JP2007150968A - Document conveying device, and image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document conveying device that securely prevents a conveyance defect including paper feeding and discharger by movement of a document tray even when the employed document tray is movable. <P>SOLUTION: The document conveying device includes a document conveying mechanism 601 which conveys a document, a paper discharge tray 138 which discharges the document conveyed by the document conveying mechanism, the document 136 which has a movable table 302 capable of retracting from above the front side of the paper discharge tray and on which the document to be supplied to the document conveying mechanism is mounted, a movable p art detection sensor 501 which detects the movable part retracting, and a controller 603 for the document conveying mechanism. The controller controls the document conveying mechanism according to the detection result of the movable part detection sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an original conveying apparatus and an image reading apparatus, and more particularly to an original conveying apparatus having a movable original tray and an image reading apparatus including the original conveying apparatus.

  An image reading apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a scanner, or a multifunction machine may be equipped with a document conveying device. The document conveying device automatically conveys a plurality of documents stacked on a document tray one by one to an image reading position and discharges them to a sheet discharge tray. The image reading apparatus can read each original continuously by using the original conveying apparatus.

  In such a document transport device, a paper discharge tray is often disposed below the document tray. The user puts his hand into the gap between the document tray and the paper discharge tray from the front of the apparatus and takes out the document from the paper discharge tray. If the gap between the document tray and the discharge tray is designed to be small in order to suppress the height of the apparatus, it is difficult to take out the document from the discharge tray.

In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the upper tray is movable in order to take out the original on the lower tray. The movable tray is provided so as to be rotatable upward, for example. If the tray is rotated upward, the user can easily take out the original on the tray below the tray.
JP 2004-10333 A

  However, if the movable tray moves while the document is being transported, the document may be tilted, leading to paper feeding or transport failure. In addition, when the transport of the original is not completed but the movable tray is moved to take out the original on the paper discharge tray, there is a possibility that the user's hand becomes an obstacle and a discharge failure of the original may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems in the prior art, and even when a movable tray is employed, the movement of the tray ensures reliable conveyance including feeding and discharging. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a document conveying apparatus that can prevent the above problem and an image reading apparatus including the document conveying apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a document transport device provided by the present invention includes a document transport mechanism that transports a document, a discharge tray that discharges a document transported by the document transport mechanism, and an upper front side of the discharge tray. A document tray having a retractable movable part for placing a document to be supplied to the document transport mechanism, a movable part detection sensor for detecting the retracting of the movable part, and a document transport mechanism based on a detection result of the movable part detection sensor And control means for controlling.

  This document transport device has a sensor for detecting a movable portion of the document tray, and controls the document transport mechanism based on the detection result. Therefore, even when a movable tray is employed, By moving, it is possible to reliably prevent paper feed, conveyance, and discharge defects.

  The document conveying device may further include a document detection sensor that detects a document on the document tray. The control means can control the document transport mechanism based on the detection results of the movable part detection sensor and the document detection sensor. By performing control based on the detection result of the document detection sensor, it is possible to more reliably prevent paper feeding, conveyance, and discharge defects when a document is placed on the document tray.

  For example, when the moving part detection sensor detects the retracting of the movable part after the document detecting sensor detects the document on the document tray, the control unit detects the document by the document transport mechanism until the retracting of the moving part is not detected. Do not start feeding or transporting. Even when the document is not transported when the retracting of the movable portion is detected, it is possible to prevent a paper feed failure or the like.

  Further, in the document conveying device, when the movable portion detection sensor detects that the movable portion is retracted, the control unit stops conveying the document by the document conveying mechanism, and after the stop, the movable portion detection sensor retracts the movable portion. When no longer being detected, the conveyance of the document by the document conveyance mechanism may be resumed. Thus, if the possibility of the occurrence of conveyance failure is eliminated, the conveyance of the document can be resumed immediately, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

  For example, the movable portion is disposed so as to be movable up and down with respect to the document placement surface of the document tray. Even if the document is tilted because the movable part has risen somewhat or completely, the present invention can prevent document conveyance failure. However, the movable part is not limited to one that can be tilted up and down.

  According to another aspect, the present invention can provide an image reading apparatus including the above-described document conveying device and an image reading unit that reads an image of the document conveyed by the document conveying mechanism. In this image reading apparatus, it is possible to quickly and surely read an image of a document by including a document transport device that guarantees smooth transport of the document.

  In this image reading apparatus, when the retracting of the movable portion is detected by the movable portion detection sensor, the control unit stops reading the image by the image reading portion and discharges the original document being transported to the paper discharge tray by the document transport mechanism. You may make it do. As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessarily reading an image of a document that is poorly conveyed.

  By adopting the above configuration, even in the case where a movable tray is employed in the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent defects in paper feed, conveyance, and discharge by moving the tray.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital copying machine provided with a document conveying device.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the copying machine. The copying machine 101 includes an image reading unit 102 and an image forming unit 103. The image reading unit 102 reads an image of a document and generates digital data of the image. The image reading unit 102 has a document table 104 such as contact glass on the top surface of the housing. The document can be placed on the document table 104. A scanning optical system 105 is disposed below the document table 104. The scanning optical system 105 includes a first carriage 106, a second carriage 107, and a condenser lens 108. The first carriage 106 is provided with a linear light source 109 and a mirror 110, and the second carriage 107 is provided with mirrors 111 and 112. A light source 109 illuminates the document. The mirrors 110 to 112 guide the reflected light from the document to the lens 108, and the lens 108 forms an image of the light on the light receiving surface of the line image sensor 113. In the scanning optical system 105, the first carriage 106 and the second carriage 107 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the sub-scanning direction 114. By moving the first carriage 106 and the second carriage 107 in the sub-scanning direction 114, the image of the document placed on the document table 104 can be read by the image sensor 113. The image sensor 113 generates document image data from the light image incident on the light receiving surface.

  The image forming unit 103 prints image data obtained by the image reading unit 102 or image data received from another device via a network on a sheet. The image forming unit 103 is provided with a photosensitive drum 115. The photosensitive drum 115 rotates in the arrow direction 116 at a constant speed. Around the photosensitive drum 115, a charger 117, an exposure unit 118, a developing unit 119, a transfer unit 120, and the like are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The charger 117 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 115. The exposure device 118 irradiates the uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 115 with light according to the image data to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 115. The developing device 119 forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 115 by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image. The transfer device 120 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 115 to a sheet.

  The image forming unit 103 feeds paper from the manual feed tray 121, the paper feed cassettes 122 and 123, and the like to the transfer unit between the photosensitive drum 115 and the transfer device 120. Various sizes of paper can be placed or stored in the manual feed tray 121 or the cassettes 122 and 123. The image forming unit 103 selects a sheet specified by the user or a sheet corresponding to the automatically detected document size, and pulls out the selected sheet from the tray 121 and the cassettes 122 and 123 by the feeding roller 124. The drawn paper is sent to the transfer section by the transport roller 125 and the registration roller 126. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 127. The fixing device 127 includes a fixing roller 128 and a pressure roller 129, and fixes the toner image on the paper by heat and pressing force. The image forming unit 103 discharges the sheet that has passed through the fixing device 127 to the discharge tray 130 or 131. Which of the paper discharge trays 130 and 131 is discharged is controlled by the switching claw 132, and the paper is discharged to one paper discharge tray by the discharge rollers 133 or 134.

  In such a copying machine 101, a document conveying device 135 is attached to the upper side of the image reading unit 102 so as to be opened and closed. The document transport device 135 includes a document tray 136, a transport path 137, and a paper discharge tray 138. The user places a document on the document table 104 or sets the document on the document transport device 135. The document transport device 135 sends the documents set on the document tray 136 one by one to the transport path 137. There is an image reading position 139 on the conveyance path 137. On the upper surface of the casing of the image reading unit 102, not only the document table 104 but also a reading glass 140 for the image reading position 139 is provided. When reading an image of a document set on the document conveying device 135, the image reading unit 102 temporarily fixes the first carriage 106 and the second carriage 107 in accordance with the image reading position 139. When the document passes through the image reading position 139, the document is illuminated through the reading glass 140 to read the image of the document. The document that has passed the image reading position 139 is discharged to a discharge tray 138.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the transport mechanism of the document transport apparatus. The document conveying device 135 includes a pickup roller 201, a feeding belt 202, and a separation roller 203 for separating documents one by one from a document bundle placed on the document tray 136. The document conveying device 135 raises the elevating plate 204 disposed on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the document tray 136 and presses the top end portion of the document bundle against the pickup roller 201. By driving the pickup roller 201 in this state, the original is pulled out from the original bundle. Even if there are two or more drawn documents, the first document is separated from the documents by the feeding belt 202 and the separation roller 203 and conveyed to the downstream side of the conveying path 137. A registration roller 205 and a conveyance roller 206 are provided downstream thereof. The timing at which the registration roller 205 conveys the image to the image reading position 139 is adjusted, and the conveying roller 206 conveys the document to the image reading position 139. An image on one side of the document is read at the image reading position 139. In the document conveying device 135, a document reading unit 207 employing a contact optical system is disposed downstream of the image reading position 139. When reading images on both sides of the original, the original reading unit 207 reads the images on the remaining sides. The document that has passed through the document reading unit 207 is transported to the discharge roller 209 by the intermediate transport roller 208, and is discharged to the discharge tray 138 by the discharge roller 209.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document conveying device. In the document feeder 135, the paper discharge tray 138 is provided below the document tray 136. The user puts his hand into the gap between the document tray 136 and the discharge tray 138 from the front side of the apparatus and takes out the document discharged to the discharge tray 138. In order to simplify the take-out, the document feeder 135 has a notch 301 formed on the front side of the document tray 136. If the notch 301 is large, it is easy to take out the document from the paper discharge tray 138 and visually recognize the document even if the size of the document is small. However, if the notch 301 is made too large, the document is not stabilized on the document tray 136, which may cause a paper feed failure. For this reason, the document feeder 135 employs a split document tray 136 and includes a movable table 302 that can be tilted up and down in a notch 301 of the document tray 136. In the state of FIG. 3, the movable table 302 is tilted, and a document can be placed on the fixed table 303 and the movable table 302 of the document tray 136. In this state, since the movable table 302 protrudes to the notch 301, a sufficient length in the document width direction can be secured, and the document on the document tray 136 is stabilized. If the user gives an instruction while the document detection sensor 304 is detecting the document placed on the document tray 136, the document transport mechanism as described above starts transporting the document.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the document conveying device in a state where the movable table of the document conveying device is retracted from the upper front side of the paper discharge tray. The movable table 302 of the document tray 136 is supported by the fixed table 303 so as to be swingable about an axis parallel to the document conveyance direction, and can be raised from the surface of the fixed table 303. By raising the movable table 302, the movable table 302 can be retreated from the upper front side of the apparatus on the paper discharge tray 138. When the movable table 302 is tilted upward, the notch 301 is large, and it is easy to take out and visually recognize a small-sized sheet. If all the originals are discharged to the paper discharge tray 138, there is no possibility that a paper feed failure or the like will occur even if the notch 301 is enlarged. Therefore, the user only has to retract the movable table 302 from the upper front side of the paper discharge tray 138 as necessary, and take out the original on the paper discharge tray 138.

  However, when the movable table 302 is tilted upward even though there is a document on the document tray 136, the document on the document tray 136 is also tilted. When the original is inclined in the original width direction, a defect is likely to occur in paper feeding and conveyance. In addition, when an attempt is made to take out a document from the paper discharge tray 138 even though a plurality of originals are being continuously discharged, the original to be taken out or the user's hand becomes an obstacle, resulting in a discharge failure. There is a fear.

  The document transport device 135 controls the document transport mechanism according to the state of the movable table 302 in order to prevent such paper feeding, transport, and paper discharge defects. A part detection sensor is used.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the movable part detection sensor. In this figure, the side surface of the document tray 136 is shown in a simplified manner. As described above, the movable table 302 of the document tray 136 is supported by the fixed table 303 so as to be swingable. By swinging the movable table 302 from the solid line position to the dotted line position, the movable table 302 can be withdrawn from the upper front side of the sheet discharge tray 138. When the user releases his hand from the movable table 302, it returns to the position of the solid line by its own weight.

  In this example, the document feeder 135 includes a movable part detection sensor 501 on the lower surface of the fixed table 303. An optical sensor can be used as the movable part detection sensor 501. On the lower surface of the movable table 302, a protruding piece 502 having an L-shaped cross section facing the movable portion detection sensor 501 is disposed. This projecting piece 502 projects toward the fixed table 303. When the movable table 302 is parallel to the fixed table 303, the protruding piece 502 is positioned on the optical path of the movable part detection sensor 501. When the movable table 302 is raised with respect to the fixed table 303, the protruding piece 502 is removed from the optical path of the movable part detection sensor 501. Based on the detection signal of the movable part detection sensor 501, the document conveying device 135 can detect the retracting of the movable table 302.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram relating to document conveyance control of the document conveyance device. The document transport mechanism 601 includes a stepping motor 602. The stepping motor 602 drives a pickup roller, a feeding belt, a separation roller, and the like of the document conveying mechanism 601. The controller 603 appropriately transports the document 604 by controlling the stepping motor 602.

  The controller 603 is connected to the movable part detection sensor 501, the image reading unit 102, and the operation panel 605. When the movable portion detection sensor 501 detects that the movable table 302 is retracted, the controller 603 stops the conveyance of the document 604 by stopping the motor 602. Also, the image reading by the image reading unit 102 is stopped. Accordingly, even when the movable table 302 is raised during the conveyance of the document 604, it is possible to reliably prevent a defect in conveyance and discharge.

  When the controller 603 stops conveying the document 604, the controller 603 displays a message on the display 606 of the operation panel 605. For example, by displaying a message such as “the movable table is tilted. Return it to the horizontal position”, the user is prompted to return the movable table 302 to the tilted state.

  After the conveyance is stopped, the movable table 302 returns to a tilted state, and when the retracting of the movable table 302 is no longer detected by the movable part detection sensor 501, the motor 602 is operated to convey the document 604 by the document conveyance mechanism 601. The image reading by the image reading unit 102 is resumed. When the possibility of a defect in conveyance and discharge is eliminated in this way, the controller 603 immediately resumes conveyance of the document 604, so that convenience for the user can be improved.

  In addition to the movable part detection sensor 501, a document detection sensor 304 is also connected to the controller 603. The controller 603 can control the motor 602 based on the detection results of the movable part detection sensor 501 and the document detection sensor 304. For example, if the controller 603 detects that the movable table 302 is retracted by the movable part detection sensor 501 after the document detection sensor 304 detects the document 604 on the document tray 136, until the retracting of the movable table 302 is not detected. The conveyance of the document 604 by the document conveyance mechanism 601 is not started. If the movable table 302 is raised before the conveyance of the document 604 is started, there is a possibility that a defect occurs in feeding the document 604 on the document tray 136. In that case, even if there is an instruction from the user by operating the start key 607 of the operation panel 605, if the retracting of the movable table 302 is detected, the motor 602 is not operated and the feeding of the document 604 is not started. When the retracting of the movable table 302 is no longer detected, the motor 602 is operated to feed the document 604. For this reason, it is possible to reliably prevent document feeding failure.

  In addition, a discharge sensor 608 can be connected to the controller 603. The controller 603 can control the motor 602 based on the detection results of the movable part detection sensor 501, the document detection sensor 304, and the discharge sensor 608. A discharge sensor 608 detects whether or not the document 604 has been discharged to the paper discharge tray 138. By combining the detection results of the document detection sensor 304 and the discharge sensor 608, the controller 603 can determine whether or not all of the plurality of documents stacked on the document tray 136 have been discharged to the discharge tray 138. The controller 603 stops the motor 602 when the retracting of the movable table 302 is detected during the period from when the document is placed on the document tray 136 to when all the documents are discharged to the discharge tray 138. Accordingly, it is possible to surely prevent a failure in feeding, conveying, and discharging the document.

  As described above, in the document conveying device according to the present embodiment, the document conveying mechanism is controlled based on the detection result of the movable portion detection sensor. Therefore, even when a movable tray is employed, the feeding is performed by moving the tray. It is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of defects in conveyance including paper and discharge.

  The embodiment described above does not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the present invention other than those already described. For example, when the movable unit detection sensor 501 detects that the movable table 302 is retracted, the controller 603 stops reading the image by the image reading unit 102, and discharges a document being transported to the paper discharge tray 138 by the document transport mechanism 601. You may make it do. In this case, the reading of the original image is performed again. The controller 603 displays, for example, a message on the operation panel 605 such as “The reading of the original has been stopped because there is a possibility that the conveyance of the original may be defective due to the tilt of the movable table. Please reset the original”. 606 is displayed to prompt the user to reset the document on the document tray 136.

  In the above-described embodiment, the controller 603 controls the document transport mechanism 601 based on the detection results of the movable part sensor 501, the document detection sensor 304, and the discharge sensor 608. In addition to these sensors, a sensor for specifying the length in the transport direction of the document placed on the document tray 136 or a sensor in the transport path may be connected to the controller 603.

  In the above-described embodiment, a movable table is provided in a part of the divided document tray. However, the present invention can also be applied to a document conveying device in which the entire document tray is movably arranged to take out the document on the paper discharge tray.

  In the above embodiment, the movable table is swingably supported by the fixed table of the document tray. It is also possible to apply the present invention to an original conveying apparatus provided with a movable table other than such a movable table. For example, the present invention can be applied to an original conveying apparatus provided with a slide type movable table. When the movable table is supported by the fixed table so as to be slidable in the document width direction, the cutout portion of the document tray is formed by the slide of the movable table. If the document is placed on the document tray with the movable table slid in this manner, the document placement state may become unstable. By providing a movable part detection sensor at an appropriate position in the slide range of the movable table and controlling the document conveyance mechanism based on the detection signal, it is possible to prevent document conveyance failure as in the above-described embodiment. it can.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a digital copying machine including a document conveying device. However, the present invention can also be applied to other image reading devices such as a facsimile, a scanner, and a multifunction peripheral. .

  According to the document conveying device and the image reading device according to the present invention, even when a movable tray is employed, it is possible to reliably avoid a defect in conveyance including paper feeding and discharging due to movement of the tray. It is useful for various devices such as copiers, facsimiles, scanners, and multifunction devices.

1 is a diagram for explaining an overall configuration of a copying machine. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a transport mechanism of a document transport device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a document conveying device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document conveying device in a state where a movable table of the document conveying device is retracted from the upper front side of the paper discharge tray. It is a figure which shows an example of a movable part detection sensor. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram relating to document conveyance control of the document conveyance device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Copier 102 Image reading part 135 Document conveying apparatus 136 Document tray 138 Paper discharge tray 302 Movable table 303 Fixed table 304 Document detection sensor 501 Movable part detection sensor 601 Document conveyance mechanism 603 Controller 604 Document 605 Operation panel 606 Display 607 Start key

Claims (7)

A document transport mechanism for transporting a document;
A paper discharge tray for discharging a document conveyed by the document conveyance mechanism;
A document tray having a movable part that can be retracted from above the front side of the sheet discharge tray, on which a document to be supplied to the document transport mechanism is placed;
A movable part detection sensor for detecting retraction of the movable part;
A document conveying device comprising: control means for controlling the document conveying mechanism based on a detection result of the movable part detection sensor. A document detection sensor for detecting a document on the document tray;
The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the document conveying mechanism based on detection results of the movable part detection sensor and the document detection sensor.   When the control unit detects the retraction of the movable part by the movable part detection sensor after the original detection sensor detects a document on the document tray, the control unit continues until the retraction of the movable part is not detected. 3. The document conveying device according to claim 2, wherein the document conveying mechanism does not start conveying the document.   When the control unit detects that the movable part is retracted by the movable part detection sensor, the control unit stops conveying the document by the document transport mechanism, and after the stop, the movable part detection sensor retracts the movable part. 2. The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein when the document is no longer detected, the document conveying mechanism resumes conveying the document.   The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion is disposed so as to be freely tilted with respect to a document placement surface of the document tray. An original conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An image reading apparatus comprising: an image reading unit that reads an image of a document conveyed by the document conveyance mechanism. When the control unit detects that the movable unit is retracted by the movable unit detection sensor, the image reading unit stops reading the image, and the document conveyance mechanism discharges the document in the middle of conveyance to the discharge tray. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6.

Images