JPH083403Y2 - Form transport device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a stationary type image scanner device for reading the contents of a form by an image sensor, for example.
The present invention relates to a form conveying device for conveying a form to an image sensor.

[Conventional technology]

For example, image scanners that read the information content of forms such as letters, symbols, and pictures with an image sensor are handy type that can be easily carried and handled, and larger than handy type and installed in a predetermined place. It is roughly divided into the stationary type used.

Here, the configuration of a stationary type document conveying device according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the structure of such a conventional stationary type document carrier.

This form transporting device is a hopper 51 having an auxiliary tray 50 that can be pulled out for loading forms, and a paper feeding means 53 for feeding the forms 52 stacked in the hopper 51 one by one from above into the main body.
And an image sensor 54 that reads the contents of the fed form 52.
A feed roller 56 provided on the conveyance path 55 for guiding the form 52, a position detection sensor 57 for detecting the end of the conveyed form 52, and a form 52 whose contents have been read by the image sensor 54. A printer 58 for printing, for example, a serial number for confirmation, a skew correction means 59 for aligning one side of the form 52 to perform skew correction, and a first stopper for temporarily stopping the conveyed form 52 to put it in a standby state. 66, a stacker 60 for accumulating forms 52 discharged after the contents are read and printed, and drive motors 61, 62, 63 for driving the respective units of the paper feeding unit 53, the feed roller 56 and the skew correction unit 59. The drive motors 61, 62, 63 and the like are provided with a control means 64 for electrically controlling each part and a power supply 65 for supplying desired power to each part.

Then, when reading the contents of the form 52, when the auxiliary tray 50 is pulled out and the form 52 is loaded on the hopper 51, the forms 52 loaded on the hopper 51 are fed into the main body one by one from above by the paper feeding means 53. Supplied. Next, the skew assisting means 59 presses the form 52 against the aligner surface, and the conveyance path 55
The first stopper 66 causes the form 52 to be temporarily stopped in a state of being aligned on one side of the sheet, and is put in a standby state. Next, the first stopper 66 is opened by a first stopper opening / closing means (not shown), and the form 52 is fed to the image sensor 54 by the feed roller 56.
Be transported to the side. The image sensor 54 is the form 52 that has been conveyed.
The contents 52 are read line by line, and the form 52 in which the contents are read is fed through the feed roller 56 to the printer.
It is transported to the 58 side. The printer 58 prints a serial number for confirmation on the form 52 whose contents are read by the image sensor 54, and the printed form 52 is fed by a feed roller.
It is discharged from the discharge port via 56 and accumulated in the stacker 60.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

By the way, in this type of transport device, the windmill roller, which is the skew correction means 59, is set to have a weak contact pressure with the form 52 so as not to press the form 52 strongly against the aligner surface and damage the form 52. It is common to have Therefore, if the distance of the conveyance path 55 between the sheet feeding means 53 and the image sensor 54 is sufficient, the sheet 52 is aligned on the aligner surface while the sheet 52 is skew-corrected during conveyance.
Although it can be transported to the 54 side, in actuality, the length of the form 52 in the transport direction is shortened in order to make the device compact as shown in FIG. The stacker 60 is provided with a tray 50, and a stacker 60 for accumulating forms 52 to be discharged after the contents are read out and printed, is arranged at the upper part in the height direction of the apparatus. As described above, in recent years, the transport distance has become extremely short with the downsizing of the apparatus, and skew correction within this short transport distance is desired.

However, in the above-described conventional transporting device, when the rubber plate roller of the paper feeding means 53 is rotated to feed the form 52, the form 52 reaches the first stopper 66 arranged near the feed roller 56 at a time. The form 52 may be conveyed, and at this time, even if the windmill roller, which is the skew correction means 59 arranged in front of the first stopper 66, tries to skew the form 52, the contact pressure is low and therefore the form 52 is the first. Stopper
There was a problem that it was pressed against 66 and served no purpose. As a result, the form 52 is conveyed to the image sensor 54 side without being skew-corrected and displaced from the aligner surface, so that the content of the form 52 cannot be read accurately by the image sensor 54, and It also caused paper jams.

In order to solve this problem, there is also a method of increasing the contact pressure of the skew correction means 59 with the form 52 of the windmill roller, but in this case, the form 52 with a weak waist is strongly pressed against the aligner surface and the form 52 is There is a problem of pain.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a form conveyance device capable of surely performing skew correction of a form conveyed even in a compact form device. To provide.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a form conveying apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a stacked form 2 is supplied to an inlet 11 of a conveying path 5 and a sheet feeding means 8 is provided on one side of the form. Skew correction means 15 for aligning the sides with the aligner surface 17,
A first stopper 23 for temporarily stopping the form skew-corrected by the skew correction means, a first opening / closing means 24 for opening / closing the first stopper with respect to the conveyance path, and a feed roller for conveying the form. A document transporting device including: 20 and 21; a second transporting device that is disposed at least in the back of the skew correcting means and in front of the first stopper.
A stopper 13 and a second opening / closing means 14 for opening / closing the second stopper with respect to the conveyance path based on the feeding state of the sheet feeding means and the conveyance position of the form. The distance between the first stopper and the conveyance path is smaller than the minimum size of the form, and the second stopper temporarily stops the form before the form is conveyed to the first stopper. It is characterized by skew correction.

[Action]

With the second stopper 13 and the first stopper 23 closed, when the forms 2 stacked by the paper feeding means 8 are supplied to the conveyance path 5, the forms 2 are temporarily conveyed by the second stopper 13. Will be stopped. Then, when the paper feeding means 8 shifts to the non-paper feeding state, the second opening / closing means 14 opens the second stopper 13, the second stopper 13 is released, and the form 2 is moved to the first position by the skew correction means 15. 1 is conveyed to the stopper 23. At this time, one side of the form 2 is aligned with the aligner surface 17 and skew correction is performed. After that, the first opening / closing means 24 opens the first stopper 23, the first stopper 23 is released, and the document 2 is conveyed by the feed rollers 20 and 21 into the apparatus.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a form conveying device according to the present invention.

The form transporting device according to this embodiment is applied to an image scanner device for reading information contents such as characters, symbols and pictures on a form. As shown in FIG. A hopper 3 for loading the forms 2 is provided. In addition, the hopper 3 is an auxiliary tray 4 that can be pulled out freely.
It has. The auxiliary tray 4 is pulled out and used when the forms 2 are stacked on the hopper 3. Further, a first position detection sensor 6 for detecting the forms 2 stacked on the hopper 3 is provided above and below the hopper 3. This first position detection sensor 6 is for confirming that all the forms 2 loaded in the hopper 3 have been supplied to the inside of the apparatus main body 1 and the hopper 3 has become empty, and the detection signal thereof is the conveyance path. It is output to the control unit 7 provided at the bottom of No. 5.

In this embodiment, the postcards A to A4 in size are stacked on the hopper 3.

A rubber plate roller 8 as a sheet feeding means for supplying the forms 2 stacked in the hopper 3 one by one from the upper side to the inside of the apparatus main body 1 is arranged at an upper position close to the hopper 3.
The rubber plate roller 8 is provided with four propeller-shaped rollers each having elongated plates 8a, 8a at the upper and lower positions of the opposite surfaces, and each rubber plate roller 8 has a through hole formed at the center thereof.
The rotary shaft 9 is erected between the side walls 1a, 1a of the apparatus main body 1 orthogonal to the conveyance direction X of the form 2 via 8b with a predetermined space therebetween. Further, a drive motor 10 is attached to one end of the rotary shaft 9, and when the rotary shaft 9 is rotated by the start of the drive motor 10, each rubber plate roller 8 is rotated with this rotation, and the surface of the long plate 8a is rotated. Comes into contact with the uppermost form 2 and bends to dispense the form 2, and further the conveyance path 5
Friction plate 12 formed on the inlet 11 of the slope
The document 2 is sent to the inside of the apparatus main body 1 by being pressed against.
As a result, the form 2 is introduced at every half rotation of the rubber plate roller 8.
It will be sent to the 11th side. A slit disc 33 is provided on a part of the rotary shaft 9, and a sixth position detection sensor 34 provided so as to cover a part of the slit disc 33 detects the home position of the rubber plate roller 8. , The detection signal is output to the control unit 7.

The hopper 3 is provided within the rotation range of the rubber plate roller 8 so that the forms 2 stacked at the bottom can be sent out. The friction plate 12 is also provided inside the bottom surface of the hopper 3.
Is set to be smaller than the friction coefficient of the long plate 8a of the rubber plate roller 8.

A second stopper 13 for stopping the conveyed form 2 is arranged on the conveying path 5 located at a predetermined distance downstream of the rubber plate roller 8. The second stopper 13 has a pawl portion 13a that receives a part of the leading end portion of the form 2 and temporarily stops it. Opening and closing control of the pawl portion 13a is performed by a solenoid (second opening and closing means). This is performed by expanding and contracting the operating rod 14a of 14. That is, in the initial state (when the power source is turned on), the operating rod 14a of the solenoid 14 extends, the claw portion 13a descends, and the rubber plate roller 8 is closed.
In the standby state, that is, in the horizontal position, the operating rod 14a of the solenoid 14 contracts, the claw portion 13a rises, and the open state is set, so that the form 2 is stopped. Further, when the third position detecting sensor 25, which will be described later, detects the rear end of the form 2, the operating rod 14a of the solenoid 14 extends again and the claw 13a descends in response to a command from the control unit 7 based on this detection signal. Will be closed.

A windmill roller 15 as skew correction means is provided in the transport path 5 adjacent to the second stopper 13 in a state where a part of the roller is exposed to the transport path 5. The windmill roller 15 is controlled to rotate by a drive motor 16 and rotates at a high speed so that the back surface of the form 2 can be lightly stroked.
a is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance direction X of the form 2 and is provided on one side wall surface of the conveyance path 5 while the form 2 temporarily stopped by the second stopper 13 reaches a first stopper 23 described later. Skew correction is performed by pressing the form 2 against the formed aligner surface 17 to align one side surface of the form 2.

A second position detection sensor 18 is arranged on one side of the transport path 5 located between the windmill roller 15 and the second stopper 13. The second position detection sensor 18 detects that the form 2 has arrived by the second stopper 13, outputs a detection signal to the control unit 7, and outputs a command from the control unit 7 based on this detection signal. Thus, the rotation of the rubber plate roller 8 is stopped, and the sheet is not fed.

Further, two sets of feed rollers 20 and 21 rotatably driven by a drive motor 19 are arranged on the conveyance path 5 adjacent to the downstream side of a first stopper 23 described later. An image sensor 22 is provided between the feed rollers 20 and 21 to read the contents of the conveyed form 2 line by line.

Here, the distance l between the inner end of the hopper 3 and the first stopper 23 is set to be shorter than the size of the smallest size form that can be handled in order to make the apparatus body 1 compact.

A first stopper 23 that stops the skew-corrected and conveyed form 2 again is provided at a position close to the feed roller 20 at the preceding stage. This first stopper
23 has four claws 23 to receive the entire tip of the form 2.
It has a and is formed longer than the second stopper 13 in the width direction of the conveyance path 5. By the expansion and contraction of the operating rod 24a of the solenoid (first opening / closing means) 24 like the second stopper 13, Opening and closing control is performed by raising and lowering the claw portion 23a. That is, in the initial state (when the power is turned on), the operating rod 24a of the solenoid 24 extends, the claw portion 23a descends, the first stopper 23 closes, and the claw portion 13a of the second stopper 13 moves. When released for a predetermined time, the operating rod of the solenoid 24
24a contracts, the claw 23a rises, and the claw portion 23a is opened to release the stop of the form 2. Also, a third position detection sensor described later
When 25 detects the rear end of the form 2, a command from the control unit 7 based on this detection signal causes the solenoid 24 to operate again.
24a extends and the claw portion 23a descends to be in the closed state.

A third position detection sensor 25 is arranged on one side of the conveying path 5 which is close to the feed roller 20 in the preceding stage. The third position detection sensor 25 is skew-corrected to detect both end portions of the form 2 passing through the feed roller 20 in the preceding stage, and this detection signal is output to the control unit 7. Further, a fourth position detection sensor 26 is arranged between the image sensor 22 and the feed roller 21 in the subsequent stage. The fourth position detection sensor 26 detects both ends of the form 2 whose contents have been read out, and this detection signal is output to the control unit 7.

A printer 27 is arranged on the conveyance path 5 at the back of the apparatus main body 1 of the feed roller 21, and prints, for example, a serial number, on the form 2 whose contents are read by the image sensor 22. Further, feed rollers 28 are provided at three positions on a conveying path 5 formed so as to swirl toward the supply side of the form 2 at the back of the printer 1 main body 1. The documents 2 are guided on the conveyance path 5 and sent out from the discharge port 29, and are accumulated in the stacker 30 formed on the upper part of the apparatus main body 1. In addition, the outlet 29
A fifth position detection sensor 31 is arranged on the conveyance path 5 near the position. The fifth position detection sensor 31 detects both ends of the form 2 for which the reading and printing of the contents have been completed, and outputs the detection signal to the control unit.

By the way, the control unit 7 controls various driving motors 10, 16 and 19 based on the detection signals from the position detecting sensors 6, 18, 25, 26, 31, 34 accompanying the movement of the form 2. It is processing. In addition, the control unit 7,
A power supply 32 for supplying desired power to each part such as the drive motors 10, 16, 19 and the printer 27 is built in.

Next, the operation of the form conveying device configured as described above will be described.

In the initial state when the power is turned on, the solenoid
The operating rods 14a, 24a of 14, 24 extend and the second stopper 13
The claw portions 13a, 23a of the first stopper 23 are lowered and the first stopper 23 is closed, and the rubber plate roller 8 is stopped with the long plates 8a, 8a being substantially horizontal.

First, when reading the contents of the form 2, when the auxiliary tray 4 is pulled out and the form 2 is loaded on the hopper 3, the rubber plate roller 8 is started to rotate by the drive motor 10, and the form 2 loaded on the hopper 3 is started. Are sent one by one from above into the apparatus main body 1 (see FIG. 3). That is, the form 2 is fed into the introduction port 11 so as to be paid out to the inside of the apparatus main body 1 by the restoring force of the bending when the long plate 8a comes into contact with the rotation of the rubber plate roller 8 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). ). When the form 2 is supplied from the introduction port 11 by the rotation of the rubber plate roller 8, the form 2 is guided in the conveyance path 5 to the second position.
It is sent to the stopper 13 (see FIG. 6). The second stopper 13 receives a part of the leading end of the form 2 and temporarily stops it. When the second position detection sensor 18 detects the form 2 in this state, the detection signal is output to the control unit 7,
The rubber plate roller 8 is rotated by a command from the control unit 7 based on this detection signal until the sixth position detection sensor 34 detects it, and after the detection, the rubber plate roller 8 is stopped. At this time, the long plates 8a, 8a of the rubber plate roller 8 are substantially horizontal. When the rubber plate roller 8 shifts to the standby state, the operating rod 14a of the solenoid 14 contracts according to a command from the control unit 7,
The claw portion 13a of the second stopper 13 rises to an open state (see FIG. 7), the back surface of the form 2 is lightly stroked by the rotation of the windmill roller 15, and the aligner formed on one side wall surface of the transport path 5 is aligned. It is sent to the first stopper 23 while being pressed against the surface 17 and skew-corrected. The first stopper 23 receives and stops the entire leading end of the form 2, and when a predetermined time has elapsed after the second stopper 13 was released, the solenoid 24
The operating rod 24a is contracted, and the claw portion 23a is raised to be in the open state.
Then, when the first stopper 23 is released, the form 2 is sent to the image sensor 22 via the feed roller 20 and the content is read. When the contents of the form 2 are read out and the third position detecting sensor 25 detects the rear end of the form 2, the claw portion 13a of the second stopper 13 and the first
The claw portion 23a of the stopper 23 descends and is closed.

Next, the form 2 whose content has been read is sent to the printer 27 via the feed roller 21, and the printer 27 prints a serial number for confirmation on the form 2 whose content has been read by the image sensor 22. . This printing is started after a lapse of a predetermined time after the fourth position detection sensor 26 detects the rear end of the form 2 whose content is read by the image sensor 22. The printed form 2 is discharged from the discharge port 29 via the feed roller 28 and accumulated in the stacker 30.
At this time, the fifth position detection sensor 31 detects the rear end of the form 2 and outputs a detection signal of completion of ejection to the control unit 7.

Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the form 2 is provided by the second stopper 13 disposed slightly behind the windmill roller 15 from the time when the form 2 is supplied until it is conveyed to the image sensor 22. Is temporarily stopped, and skew correction is performed by the windmill roller 15 during the period in which the suspended form 2 is conveyed to the first stopper 23, so that the form can be placed at once near the image sensor as in the conventional case. The skew of the form 2 supplied by the rubber plate roller 8 can be surely corrected without being conveyed to the first stopper 23, and the contents of the form can be accurately read by conveying the form 2 to the image sensor 22. it can.

In addition, the form 2 includes the second stopper 13 to the first stopper.
Since the skew is corrected while being conveyed to the transport path 23, it is sufficient for the transport path 5 to secure at least a skew correction section by the windmill roller 15, and the rubber plate roller 8, the windmill roller 15, the second and first stoppers 13 are provided. , 23 and feed rollers 20,2
Since the respective components of 1 are arranged close to each other and the transport path can be shortened to the necessary minimum, the apparatus can be made more compact.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the hopper 3 is fixed and the form 2 is supplied by the rotation of the rubber plate roller 8 has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to one using a lifting type hopper.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the invention is applied to the image scanner device has been described as an example, but the invention can also be applied to other transport devices, and particularly from the position where the form is supplied to the time when the form is actually processed. This is effective for a transport device whose transport distance is shorter than the size of the form.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the form conveying apparatus of the present invention, even if the conveying path is shortened due to the downsizing of the apparatus, the second stopper provided at the back of the apparatus body rather than the skew correcting means. The form is temporarily stopped and the second
During the transportation period between the stopper and the first stopper, the skew can be surely corrected and the sheet can be transported into the apparatus main body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a form conveying apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG.
FIG. 6, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are diagrams showing a document conveying operation in the apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional document conveying device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device main body, 2 ... Form, 5 ... Conveyance path, 6 ... First position detection sensor, 8 ... Rubber plate roller (paper feeding means), 13 ... Second
Stopper, 14 ... Solenoid (second opening / closing means), 15 ...
Windmill roller (skew correction means), 17 ... Aligner surface,
20, 21 ... Feed roller, 23 ... First stopper, 24 ... Solenoid (first opening / closing means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A paper feed means (8) for feeding a stacked form (2) to an inlet (11) of a conveyance path (5) and one side of the form supplied by the paper feed means. Skew correction means (15) aligned with the aligner surface (17), a first stopper (23) for temporarily stopping the form skew-corrected by the skew correction means, and the first stopper with respect to the transport path. A document conveying device comprising a first opening / closing means (24) for opening and closing, and a feed roller (20, 21) for conveying the document, comprising:
A second stopper (13) arranged in front of the first stopper with respect to the apparatus, and the second stopper with respect to the conveyance path based on the feeding state of the sheet feeding means and the conveyance position of the form. A second opening / closing means (14) for opening and closing, wherein the distance of the conveying path between the paper feeding means and the first stopper is formed shorter than the minimum size of the form, and the second stopper is used. A form conveyance device, wherein skew is corrected while the form is temporarily stopped and then conveyed to the first stopper.