JP2628897B2 - Document alignment device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as RADF: Reversible Auto Document Fe
More particularly, the present invention relates to a document positioning apparatus that switches the position of a document positioning member in accordance with the document feeding direction so as not to hinder the feeding of the document.

(Prior art)

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus provided with an automatic document feeder (hereinafter, ADF) has used the following document alignment device. That is, in the conventional document alignment device, when a document is manually set, the document alignment member is inclined to a position protruding from the upper surface of the document table. Therefore, the document can be set accurately by aligning the edge of the document with the protruding portion. When the ADF is used, the document positioning member is automatically tilted to a position where the document positioning member is retracted from the top of the document table. Therefore, the document is sent through the edge of the document table smoothly without colliding with the document positioning member.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The conventional document alignment device as described above
When used in an image forming apparatus equipped with a DF, when the original is sent in the normal rotation direction, it is exactly the same as when the ADF is used, so that the original can be sent smoothly.

However, when the document is inverted and fed in the reverse direction, the document alignment member is located at a position retracted from the upper surface of the document table, so that the edge of the document hits an end portion of the upper surface of the document table that is perpendicular to the document feeding direction. A document jam has occurred.

Therefore, the present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply unit to an upper surface of a document table, and transferring the document from the upper surface of the document table to a document extraction unit on the opposite side of the document supply unit. A document take-out step to take out the document, a document reversing step of reversing the exposed surface of the document in a document reversing section connected to the document take-out section, and a platen from the document take-out section again for the reversed document. A document supply step after reversal to be supplied to the upper surface, a first exposure scan step for exposing and scanning the document on the upper surface of the platen, a document takeout step, document reversal step, document supply step after reversal and exposure scan step A second exposure scanning step of performing an exposure scan on the other side of the original through an original scanning step, and a document discharge step of discharging the original having been subjected to the exposure scan on the other side to the original discharge section through the original extraction step. Becoming self In the document positioning device of the double-sided exposure scanning device, the tip of the document positioning member provided on the reverse take-out portion and protruding and retracting with respect to the document table upper surface on the document table upper surface side is, in the document extracting step, The original document of the automatic double-sided exposure scanning device, wherein the original document is positioned at a position below the upper surface of the platen, and is positioned so as to protrude to a position above the upper surface of the platen in the inverted document supply step. It is configured as a positioning device.

A second invention provides a document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply section to an upper surface of a document table, and a document removal step of removing a document from the upper surface of the document table to a document removal section opposite to the document supply section. A document reversing step of reversing the exposed surface of the document at a document reversing unit connected to the document retrieving unit, and after reversing supplying the reversed document from the document retrieving unit to the upper surface of the document table. A document supply step, a first exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning of the document on the upper surface of the document table, and the other side of the document through the document removal step, document reversal step, document supply step after reversal, and exposure scanning step An automatic double-sided exposure scanning device comprising: a second exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning on a document; and a document discharge step of discharging a document having been subjected to exposure scanning on the other side to the document discharge section through the document removal step. In the document positioning device, a tip of the document positioning member provided on the reverse take-out portion and protruding and retracting with respect to the upper surface of the document table is disposed on the upper surface of the document table in the document removing step. The document is positioned at a lower position, and in the post-reversal document supply step, is positioned so as to protrude above the upper surface of the document table, and after the leading edge of the document has passed through the document positioning member, the document positioning member Is switched from an upper position protruding from the upper surface of the platen to a lower position.

[Operation] The document positioning apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention configured as described above is used in an image forming apparatus provided with an RADF, and a document positioning member is used in a document taking-out step of feeding a document in a normal rotation direction. Is positioned at a position pulled from the upper surface of the document table. Therefore, the document is sent out smoothly through the edge of the document table. Further, in the post-reversal document supply step of feeding the reversed document in the reverse direction, the document positioning member is
Since the document is positioned at a position protruding from the upper surface of the document table, the document is sent without the leading end of the document hitting the end of the upper surface of the document table perpendicular to the document feeding direction.

Further, in the second invention, in the post-reversal document supply step, after the leading edge of the document has passed through the positioning member projecting to a position above the upper surface of the document table according to the first invention, the document positioning member is moved to the upper surface of the document table. The document is switched from the second position protruded further to the first position retracted from the upper surface of the document table, so that the document is smoothly fed without receiving the frictional force of the document positioning member.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a document feeder of a copying machine will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, for example, the present invention is applicable to a laser beam printer or the like as another example of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a document positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are schematic side views for explaining changes in the position of a document positioning member. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the RADF and the document positioning member, respectively, and FIG. 4 is a time chart of control of the apparatus.

A document alignment device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to an end of a document table 2 of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. The RADF 12 including the transport belt 9 and the like is installed above the document table 2 so as to be freely opened and closed.

The document positioning member 3 of the document positioning apparatus 1 is provided along an edge of the upper surface of the document table 2 which is perpendicular to the feeding direction of the document sent by the transport belt 9. The member 3 and the lever 6 are integrally formed. And lever 6
Is mounted so as to rotate about a fulcrum 8. The connection pin 7 provided at the tip of the lever 6 is connected to the drive lever 5 through a little play so as to absorb the vertical movement caused by the rotation about the fulcrum 8 of the lever 6.

The drive lever 5 is pulled when the solenoid 4 is turned on, and returns to the original position by the spring 13 when the solenoid 4 is turned off. The cushion 10 regulates the return position of the drive lever 5.

Therefore, when the solenoid 4 is turned ON and OFF, the drive lever 5 is turned ON.
When the document reciprocates, the document positioning member 3 moves from the first position shown in FIG. 2A where the tip 11 of the member 3 is pulled in from the upper surface of the document table 2 around the fulcrum 8 and the document table 2 It moves between the second positions shown in FIG. 2 (b) protruding from the upper surface of the lens and the respective positions are determined.

3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c) are diagrams for explaining the operation of the RADF and the document positioning member, respectively.
The outline of the configuration of the DF is as follows. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 3A, the original passes through a guide roller 16 and is sent to a contact portion between the transport belt 9 and the original table 2. When the reverse clutch (not shown) is turned on, the transport belt 9 rotates in the reverse direction, and the original can be sent in the reverse direction as indicated by the arrow shown in FIG.

The document sent as shown in FIG. 3A is further sent to the switching guide 15 through the guide roller 17. The switching guide 15 functions to switch the original between the discharge direction and the reverse direction. In steps S4 and S5, the position of the document is detected by a paper sensor.

When a document is manually set using the document alignment device 1 of the image forming apparatus having the RADF configured as described above, the solenoid 4 is turned off by an operation command or the like, and the solenoid 4 is protruded from the upper surface of the document table 2. The leading end 11 of the document positioning member 3 projects to the second position. Therefore, the original can be set accurately by aligning the edge of the original with this portion.

Next, the control timing of the document positioning apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

When operating the ADF, the solenoid 4 is turned on by an operation command from the image forming apparatus main body, that is, a signal of the print key being turned on, and the first drawer drawn from the upper surface of the document table 2 is turned on.
The leading end 11 of the document positioning member 3 is positioned at the position (2).

Accordingly, the original is fed by the conveyor belt 9 onto the original table 2 as indicated by the arrow shown in FIG. 3A and copied at the time indicated by the broken line (C) in FIG. The tip 11 is smoothly fed through the guide roller 17 without obstruction. At this time, since the switching guide 15 has not been switched, the original is discharged as shown by the dashed arrow.

Next, when performing the RADF operation, for example, when forming an image of a double-sided document on both sides of the transfer paper, the RADF switch SW is turned ON (A). When an operation command from the main body of the image forming apparatus, that is, the print key is turned on, the original is sent in the forward direction as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3A, and the original positioning member 3 is positioned at the first position. (B). Since the switching of the switching guide 15 is performed by the RADF switching switch as shown in FIG. 3B, the original is sent through the guide roller 17 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. As shown in FIG. At this time, when the paper sensor S5 composed of a microswitch or the like detects that the document has been sent, the reverse rotation clutch for driving the transport belt 9 operates (d), and the transport belt 9 starts running in the reverse direction. At the same time, the solenoid 4 is turned off, and the position of the document positioning member 3 is also switched to the second position protruding from the upper surface of the document table 2 (d). Therefore, the leading edge of the original sent as shown in FIG. 3B is sent without hitting the end 14 of the upper surface of the original table 2 perpendicular to the original feeding direction.

In this embodiment, since the document is sandwiched between the document positioning member 3 and the transport belt 9 when the document is fed in the reverse direction, the document is moved by the frictional force between the document and the document positioning member 3 or the like. The feed amount may vary. In order to solve such a problem, the following function can be added.

That is, as described above, when the leading end of the document passes through the end portion 14 on the upper surface of the document table 2, the member 3 is pulled in from the second position from the upper surface of the document table 2 at a predetermined timing. Is switched to the first position. For example, a paper sensor S4 composed of a microswitch or the like detects that a document has been sent (e), and after a predetermined time ΔT has elapsed, the document positioning member 3 moves from the second position to the first position.
It switches to the position of (f). Therefore, the document is fed in the reverse direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3C without receiving the frictional force of the leading end 11 of the document positioning member 3.

Then, after a predetermined period elapses after the paper sensor S4 detects the completion of the passage of the paper (g), the reverse rotation clutch is turned off and the document stops at the predetermined exposure position (h).

Thus, the copy operation on the back side is performed while the original is stationary (h). Thereafter, the original is again fed by the transport belt 9 in the normal rotation direction as shown by the broken arrow in FIG. 3 (c). Hereinafter, the change of the position of the document positioning member 3 is the same, and the description thereof will be omitted. However, the document is inverted and sent as indicated by the arrow in FIG. By the same operation as described above, the original is fed as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3 (c), and the copying operation of the front side is performed. Then, the original is sent as indicated by the broken arrow in FIG. 3 (c), and the original is further discharged as indicated by the broken arrow in FIG. 3 (a).

The predetermined time ΔT is set so as to be a timing immediately after the leading edge of the document has passed the upper end 14 of the document table 2.

Although the predetermined time ΔT is set based on the detection timing of the paper sensor in S4, it may be set based on the detection timing of the paper sensor in S5.
Alternatively, it may be set based on the ON timing of the reverse rotation clutch, and can be arbitrarily selected.

Further, the paper sensors S4 and S5 may be photo switches instead of micro switches, and may be arbitrarily selected.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, as a first invention, a document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply unit to an upper surface of a document table, and a document to be removed from the upper surface of the document table to a document extraction unit on the opposite side of the document supply unit A take-out step, a document reversing step of reversing an exposed surface of the document at a document reversing section connected to the document take-out section, and a reversing document from the document take-out section to the upper surface of the document table again. After the reversal document is supplied, a first exposure scanning step for exposing the document on the upper surface of the document table is performed, and the document is passed through the document removal step, the document reversing step, the reversed document supply step, and the exposure scanning step. An automatic exposure apparatus comprising: a second exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning on the other side of the document; and a document discharging step of discharging the document having been subjected to the exposure scanning on the other side to the document discharging section through the document removing step. Both In the document positioning device of the exposure scanning device, a tip of the document positioning member provided on the reverse take-out portion and protruding and retracting with respect to the surface of the document table on the side of the document table upper surface is the original document in the document removing step. The document position of the automatic double-sided exposure scanning device, wherein the document position is set at a position below the table top, and in the post-reversal document supply step, the projection is positioned at a position above the document table top. A matching device is provided. Therefore, the original is fed without causing the original to be clogged due to the leading edge of the original hitting the end of the upper surface of the original table during the original supply process after the reversal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply unit to an upper surface of a document table, and a document removal step of removing a document from the document table upper surface to a document removal unit opposite to the document supply unit. A document reversing step of reversing the exposed surface of the document at a document reversing unit connected to the document retrieving unit, and after reversing supplying the reversed document from the document retrieving unit to the upper surface of the document table. A document supplying step, a first exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning of the document on the top of the document table, a document taking out step of the document, a document reversing step,
A second exposure scanning step in which the other side of the original is exposed and scanned through the original supply step after the reversal and the exposure scanning step, and the original which has been subjected to the exposure scanning on the other side is ejected to the original ejection section through the original taking out step. A document aligning device of an automatic double-sided exposure scanning device, comprising: a document aligning member provided at the reverse take-out section and protruding and retracting from the upper surface of the original platen of the original. The leading end of the original is positioned at a position below the upper surface of the original table in the original removing step, and is positioned so as to protrude to a position above the upper surface of the original table in the inverted original supplying step. After the leading end passes through the document positioning member, the document positioning member is switched from an upper position protruding above the platen upper surface to a lower position. Original alignment apparatus of the double-sided exposure scanning device is provided.

Therefore, in the post-reversal document supply step, the document is accurately fed without receiving the frictional force of the document positioning member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a document positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are schematic side views for explaining changes in the position of a document positioning member. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the RADF and the document positioning member, respectively, and FIG. 4 is a time chart of control of the apparatus. [Explanation of Reference Codes] 1... Original position adjusting device 2... Original platen 3... Original position aligning member 4.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply section to an upper surface of a document table; a document removal step of taking a document from the upper surface of the document table to a document removal section opposite to the document supply section; Document reversing step of reversing the exposed surface of the document in the document reversing unit connected to the document retrieving unit, and supplying the reversal document from the document retrieving unit to the upper surface of the document table again A first exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning of the original on the upper surface of the original table; and exposing the original to the other side of the original through the original extraction step, original inversion step, original supply step after inversion, and exposure scanning step. An original double-sided exposure scanning apparatus comprising: a second exposure scanning step for performing scanning; and a document discharging step for discharging a document having been subjected to exposure scanning on the other side to a document discharging section through the document removing step. In the positioning device, a tip of the document positioning member provided on the reverse take-out portion and protruding and retracting with respect to the top surface of the document table is positioned above the top surface of the document table in the document removing step. A document positioning device for an automatic double-sided exposure scanning device, wherein the document positioning device is positioned at a lower position and protrudes to a position above the upper surface of the document table in the post-reversal document supply step. A document supply step of supplying a document from a document supply section to an upper surface of a document table; a document removal step of taking a document from the upper surface of the document table to a document removal section opposite to the document supply section; Document reversing step of reversing the exposed surface of the document in the document reversing unit connected to the document retrieving unit, and supplying the reversal document from the document retrieving unit to the upper surface of the document table again A first exposure scanning step of performing exposure scanning of the original on the upper surface of the original table; and exposing the original to the other side of the original through the original extraction step, original inversion step, original supply step after inversion, and exposure scanning step. An original double-sided exposure scanning apparatus comprising: a second exposure scanning step for performing scanning; and a document discharging step for discharging a document having been subjected to exposure scanning on the other side to a document discharging section through the document removing step. In alignment apparatus, provided in the inverting extraction unit, the tip of the platen upper surface of the document positioning member infested with respect to the platen upper surface,
In the document take-out step, the document is positioned at a position below the upper surface of the document table, and in the post-reversal document supply step, it is positioned so as to protrude above the upper surface of the document table, and the leading end of the document is positioned at the document position. A document positioning device for an automatic double-sided exposure scanning device, wherein the document positioning member is switched from an upper position protruding from the upper surface of the document table to a lower position after passing through the aligning member.