JPH09329850A - Pressure plate opening / closing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 Abstract: The present invention relates to a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism that supports a pressure plate so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from a document placing table of an image reading apparatus, and to a tip end side of a member rotatably supported by an apparatus main body. An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive pressure plate opening / closing mechanism with a simple structure by supporting a pressure plate rotatably so that a thick member can be dealt with by a simple member. SOLUTION: A pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 that rotatably supports a pressure plate 12 that comes into contact with and separates from a contact glass 11 at a side edge portion on the device body H side, and a rotating shaft 15 provided on the device body H side, Pressure plate 12
Connecting member formed with rotating shafts 17 provided on one side and bearings 19a, 19b slidably engaged with these rotating shafts 15, 17 on both end sides.
18 and the connecting member 18 can be attached and detached by elastically deforming the bearings 19a and 19b so as to widen the notches 20a and 20b. It is preferable that the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 is provided with a stopper member 21 that limits the further rotation of the pressure plate 12 from the substantially vertical posture, separately from the limiting member 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism for supporting a pressure plate on a document mounting table of an image reading device so that the pressure plate can be contacted and separated. The present invention relates to a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism that enables

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a copying machine or the like having an image reading device for placing a document on a table and processing it has a pressure plate for pressing the document placed on the table.
The pressure plate is supported by a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the original placing table. As this type of pressure plate opening / closing mechanism, the pressure plate is rotatably supported on the outside of the side of the document placing table, and it is possible to cope with the case where a book-type document is placed on the document placing table. Some have been devised as follows.
For example, the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-297665 is configured to rotatably support the pressure plate on the upper end of a slide member that is vertically movable outside the side of the document table. The thickness of the original placed on the original placing table is set by allowing the slide member to move upward with the rotation of the pressure plate when the book type original is placed on the original placing table. In spite of this, the image surface can be surely brought into close contact.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional pressure plate opening / closing mechanism, it is possible to deal with the case where a book-type document is placed on the document placing table. In the pressure plate opening and closing mechanism described in (1), since components such as bearings and rails for smoothly sliding the slide member supporting the pressure plate in the vertical direction are required, the number of parts increases and the cost increases, There is a problem that the assembly is complicated and the assembly work is not easy. Moreover, since the structure is complicated, it looks bad and looks cheesy as it is.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the pressure plate is rotatably supported by the tip end side of the member rotatably supported by the main body of the apparatus, so that the pressure plate can be rotated at a position higher than the original placing table even with a simple member. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive pressure plate opening / closing mechanism with a simple structure that can handle thick documents. It is also an object of the present invention to improve the operability and workability by surely maintaining the open state of the pressure plate even with such a simple structure.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 contacts the original placing table on the outside of one side of the original placing table provided on the apparatus main body side of the image reading apparatus. A pressure plate opening / closing mechanism for rotatably supporting a pressure plate to be separated,
A connecting member that rotatably supports the base-side rotation support portion on the main-body-side rotation fulcrum portion and that also rotatably supports the pressure plate-side rotation fulcrum portion by the rotation tip-side rotation support portion. It is characterized by being provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotation fulcrum portion of the pressure plate is rotatably attached to the rotation tip end side of the connecting member whose base end side is rotatably supported by the rotation fulcrum portion of the apparatus body. Supported by. Therefore, the rotation fulcrum portion of the pressure plate is rotatably connected to the rotation fulcrum portion of the apparatus body via the connecting member.
According to a second aspect of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, one of the rotation fulcrum portion and the rotation support portion serves as a rotation shaft and the other serves as a bearing of the rotation shaft, and the bearing. Is characterized by having a notch which is elastically deformable and which can be expanded in the circumferential direction from the diameter of the rotating shaft.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, one of the rotary fulcrum portion and the rotary support portion serves as a rotary shaft, and the other serves as a bearing for the rotary shaft. The bearing is elastically deformed to form a notch. The portion can be expanded to a diameter equal to or larger than the diameter of the rotating shaft. Therefore, the rotating shaft can be attached and supported (bearing) only by elastically deforming the bearing. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect of the invention, the pressure plate is restricted from further rotating in a separating direction from a position in which the pressure plate is in a substantially vertical posture with respect to the document placing table. The present invention is characterized in that a limiting member is provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rotation of the pressure plate is limited to such an attitude that it is vertical to the document placing table. Therefore, when the pressure plate is rotated to open the document table, the pressure plate does not rotate to the outside of the document table by its own weight. The invention according to claim 4 is
In addition to the configuration of the invention of claim 3, both ends of the restricting member are held by a rotation holding portion provided on the apparatus main body and the pressure plate separately from the connecting member to connect the main body and the pressure plate to each other. It is characterized in that a stopper member is provided for restricting the rotation in the direction away from the above position.

In the invention according to the fourth aspect, the stopper member is held and connected to the rotation holding portion of the apparatus main body and the pressure plate separately from the connecting member. Therefore, the stopper member which is separate from the connecting member is formed as the limiting member and is attached separately. According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the invention, the stopper member is formed so as not to be deformed, and a rotary shaft is provided on both end sides thereof, while the device main body and the rotary holding part are provided. The outer cover of the pressure plate is provided with a holding hole for rotatably holding the rotating shaft which is opened and inserted in a hole shape.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the rotation shafts on both ends of the stopper member that are not deformed are inserted into the holding holes of the rotation holding portion opened to the exterior cover of the apparatus body and the pressure plate, and are rotatably held. . Therefore, both ends of the stopper member having a stable shape can be easily inserted and attached into the holding holes. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the fifth aspect, a fixed point hole that opens at a fixed point of the exterior cover is formed as a holding hole on the apparatus body side, and the base end of the stopper member is formed in the fixed point hole. It is characterized in that the rotating shaft on the side is fixed so as not to be slidable and is rotatably held.

In the invention according to the sixth aspect, a fixed point hole is formed at a fixed point of the exterior cover of the apparatus main body as a holding hole for rotatably holding the rotation shaft on the base end side of the stopper member in a non-slidable manner. To be done. Therefore, the rotation holding portion on the apparatus body side can have a small installation area. Claim 7
In addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 5 or 6, the invention described in the above, as the holding hole on the pressure plate side, a long hole extending in the plane direction and the rotation surface direction of the pressure plate is formed on the exterior cover side, It is characterized in that the rotation shaft on the rotation tip side of the stopper member is slidably and rotatably held in the elongated hole.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the rotary shaft on the distal end side of the stopper member is slidably and rotatably held on the outer cover side of the pressure plate, that is, on the outer cover itself or inside the outer cover. The long hole is formed as a holding hole. Therefore, the rotation shaft on the rotation tip side of the stopper member slides in the plane of the pressure plate side having a simple structure.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first structure of a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention.
It is a figure which shows an example of the scanner apparatus which mounts embodiment, and this embodiment respond | corresponds to invention of Claim 1 to 4. It should be noted that this scanner device is used independently or mounted on a copying machine or the like.

First, the structure will be described. 1 to 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a scanner device (image reading device), and the scanner device 10 irradiates (scans) linear light on an image surface of a document placed on a contact glass (document placement table) 11. The original image is read by taking in the reflected light, and the image surface is brought into close contact with the contact glass 11 by the pressure plate 12 pressing the contact glass 11 through the original.

The pressure plate 12 is rotatably supported at two locations on one side by a pair of pressure plate opening / closing mechanisms 13 provided at an edge portion (outside one side of the contact glass 11) on the upper side of the apparatus body H. Therefore, the contact glass 11 can be rotated in the direction toward and away from the contact glass 11. This pressure plate 12 is a contact glass 11
By rotating the contact glass 11 in the direction away from the contact glass 11, the original can be placed or taken out, and by rotating in the proximity direction, the contact glass 11 can be closed to close the original image. The surfaces can be in close contact. When the pressure plate 12 is rotated in the direction approaching the contact glass 11, an elastically deformable contact portion 12a having a predetermined thickness is brought into close contact with the contact glass 11, and the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 causes the pressure plate 12 to move. It is constructed so that it is fitted between the edge portion of the apparatus main body H and one side of the pressure plate 12 when the contact glass 11 is brought into close contact with the contact portion 12a and is closed.

The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 includes a support plate 14 provided upright on the edge of the apparatus main body H, a rotary shaft 15 fixedly spaced apart from an extended surface of the upper surface of the contact glass 11, and a pressure plate. A rotating shaft 17 fixed to a supporting plate 16 that is erected on one side of the support 12 so as to be adjacent to the contact portion 12a, and a rotating shaft 17 fixed to the rotating plate 15 at both ends thereof. The connecting member 18 connects the apparatus body H and the pressure plate 12 by engaging 19a and 19b.

The bearings 19a, 19b of the connecting member 18 are formed in a ring shape with a part of the rotating shafts 15, 17 engaged with each other cut out. The bearings 19a, 19b have cutouts 20a, 20b. The notches 20a and 20b are elastically deformed when the turning shafts 15 and 17 are pressed against the shafts or when a certain amount of force in the direction of pulling out the turning shafts 15 and 17 from the notches 20a and 20b is applied.
The rotary shafts 15 and 17 are formed so as to be opened to the diameter of the rotary shafts 15 and 17 so that the rotary shafts 15 and 17 can be attached and detached. That is, the connecting member 18
Is formed by a so-called snap-fit type so that it can be easily attached and detached.

The connecting member 18 is rotatably supported with respect to the apparatus main body H with the bearing 19a slidably engaged with the rotating shaft 15 so that the bearing 19a serves as a base end portion. A bearing 19b, which is the tip side of the rotation, slidably engages with the rotation shaft 17 to rotatably support the pressure plate 12 about the rotation shaft 17 as a fulcrum. That is, the rotary shaft 15 constitutes a main body side rotary fulcrum portion, the rotary shaft 17 constitutes a pressure plate side rotary fulcrum portion, the bearing 19a constitutes a base end side pivotal support portion, and the bearing 19b constitutes a rotary tip end side. Of the rotary support.

The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 includes a stopper member (restriction member) separately from the connecting member 18 on the apparatus main body H and the contact portion 12a on both sides (front and back sides with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 3) with respect to the rotating direction of the pressure plate 12. ) 21 is provided and the stopper member
Reference numeral 21 indicates a linear state at a position where the pressure plate 12 is rotated in a direction slightly separated from the contact glass 11 from the vertical posture and restricts further rotation, while the pressure plate 12 is contact glass.
When it is rotated in the direction approaching 11, the central bent portion 21a is bent so that the contact portion 12a does not interfere with the contact glass 11. The stopper member
Reference numeral 21 is a rotation holding portion 22 formed so as to be hooked on the apparatus body H side.
The hook 21b on the base end side is hooked on the rotatably and held rotatably, and the tip end portion 21c on the other end side is attached to the contact portion 12a of the pressure plate 12.
Is rotatably screwed by a screw (rotation holding portion) 23 to connect the apparatus main body H and the contact portion 12a of the pressure plate 12.

Next, the operation of mounting the contact glass 11 on the contact glass 11 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the opposite side (the other side) of the pressure plate 12 from the one side provided with the rotating shaft 17
When the pressure plate 12 is pulled up, the weight of the pressure plate 12 is applied in the direction in which one side is lowered. It is possible to support the pressure plate 12 while allowing the bearing 19a to slide and allow the pressure plate 12 to rotate. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is possible to separate the contact portion 12a from the contact glass 11 and open the upper portion thereof while supporting the pressure plate 12 in a stable posture. At this time, at a position where the pressure plate 12 is slightly further rotated from the vertical position, the stopper member 21 rotatably held at both ends by the apparatus body H and the contact portion 12a of the pressure plate 12 is in a linear state. Twelve more turns are restricted. Therefore, it is possible to keep the contact glass 11 open without touching it, and to easily set (place) the document. Before performing this operation, when the contact glass 11 is opened from the state in which no original is set or the state in which a thin original is set, the pressure plate 12 is not changed from the state shown in FIG. 4B. The side of the pressure plate 12 is pulled up from the state shown in FIG. 4C when the contact glass 11 is opened from the state where the side is pulled up and a thick document (so-called book-type document) is set. It will be.

When a thin original is placed on the contact glass 11 and then the other side of the pressure plate 12 is rotated in a pulling down direction, the weight of the pressure plate 12 also causes the connecting members 18 to be parallel to each other. While the state is maintained, the bearing 19a slides around the rotation shaft 15 as a fulcrum of rotation to allow the pressure plate 12 to rotate while supporting the pressure plate 12. For this reason, FIG.
As shown in (b), while the posture of the pressure plate 12 is supported in a stable state, the contact portion 12a can be pressed against the contact glass 11 via the original so that the image surface thereof can be brought into close contact. At this time, the stopper member 21 is bent at the bent portion 21a while rotating around the rotation holding portion 22 of the apparatus main body H and the screw 23 of the contact portion 12a, and the stopper member 21 is bent on the contact glass 11 and the contact portion 12 of the pressure plate 12 on the contact glass 11.
There is no hindrance to the close contact of a and closing. Therefore, the image surface of the thin original can be brought into close contact with the contact glass 11 as in the conventional case also by the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism 13 of the present embodiment. In addition, in FIG. 4B, the stopper member 21
Is omitted in order to make the states of other members easy to understand.

On the other hand, when a book-type original is placed on the contact glass 11 and then rotated in a direction in which the other side of the pressure plate 12 is pulled down, the rotating shaft 15 is rotated while the parallel state of the connecting member 18 is maintained. The bearing 19a slides as a rotation fulcrum to allow the pressure plate 12 to rotate, but when the pressure plate 12 is in an oblique state, the contact portion 12a abuts on the corner of the book-type document on the contact glass 11. For this reason, when the other side of the pressure plate 12 is further pulled down, the rotating shaft 17 slides with the bearing 19b as the rotation fulcrum, and the pressure plate 12 is rotated.
The pressure plate 12 while allowing the one side to rotate in the ascending direction
Can support the pressure plate, as shown in FIG.
When the contact surfaces 12 are parallel to each other at a position separated from the contact glass 11, the contact portion 12a uniformly presses the book-type document to bring the image surface into contact. Therefore, the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism having a simple structure in which the device body H and the rotating shafts 15 and 17 of the pressure plate 12 are simply connected by the connecting member 18.
By means of 13, the image surface of the book-type document can be brought into close contact with the contact glass 11 reliably and easily.

As described above, in this embodiment, the bearing 19a of the connecting member 18 is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft 15 of the apparatus main body H, and the rotating shaft 17 of the pressure plate 12 is freely rotatable by the bearing 19b. Since the pressure plate 12 is supported by the rotary shaft 15 alone or both rotary shafts 15 and 17 are used as rotary fulcrums, the pressure plate 12 is rotated according to the thickness of the original set on the contact glass 11. Regardless of the contact glass 11
The original surface can be pressed uniformly and the image surface can be brought into close contact. Therefore, the device body H
And the bearings 19a of the connecting member 18 on the rotating shafts 15 and 17 of the pressure plate 12,
The pressure plate 12 can be rotated so that a book-type document can be brought into close contact with the contact glass 11 with a simple structure in which the engagement and sliding of the 19b is performed, and the cost can be reduced.

Since the connecting member 18 can elastically deform the bearings 19a and 19b so as to open the notches 20a and 20b, the bearings 19a and 19b can be provided with the notches 20a and 20b as the rotating shafts 15 and 17, respectively. While it can be easily engaged by simply pressing in accordance with the above, the engagement can be released only by pulling out in the opposite direction, and the work of attaching / detaching to / from the apparatus main body H and the pressure plate 12 can be easily performed.

Further, since the stopper member 21 is in a linear state and is prevented from further rotating at a position where the pressure plate 12 is slightly rotated from the vertical posture, the pressure plate is opened when the contact glass 11 is opened. It is possible to prevent the 12 from freely rotating in the direction outside the machine due to its own weight and being damaged, and the original is placed on the contact glass 11 while reliably maintaining the posture in which the pressure plate 12 is substantially vertical. Operability can also be improved. Further, since this stopper member 21 is manufactured and attached separately from the connecting member 18, for example, the connecting member 18 can have a simpler configuration than the connecting member 18 having a stop function and can be easily attached. Can be done.

In this embodiment, the rotary shafts 15 and 17 are arranged on the apparatus main body H side and the pressure plate 12 side, and the connecting member 18 is a bearing.
19a and 19b are provided, but not limited to this, the rotary shaft 1
It goes without saying that 5, 17 and bearings 19a, 19b may be arranged in reverse, or only one of the apparatus main body H side and the pressure plate 12 side may be reversed. Further, when the bearings 19a and 19b are attached to the rotary shafts 15 and 17, the connecting member 18 may be turned upside down from the state shown in FIG. It is possible to limit the removal of 19b. Needless to say, the notches 20a and 20b of the bearings 19a and 19b may be opened on the same side.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bearing of the connecting member 18
19a and 19b are formed by connecting with one plate-shaped material, but by bending the plate-shaped portion 18a and providing ribs 18b parallel to the support plates 14 and 16 as shown in FIG. The strength can also be improved. Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 are views showing an example of a scanner device equipped with a second embodiment of a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, and the present embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claims 1 to 7. . Since the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the above-described embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations and only the characteristic portions will be described.

First, the configuration will be described. 31 in both figures
Is a stopper member (restricting member) provided on both sides of the pressure plate 12 in the rotating direction separately from the connecting member 18, and the stopper member 31 is formed in a plate-like lever shape, and has a rotating shaft on one end side thereof. Rotating shafts 32 parallel to 15 and 17 are formed on both sides in the axial direction, and a rotating shaft 33 in the same direction as the rotating shaft 32 is formed on one side of the other end. Then, in the main body H of the apparatus, the rotation shaft 32 of the stopper member 31 is inserted (inserted) into the upper surface of the exterior cover 34 on the side of the contact glass 11 so as to be opened in substantially the same shape as one end side thereof and to have a vertical sectional shape. By forming the stopper member 31 in a substantially U-shape, a bearing hole 35 is provided for fixing the rotating shaft 32 of the stopper member 31 at a fixed point in a non-slidable manner and holding the rotatable shaft 32 rotatably. A notch 36 is formed in the matching portion so as not to hit the plate-like portion of the stopper member 31 that rotates in the forward and reverse directions. In addition, the pressure plate 12 is extended in the plane direction of the pressure plate 12 with a width that allows the rotation shaft 33 to be inserted (inserted) into the side surface of the exterior cover 37 that accommodates the close contact portion 12a (corresponding to the rotation surface of the pressure plate 12). Bearing hole for holding the rotation shaft 33 of the stopper member 31 slidably and rotatably in its extension direction by being formed in the elongated hole.
38 are provided.

The bearing holes 35 and 38 are inserted into the rotary shafts 32 and 33 of the stopper member 31 to support the stopper member 31, which connects the apparatus main body H and the pressure plate 12 to each other. The end 38a of the bearing hole 38 has the stopper member 31 when it is in a substantially vertical position away from the member 11.
The rotary shaft 33 on the one end side is restricted so as to prevent further sliding, and the bearing hole 35 is kept held without the rotary shaft 32 on the other end side coming off. When the pressure plate 12 rotates in the direction of approaching the contact glass 11, the bearing hole 35 holds the rotation shaft 32 rotatably by restricting sliding, and the bearing hole 38 rotates the rotation shaft 33 in the opposite direction. The notch 36 accommodates the plate-shaped portion of the stopper member 31 while allowing the slide to the upper portion to be rotatably held.
Does not prevent the contact with the contact glass 11. That is, the bearing hole 35 constitutes a fixed point holding hole, and the bearing hole 38 constitutes an oblong holding hole. In addition,
It is sufficient for the bearing hole 35 to hold the rotary shaft 32 that is pulled in the upper right direction in FIG. 7 when the pressure plate 12 is in a substantially vertical posture so that the bearing hole 35 does not come off. It may be formed in a letter shape, but the shape is not limited to this, and the opening may be made in the upper left direction in FIG. 7. Also, make a notch in the bearing hole 35.
A member similar to the bearings 19a and 19b of the connecting member 18 having 20a and 20b may be provided so that the rotary shaft 32 can be snap-fitted.

As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiment, the bearing shafts 35 and 33 for opening the rotation shafts 32 and 33 of the stopper member 31 in the apparatus main body H and the outer covers 34 and 37 of the pressure plate 12, The device body H and the pressure plate 12 are connected to each other just by inserting them into the 38, and the contact portion 12a of the pressure plate 12 is contact glass.
It is possible to restrict the rotation of the pressure plate 12 beyond the substantially vertical posture without hindering the close contact with the pressure plate 11. Further, since the stopper member 31 does not change its shape, the rotating shafts 32, 33
Can be easily inserted into the bearing holes 35, 38. Therefore, the mounting work becomes easy.

Further, since the bearing hole 35 opening at a fixed point is provided on the apparatus main body H side and the elongated bearing hole 38 is provided on the pressure plate 12 side, the pressure plate 12 side capable of taking a large installation area with a simple structure. While holding the rotating shaft 33 of the stopper member 31 while sliding the stopper member 31, the stopper is provided on the side of the apparatus main body H which requires a complicated and strong structure such that the reading means is arranged inside the contact glass 11 and a large installation area cannot be taken. Rotation axis of member 31
The 33 can be held at a fixed point, and the stopper member 31 can be easily attached without changing the design. Further, when the contact portion 12a is brought into close contact with the contact glass 11, the stopper member 31 is housed in the outer cover 37 of the pressure plate 12 and is not bent laterally, which may impair the appearance. Absent.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the stopper members 21 and 31 are applied to the pressure plate opening / closing mechanism including the connecting member has been described. However, the stopper members 21 and 31 are applied to other pressure plate opening / closing mechanisms. It goes without saying that it is good.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pressure plate is rotatably supported on the rotation front end side of the connecting member whose base end side is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, the rotation of the pressure plate is prevented. The dynamic fulcrum portion can be rotated with respect to the apparatus main body, and the pressure plate can be rotated at a rotation fulcrum having a height corresponding to the thickness of the document on the document table. Therefore, the device main body and the pressure plate can be simply connected by the connecting member, and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the connecting member can be attached to the pressure plate and the apparatus main body by attaching the rotary shaft to the bearing capable of elastically deforming and expanding the notch. The pressure plate and the apparatus main body can be connected by the connecting member by a so-called snap fit type in which the pressing plate is simply pressed. Therefore, the work of attaching / detaching the connecting member to / from the pressure plate and the apparatus main body can be easily performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the pressure plate is restricted from further rotating from the posture in which it is substantially vertical with respect to the document placing table, when the document placing table is opened, the pressure plate is self-weighted. Therefore, the pressure plate does not freely rotate (fall) to the outside of the document placing table, and the rotation is restricted at a position where the pressure plate is slightly rotated further from the vertical position with respect to the document placing table. The posture can be maintained. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pressure plate from being damaged by free fall, and it is possible to maintain the opening on the document table and improve the operability.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, further rotation of the pressure plate from the posture in which it is substantially vertical with respect to the original placing table is restricted by the stopper member for holding and connecting the apparatus body and the pressure plate separately from the connecting member. Therefore, the stopper member can be manufactured separately from the connecting member, and can be attached separately from the connecting member. Therefore, unlike the case where the connecting member and the limiting member are integrally formed, the structure does not become complicated, and the workability at the time of assembly or attachment / detachment can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the rotary shafts on both ends of the stopper member that are not deformed are inserted into the holding holes that are opened in the exterior cover and are connected to the main body of the device and the pressure plate, both ends of the stopper member having a stable shape are formed. It can be easily installed by simply inserting the side into the holding hole. Therefore, workability can be further improved. According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the rotary shaft on the base end side of the stopper member is held non-slidably and rotatably by the fixed point hole opened at a fixed point of the exterior cover of the apparatus body, the slide member is held. It is not necessary to secure a large installation location of the rotation holding portion, and the fixed point hole can be easily formed even on the side of the apparatus body which is complicated and requires strength. Therefore, it is possible to easily set the rotation holding portion on the apparatus main body side.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the rotary shaft on the distal end side of the rotation of the stopper member is slidably and rotatably held by the outer cover itself of the pressure plate or an elongated hole formed inside the outer cover. The rotating tip side of the stopper member can be slid within the pressure plate having a simple structure, and even if the stopper member is formed into a lever shape that does not deform, the rotating tip side does not project or retract from the pressure plate surface or side surface side. Therefore, the rotation holding portion on the pressure plate side can be easily formed,
The appearance is not impaired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a scanner device equipped with a first embodiment of a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a main part thereof.

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state when the document placing table is opened.

FIG. 4 is a state diagram for explaining the operation of opening / closing the original placing table, (a) is a side perspective view when the original placing table is opened, and (b) and (C) are different thicknesses. FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of a manuscript of Sasaki placed and closed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another aspect, in which (a) to (c).
[Fig. 6] is a side perspective view when an operation similar to that of Fig. 4 is performed.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a scanner device equipped with a second embodiment of a pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a main part thereof.

FIG. 7 is a state diagram for explaining an operation of opening / closing the original placing table, (a) is a side perspective view when the original placing table is opened, and (b) and (C) are different thicknesses. FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of a manuscript of Sasaki placed and closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Scanner Device (Image Reading Device) 11 Contact Glass (Original Platen) 12 Pressure Plate 13 Pressure Plate Opening / Closing Mechanism 15, 17 Rotation Shaft (Rotation Support Point) 18 Coupling Member 19a, 19b Bearing (Rotation Support) 20a, 20b Notch 21, 31 Stopper member (restriction member) 22 Rotation holding part 23 Screw (rotation holding part) 32, 33 Rotation shaft 34, 37 Exterior cover 35 Bearing hole (rotation holding part, holding hole, fixed point hole) 38 Bearing hole (rotation holding part, holding hole, long hole) H Device body

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A pressure plate opening / closing mechanism for rotatably supporting a pressure plate that comes into contact with and separates from an original placing table provided on the main body side of an image reading apparatus, on one side of the original placing table. The side rotation fulcrum portion is provided with a connecting member for rotatably supporting the rotation supporting portion on the base end side and for rotatably supporting the rotation fulcrum portion on the pressure plate side by the rotation supporting portion on the rotation tip side. A platen opening / closing mechanism that is characterized in that 2. One of the rotation fulcrum portion and the rotation support portion serves as a rotation shaft and the other serves as a bearing of the rotation shaft, and the bearing is elastically deformable and extends in a circumferential direction from a diameter of the rotation shaft. The platen opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a notch capable of expanding. 3. A restricting member for restricting further rotation of the pressure plate in a direction away from the position where the pressure plate is in a substantially vertical posture with respect to the document placing table is provided. The platen opening / closing mechanism described. 4. As the limiting member, both ends are held by a rotation holding portion provided on the apparatus main body and the pressure plate separately from the connecting member to connect the main body and the pressure plate to separate the pressure plate from the position. 4. The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to claim 3, further comprising a stopper member for restricting rotation in the direction. 5. The stopper member is formed so as not to be deformed, and rotary shafts are provided at both ends thereof, and the rotary holder is inserted into the outer cover of the apparatus main body and the pressure plate in a hole shape. The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to claim 4, further comprising a holding hole for rotatably holding the rotating shaft. 6. A fixed point hole that opens at a fixed point of the exterior cover is formed as a holding hole on the apparatus main body side, and is rotatable while fixing the rotation shaft on the proximal end side of the stopper member in a non-sliding manner in the fixed point hole. The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to claim 5, wherein 7. A holding hole on the pressure plate side is formed with an elongated hole extending in the plane direction and the rotating surface direction of the pressure plate on the exterior cover side, and the stopper member is rotated on the rotating front end side in the elongated hole. 7. The pressure plate opening / closing mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the shaft is slidably and rotatably held.