Light guide, illuminating device having the light guide, and image reading device and information processing apparatus having the illuminating device
First Claim
1. An illumination unit comprising:
- an elongated light guide;
a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide;
a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide; and
an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed an illumination device in which a light guide is adapted to emit the light from a face thereof and is provided with an area, on a face opposite to the light emitting face, for diffusing and/or reflecting the light introduced into the light guide from an end face thereof or is provided with uneven light emitting characteristics along the longitudinal direction of the light guide, and the center of the light source positioned at the end of the light guide is placed at a position aberrated from the normal line to the area, whereby attained are compactness, a low cost, a low electric power consumption, a high efficiency of utilization of the light emitted by the light source, and excellent and uniform illumination characteristics. There are also disclosed an image reading device and an information processing apparatus, equipped with the above-mentioned illumination device.
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Citations
180 Claims
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1. An illumination unit comprising:
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an elongated light guide;
a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide;
a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide; and
an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A image reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal; and
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of the elongated light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite said light output surface, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An image processing system comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an object and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a control circuit that controls operation of said line sensor and said illumination unit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An information communication apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
communication means for communicating an image signal output by said line sensor to an external processing apparatus for processing the image signal. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. An information reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
driving means for shifting a relative position between an original illuminated by said illumination unit and said line sensor. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. An information processing apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, that outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide;
a processor that processes an image signal output from said line sensor; and
a control circuit that controls said illumination unit, said line sensor and said processor. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. An illumination unit comprising:
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an elongated light guide;
a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide;
a light output surface, formed on a side of said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, that outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide; and
an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different than the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. An image reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal; and
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said elongated light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into said end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide, different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein said light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83)
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84. An image processing system comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an object and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different than the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein said light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a control circuit that controls operation of said line sensor and said illumination unit. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97)
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98. An information communication apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide;
a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of the light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
communication means for communicating an image signal output by said line sensor to an external processing apparatus for processing the image signal. - View Dependent Claims (99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109)
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110. An information reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
driving means for shifting a relative position between an original illuminated by said illumination unit and said line sensor. - View Dependent Claims (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121)
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122. An information processing apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, that outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide;
a processor that processes an image signal output from said line sensor; and
a control circuit that controls said illumination unit, said line sensor and said processor. - View Dependent Claims (123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135)
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136. An information communication apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a communication unit that communicates an image signal output by said line sensor to an external processing apparatus for processing the image signal. - View Dependent Claims (137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146)
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147. An information reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on a side of said light guide opposite the light output surface of said light guide, wherein the light output surface and the reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a driving unit that shifts a positional relationship between an original illuminated by said illumination unit and said line sensor. - View Dependent Claims (148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158)
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159. An information communication apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide;
a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of the light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a communication unit that communicates an image signal output by said line sensor to an external processing apparatus for processing the image signal. - View Dependent Claims (160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168)
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169. An information reading apparatus comprising:
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a line sensor, having a main scanning direction, that receives image light of an original and outputs an image signal;
an illumination unit including;
an elongated light guide, a light source that injects light into an end surface of said light guide, in a longitudinal direction of said light guide, a light output surface, formed on said light guide along the longitudinal direction thereof, which outputs in a line shape light injected from said light source into the end surface of said light guide, and an elongated reflector and/or diffuser formed along the longitudinal direction on an other side of said light guide different from the side of said light guide on which said light output surface is formed, wherein the light output surface and said reflector and/or diffuser are formed in respective predetermined areas, a middle of each of which is offset from a middle of the end surface of said light guide when viewed in the longitudinal direction of said light guide; and
a driving unit that shifts a positional relationship between an original illuminated by said illumination unit and said line sensor. - View Dependent Claims (170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180)
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Specification