JPH0724378Y2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a circulating automatic document feeder, and particularly, in the circulating automatic document feeder, the originals accommodated in a document stacker are fed from above. In addition, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a recirculated document is returned from a lower return port of a document stacker.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, this type of apparatus is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine,
The originals stacked and set on the original stacker are separated one by one and conveyed to a predetermined exposure unit, returned to the original stacker after the exposure is completed, and the next original is fed from the original stacker to the exposure unit. When the stacked set originals are circulated and conveyed once, one copy of all the stacked originals is obtained, and when the circulated conveyance is repeated a predetermined number of times, a predetermined number of copies are obtained. It is what is done.

In such a case, by feeding the originals stacked on the original stacker from the upper part and returning the originals after the circulation from the lower part of the original stacker, it is possible to obtain a circulating automatic original feeding device which can easily cope with high speed.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above case, the original document after being circulated to the exposure section and the like must be returned to the lower part of the original document stacked and set in the original document stacker through the lower return port, and provided on both sides of the original document stored in the original document stacker. It was difficult to narrow the space between the width regulating plates to align the recirculated originals, because it causes jams and damages to the originals.

Further, in the case of high-speed conveyance, it is time-consuming to cause the width regulating plate to perform the matching operation every time the document is discharged to the document stacker.

In consideration of the above points, this device can easily cope with high speed,
The main purpose of the image forming apparatus is to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with a circulating automatic document feeder which does not cause a jam or a document damage.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

That is, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is a circulating type automatic document feeder of the original take-out / reverse type, and is discharged from the image forming apparatus through an original return port provided near the center of the bottom surface of the original stacker. A mechanism for sucking and separating and feeding the uppermost sheet of the originals accumulated on the original stack portion on the original stacker whose front end is regulated by the reference stopper by the air suction means and the conveying means, and then conveying the originals by the conveying rollers. In the image forming apparatus equipped with, the distance between the pair of width regulating plates that is provided upright over the entire length of the document stacker and extends to the nip roller position is determined by the dimensional difference between the distance and the width of the document. Toward the nip roller position from the document stack part where the documents are piled up, the nip roller When starting the sandwiched conveying a document by themselves, it is characterized in that to carry out the skew corrected to release the temporarily clamped.

〔Example〕

 The configuration will be described in detail below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an RDH (recycling type automatic document feeder) loaded on the copying machine 2, and a document (paper) stacker 11 and a document stacker 11 are housed in the machine frame 10. A paper feeding unit 12 for separating the separated originals one by one and supplying them to the original circulation system, a first conveying means 13 for feeding and setting the separated and fed originals to a first exposure unit 21, and a first exposure. The second conveyance means 14 for reversing and setting the original conveyed from the part 21 in the second exposure section 22, and the original conveyed from the second exposure section 22 at the bottom of the original stacker 11. It is provided with a lower return means 15 for feeding and setting.

As shown in FIGS. 10 (b) and 10 (c), the document stacker 11 has a document stack portion 32a having a size capable of accommodating a plurality of document sizes, and a bottom surface for almost two documents of the maximum size. As shown in FIG. 3, a paper feed port 33 for feeding the original document from the document stack section to the conveying means 13 and a lower return port 34 for the image forming apparatus are formed substantially at the middle of the bottom face at predetermined intervals. A reference stopper 31 that regulates the leading edge of the document returned from the lower return port 34 and a pair of width regulating plates 32 that are provided facing each other in the width direction over the entire length in the longitudinal direction extending to the position of the nip roller. The position of the reference stopper 31 and the width regulating plate 32 can be adjusted while being installed. The interval between the width regulating plates 32 is wide enough to accommodate the originals that have circulated and returned in the original stack portion 32a, which is about the original size +6 mm, and the nip roller 61 nips the originals to start conveying the originals 32b. In the document, the cross section is formed in a U-shape so that the document size is reduced by about +2 mm toward the document transport direction and the both side edges of the document are reliably guided. Then, in the state where the document is separately fed by the sheet feeding unit 12 and the sheet feeding roller 40, and the original reaches the conveyance start portion 32b by the narrow nip roller 61,
The distance between the transport roller 40 before and after the nip roller 61 and the first transport roller 102 is set to be longer than the size of the document so that the document is held only by the nipping means such as the nip roller 61.

Here, when the document is conveyed in a skewed state from the document stacker, both side edges of the document are pushed inward by the width regulating plate 32, so that the document is deformed when pinched by the nip rollers and becomes wavy in the width direction. I will end up. Therefore, the nipping of the document by the nip roller 61 is performed by the nip roller solenoid.
When 62 is turned on and temporarily released, the originals stored in the transport start portion 32b in a non-uniform manner are width-adjusted by the width regulating plate 32 due to its own restoring force.
According to the above, alignment in the width direction can be easily performed, and skew and center deviation can be reliably prevented.

Above the document stacker 11 facing the paper feed port 33, a paper feed unit 12 having air suction means and a transport system is provided. The air suction means is a suction fan 35 in the figure. The transfer system is rotatably provided around the suction fan 35 via a pulley, and is connected to the shaft 36 to which the rotation is transmitted from the paper feed motor M (FIG. 4) and the feed belt 37 and the paper feed roller 40. And a conveyor belt drive clutch 38 (FIG. 5) for driving or stopping the conveyor belt 37 and the paper feed roller 40 by interposing it between the conveyor belt 37 and the shaft 36 of the paper supply motor M.
It is composed of a separating block 39 which is provided so as to be retractable from the surface. The original sucked up by the suction fan 35 is
It becomes possible to carry by adsorbing to 37 and the separating block 39 projects from the surface of the carrying belt 37, so that the carrying is stopped. The conveyor belt 37 is composed of a plurality of narrow belts arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and the spacing block 39 is also formed in a plurality of comb teeth and is arranged between the plurality of narrow belts. ing.

The suction fan 35, as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b),
The conveyance belt 37 is provided in the front of the document stored in the document stacker 11 in the conveyance direction and in the center of the document between the width regulating plates 32. The conveyance belt 37 holds and feeds the document sucked by the suction fan 35. The suction fan 35 has a width substantially equal to that of the suction fan 35. Therefore, a document whose front side in the paper feed direction has been sucked by the transport belt 37 bends forward and bends on both sides downward, and even when a plurality of documents cannot be separated and are sucked, the bending causes a gap between the upper and lower documents. The gap makes it easier to separate. Further, the transport surface of the transport belt 37 is located below the upper end of the width regulating plate 32, and the original can be effectively sucked.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction fan 35 is constantly driven, and the conveyance of the original is controlled by driving or stopping the conveyance belt 37 and retracting the separating block 39. That is, when the suction fan 35 and the conveyance belt 37 are driven in a state where the separation block 39 is projected, the document is sucked toward the conveyance belt 37 side but is not conveyed because it is not in contact with the conveyance belt 37. Further, when the separation block 39 is retracted in this state, the document is immediately brought into contact with the conveyance belt 37 and conveyed. In this way, a transport system suitable for high speed can be obtained. The belt drive clutch 38 of the conveyor belt 37 is
When the original is sucked, if the separation block 39 is retracted while the conveyor belt 37 is rotating, it will skew.Therefore, as a preventive measure, the conveyor belt 37 is temporarily stopped to retract the separation block 39, and then the belt drive clutch 38 is controlled. , For transporting a document by driving the transport belt 37. In the figure, 61 is a nip roller, and C is a nip roller clutch.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the lower return port 34 is provided on the lower surface of the document stacker 11 so as to be inclined toward the reference stopper 31 side so as to eject the document. To the position before the size of the original from the paper ejection guide
41 are provided. The paper ejection guide 41 is formed of a flexible material such as mylar, and holds the rear end of the document ejected from the lower return port 34 on the lower return port 34. The lower return port 34 is provided with a sheet ejection unit including a sheet ejection roller 42 that is in contact with the sheet ejection guide 41. It is discharged into the inside 11 and is accumulated on the document stack portion 32a [Sixth
(A), (b)].

Even after the leading edge of the document hits the reference stopper 31, the document is bent by the folding means attached to the document stacker 11 and is fed to the position where the trailing edge of the document exceeds the sheet ejection guide 41. The above-mentioned revolving means is the reference stopper 31.
Side document stacker 11 can be retracted from the bottom of the document stacker 11 and consists of a half-moon roller 44 that rotates in the document discharge direction.
Even after hitting 31, it is rolled up and bent. The trailing edge of the document, which has been retracted again and whose leading edge is regulated by the reference stopper 31, and is completely pulled out from the paper ejection guide 41, is lifted by a lift-up means including a lift-up lever 45 that rotates in the opposite direction to the half-moon roller 44. While being lifted up [Fig. 6 (C)]
It moves backward and is finally held on the paper ejection guide 41 [Fig. 6 (d)]. The half-moon roller 44 and the hoisting lever 45 are connected to each other by a gear and a transmission belt so as to rotate in the normal direction or the reverse direction, and as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, engaged with a cam 46 interlocking with the sheet feeding motor 36 for one rotation. It is driven intermittently by the solenoid 47. In the above embodiment, the half-moon roller
44 can be omitted, and the roll-up function can be achieved by the paper discharge roller 42 and the paper discharge guide 41. The operation at that time is shown in FIGS. In the configuration shown in the figure, the operation is exactly the same as in the case of FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d) except that the discharge roller 42 performs the operation of the half-moon lever 44 instead.

The ejection guide 41 made of the elastic piece has its tip abutted on the front side with respect to the position on the tangent line of the ejection roller 42, so that the document is not lifted up onto the ejection guide 41 by the lift lever 45. You can do it with certainty.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a conveyor belt 37 is provided between the paper feed port 33 and the lower return port 34 which are vertically formed at a predetermined interval.
Air outlet that blows air toward the original that has been sucked in
48 is formed, and this air facilitates the separation of the originals and the returning of the originals to the bottom of the originals due to the floating of the originals.

A recycle lever 49 is rotatably attached to the air outlet 48 so that the locus of rotation is applied to the paper feed opening 33 and the lower return opening 34, and the paper feed opening 33 inside the air outlet 48 is rotated.
At the intermediate portion between the lower return port 34 and the lower return port 34, a standby means and a counting means, that is, a recycle solenoid 51 and a recycle sensor S11.
And are provided at positions intersecting with the locus. The recycle sensor S11 detects the passage of the recycle lever 49, and also detects that the recycle lever 49 is engaged with the recycle solenoid 51.

The recycle lever 49 is not connected to a drive mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8G, and normally hangs downward to intersect the lower return port 34. First,
The recycle lever 49 engaged with the recycle solenoid 51 [Fig. 8 (a)] is turned on to hang down the recycle solenoid 51 [Fig. 8 (b)]. Then this bottom return port
When the first document passing through 34 is accommodated in the document stacker 11, the recycle lever 49 also rotates along with the movement of the document and moves to the rear end of the first document on the document stacker 11 [Fig. 8 (C)]. ]. Next, when the original is adsorbed to the conveyor belt 37 by the suction fan 35 and moved in the paper feed direction from the paper feed port 33, the recycle lever 49 also rotates and engages with the recycle solenoid 51 [Fig. )], And waits for a predetermined time. At this time, the recycle sensor S11 is turned on, the document immediately before the document that has started feeding is determined to be the final document, and one cycle of the document is automatically counted. Since the final document is ejected from the lower return port 34 into the document stacker 11 during the standby, the recycling solenoid 51 is turned on to release the standby after the leading edge of the document passes, and the recycling lever 49
Is dropped by its own weight to cross the lower return port 34 [Fig. 8 (g)]. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated.

After the start of the standby, the recycle solenoid 51 is turned on to drop the recycle lever 49 and intersect the lower return port 34, as shown in FIG. 14C, at the intersection of the recycle lever 49 and the lower return port 34. After the passage of the final document is detected by the sheet discharge sensor S10 provided before the position, the process is performed after a lapse of time t for the document to reach the intersecting position. Even if the recycle solenoid 51 is turned on to release the waiting state and the recycle lever 49 is dropped onto the final document [Fig. 8 (f)], the recycle lever 49 is kept until the final document has passed.
Is held on the document, so there is no problem in counting.
t ₁₃ is the time from when the recycle solenoid 51 is turned on to when the recycle lever 49 is completely dropped.

The mechanism for retracting the separating block 39 from the surface of the conveyor belt 37 has the structure shown in FIG. That is, a slide guide 71 is attached to the separating block 39, and this is moved up and down by a plurality of swing rollers 72. Each swing roller 72 is interlocked with a connecting bar 73, and the connecting bar 73 is a link mechanism.
It is connected to the link drive lever 75 via 74. The link driving lever 75 is pulled by the separation block solenoid 76 by a predetermined angle, and the connecting bar 73 descends accordingly. At the same time, the swinging roller 72 pushes down the slide guide 71, lowers the spacing block 39 integrated with the slide guide 71, and causes the spacing block 39 to project from the surface of the conveyor belt 37. Reference numeral 77 is a spring that pulls the connecting bar 73 to return the separation block 39 to the original position.

As shown in FIG. 10A, a document setting stopper 81 is provided at the end of the document stacking section 32a of the document stacker 11 in the sheet feeding direction.
Is provided so as to be able to move up and down, and the document setting stopper 81 is configured to ascend and retract from the setting position when feeding is started.

That is, the document setting stopper 81 is extended by pushing down the rear portion 82 by extending the rear portion 82 of the shaft mounting position and pushing the rear portion 82 down by the pin 84 provided on the document set cover 83 that is pivotally mounted on the document stacker 11. It is like this. Therefore, when the original set cover 83 on the original stacker 11 is opened when setting the originals, the stopper 81 is set to the original set position, and the original set cover 83 is set after the originals are set.
When is closed, it rises and retracts from the set position.
If a long hole 85 extending in the lengthwise direction is formed in the shaft-attached portion of the document setting stopper 81, the locus of the leading end of the document setting stopper 81 may intersect with the document end when the document setting stopper 81 rises. There is no need to worry about the misalignment of the originals stacked on the original stacker 11.

Inside the reference stopper 31 on the document stacker 11, a pair of movable stoppers are provided at a plurality of positions according to the document size.
91 is adapted to interlock with the width regulation plate 32. That is, as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (c), the document stacker 11 is axially attached to the lower part of the original stacker 11 so as to be able to swing up and down, and the rear portion 92 of the axial attachment position is extended and hung vertically on the width regulating plate 32. The original stacker 11 is pressed by pressing down the rear part 92 with the ridges 93.
It is designed to project upward. Reference numerals 94 and 95 are racks and pinions for interlocking the width regulating plates 32 on both sides and simultaneously raising and lowering the pair of movable stoppers 91.

In the transport system for feeding the separately fed originals shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to each exposure section, the first transport means 13 for transporting and setting the first exposure section 21 is a first transport roller. A plurality of first transport rollers 102 that are collectively controlled by the clutch 101.
And a first registration roller 104 whose drive is controlled by the first registration roller clutch 103. S3 is a first-out sensor that detects that the original has reached the first conveyance roller 102, S4 is a first exposure registration sensor, and S5 is a first exposure timing sensor.

The original conveyed from the portion of the first exposure unit 21 is turned upside down and fed and set to the second exposure unit 22. For this purpose, the second conveying means 14 has a second conveying roller clutch 105.
A plurality of second conveyance rollers 106 collectively controlled by the third conveyance roller clutch 108 and a second conveyance roller switch 106, which are collectively controlled by a third conveyance roller clutch 108 on a switchback path branched from the conveyance path by a reversing gate 107 after switchback. The roller 109, the switchback roller 112, and the second registration roller clutch 110 that is driven and controlled before the second exposure unit 22
Registration roller 111 of. Reference numeral 113 is a switchback solenoid, S6 is a switchback timing sensor, S7 is a switchback roller entrance sensor, S8 is a second exposure registration sensor, and S9 is a second exposure timing sensor.

The original conveyed from the second exposure unit 22 has a plurality of conveying rollers.
It is conveyed to the lower return port 34 by 114. S10 is a discharge timing sensor.

As shown in FIG. 12, the paper feeding unit 12 is housed in a manuscript set cover 83 which is attached to the upper part of the manuscript stacker 11 of the machine frame 10 of the RDH 1 so as to be openable and closable, and the manuscript stacker 11 is opened by opening the manuscript set cover 83. The top can be opened.

Also, the above-mentioned transport system that supplies the original document to the exposure unit is
The jam can be released by opening 115. That is, the upper part of the first transfer means 13, the lower part of the first transfer means 13 and the second transfer means which are integrally attached to the main body cover 115.
The upper part of the transfer means 14 and the upper part of the reversal gate 107 can be individually opened. In addition, the transport section to the lower return port 34 can also be rotated like a seesaw as a whole RDH1
Can be opened downward by driving the gas damper 116 while the transfer system side is opened.

The upper part of the first carrying means 13, the lower part of the first carrying means 13 and the upper part of the reversing gate 107 are connected through a link mechanism 118, and they are opened sequentially and the whole is opened when a predetermined angle or more is reached. You can do it.

The above RDH1 operates as follows.

A block diagram of the entire RDH1 at this time is shown in FIG.

First, the original set cover 83 is opened, the width regulating plate 32 is adjusted to the original size, the originals are aligned with the stopper 81 for original setting, and the original set cover 83 is closed. When the copy button on the copying machine side is turned on, the suction fan 35, the blow-out fan F [(FIG. 10 (a)], the paper feeding motor M and the conveyance motor (not shown) are activated, and the separation block solenoid 76 is turned on. The separation block 39 is projected from the conveyance belt 37 and the nip roller solenoid 62 is turned on to release the document holding by the nip roller 61. At the same time, the first conveyance roller clutch 101, the registration roller clutch 103, and the second conveyance roller clutch 105. And the third transport roller clutch 108
Turn on.

As shown in FIG. 14A, after the lapse of t ₁ time, the separation block solenoid 76 is turned off, and after the lapse of t ₂ time, the conveyor belt drive clutch 38 is turned on to start feeding. After the lapse of t ₃ hours from the time when the paper feed sensor S1 is turned on, that is, when the leading edge of the document is ready to be conveyed by the paper feed roller 40, the separation block solenoid 76 is turned on to separate the conveyance belt 37 from the document. Thus, the originals are fed one by one.

Next, after the document has passed the paper feed sensor S1 and t ₄ hours have passed,
Turn off the nip roller solenoid 62 and turn on the nip roller 61.
Hold the manuscript with. After ₅ hours, nip roller clutch
Turn on 63 and start conveyance again. Note that when the empty lever 117 is on the original and the empty sensor S12 is on after t ₈ hours have passed since the original passed through the paper feeding sensor S1, a series of paper feeding after the separation block solenoid 76 is turned off. Start operation.

After the lapse of t ₆ hours after the first-out sensor S3 is turned on, that is, when the document reaches the second conveyance roller 106 driven by the conveyance motor, the nip roller clutch 63 is turned off to stop the driving of the nip roller 61, and t _{After 7} hours,
After the nip roller solenoid 62 is turned on to release the document held by the nip roller 61, the document is conveyed only by the second conveying roller 106.

Then, the document passes through the first exposure registration sensor S4 and the first exposure timing sensor S5, reaches the switchback timing sensor S6 and the switchback roller entrance sensor S7, and then the document finishes passing through the switchback timing sensor S6. As a result, after a lapse of a predetermined time until it passes through the tip of the reversing gate 107, the switchback solenoid 113 is turned on to reversely rotate the switchback roller 112, and the document is switchback-conveyed to the lower side of the reversing gate 107.

In the case of the second and subsequent sheets, after the document reaches the switchback timing sensor S6 and after a predetermined time elapses before the switchback entrance sensor S7, the trailing edge of the immediately preceding document turns on the switchback entrance sensor S7. , The second conveying roller clutch 105 portion is started, and all the documents upstream thereof are stopped. That is, the first registration roller clutch 10
3, the first transport roller clutch 101, the nip roller clutch 63, and the belt drive clutch 38 are turned off.
Then, when the immediately preceding document passes through the switchback entrance sensor S7, the stopped document is the first registration roller clutch 103, the first conveyance roller clutch 101,
Of the clutches of the nip roller clutch 63 and the belt drive clutch 38, only those that were on before stopping were turned on,
Re-start transportation.

The switched-back document is the second exposure registration sensor S8.
The second registration roller clutch 110 turns on the second registration roller clutch 110 after a sufficient registration time has passed by the second registration roller clutch 110, and the second registration roller clutch 110 is turned on if copying is ready on the main body side. All the originals upstream from the clutch 108 are stopped, and when ready, the second registration roller clutch 110 is turned on and the conveyance of the upstream original is restarted.

After the second registration roller clutch 110 is turned on, the second exposure timing sensor S9 is turned on to synchronize copying on the main body side. After the document has passed through the switchback roller entrance sensor S7, the switchback solenoid 113 is turned off, and the rotation of the switchback roller 112 is returned to the normal rotation.

Then, after a predetermined time elapses from the time when the original passes through the second exposure timing sensor S9 until the time when the original passes through the second exposure unit 22, the second registration roller clutch 110 is turned off to register the next original. Prepare for operation. Further, the timing of turning off the second registration roller clutch 110 takes into consideration the influence of the clutch off on the copy image.

Then, the original passes through the paper ejection sensor S10 and the paper ejection roller 42,
From the bottom return port 34, the documents stacked on the document stacker 11 enter the bottom of the documents. And as in the FIG. 14 (b), after the document has finished passing through the sheet discharge sensor S10, after the elapse of t ₉ hours end or to the pass the paper discharge roller 42, and turned one revolution solenoid 47, kicks While lifting the ejected document by the lifting lever 45, the leading edge of the document is set as the reference stopper 31 by the folding means.
The document to completely eject it from the paper ejection guide 41.

Next, the copying machine main body 203 equipped with the RDH1 will be described.

Inside the copying machine main body 203, there is disposed an exposure means 217 which extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Exposure means 217
Includes a light source 218 realized by a halogen lamp or the like and a reflecting mirror 219. The light emitted from the light source 218 is selectively absorbed on the surface of the document corresponding to the document image. Light reflected from the document surface is reflected by mirrors 219, 222, 223, 2
The image is guided by the 25 and the zoom lens 224 so as to form an image on the exposure area 226a of the right cylindrical photosensitive member 226 having an axis line perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

In association with the photoconductor 226, a charging corona discharger 227 for uniformly charging the surface of the photoconductor 226 before exposure is provided. The light corresponding to the original image is guided to the exposure area 226a, so that the surface of the photoconductor 226 is selectively neutralized, thus forming an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is exposed area 22
A developing device 228 provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 226 with respect to 6a serves to visualize the toner image. This toner image is transferred by the transfer corona discharger 229.
A transfer area 23 is formed on the copy paper Y that is conveyed by the structure described later.
Transcribed at 0. The toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 226 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 231. The copy sheet Y after the toner image is copied in the transfer area 230 is conveyed to the fixing device 257, and the toner image is heated and fixed.

A plurality of paper feed cassettes 232 accommodating recording papers of different sizes are loaded from the side of the copying machine main body 203. Recording paper stacked on the uppermost side of any one of these paper feed cassettes 232 is supplied by selectively rotating the paper feed roller 233 by a driving unit such as a motor. The sheets are guided to the paper path 234 one by one. The paper feed path 234 and the intermediate tray 2 described later.
Conveying rollers 238 are respectively arranged in the paper feed path 237 from 36, and these conveying rollers are rotationally driven by a motor. By the action of the transport roller 238, the copy paper Y from the paper feed cassette 232 and the intermediate tray 236 is transferred to the photoconductor 226.
Is transferred to the vicinity of the transfer area 230.

A registration roller 235 is provided in the conveyance path between the paper feed path 234 and the vicinity of the transfer area 230 of the photoconductor 226, and the registration roller 235 is selectively driven by a motor through a clutch. Be transmitted to. In this way, the copy paper Y is controlled so as to be conveyed in synchronization with the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 226.

A paper discharge tray 240 is installed on the side surface of the copying machine main body 203. The paper discharge tray 240 shifts in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. For example, if the paper output tray 240 is first shifted in the direction of the paper surface of FIG.
Shifts from the front side to the back side on the plane of FIG. In this way, it is possible to stack a plurality of copies of the copy paper Y on some of the originals in a sorted state on the discharge tray 240.

In connection with the discharge path 241 for discharging the copy paper Y after copying from the fixing device 257 to the discharge tray 240, this discharge path 2
Inversion path 242 that branches from 41 and inverts the front and back of copy paper Y
Is provided. The copy paper Y after being copied by the fixing device 257 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 240 in the following three types according to each operation mode of the copying machine 202 set by the setting operation described later by the operator. .

Documents pass through the discharge path 241 as they are, and the output tray 2
Discharge to 40.

The document is guided from the discharge path 241 to the reversal path 242, and is temporarily transferred to the intermediate tray 23 for copying on the other surface of the copy paper Y.
Store in 6. The plurality of copy papers Y stacked on the intermediate tray 236 are sequentially transferred from the lowermost copy paper Y by the paper feed roller 239 through the paper feed path 237 to the transfer area 23 of the photoconductor 226.
It is guided near 0. The copy paper Y on which the toner image has been transferred is guided to a fixing device 257 to heat and fix the toner image, and then passes through a discharge path 241 and is discharged to a discharge tray 240.

The document is guided from the discharge path 241 to the reversing path 242 so that its front and back sides are reversed, and then is again guided to the discharge path 241 and discharged to the discharge tray 240.

In order to enable the above three methods, the inversion path 242 is
Routes 242a and 242b branched from two positions of the discharge route 241, a route 242c where these routes 242a and 242b join, and a route 242c.
It is configured by a path 242d that branches further to the intermediate tray 236. Gate flappers are installed at the branches of the paths 241 and 242a to 242d, respectively, and each is operated by a drive solenoid, and depending on the copy content desired by the operator,
The transport path for copy paper Y is automatically selected. Reversing rollers 248 and 250 are installed at the respective branch portions, and the driving direction of the copying paper Y is reversed by a driving motor.

Although the operation mode of the copying machine 202 changes into a plurality of modes as described later, at this time, the exposure means 217 is stopped at the positions indicated by reference arrows 252 and 253 in relation to the second and first exposure units 22 and 21. Alternatively, they are arranged at the position indicated by the reference arrow 252 and the position indicated by the reference arrow 254.

In the copying machine 202, the following copying operation can be performed by circulating a plurality of originals X a plurality of times.

(A) Operation of obtaining a single-sided multiple sheet with a plurality of copies sorted from a single-sided original.

(B) An operation of obtaining a plurality of double-sided plural sheets sorted from a single-sided original.

(C) An operation of obtaining a single-sided multiple sheet with a plurality of copies sorted from a double-sided original.

(D) An operation of obtaining a plurality of double-sided sheets with a plurality of sets sorted from a double-sided original.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a part of the operation panel 290 arranged on, for example, the upper surface of the copying machine main body 203. Operation panel 290
Is a numeric keypad 291 for setting the number of copies, a clear key 292, and a copy mode selection key 2 for setting copy conditions.
93, RDH (recycling automatic document supply) function key 294 for activating / deactivating RDH1, print switch 295 for instructing the start of copying operation, and for displaying the number of copies set by ten key 291 Set number of copies display section 296,
A copy number display section 297 for displaying the number of copies made,
A copy mode display section 298 (A) to (D) for displaying a copy mode selected by the copy mode selection key 293, an RDH function mode display section 299, and the like are provided. The copy mode display section 298 and the RDH function mode display section 299 are realized by including, for example, a light emitting diode, and the light emitting diode is driven to light when each mode is selected.

Each of the copy mode display portions 298 makes a single-sided copy from a single-sided original (SIMPLEX → SIMPLEX), a double-sided copy from a single-sided original (SIMPLEX → DUPLEX), and a double-sided copy from a single-sided original (DUPLEX → DUPLEX). The above-mentioned four copy modes (A) to (D) are shown, and each copy mode is sequentially selected from the top every time the copy mode selection key 293 is pressed once, and each copy character part is displayed. A light emitting diode (not shown) 298 is turned on. However, when the copy mode selection key 293 is pressed while the copy mode display section 298 (D) is lit, the copy mode changes from SIMPLEX to SIMPLEX displayed on the copy mode display section 298 (A).

The RDH1 is activated when the RDH function mode key 294 is pressed to activate the RDH function mode display portion 299, and is deactivated when the RDH1 is turned off. That is, the operator is
When a document such as a book is placed on 206 and a copy image is obtained on the copy paper Y, the RDH function key 294 is operated to turn off the RDH function mode display section 299. Also, RDH1
When the document X is conveyed by using the, the RDH function mode display portion 299 is turned on.

When the RDH function is used, the operator operates the copy mode selection key 293 to set the copy mode as described above. Next, the ten key 291 is operated to set the required number of copies. At this time, the set number display section 29
In 6, the set number of copies is displayed. When the print switch 295 is pressed subsequently to the operation of the ten keys 291, the RDH 1 and the copying machine main body 203 work together to start the copying operation. At this time, the number of copies to be copied is sequentially displayed on the copy number display section 297. In this way, when the numerical value displayed on the set copy number display unit 296 matches, the operation of the copying machine 2 is stopped, and the display on the set copy number display unit 296 is reset to "0". At this time, the display on the copy number display section 297 is maintained without being reset until the print switch 295 is pressed next time.

[Effect of device]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the document after being circulated to the exposure section and the like is discharged to the lower part of the document stacked and set in the document stacker, there is no problem between the wide width regulating plates in the document stack section. It can be accommodated, and it is possible to prevent jamming and document damage when the document is returned.

Further, when the documents stacked and set in the document stacker are fed, only the documents separated one by one can be aligned simply by releasing the nip at the conveyance start portion where the width regulating plate is installed narrowly. Even when the paper is fed, the original can be circulated at high speed without damaging the jam or the original.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawing shows one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall explanatory view thereof, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of RDH, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main portion thereof, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part, FIGS. 6 (a) to (d) are schematic views of the lower return mechanism, and FIGS. 6 (e) to (h) are schematic diagrams showing other examples of the lower return mechanism. , FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the separation block, and FIG. 8 (a).
~ (G) is a schematic view showing the operation of the recycle lever, No. 9
Figures (a) and (b) are side and front views, respectively, showing the arrangement of the suction fan, Figure 10 (a) is a schematic view of the document setting stopper, and Figures 10 (b) and (c) are width regulation. 11A to 11C are plan views and side views of the plate. FIGS. 11A to 11C are plan views, front views and side views showing the interlocking mechanism of the width regulating plate and the movable stopper, and FIG. 12 shows the opening mechanism of each cover. A schematic view, FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the entire RDH, FIGS. 14 (a) to 14 (c) are timing charts, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the operation panel. 1 ... RDH, 2 ... Copier 11 ... Original stacker, 32 ... Width control plate 32a ... Original stack part 32b ... Transport start part, 33 ... Paper feed port 34 ... Bottom return port, 61 ... … Nip roller 62 …… Nip roller solenoid

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Masao Shimizu 3167 Yamamiya-cho, Kofu City, Yamanashi Japan Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Hidenobu Kanno 3167 Yamamiya-cho, Kofu City Yamanashi Prefecture Japan Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-61-75745 (JP, A) Actually opened 57-182745 (JP, U) Actually opened 59-165842 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A circulating automatic document feeder of the original take-up / down-return type, which is ejected from an image forming apparatus or the like through an original return port provided near the center of the bottom surface of an original stacker, and a reference stopper. Select the top sheet of the originals stacked in the original stack on the original stacker with the leading edge restricted,
In an image forming apparatus equipped with a mechanism for sucking and separating and feeding by an air suction means and a conveying means, and then conveying a document by a conveying roller, the document stacker is erected upright over the entire length direction of the document stacker and extended to the nip roller position. The gap between the pair of width regulating plates is formed such that the dimensional difference between the gap and the width of the document becomes smaller toward the document transport direction as the document stack portion on which the documents are stacked approaches the nip roller position. An image forming apparatus characterized in that when a document is nipped only by nip rollers and conveyance is started, the nip is temporarily released to perform skew correction.