U.S. patent application number 12/343171 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-02 for apparatus for automatic document feeding.
This patent application is currently assigned to DIGITAL BUSINESS PROCESSES, INC.. Invention is credited to Peter Michaelian, Harris Romanoff.
Application Number | 20090166955 12/343171 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40797219 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090166955 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Romanoff; Harris ; et
al. |
July 2, 2009 |
APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC DOCUMENT FEEDING
Abstract
A document input device having a gravity feed paper tray is
adapted such that the separator pad is mounted on the base, as
opposed to the cover, so that when the cover is opened to access
the paper path (as during clearing of a paper jam), paper in the
paper tray is held in place by the force of the separator pad
against the pick roller, even though the cover is open. The
separator pad may be attached to a rod that is attached to the base
so as to permit the rod and separator pad to remain in place when
the cover is in the open position. A leaf spring may be placed
between the rod and the separator pad for biasing the separator pad
against the pick roller. Also, the cover may include a spring for
biasing the separator pad against the pick roller when the cover is
in the closed position.
Inventors: |
Romanoff; Harris; (Narberth,
PA) ; Michaelian; Peter; (Tappan, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WOODCOCK WASHBURN LLP
CIRA CENTRE, 12TH FLOOR, 2929 ARCH STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19104-2891
US
|
Assignee: |
DIGITAL BUSINESS PROCESSES,
INC.
Philadelphia
PA
|
Family ID: |
40797219 |
Appl. No.: |
12/343171 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61017060 |
Dec 27, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/109 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 3/063 20130101;
B65H 2402/46 20130101; B65H 2801/39 20130101; B65H 2404/692
20130101; B65H 3/0653 20130101; B65H 3/523 20130101; B65H 2402/441
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/109 |
International
Class: |
B65H 3/06 20060101
B65H003/06 |
Claims
1. A document input device comprising: a base having a gravity feed
paper tray; a motorized pick roller mounted to the base for feeding
paper from the paper tray through a paper path; a cover attached to
the base, the cover having a closed position for covering the paper
path when the document input device is in use and an open position
as when needed to clear a paper jam; and a separator pad attached
to the base and having one end in contact with the pick roller to
control the feeding of paper, wherein the separator pad remains in
contact with the pick roller when the cover is in the open position
so as to prevent paper in the paper tray from falling into the
paper path when the cover is in the open position.
2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the separator pad
is attached to a rod which is attached to the base and wherein the
rod and separator pad remain in place when the cover is in the open
position.
3. The input device according to claim 2, further including a
spring between the rod and the separator pad for biasing the
separator pad against the pick roller.
4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the spring is a
leaf spring.
5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the cover
comprises a spring for biasing the separator pad against the pick
roller when the cover is in the closed position.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of Provisional application
No. 61/017,060 filed Dec. 27, 2007, which is incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus for
automatically feeding documents into a scanner, copy machine, fax
machine, or the like and, more particularly, to a gravity loaded,
motor-fed automatic document feeder having a pick roller and
separator pad designed to hold the document sheets in place in the
paper tray when the device is opened to address a paper jam or the
like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention relates to an automatic document feeder
mounted to a document input device such as a scanner, copy machine,
or fax machine that is designed to convey documents or paper into
the document input device. Generally, the invention relates to
gravity loaded, motor fed automatic document feeders that include
input document trays at an acute angle to the horizontal whereby
the force of gravity feeds the documents into a motorized picker
mechanism that picks a single sheet from the input tray for
scanning, copying, faxing or the like. For example, FIG. 1
illustrates a prior art scanner 100 having a gravity loaded, motor
fed automatic document feeder mechanism. In FIG. 1, the cover 102
is open to expose the pick roller 104 that is attached to the base
106 of the scanner 100. The paper tray 108 is an extension of the
base 106 of the scanner 100. In the prior art embodiment of FIG. 1,
a portion of the cover 102 is cutaway to show a pad separator 110
that is mounted on the inside of cover 102 of the scanner 100 so
that, when the cover 102 is closed, the pad separator 110 may
function to apply sufficient force to work in conjunction with the
pick roller 104 to pick a single document sheet from the documents
in the paper tray 108. The selected document is then fed over the
platen/sensors 112 by the pick roller 104 for scanning, copying,
faxing, and the like.
[0004] Unfortunately, automatic document feeders jam from time to
time. For example, if the pad separator 110 and pick roller 104
select two or more documents instead of one, or if the selected
document is askew or has folds, one or more of the documents may
jam in the device, causing a malfunction. The user then must open
the cover 102 to clear the document jam. In devices of the type
illustrated in FIG. 1, the user must remember to first remove the
document sheets from the paper tray 108 before opening the cover
102 to clear the paper jam. If the user does not remove the
document sheets from the paper tray 108 before opening the cover
102 to clear the paper jam, then, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the
document sheets in the input tray will fall down into the paper
path over the platen/sensors 112, which complicates the clearing of
the paper jam. Also, if the document tray is designed to hold
documents of different sizes, this problem becomes particularly
aggravating as the user will have to sort the documents and reload
the input tray once the paper jam is cleared.
[0005] Prior art document feeders of the type illustrated in FIGS.
1 and 2 prevent the documents in the paper tray 108 from falling
into the paper path when the cover 102 is closed because the
separator pad 110 rests on the pick roller 104 to apply sufficient
force to hold the documents in place. However, when the cover 102
is opened to clear the paper jam, the separator pad 110 is removed
from the pick roller 104 and the paper 200 drops down into the
paper path over the platen/sensors 112. Further jams may occur if
the cover 102 is not completely closed, as the separator pad 110
would not apply sufficient force against the pick roller 104 to
hold the documents in place in the paper tray 108.
[0006] The present invention addresses this problem in the art by
providing a design whereby the documents in the paper tray do not
fall into the paper path when the cover of the scanner, copy
machine, or fax device is opened, as when clearing a paper jam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A document input device, such as a scanner, copy machine, or
fax machine, having a gravity feed paper tray is adapted to address
the afore-mentioned problems in the prior art devices by mounting
the separator pad on the base, as opposed to the cover, so that
when the cover is opened to access the paper path (as during
clearing of a paper jam), paper in the paper tray is held in place
by the force of the separator pad against the pick roller, even
though the cover is open. The separator pad may be attached to a
rod that is attached to the base so as to permit the rod and
separator pad to remain in place when the cover is in the open
position. A leaf spring may be placed between the rod and the
separator pad for biasing the separator pad against the pick
roller. Also, the cover may include a spring for biasing the
separator pad against the pick roller when the cover is in the
closed position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 shows the side view cross-section of a prior art
scanner with the cover open.
[0009] FIG. 2 shows the prior art scanner of FIG. 1 opened so as to
illustrate that the documents in the paper tray fall into the paper
path after the cover is opened.
[0010] FIG. 3 shows the scanner of the present invention with the
cover closed.
[0011] FIG. 4 shows a side view cross-section of the scanner of
FIG. 3.
[0012] FIG. 5 shows the scanner of FIG. 3 with the cover open to
expose the pick roller and pad separator.
[0013] FIG. 6 shows the scanner of FIG. 3 opened so as to
illustrate that the documents in the paper tray are held in place
even after the cover is opened.
[0014] FIG. 7 shows a top view of the scanner of FIG. 3 oriented so
as to better illustrate the pad separator design of the
invention.
[0015] FIG. 8 shows a side view of FIG. 7 so as to further
illustrate the relationship between the pick roller and the pad
separator design of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0016] A detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the
present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
3-8. Although this description provides a detailed example of
possible implementations of the present invention, it should be
noted that these details are intended to be exemplary and in no way
delimit the scope of the invention.
[0017] Generally, though not exclusively limited thereto, the
invention described herein is applicable to document input devices
that are small enough to be used on a desktop and that are
generally gravity loaded, motor fed input devices that may be
opened to expose the paper path of the documents. It will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that the document input
device may be used with a scanner, a copy machine, a fax machine,
and the like. Such devices are referred to herein interchangeably
as a "scanner" or a "document input device." Either term is
intended to encompass any device that inputs paper or paper
documents into a device for processing in some fashion.
[0018] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a scanner 300 designed in
accordance with the present invention. The scanner 300 has a cover
302 that is closed so that it covers the paper path during use. The
paper path is the path that the paper takes from the paper tray 304
to the exit area 306. In this view, the paper path is not
visible.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows a side view cross-section of the scanner 300.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pick roller 308 is attached to the
base 310 of the scanner 300 in such a way that an internal motor
can rotate the pick roller 308 in direction 312 using an internal
gear assembly. The separator pad 314 is attached to a rod 316 that
is, in turn, attached to the base 310 of the scanner 300. For the
purposes of this description, the term "separator pad" is used to
denote any pliable structure that exerts pressure onto the pick
roller 308 to assist in separating a single document from the
document stack. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that the base 310 of the scanner 300 comprises those parts of the
scanner 300 that are not part of the cover 302 but that are
necessary for the scanner's operation. For example, the base 310
houses a motor that drives the pick roller 308 through some
arrangement of gears. The motor is connected to a power supply and
a microcontroller that controls the pick roller 308 and the other
parts of the scanner 300 as known in the art. In the embodiment of
FIG. 3, the separator pad 314 is attached to the base 310 using rod
316 as opposed to the cover 302 and, accordingly, remains in place
when the cover 302 is opened. The separator pad 314 is also placed
so that when the cover 302 is closed the separator pad 314 has its
end opposite the rod 316 rest on the pick roller 308.
[0020] The document feeder of the scanner 300 functions in the
following way. Paper is placed on the paper tray 304 so that it
rests on the pick roller 308. To take one sheet of paper, the pick
roller 308 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 312.
This rotation moves the paper through the paper path 318 towards
the exit area 306. The force applied against the pick roller 308 by
separator pad 314 functions to separate the paper in the paper tray
into a single sheet for feeding into the paper path 318. As the
paper passes through the paper path 318, the paper is scanned,
copied, or faxed depending upon the selected function of the
scanner 300.
[0021] FIG. 5 shows the scanner 300 with the cover 302 open to
expose the paper path 318, as when the scanner 300 is opened to
clear a paper jam As illustrated, the pick roller 308 is attached
to the base 310 of the scanner 300. In distinction from the prior
art document input device of FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment the
separator pad 314 is also attached to the base 310 by rod 316 via
rod supports 320 and 322. As illustrated, the separator pad 314 is
firmly attached to rod 316 at 324. As illustrated in FIG. 6,
because the separator pad 314 rests on the pick roller 308 even
when the cover 302 is open, the paper 200 in the paper tray stays
in place even when the cover 302 is open, thereby preventing
further paper jams and inconvenience to the user.
[0022] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, metal leaf
springs may be mounted to the rod 316 at 324 adjacent to the
separator pad 314 such that the spring runs in parallel to the
separator pad 314 and provides extra support for the paper to stay
in the paper tray by biasing the separator pad 314 against the pick
roller 308.
[0023] Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment of the
invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cover 302 of the
scanner 300 may contain springs 700 that exert pressure onto the
separator pad 314 when the cover 302 is closed. In this embodiment,
the separator pad 314 keeps the paper in place when the cover 302
is open yet does not permit the scanner, copier, fax, or the like
to function until the cover 302 is closed. When the cover 302 is
closed, the springs 700 on the cover 302 exert extra pressure on
the separator pad 314 to improve its document feeding properties.
Thus, closing the cover 302 reformulates the separator pad 314 so
that it functions similarly to prior art sensor pads of the type
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and that are mounted in the cover. A
sensor device (not shown) may also be included that senses
sufficient closure of the cover 302 to enable operation of the
scanner, copier, fax, or the like.
[0024] The scanner 300 of the present invention has the advantage
that when the cover 302 is opened while paper is in the paper tray
304, the paper does not fall into the paper path 318. This is
important, because when a paper jam occurs the user needs to open
the cover of the scanner 300 to remove the paper jam. If this
happens when some paper is still in the paper tray, the paper is
held up because the separator pad 314 remains in contact with the
pick roller 308. This is particularly convenient for the user when
the paper tray 304 is adapted to include an insert 702 (FIGS. 7 and
8) that accommodates the feeding of documents of different sizes
into the paper path 318.
[0025] Those skilled in the art also will readily appreciate that
many additional modifications are possible in the exemplary
embodiment without materially departing from the novel teachings
and advantages of the invention. For example, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that a stronger leaf spring could be used to
hold the separator pad 314 in place on the rod 316 so that no
spring 700 in the cover 302 would be needed. In such case, a sensor
for sensing that the cover 302 is open would be desirable in order
to prevent the scanning, copying, and/or fax function from
operating unless the cover 302 is sufficiently closed. Accordingly,
any such modifications are intended to be included within the scope
of this invention as defined by the following exemplary claims.
[0026] What is claimed:
* * * * *