JPH061481A - Sheet carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sheet carrier device capable of keeping intervals between sheets carried without the intervals and continuously each other on the way of carrying the sheets. CONSTITUTION:Documents D1, D2 are carried from a carrier belt 95 to a reversing roller 100 and to a discharge roller 110 without intervals. The belt 95 and the rollers 100, 110 are driven by a single motor, and the belt 95 is devised not only to rotate normally in the arrow (d) direction but also to rotate reversally. The rollers 100, 110 rotate normally with the belt 95, and even when the belt 95 rotates reversally, the rollers 100, 110 keep rotating normally. When the preceding original D1 aparts from the belt 95, the belt 95 is changed over to reversal rotation for a short period of time. Consequently, the following original D2 is slightly retreated in the reversal direction, and the preceding original D1 is carried as it is and an interval between the originals D1, D2 is kept.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device for continuously conveying a plurality of sheets in one direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to improve copy efficiency, an electrophotographic copying machine is often combined with an automatic document feeder to form a copying system. In such a copying system, two originals are sent side by side on a platen glass,
A 2-in-1 mode has been developed in which two original images are formed on one copy sheet. In the 2-in-1 mode, for example, two originals of A4 size are made into one copy of A3 size, and one original of A3 size is left as one copy of A3 size to make an original of mixed sizes. It has the advantage of being unified into one size.

However, in the 2-in-1 mode, since two originals are discharged onto the discharge tray without a gap, the succeeding originals are disturbed or the succeeding originals slip under the preceding originals and the page order is disturbed. There is a problem.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the sheet from being disturbed on the sheet discharge tray by opening the interval between the sheets to be continuously discharged without causing any trouble in the conveyance. To provide a sheet conveying device. In order to achieve the above object, a first transport unit located upstream and a second transport unit located downstream along a sheet transport path, and a drive for driving the first and second transport units. And a plurality of sheets are continuously conveyed, the leading edge of the preceding sheet reaches the second conveying means, and
After the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the first conveying means,
And a control unit that reverses the second conveying unit until the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the second conveying unit.

In the above construction, when the upstream first conveying means is reversed, the succeeding sheet moves backward in the conveying direction. On the other hand, the second conveying means on the downstream side maintains the normal rotation, and the preceding sheet is conveyed as it is. The reverse rotation of the first transport means takes a short time and is immediately switched to normal rotation. As a result, the distance between the conveyed sheets is opened without any gap, and when the sheets are discharged to the discharge tray, the disorder of the sheets can be prevented in advance.

Further, when the first and second conveying means are driven by a single driving means, the rotation of the first conveying means is switched between forward and reverse directions, while the first conveying means is reversed. It is sufficient to provide rotation direction switching means for maintaining the second transport means in the normal rotation even when the rotation direction is switched.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment described below applies the present invention to an automatic document feeder (ADF). In FIG. 1, the ADF 60 is provided on the upper portion of the copying machine main body 1.

A photoconductor drum 10 is installed at a substantially central portion of the copying machine body 1 so as to be rotatable and driven in a direction of an arrow a at a constant peripheral velocity v. Around the photosensitive drum 10 along the rotation direction thereof, a main eraser 11, a charging charger 12, a sub-eraser 13, a magnetic brush type developing device 14, a transfer charger 15, a sheet separation charger 1 are provided.
6. A blade type cleaner 17 is arranged. Further, an optical system 20 is arranged above the photoconductor drum 10.

The photoconductor drum 10 is a well-known one having a photoconductor layer provided on the surface thereof, and the main eraser 11, charging charger 12, sub-eraser 13 are rotated in the direction of arrow a.
Then, the image of the original document set on the platen glass 29 is exposed by the optical system 20. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 by exposure is converted into a toner image by the developing device 14.

The optical system 20 scans the photosensitive drum 10 with an image of an original document which is set just below the platen glass 29 with one end aligned with the reference position SP. That is, at the time of image scanning, the exposure lamp 21 and the first mirror 22 are integrally integrated with respect to the peripheral velocity v of the photosensitive drum 10 (constant regardless of equal magnification or variable magnification), v / m (m: copy magnification). ) Moves in the direction of arrow b at the speed of. At the same time, the second mirror 23 and the third
The mirror 24 and the mirror 24 move in the direction of arrow b at a speed of v / 2m. When changing the copy magnification, the projection lens 25
Moves along the optical axis and the fourth mirror 26 swings,
Correct the optical path length.

The copy sheets are accommodated in the upper elevated sheet feeding section 31 and the lower tray type sheet feeding section 34, and are fed one by one according to the operator's selection. The paper feed roller 3 is provided in each of the paper feed units 31 and 34.
2, 35, separation rollers 33, 36 including a forward rotation roller and a reverse rotation roller are installed. The sheet fed from the upper sheet feeding section 31 is sent out to the timing roller 38 installed immediately before the image transfer section through the transport rollers 37b and 37c. The sheet fed from the lower sheet feeding section 34 is sent out to the timing roller 38 through the transport rollers 37a, 37b, 37c.

On the other hand, in this copying machine, the operator can manually feed the paper, and the copy paper inserted from the manual paper feed port 40 is fed from the paper feed roller 41 to the timing roller 3.
Sent to 8. The sheet fed to the timing roller 38 once stands by here, and is fed to the transfer section by turning on the timing roller 38 in synchronization with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 10. The paper is in close contact with the photoconductor drum 10 at the transfer portion, the toner image is transferred by the corona discharge from the transfer charger 15, and the photoconductor drum 10 is transferred by the AC corona discharge from the separation charger 16 and the stiffness of the paper itself. To be separated. After that, the sheet is sent to the fixing device 43 through the transport belt 42, the toner is fixed, and the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 46 through the transport roller 44 and the discharge roller 45.

On the other hand, the photoconductor drum 10 has an arrow a after the transfer.
The cleaner 17 removes the residual toner, and the main eraser 11 erases the residual charge to prepare for the next copying process. Further, in the copying machine main body 1, a re-feeding unit 50 and paper passing path switching claws 47 and 48 are installed for processing double-sided / composite copying. The switching claw 47 is normally set to the solid line position and guides the paper to the paper discharge tray 46. During double-sided copying or composite copying, the paper on which the image of the odd-numbered original is transferred on the first surface (front surface) is set at a position where the switching claw 47 is slightly rotated counterclockwise, Conveyor roller 51
It is accommodated in the intermediate tray 52 through a, 51b, 51c, 51d with the image surface facing upward. When a predetermined number of sheets are stored on the intermediate tray 52 and a re-feeding signal is generated, the sheets are transferred one by one from the lowermost layer to the conveying roller 37c by the rotation of the re-feeding belt 53 and the separating roller 54. It is fed.

In the double-sided copy mode, the re-fed paper is guided upward by the switching claw 48 set at the solid line position and sent out to the timing roller 38, and the image is printed on the second surface (back surface). Is transferred and fixed, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 46. On the other hand, in the composite copy mode, the re-fed paper is conveyed in the direction of arrow c by the conveyance roller 37d by setting the switching claw 48 to a position slightly rotated clockwise. Immediately before the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the nip portion of the transport roller 37d, the transport roller 37d is switched to the reverse rotation, whereby the sheet is turned upside down and the front and back are reversed.
Sent to. After that, the image is transferred and fixed on the first surface (front surface) in an overlapping manner, and is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 46.

By the way, in the copying machine main body 1, the copying process is started, and the first sheet is the timing roller 3.
When waiting immediately before 8, the first-out paper feed process is performed in which the second and subsequent sheets are also fed in advance to the paper feed path. For example, in the paper feeding from the lower paper feeding unit 34, the second paper is fed to the paper feeding passage subsequent to the first paper, and the third paper is immediately before the transport roller 37a. Is fed. Such advance feeding processing is performed not only in the multi-copy mode but also in the single copy mode using the ADF 60 to improve the copy speed.

Next, the structure and operation of the ADF 60 will be described in detail. First, the schematic configuration and operation of the ADF 60 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The ADF 60 is roughly composed of a document tray 61, a leading edge regulation plate 63, a pickup roller 65, a document pressing plate 70, a separation roller 75, a separation pad 80, a registration roller 90, a conveyor belt 95, a reversing roller 100, a discharge roller 110, and a discharge tray. It is composed of 115. The ADF 60 is installed on the upper surface of the copying machine main body 1 so that the conveyor belt 95 is located on the platen glass 29, and the platen glass 29 can be opened by a hinge fitting (not shown) provided on the back side. When the operator manually sets the original on the platen glass 29, the AD
This is done by lifting F60 upwards. AD
The opening and closing of the F60 is detected by a magnet sensor (not shown), and the operation of the ADF 60 becomes possible only when the ADF 60 is correctly closed by the sensor.

The originals are stacked on the tray 61 with the first page facing upward. At this time, the side portion of the original is regulated by the side regulating plate 62, and the tip of the original is regulated by the leading edge regulating plate 63. The tip regulation plate 63 and the pressing plate 70 are rotatable in the up-down direction with the support shafts 64 and 71 as fulcrums, respectively. At the time of paper feeding, the leading edge regulation plate 63 is retracted downward from the time of feeding the first original to the completion of feeding the final original. Further, when the first original is fed, the pressing plate 70 rotates downward from the upper retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to press the leading end of the original against the pickup roller 65, thereby keeping the feeding pressure. Give.

Pickup roller 65, separation roller 75
Are driven to rotate in the clockwise direction during paper feeding. The originals pass through between the separating roller 75 and the separating pad 80 one by one from the lowest layer, and the registration roller 9
Sent to 0. The registration roller 90 temporarily holds the fed document at the nip portion thereof, and is driven to rotate after a predetermined time to convey the document to the entrance of the platen glass 29.

The conveyor belt 95 is stretched endlessly between the driving roller 96 and the driven roller 97 so as to cover the entire surface of the platen glass 29. Inside the transport belt 95, a large number of backup rollers 98 are rotatably installed in order to press the belt 95 against the platen glass 29. The conveyor belt 95 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow d, and sets the original at the reference position SP for starting the exposure, which is the boundary between the scale 120 and the platen glass 29, with the leading end of the original aligned.

The reversing roller 100 is a pinch roller 10.
1, 102, and switching claw 1 for the purpose of switching the paper path for reversing the original in the double-sided original mode.
It has 03. Normally, the switching claw 103 is set at the solid line position, and after the exposure is completed, the document is ejected from the platen glass 29 based on the rotation of the conveyor belt 95 in the direction of arrow d and the clockwise rotation of the reversing roller 100, and the guide. Guided upward by the plate 104 and the switching claw 103,
The sheet is discharged from the discharge roller 110 onto the sheet discharge tray 115. On the other hand, in the case of a double-sided original, since the second side (back side) is subjected to copy processing first, when feeding the double-sided original onto the platen glass 29, the switching claw 103 is set at the alternate long and short dash line position, and the double-sided original is first inverted. The sheet is reversely conveyed around the roller 100 and returned onto the platen glass 29 with the second surface facing downward.
At this time, the conveyor belt 95 is rotationally driven in the direction opposite to the arrow d. Further, after the exposure of the second side of the double-sided original, the reversing roller 10 is again subjected to the copy processing of the first side (front side).
It is reversed and conveyed around 0.

The reversing roller 100 and the discharging roller 11
0 is rotationally driven by the discharge motor M4 (see FIG. 39). The ADF 60 has various sensors SE for detecting a document.
1, SE2, SE3, SE10 are provided. The sensor SE1 detects the presence / absence of a document on the tray 61. The sensor SE2 is installed immediately before the registration roller 90, detects the arrival and passage of the original document, and detects the length of the original document in cooperation with the timer when the original document is sent out from the registration roller 90. The sensor SE10 is installed side by side with the sensor SE2 and detects the size of the document in the width direction. Based on the document detection signals from the sensors SE2 and SE10, the document size is fed vertically (the long side of the document is parallel to the transport direction).
Or lateral feed (short side is parallel to the transport direction). Further, the sensor SE3 is installed at the entrance of the reversing roller 100 and detects a document passing therethrough.

Next, each part of the ADF 60 will be described in detail. The scale 120 is provided with a scale for placing one end of the document in accordance with its size when the ADF 60 is lifted and the document is manually placed on the platen glass 29. In addition to the document position instructing function, it has a function of forcibly stopping the document transported on the platen glass 29 by the transport belt 95 at the exposure reference position SP during the operation of the ADF 60.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the scale 120 is rotatably supported by a holder 121 provided on the upper frame 2 of the copying machine main body 1 with a pin 122 as a fulcrum and a plate. The spring 123 is attached with its tip being urged upward. The upward rotation of the scale 120 is restricted by the wall portion 121a of the holder 121 or the tip of a lever 124 connected to the solenoid SL1. The lever 124 has a pin 125 inside the ADF 60.
Is rotatably installed with its fulcrum as its fulcrum, and its rear end is connected to the plunger of the solenoid SL1. Lever 124
Is the return spring 1 when the solenoid SL1 is off.
4 rotates in the direction of arrow e in FIG. 4 with the pin 125 as a fulcrum, and its tip presses the scale 120. At this time, the scale 120 is set at a position slightly retracted from the upper surface of the platen glass 29 (see FIG. 4).

When exchanging originals manually, the ADF
When 60 is lifted from the platen glass 29, AD
With the upward movement of F60, the tip of the lever 124 separates from the scale 120, and the scale 120 rotates slightly upward until it is regulated by the wall portion 121a of the holder 121 (see FIG. 3). At this time, the tip of the scale 120 is set at a position slightly elevated from the end surface of the platen glass 29, and the operator places the original on the platen glass 29 with the scale attached to the scale 120 in this state as a reference.

On the other hand, when the document is automatically conveyed by the ADF 60, in order to accurately stop the leading edge of the document at the reference position SP,
This embodiment has a scale mode and a pulse control mode. The scale mode is a mode in which the leading edge of the original document conveyed by the conveyor belt 95 is brought into contact with the scale 120 and forcibly stopped. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the solenoid SL1 is turned on and the lever 124 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow e. As a result, the scale 120 rises to a position regulated by the wall portion 121 a of the holder 121 and is exposed on the platen glass 29. The front end of the document D conveyed in the direction of arrow d by the conveyance belt 95 contacts the scale 120, and the reference position S
P will stop exactly.

In the pulse control mode, as will be described below, the registration roller 90 and the conveyance belt 95 are driven by a single main motor M3 (stepping motor) so that the conveyance speeds of both are the same and the original document is conveyed. Transport length L
This is a mode for accurately controlling (see FIG. 15). The document conveyance amount with respect to the drive pulse number of the main motor M3 is known in advance. Therefore, the stop position of the document is determined by driving the main motor M3 with the number of pulses corresponding to the length L of the document waiting in front of the registration roller 90 to the reference position SP. During execution of this pulse control mode, the solenoid SL1 maintains the off state (see FIG. 4).
The scale 120 holds a position slightly retracted from the upper surface of the platen glass 29.

The scale mode has an advantage that the stop position accuracy is high because the original is applied to the scale 120 and stopped. However, when the original is thin, there is a problem that the front end is likely to be bent or a paper jam occurs. The pulse control mode has an advantage that troubles at the time of stop do not occur even for thin originals, but has a problem that the stop position accuracy is not necessarily as high as that of the scale mode due to slips of originals and displacement of the response of the driving mechanism. .

In the present embodiment, it is possible to select the scale mode and the pulse control mode whose advantages and disadvantages conflict with each other. The selection is made by the deep switch SW provided in the main body 1 of the copying machine.
1, SW2 (see FIG. 39). Next, the document feeding section will be described. In FIG. 6, the document guide plate 1
31 is a pickup roller 65 from the tip of the tray 61,
It is installed at a position slightly lower than the upper part of the separating roller 75, and its tip extends to the registration roller 90. Further, another document guide plate 132 is used for separating the rollers 75.
Is installed from above to the downstream side of the registration roller 90. The tip regulation plate 63 is installed on the lower side of the guide plate 131 while being fixed to the support shaft 64, and the tip of the regulation plate 63 has a guide plate 13
It is movable between a regulation position protruding from 1 and a retracted position retracted below the guide plate 131. Normally, the leading edge regulating plate 63 is set at the regulating position and has a function of receiving the leading edge of the document set on the tray 61 to give the operator a feeling of setting and align the leading edge of the document. When the document feed start signal is issued, the leading edge regulation plate 63 is retracted below the guide plate 131 and is held at this retracted position until the final document is fed.

The document pressing plate 70 is attached to a support shaft 71 via a holder 72. As shown in FIG. 7, the pressing plate 70 is located so as to face the two pickup rollers 65, and the pin 73 serves as a fulcrum for the holder 72, and the arrow f
It is mounted so that it can rotate freely (see FIG. 11). The pressing plate 70 is movable between an upper retracted position shown in FIG. 6 and a pressing position which is rotated downward to elastically press the leading end of the document onto the pickup roller 65. Normally, the document is retracted at the upper side and is moved to the lower pressing position at the timing when the documents are fed one by one. The holders 72 of the pressing plate 70 are rotatably mounted in the direction of the arrow f with the pins 73 serving as fulcrums. This is to allow it. Due to the sheet feeding pressure uniformly applied by the pressing plate 70, the conveying force of the pickup roller 65 surely acts on the lowermost document.

The empty sensor SE1 (see FIG. 6) is a transmissive photosensor, and an actuator 138 capable of advancing and retracting on its optical axis is rotatably installed with a support shaft 139 as a fulcrum. The actuator 138 hangs downward due to its own weight, and when the document is not on the tray 61, the lower end of the actuator 138 enters below the guide plate 131. At this time, the upper end of the actuator 138 shields the optical axis of the sensor SE1. When a document is set on the tray 61, the actuator 138 rotates upward, and the upper end opens the optical axis of the sensor SE1. The registration sensor SE2 and the width sensor SE10 are reflection type photo sensors, and detect a document from the hole 132a of the guide plate 132.

Pickup roller 65, separation roller 75
Are installed two by two, both of which are coated with a rubber layer on the outer peripheral surface,
It is rotationally driven by a single paper feeding motor M2 (see FIG. 39), and the original is fed from the lowermost one with a high frictional force.
The sorting pad 80 is made of a rubber material and is fixed to a plate 81, and the plate 81 is held by a holder 82.
As shown in FIG. 12, the separation pad 80 is pressed against the two separation rollers 75 by a coil spring 83 located at the center. The plate 81 is a recess 82 of the holder 82.
It is loosely fitted to a and is prevented from coming off by the projections 81a on both sides, and the projection 81b on the upper surface projects into the recess 82b of the holder 82. The holder 82 is set in the notch 132b (see FIG. 6) of the guide plate 132, and the projection 82c is pressed against the guide plate 132 by the spring force of the coil spring 83 as shown in FIG. That is, the separating pad 80 is rotatable up and down and left and right with small strokes individually using the protrusion 81b of the plate 81 as a fulcrum, and the holder 82
With the projection 82c as a fulcrum, it can be rotated vertically and horizontally with a small stroke. With such a configuration, the inclination or the like of the holder 82 with respect to the separation roller 75 due to the deformation of the guide plate 132 or the like can be automatically corrected, and the separation pad 80 can be uniformly pressed against the separation roller 75. Moreover, the adjustment of the loosening pressure is only required to adjust the spring pressure of the coil spring 83.

By the way, the frictional force μ1 between the separating roller 75 and the document, the frictional force μ2 between the separation pad 80 and the document, and the frictional force μ3 between the documents are set so that μ1>μ2> μ3. As a result, of the two or three originals that have been "fed" by the pickup roller 65, one of the lowest layers
The sheet passes between the sorting roller 75 and the sorting pad 80.

Further, in order to improve the loosening performance, a front loosening plate 85 and an elastic sheet 86 attached to the front loosening plate 85 are installed immediately before the loosening pad 80 (see FIG. 6). The front separating plate 85 is provided in a downward slope from above the leading end regulating plate 63 in the sheet feeding direction, and the lower end thereof is close to the surface of the separating roller 75 immediately before the separating pad 80 with a slight gap. The lower end of the elastic sheet 86 is in light contact with the surface of the separating roller 75. The plurality of documents fed by the pickup roller 65 have their leading ends abutting the front separating plate 85, where the lower document is advanced, and only one or two documents pass through the lower end of the front separating plate 85. I will do it. The elastic sheet 86 assists the front separating action of the front separating plate 85.

Next, the drive mechanism for the tip regulating plate 63 and the pressing plate 70 will be described. In FIG. 7, the support shaft 64 to which the tip regulation plate 63 is fixed has a lever 140 integrally fixed to the end thereof, and is constantly urged in the counterclockwise direction by a torsion spring 141. By this urging force, the tip regulation plate 63 is set at the regulation position protruding from the guide plate 131. The support shaft 71, to which the holder 72 of the pressing plate 70 is fixed, has the lever 142 integrally fixed to the end thereof,
The torsion spring 143 is constantly biased in the counterclockwise direction. The urging force causes the pressing plate 70 to elastically press the document on the pickup roller 65.

Fan-shaped cam plates 145, 146 are installed between the levers 140, 142. The cam plates 145, 1
A support shaft 147 of 46 is connected to a pickup motor M1 (see FIG. 39) capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions. The lever 140 faces the outer peripheral surface of the cam plate 145, and the lever 142 faces the outer peripheral surface of the cam plate 146. Cam plates 145, 146
The levers 140 and 142 rotate based on the forward / reverse rotation of, and the positions of the tip regulation plate 63 and the pressing plate 70 are set. Discs 148 and 149 are fixed to the cam shaft 147,
Notch edge 148 of these discs 148, 149
a, 148b, 149a, 149b pass through the optical axes of the transmissive photosensors SE11, SE12 (light emitting element x, light receiving element y). Photosensor SE11, S by this
The rotation of the cam plates 145 and 146 is controlled by the on / off operation of E12.

More specifically, when the ADF 60 is in the standby state, the levers 140 and 142 and the cam plates 145 and 146 are at the positions (home positions) shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the tip regulation plate 63 is set to the regulation position and pressed. The plate 70 is set in the retracted position. When the ADF operation start signal is issued, the pickup motor M1 is driven to rotate in the normal direction, and together with the cam shaft 147, the cam plates 145 and 146 and the disc 148,
149 rotates counterclockwise in the forward direction. Immediately after the normal rotation, the sensor SE11 detects the edge 148a of the disk 148 and turns on, the home positions of the cam plates 145 and 146 are confirmed by this, and the pickup motor M1 is temporarily turned off. When a document replacement signal is subsequently issued, the pickup motor M1 is driven in the normal direction, and the cam plates 145, 146 move to the 9th position.
When rotated normally in the 0 ° counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 9, the lever 140 contacts the large-diameter portion of the cam plate 145 and rotates downward against the spring force of the torsion spring 141. The tip regulation plate 63 retracts below the guide plate 131. On the other hand, the lever 142 maintains a state of being in contact with the large-diameter portion of the cam plate 146, and the pressing plate 70 maintains a state of being set to retract upward. Furthermore, the pickup motor M
When 1 is driven in the normal direction and the cam plates 145, 146 are normally rotated in the counterclockwise direction by 160 ° (when normally rotated by 250 °), the sensor SE11 is turned on by the edge 148b of the disc 148. The pickup motor M1 is turned off. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the lever 140 maintains the state of being in contact with the large diameter portion of the cam plate 145, and the tip regulation plate 63 maintains the retracted position below. On the other hand, the lever 142 separates from the large diameter portion of the cam plate 146, rotates downward by the spring force of the torsion spring 143, and presses the pressing plate 70.
Rotates downward, and the leading edge of the document is picked up by the pickup roller 6
5 is pressed to apply the sheet feeding pressure.

In this state, the pickup roller 65 and the separating roller 75 are rotationally driven to feed the first original. When the leading edge of the fed document reaches the registration roller 90, the pickup motor M1 is reversely driven, and when the cam plates 145 and 146 reversely rotate in the clockwise direction by 160 °, the sensor SE12 is turned on by the edge 149a of the disc 149. Then, the pickup motor M1 is turned off. At this time, the levers 140 and 142 return to the state shown in FIG. 9, the tip regulation plate 63 is held at the retracted position, and
The pressing plate 70 retreats upward and releases the pressing force on the document. For the second and subsequent originals, the pickup motor M1 repeats normal rotation and reverse rotation of 160 ° each time the original exchange signal is issued, and the pressing plate 70 moves to the pressing position and the retracted position with the leading end regulation plate 63 retracted. repeat.

That is, in this embodiment, the drive mechanism for the tip regulating plate 63 and the pressing plate 70 is simplified by a single system, and since it is driven by the cam plates 145, 146, no noise is generated during driving. . Further, since the leading edge regulating plate 63 is held at the retracted position from the start to the end of the paper feeding operation, the leading edge of the document is not damaged and the document is not skewed. Further, the pressing plate 70 presses the document only while the leading edge of the document passes the separating roller 75, and then retracts upward, so that there is no possibility of a paper feed error such as a document feeding.

Next, the registration roller 90 will be described. The registration roller 90 temporarily receives the leading edge of the document fed by the rotation of the pickup roller 65 and the separating roller 75 at the nip portion thereof, thereby aligning the leading edge of the document at the nip portion and correcting the skew of the document. The paper feed motor M2 is turned off a predetermined time after the leading edge of the fed document is detected by the sensor SE2, and the rotations of the pickup roller 65 and the separation roller 75 are stopped. At this time, the leading end of the original comes into contact with the nip portion of the registration roller 90 and forms a slight loop.

Thereafter, the registration roller 90 is rotationally driven by turning on the main motor M3 at the same timing as the copying operation in the copying machine main body 1, and sends the original document to the entrance of the platen glass 29. in this way,
In this embodiment, the pickup roller 65 and the separation roller 75
Is a paper feed motor M2, and the registration rollers 90 are separately driven by a main motor M3 together with the conveyor belt 95. Further, one-way clutches 67 and 77 (see FIG. 6) are provided between the pickup roller 65 and its drive shaft 66 and between the separation roller 75 and its drive shaft 76, respectively, and the paper feed motor M
Even when 2 is off, the pickup roller 65 and the separation roller 75 are allowed to idle in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6 when the document is sent out by the registration roller 90.

The drive mechanism for the registration roller 90 and the conveyor belt 95 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, the registration roller 90 and the conveyor belt 95 are directly connected by the main motor M3 without a clutch. That is, as the main motor M3, a stepping motor that can be rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions by a pulse signal is used. A timing belt 155 is stretched between the output pulley 151 of the main motor M3 and the pulley 153 fixed to the support shaft 152 of the drive roller 96 of the conveyor belt 95. In addition, the pulley 1 provided integrally with the pulley 153
A timing belt 157 is stretched between 54 and the pulley 156 fixed to the support shaft 91 of the registration roller 90.

In the above configuration, the main motor M3
14 is driven in the normal direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 14), the rotation is transmitted to the drive roller 96 via the pulley 151, the belt 155, the pulley 153, and the support shaft 152, and the conveyor belt 95 moves in the direction of arrow d. It is driven forward. At the same time, the rotation of the belt 155 causes the pulley 154, the belt 157, and the pulley 1 to rotate.
It is transmitted to the support shaft 91 via 56 and the registration roller 90.
To rotate.

Next, the document transport mode of the ADF 60 will be described. In the present embodiment, there are six types of document conveyance modes, a pre-step mode, a 2-in-1 mode, and a count mode, in addition to the conventional single-sided mode and double-sided mode. There are modes and pulse control modes. In the transportation of the document, the document is set in the nip portion of the registration roller 90 when the leading edge of the document is set at the exposure reference position SP, when it is set at the exposure position, when it is set at the intermediate position IP. It is called the first-out position. Regarding the size of the document, when the size is not specifically described, it is assumed that the small size is A4 horizontal feed and the large size is A3 vertical feed.

In the pre-step mode, when the document size is half or less from the exposure reference position to the document feed-out position, as shown in FIGS.
1 is stopped at the exposure reference position SP, and the next document D
2 is conveyed to the intermediate position IP, and the first original (third sheet) is fed in advance until the leading edge contacts the registration roller 90. In this pre-step mode, when combined with the pulse control mode, the main motor M3 causes the registration roller 9 to rotate during document replacement.
A pulse P02 is driven in the normal direction so that the document is conveyed by a distance corresponding to 1/2 of the distance L from 0 to the reference position SP (see FIG. 15). That is, each time the exposure of the first document D1 set at the exposure reference position SP is completed, the main motor M3 is driven in the forward direction by the pulse P02, and the second document D2 is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP. , The third document waiting at the registration roller 90 is at the intermediate position IP
Be transported to.

On the other hand, when the pre-step mode is combined with the scale mode, the main motor M3 has a pulse P02 so as to convey the document by a distance corresponding to (L / 2) + (α / 2) during document replacement. Only 'is driven forward (see FIG. 16). α is the scale 12
It is the amount of overrun for surely abutting 0. Therefore, the second document D2 is fed from the registration roller 90 (L
/ 2) + (α / 2) is waited at the intermediate position IP ′. The second original D2 is given a conveying force of moving (L / 2) + (α / 2) from the intermediate position IP ′ by the conveying belt 95, but is conveyed by (L / 2) − (α / 2). At that time, the leading end comes into contact with the scale 120 and stops at the exposure reference position SP, and the transport belt 95 slips with respect to the document by the distance α.

By the way, in such a scale mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the solenoid SL1 is normally turned off and the scale 120 is retracted downward. The solenoid SL1 is turned on immediately before the document reaches the exposure reference position SP, and the scale 120 projects onto the platen glass 29 (see FIG. 5). Then, the document is exposed at the exposure reference position S
When the main motor M3 is set to P and the main motor M3 is turned off, the solenoid SL1 is also turned off and the scale 120 retracts downward.

FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 show the document conveyance state in the pre-step mode. FIG. 17A shows a state in which originals are set on the tray 61, and here it is assumed that three small size originals D1, D2, D3 are set. First, the leading edge regulating plate 63 retracts downward, the pressing plate 70 moves downward, the pickup roller 65 and the separating roller 75 are rotationally driven, the first original D1 is fed, and the leading edge contacts the registration roller 90. Stand by in the contact state (see FIG. 17 (b)). Next, the main motor M3 is driven to rotate forward by the pulse P02, and the document D1 is conveyed to the intermediate position IP (see FIG. 17C). Next, the pickup roller 65 and the separating roller 75 are rotationally driven, and the second document D2 stands by at the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 17D). Further, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and the document D1 is transported to the exposure reference position SP and the document D2 is transported to the intermediate position IP (see FIG. 18E). Here, in the copying machine main body 1, the feeding of copy paper and the exposure by the optical system 20 are performed as many times as the number of copies. During the exposure, the third original D3 is preliminarily fed to the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 18F).

When the exposure of the document D1 is completed, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and the discharge motor M4 is driven to rotate the reversing roller 100 and the discharge roller 110. The document D1 is now in the tray 11
5 and the document D2 is exposed at the exposure reference position SP.
To the intermediate position IP (FIG. 18).
(See (g)). Here, the document D2 is exposed, and when the exposure is completed, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and the discharge motor M4 is also driven. Therefore, the document D2 is sent out to the tray 115, and the document D3 is exposed at the exposure reference position S.
It is conveyed to P (see FIG. 18 (h)). After the exposure of the document D3 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven to discharge the document D3 onto the tray 115 (FIG. 19).
(See (i)).

By the way, in this embodiment, the document fed in advance is fed by the registration roller 90 to the platen glass 2.
9 and the trailing edge of the original is the registration sensor S.
When it is detected by E2, the empty sensor SE1 is checked, and if the document remains on the tray 61, the first feed is performed. If there is no document, the leading edge regulation plate 63 is returned to the upper regulation position.

As described above, in the pre-step mode, since the document is step-fed in units of (L / 2), the document replacement time is short, and the optical system 20 after exposure is completed.
The originals can be exchanged within the time it returns to the home position, improving copy productivity. Moreover, the succeeding original document (third original document) is fed in advance until its leading edge comes into contact with the registration roller 90. This advance feeding is performed during the exposure of the original document, and contributes to the improvement of copy productivity.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the registration roller 90 and the conveyor belt 95 are combined into a single main motor M3.
Since the main motor M3 is pulse-driven as a stepping motor without interposing a clutch, the number of pulses supplied to the motor M3 for the document sent from the registration roller 90 is accurately controlled. It can be transported / stopped to the position SP. The motor M3 may be a stepping motor, but the same effect can be obtained by attaching an encoder to the rotary shaft and converting the number of revolutions into the number of pulses to control the on / off of the motor M3.

Copy productivity will be described below.
The copy productivity of ADF is defined as the ratio of the speed of making a 1: 1 copy (the number of copies is 1) using ADF to the copy speed when multi-copying is performed in the main body of the copying machine. 100% copy productivity means that one-to-one copy can be made using ADF at the same speed as multi-copy. Table 1 below shows the scan speed at various copy speeds, the copy time per sheet, the scan time of the optical system, and the return time.

[0053]

[Table 1]

Maximum copying speed (60 cpm) when the copying machine body is classified into 3 types by copying speed
(Cpm: copies per minute, the same applies below), the optical system has a return time of 0.38 seconds, and it is necessary to replace the originals within this return time in order to achieve 100% copy productivity. . In the present embodiment, as described above, the registration roller 90 and the conveyor belt 95 are coupled to the single motor M3 without a clutch to eliminate mechanical deviation, and the motor M3 is controlled by the number of pulses. By controlling the control based on the timing of feeding the document from the registration rollers 90, it was possible to realize the control in an extremely short time and with an accurate document stopping process.

On the other hand, when there are copying machine bodies of various copy speeds, it is not always necessary to match the ADF document feeding speed to the model having the highest copy speed. If the ADF speed is set to be higher than that of the copying machine body having a slow copy speed, the copying machine body becomes over-specified, which is disadvantageous in terms of noise and life of parts. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the document transport speed of the ADF 60 can be changed according to the copy speed of the copying machine body 1. Specifically, a copy speed signal is sent from the control unit of the copying machine main body 1 to the control unit of the ADF 60, and the ADF control unit controls the rotation speed of each motor according to the copy speed signal.

Further, in the ADF 60, the built-in dip switch may be used to set the document feeding speed to various values independently of the copying machine main body 1. Next, the 2-in-1 mode will be described. The 2-in-1 mode is a mode in which two originals are set as a set and arranged on the platen glass 29 to form an image on one copy sheet. 20, 21, and 22 show the document conveyance state in the 2-in-1 mode.

FIG. 20A shows a state in which the originals are set on the tray 61, and here, four small size originals D1,
It is assumed that D2, D3 and D4 are set. First, the first original D1 is fed and stands by with its leading edge in contact with the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 20B). Next, the main motor M3 is rotated in the normal direction, and the document D1 is fed onto the platen glass 29. The rear end of the document D1 is platen glass 2
9 (see FIG. 20 (c)), the main motor M3 is switched to reverse rotation, and the document D1 is switched back in the direction opposite to the arrow d. As a result, the rear end of the document D1 enters below the guide plate 132 (see FIG. 20 (d)). The switchback amount corresponds to the same length as the trailing edge of the original reaches the nip portion of the registration roller 90. A resin film 133 is attached to the guide plate 132 so that the trailing edge of the document does not return to the registration roller 90 side during switchback (see FIG. 2). The feeding of the second document D2 is started a predetermined time after the trailing edge of the first document D1 is detected by the registration sensor SE2, and immediately after the switchback of the document D1 is completed, the leading edge of the document D2 is fed. Contacts the registration roller 90 and stops (see FIG. 20D).

Next, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction to convey the originals D1 and D2 on the platen glass 29, and the original D
The main motor M3 is turned off at the time when the tip of No. 1 reaches the exposure reference position SP. Thus, the originals D1 and D2 are arranged side by side on the platen glass 29 (FIG. 21).
(See (e)). The rotation of the main motor M3 is decelerated immediately before the document D1 reaches the exposure reference position SP. The feeding of the third document D3 is started in synchronization with the timing of this deceleration. Then, by the end of the exposure of the originals D1 and D2, the leading edge of the original D3 comes into contact with the registration roller 90, and the first-out paper feeding is completed (see FIG. 21 (f)).

When the exposure of the originals D1 and D2 is completed, the main motor M3 is driven to rotate normally and the discharge motor M4 is driven. The document D1 is the reverse roller 100 and the discharge roller 1.
10 is sent to the tray 115, and the document D2 becomes the document D.
After the first, the third document D3 is the platen glass 29.
It is sent upward (see FIG. 21 (g)). When the rear end of the document D3 reaches the platen glass 29, the main motor M3 is switched to the reverse rotation, and the document D3 is switched back like the document D1. At this time, the document D1 is given a conveying force by the reversing roller 100, and is directly discharged onto the tray 115. Since the leading edge of the document D2 has not reached the reversing roller 100 at the start of the switchback, the document D2 is switched back together with the document D3 (see FIG. 21 (h)). The fourth original D4 is fed out to the registration rollers 90 immediately after the completion of the switchback.

The discharge motor M4 is driven as it is, and then the main motor M3 is normally driven. The main motor M3 is normally driven until the leading edge of the document D3 reaches the exposure reference position SP, whereby the documents D3 and D4 are juxtaposed on the platen glass 29 and the document D2 is ejected onto the tray 115. The discharge motor M4 is turned off when the document D2 is discharged. In this way, the originals D1 and D2 are opened while the succeeding original D3 is once switched back during the discharge. Tray 115 with no gap between two documents
When pushed up, the succeeding document projects the preceding document and disturbs the alignment on the tray 115, or the succeeding document slips under the preceding document and disturbs the page order. However, it is possible to eliminate the disorder of the document on the tray 115 by opening the space between the two documents at the time of discharging as in the present embodiment.

When the exposure of the originals D3 and D4 is completed, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction and the discharge motor M4 is driven. The main motor M3 is once turned off when the rear end of the document D3 is separated from the conveyor belt 95 (FIG. 2).
2 (j)). The time during which the main motor M3 is turned off corresponds to the time during which the space between the documents D3 and D4 can be opened to the extent that the tray 115 is not disturbed (FIG. 22).
(See (k)). Here, the main motor M3 is driven to rotate normally, and the document D4 is discharged onto the tray 115 (see FIG. 22 (l)).

By the way, in the 2-in-1 mode or the pre-step mode described above, the platen glass 29
If originals of a size larger than ½ of the area are mixed, special control is temporarily required. Hereinafter, a case where such a mixed document is conveyed by the ADF 60 will be described. FIG. 23, FIG. 24, and FIG. 25 show the document transport state when large-sized documents are mixed in odd-numbered sheets in the 2-in-1 mode.

As shown in FIG. 23A, the originals D1 and D
When 2, D3 (large size) and D4 are set,
Feeding the first original D1 (see FIG. 23B), sending out from the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 23C), switchback of the original D1 and feeding of the second original D2 (see FIG. 23). 23 (d)), and conveyance / stop of the originals D1 and D2 to the exposure position (see FIG. 24 (e)) are the same as the original conveyance from FIG. 20 (a) to FIG. 21 (e). Furthermore, 3
The same applies to the point of feeding the original D3 to the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 24 (f)). After the exposure of the documents D1 and D2 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven, and the document D1 is rotated by the reversing roller 100 and the discharge roller 110.
Although the third document D3 is fed onto the platen glass 29 during the ejection, the combination of the registration sensor SE2 and the timer determines that the document D3 has a large size.
The main motor M3 is turned off when the rear end of the document D1 is separated from the conveyance belt 95 (see FIG. 24 (g)). The drive of the discharge motor M4 is continued as it is, and the main motor M3 is normally driven when the space between the documents D1 and D2 is opened (see FIG. 24 (h)). Then, following the document D1, the document D2 is discharged onto the tray 115 at a predetermined interval (the main motor M3 may be temporarily decelerated), and when the leading edge of the document D3 reaches the exposure reference position SP. Then, the main motor M3 is turned off (see FIG. 25 (i)). That is, the large-sized document D3 is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP without being switched back, and the fourth document D4 is preliminarily fed to the registration roller 90 during that time. That is, if the document D3 is large in size, the first-out sheet feeding of the next document D4 is temporarily prohibited, which delays one tempo.

When the exposure of the document D3 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven to discharge the document D3 to the tray 115, and at the same time the document D4 is sent from the registration roller 90 onto the platen glass 29 and the leading end thereof. When reaches the exposure reference position SP, the main motor M3 is turned off (see FIG. 25 (j)). When the exposure of the document D4 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are similarly driven, and the document D4 is discharged onto the tray 115 (see FIG. 25 (k)).

FIGS. 26, 27, and 28 show the document transport state when large-sized documents are mixed in even-numbered sheets in the 2-in-1 mode. As shown in FIG. 26A, when the documents D1, D2 (large size), D3, D4 are set, the first document D1 is fed and the registration roller 9 is used.
The process from 0 to the feeding back of the document D1 and the feeding of the second document D2 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 20 (a) to 20 (e) (see FIG. 26 (b)). After that, when the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction, the originals D1 and D
2 is conveyed without a gap, and the main motor M3 is turned off when the leading edge of the document D1 reaches the exposure reference position SP.
At this time, it is detected by the combination of the registration sensor SE2 and the timer that the document D2 has a large size.
Advance feeding of the third document D3 is prohibited (FIG. 26).
(See (c)). Further, when the even-numbered original document D2 is large, the paper jam is not detected.

In this state, the copy process is performed only on the original D1. Specifically, the scan length of the optical system 20 is controlled only to the length of the document D1, or the image of the first half area of the document D2 that has been exposed together with the image of the document D1 is erased by the sub-eraser 13. When the exposure of the document D1 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven. Then, the leading end of the document D2 has the exposure reference position S.
When reaching P, the main motor M3 is turned off (see FIG. 26 (d)). At this time, the feeding of the third original D3 has started, and the original D3 is fed to the registration roller 9
It stands by immediately before 0 (see FIG. 27 (e)). When the document D1 is discharged onto the tray 115, the discharge motor M4
Is turned off.

When the exposure of the document D2 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven, and when the rear end of the document D3 reaches the platen glass 29, the main motor M3.
Is switched to reverse rotation (see FIG. 27 (f)). Therefore, the document D3 is switched back by a predetermined amount,
At this point, the fourth document D4 is fed out in advance until just before the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 27 (g)). on the other hand,
The document D2 is ejected by the reversing roller 100 and the ejection roller 110, and even after the main motor M3 is switched to the reverse rotation, the conveyance belt 9 is conveyed by the conveyance force of the reversing roller 100.
The conveyance force due to the reverse rotation of 5 is overcome and the discharge is continued.

When the document D3 is switched back and the document D4 is fed, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction, and when the leading edge of the document D3 reaches the exposure reference position SP, the main motor M3 is turned off ( FIG. 27 (h)). At this point, the document D2 is discharged onto the tray 115. When the exposure of the originals D3 and D4 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven to drive the originals D3 and D4.
Are discharged onto the tray 115 (see FIG. 28 (i)).
At this time, the main motor M3 is temporarily turned off when the rear end of the document D3 is separated from the conveyance belt 95, and the documents D3 and D4 are
To prevent the disturbance on the tray 115.

FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 show the document conveyance state when large size documents are mixed in the pre-step mode. Here, as shown in FIG. 29A, a case in which large-sized originals D2 are mixed in even-numbered originals will be described as an example. Paper feeding of the first original D1, conveyance to the intermediate position IP, and paper feeding of the second original D2 are the same as those shown in FIGS. 17A to 17D (see FIG. 29B). ). Next, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and the document D1 is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP. At the same time, the leading edge of the document D2 also reaches the intermediate position IP, but since the document D2 is large in size, it does not pass through the registration roller 90, and due to the combination of the registration sensor SE2 and the timer, it is large in size at this point. Is judged,
The feeding of the third original is prohibited (see FIG. 29C). Also, paper jam detection is prohibited. In this state, the document D1 is exposed. When the exposure is completed, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and
The discharge motor M4 is driven. As a result, the document D1 is discharged to the tray 115, and the document D2 is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP (see FIG. 29D). Further, the third document D3 is fed and the registration roller 90
Wait just before.

Here, the image exposure of the document D2 is performed, but since the document D2 is large in size, so-called book division copying is performed. Book division copy refers to a copy mode in which a large-sized document is divided into a first-half A area and a rear-B area, and an image is formed in each area. Next, the main motor M3 is driven in the forward direction by the pulse P02 and the discharge motor M4 is driven. Here, the document D3 is conveyed / stopped to the intermediate position IP (see FIG. 30 (e)). The document D2 is conveyed by the conveyance force of the reversing roller 100 even when the rotation of the conveyance belt 95 is stopped, and the document D2 is conveyed to the tray 1
15 is discharged. Further, the fourth document D4 is fed and stands by immediately before the registration roller 90.

Next, the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction by the pulse P02, and the document D3 is transported to the exposure reference position SP and the document D4 is transported to the intermediate position IP (see FIG. 30 (f)). The ejection of the original document D2 is continued as it is, and the ejection motor M4 is turned off when the ejection is completed. In parallel with this, the document D3 is exposed, and when it is finished, the main motor M3 is exposed.
Is driven in the normal direction by a pulse P02 and the discharge motor M
4 is driven. Therefore, the document D3 is discharged onto the tray 115, and the document D4 is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP (see FIG. 30 (g)). After the exposure of the document D1 is completed, the main motor M3 and the discharge motor M4 are driven, and the document D4 is discharged onto the tray 115 (see FIG. 30 (h)).

When the large-sized document D2 is set to the exposure position during execution of the pre-step mode (see FIG. 29).
(See (d)), book division copying is performed. In addition, when the image exposure of the first half area of the document D2 is completed, the document D2 is conveyed by half the length, that is, the center of the document D2 is positioned at the exposure reference position SP, and the image exposure of the remaining second half area is performed. You can go.

By the way, in the first embodiment described so far, the reversing roller 100 and the discharging roller 110 for discharging the document are the discharging motor M4 different from the main motor M3 for driving the registration roller 90 and the conveying belt 95. The one driven by. Separately from this, the reversing roller 10
A second embodiment in which the 0 and the discharge roller 110 are driven by the main motor M3 in synchronization with the registration roller 90 and the conveyor belt 95 will be described below.

In FIG. 31, a pulley 160 is fixed to the output shaft of the main motor M3, and a timing belt 162 is stretched between the pulley 160 and the pulley 161. Gear 163 fixed coaxially with pulley 161
And the gear 16 mounted on the support shaft 166 of the reversing roller 100.
Gears 164 and 165 are interposed between the gears 7 and 7. A pulley 168 is fixed to one end of the support shaft 166. The pulley 168, the pulley 171 fixed to one end of the support shaft 170 of the discharge roller 110, and the support shaft 174 of the gear 165.
The timing belt 1 is attached to the pulley 175 attached to one end of the
72 are stretched over. The timing belt 172 is tensioned by a roller 173.

Further, the gear 167 and the pulley 175.
Are attached to the support shafts 166 and 174 via one-way clutches 181 and 182, respectively. The one-way clutch 181 attached to the gear 167 has the gear 167 shown in FIG.
When rotating in the arrow direction indicated by the solid line, the rotation is not transmitted to the support shaft 166, and only when rotating in the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line, the rotation is transmitted to the support shaft 166. The one-way clutch 182 attached to the pulley 175 transmits the rotation to the pulley 175 when the support shaft 174 rotates in the arrow direction indicated by the solid line, and transmits the rotation when it rotates in the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line. Never communicate to.

The one-way clutches 181 and 182 have two
During execution of the in-1 mode, the main motor M3 is driven in the reverse direction to reverse the conveyor belt 95, and the original is placed on the platen glass 29.
The reversing roller 100 and the discharging roller 110 are provided to maintain the normal rotation even when the above switch back is performed. That is, the reverse roller 100 and the discharge roller 110 always rotate normally in the document discharge direction regardless of whether the main motor M3 rotates normally or reversely.

Specifically, when the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction, each member rotates in the direction of the arrow indicated by the solid line. In this case, the gear 167 rotates in the direction of the arrow indicated by the solid line, but the one-way clutch 181 is turned off, and this rotation is not transmitted to the support shaft 166. Meanwhile, the gear 165
The rotation in the direction of the arrow indicated by the solid line in FIG.
Is turned on, the pulley 17 is
5 and the rotation of the pulley 175 is transmitted to the timing belt 172. Based on the rotation of the timing belt 172 in the direction of the arrow indicated by the solid line, the reversing roller 100 rotates in the forward direction via the pulley 168 and the support shaft 166, and
The discharge roller 110 normally rotates via the pulley 171 and the support shaft 170.

On the other hand, when the main motor M3 is driven in the reverse direction, the pulleys 160 and 161, the timing belt 16
2. Gears 163, 164, 165 and 167 rotate in the direction of the arrow indicated by the dotted line. Further, the support shaft 174 of the gear 165 also rotates in the direction of the arrow indicated by the dotted line, but at this time, the one-way clutch 182 is turned off, and this rotation causes the pulley 175 to rotate.
Will not be transmitted to. On the other hand, the one-way clutch 181 of the gear 167 is turned on, the rotation of the gear 167 is transmitted to the support shaft 166, and the reversing roller 100 maintains the normal rotation. The rotation of the support shaft 166 is transmitted to the timing belt 172 via the pulley 168 and further transmitted to the support shaft 170 via the pulley 171, so that the discharge roller 110 also keeps normal rotation. At this time, the pulley 175 is the timing belt 1
Although the one-way clutch 182 is in the off state as described above, the support shaft 174 and the pulley 17 are rotated.
No. 5 and No. 5 rotate in opposite directions.

32, 33, and 34 show the document conveyance state in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment. This second
The 2-in-1 mode in the embodiment is basically the same as the 2-in-1 mode in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 20, 21, and 22. The difference is that the second embodiment does not require ON / OFF control of the discharge motor M4. Figure 3
As shown in 3 (h), the main motor M3 is reversed,
When the third document D3 is switched back, the reverse rollers 100 and the discharge rollers 110 are kept in the normal rotation state by the action of the clutches 181 and 182, and the first document D1 is discharged. However, the second document D2 is the document D3.
It is switched back together with the two originals D1,
A space is provided at the time of discharging D2, and disorder on the tray 115 is prevented. Further, as shown in FIG. 34 (k), when the documents D3 and D4 are discharged, the main motor M3 is released when the rear end of the document D3 is separated from the conveyor belt 95.
Is rotated for a predetermined time and then forward. As a result, similar to the documents D1 and D2, the documents D3 and D4 can be spaced from each other.

FIGS. 35, 36, and 37 will be described by taking as an example the case where large-sized originals are mixed in odd-numbered sheets in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment. The document transport process in this case is basically the same as the document transport process described with reference to FIGS. 23, 24, and 25. The difference is the processing at the time of document ejection. That is, as shown in FIG. 36 (f),
The originals D1 and D2 are juxtaposed at the exposure position on the platen glass 29, and after the exposure is completed, the third large-sized original D3 is printed.
When the document is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP, when the leading edge of the document D2 slightly exceeds the discharge roller 110, the main motor M
The forward rotation of 3 is once turned off (see FIG. 36 (g)). Then, when the time for surely discharging the first document D1 onto the tray 115 has elapsed, the main motor M3 is rotated in the normal direction. Such control prevents the document D2 from protruding the document D1 and disturbing the alignment on the tray 115. When the leading edge of the third document D3 reaches the exposure reference position SP, the main motor M3 is turned off (FIG. 36).
(See (h)). At this time, the document D2 has not completely passed through the discharge roller 110, but is stopped in this state.

Next, while the document D3 is exposed,
The fourth document D4 is fed and stands by immediately before the registration roller 90 (see FIG. 37 (i)). After the exposure is completed, the main motor M3 is driven to rotate normally, the document D2 is completely discharged onto the tray 115, and the main motor M3 is turned off when the leading edge of the document D4 reaches the exposure reference position SP (see FIG. 37 (j)). At this time, the document D3 is still being discharged, but is stopped in this state, and the document D4 is exposed. After the exposure is completed, the main motor M3 is driven to rotate normally, and the document D3 is completely discharged onto the tray 115, and then the document D4 is discharged.

The case where the large-sized originals are mixed in the even-numbered originals in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment is not shown. However, also in this case, FIG. 26, FIG.
This is basically the same as the document conveying process in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. The difference is that, as shown in FIG. 27E, when the main motor M3 is turned off at the time when the leading edge of the second large-sized document D2 reaches the exposure reference position SP, the first document D1 is turned off. The point is that the discharge of is temporarily stopped midway.

Next, the count mode will be described.
The count mode refers to a mode in which, before the copy process is started using the ADF 60, the document is cycled through the ADF 60 in advance without a copy operation and the number of documents is counted. If the number of originals is odd in the 2-in-1 mode, the ADF 60 that starts feeding from the last page is 1
There is a problem that the image of the page is formed on half of one copy sheet, that is, half of the cover of the copy is blank. Therefore, the ADF 60 counts the number of documents in advance, and if the number is an odd number, only the last page document to be fed first is transported to the platen glass 29, and the subsequent documents are transported in the 2-in-1 mode. I decided to. Further, since similar problems occur in double-sided copying and composite copying, it is necessary to count the number of documents in advance in the count mode.

Since the copy operation is not involved in the count mode, it is preferable to process at the highest speed (short time). However, since the ADF 60 employs a method of stopping the leading edge of the document at the reference position SP on the downstream side of the platen glass 29 in the transport direction, when the document is stopped at the reference position SP even in the count mode, the distance between the document and the document is increased. Will be larger, and more time will be spent idling.

Therefore, in the count mode, the trailing edge of the document is at the position X on the platen glass 29 (see FIG. 15).
The document is temporarily stopped based on the time point when the document reaches. As a result, the distance between the originals during execution of the count mode becomes the length from the stop reference position X to the nip portion of the registration roller 90, and the processing time is greatly reduced. The arrival of the trailing edge of the document at the reference position X can be detected by detecting the trailing edge of the document by the registration sensor SE2 and then counting the number of pulses driving the main motor M3.

Note that the reference position X here is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 15 and can be set arbitrarily. Contributes to shortening. Further, the reference position X does not need to be set on the platen glass 29, and may be on the downstream side of the nip portion of the registration roller 90. The processing time is shortened as the reference position X approaches the nip portion of the registration roller 90.

Further, in the count mode, it is preferable that the ADF 60 conveys the document at a speed faster than the reference speed at which the document is conveyed during the copying process. Furthermore, not only the count mode but also the operation of the ADF 60 that delays the copy operation, that is, the above-mentioned copy productivity 1
When performing an operation that causes a decrease of 00%,
It is preferable that the document conveyance speed is faster than the reference speed. The operation of delaying the copy operation means that when the double-sided original is reversed by the reversing roller 100, when the original that is fed first is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP, the original that is fed last is trayed from the platen glass 29. It is time to discharge to 115.

Next, the control circuit and control procedure of the ADF 60 will be described. In the following description, the discharge motor M is basically used.
A first embodiment having No. 4 will be described. After that, the main points of the second embodiment in which the discharge motor is also used as the main motor M3 will be described. The control is executed by the CPU 1 (see FIG. 38) for controlling the copying machine main body 1 and the CPU 2 for controlling the ADF 60. CPU1, CPU
The two exchange information at necessary timings.

In the following control, on-edge means that the switch, sensor, signal, etc. are switched from the off state to on-state, and off-edge is the switch, sensor, signal, etc. are switched from the on-state to the off-state. Means to replace. Further, the sensors SE1, SE2,
SE3, SE10, SE11, and SE12 are turned on when the optical axis is shielded and turned off when they are opened. In the case of a flag, "1" is turned on and "0" is turned off.

FIG. 40 shows a CPU 1 for controlling the main body 1 of the copying machine.
The main routine of is shown. When the power is turned on and the CPU 1 is reset and the program starts, in step S1, the RAM is cleared, various registers are reset, and initial settings for setting various devices to the initial mode are performed. Then, in step S2, an internal timer is started. The internal timer defines the time required for one routine of this main routine, and its value is set in step S1. The internal timer serves as a reference for counting various timers that appear in each subroutine.

Next, the subroutines of steps S3 to S6 are sequentially called, the necessary processing is performed, and at step S7, the end of the internal timer is waited for, and the process returns to step S2. Step S3 is to copy the copy paper to the timing roller 38.
Is a subroutine for feeding up to. Step S4
Is a subroutine for erasing the surface charge of the photosensitive drum 10. Step S5 is a subroutine for scanning the optical system 20 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 10. Step S6 is other processing,
That is, the processes of driving the photoconductor drum 10 and its surrounding elements, transporting copy paper, fixing, and detecting paper jam are processed.

Further, the CPU1 is connected to the CPU2 via a serial communication line, and the transmission / reception thereof is performed by interrupt processing in step S8. FIG. 41 shows Step S4
Shows an erase subroutine executed in. First, in step S11, it is determined whether the flag HERASE is "1". The flag HERASE is set to "1" and transmitted to the CPU 1 in the 2-in-1 mode when the second document of the pair of documents has a large size. Therefore, the flag HE
If RASE is "1", the electrostatic latent image in the latter half of the scan area is erased in step S12. Flag HER
If ASE is "0", the electric charge in the normal inter-image portion is erased. Note that the optical system 2 is replaced by the optical system 2 instead of the processing in step S12.
The 0 scan area may be limited to the first half.

FIG. 42 shows a scanning subroutine by the optical system 20 executed in step S5. First, in step S21, it is determined whether the pre-step mode is set, in step S22 it is determined whether the flag LSIZE is "1", and in step S23 it is determined whether small size paper has already been fed. The flag LSIZE is set to "1" when a large-sized document is set at the exposure position, and C
It is transmitted to PU1. Steps S21, S22, S23
If YES is determined in all, book scanning is processed in step S24. Book scanning refers to a scanning mode of the optical system 20 in the book division copying process described in the document transportation in the pre-step mode. Then, in step S25, the paper for transferring the image in the latter half of the book scan is first fed.

Next, the control procedure of the CPU 2 for controlling the ADF 60 will be described. Before that, the counter used for control, the pulse for controlling the main motor M3, and the timer will be described. Counter DCNT1: Used for feeding copy paper to the copying machine main body 1, and its value is transmitted to the CPU 1 by interrupt processing. When a document is set on the tray 61 (when the empty sensor SE1 is turned on), it is set to "1", and the sensor SE is turned off by the off edge of the registration sensor SE2.
If 1 is on, the value is incremented and decremented at the on edge of the flag DCHG requesting document replacement. The copying machine main body 1 controls to feed the number of sheets obtained by multiplying the value of DCNT1 by the number of copies.

Counter DCNT2: Counts the number of documents in the transport path of the ADF 60 in the count mode. It is incremented at the on-edge of the registration sensor SE2 and decremented when the document is completely discharged. Counter DCNT3: pre-step mode and 2-in-1
In the mode, it is used to count the number of sheets discharged during the document exchange process. The number of originals set on the platen glass 29 in the original exchange process is set,
The document is decremented when it is completely discharged.

Counter GCNT: Used to count the number of originals during copy processing. Registration sensor S
It is incremented at the off edge of E2 and reset at the end of the copy process. Counter PLSCNT1: Counts the number of pulses since the main motor M3 was turned on. It is incremented during normal rotation and decremented during reverse rotation.

Counter PLSCNT2: Counts the number of pulses of the main motor M3 after the registration sensor SE2 is turned off. It is incremented at the time of forward rotation and decremented at the time of reverse rotation. Counter SIZCNT1: Used to detect the size of the document. When the registration sensor SE2 is turned off P
The value of LSCNT1 is stored.

Pulse P01: The number of pulses from when the main motor M3 is normally driven to when the small-sized original is conveyed in the pre-step mode until the speed is reduced. At the end of this pulse number, advance feeding of the next document is started. Pulse P02: The number of pulses from when the main motor M3 is normally driven to when it is turned off when a small-sized document is conveyed in the pre-step mode, and corresponds to L / 2.

Pulse P03: The number of pulses from when the main motor M3 is driven in the normal direction to when the main motor M3 is decelerated in the pre-step mode except for small-sized originals. At the end of this pulse number, advance feeding of the next document is started. Pulse P04 (corresponding to L): The number of pulses from when the main motor M3 is normally driven to when it is turned off except when a small-sized document is conveyed in the pre-step mode.

Pulse P05: Two small size originals are set on the platen glass 29 in the 2-in-1 mode.
When the next large document is conveyed, the main motor M3
The number of pulses from when the motor is driven in the forward direction until it is decelerated. Pulse P06 (A4 lateral feed + α, or equivalent to L / 2):
When a large size document is conveyed following two small size documents on the platen glass 29 in the 2-in-1 mode, the number of pulses from when the main motor M3 is normally driven to when it is turned off (for discharging the original document). Stop once).

Pulse P07: The number of pulses from when the registration sensor SE2 is turned off to when the main motor M3 is reversely driven when a small-sized document is conveyed in the 2-in-1 mode. Pulse P08: The number of pulses when a small-sized document is switched back in the 2-in-1 mode.

Pulse P09: The number of pulses from when the registration sensor SE2 is turned off to when the main motor M3 is turned off in the count mode. Timer T101: The timing for turning on the sheet feeding motor M2 after the pickup motor M1 is turned off is set. Timer T102: The paper feed motor M2 is turned off after the registration sensor SE2 is turned on.

Timer T201: The timing for turning off the stopper solenoid SL1 is taken after the main motor M3 is turned off. Timer T202: Registration sensor SE in 2-in-1 mode
The timing for turning on the pickup motor M1 is set after 2 is turned off. Timer T301: The discharge motor M4 is turned off after the discharge sensor SE3 is turned off.

Timer T401: 2 in the second embodiment
When ejecting the last two documents in the in-1 mode, the main motor M3 is turned on and then turned off. Timer T501: In the second embodiment, when the document is switched back in the 2-in-1 mode, the main motor M3 is reversely driven and then turned off. FIG. 43 shows the main routine of the CPU 2 which controls the ADF 60.

When the power is turned on, the CPU 2 is reset and the program starts, step S101
Clears the RAM, resets various registers, and makes initial settings for setting various devices to the initial mode. Then, in step S102, an internal timer is started.
The internal timer defines the time required for one routine of this main routine, and its value is set in step S101. This internal timer also serves as a reference for counting various timers that appear in the subroutines described below.

Next, the subroutines of steps S103 to S106 are sequentially called to perform the necessary processing, and in step S107, the completion of the internal timer is awaited, and then in step S10.
Return to 2. Step S103 is a subroutine for setting the document transportation speed of the ADF 60. Step S
Reference numeral 104 is a subroutine for exchanging a document on the platen glass 29. Step S105 is a subroutine for counting various timers. In step S105, other processing, that is, A / D conversion, input processing, output processing, paper jam detection, and the like are processed.

As shown in FIG. 44, the interrupt processing for the CPU 2 includes various interrupt processing such as controlling the main motor M3 in step S111, and steps S112 and S11.
In 3 the data transmission process and the data reception process with the CPU 1,
It is appropriately performed regardless of the processing in the main routine of the CPU 2. FIG. 45 shows an initial setting subroutine executed in step S101.

In step S121, each data and each counter in the RAM are cleared. In step S122, the timers T101, T102, T202, T301 are reset. In step S123, each flag is reset. In step S124, the motors M1, M2, M3,
M4 and scale solenoid SL1 are turned off. In step S125, the internal timer is set to a predetermined value. In step S126, the paper feed status K is set to "1". In step S127, other initial settings are processed.

FIG. 46 shows a speed setting subroutine executed in step S103. Here, the conveyor belt 9
The document conveyance speed (belt speed) according to 5 is V ₀ , V ₁ ,
Set to 5 types of V ₂ , V ₃ and V ₄ . Belt speed V ₁ ,
V ₂ and V ₃ are values corresponding to the respective copy speeds with three types of copy speeds depending on the model of the copying machine.

The belt speed V ₁ is a speed at which 100% copy productivity is maintained in combination with a model of A4 transverse feed and a copy speed of 60 cpm. That is, it means the speed at which the original can be replaced within the return time of the optical system 20. Specifically, if the system speed of the main body of the copying machine is 300 mm / sec, the scan length in A4 transverse feeding is 210 mm. The return time of the optical system 20 is (60sec / 60cpm)-(210mm / 300mm
/sec)=0.3 sec. If the distance from the nip portion of the registration roller 90 to the exposure reference position SP is L as shown in FIG. / 2
V1).

Therefore, L / 2V ₁ ≦ 0.3 V ₁ ≧ L / 2 × 0.3. Belt speed V ₂ has a copy speed of 45c
The pm copier body and belt speed V ₃ correspond to the copier body with a copy speed of 30 cpm. Here V ₁
> V ₂ > V ₃ .

The belt speed V ₀ is a speed when the first original is conveyed to the exposure reference position SP, and is set to a value higher than the belt speed V _{1 in} order not to reduce copy productivity. Also, the belt speed is
Otherwise the pre-step mode, i.e., in the case of the count mode or the like of the two-sided document conveyance mode and the number of documents are set to V _0.

The belt speed V ₄ is the conveying speed when the final document is discharged, and is equal to the belt speed V ₀ . In this subroutine, it is first determined in step S131 whether or not the process of setting the first document at the exposure position has been completed. If not completed, step S132
To set the belt speed to V ₀ . If you're done,
In step S133, it is determined whether the pre-step mode is set. If the pre-step mode is not set, the step S13 is performed.
Move to 2. If in pre-step mode, step S
Check the copy speed at 134. The copy speed is checked based on the copy speed data of the copying machine body 1 transmitted from the CPU 1. If the copy speed is 60 cpm, the belt speed is set to V ₁ in step S135, and if it is 45 cpm, step S13.
Set the belt speed to V ₂ at 6. Also, 30 cp
If m, the belt speed is set to V ₃ in step S137.

Next, in step S138, it is determined whether or not the final document is discharged. If YES, the belt speed is set to V ₄ in step S139. The belt speeds V ₁ , V ₂ , and V ₃ may be set by a dip switch built in the ADF 60, instead of the method of setting the belt speeds based on the data transmitted from the CPU 1. Alternatively, this type of data detection means may be provided at the contact portion of the ADF 60 with the copying machine body 1. Specifically, a magnet indicating the copy speed is installed on the upper frame of the copying machine main body 1, and a sensor for detecting the magnet is installed on the ADF 60. The CPU 2 reads the copy speed of the copying machine main body 1 and sets the belt speed on the basis of the signal indicated by the magnet from this sensor.

FIG. 47 shows a document exchange subroutine executed in step S104. In this subroutine, MODE is checked in step S140, and the following processing is performed based on the value. MODE is set to a predetermined value according to the document conveyance mode selected by the operator (see FIG. 48, steps S167 to S170).

When MODE is "0", step S14
Process the start check at 1. When the value is "1", the paper feeding process is performed in step S142, the pre-step setting is performed in step S143, and the paper ejection process is performed in step S144. When the value is “2”, the sheet is fed in step S145, and the sheet is fed in step S146.
In 1 set, paper ejection is processed in step S147.
When the value is "3", the sheet is fed in step S148, and step S1 is performed.
In step 49, the number of originals is counted, and in step S150, count discharge is processed. If MODE has a value other than the above, other operations such as the double-sided mode are processed in step S151.

FIG. 48 shows a start check subroutine executed in step S141. This subroutine is processed when MODE is "0", that is, when the ADF 60 is on standby. First, in step S161, it is determined whether the empty sensor SE1 is on. If it is not turned on, it means that the original has not been set on the tray 61, and the DCNT1 is reset to "0" in step S162. When the sensor SE1 is turned on (when a document is set on the tray 61), step S1
At 63, DCNT1 is set to "1", and step S16
At 4, it is determined whether the flag DCHG is "1". The flag DCHG is a command for requesting document replacement when it is "1", and is transmitted from the CPU 1. This flag DC
The HG is set to "1" when the print key is turned on and the scanning for the number of copies is completed. Therefore, the flag DC
If HG is "0", it immediately returns. If it is "1", this flag DCHG is reset to "0" in step S165, and status K is set to "3" in step S166. The status K is used in the paper feeding subroutine and is set to "3" to feed the originals one by one.

Next, in step S167, the original mode is checked. If in pre-step mode, step S1
In 68, MODE is set to "1", in 2-in-1 mode, MODE is set to "2" in step S169, and in count mode, MOD is set in step S170.
Set E to "3". The description is omitted for other document modes.

In the count mode, this subroutine is terminated. In the pre-step mode and the 2-in-1 mode, DCNT1 is decremented in step S171.
In step S172, it is determined whether the dip switch SW1 is on. The dip switch SW1 is a switch for setting the original stop mode to the scale mode, and if the switch SW1 is on, step S
In step S17, α / 2 is added to the pulse P02 in step S173.
In step 4, α is added to the pulse P04 (see FIG. 16, α is the overrun amount). Pulse P0 in pulse control mode
2, such correction for P04 is unnecessary.

49 to 52 are steps S142 and S1.
45 shows a subroutine for sheet feeding executed in S148. In this subroutine, the paper feed status K is checked in step S180, and the following processing is performed based on the values "0" to "8". When the status K is “1” (refer to step S126 of initial setting), the tip regulation plate 63
And the pressing plate 70 is moved to the home position. That is,
In step S181, the pickup motor M1 is normally rotated, and in step S182, it is determined whether the cam sensor SE11 is on edge. As shown in FIG. 7, the tip regulation plate 6
The home position of 3 is the regulation position for the original (moved upward)
The home position of the pressing plate 70 is the pressing release position (upward movement) for the document. The pickup motor M1 connected to the cam shaft 147 is rotated in the forward direction, and the cam sensor SE1
When 1 is shielded by the edge portion 148a of the disc 148 and turned on, both are set to the home position. Therefore, when the on-edge of the cam sensor SE11 is confirmed in step S182, the pickup motor M1 is turned off in step S183, and the status K is set to "2" in step S184.

When the status K is "2", nothing is processed. When the status K is "3" (see step S166 of the start check), the leading edge regulating plate 63 is moved to the retracted position and the pressing plate 70 is moved downward to apply the sheet feeding pressure to the document. That is, the pickup motor M1 is normally rotated in step S185, and it is determined in step S186 whether the cam sensor SE11 is off-edge. The disks 148 and 149 rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 7 due to the normal rotation of the pickup motor M1, and when the cam sensor SE11 rotates 250 ° from the states of FIGS.
The edge portion 148b of No. 8 is opened and turned off. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the leading edge regulating plate 63 maintains the retracted position, and the pressing plate 70 pushes the leading edge of the document against the pickup roller 65. Therefore, when the on-edge of the cam sensor SE11 is confirmed in step S186, the pickup motor M1 is turned off in step S187, and the timer T101 is set in step S188. Further, the status K is set to "4" in step S189.

When the status K is "4", when the completion of the counting of the timer T101 is confirmed in step S190, the paper feed motor M2 is turned on in step S191. As a result, the pickup roller 65 and the separation roller 75 are rotationally driven, and the document on the lowermost layer is fed. Further, the status K is set to "5" in step S192.

When the status K is "5", the on-edge of the registration sensor SE2 is confirmed in step S193 (when the leading edge of the document is detected by the sensor SE2).
The timer T102 is set in step S194, and DCNT2 is incremented in step S195. Further, the status K is set to "6" in step S196.

When the status K is "6", when the completion of counting of the timer T102 is confirmed in step S197, the width sensor SE10 is turned on in step S198.
Determine off. The width sensor SE10 is for detecting the width dimension of the fed document. If it is on, the width flag is set to "1" in step S199, and if it is off, the width flag is set to "0" in step S200. Reset to.
Then, in step S201, the paper feed motor M2 is turned off,
In step S202, the pickup motor M1 is rotated in the reverse direction. As a result, the cam plates 145, 146 start rotating clockwise from the state shown in FIG. Further, the status K is set to "7" in step S203.

When the status K is "7", the pressing plate 7
0 is moved to the upper retracted position. Cam plates 145, 14
When 6 reverses clockwise by 160 ° (see Fig. 9),
The tip regulation plate 63 maintains the retracted position downward, while the pressing plate 70 retracts upward. At this time, the cam sensor SE
12 is shielded from light by the edge portion 149a of the disc 149 and turned on. Therefore, in step S204, the cam sensor SE12
When the on-edge of is picked up, the pickup motor M1 is turned off in step S205. Then, step S2
At 06, it is determined whether the flag DSET is "0". This flag DSET indicates that when the document is set at the exposure position,
Set to "1" (steps S241, S259 in pre-step mode, step S36 in 2-in-1 mode)
1). Only when the flag DSET is "0", the set status S is incremented in step S207.
Further, the status K is set to "8" in step S208.

This completes the document feeding process. When the status K is "8", nothing is processed. Fig. 53
59 to 59 show a pre-step set subroutine executed in step S143. In this subroutine, the set status S is checked in step S210, and the following processing is performed based on the value "0" to "9".

When the status S is "0", nothing is processed. When the status S is "1" (paper feeding is completed, see step S207), the main motor M3 is rotated in the normal direction at high speed in step S211. As a result, the document is sent from the registration roller 90 onto the platen glass 29. Then, in step S212, the PLSCNT1 outputs the pulse P01.
It is determined whether or not is counted. When PLSCNT1 counts the pulse P01, it is determined in step S213 whether the registration sensor SE2 is off, and step S2
At 14, it is determined whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. The pulse P01 is the number of pulses corresponding to a small-sized document, and when the registration sensor SE2 is off and the empty sensor SE1 is on, that is, the fed document is a small size and the next document remains on the tray 61. If so, the status K is set to "3" in step S215, the main motor M3 is decelerated in step S216, and step S21 is performed.
The status S is set to "2" at 7.

On the other hand, if the registration sensor SE2 is turned on, the original is a large size, and therefore the flag LSIZE is set to "1" in step S219, and step S22 is performed.
At 0, the status S is set to "7". If the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next document, so the status K is set to "1" in step S218.
In step S220, the status S is set to "7".

When the PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P01 (NO in step S212), if the off edge of the registration sensor SE2 is confirmed in step S221, the size of the document is detected in step S222.
Further, in step S223, it is determined whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on, and if it is on (if there is a next document), DCNT1 is incremented in step S224.

When the status S is "2", it is determined in step S225 whether or not the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P02. The pulse P02 moves the document at a distance L / 2.
(Refer to FIG. 15) It is the number of pulses required for carrying. Therefore, when PLSCNT1 counts the pulse P02 (when the leading edge of the document reaches the intermediate position IP), the main motor M3 is turned off in step S226, and the status S is set to "3". When the PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P02, the steps S221 to S2 described above are performed.
Process 24.

When the status S is "3", nothing is processed. If the status S is "4" (completion of pre-feeding of the next document, refer to step S207, or DCH
(See step S288 of G check 1), step S2
At 28, the main motor M3 is normally rotated at high speed. As a result, the original document is transported to the exposure position and the subsequent document is transported to the pre-step position. Then, in step S229, PL
When it is determined that the SCNT1 has counted the pulse P01, it is determined in step S230 whether the registration sensor SE2 is off, and in step S231, the empty sensor S2.
It is determined whether E1 is on. If the sensor SE2 is off and the sensor SE1 is on, that is, if the succeeding document has a small size and the next document remains on the tray 61, the paper feed status K is set to "3" in step S232. In step S235, the main motor M3 is decelerated,
The scale 120 is projected at 236 (see FIG. 60 in the scale mode), and status S is set at step S237.
Is set to "5".

On the other hand, if the registration sensor SE2 is turned on, the succeeding original has a large size, and therefore the step S2 is performed.
In step 34, the first-out prohibition flag is set to "1", and steps S235 to S237 described above are processed. If the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next document, so the paper feed status K is set to "1" in step S233, and the above steps S235 to S237 are processed.

When PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P01 (NO in step S229), steps S221 to S224 described above are processed to detect the size of the succeeding document. When the status S is "5", it is determined in step S238 whether the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P02. If YES, that is, if the leading edge of the preceding document reaches the exposure reference position SP and the leading edge of the following document reaches the intermediate position IP, step S239.
Then, the main motor M3 is turned off. Then, step S2
The timer T201 is set at 40, the flag DSET is set to "1" at step S241, and step S242.
To set the status S to "6". Flag DSET
Indicates that the document has been set at the exposure position when it is "1" and is transmitted to the CPU 1. In the copying machine main body 1, when the flag DSET is "1", the scanning operation of the optical system 20 becomes possible. When PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P02, steps S221 to S224 described above are processed.

When the status S is "6", when it is confirmed that the timer T201 has finished counting in step S243, the scale solenoid SL1 is checked in step S244.
Turn off. In the scale mode, the scale 120 is retracted downward here, and in the pulse control mode, the scale 120 is retracted. Further, DCHG check 1 is processed in step S245. The DCHG check 1 subroutine will be described with reference to FIG.

When the status S is "7" (DCHG
Check 1 (see step S292), step S24
At 6, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the forward direction. As a result, the large size document is conveyed from the intermediate position IP. Then, in step S247, it is determined whether the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P03. PLSCNT1 is pulse P
When 03 is counted, it is determined in step S248 whether the registration sensor SE2 is off, and in step S249 it is determined whether the empty sensor SE1 is on. If the registration sensor SE2 is off and the empty sensor SE1 is on, step S250 is performed to feed the next document.
To set status K to "3". Further, in step S252, the main motor M3 is decelerated, and in step S2
The scale 120 is projected at 53 (see FIG. 60 in the scale mode), and the status S is set to "8" at step S254.

On the other hand, if the registration sensor SE2 is turned on, the trailing edge of the large-sized document has not yet passed the registration roller 90 at this time, and the paper jam is processed in step S255. If the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next original document, so the status K is set to "1" in step S251, and the above-described step S25 is performed.
2 to S254 are processed.

When PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P03 (NO in step S247), steps S221 to S224 described above are processed to detect the size of the document. When the status S is "8", step S2
At 56, it is determined whether PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P04. If YES, that is, if the leading edge of the large-sized document reaches the exposure reference position SP, step S2
At 57, the main motor M3 is turned off. Succeedingly, in a step S258, a timer T201 is set, and in a step S25.
In step 9, the flag DSET is set to "1" and step S2
At 60, the status S is set to "6". PLSCN
When T1 is counting the pulse P04, steps S221 to S224 described above are processed.

When the status S is "9" (DCHG
(See step S293 of check 1), step S26
At 1, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the normal direction. As a result, the document is ejected from the exposure position. Then, step S26
When the off edge of the discharge sensor SE3 is confirmed in 2, that is, when the trailing edge of the document is separated from the conveyor belt 95, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S263. Then, MODE is reset to "0" in step S264, and status S is reset to "0" in step S265.

Here, the paper jam detection in the pre-step mode will be described. When the status S is "1", the paper jam is not processed even if the registration sensor SE2 is on (NO in step S213). However, when the status S is "7", the document is pulsed P
If the registration sensor SE2 is turned on after being transported for 03 minutes (NO in step S248), the paper jam is processed. That is, the pulse P03 is set to be slightly shorter than the distance L (see FIG. 15), and it is determined NO in step S248 if the original is L (500 mm) or longer.
This is a case where the sheet is staying near the registration roller 90 due to poor conveyance. In such a case, it is detected as a paper jam. Further, when the status S is "4", even if the registration sensor SE2 is on (N in step S230
O), the first-out prohibition flag is set to "1", but the paper jam is not processed.

By the above processing, even in the pre-step mode, even if large-sized originals are mixed and set on the tray 61, the originals can be conveyed without trouble. Fig. 60
Indicates a scale subroutine executed in steps S236, S253 and step S347 described below. Here, in step S271, the dip switch S
If W1 is turned on, and if it is on (if the scale mode is selected), the solenoid SL1 is turned on in step S272, the scale 120 is slightly projected onto the platen glass 29, and the original is exposed as an exposure reference. Forced stop at position SP.

FIG. 61 shows D executed in step S245.
The CHG check 1 subroutine is shown. Here, it is determined in step S281 whether the flag DCHG is "1", and the following process is performed only when the flag DCHG is "1". Flag DCH
G is transmitted from the CPU 1 of the copying machine main body 1 in order to request the ADF 60 for document replacement.

If the flag DCHG is "1", the value of the paper feed status K is checked in step S282. Here, the following processing is performed only when the status K is "2" and "8". When the status K is "8" (when the next original has been fed in advance), the status K is set to "2" in step S283, and it is determined in step S284 whether the flag LSIZE is "1". . Flag LSIZ
If E is "1" (if a large-sized document is fed), the status S is set to "1" in step S285, DCNT1 is decremented in step S286, and the document to be ejected in step S287. DCNT3 for counting the number of sheets is set to "1". If the flag LSIZE is "0" (if a small-sized document is fed), the status S is set to "4" in step S288, and the above-described steps S286 and S287 are performed.
To process.

On the other hand, when the status K is "2" (when the next original is not fed, that is, when there is no next original or in the first-out state), DCNT in step S289.
It is determined whether 1 is “0”. If "0", it is determined in step S290 whether the first-out prohibition flag is "1". If the first-out prohibition flag is "1", step S2
The flag LSIZE is set to "1" at 91, the status S is set to "1" at step S292, and the above-described steps S286 and S287 are processed. If the first-out prohibition flag is "0", steps S288 and S28 described above are performed.
6, S287 is processed. If DCNT is not "0", the status S is set to "9" in step S293, and step S287 is processed.

FIG. 62 shows steps S211, S228, S.
The subroutine of high speed forward rotation of the main motor M3 executed in steps 261 and S246 is shown. Here, step S30
In 1 and S302, it is determined whether or not the main motor M3 is off, and if it is already on, this subroutine is immediately ended. If it is determined in step S301 that it is turned off, that is, the set status S is "1",
If "4" or "9", the flag L is set in step S303.
SIZE is reset to "0", and P is set in step S304.
LSCNT1 is reset to "0", and step S305
Resets the flag HERASE to "0". Subsequently, the first-out prohibition flag is reset to "0" in step S306, and the flag DCHG is set to "0" in step S307.
And the flag DSET is reset to "0" in step S308. Further, the paper discharge status H is set to "1" in step S309, and step S310
The main motor M3 is set to high speed forward rotation with to permit interruption. The main motor M3 is driven for each interrupt,
Counting is performed in PLSCNT1 and PLSCNT2.

On the other hand, in step S302, the main motor M
If it is determined that 3 is turned off, that is, if the set status S is "7", the above-mentioned steps S306 to S are performed.
Process 310. 63 to 70 are step S146.
2 shows a 2-in-1 set of subroutines to be executed in.

In this subroutine, the set status S is checked in step S320, and its value "0" to "1" is checked.
The following processing is performed based on "1". When the status S is "0", nothing is processed. When the status S is "1" (paper feeding is completed, see step S207),
In step S321, the main motor M3 is normally rotated at high speed (see FIG. 62). As a result, the document is sent from the registration roller 90 onto the platen glass 29. Then, in step S322, it is determined whether the registration sensor SE2 is off-edge. If it is off edge (if the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE2), the size of the document is detected in step S323, and it is determined in step S324 whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. If the registration sensor SE2 is on edge and the empty sensor SE1 is on, that is, if the fed original is small in size and the next original remains on the tray 61, the timer T202 is set in step S325, and in step S326. The main motor M3 is decelerated, and the status S is set to "2" in step S327.

On the other hand, if the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next original document, so the flag HERASE is set to "1" in step S328. Flag HERAS
E indicates to erase the electric charge on the photoconductor drum 10 in the latter half scan area of the optical system 20 in the 2-in-1 mode. Succeedingly, in a step S329, it is determined whether or not the DCNT3 is "2". If the DCNT3 is "2", that is, if the originals to be discharged at this time are on the two platen glass 29, the main motor M3 is determined in a step S330. Decelerates, step S3
The status S is set to "8" at 31. DCNT3
Is not “2”, the status S is set in step S332.
Is set to "5".

In step S322, the registration sensor S
If it is determined that E2 is not off-edge, step S33.
At 3, it is determined whether PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P05. The pulse P05 is the number of pulses corresponding to a large-sized document. When the pulse P05 is counted, the flag LSIZE is set to "1" in step S334, and the above-described step S329 to S331 or S332 is processed.

When the status S is "2", it is determined in step S335 whether the timer T202 has finished counting. After finishing counting, step S3
If it is determined that the paper feed status K is “2” in 36,
In step S337, the status K is set to "3",
Starts the advance feeding of the next document. If the timer T202 has not finished counting, or if it has finished counting, status K
If is not "2", then in step S338 PLSCNT
2 determines whether the pulse P07 has been counted. P
When the LSCNT 2 counts the pulse P07, the main motor M3 is switched to the low speed reverse rotation in step S339. Here, the document starts switchback. Then, in step S340, the status S is set to "3".

On the other hand, when PLSCNT2 is counting the pulse P07, as shown in FIG. 70, step S3
When the off-edge of the registration sensor SE2 is confirmed at 81, the size of the original fed onto the platen glass 29 at that time is detected at step S382. Subsequently, if it is determined in step S383 that the empty sensor SE1 is on (if the document remains on the tray 61), DCNT1 is incremented in step S384.

When the status S is "3", it is determined in step S341 whether the PLSCNT2 has counted the pulse P08. When the counting is completed, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S342. This completes the document switchback. And step S3
The status S is set to "4" at 43. When the status S is "4", nothing is processed.

When the status S is "5" (when the next original is sent from the registration roller 90, step S20
7, S370, S412), and in step S344, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the forward direction (see FIG. 62). As a result, the switched-back original document and the subsequent original document are conveyed to the exposure position. And step S3
When it is determined that the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P03 in 26, the main motor M3 is decelerated in step S346, and the scale 120 is projected in step S347 (in the scale mode, see FIG. 60).

Next, in step S348, it is determined whether or not the registration sensor SE2 is off, and in step S349, it is determined whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. Sensor S
If E2 is off and the sensor SE1 is on, that is, if the succeeding document has a small size and the next document remains on the tray 61, the paper feed status K is set to "3" in step S350, and the step S350 is performed. In step S351, the status S is set to "6". If the empty sensor SE1 is off,
Since there is no next original, the paper feed status K is set to "1" in step S352, and the above-described step S351 is processed.

On the other hand, if the registration sensor SE2 is on, it is determined in step S353 whether or not the flag LSIZE is "1". If the determination is YES, the succeeding document has a large size. The flag HERASE is set to "1" in order to copy only the small size original document. Further, the first-out prohibition flag is set to "1" in step S355, DCNT1 is incremented in step S356, and the above-described step S351 is processed. In step S353, the flag LSIZE is "0".
If the following document is of a small size and stays near the registration roller 90 at this time,
In step S357, the paper jam is processed.

When the PLSCNT1 is counting the pulse P03 (NO in the step S345), the steps S381 to S384 (see FIG. 70) described above are processed,
Detects the size of the following document. Status S is "6"
If so, it is determined in step S358 whether PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P04. If YES, that is, if the leading edge of the document reaches the exposure reference position SP, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S359.
At this time, if the succeeding document has a large size, the second half of the document remains in the paper feed unit. Then, step S360.
The timer T201 is set in step S361, the flag DSET is set to "1" in step S361, and the status S is set to "7" in step S362.

When the status S is "7", when it is confirmed in step S363 that the timer T201 has finished counting, in step S364 the scale solenoid SL1
Turn off. In the scale mode, the scale 120 is retracted downward here, and in the pulse control mode, the scale 120 is retracted. Further, DCHG check 2 is processed in step S365. The DCHG check 2 subroutine will be described with reference to FIG.

When the status S is "8" (feeding a large-sized document, see step S331), step S36
When PLSCNT1 confirms that the counting of the pulse P06 is completed in 6, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S367. Furthermore, the status S is set to "9" in step S368. When the status S is "9",
Only when it is determined in step S369 that DCNT3 is "1" (when one document is ejected), step S369
At 370, the status S is set to "5".

When the status S is "10" (DC
(See step S413 of HG check 2), step S
At 371, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed (see FIG. 62). This causes the document to be ejected from the exposure position. When the trailing edge of the document to be discharged is detected by the discharge sensor SE3 in step S372, that is, when the trailing edge of the document is separated from the conveyor belt 95, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S373. When two documents are ejected at the same time, a space between the documents is opened here. Succeedingly, in a step S374, it is determined whether or not DCNT3 is "2", and "2" is determined.
If so, the status S is set to "11" in step S375, and if it is not "2" (only one document is ejected), the status S is reset to "0" in step S376.

When the status S is "11", it is determined in step S377 whether DCNT3 is "1",
If it is "1", the status S is set to "1" in step S378.
Set to 0 ". This causes the succeeding document to be ejected.
If DCNT3 is not "1", that is, if DCNT3 is "2", it means that the original has been ejected, and no processing is performed.

In FIG. 71, D executed in step S365.
The CHG check 2 subroutine is shown. Here, it is determined in step S401 whether the flag DCHG is "1", and the following process is performed only when the flag DCHG is "1". Flag DCH
If G is "1", the value of the paper feed status K is checked in step S402. Here, the following processing is performed only when the status K is "2" and "8".

When the status K is "8" (when the next original has been fed in advance), the status K is set to "2" in step S403, and the status S is set to "1" in step S404. . Further, step S40
In step 5, DCNT1 is decremented, and in step S406 it is determined whether the flag LSIZE is "1". Flag L
If SIZE is "1" (if a large-sized document has been fed), then DCNT3 for counting the number of documents to be discharged is incremented in step S407. If the flag LSIZE is "0" (if a large-size document is fed), it is determined in step S408 whether the flag HERASE is "1". Flag HER
If ASE is "1" (one small-sized original is being set or one small-sized original and one large-sized original are being set), the above-mentioned step S407 is processed and it is "0". For example, after incrementing DCNT3 in step S409, the above-mentioned step S407 is processed.

On the other hand, when the status K is "2" (when the next original is not fed in advance), step S4
At 10, it is determined whether the first-out prohibition flag is "1". If the first-out prohibition flag is "1", the flag LSIZE is set to "1" in step S411, and step S41
In step 2, the status S is set to "5", and the above steps S405 to S409 are processed. If the first-out prohibition flag is "0", the status S is set to "10" in step S413, and the above-mentioned steps S406 to S40 are performed.
Process 9.

72, 73, and 74 show step S14.
4 shows a subroutine for paper discharge executed in S147.
The paper discharge here is the paper discharge in the pre-step mode and the 2-in-1 mode. In this subroutine, step S4
At 20, the discharge status H is checked, and its value is "0",
The following processing is performed based on "1" and "2".

When the status H is "0", nothing is processed. When the status H is "1" (see step S309 for driving the motor), the discharge motor M4 is driven at high speed in step S421, it is determined in step S422 whether or not the main motor M3 is off, and in step S423, the DCN
It is determined whether T3 is "0". If the main motor M3 is off and DCNT3 is "0", there is no document to be ejected, the ejection motor M4 is turned off in step S424, and the status H is reset to "0" in step S425.

If the main motor M3 is on or if DCNT3 is not "0" even if it is off (during document ejection), it is determined in step S426 whether the ejection sensor SE3 is off edge. If the sensor SE3 is off edge, that is, if the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE3, the discharge motor M4 is switched to low speed driving in step S427, and the timer T301 is set in step S428. Further, the status H is set to "2" in step S429.

When the status H is "2", when it is confirmed in step S430 that the timer T301 has finished counting, DCNT2 is decremented in step S431 and DCNT3 is decremented in step S432. Succeedingly, in a step S433, it is determined whether or not the DCNT3 is “0”. If DCNT3 is "0", that is,
When the number of documents to be discharged is one, the discharge motor M4 is turned off in step S434, and the status H is reset to "0" in step S435. If DCNT3 is not "0", that is, if there are two originals to be ejected, step S
The status H is set to "1" at 436, and the discharging operation is continued.

75, 76, and 77 show step S14.
9 shows a count subroutine executed in step 9. In this case, a count discharge routine, which will be described below, completes one cycle of the original document and automatically counts the number of sheets. In this subroutine, the set status S is checked in step S440, and the following processing is performed based on the values "0" to "4".

When the status S is "0", nothing is processed. When the status S is "1" (paper feeding is completed, see step S207), it is confirmed in step S441 that the paper discharge status H is not "2", that is, if the discharge motor M4 is not decelerated, step In S442, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the forward direction. As a result, the document is sent from the registration roller 90 onto the platen glass 29. Further, in step S443, PLSCNT1 is reset to "0", and in step S444, status S
Is set to "2", and status H is set in step S445.
Is set to "1".

When the status S is "2", when the off edge of the registration sensor SE2 is confirmed in step S446 (when the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE2), the size of the document is detected in step S447. To do. Then, in step S448, the main motor M3 is decelerated,
In step S449, GCNT for counting the number of documents is incremented, and in step S450, PLSCNT2 is added.
Is reset to "0". Further, in step S451, it is determined whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. If the sensor SE1 is on, the next original is fed, so that DCNT1 is incremented in step S452, and the feeding status K is set to "3" in step S453.
In step S454, the status S is set to "3". If the sensor SE1 is off, there is no next original on the tray 61, so the paper feed status K is set in step S455.
Is set to "1" and the above-mentioned step S454 is processed.

When the status S is "3", when it is confirmed in step S456 that the PLSCNT2 has finished counting the pulse P09, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S457. The pulse P09 is for temporarily stopping the original on the platen glass 29, and corresponds to the number of main motor drive pulses from when the trailing edge of the original is detected by the registration sensor SE2 to when it passes through at least the nip portion of the registration roller 90. . By such control, the processing time in the count mode is shortened.

Next, at step S458, the discharge sensor SE
It is determined whether 3 is off, and in step S459, it is determined whether the paper discharge status H is not "2". Sensor SE
If 3 is off and the status H is not "2" (if the document is not discharged), the discharge motor M4 is turned off in step S460, and the status H is reset to "0" in step S461. Then, in step S462, it is determined whether the empty sensor SE1 is on or off. If the sensor SE1 is on, the status S is reset to "0" in step S463 in order to wait for the completion of feeding of the next document, and if the sensor SE1 is off, step S464.
To set the status S to "4". If the status H is "2" even if the discharge sensor SE3 is on or off, the step S462 is processed.

When the status S is "4", it means that all the originals have been sent onto the platen glass 29, and the main motor M3 is driven at a low speed in step S465. Then, if it is confirmed in step S466 that DCNT2 is "0", that is, if there is no document on the platen glass 29, in step S467 the main motor M3
Is turned off, and the status S is reset to "0" in step S468.

FIG. 78 shows the count paper discharge subroutine executed in step S150. In this subroutine, the paper discharge status H is checked in step S470,
The following processing is performed based on the values "0", "1", and "2". When the status H is "0", nothing is processed. When the status H is "1" (main motor M3
When the conveyance of the original is started by the normal rotation of step S4, step S4
45), the discharge motor M4 is driven at high speed in step S471. The reversing roller 100 and the discharging roller 110 rotate, and the document is sent to the tray 115. Step S47
When the off edge of the discharge sensor SE3 is confirmed in 2 (when the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE3), the discharge motor M4 is decelerated in step S473. Further, the timer T301 is set in step S474, the status H is set to "2" in step S475, and DCNT2 is decremented in step S476.

When the status H is "2", when it is confirmed in step S477 that the timer T301 has finished counting, the discharge motor M4 is turned off in step S478.
In step S479, it is determined whether DCNT2 is "0". If DCNT2 is "0" (platen glass 29
If there is no original document above), the status H is reset to "0" in step S480. If DCNT2 is not "0" (if there is a document on the platen glass 29), the status H is set to "1" in step S481.

79 and 80 show steps S222 and S3.
23, a subroutine for size detection executed in S382 and S447 is shown. Here, in step S500, the pulse count value of PLSCNT1 is stored in the size detection counter SIZCNT1. PLSCNT1 counts the number of forward rotation drive pulses of the main motor M3, and the value corresponds to the length of the document. Next, in step S501, it is determined whether the width flag is "1". The width flag is the width sensor S
The width sensor SE1 is set by turning on and off E10.
0 is turned on by a document having a width dimension of B5 horizontal feed or more, and the width flag is set to "1" (step S19).
8, S199, S200). Original size is SIZ
It is set by the combination of the value of CNT1 and the width flag. 79 and 80, Y means horizontal feed and T means vertical feed.

That is, when the width flag is "1", the value of SIZCNT1 is checked in step S502, and if the value corresponds to 182 mm, the size is calculated in step S503.
Is set to B5 traverse. The same applies to SIZCNT1
Depending on the value of, in steps S504 to S506
Set the specified document size to. If it is longer than 420 mm, it is unknown in step S507. Then, in step S508, the width flag is reset to "0".

On the other hand, when the width flag is "0", the value of SIZCNT1 is checked in step S510, and a predetermined document size is set in SIZE in steps S511 to S513 according to the value. If it is shorter than 297 mm, it is determined as unknown in step S514. In the 2-in-1 mode, the detected size is set as twice the size.

81 to 86 show a document setting subroutine in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment in which the discharge motor is also used as the main motor M3. This subroutine replaces the 2-in-1 set subroutine shown in FIGS. 63 to 71 and the paper discharge subroutine shown in FIGS. 72 to 74. Note that no consideration is given to the case where large-sized originals are mixed.

In this subroutine, the set status S is checked in step S600, and its value "0" to "1" is checked.
The following processing is performed based on "2". When the status S is "0", nothing is processed. When the status S is "1" (paper feeding is completed, see step S207),
In step S601, the main motor M3 is normally rotated at high speed (see FIG. 62). As a result, the document is sent from the registration roller 90 onto the platen glass 29. Then, in step S602, it is determined whether the registration sensor SE2 is off-edge. If it is off edge (if the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE2), the size of the document is detected in step S603, and it is determined in step S604 whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. If the registration sensor SE2 is off-edge and the empty sensor SE1 is on, that is, if the fed document is of a small size and the next document remains on the tray 61, the timer T202 is set in step S605, and in step S606. Status S
Is set to "2".

On the other hand, if the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next original document, so the flag H is set in step S607.
Set ERASE to "1". Then, step S
In step 608, the status S is set to "5". When the status S is "2", it is determined in step S609 whether or not the count of the timer T202 has ended. When the counting is completed, the flag HERAS is set in step S610.
If it is determined that E is "0", the status K is set to "3" in step S611, and the pre-feeding of the next document is started. If the timer T202 has not finished counting, or if the flag HERASE is "1" even if the timer T202 has finished counting, PLSCNT2 causes the pulse P07 in step S612.
It is determined whether or not is counted. When the PLSCNT2 counts the pulse P07, the main motor M3 is switched to the low speed reverse rotation in step S613. Here, the document starts switchback. Then, step S614
To set the status S to "3".

When the status S is "3", it is determined in step S615 whether the PLSCNT2 has counted the pulse P08. When the counting is completed, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S616. This completes the document switchback. Then, step S6
At 17, the status S is set to "4". When the status S is "4", nothing is processed.

When the status S is "5" (the next original is sent from the registration roller 90, step S207
In step S618, the main motor M3 is normally rotated at high speed (see FIG. 62). As a result, the switched-back original document and the subsequent original document are conveyed to the exposure position. Then, when it is determined in step S619 that PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P03, step S619
The scale 120 is projected at 620 (in the scale mode, see FIG. 60).

Next, in step S621, it is determined whether or not the registration sensor SE2 is off, and in step S622, it is determined whether or not the empty sensor SE1 is on. Sensor S
If E2 is off and the sensor SE1 is on, that is, if the succeeding document has a small size and the next document remains on the tray 61, the paper feed status K is set to "3" in step S623, and In step S624, DCNT1 is incremented, and in step S625, the status S is set to "6". If the empty sensor SE1 is off, there is no next original document, so the paper feed status K is set in step S626.
Is set to "1" and the above-mentioned step S625 is processed.

When the status S is "6", it is determined in step S627 whether the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P04. If YES, that is, if the leading edge of the document reaches the exposure reference position SP, step S628.
Then, the main motor M3 is turned off. Then, step S6
29, the timer T201 is set, the flag DSET is set to "1" in step S630, and step S631.
To set the status S to "7".

When the status S is "7", when it is confirmed in step S632 that the timer T201 has finished counting, in step S633 the scale solenoid SL1 is set.
Turn off. In the scale mode, the scale 120 is retracted downwards here, and in the pulse control mode, the scale remains retracted. Furthermore, step S63
In step 4, DCHG check 3 is processed. The DCHG check 3 subroutine will be described with reference to FIG.

When the status S is "8", it is determined in step S635 whether the flag HERASE is "1". If "1", the main motor M is operated in step S636.
3 is rotated forward at high speed (see FIG. 62). This starts the discharge of one document. Furthermore, the status S is set to "9" in step S637. On the other hand, the flag HER
If ASE is "0", the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the forward direction in step S638 (see FIG. 62). This is 2
Ejection of one sheet of document is started. Furthermore, step S63
The timer T401 is set in 9 and the status S is set to "11" in step S640.

When the status S is "9", the off edge of the discharge sensor SE3 is confirmed in step S641 (the trailing edge of the document passes the detection point of the sensor SE3), the timer T301 is set in step S642, and step S64 is executed.
In step 3, the status S is set to "10". When the status S is "10", when it is confirmed in step S644 that the timer T301 has finished counting, that is, when the document is ejected onto the tray 115, the main motor M3 is turned off in step S645, and step S646. Reset the status S to "0" with.

When the status S is "11", when the completion of counting of the timer T401 is confirmed in step S647, the main motor M3 is reversely driven in step S648. As a result, the transport belt 95 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the following original is slightly returned on the platen glass 29. On the other hand, the reversing roller 100 and the discharging roller 110 continue to rotate normally, and the original document is discharged onto the tray 115. That is, in order to prevent the originals from being disturbed on the tray 115, the originals are spaced from each other. Further, in step S649, the timer T5
01 is set, and the status S is set to "12" in step S650.

When the status S is "12", when the completion of the counting of the timer T501 is confirmed in step S651, the main motor M3 is rotated at high speed in the normal direction in step S652 (see FIG. 62), and the status S is calculated in step S653. Is set to "9". After that, the routine in which the status S is [9] and [10] is processed, and two originals are discharged onto the tray 115.

FIG. 87 shows D executed in step S634.
The CHG check 3 subroutine is shown. Here, it is determined in step S661 whether the flag DCHG is "1", and the following processing is performed only when the flag DCHG is "1". Flag DCH
If G is "1", the value of the paper feed status K is checked in step S662. Here, the following processing is performed only when the status K is "2" and "8".

When the status K is "8" (when the next original has been fed in advance), the status K is set to "2" in step S663, and the status S is set to "1" in step S664. . Furthermore, step S66
Decrement DCNT1 at 5. On the other hand, when the status K is "2" (when there is no next document), the status S is set to "8" in step S666.

The sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof. In particular, the invention may be applied not only to the automatic document feeder, but also to a copy sheet discharging device in the main body of the copying machine and a sheet sorting device such as a sorter. Even when applied to an automatic document feeder, the stacked documents are fed from the topmost one, or the document is exposed with the trailing edge of the document stopped at the entrance side of the platen glass. May be in the form of.

[Brief description of drawings]

The following figures show the first embodiment of the present invention unless otherwise noted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic document feeder (ADF) including a sheet feeder according to the present invention and a copying machine main body.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an internal configuration of an ADF.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view near the exposure reference position, showing a state where the ADF is slightly lifted.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view near the exposure reference position and a state where the scale is retracted.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view in the vicinity of the exposure reference position, showing a state where the scale is projected on the platen glass.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a sheet feeding unit of the ADF.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism for a tip regulating plate and a pressing plate.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the positions of the tip regulation plate and the pressing plate with respect to the rotation of the cam plate, and shows the home position.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the positions of the tip regulation plate and the pressing plate with respect to the rotation of the cam plate, and shows a state in which the tip regulation plate and the pressing plate are moved to the retracted position at the time of sheet feeding.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the positions of the leading end regulating plate and the pressing plate with respect to the rotation of the cam plate, and shows a state in which the pressing plate is moving to the pressing position during sheet feeding.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of a pressing plate.

12 is a sectional view taken along line P-P in FIG.

13 is a sectional view taken along the line QQ in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism for a conveyor belt and registration rollers.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation by a stepping motor and shows a case where the document is stopped in the pulse control mode.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation by a stepping motor and shows a case where the document is stopped in the scale mode.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation in a pre-step mode.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation in a pre-step mode,
Continuation of FIG.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation in a pre-step mode,
Continuation of FIG.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of document conveyance in the 2-in-1 mode.

21 is an explanatory diagram of document conveyance in the 2-in-1 mode, FIG.
Continuation of 0.

22 is an explanatory diagram of document conveyance in the 2-in-1 mode, FIG.
Continuation of 1.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating conveyance of a large-sized mixed original document (odd number sheet) in the 2-in-1 mode.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of a large-sized mixed original document (odd number sheet) in the 2-in-1 mode, continued from FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of a large-sized mixed original document (odd number sheet) in the 2-in-1 mode, continued from FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of conveyance of a large-sized mixed original document (even-numbered sheet) in the 2-in-1 mode.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of large-sized mixed originals (even-numbered sheets) in the 2-in-1 mode, continued from FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of large-sized mixed originals (even-numbered sheets) in the 2-in-1 mode, continued from FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram of conveyance of a large-sized mixed document in the prestep mode.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of a large-sized mixed original in the pre-step mode, continued from FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism for a reversing roller and a discharging roller in the second embodiment in which the discharging motor is also used as a main motor.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation in a 2-in-1 mode according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram of document transportation in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 32.

34 is an explanatory diagram of document conveyance in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 33. FIG.

FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining the conveyance of a large-sized mixed document in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of a large-sized mixed original in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrating the conveyance of a large-sized mixed document in the 2-in-1 mode in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the copying machine main body.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the ADF.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing a main routine of the CPU 1 that controls the main body of the copying machine.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing an erase subroutine in the CPU 1.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart showing a scan subroutine in the CPU 1.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the CPU 2 that controls the ADF.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of interrupt processing in the CPU 2.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing an initial setting subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing a speed setting subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing a document exchange subroutine in CPU2.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing a start check subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing a paper feeding subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 50 is a flowchart showing the paper feeding subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 49.

51 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for feeding paper in the CPU 2, following FIG. 50.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for feeding paper in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 51.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart showing a pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart showing a pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 is a flowchart showing a pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 54;

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of the prestep setting in the CPU 2, the continuation of FIG. 55.

FIG. 57 is a flowchart showing a pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 56.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart showing the pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2, continued from FIG. 57.

FIG. 59 is a flowchart showing a pre-step setting subroutine in the CPU 2, following FIG. 58;

FIG. 60 is a flowchart showing a scale subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 61 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of DCHG check 1 in CPU 2.

62 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of main motor high speed forward rotation in CPU 2. FIG.

FIG. 63 is a flowchart showing a 2-in-1 set subroutine in the CPU 2.

64 is a flowchart showing the 2-in-1 set subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 63;

FIG. 65 is a flowchart showing a 2-in-1 set subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 64;

66 is a flowchart showing the 2-in-1 set subroutine in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 65;

67 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2 in 1 set in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 66;

FIG. 68 is a flowchart showing a 2-in-1 set subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 67;

FIG. 69 is a flowchart diagram showing the 2-in-1 set subroutine in the CPU 2 and is a continuation of FIG. 68;

70 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2-in-1 set in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 69; FIG.

71 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of DCHG check 2 in CPU 2. FIG.

FIG. 72 is a flowchart showing a paper discharge subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 73 is a flowchart showing a paper discharge subroutine in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 72;

FIG. 74 is a flowchart showing a paper discharge subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 73;

FIG. 75 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for counting the number of documents in CPU2.

FIG. 76 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for counting the number of originals in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 75.

77 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for counting the number of originals in CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 76;

FIG. 78 is a flowchart showing a count discharge subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 79 is a flowchart showing a size detection subroutine in the CPU 2.

FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing a size detection subroutine in the CPU 2, continuing from FIG. 79;

FIG. 81 is a flowchart showing a 2-in-1 set subroutine in the second embodiment.

82 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2-in-1 set in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 81; FIG.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a 2-in-1 set subroutine in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 82;

84 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2 in 1 set in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 83;

85 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2-in-1 set in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 84;

86 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of 2 in 1 set in the second embodiment, continued from FIG. 85;

FIG. 87 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of DCHG check 3 in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copier main body 29 ... Platen glass 60 ... ADF (automatic document feeder) 61 ... Document loading tray 65 ... Pickup roller 95 ... Conveyor belt 100 ... Reversing roller 110 ... Ejection roller 162, 172 ... Timing belt 163, 164, 165 , 167 ... Gear 175 ... Pulley 181, 182 ... One-way clutch M3 ... Main motor M4 ... Discharge motor CPU2 ... Microcomputer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 10, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the sheet from being disturbed on the sheet discharge tray by opening the interval between the sheets to be continuously discharged without causing any trouble in the conveyance. To provide a sheet conveying device. In order to achieve the above object, a first transport unit located upstream and a second transport unit located downstream along a sheet transport path, and a drive for driving the first and second transport units. And a plurality of sheets are continuously conveyed, the leading edge of the preceding sheet reaches the second conveying means, and
After the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the first conveying means,
And a control unit that reverses the first transport unit until the leading edge of the subsequent sheet reaches the second transport unit.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The copy sheets are accommodated in the upper elevator type sheet feeding section 31 and the lower tray type sheet feeding section 34, and are fed one by one from either one of them according to the operator's selection. The paper feed roller 3 is provided in each of the paper feed units 31 and 34.
2, 35, separation rollers 33, 36 including a forward rotation roller and a reverse rotation roller are installed. The sheet fed from the upper sheet feeding section 31 is sent out to the timing roller 38 installed immediately before the image transfer section through the transport rollers 37b and 37c. The sheet fed from the lower sheet feeding section 34 is sent out to the timing roller 38 through the transport rollers 37a, 37b, 37c.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0026

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In the pulse control mode, as will be described below, the registration roller 90 and the conveyance belt 95 are driven by a single main motor M3 (stepping motor) so that the conveyance speeds of both are the same and the original document is conveyed. Transport length L
This is a mode for accurately controlling (see FIG. 15). The document conveyance amount with respect to the drive pulse number of the main motor M3 is known in advance. Therefore, the stop position of the document is determined by driving the main motor M3 with the number of pulses corresponding to the length L of the document waiting immediately before the registration roller 90 to the reference position SP. During execution of this pulse control mode, the solenoid SL1 maintains the off state (see FIG. 4).
The scale 120 holds a position slightly retracted from the upper surface of the platen glass 29.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0028

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In the present embodiment, it is possible to select the scale mode and the pulse control mode whose advantages and disadvantages conflict with each other. The selection is the DIP switch SW provided inside the copier body 1.
1, SW2 (see FIG. 39). Next, the document feeding section will be described. In FIG. 6, the document guide plate 1
31 is a pickup roller 65 from the tip of the tray 61,
It is installed at a position slightly lower than the upper part of the separating roller 75, and its tip extends to the registration roller 90. Further, another document guide plate 132 is used for separating the rollers 75.
Is installed from above to the downstream side of the registration roller 90. The tip regulation plate 63 is installed on the lower side of the guide plate 131 while being fixed to the support shaft 64, and the tip of the regulation plate 63 has a guide plate 13
It is movable between a regulation position protruding from 1 and a retracted position retracted below the guide plate 131. Normally, the leading edge regulating plate 63 is set at the regulating position and has a function of receiving the leading edge of the document set on the tray 61 to give the operator a feeling of setting and align the leading edge of the document. When the document feed start signal is issued, the leading edge regulation plate 63 is retracted below the guide plate 131 and is held at this retracted position until the final document is fed.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0043

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Next, the document transport mode of the ADF 60 will be described. In the present embodiment, the document transport mode includes a pre-step mode, a 2-in-1 mode, and a count mode in addition to the single-sided mode and the double-sided mode which have been conventionally used.
There are five types, and there are the above-mentioned scale mode and pulse control mode as the document stop operation. In the transportation of the document, the document is set in the nip portion of the registration roller 90 when the leading edge of the document is set at the exposure reference position SP, when it is set at the exposure position, when it is set at the intermediate position IP. It is called the first-out position. Regarding the size of the document, when the size is not specifically described, it is assumed that the small size is A4 horizontal feed and the large size is A3 vertical feed.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0085

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Therefore, in the count mode, the trailing edge of the document is at the position X on the platen glass 29 (see FIG. 15).
The document is temporarily stopped based on the time point when the document reaches. As a result, the distance between the originals during execution of the count mode becomes the length from the stop reference position X to the nip portion of the registration roller 90, and the processing time is greatly reduced. The arrival of the trailing edge of the document at the reference position X can be detected by detecting the trailing edge of the document by the registration sensor SE2 and then counting the number of pulses for driving the main motor M3.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0086

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Note that the reference position X here is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 15, but can be set arbitrarily, and is located upstream of the trailing edge of the document set based on the stop reference position SP during the copying operation. If there is, it contributes to shortening the processing time in the count mode. Further, the reference position X does not need to be set on the platen glass 29, and may be on the downstream side of the nip portion of the registration roller 90. The reference position X is the registration roller 9
The closer to the nip portion of 0, the shorter the processing time.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0130

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the status S is "2", it is determined in step S225 whether or not the PLSCNT1 has counted the pulse P02. The pulse P02 moves the document at a distance L / 2.
(Refer to FIG. 15) It is the number of pulses required for carrying. Therefore, when PLSCNT1 counts the pulse P02 (when the leading edge of the document reaches the intermediate position IP), the main motor M3 is turned off in step S226, and step S22.
At 7, the status S is set to "3". PLSCNT
When 1 is counting the pulse P02, steps S221 to S224 described above are processed.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Atsumi 2-33 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first transporting unit located on the upstream side along a sheet transporting path and a second transporting unit located on the downstream side, and a drive unit for driving the first and second transporting units, When a plurality of sheets are continuously conveyed, the leading edge of the preceding sheet reaches the second conveying means, and the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the first conveying means, and then the succeeding sheet is conveyed. By the time the tip of the reaches the second conveyance means,
A sheet conveying device comprising: a control unit that reverses the second conveying unit. 2. A first transporting unit located upstream and a second transporting unit located downstream along a sheet transporting path, and a single drive for driving the first and second transporting units. And a rotation direction switching means for switching the rotation of the first transport means in the forward and reverse directions and maintaining the second transport means in the normal rotation even when the first transport means is switched to the reverse rotation. When the sheets are continuously conveyed, the leading edge of the preceding sheet reaches the second feeding means and the leading edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the first feeding means, and then the leading edge of the succeeding sheet. Until the second transport means reaches,
A sheet conveying device comprising: a control unit that reverses the second conveying unit.