JPH0656357A - Circulation type document conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discharge a document so stably even if it is conveyed onto a glass platen from either of a switchback type conveyor route or a closed-loop type conveyor route. CONSTITUTION:When a document P on a document tray 4 is conveyed onto a glass platen 3 and discharged to this tray 4 after reading the document, each discharge angle of two discharge parts 11, 104 is altered to a proper angle conformed to a tilting state of the tray 4 in response to those of switchback type conveyor routes (a, b, c, e) and closed-loop type conveyor routes (h, i, j, c, e, f) where the document P is conveyed. With this constitution, the extent of storability in the document P to the tray 4 is improved, thus reliability for document conveyance in time of its circulation is well improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating type document feeder for feeding and placing a sheet material (original) at a predetermined position of an image reading section of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a document on a platen glass is placed on a platen glass of an image forming apparatus, and a document is conveyed from one end of the platen glass to the other end of the platen glass as a conveyance path for discharging the image onto the document tray after reading the image. And the switchback type transport path that transports paper in the direction opposite to the feeding direction after image reading and discharges the original, and feeds the original from the other end of the platen glass to the one end, and feeds the original after reading the original. There has been proposed a circulation type document feeder (hereinafter, referred to as RDF) including a closed-loop type feed path that feeds a sheet in the same direction as the feeding direction and discharges the sheet.

A document tray in this type of RDF has a document feeding path when it is switched back and when it is closed loop.
Although the document trays have different angles, the document ejection angles with respect to the document trays are always the same.

[0004]

However, in the conventional apparatus, since the angle of the document tray at the time of switchback and the angle of the document tray at the time of closed loop are different as described above, the tray at the time of switchback is different. If the discharge angle for discharging the document is set in advance, as shown in FIG. 8, at the time of discharging the document in the closed loop, the document P ₁ rises up due to the intervention of an air layer or the like and cannot be reloaded on the document tray 4. was there.

On the contrary, if the original discharge angle is set to the tray angle in the closed loop, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the original is discharged at the time of switchback, the sheet original P ₁ becomes as shown in FIG. There is a defect that the page buckles or the trailing edge of the original P ₂ remains as shown in FIG. 10, and the next original is also put under the previous original P ₂ to cause page out of order.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a circulating type document feeder which can stably discharge a document regardless of whether the document is conveyed to the platen glass from a switchback type conveyance route or a closed loop type conveyance route. The purpose is.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a document (P) on a document tray (4) is fed from one side (3A) of the platen glass (3) to the other side (3B) of the platen glass. (3) A switchback that is placed at a predetermined position on the document, and after the image reading of the document (P) is completed, the document (P) is conveyed in the direction opposite to the feeding direction and discharged onto the document tray (4). The mold conveying path (a, b, c, h, f) and the original document (P) on the original document tray (4) are fed from the other end side (3B) of the platen glass (3) to one end side (3A). Then, it is placed at a predetermined position on the platen glass (3), and after the reading of the original (P) is completed, the switchback type conveyance path (a, b,
A closed-loop type conveyance path (H, L, N, H, H, H) for discharging the document (P) onto the document tray (4) through the same return sheet path as (C, H, H). In the circulation type document feeder having the
For discharging the document onto the document tray (4)
04) and deflecting means (G) for changing the discharge angle of the document discharged onto the document tray.

Further, the switchback type transfer route (a, b, c, h, f) and the closed loop type transfer route (h,
In the circulating type document feeder, the document (P) has a switchback type feeding path (a,
The discharge angle on the deflecting means (G) depending on whether the discharge is performed in the closed loop type transfer path (H, R, N, C, H, F). It is characterized by having a control means (130) for switching between.

[0009]

A switchback type in which the original (P) is conveyed when the original (P) on the original tray (4) is conveyed to the platen glass (3) for reading the original and then discharged to the original tray (4). Corresponding to the transport path (a, b, c, h, f) or the closed loop type transport path (h, re, n, c, h, f), the discharge angle of the discharge section (11, 104) is the original tray. (4)
The deflecting means (G) changes the angle to an appropriate angle corresponding to the tilted state.

As a result, the storability of the document (P) in the document tray (4) is improved, and the reliability of document transportation during document circulation is improved.

The reference numerals in parentheses are shown for reference to the drawings and do not limit the structure of the present invention.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a circulation type document feeder (R) according to the present invention.
2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the DF) 2 and is disposed on the image forming apparatus 1 including a copying machine.

In FIG. 1, R is a sheet material conveying device.
The DF (circulating document feeder of the present invention) 2 has a document tray 4 on the upper side, and a wide belt 7 wound around a drive roller 36 and a turn roller 37 is arranged below the document tray 4. The wide belt 7 is in contact with the platen 3 of the copying machine main body 1, conveys the sheet original P placed on the original tray 4 and places it on a predetermined position on the platen 3, or the platen 3. The sheet document P on the sheet 3 is carried out onto the document tray 4.

Further, a pair of width direction regulating plates 33 are arranged on the document tray 4 so as to be slidable in the width direction of the sheet document P, and the width direction of the sheet document P placed on the document tray 4 is set. Restricting the stability of the sheet original P during feeding,
Consistency is ensured when carrying out onto the document tray 4. A jogging mechanism, which will be described later, is built in the width-direction restricting plate 33, and the sheet originals P conveyed onto the original tray 4 are pressed one by one against the original reference guide 33 to further improve the consistency. . Further, a document tray elevating mechanism, which will be described later, allows the document tray 4 to swing about a swing center 40 between an inclined position (FIG. 1) and a horizontal position (FIG. 4).

Adjacent to the document tray 4, a half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 5 and a stopper 21 that moves up and down by a stopper solenoid (not shown) are provided, and a sheet document when set on the document tray 4. P is restricted by the protruding stopper 21 so that it cannot move downstream.

When the copying conditions are input by the operation unit of the copying machine 1 and the start key (not shown) is pressed, the stopper 21 is depressed and the path of the sheet document P is opened, so that the sheet document P is fed. The paper roller 5 is fed and advances to the downstream portion. At this time, the partition member 22 connected to a partition member motor (not shown) built in the document reference guide 33 on the document tray rotates and rides on the uppermost sheet document P, and the unprocessed document and the processed document are processed. To distinguish.

At the downstream side of the stopper 21, there is disposed a first separating section composed of a conveying roller 38 and a separating belt 6 which constitute a separating section, and each of them is rotated in the direction of the arrow to advance from the original tray 4. The sheet originals P are separated sheet by sheet and conveyed further downstream.

A weight 20 is provided above the stopper 21, so that the number of sheet originals P on the original tray 4 is small and the sheet originals P are separated by the feeding force of the paper feed roller 5. If the sheet original P cannot be reached, the sheet solenoid P is moved downward by a weight solenoid (not shown).
The sheet feeding roller 5 is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 5 and the sheet feeding roller 5 to improve the feeding force of the sheet feeding roller 5.

Document feeding paths (a), (b), and (c) are formed from the separating sections 6 and 38 to the platen 3, and the document feeding paths (a), (b), and (c) are provided. ) Is bent and connected to the conveyance path on the platen 3, and guides the sheet document P onto the platen 3. In addition, in the vicinity of the paper feed roller 5, an entrance sensor 23a, which is a transmissive optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet original P placed on the original tray 4,
23b is arranged.

On the left side of the main body of this RDF 2, a large roller 1
0 is provided, and the platen 3 to the large roller 10 are
Original document discharge paths (e) and (f) extending around the outer periphery of the document tray and extending above the document tray 4 are formed. Further, a document reversing path (e) for inverting the front and back of a double-sided document is formed by branching from above the large roller 10 of the document ejecting paths (e) and (f). The downstream portion of (e) joins the document feeding path (b). A relay roller 44 and a discharge roller 11 are provided on the downstream side of the document discharge path (f), and the document discharge paths (e) and (f) are provided.
The sheet document P conveyed is conveyed to the uppermost part of the document stack P on the document tray 4. The wide belt 7 arranged above the platen 3 conveys and places the sheet original 4 at a predetermined position on the platen 3, and after the image is read, it is conveyed out of the platen 3. The above document feeding path (a), (b),
A feeding roller 9 is arranged at the confluence of (c) and the original reversing path (e). The feeding roller 9 forms a loop on the arrived sheet original P, and the sheet original P is skewed. Preventing lines. In the vicinity of the upstream side of the feeding roller 9, sheet feeding sensors 25a and 25b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the front end and the rear end of the sheet original P, are provided, and the original feeding path (a), It is possible to detect the sheet document P that has passed through any of the conveyance paths of (b), (c) and the document reversing path (e). Further, downstream of the feeding roller 9, a registration sensor 39a, which is a transmissive optical sensor for detecting the trailing edge of the sheet document P,
39b is provided. Below the large rollers 10 in the document discharge paths (e) and (f), reversing sensors 26a and 26b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the sheet document P carried out from the platen 3, are arranged. Further, in the document discharge path (f) between the large roller 10 and the discharge roller 11, the passage of the sheet document P that passes through the document discharge path (f) and is discharged onto the document tray 4 is detected. Paper discharge sensors 27a and 27b, which are transmissive optical sensors, are provided.

A reversing flapper 34 for switching the path is provided at a portion branched from the document discharge paths (e) and (f) to the document reversing path (e), and the reversing flapper solenoid is turned on. When turned off, the path is switched by swinging between the solid line position and the chain line position in the figure.

Further, on the right side of the main body of the RDF 2, there is provided a second document separating means for conveying the sheet document from the right end of the platen glass to the image reading part on the platen 3, and a second document feeding path (h), ( Re) and (nu) are configured.

The document tray 4 is oscillated with the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as the upper limit and the lower limit in conjunction with the vertical swinging motion of the document tray 4 which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, when the document tray 4 is at the lower limit position, the half-moon shaped second paper feed roller 8 and the conveyance roller 15 and the separation belt 14 which form the second separation portion are arranged adjacent to the lower limit position. Document trays 4 are installed by rotating in the direction of the arrows.
The sheet originals P that have advanced from the above are separated sheet by sheet and conveyed further downstream.

The document tray 4 has an upper limit position or a lower limit position depending on the size of the document placed on the tray and the input conditions of the image forming apparatus. When the tray 4 reaches the lower limit position, the above-mentioned stopper 21 of the tray 4 conveys the sheet originals P placed on the tray 4 in a bundle for a certain distance to the second separating means 14 and 15 side. Tray 4
The stopper slide base 41 moves through the link 42 in the guide provided in the roller 46 by the rotation of the eccentric cam 43.
To move through. Eccentric cam 43 centered on the support shaft 57
Has a flag 5 to detect the home position
3 and a transmissive sensor 45 are provided. When the document tray 4 reaches the lower limit position, the sheet document stopper 19 is swung upward by the document stopper solenoid about the support shaft 31 to receive the sheet documents P bundled and conveyed by the bundle conveying means. The sheet original P conveyed in a bundle is always the second
The sheet is conveyed by the transmission type optical sensors 28a and 28b arranged near the upstream side of the separating means to detect the presence or absence of a sheet document. When the bundle conveyance is completed, the sheet document stopper 19 is placed on the sheet document P. A second feeding roller 16 is arranged on the downstream side of the second separating means 14 and 15, and the second feeding roller 16 forms a loop on the arrived sheet original P to form a sheet original. The skew of P is prevented. Near the upstream side of the second feeding roller 16, second sheet feeding sensors 30a and 30b, which are transmissive optical sensors for detecting the front edge and the rear edge of the sheet document P, are arranged. Further, a relay roller 17 is provided on the downstream side, and a transmissive optical sensor 18 for detecting the leading end position of the sheet document P is provided in the second feeding path (nu).
a and 18b are provided. This image sensor 18a,
The timing control of the sheet material on which the image is formed in the image forming apparatus is performed by 18b.

When the lowermost paper is conveyed to the separation by the rotation of the second conveying roller 15, 1. When the number of image forming copies is set to 1 in the image forming apparatus 1 with the input key;
The sheet original that remains on the sheet and is discharged by the discharge roller 11 is regulated so as not to enter the second separating unit.

2. When the number of image forming copies is set to n copies by the input key in the image forming apparatus 1 (when one copy of the sheet original is n circulations); the sheet original stopper 19 moves upward until the sheet original is circulated (n-1). When the first sheet document of the n-th circulation is reloaded on the document tray 4, the sheet document stopper 19 is placed on the sheet document, and the first sheet document is placed on the second separating unit. Regulate entry. At the end of the n circulation, the leading edge of the sheet document P is regulated by the sheet document stopper 19. afterwards,
The document tray 4 moves upward and stops at the upper limit position.

An outline of the operation of the circulation type document feeder 2 constructed as described above will be described.

A document tray 4 on which a plurality of documents P are stacked
Is rotatable about a support shaft 40, and is rotated between the illustrated position and a substantially horizontal position by a document tray elevating mechanism including a cam 49 and a swing arm 48. Manuscript P
There are a switchback method and a closed loop method as a method of transporting the sheet onto the platen 3 of the image forming apparatus 1 and discharging the sheet to the original tray 4 after the reading of the original.

In the switchback system, the original P
Are fed from the lower side by the sheet feeding roller 5, separated one by one by the separating units 6 and 38, and are fed to the platen 3 of the image forming apparatus 1 by the large roller 10 and the feeding roller 9 in pressure contact with the large roller 10. It is conveyed upward from the 3A side. In the state where the original P has been read by the wide belt 7 to a predetermined position on the platen 3, the original P is conveyed in the direction opposite to the feeding direction and is ejected onto the original tray 4.

In the closed loop system, the original P is fed by the paper feed roller 8
Is fed by and separated by the separating units 14 and 15,
It is conveyed onto the platen 3 from the 3B side of the platen 3. The original P after the reading process is conveyed in the same direction as the feeding direction to the platen 3, and is discharged onto the original tray 4 through the same paper path as the switchback type discharge path.

The switchback type transport paths (a, b, c, h, f) in the switchback system are separated by the separating units 6 and 3.
8, a feeding roller 9 and a large roller 10, a wide belt 7, a large roller 10, rollers 12 and 13, a pair of conveying rollers 44, a pair of discharging rollers 11 and 104, and the like. Also,
Closed-loop type transfer route (closed, closed, closed, closed)
Nu, Ha, E, F) are separating sections 14, 15, conveying roller pairs 16, 17, wide belt 7, large roller 10, roller 12,
13, the conveyance roller pair 44, the paper discharge roller pairs 11 and 104, etc., constitute a conveyance system.

Reference numeral 22 designates a document P which is loaded in front.
And a document P that is returned to the document tray 4 after the image processing.

Next, the means for deflecting the discharge angle of the document P according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the discharge of the original P at the time of switchback, the original tray 4 is inclined at an arbitrary angle, and the processed original P is from the direction of the arrow A in the original tray 4.
It is ejected on top.

The details of the pair of paper discharge rollers 11 and 104 are shown in FIG. 3, and the pair of paper discharge rollers 11 and 104 is a partition member for separating unprocessed originals and processed originals stacked on the original tray 4. The discharge angle is such that the document P is discharged beyond 22. Further, the angle is set such that the document P is not buckled and the trailing edge of the sheet discharge roller 11 does not remain.

The paper discharge roller 11 is configured to rotate at an arbitrary discharge speed via gears by a motor (not shown) or the like. The driven roller 104 is pressed against the paper discharge roller 11 by being biased by the leaf spring 105.

The base of the leaf spring 105 is attached to the slide member 101.
Are slidably attached to the cover 107 by step screws 106. The slide member 101 is constantly urged to the left in the drawing by a tension spring 108, and is positioned by a stopper portion 109 of a cover 107. The slide member 101 is engaged with the solenoid 103 via the link 102, and when the solenoid 103 is energized, it slides to the right in the drawing.

The solenoid 103 and the slide member 10
1, the driven roller 104, and the like constitute a deflecting unit G that changes the discharge angle of the document P to be discharged.

Next, when the mode is switched and the closed loop conveyance is selected according to the copy mode of the image forming apparatus 1 and the number of originals, the solenoid 103 is set as shown in FIG.
Is energized, the slide member 101 slides to the right in the figure, and by this slide, the driven roller 104 on the paper discharge roller 11 moves around the paper discharge roller 11 to change the discharge angle of the document P. (FIGS. 4 and 5). The angle θ indicates an angle suitable for sheet ejection.

By changing the discharging angle of the original P by the deflecting means G, the original P can be accurately placed on the original tray 4 even when the original tray 4 is in a substantially horizontal position in the closed loop. It becomes possible to discharge.

The discharge angle is such that the front end of the original is stored in an orderly manner over the partition member 22 and toward the second separating means 14 and 15. As a result, defective stacking of the originals P due to the influence of the air layer and the like is improved.

By providing the circulation type document feeder with the above-described structure, the document P is properly re-stored on the document tray 4 regardless of the inclination angle of the document tray 4 at the time of switchback and closed loop. can do.

<Embodiment 2> In the present embodiment, the discharge angles of the pair of discharge rollers 11 and 104 are constant, and a deflection guide which can be switched by a switchback or a closed loop mode is provided on the downstream side.

In FIG. 6, when the document discharge is switched back, the deflection guide 110 is retracted to the outside of the path route, and in the closed loop mode, the deflection guide 110 is moved into the path route.
Is projected to change the discharge angle of the document P. The deflection guide 110 is driven by using a solenoid or the like. When the document P is switched back,
The original P is discharged in the direction of arrow A, and the original P discharged from the pair of discharge rollers 11 and 104 is deflected in the direction of arrow B in the closed loop. Even with such a configuration, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. <Third Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, the discharge angle of the original P is set uniquely by switching the modes of switchback discharge and closed loop discharge. It is also possible to finely adjust the discharge angle and improve the re-storability of the original P. For example, a paper thickness detection sensor (not shown) that measures the displacement amount of the lever based on the thickness of the document is arranged in the paper path path of the RDF 2, and the ejection angle of the paper ejection roller pair 11, 104 is determined based on the thickness information. Is to change.

As shown in FIG. 7, the driven roller 104, which is in pressure contact with the paper discharge roller 11, is attached to the leaf spring 105 fixed to the slide member 101. The slide member 101 is engaged with the cover 107 via the step screw 106 and is configured to be slidable in the left-right direction in the drawing. The slide member 101 is in contact with an eccentric cam 121 that rotates around a cam shaft 122, and the slide member 101 is urged to the left in the figure by a tension spring 108 and is in contact with the eccentric cam 121.

The eccentric cam 121 is rotated to rotate the eccentric cam 12
In order to perform the position control of 1, a motor (not shown), a position sensor for home position, a position flag, a clock disc having a plurality of pulses in one rotation, a transmissive sensor for detecting the clock of the clock disc, and the like are provided. Has been done. According to the thickness information of the document P, the eccentric cam 121 rotates to an arbitrary position to move the slide member 101, and the driven roller 10
The discharge angle of the document P is changed by changing the position of 4.

In order to rotate the eccentric cam 121 to a predetermined position based on the thickness information of the document P, the clock of the clock disk is counted from the home position,
The eccentric cam 121 is stopped at the determined position. Eccentric cam 121 each time different thickness information is obtained during one job
Is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, and the driven roller 104 is moved. After the completion of one job, the eccentric cam 121 rotates to the home position and waits for the next thickness information.

With the configuration of the discharge section as described above, the discharge angles of the document P can be made minutely parallel depending on the thickness of the document P, so that the document P is re-stored on the document tray 4. It is possible to further improve the sex.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When ejecting a document with an image formed, a deflector is provided to switch the ejection angle in the ejection section between the switchback ejection and the closed loop ejection, depending on the transport mode. It is possible to perform orderly processing without deviation and improve the transportation reliability during document circulation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a circulation type document feeder provided with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the circulation type document feeder at the time of switchback ejection.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the deflecting unit of the paper discharge unit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the circulation type document feeder when the closed loop is discharged.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the deflecting unit of the paper discharge unit.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a deflecting means portion similarly showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a deflecting means portion similarly showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a conventional circulating document feeder.

FIG. 9 is an operation diagram of the circulating type document feeder.

FIG. 10 is an operation diagram of the circulating type document feeder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B, C, H, F Switchback type transport route C, L, N, H, E, F Closed loop type transport route 1 Image forming device 2 Recirculating document transport device (RDF) 3 Platen glass 4 Document tray G Deflection Means 11, 104 Ejection Section 11 Ejection Roller 22 Partition Member 101 Sliding Member 103 Solenoid 104 Driven Roller 110 Deflection Guide 121 Eccentric Cam 130 Control Means (CPU)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A document on a document tray is fed from one end side to the other end side of a platen glass and placed at a predetermined position on the platen glass, and after the image reading of the document is completed, the document is set in the feeding direction. A switchback type conveyance path that conveys paper in the opposite direction and discharges it onto the document tray, and a document on the document tray is fed from the other end of the platen glass to the other end and placed at a predetermined position on the platen glass. And a closed loop type conveyance path for discharging the original document onto the original document tray through the same return sheet path as the switchback type conveyance path after the reading of the original document is completed. A circulating type document conveying device comprising: a discharge unit for discharging the read document onto the document tray; and a deflecting unit for changing a discharge angle of the document discharged onto the document tray. . 2. A circulation type document feeder having the switchback type feed route and the closed loop type feed route, wherein the document is discharged by the switchback type feed route or the closed loop type feed route. The circulating document feeder according to claim 1, further comprising control means for switching a discharge angle of the deflecting means according to conditions.