JPS6026537A - Sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To handle a lot of documents quickly and reliably by lowering a weight member at the start of feeding a sheet to impose load upon the sheet, and raising the member before the preceding sheet is discharged from a stacking table in a circulation-type sheet feeder. CONSTITUTION:An electric current is applied to a solenoid device according to a copy start signal, and a weight member 12 is lowered against the spring force to be located at a solid line position, thereby to press stacked sheet documents, which results in feeding the uppermost sheet document stably and reliably. One sheet document is separated to pass along the first sheet path 17, and the sheet document is looped between an one-sheet separating mechanism 7 and a pair of first sheet transport rollers 23, 24. When the paired sheet transport rollers 23, 24 are rotated forward, and an auxiliary sheet feed roller 10 and the separating mechanism 7 stop operating, an electric current applied to the solenoid device is cut off and the weight member 12 is returned to a two-dotted line position by the spring force to remove load. Thus, a lot of documents can be handled quickly and reliably.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device.

More specifically, the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking table are separated one by one from the lower sheet, fed to a predetermined processing station, and then returned to the sheet stacking table.
This invention relates to a circulating sheet feeding device.

A typical example of such a sheet feeding device is a circulation type automatic sheet document feeding device installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

This separates the originals stacked and set on the original table as a sheet loading table one by one from the one below, and transports them to a predetermined processing station, which is the original illumination glass of the image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. After the exposure is completed, the original is transported back to the original platen, and the cycle of feeding the original from the original platen to the platen glass is performed sequentially for each set of originals on the original platen.
One copy of all stacked documents can be obtained by circulating the stacked documents once, and a predetermined number of copies can be obtained by repeatedly feeding the stacked documents a predetermined number of times. Therefore, it is extremely effective for automatically and quickly copying a large number of sheet originals.

The present invention relates to such a sheet feeding device, in which sheet feeding is performed by a sheet feeding auxiliary member that acts on the lower surface of the stacked sheets on the sheet stacking table and feeds the lowest sheet in the direction of the sheet separation and conveyance mechanism. In order to ensure stability and reliability, we devised a method of controlling the operation of the weight member, which is placed at an upper position that roughly corresponds to the position of the sheet feeding auxiliary member, and applies an appropriate suppressing load to the stacked sheets by contacting the top surface of the stacked sheets. Then, the sheets I and υ1 are returned to the sheet loading table side in sequence.
The sheet stacking table is always reloaded correctly without being obstructed by the weight member.

That is, the present invention includes a sheet loading table, a single sheet separation and conveyance mechanism disposed on the sheet feeding side of the sheet loading table, and a single sheet separation conveyance mechanism that acts on the lower surface of the stacked sheets on the sheet loading table to separate and convey one sheet to the lowest sheet. A sheet feeding auxiliary member that feeds the sheets in the mechanism direction, a weight member that applies an appropriate suppressing load to the stacked sheets in contact with the upper surface portion of the stacked sheets that approximately corresponds to the position of the sheet feeding auxiliary member; It has a sheet circulation conveyance sheet path mechanism that conveys the sheets separated and conveyed one by one from the conveyance mechanism and fed to a predetermined processing station again to the sheet stacking table side, and the weight member At the start of sheet feeding in each feeding cycle, it is moved downward to apply a load to the stacked sheets on the sheet stacking platform, and until the preceding fed sheet is ejected from the sheet circulating conveyance sheet path mechanism onto the sheet stacking platform. The gist of the sheet feeding device is that the sheet feeding device is configured to control the operation so that the sheet is moved upwardly and released above the stacked sheets.

By controlling the operation of the weight member as described above for each sheet feeding cycle, by the time the previous fed sheet has been discharged onto the sheet stacking table, the weight member has already moved the stacked sheet on the sheet stacking table. Since the discharged sheet is released upward from the top surface, the ejected sheet is always correctly reloaded onto the stacked sheet on the sheet stacking table without being hindered by the weight member, and this allows automatic repeated circulation of the sheet. Transport can be carried out stably.

One embodiment of the apparatus shown in the figure will be explained in detail below. The apparatus of this example is a circulating sheet document automatic feeding apparatus (devices A, D, F) installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

In FIG. 1, Zoo is the main copying machine, and lOl is a platen glass that fits into a large opening formed on the upper surface of the exterior casing. Image forming process equipment is built into the exterior cover of the copying machine alOO, but these are omitted from the diagram.

A is a general code for devices A, D, and F, and device A is raised against the top surface of the machine casing including the platen glass 101 of the copying machine, centering on a hinge portion (not shown) provided on the rear side. It is attached so that it can be operated freely and is used in the folded position.

A, D, F In device A, l is a housing, and when device A is placed on top of the copying machine, the platen glass 101
It has a planar shape and size that can sufficiently cover the area, and has an open bottom surface in the form of a flat box. Reference numeral 2 denotes a belt suspended between a drive roller 3 and a turn roller 4 which are arranged parallel to each other on the left and right sides of the housing.
The belt has length and width dimensions such that the lower surface of the belt faces the entire upper surface of the platen glass 1O1 when the belt is in the collapsed state.

Hereinafter, this belt 2 will be referred to as a full-surface belt. Reference numeral 5 denotes a plurality of lower belt pressing rollers arranged at appropriate intervals along the belt longitudinal direction between the lower belt and the upper belt of the full-surface belt 2, and when the mounting MA is in the collapsed state, the lower belt The lower surface of the platen glass is moderately pressed against the upper surface of the platen glass, thereby increasing the conveying force of the sheet original along the glass surface due to the rotational drive of the belt 2. The drive roller 2 is selectively driven in forward and reverse directions by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the entire belt 2 accordingly rotates forward (counterclockwise) and reverse (clockwise). Ru.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a document mounting table, which is a sheet stacking table, which is arranged on the upper surface of the housing l in a downwardly inclined position (for example, about 20') with the left side, which is the leading end side, at the bottom; 7 is a document placing table which is inclined downwardly in front of it This is a general code for the conveyance mechanism for one sheet, which is connected to the leading end of #6.

Various mechanisms and systems are known as the single sheet separation and conveyance mechanism 7. In this example device, a sheet feeding belt 8 disposed on the lower side is rotatably driven in the forward direction in the sheet feeding direction, and a sheet disposed on the upper side is rotatably driven in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction. A mechanism consisting of a combination with a separation belt 9 is adopted. Detailed configuration of this mechanism/Shi) 1 autumn equinox il! Since the transport principle is well known, its explanation will be omitted.

1O is a roller serving as a sheet feeding auxiliary member that is disposed on the back side of the document mounting table 6 on the front side of the single sheet separation and conveyance mechanism 7, and is a roller that serves as a sheet feeding auxiliary member provided on the back side of the document mounting table 6. I'm going to face it. This roller 10 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwise direction and acts on the lower surface of the lowest sheet of the stacked originals P on the table 1, so that one sheet is separated from the lowermost sheet by the transport mechanism 2.
send in a direction.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a front end receiving and regulating plate for the stacked sheets, which is disposed in front of the end of the sheet separation belt 9 on the side of the document placement table 6.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a weight member disposed above the through hole 6a of the original table 6, and is freely swingable about a shaft 13. This weight member 12 is normally connected to the first and second parts by a spring 14 (Fig. 2).
As shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, it is lifted and held in the upper relief position around the shaft 1'3, and when the electromagnetic device 15 is energized, it rotates downward against the spring 14 to feed the sheet. It comes into contact with the upper surface portion of the stacked sheets corresponding to the position of the feeding auxiliary roller 10 and presses the sheet portion appropriately to apply a load. Due to the load applied to the stacked sheets P by the weight member 12, the feeding of the lowest sheet of the stacked sheets on the table 6 in the direction of the mechanism 7 by the sheet feeding auxiliary roller 10 is stabilized and ensured.

16 is a general code of the sheet circulation conveyance sheet path mechanism. In this sheet path mechanism, 17 is a first sheet path extending from the sheet output 1'' side of the single sheet separation and conveyance mechanism 7 toward the left end of the platen glass lot, and 18 is the platen glass 1
20 is a third sheet path for sheet switchback; 21 is the left end of the platen glass 101 and the third sheet path 20; The connected fourth seat path 22 is the third seat path 20 and the second seat path 18
This is the fifth seat path in which the middle portions of the two are connected. Here, for convenience, the connecting portion between the second sheet path 18 and the fifth sheet path 22 will be referred to as the sixth sheet path 18.

Reference numerals 23 and 24 designate a pair of first sheet conveyance rollers disposed in the middle of the first sheet path 17. 23 is a driving roller,
24 is a driven roller. The drive roller 23 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to rotate in the normal direction as shown by the solid line arrow or in the reverse direction as shown by the dotted line arrow.

25 is a second sheet conveyance roller arranged in the middle of the sixth sheet path 18' in pair with the driven roller 24 of the first sheet conveyance roller pair 23 and 24; 26Φ27 is a second sheet conveyance roller disposed in the third sheet bus 20; The third pair of sheet conveyance rollers (pair of sheet switchback rollers) provided, 28 and 29, are the fourth pair of sheet conveyance rollers (pair of sheet switchback rollers) disposed in the second sheet path 18. The third and fiS4 sheet conveying roller pairs 26, 27, 28, and 29 are driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to rotate in the normal direction as shown by the solid line arrow, or in the reverse direction as shown by the dotted line arrow.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a sheet discharge roller disposed at the sea i/exit portion 19 of the second sheet path 18.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a deflector (sheet deflection plate) disposed at the merging portion of the fourth sheet path 21 and the sixth sheet path 18 on the left end side of the platen glass. As shown in the third figure, this deflector 32 is longer than the width of the entire belt 2, and is arranged parallel to the drive roller 3 of the heald 2, with shafts 33 at both ends.
It is free to swing and rotate around -33. The deflector 32 is always biased in the upward rotational direction by the spring 34, and both ends of the deflector 32 are placed on both ends of the drive roller 3 of the belt 2, respectively, on the outer peripheral lower surface of rollers 35, 35 disposed coaxially with the roller 3. It is placed in a state where it is brought into contact with and received. The radius of each of the rollers 35 and 35 mentioned above is 0.5 larger than the radius of the drive roller 3 of the belt 2 plus the thick part of the belt 2.
These rollers 35-35 have a large diameter of approximately 1.0 mm, and these rollers 35-35 act as spacers to connect the tip edge of the deflector 32 and the drive roller 3.
As shown in the fourth figure, between the outer periphery of the belt 2 suspended around the
A small gap 36 of about 5m+n is formed and maintained. When the electromagnetic device 37 is energized, the deflector 32 is rotated downwardly against the spring 34 about the shafts 33, 33 as shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. As a result, the deflector 32
The gap between the belt 2 and the belt 2 is changed to a larger one. Hereinafter, the attitude state of the deflector 32 shown by the chain line in FIG.
The switching posture and the posture state shown by the two-dot chain line are referred to as the second switching posture.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a transmission-type first sheet sensor disposed on the leading end side of the document mounting table 6, which detects the presence or absence of sound of the sheet I on the table 6''.

S2 is a transmission type second sheet sensor disposed in the middle of the first sheet lot 17 between the conveyance mechanism 7 for one sheet and the first sheet conveyance roller pair 23 and 24, and S3 is the first sheet conveyance roller pair. 23 and 24 and the left end of the platen glass 101.
A sheet sensor, S4 is a fourth seed sensor disposed near the third sheet path 20 of the fourth sheet path 21, and S5 is a fifth seed sensor.
A fifth sheet sensor S6 disposed near the second sheet lot 18 of the sheet path 22 is connected to the second sheet conveying roller pair 24.
25 and the left end of the platen glass 101.

The second to sixth sheet sensors 52 to S6 detect the leading edge and/or trailing edge of the sheet passing through that position.

38 is the second fist 5th and 6th seat pass 18, 21, 18
A sheet guide member made of a thin elastic sheet with a relatively strong layer (for example, Mylar sheet), which is disposed at the branching part of is extended toward the upper guide plate surface constituting the second sheet path 18 and brought into contact with it. This sheet guide member 38 allows the fifth sheet path 22 to
The leading edge of the sheet conveyed toward the second sheet path 18 easily passes between the upper surface side of the sheet guide member 38 and the one L side guide plate surface constituting the second sheet path 18, and the sheet is conveyed toward the second sheet path 18. Enter 18. Then, when the sheet that has entered the second sheet path 18 is then conveyed in a switchback manner, the trailing edge of the sheet, which has become the leading edge, is guided to the lower surface side of the sheet guide member 38 and moves to the sixth sheet - upper path 18. The sheet always enters the f4', 5 sheet path 18 reliably.

Next, the operation will be explained.

A. When the original is a single-sided original a. Specifically, as shown in the example in FIG. 6, N copies of single-sided or double-sided copies are obtained for a set of 6 single-sided originals P and -P6 of pages 1 to 2.

Stack the single-sided originals P1 to P6 of pages 1 to 1 on page 11 "1" with the younger pages facing up and the image surface facing upward, place the document bundle P1 to P6 on the document mounting table 6, and lift and hold it with the table 6. The stack of originals is fully inserted between the weight member 12 and the front side of the regulation plate 11, and set on the table 6 with the leading edge of the stack of documents in contact with the front surface of the regulation plate 11.

b. After setting copying conditions such as specifying the set original, that the manuscript is a single-sided original, the required number of copies N, and single-sided copying mode or double-sided copying mode using the operation panel (not shown) on the side of the copying machine 100. , press the copy start button.

C1 The copy start signal causes the partition plate 40 to be placed on top of the uppermost original of the stacked originals on the table 6, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. As will be described later, this partition plate 4o separates the original P (shown by two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) that has returned to the stand 6 after the exposure process has been completed and the unexposed original P that is still on the stand 6 waiting to be fed. This is to separate the
Shaft 42 of stepping motor 41 arranged outside 6b
Installation is supported. Normally, the ff55 hangs downward as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It will be placed on top of the topmost original. The partition plate 40 moves downward as the stacked sheet originals are sequentially fed from the bottom, and is supported when the last sheet original on which the partition plate 40 is placed is fed. It disappears and it hangs down again as shown by the two-dot chain line. During this drooping process, the partition plate 40 crosses the optical path of the photoelectric sensor 43, thereby detecting that the feeding of the first copy of the original has been completed.

d. Also, the electromagnetic device 15 (FIG. 2) is energized by the copy start signal, and the weight member 12 moves downward to hold down the stacked sheet original.

e. Next, the drive of the sheet feeding auxiliary roller 10 and the rate single sheet separation conveyance mechanism 7 is started, and the lowest sheet document on the table 6, that is, (2) document P6 at the page opening (FIG. 6)
is transported 1iIl for one sheet and enters the first sheet path 17.

f. The document P6 that has entered the first sheet path 17 passes through its leading edge or is detected by the second sheet sensor S2, and then enters the nip between the pair of first sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24, which have stopped rotating at that point. It is confronted and accepted. The first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24 are driven to rotate in the normal direction after a predetermined timer time Tl has elapsed from the time when the leading edge of the sheet was detected by the second sheet sensor S2. Until this timer time elapses, one sheet separation and conveyance mechanism 2 and roller pair 23
A predetermined amount of loops are formed in the document between Φ24.

g. When the forward rotation of the first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24 is started, the driving of the sheet feeding auxiliary roller IO and the single sheet separation conveying mechanism 7 is stopped. Further, the power to the electromagnetic device 15 is cut off, and the weight member 12 is lifted and held away from the upper surface of the stacked sheet originals on the table 6. Even when the rollers 10 and the mechanism 7 stop, the document P6 continues to be drawn in and transported within the first sheet path 17 by the forward rotation of the first sheet transport roller pair 23 and 24.

h, then the leading edge of the document P6 is detected by the second sheet sensor S3.
When detected, the signal causes the forward rotation drive of 2 to start. Then, the leading edge of the document P6 reaches the left end side of the platen glass 101, and then rotates in the normal direction through the gap 36 (FIG. 4) between the full-surface belt 2 and the leading edge of the deflector 32 in the first switching position. Full-scale bell I・
2 and the platen glass 101 with the image surface facing downward, and is conveyed along the platen glass 101 surface toward the right side of the glass by the conveying force of the full-surface belt 2.

i, then the driving of the full-surface belt 2 is stopped when a predetermined timer time T2 has elapsed after the passage of the trailing edge of the document P6 is detected by the second sheet sensor S3. At the time of this stop, the trailing edge of the document P6 conveyed onto the platen glass 101 reaches a predetermined base line position 0 (FIG. 1).

The forward rotation of the first sheet conveying roller pair 23-24 is driven by the document P.
After the second sheet sensor S2 detects that the trailing edge of the sheet No. 6 has passed, it is stopped when a predetermined timer time T3 has elapsed. Within this timer time T3, the trailing edge of the document P has completed passing between the first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24.

Next, based on the stop signal of the full-surface belt 2, the optical system on the side of the copying machine main unit 100 is activated and the platen glass 10 is activated.
The exposure copying process is performed on the document P6, which is set on the document P1 with the image surface facing downward. In this case, if the preset copy mode (described above) is single-sided copy mode, the image of the document P6 is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the copy material is placed in the copy tray (not shown) with the image side facing upward. ). Further, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the paper is not discharged to the copy tray but is temporarily fed to the re-conveying mechanism within the copying machine.

Then, based on the exposure process completion signal for the original P6 on the copying machine lOO side, the full-surface belt 2 is turned to the reverse rotation opening. Further, the electromagnetic device 37 (FIG. 3) is energized, and the deflector 32 is converted to the second switching attitude (shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4). As a result, the platen glass 10
The original P6 on the first sheet is reversely conveyed toward the left end side of the platen glass by the reversing rotation opening of the full-surface belt, passes through the upper surface side of the deflector 32 in the second switching posture, and is transferred to the sixth sheet path 1.
Enter 8. and a second sheet conveyance roller pair 24.
25 (forward rotation) → second sheet path 18 → fourth sheet conveyance roller pair 28-29 (normal rotation) → discharge roller 31 → exit 1
On the other hand, based on the exposure process completion signal for the document P6 on the copying machine 100 side, the electromagnetic force of the weight member 12 is The device 15 is energized, the sheet feeding auxiliary roller IO and the sheet 1-1 are separated and transported.

The driving of the feeding mechanism 7 is started, and the sheet separation and conveyance of the next lowest original P5 on the table 6L is started, and the sheet of the next lowest original P5 is started.
S enters into the first seat path 17. Then, as in the f-g term above, the leading edge of the original P5 passes through the second
The first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24 detected by the sheet sensor S2 and whose rotation is stopped at that time.
A predetermined amount of loops are formed by hitting and being received by the nip portion. Then, after a predetermined timer time T1 has elapsed since the second sheet sensor S2 detected the passage of the leading edge of the original P5, the first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23-24 are started to rotate forward, and one sheet of the sheet feeding auxiliary roller lO and sheet The driving of the separating and conveying mechanism 7 is stopped, and the power supply to the electromagnetic device 15 of the weight member 12 is cut off. Even when the driving of the rollers 10 and mechanism 7 is stopped, the document P5 continues to be transferred to the platen glass 10 by the forward rotation of the first pair of sheet conveying rollers 23 and 24.
It is pulled in and conveyed towards 1.

Then, before the leading edge of the original P5 reaches the second sheet sensor S3 position, it is reversely conveyed through the reverse rotation of the full-surface belt 2 and is transported from the platen glass 101 side to the sixth sheet path 18. The leading edge of the exposed original document P6 that has entered the room is connected to the second sheet conveyance roller which is in the normal rotation driving state as the first sheet conveyance roller pair 23 and 24 is driven in the normal rotation after the timer time T1 has expired. It has already entered the space between 24025 and 24025.

Thereafter, when the leading edge of the document P5 conveyed toward the platen glass 101 is detected by the second sheet sensor S3, the full-surface belt 2 is turned into normal rotation. Due to the forward rotation of the full-surface belt 2, even though the exposed area has not yet been cut between the full-surface belt 2 and the platen glass 101; The document conveyance force by the second sheet conveyance roller pair 24 and 25, which are driven in normal rotation, overcomes the force.
The original P6 is pulled out from between the entire surface belt 2 and the platen glass 101. .

On the other hand, the document P5, which is conveyed toward the platen glass 101 by the normal rotation of the first sheet conveyance roller pair 23 and 24, is transferred from the left end side of the platen glass 101 to the full-surface belt 2 which is rotating in the normal rotation.
and the exposed original P being conveyed in reverse on the platen glass 101.
The original document P6 enters between the upper surfaces of the document and is conveyed toward the right side of the platen glass 101 by the forward rotational conveyance force of the full-surface belt 2 while rubbing against each other with the exposed document P6. And the original 24
When the passage of the rear end of P5 is detected by the third sheet sensor S3, the driving of the full-surface bell l-2 is stopped when a predetermined timer T2 has elapsed from the time of detection, similarly to the above-mentioned item i.

At the time of this stop, the trailing edge of the document P5 conveyed onto the platen glass 101 reaches a predetermined base line position 0. Furthermore, the exposed original P6 that has been reversely conveyed from above the platen glass 101 up to this point has its rear end on the platen glass 1.
-01 and the entire belt 2 have already been cut out.

When the forward rotation of the full-surface belt 2 is stopped, the optical system of the copying machine 100 operates based on the signal, and the page original P5 is set on the platen glass 101 with the image side facing downward. The exposure/copying process is performed. In this case, it was set in advance. When the copy mode is single-sided copy mode, the image of the document P5 is the first copy of the copy material.
The copy material is ejected with the image side facing upward, on top of the copy material of the ■ page that has been ejected to the copy tray first.

In addition, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the image of page 2 is formed on the second side of the copying material on which the image of page 2 has already been formed on the first side, and a double-sided copy is formed. The paper is ejected onto the copy tray with the par 9 side facing upward.

m, After that, by repeating the above-mentioned operations, the exposed original on the platen glass 101 is fed backwards, returned to the table 6, the lower original of the stacked originals on the table 6 is separated and conveyed, and the platen glass 101 The cycle of feeding, setting, and exposing the original is executed one after another. When the page 1 document P1 on which the partition plate 40 is placed is fed from the table 6, the partition plate 40 loses its support and hangs downward as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. By crossing the optical path of the sensor 43 during the rotation process, the completion of feeding of the first copy is input to the control circuit. When the number of copies set in the copying machine is one, the partition plate 40 is kept hanging down, but when the number of copies set in the copying machine is set to multiple copies, the stepping motor is moved again after the page number original returns to the stand 6 side. 41 is driven and the topmost original on the table 6 is the ■page original jf4P.
Get on top of J. In addition, when setting multiple copies, when the document PL of page ■ is reversely conveyed from the platen glass 101,
Re-feeding of the lowest original document on the table 6, the ■-th page original P6, is started.

In this way, the stacked originals on the table 6 are automatically repeatedly conveyed in a circular manner for the set number of copies N times, and the originals are placed on the copy tray of the copying machine. N copies of single-sided or double-sided copies having the same page order as the original set on the table 6' are obtained.

B. If the manuscript is a double-sided manuscript a. Specifically, Section 7 V! As in Example J, it is assumed that N copies of single-sided or double-sided copies are obtained for a set of three double-sided originals P1 to P3 of pages ■ to ■.

Stack the originals P1 to P3 in page order, and place them on the stand 6 with the page surface facing upward in the same manner as in section A-a above.

b. Start copying after setting copy conditions such as specifying that the set document is a double-sided document, the required number of copies N, and single-sided copy mode or double-sided copy mode using the operation panel (not shown) on the side of the copying machine 11100. Press the button.

C1 In response to this copy start signal, the lowest original P3 on the table 6 is fed to the platen glass 101 through the same process as the above-mentioned items A-c to A-i.

(d) However, the document P3 fed onto this platen glass 101 is in a state where the page surface is facing downward. The manuscript P3
After being fed onto the platen glass 101, the full-surface belt 2 is rotated in the reverse direction. The deflector 32 is held in the first switching position.

e. Due to the reverse rotation of the full-surface belt 2, the document P3 is conveyed in the opposite direction, passes through the lower surface of the deflector 32, and enters the fourth sheet path, and then the third sheet 112 and the pair of feeding rollers 26@2
7 enters the third seat path 20 in the normal rotation state.

f, when a predetermined timer time T4 has elapsed after the passage of the trailing edge of the document P3 is detected by the fourth sheet sensor S4, the third sheet sensor
The pair of sheet conveying rollers 26 and 27 are reversely rotated. By the time the timer T4 expires, the trailing edge of the document P3 has reached ff13!・Enter path 20 and go to roller pair 26・
27 moves i) Reached u.

g, Due to the above-mentioned reversal of the roller pair 26 and 27, the document P3 in the No. 1 sheet path 20 is conveyed in a switchback manner and enters the fifth sheet path 22, and then the fourth sheet conveyance loan pair 28@29 enters the f-rotation state. Enter a certain second seat bus 18.

h, when a predetermined timer time T5 has elapsed after the passage of the trailing edge of the document P3 is detected by the fifth sheet sensor S5, the fourth sheet sensor
The sheet conveying roller pair 28-29 is reversed. By the time the timer time T5 expires, the trailing edge of the document P3 has passed through the sheet guide member 38, entered the second sheet path 18, and reached the front of the roller pair 28, 29.

i, the sheet P3 is conveyed in a switchback manner by the above-mentioned reversal of the roller pair 28 and 29, and the second sheet conveyance roller pair 24
φ25 enters the sixth sheet path 1B' in the reversed state, passes through the upper surface of the deflector 32 in the first switching position, and heads toward the left side of the platen glass 101.

j. When the passage of the leading edge of the document P3 that has entered the sixth sheet bus 18' is detected by the sixth sheet sensor S6, the full-surface belt 2 starts rotating in the normal direction, and the document P3 moves from the upper surface of the deflector 32 to the deflector. It enters between the platen glass 101 and the normally rotating full-face belt 2 through the gap 36 between the leading edge of the belt 32 and the full-face belt 2, and is transported toward the left side of the platen glass 101 by the transport force of the belt 2. .

k. The forward rotation of the full-surface belt 2 is stopped when a predetermined timer time T6 has elapsed after the passage of the trailing edge of the document P3 is detected by the sixth sheet sensor S6. At the time of this stop, the trailing edge of the document P3 conveyed onto the platen glass 101 reaches a predetermined base line position 0.

Then, by transporting the document up to section d- above, the document P3
■The page surface is flipped downward and the platen glass 10
1 and is conveyed and set on top. Then, based on the stop signal of the full-surface belt 2 in section 2, the optical system on the copier lOO side operates to move the document P3 on the platen glass 101 downward.
The exposure/copying process for the page surface is performed.

In this case, if the copy mode set in advance (section b) is single-sided copy mode, the image on the page side is formed on the first side of the copy material, and the five copy materials are ejected to the copy tray with the image side facing upward. Ru. In the case of double-sided copying mode, the paper is not discharged to the copy tray but is once fed to the re-conveying mechanism within the copying machine.

m, then based on the exposure process completion signal for the page surface of the original P3 on the copying machine lOO side, the full-surface belt 2 is turned to the reverse rotation opening, and the original P3 is reversed on the platen glass 101 to the left side of the glass. The sheet is conveyed and enters the @4 sheet path 21, and is again reversely conveyed in the same way as in the section e-. As a result, the original P3 is then reset onto the platen glass 101 with the page surface facing downward, and the exposure and copying process for the page surface is carried out by the copying machine lO.
Executed on the O 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, the image side is facing upward, and the page is ejected onto the copy tray first. is discharged. In addition, in the case of double-sided copying mode, the page image is formed on the second side of the copying material on which the page image has already been formed on the first side, forming a double-sided copy, with the page side facing upward. and onto the copy tray (A is ejected.

0, ■ After the exposure process of the page surface is completed, the entire surface belt 2 is rotated in the reverse direction by the signal, and the deflector 23 is also changed to the second switching posture, and the document P is transferred to A- in the same manner as in the above.
3 passes through the sixth and second sheet paths 18 and 18 and is transported back to the table 6 side with the screen facing upward, and in parallel, the next document P2 is fed from the table 6. Ru. Then, the next document P2 is reversely fed according to the above-mentioned terms d-n, one-sided copying or double-sided copying of @E9 side 1 and then (2) page side is executed, and the copy is discharged onto the copy tray.

p.Thus, by performing the above-mentioned operations one after another on the originals stacked on the original placing table 6, the originals placed on the original placing table 6 are finally placed on the tray of the copying machine, as in the case of section A above. N copies of single-sided or double-sided copies with the same page order as the original set in the original are obtained.

In the case of single-sided originals (as shown in item A above) and double-sided originals as shown in item B, the exposure on the platen glass lot is completed, and the document is transported back to the original storage table 6 and placed on top of the uppermost original on the table 6. The original ejected to the table 6 naturally slides forward on the uppermost original on the table 6 based on the downward slope of the front of the table 6, and passes under the weight member 12 which is being lifted and held at that point. The tip end of the member 12 is received by the front surface of the regulating plate 11 and settles down.

That is, the originals that are returned to the original placing table 6 one after another are always reloaded correctly on the upper surface of the originals stacked on the original placing table 6 without being obstructed by the weight part 12, thereby allowing the automatic repeated circulation of the originals! 2 transport can be executed stably.

Also, as in the embodiment device, in parallel with the ejection and transportation of the original from the platen glass 101, feeding of the next original is started from the table 6, and the ejected and transported original and the fed original are rubbed against each other on the platen glass 101. Configuration to be transported (section A-,
By setting B-o), the time required for supplying and discharging original documents in each copying cycle is shortened, and copying can be carried out efficiently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of an example of a circulating type automatic sheet document feeding device (A, D, F device), and FIG. 2 is a weight member swinging machine. FIG. 3 is a slope view of the deflector swinging mechanism; FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the deflector and full-surface belt drive roller; FIG. 5 is a side view of the partition plate; FIG.・Figure 7 is a diagram showing the page order of a single-sided manuscript and a double-sided manuscript, respectively. Reference numeral 6 denotes a document loading table, 7 a document (sheet) separation and conveyance mechanism, 16 a sheet path mechanism, 2 a full-surface belt, and 101 a platen glass.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Sheet loading table and sheet 1 arranged on the sheet feeding side of the sheet loading table
A sheet separation conveyance mechanism, a sheet feeding auxiliary member that acts on the lower surface of the stacked sheets on the sheet stacking table to feed the lowest sheet by one sheet in the direction of the conveyance mechanism, and a sheet feeding auxiliary member located at the sheet feeding auxiliary member. A weight member that applies an appropriate suppressing load to the stacked sheets in contact with the upper surface portion of the stacked sheets that approximately corresponds to the upper surface of the stacked sheets, and a weight member that applies an appropriate suppressing load to the stacked sheets and re-seals the sheets that have been separated and conveyed one by one from the single sheet separation and conveyance mechanism and fed to a predetermined processing station. ]・
a sheet circulation conveyance sheet bus mechanism for transporting sheets back to the stacking platform side, and the weight member is moved downward at the start of sheet feeding in each sheet feeding cycle to apply a load to the stacked sheets on the sheet stacking platform. , and the operation is controlled so that the preceding fed sheet is moved upward and released above the stacked sheets before being discharged from the sheet circulation conveyance sheet path mechanism onto the sheet stacking table. Characteristic sheet feeding device.