JPH08119481A - Document separating and conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent such a phenomenon as plural documents are conveyed together while being overlapped on each other. CONSTITUTION: In setting documents, a shutter part 4 and a pick-up roller 6 are lowered, and the shutter part 4 prevents a document 2 from being fed to a feed roller 8, while a wedge part 5 arranged on a document contact face in the shutter part 4 arranges the documents wedge-shapedly so that the document 2 in the lower part is advanced forward. In conveying documents, the shutter part 4 and the pick-up roller 6 are lifted, and the pick-up roller 6 conveys the documents, while a restricting part 7 holds the documents arranged wedge-shapedly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document separating / conveying device which separates and conveys a set of a plurality of originals one by one in a facsimile machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional document separating / conveying device, as in the document separating / feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-155442, a feed roller for feeding a document and a pressure roller contacting the feed roller. A separation roller that separates multiple documents one by one, a pickup roller that rotates with the rotation of the feed roller and that rises and feeds the document set on the document table to the feed roller, and the bottom of the document set on the document table The guide rails that guide the leading edge of the document so that the leading edge of the document is almost at the same height as the contact area between the feed roller and the separation roller, and the document leading edge position when setting the document on the document table between the guide rail and the feed roller. When a document is set on the document table, the shutter section regulates the leading edge of the document so that multiple documents can be scanned. To prevent the document from entering between the feed roller and the separation roller, and also to guide the document to the document table by guiding the bottom edge of the document so that it is almost at the same height as the contact part between the feed roller and the separation roller with the guide rail. The gap between the shutter and the shutter is prevented, and a plurality of documents are prevented from being conveyed while being overlapped.

Further, in the above-described document separating / feeding apparatus, the angle formed between the document table and the surface of the shutter that regulates the leading edge of the document is set to "90" or less so that the leading edge of the upper document comes before the leading edge of the lower document. This prevents the multiple documents from being ejected and being conveyed while overlapping one another.

[0004]

However, the conventional document separating / feeding device is mainly intended to prevent the document from entering the gap between the front end of the shutter and the document table when the document is set. In some cases, the feeding force for feeding the lower original during conveyance is transmitted to the upper original due to the frictional resistance between the lower original and the upper original, and the upper original may be fed together with the lower original. When the upper document and the lower document are fed together, the positional relationship between the leading ends of the upper document and the lower document may change, and a plurality of documents may be sent to the separation roller at once.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem. When setting a document, a plurality of documents are adjusted in a wedge shape so that the document on the lower side comes first, and the document on the upper side is more than the document on the lower side when conveying the document. It is an object of the present invention to prevent a plurality of originals from being conveyed while overlapping each other by preventing the originals from being conveyed first.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A document separating / conveying device according to the present invention presses a feed roller for feeding a document and a feed roller at a height substantially equal to a height at which the leading end of the lowermost document is conveyed. A separation roller that separates the originals one by one, and a pickup roller that descends when the originals are set and does not contact the originals and rises when the originals are conveyed to press the bottom surface of the originals set on the original table and convey the originals to the feed roller. And a shutter unit that is installed between the feed roller and the pickup roller and that descends when the original is set and prevents the original from being conveyed from the pickup roller to the feed roller and that moves upward when the original is conveyed and releases the restriction on the original conveyance. The document separating / conveying device has a wedge portion and a regulating portion, and the wedge portion has the original placed on the original table when placing the original, with the lower original coming first. It is intended to align the wedge shape,
It has a wedge shape with the narrowed side facing down, and it is installed on the document contact surface of the shutter section.The regulation section holds the document aligned in a wedge shape when transporting the document. It is installed between the lower part of the shutter part and the contact part between the feed roller and the separation roller.

Further, it is preferable that the wedge mounting portion is capable of adjusting the mounting position of the wedge portion.

Further, the wedge portion is detachable and is provided with two kinds of wedge portions: a wedge portion having a wedge shape by combining two different inclinations, and a wedge portion having a wedge shape from a series of smooth inclinations. And good.

Further, it is desirable that the regulating portion is provided with an elastic member having a soft surface and a large frictional resistance value.

[0010]

According to the present invention, when the original is set, the pickup roller descends so as not to contact the original, and the shutter portion descends between the feed roller and the pickup roller to convey the original from the pickup roller to the feed roller. To prevent this, the wedge part has a wedge shape with the narrowed side facing down, and it is installed on the document contact surface of the shutter part, and the document set on the document table is wedged so that the document on the lower side comes first. Align.

Further, during document transportation, the shutter portion rises to release the regulation of document transportation, and the pickup roller rises to press the lower surface of the document set on the document table and transport the document to the feed roller. The regulation part has a curve with an apex in the center and is installed between the lower part of the shutter part and the contact part between the feed roller and the separation roller to hold the wedge-shaped originals and to align them in the wedge shape. The original is regulated so that the leading edge of the lower original is fed to the contact portion between the feed roller and the separation roller. The separating roller presses against the feed roller at a height substantially equal to the height at which the leading edge of the lowermost document is conveyed to separate the originals one by one, and the feed roller feeds the originals.

Further, the attachment position of the wedge portion can be freely adjusted in the vertical direction according to the amount of the document or the like.

Further, the grass portion is detachable, and a wedge portion having a wedge shape by combining two different slopes,
The wedge portion is formed from a series of smooth slopes to form a wedge shape, and the wedge portion is replaced according to the state of the original such as the amount of the original.

Further, the regulating portion is provided with an elastic member which is soft and has a large frictional resistance value on its surface to reduce the load applied to the leading edge of the document.

[0015]

1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the document separating / conveying device separates and conveys a plurality of documents 2 placed on a document table 1 one by one from the document 2 below, and includes a pressure plate 3, a shutter portion 4, and a wedge portion. 5, a pickup roller 6, a restriction portion 7, a feed roller 8 and a separation roller 9. Manuscript table 1
1 is a portion on which the document 2 to be conveyed is placed, and a step is formed so as to be lowered from immediately before the shutter portion 4 as shown in FIG. So that it does not enter the gap between the and the original table. The pressure plate 3 presses the plurality of originals 2 placed on the original table 1 from above and facilitates the pickup of the originals 2 by the pickup roller 6.

The shutter portion 4 is located between the feed roller 7 and the pickup roller 6, and when the original is set, it is lowered to prevent the original 2 from being fed as shown in the side sectional view of FIG. As shown in the side sectional view of FIG. The shutter portion 4 includes a pair of left and right reference pins 4a and 4b for locking the wedge portion 5 as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 3, for example. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 3, the wedge portion 5 has lateral wedge shapes with the narrowed side facing downward. The wedge portion 5 is placed on the original contact surface of the shutter portion 4, and when the originals are set, the plurality of originals 2 are aligned in a wedge shape so that the lower original 2 comes first. Further, the wedge portion 5 has, for example, locking holes 5a and 5b which are elongated holes through which the reference pins 4a and 4b of the shutter portion 4 are inserted and screw holes 5c which are elongated holes. When adjusting the mounting position of the wedge portion 5, the amount of the original 2 on the original table 1 is maintained by keeping the wedge portion 5 parallel to the shutter portion 4 by engaging the engaging pins 4a and 4b in the engaging holes 5a and 5b. The wedge part 5 is moved up and down in accordance with. For example, the wedge portion 5 is lowered when the amount of originals 2 on the original table 1 is large, and the wedge portion 5 is lowered when the amount of originals 2 on the original table 1 is small. When the position of the wedge portion 5 on the shutter portion 4 is determined, for example, a screw is inserted from the screw hole 5c to fix the wedge portion 5 to the shutter portion 4. As a result, the wedge portion 5
The attachment position of can be easily adjusted, and the original 2 can always be optimally adjusted regardless of the amount of the original 2. Further, since the wedge portion 5 is fastened with a screw, it can be easily attached and detached, and the wedge portion 5 can be easily attached depending on the quality of the original 2.
Can be replaced. For example, when the paper quality of the original 2 is soft, the wedge portion 5 having a steep inclination is used, and when the paper quality of the original 2 is hard, the wedge portion 5 having a gentle inclination is used.
The wedge portion 4 has a wedge shape formed by combining two different slopes as shown in the side view of FIG.
As shown in the side view of FIG. 5, there are two types, one having a wedge shape from a smooth series of inclinations, which can be exchanged according to the amount of originals.

The pick-up roller 6 descends when the original is set and is not in contact with the original. When the original is conveyed, the pickup roller 6 rises as shown in FIG. 2 and presses against the lower surface of the original 2 set on the original table 1 to feed the original 2. Transport to roller 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the regulation portion 7 has a curved surface having a vertex at the center, and the feed roller 8 and the separation roller 9 are provided from the lower portion of the shutter portion 5.
When the shutter portion 4 moves up, the original document arranged in a wedge shape by the wedge portion 5 is held and the lowermost original document 2 of the original document 2 aligned in a wedge shape is installed. The original 2 is regulated so that the leading edge is fed to the contact portion 9 between the feed roller 8 and the separation roller. In addition, the regulation unit 7
Has a large friction resistance and is a soft member, for example, a plastic film with a thickness of "0.05 to 0.1 mm" has a thickness of "2 m
It consists of a member with urethane foam of “m” attached or a felt with a thickness of “2 mm” attached to a plastic film to reduce the load on the leading edge of the original 2. As a result, the deformation of the original 2 can be prevented. The feed roller 8 feeds the document 2 with the wedge portion 4 aligned. The separation roller 9 is pressed against the feed roller 8 at substantially the same height as the leading edge of the document 2 at the bottom, and separates the documents 2 one by one. In this way, the separation roller 9 is pressed against the feed roller 8 at substantially the same height as the leading edge of the lowermost original 2 is conveyed, so that the leading edge of the upper original 2 is fed to the feed roller 8. This can be prevented, and the document can be reliably separated by the separation roller 9.

In the document separating / conveying apparatus having the above structure, the operation from placing the document 2 on the document table 1 to discharging it will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the document 2 is placed on the document table 1 with the shutter portion 4 and the pickup roller 6 being lowered (step S1), the document table 1 is moved in a lower direction as shown in FIG. Therefore, the leading edge of the original 2 is pressed against the wedge portion 5 by the weight of the original 2 and the force of pushing the original 2 by the user, and the ends are aligned so as to form a wedge shape (step S2). After that, when, for example, the tray sensor on the document table 1 detects the document 2, the document separating / conveying device raises the shutter portion 4 and the pickup roller 6 to start the conveyance of the document 2 (step S3).

When the document 2 is conveyed by the rotation of the pickup roller 6, the document 2 arranged in a wedge shape is regulated by the regulating section 7.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, only the lowermost original 2 is regulated so as to be conveyed to the contact portion between the feed roller 8 and the separation roller 9 (step S4). The document 2 conveyed to the contact portion between the feed roller 8 and the separation roller 9 is conveyed and discharged by the feed roller 8. Here, since the originals 2 are arranged in a wedge shape so that the leading edge of the lowermost original 2 is the frontmost, the separating roller 9 surely separates the originals 2 one by one, and only the lowermost original 2 is conveyed. (Step S
5). In this manner, the originals 2 arranged in a wedge shape such that the leading edge of the lowermost original 2 is sequentially arranged are the lowermost originals 2.
Is regulated so as to be conveyed to a contact portion between the feed roller 8 and the separation roller 9, so that the originals 2 can be easily separated and a plurality of originals 2 can be prevented from being conveyed while being overlapped.

All the originals 2 on the original table 1 are separated and conveyed, and the tray sensor on the original table 1 causes the originals 2 to move.
When the document is no longer detected (step S6), the document separating / conveying device lowers the shutter portion 4 and the pickup roller 6 (step S7), and prepares the next document 2.

In the above embodiment, as the wedge mounting portion, the shutter portion is provided with the reference pins 4a and 4b, and the wedge portion 5 is provided with the locking holes 5a and 5b and the screw hole 5c. Alternatively, a locking pin may be provided in the locking hole and the wedge portion, and the locking pin of the wedge portion may be inserted into the locking hole of the shutter portion.

Further, the restricting portion 7 has a surface which draws an arc when viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 2, but it has a surface which draws an S-shape when viewed from the side and has a different inclination. It may be configured by combining a plurality of surfaces.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a document is set, the shutter portion prevents the document from being conveyed from the pickup roller to the feed roller, and the wedge portion has a wedge side with its narrowed side facing downward. It has a shape and is placed on the original contact surface of the shutter part, and the originals set on the original table are aligned in a wedge shape so that the lower original comes first, so the upper original is conveyed before the lower original when conveying the original. Can be prevented.

Further, when the original is conveyed, the regulating portion has a curved surface having a vertex at the center, and is installed between the lower portion of the shutter portion and the contact portion between the feed roller and the separation roller, and the originals are arranged in a wedge shape. Since multiple originals are kept in contact with the separation rollers at one time, the separation roller can reliably separate the originals one by one, and the feed roller can reliably feed the separated originals one by one. .

Furthermore, since the attachment position of the wedge portion is freely adjusted according to the amount of originals, the originals can be always aligned in the optimum shape regardless of the amount of originals.

Further, the wedge portion is detachable, and is provided with a wedge portion which forms a wedge shape by combining two different inclinations, and a wedge portion which forms a wedge shape from a series of smooth inclinations. Since the wedge portions are exchanged in accordance with the above condition, the originals can be aligned so that the originals can be reliably separated even if the amount of the originals increases.

Further, since the regulating portion is provided with an elastic member having a soft and large frictional resistance value on the surface to reduce the load applied to the leading edge of the document, the load applied to the document is reduced even when the document is soft, and the document is bent. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a document set according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view during document transportation.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shutter portion and a wedge portion.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a wedge portion having two steps of inclination.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a wedge portion having a gentle slope.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the document separating / conveying device.
It is

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Original Table 2 Original 4 Shutter 5 Wedge 6 Pickup Roller 7 Regulation 8 Feeding Roll 9 Separation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A feed roller for feeding an original document, a separation roller for pressing the feed roller at a height substantially the same as the height at which the leading edge of the lowermost original document is conveyed, and separating the originals one by one. Is lowered and is not in contact with the original, and it is raised when the original is conveyed and is pressed against the lower surface of the original set on the original table to convey the original to the feed roller and the original set between the feed roller and the pickup roller. The document separating / conveying apparatus has a wedge part and a regulating part in order to prevent the document from being conveyed from the pick-up roller to the feed roller and to raise it when conveying the document to release the regulation of the document conveyance. , The wedge part is for aligning the originals set on the original table when setting the originals in a wedge shape so that the lower originals come first.
It has a wedge shape with the narrowed side facing down, and it is installed on the document contact surface of the shutter section.The regulation section holds the document aligned in a wedge shape when transporting the document. An original separating / conveying device, which is installed between a lower portion of a shutter portion and a contact portion between a feed roller and a separation roller. 2. The document separating / conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a mounting position of the wedge portion is adjustable in a vertical direction. 3. The wedge part is detachable, and has two kinds of wedge parts: a wedge part forming a wedge shape by combining two different slopes, and a wedge part forming a wedge shape from a series of smooth slopes. The document separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The document separating / conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regulating portion is provided with an elastic member having a soft surface and a large frictional resistance value.