JP3320925B2 - 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 in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, copiers have not only been diversified, but also have functions such as facsimile due to digitization. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus is provided with a printing device (hereinafter, referred to as a completed stamp) for printing a document to indicate that document transmission has been completed.
Here, if a facsimile function is added to the copying machine body, it is required to have a function of printing on a document. When an automatic document feeder is mounted on a copying machine, it is possible to make the automatic document feeder with a completed stamp more rational than that mounted on the copying machine main body. In particular, by providing the open / close portion on the outer cover, the user can easily replace the stamp of the printing apparatus.

[0003]

However, in practice, mounting the finished stamp on the outer cover of the automatic document feeder imposes extra costs for users who do not use the finished stamp function. Sometimes. Also, in the automatic document feeder, if the other specifications are the same and only the finished stamps are made separately for those that are attached and those that are not, similar parts will be generated and the cost will increase in terms of management and parts. Connect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and by making a part of an exterior including a finished stamp detachable, the finished stamp can be attached only to a user who needs a marking function. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder that can provide a user who does not need a marking function extra cost and can provide a user who needs a mark function at a minimum cost. And

[0005]

To achieve the above object, an automatic document feeder according to the present invention comprises an automatic document feeder having a printing means for marking an information surface of a document after an image has been read. In the apparatus, a part of an exterior member of the apparatus main body is made independent of other exterior members, and is formed so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body, and further provided with a mounting portion for mounting the printing means on the exterior member. Features.

[0006] Further, an electric switching means for switching an output signal when the printing means is mounted is provided.

[0007] Further, the invention is characterized in that a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the printing means is provided.

[0008]

According to the above construction, the automatic document feeder can be provided with a printing function by marking without affecting other exterior parts, and a printing means for performing marking for a user who does not need the marking function. By not mounting from the beginning, the cost increase due to the addition of unnecessary functions can be suppressed.

Further, since the image forming apparatus equipped with the automatic document feeder can determine whether or not the automatic document feeder has a printing means, the automatic document feeding apparatus is equipped with an automatic document feeding apparatus. The image forming apparatus discriminates between the document feeder and the automatic document feeder that is not mounted, so that the control including the marking function can be selectively performed only for the automatic document feeder with the printing unit mounted. It can be carried out.

In addition, since the image forming apparatus on which the automatic document feeder is mounted can determine whether the automatic document feeder has printing means, control including a marking function can be performed. It can be selectively performed only for the automatic document feeder equipped with printing means,
In addition, since there is no need to perform a switching operation at that time, a control error due to a human error can be prevented, and the selection can be reliably performed.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the inside of an automatic document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a call roller for feeding a set document into the apparatus. The pressing lever 3, reference numeral 3 denotes a document set detecting filler, and reference numeral 4 denotes a document stopper. The driving shafts (not shown) of the pressing lever 2, document setting detecting filler 3, and document stopper 4 are coaxially arranged. Reference numeral 5 denotes a separation belt driven roller, 6 denotes a separation belt, 7 denotes a separation roller, 8 denotes a separation belt driving roller, and the separation belt 6 is stretched by the separation belt driven roller 5 and the separation belt driving roller 8. A separation roller 7 is in contact with 6. 9 is a size detection sensor for detecting the length of the document in the sub-scanning direction; 10 is a pull-out driving roller for conveying the document to the image reading unit at a predetermined timing;
Is a pull-out driven roller that abuts on and is driven by the pull-out drive roller 10, 12 is a document set sensor that detects that a document has been set by detecting the operation of the document set detection filler 3, and 13 is a sheet conveyed from the pull-out drive roller 10. 1 shows a registration sensor for detecting the leading edge of a document, and a paper feed / separation mechanism is constituted by the above members.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a conveyance belt driving roller, 15 denotes a conveyance belt fixing roller, 16 denotes a conveyance belt holding roller, 17 denotes a conveyance belt, 18 denotes a contact glass, 19 denotes a conveyance belt driven roller, and the conveyance belt 17 is Conveyor belt drive roller 14
And the conveyor belt driven roller 19,
It is fixed and pressed on the contact glass 18 by the conveyor belt fixing roller 15 and the conveyor belt pressing roller 16.
Such a member constitutes a transport mechanism on the image reading unit.

Further, reference numeral 20 denotes a reversing drive roller for receiving the document from the transport belt 17 and transporting the document, 21 denotes a reversing entrance driven roller that abuts on and is driven by the reversing drive roller 20, 22 denotes a reversing / discharge sensor, 23 is a guide roller that guides the document conveyed by the reversing drive roller 20, 24 is a switching claw that switches the document conveyance path between the discharge side and the reversal side, and 25 is a reversal drive roller 20.
, A discharge drive roller that discharges the document to the outside, 26 is a discharge driven roller that contacts and is driven by the discharge drive roller 26, and 28 is a document on which the document is placed. Table, 29 is a reference table, 30 is a body original guide for guiding the original from the conveyor belt 17 to the reversing drive roller 20, 31
Denotes a document discharge unit for receiving the discharged document. Such a member constitutes a paper discharge mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a paper discharging section, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which marking is performed in FIG. 2, 40 is a rib, 50 is a finished stamp as printing means,
51 denotes a stamper as a stamp, 60 denotes a right cover, and 62 denotes a stamp cover. By driving this stamp 50,
The manuscript is stamped with “Done”.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a drive system according to the present embodiment. 100 is a main control plate as control means, 101 is a calling roller 1, a separation roller 7, a separation belt driving roller 8, and a pull-out driving roller 10. A conveyance belt motor for driving the conveyance belt driving roller 14;
Is the reversing drive roller that drives the reversing drive roller 20 and the discharge drive roller 26
A discharge motor, 104 is a call solenoid that drives the press lever 2 and the document stopper 4, 105 is a reversing solenoid that drives the switching claw 24, 106 and 107 are gears with a one-way clutch, R is a return spring, and T is a timing belt. Show. The main control plate 100 controls the operation of the sheet feeding motor 101, the conveying belt motor 102, the reversing / discharging motor 103, and the calling solenoid 104, and based on the control, the calling roller 1, the pressing lever 2, the document stopper 4, and the separating roller 7, the separation belt drive roller 8, the pull-out drive roller 10, the transport belt drive roller 14, the switching claw 24, the paper discharge drive roller 26, and the reverse drive roller 20 are driven.

Next, the basic operation will be described.

In the document conveying path of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a document is fed into a paper feed / separation mechanism provided on the left side, and the document is fed to the conveying belt 17 while turning, and Stop at a predetermined position on the contact glass 18,
After exposure, the document table 28
The path is configured to be discharged to the lower document discharge unit 31.

When an original is placed on the original table 28 with its front surface facing upward, the original lifts the presser lever 2 and, in conjunction therewith, lifts the original set detection filler 3 disposed coaxially with the drive shaft of the original stopper 4. Thus, the document set sensor 12 detects that a document has been set on the document table 28. In response to a document feed signal from the document set sensor 12, the call solenoid 104 shown in FIG. 4 is restored, and the presser lever 2 is pressed toward the call roller 1 by the return spring R, and has a structure integral with the presser lever 2. The document stopper 4 is released.

Next, when the paper feed motor 101 rotates clockwise, the recall roller 1, the separation roller 7, and the pull-out drive roller 10 are driven, and the lowermost sheet of the document bundle is separated by the separation belt 6. At this time, the power is not transmitted by the one-way clutch of the gear 106, so that the separation belt 6 is in a stopped state. The separated manuscript is sent to the registration sensor 13
, Stops at the position where the tip is detected.

Next, the feed motor 101 and the transport belt motor 1
The document 02 is conveyed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 18 and stopped by driving the pull-out driving roller 10, the separation belt driving roller 8, and the conveyance belt driving roller 14 respectively. At this time, the gear 107 is idled by the one-way clutch, and power is transmitted only by the gear 106, so that the call roller 1 and the separation roller 7 are stopped. However, the gear 107 and the separation roller 7 also have one-way clutches, and can idle in the document advancing direction.

After the original is exposed, the original sent to the reversing drive roller 20 by the transport belt 17 is discharged to the original discharge section 31 by the discharge drive roller 26.

Next, at the time of document reversal, the reversing solenoid 105 shown in FIG. 4 is turned on to guide the document to the reversing path by the switching claw 24, and is returned onto the contact glass 18 by the reversing drive roller 20. At this time, the transport belt motor 102 rotates clockwise, and transports and stops the document on the transport belt 17 to a predetermined position. The reversing / discharge motor 103 always rotates counterclockwise.

In this embodiment, the finished stamp 50 is located near the reversing / discharge sensor 22 which is a detecting means for sending a drive signal to the finished stamp 50, and on the downstream side in the document conveying direction. The completed stamp 50 operates on the same principle as the solenoid. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the plunger portion of the solenoid is a stamper 51, and when a stamp ON signal is output, the stamper 51 jumps out and stamps the original. The stamper 51 after the stamping returns immediately to the predetermined position. In this embodiment, the stamper 51 returns by its own weight, but a mechanism for forcibly returning by a spring or the like may be provided. In addition,
At the time of retreat, the stamper 51 is located on the back side of the transport surface as shown in FIG. Then, the stamped document is transported again and discharged to the document discharge unit 31.

The transfer surface facing the stamper 51 includes:
There is a rib 40 parallel to the stamper surface, which prevents the stamp from colliding.

Next, the configuration of the completed stamp unit in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the finished stamp unit has a right cover 60, a finished stamp 50 (which includes a stamper 51, a finished stamp solenoid 52, and a harness 53), a finished stamp bracket 54, and a finished stamp 50. A stamp cover 62 is provided. The finished stamp cover 62 is rotatably attached to the right cover 60, and the finished stamp cover 54 is
50 are installed. In the present embodiment, the driving source of the stamp 50 is supplied from the automatic document feeder, and a harness 53 for that is connected to the automatic document feeder via a connector. The finished stamp unit is attached to the front plate 63 and the rear plate 64 by screws as shown in FIG. For users who do not use the completed stamp 50, the right cover 61 is similarly attached instead of the completed stamp unit.

As described above, the behavior of the automatic document feeder when the finished stamp 50 is used is considerably different from the behavior when the finished stamp 50 is not provided. Therefore, the copying machine (or facsimile machine) main body is mounted. It is necessary to determine whether or not the automatic document feeder that has been used has a completed stamp, and perform different control.

Next, a method of informing the copying machine (or facsimile machine) of the fact that the automatic document feeder is provided with the finished stamp 50 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 6A, a dip switch is provided on the main control plate 100 (see FIG. 2) on the automatic document feeder side. This need not be limited to dip switch 70,
Any switch that can be electrically switched may be used (see FIG. 6B). Further, it is not always necessary to be on the main control plate 100 of the automatic document feeder, but it is sufficient if it is inside the apparatus.

Then, the completed stamp 50 is sent to the automatic document feeder.
When installing the DIP switch as shown in FIG.
For example, the fourth bit of 70 is turned ON. By setting a flag indicating that the completed stamp 50 is present at a predetermined output port, the main body of the copying machine (or facsimile machine) can determine that the automatic document feeder has the completed stamp. Become.

As a method of automatically transmitting the presence / absence of the finished stamp 50 in the automatic document feeder to the copying machine (or facsimile machine) body simply by attaching the finished stamp 50, there is the following method. A harness 53 as shown in FIG. The harness section 53 in this embodiment is composed of four harnesses, 5 V is applied to the harness, the harness is a signal line for determining the presence or absence of the completed stamp 50, and the harness is for driving the completed stamp. And the harness is GN
Suppose D. When there is no completed stamp 50, the connector 80 is free and no signal comes to the harness. When the stamp 50 is attached, the connector
The connector 81 on the stamp side is connected to 80. The stamped connector 81 has a pin ',' corresponding to the harness of the connector 80, which is short-circuited.
When 81 is connected, a voltage of 5 V is applied to the harness, whereby it is determined that the stamp 50 is present. As a result, when the completed stamp 50 is attached to the automatic document feeder, a flag indicating that the completed stamp 50 is present is automatically set at a predetermined output port. It is possible to determine that the feeder has the done stamp 50.

Another example of a method of automatically transmitting the presence / absence of a completed stamp in the automatic document feeder to a copying machine (or facsimile machine) body will be described.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a case where a finished stamp is attached. A micro switch 90 is attached to an attachment portion of the right cover 60 of the automatic document feeder. Right cover
A micro switch pressing portion 60a is provided on the right mounting portion of the 60 in a form corresponding to the micro switch 90. When the stamp unit is mounted on the automatic document feeder, the micro switch pressing portion 60a
By pressing, it is detected that the finished stamp has been attached, and by setting a flag indicating that the finished stamp is present, it is possible to determine that the automatic document feeder has the finished stamp. .

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a case where there is no completed stamp.
Since the right cover 61 without the completed stamp does not have a microswitch pressing portion, the microswitch 90 is not pressed.

[0034]

According to the present invention configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the exterior member including the opening / closing portion is independent of the other exterior members and is detachable from the apparatus main body. It is possible to add a marking function at a minimum cost to a user who does not need the marking function, and for a user who does not need the marking function. it can.

According to the configuration of claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the automatic document feeder has an electric switching means, and determines whether or not the automatic document feeder has a printing means. Since the image forming apparatus on which the document feeder is mounted can be distinguished, it is possible to distinguish between an automatic document feeder having a marking function and an automatic document feeder not having the marking function, which is suitable for each case. Control can be performed.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the automatic document feeder has detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the printing means, and the automatic document feeder has the printing means. The image forming apparatus equipped with the automatic document feeder can determine whether or not the printing means is attached to the automatic document feeder. This makes it possible to reliably and easily recognize the presence or absence of the printing means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a document discharge section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the finished stamp of FIG. 2 is driven.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a drive system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration around a finished stamp according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a switch applied in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing setting of a dip switch.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a configuration for detecting the presence or absence of a completed stamp.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the configuration in which the finished stamp is attached.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the configuration in the case where there is no completed stamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recall roller, 2 ... Pressing lever, 3 ... Document set detection filler, 4 ... Document stopper, 5 ... Separation belt driven roller, 6 ... Separation belt, 7 ... Separation roller, 8 ... Separation belt drive roller, 9 ... Size detection Sensor, 10 pull-out drive roller, 11 pull-out driven roller, 12 ...
Document set sensor, 13: Registration sensor, 14: Conveyor belt drive roller, 15: Conveyor belt fixing roller, 16: Conveyor belt holding roller, 17: Conveyor belt, 18: Contact glass, 19: Conveyor belt driven roller, 20: Reverse Driving rollers, 21: reverse inlet driven rollers, 22: reverse / discharge sensor, 23: guide rollers, 24: switching pawls, 25: reverse outlet driven rollers, 26: discharge driving rollers, 27: discharge driven rollers,
28: Original table, 29: Reference table, 30: Original document guide, 31: Original discharge section, 40: Rib, 50: Finished stamp, 51: Stamper, 52: Stamp solenoid,
53 ... harness part, 54 ... stamp bracket, 6
0, 61 ... right cover, 61a ... micro switch pressing part,
62 ... stamp cover, 63 ... front plate, 64 ... rear plate,
70… Dip switch, 71… Switch, 80, 81…
Connector, 90: Micro switch, 100: Main control board, 101: Feed motor, 102: Conveyor belt motor,
103: reversing / discharge motor, 104: recall solenoid,
105 ... reversing solenoid, 106, 107 ... gear.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Fukano 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-2-112370 (JP, A) JP-A Heihei 6-15942 (JP, A) JP-A-6-350782 (JP, A) JP-A-7-58903 (JP, A) JP-A-7-79313 (JP, A) JP-A-7-87249 (JP, A) A) JP-A-61-240749 (JP, A) JP-A-64-17557 (JP, A) JP-A-1-116667 (JP, U) JP-A-3-6364 (JP, U) JP-A-4 −64855 (JP, U) Actual opening 62-93852 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108 B41K 1/00-5 / 08

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] In an automatic document feeder provided with a printing means for marking an information surface of a document after an image is read, a part of an exterior member of an apparatus main body is made independent of other exterior members. , And detachably formed from the device body,
An automatic document feeder further comprising a mounting portion for mounting the printing means on the exterior member. 2. The automatic document feeder according to claim 1, further comprising an electrical switching unit that switches an output signal when the printing unit is mounted. 3. The automatic document feeder according to claim 1, further comprising detection means for detecting the presence or absence of said printing means.