Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Akira Hirose

Takashi Fujii

Kenzo Ariyama

Yoshihide Sugiyama

Motoya Sano

Kunihiro Uotani

Fumitaka Hyodou

Norio Kimura

Hiroshi Kubo

Takuro Sekiya

Michitaka Suzuki

Shinya Kitaoka

Tatsuaki Nagano

Hideki Tobinaga

Yukitaka Nakazato

Hiroshi Kusumoto

Atsushi Kanaya

Yohtaro Kakitani

Masashi Kohchi

Tadashi Ikoma

Shirou Saeki

Masashi Kuno

Masahiro Taniuchi

Tadashi Itoh

Fumitaka Hyoudou

Yasuzi Takagi

Keiji Sugita

A document feeding device includes a carrying unit capable of carrying documents, a drawing device drawing and supplying the documents, a drawing device drive source driving the drawing device, a separation unit including a separation device to separate the documents one by one, a separation device drive source driving the separation device, a conveying device conveying the documents, a reading unit including a reading device to read information of the documents, a discharge device discharging the documents, a first document detector provided between a document set position and the separation unit to detect the documents, and a second document detector provided downstream of the separation unit and near a separation position to detect the documents. The first and second document detectors detect the trailing end of each of the documents to control the operation of the drawing device on the basis of the result of the detection.

Document feeding device, image forming apparatus including same, and control method for the document feeding device

An image reading apparatus configured to be disposed in an image forming apparatus. An image reading unit is configured to read an image from a document. A light permeable member has a surface configured to face the image on the document, the surface having a roughness of at most 0.5 S. A coating is disposed on the surface of the light permeable member, the coating configured to prevent adherence of contaminants on the surface.

Image reading apparatus and recording apparatus including image reading apparatus

In a finisher for an image forming apparatus, when a staple mode is selected, sheets are sequentially stacked on a stacker while being turned over. In a corner staple mode, a stapler staples the sheets stacked on the stacker at the side facing the first page of the sheet stack. The stapled sheet stack is driven out to a first tray. In a center staple mode, after the sheet stack has been stapled, it is folded double at its center by a fold edge, then pressed by a press roller pair, and then driven out to a second tray.

Sheet finisher including binding, folding and stacking

A sheet sorting and storing apparatus has a stack of bin trays which are brought open at a sheet reception position, but held close at the other position. The apparatus minimizes noises upon sheet reception with a simple mechanism, improving the efficiency of sheet sorting. The bin trays are inclined down or up depending on a position of a sheet discharge device. A desired bin tray is deviated by a deviation mechanism in an approximately horizontal direction so that a spacing in the direction of the tray inclination is enlarged between two adjacent bin trays located at the sheet reception position, while keeping constant a vertical spacing thereof. A flexible film of elastic material may be provided at the sheet entrance side of the bin trays to prevent the discharged sheet from leaping out thereof.

Sheet sorting and storing apparatus

A sheet sorting and storing apparatus has a stack of bin trays which are brought open at a sheet reception position, but held close at the other position. The apparatus minimizes noises upon sheet reception in a simple mechanism, improving the efficiency of sheet sorting. The bin trays are inclined down or up depending on a position of a sheet discharge device. A desired bin tray is deviated by a deviation mechanism in an approximately horizontal direction so that a spacing in the direction of the tray inclination is enlarged between two adjacent bin trays located at the sheet reception position, while keeping constant a vertical spacing thereof. The deviation mechanism includes a guide in connection with the bin trays to approximately horizontally deviate them by its slant portion connecting upper and lower vertical slots. Each bin tray has a support on its both sides with parallel surfaces to support the next upper bin tray through rollers disposed between the parallel surfaces of the adjacent bin trays.

In an automatic document feeder (ADF) for an image forming apparatus, a table is loaded with multiple documents or a single document, as desired. A transport section transports the document or one of the documents fed from the table to a predetermined position on a glass platen included in a body of the apparatus, and then transports it away from the predetermined position. A feed section has a feeding member for feeding the document from the table to the transporting section, and a separating member movable in opposite direction to an intended direction of document feed into frictional engagement with the feeding member. A mode selecting section is accessible for selecting either of a multiple feed mode for sequentially feeding the multiple documents from the table while separating the individual documents, and a single feed mode for feeding the single document therefrom. A drive source drives the separating member while switching the drive direction thereof. A controller controls the drive source such that when the multiple feed mode is selected, the separating member contacts the feeding member with friction acting therebetween, while when the single feed mode is selected, the former contacts the latter without friction acting therebetween. In the single feed mode, the separating member is driven in the feed direction and feeds a document in cooperation with the separating member, thereby preventing the document from being damaged or displaced.

Automatic document feeder for an image forming apparatus

A finisher for an image forming apparatus and capable of changing the binding angle of a staple relative to a sheet stack to be bound, as desired. A stapler is rotatable substantially about the binding position thereof to change the angle thereof relative to a sheet stack. This maintains the binding position substantially constant in both of parallel binding and inclined binding.

Finisher for an image forming apparatus which rotates about a stapling

A finisher connectable to an image forming apparatus for surely discharging sheets to bin trays thereof without regard to the sheet size while preventing the sheets from dropping from the bin rays or from being inaccurately positioned on the bin trays. The finisher has a discharge roller for sequentially discharging sheets driven out of the image forming apparatus to the bin trays. The rotation speed of the discharge roller is controlled on the basis of size information representative of the size of sheets to be transferred from the image forming apparatus to the finisher.

Finisher for an image forming apparatus

A finisher for use with a copier, laser printer or similar image forming apparatus and having a function of sorting or stacking sheets sequentially driven out of the apparatus and a function of stapling each stack of such sheets. A plurality of bins are sequentially moved to a position where the bins face the sheet outlet of the apparatus one at a time. A particular pair of the bins define a sheet inlet for receiving the sheets coming out of the sheet outlet one at a time. The sheets are distributed to the bins via the inlet to be stacked on the bins. A sheet stack is pulled out of each bin by a sheet stack moving device, bound at a staple position by a stapler, and then returned to the bin.

An original paper turning over and conveying out apparatus which comprises: an original paper processing portion for processing an original paper; an original paper stacking portion for stacking original papers; a first conveyor route; a discharge roller disposed at an outlet of the first conveyor route; a second conveyor route; a fixed pressing member; and a movable pressing member. The first conveyor route interconnects the processing portion and the stacking portion and able to convey the original paper in a forward direction from the processing portion to the stacking portion and vice versa in a backward direction. The second conveyor route diverges from the first conveyor route so that the original paper conveyed backward through the first conveyor route is guided to the second conveyor route and conveyed to the stacking portion. The original paper is discharged into the stacking portion in a state of being turned over through the discharge roller. The fixed pressing member always urges the original paper conveyed through the second conveyor route against the discharge roller to apply a discharging force thereto from the discharge roller. The movable pressing member selectively urges the original paper conveyed through the first conveyor route against the discharge roller.

Original paper turning over and conveying out apparatus

A method and apparatus for controlling copying operation modes of a copier having a paper feeding device. In a data sheet information of a desired copying operation mode is inputted in advance. The data sheet is first fed to a copying section in the copier before original papers and the information is detected. The following original papers are processed under the desired copying operation mode designated by the information in the data sheet.

Method and apparatus for controlling copying operation

A copying apparatus includes an automatic document feeder, a document size detecting part provided on the automatic document feeder for detecting a size of a document, a contact glass on which the document is set automatically by the automatic document feeder, a stopping position control device for controlling a stopping position of the document on the contact glass depending on the size of the document detected in the document size detecting part, an optical scanning device for scanning the document on the contact glass, and a scanning range control part for controlling a scanning range of the optical scanning device depending on the stopping position of the document.

Copying apparatus having automatic document feeder

A document conveying system suitable for use with a copying apparatus, printer, etc., including a document storage section located above a document illuminating section. Documents supported in a stack in the document storage section are fed one by one through a forward portion of the document storage section and have their direction of movement altered so as to move in an opposite direction. The direction of movement is altered again to move them the same direction as when fed from the document storage section, so that each document can be illuminatingly scanned in the document illuminating section. After being illuminatingly scanned, the documents are conveyed and have their direction of movement altered again, to be returned to the document storage section in a direction opposite the direction in which they were initially fed from the document storage section.

Document conveying system

An endless belt is disposed closely above and parallel to a transparent platen. The belt is rotatably driven to move an original document for electrophotography or the like from an inlet onto the platen into engagement with a stopper. Pressure means cause the belt to initially press against the document with a large force to ensure document transport across the platen. The belt drive means is de-energized and the pressure force reduced just before the document engages the stopper to prevent jamming of the leading edge of the document against the stopper as the belt overtravels the document due to its inertia. After an imaging exposure of the document, the stopper is retracted and the belts driven to discharge the document from the platen into a tray provided at an outlet. Means are provided to discharge static electricity from the document and facilitate document stacking in the tray. A spacer plate limits upward and lateral movement of the belt, thereby preventing rebound and lateral displacement of the document when the document engages the stopper. The document feed means is designed to ensure that one document will be discharged completely before a subsequent document engages the stopper. The inertia of the belt and drive means is selected such that, even though a predetermined error range is unavoidable in the timing of de-energizing the drive means before the document engages the stopper, the drive means will be de-energized before the document engages the stopper and said inertia will be great enough to carry the document to the stopper.

Sheet feed apparatus

An image transfer material separation apparatus for an electrophotographic copying machine, in which a leading edge of an image transfer material is curled in such a direction as to be separated from the surface of a photoconductor on which a latent electrostatic image or a visible image is formed, before the image transfer material is brought into close contact with the latent-electrostatic-image- or visible-image-bearing photoconductor, and after image transfer, an image transfer material separation member, disposed away from the surface of the photoconductor, is pushed by the curled leading edge portion of the image transfer material, whereby the image transfer material is guided in the direction different from the movement direction of the photoconductor and is separated from the surface of the photoconductor and is then transported, for instance, towards an image fixing station.

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Tokyo, Japan

Akira Hirose