FUJIFILM Business Innovation developed One-Pass Duplex Scanning Technology for multifunction devices. By further advancing this technology, we have made the document scanning unit more compact and quieter, while also delivering high scanning productivity with advanced document handling capability. This contributes to improving the efficiency of our customers’ document digitization workflows and creating a comfortable user environment.
To improve scanning productivity, the duplex automatic document feeder (DADF) in a document scanning unit must operate at a higher speed. However, as the speed increases, noise levels from sources such as motor rotation and document detection actuator impacts also rise, making it challenging to achieve quiet operation.
To address this, we have implemented a quiet design that not only reduces drive noise through microstep control of the stepper motor but also uses a non-contact sensor instead of an actuator to suppress impact noise. As a result, the new model achieves a high scanning speed of 150 dpm—exceeding the 135 dpm of the previous model—while maintaining noise levels comparable to those of an 80 dpm-class device. It can not only digitize large volumes of documents efficiently but also be operated comfortably near people in environments such as offices and service counters.
Another challenge is that miniaturizing the DADF increases document transport resistance, making it more difficult to achieve both high-speed and quiet operation. Therefore, by predicting and analyzing transport resistance at the design stage and using the results to optimize the transport path, we successfully reduced the size of the DADF while maintaining scanning productivity (Fig. 2). This makes it easier to install even in environments with limited space, contributing to the effective use of customers’ office space.
Furthermore, by refining the design of the document tray, we increased the maximum document capacity from 250 sheets on previous models to 300 sheets. This reduces the frequency of loading documents, enabling more efficient continuous scanning of large volumes of documents.
In the flatbed scanning section, the use of a more compact CCD image sensor has reduced the size of the document scanning unit by approximately 50% (Fig. 3). In addition, we developed a proprietary noise reduction function specifically for this document scanning unit and integrated it into the image-processing ASIC in the main unit. This function reduces image noise and improves the visibility of copied and scanned images. The resulting clear, high-quality images are suitable for electronic archiving and information sharing, helping customers make more effective use of their documents.