JP2009253499A - Automatic document reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic document reader that allows one to view discharged manuscript paper on a document discharge tray even if there is a document placement tray at an upper portion when discharging read manuscript paper even if using compact manuscript paper, and suppresses cases where one forgets to pickup the manuscript paper. <P>SOLUTION: A prescribed part of a roller at one of a document discharge drive roller section for clamping and conveying the document and a document discharge follower roller section is set to be in a tapered shape, thus conveying the compact manuscript paper ranging from not more than A5 size to a post card size to a side (this side of a device) operated by a user when discharging onto the document discharge tray, and hence improving visibility and suppressing cases where one forgets to pick up the manuscript paper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic document reading apparatus that automatically reads a document in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art As an automatic document reading device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, an apparatus that automatically reads both sides of a document is known.

  The automatic document reader is transported by a document transport unit that sequentially feeds documents from a document placing tray on which documents are placed. When reading a document printed on both sides, first read the front image with the image reading unit that reads the image, then reverse the document so that the back side of the document can be read halfway, and then back again with the image reading unit. Read. The read original is configured to be deposited on an original discharge tray for discharging the original.

  As described above, in consideration of operability, an automatic document reader generally has a configuration in which a document placing tray is provided at the top of the image forming apparatus and a document discharge tray is provided below the document placing tray. . However, in order to read both sides of a document, a switchback unit (reversing means) for reversing the document must be provided, and the document reading tray is positioned more than the document discharge tray When viewed from the side, it is provided outside (see FIG. 1). As a result, it is difficult to visually recognize the document image read on the document discharge tray and the user forgets to remove the document sheet on the document discharge tray. In particular, small-size original paper of A5 size or smaller to postcard size has poor visibility, and causes forgetting to remove.

Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a means for improving the visibility of a document sheet on a document discharge tray for a small-size document sheet and suppressing forgetting to remove the document sheet. Patent Document 1 describes that visibility can be improved by arranging the distance between the document reading position and the document discharge tray to be longer than the distance between the document reading position and the reversing means.
JP 2003-341944 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to increase the distance between the document reading position and the document discharge tray, it is necessary to provide a new transport roller in the middle of transporting a small-size document sheet. Arise. Therefore, it is necessary to newly provide a driving means for rotating the conveying roller and a space therefor, and there are problems in terms of cost and the size of the document reading apparatus.

  An object of the present invention is to use a small original paper of A5 size or smaller to a postcard size, even when a read original paper is discharged, even if there is an original platen on the upper part. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic document reading apparatus that can visually recognize discharged document sheets and suppress the occurrence of forgetting to remove document sheets.

The above object can be achieved by the following configuration.
1. A document feeding means for feeding a document placed on a document placing tray;
An original reading means for reading the original fed from the original feeding means;
A document discharge means for discharging the document after being read by the document reading means;
An automatic document reading apparatus having
The document discharge means includes a tapered first roller having a maximum diameter on the front side of the automatic document reading device;
A second roller contacting the first roller following the surface of the first roller;
An automatic document reading apparatus comprising:
2. 2. The automatic document reading apparatus according to 1, wherein the first roller is a driving roller, and the second roller is a driven roller.
3. 2. The automatic document reading apparatus according to 1, wherein the first roller is a driven roller, and the second roller is a driving roller.
4). 4. The automatic document reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a plurality of the first roller and the second roller.
5. 5. The automatic document reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the document discharge means includes a columnar cylindrical roller outside the first roller and the second roller.
6). A plurality of the first roller and the cylindrical roller;
The plurality of first roller installation intervals are equal to the first sheet size,
6. The automatic document reading apparatus according to 5, wherein the plurality of cylindrical rollers are installed at intervals equal to the second sheet size.
7). The automatic document reading apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6, further comprising slide means for sliding the first roller or the second roller in the axial direction.
8). 8. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising control means for sliding the slide means in conjunction with a document size.

  By forming a predetermined portion of either one of the document discharge driving roller unit and the document discharge driven roller unit for nipping and conveying the document into a tapered shape, a small-size document sheet of A5 size or less to postcard size can be converted into a document. When the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray, it is conveyed to the side operated by the user (the front side of the apparatus), so that visibility is improved and forgetting to remove the original paper can be suppressed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, although this invention is demonstrated based on embodiment of illustration, this invention is not restricted to this embodiment. In addition, the following assertive description in the embodiment of the present invention shows the best mode, and does not limit the meaning or technical scope of the terms of the present invention.
(Configuration of automatic document reader)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an automatic document reading apparatus 1 as an embodiment according to the present invention. This automatic document reading apparatus 1 reads a first side (front side) of a document P on which both sides are printed, and reads both sides of a first side and a second side (back side) by circulating a document sheet. It has a duplex reading mode, and is applied to an electronic copying machine, a facsimile, a scanner, or the like.

  The automatic document reading apparatus 1 includes a document feeding unit 3 for feeding a document P, a document transport unit 4 for transporting the fed document P, a document reversing unit 5 for reversing a front document, and a document P Document reading means 6 for reading an image is provided. The originals P stacked on the original feeding means 3 are sequentially fed to the original reading means 6 when reading only the front side original, and the first side is read and discharged to the original discharge tray 7. Further, when reading the original P printed on both sides, the original P on which the first side has been read is reversed by the original reversing means 5 and fed again to the original reading means 6 to be fed to the second side. Reading is performed and the sheet is discharged to the document discharge tray 7.

  The document feeding means 3 has a document placing tray 10 on which the document P is placed. The document P is set with respect to the transport direction of the document placing tray 10 as a reference (referred to as center reference placement). ). The document placing tray 10 is provided with a document width detection sensor S1 that detects the paper width of the document P, and detects the paper width of the document P. A document length detection sensor S2 that detects the paper length of the document P is disposed in the transport path of the document transport unit 4.

  In addition to these detection sensors S1 and S2, a document presence / absence (empty) sensor S3 is disposed on the document placing tray 10 to detect the presence or absence of document paper 2. The document presence / absence sensor S3 includes, for example, a limit switch and an optical sensor.

  A paper feed roller 29, a separation roller 31, and a separation pad 33 that constitute a part of the conveying unit are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the document placing tray 10. The paper feed roller 29 is normally in the standby position, and is moved from the standby position to the paper feed position by the operation of a paper feed clutch (not shown), and rotates at a predetermined timing to send out the original P. The separation roller 31 is disposed to face the separation pad 33 and separates the document P so that a plurality of documents P are not sent out. The separated document P is detected by the separation sensor S4.

  The registration unit 40 is disposed downstream of the document feeding unit 3 and the separated document P is fed. In the registration unit 40, a registration clutch (not shown) and a registration roller 41 are arranged. The registration clutch is normally stopped, and the registration roller 41 is rotated at a predetermined timing. When the leading end of the document P comes into contact with the registration roller 41, the registration lever 42 is operated by the document P, and the registration sensor S5 detects the registration state.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the registration roller 41 is rotated by the registration clutch, and the original P is conveyed from the registration unit 40 to the original conveyance means 4 as an example of the conveyance means. The document transport unit 4 includes a transport roller 48 and a platen roller 51. The platen roller 51 is disposed around the transport roller 48, and the document P is transported to the document reading unit 6 by driving them. The transport roller 48 rotates in the direction of arrow X.

  A document reading sensor S6 is disposed upstream of the document reading means 6. When the leading edge of the document P reaches the document reading sensor S6, the document P temporarily stops and enters a standby state. When a reading start signal is supplied from a control unit (not shown), the conveyance of the original P is resumed. When the document P passes over the surface of the glass 59, the document reading means 6 reads the image of the document P and outputs a document image signal.

  The document reversing unit 5 is provided downstream of the document reading unit 6 and upstream of the document discharge tray 7. The document reversing means 5 is provided with a reversing roller 80. When the reversing roller 80 rotates forward, the document P is sent onto the reversing tray 81, and when reversed, the document P is conveyed toward the document reading means 6 ( Called switchback inversion). In the vicinity of the reversing roller 80, a reversal detection sensor S7 is disposed.

  A document discharge means 8 is provided upstream of the document discharge tray 7. Further, a paper discharge sensor S8 is disposed in the vicinity of the document discharge means 8, and detects discharge of the document P. The inversion detection sensor S7 and the paper discharge sensor S8 are constituted by, for example, a reflection type or a transmission type sensor.

  Further, around the transport roller 48, a first transport path switching means 55 for switching the reading between the first surface and the second surface of the document P, and a first for performing switching between the reading of the second surface and the paper discharge. Two transport path switching means 56 are arranged. When only the first surface of the document P is read, the document P fed from the document feeding unit 3 passes through the document reading unit 6 and is switched to the document discharge tray 7 by switching the first transport path switching unit 55. The paper is ejected.

  When reading both sides of the document P, the document P fed from the document feeding unit 3 is read by the first conveyance path switching unit 55 after the first side is read via the document reading unit 6. The original P is conveyed to the original reversing means 5. The document P is temporarily discharged onto the reversing tray 81 in a state where the rear end portion of the document P is sandwiched by the reversing roller 80 provided in the document reversing means 5.

Thereafter, the reverse roller 80 rotates in a direction opposite to the direction in which the document P is conveyed, and the document P that is held between the rollers is switched in the second conveyance path switching unit 56 and conveyed in the direction of the conveyance roller 48. Then, the original P is circulated again to the original reading means 6 and the second surface is read. The original P whose first and second sides are read is discharged to the original discharge tray 7 by switching between the first transport path switching means 55 and the second transport path switching means 56.
(Document delivery means 8)
According to the present invention, a first sheet size of A5 size or smaller to postcard size original paper (referred to as small-size original paper) is operated on the side where the user operates in the original conveyance direction (front side of the automatic original reading apparatus). The purpose of this is to improve visibility and suppress forgetting to remove the original paper. As means for that purpose, description will be made with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the document discharge means 8 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the document discharge tray 7, the document discharge drive roller unit 69, and the document discharge driven roller unit 70 as viewed from above, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side view thereof. The document discharge means 8 holds the document P between the document discharge drive roller section 69 and the document discharge driven roller section 70 and discharges the document P onto the document discharge tray 7 by the drive means.

  Here, the driving means will be described. The side plates B1 and B2 of the document discharge means 8 are provided with bearings that support the document discharge drive roller unit 69. A motor M1 for rotational driving is provided outside the side plate B2, and a driving gear G1 is attached to an end of a driving shaft 691 made of a metal member constituting the document discharge driving roller portion 69. The drive gear G1 is rotationally driven by a motor M1 via an idler gear. The rotation ON / OFF of the motor M1 is controlled by control means (not shown).

The side operated by the user is referred to as the front side, and the opposite side is referred to as the back side, and the document P is conveyed from the left side of FIG.
<Embodiment 1-A tapered roller is provided on the document discharge driving roller section>
As the first embodiment, a document discharge unit 8 in which a first roller having a tapered shape is provided on the document discharge driving roller unit 69 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the document discharge driving roller portion provided with the first roller is 695.

  The document discharge driving roller unit 695 has at least four or more (four used in this embodiment) rollers fitted on a driving shaft 691 made of a metal member (stainless steel in this embodiment). The rollers are R1, R2, R3, and R4 from the front side. Two of the rollers R1 and R4 on the outer side are cylindrical, and the two rollers R2 and R3 on the inner side are first rollers having a tapered shape whose maximum diameter is the roller end surface in the front side direction. The distance between the two outer rollers R1 and R4 corresponds to the dimension on the long side of the A4 size as the second sheet size, and the distance between the first rollers R2 and R3 corresponds to the first sheet size. It is arranged at a position corresponding to the dimension of the A5 size short side.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the centers c3 of the rollers R1 and R4 is 280 mm, and the distance between the centers c2 of the inner rollers R2 and R3 is 80 mm. Provided. In this embodiment, description will be made based on A-size standard original paper used in Japan and Europe. However, when the paper size is used in the United States and the like, the first sheet size and the second sheet are used. Each size has a different distance. The same applies to Examples 2 and 3 below.

  In this embodiment, EPDM (ethylene propylene rubber) is used as the material of the roller used for the document discharge driving roller unit 695, but it is not particularly limited. The roller diameters of the rollers R1, R2, R3, and R4 were φ20 mm, the roller width was 10 mm, and the taper angles of the rollers R2 and R3 were 10 degrees.

  The document discharge driven roller unit 70 is provided with rollers r1, r2, r3, and r4 in order from the front side independently at positions corresponding to the rollers of the document discharge driving roller unit 695. The rollers r1, r2, r3, r4 are made of, for example, an inelastic member such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) resin or stainless steel, and in this embodiment, a stainless flat roll having an outer diameter of 10 mm and a width of 10 mm is used. . Each of the rollers r1, r2, r3, r4 is held by a roller holding member 701 and presses the roller with an elastic member such as a spring SP (see FIG. 5). The specific attachment means for the roller holding member 701 and the spring SP will be omitted.

The rollers r2 and r3 as the second rollers are provided such that the center c4 coincides with the taper maximum diameter (φDmax1) of the rollers R2 and R3. Since the rollers r2 and r3 are respectively suspended independently, the rollers r2 and r3 are inclined by a taper amount following the taper of the first rollers R2 and R3 (see FIG. 6). The roller linear velocity at the φDmax1 portion of the first rollers R2 and R3 is faster than the roller linear velocity at the tip of the taper. In this state, when the small-size original sheet passes through the roller pair, the small-size original sheet is conveyed obliquely toward the front side in the φDmax1 direction (see FIG. 7).
<Embodiment 2-A tapered roller is provided on the document discharge driven roller section>
FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which a first roller is provided in the document discharge driven roller unit 70. Here, the document discharge driven roller portion provided with the first roller is assumed to be 705.

  The document discharge drive roller unit 69 has at least four or more (four used in this embodiment) cylindrical elastic body (EPDM used in this embodiment) rollers fitted in the drive shaft 691. . The rollers are R11, R21, R31, and R41 from the front side. The distance between the two outer rollers R11 and R41 corresponds to the dimension on the long side of the A4 size, which is the second sheet size, and the distance between the two inner second rollers R21 and R31 is the first sheet. It is arranged at a position corresponding to the dimension on the short side of A5 size which is the size.

  Specifically, the distance between the centers c3 of the rollers R11 and R41 is 280 mm, the distance between the centers c2 of the inner second rollers R21 and R31 is 80 mm, and they are provided at equal positions with respect to the center c1. . The roller diameter used for the document discharge driving roller unit 69 is φ20 mm, the roller width is 10 mm, and the document discharge speed is 320 mm / second.

  The document discharge driven roller unit 705 is provided with rollers r11, r21, r31, r41 sequentially from the front side at positions corresponding to the rollers of the document discharge driving roller unit 69, respectively. Of these, the two outer rollers r11 and r41 are cylindrical, and the two inner rollers r21 and r31 are first rollers having a tapered shape with the front side having the maximum diameter (φDmax2).

  The centers of the rollers r11 and r41 coincide with the center c3 of R11 and R41, and φDmax2 of the rollers r21 and r31 is arranged at a position coincident with the center c2 of the rollers R21 and R31.

  The rollers r11, r21, r31, r41 are made of, for example, an inelastic member such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) resin or stainless steel, and in this embodiment, an outer diameter of 10 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a stainless steel roll are used. The taper angle of the first roller was 30 degrees. Each of the rollers r11, r21, r31, r41 is held by a roller holding member 701, and presses the roller with an elastic member such as a spring.

Each of the rollers r11, r21, r31, r41 of the document discharge driven roller unit 705 is suspended independently. The first rollers r21 and r31 are inclined by the taper following the taper. The roller linear velocity at the φDmax1 portion of the tapered roller is faster than the roller linear velocity at the tip of the tapered roller. In this state, when the small-size document sheet passes through the roller pair, the small-size document sheet is conveyed obliquely toward the front side.
<Embodiment 3: Slide the document discharge driving roller in the axial direction>
FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment in which the document discharge driving roller unit is slid in the axial direction. In addition, when the code | symbol used in a figure is the same as the code | symbol used in Example 1 or 2, it shall use in common and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The document discharge driving roller unit uses the document discharge driving roller unit 69 used in the second embodiment, and the document discharge driven roller unit uses the document discharge driven roller unit 70 used in the first embodiment. Each roller pair is attached so that the centers of the rollers r1, r2, r3, and r4 coincide with the centers c2 and c3 of the rollers R11, R21, R31, and R41 when the A4-size original paper is conveyed. ing.

  FIG. 10 is a top view in which the document discharge driven roller unit 70 according to the third embodiment is omitted. A compression spring is inserted between the end surfaces of the side plate B1 and the roller R11, and a solenoid SL for sliding the document discharge driving roller unit 69 left and right outside the side plate B1 is connected to the end of the drive shaft 691 via a ring mechanism. Connected with the department.

  When electricity is applied to the solenoid SL, the document discharge drive roller unit 69 moves in the direction of arrow Y against the force of the compression spring as shown in FIG. When the document discharge driving roller unit 69 moves to the near side while the document sheet passes through the document discharge roller unit, the document sheet is also conveyed to the near side.

  Next, FIG. 12 shows a flow performed by the control means for applying electricity to the solenoid SL. The size of the document P is detected and it is determined whether or not it is A5 size or less (step S1). When A5 or less (step S1: Yes), it is determined whether the trailing edge of the document has passed the post-reading roller (step S2). When passing (step S2: Yes), the solenoid is turned on (step S3). It is determined whether or not the trailing edge of the original paper has passed through the paper discharge sensor S3 (step S4), and when it has passed (step S4: Yes), the solenoid is turned off.

  As described above in detail, in any of the first to third embodiments, a predetermined portion of either one of the document discharge driving roller unit and the document discharge driven roller unit for nipping and conveying the document is tapered. Alternatively, by sliding the document discharge driving roller section in the axial direction, small-size document sheets of A5 size or smaller to postcard size are conveyed in the user direction when being discharged onto the discharge tray. Can be improved and forgetting to remove the original paper can be suppressed.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of an automatic document reading apparatus 1 according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining the document discharge means 8 of this Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating Example 1. It is a perspective view which shows the example which presses the roller r. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a position where a document discharge driven roller portion is inclined by a taper. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a small-size document sheet conveyed obliquely. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating Example 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram of a document discharge driving roller unit according to a third embodiment viewed from above. It is a figure which shows the place where the solenoid turned on in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the solenoid operation of the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document automatic reading device 3 Document feeding means 4 Document conveying means 5 Document reversing means 6 Document reading means 7 Document discharge tray 8 Document discharge means 10 Document placing tray 69 Document discharge drive roller unit 70 Document discharge driven roller Part

Claims (8)

A document feeding means for feeding a document placed on a document placing tray;
An original reading means for reading the original fed from the original feeding means;
A document discharge means for discharging the document after being read by the document reading means;
An automatic document reading apparatus having
The document discharge means includes a tapered first roller having a maximum diameter on the front side of the automatic document reading device;
A second roller contacting the first roller following the surface of the first roller;
An automatic document reading apparatus comprising: The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first roller is a driving roller, and the second roller is a driven roller. 2. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first roller is a driven roller, and the second roller is a driving roller. 4. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the first rollers and the second rollers. 5. 5. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document discharge unit includes a columnar cylindrical roller outside the first roller and the second roller. 6. . A plurality of the first roller and the cylindrical roller;
The plurality of first roller installation intervals are equal to the first sheet size,
6. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of cylindrical rollers are installed at intervals equal to the second sheet size. 7. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a slide unit configured to slide the first roller or the second roller in an axial direction. 8. The automatic document reading apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising control means for sliding the slide means in conjunction with a document size.

Images