JPH09315704A - Automatic document carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To drive a discharge roller of a document discharging means by providing drive sources which are connected in transmission to either of a pair of transmission pulleys which are respectively arranged on the outer side of a moving range in the document carrying direction of a drive pulley, and rotatably supported by a fixed part, and arranged on the fixed part. SOLUTION: A transmission pulley 91 is connected in transmission to a transmission pulley 94 and a drive pulley 97 of an electric motor 96 arranged on the side of a side plate 11 as a fixed part through a timing belt 95 wound around the transmission pulley 94 which are arranged concentrically. When the electric motor 96 is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the transmission pulley 91, etc., to rotate a drive pulley 861c. A driving means of a drive roller 861 has no electric motor 96 on a document discharging means 85 including a discharge roller 86 because the electric motor 96 as a drive source is arranged on the side of a side plate 11 as a fixed part. The document discharging means 85 can be miniaturized in size ant reduced in weight.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder installed in a document processing machine such as an electrostatic copying machine, and more particularly, a set document placed on a document table is fed one by one. The present invention relates to a so-called circulation type automatic document feeder which is configured to be discharged onto the set document from the upstream side of the document table in the document transport direction after image processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a copying machine has come to use an automatic document feeder for automatically feeding a plurality of documents to a document setting position on the upper surface of a transparent plate in accordance with the speeding up and automation of the copying process. There is. The automatic document feeder feeds the set originals placed on the original table one by one, and after the fed originals are image-processed, the set originals are transferred from the upstream side in the original conveying direction of the original table. A so-called circulation type that has been put into practical use has been put into practical use. A circulating automatic document feeder is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9507/1993.
No. 7, the original document table on which the original document is placed, the feeding means for feeding the set original document placed on the original document table, and the original document fed by the feeding means are at the original document exposure position. A document transporting means for transporting the document, a document inverting means for inverting and transporting the document sent from the document transporting means, and a discharge roller for discharging the document transported by the document inverting means onto the document table. And a document discharge means. In such a circulation type automatic document feeder, the document discharging means is configured to be movable in the document transport direction in accordance with the size of the document placed on the document table.

[0003]

The automatic document feeder constructed as described above requires a drive means for driving the discharge roller arranged in the document discharge means, and serves as a drive source. An electric motor is built in the document discharging means. However, when the electric motor as the drive source is provided inside, the drive mechanism for transmitting and connecting the electric motor and the discharge roller has a simple structure, but the document discharge means itself becomes large and its weight increases, It is not always satisfactory as a movable document discharge means. Further, since the electric motor as a drive source is arranged in the movable document discharging means, there is a problem that wiring from the power source arranged in the fixed portion to the electric motor becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main technical problem is to discharge the document discharge means that is movable in the document conveying direction by disposing the drive source in the fixed portion. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder including a drive mechanism capable of driving a roller.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned technical object, a document table on which a document is placed, and a feeding means for feeding a set document placed on the document table. An original conveying means for conveying the original fed by the feeding means to an original exposure position, an original inverting means for inverting and conveying the original sent from the original conveying means, and an original inverting means for conveying the original. In an automatic document feeder having a document discharge unit having a discharge roller for discharging the formed document on the document table, the document discharge unit being configured to be movable in the document transport direction, an end of the discharge roller is provided. And a pair of transmission pulleys, which are respectively disposed outside the range of movement of the drive pulley in the original conveying direction and rotatably supported by a fixed portion, the pair of transmission pulleys, and the drive. An automatic document feeder, comprising: a timing belt wound around a pulley; and a drive source that is transmission-coupled to one of the pair of transmission pulleys and is disposed in a fixed portion. Provided.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of an automatic document feeder constructed according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an upper end portion of an electrostatic copying machine 2 and an automatic document feeder 4 mounted on the upper end portion. The electrostatic copying machine 2 has a housing 6, and a transparent plate 8 which may be a glass plate is arranged on the upper surface of the housing 6. On one side (the left side in FIG. 1) of the transparent plate 8, a document regulating member 10 that determines a document setting reference position is arranged.
An automatic document feeder 4 constructed in accordance with the present invention is mounted on the upper surface of a housing 6 of an electrostatic copying machine 2 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending along a rear side edge of a transparent plate 8. . When a document is manually placed on the transparent plate 8 of the electrostatic copying machine 2, the automatic document feeder 4 is swung upward from the closed position shown in the drawing to the open position to expose the transparent plate 8. A document is placed at a desired position on the transparent plate 8, and the automatic document feeder 4 is set to the closed position shown to cover the transparent plate 8 and the document placed on the transparent plate 8. When a document is placed on the transparent plate 8, one edge of the document is brought into contact with the leading edge of the document regulating member 10 and the one edge of the document is positioned at the document setting reference position so that the document is placed at a desired position. Can be positioned at. Transparent plate 8 using automatic document feeder 4
When the original is automatically loaded onto the transparent plate 8 and automatically loaded from the transparent plate 8, the automatic document feeder 4 is used in the closed position.

Continuing the description with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the illustrated automatic document feeder 4 includes side plates 11 arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). An original table 12 is provided as an original placing means disposed between (only the back side plate is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). The document table 12 is provided with a large first opening 14 at the front side (the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2) in the document transport direction on the back side (upper side in FIG. 2), and the first opening 14 is provided. A second opening 16 smaller than the first opening 14 is formed on the front side (on the left side in FIG. 2) in the document conveying direction on the front side of the opening 14. Further, the document table 12 has a pair of guide grooves 18, 18 extending in the width direction behind the second opening 16 in the document transport direction.
Is provided. Support leg portions of a width regulating member 20 for regulating the widthwise position of the document placed on the document table 12 are fitted into the pair of guide grooves 18, 18. The width regulating member 20 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction in FIG. 2 along the pair of guide grooves 18, 18. In the automatic document feeder 4 in the illustrated embodiment, the position reference of the document placed on the document table 12 is the back side (one side) reference, and the document is placed upright on the back side of the document table 12. The widthwise position of the document placed on the document table 12 is regulated by the inner surface of the side plate 22 and the inner surface of the width regulating member 20. A sensor hole 17 is provided on the back side of the front end of the document table 12 in the document transport direction, and a reflective first document detection sensor 21 is provided below the sensor hole 17. .
The first document detection sensor 21 detects a document placed on the document table 12 and sends a detection signal to a control unit (not shown). In addition, the second
A sensor hole 18 is provided at a position corresponding to the front side (lower side in FIG. 2) of the opening 16 of the above, and a reflective second original detection sensor 23 is provided below the sensor hole 18. There is. The second original detection sensor 23 detects the original placed on the original table 12 when the original size of the original placed on the original table 12 is larger than the second opening 16 from the inner surface of the side plate 22. Functions as a document detecting unit that detects whether or not the document is located on the second opening 16 and sends the detection signal to a control unit (not shown). The document detecting means for detecting whether or not the document placed on the document table 12 is positioned on the second opening 16 is a device for detecting the document size by the moving position of the width regulating member 20. The detection signal may be used.

A vacuum separating / feeding means 24 is disposed below the original table 12 in correspondence with the first opening 14. This vacuum separating and feeding means 24 is
Vacuum chamber 26 and the vacuum chamber 26
Of the driving roller 28 and the driven roller 30, which are arranged in parallel to each other on the front side and the rear side of the original conveying direction, the driving roller 28, the driven roller 30, and the vacuum chamber 26.
Is provided and is provided with four feeding belts 32. The vacuum chamber 26 is made of a synthetic resin, and has four openings 261 on the front side in the original conveying direction and four openings 262 on the rear side in the original conveying direction of the four openings 261 on the upper wall. ing. The vacuum chamber 26 thus configured is attached to the lower surface of the original table 12 by an appropriate supporting means (not shown) so that the upper surface thereof is substantially flush with the upper surface of the original table 12. The vacuum chamber 26 is connected to a suction blower 36 via a duct 34 connected to a hole (not shown) formed in a wall on the back side thereof. The drive roller 28 is provided so as to penetrate through support walls 263 and 264 provided so as to project from both side walls of the vacuum chamber 26 to the front side in the document transport direction, and both ends thereof project downward from the lower surface of the document table 12. Provided support wall 12
A rotary shaft 281 rotatably supported by bearings 37 and 38 on the bearings 1 and 122, the above four openings 261 on the rotary shaft 281, and four rollers 282 arranged corresponding to the document conveying direction. It consists of A roller drive gear 39 is attached to one end of the rotary shaft 281 of the drive roller 28 thus configured, and the roller drive gear 39 is transmission-coupled to a drive mechanism (not shown) and is rotationally driven in a direction indicated by an arrow. . The driven roller 30 includes a shaft 301 supported by support walls 265 and 266 provided on both side walls of the vacuum chamber 26 so as to project rearward in the document transport direction, and the shaft 3
01 includes the above-mentioned four openings 262 and four rollers 302 which are rotatably arranged in correspondence with the document conveying direction. The four feeding belts 32 have a plurality of holes 3
21 and is wound around each of the rollers 282 and 302 corresponding to the original conveying direction of the driving roller 28 and the driven roller 30. The feeding belt 32 configured as described above is arranged so that its upper surface is located slightly above the upper surface of the document table 12.

Below the original table 12, as shown in FIG. 2, the feeding drum 4 is provided corresponding to the second opening 16.
0 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the feeding drum 40 is made of synthetic resin and is provided with a plurality of holes 401 around it. One end of the feeding drum 40 is open, and the duct 42 connected to the vacuum chamber 26 is inserted from the opened one end. The duct 42 includes a suction section 421 and a connection section 422. The suction part 421 has an opening 4 as shown in FIG.
Equipped with 23. The opening 423 is formed such that only the upper side of the suction portion 421 is opened in the axial direction. This opening 42
The upper end sides of the side walls 424 and 425 of the duct 42 forming No. 3 are formed as close to the inner peripheral surface of the feeding drum 40 as possible. Therefore, each of the plurality of holes 401 formed in the feeding drum 40 faces the opening 423 of the duct 42 and communicates with the duct 42 only when positioned above. A bearing 44 is disposed between one end of the connecting portion 422 forming the duct 42 on the suction portion 421 side and one end of the feeding drum 40, and the feeding drum 40 is rotatably supported by the duct 42. ing. Between the duct 42 and the vacuum chamber 26, an opening / closing valve 46 that constitutes an opening / closing means that connects or disconnects the vacuum chamber 26 and the feeding drum 40 is provided. The open / close valve 46 includes a valve housing 461 and a butterfly valve 463 mounted on a valve shaft 462 mounted on the valve housing 461. One end of the valve housing 461 is inserted and connected into the vacuum chamber 26 through a connection hole 267 formed in the side wall of the vacuum chamber 26. A flange 464 is provided on the outer circumference of one end of the valve housing 461, and the insertion into the vacuum chamber 26 is restricted. The flange 464 is used for the vacuum chamber 26.
It is fixed to the side wall of the device by fixing means such as screws. The other end of the valve housing 461 is inserted and connected to the other end of the connecting portion 422 that forms the duct 42. A flange 465 is also provided on the outer circumference of the other end of the valve housing 461 to restrict the insertion into the duct 42. A lever 466 is mounted on the valve shaft 462 of the on-off valve 46 thus configured, and the lever 466 is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 468 (see FIG. 2) via a link mechanism. The butterfly valve 463, which is operated by the solenoid 468, is in a closed state when the solenoid 468 is deenergized and opens when the solenoid 468 is energized. The solenoid 46
8 is deenergized when the second original detection sensor 23 does not detect an original, and is activated by a control means (not shown) when the second original detection sensor 23 detects the detection of an original. Has become.

An end wall 402 is provided at the other end of the feeding drum 40.
Is provided. At the center of this end wall 402 is a boss 4.
03 is formed, and the shaft fitting hole 404 is formed in the boss 403.
And a pin fitting groove 405 are provided. Feeding drum 40
One end portion of the rotary shaft 48 is fitted into the shaft fitting hole 404 provided in the boss 403 of the end wall 402 constituting the. A pin insertion hole 481 is formed in the rotary shaft 48 so as to pass through the shaft core in a radial direction, and a pin 50 fitted in the pin insertion hole 481 is formed in the pin fitting groove formed in the boss 403. The drive force of the rotary shaft 48 is transmitted to the feeding drum 40 by being fitted with 405. A bearing 52 is arranged between one end of the rotary shaft 48 inserted into the feeding drum 40 and one end of the suction portion 421 forming the duct 42, and the other end of the duct 42 is provided at the rotary shaft 48. Is rotatably supported at one end thereof. This rotating shaft 48
Has an intermediate portion rotatably supported by a support wall 123 provided so as to project downward from the lower surface of the original table 12 via a bearing 54, and has the other end rotatably supported by the support wall 121 by a bearing 58. Is supported by. Rotating shaft 4
A feed drum drive gear 59 is loosely fitted to the other end portion of 8, and an electromagnetic clutch 56 for transmitting and coupling the feed drum drive gear 59 to the rotary shaft 48 is provided. Therefore, when the electromagnetic clutch 56 is deenergized, the rotating shaft 48 and the feed drum drive gear 59 can rotate relative to each other, and when the electromagnetic clutch 56 is energized, the rotating shaft 4 can rotate.
8 and the feed drum drive gear 59 are transmission-coupled. The feeding drum drive gear 59 is an intermediate gear 6 as shown in FIG.
It is transmission-coupled to the roller drive gear 39 via 1. The roller drive gear 39 to the feeding drum 40
The number of teeth of the intermediate gear 61 as a drive means for transmitting power to the drive shaft 48 of the drive drum 48 and the number of teeth of the feed drum drive gear 59 are the moving speed of the feed belt 32 operated by the drive roller 28 of the vacuum separation feed means 24. And feeding drum 40
Is set to be substantially the same as the peripheral speed of. The electromagnetic clutch 56 is deenergized when the second document detection sensor 23 does not detect a document, and
When the document detection sensor 23 detects the detection of the document, it is energized by a control means (not shown).

The vacuum separating / feeding means 24 is provided with a separating air jetting means 62 called an air knife arranged above the front end of the original table 12 in the original conveying direction. The separated air ejecting means 62 supplies air to the air chamber 621, a nozzle 622 that ejects the air in the air chamber 621 toward the front end portion of the document set on the document table 12, and the air chamber 621. It has a blower 623 and a servomotor 624 for driving the blower 623.
In the illustrated embodiment, the servo motor 624 has its rotation speed adjusted by a control unit (not shown) based on a detection signal from a document stack amount detection unit, which will be described later, that is, the stack amount of the set document placed on the document table 12. It is supposed to be done. That is, the rotation speed of the servo motor 624 is high when the stacking amount of the set document is large, and the rotation speed of the servo motor 624 is small when the stacking amount of the set document is small. Therefore, the blower 623 driven by the servomotor 624 has its rotation speed adjusted in accordance with the stacking amount of the originals, that is, the weight of the originals set on the original table 12, and thus the air ejection amount ejected from the nozzle 622. Is adjusted according to the weight of the original on the original table 12. When the air is ejected from the nozzle 622 of the separation air ejecting means 62 configured as described above, the air is blown between the respective originals placed on the original table 12 to perform a so-called separation action for separating the respective originals. Be seen.

A set original document stopper 63 is provided above the front end of the vacuum separating / feeding means 24 in the original document conveying direction, and a discharge original document stopper 64 is provided upstream of the set original document stopper 63 in the original document conveying direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the set original document stopper 63 and the discharged original document stopper 64 are spaced from each other in the width direction of the original table 12 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, and the horizontal direction in FIG. 7). There are three of each. These set original document stopper 63 and ejected original document stopper 64
Are movably supported in the vertical direction by support means 66 and 67 attached to the upper wall 65 made of synthetic resin attached to the upper ends of the side plates 11. The set document stopper 63 is made of a metal plate such as stainless steel, and has an elongated hole 631 in the middle thereof.
The upper end portion is bent to form an actuated portion 632. On the other hand, the supporting means 66 for supporting the set original document stopper 63 is a mounting boss 661 integrally formed by projecting downward on the upper wall 65 made of the synthetic resin, and the boss 66.
1 is provided with a support plate 663 made of a metal plate attached by screws 662. This support plate 663
Has a hole 664 at its center, and its lower end has guide portions 665, 6 with both sides bent at substantially right angles.
65 is formed. The set original document stopper 63 is supported by the support plate 663 configured as described above so as to be vertically movable. That is, the set document stopper 63
Is disposed between the guide portions 665 and 665 of the support plate 663, and the bolt 666 is inserted into the hole 664 provided in the support plate 663 and the long hole 631 provided in the set document stopper 63, and the nut 667 is attached to the bolt 666. Screw together. The set document stopper 63 supported by the support means 66 in this manner has its lower end abutted against the upper surface of the document table 12 (see FIG. 5) and its lower end retracted upward from the upper surface of the document table 12 by several mm. It is configured to be movable between the retracted position (see FIGS. 1 and 6).

The ejected document stopper 64 is made of synthetic resin in the illustrated embodiment, has an elongated hole 641 in the middle thereof, and actuated projections 642, 642 on both sides of the upper end thereof. Is equipped with. on the other hand,
The supporting means 67 for supporting the discharged document stopper 64 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a support member 671 integrally formed by projecting downward on the upper wall 65 made of the synthetic resin, and a guide member 67.
3 and 673. The support member 671 is provided with a guide protrusion 672 at the center of its lower end. The guide members 673 and 673 are respectively arranged at a predetermined distance (a distance slightly larger than the thickness of the discharged document stopper 64) from the support member 671 and at positions facing both side portions of the support member 671. . The support member 671 and the guide members 673 and 673 of the support means 67 configured as described above.
The ejected document stopper 64 is inserted between the ejected document stopper 64 and the supporting member 671 in the long hole 641 provided in the ejected document stopper 64.
The ejected document stopper 64 is supported by the support means 67 so as to be vertically movable by fitting the guide protrusion 672 provided on the. The ejected document stopper 64 supported by the support means 67 in this manner is in a regulation position where it comes into contact with the set document placed on the document table 12 (see FIGS. 1 and 6).
And a retracted position for retracting above the document table 12 (see FIG.
(See) and is configured to be movable between. The ejected document stopper 64 is positioned at a regulation position where it comes into contact with a set document placed on the document table 12,
When the set originals are fed and the set originals on the original table 12 decrease, the operation of the elongated holes 641 causes the originals to drop by its own weight following the decrease of the originals. Therefore, the discharged document stopper 64 also functions as a means for preventing the set document from floating. Further, since the three discharged document stoppers 64 are independently supported by the respective three supporting means 67, even when the set document is lifted, the respective discharged document stoppers 64 are always in contact with the lifted document. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the discharged document from slipping under the discharged document stopper 64.

Next, the stopper operating means 68 for positioning the set original document stopper 63 and the discharged original document stopper 64 at predetermined positions will be described with reference to FIG.
The stopper operating means 68 is an operating mechanism 680 and one solenoid 6 as a driving means for driving the operating mechanism 680.
84 are provided. The operating mechanism 680 that constitutes the stopper operating means 68 is provided downstream of the set original stopper 63 in the original conveying direction, and includes an operating shaft 681 that is rotatably supported by both side plates 11. This operating shaft 681
3 at the position corresponding to the set original document stopper 63.
A plurality of operating cams 682 are mounted, and three operating levers 683 are mounted at positions corresponding to the discharged document stopper 64. The three actuating cams 682 are arranged in contact with the lower surfaces of the actuated portions 632 of the three set original document stoppers 63, and are rotated by the rotation of the operating shaft 681 to move the set original document stoppers 63 to the stop position. And move to the retracted position. The three actuating levers 683 are
It is made of a metal plate such as stainless steel, and two operating pieces 683a, 683a are formed at one end of the plate, and the other end is provided with a screw 683 on the operating shaft 681.
b, 683b. Two operating pieces 683a, 683a provided on the operating lever 683
Has a space slightly larger than the width of the discharge original stopper 64, and positions the discharge original stopper 64 between both operating pieces to engage with the actuated projections 642 and 642 provided on the discharge original stopper 64. It is like this. Therefore, the operating lever 683 is rotated by the rotation of the operating shaft 681 to move the discharged document stopper 64 to the regulating position and the retracted position. One solenoid 684 as a driving unit that constitutes the stopper actuating unit 68 is
The plunger 684a is connected by a pin 686 to a lever 685 attached to the end portion of the operating shaft 681 on the inner side to rotate the operating shaft 681 by a predetermined angle. A lever 685 mounted on the operating shaft 681 has a return spring 687 whose one end is locked to a fixed portion such as a side plate.
The other end of the return spring 68 is locked.
By the action of 7, the operating shaft 681 is moved to the arrow 681 in FIG.
It is urged to rotate in the direction indicated by A. Therefore, the operating shaft 681, the operating cam 682 mounted on the operating shaft 681, and the operating lever 683 are positioned in the state of FIG. 5 when the solenoid 684 is deenergized. That is, the base circle of the operating cam 682 abuts the lower surface of the operated portion 632 of the set original stopper 63, the set original stopper 63 is positioned at the stop position, and the operating lever 683 rotates upward to eject the original stopper 64. Is located at the retracted position. When the solenoid 684 is urged from the state of FIG. 5, the actuating shaft 681 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 681B in FIG. 9 via the plunger 684a and the lever 685, so that the actuating shaft 681 mounted on the actuating shaft 681 is actuated. The cam 682 and the operating lever 683 are positioned in the states shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. That is, the cam portion of the operation cam 682 positions the set original document stopper 63 at the retracted position, and the operation lever 68
3 rotates downward and the ejected document stopper 64 is positioned at the regulation position. In this way, the stopper operating means 68 for operating the set original document stopper and the ejected original document stopper
Since it is composed of one solenoid 684 and the operating mechanism 680, it can be manufactured at a low cost, and the operating mechanism 680 includes the operating shaft 681 and the operating cam 682.
Since it is configured in combination with the operating lever 683, the structure is compact and the document table 12 can be easily placed above.

The illustrated automatic document feeder 4 is equipped with a document stacking amount detecting means 69 for detecting the stacking amount of set documents placed on the document table 12. The document stacking amount detecting means 69 includes a detecting member 691 and two detectors 692, 69.
2 is provided. The detection member 691 is made of a synthetic resin, and the detection unit 691 is formed on the front side of the document table 12 and is placed on the set original document on the original document table 12 at an intermediate portion thereof.
A is provided, and at one end thereof, a shield portion 691b that is formed so as to project to the back side and shields the light of the detector 692 is provided. In addition, an actuated projection 691c is provided in the middle of the detection member 691 so as to project inward and engage with an actuating lever described later. The detection member 691 configured as described above is rotatably supported at the other end by a short shaft 693 fixed to a side plate on the back side. In the illustrated embodiment, the detecting portion 691a of the detecting member 691 is configured to be positioned between the set original document stopper 63 and the ejected original document stopper 64 in a state of being placed on the set original document. There is. Therefore, the document returned onto the set document after the set document is fed does not come into contact with the detection portion 691a of the detection member 691. 2 above
Each of the detectors 692 and 692 includes a light emitting element 692a and a light receiving element 692b, as shown in FIGS.
And are arranged above and below and are attached to, for example, the side plate on the back side. By these two detectors 692 and 692 and the shielding portion 691b of the detecting member 691 which moves between the two elements, the height position of the detecting portion 691a, that is, the stacking amount of the set original can be detected in four steps. That is, the detectors 692 and 6 having a large stacking amount of set originals and two shields 691b are provided.
A first state located above 92, a second state in which the shield portion 691b shields only the upper detector 692, and a third state in which the shield portion 691b shields the two detectors 692 and 692. Then, the fourth state in which the shielding unit 691b shields only the lower detector 692 can be detected. Also,
The stopper operating means 68 is an original stacking amount detecting means 69.
The operating lever 694 that engages with the actuated projection 691c of the detecting member 691 and that moves the detecting portion 691a of the detecting member 691 to the detecting position and the retracted position is provided.
The actuating lever 694 is mounted on the actuating shaft 681 of the stopper actuating means 68, and the tip end portion thereof is engaged with the actuated projection 691c of the detecting member 691. That is, when the solenoid 684 is deenergized, the actuating lever 694 rotates the detection member 691 upward to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 5, and the electromagnetic solenoid 684 is energized from the state of FIG. Then, the operating lever 694
Is rotated downward, the detection member 691 is rotated downward by its own weight, and the detection portion 691a is positioned at the detection position where it abuts against the set original.

Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 1, a pair of paper feed rollers 70 is provided on the downstream side of the original table 12 in the original conveying direction.
Are arranged. The paper feed roller pair 70 includes a drive roller 701 and a driven roller 702, and the drive roller 701 is rotationally driven in the direction indicated by an arrow by a drive mechanism (not shown). On the downstream side of the paper feed roller pair 70, an original carry-in path 72 for guiding the original fed by the paper feed roller pair 70 onto the transparent plate 8 is provided. A pair of registration rollers 74 is arranged in the original carry-in path 72. The registration roller pair 74 includes a driving roller 741 and a driven roller 742, and the driving roller 741 is rotationally driven in a direction indicated by an arrow by a driving mechanism (not shown).

A conveyor belt mechanism 7 is provided above the transparent plate 8.
6 are provided. The transport belt mechanism 76, which constitutes the document transport means, includes a drive roller 761 and a driven roller 762, which are arranged at intervals in the transport direction of the transparent plate 8, and an endless belt wound around the drive roller 761 and the driven roller 762. Belt 763, driving roller 761 and driven roller 7
62 and rolling rollers 764a, 764
b, 764c, 764d, 764e. The lower running portion of the endless belt 763 extends along the transparent plate 8 of the electrostatic copying machine 2, and a document transport path 78 is defined between the two. In the transport belt mechanism 76 thus configured, the drive roller 761 is rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A document reversing means 80 is arranged on the right side of the document conveying path 78 in FIG. This document reversing means 8
0 has a reverse conveyance path 81 and a pair of conveyance rollers 82 and 83 arranged in the reverse conveyance path 81. The reverse conveyance path 81 is provided at the carry-in port 8 facing the document conveyance path 78.
11 to the exit 812 are curved and formed by a smooth curve, and the exit 812 is the original table 1 described above.
It is located a predetermined amount above 2. The conveying roller pairs 82 and 83 are drive rollers 821 and 8 respectively.
31 and driven rollers 822 and 822, and these drive rollers 821 and 831 are rotationally driven in the direction indicated by the arrow by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A document discharging unit 85 is arranged downstream of the document reversing unit 80. Hereinafter, the document discharge means 85
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 17. The document discharge means 85 includes a discharge roller pair 86 and the discharge roller pair 8
6, a drive roller supporting means 87 for supporting the drive roller 861 constituting the No. 6, a document guide member 88 provided above the drive roller supporting means 87, and a cover member provided above the document guide member 88. Equipped with 89. The discharge roller pair 86 is configured such that the nip portion thereof is located at substantially the same height position as the carry-out port 812 of the reverse conveyance path 81. Drive roller 861 forming the discharge roller pair 86
Is composed of a rotary shaft 861a and a plurality of rollers 861b mounted on the rotary shaft 861a, and is rotatably supported by the drive roller supporting means 87.
The rear end of the rotary shaft 861a that constitutes the drive roller 861 is formed so as to project from the drive roller supporting means 87, and the drive pulley 861c is mounted on the projecting portion (see FIG. 11).

The drive roller supporting means 87 is provided with a supporting member 870 having a substantially rectangular cross section made of two thin steel plates in the illustrated embodiment. Support member 8
The upper portion 70 is configured so as to function as a guide portion 870a for the document to be discharged. A plurality of openings 870b are formed at the downstream end of the guide portion 870a in the drive roller supporting means 87, and the rollers 861b constituting the drive roller 861 are formed through the openings 870b.
Is arranged so that the outer peripheral surface of the is projected from the upper surface of the guide plate 870a. At both ends of the drive roller supporting means 87, as shown in FIG.
Brackets 871 and 871 each having an L-shaped cross section are attached as shown in FIG. This bracket 871, 871
Two support rollers 872 and 872 are attached to each of the support rollers 872 and 872.
1, horizontal support rails 111, 111
It is configured to be placed on (only one of the back sides is shown in FIG. 11). Therefore, the drive roller support means 87 can move in the document transport direction along the support rails 111, 111. As shown in FIG. 11, tension brackets 873 and 874 are mounted on both sides of the drive pulley 861c mounted on the rear end of the rotary shaft 861a constituting the drive roller 861 on the rear bracket 871. Has been done. Further, a connecting member 875 is attached to the bracket 871 on the front side as shown in FIG. The function of the connecting member 875 will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the original guide member 88 is a box-shaped main body member 880 made of synthetic resin and a thin steel plate attached to the lower surface of the main body member 880 by an appropriate fixing means. It is provided with a guide member 881 that is bent and formed. The main body member 880 includes a main body portion 880a, a grip portion 880b provided at the front end of the main body portion 880a in the original conveyance direction, and a rear side portion 880c provided at the rear end of the main body portion 880a in the original conveyance direction. There is. The front side portion 880b of the body member 880 is the body portion 8
It is formed to project upward and downward from 80a,
A rod insertion hole 880d is formed at the lower rear end. In addition, the rear side portion 880c of the main body member 880 is
It is formed so as to project downward from 80a, and a rod insertion hole 880e is formed at the rear end portion thereof. The lower surface of the guide member 881 constitutes an upper guide portion 881a that forms a substantially horizontal document conveyance path from the downstream end of the reverse conveyance path 81 to the discharge roller pair 86 arranged in the document discharge section. . As shown in FIG. 11, connecting pins 883, 883 are attached to both ends of the guide member 881, respectively.
The connecting pins 883 and 883 are configured to fit into the fitting grooves 871a and 871a formed in the brackets 871 and 871 that form the drive roller supporting means 87. Therefore, the connecting pins 883 and 883 are fitted into the fitting groove 871.
a, 871a by fitting the document guide member 88
Can integrally move the drive roller support means 87 along the support rails 111, 111 in the document conveying direction. The guide member 8 that constitutes the document guide member 88
81, a plurality of driven rollers 862 forming the discharge roller pair 86 are arranged so as to face the plurality of rollers 861b forming the driving roller 861. The driven roller 862 has a rotating shaft 862a rotatably supported by a support bracket 884, and the support bracket 884 is a spring steel whose one end is fixed by a screw 886 to a mounting member 885 fixed to the guide member 881. Is mounted on a roller support plate 887. Therefore, when the document guide member 88 is connected to the driving roller supporting means 87 as described above, the driven roller 862 is brought into pressure contact with the roller 861b forming the driving roller 861 by the spring force of the roller supporting plate 887. . The roller support plate 887 is arranged so as to pass through an opening 881b formed at the front end of the guide member 881.

The cover member 89 has a front end portion bent downward and provided with a locking portion 891 at the tip thereof. The locking portion 891 guides the document guide member 88. It is adapted to engage with the front lower surface of the member 881. In addition, a hole 892 for inserting a hand is provided in the front bent portion of the cover member 89. As shown in FIG. 11, brackets 892 and 893 are provided at the rear end of the cover member 89, and rod insertion holes 892 are provided in the brackets 892 and 893.
a and 893a are formed respectively. This bracket 8
Rod insertion holes 892a, 89 formed in 92, 893
3a and a grip portion 88 that constitutes the document guide member 88
0b and the rod insertion hole 8 formed in the rear side portion 880c.
The support guide rod 893 is inserted through 80d and 880e. The support guide rod 893 is provided on the inner side plate 1 on the back side.
It is inserted and fixed in rod insertion holes 112a and 113a formed in brackets 112 and 113 provided in No. 1. When the support guide rod 893 is inserted and assembled, the bracket 892 provided on the cover member 89 on the front side in the original document conveying direction is positioned rearward in the original document conveying direction with respect to the front side portion 880b forming the original document guiding member 88. The bracket 893 on the rear side in the conveying direction is the original guide member 88.
Is positioned on the rear side in the document conveying direction with respect to the rear side portion 880c. Therefore, from the state shown in FIG. 10, if the upper end of the grip portion 880b forming the document guide member 88 is held and pushed to the left, the document guide member 88 and the drive roller support means 87 are guided by the support guide rod 893 and are supported by the support guide rod 893. Rail 1
It is possible to move to the left along 11, 111. When the cover member 89 is lifted upward by inserting a hand into the hole 892 formed in the front bent portion of the cover member 89 from the state shown in FIG. 10, the cover member 89 rotates upward with the support guide rod 893 as the center. Can move. By the rotation of the cover member 89, the locking portion 891 provided at the front end of the cover member 89 engages with the front lower surface of the guide plate 881 constituting the document guide member 88, and the document guide member 88. Is also rotated upward around the support guide rod 893. In this way, by rotating the cover member 89 and the document guide member 88 upward about the support guide rod 893, the document discharge portion can be opened. Therefore, when a jam occurs in the document discharge portion. Can easily remove jammed documents.

Next, the drive means of the drive roller 861 forming the discharge roller pair 86 rotatably supported by the drive roller support means 87 will be described with reference to FIG. A drive pulley 861 mounted on the drive roller 861 is provided on the outer side of the side plate 11 on the back side which is a fixed portion.
A pair of transmission pulleys 91 and 92 are arranged outside the moving range of c in the transport direction. This transmission pulley 91 and 92
The endless timing belt 93 is wound around the drive pulley 861c mounted on the rotary shaft 861a of the drive roller 861. The tension pulleys 873 and 874 disposed on both sides of the drive pulley 861c are not shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the timing belt 93 is pressed. The transmission pulley 91 is arranged laterally of the side plate 11 as a fixed portion via a transmission pulley 94 arranged coaxially with the transmission pulley 91 and a timing belt 95 wound around the transmission pulley 94. And a drive pulley 97 of the electric motor 96. Therefore, when the electric motor 96 is driven, its driving force is transmitted to the drive pulley 97 timing belt 95, the transmission pulley 94, the transmission pulley 91, the timing belt 93 and the transmission pulley 92, and the timing belt 93 is indicated by an arrow in FIG. The drive pulley 861c, which is operated in the direction shown, and mounted on the rotary shaft 861a of the drive roller 861 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow. When the electric motor 96 is stopped and a force is applied to move the drive roller support means 87 in the transport direction, the drive pulley 861c and the tension pulleys 873 and 874 move along the timing belt 93 while rotating. Drive roller support means 8
7 can be moved in the document conveying direction from the position shown in FIG. 10 to the range shown in FIG. As described above, in the driving unit of the driving roller 861 in the illustrated embodiment, the electric motor 96 as the driving source is arranged on the side of the side plate 11 as the fixing unit, and the document discharging unit 85 including the discharging roller pair 86. Since the electric motor 96 is not provided, the size of the document discharging unit 85 can be made small and lightweight. Further, since the electric motor 96 as a drive source does not move even if the drive roller supporting means 87 that supports the drive roller 861 of the discharge roller pair 86 is moved in the transport direction, the wiring from the power source to the electric motor 96 becomes simple. . Further, since the electric motor 96 serving as a drive source is disposed on the side of the side plate 11 serving as a fixed portion, the electric motor 96 serves as another device, for example, the pair of conveying rollers 82 and 8 of the document reversing means 80.
It can also be used as the drive source of the No. 3 drive.

In the illustrated embodiment, the drive roller supporting means 87 is moved in the conveying direction as shown in FIG.
And as shown in FIG. 11, the document guide means 9 is provided in the document discharge portion.
00 is provided. The document guide unit 900 includes a guide sheet 901 made of a flexible member such as a resin film, and a guide roller 902 for guiding the movement of the guide sheet 901.
A take-up roller 903 for appropriately taking up or feeding the guide sheet 901, and a take-up roller actuating means 904 for rotating the take-up roller 903 in response to the movement of the drive roller supporting means 87 in the conveying direction. It has. The guide sheet 901 has substantially the same size as the width direction of the document conveying path, and one end thereof is fixed to the upper surface of the guide portion 870a of the supporting member 870 constituting the driving roller supporting means 87 with an adhesive or the like. The other end is attached to the winding pulley 903. The guide roller 902 has a length dimension substantially the same as the width direction dimension of the guide sheet 901, and its rotation shaft 902a is rotatably supported by the side plates 11 and 11 as fixed portions. The take-up roller 903 also has substantially the same length dimension as the guide roller 902, and its rotation shaft 903a is rotatably supported by the side plates 11 and 11 as fixed parts.

The winding roller operating means 904 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary shaft 903 of the winding roller 903.
A roller drive pulley 905 having the same diameter as the take-up roller 903 mounted on the front end of a, and a side plate 11 disposed on the downstream side of the roller drive pulley 905 on the downstream side in the document transport direction and rotatably supported. The transmission pulley 906, the roller drive pulley 905, and the timing belt 907 wound around the transmission pulley 906. The timing belt 907 includes the drive roller support means 87.
The connecting member 875 attached to the bracket 871 attached to the front end of the is fixed by an appropriate fixing means. The roller driving pulley 905 and the transmission pulley 906 are arranged at a distance larger than the maximum moving length of the winding roller operating means 904. Since the take-up roller operating means 904 is configured as described above, when the drive roller supporting means 87 is moved to the downstream side in the document conveying direction, the timing belt 907 is also moved by the same amount as the moving amount. Therefore, the take-up roller 903 rotates corresponding to the amount of movement, and the guide sheet 901 is sent out by an amount corresponding to the amount of movement of the drive roller supporting means 87. On the other hand, when the drive roller supporting means 87 is moved to the upstream side in the document conveying direction, the timing belt 907 is also moved by the same amount as the moving amount, and the take-up roller 903 is rotated corresponding to the moving amount. The guide sheet 901 is wound up by an amount corresponding to the moving amount of the drive roller supporting means 87. In this way, the guide member 881 and the guide sheet 901 provide substantially horizontal space between the drive roller support means 87 and the downstream end of the reversing conveyance path 81 generated by the movement of the drive roller support means 87 in the conveyance direction. And a guide sheet 901 forms a lower guide portion thereof.

Below the drive roller support means 87, there is arranged an extruding plate 910 which is movable in the original conveying direction, that is, in the left-right direction in FIG. Hereinafter, the push-out plate 910 and the push-out plate driving means 930 for operating the push-out plate 910 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17. The push-out plate 910 is made of a steel plate and has substantially the same width direction length as the drive roller supporting means 87. The height of the push-out plate 910 is larger than the maximum stacking height of originals, and
The height from the upper surface of the push-out plate 910 to the nip position of the discharge roller pair 86 is also configured to be larger than the maximum stacking height of documents. At the center of the push plate 910, two connecting pieces 911 and 911 that are bent and formed on the back side are provided. The operating plate 912 is attached to the connecting pieces 911 and 911.
Are attached by screws 913 and 913. On the operating plate 912, the pin fitting groove 9 formed long in the width direction is formed.
12a is provided. In addition, supported portions 912b and 912b are provided on both sides of the operating plate 912, and the supported portions 912b and 912b are attached to a supporting member 870 that constitutes the driving roller supporting means 87. , 920 on the support portions 920a, 920a. The guide support members 920 and 920 are provided with guide grooves 920b and 920b, and the supported portions 912b and 912b are provided in the guide grooves 920b and 920b.
Both ends of the are fitted and are movable while being guided in the carrying direction.

The push-out plate driving means 930 is provided with an electric motor 931 as a driving source which is arranged on the inner side of the supporting member 870 which constitutes the driving roller supporting means 87. The electric motor 931 is attached to the bracket 932 attached to the support member 870. A worm 933 is attached to the drive shaft 931a of the electric motor 931 and the worm 933 meshes with the worm gear 934. The worm gear 934 is vertically integrated with the transmission gear 935.
34 and the transmission gear 935 are attached to the support member 870 and rotatably attached to the support shaft 936. The transmission gear 935 is vertically integrated with the drive pulley 937 and meshes with the transmission gear 938. Drive pulley 93
7 and the transmission gear 938 are rotatably mounted on a support shaft 939 attached to a support plate 940 fixed to the support member 870. A driven pulley 941 is arranged on the front side of the supporting member 870 which constitutes the driving roller supporting means 87. The driven pulley 941 is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 942 attached to a support member 870 and a support plate 940. Driven pulley 941
A detection plate 943 for detecting the rotational position of the driven pulley 941, that is, the operating position of the pushing plate 910 is integrally provided at the lower end of the. A notch 943a is formed on a part of the outer circumference of the detection board 943. The first and second detectors 944 and 9 are provided so as to face the outer peripheral portion of the detection board 943.
45 is arranged with a phase angle of 180 degrees. First
The second detectors 944 and 945 are known optical detectors each including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Supporting member 8 constituting the driving roller supporting means 87
First and second pin actuating pulleys 946 and 947 are arranged in the central portion of the support plate 940 fixed to 70. The first and second pin actuating pulleys 946 and 947 are rotatably mounted on support shafts 948 and 949 mounted on the support plate 940. Operating pins 950 and 951 are mounted on the first and second pin operating pulleys 946 and 947, respectively. The operating pins 950 and 951 are fitted in the pin fitting groove 912a formed in the operating plate 912. It A tension pulley 952 is arranged between the first pin operating pulley 946 and the second pin operating pulley 947. The tension pulley 952 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 953 attached to the support plate 940. A timing belt 954 is wound around the drive pulley 937, the driven pulley 941, the first and second pin actuating pulleys 946 and 947. The tension pulley 952 is configured to press the timing belt 954 between the first pin operating pulley 946 and the second pin operating pulley 947. The drive pulley 937, the driven pulley 941, and the first and second pin operating pulleys 946 and 947 have the same diameter in the illustrated embodiment.

When the electric motor 931 is rotationally driven from the state shown by the solid line in FIGS. 15 and 16, the pushing plate driving means 930 configured as described above has a driving force of the worm 933, the worm gear 934, and the transmission gear. 93
5, transmitted to the drive pulley 937 via the transmission gear 938, and the drive pulley 937 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. When the drive pulley 937 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 16, the timing belt 9
54 operates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 16, and the driven pulley 941, the first and second pin operating pulleys 946 and 947 rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Therefore, the first and second pin actuating pulleys 946
And actuating pins 950 and 951 mounted on 947
By this action, the operating plate 912 is pushed out to the downstream side in the document conveying direction, and thus the pushing plate 910 mounted with the operating plate 912 is operated to the downstream side in the document conveying direction. The first and second pin actuating pulleys 946 and 94
When 7 rotates 180 degrees from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 16, the pushing plate 910 is positioned at the pushing position shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure. At this time, the electric motor 931 is stopped based on the detection signal from the first detector 944. That is, in the state shown in FIG. 16, the first and second detectors 944 and 945 are both shielded by the detection board 943 and turned off.
Is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow from the state shown in FIG. 16,
Since the first detector 944 is turned on once because the cutout portion 943a passes and rotated by 180 degrees, the end portion that blocks the second detector 945 in FIG. 16 will not move the first detector 944 as shown in FIG. Since it is shielded and turned off, the control means (not shown) stops the electric motor 931 based on the signal that the first detector 944 turns on and then turns off.

When the pushing plate 910 is returned from the state shown by the chain double-dashed line to the position shown by the solid line in the figure, it operates as follows. That is, when the electric motor 931 is rotationally driven, the first and second pin operating pulleys 946 are operated as described above.
16 and 947 are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 16, and the operation plate 912 is moved to the upstream side in the document conveyance direction by the operation of the operation pins 950 and 951 mounted on the first and second pin operation pulleys 946 and 947. Pushed back. Therefore, the push-out plate 9 equipped with the operating plate 912 is
10 is operated downstream in the document conveying direction. The first and second pin actuating pulleys 946 and 94
When 7 rotates 180 degrees, the pushing plate 910 is positioned at the position shown by the solid line in the figure. At this time, the electric motor 9 is detected based on the detection signal from the second detector 944.
31 is stopped. That is, in the state shown in FIG. 17, the first and second detectors 944 and 945 are both shielded by the detection board 943 and turned off, and the detection board 943 moves from the state shown in FIG. 17 in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the second detector 945 rotates, the second detector 945 passes through the notch 943a and is turned ON once, and when rotated 180 degrees, the end portion blocking the first detector 944 in FIG. 17 is the second detector as shown in FIG. Since the device 945 is blocked and turned off, the control means (not shown) stops the electric motor 931 based on the signal that the second detector 945 is turned on and then turned off.
The amount of movement of the pushing plate 910, which is operated as described above, in the transport direction is set to an amount corresponding to the distance between the set original document stopper 63 and the discharged original document stopper 64.

The automatic document feeder according to the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below. First, the case of using a document having a small width dimension such as A4 or B5 size will be described. When setting a document on the document table 12, the electromagnetic solenoid 684 of the stopper operating means 68 is deenergized. Therefore, the set original document stopper 63 and the ejected original document stopper 6
4 is the state shown in FIG. 5, that is, the set original document stopper 63 is positioned at the stop position, and the discharged original document stopper 64 is shown.
Is located at the retracted position. Further, the detection member 691 of the document stack amount detection means 69 is also positioned at the retracted position. In this state, the original is brought into contact with the set original stopper 63 whose front end is in the stop position and placed on the original table 12, and the width regulating member 20 is moved upward in FIG. 2 to regulate the inner surface of the side plate 22 and the width. The position of the document in the width direction is regulated by the inner surface of the member 20. Next, the document guide member 8
1 and 10, the drive roller supporting means 87 is moved downstream from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 to a position corresponding to the size of the original placed on the original table 12 in the original conveying direction. In addition, on the upper surface of the document table 12,
The positioning position of the push-out plate 910 mounted on the drive roller supporting means 87 is designated corresponding to each document size. The position of the push-out plate 910 corresponds to the rear end position of the document when the document is discharged to the document table 12 with the discharged document stopper 64 positioned at the regulation position. When a document having a small width dimension is set on the document table 12 as described above, the position of the front edge of the document, that is, the lower edge in FIG. 2, does not reach the second opening 16. . In this way, the manuscript table 1
When a document is set on the first document detection sensor 2
1 detects that a document is set on the document table 12, and sends a detection signal to the control means (not shown). In this state, when a copy start switch (not shown) is turned on, the push plate driving means 9 is operated by the control means (not shown).
The electric motor 931 of 30 is rotationally driven, and the pushing plate 9
10 is positioned at the extruded position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIGS. Therefore, the front end of the document placed on the document table 12 has the set document stopper 6
It is pushed out to the set position where it abuts 3. In this way, when the document placed on the document table 12 is moved to the set position, the solenoid 684 of the stopper operating means 68 is urged by the control means (not shown) to set the set document stopper 63 and the discharged document. Stopper 6
4 is the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, that is, the set original document stopper 63 is positioned at the retracted position, and the discharged original stopper 64 is positioned at the regulation position. Further, the detection member 691 of the document stacking amount detection means 69 is positioned at the detection position. Then, the copying operation is started by the control means (not shown), the suction blower 36 is driven, and the air in the vacuum chamber 26 is sucked. Therefore, the lowest document among the documents placed on the document table 12 is attracted to the feeding belt 32 of the vacuum separating and feeding means 24. At this time, the servo motor 624 of the separated air ejection means 62 is driven to operate the blower 623, and air is ejected from the nozzle 622 toward the front end placed on the original table 20, so that the original table 20 is placed. Air is blown between the formed originals, and the originals are separated and the lowest original is separated and adsorbed to the feeding belt 32. At this time, since the rear end of the original placed on the original table 20 is in contact with the push-out plate 910 positioned at the push-out position, the original is ejected by the air ejected from the nozzle 622 of the separation air ejecting means 62. It will not be skipped. On the other hand, when the copy start switch is turned on, the drive roller 28 is rotationally driven by the drive mechanism (not shown) via the roller drive gear 39 in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the drive roller 28 rotates, the feeding belt 32 is actuated in the direction indicated by the arrow, and thus the lowest document adsorbed on the feeding belt 32 as described above is fed to the downstream side in the conveying direction. . When the original having a small width is used, the second original detecting sensor 23 does not detect the original, and therefore the solenoid 468 is deenergized, so that the open / close valve 46 is closed and the vacuum chamber is closed. The communication between 26 and the feeding drum 40 is cut off. If the second document detection sensor 23 does not detect a document, the electromagnetic clutch 56 is also deenergized, so that the feeding drum 40 is also stopped.

The document fed by the vacuum separating and feeding means 24 as described above is conveyed to the document carry-in path 72 by the paper feed roller pair 70, and the front end of the registration roller pair 74 in the inoperative state. The sheet is brought into contact with the nip portion, and the primary sheet feeding is completed. Next, the document which is fed to the nip portion by the operation of the registration roller pair 74 is transported toward a document transport path 78 extending along the transparent plate 8 of the electrostatic copying machine 2, and further, The transparent belt 8 is transported from the left side to the right side in FIG.
The sheet is positioned at a predetermined position and the secondary sheet feeding is completed. The exposure operation is executed in this state.

As described above, when the original is exposed on the transparent plate 8 and the exposure operation of the original is completed, the conveyor belt mechanism 76 is operated and the original on the transparent plate 8 is fed to the reverse conveying path 81 of the original inverting means 80. Transport it to. The document conveyed to the reverse conveyance path 81 is conveyed toward the discharge roller pair 86 by the conveyance roller pairs 82 and 83, and the discharge roller pair 86.
From the original document table 12 is carried onto a set original document placed on the original document table 12. It should be noted that the original conveyed by the conveying roller pair 83 toward the discharge roller pair 86 has a guide portion 881a of the guide member 881 forming the original guide member 88 on the upper side.
And the lower side is guided by the guide sheet 901 of the document guide means 900. As described above, the front end of the original that has been conveyed onto the set original placed on the original table 12 contacts the discharged original stopper 64 and is distinguished from the original that was initially set. Further, the rear end of the document discharged onto the document table 12 is positioned at the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
Supported above. As described above, the original table 12
When all the set originals placed on the original are fed and returned to the original table 12 after the exposure operation, the electromagnetic solenoid 684 of the stopper operating means 68 is deenergized by the control means (not shown) to set the original set stopper 63. The discharged document stopper 64 and the detection member 691 of the document stacking amount detection means 69 are in the state shown in FIG.
Is positioned at the stop position, the discharged document stopper 64 is positioned at the retracted position, and the detection member 691 of the document stack amount detecting means 69 is positioned at the retracted position. On the other hand, the electric motor 931 of the push-out plate driving means 930 is rotationally driven by the control means (not shown),
Push plate 910 is positioned in the retracted position shown in solid lines in FIGS. By moving the pushing plate 910 to the retracted position shown by the solid line, the original table 12 is moved.
The trailing edge of the original document discharged to the upper side and supported on the pushing plate 910 is dropped onto the original table 12.
When the original discharged on the original table 12 is copied again, the pushing plate 910 is moved to the pushing position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 10 as described above. The original returned to 12 is pushed to the left in the figure by the push-out plate 910, and its front end is brought into contact with the set original stopper 63 to be set again.

Next, the case of using an original having a large widthwise dimension such as A3 or B4 size will be described. When setting the original on the original table 12, the electromagnetic solenoid 684 of the stopper operating means 68 is deenergized, and the set original stopper 63, the discharged original stopper 64, and the detection member 691 of the original stack amount detecting means 69 are shown in FIG. 5, that is, the set original document stopper 63 is positioned at the stop position, the discharged original document stopper 64 is positioned at the retracted position, and the original document stack amount detecting means 69 is provided.
The detection member 691 is also located at the retracted position. In this state, the width regulating member 20 is moved to the front side of the second opening 16, that is, downward in FIG. 2, so that the original to be copied is placed on the original table 12 and the width regulating member 20 is moved upward in FIG. To the inner surface of the side plate 22 and the width regulating member 20.
The widthwise position of the document is regulated by the inner surface of the document. In this way, when an original having a large widthwise dimension is set on the original table 12 as described above, the original is placed in the first opening 1
4 and the second opening 16 are mounted. In this way, when a document is set on the document table 12, the first document detection sensor 21 and the second document detection sensor 23 detect that the document is set on the document table 12, and The detection signal is sent to the control means (not shown). Next, the grip portion 880b of the document guide member 88 moves the drive roller support means 87 from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 to the position corresponding to the size of the document placed on the document table 12 on the downstream side in the document transport direction. . When the original placed on the original table 12 is B4 size, the original guide member and the drive roller supporting means 87 are moved to a predetermined position, and when the original is A3 size, the state shown in FIGS. Good. When a copy start switch (not shown) is turned on in this state, the electric motor 931 of the push-out plate driving means 930 is rotationally driven by the control means (not shown), and the push-out plate 910 is pushed out by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 10. Positioned in position. Therefore, the document placed on the document table 12 is pushed out to the set position where the front end thereof contacts the set document stopper 63. In this way, when the document placed on the document table 12 is moved to the set position, the solenoid 684 of the stopper actuating means 68 is urged by the control means (not shown) to set the set document stopper 63 and the discharged document stopper. 64 is the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 5,
That is, the set original document stopper 63 is positioned at the retreat position, the discharged original document stopper 64 is positioned at the regulation position, and the detection member 6 of the original document stack amount detecting means 69 is detected.
91 is located at the detection position. Then, the copying operation is started by the control means (not shown), and the suction blower 36
Is driven to suck the air in the vacuum chamber 26. Therefore, the lowest document among the documents placed on the document table 12 is attracted to the feeding belt 32 of the vacuum separating and feeding means 24. At this time, the servo motor 624 of the separated air ejecting means 62 is driven to operate the blower 623, and the original table 20 is ejected from the nozzle 622.
Since the air is jetted toward the front end of the document placed on the document table, the air is blown between the documents placed on the document table 20, and the documents are separated and the lowest document is separated. On the other hand, when the copy start switch is turned on, the drive roller 28 is driven by the drive mechanism (not shown) via the roller drive gear 39.
Is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the drive roller 28 rotates, the feeding belt 32 is operated in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the second document detection sensor 23 detects a document, the electromagnetic clutch 56 is energized, so that the feeding drum 40 is rotated. Therefore, the lowest document adhering to the feeding belt 32 and the feeding drum 40 as described above is fed to the downstream side in the conveying direction.
In this way, when a document having a large width direction is placed on the document table 12, that is, the second document detection sensor 23.
When the document is detected by the vacuum source, the vacuum separating and feeding means 2
4, the feeding drum 40 disposed on the side of the feeding roller 4 is operated, and the vacuum separating and feeding means 24 and the feeding drum 40 are operated.
Since the lowest document is fed while being sucked over the entire width direction, the document is reliably prevented from being obliquely fed. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the solenoid 468 is deenergized when a document having a small width dimension is placed on the document table 12, that is, when the second document detection sensor 23 does not detect the document. Since the opening / closing valve 46 is closed, the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 26 of the vacuum separating / feeding means 24 does not decrease. Also,
In the illustrated embodiment, the second document detection sensor 23
When the document is not detected, the electromagnetic clutch 56 is deenergized and the feeding drum 40 is stopped.
Since 0 does not rotate without a document above it, safety can be ensured.

[0035]

Since the automatic document feeder according to the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

That is, according to the present invention, since the drive source for driving the discharge roller arranged in the document discharge means is arranged in the fixed portion, the document arranged to be movable in the document conveying direction. The size of the discharging means can be made small and lightweight. Further, since the drive source is disposed in the fixed portion, the drive source does not move even if the document discharge means moves in the document transport direction, so wiring from the power source to the drive source becomes simple. Further, since the drive source is arranged in the fixed portion, the drive source can also be used as a drive source for another device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an automatic document feeder constructed according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the vacuum document separating and feeding means provided in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the vacuum separating and feeding unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the vacuum separating and feeding means shown in FIG.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state when a document is set in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a document transport state of the automatic document transport device shown in FIG. 1.

7 is a front view of relevant parts showing a relationship between a set original document stopper, a discharged original document stopper, and a stopper operating means which are provided in the automatic original document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG.

9 is a perspective view of essential parts of a stopper actuating means and a document stacking amount detecting means provided in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a document reversing unit and a document discharging unit in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a document reversing unit and a document discharging unit of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

12 is a perspective view showing a driving unit of a discharge roller arranged in a document discharging unit of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

13 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state in which a document discharging unit of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 1 is moved in a document feeding direction.

14 is a cross-sectional view of a push-out plate driving means that operates a push-out plate provided in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line DD in FIG.

16 is a plan view of an essential part of the push-out plate driving means shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a detection board and a detector for detecting the operating position of the pushing plate equipped in the pushing plate driving means shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Electrostatic copying machine 4: Automatic document feeder 6: Electrostatic copying machine housing 8: Transparent plate 10: Document control member 11: Side plate 111: Support rail side plate 12: Document table 20: Width control member 21: First Document detection sensor 23: second document detection sensor 24: vacuum separating and feeding means 26: vacuum chamber 28: driving roller 30: driven roller 32: feeding belt 36: suction blower 39: roller driving gear 40: feeding Feeding drum 46: Open / close valve 56: Electromagnetic clutch 58: Feeding drum driving gear 61: Intermediate gear 62: Separate air jetting means 624: Servo motor 63: Set original document stopper 64: Ejecting original document stopper 66: Set original document stopper supporting means 67 : Supporting means for ejected document stopper 68: Stopper operating means 681: Operating shaft 682: Operating cam 68 : Actuating lever 684: Solenoid 69: Document stacking amount detecting means 691: Detection member 692: Detector 70: Paper feed roller pair 72: Document feeding path 74: Registration roller pair 76: Conveying belt mechanism 78: Document conveying path 80: Document Reversing means 81: Reverse conveying path 82: Conveying roller pair 83: Conveying roller pair 85: Document discharging means 86: Discharging roller pair 861: Driving roller of discharging roller pair 861c: Driving pulley 87: Driving roller supporting means 872: Supporting roller 873 : Tension pulley 875: Connection member 88: Document guide member 880: Main body member 881: Guide member 883: Connection pin 89: Cover member 893: Support guide rod 91: Transmission pulley 92: Transmission pulley 93: Timing belt 94: Transmission pulley 95 : Timing belt 96: Electric motor 97: Drive pulley 900: Document guide means 901: Guide sheet 902: Guide roller 903: Take-up roller 903 904: Take-up roller actuating means 910: Extrusion plate 912: Actuating plate 912a: Pin fitting groove 930: Extrusion plate driving means 931: Electric motor 933: worm 934: worm gear 935: transmission gear 937: drive pulley 938: transmission gear 939: transmission gear 941: driven pulley 943: detection plate 944: first detector 945: second detector 946: first Pin operating pulley 947: Second pin operating pulley 950: Operating pin 951: Operating pin 952: Tension pulley 954: Timing belt

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A document table on which a document is placed, a feeding unit that feeds a set document placed on the document table, and a document that conveys the document fed by the feeding unit to a document exposure position. Transporting means, document reversing means for reversing and transporting the document transported by the document transporting means, and document discharging means having discharge rollers for discharging the document transported by the document reversing means onto the document table. An automatic document feeder having the document discharge means movable in the document transport direction, the drive pulley being attached to the end of the discharge roller, and outside the range of movement of the drive pulley in the document transport direction. And a pair of transmission pulleys rotatably supported by a fixed portion, a timing belt wound around the pair of transmission pulleys and the drive pulley, and the pair of transmission pulleys. Either a transmission-coupled, comprising a drive source disposed in the fixing unit, an automatic document feeder, characterized in that.