JP4435643B2 - Sheet material conveying apparatus, original conveying apparatus, original reading apparatus, and image forming apparatus using them - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material conveying device, a document conveying device, a document reading device, and an image forming apparatus using them.

  An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine is provided with an image of a document conveying device that automatically conveys a document to an image reading unit. As such a document conveying device, there is a sheet-through type device that reads an image while fixing a reading unit and conveying a document. As a sheet-through type document conveying device, there is one that can perform image information recorded on both sides of a document without user paper reversal processing. First, image information on one side of the document is read, and then the document is reversed inside the apparatus to read image information on the other side of the document. That is, the document after reading one side image is sent to the reversing unit, the document is switched back and reversed, and then the document is conveyed again to the reading unit via the conveying unit.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, a conveyance path 301 from the document table and a conveyance path 302 from the reversing unit are joined to the merging portion 300, and the merging portion 300 includes both conveyance paths 301, A confluence guide plate 303 that separates 302 is disposed. In this way, a conveyance path 301 from the document table is formed above the junction guide plate 303, and a conveyance path 302 from the reversing unit is formed below the junction guide plate.

  However, since the merging portion has a complicated internal shape, a document jam may occur. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, the user guides the user to open the junction guide plate 303 upward so that the user can clear the paper jam (jam) that has occurred at the junction, and the user removes the document that has caused the paper jam. It has a structure that can be done.

Here, there is a configuration described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151620 as a configuration for eliminating the jam of the document of the document conveying device. This is because the document transport device can easily release a jam at the time of reading a document, and can prevent the document from being folded, wrinkled, or damaged, so that the document transported from the document tray to the document reading unit. A main transport path, a sub-transport path that switches back a document that has been scanned on both sides when the document is scanned on both sides, and transports it back to the main transport path, and a main transport path that is separated when opened and a main transport path that is closed. A rotatable first opening / closing mechanism that forms a conveying path and a rotatable second opening / closing mechanism that separates the auxiliary conveying path when opened and forms a subsidiary conveying path when closed are provided. A rotation fulcrum of the first opening / closing mechanism is on the opposite side of the document tray, and is a PS roller for document conveyance for adjusting the leading edge of the document and the image reading timing or the vicinity thereof.
JP 2001-117292 A

  By the way, the merging unit described above needs to improve the visibility and workability of the user at the time of clearing the document jam, so as to secure the user's work area and not disturb the user's view to the merging unit. It is desirable that the joining guide plate can be moved as much as possible.

  Conventionally, however, the separation guide plate can be slightly rotated so that the guide plate does not contact the lower guide plate 304 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the joining guide plate 311 must have a small width so as not to contact the lower guide plate 304, and a fixing portion 312 for performing the joining guide must be formed. There is a problem that does not become good.

  The present invention relates to a document conveying apparatus that performs a document reversing operation, a sheet conveying apparatus, a document conveying apparatus, an original reading apparatus, and an image using the same, which are excellent in workability and visibility of jamming of a junction part of a sheet conveying path. An object is to provide a forming apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet conveyance path from the sheet placement unit and the conveyance path from the sheet reversing unit are merged at a merging portion, and a merging guide plate is provided at the merging portion to separate the two conveyance paths. In the sheet conveying apparatus, the merging guide plate includes a first guide plate member rotatably attached to the apparatus main body, and a second guide plate member rotatably attached to the first guide plate member. Equipped with.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material conveying apparatus according to the first aspect, a lower guide plate that guides the sheet downstream is provided on the downstream side of the merging guide plate, and the first guide plate member is rotated during rotation. The size is such that it does not contact the lower guide plate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material conveying apparatus in the range 1 or 2, the first guide plate member is hinge-coupled to the apparatus main body.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material conveying apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the second guide member is hinged to an end portion of the first guide member. To do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material conveying apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the second guide plate member includes a protrusion, and is formed in the main body of the apparatus so that a movement path of the merging guide plate is provided. defining the guide member thus said protrusion and said and guided Turkey to.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet material conveying apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the sheet material conveying device includes sheet material separating means for separating one sheet material from the sheet material bundle.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the document conveying device, the sheet material is a document, and the sheet material conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided.

  The invention of claim 8 is characterized in that the document reading apparatus comprises a document reading device for reading image information of the document and a document conveying device of claim 7.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus, the document conveying device according to the seventh aspect, a document reading device that reads image information of the document, and an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image information are provided. It is characterized by.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: the original reading device according to the eighth aspect; and an image forming unit that forms an image based on image information.

  According to the present invention, in the document conveying device that performs the document reversing operation, the workability and visibility for eliminating the sheet jam can be improved at the junction where the sheet conveyance paths merge.

  Embodiments as the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an image forming apparatus using a sheet-through type automatic document feeder to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an image reading apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. .

  In the present embodiment, an image to be read is read while being conveyed to a fixed reading device and conveyed at a predetermined speed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 50 according to the present example separates and feeds originals one by one from the original setting unit A for setting the read original bundle 1 and the set double-side original bundle. Separating / feeding section B, registration section C for primary abutting and aligning the surface of the transported document, and resist section C for pulling and transporting the aligned document, turning the transported document, and reading the document surface ( Turn part D that conveys the document toward the lower side, a merge part 300E that reads the image of the original document from below the slit glass, and a switchback part F that reverses the front and back of the original document after reading in the duplex mode. The intermediate transport unit G for returning the document switched back by the switchback unit F back to the C unit, and after waiting for the temporary document to be read after the back side of the document is read from the turn unit D by the joining unit 300E. A reverse discharge section I that reverses and discharges the original from the switchback section H and the lower switchback section H, a stack section J that stacks and holds the originals after reading, and a drive section that drives these transport operations (illustrated) And a controller unit (not shown) for controlling a series of operations.

  The original bundle 1 to be read is set on the original table 2 including the bottom plate 3 with the original surface facing upward. Further, the width direction of the document bundle 1 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction by a side guide (not shown). The document set is detected by the document set filler 4 and the document set sensor 5 and transmitted to a main body control unit (not shown) through an I / F.

  Further, the document length detection sensors 32, 33, and 34 (a reflective sensor or an actuator type sensor that can detect even one document) are provided on the document table surface. An outline is determined. Here, it is necessary to arrange a sensor that can determine at least whether the document size is vertical or horizontal.

  The bottom plate 3 is configured to be movable up and down in the directions of arrows a and b by the action of a bottom plate raising motor (not shown) by the action of the bottom plate support plate 35. The document set filler 4 and the document set are set when the document is set. When detected by the sensor 5, the bottom plate raising motor is rotated forward to raise the bottom plate 3 so that the uppermost surface of the document bundle 1 comes into contact with the pickup roller 7.

  The pickup roller 7 is moved in the directions of arrows c and d by a cam mechanism by a pickup motor (not shown) and the bottom plate 3 is raised, is pushed by the upper surface of the document on the bottom plate 3 and is raised in the c direction, and the upper limit is detected by the bottom plate rise detection sensor 8. It can be detected.

  When the start key is pressed from the main body operation unit and a document conveyance signal is transmitted from the main body control unit to the ADF controller (not shown) via the I / F, the pickup roller 7 rotates by the normal rotation of the paper feed motor (not shown). Driven to pick up several (ideally one) originals on the original table 2. The rotation direction is a direction in which the uppermost document is conveyed to the conveyance port.

  The transport belt 9 is driven in the transport direction by the forward rotation of the paper feed motor, and the reverse roller 10 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to the paper feed by the forward rotation of the transport motor to separate the uppermost document from the original document below it, Only the uppermost document can be conveyed.

  More specifically, the reverse roller 10 is in contact with the conveying belt 9 at a predetermined pressure, and is in response to the rotation of the conveying belt 9 when it is in direct contact with the conveying belt 9 or in a state where it is in contact with one original. In the unlikely event that two or more originals are rotated clockwise and the original enters between the conveying belt 9 and the reverse roller 10, the revolving force is set to be lower than the torque of the torque limiter. Rotate clockwise, which is the direction, to push back excess originals, preventing double feed.

  The document separated into one sheet by the action of the conveying belt 9 and the reverse roller 10 is further fed by the conveying belt 9, the leading edge is detected by the abutting sensor 11, and further advances and hits the pull-out roller 12 that is stopped. . Thereafter, the sheet is fed by a predetermined distance from the detection of the abutting sensor 11, and as a result, is conveyed by stopping the paper feed motor while being pressed against the pull-out roller 12 with a predetermined amount of reading. The driving of the belt 9 is stopped.

  At this time, by rotating the pickup motor, the pickup roller 7 is retracted from the upper surface of the document, and the document is fed only by the conveying force of the conveying belt 9, whereby the leading edge of the document enters the nip of the pair of upper and lower rollers of the pull-out roller 12, Tip alignment (skew correction) is performed.

  The pull-out roller 12 has a skew correction function and is a roller for conveying the skew-corrected document after separation to the intermediate roller 14, and is driven by the reverse rotation of the paper feed motor. At this time (at the time of reverse rotation of the paper feed motor), the pull-out roller 12 and the intermediate roller 14 are driven, but the pickup roller 7 and the conveyor belt 9 are not driven.

  A plurality of document width sensors 13 are arranged in the depth direction and detect the size in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the document conveyed by the pull-out roller 12. The length of the document in the conveying direction is detected from the motor pulse by reading the leading and trailing edges of the document with the abutment sensor 11. When the document is transported from the resist section C to the turn section D by driving the pull-out roller 12 and the intermediate roller 14, the transport speed at the resist section C is set higher than the transport speed at the read transport section E. The processing time for sending the document to the reading unit is shortened.

  When the leading edge of the document is detected by the reading entrance sensor 15, decelerating is started at the same time as the document conveying speed becomes the same as the reading conveying speed before the leading edge of the document enters the nip between the upper and lower rollers of the reading entrance roller 16. A reading motor (not shown) is driven to rotate forward to drive the reading inlet roller 16, the reading roller 18, and the reading outlet roller 21.

  When the leading edge of the document is detected by the registration sensor 17, the gate indicating the effective image area in the sub-scanning direction of the image surface with respect to the main body control unit at the timing when the leading edge of the document detected by the pulse count of the reading motor reaches the reading unit 201. A signal is transmitted through the reading unit 201 until the trailing edge of the document is removed.

  In the case of single-sided document reading, the lower inversion switching claw 22 and the upper inversion switching claw 28 are at positions indicated by solid lines, and the document that has passed through the conveyance unit E is conveyed to the stack unit J. At this time, when the leading edge of the document is detected by the paper discharge sensor 21, a paper discharge motor (not shown) is driven in reverse to rotate the paper discharge roller 26 counterclockwise. Further, the discharge motor drive speed is reduced immediately before the trailing edge of the document exits the nip between the upper and lower roller pairs of the discharge roller 26 by the pulse count of the discharge motor from the detection of the trailing edge of the document by the discharge sensor 21. Control is performed so that the document discharged onto the discharge tray 27 does not jump out.

Here, the advance operation of the next original when reading a single-side original will be described.
When the abutting sensor 11 detects the trailing edge of the document, the conveying motor is stopped at the timing when the trailing edge of the document passes through the pull-out roller 12 by the pulse count of the conveying motor, and is rotated again in the forward direction.

  By this operation, the feeding operation of the next original is started. At this time, the driving of the intermediate roller 14 is stopped. However, since the one-way clutch is built in the timing pulley, the intermediate roller 14 is configured to go around.

  The next document fed is waiting in a state of being abutted against the pull-out roller 12. When the preceding document reaches a position (in this example, the reading input sensor 15 passes through the trailing edge of the document and pulse counts and in the vicinity of the reading entrance roller 16), the next document is conveyed from the pull-out roller 12 by rotating the paper feeding motor. It has come to be.

  Next, the case of reading a double-sided document will be described. The process up to reading the first surface (front surface) of the document is the same as described above, but the first-out operation is not performed during the reading operation of the first surface, and the next document is on the document table 2.

  When the leading edge of the document passes through the registration sensor 17, the upper reversing switching claw 28 moves in the i → j direction when a double-side switching claw SOL (not shown) is turned on. The first surface of the original is read by the reading unit 201 of the joining portion 300E, and is guided from the lower reverse switching claw 22 to the switchback unit F through the paper discharge roller 26 and the upper reverse switching claw 28.

  At the timing when the leading edge of the document passes the paper discharge sensor 21, the paper discharge motor is reversely driven to rotate the paper discharge roller 26 counterclockwise. At the same time, the upper reverse motor 29 is reversely driven to rotate the upper reverse roller 29 counterclockwise. Rotate in the direction.

  When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the paper discharge sensor 21, the paper discharge motor and the upper reverse motor are increased so as to be faster than the reading conveyance speed, and the reading motor stops. Further, after the paper discharge sensor 21 detects the trailing edge of the document, the upper reversing switching claw 28 turns off the duplex switching claw SOL at the timing when the trailing edge of the document exits the paper discharge roller 26 by the pulse count of the paper discharge motor. → Return to i direction.

  Next, after the paper discharge sensor 21 detects the trailing edge of the document and after a predetermined pulse (set later than the timing at which the double-side switching claw SOL is turned OFF), the upper reverse roller 29 is switched from the reverse drive to the normal drive. The rotation direction is changed from the counterclockwise direction to the clockwise direction, and the document switchback operation is started.

  By rotating the paper feeding motor in reverse at this timing, the relay roller 31, the pull-out roller 12, and the intermediate roller 14 rotate in the feed direction.

  The original is sent again to the registration section C and the turn section D through the intermediate conveyance section G, and when the reading entrance sensor 15 detects the leading edge of the original, the reading entrance is stopped with a predetermined challenge by the pulse count of the paper feeding motor. The paper feed motor stops once abutted against the roller 16. Thereby, alignment (skew correction) of the leading edge at the time of reading the second side of the document is performed.

  When the paper feed motor is driven in the reverse direction and the reading motor is driven in the forward direction again, the original is sent to the merge portion 300E, and when the registration sensor 17 detects the leading edge of the original, the lower inversion switching claw 22 turns on the lower inversion switching claw SOL (not shown). To move in the direction f → e.

  Next, when the reading unit 201 starts reading the second surface of the document and the paper discharge sensor 21 detects the leading edge of the document, the lower reverse roller 24 rotates counterclockwise by driving the lower reverse motor (not shown) in reverse. The document passes through the lower portion of the lower inversion switching claw 22 and is guided to the switchback portion F.

  When the paper discharge sensor 21 detects the trailing edge of the document whose second surface has been read, the lower inversion switching claw 22 returns to e → f by turning the lower inversion switching claw SOL off by the pulse count of the lower inversion motor. At the same time, the lower reverse motor is stopped, whereby the rear end of the original is held by the lower reverse roller 24 and enters a standby state.

  Here, a first-out operation at the time of duplex reading will be described. When the document whose first surface has been read is transported from the switchback unit F to the intermediate transport unit G, when the upper reverse sensor 30 detects the trailing edge of the document, the trailing edge of the document causes the pull-out roller 12 to be counted by the pulse count of the paper feed motor. At the timing of removal, the rotation direction of the paper feeding motor is switched from the reverse driving to the normal rotation direction, and the feeding of the next original is started. Thereafter, the operation is performed at the same timing (between sheets) as in the case of single-sided reading.

  The next original is aligned at the leading edge by the pull-out roller 12 of the registration unit C, and is sent from the turn unit D to the reading conveyance unit E.

  When the registration sensor 17 detects the leading edge of the next original, the upper reversing switching claw 28 moves from i to j and passes through the reading exit roller 20 and the upper part of the lower reversing switching claw 22 while reading the first surface by the reading unit 201, and is discharged. The paper is conveyed to the switchback portion F through the paper roller 26 and the upper reversing switching claw 28, and the upper reversing switching claw 28 returns to j → i. Thereafter, the second original is read on the second side in the same process as described above.

  By performing such an operation, the reading of the first and second surfaces is completed, and the next document overtakes the document in the standby state at the lower switchback portion H. At the timing when the upper reverse switching claw 28 returns from j → i, the lower reverse paper discharge switching claw 23 is moved from h → g by turning on the downward switching claw SOL. Further, by driving the lower reverse motor in the forward direction, the lower reverse roller 24 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the original is conveyed from the reverse discharge unit I to the stack unit J.

  After the trailing edge of the original is detected by the lower reverse sensor 25, the lower reverse switching claw SOL is turned off at the timing when the rear edge of the original is applied to the paper discharge roller 26 by the pulse count of the lower reverse motor, and the lower reverse paper discharge switching claw 23 is turned off. Is returned to g → h in (2).

  When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the lower reversing sensor 25, the discharge motor driving degree is just before the trailing edge of the document comes out of the nip of the upper and lower roller pairs of the discharge roller 26 by the pulse count of the discharge motor as in the case of single-sided discharge. Is controlled so that the document discharged onto the discharge tray 27 does not jump out. The operation is completed by repeating the above operation for a predetermined number of documents.

  Next, the merging portion guide plate disposed in the merging portion T of the document conveyance path will be described. 3 is a perspective view showing the joining guide plate 100 of the joining portion of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the attachment state of the joining guide plate shown in FIG. 3, and FIGS. ) Is a cross-sectional view showing the movement of the confluence guide plate shown in FIG. In this example, in FIG. 4, the document is joined by the document transport path K from the separation transport unit and the switchback document transport path L from the switchback unit F in FIG. 4.

  The merging guide plate 100 according to the present embodiment includes a first guide plate member 101 that is rotatably attached to an apparatus main body to which a shaft portion 101a is connected and a lower guide plate 103 is fixed, and the first guide. The plate member 101 includes a second guide plate member 102 rotatably attached to the apparatus main body by a shaft portion 101a. In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the first guide plate member 101 has a dimension that does not contact the lower guide plate 103 in the upward direction.

  In this example, the connecting portion between the first guide plate member 101 and the second guide plate member 102 is configured to be rotatable around the shaft portion 102a, and at the tip of the second guide plate member 102. A stopper 102b is provided to prevent the second guide plate member 102 from rotating downward, so that the second guide plate member 102 does not block the document conveyance path K.

  The joining guide plate 100 according to this example can be rotated as shown in FIG. That is, when the first guide plate member 101 is rotated in the opening direction (indicated by the arrow N in the drawing) (FIG. 5A), the second guide is opened with the first guide plate member 101 slightly opened. The plate member 102 rotates in the direction of arrow M about the shaft portion 102a while contacting the lower guide plate (same (b)). When the first guide plate member 101 is further rotated in the direction of the arrow N, the merge guide plate 100 is fully lifted upward (same (c) and (d)), and the document transport path K and switch The junction with the document conveyance path L from the back portion F is in a state where it can be seen from above.

  Therefore, according to the present example, even if a paper jam or the like occurs at the merging portion of the document conveyance path, it is excellent in workability and visibility of the merging portion of the document conveyance path. Can be easily resolved.

  Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. In this example, the movement of the joining guide plate of the first embodiment is guided. 6 is a perspective view showing a joining guide plate of a joining portion of an image reading apparatus according to the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of the joining guide plate shown in FIG. 6, and FIGS. (D) is sectional drawing which shows a motion of the confluence | merging guide plate shown in FIG.

  In this example, in the first embodiment, when the merging guide plate 100 is changed from the open state to the closed state (arrow P in FIG. 9), the second guide plate member 102 is hooked on the lower guide plate 103 and is brought into the open state. This is to prevent it from becoming impossible.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the confluence guide plate 110 of the present example has protrusions 102 c on both sides of the tip of the second guide plate member 102 on the body, and the protrusions 102 c on both sides of the conveyance guide plate 104. And a guide member 105 that restricts the movement of the second guide plate member 102 is disposed. In the figure, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  When the second guide plate member 102 moves downward from the open state (FIG. 8A) to the closed state (FIG. 8D), the merging guide plate 110 according to this example is the second state. The protrusion 102c of the guide plate member 102 is guided by the guide member 105 and can be smoothly moved without contacting the lower guide plate 103 ((b), (c)).

  Therefore, according to this example, even if a paper jam or the like occurs at the merging portion of the document conveying path, the operability and visibility of the merging portion of the document conveying path are excellent, and the merging guide plate The closing operation can be performed smoothly.

  In the above example, an example in which an original is used as the sheet member has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a merging portion of a conveyance path of another sheet member.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of an image forming apparatus using a sheet-through type automatic document feeder to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image reading device of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the confluence | merging guide plate of the confluence | merging part of the image reading apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment state of the confluence | merging guide plate shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows a motion of the confluence | merging guide plate shown in FIG. 3, (a)-(d) is sectional drawing which shows the state of operation | movement . It is a perspective view which shows the confluence | merging guide plate of the confluence | merging part of the image reading apparatus which concerns on a 2nd Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment state of the confluence | merging guide plate shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a motion of the confluence | merging guide plate shown in FIG. 6, (a)-(d) is sectional drawing which shows the state of operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing of a 2nd Example. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a document merge portion in a conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a document merge portion in a conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document bundle 2 Document table 3 Bottom plate 4 Document set filler 5 Document set sensor 7 Pickup roller 8 Bottom plate rise detection sensor 9 Conveying belt 10 Reverse roller 11 Abutting sensor 12 Pull-out roller 13 Document width sensor 14 Intermediate roller 15 Reading input sensor 16 Reading Entrance roller 17 Registration sensor 18 Reading roller 20 Reading exit roller 21 Reading exit roller 21 Paper discharge sensor 22 Lower reversing switching claw 23 Lower reversing paper discharging claw 24 Lower reversing roller 25 Lower reversing sensor 26 Paper ejection roller 27 Paper ejection tray 28 Upper Reverse switching claw 29 Upper reversing roller 30 Upper reversing sensor 31 Relay rollers 32, 33 Document length detection sensor 35 Bottom plate support plate 50 Image forming apparatus 100 Merge guide plate 101 First guide plate member 101a Shaft portion 102 Second guide Plate member 102a Shaft 102b Stop 102c Projection 103 Lower guide plate 104 Conveying guide plate 105 Guide member 110 Junction guide plate 201 Reading unit 300 Confluent portion 301, 302 Conveyance path 301 Conveyance path 302 Conveyance path 303 Confluence guide plate 304 Lower guide plate 311 Confluence guide plate 312 Fixing portion A Document setting section B Separation feeding section C Registration section D Turn section E Transport section F Switchback section G Intermediate transport section H Lower switchback section I Reverse discharge section J Stack section

Claims (10)

In the sheet conveyance apparatus in which the sheet conveyance path from the sheet placement unit and the conveyance path from the sheet reversing unit are merged at the merge part, and the merge part is provided with a merge guide plate that separates both conveyance paths.
The merging guide plate includes a first guide plate member rotatably attached to the apparatus main body and a second guide plate member rotatably attached to the first guide plate member. A sheet material conveying device. The lower guide plate that guides the sheet downstream is provided on the downstream side of the merging guide plate, and the first guide plate member has a size that does not contact the lower guide plate when rotating. The sheet material conveying apparatus of the range 1. The sheet material conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first guide plate member is hinged to the apparatus main body. The sheet material conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second guide member is hinged to an end portion of the first guide member. Wherein the second guide plate member includes a protrusion, claims the merging guide Accordingly the protrusion a guide member defining a movement path of the plate is formed in the apparatus main body, wherein the benzalkonium guided 1 Thru | or any one of 4 sheet material conveying apparatuses.
6. A sheet material conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising sheet material separating means for separating one sheet material from the sheet material bundle. 7. A document conveying apparatus comprising the sheet material conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material is a document. An original reading apparatus comprising an original reading apparatus for reading image information of an original and an original conveying apparatus according to claim 7. An image forming apparatus comprising: the document conveying device according to claim 7; a document reading device that reads image information of the document; and an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image information. An image forming apparatus comprising: the document reading device according to claim 8; and an image forming unit that forms an image based on image information.