JP2713173B2 - Original width determining apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an original reading apparatus employed in a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and the like, and more particularly, to an apparatus for positioning an original in a width direction when the original is transported for optically reading the original. And its method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conventional document width determining device in a document reading device. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a platen, 2a and 2b denote a pair of width determining fins,
Reference numerals a and 4b denote a pair of fin guides formed in the left and right sides of the document table 1 so as to be parallel to each other, and reference numerals 5a and 5b allow the fin guides 4a and 4b to slide freely and the width determining fins 2a and 2b to the size of the document 10. 6a, 6b are sliders 5a and 6b
a and 5b are rack gears formed. 7 is rotatably supported on the document table 1 by a shaft 7a, and rack gears 6a,
A pinion gear meshing with 6b, a document detection switch 8,
Reference numeral 9 denotes a document size display unit, and reference numeral 11 denotes a document insertion port. The rotation of the pinion gear 7 causes the two sliders 5a and 5b to move synchronously via rack gears 6a and 6b meshing with the pinion gear 7, thereby forming a synchronous interlocking mechanism.

In such a configuration, when an operator operates
0 by hand from above the platen 1 in FIG.
When inserted between 2a and 2b , the operator
When at least one of a and 2b is gripped by hand and moved according to the width of the document, the other width determining fin is moved through the rack gears 6a and 6b and the pinion gear 7,
In synchronization with each other, both width determining fins 2a and 2b are adjusted to the width of the document. Documents whose width has been adjusted are not shown.
The original is read from the original insertion port 11 by the original feed roller
It is sent to the taking section (not shown).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-283762 discloses a document size detecting means for detecting a document size and a guide opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing a document guide. The document size input from the document size detecting means is provided. There is proposed an automatic document guide positioning device that controls the operation of a guide opening / closing mechanism based on a document guide and positions the document guide at a guide interval corresponding to the document size.

[0005]

However, of the above-mentioned conventional ones, the former one is manually set by the operator, so that the setting operation is cumbersome. If the width is set too wide, the original will rattle, so the original feed roller
When the document is sent from the platen to the document reading unit, the document is skewed. If the width is set too narrow, the automatic document feeder mechanism will be incomplete, causing double feeding or jamming of the document. And other problems have occurred. Also, the latter one is a dedicated motor for driving the document guide,
There is a drawback that the price increases due to an increase in the number of parts such as an additional device such as a document size detecting means and a document width sensor, and furthermore, the document guide simply opens and closes in one direction with respect to the set document size width. When the overlap of the originals is large, there is a problem that the original guides cannot be guided as set.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to eliminate inconvenience of an operator, optimize the setting of guides, and provide an inexpensive document. An object of the present invention is to provide a width determining device and a method thereof.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a document width determining apparatus according to the present invention guides the width direction of a document fed to a document table and at least one of the pair is movable. Document width determining fins facing each other, detection means for detecting the position of the document width determining fins and the document,
A moving means for moving the document width determining fins based on the detecting means; and a driving means for driving a document feed roller for feeding a document from a document table, and selectively driving the driving means to the moving means. This is provided with a clutch mechanism that comes into contact with the clutch.

[0008] The document width decided apparatus according to the present invention, a document width determined fin and at least one of guide the width direction of the document fed on the platen is a pair of opposing a movable, fed from the platen A reading mechanism for optically reading the original document, detecting means for optically detecting the position of the original width determining fin and the original, moving means for moving the original width determining fin based on the detecting means, from the base
Ryohikariro length of a driving means for driving the document feed roller for feeding the document to the reading mechanism is provided with a clutch mechanism disconnects the selectively said moving means the driving of the drive means, and said reading mechanism detecting means And switching means for making the optical path of the detecting means also serve as the optical path of the reading mechanism is provided, and the reading mechanism reads the detection of the detecting means.

The document width determining method according to the present invention further comprises a pair of opposed document width determining fins, at least one of which is movable to guide the width direction of the document sent to the platen, and the pair of document width determining fins. A pair of detecting means for detecting a gap between the width determining fins and both side edges of the document, and moving the document width determining fins to the width position of the document based on the detecting means to determine the width of the document. When the pair of detecting means both detect the gap, the gap between the document width determining fins is reduced, and when only one of the pair of detecting means detects the gap, the gap between the document width determining fins is reduced. Once widened and then narrowed again,
When the pair of detection means have both detected no gap,
The movement of the document width determining fin is stopped.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the original width determining fin can be moved by the driving means for driving the original feed roller.

According to the present invention, the document width determining fins and the position of the document are also read by the reading mechanism that optically reads the document.

According to the present invention, when only one of the pair of detecting means detects the gap between the original width determining fin and the original, the interval between the original width determining fins is once narrowed, then widened, and then narrowed again. As a result, the manuscript misalignment is corrected.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a document width determining device according to the present invention applied to a reading device, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof. In these figures, the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent components as in the related art, and the detailed description is omitted.
At the opposing portions at the lower ends of the width determining fins 2a and 2b,
The width detecting switches 3a and 3b are provided, and the fin guides 4a and 4b are disposed at an angle. The width determining fins 2a and 2b are orthogonal to the feeding direction A of the document 10 as in the above-described prior art. Move in the direction. The pinion gear 7 has a gear 7b formed concentrically.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a motor for driving a document feed roller 15, which will be described later, for feeding the document 10. Reference numeral 13 denotes a motor gear. D1 meshes with the motor gear 13 so that the motor 1
2 is a transmission gear for transmitting the rotation of No. 2. Numeral 14 denotes an electromagnetic actuator as a clutch mechanism, which is a transmission gear D1.
To transmit the rotation of the motor 12 only to the document feed roller 15 without engaging with any gear.
The position is moved to a position of 0, a position of D1 meshing with the large diameter gear A, and a position of D2 meshing with the small diameter gear C.
The small-diameter gear C meshes with the small-diameter gear B, and the small-diameter gear B and the large-diameter gear A are coaxially fitted with a feed screw 16 with which the gear 7b of the pinion gear 7 meshes. 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a document detection switch 8 and width detection switches 3a, 3
This is a control unit that sends output signals to the motor 12 and the electromagnetic actuator 14 in response to an input signal from b.

Next, an original width determining method in the original width determining apparatus having such a configuration will be described. In FIG. 6, S1
, The document detection switch 8 detects the presence or absence of a document,
Upon detecting that there is a document, in S2, the document width detection switch 3a, Ri by the 3b, both width determined fins 2a, it detects the position of the document 10 between 2b. Here, when both the document width detecting switches 3a and 3b are OFF, both sides of the document 10 are not in contact with both width determining fins 2a and 2b, that is, both sides of the document 10 and both width determining fins 2a. , 2b, the motor 12 is turned on in S3, and at the same time, the electromagnetic actuator 14
Operate to set the transmission gear to the position of D1.

The transmission gear D1 meshes with the gear A, and the rotation of the motor 12 is transmitted to the feed screw 16 via the motor gear 13, the transmission gear D1 and the large-diameter gear A. Gear 7b, pinion gear 7
The sliders 5a and 5b are moved closer to each other via the rack gears 6a and 6b, and the distance between the width determining fins 2a and 2b is reduced. Thereafter, in step S2, the position of the document 10 between the width determining fins 2a and 2b is detected by the document width detection switches 3a and 3b. At this time, both original width detecting switches 3a, 3
If both b are OFF, the interval between the width determining fins 2a and 2b is narrowed again in S3.

On the other hand, in S2, when one of the two original width detecting switches 3a and 3b is ON, that is, a gap is provided between the side end of the original 10 and one of the width determining fins 2a and 2b. If there is, in S4, the motor 12 is turned on, and at the same time, the electromagnetic actuator 14 operates so that the transmission gear is first set to the position of D1. When the transmission gear is located at D1, the distance between both width determining fins 2a and 2b is once narrowed in the same manner as described above. Subsequently, the electromagnetic actuator 14 operates to change the transmission gear to D2.
, That is, a position where it meshes with the small diameter gear C. As a result, the rotation of the motor 12 is transmitted to the feed screw 16 via the small diameter gear C and the small diameter gear B, so that the rotation transmitted to the feed screw 16 is opposite to the rotation transmitted via the large diameter gear A. The transmitted fins 2a and 2b move in a direction away from each other.

Further, the electromagnetic actuator 14 operates to move the transmission gear to the position D1 again, thereby narrowing the distance between the width determining fins 2a and 2b, and moving the document 10 toward the center. As described above, when the document 10 is moved toward the center, the width-determining fins 2a and 2b are once narrowed, then widened, and then narrowed again, thereby preventing the document from being misaligned and overlapping. The width of the original 10 can be determined as set by the width determining fins 2a and 2b, that is, optimally and accurately.

Next, in S2, the position of the original is detected again by the original width detection switches 3a and 3b, and if either one of the original width detection switches is ON, the above-described original width shifting operation is performed. If this operation is repeated a predetermined number of times or more, it is detected in S5 that an alarm such as a document jam has occurred, a request for manual operation is made, the motor 12 is turned off, and the electromagnetic actuator 14 is activated. Then, the transmission gear is positioned at D0.

In step S2, both of the original width detecting switches 3a and 3b are turned ON, and the width determining fins 2a and 2b are turned on.
If both sides of the document 10 are in contact with 2b and it is detected that there is no gap, the size of the document 10 determined by the width-determining fins 2a and 2b is detected and confirmed in S6. As a result of checking, if the original is not the specified width,
At S5, an alarm is generated. In the case of the prescribed document width, the electromagnetic actuator 14 is operated and the transmission gear is set to D.
0, and the rotation of the motor 12 is
To transport the document 10 to a document reading unit (not shown ).

Further, if the absence of the original is detected by the original detection switch 8 in S1, the process proceeds to S7.
It is determined whether or not to reset the width. If so, in step S8, the electromagnetic actuator 14 is operated to position the transmission gear at D2, and the motor 12 is turned on. And S9
, The motor 12 is turned off, the transmission gear is set to the position D0, and a standby state is set. If the width determination reset is unnecessary in S7, the process goes to the standby state in S9.

As described above, both width determining fins 2a, 2
b, the motor 1 is connected via the large-diameter gear A.
2 is transmitted to the feed screw 16, the narrowing speed is slow and a large driving force is transmitted to the width determining fins 2a and 2b. It is possible to adjust the width. On the other hand, when the distance between the two width determining fins 2a and 2b is increased, the rotation of the motor 12 is transmitted to the feed screw 16 via the small diameter gear C.
The operation of widening the interval between both width determining fins 2a and 2b is performed quickly.

Further, since the forward and reverse rotation transmission to the feed screw 16 is performed by switching the position of the transmission gear between D1 and D2 by the operation of the electromagnetic actuator 14, the motor 12 does not need the reversing function and is inexpensive. Can be used.

Further, when the fin guides 4a and 4b are arranged at an angle and the document width is large and the interval between the width-determining fins 2a and 2b is set wide, the fin guides 4a and 4b are provided.
When the document width is small and the interval between the fins 2a and 2b is set small, the entrance ends of the fin guides 4a and 4b are close to the document insertion port 11. This makes it easy to engage the width determining fins 2a and 2b even for an original having a small original width, thereby preventing omission of detection by the original width detection switches 3a and 3b.

In this embodiment, the original width determining fins 2 are used.
Although a and 2b are moved together in synchronism to increase or decrease the distance between them, the invention is not limited to this. One of the fins may be fixed and only the other fin may be moved. Of course.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another synchronous drive mechanism of the width determining fins 2a and 2b in the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes a take-up pulley integrally formed with the gear 7b meshing with the feed screw 16;
21b is a pulley rotatably supported below the winding pulley 20 so as to face each other below the winding pulley 20, 22a and 22b.
Has one end attached to each of the width-determining fins 2a and 2b, and the other end has a wire wound around the take-up pulley 20, and 23a and 23b urge the width-determining fins 2a and 2b away from each other. It is a tension spring. In such a configuration, when the gear 7b is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, the wires 22a and 22b
Fins 2a and 2b are wound around the spring 23
a and 23b so as to narrow the interval. When the gear 7b is rotated clockwise, the width determining fins 2a, 2b are moved by the springs 23a, 23b so as to increase the interval.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 24 denotes a drive transmission gear which rotates in the forward and reverse directions from a drive source (not shown); 25, a feed screw; A reverse screw is formed on each of the sides 25a. 26a and 26b are feed bolts screwed to the right portion 25a and the left portion 25b, respectively, and 27a and 27b are engaged with the width determining fins 2a and 2b, respectively.
a, a feed nut fixed to 27a. In such a configuration, the feed screw 25
, The one feed screw 26b moves to the right and the other feed screw 26a moves to the left.
When the distance between the feed screws 25 a and 2 b is reduced and the feed screw 25 is reversed, one feed screw 26 b moves to the left and the other feed screw 2
6a moves to the right, and the interval between both width determining fins 2a and 2b is increased.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. In the second embodiment, the moving mechanism of the width determining fins 2a and 2b is the same as that in the first embodiment, so that illustration and description are omitted. The second embodiment is characterized by a document detecting means and a document width detecting means. In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes a conventionally known CCD image sensor provided in a reading device, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, etc .; The light source 33a is a document reading unit, which constitutes an optical system for reading a document.

Reference numeral 34 denotes the width determining fins 2a and 2b and the original 10
LED array as a light source for detecting the width of
Is a width-determining fin reflector attached to the lower ends of the width-determining fins 2a and 2b. In this embodiment, a black line and a white line are alternately arranged at a constant interval (in this embodiment, 0.5 mm
At intervals). Reference numeral 36 denotes a document width detecting reflector with good reflection efficiency provided near the document insertion slot 11 for detecting the document width. Reference numeral 38 denotes a movable mirror that can be moved by an electromagnetic actuator 39. EFG, which is the optical path length of the optical system for reading the above-mentioned original, and HIG, which is the optical path length of the optical system for reading the width position of the width determining fins 2a and 2b, have the same length. The movable mirror 38 is set at a position such that 40 is a discharge roller, 41 is a document holding plate, 42 is an automatic paper feed roller, and 43 is an automatic paper feed plate.

Next, an original width determining method in the original width determining apparatus having such a configuration will be described. By operating the electromagnetic actuator 39, the movable mirror 38 is advanced into FG which is an optical path for reading a document. Thereafter, the LED array 34 is turned on, and light is emitted to the width determining fin reflecting plate 35 and the document width detecting reflecting plate 36. The width determining fin 2 determines the inside of the fixed pattern width of the highest output portion of the output value output from the CCD image sensor 30.
a, 2b, and the position of the document 10 is detected from the boundary of the output value based on the difference between the amount of reflection by the document and the amount of light reflected by the reflector 36 inside the width determining fin 2a.
a, 2b and fins 2a, 2b and original 1
A gap with zero is detected. In this embodiment, a document having a reading performance of 8 dots / 1 mm is used, so that detection accuracy for determining a gap of about 0.5 mm can be obtained. The width determining fins 2a and 2b thus obtained and the original 10
The width of the original 10 can be accurately and optimally determined by moving the width determining fins 2a and 2b based on the gap between the document 10 and the first embodiment. After the width of the document 10 is determined, the electromagnetic actuator 39 is operated to remove the movable mirror 38 from the optical path FG, and normal document reading is performed.

In this embodiment, the original width detecting reflector 35 is formed by printing black lines and white lines alternately at a constant interval in a bar code shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two black lines and white lines are printed. Each pattern may be alternately arranged, and a certain pattern can be variously changed in design. Further, as a method of changing the optical path, various design changes such as a method of changing a reflection angle by rotating a mirror and a method of changing a rotation of a prism are possible.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of a document fed to a document table and at least one of which is movable, out feed detecting means for detecting the position of the fins and the original determined, a moving means for moving the document width determined fin based on the detection means, the document from the document table
And drive means for driving the to the document feeding roller, by providing the clutch mechanism disconnects the selectively said moving means the driving of the driving means, since the driving means can also used as the moving means, reduced number of parts Thus, the configuration is simplified and the cost is reduced. Further, since the document width determining fins can be automatically set to the document width by the detecting means, the trouble of the operator can be eliminated.

Further, according to the present invention, the pair of document width determining fins are both movable, and the moving means includes a pair of wires connected to the both document width determining fins, respectively.
By winding the pair of wires at the same time, the take-up reel configured to bring the two document width determining fins closer to each other, and a biasing unit configured to bias the both document width determining fins away from each other, the document Since the one-way movement of the width determining fins is performed by the urging means, the load on the moving means for moving the document width determining fins can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, a pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of the document sent to the document table and are movable in the width direction of the document, and are attached to the document width determining fins. Detecting means for detecting the gap between the document width determining fin and the document and the position of the document width determining fin,
A moving means for moving the document width determining fin based on the detecting means; and a motor for driving a document feed roller for feeding a document from the document table. And a synchronous drive mechanism for synchronizing and widening and narrowing the interval between the pair of document width determining fins by forward and reverse rotation of the feed screw, and rotating the motor. By providing a clutch mechanism for selectively connecting the original feed roller and the two-system transmission mechanism, the motor for driving the original feed roller can be used also as a moving means for moving the original width determining fins. Is reduced, the configuration is simplified and the cost is reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, a pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of a document fed to the document table and at least one of which is movable,
A reading mechanism for optically reading the original sent from
A detecting means for detecting a position of the original width determined fins and document optically, a moving means for moving the document width determined fin based on the detection means, the original feed roller for feeding the document to the reading mechanism from platen A driving mechanism for driving, a clutch mechanism for selectively connecting / disconnecting the driving of the driving means to / from the moving means is provided, and both the optical path lengths of the reading mechanism and the detecting means are the same. By providing switching means for sharing the optical path with the optical path of the reading mechanism, and reading the detection of the detecting means in the reading mechanism, the detection of the document width determining fins and the position of the document,
Since a reading mechanism for optically reading a document can be used also, the number of components can be reduced, the configuration can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the document width determining fins can be automatically set to the document width by the detecting means, the trouble of the operator can be eliminated.

Further, according to the present invention, a pair of opposed document width determining fins, at least one of which is movable, that guides the width direction of the document sent to the document table, and the pair of document width determining fins. A pair of detecting means for detecting a gap between both sides of the document, wherein the document width determining fin is moved to a width position of the document based on the detecting means to determine the width of the document. When both of the detecting means detect the gap, the gap between the document width determining fins is reduced, and when only one of the pair of detecting means detects the gap, the gap between the document width determining fins is temporarily reduced. When the pair of detection means detects that there is no gap, the movement of the document width determining fin is stopped, so that the document is narrowed and then widened. The operation of the document width determining fins, which are narrowed again, prevents the document from being misaligned, and is set optimally and accurately with respect to the document width. Can be prevented from malfunctioning.

Further, according to the present invention, when it is detected that the interval between the stopped document width determining fins is not the specified document width, an alarm is generated, thereby preventing malfunction of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a document width determining device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a document width determining apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the synchronous drive mechanism in the document width determining device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the synchronous drive mechanism in the document width determining device according to the present invention.

5A and 5B show a second embodiment of the document width determining apparatus according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A is a plan view and FIG. 5B is a side view.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document width determining apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conventional document width determining device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Original platen, 2a, 2b ... Fins for determining original width, 3a, 3
b: document width detection switch, 5a, 5b: slider, 6
a, 6b: rack gear, 7: pinion, 10: manuscript, 1
2 ... motor, 14 ... electromagnetic actuator, 16 ... feed screw, 20 ... winding pulley, 23a, 23b ... tension spring, 25 ... feed screw, 30 ... CCD image sensor, 3
1 ... Lens, 33 ... Light source, 34 ... LED array, 35 ...
Width determining fin reflector, 36 ... Reflector for document width detection, 38
... a movable mirror, 39 ... an electromagnetic actuator, D1 ... a transmission gear.

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of a document sent to a document table and at least one of which is movable, and detecting means for detecting the positions of the document width determining fins and the document. Moving means for moving the document width determining fins based on the detecting means;
And a driving means for driving a document feed roller for feeding a document from the apparatus, and a clutch mechanism for selectively driving / disconnecting the driving means to / from the moving means is provided. 2. A document width determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pair of document width determining fins are movable together.
A pair of wires connected to each of the two document width determining fins, a winding reel for simultaneously winding the pair of wires and bringing the two document width determining fins closer to each other; And a biasing means for biasing the fins in a direction away from each other. 3. A pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of the document sent to the document table and are movable in the width direction of the document, and are attached to the document width determining fins.
Detecting means for detecting the gap between the document width determining fins and the document and the position of the document width determining fins; moving means for moving the document width determining fins based on the detecting means;
And a motor for driving a document feed roller for feeding a document from the document feeder. The moving means is provided by a feed screw and a two-system transmission mechanism for rotating the feed screw in forward and reverse directions, and by rotating the feed screw in forward and reverse directions. A synchronous drive mechanism for synchronizing and widening and narrowing the interval between the pair of document width determining fins, and a clutch mechanism for selectively coupling the rotation of the motor to the document feed roller and the two-system transmission mechanism. An original width determining device, which is provided. 4. A pair of opposed document width determining fins that guide the width direction of a document sent to a document table and at least one of which is movable, and a reading mechanism that optically reads the document sent from the document table. Detecting means for optically detecting the positions of the document width determining fins and the document; moving means for moving the document width determining fins based on the detecting means; and a document feeder for feeding the document from the document table to the reading mechanism. A driving mechanism for driving a roller, a clutch mechanism for selectively connecting / disconnecting the driving of the driving means to / from the moving means, and making the optical path lengths of the reading mechanism and the detecting means the same, A document width determining device, wherein switching means for making the optical path of the means also serve as the optical path of the reading mechanism is provided, and the reading mechanism reads the detection of the detecting means. 5. A pair of opposed document width determining fins, at least one of which is movable, for guiding the document sent to the document table in the width direction, and a pair of the document width determining fins and both side edges of the document. A pair of detecting means for detecting a gap, wherein the document width determining fin is moved to a width position of the document based on the detecting means to determine the width of the document. Is detected, the interval between the document width determining fins is reduced, and when only one of the pair of detecting means detects a gap, the interval between the document width determining fins is once narrowed, then widened and narrowed again. And a step of stopping the movement of the document width determining fin when both of the pair of detecting means detect that there is no gap. 6. The document width determining method according to claim 5, wherein an alarm is generated when it is detected that the interval between the stopped document width determining fins is not the specified document width. Width decision method.