JPH07333917A - Circulating document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange a blow-off port for blowing air over the leading edge part of a document placed on a document platen in a suitable position without receiving the interference of a stopper. CONSTITUTION:The stopper 19, an arm 16 constituting the actuating mechanism of the stopper 19, a rotary shaft 17, a solenoid 18 and a crank 19 are housed in a duct 12 of a hollow casing. The blow-off port 14 is formed in almost the same position as the opening part for the stopper 15 where the stopper 19 is exposed between the document platen and a feeding/ carrying path from the inside of the duct 12. Therefore, the stopper 19 fitted into the opening part for the stopper 15 is abutted on the leading edge part of the document on the document platen, so that the blow-off port 14 is closely confronted with the leading edge part of the document.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys a plurality of originals placed on an original placing section to an original processing section in order from the original located at the bottom, and the originals after the original processing are completed. The present invention relates to a circulation type document feeding device that discharges again to the uppermost part of the document placing portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine for exposing a document, in order to facilitate handling of a plurality of documents,
A circulating document feeder is used. As shown in FIG. 9, for example, the circulation type document feeding device includes a roller 104 and a conveyance roller 1 from a document tray 111 which is a document placing portion.
05 to the document table 106, which is the document processing unit, via the sheet feeding / conveying path 112, and from the document table 106 to the conveying roller 1
A loop-shaped original document conveyance path that reaches the original document tray 111 again via the paper ejection conveyance path 113 including 08 and the roller 109 is configured. The plurality of documents 100 placed on the document tray 111 are sequentially fed from the document located at the lowermost position by the rotation of the paper feed roller, and are guided to the document table 106 via the paper feed conveyance path 112. . When the document exposure process is completed, the document on the document table 106 is rotated by the conveyance belt 107, the paper discharge roller 108, and the discharge roller 109 to pass through the paper discharge conveyance path 113, and the original placed on the document tray 111 is removed. The paper is ejected to the top.

In such a circulation type document feeder, it is necessary to meet the demand for high-speed document conveyance, and it is possible to reliably prevent misfeeds such as feeding a plurality of documents from the document tray 111 at one time. It needs to be prevented. Further, it is necessary to prevent the document discharged from the discharge conveyance path 113 by the rotation of the roller 109 from passing too much above the document tray 111 to be stopped and entering the paper feed conveyance path 112. Therefore, the document tray 1
A stopper 102 is provided on the side of the sheet feeding and conveying path 112. The stopper 102 selectively opens and closes between the document tray 111 and the paper feed conveyance path 112, and the sensor 11 provided near the roller 109 in the paper discharge conveyance path 113.
By closing 0 between the document tray 111 and the paper feed / conveyance path 112 at the timing when the document is detected, the front end of the discharged document is prevented from entering the paper feed / conveyance path 112.

As a mechanism for selectively opening and closing the stopper 102, as shown in FIG.
The stopper 102 is fixed to the rotary shaft 121, and the rotary shaft 1
12 is pivotally supported by hole portions 117a and 117b formed in the front and rear frames 116a and 116b. Further, one end of the rotary shaft 121 is locked to one end of the crank 115, and the other end of the crank 115 is locked to the actuator of the solenoid 114, so that the linear motion of the actuator by turning on / off the drive voltage for the solenoid 114 is performed. Is converted into a rotation operation by and is supplied to the rotation shaft 121.

With the above structure, at the timing of feeding the original from the original tray 111, a driving voltage is applied to the solenoid 114 as shown in FIG. 10C, the actuator 114a is moved in the direction of arrow K, and the crank 115 is moved. The rotation shaft 121 is rotated together with the stopper 102 in the direction of the arrow L through the opening to open the space between the document tray 111 and the paper feed / transport path 112. On the other hand, at the timing when the document is discharged to the document tray 111, as shown in FIG.
4 is turned off, the actuator 114a
Is moved in the direction of arrow J, and the rotation shaft 121 is rotated together with the stopper 102 in the direction of arrow M via the crank 115, thereby closing the space between the document tray 111 and the paper feed conveyance path 112.

Further, as a structure for preventing misfeed of a document in the circulating document feeder, there is a device provided with a blower for blowing air to the front end of the document placed on the document tray. As shown in FIG. 11, there is also provided with both a stopper 132 that comes into contact with the front end of the document 100 on the document tray 131 and a blower 133 that blows air onto the front end of the document 100. In the conventional circulation type document feeder, the document tray 131
A cushioning material is attached to the surface of the stopper on the side of the original tray 131 in order to prevent the front end of the discharged original from contacting the stopper and generating a large collision sound.

[0007]

As described above, in order to accurately convey a document in the circulating document feeder, both the stopper and the air blower are provided in the vicinity of the document tray. However, it is desirable to arrange the stopper and the duct of the air blower separately in the conventional circulating type document feeder, so if you place the stopper at the position where it abuts on the front end of the document, the outlet of the duct will move to the front end of the document. It is necessary to increase the wind force of the air blower in order to sufficiently separate the front end portions of a plurality of documents placed on the document tray by blowing air on the document tray. Yes, the fan and motor will increase in size.

Further, when the front end of the original on the original tray cannot be sufficiently separated by air, the originals other than the original located at the bottom are brought into contact with the stopper so that the original is fed into the paper feed path. It is necessary to prevent it from being guided, and thus the stopper is used not only to prevent the discharged original from entering the paper feeding / conveying path at the time of discharging the original, but also to prevent misfeed. In that case, it is necessary to strictly define the position of the lower end portion of the stopper when opening the space between the document tray and the paper feed / conveyance path.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10, the solenoid 114 included in the operating mechanism for opening and closing the stopper.
A long hole 142 is formed in the mounting plate 141 of
It is necessary to adjust the mounting position of the solenoid 114 by changing the fitting position of the mounting screw 143 with respect to the mounting screw 143, which causes a problem that the work is complicated not only when assembling the device but also when performing maintenance such as replacement of the solenoid. is there.

Further, when an original is conveyed at a high speed, abrasion of the paper feed roller and rollers constituting the original conveying path and deterioration of the conveying force due to adherence of paper dust are severe, and the frequency of roller replacement is high. When performing the work, the work of attaching and detaching the stopper and the duct located above the paper feed roller and the paper feed conveyance path becomes complicated, and the solenoid attachment position must be readjusted when the stopper is removed, which further increases the maintenance work. There was a complication.

It is an object of the present invention to store the stopper and its operating mechanism in the duct of the blower so that the outlet of the duct can be arranged close to the front end of the original on the original tray. , The air from the air blower should be used to ensure that the originals on the original tray can be separated, and the stopper should not be used to prevent misfeeds. It is not necessary to strictly define the lower end position of the stopper. It is an object of the present invention to provide a circulating type document feeder that can simplify the assembly work and the maintenance work by eliminating the work of adjusting the mounting position of the operating mechanism.

Further, by integrally supporting the stopper and the duct above and below the sheet feeding / transporting path so that the stopper and the duct can be opened / closed, the stopper and the duct can be attached / detached during the replacement work of the sheet feeding roller and the rollers constituting the sheet feeding / transporting path. It is an object of the present invention to provide a circulation type document feeder which can make maintenance work of a conveyance roller and the like unnecessary.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an original conveying path including an original placing section and an original processing section is formed in a loop shape, and an original placed on the original placing section is placed at the maximum position. The originals located in the lower part are conveyed to the original processing section via the paper feed / conveyance path in order, and after the original processing is completed, the originals in the original processing section are placed on the original placement section via the paper ejection / conveyance path. In a circulation type document feeder that discharges to the uppermost part of the above, a duct of a hollow casing, which is located above the paper feeding and conveying path and has a blowout port facing the front end of the document placed on the document placing part, , A blower that introduces air into the duct, a stopper that opens and closes the paper feed conveyance path at a position facing the front end of the document placed on the document placement section, and the document is placed from the paper ejection conveyance path. Operation machine that operates the stopper in the direction to close the paper feed path when it is discharged to the storage section If the provided, characterized in that accommodating the stopper and the operation mechanism inside the duct.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the duct is supported by a support member so as to be openable and closable on the upper surface of the paper feed conveyance path.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the duct of the hollow casing having the blow-out port facing the front end of the original placed on the original placing portion is located above the sheet feeding / conveying path. The stopper and its operating mechanism are housed in this duct. Therefore, the outlet of the duct can be arranged without considering the place where the stopper is arranged, and the outlet is provided at an optimum position where the front end of the original placed on the original placing portion can be reliably separated by air blowing. be able to.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the duct accommodating the stopper and the operating mechanism is supported by the support member so as to be openable and closable on the upper surface of the sheet feeding and conveying path. Therefore, by opening the duct through the support member, the paper feed conveyance path is exposed to the outside, and maintenance work such as roller replacement is facilitated.

[0017]

1 is a front sectional view of a circulating type document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. Circulating document feeder 1
Is installed on the upper surface of the copying machine 21. The document placing section 2 located on the upper surface of the circulation type document feeder 1 is provided with a sheet feeding belt 3 composed of a suction belt on the lower surface. A sheet feeding / conveying path 6 is constituted by the conveying rollers 4a and 5 from the original placing portion 2 to the upper surface of the original table 22 of the copying machine 21. A conveyance belt 7 is located on the upper surface of the document table 22, and a conveyance roller 4 b, a roller 8 and a paper ejection roller 9 constitute a paper ejection conveyance path 10 between the document table 22 and the document placing section 2. There is. In this way, the post-delivery conveying path 10 is guided from the original placing portion 2 to the upper surface of the original table 22 via the paper feeding conveying path 6 and is exposed by an optical system device (not shown) of the copying machine 21. It is discharged to the uppermost part of the document placing section 2 via the.

A circulation detecting arm (not shown) is exposed at the document placing portion 2, and when a plurality of documents are set on the document placing portion 2, the circulation detecting arm is placed on the upper surface of the document located at the uppermost position. Abut. From this state, the document located at the bottom is discharged to the upper side of the circulation detection arm via the document table 22.
In this way, each time the lowermost original is fed, the circulation detection arm moves downward together with the first uppermost original, and the first uppermost original is fed. When the originals are no longer located below the circulation detection arm, it is detected that the feeding of all the originals is completed. When the exposure process of the original document located at the top is completed and the original document is discharged to the original document placing section 2,
The circulation detection arm moves and comes into contact with the upper surface of the uppermost original again.

A duct 12 of an air blower is supported above the sheet feeding and conveying path 6 at a fulcrum 20 so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the document conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 2, this duct 12 constitutes a blower device 11 together with a blower unit 13 including a blower fan 13a. Inside the duct 12, a stopper 16, a rotary shaft 17 to which the stopper 16 is fixed, and A solenoid 18 for rotating the stopper 16 together with the rotating shaft 17 is provided. Also, duct 1
An outlet 14 and a stopper opening 15 are formed on the bottom surface of the document 2 on the side of the document placing portion 2. The blowout port 14 and the stopper opening 15 are provided in the duct 1 of the hollow housing.
It is formed at the substantially same position in the document transport direction on the bottom surface of 2. A stopper 19 that engages with the arm 16 is fitted into the stopper opening 15.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the internal structure of a duct forming a part of the blower. Hollow enclosure duct 12
The support portions 17a extend downward from two locations on the inner upper surface of the. The rotation shaft 17 is pivotally supported by the support portion 17a. The rotating shaft 17 has an arm 16 fixed to an intermediate portion thereof, and a crank 21 fixed at one end thereof. The arm 16 is fitted into a hole 19a formed in the stopper 19 at the ends of the two extending arm portions 16a. Further, a long hole 21a is formed in the crank 21, and the actuator 18a of the solenoid 18 is formed in the long hole 21a.
The guide 18b fixed to is engaged. The solenoid 18 is screwed and fixed to a female screw portion 23 extending downward from the inner upper surface of the duct 12 via a mounting member 22.

The bottom surface 12a of the duct 12 is provided on the document placing portion 2
It is inclined upward on the side, and two outlets 14 and two stopper openings 15 are formed in a line on this inclined surface. A stopper 19 is fitted into the stopper opening 15. A paper guide 12b is integrally formed on the lower surface of the bottom surface 12a of the duct 12. The paper guide 12b constitutes the upper surface of the paper feed / conveyance path 6 which is continuous from the document placing section 2. Further, a fulcrum shaft 20 is formed so as to project near the lower end of the side surface of the paper guide. The fulcrum shaft 20 is fitted into a hole 32 formed in a frame 31 on the front side of the circulation type document feeder 1. The fulcrum shaft 20 is also formed so as to project on the rear surface side of the bottom surface 12a, and is fitted into a hole formed in the rear surface side frame (not shown). FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the operation of the stopper in the circulation type document feeder. Duct 1
The guide 18b fixed to the actuator 18a of the solenoid 18 is located at the upper end of the elongated hole 21a of the crank 21 when the drive voltage is not applied to the solenoid 18 attached to the inside of the crank 2. . In this state, the arm 16 is loosely fitted in the hole 19a of the stopper 19, and the stopper 19 is located at the lower position where it abuts the bottom surface of the document placing section 2, and the document placing section 2 and the sheet feeding and conveying path 20 are connected to each other. It is closed during the period.

When a drive voltage is applied to the solenoid 18, the actuator 18a moves in the direction of arrow A together with the guide 18b. By this movement, the guide 18b rotates the crank 21 in the arrow B direction while moving downward in the elongated hole 21a of the crank 21. The rotation of the crank 21 in the direction of arrow B is transmitted to the arm 16 via the rotary shaft 17, and the end of the arm 16 pulls the stopper 19 upward. The stopper 19 is located at an upper position where the upper end thereof abuts on the inner upper surface of the duct 12, and the space between the document placing portion 2 and the paper feeding / conveying path 20 is opened. As a result, the original placed on the original placing portion 2 is guided into the paper feeding / conveying path 20 by the rotation of the paper feeding belt 3.

When the stopper 19 is in the upper position, the upper end of the stopper 19 abuts on the inner upper surface of the duct 12, and the lower end of the stopper 19 is fitted in the stopper opening 15. Therefore, the stopper 19
By vertically moving, the fitting state of the stopper 19 and the opening 15 is not impaired, and the stopper 19 does not come off the stopper opening 15 to cause a malfunction.

Further, since the blow-out port 14 is formed at the substantially same position as the stopper opening 15 on the bottom surface of the duct 12, the stopper 19 contacts the front end of the document placed on the document placing section 2. When the stopper opening 15 is formed at the position, as shown in FIG. 5, the blowout port 14 can be opposed to the front end portion of the document in close proximity thereto. For this reason,
The air guided into the duct by the blower fan can be blown from the blowout port 14 to the front end of the document, and the front end of the document can be reliably separated.

Furthermore, since the duct 12 is pivotally supported by the front and rear frames by the fulcrum shaft 20, as shown in FIG. 6, the arm 16 in which the duct 12 is housed and the rotary shaft 1 are accommodated.
Arrow C together with 7, solenoid 18 and stopper 19
The upper surface of the paper feeding / conveying path 6 can be opened by rotating the paper feeding / conveying path 6 in the direction. This makes it possible to extremely easily replace the transport rollers 4 and the rollers 5 that form the paper feed transport path 6.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a concave portion 41 is vertically formed on a side surface of the duct 12 on the side of the document placing portion 2, and a cushioning material 42 is fitted into the concave portion 41. The recess 41 is open on the front side and the back side of the duct 12, and the cushioning member 42 can be slid from the front side or the back side of the duct 12 to be attached to and detached from the duct 12, thus facilitating the replacement work of the cushioning member. Can be done.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the joint portion of the duct 12 with the blower section 13 is formed so that the upper side is inclined toward the back side, and the blower section is provided on the inclined back side via the sealing material 41. It is joined with 13. This is duct 12
Is supported by the front and rear frames 31, 33 via the fulcrum shaft 20, while the blower unit 13 is provided on the rear side of the frame 3.
This is because it is fixed to No. 3, and when the duct 12 is moved upward with respect to the blower unit 13 by rotating the duct 12 about the fulcrum shaft 20 with the above-described configuration,
The sealing material 51 is not damaged.

[0028]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the blowout port of the duct can be provided at an optimum position without being interfered with by the stopper, and the airflow from the blowout port places it on the document placing portion. The front end of the document thus cut can be reliably separated. Further, this makes it unnecessary to prevent the misfeed of the document by the stopper, it is not necessary to strictly define the moving position of the stopper, and it is not necessary to adjust the mounting position of the stopper operating mechanism.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by supporting the duct on the upper side of the sheet feeding / conveying path so as to be openable / closable, the upper surface of the sheet feeding / conveying path can be easily opened by the movement of the duct. There is an advantage that maintenance of members such as the above can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a main part of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operating state of a stopper in a duct of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a forming position of an outlet in a duct of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operating state of a duct in the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a mounting state of a cushioning material of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a combined state of a duct and a blower unit on the back surface of the circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional circulation type document feeder.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an attached state of a stopper operating mechanism and an operating state of the stopper in the conventional circulating type document feeder.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a circulation type document feeder including a conventional stopper and a blower.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-Circulating Document Feeder 2-Document Placer 6-Paper Feeding Path 22-Document Plate (Document Processor) 11-Blower 12-Duct 14-Blowout Port 18-Solenoid 19-Stopper 20-Pivot Shaft ( Support member)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koji Wakamoto 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Within Sharp Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mitsuo Matsuda 741-1 Kawanami, Kannabe-cho, Fukaan-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An original conveying path including an original placing section and an original processing section is formed in a loop shape, and the originals placed on the original placing section are sequentially passed through a paper feeding / conveying path from the lowermost original. In the circulation type document feeder, the document of the document processing unit is discharged to the uppermost part of the document placed on the document placing unit via the paper discharge conveyance path after the document processing is completed. A duct of a hollow housing having a blowout port that is located above the paper feeding / conveying path and that faces the front end of the document placed on the document placing section, and a blowing unit that introduces air into the duct. A stopper that opens and closes the paper feed / conveyance path at the position facing the front edge of the document placed on the document placement part, and the paper feed / conveyance path when the document is discharged from the paper ejection / conveyance path to the document placement part. An operating mechanism that operates the stopper in the closing direction is provided, and the stopper and the operating mechanism are A circulating type document feeder that is stored inside the tray. 2. The circulating document feeder according to claim 1, wherein the duct is supported by a support member so as to be capable of opening and closing the upper surface of the sheet feeding and conveying path.