JP2850916B2 - Double-sided scanning scanner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Summary] The present invention relates to a sheet feeding type double-sided scanner for reading information written on both sides of a sheet while feeding the sheet. The mechanism of the apparatus is simple and does not require extra memory. An object of the present invention is to provide a double-sided scanning device capable of easily unifying the operation direction, a sheet conveying path formed in a loop shape having a peripheral length equal to or longer than the maximum document length of a sheet, and the loop conveying path. A pair of reading sensors arranged opposite or close to each other on each side of, and a sheet feeding unit that supplies a sheet to the loop-shaped conveyance path,
Means for transporting the sheet along the loop-shaped transport path, means for switching the transport path to discharge the sheet from the loop-shaped transport path, and reading the one side of the sheet with the first reading sensor, A double-sided scanning device is provided which comprises a device for controlling the reading sensor and the passage switching means so that the other surface of the sheet which has circulated through the conveyance path at least once is read by the other reading sensor.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a scanner device for reading information on a sheet, and more particularly to a sheet feeding type double-sided scanning device for reading information written on both sides of a sheet while feeding the sheet.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a conventional sheet feed type image scanner, which is configured to read only one side of a sheet. The sheet S is fed out by the sheet feeding unit 1,
The sheet S is conveyed to the reading sensor unit 3 by the feed roller 2, and is discharged to the stacker 4. The sheet conveying path is short and can be simply configured. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a flatbed type image scanner 5. Since the image scanner 5 has no sheet transport mechanism, the sheets S are placed on the glass surface of the document table 6 one by one with the document surfaces facing down. On the other hand, the carrier 7 equipped with a reading sensor
Moves in the direction of arrow P, and reads the original surface of the sheet S.

FIG. 8 shows the image scanner 5 shown in FIG. 7 on which the transport mechanism 10 (excluding the reading sensor 3 in the image scanner shown in FIG. 6) is optionally mounted. In FIG. 8, 8 is a sheet conveying path, 9 is a hopper,
A is a moving range of the carrier 7 equipped with a reading sensor, B is a document reading range when used as a flatbed type image scanner, and C is a carrier 7 when the transport mechanism 10 is installed on the image scanner 5 and used. , Ie, the fixed reading position. In this device, carrier 7
Is fixed at the position of C and used. That is, the sheet S is fed out of the hopper 9 by the sheet feeding unit 1,
To convey the sheet S to the reading sensor unit 3. While the sheet S moves on the conveyance path 8, the original surface of the sheet S is automatically read by the reading sensor. The read sheet S is discharged to the stacker 4.

The above is a conventional example of the sheet feeding type single-sided scanning scanner device. However, the double-sided reading type scanner device has the following structure, and each has a problem.

First, a reading sensor is provided only for one side, and after reading one side of the sheet, the sheet is turned over and the other side is read. That is, the sheet passes the same reading sensor twice on the front and back sides. In this structure, the mechanism for turning the sheet upside down becomes large, and it is difficult to simplify the apparatus.

Second, the reading sensors have both sides (that is, two reading sensors), each reading position is arranged close to each other, and the sheet passes through the reading position of the corner reading sensor only once. In this structure, the data sent from the scanner must be processed in the order from the end of the front side of the sheet to the back side, and an extra memory for storing data for one side is required, resulting in high costs.

Third, the reading sensors are provided for both sides (that is, two reading sensors), and the reading positions are set apart from each other by at least the maximum original size of the sheet used in the apparatus, and after the sheet passes through the reading position on the front side, Pass the reading position on the back side. In this structure, it is necessary to separate the reading position by at least the maximum number of originals, the transport path becomes longer, and the apparatus becomes larger.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As described above, the conventional double-sided scanning scanner has problems such as that the mechanism of the apparatus is complicated and large-scale, extra memory is required, and unification of operation directions is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a double-sided scanning device which has a simple mechanism, does not require an extra memory, and can easily unify operation directions.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet conveying path (8, 14) formed in a loop having a peripheral length equal to or longer than the maximum document length of a sheet (S). A pair of reading sensors (3, 13) disposed on each side of or in close proximity to the loop-shaped transport path, a sheet feeding unit (1) for supplying a sheet to the loop-shaped transport path, and the loop-shaped transport path Means (2) for transporting the sheet (S) along the path, means (15) for switching the transport path so as to discharge the sheet (S) from the loop-shaped transport path, and one surface of the sheet by the first reading sensor. A double-sided scanning scanner comprising a device for controlling the reading sensor and the passage switching means so that the other surface of the sheet that has been circulated at least once after the reading is read by the other reading sensor. An apparatus is provided.

According to the second invention, as shown in FIG. 4, a sheet conveying path (31) in which the sheet feeding section (1) to the sheet discharging section (4) is substantially U-shaped, and each of the conveying paths Pair of reading sensors (3, 13) arranged facing each other or close to each other
An evacuation path (32) branched from a sheet conveying path (31) between a feed roller (2c) upstream of the pair of reading sensors and a feed roller (2b) further upstream thereof; After reading one side of the sheet sent to the first reading sensor, the sheet is returned in the reverse direction and retracted to the evacuation passage, and the other side of the sheet sent in the forward direction is read again by the second reading sensor. A double-sided scanning scanner device characterized in that it is configured is provided.

[Action]

According to the present invention, since the reading sensors are provided for both sides of the sheet (that is, two), a mechanism for turning the sheet upside down is unnecessary, and the apparatus can be simplified. Further, since the sheet passes through the reading position twice, a memory for storing data is not required. Furthermore, since the two reading sensors are arranged close to and opposed to each other, the installation space for the reading sensors can be reduced, and the structure can be simplified.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the first embodiment. 6 is essentially different from the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 in that a reading sensor 13 for the back surface is provided in addition to the reading sensor 3 for the front surface, and a second conveyance path 14 is provided in addition to the first conveyance path 8 to form a loop. That is, a sheet-like sheet conveying path is formed, and the selection valve 14 is provided.

The front side reading sensor 3 and the back side reading sensor 13
Are arranged to face each other. On the downstream side of these sensors 3 and 13, whether the sheet S is circulated to the second conveyance path 14, that is, to the loop-shaped sheet conveyance path again, or the sheet S is discharged to the stacker 4 side which is a sheet take-out unit A selection valve 15 for switching the passage to select the selection is provided. The double-sided reading of the sheet S is performed by the following operation steps.

(A) The sheet S is fed out from the sheet feeding unit 1.

(B) The sheet is sent to the conveyance path 8 by the feed roller 2 and is conveyed to a reading position between the front surface reading sensor 3 and the back surface reading sensor 13.

(C) While the sheet S passes this reading position, an image of the surface of the sheet S is input by the front surface reading sensor 3.

(D) The sheet S whose surface has been read is the second from the selection valve 15.
The sheet is circulated again to the transport path 14, that is, to the loop-shaped sheet transport path.

(E) The sheet S is sent from the second conveyance path 14 to the first conveyance path 8 again, and is conveyed again to a reading position between the reading sensor 3 for the front surface and the reading sensor 13 for the back surface.

(F) The image of the back side of the sheet S is input by the back side reading sensor 13 while passing through the reading position.

(G) The sheet S whose back surface has been read is discharged from the selection valve 15 to the stacker 4.

(H) when the discharge of the sheet S is completed, or as described in (e) above.
When it is confirmed by a sensor (not shown) or the like that the rear end of the sheet S has entered the first conveyance path 8 at the stage, the next sheet is fed out in the sheet feeding unit 1, and the operation returns to the operation step (a) to perform the same operation. Repeat the operation.

In order to perform the above operation, there are restrictions on the lengths of the conveying paths 8 and 14 as compared with the conventional example of FIG. That is, as shown in the drawing, when the front-side reading sensor 3 and the back-side reading sensor 13 are arranged so as to coincide with each other, the transport path 8,
The total length of 14 (that is, the length of the rope-shaped sheet conveyance path)
Must be greater than the maximum original (sheet) length.
Actually, although the front surface reading sensor 3 and the rear surface reading sensor 13 are arranged close to each other on both sides of the passage, it is not necessary to arrange them at the opposed positions as shown in the figure. It is preferable that the positions are slightly shifted from each other in design. If the reading instruction to the scanner is for one side, the sheet may be discharged to the stacker 4 immediately after reading the sheet surface or the back surface by the reading sensor 3 or 13 without looping the sheet to the transport path 14 side. It is.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the embodiment of FIG. 1 housed in a housing, 9 is a hopper, and 16 is a housing.

FIG. 3 is similar in principle to the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, except that a conventional flatbed image scanner as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is used. Are different. That is, in FIG. 3, the main body 5 of the flatbed image scanner has a carrier 7 on which the reading sensor 3 is mounted. The reading sensor 3 is used as a surface reading sensor. The carrier 7 can be moved within a predetermined range. In this case, the carrier 7 is used in a state where it is stationary at a predetermined position shown in the figure.

The difference between the automatic transport unit 20 on the upper side and the conventional transport unit 10 in FIG.
(Read sensor for the back surface) is provided. In addition to the first conveyance path 8, a second conveyance path 14 is provided to form a loop-shaped sheet conveyance path, and a selection valve 15 for path switching is provided. The operation steps of the embodiment of FIG. 3 are as follows.

(A) A large number of sheets are stacked on the hopper 9, and the pick roller 1a of the sheet feeding unit 1 is moved by a popper stacking mechanism (not shown).
The sheet S is fed out one by one. When two or more sheets are fed between the rollers 1a and 1b, an extra sheet is returned to the hopper 9 by the reverse roller 1b. The reverse roller 1b is driven by a torque limiter (not shown). 1c is a motor for driving the pick roller 1a, 1d
Is a clutch for interrupting the driving force of this motor.

(B) After the sheet S enters the feed roller 2a, the driving force of the pick roller 1a is detected by detecting the sheet position detection sensor 21 located downstream thereof and disengaging the clutch 1d so that the next sheet is not taken in. To release. Sheet S is a feed roller
After passing through 2b and 2c, it enters the position detection sensor 22 soon.

(C) The front surface of the sheet S is read by the front surface reading sensor 3 on the image scanner main body 5 side with reference to the front end of the sheet S detected by the position detection sensor 22.

(D) When a double-sided reading instruction is issued in advance, the selection valve 15 is oriented in a direction to send the sheet S to the second conveyance path 14 (ie, draw a loop again).

(E) The leading edge of the sheet again passes through the feed rollers 2a, 2b, 2c and the position detection sensors 21, 22.

(F) This time, the back surface of the sheet S is read by the back surface reading sensor 13 on the automatic transport unit 20 side with reference to the leading end of the sheet S detected by the position detection sensor 22.

(G) The selection valve 15 detects the front end position of the sheet by the position detection sensor 22 or detects the front end position of the sheet by the position detection sensor 22 before the front end of the sheet enters the selection valve 15. 4). Also,
The feeding operation of the next sheet is started based on the detection of the rear end position of the sheet by the position detection sensor 21.

(H) When the rear end of the sheet S whose back surface is read is detected by the position detection sensor 22, the time when the rear end of the sheet passes the selection valve 15 is determined, and in preparation for the processing of the next sheet. The selector valve 15 is switched upward.

If the reading instruction to the scanner is for both sides, the above procedure is performed.
The sheet is read out by the reading sensor 3 or 13 without being looped to the side 14 and immediately discharged to the stacker 4.

FIG. 4 is a principle diagram of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, there is a sheet conveyance path 31 in which the section from the sheet feeding section 1 to the sheet discharge section having the stacker 4 has a substantially U-shape. Accordingly, the sheet conveying path 31 and the entire apparatus can be simply configured, and both the sheet feeding unit 1 and the stacker 4 can be arranged on the front of the apparatus, thereby facilitating the work. At the downstream side of the U-shaped sheet conveyance path 31 in the forward feeding direction, the front surface reading sensor 3 is disposed on the lower side, and the back surface reading sensor 13 is disposed on the upper side so as to face each other. Reference numerals 2a to 2d denote feed rollers, and reference numeral 33 denotes a sheet position sensor provided near and upstream of the reading sensors 3 and 13. The retreat passage 32 branches from the curved portion of the sheet conveying path 31 between the feed roller 2c upstream of the reading sensors 3 and 13 in the forward feed direction and the feed roller 2b further upstream thereof. The evacuation passage 32 is tangentially connected to the U-shaped passage 31, and is formed so that the sheet enters the evacuation passage 31 when the sheet is fed in the reverse direction.

The double-sided reading of the sheet is performed by the following operation steps.

(A) The sheet is fed from the sheet feeding unit 1.

(B) The front-side reading sensor 3 and the back-side reading sensor which are fed in the forward direction along the U-shaped conveyance path 31 by the feed rollers 2a to 2c.
13 to a reading position.

(C) While the sheet passes through the reading position in the forward direction, the front side reading sensor 3 inputs an image of the front side of the sheet.

(D) The sheet whose surface has been read is sent in the reverse direction and proceeds to the retreat passage 32.

(E) When the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the position sensor 33, the sheet is stopped. At this time, the sheet is
Is gripped by The sheet is sent in the forward direction again, and is conveyed to a reading position between the reading sensor 3 for the front surface and the reading sensor 13 for the back surface.

(F) While passing through the reading position, the back side of the sheet is image-input by the back side reading sensor 13 this time.

(G) The sheet whose back surface has been read is discharged to the stacker 4.

(H) When the discharge of the sheet is completed, or when it is confirmed that the rear end of the sheet has entered the U-shaped conveyance path 31 in the step (e), the next sheet is fed out in the sheet feeding unit 1 and the operation step is performed. Returning to (a), the same operation is repeated.

Although the front-side reading sensor 3 and the back-side reading sensor 13 are arranged close to each other on both sides of the passage, it is not necessary to arrange them both at opposing positions as shown in the figure. When the reading instruction to the scanner is for one side, the sheet is returned to the reading sensor 3 or 13 without returning the sheet to the retreat passage 32.
And immediately discharge it to the stacker 4. As described above, since the retreat passage 32 is provided in the second embodiment, when a sheet is fed in the reverse direction, the sheet may hit a pick roller (not shown) that feeds the sheet to the transport path 31 or a sheet to come next may be used. There is no push back.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of reading sensors arranged close to and opposed to each other, a sheet conveying path passing through a reading position between the pair of reading sensors, and a feeder for feeding a sheet to the sheet conveying path. A paper section, a sheet take-out section for taking out a sheet from the sheet conveying path, and a sheet after passing through the reading position between the reading sensors are returned in the opposite direction to be temporarily evacuated to the evacuation path, and the sheet is again returned. Means for passing a reading position between the reading sensors.

FIG. 5 is similar in principle to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, but differs in that a conventional flatbed image scanner as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is used.
That is, in FIG. 5, the main body 5 of the flatbed image scanner has a carrier 7 on which the reading sensor 3 is mounted. This reading sensor 3 is used as a surface reading sensor. The carrier 7 can move within a predetermined range,
In this case, the carrier 7 is used in a state where it is stationary at a predetermined position shown in the figure.

The point that the upper automatic transport unit 40 is essentially different from the conventional transport unit 10 of FIG.
(Reading sensor for back side), U-shaped conveyance path 31
In addition, the evacuation passage 32 is provided. 41 and 42 are sheet guide holders for forming the retreat passage 32. Code 41
By forming the holder extending upward as described above, it is possible to prevent the retracted sheet from falling down. Forming the unit 40 in the lateral direction as indicated by reference numeral 42 makes the form of the unit 40 smart and eliminates the need for a special roller component or the like for the evacuation passage 32.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention as described above, since the reading sensors are provided for both sides of the sheet (that is, two), a mechanism for turning the sheet upside down becomes unnecessary, and the apparatus can be simplified.
Further, since the reading of the sheet front side and the reading of the back side do not overlap in time, a memory for storing data is not required. Furthermore, since a pair of reading sensors are arranged facing or close to each other, the installation space for the reading sensors can be reduced, and the structure can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a principle diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a specific example of the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a conventional one-sided scanning scanner device, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional flat-bed image scanner, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a conventional image scanner. 1 ... feeding parts, 2 (2a ~ 2d) ... feed roller, 3 ...
Surface reading sensor, 4 ... Stacker, 8 ... 1st transport path,
13 ... Backside reading sensor, 14 ... Second transport path, 15 ... Selection valve, 31 ... U-shaped transport path, 32 ... Retreat path.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-16461 (JP, A) JP-A-58-40971 (JP, A) JP-A-2-24668 (JP, U) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04N 1/00 H04N 1/12 B65H 85/00 G03G 15/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A sheet conveying path (8, 14) formed in a loop having a peripheral length equal to or longer than the maximum document length of the sheet (S);
A pair of reading sensors (3, 13) disposed opposite or close to each other on each side of the loop-shaped conveyance path, a sheet feeding section (1) for supplying a sheet to the loop-shaped conveyance path, Means for transporting sheet (S) along the transport path (2)
Means (15) for switching the transport path to discharge the sheet (S) from the loop transport path, and circulating the loop transport path at least once after reading one surface of the sheet with the first reading sensor. A scanner for controlling the reading sensor and the passage switching means so that the other reading sensor reads the other side of the sheet. 2. A sheet conveying path (31) in which a sheet feeding section (1) to a sheet discharging section (4) forms a substantially U-shape, and are arranged on each side of the conveying path so as to be opposed to or close to each other. The sheet is branched from the sheet transport path (31) between a pair of reading sensors (3, 13), a feed roller (2c) upstream of the pair of reading sensors in the forward feed direction, and a feed roller (2b) further upstream thereof. An evacuation passage (32), the first surface of a sheet sent in the forward direction is read by the first reading sensor, and then the sheet is returned in the reverse direction and retracted into the evacuation passage, and the other surface of the sheet sent in the forward direction again A two-sided reading scanner configured to read the image by the second reading sensor.