Image reading apparatus

• US 9,319,544 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2013
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hirofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tankersley, Blake A
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARCO JR, RUBEN C
• Application Number:
  US13/945,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20140023416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 399/367, 399/380
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00554 Latches or hinges therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00557 Connection or assembly of components or elements H04N1/00538 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence

Abstract

An image reading apparatus, including a main unit including a placement plane and an image reader, a document cover swingably supported by the main unit via a hinge to move between a closed position and an open position, and a conveyer unit to convey a document sheet, is provided. The hinge includes an in-main-unit joint section attached to an end of the main unit, an on-cover joint section attached to an end of the document cover, and an urging member arranged in between the in-main-unit joint section and the on-cover joint section. A coupling device to couple the end of the document cover and the end of the main unit together and to restrict the end of the document cover and the end of the main unit from being separated from each other is disposed in an intermediate position between the document cover and the conveyer unit.

Claims

1. An image reading apparatus, comprising:

a main unit comprising a placement plane, the placement plane configured to receive placement of a document sheet to be read, and an image reader configured to read an image formed on the document sheet placed on the placement plane;

a document cover made of resin and configured to be swingably supported by the main unit via a hinge to swing about a swing axis, the swing axis being parallel to a first direction, and being movable between a closed position to cover the placement plane and an open position to expose the placement plane, the document cover having a first engageable part; and

a conveyer unit arranged on the document cover, the conveyer unit comprising a document tray, the document tray configured to accommodate the document sheet to be read therein, the conveyer unit being configured to convey the document sheet from the document tray to have the image formed thereon read by the image reader the conveyer unit have a second engageable part,

wherein the hinge comprises;

an in-main-unit joint section, which is configured to be attached to an end of the main unit on one side along a third direction being orthogonal to the first direction and to a second direction, the second direction being orthogonal to a plane of a lower surface of the document cover which faces the placement plane at the closed position; and

an on-cover joint section, which is configured to be attached to a joint attachment part provided on an end of the document cover on the one side along the third direction;

wherein a coupling device, configured to couple the end of the document cover on the one side along the third direction with an end of the conveyer unit on the one side along the third direction, and to restrict the end of the document cover and the end of the conveyer unit from being separated from each other along the third direction, is disposed in an intermediate position between the document cover and the conveyer unit, the coupling device comprising;

an upper wall configured to form at least a portion of an outer cover of the image reading apparatus;

a first wall extending substantially in the second direction from one end of the upper wall, the first wall comprising a first engagement part configured to engage with the first engageable part;

a second wall extending substantially in the second direction from another end of the upper wall, the second wall comprising a second engagement part to engage with the second engageable part; and

a rib extending substantially in the second direction from the upper wall, a distal end of the rib in the second direction comprising a lower edge, the lower edge extending substantially in the third direction and coupling the first and second walls in the third direction, wherein the rib varies in width in a direction orthogonal to the lower edge of the distal end of the rib along the third direction from the first wall to the second wall, in a manner such that the rib provides more rigidity to the coupling device as compared to a case in which the rib does not vary in width in the direction orthogonal to the lower edge of the distal end of the rib along the third direction from the first wall to the second wall;

wherein a portion of the end of the document cover in the third direction extends beyond an attachable portion configured to attach to the on-cover joint section of the hinge,

wherein the first engagement part is configured to engage with the portion of the end of the document cover in the third direction, wherein the portion of the end of the document cover comprises the first engageable part, and the second engagement part is configured to engage with the end of the conveyer unit in the third direction, wherein the end of the conveyer unit comprises the second engageable part, and

wherein the rib is a reinforcing member configured to prevent movement of the first engageable part and second engageable part away from one another in the third direction.

2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rib of the coupling device extends along an orthogonal direction and along a spreading direction, the spreading direction intersecting with the third direction orthogonally on a virtual plane, which intersects with the first direction orthogonally.

3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first engageable part is a first hooked engageable part, and wherein the first engagement part is a second hooked engagement part configured to engage with the first engageable part.

4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein each of the first and second engagement parts is configured to be coupled to the first engageable part and second engageable part, respectively, via at least one screw.

5. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the coupling device is configured to cover the conveyer unit.

6. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the hinge comprises a main hinge and an auxiliary hinge, and

wherein the document cover is swingably supported by the main unit via the main hinge and the auxiliary hinge to be swingable about the swing axis.