
As examples of the means to attain the reading operation of the thick documents for the image scanner, the copying machine, and the like, many constitutions comprise disposing a document base, laying on the document base the sheet documents or the thick documents such as brochures and books, and moving the document base itself or an image sensor as reading means, to read image information of the documents.
In the image reading device in which the device body is compact and easily operable, however, it is difficult to dispose a large document base. Therefore, in recent years, to attain the above-described demand, other s
Iwata Naohiro
Morinaga Kazuyuki
Obana Katsumi
Sasai Keizo
Suzuki Yoshiaki
Coles Edward
Safaipour Houshang
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