JP4143551B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a multi-function peripheral equipped with an automatic document feeder for conveying a document, and in particular, a scanner (exposure optical system) composed of a CCD or the like is stopped (or fixed) at a predetermined reading position. In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of a document moving type exposure method in which a document conveyed to this reading position is read by a scanner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a multifunction peripheral, for example, an automatic document feeder (ADF) is provided on the upper part of the apparatus body, and the reading position (on the platen glass) formed in a slit shape is automatically set. An original reading operation by an original moving exposure method is performed in which the conveyed original is moved and scanned at a constant speed while being read and scanned by a scanner stopped at the reading position (a position below the platen glass). There is something.

  In this image forming apparatus, in the vicinity of the downstream side of the reading position, the original is scooped up from the platen glass and is carried toward the ADF discharge path (the original is returned from the reading position on the upper part of the apparatus main body to the ADF). A scooping member is provided. There is a gap between the scooping member and the ADF, and the leading edge of the conveyed document collides with the conveying roller disposed at the exit of the discharge path or the frame portion of the ADF near the conveying roller. Conveyance is hindered, and document reading errors may occur due to jamming of the document or twisting or folding of the document.

On the other hand, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a guide member (first guide member) that guides a document that travels while keeping the interval of the conveyance path constant toward the discharge path from the platen glass surface. A guide member (an inner guide member, an outer guide member) that projects from the platen glass surface toward the discharge path is provided as projected from the main body portion or disclosed in Patent Document 2.
JP 2002-171385 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-181942

  However, in the prior art disclosed in the above cited reference 1, the guide member is always protruded. For example, when a book (book document) is opened and placed on the upper surface of the apparatus body for copying. The guide member may come into contact with the book, the user's hand, etc., and the book, the hand, etc. may be damaged. In addition, when something hard is brought into contact with the protruding guide member, the conveyance surface of the guide member is damaged, and the document conveyed to the scratched part is caught, and stable conveyance is performed. There was also the possibility of being lost.

  Further, in the prior art disclosed in the above cited document 2, since the guide member is formed of an elastic material such as a film, there is a possibility that the conveyance becomes unstable, such as when a thick original is conveyed. .

  On the other hand, when the scooping member or the part that receives the scooped document in the ADF has a deformation such as a warp during resin molding (manufacturing), the transport of the document is affected by the deformation. There is also a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is not affected by deformation such as warpage in an apparatus near the original reading position, and does not come into contact with a book or a hand, and scoops up a read original. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can stably read a document and carry it after reading without being caught in time or jammed.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an apparatus main body provided with an image forming unit , a reading unit that is disposed on an upper surface of the apparatus main body and that reads a moving document, and an upper part of the apparatus main body. , conveys the document toward the reading portion, and the document feeding unit for carrying the document read by the reading unit to the discharge passage, is disposed on the downstream side of the reading portion, scoop up document from the said reader a scooping member to convey to the protruding and retracting freely provided, said scooped obtained document with respect to the gap portion between the main unit and the document feeding unit toward entrance of the discharge channel from the reading unit, A guide means for guiding toward the carry-in port of the discharge path, and the document feeder is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the apparatus main body, and the document feeder is closed. In addition, Id means comprises a state of projecting to the gap portion, when opened document feeder, the guide means is characterized in that in a state of being retracted into the main unit side.

  The guide means is integrally formed with respect to the shaft body, the shaft body rotating about a predetermined rotation center axis, the predetermined number of ribs arranged in parallel at predetermined positions along the axial direction of the shaft body, and the shaft body. A protrusion member that is provided with a pressing force to rotate the shaft body in response to a pressing force, and is urged in a rotational direction that causes the protrusion member to protrude from the upper surface of the apparatus main body when the document feeding portion is opened. When the document feeding unit is closed, the rib is formed by the shaft rotation of the shaft body against the urging force by the urging unit in response to the pressing of the projection member by the document feeding unit. Is projected to the gap portion side and the document feeding portion is opened, it is preferable that the projecting member projects from the upper surface of the apparatus main body portion by the urging force and the rib is immersed in the apparatus main body portion side.

  Further, it is preferable that the ribs are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the shaft body at positions based on the vertical and horizontal width dimensions of each size document.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the guide means is provided so as to protrude and retract with respect to the gap portion between the apparatus main body portion and the document feeding portion from the reading portion to the carry-in port of the discharge path. Thus, the document scooped up from above the reading unit by the predetermined scooping member on the downstream side of the reading unit is guided toward the entrance of the discharge path. When the document feeding section is closed with respect to the apparatus main body section, the guide means is protruded toward the gap section to guide the scooped document toward the entrance of the discharge path, and the document feeding section is When the guide means is opened with respect to the main body, the guide means is immersed in the main body of the apparatus, so that the guide means can be protruded and retracted by opening and closing the document feeder.

As described above, the guide means is provided so as to be able to project and retract with respect to the gap portion between the apparatus main body portion and the document feeding portion, and guides the document scooped up from the reading portion toward the entrance of the discharge path. By providing, for example, when automatically reading a document, the guide means is protruded to guide the document that has been scooped up toward the carry-in entrance of the discharge path. On the other hand, when the automatic document reading mechanism is not used (open the document feeding section) In this case, the guide means can be immersed, so that it has a tolerance for deformation such as warpage in the apparatus in the vicinity of the document reading position, etc. It is possible to realize stable document reading and conveyance after reading without touching and without catching or paper jam when the scanned document is picked up. Further, the guide means can be easily projected and retracted without requiring a special operation for projecting and retracting the guide means.

According to the invention of claim 2 , the guide means includes a shaft body that rotates about a predetermined rotation center axis, a predetermined number of ribs arranged in parallel at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the shaft body, A projection member that is provided integrally with the shaft body and that rotates the shaft body by receiving a pressing force, and the projection body from the upper surface of the apparatus main body when the document feeding section is opened with respect to the shaft body. And an urging portion that urges the projection in the rotation direction. When the document feeding portion is closed, the urging force by the urging portion is resisted in response to pressing of the protrusion by the document feeding portion. When the rib is protruded toward the gap due to the rotation of the shaft, and the document feeder is opened, the protrusion is protruded from the upper surface of the apparatus main body by the urging force and the rib is moved toward the apparatus main body. Immerse yourself.

  As described above, the guide means includes the shaft body, the rib, the projecting member, and the urging portion. When the document feeding section is closed, the rib moves toward the gap portion in response to the pressing of the projecting body by the document feeding section. When the document feeder is opened and the document feeder is opened, the projection protrudes on the main body of the device by the biasing force, and the rib is inserted into the main body of the device. It is possible to realize the guide means that can be immersed with a simple configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ribs are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the shaft body at positions based on the vertical and horizontal width dimensions of each size of the document. Thereby, a rib can be effectively arrange | positioned with respect to a shaft body, ie, an extra rib is not formed in a shaft body, and resource saving can be attained by extension.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of a copying machine 1 which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The copying machine 1 includes an image forming unit 100, a document feeding unit 200 installed above the main body unit 10 including the image forming unit 100, a document reading unit 300 installed on the upper part of the main body unit 10, and a lower part of the main body unit 10. And an operation display unit 500 installed on the front part (upper and front side) of the main body unit 10.

  The document reading unit 300 reads a document and generates image data corresponding to the document. The document reading unit 300 includes a scanner 301 including a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor that generates image data from an optically acquired document image, an exposure lamp, and the like. A glass 302 and a platen glass 303 for reading an ADF document are provided. The document reading unit 300 will describe image data acquired while scanning a document placed on the platen glass 302 or a document conveyed (moved) in contact with the platen glass 303 by the document feeding unit 200, as will be described later. Output to the control unit 20.

  The document feeding unit 200 (ADF) feeds the document to the document reading unit 300 (document reading position of the platen glass 303), and discharges the document read by the document reading unit 300 to the discharge unit of the document feeding unit 200. The document is discharged to a document discharge unit 213 (to be described later). The document feeding unit 200 is configured to be tiltable with respect to the upper surface of the main body unit 10 (document reading unit 300) with the back side of the apparatus as a rotation fulcrum (rotation center axis), and a platen glass 302 (303). ) Is lifted so as to open upward and rearward so as to open the upper surface of the platen), and a reading document (the above-described device document) such as a book that has been opened is placed on the upper surface of the platen glass 302. It is configured to be possible. The detailed configuration of the document feeder 200 will be described later.

  The paper feeding unit 400 feeds paper to the image forming unit 100. The paper feed unit 400 is a manual paper feed including paper feed cassettes 401 and 402 that store sheets of various sizes (recording paper), a manual feed tray 4031 configured to be openable and closable at one side of the main body unit 10, and the like. Part 403 is provided. The paper feed unit 400 includes a transport path 404 that transports paper from the paper feed cassettes 401 and 402 to the image forming unit 100, and a transport path 405 that transports paper from the manual paper feed unit 403 to the image forming unit 100. . Each of the paper feed cassettes 401 and 402 and the manual paper feed unit 403 includes pickup rollers 406, 407, and 408 for taking out the stored paper, and paper feed rollers 409, 410, and 411 for feeding the paper one by one to each transport path. It has.

  In the transport path 404, transport rollers 412 and 413 for transporting paper and registration rollers 414 for waiting the transported paper in front of the image forming unit 100 are provided. Note that the conveyance path 405 merges with the conveyance path 404 on the upstream side of the registration rollers 414.

  The image forming unit 100 forms (prints) a predetermined image on the paper conveyed by the paper supply unit 400. The image forming unit 100 includes a photosensitive drum 101 rotatably supported in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, a charging unit 102 disposed around the photosensitive drum 101, a developing unit 103, a cleaning unit 104, and a laser. A scanning unit 105, a transfer roller 106, and a fixing roller 107 disposed on the downstream side of the transfer roller 106 are provided.

  The charging unit 102 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 to a predetermined potential. The laser scanning unit 105 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 with a laser beam based on image data transmitted from an image storage unit 30 described later, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101. is there. The developing unit 103 makes the image (original image) appear by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image. The transfer roller 106 is configured to transfer the toner image that has been made visible on the photosensitive drum 101 to the paper in a state where the conveyed paper is pressed against the photosensitive drum 101. The fixing roller 107 fixes the toner image transferred to the paper. The fixing roller 107 includes a heat roller and a pressure roller (not shown). The toner on the paper is melted by the heat of the heat roller, and the pressure is applied by the pressure roller to fix the toner on the paper. The cleaning unit 104 cleans the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 after the transfer of the image onto the paper is completed.

  Paper discharge trays 108 and 109 are provided on the upper portion and the side surface portion of the main body 10, and the paper conveyed from the fixing roller 107 is discharged to the paper discharge trays 108 and 109 by the discharge rollers 110 and 111, respectively. The The paper transport direction can be switched between the discharge roller 110 side and the discharge roller 111 side by the discharge branch guide 112.

  The operation display unit 500 performs a predetermined instruction input according to a user operation. The operation display unit 500 displays a start key 501 for a user to input a print execution instruction, a numeric keypad 502 for inputting the number of copies to be printed, operation guide information for inputting various copying operation settings, and the like. In addition, a display 503 (display) including a liquid crystal display (LCD) on which various operation buttons and the like are displayed is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the copying machine 1 shown in FIG. The copying machine 1 includes a control unit 20 that controls operation of the entire apparatus. The control unit 20 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program of the copying machine 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data, a microcomputer that reads the control program from the ROM, and executes the program. The entire apparatus is controlled in accordance with predetermined instruction information input in the operation display unit 500 or the like and detection signals from various sensors provided in various parts of the apparatus. The control unit 20 includes an image forming unit 100 including a laser scanning unit 105 and a fixing roller 107, a document feeding unit 200 including a document placement unit 201 and a conveyance roller 204 described later, a scanner 301, a platen glass 302, and the like. A document reading unit 300, a paper feed cassette 401, 402, a paper feed unit 400 comprising transport paths 404, 405, etc., an operation display unit 500 comprising a start key 501, a display 503, etc., an image storage unit 30, and an image processing unit. 40 etc. are connected.

  The image storage unit 30 is a memory that temporarily stores image data of a document read by the document reading unit 300 and image data transmitted from an external device via a network I / F unit (not shown).

  The image processing unit 40 performs various image processing on the image data, for example, gamma processing and enlargement / reduction processing. In the image processing unit 40, for example, A / D conversion of image data is performed on a document image obtained by reading by the document reading unit 300, and the above-described various image processes are performed using the A / D converted image data. .

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper surface portion of the document feeding unit 200 and the main body unit 10 (document reading unit 300) shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the document feeding unit 200 includes a document placing unit 201, a pickup roller 202, a carry-in roller 203, a conveyance roller 204, a conveyance drum 205, a reading guide member 206, a conveyance roller 207, a discharge roller 208, and a reverse roller. 209, a stopper 210, a set switch 211, a branch guide 212, a document discharge unit 213, and transport paths 220, 230, 240, and 250 that are paths for transporting a document. On the other hand, the main body 10 includes a scooping member 310 and a guide member 320 on the upper surface of the main body 10.

  The document placing unit 201 is a table for placing a predetermined number of documents S. The pickup roller 202 is for feeding the document S placed on the document placement unit 201 toward the carry-in roller 203 side. The pickup roller 202 is supported by a movable member 2101 having a substantially box shape (rectangular shape) in external view so that the pickup roller 202 can swing (rotate) around the rotation axis of the carry-in roller 203. Is pressed onto the document S placed on the document placement unit 201 by the rotation in the arrow direction indicated by reference numeral 2102, and the pressed document S is conveyed toward the carry-in roller 203 side. The carry-in roller 203 not only simply carries the original S, but also a so-called sheet-rolling roller for carrying the original S fed from the original placement unit 201 by the pickup roller 202 into the main body of the original feeding unit 200 one by one. But there is. A separation pad 2031 (friction pad) is provided at a position facing the carry-in roller 203, and the friction coefficient of the carry-in roller 203 with respect to the document S, the friction coefficient of the separation pad 2031 with respect to the document S, and the friction coefficient between the documents S. By using this difference, it is possible to separate and send out the originals S when they are double fed one by one.

  The conveyance roller 204 conveys the document S carried by the carry-in roller 203 through the conveyance path 220, and conveys the document S toward the platen glass 303 at the timing when the leading edges of the document S are aligned. It is also a so-called registration roller.

  The document S that has been carried to the position of the conveyance roller 204 is stopped by the front end of the document S coming into contact with the position of the nip portion between the conveyance roller 204 and the conveyance drum 205 and being conveyed by the carry-in roller 203 or the like. By pushing the side, the tips are aligned (so-called skew is corrected).

  A timing switch 2041 is provided at a position immediately upstream of the conveyance roller 204 and substantially opposite the conveyance roller 204. The timing switch 2041 protrudes a predetermined claw member in the conveyance path 220, abuts the leading end of the conveyed document S with the protruding claw member, and the leading end of the document S that is in contact with the claw member further The claw member is rotated in the transport direction until it comes into contact with the position of the nip portion. Based on this rotation, the timing switch 2041 is turned off (or turned on) by, for example, the switch portion 2042 disposed on the rotation fulcrum side of the claw member, and the document S (the front end portion) is carried to the position of the nip portion. Is detected. However, time counting is started when the timing switch 2041 is turned off. The transport roller 204 (and the transport drum 205) starts to rotate when a predetermined time has elapsed after the timing switch 2041 is turned off, and the document S with the leading edges aligned as described above is directed downstream. And send it out. Note that the “predetermined time” is set such that the document S can be sent downstream with good timing when the leading edges of the documents S are aligned.

  The transport drum 205 rotates around the shaft 2051 in the direction indicated by the arrow A, and transports the document S in the transport path 220 and the transport path 250 toward the platen glass 303 (document reading position) of the document reading unit 300. At the same time, the document S read at the position of the platen glass 303 is conveyed further downstream. The reading guide member 206 keeps the gap with the platen glass 303 constant, stabilizes the conveyance of the document S at the position of the platen glass 303, and properly performs the reading operation.

  The conveyance roller 207 conveys (loads) the document S read on the platen glass 303 so as to return it again to the document feeding unit 200 side (conveyance path 230 and conveyance path 240). The discharge roller 208 discharges the document S that has been transported through the transport path 230 to the document discharge unit 213. The reversing roller 209 is for reversing the orientation of the back surface of the document S, that is, the surface of the platen glass 303 on the document reading side. The reversing roller 209 conveys the document S that has been conveyed through the conveying path 240 until the trailing end of the document S comes to the position of the reversing roller 209 (the front end side of the document S is outside the document feeding unit 200). Thereafter, the rotation of the reversing roller 209 is reversed to return the document S to the document feeding unit 200 and transport it toward the transport path 250. As a result, the reading surface of the document S with respect to the platen glass 303 is reversed.

  The stopper 210 is inserted to the far side of the document placement unit 201 (in the vicinity of the carry-in roller 203) before the document S placed (set) on the document placement unit 201 is fed out by the pickup roller 202. It is intended to prevent it from being trapped. The stopper 210 is an arm-like body extending downward, and the upper end side is rotatably supported by the movable member 2101. The stopper 210 is disposed at a position that closes the conveyance path 220 from the document placement unit 201 to the carry-in roller 203 before the pickup roller 202 performs the feeding operation, and the pickup roller 202 feeds the document S. Is performed, it is rotated upward so as to open the conveyance path 220.

  The set switch 211 detects the presence or absence of a document S (document paper) placed on the document placement unit 201. Similar to the stopper 210, the set switch 211 is an arm-like body extending downward, and the upper end side is rotatably supported by the movable member 2101. The set switch 211 is arranged on the upstream side of the stopper 210, and the leading edge of the document S placed on the document placement unit 201 comes into contact with it and is pushed in the transport direction so as to contact the set switch 211. The original document S is further rotated to a position where the leading edge of the original S comes into contact with the stopper 210, and is turned off (or turned on) by the switch unit 2111 disposed on the lower end side of the set switch 211. It is detected that the document S is placed thereon.

  The branch guide 212 (branch claw) is for switching the transport path downstream from the transport roller 207 to one of the transport path 230 and the transport path 240. The document discharge unit 213 is a platform on which the document S discharged by the discharge roller 208 is placed.

  By the way, the document feeding unit 200 determines whether the document S is to be copied according to whether single-sided copying or double-sided copying is performed, that is, whether only one side (for example, the front side) of the document S is read or both sides (front and back sides) are read. The transport route is different. When performing single-sided copying, the document S placed on the document placement unit 201 is transported to the platen glass 303 via the transport path 220, and after passing through the transport path 230 after reading the surface of the document on the platen glass 303. Then, the document is discharged to the document discharge unit 213.

  On the other hand, when performing duplex copying, the document S placed on the document placement unit 201 is transported to the platen glass 303 via the transport path 220, and after reading the surface of the document on the platen glass 303, the transport path 240. , To the position of the reversing roller 209, and is fed back toward the conveying path 250 by the reversing roller 209. Then, after the original is conveyed to the platen glass 303 and the back side is read, the original is conveyed to the position of the reversing roller 209 via the conveyance path 240, and is fed back toward the conveyance path 250 again. It passes through the position of the platen glass 303 and is discharged to the document discharge portion 213 via the conveyance path 230. As described above, in the case of double-sided copying, the document S is configured such that the orientation of the front and back is reversed twice by the reversing roller 209 and discharged to the document discharge unit 213. When the sheets are discharged to the document discharge unit 213 and stacked in order, the page order of the document S (front and back) can be set to the order in which the document was placed on the document placement unit 201.

  Next, the scooping member 310 and the guide member 320 provided on the upper surface of the main body 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the scooping member 310 is provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the platen glass 303 and on the upper surface portion of the main body unit 10, so that the scanner 301 can read the original image on the platen glass 303. The document S moved in sliding contact is scooped up from the upper surface of the platen glass 303 toward the position of the entrance (entrance) of the transport paths 230 and 240, that is, toward the nip 2071 between the transport drum 205 and the transport roller 207. It is.

  The scooping member 310 has a side surface on the plantain glass 303 side inclined at a predetermined angle, and an end portion (end side) on the downstream side of the platen glass 303 is connected to the side surface. That is, the scooping member 310 has a scooping surface portion 3101 formed as a continuous surface with the upper surface of the platen glass 303 (see FIG. 5 described later). The document S that has moved on the platen glass 303 abuts on the scooping surface portion 3101 (for example, abuts on the leading end portion and the body portion of the document S in this order), and the transported direction is changed to the orientation of the scooping surface portion 3101 in the inclined direction. Is done.

  The guide member 320 is provided so as to protrude and retract with respect to a gap portion 330 between the main body portion 10 and the document feeding portion 200 from the plantain glass 303 to the entrance portions (nip portions 2071) of the conveyance paths 230 and 240. The document S scooped up by the scooping member 310 is guided (guided) toward the nip portion 2071. The guide member 320 is configured to protrude into the gap portion 330 or to be immersed in the main body portion 10 according to the opening / closing operation of the document feeding portion 200.

Here, the guide member 320 will be described in detail below. 4A and 4B are diagrams schematically illustrating an example of the guide member 320, in which FIG. 4A is a top view, FIG. 4B is a front view, and FIG. 4C is from the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. The side enlarged view when seen is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide member 320, shaft 321, ribs 322, and a projecting member 323, and a biasing portion 324.

  The shaft body 321 rotates around the axis center line of the shaft body 321, that is, the rotation center axis line, and corresponds to a so-called main body of the guide member 320. The shaft body 321 is a rod-shaped body whose axial cross-sectional shape is, for example, a substantially circular shape, and the length in the axial direction is about the longitudinal dimension of the platen glass 303 (the scooping member 310) or more. . The shaft body 321 is preferably made of a material having a high strength against twisting (moment) in the tangential direction of the shaft. This prevents the shaft body 321 from being twisted when the shaft body 321 is rotated by pressing a projection 325 described later, A stable sunk operation of the rib 322 is realized.

  The shaft body 321 does not have to be a rod-shaped body, and may have any shape as long as the shaft body 321 can be rotated (rotated) around the rotation center axis. The shaft body 321 may be formed of a resin material such as POM (Polyoxymethylene) resin or ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) resin.

  The ribs 322 are juxtaposed along the axial direction of the shaft body 321. That is, the ribs 322 are arranged in parallel to each other so that the upper side portions (contact portions 3221 described later) of the ribs 322 are at the same position. It is a plate-like body having a substantially triangular shape in a side view projecting in a radial direction (a direction perpendicular to the axial direction), and is scooped up by a scooping member 310 from above the platen glass 303 at a contact portion 3221 at the top of the rib 322. This is to abut against the original from below and lift (guide) the original toward the nip portion 2071.

  By the way, the ribs 322 may be arranged in parallel on the shaft body 321 as described above at positions based on the vertical and horizontal width dimensions of each size of the document conveyed on the scooping member 310. preferable. That is, the shaft body 321 is positioned so that the rib 322 is located at both ends of each document in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, for example, the position of both ends or a position within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 mm) from both ends. Are preferably arranged in parallel. In other words, the ribs 322 are disposed, for example, outside the both sides of the document, and are provided so as not to be inefficiently arranged such that the both sides of the document cannot be lifted and guided. preferable.

  However, since each of the above-mentioned originals has various sizes such as “A4” size, “B5” size, or postcard size, and the transported direction may be horizontal or vertical, at least each of these originals. It is necessary to arrange the ribs 322 in consideration of the size and the portrait and landscape orientations, or the transport position of the document with respect to the scooping member 310. As a result, the intervals between the ribs 322 arranged in parallel with the shaft body 321 may be unequal intervals.

  Further, the positions of the ribs 322 with respect to both sides of each document do not necessarily have to be the same position (for example, a position entering the same distance from both sides), and therefore the positions with respect to both sides of the document are taken into consideration. The ribs 322 may be arranged at equal intervals as shown in FIG. Further, not only the ribs 322 corresponding to the positions of both end sides of each document, but also the ribs 322 for guiding the central portion of the document and the like may be provided side by side.

  Further, the shape of the abutting portion 3221 does not have to be a shape as shown in FIG. 4C, that is, a substantially arc shape in a side view, for example, a straight shape or the opposite side (the shaft body 321 side). ) May be formed in an arcuate shape. Alternatively, it may be a combination of a linear shape and an arc shape. Further, the abutting portion 3221 may not be formed in a flat shape, and may be formed in an arc shape (or chamfered by “R” processing) when viewed from the front (FIG. 4B).

  Further, the rib 322 does not have to be substantially triangular when viewed from the side, and an arbitrary shape such as a rectangular shape or an elliptical shape having a side portion corresponding to the contact portion 3221 may be employed.

  As will be described later, the rib 322 protrudes and retracts with respect to the upper portion (gap portion 330) of the scooping member 310 in accordance with the shaft rotation of the shaft body 321.

  The projecting member 323 is provided integrally with the shaft body 321 on one end side of the shaft body 321, and receives the pressing force to be integrated with the shaft body 321 to rotate the shaft body 321. is there. The protruding member 323 extends in the radial direction of the shaft body 321, for example, a base body 326 that is a plate-like body having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above, and an outline view that is erected (projected) on the upper surface of the base body 326. It is comprised from the cylindrical protrusion 325. FIG. At the upper end 3251, the protrusion 325 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the document feeder 200 that is closed with respect to the main body 10 and receives a pressing force downward.

  The upper end portion 3251 of the protrusion 325 may be formed in an arc shape (semicircle) (or chamfered by “R” processing). Further, for example, a rubber body (rubber material) may be attached to the position of the upper end portion 3251 in order to prevent wear due to contact (sliding contact) with the lower surface of the document feeding unit 200. Further, the protruding member 323 is not integrally formed with the protruding body 325 and the base body 326, but is integrally formed with a shape in which a predetermined cylindrical body (round bar body) is bent in an L shape, for example. There may be. Further, two or more protruding members 323 may be provided for the shaft body 321. Further, the place to be provided may be not only one end side of the shaft body 321 but also both end sides or other places.

  The urging unit 324 is configured such that, on one end side of the shaft body 321, the protruding member 323 is placed on the upper surface of the main body unit 10 with respect to the shaft body 321 in a state where the document feeding unit 200 is opened with respect to the upper surface of the main body unit 10. It is energized in the direction of rotation to project from. The urging portion 324 is composed of an elastic member such as a spring, for example. Here, a so-called winding spring (spiral torsion spring) is used. The urging portion 324 is in a state where the winding portion of the winding spring is fitted into the shaft body 321 (a state where the shaft body 321 is inserted into the winding portion), one end side is fixed to the shaft body 321, and the other end side (Locking portion 3241) is configured to be locked (fixed) at a predetermined position in the lower position of the upper surface of the main body portion 10. Accordingly, the urging unit 324 can generate an urging force according to the shaft rotation of the shaft body 321 (in a direction against the shaft rotation (rotation direction)). Two or more urging portions 324 may be attached to the shaft body 321. Also, in the case of the attachment, not only one end side of the shaft body 321 but also both end sides or other places may be used.

  Next, the protrusion and depression of the rib 322 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  5 and 6 are perspective views showing a state in which the rib 322 (guide member 320) protrudes and sinks on the upper surface of the main body 10 (the scooping member 310), and FIG. 5 shows that the rib 322 is immersed in the main body 10. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the rib 322 protrudes from the upper surface of the main body 10.

  Further, FIG. 7 is a side view schematically showing a state in which the rib 322 protrudes and sunk on the upper surface of the main body 10 (the scooping member 310), as in FIGS. 5 and 6, and FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state of being immersed in the unit 10 and corresponds to FIG. (B) has shown the state from which the rib 322 protruded from the upper surface of the main-body part 10, and respond | corresponds to the said FIG. However, FIGS. 7A and 7B are side views of the guide member 320 (and the scooping member 310) viewed from the direction of the arrow indicated by the symbol C in FIGS.

  First, FIGS. 5 and 6 are views of the main body 10 (original reading unit 300) with the original feeding unit 200 removed from the copying machine 1, as viewed from above. Are provided with a platen glass 303 and a scooping member 310 immediately downstream of the platen glass 303. A platen glass 302 is provided on the opposite side of the platen glass 303 with the scooping member 310 interposed therebetween.

  The guide member 320 is attached to the lower position of the upper surface of the main body 10 so that the shaft body 321 (the rotation center axis thereof) is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the platen glass 303 below the platen glass 303 and the scooping member 310. (For example, both end portions and the center portion of the shaft body 321 are pivotally supported at the lower position of the upper surface of the main body portion 10 so as to be rotatable (rotatable)).

  As shown in the figure, the scooping member 310 extends in the longitudinal direction of the platen glass 303, and is aligned with the position of the rib 322 of the guide member 320 that is rotatably attached along the longitudinal direction. In addition, a plurality of slits 3102 (groove portions; through holes) are formed, and the ribs 322 project and retract in the slits 3102. Further, a protrusion hole 304 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 10 at a position on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the platen glass 303, and the protrusion 325 of the guide member 320 projects and sinks in the protrusion hole 304. .

  The document feeder 200 that opens and closes with respect to the main body 10 is positioned at a position indicated by reference numeral 305 on the back side of the main body 10 (the figure shows the position on one side of a pair of attachment positions. Is supported in a freely rotating manner in the direction of the arrow indicated by reference numeral 3051.

  5 and 7A show a state in which the document feeding unit 200 is opened with respect to the upper surface of the main body unit 10, and the protrusion 325 is pressed by the document feeding unit 200 (the lower surface portion thereof). In this case, the urging force of the urging portion 324 causes the protrusion 325 to protrude from the upper surface of the main body 10 and the rib 322 is immersed in the main body 10.

  On the other hand, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7B show a state in which the document feeding unit 200 is closed with respect to the upper surface of the main body unit 10 (note that the document feeding unit 200 is omitted for simplification of illustration). In this case, the protrusion 325 is pushed down (received by a pressing force) by the document feeding unit 200 in the direction indicated by the arrow D. As a result, the shaft body 321 is axially rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow E (see FIG. 7B) against the urging force of the urging portion 324, and the protrusion 325 is immersed in the main body portion 10, and The rib 322 protrudes toward the gap 330 (see FIG. 3) between the closed document feeder 200 and the main body 10.

  In the state shown in FIGS. 6 and 7B, the document S that has been transported by the document feeder 200 through the transport path 220 to the position of the platen glass 303 is transported in the direction of the arrow indicated by the symbol F. In other words, after being read on the platen glass 303, the sheet is picked up by the scooping member 310 (the scooping surface portion 3101) and further conveyed while being guided toward the nip portion 2071 by the protruding guide member 320 (rib 322). Is done.

Note that the guide member 320 (with respect to the shape or the mounting position of the guide member 320) is limited to the top surface of the scooping member 310 and the protrusion amount of the rib 322 projecting from the scooping surface portion 3101 as shown in FIG. Instead, it may be configured to be larger or smaller than this. Further, the position of the rib 322 relative to the scooping member 310 (the top surface and scooping surface portion 3101) when the rib 322 protrudes is not limited to that shown in FIG. In other words, the position of the abutting portion 3221 of the protruding rib 322 may be the position of the end portion 3031 of the platen glass 303 or a position in the vicinity thereof (the rib 322 may be this). it may be arranged to be moved in the opposite direction).

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a slit for the rib 322 in the document feeder 200. FIG. 8 shows a state in which a base portion 260 (base cover), which is a lower component of the document feeding portion 200, is removed and placed on the main body portion 10 shown in FIGS. The state where the rib 322 protrudes on the scooping member 310 is shown. As shown in FIG. 8, the base portion 260 has an opening in the vicinity of the position facing the platen glass 303 which is easy to lift the platen glass 303, and the document S conveyed from the opening toward the platen glass 303. However, it is possible to return to the document feeding unit 200 again (conveyed toward the nip portion 2071 between the conveyance roller 207 and the conveyance drum 205).

  Even if a slit 262 is formed at the same position (opposite position) as the slit 3102 of the scooping member 310, the base part 260 has an end surface part 261 (wall surface part) facing the scooping member 310 of the base member. Good. Thereby, it can prevent that the front end side of the rib 322 protruded and abutted contacts (interferences) with the end surface part 261.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the guide member 320 is fed between the main body 10 and the original from the platen glass 303 (original reading position) to the nip 2071 (the entrance of the conveyance paths 230 and 240). A document squeezed from the platen glass 303 by the scooping member 310 on the downstream side of the platen glass 303 by the guide member 320 is provided so as to protrude and retract with respect to the gap part 330 between the nip part 2071 and the guide part 320. Guided towards.

  As described above, the document feeding unit 200 is provided by including the guide member 320 that is provided so as to be able to project and retract with respect to the gap portion 330 and is guided toward the nip portion 2071 by scooping up the document scooped up from the platen glass 303. When closed, the guide member 320 is protruded to guide the scooped document toward the nip portion 2071. When the document feeding portion 200 is opened, the guide member 320 is inserted. Therefore, it is possible to tolerate deformation such as warpage in each part of the apparatus (the scooping member 310 of the main body 10 and the base portion 260 of the document feeding unit 200) such as the vicinity of the document reading position (near the gap). In addition, it does not come into contact with books or hands, etc. Readings had stabilized document, and it is possible to realize the conveyance of the after reading.

  The document feeding unit 200 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the main body unit 10, and when the document feeding unit 200 is closed, the guide member 320 protrudes toward the gap 330. When the document feeding unit 200 is opened, the guide member 320 is immersed in the main body unit 10 side. As described above, when the document feeding unit 200 is closed with respect to the main body unit 10, the document scooped up with the guide member 320 projecting toward the gap 330 is guided toward the nip portion 2071, and the document When the feeding unit 200 is opened with respect to the main body unit 10, the guide member 320 is inserted into the main body unit 10, so that the guide member 320 is protruded and submerged by the opening / closing operation of the document feeding unit 200. That is, the guide member 320 can be easily projected and retracted without requiring a special operation for projecting and retracting the guide member 320.

  The guide member 320 includes a shaft body 321 that rotates about a predetermined rotation center axis, a predetermined number of ribs 322 arranged in parallel at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the shaft body 321, and the shaft body 321. A protrusion member 323 that is provided integrally with the shaft body 321 by receiving a pressing force, and the protrusion body 325 with respect to the shaft body 321 when the document feeding section 200 is opened. And an urging portion 324 for urging in the rotational direction that protrudes from the upper surface of the document, and when the document feeder 200 is closed, the projection 325 is pressed by the document feeder 200. In the case where the rib 322 protrudes toward the gap 330 by the shaft rotation of the shaft body 321 against the urging force by the urging unit 324 and the document feeding unit 200 is opened, the urging force by the urging unit 324 The protrusion 325 is the main body 1. Ribs 322 are retracted into the main body portion 10 side together protrudes from the top surface.

  As described above, the guide member 320 includes the shaft body 321, the rib 322, the projecting member 323, and the urging unit 324, and when the document feeding unit 200 is closed, the projecting body 325 of the document feeding unit 200 is closed. When the rib 322 protrudes toward the gap portion 330 in response to the depression and the document feeding unit 200 is opened, the protrusion 325 protrudes on the main body 10 due to the urging force of the urging portion 324, and the rib 322 is the main body. Since the configuration is such that the guide member 320 is retracted to the side of the unit 10, the guide member 320 that can be protruded and retracted according to the opening / closing operation of the document feeding unit 200 can be realized with a simple configuration.

  Further, the ribs 322 are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the shaft body 321 at positions based on the vertical and horizontal width dimensions of each size document. As a result, the ribs 322 can be effectively arranged with respect to the shaft body 321, that is, resource can be saved without forming the extra ribs 322 on the shaft body 321.

  In addition, this invention can take the following aspects.

  (A) In the above embodiment, the shaft 321 rotates and the rib 322 protrudes and retracts when the projection 325 is pressed or not pressed by the lower surface of the document feeding unit 200 according to the opening and closing of the document feeding unit 200. However, the configuration in which the rib 322 protrudes and retracts due to the opening / closing operation of the document feeding unit 200 is not limited thereto, and includes, for example, a predetermined optical sensor (optical system) and a driving motor, and the document feeding by the optical sensor is performed. The configuration may be such that the opening / closing operation of the unit 200 is detected, and the shaft 321 is rotated (rotated) by rotating the drive motor based on this detection information, so that the rib 322 protrudes and retracts. . In this case, in order to prevent noise generation of the optical sensor due to the drive motor, the optical sensor and the drive motor are arranged apart from each other (for example, the optical sensor is provided with the projection hole 304 shown in FIG. 5). It is preferable that the driving motor is provided on the back surface of the main body 10).

  (B) As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a clearance is secured in the guide member 320 between the rib 322 protruding from the upper surface of the main body 10 and the lower surface of the closed document feeder 200 (the protrusion of the rib 322). You may provide the contact part 901 (regulation protrusion) for regulating quantity.

  The contact portion 901 is, for example, a projection having a substantially cylindrical shape as viewed from the outside provided integrally with the shaft body 321 at both ends of the shaft body 321, and is viewed from the direction of the arrow indicated by symbol H in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9C, a distance α (where “α” is a positive value of zero or more) is provided between the upper end of the rib 322 and the tip end portion 9011 of the contact portion 901. Is provided.

  By providing the contact portion 901, for example, when the perpendicularity of the document feeding unit 200 with respect to the main body unit 10 (the platen glass 303 is easy to lift up) is not suitably obtained, the closed document feeding unit is used. The bottom surface 200 abuts against the tip end portion 9011 of the contact portion 901, the protruding amount of the rib 322 is restricted, and the portion near the rib 322 on the bottom surface of the document feeding unit 200 contacts the rib 322, that is, the document is conveyed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the clogging of the original document.

  Note that FIG. 10 shows that when the document feeding unit 200 is closed and the protrusion 325 is pushed down (the closed document feeding unit 200 is not shown), the rib 322 and the contact unit 901 are the parts of the main body unit 10. A state of protruding from the upper surface is shown. However, on the upper surface of the main body portion 10 (for example, both end portions of the scooping member 310), a hole portion 9012 in which the pressing portion 901 is projected and retracted is formed.

  (C) The document feeding unit 200 does not have to be configured to open and close in the direction of the arrow indicated by reference numeral 3051 in FIG. 5, that is, the front-rear direction with respect to the copying machine 1. Alternatively, it may be configured to open and close in the left-right direction.

  (D) The surface shape of the scooping surface portion 3101 of the scooping member 310 does not have to be a planar shape, that is, a linear shape in side view as shown in FIG. It may be formed in an arc shape in the convex or concave direction.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of a copier that is an example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the copier illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an upper surface portion of a document feeding unit and a main body unit. It is a figure which shows an example of a guide member roughly, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is the side surface enlarged view of B view in Fig.4 (a). It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the rib was immersed in the main-body part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the rib protruded from the upper surface of the main-body part. It is a side view which shows the mode of the protrusion in the main-body part upper surface of a rib roughly, (a) is a figure which shows the state where the rib was immersed in the main-body part, (b) is an upper surface of a main-body part. It is a figure which shows the state protruded from. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a rib slit in the document feeding unit. It is a figure which shows an example of the guide member with a contact part which shows the deformation | transformation aspect of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is the side view of H view in Fig.9 (a). It is an enlarged view. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which ribs and contact portions in the guide member shown in FIG. 9 protrude from the upper surface of the main body portion.

Explanation of symbols

1 Copying machine (image forming device)
10 Main unit (device main unit)
20 control unit 200 document feeding unit (document feeding unit)
201 Document Placement Unit 202 Pickup Roller 203 Carry-in Roller 205 Conveying Drum 206 Reading Guide Member 207 Conveying Roller 2071 Nip Portion (Conveying Port)
208 Discharge roller 209 Reverse roller 210 Stopper 211 Set switch 230, 240 Conveyance path (discharge path)
260 Base part 261 End face part 262 Slit 300 Document reading part 301 Scanner 302 Platen glass 303 Platen glass (reading part)
310 Scooping member 3101 Scooping surface portion 3102 Slit 320 Guide member (guide means)
321 Shaft body 322 Rib 323 Projection member 324 Energizing part 3241 Locking part 325 Projection body 326 Base 330 Gap part 901 Contact part

Claims (3)

An apparatus main body provided with an image forming unit;
A reading unit disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body unit for reading a moving document;
A document feeding unit that is disposed at an upper portion of the apparatus main body , conveys the document toward the reading unit, and carries the document read by the reading unit into a discharge path ;
A scooping member disposed downstream of the reading unit and transporting the document so as to scoop up from the reading unit;
Protruding and retracting freely provided for clearance between the apparatus main body and the document feeding unit toward entrance of the discharge channel from the reading unit, the pick-up was original, toward entrance of the discharge channel And guide means for guiding ,
The document feeder is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the apparatus main body.
When the document feeder is closed, the guide means protrudes toward the gap,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the document feeding section is opened, the guide means is immersed in the apparatus main body . The guide means includes a shaft body that rotates about a predetermined rotation center axis, and
A predetermined number of ribs arranged in parallel at predetermined positions along the axial direction of the shaft body;
A projecting member that is provided integrally with the shaft body and that rotates the shaft body under a pressing force;
An urging portion for urging the shaft member in a rotational direction in which the protruding member protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus main body when the document feeding portion is opened;
When the document feeding unit is closed, in response to the pressing of the projecting member by the document feeding unit, the rib projects toward the gap by the shaft rotation of the shaft body against the urging force by the urging unit,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the document feeding portion is opened, the projecting member protrudes from the upper surface of the apparatus main body by the biasing force and the rib is immersed in the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the ribs are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the shaft body at positions based on the vertical and horizontal width dimensions of each size document.

Images