JP2006052030A - Medium conveying apparatus and image reading apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium conveying device in which a feeding speed does not fluctuate even when a thick medium is fed out from a nip portion between a feeding roller and a pressing roller.
A transport mechanism of a card C of a composite processing apparatus 1 includes a feed roller 21 disposed on one side of a card transport path P2, a pressing roller 22 disposed on the other side, and a pressing roller 22 as a feeding roller 21. The rotation center axis 21a of the feed roller 21 is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance path P2, and the axis 45a of the pressure roller 22 is inclined with respect to the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. is doing. Since the contact positions (nip portions) 55 and 56 between the rollers are displaced forward and backward in the conveying direction, when the card C comes out of the nip portion between the rollers, the entire rear end Ca does not come out at the same time. Gradually leave from the side. The force in the feeding direction C2 acting on the card C from the roller side can be reduced, and fluctuations in the feeding speed of the card C can be suppressed.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium conveying apparatus that conveys the medium along a predetermined conveying path in order to read an image carried on the surface of a thick medium such as a magnetic card or an IC card, and the medium conveying apparatus. The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus including an image reading unit that reads an image carried on a surface of a medium conveyed by the apparatus.

As an image reading apparatus, an apparatus configured to read image information carried on the surface of a medium by the image reading sensor while conveying the medium along a conveyance path where the image reading sensor is arranged is known. . In this image reading apparatus, the medium is conveyed by a feed roller driven by a motor or the like and a pressing roller pressed against the feed roller by a predetermined spring force. Such a transport mechanism is a general one, and is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 below.
JP-A-10-203777

  Here, in a processing apparatus such as the composite processing apparatus proposed by the present applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-0667747), a thin paper sheet such as a check and a thick card such as a driver's license are used as a transport medium. Both may be handled. When a thick card is transported using a transport mechanism including a feed roller and a pressure roller, a larger nip force acts on the card from the roller side than when a thin check or the like is transported. For this reason, when the card is removed and sent out from the nip portion between the feed roller and the pressing roller, a large force acts on the card from the roller side in the feed direction, and the card is temporarily sent out at a high speed. .

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the rear end 101 of the card 100 is separated from the nip 104 between the feed roller 102 and the pressing roller 103, the pressing force F of the pressing roller is applied to the rear end 101 of the card 100. Acts in a state inclined in the feeding direction. For this reason, the component force Fx acts on the card 100 in the feeding direction. In the case of a paper sheet such as a check, since it is thin, almost no component force Fx is generated, but since the card 100 is thick, a large component force Fx is generated.

  Here, a rotational force is generally transmitted to the feed roller 102 from a rotational drive source such as a motor via a gear transmission mechanism. The last-stage driven gear 105 attached to the shaft of the feed roller 102 is meshed with the preceding-stage transmission gear 106 and is driven to rotate in the feed-out direction by the transmission gear 106. Therefore, both gears are in mesh with each other with a backlash δ on the side opposite to the delivery side, and the driven gear 105 on the feed roller side can rotate in the delivery direction by the amount of backlash. Therefore, when a large component force Fx acts in the feeding direction when the card 100 is detached from the nip portion 104, the feeding roller 102 is rotated in the feeding direction by the component force. As a result, when the card 100 is separated from the nip portion 104 and sent out, the card 100 is temporarily sent at a high speed.

  When the surface image of the card 100 is read by the image reading sensor arranged on the conveyance path, if the feeding speed of the card 100 is temporarily increased in this way, the read image is disturbed, and the image is accurately displayed. There is a negative effect that reading is impossible.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to propose a medium conveying device in which a feeding speed does not fluctuate even when a thick medium is fed from a nip portion of a feeding roller and a pressing roller.

  Another object of the present invention is to propose an image reading apparatus provided with a medium conveying device in which a feeding speed does not fluctuate even when a thick medium is fed from a nip portion of a feeding roller and a pressing roller.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a medium transport apparatus according to the present invention is disposed on a medium transport path, a feed roller disposed on one side of the medium transport path, and the other side of the medium transport path. A pressing roller, and a biasing member that biases the pressing roller toward the feed roller, and the rotation center axis of the feed roller is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the medium transport path The rotation center axis of the pressing roller is inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

  Since the pressing roller is inclined with respect to the feed roller, the contact position between the rollers is at one end side in the direction of the central axis when viewed along the direction of the central axis of the feed roller. Is shifted to the front side or the rear side in the transport direction, and on the other end side, it is shifted to the rear side or the front side in the transport direction. Therefore, when a thick medium such as a card is detached from the nip portion between the rollers, the entire rear end of the medium is gradually separated from one side of the medium without detaching from the nip portion at the same time. Therefore, compared with the case where the rear end of the medium is separated from the nip portion between the rollers at the same time, the force in the feeding direction acting on the medium from the roller side can be reduced. As a result, fluctuations in the medium feeding speed can be suppressed.

  Here, when the pressing roller includes at least first and second pressing rollers that are rotatably supported by a common pressing roller shaft, an axial direction of the pressing roller shaft by the biasing member It is desirable that the first and second pressing rollers are arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to the center position. In this way, by appropriately setting the inclination angle of the pressure roller, the nip portion between the pressure roller and the feed roller until the medium is completely separated from the nip portion between the pressure roller and the feed roller. The medium can be held and fluctuations in the feed rate can be suppressed.

  Next, instead of arranging a plurality of feed rollers in an inclined manner, they may be arranged in a state where they are shifted back and forth in the transport direction. That is, the nip portion between the feeding roller and the first pressing roller and the nip portion between the feeding roller and the second pressing roller may be displaced forward and backward in the medium transport direction.

  Further, the pressing roller is disposed to face the feeding roller with a predetermined interval, and supported so as to be movable away from the feeding roller against the biasing force of the biasing member. desirable. In this way, a more appropriate nip force can be applied to a thick medium such as a card.

  On the other hand, the present invention relates to an image reading apparatus for reading an image carried on the surface of a medium to be conveyed, and the medium conveying apparatus having the above-described configuration and the surface of the medium conveyed by the medium conveying apparatus. And image reading means for reading the image information.

  In the image reading apparatus of the present invention, even a thick medium is transported at a constant feed speed, so that there is no disturbance in the read image due to fluctuations in the transport speed. Therefore, an image on a thick medium such as a magnetic card can be read accurately.

  In the present invention, the facing position of the pressing roller with respect to the feed roller is in a state of being shifted back and forth in the transport direction along the direction of the rotation center axis of the feed roller. Therefore, when the medium is separated from the nip portion between the rollers and sent out, the rear end of the medium is not simultaneously detached from the nip portion between the rollers. Therefore, the force in the feeding direction acting on the medium from the roller side can be reduced, and fluctuations in the feeding speed of the medium can be suppressed.

  An example in which the present invention is applied to a composite processing apparatus having an image reading function will be described below with reference to the drawings. The composite processing apparatus of this example includes a transport mechanism that receives and transports a check and a card, a reading function that reads information carried on the check and a card, and a printing function that performs endorsement on the check.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the composite processing apparatus of this example, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the medium transfer path, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a medium transfer mechanism arranged along the medium transfer path. is there. Referring to these drawings, the combined processing apparatus 1 of the present example includes a paper feeding unit 3 for inserting a check S on the rear end side of the side surface of the apparatus case 2, and the paper feeding unit 3 Is provided with a discharge port 4 for the check S, and the check S received from the paper feed unit 3 can be conveyed along the substantially U-shaped check conveyance path P1 and discharged from the discharge port 4. A print head 5 is built in a portion upstream of the discharge port 4 in the check conveyance path P1, and printing for endorsement etc. can be performed on the conveyed check S. In addition, the intermediate conveyance path M extending in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus in the check conveyance path P1 is a wide width extending upward from the other conveyance path portions, and the lower half portion functions as the check conveyance path P1, The upper half is a card transport path P2.

  A portion opened to the front of the card transport path P2 is a card insertion / discharge port 6, and the card C inserted from here is transported to the rear side of the apparatus along the card transport path P2, and then again to the front side of the apparatus. The card is fed back and discharged from the card insertion / discharge port 6.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transport mechanism for transporting the check S includes a first transport roller pair 11 disposed on the upstream side of the intermediate transport path M, and an intermediate transport roller pair 12 disposed on the intermediate transport path M. The second transport roller pair 13 disposed on the downstream side of the intermediate transport path M and the discharge roller pair 14 disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 4 are provided. The first to third transport roller pairs 11 to 13 include a drive roller 11a and a pressure roller 11b, a drive roller 12a and a pressure roller 12b, and a drive roller 13a and a pressure roller 13b, which are opposed to each other across the conveyance path. . Each pressing roller 11b to 13b is pressed against the corresponding driving roller 11a to 13a with a predetermined urging force. Similarly, the discharge roller pair 14 includes a driving roller 14a and a pressing roller 14b pressed against the driving roller 14a with a predetermined urging force.

  The card C transport mechanism includes a feed roller 21 and a pressure roller 22 disposed at the rear end portion of the card transport path P2, and a transport roller pair 23 disposed coaxially on the upper side of the intermediate transport roller pair 12. Yes. The conveyance roller pair 23 includes a feed roller 23a and a pressing roller 23b. The pressing rollers 22 and 23b are pressed against the feeding rollers 21 and 23a by a predetermined urging force with the card transport path P2 interposed therebetween. Further, a rear end sensor 24 for detecting the rear end of the card C in the insertion direction is disposed in the vicinity of the card insertion slot, and the front end of the card C in the insertion direction is detected at a middle position of the card transport path P2. A front end sensor 25 is disposed. Based on the outputs of these sensors 24 and 25, the card C carrying operation is controlled.

  On the other hand, the image reading mechanism of the check S and the card C includes a first image reading sensor 31 and a second image reading sensor 32 arranged in the intermediate conveyance path M. Each of the first and second image reading sensors 31 and 32 is a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) type image reading sensor, which irradiates light on one surface of the check S or the card C conveyed through the intermediate conveyance path M. The reflected light is received and the image is read. For example, an image carried on the surface of the check S or card C being conveyed is read line by line, and the two-dimensional image is obtained. A MICR (Magnetic Inc Character Reader) 33 is installed below the intermediate conveyance roller pair 12. The MICR 33 is a sensor for reading the upper portion described with the magnetic ink on the check S.

  In this example, the card C inserted from the card insertion / discharge port 6 is sandwiched by the transport roller pair 23 and transported to the card transport path P2, and the front end in the transport direction is fed to the feed roller 21 and the pressing roller 22. After being held in, it is transported by both sides, and after the rear end of the card C is removed from the transport roller pair 23, it is transported by the feed roller 21 and the pressing roller 22, and stops at a predetermined position in the card transport path P2. Thereafter, the feed roller 21 rotates in the reverse direction, and the card C is fed back toward the card insertion slot. During this reverse feeding, the image carried on the surface of the card C is read by the first or second image reading sensor 31, 32.

(Card feed roller and press roller)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the feed roller 21 and the pressing roller 22 and an operation explanatory diagram. FIG. 5 is a front view when these rollers are viewed along the transport direction, and when viewed from the side in the transport direction. FIG. 2 is a side view, a partial longitudinal sectional view, and a partial transverse sectional view. With reference to these drawings, a transport mechanism including a feed roller 21 and a pressure roller 22 for transporting the card C will be described.

  The feed roller 21 is disposed on one side of the card transport path P2, and the upper and lower ends 41a and 41b of the roller shaft 41 are rotatable by bearings 43 and 44 formed on the apparatus base 40, respectively. It is supported by. When the rotation center axis 21a of the feed roller 21 (the axis of the roller shaft 41) is viewed from the direction along the transport direction (insertion direction C1, discharge direction C2), as shown in FIG. It arrange | positions in parallel with the width direction of the conveyance path P2. When viewed from the side of the card transport path P2, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the card transport path P2 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the transport directions C1 and C2 of the card transport path P2. Yes.

  On the other hand, the pressing roller 22 of this example includes a common roller shaft 45 and first and second pressing rollers 46 and 47 that are coaxially supported at both end portions of the common roller shaft 45 in a rotatable state. I have. Both ends of the common roller shaft 45 are bridged between shaft support portions 48 and 49 formed on the device mount 40. The shaft support portions 48 and 49 support the common roller shaft 45 in a state in which the common roller shaft 45 can move by a predetermined amount in a direction approaching and separating from the feed roller 21. Further, when the central axis 45a of the common roller shaft 45 is viewed from the side of the card conveying path P2, the central axis 45a is inclined by a predetermined angle θ around the central position 45b in the axial direction. So that it supports. The first and second pressing rollers 46 and 47 are in symmetrical positions with respect to the center position 45 b, and these are also inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the rotation center axis 21 a of the feed roller 21.

  The central position 45b of the common roller shaft 45 in the axial direction is pressed against the feed roller 21 by the urging member 50 from the orthogonal direction. As shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, the urging member 50 of the present example includes a cylindrical pressing member 51 and a coil spring 52 disposed inside the pressing member 51. The coil spring 52 is inserted in a compressed state between a spring receiver 53 formed on the pressing member 51 and a spring receiver 54 formed on the apparatus mount 40 side. Therefore, the common roller shaft 45 supported in a movable state on the feed roller 21 side is urged toward the feed roller 21 side by a spring force, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second pressing rollers 46 and 47. Is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the feed roller 21.

  As described above, the first and second pressing rollers 46 and 47 are inclined with respect to the feed roller 21. Therefore, the contact position 55 between the feed roller 21 and the first pressure roller 46 and the contact position 56 between the feed roller 21 and the second pressure roller 47 are shifted in the transport direction 40. In this example, when viewed from the side of the conveyance path P2, the center position 45b of the common roller shaft 45 in the axial direction coincides with the rotation center axis 21a of the feed roller 21, so that the first pressing roller side The contact position 55 is located on the card insertion direction side, and the contact position 56 on the second pressing roller side is located on the ejection direction side.

  The card C transporting operation by the feed roller 21 and the pressing roller 22 having this configuration will be described. As described above, in the composite processing apparatus 1, the card C inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 6 is sent to the inside along the card transport path P2, and is then sent back and read back while being fed back. An image carried on the surface of the sensor 31 or 32 is read.

  When the rear end Ca of the card C in the backward feeding direction C2 is removed from the nip portion (contact position 55, 56) between the feeding roller 21 and the pressing roller 22 during the backward feeding in which the image reading operation of the card C is performed, It becomes as follows.

  In the reverse feed state in which the card C is pressed against the feed roller 21 by the upper and lower pressing rollers 46 and 47, half of the biasing force of the biasing member 50 acts on the upper and lower pressing rollers 46 and 47, respectively. . Further, the nip portion (contact position 56) formed by the lower pressing roller 47 is positioned closer to the card reverse feed direction C2 than the nip portion (contact position 55) formed by the upper pressing roller 46. . As exaggeratedly shown in FIG. 4B, when the rear end Ca of the card C comes out from the nip portion (55) formed by the upper pressing roller 46, the nip portion (56) formed by the lower pressing roller 47. Thus, the lower part of the rear end Ca of the card C is securely clamped. Accordingly, the force in the reverse feed direction C2 acting on the card rear end from the roller side is reduced to half that when the card rear end is simultaneously pulled out from the nip portion.

  Thereafter, the lower portion of the card rear end Ca sandwiched between the nip portion (56) by the lower pressing roller 47 comes out of the nip portion. At this time, the force in the reverse feed direction acting on the card C from the roller side is also half of the case where the card rear end Ca is simultaneously pulled out from the nip portion.

  As described above, in this example, the contact positions of the upper and lower pressing rollers 46 and 47 with respect to the feed roller 21 are shifted forward and backward in the transport direction C2. Therefore, unlike the case where the card C comes out from the nip portion between the rollers at once, a large force in the conveying direction does not act on the card C side from the roller side when it comes out from the nip portion. Further, the rear end Ca of the card C is gradually released from the nip portion between the rollers from the upper end thereof and released. Therefore, the card C is not temporarily sent out at a high speed due to the force in the conveying direction acting from the roller side when it comes out of the nip portion between the rollers.

  As a result, in the card transport mechanism of this example, when the card C is transported while reading an image by the image reading sensor 31 or 32, the card C can be transported at a constant speed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the adverse effect that the images read by the image reading sensors 31 and 32 are disturbed due to the fluctuations in the feeding speed and the images cannot be read accurately.

  In this example, the pressing roller 22 is inclined with respect to the feed roller 21. Instead, the upper and lower pressing rollers 46 and 47 are arranged in parallel to the feed roller 21, and the nip portions (contact positions 55 and 56) are slightly shifted back and forth in the transport direction. Good. Even in this case, the time point at which the card C comes out from the nip portion formed by the feed roller 21 and the upper pressure roller 46 may be different from the time point at which the card C comes out from the nip portion formed by the feed roller 21 and the lower pressure roller 47. it can. Therefore, as in the above example, the force in the transport direction acting from the roller side to the card side when exiting from the nip portion can be reduced, and the card transport speed can be kept constant.

  In the above example, the two feed rollers are provided. However, in the case of a single feed roller, the inclined arrangement of the present invention can be employed even when three or more pressing rollers are provided.

  Further, in this example, the pressing rollers 22 and 23b are arranged so as to be able to contact the feed rollers 21 and 23a. Instead, a predetermined gap may be provided between the outer peripheral surfaces of the feed rollers 21 and 23a and the outer peripheral surfaces of the pressing rollers 22 and 23b. In this case, the predetermined gap is adjusted to be equal to or less than the thickness of the card C. In this way, a more appropriate nip force can be applied to a thick medium such as a card.

1 is an external perspective view of a composite processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance path of the compound processing apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance mechanism of the compound processing apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view and operation | movement explanatory drawing of the feed roller and pressing roller of FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view, a side view, a partial vertical cross-sectional view, and a partial cross-sectional view of the feed roller and the pressing roller in FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing which shows the subject of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Composite processing apparatus, 2 apparatus case, 3 paper feed part, 4 discharge port, 5 print head, 6 card insertion / discharge port, P1 check conveyance path, P2 card conveyance path, M intermediate conveyance path, S check, C card, Ca card rear end, C1 card insertion direction, C2 card ejection direction, 21 feed roller, 21a rotation center axis, 22 pressing roller, 31, 32 image reading sensor, 41 roller axis, 45 common roller axis, 45a axis, 45b center position , 46 First pressing roller, 47 Second pressing roller, 50 Biasing member, 55, 56 Contact position, θ Inclination angle

Claims (5)

A medium transport path;
A feed roller disposed on one side of the medium transport path;
A pressing roller disposed on the other side of the medium conveying path;
An urging member that urges the pressing roller toward the feed roller;
The rotation center axis of the feed roller is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the medium transport path,
A medium conveying apparatus in which a rotation center axis of the pressing roller is inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. In claim 1,
The pressing roller includes at least first and second pressing rollers that are rotatably supported by a common pressing roller shaft,
The biasing member biases the axial center position of the pressing roller shaft,
The medium conveying apparatus, wherein the first and second pressing rollers are arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to the center position. A medium transport path;
A feed roller disposed on one side of the medium transport path;
At least first and second pressing rollers disposed on the other side of the medium conveyance path;
An urging member that urges these pressing rollers toward the feed roller;
The rotation center axis of the feed roller is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the medium transport path,
A medium in which the nipping position for nipping the medium by the feeding roller and the first pressing roller and the nipping position for nipping the medium by the feeding roller and the second pressing roller are shifted forward and backward in the transport direction. Conveying device. In claim 1, 2 or 3,
The press roller is disposed to face the feed roller with a predetermined interval and is supported so as to be movable away from the feed roller against the biasing force of the biasing member. Conveying device. The medium conveying device according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4,
An image reading apparatus comprising: image reading means for reading image information carried on a surface of a medium conveyed by the medium conveying apparatus.

Images