JP2003298811A - Image reader and image reader/recorder provided the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a low-cost image reader whose installation space is reduced because of its simple configuration and an image reader/recorder provided with the image reader. <P>SOLUTION: This image reader/recorder has a separating and feeding unit 115 for separating sheet originals D placed on a feeding tray 106 in each original and feedingly driving the sheet originals, a first reading unit 108 for reading an image on one face of a sheet original D fed to a first reading position 109a located lower than the separating and feeding unit 115 through a transport path having curvature from the separating and feeding unit 115 such that the front and back faces of the original become reverse to those of the original on the feeding tray 106, a pair of transport rollers for transporting the sheet original D whose image has been red by the first reading unit 108 to a second reading position 116y, and a second reading unit 116 for reading an image on the other face of the sheet original D transported to the second reading position 116y by the pair of transport rollers. A nip part 121f of the pair of transport rollers is located overlappingly on the separating and feeding unit 115 vertically, and at least a portion of the second reading unit 116 is located overlappingly on the separating and feeding unit 115 vertically. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading device for reading an image of an original document, and an image reading / recording device such as a digital copying machine or a facsimile device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image reading apparatus used in a conventional image reading / recording apparatus such as a digital copying machine or a facsimile machine, a book-type document is proposed as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-69086. In the image reading device capable of reading the image, the sheet document automatic feeding device has image reading means for reading the image of the sheet document separately from the reading of the book type document, and makes a U-turn of the sheet document. We propose an image reading device that can prevent the sheet document discharge tray from protruding outside the device by making it possible to read images on both sides of the sheet document with one document conveyance, and to make the device height low. Has been done.

[0003]

In recent years, it has been required to reduce the installation space in the image reading device and the image reading / recording device equipped with the image reading device.

The above-mentioned conventional example describes the case where the sheet document discharge tray is prevented from protruding outside the apparatus and the height of the apparatus is lowered, and the installation space of the image reading apparatus as a whole is reduced (particularly, No reduction of the installation space of the image reading device portion for reading an image of a book-type document) is disclosed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and realizes a low-cost image reading apparatus and an image reading / recording apparatus including the same which can reduce the installation space with a simple structure. That is the purpose.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention of the present application, a separate feeding unit for separating and driving the originals stacked on the feeding tray for each original, and a separate feeding unit. An image of one surface of the original document conveyed to the first reading position below the separating / feeding unit so that the upper and lower surfaces of the original document are opposite to those on the feed tray from the unit through the conveyance path having a curvature is displayed. A first reading unit for reading, a pair of conveying rollers that conveys an original whose image is read by the first reading unit to a second reading position, and the other of the originals that are conveyed to the second reading position by the pair of conveying rollers. A second reading unit for reading an image on the surface of the sheet, the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers is in a position overlapping the separating and feeding unit in the vertical direction, and at least a part of the second reading unit is separated and feeding. It has a configuration which is in a position overlapping the knit the vertical direction.

As described above, the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers and the separation feeding unit are arranged at the position where the second reading unit and the separation feeding unit overlap with each other in the vertical direction. The reading unit is arranged at a position close to the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire apparatus and reduce the arrangement space.

It is also possible to have a glass plane located at substantially the same height as the first reading position, and the vicinity of the edge of this glass plane may be in a position overlapping the separating and feeding unit in the vertical direction. According to the above, since not only the second reading unit but also the glass plane overlaps the separating and feeding unit in the vertical direction, as a result, the second reading unit and the glass plane are located near the nip portion of the pair of transport rollers. Will be done. As described above, in addition to the above-described configuration, by bringing the glass plane closer to the nip portion of the pair of transport rollers, it becomes easier to reduce the installation space of the entire apparatus, which is conventionally restricted by the size of the glass plane.

It should be noted that it may have a pressing means provided with a flat portion for pressing the original conveyed to the second reading position against the second reading unit.

Since the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers and the second reading unit are brought close to each other as described above, the document conveying distance from the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers to the second reading unit is shortened, and the rigidity of the original is reduced. The original can be delivered to the second reading unit from the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers within a range of high strength. That is, since the force of pressing the original against the second reading unit can be generated by utilizing the stiffness of the original, it is necessary to provide a drive roller or the like that generates a driving force to generate this pressing force. It is possible to contribute to simplification and cost reduction of the drive system. Also,
Since only the pressing means needs to be arranged, the space occupied in the device is small compared to the case where the driving roller or the like is arranged,
It is also effective in reducing the size of the entire device.

Further, when the image is read by the first reading unit, it is desirable that the portion facing the first reading unit and the flat portion facing the second reading unit are white in color. According to this, it is possible to read an image with high contrast that is faithful to the original.

In addition, the second reading unit is located below the feeding tray and above the first reading position, and the first reading unit is located below the first reading position. It is desirable to do.

According to this, since the second reading unit is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the conveying path having the curvature, the space occupied by the second reading unit does not hinder the downsizing of the apparatus.

Further, it has a glass plane located at substantially the same height as the first reading position, and the first reading unit is movable below the glass plane in a direction substantially parallel to the glass plane. With the configuration in which a document placed on the glass plane can be read, it is possible to read an image of a book-type document placed on the reading plane, for example. Further, since the first reading unit is also used for reading an image of an original document conveyed in the conveyance path, it is effective in saving the space for disposing the reading unit, and in turn reduces the size of the entire apparatus. Can also contribute.

A feed tray, a separation feed unit, a pair of feed rollers, and a second reading unit are provided in the document feeding section, and the document feeding section has the first reading unit and the glass flat surface. It may be arranged such that it can be opened and closed above the document reading unit, and at this time, the central axis of rotation of the opening and closing operation of the document feeding unit is substantially parallel to a vertical plane including the feeding direction of the document in the feeding path. desirable.

Further, an image reading apparatus as described above, and an image forming unit capable of forming an image on a recording sheet fed from a recording sheet feeding tray based on image information read by the image reading apparatus. An image forming unit having a reversing unit that can re-feed the image-formed recording sheet to the image forming unit in a reversed state, and a recording sheet discharge tray for discharging and stacking the image-formed recording sheet. In the image reading / recording apparatus, the image forming unit is disposed below the image reading apparatus, the recording sheet discharge tray is provided near the upper portion of the image forming unit, and the reversing unit is provided below the recording sheet discharge tray. It may be configured.

Further, it is preferable to have a control means for discharging and stacking the recording sheet on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit on the recording sheet discharge tray in the state where the recording sheet is turned upside down by the turning portion as occasion demands.

In addition, a communication unit for communicating with an external device and an image formed by an image forming unit based on image information received from the external device via the communication unit, or read by an image reading device. It may be configured to include a communication control unit that enables transmission of image information of a document to an external device.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A facsimile apparatus F as an image reading / recording apparatus having an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus F according to the present embodiment as seen from the front, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the facsimile apparatus F, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a reading unit described later in FIG.

First, the outline of the facsimile apparatus F will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the facsimile apparatus F according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an apparatus main body 101 and an apparatus main body 10.
1 and an ADF (automatic document feeder) pressure plate 102 (see FIG. 2) as an original conveying unit that is openably and closably arranged above the original reading unit 103. ing. That is, the facsimile apparatus F is configured to include the document reading unit 103 having a function as an image reading apparatus and the ADF pressure plate 102.

First, in the main body 101 of the apparatus, 104 is an image forming section including an electrophotographic printer using an LED array, 110 is an LED head unit, and 111 is an image can be formed based on image information read by the document reading section 103. Image forming unit, 112 is a cassette feeding unit,
Reference numeral 113 denotes a recording sheet discharging unit having a recording sheet discharging tray for discharging and stacking the recording sheets P on which images have been formed, which is arranged above the image forming unit 104, 114 denotes a cartridge cover unit, and 120 denotes control means of the facsimile apparatus F. Is the control unit.

Here, the image forming unit 104 is arranged below the document reading unit 103, the recording sheet discharging unit 113 is provided near the upper portion of the image forming unit 104, and the reversing unit 150 is provided below the recording sheet discharging unit 113. The configuration is provided.

Next, the ADF pressure plate 102 separates a sheet feed tray 106 on which a sheet document D to be read can be stacked and a sheet document D stacked on the sheet feed tray 106 by separating and driving each sheet. The first feeding unit 115 and the first feeding unit 115 are located below the separating feeding unit 115 so that the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet document D are opposite to those on the feeding tray through the feeding path having a curvature from the separating feeding unit 115. A first reading unit 108 that reads an image on one side of the sheet document D that is conveyed to the reading position 109a, and a sheet document D whose image on one side has been read by the first reading unit 108 A pair of conveying rollers (described later) for conveying to the reading position 116y and an image on the other side of the sheet document D conveyed to the second reading position 116y by the pair of conveying rollers are read. A second reading unit 116, a sheet document transport unit 121 that transports the sheet document D in a transport path having this curvature, and a sheet document D whose image has been read by the second reading unit 116. The document ejecting unit 117 and a document pressing plate 118 for pressing a book type document placed on the document table glass 107 arranged on the document reading unit 103 side are provided.

On the upper surface side of the document reading section 103, there is a predetermined reading plane L located below the separating / feeding unit 115.
Is set, and the original platen glass 107 and the flow reading glass 109, which are glass planes, are arranged at substantially the same height as the predetermined reading plane L. As shown, the first reading position 109a is on the flow reading glass 109. Also, below the first reading position 109a (that is,
Below the glass plane), movably arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the glass plane, the sheet document D conveyed by the ADF pressure plate 102 and passing through the first reading position 109a, or on the document table glass 107. It has a first reading unit 108 which is a movable image sensor capable of reading a placed document.

When the image of the sheet document D is read by the first reading unit 108, the reading operation is performed at the first reading position 109a via the flow reading glass 109.
Of course, when a document is placed on the platen glass 107 and read, not only a sheet type document but also a book type document can be read. In this way, the first reading unit 108 can read the image on one surface of the sheet document D conveyed from the separation / feed unit 115 through the conveyance path having a curvature. In addition,
The second reading unit 116 is located below the feeding tray 106 and above the first reading position 109a.

Further, 105 is an operation unit including a display unit and input keys, 119 is a joint between the document reading unit 103 and the image forming unit 104, 122 is a double-sided conveyance unit cover, 1
23 is a transfer direction switching unit, 124 is a resist transfer unit, 12
Reference numeral 5 denotes an MP (multi-paper) feeding unit disposed inside the image forming unit 104, and reference numeral 150 denotes the image forming unit 111 again after reversing the recording sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 111. It is a double-sided transport unit as a reversing unit for enabling feeding.

The ADF pressure plate 102 is composed of a reading / conveying roller 121c and a reading / conveying roller 121f for conveying the sheet document D whose image has been read by the first reading unit 108 to the second reading position 116y. It has a conveyance roller pair, and the nip portion 1 of this conveyance roller pair
21n (see FIG. 3) is vertically overlapped with the separation feeding unit 115, and at least a part of the second reading unit 116 is vertically overlapped with the separation feeding unit 115. There is. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 3, the vicinity of the end of the original platen glass 107 is positioned to overlap the separation / feed unit 115 in the vertical direction.

Thus, in the vertical direction, the nip portion 121n of the pair of conveying rollers and the separation feeding unit 115 are at positions where at least a part of the second reading unit 116 and the separation feeding unit 115 overlap with each other. By doing so, the second reading unit 116 is arranged at a position close to the nip portion 121n of the conveying roller pair, and thus the overall size of the apparatus and the arrangement space can be reduced.

Further, in the vertical direction, not only the second reading unit 116 but also the original platen glass 107 as a glass plane is located so as to overlap with the separating / feeding unit 115, so that the second reading unit 116 and the original platen glass 107 are arranged. Will be located near the nip portion 121n of the pair of transport rollers. As described above, in addition to the above-described configuration, the original platen glass 107 is brought close to the nip portion 121n of the pair of conveying rollers, so that the arrangement space of the entire apparatus, which is conventionally restricted by the size of the original platen glass, can be reduced. It becomes easier to plan. Further, it becomes possible to make the apparatus configuration in the vicinity of the separating / feeding unit 115, the sheet original feeding section 121, and the original discharging section 117 compact, and the original table glass 1
07 and the non-scanning reading glass 109 can be arranged close to each other, and thus the width of the document reading unit 103 (the size in the left-right direction in FIG. 1) can be reduced.

Further, as described above, by arranging the second reading unit 116 below the feeding tray 106 and above the first reading position 109a, the second reading unit 116 is provided.
The reading unit 116 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the conveying path having a curvature (see FIG. 3), and the space occupied by the second reading unit 116 in the apparatus does not hinder the downsizing of the apparatus. Further, by making the first reading unit 108 movable under the original platen glass 107 in a direction substantially parallel to the original platen glass 107, a book type original document placed on the original platen glass 107. It is also possible to read the image of. Further, since the first reading unit 108 is also used for reading the image of the sheet document D conveyed in the conveying path as described above, it is effective in saving the space for arranging the reading unit. As a result, it contributes to downsizing of the entire device.

Next, the reading operation of the book type original by the facsimile apparatus F in this embodiment will be described.

The ADF pressure plate 102 is openably and closably attached to the upper portion of the document reading portion 103 via a hinge portion 102a. As shown in FIG. 2, one hinge portion 102a is provided on each of the left and right sides of the rear surface of the apparatus (the left side is not shown).
By raising the front side of the pressure plate 102, the
It can be opened and closed in the direction of the dotted chain arrow. That is, A
The rotation center axis of the opening / closing operation of the DF pressure plate 102 is substantially parallel to the vertical plane including the conveyance direction of the sheet original D in the conveyance path inside the ADF pressure plate.

The hinge portion 102a is formed by combining known dampers, cams, spring members and the like, and the ADF pressure plate 102.
It is possible to stand still in a state of being opened up to a predetermined angle (for example, 70 °). In this way, the ADF pressure plate 10
It is possible to set a sheet original, a book type original, or the like on the original platen glass 107 in a state in which 2 is opened.

The first reading unit 108 irradiates light from a light source consisting of an LED and a resin light guide to the surface of the original on which image information is read, and reflects light reflected by this surface on a SELFOC lens (registered). (Trademark) is used to form an image on a one-dimensional sensor element array to read image information.

The first reading unit 108 is arranged so as to be movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 along a rail (not shown), and includes a drive wire 103a, a drive pulley 103b, and
It can be moved to a desired position by a drive motor (not shown) or the like. The first reading unit 108 moves at a constant speed in a predetermined range from the reading range start position 107a to the reading range end position 107b below the document table glass 107, so that the document placed on the document table glass 107 is moved. The image of can be read.

As shown in FIG. 3, a white sheet 109c is provided on the lower surface (the surface facing the first reading unit) of the jump base 109b which projects upward between the original platen glass 107 and the flow reading glass 109. Is arranged, and the shading correction of the first reading unit 108 is performed when the first reading unit 108 is in a position facing the white sheet 109c. In particular, when scanning a book-type document, the first reading unit 108
Passes through the bottom of the jump base 109b each time a scan is performed, so shading correction can be performed each time a scan is performed. This is effective in suppressing the influence of the change in the light amount according to the lighting time of the light source of the first reading unit 108.

The document holding plate 118 is formed by laminating white sheets, sponge, etc., and by pressing the document placed on the document table glass 107 from above, the document holding glass 118 is pushed from the mounting surface of the document table glass 107. To prevent the originals from floating. The left end 118a of the document holding plate 118 is on the left side of the reading range start position 107a, the right end 118b is on the right side of the reading range end position 107b, and the entire range from the reading range start position 107a to the reading range end position 107b. The size is set to cover.

Next, the image reading operation of one side of the sheet document D by the facsimile apparatus F in this embodiment will be described.

The separating / feeding unit 115 is in pressure contact with the pickup roller 115a, the separating roller 115b, and the separating roller 115b, which are vertically movable by an actuator (not shown), and rotates in the opposite direction to the separating roller 115b. It has a retard roller 115c.

First, the sheet document D stacked with the surface to be read on the feeding tray 106 facing upward is pressed by the pickup roller 115a moved downward to be placed on the feeding tray. Pick up the top sheet of the stack of sheet originals D. The picked-up sheet document D is sent between the separation roller 115b and the retard roller 115c, and separated and fed one by one by the action of the separation roller 115b that is in pressure contact with the retard roller 115c. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the reading / conveying roller 121c arranged on the inner peripheral side of the conveying path having a curvature.
And a separation / conveyance roller 121a pressed by an unillustrated pressing spring against the outer peripheral surface of the reading / conveying roller 121c,
While the sheet document D is held between the sheet 121b and the sheet 121b, the sheet document D is conveyed in the U-turn sheet path along the document guide 121d.

The sheet original D conveyed in this way
Passes over the flow reading glass 109. A sheet original pressing plate 121e, which is pressed against the flow-reading glass 109 by an unillustrated biasing spring, is arranged at a position facing the flow-reading glass 109 with the conveyance path interposed therebetween, and is conveyed. Sheet manuscript D scan glass 10
9 is pressed and brought into close contact. Then, the first reading unit 1 moving below the first reading position 109a.
At 08, the image information on one surface of the sheet document D passing through the first reading position 109a is read.

Then, the sheet document D from which one image information has been read is diverted upward by the jump base 109b, that is, in the direction away from the flow reading glass 109, and the above-mentioned reading / conveying roller 121c and this reading / conveying roller 121c are moved. While the sheet document D is nipped by the nip portion 121n of the conveyance roller pair constituted by the reading conveyance roller 121f which is pressed against the outer peripheral surface by a pressing spring (not shown), it is composed of the discharge roller 117a and the discharge roller 117b. It is configured to be conveyed to a pair of discharge rollers, which are nipped by the pair of conveyance rollers and discharged to the document discharge tray 117c. Here, the discharge roller 117a and the discharge roller 117b are arranged so as to be pressed against each other by a biasing spring (not shown).

Next, the image reading operation of the other side of the sheet document D will be described.

A second reading unit 116 is arranged downstream of the nip portion 121n of the conveying roller pair and upstream of the discharge roller pair in the conveying path of the ADF pressure plate 102.

This second reading unit 116 is equipped with an ADF.
Contact image sensor 1 fixedly arranged in the pressure plate 102
The second reading position 1 has a flat surface portion 16a and a flat surface portion that faces the contact image sensor 116a with the conveyance path interposed therebetween.
An image of the other side of the sheet document D passing therethrough, which includes a sheet document pressing portion 116b as a pressing unit that presses the sheet document D conveyed to 16y against the contact type image sensor 116a by the flat portion. Is designed to read.

This contact image sensor 116a is L
Sheet original D from a light source consisting of ED and resin light guide
The other surface is irradiated with light, and the reflected light reflected by the surface of the original is imaged on a one-dimensional sensor element array by a SELFOC lens (registered trademark) to read image information.

A read stamp 121g is provided on the downstream side of the second reading unit 116 and on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair in the conveying path of the ADF pressure plate 102, and the sheet original D can be imprinted. It has become.

When the image is read by the first reading unit 108, the first reading unit 108 faces the flow reading glass 109 (that is, a portion facing each other).
The pressing surface of the document pressing plate 118) and the sheet document pressing portion 116 facing the second reading unit 116 described above.
The plane portions of b are white. As a result, when the image is read by the first and second reading units, it is possible to read an image with high contrast faithful to the original.

The feeding tray 106 is, as shown in FIG.
A slider that is fixedly disposed on the upper portion of the DF pressure plate 102, and is slidable on the feed tray 106 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet document D (width direction of the sheet document D to be placed). 106a is provided, and both sides of the stack of sheet originals D stacked can be aligned and guided by the slider 106a.

Further, a document length sensor 106b is arranged on the feeding tray 106 so that the length of the placed sheet document D can be detected. Further, a plurality of document width sensors 115d are arranged in the separation / feed unit 115 in the width direction of the sheet document D, whereby the presence or absence and the width of the sheet document D can be detected. The original size and the setting direction can be detected by the combination of the detection results of the original width sensor 115d and the original length sensor 106b arranged in this way.

Further, the sheet original feeding section 121 is provided with an original feeding sensor 121g and an original end sensor 121h. The document feeding sensor 121g is the separation feeding unit 11
It is detected whether or not the sheet document D is fed from the sheet 5, and the passage of the rear end of the sheet document D. Document edge sensor 121h
Detects the passage of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet document D, and the output thereof is used for timing control of image reading in the reading unit.

With the above-mentioned configuration, both sides of the image can be read by conveying the sheet document D only once without increasing the installation area of the apparatus, and the image of the book type document can be read. It is also possible to realize a facsimile machine capable of performing the above.

Further, the feeding tray 106 is replaced with the ADF pressure plate 10.
With the configuration that is fixed with respect to 2, the feeding tray 10
6, the strength of the ADF pressure plate 102 as a whole can be increased, and the number of reinforcing members provided on the ADF pressure plate 102 can be reduced. That is, the weight and cost of the ADF pressure plate 102 can be reduced.

The cassette feeding section 112 is the main body 101 of the apparatus.
Is located at the bottom of the. As for the recording sheets P stacked in the feeding cassette 112a having a function as a recording sheet feeding tray, the middle plate 112b is urged upward by the middle plate spring 112c, and the upper surface and the leading end of the recording sheet P are regulated by the separating claw 112d. When the semi-circular feeding roller 112e rotates, the recording sheets P are separated one by one by the separating claw 112d (so-called claw separation method), and then are conveyed to the resist conveying section 124 by the cassette conveying roller pair 112f. The leading edge of the conveyed recording sheet P is detected by the registration sensor 124b after a predetermined time has elapsed. Within a predetermined time after the feeding is started, the registration sensor 124b
When the leading edge of the recording sheet P is not detected, it is determined that a jam has occurred, the recording operation is stopped, and the operation unit 105 is displayed.

When the leading edge of the recording sheet P is detected by the registration sensor 124b within a predetermined time after the feeding is started, the separated recording sheet P is continuously nipped and conveyed by the cassette conveying roller pair 112f, and the registration is performed. It is guided to the pressure contact nip portion N of the roller pair 124a.

The registration roller pair 124a is controlled to stop rotating when the leading edge of the recording sheet P reaches the pressure contact nip portion N of the registration roller pair 124a, and the leading edge of the recording sheet P remains in this rotation stopped state. The recording sheet P is flexed to some extent by being pressed against the pressure contact nip portion N of the registration roller pair 124a to be received, and thereafter, the conveyance operation by the cassette conveyance roller pair 112f is performed, and recording is performed by the reaction force of the flexion loop. The skew of the recording sheet P is corrected by aligning the leading edge of the sheet P in parallel with the nip line of the pressure contact nip portion N.

Next, the registration roller pair 124a is driven at a predetermined control timing to convey the recording sheet P.

Next, the leading edge position of the recording sheet P being conveyed is detected by the TOP sensor 124c, and the photosensitive drum 11 is detected.
After the image output timing is adjusted so that the leading edge of the toner image formed on 1a and the leading edge of the recording sheet P coincide with each other, the sheet is conveyed between the transfer charger 111f and the photoconductor drum 111a.

The image is formed on the lower surface side of the recording sheets P stacked in the feeding cassette 112a.

The number of sheets that can be stacked in the feeding cassette 112a is about 250, and the feeding cassette 112a is constructed so as to be pulled out in the front direction (front side in FIG. 1) with respect to the apparatus main body 101 (so-called front loading method).

Further, the facsimile apparatus F has an MP (multi-paper) feeding section 125 disposed inside the image forming section 104. The MP (multi-paper) feeding unit 125 stacks the recording sheets P on the fixed MP tray 125e. The MP middle plate 125c is biased upward by the MP middle plate spring 125d, but in the standby state, the MP middle plate 125c is pushed down by a cam (not shown).

From the control unit 120 of the facsimile apparatus F to M
When a signal for starting the P feeding is transmitted, a cam (not shown) is rotated, and the recording sheets P stacked by the pressing release of the MP intermediate plate 125c are pressed against the MP feeding roller 125a, and the MP feeding roller 125a is pressed. The MP separation pad 125b pressed against the feed roller 125a separates and conveys the sheets one by one (so-called friction piece separation method).

The operation after the recording sheet P is conveyed to the resist conveying section 124 is the same as that when it is fed from the cassette feeding section 112.

In this way, an image is formed on the lower surface side of the recording sheets P stacked on the MP tray 125e.

The number of sheets that can be loaded in the MP feeding unit 125 is about 10
It is 0. Besides, since the MP feeding unit 125 adopts the friction piece separating method, it is possible to feed a postcard and the like.

Further, the cassette feeding unit 112 and a second-stage cassette feeding unit (not shown) having the same structure as the cassette feeding unit 112 can be separately separated and combined as an option, and the entire apparatus can be connected. It is possible to change the number of sheets that can be stacked in the range from about 350 sheets to about 600 sheets. The recording sheet P conveyed from the second stage cassette feeding section is conveyed to the resist conveying section 124 through the sheet path 112g from the second stage cassette.

The image forming section 104 uses the LED head unit 11 based on the image signal output from the control section 120.
A desired pixel of the one-dimensional LED array 110a of 0 is made to emit light, and the photosensitive drum 111a is irradiated with the light through a lens portion 110b composed of SELFOC lens (registered trademark) to form image information on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a. The image is transferred to the recording sheet P fed from the cassette feeding unit 112 to the image forming unit 111.

The effective light emission width of the one-dimensional LED array 110a is 297 mm, and it is possible to record an image on the recording sheet P up to A3 in the standard size.

The photosensitive drum 111a is a primary charger 111.
b, developing roller 111c, cleaning blade 111
It is integrally incorporated in the recording cartridge 111e together with d and the like, and is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 101. The surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is uniformly charged by the primary charger 111b, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 111a is one-dimensionally LE.
When the light from the D array 110a is irradiated, a latent image is formed, and the latent image is visualized by the toner supplied from the developing roller 111c.

Photosensitive drum 1 of image forming unit 111
A transfer charger 111f is arranged in the peripheral portion of 11a, and a heat fixing device 111g is arranged in the sheet conveying path on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 111a.

After the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 111a is transferred to the recording sheet P by the transfer charger 111f, the recording sheet P is conveyed upward in the sheet conveying section 111j.

The recording sheet P conveyed along the sheet conveying portion 111j has a toner image fixed thereon by the thermal fixing device 111g, and is then conveyed to the conveying direction switching portion 123. The fixing sensor 111h is used for jam detection and timing control in the image forming unit 111.

Joining portion 119 between the document reading portion and the image forming portion
The recording sheet P is conveyed by the conveyance direction switching unit 123 arranged in
The ejection flapper A123a and the ejection flapper B123b are switched in response to a signal from the control unit 120 to change the traveling direction, and the first ejection tray 113a as a recording sheet ejection tray in the recording sheet ejection unit 113.
Also, the sheet is conveyed to either the second discharge tray 113b or the double-sided conveying section 150.

As described above, the recording sheet P conveyed to any of the first discharge tray 113a, the second discharge tray 113b of the recording sheet discharge portion 113 and the double-sided conveying portion 150 is
At any position, the sheet is discharged and loaded with the surface on which the image is formed facing upward. The stacking state of the stacked recording sheets P is monitored by the recording discharge tray sensors 113c and 113d and the intermediate tray sensor 151a, respectively.
It can be seen that the recording sheet P on the tray has been removed.

The cartridge cover 1 is attached to the apparatus main body 101.
14 is provided so as to be openable and closable, and by opening the cartridge cover 114, the recording cartridge 111e can be pulled out of the apparatus main body 101 and replaced. Further, the cartridge cover 114 is provided with an interlock mechanism,
The image forming unit 104 does not operate when the recording cartridge 111e is opened or the recording cartridge 111e is not set in the apparatus main body 101.

If a jam occurs during the image forming operation, the recording sheet P retained inside can be taken out by opening the cartridge cover 114.

Next, an image forming operation on both sides of the recording sheet P by the facsimile apparatus F in this embodiment will be described.

When images are formed on both sides of the recording sheet P, the image information on the back side of the recording sheet P is recorded first, and then the image information on the front side is recorded.

The double-sided conveying section 150 is arranged above the image forming section 104. The recording sheet P passing through the thermal fixing device 111g is conveyed to the double-sided conveying section 150 by switching the discharge flapper A123a based on the control signal output from the control section 120. The recording sheet P conveyed to the double-sided conveying section 150 is temporarily stacked on the intermediate tray 151 after the curl generated by the heat and pressure applied by the thermal fixing device 111g is corrected by the curl removing roller pair 152. It

After the recording of the predetermined number of back side image information is completed in this way, the image information is recorded on the front side of the recording sheet P stacked on the intermediate tray 151.

A re-feeding unit 153 is disposed below the curl removing roller pair 152.

The re-feeding unit 153 has a separating roller 153a which is reverse to the conveying belt 153b and has an intermediate tray 151.
It is possible to sequentially separate and feed the recording sheets P stacked on top while pulling in the recording sheets P. The recording sheet P fed from the re-feed unit 153 is transported by the intermediate transport roller pair 154. When the registration sensor 124b detects the leading edge of the recording sheet P within a predetermined time after the conveyance is started, the intermediate conveyance roller pair 154 continues the nipping and conveyance, and the recording sheet P reaches the pressure contact nip portion N of the registration roller pair 124a. Be guided. After that, the recording operation is continued as described above, and after recording, the discharge flapper B123b is switched to load the recording sheet discharge unit 113 on the first discharge tray 113a or the second discharge tray 113b. The first discharge tray 113a and the second discharge tray 113b are formed of a transparent or semi-transparent member, and can be rotated upward with the hinge portions 113e and 113f as rotation centers. Further, by opening the double-sided transport section cover 122, the work in the double-sided transport section 150 can be further facilitated.

With the above-described structure, the confirmation work of the image on the recording sheet after the image formation can be performed with the recording surface facing upward without increasing the installation area of the entire apparatus. Therefore, the intermediate tray inside the main body, which is used when recording on both sides of the recording sheet by reversing the front and back of the recording sheet, can also be used as the discharge tray, and when the intermediate tray is used as the discharge tray. Also, it is possible to easily confirm the presence or absence of the sheet and take out the recorded sheet.

Further, since the document reading unit 103 and the like are arranged above the image forming unit 104, the sheet document D
It is possible to provide an image reading / recording apparatus having a small installation area, capable of performing double-sided reading and image formation on both sides of the recording sheet P, and also capable of reading a book type original.

FIG. 4 shows a facsimile apparatus F according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of a control system 300 of FIG. 30 in FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU that controls the entire facsimile apparatus F, including a ROM 312 that stores control programs for the MPU 311 and MPU 311 and a RAM 31 that is used as a work area for various data processing and a temporary storage unit for image information.
3. An image processing unit 314 for performing image processing such as image scaling and resolution conversion.

Further, the CPU 301 is provided with a calendar, a clock function and the like having a well-known configuration, and an area of the RAM 313 for storing important system setting information such as one-touch key destination information and software switch information is protected from a power failure due to battery backup. Protected against accidental disability. The control system of the facsimile device F is the CPU described above.
In this configuration, 301 and the following elements 302 to 310 are connected through an interface.

The operation section 302 includes various key switches such as a ten key 315, a function key 316, a one-touch key 317, a start key 318a and a stop key 318b. The display unit 303 includes an LCD 319 for displaying various messages and various LEs for displaying the transmission mode and the like.
D320a, a tally lamp 320b for notifying a distant operator of the communication status and the occurrence of a failure, and the like.

The reading unit 304 is a driving unit 3 such as a reading motor.
21, a reading sensor 322 for reading an image, an image processing unit 32 for shading and binarizing the read image
3 and various sensors 324 for detecting originals.

The recording unit 305 is a drive unit 32 such as a recording motor.
5, a recording unit 326 for controlling a laser scanner and an electrophotographic process, an image processing unit 327 for smoothing an image to be recorded, and various sensors 328 for detecting a recording sheet and the like.

The communication control unit 306 for making and receiving calls, encoding image data, and the like has a connection unit 329 composed of MODEM, NCU, and the like, and the connection unit 329 is connected to the communication network 307 and the handset 308.

The CPU external interface 309 is a CPU
An interface for directly transmitting and receiving data from the device 301. For example, RS-232C, SCSI, LAN (e.g. Ethernet (registered trademark)) and other interface standard connection methods can be used to connect the device to a computer 330 external to the device. The external computer 330 can be used as a scanner printer or the like.

As described above, by enabling communication with an external device, the external device (for example, the computer 33
The image forming operation by the image forming unit 104 based on the image information received from 0) or the image information of the document read by the document reading unit 103 can be transmitted to an external device.

The HDD 310 is used as a large capacity non-volatile memory for storing image information and the like. When recording images on multiple pages, make sure the page order is aligned after stacking.
After the images of all pages are once stored in the AM 313 or the HDD 310, the recording operation is controlled to start from the last page. Also, if the partner machine or the external computer 330 at the time of FAX reception can transmit the image information from the last page, the page order of the images is changed at the partner machine or the external computer 330 at the time of FAX reception. Alternatively, the apparatus may record the images in the order of received pages.

When the recording operation is performed on both sides of the recording sheet P, the recording operation is performed in such a manner that the back page is printed first and the front page is printed later.

As described above, as long as both sides of the sheet document D can be read by only one document conveyance,
Even if the sheet document D is conveyed at the same speed at the time of reading the image of the document, the document can be read faster compared to the method of reversing the sheet document D and scanning one side at a time. When performing a copy operation by
The waiting time until the start of image formation can be shortened, and in turn, the total processing time can be shortened.

The first reading unit 108 described above is also used.
As the second reading unit 116, the case where the sensor of the unit magnification optical system using the SELFOC lens (registered trademark) is adopted has been described. However, one of the reading units 108 and 116 of the reduction optical system is used. It is also possible to replace it with an image reading sensor.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus F according to the present embodiment, the nip portion of the conveying roller pair and the second reading unit are brought close to each other as described above, so that from the nip portion of the conveying roller pair to the second reading unit. Thus, the sheet document D can be delivered to the second reading unit from the nip portion of the pair of transport rollers within a range in which the document is strong. That is, since the force of pressing the original against the second reading unit can be generated by utilizing the stiffness of the original, it is necessary to provide a drive roller or the like that generates a driving force to generate this pressing force. It is possible to contribute to simplification and cost reduction of the drive system. Further, since only the sheet manuscript pressing portion 116b needs to be arranged, the space occupied in the apparatus is smaller than that in the case where the driving roller and the like are arranged, and the size of the entire apparatus can be effectively reduced.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and the present invention can be applied to an apparatus in which the surface of the recording sheet on which the image is formed faces upward and is not stacked.

Although the pair of conveying rollers forming the nip portion 121n in the facsimile apparatus according to the above-described embodiment is composed of the reading / conveying roller 121c and the reading / conveying roller 121f, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the discharge roller 1 in the above-mentioned facsimile device F
17a, the discharge roller 117b, and the reading / conveying roller 121f are arranged corresponding to the conveying rollers, and each of them may independently constitute a pair of conveying rollers. Needless to say, in this case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

The originals and sheets that can be read by the original reading unit 103 and the ADF pressure plate 102 having the function of the image reading apparatus according to the above-described embodiments include, for example, ordinary copy paper, printer paper, inkjet paper (glossy paper). Etc.), an OHP sheet, etc. are applicable.

Of course, the image reading apparatus according to each of the above-described embodiments is not limited to a facsimile apparatus, but may be a device that automatically conveys a document and reads the image of the document (for example, a scanner printer or a digital copying machine). If applicable.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus according to the above-mentioned embodiment, the electrophotographic method is adopted as the recording method on the recording sheet, but the invention is not limited to this and a laser beam method or another electrophotographic method is adopted. It is possible to

When the device to which the above-described image reading apparatus is applied is a scanner, the scanner is not limited to the scanner having a structure capable of opening and closing the document feeding unit and the document reading unit, and, for example, the document feeding unit and the document reading unit may be used. The present invention is also applicable to a scanner that is configured integrally and that is configured to only read a document that is automatically conveyed by the document conveying unit by the document reading unit.

[0104]

As described above, according to the inventions of the present application, a low-cost image reading apparatus and an image reading / recording apparatus including the same can be realized with a simple structure and a reduced installation space. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile device F according to the present embodiment as seen from the front.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a reading unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Device Main Body 102 ADF (Auto Document Feeder) Pressure Plate 103 Original Reading Section 104 Image Forming Section 105 Operating Section 106 Feeding Tray 107 Original Plate Glass 108 First Reading Unit 109 Flowing Reading Glass 109a First Reading Position 110 LED Head unit 111 Image forming unit 112 Cassette feeding unit 113 Recording sheet discharging unit 114 Cartridge cover unit 115 Separation feeding unit 116 Second reading unit 116y Second reading position 117 Original discharging unit 118 Original pressing plate 119 Original reading unit Joining part with image forming part 120 Control part 121 of facsimile machine F Sheet original document conveying part 121c Reading / conveying roller 121f Reading / conveying roller 121n Nip part 122 Double-sided conveying part cover 124 Registration conveying part 125 MP (multi-paper) feeding 150 Double-sided Conveying Unit 151 Intermediate Tray 151a Intermediate Tray Sensor 152 Curling Roller Roller 153 Refeeding Unit 154 Intermediate Conveying Roller 300 Control System 301 of Facsimile Machine F Using LBP CPU 302 for Controlling the Facsimile Machine F 302 Operation Unit 303 Display Unit 304 reading unit 305 recording unit 306 communication control unit 307 for making and receiving calls, encoding image data, etc. communication network 308 handset 309 CPU external interface 310 HDD 311 MPU 312 ROM 313 RAM 314 image scaling, resolution Image processing unit 315 for performing conversion etc. Numeric keypad 316 Function key 317 One-touch key 318a Start key 318b Stop key 319 LCD 320a Various LEDs 320b for displaying transmission mode etc. Tally lamp 321 Drive unit 322 such as a pickup motor Read sensor 323 for reading an image Image processing unit 324 for shading and binarization of the read image 325 Various sensors for detecting an original document 325 Drive unit for a recording motor 326 Recording unit 327 Recording Image processing unit 328 that performs smoothing of the image to be recorded, etc. Various sensors 329 that detects recording sheets, etc. Connection unit 330 that includes MODEM, NCU, etc. Computer F facsimile device outside the device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/04 H04N 1/12 Z F term (reference) 2H076 AA04 AA46 AA58 BA17 BA24 BA35 BA36 BA47 BA52 BA83 3F049 DA11 DB03 LA03 LA05 LB02 LB03 3F100 AA01 CA12 CA15 EA03 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB02 AB30 AB31 AB32 AB35 AC09 AC71 AD06 BA01 5C072 AA01 BA01 BA02 BA20 LA02 LA08 LA18 NA01 NA07 XA01

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A separating / feeding unit that separates and drives the originals stacked on a feeding tray for each original, and an upper and lower surface of the original through the conveying path having a curvature from the separate feeding unit. A first reading unit for reading an image on one surface of a document conveyed to a first reading position located below the separation feeding unit so as to be opposite to the above; and the first reading unit. And a second reading unit for reading an image on the other surface of the original conveyed by the conveying roller pair to the second reading position. The nip portion of the pair of conveyance rollers is located at a position overlapping the separation feeding unit in the vertical direction, and at least a part of the second reading unit is arranged above and below the separation feeding unit. Image reading apparatus, characterized in that in a position overlapping in direction. 2. A glass flat surface located at substantially the same height as the first reading position, and the vicinity of the end of the glass flat surface is located at a position overlapping the separating and feeding unit in the vertical direction. The image reading device according to claim 1. 3. The pressing device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a pressing unit provided with a flat surface portion that presses the document conveyed to the second reading position against the second reading unit. Image reading device. 4. The second reading unit is located below the feeding tray and above the first reading position, and the first reading unit is located above the first reading position. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the image reading device is also located below. 5. A glass plane located at substantially the same height as the first reading position, wherein the first reading unit is below the glass plane in a direction substantially parallel to the glass plane. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reading apparatus is movable and can read a document placed on the glass plane. 6. The original feeding section, the feeding tray, the separate feeding unit, the pair of feeding rollers, and the second reading unit are provided in the original feeding section, and the original feeding section includes the first reading unit and the glass flat surface. The image reading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image reading apparatus is provided on an upper portion of a document reading unit including the openable and closable. 7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a central axis of rotation of the opening / closing operation of the document transport unit is substantially parallel to a vertical plane including the document transport direction in the transport path. 8. An image reading apparatus according to claim 1, and an image forming process for a recording sheet fed from a recording sheet feeding tray based on image information read by the image reading apparatus. Image forming unit, a reversing unit capable of re-feeding the image formed recording sheet to the image forming unit in a state of being turned upside down, and a recording sheet discharge tray for discharging and stacking the image formed recording sheet An image reading / recording apparatus comprising: an image forming unit having a, wherein the image forming unit is disposed below the image reading device, and the recording sheet discharge tray is provided near an upper portion of the image forming unit, An image reading / recording apparatus, wherein the reversing unit is provided below a recording sheet discharge tray. 9. A control unit for discharging and stacking a recording sheet, on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit, on the recording sheet discharge tray in a state where the recording sheet is turned upside down by the turning unit as needed. The image reading and recording apparatus according to claim 8. 10. A communication unit for communicating with an external device, and image formation by the image forming unit based on image information received from the external device via the communication unit, or by the image reading device. The image reading / recording apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising a communication control unit that enables transmission of image information of the read document to the external device.