JP2618977B2 - Automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder compatible with a computer form.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic document feeder (hereinafter abbreviated as ADF)
Is intended for an automatic conveyance set of a sheet-shaped document.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention For this reason, when making copies of a computer form in which a plurality of pages are continuously connected, such as a continuous form, open the ADF on the contact glass to open a necessary part of the computer form. It is necessary to repeat the operation of setting the ADF directly on the contact glass, closing the ADF and replacing it with a pressure plate for each page, which is very troublesome. That is, even in the case of a computer form, it is required to automatically carry the copy so as to enable copying so that the necessary portion is located at the document exposure position, as in the case of a normal sheet-like document.

Means for solving the problem Punch hole detection sensor for detecting punch holes formed at equal intervals in the transport direction of the computer form, counting means for counting the number of punch holes detected by the punch hole detection sensor, and a document An automatic document feeder having transport means for sequentially stopping one page at a time after completion of exposure of a computer form set at an exposure position, the transfer paper jammed when transfer paper jam occurs during the restart of the transport of the computer form. When the page of the computer form corresponding to the document form does not exist at the document exposure position, the conveying means is driven in the reverse direction so that the page is set at the document exposure position, and the computer form is exposed again. A computer form transport control means is provided for automatically setting to a position for use.

The automatic conveyance of the computer form is easy by the cooperation of the punch hole detection sensor for detecting the punch hole of the computer form, the counting means, and the conveyance means. In the case where the paper jam occurs, the page of the computer form corresponding to the transfer paper jammed by the computer foam conveyance control means can be automatically set again at the original exposure position, thereby causing the paper jam even if the paper jam occurs. The copying can be continuously performed only by performing the process of removing the transfer paper, and the copying workability can be improved.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the ADF 1 of the present embodiment. The ADF 1 is provided so as to freely open and close the contact glass 3 on the upper part of the copying machine main body 2. When roughly divided, the document separating and feeding device 4, the transport device 5, and the discharge device 6 are arranged in order. . The document separating / feeding device 4 includes a document table 7 for setting a document to be loaded with the document surface facing downward, an entrance claw 8 for aligning the leading edge of the document and restricting the sheet feeding, and a contact for contacting the uppermost sheet of the loaded document to promote sheet feeding. Separable calling roller 9
And a pair of separation paper feed rollers 10 and a pair of pull-out rollers 11. Here, the presence or absence of a document set on the document table 7 is detected by the set sensor 12. Also,
A leading edge detection sensor 13 that detects the leading edge of the document that has passed through the separation paper feed roller 10 is provided, and a registration sensor 14 is provided between the pull-out roller 11 and the transport device 5.

Further, the transport device 5 mainly includes a transport belt 18 having a size which is stretched between the driving roller 15 and the driven roller 16 and is pressed onto the contact glass 3 by a plurality of pressing rollers 17 to cover the entire surface of the contact glass. It is configured.

Further, when the discharge device 6 discharges the document set on the contact glass 3 and subjected to the exposure processing from the contact glass 3 by the transfer device 5, the document is inherited by the transfer roller 20 via the turn guide 19. ,
The paper is discharged onto a first paper discharge tray 22 above the conveyor belt 18 by a pair of paper discharge rollers 21. Such a discharge operation is detected by the discharge sensor 23. In any case, in this embodiment, the configuration is for computer form,
The discharge device 6 includes not only such a turn discharge system but also a selective straight discharge system. That is, a switching claw 24 for selectively switching the discharge path is provided, and a discharge roller 25 is provided in a path for discharging paper straight from the contact glass 3 on a horizontal plane. This paper ejection roller
A second paper discharge tray 26 is also provided on the paper discharge side of the copier main body 2 corresponding to the paper discharge tray 25.

When viewed from the document separating and feeding device 4 side, the document table 7
A second position in which the computer form 27 is loaded and set in a folded state on the copying machine main body 2 at a lower position.
A paper feed table 28 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of such a control system of the ADF1. The control system of the ADF 1 is connected to the control system of the copying machine main body 1 by a serial interface 30, and is mainly configured by a CPU 31 which also serves as computer form transport control means. Each of the sensors 12, 13, 14, and 23 performs a document detection by a photo sensor configuration including an LED and a photo transistor, and a detection signal thereof is taken into the CPU 31 via an I / O interface 32. Further, a feed motor (M1) 33 for driving the document separation / feed device 4 includes an encoder 34, and is driven and controlled by a servo controller 35 based on the CPU 31. The same applies to the transfer motor (M2) 36 for the drive roller 15 of the transfer device 5 and the discharge motor (M3) 37 for driving the discharge device 6, which are provided with encoders 38 and 39, respectively. Drive control is performed via the servo controllers 40 and 41. However,
The encoder 38 corresponding to the transport motor (M2) 36 is connected to the interrupt terminal INT1 of the CPU 31. Also, a solenoid 42 for releasing the stop claw 8 and a solenoid for raising and lowering the call roller 9 are provided.
43, a solenoid 44 for releasing the separation, a solenoid 45 for the paper feed clutch, and a solenoid 46 for the switching claw 24 are driven and controlled by the CPU 31 via drivers 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, respectively. 52 is a reset circuit.

In the case of handling a normal sheet document (not shown) in the ADF 1 having such a configuration, first, the stop claw 8 is used.
The originals stacked on the original table 7 are separated and fed by the original separating / feeding device 4 so that only the uppermost original is fed toward the contact glass 3 side. Such document transport is performed by the transport belt 18.
And is conveyed on the contact glass 3 toward the original exposure position (set reference position P ₀ ). In this operation, after the leading edge of the original document is detected by the registration sensor 14, the encoder pulse of the transport motor 38 for driving the transport belt 18 is counted at a predetermined timing or stopped when the predetermined pulse is reached, whereby the leading edge of the original document is set to the reference. position
To P ₀ is stopped excisional. Therefore, a scanning optical system in the copying machine main body 2 performs exposure and scanning of the original, executes an image forming process such as formation of a latent image, and creates a copy. When the exposure operation is completed,
The transport belt 18 is driven again, and the document is discharged onto the first discharge tray 22 by the discharge device 6, while the next document feed / transport setting operation is similarly performed. Such an operation is repeated for the set number of originals.

In the present embodiment, the case where the computer form 27 is handled as a document in the ADF 1 having such a basic configuration is considered. As is well known, the computer form 27 is folded with a fold 55 formed in unit size L, and punch holes 56 are formed at equal intervals on both sides for recording and the like by tractor conveyance, thereby ensuring reliable conveyance. Is secured. In the present embodiment, when the copy operation is performed while the computer form 27 is automatically conveyed by the ADF 1, the positioning is performed by using the punch holes 56. Therefore, a punch hole detection sensor 57 is provided at a position between the pull-out roller 14 and the conveyor belt 18 and separately from the registration sensor 14. This punch hole detection sensor 57 has a photo sensor configuration provided so as to be located on the transport passage line of the punch hole 56 of the computer form 27,
A pulse-like detection signal is generated each time the punch form 56 is detected when the computer form 27 is transported.
The output of the punch hole detection sensor 57 is also taken into the CPU 31 which also functions as the counting means via the I / O interface 32, like the other sensor outputs. Specifically, CPU31
Connected to the interrupt terminal INT2.

In such a configuration, the processing and operation in the case of making a copy of the computer form 27 will be described. First, in brief, in the case of the computer form 27, after being loaded on the second document table 28, the leading end of the computer form 27 is brought into contact with the stop claw 8 on the document table 7 as in the case of a normal sheet document. (See FIG. 1 (a)). After the start of paper feeding, computer form
When the registration sensor 14 detects the leading edge of the sheet 27, the conveyor belt is moved at a predetermined
After driving 18, stop. As a result, the tip of the computer form 27 is transported to the set reference position P ₀ and stopped, and the first page A thereof is placed on the contact glass 3.
That is, it is set at the exposure scanning position (see FIG. 1B). The unit size L of Computer Form 27
The first page A can be copied. At this time, along with the transport of the computer form 27, the punched holes 56 have passed through the punched hole detection sensor 57, and the punched hole detection sensors 57 are connected to the next page B in the computer form 27.
The punch hole 56 is detected.

When the exposure scanning for page A is completed, the transport of the computer form 27 by the transport belt 18 is restarted. At this time, the punch hole detected by the punch hole detection sensor 57
The number 56 is counted in the CPU 31, and when the counted value reaches a predetermined value, the driving of the transport belt 18 is stopped. At this time, the pitch of the punched holes 56 is constant, and the feed amount of the computer form 27 is controlled by the number (for one page). Therefore, as shown in FIG. Contact glass 3
It can be set to a predetermined position on the upper side and subjected to exposure scanning. For pages B and subsequent pages, similarly, conveyance stop control may be performed based on the number of detected punched holes and used for copying. In this way, copying of a plurality of pages on the computer form 27 can be performed sequentially. By the way, in the case of the computer form 27, the registration sensor 14 cannot control the second and subsequent pages, and the punch hole detection sensor 57 according to the present embodiment is effective.

By the way, according to the method of the present embodiment, not only the transport control in the normal traveling direction as described above, but also the transport control of the computer form 27 in the reverse transport direction becomes possible. Although such control is usually unnecessary, it is effective as a jam recovery in a case where a transfer sheet that has been transferred causes a jam such as a discharge error in a copy processing operation. That is, even if it is possible to copy a computer form while the ADF automatically sets it even if it is a computer form, a copy operation is executed for a certain page and the transfer is performed during the conveyance of the computer form to the next page. When a paper jam occurs, it is necessary to open the ADF and re-set the jam-compatible page on the contact glass in order to re-copy the jam-compatible page, and the jam recovery operation is troublesome. However, according to the present embodiment, the conveyance amount of the computer form 7 is always grasped by the CPU 31 by detecting the number of the punch holes 56 by the punch hole detection sensor 57, so that the transfer paper is restarted while the computer form 27 is restarted. Even if a jam occurs, the jam-corresponding page can be automatically set again at the exposure scanning position by driving the transport belt 18 in the reverse direction and pulling back the computer form 27 by the transport. Thank you
The operator only needs to press the print button after removing the jam transfer paper, and does not need to perform the operation on the computer form 27.

Next, details of such a control operation will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart in the figure. First, FIG. 4 shows a main flowchart, in which CPU initialization is first performed. This initializes the CPU 31. For example, each port of the CPU 31 is set as an input or output port. Next, the input port is checked. This checks the detection states of the various sensors 12, 13, 14, 23, 57 connected to the I / O interface 32 as shown in FIG. Then, the process proceeds to an output port out process. This is a process of outputting a signal indicating whether a port to which the various motors 33, 36, 37 and various solenoids 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 are connected is on or off. For example, when the paper feed motor 33 is turned on in another subroutine, an on / off signal for all loads is output by the output port out subroutine instead of outputting an on signal in that subroutine.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to the document feeding check process. That is, the setting sensor 12 detects whether a document is set on the document table 7 of the ADF 1, checks whether a document feed signal from the copying machine main body 2 is coming, and checks whether the document is fed. This is a subroutine, and the processing is shown in FIG. First, ADF conveyance is executed in the ADF mode or the SADF (semi-automatic paper feed) mode, and these modes are set or checked. In any of the modes, the next time the original is
Is checked. Here, the determination as to whether or not it is a computer form is processed by another subroutine. In the case of a computer form, its flag is set to "1". Now, if it is not a computer form (computer form flag = 0), the set sensor
12 is turned on, and it is checked whether a sheet-shaped document is set on the document table 7. If it is set, it waits for a paper feed signal from the copying machine body 2 side. Then, the process shifts to the actual sheet feeding operation. However, in the case of the ASDF mode, the separation release solenoid 44 is turned on, and in the case of the ADF mode, it is not turned on. Furthermore, call solenoid 43, claw release solenoid
42 is turned on, the job counter JOBC of the document feeding process is set to 1, the timer STTIM is set to 0, and the document feeding signal is set to 0. On the other hand, if the document is in the computer form 27, after the document feed signal is output, the INT2 flag is set to 1 and the computer form stop counter CFST
PC is set to 0.

After such a document feeding check process, an actual document feeding process is executed. This process is a series of processes from the start of sheet feeding from the document table 7 to the time when the sheet passes through the registration sensor 14, and is processed according to the value of the job counter JOBC as shown in FIG. FIGS. 7A to 7I show processing for each counter value. In these processes, STTIM
Indicates a timer, and x1 to x7 for comparing the timer values indicate certain set values. For example, in the job 2 shown in FIG. 7 (c), the determination as to whether the value of the timer STTIM is equal to or more than x2 is a determination as to whether or not the leading end detection sensor 13 is turned on at a predetermined timing. If the leading edge detection sensor 13 is not turned on, it is determined that a document feed jam has occurred, and the feed jam flag is set to 1. As described above, x1 to x7 indicate certain set values, and are used for checking whether the document feeding operation is performed at a normal timing or the like. M2TPC shown in FIG. 7 (f) during processing of the job 5 is a counter for counting the pulses generated from the encoder 38 of the transport motor (M2) 36. In the case of the computer form 27 as well as the sheet original, Is provided for the first document stop control.
SIZSNF is a size sensor flag used in a document size detection subroutine (not shown). This flag is set to 1 when the size sensor is on, and is set to 0 when the size sensor is off.
Is reset to That is, the length for size detection is
The determination is made by counting the pulses generated from the encoder 38 based on the transport motor 36 from when the registration sensor 14 is turned on to when it is turned off. However, only with this, for example, the length (number of pulses) is the same in the case of A4 horizontal feed and the case of A5 vertical feed, so that the sizes of the two cannot be determined. For this reason, a width size detection sensor is provided as document size detection. For example, the width size detection sensor is arranged at a width direction position where it is turned on in A4 width and turned off in A5 length to detect. In addition, SIZE
F is a timing control flag for reading pulse data at the time of document size check by setting one when the document passes through the registration sensor 14. When set to 1, pulse data is read in accordance with another subroutine.

Next, a subroutine for checking the return number of computers, which is one of the features of this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. This is a check of the number of original documents sent from the copying machine main body 2 side, that is, whether or not the original document has been returned. First, when the ORGBK flag is 1 (set to 1 when the document is returned), control is performed so that checking by this routine is not performed until one return process is completed. And the return number is 1
Based on whether or not this is the case, the number of originals returned from the copying machine main body 2 is checked. Here, when the number of returned sheets is 1 or more, the document return mode is set.

And in the computer return mode,
The processing is performed by a subroutine shown in FIG. this is,
The number of original returning sheets sent from the copying machine main body 2 is checked, and the data of the number of punch holes 56 and the number of driving pulses of the transport motor 36 corresponding to the number of returning sheets are counted by each counter CFST.
This is a process of setting the PC and the M2TPC, driving the sheet feeding motor 33 in reverse rotation together with the transport motor 36, and sending the computer form 27 backward to the sheet feeding side. During this processing, the stop control flag INT2F of the transport motor (M2) 36 is set to 1, and the first
The process proceeds to the process of the transport motor M2 stop control 1 shown in FIG.
The transfer motor M2 stop control 1 is performed by a generally known CP.
This is an external interrupt routine of U31, and the processing shown in FIG. 10 is performed every time a pulse generated from the encoder 38 corresponding to the transport motor 36 enters the external interrupt terminal INT1 shown in FIG. 3 (that is, the interrupt reception of INT1) This process is executed by inputting a pulse to the.

First, this processing is executed even in the case of a normal sheet-shaped document other than the computer form 27. In this case, the processing is performed according to the value of the interrupt job counter INT1C. This interrupt job counter INT1C1 is INT50,51,52
This is a known process, although details are not shown. That is, in the normal document feeding process, when the document fed from the document table 7 is transported to a predetermined position,
The leading edge of the document is registered with the pulse from encoder 38
14 starts to count from the time that is detected by, reaches the predetermined number of pulses, by stopping the transport motor (M2) 36, is intended to stop the document on the exposure reference position P ₀ excisional.

On the other hand, in the case of the computer form 27, when the flag INT1F is 1, different processing is performed depending on whether the return flag is 1. One of the processes is a process in which the computer form 27 serving as the interrupt job counter INT1C2 is transported to a predetermined position. That is, FIG. 11 (a)
This is processing according to INT30 to INT32 shown in FIG. First, in order to count the pulses generated from the encoder 38 by the processing of INT31, 1 is added to the content of M2TPC, and it is checked whether the count value of the counter M2TPC has reached the set carry amount Y3. When the predetermined transport amount Y3 has been reached, the process proceeds to INT32 and the transport motor (M2) 36 is stopped. By such processing, the computer form 27 is moved to the predetermined exposure reference position.
Until P ₀ is conveyed in the forward direction is stopped controlled. More specifically, the interrupt routines INT10 and INT shown in FIG.
The remaining transport distance to the exposure reference position P ₀ after the processing of 11 is
In the processing of the subroutine, the pulses generated from the encoder 38 are counted, and when a predetermined pulse is reached, the transport motor (M
2) 36 to stop excisional the distal end side of the-computer foam 27 is stopped in the exposure reference position P ₀ the state (FIG. 1 (b)).

The other process is a return process of the computer form 27 by the interrupt job counter INT1C3. That is, the processing is performed by the interrupt routines INT40 to INT42 shown in FIG. First, 1 is subtracted from the content of the counter M2TPC by the processing of INT41. This is executed every time a pulse generated from the encoder pulse 38 is input to the INT1 terminal of the CPU 31, and the initial value of the counter M2TPC is set in advance by the processing described in FIG. Then, it is checked whether the subtraction count value of the counter M2TPC has reached 0, and when it reaches 0, the process proceeds to INT42, and the sheet feeding motor (M1) 33 is stopped together with the transport motor (M2) 36. As a result, the computer form 27 is returned to the paper feed side by a predetermined amount. More specifically, INT2 shown in FIG.
0,-computer foam 27 until the exposure reference position P ₀ after treatment INT21 is stopped controlled by conveying back the predetermined page tip.

Next, the subroutine of the transport motor M2 stop control 2 will be described with reference to FIG. This control routine is one of the generally known interrupt flow charts for the outside of the CPU 31. The punch hole 56 of the computer form 27 is connected to the external interrupt terminal INT2 of the CPU 31 shown in FIG.
Is executed, the subroutine process of the M2 stop control 2 is executed (that is, the process is executed by inputting a punched hole detection signal while receiving the interrupt of INT2).

First, when the flag of the interrupt INT2 is 1,
The process is determined depending on whether the return flag is 1. If the return flag is not 1, the interrupt job counter INT2
A control process for transporting the computer form 27 to a predetermined position by C1 is performed. That is, this is a process of counting the number of punch holes 56 of the computer form 27.
Here, the count of the punched holes 56 detected by the punched hole detection sensor 57 starts counting from the time when the registration sensor 14 detects the leading end of the computer form 27 for the first page, and the second and subsequent pages are based on the first page. Count. Specifically, this is the processing of INT10 and INT11 shown in FIG. First, every time the punch holes 56 of the computer form 27 are detected, the number is counted, so that 1 is added to the contents of the computer form counter CFSTPC. Then, when the computer form 27 is transported, it is checked whether it is the first page. If it is the first page, it is checked whether the predetermined feed amount for the first page has been reached, depending on whether the count value of the counter CFSTPC has reached the predetermined value Y1, and if so, the interrupt processing is terminated. Also, for the second and subsequent pages instead of the first page, the counter
Whether the count value of CFSTPC has reached the predetermined value Y2 is checked to see if the predetermined feed amount for the second and subsequent pages has been reached, and if so, the interrupt processing is terminated. In any case, when the count value reaches the predetermined value, the process of M2 stop control 1 shown in FIG. 10 (IN
T30-32), the pulses from the encoder 38 are counted, and after counting the predetermined number of pulses, the transport motor 36 is stopped, and the desired page of the computer form 27 is set.

On the other hand, in the case of the return flag 1, control is performed for the return process of the computer form 27 by the subroutine of the interrupt job counter INT2C2 (specifically, INT20, 21 shown in FIG. 13B). In this case, when a copy machine jam occurs in the copying machine main body 2, a signal indicating the number of pages to be returned comes from the copying machine main body 2 in order to copy the corresponding page again. Then, the computer motor is driven by the reverse rotation of the transport motor 36.
When returning 27, count the number of punch holes for the returned page, and
When the count value of the detected punch holes 56 reaches a predetermined value, the routine is switched to the M2 stop control 1 routine (INT40 to 42 routine) shown in FIG. 10 and stopped after a predetermined pulse. .

Advantageous Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a punch hole detection sensor for detecting punch holes formed at equal intervals in the conveying direction of a computer form, and a counting means for counting the number of punch holes detected by the punch hole detection sensor. In a case where a transfer paper jam occurs during the resumption of the conveyance of the computer form, in the automatic document feeder having a conveyance means for sequentially stopping the conveyance of the computer form set one by one after the exposure of the computer form set at the document exposure position. When the page of the computer form corresponding to the jammed transfer sheet is not present at the document exposure position, the conveying means is driven in the reverse direction so that the page is set at the document exposure position, and Form transport control means for automatically setting the document to the original exposure position again Therefore, it is easy to automatically transport the computer form by cooperation of the punch hole detection sensor for detecting the punched hole of the computer form, the counting means, and the transporting means. When a paper jam occurs, the computer form transport control means can automatically set the page of the computer form corresponding to the transfer paper that has been jammed again at the original exposure position. It is possible to continue copying simply by performing the process of removing the transferred transfer paper, and it is possible to improve the copy workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view,
2 is a schematic side view, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system, FIG.
Figures to 13 are flow charts. 4 Document separation / feeding device, 5 Transport device, 6 Discharge device, 27 Computer form, 31 Computer form transport control means, 56 Punch hole, 57 Punch hole detection sensor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A punch hole detecting sensor for detecting punch holes formed at equal intervals in a conveying direction of a computer form, a counting means for counting the number of punch holes detected by the punch hole detecting sensor, and a document exposure position. And a conveying means for sequentially stopping one page at a time after the exposure of the computer form set in the automatic document feeder. When the page of the computer form does not exist at the document exposure position, the conveying unit is driven in the reverse direction to move the computer form again to the document exposure position so that the page is set at the document exposure position. Document provided with computer form conveyance control means for automatically setting the document Dynamic transport device.