JP2006273488A - Document conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document conveying device capable of easily taking out a discharged document with one hand and of stably loading the document on a document feeding tray regardless of the size of the document. <P>SOLUTION: A movable part 60 is provided in a device front face side of the document feeding tray 29, and is constituted slidably in device front and rear directions (directions BB' indicated by arrows). When a document is read by using the document conveying device 27, the movable part 60 is arranged in a first position for loading the document integrally with the document feeding tray 29. When taking out the document S discharged on a document discharging tray 31 after completion of the reading of the document S, a user slides the movable part 60 in the arrow B direction and moves the movable part 60 in a second position where a notch part 61 is formed. Due to this, since part of the document S hidden below the document feeding tray 29 is exposed from the notch part 61, the user can grasp and take out the document S with one hand. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and a document conveying apparatus that sequentially conveys a sheet document to an image reading unit of the image forming apparatus. .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine using an electrophotographic process is provided with a document conveying device that sequentially feeds a sheet-like document to a document table and discharges it from the document table after completion of exposure. There is something to prepare. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional document conveying device. In FIG. 11, the document transport device 27 is generally positioned above the document feed tray 29 having a document guide 29 a for aligning and stacking supplied documents and the image reading position R on the document table 25. The document cover 30 includes a document cover 30 with a document feed tray 29 protruding therefrom, and a document discharge tray 31 formed directly on a part of the upper surface of the document presser 28 on the side of the document cover 30. A document transport path d from 29 to the document discharge tray 31 through the document cover 30 is formed.

  In the document cover 30, document conveyance means including a pickup roller 32, a conveyance roller pair 33, a registration roller pair 34, and a discharge roller pair 35 is provided in order from the upstream side along the document conveyance path d. Among these, the conveyance roller pair 33 is composed of a drive roller 33a and a separation roller 33b. The separation roller 33b rotates in the opposite direction to the drive roller 33a only when the rotational load is lower than a predetermined torque, and the rotational load is reduced. When the torque exceeds a predetermined torque, the drive roller 33a is driven to rotate.

  Between the registration roller pair 34 and the discharge roller pair 35, a white reference plate 36 for shading correction, which is exposed to face the image reading position R on the document placing table 25, and a white reference plate 36 behind the white reference plate 36 is white. A document pressing portion 36a for pressing the reference plate 36 toward the image reading position R is provided. The document conveyance path d is curved so as to be reversed between the conveyance roller pair 33 and the image reading position R.

  The document transport path d is provided with a plurality of sensors for detecting whether or not a document exists. For example, a document detection sensor S 1 is provided at the center of the document feed tray 29, a paper feed sensor S 2 is provided downstream of the transport roller pair 33, and a discharge sensor S 3 is provided downstream of the discharge roller pair 35. ing.

  In such a document conveying device, the documents set on the document feeding tray 29 are conveyed one by one by the document conveying means sequentially through the document conveying path d, and after passing through the image reading position R, the document discharge tray. 31 are discharged sequentially. The document discharged on the document discharge tray 31 is taken out by the user's hand. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the normal document discharge tray 31 is disposed at a distance below the document feed tray 29 in the vertical direction, and the interval is compact in the height direction of the copying machine. Therefore, the document discharged on the document discharge tray 31 is hidden under the document feed tray 29 when viewed from the user, and is difficult to take out. Become.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus on which the document conveying device 27 is mounted. As shown in FIG. 12, the document feed tray 29 is normally configured to rotate in the direction of the arrow AA ′. Therefore, when the document S ejected on the document ejection tray 31 is taken out, the document feed tray 29 can be fed with one hand. It is necessary to hold the paper tray 29 in a state of being rotated in the direction of arrow A (broken line in the figure). For this reason, for example, when the user has a baggage in one hand or when both hands cannot be used due to injury or the like, the operation of taking out the discharged document has been complicated.

In the conventional document conveying device, in order to make it easy to take out the document discharged onto the document discharge tray, a notch is provided on the front side of the document feed tray, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1. However, in order to stably place the document, it is necessary to provide a document feed tray with a somewhat large area. With such a method, it is difficult to take out a small-size document when the cutout portion is small. On the other hand, if the notch is enlarged, there is a problem that the stacking of the documents on the document feed tray becomes unstable.
JP 2002-19973 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a document transport apparatus that can easily take out a document with one hand regardless of the size of a document to be discharged and can stably place a document on a document feed tray. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a document feed tray on which sheet-like documents are stacked, a document discharge tray disposed below the document feed tray at an interval, and the document feed tray. In a document transport device comprising a document transport means for sequentially transporting a document placed on a tray along a document transport path and discharging it onto the document discharge tray, on the front side of the document feed tray, A movable part is provided which is movable between a first position where the original is stacked together with the original feed tray and a second position where a notch is formed in the original feed tray. Yes.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, the movable portion is attached to be slidable in the horizontal direction with respect to the document feeding tray.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, the movable portion is attached so as to be rotatable upward with respect to the document feeding tray.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, the rotation range of the movable portion is smaller than 90 °.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, an urging unit that urges the movable portion in the first position direction is provided.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, the movable portion is transparent or translucent.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, the first position where the document is stacked together with the document feed tray is formed on the front side of the document feed tray, and the notch is formed in the document feed tray. By providing a movable portion that can be moved to the second position, the movable portion is moved to the first position when the document is read, and the document is stably placed on the document feed tray, and the document discharge tray When taking out the document discharged above, the movable part is moved to the second position to form a notch so that a part of the document hidden under the document feed tray is removed from the notch. Exposed. Accordingly, since the document can be taken out without rotating the entire document feed tray, the user can easily take out the document discharged onto the document discharge tray even when one hand cannot be used. The placement of the document on the document feed tray is also stable.

  According to the second configuration of the present invention, in the document conveying device having the first configuration, the movable portion is attached to the document feeding tray so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction, so that the user can Since the original can be removed by sliding the movable part with one hand, the original discharged onto the original discharge tray can be easily taken out even when both hands cannot be used.

  According to the third configuration of the present invention, in the document conveying device having the first configuration, the movable portion is attached to the document feed tray so as to be rotatable upward, so that the user can move with one hand. Since the original can be removed by rotating the movable part, the original discharged on the original discharge tray can be easily taken out even when both hands cannot be used.

  According to the fourth configuration of the present invention, in the document conveying apparatus having the third configuration, the movable portion is automatically moved from the second position by making the rotation range of the movable portion smaller than 90. Since it returns to the first position, it is not necessary to return the movable part to the first position again after removing the document.

  According to the fifth configuration of the present invention, in the document conveying device having any one of the first to fourth configurations, the urging unit that urges the movable portion in the first position direction is provided. After the document is removed, the movable part can be automatically and reliably returned to the first position.

  According to the sixth configuration of the present invention, in the document conveying device having any one of the first to fifth configurations, the movable portion is made transparent or translucent so that the document discharge tray is passed through the movable portion from above. The presence or absence of the original document can be easily confirmed, and it is possible to effectively prevent the document from being forgotten.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of an image forming apparatus including a document conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of front view which shows the internal structure of an apparatus. Portions common to FIGS. 11 and 12 of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatus 200 is a so-called in-cylinder discharge type digital copying machine, and mainly includes a main body housing 20 and an upper housing 21 disposed on the upper portion thereof. Become. The upper housing 21 is provided with various mechanisms, which will be described later, for reading an image of an original as an electric signal. On the other hand, the main body housing 20 is used to transfer an image onto a sheet based on the electric signal of the read original image. Various mechanisms described later are provided.

  In the present embodiment, the main body housing 20 is composed of a lower housing 20a and a connecting housing 20b that is positioned along the left side and connected to the upper housing 21 above the lower housing 20a. A paper part, an image forming part for forming a toner image on the paper, a fixing part for fixing the toner image on the paper, and the like are provided. On the other hand, the fixed paper is conveyed to the connection housing 20b. A paper discharge unit for discharging is provided. Further, a cylinder discharge space 22 that is largely open toward the right side and the front surface is formed on the right side of the connecting housing 20b immediately below the upper housing 21, and the cylinder discharge space 22 includes A paper discharge tray 23 is provided for receiving and stacking paper discharged horizontally from the right side surface of the connecting housing 20b.

  On the upper surface of the upper housing 21, there are arranged a document placing table 25 made of a transparent glass plate and an operation panel 26 exposed on the front side. Further, above the upper housing 21, there is a document holder 28 equipped with a document conveying device 27 for conveying the document to the image reading position R on the document placing table 25, by a hinge portion 21 a fixed to the back surface of the upper housing 21. It is supported so that it can be opened and closed. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the document presser 28 can take a closed state in which the document placing table 25 is closed and a document reading operation is performed, and an opened state in which the document placing table 25 is opened.

  The image forming apparatus 200 uses a sheet-through method in which a document is automatically conveyed and read by the document conveying device 27 with the document retainer 28 closed, and the document retainer 28 is opened and closed each time a document is read. Two types of reading methods are possible: a document fixing method that replaces one sheet at a time. In the former sheet-through method, the optical system provided in the upper housing 21 is scanned at a predetermined position without being scanned and moved. On the other hand, in the latter document fixing method, A reading operation is performed while the optical system scans and moves.

  Next, a document conveying operation by the sheet through type document conveying unit 27 will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of the document conveying device 27 is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. In the sheet-through type document conveying operation, first, a plurality of documents set with the image surface facing upward on the document feeding tray 29 are predetermined by a set document pressing member 37 biased upward by a spring member 37a. Is pressed against the pickup roller 32 by the pressure of. Here, when the copy start button on the operation panel 26 is turned on, the pickup roller 32 and the conveyance roller pair 33 are rotationally driven by a primary paper feed driving means (not shown).

  The document set on the document feed tray 29 is normally fed by the pickup roller 32 to the upper pair of transport rollers 33. The plurality of originals sent to the conveyance roller pair 33 are separated by the separation roller 33b and are conveyed toward the registration roller pair 34 after being separated by the separation roller 33b. At that time, after the leading edge of the document is detected by the sheet feeding sensor S2, the document is conveyed by a predetermined distance, and then the driving roller 33a and the pickup roller of the conveying roller pair 33 are stopped by the operation of the primary sheet feeding driving means. The rotational drive of 32 is stopped and the primary paper feeding ends. The original of the primary paper feed is stopped in a state where the leading edge is pressed against the nip portion of the registration roller pair 34 and the leading edge is bent.

  Secondary feeding is started after a lapse of a predetermined time from completion of primary feeding. That is, the registration roller pair 34 is rotationally driven by the operation of the secondary paper feed driving means (not shown). The document is conveyed by the registration roller pair 34 to the discharge roller pair 35 through the image reading position R, and finally discharged onto the document discharge tray 31 by the discharge roller pair 35. At this time, the completion of image reading of one original is detected by detecting the passage of the rear end of the original by the discharge sensor S3.

  Here, the discharge sensor S3 has a counting function that counts the number of documents every time the document feed and conveyance is completed. If the document detection sensor S1 detects a subsequent document, the second and subsequent document conveyance is performed. Will continue as above. When the document passes through the image reading position R, the document is conveyed while being lightly pressed toward the document placing table 25 by the white reference plate 36 and the document pressing portion 36a, and the image of the document is read through the image reading position R. It is supposed to be.

  Next, the configuration of an image reading unit provided in the upper housing 21 for reading an image of a document as an electric signal will be described below with reference to FIG. In the upper housing 21, a lamp 1 that is a light source that irradiates light toward the image surface of the document, a reflector 2 that efficiently applies light from the lamp 1 to the image surface of the document, and document reflected light The first mirror 3 that directly receives and reflects the light, the second mirror 4 that receives and reflects the reflected light from the first mirror 3, and the third mirror that receives and reflects the reflected light from the second mirror 4 5 and a lens barrel 6 that holds a lens group (not shown) that introduces and collects reflected light from the third mirror 5, and receives document reflected light collected by the lens group of the lens barrel 6. A photoelectric conversion module (for example, a line-type CCD) 7 for converting to an electrical signal is disposed on the base plate 10. The optical path of the original reflected light is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  Here, the lamp 1, the reflector 2 and the first mirror 3 are integrally fixed on the first carriage 8, and the second mirror 4 and the third mirror 5 are integrally fixed on the second carriage 9. The first carriage 8 and the second carriage 9 are independent of each other, but can reciprocate in cooperation. That is, when the document image reading operation is performed by the sheet through method, the first carriage 8 is moved and held immediately below the image reading position R, and the second carriage 9 is held at a predetermined position. On the other hand, in the original fixing method, the first carriage 8 and the second carriage 9 reciprocate (scan) while maintaining the optical path length of the original reflected light constant.

  Under such a configuration, the document reflected light irradiated from the lamp 1 and reflected by the image surface of the document is reflected by the first mirror 3 to the third mirror 5 and introduced into the lens group in the lens barrel 6. The light is condensed by the lens group and imaged on the photoelectric conversion element 7 a of the photoelectric conversion module 7. The photoelectric conversion module 7 performs photoelectric conversion processing, and the document image is read as an electric signal.

  Next, the configuration of various mechanisms provided in the main body housing 20 for transferring the image to the sheet based on the electric signal of the read document image will be described below with reference to FIG. First, the sheet feeding unit will be described. Under the lower housing 20a, sheets of various sizes (mainly sheets) are stored, and a sheet feeding cassette 40 that can be taken in and out from the front is disposed. The sheets P stored in the sheet feeding cassette 40 are: The sheets are fed one by one by the feeding roller 40a. Further, an openable and closable manual feed tray 41 that is pulled down as necessary is provided on the left side surface of the lower portion of the lower housing 20a, and a sheet (paper or OHP sheet) P ′ set on the manual feed tray 41 is provided. Are fed one by one by the feeding roller 41a.

  Next, an image forming unit for forming a toner image on a sheet and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image on the sheet will be described. Above the paper feed cassette 40 in the lower housing 20a, a photosensitive drum 42 constituting a main image forming unit, a charging device 43, a laser exposure unit 44, a developing device 45, A transfer roller 46 and a cleaning device 47 are provided. A fixing device 48 constituting a main fixing unit is disposed above the transfer roller 46 in the lower housing 20a and directly below the connecting housing 20b.

  The photosensitive drum 42 is made of positively chargeable amorphous silicon, and rotates clockwise in FIG. 3 at a predetermined peripheral speed when driven. The surface of the photosensitive drum 42 is uniformly charged by corona discharge generated from the charging device 43 to which a high voltage is applied, and then the laser exposure unit 44 based on the electrical signal of the original image from the photoelectric conversion module 7 described above. The electrostatic latent image composed of a predetermined light potential and dark potential portion is formed by the irradiation of the light beam from.

  Further, the electrostatic latent image rotates to the developing position by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 42. The developing roller 45a, which is a constituent element of the developing device 45, is made of stainless steel and has a fixed magnet inside. The developing roller 45a is rotatably supported with a predetermined gap from the photosensitive drum 42, and in the same direction as the photosensitive drum 42 when driven. At a predetermined peripheral speed. The developing device 45 is filled with a positively charged magnetic toner having a volume average particle diameter of 9 μm (median diameter measured by a Coulter counter), and a toner thin layer is formed on the surface of the developing roller 45a by a magnetic blade (not shown). Is formed. A predetermined developing bias voltage is applied to the developing roller 45a. The toner that has reached the developing region flies from the surface of the developing roller 45a by the developing bias voltage, and is attracted to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 42, whereby a toner image is formed (developed).

  Here, the sheet P (or P ′) that is fed one by one from the paper feed cassette 40 (or the manual feed tray 41) and reaches the registration roller pair 49 has a toner image on the photosensitive drum 42 approaching the transfer roller 46. In synchronization with this, the registration roller pair 49 feeds the sheet upward while adjusting the conveyance timing, and is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 42 and the transfer roller 46 through the conveyance path T1. Then, most of the toner in the toner image is transferred onto the sheet P when the leading edge of the sheet P and the leading edge of the toner image pass through the transfer roller 46.

  The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 42 without being transferred onto the sheet P is removed from the photosensitive drum 42 by the cleaning device 47. On the other hand, the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is sent to the fixing device 48. The fixing device 48 has a pair of fixing rollers including a heat roller 48a and a pressure roller 48b. The toner image on the sheet P passing through the nip is heated and pressed by the pair of fixing rollers to be fixed. As a result, a fixed transfer image is formed on the sheet P.

  The sheet P that has passed through the fixing device 48 is conveyed into the connecting housing 20b along the vertical conveyance path T2 that is directed vertically upward. In the connection housing 20b, a conveyance roller pair 50 connected to the vertical conveyance path T2 and a discharge roller pair 51 for discharging the sheet P to the paper discharge tray 23 are disposed. The sheet P sent out from the conveyance roller pair 50 reaches the discharge roller pair 51 through the conveyance path T3 and is discharged from the discharge roller pair 51 to the paper discharge tray 23. The sheet discharge tray 23 is designed to have an upward slope in the discharge direction, and the sheet P discharged onto the sheet stacking surface 23a slides down due to the inclination, and the rear end portion is aligned by the rear wall portion 23b.

  The present invention is characterized in that a movable portion 60 is provided on the front side of the document feed tray 29. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the document conveying device 27 of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the movable portion 60 is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction (arrow BB ′ direction) of the apparatus along a guide portion (not shown) provided in the document feed tray 29. When the original is read using the original conveying device 27, the movable portion 60 is integrated with the original feed tray 29 at a position (hereinafter referred to as a first position) in FIG. Be placed. Then, the document is placed on the document feed tray 29 and reading of the document is started.

  When reading of the document is completed and the document S discharged on the document discharge tray 31 is taken out, the user first slides the movable portion 60 in the direction of arrow B with one hand to form the cutout portion 61 (FIG. 4B). ) Position (hereinafter referred to as the second position). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, a part of the document S hidden under the document feed tray 29 is exposed from the cutout portion 61, so that the user slides the movable portion 60 with his / her hand. The document S can be grasped and taken out.

  Then, after the document S is removed, in order to place the next document on the document feed tray 29, the movable portion 60 is slid in the direction of the arrow B 'and returned to the first position again. That is, since the user can slide the movable portion 60 with one hand without rotating the entire document feed tray 29 and remove the document S with that hand, the document can be discharged onto the document discharge tray 31 even when both hands cannot be used. The taken document S can be easily taken out.

  The size of the notch 61 can be set as appropriate. However, when the movable part 60 is slid to the maximum in the direction of the arrow B, a part of the minimum-size document used in the document transport device 27 is exposed. It is preferable to make it a large size. In FIG. 4, a notch 61 having a substantially U-shape in plan view is formed on the front side of the document feed tray 29. However, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), for example, A cutout portion 61 having an L shape in plan view may be formed at the corner of the tray 29.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, if a tension spring 63 for biasing the movable part 60 in the direction of arrow B ′ is provided, the user slides the movable part 60 in the direction of arrow B by hand. After removing the document S, the movable part 60 automatically slides in the direction of the arrow B ′ when the hand is released. Therefore, it is more preferable because the user does not need to return the movable part 60 to the first position. Instead of the tension spring 63, other urging means such as a compression spring, a torsion spring, and a leaf spring can be used.

  FIGS. 7A and 7B are a plan view and a front view of the document conveying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Portions common to FIG. 4 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the movable part 60 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow CC ′ about the connecting part 64 as a support shaft, and the first position (solid line in FIG. 7B) and the second position ( 7 (b) is selected and arranged. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, flange portions 60 a are formed at both side ends of the movable portion 60. The movable portion 60 is held at the first position by engaging the flange portion 60 a with the step 29 b formed on the document feed tray 29.

  When reading an original using the original conveying apparatus of the present embodiment, the movable unit 60 is disposed at a first position where the original is placed together with the original feed tray 29. Then, the document is placed on the document feed tray 29 and reading of the document is started. When taking out the original S discharged on the original discharge tray 31 after the reading of the original is completed, as shown in FIG. 8, the user first rotates the movable portion 60 in the direction of the arrow C with one hand, and the notch portion. Move to a second position forming 61.

  As a result, a part of the document S hidden under the document feed tray 29 is exposed from the notch 61. Here, by setting the rotation range of the movable portion 60 to be smaller than 90 °, the user grasps and removes the document S while holding the movable portion 60 in the second position with the back of the hand, and also moves the movable portion. When the hand holding 60 is released, the movable part 60 rotates in the direction of the arrow C ′ by its own weight and returns to the first position again.

  Accordingly, similarly to the first embodiment, the user can remove the document S by rotating the movable portion 60 with one hand, so that the document S discharged onto the document discharge tray 31 can be taken out even when both hands cannot be used. Can be easily performed. Moreover, since the movable part 60 automatically returns to the first position, it is not necessary to provide a biasing means for biasing in the first position direction.

  When the rotation range of the movable part 60 is 90 ° or more, it is preferable to provide an urging means for urging the movable part 60 in the first position direction. In that case, since the movable part 60 rotates about the connecting part 64 as a support shaft, it is preferable to provide a torsion spring in the connecting part 64 instead of the tension spring 63. Further, here, the connecting portion 64 between the movable portion 60 and the document feed tray 29 is provided on the back side of the cutout portion 61, and the movable portion 60 is rotated in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus, but as shown in FIG. The connecting portion 64 may be provided on the left side (or the right side) of the cutout portion 61 and the movable portion 60 may be rotated in the direction of the arrow DD ′.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view of a document conveying device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Portions common to FIG. 4 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the movable part 60 is formed of a transparent material. With this configuration, the presence or absence of the document S discharged onto the document discharge tray 31 can be easily confirmed through the movable unit 60 from above the image forming apparatus without being blocked by the document feed tray 29. It is possible to effectively prevent forgetting to take a document.

  Although the movable portion 60 is transparent here, the movable portion 60 is not limited to being transparent as long as the document S can be confirmed from above. For example, the movable portion 60 is formed of a semi-transparent material, or a slit or Visibility can also be improved by providing a small hole. Further, the entire document feed tray 29 may be formed of a transparent or translucent material.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, the movable portion 60 may be formed of a transparent or translucent material in the configuration of the second embodiment. In the configuration of the third embodiment, the movable portion 60 is attached to the first position as in the first embodiment. A tension spring 63 may be provided.

  The present invention relates to a document feed tray on which sheet-like documents are stacked, a document discharge tray disposed below the document feed tray with a gap, and a document placed on the document feed tray In a document transport device comprising a document transport means for sequentially transporting a document along a document transport path and discharging it onto a document discharge tray, the document is integrated with the document feed tray on the front side of the document feed tray. It is assumed that a movable portion is provided that can move between a first position where the document is stacked and a second position where the cutout portion is formed in the document feed tray.

  As a result, only by moving the movable portion to the second position, a part of the document hidden under the document feed tray is exposed from the cutout portion, and the document can be moved without rotating the entire document feed tray. Removal is possible. Therefore, even when both hands cannot be used, it is possible to easily take out the document ejected on the document ejection tray with one hand, and the user can easily place the document on the document feeding tray. Providing equipment.

  In addition, since the movable part is slidable in the horizontal direction with respect to the document feed tray, the user can remove the document by sliding the movable part with one hand. The document discharged onto the tray can be easily taken out.

  In addition, since the movable part is attached so as to be pivotable upward with respect to the document feed tray, the user can remove the document by rotating the movable part with one hand, so that the document can be discharged even when one hand cannot be used. The document discharged onto the tray can be easily taken out. Also, if the rotation range of the movable part is smaller than 90 °, the movable part is automatically moved to the first position by its own weight by lifting the movable part with the back of the hand and removing the document and then releasing the hand. Therefore, it is not necessary to return the movable part to the first position.

  Further, since the urging means for urging the movable portion in the first position direction is provided, the movable portion can be automatically and reliably returned to the first position after the document is removed. Furthermore, if the movable part is made transparent or semi-transparent, it is possible to easily check the presence or absence of a sheet on the document discharge tray from above the apparatus, and to provide a document conveying device that effectively prevents forgetting to remove a document.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an image forming apparatus equipped with a document conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus on which the document conveying device of the first embodiment is mounted. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus on which the document conveying device according to the first embodiment is mounted. These are the top views which show the state (FIG.4 (a)) and the state (FIG.4 (b)) which have arrange | positioned the movable part in the 1st position in the document conveying apparatus of 1st Embodiment, and the 2nd position. is there. These are the fragmentary top views which show the other example of arrangement | positioning of a movable part. These are the partial top views which show the example which attached the tension | pulling spring to the movable part. These are the top view (Fig.7 (a)) and front view (FIG.7 (b)) of the original conveying apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. These are perspective views which show a mode that the document discharged | emitted in the document conveying apparatus of 2nd Embodiment is taken out. These are the front views which show the example which changed the rotation direction of the movable part in the original conveying apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. These are the top views of the original conveying apparatus based on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. These are front sectional views showing the configuration of a conventional document conveying device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus on which a conventional document conveying device is mounted.

Explanation of symbols

27 Document Conveying Device 29 Document Feeding Tray 29a Document Guide 31 Document Ejecting Tray 60 Movable Unit 60a Gutter 61 Notch 63 Tension Spring (Biasing Unit)
64 Connecting unit 200 Image forming apparatus d Document transport path S Document

Claims (6)

A document feed tray on which sheet-like documents are stacked, a document discharge tray disposed below the document feed tray at an interval, and a document placed on the document feed tray for document transport A document conveying device that sequentially conveys along a path and discharges the document on a document discharge tray;
On the front side of the document feed tray, move to a first position where documents are stacked together with the document feed tray, and to a second position where a notch is formed in the document feed tray. An original conveying apparatus comprising a movable part capable of moving.   2. The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion is attached to the document feeding tray so as to be slidable in a horizontal direction.   The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion is attached to the document feeding tray so as to be rotatable upward.   4. The document conveying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a rotation range of the movable portion is smaller than 90 degrees.   The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an urging unit that urges the movable portion in the first position direction.   6. The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion is transparent or translucent.

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