JP3114471B2 - 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 a document feeder using rollers used in a facsimile machine and a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a facsimile machine or a copying machine, rollers are used to convey a document or a recording sheet. In general, a pair of rollers are pressed against each other, one is rotated positively, and the other is rotated. It is driven. In such a configuration, the positively rotating one is fixed, and the driven one is pressed against a roller fixed by a spring or the like.
Since the driven roller is configured to freely rotate, the two rollers can be easily brought into pressure contact with each other if the shaft can be moved in the pressure contact direction and urged toward the fixed roller by a spring or the like. However, in recent years, the following document feeders have been proposed.

That is, this is a document feeder for feeding a document in a U-turn, and the document placement tray and the document discharge tray are in a vertical positional relationship. There is an advantage that the installation area can be reduced without occupying another space. Further, since the original is set upward, the contents of the original can be checked, and erroneous copying or erroneous transmission can be prevented. Also, when feeding from the lowest document, if the number of documents is extremely large, the separation roller may not function properly due to the weight of the document. There is no.

In a document feeding apparatus of a type in which a document is fed from the bottom, the documents are separated one by one by the action of a separation roller and a separation pad. In the apparatus, a document separating apparatus for separating and feeding documents one by one is generally configured as shown in FIG. That is, a separate roller Sr provided on the rotating shaft A1 that positively rotates in the clockwise direction, that is, the document conveying direction.
And a shaft A2 positively rotating in a clockwise direction, that is, a direction opposite to the document conveying direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a document reverse feeding direction) below the rotation axis A1 by being pressed against a separate roller Sr via a torque limiter (not shown). Retard roller Rr
An arm Am provided by a solenoid so as to be rotatable coaxially with the separate roller Sr, and an arm Am provided at an end of the arm Am, and a separate roller S
and a pickup roller Pr to which rotational force is transmitted from the pickup roller Pr.

A coil spring or the like is provided at the end of the arm Am and is urged upward, and the arm Am and the pickup roller Pr are always retracted upward so as not to be obstructed when setting the original. . Also, the original D and the retard roller Rr are more than the frictional force between the originals D.
The friction force between is larger.

Next, an operation of separating a document by the document separating apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, the solenoid is actuated and the arm Am is rotated clockwise, that is, downward, so that the document D in the stacked state is
The pickup roller Pr contacts the uppermost sheet of.
The document D is transferred between the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr by the rotation of the pickup roller Pr. At this time, the rotation of the shaft A2 is not transmitted due to the action of the torque limiter, and the retard roller Rr rotates following the separate roller Sr. When the document D is transported between the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr, the rotation of the separate roller Sr causes the document D to reach a pair of transport rollers r1 and r2 provided downstream in the document transport direction and positively rotating in the document transport direction. Be transported.

When the original D is transported to the transport rollers r1 and r2, the solenoid is turned off, and the pickup roller Pr is rotated upward by the urging force, so that one original D
Is completed. If the original D consists of many sheets,
When the document D is conveyed from the uppermost one, the height of the document D gradually decreases. However, by rotating the pickup roller Pr, the document D located below is surely separated by the separate roller S.
r.

When a plurality of originals D are transported between the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr, the retard roller Rr is determined based on the friction coefficient between the originals D as described above.
The lower original D that has come into contact with the retard roller Rr is smaller than the retard roller Rr.
The document D is reversely fed by the rotation of r, thereby preventing a plurality of documents D from being simultaneously transferred to the transport roller.

[0009]

In the document separating apparatus having the above-described structure, the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr are in pressure contact with each other while rotating positively.
In such a configuration, a mechanism that transmits the rotation to the roller and presses the roller must be used, so that there is a problem that the rotation transmission mechanism becomes very complicated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a roller pressing mechanism that can press a positively rotating roller with a simple configuration.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document feeder according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a shaft supporting the rollers and rotating positively is a flexible member. The roller is pressed against the separation member by urging a predetermined portion. The document feeder according to claim 2 is characterized in that the separating member is a roller that positively rotates.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document feeder wherein the roller is a separate roller for separating a plurality of documents, and the separating member is a retard roller which positively rotates in a document reverse feeding direction via a torque limiter. An arm capable of rotating up and down is attached to a shaft supporting the separate roller, and a pickup roller that positively rotates in the document conveying direction is provided at an end of the arm.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the shaft that supports the roller and rotates positively is a flexible member, the shaft is energized by urging a predetermined portion of the shaft. Is bent, and the roller is pressed against the separating member. In the document feeder according to the second aspect, by urging a predetermined portion in the middle of the shaft, the shaft is bent, and the roller is pressed against the positively rotating roller. In the document feeder according to the third aspect, the separate roller is pressed against the retard roller by bending the shaft.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a document feeding apparatus F in which a roller pressing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a document separating section. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the document feeding device F. 3 and 4 are exploded perspective views of the document feeding device F. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the document feeding device F. 6 to 8 are side views of the document feeding device F. FIG. 9 is a side view showing the gear arrangement of the document feeding apparatus F. FIG. 10 (a)
FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the gear arrangement shown in FIG. 9. FIG.
(B) is a sectional view of the torque limiter tl. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the roller arrangement of the document feeding device F.

First, the overall configuration of the document feeder F will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the document feeder F has a substantially columnar shape as a whole, and is divided into a lower frame 1, a cylindrical document guide 2, and an upper frame 3, all of which are formed by a shaft 4. It is rotatably supported as shown in FIGS. A U-shaped lock lever 6 is rotatably provided on the upper frame 3 via a shaft 5 by being urged clockwise by a torsion spring (not shown). Lock grooves 7 are provided at both ends of the lock lever 6, and engage with lock pins 8 provided on the lower frame 1 to fix the upper frame 3, the document guide 2, and the lower frame 1.

When the lock is released and the upper frame 3 is rotated, the lock lever 6 is rotated counterclockwise against the above-mentioned biasing force by holding the horizontal portion of the lock lever 6. The upper frame 3 is rotated by releasing the engagement with the lock groove 7 and pulling the lock lever 6 upward as it is. The document guide unit 2 can be freely rotated similarly to the upper frame 3 when the lock by the lock lever 6 is released. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a document transport path is formed between the upper frame 3 and the document guide 2 and between the document guide 2 and the lower frame 1.

In the original transport path, the originals set in a stacked state on an original placing tray tr1 provided in the upper part of the apparatus are separated by an original separating section S, and the originals are transported. U-turn in the document transport path by the plurality of transport rollers provided, the document discharge port 1
4 and is stacked on a document discharge tray tr2 provided facing the document discharge port 14. A transparent film 9 is provided between the original placing tray tr1 and the entrance of the original transport path.
Is provided so that the document can be smoothly transported into the document transport path.

In FIG. 4, a scanner glass 10 is provided in the middle of the document conveying path, substantially in the center of the lower frame 1, and a reading device including a light source and an image sensor (not shown) is provided below the scanner glass 10. An image on a document is read and converted into image data which is an electric signal. As shown in FIG. 5, projections 10b are provided at both ends of the scanner glass 10, and the projections 10b
Are supporting portions 10a provided on both sides of the scanner glass 10.
Is inserted into the hole 10c provided in the hole. Further, the protrusion 10
b is a leaf spring 10d fixed to the supporting portion 10a with a screw 10e.
And is supported in a state of being urged upward through. With this urging force, the reading roller r3, as shown in FIG.
When the upper surface of the scanner glass 10 abuts on r4, the scanner glass 10 is accurately positioned, and the reading accuracy is secured. In FIGS. 1 to 4, the document tray tr1 and the document discharge tray tr2 are omitted.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, a motor (not shown) as a driving source is provided inside the document guide portion 2, and a driving shaft 11 of the motor projects at a substantially central portion of the side surface. The rotational force is applied to all the rollers via the gear group shown in FIG. Next, the gear group will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10A. In FIG. 9, a gear g1 provided on a drive shaft 11 rotating in a counterclockwise direction is engaged with a gear g2, a gear g3, and a gear g4 disposed therearound. Gear g
A coaxial gear g5 is provided integrally behind the gear g2 located at the upper left of FIG. 1, and the gear g5 meshes with the gear g6 located at the upper left. Behind the gear g3 located below the gear g1, a coaxial gear g7 is provided integrally, and the gear g7 is engaged with gears g8 and g9 provided below the left and right thereof.

Gears g10 to g19 are connected to a gear g4 provided on the upper right side of the gear g1, and the meshing relationship of these gear groups will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 (a). . In FIG. 10, a coaxial gear g10 is provided integrally behind the gear g4, and the gear g10 meshes with a gear g12 provided thereabove. Gear g1
A coaxial gear g13 is provided integrally behind the gear 2, and a gear g19 provided above the gear g13 is meshed with the gear g13.

The gear g12 is engaged with a gear g14 provided on the right side thereof, and the gear g14 is engaged with a gear g15 provided therebelow. A coaxial gear g16 is integrally provided in front of the gear g15, and a gear g11 coaxially provided in front of the gear g12 meshes with the gear g16. The gear g11, the gear g12, the gear g1
3 is provided coaxially, but only the gear g11 is connected to the shaft A2.
Is fixed via a torque limiter tl to rotate the shaft A2.
The gear g12 and the gear g13 are provided so as to freely rotate integrally with the shaft A2. In FIG. 9, the gear g15 is provided with a gear g1 provided on the right side thereof.
7 meshes with the gear g17, and a gear g18 provided below the gear g17.

The gear g11 is connected to the shaft A2 via a torque limiter tl as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10B, the torque limiter tl is connected to the gear g11.
Friction plate 18, holding plate 17, holding plate 1
A spring 19 urged in a direction of pressing the gear 7 against the gear g11, a bearing 18a provided integrally with the friction plate 18 and fixed to the shaft A2 to support the spring 19, and an opposite of the pressing plate 17 of the spring 19 The end on the side comprises a flange 16 which abuts. The rotation of the gear g11 is transmitted to the shaft A2 via the friction with the friction plate 18 by the torque limiter tl having the above-described configuration. When a torque larger than the frictional resistance acts on the shaft A2, the connection between the gear g11 and the shaft A2 is disconnected. Is done.

In the above meshing relationship, the gear g1
Is rotated counterclockwise by the rotation of the drive shaft 11 of the motor, the gear g6 rotates counterclockwise via the gears g2 and g5 (see FIG. 9). Also, gear g3, gear g
7, the gears g8 and g9 rotate counterclockwise. Further, gear g4, gear g10, gear g12, gear g
13, the gear g19 rotates clockwise (FIG. 10).
reference). The rotation of the gear g19 positively rotates a rotation shaft A1 that supports a separate roller Sr described later.

Further, the rotation of the gear g1 is performed by the gear g4 and the gear g.
10, gear g12, gear g14, gear g15, gear g1
6, the gear g11 rotates clockwise (see FIG. 10). By the rotation of the gear g11, a shaft A2 that supports a later-described retard roller Rr rotates via a torque limiter tl. Also, gear g1
The rotation of 5 is transmitted to gear g18 via gear g17,
The gear g18 rotates counterclockwise (see FIG. 9). The gear g6, the gear g8, the gear g9, and the gear g18 rotate at a constant circumferential speed, and the gear g11 and the gear g rotate at the same circumferential speed.
It is faster than the rotation peripheral speed of 19.

The rotation of the gears causes the rollers for conveying the document to rotate. The following group of rollers will be described with reference to FIGS. 11, a pickup roller Pr, a separate roller Sr and a retard roller Rr pressed against each other, transport rollers r1 and r2 pressed against each other, and a reading roller r3 pressed against the scanner glass 10 from the upper right along the document transport direction.・ R
4. The transport rollers r5 and r6 pressed against each other are provided. The transport rollers r1 and r5 rotate positively in the counterclockwise direction, that is, in the document transport direction, by the rotation of the gears g6 and g18 in FIG. 9, respectively, and follow the positive rotation of the transport rollers r1 and r5 to rotate the transport rollers r2 and r6. Rotates clockwise, that is, in the document conveying direction.

The reading rollers r3 and r4 are respectively g
The rotation of 8, g9 positively rotates in the counterclockwise direction, that is, in the document conveying direction. The rotation of the gear g19 causes the rotation shaft A1 supporting the separate roller Sr to rotate positively in the clockwise direction, that is, in the document conveying direction. Due to the rotation of the gear g11, the shaft A2 supporting the retard roller Rr rotates clockwise, that is, in the document reverse feeding direction. The retard roller Rr is attached to the shaft A2 via a torque limiter tl. In this embodiment, the retard roller Rr and the shaft A2 are connected by frictional resistance of a frictional member. Therefore, when a torque larger than the frictional resistance is applied, the connection between the shaft A2 and the retard roller Rr is disconnected. The rotation of the pickup roller Pr is transmitted from the rotation shaft A1 via a gear as described later, and the pickup roller Pr rotates clockwise.

Further, since the reading rollers r3 and r4 are pressed against the scanner glass 10, the original is transported in a state of being in close contact with the upper surface of the scanner glass 10 when being transported over the scanner glass 10, and the original flaps. And the read image becomes stable.

The document separating section S in the document feeder F will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a main part of the document separation unit S. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a main part of the document separation unit S. 14 to 19 are schematic sectional views showing the document separating operation of the document separating unit S. FIG.
2. In FIG. 13, an arm Am and a gear g20 are provided so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the rotation axis A1. Gear g20
Is provided with a cylindrical rotating member 12 integrally therewith.

The rotating member 12 is freely rotatable with respect to the rotating shaft A1, and a separate roller Sr is provided outside the rotating member 12 so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the rotating member 12. The arm Am, the gear g20, the separate roller The three members Sr can freely rotate with respect to the rotation axis A1. Note that the arm Am is urged counterclockwise, that is, upward by the spring 21, and always rotates upward and remains stationary while retracted from the document.

A spring clutch 11 is provided on the right side of the separate roller Sr in the drawing. The spring clutch 11 is provided integrally with a cylindrical clutch support member 11a provided on the rotating shaft A1, a coil spring 11b having one end fixed to the clutch support member 11a, and a separate roller Sr. The fixed roller support member 11c and the clutch member 11d are provided integrally with the rotating member 12 and are located on the inner peripheral side of the coil spring 11b.

The clutch support member 11a is provided with a long hole 14 which is electrically connected to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft A1, and a projection 15 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft A1 is inserted through the long hole 14. With such a configuration, the position of the protrusion 15 is allowed to change from a state in which the protrusion abuts on one end surface in the long hole 14 to a state in which the protrusion abuts on the other end surface in the longitudinal direction of the long hole, thereby. The clutch support member 11a has the protrusion 1
Free rotation with respect to the rotation axis A1 corresponding to the position change in the long hole 14 is allowed.

The winding direction of the coil spring 11b is such that the inner diameter is narrowed by the rotation of the clutch supporting member 11a in the document conveying direction, and the inner diameter is widened by the rotation of the separate roller Sr, ie, the rotation of the separate roller supporting member 11c in the document conveying direction. Have been in the direction. The outer diameter of the clutch portion 11d is smaller than the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b when no external force is applied.

Accordingly, when the rotation of the rotation shaft A1 rotates the clutch support member 11a, the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b becomes narrower, and the clutch portion 11d of the rotation member 12 is held by the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 11b. Is transmitted to the rotating member 12, and the gear g20 rotates.

Below the separate roller Sr, the retard roller Rr is provided on the shaft A2 via the torque limiter tl in pressure contact with the separate roller Sr as described above. In a state where the document is not transferred between the two rollers, the torque due to the rotation of the separate roller Sr acts on the retard roller Rr, and the connection between the shaft A2 and the retard roller Rr is cut off by the action of the torque limiter tl. Rr rotates in the counterclockwise direction, that is, in the document conveying direction, following the separation roller Sr.

The rotating shaft A1 is made of a flexible material and has a leaf spring 20 fixed to the upper frame 3 as shown in FIG.
As a result, the rotation shaft A1 is slightly bent, and the separate roller Sr is pressed against the retard roller Rr. This eliminates the need for a complicated rotation transmission mechanism when providing the pressure contact mechanism on the positively rotating roller.

The arm Am is provided with a gear g21 and a gear g22, and transmits the gear g20 to a pickup roller Pr provided at an end of the arm Am. The gear g2
1. A load torque is applied to one of the gears g22 by giving an appropriate frictional resistance between the gear and the shaft, and the gear g22 is prevented from rotating until a constant rotational force is applied. A spring clutch 13 is provided between the gear g22 for imparting rotation to the pickup roller Pr and the pickup roller Pr.

That is, both are freely rotatable with each other via the shaft A3, and are connected by the coil spring 13a. The inner diameter of the coil spring 13a is reduced by the rotation of the gear g22 in the document conveying direction, and the rotation of the gear g22 is transmitted to the pickup roller Pr. The inner diameter of the coil spring 13a is increased by the rotation of the pickup roller Pr in the document conveying direction. It is provided so as to disconnect the connection with the device.

Next, the document separating operation of the document separating section S having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the original D is set on the original placing tray tr1 and the original separating operation is started, and the motor starts rotating, and the rotation causes the conveying rollers r1, r2, r5, r6,
The reading rollers r3 and r4 rotate in the document transport direction, the shaft A2 and the retard roller Rr rotate in the document reverse feeding direction, and the rotation shaft A1 rotates, so that the clutch support member 11a rotates clockwise.

At this time, the protrusion 1 provided on the rotation axis A1
Reference numeral 5 contacts the downstream end surface of the long hole 14 of the clutch support member 11a in the rotation direction of the rotation axis A1. When the clutch supporting member 11a rotates and the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b is reduced, the clutch portion 11d of the rotating member 12 is held by the inner peripheral portion of the coil spring 11b, and the separate roller Sr and the gear g20 start rotating in the document conveying direction. .

In FIG. 15, when the separation roller Sr starts rotating, the connection with the shaft A2 is cut off by the action of the torque limiter tl as described above, and the retard roller Rr is driven by the separation roller Sr to convey the document. Rotate in the direction. When the gear g20 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the gears g21 and g22 connected to the gear g20. However, as described above, one of the gears g21 and g22 is given a load torque, and the spring g is applied upward. Since the load torque is larger than the power, the gear g2
1. The gear g22 does not rotate, and a clockwise rotation force is applied to the entire arm Am from the rotation axis A1, and the arm Am rotates clockwise, that is, downward.

In FIG. 16, when the arm Am rotates downward and the pickup roller Pr contacts the uppermost one of the stacked originals D, the rotation of the arm Am is prevented, and the rotation from the rotation axis A1 is stopped. When the force becomes larger than the load torque, the gears g21 and g22 start rotating, and start rotating with the pickup roller Pr pressed against the document D. When the pickup roller Pr rotates, the document D is transported toward the separation roller Sr.

In FIG. 17, when the document D is transported between the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr, the document D is transported downstream by the rotation of the separate roller Sr. At this time, no torque is applied to the retard roller Rr from the separate roller Sr, but the torque limiter tr
The rotation force in the reverse direction due to the rotation of the shaft A2 via the friction caused by the frictional force 1 and the rotation force in the conveyance direction due to the friction with the document D conveyed by the separate roller Sr are applied. The two rotational forces are balanced, slippage occurs between the shaft A2 and the retard roller Rr, and between the retard roller Rr and the conveyed document D, and the retard roller Rr itself does not rotate.

In FIG. 18, the pickup roller P
r, the document D separated by the separate roller Sr and the retard roller Rr are transport rollers r1,
Transferred between r2. Since the reading apparatus to which the document feeder F is applied needs to separate the read image data for each page, the reading device determines the position of the end of the document D transported first and the start of the document D transported next. It is necessary to make the gap between them large so that the boundary of one document D is clear. Therefore, the rotation speed of the transport rollers r1, r2, r5, r6 and the reading rollers r3, r4 is higher than that of the separate roller Sr.

Therefore, while the original D is being simultaneously conveyed by the conveying rollers r1 and r2 and the separate roller Sr, the separate roller Sr rotates at the same speed as the conveying rollers r1 and r2 in the conveying direction due to friction between the original D and the original D. Is done. That is, since the separate roller Sr rotates in the same direction as the rotation axis A1 at a speed higher than the rotation speed of the rotation axis A1, the separation roller Sr has a relative relationship with the rotation axis A1.
r runs idle in the document transport direction.

For this reason, the clutch supporting member 11a rotates in the document conveying direction with respect to the rotation axis A1, and the projection 15 provided on the rotating shaft A1 moves in the elongated hole 14 of the clutch supporting member 11a, and the document conveying Abuts the end face on the upstream side in the direction. Subsequently, the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b is increased by the rotation of the separate roller Sr in the document conveying direction, and the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 11b does not hold the clutch portion 11d of the rotating member 12.

Accordingly, the connection between the arm Am and the rotating shaft A1 is broken, the arm Am is rotated upward by the urging force of the spring urging upward, and the pickup roller Pr is separated from the document surface. By retracting the pickup roller Pr, it is possible to prevent the pickup roller Pr from coming into contact with the document surface and causing extra resistance to the conveyance by the conveyance rollers r1 and r2.

Further, as described above, the pickup roller P
Since the document r is connected to the gear g22 via the spring clutch 11, the document D is transported between the transport rollers r1 and r2, and after being transported at a high speed, the arm Am rotates upward and moves from the document D surface. Until the document D is conveyed, the document is idled in the document conveying direction at the same speed as the conveying rollers r1 and r2 due to the friction with the document D being conveyed.

In FIG. 19, when the end of the document D leaves the separation roller Sr and is transported toward the transport rollers r1 and r2, the separation roller Sr comes into contact with the retard roller Rr again. At this time, the separate roller Sr is idled in the document conveying direction as described above, the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b is widened, that is, the spring is loosened, and the rotation of the rotary shaft A1 is applied to the separate roller Sr. The rotation is not transmitted, and the separation roller Sr is allowed to rotate in the document reverse feeding direction.

Accordingly, the separate roller Sr rotates following the rotation of the retard roller Rr in the document reverse feeding direction.
By this reverse rotation, even if the next original D arrives immediately before the separation roller Sr immediately after the previous original D is transported to the transport roller, the next original D 'is reversely fed. Can be separated. Further, since the gap between the originals D can be made sufficiently long, it is suitable for feeding the originals D to a reading unit of a facsimile apparatus which needs to process image data for each page.

As described above, when the separate roller Sr is driven by the retard roller Rr to rotate in the reverse direction, the inner diameter of the coil spring 11b becomes smaller and the clutch supporting member 1
1a is rotated in the document reverse feeding direction, and the protrusion 15 of the rotation axis A1 is rotated.
Move in the elongated hole 14 and again come into contact with the downstream end face in the document conveying direction. Therefore, the rotational force of the rotating shaft A1 is transmitted to the separate roller Sr and the gear g20 again, and the above operation is repeated.

[0051]

As described above, according to the roller pressing mechanism of the present invention, since the shaft that supports and positively rotates the roller is a flexible member, when the shaft is urged, the shaft slightly bends and the roller separates. Because the roller is pressed against the member, the shaft that supports the roller can be simply rotated without transmitting the rotation through a complicated rotation transmission mechanism to press the positively rotating roller. And the production cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a document feeding device F in which a document separating device to which a roller pressing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is applied to a document separating portion.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a document feeding device F.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a document guide section and a lower frame of the document feeder F.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lower frame of the document feeder F;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of a document feeding device F.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the document feeder F.

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a state where an upper frame of the document feeding apparatus F is rotated.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which an upper frame and a document guide of the document feeding device F are rotated.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the arrangement of gear groups of the document feeding device F.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of a gear group of the document feeder F;

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing an arrangement of a roller group of the document feeding apparatus F;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a document separation unit S of the document feeding device F.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the document separation unit S.

FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 19 is a schematic sectional view showing a document separating operation of the document separating unit S.

FIG. 20 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional document separating apparatus.

[Explanation of Signs] Sr Separate roller Rr Retard roller Pr Pickup roller A1 Rotating shaft 20 Leaf spring

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A document feeder in which a shaft that supports and positively rotates a roller is a flexible member, and a predetermined portion of the shaft is urged to press the roller against a separation member. apparatus. 2. The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein said separating member is a roller which rotates positively. 3. The roller according to claim 1, wherein the roller is a separate roller for separating a plurality of documents, the separating member is a retard roller that positively rotates in a document reverse feeding direction via a torque limiter, and supports the separate roller. 2. The document feeding device according to claim 1, wherein an arm rotatable up and down is attached to the shaft, and a pickup roller that positively rotates in a document conveying direction is provided at an end of the arm.