JPH07271115A - Automatic document feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability in the case of opening/closing by supporting a document feeding means by an opening/closing supporting means above a document platen so that it can be opened/closed and imparting opening/closing driving force to the opening/closing supporting means from an opening/closing driving means so that the document feeding means may be automatically opened/closed above the document platen. CONSTITUTION:This automatic document feeder is supported by the opening/closing supporting means 51 arranged on the rear side of a main body so that it can be opened/closed with respect to the document platen. The opening/closing driving means 55 assembled in the main body imparts the opening/closing driving force to the supporting means 51 so as to automatically open/close the automatic document feeder above the document platen. The supporting means 51 is equipped with a shaft body 52 embedded so that it can rotate with respect to the main body on the rear side of the main body and a pair of turning plates 53. The driving means 55 is arranged near a hinge attaching part for the automatic document feeder, and is equipped with a motor 56 generating the opening/closing driving force, gears 60 and 61, a spring clutch 62, a sector gear 64, and a switching mechanism part 65 making the clutch 62 in a connected state or a released state.

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 used in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Usually, in an automatic document feeder used for image formation by an electronic copying machine or the like, the presence or absence of an arbitrary number of documents stacked on a document table is detected, and the documents are separated one by one and separated. The original is conveyed to an exposure position for image formation.

The automatic document feeder is held by a hinge provided on the rear side of the main body of an electronic copying machine or the like, and can also be opened and closed manually with the hinge as an axis.

Therefore, when the automatic document feeder is not used, the image can be formed by manually opening the automatic document feeder and placing the document at the exposure position of the main body.

[0005]

By the way, in an electronic copying machine or the like having an automatic document feeder, for example, a manuscript using a special paper (thin paper or thick paper), an important manuscript that is not susceptible to stains or scratches, etc. In many cases, the original is placed directly on the exposure position of an electronic copying machine, that is, on the original plate (original glass plate) without using the automatic original feeder, and the original is copied.

In this case, after the copying is completed, the original placed on the original table may be forgotten to be taken.

In addition, today, in response to the demands of consumers,
As the number of electronic copying machines capable of processing at higher speed increases, the structure of the automatic document feeder becomes correspondingly more complicated, and the weight naturally increases. As a result, it is also necessary to strengthen the hinge that holds the automatic document feeder. Furthermore, as the weight of the automatic document feeder increases, the size of the magnet catch for holding and adjusting the height of the automatic document feeder also increases, which deteriorates the operability when opening and closing the automatic document feeder. I will leave.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder which is improved in operability when opening and closing, and which has perfect measures for preventing forgetting to take a document and safety measures.

[0009]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic document feeder for feeding an original to a main body of an image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to an original placed on an original table on an image forming medium. A document feeding means for automatically feeding, an opening / closing support means for supporting the document feeding means on the document table of the main body so as to be openable and closable, and an opening / closing driving force is applied to the opening / closing support means to move the document feeding means. And an opening and closing drive means for automatically opening and closing the upper part of the.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic document feeder automatically feeds a document to a main body of the image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium. Means, opening / closing support means for supporting the document feeding means on the document table of the main body so as to be openable and closable, instruction means for instructing opening / closing of the document feeding means, and opening / closing support means based on the opening / closing instruction by the instruction means. And an opening / closing driving means for automatically opening / closing the original feeding means on the upper side of the original table by applying an opening / closing driving force to the original.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic document feeder automatically feeds a document to a main body of the image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium. Means, opening / closing support means for supporting the document feeding means on the document table of the main body so as to be openable and closable, managing means for managing the image forming operation of the main body, and completion of the image forming operation from the managing means. An opening / closing driving means for applying an opening driving force to the opening / closing supporting means on the basis of a signal to automatically open the document feeding means above the document table.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic document feeder automatically feeds a document to a main body of the image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium. Means, opening / closing support means for supporting the document feeding means on the document table of the main body so as to be openable and closable, document detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a document on the document table, and document presence detection by the document detecting means. Based on the result, after a lapse of a predetermined time, a closing drive force is applied to the opening / closing support means, and the opening / closing drive means for automatically closing the opened document feeding means on the document table.

[0013]

According to the automatic document feeder of claim 1, the opening / closing support means automatically feeds the original document to the main body for forming an image corresponding to the original document placed on the document table. The open / close drive is supported on the upper side of the document table, and the opening / closing drive means applies the opening / closing driving force to the opening / closing support means to automatically open / close the document feeding means on the upper side of the document table. The operability when doing can be improved.

According to the automatic document feeder of claim 2, the opening / closing support means automatically feeds the original document to the main body for forming an image corresponding to the original document placed on the document table. Is openably and closably supported on the upper side of the document table, and the opening and closing drive means applies an opening and closing driving force to the opening and closing support means on the basis of the opening and closing instruction of the document feeding means by the instructing means so that the document feeding means is automatically operated on the upper side of the document table. Since the automatic document feeder is opened and closed, the opening and closing operation of the document feeder can be performed only by operating the instruction means when using the automatic document feeder, and the operability when using the automatic document feeder can be improved.

According to the automatic document feeder of claim 3, the opening / closing support means automatically feeds the document to the main body for forming an image corresponding to the document placed on the document table. Is openably and closably supported on the original table, and an opening / closing driving means applies an opening driving force to the opening / closing supporting means on the basis of a signal from the management means indicating the end of the image forming operation to cause the original feeding means to move to the original table. Since it automatically opens at the top, it is possible to check the presence or absence of a document on the platen after the image forming operation is completed, and prevent forgetting to remove the document.

According to the automatic document feeder of claim 4, the opening / closing support means automatically feeds the original document to the main body for forming an image corresponding to the original document placed on the document table. When the document detection means detects the presence of a document on the document table, the open / close drive means applies a closing drive force to the open / close support means after a predetermined time has elapsed, and the open state is maintained. Since the document feeding unit is automatically closed on the document table, the document feeding unit does not close during the document removing operation, and thus the operator's hand or the like can operate the document feeding unit and the document table. Safety can be improved by avoiding the situation between them.

[0017]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 shows an automatic document feeder 2 and a main body 1 of an image forming apparatus of this embodiment.

The automatic document feeder 2 is supported to be openable and closable with respect to the document table 6 by opening / closing support means 51 arranged on the rear side of the main body 2. Further, the opening / closing drive means 55 incorporated in the main body 2 applies an opening / closing drive force to the opening / closing support means 51 to automatically open / close the automatic document feeder 2 above the document table.

The opening / closing support means 51 is a shaft body 52 rotatably embedded in the main body 2 on the rear side of the main body 2.
And a pair of rotating plates 53 attached to the shaft 52 and protruding from the hole 1a in the upper surface of the main body 2 and brought into contact with the bottom surface 2a of the automatic document feeder 2.

The opening / closing drive means 55 is arranged in the vicinity of the hinge mounting portion for the automatic document feeder 2 of the main body 2, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a motor 56 that generates an opening / closing driving force for the automatic document feeder 2 and a pulley 5 from the motor 56.
7, a first gear 60 to which a driving force is transmitted via a belt 58, a pulley 59, a second gear 61 meshing with the first gear 60, and a spring clutch 62 coaxial with the second gear 61. A third gear 63 that is coaxial with the spring clutch 62, a sector gear 64 that meshes with the third gear 63 and that is attached to the shaft body 52, and a switch that connects or disconnects the spring clutch 62. And a mechanical section 65.

The spring clutch 62 is, as shown in FIG. 3, an annular gear 66 fitted to the shaft portion of the second gear 61 and rotating integrally, and a spring attached to the third gear 63. And the spring portion 67 is closed when the second gear 61 rotates in the direction of the arrow b, and the second gear 61 and the third gear 63 are integrated so that the driving force can be transmitted. By rotating the annular gear 66 in the direction of the arrow a, the spring portion 67 is loosened to release the integration of the second gear 61 and the third gear 63 and release the state in which the driving force can be transmitted. There is.

As shown in FIG. 2, the switching mechanism section 65 includes an electromagnetic plunger 81 and an on / off state of the electromagnetic plunger 81.
A lever 82 that turns in conjunction with turning off and this lever 82
Driven by the first gear 60 to rotate in the direction of the arrow c and rotate in the direction of the arrow b.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow a to loosen the spring portion 67, and the switching gear 83 for releasing the integration of the second gear 61 and the third gear 63 is provided.

The switching mechanism portion 65 allows the second gear 61
By releasing the integration of the third gear 63 with the third gear 63 and releasing the state in which the driving force can be transmitted, the automatic document feeder 2 can be freely opened and closed manually.

Reference numeral 84 is a spring for urging the sector gear 64 in the direction of arrow a.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the automatic document feeder 2 and the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus. The front side of the main body 1 has an operation button as opening / closing instruction means for instructing opening / closing of the automatic document feeder 2. An operation panel 90 including 91 is provided. Further, a plurality of sensors 92 for detecting humans and various objects are provided at the corners of the upper surface of the main body 1.

Inside the document table 6 of the main body 2, there is provided a document sensor 101 as a document detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a document O on the document table 6.

FIG. 5 shows a main part of a control system of the automatic document feeder 2. The control unit 100 as a management unit controls the motor 56 and the electromagnetic plunger 81, and the control unit 100 has a sensor 92. Original sensor 101
Further, the control unit 100 controls the ringing of the buzzer 95 that issues an alarm. further,
The control unit 100 manages the image forming operation of the image forming unit 4.

Next, the entire automatic document feeder 2 and the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

An original supply unit 2A as an automatic document feeder 2 for automatically supplying the originals O one by one is arranged above the main body 1, and the original O is exposed and scanned below the original supply unit 2A. Exposure scanning means 3 and this exposure scanning means 3
An image forming unit 4 which is provided below the image forming unit 4 to form an image on the copy sheet P based on exposure scanning, and a light amount sensor 5 as a light amount detecting unit which is arranged in a reflected light path from the original O and detects the light amount of the reflected light. The operation panel 90 provided with various buttons
And a main body 1 having a control means for controlling each part of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 6, the original supply means 2A has an openable / closable original cover portion 21, a feeding portion 22 for feeding the original O, and a tray 23 on which the originals O can be stacked. As shown in FIG. 2, it is provided with a supply drive unit 24 and a supply motor 25.

As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding section 22 takes in the originals O placed on the tray 23 one by one and covers them.
Rollers 220, 221, 222 for supplying to one side
And a set sensor 223 for detecting that the document O is set on the tray 23, and size sensors 224, 225 for measuring the size of the document O. Each of the rollers 220, 221, 222 is adapted to rotate by the drive of the supply motor 25 based on the drive voltage from the supply drive section 24.

The cover portion 21 conveys the original document O supplied from the feeding portion 22 to the original document table 6 made of transparent glass disposed on the upper surface of the main body 1, and after the image forming process described later is completed, the original document table is completed. The original O of the top 6 is placed on the front surface 2 of the cover 21.
Rollers 210, 211, 212 for conveying to the 1a side
It is equipped with. Each roller 210, 211, 212
Supply motor 2 based on the drive voltage from the supply drive unit 24
It is designed to rotate by the drive of 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, the exposure scanning means 3 is provided with a first carriage 30 that is movable along the original table 6, and, like the first carriage 30, along the original table 6. Second carriage 3 configured to be movable
1, an image forming lens 32, and a light receiving means 33 for correcting the optical path length when the image information attached to the original is magnified and read and sending the received light to the platen drum 41. And the first and second carriages 30 and 31, the imaging lens 32, and the light receiving means 3 which constitute the exposure optical system.
By reciprocally moving 3 along the lower surface of the document table 6,
The document O set on the document table 6 is optically scanned. The optical information read by this scanning is the main body 1
Is supplied to the image forming means 4 provided under the image forming means 4 and an image is formed on the copy paper P as an image forming medium in the image forming means 4.

The first carriage 30 receives a light source lamp 302 as a linear light source, a reflector 303 which collects the light from the light source lamp 302 on the original surface, and a reflected light from the original surface to receive the reflected light. First to send to the second carriage 31
Mirror 304.

The second carriage 31 includes the first mirror 3
The second and third mirrors 310 and 311 are provided to change the optical path of the light from 04 and send it to the imaging lens 32.

The light receiving means 33 comprises fourth, fifth and sixth mirrors 330, 331 and 333.

The imaging lens 32 is of a fixed type for a predetermined distance, and is adapted to move in the optical axis direction during zooming.

The light receiving means 33 is adapted to change its position with respect to the imaging lens 32 in response to a change in optical path length caused by a preselected magnification change.

Incidentally, the image forming lens 32 and the light receiving means 33.
Driving in the optical axis direction is performed by moving the imaging lens 32 and the light receiving means 33 in the optical axis direction using a drive system (not shown).

The light quantity sensor 5 includes the image forming lens 32.
Of the second carriage 31 and the position where the reflected light is sufficiently incident from the sixth mirror 333 of the second carriage 31. The light amount sensor 5 may be arranged at a position where the light after passing through the imaging lens 32 is incident or another position as long as it does not hinder image formation.

The image forming means 4 includes the image forming lens 3
2 is provided below the photosensitive drum 41, and further,
A charging unit 42, a developing unit 43, a transfer charger 44, a separation charger 45, a cleaning unit 46, and a charge eliminating unit 47 are arranged around the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 41.
The image forming operation is performed by these.

In the apparatus main body 1, a paper feed side conveyance path 70 provided between the paper feed cassette 7 and the photosensitive drum 41.
And a paper discharge side conveyance path 71 for discharging the copy paper P discharged from the photoconductor drum 41.

The paper feed side transfer path 70 is provided with a paper feed cassette 7.
And a photoconductor drum 41 to form a moving path of the copy sheet P, and a registration roller 72 for aligning the copy sheet P and pressure-feeding the copy sheet P is provided on the way.

Further, the paper discharge side conveying path 71 is for forming a moving path of the copy paper P on which an image has been formed between the photoconductor drum 41 and the paper discharging tray 8, and in the middle and at the end thereof. And a paper discharge roller 73. The registration roller 72 and the paper discharge roller 73 take in the copy papers P one by one from the paper feed cassette 7 in synchronization with the timing of the image forming operation of the image forming means 4 by a drive system (not shown) under the control of the control means 10. The sheet is conveyed along the sheet feeding side conveyance path 70 and the sheet discharging side conveyance path 71. Note that FIG.
Inside, 9 is a fixing means.

Next, the operation of the automatic document feeder 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In the main body 1 in the standby state (S1), the automatic document feeder 2 on the original plate 6 of the main body 1 is opened manually or automatically, and the original O is set at the exposure position on the original plate 6 (S2). ), And the automatic document feeder 2 is closed manually or automatically.

When the copy mode (S3) is set by the operation panel 90, the copy of the original O by the main body 1 is started (S4). When all copying by the image forming means 4 is completed (S5), the control unit 100 manages this state, the motor 56 is rotated in the normal direction (S6), and each mechanism of the opening / closing drive means 55 is operated to operate the motor 56. The driving force from the pulley 57, the belt 58, the pulley 59, the first
Gear 60, second gear 61, spring clutch 6
The shaft 52 through the second, third gear 63 and the sector gear 64.
And the shaft 52 and the rotating plate 53 rotate in the direction of arrow b to automatically open the automatic document feeder 2 above the document table 6. In this state, the motor 56 stops under the control of the control unit 100 (S7).

If the copying is not completed in step 5 described above, a jam state is set (S8).

Further, when the automatic document feeder 2 is automatically opened above the document table 6, an alarm sound is emitted from the buzzer 95 under the control of the controller 100 (S9) to call the operator's attention.

Next, the document sensor 101 detects the presence or absence of the document O on the document table 6 (S10).

When the document sensor 101 detects that the document O is present on the document table 6, the control unit 100 controls the control unit 100 to pass an arbitrary set time (for example, several seconds) (S1).
1, S12), the motor 56 is rotated in the reverse direction (S13), and the automatic document feeder 2 is automatically closed on the document table 6 by the operation of the opening / closing drive means 55 similar to the case described above (S15).

At this time, an alarm sound is emitted from the buzzer 95 under the control of the control unit 100 (S13) to call the operator's attention. As a result, the operator is not exposed to danger such as a pinch accident.

After that, the motor 56 is stopped under the control of the control unit 100 (S16).

When the document O on the document table 6 is not detected in the step 10, the control unit 100 controls the buzzer 95 to emit an alarm sound (S17).

When the automatic document feeder 2 is completely closed, it enters a standby state there.

As described above, when the automatic document feeder 2 is automatically opened after completion of copying, it is not necessary to open the heavy automatic document feeder 2 manually, and the automatic document feeder 2 is placed on the document table 6. Never forget to take the original O.

By pressing the operation button 91,
It is also possible to independently perform the "open" and "close" operations of the automatic document feeder 2.

Since it is dangerous to open and close the automatic document feeder 2 suddenly, the driving force from the motor 5 is transmitted to the automatic document feeder 2 at a slow speed by the opening / closing drive means 55. do it.

Further, even when an operator or an object is detected by the sensor 92 provided on the upper surface of the main body 1, the control unit 1
The safety can be further improved by issuing an alarm sound from the buzzer 95 under the control of 00.

[0061]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the document feeding means can be automatically opened and closed on the upper portion of the document table,
It is possible to provide an automatic document feeder that can improve operability when used.

According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide an automatic document feeder which can perform the opening / closing operation with respect to the document table only by operating the instructing means and can improve the operability in use.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic document feeder which can confirm the presence or absence of a document on the document table after the image forming operation is completed and prevent forgetting to remove the document.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the document feeding means is not closed during the document removing operation, whereby the operator's hand or the like is placed between the document feeding means and the document table. It is possible to provide an automatic document feeder capable of avoiding a situation of being pinched and improving safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a device of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an opening / closing driving means of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a spring clutch of the opening / closing drive means of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body 2 Automatic Document Feeding Device 6 Original Plate 51 Opening / Closing Supporting Means 55 Opening / Closing Driving Means 100 Control Unit 101 Original Sensor O Original P Copy Paper

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A document feeding unit for automatically feeding a document to a main body of an image forming apparatus which forms an image on a image forming medium corresponding to a document placed on a document table, and the document feeding unit. An opening / closing support means for supporting the opening / closing of the main body of the main body so as to be openable / closable, and an opening / closing drive means for applying an opening / closing drive force to the opening / closing support means to automatically open / close the original feeding means on the top of the original base. Automatic document feeder. 2. A document feeding unit that automatically feeds a document to a main body of an image forming apparatus that forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium, and the document feeding unit. An opening / closing support means that supports the upper and lower sides of the document table of the main body to open and close, an instruction means for instructing the opening and closing of the document feeding means, and an opening and closing drive force is applied to the opening and closing support means based on the opening and closing instruction by the instruction means to perform the original document. An automatic document feeder, comprising: an opening and closing drive unit for automatically opening and closing the feeding unit above the document table. 3. A document feeding unit that automatically feeds a document to a main body of an image forming apparatus that forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium, and the document feeding unit. The opening / closing support means for supporting the opening / closing of the main body of the main body so as to be openable / closable, the management means for managing the image forming operation of the main body, and the opening / closing support means based on a signal indicating the end of the image forming operation from the management means. An automatic document feeder, comprising: an opening / closing drive unit that applies an opening driving force and automatically opens the document feeding unit above the document table. 4. A document feeding unit for automatically feeding a document to a main body of an image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to a document placed on a document table on an image forming medium, and the document feeding unit. Opening / closing support means for supporting the document table of the main body so as to be openable / closable, document detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a document on the document table, and opening / closing after a lapse of a predetermined time based on the detection result of the document by the document detecting means. An automatic document feeder, comprising: an opening / closing drive unit that applies a closing drive force to the supporting unit and automatically closes the opened document feeding unit on the document table.