JPH0556221A - Optical reader - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Object] An optical reading device is provided, in which a movable mirror is automatically cleaned. A movable mirror 2 which is supported on a frame 1 so as to be switchable in position is provided.
In an optical reading device that switches the optical paths A and B for moving the movable mirror 2 forward and backward to enter the image pickup means 3, the movable mirror 2 is supported by the frame 1 via the elastic body 41 and within the moving area of the movable mirror 2. A cleaning device 4 having a cleaning tool 42 that slidably contacts the movable mirror 2 to clean the movable mirror 2 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical reader,
In particular, it relates to a cleaning device for a movable mirror used in an optical reading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A document supplied to an optical reading device contains various colors. Therefore, for example, a red document cannot be read by a red light source like a seal stamp, and therefore a plurality of color light sources are provided in order to deal with all color documents. In this case, the optical system sets a plurality of reading positions on the document feeding path, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, and moves the movable mirror 2 to one of the optical paths of the light rays reflected from the respective document reading positions.
It is configured to switch the optical path of the moving mirror 2 by moving the position of the movable mirror 2.

In this conventional optical reader, there is a problem that foreign matter such as paper dust adheres to the movable mirror 2 and the optical characteristics thereof are impaired. In particular, when the movable mirror is switched to the upward position, foreign matter such as paper dust easily adheres to the upward movable mirror, and it is necessary to regularly inspect the movable mirror to clean it.

Conventionally, for example, at the time of regular inspection every six months, the cover of the optical reading device is opened and the optical system including the movable mirror is disassembled to clean the movable mirror.

[0005]

However, in the case of disassembling the optical system and cleaning the movable mirror as described above,
After cleaning, it is necessary to reassemble the optical system and perform an adjustment work to eliminate an assembly dimensional error. In particular, the adjustment work requires a high degree of skill and a long time, which is a significant disadvantage in improving maintainability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical reading device in which a movable mirror is automatically cleaned.

[0007]

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the present invention comprises a movable mirror 2 which is supported by a frame 1 so that the position of the original can be switched, and an original document D1, which passes through a plurality of reading positions P1, P2. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, on the premise of an optical reading device which switches the optical paths A and B for moving the movable mirror 2 into and out of one of the optical paths A and B of the light rays reflected from D2 to enter the image pickup means 3, The following measures are taken.

That is, the cleaning device 4 is provided which is supported by the frame 1 via the elastic body 41 and has a cleaning tool 42 for cleaning the movable mirror 2 by slidingly contacting the movable mirror 2 in the moving region of the movable mirror 2. I am taking steps.

[0009]

[Operation] In the present invention, the movable mirror 2 is attached to the cleaning tool 42 held at a predetermined position within the moving area, or the cleaning tool 42 moved from outside the moving area to a predetermined position within the moving area. It is slidably contacted and cleaned.

In the present invention, the cleaning tool 42 may be provided so as to be held at a predetermined position within the moving area of the movable mirror 2, or may be provided so as to be displaceable inside and outside the moving area of the movable mirror 2. Good.

When the cleaning tool 42 is provided so as to be held at a predetermined position within the moving area of the movable mirror 2, the cleaning tool 42 is rubbed and cleaned every time the movable mirror 2 moves to the predetermined position. When the cleaning tool 42 is provided so as to be displaceable inside and outside the moving area of the movable mirror 2, the cleaning tool 42
The cleaning tool 42 can be rubbed with the cleaning tool 42 to be cleaned periodically by moving the cleaning tool 42 into the moving area of the movable mirror 2 at any time such as when the power is turned on.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The optical reader according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a swing arm 5 on a frame 1 of an optical system unit 10.
The movable mirror 2 is supported so that its position can be switched via the optical system unit 10 and is set above and below the optical system unit 10.
Imaging is performed by moving the movable mirror 2 in and out of one of the optical paths A and B (here, the optical path A from the upper reading position P1) of the light rays reflected from the documents D1 and D2 passing through the two reading positions P1 and P2. The optical paths A and B incident on the means 3 are switched.

That is, the movable mirror 2 is extended by the stepping motor 6 supported by the frame 1 between the position a outside the optical path A and the position b outside the optical path A, which is incident on the image pickup means 3 from the upper reading position P1. It is reciprocally rocking driven. When the movable mirror 2 is located at the position a, the light source 7
The document D is irradiated from a toward the reading position P1 above.
The light rays reflected by 1 are fixed mirrors 8a, 8 on the optical path A.
When the movable mirror 2 is positioned at the position b, the light is reflected from the light source 7b toward the reading position P2 below, and the light beam reflected by the document D2 is reflected on the optical path B. The movable mirror 2 is reflected by the fixed mirror 8d of
To the image pickup means 3 after being reflected by the movable mirror 2.
It is configured to be incident on.

The structure of the image pickup means 3 is as follows.
It is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to be able to input an optical signal corresponding to the image described in to be converted into an electrical signal,
For example, a CCD is used.

A lens 9 is provided in the common optical path between the movable mirror 2 and the image pickup means 3 for converging the light rays incident on the image pickup device 3. Now, this optical reading device is provided with a cleaning device 4 for cleaning the movable mirror 2. The cleaning device 4 is composed of an elastic body 41 made of a polyester sheet called mylar, which is fixed to the frame 1 at one end, and a cleaning tool 42 fixed to the other end of the elastic body 41. The frame 1 holds the movable mirror 2 at a position in sliding contact with the movable mirror 2 in the moving area of the movable mirror 2 via the frame 1.

The cleaning tool 42 may be in the form of a brush, but in this case, a felt, which is clogged with a brush, is used so that foreign matter such as minute paper dust can be completely cleaned. ing.

The position where the cleaning tool 42 is held may be a position where it is in sliding contact with the movable mirror 2 within the moving area of the movable mirror 2 and does not block the light rays traveling along the optical paths A and B. , Here, the movable mirror 2 located at the position a
It is provided at a position where it comes into sliding contact with the upper surface of the.

In the optical reading apparatus according to this embodiment, the movable mirror 2 is rubbed by the cleaning tool 42 and cleaned when the movable mirror 2 moves from position b to position a and from position a to position b. It Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matter such as paper dust from adhering to the movable mirror 2 and impairing the optical characteristics of the movable mirror 2, and disassembling, reassembling and adjusting the optical system unit 10 for cleaning the movable mirror 2. Is unnecessary, which is extremely advantageous in improving maintainability.

Further, since no movable mechanism is added, the structure is simple and can be implemented easily and inexpensively, and there is no fear that the failure rate will increase. In another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, a cleaning device 4 has a frame 1 slidably supporting an elastic body 41, and the cleaning tool 41 supported by the elastic body 41 is driven by, for example, a rotary solenoid. The device 43 is configured to reciprocate between the c position within the moving area of the movable mirror 2 and the d position outside the moving area of the movable mirror 2.

The position c in the moving area of the movable mirror 2 to which the cleaning tool 42 is displaced may be any position that makes sliding contact with the movable mirror 2 in the moving area of the movable mirror 2, but in this embodiment, each optical path. The movable mirror 2 located at the position a is in contact with the movable mirror 2 so as not to block the light rays traveling through A and B. Further, in order that the movable mirror 2 located at the position a is automatically cleaned by the movement of the cleaning tool 42, the position d is set at a position horizontally separated from the position a opposite to the moving region of the movable mirror 2. There is.

Since the other structure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication. In the optical reading apparatus according to this embodiment, for example, the drive device 43 is operated during the initial setting (or during warm-up) after the power is turned on, and the cleaning tool 42 is moved from the position d outside the moving area of the movable mirror 2 to the position c. By moving to the position and further returning from the c position to the d position, the cleaning tool 42 can be rubbed against the movable mirror 2 to clean the movable mirror 2. Therefore, the originals D1 and D2 are read after cleaning foreign matter such as paper dust from the movable mirror 2, and the optical characteristics of the optical mirror 2 are impaired by the foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the movable mirror 2. This can be prevented, and the deterioration of image quality can be prevented. Further, it is not necessary to disassemble, reassemble, and adjust the optical system unit 10 for cleaning the movable mirror 2, which is extremely advantageous in improving maintainability.

Further, according to this embodiment, the movable mirror 2
It is possible to prevent the surface of the movable mirror 2 from being contaminated or scratched by foreign matter attached to the cleaning tool 42 by reducing the frequency of cleaning.

In this embodiment, the drive device 43
There is no hindrance to using a linear solenoid instead of the rotary solenoid. Further, in this embodiment, instead of reciprocating the cleaning tool 42 during the initial setting after the power is turned on, the cleaning tool 42 is moved to the c position when the power is turned off, and the initial setting after the power is turned on (or warm-up is performed). It is also possible to configure the cleaning tool 42 to return to the d position (inside), or to configure the drive device 43 to reciprocate the cleaning tool 42 once a day, for example.

Of course, the elastic body 41 and the cleaning tool 42 can be manually operated.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning device having the cleaning tool which is supported by the frame through the elastic body and slidably contacts the movable mirror in the moving area of the movable mirror to clean the movable mirror. Is provided, so each time the movable mirror is moved to or from a predetermined position,
Alternatively, by moving the cleaning tool at any time such as turning on the power, the cleaning tool can be rubbed against the movable mirror for automatic cleaning, and foreign matter such as paper dust adheres to the movable mirror to deteriorate image quality. Can be prevented.

Further, the disassembling, reassembling and adjusting work of the optical system for cleaning the movable mirror are not required, which is extremely advantageous in improving maintainability. In the present invention, particularly when the cleaning tool is held at a predetermined position in sliding contact with the movable mirror within the moving area of the movable mirror, it is not necessary to provide a special movable mechanism portion for cleaning, and the configuration is simple. In addition, it can be implemented easily and inexpensively, and there is no fear that the failure rate will increase.

Further, in the present invention, particularly when the cleaning tool is provided so as to be displaceable inside and outside the moving area of the movable mirror, the cleaning tool is attached to the cleaning tool with less frequency of contact with the movable mirror. It is possible to prevent the surface of the movable mirror from being contaminated or damaged by foreign matter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Frame 2 Movable Mirror 3 Imaging Unit 4 Cleaning Device 41 Elastic Body 42 Cleaning Tool A Optical Path B Optical Path D1 Original D2 Original P1 Reading Position P2 Reading Position

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of reading positions (P1) and (P2) are provided with a movable mirror (2) supported on a frame (1) so that the position can be switched.
Path of light rays reflected from documents (D1) and (D2) passing through
In the optical reading device that switches the optical path (A) and (B) that causes the movable mirror (2) to move in and out of one of (A) and (B) to enter the image pickup means (3), the frame (1) is elastic. A cleaning device (4) having a cleaning tool (42) supported by the body (41) and slidingly contacting the movable mirror (2) within the moving area of the movable mirror (2) to clean the movable mirror (2). An optical reader characterized by being provided. 2. The optical reading device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning tool (42) is held at a predetermined position in sliding contact with the movable mirror (2) within a moving region of the movable mirror (2). 3. The optical reading device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning tool (42) is provided so as to be displaceable inside and outside the moving region of the movable mirror (2).