JP2011176759A - Document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document feeder in which a document path space provided in a document inverter is ensured and without increasing the weight or the thickness of the document inverter itself, a fixed document such as a booklet having a thickness is pressed. <P>SOLUTION: A document feeder includes a document inverter 60 provided in the middle of a path between an image reader and a paper eject tray. The document inverter 60 is equipped with: a pair of upper and lower guide plates 61 and 62; a document path space 68 formed between the pair of guide plates 61 and 62; and upper and lower feeding ribs 63 and 64 and upper and lower projections 65 and 66 protruded from the confronted faces of the pair of guide plates 61 and 62 to the document path space 68, respectively. Protruding positions of the upper and lower feeding ribs 63 and 64 are deviated from each other, the upper and the lower projections 65 and 66 are provided at positions confronted to each other and their top portions 65a, 66a are positioned inside the distal ends of the upper and the lower feeding ribs 63 and 64. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a document transport that supplies a document from a paper feed tray onto a platen glass of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or an image scanner, and reads the document image on the platen glass and then discharges the document to a discharge tray. It relates to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a document conveying device installed on a copying machine main body automatically sends out originals placed on a paper feed tray one by one and conveys them to a reading surface (platen) on the copying machine main body. In general, a configuration is adopted in which an original is conveyed to a paper discharge tray after being read by an optical system in the copying machine main body. Some of these types of document conveying devices have a book mode in which a document is placed on a platen and read in addition to the sheet-through mode in which the document is moved while being moved as described above. In particular, the size of the device itself is reduced. Therefore, the document reverse section has a switchback path for reversing the original and reading both sides, and a switchback path for reversing the original after reading both sides, aligning the pages, and then discharging them to the paper discharge tray. Is further provided between the paper discharge tray and the platen cover (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The document reversing unit is configured to switch back the document between an upper guide plate having a paper discharge tray on the upper surface and a platen cover (lower guide plate) on which the finally discharged document is stacked. The document path space is secured. In addition, in the document path space, there may be a conveyance rib that protrudes from at least one of the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate in order to allow the document to pass smoothly.

JP-A-8-133551 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-5659

  In the document conveying device having the above-described configuration, when reading the document placed on the platen, the document conveying device main body is rotated on the platen, and the document on the back side of the lower guide plate constituting the document reversing unit. Press down. At this time, a pressing force from the document is applied to the back side of the lower guide plate due to the thickness and pressing force of the document. In particular, when the original to be read is placed on the platen with the book open, the back cover portion is raised, and the deformation amount of the central portion of the lower guide plate increases. As described above, the document reversing section has a document path space between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, but this document path space has only a small space for passing one document. Therefore, if the lower guide plate is frequently deformed, the document path space cannot be secured. In order to suppress such bending deformation due to the pressing force, conventionally, the lower guide plate is formed of a hard member or has a certain thickness.

  However, if the lower guide plate is formed of a hard member or is increased in thickness, there is a problem in that the weight of the entire document conveying device increases and the rotation operation becomes heavy. Further, the entire document conveying apparatus becomes thick, and downsizing is restricted.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention secures a document path space provided in the document reversing unit, and does not increase the weight or thickness of the document reversing unit itself, and has a thickness such as a book object An object of the present invention is to provide a document conveying device that can hold down.

  In order to solve the above problems, an original transport apparatus according to the present invention includes a paper feed tray that feeds a document, an image reading unit that reads a document fed from the paper feed tray, and a document that is read by the image reading unit. In a document conveying device including a paper discharge tray for discharging paper and a document reversing unit provided in the middle of a path between the image reading unit and the paper discharge tray, the document reversing unit includes a pair of upper and lower guide plates A document path space formed between the pair of guide plates, and upper and lower conveying ribs and upper and lower protrusions projecting from opposite surfaces of the pair of guide plates toward the document path space, respectively. The conveying ribs are offset from each other, and the upper and lower protrusions are provided at positions facing each other, and the respective top portions are located on the inner sides of the respective leading ends of the upper and lower conveying ribs.

  According to the document conveying device of the present invention, even when the upper and lower guide plates constituting the document reversing portion are bent and deformed, the upper and lower protrusions protruding into the document path space come into contact with each other. Thus, it is possible to maintain a document path space that allows a document to pass through. In the document path space, the protruding positions of the upper and lower conveying ribs provided for guiding the conveyance of the document are shifted from each other, so that they may collide with each other when the lower guide plate is bent and deformed. Absent. Further, since the tops of the upper and lower protrusions are located inside the respective leading ends of the upper and lower conveying ribs, the original passing through the original path space is not caught and the original can be smoothly conveyed. it can.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of a document conveying device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a conveyance reading unit that constitutes the document conveying apparatus. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of a document reversing unit. It is a principal part sectional view showing the structure of the end of the document reversing part.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a document conveying device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the document conveying apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a main body unit 2 having an image reading unit 4, and a conveying / reading unit 3 attached to the upper side of the main body unit 2 so as to be opened and closed. .

  The image reading unit 4 reads a document passing through the upper surface of the first platen 6 with the optical unit 5 fixed. Further, a second platen 7 having a plane space for placing a document is provided on the upper surface of the main unit 2, and the optical of the image reading unit 4 is applied to the document set on the platen 7. It can be read by moving the part 5.

  The image reading unit 4 includes a light source 10 such as a lamp, a plurality of mirrors 11, a lens 16, a photoelectric conversion element 17 such as a CCD, and the like. The document that is conveyed or placed is irradiated with light emitted from the light source 10 via the first platen 6 or the second platen 7. Then, the light irradiated and reflected on the document surface is reflected several times by the plurality of mirrors 11 and then photoelectrically converted by the photoelectric conversion element 17 through the lens 16 to read the image of the document.

  Next, the configuration of the transport reading unit 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport reading unit 3 includes a paper feed tray 20 on which a plurality of documents can be placed, a support tray 21 that feeds the placed plurality of documents, and the reading process is completed. A sheet discharge tray 22 for storing documents and a document transport path for transporting documents from the paper feed tray 20 to the sheet discharge tray 22 via the first platen 6 are configured. .

  On the downstream side of the support tray 21, a feed roller 27 that moves up and down to feed out the document placed on the support tray 21, a paper feed roller 28 that feeds the fed document, and this paper feed A separation pad 29 that presses against the roller 28 to separate the originals one by one and a registration roller pair that feeds toward the first platen 6 after abutting and aligning the leading edges of the originals that are separated and fed one by one. 30.

  A first lead roller pair 32 disposed on the upstream side of the first platen 6 and a second lead roller pair 33 disposed on the downstream side are provided in the document conveyance path.

  The first stage of the paper discharge tray 22 includes a first switchback portion 41 for temporarily retracting a document on which an image on one surface (front surface) has been read and then transporting it again. A second switchback unit 42 is provided for temporarily storing the document from which the image has been read and then storing it in the paper discharge tray 22. The first switchback unit 41 includes a first switchback path 45 and a re-conveying path 47 that merges from the upstream side of the first switchback path 45 toward the registration roller pair 30. A pair of discharge rollers 43 provided at the end of the path 45 and a pair of standby rollers 48 provided on the re-conveying path 47 are configured. One of the paper discharge roller pair 43 and the standby roller pair 48 is a driving roller that can be rotated forward and reversely, and the other is a rotation-free driven roller that is arranged so as to be able to press and separate from each other.

  The second switchback unit 42 is folded back from the upstream side of the second switchback path 46 extending from the second read roller pair 33 toward the document reversing unit 60, and the first switchback unit 46. A reverse discharge path 49 that merges with the path 45 is provided, and a reverse roller pair 44 is provided in the vicinity of a portion where the second switchback path 46 and the reverse discharge path 49 are branched. One of the reversing roller pairs 44 is a driving roller capable of normal rotation and reversal driving, and the other is a rotation-free driven roller, and is disposed so as to be able to press and separate from each other.

  Further, on the downstream side of the second read roller pair 33, the flow of the document is alternately switched toward either the first switchback path 45 or the second switchback path 46 in accordance with the document reading process. Switching means is provided. This switching means has a three-way path surface, and is constituted by a switching flapper 34 that can rotate the three-way path surface. The switching flapper 34 can be rotated within the range of the thickness width of the original on each path surface.

  Next, the configuration of the document reversing unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. The document reversing unit 60 includes an upper guide plate 61, a lower guide plate 62, and a document path space 68 formed between the upper guide plate 61 and the lower guide plate 62 provided below the paper discharge tray 22. The lower guide plate 62 can be opened and closed so that the document can be easily taken out when the document is jammed in the document path space 68. At least two spacer pieces 67 projecting downward are provided at the outer peripheral end portion of the upper guide plate 61. The spacer pieces 67 abut on the upper surface of the lower guide plate 62, whereby the document path space 68 is formed. Secured. The upper guide plate 61 is provided with an inclined discharge surface 69 on which the discharged document is stacked on the upper surface side, and guides the conveyance from the lower surface in contact with the upper surface of the document passing through the document path space 68. A plurality of upper conveying ribs 63 extending in parallel and a rectangular upper protrusion 65 lower than the protruding height of the upper conveying rib 63 are provided at the center. On the other hand, the lower guide plate 62 is in contact with the lower surface of the document passing through the document path space 68 and has a plurality of parallel lower conveyance ribs 64 that guide conveyance and lower than the protrusion height of the lower conveyance rib 64 at the center. A rectangular lower protrusion 66 is provided.

  FIG. 3A shows a section of the document reversing unit 60 in a state in which a document automatically fed from the sheet feeding tray 20 is read and conveyed. The upper transport rib 63 and the lower transport rib 64 that protrude into the document path space 68 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other so as not to face each other in the vertical direction, so that one document can be passed between the respective leading ends. This is a conveyance path 70. The upper transport rib 63 and the lower transport rib 64 are formed integrally with the upper guide plate 61 and the lower guide plate 62 by a resin material.

  FIG. 3B shows a cross section of the document reversing unit 60 when a thick document P such as a book is placed on the second platen 7 and read. As described above, when the document reversing unit 60 is placed and pressed on the thick document P, the lower guide plate 62 may be bent and deformed depending on the thickness of the document P. In such a case, the amount of deformation is constant so that the bending deformation at the center portion of the lower guide plate 62 does not become larger due to the contact of the top portions 65a and 66a of the upper protrusion portion 65 and the lower protrusion portion 66. Can be kept to a range. Accordingly, when returning to the state of FIG. 3A and reading and transporting the document, it is possible to secure a minimum transport space for the document to enter the document path space 68.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the upper protrusion 65 and the lower protrusion 66 are provided so as to face the substantially central portions of the upper and lower guide plates 61 and 62, thereby deforming the lower guide plate 62. The amount can be reduced and the tops 65a and 66a are flat surfaces, so that the impact caused by the contact can be dispersed. Further, since the top portions 65a and 66a are located inside the tips of the transport ribs 63 and 64 so as not to protrude from the tips of the upper and lower transport ribs 63 and 64, the document path space is used when performing automatic reading and transport. Thus, the conveyance of the document passing through 68 is not hindered. The upper and lower protrusions 65 and 66 are formed of a resin material having an appropriate flexibility and a hardness that does not change its shape in order to absorb collision caused by deformation of the lower guide plate 62. preferable. However, even if the upper and lower protrusions do not have the same hardness, it is only necessary that one is hard and the other has flexibility. In addition, a thin protective sheet that absorbs an impact may be coated on one or both of the top portions 65a and 66a. The upper and lower protrusions 65 and 66 may be formed by adhering an adhesive or the like formed according to the size of the upper and lower guide plates 61 and 62 or the height of the upper and lower conveying ribs 63 and 64. Alternatively, it may be formed integrally with the upper and lower guide plates 61 and 62.

  Further, the upper conveying rib 63 and the lower conveying rib 64 are arranged so as to be shifted from each other so as not to face each other in the vertical direction, thereby preventing a collision when the lower guide plate 62 is deformed and preventing damage or the like. be able to. Therefore, the conveyance of the document passing through the document path space 68 is not hindered.

  In the document reversing unit 60 having the above-described configuration, the upper and lower protrusions 65 and 66 projecting into the document path space 68 are provided, and the upper and lower conveying ribs 63 and 64 are alternately arranged, thereby increasing the thickness. Even when the lower guide plate 62 that holds the fixed document is bent and deformed, a document path space 68 for allowing the document to pass therethrough is secured. For this reason, the lower guide plate 62 does not need to be formed of a hard or thick member that does not cause bending deformation as in the prior art, and the resin plate has the same hardness and thickness as the upper guide plate 61. Can be used. Accordingly, the total weight of the document reversing unit 60 can be suppressed, and the conveyance reading unit 3 can be reduced in size and weight.

  FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional structure of the end portion of the document reversing portion 60. Normally, a document pressing plate 73 for pressing a fixed document placed on the platen 7 is provided on the back side of the lower guide plate 62 of the document reversing unit 60 via a sponge member 72. The document pressing plate 73 is a thin white resin plate having substantially the same shape and size as the lower guide plate 62. The sponge member 72 is for attaching the document pressing plate 73 to the lower guide plate 62 with cushioning properties, and is provided at least at the four corners of the lower guide plate 62. The back surface of the conventional lower guide plate is a flat surface, and the document pressing plate 73 is disposed on the flat surface via the sponge member 72. On the back surface of the lower guide plate 62 of the present embodiment, , Projection pieces 71 projecting downward are provided at least at the four corners. By providing the protruding pieces 71, the document pressing plate 73 can be placed in a stable state without being displaced on the platen 7, and there is no possibility of damaging the surface of the platen 7. Further, by providing the projection piece 71 at a position corresponding to the spacer piece 67 provided for securing the document path space 68, the weight of the upper guide plate 61 is directly applied to the projection piece 71. 73 can be made more stable. The sponge member 72 can be formed to be slightly wider in a square shape or a circular shape around the portion where the protruding piece 71 is provided, so that the adhesion to the document pressing plate 73 can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document conveying apparatus 2 Main body unit 3 Conveyance reading unit 4 Image reading part 5 Optical part 6 1st platen 7 2nd platen 10 Light source 11 Mirror 16 Lens 17 Photoelectric conversion element 20 Paper feed tray 21 Support tray 22 Paper discharge tray 27 Feed roller 28 Feed roller 29 Separation pad 30 Registration roller pair 32 First lead roller pair 33 Second lead roller pair 34 Switching flapper 41 First switchback part 42 Second switchback part 43 Paper discharge roller pair 44 Reverse roller pair 45 First switchback path 46 Second switchback path 48 Standby roller pair 49 Reverse paper discharge path 60 Document reversing portion 61 Upper guide plate 62 Lower guide plate 63 Upper conveyance rib 64 Lower conveyance rib 65 Upper projection 65a Top 66 Lower projection 66a Top 67 Spacer piece 68 Original path empty Between 69 Paper discharge surface 70 Transport path 71 Projection piece 72 Sponge member 73 Document holding plate

Claims (9)

A paper feed tray for feeding a document, an image reading unit for reading a document fed from the paper feed tray, a paper discharge tray for discharging a document read by the image reading unit, and the image reading unit and the paper discharge tray A document reversing unit provided in the middle of the path between
The document reversing unit includes a pair of upper and lower guide plates, a document path space formed between the pair of guide plates, and upper and lower conveying ribs that protrude from opposing surfaces of the pair of guide plates toward the document path space. And upper and lower protrusions,
The upper and lower transport ribs are offset from each other, the upper and lower protrusions are provided at positions facing each other, and the respective top portions are located inside the tips of the upper and lower transport ribs. Document transport device.   The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower protrusions are provided at substantially central portions of the upper and lower guide plates, respectively.   The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the top portions of the upper and lower protrusions are each formed in a planar shape.   The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the upper and lower protrusions is formed of a hard material and the other is formed of a soft material.   The document conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion formed of the hard material is integrally formed when the guide plate is formed.   The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein the lower guide plate is formed of a flexible resin material.   2. The document transport according to claim 1, wherein the document path space is secured by a spacer piece provided between the upper and lower guide plates, and a projection piece is provided on a back surface of the lower guide plate at a position corresponding to the spacer piece. apparatus.   The document conveying device according to claim 7, wherein the lower guide plate is provided with a document pressing plate at least under the protruding piece via a sponge member.   The document conveying device according to claim 7, wherein the protruding pieces are formed at at least four corners of the back surface of the lower guide plate.

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