Sheet feeding or delivering – Feeding and delivering – Sensor located at the feeder and controls the delivering
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-13
2001-03-27
Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Feeding and delivering
Sensor located at the feeder and controls the delivering
C271S004100, C271S270000, C399S365000, C399S371000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206359
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic document feeder for use in image readers such as copying machines, facsimile machines, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, automatic document feeders installed on a copying machine body are generally provided with such mechanism that documents placed on a feed tray are fed one by one automatically to a reading means installed in the copying machine body, and are then read by an optical system provided in the copying machine and discharged onto a discharging tray. In order to realize high-speed conveyance of documents, there have been proposed some arrangements in that, for example, documents are conveyed at a high-speed after they are read, and then discharged onto a discharging tray (Japanese Laid-open Utility Model No. 55157 of 1993), or documents are conveyed at high speed after they are read, and then slowed down just before discharging so as to be discharged gently onto a discharging tray (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 178363 of 1986).
If documents are conveyed at high speed and discharged after they are read in such a conventional automatic document feeder, however, the documents often fly out onto the discharging tray so as to be scattered. This arises a problem of poor alignment of the documents. In addition, if the document feeding is slowed down just before discharging, another problem arises wherein the high conveying speed is sacrificed, although the above-mentioned poor alignment problem is solved. In the cases described above, therefore, the following document cannot be conveyed before the preceding document is discharged since there is a difference between reading and discharging speeds of documents. Consequently, such conventional arrangements include possibilities whereby the total processing speed of the automatic document feeder may be lowered.
Under such the circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic document feeder that can solve the problem of poor alignment of discharged documents on a discharging tray, as well as improve the total processing speed of the document feeder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above problems, the automatic document feeder according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a feed tray on which documents are placed, a feed means for feeding documents placed on the feed tray into a conveying path, a conveying means for leading documents fed into the conveying path to an image reading position and then conveying the documents via the reading position, a discharging means for discharging the documents read at the above-mentioned image reading position onto a discharging tray, and a control means for controlling the conveying speeds when documents are read, and the discharging speed of documents after the documents are read in the conveying means and discharging means. The above-mentioned control means controls the feeding of documents so that, after the document which is already read is conveyed at the first discharging speed, the rear end of the document is discharged by switching the first discharging speed to the second discharging speed which is lower than the first discharging speed, and furthermore, if the conveying speed of the conveying means when reading the following document is within the predetermined range, the following document is conveyed to the reading position after completion of the preceding document discharging by the discharging means.
In order to solve the above problems, the automatic document feeder according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises a feed tray on which documents are placed, a feed means for feeding documents placed on the feed tray into a conveying path, a conveying means for leading documents fed into the conveying path to an image reading position and then conveying the documents via the reading position, a discharging means for discharging read documents onto a discharging tray, and a control means for controlling the conveying speeds when documents are read, and the document discharging speed after documents are read in the above-mentioned conveying means and the above-mentioned discharging means, wherein the above-mentioned control means controls the feeding of documents so that, after the document which is already read is conveyed at the first discharging speed, the rear end of the document is discharged by switching the first discharging speed to the second discharging speed which is lower than the first discharging speed, and furthermore, if the conveying speed of the conveying means when reading the following document is within the predetermined range, the preceding document is not discharged but stopped once at the downstream of the image reading position until a document fed from the feeding means reaches the conveying means, and when the following document reaches the prescribed position, the discharging operation to deliver the preceding document onto the discharging tray and the conveying operation to convey the following document to the image reading position are simultaneously carried out.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4451027 (1984-05-01), Alper
patent: 5129641 (1992-07-01), Long
patent: 5339139 (1994-08-01), Fullerton et al.
patent: 5423527 (1995-06-01), Tranquilla
patent: 5597153 (1997-01-01), Maruyama et al.
patent: 5819152 (1998-10-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 5826155 (1998-10-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 5887865 (1999-03-01), Ishimaru
patent: 5946527 (1999-08-01), Salgado et al.
patent: 61-178363 (1986-08-01), None
patent: 5-055157 (1993-03-01), None
patent: 5-55157 (1993-07-01), None
Hirota Kazuhiro
Kubo Eiichi
Frishauf, Holtz Goodman, Langer & Chick, P.C.
Konica Corporation
Skaggs H. Grant
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