JPH06255839A - Copying machine provided with automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To feed a signal to a paper feed part in a side of a copying machine main unit, so that a preliminary feed of the following recording paper can be early interrupted, by early detecting passing of the final document of the documents loaded in an automatic document feeder. CONSTITUTION:In an automatic document feeder for a copying machine, a document rear end detecting means (tray sensor) S6 is provided in a document tray 11 of a document loading part, and rear end passing is detected of the final document Dn on the document tray 11, to transmit this detection signal to a copying machine main unit l, so that paper feed control in a paper feed part of the copying machine main unit 1 is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder attached to a recording device such as an electrophotographic copying machine or an image reading device, and more particularly to a document placing portion on which one-sided or two-sided recording documents are stacked. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automated document feeder (as an apparatus capable of efficiently feeding an image-recorded original to a recording apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a recorded image reading apparatus, even when unmanned) ADF) has already been provided.

Particularly, in recent copying machines, in order to improve the copying performance, the copying process speed is increased, the ADF original feeding speed is increased, and the original replacement time and the recording paper feeding for improving the copying productivity are improved. The delivery time is shortened.

In a conventional copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder, the trailing edge of the original is detected by means of the trailing edge of the original, which is provided in the feeding section of the main body of the automatic document feeder. The recording paper feeding time is shortened by transmitting the recording paper to the main body of the copying machine and preliminarily feeding the next recording paper from the paper feeding device in the main body of the copying machine.

The above-mentioned preliminary paper feeding is especially because the paper feeding cassette for storing the recording paper, the stacker for double-sided copying, and the like, which are remote from the transfer section of the image forming section, have a long paper feeding path. effective.

[0006]

However, when the final document is fed and a rear end document passage detection signal (no next document) is issued, the sheet feeding device in the main body of the copying machine operates in response to the signal. The preliminary feeding of the next recording sheet is started even though there is no next original. For this reason, there is a problem that the process of returning the recording paper that has been preliminarily fed must be performed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder according to the present invention which achieves the above object, is provided with a document placing section capable of positioning and placing a plurality of documents, and the document placing unit. A document feeding unit that separates and feeds one document of a plurality of documents stacked on the unit and feeds it to the image reading unit, and feeds the document fed to the image reading unit to a predetermined unit. A transport unit that carries out the document after image reading after being stopped at the image reading position,
In a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder having a paper discharge unit that is located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the image reading unit and discharges a document discharged from the transport unit to a paper discharge tray unit, A document trailing edge detection means is provided to detect the trailing edge passage of the final document on the document placing portion, and the detection signal is transmitted to the copying machine main body to control the feeding of the paper feeding portion of the copying machine main body. It is characterized by performing.

Further, in a copying machine equipped with the automatic document feeder of the present invention, a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a document is provided in the document placing section, and the document placing section is provided in the vicinity of the automatic document feeder connecting section. The detecting means and the signal connecting means connected by a signal line, and the signal connecting means on the side of the document placing portion is
When the document tray is connected to the main body of the automatic document feeder,
It is characterized in that the automatic document feeder can be directly connected to a signal connecting means provided on the main body side.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a copying machine having an automatic document feeder according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a copying machine provided with an automatic document feeder according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the automatic document feeder mounted on the copying machine, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the automatic document feeder. Is. Note that these illustrated devices are automatic document feeders (R-ADF) with an automatic document reversing function.

In the copying machine according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a document exposure scanning section A, an image forming section B, and
The sheet discharging section C, the first cassette sheet feeding section PF1, the second cassette sheet feeding section PF2, the double-sided copy sheet reversing transporting section RDU, the third cassette sheet feeding section PF3, and the fourth cassette sheet feeding section PF4. ing. At the top of the copier body 1,
An automatic document feeder (R-ADF) is installed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic document feeder has a document placing section 10 for loading a plurality of documents, and the document placing section.
A feeding unit 20 that feeds one document from a document stack placed on ten document trays 11 onto a platen glass 2 which is an image reading unit, and a feeding unit 20 that feeds the document. A conveyance unit 30 that conveys the original document to a predetermined position (image exposure scanning position) on the original platen glass 2 on the document table, and an original document sent out from the conveyance unit 30 after the image exposure is completed is discharged from the discharge port to the outside of the machine.
Alternatively, it is composed of a paper output reversing section 40 for reversing the front and back of the original and returning the original to the platen glass 2 again, and a paper output tray section 50.

First, the structure and operation of the automatic document feeder of the present invention will be described with reference to the sectional view of FIG.

A document D is set on a document tray 11 which is installed so as to project laterally from the copying machine main body 1.
The leading edge of the document D passes above the movable guide plate 21, contacts the stopper member 22, and stops.

When the copy button 3 (see FIG. 2) is pressed, the sheet feeding solenoid SD1 is actuated to move the movable guide plate 21.
Jumps up and presses the document D against the separating belt 23. Then, by driving the motor M, the separating belt 23 starts to rotate by the driving roller 24 connected to the driving source, and in cooperation with the reverse roller 25, only the uppermost one original D is fed out. When the leading edge of the document D reaches the nip position outlet of the intermediate conveyance roller 26 that rotates in the direction of the arrow, the detection signal of the document size detection sensor S3 turns off the paper feed clutch and disconnects the driving force of the separating belt 23. After the sagging, free rotation is performed, and only the preceding document D is conveyed by the intermediate conveying roller 26.

The document D transported by the intermediate transport roller 26 passes above the stopper plate 4 which positions the rear end of the document D, and transports the document table glass 2 installed on the upper surface of the copying apparatus main body 1 and the document platen glass 2. It is transported by the frictional force of the transport belt 33 of the section 30.

The conveyor belt 33 is stretched between a rotatable conveyor driving roller 31 and a conveyor driven roller 32 on bearing plates fixed to both side wall portions of the housing, and can be rotated forward and backward by a motor M. There is. The lower running surface of the transport belt 33 is pressed against the surface of the original glass 2 by pressing rollers 34A, 34B and 34C. Reference numeral 35 denotes a tension roller that is pressed against the conveyor belt 33 and is driven to rotate to maintain a constant belt tension.

Now, when the trailing edge of the document D passes through the document size detection sensor S3 and the size of the document D is automatically detected, it is controlled by the pulse count by the encoder on the drive shaft of the intermediate conveying roller 26, The document D is stopped at a predetermined image reading position. After this, copy machine 1
A copy is made by an optical scan inside. After the image reading and scanning, the conveyance belt 33 is driven to rotate in the forward direction, and the document D is ejected and reversed.
Send to 40.

The document D carried into the paper discharge reversing section 40 passes through a guide plate 43, and a paper discharge reversing roller 41 and a pinch roller 42.
The paper is fed while being nipped between A and 42B, and the paper ejection reversal switching means 4
4. The sheet is discharged to a sheet discharge tray section 50 outside the machine through a sheet discharge regulation member (movable pressing plate) 45 and a sheet discharge roller 46.

Further, a document discharge detection sensor (sheet discharge sensor) S4 near the pinch roller detects the trailing edge of the transported document D, and after a time required for nipping the trailing edge of the document D, a sheet discharge solenoid is detected. Actuating SD2, movable pressing member 45
And the movable pressing member 45 sandwiches the rear end of the document D near the rear end of the document D at a low speed, and the document D being discharged at a high speed until then is decelerated to discharge the stack surface of the discharge tray unit 50. Discharged on 51.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a connection state between the document placing section 10 and the automatic document feeder main body 100, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a separated state.

The document placing section 10 includes a document tray 11, a document width regulating member 12, a movable tray 13, a sensor for detecting the absence of the final document sheet (hereinafter referred to as tray sensor) S6, and a connector 14.
It is composed of A.

Two tray guide protrusions 11a are provided at both upper ends near the leading end of the document tray 11 (on the downstream side of the paper feed).
Is protruding. Further, projection receiving portions 11b are integrally formed at two locations near the center of the tip surface portion. A tray portion elongated hole 11c is formed in the middle of the two projection receiving portions 116. When the document tray 11 is attached to the opening 100a of the main body 100 of the automatic document feeder, the tray guide plate receiving portion 100b regulates the vertical direction, and the protrusion receiving portion 11b and the automatic document feeder main body regulate the horizontal direction and the upward direction. This is done while fitting the guide projection 100c on the 100 side, and then the original tray 11 is screwed by penetrating the small screw component 15 from the inside of the tray slot 11c toward the guide projection 100c. The automatic document feeder main body 100 is integrally fixed.

At one end of the front end surface of the document tray 11,
Floating fit connector (receptacle) 14A
Is provided. On the other hand, the opening 100a of the automatic document feeder
A floating fit connector (pin housing) 14B is provided near the side.

When the document tray 11 is mounted on the main body 100 of the automatic document feeder, the connector (receptacle) 14A and the connector (pin housing) 14B are automatically connected to each other, and the document tray 11 is moved by one touch. The mounting and electrical connection of the connectors 14A and 14B are completed.

A sensor (tray sensor) S6 for detecting the absence of the final document sheet is provided near the center of the document tray 11 on the upstream side of document feeding. The tray sensor S6 detects the passage of the trailing edge of the document when the final document of the document stack loaded on the document tray 11 is started to be preliminarily fed, and detects the trailing edge of the document to feed the sheets PF1, PF2, PF3 of the copying machine main body 1. , PF4, RDU are controlled.

In the conventional automatic document feeder, the tray sensor S6 and the like are not provided on the document tray 11, but in the present invention, the tray sensor S6 controls the preliminary feeding of the recording paper of the copying machine body described later. Therefore, the operation of electrically connecting the document tray 11 and the automatic document feeder main body 100 was troublesome. I.e. original tray
11 tray sensor S6 signal line and automatic document feeder main body
As a signal connecting means with 100, a signal harness on the automatic document feeder side is provided for a predetermined length, and a signal harness on the document tray 11 side is also provided inside. When attaching the document tray 11 to the automatic document feeder main body 100, remove the cover of the document tray 11, connect it to the signal harness on the automatic document feeder, store the harness along the tray guide, and then fasten the tray cover with screws. To do. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes too much time and effort for the work.

By installing the floating fit connectors 14A and 14B according to the present invention on the document tray 11 and the automatic document feeder main body 100, respectively, the connecting operation can be quickly and reliably performed with one touch.

A sensor S6 for detecting the absence of the final document sheet is provided near the document feeding upstream side of the document tray 11. The tray sensor S6 detects the trailing edge of the final document and outputs a signal when the documents stacked on the document tray 11 are sequentially fed and the final document is preliminarily fed. Although the mounting position of the tray sensor S6 is set near the rear end of the A4 size, which is most frequently copied, the mounting position is not limited to this and may be near the rear end of the minimum size original. . Alternatively, a plurality of tray sensors S6 may be installed at a plurality of locations corresponding to a plurality of document sizes (for example, near the rear ends of A4 and B5 sizes).

Further, two tray sensors S6 may be arranged in parallel (see FIG. 5), the reading may be performed twice, and chattering may be erased to improve the detection accuracy.

The feeding unit 20 of the automatic document feeder main body 100
An actuator 27 for turning on / off the optical path of the document set detection sensor (photo interrupter) S1 is swingably supported near the stopper member 22. The front end of the actuator 27 is kicked off by the front end of the original to block the optical path when the front end of the original placed on the original tray 11 contacts the stopper member 22, and the ON signal from the original set detection sensor S1. To set to ADF mode.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart when the document is set by the automatic document feeder, and FIG. 7 is a time chart of signal generation of the tray sensor S6 and the document passage sensor S3.

A stack of documents is placed on the document tray 11, the leading edge of the document is inserted into the opening of the automatic document feeder, passed over the movable guide plate 21 in the lowered state, and brought into contact with the stopper member 22. And set the manuscript. As a result, the light receiving optical path of the tray sensor (reflection type photosensor) S6 is formed, an off signal is issued, and the signal is transmitted to the copying machine main body 1. Also,
When the front end of the document pushes the actuator 27 of the feeding unit 20 away, the optical path of the document set detection sensor S1 is blocked and an ON signal is issued to transmit the signal to the copying machine main body 1. By transmitting both of the above signals, the automatic document copying machine and the copying machine are AD
The copy start ready state in the F mode is set.

When the copy button 3 of the copying machine main body 1 is turned on, the document feeding, recording sheet feeding and image forming processes are started.

First, in the feeding section 20 in the main body 100 of the automatic document feeder, the preceding document is fed and the next document is preliminarily fed. On the side of the copying machine main body 1, subsequent recording paper is preliminarily fed after the preceding recording paper sent to the image forming unit.

In the same manner, the document conveyance and the recording sheet conveyance are repeated in the same manner.

The final document (D _n) from the immediately previous document (D _n-1) is being read image on the platen glass 2, the last original (D _n) When is the preliminary feeding, the final document (D _When the rear end of _n ) passes through the optical path of the tray sensor S6, the tray sensor S6 issues an ON signal and transmits it to the copying machine main body 1. As a result, it is determined that there is no subsequent document, and therefore the recording sheet corresponding to the final document (D _n ) has already been preliminarily fed, but the subsequent recording sheet is preliminarily fed by the signal from the tray sensor S6. There is no such thing.

Conventionally, confirmation of the final document (D _n ) is
Since it can be done only by turning on the document set detection sensor S1,
Since the recording paper is fed after waiting for the trailing edge of the document to pass through the sensor S1, it is unavoidable to reduce the copy productivity. Met. However, the tray sensor S6 of the present invention
By providing the above, it becomes possible to detect the time as early as the time T shown in FIG. 7, which is extremely advantageous in terms of copy productivity,
The problem of pre-feedback has also been resolved. The copy productivity means the number of copy processing sheets per minute on the copying machine side in the ADF.
Shows the number divided by the number of originals exchanged per minute, and the most desirable value is 100%.

[0039]

As described above, according to the copying machine having the automatic document feeder of the present invention, the tray sensor is provided in the document tray, and the final document among the documents placed on the document tray is provided. The preliminary feeding of the final recording paper corresponding to the preliminary feeding of is performed early, and the preliminary feeding of the succeeding recording paper is stopped by issuing the signal of no subsequent document early,
It has become possible to prevent accidental feeding.

When the document tray provided with the tray sensor is connected to the main body of the automatic document feeder, the signal line of the tray sensor can be quickly and surely connected to the signal line of the main body of the apparatus with one touch.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a copying machine equipped with automatic document feeding according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the automatic document feeder.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the automatic document feeder.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state between a document placing portion and an automatic document feeder main body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a separated state of the document placing section and the main body of the automatic document feeder.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for setting a document by the automatic document feeder.

FIG. 7 is a time chart of each signal generation of the tray sensor and the document passage sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copier main body 2 Platen glass (platen glass) 10 Document placing part 11 Document tray 14A, 14B Connector 15 Machine screw part 20 Feeding part 21 Movable guide plate 22 Stopper member 23 Separation belt 27 Actuator 30 Conveying part 40 Discharge Reversing unit 50 Output tray unit 100 Main body of automatic document feeder D Original document D _n Final original document PF1, PF2, PF3, PF4 Cassette paper feeding unit S1 Original set detection sensor S3 Original passage sensor (Original size detection sensor) S6 No final original paper Detection sensor (tray sensor)

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hiroshi Gomi 2-1014 Narita Nishi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Yu Yu Goto 3-30-16 Fujimidai, Nerima-ku, Tokyo

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A document placing portion capable of positioning and placing a plurality of documents, and one of the plurality of documents stacked on the document placing part is fed separately. A feeding unit that feeds the image reading unit, a feeding unit that conveys the document fed to the image reading unit and stops it at a predetermined image reading position, and then carries out the document after the image reading, and the image reading unit. In a copying machine provided with an automatic document feeder having a sheet discharging section for discharging a document discharged from the conveying section to a sheet discharging tray section, the copying machine having An edge detection unit is provided to detect passage of the trailing edge of the final document on the document placement section, send the detection signal to the copying machine body, and control the sheet feeding of the sheet feeding section of the copying machine body. A copier equipped with a characteristic automatic document feeder. 2. A copying machine having an automatic document feeder according to claim 1, wherein a trailing edge detection signal of the final document is generated when the final document is preliminarily fed by the paper feeding section. 3. The automatic document according to claim 1, wherein the document trailing edge detecting means is arranged at a position where it is possible to detect the trailing edge passage of an A4 size document on the document placing portion. Copier equipped with a feeding device. 4. The feeding of the recording sheet next to the recording sheet corresponding to the final original in the paper feed section of the copying machine main body is stopped by the trailing edge passage detection signal of the final original.
Alternatively, a copier equipped with the automatic document feeder according to item 2. 5. A document placing portion capable of positioning and placing a plurality of documents and one of the plurality of documents stacked on the document placing portion is fed separately. A feeding unit that feeds the image reading unit, a feeding unit that conveys the document fed to the image reading unit and stops it at a predetermined image reading position, and then carries out the document after the image reading, and the image reading unit. In a copying machine provided with an automatic document feeder having a sheet discharging unit that discharges a document discharged from the conveying unit to a sheet discharging tray unit on the downstream side in the conveying direction, a document is placed on the document placing unit. The detection means for detecting the presence / absence, the detection means provided in the vicinity of the automatic document feeder connecting portion of the document placing portion, and the signal connecting means connected by a signal line are provided, and the signal on the document placing portion side is provided. When the document placing section is connected to the main body of the automatic document feeder, the connecting means is connected to the automatic source. A copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder, which can be directly connected to a signal connection means provided on the main body of the draft feeder. 6. A floating fit connector according to claim 5, wherein one or both of the signal connecting means on the document placing portion side and the signal connecting means on the automatic document feeder main body side are floating fit connectors. Copier equipped with the automatic document feeder.