JPH05183687A - Picture reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the picture reader in which a loss time not directly contributing to picture reading within a picture read period is reduced so as to quicken the entire picture reading while the reader is made small. CONSTITUTION:An original is carried sequentially toward two original read sections 1, 2 from two original platens 107, 108, and one read unit 3 is reciprocatingly scanned in contact with contact glasses 101, 102 placed in parallel accordingly to allow a CCD in the read unit 3 to read sequentially the original set to the read position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided with an automatic document feeder and automatically conveys a document to a document reading position of a document reading section so that a document image can be continuously read at high speed. The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus preferably used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of so-called office automation (OA), the spread of copiers in offices has been remarkable, and technological development for the purpose of multi-functionality, large-volume processing, automation, cost reduction, etc. has been active. Has been done in. As one of those automations, in order to eliminate the time required for document replacement and the troublesome work required for manual replacement of a large number of documents, the documents are automatically fed sequentially onto the document reading table and then fixed. An automatic document feeder (ADF), which is placed at a position and used for image reading by an image reading device, has been developed and put into practical use. On the other hand, as a multifunctional copying machine, a double-sided copying mechanism that has a transfer paper reversing mechanism and can record images on both sides of the transfer paper has already been adopted in many copying machines. In addition, it has an original reversing mechanism to automatically read double-sided originals.
Although F is also known, it is not widely used because of a complicated document feeding mechanism, which easily causes document feeding failure and document damage. Therefore, in order to overcome various problems in the ADF, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-998 has been proposed.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 67,67, two document reading units having an exposing unit and a conveying unit are provided with a reversible image reading unit sandwiched therebetween, and the other document reading unit holds the document read by one document reading unit. There is disclosed a document image reading apparatus having a document transporting means for transporting the document to a simplified document reversal conveyance path. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-273853,
The two originals sent from the original feeding unit are arranged side by side in the conveyance direction at a predetermined position on the platen and stopped, and after the exposure operation is completed, the interval between the first original and the second original on the platen is adjusted. By emptying and ejecting the images, two original images can be
An automatic document feeder is disclosed which can make a copy on a single sheet of transfer paper and can be used in combination with reduction copying to reduce the number of transfer paper sheets required for copying.

[0003]

By the way, as one of the multifunctional operations of the copying machine, a sorter is provided which is capable of outputting a plurality of copies of a plurality of originals and sorting them in page order. There are not a few copiers, but in order to meet the demand for high-speed, large-volume copying of a large number of documents, the sorting mechanism is independent from the copier, and is also equipped with a binding mechanism, so-called post-processing capable of large-capacity bookbinding processing. The device has also been recently developed. Such post-processing devices include (1) a tray distribution type that has a large number of bin trays stacked in the vertical direction, and distributes copies of the same image onto each bin tray, and (2) originals are paged. There is known a stacking position moving type in which a plurality of copies are sequentially copied and each copy position is stacked at a different stacking position on a discharge tray. Since the tray distribution type of (1) has the same sorting mechanism as the conventional sorter attached to the copying machine,
It is convenient because it can be connected to an ordinary copier as it is, but a mechanism for distributing the transfer paper to each bin tray, a mechanism for expanding the bin tray interval at the transfer paper discharge position, and a sorted transfer paper bundle on the side of the bin tray. There are drawbacks in that the binding mechanism for pulling out and binding becomes complicated, malfunction of each mechanism and transfer paper transport error easily occur, and the price becomes expensive. On the other hand, the stacking position moving type (2) has a relatively simple mechanism, and thus has the advantage of being able to be manufactured at a low cost without causing an abnormal operation, but the ADF attached to the copying machine connected thereto circulates the manuscript. It must be equipped with a circulation feeding mechanism that re-feeds the sheets, and when copying a plurality of copies of a plurality of originals, the circulation feeding mechanism allows the ADF to copy only the number of originals (number of originals x number of copies). The circulation supply and conveyance are repeated. Due to its mechanism, the ADF has three indispensable operation processes of conveying, positioning (stopping), and ejecting the document. Among them, what is actually involved in the image forming operation is the document when the document is stopped. It is just a reading process. for that reason,
It takes a long time to sequentially circulate and convey a plurality of originals by the ADF to make a plurality of copies, and the copying speed is 2 / compared to the case where one original is continuously copied by the number of originals. It drops to 3 to 1/2.
As described above, the disadvantage that the processing speed is slow when a plurality of originals are copied using the circulating ADF has been one of the obstacles to the spread of the above-mentioned stacking position moving type post-processing apparatus. In such a post-processing device, although technical measures such as increasing the document conveyance speed have been made, if the document conveyance speed is increased too much, the positioning accuracy of the document is lowered, or the document conveyance abnormality occurs. Therefore, there is a limit to the time required to convey and read one original in the entire copying process, that is, the average original reading time, due to the increase in the original conveying speed. In addition to the above-mentioned documents, many conventional technologies have been developed from the viewpoints of diversification of copying functions or simplification of mechanism, and in particular, aiming at elimination of decrease in copying speed of a copying machine when using ADF. No prior art is known so far. Many image reading apparatuses used in image forming apparatuses such as copiers illuminate a document placed on a document reading table with a lamp and guide the reflected light onto a photoconductor, or once the light is read. After the information is converted into an electric signal, the electrophotographic process of exposing the surface of the photoconductor with the irradiation light modulated by the electric signal to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image is adopted. In this electrostatic photography process, according to the original reading method, (a) the entire original surface is illuminated and the original image is read at one time by the flash reading method, and (b) the main scanning line of the original is illuminated.
Two scanner reading methods are used, which sequentially scan the scanner unit scanning body in the sub-scanning direction. Generally, the latter scanner reading method that is low in price and requires a small occupied space is often used. ing. However, in this scanner reading method, since the exposure movement of the photoconductor and the scanning movement of the scanner unit are synchronized, the scanner unit scans the document surface only in one sub-scanning direction. The scanner unit that has completed the procedure cannot return to the scanning of the next document without returning to the initial standby position once. In other words, in the image reading device by the scanner reading method,
The reverse traveling movement of the scanner unit until it returns to the initial standby position is essentially a useless operation that does not contribute to image reading, and therefore causes loss of time in the image reading cycle. The present invention has been made to solve the above drawbacks in the prior art, and it is possible to reduce the size of an image reading apparatus equipped with an ADF, and at the same time, a loss time that does not directly contribute to the image reading operation within the image reading cycle. The objective is to speed up the entire image reading operation by shortening as much as possible.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes contact with the original reading surface by a predetermined movement by reciprocating movements of the original reading surfaces parallel to each other and the original reading surface of the scanning device. 1 is provided with a photoelectric conversion unit that scans one side of the document set at the reading position to read the document image and converts the light reflected from the document surface into an electric signal.
Two document reading units that share one scanning device, two document tables on which one or both of the document reading units sequentially carry documents are placed, and the document table is placed on the document table. The apparatus has an automatic document feeder that sequentially conveys documents to a document reading unit and sets them at the reading position. Preferably,
Between the one original reading unit and the other original reading unit, there is an original reversing unit that reverses the direction of the original with respect to the conveyance direction,
Further, the two original reading units change the optical path of one photoelectric conversion unit and the reflected light of the original from the original surface to the photoelectric conversion unit, and switch between the one original reading unit side and the other original reading unit side. The control device controls the automatic document feeder to alternately feed the documents from one document table toward the two document reading units, and the document reading operation in one document reading unit. When the document reading operation of the other document reading unit is started after the completion of the above, the optical path switching means is controlled to change the optical path of the reflected light from the document surface from one document reading unit side to the other document reading unit side. In addition, the two document reading units are controlled to alternately read the documents set at the predetermined reading positions of the two document reading units.

[0005]

The automatic document feeder sequentially conveys the documents placed on the two document trays to either one or both of the document reading units and sets them at the reading position. When the common scanning device scans one side of the document set at the reading position of the document reading surface of each document reading unit, the photoelectric conversion means converts the light reflected from the document surface into an electric signal. In the latter case, the control device controls the automatic document feeder to alternately feed the documents from one document table to the two document reading units, and at the document reversing unit as necessary. When the direction of the original with respect to the conveying direction is reversed and the original reading operation in one original reading unit ends and the original reading operation in the other original reading unit starts, the optical path switching unit is controlled to control the original surface. The optical path of the reflected light from is switched from one document reading unit side to the other document reading unit side, and two document reading units are controlled,
The originals set at the predetermined reading positions of the two original reading units are read alternately.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image reading portion of the copying machine, and FIG. 3 is a main portion of the image reading portion. It is the thing which shows the block diagram which shows schematic structure. As shown in FIG. 2, the copying machine according to the embodiment has an image reading unit I equipped with an ADF, an optical writing unit II that scans the surface of the photoconductor with a laser beam modulated by a recording signal, and a transfer sheet that has been conveyed. Image recording unit III for recording original images, large-capacity paper supply unit IV for accumulating large-capacity transfer paper and supplying the transfer paper to the image recording unit III one by one, sorting the image-transferred transfer paper, and binding processing It consists of a post-processing section V. In the image reading unit I, as will be described later, an original placed on the upper contact glass 101 or an ADF is used to form the upper contact glass 101.
The original supplied and placed under the upper or lower contact glass 102 is the upper lamp 129 or the lower lamp 130.
The charge-coupled solid-state image sensor (CCD) 132 reads the reflected light line by line and converts it into an image signal. The image signal is further converted into a digital signal, and then subjected to image processing to be recorded data as an optical writing unit.
Sent to II. In the optical writing section II, a laser light modulated by the recording data is emitted from a laser light emitting body (not shown), and the laser light is deflected by a polygon mirror rotated at a constant speed by a polygon motor 203 to be fθ lens 209 and a folding mirror. Photoconductor drum 2 through 204
02, the latent image of the recorded image corresponding to the original image is formed on the surface. In the image recording unit III, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum 202 is developed by the developing device 216 to become a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to the transfer charger 21.
By the action of 7, the paper feed cassettes 22 arranged in two stages inside the machine
No. 0, or a sheet reservoir 30 in a large-capacity sheet supply unit IV attached outside the machine, the transfer sheet is selectively transferred. After the transfer paper is separated from the photoconductor drum 202, it is heat-treated by the fixing device 207 to solidify the toner adhering to the surface. In the single-sided copy mode, the transfer sheet is ejected as it is toward the post-processing section V, but in the double-sided copy mode, the path is changed downward by the branching claw 205 provided in the middle of the ejection conveyance path, and the sheet is reversed. Part 20
1 and the reverse sensor 211 detects the reverse conveyance. In the case of the circulation re-feeding method, the transfer paper that has been reversed and conveyed is further diverted in the lateral direction by the branching claw 214, passes through the double-sided conveyance path 208, and is passed through the photosensitive drum 20.
It is re-fed to the second transfer position. In the case of the double-sided copy mode by the batch re-feeding method, the transfer sheet is sent to the reversing unit 201 and is reversed and conveyed, then the path is changed in the lateral direction by the branching claw 213, and is temporarily discharged to the standby tray 210. After being accumulated by the number of copies, the sheets are sequentially re-fed to the transfer position. In the post-processing section V, in the case of the standard mode, the transfer sheet sent from the image recording section III is conveyed by the conveying belt to the upper discharge roller and is discharged onto the discharge tray 21 arranged at the uppermost part. It In the case of the sorting and binding mode, the sheet is conveyed to the upper sheet discharging roller or the lower sheet discharging roller and sequentially discharged onto the designated bin tray 22, and post-processing such as sorting and binding is performed.

The construction and operation of the image reading section I relating to the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 showing enlarged views in the vicinity of intersections at four positions on the upper, lower, left and right sides of the document conveying path, and FIGS. 1 and 3. Detailed description. In this embodiment, an upper reading section 1 and a lower reading section 2 which are one of the characteristic points are vertically symmetrically arranged with a reading unit 3 interposed therebetween. The upper contact glass 101 and the lower contact glass 102 are arranged in parallel to each other closest to each other, and on the outer side thereof, the upper transport belt 103 and the lower transport belt 104 stretched over a plurality of belt transport rollers are provided. , 102 so as to be able to abut. At the right ends of the upper contact glass 101 and the lower contact glass 102, an upper abutting piece 105 and a lower abutting piece 106 for positioning and correcting an original are respectively provided on the conveying paths 10 by solenoids (not shown).
It is provided so as to be projectable in 20. The reading unit 3 is driven by a driving unit (not shown) and is movable in the arrow A or B direction. Each contact glass 10
The originals supplied to the upper original conveying path 10 and the lower original conveying path 20 between the first and second conveying belts 103 and 104 are placed on the upper original table 107 and the lower original table 108.
The document read by the upper reading unit 1 or the lower reading unit 2 is discharged to one of the upper document discharging tray 111, the lower left document discharging tray 112, and the lower right document discharging tray 126. The upper document transport path 10 and the lower document transport path 20 are connected by left and right intermediate transport paths 11 and 12. At the intersection a between the upper document conveyance path 10 and the right intermediate conveyance path 12, branching claws 117 and 118 for changing the course of the original document are similarly provided at the intersection b between the upper document conveyance path 10 and the left intermediate conveyance path 11. Is a branch claw 115, 12
8 is provided with a branching claw 119 at the intersection c between the lower original conveying path 10 and the right intermediate conveying path 12, and a branching claw 116 is provided at the intersection d between the lower original conveying path 10 and the left intermediate conveying path 11. (See FIGS. 5 to 8). As shown in FIG. 7, a drive rod that is driven by a solenoid and is capable of reciprocating movement is connected to each branch claw, and each solenoid is energized and controlled by a controller.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reading unit 3 has a support roller 30 rotatably provided in the vicinity of upper and lower corners of the housing.
1, 302, 303, 304 are axially fixed, and these supporting rollers 301, 302, 303, 304 are brought into contact with the upper contact glass 101 and the lower contact glass 102, respectively, and rotate, so that the reading unit 3 is rotated. Can be moved in the left and right directions (arrows A and B).
In the non-reading operation, the reading unit 3 has each contact glass 1
01, 102 Stand by at the standby position near the left end. A CCD 132 that receives the reflected light of the original is attached to the center of a vertical frame 305 supported by the housing of the reading unit 3, and immediately before that, a lens array 131 that converges the reflected light of the original and forms an image at an equal magnification is arranged. It is set up. Further, in front of the lens array 131, an up / down switching mirror 133 for refracting the reflected light of the original at a right angle and guiding it to the lens array 131 is provided by a mirror switching solenoid 134 so as to be rotatable by 90 ° with respect to the optical axis of the lens array 131. ing. When the up / down switching mirror 133 is located in the direction of the solid line (upward U) shown in FIG. 3, the reflected light of the document read by the upper reading unit 1 is guided, and in the direction of the broken line (downward D). Is configured to guide the reflected light of the document read by the lower reading unit 2. As described above, in the present embodiment including the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2 with the reading unit 3 sandwiched between the upper and lower symmetrical positions, for example, the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2 are alternately arranged. By feeding the document and switching the up / down switching mirror 133 between upward U and downward D in synchronization with it, an efficient document reading operation becomes possible.

Next, the document reading operation of the image reading section I will be described. In the present embodiment, any original placed on the upper original table 107 and the lower original table 108 is read by the upper reading unit 1.
Alternatively, it is configured so that it can be conveyed to the lower reading unit 2 and read. For example, when it is desired to copy the lower surface of the original placed on the upper original table 107, the take-in roller 1
It is also possible to send the original taken in by 23 to the upper conveyance path 10 as it is and read it by the upper reading unit 1, but the branching claw 117,
By switching 118 (solid line position in FIG. 5), right intermediate conveyance path 1
2 is opened to feed the document downward, and after being conveyed to the reversing path 13, the conveyance roller 122 is reversely rotated by the document rear end detection signal of the lower right sensor 149, and the vertically reversed document is conveyed to the lower conveyance path 20. It can also be sent and read by the lower reading unit 2. In this case, the read document is stored in the evacuation path 1.
4. The sheet is discharged onto the upper document discharge tray 111 via the left intermediate conveyance path 11. When it is desired to copy the upper surface of the original placed on the upper original table 107, the original taken in by the take-in roller 123 is sent to the upper conveyance path 10 as it is, and the upper reading unit 1 is operated.
Continue to be conveyed, the branching claws 115 and 128 are switched to open the left intermediate conveying path 11 (position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6), and the original is fed downward and is conveyed to the retracting path 14, and then the conveying roller 125 is moved. The document is reversely rotated, and the document is sent to the lower conveyance path 20 without being turned upside down and read by the lower reading unit 2. Therefore, when copying a double-sided original, for example, the original placed on the upper original table 107 is taken in by the take-in roller 123 and sent to the upper conveyance path 10 as it is, and the upper reading unit 1 is used.
To move the reading unit 3 in the direction of the arrow B to read the lower surface of the original, and then to carry the original into the lower evacuation path 14 via the left intermediate conveyance path 11, and then reversely rotate the conveyance roller 127 to lower the original. The time required for conveying the document and for returning the reading unit to the standby position by feeding the document to the conveyance path 20 and causing the lower reading unit 2 to reversely move the reading unit 3 in the direction of arrow A to read the upper surface of the document. Can be significantly shortened.

A specific reading operation of the upper reading unit 1 will be described in detail. For example, when the original set sensor 109 detects an original placed on the upper original table 107, the take-in roller 123 starts rotating. Then, the document placed at the lowest position is taken in and is transported to the downstream side of the transport path together with other transport rollers. The upper conveying belt 103 is guided by the sideways branching claw 117 (the position of the broken line in FIG. 5), and the upper conveying path 10 is moved.
When the upper right sensor 120 detects the passage of the trailing edge of the document conveyed while being pressed by the upper contact glass 101 in the direction of arrow A, the upper contact piece 105 is driven by the solenoid to move the upper conveyance path 10. Then, the upper conveying belt 103 is slightly run backward, so that the rear end of the original is brought into contact with the protruding upper abutting piece 105 to perform the positioning and the inclination correction of the original. When the positioning of the document is completed, the up / down switching mirror 133 of the reading unit 3 in the standby position is oriented upward U, and then the upper lamp 129 is turned on to move the reading unit 3 in the direction of the arrow B and reflect the reflected light of the document on the CCD 132. The light receiving operation is started, and the reflected light of the document is reflected by the upper contact glass 101, the up / down switching mirror 133, and the lens array 1.
When the light enters the CCD 132 via 31, the document images are sequentially read. The reading unit 3 that has moved to the right end of the document and has completed the document reading operation in the upper reading unit 1.
Next, if the lower reading unit 2 subsequently plans to read the next document, it stops at that position, and if there is no schedule, it moves in the direction of arrow A and returns to the standby position.

In the single-sided copy mode, the read document is guided by the laterally diverging claw 115 (the position of the broken line in FIG. 6) and discharged onto the upper document discharge tray 111. In the case of the double-sided copy mode, the branch claw 115 stands up and the branch claw 128 rotates clockwise (solid line position in FIG. 6), so that the left intermediate conveyance path 11 is opened and the branch claw 116 is rotated counterclockwise. By rotating in the direction (solid line position in FIG. 7),
The withdrawal path 14 opens. When the document whose bottom surface has been read is carried into the retreat path 14 via the left intermediate conveyance path 11 and the passage of its rear end is detected by the lower left sensor 114, the branch claw 11
6 rotates in the clockwise direction (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 7) to open the lower conveyance path 20, and the conveyance roller 127 rotates in the reverse direction to send the document along the lower conveyance path 20 in the direction of arrow B.
Hereinafter, the upper surface of the original is read by the reading operation of the lower reading unit 2 similar to the original reading operation of the upper reading unit 1. The read document passes through the reversing path 13, the passage is detected by the right discharge sensor 125, and then the document is discharged onto the lower right document discharge tray 126. Similarly, the original placed on the lower original table 108 is taken in by the take-in roller 124 and conveyed to the downstream side of the conveying path. However, the original is once reversed by the branching claw 119 arranged at the solid line position in FIG. The sheet is fed to the path 13, then reversely conveyed, and then conveyed to the lower conveyance path 20 as it is through the right intermediate conveyance path 12 by the upper conveyance path 10 or the branch claw 119 in the position of the broken line in FIG. .. In this way, when the original placed on the lower original table 108 and the original placed on the upper original table 107 are conveyed and fed to the reading unit 1 from the direction of arrow A, the reading surfaces are opposite to each other. Become. That is, the lower surface of the original placed on the upper original table 107 is read, and the upper surface of the original placed on the lower original table 108 is read. On the other hand, the same applies when the original is read by the lower reading unit 2, but the original supplied from the upper original table 107 and the lower original table 108 is sent to the lower reading section 2 via the right intermediate conveyance path 12 and the reversing path 13. While the lower surface of the original is read, the upper original table 1 is read as described above.
07 from the upper conveyance path 10, the left intermediate conveyance path 11, and the retreat path 14 to the lower conveyance path 20 of the lower reading unit 2 in the direction of arrow B, the original document placed on the upper document table 107 The upper surface of is read. As described above, in this embodiment, the desired surface of the original can be read by appropriately selecting the original table on which the original is to be placed and the transport path. Although not shown, in the reading unit 3, the reading unit drive motor rotationally drives a pulley, on which wires fixed to the front and rear surfaces of the housing are spanned, by a driving force transmission mechanism, so that the arrow A Alternatively, it can be moved in the B direction.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram showing the outline of the overall control of the digital copying machine according to this embodiment. The outline of control of the copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings. Sequence control unit 50
Controls the image reading unit I in addition to the image recording drive system control unit 53 that controls the drive system of the image recording unit III that forms the main part of the copying machine main body and the process control unit 54 that controls the electrostatic photography process. A scanner control unit 51, an optical writing control unit 52 that controls the optical writing unit II, an ADF control unit 56 that controls the ADF, a sorter control unit 55 that controls the post-processing unit V,
The operation unit 57 including various touch keys provided on the operation panel is comprehensively managed and controlled. The scanner control unit 51 turns on and off the upper and lower lamps 129 and 130 for illuminating the original, turns on and off the reading unit (scanner) drive motor that drives the reading unit 3 in the directions of arrows A and B, and the up / down switching mirror. ON / OFF of the mirror switching solenoid 134 for changing the direction of 133, CCD 132
The reading of the reflected light of the document is controlled respectively. The image signal of the original read by the reading unit 3 of the image reading unit I is sent to the image processing unit 58 and converted into digital data, and then subjected to shading correction, γ correction, binarization processing, electric scaling processing, and the like. Then, it is sent as a recording signal to the optical writing control unit 52 of the optical writing unit II. In the present embodiment, since high-speed image recording is supported, a frame memory is not provided, and the image data subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 58 is output as it is as a recording signal. The optical writing control unit 52 causes the laser diode (LD) to emit light in a modulated manner in accordance with the recording signal, and also transmits a synchronization signal synchronized with the optical writing to each device that executes the electrostatographic process. The ADF control unit 56 provides a separation motor, an upper conveyance belt 103, and a lower conveyance belt 104, which drive a separation roller 139 that applies a conveyance force to the captured original document in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction to separate and convey the originals one by one. A branch claw switching solenoid that controls the rotation of the upper and lower transport motors that drive the belt transport rollers that are respectively bridged, and that also rotates the branch claws provided in the branch paths of each document transport path according to the copy mode. Control the energization of. In such a control circuit, the touch key of the operation unit 57 is operated to determine whether the one-sided original or the two-sided original
When the composite mode or the interrupt mode is selected, and the number of copies is set by the ten keys and input, the sequence control unit 50 causes the sequence control unit 50 to execute a pre-installed program according to various setting information sent from the operation unit 57. The subordinate control units are controlled according to the sequence of. Each control unit that performs serial transmission / reception of signals with the sequence control unit 50 performs control unique to the accessory device.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in which two CCDs are provided and two originals can be read at the same time. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a reading unit of an image reading unit I of a digital copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a circuit block diagram showing an outline of overall control of the copying machine, and FIG. Is a block diagram showing the main parts in detail,
FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of the up / down switching circuit. As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the reading unit 3 has the upper CCD 14 at the center of the upper and lower surfaces of the horizontal frame 144, respectively.
2. The lower CCD 143 is attached, and the lens array 1 is provided between them and the upper and lower contact glasses 101, 102.
40 and 141 are provided to converge the reflected light of the document illuminated by the upper lamp 145 or the lower lamp 146 on the upper and lower CCDs 142 and 143, respectively. Other configurations of the reading unit 3 are similar to those of the first embodiment. 10 showing the overall control of the copying machine is different from FIG. 9 in that the CCD 132 and the mirror switching solenoid 134 are replaced and two upper and lower CCDs 142 and 143 are controlled. As shown in FIG. 11, the operation unit 57
The operation setting information such as various modes input by operating the key input unit or the touch pen or the like is transmitted to the operation setting unit 61 of the sequence control unit 50, and the operation setting is performed there according to a program installed in advance, and the operation is performed. An operation control signal is transmitted to each subordinate control unit based on the setting. Each control unit controls the operation of the drive mechanism or the like of each auxiliary device according to the received operation control signal. The image signal of the document read by the upper and lower CCDs 142 and 143 of the reading unit 3 of the image reading unit I is transmitted to the image processing unit 58 via the up / down switching circuit 60 in the scanner control unit. As shown in FIG. 12, the internal circuit of the up / down switching circuit 60 has upper and lower CCs.
The image signals read by D142 and 143 are A
The signals are input to the D / D converters 62 and 63 and converted into digital data, and these are converted as parallel signals into the upper selection circuit 64,
And to the lower selection circuit 65. The upper selection circuit 64 and the lower selection circuit 65 respectively have an upper active signal UA.
The C and lower active signals DAC are input, and either the upper or lower image data is selectively switched by either of the low level signals, for example, one screen, one line, or within a certain range within the line. Is output. That is, by controlling the upper active signal UAC and the lower active signal DAC, for example, the images read by the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 are overlapped, or the lower reading unit 2 is placed in an area where the image read by the upper reading unit 1 exists. The image read in can be output as a combined image fitted.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 51, the operation of the copying machine when various copying modes are selected by the operation unit 57 in the present embodiment, with particular attention paid to the manner of carrying originals and transfer sheets. A detailed description will be given for each copy mode. In these figures, (a) is the operating state of the image reading unit I,
(b) shows the operating state of the image recording section III. (1) Single-sided original-single-sided copy (mode i) [1 copy] When an original is placed on the upper original table 107 and the copy start button on the operation panel is pressed, the ADF of the image reading unit I is pressed.
Starts to operate and the take-in roller 123 takes in the first document and starts to convey it toward the intersection a, at the same time,
In the image recording unit III, the first transfer sheet is taken out from the paper feed cassette 220 and starts to be conveyed toward the transfer unit. Separation roller 139 temporarily rotates (reverses) in the clockwise direction to separate the document, and after a predetermined time, switches the rotation in the counterclockwise direction (normal rotation) to send the document to upper document transport path 10 (see FIG. 15). The upper conveyance belt 103, which has already started rotating, receives the original document and conveys it onto the upper contact glass 101 along the upper original conveyance path 10. When the trailing edge of the document passes over the upper abutting piece 105, the upper conveyance belt 10
The upper abutting piece 1 in which 3 is reversed and protrudes into the upper original conveying path 10
The document is abutted against 05, the document is positioned and the skew is corrected, and the document setting is completed. When the trailing edge of the first document passes the separation roller 139, the take-in roller 1
23 takes in the second document and sends it to the separation roller 139. At this time, the branch claws 117 and 118 of the intersection a are switched so as to open the right intermediate conveyance path 12 side.
The second document is guided to the branching claw 119 of the intersection c through the right intermediate conveyance path 12 and conveyed to the reversing path 13. At this time, the second transfer sheet is taken out from the sheet feeding cassette 220. When the first transfer sheet reaches the transfer position below the photoconductor drum 202, the reading unit 3 starts moving in the direction of arrow B, and the upper lamp 145 is turned on to read the first document and expose it. A latent image of the first original image is formed on the body drum 202 (see FIG. 16). As the photosensitive drum 202 rotates, the latent image becomes a toner image due to the developing action of the developing device 216, and is eventually transferred onto the first sheet of transfer paper. When the lower right sensor 149 of the reversing path 13 detects the trailing edge of the second document, the branch claw 119 rotates to open the lower transport path 20 side, and the transport roller 122 rotates in the reverse direction to rotate the two sheets. The eye original is conveyed toward the lower conveyance path 20. When the second document is set at a fixed position below the lower contact glass 102 by the same operation as the upper reading unit 1,
The reading unit 3 stopped at the right end position runs in the reverse direction and starts moving in the direction of arrow A to read the second original document and form a latent image of the second original image on the photosensitive drum 202. Let The first original read by the upper reading unit 1 is discharged onto the upper original discharge tray 111, and the take-in roller 123 takes in the third original (see FIG. 17).

Thereafter, the reciprocating movement reading of the above-mentioned reading unit 3 and the alternate feeding of the original placed on the upper original table 107 to the upper reading section 1 and the lower reading section 2 enable the high-speed single-sided copying of a single-sided original. Is performed (see FIGS. 18 and 19). In this way, in this embodiment, when the single-sided copy mode is selected,
In the conventional reading device for performing one-way movement reading, the reading reference position of the original is aligned and the reciprocating movement reading of the reading unit 3 is performed by setting the installation positions of the upper and lower abutting pieces 105 and 106 to be the same in the upper and lower positions. The return operation to the standby position is unnecessary, the return movement time that does not contribute to reading by the reading unit is omitted, and high-speed copying is possible. Figure 5
Reference numeral 2 (i-1) indicates the reading order by associating the scanning movement direction of the reading unit 3 in the copy mode with the page number of the original read by the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2. In the figure, the numbers surrounded by squares represent original pages being copied. 57 and 58 are timing charts of control signals related to document reading and transfer sheet conveyance when the single-sided original-single-sided single-sheet copy mode is selected in the copying machine according to the conventional example, in the case of manual document feeding and ADF sheet feeding. Are shown respectively. In each case, an example in which A4 size paper is fed laterally is shown. As can be seen from the figure, the time required for the document reading cycle is 950 ms for manual document feeding and 1432 ms for ADF feeding. Figure 5
Similarly, FIG. 5 shows a timing chart of control signals related to document reading and transfer sheet conveyance in the copying machine according to the present embodiment in the case of ADF sheet feeding. As shown in the figure, since the time required to read four originals and form an image is 3320 ms, the time required for the reading cycle per original is 3320/4 = 830 m.
It can be seen that the copy operation efficiency is improved by 70% or more as compared with the conventional example.

[Multiple Copy] In this embodiment, when the multiple copy mode is selected, the reading unit 3 reciprocates,
The upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2 alternately read and copy the document of the consecutive number, so that when the document is conveyed to the reading unit,
By effectively utilizing the wasteful waiting time required for moving the document and the reading unit 3 when the reading unit 3 is returned to the standby position,
Other originals can be read to reduce the time required for copying as a whole, and as a result, high-speed copying can be realized. Similar to the case of one copy, the first original is read by the upper reading unit 1, is transferred onto the fed first transfer sheet, and the second original is read by the lower reading unit 2. When the second original is transferred onto the second transfer sheet, the first original and the second original are not conveyed and the upper and lower contact glasses 10 are not conveyed.
The reading unit 3 is fixed to the reading positions 1 and 102, and the reading unit 3 reciprocates by the required number of copies to alternately read the images and successively copy the images onto the transfer paper. When the operation of reading the required number of copies of each document is completed, the third document and the fourth document to be read next are sequentially taken in in the same manner as in the case of making one copy, and the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 1 respectively. When the originals are conveyed to the reading unit 2, a plurality of copies of those originals are performed in exactly the same manner as the copying operation of the first original and the second original. Figure 52
(i-2) shows the document reading order in the multiple copy mode. When this mode is selected, the post-processing unit V
If used together, it is possible to prevent the page order of ejected copies from becoming unequal. The method of discharging to the bin tray 22 is, for example, that the first original and the second original are continuously ejected to the first bin tray 22, the next tray is moved to the next bin tray 22, and so on. After ejecting two copies of each copy to page 22, return to the first bin tray 22, eject the copies of the third and fourth originals, and repeat the above operation to output the pages Sorting can be done in order.

(2) Single-sided original-double-sided copy (mode ii) [1 sheet copy] Similar to the case of single-sided copy, the upper original table 10
When a document is placed on the control panel 7 and the copy start button on the operation panel is pressed, the ADF of the image reading unit I starts to operate, and the take-in roller 123 takes in the first document and moves it upward from the intersection a. Simultaneously with the start of the conveyance toward the document conveyance path 10, the image recording section III takes out the first transfer sheet from the sheet feeding cassette 220 and starts the conveyance toward the transfer section (see FIG. 20).
When the trailing edge of the first document passes the separation roller 139,
The take-in roller 123 takes in the second document and sends it to the separation roller 139. At this time, the branch claw 11 of the intersection a
7, 118 are switched so as to open the right intermediate conveyance path 12 side. The second document is guided to the branching claw 119 of the intersection c through the right intermediate conveyance path 12 and conveyed to the reversing path 13. When the first transfer sheet reaches the transfer position below the photoconductor drum 202, the reading unit 3 starts moving in the direction of arrow B, and the upper lamp 145 is turned on to read the first document and expose it. A latent image of the first original image is formed on the body drum 202 (see FIG. 21). When the first original is read and copied to the first transfer sheet,
Immediately, the first original is conveyed and discharged to the upper original discharge tray 111 side. At the same time, the third original is taken in and the conveyance toward the upper original conveyance path 10 is started. At the same time, the reading unit 3 returns to the left reading start position. To start. The second document is conveyed from the reversing path 13 to the reading position of the lower reading section 2 through the lower document conveying path 20. On the other hand, the first transfer sheet having the image recorded on one side is diverted downward by the branching claw 205 provided in the middle of the discharge conveyance path, and the reversing unit 201 is provided.
Sent to. At this time, the second transfer paper is the paper feed cassette 2
20 (see FIG. 22). When the third document is set at the document reading position on the upper contact glass 101, the reading unit 3 that has returned to the left reading start position moves in the direction of arrow B to read the document, and then read it.
Make a copy on the second transfer paper that has reached the transfer position of III.
When the trailing edge of the first transfer sheet sent to the reversing unit 201 is detected by the reversing sensor 211, the first transfer sheet is reversed and conveyed.
The path is changed in the lateral direction by the branching claw 214, and the paper is re-fed toward the transfer position of the photosensitive drum 202 via the double-sided conveyance path 208 (see FIG. 23). When the reading of the third document is completed, the reading unit 3 reverses from the right movement limit point and moves in the direction of arrow A, and the second document already set at the document reading position of the lower reading unit 2 is read. Start reading. At this time, in the image recording unit III, the first transfer sheet is reversed, re-fed and reaches the transfer position, and the image of the second original is copied on the back surface thereof. The second transfer sheet is diverted downward by a branching claw 205 provided in the middle of the discharge transport path, and sent to the reversing unit 201 (see FIG. 24).

Thereafter, the odd-numbered originals are alternately conveyed to the upper reading unit 1 and the even-numbered originals are conveyed to the lower reading unit 2 to be read, and the images thereof are transferred from the paper feeding cassette 220 respectively. Copies are made on the front surface and the back surface of the paper (see FIGS. 25 and 26). In the conventional copying machine, after copying the first document on the surface of the transfer paper, the image forming operation had to be interrupted and waited until it was re-fed to the transfer section via the double-sided conveyance path. In the present embodiment, since the reading unit 3 reciprocates and reads the original document conveyed and set to the other reading unit in the meantime, the original document is fed by the ADF since the original document is copied on the front surface and the back surface of the transfer paper. The waiting time between the reverse conveyance of the transfer sheet and the waiting time until the next reading by the reading unit can be significantly reduced. FIG. 53 (ii-1) shows a document reading order in the one-sided document-two-sided one-sheet copy mode. Note that, as shown in FIGS. 24 to 26, if the document read by the reading unit is immediately discharged to the upper document discharge tray 111, the page order of the discharged document will be out of order. Therefore, as a method for ejecting the original without page deviation, it is preferable to wait for the originals that have been read at each reading position for a while and eject the originals in the page order. This method is illustrated in the order of reading originals in FIGS. 27 to 3.
It is 4. FIG. 53 (ii-2) shows the order of reading a single-sided original without double-page copying and double-sided copying. However, in this method, as can be seen from FIG. 53 (ii-2), the reading speed becomes slow as a whole because of waiting for page alignment. In order to discharge the originals in a page order while maintaining a high reading speed, the originals that have been read are moved from the original reading position, but are not discharged to the upper original discharge tray 111 as they are. It suffices to wait at the intermediate position and arrange the pages in order to discharge the sheets. That is,
As shown in FIG. 13, the document read by the upper reading unit 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow A and is made to stand by in the vicinity of the intersection b, and the document read by the lower reading unit 2 is transferred from the retreat path 14 to the left intermediate conveyance path 11.
The two originals are ejected together after being waited for to be conveyed to the.

[Multiple Copy: 1] First, a multiple copy method by circulating re-feeding of transfer paper will be described. Upper platen 107
The first document is taken from and is conveyed to the document reading position of the upper reading unit 1, the document is read and the copy is made on the first transfer sheet, and the document is stopped at the document reading position as it is, and one side is printed. The first transfer sheet on which the image is formed is sent to the reversing unit 201. When conveyance of the first document to the upper reading unit 1 is completed,
Immediately, the second original is taken in and the conveyance to the lower reading unit 2 is started. While the first transfer sheet is sent to the reversing unit 201 and is re-fed to the transfer unit via the double-sided conveyance path 208, the second transfer sheet is conveyed to the transfer unit and the first transfer sheet is transferred. The original is copied on one side and sent to the reversing unit 201. Next, the second original document conveyed to the lower reading unit 2 and set is copied on the back surface of the first transfer sheet re-fed to the transfer unit via the double-sided conveyance path 208. The first transfer sheet, which has been copied on both sides, is conveyed toward the post-processing section V and discharged. While the second transfer sheet is sent to the reversing unit 201 to be reversed and re-fed, the third transfer sheet is conveyed to the transfer unit, the first original is copied on one side, and the reversing unit is performed. Sent to 201. After that,
The first and second originals are alternately copied on the front and back sides of the transfer paper, and the first original is repeatedly copied until the required number of copies is reached, and then the first original is read upward. The document is ejected from the unit 1 and the third document is taken in. Similarly, when the second original is completely copied on the back surface of the transfer paper fed to the reversing unit 201 and re-fed, the second original is ejected and the fourth original is taken. In this way, the odd-numbered originals are alternately conveyed to the upper reading unit 1, and the even-numbered originals are alternately conveyed to the lower reading unit 2, and the reading unit 3 reciprocally reads the set originals to read the read images. Copy on the front and back of the transfer paper alternately. FIG. 53 (ii-3) shows the document reading order in the single-sided original-double-sided multiple copy mode.

[Multiple Copy: 2] Next, a multiple copy method by the batch re-feeding method of transfer paper will be described. Upper manuscript table 1
The first original from 07 is taken and conveyed to the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1, the original is read and copied onto the first transfer sheet, and the original is stopped as it is at the original reading position. The transfer sheet of the first sheet is sent to the reversing unit 201, and then is reversed, the course of the sheet is changed in the lateral direction by the branch claw 213, and the sheet is discharged to the standby tray 210. After that, new transfer papers are fed one after another to copy the required number of copies of the first original, and the original is conveyed to the standby tray 210 via the reversing unit 201 and accumulated. In the meantime, the second document is conveyed to the lower reading unit 2 and set at the document reading position. When the required number of copies of the first original is completed, the original is ejected to the upper original ejection tray 111 and the third original is taken into the upper reading unit 1 and set. When the document is set at the document reading position by the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2, the reading unit 3 reciprocates to alternately read the second document and the third document. When reading the third original, a new transfer paper is fed, and when reading the second original, the front and back inverted transfer paper accumulated on the standby tray 210 is fed and read. Copy each image. The transfer sheet that has been copied on both sides is discharged to the post-processing section V, and the transfer sheet that has been copied on only one side is sent to the reversing section 201. After that, the above operation is repeated.

(3) Double-sided original-single-sided copy (mode iii) [1 sheet copy] When a double-sided original is placed on the upper original table 107 and the copy start button on the operation panel is pressed, the take-in roller 12
At the same time, 3 starts to take the first original and conveys it to the upper original conveyance path 10, and at the same time, takes out the first transfer paper from the paper feed cassette 220 and starts conveying it to the transfer section (see FIG. 35). .. When the first original is set at the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 and the first transfer sheet reaches the transfer position,
The reading unit 3 starts moving in the direction of the arrow B, reads the lower surface of the first original, and forms a latent image of the first original image on the photosensitive drum 202 (see FIG. 36). Immediately after the first document is read and copied onto the first transfer sheet, the first document is immediately discharged toward the retreat path 14 and conveyed. In parallel with this, the second original is taken in and the conveyance toward the upper original conveyance path 10 is started (FIG. 3).
7). The first original is pulled out from the evacuation path 14,
When the document is set at the document reading position below the lower contact glass 102, the reading unit 3 reverses from the right movement limit point and starts moving in the direction of arrow A, and the upper surface of the first document is read to read the second document. Copy on the transfer paper (see FIG. 38). When the reading of the upper surface of the first document is completed, the first document is discharged to the lower right document discharge tray 126, the reading unit 3 moves in the direction of arrow B, and the document reading position of the upper reading unit 1 has already been reached. The reading of the lower surface of the second original set in (1) is started (see FIG. 39). After that, the original taken in from the upper original table 107 is conveyed to the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 and the original reading position of the lower reading unit 2 via the retreat path 14.
Scanning is sequentially performed by the reciprocating movement of the reading unit 3, each image is sequentially copied onto one surface of the transfer paper fed from the paper feed cassette 220, and the copied transfer paper passes through the discharge conveyance path and the post-processing unit. It is conveyed toward V (Fig. 4
0, see FIG. 41). FIG. 54 (iii) shows the document reading order in the double-sided original-single-sided single-sheet copy mode.

[Multiple Copy] The first original is taken from the upper original table 107 and conveyed to the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 to read the lower surface of the original and copy the first transfer sheet to one side. .. The original is stopped at the original reading position as it is, and after the reading unit 3 is quickly returned to the initial standby position,
Move to the next reading operation and feed the transfer paper one after another 1
Copy the required number of copies of the underside of the first document and eject it.
When the required number of copies of the first document is completed, the evacuation path 1
The sheet is conveyed to the lower reading section 2 via 4 and set at the original reading position. In the meantime, the second document is taken into the upper reading unit 1 and set at the document reading position. When the first document and the second document are set at the document reading positions of the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2, the reading unit 3 reciprocates to move the second document lower surface and the first document upper surface. Are read alternately and copied one after another onto newly fed transfer paper. The transfer sheet that has been copied is discharged to the post-processing unit V. After that, the same document conveyance to the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 and the copying operation on one side of the transfer paper are repeated. In the post-processing section V, copies of the lower surface of the first document are stacked in the bin trays 22 one after another.
Two copies of the upper copy of the first original and the lower copy of the second original are discharged onto each bin tray 22.
After that, the discharging operation onto each bin tray 22 for every two sets is repeated.

(4) Double-sided original-double-sided copy (mode iv) [1 copy] When a double-sided original is placed on the upper original table 107 and the copy start button on the operation panel is pressed, the take-in roller 12
At the same time, 3 takes in the first original and starts to convey it toward the upper original conveyance path 10, and at the same time, it takes out the first transfer paper from the paper feed cassette 220 and starts to convey it toward the transfer section (see FIG. 42). ). When the first original is set at the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 and the first transfer sheet reaches the transfer position, the reading unit 3 starts moving in the arrow B direction, and
Scan the lower surface of the first original and place it on the photosensitive drum 202.
A latent image of the first original image is formed (see FIG. 43). 1
When the lower surface of the first original is read and copying is completed on one side of the first transfer paper fed from the paper feed cassette 220,
The first original document is immediately discharged toward the evacuation path 14 and conveyed. At the same time, the reading unit 3 is returned to the initial standby position at a high speed, the second document is taken in, and the conveyance toward the upper document conveyance path 10 is started (FIG. 4).
4). The first transfer sheet copied on one side is conveyed toward the double-sided conveyance path 208. When the second document is set at the document reading position of the upper reading unit 1, the reading unit 3 that has returned to the initial standby position at high speed starts moving in the direction of arrow B, and is already at the document reading position of the upper reading unit 1. The lower surface of the second original set is read and copied onto one side of the second transfer paper conveyed to the transfer position, and the first original is pulled out from the retreat path 14 (see FIG. 45). .. When the first original is set at the original reading position under the lower contact glass 102, the reading unit 3 reverses from the right movement limit point and starts moving in the direction of arrow A, and the upper surface of the first original is moved. The image is read and copied onto the back surface of the first sheet of the re-fed paper via the double-sided conveyance path 208. Next, the second original whose bottom surface has been read is conveyed to the evacuation path 14, and
The third original is taken in (see FIG. 46). When the reading of the upper surface of the first original is completed, the first original is ejected to the lower right original ejection tray 126. When the third original is set at the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1, the reading unit 3 that has returned to the initial standby position moves in the direction of arrow B, and
Reading of the lower surface of the first original is started, and copying is performed on one side of the third transfer sheet fed to the transfer position (see FIG. 47). After that, the original taken in from the upper original table 107 is placed at the original reading position of the upper reading section 1, the retreat path 14, and the lower reading section 2.
Of the transfer paper sequentially fed to the original reading position and the reading by the reciprocating movement of the reading unit 3, and the images read by the respective reading units are fed on one side and both sides of the transfer sheet fed from the paper feeding cassette 220. Alternately copied on the back surface of the transfer paper re-fed through the path 208, the transfer paper copied on both sides is discharged and conveyed to the post-processing unit V (FIGS. 48 and 49).
reference). FIG. 54 (iv-1) shows the order of reading originals in the double-sided original-double-sided single copy mode.

FIGS. 59 and 56 are timing charts of control signals related to document reading and transfer sheet conveyance in the double-sided original-double-sided single-sheet copy mode in the copying machine according to the conventional example and the present embodiment. Each case is shown. In each case, an example in which A4 size paper is fed laterally is shown. In the conventional example, the lower surface of the document fed by the ADF is read and copied on one side of the fed transfer sheet, and then the document is conveyed, inverted, and re-fed to the document reading position. Since it took a long time for the transfer sheet copied on one side to be re-fed to the transfer position via the double-sided transport path 208, the processing speed of double-sided document copying by ADF feeding was significantly slowed down. In the present embodiment, since the reading and copying operations of other originals are performed during the conveying and reversing operations of the originals, the overall processing speed of double-sided original copying by ADF feeding is greatly improved. As can be seen from FIGS. 56 and 59,
In the conventional example, the time required for the original reading cycle is 4570 ms for one double-sided original, and therefore it is 2285 ms, which is half that for one side of the double-sided original. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the time required for the original reading cycle is 3950 ms for two double-sided originals, the time required for one side of the double-sided original is 3950/4 =
It is 987.5 ms, which shows that the copy operation efficiency is more than doubled as compared with the conventional example.

[Multiple Copy: 1] First, a multiple copy method by re-feeding in circulation will be described. In this method, the upper reading unit 1
Reading of the lower surface of the first original at the original reading position, conveyance of the first original to the original reading position of the lower reading unit 2, reading of the upper surface, and reading of the second original to be read next. 1
The same conveyance and reading of the upper and lower surfaces as the first original, the conveyance of the third original to the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 and the reading of the lower surface thereof are performed in the same manner as in the case of the above-described one-sheet copy. ..
When the reading of the lower surface of the third original is completed, the third original is conveyed to the retreat path 14, and the first original passes through the right intermediate conveyance path 12 to the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 again. Be transported. In the meantime, reading of the upper surface of the second document already set at the document reading position of the lower reading unit 2 is started (see FIG. 50). Next, the lower surface of the first original is read at the original reading position of the upper reading unit 1 and is conveyed toward the retreat path 14 to the original reading position of the lower reading unit 2 of the third original. The conveyance and the reading of the upper surface thereof are performed (see FIG. 51), and thus, the first to third originals are circulated between the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2 to perform the required number of double-sided copies. After that, the operation for copying the next three originals is repeated. FIG. 54 (iv-2) shows a document reading order in the double-sided original-double-sided multiple copy mode.

[Multiple Copy: 2] Next, a multiple copy method by the batch re-feeding method of transfer paper will be described. Upper manuscript table 1
The first original from 07 is read, the back side of the original is read by the upper reading unit 1, and one side of the first transfer sheet is copied. Then, the original is stopped at the original reading position as it is and is copied on one side. The first transfer sheet is sent to the reversing unit 201, is then reversed, and is ejected to the standby tray 210. After that, new transfer papers are fed one after another to copy the required number of copies of the first original, and the original is conveyed to the standby tray 210 via the reversing unit 201 and accumulated. Immediately after copying the required number of copies of the first original, the first original is ejected, conveyed to the retreat path 14, and further conveyed to the lower reading unit 2 to be set at the original reading position. In the meantime, the second document is taken into the upper reading unit 1 and set. When the originals have been set at the original reading positions in the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2, respectively, the reading unit 3 reciprocates to alternately read the lower surface of the second original and the upper surface of the first original and convey them. Copy it on the transfer paper. A new transfer paper is fed when reading the lower surface of the second original, and a standby tray 21 when reading the upper surface of the first original.
Inverted transfer paper accumulated at 0 is fed to copy the original image. The transfer sheet that has been copied on both sides is discharged to the post-processing section V, and the transfer sheet that has been copied on only one side is sent to the reversing section 201. After that, the above operation is repeated.

(5) Synthetic Copy (Mode v) [Combination Copy] Next, a mode in which one image obtained by combining the images of two originals is copied onto a transfer sheet will be described. Place two originals for which images are to be combined on the upper manuscript table 107 and the lower manuscript table 108 respectively, select the combination combination copy mode key on the operation panel and press it to specify the combination area, and then copy. When the start button is pressed, the take-in rollers 123 and 124 take in the originals placed on the upper original table 107 and the lower original table 108, respectively, and convey them to the original reading positions of the upper reading unit 1 and the lower reading unit 2 to correctly set. Meanwhile, the paper feed cassette 220
The transfer sheet is fed from the sheet toward the transfer position. When the setting of each document at a fixed position and the conveyance of the transfer sheet to the transfer position are completed, the reading unit 3 starts moving in the direction of arrow B, and the reading of the document by the CCDs 142 and 143 starts. As described above, the sequence controller 50
The operation setting section 61 in the scanner control section 51 according to the selected copy mode and the specified combination area information.
The image reading control signal is transmitted to the scanner controller 51, and the upper / lower switching circuit 60 controls the upper C in accordance with the image reading control signal.
The image data read by the CD 142 and the lower CCD 143 is selectively switched and transmitted to the image processing unit 58. In this way, by one image reading scan of the reading unit 3, the combined image of the originals set in the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 is read and copied on the transfer paper. The read documents are discharged to the upper document discharge tray 111 and the lower left document discharge tray 112, respectively. When a plurality of sets of originals are combined and copied, a plurality of originals to be combined are placed in correspondence with each other on the upper original table 107 and the lower original table 108, and continuous copying is performed by the ADF. When it is desired to combine a plurality of original images with one original image for continuous copying, for example, the one original is placed on the lower original table 108 and the plural originals are placed on the upper original table 107. Then, for the first combination copy, the above-mentioned combination copy of the originals is performed one by one, and from the next time onward, the original set at the original reading position of the lower reading unit 2 is stopped and placed on the upper original table 107. Only the originals are conveyed one after another to the upper reading unit 1 to perform a combination copy. In the combination copy mode of the present embodiment, the image data obtained by reading the images of the originals set in the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 by one scan is switched up and down so that a desired composite image is obtained, and a recording image signal is obtained. Although the output example has been described, the composite image may be formed during the exposure process on the photoconductor drum 202 without electrically forming the composite image. That is, the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2
Then, the reading unit 3 is moved in the direction of the arrow B to read the image of the document set on the upper reading unit 1 in a designated range to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum 202. Next, the reading unit 3 is inverted and moved in the direction of arrow A to read the image of the document set on the lower reading unit 2 only in a specified range, and form a latent image on the remaining area of the photosensitive drum 202. To do. After that, the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 202 is developed and transferred onto the transfer paper, whereby a desired composite image is formed on the transfer paper. The developing process may be performed every time a latent image is formed, and then the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 202 may be transferred onto a transfer paper.

(6) Interrupt copy (mode vi) This is a copy mode selected when the copying operation is interrupted during the copying operation to interrupt the copying operation of another original. An interrupting operation when a plurality of originals are placed on the upper original table 107 and the originals are alternately fed to the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 to perform high-speed copying will be described. First, among the copy mode selection keys on the operation panel, the interrupt copy mode key is pressed to interrupt the high-speed copy operation and change the document transport and reading operation according to the interrupt copy mode. That is, the original document is conveyed only to the upper reading unit 1 to be read, and is discharged to the upper document discharge tray 111 after the reading is completed. The interrupt document is placed on the lower document table 108, conveyed only to the lower reading unit 2 and read, and after the reading is completed, the lower document discharge tray 112 is provided.
To discharge. Similarly, the original document and the interrupted document are alternately conveyed to the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 and set at the respective document reading positions, and the reading unit 3 is reciprocally moved to read the document, and the fed document is transferred. Make a copy on paper. When the copying of the interrupt document is completed, the copy mode is switched back to the original high speed copy. It should be noted that when a plurality of originals are placed on the upper original table 107, the original set sensor 110 detects that an original is placed on the lower original table 108 during the high-speed copying operation, or the lower original table 108 indicates that the original is set. Therefore, when the lower platen sensor detects that it has moved from the fixed position, the copy mode is automatically switched to the interrupt copy mode. When the interrupt copy mode is selected and the key is pressed, or when the copy mode in operation is the double-sided original copy mode or the enlargement / reduction copy mode, or when the interrupt copy mode is a special copy mode that is not allowed , Turns on the warning lamp on the operation panel to notify that interrupt copying is not possible. When the special copy mode ends, the copy is automatically placed on the lower original table 108 and the copy of the original is started. Further, when the interrupt copy mode is selected and the mode selection is also performed simultaneously with the sorting operation using the post-processing apparatus V, the unusable warning lamp is similarly turned on on the operation panel. In the above description, the case where the interrupt document is placed on the lower document table 108 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the pressure plate 150 on the upper reading unit 1 is released, and the upper contact glass 101 is released. When a document such as a book is placed on the top and the interrupt copy mode is selected, the original document is conveyed to the lower document conveyance path 20 side and is read and copied only by the lower reading unit 2.

(7) Continuous page copy (mode vii) The continuous page copy mode for copying two original images side by side on one transfer sheet will be described. While pressing the page continuous copy key in the copy mode selection keys on the operation panel,
Two manuscripts for continuous page copying are placed horizontally on the upper manuscript table 10 respectively.
7 and the copy start button is pressed on the lower original table 108, the reading unit 3 starts moving from the standby position in the direction of arrow B, reads the image of the original set on the upper reading unit 1, and exposes it. The latent image is formed on half of the image forming area of the body drum 202. Next, the reading unit 3 reverses and moves in the direction of arrow A to read the image of the document set on the lower reading unit 2, and forms the latent image on the other half of the image forming range of the photosensitive drum 202. Let The formed latent image is developed and then transferred onto the fed transfer paper.
FIG. 60 (a) shows an image of a B5 size document placed on the upper document table 107 and the lower document table 108 in landscape orientation in the page continuous copy mode, and a B4 size transfer sheet fed by vertical conveyance. It is what showed an example of the formed image. Since the originals are abutted against the upper abutting piece 105 and the lower abutting piece 106, which are the reference for setting the originals, and positioned,
The read original images are accurately combined and formed on the transfer paper. When copying a plurality of originals, the operation is the same as the operation in the combination copy mode described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.
By using the reduction copy mode together with continuous transfer of pages onto the transfer paper of the same size, it is possible to obtain a copy that can be bound in a bag while reducing the number of used transfer papers. In the embodiment, continuous page shooting 2
Although the example in which the reading unit 3 reciprocates to read each of the originals has been described, the reading unit 3 may simultaneously read the two originals and form a continuous page image on the transfer paper. FIG. 60 (b) shows an image of a B5 size original placed on the upper and lower original trays 107 and 108 vertically and B4 fed laterally by such a method.
6 is a diagram showing an example of an image formed on a transfer paper of a size. In this case, the image data obtained by reading one line of the first original is recorded data for half a line on the photosensitive drum 202, and the image data obtained by reading one line of the second original is passed through the line buffer memory. Then, the recording data for the remaining half line is transmitted to the optical writing unit II, and a page continuous shot composite image is formed.

In each of the embodiments described above, it is possible to read the originals set at the reading positions of the two reading units arranged vertically close to each other by the reading scan of one reading unit. Alternatively, two reading units may be provided so that the upper and lower reading units can be scanned. Figure 1
Reference numeral 4 shows a schematic configuration of an image reading unit I according to the third embodiment of the present invention including the reading unit. In this embodiment, the upper and lower reading units 1 and 2 are both reading surfaces in the same direction,
That is, when the originals placed on the upper and lower original trays 107 and 108 are set at the original reading positions, the upper and lower contact glasses 101, 102 are arranged so that their back surfaces are read by the two reading units 31, 32. This is an example in which the upper surface of 102 serves as a reading surface with the original conveying path, and other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first and second embodiments.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the originals placed on the two original trays are sequentially conveyed to either one or both of the two original reading units. , The parts are set in contact with mutually parallel document reading surfaces, the common scanning device is made to scan, and the reflected light from the surface of the set document is converted into an electric signal by the photoelectric conversion means. In addition to suppressing an increase in manufacturing unit price due to the provision of two drive mechanisms and driving mechanisms, a common scanning device scans the originals set in both original reading sections simultaneously in one reading operation or in a continuous reciprocating manner. By scanning both originals in the original reading operation, it is possible to perform image processing on the original image and read the continuously conveyed original at high speed. According to the second aspect of the invention, since the automatic document feeder can alternately feed the originals from one original plate to the two original reading units, the one original plate can be fed to the original reading unit. Feed the manuscript 1
While the original scanning operation is performed by scanning the scanning device with one original reading unit, another original reading unit feeds the next original and sets the original at the reading position, so that the other originals are not conveyed when the original is conveyed. Since it is possible to perform parallel processing of the operations, it is possible to effectively utilize the document transportation time. According to the invention of claim 3,
Since the originals which are respectively fed from the original table and set at the predetermined reading positions of the two original reading portions are read alternately, the reciprocating scanning of the scanning device for scanning the respective original reading surfaces parallel to each other. As a result, after one document reading unit finishes the document reading operation, the other document reading unit can immediately start the next document reading operation, so that the continuous reading time for one side or both sides of a plurality of documents is significantly increased. And the operating efficiency of the device can be greatly improved. According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the two document reading units change the optical path of the reflected light with one photoelectric conversion unit, and the optical path switching unit that switches between one document reading unit side and the other document reading unit side. When the document reading operation in one of the document reading sections is finished and the document reading operation in the other document reading section is started, the control device controls the optical path switching unit to read the document from the document surface. Since the optical path of the reflected light is switched to the other document reading section side, the two document reading sections are required to have a minimum photoelectric conversion unit and a driving device of the scanning device. It is possible to greatly simplify the reading mechanism and suppress an increase in manufacturing unit price due to the provision of an expensive photoelectric conversion element. Claim 5
According to the above-described invention, the document reversing unit for reversing the direction of the document with respect to the conveying direction is provided between the one document reading unit and the other document reading unit. Since it becomes possible to adjust the reading direction of the conveyed document or to turn the document upside down, it is possible to match the reading direction of the document with the scanning direction of the scanning device, or to read both sides of the document. Can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image reading unit of a copying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a reading unit of the image reading unit of the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a reading unit of an image reading unit of a copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an intersection on the upper right side of the document conveyance path of the image reading unit.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an intersection on the upper left of the document conveying path of the image reading unit.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an intersection at the lower right of the document feeding path of the image reading unit.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an intersection at the lower left of the document conveying path of the image reading unit.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram showing an outline of overall control of the copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a circuit block diagram showing an outline of overall control of the copying machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the waist of FIG. 12 in detail.

FIG. 12 is a detailed block diagram of an up / down switching circuit.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of ejecting an original in a page order when a single-sided original-double-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image reading unit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when the single-sided original-single-sided copy mode is selected.

16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine following FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine following FIG.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when the simplex original-duplex copy mode is selected.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine following FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when another one-sided original / two-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when the double-sided original-single-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 35;

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 38;

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 39;

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 40;

FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when the double-sided original-double-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 42;

FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 43;

45 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 44;

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 45;

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 47;

FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 48;

FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine when the duplex original-duplex multiple copy mode is selected.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the copying machine, following FIG. 50;

FIG. 52 is an explanatory diagram showing a document reading order when the single-sided original-single-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram showing a document reading order when the single-sided original-double-sided copy mode is selected.

FIG. 54 is an explanatory diagram showing a document reading order when a double-sided original-single-sided copy mode and a double-sided original-double-sided copy mode are selected.

FIG. 55 is a timing chart of control signals when a single-sided original-single-sided single-sheet copy mode ADF original is fed.

FIG. 56 is a timing chart of control signals at the time of feeding a double-sided original-double-sided single-sheet copy mode ADF original;

FIG. 57 is a timing chart of control signals when a single-sided original-single-sided single-sheet copy mode manual original is fed in the conventional example.

FIG. 58 is a timing chart of control signals when a single-sided original-single-sided single-sheet copy mode ADF original is fed in the conventional example.

FIG. 59 is a timing chart of control signals at the time of feeding a double-sided original-double-sided single-sheet copy mode ADF original in the conventional example.

FIG. 60 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image of a document and an image formed on a transfer sheet when the continuous page copy mode is selected.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Upper Reading Section 2 Lower Reading Section 3 Reading Unit 10 Upper Document Conveying Path 11 Left Intermediate Conveying Path 12 Right Intermediate Conveying Path 13 Reversing Path 14 Retreat 20 Lower Original Conveying Path 101 Upper Contact Glass 102 Lower Contact Glass 103 Upper Conveying Belt 104 Lower transport belt 107 Upper document table 108 Lower document table 111 Upper document discharge tray 112 Lower left document discharge tray 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128 Dividing claw 126 Right lower document discharge tray 132 CCD 202 Photosensitive drum

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenshi Yamakawa 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Keisuke Hayashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Masaru Shiina 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An original reading unit for scanning an original image by scanning one side of an original set at a predetermined reading position in contact with the original reading surface by reciprocating movement along the original reading surface of a scanning device. In an image reading apparatus including an automatic document feeder for sequentially feeding documents placed on a document table to the document reading unit and setting them at the reading position, a document reading surface parallel to each other and the document reading surface One of the two document reading sections, each of which has photoelectric conversion means for converting the light reflected from the surface of the document set in contact with the sheet into an electric signal and shares one scanning device, and the document reading section. Alternatively, the image reading apparatus has two document tables on which documents to be sequentially conveyed are placed. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control device for controlling the automatic document feeder so as to alternately feed the documents from one document table toward two document reading sections. Image reading device. 3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the control device is 2
An image reading apparatus which controls one original reading unit to alternately read the originals set at predetermined reading positions of the two original reading units. 4. The document reading unit according to claim 1, wherein the two document reading units have a common photoelectric conversion unit and a light path of reflected light of the document from the document surface to the photoelectric conversion unit is changed. And an optical path switching unit for switching to the other document reading unit side, when the document reading operation in the one document reading unit is finished and the document reading operation in the other document reading unit is started, An image reading apparatus having a control device for controlling the optical path switching means to switch the optical path of the reflected light from the document surface from the one document reading unit side to the other document reading unit side. 5. The image reading device according to claim 1, further comprising a document reversing unit that reverses a direction of a document with respect to a conveyance direction between one document reading unit and the other document reading unit. apparatus.