U.S. patent application number 12/751276 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-07 for automatic document conveyance device and image reading apparatus using the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEC Access Technica, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Noriyuki HAGIYAMA, Hiroyuki OKADA.
Application Number | 20100252988 12/751276 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42825518 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100252988 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HAGIYAMA; Noriyuki ; et
al. |
October 7, 2010 |
AUTOMATIC DOCUMENT CONVEYANCE DEVICE AND IMAGE READING APPARATUS
USING THE SAME
Abstract
An automatic document conveyance device, include a paper guide
which has a slot formed by cutting off a part of a conveyance
surface for guiding a document; a conveyance unit which inserts in
and detach from the slot; wherein the conveyance unit further
comprising: a motor which generates driving force; a motor holding
part which holds the motor; a driving roller which conveys a
document; a drive transmission mechanism which transmits the
driving force generated by the motor to the driving roller via a
driving roller shaft; and a fitting part which fits the conveyance
unit into the slot so that one surface of the conveyance unit forms
the conveyance face.
Inventors: |
HAGIYAMA; Noriyuki;
(Kakegawa-shi, JP) ; OKADA; Hiroyuki;
(Shinagawa-ku, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE MION, PLLC
2100 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
NEC Access Technica, Ltd.
Kakegawa-shi
JP
NEC Engineering Ltd.
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
42825518 |
Appl. No.: |
12/751276 |
Filed: |
March 31, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/4.1 ;
271/10.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 1/00602 20130101;
H04N 1/00588 20130101; H04N 1/121 20130101; B65H 3/0684 20130101;
B65H 2601/324 20130101; B65H 2801/06 20130101; H04N 1/192 20130101;
B65H 2402/441 20130101; H04N 1/0057 20130101; B65H 2403/92
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/4.1 ;
271/10.12 |
International
Class: |
B65H 5/06 20060101
B65H005/06; B65H 9/00 20060101 B65H009/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 1, 2009 |
JP |
89450/2009 |
Claims
1. An automatic document conveyance device, comprising: a paper
guide which has a slot formed by cutting off a part of a conveyance
surface for guiding a document; a conveyance unit which inserts in
and detach from the slot; wherein the conveyance unit further
comprising: a motor which generates driving force; a motor holding
part which holds the motor; a driving roller which conveys a
document; a drive transmission mechanism which transmits the
driving force generated by the motor to the driving roller via a
driving roller shaft; and a fitting part which fit into the slot of
the conveyance unit so that one surface of the conveyance unit
forms the conveyance face.
2. The automatic document conveyance device according to claim 1,
further comprising: electric contact parts which are provided in
the conveyance unit and the slot, respectively and brought into
contact with each other when the conveyance unit is installed in
the paper guide.
3. The automatic document conveyance device according to claim 1,
further comprising: a driving roller shaft holding part which holds
the driving roller that is included in the conveyance unit; wherein
the driving roller shaft holding part is fixed to the conveyance
unit by a screw.
4. The automatic document conveyance device according to claim 1,
wherein one the driving roller shaft holds a plurality of the drive
rollers and the drive transmission mechanism is disposed between
one driving roller and the other drive roller.
5. The automatic document conveyance device according to claim 1,
wherein a support member which is extending in a lateral direction
perpendicular to a document conveying direction is disposed in a
vicinity of the slot.
6. An image reading apparatus, comprising: an image scanner which
reads a image of a document; and an automatic document conveyance
device which has a paper guide and a conveyance unit; wherein the
paper guide has a slot formed by cutting off a conveyance surface
for guiding a document; and a conveyance unit cab be inserts in and
detach from the slot and has a motor which generates driving force,
a motor holding part which holds the motor, a driving roller which
conveys a document, a drive transmission mechanism which transmits
the driving force generated by the motor to the driving roller via
a driving roller shaft, and a fitting part which fits the
conveyance unit into the slot so that one surface of the conveyance
unit form a conveyance face.
7. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, the automatic
document conveyance device further comprising: electric contact
parts which are provided in the conveyance unit and the slot,
respectively and brought into contact with each other when the
conveyance unit is installed in the paper guide.
8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, the automatic
document conveyance device further comprising: a driving roller
shaft holding part which holds the driving roller that is included
in the conveyance unit; wherein the driving roller shaft holding
part is fixed to the conveyance unit by a screw.
9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein one
the driving roller shaft holds a plurality of the drive rollers and
the drive transmission mechanism is disposed between one driving
roller and the other drive roller.
10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a
support member which is extending in a lateral direction
perpendicular to a document conveying direction is disposed in a
vicinity of the slot.
Description
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-089450, filed on
Apr. 1, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its
entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to an automatic document
conveyance device for conveying a document and an image reading
apparatus using the automatic document conveyance device.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] An automatic document conveyance device conveys a document
to an image reading apparatus. This automatic document conveyance
device may have a function to eject the document from the image
reading apparatus.
[0004] The automatic document conveyance device includes a paper
feed tray on which the document before reading is stacked and a
document conveyance unit having a mechanism for conveying the
document to the image reading apparatus.
[0005] On the contrary, in paragraphs [0034] to [0037] of a
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-096936 discloses an
image reading apparatus which has a stationary document reading
function and an automatic feeding document reading function. This
image reading apparatus includes an automatic document conveyance
device which automatically conveys the document to a document
reading table such as an automatic feeding document reading table
or the like. FIG. 8 is a top view of a document conveyance unit for
automatically conveying the document that is included in the
automatic document conveyance device disclosed in Japanese Patent
Application Laid-Open No. 2007-096936. This document conveyance
unit includes a paper guide 201, a motor 202, a drive transmission
mechanism 203, a driving roller shaft 204, a driving roller 205 and
a frame 206.
[0006] The paper guide 201 functions as a document conveying path
in which the document is conveyed. The motor 202 applies a
rotational driving force to the drive transmission mechanism 203.
The drive transmission mechanism 203 transmits the rotational
driving force to the driving roller shaft 204 to rotate it. The
driving roller shaft 204 is disposed inside the paper guide. When
the driving roller shaft 204 rotates, the driving roller 205
attached to the driving roller shaft 204 rotates. A part of the
driving roller 205 is arranged so as to contact with the document
conveying path formed by the paper guide 201. The rotating driving
roller 205 applies the driving force to the document conveyed on
the document conveying path.
[0007] The frames 206 are provided at the both ends of the paper
guide 201 to increase the strength of the automatic document
conveyance device. The document conveyance unit includes a motor
holding part 214 (refer to FIG. 9) for holding the motor 202 and a
driving roller shaft holding part (not shown) for holding the
driving roller shaft 204. The document conveyance unit further
includes an auxiliary roller (not shown) which contacts the outer
peripheral surface of the driving roller 205 and pinches the
document. And this auxiliary roller follows and rotates to rotation
of driving roller 205.
[0008] FIG. 9 is a top view of an automatic document conveyance
device 211 in which the document conveyance unit shown in FIG. 8 is
installed. A document conveyance unit 213 includes the motor 202,
the drive transmission mechanism 203, the motor holding part 214,
the frame 206, a resist roller shaft 215, a feed roller shaft 216,
a feed roller shaft 217 and a document ejection roller shaft
218.
[0009] The resist roller shaft 215, the feed roller shaft 216, the
feed roller shaft 217 and the document ejection roller shaft 218
correspond to the driving roller shaft 204 shown in FIG. 8 and
rotate the resist roller, the feed roller and the document ejection
roller, respectively.
[0010] A space B in which the drive transmission mechanism 203, the
motor 202 and the motor holding part 214 are installed is provided
in the document conveyance unit 213 in addition to the document
conveying path A for conveying a document 212. An arrow C indicates
a conveying direction of the document 212 in the document conveying
path A.
[0011] Each roller in the document conveyance unit 213 applies the
driving force obtained from the motor 202 via the drive
transmission mechanism 203 to the document 212 and conveys the
document 212 in a document conveying direction C.
[0012] However, since the drive transmission mechanism 203, the
motor 202, and the motor holding part 214 are provided in the
outside of the document conveying path A, a problem to which the
width dimension of automatic document conveyance device 211 becomes
large at least only space B indicated in FIG. 9 happens them.
[0013] The driving roller shaft 204 connected to the motor 202 via
the drive transmission mechanism 203 is disposed so as to bridge
the frames 206 provided at the both ends of the paper guide 201 as
shown in FIG. 8. Since the drive transmission mechanism 203 and the
motor 202 are disposed outside the document conveying path A, a
length of the driving roller shaft 204 is longer than a distance
(which corresponds to the width of the document conveying path A)
between the frames 206 placed at the both ends of the paper guide
201. When the length of the driving roller shaft 204 is long, a
diameter of the driving roller shaft 204 is made large to ensure
strength of the driving roller shaft 204. Accordingly, the increase
of the length and the increase of the diameter of the driving
roller shaft 204 cause the increase of the production cost of the
driving roller shaft 204 and the increase of the weight of the
whole automatic document conveyance device 211.
[0014] The drive transmission mechanism, the motor, the motor
holding part, the driving roller and a driving roller holding part
are integrated in the frame of the document conveyance unit and the
frame is covered by an outer cover of the device. Therefore, much
time is required for maintenance or replacement of the document
conveyance unit.
[0015] The Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1994-194906
discloses a document conveyance device in which a plurality of
document paper feeding means and document separation means are
provided to individually convey a document of a large size and
simultaneously conveys the plurality of documents of a small
size.
[0016] The document conveyance device simultaneously conveys the
plurality of documents of a small size correctly at high speed by
the plurality of document paper feeding means and the document
separation means. When the document of a large size is conveyed,
the document can be conveyed while preventing skewing of the
document by removing the detachable document separation means
excluding a center portion of the document.
[0017] However, since a length of each roller shaft has to be
almost equal to a width of a document placement section, a size of
a detachable unit is set to a size corresponding to the length of
each roller shaft. For this reason, the unit can not be shared by
the devices whose document conveying path widths are different from
each other, for example, a copying machine dedicated to an A3 size
document and a copying machine dedicated to an A4 size document.
Therefore, the unit has to be produced for each machine.
SUMMARY
[0018] A main purpose of the present invention is to provide an
automatic document conveyance device whose size and production cost
are reduced and in which maintenance of a document conveyance unit
can be easily performed.
[0019] An automatic document conveyance device, include a paper
guide which has a slot formed by cutting off a part of a conveyance
surface for guiding a document; a conveyance unit which inserts in
and detach from the slot; wherein the conveyance unit further
comprising: a motor which generates driving force; a motor holding
part which holds the motor; a driving roller which conveys a
document; a drive transmission mechanism which transmits the
driving force generated by the motor to the driving roller via a
driving roller shaft; and a fitting part which fits the conveyance
unit into the slot so that one surface of the conveyance unit forms
the conveyance face.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The Exemplary features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description when taken with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an automatic document
conveyance device according to the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an automatic document
conveyance device which viewed from the upper side according to the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an automatic document
conveyance device according to the present invention in a state in
which the document conveyance unit is dismounted.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a top view of a document conveyance unit which is
provided in an automatic document conveyance device according to
the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conveyance unit
according to the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an upper part of a
conveyance unit according to the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 6B is a perspective view of a lower part of a
conveyance unit according to the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a main part in an automatic
document conveyance device according to the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 8 is a top view of a document conveyance unit in an
automatic document conveyance device according to a related art;
and
[0030] FIG. 9 is a top view of an automatic document conveyance
device which installed a document conveyance unit according to a
related art.
EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
First Exemplary Embodiment
[0031] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an automatic document
conveyance device. An automatic document conveyance device 10 is
mounted on an image reading apparatus 20. FIG. 2 is a perspective
view of the automatic document conveyance device 10 in a state in
which a top cover 13 is opened when viewed from the upper side.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an automatic document
conveyance device in a state in which the document conveyance unit
is dismounted. A structure of the automatic document conveyance
device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.
[0032] The automatic document conveyance device 10 is mounted on
the image reading apparatus 20. The image reading apparatus 20 is a
device such as a copying machine, a facsimile device, a scanner
device or the like which reads an image of a document 30 conveyed
by the automatic document conveyance device 10. The image reading
apparatus 20 includes an image reading unit 21 and a contact glass
22. The image reading unit 21 reads the image of the document 30
that is a read object placed on the contact glass 22.
[0033] A document before being read is stacked on a paper feed tray
11. The document 30 after being read is stacked on an ejection
paper tray 12. A paper guide 14 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 is
provided on the top cover 13. A part of the paper guide 14 is cut
off. The cut-off portion forms a slot D. As shown in FIG. 3, a
mounting groove F having a concave shape is provided on a wall
surface of the slot D, and into which a conveyance unit 16 is
installed by sliding. An electric contact part 1611 is provided in
the conveyance unit 16 and an electric contact part 1401 is
provided in the slot D (refer to FIG. 3 or FIG. 5). The electric
contact part 1611 physically contacts with the electric contact
part 1401 when the conveyance unit 16 is installed in the slot
D.
[0034] A paper guide 15 that faces the paper guide 14 when the top
cover 13 is closed is provided in the automatic document conveyance
device 10.
[0035] A part of the paper guide 15 is cut off to form a slot E. A
mounting groove H having a concave shape is provided on a wall
surface of the slot E and a conveyance unit 17 is installed by
sliding into the mounting groove H. An electric contact part 1715
as shown in FIG. 6B is provided in the conveyance unit 17 and an
electric contact part 1501 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided in the
slot E. The electric contact part 1715 is physically contacts with
the electric contact part 1501 when the conveyance unit 17 is
installed in the slot E.
[0036] The conveyance unit 16 and the conveyance unit 17 shown in
FIG. 3 are the document conveyance units which can be dismounted
from the automatic document conveyance device 10. The conveyance
unit 16 conveys the document 30 to a side to which the conveyance
unit 17 is installed. The conveyance unit 17 conveys the document
30 conveyed by the conveyance unit 16 to the image reading
apparatus 20. An ejection paper guide 18 ejects the document 30
read by the image reading apparatus 20 to the ejection paper tray
12. The ejection paper guide 18 includes a document ejection roller
1801 and a paper ejection auxiliary roller 1802 for ejecting the
document 30 to the ejection paper tray 12.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a top view of a document conveyance unit of the
automatic document conveyance device shown in FIG. 1. A conveyance
unit 106 that is the document conveyance unit corresponds to the
conveyance unit 16 or the conveyance unit 17 shown in FIG. 3 and
includes a motor 102, a drive transmission mechanism shaft 103, a
driving roller shaft 104 and a driving roller 105. The conveyance
unit 106 is installed in a slot formed by cutting off a part of a
paper guide 101.
[0038] When the conveyance unit 16 is installed in the slot of the
paper guide 101, the continuous surface is formed by a surface of
conveyance unit 16 and a surface of the paper guide 101.
[0039] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the conveyance
unit 16. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an upper part of the
conveyance unit 17. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of a lower part
of the conveyance unit 17.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, the conveyance unit 16 includes a motor
1601, a drive transmission mechanism 1602, a paper feed roller
1603, a paper feed auxiliary roller 1604, a driving roller shaft
holding part 1605, a paper feed roller shaft 1606, a slot
installation guide 1607, a motor holding part 1608, a mounting
screw 1609, a mounting screw 1610, and the electric contact part
1611. The paper feed roller shaft 1606 is held by the driving
roller shaft holding part 1605. The drive transmission mechanism
1602 is fixed to the end of the paper feed roller shaft 1606. The
slot installation guide 1607 having a convex shape is provided on a
part of the conveyance unit 16. The electrical contact part 1611
for supplying electric power to the motor 1601 and the like is
provided in conveyance unit 16. The motor holding part 1608 holds
the motor 1601. The driving roller holding part 1605 and the motor
holding part 1608 are fixed by the mounting screw 1609.
[0041] The conveyance unit 16 with which the driving roller holding
part 1605 and the motor holding part 1608 are fixed by the mounting
screw 1609 is fixed to the paper guide 14 by the mounting screw
1610.
[0042] The conveyance unit 16 is installed in the slot D provided
in the paper guide 14 by sliding the slot installation guide 1607
having a convex shape of the conveyance unit 16 into the mounting
groove F having a concave shape (refer to FIG. 3). The installed
conveyance unit 16 is placed at a position determined by fitting
the slot installation guide 1607 into the mounting groove F and
fixed to the paper guide 14 by the mounting screw 1610.
[0043] A surface shape of an end portion 1612 of the conveyance
unit 16 is almost the same as the surface shape of the paper guide
14. As a result, the end portion 1612 of the conveyance unit 16
forms a part of the document conveying path, when the conveyance
unit 16 is installed into the slot D. Therefore, when the
conveyance unit 16 is installed in the slot D, surface of the
conveyance unit 16 and surface of the paper guide 14 forms a
continuous surface. When the conveyance unit 16 is installed in the
slot D and fixed, the electric contact part 1611 of the conveyance
unit 16 physically contacts with the electric contact part 1401 of
the paper guide 14 and an electric current flow path is formed.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the conveyance unit 17
includes a motor 1701, a drive transmission mechanism 1702, a
resist roller 1703, a resist roller shaft 1705, feed rollers 1706
and 1709, feed roller shafts 1708 and 1711, a motor holding part
1712, a driving roller shaft holding part 1713, a slot installation
portion guide 1714, the electric contact part 1715 and a mounting
screw 1716.
[0045] Each of the driving roller shafts (the resist roller shaft
1705, the feed roller shaft 1708 and the feed roller shaft 1711)
are held by the motor holding part 1712 and the driving roller
shaft holding part 1713. The drive transmission mechanism 1702 is
fixed to each of the driving roller shafts. Further, when one
driving roller shaft holds a plurality of drive rollers, the size
of the conveyance unit 17 is reduced by disposing the drive
transmission mechanism 1702 between a plurality of drive
rollers.
[0046] The motor 1701 is held by the motor holding part 1712. The
slot installation guide 1714 which has the convex configuration and
the electrical contact part 1715 which supplies the power to the
motor 1701 or the like are provided in the side plate of carrying
unit 17.
[0047] The upper part of the conveyance unit 17 shown in FIG. 6A
and the lower part of the conveyance unit 17 shown in FIG. 6B are
combined and fixed to the paper guide 15 by the mounting screw
1716.
[0048] And as shown in FIG. 3, the conveyance unit 17 is installed
in the slot E provided in the paper guide 15. At that time, the
conveyance unit 17 is installed by sliding the slot installation
guide 1714 having a convex shape of the conveyance unit 17 into the
mounting groove H having a concave shape.
[0049] The installed conveyance unit 17 is placed at a position
determined by fitting the slot installation guide 1714 into the
mounting groove H and fixed to the paper guide 15 by the mounting
screw 1716.
[0050] A shape of a surface 1717 of the upper part of the
conveyance unit 17 is almost the same as the shape of the surface
of the paper guide 15. Accordingly, when the conveyance unit 17 is
installed in the slot E, the surface 1717 of the upper part of the
conveyance unit 17 forms a part of the document conveying path
which is indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1.
Therefore, when the conveyance unit 17 is installed in the slot E,
one surface of the conveyance unit 17 and one surface of the paper
guide 15 form a continuous surface together.
[0051] When the conveyance unit 17 is installed in the slot E and
fixed, the electric contact part 1715 of the conveyance unit 17
physically contacts with the electric contact part 1501 of the
paper guide 15 and an electric current flow path is formed.
[0052] Further, in the paper guide 15, in order to enhance the
strength of the whole automatic document conveyance device 10, a
support member 19 is disposed so as to form a bridge across the
document conveying path in the vicinity of the slot E. Namely, the
support member 19 which is extended in a lateral direction
perpendicular to the document conveying direction is disposed. The
support member 19 can be increase strength of the whole automatic
document conveyance device.
A shape of a surface 1718 of the lower part of the conveyance unit
17 is almost the same as the shape of a rear surface of the paper
guide 15. When the conveyance unit 17 is installed in the slot E,
the surface 1718 of the lower part of the conveyance unit 17 forms
a part of the document conveying path.
[0053] Next, the paper feed operation, the paper conveyance
operation, and the paper ejection operation of the automatic
document conveyance device shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In
the conveyance unit 16, the driving force generated by the motor
1601 is transmitted to the drive rollers such as the paper feed
roller 1603 and the paper feed auxiliary roller 1604 of the
conveyance unit 16 via the drive transmission mechanism 1602. When
the driving roller receives the driving force, it rotates and
conveys the document 30 stacked on the paper feed tray 11 to the
inside of the automatic document conveyance device 10.
[0054] On the other hand, in the conveyance unit 17, the driving
force generated by the motor 1701 is transmitted to the drive
rollers such as the resist roller 1703, the feed roller 1706 and
the feed roller 1709 of the conveyance unit 17 via the drive
transmission mechanism 1702. When the drive rollers received the
driving force, they rotate and the auxiliary rollers such as the
resist auxiliary roller 1704, the feed auxiliary roller 1707 and
the feed auxiliary roller 1710 are rotatably driven by friction
engagement with an outer peripheral surface of the drive
roller.
[0055] The document 30 conveyed to the inside of the automatic
document conveyance device 10 by the conveyance unit 16 is conveyed
on the contact glass 22 of the image reading apparatus 20 by the
rotation of the driving roller and the auxiliary roller of the
conveyance unit 17. The content of the document 30 conveyed on the
contact glass 22 of the image reading apparatus 20 is read by the
image reading unit 21.
[0056] After this, the document 30 is conveyed in a document
conveying direction indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 1. By the
way, in FIG. 1, a chain double-dashed line PB shows a conveying
path on which the document is returned when the content on the back
surface of the document is read. Namely, when a double-sided
document is read, first, the document is conveyed through the
conveying path indicated by the dashed-dotted line PA and the
content on the front surface of the document is read. Next, the
document is returned through the conveying path indicated by the
chain double-dashed line PB. The returned document is conveyed
through the conveying path indicated by the dashed-dotted line PA
and the content on the back surface of the document is read. The
document ejection roller 1801 and the paper ejection auxiliary
roller eject the conveyed document 30 to the ejection paper tray
12.
[0057] Further, the automatic document conveyance device 10 shown
in FIG. 1 has the document ejection roller 1801 apart from the
conveyance unit. However, the conveyance unit 17 may include roller
such as the document ejection roller 1801 and the paper ejection
auxiliary roller.
[0058] In order to combine the paper guide and the conveyance unit
by using the guide and the slot (for example, the slot installation
guide 1607 having a convex shape and the mounting groove F having a
concave shape), one of the guide and the slot has to have a concave
shape and the other has to have a convex shape. For example, a
combination in which the guide having a convex shape is provided in
the paper guide and the groove having a concave shape is provided
in the conveyance unit is also available.
Second Exemplary Embodiment
[0059] Next, an automatic document conveyance device according to
the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be
described. In the automatic document conveyance device of the first
exemplary embodiment, the document conveyance unit is composed of
the conveyance unit 16 and the conveyance unit 17. In the automatic
document conveyance device of the second exemplary embodiment, the
document conveyance unit is composed of one conveyance unit.
[0060] When the document conveyance unit is composed of one
conveyance unit, for example, in the automatic document conveyance
device shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the conveyance unit 16 is not
disposed. The paper feed roller and the paper feed roller shaft are
disposed in the conveyance unit 17.
[0061] In such automatic document conveyance device, because the
document conveyance unit can be realized as one detachable
conveyance unit, the size of the automatic document conveyance
device can be reduced.
[0062] Accordingly, the automatic document conveyance device
suitable for a copy machine dedicated to a small-sized document or
the like can be obtained.
Third Exemplary Embodiment
[0063] Next, an automatic document conveyance device according to
the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be
described.
[0064] In the automatic document conveyance device of the first
exemplary embodiment, the document conveyance unit is composed of
the conveyance unit 16 and the conveyance unit 17. In the automatic
document conveyance device of the third exemplary embodiment, the
document conveyance unit is composed of three or more conveyance
units.
[0065] When the document conveyance unit is composed of three or
more conveyance units, in the automatic document conveyance device
shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, for example, the drive rollers (the
resist roller 1703, the feed roller 1706 and the feed roller 1709)
of the conveyance unit 17 are disposed in the different conveyance
units.
[0066] Each conveyance unit has a shape of which the conveyance
unit can be installed in the slot formed by cutting off a part of
the paper guide 14 or the paper guide 15. When each of the
conveyance units is installed in the corresponding slot, one
surface of the conveyance unit and one surface of the paper guide
form a continuous surface together.
[0067] The conveyance unit including the document ejection roller
1801 may be individually disposed. In such automatic document
conveyance device, the document conveyance unit is composed of
three or more detachable conveyance units. Therefore, a size of
each conveyance unit can be reduced and a component of the
conveyance unit can be shared by an automatic document conveyance
device which can be installed to a plurality of devices whose
document conveying paths are different from each other. Because
each conveyance unit is miniaturized, the maintenance of the
component of the conveyance unit can be easily performed.
[0068] Further, the above-mentioned configuration of the conveyance
unit is one example. Therefore, the driving roller used in the
automatic document conveyance device can be disposed in an
arbitrary conveyance unit.
[0069] In the automatic document conveyance device of the first
exemplary embodiment to the third exemplary embodiment, a gear is
employed for the drive transmission mechanism. However, a toothed
pulley, a timing belt, or the like may be employed for the drive
transmission mechanisms.
Fourth Exemplary Embodiment
[0070] Next, an automatic document conveyance device according to a
fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be
described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a main part of an
automatic document conveyance device according to the present
invention.
[0071] As shown in FIG. 7, the automatic document conveyance device
includes a conveyance unit 2 (for example, it corresponds to the
conveyance unit 16 shown in FIG. 3) which is detachably mounted to
a paper guide 1 (for example, it corresponds to the paper guide 14
shown in FIG. 3).
[0072] This conveyance unit 2 includes a motor 4 (for example, it
corresponds to the motor 1601 shown in FIG. 5) which generates the
driving force, a motor holding part 5 (for example, it corresponds
to the motor holding part 1608 shown in FIG. 5) which holds the
motor 4, a driving roller 6 (for example, it corresponds to the
paper feed roller 1603 shown in FIG. 5) which applies the driving
force to a document 3 to convey it, and a drive transmission
mechanism 8 (for example, it corresponds to the drive transmission
mechanism 1602 shown in FIG. 5) which transmits the driving force
generated by the motor 4 to the driving roller 6 via a driving
roller shaft 7 (for example, it corresponds to the paper feed
roller shaft 1606 shown in FIG. 5).
[0073] A slot 9 (for example, it corresponds to the slot D shown in
FIG. 3) is formed in the paper guide 1 by cutting off a part of the
paper guide 1. Fitting portions 41 and 42 (for example, these
correspond to the mounting groove F shown in FIG. 3 and the slot
installation guide 1607 shown in FIG. 5) which are fitted into each
other are provided to the slot 9 and the conveyance unit 2,
respectively.
[0074] The paper guide 1 and the conveyance unit 2 are formed so
that one surface of the paper guide 1 and one surface of the
conveyance unit 2 forms a continuous surface together when the
conveyance unit 2 is installed in the paper guide 1 by fitting the
fitting parts 41 and 42 into each other.
[0075] In the automatic document conveyance device having the
configuration mentioned above, because the conveyance unit 2 is
installed in the slot 9, it is not necessary to newly provide a
space in which the components such as the motors 4, the motor
holding part 5 and the drive transmission mechanisms 8 are disposed
at the outside of the document conveying path.
[0076] Accordingly, the size of the automatic document conveyance
device can be reduced. The length of the driving roller shaft 7 can
be made shorter than the width of the document conveying path.
Therefore, the size of the automatic document conveyance device can
be reduced in turn.
[0077] The conveyance unit 2 can be reliably installed in the paper
guide 1 by the fitting parts 41 and 42. When the conveyance unit 2
is installed in the paper guide 1, one surface of the paper guide 1
and one surface of the conveyance unit 2 forms a continuous surface
together. Therefore, the smooth document conveying path is secured
and improvement of reliability of a document conveyance function
can be expected.
[0078] The components used for conveying the document can be
integrated in the detachable conveyance unit 2. Therefore, the
maintenance of the components of the document conveyance unit can
be easily performed and maintainability can be improved.
[0079] In the exemplary embodiments mentioned above, the following
automatic document conveyance devices are disclosed.
[0080] (1) The automatic document conveyance device in which the
electric contact parts (these correspond to the electric contact
part 1401 and the electric contact part 1611) are provided to the
conveyance unit 2 and the slot 9, respectively and the electric
contact parts are brought into contact with each other when the
conveyance unit 2 is installed in the paper guide 1. When such
automatic document conveyance device includes a plurality of
conveyance units, the current path can be formed between each
conveyance unit and the paper guide. Therefore, the electric
control can be realized for each conveyance unit.
[0081] (2) The automatic document conveyance device in which the
conveyance unit 2 includes the driving roller shaft holding part
(for example, it corresponds to the driving roller shaft holding
part 1605) that holds the driving roller 6 and the driving roller
shaft holding part is fixed to the conveyance unit 2 by a screw. In
such automatic document conveyance device, the driving roller can
be surely fixed to the conveyance unit 2.
[0082] (3) The automatic document conveyance device in which one
driving roller shaft 7 holds a plurality of drive rollers 6 and the
drive transmission mechanism 8 is disposed between one driving
roller and the other drive roller. In such automatic document
conveyance device, the drive transmission mechanism is disposed
between the drive rollers. Therefore, the small-sized conveyance
unit can be formed as compared with a case in which the drive
transmission mechanism is disposed outside the drive rollers.
[0083] (4) The automatic document conveyance device in which a
support member (for example, it corresponds to the support member
19) which is extended in a lateral direction perpendicular to the
document conveying direction is disposed in the vicinity of the
slot 9. In such automatic document conveyance device, the strength
of the whole automatic document conveyance device can be enhanced
by the support member.
[0084] The previous description of embodiments is provided to
enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present
invention. Moreover, various modifications to these exemplary
embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art,
and the generic principles and specific examples defined herein may
be applied to other embodiments without the use of inventive
faculty. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be
limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein but is to be
accorded the widest scope as defined by the limitations of the
claims and equivalents. Further, it is noted that the inventor's
intent is to retain all equivalents of the claimed invention even
if the claims are amended during prosecution.
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