JP2000181151A - Original feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a large size punch hole detection on the original so as possible to be performed, in an original feeder. SOLUTION: This original feeder is provided with first and second detecting means detecting the passing of the original, and is characterized in that in the case that the punch hole is detected by the first detecting means (S 48), it decides whether the detected punch hole is allowed to pass through the second original detecting means (S 50), and moreover, it performs the detection of an original trailing end and punch hole by the second original detecting means after the passing (S 52 to 58). Since the second original detecting means is not required to detect the original trailing end and the punch hole before passing through, it is enough to detect the original trailing end and the punch hole by the first original detecting means only, therefore original feeder is made possible to detect the large size punching hole.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document feeder for a copying machine, a facsimile, and a scanner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A document feeder is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-67409. An example of a prior art document feeder will be described below. FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional document feeder. Document feeder 101
Is for sending the original 105. Paper feed table 10
The document 105 loaded on the document 6 is lifted by the document lifting member 107 and pressed by the call roller 108. The original lifting member 107 is moved up and down by an unillustrated original lifting member vertical stepping motor. The call roller 108 rotates and feeds the document 105 from the top to the separation unit. The separating section includes a separating belt 109 and a separating roller 110. The document 105 separated into one by the separation unit is
The image is read by being transported to the contact glass 119 by the first transport roller 111, the second transport roller 112, and the transport belt 113. At this time, the document is stopped so that the trailing edge of the document is positioned on the document scale 120. While reading the image information of the original 105, the next original 105 is conveyed, and the leading end of the original 105 is stopped at the advance position 128. The document 105 is sequentially fed from the top, and when the feeding of the last sheet is completed, the document lifting member 107 is lowered. Call roller 108, separation belt 109, separation roller 110, first transport roller 11
Each of the first and second transport rollers 112 is driven by a paper feed stepping motor (not shown), and the transport belt 113 is driven by a transport stepping motor (not shown). The paper feeding stepping motor and the conveyance stepping motor can be driven independently.

In the vicinity of the downstream side of the first transport roller 111 and the second transport roller 112, document detection means for detecting jam, document length, and document stop timing, that is, a first sheet feed sensor 114 and a second sheet feeder, respectively. There is a paper sensor 115. First paper feed sensor 114 for detecting the length of the original
You are using The length of the original can be detected by counting the number of drive pulses of the paper feed stepping motor while the original is being detected by the first paper feed sensor. Positioning when stopping the original 105 on the contact glass 119 is performed by the second paper feed sensor 115. Second paper feed sensor 115
After detecting the trailing edge of the original, the transport stepping motor is driven by a specified pulse to stop it. The second sheet sensor 115 also performs positioning when the leading edge of the next document stops at the advance position 128. As soon as the leading edge of the next document passes through the second paper feed sensor 115, the paper feeding stepping motor starts decelerating and stops the leading edge of the document at the advance position 128.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of punch hole detection control. Both the first paper feed sensor 114 and the second paper feed sensor 115 perform punch hole detection control. If the output of the first sheet sensor 114 is a document detection,
The output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S10), and after the document is changed from detection to non-detection, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored while the document is conveyed by a predetermined number of pulses of the motor (S10).
12). If the original is detected again during the monitoring of the sensor output, it is determined that the original is a punch hole of the original (S14). If the output of the sensor remains undetected even after the motor has conveyed the document by the predetermined number of pulses, it is determined that the document is at the rear end (S16). The detection of the rear end and the punch hole by the second paper feed sensor 115 is performed after the detection of the rear end by the first paper feed sensor 114. That is, if the output of the sensor is a document detection, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S18), and after the document detection is changed to non-detection, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored while the document is conveyed by a predetermined number of pulses of the motor. (S20). If the original is detected again during the sensor output monitoring, it is determined that the original is a punch hole of the original (S2).
2). If the output of the same sensor remains undetected even after the original is conveyed by the predetermined number of pulses of the motor, it is determined that the original is at the rear end (S24).

After the output of the sensor changes from document detection to non-detection, it is possible to detect a punch hole of the same size as the document transport distance (L) for which the output of the sensor is continuously monitored. If a punched hole having a size exceeding this size passes through the sensor, the punched hole is regarded as the trailing edge of the document, causing a malfunction. Therefore, L should be set as long as possible.

However, in the punch hole detection control by the first paper feed sensor 114, when L is set to be large, the timing for determining the detection of the document length is delayed. Also, the second paper feed sensor 11
In the punch hole detection control at 5, the document transport distance from the time when the trailing edge of the document passes through the sensor to the time when the transport stepping motor starts to decelerate to stop the document on the contact glass is the maximum value of L ( Lm). Therefore, in the conventional machine, L = Lm and punch hole detection control is performed.
Lm is about 10 mm to 12 mm depending on the machine configuration.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a procedure for performing advance advance of the next original. To advance the next original, first
After the leading edge of the document is detected by the feed sensor 114 (S3
0), the leading edge of the original is detected by the second paper feed sensor 115 (S32). As soon as the second sheet sensor 15 detects the leading edge of the original, the sheet feeding stepping motor starts decelerating and stops the leading edge of the original at the advance position 128 (S34).

[0008]

In the prior art described above, the first paper feed sensor 114 and the second paper feed sensor 115 detect punch holes independently of each other. As described above, punch hole detection by the second paper feed sensor 115 can be performed only from the time when the rear end of the document passes through the second paper feed sensor 115 to the time when the stop operation is started. Therefore, it is not possible to detect a punch hole of a very large size.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable detection of a large-sized punch hole. In addition, during the document advance operation, the document stop operation is started immediately after the leading edge of the document reaches the second paper feed sensor 115. Therefore, if the registration sensor is turned ON (document detection) output due to noise such as static electricity even though the document has not reached the second paper feed sensor 115, the document stopping operation is started.

It is another object of the present invention to prevent a document stopping operation from being started by noise such as static electricity.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a storage means for storing a plurality of documents in a stacked state, a document detection means for detecting that the documents are stored in the storage means, and a storage means connected to the storage means. Sending means for sequentially sending the sent originals from the storage means, an image reading unit for reading the original, a conveying means for connecting the one end to the sending means and conveying the original sent from the sending means to the image reading unit, and At least one or more document detection means for detecting passage of the document conveyed in the middle and present in the width direction with respect to the sheet feeding direction;
When one of the document detecting means detects a punched hole of the document, the detected punched hole passes through another document detecting means, and then the other document detecting means detects the trailing edge of the document and the punched hole. And

When one of the document detecting means detects a punched hole in the document, the detected trailing edge and the punched hole are detected by the other document detecting means after the detected punched hole passes through the other document detecting means. . That is, the trailing edge of the document and the punch hole are not detected until the detected punch hole passes through another document detecting means. Therefore, even if there is a large size punch hole in the document, it is detected by only one of the document detection means,
Large size punch holes can be detected. For this reason, a malfunction does not occur due to a mistake between the punched hole and the rear end of the document.

Further, the present invention further comprises the step of, when one of the document detecting means detects the trailing edge of the document, after the trailing edge of the document arrives within a certain distance from the other document detecting means, The trailing edge of the document may be detected. Even if a punched hole that could not be detected by one of the document detection means passed through the other document detection means, if one of the document detection means detected the trailing edge of the document, the other document detection means Before the trailing edge of the document arrives within a certain distance, the trailing edge of the document is not detected by other document detecting means. Further, the accuracy of punch hole detection can be further improved.

Further, according to the present invention, when one of the original detecting means detects the leading end of the original, after the leading end of the original arrives at the other original detecting means, the other original detecting means detects the trailing end of the original. You may. If one of the document detection means detects the leading edge of the document, the leading edge is not detected until the leading edge of the document reaches the other document detection means. Does not occur.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the document feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The document feeder 1 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 2. The image forming apparatus 2 has an exposure unit, and reads an original set on the contact glass 19 by the first mirror 3 and the lamp 4. At this time,
The first mirror 3 and the lamp 4 move and read.

The document feeder 1 sends out a document 5. The document 5 loaded on the sheet feeding table 6 is lifted by the document lifting member 7 and is pressed by the call roller 8. The document lifting member 7 is moved up and down by a stepping motor (not shown). The call roller 8 rotates and feeds the document 5 from the top to the separation unit. The separating section includes a separating belt 9 and a separating roller 10. The document 5 separated into one sheet by the separation unit is conveyed to the contact glass 19 by the first conveyance roller 11, the second conveyance roller 12, and the conveyance belt 13, and the image information is read. At this time, the document is stopped so that the rear end of the document is positioned on the document scale 20. The next original 5 is conveyed while the image information of the original 5 is being read, and the leading end of the original 5 is stopped at the advance position 28. The document 5 is sequentially fed from the top, and when the feeding of the last sheet is completed, the document lifting member 7 is lowered. Call roller 8, separation belt 9, separation roller 10, first transport roller 1
Each of the first and second transport rollers 12 is driven by a paper feed stepping motor (not shown), and the transport belt 13 is driven by a transport stepping motor (not shown). The paper feeding stepping motor and the conveyance stepping motor can be driven independently.

First transport roller 11 and second transport roller 1
In the vicinity of the downstream side of Document 2, there are document detecting means for detecting jam, document length, and document stop timing, that is, a first paper feed sensor 14 and a second paper feed sensor 15. The first paper feed sensor 14 is used to detect the document length. By counting the number of drive pulses of the paper feed stepping motor while at least one paper feed sensor (in the present embodiment, the first paper feed sensor 14 in the present embodiment) detects a document. Document length can be detected. Positioning when the document 5 is stopped on the contact glass 19 is performed by the second paper feed sensor 15. After detecting the trailing edge of the original by the second paper feed sensor 15, the conveying stepping motor is driven by a specified pulse and stopped. Further, the positioning when the leading edge of the next original is stopped at the advance position 28 is also performed by the second paper feed sensor 15. As soon as the leading edge of the next document passes through the second paper feed sensor 15, the paper feed stepping motor starts decelerating and stops the leading edge of the document at the advance position. As described above, in the present embodiment, at least one paper feed sensor exists in the width direction with respect to the paper feed direction.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the control system. CPU
Various sensors and motor drivers 40a, b, c, d, and e are connected to the RAM 30 and the RAM 30, respectively. The various sensors include the document set sensor 21, the first paper feed sensor 14,
Second paper feed sensor 15, paper discharge sensor 29, reversing sensor 1
8, lift-up sensor 22, paper feed proper position sensor 2
6. Refers to bottom plate lower limit sensor 25. Original set sensor 21
Is a sensor that detects that a document has been set on the paper feed table 6. The paper discharge sensor 29 is a sensor that detects paper discharge. The reversing sensor 18 is a sensor that detects the trailing end of the document after the discharge of the document is completed. The lift-up sensor 22 is a sensor that detects that the document lifting member 7 has been lifted. The bottom plate lower limit sensor 25 is a sensor that detects that the position of the bottom plate, that is, the document lifting member 7 has reached the lower limit. The paper feed proper position sensor 26 is a sensor that detects whether the paper is being fed at a proper position.

The motor drivers 40a to 40e are connected to various motors. The various motors include a call roller up / down motor 50, a stepping motor 51 for a document lifting member, a sheet feeding stepping motor 52, and a transport stepping motor 5.
3 and the discharge motor 54. The call roller up / down motor 50 is a motor that moves the call roller 8 up and down.
The stepping motor 51 for the document lifting member, the sheet feeding stepping motor 52, and the conveyance stepping motor 53 are as described above. The paper discharge motor 54 is a motor that discharges a document.

The CPU 30 communicates with the image forming apparatus 2. Further, the CPU 30 transmits signals to the motor drivers 40a to 40e based on signals from various sensors to drive various motors. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of punch hole detection control in the document feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First paper feed sensor 14 and second paper feed sensor 1
5 performs punch hole detection control. If the output of the sensor is detected by the first paper feed sensor 14, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S40). During the conveyance, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S42). If the original is detected again during the sensor output monitoring, it is determined that the original is a punch hole (S44). If the output of the sensor remains undetected even after the document is conveyed by the predetermined number of pulses of the motor, it is determined that the document is at the rear end (S46).

Therefore, after the output of the sensor changes from document detection to non-detection, it is possible to detect a punch hole of the same size as the document transport distance (L) for which the output of the sensor is continuously monitored. If a punched hole having a size exceeding this size passes through the sensor, the punched hole is regarded as the trailing edge of the document, causing a malfunction. Therefore, L should be set as long as possible.

In the punch hole detection control by the first paper feed sensor 14, when L is set to be large, the timing for determining the detection of the document length is delayed. However, there is no problem if the document length detection determination timing is such that the trailing edge of the document passes through the second paper feed sensor 15. Therefore, L in the punch hole detection control of the first paper feed sensor 14 The desired value Lm1 is set to a value smaller than the distance between the sensor and the second paper feed sensor. Generally, a punch hole of a document is large and is about 11 mm. Therefore, even if a special case is considered, it is sufficient to set Lm1 to about 15 mm. In this setting, it is determined whether a punch hole has been detected by the first paper feed sensor 14 (S48).
If it is detected, the detected punched hole is
(After the rear end of the punched hole passes through the first paper feed sensor 14, the distance between the first paper feed sensor 14 and the second paper feed sensor 15) The second feed sensor 15 does not detect the trailing edge and the punched holes (until driven by a certain number of pulses corresponding to the above) (S50). That is, after the detected punch hole has passed through the second paper feed sensor 15, the second
The trailing edge and punch holes are detected by the paper feed sensor 15. That is, if the output of the sensor is a document detection, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S52). After the detection of the document is changed to non-detection, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored while a predetermined number of pulses of the motor are conveyed. (S54). If the original is detected again during the sensor output monitoring, it is determined that the original is a punch hole (S56). If the output of the same sensor remains undetected even after the document is conveyed by the predetermined number of pulses of the motor, it is determined that the document is at the rear end (S5).
8).

First paper feed sensor 14 and second paper feed sensor 15
Since the position in the vertical direction is the same as that of the document conveyance, the punched hole that has passed through the first paper feed sensor 14 also passes through the second paper feed sensor 15 unless the document is bent and conveyed. Accordingly, even when a large-sized punch hole (Lm1 or less) passes through the first paper feed sensor 14 and the second paper feed sensor 15, malfunction can be prevented.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of punch hole detection control in the document feeder according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The document feeder according to the second embodiment of the present invention differs from the document feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention in punch hole detection control. Similar to the first embodiment, the first paper feed sensor 14 performs punch hole detection control with L = Lm1. At the first paper feed sensor 14,
If the sensor output is document detection, the sensor output is continuously monitored (S60). After the sensor output changes from document detection to non-detection, the sensor output is continuously monitored until the document is conveyed by Lm1. (S62). If the original is detected again during the sensor output monitoring, it is determined that the original is a punch hole (S64). If the original is not detected again even after the original has been conveyed by Lm1, it is determined that the original is at the trailing end (S66). Second paper feed sensor 15
Then, the paper feed stepping motor 52 and the transport stepping motor 53 are driven until the trailing edge of the document arrives just before (about 5 mm before), and then the trailing edge detection by the second paper feed sensor 15 is started (S70). Then, after Lm1 is conveyed, the document stopping operation is started (S72). Since the detection of the trailing edge of the document by the second sheet sensor 15 is not performed until the trailing edge of the document arrives immediately before the second sheet sensor 15, a large-sized punch hole (Lm1 or less) is provided. Even when the sheet passes through the paper sensor 14 and the second paper feed sensor 15, occurrence of malfunction can be prevented. The second paper feed sensor 15 does not need to detect punch holes. Further, the original is conveyed in a bent state, and the punched holes that cannot be detected by the first paper feed sensor 14
Even when the sheet passes through the paper feed sensor 15, occurrence of malfunction can be prevented.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for detecting the leading edge of a document in the document feeder according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The document feeder according to the third embodiment of the present invention differs from the document feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention in punch hole detection control. If the sensor output is not detected by the first paper feed sensor 14, the output of the sensor is continuously monitored (S80).
After detecting the leading edge of the next original by step 4, wait until the leading edge of the original arrives immediately before the second paper feeding sensor 15 (about 5 mm) until the paper feeding stepping motor 52 is driven (S82). The paper feed stepping motor 52 is driven until the leading edge of the document arrives immediately before the sensor 15 (about 5 mm before), and then the leading edge detection by the second paper feed sensor 15 is started (S84). When the document is detected, the document stopping operation is started (S86). Since the detection of the leading edge of the document by the second paper sensor 15 is not performed until the leading edge of the document arrives immediately before the second paper sensor 15, even if the document has not reached the second paper sensor 15. Regardless, the second paper feed sensor 15 is turned on due to noise such as static electricity (document detection)
Even in the case of an output, occurrence of a malfunction can be prevented.

[0027]

According to the present invention, even if a document has a large-sized punched hole, it is possible to prevent a mistaken operation due to a mistake between the punched hole and the rear end of the document. Further, the detection accuracy of large-sized punch holes can be further improved. Further, no malfunction occurs even when the other document detection means erroneously detects the noise due to noise or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a document feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of punch hole detection control in the document feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of punch hole detection control in a document feeder according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of document leading edge detection control in a document feeder according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional document feeder.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of punch hole detection control according to the related art.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a procedure for performing advance advance of a next original according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Document feeder 2 Image forming device 3 First mirror 4 Lamp 5 Document 6 Feeding table 7 Document lifting member 8 Recall roller 9 Separation belt 10 Separation roller 11 First transport roller 12 Second transport roller 13 Transport belt 14 First feed Paper sensor 15 Second paper feed sensor 18 Inversion sensor 19 Contact glass 20 Original scale 21 Original set sensor 22 Lift-up sensor 25 Bottom plate lower limit sensor 26 Proper paper feed position sensor 28 Advance position 29 Paper ejection sensor 30 CPU 31 RAM 40a-e Motor Driver 50 Recall roller up / down motor 51 Stepper motor for original lifting member 52 Feeding stepping motor 53 Conveying stepping motor 54 Discharge motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] A storage unit configured to store a plurality of documents in a stacked state; a document detection unit configured to detect that the documents are stored in the storage unit; and a storage unit configured to connect the stored documents to the storage unit. Sending means for sequentially sending from the storage means, an image reading unit for reading the original, conveying means for connecting one end of the original to the sending means and conveying the original sent from the sending means to the image reading unit, And at least one document detecting means that is located in the width direction with respect to the sheet feeding direction and detects passage of the document conveyed in the middle of the document. And detecting the trailing edge of the original and the punched hole by the other original detecting means after the detected punched hole has passed through the other original detecting means. 2. When one of the document detecting means detects the trailing edge of the document, after the trailing edge of the document arrives within a certain distance from the other document detecting means, the document is detected by the other document detecting means. 2. The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein edge detection is performed. 3. When one of the original detecting means detects the leading end of the original, after the leading end of the original arrives at the other original detecting means, the other original detecting means detects the trailing end of the original. The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein: