JPH08272006A - Source document feeder and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a stable source document feeder which can carry a sheet material source document at fixed speed and does not cause image blurring in the case of reading the image of the source document by the use of a read part while carrying the source document by using a wide belt. CONSTITUTION: The sheet material source document fed by a separation part (a carrying roller 15 and a separation belt 14) is read by the read part provided in the middle of a platen glass 3 while it is carried by the wide belt 7 on the plate glass 3. In such a case, a distance between the read part and the separation part is set longer than the length of the sheet material source document. Thus, the trailing edge of the sheet material source document has already passed through the separation part before starting reading, so that the trailing edge of the sheet material source document is prevented from being shaken in the midst of reading, and image blurring caused by the shake of the trailing edge is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document feeding device and an image forming apparatus with this device, and more particularly to a document feeding device for feeding and placing a sheet material document at a predetermined position such as an image reading section. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser beam printer provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are typically two types of document feeders, as shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 10, the sheet material is conveyed from the sheet tray 4 from the B end side of the platen glass to the image reading position (platen 3), and the sheet material is placed at an arbitrary position, and then the image of the image forming apparatus is displayed. The reading unit (optical system) moves to read the image, and after the reading is completed, the sheet material is discharged from the B end side of the platen glass and reloaded on the tray (switch back type).

In FIG. 21, similarly to FIG. 10, a sheet material original is conveyed from the B end side of the platen glass to the image reading position (platen 3) and placed, and after the image reading is finished, it is discharged to the tray from the B end side. Seat path (switchback type)
It is known to have a sheet path (closed loop type) for transporting and discharging a sheet material document from the C end side of the platen glass onto the tray after the image reading is completed. Whether to use the closed loop type or the switchback type is selected depending on the document size. In this closed loop type, after the image reading is completed, the tray angle is changed horizontally or in the vicinity of the upper direction so that the sheet material originals can be easily reloaded on the tray 4.

In the flow-reading mode in the conventional image forming apparatus as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, after the sheet material original P on the sheet placing table 4 is once placed on the platen glass 3 at an arbitrary position. The optical system 213 is fixed, and the image reading is performed while the sheet material document P is discharged in the A direction.

[0006]

However, there are the following drawbacks in performing the rear side image formation in the above conventional example.

In the type of FIG. 10, after the image of the sheet material document is read by the image reading unit in the image forming apparatus, the sheet material document is discharged from the platen and the sheet material document to be processed next is placed on the platen. The time required to replace the original sheet material before placing it on the tray (hereinafter referred to as the original exchange time)
In this case, since the sheet material document P is always discharged from the platen 3 and the next sheet material document P is pulled in, there is a conveyance distance of about two sheet material documents, and it took a long time. In a high-speed image forming apparatus, the time between copy sheets of the image forming apparatus (for example, the distance (distance) between the trailing edge of the first sheet and the leading edge of the second sheet divided by the process speed) is high. Since the shorter the machine becomes, the shorter the sheet material manuscript replacement time is equal to the copy paper interval time at the time of 1to1 (one sheet material manuscript is used to form one image) image formation. It becomes impossible to set the productivity of the image forming apparatus at "1 to 1" to 100%. In the type shown in FIG. 10, it is impossible to achieve 100% productivity in a high speed machine because it takes a long time to replace the sheet material.

Further, in the type shown in FIG. 21, the large size (for example, A3 size) is similar to the switch shown in FIG.
Back conveyance is performed, but half size or less (eg A4
Etc.) are processed by a closed loop path. In the closed loop path, as shown in FIG. 22, after the image reading of the first sheet material original is completed, the next sheet material original is placed at the image reading position. Since only one sheet material original sheet + sheet material original sheet conveyance distance is required, the sheet material original document can be exchanged at a higher speed than the switch-back type shown in FIG. When this was done, the transport distance had already been determined, so it was necessary to increase the transport speed.
However, it becomes difficult to control the stop position with high accuracy by increasing the conveyance speed, the damage of the sheet material original is increased when the sheet material original is jammed, the size of the device is increased due to the increase in speed of the motor, and the cost is increased. However, there is a drawback that it produces a large amount of noise.

As a countermeasure against these problems, there is known a structure in which an image reading unit of an image forming apparatus is fixed and a sheet material document is conveyed to read an image in order to perform high-speed image formation without performing high-speed conveyance. In the case of performing the flow-reading with the types shown in FIGS. 10 and 21, a proper image cannot be obtained unless the image is read while the sheet material document is conveyed from the C end side to the B end side of the platen glass. . As shown in FIG. 11, when the sheet material original is to be scanned, the sheet material original is pulled once into the platen glass, and then the sheet material original is conveyed in the direction A. At that time, the image of the sheet material original must be read. Instead, it always took time to replace the original sheet material to the platen. In order to solve this, high-speed conveyance is required as in the above case, and there are the same disadvantages as described above.

Further, in the apparatus of FIG. 10, the belt conveyor 7
Rotates in the E direction to convey the sheet material document P onto the platen 3, and then reversely rotates to convey the sheet material document in the D direction for switch back conveyance. For this reason, the motor that drives the conveyor belt rotates in the forward / reverse direction in a short time, which requires a rise time until a constant number of rotations is obtained. However, there is a drawback in that leading edge image blur occurs. Further, in the same configuration, the reversing roller 1 is used during image reading and conveyance.
There is a drawback in that the sheet material document extends over 0 and 12 and a load fluctuation occurs in the belt conveyance motor, causing blurring on the image. In order to avoid the same disadvantage, the reading position of the image forming apparatus is moved to the broken line position 214 in FIG. 11, and the sheet material document does not reach the reversing rollers 10 and 11 until the rear end of the sheet material document P is read. However, in carrying out this, it is necessary to carry out the image reading by switching back after the sheet material document is conveyed to the position 215 of the broken line, and there is a disadvantage that the image forming apparatus is remarkably lowered. .

Further, in order to scan the sheet material originals by the apparatus shown in FIG. 21, the sheet material originals on the sheet tray 4 can be fed one by one from the free end side (right side in the figure). A rotary member (not shown) is provided to convey the sheet material original from the C-end side to the B-end side of the platen glass, and the reading section at the chain line position allows the original being conveyed to be scanned and read.
In this case, when the front end of the sheet material original reaches the reading unit and the image reading is started, and the rear end of the sheet material original is sandwiched by the rotating body, the sheet is conveyed by the belt conveyor 7. There is a problem in that the read image is affected by the influence of the feeding operation of the material document.

According to the present invention, when the original document image is read while the sheet material original document is being conveyed by the belt means, the reading section is arranged at a position where the sheet material original document can be conveyed only by the belt means, and the sheet material original document is conveyed at a constant speed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a document feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of performing stable image formation without image shake.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and includes a rotating body for feeding a sheet material original document, and a sheet material original document on a platen glass located downstream of the rotating body. And a reading unit for reading the sheet material document conveyed by the belt unit. The reading unit is provided in the middle of the platen glass when viewed in the sheet material document feeding direction, When the front end of the material original reaches the reading unit, the rear end of the original is located upstream without being restrained by the belt means, and the distance between the reading unit and the rotary member is set to be longer than the length of the sheet original. It is also characterized by making it longer.

The sheet material original is guided by a curved guide between the rotating body and the belt means.

Further, a sensor is provided between the rotating body and the belt means, and this sensor detects the leading edge of the sheet material document and controls the document reading after a predetermined time has elapsed.

Further, a rotary member for feeding the sheet material original document, a belt means downstream of the rotary member for conveying the sheet material original document on the platen glass, and a sheet material original document conveyed by the belt means are read. And a image forming unit for forming a read original image on a sheet, the reading unit is provided in the middle of the platen glass as viewed in the sheet material original feeding direction, and the leading edge of the sheet original is When it reaches the reading means, its rear end is on the upstream side where it is not constrained by the belt means, and the distance between the reading means and the rotating body is made longer than the length of the sheet material document. To do.

[0017]

According to the above structure, the sheet material original fed by the rotating body is read by the reading unit while being conveyed by the belt means on the platen glass. This reading unit, when viewed from the sheet material document feeding direction,
It is installed in the middle of the platen glass. When the leading edge of the sheet material document reaches the reading unit, the trailing edge of the sheet material document is positioned upstream without being bound by the belt means. Further, the distance between the reading unit for reading the document image and the rotating body is longer than the length of the sheet material document.

As a result, since the trailing edge of the sheet material document is removed from the rotating body before the document image of the sheet material document is read by the reading section, the trailing edge of the sheet material document is being read during reading, and The occurrence of image blurring is prevented, and the reading of the original image is performed stably. And
Since the sheet material original document is conveyed at a constant speed only by the belt means that rotates at a constant speed and is scanned by the reading unit, the image formation can be performed without image shake, image expansion, or contraction.

Further, the sheet material original sent by the rotating body is controlled so that the reading by the image reading unit is started after a predetermined time has passed since the leading edge of the sheet material original was detected by the sensor. The image can be reliably read from the.

Further, when the sheet material original sent by the rotating body is read by the reading means provided in the middle of the platen glass and the image is formed by the image forming means, the belt means does not reverse or rotate at a constant speed. Since the image is constantly rotated at a high speed, the original image can be read at high speed, and the productivity of the image forming apparatus can be improved.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, an RDF (circulating document feeder of the present invention) 2 which is a sheet document feeder is provided with a document tray 4 on the upper side thereof, and a drive roller 36 and a turn roller 37 below it. A wound wide belt 7 is arranged. The wide belt 7 is in contact with the platen 3 of the copying machine main body 1, conveys the sheet original P placed on the original tray 4 and places it on a predetermined position on the platen 3, or the platen 3. The sheet document P (also referred to as a sheet material document) P on the sheet 3 is unloaded onto the document tray 4.

Further, a pair of width direction regulating plates 33 are arranged on the document tray 4 so as to be slidable in the width direction of the sheet document P, and the width direction of the sheet document P placed on the document tray 4 is set. Restricting the stability of the sheet original P during feeding,
Consistency is ensured when carrying out onto the document tray 4. The width direction regulating plate 33 has a built-in jogging mechanism to be described later, and after reading, the sheet reference document P is conveyed to the document tray 4 one by one, and the document reference guide 3 is provided.
It has been pushed to 3 to further improve the consistency. Further, the document tray elevating mechanism described later allows the document tray 4 to swing about the swing center 40 between the positions shown in FIGS.

Adjacent to the document tray 4, a half moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 5 and a stopper 21 which is moved up and down by a stopper solenoid 108 (see FIG. 5) are provided, and when set on the document tray 4. The sheet document P is restricted by the protruding stopper 21 so that it cannot be advanced downstream.

Then, when the copying conditions are input through the operation section of the copying machine 1 and a start key (not shown) is pressed, the stopper 21 sinks, the path of the sheet original P is opened, and the sheet original P is fed. The paper roller 5 is fed and advances to the downstream portion. At this time, the partition member 22 connected to the partition member motor 105 (see FIG. 5) built in the document reference guide 33 on the document tray unit rotates to ride on the uppermost sheet document P, and the unprocessed document Distinguish from processed documents.

At the downstream side of the stopper 21, there is disposed a first separating section composed of a conveying roller 38 and a separating belt 6 which constitute a separating section, and each of them is rotated in the direction of the arrow to advance from the original tray 4. The sheet originals P are separated sheet by sheet and conveyed further downstream.

A weight 20 is provided above the stopper 21, so that the number of the sheet originals P on the original tray 4 is small and the sheet originals P are separated by the feeding force of the paper feed roller 5. When it is not possible to advance to the sheet feeding roller 5, the weight solenoid 109 (see FIG. 5) presses the sheet document P downward to sandwich it between the sheet feeding roller 5 and the sheet feeding roller 5.
Has improved the feeding power of.

Original feed paths (a), (b), and (c) are constructed from the separating sections 6 and 38 to the platen 3 (see FIG. 4), and the original feed paths (a) and (a). B),
(C) is bent and connected to the conveyance path on the platen 3, and guides the sheet document P onto the platen 3. Further, in the vicinity of the paper feed roller 5, the sheet document P placed on the document tray 4 is placed.
Entrance sensors 23a and 23b (FIG. 2), which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the presence or absence of light, are arranged.

A large roller (turn roller) 10 is arranged on the left side of the main body of the RDF 2, and a document discharge path (around the outer periphery of the large roller 10 extending from the platen 3 to the upper side of the document tray 4). (E) and (f) are configured (see FIG. 4). Further, a document reversing path (e) for branching from the upper side of the large rollers 10 of the document ejecting paths (e) and (f) to invert the front and back of a double-sided document is formed (FIG. 4).
(See), the downstream portion of the original reversing path (e) is adapted to join the original feeding path (b). The relay roller 44 and the paper discharge roller 11 are provided on the downstream side of the document discharge path (f).
Is provided, and the sheet document P conveyed through the document discharge paths (e) and (f) is used as a document bundle P on the document tray 4.
Is delivered to the top of. The wide belt 7 arranged above the platen 3 conveys / places the sheet document P at a predetermined position on the platen 3 and carries it out from the platen 3 after reading an image. A feeding roller 9 is provided at the confluence of the document feeding paths (a), (b), and (c) and the document reversing path (e). A loop is formed on P and is normally stopped to prevent skewing of the sheet document P. In the vicinity of the upstream side of the feeding roller 9, sheet feeding sensors 25a and 25b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the front end and the rear end of the sheet original P, are provided, and the original feeding path (a), It is possible to detect the sheet document P that has passed through any of the conveyance paths of (b), (c) and the document reversing path (e). Further, on the downstream side of the feeding roller 9, the sheet original P
Registration sensors 39a and 39b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the rear end of the rear end, are provided. Below the large rollers 10 in the document discharge paths (e) and (f), reversing sensors 26a and 26b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the sheet document P carried out from the platen 3, are arranged. Further, in the document discharge path (f) between the large roller 10 and the discharge roller 11, the passage of the sheet document P that passes through the document discharge path (f) and is discharged onto the document tray 4 is detected. Paper discharge sensors 27a and 27b, which are transmissive optical sensors, are provided.

A reversing flapper 34 for switching the path is provided at a portion branched from the document discharge paths (e) and (f) to the document reversing path (e), and the reversing flapper solenoid 110 (see FIG. The path is switched by swinging between the solid line position and the chain line position in the figure by turning on and off (see 5).

Further, on the right side of the main body of the RDF 2, a second document separating means for conveying the sheet document from the right end of the platen glass to the image reading part on the platen 3 and a second document feeding path (h). , (Ri), and (nu) (see FIG. 4) are configured.

The document tray 4 is configured to swing with the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as the upper limit and lower limit positions in conjunction with the vertical swinging operation of the document tray 4 which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, when the document tray 4 is at the lower limit position, the half-moon shaped second paper feed roller 8 and the conveyance roller 15 and the separation belt 14 which form the second separation portion are arranged adjacent to the lower limit position. Document trays 4 are installed by rotating in the direction of the arrows.
The sheet originals P that have advanced from the above are separated sheet by sheet and conveyed further downstream.

In FIG. 6, the stopper 21 and the short arm 63 integrated with the stopper 21 are rotatable about the support shaft 54, and the pin 54a of the short arm 54 is engaged with the concave portion of the actuating member 59. By rotating the operating member 59 in the clockwise direction, the stopper 21 is rotated to the chain line position. The actuating member 59, which has an intermediate portion pivotally supported by a pivot, is biased counterclockwise by a tension spring 64, and its rotation is restricted by a stopper 57.
The lower end of the operating member 59 is connected to the stopper solenoid 108 via the connecting member 58.

The document tray 4 has an upper limit position or a lower limit position depending on the size of the document placed on the tray and the input conditions of the image forming apparatus. When the tray 4 reaches the lower limit position, the above-mentioned stopper 21 of the tray 4 conveys the sheet originals P placed on the tray 4 in a bundle for a certain distance toward the second separating means 14 and 15. In the guides 60, 61 (see FIG. 6) arranged on the tray 4, the stopper slide base 41 is provided with an eccentric cam 43 via a link 42.
Is rotated to move through the rollers 46 (see FIGS. 7 and 8). The eccentric cam 43 centered on the support shaft 57 has a flag 5 for detecting the home position position (FIGS. 6 and 8).
3 and a transmissive sensor 45 are provided. When the document tray 4 reaches the lower limit position, the sheet document stopper 19 is swung upward by the document stopper solenoid 111 (see FIG. 5) around the support shaft 31, and the sheet documents P bundled and conveyed by the bundle conveying means are conveyed. accept. The sheet originals P conveyed in a bundle are always arranged in the vicinity of the upstream side of the second separating means and are of a transmission type optical sensor 28a for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet originals.
At 28b, the paper is conveyed to a position where the presence of paper is detected (see FIG. 3). When the bundle conveyance is completed, the solenoid 111 is turned off and the sheet document stopper 19 is placed on the sheet document P. A second feeding roller 16 is arranged on the downstream side of the second separating means 14 and 15.
The sheet feeding roller 16 forms a loop on the arrived sheet document P to prevent the sheet document P from skewing. Second above
In the vicinity of the upstream side of the feeding roller 16, second sheet feeding sensors 30a and 30b which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the front end and the rear end of the sheet document P are arranged. Further, there is a relay roller 17 on the downstream side, and transmissive optical sensors 18a and 18b for detecting the leading end position of the sheet document P are arranged in the second feeding path (nu). This image sensor 1
Timing control of the sheet material document on which the image is formed in the image forming apparatus is performed by 8a and 18b.

When the lowermost sheet is conveyed by the rotation of the second conveying roller 15 until it is separated, When the number of image forming copies is set to 1 by the input key of the image forming apparatus 1; the sheet document stopper 19 remains placed on the sheet document P as shown in FIG. The sheet original that has been printed is regulated so as not to enter the second separating portion.

2. When the number of image forming copies is set to n by the input key of the image forming apparatus 1 (when one copy of the sheet original is circulated n times); the sheet original stopper 19 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet original is retracted upward until (n-1) circulation, and when the first sheet original of the nth circulation is reloaded on the original tray 4, the sheet original stopper 19 is The sheet original is placed on the sheet original, and the first sheet original is restricted from entering the second separating unit. At the end of n circulation, the leading edge of the sheet document P is regulated by the sheet document stopper 19, as shown in FIG. afterwards,
The document tray 4 moves upward and stops at the upper limit position. Similarly, the structure shown in FIG.

Next, the drive system of the RDF 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a drive system diagram showing motors and solenoids for driving the respective conveying rollers and flappers.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 100 indicates a first separating motor, and this separating motor 100 drives the conveying roller 38 and the separating belt 6 which are separating portions in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The belt motor 102 drives the driving rollers 36 that drive the wide belt 7, and the rotation of the driving roller 36 is changed by the wide belt 2 to the turn roller 3.
Tell 7. A brake 112 is provided on the motor shaft of the belt motor 109 to ensure the position of the wide belt 2 when stopped.

The reversing motor 101 drives the large roller 10 and the paper discharge roller 11. Reference numeral 103 is the second
The separating motor 103 drives the conveying roller 15 and the separating belt 14 which are the second separating section in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Reference numeral 104 drives the second feeding roller 16 and the relay roller 17.

Clock disks 100a, 101a, 10 having a plurality of slits formed on the shafts of the respective motors.
2a, 103a, 104a are provided, and clock sensors 100b, 101b, 102 for generating pulses by recognizing each slit by a transmission type optical sensor.
b, 103b, 104b, etc. are respectively provided.
The rotation of each motor is controlled by the clock sensors 100b and 101.
By counting the clocks b, 102b, 103b, 104b, the rotation amount of each conveyance roller can be measured, and the movement amount of the sheet document P can be detected.

Reference numeral 110 indicates a reversing flapper solenoid for swinging the reversing flapper 34.
At the time of F, the reversal flapper 34 is at the position indicated by the solid line in the figure, and the sheet original P having passed through the document discharge paths (e) and (f) is carried out onto the document tray 4, and at the time of ON, the document discharge path (e). ，
The sheet document P passing through (f) is guided to the document reversing path (e).

The stopper solenoid 108 is the stopper 2
1 is driven to move up and down, and when it is OFF, it is prevented from advancing to the downstream side of the document stack P on the document tray 4 at the position in the figure, and when it is ON, the stopper 21 sinks to move the path of the sheet document P. Open (Fig. 6).

Reference numeral 109 indicates a weight solenoid for swinging the weight 20 up and down.
When in FF, it is in the position shown, and when it is ON, weight 2
By lowering 0 downward and pressing the sheet document P on the paper feed roller 5, the conveyance force by the paper feed roller 5 is increased. Reference numeral 111 denotes a document stopper solenoid for swinging the document stopper 19 up and down.
When it is OFF, it is at the position shown by the solid line and when it is ON, it goes up to the position shown by the broken line.

Next, the swinging operation of the document tray 4 will be described.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a tray swing motor attached to the support member 55 (FIG. 1), and a cam member 49 integrated with the motor output shaft is connected to the tray swing arm 48. A tray swing shaft 47 is engaged with the lower surface of the document tray 4. The tray swing shaft 47 is engaged with the tip of the tray swing arm 48, and the tray swing arm shaft 67 is engaged with the other side of the tray swing arm 48, and the tray swing arm shaft 67 rotates. By this, the tray swing arm 4
8 swings between the positions shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is swung around the swing center 40.

Reference numeral 51 indicates an upper limit switch for detecting that the document tray 4 has reached the upper position, and reference numeral 5 indicates
Reference numeral 2 denotes a lower limit switch for detecting that the document tray 4 has reached the lower position, and the tray swing motor 107 detects the upper and lower limit switches 51, 52 operated by the protrusion 50 of the cam member 49. The rotation is controlled by.

Next, the bundle conveying means on the document tray 4 will be described.

Reference numeral 106 (FIG. 5) is a stopper slide motor for moving the stopper 21 in the direction A of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet original P is conveyed to the second separating portions 14 and 15, and after the conveyance, it returns to the initial position. In addition, the sheet document is ejected by the ejection roller 11
Every time the sheet document is discharged from the document tray 4 to the document tray 4, the stopper 21 pushes the trailing end of the sheet document toward the second separating portion, thereby improving the consistency of the sheet document P on the document tray 4 in the transport direction (FIG. 12). , FIG. 13).

Next, the partition member of the document tray 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing details of the configuration of the partition member.

In FIG. 14, the partition member motor 105
On the output shaft 117 (FIG. 3), a partition flag 119 that is freely supported in the rotation direction and a partition lever 120 that is fixed to the output shaft 117 and that drives the partition flag 119 to rotate are coaxially arranged. ing. As shown in the figure, the partition flag 119 has a part of its circumference cut, and a partition member 7 made of a flexible material such as a polyester film or a leaf spring is fixed on the circumference. And rotates on the output shaft 117 integrally with the partition flag 119.

Further, since the center of gravity of the partition flag 119 is on the partition member 22 side, the partition lever 120
When the drive of the partition member is not applied, the partition member 2 is driven by its own weight.
Stop when 2 is directly below. Reference numeral 121 denotes a partition sensor, which detects the partition flag 119 to determine the position of the partition member 7.

In FIG. 14A, when the sheet originals P are fully loaded on the original tray 4, the distance between the end surface of the sheet originals P and the mounting portion of the partition member 22 is short and the partition member 2
Since the second member is strong, the partition member 22 is not deformed and is in a flat state along the sheet document P as illustrated.

In FIG. 14B, when the number of sheet originals P stacked on the original tray 4 is small, the tip of the member comes into contact with the surface of the sheet original P if the partitioning member has a conventional rigidity. Since it stops in this state, the partition member floats up at the end position of the document due to a gap between the partition member and the surface of the document. When the sheet document P is reloaded above the partition member, the leading edge of the document collides with the partition member and cannot be stably loaded on the document tray 4.
As shown in FIG. 14B, since the partition member 22 has flexibility, the document stack P is driven by the driving force of the partition lever 120.
The partition member 7 is adapted to the surface state, and becomes flat along the document surface as in the case of full loading.

Therefore, the partition member 22 is used as the document tray 4
Regardless of whether the number of sheet originals P is large or small, the sheets are always in close contact with the surface of the original bundle P.
Even if the sheet original P is reloaded on the partition member 22, it does not collide with the partition member 22.
Sheet manuscript P stably without causing any trouble in carrying out
Can be loaded.

Next, the jogging mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a top view of the document tray 4.

In the figure, reference numeral 122 is a jogging guide which forms a part of the width direction regulating plate 33a, and is supported by the width direction regulating plate 33a so as to be retractable. On the side opposite to the document surface side of the jogging guide 122, the link pin 12 that engages with one side of the two jogging links 123 and 125.
6, 127 are provided. Jogging link 12
The other ends of 3, 125 are engaged with the jogging lever 129 by lever pins 130, 131.

The jogging lever 129 is engaged with the jogging solenoid 132. Therefore, when the jogging solenoid 132 is turned on, the jogging guide 122 operates so as to press the sheet document P against the document reference guide 33, and the jogging solenoid 132 is turned off.
When F, the return spring 133 causes the jogging guide 12
2 operates so as to be separated from the end surface of the document.

That is, the sheet original P is placed on the original tray 4 by one.
Each time the sheets are reloaded one by one, the jogging solenoid 132
By repeatedly turning on and off, the sheet original P is surely pressed against the original reference guide 33, and the original tray 4
The consistency of the upper sheet document P is improved.

Further, a slide volume (not shown) engages with the width direction regulating plate 33a, and the width direction regulating plate 3 is provided.
By moving 3a, it is possible to obtain the size information in the width direction of the sheet material document placed on the document tray 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a length detection sensor 68 for the sheet material document is attached to the rear end of the document tray 4, and this sheet material document length detection sensor (for example, a reflection type sensor) is For example, if the sheet material original is LTR size (21
6 mm) or more or less.

When it is determined by the sheet material document length detection sensor 68 that the size is equal to or larger than the LTR size, the document tray 4
The sheet material document placed on the first sheet is separated by the first separating means 6 and 3.
Paper is fed from the 8 side. Sheet material document length detection sensor 68
If it is determined that the size is equal to or smaller than the LTR size, the size information of the width direction of the sheet material document is obtained from the slide volume that moves in conjunction with the width direction regulation plate 33a, and, for example, A4,
It is determined whether the size is LTR or not, and if the size is A4 or LTR, the document tray 4 is lowered and the condition that the paper can be fed from the second separating means 14 and 15 side is satisfied.

Further, depending on the image forming mode or the like input to the image forming apparatus, it is further determined whether the paper is fed from the first separating means side or the second separating means side.

If the size is not A4 or LTR, the sheet material original is fed from the first separating means side. When the sheet material document is fed from the first separating means side, the fixed reading mode is set. Therefore, the optical system (reading section) 152 is at the position D in FIG. 1, and the sheet material document is placed on the platen 3. Then, it moves to the right and scans. On the other hand, when the sheet is fed by the second separating means, the flow reading mode is set, so the optical system 15
2 moves to the position of D ″ in FIG. 1 through the moving means based on the mode input, and is fixed to the position of D ″.

The reference for the size of the above-mentioned sheet material original is only one embodiment of the present invention, and the reference value for the size can be arbitrarily selected.
<Second Embodiment> As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, instead of providing the second separating means 14 and 15 of the present invention, a sheet path (a) between the separating means and the image reading unit,
Between (b), (c) and (d), the reverse path part (g),
(H) and a sheet path (r), (n) for guiding the sheet material document from the other end side of the platen glass 3 to the image reading portion,
By providing (l), it is possible to achieve the same effect, higher speed, and lower noise as those of the present invention.

Explaining the sheet path of this apparatus, the sheet material original placed on the sheet tray 4 is separated by the separating means 6.
38, the lowermost one is sequentially fed out, and in a normal mode (for example, when the size of the sheet material original is A3 or the like), the sheet passes through the sheet paths (b), (c), and (d) and on the platen 3. It is placed at any position. After that, the optical system of the image forming apparatus moves to read an image. After reading the image, the sheet material original on the platen 3 is
It is configured to be re-loaded on the sheet tray 4 through (F).

In the high speed mode (for example, when the size of the sheet material original is A4 and a copy of 1 to 1 is made), the separated sheet material originals are paper paths (a), (to), (h),
The sheet material document is conveyed from the other end of the platen glass to the image reading unit through (i), (n) and (l). The reversing units 8, 14 and 15 perform the high-speed mode copy,
Fast reversal is required. The sheet material document conveyed by this sheet path has a control means for performing image reading in a flow reading mode in which the optical system in the image forming apparatus is fixed.

With this configuration, it is possible to achieve the same effect and higher speed as in the first embodiment of the present invention, but it has the following disadvantages. 1. The first copy time is slow because the sheet path is long. 2. Since the sheet path is long, paper transport reliability (jam rate,
The amount of skew and lateral resist variation (large) are reduced. 3. High speed reversal (switch back) is required to reduce the paper gap at the time of switch back, noise "loud" and a high speed motor are required, resulting in an increase in size and cost of the device. <Third Embodiment> FIGS. 19 and 20 show another embodiment of the present invention.
Indicates.

The present embodiment is an improvement of the second embodiment and has an intermediate tray 140 in order to avoid high speed switch-back inversion. The sheet material originals placed on the sheet tray 4 are separated one by one from the lowermost portion by the separating means, and in the high speed mode, the sheet path (a),
After passing through (g) and (h), the sheet is discharged to the intermediate tray 140, and immediately thereafter, it is gripped by the switchback rollers 16 and 116, passes through the sheet paths (i), (n), and (l), and reaches the image reading position. Be transported. This type can also achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment of the present invention, high speed, low noise, and compact size.

This type does not require high-speed switch-back inversion unlike the second embodiment. Therefore, the trailing edge of the ejected sheet material original is gripped on the intermediate tray and is conveyed to the next path, so that it is possible to convey the sheet while maintaining the space between the sheet material original document and the next sheet material original document. is there. Therefore, since the sheet material original can be always conveyed at a constant speed, a high-speed motor is not required and the motor does not need to rotate in the forward and reverse directions, so that the control of the apparatus is simplified.

However, since the sheet path length is longer than that of the embodiment of the present invention, the reliability of paper conveyance is lowered and the first copy time is delayed as in the other embodiment 1. <Fourth Embodiment> A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, depending on the state when the sheet material document P is present on the sheet document tray 4,
Although the exposure mode of the image forming apparatus 1 was switched,
In the present invention, a fixed document exposure mode in which a document is fixed in the image forming apparatus 1 and the optical system is moved to expose it, and a document movement exposure in which the optical system is fixed to the predetermined position and the document is exposed while moving A mode switching means 270 capable of selecting one of the two modes (flow scanning) is provided, and the setting of the switch and the state of the sheet material document on the previous sheet document tray (size or double-sided reading or enlargement / reduction etc.) ), The exposure mode is switched. The mode switching means 270 may be a push button type switch or a configuration such as a DIP switch. The original size of the sheet material is A4
In other cases, in the case of both sides, in the case of enlargement, the fixed reading mode has priority. <Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 49 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In the fourth embodiment, the mode switching means 270 is arranged in a part of the scanning display of the image forming apparatus. Set to the flow reading exposure mode that can obtain a copy with high copy productivity or low operating noise, and switch to the fixed reading mode in a special case (when one of the modes cannot operate due to a failure). You may leave it. One of the exposure modes is selected according to the frequency of use. Further, in addition to the above-described operation display, the exposure mode is provided on the operation unit of the sheet material document feeder, such as the vicinity of the document placing portion of the sheet material document feeder (hereinafter referred to as sheet material document feeder) 2. Switching means may be provided.

RDF control device (see FIG. 16) FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control device of the circulation type document feeder of the present embodiment, and the control circuit (control means). Is mainly composed of a one-chip microcomputer (CPU) 201 having a built-in ROM, RAM, etc., and signals of various sensors are inputted to an input port of the microcomputer 201. The slide volume for detecting the document width is connected to the analog / digital conversion terminal of the microcomputer 201, and the value of the slide volume is set to 2
It is configured so that it can be continuously detected in 55 steps.
Further, each load is connected to the output port of the microcomputer 201 via a driver. Belt motor 1
Reference numeral 12 is connected to a well-known PLL circuit through a forward / reverse driver, and a rectangular wave signal of an arbitrary frequency is input from the rectangular wave output terminal GEN of the microcomputer 201 to the PLL circuit. By changing the, the peripheral speed of the belt motor 112, and hence the full-scale belt 7, can be arbitrarily changed.

Further, control data is exchanged with the main body of the copying machine via the communication IC 202, and as the received data, flow reading speed data (v) from the main body of the copying machine, single-sided / double-sided / flowing reading, etc. Document feed mode data, document feed trigger, document replacement trigger, and document discharge trigger. Further, as transmission data, document feed / replacement / sheet discharge operation completion signals, detected document size data, and document stack There is a final document signal to notify the break of the image, and an image front signal in the flow reading mode.

The control procedure (control program) as shown in FIG. 23 and subsequent figures is stored in advance in the built-in ROM, and each input / output is controlled according to the control procedure.

(Main Flow) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described based on the main flow chart shown in FIG.

Whether the original is set or not is determined by the first entrance sensor 2
The operation is started by pressing the copy key on the operation unit of the main body of the copying machine (not shown) (main1). At this time, it is determined whether or not the sheet document length detection sensor 68 is off (main2), and if the determination is positive (A4, LTR), the copy mode transmitted from the main body is determined (main).
3) If it is the flow-reading copy mode, proceed to (main4), execute a series of copy processing in the flow-reading mode described later, and end the operation.

At (main3), a negative judgment (A4, LT
If it is (other than R), proceed to (main5) to determine whether it is a mode that allows high-speed continuous transfer mode in which two or more originals are placed on the platen for copying. In the embodiment, the single-sided original copy mode is the high-speed continuous feed possible mode), and if the high-speed continuous feed affirmation is determined, proceed to (main6) and execute a series of copy processing in the high-speed continuous feed mode described later. The operation ends. If the high-speed continuous transmission negative judgment is made in (main2), the operation proceeds to (main7) and a series of copying processes are executed in the normal switchback mode described later to end the operation.

Here, the mode selection according to the document size is
In the present control example, the selection is restricted only by the feeding direction by turning on / off the sheet document length detection sensor 68, but as described above, the combination with the document width detection means by the slide volume provided under the document tray (not shown) is used. Depending on the document size, mode selection may be restricted.

(Flow-reading mode) Next, the flow-reading mode will be described with reference to FIG.

A tray down process described later is performed to move the document tray to the lower limit position (draftmd1), and a document bundle transport process described later is performed to move the document bundle P to the right (draftmd1).
md2), and then the right separation process described below is performed to separate only the bottom document (drafut md3). After that, a document flow reading process is started (draftmd5), in which the image of the document is read while the optical system of the copying machine main body is fixed at a predetermined position (draftmd5), and then the trailing edge of the document is detected by the image-edge sensor 18. After waiting (draftmd6), the document partition sensor 121 detects the break of the document stack (draftmd7), and if it is not the final document, the continuous paper discharge process described later is started to return the document to the document tray (draftmd8 ), Return to (draftmd3) and repeat the process.

In (draftmd7), if it is the final document, continuous paper discharge processing is performed (draftmd9), and then tray-up processing described later is performed to return the document tray to the upper limit position (draftmd10). , A series of processing ends.

At this time, the optical system (152 of FIG. 50, which will be described later) of the main body of the copying machine, which will be described later, sets the length of the document in the feeding direction as l (mm), as shown in FIG. In this case, it is located downstream of the relay roller 17 by l (mm) or more in the clockwise direction.The position control of the main body optical system may be performed by well-known stepping motor control or other mechanical stopper configuration. It does not matter if it is due to.

Further, in this mode, the belt motor is always turned on to eliminate the change in the belt conveying speed due to the rising characteristic of the motor.

As described above, by conveying the original document only by the conveyance force of the belt conveyor, the original document can be always conveyed on the platen at a constant speed, and the motor is always continuously rotated in a steady state. Therefore, when the image information is read by the optical system, since the original document which is always conveyed at a constant conveyance speed is read, it is possible to obtain an appropriate image without image blurring, image expansion, and contraction.

(High-speed continuous transfer mode) Next, the high-speed continuous transfer mode will be described with reference to FIG.

The tray down processing described later is performed to move the document tray to the lower limit position (doublemd1), and the document bundle P
To move the document to the right side
blemd2), after that, the right-side separation process described below is performed to separate only the bottom document (doublemd3), and the right-side paper feed process is performed to place the document on the right edge of the platen (doublem2).
d4). After that, the document partition sensor 121 detects the separation of the document stack (doublemd6). If it is not the final document, the right separation process (doublemd7) and the right paper feed process (doumd6) are performed again.
blemd8), the document on the platen is moved to the left, and at the same time, the document moving process is performed to place the next waiting document (waiting near the relay roller nip) on the right edge of the platen (doublemd9 ).

After that, an optical system moving original reading process is performed to read the original image while moving the optical system of the main body of the copying machine (doublemd10), and when it is completed, an intermittent paper discharge process is performed to return the original to the original tray. At the same time as starting (dou
Return to blemd6) and repeat the process. Also, (doublemd6)
In the case of the final manuscript, after the moving process (doublemd12), the optical system moving manuscript reading process is performed.
(doublemd13), after that, continuous feeding and intermittent paper discharge processing is performed (doubl
(emd14), the tray-up process described later is performed to return the document tray to the upper limit position (doublemd15), and a series of processes ends.

(Normal switchback mode) Next,
The normal switchback mode will be described with reference to FIG.

The left-side left-side separation process described below is performed to separate only the bottommost document from the document stack P on the document tray (swmd1), and when completed, the left-side document described below is placed on the platen. Perform paper feed processing (swmd2). After that, the optical system moving original reading process of reading the original image is performed by scanning the original while moving the optical system of the copying machine body described later (swmd3), and then the original dividing sensor 121 divides the original bundle. If it is not the final document after detection (swmd4), the intermittent discharge process described later is started to return the document to the document tray (swmd5), and the process returns to (swmd1) and repeats. If the document is the final document at (swmd4), intermittent paper discharge processing is performed (swmd6), and the series of processing is terminated.

(Tray UP Processing) The tray UP processing by the RDF will be described with reference to FIG.

In order to raise the document tray to the position shown in FIG. 1, the tray swing motor 107 is driven until the upper limit 51 is turned on. When the upper limit 51 is turned on, the tray swing motor 107 is stopped.

(Tray DOWN Processing) The tray DOWN processing by the RDF will be described with reference to FIG.

In order to lower the original tray to the position shown in FIG. 2, the tray swing motor 107 is driven until the lower limit 52 is turned on, and when the lower limit 52 is turned on, the tray swing motor 107 is stopped.

(Bundle Conveying Processing) Bundle conveying processing No. 29
It will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the bundle conveying process, the sheet original stopper solenoid 111 is turned on in order to convey the original bundle on the original tray from the first paper feed port side to the second paper feed port side, and
Turn on the stopper slide motor 106 (orgsfeed1)
. After that, the bundle transport home position sensor 45 turns off /
By detecting the ON (orgsfeed2), the document bundle is conveyed by the stopper unit as described above. Then, the sheet document stopper solenoid 111 and the stopper slide motor 106 are turned off to end the processing (orgsfeed3).

(Right side separation processing) The right side separation processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the right separation processing, if the first document is the first document (rsepa1), the partition member motor 105 is turned on to operate the partition member for detecting the partition of the document stack P, and at the same time, the document stack P The second separation motor 100 is turned on to perform the judgment (rsepa2). Further, a jogging process described later is performed to align the document stack P in the width direction (r
sepa3). After that, when the jogging process is completed, the process advances through the sheet path (h) so that only the lowest document in the document stack is separated, and when the second paper feed sensor 25 detects the document leading edge (rsepa4), 2 By starting the speed control to drive the separation motor 100 at a low speed, start the separation loop timer (rsepa5), and after this set time (rsepa6), turn off the second separation motor 100 (rsepa7). Since the leading edge of the document is abutted against the nip portion of the pair of feeding rollers at a low speed, it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the document from being damaged and reduce the collision noise. Further, the document stops with a predetermined amount of loop formed. As a result, even if skewing occurs at the time of separation, the skewing is corrected.

(Right Side Paper Feeding Process) The right side paper feeding process will be described with reference to FIG.

In the right side paper feeding process, the feeding roller pair 1
The size check counter 2 which drives 6 and 17 and turns on the carry motor 104 at the same time to carry the document from the sheet path (h) to the sheet path (d) and counts by the clock signal input from the carrying clock 104 Start (rent 1). Then, at the same time when the document is conveyed and its trailing edge passes the second paper feed sensor 30 (rent2), the size check counter 2 is stopped (rent3),
Based on the data, the document size is determined in size check processing 2 shown in FIG. Further, if the leading edge of the document is detected by the image destination sensor 18 by continuing the processing (rent
4) The belt motor 112 is reversely turned on to place the original on the sheet path (rent 5), and when the trailing edge of the original is detected by the image sensor 18 (rent 6), the conveyance motor 10
The belt clock 102 is turned off to stop the original at a predetermined position on the platen (the rear end of the original is at the position shown in FIG. 4D ').
Start the resist counter 2 counted by (rent7). When the registration count 2 started above is completed (rent8), the belt motor is turned off and the brake is turned on to stop the document accurately.
(rent9).

(Movement Processing) The movement processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the moving process, the full-surface roller 7 is driven, the belt motor 112 is reversely turned on to move the document in the sheet path (L), (D), and the document is stopped at a predetermined position on the platen. Therefore, the movement counter counted by the belt clock 102 is started (mv1). When the movement counter that started above ends (mv2),
The document is stopped accurately by turning off the belt motor and turning on the brake (mv3).

At this time, the movement counter displays the length of the original in the feeding direction by l (mm), and D'from the leading edge of the next original which is on standby with the high-speed continuous feeding placement reference (D ') shown in FIG. The distance (described later) to lgap (mm) is the same as the document fixed placement reference (D) shown in FIG. 4 (scanning is performed with the leading edge of the document positioned at D) and (D '). Distance to L
(mm) will be expressed by the following formula.

Movement amount by movement counter Δ = L− (2 × l + lgap) The equation of the movement counter will be described in more detail.

In the original handling in this mode,
The space between the originals is adjusted by the relay roller 17 (the relay roller 17 has a role as a registration roller although not described in detail in the text). That is, at the point where the preceding document moves by the predetermined clock detected by the image sensor 18 and the rear end is positioned at D ′ (the preceding document is in the low stop state), the leading end of the next document reaches the relay roller nip portion 17 in advance. (Or wait at a position advanced by a predetermined clock within a range in which the leading edge of the original does not exceed the image sensor 18 from the nip point).

At this time, the distance between the document leading edge of the next document and D'is lgap. The document is moved by the control means such that the peripheral speed of the wide belt 7 is controlled at the time when the gap lgap of the preceding document is adjusted, and stopped at the point where the trailing edge of the next document is positioned at D '. At this time, the gap between the preceding manuscript and the next manuscript is lgap.
The distance between the trailing edges of the first document is 2 x l + lgap.

Then, the document is moved by the movement counter in order to move the minute amount of the document so that the leading edge of the first document is aligned with the position D. That is, L- (2 × l + lgap
).

Thereafter, this operation is sequentially repeated to complete the copying.

(Continuous Feeding Intermittent Paper Ejection Processing) The continuous feeding intermittent paper ejection processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the continuous intermittent delivery process, the belt motor 112 is turned on in reverse to eject the original on the platen.
Turn on the reversing motor (dlejct1), and the document passes the sheet path (D).
When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the paper discharge sensor 27 (dlejct2), the belt motor is turned off, and the speed of the reversing motor 101 is controlled for paper discharge alignment while the document is being read. Start the paper discharge counter that determines the distance to discharge paper on the document tray (dlejct3).
When the paper discharge counter is finished (dlejct4), the reversing motor 10
1 is turned off (dlejct5), and the paper discharge drop timer that takes an interval until the document falls on the document tray is started (dlejc5
At t6), after completion (dlejct7), closed loop ejection jogging processing is performed to align the ejected originals (dlejct8), and the continuous feeding intermittent ejection processing is terminated.

(Original Document Flow Reading Process) The document document flow reading process will be described with reference to FIG.

In the original flow reading process, in order to read the image of the original by the optical system of the main body of the copying machine, the conveying motor 104 is turned on in synchronization with (constant speed) the speed of the belt motor 112 for the continuous reading, and at the same time. The belt motor 112 also starts constant speed control by outputting a reference signal to the PLL circuit based on the flow reading speed data (v) received from the copying machine main body (draftsq1). After that, at the same time when the leading edge of the document is detected by the image tip sensor 18 (draftsq2), an image tip signal is transmitted to the main body of the copying machine and the processing is ended (draftsq2).
3). The copying machine main body performs actual image reading by calculating and controlling the time until the leading edge of the original reaches the fixed position of the optical system at the time of the above-described flow reading after receiving the image destination signal.

For the second and subsequent sheets, the copy sheet at the time of continuous scanning is longer than the copy sheet feeding interval of the copying machine main body during fixed reading (the time from feeding the first sheet to feeding the next sheet). The paper feed interval is shortened, and the control for determining the paper feed interval of the original is performed according to this paper feed interval (FIGS. 52 (a) and 52 (b)).

As a result, for example, the copy paper feeding interval at the time of continuous reading is 1 / the copy paper feeding interval T ₁ at the time of fixed reading.
2 and the copying speed at A1 and " _{1 to 1} " of the copying machine main body is Ncpm, the copying speed is increased by {(1/2) T ₁ × N}. Therefore, the copy machine of Ncpm is N'cp
The copying machine has a high copying speed of m (N '> N).

A4, "1 to 1", a copying machine which had a productivity of 100% in the past has a productivity of 100% or more.

The following is a description based on the diagram.

The copying speed Ncpm is defined by the number of copy sheets discharged within one minute after the leading edge of the transfer sheet reaches the sheet discharge roller of the copying machine. That is, as shown in FIG. 51, since the paper feed interval T ₁ is halved, the time until the completion of N sheets of paper is shortened by the shortened paper interval.

In order to align the leading edge of the image with the edge of the transfer paper, that is, in order to perform registration, the space between the transfer papers and the space between the originals are aligned, and the handling speeds of the transfer paper and the original are aligned ( (1: 1 etc.) means are required. In the present embodiment, the tuning circuit is set so that the registration driving means of the copying machine body and the wide belt driving on the side of the document feeding device are controlled in synchronization. Fig. 52 (a),
(b) is a block diagram for synchronizing the registration driving means and the wide belt driving.

The flow reading speed data (v) may be equal to or different from the reading speed (v1) when moving the optical system. In particular, when v> v1 is set, the reading of the original image is completed in a shorter time than the normal optical system moving reading, so the copy speed is improved by using the original feeding device of the present invention. .

(Continuous Paper Discharge Processing) The continuous paper discharge processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the continuous paper discharge process, in order to discharge the original on the platen, the reversing motor 101 is turned on in synchronization with (constant speed) the speed of the belt motor 112 which is scanning and reading (r).
ejct1), next, when the trailing edge of the document is detected by the reversing sensor 26 (rejct2), the reversing motor 101 is speeded up to the highest speed (rejct3) in order to secure a space between the document and the next document.
When the document is conveyed from the sheet path (d) to the sheet path (f) and the trailing edge of the document is detected by the paper ejection sensor 27 (rejct
4) While controlling the speed of the reversing motor 101 for paper ejection alignment, the paper ejection counter for determining the distance for ejecting the original onto the original tray is started (rejct5). When the paper discharge counter is finished (rejct6), the reversing motor 101 is turned off (dlejct5), the paper discharge drop timer that takes an interval until the document falls on the document tray is started (rejct8), and after that (rejct9), Closed loop paper ejection jogging processing is performed to align the paper originals (rejct10), and the continuous feeding intermittent paper ejection processing ends.

(Left Side Separation Processing) The left side separation processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the left separation processing, if the first document is the first document (lsepa1), the partition member motor 105 is turned on to operate the partition member for detecting the partition of the document stack P, and at the same time, the document stack P The first separation motor 100 is turned on to perform the judgment (lsepa2). Further, a jogging process, which will be described later, is performed to align the document bundle P in the width direction.
(lsepa3). After that, when the jogging process is completed, the stopper solenoid 108 is turned on (lsepa4) to move down the paper feed stopper so that only the lowest document in the document stack is separated (lsepa4) and advances through the sheet path (a). When the first paper feed sensor 25 detects the leading edge of the document (lsepa5), the speed control for driving the first separation motor 100 at a low speed is started, the separation loop timer is started (lsepa6), and this set time ends. After that (lsepa7), by turning off the first separation motor 100 (lsepa8), the leading edge of the original can be abutted against the nip portion of the pair of feeding rollers at a low speed, so that the leading edge of the original can be prevented and the collision noise can be reduced. Then, it stops with a predetermined amount of loops formed. As a result, even if skewing occurs at the time of separation, the skewing is corrected.

(Left Paper Feeding Process) The left paper feeding process will be described with reference to FIG.

In the left side sheet feeding process, the pair of feeding rollers,
Also, the belt motor 112 is driven to drive the full-face feed belt and convey the original from the sheet path (a) to the sheet path (c).
Forward rotation ON, reverse motor ON, and reverse clock 1 at the same time
Start the size check counter that counts according to the clock signal input from 01 (lent 1). Then, at the same time when the document is conveyed and the trailing edge of the document passes the first paper feed sensor 25 (lent2), the size check counter is stopped (ent3), and the size check process shown in FIG. The size is determined, and the document is placed at a predetermined position on the platen (the rear end of the document is D in FIG. 4).
Start the registration counter that is counted by the belt clock 102 to stop at the
3). When the registration counter that started above ends (lent4), the belt motor is turned off and the brake is turned on to accurately stop the document (lent5).

(Intermittent Paper Discharge Processing) The intermittent paper discharge processing will be described with reference to FIG.

In the intermittent paper discharge process, the belt motor 112 is reversely turned on and the reverse motor is turned on (lejct1) in order to discharge the original on the platen, and the original is moved from the sheet path (d) to the sheet path (f). And the rear end of the document is conveyed to
When it is detected by (lejct2), turn off the belt motor,
While controlling the speed of the reversing motor 101 for paper ejection alignment, a paper ejection counter for determining the distance for ejecting the original onto the original tray is started (lejct3). When the discharge counter is finished (lejct4), the reverse motor 101 is turned off (l
ejct5), start the paper ejection drop timer that takes an interval until the document falls on the document tray (lejct6), and after the end (lejct6)
(ct7), discharge jogging processing is performed to align the discharged originals (lejct8), and the intermittent discharge processing ends.

(Size Check Processing) The size check subroutine will be described with reference to FIG.

In this size check subroutine, the true document size is corrected by adding the distance from the large roller nip position to the first paper feed sensor 25 to the size check counter data as the document size determination means. At this time, the original is conveyed by the feeding roller and the entire belt, and the amount of the feeding and the count value by the belt clock surely coincide with each other. After that, according to the corrected size data, A5, B5, A4, B5R, A4R, B
4, size determination such as A3 is performed.

(Size Check Processing 2) The size check subroutine 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

In this size check subroutine 2, the size check counter data from the nip position of the roller 16 to the second paper feed sensor 30 is used as a document size determination means.
The true original size is corrected by adding the distance up to. At this time, the original is conveyed by the feeding roller and the entire belt, and the amount of the feeding and the count value by the belt clock surely coincide with each other. After that, according to the corrected size data, A5, B5, A4, B5R, A4R, B
4, size determination such as A3 is performed.

(Jogging Processing) The flow of the jogging processing will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.
For the jogging process, first initialize JOG-CN (jog1), which determines the number of times jogging is performed, turn on the jogging solenoid 132 to push out the jogging guide of the width regulation member, and at the same time, set the timer JOG-TM that can be set arbitrarily. Start (jog2) and when the timer JOG-TM finishes the set time (jog3), turn off the jogging solenoid 132 to return the jogging guide to the initial state, and start the timer JOG-TM in the same manner as above (jog4). , When the time set on the timer is over, increase the number of times you jog (jog
5) Until the jogging guide's round trip is completed three times (jog
6) Return to (jog2) and repeat the process. As a result, the document stack P is aligned in the width direction, and skewing, lateral registration, etc. can be prevented.

(Paper Discharge Jogging Processing) The flow of the paper discharge jogging processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The discharge jogging process is performed by the jogging solenoid 1 for pushing out the jogging guide of the width regulating member.
Timer EJCT that can be set at the same time when 32 is turned on
Start _JOG-TM (ejog1) and timer EJCT_JOG_T
When M finishes the set time (ejog2), the jogging solenoid 132 is turned off to return the jogging guide to the initial state (ejog3). As a result, the document stack P is aligned in the width direction, and skewing, lateral registration, etc. can be prevented.

(Closed Loop Discharge Jogging Processing) The flow of the closed loop discharge jogging processing will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

In the closed loop sheet discharge jogging process, the jogging solenoid 132 for pushing out the jogging guide of the width regulating member is turned on, and the stopper slide motor 106 is turned on to improve the alignment in the feeding direction, and at the same time, arbitrarily set. The timer DEJCT_JOG-TM that can be started is started (dejog1), and while waiting for the end of the timer DEJCT_JOG_TM, the bundle transport HP sensor 45 is monitored and the stopper slide motor 132 is turned off when returning to the home position (dejg1).
og2,3,4). When the set time is completed (dejog5), the jogging solenoid 1 is returned to return the jogging guide to the initial state.
Turn off 32 (dejog 6). As a result, the document stack P is aligned in the width direction, and skewing, lateral registration, etc. can be prevented. The DEJCT_JOG_TM is set to a time sufficient for the stopper unit to make one rotation.

Next, FIG. 47 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing the upper and lower limits of the vertical swing motion of the document tray 4. The upper limit position of the tray has an angle of θ ₁ > 0 indicated by a broken line, and the lower limit position is a position indicated by a solid line of θ ₂ > 0.

Next, in the above-described structure, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 47, when the original on the original tray is supplied from the first separating means, the original tray is the upper limit indicated by the broken line. position at an angle of theta _1, when supplying document on the document tray from the second separation means the document tray to have an angle theta ₂ at the lower limit position indicated by the solid line. As a result, when the document tray is at the upper limit position, the document is conveyed from the first separating unit, ejected by the paper ejection roller 11 after image formation, and is re-loaded on the document tray 4, the document tray θ ₁ Since the sheet has an angle only, it is possible to stack the sheets without disturbing the consistency in the sheet conveying direction due to the weight of the sheets.

When the original tray is at the lower limit position, the original is fed from the second separating means. Therefore, when the bundle of sheets is conveyed to the second separating means side on the original tray, the original tray is Since it has an angle of θ ₂ , not only the bundle is conveyed without disturbing the consistency due to the weight of the paper, but also the load on the motor for moving the stopper 21 for conveying the bundle is small, so that the motor can be downsized. Further, even when the document tray is at the lower limit position, the document is ejected after the document is image-formed.
Is ejected and reloaded on the original tray,
Can be loaded on the separating means side without disturbing the consistency.

In the apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 44, the second separating means 14 and 15 are arranged on the side opposite to the first separating means 6 and 38, and the sheet material P is formed. Is a paper path (chi), (ri), (nu), (ni), (ho), (f)
Although the sheet material P is conveyed via the sheet stacker and is stacked on the sheet mounting table 4 again, the discharged sheet material P is first transferred on the sheet mounting table 4.
When the paper is circulated due to being loaded on the separating means side of, or jumping too far to the second separating means side, or when the reloading state becomes defective, and circulation occurs,
There is a risk that the pages of the sheet material may be out of order. Further, when the sheet material is sandwiched by the second separating means at the end of the final circulation, the final circulation ends and the sheet mounting table returns to the original position, the state shown in FIG.
There is a risk that the sheet material may be damaged or damaged.

Further, there is known a configuration in which the image reading unit of the image forming apparatus is fixed and the sheet material is transported to read an image in order to perform high-speed image formation without high-speed transportation. When incorporated into the configuration described in the conventional example, as shown in FIG. 44, a first separating means is provided on the left side of the document tray 4, a sheet material is fed from the first separating means, and a switch back is provided. A method of conveying paper with a mold,
The second separating means is provided on the side opposite to the first separating means, and the second separating means is provided.
The sheet material is fed from the separating means and the image reading unit of the image forming apparatus is fixed to read the image. Second
When the sheets are fed from the separating means, the sheet bundle is conveyed on the original tray from the first separating means side to the second separating means side.

With such a configuration, when the sheets are fed from the second separating means, the original tray 4 operates so that the angle of the original tray 4 is horizontal or in the vicinity of the upper direction, so that the bundle is conveyed on the original tray. Sometimes, the sheets are not aligned, and even when the sheets are reloaded on the original tray, they are not aligned, so that there is a possibility that the sheets may not be fed in the page order.

In the configuration of FIG. 47, the configuration of FIGS.
Compared with No. 5, it is advantageous in the above points.

Next, the structure of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 50 shows a copying machine body to which the present invention is applied.

First, the copying machine main body 1 will be described below.

In the main body 1, 3 is a platen glass on which an original is placed, 703 is an illumination lamp (exposure lamp) for illuminating the original, and 750, 707 and 709 are scanning mirrors (scanning mirrors) for changing the optical path of the original. , 711 is a lens having a focusing and variable magnification mechanism, 713 is a fourth mirror (scanning mirror) for changing the optical path, 715 is an optical system motor for driving the optical system, and 717 and 721 are sensors, respectively.

Reference numeral 731 denotes a photosensitive drum (image forming means), 7
33 is a main motor for driving the photosensitive drum 731;
5 is a high voltage unit, 737 is a blank exposure unit, 7
39 is a developing device, 740 is a developing roller, 741 is a transfer charging device, 743 is a separation charging device, and 745 is a cleaning device.

751 is an upper cassette, 753 is a lower cassette, 771 is a manual paper feed port, 755 and 757 are paper feed rollers, and 759 is a registration roller. Also, 761
Is a conveyor belt that conveys the recording paper on which an image has been recorded to the fixing side, 763 is a fixing device that fixes the conveyed recording paper by thermocompression bonding, 765 is a roller that sends the fixed sheet to a pedestal or sorter described later, 767 Is a sensor used for sheet detection during double-sided recording.

The surface of the above-mentioned photosensitive drum 731 is composed of a photoconductor and a seamless photoreceptor using a conductor, and the drum 731 is rotatably supported and responds to the pressing of a copy start key, which will be described later. The main motor 733 that operates in this way starts rotation in the direction of the arrow. Then the drum 73
When the predetermined rotation control process and the potential control process (pretreatment) of 1 are completed, the document placed on the platen glass 3 is illuminated by the illumination lamp 703 integrally formed with the first scanning mirror 705, and the document is read from the document. The reflected light is the first scan, the second scan mirror 707, the third scan mirror 709, the lens 71.
1 and the photosensitive drum 731 through the fourth scanning mirror 713.
Imaged above.

The photosensitive drum 731 is corona-charged by the high-voltage unit 735, and then the image (original image) irradiated by the illumination lamp 703 is slit exposed to form an electrostatic image on the drum 731 by the known Carlson method. .

Next, the electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 731 is
It is developed by the developing roller 740 of the developing device 739 and visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to the transfer charger 74.
1 is transferred onto the transfer paper as described later.

On the other hand, the transfer sheet in the upper cassette 751 or the lower cassette 753 or the transfer sheet set in the manual paper feed port 771 is fed into the main body apparatus by the paper feed roller 755 or 757 or the manual paper feed roller.
Further, it is further fed to the photosensitive drum 731 with accurate timing by the registration roller 759, and the leading edge of the latent image and the leading edge of the transfer sheet are aligned with each other. After that, the transfer paper passes between the transfer charger 741 and the drum 731, so that the toner image on the drum 731 is transferred onto the transfer sheet. After this transfer is completed, the transfer sheet is the drum 731.
Is separated from the sheet by a separation charger 743, and is conveyed by the conveyor belt 76.
It is guided to the fixing device 763 by 1 and fixed by pressure and heating, and then discharged to the outside of the main body 1 by the discharge roller 765.

After the transfer, the drum 731 continues to rotate, and the surface thereof is cleaned by the cleaning device 745 including a cleaning roller and an elastic blade.

Reference numeral 900 denotes a pedestal that temporarily receives the sheet sent from the copying machine main body 1 and holds it for post-processing. The pedestal 900 can be separated from the main body 1 and accommodates 2,000 transfer sheets. Get deck 901
And an intermediate tray 903 for double-sided copying.
Further, the lifter 905 of the deck 901 capable of accommodating 2,000 sheets ascends according to the amount of the transfer paper so that the transfer sheet always contacts the paper feed roller 907.

Further, 911 is a paper discharge flapper for switching between a double-sided recording side or multiplex recording side path and a discharge side path, 913 and 915 are conveyor belt conveyance paths, and 917 is an intermediate tray weight for pressing a transfer sheet. The transfer paper that has passed through the paper discharge flapper 911 and the transport paths 913 and 915 is turned over and stored in the double-sided copy intermediate tray 903. Numeral 919 is a flapper for selecting a double-sided recording or multi-recording path, which is disposed between the conveying paths 913 and 915 and is rotated upward to guide the transfer sheet to the multi-recording conveying path 921. You can Reference numeral 923 denotes a multiple paper discharge sensor that scrapes the end of the transfer sheet when the multiple flapper 919 is driven. Reference numeral 925 is a paper feed roller for re-feeding the transfer sheet to the drum 731 side through the path 927, and reference numeral 929 is a discharge roller for discharging the transfer sheet to the outside of the machine.

During double-sided recording (double-sided copying) or multiplex recording (multiplexing copying), first, the discharge flapper 911 of the main body 1 is rotated upward to move the copied transfer sheet to the pedestal 900.
It is stored in the intermediate tray 903 via the transport paths 913 and 915 of the above. At this time, the multiple flapper 919 is lowered in the case of double-sided recording, and the multiple flapper 919 is raised in the case of multiple recording. The intermediate tray 903 can store, for example, up to 99 copy sheets, and the transfer sheets stored in the intermediate tray 903 can be stored in the intermediate tray weight 9
Pressed down by 17. Then, at the time of the back side recording or the multiplex recording to be performed next, the transfer sheets stored in the intermediate tray 903 are transferred one by one from the bottom to the sheet feeding roller 9.
By the action of 25 and the weight 917, it is guided to the registration roller 759 of the main body 1 via the path 927.

[0160]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the sheet material original sent by the rotating body is conveyed on the platen glass by the belt means and the original image is read by the reading unit provided in the middle of the platen glass, the distance between the reading unit and the rotating body is the length of the sheet original Since the reading unit is arranged so as to be longer than the above, the trailing edge of the sheet material document comes out of the rotating body before the reading of the document image, and Edge shake and shake, spread, and contraction of the read image due to the shake are suppressed, and the original image of the sheet original can be stably read.

Further, since the sheet material original is conveyed only by the belt means during the reading of the original image, the image shake is prevented and the belt means can be rotated in one direction at a constant speed. The original image of a material original is read at high speed, and the productivity of the image forming apparatus that forms an image based on the read image can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of an automatic document feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view similarly showing a bundle conveying state.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view showing a bundle conveying state in the same manner.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the automatic document feeder also showing a paper path.

FIG. 5 is a layout diagram of the drive system of the same.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the main part of the document tray.

FIG. 7 is the same operation diagram.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the bundle conveying drive unit.

FIG. 9 is an operation diagram of the automatic document feeder in the same manner.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional automatic document feeder.

FIG. 11 is a similar operation diagram.

FIG. 12 is an operation diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an operation diagram of the same.

FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional front view of the recycle lever portion.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the recycle lever and the jogging mechanism section.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the same.

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic document feeder according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a similar paper path diagram.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic document feeder according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a similar paper path diagram.

FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional automatic document feeder.

FIG. 22 is a vertical sectional side view of the same.

FIG. 23 is a main flowchart according to the automatic document feeder of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of the non-stop scanning mode.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of the high speed continuous speed mode.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of the same normal switchback mode.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of tray UP of the same.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of tray DOWN processing of the same.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of the same bundle transport process.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of a right side separation process similarly.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart of the same right side sheet feeding process.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of the movement process of the same.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of continuous speed intermittent paper discharge processing.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of the same document original reading process.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of continuous paper discharge processing.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of left side separation processing.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of the left side paper feeding process.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart of intermittent sheet discharge processing of the same.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of size check SUB.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of size check SUB.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of the jogging process.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of a paper discharge jogging process.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart of the same closed loop paper discharge jogging process.

FIG. 44 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic document feeder.

FIG. 45 is a similar action diagram

FIG. 46 is a vertical sectional side view of a conventional automatic document feeder.

FIG. 47 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic document feeder according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a vertical sectional side view of the device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a vertical sectional side view of the device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is an overall configuration diagram of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing a sheet feeding interval.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram according to the present invention, wherein (a) is an I of (b);
/ O, and (b) shows the relationship between the resist drive means and the wide belt drive control means.

FIG. 53 is a schematic diagram showing movement of a document.

FIG. 54 is a schematic view showing the movement of the original.

[Explanation of Codes] P Sheet Material 1 Image Forming Device (Copier) 2 Automatic Document Feeding Device 3 Platen Glass (Document Reading Position) 4 Document Placement Table 5 Paper Feed Rollers 6, 38 First Document Feeding Means 7 Transport Belt (belt means) 8 Second paper feeding roller 11 Paper discharging roller 14, 15 Second original feeding means (rotating body) 18 Original image sensor 19 Sheet original stopper 21 Stopper (stopper means) 39 Registration sensor 42, 43 sheet bundle conveying means 42 link 43 cam member 112 wide belt drive motor 116 switch back roller 140 intermediate tray 152 optical system (reading section) 201 control means (CPU) 48, 49, 107 swinging means (48 ... swinging arm) ,
49 ... Cam member, 107 ... Swing motor) 270 Mode switching means 731 Photosensitive drum (image forming means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Isobe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yuji Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Tomohito Nakagawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A rotary member for feeding a sheet material original document, a belt unit downstream of the rotary member for conveying the sheet material original document on a platen glass, and a sheet material original document conveyed by the belt unit. And a reading unit for reading the sheet material document, the reading unit being provided in the middle of the platen glass as viewed in the feeding direction of the sheet material document, and when the front end of the sheet material document reaches the reading unit, the rear end thereof is the belt means. The document feeding device is arranged such that it is on the upstream side not restricted by the above, and the distance between the reading unit and the rotating body is longer than the length of the sheet material document. 2. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material document is guided by a curved guide between the rotating body and the belt means. 3. A document feeder according to claim 1, wherein a sensor is provided between the rotating body and the belt means, and the sensor detects the leading edge of the sheet material document and controls the document reading after a predetermined time. Sending device. 4. A rotator for feeding a sheet material original document, a belt means downstream of the rotator for conveying the sheet material original document on the platen glass, and a sheet material original document conveyed by the belt means. And a image forming unit for forming a read document image on a sheet.The reading unit is provided in the middle of the platen glass as viewed in the sheet material document feeding direction, and the leading edge of the sheet material document is When it reaches the reading means, its rear end is on the upstream side where it is not constrained by the belt means, and the distance between the reading means and the rotator is longer than the length of the sheet material document. Image forming apparatus. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet material document is guided by a curved guide between the rotating body and the belt means. 6. An image according to claim 4, wherein a sensor is provided in a path between the rotating body and the belt means, and the sensor detects the leading edge of the sheet material document and controls the reading means after a predetermined time. Forming equipment.