JPH06348090A - Manually insertible allowable automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible for a user to make a choice between the method giving priority to preventing damage to a document and the method giving priority to handling the ejected document easily according to the type of a document, when the document is ejected from a reading position after it is manually fed and read. CONSTITUTION:A user can make the choice between the method (a document is not damaged easily) in which the document fed from a manual insertion tray 15 and read is switched back as it is and it is returned almost straight to an ejection port which is below the manual insertion tray 15 and the method (the handling of the document is easy) in which, after the document is read, the document is returned to a document placing table 3 through an ejection path (inversion path) that is used at time of automatic feeding.

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 which can be manually fed, and more particularly, to one document on a document table at a predetermined position of an image reading portion of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder that can be manually fed while separating the sheets one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, an automatic document feeder automatically feeds a sheet material document placed on a tray 107 and reads an image from the image forming apparatus 101.
Wide belt 1 to a predetermined position on the platen glass 104 of
The sheet is conveyed and placed by 05, the image is read, and after the reading is completed, the sheet is ejected from the platen glass and is placed on the tray 107 again. In addition to this automatic document feeding function, a manual feed tray 102 is provided separately from the tray (can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow in the figure), and when the user wants to manually feed a sheet material document, the manual feed tray 102 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The flapper 103, which is opened to the upper side and is interlocked with the manual feed tray 102, is rotated so that the front end of the flapper is located above the platen 104 so that the document can be easily guided to the platen 104. When the sheet material original P is placed on the manual feed tray 102, the sheet material original P is conveyed onto the platen glass 104 by the paper feed roller 106, and when the image reading is completed, the sheet material original P is automatically transferred as shown in FIG. The sheet material document P is discharged from the gap between the feeding device 100 and the image forming apparatus 101, and the rear end of the sheet material document is nipped at the position of the nip portion of the pressing roller 108 that presses the wide belt 105 against the platen glass 104. Stop.

[0003]

However, in the above conventional example, since the automatic document feeder is installed in various image forming apparatuses, the image forming apparatus 101 is automatically fed by the image forming apparatus 101 as shown in FIG. When the size is less than 100, or when the size is about the same, a large-sized sheet material document P is fed in the manual feed mode, and the sheet material document P bends due to its own weight when discharged. Therefore, not only the workability of taking out the sheet material document P is bad, but in the worst case, the user may not notice that the sheet material document P is discharged.

As a countermeasure, for example, when the paper discharge tray 110 is provided as shown in FIG. 9, the manual feed mode is generally used less frequently than the normal automatic feed mode, but the manual feed mode is used. Therefore, there was a defect that the device was enlarged.

Further, in the case of reloading on the manual feed tray 102 again in the manual feed mode discharge, the flapper 103 which guides the sheet material original P to the platen glass 104 during the manual feed is sunk by the flapper tip from the platen glass 104 during the discharge. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a driving means capable of swinging so as to scoop up the sheet material original, which has a drawback that the apparatus is complicated and the cost is increased.

[0006]

According to the present invention, two manual discharge modes are provided in the manual feed mode, and the user can set either one by the operation unit, so that the manual feed operation can be performed while respecting the user's intention. It improves the security and the protection of the manuscript.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, R is an automatic document feeder.
The DF (circulating automatic document feeder of the present invention) 2 has a tray 3 on the upper side thereof, and a wide belt 10 wound around a drive roller 9 and a turn roller 29 is arranged below the tray 3. The wide belt 10 is in contact with the platen 12 of the main body 1 of the copying machine, which is an image forming apparatus, and conveys the sheet material originals P, which are placed on the tray 3 upward in the order of pages in order from the bottom. Then, the sheet material document P on the platen 12 is placed on a predetermined position on the platen 12, or the sheet material document P on the platen 12 is unloaded onto the sheet material document stack on the tray 3. Further, a belt pressing roller 11 is formed inside the wide belt, and the wide belt 10 is pressed against the platen 12 to obtain a conveying force for conveying the sheet material document P.

Further, the tray 3 has a pair of width-direction regulating plates 3
0 is slidably arranged in the width direction of the sheet material document P and regulates the width direction of the sheet material document P placed on the tray 3 to stabilize the feeding of the sheet material document P and the discharging of the sheet material document P. Consistency is ensured. Further, a slide volume (not shown) is built in the slidable width direction regulating plate 30 so that the size of the placed sheet material document P in the width direction can be detected. Further, the tray 3 can be moved up and down around the shaft 8 by a swing cam 16 and a swing arm 17 that are connected to a driving means (not shown) and can swing to the lower position shown in FIG. it can.

A half-moon shaped feed roller 4 and a stopper 5 are arranged adjacent to the tray 3, and the stopper 5 can be moved to a position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1 by a driving means (not shown). When the sheet material document P is set on the sheet 3, it is restricted by the stopper 5 so that it cannot enter the downstream side.

When copying conditions are input through the operation section of the copying machine 1 and a start key (not shown) is pressed, the stopper 5 sinks to the position indicated by the dotted line, and the sheet material original P is fed by the paper feed roller 4. Receiving power, it advances to the downstream part. At this time, the partition members 19 and 20 built in the width direction regulation plate 30 on the tray portion rotate and ride on the uppermost sheet material document P to distinguish between unprocessed and processed documents.

At the downstream side of the stopper 5, there is disposed a separating section composed of a conveying roller 7 and a separating belt 6 which constitute the separating section, and the tray 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow respectively.
Separate the sheet material manuscripts P that have advanced from
It is further transported to the downstream side. Then, the sheet material documents separated one by one are fed to the platen 12 by the large roller 21 and transferred to the wide belt 10, and are placed at a predetermined position A on the platen 12 by the wide belt 10 to form an image. Done.

In order to stop the original at a predetermined position on the platen, a sensor is arranged in the pass before entering the wide belt 10, and the timer counts after the trailing edge of the original is detected by the sensor, and a predetermined time is passed. The wide belt 10 is stopped after a time.

When the image is formed, the sheet material document P is sent to the nip position between the large roller 21 and the driven roller 22 by the wide belt 10, and is discharged to the tray 3 by the paper discharge roller 25 to be reloaded.

During double-sided copying, the large roller 21 and the driven roller 22 are fed to the nip position in the same manner as described above, the flapper 24 moves to the position shown by the dotted line in the figure to switch the conveying path, and the large roller 21 is wound. As described above, the sheet material document is inverted and is re-fed to the platen 12.

Further, the raising / lowering operation of the tray 3 is performed depending on the conditions such as the size of the sheet material original placed on the tray 3 and the copy mode. In this embodiment, the sheet material is a half size, and when the start key of the copying machine body is pressed at the time of single-sided copying, the tray 3 moves to the lower position to feed paper, as shown in FIG. When the tray 3 is at the lower position, when the image formation is completed at a predetermined position on the platen 12, the tray 3 is conveyed to the right of the platen 12 in the figure, and is picked up by the flapper 13 (solid line position) and discharged. It is reloaded on the tray 3 by the paper rollers 26, 27 and 28.

Next, the manual insertion portion will be described (in FIG. 1). A rotatable manual feed tray 15 is installed on the right side of the RDF 2 in the figure, and opens and closes in the arrow direction. Further, the flapper 13 can swing around the shaft 14 in conjunction with the manual feed tray 15, and in the normal automatic feed mode, the manual feed tray 15
Is closed, the tip is depressed below the platen glass 12 (solid line position in the figure).

When the manual feed tray 15 is opened, the front end of the flapper 13 swings above the platen glass 12 in conjunction with this, and the front end of the sheet material original fed from the manual feed tray is located at the end of the platen. Guide it so that it will not get caught (indicated by the dashed line in the figure).

An open / close switch (not shown) is installed on the manual feed tray 15, and when the manual feed tray is open, the automatic feed mode cannot be performed, and only the manual feed mode is possible.

When the sheet material document P is placed downward on the manual feed tray 15, the manual feed sensor 31 reacts, and the manual feed roller 26 also serves as a paper discharge means in the automatic feeding mode.
Is driven to feed the sheet material document. The fed document is conveyed only for a predetermined time after the leading edge is detected by the sensor (which is arranged on the upstream side of the pulley 29), and stops when the leading edge reaches the predetermined position A. Although the image is read by scanning the optical system, the image is read from the direction opposite to that when the paper is fed from the tray 3 (the trailing end comes to the point A in the above, but the leading end comes in the case of manual feeding).

When image formation is completed in the manual feed mode,
(1) The sheet material document P is switched back and discharged below the manual feed tray 15, that is, in the gap between the RDF 2 and the copying machine body 1, and the rear end of the sheet material document P is wide belt 1.
The discharge method (conventional discharge method) of transporting 0 to the position of the nip portion of the pressing roller 11 for pressing the platen 12 and stopping (2) the image formation is completed, the sheet material document P is transferred to the large roller 21. A method in which the wide belt 10 conveys the driven roller 22 to the nip portion and discharges it to the tray 3 by the discharge roller 25, that is, discharges through the discharge path similar to the automatic feed mode, is performed by the user using the operation unit of the copying machine 1. You can choose.

If the manually fed sheet material document is set to be discharged onto the tray 3, it is discharged only when the width direction regulating plate 30 of the tray 3 is in the most open state. The position of the width direction regulation plate 30 is detected by the slide volume.

When the user uses the manual feed mode,
In many cases, the sheet material original is an unspecified paper type that cannot be fed or separated in the automatic feed mode, such as thin paper, thick paper, free-size original, FAX paper, cut and pasted original, or an original that should not be damaged. As described above, since the conveyance path in the manual feed mode does not pass through the bent path or the separating means, the document is not easily damaged.

In the present embodiment, if it is desired not to damage the original, it is possible to set the method of discharging to the lower portion of the manual feed tray by switchback at the time of discharging by the user's intention. On the other hand, due to the above-mentioned problem, when the workability at the time of discharging is worrisome, a method of discharging onto the tray 3 can be set.

In addition, in order to discharge onto the tray 3, it is necessary to pass through a bending path which is conveyed by the large roller 21. For example, when a sheet material document such as cardboard is carried out,
The paper may be slightly curled.

That is, when the workability is important, the user can select to discharge onto the tray 3, and switch back to discharge below the manual feed tray 15 if the original is not desired to be damaged. Therefore, it is possible to form an image suitable for the user's purpose.

Even if the discharge method is not set every time, if it is set initially, it is possible to always specify the discharge method that has been set, by storing it in a memory, etc. When the mode is used, it is possible to set the importance of not damaging the document, the importance of workability, or the frequency of use.

The recommended methods corresponding to the types of originals when selecting the discharge method are shown below.

The switchback discharging method (mode) is a discharging method to the lower part of the manual feed tray 15, and since a substantially straight path is conveyed, it is a discharging method in which the original is not easily damaged. It is possible to convey and eject thick paper originals without curling and without curling. Therefore, it is recommended to select the switchback ejection method for thick paper originals and cut and pasted originals.

The tray ejection method (mode) is as follows:
It is a method of ejecting to the tray 3 used in the automatic document feeding mode. For example, even if the document is conveyed along a curved path that circulates around the large roller 21, for example, a thin paper or a plain paper document that is not damaged by curling or being caught When passing through, FA
If you want to focus on workability, such as when you want to pass through originals that have been curled from the beginning, such as X (fax) output originals and free-size originals, use the tray ejection method that makes it easier to take out the originals from the device than the switchback method. Is recommended.

The discharge method can be set by the operation unit by either method desired by the user, and the above-described selection method is only an example.

Further, even when the above-mentioned initial setting state is set to the sheet mounting table, for example, in the interrupt mode in which the copying operation is temporarily interrupted and paper is fed from the manual feed side,
The width of the sheet mounting table is restricted (when it is narrower than the width of the manual feed size).
If manual document ejection is allowed, problems such as jams and mixed originals that make it difficult to separate documents may occur.In such cases, forbid manual paper feeding,
Alternatively, a message (on the main body display or the like) may be issued to cancel the width regulation of the sheet mounting table.

Furthermore, in the above case, even if the initial setting state is set to the sheet placing table, the manual feeding is permitted, and after scanning, the sheet material original document is automatically discharged to a place other than the sheet placing table. May be.

Alternatively, without the initial setting state, in the above case (when there is an interruption or the width of the sheet placing table is restricted), the sheet is discharged to a place other than the sheet placing table, and at other times, it is discharged to the sheet placing table. You can

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation in the manual feed mode.

When the manual feed tray 15 is opened at 4-1, a manual feed tray opening / closing switch (not shown) responds to enter the manual feed mode 4-2. When the manual feed tray 15 is opened, the flapper 13 interlocking therewith moves and is positioned in the manual feed direction, so the automatic feed mode is prohibited.

Next, in 4-3, the discharging method (switchback discharging or discharging to the tray 3) is set in the copying machine main body. Alternatively, since it can be set in advance in advance, it is not necessary to set it here.

Next, when the original is inserted into the manual feed tray and the manual feed sensor 31 is turned on, the original is conveyed and placed at a predetermined position on the platen 12, and image formation is performed (4-4, 4).
-5, 4-6, 4-7).

Next, when the position of the tray width direction regulating plate 30 is other than the maximum spread position, even if the tray 3 is set to be discharged onto the tray 3, it is discharged by the switchback discharging method. In this embodiment, the size of the document in the width direction is not detected by the manual feed unit, and therefore, in order to discharge the document to the tray 3 in any size, the width direction regulating plate 30 cannot be discharged unless it is spread to the maximum position. (4-7,
4-8).

Further, the interrupt mode can be performed on the manual feed tray. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation in the interrupt mode. For example, when interrupting during the copy operation in the automatic document feeding mode, the interrupt mode is set in the operation unit (copier body) (5-2), The copy operation in the automatic document feeding mode is interrupted (5-3), and the original in the transport path in the RDF 2 is returned to the tray 3 (5-).
4).

Next, a message for opening the manual feed tray 15 is sent to the operation section of the copying machine main body to open the manual feed tray 15 (5-5).

Next, the original is inserted into the manual feed tray, and when the manual feed cent is turned on, the original is conveyed and placed to a predetermined position on the platen 12, and image formation is performed (5-6, 5-).
7, 5-8, 5-9).

Next, when the manual feed tray 15 is closed by outputting the message by the switchback discharge method (5-10) and closing the manual feed tray 15, the open / close switch of the manual feed tray 15 responds (5- 11) Then, the copying in the original automatic feeding mode which has been interrupted is restarted (5-12).

The interrupt original is discharged by the switchback method, and in order not to mix with the original in the automatic original feeding mode on the tray 3, it is initially set so that the manual original is discharged onto the tray 3. Even if it is, the interrupt document is ejected by the switchback method.

It is also possible to directly eject from the opposite side of the platen as it is without returning it by switchback at the time of manual insertion (JP-A-55-15200).

Alternatively, it is not necessary to return the document to the same original placing table 3 R
The present invention does not have to be a DF, and the present invention can be applied to a tray that is returned to another tray exclusively for discharging (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-1806).
30 publication).

Further, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-198239, manual feeding may be performed from the same side as automatic feeding.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing the entire copying apparatus 1 including the automatic document feeder 2 of the present invention. In the figure, 50 is a cassette, 51 is a paper feed roller, 52 and 53 are transport rollers, 54 is a registration roller, 55 is a photosensitive drum, 56 is a reading optical system, 57 is a transfer charger, 58 is a fixing roller, and 59 is a discharge roller. Rollers, 60 paper discharge tray, 61 flapper, 62 paper re-feed path, 63 intermediate tray, 64
Is a flapper that switches on both sides or when multiplex. In the above configuration, the copy paper fed from the cassette 50 is registered by the registration roller 54 at the same timing as the automatic or manual feeding of the original from the automatic original feeder 2.
Delivered from.

[0049]

As described above, in the manual feed mode, the two discharge methods are provided, and the user can set either of them by the operation unit, so that the user does not have to increase the size of the device and increase the cost. It is possible to improve the operability of manual feeding and the reliability of manuscript protection while respecting the will.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flow when manually feeding.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for manually inserting an interrupt.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the entire copying machine.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing the conventional defect.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing another defect of the conventional art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 image forming apparatus (copier) 2 sheet material conveying device (RDF) 3 tray 12 platen glass 13 flapper 15 manual feed tray

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An automatic document feeder for feeding a sheet material document loaded on a document table to a reading position, and then returning the sheet material document to a tray, wherein the manual table is different from the document table. The discharging method for discharging the sheet material document fed from the manual placement table includes a discharging method for discharging the sheet material document to a sheet discharging section other than the document table and the tray, and a discharging method for discharging to the document table or tray. An automatic document feeder capable of manual feeding, which is equipped with a method and has a switching means capable of selecting one of the discharging methods. 2. The automatic document feeder of claim 1, wherein the document placing table is a circulating type automatic document feeder also serving as a tray. 3. A regulating plate for regulating the width direction of a sheet material document placed on a document placing table, a detecting means for detecting the position of the regulating plate, and a sheet material fed from the manual feeding table. When the document is ejected, if the position of the regulation plate is detected by the detection means other than the maximum width state, the ejection method for ejecting the document to the document table is prohibited, or a message or the like is displayed on the operation unit or the like. 3. A control means for controlling the above-mentioned condition is provided.
Automatic document feeder that can manually feed documents. 4. A sheet material original loaded on an original placing table is conveyed, placed at a predetermined position, and rested on the original placing table, the operation is interrupted and another sheet material is placed. An interrupt mode for transporting a document from the manual feed table is provided, and in the interrupt mode, a control means for prohibiting a discharge method for discharging the document to the document table or displaying a message or the like on an operation unit is provided. An automatic document feeder according to claim 2, which is capable of being manually fed. 5. An image forming apparatus comprising the automatic document feeder of any one of claims 1 to 4.