JPH0312020B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a paper feeding device, and in particular to a paper feeding device that has been improved so as to be able to automatically feed documents with a large width without any trouble. The present invention relates to a paper feeding device equipped with a mechanism.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, image input devices have been used to read and recognize items written on manuscripts, forms, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as manuscripts for simplicity), and input them into data processing devices. It is being

Such image input devices are designed to extract image information by reading characters and the like on a document, and are often equipped with an automatic reading unit that automatically feeds and reads a large amount of documents.

The above automatic reading unit generally includes (i) a hopper mechanism that moves the document placed on the hopper to a predetermined preparation position, and (ii) a pick mechanism that takes in the documents placed in the preparation position one by one. (iii) a feed mechanism that feeds the original, (iv) a reading unit that reads the fed original, (v) a printing mechanism that prints on the original as necessary, and (vi) a The printer is equipped with a stacker ejection mechanism that ejects the loaded originals to the stacker. In the present invention, the above mechanisms (i), (ii), (iii), and (vi) are collectively referred to as:
It is called the paper transport mechanism.

The above hopper mechanism, pick mechanism, feed mechanism,
Stacker discharge mechanisms are now generally controlled by microprocessors.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the paper feed device of the conventional image input device mentioned above, since the automatic reading unit processes a wide range of documents from narrow width documents to large width documents, a pick mechanism that takes in documents one by one is used. The width dimensions of the pick roller and the separation belt that constitute the apparatus are usually made small in accordance with the document having the small width dimension. Therefore, when importing a document with a large width, the pressure from the pit crawler or separation belt may cause the edges of the document to lift up or curl perpendicular to the document feeding direction. There is a problem in that the document is inconvenient and the document is scratched or wrinkled.

The present invention solves the problems that exist in the conventional image input device, and provides a paper feeding device that can automatically feed even large documents without scratches or wrinkles. This is the purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention includes a hopper 28 on which a plurality of documents are stacked, a hopper mechanism that moves the documents stacked on the hopper 28 to a predetermined preparation position, In a paper feeding device equipped with a pick mechanism that takes in documents placed in the preparation position one by one, a separation belt 48 wound between at least two pulleys and a pick mechanism facing the end of the hopper mechanism are provided. A pick section constituted by a pick roller 54 provided therein is swingable so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the document housed in the hopper mechanism with the pick roller 54 as a free end, and is perpendicular to the document feeding direction. A fixed paper presser 56 is provided on one side of the separation belt 48 so that its projection covers the upper surface of the hopper 28 directly below the separation belt 48. There is a movable paper presser 5 on the side.
7 is provided with springs 58 on both sides so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the document feeding direction, and is provided so as to face the document in the hopper 28 directly below, thereby forming the above-mentioned pick mechanism. The method was adopted.

[Effect]

With the above configuration, when a large amount of documents are automatically fed from above the hopper, the pick roller 54 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 contacts the center of the leading edge of the document 55 to start feeding, and the separation belt While being transferred to the lower surface of the original 55, the upper sides of both sides of the original 55 are held down by a fixed paper presser 56 and a movable paper presser 57. Therefore, the document 55 jumps upward,
Curling, etc., is prevented. In this way,
Even when a document with a relatively large width is automatically fed, the automatic feeding is performed smoothly and reliably without causing scratches or wrinkles.

〔Example〕

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of an apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 20 is a flat bed reading unit, 21 is an automatic reading unit, 22 is a document holder, 23 is a flat bed, 24 is a reading section, 2
5 is a light beam, 26 is a reading light beam from the flat bed reading unit 20 side, 27 is a reading light beam from the automatic reading unit 21 side, 28 is a hopper, 29 is a stacker, 30 is a print head, 3
1 is the platen, 32 is the hand insertion slot, 33, 34, 3
5 is a mirror, 37 is a drive roller, and 38 and 39 are lamps.

The flat bed reading unit 20 includes a flat bed 23 on which a single sheet original is placed, a document presser 22, a manual insertion slot 32 into which a single sheet original is manually inserted, mirrors 33, 34, 35, and a reading unit. Part 24
It has at least the following.

Further, the automatic reading unit 21 is arranged so as to be able to come into contact with and detach from the flat bed reading unit 20, and includes a hopper 28, a stacker 29, a print head 30, a drive roller 37, and the like.

When reading a large number of documents, the documents are stacked on the hopper 28. The hopper 28 is then raised to a predetermined ready position by the hopper mechanism.
Next, the pick mechanism picks up the original placed in the preparation position one by one, starting from the top, and corrects any undesired tilting of the original by using the leading edge of the original as a reference. be done.

The document whose inclination has been corrected is fed by the feed mechanism so as to cross the position where the illustrated lamp 39 is present. As a result, the light from the lamp 39 is reflected from the original, and the light beam 27 becomes a light beam 25, which is read by the reading section 24.

The document is passed across the printhead 30 and is numbered, for example, by a printing mechanism as required.

Then, it is discharged to the stacker 29 by the stacker discharge mechanism. During this time, the hyperactive drive roller 3
7 is rotated to feed the original.

Incidentally, when performing automatic reading by the automatic reading unit 21, the mirror 33 is operated as shown in FIG.
It is rotated and retracted as shown in 3'.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a side view and a front view, respectively, showing essential parts of a pick mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention. In both figures, reference numeral 50 denotes a pick frame, which is rotatably provided on a frame 51 forming the upper part of the automatic reading unit 21 shown in FIG. 4 via a rotation shaft 52. Inside the pick frame 50, a separation belt 48 wound around a pulley 53 is rotatably provided, and a pick crawler 54 is rotatably provided. Manuscript 55
It is arranged so that it can come into contact with and separate from it. The pick frame 50 also supports the original 5 housed on the hopper 28.
The width dimensions of the pick roller 54 and the separation belt 48 are configured to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the original 55 is fed.
It is formed to a size that can correspond to the minimum dimension of Next, a fixed paper presser 56 is provided on one side of the separating belt 48 of the pick frame 50, and a movable paper presser 57 is provided on the other side. The fixed paper presser 56 is fixed to the lower surface of the pick frame 50, and its projection covers the upper surface of the hopper 28 provided directly below. On the other hand, the movable paper presser 57 has a U-shaped cross section, for example, and is provided with coil springs 58 on both sides, so that it can slide in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the document 55, and is movable in the direction directly below the document 55. Manuscript 5 in Hoppa 28
It is formed to face 5. In addition, Hotsupa 28
In order to position the original 55, there is a fixed guide 5.
9 and a moving guide 60 are provided, which can be interlocked with the pick frame 50, and are formed so that the amount of movement between the pick frame 50 and the moving guide 60 is 1:2 in the same direction. Further, the movable paper presser 57 is supported by coil springs 5 provided on both sides.
8 and 58, it is positioned approximately midway between the pick roller 54 and the fixed guide 59. Next, 61 is a separation pad, which is provided so as to be able to slide on the lower surface of the separation belt 48. Note that a roller 49 that rotates in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the separation belt 48 is provided on the lower surface of the separation belt 48.
8. 63 is a guide, 64
A feeding roller is provided on the downstream side of the pick frame 50 for feeding the original.

With the above configuration, a large number of documents 55 can be transferred to the hopper 2.
8, when the pick roller 54 comes into contact with the center of the leading edge of the document 55 to start feeding and transfer it to the lower surface of the separation belt 48, fixed paper pressers 56 are placed above both sides of the document 55. Since the movable paper presser 57 prevents the original 55 from bouncing upward and causing curls, it is possible to avoid scratches or wrinkles even when feeding a relatively large original. Therefore, the paper can be fed smoothly and reliably.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of a paper conveyance mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numerals 30 and 39 shown in the figure correspond to those in FIG. 4, respectively, and 43 is a CCD. Further, the illustrated "hopper section" corresponds to the hopper mechanism, the "pick section" corresponds to the pick mechanism, and the "feed section" corresponds to the feed mechanism. Furthermore, S ₁ to S ₈ are various sensors,
MG1 and MG2 are respectively electromagnetic magnets,
MOT1 to MOT4 represent motors.

The hopper mechanism is for lifting a large amount of documents loaded on the hopper 28 to a predetermined preparation position, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, or FIG. The hopper 28 continues its upward movement until it is detected by the sensor _S2 .

The pick mechanism is for picking up one sheet at a time from a group of originals placed in the preparation position, and uses an electromagnetic magnet (MG2) to pick up the aligning stopper 4.
7 is pulled up on the document moving route, the rollers are closed by the electromagnetic magnet (MG1), the motor (MOT2) is started, and one document is taken in by the belt 48 or the like. Of course, in order to correctly take in only one sheet, a known mechanism for rotating the roller 49 in the opposite direction is provided. The feed mechanism is also equipped with a mechanism that checks the amount of light that passes through the original, detects the thickness of the original, and detects and eliminates undesirable double feed.

The document taken in by the belt 48 or the like is detected by the sensor S ₄ (occurrence of paper jam, etc. is detected), and at the aligning stopper 47,
The entire leading edge of the document is brought into proper contact with the stopper 47, and undesired inclination of the document is corrected. After the correction has been made, the aligning stopper 47 is pulled down and the document reaches the illustrated standby position where it is pulled to the next feed mechanism.

In the feed mechanism, the presence of a document is detected by sensors _S5 and _S6 , a motor (MOT3) is activated, and the document is fed. During this time, the original passes under the lamp 39, and the CCD 43 reads the characters and the like on the original as image information.
If necessary, the print head 30 also numbers the document.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the paper feeding device of the present invention has the configuration and operation as described above, even originals with different width dimensions can be processed by the same device, and even originals with a large width can be processed without scratches or wrinkles. This has the advantage that automatic feeding can be carried out smoothly and at high speed without the need for any problems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a side view and a front view, respectively, showing the main parts of a pick mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a state diagram of the same paper conveyance mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the device. 20: Flat bed reading unit, 21:
Automatic reading unit, 28: hopper, 29: stacker, 32: manual insertion slot, 48: separation belt, 54:
Pit crawler, 56: fixed paper holder, 57: movable paper holder, 58: spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hopper 28 on which a plurality of originals are stacked, a hopper mechanism that moves the originals stacked on the hopper 28 to a predetermined preparation position, and a hopper mechanism that moves the originals placed on the preparation position one by one. In a paper feeding device equipped with a pick mechanism, a pick section is comprised of a separation belt 48 wound between at least two pulleys and a pick roller 54 provided facing an end of the hopper mechanism. is arranged to be swingable so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the document housed in the hopper mechanism with the pick crawler 54 as a free end, and to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the document feeding direction, and the separation mechanism is A fixed paper presser 56 is provided on one side of the belt 48 so as to cover the upper surface of the hopper 28 directly below the projection, and a movable paper presser 57 is provided on the other side of the separation belt 48 with springs on both sides. 58 is arranged so that it can slide in a direction perpendicular to the document feeding direction, and the hopper 28 directly below
A paper feeding device characterized in that the pick mechanism is arranged so as to face a document therein.