JPH11106085A - Opening and closing cover mechanism of automatic document carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To draw out a sheet of paper in an automatic document carrying device furnished with a document carrying path of approximate. U-shape by constituting an upper frame and an intermediate frame slightly openable for unjamming a sheet. SOLUTION: A guide groove 31 is provided in a side plate 30 of an automatic document carrying device, and a notch recess 33 is formed at the top while a hook part 32 is furnished at the bottom. A lock lever 35 interlocking with a lock handle 39 is swingably installed on an intermediate frame 11 supporting rollers, etc., and a lock pin 38 is mounted in the lower part of the lever 35, and the pin 38 is engaged by the hook part 32 and fixed in the condition that the upper frame is closed, and is engaged by the notch recess 33 in the condition that frame is opened, and thus the open condition can be maintained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanism for opening and closing an upper cover in an image reading apparatus, and more particularly, to a state in which the upper cover can be opened to such an extent that the paper can be removed when a paper jam or the like occurs. Regarding the mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic document feeder for an image reading device such as a facsimile machine or a copying machine, an image reading device for a document is arranged in the middle of a document feeding path connecting a document tray and a discharge tray. Then, the documents set on the document tray are separated one by one using a document separating device provided at a position corresponding to the document tray, and while being transported at a constant speed in the document transport path, the image of the document is read by the reading unit. And a means for transmitting the read image information to the image information processing unit of the apparatus main body. The document feeder is provided with a means for releasing the nip of the document feeder so that the document can be taken out when a document jam occurs in the document feed path. For example, when a substantially U-shaped document transport path is provided in the document transport apparatus, a means for opening a cover member provided on the upper portion of the document transport path to open the upper portion of the document transport path is used. In many cases, the intermediate frame is slightly swung so that the lower part of the document feed path can be opened.

[0003]

In a document feeder having a U-shaped document feed path, the upper cover is set to a closed state via a lock lever in a normal use state, and the document is fed. To do. Also, when a document jam occurs in the document conveying path, the work of removing the document with the upper cover opened is performed, but the means for fixing and holding the upper cover open is not provided. There is. This is because, by separately providing a device for fixing the upper cover in an open state, the number of components constituting the device is increased, and the mechanism of the document feeder is simplified. However, when a mechanism for maintaining the state in which the document conveying path is kept open is not provided, an operator must perform an operation of pulling out a jammed document while supporting the upper cover with one hand during jam processing of the document. There is a problem that very inconvenient work is forced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional document feeder, and has a guide groove of a lock lever provided on a side wall of the document feeder for holding an upper cover in an open state. It is an object of the present invention to provide an opening / closing cover mechanism of an automatic document feeder with good operability without providing a locking portion and increasing the number of parts and the like.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for reading an image of a document while the document is being transported along a document transport path from a document tray to a discharge tray. The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is such that means for guiding an end of a lock lever of an upper cover of the apparatus to a side wall of the document feeder provided with the document feed path, and locks the end of the lock lever. A notch recess is provided. In the invention according to claim 2, the lock lever is swingably provided on the upper cover in a state where the lock lever is elastically biased toward the opening / closing fulcrum side of the upper cover of the document feeder, and is provided at a tip end of the lock lever. The lock pin is guided along guide means provided on a side wall of the document feeder, is locked in the notch recess, and can hold the upper cover open. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the means for guiding the lock pin provided at the end of the lock lever of the upper cover provided on the side wall of the document feeder is formed as a vertical groove and is cut laterally from the lower end thereof. A hook portion is provided, and a cutout recess for locking the lock pin is provided above the vertical groove.

With the above-described configuration, it is not necessary to increase the number of components constituting the document feeder in order to maintain the state in which the document feed path is opened for jam clearance or the like. Can be formed integrally with the side cover, so that the configuration of the apparatus is not complicated. Then, since the state in which the cover member is opened can be easily maintained, operations such as jam clearance can be easily performed, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of an open / close cover mechanism of an automatic document feeder according to the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The document feed path opening / closing device of the present invention can be applied to the image reading device 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and can be provided in combination with a copying machine, a facsimile device, or the like. In the image reading device 1, the scanning device 2 is similar to the device used in the scanning device of a general copying machine.
At the top of the frame, place a manuscript of a book,
Platen 3a for operation as flatbed scanner (FBS) and automatic document feeder (ADF)
And a platen 3 disposed below the U-shaped original conveying path 14. The document cover member 15 is opened and the document is set on the platen 3a, and the document cover member is closed, whereby the pressing pad 16 presses the image surface of the document against the upper surface of the platen 3a, and the platen 3a is fixed to the fixed position. The set document is scanned. When scanning a document on a sheet using the document tray 17, A
While a document is being conveyed through the document conveyance path 14 for the DF, an image reading operation is performed using a scanning device arranged on the platen 3.

In the scanning device 2, the reading device arranged on the lower surface of the platen moves along the entire length of the platen 3a, and includes the full rate carriage 4 on which the lamp 4a and the mirror m1 are arranged and the two mirrors m2 and m3. And a half-rate carriage 5 that moves half the distance. In order to drive the two carriages, drive pulleys 6 and 6a whose diameters are set to 2: 1 are arranged coaxially, and a drive transmission member 7 such as a wire or a timing belt wound around each drive pulley. Drive via 7a. For the original set on the platen 3a, according to the detection information of a sensor (not shown),
The full-rate carriage 4 reciprocates by the length of the original in the scanning direction, the half-rate carriage 5 reads image information while moving at half the speed of the full-rate carriage, and connects light to the CCD 9 using the CCD lens 8. The CCD 9 outputs an image signal obtained by converting a light signal into an electric signal.

The image scanning mechanism using the ADF function is a sheet separating apparatus in which a pickup roller 21 is disposed with respect to a document tray 18 and a sheet feed roller 22 and a retard roller 24 are provided downstream thereof. Place.
Documents separated and sent one by one from the sheet separating device are conveyed while being pressed by a plurality of pressing rollers 28 against a conveying roller 26 provided in a curved portion of the U-shaped document conveying path 14, The paper is discharged from the discharge roller device 29 to the discharge tray 17 through the scanning unit.
On the upper frame 11, a guide plate outside the document conveying path, a paper feed roller 22, and a pressing roller 28 are arranged.
The intermediate frame 13 is provided with a guide plate inside the document conveying path, a retard roller 24, a conveying roller 26, and one roller of a discharge roller device. Then, the document is transported in the document transport path 14 by the roller device,
While the document is being conveyed, an image of the document is read at the platen 3.

In the automatic document feeder 10, an upper frame 11 and an intermediate frame 13 that can swing through a support shaft 12 are provided with respect to a fixed frame of the scanning device 2. In the state of wide open, it is in the state of wide open as shown by the chain line in the figure. By the way, in the automatic document feeder 10,
If a paper jam occurs in the document feed path, the paper is pulled out if there is a gap between the opposing rollers of each roller device to pull out the paper. Can be performed. Therefore,
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper frame 11 and the intermediate frame 13 are fixed to the support shaft 12 so that the gap between the opposing rollers is increased as shown in FIG. Swings counterclockwise through

As shown in FIG. 2, two frames 1
In a state where the first and the third are oscillated via the support shaft 12, the paper feed roller 2 of the transport roller devices arranged in the paper transport path.
2, the pressing roller 28 is separated from the retard roller 24, and the pressing roller 28 is separated from the transport roller 26. Since the two rollers of the discharge roller device 29 are also separated from each other, either the leading end or the trailing end of the document stopped in the document conveying path 14 is exposed at the end of the document conveying path. In this case, by pulling the exposed portion, the document can be easily taken out from the document conveying path.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper frame 11
In order to maintain the state of swinging through the support shaft 12, the side plates 30 as shown in FIG. 3 are arranged on both sides of the automatic document feeder. The side plate 30 is provided with a guide groove 31 formed in a substantially vertical direction, and a lower end of the guide groove 31 is provided with a hook portion 32 cut in a lateral direction, and one of the upper ends of the guide groove 31 is provided. Side (the side in the direction of urging by the spring of the lock lever described later)
3 are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, when the upper frame of the automatic document feeder is combined with the side plate 30 provided with the guide groove 31, the configuration is as shown in FIG.
The example shown in FIG. 4 shows a state in which the upper frame 11 is opened via the support shaft 12.
Is opened in a predetermined range via the support shaft 12, a lock pin 38 provided at the lower end of the lock lever 35 is engaged with the notch recess 33 of the guide groove, and the upper frame is opened. To be able to maintain.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, a lock handle 39 for fixing to the apparatus main body is disposed on the upper frame 11, and a lock lever that swings following the swing of the lock handle 39 is provided. The lock lever 35 is constantly urged clockwise by a spring 37. At the lower end of the lock lever 35, a lock pin 38 is provided. In order to guide the lock pin 38 along the guide groove 31, the lock pin 38 is formed of a roller-shaped rotatable member. It can be easily moved. When the upper frame 11 is closed to enable the document to be conveyed, the lock pin 38 disposed at the lower end of the lock lever 35 is lowered to the lower end of the guide groove 31. The action of urging the lock lever in the clockwise direction moves the lock pin 38 to the hook portion 32 provided below the guide groove, and locks the lock handle 39 and fixes the upper frame 1.

When the upper frame 11 is opened to perform a jam clearance in the document conveying path, the lock handle 39 is manually swung to unlock the lock handle, and the lock handle is swung to lock the jam. Lever 3
The lock pin 38 is moved from the hook 32 toward the guide groove 31 by swinging the lock 5 counterclockwise through the fulcrum. Then, by the operation of opening the upper frame 11, the lock pin 38 moves up along the guide groove 31 and is moved by the force of the spring toward the notch recess 33 at the upper end of the guide groove 31. Therefore, by opening the upper frame 11 by swinging it by a predetermined angle via the support shaft 12, the lock pin 38 is locked in the notch recess 33, and the open state of the upper frame is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform an operation of processing jammed paper in the document conveying path.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the guide groove provided on the side plate of the automatic document feeder is formed in an arc shape, and the hook portion and the notch recess provided at the upper and lower portions of the guide groove are different from each other. , Can be arbitrarily formed corresponding to the lock pin provided at the lower end of the lock lever. Further, the lock lever provided on the upper frame and a mechanism for swinging the lock lever with respect to the lock handle and the like can be connected via any conventionally known interlocking mechanism. Further, the opening angle or the like when the upper frame is opened can be set to an arbitrary angle according to the configuration of the automatic document feeder.

[0016]

Since the opening / closing cover mechanism of the automatic document feeder of the present invention is constructed as described above,
Since the lock member provided on the upper frame is used to maintain the state in which the document conveyance path is opened for jam processing or the like, it is not necessary to increase the number of components constituting the document conveyance device. Since the member for locking the lock pin can be formed integrally with the side cover, the configuration of the device is not complicated. In addition, when a jam occurs, the state in which the cover member is opened can be easily maintained, so that operations such as jam clearing can be easily performed, and the burden on the operator can be reduced. Further, during jam clearance, each frame is opened to the extent that paper can be removed, but when maintenance of the apparatus is performed, the upper frame and the intermediate frame can be widely opened, so that maintenance for the image reading unit and the like can be performed. It can be done easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a state in which two frames of the apparatus of FIG. 1 are opened.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a side plate of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an upper frame and a side plate of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 image reading device, 2 scanning device, 3 platen, 4 full rate carriage, 8 lens,
9 CCD, 10 automatic document feeder, 11
Upper frame, 12 spindles, 13 Intermediate frame, 14 Document feed path, 22 Paper feed roller, 2
4 retard roller, 30 side plate, 31 guide groove, 32 hook, 33 notch recess, 35
Lock lever, 36 fulcrum, 37 spring, 38 lock pin, 39 lock handle.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for reading an image of a document while a document is being transported along a document transport path from a document tray to a discharge tray, comprising: a document feeder provided with the document transport path; An opening / closing cover mechanism for an automatic document feeder, wherein a guide means for guiding an end of a lock lever of a cover and a notch recess for locking an end of the lock lever are provided. 2. The lock lever is swingably provided on the upper cover in a state in which the lock lever is elastically biased toward the opening / closing fulcrum side of the upper cover of the document feeder, and a lock provided on a tip end of the lock lever. 2. The pin according to claim 1, wherein a pin is guided along guide means provided on a side wall of the document feeder, is locked in the notch recess, and can hold an upper cover open. The opening / closing cover mechanism of the automatic document feeder described in the above. 3. A means for guiding a lock pin provided at an end of a lock lever of an upper cover provided on a side wall of the document feeder is formed as a vertical groove and provided with a hook cut laterally from a lower end thereof. 3. An opening / closing cover mechanism for an automatic document feeder according to claim 1, wherein a notch recess for locking said lock pin is provided at an upper portion of said vertical groove.