JP2000209408A - Image reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an image reading apparatus capable of reducing an installation occupation area as required and reading a thick original such as a book. An image reading apparatus provided with an image sensor in a housing having a document placement surface on which a document of a predetermined size can be placed. 12 is provided with a leg portion 20 for supporting it so as to be substantially vertical. The leg portion 20 is rotatably attached to the housing 11 such that the ground surface is substantially vertical and substantially horizontal to the document setting surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus generally called a flatbed scanner, having an image sensor in a housing having a document mounting surface on which a document of a predetermined size can be placed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the rapid improvement of information processing capability of computers and the rise of new media such as the Internet, there is an increasing need to import pictures, illustrations, characters, and other images on paper media into computers as image data. A general device for capturing an image on a paper medium into a computer is called an image reading device or an image scanner.

[0003] There are roughly two types of image reading devices on the market. One type has a box-shaped housing with a flat document placement surface on which a document can be placed, and scans a built-in image sensor on the document placed here. Called a flatbed scanner. The other is a type in which a document is pulled in from a slit-shaped paper feed port and an image is captured as the document is moved, which is generally called a document scanner or the like.

[0004]

However, the above flatbed scanner needs to have a space for placing an original on at least the surface thereof so that the original can be read. There is a limit. On the other hand, the document scanner has an advantage that the occupied area can be extremely small, but has a problem that a thick original such as a book cannot be read due to the structure of transporting and reading the original.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide an image reading apparatus which can reduce the installation occupation area as required and can read a thick original such as a book. It is in. That is, the present invention enables a so-called flatbed scanner to be used even in a vertically installed state where the installation area is small.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus having an image sensor in a housing having a document mounting surface on which a document of a predetermined size can be placed. Is provided with legs for supporting the document so that the original setting surface is substantially vertical.

In this case, it is preferable that the leg is rotatably attached to the housing such that the grounding surface is substantially vertical and substantially horizontal with respect to the document setting surface.

[0008] Further, the leg portion has a lock mechanism for preventing the case from rotating with respect to the leg portion when the case is supported so that the original setting surface is substantially vertical. Is preferred.

The present invention further comprises a cover for covering the document setting surface, and an insertion portion for inserting a document into the document setting surface when the cover is closed. I do.

In this case, it is preferable that the insertion portion is located above the lid when the housing is supported so that the original placement surface thereof is substantially vertical.

The present invention has at least one rotatable leg provided on a side when the document setting surface is set substantially horizontally, and when the document setting surface is made substantially vertical, the leg is provided. When opened and substantially horizontal, the legs are closed.

In this case, it is preferable to provide one pair of the legs in the front and rear because the stability is good.

Further, the present invention provides a groove provided along the edge of the original placing surface, which is a lower side when the original placing surface is made substantially vertical, and a cover provided with the groove. And a protrusion that engages with the groove and serves as a stopper for the document.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in a horizontal use state, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view in a vertically used state. As shown in the figure, the image reading apparatus 10 according to the embodiment is a flatbed scanner having a document placement surface 12 made of glass on a box-shaped housing 11. An image sensor 13 that scans in the direction of arrow A in the figure is provided inside the housing 11, and can read an image on a document placed on the document placement surface 12.

A cover 14 is provided on the original setting surface 12 so as to cover the original setting surface 12. The cover 14 is formed of a flexible light-impermeable material such as a hard resin, and external light passes through the document setting surface 12 when reading an image.
To prevent light from entering the camera. One end of the cover 14 in the longitudinal direction is fixed on the surface of the housing 11, and the cover 14 is positioned above the document setting surface 12 with a flexible portion 14 a along the fixing area as shown in the figure. Can be lifted. On one side surface along the longitudinal direction of the lid 14, an insertion portion 14b is provided along the one side, which will be described later.

The image reading device 10 has two grounding legs 15, 15 on the bottom surface in the horizontal state as shown in FIG.
And a leg 2 formed separately from the housing 11
0 is provided. The leg body 20 is composed of a leg plate 21 extending along the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 and support portions 22 at both ends thereof. It is installed along.

The legs 20 are attached to the housing 11 by the support portions 2.
2 into the engaging pin 11a on the housing 11 side.
(See FIG. 3) so as to be rotatable. That is, the engaging pin 11a is protruded from the surface of the housing 11 facing the support portion 22, and the hole 23 of each support portion 22 is engaged here. By this engagement, the leg 20 is moved so that its leg plate 21
From the bottom side to the side side as shown in FIG. In the horizontal position shown in FIG.
Is arranged toward the bottom side of the housing 11, whereby the housing 11 is supported by the grounding surface of the leg plate 21 and the two grounding legs 15, 15.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the image reading apparatus 10 can be installed vertically. By rotating the housing 11 clockwise with respect to the leg 20 from the horizontal installation state in FIG. 1 to stand up, the image reading apparatus 10 is in the vertical usage state. In this case, the housing 11 of the image reading device is supported only by the legs 20. In order to stably support the housing 11, the leg plate 21 of the leg body 20 needs to have a certain width, but in order to guarantee this with a narrow width, a structure in which the auxiliary leg is extended in the width direction of the leg plate 21 is used. Is also good. Further, a structure for locking the housing 11 to the leg 20 is required.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an attachment portion of the leg 20 to the housing 11 showing a lock structure of the leg 20. As shown in the figure, a hole 23 formed in the support portion 22 of the leg 20 is formed by a circular hole 23a and a square hole 2
3b is formed in a keyhole shape. The engaging pin 11a of the housing 11 inserted into the hole 23 has a square cross section.
In (a), it is possible to rotate freely, but in the square hole 23b, it is impossible to rotate by engaging without any gap. Therefore,
The housing 11 is provided with the engaging pin 11 a for the leg 2 in the hole 2.
By being located in the third circular hole portion 23a, it is turned from the horizontal state to the vertical state, or from the vertical state to the horizontal state. By dropping the engagement pin 11a into the square hole 23b of the hole 23, the housing 11 can be locked to the leg 20 in each installation state.

However, the lock structure is one mode for locking the housing 11 with respect to the leg 20, and the lock structure can be formed by another known method. For example, when the housing 11 is placed vertically, members extending to both sides of the housing 11 may be erected on both sides of the leg plate 21 and the housing 11 may be locked by this.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the lid 14 in the vicinity of the document placement surface in the image reading apparatus. As shown in the figure, when the image reading device 10 is installed vertically, a document insertion portion 14b is formed on the upper side of the lid 14. The insertion portion 14b is a thin portion on the back surface of the lid formed along the longitudinal direction of the lid 14, and thereby allows the original to be placed on the original while the lid 14 is closed from above at the time of vertical installation. It can be set on the surface 12. Here, in order to facilitate insertion of a document, the back surface of the cover 14 is formed such that a slight gap S is formed above the document placement surface 12 with the cover 14 closed. The original inserted from above is placed on the original setting surface 12.
Is set in the correct position by being abutted against the locking edge 14c formed at a position substantially corresponding to the end of the rim. In addition, when the housing | casing 11 is set up vertically, the lid 1
Optional securing means can be provided so that 4 does not open.

As described above, the image reading apparatus 10 can be used in a horizontal position as usual by the legs 20, or can be used in a vertical state in which the installation area can be saved. it can. Further, even when the image reading device 10 is not used, it may be placed vertically.

Next, an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are external perspective views of an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, showing a horizontal use state and a vertical use state, respectively. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment is different from the previous embodiment in that
The point is that a leg 30 formed integrally with the housing 11 is provided instead of the leg 20 separate from the housing 11. The legs 30
As shown in the figure, it is formed along the side in the longitudinal direction of the housing 11 of the image reading apparatus. The height of the leg 30 in the horizontal state of the housing 11 is determined by the installation leg 32 and the lid 1.
4 substantially corresponds to the height of the image reading device 10 including Therefore, in a portion where the housing 11 and the leg portion 30 are continuous, a step portion 31 is formed above and below the portion along the longitudinal direction.

The leg 30 has two positions corresponding to two installation states.
It has two ground planes 30a and 30b. One ground plane 3
The height 0a is aligned with the grounding surface of the installation leg 32 on the opposite side, and serves as a surface for supporting the housing 11 together with the installation leg 32 during the horizontal installation shown in FIG. The other ground plane 3
0b is a ground plane when the housing 11 is installed vertically as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the installation legs 3
2 is configured to be continuous in the longitudinal direction.

Also in the present embodiment, the lid 14 is provided with an insertion portion 14b on the upper surface side when the housing 11 is placed vertically, and when the document is inserted from the insertion portion 14b in the vertically placed state, an image is formed. Can be read. In this case, the step 31 of the leg 30 on the side of the lid 14 functions as a positioning member for the inserted document. That is, the step 31
Extend along the edge of the document placement surface 12, the lower end of the document inserted from the insertion portion 14b is
And is positioned.

Further, an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. 7 and 8 are external perspective views of an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic front view when the image reading apparatus is placed vertically. The use state in the horizontal installation and the use state in the vertical installation are shown, respectively. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, a groove 42 is formed along the edge of the original placement surface 12 made of glass. This groove 42 is
When the lid 14 is closed, the protrusions 4 installed on the lid are
4 and engage. When the main body is placed vertically,
It is installed on the lower side, and functions as a lower locking portion when a document is inserted.

Leg members 45 and 46 are attached to the side of the housing so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing body. The leg members 45 and 46 are rotatable around the rotation centers 45a and 46a in the directions of arrows D1 and D2, respectively. When placed horizontally, the leg members 45 and 46 are not obstructed as shown in FIG. It is closed. Numerals 47, 48, 49, and 50 in the figure denote rubber feet attached to the legs.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the above-mentioned leg members are opened and the main body is placed vertically. The main body can be stably set substantially vertically, and when the original is inserted from the direction of arrow E, the groove 4 is formed.
The projection 44 engaged with the second member 2 functions as a stopper for the document, and can stably fix the document at a predetermined position.

Further, by providing such a groove portion 42, even when a thick object such as a book or a large object is installed by laying the main body sideways, a portion serving as a document table has no projection, and It has the advantage of being flat and easy to place a document.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the matters described in the above embodiments, and is described in the claims and the detailed description of the present invention. Based on the technology described above, a range in which those skilled in the art can make changes and applications is included. In the present invention, the specific configuration of the leg portion is not limited to that described in the above embodiment, but includes various modes for supporting the housing so that the document installation surface is substantially vertical.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the main body of the image reading apparatus is set horizontally by the legs provided on the main body, the image reading apparatus is used like a normal flat bed.
It is possible to read books and other thick originals, and in vertical installation, it can be used like a document scanner to read images with a small installation area.

In addition, by adopting a lock mechanism for the legs, it is possible to stably support the main body in a vertical position with a simple structure.

Further, by adopting the legs which can be opened and closed, it does not become an obstacle when placed horizontally, and sufficient stability can be secured when placed vertically.

Further, it is possible to stably support the original when the document is placed vertically by the grooves provided on the document setting portion and the projections provided on the corresponding lid.
When a large object such as a book is installed, the installation surface is substantially flat, so that it is easy to use and highly convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in a horizontal use state.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in a vertically used state.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an attachment portion of the leg to a housing showing a lock structure of the leg.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a document installation surface in the image reading apparatus showing the structure of the lid.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention in a horizontal use state.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention in a vertically used state.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention in a horizontal use state.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention in a horizontal use state.

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view of an image reading apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention in a vertically placed use state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image reading apparatus 11 Case 11a Engagement pin 12 Document setting surface 13 Image sensor 14 Lid 14a Flexible part 14b Insertion part 14c Locking edge 15 Ground leg 20 Leg 21 Leg plate 22 Supporting part 23 Hole 23a Circular hole 23b Square hole 30 Leg 30a, 30b Ground plane 31 Step 32 Installation leg

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image reading apparatus provided with an image sensor in a housing having a document mounting surface on which a document of a predetermined size can be placed, wherein the housing is supported such that the document mounting surface is substantially vertical. An image reading device comprising a leg. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the leg is rotatably attached to the housing such that a ground surface thereof is substantially vertical and substantially horizontal to the document installation surface. Item 2. The image reading device according to Item 1. 3. The leg unit has a lock mechanism for preventing the case from rotating with respect to the leg when the case is supported so that the original setting surface is substantially vertical. 3. The image reading device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for covering the document setting surface,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an insertion portion configured to insert a document into the document placement surface when the lid is closed. 5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the insertion section is located above the lid when the housing is supported so that a document setting surface thereof is substantially vertical. apparatus. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one rotatable leg provided on a side when the document placement surface is placed substantially horizontally, and when the document placement surface is made substantially vertical, the leg is attached to the document placement surface. 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the leg portion is closed when opened and substantially horizontal. 7. A groove disposed along an edge of the document setting surface, which is lower when the document setting surface is substantially vertical,
5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a projection provided on the cover, wherein the projection is engaged with the groove when the cover is closed, and serves as a stopper for the document.