JP2554948Y2 - Document feeder - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document feeder used for an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding a document to a document placing plate of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic document feeder in which a plurality of documents are set on a document table in a copying machine or the like and the documents are automatically supplied one by one onto a document mounting plate of the body of the copying machine. The one with the attached is often used. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic document feeder is connected to the automatic document feeder to feed a document between a document placing plate 103 and a transport belt 101 provided above the document placing plate 103.
The document feeding device includes a document table 3 on which a document is placed, a front feed roller 4 for feeding the document placed on the document table 3 from above, and a separating roller for conveying the fed document while preventing double feeding. 5. The transport belt 10 is set at an appropriate timing for the copy operation of the original transported from the separating roller 5.
A registration roller 6 and the like for feeding to one side are provided.

A case in which a document is fed to the conveyor belt 101 by the document feeder having the above-described configuration will be described. Guess and align. When there is no original on the original platen 3, the forward feed roller 4 is lifted upward to make it easier to place the original. When a document is placed on the document table 3, a document detection sensor 32 disposed at a lower portion near the center of the document table 3 detects the document. Next, when the copy start button is pressed, the forward feed roller 4 is lowered and comes in contact with the placed original, the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 rotate, and the original is moved downstream by the forward feed roller 4. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the registration roller 6 side while double feeding is prevented by the separating roller 5. The registration roller 6 starts rotating at a certain timing, and the separation roller 5 starts rotating.
Is supplied to the transport belt 101 side.

[0004]

However, in the above-described method, the document has a punch hole or the like, and the document is set and transported with the punch hole being on the downstream side (ie, the front side in the sheet feeding direction). When the rollers such as the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 hit the punch holes, the frictional force and the like due to the contact between the original and the rollers become unstable, and the feed balance is lost or jams are caused. Occur,
There is a problem that a portion such as a punch hole is cut. Therefore, conventionally, a countermeasure for using a document has been taken so as to prevent the document from being set with the punch hole on the downstream side. However, there are few cases where the user uses the document carefully.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such a conventional problem, and is capable of preventing a document having a punched hole from being out of balance, causing a jam, and preventing a portion such as a punched hole from being cut. It is intended to provide a device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a roller means for feeding a document placed on a document table, a roller driving means for driving a roller of the roller means, and a roller means other than the downstream side of the roller means are provided. A hole detecting means for detecting whether or not there is a hole in a predetermined portion at the downstream front part of the placed or conveyed document, the hole detecting means being disposed in the document conveying path, and the hole detecting means; A document feeder comprising: control means for outputting a stop signal and / or a warning signal for the roller means so as not to convey the document when it is detected that there is a hole, and alarm output means for outputting an alarm based on the warning signal. Device.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the hole detecting means detects whether or not there is a hole in a predetermined portion of the downstream front part of the placed or conveyed document, and if the hole is detected, the control is performed. Means for outputting a stop signal and / or a warning signal for the roller means so as not to convey the document, and a roller driving means for stopping the rollers of the roller means so as not to convey the document by the stop signal, and / or an alarm output means. However, an alarm is output by a warning signal.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof.

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a document feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In other words, the document feeder, which forms part of the automatic document feeder,
A body frame 1 is provided, and a document table 3 on which a document 2 is placed is attached to one side of the body frame 1. A hole 31 is formed near the center of the document table 3, and a document detection sensor 32 for detecting the presence or absence of the document 2 on the document table 3 is provided in the hole 31.

On the other hand, a feed roller 4 for feeding the original 2 from the upstream side, a fed original 2
Roller 5 that transports the original 2 while preventing double feed, and a registration roller 6 that supplies the transported original 2 at a timing for a copying operation, and further downstream of the registration roller 6 are provided. Conveyor Belt 101 Constituting Part of Automatic Document Feeder and Conveyor Belt 1
A belt drive roller 102 for driving the drive unit 01 is provided. An original placing plate 103 provided on the upper part of the copying machine main body is in contact with the lower side of the transport belt 101. The shaft 41 of the forward feed roller 4 and the shaft 51 of the separating roller 5 are connected by a connecting arm 55 so that the forward feed roller 4 can rotate up and down around the shaft 51 as a rotation axis.

A stopper plate 7 is provided between the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 to prevent the original 2 from entering the separating roller 5 when the original 2 is placed on the document table 3. The stopper plate 7 is connected to a solenoid 71 that moves the document 2 out of the way when the document 2 is fed, and is configured to be rotatable about a stopper plate rotation shaft 72 (FIG. 1B). reference). A support plate 8 for supporting the document 2 is provided below the forward feed roller 4. The support plate 8 detects the presence of a punch hole in the downstream front portion of the document 2 at a position closer to the downstream from the center of the support plate 8. Hole detection sensor 9 is attached.

Further, the outputs of the document detection sensor 32 and the hole detection sensor 9 are connected to a control means 10 for outputting a warning signal, and the control means 10 is an alarm output means for outputting an alarm in accordance with the warning signal. 11
It is connected to the.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hole detecting sensor 9 includes two rollers 4a and 4b of the forward feed roller 4 and two rollers 5a and 5b of the separating roller 5, and the rollers 4a and 5a and the roller 4b. Two are arranged on a line passing through the roller 5 b on the line of the document 2 in the transport direction and slightly upstream from the stopper plate 7. That is, when the document 2 is conveyed, it is provided so as to be able to detect whether or not there is a hole in a portion passing through the place where the rollers are located while the document 2 is placed on the document table 3. Pulleys 42 are attached to both ends of a shaft 41 of the forward feed roller 4, and pulleys 52 are attached to both sides of a shaft 51 of the separating roller 5. A belt 56 is stretched over each of the pulleys 42 and 52, and the advance roller 4 is driven by the rotation of the separating roller 5.

The above-mentioned forward feed roller 4, separating roller 5 and registration roller 6 constitute roller means, and a roller drive means is connected to the roller means for driving each roller (not shown).

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, when the document 2 is not placed on the document table 3, the document detection sensor 32 for detecting the presence or absence of the document 2 outputs a signal indicating that there is no document to the control means 10 (step S1 in FIG. 3). . At this time, the connecting arm 55 is rotated upward about the shaft 51 of the separating roller 5 and
Is lifted up, while the stopper plate 7 is lowered by a solenoid 71 around a stopper plate rotation shaft 72, and obstructs the carrying path of the document 2.

Next, the original 2 is placed on the original table 3, and the leading end of the original 2 is brought into contact with the stopper plate 7 and aligned. Then, the document detection sensor 32 outputs a signal indicating that a document is present to the control means 10 (step S1 in FIG. 3). When the print button is pressed, the connecting arm 55 pivots downward, lowers the forward feed roller 4 and presses the document 2. Further, the stopper plate 7 is lifted up by the solenoid 71, and the carrying path of the document 2 is opened.

When the document 2 is placed on the document table 3, the hole detection sensor 9 detects whether or not the document 2 has a punch hole (step S2 in FIG. 3). The hole detection sensor 9 detects holes based on the intensity of reflected light of the light illuminated on the document 2 using, for example, a reflection-type optical sensor. When the detection result of the hole detection sensor 9 indicates that there is no hole, the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 rotate, and first, the original 2 is fed from the document table 3 to the separating roller 5 by the forward feed roller 4. Then, the separating roller 5 applies the original 2 to the registration roller 6 while preventing the fed original 2 from being double fed.
Is transported (step S3 in FIG. 3). Registration roller 6
Sends the conveyed document 2 to the conveyance belt 101 at a timing for a copying operation. Thereafter, when the original 2 is placed on the original placing plate 103 by the transport belt 101 and fixed, a copying operation is performed (Step S4 in FIG. 3).

Next, when the copying operation of the first original 2 is completed, it is determined whether or not the original 2 placed on the original platen 3 is completed based on the detection result of the original detection sensor 32 (step S5 in FIG. 3). If the original 2 is over, the process is terminated. If the original 2 still remains, the next original 2 is conveyed (step S3), and a copy operation is performed (step S3).
4). Then, the above step S is performed until the document 2 is exhausted.
The processing from step 3 to step S5 is repeated.

On the other hand, when the hole detection sensor 9 detects that the original 2 has a punched hole, the control means 10 outputs a warning signal and causes the alarm display means 11 to display an alarm to stop copying (FIG. 4). Step S6 of 3) The processing is ended.

In the above embodiment, the detection of the punched holes of the original 2 is performed only when the original 2 is placed on the original platen 3. Instead, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a hole may be detected each time the copying operation of one document is completed. In this case, when there is a document without a hole on the upper side and a document with a hole on the lower side is stacked,
When all the upper non-perforated documents have been conveyed, the perforated document can be detected.

In the above embodiment, the control means 10 outputs a warning signal to the alarm display means 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the copy operation cannot be performed even if the copy start key is erroneously pressed. Alternatively, a stop signal may be output. Alternatively, both a warning signal and a stop signal may be output.

In the above embodiment, each of the rollers 4a, 5a
or one hole detection sensor 9 attached to the rollers 4b and 5b on the transport direction line. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the transport direction may be considered in consideration of the shift of the position of the punch hole in the document transport direction. Two or three or more hole detection sensors may be arranged along the line.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a document feeder according to the second embodiment. That is, in the configuration of the second embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment is that the mounting position of the hole detection sensor 9 is different from that of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the hole detection is performed when the document 2 is placed on the document table 3. The hole detecting sensor 9 is disposed between the stopper plate 7 and the separating roller 5 so that the forward feed roller 4 can detect a punch hole of the document 2 being fed, while being arranged so as to be capable of being moved (see FIG. 1). This is the point where they are arranged, and the positions on the line in the document transport direction are the same as those described above.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, based on the output result of the document detection sensor 32, it is determined whether or not the document 2 exists on the document table 3 until the document is present (step S11). Document 2 is platen 3
When the print button is pressed, the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 rotate, and the original 2 is fed by the forward feed roller 4 (step S12). Document 2 fed
The hole detection sensor 9 detects the presence or absence of a punch hole before reaching the separating roller 5 (step S13).

If it is determined that the original 2 has no hole, the original 2
The sheet is conveyed to the conveying belt 101 by the separating roller 5 and the registration roller 6 (step S14), and is placed on the document placing plate 103 to perform a copying operation (step S15). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the original 2 is completed (step S16), and the processing from step S12 to step S16 is repeatedly performed until the original 2 placed on the original platen 3 is completed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the document 2 has a hole, the control means 10 outputs a stop signal to the roller driving means (not shown), and the forward feed roller 4 and the separating roller 5 Then, the feeding of the document 2 is stopped immediately (Step S17), and then the control means 10 outputs a warning signal to the alarm display means 11, an alarm is displayed (Step S18), and the process is terminated.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the hole detection is performed for each document 2, even if the document 2 having a punch hole is inserted in the middle of the document 2 stacked on the document table 3, , A document 2 having a hole can be detected.

In the above embodiment, the hole detecting sensor 9 is mounted between the stopper plate 7 and the separating roller 5.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be mounted between the registration roller 6 and the separation roller 5. In other words, it may be disposed at a location other than the downstream side of the roller means and in the document conveyance path.

In the above embodiment, the control means 10 outputs both the stop signal and the warning signal.
The invention is not limited thereto, and only a stop signal or a warning signal may be output.

In the first and second embodiments, the reflection type optical sensor is used as the hole detecting sensor 9 as the hole detecting means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a transmission type optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like may be used.

[0033]

As apparent from the above description, the present invention can prevent the feeding balance of a document having a punched hole from being disrupted, a jam from occurring, and a portion such as a punched hole from being cut. Has advantages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a document feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a document feeder according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional document feeder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Document 3 Document table 4 Forward roller 5 Separation roller 5a, 5b roller 6 Registration roller 9 Hole detection sensor 10 Control means 11 Alarm display means

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A roller means for feeding a document placed on a document table; a roller driving means for driving a roller of the roller means; and a place other than a downstream side of the roller means, wherein the document is A hole detecting means for detecting whether or not there is a hole in a predetermined portion of the downstream front part of the document placed or conveyed, and a hole having the hole detected by the hole detecting means. A control unit that outputs a stop signal and / or a warning signal of the roller unit so that the document is not conveyed when detected; and an alarm output unit that outputs an alarm based on the warning signal. A predetermined portion on a document conveying direction line passing through a place where the roller means is provided, wherein the roller means is a forward feed roller for feeding a document placed on a document table and the original sent by the forward feed roller. A separating roller for conveying the document while preventing double feeding, wherein the hole detecting unit performs the feeding during a period from when the document is started to be fed by the forward feed roller to when the document is fed by the separating roller. A document feeder for detecting presence or absence of a hole in the document.