JP2005162427A - Sheet feeder and image reading device using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeder and an image reading device using it capable of easily setting a bundle of manuscript sheets in a correct attitude on a sheet feed tray installed in line with the part under a sheet eject tray, where the setting can be performed by reasonably inserting the leading edges of the manuscript sheets between the sheet feed members such as rollers and the tray bottom surface, and capable of loading the manuscript correctly without being damaged. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet feeder and the image reading device using it are configured so that the sheet feed tray 17 and the sheet eject tray 18 are installed in line over a platen 2 to read the image in such a positioning as one over the other. In order to spread the spacing of the sheet eject tray 18 at its tail in the transporting direction from the sheet feed tray 17, the sheet feed tray 17 is mounted swingably on appropriate device frames 20a and 20b so that the forefront in the transporting direction goes apart from a sheet feeding means such as a feed roller 26. An interlocking means 80 descends the forefront of the feed tray as going apart from the sheet feeding means 26 in such a way as interlocking with swinging of the eject tray 18. The interlocking means consists of a cam means such as an eccentric cam to transmit the motion of the eject tray to the feed tray, or a gear to transmit the rotating motion of the eject tray to the supporting shaft of the feed tray. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeder that supplies a document from a tray to an image reading platen in an image input device such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, and stores the document after reading in the tray, and an image reading apparatus using the sheet feeder.

  In general, various feeder devices are known that automatically supply a document from a paper feed tray to an image reading platen such as a scanner. Normally, this feeder device is installed at the top of the platen by a hinge member so as to be opened and closed. When reading a book document or a large size document that does not use the feeder device, the feeder is opened and the document is manually set after the platen is opened. ing.

  On the other hand, since a scanner device is connected to a computer alone or as an input device such as a printer to form a network, there has recently been an increasing demand for automatically supplying a special document such as a photograph, a negative film, an OHP sheet by a feeder device. For example, a method of reading a photographic manuscript on a computer, editing it, and storing it is widely used.

  As described above, an apparatus for feeding and discharging a special document such as a photograph or film needs to feed the sheet from the tray to the platen and carry it out so as not to damage the document sheet as much as possible so as not to damage the document. It is required to make the device as small, light and compact as possible so that it can be easily mounted on the platen each time it is used simultaneously.

  Therefore, the present inventor arranges a paper feed tray and a conveyor belt along the platen, and arranges a paper discharge tray above and below the paper feed tray so that the original is not bent greatly, and the tray has a straight path. The paper was fed and discharged to a predetermined position on the platen, leading to the knowledge that the original could be prevented from being damaged with little stress on the original.

  In such an apparatus configuration, the paper discharge tray is positioned above the paper feed tray, and the document is fed out from the paper feed tray along the platen, and then switched back from the platen to the paper discharge tray and carried out. It is required to arrange the paper tray and the paper discharge tray as small as possible in the vertical direction.

In this case, if the paper discharge trays are arranged above and below the paper feed tray at a small interval, it is troublesome to set the original on the paper feed tray, and it is difficult to set an accurate position. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 (Nisuka Gazette) proposes to attach a paper discharge tray positioned above to a frame so as to be swingable and to set up the paper discharge tray to raise the space above the paper feed tray when setting a document. Has been. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 discloses a paper discharge tray disposed above a paper feed tray, which supports the front end in the paper feed direction of the paper discharge tray and swings the rear end in the vertical direction. As a result, when the sheets are stored in the paper feed tray, the sheet can be easily loaded by moving the paper discharge tray upward.
Utility Model Publication No. 59-7316 (Fig. 1)

  When the document is set on the paper feed tray as described above, the paper disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 that widens the space between the paper feed tray and the rear end portion of the paper discharge tray by swinging the paper discharge tray. The leading end (front side in the paper feeding direction) has a narrow vertical gap even when the original is set, and if the original is inserted, the original is rubbed and damaged. In particular, when a document is coated with a soft material such as gelatin as in a photograph, if a bundle of documents is inserted into the tip of a wedge-shaped tray, the documents may be damaged by rubbing or the top document may be damaged by the paper feed roller. There is.

  Therefore, in order to set an original in an accurate position without damaging the paper feed tray, it is not sufficient to increase the operation space at the rear end of the tray as in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, and the front end of the original is discarded or bent. There is a problem that the paper is loaded in a different posture and causes a paper jam.

  In view of this, the present invention can easily set a bundle of documents in a correct posture on a sheet feed tray arranged in parallel below the sheet discharge tray, and at the same time, a document leading edge portion between a sheet feed member such as a sheet feed roller and the bottom surface of the tray. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet supply apparatus that can be inserted and set without difficulty and that can correctly load a document without damaging it.

  Furthermore, the present invention is a simple image reading apparatus capable of feeding and unloading easily damaged documents such as photographs to a predetermined position on the reading platen and reducing the risk of damaging the document from setting the document on the tray to storing the discharged paper. The issue is to provide the structure.

The present invention achieves the above-described problems by the following configuration.
A paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray are arranged above and below in this order above a platen for reading an image. Appropriate devices are provided so that the rear end of the paper discharge tray in the transport direction widens the distance from the paper feed tray, and the front end of the paper feed tray is separated from the paper feed means such as a paper feed roller. Mount on the frame in a swingable manner. Then, interlocking means for lowering the leading end of the paper feed tray so as to be separated from the paper feed means in conjunction with the swinging of the paper discharge tray is provided. This interlocking means is constituted by a cam means such as an eccentric cam that transmits the movement of the paper discharge tray to the paper feed tray or a gear that transmits the rotational movement of the paper discharge tray to the support shaft of the paper feed tray.

  By swinging the rear end portion of the paper discharge tray in this way, the space above the paper feed tray is expanded so that the sheet bundle can be easily loaded. The leading edge of the sheet is also smoothly inserted and loaded in the correct posture.

  In the present invention, a paper feed tray and a conveying means are arranged in parallel along the platen surface above the platen, and a paper discharge tray is arranged above and below the paper feed tray so that the sheets on the paper feed tray are The feeding means feeds along the platen, reverses the feeding means, and the sheet on the platen is stored in the paper discharge tray to reduce the degree of curving of the original. To do. As a result, the manuscript is transported smoothly with little stress and without being damaged.

  The conveying means is constructed by forming an endless belt with a small gap between the conveying means and the platen, and connecting the belt to a drive means capable of forward and reverse rotation. The endless belt is provided with a vacuum means for sucking a sheet by a vacuum chamber that covers the belt and a fan that depressurizes the inside of the chamber.

  The present invention also provides a platen for setting a document at a predetermined position, image reading means for reading the document on the platen, a paper feed tray for placing the document placed above the platen, and a document on the paper feed tray. A feeding roller that feeds and sets a document from the feeding roller at a predetermined position on the platen, and the feeding roller that is arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval above the feeding tray. A sheet discharge tray for storing sheets from the means, and the sheet discharge tray is configured to be swingable so as to widen a gap between the sheet feed tray and the sheet discharge tray at the rear end in the sheet feed direction. The above problem can also be achieved as an image reading apparatus provided with interlocking means for lowering the leading end of the paper feed tray in the paper feed direction so as to move away from the paper feed roller in conjunction with the swing of the paper discharge tray. .

  The present invention secures an operation space for setting an original between the paper discharge tray and the paper discharge tray at the rear end of the paper feed tray by swinging the paper discharge tray and the paper feed tray arranged side by side vertically. The operation becomes easy. At the same time, a gap is formed at the leading end of the sheet feeding tray between the sheet feeding means such as a sheet feeding roller so that the document can be accurately set without damaging the document leading edge. In addition, since the front end of the paper feed tray moves in conjunction with the swinging of the paper discharge tray, the operation at the time of setting is easy.

  Further, according to the present invention, the paper feed tray and the conveying means are arranged side by side along the platen for image reading, and the paper discharge tray is arranged above and below the paper feed tray, so that the original is transferred from the paper feed tray to the platen. Is switched back to the paper discharge tray and is smoothly fed without any stress through a substantially straight path. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an image reading apparatus which is less likely to be damaged to the original and whose entire apparatus is small and light.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.

  1 to 5 are explanatory views of an image reading apparatus in which a sheet feeder apparatus embodying the present invention is incorporated as a unit. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the sheet feeder B is installed in the image reading apparatus, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the feeder apparatus, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus 2 and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a bottom surface of a transport unit constituting a part of the apparatus of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, A is an image reading apparatus, and the illustrated one shows a scanner apparatus. B is a feeder device which is installed on the platen 2 of the image reading device A. In the image reading apparatus A, a platen 2 is provided in a part of the casing 1, and the platen 2 is formed of a transparent and flat glass plate on which an original is placed. The casing 1 is provided with a flange having a step 5a that fixes the platen 2 and at the same time abuts the document to define the set position. A platen cover 3 is hinged to the casing 1 to open and close the upper surface of the platen 2. In the casing 1, an optical reading mechanism unit 6, an image data processing unit 7, a data output unit 8 and a control unit shown in FIG. 3 are provided. In the optical reading mechanism 6, a light source 11, a reflection mirror 12, an imaging lens 13, and a photoelectric conversion element 14 are mounted on a carriage 10 that is movable along the platen 2. Although not shown, the carriage 10 is reciprocated by a guide rail in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 by a drive wire 15 and a drive motor 16 attached thereto.

  Therefore, if the rotation of the drive motor 16 is controlled, the carriage 10 moves along the platen 2. The photoelectric conversion element 14 mounted on the carriage 10 is composed of a line sensor such as a CCD (charge coupled device) and irradiates the light from the light source 11 onto the platen 2 and reflects the reflected light of the document set on the platen 2 as a reflection mirror. The image forming lens 13 is guided to the image forming lens 13 through 12 and condensed on the photoelectric conversion element 14 by the image forming lens 13. Data from the photoelectric conversion element 14 is AD-converted into binary or multi-value by the image data processing unit 7, subjected to data correction such as dither correction and gamma correction, and stored in a storage element such as a frame buffer. The corrected data is output as an electrical signal from the data output unit 8 to an external computer or printer.

  Various structures of the above-described image reading device are already known as general configurations, and a flash that simultaneously converts photoelectrically the entire document without moving along the platen using a surface sensor (area sensor) as the photoelectric conversion element. Exposure is also well known and can be employed in the present invention. Similarly, a reduction optical system using an imaging lens as a photoelectric conversion mechanism forms an image on a CCD. However, a contact sensor in which a photoelectric conversion element and a Selfox lens are integrated may be mounted on the carriage 10.

  It is the same as a normal scanner device and copying device that a user sets an original on the platen 2 and covers it with the platen cover 3 and then reads an image of the original by pressing an operation button for starting reading. Instead of 3, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) device for automatically feeding a document may be attached. In this ADF device, for example, a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray are arranged side by side, a U-shaped transport path is provided from the paper feed tray to the paper discharge tray, and the platen faces the middle of this path. It is widely known and used as one that sequentially reads a document while traveling at a constant speed with the carriage 10 stopped. Similarly to the platen cover 3, this ADF device is hinged to the platen 2 so as to open the upper surface of the platen 2.

  A feeder device having the following configuration is installed on the platen 2. The feeder device B is composed of a paper feed tray 17 for placing a document, a paper discharge tray 18, and a transport belt 19 for transporting the document from the paper feed tray 17 to the paper discharge tray 18, which are attached to a device frame 20. . The illustrated apparatus has the following considerations as an apparatus for feeding a silver lead photograph or the like, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to a silver lead photograph feeder.

  Usually, silver lead photographs have a gelatinous coating on the surface, so if they are conveyed while pressed onto a glass platen, there is a risk of feeding failure or damage to the photograph surface. Therefore, the above problem is solved by providing the vacuum chamber 22 for separating the conveying belt 19 from the platen surface to form a small allowance and sucking the original on the conveying belt 19.

  Then, the paper feed tray and the transport belt are arranged side by side along the platen surface so that the document from the paper feed tray is sucked to the transport belt side by the negative pressure of the vacuum chamber. Further, the inclination angle of the conveyance guide from the paper feed tray to the conveyance belt is set so that the document is in close contact with the belt side.

  Also, care should be taken so that the conveyor belt 19 is not inclined and installed on the platen surface. It should be noted that an optimum condition larger than the thickness of the original is set by experiment or the like for the distance from the platen surface, and the configuration of the vacuum chamber 22 employs, for example, the method described later.

  Next, the photographic original is much smaller than a normally used platen, for example, JIS A3 standard size. If the feeder apparatus is configured to have the same size as that of the platen, the apparatus becomes larger and heavier and difficult to handle. Therefore, the illustrated one is separated from the apparatus frame 20 that covers the entire platen, and is provided with a conveyance frame frame 21 that occupies a part of the platen necessary for document conveyance. Documents such as a conveyance belt 19 and a vacuum chamber 22 are provided on the conveyance frame frame 21. Incorporating functional parts that convey the size of the machine makes it smaller and lighter. The apparatus frame 20 is provided with a light shielding cover member 24 that covers the platen surface other than the area occupied by the transport frame 21.

  The apparatus frame 20 is composed of an exterior cover 20a shown in FIG. 1 and a bottom frame 20b shown in FIG. 4, both of which are manufactured by molding of synthetic resin, and are combined to form a housing for the entire apparatus. . The apparatus frame 20 has a monocoque structure to which a paper feed tray 17, a paper discharge tray 18, a transport frame 21 and a drive motor M described later are attached. The apparatus frame 20 is sized to cover the entire platen 2 of the image reading apparatus A, and the bottom frame 20b has an exposure opening 23 for attaching the conveyance frame frame 21 and a light shield that covers the platen 2 except for the opening 23. A cover part (light shielding member) 24 is provided. The reason why the apparatus frame 20 is formed larger than the platen 2 and the light shielding cover portion (light shielding member) 24 is provided on the bottom frame 20b is to prevent the light from the light source 11 from leaking to the outside. The light shielding cover portion (light shielding member) 24 has a plate shape that contacts the platen 2. A paper feed tray 17 and a paper discharge tray 18 are attached to the bottom frame 20b. The tray is provided with a pair of left and right side guides 17b, which are fixed to a bottom frame 20b of the apparatus so as to be swingable by pins 25, and are inclined so that the document falls by its own weight. The side guides 17b are attached to the document placing tray 17a, and are connected so that a pair of left and right plate-shaped guides approach and separate from each other by the same amount so as to align different sizes of documents with the center (reference to the center). It is widely known for pinion combinations or wires.

  A paper feed roller 26 is arranged at the front end of the paper feed tray 17 so as to feed the uppermost document on the tray to the right side in FIG. 3, and a friction pad 27 is arranged in front of the roller 26. The feed roller 26 and the friction pad 27 are made of a material having a friction coefficient for separating the originals one by one. The conditions are widely known, but the illustrated one is fed by the feed roller 26 to prevent the original from being damaged. A separation structure is used in which the leading edge of the document is separated one by one when it moves on the friction pad 27. These feed roller 26 and friction pad 27 are attached to the bottom frame 20b of the apparatus frame 20, respectively. In the figure, 17c is a biasing spring that always presses the paper feed tray 17 against the paper feed roller 26 side. A paper discharge tray 18 is disposed above and parallel to the paper feed tray 17, and this paper discharge tray 18 is also attached to the bottom frame 20 b of the apparatus frame 20. The reason why the paper feed tray 17 and the paper discharge tray 18 are arranged side by side in this manner is to allow the entire feeder apparatus B to be installed compactly on the platen 2.

  Therefore, the structure of the paper feed tray 17 and the paper discharge tray 18 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray are arranged above and below the platen 2 as shown in FIG. It is formed in a tray shape on which (sheet) is placed. The sheet feeding tray 17 is supported by a pin 25 on the bottom frame 20 b of the apparatus frame 20 at the rear end 17 d in the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, the paper feed tray 17 can swing around the pin 25, and the tip end portion is supported by the biasing spring 17c. The illustrated urging spring 17 c is a coil spring and is attached between the bottom frame 20 b and the bottom surface of the paper feed tray 17, and always presses the front end of the paper feed tray toward the paper feed roller 26. The paper discharge tray 18 is supported at its front end 18a in the paper feed direction on the outer cover 20a of the apparatus frame 20 by a pin 18c, and the center of gravity is set so as to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 8 about the pin 18c. is there. The front end of the tray is held in contact with the stopper wall 20d of the outer cover 20a. When the rear end 18b of the tray 18 is pushed up in the direction of the arrow, the tray 18 is rotated around the pin 18c to be in the state shown in FIG.

  The paper feed tray 17 and the paper discharge tray 18 are interlocked with each other by the following interlocking means 80. A cam 81 is provided between both trays 17 and 18, and is rotatably supported by a bottom frame frame 20b by a shaft 82. The surface of the paper feed tray 17 is provided on the outer periphery of the cam by a bottom surface of the paper discharge tray 18 and an engagement surface 81a. And an eccentric cam surface that engages with the engaging surface 81b. As the interlocking means 80, various types of eccentric cams can be used as long as the paper feeding tray 17 is driven in the clockwise direction when the paper discharge tray 18 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 10A is formed with a gap D between the cam 81 and the paper discharge tray 18, and a coil spring (not shown) for biasing the cam 81 toward the paper feed tray 17 is provided on the shaft 82. It is provided. For example, when an external force is applied to the paper discharge tray 18 such as when the user removes the document halfway, the paper feed tray 17 moves and the pressure contact force between the paper feed roller 26 and the document changes to be appropriate. This is to prevent the sheet feeding from being damaged. Accordingly, the gap D is set to an appropriate size so that the front end of the paper feed tray 17 is separated from the paper feed roller 26 after the paper discharge tray is rotated by a predetermined angle.

  A transport frame frame 21 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 is attached to the apparatus frame 20 at the exposure opening 23. A vacuum chamber 22 integrally formed by resin molding and a vacuum fan 29 are attached to the conveyance frame frame 21 and the conveyance belt 19 is wound around the circumference. The conveyor belt 19 is composed of an endless belt supported by a pair of pulleys 31, and a vent hole 32 is formed in the entire length thereof. The rotating shaft 33 of the pulley 31 is fitted into a bearing groove 34 formed in the transport frame 21 and is rotatably supported. The conveying frame frame 21 is provided with a number of vacuum through holes 30 and is fed by the conveying belt 19 while sucking the original.

  The conveyance frame frame 21 is provided with a document stopper (not shown), and the illustrated one is constituted by a protrusion disposed between the strips of the conveyance belt 19. In FIG. 35, a pair of left and right tension rollers arranged on the side of the conveyor belt 19 facing the platen 2 smoothly rotates the conveyor belt and simultaneously regulates it to a predetermined height position (see FIG. 3).

  A conveyance guide 36 is formed integrally with the conveyance frame frame 21 between the sheet feeding tray 17 and the conveyance belt 19, and the document from the sheet feeding tray 17 is guided to the conveyance belt 19 and simultaneously from the conveyance belt 19. The document is guided to the paper discharge tray 18. The conveyance guide 36 is provided with a conveyance roller 37. The conveyance roller 37 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 and faces the paper feed tray 17, and the pinch roller 38 faces the paper discharge tray 18. A pinch roller 39 is provided at a position to be used. If this transport roller 37 is rotated by a drive mechanism which will be described later, the original is fed toward the transport belt 19 on the paper feed side and the original is carried out on the paper discharge side, thereby miniaturizing and simplifying the apparatus. . 40 is a path switching gate provided in the conveyance guide 36, and 41 is a scooping guide made of a plastic film. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the switching gate 40 pushes up the gate from the paper feed tray 17 at the leading end thereof and moves it to the right, and conversely, the document going from the platen to the left in the figure is guided to the paper discharge tray 18 side. The weight is adjusted so that The scooping guide 41 is made of a film material rich in elastic deformation, acting to scoop up the document from the platen toward the left side of the drawing and guide it to the switching gate 40.

  The drive mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. 4. A drive motor M that can be rotated forward and backward is attached to the apparatus frame 20, and the feed roller 26, the conveyor belt 19 and the conveyor roller 37 are rotated forward and backward. Is driven to rotate. The paper feed roller 26 is connected to the drive motor M by a transmission belt 45 and a transmission gear 46 via an electromagnetic clutch 42. The conveyor belt 19 is connected to the drive motor M by a transmission gear 46 and is simultaneously connected to the conveyor roller 37 via a transmission gear 47. The transmission gear 47 has a built-in one-way clutch, and is set so that rotation in one direction of the drive motor M is transmitted to the rotation shaft of the transport roller 37 but not in the reverse direction. This rotation is transmitted to the rotation shaft of the conveying roller 37 after the rotation direction is changed by the intermediate gear 48. Accordingly, the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the drive motor M are transmitted to the transport belt 19 as the normal rotation and the reverse rotation, and the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the drive motor M are always transmitted to the transport roller 37 as a one-way rotation counterclockwise in FIG. . 60 in the figure is a control circuit board of the feeder device, which controls power supply to the drive motor M and ON / OFF of the electromagnetic clutch 42.

  Next, the installation of the feeder device B will be described. The feeder device B is attached to the upper surface of the platen 2 of the image reading device A as follows. A step is formed between the platen 2 and a flange 5 provided on the casing 1. In such an image reading apparatus A, the feeder apparatus B is positioned and installed by a left and right positioning member 49 that contacts a step set as a document setting reference and a height positioning member 50 that contacts a platen surface. The bottom frame 20b constituting the apparatus frame 20 is provided with a right and left positioning member 49 including protrusions 49a, 49b, 49c, and 49d on a light shielding cover portion (light shielding member) 24 thereof. The left and right positioning members 49 come into contact with the step of the flange 5 set as the document setting reference of the image reading apparatus A so as to index the position.

  On the other hand, the height positioning member 50 is provided on the transport frame 21. As shown in FIG. 11, protrusions 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d are provided at the outer four corners of the document conveyance area at the bottom of the conveyance frame frame 21, and a gap L3 is provided between the vacuum chamber 22 and the platen surface shown in FIG. Form. Therefore, the relationship between the left and right positioning members 49 and the height positioning members 50 is set so that the lengths of the respective protrusions are set so that only the height positioning member 50 abuts against the platen surface and the left and right positioning members 49 do not abut. . This is because it is difficult to make all the protrusions have the same length (height) dimension, and this avoids a state in which the left and right positioning members 49 are in contact with the platen surface and the height positioning member 50 is not in contact with the platen surface. is there.

  Control of the above-described image reading apparatus and feeder apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the image reading apparatus A reads a document placed on the platen 2 as a generally well-known configuration, performs image processing by the image data processing unit 7, and then transfers data from the data output unit 8 to a computer, a printer, or the like. The control of the optical reading mechanism 6 is performed by the control unit, and its configuration is shown in FIG. 10B. The image reading apparatus A has a built-in control board, and a CPU 54, an image processing IC 55, and an output data processing IC 56 are incorporated in this control board. The central processing unit CPU 54 is constituted by a processor that executes a control program in the ROM 57, and an inter-line correction SRAM 55a, a gamma correction SRAM 55b, and a shading correction SRAM 55C are connected to the image processing IC 55. A buffer SDRAM 59 for transmitting data to an external device 58 such as a computer and an interface 68 are connected to the output data processing IC 56. The CPU 54 is connected with a driver 67 of the carriage drive motor 16, a light source 11, and a control circuit 70 for the photoelectric conversion element 14. The CPU and the control circuit 60 of the feeder device are configured to transmit signals to each other as shown in FIG.

  The control circuit 60 of the feeder apparatus B transmits the signal of the control section 9 to the drive motor M of the feeder apparatus B and the driver circuit of the electromagnetic clutch 42 via the control section 9 of the image reading apparatus A and the serial-parallel conversion means 69. The feeder device B is configured to transmit signals of sensors S1 and S2 to be described later to the control unit 9.

  On the other hand, in the feeder device B, an empty sensor S1 for detecting whether or not a document is placed on the paper feed tray 17 and whether or not the document is stagnated for a predetermined time at a discharge port of the discharge tray 18 are determined. A jam sensor S <b> 2 is provided for detecting that the document does not reach for more than the time, and the detection signal is sent to the feeder control circuit 60.

  The control unit 9 and the feeder control circuit 60 of the image reading apparatus A are connected by a connector 61 to transmit signals to each other. The power source of the drive motor M is supplied from the image reading apparatus A to the feeder apparatus.

  Therefore, the image reading apparatus A selects various operations in the mode setting of the control panel such as changing the scanning speed of the carriage 10 according to the normal operation mode, for example, the image type such as color, black and white, and gray scale and the resolution. . It is necessary to change the operation mode between when the feeder device B is installed (placed) on the platen 2 and when the feeder device B is not installed. In the configuration shown in the drawing, the document setting position differs by L1 and L2 shown in FIG. 11, and the document fed by the feeder device differs in the reading start position by L2 in the main scanning direction and in the L1 sub-scanning direction. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the connector 61 is connected. When the connector 61 is not connected, reading is performed in a normal operation mode. When the connector 61 is connected, the following operation is performed.

  When the reading start button is operated on the control panel 4, the control CPU 54 checks the status signal of the empty sensor S1 of the paper feed tray 17, and displays it on the panel and informs the user when the document is not placed. When a document is set, a paper feed instruction signal is sent to the feeder device B, and the drive motor M of the feeder device is rotated in the forward direction. At the same time, the electromagnetic clutch 42 is coupled to rotate the paper feed roller 26. The rotation of the drive motor M is also transmitted to the conveyance roller 37 and the conveyance belt 19 to prepare for the respective documents being fed. The document on the sheet feeding tray 17 is fed toward the platen 2 by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 26, and only the uppermost sheet is fed by the friction pad 27 and taken over by the conveying roller 37. When the leading edge of the document reaches the conveyance roller 37, the electromagnetic clutch 42 is turned off by a timer from a paper feed instruction signal. Then, the document is drawn out by the conveyance roller 37, reaches the conveyance belt 19, and enters the platen 2.

  At this time, the vacuum fan 29 is rotated by the paper feed instruction signal and sucks and conveys the original entering the platen 2 to the conveyance belt 19. When the leading edge of the document hits the document stopper, the document and the conveyor belt 19 slide and the document stops at that position. After the expected time when the leading edge of the document reaches the document stopper from the paper feed instruction signal, the drive motor M is turned off. At the same time, the control unit 9 of the image reading apparatus A starts image reading under the set conditions.

  The read image data is subjected to data processing after correcting the effective reading start position corresponding to L1 in the main scanning direction and L2 in the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. 11), and the result data is output as data. The data is transferred from the unit 8 to an external device such as a computer. When the series of scanning scans is completed by the movement of the carriage 10, the control unit 9 issues a document discharge instruction signal to the feeder device B. Therefore, the control circuit 60 of the feeder apparatus B reversely rotates the drive motor M. With the reverse rotation of the motor M, the conveying belt 19 is in the reverse direction, the conveying roller 37 is in a one-way clutch and the feeding roller 26 is in the same direction, the electromagnetic clutch 42 is in the OFF state, and the document is carried out to the left side in FIG. And is stored in the paper discharge tray 18 by the switching gate 40. The jam sensor S2 on the upstream side of the paper discharge tray 18 detects the trailing edge of the original, sends a paper discharge end signal to the control unit 9, and waits for the next paper feed instruction signal.

  When the document is set on the paper feed tray 17 in such a process, the user lifts the paper discharge tray 18 upward from the state shown in FIG. 9 and swings the rear end portion around the pin 18c bearing the front end portion. Then, the rear end portion of the paper feed tray is expanded to secure a sufficient space for inserting the document bundle. At the same time, the front end of the paper discharge tray 18 contacts the engagement surface 81a of the cam 81 when it rotates by a predetermined angle α (see FIG. 10), and the cam 81 is rotated clockwise in FIG.

  By this rotation, the cam 81 swings the paper feed tray 17 around the pin 25 against the biasing spring 17c, and the front end of the paper feed tray is lowered and separated from the paper feed roller 26 in the state shown in FIG. Then, the leading edge of the original enters the space formed between the paper feed roller 26 and the paper feed tray 17 without difficulty and is set in a predetermined posture. After the document is set on the paper feed tray 17, when the user returns the paper discharge tray 18 from the state shown in FIGS. 10 to 9, the cam 81 returns to the initial position by the force of the biasing spring 17c.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a document feeder installed in the scanner device. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the feeder device of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the longitudinal cross-section which longitudinally cut the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the principal part plane of the apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the bottom face of the conveyance unit which comprises a part of apparatus of FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the connection state of an external apparatus, an image reading apparatus, and a feeder apparatus. Explanatory drawing of the control circuit of a feeder apparatus. Explanatory drawing of the attachment structure of a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray. An explanatory view showing a state of a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray, and an explanatory view showing a state during a paper feed operation. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation state of a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray, and is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a document is loaded on the paper feed tray. The layout explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the platen of the apparatus of FIG. 2, the left-right positioning member, and the height positioning member. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a control circuit of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

A Image reading apparatus B Feeder apparatus 1 Casing 2 Platen 3 Platen cover 5 Flange 6 Optical reading mechanism section 7 Image data processing section 8 Data output section 9 Control interface section 10 Carriage 17 Paper feed tray 17a Document placement tray section 17b Side guide 17c Biasing spring 18 Paper discharge tray 18b Paper discharge tray rear end 18c Pin 19 Transport belt 20 Device frame 20a Exterior cover 20b Bottom frame 20d Stopper wall 21 Transport frame frame 22 Vacuum chamber 23 Exposure opening 24 Light-shielding cover 25 Pin 26 Supply Paper roller 27 Friction pad 29 Vacuum fan 80 Interlocking means

Claims (11)

An image reading platen;
A conveying belt means disposed on the platen for conveying a document along the platen;
A paper feed tray disposed on the platen adjacent to the conveyor belt means for supplying a document to the conveyor belt means;
A paper discharge tray which is arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval above the paper feed tray and stores the original from the conveying belt means;
Driving means for driving the conveying belt means to feed the document from the sheet feeding tray to a predetermined position on the platen and to reverse the conveying direction and carry the document to the discharge tray;
A sheet feeding means that is provided at the leading end of the sheet feeding direction of the sheet feeding tray and sequentially feeds from the uppermost document;
The paper discharge tray is configured to be swingable so as to widen the gap between the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in the paper feed direction. An image reading apparatus comprising an interlocking unit for lowering the leading end of the sheet feeding direction so as to be separated from the sheet feeding unit. A paper feed tray for placing sheets;
A paper feed means provided at the front end of the paper feed direction of the paper feed tray and sequentially feeding from the uppermost sheet;
Conveying means for transferring the sheet from the sheet feeding means to a predetermined processing position;
A paper discharge tray that is arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval above the paper feed tray and stores sheets from the conveying means, and
The paper discharge tray is configured to be swingable so as to widen the gap between the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in the paper feed direction, and the paper feed tray is interlocked with the swing of the paper discharge tray. The sheet feeder is provided with interlocking means for lowering the leading end of the sheet feeding direction away from the sheet feeding means. The sheet feeding means is constituted by a friction rotating member such as a roller and a belt which is brought into contact with the uppermost sheet on the sheet feeding tray, and the sheet feeding tray biases the leading end in the sheet feeding direction against the friction rotating member. The sheet feeder according to claim 2, further comprising means. 3. The sheet feeder according to claim 2, wherein the conveying means includes a conveying belt for transferring the sheet and a vacuum means for sucking the sheet to the conveying belt. The discharge tray is supported by a frame so that the front end of the paper feeding direction and the rear end of the paper feeding direction can be freely rotated, and the interlocking means is provided between the discharge tray and the paper feeding tray. 5. The sheet feeder according to claim 2, comprising a cam member provided on the sheet feeder. A paper feed tray for placing sheets;
A paper feed roller that is provided at the front end of the paper feed direction of the paper feed tray and sequentially feeds from the uppermost sheet;
A conveying belt for transferring a sheet from the sheet feeding roller to a predetermined processing position;
A paper discharge tray that is arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval above the paper feed tray and stores sheets from the conveyor belt;
A drive means capable of forward and reverse rotation for driving the conveyor belt forward and backward, and
An urging means that presses the leading end of the sheet feeding tray in the sheet feeding direction against the sheet feeding roller;
The paper feed tray is configured to swing freely around the rear end of the paper feed direction, and the paper discharge tray is swingable around the front end of the paper feed direction.
A sheet feeder comprising a cam member for separating the paper feed tray from the paper feed roller in conjunction with the swing of the paper discharge tray. 7. The cam member according to claim 6, wherein the cam member comprises a rotating cam having a rotation center, and the paper feed tray is moved away from the paper feed roller after a predetermined angle swing of the paper discharge tray. Sheet feeder. A platen that sets the document in place;
Image reading means for reading a document on the platen;
A paper feed tray for placing documents placed above the platen;
A paper feed roller for feeding out documents on the paper feed tray;
Conveying means for feeding and setting a document from the sheet feeding roller to a predetermined position on the platen;
A paper discharge tray that is arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval above the paper feed tray and stores sheets from the conveying means, and
The paper discharge tray is configured to be swingable so as to widen the gap between the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in the paper feed direction, and the paper feed tray is interlocked with the swing of the paper discharge tray. An image reading apparatus comprising an interlocking means for lowering the leading end of the sheet feeding direction so as to be separated from the sheet feeding roller. 9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the conveying unit includes an endless belt stretched along the platen and a vacuum unit that sucks a document onto the endless belt. 9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the conveying unit is attached to a conveying frame frame that covers a part of the platen, and the conveying frame frame is attached to an apparatus frame that covers the entire platen. The apparatus frame is provided with a light shielding cover member that shields the light of the platen, the paper feed tray is disposed above the light shielding member, and the paper discharge tray is disposed above the paper feed tray. The image reading apparatus according to claim 10.

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