JP2774591B2 - Automatic document circulation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Field of the Invention This invention relates to, for example, a copying machine in which a plurality of originals are sequentially sent to an exposure unit or the like, and the originals are sequentially collected after exposure. It relates to an automatic circulation device.

(B) Conventional technology For example, in a copying machine, originals stacked on an original placing table are sent out one by one from the uppermost part, and the originals are exposed in an exposure unit and then returned to the lowermost part of the original placing table. Some are equipped with devices. A conventional automatic document recirculation apparatus is, for example, a method of lowering a document bundle by feeding a document bundle that has been lifted up and returning a document bundle on a document table to a lower side of the document bundle as shown in US Pat. No. 4,441,901, US Pat. Was common.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when the document is returned as described above, the control for moving the document bundle up and down is complicated, and there is a disadvantage that the apparatus itself becomes large. Further, when the stack of originals is moved up and down, the originals may be misaligned or the corners of the original may be broken.

On the other hand, it is also conceivable to use the force of the original document to push the original document to the bottom of the original stack using rollers. Therefore, in order to return the original to the home position, a plurality of rollers or a conveyor belt must be provided on the original mounting table, and must be pressed until the original returns to the home position. However, in this case, there is a disadvantage that the document is stained by long-term contact with the roller or the transport belt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic document circulating apparatus capable of reliably returning a document to a document table without causing the document to be damaged or stained.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention feeds the uppermost document of a document bundle placed on a document table, circulates an exposure unit and the like, and moves the document to the lowermost position of the document bundle. In the automatic document returning device, a notch is provided at the upstream end of the document table in the document returning direction, and an upper shaft and a lower shaft, each of which is connected to a driving unit, are provided below the notch. A driven roller rotatably loosely fitted to the upper shaft, fixed to the upper shaft, and in a state where the upper shaft is stopped, the cutout portion is exposed to the document placing table to support the document bundle. When the upper shaft is rotating, the claw portion pushes the rear end of the original returned to the original placing table in the original returning direction, and then pushes up together with the rear end of the original bundle and extends toward the rear end of the original bundle. And a feed claw having: fixed to the lower shaft Wherein the driving roller abutting the driven roller, the provided by rotating the upper shaft after stopping the rotation of the lower shaft, characterized by superimposing the original bundle on the returned document.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. A notch 10 is provided at an upstream portion of the original placing table 1 in the original returning direction, and a bundle of originals 2 is placed on the original placing table 1. Below the notch 10, an upper shaft 6 and a lower shaft 7 are respectively connected to a driving unit (not shown). FIG. 2 is a side view of the upper shaft 6 and the lower shaft 7. On the upper shaft 6,
Driven rollers 61 and 6 rotatably fitted to the upper shaft 6
1 and a feed claw 62 fixed to the upper shaft 6. The feed claw 62 has a claw portion 62a, and the claw portion 62a pushes out the document 20 when the upper shaft 62a rotates.
The shape of the claw portion 62a may be arbitrary. The lower shaft 7 is provided with drive rollers 71, 71 in contact with the driven shafts 61, 61.

(E) Function In the present invention, the document returned via the exposure unit and the like is sent by the rotation of the driving roller 71 and the driven roller 61, and is pushed into the lowermost portion of the document bundle 2. However, when the trailing end of the document reaches both rollers 71 and 61, the document does not move any further. Therefore, when the upper shaft 6 is rotated, the claw portion 62a of the feeding claw presses the rear end of the document 20 in the document return direction, and then pushes upward together with the rear end of the document bundle and extends rearward to completely remove the document 20. Along the original bundle 20.

If the document placing table 1 is provided with a rib, the friction between the document 20 and the document placing table 1 is reduced, so that the document is easily fed. In addition, the document 20 does not bend perpendicularly to the conveyance direction and jamming occurs. And wrinkles of the original do not occur.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of an automatic document circulation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A plurality of documents (document bundles) 2 are placed on the document table 1. A circulation unit 3 including exposure units 31 and 32 is provided on the right side of the document table 1.

The uppermost document on the document table 1 is sent to the circulation unit 3,
After being exposed by the exposure units 31 and 32, the document is returned to the lowermost portion of the document bundle 2. The exposure tables 31 and 32 include document tables 31a and 32a made of a transparent hard glass body, respectively, and the documents on the document tables are fed at a predetermined speed. An optical system (not shown) is fixed below the document tables 31a and 32a, and scans a moving document. The uppermost document sent from the document table 1 is first exposed on the exposure unit 31 and then sent to the document reversing unit 33. The document reversing unit 33 reverses the front and back of the document by a switchback method, and sends the document to the exposure unit 32. Therefore, the exposure section 32 exposes the back surface of the document. This document is returned to the document table 1 by a plurality of rollers.

In this apparatus, the uppermost document is fed by a suction method. At the upper right part of the document table 1, a suction belt 41 having a belt 41a having a plurality of holes formed between rollers 41b and 41c is stretched.
Is provided. A suction device 42 is provided between the rollers 41b and 41c of the suction belt 41. The suction device 42 is a belt 41
Suck the top document through a. Then, in this state, the rollers 41b and 41c and the belt 41a rotate, and the uppermost document is sent to the circulation unit 3. Reference numeral 43 denotes an air blowing unit which blows air to the leading end of the document bundle to separate the document bundle and prevent double feeding.

The document placing table 1 includes a document placing table main body 1a provided continuously with a document conveying guide plate of the circulation section 3, and a main body 1a.
It has a rib 1b protruding upward, and an upper guide plate 1c provided at a predetermined distance above the main body 1a. A document return section 5 having an upper shaft and a lower shaft is provided below the upper guide plate 1c (below the notch). Third
The figure is a perspective view of the document return unit.

The upper shaft 6 is provided perpendicular to the document conveying direction, is connected to a drive system (not shown), and is rotatable in the arrow direction. The upper shaft 6 has driven rollers 61, 61 and feed claws 62, 6
2,62 are provided. The driven roller 61 is loosely fitted to the upper shaft 6 and is rotatable. The feed pawl 62 is fixed to the upper shaft 6. The feed claw 62 is provided on a part of the roller peripheral surface.
a when the upper shaft 6 stops.
Is on the upper side, and the claw portion 62a supports the original bundle 2. That is, the notch 1d is provided in the upper guide plate 1c, from which the upper end of the claw 62a projects and stops. Therefore, the document bundle comes on this.

A hole is formed in the original mounting table main body 1a at a position facing the driven rollers 61, 61, from which the driving rollers 71, 71 abut the driven rollers 61, 61. Although the shape and number of the ribs 1b provided on the original mounting table main body are arbitrary, it is preferable to provide them at a gentle angle as shown in the figure. A sensor S1 is provided upstream of the upper shaft 6 and the lower shaft.
(See FIG. 4). The sensor S1 is a transmissive optical sensor, and detects a returned document.

The operation of the main part of the automatic document circulation device having the above configuration will be described. 4 (A) to 4 (C) show the state of the feed shaft, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure.

First, when the sensor S1 detects the returning document 20 and turns it off, a driving force is transmitted to the lower shaft 7, and the driving rollers 71, 71 and the driven rollers 61, 61 rotate (n1 → n2). As a result, the document 20 is sent to the lowermost portion of the document bundle 2. At this time, since the document table is provided with the rib 1b, the document 20
The friction between the document and the document table 1 is reduced, and the document 20 is smoothly fed, and wrinkles and jams are prevented. The sensor S1 to the rear end of the document passes through the point S1 sensor while is turned, driven from the ON signal to ₁ hour after t, the driven roller is stopped (n3 → n4 → n5). Note that t ₁ hour is
“(Document conveyance speed) × (distance from sensor S1 to nip point between drive roller and driven roller)”. FIG. 4A shows the state of the original 20 at this time, and the trailing end of the original is stopped between the driving and driven rollers.

When the drive and driven rollers stop, the upper shaft 6 makes one rotation instead (n6 → n7 → n8). When the upper shaft 6 starts rotating, the document bundle 2 once falls on the upper guide plate 1c. This falling distance is short, and since it is only the leading end of the document bundle, corner bending of the document does not occur. Then, the feed claw 62 rotates, and the claw portion 62a hooks the trailing end of the document, feeds the document 20 in the document bundle direction as shown in FIG. 4B, and finally overlaps the document 20 on the document bundle 2 ( (FIG. 4 (C)). At this time, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the claw portion 62a simultaneously lifts the document 20 and the document bundle 2 and overlaps them, so that
The document 20 can be completely overlapped on the document bundle 2. In addition,
The rotation state of the upper shaft 6 can be detected by an encoder or the like.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, after the rear end of the original returned to the original placing table is pressed in the original returning direction, the original is pushed upward together with the rear end of the original bundle and is extended rearward. Originals, each of which has flexibility, can always be aligned as one original bundle on the original mounting table, and even when the original is circulated a plurality of times, the original is placed on the original mounting table. The state is not disturbed, and no paper feeding failure occurs. In addition, there is no need for a complicated configuration or control only for raising and lowering the document bundle, and there is no occurrence of corner bending of the document and contamination of the document surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a configuration of an upper shaft and a lower shaft. 3 to 6 are views showing the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper shaft and a lower shaft, and FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (C) are upper shafts when returning a document.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of the lower axis, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure, and FIG. 1 Document Placement Table, 2 Document Bundle, 6 Upper Axis, 7 Lower Axis, 20 Document, 61 Driven Roller, 62 Feed Claw, 62a Claw, 71 … Driving roller.

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Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An automatic document circulating apparatus for feeding an uppermost original of a bundle of originals placed on an original placing table, circulating an exposure unit, and returning the originals to a lowermost position of the original bundle. A notch is provided at the upstream end of the table in the document return direction, and an upper shaft and a lower shaft respectively connected to a drive unit are provided below the notch, and the upper shaft is rotatably mounted on the upper shaft. In a state in which the driven roller is fitted and fixed to the upper shaft and the upper shaft is stopped, the cutout is exposed to the document mounting table to support the document bundle and the upper shaft is rotating. And a feed claw having a claw portion for pressing the rear end of the document returned to the document mounting table in the document return direction, and then pushing upward with the rear end of the document bundle and extending toward the rear end of the document bundle; A drive roller fixed to a shaft and in contact with the driven roller An automatic document circulating device comprising: a roller stacker for rotating the upper shaft after stopping the rotation of the lower shaft so that the stack of documents is overlapped on the returned document.