JPH058886A - Document conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a document conveying device which is reduced in size even when the device is of structure wherein a conveying means and a cover means are located in juxtaposition on a document set surface. CONSTITUTION:A document conveying device comprises a feed document containing part 11 located above a conveying means 50, a sheet feeding means feeding a document, contained in the feed document containing part 11, from the reverse side to the cover means of the conveying means 50 to a gap between the conveying means 50 and a document set surface, and a sheet discharging means to discharge the document through a gap between the conveying means 50 and a cover means. Further, a switching means located between the conveying means 50 and the cover means and switching guidance of a document on the document set surface to a position below the sheet discharging means and guidance of it to a position below the cover means and a discharged document containing part 13 located above the cover means and containing a document discharged from the sheet discharging means are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document feeder for automatically feeding a document to a platen (document setting surface) of an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, an image reader or a facsimile and discharging the document after image processing. In particular, the present invention relates to a so-called half belt type in which a part of the platen is covered with a conveyor belt, and the other part of the platen is covered with a cover means provided adjacent to the conveyor belt.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image processing apparatus, for example, a document feeder of a copying machine is provided with a conveyor belt which covers the entire surface of a platen on which a document is placed and exposed. By driving the conveyor belt, the document is carried onto the platen. It is ejected from the platen after copying.

In such a document feeder, the size of the transport belt is adjusted to the maximum size (for example, A3 size) of the document.

However, the size of the original to be copied is usually smaller than the maximum size (for example, A4 size or B size).
Often 5 sizes). Therefore, for example, if an A4 size document is sent to the platen formed in accordance with the A3 size to be exposed, the document is transported by a distance corresponding to twice its own size, and the transport time is increased. It becomes long, which causes problems such as poor orientation of the original document and unnecessary charging, and the construction of the transporting means becomes large in size, resulting in high cost and waste.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, a so-called half-belt type in which the conveyor belt is sized so as to cover almost half of the platen and the other half is covered with a simple plate-like cover means. It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-158728.

The document feeder shown in this publication is shown in FIG.
As described above, on the platen 902 of the copying machine 901, the conveyor belt 905 stretched around the pair of pulleys 903 and 904 and the vertically movable cover means 906 are arranged side by side, and the paper feed tray 90
After feeding the original sent from the sheet feeding unit 908 from the sheet feeding unit 908 onto the platen 902 through the sheet feeding path 911, the conveyance belt 905 is reversely set to the stopper 913 that is projected to set it at the abutting reference position, and copying is performed. To do. After copying, the stopper 913 is retracted, the paper feed path 911 is blocked by the swing guide 914, and the original is supplied to the paper discharge path 912 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 910.

However, when the original is a small-sized original such as A4, the original is nipped between the conveyor belt 905 and the platen 902 to be exposed, and when the original is a large-sized original such as A3, the cover means 906 is used. It is exposed by inserting it below.

[0008]

In such a document conveying apparatus, the entire sheet feeding tray 907 projects from the copying machine 901, which makes the apparatus large.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a document feeder which can be downsized even if the feeding means and the cover means are arranged side by side on the document setting surface.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is attached to an image processing apparatus which has a document setting surface and which performs image processing of a document placed at a reference position of this document setting surface. Covers a part of the document set surface,
Forward and reverse transporting means for transporting a document along the document setting surface, and cover means arranged in parallel in the document transporting direction of the transporting means and covering a portion of the document setting surface not covered by the transporting means. In the original document feeder, a paper feed original accommodation portion, which is provided above the conveyance means and accommodates a paper original fed, and an original document accommodated in the paper feed original accommodation portion, are provided on the cover means side of the conveyance means. Paper feeding means for feeding between the conveying means and the document setting surface from the opposite side, paper discharging means for discharging a document between the conveying means and the cover means, the conveying means and the cover means And a switching means for switching between guiding the original on the original setting surface to the paper discharge means or below the cover means, and the paper discharge means provided above the cover means. By It provided a paper discharge document storage portion for storing the issued document.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Structure> As shown in FIG. 1, the document conveying device 10 is placed on the platen (document setting surface) P of the image processing apparatus C, and the conveying means 50 for covering about one half of the platen P and the platen P similarly. Covering means 40 for covering the remaining portion of the sheet feeding means, a sheet feeding document accommodating section (sheet feeding tray) 11 provided above the conveying means 50 for accommodating the sheet feeding documents, and the sheet feeding document accommodating section 1
Separation and feeding section 20 for separating and feeding the document set to 1
A discharge means such as discharge rollers 61 and 62 for discharging a document from between the conveying means 50 and the cover means 40 via the discharge path 32, and image processing provided on the cover means 40 (in the case of a copying machine, Is a copy operation), and is a sheet discharge document storage section (sheet discharge tray) for storing a document discharged from the platen P after
13, a switching unit 63 provided between the conveying unit 50 and the cover unit 40 for switching between supplying the document on the platen P to the paper discharge rollers 61 and 62 or guiding the document below the cover unit 40; And control means not shown.

A fed document accommodating section 11 and a discharged document accommodating section 13
In addition to being partially overlapped with each other in the vertical direction, at least a part of the discharged document storage section 13 is provided on the platen P.

The separating / feeding section 20 is provided with sheet feed guides 21 and 22 which constitute a sheet feed path 31 from the fed document storage section 11 to the platen P.

The separating / feeding section 20 separates the fed-out original into a single sheet, and a pickup roller 23 which comes into contact with the uppermost sheet of the originals stacked on the fed-original containing section 11 at a suitable time and feeds it. Paper feed roller 2 that rotates in the paper feed direction for
4 and a separating roller 25 that rotates so as to push the document back to the upstream side, and further regulates the leading edge of the document on the downstream side to adjust the feeding posture, and at the same time, the registration roller for timing the transfer to the conveying means 50. 26 and pressing roller 27
And are provided.

Further, the paper feed roller 2 is provided along the paper feed path 31.
4, an empty sensor S1 for detecting the presence / absence of a document on the fed document storage unit 11, and a registration roller 2 are provided.
A registration sensor S2 is provided immediately before 6.

The conveying means 50 has a wide conveying belt 53 stretched between a driving side pulley 51 and a driven side pulley 52.
And a plurality of press rollers 54 for pressing the conveyor belt 53 onto the platen P surface. A paper discharge sensor S3 is provided between the driven pulley 52 and the paper discharge roller 61.

The drive motor M1 is a pickup roller 2
3, the paper feed roller 24 and the separation roller 25 are connected so as to drive them. At the time of normal rotation of the drive motor M1, the pickup roller 23, the paper feed roller 24, and the separation roller 25 rotate in the clockwise direction in the drawing, and further, the pickup roller 23 is swingably supported via a spring clutch (not shown). The arm member is swung to press the pickup roller 23 onto the document surface.
The pickup roller 23 is separated from the original surface by swinging the arm member in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, the drive motor M2 is the registration roller 2
6, a drive side pulley 51 of the conveying means 50, and a paper discharge roller 61
Linked to and.

The cover means 40 is provided with a platen cover 41 for covering the document and a drive means for moving the platen cover 41 up and down, for example, a solenoid 43. The platen cover 41 has a surface corresponding to the platen P made of a white flat resin material or a metal flat plate having a high reflectance, and a base end portion thereof is supported rotatably about a support shaft 42. When the document is supplied between the platen P and the platen cover 41, the solenoid 43 raises the platen cover 41 to widen the space between the platen P and the platen P, and when the document is supplied below the platen cover 41, the solenoid 43 opens the platen cover 41. It is designed to be lowered. Note that the platen cover 41 does not adhere to the platen P even in the lowered state, and a slight gap is secured.

The switching means 63 is provided with a thin sheet-shaped switching guide 64 and a driving means such as a solenoid for switching and driving the switching guide 64, and switches the conveying path according to the length of the document and at the time of discharging. ing. <Operation> When a document is placed on the fed document storage unit 11,
The empty sensor S1 detects this and a required initial setting is made.

Then, when the start button of the image processing apparatus C is pressed, the drive motor M is driven by the start signal.
1 starts forward rotation. Due to this normal rotation, the pickup roller 23 falls onto the uppermost sheet of the stacked originals and rolls against it,
Take this out. The fed uppermost paper is usually accompanied by a plurality of originals below it, but the paper feed roller 24 and the separation roller 25
Only the uppermost paper is fed by the separating action of.

One sheet of the fed document is a registration sensor S.
Immediately after the detection by No. 2, the leading end abuts between the registration roller 26 and the pressure roller 27. At this point, the drive motor M2 is stopped and the registration roller 26 is also stopped. However, the drive motor M1 has a short time T1 from the time when the registration sensor S2 detects the leading edge of the document.
The rotation is continued, the original is curved, and a so-called registration loop is formed, whereby the registration of the leading end is corrected.

After the lapse of the minute time T, the drive motor M1 is stopped and at the same time the drive motor M2 is started. Then, the original is sent out along the paper feed path 31, and at the same time, it is delivered to the operating transporting means 50 and sent on the platen P.

The control means measures the elapsed time from the start of the motor M2 and determines whether the time t until the trailing edge of the document is detected is within the predetermined time T2 or more. If the required transit time t is less than or equal to the predetermined time T2 (t <T2), it is determined that the original is an S (small) size document, and if it is greater than or equal to the predetermined time (t
> T2) is determined to be an L (large) size document.

When it is determined that the document is the S document, the switching guide 64 is driven to the position shown in FIG.

Further, after the registration sensor S2 detects the trailing edge of the document, the trailing edge of the document coincides with the exposure reference position P1 on the platen P by carrying a predetermined amount based on the rotation amount and time of the motor M2. The motor M2 is stopped depending on the wax rotation amount and time. Then, the image processing by the image processing apparatus C is received at this position.

When the image processing is completed, the motor M2 is activated and the conveying means 50 and the paper discharge roller 61 are driven. As a result, the document is conveyed to the right in FIG. 1 by the conveying means 50, picked up from the platen P by the switching guide 64, and ejected by the ejection rollers 61 and 62.
It is housed in 3.

When it is determined that the original is an L original, the switching guide 64 is driven upward as shown in FIG. 2, and the platen cover 41 is raised by the solenoid 43, so that the platen P and the platen cover 41 are separated from each other. Is opened.

On the other hand, the document sent from the paper feed path 31 is carried on the platen P by the carrying means 50, and the leading end of the document passes under the switching guide 64 and enters between the platen P and the platen cover 41. . When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the registration sensor S2 and is conveyed by a predetermined amount, M2
Stops and the trailing edge of the document stops at the exposure reference position P1. Then, the platen cover 41 is lowered and the image processing apparatus C
Image processing by.

When the image processing is completed, the drive motor M2 is rotated in the reverse direction. As a result, the transport unit 50 transports the document in the left direction in FIG. The document is conveyed while contacting the switching guide 64, but the right end of the document is fed to the switching guide 6
When the motor M2 is driven by a preset amount that will pass 4, the motor M2 is stopped and rotated in the normal direction. Therefore, the document is conveyed rightward again, but is picked up by the switching guide 64, guided to the paper discharge path 32, and discharged to the discharged document storage unit 13 by the discharge rollers 61 and 62.

During the image processing, the drive motor M1 is driven to perform the first document advance operation.

During the discharging operation, when the leading edge of the original document is detected by the paper ejection sensor S3 and is advanced for a predetermined time T3, the next original document which has already been advanced to the registration roller 26 is fed. Be started. <Modification> Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, the following modifications are possible. (1) In the above-described embodiment, the platen cover 41 does not come into close contact with the platen P even when the platen cover 41 is lowered, and a slight gap is secured, but it is also possible to make close contact. However, in this case, when the document supplied below the platen cover 41 is conveyed to the left in FIG. 1, it is necessary to raise the platen cover 41 by the driving device. (2) In the above-described embodiment, the platen cover 41 is configured to move up and down. However, when the document is conveyed under the platen cover 41, the platen cover 41 is smoothly conveyed under the platen cover 41. By forming the above, the platen cover 41 may be fixed to the platen P by forming a predetermined gap. (3) In the above embodiment, the switching guide 64 is used when the L document supplied below the platen cover 41 is conveyed leftward.
As shown in FIG. 1, the document is conveyed in a state of being in contact with the original while being lowered, but may be conveyed in a state of being raised and not in contact with the document. In this case, when ejecting the L document, it is necessary to lower the switching guide 64 again. (4) In the above embodiment, the length of the document is detected by the time from the activation of the motor M2 until the registration sensor S2 detects the trailing edge of the document. It may be detected by the amount of rotation of the motor M2 from when the registration sensor S2 detects the trailing edge of the document. (5) In the above-described embodiment, the stop timing of the motor M2 is set to the time after the sensor detects the document edge, but it may be set according to the rotation amount of the motor M2.

[0033]

According to the present invention, the original set surface is attached to an image processing apparatus for performing image processing of an original placed at a reference position of the original set surface, and a part of the original set surface is attached. And means for transporting a document along the document setting surface, and a cover means for juxtaposing the document setting surface of the document setting surface, which is arranged in parallel in the document transport direction of the transporting means. And a cover means of the conveying means for feeding the originals accommodated in the paper feeding original containing portion, which is provided above the conveying means and contains the paper feeding originals. Paper feeding means for supplying between the conveying means and the document setting surface from the side opposite to the side, paper discharging means for discharging a document between the conveying means and the cover means, the conveying means and the Between the cover means And a switching unit that switches between guiding the document on the document setting surface to the paper discharge unit or below the cover unit; and a discharge unit provided above the cover unit and discharged by the paper discharge unit. Since the ejected document accommodating section for accommodating the original document is provided, even if the conveying means and the cover means are arranged side by side on the document setting surface, the fed document accommodating section is arranged above the conveying means. In addition, since the discharged document storage portion is arranged above the cover means, the amount of protrusion of the fed document storage portion and the discharged document storage portion from the image processing device is small, and the size can be reduced.

Further, since the paper feed original accommodation portion and the paper ejection original accommodation portion are arranged so as to partially overlap each other in the vertical direction, the amount of protrusion of the paper ejection original accommodation portion from the image processing apparatus can be further reduced.

Further, since at least a part of the discharged original containing portion is located on the original setting surface, the entire discharged original containing portion does not protrude from the image processing apparatus as in the conventional case, and the apparatus can be downsized. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an operating state of a document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Document feeder 11 Paper feed section 13 Output document storage 20 Separate feeding section 21 Paper feed guide 22 Paper feed guide 23 Pickup roller 24 paper feed rollers 25 Separation roller 26 Registration Roller 31 paper feed path 32 Paper output path 41 Platen cover 50 transportation means 53 Conveyor belt M1 drive motor M2 drive motor S1 empty sensor S2 registration sensor S3 Paper ejection sensor C image processing device P Platen P1 image processing reference position

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An original set having an original setting surface, which is attached to an image processing device for performing image processing of an original placed at a reference position of the original setting surface and covers a part of the original set surface to set the original. A document transporting device that includes a transporting unit that transports a document along a surface of the document, and a cover unit that is juxtaposed in the document transporting direction of the transporting unit and covers a portion of the document setting surface that is not covered by the transporting unit. In the apparatus, a paper feed original accommodation portion that is provided above the conveyance means and accommodates the paper originals, and the originals accommodated in the paper feed original accommodation portion from a side opposite to the cover means side of the conveyance means. Paper feeding means for feeding between the conveying means and the document setting surface, paper discharging means for discharging a document between the conveying means and the cover means, and between the conveying means and the cover means Provided with the manuscript Switching means for switching between guiding the document on the set surface to the paper discharge means or below the cover means, and a document provided above the cover means for accommodating the document discharged by the paper discharge means An original document conveying device comprising a discharged original document accommodation section. 2. A detecting means for detecting the length of an original fed by the paper feeding means, and one of the conveying means when the length of the original detected by the detecting means is shorter than a predetermined length. When the original is fed to the paper discharge means by rotation in the direction, and the length is longer than a predetermined length,
2. The document feeder according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that feeds a document to the paper discharge unit by reversing the conveyance unit. 3. The document conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fed document accommodating portion and the discharged document accommodating portion partially overlap each other in the vertical direction. 4. The document feeder according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the discharged document container is provided on the document setting surface.