JP3397650B2 - Sheet separating and conveying device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile and a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having an improved sheet automatic separating / conveying mechanism section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a document reading section of a conventional image forming apparatus, for example, a document reading section of a facsimile apparatus, when a plurality of sheets are set on a document table and a document is transmitted, the documents are automatically copied one by one. It is equipped with an automatic document separation and transport mechanism that separates and returns the documents. As this document separating / conveying mechanism, there are many apparatuses having a mechanism in which a separating piece is brought into contact with a separating roller and the separating piece is pressed by an elastic body such as a spring.

The separating / conveying mechanism rotates a separating roller in the conveying direction of a document to cause a frictional force between sheets of paper (often referred to as an example of paper hereinafter) and a friction between the paper and the separating piece. By utilizing the force and the difference in frictional force between the paper and the separation roller, only one of the plurality of papers in contact with the separation roller is separated and conveyed.

It is expected that various types of paper such as thick paper, thin paper, and weak paper will be used as originals in a facsimile machine. Paper and paper or separation roller and paper,
The frictional force between the separating piece and the paper largely changes depending on the temperature, the humidity and the paper type.

Therefore, in order to reliably separate and convey the original document even when these various conditions change,
A mechanism for adjusting the frictional force by changing the length of the elastic member that presses the separating piece according to the paper type (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-28842).
Is proposed. Further, a mechanism (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-13256) for releasing the separation piece from the separation roller has been proposed.

[0006]

In addition to the functions of facsimile transmission and reception, a facsimile (multi-function facsimile) having a function of performing color copying or a function of a scanner connected to a computer to capture a color image into the computer is provided. In this case, a paper different from the paper used for facsimile transmission is used as the original.

For example, newspaper clippings, color photographs, magazine color pages, business cards, etc. can be considered. Cutouts from newspapers and magazines are thin and weak paper types, and in many cases, the back side is also printed. When these are conveyed, it is essential that the original is not damaged and that the back side as well as the front side is not stained.

In the sheet conveyance of the conventional facsimile apparatus, the function of surely separating the bundle of documents has been emphasized. Therefore, a rubber material having a high friction coefficient is used for the separating piece. Even if the pressing force is weakened as in the conventional example, the original may be scratched or damaged due to the high friction coefficient of the separating piece. Due to the rubbing of the original and the rubber material used for the separating piece, the rubber mark on the separating piece (rubber residue)
Adheres. Further, when a thick hard paper such as a business card is used as a document, it is difficult to carry it by only weakening the pressing force.

From the above, in order to convey thick paper (business cards, etc.) and not damage originals such as photographs and newspapers and convey the back side without leaving rubber marks, the separation piece is completely released from the separation roller. A mechanism is needed.

The purpose of the prior art to release the separating pieces was to take out a document that was damaged during transportation. Therefore, in this structure, the preparatory conveyance unit is also separated when the separation piece is released. Therefore, when this mechanism is applied to document transportation, the leading edge of the document must be inserted to the reading position (back of the apparatus).

A characteristic of business cards is that not only is the paper thick, but the size is small. When inserting a business card, it is difficult to set it without bending. Further, in the above case, the conveyance from the sheet insertion port is performed only by the separation roller, so that stable conveyance is difficult (the tip easily skews).

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, the sheet separating and conveying apparatus of the present invention is described in claim 1.
As such, to hold a conveyance roller for conveying the sheet, a high coefficient of friction material such as rubber which is disposed opposite to the conveying roller <br/>
Holder , a sheet separating / conveying means composed of a first elastic spring for urging the holder , a pre-conveying arm arranged to face the conveying roller, and urging the pre-conveying arm . Second
In a sheet separating / conveying device which has a pre-conveying means composed of an elastic spring and frictionally separates and conveys the stacked sheets one by one , the operation of exposing the high friction coefficient member and the conveying roller to the outside of the device. an operation lever <br/> having a section, when the high friction coefficient member is spaced by the operating lever, the preliminary conveying arm keeps the state of being pressed against the conveying roller, said operating lever, On the sheet transport surface
It is rotatable about a vertical axis and the tip is
An inclined portion for operating the holder, which is an operating portion.
And a flat portion, and the holder is
It is operated in the separating direction from the conveying roller and separated by the flat part.
It is characterized by maintaining the state for a while . The holder includes a main body portion which supports the high friction coefficient member on one surface thereof and is biased by the first elastic spring on the opposite surface side thereof, and an upstream portion of the main body portion in a sheet conveying direction in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. It has a projecting shaft protruding and is rotatable about the projecting shaft. The preliminary conveyance arm is rotatably supported around the protruded shaft is extended on both sides of the high friction coefficient member, conveying rollers upstream than the opposing portion of the conveying roller and the high coefficient of friction member Is opposed to. The operation lever is configured by one member. An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the above-described sheet separating / conveying devices, a reading unit that reads an image of a sheet conveyed by the sheet separating / conveying device, a recording sheet feeding unit, and an image is recorded on the sheet. A recording means is provided. The image forming apparatus can be used as a facsimile machine. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the image recording unit includes an inkjet recording unit that ejects ink according to a signal to perform recording on a recording sheet.

In order to solve the above problem, another object of the present invention is to
The sheet separating / conveying device includes a conveying unit that conveys a sheet,
A friction means arranged to face the conveying means, and a friction hand.
A sheet separating / conveying hand comprising a first urging means for urging a step.
A step and a preliminary conveying member arranged to face the conveying means
And a second urging means for urging the preliminary conveying member.
Equipped with a means for transporting and rubbing the stacked sheets one by one
In the sheet separating / conveying device for separating and conveying,
Having a friction releasing means for separating the rubbing means and the conveying means,
When the friction releasing means separates the friction means,
The preliminary transport member is kept pressed by the transport means.
Then, from the position where the preliminary transport member and the transport means face each other,
Distance to the slot insertion port,
From the position facing the feeding unit to the feeding unit downstream in the sheet conveying direction.
The distance in the
It is characterized by being small. A roller is used as the conveying means, an elastic spring is used as the first and second biasing means, and a high friction coefficient member such as rubber and a holder for holding the high friction coefficient member are used as the friction means. ,
An arm member may be used as the preliminary transport member.

The holder has a main body portion which supports the high friction coefficient member on one surface and is biased by the first elastic spring on the opposite surface side, and an upstream portion of the main body portion in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the conveying direction. It has a projecting shaft projecting in the vertical direction, and is rotatable about the projecting shaft.

The preliminary conveying arm is rotatably supported around the projecting shaft, extends on both sides of the high friction coefficient member, and is provided upstream of the facing portion of the high friction coefficient member and the conveying roller. It is possible to reduce the size of the sheet separating unit, which faces the conveying roller.

The friction releasing means has an operation lever having an operation portion exposed to the outside of the apparatus, so that the operation can be facilitated.

The operating lever is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the sheet conveying surface, has a tip portion serving as the operating portion, and has an inclined portion and a flat portion for operating the holder. The holder can be operated in the separating direction from the transport roller by the inclined portion, and the separated state can be maintained by the flat portion.

The operating lever is composed of one member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

The distance from the facing position of the preliminary carrying member and the carrying means to the sheet insertion port and the distance from the facing position of the preliminary carrying member and the carrying means to the feeding means downstream in the sheet carrying direction are thick sheets, respectively. The sheet can be reliably conveyed by making the sheet smaller than the dimension in the sheet conveyance direction.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises any one of the above-mentioned sheet separating / conveying apparatus, a reading unit for reading an image of a sheet conveyed by the sheet separating / conveying apparatus, a recording sheet feeding unit, and an image on the sheet. It is characterized by having a recording means for recording.

The image forming apparatus can be used as a facsimile machine.

The image recording means may include an ink jet recording means for ejecting ink in accordance with a signal to record on a recording sheet.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 1, a color reading facsimile apparatus 1000, which is a reading and recording apparatus, includes a color scanner apparatus 800, which is a document-conveying color reading apparatus, and a recording apparatus, inside a casing that forms front, rear, left, and right side walls as illustrated. The apparatus includes a serial recording type recording apparatus, a color control board, and a power source. Each of these configurations is individually configured for easy replacement and removal.

The casing is a lower cover 100 which is a lower first casing, an upper cover 200 which is an upper second casing, and a third casing which will be described later for guiding a recording sheet and covering a power source. It is basically composed of a rear cover.

Further, the upper cover 200 has a slider 3 whose width can be adjusted in order to guide the original in the width direction, and by moving only one of the sliders 3, the slider 3 is moved around the central portion. The document table 2 provided is rotatably supported on the upper cover 200 as described later, and enables access to the ink head.

A detachable document stacking tray 4 is provided behind the document table 2. For example, when an A4 size document is conveyed forward toward the color scanner section 800, the trailing edge may hang down. I try not to.

Further, a document conveyed forward with the document surface as the bottom face is fed from below the color scanner section 800 to the apparatus 10.
No. 00 is conveyed and placed on the document discharge tray 6. This document discharge tray 6 is provided with a device 100 as shown by an arrow.
It can be moved in the front-back direction of 0.

On the other hand, the recording sheet conveyed to the recording apparatus is regulated in the width direction by the movement of the width adjusting plate 9 provided on the recording sheet base 401 arranged on the back side of the apparatus 1000. After being serially recorded in a printer section, which will be described later, the sheet is discharged onto the recording sheet base 8 below the color scanner section 800.

When the size of this recording sheet is conveyed such that its longitudinal direction is the front-back direction of the apparatus, the rear recording sheet support base 5 and the front recording sheet support rod 7 for preventing sagging are formed. It is provided. The support base 5 is built in the recording sheet base 401, and is configured to be brought to the position shown in the drawing by appropriately pulling it out, while the recording sheet support rod 7 on the front side is moved in the front-back direction in the same manner as the original document support rod. It is provided so that it can be pulled out.

The upper cover 200 is shaped so as to surround the color scanner section 800 as shown in the figure, and by removing it from the lower cover 100 along the edge 202 of the upper cover 200, the color scanner Part 80
It is possible to leave 0 on the lower cover 100.

A scanner body and a panel portion are connected to the color scanner portion 800 so as to open and close around a hinge (not shown). Further, a liquid crystal display portion 811, a dial key 810 and other operation portions are arranged on the panel portion as shown.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the apparatus 1000, in which the upper cover 200 is omitted. In the figure, the same components as those already described are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. A color scanner unit 800, which is a document-conveying-type reading device for reading a document while conveying it, inside a lower cover 100 integrally formed with a base that serves as a bottom surface, a side wall that serves as an exterior surface, and an opening surface surrounded by the side wall. A printer 400, which is a serial recording paper type recording device that performs serial recording while carrying, a color control substrate and a power source 600 that perform predetermined control by being connected to these, and ink absorption that absorbs ink that is not needed for initial ejection. Body 13 and rear cover 15
And the recording sheet base 8 and the speaker 16 (not shown)
All of the above can be fixed to the lower cover 100 without using any tools.

Next, the configuration of each part will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the color scanner unit 800 will be described.

The color scanner unit 800 irradiates the original G with light and converts the reflected light into an electric signal, and transmits this signal to another device according to the operation mode or to its own printer unit 400. To do. The document G is stacked on the document table 2.

83 in the color scanner body 800
1 is the frame of the color scanner unit 800, and
It is a scanner base that guides the lower side of the document G and is fixed to the lower cover 100. Further, the scanner base 831 includes a separation roller 832 for feeding the original document, a feeding roller 833 for conveying the original document, a paper ejection roller 834 for ejecting the original document on the original document ejection table, a color contact sensor 835 for reading the image information of the original document, and the like. Is provided.

Further, the panel portion is rotatably attached to the scanner base 831 by a fulcrum (not shown), an upper original guide 836 for guiding the upper side of the original, a separating piece 837 arranged to be pressed against the separating roller 832, and a feeding unit. roller 833, feeding roller 8 which is the feeding roller 83 3 and the opposing pressing
38, paper discharge roller 839, color contact sensor 835
A read white background 840, which is pressed against and serves as a read white reference, and a release lever 841 for releasing the press of the separation piece 837 for conveying a thick document, are provided.

A panel frame 842 forms a part of the exterior and is attached to the upper document guide. The panel frame 842 is provided with operation keys 843, a display portion 844 such as an LCD, and a panel substrate 845 on which they are mounted.

Here, the original feeding and reading operations of the color scanner unit 800 are performed by a motor, a sensor drive circuit and the like not shown, and these controls and the display control of the panel unit 801 are color control. Controlled by the substrate.

Next, the printer 400 will be described.
The printer 400 includes a tray 4 as a stacking unit of a paper feeding unit.
02 is disposed on the base 401, the tray has an intermediate plate supported by a fulcrum not shown, and the intermediate plate is pressed by a spring. The base 401 is fixed to the printer body 400 with screws or the like.

The recording paper S1 is stacked on the middle plate, and the back surface is supported by a paper feed tray which is elastically provided on a paper feed base, and the position in the width direction is movably provided on the middle plate. It is regulated by the side guide 9. Further, the paper feed roller 403 feeds the recording paper one by one, and the printer unit 4
Send to 00. S2 indicates a manual recording sheet supplied from the rear cover portion 15.

The printer body 400 is provided with an ink jet recording unit, for example. The ink head 417 conveys the sheet S conveyed by the conveying roller 412 and the pinch roller.
The ink image is recorded on. As a recording unit in this apparatus, an inkjet recording system is used in which ink is ejected from an ink head to record. That is, this ink head has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage, and an energy acting portion provided in a part of this liquid passage, and energy generation that generates droplet forming energy that acts on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with means.

As the energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, electromagnetic waves such as laser are irradiated to generate heat, and droplets are ejected by the action of the heat generation. There are a recording method using an energy generating means, a recording method using an energy generating means for heating a liquid and discharging the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor.

Among them, in the ink head used in the ink jet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy, liquid ejection ports (orifices) for ejecting recording liquid droplets to form ejection liquid droplets are arranged at high density. Therefore, it is possible to perform high-resolution recording. Among them, the ink head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating means can be easily made compact,
Moreover, it is advantageous because the advantages of IC technology and microfabrication technology, whose technological advances and reliability have been remarkably improved in recent years, can be fully utilized, high-density mounting is easy, and manufacturing cost is low. .

A printer chassis 411 serves as a frame of the printer body 400, and is fixed to the lower cover 100. Reference numeral 412 denotes a paper feeding roller, which is pressed by a pinch roller arranged opposite to the recording paper S sent from the paper feeding unit.
Is sent to the printing unit further downstream.

Reference numeral 414 denotes a platen which supports the back surface of the recording paper in the printing section. On the front surface of the recording paper, a recording image is recorded by an ink head 417 attached to a reciprocating carriage 416 supported by a guide shaft 415. It is formed.

After that, the recording paper S is ejected from the printer section 400 by the recording paper ejection roller pair 418.
It is conveyed and stacked on the recording sheet table 8 provided on the lower cover 100.

Here, the recording paper conveyance, the recording operation and the like of the printer unit 400 are performed by a motor, a sensor, a head drive circuit and the like (not shown), and these controls are controlled by the control board unit. The board 421 is a recording interruption board that relays signals from these motors, sensors, head drive circuits, etc. and transfers them to the control board unit. Further, an absorber 13 that absorbs waste ink generated when an operation such as ink clogging prevention is performed in the printer unit 400 is attached to the lower cover 100.

Next, the flow of the original sheet G will be described. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the color scanner unit 800. The document transport path is as indicated by arrow F. In FIG. 2, the document G is stacked on the document stacking tray 4 with the image side facing down. The documents G stacked on the document stacking tray 4 are positioned by the slider 3 movable in the width direction.

Reference numeral 906 is a pre-conveying arm which is a separation roller 83.
It is located at the opposite portion of 2. This preliminary conveyance arm is pressed against the separation roller 832 by a preliminary conveyance spring 904 described later. The set original sheet is cut and pre-conveyed by the cooperation of the pre-conveying arm and the separating roller.

Reference numeral 837 denotes a separating piece, which is pressed against the separating roller 832 from above by the ADF spring 903, and the preliminarily conveyed original G is fed from the lower side by the cooperation of the separating piece 837 and the separating roller 832. Separately conveyed.
Further, the separation roller 832 also serves to convey the document G to the feeding roller 833.

The original G conveyed by the separation roller is conveyed by the feeding roller 833 to the reading position of the contact color sensor 835. Color contact sensor 8
Reference numeral 35 reads the image of the original G conveyed by the feeding roller. A white background sheet metal 840 is urged from above by a white background spring 907 along the reading line of the color contact sensor 835, so that the image of the separately conveyed original G is brought into close contact with the reading line.

The document G conveyed and read by the color contact sensor is discharged by the discharge roller 834. The discharged document G is discharged and stacked on the document discharge tray 6 which is detachable from the main body.

Next, the sheet separating / conveying section D will be described. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the sheet separating / conveying unit, which is the D portion of FIG. In the present embodiment, a separation piece release mechanism for releasing and holding the pressing force of the separation piece will be described in detail.

In FIG. 3 , 836 is an upper original guide, 90
Reference numeral 1 is a lower original guide. The original sheet is set in the original insertion port formed between the upper original guide 836 and the lower original guide 901.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, 837 is a separating piece composed of a friction member such as a rubber piece.
It is installed on 05. Reference numeral 906 denotes a pre-conveying arm which is made of a plastic, metal plate or rubber member having a relatively small friction coefficient. A protrusion shaft 905a extends to the ADF holder 905.

A concave portion 906a is provided on the preliminary conveying arm, and a projection shaft 905a of the holder is attached to a concave portion of the concave portion 906a. The preliminary transport arm can rotate around the protrusion shaft 905a.

Numeral 904 is a tension spring as a pressing spring as a pre-conveying arm urging means. Of both ends of the preliminary conveyance pressing spring 904, one side is a preliminary conveyance arm and the other is A.
It is attached to the protrusion of the DF holder.

A concave portion (not shown) is provided on the upper original guide 836, and the projection shaft 905a of the holder is attached to the concave portion of the concave portion. The holder 905 can be rotated around this 905a axis. The ADF holder 905 is located at a position facing the separation roller, and the preliminary transport arm 906 and the separation piece 837 are arranged so as to contact the separation roller 832.

One end of an ADF spring 903 as a holder urging means is engaged with the receiving surface 905b of the holder 905, and the other end is engaged with the operation panel 842. AD
The F spring 903 is a compression coil spring. This elastic force causes the separation piece 837 on the holder 905 to separate the separation roller 832.
Is pressed against.

[0062] For pressing force of the ADF spring 90 3 is greater than the tensile force of the preliminary conveying spring 904, ADF spring 903
And the action of the preliminary transport spring 904, the preliminary transport pressing arm 9
06 is pressed by the separation roller 823.

Reference numeral 841 is a separation piece release lever. 841
The separating piece release lever is a member that maintains a state by providing a gap between the separating piece and the separating roller. In FIG. 4, an inclined portion 841 is provided at the tip of the separation piece release lever 841.
a and a flat portion 841b are provided.

FIG. 5A is a state diagram when the ADF holder member and the separating piece release lever are incorporated on the upper original guide. The separation piece release lever 841 is attached to a shaft 902a on the upper document guide, and the separation piece release lever 841 that operates in the rotation direction about this axis is operated in the rotation direction to move the separation piece release lever described above. The inclined portion 841a at the tip pushes up the protrusion 905c as the engaged portion of the ADF holder. The sloped part is the protrusion 90
It may be formed on the 5c side.

Operation of Separation Piece Release Mechanism FIG. 5, FIG.
Will be described with reference to. When the separating piece release lever 841 is operated in the direction of arrow I in FIG. 5A, the inclined portion 841 a at the tip of the separating piece release lever causes the ADF holder protrusion 90 to move.
Abut 5c. When further operating in the direction of arrow I, the ADF holder protrusion 905c is pushed up by the inclined portion 841a at the tip of the separation piece release lever, and the holder rotates upward about the shaft 905a. Further, the protrusion 905c is a flat portion 841b at the tip of the separation piece release lever.
The protrusion of the ADF holder is held in a raised state. This state is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the separation piece release lever 841 is operated,
It is sectional drawing when the tip of an ADF holder is lifted and hold | maintained. H is a gap generated between the separation piece and the separation roller by operating the separation piece release lever in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

As the protrusion 905c of the ADF holder rises, the extension of the ADF holder 905 and the preliminary conveyance pressing spring (elastic tension spring) attached to the preliminary conveyance arm decreases, but the force of the ADF spring pressing the ADF holder is increased. Therefore, the preliminary transport arm is pressed against the separation roller by the elastic force of the preliminary transport spring. Therefore, even when the separation piece release lever is operated, the preliminary conveyance arm is kept pressed by the separation roller. The pressing position of the preliminary transport arm 906 is the separation piece 837.
Is the same as when not separated.

The flow of the original when the separation lever 832 is released from the separation roller 832 by operating the release lever will be described. The document sheet G is set on the document stacking tray. The leading edge of the original sheet G is set at a position where the preliminary transport arm 906 and the separation roller 832 are in contact with each other. This position is the same as when the separating piece 837 is not released. Therefore, there is no need for the user to change the position where the document is set. The stacked original sheets are conveyed to the position of the feeding roller by the rotation of the separation roller.

Since the frictional force does not work between the separating piece 837 and the original sheet, the separating function of a plurality of sheets is lowered, but one sheet of thick paper can be fed. In addition, the rubber mark of the separation piece 837 does not adhere to the back surface of the document, and the scratches due to friction with the separation piece do not occur. The leading edge of the document is the feed roller 83
The original sheet is stably conveyed while being pressed by the separation roller 832 by the preliminary conveying arm 906 until it is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 3 and the feeding roller 838. If the preliminary transport arm 90
When the document is conveyed by the rotation of the separation roller without the pressing of 6, the conveyance is performed only by the frictional force between the separation rollers 832 generated by the original weight of the document, the conveyance force is small, and the document conveyance becomes unstable. The tip easily skews.

Next, the positional relationship among the separating roller, the feeding roller, the separating piece and the preliminary conveying arm will be described. In FIG. 6, L2 is the distance from the contact position between the feeding roller 833 and the feeding roller 838 to the contact position between the separating roller 832 and the preliminary conveying arm 906, and L1 is the contact position between the separating roller 832 and the preliminary conveying pressing arm 906. To the sheet insertion slot.

Reference numeral M denotes a sheet insertion port formed by the upper document guide and the lower document guide. Here, the position of the sheet insertion port is a position where the user can see it from the outside of the apparatus. L
In the present embodiment, both 1 and L2 are assumed to be business card delivery 3
It is set to 0 mm or less.

When the original is set, the leading end of the original is abutted against the contact position between the preliminary conveyance arm 906 and the separation roller 832. The size of the business card is approximately 80 mm × 40 mm. When separating the separation piece 837 and setting a business card, L
Since 1 is 40 mm, the rear end of the business card of about 10 mm projects from the sheet insertion opening (visible to the user by the user). Therefore, even if the business card is accidentally set diagonally, the user can arrange the business card by holding the rear end so that the business card does not skew.

Further, the distance L2 from the feeding roller 833 and the feeding roller 838 until the document is nipped and the feeding is started is smaller than the size of the business card. Therefore, the business card is ready until the tip is nipped by the feeding roller. It is transported while being pressed by the transport arm 906. Therefore, stable transportation of business cards is possible.

According to the above embodiment, the separating roller 832 as the conveying means is provided with the separating piece 837 as the friction means and the holder which are arranged so as to come into contact with the separating roller 832 as the friction releasing means. Is operated to separate and release, and at that time, the preliminary conveyance arm 906 as a preliminary conveyance member can be kept in a state of being pressed by the separation roller, and the operation portion of the lever is the panel frame 842 or the like. Since it is exposed to the outside of the device, the user can easily operate the lever.

Therefore, if the release lever is operated and the separation piece is released and the sheet is conveyed, the original can be conveyed without any rubber dust or dirt attached to the back surface and without being scratched. It becomes possible to use cutouts of photographs and magazines as manuscripts. Further, by releasing the separating piece, it becomes possible to use thick paper as a document.

Further, since the pre-conveying arm is not released from the separating roller, the setting position of the leading edge of the original is the same when the separating piece is released, and when the separating piece is released, a small size sheet such as a business card can be set. When set, the rear end projects from the sheet insertion port and can be confirmed from the outside of the apparatus, and the user can hold the rear end and set it again so as not to skew. Further, during the transportation, the business card is transported in a stable state because it is pressed by the pre-transporting member until it is sandwiched between the feeding roller and the feeding roller. Stable transportation becomes possible. The above effects are remarkable when the sheet separating / conveying apparatus is used for a facsimile.

[0077]

As described above, according to the first to seventh aspects.
According to the invention, the operation of the operation lever exposed to the outside of the device
The high friction coefficient member was separated from the transport roller by operating the section
At this time, the preliminary transport arm should be in a state of being pressed by the transport roller.
Keep the operation lever on the axis perpendicular to the sheet conveying surface.
It is rotatable around and the tip is the operation part.
To operate the holder that holds the high friction coefficient member.
Has a slanted portion and a flat portion for holding the slanted portion.
Part is operated in the direction of separation from the transport roller and flattened.
Since the separated state is maintained by the section, the leading end position of the small size thick paper such as a business card is regulated by the preliminary transport arm to prevent the skew, and as described above, the high friction engagement is performed.
By separating the several members from each other, the pressing force is reduced, and it is possible to prevent peeling pieces and dirt from the high friction coefficient member from adhering to the back surface of the sheet. In addition, claims 8 to 1
According to the invention of claim 7, the friction releasing means enables the friction releasing means to operate.
When separated, the preliminary conveying member was pressed by the conveying means.
Keeping the state, check whether the position where the preliminary transport member and the transport means face each other.
From the sheet insertion port to the front
A feeder located downstream of the conveying means in the sheet conveying direction.
The distance to the step is the dimension in the transport direction of thick sheets.
Since it is smaller than the law, insert small size cardboard such as business cards
When it is inserted into the entrance, the feeding means passes through the conveying means.
Is reliably fed, and the friction means is separated as described above.
The pressing force is reduced by
Prevents peeling pieces and dirt from the friction means from adhering.
You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view of a sheet conveying unit in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a separation piece releasing mechanism section in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

5A and 5B are plan views showing the arrangement of the separating piece releasing mechanism on the upper guide, wherein FIG. 5A shows a normal state and FIG. 5B shows a releasing piece.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the sheet conveying unit when the separation piece is released.

[Explanation of symbols]

1000 ... Facsimile machine 3 ... Slider 4 ... Document loading tray 6 ... Original output tray 100 ... Lower cover 200 ... Top cover 800 ... Color scanner section 831 ... Scanner base 832 ... Separation roller 833 ... Feed roller 834 ... Paper ejection roller 835 ... Color contact sensor 836 ... Upper document guide 837 ... Separation piece 838 ... Feeding roller 839 ... Paper ejection roller 840 ... Read white background 841 ... Release lever 842 ... Panel frame 843 ... Operation key 844 ... LCD display section 845 ... Panel substrate 901 ... Lower manuscript guide 903 ... Spring 904 ... Preliminary transport spring 905 ... Holder 906 ... Preliminary transport arm 907 ... White spring D: Sheet separating / conveying unit F: Document transport path G ... manuscript M: Sheet insertion slot

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) Reference JP-A-56-122741 (JP, A) JP-A-9-30675 ( JP, A) JP-A-8-277047 (JP, A) JP-A-7-237768 (JP, A) Actually developed 64-9930 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 3/56 330 B65H 3/52 310 B41J 13/00

Claims (17)

(57) [Claims] 1. A conveyance roller for conveying a sheet, and the conveyance
Use a high friction coefficient member such as rubber that is placed facing the roller.
Friction means held by a holder and urging the friction means
A sheet separating / conveying means composed of a first elastic spring, a preliminary conveying arm arranged to face the conveying roller , and the preliminary conveying.
A preliminary convey means comprising a second resilient spring for urging the arm, in the sheet separating and conveying apparatus for conveying the stacked sheets in frictional separated one by one, an apparatus for separating the said conveying roller and said friction means Exposed to the outside
An operation lever having a manipulation unit to output, the operation lever
When the high friction coefficient member is spaced by chromatography, the preliminary conveying arm keeps the state of being pressed against the conveying roller, before
The operating lever rotates around an axis perpendicular to the sheet transport surface.
It is movable and the tip is the operation part.
It has an inclined part and a flat part for operating the holder,
The holder is separated from the transport roller by the inclined portion.
A sheet separating / conveying apparatus which is operated in an inter-direction direction and is maintained in a separated state by a flat portion . 2. The main body according to claim 1 , wherein the holder supports the high friction coefficient member on one surface and receives the bias of the first elastic spring on the opposite surface side, and the main body portion in a sheet conveying direction. A sheet separating / conveying apparatus having a projecting shaft projecting in a direction perpendicular to the carrying direction at an upstream portion and being rotatable around the projecting shaft. 3. The auxiliary transport arm according to claim 2,
Characterized in that rotatably supported around the protruded shaft is extended on both sides of the high friction coefficient member, opposed to the conveying roller upstream than the opposing portion of the conveying roller and the high coefficient of friction member Sheet separating and conveying device. 4. The sheet separating / conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operation lever is composed of one member. 5. A one of the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 to 4, a reading means for reading an image of the sheet fed by the sheet separating and conveying apparatus, a recording sheet feeding means, an image on the sheet An image forming apparatus having recording means for recording. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus. 7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the image recording unit, an image forming apparatus, comprising an ink jet recording means for recording on a recording sheet by discharging ink in response to a signal. 8. A sheet separating / conveying means comprising a conveying means for conveying a sheet, a friction means arranged to face the conveying means, and a first urging means for urging the friction means, and the conveying means. A pre-conveying member arranged to face the means, and a pre-conveying unit including a second urging unit for urging the pre-conveying member, and conveys the stacked sheets one by one by friction separation. In the sheet separating / conveying apparatus, a state in which the friction releasing means separates the conveying means from each other and the preliminary conveying member is pressed by the conveying means when the friction releasing means separates the friction means. And the position where the preliminary conveying member and the conveying means face each other.
From the sheet to the sheet insertion port, and with the preliminary conveyance member
Feeding downstream from the position facing the conveying means in the sheet conveying direction
The distances to the means are respectively in the conveying direction of thick sheets.
A sheet separating / conveying device characterized by being smaller than a size . 9. The roller according to claim 8 , wherein a roller is used as the conveying means, an elastic spring is used as the first and second urging means, and a high friction coefficient member such as rubber is used as the friction means. A sheet separating / conveying apparatus, wherein a holder for holding a friction coefficient member is used and an arm member is used as the preliminary conveying member. 10. The holder according to claim 9 ,
A body portion that supports the high friction coefficient member on one surface and is biased by the first elastic spring on the opposite surface side, and a projecting shaft that projects in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction at an upstream portion of the body portion in the sheet conveying direction. And a sheet separating / conveying device which is rotatable about the projecting shaft. 11. The auxiliary transport arm according to claim 9 , wherein the preliminary transport arm is rotatably supported around the projecting shaft, and is extended to both sides of the high friction coefficient member. A sheet separating / conveying device which faces the conveying roller upstream of the facing portion. 12. In any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the friction releasing means, the sheet separating and conveying apparatus characterized by having an operation lever having a manipulation portion exposed to the outside of the apparatus. 13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the operating lever, the distal end portion while being rotatable about the vertical axis to the conveying surface of the sheet is to the operation unit, for actuating said holder 2. The sheet separating / conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder is operated in a separating direction from the conveying roller by the inclined portion and the flat portion is maintained by the flat portion. 14. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the operating lever, the sheet separating and conveying apparatus characterized by being composed of one member. 15. Any of the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 8 to 14, reading means for reading an image of the sheet fed by the sheet separating and conveying apparatus, a recording sheet feeding means, an image on the sheet An image forming apparatus having recording means for recording. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus. 17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the image recording unit, an image forming apparatus, comprising an ink jet recording means for recording on a recording sheet by discharging ink in response to a signal.