Patent Application
20120170087
The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus used in a copier, a scanner, a fax machine, or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improvement to a jam clearance mechanism contrived to relieve a paper jam occurring in an automatic document feeder (hereinafter called “ADF”) provided in a platen cover.
A known jam clearance mechanism of this type is presented in, for example, Patent Citation 1. In Patent Citation 1, a paper ejection guide is pushed downward against a force of a spring when a paper feeding tray is raised from a normal horizontal orientation to an upright orientation. As a result, an idle paper ejecting roller provided on the paper ejection guide separates from a driven paper ejecting roller, making it easier to remove a document. An eccentric cam for pushing the paper ejection guide downward is provided near a swinging center of the paper feeding tray.
Patent Citation 2 discloses a similar jam clearance mechanism. In a jam clearance mechanism according to Patent Citation 2, an movement occurring when opening a cover of an upper portion of an ADF is conveyed to a releasing lever by another lever and causes a separation pad contrived to rock in tandem with the releasing cover to separate from a circumferential surface of a separation roller, thereby making it easier to remove a document.
There is another known jam clearance mechanism for clearing a paper jam in a fusing section of a copier. In this jam clearance mechanism, a special paper ejection dial is provided in a recording paper document feeding route and a recording paper is removed by turning the paper ejection dial (Patent Citation 3).
Patent Citation 1: Laid-open Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-220146 (paragraphs 0033, FIG. 5)
Patent Citation 2: Laid-open Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-136999 (paragraphs 0041 and 0042, FIG. 1)
Patent Citation 3: Laid-open Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-278332 (paragraphs 0019, FIG. 5)
With the jam clearance mechanisms disclosed in Patent Citations 1 and 2, a document is rendered easier to remove by manipulating a paper feed tray to an upright orientation such that a pair of paper ejecting rollers separate from each other or by opening a cover such that a separation pad and a separation roller separate from each other.
However, with the jam clearance mechanism of Patent Citation 1, a pair of paper ejecting rollers provided at a finishing end of a document feeding route are merely separated from each other. Similarly, with the jam clearance mechanism of Patent Citation 2, a separation pad and a separation roller provided at starting end of a document feeding route are merely separated from each other.
In many cases, a document feeding route of an ADF is configured to have a U-like shape such that a paper supply port and a paper ejection port can be provided on the same side face and a plurality of pairs of feeding rollers are provided along the document feeding route. Consequently, if a paper jam occurs in an intermediate portion of the document feeding route, the document cannot be ejected by employing the jam clearance mechanism according to Patent Citation 1 or 2. In such a case, it is necessary to provide a jam clearance mechanism that can accommodate a paper jam occurring in an intermediate portion of the document feeding route, but this is not easy to accomplish.
With the jam clearance mechanism of Patent Citation 3, a paper jam occurring in an intermediate portion of the document feeding route may be cleared by turning the paper ejection dial and removing the recording paper. However, it is necessary to perform tasks such as opening a cover or opening a drawer of a case of a fusing unit before the paper ejection dial can be operated. The series of tasks required to eject the paper takes effort and becomes troublesome to a user. Moreover, although the series of tasks for ejecting a jammed piece of paper needs to be executed in a prescribed order, there are cases in which a user neglects the order and attempts to forcefully remove a jammed sheet of recording paper or a document, thereby causing damage.
The object of the present invention is to provide an image reading device that allows a jammed document to be removed reliably and with little effort.
A plurality of aspects of the present invention will now be explained as means of solving the technical problem. These aspects can be combined freely as required.
An image reading device according to one aspect of the present invention has a platen cover and an automatic document feeder. The automatic document feeder is provided on the platen cover and contrived to feed a document from a paper supply port to a paper ejection port. The automatic document feeder has a document feeding route, a feeder cover, a roller mechanism, and a jam clearance mechanism. The document feeding route includes an upstream half route on a paper supply port side and a downstream half route on a paper ejection port side. The feeder cover is arranged to cover the upstream half route and is movable between a closed position and an open position. The roller mechanism includes a plurality of drive rollers installed along the downstream half route and a plurality of idler rollers arranged in positions opposite the drive rollers such that the downstream half route is disposed in-between. The roller mechanism is contrived to nip a document between the drive rollers and the idler rollers and feed the document toward the paper ejection port. The jam clearance mechanism is arranged to face the downstream half route and contrived to separate the idler rollers and drive rollers from each other in coordination with a movement of the feeder cover from the closed position to the open position.
With this apparatus, the document feeding route in the automatic document feeder comprises an upstream half route on a paper supply port side and a downstream half route on a paper ejection port side, and the upstream half route can be opened by opening the feeder cover. Also, the drive rollers and the idler rollers arranged in the downstream half route are separated from each other by the jam clearance mechanism in coordination with opening and closing the feeder cover by moving either the drive rollers or the idler rollers.
In this way, an opening movement of the feeder cover is used to actuate the jam clearance mechanism and release a nipped state between the two sets of rollers. Thus, by merely opening the feeder cover, the upstream half route can be opened and, at the same time, a document can be released from between the drive rollers and the idler rollers. As a result, a document can be removed more easily. Furthermore, even when a paper jam occurs in an intermediate portion of the document feeding route, the jammed document can be removed reliably with a small amount of effort.
It is acceptable to contrive the apparatus such that when the feeder cover is moved from the closed position to the open position, at least one of the idler rollers is moved away from a corresponding drive roller.
With such a configuration, the structure of the jam clearance mechanism can be simplified because the roller that is moved to release the nipped state between the rollers is the idler roller. Additionally, this configuration allows a more complex drive roller drive structure to be avoided and prevents the structure of the entire automatic document feeder from becoming unduly complex.
It is acceptable if the jam clearance mechanism further comprises a cam frame contrived to undergo sliding displacement in a direction along which a plurality of roller pairs are arranged, each roller pair comprising one of the idler rollers and one of the drive rollers, the sliding displacement occurring in coordination with opening and closing of the feeder cover, and at least one of the idler rollers is contrived to be movable by the cam frame.
With a jam clearance mechanism having a cam frame, a state of close contact between at least one idler roller and a drive roller can be released by displacing the cam frame in a sliding fashion in coordination with opening the feeder cover such that the idler roller separates from the drive roller. Thus, even when a paper jam occurs in the downstream half route, the jammed document can be removed reliably with a small amount of effort.
It is acceptable for the jam clearance mechanism to further include a first cam that is arranged on the cam frame and contrived to contact a shaft provided on an end portion of a main body of at least one of the idler rollers.
Since the at least one idler roller is pushed by the first cam, the cam frame can be made smaller and the jam clearance mechanism can be made more compact than if the main body of the idler roller is pushed by the cam frame. The shaft of the idler roller has a smaller diameter dimension than the main body of the idler roller.
It is acceptable if the jam clearance mechanism further includes a releasing body contrived to move at least one of the idler rollers in coordination with a sliding movement of the cam frame.
Since the idler rollers are separated by the releasing body as well as by the first cam, the idler rollers can be separated individually by the first cam and the releasing body, such that each of the idler rollers is separated along a direction that is appropriate for the particular idler roller. For example, one idler roller can be moved diagonally downward and leftward by the first cam and another idler roller can be moved diagonally downward and rightward by the releasing body. Thus, even in a situation where each of the idler rollers needs to be separated in a different direction due to the different positions in which the idler rollers are arranged along the downstream half route, each of the idler rollers can be moved appropriately by the first cam and the releasing body. The direction in which an idler roller is moved in order to separate it from a drive roller differs depending on whether the idler roller is arranged in a curved portion or a straight portion.
It is acceptable for the releasing body to contact a shaft of at least one of the idler rollers and for the jam clearance mechanism to include a second cam that is arranged on the cam frame and contrived to move the releasing body. The releasing body contacts the shaft of the idler roller, similarly to the first cam explained previously, and the idler roller is separated from the drive roller by the releasing body. Thus, the idler roller can be separated from the drive roller by the cam frame acting on an idler roller shaft having a smaller diameter than the idler roller. As a result, the releasing body can be made smaller and the jam clearance mechanism can be made more compact than a case in which the releasing body acts on the idler roller. Furthermore, the first cam and the releasing body can be arranged at front and rear ends of the idler rollers where they will not impede the passage of paper. Also, the first cam and the second cam provided on the cam frame serve to convert a sliding movement of the cam frame into a movement oriented perpendicularly to the sliding direction and thereby separate the releasing body from the idler roller shaft. Thus, the cam frame and the releasing body can be made to operate in a coordinated manner without employing a complex structure. This aspect contributes to making the jam clearance mechanism more compact.
It is acceptable if the releasing body includes a shaft catching section contrived to catch the shaft of the idler rollers and a movement receiving piece contrived to be movable by the second cam.
It is acceptable if the document feeding route is shaped like a sideways letter “U”, and the apparatus is further provided with a first reading unit and a second reading unit. The first reading unit is arranged inside a document platform and contrived to read a first side of a document. The second reading unit is arranged in a space surrounded by the document feeding route and has a contact glass for reading a second side of a document. The second reading unit is supported such that the second reading unit can pivot between an in-use position where the contact glass is positioned in the downstream half route and an escape position where the contact glass where the contact glass is located outside the upstream half route. A pressing frame contrived to press a document against the contact glass is provided such that the pressing frame faces the contact glass of the second reading unit. The releasing body is provided on the pressing frame. When the feeder cover is opened and the second reading unit is in the escape position, the entire upstream half route is open and a portion of the downstream half route located between the paper ejection port and a drive roller located closely adjacent to the pressing frame is open.
In an automatic document feeder having a second reading unit arranged inside, a portion of the downstream half route between a drive roller and the paper ejection port can be opened by moving the second reading unit into an escape position, thus making it easier to extract a document jammed in the downstream half route. Also, since a route between the drive roller and the paper ejection port is opened, a document can be extracted while the jammed state of the paper is visually recognized. Thus, a situation in which a portion of the paper surface is damaged in the process of extracting the document can be reliably avoided. In short, an image reading apparatus having an automatic document feeder equipped with a reading unit can be provided, in which the automatic document feeder has a better jam clearance mechanism.
It is acceptable if the cam frame has a slide section that is long in a direction along which the pairs of idler rollers and drive rollers are arranged. It is also acceptable if the cam frame has a movement receiving section provided as an integral part of an end portion of the slide section. It is also acceptable if the cam frame is supported such that the cam frame can slide between a first position in which a nipped state exists between the idler rollers and the drive rollers and a second position in which the idler rollers are separated from the drive rollers. In such a case, the feeder cover has a pivot shaft, a first operating section provided near the pivot shaft and is contrived to operate the movement receiving section toward an operating position, and a second operating section provided near the pivot shaft and is contrived to operate the movement receiving section toward a waiting position.
Since the sliding section and the movement receiving section are provided on the cam frame and the cam frame is movable between the first position and the second position by operating the movement receiving section with the first operating section and the second operating section of the feeder cover, the cam frame can be slid by utilizing a portion of or all of a movement for opening the feeder cover. For example, the apparatus can be contrived such that when the feeder cover is opened, a final portion of the stroke of the opening movement slides the cam frame and separates the idler rollers from the drive rollers. Similarly, the apparatus can be contrived such that when the feeder cover is moved to a closed position, a final portion of the stroke of the closing movement slides the cam frame and returns the idler rollers to being in close contact with the drive rollers. Thus, even if there is a large difference between an amount of movement the feeder cover undergoes during opening/closing and an amount of movement that the cam frame slides, the cam frame can be controlled in a way that the cam frame slides an appropriate amount.
It is acceptable if the jam clearance mechanism also has a guide body contrived to guide an upper surface and a lower surface of the slide section such that the slide section can slide. Since the jam clearance mechanism has a guide body contrived to guide an upper surface and a lower surface of the slide section such that the slide section can slide, the guide body can restrict zigzagging and jiggling of the cam frame during sliding. As a result, the idler rollers can be separated from the drive rollers precisely and without delay in coordination with opening the feeder cover. Also, an operation in which the second cam of the guide body pushes the releasing body downward can be accomplished reliably.
(1) Image Reading Apparatus
As shown in
As shown in
The ADF 6 has a sideways U-shaped document feeding route 23 provided between the document tray 21 and a paper discharge tray 22 arranged below the document tray 21. A second reading unit 24 is contrived to read a second surface of an original document is provided inside the document feeding route 23. In the document feeding route 23, there are provided a pickup roller 26 and a feed roller 27 arranged to face a paper supply port 25, three pairs of feed rollers 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60 to be explained later, and paper ejecting rollers 29 arranged to face a paper ejection port 28.
Along the document feeding route 23, a pressing frame 30 is arranged opposite the contact glass 19 and serves to press a document against the contact glass 19, and a pressing frame 31 is arranged opposite a contact glass 51 of the second reading unit 24 and serves to press a document against the contact glass 51. Similarly, a pressing frame 32 contrived to press a document against the feed roller 27 is provided below the feed roller 27. The pressing frame 30 has the form of a cantilevered beam and achieves a close contact with the contact glass 19 due to its own elasticity. The pressing frame 31 is pressed against the contact glass 51 by a compression coil spring 33, and the pressing frame 32 is pressed against the feed roller 27 by a compression coil spring 34.
The document feeding route 23 is configured to have a sideways U-shape such that the paper supply port 25 and the paper ejection port 26 can open through the same side face. An upper half of the document feeding route 23 located closer to the paper supply port 25 constitutes an upstream half route 37, and a lower half of the document feeding route 23 located closer to the paper ejecting port 28 constitutes a downstream half route 38. The upstream half route 37 is a portion of the document feeding route spanning from the paper supply port 25 to an intermediate portion between the idler roller 56 and the idler roller 58, and refers to a portion of the document feeding route located upper than a middle portion of the curved route. As will be explained later, the upstream half route 37 is the portion opened when a feeder cover 39 is opened. The downstream half route 38 is a portion of the document feeding route spanning from the intermediate portion between the idler roller 56 and the idler roller 58 to the paper ejection port 28, and refers to a portion of the document feeding route located lower than the middle portion of the curved route.
The upstream half route 37 is covered by the feeder cover 39 and, as shown in
The second reading unit 24 comprises components such as a light source 45, first to third minors 46 to 48, and a CCD image sensor 49, all housed inside a hollow housing 50. The contact glass 51 is provided on a lower wall of the housing 50 facing the first mirror 46, and the previously described pressing frame 31 is pressed closely against the contact glass 51. An upper wall of the housing 50 forms a portion of the upstream half route 37 together with the feeder cover 39, and the lower wall of the housing 50 forms a portion of the downstream half route 38 together with the feeder frame 41. The previously described pressing frame 32 is attached to the upper wall of the housing 50.
One of the three pairs of feed rollers is arranged in a curved portion of the upstream half route 37 and the remaining two pairs of feed rollers are respectively arranged in a curved portion of the downstream half route 38 and in a position upstream of and adjacent to the pressing frame 31. The feed rollers include the drive rollers 55, 57, and 59 and the idler rollers 56, 58, 60. As shown in
The upstream half route 37 can be opened by pivoting the feeder cover 39 so that documents jammed in the document feeding route 23 can be extracted easily. Meanwhile, the portion of the downstream half route 38 between the drive roller 59 and the paper ejection port 28 can be opened by pivoting the housing 50, which encloses the second reading unit 24, about a driver roller shaft 69 of the drive roller 55 (see
(2) Paper Jam Eliminating Mechanism
In
As shown in
The feeder cover 39 has a first operating section 85 and a second operating section 86 provided near the pivot shaft 40. The first operating section 85 is contrived to contact the first catching section 76 and move the cam frame 70 toward the operating position, and the second operating section 86 is contrived to contact the second catching section 77 and move the cam frame 70 toward the waiting position. The first operating section 85 is provided on a lateral edge of a wall of the feeder cover 39 that is an upper wall when the cover is closed. The second operating section 86 is provided on a peripheral wall of the feeder cover 39 at the front portion and the rear portion thereof and, as shown in
(3) Paper Jam Clearance Operation
How an original document jammed in the ADF 6 is extracted from the feeder route 23 will now be explained. When a document is jammed in the paper supply port 25 or other portions of the upstream half route 37, the user opens the feeder cover 39. The feed roller 27 separates from the pressing frame 32 and the idler roller 56 separates from the drive roller 55 as the entire upstream half route 37 opens, making it very easy to remove the document. The document can also be removed quickly because it is accomplished with the one-touch operation of merely opening the feeder cover 39. Even if a portion of the document has entered the downstream half route 38 and reached a portion where the drive roller 57 and the idler roller 58 contact each other, the document can be removed easily because the rollers 57 and 58 are separated from each other in coordination with opening the feeder cover 39.
If the document is jammed in the downstream half route 38, then the user opens the feeder cover 39 and also opens the housing 50 to the escape position shown in
By opening the housing 50 to the escape position, a portion of the downstream half route 38 located between the drive roller 59 and the paper ejection port 28 can be opened. Thus, as shown in
When the feeder cover 39 is returned to the closed state, the second operating section 86 contacts the second catching section 77 of the movement receiving section 73 and causes the cam frame 70 to slide toward the waiting position. As a result, the binding action of the first cam 74 is released and the idler rollers 58 and the idler roller shaft 64 are pushed diagonally upward to their previous positions by the spring 62. Similarly, the binding action of the second cam 75 against the releasing body 71 is released and the idler rollers 60 and the idler roller shaft 65 are pushed diagonally upward to their previous positions by the spring 62. As a result, the idler rollers 58 and 60 are returned to being in close contact with the drive rollers 57 and 59, such that a document can be fed.
(4) Effects
With a jam clearance mechanism configured as explained heretofore, the entire upstream half route 37 can be opened and a state of close contact between the drive rollers 57 and 59 and the idler rollers 58 and 60 can be released by merely opening the feeder cover 39. Also, by opening the housing 50 to the escape position, the portion of the route between the driver roller 59 and the paper ejection port 28 can be opened, thereby exposing the document. Thus, regardless of which portion of the document feeding route 23 a document is jammed in, the document can be removed reliably with a small amount of effort. Even if a paper jam occurs in an intermediate portion of the document feeding route 23, the close contact between the drive rollers 57 and 59 and the idler rollers 58 and 60 can be released and the binding action of the idler rollers with respect to the document can be released. Also, since a route between the drive roller 59 and the paper ejection port 28 may be opened, a document can be extracted while the jammed state of the paper is visually recognized. Thus, a situation in which a portion of the paper surface is damaged in the process of extracting the document can be reliably avoided.
(5) Other Embodiments
Although an embodiment of the present invention has been explained above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the embodiments and variations explained in this patent specification can be combined in any desired manner as required.
(A) Although the previously explained embodiment presents a case in which a second reading unit 24 is provided inside the ADF 6, a jam clearance apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to an ADF 6 that does not have such a reading unit. In such a case, the apparatus can be contrived such that releasing the state of close contact between the drive rollers 57 and 59 and the idler rollers 58 and 60 is accomplished by means of the cam frame 70 acting directly against the idler roller shafts 64 and 65 such that the separations between the rollers occur either simultaneously or with a time delay in-between. If necessary, two or more idler rollers can be separated from corresponding drive rollers by the jam clearance mechanism.
(B) It is not necessary to move the idler roller shafts 64 and 65 simultaneously when the rollers are separated; it is acceptable to move the idler roller shafts sequentially.
Also, instead of accomplishing the separations by the cam frame 70 acting against the idler roller shafts 64 and 65, it is acceptable for the cam frame 70 to act against the idler rollers 58 and 60.
Although in the previously explained embodiment the nipped state between the idler rollers 58 and 60 and the drive rollers 57 and 59 is released by separating the idler rollers 58 and 60 from the drive rollers 57 and 59, if necessary, it is acceptable to release the nipped state by separating the drive rollers 57 and 59 from the idler rollers 58 and 60.
It is also acceptable to move both the idler rollers 58 and 60 and the drive rollers 57 and 59 simultaneously in order to release the nipped state in-between.
5 platen cover
6 ADF (automatic document feeder)
23 document feeding route
25 paper supply port
28 paper ejection port
37 upstream half route
38 downstream half route
39 feeder cover
57, 59 drive roller
58, 60 idler roller
70 cam frame
71 releasing body
74 first cam
75 second cam
85 first operating section
86 second operating section
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-223035 | Sep 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/005761 | 9/24/2010 | WO | 00 | 3/14/2012 |
