JP7587748B2 - Image Processing Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing device that has a function for restricting the insertion of sheets by the user.

A conventional technique is known in which the first feed roller, second feed roller, paper feed roller, and paper discharge roller are rotated by the driving force of a feed motor, paper feed motor, and paper discharge motor, respectively, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. In addition, in this conventional technique, a regulating member is provided between the first feed roller and the second feed roller. Using the driving force of the feed motor, this regulating member is switched between a first position state in which it appears on the transport path to regulate the passage of paper, and a second position state in which it retreats from the transport path of the paper.

JP 2010-37020 A

In a configuration in which a single motor supplies the driving force for driving the transport rollers that transport the sheets, and the driving force for switching the stopper that restricts the user from inserting a sheet between a state that restricts the passage of the sheet and a state that allows the sheet to pass, for example, when a transport abnormality occurs while the sheet is being transported on the transport path as described above, there are cases in which the paper must be pulled out by hand. For example, when a DC motor is used, torque is unlikely to be generated when not energized, so the paper is unlikely to be impeded from being pulled out. However, when a stepping motor or the like is used from the standpoint of reducing manufacturing costs, the torque may impede the paper from being pulled out.

To avoid this, it is possible to provide a mechanism between the stepping motor and the roller that can switch between transmitting and cutting off the driving force. In that case, however, it is necessary to consider how to ensure that this does not interfere with the operation of switching the state of the stopper.

The object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device that can smoothly pull out a sheet from the conveying rollers when a conveying abnormality occurs and appropriately switch the state of the stopper when driving the conveying rollers and switching the state of the stopper using the driving force of a single motor.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by comprising: a motor capable of rotating in a first rotation direction to generate a corresponding first driving force, or rotating in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction to generate a corresponding second driving force; a transport roller that rotates by transmitting the second driving force from the motor and transports a sheet along a transport path; a stopper that can be displaced between a first position and a second position that is farther from the transport path than the first position and allows the sheet to pass in the transport direction; a stopper switching mechanism that, when the first driving force from the motor is input, sets the stopper to a restricted state at the first position to restrict the passage of the sheet in the transport direction, and, when the second driving force from the motor is input, sets the stopper to a non-restricted state at the second position to allow the sheet to move in the transport direction; and a first transmission switching mechanism that transmits the second driving force from the motor to the transport roller and blocks the transmission of the first driving force from the motor to the transport roller.

The image processing device of the present invention includes a transport roller that transports a sheet along a transport path. The image processing device also includes a stopper that can be displaced between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the stopper is in a restricting state that restricts the passage of the sheet in the transport direction, and in the second position, the stopper is in a non-restricting state that allows the passage of the sheet in the transport direction.

The stopper is switched between the restricted state and the unrestricted state by the stopper switching mechanism according to the type of driving force input from the motor. That is, when a first driving force generated by the motor rotating in a first rotation direction is input, the stopper is in the restricted state in the first position, and when a second driving force generated by the motor rotating in a second rotation direction is input, the stopper is in the unrestricted state in the second position.

Similarly, the transmission of the motor's driving force to the transport roller is switched by the first transmission switching mechanism according to the state of the motor's driving force. That is, when the motor is generating a second driving force, the second driving force is transmitted to the transport roller, and when the motor is generating a first driving force, the transmission of the driving force to the transport roller is not performed and is cut off.

As described above, in the present invention, when the motor rotates in the second rotation direction to generate the second driving force, the stopper is released and allows the sheet to be transported, and the second driving force is transmitted to the transport roller, which transports the sheet.

On the other hand, when the motor rotates in the first rotation direction to generate the first driving force, the stopper enters a restricting state, restricting the passage of the sheet in the conveying direction and cutting off the transmission of the driving force to the conveying roller. In other words, if any conveying abnormality occurs during sheet conveying by the conveying roller based on the second driving force, the motor can be driven in the first rotation direction to cut off the transmission of the driving force to the conveying roller, so that it can be easily pulled out even when a stepping motor or the like is used.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to both appropriately switch between the two states of the stopper using the driving force of a single motor and smoothly pull the sheet out of the conveying rollers when a conveying abnormality occurs.

According to the present invention, when driving the conveying rollers and switching the state of the stopper using the driving force of a single motor, it is possible to achieve both smooth removal of the sheet from the conveying rollers in the event of a conveying abnormality and appropriate switching of the stopper state.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conceptual overall configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of the multifunction peripheral. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the external configuration of the multifunction peripheral. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the reading unit as viewed from the rear. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure shown in FIG. 4 with the opening/closing cover open. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the structure shown in FIG. 4 with the opening/closing cover open. FIG. 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view and a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the stopper is engaged with the lock lever; 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view and a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the stopper and the lock lever are disengaged from each other; FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the multifunction peripheral 1. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a conveying roller and a paper discharge roller. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a conveying roller and a paper discharge roller. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a separation roller. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure shown in FIG. 12 with the opening/closing cover open. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a paper feed roller. FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the transmission and interruption of driving force due to the movement of the planetary gears, and the swinging of the holder. FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the transmission and interruption of driving force due to the movement of the planetary gears, and the swinging of the holder. FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are used to explain the technical features that may be adopted by the present disclosure, and the configurations of the devices described are not intended to be limiting, but are merely illustrative examples.

<Overall Schematic Configuration of the Multifunction Printer>
Fig. 1 conceptually shows the overall schematic configuration of a multifunction machine 1 of this embodiment. The multifunction machine 1 is an example of an image processing device. In the multifunction machine 1 shown in Fig. 1, the side facing the page is defined as the front of the machine, and the side facing the left hand side is defined as the left, and the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions are displayed. The directions shown in the subsequent figures are all displayed in accordance with the directions shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction device 1 includes a main unit 2 and a reading unit 3. The reading unit 3 includes an ADF section 9 and an FB section 5. An operation panel 40 such as a touch panel (see FIG. 9 described later) is provided on the front side of the FB section 5 of the ADF section 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main unit 2 is a flat, box-shaped body, and includes an image forming unit 4 inside. The image forming unit 4 forms an image on a recording sheet based on image data received from a personal computer connected to the multifunction device 1, image data generated by reading an image of an original by the reading unit 3, etc., by an inkjet method or a laser method. The reading unit 3 is disposed above the main unit 2. The FB unit 5 is used when reading an image of an original placed on the original support surface 101A described later. The ADF unit 9 has a supply tray 12, a discharge tray 14, and a conveying unit 6. The conveying unit 6 conveys the sheet SH placed on the supply tray 12 along the conveying path P1 and discharges it to the discharge tray 14. The ADF unit 9 is used when reading the image of the sheet SH placed on the supply tray 12 while conveying it sequentially along the conveying path P1. The sheet to be read includes a sheet such as paper or an OHP sheet, as well as an original.

<Appearance of ADF section>
The external configuration of the ADF unit 9 is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the ADF unit 9 is supported by a hinge (not shown) disposed at the rear part so as to be swingable about an opening/closing axis X9 extending in the left-right direction. In the closed state shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the ADF unit 9 covers an original support surface 101A (described later) from above. Although not shown, the ADF unit 9 swings about the opening/closing axis X9 so that its front end is displaced upward and rearward, thereby exposing the original support surface 101A. This allows the user to support the original to be read on the original support surface 101A.

2 and 3, the supply tray 12 is formed on the right side of the ADF unit 9. The upper surface of the supply tray 12 is a sheet feed surface 12A that supports the sheets SH from below. On the sheet feed surface 12A, multiple sheets SH to be read and transported by the transport unit 6 are stacked. The sheet feed surface 12A is a flat surface that slopes downward to the left. The supply tray 12 is provided with a front guide 17F and a rear guide 17R that can slide in the front-rear direction. The front guide 17F and the rear guide 17R approach or move away from each other to sandwich multiple types of sheets SH of different sizes supported by the supply tray 12 from the front and rear. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the discharge tray 14 is located below the supply tray 12. The upper surface of the discharge tray 14 is a sheet discharge surface 14A that supports the sheets SH from below. On the sheet discharge surface 14A, the sheets SH whose images are read by the image sensor 3S and discharged by the transport unit 6 are stacked. The paper discharge surface 14A is a flat surface that slopes upward from left to right.

2 and 3, an opening/closing cover 32 is provided on the upper portion of the ADF unit 9. The opening/closing cover 32 is a generally flat plate member extending in the front-rear and left-right directions from approximately the center of the ADF unit 9 to the left end. The left end of the opening/closing cover 32 is bent downward. The left end and lower end of the opening/closing cover 32 are supported so as to be swingable around an opening/closing axis X32 extending in the front-rear direction. This allows the opening/closing cover 32 to be displaced between a closed position shown by solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 3 and an open position shown in FIG. 5 and the like described below. In the closed position, the opening/closing cover 32 functions to cover the transport path P1. The left end and lower end are an example of one end of the opening/closing cover 32.

<Cross-sectional structure of reading unit>
Fig. 4 is a rear view of the cross-sectional structure of the main parts of the reading unit 3, and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the opening/closing cover 32 is open. In Figs. 4 and 5, a platen glass 101 is disposed on the upper surface of the FB section 5. An original support surface 101A is formed by the upper surface of the platen glass 101. The image sensor 3S is provided below the platen glass 101 within the FB section 5 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. The original support surface 101A supports the original from below when the image of the original in a stationary state is read by the image sensor 3S.

The upper surface of the platen glass 101 forms the reading surface 101B. The reading surface 101B guides the transported sheet SH from below when the image on the sheet SH transported one by one by the transport unit 6 is read by the image sensor 3S in the FB unit 5. Note that in this embodiment, the object whose image is read using the document support surface 101A is referred to as the document, and the object whose image is read while being transported by the transport unit 6 is referred to as the sheet SH. The document and the sheet SH may be substantially the same thing.

The FB unit 5 has the image sensor 3S, a scanning mechanism (not shown), and the platen glass 101. The scanning mechanism reciprocates the image sensor 3S in the left-right direction below the document support surface 101A and the reading surface 101B. When reading an image of a document supported on the document support surface 101A, the image sensor 3S reads while moving below the document support surface 101A. When reading an image while the sheet SH is being transported by the transport unit 6, the image sensor 3S is stopped at a predetermined stationary reading position. Here, the stationary reading position where the image sensor 3S stops is a position facing the reading surface 101B from below. As the image sensor 3S, a well-known image reading sensor such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is used.

A base member 9A is provided at the bottom of the ADF unit 9. The base member 9A forms the bottom of the ADF unit 9. The right portion of the base member 9A forms the discharge tray 14 described above. The transport unit 6 is provided between the opening/closing cover 32 of the ADF unit 9 and the left portion of the base member 9A. The transport unit 6 has an upper chute member 130 and a lower chute member 140 assembled to the base member 9A. The lower chute member 140 is located below the upper chute member 130. The base member 9A is located below the lower chute member 140.

As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, multiple guide ribs 32R extending in the left-right direction are formed side by side in the front-rear direction on the inner surface of the opening and closing cover 32. The upper guide surface 32A is formed by the lower end edges of these guide ribs 32R. The upper guide surface 32A defines, from above, the upper path P1A, which will be described later, of the conveying path P1.

A first upper transport surface 130A and a second upper transport surface 130B are formed on the upper surface of the upper chute member 130. The first upper transport surface 130A is adjacent to the left end of the supply tray 12 and is a flat surface that slopes downward to the left. The first upper transport surface 130A of the upper chute member 130 and the paper feed surface 12A of the supply tray 12 form a stacking surface 150A. A plurality of sheets SH to be read and transported by the transport unit 6 are stacked on the stacking surface 150A. The stacking surface 150A is an example of a support surface. The second upper transport surface 130B is a substantially flat surface that slopes upward to the left following the first upper transport surface 130A.

Lower guide surfaces 140A1 and 140A2 are formed on the lower surface of the lower chute member 140. Lower guide surface 140A1 is a generally flat surface that slopes down to the right from near the left end of the ADF unit 9 toward the reading surface 101B. Lower guide surface 140A2 is a generally flat surface that slopes up to the right following lower guide surface 140A1. Lower conveying surface 140B1 that faces lower guide surface 140A1 from below, and lower conveying surface 140B2 that faces lower guide surface 140A2 from below are formed on the upper surface of the base member 9A.

The conveying path P1 in the conveying section 6 is defined as a space surrounded by the first upper conveying surface 130A and the second upper conveying surface 130B of the upper chute member 130, the lower guide surfaces 140A1 and 140A2 of the lower chute member 140, the upper guide surface 32A of the opening/closing cover 32, the lower conveying surfaces 140B1 and 140B2 of the base member 9A, and various conveying rollers. More specifically, the conveying path P1 includes an upper path P1A that extends leftward from the paper feed surface 12A of the supply tray 12 along the first upper conveying surface 130A and the second upper conveying surface 130B of the upper chute member 130. Next, the conveying path P1 includes a curved path P1B that connects to the upper path P1A and curves downward. Next, the transport path P1 includes a lower path P1C that is connected to the curved path P1B, slopes downward from the bottom end of the curved portion toward the reading surface 101B, then extends a short distance to the right along the reading surface 101B, and slopes upward from the right end of the reading surface 101B to the discharge tray 14. The upper path P1A and the lower path P1C overlap in the vertical direction. The transport direction of the sheet SH transported by the transport unit 6 is leftward on the upper path P1A of the transport path P1, changes from leftward to rightward on the curved path P1B of the transport path P1, and is rightward on the lower path P1C of the transport path P1. Note that the extension direction and shape of the transport path P1 are merely examples.

<Separation roller, separation pad, paper feed roller, etc.>
4, 5, and 6, the conveying section 6 includes a separation unit 50 and a separation pad 56A. The separation unit 50 includes a separation roller 54 having a rotating shaft 54S, a holder 51, and a paper feed roller 92 having a rotating shaft 92S, which will be described in detail later.

The separation roller 54 is located to the left of the feed roller 92, that is, downstream in the conveying direction in the conveying path P1. The separation roller 54 is provided at a position facing the second upper conveying surface 130B of the upper chute member 130 from above. The rotation shaft 54S of the separation roller 54 is a cylindrical shaft body extending around a rotation axis X54 extending in the front-rear direction, which is a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet SH. As shown in FIG. 6, the front end and rear end of the rotation shaft 54S of the separation roller 54 are rotatably supported by the front cover 31F forming the front end of the ADF unit 9 and a frame (not shown) arranged inside the rear cover 31R forming the rear end of the ADF unit 9, respectively. The separation roller 54 is assembled to the center of the rotation shaft 54S.

As shown in FIG. 4, the separation pad 56A, together with the second upper conveying surface 130B, forms a conveying surface for the sheet SH. The separation pad 56A is provided in a position facing the separation roller 54 from below. The separation pad 56A is a plate-shaped body made of a soft material such as rubber or elastomer. The separation pad 56A is pressed against the separation roller 54 by, for example, a biasing spring (not shown).

As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, the holder 51 covers the separation roller 54 from above and holds it in a sandwiched state from the front and back. Details will be described later. The holder 51 is supported by a rotation shaft 54S so as to be swingable around the rotation axis X54 of the separation roller 54. The holder 51 also extends to the right of the rotation shaft 54S, i.e., toward the upstream in the conveying direction.

As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, the feed roller 92 is disposed in a position facing the first upper conveying surface 130A of the upper chute member 130 from above. The feed roller 92 is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with the sheets SH loaded on the loading surface 150A from above. The feed roller 92 is disposed to the right of the separation roller 54 and is housed in the holder 51. The feed roller 92 is supported by the holder 51 so as to be able to rotate about a rotation axis X92 parallel to the rotation axis X54. Therefore, the holder 51 is configured to be able to swing upward or downward about the rotation axis X54 of the separation roller 54, so that the feed roller 92 can be displaced between a position approaching the loading surface 150A and a position away from the loading surface 150A.

As shown in FIG. 6, a transmission gear 55 is provided at the rear end of the rotating shaft 54S. The transmission gear 55 rotates the rotating shaft 54S by driving the motor 70 described later. When the transmission gear 55 rotates, the rotating shaft 54S rotates, and the separation roller 54 and the paper feed roller 92 rotate synchronously. The outer peripheral surface 92A of the paper feed roller 92 applies a conveying force to the uppermost sheet SH among the sheets SH stacked on the stacking surface 150A, and sends the sheet SH toward the separation roller 54. As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, the separation roller 54 cooperates with the separation pad 56A to separate the sheets SH conveyed by the paper feed roller 92 one by one, and conveys them downstream in the conveying direction on the conveying path P1.

<Conveyor roller>
The conveying section 6 has a first conveying roller 44 and a pinch roller 44P on the upper path P1A of the conveying path P1 to the left of the separation roller 54, i.e., at a position downstream in the conveying direction from the separation roller 54. The first conveying roller 44 and the pinch roller 44P nip the sheets SH separated one by one by the separation roller 54 and the separation pad 56A, and convey them downstream in the conveying direction.

The conveying section 6 also has a curved guide surface 45G, a curved guide surface 45H, a second conveying roller 45, and a pinch roller 45P in the curved path P1B of the conveying path P1. The curved guide surface 45G and the curved guide surface 45H face each other with a predetermined distance between them. The curved guide surface 45G defines the downwardly curved portion of the curved path P1B from the outside. The curved guide surface 45H defines the downwardly curved portion of the curved path P1B from the inside. The second conveying roller 45 and the pinch roller 45P are disposed at the lower end of the curved path P1B. The second conveying roller 45 and the pinch roller 45P nip the sheet SH conveyed by the first conveying roller 44 and the pinch roller 44P, and convey it further toward the reading surface 101B. Between the first conveying roller 44 and the pinch roller 44P and the reading surface 101B, the lower guide surface 140A1 and the lower conveying surface 140B1 face each other at a predetermined distance, defining the left portion of the lower path P1C.

The conveying section 6 further includes a discharge roller 48 and a pinch roller (not shown). Between the reading surface 101B and the discharge roller 48 and pinch roller, the lower guide surface 140A2 and the lower conveying surface 140B2 face each other at a predetermined distance, thereby defining the right portion of the lower path P1C.

The path formed by the lower guide surface 140A2 and the lower transport surface 140B2 is inclined upward toward the discharge roller 48 and the pinch roller, to the right of the pressing member 49. The discharge roller 48 has a drive shaft 48a and is located at the right end of the lower guide surface 140A2 of the lower chute member 140. The pinch roller is located at the right end of the lower transport surface 140B2. The discharge roller 48 and the pinch roller nip the sheet SH that has passed over the reading surface 101B, and discharge it onto the discharge surface 14A of the discharge tray 14.

<Stopper>
5 and 6, the ADF unit 9 of the present embodiment is provided with a pair of front and rear stoppers 80F, 80R that are located between the separation roller 54 and the paper feed roller 92 and contact the leading edge of the sheet SH in the transport direction to restrict the movement of the sheet SH. Hereinafter, the front stopper 80F and the rear stopper 80R will be collectively referred to simply as "stopper 80" as appropriate.

The stopper 80 is configured to be able to switch its position between the restricted state shown in FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 7(b) and the unrestricted state shown in FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b). In this example, in the restricted state, the stopper 80 is engaged with the lock lever 100 as described later, and protrudes toward the first upper transport surface 130A that defines the transport path P1 of the sheet SH, thereby restricting the passage of the sheet SH. The position of the stopper 80 at this time is an example of the first position. In the unrestricted state, the stopper 80 is released from the engagement with the lock lever 100 as described later and becomes free, and is pushed by the leading edge of the sheet SH and rotates from the first position to retreat upward so as to move away from the first upper transport surface 130A, thereby allowing the sheet SH to move downstream, i.e., to pass through the sheet SH. The position of the stopper 80 at this time is an example of the second position. The stopper 80 is supported by the opening and closing cover 32 together with the holder 51, which includes the separation roller 54 and the paper feed roller 92.

<Electrical configuration of the multifunction device>
Next, the electrical configuration of the multifunction device 1 in this embodiment will be described. The main unit 2 of the multifunction device 1 is provided with a control unit 110, as shown in Fig. 9. The control unit 110 includes a well-known CPU 110A, ROM 110B, RAM 110C, NVRAM 110D, and interface unit 110E. The CPU 110A executes predetermined processing in accordance with control programs stored in the ROM 110B, RAM 110C, etc., thereby controlling each unit of the multifunction device 1.

The objects controlled by the control unit 110 include the image forming unit 4, LAN communication unit 111, operation panel 40, image sensor 3S, sheet transport sensor 113, motor 70, motor 114, and sheet placement sensor 112. Of these, the image forming unit 4 and LAN communication unit 111 are provided in the main unit 2. The operation panel 40, image sensor 3S, and motor 114 are provided in the FB unit 5. The sheet placement sensor 112, motor 70, and sheet transport sensor 113 are provided in the ADF unit 9.

The control unit 110 also monitors signals from the sheet placement sensor 112 and the LAN communication unit 111. The LAN communication unit 111 is composed of a communication interface device compatible with wireless LAN and a communication interface device compatible with wired LAN. The motor 114 is a power source for moving the image sensor 3S left and right in the FB unit 5. The sheet placement sensor 112 is a sensor that detects that a sheet SH is placed on the stacking surface 150A. The sheet transport sensor 113 is a sensor that detects that the leading edge or trailing edge in the transport direction of the sheet SH transported in the ADF unit 9 has passed a predetermined detection position in the transport path P1.

<Features of this embodiment>
The first feature of this embodiment is the transmission path and transmission mode of the driving force generated by the common driving source, the motor 70. That is, the transmission path and transmission mode of the driving force from the motor 70 to the first conveyor roller 44, the second conveyor roller 45, and the paper discharge roller 48 are different from the transmission path and transmission mode of the driving force to the separation roller 54 and the paper feed roller 92.

<Transmission of driving force to the transport rollers and paper ejection rollers>
First, the transmission of driving force to the first transport roller 44, the second transport roller 45, and the paper discharge roller 48 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the ADF unit 9 includes a motor 70, a planetary gear mechanism 73, a toothed pulley 74, a belt 75, a toothed pulley 76, a transmission gear 61, a drive gear 44b fixed to the rotation shaft 44a of the first conveyor roller 44, a drive gear 45b fixed to the rotation shaft 45a of the second conveyor roller 45, an intermediate gear 53, and a transmission gear 55 fixed to the rotation shaft 54S of the separation roller 54.

The motor 70 is a motor that does not generate torque when not energized, in this example a stepping motor, and its forward rotation, reverse rotation, and rotation stop are controlled by the control unit 110 described above. The control unit 110 can also control the amount of rotation in each direction for the motor 70. The rotation direction of the motor 70 shown clockwise in FIG. 10 is the X-direction rotation direction, and the counterclockwise rotation direction is the Y-direction rotation direction. Rotation of the motor 70 in the X-direction is forward rotation, and rotation in the Y-direction is reverse rotation. The X-direction is an example of the second rotation direction, and the Y-direction is an example of the first rotation direction.

The planetary gear mechanism 73 is composed of a sun pulley 78 and a planetary gear 79. The motor 70 is connected to the sun pulley 78 of the planetary gear mechanism 73 via a pulley and belt 72 (not shown). The planetary gear 79 of the planetary gear mechanism 73 is coaxially connected to a gear (not shown) provided on the sun pulley 78, and rotates and revolves in accordance with the rotation of the sun pulley 78. The position of the planetary gear 79 is switched between a transmission position where it is connected to the toothed pulley 74 and a disconnection position where it is separated from the toothed pulley 74, depending on the rotation direction of the motor 70. The planetary gear mechanism 73 is an example of a first transmission switching mechanism.

<Transmission to the first conveyor roller, the second conveyor roller 45, and the paper discharge roller 48>
For example, when the motor 70 rotates in the X direction shown in the figure, the sun pulley 78 also rotates in the X direction. With the rotation of the sun pulley 78 in the X direction, the planetary gear 79 rotates in the X direction and revolves in the L direction shown in the figure. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, when the planetary gear 79 is coupled with the toothed pulley 74 and moves from the above-mentioned interruption position to the transmission position, the toothed pulley 74 prevents the planetary gear 79 from revolving in the L direction. As a result, the toothed pulley 74 rotates in the X direction with the rotation of the planetary gear 79 in the X direction. That is, in this transmission position, the driving force of the motor 70 is transmitted to the toothed pulley 74. Note that the driving force associated with the forward rotation of the motor 70 at this time is an example of a second driving force. The rotation of the toothed pulley 74 in the X direction drives the drive shaft 48a connected to the toothed pulley 74, thereby rotating the above-mentioned paper discharge roller 48.

The rotation of the toothed pulley 74 in the X direction is transmitted to the toothed pulley 76 via the transmission belt 75, and the toothed pulley 76 rotates in the X direction. When the toothed pulley 76 rotates in the X direction, the transmission gear 61 meshing with it rotates in the X direction. As a result, the drive gear 44b and the drive gear 45b meshing with the transmission gear 61 rotate in the X direction, and the first conveying roller 44 rotates as the rotating shaft 44a fixed to the drive gear 44b rotates, and the second conveying roller 45 rotates as the rotating shaft 45a fixed to the drive gear 45b rotates. This causes the sheet SH sent by the feed roller 92 and the separation roller 54 after being set in the supply tray 12 to be conveyed. The number of conveying rollers is not limited to two, the first conveying roller 44 and the second conveying roller 45, and three or more may be provided along the conveying path P1 as appropriate. In this case, the second driving force is transmitted from the motor 70 to the conveying rollers other than the first conveying roller 44 and the second conveying roller 45 in the same manner as described above. Also, conversely to the above, only one of the first conveying roller 44 and the second conveying roller 45 may be provided.

Conversely, when the motor 70 rotates in the Y direction, the sun pulley 78 also rotates in the Y direction. The driving force associated with the reverse rotation of the motor 70 at this time is an example of a first driving force. As the sun pulley 78 rotates in the Y direction, the planetary gear 79 revolves in the R direction while rotating in the Y direction. When the planetary gear 79 revolves in the R direction, as shown in FIG. 11, the connection between the planetary gear 79 and the toothed pulley 74 is released and the aforementioned driving force transmission path is interrupted, and the driving force of the motor 70 is no longer transmitted to the first conveyor roller 44, the second conveyor roller 45, and the paper discharge roller 48.

<Transmission of driving force to separation roller and paper feed roller>
On the other hand, regardless of whether the planetary gear 79 is in the transmission position or the disconnection position, the intermediate gear 53 is operatively connected to the sun pulley 78 of the planetary gear mechanism 73. That is, the driving force of the motor 70 transmitted to the sun pulley 78 as described above is transmitted to the intermediate gear 53 via the rotation of the sun pulley 78, and the intermediate gear 53 rotates. When the intermediate gear 53 rotates, the intermediate gear 57 operatively connected to the intermediate gear 53 via a gear or pulley (not shown) rotates. This intermediate gear 57 meshes with the transmission gear 55 described above as shown in Figure 12, which is a cross-sectional view different from Figures 10 and 11, and the rotation of the intermediate gear 57 rotates the transmission gear 55, and as a result, the rotation shaft 54S of the separation roller 54 rotates. As shown in FIG. 13, when the opening/closing cover 32 is opened, the rotating shaft 54S of the separation roller 54 and the transmission gear 55 are raised upward together with the opening/closing cover 32, and the meshing between the intermediate gear 57 and the transmission gear 55 is released.

For example, when the motor 70 rotates in the X direction and the sun pulley 78 rotates in the X direction, the intermediate gear 53 rotates in the X direction, which causes the intermediate gear 57 and the transmission gear 55 to rotate in the X direction. As a result, the separation roller 54 transports the sheet SH, which has been set in the supply tray 12 and then sent from the paper feed roller 92, to the first transport roller 44 and the second transport roller 45 further downstream. Conversely, for example, when the motor 70 rotates in the Y direction and the sun pulley 78 rotates in the Y direction, the intermediate gear 53 rotates in the Y direction, which causes the intermediate gear 57 and the transmission gear 55 to rotate in the Y direction. The stopper 80 is switched by the rotation of the transmission gear 55 in the Y direction, which will be described later.

<Stopper switching mechanism>
A second feature of this embodiment is that the state of the stopper 80 is switched by utilizing the transmission of the driving force to the separation roller 54. The details will be described below with reference to the above-mentioned Figures 7 and 8 and Figures 14 to 16.

As described above, in FIG. 14, the separation roller 54 and the paper feed roller 92 are provided in the holder 51, and the holder 51 is supported so as to be able to swing on the rotating shaft 54S of the separation roller 54. The holder 51 is further provided with an axle gear 154 fixed to the rotating shaft 54S, a planetary gear 153 that is movable while meshing with the axle gear 154 and meshing with fixed teeth 32a provided on the opening and closing cover 32, an intermediate gear 156 that meshes with an axle gear 157 fixed to the rotating shaft 92S of the paper feed roller 92, and an intermediate gear 155 that meshes with the intermediate gear 156.

As described above, when the second driving force associated with the rotation of the motor 70 in the X direction is input to the rotating shaft 54S as described above and the rotating shaft 54S rotates in the X direction in FIG. 15(a), the planetary gear 153 moves upstream in the conveying direction and meshes with the fixed teeth 32a as shown in FIG. 15(b). Note that the upstream conveying direction, which is the movement direction of the planetary gear 153 at this time, is an example of the first direction. When the rotating shaft 54S further rotates in the X direction in this meshed state, the holder 51 swings around the rotation axis X54 so that the feed roller 92 side lowers as shown in FIG. 15(c). This causes the feed roller 92 to abut against the sheet SH.

As described above with reference to Figures 7 and 8, a stopper 80 is provided in the opening/closing cover 32 near the holder 51. The stopper 80 is supported by the opening/closing cover 32 so as to be rotatable around the shaft member 80c, and has a stepped portion 80a and a sheet regulating portion 80b. A lock lever 100 is rotatably supported in the holder 51 near the paper feed roller 92. The lock lever 100 is an example of a displacement member. The lock lever 100 is biased in the S direction shown in Figures 7(b) and 8(b) by an appropriate spring member (not shown). In the state shown in Figures 14, 15(a), and 15(b) before the holder 51 swings so that the paper feed roller 92 side is lowered as described above, the tip portion 100a of the lock lever 100 abuts and engages with the stepped portion 80a as shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b). This prevents the stopper 80 from rotating, resulting in the aforementioned regulated state. The position of the lock lever 100 at this time is an example of a restricted position.

When the holder 51 rotates around the rotation axis X54 of the rotation shaft 54S in conjunction with the movement of the planetary gear 153 as described above and swings so that the paper feed roller 92 side is lowered as shown in FIG. 15(c), the abutted surface 100b of the lock lever 100 abuts against the abutment rib 132 provided on the opening and closing cover 32. As a result, the lock lever 100 is displaced so as to rotate in the direction opposite to the S direction as shown in FIG. 8(a) and FIG. 8(b). As a result, the engagement between the tip 100a of the lock lever 100 and the stepped portion 80a is released, and the stopper 80 is in a state in which it is free to rotate, that is, in the aforementioned deregulation state. The position of the lock lever 100 at this time is an example of an open position. The holder 151, the lock lever 100, and the abutment rib 132 are also an example of a stopper switching mechanism.

After the state shown in FIG. 15(c), the planetary gear 153 further moves upstream in the transport direction, causing the planetary gear 153 to disengage from the fixed teeth 32a as shown in FIG. 16(a). The planetary gear 153 disengaged from the fixed teeth 32a engages with the intermediate gear 156 as shown in FIG. 16(a). As a result, the second driving force from the motor 70 is transmitted to the shaft gear 157 via the rotating shaft 54S, the planetary gear 153, the intermediate gear 155, and the intermediate gear 156, causing the feed roller 92 to rotate and transport the sheet SH to the curved path P1B.

On the other hand, when the first driving force associated with the rotation in the Y direction from the motor 70 is input to the rotating shaft 54S and the rotating shaft 54S rotates in the Y direction in FIG. 16(a), the planetary gear 153 moves downstream in the conveying direction opposite to the above and disengages from the intermediate gear 155. This blocks the transmission of the driving force from the motor 70 to the paper feed roller 92. The planetary gear 153 then moves further and engages with the fixed teeth 32a as shown in FIG. 16(b). Note that the downstream side in the conveying direction, which is the moving direction of the planetary gear 153 at this time, is an example of the second direction. In this engaged state, the rotating shaft 54S further rotates in the Y direction, causing the holder 51 to swing around the rotation axis X54 so that the paper feed roller 92 side rises, as shown in FIG. 16(c). This causes the paper feed roller 92 to separate from the sheet SH.

When the holder 51 swings so that the feed roller 92 side rises in conjunction with the movement of the planetary gear 153 as described above, the lock lever 100, which was raised by the abutment surface 100b abutting against the abutment rib 132 as described above with reference to Figures 8(a) and 8(b), is displaced so as to rotate in the S direction as shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b). As a result, the tip 100a of the lock lever 100 engages with the stepped portion 80a, and the stopper 80 is in the restricted state as described above. The holder 51, planetary gear 153, intermediate gear 155, and intermediate gear 156 that operate as described above are an example of a second transmission switching mechanism.

Effects of the embodiment
As described above, the multifunction machine 1 of this embodiment includes the transport rollers 44 and 45 that transport the sheet SH along the transport path P1. The stopper 80 is also provided, and is in a restricted state in which the sheet SH is restricted from passing in the transport direction at the first position, and is in a released state in which the sheet SH is allowed to pass in the transport direction at the second position.

The stopper 80 is switched between the restricted state and the unrestricted state according to the type of driving force input from the motor 70. That is, when a first driving force generated by the motor 70 rotating in the Y direction is input, the stopper 80 is in the restricted state at the first position (see Figures 7(a) and 7(b)), and when a second driving force generated by the motor 70 rotating in the X direction is input, the stopper 80 is in the unrestricted state at the second position (see Figures 8(a) and 8(b)).

Similarly, the transmission of the driving force of the motor 70 to the conveying rollers 44, 45 is switched depending on the state of the driving force of the motor 70. That is, when the motor 70 rotates in the X direction to generate a second driving force, the second driving force is transmitted to the conveying rollers 44, 45 (see FIG. 10), and when the motor 70 rotates in the Y direction to generate a first driving force, the transmission of the driving force to the conveying rollers 44, 45 is not performed and is interrupted (see FIG. 11).

As described above, in this embodiment, when the motor 70 rotates in the X direction to generate the second driving force, the stopper 80 is released and enters a state in which the sheet SH is permitted to be conveyed, and the second driving force is transmitted to the conveying rollers, which then convey the sheet SH. On the other hand, when the motor 70 rotates in the Y direction to generate the first driving force, the stopper 80 enters a restricting state, restricting the passage of the sheet SH in the conveying direction, and the transmission of the driving force to the conveying rollers is cut off. In other words, if any abnormality occurs in the conveying of the sheet SH by the conveying rollers 44, 45 based on the second driving force, the motor 70 can be driven in the Y direction to cut off the transmission of the driving force to the conveying rollers, so that the motor 70 can be easily removed even when a stepping motor or the like is used as the motor 70.

As a result, this embodiment can achieve both appropriate switching between the two states of the stopper 80 using the driving force of a single motor 70 and smooth removal of the sheet SH from the conveying rollers 44, 45 in the event of a conveying abnormality.

In particular, in this embodiment, the multifunction device 1 is equipped with a feed roller 92 that feeds out the sheets SH supported on the stacking surface 150A, and a separation roller 54 that separates the sheets SH one by one. At this time, the stopper 80 is provided between the feed roller 92 and the separation roller 54. This makes it possible to prevent the sheets SH from being inserted up to the separation roller 54 when the stopper 80 is in a restricting state due to the first driving force of the motor 70 and restricts the passage of the sheets SH in the transport direction.

In particular, in this embodiment, the transmission of the driving force of the motor 70 to the feed roller 92 is switched according to the state of the driving force of the motor 70 input to the separation roller 54. That is, when the second driving force generated by the rotation of the motor 70 in the X direction is input to the separation roller 54, the second driving force is transmitted to the feed roller 92, and when the first driving force generated by the rotation of the motor 70 in the Y direction is input to the separation roller 54, the transmission of the driving force to the feed roller 92 is not performed and is cut off. Therefore, if any transport abnormality occurs during the transport of the sheet SH based on the second driving force, the transmission of the driving force to the feed roller 92 can be cut off by driving the motor 70 in the Y direction, and the sheet SH can be smoothly pulled out from the feed roller 92.

In this embodiment, the holder 51, the planetary gear 153, and the lock lever 100 are particularly provided. As described above, when the second driving force from the motor 70 is input to the rotating shaft 54S of the separation roller 54, the planetary gear 153 moves and disengages from the fixed teeth 32a of the holder 51 and engages with the intermediate gear 155, and the second driving force is transmitted to the shaft gear 157 of the feed roller 92 that is operatively connected to the intermediate gear 155. This transmission also causes the holder 51 to swing, causing the feed roller 92 to come into contact with the sheet SH and displacing the lock lever 100 from the restricting position to the releasing position. In this way, the lock lever 100 is displaced to the open position, changing the stopper 80 from the restricted state to the unrestricted state, so that the stopper 80 is in a free state (can be pushed by the sheet SH to switch to the second position), and the sheet SH can be transported by the feed roller 92, separation roller 54, and transport roller.

When the first driving force from the motor 70 is input to the rotating shaft 54S of the separation roller 54, the planetary gear 153 moves and disengages from the intermediate gear 155 and engages with the fixed teeth 32a of the holder 51, cutting off the transmission of the driving force to the feed roller 92. The holder 51 also swings, the feed roller 92 moves away from the sheet SH, and the lock lever 100 shifts from the open position to the regulated position. By shifting the lock lever 100 to the regulated position in this way, the stopper 80 enters a regulated state in which it can regulate the sheet SH, and the leading edge of the inserted sheet SH can be regulated at a predetermined position between the feed roller 92 and the separation roller 54.

In particular, in this embodiment, the opening/closing cover 32 that covers the transport path P1 of the feed roller 92, separation roller 54, and transport roller is supported rotatably at one end, and can be rotated appropriately to expose the covered transport path P1. At this time, the holder 51 equipped with the feed roller 92 and separation roller 54, and the stopper 80 are supported by the opening/closing cover 32. As a result, if any transport abnormality occurs during transport of the sheet SH as described above, the opening/closing cover 32 can be rotated as described above to separate the feed roller 92, separation roller 54, stopper 80, etc. from the sheet SH located on the transport path P1, and the sheet SH can be smoothly removed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the present invention. Below, such modifications are explained in order. These modifications are also included in the technical scope.

(1) Adjustment of Motor Rotation Amount As described above, the control unit 110 can control the rotation amount in each direction of the motor 70. In this case, for example, the rotation amount may be set variably depending on the processing.

That is, as described above, the control unit 110 can drive the motor 70 in the X direction to transport the sheet SH using the feed roller 92, separation roller 54, and transport rollers 44, 45. After the transport is completed, the control unit 110 drives the motor 70 in the Y direction to cut off the transmission of driving force to the feed roller 92 and place the stopper 80 in the restricted state. The processing by the control unit 110 at this time is an example of the first processing. On the other hand, as described above, the control unit 110 also drives the motor 70 in the Y direction to cut off the transmission of driving force to the feed roller 92 when a transport abnormality occurs in the sheet SH. The processing by the control unit 110 at this time is an example of the second processing.

For example, the control unit 110 makes the amount of rotation of the motor 70 in the Y direction during the first process greater than the amount of rotation of the motor 70 in the Y direction during the second process. This has the following technical significance. That is, the first process requires a relatively large amount of rotation because it involves switching the state of the stopper 80 from the unrestricted state to the restricted state. In contrast, the main purpose of the second process is to cut off the transmission of driving force to the paper feed roller 92 to reduce the load during removal, and a relatively small amount of rotation is sufficient. In response to this, in this modified example, the amount of rotation of the motor in the Y direction during each process in the control unit is set so that the amount of rotation in the first process is greater than the amount of rotation in the second process. This allows for optimal control that is consistent with the two process contents and is efficient.

In addition, unlike the above, in the control unit 110, for example, the amount of rotation of the motor 70 in the Y direction during the first process and the amount of rotation of the motor 70 in the Y direction during the second process may be approximately equal. In this case, there is an advantage that the control contents can be simplified compared to the case where the amount of rotation is differentiated depending on the process as described above.

(2) Others That is, in the above, the stopper 80 is configured to appear and disappear with respect to the conveying path P1 of the sheet SH by rotating, but this is not limited to this. That is, for example, the stopper may be configured to appear and disappear with respect to the conveying path P1 by moving up and down using a solenoid, an electromagnetic clutch, or the like. In this case, a stopper switching mechanism is provided that realizes the aforementioned restricted state by moving the stopper upward (or downward) to the first position located on the conveying path P1 side, and realizes the aforementioned unrestricted state by moving the stopper downward (or vertically) to the second position farther from the conveying path P1 than the first position.
In the above, an example has been described in which the rotatable lock lever 100 is provided as the displacement member, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any member capable of switching the stopper 80 between the restricted state and the released state described above in conjunction with the rotation of the holder 51 will suffice. In other words, for example, a bar or plate that does not rotate like a lever but moves linearly to abut against or engage with the stopper 80 may be used as the displacement member.
In the above, the second transmission switching mechanism is constituted by the holder 51, the planetary gear 153, the intermediate gear 155, and the intermediate gear 156, but is not limited to this. That is, it is sufficient to use a mechanism such as a one-way clutch or other appropriate clutch that transmits the second driving force input from the motor 70 to the separation roller 54 to the paper feed roller 92 and blocks the transmission of the first driving force input from the motor 70 to the separation roller 54 to the paper feed roller 92.

In the above description, the swinging of the holder 51 is realized by utilizing the driving force from the motor 70, but this is not limited thereto. That is, the holder 51 may be swung by using a driving force from a driving source other than the motor 70.
In the above, the present invention has been described as being applied to the document feed mechanism in the ADF section 9 when a document is inserted into the ADF section 9 by a user, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention may be applied to a manual feed mechanism when a recording sheet is inserted by a user through a manual feed port separately provided in the main unit 2. In this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.
Furthermore, although the above description has been given taking the multifunction machine 1 as an example of an image processing device, the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, as another example of an image processing device, the present invention may be applied to a reading device that does not have a portion corresponding to the image forming unit 4 described above and only has a portion corresponding to the reading unit 3. In this case as well, the same effects as those described above can be obtained.

In addition to the above, the methods according to the above embodiments and their variations may be used in combination as appropriate.

Although we will not provide specific examples, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1. Multifunction device (an example of an image processing device)
32 Opening/closing cover 44 Conveying roller 45 Conveying roller 51 Holder (an example of a second transmission switching mechanism)
51A: fixed teeth 54: separation roller 54S: rotating shaft 70: motor 73: planetary gear mechanism (an example of a first transmission switching mechanism)
80 Stopper 92 Paper feed roller 92S Rotating shaft 100 Lock lever (an example of a displacement member)
110 Control unit 132 Contact rib 153 Planetary gear (an example of a second transmission switching mechanism)
155 intermediate gear (an example of a second transmission switching mechanism)
156 intermediate gear (an example of a second transmission switching mechanism)
SH Sheet P1 Transport path

Claims (7)

a motor capable of rotating in a first rotational direction to generate a corresponding first drive force, or rotating in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction to generate a corresponding second drive force;
a conveying roller that is rotated by the second driving force transmitted from the motor and conveys the sheet along a conveying path;
a stopper that is displaceable between a first position and a second position that is farther from the conveying path than the first position and allows the sheet to pass in the conveying direction;
a stopper switching mechanism that switches the stopper to a restricted state at the first position to restrict passage of the sheet in the transport direction when the first driving force is input from the motor, and switches the stopper to a non-restricted state at the second position to allow movement of the sheet in the transport direction when the second driving force is input from the motor;
a first transmission switching mechanism that transmits the second driving force from the motor to the transport roller and blocks transmission of the first driving force from the motor to the transport roller;
a second transmission switching mechanism including a movable planetary gear and a displacement member that is displaced between a restricted position where the stopper is in the restricted state and an open position where the stopper is in the released state as the holder rotates about an axis in conjunction with the movement of the planetary gear, wherein when the second driving force is input, the paper feed roller comes into contact with the sheet and the displacement member is displaced to the open position, and when the first driving force is input, the paper feed roller moves away from the sheet and the displacement member is displaced to the restricted position;
An image processing device comprising: A support surface for supporting the sheet;
the sheet feed roller that is rotated by the second driving force transmitted from the motor and feeds the sheet supported on the support surface in a conveyance direction;
a separation roller that is located downstream of the sheet feed roller in the transport direction, rotates when the second driving force is input from the motor, and separates the sheets fed from the sheet feed roller one by one;
Equipped with
The stopper is
2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is located between the paper feed roller and the separation roller. 3. The image processing device according to claim 2, further comprising a second transmission switching mechanism that transmits the second driving force input from the motor to the separation roller to the paper feed roller and blocks the transmission of the first driving force input from the motor to the separation roller to the paper feed roller. The second transmission switching mechanism includes:
a holder that rotatably supports the separation roller and the paper feed roller and is swingable about the axis of a rotation shaft ;
The planetary gear is
The separation roller is movable by meshing with a fixed tooth while meshing with a shaft gear of a rotating shaft of the separation roller,
The displacement member is provided on the holder,
When the second driving force from the motor is input to the rotation shaft of the separation roller, the planetary gear moves in a first direction to disengage from the fixed teeth, and the planetary gear meshes with an intermediate gear operatively connected to a shaft gear of the rotation shaft of the paper feed roller, the holder swings, the paper feed roller comes into contact with the sheet, and the displacement member is displaced to the release position,
The image processing device described in claim 3, characterized in that when the first driving force from the motor is input to the rotating shaft of the separation roller, the planetary gear moves in a second direction opposite to the first direction, disengaging from the intermediate gear and engaging with the fixed teeth, and the holder swings to separate the paper feed roller from the sheet and displace the displacement member to the regulating position. a cover that is rotatably supported at one end and that covers the conveying path formed by the feed roller, the separation roller, and the conveying roller;
The openable cover has the fixed teeth,
5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the holder including the paper feed roller and the separation roller, and the stopper are supported by the opening/closing cover. A control unit for controlling the rotation of the motor is further provided.
The control unit is
a first process of driving the motor in the first rotation direction after the sheet to be conveyed by the sheet feed roller, the separation roller, and the conveying roller is conveyed, interrupting the transmission of the first driving force to the rotation shaft of the sheet feed roller by the second transmission switching mechanism, and bringing the stopper into the regulated state by the stopper switching mechanism;
a second process of driving the motor in the first rotation direction when a conveyance abnormality occurs in the sheet, and cutting off transmission of the first driving force to the rotation shaft of the sheet feed roller by the second transmission switching mechanism;
Run
6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the amount of rotation of the motor in the first rotation direction in the first process is made larger than the amount of rotation of the motor in the first rotation direction in the second process. A control unit for controlling the rotation of the motor is further provided.
The control unit is
a first process of driving the motor in the first rotation direction after the sheet to be conveyed by the sheet feed roller, the separation roller, and the conveying roller is conveyed, interrupting the transmission of the first driving force to the rotation shaft of the sheet feed roller by the second transmission switching mechanism, and bringing the stopper into the regulated state by the stopper switching mechanism;
a second process of driving the motor in the first rotation direction when a conveyance abnormality occurs in the sheet, and cutting off transmission of the first driving force to the rotation shaft of the sheet feed roller by the second transmission switching mechanism;
Run
6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an amount of rotation of the motor in the first rotation direction in the first process is set to be substantially equal to an amount of rotation of the motor in the first rotation direction in the second process.

Images