JP5107526B2 - Sheet feeding apparatus and image reading apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that feeds sheet materials stacked on a sheet stacking unit one by one, and an image reading apparatus including the sheet feeding device.

  Conventionally, sheet feeding devices provided in image reading devices such as scanners, printers, copiers, printing machines, and ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) regulate the leading edge of the sheet material stacked in the sheet stacking unit. For this purpose, there are provided a front end restricting means, a pickup roller for picking up and conveying the stacked sheet materials, and a separating apparatus for separating and conveying the plurality of sheet materials one by one. The leading edge regulating means is disposed between the pickup roller and the separating device (see Patent Document 1), and when the user stacks a bundle of sheet materials on the sheet stacking portion, the leading edge of the sheet material advances to the separating device. It has a function of preventing the sheet material and a function of aligning the tips of the sheet material.

  In such a sheet feeding apparatus, the leading edge restricting means moves from a restricting position for restricting the leading edge of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit to a retracted position for releasing the regulation, and the pickup roller is stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The sheet material stacked at the top is picked up and sent to the separating device.

  By the way, when it is necessary for the front end restricting means to accurately restrict the front end of the sheet material, as described in Patent Document 2, the position detecting means for detecting whether or not the front end restricting means has moved to the restricting position. Is provided to control the position of the tip restricting means. For example, FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of conventional tip regulating means and position detecting means.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 600 denotes a sheet restricting member as a tip restricting means. The sheet restricting member 600 is provided separately from the tip restricting part 600a for restricting the leading end of the sheet material and the tip restricting part 600a for detecting whether or not the sheet restricting member 600 has moved to the restricting position. And a position detection part 600b made of a shielded blade or the like. Reference numeral 610 denotes a position detection sensor including a photo interrupter for detecting the position detection portion 600b. Reference numeral 20 denotes a motor that rotationally drives the sheet regulating member 600, and reference numeral 620 denotes a control circuit that is connected to and controls the motor 20 and the position detection sensor 610.
JP 7-196186 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-286533

  However, in the conventional sheet feeding device, it is necessary to provide the position detection part 600b and the position detection sensor 610 as position detection means, which complicates the shape of the sheet regulating member 600 and may increase the cost. .

  Further, in the above-described conventional front end restricting means, for example, when the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking portion has advanced too much in the feeding direction when image reading is stopped halfway, the front end restricting means is retracted. When the sheet material moves from the position to the restricting position, the sheet material rides on the tip restricting means and is sandwiched between members disposed above the tip restricting means, and the sheet material may be bent or damaged. FIG. 7 shows an abnormal state in which the sheet material rides on the conventional tip regulating means.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 111 denotes a pickup roller, which is a feeding unit that feeds sheets S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a into the apparatus. The pickup roller 111 is supported by a roller holding member 112. Reference numeral 113 denotes a feeding roller that rotates forward in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and reference numeral 114 denotes a separation roller that is driven in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction via a torque limiter (not shown). The roller holding member 112 is supported so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis of the feeding roller 113, and a contact position where the pickup roller 111 contacts the uppermost surface of the sheet S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100 a and the sheet S. It is movably supported at a separated position that does not hinder the loading.

  As shown in FIG. 7, even when the sheet S that has been advanced too much in the feeding direction from the sheet stacking unit 100 a rides on the sheet regulating member 600 that is the leading edge regulating means, a member ( For example, since there is no detection means for detecting the proximity of the sheet S to the roller holding member 112 or the like, the control of stopping the operation of the sheet regulating member 600 cannot be performed, and the sheet S is the sheet regulating member. 600 and the roller holding member 112 may be bent or damaged.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and restricts the leading end of the sheet material in the feeding direction while improving reliability such as prevention of breakage of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus and an image reading apparatus that can simplify the shape of the means and can reduce the cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 includes: a sheet regulating member that regulates intrusion of a sheet material stacked on a sheet stacking unit to a leading end side in a feeding direction; and the sheet regulating member. A moving means for moving the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking portion between a restriction position for restricting entry of the sheet material into the leading end side in the feeding direction and a retracted position for releasing the restriction; and a position detecting means for detecting the end, and control means for the sheet regulating member positioned and stopped in the restricted position, based on the sheet regulating detection result of end portions detected member by said position detecting means, before serial control means, after device power-up, the controls the moving means to start movement of the sheet regulating member toward the regulating position, the detection signal output from said position detecting means prior the positioning stop Wherein if the movement of the sheet regulating member is stopped, the sheet is characterized in that it is determined that the abnormal state of riding on the end of the sheet regulating member based on.

According to the present invention, the shape of the sheet regulating member can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the position detection unit detects the sheet material that has run over the end portion of the sheet regulating member and outputs a detection signal, and the control unit detects the approach of the loaded sheet material based on the detection signal. to decide. Thus, it is possible to detect even riding of the sheet material by the position detection means for detecting the end of the sheet regulating member, it is possible to prevent damage to the sheet material by the operation of the sheet regulating member without cost increase.

Further, according to the present invention, the control means detects the loaded sheet material by the position detection means, and notifies the user of an abnormal state when the operation of the sheet restricting member is stopped. As a result, an abnormal state can be notified to the user when the sheet material is detected, so that an apparatus with excellent reliability and usability can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing one aspect of an image reading apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 100 is an image reading device, 100a is a sheet stacking unit for stacking and storing sheets S (sheet materials) to be read such as originals and documents, and 100b is a sheet S discharged from the apparatus after image reading. It is a discharge stacking unit for loading and storing.

  Reference numeral 111 denotes a pickup roller that feeds the sheets S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a toward the conveyance path. The pickup roller 111 is supported by a roller holding member 112. The roller holding member 112 is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft of a feeding roller 113 described later, and a contact position where the pickup roller 111 contacts the uppermost surface of the sheet S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a and the sheet. It is supported so as to be movable to a separated position that does not hinder the loading of S.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes a separating device (separating means) that separates a plurality of sheets into one sheet. The separation device 110 includes a feeding roller 113 that rotates forward in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and a separation roller 114 that is driven in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction via a torque limiter (not shown). In the separation device 110, the separation roller 114 is driven in the direction in which the feeding roller 113 rotates in the conveyance direction while the separation roller 114 returns the sheet. Therefore, when two or more sheets are fed, the separation roller 114 is reversed. By rotating, it is hit by one piece.

  Reference numeral 115 denotes a sheet regulating member serving as a leading edge regulating unit, which prevents the leading edge of the sheet S from moving forward to the separation device 110 and has a function of aligning the leading edges of the sheet S. The sheet regulating member 115 is held at a regulation position (a two-dot chain line position in FIG. 1) that regulates the leading edge of the sheet S when the image reading apparatus 100 is stopped, and supports the pickup roller 111 at the regulation position. By contacting the roller holding member 112, the roller holding member 112 is pushed upward, and the pickup roller 111 is retracted to a separation position that does not prevent the sheets S from being stacked.

  Reference numerals 121 and 131 denote registration roller pairs, which convey the sheet S separated by the separation device 110. The registration roller 121 is configured to be able to rotate forward and backward by a main motor (not shown), and conveys the sheet S downstream on the conveyance path by rotating in the forward direction. The registration roller pair 121 and 131 can correct the skew of the sheet S by abutting the leading edge of the sheet S when the registration roller 121 rotates backward or stops.

  Reference numeral 140 denotes a front surface reading image sensor, and reference numeral 150 denotes a back surface reading image sensor, which can read the images of the front and back surfaces of the sheet S that have been sent. Reference numerals 122 and 123 denote conveyance rollers for conveying the sheet S at a predetermined speed. Reference numeral 124 denotes a discharge roller. Reference numerals 132, 133 and 134 are arranged so as to press the respective conveyance rollers 122 and 123 and the discharge roller 124 and are driven to rotate. Each of the conveying rollers, which are driving rollers, and the driven roller form a pair, and the sheet S is nipped and conveyed.

  Next, an image reading operation in the image reading apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described.

  When the image reading operation is started, the sheet regulating member 115 is retracted from the regulation position (two-dot chain line position in FIG. 1) for regulating the leading edge of the sheet S to the lower surface of the conveyance path (solid line position in FIG. 1). Move to. The pickup roller 111 is lowered together with the roller holding member 112 by the movement of the sheet regulating member 115 to the retracted position, and comes into contact with the uppermost surface of the sheet S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a to pick up the sheet S. Feed it into the transport path.

  The sheet S sent to the conveyance path is reliably rolled into one sheet by the separation device 110, and the surface reading image sensor 140 and the roller pair of the registration roller 121 and the driven roller 131 and the conveyance roller 122 and the driven roller 132 are The sheet is conveyed in close contact with the back side reading image sensor 150.

  The image formed on the front surface or the back surface of the sheet S is line-scanned when passing over the front surface reading image sensor 140 and the back surface reading image sensor 150, and is output to the outside as an electrical signal. After the image is read in this manner, the sheet S is conveyed by each pair of conveyance roller 122 and driven roller 132, conveyance roller 123 and driven roller 133, and discharge roller 124 and driven roller 134, and discharged and stacked. It is discharged to the part 100b.

  Next, the position detecting means of the sheet regulating member 115 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a position detection unit that detects the position of the sheet regulating member 115 in FIG. 1.

  In FIG. 2, 160 is a home position sensor for detecting the position of the sheet regulating member 115, 20 is a motor for rotationally driving the sheet regulating member 115, and 40 is connected to and controls the home position sensor 160 and the motor 20. It is a control circuit.

  The home position sensor 160 is a reflective optical sensor that includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and includes, for example, a reflective infrared sensor. For the end portion 115a of the sheet regulating member 115, a member having a color or shape that easily reflects light, such as a white member or a metal foil, is used. The home position sensor 160 may detect that the sheet restricting member 115 has moved to the restricting position by irradiating the light from the light emitting part and receiving the reflection from the end 115a of the sheet restricting member 115 by the light receiving part. it can.

  Thereby, in the conventional sheet feeding apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, it is necessary to provide a position detection part 600b on the sheet regulating member 600 or to include a position detection sensor 610 as a position detection unit. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a position detection portion on the sheet regulating member 115, the shape of the sheet regulating member can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, the home position sensor 160 is disposed above the sheet regulating member 115 when, for example, the sheet S that has been advanced too much in the feeding direction from the sheet stacking unit 100a gets on or is caught in the sheet regulating member 115. It also serves to detect the proximity of the sheet S to a member (for example, the roller holding member 112). As a result, even when the sheet S rides on or is engulfed by the sheet regulating member 115, the home position sensor 160 detects the sheet S, transmits this to the control circuit 40, and stops driving the motor 20, thereby It is possible to prevent S from being bent or broken between the sheet regulating member 115 and the roller holding member 112.

  Next, movement control for moving the sheet restricting member 115 from the retracted position to the restricting position will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state where the sheet regulating member 115 has moved to the retracted position, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state in which the sheet regulating member 115 has been moved to the regulating position.

  The movement control of the sheet regulating member 115 is performed by transmitting the state of the home position sensor 160, which is an optical sensor, to the control circuit 40 and driving the motor 20. When the image reading operation is started as shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 to move the sheet regulating member 115 to the retracted position. Thereafter, the series of operations described above are performed, and the sheet S is fed into the apparatus.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when all the sheets S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a are conveyed into the apparatus, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 to move the sheet restricting member 115 from the retracted position to the restricting position. Move to. At this time, the home position sensor 160 detects whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected and received by the light receiving unit, and outputs the result to the control circuit 40. The control circuit 40 stops driving the motor 20 based on the detection signal output from the home position sensor 160. Thereby, the sheet | seat control member 115 can be stopped reliably at a control position. By performing such control, the shape of the sheet regulating member 115 can be simplified as shown in FIG. Further, the cost can be reduced by this simplification.

  Next, a sheet material detection operation for preventing the sheet S from being damaged by the operation of the sheet regulating member 115 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an abnormal state in which the sheet S rides on the end 115a of the sheet regulating member 115.

  As described above, when all the sheets S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 100a are conveyed into the apparatus or when reading is interrupted in the middle, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 to change the sheet regulating member 115. Move from the retracted position to the restricted position. At this time, in the conventional sheet feeding apparatus, when the sheet S remains on the sheet regulating member 115 due to a conveyance failure, a sheet feeding failure, or the like, or when the sheet remaining on the sheet stacking portion is excessively advanced due to the stop of reading. As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet S rides on the end 115a of the sheet restricting member 115 that is moving to the retracted position, and the sheet S is disposed above the end 115a of the sheet restricting member 115 and the sheet restricting member 115. May be pinched by other members. As a result, the sheet S may be bent or damaged.

  Therefore, in the present invention, when the sheet restricting member 115 moves from the retracted position to the restricting position, the sheet S that has not been conveyed due to a conveyance failure or the like rides on the sheet restricting member 115 to the home position sensor 160. When approaching, the approach of the sheet S can be detected by the home position sensor 160. The home position sensor 160 outputs a detection signal to the control circuit 40 when detecting the sheet S riding on the end 115 a of the sheet regulating member 115. The control circuit 40 stops driving the motor 20 based on the detection signal from the home position sensor 160. As a result, regardless of the number of the sheets S riding on the sheet regulating member 115, the movement of the sheet regulating member 115 from the retracted position to the regulating position can be stopped halfway, and the sheet S riding on the sheet regulating member 115 can be stopped. Can be prevented from being damaged by the operation of the sheet regulating member 115.

  For example, even when the power of the image reading apparatus 100 is turned on while the sheet S is placed on the sheet regulating member 115, the home position sensor 160 detects the sheet S placed on the sheet regulating member 115. The detection signal is output to the control circuit 40, and the control circuit 40 stops driving the motor 20 and stops the movement of the sheet restriction member 115 based on the detection signal, so that the sheet restriction member 115 lifts or entrains the sheet S. However, it is possible to prevent the sheet S from being damaged.

  Next, in response to detection by the home position sensor 160, the control circuit 40 determines whether the sheet restricting member 115 has moved to the restricting position or whether the sheet S has climbed onto the sheet restricting member 115, and the sheet S has the sheet restricting function. An operation for notifying the user of an abnormal state only when it is detected that the user has climbed on the member 115 will be described.

  The control circuit 40 determines whether or not the sheet S has run on the sheet restriction member 115 from the relative positional relationship between the restriction position of the sheet restriction member 115 and the stop position where the sheet restriction member 115 is stopped. This relative position is calculated from the driving time of the motor 20, the number of driving pulses of the motor 20, and the like. Further, when an encoder is provided, the control circuit 40 may detect and determine the number of pulses from the encoder. In the present embodiment, an example in which the above-described relative position is calculated based on the driving time of the motor 20 will be described.

  The position at which the sheet regulating member 115 is stopped when the power of the image reading apparatus 100 is turned on is undefined. Therefore, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 after turning on the power, detects that the sheet restricting member 115 has moved to the restricting position by the home position sensor 160, and stops the motor 20 to stop the sheet restricting member 115 from the restricting position. Move to. Thereafter, when starting the image reading operation, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 in the reverse rotation direction to move the sheet regulating member 115 to the retracted position.

  Next, when the image reading operation is completed, the control circuit 40 drives the motor 20 to move the sheet restricting member 115 from the retracted position toward the restricting position. After the motor 20 is driven and the seat regulating member 115 starts moving from the retracted position, the driving of the motor 20 is stopped when the home position sensor 160 outputs a detection signal. When the driving time of the motor 20 until the detection signal is output is within the range between the predetermined upper limit time and the predetermined lower limit time, it is considered that the end portion 115a of the sheet regulating member 115 is detected and stopped. It is determined that the restricting member 115 has moved to the restricting position normally, and the next operation waits.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the control circuit 40 receives the detection signal from the home position sensor 160 earlier than the predetermined lower limit time described above after starting the driving of the motor 20 and stops the driving of the motor 20. In this case, the control circuit 40 detects the reflected light from the sheet S due to an abnormal state caused by the seat S getting on rather than the sheet regulating member 115 moving to the regulation position and stopping. Judge that it has stopped. At that time, the control circuit 40 notifies the user of the abnormal state by displaying an abnormality on a display unit (not shown) or by emitting a warning sound. Further, the control circuit 40 stops driving the motor 20 even if the detection signal is not output even after the predetermined upper limit time has elapsed, and determines that it is in some abnormal state.

  When a pulse motor is used as the motor 20, the movement amount of the sheet regulating member 115 may be managed by the number of steps. If an encoder is used, pulses generated by the encoder may be counted.

  Further, the control circuit 40 may determine the approach of the sheet S from the steepness of the change in the detection waveform of the home position sensor 160. When the sheet S approaches, it is considered that the detected waveform changes relatively gently as the sheet S approaches, so this may be detected and determined.

  In the above embodiment, the sheet feeding apparatus applied to the image reading apparatus that feeds and reads the sheets to be read such as documents and documents one by one has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. However, for example, the same effect can be obtained by applying to a sheet feeding device built in a printer that feeds and prints sheets to be recorded such as recording paper one by one.

  The present invention also includes an image processing apparatus having an image recording unit that records an image on a sheet to be recorded, an image reading unit that reads an image on the sheet to be read, and an image recording unit that records an image on the sheet to be recorded. The image processing apparatus may be an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus, or another image processing apparatus such as a multi-function machine combining these functions. The present invention is applied to a sheet feeding apparatus used in the image processing apparatus 100. By doing so, the same effect can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sheet feeding apparatus integrally included in the image reading apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, for a copying machine or an image reading apparatus. And a detachable sheet feeding device, and the same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to the sheet feeding device.

  In the above embodiment, an optical sensor is exemplified as the position sensor 160. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be an ultrasonic sensor or the like.

1 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an aspect of an image reading apparatus including a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the position detection means which detects the position of the sheet | seat control member of FIG. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where a sheet regulating member has moved to a retracted position. It is the sectional side view which showed typically the state which the sheet | seat control member moved to the control position. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view schematically showing an abnormal state in which a sheet S rides on an end portion of a sheet regulating member. It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structural example of the position detection means which detects the position of the conventional front-end | tip control means. It is the side cross section which showed typically the abnormal state which the sheet material got on the conventional front-end | tip control means.

Explanation of symbols

S Sheet 20 Motor 115, 600 Sheet regulating member 100 Image reading device 100a Sheet stacking unit 111 Pickup roller 112 Roller holding member 113 Feed roller 114 Separating roller 160 Home position sensor 600a Position regulating part 600b Position sensing part 610 Position sensing sensor

Claims (7)

A sheet regulating member that regulates intrusion of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit to the leading end side in the feeding direction;
Moving means for moving the sheet restricting member between a restricting position for restricting entry of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking portion to the front end side in the feeding direction and a retracted position for releasing the restriction;
Position detecting means for detecting an end of the sheet regulating member;
Control means for positioning and stopping the sheet restricting member at the restricting position based on a detection result of detecting an end of the sheet restricting member by the position detecting means,
Before SL control means, after device power-on, the moving means is controlled to the to initiate movement of the sheet regulating member toward the regulating position, the detection signal output from said position detecting means prior the positioning stop When the movement of the sheet restricting member is stopped based on the sheet feeding device, it is determined that the sheet is in an abnormal state where the sheet rides on an end of the sheet restricting member . Wherein, when said judged as abnormal state, the sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notifying the abnormal state to the user. The control means, wherein, wherein said determination of whether detected the sheet material rides on the sheet regulating member, be carried out in accordance with the travel time of the sheet regulating member by said moving means by said position detecting means Item 3. A sheet feeding apparatus according to Item 2 . Said position sensing means, sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that an optical sensor having a light emitter and a light receiver. Image reading apparatus characterized by comprising a sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An image reading sensor for reading an image of the sheet material;
A sheet regulating member that regulates intrusion of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit to the leading end side in the feeding direction;
Moving means for moving the sheet restricting member between a restricting position for restricting entry of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking portion to the front end side in the feeding direction and a retracted position for releasing the restriction;
Position detecting means for detecting an end of the sheet regulating member;
Control means for positioning and stopping the sheet restricting member at the restricting position based on a detection result of detecting an end of the sheet restricting member by the position detecting means,
Before SL control means, after device power-on, the moving means is controlled to the to initiate movement of the sheet regulating member toward the regulating position, the detection signal output from said position detecting means prior the positioning stop When the movement of the sheet restricting member is stopped based on the image reading apparatus, it is determined that the sheet is in an abnormal state where the sheet rides on an end of the sheet restricting member . An image reading sensor for reading an image of the sheet material;
A pick-up roller that feeds the uppermost sheet material of the plurality of sheet materials stacked on the sheet stacking unit toward the conveyance path;
Separating means for separating sheets into one sheet at a position higher than the sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit;
A sheet regulating member that is provided between the pickup roller and the separating unit and regulates the intrusion of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit to the leading end side in the feeding direction;
Moving means for moving the sheet restricting member between a restricting position for restricting entry of the sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking portion to the front end side in the feeding direction and a retracted position for releasing the restriction;
Position detecting means for detecting an end of the sheet regulating member;
Control means for positioning and stopping the sheet restricting member at the restricting position based on a detection result of detecting an end of the sheet restricting member by the position detecting means,
Before SL control means, after device power-on, the moving means is controlled to the to initiate movement of the sheet regulating member toward the regulating position, the detection signal output from said position detecting means prior the positioning stop When the movement of the sheet restricting member is stopped based on the image reading apparatus, it is determined that the sheet is in an abnormal state where the sheet rides on an end of the sheet restricting member .

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