JP2008092060A - Image reader and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of noises in a flexible cable provided between an analog circuit board and a digital circuit board. <P>SOLUTION: An optical system unit (image reader) 20 optically reads an original image from a unit LED 412a of a light source unit 41 incorporated in a casing 30, using a reflection light to be radiated to the original face of an original P1. In the unit 20, the casing 30 is provided with an analog circuit board 520 equipped with a CCD 521 for converting a reflection light condensed through a lens 512 into an electrical analog signal upon incoming of the reflection light; a digital circuit board 60 equipped with a circuit for converting the analog signal into a digital signal; a flexible cable 59 for electrically connecting the both provided between the circuit boards 520 and 60; and a contact preventing member 70 for preventing contact of the flexible cable 59 against other members. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that optically reads a document image by reflected light of light irradiated on a document surface of a document from a light source built in a housing, and an image forming apparatus to which the image reading apparatus is applied. is there.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image reading apparatus that reads a document image formed on a document surface of a document as described in Patent Document 1. In this image reading apparatus, an image sensor (Patent Document 1) that reflects light reflected from an original surface of a light source disposed in a housing so as to be able to scan on an analog circuit board via a plurality of mirrors and lenses. In this case, the light is incident on a solid-state image pickup device (hereinafter referred to as a CCD), and the CCD converts the image information from the light into an analog signal, and the analog signal is input to a digital circuit board connected via a flexible cable. It is designed to convert to a signal.

By connecting the digital circuit board to the analog circuit board through a flexible cable without directly juxtaposing the analog circuit board, it is avoided that the image sensor unit becomes bulky due to the bulky digital circuit board. In addition, the installation position and orientation of the digital circuit board can be arranged in a state that does not hinder the compactness of the device, and the degree of freedom in design can be improved, and the image reading device can be made compact. To contribute.
JP-A-11-27442

  By the way, normally, a drive mechanism including a drive motor and a driving force transmission means for running a light source and a mirror for scanning a document image is provided in the casing of the image reading apparatus. Among such drive mechanisms, particularly the drive motor, the installation position is restricted so as not to interfere with the light source and the travel path of the mirror in the housing, and as a result, the back side of the analog circuit board in the image sensor unit (the travel path and Generally, it is disposed on the opposite side.

  From this point of view, when the image reading apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is viewed, a member (for example, a drive shaft) related to the drive motor is inevitably disposed in the vicinity of the flexible cable existing on the back side of the analog circuit board. become.

  For example, when the drive shaft is disposed in the vicinity of the flexible cable, when the drive shaft comes into contact with the flexible cable, there arises a problem that the flexible cable is damaged or noise is added to the analog signal.

  Usually, a cover is provided above the flexible cable to prevent dust accumulation and radiation noise. When this cover is made of metal, the flexible cable is in contact with the metal cover. Noise also occurs when

  The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the conventional inconvenience, and is capable of effectively preventing the occurrence of noise in a flexible cable interposed between an analog circuit board and a digital circuit board. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and an image forming apparatus to which the image reading apparatus is applied.

  The invention described in claim 1 is an image reading apparatus that optically reads a document image by reflected light of light radiated on a document surface of a document from a light source built in a predetermined housing. , An analog circuit board having an image sensor that converts reflected light collected through a predetermined lens into an electrical analog signal when the reflected light is received, and converts the analog signal into a digital signal A digital circuit board provided with a circuit for performing contact, an electric wire electrically connecting the analog circuit board and the digital circuit board, and contact prevention for preventing contact of the electric wire with other members And a member.

  According to such a configuration, the original image of the original is reflected by the reflected light from the original surface of the light emitted from the light source to the image sensor of the analog circuit board, so that the image sensor responds to the original image. The reflected light is converted into an analog signal. The analog signal is input to the digital circuit board via the electric wire, and is converted into a digital signal by the digital circuit board, thereby completing the reading process of the document image. The image information read as the digital signal is used for image forming processing by an image forming apparatus or a computer.

  And since the image reading apparatus is provided with the contact prevention member which prevents the contact with respect to the other member of an electric wire, noise will generate | occur | produce in the signal transmitted by the said electric wire because an electric wire contacts another member. Such an inconvenience is effectively prevented.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the contact preventing member includes a bridge member straddling a disposing member disposed under the electric wire in a state of supporting the electric wire, and the bridge member. A pair of protrusions projecting in the opposite directions along the direction in which the electric wires extend from the anti-slip member. And a wing.

  According to such a configuration, in a state where the disposing member disposed at the lower part of the electric wire is straddled over the bridge member, the disengagement preventing member is opened to support the electric wire at the top of the bridge member, and then the disengagement preventing member. The electric wire is supported by the top of the bridge member, and the upper surface of the electric wire protrudes in the opposite direction from the anti-detachment member. It will be in the state covered by.

  Thus, by supporting the electric wire on the bridge member straddling the arrangement member, the lower surface of the electric wire is protected by the bridge member, and the upper surface is protected by the pair of wings covering the electric wire. Eventually, the electric wire is electrically protected from a lower arrangement member and an upper member such as a cover, thereby effectively preventing the generation of noise.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the housing includes a light source traveling body that scans the document surface by moving the light source, and the image sensor that reflects the reflected light. A mirror traveling body that moves the mirror in synchronization with traveling of the light source traveling body, a drive motor that travels the light source and the mirror traveling body, and the disposing member includes the drive motor This is a drive shaft.

  According to this configuration, the light emitted from the light source by the travel of the light source traveling body driven by the drive motor provided in the housing scans the document surface of the document, and the reflected light of the light used for this scanning is reflected. It is reflected appropriately by the mirror of the mirror traveling body that travels in synchronization with the light source traveling body and is incident on the image sensor, and the image sensor converts the incident reflected light into an analog signal.

  As described above, since it is necessary to run the light source traveling body and the mirror traveling body on one side of the space where the image sensor is provided in the housing and to secure a space for the optical path of the reflected light, the drive motor The space between the analog circuit board provided with the image sensor and the digital circuit board provided in parallel with the analog circuit board is inevitably adopted as a space for providing the drive shaft. Therefore, the electric wire interposed between the analog circuit board and the digital circuit board passes through the upper part of the drive shaft, but is protected by the bridge member straddling the drive shaft, so the drive shaft affects the electric wire. Thus, the occurrence of noise in the electric wire due to the drive shaft is effectively prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus characterized in that a predetermined image forming process is performed based on image information of a document image read by the image reading apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects.

  According to this configuration, the image forming apparatus can enjoy the operational effects of the image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the image reading apparatus is provided with the contact preventing member for preventing the electric wire from contacting another member, the electric wire is transmitted by the electric wire by contacting the other member. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that noise is generated in the signal to be generated.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by supporting the electric wire on the bridge member straddling the arrangement member, the lower portion of the electric wire is protected by the bridge member, and the upper portion covers the electric wire. Since it is protected by the wing, it is possible to effectively prevent noise from being generated in the electric wire by these protections.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the electric wire interposed between the analog circuit board and the digital circuit board inevitably passes through the upper part of the drive shaft depending on the location of various members arranged in the housing. However, since it is protected by the bridge member straddling the drive shaft, it is possible to effectively prevent the generation of noise in the electric wire due to the drive shaft.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus can enjoy the function and effect of the image reading apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects.

  First, an image forming apparatus to which an image reading apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which an image reading apparatus according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the Y-Y direction is referred to as the front-rear direction, in particular, the -Y direction is referred to as the front, and the + Y direction is referred to as the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is used as a copying machine. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an apparatus main body 11 having a box shape called an in-body discharge type, and an image reading unit 16 according to the present invention that is provided on the upper part of the apparatus main body 11 and reads an original image. Has a basic configuration. The image reading apparatus (optical system unit 20) according to the present invention is mounted in the image reading unit 16.

  The apparatus main body 11 is formed with the image forming unit 12 that forms an image based on the image information of the original read by the optical system unit 20 of the image reading unit 16, and is formed by the image forming unit 12 and transferred to a sheet. A fixing unit 13 that performs a fixing process on the image and a sheet storage unit 14 that stores a transfer sheet are internally provided. At the top of the apparatus main body 11, a paper discharge unit 15 including an in-body discharge tray 151 that receives the discharged paper P after fixing processing is provided.

  The image reading unit 16 includes an exterior cover 160 that houses the optical system unit 20 including the contact glass 31 on the upper surface, and the exterior cover 160 is used for pressing a document placed on the contact glass 31. A document mat 161 is provided so as to be freely opened and closed. Such a document mat 161 can be rotated forward and backward about a butterfly plate axis of a butterfly plate member 162 (FIG. 2) provided in a pair on the rear side of the upper surface of the exterior cover 160 (back side as viewed from the position operated by the operator). The posture can be changed between a closed posture T1 in which the upper surface of the contact glass 31 is closed and an open posture T2 in which the upper surface of the contact glass 31 is opened.

  The optical system unit 20 reads a document image from below through the contact glass 31 in a state where the document placed on the contact glass 31 is pressed by the document mat 161. The image information of the document read by the image reading unit 16 is output to the image forming unit 12 after being subjected to predetermined processing.

  At an appropriate position of the exterior cover 160, there is provided an operation panel 17 (not shown) for inputting processing conditions relating to document reading, copying processing, and the like, and an LCD serving as output means adjacent to the operation panel 17. (Liquid crystal display) 18 is provided. The operation panel 17 includes a power switch 171 for turning on / off the supply of power from a commercial power source, a start key 172 for starting a document reading operation, a cancel key 173 for canceling a document reading operation once set, and a sheet P A numeric keypad 174 and the like for inputting the number of images to be transferred are provided, and an image forming process is executed by operating these switches and keys. The LCD 18 displays and outputs various comments relating to image forming processing, control results, and the like.

  The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on a sheet fed from the sheet storage unit 14. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 12 includes a magenta unit 12M, a cyan unit 12C, a yellow unit 12Y, and a black unit which are sequentially arranged from the upstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) to the downstream side. Unit 12K.

  Each unit 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K includes a photosensitive drum 121 and a developing device 122, respectively. Each photosensitive drum 121 is supplied with toner from a corresponding developing device 122 while rotating counterclockwise in FIG. Each developing device 122 is supplied with toner from a toner cartridge (not shown) disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body 11 (the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1).

  A charger 123 is provided immediately below each photoconductor drum 121, and an exposure device 124 is provided further below each charger 123. Each photosensitive drum 121 is uniformly charged at its peripheral surface by the charger 123, and laser light corresponding to each color based on the image data read by the image reading unit 16 is charged from each exposure device 124. By irradiating the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121. By supplying toner from the developing device 122 to the electrostatic latent image, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

  A transfer belt 125 stretched between the driving roller 125 a and the driven roller 125 b is provided at a position above the photosensitive drum 121 so as to contact the photosensitive drum 121. The transfer belt 125 is driven against a peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 121 by a transfer roller 125c provided corresponding to each photoconductive drum 121, while being synchronized with each photoconductive drum 121, a driving roller and a driven roller. It is designed to go around.

  Accordingly, when the transfer belt 125 circulates, the magenta toner image is transferred onto the surface of the transfer belt 125 by the photosensitive drum 121 of the magenta unit 12M, and then the photosensitive drum of the cyan unit 12C is placed at the same position on the transfer belt 125. The transfer of the cyan toner image by 121 is performed in the overcoating state, and then the transfer of the yellow toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the yellow unit 12Y to the same position of the transfer belt 125 is performed in the overcoating state. The transfer of the black toner image by the photoconductive drum 121 of the black unit 12K is performed in an overcoated state, whereby a color image is formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125. This color image is transferred to the paper P conveyed from the paper storage unit 14.

  A cleaning device 126 that removes and cleans residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 is provided at the left position of each photosensitive drum 121. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 cleaned by the cleaning device 126 goes to the charger 123 for a new charging process.

  The waste toner removed from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by the cleaning device 126 is collected in a toner collection bottle (not shown) through a predetermined path and stored.

  A paper conveyance path 111 extending in the vertical direction is formed at the left position of the image forming unit 12. A conveyance roller pair 112 is provided at an appropriate position on the sheet conveyance path 111. The sheet from the sheet storage unit 14 is conveyed toward the transfer belt 125 that is wound around the driving roller 125a by the driving of the conveyance roller pair 112.

  In the sheet conveyance path 111, a second transfer roller 113 that is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at a position facing the driving roller 125 a, and the sheet P being conveyed along the sheet conveyance path 111 is separated from the transfer belt 125. The toner image on the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the paper P by being pressed and held between the second transfer roller 113 and the second transfer roller 113.

  A transfer belt cleaning device 127 that removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at the right end portion of the transfer belt 125. The remaining toner is circulated toward the next transfer process in a state where the residual toner is removed and cleaned by the transfer belt cleaning device 127.

  The fixing unit 13 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the paper transferred by the image forming unit 12, and includes a fixing roller 131 having an energization heating element such as a halogen lamp as a heating source therein. On the left side, a pressure roller 132 disposed opposite to the fixing roller 131 is provided. Then, the transfer-processed paper P derived from the image forming unit 12 via the second transfer roller 113 is subjected to a heat treatment that is heated by the fixing roller 131 while being pressed between the fixing roller 131 and the pressure roller 132. The toner image is fixed on the paper P, and a stable color image is formed on the paper.

  The color-printed paper P that has been subjected to the fixing process is discharged toward an in-body paper discharge tray 151 provided in the apparatus main body 11 through a paper discharge conveyance path 114 that extends from the top of the fixing unit 13. It will be.

  The paper storage unit 14 has a paper tray 141 that is detachably mounted at a position below the exposure device 124 in the apparatus main body 11. A sheet bundle is stored in the sheet tray 141. Then, the sheet P is fed out from the sheet bundle stored in the sheet tray 141 one by one by driving the pickup roller 142, and passes through the sheet conveyance path 111 to the nip portion between the second transfer roller 113 and the transfer belt 125. It is designed to be directed.

  FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical system unit (image reading device) 20 according to the present invention. 3 is a front sectional view of the optical system unit 20 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the optical system unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 to 4, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is frontward, and the + Y direction is rearward. That's it.

  The optical system unit (image reading device) 20 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIG. 1 as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the optical system unit 20 includes a box-shaped casing 30, and is mounted in the casing 30 so as to be movable forward and backward in the left-right direction. A reading unit 40 that irradiates light to obtain reflected light, a lens / sensor unit 50 that collects the reflected light from the reading unit 40 and captures it as image data, and an analog circuit to be described later of the lens / sensor unit 50 A digital circuit board 60 that is electrically connected to the board 520 via a flexible cable (electric wire) 59 and a contact prevention member 70 that prevents the flexible cable 59 from coming into contact with other members are provided.

  The housing 30 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape so that it can be housed in the exterior cover 160 of the image reading unit 16. A large opening having a rectangular shape is provided at the center of the upper surface of the casing 30, and a contact glass 31 for placing a document is fitted into the opening. The contact glass 31 is set at an installation position so as to face an opening provided on the upper surface of the exterior cover 160 of the image reading unit 16 in a state where the optical system unit 20 is mounted in the image reading unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the reading unit 40 is placed on the contact glass 31 by moving forward from the left end of the housing 30 to the right (home position). After scanning the document surface of the placed document, the document is moved backward and returned to the home position.

  Such a reading unit 40 includes a light source unit 41 that irradiates light toward the document surface, and reflects light reflected from the light source unit 41 on the document surface along the optical path to cause a lens / sensor unit 50. And a mirror unit 42 for guiding to the center.

  The light source unit 41 is supported by a first scanning frame body (light source traveling body) 411 that is long in the left-right direction in a front view that travels forward and backward in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 and the first scanning frame body 411. Further, a light source member 412 that is long in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3) perpendicular to the traveling direction of the first scanning frame 411, and the original screen of light emitted from the light source member 412 And a first mirror 413 that reflects the light reflected from the left side toward the left.

  The light source member 412 is formed by arranging a plurality of unit LEDs (light sources) 412a made of light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a predetermined frame (see FIG. 4). The plurality of unit LEDs 412a emit light at the same time, so that the light emitted from each unit LED 412a is reflected on the document surface of the document P1 through the contact glass 31. Then, the reflected light from the light source member 412 reflected by the document surface of the document P1 is reflected leftward by the first mirror 413.

  The mirror unit 42 is provided on the left side of the light source unit 41 and has a second traveling frame body (mirror traveling body) 421 that travels forward and backward in the left-right direction, and a second traveling frame body 421 supported by the second traveling frame body 421. A second mirror 422 and a third mirror 423. As shown in FIG. 3, the second traveling frame body 421 is formed vertically long in a front view, and the upper end position is set at substantially the same level as the upper end position of the light source unit 41, while the lower end position is the light source unit 41. It protrudes downward from the lower end position of.

  The second mirror 422 reflects the light reflected by the first mirror 413 downward. The third mirror 423 is disposed opposite to the second mirror 422 below the second mirror 422, and reflects the light reflected by the second mirror 422 toward the right. An optical path L toward the posture adjusting means 60 is formed by the reflected light from the second mirror 422.

  The light reflected by the third mirror 423 is input to the lens / sensor unit 50, where the light signal is converted into an electric signal and the analog amount of the electric signal is converted into a digital amount as image information. The

  The light source unit 41 and the mirror unit 42 are different in movement speed (specifically, the movement of the light source unit 41) while being linked to each other by the rotation of a travel wire stretched between pulleys (not shown) by driving of the drive motor 80. The speed is set to twice the moving speed of the mirror unit 42).

  The light source unit 41 moves at twice the speed of the mirror unit 42, so that even when the light source unit 41 and the reading unit 40 are located at the home position indicated by the solid line in FIG. Even in the state of moving to an arbitrary position indicated by the chain line, the distance of the optical path reaching the lens / sensor unit 50 from the first mirror 413 via the second mirror 422 and the third mirror 423 is constant, and thereby the reading unit 40 In any state, the reflected light from the document surface is input to the lens / sensor unit 50 under the same conditions.

  The lens / sensor unit 50 is an analog circuit board having a lens unit 51 having a lens 512 and a CCD (charge coupled device) 521a as an image sensor disposed opposite to the right side of the lens unit 51 in FIG. An image sensor unit 52 having 520 and a cover 58 covering the image sensor unit 52 and the flexible cable 59 are provided.

  The lens unit 51 condenses the reflected light of the light from the light source member 412 and forms an image on a CCD (image sensor) 521a. The image sensor unit 52 is a light imaged on the CCD 521. Is converted into an electric signal as a digital quantity.

  The document image information converted into a digital quantity by the CCD 521 of the analog circuit board 520 is temporarily stored in a predetermined storage device, and then output to the exposure device 124 of the image forming unit 12. Is adapted to irradiate the photosensitive drum 121 with light having strength corresponding to the original image based on the digital information.

  One of the plurality of unit LEDs 412a arranged in parallel in the light source member 412 is a document presence / absence detection LED 412b (FIG. 4) for detecting whether or not the document P1 exists on the contact glass 31. ing. The document presence / absence detection LED 412b is always lit when the power switch 171 is turned on.

  Accordingly, whether or not the document P1 is present on the contact glass 31 is determined by controlling the intensity of the reflected light converted by the CCD 521 by reflecting the reflected light of the light emitted from the document presence / absence detection LED 412b. It is detected by being discriminated by means.

  Hereinafter, the lens / sensor unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the lens / sensor unit 50, and shows a state where the lens / sensor unit 50 is attached to the bottom plate 32 of the housing 30 of the optical system unit 20. 5, the direction display by X and Y is the same as in FIG. 2 (X is the left-right direction (-X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-rear direction (-Y: forward, + Y: rearward). )).

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, the lens / sensor unit 50 includes a holding body 53 attached to a central portion in the front-rear direction at a right position on the bottom plate 32 of the housing 30. The sensor unit 52 is held by the holding body 53.

  The holding body 53 supports the base plate 54 having a rectangular shape in plan view attached to the bottom plate 32 of the housing 30 and the lens unit 51 attached to the left half of the base plate 54. Lens unit support plate 55 and a sensor unit support plate 56 for supporting the image sensor unit 52 mounted at the right half position.

  The lens unit 51 includes a cylindrical lens tube 511 and a lens 512 attached to the lens tube 511. The lens unit support plate 55 supports the lens tube 511 on its upper surface in a state extending in the left-right direction. In the lens unit support plate 55, the lateral shake of the lens unit 51 on the base plate 54 is corrected with the optical path L as a reference.

  The image sensor unit 52 has a box-shaped casing 522 whose left end surface is connected to the right end surface of the lens tube 511. On the other hand, the sensor unit support plate 56 includes a horizontal plate 561 on which the casing 522 is supported, and a vertical plate 562 erected from the right edge of the horizontal plate 561. The vertical plate 562 is dimensioned so as to cover a right opening (not shown) of the casing 522, and has an opening (not shown) for allowing reflected light guided into the casing 522 through the lens 512 to pass therethrough. Is provided. An analog circuit board 520 is disposed on the right side of the vertical plate 562 so as to cover the opening of the vertical plate 562.

  The base plate 54 includes a flat plate main body 541, a first edge 542 formed by bending a left edge portion of the plate main body 541 downward, and extending in the front-rear direction. A pair of second rims 543 extending in the left-right direction formed by bending the edges downward, and left and right extending from the lower edge of each second rim 543 in opposite directions. And a pair of front and rear mounting plates 544 extending in the direction.

  A lower edge surface of the first edge 542 and a lower surface of the pair of mounting plates 544 are set to be substantially flush with each other. The base plate 54 is strong in strength by forming the first edge 542 and the second edge 543 and the mounting plate 544 on the plate body 541.

  In the present embodiment, the urging member 57 is employed in order to ensure the support state of the holding body 53 with respect to the bottom plate 32. As shown in FIG. 5, the urging member 57 is formed by bending a plate-like spring material into a Z shape in an end view. The biasing member 57 includes a base portion 571 extending in the horizontal direction, a vertical portion 572 erected vertically from one side edge portion of the base portion 571, and an upper edge portion of the vertical portion 572 in parallel with the base portion 571. And a locking portion 573 extending in the opposite direction.

  Then, in a state where the holding body 53 is attached to the bottom plate 32 of the housing 30 via an adjustment member (not shown) that adjusts its posture, the urging member 57 holds the holding body 53 in three directions as shown in FIG. (Specifically, from the left edge of the plate main body 541, the front mounting plate 544, and the rear mounting plate 544) and is fixed to the bottom plate 32 with screws.

  As a result, the plate main body 541 and the pair of mounting plates 544 are locked by the locking portions 573 of the urging members 57, respectively. Accordingly, when the left edge portion and the front and rear edge portions of the holding body 53 are raised by the adjustment operation of the adjustment member, the locking portion 573 of the urging member 57 is elastically deformed and presses these edge portions downward. For this reason, the mounting state of the holding body 53 to the bottom plate 32 via the adjustment member is stable.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lens / sensor unit 50, the digital circuit board 60, and the contact prevention member 70 as seen from the right side. The direction display by X and Y in FIG. 6 is the same as in FIG. 2 (X is the left-right direction (−X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-back direction (−Y: forward, + Y: backward). )). Incidentally, in FIG. 6, the left and right by X and Y are opposite to the left and right of the page.

  The digital circuit board 60 converts an analog signal of a document image transmitted from the CCD 521 of the analog circuit board 520 via the flexible cable 59 into a digital signal. A digital signal obtained by converting the analog signal by the digital circuit board 60 is output to the exposure device 124 (FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the digital circuit board 60 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in a plan view, and is flat on the lower bottom plate 321 that is lowered by one step from the right end of the bottom plate 32 via the step plate 322. It is installed in a standing state.

  A pair of front-rear connectors 61 are provided on the left side of the upper surface of the digital circuit board 60, and a pair of front-rear connectors 523 are also provided on the upper right side of the analog circuit board 520.

  On the other hand, the flexible cable 59 is provided with connectors 591 corresponding to the connectors 61 and 523 at both ends thereof, respectively, and one connector 591 is connected to the connector 523 of the analog circuit board 520 and the other connector 591 is provided. Is connected to the connector 61 of the digital circuit board 60, whereby the analog circuit board 520 and the digital circuit board 60 are electrically connected to each other.

  A drive shaft disposition space V for disposing the drive shaft 81 of the drive motor 80 is formed between the digital circuit board 60 and the step plate 322 on the lower bottom plate 321 of the housing 30. . Such a drive shaft arrangement space V is formed because the light source unit 41 and the mirror unit 42 (FIG. 3) are moved to the left of the optical system unit 20 in the housing 30 and the original image is displayed. This is because the optical path L (FIG. 3) of the scanned reflected light is set, and the drive shaft 81 cannot be disposed at the left position in the optical system unit 20.

  In this embodiment, the contact preventing member 70 is disposed in the drive shaft disposing space V, and the flexible cable 59 is supported by the contact preventing member 70, so that the flexible cable 59 is connected to the drive shaft 81 and The cover 58 is not affected (specifically, the flexible cable 59 is not in direct contact with the drive shaft 81 or the cover 58). As a result, the generation of noise in the flexible cable 59 is suppressed.

  7 and 8 are perspective views showing an embodiment of the contact preventing member 70. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the wing 73 is set to the open posture (however, the inside of the circle is a C-line view), FIG. 8 shows a state in which the wing 73 is set to the covering posture. 7 and 8 are the same as those shown in FIG. 2 (X is the left-right direction (-X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-rear direction (-Y: forward, + Y: backward)).

  The contact preventing member 70 is manufactured by an injection molding method using a thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, or polyvinyl chloride as a raw material.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the contact preventing member 70 includes a bowl-shaped bridge member 71 that has a convex arc shape when viewed from the front, and a vertical direction provided on the top of the bridge member 71. A mounting piece (a locking member) 72 that can change its posture between an extending vertical posture and a horizontal posture extending in the front-rear direction, and a pair of left-right direction protruding in opposite directions from the left and right side surfaces of the mounting piece 72 The wing 73 is provided.

  The bridge member 71 is placed on the lower bottom plate 321 of the housing 30 in a state of straddling the drive shaft 81. The bridge member 71 includes an inverted U-shaped bridge body 711 in a front view, a rectangular mounting plate 712 in a plan view that protrudes rightward from a lower edge portion on the right side of the bridge body 711, and A fringing ridge projecting from the front and rear edges of the bridge body 711 and the edge of the mounting plate 712 toward the outside (upward in the case of the mounting plate 712) over the entire length thereof. 713, a locking protrusion 714 protruding upward from the top of the front edge projection 713 on the bridge body 711 side, and a position above the locking protrusion 714 in the rear edge protrusion 713 And an erection piece support protrusion 715 projecting toward the head.

  The bridge main body 711 and the mounting plate 712 are structurally strong due to the provision of the rim ridges 713. In particular, the bridge main body 711 and the mounting plate 712 are not easily bent at the connecting position. The mounting plate 712 is provided with various mounting pieces 712a and mounting holes 712b, and the contact prevention member 70 is mounted on the lower bottom plate 321 in a state of being prevented from coming off via these mounting pieces 712a and mounting holes 712b.

  The locking projection 714 locks the distal end side of the installation piece 72 in a state where the installation piece 72 is set in a horizontal posture. By this locking, the horizontal posture of the erection piece 72 is maintained. The locking projection 714 is provided with a projecting plate piece 714a projecting upward from the top of the front edge ridge 713 of the bridge body 711, and projecting rearward from the rear surface of the projecting plate piece 714a. And a pair of left and right engaging projections 714b.

  As shown in the circle of FIG. 7, each of the locking protrusions 714 b is formed in a “U” shape that is open from the lower side when viewed from the rear surface side (that is, as viewed from the C line). A locking recess 714c is formed between each horizontal bar (vertical bar in FIG. 7). The front end of the erection piece 72 set in a horizontal posture is fitted into the locking recess 714c.

  The installation piece support projection 715 supports the installation piece 72 in a rotatable manner. A thin portion 715 a integrated with both of the thin pieces is formed between the distal end portion of the installation piece support protrusion 715 and the base end portion of the installation piece 72. As shown in FIG. 8, the erection piece 72 set in the vertical posture is pressed against the erection piece 72 around the thin part 715a in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7 to thereby elastically deform the thin part 715a. Change the posture to a horizontal posture.

  The installation piece 72 includes a bottom plate piece 721 that extends straight from the tip of the installation piece support projection 715 via the thin portion 715a, and a clockwise direction around the thin portion 715a with a predetermined width from the left and right edges of the bottom plate piece 721. And a pair of side plate pieces 722 that are slightly longer than the bottom plate piece 721 that protrudes toward the outside. Locked portions 722a that are set to be slightly narrower are provided at portions of the side plate pieces 722 that are separated from the bottom plate piece 721 on the front end side. These locked portions 722a can be elastically deformed toward the directions approaching each other.

  The operation of the installation piece 72 is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 7, in a state where the posture is set to a vertical posture, the proximal end sides of the pair of locked portions 722a are picked with fingers to bring the distal end sides closer to each other, and the installation piece 72 is thinned in this state. It is rotated counterclockwise around the portion 715a. Subsequently, the pair of locked portions 722a are rotated so as to pass between the pair of locking protrusions 714b of the locking protrusion 714. Thereafter, each of the locked portions 722a is fitted into the locking recess 714c of the locking protrusion 714b, whereby the locked portion 722a is locked to the locking protrusion 714b. Through this operation, the installation piece 72 is in a state in which the horizontal posture is maintained as shown in FIG.

  The wing 73 is interposed between the analog circuit board 520 and the digital circuit board 60 and covers the upper surface of the flexible cable 59 supported on the bridge body 711. As the wing 73, a left wing 73a projecting leftward from the installation piece 72 (that is, toward the analog circuit board 520), and rightward from the installation piece 72 (that is, the digital circuit board 60). And a protruding right wing 73b.

  These left and right wings 73a and 73b are both inclined downward toward the right. In the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the left wing 73a with respect to the horizontal plane is set larger than the inclination angle of the right wing 73b.

  The wings 73 (left and right wings 73a and 73b) are the same as the flat wing main body 731 protruding from the side plate piece 722 of the installation piece 72 and the wing main body 731 fixed to both side edges of the wing main body 731. And a pair of long edge strips 732. The edge of the rim 732 is fixed to the side edge surface of the wing main body 731 at the center in the vertical width direction, whereby the rim 732 protrudes upward from the front and back of the wing main body 731. The wing 73 is structurally strong due to the presence of the rim 732.

  Since the contact preventing member 70 is configured as described above, when the flexible cable 59 is supported by the contact preventing member 70, first, as shown in FIG. 7, the installation piece 72 is set in a vertical posture. Then, each of the pair of wings 73 is set to the open posture. By doing so, the arcuate upper surface of the bridge body 711 is opened, and the flexible cable 59 is placed on the bridge body 711 in this state.

  Subsequently, the installation piece 72 is rotated counterclockwise around the thin portion 715a, and each engagement portion 722a of the installation piece 72 is engaged with the engagement projection piece 714b of the engagement projection 714 of the bridge member 71. It fits into the recess 714c from below. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 8, the installation piece 72 is maintained in a horizontal posture, and the pair of wings 73 (left and right wings 73a and 73b) are changed in posture from the open posture to the covering posture. As a result, the upper surface of the flexible cable 59 supported by the bridge body 711 is covered.

  As described above in detail, the optical system unit (image reading apparatus) 20 according to the present invention is based on the light source of the light source unit 41 (in the present embodiment, the light source member 412 including a plurality of unit LEDs 412a) housed in the housing 30. The original image is optically read by reflected light of the light irradiated on the original surface of the original P1, and the casing 30 receives the reflected light collected through the lens 512, thereby receiving the light. An analog circuit board 520 having a CCD 521 for converting reflected light into an electrical analog signal, a digital circuit board 60 having a circuit for converting an analog signal into a digital signal, and the analog circuit board 520 and the digital circuit board 60 The flexible cable 59 for electrically connecting the two interposed therebetween and the contact of the flexible cable 59 with other members are prevented. And contact prevention member 70 is provided.

  According to this configuration, the original image of the original P1 is reflected by the reflected light from the original surface of the light emitted from the unit LED 412a to the CCD 521 of the analog circuit board 520, so that the CCD 521 can respond to the original image. The reflected light is converted into an analog signal. The analog signal is input to the digital circuit board 60 through the flexible cable 59 and is converted into a digital signal by the digital circuit board 60. The image information read as the digital signal is used for image forming processing by an image forming apparatus or a computer.

  Since the optical system unit 20 includes the contact prevention member 70 that prevents the flexible cable 59 from contacting other members, the flexible cable 59 is provided with other members (in this embodiment, the drive shaft 81 and By contacting the cover 58), it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such as noise in the signal transmitted by the flexible cable 59.

  Such a contact preventing member 70 includes a bridge member 71 straddling a disposing member disposed under the flexible cable 59 in a state where the flexible cable 59 is supported, and a flexible cable formed on the top of the bridge member 71. And a pair of wings 73 (left and right wings 73a and 73b) projecting in opposite directions along the direction in which the flexible cable 59 extends from the installation piece 72. For this reason, the flexible cable 59 is supported on the top of the bridge member 71 in a state where the arrangement member disposed at the lower part of the flexible cable 59 is straddled over the bridge member 71, and is prevented from coming off by the installation piece 72. Thus, the flexible cable 59 has its upper part protruding from the installation piece 72 in the opposite direction. It becomes covered state by a pair of wings 73.

  Thus, by supporting the flexible cable 59 on the bridge member 71 straddling the arrangement member, the lower portion of the flexible cable 59 is protected by the bridge member 71 and the upper portion covers the flexible cable 59. Since it is protected by the pair of wings 73, the generation of noise can be effectively prevented by the upper and lower protection.

  Further, the first scanning frame body 411 and the second traveling frame body 421 are caused to travel in the space on one side of the portion where the CCD 521 is provided in the housing 30 and a space for the optical path L of the reflected light is secured. Therefore, the space between the analog circuit board 520 provided with the CCD 521 inevitably as a space for providing the drive shaft 81 of the drive motor 80 and the digital circuit board 60 provided in parallel with the analog circuit board 520. Will be adopted. Accordingly, the flexible cable 59 interposed between the analog circuit board 520 and the digital circuit board 60 inevitably passes through the upper portion of the drive shaft 81 depending on the location of various members in the housing 30. Since it is protected by the bridge member 71 straddling the shaft 81, it is possible to effectively prevent the generation of noise in the flexible cable 59 caused by the drive shaft 81.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, a copying machine has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus 10. However, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus 10 being a copying machine. Any scanner may be used as long as it includes an optical system unit that optically scans an original image to acquire an analog signal and converts the analog signal into a digital signal.

  (2) In the above embodiment, a plurality of unit LEDs 412a arranged in parallel as a light source is employed. However, the present invention is not limited to the light source consisting of the unit LEDs 412a. A tube type may be used.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, a flat cable is used as the flexible cable 59. However, the present invention is not limited to the flat cable, but is circular in cross-sectional view. Or other shapes.

  (4) In the above embodiment, a plurality of unit LEDs 412a made of light emitting diodes are employed as the light source member 412, but the present invention is limited to the light source member 412 being formed by a plurality of unit LEDs 412a. Instead, other types of light sources such as halogen lamps may be employed.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which an image reading apparatus according to the present invention is applied. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical system unit (image reading apparatus) according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of front sectional view of the optical system unit shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of planar view of the optical system unit shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a lens sensor unit, and has shown the state with which the lens sensor unit was attached to the baseplate of the housing | casing of an optical system unit. It is the perspective view which looked at the lens sensor unit, the digital circuit board, and the contact prevention member from the right side. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a contact prevention member, and has shown the state (however, the inside of a circle is a figure of C line view) in which the wing was set to the open position. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a contact prevention member, and has shown the state by which the attitude | position was set to the covering attitude | position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 111 Paper conveyance path 112 Conveyance roller pair 113 Transfer roller 114 Paper discharge conveyance path 12 Image forming part 12M Magenta unit 12C Cyan unit 12Y Yellow unit 12K Black unit 121 Photosensitive drum 122 Developing device 123 Charging Device 124 Exposure Device 125 Transfer Belt 125a Drive Roller 125b Driven Roller 125c Transfer Roller 126 Cleaning Device 127 Transfer Belt Cleaning Device 13 Fixing Unit 131 Fixing Roller 132 Pressure Roller 14 Paper Storage Unit 141 Paper Tray 142 Pickup Roller 15 Paper Discharge Section 151 In-body discharge tray 16 Image reading section 160 Exterior cover 161 Document mat 162 Butterfly plate member 17 Operation panel 171 Power switch 172 Start key 173 Key Cancel key 174 Numeric keypad 18 LCD
20 Optical system unit (image reading device)
30 casing 31 contact glass 32 bottom plate 321 lower bottom plate 322 step plate 40 reading unit 41 light source unit 411 first scanning frame (light source traveling body)
412 Light source member 412a Unit LED (light source)
412b Document presence / absence detection LED
413 First mirror 42 Mirror unit 421 Second traveling frame (mirror traveling body)
422 Second mirror 423 Third mirror 50 Sensor unit 51 Lens unit 511 Lens tube 512 Lens 52 Image sensor unit 520 Analog circuit board 521 CCD (image sensor)
522 Casing 523 Connector 53 Holder 54 Base plate 541 Plate body 542 First edge 543 Second edge 544 Mounting plate 55 Lens unit support plate 56 Sensor unit support plate 561 Horizontal plate 562 Vertical plate 57 Biasing member 571 Base 572 Vertical Part 573 Locking part 58 Cover 59 Flexible cable (electric wire)
591 Connector 60 Digital circuit board 61 Connector 70 Contact prevention member 71 Bridge member 711 Bridge body 712 Mounting plate 712a Mounting piece 712b Mounting hole 713 Projection 714 Locking projection 714a Projecting plate piece 714b Locking projection 714c Locking recess 715 Installation Single support protrusion 715a Thin part 72 Construction piece (detachment prevention member)
721 Bottom plate piece 722 Side plate piece 722a Locked portion 73 Wing 73a Left wing 73b Right wing 731 Wing body 732 Edge strip 80 Drive motor 81 Drive shaft L Optical path P Paper P1 Document T1 Closed posture T2 Open posture V Drive shaft installation space

Claims (4)

An image reading apparatus that optically reads a document image by reflected light of light irradiated on a document surface of a document from a light source built in a predetermined housing,
In the case, an analog circuit board including an image sensor that converts the reflected light into an electrical analog signal by receiving the reflected light collected through a predetermined lens;
A digital circuit board comprising a circuit for converting the analog signal into a digital signal;
An electric wire that electrically connects both the analog circuit board and the digital circuit board;
An image reading apparatus, comprising: a contact preventing member that prevents contact of the electric wire with another member. The contact preventing member is a bridge member straddling a disposing member disposed under the electric wire in a state of supporting the electric wire,
A stopper member that prevents the electric wire formed on the top portion of the bridge member from coming off, and that can be opened and closed with respect to the top portion;
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a pair of wings projecting in a direction opposite to each other so as to extend along a direction in which the electric wire extends from the detachment prevention member. In the housing, a light source traveling body that scans the document surface by moving the light source;
A mirror that reflects the reflected light and guides it to the image sensor;
A mirror traveling body that moves the mirror in synchronization with traveling of the light source traveling body;
A drive motor for running the light source and the mirror traveling body,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the arrangement member is a drive shaft of the drive motor.   An image forming apparatus that performs predetermined image forming processing based on image information of a document image read by the image reading apparatus according to claim 1.

Images