JPH0228518Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic copy document feeder that feeds and sets a copy document on the document setting surface of a copying device.

In general, various devices are known that automatically feed and set the original to be copied onto the setting surface (platen). Typically, the device is rotatably mounted on a copying machine and an operator pushes the device up to open the set surface.

In order to facilitate opening and closing operations, the device is suspended by a spring in a direction that relieves its own weight. If the spring suspension is strong, the device will float up when the device is closed (when the device is in use), making it impossible to transport it reliably, while if it is weak, it will be difficult to open the device, making it extremely difficult to achieve optimal spring suspension.

The biggest problem with such a spring suspension is that when the device closes, it suddenly drops due to inertia, and the fall impact may injure the operator or damage books and other objects on the document set surface. Conventionally, a brake disc and a brake shoe have been installed on the opening/closing part to prevent sudden descent, but this has the disadvantage that the device becomes complicated and large, and the brake makes it difficult to operate when the opening/closing part is opened.

Therefore, it is desired that this brake not work when the device is opened, but only when the device is closed, but such a structure has not yet been provided.

In view of the above points, the present invention has a braking structure that does not work when the device is opened, but works only when the device is closed, so that the opening operation of the device is easy and light, and the closing operation is gradual and safe. The main purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder for copying documents that is smooth and safe, has a very simple structure, is small in size, and is inexpensive.

The configuration will be described in detail below based on one embodiment shown in the drawings.

1 is a copying machine with a built-in ordinary copying optical system (not shown), and 2 is its original setting surface (platen).
It is.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a feeding device, which includes a document supply table 5, a paper feed section 6 for reversing the document, a transport section 7 for transporting the document from this paper feed section to a predetermined position on the document setting surface 2, and a discharged paper storage section 8. It is composed of.

The supply table 5, the paper feed section 6, the transport section 7, and the discharged paper storage section 8 are sequentially arranged on the document setting surface 2, so that the documents are continuous from the paper feed table 5 to the discharged paper storage section 8. Each conveyance route is configured separately.

The present invention relates to a suspension for opening and closing the transport section 7 located on the document setting surface 2 of the copying device 1 in such an apparatus, and relates to the suspension of the transport section 7, the paper feed section 6 and the transport section 7, or the apparatus. A conveying section 7 that covers at least the entire document setting surface 2 is rotatably attached to the copying apparatus 1.

In the illustrated one, the entire feeding device is rotatably attached to a stay 9 of a copying machine 1 using a support shaft 10, and the stay 9 and support shaft 10 are fixed integrally. A torsion coil spring 4 whose one end is fixed with a pin 11 is loosely fitted onto this support shaft 10, and the other end of the spring 4 is abutted against the frame of the feeding device 3. I have a pair installed. The torsion coil spring 4 is configured to be tightly wound so that its windings come into sliding contact with each other when the feeding device 3 moves from the open position to the document setting surface 2 in a closed manner. In the illustrated structure, the spring on the left side of FIG. 1 is wound to the left, and the spring on the right side is wound to the right. Therefore, when rotating the device clockwise in FIG. 3 to open the document setting surface 2,
This spring is relaxed, and when it is rotated counterclockwise to close the document setting surface 2, it is tightened, and when this spring is tightened, the windings of the spring slide against each other and exert a braking effect to dampen the downward movement of the device. bring.

In the present invention, various structures can be adopted as the feeding device 3, and the illustrated structure will be described.

(Feeding Table) The document feeding table 5 has a reference guide 12 formed on one side (the left end in FIG. 3), and documents of various sizes are aligned on this surface. This supply table 5 is provided with a feed roller 13 and a gate stopper 14. In particular, the feed roller 13 is provided with a gate stopper 14.
The document is pinched between the driving roller 13a and the driven ball roller 13b shown in FIG.
It is arranged diagonally so as to be biased to the side.

Therefore, regardless of the insertion position and direction of the manuscript,
The gate stopper 14 is reached along the reference guide 12 and aligned with this stopper.

A gate stopper 14 is attached to the tip of the supply table 5 so as to be freely protrusive and retractable, and is adapted to feed the original to the conveyance section using an electromagnetic solenoid 15.

Further, the supply table is provided with an entrance sensor S ₁ and a jam sensor S ₂ at the positions shown in the figure. An inlet cover 16 covering the supply stand 5 has the ball roller 13b built therein and is attached so as to be openable and closable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Therefore, when a document becomes jammed at the entrance of the apparatus, the entrance cover 16 is opened to remove the document. Further, the entrance cover 16 is provided with a switch (not shown), and a safety switch is provided to stop the drive of the device when the cover 16 is opened.

(Structure of Conveying Unit) In order to convey the originals prepared on the supply table 5 to a predetermined position on the original setting surface 2, the one shown in the figure includes an entrance roller 17 and an exit roller 18 that are arranged opposite to each other at both left and right ends of the document setting surface 2. A conveyor belt 19 is stretched between.

This conveyor belt 19 has multiple threads (the one shown is 6 threads).
A belt of a book is stretched between the original set surface 2 and a bottom plate (not shown) that covers it.

A semi-circular guide 20 is mounted on the entrance roller 17 around which the belt 19 is wound so as to form a document path, and the entrance thereof is connected to the above-mentioned supply table. Therefore, the original from the supply table 5 is turned upside down by the entrance roller 17 and reaches the original setting surface 2. In order to fit the original onto the entrance roller 17, a pinch roller 21 is inserted between the entrance and exit ends of the roller. It is provided. This pinch roller 21 is coaxially fitted with a synthetic resin roller 22 such as Jiracon, which is separate from the above-mentioned entrance roller, and is always in pressure contact with this roller 22.

As a result, the pinch roller 21
There is no fear that the material will get dirty or become uneven, and
The synthetic resin roller 22 has a smaller coefficient of friction than a belt (rubber material), so it is easier to pull out a document that has been engaged with it in the event of a paper jam or other such event.Furthermore, it is less prone to static electricity than when a pinch roller is pressed directly against the belt. occurrence will be reduced.

The conveyor belt 19 includes a tension roller 2
3. A press roller 24, a document stopper 25, and a paper discharge roller 26 are provided.

The press rollers 24 are provided in two rows in the front and rear of the conveyance direction, corresponding to the conveyor belt 19, and are movable up and down by one operating solenoid 27. When the document reaches the document set surface 2, the press rollers 24 press the conveyor belt 19. The original is conveyed to the original stopper 25. Its structure consists of support rods 28 that are swingably supported on the left and right side frames.
A roller shaft 29 is supported so as to be able to move slightly up and down, and this roller shaft 29 is always pressed against the document set surface 2 by an appropriate number of leaf springs 30. Therefore, when the support rod 28 is raised and lowered, the conveyor belt 19 moves along this press roller 24.
The document is pressed against the document set surface 2 in an oppressive manner.

The support lever 28 has two rows of levers 31 in the front and back.
and actuated solenoid 27 via a biasing spring.
It is connected to.

A document stopper 25 and a discharge roller 26, which are disposed at a copy prescribed position on the document set surface 2, are connected to one operating solenoid 32 so as to reciprocally move toward and away from the document set surface. In other words, the original stopper 25 and the paper ejection roller 26, which are held in the state shown in FIG. .

The document that has reached the exit end by the paper discharge roller 26 is reliably sent to the paper discharge storage section 8 by the acceleration roller 33.
A plate spring 34 is pressed against an acceleration roller 33 which is transmitted from the shaft and whose circumferential speed is higher than that of the acceleration roller 33 .

_S3 in the figure is a jam sensor.

(Drive Structure) The drive of such a device is transmitted from a motor 35 to the driving roller 13a of the feed roller 13 and also to the inlet roller 17 of the conveyor belt 19 via an electromagnetic clutch 36. In particular, the drive of the feed roller 13
Since the driving side roller 13a is oriented obliquely with respect to the paper conveyance direction, the universal joint 1
It is transmitted through 3c.

(Operation explanation) The operation of the illustrated device will be explained according to Fig. 2.
First, in the non-feeding state, the gate stopper 14
is placed at the path blocking position, the press roller 24 is placed at a position away from the document setting surface 2, the document stopper 25 is placed in pressure contact with the document setting surface 2, and the paper discharge roller 26 is placed at the separation position.

When you insert the original into the insertion slot, the entrance sensor
_S1 detects this and sends a document preparation signal to the copying device. The motor 35 is activated by a signal from the copying machine, and the feed roller 13 rotates. Then, the manuscript is reference guide 1
It reaches the gate stopper 14 and stops while its side edge is pressed by the gate 2. Next, when a document start signal is received from the copying machine, the gate stopper 14 is retracted and the document is fed into the apparatus.

Concurrently with this, the electromagnetic clutch 36 of the inlet roller 17 of the conveyor belt 19 operates, and the conveyor belt 19
is driven. The original is pressed against the conveyor belt 19 and the pinch roller 21, and the original is turned upside down and reaches the entrance end of the original setting surface 2. At this time, the press roller 24
is lowered by the operating solenoid 27, presses the conveyor belt 19 against the document set surface, and conveys the document. Just before the document reaches the document stopper 25, the press roller 24
is separated from the document setting surface 2 and the conveying force is released. Then, due to inertia, the document gently hits the document stopper 25 and stops. At this time, the original is set at the specified copying position on the original setting surface 2, and the electromagnetic clutch 36 is then released to stop the conveyor belt 19.

After copying the original, the electromagnetic clutch 36 is actuated in response to a paper discharge signal from the copying device, and the conveyor belt 1 is activated.
9 starts. Immediately before that, the document stopper 25 separates from the document set surface, and the discharge roller 26 descends to press the conveyor belt 19 against the document set surface 2. Then, the original is ejected toward the ejected paper storage section 8, and in this process, the original is reliably ejected by the accelerating roller 33.

(Jam detection) If a document jam occurs during the above operation process, jam sensors S ₂ and S ₃ at the entrance and exit of the apparatus detect it _and stop the apparatus. _3. When both devices continue to detect a document for a certain period of time, a jam signal is emitted.

Along with this, especially the exit side jam sensor S ₃ detects a jam when the original is not detected for a certain period of time based on the ejection signal of the copying device, that is, when the original is left on the original setting surface 2. .
For example, this sensor detects the document within a certain time using a timer from the time when the device prepares for or starts the paper ejection operation, such as when receiving a paper ejection signal from the copying machine, starting the motor, starting the conveyor belt, or retracting the document stopper. A jam signal may be emitted when no detection is detected.

In the present invention, the feeding device is shown as one that manually feeds the originals one sheet at a time from the feeding table 5, but in this case, a plurality of originals are set in advance on the feeding table 5, and the documents are separated one by one in order. Although the entire apparatus has been shown to be hingedly connected to the copying apparatus so that it can be opened and closed, a part of the apparatus, for example, only the conveying section, may be connected to the copying apparatus by a hinge so that it can be opened and closed.

The present invention has the above configuration, in which the feeding device 4 is hingedly connected to the copying device 1 so as to be openable and closable, at least one torsion coil spring 4 is attached to and suspended from this hinge portion, and this torsion coil spring 4 is attached to the feeding device. Since the rolls are formed in close contact with each other during the closing movement, when the feeding device 4 is rotated upward to open the document setting surface 2 in order to copy a document that cannot be fed, the torsion of the present invention is avoided. When the coil spring 4 is opened, its spring force acts in the loosening direction, and when the device is closed, its spring force acts in the tightening direction, and the winding wires slide against each other to produce a braking effect, preventing sudden falls due to the inertia of the device. There is no risk of causing an unexpected accident.

Therefore, the opening operation of the device is light and easy, and when the device is closed, the falling motion due to the device's own weight is alleviated, resulting in a gentle operation, and the opening and closing operations of the device are extremely smooth.

Moreover, its structure consists of 4 springs that suspend the device.
It only needs to be constructed with a tightly wound torsional coil spring, and a brake disc and a brake disc are connected to the conventional hinge connection part.
Compared to those that specifically incorporate a shuttle, they are smaller, cheaper, and less likely to break down.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being an explanatory plan view, FIG. 2 being an explanatory view of the main part, and FIG. 3 being an explanatory view of the operating state. 1... Copying device, 2... Original set surface, 3...
Feeding device, 4...Torsional coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A feeding device 3 is installed on the original setting surface 2 of the copying device 1 so as to be openable and closable, and transports and sets the copied original onto the document setting surface 2. This feeding device is connected to a hinge connection portion between the above-mentioned copying device 1 and the feeding device 3. In an automatic copy document feeder equipped with a spring 4 suspended in the direction of release from the document setting surface 2, the spring 4 is constituted by at least one torsion coil spring 4, and the torsion coil spring 4 is connected to the feeder. 3. An automatic copy document feeding device characterized in that the document feeding device 3 is formed in close contact with each other during the closing movement to brake the downward movement of the feeding device 3.