Image-reading apparatus and image-reading auxiliary apparatus

• US 9,832,355 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Idonuma, Toshiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): FLOHRE, JASON A
• Application Number:
  US15/167,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20170237883A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00519 Constructional details not otherwise provided for, e.g. housings, covers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00562 Supporting the apparatus as a whole, e.g. stands
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means

Abstract

An image-reading auxiliary apparatus includes a housing that shields a medium from environmental light, an external device holding unit that holds an external device that captures an image of the medium, a light source that illuminates the medium, an illuminance sensor that detects whether the external device is held by the external device holding unit, a housing control unit that controls the light source so as not to emit light when the illuminance sensor detects that the external device is not held by the external device holding unit, and an opening/closing interlocking switch that activates the housing control unit to start to control the light source when the housing is opened from a folded state.

Claims

1. An image-reading apparatus comprising:

a housing that blocks environmental light and has an opening on a bottom face thereof;

a camera configured to capture an image of a medium exposed to inside of the housing at the opening; and

a plurality of light sources that are disposed inside the housing and emit light toward the opening to be emitted onto different regions of a horizontal plane at the opening, wherein

the opening is formed in a rectangular shape,

the housing includes at least four cover units corresponding to sides of the opening,

the four cover units include two inclined cover units that are opposed to each other and inclined from a side on which the opening is positioned toward an opposite end in a direction in which the two inclined cover units get closer to each other and two coupling cover units that are opposed to each other and couple the two inclined cover units to each other,

the two inclined cover units include a first inclined cover unit and a second inclined cover unit, and are switchable between an opened state in which the first inclined cover unit moves relatively to the second inclined cover unit based on an end opposite to a side on which the opening is positioned and ends of the two inclined cover units on the opening side are separated away from each other, and a folded state in which the two inclined cover units are adjacent to each other in parallel,

the two coupling cover units are coupled to the two inclined cover units in a deformable manner, and deformed with respect to the two inclined cover units to enter a space between the two inclined cover units when the two inclined cover units are in the folded state, and

the image-reading apparatus further comprises;

a sensor that detects whether the camera is held by the housing;

a controller configured to control the light sources so as not to emit light when the sensor detects that the image camera is not held by the housing; and

a switch that activates the controller to start to control the light sources when the two inclined cover units are switched from the folded state to the opened state.

2. An image-reading apparatus comprising:

a housing that blocks environmental light and has an opening on a bottom face thereof;

a camera configured to capture an image of a medium exposed to inside of the housing at the opening; and

a plurality of light sources that are disposed inside the housing and emit light toward the opening to be emitted onto different regions of a horizontal plane at the opening, wherein

the opening is formed in a rectangular shape,

the housing includes at least four cover units corresponding to sides of the opening,

the four cover units include two inclined cover units that are opposed to each other and inclined from a side on which the opening is positioned toward an opposite end in a direction in which the two inclined cover units get closer to each other and two coupling cover units that are opposed to each other and couple the two inclined cover units to each other,

the two inclined cover units include a first inclined cover unit and a second inclined cover unit, and are switchable between an opened state in which the first inclined cover unit moves relatively to the second inclined cover unit based on an end opposite to a side on which the opening is positioned and ends of the two inclined cover units on the opening side are separated away from each other, and a folded state in which the two inclined cover units are adjacent to each other in parallel,

the two coupling cover units are coupled to the two inclined cover units in a deformable manner, and deformed with respect to the two inclined cover units to enter a space between the two inclined cover units when the two inclined cover units are in the folded state, and

the image-reading apparatus further comprises a switch that turns off the light sources when the two inclined cover units are in the folded state.

3. An image-reading auxiliary apparatus comprising:

a housing that shields a subject from environmental light;

a holder configured to hold an external device that captures an image of the subject;

a light source that illuminates the subject, the light source including;

a first light source arranged at a first position inside the housing, and

a second light source arranged at a second position that is different from the first position inside the housing;

a sensor that detects the environmental light when the external device is not held by the holder, and detects strobe light emitted from a light emitting device of the external device when the external device is held by the holder;

a controller configured to;

determine whether the external device is held by the holder by detecting the environmental light,

control the light source so as not to emit light when the sensor detects that the external device is not held by the holder,

control the light source so that the first light source is turned off and the second light source is lit in a period derived based on a first timing at which the light emitting device emits light, and

control the light source so that the first light source is lit and the second light source is turned off in a period derived based on a second timing at which the light emitting device emits light after the first timing; and

a switch that activates the controller to start to control the light source when the housing is opened from a folded state.

4. The image-reading auxiliary apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controller further controls the sensor to intermittently detect the environmental light when the external device is not held by the holder.

5. The image-reading auxiliary apparatus according to any one of claim 3, wherein the controller further controls the light source to be turned off when the external device is held by the holder and a period in which the strobe light is not detected is longer than a threshold.