JPH04304471A - Automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic document feeder which has less number of parts and the simple structure of a belt moving means, and further, easily executes the processing of paper jamming. CONSTITUTION:This automatic document feeder is a device for supplying the documents in a stacked state, to an image forming device one by one, and each of the supplied documents is returned to the documents in the stacked state. The device has a document housing part 3, a document feeding part 4 supplying the documents from the document housing part to an image forming device side, one by one, and a document returning part 5 returning the documents supplied to the image forming device side, to the document housing part. The document returning part 5 has plural belts extended to the side of the document housing part 3, the belt moving means moving the part of the document housing part side of the belt, and ribs 65a and 65b arranged between the belts extended along the belts in a belt moving range by the belt moving means.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder, and more particularly, to an automatic document feeder, which feeds stacked documents one by one to an image forming apparatus.
The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder that returns each supplied document onto the stacked document.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic document feeder disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-197236 includes a document storage section, a document feed section that supplies documents one by one from the document storage section to the document table side of a copying machine.
The apparatus includes a document return section that returns the document from the document table of the copying machine to the document storage section. The document return section includes a plurality of belts extending toward the document storage section, a belt moving mechanism for moving the document storage section side portion of the belt, and a belt moving mechanism arranged to press the document storage section side portion of the belt. It has an auxiliary roller. This auxiliary roller is moved by the belt moving mechanism in accordance with the movement of the document storage section side portion of the belt.

In this automatic document feeder, the documents stored in a stacked state in the document storage section are fed one by one to the document table of the copying machine by the document feeding section. The original that has been copied is returned from the original table to the original storage unit by the original return unit. When the document return section operates, the belt moving mechanism moves the portion of the belt on the document storage section side according to the size of the document.

0004

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The conventional automatic document feeder described above is provided with an auxiliary roller for pressing the belt. Further, this auxiliary roller is configured to move together with the portion of the belt on the side of the document storage section. For this reason, the conventional device has a large number of parts and a complicated structure. Moreover, since the auxiliary roller is in a state of pressing the belt, it is difficult to clear the paper jam when it occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic document feeder that has a small number of parts, a simple belt moving means, and can easily handle paper jams.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] An automatic document feeder according to the present invention is a device that supplies stacked documents one by one to an image forming apparatus and returns each supplied document onto the stacked documents. This device includes a document storage section, a document feeding section that supplies documents one by one from the document storage section to the image forming apparatus, and a document return section that returns the documents supplied to the image forming apparatus to the document storage section. We are prepared. The document return section is arranged between a plurality of belts extending toward the document storage section, a belt moving means for moving a portion of the belt on the document storage section side, and a belt extending along the belt within a belt movement range by the belt moving means. It has carved ribs.

[0007]

[Operation] In the automatic document feeder according to the present invention, stacked documents are stored in the document storage section. The documents in the document storage section are fed one by one to the image forming apparatus by the document feeding section. The original supplied to the image forming apparatus is returned to the original storage unit by the original return unit.

[0008] When the document return section operates, the document is conveyed while being sandwiched between the belt and the ribs. In addition, by the belt moving means moving the portion of the belt on the side of the document storage section, the conveyance operation to the document storage section is performed according to the size of the document.

[0009] Here, there is no need for an auxiliary roller as in the prior art, and the number of parts is reduced. Further, since there is no need to move the auxiliary roller together with the storage section side portion of the belt as in the prior art, the structure of the belt moving means is simplified. Furthermore, since ribs are used instead of auxiliary rollers, paper jams can be easily cleared.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an automatic document feeder as an embodiment of the present invention. This automatic document feeder 1 is arranged on the upper end surface of the copying machine 2. As shown in FIG. Automatic document feeder 1
includes a document storage section 3 disposed at the upper center, a document feed section 4 disposed on the left side of the document storage section 3 in the figure, and a document return section 5 disposed on the right side of the figure. Further, a conveyor belt 7 is disposed at a position facing the contact glass 6 disposed at the center of the upper end of the copying machine 2 .

The document storage section 3 has a document tray 10 on which stacked documents are placed. At the end of the document tray 10 on the side of the document feeding section 4, there are provided a document stopper 11 and a document pressing plate 12 whose postures can be switched between a solid line position and a two-dot chain line position by a solenoid (not shown). When the document stopper 11 is disposed upward (in the solid line position), its leading end protrudes above the document tray 10 and can come into contact with the front end of the document. Further, when placed downward (at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line), the entire document stopper 11 is placed below the document tray 10. On the other hand, the document pressing plate 12 is arranged above the document stopper 11. When the original pressing plate 12 is placed upward (in the solid line position), it is in the original insertable position, and when it is placed downward (in the position shown by the two-dot chain line), it is in the original pressing position.

[0012] Of the original tray 10, the original stopper 1
Further, a forward feed roller 13 is disposed in a portion where the document pressing plate 1 and the document pressing plate 12 are disposed. Advance roller 13
has a partially cut-out shape and is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown). When the forward feed roller 13 rotates, a portion thereof can protrude above the document tray 10, and by rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the document can be sent to the document feeding section 4 side.

Above the document tray 10, an opening/closing fulcrum 14 is provided.
A tray cover 15 is provided which is rotatable around. Note that the opening/closing fulcrum 14 is supported by a cover 16 that covers the entire automatic document feeder 1 .

The document feeding section 4 has a paper feed roller 20 and a separation roller 21 arranged on the document tray 10 side. These rollers 20 and 21 separate the originals sent from the original tray 10 side into individual sheets. A conveyance path 22 made up of a pair of plate members is provided between both rollers 20, 21 and the conveyance belt 7. Conveyance path 2
2, a pair of registration rollers 23 are provided for correcting the conveyance posture of the document. A switching pawl 25 is provided at the end of the conveyance path 22 on the conveyor belt 7 side, and is rotatable about the rotation start point 24 between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a chain line.

Further, a reversing device 26 is provided which branches from the downstream end and the central portion of the conveyance path 22. Reversing device 2
6 is mainly composed of a reversing roller 27 and a conveying path 28 that connects the reversing roller and the conveying path 22 .

The conveyor belt 7 extends over a large number of rollers 30 arranged at intervals along the upper surface of the contact glass 6. As a result, the lower end surface of the conveyor belt 7 faces the contact glass 6.

The document return section 5 is for connecting the conveyor belt 7 and the document storage section 3, and is provided at the right end of the automatic document feeder 1 in the figure. The document return unit 5 includes a large-diameter drive roller 40 and a discharge belt 41 wrapped around the drive roller 40 . The ejection belt 41 includes an end roller 42 disposed below the document tray 10, an auxiliary roller 43 disposed adjacent to the drive roller 40, an ejection roller 44 disposed above the document tray 10, and the above-mentioned end roller 42 disposed below the document tray 10. and the drive roller 40, forming a roughly C-shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 4 of the end roller 42
5 is supported by a slide bearing 46. The slide bearing 46 is movable within a guide groove 47 formed in the cover 16. The guide groove 47 is a groove extending parallel to the document tray 10 (FIG. 1). Further, the rotation shaft 48 of the discharge roller 44 is supported by a slide bearing 49. The slide bearing 49 can move within a guide groove 50 formed in the cover 16 in parallel with the guide groove 47.

Both bearings 46 are fixed to a belt 51 extending between guide grooves 47 and 50. The left and right ends of the belt 51 in FIG. 2 are placed around a pair of pulleys 52 and 53. A pulley 52 near the drive roller 40 is fixed to a central shaft 54, and the central shaft 54 is connected to a stepping motor 55.
is connected to the output shaft of the The pulley 53 has a central axis 56
is rotatably supported. Note that the auxiliary roller 43 is rotatable about the shaft 54.

A central shaft 57 of the drive roller 40 is connected to an output shaft of a DC motor 58. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of sponge rollers 60 are fixed to the shaft 57 so as to sandwich the drive roller 40 therebetween. The sponge roller 60 is made of a soft urethane foam such as "Foamed Moltoprene" manufactured by INOAC Co., Ltd., and has extremely low rigidity compared to other related rollers 40, 42, 43, and 44. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.
A conveyance path 61 made of a pair of plate-like members is provided between the two and the conveyance path 61 . The conveyance path 61 includes a pair of conveyance rollers 62.
is located.

As shown in FIG. 1, a discharge cover 63 is provided to cover the drive roller 40 and sponge roller 60 from the outside.
is provided. The discharge cover 63 is rotatable about an opening/closing fulcrum 64. The opening/closing fulcrum 64 is supported by the cover 16.

A rib 65a is formed on the inner surface of the discharge cover 63. The rib 65a extends from the end of the transport path 61 on the drive roller 40 side toward the document storage section 3 along the direction in which the discharge belt 41 extends. Also, as shown in Figure 3,
The tip of each rib 65a extends a distance b toward the shaft 57 from the outer peripheral surface of the sponge roller 60. However, the tip of the rib 65a is further away from the shaft 57 by a distance a than the discharge belt 41, which is stretched around the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 40. That is, the tip of the rib 65a is located on the outer circumferential side of the discharge belt 41 with respect to the shaft 57.
This means that it is arranged on the inner circumferential side of the outer circumferential surface of 0.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rib extends continuously from the rib 65a to the lower surface of the tray cover 15, extending the movement range of the discharge roller 44 (the range between the position of the solid line and the position of the dashed-dotted line). 65b is provided. The rib 65b formed on the lower surface of the tray cover 15
5, and also serves to reinforce the strength of the tray cover 15. As shown in FIG. 4, a portion of the rib 65a and the rib 65b extend linearly from the roller 40 to the lower surface of the tray cover 15, and as shown in FIG. also protrudes toward the shaft 48 by a distance c.

Control unit 7 of automatic document feeder 1 shown in FIG.
0 includes a microcomputer consisting of a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The control unit 70 controls the document tray 10
A document detection sensor 71 for detecting whether a document is placed on the document tray 10, a size detection sensor 72 for detecting the document size when the document passes through the conveyance path 22, and a document detection sensor 72 for detecting whether a document is placed on the document tray 10. A complete cycle detection sensor 73 for detecting one cycle of the placed original is connected. The control section 70 also includes a document pressing plate driving section 74 for driving the document pressing plate 12, a stopper driving section 75 for driving the document stopper 11, and a stepping motor 55 for driving the ejection roller 44. A belt circulation section 77 including a DC motor 58 for circulating the discharge belt 41, and other input/output sections are connected. Furthermore, a control section 78 consisting of a microcomputer provided on the main body side of the copying machine 2 is also connected to the control section 70 .

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS.
This will be explained according to the control flowchart shown in FIG. When the program starts, in step S1 of FIG. 7, initial settings such as placing the original stopper 11 and the original pressing plate 12 at the positions indicated by solid lines are performed. Once the initial settings are completed, the program moves to step S2.

In step S2, the copying machine main body side control section 7
It waits for the document supply command to be issued from step 8. If a document supply command is received from the copying machine main body side control section 78, step S3
to move to. In step S3, the document detection sensor 71 determines whether a document exists on the document tray 10 or not. If the original does not exist, the original cannot be supplied to the copying machine 2, so the process moves to step S4. In step S4, error processing such as outputting an error signal to the copying machine main body control section 78 is executed. Step S
When the process in step 4 is completed, the process returns to step S2.

If it is determined in step S3 that a document exists, the process moves to step S5. Step S
In step 5, it is determined whether the mixed size mode is designated by checking the operation mode setting state in the copying machine main body side control section 78. If the mixed size mode is not specified, the process moves to step S6 and normal document conveyance operation is executed. On the other hand, if the size mixed loading mode is specified, the process moves to step S7 and a transport operation in the size mixed loading mode is executed.

The control flow of the normal conveyance operation in step S6 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In FIG. 8, step S
At step 10, the original stopper 11 and the original pressing plate 12 are lowered to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, the restriction on document conveyance by the document stopper 11 is released, and the leading edge of the document is held by the document pressing plate 12.

Next, in step S11, a command to start the document supply operation is issued. As a result, a series of document feeding operations such as rotation of the paper feeding roller 20 counterclockwise is started. In step S12, the size detection sensor 72 detects the length of the document that has passed through the conveyance path 22. Subsequently, in step S13, the movement of the discharge roller 44 is started. The movement of the discharge roller 44 is performed by the rotation of the stepping motor 55 shown in FIG. When the stepping motor 55 rotates, the belt 51 circulates, and the slide bearing 49 moves along the guide groove 50 accordingly. At the same time, the slide bearing 46 also moves into the guide groove 4.
Move along 7. Note that the amount of movement of the discharge roller is determined according to the document length detected in step S12.

In step S14, the process waits until the operation of setting one original on the contact glass 6 is completed. A series of sequence operations are executed, and if it is determined that a certain document has been set on the contact glass 6, the process moves to step S15. In step S15, a setting completion signal indicating that setting of the original is completed is outputted to the copying machine main body side control section 78. Upon receiving the set completion signal, the copying machine 2 reads the image information of the document placed on the contact glass 6 and performs a general copying operation such as transferring a toner image onto a sheet of paper.

[0031] In step S16 and step S17,
It waits for a document ejection command or a document reversal command to be issued from the copying machine main body side control section 78. In the case of a double-sided original, a reversal command is issued from the copying machine main body control unit 78, so the program moves from step S17 to step S18. In step S18, a document reversing operation using the reversing roller 27 is performed. When the processing in step S18 is completed, the process returns to step S14 and waits for completion of document setting after the reversing operation. Then, the processing from step S14 onwards is repeated.

[0032] When a document discharge command is issued from the copying machine main body side control unit 78, the program moves from step S16 to step S19 in FIG. In step S19, it is determined whether the movement of the discharge roller 44 has been completed. If it is determined that the movement of the discharge roller 44 has been completed, the program moves to step S20. In step S20, the document pressing plate 12 is raised to the solid line position. As a result, the original pressing operation by the original pressing plate 12 is released.

[0033] In step S21, an original ejection operation is commanded. As a result, the conveyor belt 7 starts circulating, and the shaft 57 is also driven by the DC motor 58. As a result, the discharge belt 41 circulates and the sponge roller 60 rotates. The original on the contact glass 6 passes through the conveyance path 61 as a result of these operations.
The document is introduced into the document return unit 5.

In the document return section 5, as shown in FIG. The original is conveyed toward the original tray 10 side. Here, since the sponge roller 60 is made of a material with low rigidity, even if the original is conveyed in a curved state along the outer peripheral surface of the sponge roller 60, the original may be wrinkled or the strength of the original may be reduced. It will never deteriorate.

The original that has passed the sponge roller 60 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the discharge belt 41, which is stretched around the discharge roller 44, and the ribs 65a and 65b, as shown in FIG. In this portion, the original is conveyed in a straight line, so even if the ejection roller 44 has high hardness, the original will not deteriorate. The leading edge of the original that has passed between the discharge belt 41 and the ribs 65a and 65b touches the original pressing plate 12.
The document is ejected toward the document feeder 4 until it reaches the lower part of the document.

[0036] When the process in step S21 is completed, the process moves to step S22. In step S22, the document presser plate 12 is lowered as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, the originals placed in a stacked state on the original tray 10 and the originals returned by the original returning unit 5 are moved to the original holding plate 1.
2.

In step S23, the cycle detection sensor 73
It is determined whether the final document has been returned based on the detection state of the document. If it is not the final manuscript, proceed to step S24,
The operation of feeding the lower end of the originals stacked on the original tray 10 to the contact glass 6 side is started. When the process in step S24 is completed, the process returns to step S14 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that it is the final document, the process moves to step S25, and the document stopper 11 and document pressing plate 12 are raised to the positions indicated by the solid lines. This releases the document from being held by the document pressing plate 12, so that the operator can open the tray cover 15 and take out the document. When the process in step S25 is completed, the program returns to the main routine of FIG. 7.

If it is determined in step S5 of FIG. 7 that the mode is mixed size loading mode, the mixed loading conveyance process of step S7 is performed. In FIG. 10 showing the mixed conveyance process, in step S30, a counter n for counting the number of pages of a document is set to "0". In step S31, the original stopper 11 and the original pressing plate 12 are lowered. In step S32, a document supply operation is started. The processing here is similar to step S11 in FIG.

In step S33, a counter n is incremented. In step S34, step S12
Detect the document length in the same way.

In step S35, it is determined whether or not the document is the first sheet based on the counter n. 1 manuscript
In the case of the second sheet, the process moves to step S36. Step S
36, the ejection roller 44 is connected to the automatic document feeder 1.
Move it to the position corresponding to the smallest document that can be handled. The movement operation at this time is basically the same as step S13. In step S37, it is determined whether the supplied document is of the minimum size based on the detection result in step S34. If it is the smallest size, step S3
8, and set index X to "1". On the other hand, if it is determined in step S37 that the document is not the smallest document, the process moves to step S39. In step S39,
Set index X to "0". In addition, index
When is "1", it means that the position of the discharge roller 44 is appropriate; when it is "0", it means that the position of the discharge roller 44 is appropriate.
This means that position 4 is inappropriate.

[0042] When the processing in step S38 or step S39 is completed, the process moves to step S40 in FIG.

On the other hand, in step S35 of FIG.
If it is determined that it is not the original document, step S41
to move to. In step S41, the length of the document handled last time is compared with the length of the current document, and it is determined whether the latter is the same as the former or smaller than the former. If the length of the document handled this time is greater than the length of the document handled last time, the process moves from step S41 to step S39, and the index X is set to "0".

[0044] If the determination in step S41 is Yes, the process moves to step S42. In step S42, it is determined whether the length of the document handled last time and the length of the document handled this time are equal. If the two are equal, the process moves to step S38, and the index X is set to "1". On the other hand, step S4
If the determination in step S43 is No, the process moves to step S43,
The discharge roller 44 is moved to a position corresponding to the length of the current document. As a result, the stop position of the discharge roller 44 is
This is closer to the original pressing plate 12 than the rear end position of the previously handled original on the original tray 10. When the process in step S43 is completed, the process moves to step S38, and the index X is set to "1".
”.

In FIG. 11, step S40 and steps S44 to S51 are the same as steps S14 to S22 in FIGS. 8 and 9, so their explanation will be omitted here. However, when discharging the document in step S50, the discharge roller 44 is arranged at least at a position corresponding to the length of the previously handled document, or at a position closer to the document feeder 4 than that. Therefore, even if the next document is returned from the document return unit 5 on top of the group of documents placed on the document tray 10, the front edge of the returned document will be the rear edge of the previously handled document. There will be no conflict. Therefore, the leading edge of the document can surely reach the bottom of the document holding plate 12.

[0046] When the process in step S51 is completed, the process moves to step S52. In step S52, it is determined whether the index X is "1". index x
is "1", the ejection roller 44 has already been placed at the appropriate position, and the program proceeds to step S5.
Move to 3. If the index The process moves to step S54. In step S54, the discharge roller 44 is relocated to a position corresponding to the length of the document. When the process in step S54 is completed, the process moves to step S53.

Note that in step S50, in the case of the first document, the discharge roller 44 is placed at a position equal to the length of the minimum document. Here, when the leading edge of the discharged document reaches a position corresponding to the document stopper, the drive of the discharge belt 41 is stopped. On the other hand, for the second and subsequent documents, if the length of the current document is not larger than the length of the previous document, the stop position of the ejection roller 44 is the same as the previous one, and the same document ejection operation as the previous one is performed. executed. If the current document is longer than the previous document, in step S54, the ejection roller 44 retreats toward the document return unit 5 to a position equal to the length of the current document. This prevents the front edge of the document from colliding with the rear edge of the previous document when the document is ejected in step S50. Furthermore, by retracting the ejection roller 44 in step S54, even if the original is long, the original is completely ejected onto the original tray 10.

FIG. 6 shows how the group of originals (A) are placed on the original tray 10 in this mixed size loading mode. Figure 6
As is clear from the above, according to this embodiment, even if documents of a plurality of sizes are included, their leading edges are aligned. Therefore, normal re-feeding of the document becomes possible.

In step S53, the cycle detection sensor 73
It is determined whether or not it is the final manuscript based on the detection result at . If it is not the final document, the process returns to step S32 in FIG. 10 and the subsequent processes are repeated. If the determination in step S53 is Yes, the process moves to step S55, where the original stopper 11 and the original pressing plate 12 are raised, and then the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

If a document jams in the document feeding section 4 during the document transport operation described above, the tray cover 15 is opened centering on the opening/closing fulcrum 14, and the ejection cover 63 is opened centering on the opening/closing fulcrum 64. . As a result, the ribs 65a, 65
Since b separates from the belt 41 and rollers 40, 60,
Jammed originals can be easily removed.

[0051]

[Effects of the Invention] In the automatic document feeder according to the present invention, the document return section includes a plurality of belts extending toward the document storage section;
The apparatus includes a belt moving means for moving a portion of the belt on the side of the document storage section, and ribs disposed between the belts extending along the belt within a belt moving range by the belt moving means. Therefore, the auxiliary roller that was conventionally required is not required, and the number of parts is not only reduced, but also the structure of the belt moving means is simplified. Moreover, it becomes easier to deal with paper jams.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automatic document feeder as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the discharge belt driving portion.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along IV-IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a control section of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a document storage state.

FIG. 7 is a control flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a control flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a control flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a control flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a control flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic document feeder 2 Copy machine 3. Manuscript storage section 4 Original feed section 5 Original return section 40 Drive roller 41 Discharge belt 44 Discharge roller 55 Stepping motor 65a, 65b Rib

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic document feeder that supplies stacked originals one by one to an image forming apparatus and returns each supplied original onto the stacked originals, the automatic document feeder comprising: a document storage section; and the document storage section. a document feeding section that supplies documents one by one to the image forming apparatus side; and a document returning section that returns the documents supplied to the image forming apparatus side to the document storage section; Multiple belts extending toward the document storage section,
An automatic document conveying device comprising: a belt moving means for moving a document storage side portion of the belt; and a rib disposed between the belts extending along the belt in a belt moving range by the belt moving means.