JP3412685B2 - Paper transport device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device for conveying sheets such as originals and transfer sheets in copying machines, printers, scanners, facsimile machines and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a part of a conventional sheet conveying apparatus. In this paper transport device, the paper P is
A conveying force is given by a plurality of roller pairs 93 to 96 and the like, and the conveying path 90 formed of a pair of guide surfaces 901 and 902 facing each other is conveyed in a predetermined order.

In such a sheet transporting apparatus, it is required to detect the position of the sheet P in the apparatus in order to know the timing of image formation and image reading on the sheet P. As a sensor for detecting the position of such a sheet P, there is a detection lever 921 protruding inside the conveyance path 90, and when the detection lever 921 is pushed down by the sheet P conveyed on the conveyance path 90, the sheet is conveyed. A lever detection type sensor 92 for detecting the conveyance of P is general.

On the other hand, in such a device transporting device, the paper P may jam in the transporting path 90 (paper jam), and therefore it is required to be able to easily handle this. Therefore, in the paper transport apparatus shown in FIG. 5, one guide surface 902 forming the transport path 90 is attached to the outer cover 91 of the main body of the apparatus that can be opened and closed, and the operator opens this cover 91 to open the transport path. 90 is exposed, and the paper P jammed (paper jam) in the transport path 90 can be pulled out of the apparatus (FIG. 5).
(See (b)).

[0005]

However, if the detection lever 921 of the sensor 92 for detecting the sheet position is attached to the conveyance path 90 exposed for jam clearance, the outer cover 91 is opened and the conveyance path 90 is opened. When the operator starts to pull out the jammed paper P, the paper P that has pushed down the detection lever 921 toward the guide surface 901 moves away from the guide surface 901, and accordingly, the detection lever 921 guides. It largely projects to the surface 902 side (state of FIG. 5B). If the paper P is further pulled out of the apparatus in such a state, the paper P will be pulled out in the direction along the guide surface 902.
The sheet P is caught by the detection lever 921, and the detection lever 921 is damaged beyond the range of motion of the detection lever 921, or the detection lever 921 is damaged. There is a risk that the caught paper P may be torn.

However, in order to prevent such damage of the paper P and the detection lever 921, an optical sensor or the like is used as a sensor for detecting the paper position in the conveying path 90 exposed for such jam processing. If so, such an optical sensor or the like is expensive, which causes an increase in cost of the device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and uses an inexpensive lever detection type sensor as a sensor for detecting the position of a sheet in an apparatus, and easily and without damaging the sheet or the sensor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet conveying device that can perform jam processing.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A sheet conveying device according to the present invention is a sheet conveying device that conveys a sheet along a conveying path formed between a pair of guide surfaces facing each other. A conveyance path opening mechanism that moves the conveyance path from a position where the conveyance path is formed to a position where the conveyance path is exposed with respect to the other guide surface, and the other guide surface is projected into the conveyance path and tilted in the paper conveyance direction from the protruding posture. capable has a detection lever provided transport, a sensor for detecting the conveyance of the sheet by receiving the tilt of the detection lever, a vicinity of the detection lever, the one guide surface in the conveyance path forming position and Located at approximately the same height in the road height direction
Position facing the sensor across the transport path
And a sheet abutment member fixedly attached to the
The paper contact member is interlocked with the separating operation of the one guide surface.
It is installed so that it stays near the detection lever without
And it is characterized in that it is (claim 1).

According to such a sheet conveying device, the conveying path
Since the conveyance path can be exposed by the opening mechanism, the jammed paper can be easily removed from the apparatus by pulling the jammed sheet out of the apparatus. Further, when the conveyance path is exposed in this manner, the sheet in the state in which the detection lever is pushed down is held in the same position by the sheet contact member, so that the state in which the detection lever is pushed down is maintained.
Therefore, the sheet is prevented from being caught by the detection lever when the sheet is pulled out of the apparatus, and the sheet and the sensor are not damaged.

Between a pair of guide surfaces facing each other
A paper transport device that transports paper along the transport path formed on the
Place one guide surface against the other
Moves away from the transport path formation position to the position where the transport path is exposed
Transport path opening mechanism and the other guide surface
Projected into the feed path and tilted in the paper transport direction from the projected posture
It has a detection lever that can be installed and tilts the detection lever.
The sensor that detects the conveyance of the paper when it falls
It is provided near the bar and is in front of the transport path forming position.
The same height as one guide surface in the height direction of the transport path
A sheet contact member located at
However, one of the
Characterized by being configured to form part of the id surface
A shall (claim 2).

If the paper contact member also serves as a part of the guide surface as described above, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced. In particular, in such a sheet transporting device, the transport path near the detection lever that operates in contact with the sheet is a portion where high processing accuracy is required. If the contact member is used, the manufacturing cost of the entire device can be greatly reduced.

The sheet contact member for contacting the sheet with the detection lever pushed down is composed of a pair of members arranged in the vicinity of the detection lever so as to sandwich the detection lever from both sides in the width direction of the conveyance path. It is desirable to configure (Claim 3).

If the paper contact member is composed of a pair of members that sandwich the detection lever from both sides, it is possible to prevent the paper pulled out of the apparatus from coming into contact with the side surface of the detection lever. It is possible to more reliably prevent the paper and the sensor from being damaged by being caught by the detection lever.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a document conveying device incorporating an embodiment of a sheet conveying device according to the present invention. Hereinafter, an outline of the document feeder will be described prior to describing this embodiment in detail.

This document feeder takes in documents one by one from a bundle of documents placed on the document tray 10 with the top page facing upward and reads the image information, and the top page faces downward in page order. The sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray 80, and not only a single-sided original having image information formed on only one side but also a double-sided original having image information formed on both front and back sides is read image information on both sides of the original and It can be discharged without changing the page order. Note that this embodiment is described as an example in which it is mounted on the upper part of a copying machine, but it can also be applied to a scanner device, a facsimile device, and the like with the same configuration.

The document tray 10 is a document placing section which is constructed so that documents P having image information can be stacked and placed.
At the bottom of the document tray 10, a document set sensor 11 for detecting the presence or absence of the document P on the document tray 10 is provided.

The separating / feeding section 20 is for picking up the originals P one by one from a bundle of originals placed on the original tray 10 and feeding them to the first conveying path 31. In this separating / feeding unit 20, the forward feed roller 2 arranged above the document tray 10
3 feeds the original P on the original tray 10 toward the paper feed roller 21 and the separation roller 22. Then, the paper feed roller 21 is rotationally driven so as to send out the original P on the original tray 10, and the separation roller 22 arranged so as to be in sliding contact with the paper feed roller 21 receives the pressure from the paper feed roller side 21. By rotating the driven document while generating a corresponding rotation resistance, the document stack placed on the document tray 10 is separated,
The one original document P at the uppermost position is separated and fed to the first transport path 31. Reference numeral 24 is a feed sensor that detects the leading end and the trailing end of the document P fed to the first transport path 31.

The first conveying path 31 is a conveying path from the separating / feeding section 20 to the document reversing section 60. A pair of registration rollers 51 and 52 are provided on the first transport path 31,
The leading edge of the document P is aligned. The downstream side of the registration roller 51 is a first branch position 41 where the fifth transport path 35 branches from the first transport path 31, and the reversing branch lever 411 provided at the first branch position 41 causes The document P conveyed to the first branch position 41
The transfer path can be switched to either the downstream side of the first transfer path 31 or the fifth transfer path 35. The fifth transport path 35 is a transport path used when transporting a single-sided original.

The document reversing section 60 switches back the conveyance direction of the document P conveyed from the first conveyance path 31 to the second direction.
By discharging the document P to the transport path 32, the front and back surfaces (the surface facing the outside of the apparatus and the surface facing the inside) of the document P on the transport path are reversed. This document reversing section 60
Includes a reversing roller 61 that can be driven to rotate in both forward and reverse directions, and a reversing roller 62 that is in sliding contact with the reversing roller 61.
The document P between the reversing roller 62 and the reversing roller 62 is conveyed in accordance with the rotation of the reversing roller 61 in both the forward and reverse directions, and the conveying direction of the document P can be switched back.

The reversing roller 62 can be brought into contact with and separated from the reversing roller 61 by the reversing roller contacting / separating means 63.
When the reversing roller 62 is separated from the reversing roller 61, the document P between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62 is in a free state in which it can move up and down without resistance, and the document reversing unit 60
It is possible to discharge the preceding document from the above and simultaneously carry the next document into the document reversing unit 60.

On the upper side between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62, a switchback path 65 through which the original P whose conveyance direction is switched back is temporarily carried in extends toward the upper side of the original tray 10. It is provided in. The switchback path 65 has an opening 66 that is opened to the outside of the main body of the apparatus at a position above the separating and feeding section 20. From the opening 66 when the long document P is switched back. The leading edge of the document P is temporarily discharged to the outside of the main body of the apparatus.

The lower side between the reversing roller 61 and the reversing roller 62 is a second branching position 42 where the first conveying path 31 and the second conveying path 32 branch off. At the branch position 42, the second transport path 3 is narrowed so as to narrow the outlet of the first transport path 31.
2 is provided with a projecting piece 421 that extends the lower wall surface, and by this projecting piece 421, the document P sent from the first transport path 31 to the branch position 42 is placed on the document reversing section 60.
On the other hand, the document P carried out from the document reversing section 60 is carried to the second carrying path 32.

The second transport path 32 is a transport path from the document reversing section 60 to the document reading section 70. This second transport path 32
On the upper side, the upper conveying roller pair 53, 54 and the lower conveying roller pair 5
5, 56 are provided, and the document P on the second transport path 32 is provided.
Is conveyed to the reading position 71 of the document reading unit 70. The fifth conveyance path 35 for conveying the one-sided original document joins the second conveyance path 32 from the upstream side of the upper conveyance roller pair 53, 54.

Further, a timing sensor 72 is provided at the upstream position of the lower conveying roller 55 so as to detect the leading end portion and the trailing end portion of the document P and use them for the timing of document reading by the document reading unit 70. Has become. The present invention is characterized by the configuration for jam processing in the second conveyance path 32 provided with the timing sensor 72, and this characteristic part will be described in detail later.

The original reading unit 70 uses a gap between a contact glass 73 provided on the upper surface of the copying machine main body 90 and an original guide 74 arranged above the contact glass 73 as a reading position 71.
The image information on the lower surface of the document P conveyed at the reading position 71 is read by a so-called flow reading method. The document reading unit 70 includes an exposure lamp that irradiates the document P with light, a lens system and a reflection mirror that guide the reflected light from the document P, and the reflected light that is guided in the copying machine main body 90 (not shown). An image reading mechanism unit for detecting image information is provided.

The third transport path 33 is a transport path from the document reading section 70 to the discharge tray 80. This third transport path 3
A pair of intermediate rollers 57 and 58 are provided on the sheet 3, and the document P is conveyed further downstream. A downstream side of the pair of intermediate rollers 57 and 58 is a third branch position 43 where the fourth transport path 34 branches from the third transport path 33, and a discharge branch lever 431 provided at the third branch position 43. The third conveyance path 33 or the fourth conveyance path 34 on the conveyance path of the document P is located downstream of the third branch position 43.
You can switch to any of. It should be noted that, in the case where a double-sided original is being read, the fourth conveyance path 34 sets the original P as the first original so as to read the remaining surface of the original whose first surface has been read.
This is a conveyance path for returning the registration roller pair 51, 52 of the conveyance path 31 to the upstream side. The double-sided document is conveyed through the fourth conveyance path 34, and the conveyance direction is switched back again in the document reversing section 60, so that the front and back surfaces thereof are reversed,
The image information on the remaining surface is read and returned to the third transport path 33.

The discharge tray 80 is a document discharge section for discharging the document P whose image information has been read. The discharge tray 80 is disposed below the document tray 10 and has a pair of discharge rollers 8 provided at the exit of the third transport path 33.
From 1 and 82, a single-sided original whose one side has been read and a double-sided original whose both sides have been read are ejected in the order of pages on the original tray 10.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the characteristic portions of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the exterior cover 45 of this device is opened, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the periphery of the detection lever 721 of the timing sensor 72 from the direction III in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a jam process in this paper transport device.

The second conveying path 32 of the sheet conveying apparatus is composed of a pair of guide surfaces 321 and 322 facing each other, and the outer guide surface 322 is attached to the exterior cover 45 of the apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the exterior cover 45 is rotated about a rotation shaft 451 to move the outer guide surface 322 away from the inner guide surface 321 and set the conveyance path 32 to the apparatus. It can be exposed to the outside. That is, the rotatably mounting form of the outer cover 45 to which the outer guide surface 322 is attached constitutes a transport path opening mechanism that exposes the transport path 32. With the provision of
Jam (paper jam) generated inside can be easily dealt with.

On the other hand, the timing sensor 72 is attached to the inner guide surface 321 side which does not move apart due to the rotating operation of the exterior cover 45. The timing sensor 72 has a hole 321a in the guide surface 321.
1 has a detection lever 721 provided so as to project into the conveyance path 32 from above, and the detection lever 721 is pushed down from the solid line position in FIG. By the transport path 32
It is possible to detect that the document P is being conveyed. As shown in FIG. 4, the detection lever 721 is arranged so as to overlap the conveyance roller 55 of the lower conveyance roller pair in the width direction.
Is composed of a plurality of rollers arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction, and the detection lever 721 is arranged between predetermined adjacent rollers so that it does not interfere with the conveyance roller 55. There is.

Further, a pair of sheet contact members 722 and 722 are sandwiched from both sides of the detection lever 721 at positions facing the timing sensor 72 with the conveyance path 32 interposed therebetween.
Are arranged (see FIG. 3). This paper contact member 72
2, 722 are screwed to a guide member 723 forming a guide surface extending downward from the outer guide surface 322 of the conveyance path 32 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
22 and 722 are the guide surfaces 3 attached to the exterior cover 45 at a substantially central position in the width direction of the transport path 32.
It is designed to form a part of the guide surface continuous with 22.

However, the paper contact members 722, 72
The guide member 723 to which 2 is attached is fixedly attached to the apparatus main body and does not interlock with the opening / closing operation of the exterior cover 45. Therefore, this paper contact member 722
722 also does not interlock with the separating operation of the guide surface 322 by the opening / closing operation of the outer cover 45, and always stays at the position where the detection lever 721 is sandwiched from both sides (see FIGS. 2 and 4B).

That is, when the outer cover 45 is opened to perform the jam processing, the guide surface 322 attached to the outer cover 45 moves away from the guide surface 321 to expose the transport path 32. Abutting member 7
22 and 722 remain at positions where the detection lever 721 is sandwiched from both sides, and the document P located on the front side of the detection lever 721 and pushing down the detection lever 721 is moved by the paper contact members 722 and 722. The detection lever 721 can be securely retained at the position where it is pushed down as it is (see FIG. 4B). Therefore, even if the conveyance path 32 is exposed in the state where the document P is located at the detection position on the front surface of the detection lever 721, the detection lever 721 does not rise up so as to project into the conveyance path 32.

Therefore, when the operator performs the jam processing for removing the original P in which the conveyance path 32 is exposed and jammed in the conveyance path 32 (paper jam), the conveyance path 3 is used.
It is possible to prevent the document P pulled out from No. 2 from being caught by the detection lever 721, and thus to prevent the document P and the detection lever 721 from being damaged due to the document P and the detection lever 721 being caught.

Further, the paper contact members 722, 722
Since the detection lever 721 is arranged so as to sandwich the detection lever 721 from both sides, the document P in the conveyance path 32 does not come into contact with the side surface of the detection lever 721 when the conveyance path 32 is exposed. Also the original P is the detection lever 72
It is possible to more reliably prevent the vehicle from being caught by 1.

Further, the paper contact members 722, 722
Is disposed so as to form a part of the guide surface in the vicinity of the detection lever 721, which requires high processing accuracy, so that the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and may be configured as follows.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the sheet conveying device according to the present invention is used as an original conveying device for conveying an original whose image information is read, and is mounted on the upper part of the copying machine. With the same configuration, it can be applied to a scanner device, a facsimile device, or the like. Further, the paper transporting device according to the present invention can be applied to a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine or the like as a device for transporting a paper such as a transfer paper on which an image is formed.

(2) In the above embodiment, the sheet contact members 722 and 722 are arranged so as to sandwich the detection lever 721 from both sides so that the document (sheet) P on the front surface of the detection lever 721 is kept at the same position. However, as long as the original (paper) P is in contact with the original (paper) P so as to hold the original (paper) P in a state where the detection lever 721 is pushed down, the paper abutting member does not correspond to the detection lever 721. May be arranged as shown in FIG.
It may be provided on only one side in the width direction of No. 1. Further, the shape of the paper contact member 722 is not limited to the shape in the above embodiment, and may be any shape as long as the above-described effects can be obtained.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the sheet contact member 722 is attached to the guide member 723 that does not interlock with the separating operation of the guide surface 322 (opening / closing operation of the outer cover 45), and is always carried by the conveying path 32. Although the sheet contact member 722 is attached so as to remain at the same position with respect to, the sheet contact member 722 contacts the document (sheet) P in a state in which the detection lever 722 is pushed down at least when the guide surface 322 is separated, and It suffices if the original (paper) P can be held at that position, and for example, the original (paper) P is moved to a position in contact with the original (paper) P on the front surface of the detection lever 722 only when the guide surface 322 is separated. You may comprise.

[0041]

As described above, according to the sheet conveying apparatus of the present invention, since the conveying path can be exposed by the conveying path opening mechanism, a jam (paper jam) is generated from the exposed conveying path. By pulling the paper out of the apparatus, the jam can be easily removed. Further, when the conveyance path is exposed in this manner, the sheet in the state in which the detection lever is pushed down is held in the same position by the sheet contact member, so that the state in which the detection lever is pushed down is maintained. Therefore, when the sheet is pulled out of the apparatus, it is prevented from being caught by the detection lever, so that the sheet and the sensor are not damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a sheet conveying device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which an outer cover 45 is opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a detection lever 721 seen from the III direction.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of jam processing in this apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a jam process in a conventional sheet conveying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

32 Second transport path 321 and 322 guide surface 45 Exterior cover (transport path opening mechanism) 72 Timing sensor 721 Detection lever 722 Paper contact member P manuscript (paper)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuyoshi Osawa 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yu Aso 1-2-2 Takumazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Kitagawa 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-9-23295 (JP, A) Shoukai 63-174351 ( (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 7/00 B65H 5/06

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet transporting device for transporting a sheet along a transport path formed between a pair of guide surfaces facing each other, wherein one guide surface is transported from a transport path forming position with respect to the other guide surface. The conveyance path opening mechanism for separating the path to the position where the path is exposed, and the detection lever that protrudes from the other guide surface into the conveyance path and is tiltable in the paper conveyance direction from the protruding posture, a sensor for detecting the conveyance of the sheet by receiving the tilt of the lever, a vicinity of the detection lever, so as to be positioned at substantially the same height for transportation path height direction and the one guide surface in the conveyance path formation position The sensor and the transport path
A sheet contact member fixedly attached at a position opposed to each other with the sheet contact member interposed therebetween for separating the one guide surface.
Designed to stay near the detection lever without interlocking
A paper transport device characterized by being scraped. 2. A shape formed between a pair of guide surfaces facing each other.
A paper transport device that transports paper along the transport path
Be careful One guide surface with respect to the other guide surface
Transport that moves away from the storage to the position where the transport path is exposed
A road opening mechanism, Projected from the other guide surface into the conveyance path
Detection lever that can be tilted in the paper transport direction from the force
And detects the conveyance of the paper when the detection lever is tilted
Sensor to It is provided in the vicinity of the detection lever, and the transport path forming position
Of the one guide surface and the conveyance path height direction in
A sheet contact member located at substantially the same height, The paper contact member is separated by the transport path opening mechanism.
Configured to be part of one of the working guide surfaces
A paper transport device characterized by the above. Wherein the sheet abutting member is, the in the vicinity of the detection lever, claim 1 or claim constructed the detection lever of a pair of members disposed so as to sandwich from both sides in the width direction of the conveying path 2. The sheet conveying device according to item 2 .