Image reading apparatus

• US 20040160650A1
• Filed: 01/30/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ide, Naoaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00981 by forced convection, e.g. using fans
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/02815 Means for illuminating the original, not specific to a particular type of pick-up head
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0287 using a tubular lamp or a combination of such lamps

Abstract

An image reading unit according to the present invention includes a lamp to incorporate a change in temperature conditions to the emitting light amount, the lamp capable of illuminating an reading object with a light of a predetermined intensity, an image signal generation unit which generates an image signal corresponding to the reflected light generated when a reading object is illuminated, and a cooling unit which cools a predetermined range of the lamp, so that the intensity change in the light radiated from the lamp of the illumination unit, in the length direction of the illumination unit can be suppressed.

Claims

1. An image reading apparatus comprising:

an illumination unit including a lamp to incorporate a change in temperature conditions to the emitting light amount, the lamp extending in a predetermined direction and having a predetermined length, the lamp illuminating a reading object with a light of a predetermined intensity;

an image signal generation unit which generates an image signal corresponding to a reflected light based on the reflected light generated when the reading object is illuminated; and

a light intensity setting unit (a cooling unit) which can set a change in the intensity of the light radiated from the illumination unit within a predetermined range in the length direction of the illumination unit.

2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light intensity setting unit maintains the temperature distribution in the lamp of the illumination unit at a predetermined condition.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light intensity setting unit includes at least two fans, the fans provided at the positions satisfying the predetermined conditions concerning the length direction of the illumination unit.

4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the fans can be changed independently in the distance to the lamp and/or the number of revolution.

5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an uniformalizing member which prevents the wind generated by the fan from applying directly to the lamp of the illumination unit.

6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the uniformalizing member is made of metal with high thermal conductivity.

7. An image reading apparatus comprising:

an illumination unit including a lamp to incorporate a change in temperature conditions to the emitting light amount, the lamp extending in a predetermined direction and having a predetermined length, the lamp illuminating a reading object to obtain the reflected light from the reading object;

a first control unit which changes the capacity of the lamp of the illumination unit to illuminate the reading object;

an image signal generation unit which generates an image signal by opto-electrically converting the reflected light;

an optical unit which inputs the reflected light to the image signal generation unit;

a second control unit which operates the image signal generation unit;

a white reference marker which provides a reference for shading correction and illuminance of an illumination light to illuminate the reading object;

an image processing unit which compensates a fluctuation in an image signal caused by any one of or all of the image signal generation unit, the illumination unit and the optical unit, and performs shading correction of the output of the image signal generation unit to set a reference for the output level of the image signal generation unit;

a cooling unit which cools the lamp of the illumination unit;

a third control unit which operates the cooling unit; and

a control amount setting unit which sets the cooling amount when operating the cooling unit by the third control unit, and gives an instruction to the third control unit.

8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cooling unit includes at least two fans, the fans provided at the positions satisfying the predetermined conditions concerning the length direction of the illumination unit;

and each of the fans can be changed independently in the distance to the lamp and/or the number of revolution.

9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an uniformalizing member which prevents the wind generated by the fan from applying directly to the lamp of the illumination unit.

10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the uniformalizing member is made of metal with high thermal conductivity.

11. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an uniformalizing member which prevents the wind generated by the fan from applying directly to the lamp of the illumination unit and the first control unit.

12. The image reading apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the uniformalizing member is made of metal with high thermal conductivity.

13. An image reading apparatus comprising:

an illumination unit including a lamp to incorporate a change in temperature conditions to the emitting light amount, the lamp extending in a predetermined direction and having the distribution of the emitting light amount in the length direction, the lamp illuminating a reading object to obtain the reflected light from the reading object;

a lamp lighting circuit which changes the capacity of the lamp of the illumination unit to illuminate the reading object;

a line CCD sensor which generates an image signal by opto-electrically changing the reflected light;

an optical unit which transmits the reflected light to the light receiving surface of the line CCD sensor;

a CCD sensor driving unit which operates the line CCD sensor;

a white reference marker which provides a reference for shading correction and illuminance of an illumination light to illuminate the reading object;

an image processing unit which compensates a fluctuation in an image signal caused by any one of or all of the line CCD sensor, the illumination unit and the optical unit, and performs shading correction of the output of the line CCD sensor to set a reference for the output level of the line CCD sensor;

a cooling fan which generates a cooling wind for cooling the lamp of the illumination unit;

an illuminance comparing unit which compares the image signal outputted from both ends in the length direction of the line CCD sensor and the image signal outputted from the part close to the center in the length direction of the line CCD sensor, among the reflected lights obtained when the white reference marker is illuminated by the lamp, and sets the wind amount of the cooling wind to be outputted by the cooling fan;

a motor driving unit which operates the cooling fan; and

a control amount setting unit which sets a value to be instructed to the motor driving unit, to achieve the wind amount of the cooling wind to be outputted by the cooling fan.

14. The image reading apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cooling fan is provided at least two at predetermined positions in the length direction of the lamp of the illumination unit, operable independently each other.

15. The image reading apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control amount setting unit sets a value to be instructed to the motor driving unit to achieve the wind amount of the cooling wind to be outputted by the cooling fan, until the difference obtained by the illuminance comparing unit by comparing the outputs at the center in the length direction of the line CCD sensor and at both ends in the length direction of the line CCD sensor comes in ±

5%.