JP4494434B2 - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding apparatus applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automatic paper feeders that are applied to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and facsimile machines are known. The automatic paper feeder includes a paper supply tray on which a stack of stacked paper sheets is placed, and a paper supply member that sequentially picks up the paper on the paper supply tray from the top and feeds it into the apparatus body. A document image reading process is sequentially performed for each sheet on the sheet that has passed through the sheet feeding member.

The sheet bundle placed on the sheet supply tray is normally applied to a predetermined abutting member (stopper) provided at the position of the sheet feeding member by manual operation, thereby aligning the leading ends of the sheet bundle. The stopper is configured to be able to change state between an opposing fixed state in which the stopper is fixed to the sheet bundle on the paper supply tray and an unfixed state in which the opposing fixing is released so that the paper can pass through. Yes. The stopper is set in the opposite fixed state when aligning the leading ends of the sheet bundle on the tray, and is changed to the unlocked state when sheets are picked up one by one from the sheet bundle by driving the sheet feeding member. It has become.
2001-341879

  By the way, the conventional stopper is configured to perform the state changing operation between the opposed fixed state and the fixed released state by another drive source such as a solenoid independent of the drive source of the sheet feeding member. The state change structure is complicated, and there are not only inconveniences that the parts cost increases due to the large number of parts and the assembly cost increases. There is a problem that the control to synchronize must be performed, and the cost is high in this respect as well.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and allows the stopper to change its state (change in position) in accordance with the sheet feeding situation without employing another drive source. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper feeder that can contribute to a reduction in parts cost and assembly cost.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the paper that feeds the paper placed on the paper tray one by one along the guide portion into the apparatus main body by rotating the drive unit to operate the paper feeding unit. In the automatic feeding device, both ends of the sheet feeding unit are pivotally supported by the apparatus main body, and the sheet feeding roller is attached to the sheet feeding shaft rotated by the rotational force of the driving unit, and freely swingable on the sheet feeding shaft. A pickup roller that is supported by a feeding shaft that is rotatably provided on the support body and that is parallel to the paper feed shaft, and that is capable of transmitting the rotational force of the paper feed shaft; An attachment is provided between the paper feed roller and the support, and is configured to enable the support to rotate with respect to the rotation of the paper feed shaft between the retracted position and the paper feed position when the drive unit is rotated. A support member that is swingably provided on a support shaft that is supported by the support member and is parallel to the paper feed shaft, A stopper but for regulating the position of the tip of mounted and suspended in a state of being positioned set to the retracted position in the paper tray sheet, provided in the apparatus main body, engaged with the stopper at the retracted position, its movement A protrusion that regulates the stopper, and the stopper is disposed between the paper feeding shaft and the feeding shaft, and is pivotally supported around a supporting shaft parallel to these shafts. A stopper piece that extends downward from the position and faces the leading edge of the paper on the paper supply tray, and an engaging piece that protrudes upward from the position. The stopper piece is positioned at the paper stop position by interference with the engaging piece in the state where the stopper is positioned, while the stopper piece is released by releasing the interference while the support is positioned at the paper feeding position. Is set to the paper passing position and the When the support member, which has been positioned at the paper feed position in the state where the paper piece is positioned at the paper passing position, is repositioned to the retracted position, the stopper piece is engaged by engagement with the engagement piece. The shape is set so that the position can be changed to a paper avoidance position that avoids interference with the paper when pulled out in the reverse direction .

  In the present invention, the sheet refers to either one or both of one sheet and a plurality of stacked sheets (sheet bundle). In the following description, if necessary, the number of sheets is specified (for example, one sheet or a bundle of sheets).

  According to the present invention, the stopper is fixed at a position (paper stop position) for stopping the paper in conjunction with the support by setting the support at the retracted position. The front end of the paper is aligned by pressing the front end of the paper against the stopper. When the support is moved to the paper feed position with the front ends of the papers aligned, the stopper is positioned at a position where the paper can be passed (paper passing position) in conjunction with this position change. Therefore, by driving the paper feed roller, the sheets are fed into the apparatus main body one by one while sequentially passing the stopper.

As described above, the stopper is positioned at the paper stopping position that does not move even when the leading edge of the paper stops while the support is positioned at the retracted position while interlocking with the position change of the support. On the other hand, since the support is positioned at the paper feed position, it is set at the paper passing position where the paper fed by the paper feed roller is passed over. its position change operation, compared to those that are configured to perform the position change operation and the different drive sources of the stopper, while ensuring the delivery of the paper reliable apparatus main body, by sharing a drive source The number of parts is reduced, contributing to the reduction of parts cost and assembly cost.

  In addition, when the support is set at the retracted position, the pickup roller that is pivotally supported by the feeding shaft is set at the retracted position that does not interfere with the leading end of the sheet, and the stopper is positioned at the sheet stopping position. Therefore, the leading edge of the paper can be aligned by stopping the leading edge of the paper against the stopper in this state.

  Next, by rotating the support body about the support shaft and setting the position to the paper feeding position, the pickup roller is repositioned to the paper feeding position and is in contact with the top surface of the paper, and the stopper is Since the position is set to the passing position, by rotating both the pickup roller and the sheet feeding roller in a predetermined direction around the sheet feeding shaft and the support shaft in this state, the sheet at the top of the sheet bundle is It is picked up by the pick-up roller and then supplied into the apparatus main body while passing the stopper by the rotation of the paper feed roller.

  In this way, by configuring the paper feed unit with the pickup roller and the paper feed roller that operate in conjunction with the stopper, the structure of the automatic paper feeder can be simplified, and the paper can be reliably fed. The leading edge alignment and the subsequent reliable paper supply process for each sheet in the apparatus main body are executed.

Further, in the state where the support is set at the retracted position, the engaging piece of the stopper engages with the protrusion of the device main body, thereby fixing the paper stopping position of the stopper. Tip alignment can be performed. Then, by positioning the support at the paper feeding position, the engagement of the engagement piece with the protrusion is released, and thereby the stopper is positioned at the paper passing position that is rotatable about the support shaft. Therefore, the sheet is fed toward the sheet feeding roller rotating around the rotation axis by passing the stopper piece by the rotation around the feeding axis of the pickup roller. Supplied in.

In this way, the stopper is pivotally supported between the feeding shaft and the paper feeding shaft of the support so as to be rotatable around a support shaft parallel to them, and extends downward from the position of the support shaft to extend the paper on the paper supply tray. A stopper piece that opposes the leading edge of the paper and an engaging piece that protrudes upward, thereby simplifying the structure of the stopper, Both of the operations for feeding the sheet whose leading edge alignment is completed into the apparatus main body can be surely performed.

  In addition, the position of the stopper can be changed by setting the shape of the protrusion of the device main body that contacts the engaging piece of the stopper, and the set position can be maintained, which is effective in simplifying the device. It is.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pickup roller, the rotation of the paper feed roller is transmitted via a rotation transmission member, and the pickup roller is placed in a state where the support is located at the paper feed position. The one-way clutch is provided which regulates the rotation of the pickup roller in the reverse direction when the support is changed from the paper feeding position to the retracted position while being rotated synchronously.

  According to the present invention, the paper feed roller rotates synchronously with the pickup roller via the rotation transmission member, so that the paper pick-up and paper feeding are smoothly performed. In addition, when the support is moved from the paper feed position to the retracted position, the pickup roller does not reversely rotate due to the action of the one-way clutch, so that no force is applied to the paper in the reverse direction. Paper feeding is performed smoothly.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the apparatus main body has an openable / closable cover body that covers the support body, and the protrusion is provided on the cover body. It is what.

  According to this invention, since the cover body is positioned above the stopper in the apparatus main body, it is suitable as a member for providing the protrusion. Also, when troubles such as paper jams occur, the cover body is usually removed and repair processing is performed.However, removing the cover body eliminates interference with the stopper of the protruding part, and the stopper can be repositioned. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such that a stopper that does not move during trouble solving processing becomes an obstacle.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the protrusion has a first inclined surface on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction and a second inclined surface on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. The engagement piece abuts on one side of the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in a state of being formed in an inverted triangle shape and the support is set at the retracted position, and the support is at the paper feeding position. The shape is set and the position is set so that the contact of the engagement piece with the protrusion is released in the state where the position is set.

  According to the present invention, in a state where no paper is present at the position below the stopper (that is, a state where the front end of the paper is aligned before paper feeding is performed), the support is positioned at the retracted position, whereby the engagement piece Is in contact with the first inclined surface of the protrusion to maintain the paper stopper position of the stopper, while the paper is present at the lower position of the stopper (that is, the paper is being supplied to the apparatus main body). Even if the body is set at the retracted position, the stopper is kept at the paper passing position by the contact of the engaging piece against the second inclined surface of the protrusion, so that it is supplied due to some trouble (for example, paper jam). Even if there is a situation where the paper in the middle of the paper has to be pulled out in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction, the stopper returns to the paper stopping position and interferes with the paper, which prevents the paper from being pulled out in the reverse direction. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconveniences.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the change of the position of the support is linked to the operation of a drive mechanism that pulls the paper provided in the apparatus main body into the apparatus main body. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, since the position of the support is changed in conjunction with the operation of the drive mechanism that draws the paper into the apparatus main body, there is no need to provide a separate drive source for changing the position of the support. Simplification is realized.

  According to the present invention, the stopper is fixed at the paper contact position in conjunction with the support by setting the support in the retracted position, and therefore the front end of the paper on the paper supply tray is pressed against the stopper. As a result, the leading edges of the paper can be reliably aligned in a stable state. Then, by changing the position of the support to the paper feeding position with the leading edges of the paper aligned, the stopper is set to the paper passing position in conjunction with this position change. By driving the body, it is possible to sequentially feed the sheets one by one into the apparatus main body while passing the stopper.

As described above, the stopper is positioned at the paper stopping position that does not move even when the leading edge of the paper stops while the support is positioned at the retracted position while interlocking with the position change of the support. On the other hand, since the support is positioned at the paper feed position, it is positioned at the paper passing position where paper fed by the support is passed over. and changing operation, compared to those that are configured to perform the position change operation and the different drive sources of the stopper, while ensuring the delivery of the paper reliable apparatus body, correspondingly by sharing a drive source The number of parts is reduced, which can contribute to reduction of parts cost and assembly cost.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a copying machine which is a kind of an image processing apparatus to which an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an original reading device in the copying machine of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inside is viewed from the document supply port side. First, as shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 10 has a basic configuration including a copying machine body 11 having a box-like appearance and a document reading device 12 attached to the upper surface of the copying machine body 11. ing.

  The apparatus main body 11 includes various devices, and an image of the document (paper) P read by the document reading device 12 is transferred to a predetermined sheet by the operation of these devices. The paper on which the image transfer process has been completed is discharged from a paper discharge port 11a provided at an appropriate position on the wall surface of the copying machine main body 11 toward a paper discharge tray (not shown). An operation panel 11b for inputting various information relating to copying (original size, number of copies, etc.) is provided at an appropriate position of the copying machine main body 11, and a start button 11c is provided at a position close to the operation panel 11b. It has been.

  The document reading device 12 is provided on a base 13 disposed so as to close the upper surface opening of the copier body 11 and on one end side of the base 13 (the back side in FIG. 1 of the copier 10). A document reading unit 14. The document reading unit 14 includes a pair of side plates 15 in the width direction projecting upward from one end of the base 13, and a cover body 16 provided between the upper portions of the side plates 15. An automatic sheet feeder 20 (FIGS. 3 to 6) according to the present invention is mounted in a space surrounded by the pair of side plates 15 and the cover body 16.

  Between the other ends of the side plates 15 (front side in FIG. 1), the document P surrounded by the edges of the side plates 15 and the edges of the cover body 16 is supplied to the automatic paper feeder 20. The document supply port 14a is opened, and a document supply tray 17 protrudes obliquely outward from the document P supply port 14a, and the document P placed on the document supply tray 17 is supplied to the document. The automatic paper feeder 20 is supplied through the opening 14a.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of width direction stoppers 40 is provided at a portion facing the document supply port 14a in the document reading section 14. These stoppers 40 will be described in detail later.

  On the other hand, at a position below the document supply tray 17 between the pair of side plates 15, a document discharge port 14b for discharging the document P that has been read by the automatic paper feeder 20 is opened, and the document discharge port 14b is opened below. A discharge document tray 18 formed by a concave process is formed on the upper surface of the base 13 facing the document supply tray 17, and the document P discharged through the document discharge port 14 b is placed on the discharge document tray 18. Stacked and stored.

  3 to 6 are side sectional views showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeder 20 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows the roller support in the retracted position and the stoppers. FIG. 4 shows a state where the roller support is set at the paper feed position and the stopper is rotatable at the paper stop position. FIG. 6 shows a state where the support is set at the paper feed position and the stopper is set at the paper passing position. FIG. 6 shows that the roller support is set at the retracted position and the stopper is used to avoid paper. Each of the states set to the position is shown.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the automatic paper feeder 20 is mounted in a feeder main body 21 including a pair of side plates 15 and a cover body 16 in the document reading unit 14. A sheet feeding member 30 that sequentially picks up the uppermost one of the bundles of documents P placed on the document feeding tray 17 one by one and feeds them into the apparatus main body 21, and a document attached to the sheet feeding member 30 and the document. After adjusting the position of the document P picked up by the paper feed member 30 and the stopper 40 for manually stopping the leading edge of the bundle of documents P placed on the supply tray 17, the document P is imaged. It has a basic configuration including a gear mechanism 50 for feeding to the reading unit 80. In the present embodiment, the paper feeding unit according to the present invention includes the paper feeding member 30 and the stopper 40.

  7 and 8 are perspective views showing an embodiment of the paper feed member 30. FIG. 7 is a view of the paper feed member 30 as viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the paper feed member 30 from obliquely below. Each state is shown. Hereinafter, the sheet feeding member 30 will be described based on FIGS. 8 and 9 with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the paper feeding member 30 includes a support 31, a paper feed roller 32 and a pickup roller 33 supported by the support 31, and the rollers 32 and 33. And a gear 34 to be operated. In the present embodiment, the support 31 is formed of a synthetic resin molded product, and includes a top plate 31a and a pair of side plates 31b in the width direction formed by being suspended from both ends of the top plate 31a. Yes.

  The sheet feeding roller 32 is pivotally supported around a long shaft (rotating shaft) 35 that is passed through a base end side (left side in FIG. 3) between the side plates 31 b of the support 31. . The long shaft 35 is installed between the center upper positions between the pair of side plates 15 of the feeder main body 21, whereby the paper feeding member 30 is mounted in the feeder main body 21.

  The pickup roller 33 is pivotally supported around a short shaft (feeding shaft) 36 supported on the distal end side (right side in FIG. 3) between the side plates 31 b of the support 31. Then, in the paper feeding member 30, the pick-up roller 33 presses the leading end of the document P as the support 31 rotates about the long shaft 35 in the clockwise direction in FIG. And the retraction position where the pressing of the pickup roller 33 against the document P is released (the pickup roller 33 is positioned at the retraction position). The position can be changed between.

  The gear 34 is short in a slidable contact state via a pickup roller 33 and a one-way clutch 37 through a feed roller gear 34a mounted in a slidable contact state with a long shaft 35 so as to rotate integrally with the paper feed roller 32. There is a pickup roller gear 34b mounted on the shaft 36, and an intermediate gear 34c interposed between the gears 34a and 34b and meshing therewith.

  The one-way clutch 37 transmits the clockwise rotation of the pickup roller gear 34b around the short shaft 36 in FIGS. 3 and 8 to the pickup roller 33, but does not transmit the counterclockwise rotation. The clutch is set to. Thus, there is no inconvenience that the pickup roller 33 rotates counterclockwise around the short shaft 36 and moves the base paper on the document supply tray 17 in the reverse direction.

  The paper feeding roller gear 34a is rotated by obtaining a driving force from the gear mechanism 50, and the forward / reverse rotation is transmitted to the pickup roller gear 34b in synchronization via the intermediate gear 34c. It is like that. Further, the paper feed roller gear 34a and the pickup roller gear 34b are set to have the same diameter, whereby both rotate at the same rotational speed.

  A coil spring 38 loosely fitted on the long shaft 35 is interposed between the end surface of the paper feed roller 32 opposite to the paper feed roller gear 34a and the side plate 31b of the support 31 facing the end surface. It is inserted in a compressed state. Accordingly, the rotation of the paper feed roller 32 is transmitted to the support 31 by a frictional force generated between the coil spring (biasing member) 38 and the end surface of the paper feed roller 32 and between the coil spring 38 and the inner surface of the side plate 31b.

  Accordingly, the support 31 rotates integrally with the paper feed roller 32 around the long shaft 35 in the state where no external force is applied thereto, whereas the pickup roller 33 rotates the support 31 in the clockwise direction to supply the original. In a state where the original P is placed on the tray 17 and the support 31 is set at the paper feed position (see FIG. 5), a rotational force larger than the frictional force is applied to the paper feed roller 32. Thus, the rotation of the support 31 is prevented while the rotation of the paper feed roller 32 is continued.

  On the other hand, when the support body 31 stops against the ceiling of the cover body 16 by the counterclockwise rotation around the long shaft 35 and is set at the retracted position (see FIG. 3), While the rotation of the paper roller 32 in the counterclockwise direction is continued, the rotation of the support 31 is prevented.

  On the other hand, a document front end receiving portion 22 of the same level connected to the downstream end of the document supply tray 17 is formed in the feeder main body 21. The document leading edge receiving portion 22 is provided directly below the pickup roller 33 at a position slightly below the sheet feeding roller 32. The document leading edge receiving portion 22 includes a document placing plate 22a on which the leading end portion of the document P is placed, and a vertical plate 22b suspended from the downstream end (left side in FIG. 3) of the document placing plate 22a. It has become. As shown in FIG. 3, the document placing plate 22a has an inclined portion 22c that is inclined forward on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 3). The leading end portion of the document P placed on the placement plate 22a is advanced, so that the document P is easily drawn toward the paper feed roller 32 by the rotation of the pickup roller 33.

  Further, an inward guide 23 for guiding the document P toward the downstream side (left side in FIG. 3) is provided from a position slightly above the intermediate position in the vertical direction of the vertical plate 22b. In addition, an outer guide body 24 provided at a position outward from the inner guide body 23 in the document reading section 14 is provided corresponding to the inner guide body 23 from the downstream end position of the support body 31. Yes.

  The inward guide body 23 is connected to the vertical plate 22b of the document front end receiving portion 22 and is inclined so as to incline upward toward the downstream side, and a circular shape so that the front end is directed downward from the inclined guide portion 23a. It comprises an arcuate guide portion 23b extending in an arc shape (specifically, a 1/4 arc shape). On the other hand, the outer guide body 24 is shaped so that the gap between the outer guide body 24 and the arcuate guide portion 23b is substantially constant, and the document is placed between the outer guide body 24 and the arcuate guide portion 23b. An arcuate guide space 14c for guiding P toward the resist roller 27 is formed.

  In addition, the lower peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 32 is in sliding contact with the upper part of the inclined guide portion 23a of the inner guide body 23, or is opposed so as to have a slight gap (a gap narrower than the thickness of the base paper). The document P introduced into the document reading unit 14 from the document supply port 14a is sandwiched between the sheet feed roller 32 and the slide contact body 25, and is fed to the sheet feed roller 32. It is guided by the clockwise rotation around the long shaft 35 and guided to the arcuate guide space 14c.

  The sliding contact body 25 is formed of a flexible material that can be easily elastically deformed, such as a soft foamable synthetic resin, and the sliding contact body 25 and the sheet feeding roller 32 that rotate clockwise around the long axis 35. The original P supplied between the two can be passed by the compression elastic deformation of the sliding contact body 25. When two originals P are supplied between the paper supply roller 32 and the sliding contact body 25, the peripheral surface of the rotating paper supply roller 32 acts only on the uppermost original P, Since the lower document P is blocked by the sliding contact body 25, only the upper document P is fed into the arcuate guide space 14c.

  Further, from the upper end portion of the vertical plate 22b of the document leading edge receiving portion 22, the lower surface abuts on the upstream side of the sliding contact body 25, and the leading end of the feeding roller 32 is above the document supply port 14a side of the sliding contact body 25. A guide plate 26 facing the peripheral surface is extended. The extending position is set so that the upper surface of the guide plate 26 is flush with the upper surface of the lower end portion of the vertical plate 22b of the document leading edge receiving portion 22.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide plates 26 are provided in a pair in the width direction at positions immediately downstream of the pair of stoppers 40 in the document reading unit 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, 7, and 8, the stopper 40 is a cross shaft (in the form of a cross in an end view protruding outward from each side plate 31 b of the support 31). (Support shaft) 44 is rotatably supported around the shaft. The cross shaft 44 is adopted because the contact area between the cross shaft 44 and the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole 41a of the stopper 40 fitted on the cross shaft 44 is reduced, and thereby the stopper 40 is rotated. This is to reduce the frictional force when moving so that the stopper 40 can be easily rotated. The cross shaft 44 is provided between the long shaft 35 and the short shaft 36 on the outer surface of the side plate 31 b of the support 31 and slightly above the position near the short shaft 36.

  The stopper 40 includes a mounting cylinder 41 having a mounting hole 41 a that is fitted in a sliding contact with the cross shaft 44, a stopper piece 42 that faces the leading edge of the document on the paper feeding mechanism 17, and a mounting hole. And an engaging piece 43 projecting upward from 41a.

  The stopper piece 42 extends downward from the mounting cylinder 41 and has a lower end opposed to the leading edge of the sheet on the sheet supply tray that is in contact with the upper left surface of the vertical plate 22b of the document leading edge receiving portion 22 in FIG. Is set.

  The stopper 40 faces the leading edge of the document P on the document supply tray 17 by the stopper piece 42 hanging down and the lower end portion of the stopper 40 abutting on the upper portion of the vertical plate 22b of the document leading edge receiving portion 22. 4 between the document stop position (paper stop position) and the document passing position (paper passing position) shown in FIG. 5 in which the stopper piece 42 is rotated clockwise around the cross shaft 44. The position can be changed with.

  On the other hand, on the back surface side of the cover body 16, a protruding portion 60 is provided so as to protrude downward facing the engaging piece 43. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 60 is shaped like an inverted triangle when viewed from the side, and has a first inclined surface 61 on the side of the document P in the transport direction (left side in FIG. 3), and the transport direction of the paper. A second inclined surface 62 is provided on the side opposite to the side.

  While the sheet feeding member 30 rotates counterclockwise around the long shaft 35 and is positioned at the retracted position (FIG. 3), the engagement piece 43 contacts the first inclined surface 61, When the paper feeding member 30 set at the retracted position is rotated clockwise around the long shaft 35 and set at the paper feeding position (FIGS. 4 and 5), The contact with the inclined surface 61 is released, so that the stopper 40 can be repositioned between the base paper passing position (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) and the base paper stop position (FIG. 4). It has become.

  Therefore, in a state where the paper feeding member 30 is set at the retracted position and the stopper 40 is set at the original document stopping position (FIG. 3), the engaging piece 43 contacts the first inclined surface 61 of the protrusion 60. This stops the rotation of the stopper piece 42 about the cross shaft 44 in the clockwise direction. Therefore, the bundle of documents P is put into the document reader 14 via the document supply port 14a. Even if the leading edge is pressed against the stopper piece 42, the stopper piece 42 does not move. Therefore, the leading edge of the bundle of documents P is pressed against the pair of stopper pieces 42. The edges can be aligned reliably.

  Further, the sheet feeding member 30 is positioned at the sheet feeding position (that is, the engagement piece 43 is detached from the projection 60 and the pickup roller 33 is pressed against the document P positioned at the top of the document bundle. In this state, when the pickup roller 33 is driven and rotated clockwise around the short shaft 36, the uppermost document P is guided by the rotation of the pickup roller 33 and drawn downstream, and the stopper piece 42 is As shown by a solid line in FIG. 5, the document P is pushed at the leading end of the document P, rotated counterclockwise around the cross shaft 44, and further pushed, whereby the document P as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Will pass through the lower edge of the stopper piece 42 and be introduced into the arcuate guide space 14 c of the document reading unit 14.

  Then, when the trailing edge of the uppermost document P in the document bundle passes the lower end edge of the stopper piece 42 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, the lower end edge of the stopper piece 42 corresponds to the document P indicated by the two-dot chain line. When the contact is eliminated, the stopper 40 rotates counterclockwise around the cross shaft 44, and as a result, as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 40 is positioned at the base paper passing position (that is, the lower end edge of the stopper piece 42 is in contact with the upper surface of the document P). It is also possible to cope with a situation where the sheet feeding member 30 has been changed to the retracted position. Specifically, in a state where the stopper 40 is set at the passing position, the protrusion 60 is set and positioned so that the engagement piece 43 of the stopper 40 faces the second inclined surface 62 of the protrusion 60. It is set.

  Therefore, if the sheet feeding member 30 rotates counterclockwise around the long shaft 35 with the stopper 40 positioned at the base paper passing position (that is, if the position is changed to the retracted position). As shown in FIG. 6, the engagement piece 43 abuts against the second inclined surface 62 of the projection 60, thereby preventing the stopper 40 from rotating counterclockwise around the cross shaft 44. The inconvenience that the lower end of the stopper piece 42 at the stop position presses the upper surface of the document P and damages the document P is avoided.

  At the downstream end position of the arcuate guide space 14c in the document reading unit 14 which is substantially vertical, a part of the peripheral surface is slightly from the downstream end of the arcuate guide unit 23b of the inner guide 23 to the document discharge port 14b. A protruding registration roller 27 is provided, and a first play roller 281 whose peripheral surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the registration roller 27 is provided immediately below the arcuate guide space 14c.

  The registration roller 27 is provided in the vicinity of the center of curvature of the arcuate guide portion 23b so as to be concentrically and integrally rotatable around a registration roller shaft 27a provided between the pair of side plates 15 so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the document P. In addition, the first play roller 281 is rotatably supported around a first play roller shaft 281a parallel to the resist roller shaft 27a.

  The first play roller 281 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the resist roller 27 by the urging force of the urging means 281b that urges the first play roller shaft 281a toward the resist roller 27. The leading edge of the document P that has reached this position is securely pressed and clamped between the peripheral surfaces of both.

  Further, a second play roller 282 that is rotatably supported around the second play roller shaft 282a is provided at an obliquely lower position on the right side of the resist roller 27 in FIG. Accordingly, the document P after the leading edge is positioned by the registration roller 27 and the first play roller 281 is guided by the counterclockwise rotation around the registration roller shaft 27a and is moved downward from the position of the first play roller 281. The image reading unit 80 is formed directly below the resist roller 27 while being guided by a first paper guide 291 formed substantially along the peripheral surface of the resist roller 27.

  Then, the document P that has passed through the image reading unit 80 is registered while being guided by a second paper guide 292 that is substantially along the peripheral surface of the registration roller 27 provided on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 3) of the image reading unit 80. It is guided by the rotation of the resist roller 27 while being sandwiched between the roller 27 and the second play roller 282, and is discharged onto the discharged document tray 18 through the document discharge port 14b.

  A discharge roller 283 that rotates and rotates counterclockwise around the discharge roller shaft 283a is provided above the discharge passage 14d at a position facing the document discharge port 14b in the document reading unit 14. The driving rotation ensures that the document P is discharged onto the discharged document tray 18.

  The image reading section 80 is arranged in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3) through a slight gap that allows the document P to pass between the upper surface of the copying machine main body 11 and the lower peripheral surface of the registration roller 27. ) And an image detection sensor 82 for optically reading the document image of the document P through the contact glass 81. Therefore, an image described on the document P that is guided by the rotation of the resist roller 27 around the resist roller shaft 27a and passes through the upper surface of the contact glass 81 in a sliding state is caused by the image detection sensor 82 as the document P moves. It will be read sequentially.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic side view for explaining an embodiment of the gear mechanism 50 of the automatic paper feeder 20. As shown in this figure, the gear mechanism 50 includes a drive gear 51 provided concentrically with a drive shaft 71 of a drive motor 70 provided at an appropriate position in the document reading unit 14 and integrally rotatable. A central gear 52 that is meshed and rotatably supported around a central gear shaft 52a, and a shaft that is interposed between the central gear 52 and the paper feed roller gear 34a and is rotatable about a first interposing gear shaft 53a. A first interposed gear 53 that is supported, a second interposed gear 54 that is rotatably supported around the second interposed gear shaft 54 a while meshing with the central gear 52, and the second interposed gear 54. And a resist gear 55 that is rotatably supported around the resist gear shaft 55a.

  The drive shaft 71, the first interposed gear shaft 53a, the second interposed gear shaft 54a, and the registration gear shaft 55a are all oriented in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the document P. The gear ratio of each gear is set so that the peripheral speed of the pickup roller 33 and the peripheral speed of the registration roller 27 are the same.

  A one-way clutch 56 is provided between the registration gear shaft 55a and the registration roller shaft 27a so as to selectively transmit and disconnect the rotational torque of a winding spring or the like depending on the rotational direction of the shaft, and the registration gear shaft 55a. Is forwardly rotated (clockwise in FIG. 9), the one-way clutch 56 is disengaged so that the rotation of the registration gear shaft 55a is not transmitted to the registration roller 27, while the registration gear shaft 55a is reversely rotated. In the case of (counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 9), the one-way clutch 56 is engaged, whereby the registration roller 27 rotates integrally with the registration gear shaft 55a.

  In the present invention, the leading edge of the document P introduced into the arcuate guide space 14 c by the counterclockwise driving rotation around the long axis 35 of the paper feed roller 32 is the registration roller 27 and the first play roller 281. The one-way clutch 56 is disengaged until the opposite position is reached, and the one-way clutch 56 is joined when the leading edge of the document P reaches the opposite position between the registration roller 27 and the first play roller 281. It has become. In synchronism with the engagement of the one-way clutch 56, the drive motor 70 is switched to reverse rotation (rotation toward the clockwise direction around the drive shaft 71).

  In order to detect the leading edge of the document P as described above, in the present embodiment, the leading edge detection sensor 91 (see FIG. 3) is positioned at the lower end position of the outer guide member 24 and at the position facing the leading edge portion of the registered document P. To FIG. 6). Further, a rear end detection sensor 92 for detecting the rear end of the document P discharged to the discharged document tray 18 through the discharge passage 14d is provided in the vicinity of the document discharge port 14b.

  When the leading edge detection sensor 91 detects the leading edge of the document P, this detection signal is input to a control device (not shown), and the control device switches the rotation direction to the reverse rotation toward the drive motor 70 based on this detection signal. While the control signal is output, when the trailing edge detection sensor 92 detects the birth of the document P, the detection signal is input to the control device, and the control device releases the clutch toward the one-way clutch 56 based on the detection signal. A control signal is output.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the automatic paper feeder 20 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Before the bundle of documents P is supplied to the automatic paper feeder 20, as shown in FIG. 3, the stopper 40 is positioned at the document contact position with the sheet feeding member 30 positioned at the retracted position. The stopper 40 is fixed so that the original stop position of the stopper 40 cannot be changed by the contact of the engaging piece 43 with the first inclined surface 61 of the protrusion 60.

  When the bundle of documents P is supplied onto the document supply tray 17 in this state, the bundle of documents P is grasped and the leading end is pushed into the document reading unit 14 from the document supply port 14a by manual operation, as shown in FIG. Then, the stopper piece 42 is stopped. At this time, since the stopper 40 is fixed so as not to move, the leading end of the bundle of documents P hits the stopper piece 42 which does not move and is aligned.

  Next, after confirming that the leading ends of the bundle of documents P are aligned, a predetermined input operation such as the number of copies is performed on the operation panel 11b (FIG. 1), and the start button 11c (FIG. 1) is continuously turned on. Manipulate. The ON operation of the start button 11c is output as a drive signal to the drive motor 70 via the control device, and the drive motor 70 starts forward rotation (rotation in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9, indicated by an arrow). To do.

  The forward rotation of the drive motor 70 is transmitted to the paper feed roller gear 34a via the drive gear 51, the central gear 52 and the first interposing gear 53, and further, the pickup roller gear 34b via the intermediate gear 34c. As a result, the paper feed roller gear 34a and the pickup roller gear 34b rotate in the clockwise direction.

  When the paper feeding roller gear 34a rotates in the clockwise direction, the paper feeding roller 32 integral with the pickup roller gear 34b also rotates in the clockwise direction, and for the paper feeding roller via the coil spring 38 (FIG. 8). The support 31 in contact with the gear 34a is also rotated clockwise around the long shaft 35, so that the pickup roller 33 presses the upper surface of the uppermost document P in the document bundle, as shown in FIG. It becomes a state. In this state, slip occurs between the coil spring 38 and the side plate 31 b of the support 31, thereby preventing further rotation of the sheet feeding member 30, and the pickup roller 33 moves the document P to a predetermined pressure. It will be in the pressed state.

  Accordingly, the document P positioned at the top of the sheet bundle is guided by the clockwise rotation around the short shaft 36 of the pickup roller 33 and moves toward the downstream side (left side in FIG. 4), and the stopper piece 42. Press. At this time, the stopper 40 moves to the downstream side because the engaging piece 43 is free from the first inclined surface 61 of the protrusion 60 because the position of the sheet feeding member 30 is changed to the sheet feeding position. It is pushed by the leading edge of the original P to be turned, and is rotated clockwise around the cross shaft 44, and the position is changed to the original passing position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  As a result, the document P passes through the lower end of the stopper piece 42 and reaches the sheet feeding roller 32, and is guided downstream by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 32 while being sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 32 and the sliding contact body 25. It advances toward the side and is introduced into the arcuate guide space 14c. The feeding of the original P toward the registration roller 27 by driving the paper feeding roller 32 is called primary paper feeding.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the forward drive rotation of the drive motor 70 is also transmitted to the registration gear 55 via the drive gear 51, the central gear 52, and the second interposed gear 54, and the registration gear 55 is rotated around the registration gear shaft 55a. The one-way clutch 56 is disengaged at this time, and the registration roller 27 is stopped.

  When the leading edge of the document P, which is guided in the rotation of the paper feeding roller 32 and is moving in the arcuate guide space 14c, reaches the position where the registration roller 27 and the first play roller 281 face each other, the leading edge detection sensor 91 is activated. This is detected, and this detection signal is input to the control device. When this detection signal is input, the control device outputs a drive signal for the drive motor 70 to rotate backward (rotation toward the clockwise direction around the drive shaft 71) toward the drive motor 70.

  As a result, the registration roller 27 rotates counterclockwise around the registration roller shaft 27a via the registration gear 55 and the one-way clutch 56, so that the document P whose leading end is positioned at the registration position is registered with the registration roller 27 as shown in FIG. 27, the original image is read by the image detection sensor 82 while passing through the gap between the peripheral surface of the resist roller 27 and the contact glass 81 while being guided by the first paper guide 291, and subsequently the second paper guide 292. Then, the document is discharged from the document discharge port 14b toward the discharged document tray 18 through the discharge passage 14d. The feeding of the document P toward the image reading unit 80 by the rotation of the registration roller 27 is called secondary feeding.

  On the other hand, the feed roller 32 does not rotate around the long shaft 35 because the one-way clutch (not shown) is in a clutch-off state when the drive motor 70 is rotating in the reverse direction. There is no inconvenience that the document P is pulled in the reverse direction.

  The pickup roller 33 does not rotate by the action of the one-way clutch 37 when the paper supply roller 32 rotates counterclockwise around the long shaft 35. Even if it is in contact with the document P, there is no problem that the document P is fed back upstream.

  When the trailing edge detection sensor 92 detects the completion of the discharge of the document P from the document discharge port 14b, the control device generates a drive signal for causing the drive motor 70 to perform forward rotation based on the detection signal. As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet feeding member 30 and the stopper 40 once return to the sheet feeding position and the document stopping position, respectively, and then the second document P is imaged by the same operation as described above. It is sent out toward the reading unit 80.

  When the document presence / absence sensor 93 detects that the document P on the document supply tray 17 has run out, the drive motor 70 rotates in the reverse direction (clockwise in FIG. 9) in accordance with a control signal from the control device based on this detection signal. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet feeding member 30 (FIG. 4) positioned at the sheet feeding position is moved to the retracted position as shown in FIG. The document stop position set by stopping against the first inclined surface 61 of the portion 60 is fixed. In this state, the drive motor 70 is stopped, and a series of reading processing of the original P is completed.

  Next, focusing on the pickup roller 33, the operation thereof will be described. The support 31 that rotatably supports the pickup roller 33 around the short shaft 36 is configured to reciprocate between the retracted position and the feeding position every time the document P is fed one by one. The pick-up roller 33 then rotates the uppermost document P by the clockwise rotation around the short shaft 36 in a state where the support 31 is set at the paper feeding position in the primary paper feeding (see FIGS. 4 and 5). On the other hand, in the secondary paper feeding, as shown in FIG. 6, the pickup roller 33 is retracted to the retracted position, so that the pickup roller 33 does not become a transport load for transporting the original P by the secondary paper feeding. .

  In addition, after all the documents P stacked on the document supply tray 17 are completely fed, the support 31 set at the retracted position shown in FIG. 6 is temporarily returned to the feeding position (FIG. 4). As a result, the stopper 40 is released from the contact with the protruding portion 60 and becomes free of rotation. Subsequently, the support body 31 is positioned at the retracted position, so that the stopper 40 is in the initial state as shown in FIG. The position is set to the paper stopping position.

  Incidentally, the primary paper feed when the drive motor 70 is driven forward (drive rotation in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9), and the secondary paper feed when the drive motor 70 is driven backward (drive rotation in the clockwise direction in FIG. 9). Table 1 summarizes the rotation direction of the sheet feeding roller 32, the pickup roller 33, and the registration roller 27 and the position change of the sheet feeding member 30 (support 31) in each sheet feeding.

  As described above in detail, the automatic paper feeder 20 according to the present invention has the paper feed member 30 that feeds the original P in the original reading device 12 directly downstream of the original supply tray 17 and the leading end of the original P. A stopper 40 that is used to align the leading edge of the document P by stopping it, and the paper feeding member 30 is positioned at a retracted position that does not interfere with the leading edge alignment of the document P by the stopper 40 before the apparatus is driven, and The position of the document P can be changed between the position where the document P is brought into contact with the top surface of the front end portion and the document P is fed into the document reading device 12. When the leading end of the document P is stopped when the position 30 is set at the retracted position, the sheet stopping position facing the leading end of the document P and the sheet feeding member 30 are set at the sheet feeding position. In a state where the paper feeding member 3 is Get past the document P has been fed is positioned capable of changing between the sheet leading frame spent positions by.

  Therefore, by setting the paper feed member 30 to the retracted position, the stopper 40 is fixed at the paper contact position in conjunction with the paper feed member 30, so that the leading edge of the original P on the original supply tray 17 is stopped by the stopper. By pressing against 40, the leading edge of the document P can be reliably aligned. When the position of the sheet feeding member 30 is changed to the sheet feeding position with the leading edges of the documents P aligned, the stopper 40 is set to the sheet passing position in conjunction with this position change. By driving the member 30, the documents P are fed into the document reading device 12 one by one while sequentially passing the stopper 40.

In this manner, the stopper 40 interlocks with the position change of the paper feed member 30 and does not move even if the leading edge of the original P is brought into contact with the paper feed member 30 set at the retracted position. Since the position of the sheet feeding member 30 is set to the sheet feeding position, the position of the sheet feeding member 30 is set to the sheet passing position for passing the fed document P. Do, the position change operation of the conveyor elements 30, compared with those that have been configured to perform the position change operation and a different driving source of the stopper 40, the feed to the secure document reader 12 of the document P In addition, the number of parts can be reduced by sharing the drive source, which can contribute to the reduction of parts cost and assembly cost.

  The sheet feeding member 30 rotates about a short shaft 36 extending in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction for the uppermost sheet of the document P provided to face the front end of the document P on the document supply tray 17. A pick-up roller 33 for picking up, a paper feed roller 32 for feeding the picked-up document P into the document reading device 12 by rotation around a long shaft 35 parallel to the short shaft 36, and the rollers 32 and 33 for the long shaft 35. And a support 31 supported via a short shaft 36, and the pick-up roller 33 is moved by changing the position between the retracted position and the paper feed position by forward and reverse rotation of the support 31 around the long shaft 35. Since the position can be changed between the retracted position that does not interfere with the leading edge alignment of P and the paper feed position where the pickup roller 33 contacts the leading edge of the document P, the support 31 is positioned at the retracted position. This Accordingly, the pickup roller 33 pivotally supported on the short shaft 36, together are positioned set at the retracted position where it does not interfere with the front end portion of the document P, the stopper 40 is located set into the paper abutting-stop position. In this state, the leading edge of the document P is stopped against the stopper 40, so that the leading edge of the document P can be aligned stably.

  Next, by rotating the support 31 around the long shaft 35 and setting the position to the paper feed position, the pickup roller 33 is changed to the paper feed position and is brought into contact with the upper surface of the document P. At the same time, since the stopper 40 is set at the paper passing position, in this state, by rotating both the pickup roller 33 and the paper feeding roller 32 around the short shaft 36 and the long shaft 35 in a predetermined direction, The document P at the top of the sheet bundle is taken up by the pickup roller 33 and is subsequently supplied into the document reading device 12 while passing the stopper 40 by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 32.

  As described above, the paper feeding member 30 is constituted by the pickup roller 33 and the paper feeding roller 32 that operate in conjunction with the stopper 40, thereby simplifying the structure of the automatic paper feeding device, and the original P Thus, it is possible to reliably execute the leading edge alignment and the subsequent paper feeding process for the original P into the original reading device 12.

  The stopper 40 is pivotally supported between the short shaft 36 and the long shaft 35 of the support 31 so as to be rotatable around a cross shaft 44 parallel to them, and extends downward from the position of the cross shaft 44 to supply a document. A stopper piece 42 facing the leading edge of the document P on the tray 17 and an engagement piece 43 projecting upward are provided. The document reader 12 corresponds to the engagement piece 43. A protrusion 60 is provided, and the protrusion 60 fixes the stopper piece 42 to the paper contact position by interference with the engaging piece 43 in a state where the paper supply member 30 is set at the retracted position, Since the shape of the stopper piece 42 is set to the paper passing position by releasing the interference in a state where the member 30 is set to the paper feeding position, the support 31 is set to the retracted position. In this state, the engaging piece 43 of the stopper 40 is Vessels engaged with the protrusion 60 of the main body, whereby it is possible to fix the paper abutting-stop position of the stopper 40. In this state, the leading edge of the document P can be stably aligned.

  Then, by positioning the support 31 at the paper feeding position, the engagement of the engagement piece 43 with respect to the protrusion 60 is released, whereby the stopper 40 is allowed to rotate the paper around the cross shaft 44. Since the position of the original P can be set, the original P is directed to the paper feed roller 32 rotating around the long shaft 35 by passing the stopper piece 42 by the rotation of the pickup roller 33 around the short shaft 36. The document P can be fed into the document reading device 12 by the sheet feeding roller 32.

  In this way, the stopper 40 extends downward from the position of the cross shaft 44 and faces the leading edge of the document P on the document supply tray 17, and the engagement piece 43 projecting upward. In addition to simplifying the structure of the stopper 40, both the leading edge alignment operation of the document P and the feeding operation of the document P in which the leading edge alignment is completed into the document reading device 12 are performed. It can be done reliably.

  Further, the protrusion 60 is moved by the engagement piece 43 when the paper feed member 30 that has been set at the paper feed position in the state where the stopper piece 42 is set at the paper passing position is moved to the retracted position. The stopper piece 42 is shaped so that it can be repositioned to a paper avoidance position that avoids interference with the original P due to the interference with the position of the stopper 40, so that the position of the stopper 40 can be easily and reliably changed by such shape setting. It is also possible to maintain the retracted position, which is effective in simplifying the apparatus while ensuring such a function.

  Further, the document reading device 12 is provided with an openable / closable cover body 16 that covers the paper feeding member 30, and a protrusion 60 is provided on the cover body 16. Since it is positioned above the stopper 40, it is suitable as a member for providing the protrusion 60.

  When trouble such as a paper jam occurs, the cover body 16 is usually removed and a repair process is performed. However, by removing the cover body 16, interference with the stopper 40 of the protrusion 60 is eliminated and the stopper 40 is removed. Since the position can be freely changed, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such that the stopper 40 which does not move during trouble solving processing becomes an obstacle.

  Further, the protrusion 60 is formed in an inverted triangle shape having a first inclined surface 61 on the conveyance direction side of the document P and a second inclined surface 62 on the opposite side to the conveyance direction side of the document P, and the stopper 40. When the paper feed member 30 is set to the retracted position in the state where the original P does not exist in the lower position, the engaging piece 43 comes into contact with the first inclined surface 61 and the original P exists in the lower position of the stopper 40. In this state, the merged piece comes into contact with the second inclined surface 62, and the shape is set so that the contact of the engaging piece 43 with the protrusion 60 is released in the state where the paper feeding member 30 is set at the paper feeding position. Since the position is set, in a state where the document P does not exist at the position below the stopper 40 (that is, a state where the leading edge of the document P is aligned before paper feeding is performed), the sheet feeding member 30 is positioned at the retracted position. As a result, the engagement piece 43 protrudes. The paper contact position of the stopper 40 is maintained by abutting against the first inclined surface 61 of the portion 60, while the document P exists at a position below the stopper 40 (that is, while the document P is being supplied to the document reading device 12). In a certain state), even when the stopper 40 is set at the retracted position, the sheet passing position of the stopper 40 is maintained by the engagement piece 43 coming into contact with the second inclined surface 62 of the protrusion 60.

  Therefore, even if a situation occurs in which the document P being fed must be pulled out in the direction opposite to the feeding direction due to some trouble (for example, a paper jam), the stopper 40 returns to the paper stop position and the document P It is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such that the original P cannot be pulled out in the reverse direction due to interference.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the automatic sheet feeder 20 is applied to the copying machine 10, but the present invention is not limited to the automatic sheet feeder 20 applied to the copying machine 10. In addition, the present invention can be applied to various image reading devices such as a facsimile machine and a computer image input device.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the engaging piece 43 provided on the stopper 40 and the protrusion provided on the cover body 16 have a structure in which the position of the stopper 40 is changed in accordance with the change in the position of the paper feeding member 30. However, the present invention is not limited to the position changing structure of the stopper 40 configured by the engaging piece 43 and the protrusion 60, and various structures can be employed. For example, the long shaft 35 that does not rotate relative to the paper feed member 30 and the appropriate position of the stopper 40 are connected to each other by a predetermined interposition structure, whereby the paper feed member 30 around the long shaft 35 is connected. A structure in which the position of the stopper 40 is changed in accordance with forward and reverse rotation can be obtained.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the rotation of the paper feeding roller gear 34a is transmitted to the pickup roller gear 34b by interposing the intermediate gear 34c between the paper feeding roller gear 34a and the pickup roller gear 34b. However, instead of this, an endless belt such as a timing belt is stretched between the paper feeding roller gear 34a and the pickup roller gear 34b (actually a pickup roller pulley). The rotation of the feed roller gear 34a may be transmitted to the pickup roller pulley.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, in the gear mechanism 50, the rotation of the central gear 52 is transmitted to the registration gear 55 by interposing the second interposed gear 54 between the central gear 52 and the registration gear 55. However, instead of this, an endless belt such as a timing belt is stretched between the central gear 52 and the registration gear 55 (actually a registration pulley), and the rotation of the central gear 52 is transmitted to the registration pulley via the endless belt. You may make it do.

  (5) In the above embodiment, at the time of secondary feeding immediately after the leading edge of the document P sent into the arcuate guide space 14 c by the driving rotation of the feeding roller 32 is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 91, The drive motor 70 is switched to the reverse rotation, and the rotation direction of the paper feed roller 32 that has been rotated clockwise around the long shaft 35 until now is rotated in the reverse direction (counterclockwise). By rotating the paper feed member 30 in the counterclockwise direction, the passing position of the stopper 40 is fixed as shown in FIG. 6, but instead of this, the paper feed roller gear 34a and the paper feed roller are fixed. A clutch is provided between the leading edge detection sensor 91 and the trailing edge detection sensor 92 until the trailing edge detection sensor 92 detects the birth of the document P, that is, the drive motor 70 rotates in the reverse direction. Engage the clutch during secondary feeding. By, as shown in FIG. 4, it may be to continue the document abutting-stop position of the feeding position and the stopper 40 of the conveyor elements 30.

  In this case, the document P placed next on the document supply tray 17 is targeted, and after the document presence / absence sensor 93 detects that the document P does not exist on the document supply tray 17, the driving is performed. It is necessary to return to the state shown in FIG. 3 in which the motor 70 is driven in the reverse direction, whereby the paper feeding member 30 is set at the retracted position and the document stop position of the stopper 40 is fixed.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a copying machine which is a kind of an image processing apparatus to which an automatic sheet feeder according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inside of the document reading device in the copying machine of FIG. 1 is viewed from the document supply port side. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeder according to the present invention, showing a state where the roller support is set at the retracted position and the stopper is set at the paper contact position. ing. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeder according to the present invention, in which the roller support is set at the paper feed position and the stopper is rotatable at the paper contact position. Indicates the state. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeding device according to the present invention, in which the roller support is set at the paper feeding position and the stopper is set at the paper passing position. Is shown. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeder according to the present invention, and shows a state where the roller support is set at the retracted position and the stopper is set at the paper avoiding position. ing. It is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a paper feed member, and shows the state where the paper feed member was seen from diagonally above. It is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a paper feed member, and shows the state where a paper feed member was seen from the slanting lower part. It is explanatory drawing of the schematic side view for demonstrating one Embodiment of the gear mechanism of an automatic paper feeder.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Copier 11 Copier main body 11a Paper discharge port 11b Operation panel 11c Start button 12 Document reading device 13 Base 14 Document reading part 14a Document supply port 14b Document discharge port 14c Arc-shaped guide space 14d Discharge passage 15 Side plate 16 Cover body 17 Document supply tray 18 Discharged document tray 20 Automatic paper feeder 21 Feeder body 22 Document leading edge receiving portion 22a Document placement plate 22b Vertical plate 22c Inclined portion 23 Inner guide body 23a Inclined guide portion 23b Arc-shaped guide portion 24 Outer guide Body 25 Sliding contact body 26 Guide plate 27 Registration roller 281 First play roller 281a First play roller shaft 281b Energizing means 282 Second play roller 282a Second play roller shaft 283 Discharge roller 291 First paper guide 292 Second paper guide 30 Feeding member 31 Support 31a Top plate 31b Side plate 3 2 Feed roller 33 Pick-up roller 34 Gear 34a Feed roller gear 34b Pick-up roller gear 34c Intermediate gear 35 Long shaft (paper feed shaft)
36 Short shaft (feeding shaft) 37 One-way clutch 38 Coil spring (biasing member)
40 Stopper 41 Mounting cylinder 42 Stopper piece 43 Engagement piece 44 Cross shaft (support shaft)
50 gear mechanism 51 drive gear 52 central gear 52a central gear shaft 53 first intermediate gear 53a first intermediate gear shaft 54 second intermediate gear 55 registration gear 55a registration gear shaft 56 one-way clutch 60 protrusion 61 first inclined surface 62 first 2 inclined surfaces 70 drive motor 71 drive shaft 80 image reading unit 81 contact glass 82 image detection sensor 91 leading edge detection sensor 92 trailing edge detection sensor 93 document presence / absence sensor P document (paper)

Claims (5)

In the automatic paper feeding device that feeds the paper placed on the paper tray one by one along the guide portion into the device main body by rotating the drive unit and operating the paper feeding unit,
Both ends of the sheet feeding unit are pivotally supported by the apparatus main body, and a sheet feeding roller attached to a sheet feeding shaft that is rotated by the rotational force of the driving unit;
A support body swingably provided on the paper feed shaft and a feed shaft provided on the support body in a pivotable manner parallel to the paper feed shaft and transmitting the rotational force of the paper feed shaft. With the pick-up roller enabled,
An attachment is provided between the paper feed roller and the support, and is configured to enable the support to rotate with respect to the rotation of the paper feed shaft between the retracted position and the paper feed position when the drive unit is rotated. A force member;
A front end of a paper that is supported by the support and swingably provided on a support shaft parallel to the paper feed shaft, and is suspended in a state where the support is positioned at a retracted position and placed on a paper tray. A stopper for regulating the position;
A protrusion that is provided in the apparatus main body, engages with the stopper at a retracted position, and restricts its movement;
The stopper is
It is arranged between the paper feeding shaft and the feeding shaft, is pivotally supported around a supporting shaft parallel to these shafts, and extends downwardly from the position of the supporting shaft so that the paper on the paper supply tray A stopper piece that opposes the leading edge, and an engaging piece that protrudes upward.
The protrusion is
While the support is positioned at the retracted position, the stopper piece is positioned at the paper stop position due to interference with the engagement piece, while the support is positioned at the paper feed position. When the interference is released, the stopper piece is set to the paper passing position, and
The stopper piece is engaged with the engaging piece when the support member, which has been set at the paper feeding position in the state where the stopper piece is set at the paper passing position, is changed to the retracted position. Is shaped so that it can be repositioned to a paper avoidance position to avoid interference with the paper when it is pulled out in the reverse direction,
A paper automatic feeder characterized by that.   The pick-up roller rotates the pick-up roller synchronously with the paper-feed roller while the rotation of the paper-feed roller is transmitted via a rotation transmission member and the support member is positioned at the paper feed position. 2. The automatic paper feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a one-way clutch that restricts rotation of the pickup roller in the reverse direction when the position is changed from the paper feeding position to the retracted position. The automatic sheet feeder according to claim 2 , wherein the apparatus main body has a cover body that can be freely opened and closed to cover the support body, and the protrusion is provided on the cover body. The protrusion has a first inclined surface on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction and is formed in an inverted triangle shape having a second inclined surface on the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction, and the support is positioned at the retracted position. In this state, the engagement piece comes into contact with either one of the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface, and the contact of the engagement piece with the protrusion is released in a state where the support is positioned at the paper feed position. The automatic paper feeder according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the shape and position are set as described above. 5. The automatic paper feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change of the position of the support is linked to an operation of a drive mechanism that pulls a paper provided in the apparatus main body into the apparatus main body.

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