JPS5921030B2 - Sheet front/back conversion conveyance device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet front-back converting and conveying device that automatically guides a front-side document and a back-side document of a double-sided sheet document sequentially to an exposure position in a copying machine or the like.

In recent years, the need for speeding up copying machines has increased with the streamlining of office processing. A slit exposure method has been in practical use for a long time, in which sheet originals are used and a plurality of sheet originals are successively fed into an exposure unit into a slit unit. There are many types of auto feeders that incorporate this technology, but all of them only automatically copy single-sided originals, even though they are double-sided originals. In recent years, copying machines have entered the era of PPC (plain paper copying), and it is becoming possible to make double-sided copies, saving resources and making filing lighter.
The current situation is that the demands from copying operations are increasing.

However, even though it is a double-sided document, in many cases, one side is copied (inserted, exposed, and ejected), and then the back side is manually inserted into the exposure section and copied again.

The present invention provides a conveyance device that can automate the operation of turning over and inserting a document (or other sheet material) using a very simple means.

Furthermore, when copy sheets that have been copied are sequentially arranged in a distributor, the distributor must be selected depending on whether the copy side discharged from the copying machine faces upward or downward.

Generally, it is desirable for copies to be ejected from a copying machine with the copy side facing up, so there are many copying machines of this type.

The distributor has a number of trays for receiving copies, which must be stacked with the copy side against the supporting surface of the trays for sequential alignment. Therefore, it is necessary to turn over the ejected copy, but conventionally a guide path for making a U-turn is provided, making the mechanism complicated and redundant, so a simple means is required. In many cases, the items are fed by hand, which is commonly known as manual feeding.
There are also automated ones.

This involves the preparatory work necessary to guide the copy paper that has completed the specified copying process to the paper feed section for refeeding, and transport it to the next copying process, in other words, based on complex mechanical operations. Many systems rely on mechanisms, such as aligning the paper in the width direction and in the front-back direction to prepare for forward movement, and the paper feed section has a complicated and expensive control system.

In using the front-back conversion conveyance device of the present invention for the above-mentioned purpose, if it is used near the output of a copying machine or near the inlet of a distributor, copying paper can be turned over very easily.

In addition, if the copy paper that has undergone single-sided copying is moved from the fixing completion position to the vicinity of the paper output port of the copying machine, the loss time will be minimized.
It becomes a simple transportation method and also enables efficient automation of double-sided copying. The content of the present invention will be specifically explained.

Immediately after the original (or copy paper) sent by the conveying means completes a predetermined journey and is ejected from one exit, the original (or copy paper) is transferred to another entrance located near the exit. ) This is a device using a reverse conveyance method, consisting of a conveyor that can automatically guide the rear end of the conveyor, providing resistance to the progress of the object near the exit, and changing the course of the rear end. Close,
It is characterized by leading to another entrance.

Next, details of the present invention will be explained with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment for continuous slit exposure on the front and back sides of a double-sided sheet original. 1 is a light source, 2 and 3 are reflectors, 4
is a mirror, 5 is a heat-resistant transparent glass, . 6 is a guide member, 7
, 8 is a document carrying drive roller, 9 is a driven roller, 10
, 11 is a driving roller for carrying out the document, and 12 is a driven roller for reverse carrying.

13, 14, and 15 are re-carrying guide members, 16 is a paper discharge guide plate, 17 is a paper discharge/reverse carry-in guide plate, and 18, 19 are document discharge rollers.

, 20 is a tray, 21 is a cover, 22 is a light source, and 23 is a detection element. Next, the operation will be explained.

The original sheet fed from an auto feeder (not shown) that accommodates a plurality of originals is passed through a pair of original transport rollers 7, which continue to rotate in the direction of the arrow by driving force obtained from a drive source.
The document is sent from the arrow section between 8 and 8, enters the slit section between 5 and 6, and is exposed to the slit while being scanned by the light source 1 that is irradiated from below. A predetermined image formation is performed at step 1).

Subsequently, the document rotates synchronously with rollers T and 8.
The document is guided between the document transport drive rollers 10 and 11, slides on the paper discharge guide plate 16 from both rollers rotating in the direction of the arrow, is guided to the discharge rollers 18 and 19, and enters a position to be discharged onto the tray 20. However, regardless of the size of the document having different dimensions, a detection unit 22 that positions the rear end of the document to complete slit exposure near the delivery rollers 10 and 11;
23 detects the presence or absence of a document (the trailing edge of the document may be detected by the discharge rollers 10, 11), and the discharge rollers 18, 19, which are discharging the document, apply a brake action and temporarily It makes it stop. This roller 18
, 19 may be a clutch action that causes a loss of driving force, or may be any means such as a friction action. In short, it is sufficient to create resistance to the progress of the manuscript. The roll 19 relative to the roll 18 is preferably a driven roller, and is most preferably a lightweight partial roller that can only be discharged with almost no pressing force.

The ejecting movement of the original document is temporarily stopped by the rollers 18 and 19, but the document existing at a distance from the position detected by the detection unit to the ejection roller, and the rear end thereof continue rotating as the ejection rollers 10 and 11. It is sent out to the contact area of the roller.

However, the document that has no place to escape forms a loop only in the space in the direction away from the paper discharge guide plate 16, which is arranged substantially on the tangent to both roller pairs.

Unloading roller pair 10, 11 and discharge roller pair 18, 19
The distance 1 between the detection parts 22, 23 and the rollers 10, 11
The distance between 1, and the larger dimension is 1, <11
+1, so that the relational expression is satisfied, and the reverse loading plate 1
7 is a position that does not interfere with the loop type, that is, roll 18
, 19, if it is placed at a position suitable for the purpose of a guide plate near the point where the tangents of the rolls 11 and 12 are connected, the trailing edge of the document will move from the position passing between the rolls 10 and 11 to the rotating surface of the roll 11. guided upwards along the If the roll 11 is made of a material with a large friction coefficient, such as rubber, the rear end can be guided more effectively. The rear end position of the document is between the entrance of the re-carrying rolls 11 and 12 and the carrying-out roll 10.
, 11, the loop of the original created earlier slides into the entrance of the re-carrying rolls 10, 12, that is, the tangential part, by its own restoring force, and the next The document is also corrected for bending in the direction in which it is transported into the process, and due to the pressing force of the rolls 11 and 12, the trailing edge of the document becomes the leading edge of the document, and is conveyed in the opposite direction from the previous slit exposure. At this point, if the brake action between the discharge rolls 18 and 19 is released, even if the roll 18 continues to rotate in the direction of discharge action, the upper roll 19 will become a driven roll.
If the document is made lighter and lighter, the document will slip between the surface of the lower roll and the upper roll will rotate in the opposite direction along the reverse conveyance of the document.

In order to achieve this effect most effectively, both the upper and lower rolls should be made of metal, synthetic resin, etc. with good surface properties, and should be made of materials with a small coefficient of friction, including the coating means, so that the document can be transported in the ejection direction. Power can be further reduced.

In this state, the ejection force of 18 and 19 is greatly reduced and 11
, 12 is also strengthened, and if an auxiliary means for pressing the rolls 11 and 12 into pressure contact with each other using a spring or the like is added as another means, the stability will be further increased. Under these circumstances, even if the roll 18 begins to rotate again, slippage will occur between the roll 18 and the document, but the document will not be damaged in any way.

Further, as the document is conveyed in the opposite direction, the roll 19 rolls in the opposite direction, and the rolls 11 and 12 convey the document to the path of the guide members 13 and 14 without slipping, and the rolls 7 and
9 to the guide 15, and is again passed through the carry-in rolls 7 and 8 and exposed again.

In this state, the back side of the document that was previously exposed to the slit is exposed, so that both sides of the document can be copied most efficiently. From the re-carrying rolls 11 and 12 to the guides 13 and 14,
Continuous copying is possible while maintaining short intervals corresponding to the length of the path of the guide 7, resulting in highly efficient copying.

Furthermore, since almost no control system is required, the system is simple in structure and inexpensive. It is naturally possible to use this copy repeatedly, and if the control from the detection signal is released when the intended exposure is completed, the document will be naturally discharged onto the tray 20.

As described above, the rolls 18 and 19 may be set at a speed different from that of the delivery roll by reducing the speed of the delivery roll without temporarily stopping the rolls 18 and 19.

It goes without saying that the direction of rotation of the rolls 18 and 19 may be changed using a clutch or the like only when the rolls 18 and 19 are brought in again after they have been stopped. In short, it is a means to provide resistance to the forward movement of the document being ejected, and its major feature is that it quickly generates a reverse conveying force. Figure 2 also shows the unloading rollers 10 and 11 in the figure.
Detecting units 22 and 23 are arranged between the discharging rollers 8 and 19, and a plurality of swingable fingers 24 that fall under their own weight are installed in the missing part of the guide member 16 that has been partially removed just before that. This is another example. Points different from the previous example will be operationally explained using FIGS. 2 and 7.

The leading edge of the slit-exposed document advances onto the tray 20 while pushing up the lightweight finger 24, and when the trailing edge passes the finger 24, the output rolls 18 and 19 are stopped by signals from the detection units 22 and 24. Then, when rolls 18 and 19 are rotated in the opposite direction to the discharge direction using a clutch or the like, the trailing edge of the document is reliably guided to re-carrying rolls 11 and 12 located nearby, using the upper surface of finger 24 as a guide surface.

The rear end detection is Fingano 24 linked to the switch.
It is also possible to perform the process using the rolls 18 and 19, and there is no hindrance to the process using the rolls 18 and 19.

In this way, the trailing edge of the document is detected near the outlet of the outlet rollers 10 and 11, and when the trailing edge of the document passes, the finger returns to its original position again, the path is closed, and the document is transported in the reverse direction. This is an improved conveying device in which the original is guided to the re-loading room just by being rotated. By simply detecting the trailing edge of the document, it is possible to easily guide it to a nearby re-loading port.

Also, an application example will be described in which the above-mentioned transport device is used to re-transport the material without using any detection means.

An embodiment applied to double-sided copying of copy paper will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 31 is a photosensitive drum, 3
Reference numeral 2 indicates a primary charging device, and reference numeral 533 indicates a simultaneous exposure static elimination device 34, which is a light source for full-surface exposure.

The photosensitive drum 31 undergoes a copying process sequentially in the direction of the arrow in the figure to form an electric latent image on the drum, which is developed and visualized in a developing section 35. The transfer paper synchronously conveyed from the force set 41 or 42 comes into contact with the drum surface immediately before the transfer unit 36 and the drum surface with the unfixed O-attached image, and is then transferred and transferred to the drum surface 36.
After passing through a separating section 7 and being fixed in a fixing device 38, the image is discharged from a discharge roller 39 onto a tray 40.

Since the above-mentioned conveying means is provided near the ejection port (details are explained in Figures 4, 5, and 6), the copy paper that has undergone fixing is carried in again with the image side facing upward, and then conveyed. In the process, it makes a U-turn, and as mentioned earlier, it is transferred, separated, and fixed in synchronization with the next visible image, and the copy is completed on both sides of the transfer paper, and then it is discharged onto the tray 40.

Of course, the conveying device described in FIG. 1 may be applied to reversing the transfer paper.

4, 5, and 6 show details of one embodiment of the present invention.

Although FIGS. 4 and 5 are embodiments that do not require the previously described brake, clutch, detection means, etc., there is no problem in using them together.

The copy paper that has been fixed passes through guide sections 41 and 42,
By rotation of the discharge rollers 39 and 43 in the direction of the arrow, the paper is discharged onto the tray 40 with the copy side facing upward.

One or more fingers 45 are mounted on a swingable shaft 46, and can be switched on the shaft by an external drive as shown in FIG. In the position shown in FIG. 4, the copying machine 49 can be used for normal one-sided copying, and the copying machine 49 is ejected onto a tray as shown.

Next, when double-sided copying is required, the finger 45 completes preparation as shown in FIG. 5 in response to a conversion signal from single-sided copying to double-sided copying.

As mentioned before, copy paper that has finished fixing should be placed in Guide 4.
1, 42, and ejection rollers 39, 43 onto the tray from the advancing front edge of the copy paper.If the tray 40 is installed on a steeply sloped surface, the copy paper continues its upward movement and is ejected onto the tray. The rear end of the paper is about to be ejected from the ejection rollers 39, 43. The lower surface of the copy paper 49 constantly slides upward while being in contact with the surface of the tray 40. If the paper continues to be ejected while applying resistance to advance and stop the copy paper in front of the ejection port, the rearmost edge of the copy paper will be located at the tangential line of the ejection rollers 39 and 43. Immediately after passing through the copy paper 49, the copy paper 49 almost stops advancing on the tray 40, moves on the roll circumferential surface as the roll 43 rotates, and causes a downward movement.

In the next process, the copy paper moves to the position shown in Figure 5 and rolls 43, 4
It is guided to the tangential part of No. 4 and transported again.

The most effective inclination of the tray 40 at this time is an angle that allows the copy paper to slide and fall under its own weight. A completely new type of reverse transport becomes possible, which makes it possible to completely eliminate the need for detection elements. When copying again on the back side of copy paper, by the time the copy is completed on the front side, the copy paper has been displaced from several millimeters to more than 10 degrees perpendicular to the direction of travel after a long path. There are many. For this reason, it is necessary to correctly correct the bending and displacement amount, and it is common sense that an alignment mechanism must be incorporated in the sheet refeeding section.

However, as seen in the embodiment of the present invention, the copy paper whose trailing edge has been ejected is completely free from falling.

Under these conditions, it also has the great feature that correction of bending and displacement can be done extremely easily. An embodiment in which this feature is applied to the maximum extent will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

The receiving width of the tray 40 in FIG. 6 is set so that the copy sheet to be ejected is placed in the normal position.

The toner side 55 is best configured to be adjustable;
, 56 have a structure in which the lower portions near the bottom portion are laid flat against the width of the copying paper, and the upper portions are widened relative to the width of the paper and are easy to slip. In FIG. 4, the copy paper 49 that is discharged with a slight displacement perpendicular to the direction of travel from the reference position is moved by the discharge rollers 39, 43.
After passing through and the rear end becomes free as shown in the figure, it begins to descend, but due to the shape of the side surfaces of trays 55 and 56, it is corrected in the width direction in the process of falling, and by the time it reaches the lower part. Recover the most correct position.

The thus-formed copy paper is guided by both inner surfaces in the longitudinal direction of 55 and 56, and is led to the re-loading slots 43 and 44 shown in FIG. 5.

A re-importing method that does not require such complicated configuration means has a great feature.

Adding the function of reciprocating 55 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 is more reliable.

Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In this figure, a conveyance system is provided near the paper output of the copying machine for converting the front and back of the copy sheets to be copied and sequentially guiding them to the distributor, but this function may also be added to the inlet side of the distributor. As mentioned above, the copy paper guided to the re-carrying rolls 43 and 44 is guided by the guide member 47 to the tangential portion of the paper discharge rollers 44 and 45, and the roll that continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow converts the front and back sides of the copy paper 49. is discharged outside the machine and delivered to a distributor (not shown).

Since the copy sheets with the image side facing upward are facing downward when entering the distributor, they can be arranged in page order one after another. Further, by installing this reversing device after the discharge rollers 18 and 19 shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to align the documents.

That is, in FIG. 1, the original is inserted with its front side down, first the front side is exposed, then converted and the back side is exposed. After reaching the rollers 18 and 19, the original is turned over by this reversing device. Then, they are ejected again with the surface facing down in the same condition as when they were inserted. Although not shown, copy paper 4
A tray for receiving 9 may be added to the main body of the copying machine. As described above, according to the present invention, the front side original and the back side original of a sheet double-sided original can be automatically guided to the exposure position in sequence.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a conveying device that continuously exposes both sides of a sheet document, FIGS. 2 and 2'' are cross-sectional views showing a second embodiment of the conveying device, and FIG. The figure is a sectional view of an embodiment in which the conveyance device is applied to a double-sided copying machine, Figures 4, 5, and 7 are enlarged views of the conveyance section, and Figure 6 is a perspective view. 6 is a guide member, 7, 8 is a document carry-in drive roller, 9 is a driven roller, 10 and 11 are document carry-out drive rollers, 1
2 is a driven roller for reverse loading, 13, 14, 15 is a re-loading guide member, 16 is a paper discharge guide plate, 17 is a paper discharge and reverse loading guide plate, 18, 19 are document discharge rollers, 20 is a tray,
21 is a cover 22 is a light source, and 23 is a detection element.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a sheet front/back conversion conveyance device that converts the front and back sides of a sheet double-sided original and guides the front side original and the back side original to an exposure position, there is provided a conveying means for conveying the sheet double-sided original to an exposure position, and a forward movement by the conveying means. a backward conveying means for advancing the sheet double-sided original which has been conveyed to an exposure position and has exposed the front side original from its rear end in the forward direction; and after reversing the sheet double-sided original conveyed by the backward conveying means;
1. A front-back conversion conveyance device, comprising: a reversing conveyance means for guiding the back-side original to the exposure position, and guiding both the front and back sides of the sheet double-sided original to the exposure position.