JPH0511240Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a sheet conveyance device such as an automatic document feeder that has a function of reserving the sending of the next document.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, an automatic document feeder attached to an image processing device, such as a copying machine, feeds documents stacked on a document tray one by one using a feeding device.
After the document is conveyed onto the platen by the conveyor belt and set at the reference position to complete copying, the document is again discharged from the platen by the conveyor belt and stored in the paper discharge tray.

This type of automatic document feeder was developed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-
There is a device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 42559, which has two or more document trays and has a function of reserving delivery of the next document.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

However, in such an automatic document feeder with a reservation function, in order to make the paper feeding conditions of each document tray as the same as possible, a plurality of document trays are provided in parallel to each other, and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and a document feeding means and the document feeding means are are arranged in parallel to each other are provided in order to make the paper feeding conditions of each document tray as same as possible as much as possible in such an automatic document feeder with a reservation function are provided. Since a document feeding path is provided, the structure is complicated, large-sized, and expensive. Therefore, it is possible to share the feeding path by arranging each document tray radially, but since the document tray with a large inclination angle is at a steep angle with respect to the document conveyance path, the document tray with a small inclination angle A large difference occurs in the paper feeding conditions with the document tray, resulting in variations in document conveyance.

[Purpose of invention]

This invention makes it possible to selectively transport sheets in multiple sheet storage units without providing feeding means for each of the multiple sheet storage units, such as a document tray, and also allows sheets to be fed from each sheet storage unit to the paper feed port. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet conveying device capable of stably conveying a sheet even if the inclination angle of the sheet is different.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an automatic document feeder will be described as an example of the sheet conveyance device.

<Structure> As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic document feeder 5 is mounted on an image processing apparatus, for example, a copying machine 1.

The automatic document feeder 5 includes a plurality of sheet storage sections, for example, two upper and lower document trays 6 and 7, and a separating section 9 that separates the documents supplied from these document trays 6 and 7 into single sheets and sends them out. The apparatus includes a conveyance section 11 that conveys the document sent out from the separation section 9 over a platen (not shown).

The original trays 6 and 7 store the originals in a separating section 9.
The sheets are installed at an angle of 30 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively, so that they can fall freely under their own weight in the paper feed port 41 of the paper feed port 41 of the paper feed port 41 of the paper feed port 41 .

Note that the document tray 6 is designed to rotate around an axis 43 between a horizontal position and a position tilted 30 degrees, so that even when the document tray 6 is moved to the horizontal position, it is not possible to set a document on the document tray 6. can.

Further, the bottom surface of the paper feed port 41 is inclined in the direction in which the document is conveyed. However, the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the paper feed port 41 is smaller than the inclination angle of the document trays 6 and 7.

The document tray 6 includes a base plate 2, a pair of left and right side plates 16, a frame 45, a detection means 47 for detecting whether or not a document is set on the base plate 2, and a stopper 49 for preventing the document from falling. We are prepared.

The side plates 16 move left and right on the base plate 2 to regulate the left and right side lines of the document.

The frame 45 is designed to increase the inclination angle of the rear edge of the document set on the base plate 2.
For example, it is bent upward at 45 degrees and is attached to the back side of the base plate 2 in a freely retractable manner. Therefore, the base plate 2 is inclined at 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, but the tip of the frame 45 is inclined at 75 degrees.

The frame 45 is telescopically attached to the back side of the base plate 2, and is bent upward by, for example, 45 degrees in order to increase the inclination angle of the rear end of the document set on the base plate 2.

Therefore, the rear of the lower document tray 6 is inclined (75 degrees) more than the entire inclination angle of the document tray 6 (30 degrees).

The detection means 47 includes a lever 53 that rotates about a shaft 51 and a sensor 55 that detects the movement of this lever 53.

The stopper 49 rotates about a shaft 57, supports the original on the base plate 2, and drops the original into the paper feed port 41, and is driven by a drive device 59 as shown in FIG.

This drive device 59 includes a latching solenoid 6
1, arms 63, 65, 67, 69, 71,
Spring 73, 75 are provided.

The arm 63 has a pin 77 in the middle and a long hole 79 at its tip, and its base end is attached to the suction shaft of the latching solenoid 61 via a pin 81.

The arm 65 has a long hole 83 that engages with the pin 77;
It has a stopper 85 and is rotatably attached to a shaft 87.

The arm 67 is rotatably attached to the shaft 87,
One end is biased by a spring 73, and the other end locks the arm 71.

The arm 69 has a pin 89 that engages with the elongated hole 79 of the arm 63 and an elongated hole 91, and is configured to rotate about a shaft 93. Furthermore, this arm 69
is biased by a spring 75.

The arm 71 has a pin 95 that engages with the elongated hole 91 of the arm 69, and its base end is attached to the shaft 57 of the stopper 49, and its distal end is latched to the arm 67.

The document tray 7 includes a base plate 4, a pair of left and right side plates 17, a frame 97, a detection means 99 for detecting whether or not a document is set on the base plate 4, and a stopper 101 for preventing the document from falling. We are prepared.

Side plate 17 has the same function as side plate 16.

The frame 97 is designed to reduce the inclination angle of the rear edge of the document set on the base plate 4.
For example, it is bent downward at 45 degrees and is attached to the back side of the base plate 4 in a freely retractable manner. That is, although the base plate 4 is inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, the tip of the frame 97 is horizontal.

Therefore, the rear of the upper document tray 7 forms an angle (horizontal) smaller than the inclination angle (45 degrees) of the entire document tray 7.

Note that the frame 45 and the frame 97 are the same, and differ in whether they are attached upward or downward.

The detection means 99 has the same configuration as the detection means 47.

The stopper 101 rotates about a shaft 103, supports the original on the base plate 4, and drops the original into the paper feed port 41, and is driven by a drive device 105 as shown in FIG.

This drive device 105 has the same configuration as the drive device 59.

Note that the stopper 49 and the drive device 59 and the stopper 101 and the drive device 105 constitute a dropping means.

The separating section 9 includes a sensor 18 that detects whether or not a document is being supplied to the paper feed port 41, and a sensor 18 that detects whether or not a document is supplied to the paper feed port 4
Stopper 1 that regulates the leading edge of the document fed to 1
9, a feeding unit for feeding out the document fed to the paper feed port 41, for example, a feeding roller 21; a feeding roller 25 feeding the document fed out by the feeding roller 21 to the conveyance path 23; It includes a separation roller 27 that prevents the document from moving forward following the lower surface of the document, and a sensor 26 that detects the document sent out by the feeding roller 25. Incidentally, the feeding roller 25 and the separating roller 27 constitute a separating means.

Note that the feeding roller 21 and the feeding roller 25 are coupled by an arm 22 and a timing belt 24, and the arm 22 is driven in accordance with the excitation/demagnetization of a solenoid 29 to move the feeding roller 21 up and down. There is. Also, solenoid 29
When excited, the stopper 19 rotates about the shaft 20, opening the conveyance path 23.

The feeding roller 25 is rotationally driven by the motor 31 in the direction in which the original is sent out, that is, clockwise in FIG. Further, the separation roller 27 is also driven by the motor 31 and rotated clockwise in a direction that prevents the document from moving forward following the lower surface of the sent document. Furthermore, the separation roller 27 is moved toward and away from the feeding roller 25 by energizing/demagnetizing the solenoid 33 .

A sensor 36 and registration rollers 35 and 37 are provided at the entrance of the transport section 11. The registration roller 35 is rotationally driven by a motor 39.
The document is sent onto the platen together with the registration rollers 37 pressed against each other.

<Operation> With the above configuration, this device operates as follows.

First, if you do not reserve the feeding of the next document, or if you do so but want to load the first document, place the document face down in the document tray 6 or 7.
Set the original on the As a result, the detection means 47
Also, the sensor 55 of 99 is turned on.

The stoppers 49 and 101 are locked by having the tip of the arm 71 engaged with the tip of the arm 67. Therefore, even if a large amount of documents are set and a large force is applied to the stoppers 49, 101, the stoppers 49, 101 will not fall.

In this state, when the copy button is pressed, the drive device 59 or 105 on the side where the sensor 55 is turned on operates.

That is, the latching solenoid 61 is energized and the arm 63 is attracted. At that time, arm 6
3 is provided with an elongated hole 79, so that the pin 77 rotates the arm 65 around the shaft 87 at the beginning of suction. Therefore, the arm 67 rotates, and the arm 7
1 lock is released.

As the suction of the arm 63 progresses, the pin 89 or the elongated hole 7
9 and rotates around a shaft 93. As a result, the unlocked arm 71 rotates, the stopper 49 or 101 falls down, and the original is transferred to the paper feed slot 4.
Fall to 1.

The leading edge of the document slides on the sloping part of the paper feed port 41, and each document is shifted little by little and set in the paper feed port 41 in such a state that it is easy to separate.

Then, the sensor 18 detects that the document is supplied to the paper feed port 41, energizes the solenoid 29, causes the feeding roller 21 to fall onto the document, and the solenoid 33 is energized, causing the separating roller 27 to move is pressed against.

On the other hand, due to the excitation of the solenoid 29, the stopper 1
9 rotates downward. Therefore, feeding is possible.

When the feeding roller 21 comes into contact with the document, the motor 31 is activated, and the feeding roller 25 and the feeding roller 21 rotate in the feeding direction. As a result, the feeding roller 21 feeds out the document starting from the uppermost sheet. Then, the original is separated into one sheet by a forward-rotating feeding roller 25 and a reverse-rotating separating roller 27, and sent to a conveying path 23.

Then, the sensor 26 detects the leading edge of the document. As a result, the solenoid 29 is demagnetized, the feeding roller 21 is separated from the document, and the subsequent document feeding operation is temporarily stopped. Also, the stopper 19 rises to cut off the feeding of the original.

The fed document is further conveyed by the feeding roller 25, and the sensor 36 is turned on. As a result, the motor 31 is stopped after a predetermined time T1.

Here, during the predetermined time T1 described above, after the leading edge of the document passes the sensor 36, the registration roller 35,
The length of time is set to be sufficient for the document to come into contact with the rolling contact section 37 and bend. Therefore, the leading edge of the bent document is registered.

Then, a predetermined time T2 after the sensor 36 is turned on.
After (T2>T1), rotate the motor 39 slightly,
The leading edge of the document is held between the registration rollers 35 and 37, the solenoid 33 is demagnetized, and the separation roller 27 is separated from the feeding roller 25. The original registered in this manner is placed in a standby state.

When the copier 1 is ready to copy in this state, the motor 39 rotates and the registration roller 3
5 and 37 send out the original and set it at a reference position on the platen. Then, a copying operation is performed. When the copying operation is completed, the original is ejected from the platen.

When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the sensor 36, the motor 39 is stopped and the solenoid 29 is energized to start feeding the next document in the same manner as described above.
37 stands by with the leading edge of the document in its mouth.

To reserve the feeding of originals, use original tray 6.
The user sets the original in both the original and 7, and operates the operation section to set the copying conditions for the reserved original.

In this state, when the copy button is pressed, the preceding original is sent out from the original tray 6 or 7 to be fed first, as described above, and when the last original is fed, the sensor 55 is turned off. but,
Since the sensor 55 of the other tray is on,
It is determined that a reserved manuscript is set. Therefore, the reserved original is sent out from the original tray as described above. When all the documents are sent out in this manner, the sensor 55 is turned off and the original state is restored.

<Effects of the Embodiment> According to this embodiment described above, the document tray 6,
7, the document trays 6 and 7 are tilted at different angles so that the sheet can fall freely under its own weight into the paper feed port 41, and the document trays 6 and 7 are fed out by the feeding roller 21 that contacts the topmost sheet of the paper feed port 41. , from the document tray 6 to the paper feed slot 41 as shown in FIG.
The document fed from the feed roller 2 and the document fed from the document tray 7 as shown in FIG.
The method of engagement with 1 is different.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, since the original tray 7 has a large inclination angle, the original is waiting in a bent state at the paper feed port 41. Therefore, although it is difficult to convey, the engagement area between the feed roller 21 and the document is larger than that of the document in the document tray 6, and the conveying force is correspondingly large. Therefore, non-feeding of the originals on the original tray 7 is reduced, and the difference in original conveying ability between the original tray 7 and the original tray 6 can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the inclination angle of the bottom of the feed port 41 is smaller than the inclination angle of the document trays 6 and 7, the leading edge of the document that falls from the document trays 6 and 7 into the paper feed port 41 is above the bottom surface of the paper feed port 41. It is set by rubbing it. As a result, the leading edge of the document shifts little by little, making it easier to separate the document. This effect is more noticeable for originals falling from original tray 7 than for originals falling from original tray 6.

Therefore, in combination with the above effects, even if the inclination angles of the document trays 6 and 7 are different, both documents can be stably transported.

[Modified example]

Although one embodiment of this invention has been described above, this invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) In the above embodiments, a roller was used as the feeding rotating body, but a belt or the like may also be used.

(2) Although the automatic document feeder of a copying machine was shown in the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to an automatic document feeder of an image processing device such as an image reader or facsimile machine, and a device that supplies copy paper to a copying machine.

[Effect of idea]

In summary, this invention has a paper feed port that is inclined in the sheet conveyance direction, and a paper feed port that is provided facing the paper feed port.
A plurality of sheet accommodating sections that accommodate sheets and are inclined at different angles so that the accommodated sheets can fall freely under their own weight to the paper feed port, and a drop that selectively drops the sheets accommodated in these sheet accommodating sections. and a feed-out rotating body that feeds out the sheet by engaging with the uppermost sheet of the sheet that has fallen into the paper feed port and is inclined, the inclination angle of the paper feed port being greater than the inclination angle of the sheet storage section. Since the size of the sheet storage unit is also small, it is possible to selectively convey sheets in multiple sheet storage units without providing feeding means for each of the multiple sheet storage units, and it is also possible to transport sheets fed from each sheet storage unit to the paper feed port. It is possible to obtain a sheet conveyance device that can stably convey a sheet even if the inclination angle is different.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are views showing one embodiment of this invention, in which FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the overall structure, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the stopper drive device, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation. 1... Copying machine, 5... Automatic document feeder, 6,
7... Original tray, 9... Separating unit, 11... Conveying unit, 41... Paper feed slot, 45... Frame, 49...
... Stopper, 59 ... Drive device, 97 ... Frame, 101 ... Stopper, 105 ... Drive device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A paper feed port inclined in the sheet conveyance direction, and a plurality of paper feed ports provided facing the paper feed port and each inclined at a different angle to accommodate sheets and allow the stored sheets to fall freely under their own weight to the paper feed port. a sheet storage section, a dropping means for selectively dropping the sheets stored in the sheet storage sections, and a falling means for selectively dropping the sheets stored in the sheet storage sections, and engaging with the topmost sheet of the sheet falling into the paper feed port and feeding out the sheet. a feed-out rotary body, wherein an inclination angle of the paper feed port is smaller than an inclination angle of the sheet storage section.