JP2007147739A - Opening/closing mechanism and document conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an opening/closing mechanism which is capable of reducing a damping force required to be given, in comparison with conventional mechanisms. <P>SOLUTION: The opening/closing mechanism includes; a damping force generation means 16 which is provided in an opening/closing member 8 freely opening/closing to a main body device 1 and generates a damping force for damping at least a closing operation out of opening and closing operations around an opening/closing shaft 10a of the opening/closing member 8, and a fixing means 15 which is coupled with the damping force generation means 16 and is fixed to the main body device. The damping force generation means 16 generates the damping force for a relative operation between the means 16 and the fixing means 15, which accompanies the closing operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an opening / closing mechanism and a document conveying device using the opening / closing mechanism.

  Currently, in printers, fax machines, copiers, etc., device covers and paper transport units are opened for repairs and maintenance. Further, when a document or copy paper jam occurs, the user opens the device cover or a unit constituting the inside and removes the jammed paper.

  When paper jams, maintenance, etc. are performed in this way, the braking force is applied when closing to prevent the device cover, unit, etc. from closing due to their own weight, or to prevent impact to the device body when closing. A generated opening / closing mechanism is disclosed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In Patent Document 1, a gear having a damper function meshes with the first tooth when opening the opening / closing portion, meshes with the second tooth when closing, and a larger resistance acts when closing the device. An opening / closing mechanism that can alleviate the impact on the main body is disclosed.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses an opening / closing mechanism that prevents the opening / closing member from being closed by its own weight by inserting a torque limiter into the opening / closing shaft of the opening / closing member and biasing the opening / closing portion by a spring. ing.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-242422 JP 2004-96031 A

  However, since the above-described conventional opening / closing mechanism includes a mechanism for applying a braking force to the opening / closing fulcrum, there is a problem that it is necessary to apply a large braking force when the opening / closing portion becomes heavy.

  In addition, when a large braking force is applied, parts such as a torque limiter for generating the braking force are expensive and costly.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an opening / closing mechanism and a document conveying apparatus using the opening / closing mechanism that can reduce the braking force that needs to be applied in comparison with the conventional one in consideration of the problems of the conventional opening / closing mechanism. And

In order to achieve the above object, the first present invention provides:
A braking force generating means for generating a braking force for braking at least the closing operation of the opening / closing operation centered on the opening / closing axis of the opening / closing member, provided on an opening / closing member that is openable / closable with respect to the main body device;
A fixing means connected to the braking force generating means and fixed to the main body device,
The braking force generating means is an opening / closing mechanism that generates the braking force with respect to a relative operation with the fixing means accompanying the closing operation.

The second aspect of the present invention
The relative operation is the opening / closing mechanism according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the braking force generating means moves along the outer peripheral edge of the fixing means.

The third aspect of the present invention
The braking force generating means is
A one-way clutch whose outer peripheral edge is gear-shaped,
A torque limiter,
A support shaft provided with the one-way clutch and the torque limiter,
The outer peripheral edge portion of the fixing means is the opening / closing mechanism of the second aspect of the present invention having a gear shape meshing with the gear shape of the one-way clutch.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is
A document insertion tray to be placed for conveying a document;
A document discharge tray provided below the document insertion tray;
A transport unit for transporting the document from the document insertion tray to the document discharge tray;
An opening and closing mechanism of the first invention,
The transport unit is a document transport device that is the opening / closing member.

The fifth aspect of the present invention provides
The transport unit has a transport roller for transporting the document,
The rotation axis of the conveyance roller is the document conveyance device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, which coincides with the opening / closing axis.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an opening / closing mechanism and a document conveying device using the opening / closing mechanism that can reduce the braking force that needs to be applied as compared with the related art.

  Hereinafter, the document conveying device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described, and an example of the opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention will be described at the same time.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a copying machine to which a document conveying device according to the present embodiment is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, the document conveying device 1 of the present embodiment is disposed on the upper part of the document reading glass surface 3 of the copying machine main body 2. The document conveying device 1 is a conveying device used when a plurality of documents are automatically read.

  The document conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a document insertion tray 4 for placing a document to be read, a document discharge tray 5 provided below the document insertion tray 4, and an upper surface. A transport cover 6 that can be opened and closed is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the document conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the front exterior is removed for the sake of explanation (see front exterior 1a in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, in the document conveying device of the present embodiment, a U-shaped document conveying path 7 is formed from the document inserting tray 4 to the document discharging tray 5 disposed below the document inserting tray 4. (See arrows in the figure). A transport unit 8 is disposed inside the U-shaped document transport path 7.

  Further, a portion where the U-shaped document conveyance path 7 is folded is a folding curve portion 7a, a document conveyance path 7 from the document insertion tray 4 to the folding curve portion 7a is an upper conveyance path 7b, and the folding curve portion 7a is A document transport path 7 to the document discharge tray 5 is defined as a lower transport path 7c.

  Further, the transport unit 8 is provided with a transport roller 10 for transporting the paper in the document transport path 7. The conveying roller 10 is arranged so that the outer peripheral surface of the roller is along the folded curved portion 7a. In FIG. 2, a plurality of conveying rollers 10 are fixedly arranged on the shaft 10a and connected to driving means (not shown) provided in the main body of the document conveying apparatus 1.

  If the position near the original reading glass surface 3 in the original conveying path 7 is 7e, an optical moving frame (lamp and mirror) unit is positioned in the copying machine main body 2 immediately below the position 7e.

  The document insertion tray 4 is provided with a lift plate 22 that lifts the leading end side in the document insertion direction in order to transport the placed document to the document transport path 7. A roller 12 is disposed. In FIG. 2, the lift plate 22 in a state where the sheet is lifted is indicated by a one-dot chain line as a lift plate 22 ′. A discharge roller 14 is provided in the transport unit 8 in the vicinity of the exit 7 d of the document transport path 7 in order to discharge the sheet to the document discharge tray 5. The feed roller 12 and the discharge roller 14 are connected to a driving unit (not shown). The transport cover 6 is configured to be openable and closable in the direction of the arrow S with the fulcrum 6a as the center and the transport unit 8 with the shaft 10a of the transport roller 10 as the center. Furthermore, a handle 9 for opening and closing is provided at the top of the transport unit 8. In addition, the position of the rotation outer periphery of the conveyance unit 8 at the time of opening and closing is set to 8a.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the transport cover 6 of the document transport apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is opened. In FIG. 3, the front exterior 1a is removed for the sake of explanation. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the upper conveyance path 7b is exposed. Further, a state where the feeding roller 12 is disposed inside the transport cover 6 is shown. Further, as shown in the figure, a plurality of conveyance rollers 10 are exposed from the upper conveyance path 7b to the folding curve portion 7a, and the conveyance of the original is carried on the upper conveyance path 7b and the folding curve portion 7a. In addition, a plurality of rollers 13 corresponding to the plurality of transport rollers 10 are arranged on the transport cover 6.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the transport unit 8 of the present embodiment is opened. Also in FIG. 4, the front exterior 1a is removed for the sake of explanation. FIG. 4 shows a state where the lower transport path 7c is exposed. Further, a state in which the above-described discharge roller 14 is arranged in the transport unit 8 is illustrated. A plurality of transport rollers 10 are also exposed in the lower transport path 7c, and are responsible for transporting paper in the lower transport path 7c. A plurality of rollers corresponding to the transport roller 10 are provided on the lower guide of the lower transport path 7c.

  In the above description, the conveying roller 10, the feeding roller 12, the discharge roller 14, and the roller 13 corresponding to the conveying roller 10 have been described. However, in addition to these, rollers and rollers are appropriately disposed.

  Next, an example of the opening / closing mechanism of the present invention provided in the transport unit 8 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the transport unit 8 when the transport unit 8 is closed. As shown in FIG. 5, a gear 15 fixed to the casing of the document conveying apparatus 1 is provided around a shaft 10 a on which the conveying roller 10 is disposed. A braking force generating means 16 connected to the gear 15 is fixed to the transport unit 8 and provided.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view around the braking force generating means 16. FIG. 7 is a ZZ ′ cross-sectional view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the braking force generating means 16 has a one-way clutch 18 that is press-fitted into a gear 17. The one-way clutch 18 is disposed on a shaft 19 that is an example of the support shaft of the present invention via a bearing disposed on the inner peripheral side. Further, a torque limiter 20 is also disposed on the shaft 19. The braking force generating means 16 is arranged so that the gear 17 and the gear 15 described above mesh with each other.

  Here, when the one-way clutch 18 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6 (in the direction of arrow A), the bearing on the inner peripheral side rotates to rotate freely with respect to the shaft 19 and rotate clockwise ( When rotating in the direction of arrow B), the bearing does not rotate but rotates with the shaft 19. The torque limiter 20 described above applies a braking force to the rotation of the shaft 19. Also in FIG. 5, the arrows A and B are shown.

  An example of the fixing means of the present invention corresponds to the gear 15 of the present embodiment, and an example of the opening / closing mechanism of the present invention corresponds to the gear 15 and the braking force generating means 16 of the present embodiment.

  Next, the operation of the document feeder according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the above-described original conveying apparatus, the original placed on the original inserting tray 4 passes through the upper conveying path 7b and the folding curve portion 7a as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, and reaches the position 7e. As the document passes through the position 7e, the content is read by the above-mentioned automatic document reading unit. The read original passes through the lower conveyance path 7 c and is discharged to the original discharge tray 5.

  Next, an operation for opening and closing the transport unit 8 in the present embodiment will be described. The opening / closing operation of the transport unit 8 is performed when a document jammed in the document transport path 7 is removed or maintenance is performed in the document transport operation of the document transport device 1.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the transport unit 8 with the transport unit 8 open.

  From FIG. 5 to FIG. 8, when the user holds the handle 9 and opens the transport unit 8, the gear 17 rotates in the arrow A direction. In the case of the rotation in the arrow A direction, the one-way clutch 18 freely rotates on the shaft 19 as described above.

  Therefore, the user can open the transport unit 8 in a state where no load is applied by the torque limiter 20 (see arrow C in FIG. 8).

  Next, when closing the transport unit 8 from FIG. 8 to FIG. 5, the gear 17 rotates in the direction of arrow B. In the case of the rotation in the direction of arrow B, the shaft 19 also rotates simultaneously with the one-way clutch 18 press-fitted into the gear 17. A braking force is generated by the torque limiter 20 with respect to the rotation of the shaft 19.

  The generation of this braking force makes it difficult for the gear 17 to rotate in the direction of arrow B, so that the braking force is applied to the closing operation in the direction of arrow D of the transport unit 8 to which the braking force generation means 16 is attached. Will be.

  With such a configuration, even when the conveyance unit 8 is opened and the document jammed in the lower conveyance path 7c is being removed or maintenance is performed, the conveyance unit 8 is bound by its own weight because the braking force is applied. Absent. Therefore, it is not necessary to support the transport unit 8 by hand, and work efficiency and safety are improved.

  Further, the impact on the document conveying device 1 can be reduced when the conveying unit 8 is closed.

  Here, as in the conventional opening / closing mechanism, if a torque limiter is provided on the shaft 10a that opens and closes the transport unit 8, in order to prevent the transport unit 8 from dropping (closing operation) due to its own weight, the transport unit 8 It is necessary to apply a braking force corresponding to the force with which the weight from the shaft 10a to the position 8a falls by its own weight.

  However, by disposing the braking force generation means 16 between the shaft 10a and the position 8a of the transport unit 8 as in the present embodiment, the force that causes the weight from the shaft 10a to the position 8a to fall by its own weight is dispersed. Therefore, the same effect as the conventional one can be exhibited only by applying a smaller braking force than the conventional one.

  In the document conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment, the braking force that needs to be applied can be reduced as the diameter of the gear 15 is increased. Therefore, conventionally, it is necessary to increase the braking force to be applied in proportion to the weight of the transport unit 8, but it is possible to adjust the braking force that needs to be applied by changing the gear diameter. .

  Further, since the braking force that needs to be applied can be reduced by increasing the diameter of the gear 15, the unit price of components such as a torque limiter and a one-way clutch can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

  As a specific example in the present embodiment, when the weight of the transport unit 8 is about 2 kg, the diameter of the gear 15 is 50 mm, and the diameter of the gear 17 is 20 mm, the shaft torque required for the torque limiter 20 Is 3kg.

  As in this specific example, the present embodiment is configured such that the diameter of the gear 15 is larger than that of the gear 17 (see FIG. 5). If the gear 17 is configured so that the diameter of the gear 17 is larger than that of the gear 15, the gear 17 is enlarged, so that the transport unit 8 can be closed only by applying a smaller force than in the present embodiment (self-weight drop). Easier to do). On the other hand, since the gear 15 becomes small, a force larger than that in the present embodiment is required to prevent the transport unit 8 from falling by its own weight and to maintain its position.

  Accordingly, when the gear 17 is configured to have a larger diameter than the gear 15, it is necessary to use a torque limiter having a large torque. Therefore, the gear 15 is configured to have a larger diameter than the gear 17. It is preferable to do.

  If the opening / closing shaft of the transport unit 8 is provided separately from the shaft 10 a of the transport roller 10, the position of the transport roller 10 moves with the opening / closing operation of the transport unit 8. In such a case, since the driving means for driving the conveying roller 10 is provided in the main body of the document conveying apparatus 1, a connecting mechanism for connecting the driving means and the shaft 10a when the conveying unit 8 is closed is necessary. It becomes. When such a connection mechanism is provided, there is a possibility that a connection failure may occur.

  However, in the document conveying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, since the shaft 10a of the conveying roller 10 coincides with the opening / closing axis of the conveying unit 8, even when the opening / closing operation of the conveying unit 8 is performed, the conveying is performed. The position of the roller 10 does not move. For this reason, in the document conveying apparatus of the present embodiment, it is possible to directly connect to the driving means provided on the main body side in order to rotate the conveying roller 10, and it is not necessary to use a coupling mechanism. Does not occur.

  In the above embodiment, the openable / closable transport unit 8 provided in the document transport device 1 is used as an example of the open / close member of the present invention, but the open / close mechanism of the present invention has been described. Is applicable not only to the document conveying apparatus. In short, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus provided with an openable / closable opening / closing member. Furthermore, the opening / closing mechanism of the present invention can also be applied to doors and windows as an example of the opening / closing member of the present invention, so that hands and fingers can be prevented from being pinched.

  In the present embodiment, the gear 15 which is an example of the fixing means of the present invention meshes with the gear 17 of the braking force generating means 16 and the gear shape of the outer peripheral edge thereof, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the fixing means and the braking force generating means may be connected by a belt. In the case of being connected by a belt, both the fixing means and the braking force generating means do not have to have a gear shape.

  The opening / closing mechanism of the present invention has an effect of being able to prevent closing due to its own weight with a braking force smaller than that of the conventional one or to reduce an impact on the apparatus main body. It is useful as a transport unit.

1 is an external view of a copying machine using a document conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view of a document conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the transport cover of the document transport device in the embodiment according to the present invention is opened. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the transport unit of the document transport apparatus in the embodiment according to the present invention is opened. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a conveyance unit of the document conveyance device according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a braking force generation unit of the document conveying device according to the embodiment of the invention. ZZ 'sectional view of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a conveyance unit of the document conveying device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document feeder 2 Copy machine 3 Document reading glass 4 Document insertion tray 5 Document discharge tray 6 Transport cover 7 Document transport path 8 Transport unit 9 Handle 10 Transport roller 12 Feed roller 13 Roller 14 Discharge roller 15 Gear 16 Braking force Generating means 17 Gear 18 One-way clutch 19 Shaft 20 Torque limiter

Claims (5)

A braking force generating means for generating a braking force for braking at least the closing operation of the opening / closing operation centered on the opening / closing axis of the opening / closing member, provided on an opening / closing member that is openable / closable with respect to the main body device;
A fixing means connected to the braking force generating means and fixed to the main body device,
The opening / closing mechanism, wherein the braking force generating unit generates the braking force with respect to a relative operation with the fixing unit accompanying the closing operation.   2. The opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the relative operation is movement of the braking force generation unit along an outer peripheral edge of the fixing unit. The braking force generating means is
A one-way clutch whose outer peripheral edge is gear-shaped,
A torque limiter,
A support shaft provided with the one-way clutch and the torque limiter,
The opening / closing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein an outer peripheral edge portion of the fixing means has a gear shape that meshes with a gear shape of the one-way clutch. A document insertion tray to be placed for conveying a document;
A document discharge tray provided below the document insertion tray;
A transport unit for transporting the document from the document insertion tray to the document discharge tray;
An opening and closing mechanism according to claim 1,
The document transport device, wherein the transport unit is the opening / closing member. The transport unit has a transport roller for transporting the document,
The document conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a rotation axis of the conveying roller coincides with the opening / closing axis.

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