JP2002344695A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correspond to a double-sided original ADF by adding a reading means to a single-sided original ADF with a simple operation and to provide the double-sided original ADF using in common the part of the single-sided original ADF and a unit. SOLUTION: The representative constitution of an image reader incorporates a first optical reading unit 1. The reader has a scanner part 35 reading the image of the first face of the original S placed on platens 2 and 3 by the first optical reading unit 1, an original reading/transporting part 36 incorporating a transporting means which is connected to the first optical reading unit 1 and transports the original S to the platen 3 and an optical reading unit 19 which is positioned on the opposite side of the first optical reading means across the platen 3 and reads the second face of the original S and at least one upper cover 31 which can be opened/closed among outer packages covering the outer frame of the original reading/transporting part 36. The optical reading unit 19 can be attached/detached by opening the upper cover 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder, and more particularly, to an automatic document feeder used in cooperation with an image reading device such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile device, a scanner, and the like. The present invention relates to an improvement of a double-sided document reading automatic document feeder which can read an image of one double-sided document in one document transfer process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, a scanner or the like, a so-called ADF is used as a means for reading image information on each side in a process of separating and transporting originals stacked on an original tray one by one. (Auto DocumentF
eder) has been known for a long time.

ADFs are classified into the following depending on the presence or absence of document reversing means, the presence or absence of reading means, and the like.

(1) Single-sided document ADF Documents stacked on a document tray are separated one by one, conveyed onto a platen, read out of an image, and then discharged.

(2) Double-sided original ADF with reversing means After reading the first side, the original is inverted, the inverted original is transported on the platen again, and the back side is read, thereby reading the second side.

(3) Double-sided document ADF with reading means A reading means for reading the second side is arranged in the ADF apparatus along the conveyance path of the document, and together with the reading means below the platen,
Scan both sides simultaneously while transporting the original.

[0007] Among the above three ADFs, (1) is the cheapest, but has the drawback that the two-sided document cannot be read automatically and productivity is poor.

In the double-sided original ADF with reversing means (2), the original on the original tray is separated into one sheet, transported to a predetermined reading position, and the first side is read. Is reversed, the sheet is conveyed again to a predetermined reading position, the second side is read, and the two-sided reading is performed in a procedure of discharging, so that it takes a long time to read,
There is a problem that productivity cannot be increased.

Another problem is that the probability of causing damage to the original during transport is high because the transport route is complicated.

Next, (3) a double-sided original AD with reading means
Regarding F, since both sides are read at the same time in the process of transporting the original by using two optical systems, the productivity is much better than other ADFs, though it is expensive.

[0011] Comparing the three ADFs described above, from the viewpoint of productivity, the double-sided original ADF with the reading means (3) is the most excellent, and it is thought that this type of ADF will rapidly develop in the future. Many of the current ADFs with reading means are configured as dedicated machines for reading double-sided originals from the beginning, so that the cost is high.

For this reason, several proposals have conventionally been made.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-037772,
For an image reading device with a lower unit for surface reading,
The upper unit for backside reading is openably and closably supported, and the upper unit is configured to be detachable from the lower unit by removing a support plate that supports a supporting shaft.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-284480, a sheet document transport reading section provided with a second optical reading means and a transport means is detachably mounted on a main body scanner section provided with a first optical reading unit. Have been placed.

[0015]

However, in the double-sided reading apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-037772, in addition to the reading means for reading the second side, the double-sided reading means is provided on the platen. It is configured to include a transport unit for transporting.

In other words, this is a mode in which an ADF dedicated to double-sided document reading is set on a platen, and as described in the above-mentioned conventional example, the components and units cannot be sufficiently shared.

In the double-sided reading apparatus described in JP-A-9-284480, in addition to the second side reading means,
The configuration also includes a transport unit for transporting the document to the face reading unit, and the sheet transport path for reading a single-sided document and that for reading a double-sided document are completely different.

That is, the double-sided document ADF with the reading means is provided immediately after the single-sided document ADF, which does not sufficiently satisfy the common use of parts and units and cost reduction.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a double-sided original ADF by adding a reading means to the single-sided original ADF by a simple operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a double-sided document ADF that can support a DF and that uses components and units of a single-sided document ADF as much as possible.

[0020]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a typical configuration of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention has a built-in first optical reading means, and the first optical reading means includes a first optical reading means. A first image reading unit configured to read an image on a first surface of the document placed on the platen, and a first image reading unit coupled to the first image reading unit;
Transport means for transporting the document to the platen;
A second image reading unit which is located on the opposite side of the optical reading means with the platen therebetween and which includes a second optical reading means for reading the second surface of the document; In an image reading apparatus having at least one openable and closable cover among outer coverings of an outer frame of a reading unit, the second optical reading unit is attached and detached by opening a part of the outer covering. It is characterized by the following.

[0021]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, A in this embodiment
The DF includes a scanner unit 35, a document reading and transporting unit 36 as a second image reading unit mounted on the scanner unit 35, and a book reader for pressing a book document on a platen glass and sending the book document to the document reading and transporting unit 36. Document tray 37 for supporting document S
And a discharge tray 38 for supporting the read original S.
Consists of

Next, the scanner section 35 and the document reading and conveying section 36 will be described in more detail.

The scanner unit 35 as a first image reading unit includes
A first optical reading unit 1 as first optical reading means is provided inside the housing, and a platen glass 2 for a book document and a platen glass 3 for a sheet document are provided on the upper surface of the housing.

The first optical reading unit 1 provided in the scanner section 35 is fixed at the position shown in FIG. 1 when reading a document conveyed by the document reading / conveying section 36.

When reading a book document or a document in which the ADF cannot be used, the document tray 37 is rotated about a hinge (not shown) to open the book document platen glass 2, and then the document is placed thereon. Place, first
The optical reading unit 1 is reciprocated between the broken line positions shown in FIG. 1 by a driving unit (not shown) in accordance with the size of the original to perform reading.

The first optical reading unit 1 includes a lamp 4
And a plurality of folding mirrors 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a lens 10, and photoelectric conversion means 11 such as a CCD.

The original reading and conveying section 36 includes a pickup roller 12 as conveying means, pairs of conveying rollers 13, 14, 15 and a guide plate.
16, 17, and 18, and a second optical reading unit 19 as a second optical reading means.

The transport path formed by the guide plates 16, 17, 18 is arranged at a substantially linear position.

The second optical reading unit 19, like the first optical reading unit 1, includes a lamp 20, a plurality of folding mirrors 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, a lens 26, and a CCD.
And the like.

In the example shown in this figure, the optical reading units 1 and 19 are reduced optical systems, but may be reading means such as a contact type sensor.

Although not described here, the image data read by the photoelectric conversion means is subjected to a series of reading operation control and image processing by a control board (not shown) or the like.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the originals S are stacked on the original tray 37, the pickup roller 12 takes out and transports the lowermost original on the tray.

Even if several originals are simultaneously sent out at this time, the originals are separated into one by a pair of conveying rollers 13 and are fed along a pair of guide plates 16 and 17 to a pair of conveying rollers 14 at a predetermined speed. Conveyed. Then, the sheet is conveyed toward the platen glass for sheet document 8 by the conveying roller 14.

As the document S passes the reading position of the first optical reading unit 1 at a predetermined speed, reading of the image information of the first surface (the lower surface in the figure) is started. Next, as the document S passes through the reading position of the second optical reading unit 19, reading of image information of the second surface (upper surface in the drawing) is started. The document S that has been read is conveyed toward the discharge tray 38 while being guided by the guide plate 18 by the conveying rollers 15.

When the first sheet is conveyed, the originals S stacked on the original tray 37 are sequentially conveyed, and after the last original S is discharged, the operation is stopped. Driving such as feeding and conveying is performed by a motor (not shown).

As described above, the first optical reading unit 1 of the scanner unit 35 and the second optical reading unit 19 provided in the original reading and conveying unit 36 allow the double-sided original S to be Front and back can be read.

Next, an example of mounting the second optical reading unit will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second optical reading unit 19 is detachably fixed to the original reading and conveying section 2 by engaging means 28, 29 and fixing means 30.

The upper cover 31 is an openable and closable cover that covers the upper surface of the outer frame of the document reading / conveying unit 36. It is configured. By rotating the upper lid 31 in the counterclockwise direction, the optical reading unit 19 is released from the fixing means 30 and can be detached upward from the engaging means 28 and 29.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a paper jam occurs, the document reading and conveying unit 36 is rotated counterclockwise around the fulcrum 33 by operating the handle 34. Since 36 opens at the guide plates 16 and 17 as a boundary, the second optical reading unit 19 moves integrally with the document reading and conveying unit 36, so that there is no need to remove the optical reading unit 19 every time a paper jam occurs. The paper jam can be cleared with a simple operation.

The fixing means 30 is constituted by a spring, but is not particularly limited to a spring.
The screws may be fixed to the engagement means 28, 29 or the frame of the document reading and conveying section 36.

As described above, since the second optical reading unit 19 is removably arranged in the document reading and conveying section 2,
Parts and units of the single-sided original ADF can be shared as much as possible to support the double-sided original ADF.

Further, since the second optical reading unit 19 can be mounted simply by opening the upper cover, a double-sided original ADF can be handled with a simple configuration.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the two-sided original ADF according to the present embodiment, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of the paper jam processing of the two-sided original ADF, FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the ADF, and FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a detached state of the double-sided document ADF. The same parts as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the first embodiment, the original tray 37 and the discharge tray 71 do not overlap one another, and the original is conveyed substantially linearly.
In this method, the document tray 37 and the discharge tray 71 are arranged so as to be vertically overlapped, and the document is conveyed in a U-shape.

The ADF in this embodiment is a scanner unit.
35, a document reading / transporting unit 66 as a second image reading unit provided on the scanner unit 35, and a document tray 37 for supporting a document S for sending a document to the document reading / transporting unit 66;
It comprises a discharge tray 71 for pressing a book document on a platen glass and supporting the read document S.

Next, the document reading and conveying section 66 will be described in more detail.

The original reading and conveying section 66 includes a pickup roller 52, conveying roller pair 53, conveying roller pair 54,
65, 66, 67, 55, guide plates 56, 57, 58, 68, 69, and a second optical reading unit serving as second optical reading means
It consists of 51. The transport path formed by the guide plates 56, 57, 58, 68, 69 is arranged in a U-shape.

In the example shown in this figure, the optical reading units 1 and 51 are reduced optical systems, but may be reading means such as a contact type sensor.

Although not described here, the image data read by the photoelectric conversion means is subjected to a series of reading operation control and image processing by a control board (not shown) or the like.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the originals S are stacked on the original tray 37, the pickup roller 52 takes out and transports the lowermost original on the tray. Even if several originals are sent out at the same time, the originals are separated into one by the conveying roller pair 53 and conveyed at a predetermined speed along the guide plates 56 and 57.

Then, the sheet is conveyed toward the sheet document platen glass 3 along the U-shaped guide plates 56, 57, 58 by the next conveying rollers 54, 65, 66.

When the document S passes through the reading position of the first optical reading unit 1 at a predetermined speed, reading of the image information of the first surface (the lower surface in the figure) is started. Next, as the document S passes through the reading position of the second optical reading unit 51, reading of image information on the second surface (upper surface in the drawing) is started.

The original S that has been read is transported by the transport roller 6.
The document is conveyed by 7, 55 to a discharge tray 71 arranged below the document tray 37. When the first sheet is conveyed, the originals S stacked on the original tray 37 are sequentially conveyed, and after the last original S is discharged, the operation is stopped. Driving such as feeding and conveying is performed by a motor (not shown).

As described above, the first optical reading unit 1 of the scanner unit 35 and the second optical reading unit 51 provided in the original reading and conveying unit 66 allow the double-sided original S to be Front and back can be read.

Next, a method of mounting the second optical reading unit 51 is described. In this embodiment, since the original is transported in a U-shape, the transport path of the original is complicated. For this reason, a complicated operation is required when performing a paper jam process as compared with the system in which the sheet is conveyed in a straight line.

As shown in FIG. 5, when a paper jam occurs between the guide plates 56 and 57, the handle 64 is operated to
The document reading / conveying section 66 opens at the guide plates 56 and 57 as boundaries.

As shown in FIG. 6, guide plates 68, 69
When a paper jam occurs between the sheets, the document reading / transporting unit 66 is opened at the boundaries of the guide plates 68 and 69 by operating the handle 70.

For this reason, the attachment and detachment of the second optical reading unit 51 is performed by the method shown in FIGS.

The second optical reading unit 51 is detachably fixed to the document reading and conveying section 2 by engaging means 28 and 29 and fixing means 60.

The front cover 61 is a cover for covering the front surface of the document reading and conveying section 66. By operating the handle 62, the front cover 61
It is configured to be rotatable in the direction shown in FIG.

By rotating the front cover 61, the optical reading unit 51 is released from the fixing means 60, and is detachable along the engagement hole 63 in a direction orthogonal to the document conveying direction.

The fixing means 60 is constituted by a spring, but is not limited to a spring as in the first embodiment, and may be fixed to the frame of the original reading and conveying section 64 by screws or the like.

As described above, since the second optical reading unit 51 is removably arranged in the document reading and conveying section 2,
Parts and units of the single-sided original ADF can be shared as much as possible to support the double-sided original ADF.

Further, since the second optical reading unit 51 can be mounted simply by opening the upper cover, a double-sided original ADF can be handled with a simple configuration.

[0069]

According to the present invention, since a single-sided original ADF is added to one unit to form a double-sided original ADF, an inexpensive double-sided original ADF can be realized with a simple configuration.

Further, since the opening for attaching and detaching the second optical reading unit is exposed by opening the front or upper outer cover, a complicated opening operation is not required and the mounting method is simple. Double-sided manuscript ADF by method
Can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a double-sided document ADF according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detached state of a double-sided document ADF.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of a paper jam process of a double-sided document ADF.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a double-sided document ADF according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of a paper jam process of a double-sided original ADF.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of a paper jam process of a double-sided document ADF.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a double-sided document ADF.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a detached state of the double-sided document ADF.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S: Document 1: First optical reading unit 2: Platen glass for book document 3: Platen glass for sheet document 4: Lamps 5 to 9: Mirror 10: Lens 11: Photoelectric conversion means 12: Pickup rollers 13 to 15 … Conveyor roller pair 16… guide plate 17… guide plate 18… guide plate 19… second optical reading unit 21-25… mirror 26… lens 27… photoelectric conversion means 28,29… engaging means 30… fixing means 31 … Top lid 32… Handle 33… Support point 34… Handle 35… Scanner unit 36… Original reading and conveying unit 37… Original tray 38… Discharge tray 51… Second optical reading unit 52… Pickup roller 53… Conveying roller pair 54, 55 … Conveying rollers 56 to 58… Guide plate 60… Fixing means 61… Front lid 62… Handle 63… Contact hole 64… Document reading and conveying unit 65… Conveying roller 66… Document reading and conveying unit 67… Conveying rollers 68, 69… Guide plate 70 … Handle 71… discharge tray

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H076 AA02 BA15 BA24 BA47 BA49 BA58 2H108 AA14 AA19 BA07 CB01 HA01 JA00 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB17 AB32 AD02 AD05 5C072 AA01 NA01 XA01 XA04

Claims (5)

[Claims] A first image reading section which includes first optical reading means and reads an image of a first surface of a document placed on a platen by the first optical reading means; A transport unit coupled to the first image reading unit for transporting the original to the platen; and a second optical scanning unit located on the opposite side of the platen with respect to the first optical reading unit and reading the second surface of the original Image reading device having a second image reading unit incorporating a second optical reading means for reading, and at least one openable / closable cover of an exterior covering an outer frame of the second image reading unit. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second optical reading unit is attached and detached by opening a part of the exterior. 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said openable and closable cover is a cover for covering an upper surface of said second image reading section, and said second optical reading means is attached and detached from above said second image reading section. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An image reading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said conveying means is arranged at a substantially linear position in a conveying path of the document. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said openable and closable cover is a cover for covering a front surface of said second image reading section, and said second optical reading means is detachable in a direction orthogonal to a document conveying direction. The image reading device according to claim 1. 5. An image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said conveying means has a document conveying path arranged in a U-shape.