JPH01299144A - Document automatic conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an ADF which satisfies a continuous computer form, by a method wherein according to the detecting count value of a punch hole, a document is conveyed and set to a position for exposure of a document by a computer form conveyance control means so that it can be conveyed forward and reversed. CONSTITUTION:When a document is a computer form 27, it is collided with a stop claw 8 and set on a document table. When, after a feed is started, a tip is detected by a resist sensor 14, a punch hole 56 of the computer form 27 detected by a punch hole detecting sensor 57 is counted, and according to a detecting count value, a page A is controlled and conveyed on a contact glass 3 being a position for exposure of a document and set therein. Pages B, C... are set in a similar manner described above, in order named. This constitution enables provision of an ADF (automatic document feed) satisfying a computer form, enables duplication of a desired page, performs recovery of jam during jam of a transfer sheet, and enables improvement of copy workability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder compatible with computer forms.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY In general, automatic document feeders (hereinafter abbreviated as ADF) are:
This is intended for automatic transport sets for sheet-like originals.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention For this reason, when copying a computer form containing multiple pages connected together, such as a continuous form, the ADF is opened against the contact glass and the necessary pages of the computer form are copied. It is very troublesome to set the ADF directly on the contact glass, close the ADF, and turn it into a pressure plate, which is repeated for each page. That is, even in the case of a computer form document, as in the case of a normal sheet document, it is required that the document be automatically conveyed and set so that the required portion of the document is located at the exposure position so that it can be copied.

Means for Solving the Problem] A punch hole detection sensor is provided at a predetermined position on the conveyance line of punch holes formed at equal intervals on the computer form, and the punch holes detected by the punch hole detection sensor are A computer form conveyance control means is provided for controlling the conveyance set of the computer form to the document exposure position in forward and reverse directions in accordance with the count value of the computer form.

Since punch holes are formed at regular intervals in the working computer form, the conveyance status of the computer form can be constantly grasped by counting the number of punch holes that pass through the punch hole detection sensor during automatic conveyance. Therefore,
It is easy to control the stop at a predetermined original exposure position. Further, even if a transfer paper jam occurs during conveyance, it is easy to pull back and convey the computer form by the necessary amount, resulting in excellent jam recovery performance.

Example An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First, FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the ADFI of this embodiment.

This ADFI is connected to the contact glass 3 on the top of the copying machine body 2.
It is provided so as to be able to open and close freely.Roughly divided, it consists of a document separation/feeding device 4, a conveyance device 5, and a discharge device 6 arranged in this order.

The document separation/feeding device 4 includes a document table 7 that stacks and sets documents with the document side facing down, an entrance type 8 that aligns the leading edges of the documents and regulates paper feeding, and a contact that contacts the topmost sheet of stacked documents to encourage paper feeding. It consists of a releasable calling roller 9, a pair of separation paper feed rollers 10, and a pair of pull-out rollers 11. Here, the presence or absence of a document set on the document table 7 is detected by a set sensor 12. Further, a leading edge detection sensor 13 is provided to detect the leading edge of the document that has passed through the separation feed roller 10, and a registration sensor 14 is further provided between the pull-out roller 11 and the conveying device 5.

The conveying device 5 mainly includes a conveying belt 18 that is stretched between a driving roller 15 and a driven roller 16, and is pressed onto the contact glass 3 by a plurality of pressing rollers 17 to cover the entire surface of the contact glass. It is configured as.

Further, when the document conveyed and set on the contact glass 3 and subjected to exposure processing is discharged from the contact glass 3 by the conveyance device 5, the discharge device 6 receives the document by a conveyance roller 20 via a turn guide 19. The paper is ejected onto a first paper ejection tray 22 above the conveyor belt 18 by a pair of paper ejection rollers 21. Such a discharge operation is detected by the paper discharge sensor 23. However, in this embodiment, the configuration is compatible with a computer form, and the ejecting device 6 includes not only such a turn ejecting system but also a selective straight ejecting system. That is, a switching claw 24 for selectively switching the ejection path is provided, and a paper ejection roller 25 is provided in the path for ejecting the paper straight from the contact glass 3 on a horizontal plane.

A second paper ejection tray 26 is also provided on the side surface of the copying machine main body 2 on the paper ejection side in correspondence with the paper ejection roller 25 .

When viewed from the side of the document separation/feeding device 4, the second device is positioned below the document table 7 and sets the computer form 27 in a folded state in the copying machine main body 2.
A paper feed table 28 is provided.

A block diagram of the control system of such ADFl is shown in FIG. The control system of this ADF1 is connected to the control system of the main body 1 of the copying machine through a serial interface 30, and is mainly composed of a CPU 31 which also serves as computer form transport control means.

Each of the sensors 12, 13, 14, and 23 detects a document using a photosensor configuration including an LED and a phototransistor, and the detection signal thereof is taken into the CPU 31 via the I10 interface 32.

In addition, a paper feed motor (
Ml) 33 is equipped with an encoder 34, and the CPU
The drive is controlled via a servo controller 35 based on 31. A conveyance motor (M2) 36 for the drive roller 15 of the conveyance device 5, and a paper discharge motor (M2) for driving the paper discharge device 6.
3) The same applies to encoders 38 and 37, respectively.
39, and is driven and controlled via servo controllers 40 and 41 based on the CPtJ31. however,
The encoder 38 corresponding to the transport motor (M2) 36 is a CPU
31 interrupt terminal lNTl. In addition, a solenoid 42 for releasing the stop claw 8, a solenoid 43 for the call roller 9 and the upper and lower parts, a solenoid 44 for releasing the separation,
The solenoid 45 for the paper feed clutch and the solenoid 46 for the switching pawl 24 are driven by drivers 47°48, 49, 50, respectively.
．． The drive is controlled by the CPU 31 via 51.

52 is a reset circuit.

In an ADFI with such a configuration, when handling a normal sheet original (not shown), the stop claw 8
The originals stacked and set on the original table 7 so as to abut against the originals are separated and fed by the original separating/feeding device 4, so that only the uppermost one original is fed toward the contact glass 3 side. This type of document transport is carried out using the transport belt 1.
8, and the original is conveyed over the contact glass 3 toward the original exposure position (set reference position P,).

In the second operation, after the leading edge of the document is detected by the registration sensor 14, at a predetermined timing or by the conveyor belt 18.
The leading edge of the document is stopped and set at the set reference position P by counting the encoder pulses of the drive conveyance motor 38 and stopping when a predetermined pulse is reached. Therefore, a scanning optical system within the copying machine main body 2 exposes and scans the original, executes an image forming process such as forming a latent image, and creates a copy. When the exposure operation is completed, the conveyor belt 18 is driven again.

While the document is discharged onto the first paper discharge tray 22 by the discharge device 6, the next document feeding, conveying and setting operation is similarly executed. This operation is repeated for the number of originals set.

In this embodiment, consideration is given to the case where a computer form 27 is handled as a document in an ADFI having such a basic configuration. As is well known, the computer form 27 is folded with creases 55 formed for each unit size L, and punch holes 56 are formed at equal intervals on both sides for recording etc. by tractor transportation.
This ensures reliable transportation. Therefore, in this embodiment, for such a computer form 27, A
When performing a copying operation while being automatically transported by the DFI, the punch holes 56 are used for positioning. Therefore, the position between the pull-out roller 14 and the conveyor belt 18 and the registration sensor 14
A punch hole detection sensor 57 is provided separately from the punch hole detection sensor 57.

This punch hole detection sensor 57 has a photo sensor configuration and is positioned on the conveyance passage line of the punch hole 56 of the combination ox-tough form 27, and detects the punch hole 56 when the computer form 27 is conveyed. A pulse-like detection signal is generated every time. The output of this punch hole detection sensor 57 is also taken into the CPU 31 via the I10 interface 32 like other sensor outputs. Specifically, it is connected to the interrupt terminal INT2 of the CPU 31.

In such a configuration, the processing and operation when copying the computer form 27 will be explained. First, to give a general explanation, in the case of the combination niter form 27, after it is loaded on the second document table 28, the leading edge of the document is placed on the document table in a state where it abuts against the stop claw 8, as in the case of a normal sheet document. Set on 7 (1st
(See figure (a)). After the start of paper feeding, when the registration sensor 14 detects the leading edge of the computer form 27, the conveyor belt 18 is driven for a predetermined timing and then stopped as in the case of a normal sheet-like original.

As a result, the tip of the computer form 27 is at the set reference position P. The first page A is set on the contact glass 3, that is, at the exposure scanning position (see FIG. 1(b)). Therefore, it is possible to copy the first page A of the computer form 27, which has a unit size L. At this time, as the computer form 27 is being conveyed, the punched hole 56 has passed the punched hole detection sensor 57, and this punched hole detection sensor 57 detects the nth punched hole 56 on the next page B in the computer form 27.
is being detected.

When the exposure scan for page A is completed, the conveyance of the computer form 27 by the conveyor belt 18 is resumed. At this time, the number of punch holes 56 detected by the punch hole detection sensor 57 is counted within the CPU a i, and when the counted value reaches a predetermined value, the drive of the conveyor belt 18 is stopped. At this time, the pitch of the punch holes 56 is constant, and the feed amount of the computer form 27 is controlled by the number (for one page), so that the next page B is It can be transported and set at a predetermined position on the contact glass 3 and subjected to exposure scanning. For pages B and subsequent pages, it is sufficient to perform copying by similarly controlling the conveyance stop based on the number of detected bunch holes. In this way, the computer form 27
The above multiple pages can be copied in sequence.

Incidentally, in the case of the computer form 27, the second and subsequent pages cannot be controlled by the registration sensor 14, and the punch hole detection sensor 57 according to this embodiment is effective.

By the way, according to the system of this embodiment, it is possible to control the conveyance of the computer form 27 not only in the normal forward direction as described above, but also in the reverse direction. Although such control is normally unnecessary, it is effective as a jam recovery in the event that a jam, such as a paper ejection error, occurs on the transferred transfer paper during the copy processing operation. In other words, even if it is just a computer form, it is an AI)
Even if it is possible to copy while setting the automatic conveyance in To copy a page again, it is necessary to open the ADF and reset the page corresponding to the jam on the contact glass, making the jam recovery work troublesome. However, according to this embodiment,
By detecting the number of punch holes 56 by the punch hole detection sensor 57, the conveyance amount of the computer form 27 is always CP.
Since this is recognized in U31, even if a transfer paper jam occurs while the computer form 27 is being conveyed again, the jam can be dealt with by driving the conveyor belt 18 in the reverse direction and pulling back the computer form 27 by the amount of conveyance. The page can be automatically set to the exposure scanning position again. Therefore, the operator only needs to press the print button after removing the jammed transfer paper, and no work on the computer form 27 is required.

Next, details of such control operations are shown in FIGS. 4 to 13.
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in the figure.

First, FIG. 13 shows a main flowchart, in which CF'U initial is first set. This is CPU31
For example, each port of the CPU 3'l is made an input or an output port. Next, a check is made of the input ports. This is I1 as shown in Figure 3.
Various sensors 12 connected to the 0 interface 32,
Check the detection status of 13, 14, 23°57. Then, the process moves to output port processing. This is a process of outputting a signal indicating whether ports to which various motors 33, 36, 37 and various solenoids 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 are connected are on or off. For example, paper feed motor 3
Instead of outputting an on signal in the subroutine when No. 3 is turned on by another subroutine, the on/off signals for all loads are output by the subroutine of the corresponding output port.

Thereafter, the process moves to document feed check processing.

This detects whether or not a document is set on the document table 7 of the ADF 1 using the set sensor 12, checks whether a document feed signal is received from the copying machine main body 2,
This is a subroutine that checks whether to feed the original.
The process is shown in FIG. First, ADF mode or 5A
ADF transport is executed in the DF (semi-automatic paper feeding) mode, and it is checked whether these modes are set. If it is in either mode, then it is checked whether the document is in computer form 27 or not.

Here, the determination as to whether or not it is a computer form is processed in another subroutine, and if it is a computer form, the flag is set to 1. If it is not a computer form (computer form flag = O), the setting sensor 12 is turned on and checks whether a sheet original is set on the original table 7. If it is set, it waits for a paper feed signal from the copying machine main body 2 side. Then, the actual paper feeding operation begins, but at 5A
The separation release solenoid 44 is turned on in the DF mode, and is not turned on in the ADF mode. Furthermore, the call solenoid 43 and the claw release solenoid 42 are turned on,
The job counter JOBG for document feeding processing is set to 1, the timer STTIM is set to 0, and the document feeding signal is set to O. - On the other hand, if the original is computer form 27, after the original paper feed signal is output, the INT2 flag is set to 1, and the computer form stop counter CF is set to 1.
STPC is set to O.

After such document feeding check processing, actual document feeding processing is executed. This process is a series of processes from starting feeding from the document table 7 to passing the paper through the registration sensor 14, and as shown in FIG.
It is processed according to the value of C. FIGS. 7(a) to (i) show processing for each counter value. In these processes, S
TTIM indicates a timer and compares its timer value X1
~X7 indicates a certain setting value. For example, in job 2 shown in FIG. 7(c), the determination as to whether the value of the timer STTIM is equal to or greater than X2 is a determination as to whether or not the tip detection sensor 13 is turned on at a predetermined timing, and even at a timing equal to or greater than X2. If the leading edge detection sensor 13 is not turned on, it is determined that a document jam has occurred, and the paper jam flag is set to 1. In this way, X1 to X7 indicate certain set values, and are used to check whether the document feeding operation is being performed at a normal timing. Furthermore, M2TPC shown during the processing of job 5 in FIG. 7(f) is a counter that counts the pulses generated from the encoder 38 of the transport motor (M2) 36, and it is used not only for sheet documents but also for computer forms 27. is used for initial document stop control. Also, 5IZ
SNF is a size sensor flag used in a document size detection subroutine (not shown); this flag is set to 1 when the size sensor is on, and reset to O when it is off. That is, the length for size detection is determined by counting the pulses generated from the encoder 38 based on the conveyance motor 36 during the period from when the registration sensor 14 is turned on until it is turned off. However, with this alone, for example, the length (
Since the number of pulses) is the same, the sizes of the two cannot be distinguished. For this reason, a width size detection sensor is provided to detect the document size, and is placed at a position in the width direction so that it is turned on for A4 landscape, for example, and turned off for A5 portrait. Furthermore, 5IZEF is a timing control flag that is set to 1 when the original passes the registration sensor 14, thereby reading pulse data at the time of checking the original size. When set to 1, pulse data is read according to other subroutines.

Next, a subroutine for checking the number of returned computer forms, which is one of the features of this embodiment, will be explained with reference to FIG. This is to check the number of returned originals sent from the copying machine main body 2 side, that is, whether or not originals are returned. First, when the 0RGBK flag is 1 (set to 1 when the original is returned), it is set to 1.
This routine is controlled so that no checks are performed until the return process is completed. Then, the number of returned originals sent from the copying machine main body 2 side is checked depending on whether the number of returned originals is one or more.

Here, when the number of returned sheets is 1 or more, the document return mode is entered.

In the computer form return mode, processing is performed by the subroutine shown in FIG. This checks the number of returned originals sent from the copying machine main body 2 side, and stores the data of the number of punch holes 56 corresponding to the number of returned documents and the number of drive pulses of the transport motor 36 in each counter C.
This is a process in which the computer form 27 is set in FSTPC1M2TPC, and the paper feed motor 33 is driven in the reverse direction along with the conveyance motor 36 to reversely feed the computer form 27 to the paper feed side. During this process, the stop control flag IN of the transport motor (M2) 36 is
Set T2F to 1 and move the transport motor M2 as shown in FIG.
The process moves to stop control 1.

This transport motor M2 stop control 1 is a generally known external interrupt routine of the CPU 31, and every time a pulse generated from the encoder 38 corresponding to the transport motor 36 is input to the external interrupt terminal lNTl shown in FIG. The process shown in the figure is performed (that is, this process is executed when a pulse is input to the interrupt reception of lNTl)
.

First, this process is executed even in the case of a normal sheet document other than the computer form 27, and in this case, the process is performed according to the value of the interrupt job counter INTIC. This interrupt job counter lNTlCl is I
This is a process of either NT50, NT51, or NT52, and although the details are not shown, it is a well-known process. That is, in normal document feeding processing, when a document fed from the document table 7 is transported to a predetermined position, pulses from the encoder 38 are counted starting from when the leading edge of the document is detected by the registration sensor 14, When the number of pulses is reached, the transport motor (M2
) 36, the original is moved to the exposure reference position P.
This is used to stop and set it to 0.

On the other hand, in the case of computer form 27, INTI
When the flag F is 1, the return flag is 1
The process will differ depending on whether the One process is a process for transporting the computer form 27, which is the interrupt job counter 1NT1C2, to a predetermined position. That is, this is a process according to INT30 to INT32 shown in FIG. 11(a). first.

In order to count the pulses generated from the encoder 38 through the processing of the INT31, 1 is added to the contents of the M2TPC, and it is checked whether the count value of the counter M2TPC has reached the set transport amount Y3. Predetermined transport amount Y
3, the process moves to INT32 and the transport motor (M2) 36 is stopped. Through such processing, the computer form 27 is brought to a predetermined exposure reference position P. It is transported in the forward direction until it reaches the point where it is stopped. More specifically,
Interrupt routine lNT10, I shown in FIG. 13(a)
After the NTII processing, the remaining transport distance to the exposure reference position P is determined by counting the pulses generated from the encoder 38 in the processing of the subroutine, and when a predetermined pulse is reached, the transport motor (M2) 36 is stopped and the computer form 2 is
7 is the exposure reference position P. (state shown in Fig. 1(b)).

The other process is interrupt job counter INTIC3
This is the return processing of the computer form 27 by. That is, the interrupt routine INT40~ shown in FIG. 11(b)
42. First, 1 is subtracted from the contents of the counter M2TPC by the process of INT41. this is,
The pulse generated from the encoder pulse 38 is sent to the CPU 31
The initial value of the counter M2TPC is set in advance by the process explained in FIG. 9. Then, it is checked whether the subtraction count value of the counter M2TPC has reached 0, and when it becomes O, the process moves to INT42, and the paper feed motor (Ml) 33 is stopped together with the conveyance motor (M2) 36. As a result, the computer form 27 is returned to the paper feed side by a predetermined amount. More specifically, FIG. 13(b)
Exposure reference position P after processing of 1NT2O and INT21 shown in .

Until then, the computer form 27 is controlled to be stopped by returning the leading edge of a predetermined page and conveying it.

Next, the subroutine of the transport motor M2 stop control 2 will be explained with reference to FIG. This control routine is one of the generally known external interrupt flowcharts of the CPU 31.
This M2 stop control 2 subroutine process is executed every time the punch hole detection sensor 57 detects the punch hole 56 of the computer form 27 at the external interrupt terminal INT2 of the CPU 3i shown in FIG. (In other words, this process is executed when the punch hole detection signal is input into the interrupt reception of TNT2).

First, when the interrupt INT2 flag is 1, processing is divided depending on whether the return flag is 1 or not.

If the return flag is not 1, interrupt job counter l
Control processing is performed to cause the NT2C1 to transport the computer form 27 to a predetermined position. That is, this is a process of counting the number of punch holes 56 in the computer form 27. Here, the counting of punched holes 56 detected by the punched hole detection sensor 57 starts from the time when the registration sensor 14 detects the leading edge of the computer form 27 for the first page, and from the second page onwards, the count is based on the first page. Count. Specifically, lN shown in FIG. 13(a)
This is the process Tl0, 11. First, in order to count the number of punched holes 56 in the computer form 27 each time it is detected, a counter CF for the computer form is used.
Add 1 to the contents of STPC. Then, when the computer form 27 is transported, it is checked whether it is the first page. If it is the first page, it is checked whether a predetermined feed amount for the first page has been reached based on whether the count value of the counter CFSTPC has reached a predetermined value Y1, and if it has been reached, the interrupt processing is terminated. Also, if it is not the first page but the second page or later, it is checked whether the count value of the counter CFSTPC has reached a predetermined value Y2 to see if the predetermined feed amount for the second and subsequent pages has been reached, and if it has been reached, the interrupt processing is terminated. . In any case, when the count value reaches a predetermined value, the process is switched to M2 stop control 1 (INT30-32) shown in FIG. , and a desired page of the computer form 27 is set.

On the other hand, if the return flag is 1, the subroutine of the interrupt job counter NT2C2 (specifically, the
This is the control for the return processing of the computer form 27 by lNT2O, 21) shown in b). This is because when a transfer paper jam occurs on the copying machine main body 2 side, a signal indicating the number of returned pages is sent from the copying machine main body 2 in order to copy the corresponding page again. Therefore, when returning the computer form 27 by reversing the transport motor 36, the number of punches for the returned page is counted and returned to the paper feed side of the ADFI, and when the counted value of the detected punch holes 56 reaches a predetermined value, Switching is made to the routine of M2 stop control 1 (routine of INT40 to INT42) shown in FIG. 10, and the process is stopped after a predetermined pulse.

Effects of the Invention The present invention focuses on the punch holes formed at equal intervals on a computer form as described above, and provides a punch hole detection sensor located on the conveyance line, and calculates the detection count value of the punch holes. Accordingly, the computer form transport control means can freely control the transport set to the original exposure position in the forward and reverse directions, making it possible to create an ADF that is compatible with continuous computer forms, and can not only copy a desired page but also transfer it. It is also possible to recover from paper jams and improve the efficiency of copying computer forms.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view;
Figure 2 is a schematic side view, Figure 3 is a control system block diagram, and Figure 4 is a schematic side view.
Figures 1 through 13 are flowcharts. 4... Original separation/feeding device, 5... Conveyance device, 6...
・Discharge device, 27... Computer form, 31・
...Computer form conveyance control means, 56...Punched holes, 57...Punch hole detection sensor procedure amendment (1 July 6, 1988 l, Indication of Case Patent Application No. 126494/1983, 2) Name of the invention: Automatic document conveyance device 3, relationship with the person making the amendment Patent applicant address: 1-3-6-4 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Agent
Person 〒107 None 6, Specification subject to amendment, Drawing 7, Contents of amendment - Self-diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an automatic document feeder that separates and feeds a document by a document separation and feeder, transports and sets the document to a document exposure position by a transport device, and then discharges the document after exposure processing to the outside of the machine by a discharge device, it is possible to use a computer form, etc. A punch hole detection sensor is provided at a predetermined position on the conveyance line of punch holes formed at intervals, and the document of the computer form is exposed according to the count value of the punch holes detected by the punch hole detection sensor. What is claimed is: 1. An automatic document conveying device characterized in that it is provided with a computer form conveyance control means that controls the conveyance set to a position for forward or reverse use.