JPS63303335A - Automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate a reading operation by setting thick document such as book to a book carrier, making the carrier scan on the reading position and retreating a thing existing in a scan area at that time. CONSTITUTION:An automatic feeder 2 is provided with a book carrier 21. A document glass mounted on said feeder is shared with that for an automatic document feeder, and the read surface of the book is placed downward on the glass 4. An engagement pin is fitted to the book carrier 21, and is engaged with a driving part to make the book carrier 21 scan at the reading position. The feeder is so constituted that a circulating unit 10 existing in a scan area is retreated upward when the book carrier 21 is drived. By scanning the book carrier 21 set with a book on the reading position the book is copied. On the other hand, sheet-like document is sent from the tray 3 to the document glass 4 by the circulating unit 10, etc., to copy the original. Since the book carrier is provided, document of books can be easily read.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, there have been three reading methods in devices that read and process originals, such as copying machines and facsimiles. The first method is to place a document on a fixed document table and perform mirror scanning, which is the most widely used method. The second type is a type that scans by moving the document table, and is the mainstream among inexpensive machines. The third method is to automatically feed the original to the reading position and take a panning shot.

The third method is extremely rare, and the reasons for this are: (1) There are more opportunities to handle important manuscripts than in other methods, and there is a greater risk of damaging the manuscripts.

(2) Since the original is fed, wood or thick originals cannot be used or are difficult to handle.

There are drawbacks such as. On the other hand, the third method (1) does not require return time after scanning, such as mirror scanning or document platen movement, and can feed multiple types of originals one after another at regular intervals, making it easier to process multiple types of originals. fast.

There is an advantage.

In recent years, there has been a strong demand for simplification and automation of operations, and there has been a trend towards two types: single-function and multi-function, and the conditions have arisen to eliminate the shortcomings of the third method and make use of the above advantages. It's coming.

Regarding the first drawback, the reliability of paper passing has recently become high, and if a detection function is appropriately provided, the reliability can be further improved, so it can be overcome. However, the second drawback has not been completely eliminated.

That is, for example, the device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-30621 is provided with a document glass exclusively for sheet-like originals and a document glass exclusively for thick-material originals, and the one exclusively for thick-material originals is provided with a document glass exclusively for sheet-like originals when in use. The two cameras are used in a moving type, and in both cases, the same exposure optical system is used in the same way to perform exposure in a so-called panning method. Further, the systems described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-37530 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-42861 are almost the same system, although they do not have a dedicated device for thick originals. Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-42462, a fixed document table on which thick documents are placed and an automatic document feeder are installed side by side, and each is provided with its own document glass. A mirror scan type exposure optical system is used to perform exposure in the area, and a panning type exposure is performed in the document glass area dedicated to the automatic document feeder using a separately installed fixed type exposure optical system. As mentioned above, in devices equipped with a conventional automatic document feeder that can read thick documents, a dedicated document glass is installed or used for each device, and the Separation and use become complicated. In particular, when document glasses are arranged in parallel at different positions and different exposure optical systems are used for each part, the size and complexity of the device becomes significant, and even when using the same exposure optical system, when copying thick documents, In addition, since a special original glass is placed on the special original glass when using an automatic document feeder and exposed, exposure correction for one original glass is required depending on whether or not a thick original is being copied. and operation control becomes complicated. Therefore, both are expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeding device that is compact, simple in construction, and inexpensive, while being capable of automatically feeding sheet-like documents and scanning wooden and thick documents.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic document feeder that automatically feeds the document onto the document glass above the reading position in the main body of the reader. Alternatively, a book carrier capable of reading a thick original and placing it with the original surface facing downward is built in, the original glass is attached to this book carrier, and the book carrier is driven when necessary to move above the reading position. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with means for scanning, and means for retracting other objects in the scanning area of the book carrier out of the scanning area when the book gear rear is driven.

(Function) The present invention has the above configuration and has a built-in book carrier, so it can be configured compactly while being able to read books and thick originals, and the automatic document feeder is retracted from the exposure book carrier. It is easy to operate since there is no need to do so, and since the document glass attached to the book carrier is shared with the document glass of the automatic document feeder, the configuration is simple and inexpensive. Furthermore, since the exposure position is in one place and the distance to the document does not change, the illumination system and control system are also simplified. Further, when the book carrier is used, other objects in the scanning area are moved out of the scanning area, so the automatic document feeder does not require a space dedicated to the scanning area of the book carrier, and can be made more compact.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automatic document feeder for panning in a copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 1. A copying machine main body 1 in the center of the figure receives image exposure from a light source 1a fixedly installed at an upper reading position that illuminates the document surface, a lens array lb, and a lens array 1b. A photoconductor drum 1c, a charging section 1j disposed around the photoconductor drum 1c, a developing device 1d, a transfer section 1e, a paper feed section 1f that feeds paper to the cleaning section 1 and to the transfer section 1e, and a copy after transfer. It includes a fixing section 1g that performs a fixing process on paper, a paper discharge section 1h that discharges the copy paper after the fixing process to the outside of the copying machine main body 1, and the like. An automatic document feeder 2 is provided at the top of the copying machine main body 1, and a paper ejection section 1h
A paper refeed unit Hi is connected to the paper refeed unit Hi. The paper refeed unit 11 has a paper discharge tray 11, a paper refeed path 1m, and a normal paper feed section In.

The automatic document feeder 2 is of a circulating type, and as shown in detail in FIG. 2, a tray 3 for storing documents is provided at the top, and the documents stored in the tray 3 are taken out one by one from the bottom.
The document is transported along two sides of the document glass 4, passes through the reading position above the lens array 1b, and is returned into the tray 3.
A first circulation path 5 is formed that circulates and feeds the originals stored in the tray 3 so as to stack them on top of each other. The tray 3 is formed to be inclined so that the front side in the document feeding direction is located downward, and a paper feed roller 6 is provided on the lower surface of the front end thereof, and the document is sent to the first circulation path 5 from the delivery port 3a. It is like that.

The first circulation path 5 includes a sawaki roller 7.8 that separates the original from the delivery port 3a and sends out only the bottom layer, and a feeding side U-turn guide member that changes the original from a face-up state to a face-down state. 9, a circulation unit 10 installed on the document glass 4, a return path member 14, an intermediate roller 15,
A return-side U-turn guide member 16 that turns a face-down document into a face-up state and returns it to the tray 3 from the rear end, a timing roller 17 provided at the exit of the feed-side U-turn guide member 9, and a return path member. A first switching claw 18 is provided at the entrance of the document glass 4 and sends the document that has passed through the reading position on the document glass 4 to either the circulation unit 10 or the return path member 14; A sending roller 99 is provided for sending out the returned document to the original document.

A document discharge tray 20 is provided at one end of the automatic document feeder 2 and faces the entrance of the U-turn guide member 16 on the return side. Then, the path member 14 returns to the entrance of the return guide member 16.
A second switching claw 19 is provided to send out the original that has passed through the U-turn guide member 16 on the return side or to the original discharge tray 20. One roller 7 of the handling rollers 7.8
is a forward rotating roller, and the other roller 8 is a reverse rotating roller with a limiter. Further, a peeling claw 14a that contacts the original glass 4 is provided at the tip of the return path member 14 to peel the original from the original glass 4.

The document glass 4 is attached so as to form the bottom surface of a book carrier 21 housed in the lower part of the automatic document feeder 2, and the book carrier 21 moves in the direction of document movement along the top surface of the copying machine main body 1. possible. The circulation unit 10 is movable between an operating position shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 and a retracted position located diagonally above and below the rear of the tray 3 as shown by a phantom line. The movement of the book carrier 21 is made possible with a thick original such as a book placed thereon, so that even a thick original such as a book can be panned.

Therefore, in the circulation unit 10, the lower half 9a of the U-turn guide member 9 and the timing roller 17 are integrated so as to move together, and the return path member 14 is integrated.
The front half 14b is also provided with the first switching claw 18 so as to be able to rotate diagonally upward in conjunction with the movement of the circulation unit 10 to the retracted position, and when the book carrier 21 is moved, these U-turn guide members 9 , the return path member 14, the timing roller 17, and the first switching pawl I8 are also arranged so that they do not get in the way.

The circulation unit 10 includes an oval second circulation path 22 that includes the top surface of the original glass 4 as one side, and circulates the original through a short path unrelated to the tray 3 and repeatedly feeds the original to the reading position. It is useful for taking multiple panning shots. The second circulation path 22 is
A driving roller 11 and a driven roller 12 arranged at both ends of the roller
The heald 13 is wound between these rollers, and the guide member 23 covers the outer periphery of the heald 13 except for the portion facing the document glass 4. The circumferential length of the second circulation path 22 is set to be the sum of the maximum length of the document in the feeding direction and a very short margin. As a result, in the case of multiple copying, each copying process is performed continuously with only a very short time interval corresponding to the set margin, and loss time is almost eliminated.

In order to absorb the slackness of the belt 13, the driven roller 12 has a bearing portion held in an elongated hole and is biased by a spring (not shown). Further, a detection switch (not shown) for monitoring the number of passing originals is provided on the guide member 23.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a pair of side regulating members 24 and 25 are provided on both sides of the tray 3 to center the original. This side regulating member 24,25 is connected to the pinion 28 and the rack 2 that meshes with the pinion 28.
It is attached to interlocking members 26a and 26b which are adapted to move near and far in synchronization through interlocking via 7, so that the distance can be adjusted while maintaining the center position so that the distance matches the width size of the document being used. Each interlocking member 26a, 2
6b is movable in the width direction of the tray 3 by fitting the elongated holes 26c into the guide pins 26d.

Further, a skew prevention member 30 is vertically installed from each side regulating member 24, 25 so as to protrude from above into the opening 29 formed in the guide member 23 of the circulation unit 10, and it is connected to the second circulation It faces both sides of the path 22 and restricts both edges of the document passing through the path 22, thereby preventing the circulating document from being skewed. This skew prevention member 30 is attached to the side regulating members 24.2 in accordance with the document.
By positioning 5, the positions are simultaneously determined.

The opening 29 is formed in such a size that the skew prevention member 30 and the circulation unit 10 do not interfere with each other when adjusting the position of the skew prevention member 30 or moving the circulation unit O to the retracted position.

Gears 31 and 32 are attached to one end of the support shafts 7a and 8a of the sorting roller 7.8, respectively, and mesh with a drive pinion 35 that is rotationally driven by a drive motor 34, thereby moving the lower sorting roller 7 in the paper feeding direction. , upper handling roller 8
are adapted to be driven simultaneously in the counter-feeding direction. Further, a plate cam 37 is attached to the other end of the support shaft 7a of the sorting roller 7 to operate an empty detection device 36 in the tray 3.

The empty detection device 36 is mounted on a bracket 38, 49 fixed to the side regulating member 24, and includes a photoswitch 4 that detects empty status based on the rotational position of an empty detection lever 43 and a rotary disk 46 interlocked with the empty detection lever 43.
7. The empty detection lever 43 is activated by the operation of the plate cam 37.
and a cylindrical cam 42 that returns the cam to the working position.

The empty detection lever 43 and the rotary disk 46 are supported on a bracket 49 by a shaft 49a so as to rotate together with the passive protrusion 45. On the other hand, the cylindrical cam 42 is connected to the shaft 49
A bracket 38 faces a on the same axis and can move in and out.
The end face cam 42 is attached to one end of the retractable shaft 39 supported by the
a is arranged to face the passive protrusion 45 in the axial direction. A plate-shaped cam follower 40 is brought into contact with the plate cam 37 at the other end of the retractable shaft 39 and one end of an auxiliary shaft 39a parallel to the retractable shaft 39 and supported by the bracket 38 so as to be freely retractable.

Here, the detection lever 43 is rotatable around a shaft 49a and tries to stabilize under its own weight in a hanging position with the tip end 43a facing downward, and cannot be rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 from this hanging position. Therefore, the tip portion 43a is connected to the side regulating member 24.
The document can pass through the window 24a formed in the tray 3 and be placed on the upper surface of the document in the tray 3 to become stable, and when there is no document below it, it returns to the hanging position due to its own weight. Therefore, the return of the detection lever 43 from the state placed on the top surface of the document to the hanging position is detected by the photo switch 47 as a change in the position of the notch of the rotary disk 46 that rotates integrally with the detection lever 43. Empty originals are detected.

On the other hand, the cylindrical cam 42 is in a non-rotating state since the ejection/retraction shaft 39 is connected to the auxiliary shaft 398 by the cam follower 40, and the passive protrusion 45 of the detection lever 43 is always in a fixed direction.
The plate cam 3 faces the plate cam 3 and is normally in the retracted position due to the bias of the spring 41, but when the sorting roller 7.8 is driven, the plate cam 3
When the end face cam 42B moves forward, it acts on the detection lever 43 in a hanging position, rotates it to near the detection position shown in the figure, and releases it, thereby enabling the above-mentioned detection. This is to automatically obtain the desired state. Note that when the detection lever 43 is in the detection position, even if the cylindrical cam 42 is advanced, it is detached from the end cam 42a and is not affected, and the movement of the cylindrical cam 42 back and forth during document feeding does not pose a problem.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a guide groove 56 for guiding the rear part of the circulation unit 10 from the operating position to the retracted position is formed in the internal frame 50 of the automatic document feeder 2. A rotating shaft 51 having an operating lever 55 is provided at the upper part of the intermediate part, and this rotating shaft 51
Engagement shafts 54 protruding from both sides of circulation unit 0 are engaged with elongated holes 53 of a rotation lever 52 attached to the rotation lever 52 . As a result, by rotating the rotary shaft 51 with its operating lever 55, the circulation unit 10 can be moved diagonally upward to the retracted position via the rotary lever 52, and returned to the operating position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the book carrier 21 is movably guided by a guide rail 60, and a heartless chino 61 is stretched along one side of the moving path and is attached at one location. An engaging pin 62 is engaged with an engaging member 63 fixed to the end of one side of the book carrier 21. The endless chain 61 is stretched between a driving sprocket 64 and a driven sprocket 65 which are in a fixed position, and the driving sprocket 64 is connected to a driving gear 67 via a spring clutch portion 66. Spring clutch part 66
When the locking pawl 69 operated by the solenoid 68 locks the ratchet wheel 66a, it turns on and locks the drive gear 67 to the drive sprocket 64. The drive gear 67 is interlocked with a drive pinion 72 driven by a drive motor 71 via a timing belt 70 .

As shown in FIG. 7, a manual feed table 75 is connected to the book carrier 21 via a link 74 that is movably supported along a guide groove 73 formed on the inner surface of the book carrier 21. As shown in FIG. 8, when copying a tree or the like, it is possible to support a surface other than the copy surface of the tree in a double-page spread state. The manual feeding table 75
A back seat 7 is provided on the lower surface side of the
7 is provided, and as shown in FIG. 9, it can also be used as a document presser for holding down a book or thick document on the document glass 4 from above.

Furthermore, the book carrier 21 uses peripheral walls 75b on three sides of the manual feed table 75 excluding the slots 75a to form a U-shaped recess 75c when viewed from above, and the book, thick original, etc. is held and stabilized in this recess 75c. Presser sheet 8
1 and its winding mechanism 82 are provided.

The original holding sheet 81 is flexible and is adapted to be wound around a winding shaft 96 horizontally disposed within the recess 75c using a frame 95 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10. A driving pulley 84 is attached to one end of the winding shaft 96 facing into one end of a frame portion formed by the frame 83 . A portion of an endless wire 86 stretched between the drive pulley 84 and an idling pulley 85 provided in the other end of the frame 82 on the opposite side is wound around the drive pulley 84 . Another wire 87 is connected to this endless wire 86 to urge it in one direction, that is, in a direction that rotates the take-up shaft 96 in the winding direction via the drive pulley 84, so that the document holding sheet 81 is constantly wound. It has become.

One end 87a of the wire 87 is connected to a locking claw 95a of the frame 95.
The other ends 87b are respectively connected to the connecting plates 88 of the endless wire 86, and in the middle, the movable pulley 90 movably held by the frame 82 and another pulley 89 coaxial with the idle boob IJ85 meander in sequence. By turning the hook in the same manner and biasing the movable pulley 90 in one direction by the spring 91, a biasing force in the winding direction is applied to the endless wire 86.

The movable pulley 90 has a pin 96 in the elongated hole 95b of the frame 95.
It is movable by being attached to a movable table 92 that is held and guided through.

When using the book carrier 21, pull out the original holding sheet 81 as shown in the imaginary line in FIG. When the document holding sheet 81 is latched at the desired drawer position by, for example, stopping the hook, the original holding sheet 81 is tensed by the winding posture that it is taking, and the document holding sheet 81 holds down the original on the original glass 4 under the drawer. You can keep it. As a result, even originals with raised textures such as books can be held in close contact with the original glass 4, and an appropriate background such as a white background can be provided.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

First, the basic operation when copying a sheet-like original will be explained. The operator adjusts the position of the size regulation guide members 24 and 25 according to the document size, sets the copy document in the tray 3 with the document side facing upward, enters the number of copies on the operation panel, and presses the print switch. Turn on. Then, the lowest document is fed one by one by the feed roller 6 and the sorting roller 7.8 at the front end of the tray 3, passes through the U-turn guide member 9, and the leading edge of the document hits the timing roller 17 and stops. As a result, the leading edge of the document is aligned with the timing roller 17 in a looped state, and skew feeding is prevented. Next, after a certain set time has elapsed, the timing roller 1
7 is driven, and the original is sent onto the original glass 4. At this time, the circulation unit 10 is pressed against the original glass 4 by a spring force, and its heald 13 is constantly driven clockwise, allowing the original to pass through the reading position without lifting up or uneven speed. .

On the other hand, the copying machine main body 1 is driven by turning on the print switch, the photoconductor drum Ic rotates counterclockwise, and after a potential is uniformly applied thereon by the charging section 1j at a set timing, the photoconductor drum Ic is rotated there at the reading position. An electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing the image of the document passing through the slint. As the light ifI 1 a of the slit fi light, it is advantageous to use a fluorescent lamp instead of a halogen lamp because the temperature rise of the original glass 4 and other parts is smaller. The latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1c is visualized by a developing device 1d. Also,
The transfer paper is sent from a preselected paper feed section 1f or In to the transfer section 1e in synchronization with the original, and the developed image formed on the photoreceptor tram 1cJ- is transferred by the transfer section 1e, and then transferred to the fixing section 1g.
After being heat-fixed at , it is discharged from a discharge section 1h.

The document that has passed through the reading position is peeled off from the document glass 4 by the peeling claw 14a at the tip of the return path member 14, and in the mode using the first circulation path 5, the document is separated from the return path member 14, the switching claw 19, and the switching claw 18 from the switching claw 18. 20- and is returned into the tray 3 through the return guide member I6 and the delivery roller 99.

After the handling roller 7.8 starts rotating, the empty detection device 36 detects the cylindrical cam 42 as the plate cam 37 rotates.
When the detection lever 43 is moved forward and backward and the detection lever 43 is in a hanging position, it is rotated when first advanced so that the tip end 43a of the detection lever 43 is placed on the document stored in the tray 3. Therefore, when multiple originals are stored in tray 3, the copied originals that are first copied and returned to tray 3 are stacked on top of the uncopied originals; It will now rest on top of the tip portion 43a that is still on top. Also, the timing for sequentially copying multiple originals is 10 to 200 minutes after the trailing edge of the previous original is detected.
Oboro is set to have an arbitrarily set interval.

When the first original placed on top is fed from the tray 3, the detection lever 43 placed on it rotates clockwise due to its own weight and assumes a hanging position, which is detected by the photo sensor 47. An empty signal is generated indicating that the initially set original has completed one cycle.

In the case of one-sheet copying, this signal becomes the final copying signal and is used to stop the automatic document feeder 2 after the final copying. In this case, the hanging state of the detection lever 43 is maintained until the print switch is turned on again and the sorting roller 7 rotates.

However, if you only need to copy one sheet of a plurality of originals, the switching claw 1 is set so that the original after copying is ejected to the original ejection tray 20.
8, all the originals are ejected to the original ejection tray 20, and the tray 3 becomes empty, so that the next original can be sent immediately.

When copying a plurality of originals one by one using this first circulation path 5, the empty signal becomes a signal indicating that one copying of each original is completed, and it corresponds to the predetermined number of copies. The same copying operation as described above is repeated until the number of copies is counted, and a predetermined number of copies are automatically achieved.

In this case, the copies to be ejected are one sheet for each original document, and one copy is ejected from the paper ejection tray 1! The blocks are stacked one after another in sequence, and the blocks are piled up in a so-called page-aligned state in which each type of block is stacked in the same order as the original. This is the same as sorting without partitions between each block. Therefore, it is convenient to set a mode in which multiple copies are made using the first circulation path 5 by selecting the sorting mode.

The second circulation path 22 can also be used to copy a plurality of originals one by one. In this mode, the original is fed from tray 3 and passed through the reading position.
The document is fed into the circulation unit 10 by the first switching claw 18, and copied while being circulated a set number of times in the second circulation path formed by the circulation unit 10 and the original glass 4.

At this time, a detection switch provided in the circulation unit 10 detects the number of times the document passes. -23 = When the number of passes reaches N-1 times (where N is the set number of copies),
By rotating the first switching claw 18 counterclockwise and switching to the return path member 14 side again, the original that has passed through the reading position for final copying returns to the tray 3 in the same manner as in the sorting mode. . Then, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since N-1 passes have been detected, feeding of the next original is started. Note that since the document circulated in the second circulation path 22 has both side edges regulated by the skew prevention member 30, the document will not be skewed no matter how many times it is circulated. Also,
The first switching claw 18 is pressed lightly against the heald 13, and even if the rear end of the document is held between the bell eye 3 and the first switching claw 18, there is no support for feeding the document. There is no such thing.

When a plurality of copies are made from a plurality of original documents using the second circulation path 22, the copies that are discharged are piled up as one block of the same original. This can be said to be a grouping state, although there is no partition between each block. Therefore, it is convenient to set a mode in which multiple copies are made using the second circulation path 22 by selecting the grooving mode.

Next, a case will be described in which a non-standard original that cannot be set in the tray 3 is to be copied. In this case, the manual feed table 75 is used and the document is inserted along the manual feed table 75 with the document surface facing downward. At this time, the manual feed detection switch is turned on to detect the manual feed mode, and the timing roller 17 is turned on for a very short time to grip the leading edge of the document. When the print switch is turned on in this state, the timing roller 17 is driven in accordance with the feeding timing of the transfer paper, and the document is sent to the reading position.

In the manual feeding mode, it is impossible to predict what size document will be passed through, so the first switching claw 18 and the second switching claw 19 are switched to a counterclockwise position to detect the document that has passed the reading position. is discharged to the document discharge tray 20 through the return path member 14. Note that if there is a sufficient distance between the manual feed detection switch and the second switching claw 19,
The length of the document is detected based on the length of the ON state of the manual feed detection switch, and if the length is less than the specified length that can be accommodated in the tray 3, the document is ejected into the tray 3, and if it is longer than the specified length, the document is ejected to the document output tray 20. Good too. Further, even if the length is longer than the specified length, if there is no original in the tray 3, the original is returned to the tray 3 and circulated through the tray 3, thereby making it possible to make multiple copies.

Next, the case of copying a book or a thick original (hereinafter referred to as an original) will be described. In this case, first operate lever 5.
5 clockwise to switch the mode, the circulation unit 10 is retracted to a diagonally upper retracted position. In addition, the regulation hook that was regulating the position of Book Carrier 21
(not shown) comes off and becomes freely movable. here,
The operator pulls out the book carrier 21 to the outside of the automatic document feeder 2, sets the document on the document glass 4, and presses the document with the document presser sheet 81 as necessary.

Next, after setting the number of copies and selecting the transfer paper size, etc., the print switch is turned on. Then, solenoid 6
At step 8, the locking pawl 69 locks the ratchet wheel 66a of the spring clutch section 66, turning on the clutch section 66 and driving the drive sprocket 64. As a result, the book carrier 21 starts scanning.

When this is detected by a detection switch (not shown) at a predetermined position, transfer paper is fed at the same timing and copies are made in the same manner as above. Book carrier 2 for single copy
Detection switch (not shown) when 1 reaches the specified position
is activated, solenoid 6B is turned off, and the motor stops at that position.

In the case of multiple copies, the scanner scans multiple times and stops at the designated position in the same way. Thereafter, the document is taken out, and the book carrier 21 is inserted until it hits the regulating member in the automatic document feeder 2, and is fixed by the regulating hook. By rotating the operating lever 55 counterclockwise, the circulation unit 10 is returned to its initial state.

When scanning with the book carrier 21, although the circulation unit 10 is retracted, there is a height restriction depending on the retracted height of the circulation unit 10, etc.

For this reason, a height detection switch (not shown) is placed at the entrance of the automatic document feeder 2 to detect an abnormality and immediately release the locking by the locking pawl 69 of the spring clutch unit 66 to start scanning. It has been stopped.

In this embodiment, the circulating Unicoro O is provided with a pair of rollers 11 and 12 and a heald 13, but rollers may be used instead of the belt to guide the document.
Further, a single tram or roller may be used instead of the pair of rollers, and instead of pinching and transporting the original, the leading edge of the original may be chucked and transported.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the automatic document feeder of the present invention, since the book carrier is built in so that it can scan without having a dedicated space for scanning, it is also possible to read books and thick documents. However, it can be configured in a sufficiently compact manner, and there is no need to evacuate the entire automatic document feeder from the exposure section.
The work range can be made smaller and the operation becomes easier.

Further, since the document glass attached to the book carrier is used in common with the document glass of the automatic document feeder, the structure itself can be simple and inexpensive. Furthermore, the exposure positions for sheet-like originals and books and thick originals, which were previously separate, are now in one place, allowing them to be exposed using the same exposure optical system in the same way. Since there is no need to correct the optical path length, the reading device can be miniaturized, and the exposure optical system and control system can be simplified, leading to cost reductions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the overall configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the automatic document feeder, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the same side regulating member and empty detection device. 4 is a perspective view showing the evacuation mechanism of the circulation unit, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the same, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the bunk carrier and its drive mechanism, and FIGS. 7 to 9 The figures are cross-sectional front views showing various states of use of the book carrier, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a winding mechanism for a document holding sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an automatic document feeder that automatically feeds documents onto the document glass above the reading position in the main body of the reader, it is possible to place books or thick documents with the document surface facing down. A built-in book carrier, a means for mounting the document glass on the book carrier, and driving the book carrier to scan the reading position when necessary; An automatic document feeder characterized in that it is provided with a means for retracting an object out of a scanning area.