JP2022026571A - Medium feeder and image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

To neatly stack media of a plurality of sizes in a stacker.SOLUTION: A medium feeder 1 includes: an ejection unit 17 that ejects a medium M; a stacker 19 that stacks the medium M ejected from the ejection unit 17; a first stopper 100 that is provided on the stacker 19 and regulates a position of the medium M in an ejecting direction by abutting on a leading end M1, in the ejecting direction, of the medium M ejected from the ejection unit 17; and second stoppers 202 and 203 that are provided on a stopper unit 200 attachable to the stacker 19 and regulate the position of the medium M in the ejecting direction by abutting on the leading end M1, in the ejecting direction, of the medium M ejected from the ejection unit 17. A position of regulation of the medium M in the ejecting direction by the second stoppers 202 and 203 is between the ejection unit 17 and a position of regulation of the medium M in the ejecting direction by the first stopper 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a medium feeding device and an image reading device.

Various configurations of medium feeding devices are used in which the media discharged from the discharge unit are stacked in a stacker. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image reader having a configuration in which sheets discharged from a discharge unit are stacked in a discharge tray. The image reading device of Patent Document 1 is provided with a paper ejection stopper at the tip end portion of the ejection tray in order to improve the alignment of the sheets stacked on the ejection tray.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-39661

However, since the image reader of Patent Document 1 is provided with a paper ejection stopper only at the tip of the ejection tray, for example, when a medium with a small card size is to be stacked on the ejection tray, the alignment is deteriorated. There is. Further, if the image reading device of Patent Document 1 is provided with a paper ejection stopper in addition to the tip portion of the ejection tray, the apparatus configuration becomes complicated and the apparatus becomes large.

The medium feeding device of the present invention for solving the above problems is provided in a discharge unit for discharging the medium, a stacker for stacking the medium discharged from the discharge unit, and the stacker, and discharges from the discharge unit. A first stopper that regulates the position of the medium in the discharge direction by contacting the tip of the medium in the discharge direction, and a stopper unit that can be attached to the stacker are provided to discharge the medium discharged from the discharge unit. A second stopper that regulates the position of the medium in the discharge direction by abutting on the tip in the direction is provided, and the regulated position of the medium in the discharge direction by the second stopper is the discharge portion and the first stopper. It is characterized in that it is between the regulated position of the medium in the discharge direction according to the above.

External perspective view of the scanner in the second posture with the main body of the device viewed from the front. External perspective view of the scanner with the main body of the device in the second posture and the front cover open when viewed from the front. A cross-sectional view of the document transport path of the scanner in the state where the main body of the apparatus is in the second posture as viewed from the width direction. The figure which shows the variation of the posture of the apparatus main body. The block diagram which shows the control system of a scanner. The plan view of the stopper unit of Example 1 which can be attached to the front cover of the scanner of FIG. It is a perspective view of the stopper unit of Example 1, and is the figure which shows the state which changed from the state when it was accommodated in a scanner, to the state when it was attached to a scanner. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the stopper unit of the first embodiment is attached to the scanner. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the stopper unit of the first embodiment is housed in the scanner. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the scanner of FIG. The plan view of the stopper unit of Example 2 which can be attached to the front cover of the scanner of FIG. It is a perspective view of the stopper unit of Example 2, and is the figure which shows the state which changed from the state when it was accommodated in a scanner, to the state when it was attached to a scanner. Example 2 A perspective view showing a state in which the stopper unit is attached to the scanner. Example 2 A perspective view showing a state in which the stopper unit is housed in the scanner. The plan view of the stopper unit of Example 3 which can be attached to the front cover of the scanner of FIG. It is a perspective view of the stopper unit of Example 3, and is the figure which shows the state at the time of accommodating it in a scanner.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be schematically described.
The medium feeding device according to the first aspect is a discharge unit for discharging the medium, a stacker for stacking the media discharged from the discharge unit, and a stacker provided in the stacker for discharging the medium discharged from the discharge unit. It is provided on the first stopper that regulates the position of the medium in the discharge direction by abutting on the tip in the direction and the stopper unit that can be attached to the stacker, and hits the tip of the medium discharged from the discharge portion in the discharge direction. A second stopper that regulates the position of the medium in the discharge direction by being in contact with the second stopper is provided, and the regulated position of the medium in the discharge direction by the second stopper is the discharge portion and the discharge direction by the first stopper. It is characterized by being between the regulated position of the medium.

According to this aspect, in addition to the first stopper, a second stopper that regulates the medium between the discharging portion and the restricted position of the medium in the discharging direction by the first stopper is provided. Therefore, by attaching and detaching the stopper unit having the second stopper, it is possible to select whether to regulate the medium by the first stopper or the medium by the second stopper according to the size of the medium to be used. can. Therefore, media of a plurality of sizes can be stacked on the stacker with good alignment.

In the first aspect, the medium feeding device of the second aspect has a base portion provided with the second stopper and a mounting portion that can be attached to the first stopper. The second stopper is characterized in that it can be bent with respect to the base portion.

According to this aspect, the stopper unit has a mounting portion that can be attached to the first stopper and a second stopper that can be bent with respect to the base portion. Therefore, the stopper unit can be configured in a simple manner.

The medium feeding device of the third aspect is characterized in that, in the second aspect, the mounting portion is a hole portion through which the first stopper is passed.

According to this aspect, the mounting portion is a hole through which the first stopper is passed. Therefore, the mounting portion can be configured in a simple manner.

In the second or third aspect of the medium feeding device of the fourth aspect, the stopper unit is attached to the first stopper in the discharge direction by attaching the attachment portion to the first stopper. It is characterized by being fixed.

According to this aspect, the stopper unit is fixed to the first stopper in the discharge direction by attaching the attachment portion to the first stopper. Therefore, the fixing mechanism of the stopper unit to the stacker can be simply configured.

The medium feeding device of the fifth aspect is the one of the second to fourth aspects, in which the stacker is at the tip in the discharge direction of the medium at the contact start position between the proximal end and the distal end. The medium is stacked by being in contact with each other and further being moved toward the tip portion by the discharging portion, and the stopper unit is mounted on the stacker on the discharging portion side of the base. Is characterized in that the end portion of the above is located closer to the base end portion side than the contact start position.

According to this aspect, in the state where the stopper unit is mounted on the stacker, the end portion of the base portion on the discharge portion side is located closer to the base end portion side than the contact start position. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the medium from being discharged poorly due to the tip of the medium in the discharge direction entering the lower side of the base and the tip of the medium in the discharge direction coming into contact with the end of the base on the discharge side. can.

The medium feeding device of the sixth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the accommodating portion of the stopper unit is provided.

According to this aspect, the accommodating portion of the stopper unit is provided. Therefore, the stopper unit removed from the stacker can be accommodated in the accommodating portion, and it is possible to prevent the stopper unit from being lost.

The medium feeding device of the seventh aspect is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, the accommodating portion is provided in the housing portion of the medium feeding device.

According to this aspect, the removed stopper unit can be accommodated in the housing portion of the medium feeding device.

The medium feeding device according to the eighth aspect is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, the accommodating portion is provided in the stacker.

According to this aspect, the stopper unit removed from the stacker can be accommodated.

In the medium feeding device of the ninth aspect, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the discharging portion is a roller, and the second stopper is between the roller and the first stopper. It is characterized by being provided.

According to this aspect, the ejection portion can be easily configured by a roller, and by providing the second stopper between the roller and the first stopper, for example, a medium having a small card size can be stacked with good alignment by using the second stopper. Can be made to.

The medium feeding device according to a tenth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the second stopper is provided at an overlapping position when viewed from the discharging direction.

According to this aspect, for example, a medium having a small card size can be stacked with good alignment at a position overlapping with the first stopper when viewed from the ejection direction.

In any one of the first to tenth aspects, the medium feeding device according to the eleventh aspect is configured such that the first stopper is rotatable with respect to the first rotation axis, and the second stopper is rotatable. Is characterized in that it is rotatably configured with reference to a second rotation axis that intersects with the first rotation axis.

According to this aspect, the regulatory force of the second stopper can be strengthened by making the second rotation axis intersect with the first rotation axis.

In any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the medium feeding device according to the twelfth aspect has a length of 53 mm or more and 55 mm or less in the first direction, and the stopper unit intersects the first direction. It is characterized in that it can be folded to a length of 86 mm or more and 91 mm or less in two directions.

According to this aspect, the stopper unit can be made to have a substantially card size, and it is possible to suppress that the stopper unit is too large to be accommodated and that the stopper unit is too small to be lost.

The medium feeding device according to the thirteenth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to twelfth aspects, the stopper unit is made of paper or resin.

According to this aspect, since the stopper unit is made of paper or resin, the stopper unit can be easily formed.

The image reading device according to the fourteenth aspect is characterized by comprising a reading means for reading the surface of the medium and a medium feeding device according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects.

According to this aspect, media in which images of a plurality of sizes are read can be stacked in a stacker with good alignment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described.
In the following, as an example of the image reading device, a scanner 1 capable of reading at least one of the front and back surfaces of a document, which is an example of a medium, will be given as an example. The scanner 1 is a so-called document scanner that reads a document while moving the document to the reading means.

In the XYZ coordinate system shown in each figure, the X-axis direction is the device width direction and also the document width direction. The Y-axis direction is the device depth direction, which is a direction along the horizontal direction. The Z-axis direction is a direction along the vertical direction. Further, the V-axis direction is the document feeding direction, which is a direction parallel to the document transport path T described later, and the angle formed with the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction changes depending on the posture of the device. Further, the V-axis direction generally corresponds to the ejection direction of the medium as the original. In the present embodiment, the + Y direction is the direction from the back surface of the device to the front surface, and the −Y direction is the direction from the front surface to the back surface of the device. Further, when viewed from the front of the device, the left is the + X direction and the right is the −X direction. Further, in the following, the direction in which the document is conveyed (+ V direction) may be referred to as "downstream", and the opposite direction (-V direction) may be referred to as "upstream".

First, the outline of the scanner 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. 1 to 4, the scanner 1 includes a device main body 2 and a support base 5 that rotatably supports the device main body 2. The apparatus main body 2 is configured to include a lower unit 3 and an upper unit 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper unit 4 is provided so as to be openable and closable by rotating about the rotation shaft 30 with respect to the lower unit 3, and will be described later by opening the upper unit 4 to the front of the device. The document transport path T can be exposed.

The lower unit 3 constituting the main body portion 2 of the apparatus is rotatably provided with respect to the arm portion 5a constituting the support base 5 via the rotation shaft 5b, and is configured to be able to change its posture by rotating. The device main body 2 of the scanner 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to be capable of changing postures and holding three postures by posture holding means (not shown), and two of the three postures are at the time of reading a document. The remaining one is the posture when not in use. The postures shown in the center and below of FIG. 4 are one of the postures at the time of reading the original, the central figure of FIG. 4 is the first reading posture, and the lower figure of FIG. 4 is the second reading posture. The upper figure of FIG. 4 is a posture when not in use. In the non-use posture, the projected area of the scanner 1 on the mounting surface is the smallest, and more specifically, the occupied space in the Y-axis direction is the smallest.

In the first reading posture, the projected area is larger than in the non-use posture, and in the second reading posture, the projected area is larger than in the first reading posture. Further, in the first reading posture, the + V direction, which is the document feeding direction, faces diagonally downward, and in the second reading posture, the + V direction is substantially horizontal. In the second reading posture, the + V direction is substantially horizontal in the present embodiment, but it is not necessarily limited to the horizontal direction, and the + V direction may be closer to the horizontal direction than the first reading posture.

Each posture of the device main body 2 can be held by a holding means (not shown), and the posture holding state can be released by a release lever (not shown). Further, each posture of the device main body 2 is configured to be detectable by a posture detection unit (not shown).

The upper unit 4 includes a front cover 19, and the lower unit 3 has a top cover 10. The front cover 19 is rotatably provided with respect to the lower unit 3 and the upper unit 4 about the rotation shaft 30, and when rotated, the front cover 19 is in a closed state as shown in FIG. 1 and as shown in FIG. It can be in an open state. When the front cover 19 is opened, it functions as an ejection tray for receiving the document M to be read and ejected as shown in FIG. In other words, the front cover 19 as an ejection tray also serves as a stacker capable of stacking a plurality of original documents M after the images have been read.

The upper unit 4 is provided with an operation panel 7 on the upper surface thereof, which performs various reading settings and reading execution operations as shown in FIG. 2, and also realizes a user interface for showing reading setting contents and the like. The operation panel 7 as an operation unit is a so-called touch panel that can perform both display and input in the present embodiment, and also serves as an operation unit for performing various operations and a display unit for displaying various information. The operation panel 7 is exposed by opening the front cover 19.

The upper surface cover 10 provided on the lower unit 3 is rotatably provided with respect to the lower unit 3, and when rotated, it is in a closed state as shown in FIG. 1 and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It can be opened and taken. When the top cover 10 is opened, it functions as a document support tray that supports the document M to be fed. As shown in FIG. 2, the edge guides 12a and 12b for guiding the side edges of the document M are provided. A feeding port 6 connected to the inside of the device main body 2 is provided on the upper part of the device main body 2, and the document M placed on the upper surface cover 10 is directed from the feeding port 6 to the inside of the device main body 2. Sent.

Next, the document transport path in the scanner 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. The document transfer path T is a substantially linear document transfer path formed between the lower unit 3 and the upper unit 4. The document transport path T is closest to the vertical when the apparatus main body 2 is in the non-use posture as shown in the upper figure of FIG. 4, and is shown in the central figure of FIG. When the device main body 2 takes the first reading posture, it takes an inclination angle close to 45 °, and when the device main body 2 takes the second reading posture as shown in the lower figure of FIG. It becomes almost horizontal.

The above-mentioned upper surface cover 10 is provided on the most upstream side of the document transport path T, and on the downstream side of the upper surface cover 10, the feed roller 14 that feeds the document M placed on the upper surface cover 10 toward the downstream side. And a separation roller 15 that nips the document M between the feed roller 14 and promotes the separation of the document M. The separation roller 15 is pressed toward the feeding roller 14 by a load applying means (not shown), and a braking force is applied to the rotating shaft 15a.

The feeding roller 14 comes into contact with the lowest of the original documents M placed on the top cover 10. Therefore, when a plurality of original documents M are placed on the top cover 10, they are fed downstream in order from the lowest original document M.

A flap 31 is provided on the upstream side of the separation roller 15 in the document transport path T, and the flap 31 prevents the document M set on the top cover 10 from coming into contact with the separation roller 15 in the feeding standby state. The flap 31 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 31a, and the lower end thereof is engaged with the set guide 29 before the start of feeding, so that the flap 31 is stopped from rotating in the clockwise direction in FIG. Before the start of feeding, the set guide 29 is in the first state of supporting the document M so that the document M does not come into contact with the feeding roller 14.

Then, when the feeding of the document M is started, the set guide 29 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 3 around the rotation shaft 29a by the power of the transport motor 58 shown in FIG. 5, and the document M is fed. The second state of contact with the roller 14 is taken. When the set guide 29 is switched from the first state to the second state, the flap 31 becomes rotatable, and the tip of the document bundle placed on the top cover 10 comes into contact with the separation roller 15.

Torque in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3, that is, in the direction in which the document M is rotated downstream in the feeding direction is transmitted from the feeding motor 57 represented by FIG. 5 to the feeding roller 14 via the one-way clutch 32. .. In the following, the rotation direction of the feeding roller 14 when the feeding roller 14 feeds the document M downstream is referred to as a forward rotation direction, and the reverse rotation direction is referred to as a reverse rotation direction. Similarly, regarding the rotation direction of the feed motor 57, the rotation direction when the document M is fed downstream is referred to as a forward rotation direction, and the reverse is referred to as a reverse rotation direction.

Since the one-way clutch 32 is provided in the driving force transmission path between the feeding roller 14 and the feeding motor 57, the feeding roller 14 does not rotate in the reverse direction even if the feeding motor 57 rotates in the reverse direction. Further, when the feeding motor 57 is stopped, the feeding roller 14 can come into contact with the conveyed document M and rotate in a driven direction in the forward rotation direction.

Subsequently, a torque limiter 33 is provided for the separation roller 15. When the document M does not intervene between the feeding roller 14 and the separating roller 15, or when only one sheet is intervening, the feeding roller 14 tries to rotate the separating roller 15 in the clockwise direction of FIG. Exceeds the torque upper limit value of the torque limiter 33, which causes slippage in the torque limiter 33, and the separation roller 15 is driven to rotate by the feed roller 14.

When the second and subsequent originals M are inserted between the feeding roller 14 and the separating roller 15 in addition to the original M to be fed, the separation roller 15 stops due to slippage between the originals. .. As a result, the second and subsequent original documents M to be double-fed are returned upstream, that is, double-feeding is prevented.

The manuscript M, which is an example of the medium, is fed by the upper surface cover 10, the feeding roller 14, the separating roller 15, the transport roller pair 16, the discharge roller pair 17, and the front cover 19 as a stacker, which will be described later. The medium feeding device 9 is configured. From another point of view, the medium feeding device 9 can be regarded as a device that omits the reading unit 20 as a function related to document reading from the scanner 1. Alternatively, even if the scanning unit 20 is provided as a function related to document reading, the scanner 1 itself can be regarded as a document feeding device from the viewpoint of document feeding.

Next, downstream of the feed roller 14, a transport roller pair 16, a reading unit 20 as a reading means for reading a document image, and a discharge roller pair 17 are provided. The transfer roller pair 16 includes a transfer drive roller 16a that is rotationally driven by a transfer motor 58, and a transfer driven roller 16b that is driven and rotated. The document M nipped by the feeding roller 14 and the separating roller 15 and fed downstream is nipped into the transport roller pair 16 and faces the upper sensor unit 20A and the lower sensor unit 20B located downstream of the transport roller pair 16. It is transported to the position where it is to be.

The reading unit 20 is located above the document transport path T and is located above the upper sensor unit 20A provided in the upper unit 4, and is located below the document transport path T and is provided in the lower unit 3. It is equipped with a sensor unit 20B. The upper sensor unit 20A has a sensor module 21A, and the lower sensor unit 20B has a sensor module 21B. In this embodiment, the sensor modules 21A and 21B are close contact type image sensor modules. The upper surface of the document M is read by the sensor module 21A located above the document transfer path T, and the lower surface of the document M is read by the sensor module 21B located below the document transfer path T. The document reading surface by the upper sensor unit 20A and the document reading surface by the lower sensor unit 20B form a surface parallel to the document transport path T.

The upper sensor unit 20A has a background plate 22A at a position facing the sensor module 21B included in the lower sensor unit 20B, and the lower sensor unit 20B has a background plate 22B at a position facing the sensor module 21A included in the upper sensor unit 20A. I have. The background plates 22A and 22B are reference plates read by facing sensor modules for shading correction, and for example, a resin plate such as white, gray, or black, or a metal plate painted in white, gray, black, or the like is used. be able to.

The background plates 22A and 22B are rotatably provided by the power of a motor (not shown), and by rotating, the facing state facing the facing sensor module as shown by the solid line and the facing state as shown by the two-dot chain line. It is possible to switch between a non-face-to-face state that cancels the state. The background plates 22A and 22B are white as an example, and a white reference value can be obtained in the face-to-face state, and a black reference value can be obtained in the non-face-to-face state.

After the image of at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the document M is read by the reading unit 20, the document M is nipped into a discharge roller pair 17 as a discharge unit located on the downstream side of the reading unit 20 and discharged. It is discharged from the outlet 18. The discharge roller pair 17 includes a discharge drive roller 17a that is rotationally driven by a conveyor motor 58, and a discharge driven roller 17b that is driven and rotated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the front cover 19 as a stacker is moved in the ejection direction of the document M so that the document M whose image is read by the reading unit 20 is not ejected beyond the front cover 19. A first stopper 100 is formed as a regulating unit for regulating. The first stopper 100 is rotatable with respect to the first rotation shaft 101 along the X direction, and the first stopper 100 is housed in the front cover 19 and the first stopper 100 is housed in the front cover 19. It is possible to displace into a regulated state that can take on the role of a regulatory department. Here, the solid line in FIG. 2 represents the accommodation state in which the first stopper 100 is housed in the front cover 19, and the broken line in FIG. 2 shows the first stopper 100 standing up from the front cover 19 and serves as a regulating unit. It represents the regulatory status that can be carried. The scanner 1 of the present embodiment includes a stopper unit 200 that can be attached to the front cover 19. Details of the stopper unit 200 will be described later.

Subsequently, the control system in the scanner 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 50 performs various other controls of the scanner 1 including feeding, transporting, discharging control, and reading control of the document M. A signal from the operation panel 7 is input to the control unit 50, and a display of the operation panel 7, particularly a signal for realizing a user interface, is transmitted from the control unit 50 to the operation panel 7.

The control unit 50 controls these motors of the feed motor 57, the transport motor 58, and the cam motor 59. In this embodiment, each motor is a DC motor. The data read from the reading unit 20 is input to the control unit 50, and a signal for controlling the reading unit 20 is transmitted from the control unit 50 to the reading unit 20. Signals from these detection units of the placement detection unit 54, the double feed detection unit 51, the first document detection unit 52, and the second document detection unit 53 are also input to the control unit 50. Further, the detection value of the rotary encoder (not shown) provided for each of the feeding motor 57, the transport motor 58, and the cam motor 59 is also input to the control unit 50, whereby the control unit 50 of each motor is input. The amount of rotation can be grasped, and by extension, the amount of movement of the drive target can be grasped.

The control unit 50 includes a CPU 60, a flash ROM 61, and a RAM 62. The CPU 60 performs various arithmetic processes according to the program stored in the flash ROM 61, and controls the operation of the entire scanner 1. The flash ROM 61, which is an example of the storage means, is a non-volatile memory that can be read and written. Further, various setting information input by the user via the operation panel 7 is also stored in the flash ROM 61. Various information is temporarily stored in the RAM 62, which is an example of the storage means. The control unit 50 includes an interface 63, and can communicate with an external computer 90 via the interface 63.

[Example 1]
Next, the stopper unit 200, which is a main part of the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, will be described. First, as the stopper unit 200 that can be attached to and detached from the scanner 1, the stopper unit 200A of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the stopper unit 200A has a base 201. The base 201 is provided with a hole 205, and a second stopper 202 and 203 formed by making a notch in the base 201 and a second stopper fixing portion 204 for fixing the second stopper 202 and 203. Is provided.

The stopper unit 200A is attached to the front cover 19 as shown in the right side view and FIG. 8 of FIG. 7, and is shown in the left side view and FIG. 9 of FIGS. 6 and 7. It can be deformed with the state of being removed from the front cover 19. Specifically, as shown in the figure on the left side of FIG. 7, it can be formed into a flat plate shape when it is removed from the front cover 19. By forming the stopper unit 200A into a flat plate shape, the stopper unit 200A can be attached to and accommodated in the lower unit 3 as shown in FIG.

Then, from this state, the second stopper 202 is bent along the polygonal line 202b, the second stopper 203 is bent along the polygonal line 203b, and the second stoppers 202 and 203 are raised with respect to the base 201. The second stopper fixing portion 204 is bent along the 204b so that the second stopper fixing portion 204 stands up with respect to the base 201. By doing so, as shown in the figure on the right side of FIG. 7, the recess 202c of the second stopper 202 and the recess 203c of the second stopper 203 are fixed by the top 204a of the second stopper fixing portion 204. In FIG. 6, each polygonal line is represented by a broken line.

The stopper unit 200A in the state shown in the right side of FIG. 7 stands up with respect to the front cover 19 as shown by the broken line in FIG. 2 with the hole 205 as shown in FIG. By inserting it into the first stopper 100 in the state, it can be fixed to the front cover 19. Here, the end portion 202a on the side opposite to the hole 205 side of the second stopper 202 and the end portion 203a on the side opposite to the hole 205 side of the second stopper 203 were discharged to the front cover 19 as a stacker. It becomes the contact portion of the document M.

Here, the first stopper 100 is provided on the front cover 19 as a stacker, and abuts on the tip of the document M discharged from the discharge roller pair 17 as the discharge unit for discharging the document M in the discharge direction. The position of the manuscript M in the above is regulated. The first stopper 100 preferably functions as a regulating unit for a relatively large medium such as A4 paper. On the other hand, the second stoppers 202 and 203 are provided on the stopper unit 200 that can be attached to the front cover 19, and come into contact with the tip of the document M ejected from the ejection roller pair 17 in the ejection direction of the document M in the ejection direction. Regulating the position is the same as that of the first stopper 100. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the regulation positions of the document M in the ejection direction by the second stoppers 202 and 203 are the regulation positions of the document M in the ejection direction by the ejection roller pair 17 and the first stopper 100. Between. That is, the second stoppers 202 and 203 preferably function as a regulating unit for a relatively small medium such as a card-sized medium.

In other words, in the scanner 1 as the medium feeding device of the present embodiment, in addition to the first stopper 100, the medium is placed between the discharge roller pair 17 and the restricted position of the medium in the discharge direction by the first stopper 100. The second stoppers 202 and 203 for regulating the above are provided. Therefore, by attaching and detaching the stopper unit having the second stoppers 202 and 203, the medium is regulated by the first stopper 100 or the medium is regulated by the second stoppers 202 and 203 according to the size of the medium to be used. You can choose whether to do it. Therefore, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment can stack media of a plurality of sizes on the stacker with good alignment.

From the viewpoint of the image reading device, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment includes a reading unit 20 which is a reading means for reading the surface of the medium, and a medium feeding device having the above configuration. With such a configuration, media in which images of a plurality of sizes are read can be stacked in a stacker with good alignment.

Here, as described above, the stopper unit 200A of the present embodiment is provided with a base portion 201 provided with the second stoppers 202 and 203 and a hole portion 205 as an attachment portion that can be attached to the first stopper 100. The second stoppers 202 and 203 are bendable with respect to the base 201. Therefore, the stopper unit 200 has a simple structure. Further, since the attachment portion to the front cover 19 is a hole portion 205 through which the first stopper 100 is passed, the attachment portion has a simple structure.

Further, as described above, the stopper unit 200A of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the hole 205 as a mounting portion is inserted into the first stopper 100 and mounted, so that the stopper unit 200A is fixed to the first stopper 100 in the discharge direction. be. Therefore, the fixing mechanism of the stopper unit 200 to the stacker has a simple structure.

Hereinafter, the arrangement of the stopper unit 200A will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 in addition to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG. 10 shows a state immediately after the document M discharged from the discharge roller pair 17 as the discharge unit comes into contact with the contact start position P1 in the front cover 19 as the stacker. Here, in the stopper unit 200A, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 10, the end portion 201a of the base portion 201 on the discharge portion side is located closer to the base end portion 19a of the front cover 19 than the contact start position P1. Arranged to do.

That is, the front cover 19 contacts the tip M1 in the ejection direction of the document M at the contact start position P1 between the proximal end 19a and the tip 19b, and further, the document M is directed toward the tip 19b by the ejection roller pair 17. Is moved to stack the document M. When the stopper unit 200A is mounted on the front cover 19, the end portion 201a of the base portion 201 on the discharge portion side is located closer to the base end portion 19a than the contact start position P1. Due to such a configuration, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the tip M1 in the ejection direction of the document M enters the lower side of the base 201, and the tip M1 in the ejection direction of the document M is on the ejection portion side of the base 201. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of defective ejection of the original M by contacting the end portion 201a of the original.

Further, as described above, the discharge unit in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment is a discharge roller pair 17. That is, the discharge unit is a roller. The second stoppers 202 and 203 are provided between the discharge roller pair 17 and the first stopper 100, which are the rollers. In the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the discharge portion is simply configured by a roller, and the second stoppers 202 and 203 are provided between the roller and the first stopper 100, so that the second stoppers 202 and 203 are used, for example. It is configured so that media with a small card size can be stacked with good alignment.

Here, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the width of the first stopper 100 seen from the discharge direction corresponding to the V-axis direction is substantially the same as the width of the hole 205. Therefore, the region where the first stopper 100 is located when viewed from the discharge direction corresponds to the region where the hole 205 is located when viewed from the discharge direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, within the range of the region R1 of the hole 205 viewed from the discharge direction, the formation regions R2 of the second stoppers 202 and 203 corresponding to the positions of the polygonal lines 202b and 203b are included. That is, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the second stoppers 202 and 203 are provided at positions that overlap with the first stopper 100 in the ejection direction of the document M, in other words, at positions that overlap when viewed from the ejection direction. .. With such a configuration, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment can stack, for example, a document M having a small card size with good alignment at a position overlapping with the first stopper 100 in the ejection direction of the document M.

Further, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the first stopper 100 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the first rotation shaft 101 along the X direction. The second stoppers 202 and 203 are configured to be rotatable with reference to the polygonal lines 202b and 203b as the second rotation shaft intersecting the first rotation shaft 101. In this way, by making the second rotation shaft intersect with the first rotation shaft 101, the rotation direction can be made different between the first rotation shaft 101 and the second rotation shaft. When the rotation direction is the same for the first rotation shaft 101 and the second rotation shaft, the movable directions of the first stopper 100 and the stopper unit 200 are aligned, so that the regulatory forces of the second stoppers 202 and 203 are aligned. However, by making the rotation direction different between the first rotation shaft 101 and the second rotation shaft, the regulatory force of the second stoppers 202 and 203 can be strengthened.

Here, the stopper unit 200A of this embodiment is made of paper. As described above, the stopper unit 200 is preferably made of paper or resin. This is because the stopper unit 200 can be easily formed. The stopper unit 200A of this embodiment is assumed to be manufactured and sold together with the scanner 1 as a part of the scanner 1, but the data for forming the stopper unit is supplied to the user via the Internet or the like, and the user. May form the stopper unit 200 based on the data.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the stopper unit 200 can be attached to the lower unit 3 and accommodated. That is, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment includes the accommodating portion of the stopper unit 200. Therefore, in the scanner 1 of the present embodiment, the stopper unit 200A removed from the front cover 19 can be accommodated in the lower unit 3 as the accommodating portion, and the stopper unit 200 can be prevented from being lost. In addition, the above-mentioned "accommodation" also means that it is attached and fixed as in the present embodiment.

The accommodating portion of the scanner 1 of the present embodiment is a lower unit 3 and is provided in the housing portion of the scanner 1. That is, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration capable of accommodating the removed stopper unit 200 in the housing portion of the scanner 1. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. Here, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment can accommodate the stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment described below in the front cover 19 as a stacker.

[Example 2]
Hereinafter, the stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment as the stopper unit 200 that can be attached to and detached from the scanner 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14. 11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 in the first embodiment, FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8 in the first embodiment. The components common to those in the first embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The stopper unit 200B of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the stopper unit 200A of the first embodiment except for its shape and the accommodation place in the scanner 1. Therefore, the stopper unit 200B of the present embodiment has the same characteristics as the stopper unit 200A of the first embodiment except for the difference from the stopper unit 200A of the first embodiment described below.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the stopper unit 200B of the present embodiment has a broken line 201b at the base 201, and the second stoppers 202 and 203 are folded with reference to the broken lines 202b and 203b, and the left side of FIG. 12 is shown. By folding with reference to the polygonal line 201b as shown in the figure of the above, it can be folded into a small size. As shown in the figure on the left side of FIG. 12, when the stopper unit 200B is folded, the region on the end portion 201a side of the base portion 201 on the discharge portion side is passed through the hole portion 205. The stopper unit 200B is held in a small folded state.

Then, when the stopper unit 200B is folded into a small size as shown in the figure on the left side of FIG. 12, the stopper unit 200B is provided on the second tray 19B of the front cover 19 as shown in FIG. It can be accommodated in the recess 191 as an accommodating portion. As shown in FIG. 14, the front cover 19 of the scanner 1 of the present embodiment has a first tray 19A, a second tray 19B, and a third tray 19C, which are slide type. There is. Here, the first stopper 100 is provided on the third tray 19C.

As described above, the scanner 1 of the present embodiment has the accommodating portion of the stopper unit 200B on the front cover 19 which is a stacker. Therefore, the removed stopper unit 200B can be accommodated in the front cover 19 which is a stacker.

When the stopper unit 200B of this embodiment is used as a regulating unit, first, the state shown in the figure on the left side of FIG. 12 is changed to the state shown in FIG. 11. Then, the second stopper 202 is bent along the polygonal line 202b, the second stopper 203 is bent along the polygonal line 203b so that the second stoppers 202 and 203 stand up with respect to the base 201, and further along the polygonal line 204b. The second stopper fixing portion 204 is bent so that the second stopper fixing portion 204 stands up with respect to the base 201. By doing so, as shown in the figure on the right side of FIG. 12, the recess 202c of the second stopper 202 and the recess 203c of the second stopper 203 are fixed by the top 204a of the second stopper fixing portion 204. Then, by attaching the stopper unit 200B in the state shown in the right side of FIG. 12 to the front cover 19 through the hole 205 through the first stopper 100, as shown in FIG. 13, as a regulating portion. The stopper unit 200B can be fixed to the front cover 19.

[Example 3]
Hereinafter, the stopper unit 200C of the third embodiment as the stopper unit 200 that can be attached to and detached from the scanner 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. Note that FIG. 15 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 in Example 1 and FIG. 11 in Example 2, and FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to the figure on the left side of FIG. 12 in Example 2. The components common to those of the first and second embodiments are indicated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The stopper unit 200C of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment except for its shape. Therefore, the stopper unit 200C of the present embodiment has the same characteristics as the stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment except for the difference from the stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment described below.

The stopper unit 200B of the second embodiment is compact and excellent in handling. However, if the stopper unit 200 is made too small, it may be lost. Therefore, the stopper unit 200C of the present embodiment has a shape as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 so as to have a card size in a folded state.

Specifically, the stopper unit 200C of the present embodiment has a length of 55 mm in the first direction, which is the short side in the folded state, and a length of 91 mm in the second direction, which is the long side in the folded state. It has become. As described above, it is preferable that the length in the first direction is 53 mm or more and 55 mm or less, and the length in the second direction intersecting with the first direction is 86 mm or more and 91 mm or less. This is because the stopper unit 200 can be made to have a substantially card size, and it is possible to prevent the stopper unit 200 from being too large to be accommodated and the stopper unit 200 being too small to be lost.

In the stopper unit 200C of this embodiment, a notch is made in the base 201 to form a convex portion 201c. When folding the stopper unit 200C, the stopper unit 200C is bent along the folding line 201b, and the convex portion 201c is inserted into the hole portion 205. As a result, the stopper unit 200C is held in the folded state.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say. Further, although the medium feeding device 9 is applied to the scanner in the above embodiment, it can also be applied to a recording device including a recording head for recording on recording paper as an example of the medium, for example, a printer.

1 ... Scanner, 2 ... Device body, 3 ... Lower unit (accommodation), 4 ... Upper unit, 5 ... Support stand, 5a ... Arm, 5b ... Rotating shaft, 6 ... Feed port, 7 ... Operation panel, 9 ... Medium feeder, 10 ... Top cover, 11 ... Document guide member, 11a ... First upstream connection, 11b ... Second upstream connection, 12a and 12b ... Edge guide, 14 ... Feed roller, 15 ... Separation Roller, 15a ... Rotating shaft, 16 ... Transfer roller pair, 16a ... Transfer drive roller, 16b ... Transfer driven roller, 17 ... Discharge roller pair (discharge part), 17a ... Discharge drive roller, 17b ... Discharge driven roller, 18 ... Discharge Exit, 19 ... Front cover (stacker), 19A ... 1st tray, 19B ... 2nd tray, 19C ... 3rd tray, 19a ... Base end, 19b ... Tip, 20 ... Reading, 20A ... Upper sensor unit, 20B ... Lower sensor unit, 21A and 21B ... Sensor module, 22A and 22B ... Background plate, 29 ... Set guide, 29a ... Rotating shaft, 30 ... Rotating shaft, 31 ... Flap, 31a ... Rotating shaft, 32 ... One-way clutch, 33 ... Torque limiter, 50 ... Control unit, 51 ... Double feed detection unit, 52 ... First document detection unit, 53 ... Second document detection unit, 54 ... Placement detection unit, 57 ... Feed motor, 58 ... Conveyor motor, 59 ... cam motor, 60 ... CPU, 61 ... flash ROM, 62 ... RAM, 63 ... interface, 90 ... external computer, 100 ... first stopper, 101 ... first rotation shaft, 191 ... recess (containment part), 200 ... Stopper unit, 200A ... Stopper unit, 200B ... Stopper unit, 200C ... Stopper unit, 201 ... Base, 201a ... End, 201b ... Folded line, 201c ... Convex, 202 ... Second stopper, 202a ... End, 202b ... Folded line, 202c ... recess, 203 ... second stopper, 203a ... end, 203b ... folded line, 203c ... recess, 204 ... second stopper fixing part, 204a ... top, 204b ... bent line, 205 ... hole (mounting part), M ... manuscript (medium), M1 ... tip

Claims (14)

The discharge part that discharges the medium and
With a stacker that stacks the medium discharged from the discharge unit,
A first stopper provided on the stacker to regulate the position of the medium in the discharge direction by abutting on the tip of the medium discharged from the discharge portion in the discharge direction.
A second stopper provided on the stopper unit that can be attached to the stacker and that regulates the position of the medium in the discharge direction by contacting the tip of the medium discharged from the discharge unit in the discharge direction is provided.
A medium feeding device characterized in that the restricted position of the medium in the discharge direction by the second stopper is between the discharge unit and the regulated position of the medium in the discharge direction by the first stopper. In the medium feeding device according to claim 1,
The stopper unit has a base provided with the second stopper and a mounting portion that can be attached to the first stopper.
The second stopper is a medium feeding device characterized in that it can be bent with respect to the base portion. In the medium feeding device according to claim 2,
The mounting portion is a medium feeding device characterized by being a hole through which the first stopper is passed. In the medium feeding device according to claim 2 or 3.
The stopper unit is a medium feeding device, characterized in that the attachment portion is attached to the first stopper and is fixed to the first stopper in the discharge direction. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The stacker contacts the tip in the discharge direction of the medium at the contact start position between the base end portion and the tip end portion, and the medium is further moved toward the tip end portion by the discharge portion to stack the medium. It is a composition,
The stopper unit is a medium feeding device, wherein the end portion of the base portion on the discharge portion side is located closer to the base end portion side than the contact start position when the stopper unit is mounted on the stacker. .. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A medium feeding device comprising the accommodating portion of the stopper unit. In the medium feeding device according to claim 6,
The accommodating portion is a medium feeding device provided in a housing portion of the medium feeding device. In the medium feeding device according to claim 6,
The accommodating portion is a medium feeding device provided in the stacker. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The discharge part is a roller,
The second stopper is a medium feeding device provided between the roller and the first stopper. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
The second stopper is a medium feeding device characterized in that it is provided at an overlapping position when viewed from the discharging direction. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
The first stopper is configured to be rotatable with respect to the first rotation shaft.
The second stopper is a medium feeding device characterized in that it is configured to be rotatable with respect to a second rotation shaft intersecting with the first rotation shaft. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
The stopper unit is a medium feeding device characterized in that the length in the first direction is 53 mm or more and 55 mm or less, and the length in the second direction intersecting with the first direction is 86 mm or more and 91 mm or less. The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
The stopper unit is a medium feeding device made of paper or resin. A reading means to read the surface of the medium,
The medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and the medium feeding device.
An image reading device characterized by comprising.

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