JPH0272343A - Document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate operability by automatically switching a mode to a mode in which documents can be manually supplied one by one when an auxiliary paper feeding tray is turned and protrudes on a paper supply tray. CONSTITUTION:In a state where the auxiliary paper feeding tray 107 is housed in the recessed part 102A of a movable paper feeding tray 102, the back surface side 107C of the tray 107 abuts on a part of the recessed part 102A to be in a still state. At such a time, the surface side 107B of the tray 107 exists lower than the document placing surface of the movable paper feeding tray 102, so that it does not prevent the feed of paper by an automatic document feeder. In the case of the feeding of paper by a semiautomatic document feeder that the documents are manually fed one by one, a user inserts his higher tip in the recessed part 102A and holds the leading edge part of the tray 107 to be turned. Then, the auxiliary paper feeding tray 107 is turned counterclockwise centering around a shaft part 107A and the surface side 108B of the tray 107 abuts on the upper surface side of a fixed paper feeding tray 103 and stops, so that the feeding of paper by the semiautomatic document feeder can be possible. Thus, the automatic mode and the semiautomatic mode can be switched through one action and the operation of one or various kinds of a few documents can be facilitated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention automatically feeds a document from a paper feed tray onto a platen glass (document table) of a copying machine, an image reading device, etc., and displays the processed document. The present invention relates to an improvement in a document conveyance device for discharging documents from the document table, and particularly relates to a document conveyance device having means for manually feeding documents one by one.

[Background of the invention]

2. Description of the Related Art In image recording apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and image reading apparatuses, automatic document feeders (hereinafter referred to as ADFs) are used to improve the efficiency of pre-processing of image processing processes (copy processes). When multiple sheet-like originals are set on the paper feed tray, this ADF enters the ADF mode and, in response to the single copy start signal, automatically separates the originals one by one and feeds them onto the original platen glass. After the exposure process is completed, the paper is automatically discharged and stored in the paper discharge tray again.

The above ADF consists of a paper feed unit that feeds a pre-set original, separates each original, and sends out the original at the correct timing, and another that transports the original onto the platen glass surface and accurately places the original at the original setting position. The device consists of a conveyance section that stops the document, and a paper ejection section that transports the document from the platen glass surface after exposure and stores it on the paper ejection tray. There is a lower paper feeding method in which paper is fed from the original, and an upper paper feeding method in which paper is fed from the uppermost original.

The bottom paper feed method has the advantage of being able to stack documents one by one, but in order to pull out the lowest document, the separation operation requires several times more power than the top paper feed method, and the power is proportionally increased. The stress on the manuscript will also increase. Therefore, the original is likely to be deformed. In particular, dirt on the separation member caused by pencil-written originals tends to stain other originals and erase or blur information written in pencil. Even in the upper paper feeding method, this problem occurs to some extent during the separation paper feeding operation.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In general, documents handled by image recording devices such as copying machines have information on their surfaces from printing ink and writing instruments, so their paper feeding characteristics differ significantly. In addition, many of them have irregular shapes, such as those with punched holes, folds, and wrinkles, and it is necessary to feed the documents in a way that does not damage them. For this reason, ADF
In this case, some paper may not pass properly.

In addition, the ADF may not be available in order to prevent document stains that occur during paper separation and feeding operations.

When copying these originals, do not use the ADF.
Similar to the document holding plate (platen cover), after opening the entire ADF device and placing the document on the platen glass,
The DF must be closed before copying, which requires a great deal of time and effort.

Furthermore, when copying a -page original, a large number of different types, a small number of documents, or an irregular set of originals using the ADF by manually inserting -pages one by one, the copy button must be pressed each time, making the operation cumbersome. be.

Additionally, a semi-automatic document feeder (SDF) is also used, which automatically feeds manually inserted originals one sheet at a time onto the platen glass and automatically ejects the originals after copying is complete.
This SDF cannot continuously automatically process a large number of original documents.

[Means for solving problems]

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a document conveying device that can feed sheet documents regardless of their type or form. The document feeder of the present invention generally allows a semi-automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as SDF) provided in the ADF to switch modes with a single touch for documents that cannot be fed, and transfers the document one sheet at a time to the SDF. This is an attempt to solve the above problem by sending the

In order to achieve the above object, the document conveying device of the present invention includes:
In a document transport device having a paper feed section that feeds the document placed on a paper feed tray one by one toward the document table of the document exposure section, a training wheel is provided on a part of the document placement surface of the paper feed tray. A paper plate is rotatably disposed, a detection means is provided on one of the paper feed tray and the auxiliary wheel paper plate, and a detected portion is provided on the other, and the auxiliary wheel paper plate is rotated to detect the paper plate on the paper feed tray. When the document is protruded, the detection means outputs a signal in response to the detected portion to automatically switch to a mode in which documents can be manually fed one by one.

〔Example〕

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A document conveying device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the document conveying device according to the present invention showing the automatic document conveying state, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the device near the paper feed tray, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the paper tray.

In these figures, lO is the main body of the copying machine, 11 is a platen glass, 12 is a document rear end stopper plate (abutment plate), and the document transport device lOO is mounted above the platen glass 11. The document conveyance device 100 is attached to a hinge portion at the top of the copying machine main body 10 and has a swingable structure, so that the top surface of the platen glass 11 can be opened and closed. The document conveyance device 100 includes a paper feed section 200, a conveyance section 300,
, and a paper discharge section 400.

The document conveyance device 100 has a paper feed tray slanted at the top, consisting of a foldable movable paper feed tray 102 and a fixed paper feed tray 103 fixed to the housing body 101. Document sheets can be stacked on the tray, and the leading edge of the document sheet is inserted into the paper feed port 206 of the paper feed section 200.

Further, a paper width regulating plate 104 is provided on the fixed paper feeding tray 103 so as to be movable in the width direction for regulating the width when setting the document tray.

There is a concave cutout near the center of the fixed paper feed tray 103 on the downstream side in the paper feed direction, and a movable guide plate 105 is installed in the concave cutout so that it can swing vertically from the upper surface of the fixed paper feed tray 103. It has become. The movable guide plate +05 is connected to a drive means (not shown) and is swingable.

A concave portion 102A is formed near the center of the document placement surface of the movable paper tray 102 on the downstream side of paper feeding. An auxiliary wheel paper plate 107 is housed inside the recess 102A so as to be freely retractable.

That is, the front and rear shaft portions 107A, 1 of the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107
07A fits into the hole of the movable paper plate 102 and is rotatably supported. Further, when the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107 is housed in the recess 102A of the movable wheel paper plate 102, the back side 107c of the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107 comes into contact with a part of the recess 102A and remains stationary. At this time, the front side 107B of the auxiliary paper plate 107 is located below the document placement surface of the movable paper plate 102 and does not block the ADF paper feeding.

When performing SDF paper feeding in which originals are manually fed one by one, insert your fingertip into the recess 102A and press the auxiliary wheel paper plate 10.
7 and rotate it in the direction indicated by the dashed dotted line in the third figure, the training wheel paper plate 107 will rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 107A, and the training wheel paper plate The front surface side 107B of the paper feed plate 107 comes into contact with the upper surface side of the fixed paper feed tray 103 and stops, thereby enabling SDF paper feeding.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the paper feed tray showing this SDF paper feeding state. In this state, the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107 protrudes above the fixed paper feed tray 103, and the back side 107c of the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107 serves as a document placement/sliding surface during manual paper feeding.

A protrusion 107D is fixed to a part of the front side 107B of the auxiliary wheel paper plate 107.

On the other hand, a small opening 103A passes through a part of the fixed paper feed tray 103. An SDF mode switching unit is provided on the back side of the fixed paper feed tray 103 near the small opening 103A. The SDF switching unit includes a micro switch 10
8, microsinch mounting plate 109, and switching lever 11
Consists of 0. The end of the switching lever 110 engages with the actuator of the microswitch lO8, the other end enters the booth 103A, and the central detail engages with the mounting plate 109.
It is supported by and can rotate freely.

If the above-mentioned auxiliary wheel paper plate +07 is rotated around the shaft portion 107A and tilted to the left as shown in the fifth figure, the auxiliary wheel paper plate 10
A protrusion 107D fixed to one end of the fixed paper feed tray 1
03 enters the booth 103A and presses the tip of the switching lever 110 inside to lower it. As a result, the switching lever 110 swings around its central shaft portion, and the other end actuates the actuator of the microswitch 108 to set the switching lever 110 to N. Based on this input signal, the SD
F%-1' is detected and SDF mode is automatically selected.

Note that the selected SDF mode is displayed when the auxiliary wheel paper plate 1
The label attached to the back side 107G of 07 is clearly displayed at a glance.

Further, as the SDF mode detection means, a photodetection element such as a photointerrupter may be used instead of the microsinch.

Next, the operation of the ADF mode by the document conveying device of the present invention will be explained.

First, a document is placed on a paper feed tray consisting of a fixed paper feed tray 103 and a movable paper feed tray 102 with the recording surface facing upward, and the leading edge of the document is inserted into the feed section at the frontage of the paper feed section. do.

(A) First Paper Feed When the copy button is pressed in this state, the solenoid is energized by the paper feed start signal to lower the tip of the movable guide plate 105, and at the same time, the main motor of the document conveying device starts rotating in reverse. By reversing the main motor, the stacked document is sent out while being held between the feed roller (first paper feed roller) 212 and the feed lever 201, and the upper layer of the document is delivered at the nip position between the feed roller 212 and the double feed prevention roller 213. The document is returned, and only the lower document is separated and fed.

(B) When the leading edge of the second paper feed document passes the document detection sensor 239, after a predetermined time (150 m5) has elapsed since the detection signal, the solenoid is turned to 0FFt, the movable guide plate 105 is returned upward, and the main motor is reversed. switch to forward rotation. As a result, the feed roller 212 becomes free to rotate, and due to the driven rotation of the second paper feed roller 226 and the driven roller 240 in pressure contact therewith, the document slides on the upper surface of the abutment plate 12, reaches the top of the platen glass ll, and becomes white. Sheet member 3
04 and slides while passing through the gap with the root member 30.
The document is conveyed under pressure by document conveying rollers 301, 302, and 303, which are driven and rotated through the through hole 304a of No. 4, and the document is moved forward.

(C) Document Abutment When the rear end of the document passes the document detection sensor 239, after counting up a predetermined pulse (45 pulses) from the generation of the detection signal, the main motor is switched from reverse rotation to forward rotation. At the start of this switching, the rear end of the document is to the right of the stopper surface of the abutting plate 12;
By reversing the main motor, the document transport roller 301
．． 302 and 303 are driven and rotated clockwise to move the document backward and bring it into contact with the stopper surface of the abutment plate 215. In addition, after counting up the above pulses, a further predetermined pulse (
28 pulses), the white sheet member 30
4 is lowered and the gap with the abutment plate 2 is closed, so that the original does not jump over the abutment plate 12 and return to the paper feed section 200 side. Further, the original is pressed against the platen glass 11 by the white sheet member 304 and brought into close contact with the platen glass 11. Exposure is performed while the original is stopped and in close contact with the original.

(D) Paper discharge When the above exposure is completed, the main motor is switched from reverse rotation to forward rotation again. As a result, the conveyance roller 301.
302 and 303 rotate in the normal direction and send out the original in the direction of the paper discharge section 400. The leading edge of the document passes through a guide plate, passes through a nip position between a forward-rotating paper ejection roller 401 and a pinch roller 402 that comes into pressure contact with the paper ejection roller 401, and is further detected by a paper ejection sensor 404 provided in the conveyance path of the paper ejection unit 400. The paper passes through the nip position with the pinch roller 403, is ejected from the paper ejection opening, and is placed on the external paper ejection tray 406. The conveying and discharging operation is repeated in the same manner for subsequent documents, and they are sequentially stacked on the paper discharge tray 406.

Next, the operation of the SDF mode by the document conveying apparatus of the present invention will be explained.

(a) First, the auxiliary paper feed tray 107 is rotated as described above and brought into contact with the fixed paper feed tray 103 as shown in FIG. This will immediately switch to SDF mode,
Start driving.

(b) Next, - sheets of the original are placed on the movable ring paper tray 102, the fixed paper feed tray 103, and the auxiliary paper feed tray 107, and the original is slid along the inclined surfaces of the paper tray 102, the fixed paper tray 103, and the auxiliary paper feed tray 107. The paper is fed into the paper feed section 200 from the paper slot 106.

(c) By switching the SDF mode, each roller in the paper feed section has already been driven and rotated, so - sheets of originals pass through the above-mentioned (A) first paper feed, and then (B) second paper feed. ,(C)
[After each process of document abutment and (D) paper ejection, the paper ejection tray 40
6 is discharged on top.

The document conveying device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention can be applied to various paper feed trays.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the document conveyance device of the present invention can switch between the ADF mode and the SDF mode with a single touch by providing a movable auxiliary paper feeding plate on the paper feeding tray of the ADF device. This has made it easier to manipulate documents with a small number of sheets or with a large number of different types. In addition, by switching the ADF mode to the SDF mode, it is possible to reliably transport thin or wrinkled originals that are difficult to separate and transport in ADF mode, or pencil-handwritten originals that get smudged when separated and transported. It became.

Furthermore, the SDF means has a simple structure and operates reliably, and there is no problem even in the ADF mode.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a document conveying device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of this document conveying device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the paper feed tray of the device in ADF mode, and FIG. A plan view of the paper tray, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the paper feed tray in S mode and F mode. 100... Original transport device +02... Movable paper feeder 103... Fixed paper feed tray 104... Paper width regulation plate 1'06... Paper feed port 107A... Shaft portion 107c... Back side Side 108...Micro switch 109...Micro switch 110...Switching lever 201...Feeding lever 212...Feeding roller 300...Conveyance section 101...Housing body 102A...Recessed portion 103A ...Small opening 105...Movable guide plate 107...Auxiliary paper feed tray 107B...Front side 107D...Protrusion part mounting plate 200...Paper feed section 400...Paper discharge section appearance Konica Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a document transport device that has a paper feed unit that feeds originals placed on a paper feed tray one by one toward a document table in an original exposure unit, an auxiliary feeder is provided on a part of the document placement surface of the paper feed tray. A paper plate is arranged rotatably, a detection means is provided on one of the paper feed tray and the auxiliary paper feed tray, and a detected portion is provided on the other, and the auxiliary paper tray is rotated to detect the paper plate on the paper feed tray. 1. A document conveying device characterized in that, when the document feeder is protruded, the detection means outputs a signal in response to the detected portion to automatically switch to a mode in which documents can be manually fed one by one.