JP2762326B2 - Automatic 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 an automatic document feeder applied to an image processor such as an electrostatic copying machine or an image reader.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A platen glass is provided on an upper surface of a housing body of an image processing machine, for example, an electrostatic copying machine. An automatic document feeder is further provided on the top surface of the housing body.
der, hereinafter abbreviated as ADF). In recent years, various forms of ADF have been proposed for automatically loading a document to be copied or read into a desired position on the platen glass and further transporting the document from the platen glass to automate the document processing operation. It has been put to practical use. Prior art documents that disclose typical examples of the ADF include, for example, JP-A-61-229744 and JP-A-63-295334.

In a typical example of the ADF, the main frame is pivotally movable between a closed position and an open position about a main frame pivot axis so that an electrostatic copying machine (hereinafter simply referred to as a copier) is rotated. Mounted on the housing. The main frame body rotation axis is positioned to extend along one edge of the platen glass on the back side (rear side) of the copying machine. The main frame is a generally box-shaped unit body whose upper surface and side surfaces are covered with a cover made of synthetic resin and whose lower surface is open. When the main frame is positioned at the closed position, it covers the platen glass, and when positioned at the open position, the upper surface of the platen glass is opened. When manually placing a document on the platen glass, it is necessary to open and close the main frame. A paper feed unit is provided on one end side (left side of the copying machine) of the main frame, and a paper discharge unit is provided on the other end side (right side of the copying machine). The main frame is provided with a document placing table and a document discharge tray. The document placing table is provided in the paper feed unit, and the document discharge tray is formed on the upper surface of the cover between the paper feed unit and the paper discharge unit. The paper feed unit includes a document carry-in path from the document placing table to the platen glass, and the paper discharge unit includes a document carry-out path from the platen glass to the document discharge tray.
The document placing table is mounted on the document loading path entrance side of the sheet feeding unit. The upper surface of the cover between the paper feed unit and the paper discharge unit is the document discharge tray. A document conveying means for conveying a document through the document carrying path, the upper surface of the platen glass, and the document carrying path is provided. The document transporting means includes a document loading means for transporting a document through a document loading path, a transport belt mechanism for transporting a document along an upper surface of a platen glass, and a document discharging means for transporting a document through a document loading path. Contains. The transport belt mechanism is provided between the paper feeding unit and the paper discharging unit. More specifically, the lower side of the cover between the paper feeding unit and the paper discharging unit,
That is, it is positioned below the document discharge tray.
When the main frame is located at the closed position, the transport belt mechanism is located facing the platen glass.

[0004] The sheet feeding unit includes an opening / closing frame that is rotatably supported about an opening / closing frame turning axis that extends substantially perpendicular to the main frame turning axis. The main frame is provided with an upright front side plate and an upright rear side plate that are arranged at intervals in the opening / closing frame body rotation axis direction, and the opening / closing frame body is spaced apart from the above-mentioned interval in the coaxial line direction. A front wall plate and a rear wall plate are provided. The front and rear side walls of the opening and closing frame are rotatably supported by the upright front and rear upside plates via bearing means, so that the opening and closing frame pivots relative to the main frame as described above. Freely supported. The main frame body is provided with first carrying-in path defining means, and the opening / closing frame body is provided with second carrying-in path defining means. A part of the document carrying path is defined by the first carrying path defining means and the second carrying path defining means. The portion of the document carrying path is opened by turning the open / close frame from the closed position to the open position. The document loading means for transporting the document through the document loading path includes a loading roller positioned at the most upstream side of the document loading path, a supply roller positioned downstream of the loading roller, and a separation roller which is mounted on the opening / closing frame and comes into contact with and separates from the supply roller. Separation roller and the like. The document discharging means for discharging the document through the document discharge path of the sheet discharging unit includes a discharge roller and the like. Documents from the discharge rollers are discharged from a discharge port of a paper discharge unit onto a document discharge tray and stacked. The document placing table provided in the sheet feeding unit is positioned so as to protrude above a document discharge tray.

[0005]

A conventional ADF described by taking a copying machine as an example is generally configured as described above.
It has some issues to be solved. Here, three problems to be solved will be described by taking an ADF mounted on a copying machine as an example.

The first problem to be solved relates to the adjustment of the deviation between the optical axis of the copier main body (the center line in the width direction of the copier main body, ie, the front-rear direction) and the center line of the ADF in the front-rear direction. Conventionally, when assembling the ADF to the copying machine main body, the position of the entire ADF in the front-rear direction with respect to the copying machine main body is configured to be adjustable with respect to the copying machine main body in order to adjust the deviation. However, in a large-sized copying machine in which the maximum size of the original to be used is, for example, JIS A2 size, the operation of moving the entire ADF back and forth for the adjustment of the optical axis imposes a heavy burden on an operator, and the workability is high. Becomes significantly worse. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the optical axis is adjusted by moving the paper feeding unit back and forth, but when the paper feeding unit is moved, a problem arises in terms of fitting with the cover of the ADF. However, the above-mentioned problems cannot be sufficiently solved.

A second problem to be solved relates to wiring of electric wires connecting the main frame and an openable / closable frame mounted on the main frame so as to be freely opened and closed. That is, electric elements such as various detectors are provided on the opening / closing frame, and electric wires are passed from the main frame to the opening / closing frame to connect these electric elements and a power supply. Therefore, this electric wire must be wired so as not to hinder the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing frame and not to be damaged by the opening / closing operation. Therefore, in the related art, a hole is formed in one of the side wall plates of the opening and closing frame at a position where the turning shaft portion of the opening and closing frame is removed, and an electric wire is passed through this hole, or a shaft of the opening and closing frame is formed. Is supported by a hollow bearing, and an electric wire is passed through the hole of the bearing. However, in the former, a mechanism for adjusting the movement of the electric wire at the time of the opening and closing operation is required, and there is a possibility that the electric wire is deteriorated or damaged by the opening and closing operation. In the latter, since a connector of a size that cannot penetrate the bearing hole is connected to the portion of the electric wire on the opening and closing frame side, the electric wire is passed through the bearing hole before assembling the bearing, Then the connector must be connected to the wire. As a result, the work of assembling the wiring and the opening / closing frame becomes complicated, and the working efficiency is significantly reduced.

[0008]

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above fact. The first technical problem is to adjust the deviation between the optical axis of the main body of the image generator and the center line of the ADF in the front-rear direction.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved ADF which can be performed very easily without moving the whole.

A second technical problem of the present invention is that an electric wire connecting a main frame and an opening / closing frame attached to the main frame so as to be freely opened and closed is provided through a hole of a bearing of the opening / closing frame. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved ADF having extremely good assembling operability despite the above.

[0011]

[0012]

In order to achieve the first technical object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an original mounting table is provided on a table supporting means provided in a paper feeding unit. Is mounted so that the position thereof can be adjusted by moving in the front-rear direction of the image generator main body.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the first technical problem, the main frame is in a closed position with respect to a platen glass provided on a housing of the image generator. A paper feed unit is provided at one end of the main frame, a paper discharge unit is provided at the other end, and a paper discharge unit is provided between the paper feed unit and the paper discharge unit. A feeding belt mechanism is disposed so as to face the platen glass at the closed position of the main frame, and the feeding unit is provided with an original placing table. The paper unit is provided with a table supporting means, and the original placing table is mounted on the table supporting means so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the image generator and to adjust its position. Automatic document transport Device, is provided.

[0014] In order to achieve the second technical problem,
In the second aspect of the present invention, electric wires are applied to the support holes formed in one of the upright side plates of the main frame body and one of the side wall plates of the opening / closing frame body, which are adjacent to each other, from the end of each plate. A notch is provided so as to pass through the support hole, and a hollow bearing penetrating each of the support holes is fixed to the upright side plate, and the hollow bearing is formed by dividing it into two along one axially extending dividing surface.

That is, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to attain the second technical problem, the main frame is in a closed position with respect to a platen glass provided on a housing of the image generator. A paper feed unit is provided at one end of the main frame, a paper discharge unit is provided at the other end, and a paper discharge unit is provided between the paper feed unit and the paper discharge unit. A transport belt mechanism is disposed so as to face the platen glass at the closed position of the main frame, and the sheet feeding unit includes an opening / closing frame having a pair of side wall plates; Is provided with a pair of upright side plates positioned adjacent to the outside of each of the side wall plates of the opening / closing frame body, and each of the side wall plates is supported by each of the upright side plates via bearing means. Thereby, the opening and closing frame body is in a closed position with respect to the main frame body and The bearing means includes at least one hollow bearing, and an electric wire connecting the main frame and the opening and closing frame is routed through a hole in the hollow bearing. In the document feeder, a support hole having a common axis is formed in one of the side wall plates and one of the upright side plates adjacent thereto, and a support hole having a common axis is formed in the one of the side wall plates and the one of the upright side plates. Are formed with notches extending from each end to each of the support holes, and each of the notches is
In the closed position of the opening / closing frame, it is positioned so as to be aligned in the axial direction of the bearing, has a width through which the electric wire can pass, and the hollow bearing is fixed to the one of the upright side plates and the support hole is provided. And the support hole of the one of the side wall plates is rotatable with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the hollow bearing, and the hollow bearing is divided into two parts with respect to one axially extending dividing surface. An automatic document feeder characterized by being formed as described above is provided.

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

ADF constructed according to the first aspect of the present invention
In the above, the deviation between the optical axis of the image generator main body and the center line in the front-rear direction of the ADF can be adjusted by moving the original placing table in the front-rear direction of the image generator with respect to the table support means. . As a result, the deviation can be adjusted extremely easily without moving the entire ADF or the paper feeding unit. Even for a large ADF mounted on a large image generator, the burden on the operator is reduced, and workability is significantly improved.

A constructed according to the second aspect of the present invention
In the DF, electric wires are inserted into each support hole from each notch in a state where the positions of the notches formed in the upright side plate of the main frame body and the side wall plate of the opening and closing frame body are aligned in the axial direction. Can be inserted. That is, the electric wire connecting the main frame and the opening / closing frame is wired in advance through the respective support holes before the hollow bearing is mounted with the connector mounted. Thereafter, the two divided hollow bearings are fixed to the upright side plate of the main frame in a state where the divided surfaces are aligned so that the electric wires pass through the holes, and penetrate the respective support holes.
Therefore, it is not necessary to pass the electric wire through the hole of the bearing in advance, so that the wiring work becomes easy and the work efficiency is remarkably improved. Since the electric wire passes through the shaft, a mechanism for adjusting the movement of the electric wire in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing frame body is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified and the cost is reduced. Also, the appearance is improved. In addition, unnecessary force does not act on the wires,
Damage is also prevented.

[0020]

[0021]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of an ADF constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, in the illustrated embodiment, the ADF indicated by the reference numeral 2 is applied to the copying machine 4. In this specification, the front side means the front side of the copying machine 4 shown in FIG. 1, the rear side means the same side, the right side means the same right side, and the left side means the same left side.
The copying machine 4 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 6, and a platen glass 8 (FIG. 2) is provided on an upper surface of the housing 6. The document to be copied is positioned at a required position on the platen glass 8. The copier 4 itself may be of a known type, and a description thereof will be omitted.
The ADF 2 has a main frame 10 that is pivotally mounted on a platen glass 8 provided in a housing 6 between a closed position and an open position. The pivot axis (not shown) of the main frame 10 is connected to the platen glass 8 on the rear side of the copying machine 4.
Are positioned to extend along one edge of the. The main frame 10 is a substantially box-shaped unit body whose upper surface and side surfaces are covered with a cover made of synthetic resin and whose lower surface is open. When the main frame 10 is positioned at the closed position, it covers the platen glass 8, and when it is positioned at the open position, the upper surface of the platen glass 8 is opened. A paper feed unit 12 is provided on one end side (left side of the copying machine) of the main frame body 10, and a paper discharge unit 14 is provided on the other end side (right side of the copying machine). The main frame 10 is also provided with a document placing table 16 and a document discharge tray 18. The document placement table 16 is provided in the paper supply unit 12, and the document discharge tray 18 is formed on the upper surface of a cover between the paper supply unit 12 and the paper discharge unit 14. The paper feeding unit 12 includes a document carrying path 20 extending from the document placing table 16 to the platen glass 8, and the paper discharging unit 14 includes a platen glass 8
It includes a document discharge path 22 from the top to the document discharge tray 18. The original placing table 16 is mounted on the entrance side of the original carrying path 20 of the paper feeding unit 12. A transport belt mechanism 17 is provided below the cover between the paper feed unit 12 and the paper discharge unit 14, that is, below the document discharge tray 18.

A document conveying means for conveying a document through the document carrying path 20, the upper surface of the platen glass 8, and the document carrying path 22 is provided. This document transport means is provided in the document loading path 2
0, a document carrying means for carrying the document through the platen glass 8, an original carrying means for carrying the document along the upper surface of the platen glass 8, and a document carrying means for carrying the document through the document carrying path 22. .

The paper feed unit 12 is provided with a guide plate 24 for defining the document carrying path 20, and guide plates 26 and 28 arranged facing the guide plate 24. The document loading means is provided in the paper feeding unit 12. The document loading means is a loading roller 3 arranged along the document loading path 20.
0, a separation roller pair 32 and a registration roller pair 34. A carry-in port 21 (see FIG. 2) is formed at the most upstream position of the document carrying path 20 of the paper feed unit 12. The paper feeding unit 12 also includes an opening / closing frame 38 that is supported to be pivotable about the pivot axis 36 with respect to the main frame 10. The pivot axis 36 is positioned so as to extend substantially perpendicular to the pivot axis of the main frame 10 described above. The opening / closing frame body 38 is supported rotatably with respect to the main frame body 10 via bearing means disposed on the swivel axis 36, which will be described later in detail. Guide plate 2
6 and one of the separation roller pairs 32 are provided on the opening / closing frame 38 side. When the opening / closing frame body 38 is positioned at the open position, the guide plate 26 separates from the opposing guide plate 24 and one of the separation roller pairs 32 separates from the other, so that the document feeding path 20 is mostly supplied to the sheet feeding unit 12. Part is opened.

The transport belt mechanism 17 has a driven roller 40 disposed at an interval in the transport direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2).
, A driven roller 42, an endless belt 44 wound around each of these rollers, and a plurality of pressing rollers 46. When the main frame 10 is positioned at the closed position, the transport belt mechanism 17 is positioned facing the upper surface of the platen glass 8. Then, the action traveling portion of the endless belt 44, that is, the lower traveling portion, is pressed against the upper surface of the platen glass 8 by the action of the pressing roller 46. When the endless belt 44 is rotationally driven by a rotation driving source (not shown), the original can be transported from left to right along the upper surface of the platen glass 8. The paper discharge unit 14 includes a guide plate pair 48 that defines the document discharge path 22. The document discharging means is provided in the paper discharge unit 14. The manuscript take-out means
It includes a discharge roller pair 50 and a discharge roller pair 52 arranged along the document discharge path 22. Paper ejection unit 14
A document discharge port 54 is formed downstream of the pair of discharge rollers 52.

The originals placed in a stacked state on the original placing table 16 are passed one by one through the original entrance path 20 from the entrance 21 by the rollers 30, 32, and 34 of the sheet feeding unit 12, and conveyed one by one. It is transported toward the mechanism 17.
The document is positioned at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the platen glass 8 by the action of the transport belt mechanism 17. Next, a predetermined copying process is performed in copying machine 4. When the copying process is completed, the document is transported by the transport belt mechanism 17 toward the paper discharge unit 14. This document is stored in the paper discharge unit 1
The document is discharged from the discharge port 54 onto the document discharge tray 18 through the document discharge path 22 by the rollers 50 and 52 of No. 4 and the like. The basic structure and operation of the ADF 2 are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-276388 filed on Sep. 30, 1991 by the present applicant. In the present invention, the basic configuration and function of the paper feeding unit 12, the paper discharging unit 14, and the transport belt mechanism 17 itself may be in a well-known form, and therefore, further description will be omitted.

Next, a mechanism for mounting the original placing table 16 to the paper feed unit 12 will be described. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper supply unit 12 is provided with a table supporting means, and the original placing table 16 is moved relative to the table supporting means in the front-rear direction of the copying machine 4 to adjust its position. It is installed so that you can. As shown in FIG. 4, the table support means includes a pair of table support members 56 having substantially the same configuration. Each of the table support members 56 is fixed to a stay 58 provided on the sheet feeding unit 12 so as to project from the sheet feeding unit 12 at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction of the copying machine 4.

The stay 58 is fixed below the entrance 21 of the paper feeding unit 12. Referring to FIG. 4 to FIG.
The stay 58 is formed of a metal plate bent and formed into a substantially L shape when viewed from the side. That is, the stay 58 includes a horizontal portion 60, an inclined portion 62 that extends inclining laterally upward from one end of the horizontal portion 60, and a slight incline upward from the end of the inclined portion 62 and slightly toward the horizontal portion 60 from the vertical direction. And a mounting portion 64 that extends. At both ends of the horizontal portion 60 and the mounting portion 64, mounting flanges 66 and 68 to the sheet feeding unit 12 are provided. Two screw holes 66a and one screw hole 68a are formed in the mounting flanges 66 and 68, respectively. Substantially identical slits 70 are formed near both ends of the mounting portion 64, and two screw holes 64a are formed below each of the slits 70. The stay 58 is located at the entrance 2 of the sheet feeding unit 12.
1, an opening 23 (see FIG.
(See FIG. 19) and fixed to a pair of upright side plates 72 and 74 (see FIG. 19) described later provided on the main frame on both sides of the sheet feeding unit 12 using mounting flanges 66 and 68. Is done.

Since each of the table support members 56 has substantially the same configuration, only one of them will be described here. 7 to 9, table support member 5
Numeral 6 is formed by bending a metal plate, and has a substantially rectangular flat receiving surface 76 formed on the upper portion.
At the center of the receiving surface 76, a mounting portion 78 projecting obliquely downward.
Are formed by punching. The mounting portion 78 has one mounting hole 78a. Downwardly extending flanges 80 and 82 are formed on both sides of the receiving surface 76, and mounting flanges 84 and 86 are provided at one ends thereof so as to be bent in directions facing each other. The mounting flanges 84 and 86 have one mounting hole 84a and 8 respectively.
6a are formed. The mounting hole 84a is a long hole. At one end of the receiving surface 76, a hooking flange 88 bent upward is provided. When mounting the table support member 56 to the stay 58, the flange 88 of the table support member 56 is inserted (hook) into the slit 70 of the stay 58. Mounting holes 84 for mounting flanges 84 and 86 of table support member 56
The positions of a and 86a are aligned with the positions of the screw holes 64a of the stay 58, and are fixed by screws (not shown) (see FIG. 16). Each of the table supporting members 56 is mounted on the slit 70 of the stay 58 as described above.

Next, the document placing table 16 mounted on each of the table support members 56 will be described. Referring to FIGS. 10 to 12, document placing table 16 is formed of a substantially box-shaped synthetic resin member having a peripheral flange and an open bottom. Original loading table 1
6 has a shape in which a part of a rectangle is cut out when seen from a plane, and two slits 90 and 92 for guide extending in a straight line in the width direction are formed on the upper surface. As shown in FIG. 4, width defining members 94 and 96 for defining the width of the document are movably mounted on the slits 90 and 92, respectively. Two concave portions 100 and 102 whose lower parts are opened are formed on a flange 98 formed on one end side of the document placing table 16. As shown in FIG. 16, a bottom plate 104 is attached at a predetermined interval below one end of the document placing table 16.

As shown in FIG. 13 to FIG.
Reference numeral 04 denotes a metal plate which is substantially rectangular when viewed from a plane, and includes horizontal portions 106 and 108 and an inclined portion 1 between them.
And 10. Two holes 112 for mounting are formed in the horizontal portion 106 and three holes 112 are formed in the horizontal portion 108. Each mounting hole 112 is provided in a dish-shaped protrusion formed upward from the bottom plate 104. Flanges 114 and 116 extending upward are formed at one end and the other end of the bottom plate 104. Two mounting portions 118 are stamped and formed on the inclined portion 110 at intervals in the longitudinal direction. Each of the mounting portions 118 extends obliquely upward, and has a mounting elongated hole 118a. Five bosses 120 projecting downward are provided on the lower surface of the document placing table 16.
(See FIGS. 10 and 16). Boss part 1
20 has a screw hole. Boss part 12
The arrangement of the zeros is substantially the same as the arrangement of the mounting holes 112 of the bottom plate 104. The bottom plate 104 is provided with holes 112 for attaching each of the bottom plate 104 to the lower surface of the document placing table 16.
In a state where the screw holes of the boss portion 120 are aligned with each other, they are fixed by screws (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 16, when the bottom plate 104 is mounted on the original placing table 16, the bottom plate 104
The flange 114 is positioned below the flange 98 of the document placing table 16. Therefore, the bottom plate 104
Flange 114 and the document mounting table 16 flange 9
Openings 122 and 124 are formed between the recesses 100 and 102 of FIG. Openings 122 and 124 have substantially the same configuration and are substantially rectangular that can be inserted into each of table support members 56. The width of each of the openings 122 and 124 is formed wider than the width of each of the table support members 56. At the lower part of the document placing table 16 inside each of the openings 122 and 124, there is provided a placing portion 126 that can abut on each receiving surface 76 of the table support member 56. The mounting part 126 extends from the inside of each of the openings 122 and 124 in the depth direction.
It is constituted by the lower surface of each of the ribs of the book. Referring to FIG. 16, openings 122 and 124 of original placing table 16 are provided.
Are inserted into each of the table support members 56, each of the placing portions 126 of the document placing table 16 is placed on the respective receiving surfaces 76 of the table support members 56.
Further, each of the mounting portions 118 provided on the bottom plate 104 of the document placing table 16 abuts on each of the mounting portions 78 of the table support member 56 to define the insertion position.
Furthermore, the mounting slot 118 and the mounting portion 78
Is aligned with the mounting hole 78a. The mounting position of the document placement table 16 with respect to the table support member 56 is adjusted by moving the mounting elongated hole 118a in the width direction (the front-back direction of the copying machine 4) with respect to the mounting hole 78a, and fixed by the screw 119. Is done.

The original placing table 16 is provided with the sheet feeding unit 12.
Is adjusted as described above, the deviation between the optical axis of the copying machine 4 and the center line in the front-rear direction of the ADF 2 can be adjusted by moving the original placing table 16 with respect to the table support member 56.
This can be done by moving the copying machine 4 in the front-back direction. As a result, the deviation can be adjusted without moving the entire ADF 2 or the paper feeding unit 12.
It can be done very easily. Even for a large ADF mounted on a large copying machine, the burden on the operator is reduced, and workability is significantly improved.

Next, the structure of the bearing of the opening / closing frame 38 of the sheet feeding unit 12 will be described. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 17 to 19, sheet feeding unit 12 includes a pair of side wall plates 1.
It includes the open / close frame 38 having 30 and 132. The side wall plates 130 and 132 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction of the copying machine 4. In the main frame 10,
A pair of upright side plates 72 and 74 positioned adjacent to the outside of each of the side wall plates 130 and 132 of the opening / closing frame 38 are provided. Each of the side wall plates 130 and 132 is supported by each of the upright side plates 72 and 74 via bearing means, so that the opening / closing frame 38 can be pivotally mounted on the main frame 10 between the closed position and the open position. Is done. The bearing means includes at least one hollow bearing 134. That is, in this embodiment, the bearing means includes the short shaft 136 fixed to the upright side plate 74 and the hollow bearing 13 fixed to the upright side plate 72.
And 4. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 19, support holes 72a and 74a having the same diameter are formed in each of the upright side plates 72 and 74, and support holes having the same diameter are formed in each of the side wall plates 130 and 132. Hole 130
a and 132a are formed. These support holes have a common axis when the opening / closing frame 38 is mounted. A mounting flange 138 orthogonal to the short shaft 136 is fixed to one end of the short shaft 136. The short axis 136 is inserted into the support hole 74
The short shaft 136 is fixed to the upright side plate 74 by inserting the mounting flange 138 into the upright side plate 74 with screws 140. The support hole 132 a of the side wall plate 132 is pivotally supported by the short axis 136.

The side wall plate 130 and the upright side plate 72 are formed with notches 130b and 72b extending from the upper ends thereof to the support holes 130a and 72a, respectively. As shown in FIG. 19, each of the notches 130 b and 72 b is positioned so as to be axially aligned at the closed position of the opening and closing frame 38, and has a width through which the electric wire 142 can pass.
The hollow bearing 134 includes a hollow cylindrical portion 144 having a predetermined axial length, and a mounting flange portion 146 extending radially outward from an outer peripheral surface at one end of the hollow cylindrical portion 144. The hollow bearing 134 is fixed to the upright side plate 72 by inserting the hollow cylindrical portion 144 into the support holes 72a and 130a and fixing the mounting flange portion 146 to the upright side plate 72 with screws 148. Support hole 130a of side wall plate 130
Is rotatably supported by the short axis 136. FIG. 17 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the hollow bearing 134 is formed so as to be divided into two with respect to one division surface extending in the axial direction. The division surface is a surface along the axis of the hollow bearing 134 in this embodiment. The split surface is also formed to include a hollow cylindrical portion 144 and a mounting flange portion 146. Therefore, the hollow cylindrical part 144 is divided into two parts 144a and 144b, and the mounting flange part 146 is divided into the parts 146a and 144b.
And 146b.

Since the bearing portion of the opening / closing frame body 38 is configured as described above, the respective notches 130b and 72b are axially aligned with each other, and the respective support holes 130a and 72a are inserted from the respective notches. An electric wire can be inserted inside. That is, the electric wires 142 connecting the main frame 10 and the opening / closing frame 38 are connected to the respective support holes 130 before the hollow bearings 134 are mounted with the connector (not shown) mounted.
a and 72a in advance. Thereafter, the hollow bearing 134 is divided into two holes, and the electric wire 142 is inserted into the hole.
Are divided so as to pass through, and each support hole 130
The main frame 10 is fixed to the upright side plate 72 in a state where the main frame 10 penetrates through the a and 72a. Therefore, it is not necessary to pass the electric wire through the hole of the bearing in advance, so that the wiring work becomes easy and the work efficiency is remarkably improved. Since the electric wire 142 passes through the shaft, a mechanism for adjusting the movement of the electric wire 142 in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing frame 38 is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified and the cost is reduced. Also, the appearance is improved. Furthermore, electric wire 14
Since unnecessary force does not act on 2, the deterioration and damage are prevented.

Next, the document discharge tray 18 will be described. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, on the upper surface of the cover between the paper feeding unit 12 and the paper discharging unit 14 of the main frame body 10,
A document discharge tray 18 for stacking documents discharged from the discharge port 54 of the paper discharge unit 14 is provided. As described above, the document placing table 16 is mounted on the sheet feeding unit 12 so as to protrude above the document discharge tray 18. On the document discharge tray 18, an upward slope 18a that increases in the document discharge direction (from right to left in FIGS. 1 to 3) and a downward slope 18b that decreases in the document discharge direction following the upward slope 18a. Are provided. Each inclination 18a and 18b of the document discharge tray 18
The vertex 18c is formed at a position separated from the discharge port 54 of the paper discharge unit 14 in the document discharge direction by 原稿 or more of the maximum document size to be used. The maximum document size in this embodiment is A2 /, and the discharge port 54 of the paper discharge unit 14 and the paper supply unit 12
Document output tray 1 whose both ends are defined by the inside of the document
8 has a length equal to or greater than the longitudinal length of A2.
The position 18c of the apex corresponds to the discharge port 5 of the discharge unit 14.
It is provided at a position at least 1/2 of the length of A2 in the longitudinal direction from left to left from 4.

Since the document discharge tray 18 is configured as described above, even if a large size document such as A2 size is discharged or a small size document is discharged, the rear end of the document is discharged. The unit is prevented from being separated from the outlet 54 of the unit 14 by a predetermined distance or more. As a result, regardless of the size of the document, the position of the trailing edge of the document is aligned almost exactly without significant disturbance, preventing the later document from getting under and curling under the previous document. A good stack of documents is always guaranteed.

[0039]

In the ADF constructed according to the first aspect of the present invention, the deviation between the optical axis of the image generator main body and the center line of the ADF in the front-rear direction is adjusted by moving the original placing table in the front-rear direction. Can be done by doing
This can be performed very easily without moving the entire ADF or the paper feeding unit as in the related art. In the case of a large ADF mounted on a large image generator, the burden on the operator is particularly reduced, and workability is significantly improved.

A constructed according to the second aspect of the present invention
DF eliminates the need for complicated work such as passing a wire through a hole in a bearing beforehand and attaching a connector to the wire as in the conventional DF. The efficiency is significantly improved. Since the electric wire passes through the shaft, a mechanism for adjusting the movement of the electric wire in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing frame body is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified and the cost is reduced. Also, the appearance is improved. Further, since unnecessary force does not act on the electric wire, its deterioration and damage are also prevented.

[0041]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a preferred embodiment of an automatic document feeder configured according to the present invention is provided in an electrostatic copying machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the automatic document feeder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the automatic document feeder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view partially showing the stay of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a left side view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the table support member of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7 as viewed from below.

FIG. 9 is a view of FIG. 7 as viewed from the left.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a main part of the document placing table of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a side view of FIG. 10 viewed from below.

FIG. 12 is a view of FIG. 10 as viewed from the left.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the bottom plate of FIG. 4;

14 is an enlarged side view of FIG. 13 as viewed from below.

FIG. 15 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view illustrating a state in which the document placing table is mounted on the sheet feeding unit.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view partially showing one of the bearing portions of the opening / closing frame in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view showing a bearing portion of an opening / closing frame in the automatic document feeder of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Automatic Document Feeder 4 Electrostatic Copying Machine 6 Housing of Electrostatic Copying Machine 8 Platen Glass 10 Main Frame 12 Paper Feed Unit 14 Paper Discharge Unit 16 Document Placement Table 17 Transport Belt Mechanism 18 Document Discharge Tray 18a Upward Slope 18b Downward Inclined 18c Apex 38 Opening / closing frame 54 Discharge port 56 Table support members 72 and 74 Side wall plate 72a Support hole 72b Notch 104 Bottom plate 130 and 132 Upright side plate 130a Support hole 130b Notch 134 Hollow bearing 142 Electric wire

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masayuki Tsunoda 1-2-28 Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Inside Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Nagao 1-2-28 Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo (56) References JP-A-2-100939 (JP, A) JP-A-53-105232 (JP, A) JP-A-53-137150 (JP, A) JP-A-53-66236 (JP, A A) Full opening 1987-96637 (JP, U) Full opening 60-122946 (JP, U) Full opening 61-29354 (JP, U) Full opening 48943 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 15/00 107 G03G 15/00 550 G03G 15 / 00,510-530 G03G 21 / 00,370-512 B65H 31/00-31/40 B65H 1 / 00-3 / 68

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main frame is pivotally mounted between a closed position and an open position with respect to a platen glass provided on a housing of an image generator, and a paper feed unit is provided at one end of the main frame. A paper discharge unit is provided on the other end side, and a conveyance belt mechanism is positioned between the paper supply unit and the paper discharge unit at the closed position of the main frame so as to face the platen glass. In the automatic document feeder in which a document placing table is mounted on the sheet feeding unit, the sheet feeding unit is provided with table supporting means, and the document placing table is mounted on the table supporting means. On the other hand, an automatic document feeder is mounted so that the position of the image generator can be adjusted by moving the image generator in the front-rear direction. 2. The table support means comprises a pair of table support members having substantially the same configuration, and each of the table support members is protruded from the sheet supply unit at a predetermined interval. The document mounting unit has a receiving surface that is fixed to the paper feeding unit and that is formed at an upper portion, and a mounting portion that protrudes downward and has a mounting hole formed therein. An opening is formed having substantially the same configuration that can be inserted into each of the members, the width of each of the openings is formed wider than the width of each of the table support members, and the width of the inside of each of the openings is formed. At the lower part of the document placing table, there are provided a placing portion which can abut on the receiving surface of each of the table supporting members, and a mounting portion having a mounting elongated hole extending in the front-rear direction. Open the mounting table When each of the portions is inserted into each of the table support members, each of the mounting portions of the document mounting table is mounted on the receiving surface of each of the table support members, and Each of the mounting portions of the placing table abuts the mounting portion of each of the table support members to define the insertion position, and the mounting long hole of the mounting portion and the mounting hole of the mounting portion are aligned. By moving the mounting slot in the front-rear direction with respect to the mounting hole, the mounting position of the document placing table with respect to the table support member can be adjusted and fixed by screws. 2. The automatic document feeder according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The document placing table is formed of a substantially box-shaped synthetic resin member having a flange on the periphery and having an open bottom, and the document placing table is provided with a flange on one end side thereof. Each of the openings is formed, and a bottom plate is mounted below the one end portion side of the document placing table at a predetermined interval from the placing portion, and the bottom plate defines a bottom portion of the opening. And
3. The automatic document feeder according to claim 2, wherein the attachment portion is formed on the bottom plate. 4. A main frame is pivotally mounted between a closed position and an open position with respect to a platen glass provided on a housing of the image generator, and a paper feed unit is provided at one end of the main frame. A paper discharge unit is provided on the other end side, and a conveyance belt mechanism is positioned between the paper supply unit and the paper discharge unit at the closed position of the main frame so as to face the platen glass. And the sheet feeding unit includes an open / close frame having a pair of side walls, and the main frame includes a pair of open / close frames positioned adjacent to the outside of each of the side walls of the open / close frame. An upright side plate is provided, and each of the side wall plates is supported by each of the upright side plates via a bearing means, so that the opening / closing frame body is pivotable between a closed position and an open position with respect to the main frame body. And the bearing means is at least one
An automatic document feeder including a plurality of hollow bearings, wherein an electric wire connecting the main frame and the opening / closing frame is routed through a hole in the hollow bearing. A support hole having a common axis is formed in one of the upright side plates, and a cutout extending from each end to each of the support holes is formed in the one of the side wall plates and the one of the upright side plates. Notches are formed, each of the notches being positioned in the closed position of the opening and closing frame so as to be axially aligned with the bearing and having a width through which the electric wire can pass, and wherein the hollow bearing is provided with the upright. The side plate is fixed to the one of the side plates and positioned so as to pass through each of the support holes, and the one of the support holes of the side wall plate is rotatable with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the hollow bearing. One division surface extending in the axial direction is formed by being divided into two. An automatic document feeder, characterized in that. 5. The hollow bearing includes a hollow cylindrical portion having a predetermined axial length, and a mounting flange portion extending radially outward from an outer peripheral surface on one end side of the hollow cylindrical portion. 5. The automatic document feeder according to claim 4, wherein said automatic document feeder is formed to include said hollow cylindrical portion and said mounting flange portion.