Abstract:
A scanner includes a housing having an upper-case and a low-case, a shaft seat positioned between the upper-case and the lower-case, a shaft set on the shaft seat, a scanning module set on the shaft, a lock for locking the scanning module, and buffer pads. The buffer pads are set between the shaft seat and the shaft and between the shaft seat and either the upper-case or the lower-case. One more buffer pad can be set between the lock and the scanning module.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a scanner, and more specifically, to a scanner with better shock resistance.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    A scanner is a common kind of computer peripheral. The scanner is used for scanning a document to generate corresponding data. The scanner then transforms the image data into digital data that can be stored and corrected in a computer. Additionally, it can provide some additional functions. For example, the scanner can fax image data to another fax device via a phone, the scanner can transmit e-mail with the image data through a network, or the scanner can print the data via a printer. Moreover, the scanner can put the transformed data on a network.  
           [0005]    The scanner according to the prior art is as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scanner  10  according to the prior art. The scanner comprises a housing  12 , a shaft seat  14 , a shaft  16 , a scanning module  18  and a lock  20 . The housing  12  comprises an upper-case  12 A and a lower-case  12 B. The shaft seat  14  is positioned between the upper-case  12 A and the lower-case  12 B for fixing the shaft  16 . The scanning module  18  is set on the shaft  16  and able to move along the shaft  16 . The lock  20  is set on the upper-case  12 A for fixing the scanning module  18 .  
           [0006]    When the scanner  10  scans a document, the scanning module  18  slides along the shaft  16  to scan the document. When the scanner  10  finishes scanning, the scanning module  18  moves to a fixed position on the shaft  16 , and the scanner  16  enters standby mode. As long as the scanner  10  does not start scanning, the scanning module  18  will stay at the fixed position. The user can manually move the lock  20  to lock the scanning module  18 . The scanning module  18  will then be locked by the lock  20  to avoid shock when the scanner  10  is moved.  
           [0007]    There are some other precision instruments in the scanner according to the prior art besides the above-mentioned instruments. For avoiding shock when the scanner is moved, a cushion and a carton will be put around the upper-case  12 A and the lower-case  12 B of the scanner so that the important elements will not be damaged during drop testing or transportation. However, since present competition in computer peripherals is fierce, manufacturers of scanners need to reduce cost. For achieving the goal of reducing cost, some manufacturers of scanners have resorted to using thinner cushions and worse packing material of lower cost, which in turn reduce the protection for the scanner and shock resistance.  
           [0008]    In general, during transportation, the scanner usually is shocked along the vertical direction (as shown in FIG. 1, the vertical shock is in the D direction). The scanner is susceptible to shock at the connections between the shaft seat  14  and the shaft  16 , the lock  20  and the scanning module  18 , and the shaft seat  16  and either the upper-case  12 A or the lower-case  12 B because all the connections are fixing points of a rigid manner between two components. As a result, when the thickness of the packing material is reduced or the material is changed, the shock will be sent to the scanner  10  via the buffer material instead of being absorbed. Then the components will be damaged. From the above-mentioned, a shock-resistant and low cost packing scanner needs to be found by the scanner manufacturer.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a shock resistant scanner to resolve the problem of damage suffered from reduced buffer action as a result of reducing the thickness of the packing material.  
           [0010]    The claimed invention provides a scanner comprising a housing including an upper case and a lower case. The scanner further comprises a shaft seat positioned between the upper case and the lower case, a shaft set on the shaft seat, a scanning module slidably set on the shaft, a lock set on the housing for fixing the scanning module, and buffer pads set between the shaft seat and the shaft and between the shaft seat and either the upper case or lower case with the option of setting one more buffer pad between the lock and the scanning module.  
           [0011]    Because the buffer pad can be set on the connection between the shaft seat and the shaft, the connection between the shaft seat and the housing and the connection between the lock and the scanning module, the impact force can be partially absorbed by the buffer pad to efficiently avoid damage during transportation. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scanner according to the prior art.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a scanner according to the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line  3 - 3 ′ of the scanner shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another scanner according to the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line  5 - 5 ′ of the scanner shown in FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a scanner  30  according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line  3 - 3 ′ of the scanner  30  shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the figures, the scanner  30  comprises a housing  32  (an upper case  32 A and a lower-case  32 B), a shaft seat  34  positioned between the upper case  32 A and the lower case  32 B, a shaft  36  set on the shaft seat  34 , a scanning module  38  set on the shaft  36  and able to move along the shaft  36 , a lock  40  for fixing the scanning module  38 , and two buffer pads  42  and  44 .  
         [0018]    For fixing the scanning module  40  and two buffer pads  42  and  44  as shown in FIG. 3, the buffer pad  42  set between the shaft seat  34  and the shaft  36  is a ring-shaped elastomer covering the connector between the shaft seat  34  and the shaft  36 . The buffer pad  44  is set between the lock  40  and the scanning module  38  to prevent the lock  40  from directly touching the scanning module  38 , i.e. the buffer pad  44  can separate the lock  40  and the scanning module  38 . The buffer pads  42  and  44  are buffer materials that provide the shock resistance in the rigid connection between components.  
         [0019]    When the scanner  30  is in standby mode (the scanner does not scan anything) or is turned off, the scanning module  38  stays in a fixed position. Before moving the scanner  30 , the user can manually move the lock  40  to lock the scanning module  38 . The scanning module  38  will be locked in place so that the scanning module  38  will not knock against the other parts of the scanner  30  when the scanner is moved. As mentioned earlier, the buffer pad  44  is set between the lock  40  and the scanning module  38 , and the buffer pad  42  is set between the shaft seat  34  and the shaft  36 . Although the scanner  30  may experience shocks during shipment of the scanner  30 , the impact force will be partly absorbed by the buffer pad  42  and buffer pad  44  thus preventing damages to the scanner  30  when certain materials are reduced to save cost.  
         [0020]    In the embodiment, the buffer pad  44  on the lock  40  partially or entirely covers the surface of the lock  40 . The buffer pad  44  can also be set on the background of the lock  40  or the salient part touching the scanning module  38 . Additionally, the buffer pad  44  can also be set into a groove that is on the scanning module  38 . The groove can replace the above-mentioned buffer pad set on the lock  40  so that the lock  40  and scanning module  38  are separated by the buffer pad  44  to avoid damage from the shock when the lock  40  moves into the groove and locks the scanning module  38 . The shaft seat  34  can be an independent element between the upper-case  32 A and the lower case  32 B or an integrated element with the upper-case  32 A or lower-case  32 B.  
         [0021]    Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another scanner  50  according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line  5 - 5 ′ of the scanner  50  shown in FIG. 4. The scanner  50  comprises an upper case  52 A and a lower-case  52 B, a shaft seat  54  positioned between the upper case  52 A and the lower case  52 B, a shaft  56  set on the shaft seat  54 , a scanning module  58  set on the shaft  56  and able to move along the shaft  56 , a bolt  60  and three buffer pads  62 ,  64  and  66  made out of the buffer material. The bolt is used for fixing the scanning module  58 .  
         [0022]    In FIG. 5, the bolt  60  is not fixed on the scanner  50 . Before the user moves the scanner  50 , the user can put the bolt  50  in a corresponding groove  58 A on the scanning module  58  via the bolt hole  60 A to prevent the scanning module  58  from moving along the shaft  56 . When the scanner  50  is started and about to scan, the bolt  50  can be pulled out from the bolt hole  60 A so that the scanning module  58  can freely move to scan.  
         [0023]    The buffer pad  62  is an arc-shaped elastomer when the buffer pad  62  is set between the shaft seat  54  and the shaft  56 . The buffer pad  62  protects the shaft  56  and the shaft seat  54  by absorbing the shock in the vertical direction. The buffer pad  64  is set on the surface of the groove  58 A on the scanning module  58 , and the buffer pad  66  is set between the shaft seat  54  and the upper-case  52 A. The buffer pad  64  and  66  are the same as the buffer pad  62  and are for protecting the rigid connections when the scanner  50  experiences shocks.  
         [0024]    Compared to the scanner according to the prior art, there are buffer pads or elastomer between the connections in the scanner in the present invention to efficiently absorb the shock resulting from movements of the scanner using inadequate packing protection i.e. thinner cushions or worse packing material in an effort by the factory owner to reduce cost.  
         [0025]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the scanners may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be constructed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.