Scanner Protecting Glass Chamfer Dust Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional scanning devices face issues with dust accumulation, such as carbon powder and tiny paper pieces, which lead to dirty or distorted scanned images, requiring frequent cleaning and increasing manufacturing costs, size, and noise levels.
Innovation Solution
A scanning device with a chamfered bottom surface on the protecting glass directs dust particles to be temporarily stacked and then wiped away by the document itself, eliminating the need for a cleaning module and maintaining scanning quality without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cleaning module is added to remove dust, then scanning quality is maintained, but manufacturing cost increases, device size increases, and noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful dust particles are extracted and isolated from the scanning area by redirecting them to the chamfered bottom surface of the protecting glass, where they are separated from the optical path and do not interfere with scanning quality
Solution Approach 2:
The document itself serves as the cleaning mechanism by wiping dust particles onto the chamfered bottom surface during insertion and removal, eliminating the need for an external cleaning module
2Reliability
If a cleaning module is added to remove dust, then scanning quality is maintained, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning function is extracted from a separate mechanical module and integrated into the document handling process itself, using the document's natural insertion and removal movements to perform the cleaning action
Solution Approach 2:
The document performs dual functions: both as the object to be scanned and as the cleaning agent that removes dust from the scanning area, eliminating the need for additional cleaning components and reducing manufacturing costs
3Reliability
If a cleaning module is added to remove dust, then scanning quality is maintained, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning function is merged with the document insertion/removal process, combining two functions (document handling and cleaning) into a single operational sequence without requiring separate cleaning mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The document itself performs the cleaning function during its natural handling process, eliminating the need for separate cleaning mechanisms and reducing overall device size
4Reliability
If a cleaning module is added to remove dust, then scanning quality is maintained, but noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical cleaning system with motors and moving parts is replaced with a passive geometric structure (chamfered surface) that uses the document's natural movement to remove dust, eliminating mechanical noise
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning action is performed passively by the document itself during insertion and removal, without requiring active mechanical cleaning components that generate noise
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is related to a scanning device for scanning documents, comprises a flat-bed scanning glass; a contact image sensor arranged above the flat-bed scanning glass separately to form a scanning path therebetween, a bottom surface of the contact image sensor being arranged with a protecting glass, a middle area of the protecting glass being configured as a scanning area, and a chamfer being arranged at the bottom surface of the protecting glass at a downstream position relative to the scanning area. Hence the dust of documents in this invention would be stacked in the chamfer during the scanning process temporarily and then be wiped away by the document itself, so as to assure the dust would not be stacked in the scanning area. The scanning device in this invention is capable to maintain the scanning quality without clearing the dust even after scanned a massive quantity of documents.