JP2000264525A - Paper transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transport each sheet of paper certainly in the desired direction without causing the sheet transported on the specified transport path to have a turn-up, folding at the leading edge, jamming, etc. SOLUTION: A projecting piece 421 furnished with surface unevenness at the top edge is provided in such a way as protruding into a transport path and contacted with a sheet of paper being transported in the transport path. Thereby, the sheet P in contact with the projecting piece 421 becomes undulate in the direction across the width, becomes unlikely to be folded about the transporting direction, and is equipped with a strong stiffness about the transporting direction. Accordingly, even if the sheet P has a weak stiffness because of a curling trend given in transport, small thickness, etc., it is prevented from having a turn-up, folding at the leading edge, jamming, etc., and the sheet can be transported certainly in the desired direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper transport device for transporting paper such as originals and transfer paper in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile device, a scanner device, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a copying machine or the like, a paper transporting device for transporting a sheet such as a document or a transfer sheet has a transporting path including a pair of transporting surfaces arranged opposite to each other. The paper is conveyed to the road in a predetermined order.

[0003]

In such a paper transport apparatus, when the paper is curled during transportation or when the paper is transported with a thin paper thickness, so-called weak stiffness, etc. Depending on the form of the path, the paper may be caught on the transport surface, causing the paper to break, the paper rubbing strongly against the transport surface, causing dirt, or causing a jam (paper jam) in the transport path. In some cases, a problem such as rolling was caused.

[0004] Specifically, the following portions can be specifically mentioned as portions where such a problem easily occurs.

At the exit of the transport path 90 where the paper P is discharged onto the output tray 80 by the pair of discharge rollers 98 and 99 as shown in FIG. In this case, the paper P to be discharged is curled due to a curl or the like attached during conveyance, and the papers P are stacked in a page order and are not discharged, resulting in poor operability to take out the paper from the discharge tray 80. Also, the sheet P
May fall.

Bent portion of transport path (FIG. 16) Also, in a portion where the transport path 90 is bent as shown in FIG. 16, the paper P is stuck along the curve of the transport path 90 without being completely turned ( (C portion in the figure), and the troubles such as the leading end of the paper P being broken or causing a jam are likely to occur.

A portion where the curvature of the transport path changes (FIG. 17) Further, a portion where the curvature of the transport path 90 changes, in particular, FIG.
In the part where the curvature is large (the curve is tight) as shown in FIG.

[0008] A portion where the bending direction of the transport path is reversed (FIG. 18) In a portion where the bending direction of the transport path 90 is reversed (S-shaped curve portion) as shown in FIG. 18, the paper P is once transported. Due to curl habits caused by curving along a path, the next curve is often caught on the transport path 90 without being able to turn completely.

A transport path for transporting the sheet substantially upward (FIG. 1)
9) Further, in the transport path 90 for transporting the paper P upward as shown in FIG. 19, if the stiffness of the paper P is weak, the leading end portion hangs down due to gravity, so that the leading end of the paper P is caught in the transport path. The tip may be broken or a jam may occur.

[0010] Portion where the conveyance path branches (FIG. 20). When image reading and image formation are continuously performed on a plurality of sheets P, the next sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path when the preceding sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path. It is common to feed a sheet to close the sheet interval. At this time, at the branch position 49 of the transport path, as shown in FIG.
When the next sheet P2 is conveyed from the conveyance path 93 to the conveyance path 92 through the branch position 49,
May be sent to In such a case, the leading edge of the next sheet P2 is entangled with the transport of the preceding sheet P1 (portion C in FIG. 2), and the sheet P is likely to be turned up or broken.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and a paper transport apparatus capable of reliably transporting a paper in a desired transport direction without turning over or breaking a leading end of the paper and further causing a jam or the like. The purpose is to provide.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a paper transporting apparatus according to the present invention is directed to a paper transporting apparatus for transporting a sheet along a predetermined transporting path. A protruding piece provided to protrude inside the transport path so that the protruding piece has a contact portion that comes into contact with the sheet so as to undulate the sheet in the width direction ( Claim 1).

[0013] According to such a configuration, the sheet is wavy in the width direction when it comes into contact with the protruding piece provided on the inner side of the transport path, so that the sheet is orthogonal to the width direction. It is difficult to bend in the transport direction,
A state is provided in which a strong stiffness is provided in the transport direction. For this reason, even if the paper has a weak curl due to a curl during transport or a thin paper, the paper can be curled while preventing the paper from being turned over, the leading end bend, and the paper jam. It is possible to reliably carry the paper in the desired carrying direction.

Such a protruding piece can be formed of one member having a concave portion or a convex portion formed at a portion in contact with the paper (claim 2). If the protruding piece is formed of one member in this manner, the work of attaching the projecting piece to the transport path is easy.

Further, the contact portion of the protruding piece with the sheet may be formed in a shape having one convex portion or a concave portion. In order to provide the above, it is desirable to form a plurality of concave portions or convex portions in the contact portion (claim 3).

Further, such a projecting piece may be constituted by a plurality of members arranged in the width direction of the transport path. With this configuration, each member constituting the projecting piece can be configured as a small member with respect to the width of the transport path, and each member can be configured in the same shape. Can be achieved.

Further, if the projecting piece is configured so as to have a symmetrical shape in the width direction at the contact portion with the paper, the paper contacting the projecting piece becomes wavy symmetrically in the width direction. Receiving an asymmetric transport resistance in the width direction from the inner wall surface or the like of the transport path can prevent an oblique transport state from occurring (claim 5).

If the contact portion of the projecting piece is formed into a smooth curved shape, the contact portion of the projecting piece is sharp,
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of streak-like wrinkles or the like running in the transport direction on the sheet in contact with this portion (claim 6).

Further, if such a projecting piece is constituted by an elastic member, the projecting piece can be always brought into contact with the paper at a predetermined pressure due to the elastic deformation of the projecting piece. (Claim 7).

Further, if such a projecting piece is provided at a branch position where a plurality of transport paths are branched, and a sheet fed to the branch position is guided to one of the transport paths branched from the branch position. In addition, since the projecting piece can function as a sheet guide mechanism at the branch position of the transport path together with the above-described operation and effect, the number of components can be reduced as a whole of the apparatus, and cost can be reduced. ).

It is desirable that such a projecting piece be provided at a branch position of the transport path where a plurality of sheets are simultaneously fed from different transport paths. If the protruding piece is provided at such a position, the paper is in a state of waving in the width direction by contacting the protruding piece, so that the contact area between the papers conveyed simultaneously at the branch position of the conveying path is reduced. It is possible to reduce paper stains due to paper rubbing against each other.

The projecting piece is in contact with the sheet so that both end portions in the width direction of the sheet contacting the projecting piece are separated from the other sheet side simultaneously fed to the branch position. (Claim 1)
0). According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the paper conveyed simultaneously at the branch position from coming into contact at both ends, so that it is possible to prevent the corners of the paper from being broken, that is, so-called edge breakage.

Further, if such a projecting piece is provided in a transport path in which a plurality of sheets are simultaneously transported in the reverse direction, the sheet is turned up or the leading edge is caused by the one sheet being transported by the other sheet. Breaking and the like can be prevented (claim 11).

If such a protruding piece is provided near the exit position of the transport path for discharging the paper to the discharge tray, the curl of the paper at the time of discharging to the discharge tray is prevented, and the paper is stacked in the page order. Can be discharged onto the discharge tray as described above (claim 12).

Further, if such a projecting piece is provided at a portion where the transport path is bent or a portion where the curvature changes, the paper can be transported along the transport path without fail and caught on the inner wall surface of the transport path. This can prevent the paper from being turned up or the tip broken, and furthermore, the occurrence of jams and the like can be prevented (claims 13 and 1).
4).

Further, if such a projecting piece is provided in the transport path in which the paper is transported substantially upward, it is possible to prevent the paper from being turned up or broken due to the leading edge of the paper hanging down by gravity, and to prevent the occurrence of a jam. Thus, the paper can be reliably transported along the transport path (claim 15).

[0027]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a document reading apparatus in which an embodiment of a sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated. Hereinafter, an outline of the document reading apparatus will be described prior to describing this embodiment in detail.

This original reading apparatus takes in originals one by one from a bundle of originals placed on the original tray 10 in the page order with the top page facing upward, reads the image information thereof, and places the top page downward in the page order. The sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 80. The image information on both the front and back sides is read not only for a single-sided document having image information formed on only one side but also for a double-sided document having image information formed on both front and rear sides. It can be discharged without changing the page order. Although this embodiment is an example of a case where the apparatus is mounted on the upper part of a copying machine, the present invention can be applied to a scanner apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, and the like with a similar configuration.

The document tray 10 is a document placing section configured to be able to stack and place documents P having image information.
At the bottom of the document tray 10, a document set sensor 11 for detecting the presence or absence of the document P on the document tray 10 is provided.

The separation feeding section 20 takes in the documents P one by one from the document bundle placed on the document tray 10 and feeds the documents P to the first transport path 31. In the separation sheet feeding unit 20, the forward feed roller 2 disposed above the document tray 10
3 feeds the document P on the document tray 10 toward the feed roller 21 and the separation roller 22. Then, while the paper feed roller 21 is driven to rotate so as to send out the original P on the original tray 10, the separation roller 22 arranged to be in sliding contact with the paper feed roller 21 is pressed by the pressure from the paper feed roller 21. By following rotation while generating a corresponding rotation resistance, the document bundle placed on the document tray 10 is separated,
The single original P at the uppermost position is separated and fed to the first transport path 31. Reference numeral 24 denotes a feed sensor that detects the leading end and the trailing end of the document P fed to the first transport path 31.

The first transport path 31 is a transport path from the separation sheet feeding section 20 to the document reversing section 60. A pair of registration rollers 51 and 52 are provided on the first transport path 31.
The leading edge of the document P is aligned. The downstream side of the registration roller 51 is a first branch position 41 where the fifth transport path 35 branches from the first transport path 31, and the reverse branch lever 411 provided at the first branch position 41 causes the first branch position 41. Document P conveyed to first branch position 41
Can be switched to either the downstream side of the first transport path 31 or the fifth transport path 35. The fifth transport path 35 is a transport path used for transporting a one-sided document.

The document reversing section 60 switches back the transport direction of the document P carried in from the first transport path 31 to the second
By discharging the document P to the transport path 32, the front and back surfaces of the document P on the transport path (the surface facing the outside and the surface facing the inside) are reversed. This document reversing unit 60
Is provided with a reversing roller 61 rotatable in both forward and reverse directions and a reversing roller 62 slidably contacting the reversing roller 61.
The document P can be transported in accordance with the rotation of the reversing roller 61 in both the forward and reverse directions, and the transport direction of the document P can be switched back.

The reversing roller 62 can be moved toward and away from the reversing roller 61 by reversing roller contacting / separating means 63.
When the reversing roller 62 is separated from the reversing roller 61, the document reversing unit 60 is set to a free state in which the document P between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62 can move up and down without resistance.
, It is possible to simultaneously carry in the next original into the original reversing section 60 while discharging the preceding original.

On the upper side between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62, a switchback path 65 into which the original P whose transport direction is to be switched back is temporarily introduced is extended toward the upper side of the original tray 10. It is provided in. The switchback path 65 has an opening 66 that opens to the outside of the main body of the apparatus at a position above the separation sheet feeding section 20. When the long original P is switched back, the switchback path 65 is opened through the opening 66. The leading end of the document P is temporarily discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body.

The lower side between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62 is a second branch position 42 where the first transport path 31 and the second transport path 32 branch. At the branch position 42, the second transport path 3 is set so as to narrow the exit of the first transport path 31.
2 is provided with a protruding piece 421 having an extended lower wall surface. The protruding piece 421 allows the document P sent from the first transport path 31 to the branch position 42 to be turned by the document reversing unit 60.
The original P conveyed from the original reversing unit 60 is conveyed to the second conveying path 32 while being conveyed to the original reversing unit 60.
The present invention has a feature in the configuration and operation and effect of the protruding piece 421, and this feature will be described later.

The second transport path 32 is a transport path from the document reversing section 60 to the document reading section 70. This second transport path 32
The upper transport roller pair 53 and 54 and the lower transport roller pair 5
5 and 56, and a document P on the second transport path 32 is provided.
To the reading position 71 of the document reading section 70. The fifth transport path 35 for transporting the one-sided document merges into the second transport path 32 from the upstream side of the upper transport roller pair 53, 54.

A timing sensor 72 is provided at an upstream position of the lower conveying roller 55 so as to detect the leading end and the trailing end of the original P so that the original can be read by the original reading unit 70 at the timing. Has become.

The document reading section 70 sets a gap between a contact glass 73 provided on the upper surface of the copying machine main body 90 and a document guide 74 disposed above the glass as a reading position 71.
The image information on the lower surface of the document P conveyed at the reading position 71 is read by a so-called drift reading method. The document reading unit 70 includes an exposure lamp for irradiating the document P with light, a lens system and a reflection mirror for guiding light reflected from the document P, and a reflected light from the guided light inside a copying machine main body 90 (not shown). An image reading mechanism for detecting image information is provided.

The third transport path 33 is a transport path from the document reading section 70 to the discharge tray 80. This third transport path 3
3 is provided with a pair of intermediate rollers 57 and 58 so as to transport the document P further downstream. The downstream side of the pair of intermediate rollers 57 and 58 is a third branch position 43 where the fourth transport path 34 branches from the third transport path 33, and a discharge branch lever 431 provided at the third branch position 43. The document P is conveyed to the third conveyance path 33 or the fourth conveyance path 34 downstream of the third branch position 43.
You can switch to either. Note that, when reading a double-sided document, the fourth conveyance path 34 transfers the document P to the first document in order to further read the remaining surface of the document after reading the first surface.
This is a conveyance path for returning to the upstream side of the pair of registration rollers 51 and 52 of the conveyance path 31. The double-sided document is conveyed through the fourth conveyance path 34, and after the conveyance direction is switched back in the document reversing unit 60 again, the front and back sides are reversed.
The image information of the remaining surface is read and returns to the third transport path 33.

The discharge tray 80 is a document discharge section for discharging the document P for which image information has been read. The discharge tray 80 is disposed below the document tray 10 and has a pair of discharge rollers 8 provided at the outlet of the third transport path 33.
1, 82, the one-sided document whose one side has been read and the two-sided document whose both sides have been read are discharged in the order of pages on the document tray 10.

Next, the projecting piece 421 provided at the second branch position 42 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a front view of the protruding piece 421, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state of the document P in contact with the protruding piece 421.
5 is an explanatory diagram showing documents P1 and P2 conveyed at a second branch position 42. FIG.

The protruding piece 421 is made of an elastic plate-shaped member made of a synthetic resin material such as polyethylene terephthalate. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper side has a plurality of concave portions 421b and convex portions 421a. It is formed in a corrugated shape.

The projecting piece 421 is attached to the lower wall surface of the second transport path 32 at the lower side thereof.
An upper side portion formed in a corrugated shape projects inside a branch position 42 where the first transport path 31 and the second transport path 32 branch.

The upper side of the wavy shape protruding inward from the second branch position 42 with respect to the document P carried into the second branch position 42 from the first transport path 31
The conveyance direction of the document P and the protruding direction of the protruding piece have an obtuse crossing angle and come into contact with each other so as to guide the document P toward the document reversing unit 60 (substantially upward).

The projecting piece 4 thus formed in a corrugated shape
As shown in FIG. 3, the document P contacting the leading end of the document 21 is wavy in the width direction according to the waveform shape. When the document P is wavy in the width direction, the document P is unlikely to be bent in the transport direction, and thus has a strong stiffness in the transport direction.

Therefore, the transport direction from the first transport path 31 to the document reversing section 60 is substantially upward, and the leading end of the document P is a portion that is likely to hang down due to gravity.
Since the front end portion D of the document P in contact with the protruding piece 421 is provided with a strong stiffness, the document P is not caught in the conveyance path, and the document P is transferred in a desired conveyance direction (substantially upward direction).
Can be transported.

Further, when the original P is wavy in the width direction, the area of the original P that rubs against the inner surface (conveying surface) of the conveying path is reduced. Can be reduced.

Also, the original transport device (paper transport device)
Then, the document P, which has been read on one side, is placed in the document reversing unit 60.
After being switched back, the document is sent to the document reading unit 70 through the second transport path 32 and then discharged to the discharge tray 80. At this time, the preparation of the reading of the next document is performed at the same time. As shown in FIG. 4, the preceding original P1 after the above-described single-sided reading is discharged from the original reversing section 60 to the second transport path 32, and at the same time, the next original P2 is discharged from the first transport path as shown in FIG. The document is carried into the document reversing unit 60. Therefore, at the second branch position 42, the preceding document P1 traveling from the document reversing section 60 to the second transport path 32 and the next document P2 traveling from the first transport path 31 to the document reversing section 60 are transported simultaneously and in the opposite direction. Will be done.

In such a case, as shown in FIG.
In some cases, the document P2 is entangled in the conveyance of the document P1 and the leading end of the document P2 is bent, so that the document P2 is turned. However, according to the present apparatus, the document P2 contacts the protruding piece 421. Therefore, the document P1 is not entangled in the conveyance of the document P1 and the above-described problem such as the turning of the document does not occur.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the protruding pieces 421 always correspond to both sides of the original (paper) with respect to the widths L1, L2. Are configured to be in contact with the convex portions 421a.
For this reason, the waveform shape formed on the next original P2 in contact with the protruding piece 421 is a shape in which both ends in the width direction are warped so as to be separated from the preceding original P1 side. The originals P1 and P2 do not come into contact with each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the corners of the original P2 from being broken when both ends of the leading end D of the next original P2 come into contact with the preceding original P1, that is, so-called broken ears.

Further, the next original P2 is in a state of waving in the width direction by contacting the protruding piece 421, and the area of rubbing with the preceding original P1 is reduced, so that both originals P1 and P2 are rubbed. Document contamination due to fitting can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper side of the protruding piece 421 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the width direction.
It is in a state of waving substantially symmetrically in the width direction. Therefore, the document P does not receive an asymmetric contact resistance in the transport path, and it is possible to prevent the oblique transport due to the asymmetric contact resistance.

Further, the upper side portion of the protruding piece 421 is formed in a smooth curved shape, and has no sharp portion.
It is possible to prevent the generation of streaks or wrinkles running in the transport direction on the document P that comes into contact with the protruding pieces 421.

The protruding piece 421 is made of an elastic member and can be elastically deformed when it comes into contact with the document P. Therefore, the protruding piece 421 always comes into contact with the document P at a predetermined pressure, and the document P is securely held. It can be guided in a predetermined transport direction.

The projecting piece 421 is connected to the first transport path 3
1 is guided to the upper document reversing unit 60, and the document P conveyed from the document reversing unit 60 to the second branch position 42.
Functions also as guide means for the document (paper) at the branch position 42 for guiding to the second transport path 32. Therefore, in this paper transporting apparatus, the number of components of the entire apparatus is reduced by forming a member as a guide unit and a member for giving the original P a strong stiffness and obtaining the above-described operation effect by one protruding piece 421. The cost can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment in which such projecting pieces are provided at various positions of the sheet conveying apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the protruding piece 441 is provided near the exit position of the conveyance path 90 for discharging the sheet to the discharge tray 80. As described above, if the projecting piece 441 is provided near the exit position of the transport path 90, the discharge roller pair 98,
The sheet P discharged to the discharge tray 80 by 99 is sent out linearly in a substantially horizontal direction toward the upper side of the discharge tray 80 due to the strong stiffness provided at the leading end portion D by the protruding piece 441. For this reason, even if the sheet P has a curl during conveyance, the sheet P can be prevented from curling up on the discharge tray 80 and discharged so as to be stacked on the discharge tray 80.

In particular, since the projecting piece 441 comes in contact with the discharged document P so as to lift the document P from below, the document P can be reliably sent out in a substantially horizontal direction.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a projecting piece 442 is provided at a portion where the transport path 90 is bent. As described above, the projecting pieces 44 that protrude inside the transport path 90 are provided at portions where the transport path 90 is bent.
With the provision of 2, it is possible to prevent the leading end portion D of the paper P from being linearly sent out in a desired transport direction by the strong stiffness of the protruding piece 442, and to prevent the leading edge D from being caught on the transport surface of the transport path 90.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which protruding pieces 443 and 444 are provided at portions of the transport path 90 where the curvature changes. As described above, if the plurality of projecting pieces 443 and 444 are used in combination, the paper P can be transported along the shape of the transport path 90 without fail, whereby the paper P is caught on the transport surface or transported. Rubbing with the surface can be prevented.

Here, the projecting piece 44 is provided at a portion where the curvature of the transport path 90 gradually increases (the curve becomes tight).
Although 3,444 are provided, the present invention can be similarly applied to a portion where the curvature of the transport path 90 becomes small (the curve becomes gentle).

FIG. 8 shows an example in which a protruding piece 445 is provided at an S-shaped curved portion where the direction of bending of the transport path 90 is reversed. If the protruding piece 445 is provided in the S-shaped curved portion in this way, even if the sheet P has a curl in the first curve, the leading end portion D of the sheet P is brought into contact with the protruding piece 445 in the next curve. , It is possible to reduce the possibility that the sheet is caught on the transport surface at the next curve.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which a protruding piece 446 is provided in the transport path 90 through which the paper P is transported substantially upward. In this way, the projecting piece 44 is provided on the transport path 90 through which the sheet P is transported substantially upward.
If 6 is provided, the leading end portion D of the sheet that comes into contact with the protruding piece 446 will have a strong stiffness and will be sent out linearly in a substantially upward direction, so that the leading end D will hang down and get caught on the transport surface. Is prevented.

Next, variations in the shape of the protruding piece provided to protrude into the transport path will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 10A to 10E show projecting pieces 451 to 45 formed by a single plate-like elastic member having a concave portion on one side.
5 is an example. As shown in FIGS.
The concave portions 451b formed at 51 to 455 may be formed of a plurality of arc-shaped concave portions 451b as long as they are in contact with each other so as to make the paper P undulate in the width direction (FIG. 10).
(A)) Whether it is composed of a single arc-shaped concave portion 452b (FIG. 10B) or a rectangular concave portion 453b (FIG. 10C), it is composed of a triangular concave portion 454b. (FIG. 10D) or a combination of recesses 455b... 455d... Of different sizes (FIG. 10E).

The paper P generated by the shape of the concave portion
Corner portion 453 formed at a contact portion with
It is desirable that the corners of c, 454c and the like be rounded so as to be chamfered. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of streaks or wrinkles running on the paper P in the transport direction.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which the protruding pieces 461 and 462 are formed by a single plate-like elastic member having a convex portion formed on one side. In this manner, the protruding piece can be configured by providing the protrusions 461a... .., 462a.
According to the configuration provided with, the sheet P mainly includes the convex portions 461a.
.., 462a come into contact with the vicinity of the tip of the projection 461a.
, 462a are preferably formed because the roots of the paper P are not sharply cut out, and the paper P is unlikely to have lines or wrinkles running in the transport direction.

FIG. 12 shows an example in which the projecting pieces 471, 472, 473 are constituted by a plurality of plate-like elastic members. Thus, the projecting pieces are composed of a plurality of projecting pieces 471, 472.
, 473 ... can be arranged side by side in the width direction.
At this time, each of the projecting pieces 471, 472, 473,
Since each of the projecting pieces 471, 472, 473,... Can be formed in the same shape, it is possible to contribute to cost reduction of the apparatus.

FIG. 13 shows the projection 481a and the depression 481.
5 is an example of a protruding piece 481 provided with a b. Thus, the projecting pieces do not necessarily have to be formed in a symmetrical shape in the width direction.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the protruding piece 491 configured to abut on the sheet P only at a substantially central portion in the width direction. In this manner, the protruding piece may not necessarily be in contact with the entire width of the sheet P, but may be in contact with only a part of the sheet P, as long as the sheet can be wavy in the width direction.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the paper transporting apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be configured as follows.

(1) In the above embodiment, the paper transport device according to the present invention is used as a document transport device for transporting a document from which image information is read, and is mounted on an upper part of a copying machine. The same configuration can be applied to a scanner device, a facsimile device, and the like. Further, the paper transport device according to the present invention can be applied as a device for transporting paper such as transfer paper on which an image is formed in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or the like.

(2) In the above embodiment, the protruding piece is made of a synthetic resin. However, an elastic member made of various metal materials such as iron and aluminum may be used. Further, a material having a small elastic deformation such as a piece of wood can be used.

(3) In the above embodiment, the protruding piece is made of a flat plate-like member. However, if the projecting piece has a contact portion for waving the sheet, the projecting piece may have a predetermined thickness or may have a predetermined thickness. You may comprise from the shape from which thickness differs.

[0075]

As described above, according to the paper conveying apparatus of the present invention, the paper is wavy in the width direction when it comes into contact with the protruding piece provided on the inner side of the conveying path. Therefore, the sheet is unlikely to bend in the transport direction orthogonal to the width direction, and has a strong stiffness in the transport direction. For this reason, even if the paper has a weak curl due to a curl during transport or a thin paper, the paper can be curled while preventing the paper from being turned over, the leading end bend, and the paper jam. It is possible to reliably carry the paper in the desired carrying direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a sheet conveying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a protruding piece 421.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a contact state between a protruding piece 421 and a document P.

FIG. 4 shows originals P1 and P2 near a second branch position 42.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a transfer state.

FIG. 5 is an example in which a projecting piece is provided at an exit portion of a transport path.

FIG. 6 is an example in which a protruding piece is provided at a bent portion of the transport path.

FIG. 7 is an example in which a projecting piece is provided in a portion of the conveyance path where the curvature changes.

FIG. 8 is an example in which a protruding piece is provided at a portion where the bending direction of the transport path is reversed.

FIG. 9 is an example in which a projecting piece is provided on a transport path on which a sheet is transported upward.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a protruding piece having a contact portion with a sheet in which a concave portion is formed.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a protruding piece having a contact portion with a sheet on which a convex portion is formed.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a protruding piece constituted by a plurality of plate members.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a protruding piece having a contact portion with a sheet formed asymmetrically to the left and right.

FIG. 14 is an example of a protruding piece that contacts only a part of the sheet in the width direction.

FIG. 15 shows the vicinity of a transport path exit in a conventional paper transport device.

FIG. 16 shows a bent portion of a transport path in a conventional paper transport apparatus.

FIG. 17 illustrates a portion where the curvature of a transport path changes in a conventional paper transport apparatus.

FIG. 18 shows a portion where the direction in which the transport path is bent in a conventional paper transport device is reversed.

FIG. 19 illustrates a transport path in which paper is transported upward in a conventional paper transport apparatus.

FIG. 20 illustrates a branch portion of a transport path in a conventional paper transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 first transport path 32 second transport path 42 second branch position 421 projecting piece 60 document reversing section P document (paper)

Continued on the front page. (72) Kuniaki Shinishi, 1-2-2, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuka Osawa 1-2-28, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Inside Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Aso 1-2-28 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Mita Corporation (72) Inventor Hideki Kitagawa 1-2-28 Takuma-zo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Mita Kogyo Incorporated F term (reference) 3F053 BA14 BA19 EA02 EA04 EA05 EA08 EC02 HA07 HB12 LA02 LA05 LA07 LA11 LB01 LB02

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A sheet conveying device for conveying a sheet along a predetermined conveying path, comprising a projecting piece projecting inside the conveying path so as to form an obtuse angle with respect to the sheet conveying direction. The sheet conveying device, wherein the piece has a contact portion that contacts the sheet so that the sheet is wavy in the width direction. 2. The protruding piece is formed of one member having a concave portion or a convex portion formed at a portion in contact with a sheet.
Paper transport device according to the above. 3. The sheet transporting device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of concave portions or convex portions are formed at a portion of the protruding piece that contacts the sheet. 4. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting pieces are composed of a plurality of members arranged in a width direction of the conveying path. 5. The protruding piece is configured so that a contact portion of the protruding piece with a sheet has a symmetrical shape in a width direction.
5. The paper transport device according to any one of 4. 6. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the protruding piece that makes contact with the sheet has a smooth curved shape. 7. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein said projecting piece is formed of an elastic member. 8. A protruding piece is provided at a branch position where a plurality of transport paths are branched, and a sheet fed to the branch position is guided to one of the transport paths branched from the branch position. The sheet transport device according to claim 1. 9. The sheet conveying device according to claim 8, wherein the projecting pieces are provided at a branch position of a conveying path to which a plurality of sheets are simultaneously fed from different conveying paths. 10. A configuration in which the projecting piece is in contact with the sheet such that both end portions in the width direction of the sheet contacting the projecting piece are separated from the other sheet side simultaneously fed to the branch position. The sheet conveying device according to claim 9. 11. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting pieces are provided on a conveying path through which a plurality of sheets are simultaneously conveyed in a reverse direction. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said projecting piece is provided near an exit position of a transport path for discharging a sheet to a discharge tray.
A paper transport device according to any one of the above. 13. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting piece is provided at a portion where the conveying path is bent. 14. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting piece is provided at a portion where the curvature of the conveying path changes. 15. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting piece is provided on a conveying path that conveys the sheet substantially upward.