Sheet conveying device, image reading device, and image forming device

Abstract

To achieve reduction of operating sound.SOLUTION: A sheet transport device includes: a transport roller pair 80 which transports documents D including a document D1 having a first width W1 and a document D2 having a second width W2 wider than the first width W1 in a transport direction; restriction members 61, 62, 63, 64 each of which is disposed at the upstream side of a nip part of the transport roller pair 80 in the transport direction and may move between a restriction position where the restriction member contacts with a tip of the document D2 transported toward the transport roller pair 80 to restrict transport of the document D2 and an allowable position where the restriction member is pressed by the tip of the document D2 to allow transport of the document D2; and a biasing member which biases the restriction members 61, 62, 63, 64 so that the restriction members 61, 62, 63, 64 are located at the restriction position. The restriction members 61, 62, 63, 64 are not disposed in a first area Ar1, which overlaps with an area where the document D1 passes in a width direction W, and are disposed at a second area Ar2, which is other than the first area Ar1, of an area where the document D2 passes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device that conveys a sheet, and an image reading device and an image forming device that use the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image reading devices capable of automatically feeding documents (sheets) loaded on a document tray or the like one by one and reading image information of the fed documents have been widely used. As a sheet conveying device used in such image reading devices, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) that automatically feeds documents has been widely used. Also, as such a sheet conveying device, one having a sheet skew correction mechanism is known (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] This sheet conveying device with a skew correction mechanism includes a pair of conveying rollers with a nip portion disposed on the sheet conveying path, a shutter provided on the pair of conveying rollers, and an upstream conveying device that conveys the sheet to the pair of conveying rollers. The shutter is disposed upstream of the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers. The shutter is swingable between a restricting position where the leading edge of the sheet conveyed toward the pair of conveying rollers abuts against the shutter to restrict the conveyance of the sheet, and an allowing position where the shutter is pressed against the leading edge of the sheet to allow the sheet to be conveyed. When the shutter is positioned at the restricting position, it stops the sheet and straightens the sheet from its skewed state, thereby achieving a skew correction effect. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-139626 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, there has been a demand for image reading devices that can read documents of various sizes. Among these, there is a demand for image reading devices that can read small documents such as business cards. Business cards are typically made of stiff cardboard (128 g / m²). 2 The conveying resistance is large, so the conveying noise caused by the guide members rubbing against each other is loud.

[0006] However, the sheet conveying device described in Patent Document 1 is designed to convey ordinary sheets with low stiffness, and the shutter's biasing force is set to a strength appropriate for the sheet. Therefore, when stiff business cards are conveyed using the sheet conveying device described in Patent Document 1, the shutter is easily pressed and moved, and there is a possibility that the skew correction effect will be almost nonexistent. As such, even though the shutter's stopping force is almost ineffective in correcting skew due to the rigidity of business cards, operating noise is generated when the business card contacts the shutter or when the shutter returns to the regulating position after the business card has passed through the shutter.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveying device, an image reading device, and an image forming device that are capable of reducing operating noise. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The sheet conveying device of the present invention comprises: A sheet conveying device capable of conveying a plurality of types of sheets including plain paper having a width wider than a predetermined width and business cards having a width narrower than the predetermined width and a basis weight greater than that of the plain paper, A pair of conveying rollers that convey the sheet in the conveying direction; , Shi The tip of the rod comes into contact with The A restriction position that restricts the transport of the cart , Shi It is pressed against the tip of the The It can be moved to an allowable position that allows transport of the cart. a skew correction unit that corrects skew of the sheet by bending the sheet whose leading edge abuts at the regulating position; and the above Skew correction unit and a biasing member that biases the Skew correction unit teeth, A position where the roller contacts plain paper having a width greater than the predetermined width to correct skew, and does not contact business cards having a width less than the predetermined width to correct skew. The present invention is characterized in that the

[0009] An image reading device of the present invention includes the sheet conveying device described above, and a reading section that reads an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying device.

[0010] An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the image reading device described above, and an image forming section that forms an image on a recording material based on the image read by the image reading device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce operating noise. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view showing a document reading device according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pair of conveying rollers and a registration shutter mechanism according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the document reading device according to the embodiment, in which the regulating member is located at a regulating position and regulates a normal-sized document. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the document reading device according to the embodiment, in which the regulating member is pressed against the document and positioned at the permitting position, allowing the document to be conveyed; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a regulating member of the registration shutter mechanism according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the document reading device according to the embodiment, in which the regulating member is located at a regulating position and a small-sized document is conveyed without being regulated by the regulating member. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, a document reading device 1 equipped with a document feeding device 20, which is an example of a sheet conveying device, is applied to an image forming device 100. This image forming device 100 includes an image forming unit 101 that forms an image on a recording material based on an image read by the document reading device 1.

[0014] [Document reader] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a document reading device 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. In this embodiment, the main scanning direction (width direction W) perpendicular to the transport direction of a document D in the document reading device 1 is defined as the front-rear direction. The document reading device 1, which is an example of an image reading device, includes a document feeder 20 and a document table scanner 50. The document table scanner 50 is a document table scanning type document reading device capable of reading a document placed on a document table glass, and includes a housing 51 and a first reading unit 52. The first reading unit 52 is an example of a reading unit, and irradiates light onto the image information surface of the document D from an LED array serving as a light source, and then focuses the reflected light from the image information surface onto a sensor element using a SELFOC (registered trademark) lens to read the image information. In other words, the document reading device 1 reads the image of the document D transported by the document feeder 20.

[0015] [Original feeding device] The document feeder 20 is an ADF and includes a document tray 3 on which documents D, which are an example of sheets, are placed, a feeding unit 21, a transport section 22, a second reading unit 18, which is an example of a reading section, and a discharge tray 24. Note that the document D is a general term that includes documents D1, D2, and D3 of various sizes, as will be described later (see FIG. 6). The document feeder 20 is rotatably provided on the top of the document table scanner 50 by a hinge section (not shown).

[0016] The feeding unit 21 has a liftable arm 21a, a feeding roller 17, a separation roller 8, and a separation pad 9. The feeding roller 17 is an example of a feeding rotor, and is rotatably supported by the arm 21a. It comes into contact with the uppermost document D among the plurality of documents D supported on the document tray 3, picks it up, and feeds it. The separation roller 8 is an example of a separation rotor, and when a plurality of documents D are fed by the feeding roller 17, it separates them one by one between the feeding roller 17 and the separation pad 9.

[0017] The transport unit 22 has a transport guide 40 that forms a transport path curved in a substantially U-shape. The transport path is curved so as to transport the originals supported on the original tray 3 to the discharge tray 24. The transport guide 40 has an upper guide portion 41 that contacts the upper surface of the original D to guide the original D, and a lower guide portion 42 that contacts the lower surface of the original D to guide the original D. The transport unit 22 also has a pair of transport rollers 80 that transport the original D, an intermediate transport roller 14, a pair of discharge rollers 15, and an edge sensor 16 that detects the leading and trailing ends of the original D. The transport unit 22 also has a stopper 10 that regulates the leading edge position of the original D, a biasing spring 12, and an original presence / absence sensor 11 that detects the presence or absence of the original D.

[0018] Stopper 10 is provided so as to be movable between a restricting position where it comes into contact with a document D supported on document tray 3 to restrict the feeding of the document D, and an allowing position where it allows the feeding of the document D supported on document tray 3. A biasing spring 12 biases stopper 10 to be positioned at the restricting position. Document presence sensor 11 has a detecting unit that detects document D. The detecting position of the detecting unit is arranged upstream of stopper 10 in the feeding direction, and detects the presence or absence of a document supported on document tray 3.

[0019] Similar to the first reading unit 52, the second reading unit 18 irradiates light onto the image information surface of the document D from an LED array serving as a light source, and the light reflected from the image information surface is focused on a sensor element by a SELFOC (registered trademark) lens to read the image information. In the document feeding device 20 of this embodiment, when a user places a document D on the document tray 3 and the sub-tray 33, the position of the leading edge of the document D is restricted by the stopper 10, and the document presence / absence sensor 11 detects the presence of the document D.

[0020] The document tray 3 is an example of a support portion that supports the document D. The discharge tray 24 is disposed below the document tray 3, and the document D is discharged and stacked thereon. As shown in FIG. 2 , the document tray 3 has a first restricting plate 31, an example of a first restricting portion, and a second restricting plate 32, an example of a second restricting portion, that can contact both sides of the document D to restrict the position of the document D in the width direction W to the center of transport. The first restricting plate 31 and the second restricting plate 32 are connected by a gear train (not shown), and when one restricting plate is operated, the other restricting plate also operates in conjunction. The first restricting plate 31 and the second restricting plate 32 always move by the same amount, making it possible to restrict the document D to the center of transport regardless of the width of the document D. In other words, the first restricting plate 31 and the second restricting plate 32 are provided to be movable in conjunction with each other in the width direction W and restrict the positions of both sides of the document D in the width direction W supported by the document tray 3.

[0021] A subtray 33 is provided upstream of the document tray 3. The subtray 33 has a rotating section 34 and is rotatable relative to the document tray 3. The provision of the subtray 33 makes it possible to support documents D that are long in the feeding direction. Furthermore, because the subtray 33 is rotatable, it can be closed so that the subtray 33 overlaps the document tray 3. This improves the visibility and ease of removal of documents D discharged onto the discharge tray 24, and by covering the document feed opening, it is possible to prevent foreign matter such as dust from accumulating on or entering the document tray 3 or the transport section 22 when not in use.

[0022] When a user issues a command to start reading from an operation unit or the like of image forming apparatus 100, a drive motor (not shown) rotates and feed unit 21 descends. As a result, feed unit 21 lowers arm 21a to bring feed roller 17 into contact with the uppermost document D, and arm 21a presses down stopper 10 to position stopper 10 at the allowable position, thereby causing feed roller 17 to feed document D.

[0023] The rotation of the feeding roller 17 feeds the documents D to the separation section between the separation roller 8 and the separation pad 9, where the documents D are separated one by one, and the topmost document D is separated and fed. The separated documents D are then transported along the transport guide 40 by the transport roller pair 80, and transported to the reading sections of the first reading unit 52 and the second reading unit 18.

[0024] When the edge sensor 16 detects the leading edge of the document D, the first reading unit 52 starts reading image information on the front side of the document D at a point where the document has been transported a predetermined distance from that position, and the second reading unit 18 starts reading image information on the back side of the document D. After reading starts, the document D moves toward the intermediate transport rollers 14. When the edge sensor 16 detects the trailing edge of the document D, the first reading unit 52 and the second reading unit 18 stop reading image information at a point where the document has been transported a predetermined distance from that position. The document D is then discharged to the discharge tray 24 by the discharge roller pair 15. In this way, the document feeding device 20 repeats the above-described reading operation until the document presence / absence sensor 11 detects that no document is present.

[0025] [Configuration of the register shutter mechanism] Next, the configuration of the registration shutter mechanism 6 provided near the conveying roller pair 80 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the conveying roller pair 80 and the registration shutter mechanism 6. The conveying roller pair 80 has a driven roller 81 and a drive roller 82 that rotate while contacting each other at a nip N. The driven roller 81 has three rollers 81a, 81b, and 81c spaced apart in the width direction W, and a rotation shaft 83 is provided to rotatably support the rollers 81a, 81b, and 81c. The roller 81b is an example of a first roller. The drive roller 82 has roller portions 82a, 82b, and 82c corresponding to the three rollers 81a, 81b, and 81c, and a drive shaft 84 is provided to rotate the roller portions 82a, 82b, and 82c. The drive shaft 84 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown) via a gear train. The rotation shaft 83 and the drive shaft 84 are provided to extend in the width direction W that intersects (here, perpendicular to) the conveyance direction X. The roller 81b is an example of a first roller, and the roller portion 82b is an example of a second roller.

[0026] The registration shutter mechanism 6 is disposed upstream of the nip portion N of the conveying roller pair 80 in the conveying direction X and includes a plurality of regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64, a connecting portion 65, and a torsion coil spring 66. Each of the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 is provided, for example, four in number, and is rotatably supported coaxially with the rotation shaft 83 between the rollers 81a, 81b, and 81c of the driven roller 81. That is, the regulating member 61, roller 81a, regulating member 62, roller 81b, regulating member 63, roller 81c, and regulating member 64 are arranged in this order coaxially with the rotation shaft 83 in the width direction W. The regulating member 61 includes a bearing portion 61a that is swingably provided with respect to the rotation shaft 83 and a contact portion 61b that is continuous with the bearing portion 61a. Similarly, the regulating members 62, 63, 64 have bearing portions 62a, 63a, 64a respectively provided to be swingable with respect to the rotation shaft 83, and contact portions 62b, 63b, 64b provided continuously with the bearing portions 62a, 63a, 64a. That is, in this embodiment, the registration shutter mechanism 6 has a plurality of (for example, four) contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, 64b arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 83 and protruding in the radial direction.

[0027] The connecting portion 65 is a long member extending parallel to the rotation shaft 83, and connects the bearing portions 61a, 62a, 63a, 64a at the opposite sides to the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, 64b so that the four regulating members 61, 62, 63, 64 interlock with each other. As a result, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, 64b are configured to be able to swing integrally with the rotation shaft 83 while protruding outward from the rotation shaft 83 at the same angle.

[0028] The regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 can move between a regulating position and an allowable position by swinging around the rotation shaft 83. The regulating position is a position where the leading edge of the document D conveyed toward the conveying roller pair 80 abuts against the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 to regulate the conveyance of the document D (see FIG. 4). The allowable position is a position where the leading edge of the document D presses against the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 to allow the conveyance of the document D (see FIG. 5). That is, the abutting portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b can move between a regulating position where they overlap the conveyance path and an allowable position where they are retracted from the conveyance path by swinging the bearing portions 61a, 62a, 63a, and 64a.

[0029] The torsion coil spring 66 is an example of a biasing member, and is provided coaxially with the rotation shaft 83. The torsion coil spring 66 biases the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 to the regulating positions. The contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b are regulated by stoppers (not shown) so that the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b are stopped at the rotation positions shown in FIG. 3 while being biased in the rotation direction R1 by the torsion coil spring 66. Therefore, when the leading edge of the document D conveyed in the conveying direction X contacts the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b are pressed against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 66. That is, the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 move against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 66 when moving from the regulating positions to the allowable positions. Then, while rotating in the rotation direction R2, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b guide the leading edge of the document D into the nip portion N of the pair of conveying rollers 80. The document D has its posture adjusted by the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b, and is skew-corrected. When the trailing edge of the document D whose skew has been corrected passes through the nip portion N, it is returned to the position shown in FIG. 3 by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 66.

[0030] [Operation of the register shutter mechanism] Next, the operation when normal-sized documents D2 and D3, which are not small-sized documents, are conveyed by the register shutter mechanism 6 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Here, normal size means a document larger than a business card size, such as document D2 which is a B5-sized copy paper (plain paper) or document D3 which is an A4-sized copy paper, and Figures 4 and 5 show document D3 as an example.

[0031] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state cut along line AA in Figure 3. The leading edge of document D3 conveyed by separation roller 8 is in contact with contact portion 62b of regulating member 62 of registration shutter mechanism 6. Note that since Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state cut along line AA in Figure 3, only regulating member 62 of registration shutter mechanism 6 is shown. For this reason, the following will describe regulating member 62, but it is assumed that the other regulating members 61, 63, and 64 also move in the same way.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, the regulating member 62 is disposed downstream of the separation roller 8 in the conveying direction X and regulates the conveyance of the document D3 conveyed by the separation roller 8. At this time, the leading edge of the document D3 does not enter the nip portion N of the conveying roller pair 80. When the leading edge of the document D3 contacts the contact portion 62b of the regulating member 62, the regulating member 62 does not rotate because it is subjected to the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 66. After that, the document D3 generates a loop within the conveying guide 40, and the separation roller 8 continues to convey the document D3 while the leading edge of the document D3 remains stationary until the stiffness of the document D3 generates a pressing force greater than the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 66. At this time, the leading edge of the document D3 contacts the four contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the register shutter mechanism 6 (two contact portions 62b and 63b for the size of the document D2), thereby aligning the leading edge of the document D3 and correcting skew.

[0033] Here, the basis weight of the normal size documents D2 and D3 is 52 g / m 2 or more, and a basis weight of 105 g / m 2 The following is assumed: The torsion coil spring 66 is conveyed with a basis weight of 52 g / m 2 ~105g / m 2 When the leading edge of the document D3 comes into contact with the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 (regulating members 62 and 63 for the document D2), the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 have a biasing force that bends the document D3 to correct the skew.

[0034] 5, when the leading edge of document D3 generates a predetermined pressing force on contact portion 62b of regulating member 62, regulating member 62 rotates in rotation direction R2, and the leading edge of document D3 enters nip portion N of conveying roller pair 80. Since the leading edge of document D3 enters nip portion N of conveying roller pair 80 while in contact with contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of register shutter mechanism 6, document D3 can be conveyed by conveying roller pair 80 with its leading edge aligned.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b and the original documents D2 and D3 at this time. As shown in FIG. 6, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b are arranged symmetrically in the width direction W around the conveyance center C1 of the original document D. Here, the original document D2, which is an example of a second sheet, has a second width W2 in the width direction. The original document D3, which is also an example of a second sheet, has a third width (second width) W3 in the width direction that is wider than the second width W2. The original document D2 comes into contact with only two of the contact portions 62b and 63b. The original document D3 comes into contact with the four contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b. Thus, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b that come into contact with differ depending on the size of the original document in the width direction W.

[0036] Next, the relationship between a small-sized document D1 such as a business card, which is a characteristic feature of the present invention, and the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the register-shutter mechanism 6 will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The document D1, which is an example of a first sheet, is, for example, a business card, and in this embodiment, the first width W1 in the width direction W is 55 mm or less, and the basis weight is 80 g / m 2 or more, and 230g / m 2 The following definitions apply: As shown in Fig. 6, the distance L between the contact parts 62b and 63b located closest to each other across the conveyance center C1 is 60 mm. The contact parts 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the registration shutter mechanism 6 are not present within a range of at least 55 mm in the width direction W from the conveyance center C1.

[0037] That is, the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 are not arranged in a first area Ar1 that overlaps in the width direction W with the area through which the document D1 passes, but are arranged in a second area Ar2 that is other than the first area Ar1 (area other than the area) of the area through which the documents D2 and D3 pass. In this embodiment, since the first width W1 is 55 mm or less, the first area Ar1 preferably has a length of 56 mm or more in the width direction W, and to provide an additional margin, the distance L between the contact portions 62b and 63b is set to 60 mm. Furthermore, when the first regulating plate 31 and the second regulating plate 32 (see FIG. 2) regulate the document D1, the conveyance center C1 of the document D1 overlaps with the first area Ar1 in the width direction W.

[0038] As described above, because the distance L between the contact portions 62b and 63b of the registration shutter mechanism 6 is wider than the first width W1 of the document D1, the document D1 does not contact the contact portions 62b and 63b of the registration shutter mechanism 6 during transport. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the leading edge of the document D1 does not contact any of the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the registration shutter mechanism 6 during transport. The document D1 then enters the nip portion N of the transport roller pair 80 and is transported without moving the registration shutter mechanism 6 from the regulating position. Although the document D1 is not subject to the skew correction effect of the registration shutter mechanism 6, roller alignment and other methods can still be used to correct the skew. Even if the document D1 is transported skewed, the first reading unit 52 and the second reading unit 18 have a sufficient reading width to read the entire image. Therefore, skew correction can be performed by processing the image information after reading.

[0039] In addition to business cards, receipts, for example, can also be used as small-sized documents D1. The receipts used here are, for example, narrower than business cards and less rigid than business cards or copy paper. When a receipt is used as document D1, the first width W1 of the receipt is narrower than the distance L between the contact portions 62b and 63b of the register shutter mechanism 6. If a thin and flexible document D1 such as a receipt is brought into contact with any of the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the register shutter mechanism 6, the leading edge of the document D1 cannot apply the required pressure to swing the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b. As a result, the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b cannot swing to the allowable positions, preventing document D1 from being transported downstream, potentially resulting in a paper jam. In contrast, in this embodiment, when a thin and weak document D1 such as a receipt is transported, it does not come into contact with the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b, so the occurrence of paper jams by the register shutter mechanism 6 can be prevented.

[0040] As described above, in the document feeder 20 of this embodiment, the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 are not disposed in the first area Ar1 but are disposed in the second area Ar2 outside the first area Ar1. Therefore, when a small-sized document D1 is transported, it does not come into contact with any of the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the register shutter mechanism 6, and enters the nip portion N of the transport roller pair 80 and is transported without moving the register shutter mechanism 6 from the regulating position. This reduces the generation of operating noise when the document D1 comes into contact with the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 or when the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 return to the regulating position after the document D1 has passed through them. Therefore, the operating noise generated when the document D1 is transported can be reduced.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the document feeder 20 of this embodiment, when the first and second regulating plates 31 and 32 of the document tray 3 regulate the document D1, the transport center C1 of the document D1 overlaps with the first area Ar1 in the width direction W. Therefore, the document D1 passes through the first area Ar1 during transport, and therefore does not come into contact with any of the contact portions 61b, 62b, 63b, and 64b of the register shutter mechanism 6, thereby reducing the operating noise during transport of the document D1.

[0042] Furthermore, according to the document feeder 20 of this embodiment, the register shutter mechanism 6 is provided with four regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64. Therefore, for example, skew correction can be effectively performed on a plurality of types of normal-sized documents D2 and D3, such as document D2 and document D3.

[0043] Furthermore, according to the document feeder 20 of this embodiment, the torsion coil spring 66 is 2 ~105g / m 2 When the leading edge of the document D3 comes into contact with the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64, the document D3 is bent to correct the skew. 2 When a copy paper of this size is conveyed as the document D3, the regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 can be used to correct the skew.

[0044] Although the document feeder 20 of the present embodiment has been described above as being provided with four regulating members 61, 62, 63, and 64 in the register shutter mechanism 6, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, five or more regulating members may be provided, or one may be provided on each side of the first area Ar1 in the width direction W.

[0045] Furthermore, in the document feeding device 20 of this embodiment, the first area Ar1 is disposed in the center of the conveying roller pair 80 in the width direction W, and the second area Ar2 is disposed on both sides of the first area Ar1, but this is not limiting. For example, the first area Ar1 may be disposed to one side of the conveying roller pair 80 in the width direction, and the remaining area may be the second area Ar2. In this case, multiple regulating members may be provided, or only one regulating member may be disposed by providing a sufficient length in the width direction.

[0046] Furthermore, in the document feeder 20 of this embodiment, the first width W1 of the document D1 is 55 mm or less, and correspondingly the first area Ar1 is 56 mm or more in the width direction W, and the distance L between the contact portions 62b, 63b is 60 mm to provide some leeway. However, this is not limiting, and the first width W1 may be another dimension, and the width of the first area Ar1 and the distance L between the contact portions 62b, 63b may be changed as appropriate so as to be larger than the first width W1.

[0047] Furthermore, although the document feeding device 20 of this embodiment has been described as being applied to the document reading device 1, the application is not limited to this and can be applied to any sheet conveying device. Similarly, although the document reading device 1 of this embodiment has been described as being applied to the image forming device 100, the application is not limited to this and can be applied to any image reading device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1... document reading device (image reading device), 3... document tray (supporting portion), 8... separation roller (separation rotating body), 12... urging spring (urging means), 17... feeding roller (feeding rotating body), 18... second reading unit (reading portion), 20... document feeding device (sheet conveying device), 31... first regulating plate (first regulating portion), 32... second regulating plate (second regulating portion), 52... first reading unit (reading portion), 61, 62, 63, 64... regulating member, 61a, 62a, 63a, 64a... bearing portion, 61b, 62b, 63b, 64b...contact portion, 65...connecting portion, 66...torsion coil spring (urging member), 80...pair of conveying rollers, 81b...roller (first roller), 82b...roller portion (second roller), 83...rotating shaft, 100...image forming device, 101...image forming portion, Ar1...first region, Ar2...second region, C1...conveyance center, D...original (sheet), D1...original (first sheet), D2, D3...original (second sheet), N...nip portion, W...width direction, W1...first width, W2...second width, W3...third width (second width), X...conveyance direction

Claims

1. A sheet conveying device capable of conveying multiple types of sheets, including plain paper having a width wider than a predetermined width, and business cards having a width narrower than the predetermined width and a basis weight greater than that of the plain paper, a pair of conveying rollers that convey the sheet in a conveying direction; a skew correction unit that is movable between a restricting position where the leading edge of the sheet contacts the skew correction unit to restrict conveyance of the sheet and a permitting position where the skew correction unit is pressed by the leading edge of the sheet to permit conveyance of the sheet, and that corrects skew of the sheet by bending the sheet whose leading edge contacts the skew correction unit at the restricting position; a biasing member that biases the skew correction unit so that the skew correction unit is positioned at the regulating position, the skew correction unit is disposed at a position where it contacts plain paper having a width greater than the predetermined width to correct the skew, and where it does not contact business cards having a width less than the predetermined width to correct the skew. A sheet conveying device characterized by:

2. A support portion is provided to support the seat, the skew correction unit is not disposed in a first area that overlaps with an area through which the business card passes in a width direction that intersects with the conveying direction, but is disposed in a second area other than the first area within an area through which the plain paper passes; the support portion includes a first regulating portion and a second regulating portion that are provided to be movable in conjunction with each other in the width direction and that regulate positions on both sides of the sheet supported by the support portion in the width direction, a conveyance center of the business card when the first restricting portion and the second restricting portion restrict the business card overlaps with the first region in the width direction; 2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1.

3. The first region has a length of 56 mm or more in the width direction.

3. The sheet transport device according to claim 2.

4. The width of the business card in the width direction is 55 mm or less.

4. The sheet conveying device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. A plurality of the skew correction units are provided, a connecting portion that connects the plurality of skew correction portions so as to interlock with each other; 5. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying device is a sheet conveying device.

6. The biasing member is used to bias the conveyed sheet of paper with a basis weight of 105 g / m ２ When the leading edge of the plain paper contacts the skew correction unit, the plain paper has a biasing force that bends the plain paper to correct the skew.

6. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying device is a sheet conveying device.

7. The pair of conveying rollers includes a first roller and a second roller that rotate while contacting each other at a nip portion, and a rotation shaft that supports the first roller, the biasing member is a torsion coil spring provided coaxially with the rotation shaft, the skew correction unit has a bearing portion provided so as to be swingable with respect to the rotation shaft, and a contact portion provided continuously with the bearing portion, which is movable by the swinging of the bearing portion between the regulating position where it overlaps with the sheet conveying path and the allowing position where it is retracted from the conveying path, and moves against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring when moving from the regulating position to the allowing position.

7. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying device is a sheet conveying device.

8. a support portion that supports the seat; a feeding rotor that feeds the uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets supported by the support portion; a separation rotor that separates a plurality of sheets one by one when the plurality of sheets is fed by the feeding rotor, the skew correction unit is disposed downstream of the separation rotor in the conveying direction and regulates conveyance of the sheet conveyed by the separation rotor.

8. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying device is a sheet conveying device.

9. The sheet conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a reading unit that reads an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying device, An image reading device characterized by:

10. The image reading device according to claim 9; an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material based on the image read by the image reading device, An image forming apparatus characterized by:

Images