US 7,555,194 B2
Illumination device and image scanning device
Makoto Ikeda, Tokyo (Japan); Hiroyuki Nemoto, Tokyo (Japan); Takashi Kishimoto, Tokyo (Japan); Takeshi Ishimaru, Tokyo (Japan); Hirohiko Iwase, Tokyo (Japan); Hidemitsu Takeuchi, Tokyo (Japan); and Tomihisa Saito, Tokyo (Japan)
Assigned to Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Dec. 07, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/296,866.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-354878 (JP), filed on Dec. 08, 2004; and application No. 2005-137732 (JP), filed on May 10, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2006/0120098 A1, Jun. 08, 2006
Int. Cl. G02B 6/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 385—146  [362/551; 362/555; 362/231; 362/609; 359/475; 359/484; 359/509] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An illumination device comprising
a casing,
a bar-shaped light guide having a light-emitting surface and a bottom surface disposed opposite and parallel to the light-emitting surface, said light-emitting and bottom surfaces extending in a longitudinal direction of the guide, said light guide being housed in the casing to cause the light-emitting surface of the light guide to be exposed from the casing, and
a light-emitting unit secured to an end section of the casing, wherein light from the light-emitting unit is introduced within the bar-shaped light guide through an end face thereof and then totally reflected within the bar-shaped light guide to be emitted through the light-emitting surface,
a shielding section which covers an end section of the bar-shaped light guide at the end section of the casing close to the light-emitting unit and is provided on the light-emitting surface side of the bar-shaped light guide,
a notch is formed at a corner of the light guide between the end face of the bar-shaped light guide and the light-emitting surface close to the light-emitting unit, and
light from the light-emitting unit is reflected on a rear surface of the shielding section through a gap defined between the notch and the light-emitting unit to be introduced into the bar-shaped light guide, wherein
the light-emitting unit includes light-emitting elements of three primary colors disposed along a single line extending perpendicular to a center line in a width direction of the bottom surface of the bar-shaped light guide.