JPH0578505B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a document conveying device that feeds a document to an exposure position and discharges the document after exposure.

BACKGROUND ART A typical example of this type of apparatus is a circulating automatic document feeder installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

This separates the originals stacked and set on the original platen as a sheet loading unit into individual sheets and transports them onto the platen glass of the original illumination unit of an image forming device such as a copying machine, which is a predetermined sheet processing unit. After exposure, the original is transported back to the original platen again, and the next original is then fed from the original platen to the platen glass. If the set originals are circulated and conveyed once, one copy of all the loaded originals can be obtained, and if the set of originals are repeatedly conveyed a predetermined number of times, the required number of copies can be obtained. Therefore, it is extremely effective in automatically and quickly copying a large number of sheet originals.

Conventionally, such devices have been proposed that have a simplified configuration by feeding and ejecting documents from the same side of the platen glass at the same time. Therefore, it is very difficult to pass the paper quickly, and furthermore, high precision is required to prevent damage to jams and originals.

Purpose The present invention solves the problems of the conventional device described above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a document conveying device that does not cause jams or damage to documents.

Example The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1a is an external perspective view of a copying machine in which a document conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.FIG. 1b
2 is an enlarged sectional view of this document conveying device, FIG. 3a is a perspective view of the lower deflection plate, and FIG. 3b is a side view thereof.

This document conveying device can support a single-sided original/single-sided copy mode, a single-sided original/double-sided copy mode, a double-sided original/single-sided copy mode, or a double-sided original/double-sided copy mode.

That is, by loading this RADF into a normal copying machine, it is possible to automatically obtain single-sided copies not only from single-sided originals but also from double-sided originals. Also, by loading this RADF into a double-sided copying machine,
A double-sided copy can be automatically obtained from a double-sided original, and each single-sided copy can be obtained as needed.

In this example, it is assumed that the downward facing surface of the document fed onto the platen glass is subjected to illumination exposure processing.
Furthermore, a single-sided original is one in which the first side of the sheet is an image side and the second side has no image, a double-sided original is one in which both the first and second sides of the sheet are image sides, and a single-sided copy. is an image forming process in which an image is formed on the first side of a copy material sheet and no image is formed on the second side.
Double-sided copying refers to an image forming process in which images are formed on the first and second sides of a copying material sheet, respectively. The outline of each mode will be explained below.

A. Single-sided original--single-sided copy mode When a single-sided original is set on a document mounting table with its first image surface facing upward, the original is fed by reverse feeding. As a result, the first side, which is the image side of the single-sided original, is fed downward onto the platen glass, and single-sided copying is performed on that image side on the image forming apparatus side (hereinafter simply referred to as the main side). . The document is discharged in reverse. As a result, the original is returned to the original placing table with the first side facing upward in the same way as when it was initially set.

When a single-sided original is set on the original table with the first side, which is the image side, facing downward, the original is fed by normal forward feeding, and the same is ejected by normal forward ejection, contrary to the above.

B Single-sided original - double-sided copy mode The feeding and ejection of the original is the same as in A above, and the copying process of the image of the first single-sided original is performed on the machine side.
After the copying process is performed on the first side of the copying material sheet, a copying process of the image of the supplied single-sided original is performed on the second side of the copying material sheet, thereby obtaining a double-sided copy.

C. Double-sided original--single-sided copy mode When double-sided originals are set on the original table in page order, the original is fed by reversing the original an even number of times. As a result, the final page of the double-sided original is fed face down onto the platen glass, and the copying process for that image side is performed on the first side of the copying material sheet on the machine side, and the first side of the double-sided original is A single-sided copy is obtained.

Next, the document on the platen glass with the first side facing downward is reversed and fed again. As a result, the original (last page - 1) is re-fed onto the platen glass with the page side facing down, and the copying process for that side is performed on the machine side on the first side of the next copying material sheet. A single-sided copy of the second side of the double-sided original is obtained. The document is discharged in reverse. As a result, the original is returned to the original placing table in the same page order as when it was first set.

D Double-sided original - double-sided copy mode The feeding and ejection of the original is the same as in section C above, and the copying process for the first and second sides of a double-sided original is performed on the machine side by copying the first and second sides of the same copy material sheet. A double-sided copy of a double-sided original can be obtained by sequentially performing the steps on the first side and the second side.

By providing the document feeding system of the present invention in this manner, it is possible to automatically perform image forming processing in various modes A to D, which is extremely convenient.

Hereinafter, the document conveying device A will be specifically explained based on the drawings.

First, a double-sided electrophotographic copying machine 100 into which the document conveying device A of this embodiment can be loaded will be described.

12 is a platen glass; 330 is a photosensitive drum driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow around a shaft 330a;
31 is a charger, 332 is a developer, 333 is a transfer charger, and 334 is a cleaner. 335 is a cassette for storing copying materials such as copy paper;
36 is a feed roller that feeds the copy paper in the cassette one by one, 337, 337a are register rollers, and 338 is a fuser 339, 3 that transfers the copy material after transfer.
This is a conveyor belt that conveys up to 39a. 340 is an intermediate tray that stores copy materials after single-sided copying;
341, 341a are the drive shaft and driven shaft of the feeding belt 342, 343, 343a are the separation belt 344
The intermediate tray 340 has a driving shaft and a driven shaft, and serves as a mechanism for re-feeding copy materials stored in the intermediate tray 340 from the bottom. Further, 345 and 345a are discharge rollers that feed the copy material to the copy material tray T after copying has been completed, or discharge it to each bin of the sorter if a sorter (not shown) is connected.

The moving route of the copy material is as follows. First, the case of one-sided copying will be explained. Cassette 3
The copying material sent out from 35 reaches the transfer section F in synchronization with the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 330 by register rollers 337, 337a, where the visible image on the drum 330 is transferred. Next, the copying material to which the visible image has been transferred is conveyed on path b by the conveying belt 338 and reaches the fixing devices 339, 339a, where the visible image is fixed.
It passes through path b and is discharged onto tray T by discharge rollers 345, 345a.

Next, the case of double-sided copying will be explained.

In the case of double-sided copying, the guide 48 is switched to the chain line position, and the copy material after single-sided transfer is transferred to the fixing unit 339,
After passing through 339a, it is guided to path b. This copy material is then held on the intermediate tray 340 with its front and back sides reversed by passing through the path b. Next, the copy materials on the tray 340 are separated one by one by the rotation of belts 342 and 344, and sent out from the tray 340 to path b.
The copy material sent to path b is also transferred to the drum 330 by register rollers 337, 337a.
It is sent to the transfer section F in synchronization with the upper image, and the visible image is transferred to the second surface thereof. After that, it passes through b, and after fixing the image on the second side, copying is completed on both sides of the copying material, and the copying material is discharged onto the tray T.

Next, the document conveying device A will be explained.

In FIGS. 1a and 1b and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a stacking tray (loading table) on which documents are stacked and set.
This tray 1 supports a document, and is arranged so as to be tilted downward toward the document feed direction so that the document feed side is lower. As a result, the fed originals are stacked in alignment in the sending direction. 2b is a half-moon-shaped roller that is rotated in the direction of arrow E to feed the document to the downstream separating section.When there is no document in tray 1, the roller is controlled so that the notch part faces upward and stops. ing.
2, 2a are feeding rollers, and the feeding belt 3 is moved in the direction of arrow C.
direction to feed the original on tray 1. Further, reference numerals 4 and 4a denote separation rollers, which rotate the separation belt 5 in the direction of arrow D to separate the lowest originals stacked on the tray 1 one by one between the separation belt 3 and the feeding belt 3. . The feed belt 3 and separation belt 5 constitute a separation supply section.

The first sheet paths a and a are paths for moving originals separated sheet by sheet by the separation supply section onto the platen glass 12. The sheet path a is provided in an arch shape between the separation and supply section and the end of the platen glass 12, and guides the document sent out by the feeding belt 3 onto the platen glass 12 by inverting it. .

The second sheet paths a, a are paths for inverting the original on the platen glass 12 and guiding it to the stacking tray 1. Here, the second seat path a,
A is provided facing the first sheet paths a, and extends from the end of the platen glass 12 to above the separation belt 5 through the outside of the sheet path a.

The third sheet path a, a is a path branched from the second sheet path a, a in the switchback direction, and is a path for reversing a double-sided document. The second half of this pass a is formed by an arch-shaped guide, and the original that has been traveling approximately horizontally in the pass a is reversed upward along the arc of the guide, and a part of it is transferred out of the machine from the pass opening. It is becoming more and more exposed. In other words, from now on, platen glass 1
The document side sent to No. 2 is exposed outside the machine with the side facing up, so you can check the document side.

The fourth sheet path a is a path further branched in the switchback direction from the third sheet paths a and a, and is for reversing a double-sided document. This is a path for switching back and guiding originals from the third sheet paths a and a onto the platen 12.

Further, the rollers 6, 6a, and 6b are sheet feeding rollers, and the sheet paths a and a are conveyed between the rollers 6 and 6a.
The document passing through is conveyed toward the platen glass 12, and the document passing through sheet paths a and a is conveyed toward the feed tray 1 between rollers 6 and 6b. Also 9,
9a, 10, 10a, 11, 11a are feed roller pairs, respectively, roller pairs 10, 10a and roller pair 1.
1 and 11a are for feeding the original from the platen glass 12 toward the feeding tray 1, and then rotating in reverse to switch the original from the second sheet path a, a and sending it to the third sheet path a, a. It is something. Further, the roller pair 9, 9a reverses the document that has progressed in the third sheet path a, conveys it in a path direction that exposes a part of it outside the machine, and once stops, reverses the document and moves it to the third sheet path a. , a in the direction of the fourth sheet path a. Further, 24 is a flexible deflection plate, the tip of which is attached to the document conveying belt 8.
It is pasted on the guide so that it touches or leaves a small gap between the guide and the guide. Then, the leading edge of the document that has passed through the first sheet paths a, a is pushed aside and passes through, and advances toward the platen 12. Further, since the tip of the deflecting plate 24 is in contact with or close to the belt 8, the document heading toward the sheet path a from the platen 12 is reliably guided to the second sheet path a. At this time, the lower moving deflection plate 23 is in the state shown by the chain line and directs the original to the second sheet path a. 2 more
5 is a similar flexible deflection plate, the tip of which is stuck on the guide. The leading edge of the document passing through sheet path a can be pushed aside and passed through. Also, the document heading from the second sheet path a to the third sheet path a is
Since the tip of this deflection plate 25 is pressed by the guide, it is reliably guided to path a (hereinafter referred to as
(See Figures 3a and b). In addition, the above-mentioned lower movement deflection plate 2
3 is the platen glass 12 of the first sheet path a, the second sheet path a, and the fourth sheet path a.
It is installed at the left end side confluence section. The belt 8 is disposed parallel to the drive roller 7, and can swing freely around shafts 25 at both ends. Furthermore, this deflection plate 23 is always urged in an upward rotational direction by a spring 26, and its end portion is in contact with and received by the stopper portion of the guide. Furthermore, when the plunger 27 is energized, the movable deflection plate 23 rotates downward as shown by the chain line.
At this chain line position, the first sheet path a,
After reaching above platen 12 from a, platen 1
The document retracted from above 2 is surely directed toward the second sheet path, and when the document is at the solid line position, the document is surely directed toward the platen 12 from the fourth sheet path a. Note that these deflection plates 24 and 25 are made of flexible sheets such as thin Mylar plates and stainless steel. Reference numerals 7 and 7a denote document transport rollers, which can rotate in forward and reverse directions, and guide the document onto the platen 12 by rotating the document transport belt 7, which is provided over almost the entire width of the platen 12, in the forward direction. The document is transported in order to be rotated in the opposite direction to remove the document on the platen 12 from there. Note that the document transport rollers 7 and 7a use the roller 7 as a driving roller, and the roller 7a as a driven roller.

Next, each sensor will be explained.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a transmission type sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as ES) disposed on the leading end side of the document stacking table 1, which detects the presence or absence of a sheet on the table 1. Reference numeral 13 denotes a transmission-type first sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as sheet feed sensor _S1 ) disposed in the middle of the first sheet path a between the sheet separation and supply section and the feed rollers 6 and 6a. . Furthermore, 14 is the feed rollers 6, 6a and the plate glass 1.
A second sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as sheet feed registration sensor _S2 ) is disposed midway along the first sheet path a between the left end portion of the sheet and the left end portion of the sheet. Reference numeral 15 denotes a third sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as sheet discharge sensor _S3 ) disposed midway through the second sheet path a between the left end portion of the platen glass 12 and the feed rollers 6, 6a.
Further, reference numeral 16 denotes a fourth sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as reversal sensor S ₄ ) disposed in the middle of the third sheet path a.
). Furthermore, 17 is a feed roller 9,
This is a fifth sheet sensor (hereinafter referred to as inversion registration sensor _S5 ) disposed in the middle of the fourth sheet path a between 9a and the left end portion of the platen glass 12. These first to fifth sheet sensors, S1 to S
5 detects the leading edge or trailing edge of the sheet passing through that position.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a reflective sensor (recycle sensor) RS for detecting one circulation of the document bundle, and when the partition arm 22 is stopped from rotating above the document bundle by the recycling motor 21, at that point the recycle sensor RS , 19 are turned off, and then the originals are fed separately from the bottom original, and the rear end of the final original is separated from the partition arm 2.
2, the partition arm 22 passes through the recycle sensor RS, 19 due to its own weight and is turned on.

Separate drive motor (not shown) in Figure 2
rotates the feed rollers 2, 2a, half-moon roller 2b, and separation rollers 4, 4a, respectively, and rotates the feed belt 3 in the direction of arrow C, the separation belt 5 in the direction of arrow D, and the half-moon roller 2b in the direction of arrow E. drive in the direction.

The feed roller and drive motor (Fig. 4, 54) are motors that can rotate forward and backward, and the sheet feed rollers 6, 6
a, 6b, 1010a, 11, 11a, 9, 9a
are rotated, respectively, and rotate in the direction of the solid line arrow during forward rotation (CW) and in the direction of the dashed line arrow during reverse rotation (CCW). Further, the main shaft of the transport roller drive motor is provided with a clock disk (not shown) and a transport clock interrupter sensor (FIG. 4, 51) for detecting its rotation.

Furthermore, the full-surface belt drive motor (Fig. 4, 55) is a motor capable of forward and reverse rotation, and rotates the drive roller 7 of the full-surface belt 8, and rotates in the direction of arrow a during forward rotation (CW) and in the direction of arrow b during reverse rotation (CCW). Rotate in the direction. In addition, an electromagnetic brake (Fig. 4, 56) is attached to the entire belt and the main shaft of the drive motor to accurately stop its rotation, and a clock disk (not shown) and a belt clock are attached to detect the rotation. An interrupter sensor (FIG. 4, 51) is provided.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit for performing sequence operations in an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and is a well-known one-chip microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) with built-in ROM, RAM, etc.
60, and further performs control while exchanging signals with the controller of the copying machine main body 100.

Input ports ₁ to ₇ of the microcomputer 60 are connected to sheet sensors installed on the document transport path described above.
Signals from S ₁ to _{S 5} are input from a document sensor ES 20 provided in the downstream direction of the tray 1, and a signal from a partition arm sensor (recycle sensor) RS 19 that detects drooping of the partition arm 22, respectively. be done. In addition, the interrupt terminal INT ₁ of the microcomputer 60
~INT ₂ includes a signal from the transport clock interrupter 51 that detects the rotation of the motor by the clock disc attached to the transport drive motor shaft mentioned above, and a signal from the belt clock interrupter 5 as well.
A signal from 2 is input, which becomes a reference clock for the amount of paper feed movement as will be described later, and is counted by a counter inside the microcomputer 60. On the other hand, the output port O ₁ of the microcomputer 60
~ _O8 includes the aforementioned separation drive motor 53, the partition arm drive motor 21 that drives the partition plate 22, the aforementioned movable deflection plate solenoid 27, operation signals for the electromagnetic brake 56, and the feed roller drive motor 5.
CW and CCW signals that cause the motor 4 to operate in forward and reverse directions, and CW and CCW signals that cause the entire belt drive motor 55 to operate in forward and reverse directions.
A signal is output to turn each output load on/off via drivers _D1 to _D8 , respectively. The cable 1 also transmits and receives signals between the copying machine body B and this device A.
01, input port _I8 of microcontroller 60
A document feed signal, a document discharge signal, and a mode signal are input to ~ _I10 , respectively, and output ports _O9 ,
A COPY request signal and a cycle end signal are output from _O10 via drivers _D9 and _D10 . Each signal will be described later.

Reading of these input signals or turning on/off the load is controlled by a program stored in the ROM within the microcomputer 60.

Next, the operation will be explained based on the flow chart of the program for carrying out this embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 10 and the operation diagrams shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.

A: When the original is a single-sided original (two copies from a four-page original) Specifically, as shown in the example shown in Figure 13, two single-sided or double-sided copies are obtained from a single-sided original with a set of four pages. shall be. ~ When a one-sided original of a page is placed on the original platen 1, the entrance original sensor
ES20 detects the original.

An operation panel (not shown) on the side of the copying machine main body 100 allows
After setting copying conditions such as specifying that the set original is a single-sided original, the number of copies required (2 copies), single-sided copying mode or double-sided copying mode, etc., press the copy start button. At this time, the single-sided mode designation is output.

By pressing the copy start button, the single-sided mode processing program shown in FIG. 5 is started.

First, the partition arm drive motor 21 is driven for 200 ms so that the partition arm 22 is placed on top of the uppermost document in the stack of documents placed on the stacking table 1. At that time, partition arm sensor RS19
is turned off, and the cycle end signal, which is a signal that notifies the copying machine main body 100 of one cycle of originals, is turned off. (Step 1) Next, the program proceeds to step 2 where separation processing is performed, and the separation drive motor 53 is turned on so as to separate only one document page at the lowest position in the document stack, moves along the sheet path a, and moves to the paper feed sensor S. ₁ starts the separation loop timer after detecting the leading edge of the document, and after completion, the separation drive motor 53 starts the separation loop timer.
By turning off the document, the document is transferred to the feed rollers 6, 6.
The tip is brought into contact with the nip portion of a, and the loop stops when a predetermined amount of loop is formed. This has the effect of correcting the skew even if it occurs during separation. (No. 7-1
(See figure) Next, proceed to step 3 for paper feeding processing, drive the feed rollers 6 and 6a, and turn on the feed roller drive motor 54 in normal rotation so that the document is conveyed from sheet path a to sheet path a. At the same time as the paper feeding registration sensor S2 in path a detects the leading edge, the entire belt drive motor is turned on in normal rotation so as to transport the paper onto the platen glass 12, and the document size counter is counted by the clock input from the transport clock interrupter 51. and begin measuring the document size. Then, as soon as the document is conveyed and the trailing edge passes through the paper feed sensor S1, the document size counter is stopped, and based on that data, the SIZECK SUB shown in FIG. 10 is executed.
Determine the original size. (Refer to Figure 7-2) In the SIZECK SUB in Figure 7-2, the size count data described above as a method for determining the document size is obtained by checking the leading edge of the document with the paper feed registration sensor S2 and starting the size count. , the counting is stopped by checking the trailing edge with the paper feed sensor S1, so in order to determine the true document size,
What is necessary is to add a correction for the mounting distance between the paper feed registration sensor S2 and the paper feed sensor S1. At this time, the document is being conveyed only by the feed rollers 6 and 6a, and the amount of feed and the count value by the conveyance quick interrupter reliably match. B5, A4, A4R, B5R, B4A3 based on the corrected size data
This serves as a reference for determining the value of the discharged sheet conveyance counter, which will be described later.

Note that the distance between the paper feed sensor S1 and the paper feed registration sensor S2 is smaller than the size of the smallest document that can be used.

Next, the process proceeds to step 4 where registration processing is performed, and the document at a position straddling the sheet path a and the platen glass 12 is conveyed, and at the same time as the paper feed registration sensor S2 detects the trailing edge, the feed roller drive motor 54 is turned off, and the document is The platen shown in FIG. 2 is started by starting the registration counter CL1 to stop the platen at the exposure position on the platen glass 12, and at the same time as the registration counter CL1 ends, the entire surface belt drive motor 55 is turned off and the electromagnetic brake 56 is turned on for 100ms. The exposure position X on the glass has been reached. Here, while the registration counter CL1 is counting, the full-surface belt drive motor 55 is braked to reduce the speed, and the electromagnetic brake 56 is controlled to instantly stop the motor. This ensures a consistent and accurate stopping position. (Refer to Figure 7-3) Next, proceed to step 5, and output the COPY request signal to the copying machine main body, so that the copying machine temporarily turns off the document feed signal, and the optical system operates to display the image on the platen glass 12. An exposure copying process is performed on the original page set face down. In this case, if the preset copy mode is single-sided copy mode, the image of the original page is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the copy material is transferred to the copy tray T (Fig. 1b) with the image side facing upward. be discharged. Further, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the paper is not discharged to the copy tray T but is temporarily fed to the re-conveying mechanism 40 within the copying machine.

Next, in step 6, as described later, it is checked whether the ejected document is being transported.
Since this is the first document, it is determined that the paper is not being ejected, and the process proceeds directly to step 8.

While the copying machine 100 is in the exposure process, the sequence proceeds to step 8, where the above-mentioned partition arm 2
2 hangs down and the partition arm sensor 19 is turned on, it is determined whether the feeding of the first copy of the original has been completed. Here, since the original is still a page, the partition arm sensor 19 is off (step 8), and then it is determined whether the original of this page is larger than B4 by the original size determination described above (step 9), and the subsequent program change the flow of

If the page size is smaller than B4,
The above-described separation process (step 2) is executed before the exposure process for the original page is completed, and the next original is brought into contact with the feed rollers 6, 6a and stopped in a loop-formed state. Next, the process proceeds to step 10, where the document feed signal is turned on when the exposure process of the document page in the copying machine body is completed, and the COPY request signal is thereby turned off, and the next operation begins.

8-1 Here, a document exchange operation is performed in which the document page discharge operation and the next document page feed operation are performed simultaneously. First, the process proceeds to step 11 in which the page is pre-discharged, and the movable deflection plate 23 is placed in the position shown by the chain line in FIG.
is turned on, and then the entire surface belt drive motor 5 is turned on.
5 is turned on in reverse, the document page is sent to sheet path a, and after the paper ejection sensor S3 detects the leading edge of the document, the paper ejection soup timer is started, and after completion, the entire surface belt drive motor 55 is turned off to feed the document. The tip is brought into contact with the nip portion of the rollers 6, 6b, and the roller is stopped once a predetermined amount of loop is formed.
This has the effect of correcting the skew even if it occurs during paper ejection. (No. 9-2
8-2 Next, the program proceeds to the step shown in Figure 5, and by executing the paper feeding process (step 3) described above, the next document page is placed on the feed roller pair 6, 6a side, and the next document page is placed on the feed roller pair 6, 6b side. The original page is now held in its mouth. Then, the page is conveyed through a path of sheet path a→a→above the platen glass, and the page is conveyed along a path of sheet path a→a from above the platen glass.

At this time, the original page, which has been conveyed toward the platen glass 12 by the forward rotation of the pair of feed rollers 6 and 6a, is being conveyed backwards from the left end side of the platen glass 12 over the entire surface belt 8, which is rotating in the forward direction, and the platen glass 12. The exposed original page enters between the top surfaces of the exposed original page, and is conveyed toward the right side of the platen glass 12 while rubbing against the exposed original page by the normal rotational conveyance force of the full-surface belt 8. On the other hand, a conveying force toward the right side of the platen glass acts on the exposed original page that has not yet been extracted from the top of the platen glass 12. Conveyance power overcomes,
The original page is pulled out from between the next original page and the platen glass 12. The flow of paper in this operation is shown in FIG.

8-3 Next, the program performs registration processing (step 4) and turns on the COPY request signal (step 5)
By executing this, the original page is stopped at the exposure position on the platen glass as described above, and the copying machine main body starts the copying operation. On the other hand, the document page being ejected is at step 7.
In the paper ejection post-processing, the paper ejection sensor S
3 starts the paper ejection count at the same time as the trailing edge is detected, and at the end, the sheet path a → reaches the top of the document bundle, is placed on the partition arm 22, and drives the feed roller drive motor 54 and movable deflection plate solenoid 27. Turn off and finish paper ejection (see Figure 9-4).

In the main body of the copying machine, an exposure/copying process is executed on the original page set on the platen glass 12 with the image surface facing downward. In this case, if the preset copy mode is single-sided copy mode, the image of the original page is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the copy material is first ejected to the copy tray T with the image side facing upward. It is ejected onto the copy material of the current page.

In addition, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the copying material on which the image of the page has already been formed on the first side is sent out from the intermediate tray 340, and the image of the page is formed on the second side of this copying material, thereby creating a double-sided copy. is formed, and the double-sided copy is discharged onto the copy tray T with the page side facing upward. Note that the moving route of the copy material is as described above.

Thereafter, by repeating the above-mentioned operations, the exposed original on the platen glass 12 is reversely fed, the original is returned to the mounting table 1, the lower original of the stacked original on the loading table 1 is separated and conveyed, and the original is transferred to the platen glass 12. Cycles of feeding, setting and document exposure are executed one after another.

Here, the manuscript page is A4 size,
We will explain the operation when mixed pages and originals of A3 size are loaded.

When the above steps are executed, the original page stops at the exposure position on the platen glass, and the copying machine body finishes the page exposure copying process, the original size is changed according to step 9 above.
It is determined whether the document size is larger than B4. In this case, since the document size is A3, a program different from the one described in the previous section is executed.

11-1 In this case, unlike the A4 size described above, the separation process (step 2) of the next document is not performed, and the exposure is completed in step 10.
After the pre-discharging process in step 11, the process during paper discharging in step 12 is executed. During paper ejection processing, the feed roller drive motor 54 is turned on in normal rotation, and the paper ejection conveyance counter is started for the document page that is stopped in a state where it hits the feed rollers 6, 6b and forms a loop during paper ejection preprocessing. Then, when the motor is finished, the motor is turned off again, and the original is placed on the platen glass and on the sheet path a,
The paper is ejected and conveyed to a position astride a, and then comes to a stopped state (see Fig. 9-3).

11-2 Next, return to Figure 5 and step 2
Separation processing is performed to separate the original pages, and in steps 3 and 4, the exposed original page and the next original page are rubbed against each other on the platen glass to exchange originals as described in Section 8-2 above. The flow of paper in this operation is shown in FIG. Here, in Figure 11 showing the flow of A4 and A3 size paper, the amount of feed by the paper ejection conveyance counter is calculated from the size data mentioned above so that the amount of misalignment of documents when they overlap and rub against each other = L. By doing so, it is possible to easily exchange originals regardless of their size. Further, although this embodiment describes the exchange of A4→A4 and A3→A3 documents, it is also possible to easily exchange documents from A3→A4 when A3 and A4 documents are mixed. (Refer to Figure 12) When the document page reaches the exposure position, the partition arm 22 mentioned above hangs downward due to its own weight due to the stack of documents on the mounting table 1, and the partition arm sensor RS is turned on.
The program performs processing different from that described above.

In this case, in step 13, a cycle end signal is output to the copying machine to notify that one cycle of the original has been completed, and the copying machine also knows from the cycle end signal that it is the final original, and unlike the above, the exposure ends. At the same time, a document discharge operation is started by issuing a document discharge signal so that only exposed documents are discharged (step 14).

The final document page is ejected from above the platen glass to sheet path a to a to the top of the mounting table 1 in step 11 (pre-discharge processing) and step 7 (post-discharge processing) described above.

In this embodiment, since the number of copies set in the copying machine is two, the copy materials discharged onto the tray T must be stacked in two layers, one copy at a time, as shown in FIG. Since one copy of the copy material can be made by circulating the document bundle once, if two copies are to be made, it is necessary to circulate the document one more time.

The process then proceeds to step 15, in which a document return process is executed to restart document circulation by receiving a document feed signal from the copying material. First, check whether the document turns on the entrance document sensor ES, and if it turns on, it is determined that the document is normally loaded on the loading table 1, and the process returns to single-sided mode in order to circulate the next document. . However, as described above, since the originals are ejected from the sheet path a and stacked on the mounting table 1 due to their own weight, it is conceivable that for some reason the originals may not return to the paper feed port for development. In this case, since the entrance document sensor ES is off, the separation drive motor 53 is turned on for a certain period of time to rotate the half-moon roller 2b downstream of the stacking table 1 and feed the document that is being held halfway on the loading table 1. Perform the action of returning the paper to the paper slot. However, if the entrance document sensor ES does not turn on even after driving the motor for the above-mentioned certain period of time, it is determined that the document is completely stuck on the loading table, and the drive of the entire load is stopped and a JAM signal is output. do. (Refer to Figure 8-1.) In this way, the stacked originals on the stacking table 1 are automatically and repeatedly conveyed twice in a set number of copies, and the originals are transferred onto the copy tray T of the copying machine and onto the document placing table 1. Two single-sided or double-sided copies with the same page order as the set original are obtained.

B If the original is a double-sided original (from a 2-page original to a 2-sided original)
copy), specifically as shown in the example in Figure 14~
Two single-sided or double-sided copies shall be obtained for each double-sided original set of two pages.

Two originals are stacked one on top of the other in page order, and placed and set on the first page with the page side facing upward in the same manner as described above.

An operation panel (not shown) on the side of the copying machine 100 allows
After setting copying conditions such as specifying that the set original is a double-sided original, the required number of copies (2), and designating single-sided copying mode or double-sided copying mode, the user presses the copy start button.
At this time, the duplex mode designation is output, and the duplex mode processing program shown in FIG. 6 starts.

First, the operation of separating the lowest page original from the original stack placed on the stacking table 1 and feeding it to the platen glass is performed in steps 1, 2, and 3 described above.
and during the transport process in step 16. Here, the conveyance process is different from the registration process (step 4) in the single-sided mode. At the same time as the edge is detected, the feed roller drive motor 54 is turned off, and a conveyance counter is started to stop the document near the left side on the platen glass.At the same time as the counter finishes counting, the entire surface belt drive motor 55 is turned off.
is turned off. In this transport process, unlike the above-mentioned resist process, the stop position on the platen glass does not need to be the exposure position (marked by In most cases, the conveyance distance may be short. Also, in this case, braking control is performed from the rear end detection of the paper feed registration sensor S2 as in registration processing to reduce the speed and activate the electromagnetic brake 56.
Since it is not necessary to turn on and take accurate registration positions, not executing these controls has the effect of simplifying control and increasing document conveyance speed. (See Figure 9-1) Once the original is stopped on the platen glass, it proceeds to the next step 17, where it is reversed. In the reversing process, first, the sheet discharge preprocessing in step 11 described above is performed, and when the leading end abuts the pair of feed rollers 6, 6b, the sheet is diagonally fed as described above.

Next, the feed roller drive motor 54 is turned on, and the original is transferred from the feed rollers 6, 6b (forward rotation) to the second sheet path a to the feed rollers 10, 10a.
(forward rotation) → sheet path a → feed roller 11,
Take route 11a.

Next, when the trailing edge of the document passes, it is detected by the paper ejection sensor S3.
The entire belt drive motor 55
is turned off, and when a predetermined reversal 1 counter has elapsed, the feed roller pairs 10, 10a, 11, 1 are turned off.
1a is reversed. By the time this inversion 1 counter counts up, the trailing edge of the document has reached the second position.
Entering the sheet path a, the roller pair 10,
It has reached just before 10a.

Next, by reversing the rollers 10, 10a, 11, and 11a, the document in the second sheet path a is switched back and transported to the third sheet path a.
Then, the feed roller pair 9, 9a enters the third sheet path a where the pair of feed rollers 9, 9a are in a normal rotation state.

Next, when the trailing edge of the document passes, the reversal sensor S4
When a predetermined reversal 2 counter has elapsed since the detection of , the feed roller pair 9, 9a is reversed. By the time the reversal 2 counter counts up, the trailing edge of the document has entered the third sheet path a and has reached the front of the rollers 9, 9a.

Next, the original _O3 is conveyed in a switchback manner by the above-mentioned reversal of the roller pair 9, 9a, and
Enter seat path a. At this time, the movable deflection plate 23 is switched to the solid line position and passes through the upper surface of the movable deflection plate 23 toward the left side of the platen glass 12.

Next, when the passage of the leading edge of the document that has entered the fourth sheet path a is detected by the reversal register S5, the forward rotation of the full-surface belt 8 is started, and the document is moved from the top surface of the movable deflection plate 23 to the top surface of the movable deflection plate 23. It enters between the front edge of the platen glass 12 and the full-face belt 8 which is rotating in the normal direction through the gap between the leading edge and the full-face belt 8, and is transported toward the left side of the platen glass 12 by the transport force of the belt 8.

Next, when a predetermined registration count of 2 has elapsed after the passage of the trailing edge of the document is detected by the reversal registration sensor S5, the forward rotation of the full-surface belt 7 is stopped, and at the same time, the electromagnetic brake is applied.
Turns on for 100ms. Furthermore, while the registration counter is measuring time, the above-mentioned full-surface belt drive motor 55 is braked to reduce the speed and increase the accuracy of the stop position. At the time of this stop, the trailing edge of the document conveyed onto the platen glass 12 reaches a predetermined base line position X (see FIG. 9-2).

As a result of the above-mentioned document transport, the document is turned over with the page side facing down and placed on the platen glass 1.
2 and set.

Next, when the COPY request signal is turned on (step 5), the optical systems 346, 347a, etc. of the copying machine are activated to execute the exposure/copying process for the downward facing page surface of the original on the platen glass 12. In this case, if the preset copy mode is the single-sided copy mode, the image of the page surface is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the copy material is discharged to the copy tray T with the image side facing upward. In the case of double-sided copying mode, the paper is not discharged to the copy tray T, but is temporarily fed to the intermediate tray 340, which is a re-transport mechanism within the copying machine.

Next, wait for the exposure of the copying machine to end (step 10), perform the above-mentioned reversal process (step 17) again, and place the original page/page on the platen glass.
Flip the page so that the page side faces downward, stop at the exposure position, turn on the COPY request signal, and output to the copying machine. (Step 5) The exposure/copying process is performed on the page surface on the copying machine 100 side. In this case, if the copy mode is single-sided copy mode,
The page surface is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the image surface is facing up and placed on the copy tray T first.
It is ejected onto the copy material of the page ejected above. In addition, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the copying material on which the page image has already been formed on the first side is sent out from the intermediate tray 340, and the page image is formed on the second side, forming a double-sided copy. is ejected onto the copy tray T with the paper facing upward.

While the copying machine is being exposed, in steps 8 and 9 the partition arm sensor
Depending on whether RS is on or not, it is determined whether one cycle of the original has been completed and whether the size of the original currently on the platen glass is B4 or larger, and the subsequent program processing is divided into three ways.

7-1 If the manuscript page / is A4,
Similarly to the above section A-8, the next manuscript page/
Separate the page (step 2) and hold it in the feed rollers 6, 6a, wait for the end of exposure (step 10), and then perform the paper ejection preprocessing (step 11) and hold the page in the feed rollers 6, 6b. , paper feeding processing (step 3),
During conveyance processing (step 16) and post-discharge processing (step 7), page/is sheet path a.
The original is fed and discharged along the path of →a→original platen and the page/sheet path a→a→Y mark on the platen glass. Next, the page on the platen glass is subjected to the above-mentioned reversal process (step 17)
The page is placed face down in the exposure position on the platen glass and the copier begins the exposure process.

7-2 If the manuscript page / is A3,
As in the above A-11, wait for the exposure to finish (step 10), then perform paper ejection pre-processing (step 11).
and pages/pages in post-ejection processing (step 12).
The document is conveyed to a position spanning from the platen glass to sheet path a to sheet path a, and then the next document page is separated in separation processing (step 2). From then on, the document feed/discharge operation is performed as described in Section 7-1. Further, by inverting the page, the page is set face down on the platen glass.

7-3 During exposure of the surface of the original page, the partition arm 22 hangs down due to its own weight, and the sensor
When RS is turned on, exposure is completed (step 14) and the sheet is ejected from sheet path a to a to the original table (steps 11 and 7), as in the case of the one-sided original described above.

At this point, one cycle of the manuscript has ended, but the above-mentioned A-
If it is necessary to cycle through the document one more time as in step 14, it is determined in step 15 whether the original has returned and the duplex mode processing is started again.

In this way, the above-mentioned operations are performed one after another on the originals loaded on the mounting table 1, so that the originals set on the mounting table 1 are finally placed on the array T of the copying machine 100, as in the case of section A above. Two single-sided or double-sided copies with the same page order are obtained.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, if a fed original and an ejected original rub against each other when exchanging originals, the amount of overlap between the fed original and the ejected original is kept constant regardless of the size of the original, thereby preventing jamming. or damage to the original.
It becomes possible to carry out good document conveyance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1a is an external perspective view of a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied;
Figure b is a sectional view thereof, Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of this document conveying device, Figure 3 a is a perspective view of the movable deflection plate, Figure 3 b is a side view thereof, and Figure 4 is a block diagram of the control circuit. , Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7-1 to Fig. 7-3
Figures, Figures 8-1, 8-2, 9-1 to 9
4 and 10 are flowcharts of the control program, and FIGS. 11 to 13 are operation explanatory diagrams.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A conveying means 8 for feeding a document to an exposure surface, exposing the document, and then ejecting the document on the exposure surface from the fed side; In a document transport device that allows a first document to be fed to the exposure surface and a second document to be fed to the exposure surface to pass each other on the exposure surface, a detection means 1 for detecting the size of the document to be fed.
3 and 14, by changing the feeding timing of the second original according to the detection result of the first original by the detection means, the difference between the first original to be ejected and the second original to be fed is changed. Control means 60 for keeping the maximum amount of overlap on the exposure surface constant regardless of the size of the document during misprinting.
A document conveying device characterized by having the following.