JPH07172684A - Paper discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect an overflow of a paper sheet on a paper discharge tray with inexpensive and simple constitution. CONSTITUTION:In a proper height position on a paper discharge tray 15, a sensor 50 is arranged to detect paper discharge of a document and an overflow of the document on the paper discharge tray 15 by detecting a reflected light level of the document. When the number of documents on the paper discharge tray 15 is few, since a quantity of reflected light is little, an output signal is low, and when the number of documents on the paper discharge tray 15 is increased, since a quantity of the reflected light is increased, the output signal becomes high. When it reaches a near-overflow detecting level lower than an overflow detecting level, that effect is warned, and when it reaches the overflow detecting level, paper feed of the next document is stopped. Since the output signal is increased in stages according to the discharge paper number of documents, when an output signal level is not increased at paper discharge time, it is detected as a discharge paper jam, and paper feed of the next document is stopped.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper discharge device for detecting an overflow of a document or a copy paper discharged onto a paper discharge tray, and particularly suitable for an image scanner, a laser printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the market for image scanners has increased, and users have demanded high speed and low price.
On the other hand, manufacturers must satisfy the above requirements and improve reliability. For example, when a large number of originals are read at high speed using an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder), a large number of originals are discharged and stacked on a paper output tray. In this case, if the height of the originals becomes too high, jams may occur. There is a known method of detecting an overflow of a document and interrupting the reading because it is generated or the document is bent.

Conventionally, as a device for detecting an overflow of an original or a copy sheet, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 60-55361, 60-50549, and 63-31 are disclosed.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0452 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 56-130939, photoelectric detection methods are known. Also,
A device for detecting the weight is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 59371.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, since a sensor such as a photoelectric switch for detecting the overflow of the original or the copy sheet is separately required, the cost is increased accordingly and the structure is increased. Is complicated.

In view of the above problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper discharge device capable of detecting an overflow of a paper on a paper discharge tray with an inexpensive and simple structure.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a first means is to discharge a sheet by detecting a sheet discharge tray from which a sheet is discharged and the height of the sheet on the sheet discharge tray. It is characterized by having a paper and a detection means for detecting an overflow.

The second means is characterized in that it has a control means for stopping the feeding of the next paper when an overflow is detected by the detection means in the first means.

A third means warns that the control means in the first or second means, when the output level of the detection means reaches a near overflow detection level slightly lower than the overflow detection level. Is characterized by.

A fourth means is provided with an illuminating means for illuminating the paper on the discharge tray by the detecting means in the first to third means, and a light receiving means for receiving the reflected light from the paper. It is characterized in that the height of the paper on the paper discharge tray is detected according to the level.

A fifth means is characterized in that, in the fourth means, the control means warns a paper discharge jam when the level of reflected light does not increase during paper discharge.

[0011]

According to the first means, the height of the paper on the paper discharge tray is detected by one detecting means to detect both the paper discharge and the overflow. Therefore, the paper discharge detecting means and the overflow detecting means are provided. Since it is also used, it is possible to detect the overflow of the paper on the paper discharge tray with an inexpensive and simple configuration.

In the second means, the feeding of the next sheet is stopped when the overflow of the sheet on the sheet discharge tray is detected, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a jam or the bending of the document. .

In the third means, when the near-overflow detection level slightly lower than the overflow detection level is reached, a warning to that effect is given, so that the operator can be prompted to remove the paper from the paper discharge tray.

In the fourth means, since the height of the paper on the paper discharge tray is detected by the reflected light, it is possible to detect the paper discharge and the paper overflow on the paper discharge tray with an inexpensive and simple structure. it can.

In the fifth means, a paper discharge jam is warned when the level of the reflected light does not increase during paper discharge, so that paper discharge can be detected with an inexpensive and simple structure.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing an image reading device as an embodiment of a paper discharge device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are block diagrams showing the image reading device of FIG.
5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the micro displacement sensor shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the paper discharge device, and FIGS.
Is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the height of the original and the output level, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the time and the output level in the case of continuous reading, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the overflow detection level and the near overflow detection level. .

In FIG. 1, a document (not shown) on the platen glass 1 is illuminated by an illumination lamp 3 which moves in the sub-scanning direction A integrally with the first mirror 2, and the reflected light is reflected by the first mirror 2. Then, the light beams are sequentially reflected by the second mirror 4 and the third mirror 5 that move integrally in the sub-scanning direction A, imaged by the lens 38, and photoelectrically converted by the CCD 6. When reading a document placed on the platen glass 1, the first mirror 2 and the illumination lamp 3, and the second mirror 4 and the third mirror 5 are moved in the sub-scanning direction A by the traveling body motor 7, and The main scanning direction is scanned by the CCD 6.

An ADF 101 is mounted on the platen glass 1, and when the document is conveyed and read by the ADF 101, the first mirror 2 and the illumination lamp 3 are stopped near the reading position B. The uppermost document in the document stack set on the document tray 8 of the ADF 101 is taken in by the pickup roller 9 and is scanned in the sub-scanning direction by passing through the reading position B by the registration roller pair 10, the transport drum 11, and the transport roller 12. Then, it is read by the CCD 6 and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 15 by the paper discharge roller pairs 13 and 14. The pickup roller 9 and the registration roller pair 10 are driven by a paper feed motor (see FIG. 2), and the transport drum 11, the transport roller 12, and the paper discharge roller pairs 13 and 14 are driven by a transport motor 16.

In the present embodiment, the discharge of the document discharged by the discharge roller pair 13 and 14 is detected at a position on the discharge tray 15 at an appropriate height, and the discharge tray 15 is discharged. A micro-displacement sensor 50 for detecting an overflow of a document is provided.
As shown in FIG. 5, 0 is an LED 50a for illuminating the document D on the discharge tray 15 which is an object, and the LED 50a.
It is composed of a light receiving element (PSD) 50b that receives the reflected light of the document D illuminated by, and an amplifier 50c that amplifies the output signal of the PSD 50b.

Returning to FIG. 1, an SBU (sensor board unit) 17 on which the CCD 6 is mounted, an MBU (motherboard unit) 18 are also provided in the reading device.
SCU (scanner control unit) 20 and IE
A U (image enhance unit) 28, a DCU (data compression unit) 36, a video adapter 39 and the like are provided.

2 to 4, the reflected light of the original incident on the CCD 6 on the SBU 17 is converted by the CCD 6 into an analog image signal having a voltage value corresponding to the light intensity, and the analog signal is divided into odd bits and even bits. It is output separately. This analog image signal is AHP on the MBU 18.
After the dark potential portion is removed by the (analog data processing peripheral device) 19a, the odd bit and the even bit are combined, and the gain is adjusted to a predetermined amplitude.
It is converted into a digital image signal by the converter 19b.

This digital image signal is binarized after being subjected to shading correction, gamma correction, MTF correction, etc. by a SIP (scanner image forming peripheral device) 21 on the SCU 20, and is then converted into a page synchronization signal, a line synchronization signal, an image. It is output as a video signal together with the clock. SI
The video signal output from P21 is output to the IEU 28 via the connector 29, subjected to predetermined image processing by the IEU 28, and output to the SCU 20 again. This I
The video signal from the EU 28 and the video signal from the SIP 21 can be selected by the selector 30, and therefore,
Whether or not to perform image processing can be selected by the IEU 28.

The RCU (reverse side control unit) 32 is controlled by the CPU 25 in the SCU 20 by serial communication, controls the reading of the back side when reading both sides of the document, and passes the read image data of the back side as a video signal via the MBU 18. Then, it is transferred to the SCU 20. Video signal selected by selector 30 and RCU
The video signal from 32 is selected by the selector 31,
Therefore, the reading surface of the document is configured to be selectable.

The video signal selected by the selector 31 is applied to the selector 32 and the connector 33, and the video signal from the video adapter 39 is applied to the other input terminal of the selector 32 via the connector 33. The video signal selected by the selector 32 is the SBC (scan buffer controller) 22 that manages the DRAM 22a.
Applied to.

The DRAM 22a and SIMM (single in-line memory module) 23 constitute an image memory, and the image data read from the image memory 22a and SIMM 23 is supplied to the DCU 36 via one input terminal of the selector 34 and the connector 35. Is applied to and data is compressed. The data compressed by the DCU 36 is applied to the other input terminal of the selector 34, so that it is possible to select whether to compress the image data.

The image data selected by the selector 34 can be output to a host computer (not shown) via a SCSI (small computer system interface) controller 24. CPU2 on SCU20
5, the EPROM 26 and the RAM 27 are mounted, and the CPU
25 controls the SCSI controller 24 to communicate with the host computer. ADU (AD
The F drive unit) 37 has a function of relaying power supply to electric components used in the ADF 101.

Further, in the present embodiment, the CPU 25 also controls the timing of the traveling body motor 7, the paper feed motor 16a and the carry motor 16, and the LED 50a of the displacement sensor 50 as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. The LED 50a is turned on by sending a light emission signal to the amplifier 50c.
The jam detection and the overflow detection are performed by taking in the output signal of (4) through the input terminal A / Din of the built-in A / D converter.

Here, in the case of continuous reading, when the number of originals on the discharge tray 15 is small, the height of the original D is low and the amount of reflected light is small as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the output signal of the amplifier 50c is also low. On the other hand, when the number of originals on the discharge tray 15 increases, the height of the original D increases and the amount of reflected light increases as shown in FIG. 8A, and the amplifier 50c increases as shown in FIG. 8B. The output signal of is also high. Therefore, the overflow of the document D on the discharge tray 15 can be detected by capturing the output signal of the amplifier 50c.

Further, the amplifier 50c for continuous reading
As shown in FIG. 9, the output signal level of is increased stepwise in accordance with the elapse of time t, that is, the number of discharged documents D. Therefore, for example, after the document D is taken from the document tray 8 of the ADF 101, the displacement sensor If the output signal level of the amplifier 50c does not increase within the time that will reach 50, it is possible to detect a paper-ejection jam and stop feeding the next document.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when the near overflow detection level lower than the overflow detection level is reached, the operator is warned by displaying the fact on the operation panel or the like, and the discharge tray 1
By urging the document D to be removed from the document 5, the number of documents equal to or higher than the overflow detection level can be continuously read.

In the above embodiments, the image reading apparatus is described as an example, but the present invention detects not only the original document but also the discharge of the recording paper and the overflow in the laser printer, the copying machine, the facsimile, and the like. You can

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the height of the paper on the paper discharge tray is detected by one detecting means to detect both paper discharge and overflow, the paper discharge Paper detection means and overflow detection means are used together,
Therefore, it is possible to detect the overflow of the paper on the paper discharge tray with an inexpensive and simple configuration.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the feeding of the next sheet is stopped when the overflow of the sheet on the discharge tray is detected, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a jam or the bending of the original. it can.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the near-overflow detection level slightly lower than the overflow detection level is reached, a warning to that effect is given, so that the operator can be prompted to remove the paper from the discharge tray. .

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the height of the paper on the paper discharge tray is detected by the reflected light, the discharge of the paper and the overflow of the paper on the paper discharge tray are detected with an inexpensive and simple structure. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the level of the reflected light does not increase during paper ejection, a paper ejection jam is warned.
It is possible to detect the discharge of a sheet with an inexpensive and simple configuration.

[0037]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an image reading device as an example of a paper discharge device according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing a part of the image reading apparatus of FIG. 1, and constitutes one figure together with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a part of the image reading apparatus of FIG. 1, and constitutes one figure together with FIG. 2 and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a part of the image reading apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and constitutes one figure together with FIGS. 2 and 3.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the micro displacement sensor of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a paper discharge device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an output level when the height of a document is low.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an output level when the height of a document is high.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between time and output level in the case of continuous reading.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an overflow detection level and a near overflow detection level.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Paper ejection tray 25 CPU 50 Micro displacement sensor 50a LED 50b Light receiving element 50c Amplifier D Original

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A paper ejection device having a paper ejection tray from which paper is ejected, and detection means for detecting paper ejection and overflow by detecting the height of the paper on the paper ejection tray. 2. The paper discharge device according to claim 1, further comprising control means for stopping the feeding of the next paper when an overflow is detected by the detection means. 3. The discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit warns when a near overflow detection level slightly lower than the overflow detection level is reached by the output level of the detection unit. Paper equipment. 4. The detecting means includes an illuminating means for illuminating the paper on the paper discharge tray and a light receiving means for receiving reflected light from the paper, and the detecting means on the paper discharge tray according to the level of the reflected light. 2. The height of the paper is detected.
4. The paper discharge device according to any one of 3 to 3. 5. The paper ejection device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit warns a paper ejection jam when the level of reflected light does not increase during paper ejection.