JP4400759B2 - Document feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a document conveying device mounted on an image reading apparatus having a reading unit that reads an image of a conveyed document at a reading position, and in particular, discharges a document from a sheet feeding unit through the reading position. A document transport device (document stacking device) that is provided with a substantially U-turn-shaped document transport path that transports the document to the printing unit and that can stack the document after reading on the discharge tray according to the document stacking sequence at the time of supply. Aligning device).

  Generally, in an image reading apparatus capable of reading the image recording surface of a conveyed document, an image reading means such as a contact type line image sensor is disposed on the lower surface of a document passing transparent plate (glass plate). The automatic document feeder provided on the upper surface of the lid-like cover body that can be opened and closed with respect to the upper surface of the document passage transparent plate separates a plurality of documents deposited on the sheet feeding tray one by one. It is configured to be transported onto a document passing transparent plate, and after the image recording surface of the document is read by the image reading means, it is discharged to a discharge tray portion.

  In this case, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-133867, the document conveyance path is a substantially U-turn-shaped document that extends from the document feeding unit disposed on the upper side to the sheet discharging unit disposed on the lower side through the document reading position. A so-called upper-feed-type automatic document feeder having a conveyance path, and a paper discharge unit arranged on the upper side through a document reading position from a document feed unit arranged on the lower side as shown in Patent Document 2 Can be roughly classified into a so-called lower sheet feeding type automatic document conveying device having a substantially U-turn shaped document conveying path.

In the above-described automatic document feeder of the lower sheet feeding method, the upper surface (front surface) of the document passing transparent plate is placed in the reading section by placing the image recording surface downward on the document feeding section (sheet feeding tray). When the document is transported with the image recording surface facing the paper and discharged to the paper discharge unit (discharge tray) via the U-turn-shaped document transport path, the image recording surface faces upward. Will be placed.
JP 2003-76074 A (see FIG. 1) JP 2003-335372 A (see FIG. 1)

  By the way, in the apparatus of Patent Document 2, which is an automatic document feeder of a lower sheet feeding method, a plurality of documents are accumulated on a document feeding unit (sheet feeding tray), and one sheet is sequentially arranged from the uppermost layer of deposition. When carrying out a continuous conveyance reading operation of separating and conveying the images one by one and then discharging them to the paper discharge section (discharge tray), the nip between the pair of paper discharge rollers disposed at the end of the U-turn-shaped document conveyance path Is higher than the upstream end portion in the discharge direction of the discharge section (discharge tray). In other words, the upstream end of the paper discharge unit (discharge tray) in the discharge direction is inclined so as to be lower than the downstream side, and is discharged so as to be lower than the height position of the nip of the pair of paper discharge rollers. Since the paper portion (sheet discharge tray) is formed, the subsequent document is deposited on the upper surface of the document discharged in advance. Moreover, the image recording surface of each document is upward.

  Then, the stacking order of the originals with the image recording surface facing upward in the paper discharge unit (discharge tray) is completely opposite to the order in which the originals are stacked in the paper supply unit. In order to rearrange them in the original order, there was a problem that they had to rely on human hands and required a lot of time and labor.

  The present invention solves such a problem, arranges a paper feed section (paper feed tray section) at a lower position, and has a paper discharge section (paper discharge tray section) at an upper position, thereby conveying a U-turn-like document. In an automatic document conveying device used for a document reading device having a path, a document conveying device capable of depositing documents in a sheet discharge unit in the order in which sheets are stacked (hereinafter referred to as normal order deposition) is provided. It is the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the document conveying apparatus according to the invention described in claim 1 is mounted on an image reading apparatus having reading means for reading an image of a document conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction at a reading position, A first transport direction in which a document is transported from the paper feed tray unit disposed in the first position to the reading position, and a first transport direction through which the document is transported to the paper discharge tray unit disposed above the paper feed tray unit. In a document transport apparatus having a substantially U-turn-shaped document transport path consisting of two transport directions, an image recording surface placed in a stacked state on the paper feed tray section is the top of a plurality of documents with a downward surface. The first rotation driving member and the first contact member are separated in order from the first document of the lower layer and conveyed in the first conveying direction, and either one or both of them are included. Can be elastically contacted with the opponent A separating / conveying means formed, and a second rotational driving member for further conveying the document conveyed by the separating / conveying means after being conveyed to the reading position and being reversed in the second conveying direction. A reversing and conveying means comprising a second abutting member capable of elastically abutting on the second rotation driving member; and a cover member on which the first and second abutting members are disposed and which can be opened and closed. The cover member includes a suction chute portion for introducing a document from the paper feed tray portion, and a document which is positioned above the suction chute portion and reversely conveyed by the second rotation driving member. A discharge chute that leads to the paper tray, and at least two second abutting members disposed on the downstream side of the reading position from the reading position are provided on the most downstream side of the conveyance. The second abutting member and the The second contact position with the rotary drive member is located at a position lower than the highest height position of the discharge chute portion when the cover member is closed, and is located on the most downstream side of the conveyance. Between the contact member and the discharge chute for guiding the document upward from the contact position between the second contact member on the most downstream side of the transport and the second rotation drive member At least one of the guide member and the elastic support piece, or both of them is provided, and in the paper discharge tray section, the next original is discharged to the lower surface side of the original with the previously discharged image recording surface facing upward. It is composed of .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the first aspect, the second rotation driving member is a reversing roller, and a part of a peripheral surface of the reversing roller is read by the reading unit. Placed opposite the surface,
The second contact member is a plurality of driven rollers that are elastically pressed against the reversing roller, and at least a part of the plurality of driven rollers is arranged around the reversing roller when the cover member is opened. It is separated from the surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the second aspect, the cover member is a rotating shaft that is spaced apart from the reversing roller, and the discharge tray portion is more than the paper feed tray portion. The cover member is configured to be pivotable about a pivot shaft provided at a position close to the center, and the cover member has a periphery of the reversing roller disposed opposite to the reading surface of the reading means in the document transport path. A portion excluding a part of the surface is configured to be openable, and when the cover member is closed, the first contact member and the second contact member are elastic to the first rotation driving member and the reverse roller, respectively. And at least a part of the second contact member is separated from the reversing roller when the cover member is opened.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the second or third aspect, the guide member is integrally formed from an outer peripheral surface of a fitting member disposed on both left and right sides of the reversing roller. And it approaches so that it may approach toward the conveyance direction most upstream part in the said discharge chute part from the height position equivalent to the position which contact | abuts with respect to the surrounding surface of the said inversion roller among the said driven rollers in the conveyance direction most downstream side. It extends in an inclined manner.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the fourth aspect, the uppermost end portion of the guide member is on the most downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the peripheral surface of the reverse roller of the driven roller. It is formed so as to be higher than the height position corresponding to the abutting position, and is formed so as to be lower than the height position portion on the most downstream side in the transport direction in the discharge chute portion. It is.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the document feeder according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the elastic support piece has a substantially L-shaped side section, and a base end portion of the elastic support piece. Are fixed to the fitting members disposed on both the left and right sides of the reversing roller, and the inclination-free end portion extending downward from the substantially L-shape of the elastic support piece is a slit hole formed in the fitting member. Is inserted.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the sixth aspect, ribs are formed on the inner surface of the cover member at appropriate intervals in a direction orthogonal to the document conveying direction, and the elastic support piece is It is arrange | positioned between the arrangement | positioning locations of the said rib.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, the original is determined based on a contact position between the second contact member on the most downstream side of the transfer and the second rotation driving member. It is further provided with a scraping roller for scraping up.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the leading end of the discharged document is at the rearmost portion of the paper feeding tray portion at the rearmost portion of the paper feeding tray portion. A document stopper body is provided so as not to slip off.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to the ninth aspect, an upper open recess is formed in the rearmost portion of the sheet feeding tray portion into which the document stopper body can be fitted. In the recess, the base portion of the document stopper body can be folded and stored in the upstream side.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, a bowl-shaped upper guide member is further provided above at least a part of the discharge chute.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the first rotation driving member in the separating / conveying means includes two driving rollers separated in the conveying direction, A pad-shaped first contact member is elastically urged to each of the two drive rollers.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the document conveying device is mounted on an image reading device having reading means for reading an image of a document conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction at a reading position, and is arranged on the lower side. A first transport direction for transporting a document from the paper tray portion to the reading position; and a second transport direction for transporting the document to the discharge tray portion disposed above the paper feed tray portion through the reading position. A substantially U-turn-shaped document conveyance path is provided. Then, the image recording surface placed in a stacked state on the paper feed tray unit is separated in order from the first document on the bottom layer among the plurality of documents facing downward, and conveyed in the first conveyance direction. For this purpose, the separating / conveying means comprising a first rotation driving member and a first abutting member, either or both of which can be elastically abutted against the other, After the document transported by the transport means is transported to the reading position, the second rotational drive member and the second rotational drive member are elastically applied to the second rotational drive member so as to be further transported in the second transport direction. A reversing and conveying means comprising a contactable second abutting member; and a cover member having the first and second abutting members disposed therein and capable of opening and closing, wherein the cover member includes the paper feed tray section. Inhalation chute for introducing the manuscript from this, and this inhalation chute And a discharge chute that guides the document reversely conveyed by the second rotation driving member to the discharge tray, so that a plurality of documents with the image recording surface facing downward is provided. Are stacked and fed one by one from the topmost document in the stack, and after reading the data on the image recording surface at the reading position, the second rotational driving member and the second The reversal conveying means comprising the abutting member can be used to discharge the original after reading from the discharge chute portion to the discharge tray portion with the image recording surface facing upward.

In this case, in the present invention, at least two second contact members arranged on the downstream side of the conveyance from the reading position are provided along the conveyance direction, and the second contact member located on the most downstream side of the conveyance. And the second rotational drive member are disposed at a position lower than the highest height position of the discharge chute portion when the cover member is closed, and are located on the most downstream side of the conveyance. The document is guided upward from a contact position between the second contact member on the most downstream side of the conveyance and the second rotation drive member between the second contact member and the discharge chute portion. At least one of a guide member and an elastic support piece, or both of them, and in the paper discharge tray section, the next original is discharged to the lower surface side of the original with the previously discharged image recording surface facing upward It is configured to be In sequence of the deposited document tray unit is to be deposited the document discharge tray portion. Therefore, the user can take out the originals in the normal order deposited on the paper feed tray portion as it is, and there is a remarkable effect that the labor of rearranging the originals is not required.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the second rotation driving member is a reversing roller, and a part of the circumferential surface of the reversing roller is disposed to face the reading surface of the reading unit,
The second contact member is a plurality of driven rollers that are elastically pressed against the reversing roller, and at least a part of the plurality of driven rollers is arranged around the reversing roller when the cover member is opened. It is separated from the surface.

  Therefore, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the document is transported to the reading position from the sheet feeding tray portion disposed below the substantially U-turn-shaped document transport path by simply opening the cover member. Most of the first transport direction and the second transport direction that transports the document to the paper discharge tray disposed above the paper feed tray through the reading position are opened, and the jammed paper can be easily removed. It has the effect of being able to be removed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the cover member is opened, at least a part of the plurality of driven rollers and the first abutting member are separated from the reversing roller, and the document is conveyed. Since the path is configured to be able to open a portion excluding a part of the peripheral surface of the reversing roller disposed to face the reading surface of the reading unit, the first contact member and The driven rollers can be largely separated from the first rotation driving member and the reverse roller, respectively, and a part of the peripheral surface of the reverse roller disposed facing the reading surface of the reading unit in the document transport path. The part to be removed can be greatly opened, and the paper jam can be easily handled.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the guide member is integrally formed from the outer peripheral surface of the fitted member disposed on the left and right sides of the reversing roller, and the reversing roller of the driven rollers. Since it extends in an inclined manner from a height position corresponding to a position in contact with the peripheral surface of the discharge chute on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction toward the most upstream portion in the conveyance direction in the discharge chute portion. The original released from the position of the driven roller that contacts the peripheral surface of the reversing roller on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction follows the lower surface of the original that has been discharged and accumulated on the discharge chute portion. The document can be conveyed so that the leading edge of the document to be drawn is drawn onto the discharge chute portion, and the stacking order of the documents discharged onto the discharge tray portion can be made the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray portion.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the uppermost end portion of the guide member is a height position corresponding to a position of the driven roller that contacts the circumferential surface of the reversing roller on the most downstream side in the transport direction. It is formed so that it may become a higher position than the height position of the part of the discharge chute part at the most downstream side in the conveyance direction.

  Therefore, the document can be transported so that the leading edge of the succeeding document approaches the lower surface side of the document that has been previously ejected and deposited on the ejection chute portion, and is guided to the ejection chute portion. This can be the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray section.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the elastic support piece has a substantially L-shaped side cross-section, and the base end portion of the elastic support piece is disposed on both the left and right sides of the reversing roller. An inclination free end portion fixed to the member and extending downward from the substantially L shape of the elastic support piece is inserted into a slit hole formed in the fitting member.

  According to this configuration, the document released from the contact position between the driven roller and the reverse roller at the most downstream portion in the conveyance direction is placed on the elastic support piece, but the elastic support piece bends slightly downward depending on the weight of the document. . In this state, the free end portion of the document lifted by the elastic force of the elastic support piece itself can be discharged toward the discharge chute portion while remaining substantially horizontal. Since the inclined free end portion extending downward from the substantially L-shape of the elastic support piece is inserted into the slit hole formed in the fitting member, the elastic support piece on which the document is placed bends downward. When the position of the free end moves up and down along the slit hole, the deformation direction of the elastic support piece is regulated, and the elastic support piece is discharged first and is deposited on the most downstream portion in the transport direction in the discharge chute portion. It can be conveyed so that the leading edge of the succeeding document approaches the lower surface side of the document and is drawn onto the discharge chute portion. Therefore, the stacking order of the discharged originals can be made the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray unit, and it is possible to further ensure that the stacking order is the normal order.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, ribs are formed on the inner surface of the cover member at appropriate intervals in a direction orthogonal to the document transport direction, and the elastic support pieces are disposed between the ribs. Therefore, the vertical movement range of the elastic support piece can be increased, and the lifting action by the elastic support piece on the discharged document can be more reliably given.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a scraping roller for scraping the original from a contact position between the second contact member on the most downstream side of the transport and the second rotation drive member. Is. Even with this configuration, the document released from the contact position is actively scraped, and the leading edge of the succeeding document approaches the lower surface side of the document that has been ejected first and accumulated on the ejection chute, and is ejected. Since it is drawn onto the chute portion, it is possible to make sure that the stacking order of the discharged originals is in the normal order.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the document stopper body is provided at the rearmost portion of the paper feed tray portion, the document discharged to the paper discharge tray portion above the paper feed tray portion. There is an effect that the leading edge of the sheet can be prevented from slipping off from the last part of the sheet feeding tray section.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, an upper open recess is formed in the rearmost portion of the paper feed tray portion in which the document stopper body can be fitted, and the document stopper body is formed in the recess. The base portion is configured to be foldable on the upstream side so that it can be folded. Therefore, when the reading function is not used or when the image recording apparatus is packed, the original stopper body does not protrude from the outer side or the upper surface side of the paper feed tray portion, and there is an effect that it becomes compact.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the bowl-shaped upper guide member is further provided above at least a part of the discharge chute portion, the discharge chute portion is first discharged and deposited on the discharge chute portion. Since the upstream side of the conveyed document is regulated by the lower surface of the bowl-shaped upper guide member and can keep the accumulated state substantially parallel to the discharge chute portion, the leading edge of the document following the lower surface side is easily guided smoothly. Therefore, a large number of sheets can be stacked in a state where the stacking order of the discharged originals is the normal order.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the first rotation driving member in the separating / conveying means is composed of two driving rollers separated in the conveying direction, and each of the two driving rollers has a pad-shaped first. The abutting member is elastically biased.

  Accordingly, it is easy to rotate the two driving rollers simultaneously, and the contact portion is formed by the pad-shaped contact member for each drive roller, so that the contact position can be appropriately selected. Further, since the pad-shaped contact member is pressed against the drive roller by the pressing means, the pressing force can be easily adjusted, and the structure of the pressing means can be simplified.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-function device provided with an image reading device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIG. 3 is an illustration of an opening of a transport unit cover body as a cover member that covers a document transport path in a document transport device (ADF). FIG. 4 is a plan view of a state in which the transport unit cover body is greatly opened, FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the image reading device taken along the line Va-Va in FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Vb-Vb of FIG. 2 of the image reading apparatus, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 7 presses the original at the image reading position against the glass plate. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the location of the means for pressing / separating the pressing member and the driven roller, FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view in a state in which the transport section cover body is opened, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a drive system, FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing parts such as a reversing roller and a pressing member, and FIG. Perspective view of the pressing plate or the like for pressurizing, FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment.

  The embodiment of the present invention is applied to the image reading device 2 and the document conveying device 3 in the multi-function device 1 having a facsimile function, a scanner function, a copying function, and a printer function.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the main body case 4 of the multi-function device 1, a numeric keypad for performing a facsimile function, a scanner function, and a copying function and various operations are instructed to the front portion thereof. An operation panel unit 5 including a button key, a liquid crystal panel for displaying command contents, error display, and the like is disposed. Behind the operation panel unit 5, an image reading device 2 for executing a scanner function and a document conveying device 3 mounted thereon are arranged. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, on the case 2a in the image reading apparatus 2, a glass plate 6 serving as a transparent plate member for placing a stationary document and a transported document is disposed. Yes. Therefore, the glass plate 6 serves as both the first transparent member and the second transparent member described in the claims. Below the glass plate 6, line-type reading means 8 (for example, a contact image sensor (CIS)) for reading the image recording surface of the document is provided. The line-shaped reading means 8 which is mounted on the linear guide shaft 9 along the X direction in FIG. 1 and can reciprocate is linearly long in the Y direction in FIG.

  The case 2a in the image reading apparatus 2 has a pivot 7 (FIGS. 5A and 5 (B) provided horizontally on the main body case 4 on one side end (in the embodiment, the left end in FIGS. 1 and 2) side. It is mounted so that it can be turned up and down around a).

  A document conveying device 3 (automatic document feeder (ADF)) that conveys a document to the image reading device 2 is a pressing plate that presses a stationary document placed on the glass plate 6 with the image recording surface in contact therewith. It is provided in the upper part of the body 10 (equivalent to the 2nd press member said by a claim) The synthetic resin press plate body 10 is the hinge 10a (FIG.2 and FIG.4) of the rear end (opposite side of the operation panel part 5). The pressure plate 10 is attached to the lower surface of the pressing plate 10 with a pressing member (not shown) made of sponge, white plate, or the like. May be attached.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6 and 7, the reading means 8 is stationary at the left end of the glass plate 6 and bonded to the upper surface of the glass plate 6. The left region across the guide piece 11 that is long in the Y direction becomes an exposed opening 36 that is partially exposed with the image recording surface of the document D transported in the first transport direction facing downward, as will be described later. The position above the detection position is the reading position Re of the conveyed document. The area on the right side of the guide piece 11 that is long in the Y direction and bonded to the upper surface of the glass plate 6 is a reading area for a stationary document. The reading means 8 also serves as the first and second reading means described in the claims.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the document conveying device 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a paper feed tray unit 13 formed on the upper surface of an upper cover 12 that covers substantially the entire upper portion of the pressing plate 10. And the sheet discharge tray unit 14 which is disposed above the sheet feed tray unit 13 and shorter than the sheet feed tray unit 13 in the X direction. The document transport device 3 transports a document D to a reading position Re (see FIGS. 5A and 6) located at one side (one end in the X direction) of the paper feed tray unit 13. And a substantially U-turn-shaped document conveyance path including a second conveyance direction for conveying the document D from the reading position Re to the paper discharge tray unit 14. On the other hand, a paper discharge tray section 14 is integrally provided on the upper surfaces of a pair of document guides 13 a protruding to the upper surface side of the upper cover 12. When one document guide 13a is manually moved by a known interlocking mechanism 13b (see FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b)), the pair of document guides 13a are simultaneously moved in the Y direction to move the document D. The width can be adjusted according to the width dimension in the Y direction. As described above, since the length of the paper discharge tray portion 14 in the X direction is short, the portion closer to the other end of the paper feed tray portion 13 (the opposite side farthest from the side where the document conveyance path is arranged) is read. This is also used as a stacking unit for depositing the document D discharged later. As described above, the upstream side portion in the first transport direction of the paper feed tray unit 13 is also used as a stacking unit for depositing the document D after reading, and thus the height of the portion where the document D is deposited is heightened. The size can be reduced and the apparatus can be made compact. A document stopper is provided at the other end (last part) of the upper cover 12 (feed tray unit 13) to prevent the leading edge of the discharged document D from sliding off from the last part of the feed tray unit 13. A body 34 is provided. In this case, an upper open recess 35 into which the document stopper body 34 can be fitted is formed at the rearmost portion of the upper cover 12, and the base portion of the document stopper body 34 can be turned upstream in the recess 35. When a structure that enables folding such as pivoting is employed, the document stopper body 34 is provided outside or on the upper surface side of the paper feed tray 13 (main body case 4) when the multi-function device 1 is not used or packed. There is an effect that it becomes compact without protruding.

  The document conveying device 3 separates one document from a plurality of documents D placed in a stacked state on the paper feed tray unit 13 and conveys the document in a first conveying direction (direction approaching the reading position Re). Separating / conveying means comprising a first rotation driving member and a first abutting member for allowing either one or both of them to elastically abut against the other, and the separation The second rotation drive member and the second rotation drive member can be elastically brought into contact with each other in order to further convey the document conveyed by the conveyance means in the second conveyance direction from the reading position Re. The reversing and conveying means comprising the second abutting member and the revolving and conveying means can be rotated around a rotating shaft provided at a position spaced apart from the reversing and conveying means and closer to the paper discharge tray section 14 than the paper feed tray section 13. And at least the second contact member of the first and second contact members. While being arranged, and at least a portion the cover member openable conveying path of the document.

  In the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, 9, and the like, two rotation driving rollers (a suction roller 15 on the upstream side of the conveyance and a separation roller 16 on the downstream side) as the first rotation driving member and the second And a large-diameter reversing roller 20 as a rotation driving member is disposed on the upper surface of the pressing plate 10 at a substantially central portion in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the document D (the width direction of the document D). (See FIG. 12). The rotation center line of the drive shaft 28 that supports the reversing roller 20 overlaps with the axis of the reading position Re in plan view, so that the lower end surface of the peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20 faces the reading surface by the reading unit 8. Become.

  A pad-like member as a first contact member capable of elastically contacting the upper surfaces of the suction roller 15 and the separation roller 16 (the suction nip piece 17 for the suction roller 15 and the separation pad 18 for the separation roller 16). And the second pinch roller 22 and the third pinch roller 23 among the freely rotatable driven rollers, which are a plurality of second abutting members that can elastically abut against the reversing roller 20, serve as cover members. It is arrange | positioned at the inner surface of the cover cover body 19 of side cross-section substantially L shape (refer FIG.3 and FIG.9). 5A, FIG. 5B to FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 do not describe the hook-shaped upper guide member 52 described later.

  The second pinch roller 22 and the third pinch roller 23 are axially supported at both ends by a spring piece 27 made of a metal plate having a substantially L-shaped side cross section, and the middle part of the spring piece 27 is fixed to the inner surface of the lid cover body 19. Has been. The first pinch roller 21, which is a driven roller that is disposed downstream of the separation roller 16 and can contact the reversing roller 20, is made of metal or the like that is disposed so as to be movable in the X direction on the upper surface of the pressing plate 10. It is attached to the frame 24. The rear end of the compression coil spring 25 which is an urging (spring) means for elastically pressing the rear end of the frame 24 toward the reversing roller 20 is supported by a support piece 26 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). ).

  In the embodiment, the first abutting member (suction nip piece 17, separation) with respect to the two rotation driving rollers (the suction roller 15 on the upstream side of the conveyance and the separation roller 16 on the downstream side) as the first rotation driving member. The pad 18) is configured to be able to elastically contact, but conversely, the first contact member (suction nip piece 17, separation pad 18) 2 as a first rotational drive member. Two rotation driving rollers (the suction roller 15 on the upstream side of the conveyance and the separation roller 16 on the downstream side) may be configured to be elastically contactable.

  The lid cover body 19 is provided with a discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 that is long along the width direction of the document D as a discharge chute, on the downstream side of the conveyance relative to the third pinch roller 23. The front end portion 29a (upstream side of conveyance) of the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 is formed in an inclined shape so as to be located below the upper surface of the reverse roller 20, and the front end edge of the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 and the lid cover body. 19 between the upper roof 19a and the end edge 19b on the downstream side of the upper roof 19a. The horizontal portion 29b on the transport downstream side of the upper surface of the discharge assist guide plate 29 is provided at substantially the same height position so as to continue to the transport upstream side of the upper surface of the discharge tray portion 14 in the same horizontal state. The suction nip piece 17 and the separation pad 18 can be rotated up and down around the base end side (upper end side) on the lower surface side of the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 in the lid cover body 19. The suction roller 15 is pressed by a compression coil spring 30 as a means, and the separation pad 18 is pressed and urged by an upper surface of the separation roller 16 through a leaf spring 31 as a pressing means. Since the document D accumulated on the paper feed tray unit 13 is sucked between the suction nip piece 17 and the suction roller 15, the lower surface side of the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 extends from the paper feed tray unit 13. Corresponds to the suction chute 32 of the original D.

  The lid cover body 19 is a lower side of the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 and is a circuit that protrudes from both side portions in the vicinity of the base of the suction nip piece 17 (position close to the separating and conveying means, side far from the reversing roller 20). It is configured to be rotatable up and down around a moving shaft (not shown). Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, when the cover member is closed, the suction nip piece 17 is on the upper surface of the suction roller 15, the separation pad 18 is on the upper surface of the separation roller 16, and the second pinch roller 22 and the third The pinch roller 23 is elastically pressed against the reversing side peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20. When the lid cover body 19 is opened upward and rotated, the second pinch roller 22 and the third pinch roller 23 can be largely separated from the reversing roller 20, and the lid cover body 19 can be largely rotated approximately 120 degrees (see FIG. 9). The suction nip piece 17 and the separation pad 18 can also be largely separated from the suction roller 15 and the separation roller 16, respectively, and the document D sandwiched between these contact portions (nip portions) can be easily removed. You can remove the jam. The document D sandwiched by the contact portion (nip portion) between the first pinch roller 21 and the reversing roller 20 that can move against the urging force of the coil spring 25 as the pressing means is pulled out regardless of the urging force. Can do.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a support piece 26 supporting the rear end of the coil spring 25 is movable in the X direction, and a handle portion 26a protruding from the support piece 26 is formed in the upper cover body 12. By adopting a forced separation means configured to face the provided long hole 33, the operator moves the support piece 26 together with the handle portion 26a with a tool such as a finger or a driver, and the biasing force of the coil spring 25 If the first pinch roller 21 is separated from the peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20 against this, the document D can be extracted with a light force, so that the paper jam can be easily released.

  A document D to be read can be stacked and placed between the lower surface of the plate-shaped sheet discharge tray section 14 and the sheet feed tray section 13 with its image recording surface facing downward. With respect to the distance H2 between the horizontal lower surface of the paper discharge tray unit 14 and the upper surface of the paper feed tray unit 13, the front end side 14a close to the suction roller 15 of the paper discharge tray unit 14 is inclined and formed. By setting the height H3 of the paper feed opening and setting H3 <H2 (see FIG. 6), the deposited document D can be smoothly introduced into the suction roller 15 and the suction nip piece 17. I have to. Further, by providing the suction means by the suction roller 15 and the suction nip piece 17, the document D deposited on the horizontal paper feed tray section 13 can be reliably placed at the separation means location by the separation roller 16 and the separation pad 18. Can be delivered. In order to ensure this action, the diameter and peripheral speed of the suction roller 15 and the separation roller 16 are set equal.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 7, 11, and 12, the document D is exposed by an exposed opening 36 including a reading position Re on the lower surface side on both the left and right sides (the width direction of the document D) across the reversing roller 20. A first pressing member 40 is disposed for pressing the image recording surface against the surface of the glass plate 6 without a gap. The first pressing member 40 has a flat plate shape and is integrally molded (synthetic resin injection molding) with a large pressing plate 10 (second pressing member). In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, the base of the first pressing member 40 (the portion near the edge in the width direction of the document D) is the drive shaft 28 of the reverse roller 20 provided on the side of the pressing plate 10. It is integrally connected in the vicinity of the shaft support portion 42. On the outside of one of the shaft support portions 42, a transmission gear case 43 that can store the driving force and the transmission gear mechanism 43 for transmitting the rotational driving force to the drive shaft 28, the suction roller 15, and the separation roller 16 is provided. (See FIGS. 1 to 4, 10, and 12).

  Each first pressing member 40 is formed in a substantially semicircular arc-shaped shell projecting downward, and an upward elastic hook body 41 is integrally formed on the side close to the left and right sides of the reversing roller 20. The elastic hook body 41 is suspended and supported by the drive shaft 28 of the reversing roller 20. Thereby, the height position with respect to the glass plate 6 of the lower surface of the 1st press member 40 is securable with a simple structure.

  In the range corresponding to the region of the exposed opening 36 in the lower surface of each first pressing member 40, the surface is substantially parallel to the surface of the glass plate 6, and the outer surface (lower surface) of the reversing roller 20 is closer to the surface of the glass plate 6. It is formed to be slightly closer. As a result, the document D conveyed along the outer periphery of the reversing roller 20 is temporarily separated from the lower surface of the reversing roller 20, and the image recording surface of the document D is pressed against the surface of the glass plate 6 without any gap. An accurate image can be read by the means 8. In this case, the first pressing member 40 is disposed on both sides in the width direction of the document D perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the document D with the reversing roller 20 interposed therebetween, and the portion facing the glass plate 6 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape. Accordingly, the width of the document D in the width direction of the document D is increased by the first pressing members 40 on both sides of the reversing roller 20 without increasing the size of the document roller D in the width direction of the document D. The flat portion can be formed almost uniformly over the whole, and the image in the width direction of the document D can be read accurately.

  Further, by attaching a white tape or applying paint to the lower surface (the range including the reading position Re) of the first pressing member 40, it is possible to detect the chromaticity and luminance as a reference in the reading unit 8. To.

  Next, on the upper side of the reverse roller 20, when the document D after being read is U-turned in the second conveyance direction, that is, discharged to the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 as a discharge chute portion and then to the discharge tray portion 14. The image recording surface of each original D is upward, and the next original D is reliably discharged below the previously discharged original D (the order of stacking the discharged originals D is set in the forward order). ) Will be described.

  The means of the first embodiment is that the nip portion (contact portion) between the third pinch roller 23 on the most downstream side of the conveyance and the upper side of the peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20 in a state where the lid cover body 19 is closed. Is higher than the front end portion 29a (on the upstream side of conveyance) of the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 and higher than the upper surface of the horizontal portion 29b (on the downstream side of conveyance) of the auxiliary discharge guide plate 29. It is set to be in a low position (see FIGS. 6, 7, and 13).

  According to this configuration, the originals D accumulated on the paper feed tray unit 13 and having the image recording surface facing downward are separated and conveyed between the separation roller 16 and the separation pad 18 in order from the first sheet of the lowermost layer. The image recording surface is conveyed in sliding contact with the surface of the glass plate 6 by the first pressing member 40 at the exposed opening 36 through the contact portion between the first pinch roller 21 and the lower peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20. To do. After the image of the document D is read by the reading means 8 below the reading position Re of the exposure opening 36, the document D contacts the second pinch roller, the third pinch roller, and the peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20. In addition, the sheet is discharged from the discharge port below the end edge 19b of the upper roof 19a of the lid cover body 19 on the downstream side of the conveyance. Then, the original D is placed on the upper surface of the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 and the paper discharge tray section 14 with the image recording surface facing upward. In this case, the contact height position of the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20 is higher than the front end portion 29a (upstream side of conveyance) of the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29, and the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 is horizontal. Since the position is lower than the height position of the upper surface of the portion 29b (on the downstream side of conveyance), the leading edge of the document D that has been discharged first and deposited on the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 is located on the lower surface side of the document D. Since it approaches and is drawn onto the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29, the stacking order of the discharged originals D becomes the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray unit 13, and the operator later sets the stacking order of the originals D. No need to change.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 7, and 13, the second embodiment for further ensuring the above-described operation is provided on the upper sides on both the left and right sides with the reversing roller 20 interposed therebetween. Is arranged with a pair of fitted members 46 having a substantially halved cylindrical section so as to extend in the width direction of the document D. Each fitting member 46 is connected to the upper end of each first pressing member 40. Therefore, the driving shaft 28 is fitted from above, and each fitting member 46 and each fitting member 46 are engaged by an engaging means (not shown). 1 pressing member 40 is connected. On the outer peripheral surface of each fitted member 46, the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29, which is a discharge chute, extends obliquely upward from the position corresponding to the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20 to the downstream side of the conveyance. A guide member 47 close to the start end side is integrally formed. The uppermost end 47 a of each guide member 47 is formed to be higher than the height position of the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20. According to this configuration, the document D released from the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reversing roller 20 is guided upward to the uppermost end 47a along the inclined guide member 47. Since the upper end portion 47 a is lower than the horizontal portion 29 b of the discharge assist guide plate 29, the leading end of the document D that follows the lower surface side of the document D that has been ejected first and deposited on the discharge assist guide plate 29. Can be conveyed so as to be drawn onto the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29, and the stacking order of the discharged originals D can be made the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray unit 13.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the third embodiment for making the order of stacking the discharged originals D forward is based on the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20 on the most downstream side of the conveyance. The elastic support piece 49 for lifting is provided. The elastic support piece 49 is made of an elastic plate made of a strong synthetic resin such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) having a thickness of about 0.2 mm to 1 mm, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section. The recess 46 a at an appropriate position in the width direction of the document D on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting member 46 is elastically supported in the vicinity of the height position of the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20. The base end portion of the piece 49 is fixed with an adhesive or the like. The elastic support piece 49 is arranged so as to be located at a high position (position higher than the horizontal portion 29b of the paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 29) toward the conveyance downstream side, and is bent freely and extended downward from the uppermost edge 49a. The end portion 49 b is disposed so as to be inserted into a groove (slit) hole 50 formed in the fitted member 46. According to this configuration, the document D released from the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reversing roller 20 is placed on the elastic support piece 49, but the elastic support piece 49 bends slightly downward due to the weight of the document D. Mu In this state, the free end portion of the document D lifted by the elastic force of the elastic support piece 49 itself can be discharged toward the discharge assist guide plate 29 while remaining substantially horizontal. Accordingly, the leading edge of the succeeding document D approaches the lower surface side of the document D that has been discharged first and deposited on the horizontal portion 29b of the sheet discharge assist guide plate 29 so as to be drawn onto the sheet discharge assist guide plate 29. The stacking order of the discharged originals D can be made the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray unit 13.

  In this way, the elastic support piece 49 has a substantially L-shaped side cross section, and the base end portion of the elastic support piece 49 is fixed to the outer periphery of the fitted member 46 disposed on both the left and right sides of the reversing roller 20. The inclined free end portion 49b extending downward from the substantially L-shape of the elastic support piece 49 is inserted into the slit hole 50 formed in the fitted member 46, so that the original D is placed on the elastic support piece. When 49 is bent downward due to elasticity, the position of the free end portion 49b moves up and down along the slit hole 50, so that the deformation direction of the elastic support piece 49 is restricted, and the lower surface of the preceding document D is followed. The action of approaching the leading edge of the original D can be further ensured.

  Further, on the inner surface of the lid cover body 19, long ribs 19c extending to the end edge 19b on the transport downstream side along the X direction are integrally formed at appropriate intervals in the Y direction (FIG. 3, FIG. 3). 4, FIG. 7, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, FIG. 13, and FIG. If the elastic support piece 49 is arranged between the ribs 19c at appropriate positions (see FIG. 14), the vertical movement range of the uppermost edge 49a can be increased, and the elasticity of the original D to be discharged can be increased. The lifting action by the support piece 49 can be given more reliably.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the fourth embodiment for making the stacking order of the discharged documents D forward is a scraping roller provided at substantially the same height as the third pinch roller 23 on the most downstream side of the conveyance. 51, which may be a form in which protrusions are provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical roller at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction, a spur roller with a cross-section, or a thin plate-shaped spur. 51 is arranged opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the fitted member 46 or the outer peripheral surface of the reversing roller 20. When facing the outer peripheral surface of the fitted member 46, it is desirable to actively drive the scraping roller 51 to rotate. According to these configurations, the leading end portion of the document D released from the contact position between the third pinch roller 23 and the reverse roller 20 is actively scraped by the rotation of the scraping roller 51, and the document D When the leading edge of the paper is curled downward, the state where the leading edge of the document D hits the inclined front edge 29a of the discharge assist guide plate 29 and cannot be smoothly guided to the horizontal portion 29b is eliminated. In other words, the stacking order of the discharged originals D can be made the same as the state of being placed on the paper feed tray unit 13.

  The fifth embodiment for making the stacking order of the discharged documents D forward is at least partly above the discharge auxiliary guide plate 29 that is a discharge chute, preferably horizontally from the inclined front end 29a. A substantially horizontal bowl-shaped upper guide member 52 is provided over the first half of the portion 29b (see FIG. 13). According to this configuration, the conveyance upstream side of the document D that has been discharged first and deposited on the discharge assist guide plate 29 is regulated by the lower surface of the bowl-shaped upper guide member 52 and is substantially parallel to the horizontal portion 29b. Since the state can be maintained, the leading edge of the subsequent document D is easily guided smoothly on the lower surface side. A large number of sheets can be stacked in the same stacking order of the discharged originals D as placed on the paper feed tray unit 13.

  In addition, by attaching the base part of the bowl-shaped upper guide member 52 to the vicinity of the edge 19b of the upper roof 19a on the transport downstream side of the lid cover body 19 via the pivot 53, the lid cover body 19 can be turned up and down. In a state in which the lid is wide open, the free edge of the bowl-shaped upper guide member 52 comes into contact with the upper surface of the paper discharge tray portion 14 or the paper feed tray portion 13 so that the cover cover 19 can be held in the open rotation posture. You can also.

  In addition to the first embodiment, it is preferable to adopt a combination of the configurations of the second to fifth embodiments as appropriate.

  Further, since the outer peripheral surface of the fitted member 46 is substantially arc-shaped, the fitted members are not wound around the drive shaft 28 at both ends of the curled state in the width direction of the document D that does not slide on the reversing roller 20. 46 can be smoothly guided in the direction of the discharge port along the outer peripheral surface of 46.

  In the present invention, it goes without saying that an endless belt can be used in place of the reverse roller 20 as the second rotational drive member.

1 is a perspective view of a multi-function device provided with a document conveying device of the present invention. It is also a plan view. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid cover body in the document feeder is opened. It is also a plan view. (A) is the Va-Va arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, (b) is the Vb-Vb arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of the left side part of Drawing 5 (a). It is principal part sectional drawing which expanded FIG. 6 further. It is a top view of the part which opened the cover body. It is an IX-IX line arrow expanded sectional view of Drawing 8. It is a side view of a power transmission part. It is a perspective view which shows the press means of a 1st pinch roller. It is a perspective view which shows a 1st press member and a 2nd press member. It is a principal part expanded sectional side view which shows 2nd Embodiment-5th Embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 13.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Multifunctional apparatus 2 Document conveying apparatus 3 Document conveying apparatus 4 Main body case 5 Operation panel part 6 Glass plate which serves as both first and second transparent plate members 8 Reading means 10 Press plate 12 as second pressing member Upper cover 13 Feeding tray section 14 Discharging tray section 15 Suction roller 16 Separation roller 17 Suction nip piece 18 Separation pad 19 Cover cover body 20 Reverse roller 21 First pinch roller 22 Second pinch roller 23 Third pinch roller 24 Frame 25 Coil spring 26 support piece 27 spring piece 28 drive shaft 29 paper discharge auxiliary guide plate 30 as discharge chute compression coil spring 31 plate spring 32 suction chute portion 34 document stopper body 36 exposure opening portion 40 first pressing member 41 elastic hook body 46 covered Fitting member 47 Guide member 49 Elastic support piece 51 Scraping roller

Claims (12)

A first transport that is mounted on an image reading apparatus having a reading unit that reads an image of a document transported in a predetermined transport direction at a reading position, and transports the document to the reading position from a sheet feeding tray disposed on the lower side. A document transport apparatus having a substantially U-turn-shaped document transport path having a direction and a second transport direction for transporting a document to a paper discharge tray disposed above the paper feed tray through the reading position In
In order to separate the image recording surface placed on the sheet feeding tray in a stacked state sequentially from the first document of the lowermost layer among the plurality of documents facing downward, and convey the separated image in the first conveying direction. Separation / conveying means composed of a first rotation driving member and a first abutting member, one or both of which can be resiliently abutted against the other,
Elasticity is applied to the second rotation driving member and the second rotation driving member so that the original conveyed by the separating / conveying means is conveyed to the reading position and then further reversed and conveyed in the second conveying direction. Reversing and conveying means comprising a second abutting member that can be abutted on the surface, and a cover member on which the first and second abutting members are arranged and can be opened and closed,
The cover member includes a suction chute portion for introducing a document from the paper feed tray portion, and a document that is positioned above the suction chute portion and reversely conveyed by the second rotation driving member. A discharge chute that leads to the tray is provided,
At least two second abutting members arranged on the transport downstream side from the reading position are provided along the transport direction, and the second abutting member located on the most downstream side of the transport and the second rotational drive. The contact position with the member is arranged at a position lower than the maximum height position of the discharge chute portion in a state where the cover member is closed,
Between the second contact member located on the most downstream side of the transport and the discharge chute portion, the contact position of the second contact member on the most downstream side of the transport and the second rotation drive member And at least one of a guide member and an elastic support piece for guiding the document upward, or both,
The document transporting apparatus is characterized in that the sheet discharge tray unit is configured such that the next document is discharged to the lower surface side of the document with the previously discharged image recording surface facing upward . The second rotation driving member is a reversing roller, and a part of the peripheral surface of the reversing roller is disposed to face the reading surface of the reading unit,
The second contact member is a plurality of driven rollers that are elastically pressed against the reversing roller, and at least a part of the plurality of driven rollers is arranged around the reversing roller when the cover member is opened. The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein the document feeder is spaced apart from the surface. The cover member is configured to be rotatable around a rotation shaft that is spaced apart from the reversing roller and that is provided at a position closer to the paper discharge tray than the paper feed tray.
The cover member is configured to be able to open a portion of the document conveyance path excluding a part of the peripheral surface of the reversing roller disposed to face the reading surface of the reading unit,
When the cover member is closed, the first contact member and the second contact member are elastically pressed against the first rotation driving member and the reverse roller, respectively,
3. The document conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the second contact member is separated from the reversing roller when the cover member is opened.   The guide member is integrally formed from an outer peripheral surface of a fitting member disposed on both the left and right sides of the reversing roller, and is the most downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the peripheral surface of the reversing roller among the driven rollers. 4. The document conveyance according to claim 2, wherein the document conveys from the height position corresponding to the position at which the sheet discharges toward the most upstream portion in the conveyance direction in the discharge chute portion in an inclined manner. apparatus.   The uppermost end of the guide member is formed to be higher than a height position corresponding to a position of the driven roller that is in contact with the peripheral surface of the reversing roller on the most downstream side in the transport direction, 5. The document conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the document conveying device is formed to be lower than a height position portion on the most downstream side in the conveying direction in the discharge chute portion.   The elastic support piece has a substantially L-shaped side cross section, and a base end portion of the elastic support piece is fixed to a fitting member disposed on both the left and right sides of the reversing roller. 6. The document conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an inclination free end extending downward from the L-shape is inserted into a slit hole formed in the fitting member.   The ribs are formed on the inner surface of the cover member at appropriate intervals in a direction orthogonal to the document conveying direction, and the elastic support pieces are arranged between the ribs. Document transport apparatus described in 1.   8. The scraper roller according to claim 6, further comprising a scraping roller for scraping the document from a contact position between the second contact member on the most downstream side of the transport and the second rotation driving member. The document feeder described.   2. A document stopper body for preventing a leading end of a discharged document from slipping off from the last portion of the sheet feed tray portion is provided at the last portion of the sheet feed tray portion. The document conveying device according to any one of 1 to 8.   The upper end of the paper feed tray portion is formed with an upwardly open recess into which the document stopper body can be fitted, and the base portion of the document stopper body can be folded in the recess so as to be foldable upstream. The document conveying device according to claim 9, further comprising:   The document conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a hook-shaped upper guide member above at least a part of the discharge chute portion.   The first rotation driving member in the separating / conveying means comprises two driving rollers spaced in the conveying direction, and the pad-shaped first abutting members are elastically biased against the two driving rollers, respectively. The document conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the document conveying device is a document conveying device.