JPS63180631A - Automatic original feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a reserved original receivable as well as to solve a problem of loss time for awaiting the turn, by installing a means shifting the specified one piece of plural original mounts to an original feeding part, and also a changeover means rotating this original feeding part in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, in a feeder bearing the above caption. CONSTITUTION:An automatic original feeder 1 is provided with an image forming device A, a reservation device B and original mounts 2, 2' and 2'' mounting respective original bundles S. In addition, there is provided with a moving means which moves the specified one piece of the original mount of the reservation device B, for example, the original mount 2 to a position corresponding to an original feeding part 5. And, also there is provided with a changeover means which changes over the drive of the original feeding part 5 to either of clockwise or counterclockwise rotation. Then, when a circulation process of the specified frequency of the sheet original S is over, the drive of the original feeding part 5 is designed so as to be transferred to feed the sheet original S left behind in this original feeding part 5 back to the specified mount of these original mount 2, 2' and 2''.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine, or a laser beam printer.
In particular, the present invention relates to a circulation-type automatic document feeding device that feeds a sheet-shaped original stored on a document mounting table to a predetermined position such as an image reading section of an image forming apparatus, and then returns it to the original document mounting table.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, in a circulation-type automatic document feeder installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, the document to be stored on the document table is separated one by one by the document feeder. The document is then fed to the image reading section of the image forming apparatus, and then the document is transferred to the original r! There is a device that circulates the original between the image reading section and the original mounting table so that the original is returned to the four mounting table. The automatic document feeder is 1
Since the automatic document feeder has only two document placement tables, when the automatic document feeder is used to continuously process documents, only one bundle of documents can be processed.

Therefore, while processing one batch of documents (when the next operator tried to set a document, he had to wait until the processing of the previous batch of documents was finished. If the user leaves the location and attempts to process the document after a certain period of time has passed, time is lost between the time when the previous batch of documents is finished and the start of processing the next batch of documents, making it impossible to utilize the apparatus effectively.

Therefore, as a method to overcome these drawbacks, a document processing apparatus that includes a plurality of document placement tables and processes a plurality of document bundles in sequence is proposed.

→ Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in a circulating automatic document feeder provided with a plurality of document placement tables, the document stack on the document placement table is circulated between the image reading section of the image forming device and the image forming device. When the original document is being processed, a part of the document stack always enters the document feeding section, and even when the original document processing on the document loading table is finished, some of it remains in the document feeding section, and the next It gets in the way when processing the stack of originals stored on the original fJJi mounting table.

(5) Means for solving the problem The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and
j[In addition to installing a plurality of document placing tables, these document placing tables are configured to be movable, and furthermore, a moving means is provided for moving a predetermined one of these document placing tables to a position corresponding to the document feeding section,
Further, a switching means is provided for switching the driving of the document feeding section between forward and reverse directions, so that the driving of the document feeding section remains in the document feeding section when the circulation process of the sheet document is completed a predetermined number of times. The present invention is characterized in that the sheet original is switched to be reversely fed to the predetermined original placing table.

(e) Operation Based on the above-described configuration, one of the document mounting tables that accommodates sheet documents is moved to a position corresponding to the document feeding section. Then, the sheet originals stored in the original document mounting table are separated one by one by the original feeding unit and fed to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus, for example, an image reading unit, where they are read and processed. After that, the sheet originals are carried out and stored on the original document mounting table again from the original position, and the sheet originals stored in the original document mounting table are sequentially transferred from the original document placing table to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus, and then to the original original document mounting table. It is cycled a number of times. When the circulation has been completed a predetermined number of times, the drive of the document feeding section causes the original document sent from the document placing table to the document feeding section and remaining in the document feeding section to be sent back to the original document placing table. The sheet original remaining in the original feeding section is returned to the original document mounting table and is ejected from the original feeding section. Then, when all the remaining sheet originals are ejected from the document feeding section, another document placing table is moved to a position corresponding to the document feeding section and stored on the other document placing table. The original sheets are circulated between a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus and the original document mounting table, and every time the circulation is completed a predetermined number of times, all remaining sheet originals from the original feeding section are ejected and a new original is... The placing tables are successively moved to positions corresponding to the document feeding section, and the sheet originals stored on these document placing tables are the previous original f! ! The sheet documents stored in the table are continuously circulated.

(F) Examples Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an automatic document feeder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, A I-1 is an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. Further, B is a reservation device, which has first to third document placement tables 2, 2 on which respective document bundles S... are placed.
', 2' are provided. C is a circulation type automatic document feeder, 3 is a document feed port thereof, 5 is a document feed section, and the document feed section 5 is provided with a lower conveyor belt 5a and an upper separation belt 5b. , a paper feed roller 5c is further arranged, and the paper feed roller 5c is placed on a predetermined document mounting table 2, 2', 2.
' The document bundle S... placed on the paper is guided to the transport roller 5a and the separation roller 5b, and the transport roller 5a and the separation roller 5b sequentially guide the document bundle S... from the lowest one to the
Send out one by one. Reference numeral 7 denotes a paper feed path that guides the original sent out by the original feeder 5 onto the platen 6. Reference numeral 8 denotes a conveyor belt that is suspended over a drive roller 9 and a driven roller 10 and covers the entire surface of the platen 6. Reference numeral 11 denotes a paper ejection path for ejecting the original that has been subjected to image reading and other processing on the platen 6. 13 is a reversing path for reversing a double-sided document;
The flapper 12 switches between sending the original fJFitl12 to the inverted lotus 13. 15 is the document ejection port, and the document is ejected o
- The original is carried out by the roller 16 onto the original original placing table 2, 2', 2' on which it was placed.

FIG. 2 shows the original table 2.2' of the reservation device B.
, 2' are connected to the first and second document mounting tables 2, 2'.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged side sectional view taking an example of FIG. Further, the reservation device B includes the document placing tables 2, 2',
It has a support plate 21 that supports 2', and the support plate 21
are provided with guide rollers 22, 22 on the upper and lower sides, and the guide rollers 22, 22 engage with the slide rail 20 to guide the vertical movement of the support plate 21. And the support plate 2
1 are the first links 23.1 forming parallel links, respectively.
23' and second links 25, 25' support the document ia mounting table 2'. Crank-shaped first link 23, 2
3' is rotatably supported by the support plate 21 at its center portions 23a, 23a', and one end 23b, 23b' is rotatably attached to the document mounting table 2, 2', and the other end 23' is rotatably supported by the support plate 21.
3 c p 23 c' engages with the plate cam 19 and slides.

Also, the second link 25.25' has one end 25a, 25
a' is placed on the document mounting table 2, 2', and the other end 25b, 25b
' are each rotatably supported by the support plate 21.

A rack 2 is attached to one side end 21a of the support plate 21.
6 is formed, and the support plate 21 is raised and lowered by rotation of a pinion 27 supported by the side plate 17. The pinion 27 is rotated by a lift motor (not shown). A notch 19a is formed in the plate cam 19, and when a predetermined document placement table 2 comes to a position corresponding to the document feed port 3 by raising and lowering the support plate 21, a cutout portion 19a is formed in the plate cam 19. The other end 23c of the 1 link 23 is the notch 19
a, and moves the document placing table 2 to a position close to the document feeding section 5. Furthermore, the other end 23c of the first link 23
When the original g4 comes out of the notch 19a, the original g4 mounting table 2 is moved away from the position close to the original feeding section 5 and returned to its original position.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the document mounting table 2 that has been moved to a position close to the original fJ% feeding section 5 has its leading end 2a connected to both bells 1-5a of the document feeding section 5, as shown in FIG. It enters between Sb (indicated by a broken line). Further, the tip portion 2a is configured to be rotatable around a shaft 29, and the tip portion 2a
A plunger 30 and a spring 31 are attached to the
When the plunger 30 is OFF, the tip 2a is connected to the spring 31.
It stands up and acts as a stopper against which the document hits. and,
When the plunger 30 is turned on, the tip 2a is pulled by the plunger 30 and falls down, serving as a guide for the document. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, position detection holes 3 are provided in the other side end portion 21b of the support plate 21, corresponding to each document mounting table 2, 2', 2'.
2. 32', 32' are provided, and the position detection sensor 33 can randomly select which document mounting table is to be moved to the position corresponding to the document feed port 3.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
ζ, the conveyor belt 5a rotates in the direction of arrow P and acts to convey the lowest document in the downstream direction, and the separation belt 5b rotates in the direction of arrow P to push back the upper document in the upstream direction. As a result, the document stack S placed on the document table 2 is separated one by one in order from the lowest one and fed in the downstream direction. When the processing of the document bundle S... to be placed on the document placing table 2 is completed, the conveyor belt 1-5
As shown in FIG. 4 (bl), a document bundle S... which has entered between the transport belt 5a and the separation belt 5b in the direction of the arrow Q, which is opposite to the direction of the arrow P, is shown in FIG. It is pushed back in the direction E of the document stack S. At this time, the paper feed roller 5c also rotates in the reverse direction to assist in pushing back the document bundle S.

Here, the switching mechanism X that constitutes a switching means for switching the driving direction of the conveyor belt 5a will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a layout diagram of each gear of the switching mechanism
A separation gear 37 is fixed to a drive shaft 36 directly connected to the separation belt 5b, and a driving force is output from the separation gear 37 to the separation belt 5b. Further, a transmission shaft 40 is connected to the drive shaft 36 via a separation clutch 39, and a transmission gear 41 is fixed to the transmission shaft 40. On the other hand, a conveyor gear 42 that outputs a driving force to the conveyor belt 5a is fixed to a conveyor shaft 43, and the conveyor gear 42 is connected to the transmission gear 41 via an idle gear 45. Furthermore, a conveyance reversal gear 46 is disposed on the conveyance shaft 43 via a Sakae feed latch 47, and the conveyance reversal gear 46 is engaged with the separation gear 37.

In addition, FIG. 6 [al and ibl show the rotational state of the main gears that switch the drive of the conveyor belt 5a between forward and reverse directions.
Gears indicated by solid lines are in a driving rotation state, and gears indicated by broken lines are in a stationary or idling state.

When separating and feeding the document bundle S on the document table 2, the separation clutch 39 is turned on, and the collective feed latch 47 is turned on.
is turned off, the separation motor 35 rotates the separation gear 37 in the same direction as the rotation direction of the motor 35, and
As shown in FIG. 6 (al), the transmission gear 41 is rotated in the direction of arrow P, which is equal to the rotation direction of the separation motor 35, and the conveyance gear 42 is rotated in the direction of arrow P via the idle gear 45. , when pushing the document bundle S... back toward the document table 2, the separation clutch 39 is turned OFF, the transport latch 47 is turned ON, and the separation motor 35 is activated as shown in FIG.
As shown in b), the separation gear 37 is connected to the motor 3 as described above.
5, rotates the conveying reversing gear 46 that meshes with the separation gear 37 in the arrow Q direction, and further integrates it with the continuous reversing gear 46 via the conveying latch 47. The conveyance gear 42 fixed to the rotating conveyance shaft 43 is rotated in the Q direction, which is the same as that of the conveyance reversing gear 46.

Next, the operation of the automatic document feeder 1 will be explained.

A predetermined one of the first to third original stacks 2, 2', 2'' on which the document bundle S... is placed, for example, the first document tray 2, is placed at a position corresponding to the document feed port 3. Then, the document placing table 2 is moved to a position close to the document feeding section 5, and its leading end 2a is folded down to serve as a guide for the document.Then, the document stack S placed on the document placing table 2 is・ is fed into the document feeding unit 5 by the paper feed roller 5c (see FIG. 4 ta+), and the lowest document S is transported by the conveyor belt 5a rotating in the direction of arrow P and the separation bell 5b rotating in the direction of arrow P. The document S is separated into one sheet, and the document S passes through the paper feed path 7 and is sent to the image forming apparatus A.
The original S that has been read and processed on the platen 6 is conveyed from the platen 6 to the paper ejection path 11, and is delivered from the original ejection port 15 by the ejection roller 16. The stack of originals S... on the original table 2 is carried out and placed on the document table 2 again. Then, the next original S is circulated from the original placing table 2 to the platen 6 and then onto the original placing table 2 in order from the lowest one as described above, and the document stack S placed on the original placing table 2... * is repeated a predetermined number of times. Then, when the circulation has been completed a predetermined number of times, as shown in FIG.
rotates in the opposite direction in the direction of arrow Q, and directs the document stack S..., which is fed by the paper feed roller 5C between the transport belt 5a and the separation belt 5b and remains in the document feed section 5, toward the document placement table 2. and push it back in the E direction, and store all the original f heights S... remaining in the document feeding section 5 on the document mounting table 2. Then, the tip end 2a of the document placement table 2 is raised to prevent the stack of documents S to be placed from entering between the conveyance belt 5a and the separation belt 5b. Next, the document mounting table 2
is moved away from the document feeding section 5, and the next predetermined document mounting table is moved to a position corresponding to the document feeding port 3 instead, and then the document feeding section 5 is moved away from the document feeding section 5 in the same manner as described above. The stack of originals S..., which is moved to a close position and placed on the R, is circulated between a predetermined number of platens 6 and each original mounting table 2, 2'.

The stack of originals S... placed on 2' are continuously processed.

(g) As described in detail, according to the present invention, a plurality of original fg mounting tables are installed, these document mounting tables are configured to be movable, and a predetermined one of these original fg mounting tables is placed on the original document. A moving means is provided for moving the document feeding section to a position corresponding to the document feeding section, and a switching device is provided for switching the drive of the document feeding section between forward and reverse directions, so that the document is moved to a position corresponding to the document feeding section when the sheet document is circulated a predetermined number of times. The drive of the feeding unit is controlled by the original sheet T remaining in the document feeding unit.
Since the height can be switched to reverse feed to the predetermined document placement table, it is possible to have multiple document placement tables and sort multiple document bundles into the required number of copies without a special sorter (collating device). In addition, it is possible to receive reserved manuscripts on a plurality of original f-height mounting tables, eliminating loss time in waiting for a turn, and improving the operating rate of the apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of an automatic document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the document placement table movement +i structure of the reservation device, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the document placement table of the reservation device. The detailed side view and FIG. 4 are diagrams showing the operation of the document feeding section, where (al indicates the rotation direction of each section when separating and feeding a bundle of documents, and (bl indicates the rotation direction of each section when pushing back the document). Fig. 5 is a layout diagram of each gear of the switching mechanism that switches the drive of the conveyor belt between forward and reverse directions, and Fig. 6 shows the rotational state of each of these gears.
(al indicates the state when separating and feeding the document bundle, (bl indicates the state when pushing the document back. 1. Automatic document feeder, 2.2', 2'. Document placement table, 5 ...Original feeding unit, S sheet original f height (original), x switching means, Y moving means
.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The sheet originals to be stored on the document mounting table are separated one by one through a document feeding section, fed to a predetermined position of the image forming apparatus, and then carried out and stored on the document mounting table again. In an automatic document feeder that performs circulation processing, a plurality of document placement tables are installed, these document placement tables are configured to be movable, and a predetermined one of these document placement tables is placed in the document feeding section. A moving means is provided for moving the document feeding section to a corresponding position, and a switching means is provided for switching the driving of the document feeding section between forward and reverse directions, so that when the circulation process of the sheet document is completed a predetermined number of times, the document feeding section is moved to a corresponding position. An automatic document feeder characterized in that the drive is switched to reversely feed the sheet document remaining in the document feeder to the predetermined document mounting table.