Image forming apparatus equipped with automatic document feeder

• US 20050169681A1
• Filed: 09/15/2004
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Aoki, Masashi, Shimizu, Satoru, Hata, Kiyoshi, Mizubata, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,046,953 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/367
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/602 for transporting

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus having a document feeder for taking up a document from a document bundle placed on a document tray, a controller has a normal mode to perform a normal-size conveyance control by taking up each document from a bundle of documents having the same size, a multi-size mode to perform a multi-size conveyance control by taking up each document from a bundle of documents having various sizes. When the normal mode is carried out, the controller controls to stop the document after the first preset time passes after the trailing edge of the document has been detected, and when multi-size mode is carried out, the controller controls in place of using the first preset time by the second preset time which is set to be a longer time than the first preset time.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus having an automatic document feeder, comprising:

(a) a document feeder for taking up a document from a document bundle placed on a document tray;

(b) a first conveyance device for conveying the document from the document feeder to a conveyance path on a downstream side;

(c) a second conveyance device for receiving the document from the first conveyance device and conveying the document to a conveyance path on a further downstream side;

(d) a document sensor provided in a conveyance path between the first conveyance devoce and the second conveyance device for detecting a trailing edge of the document; and

(e) a controller for repeatedly performing a conveyance control to convey the document from the document tray by driving the document feeder, the first conveyance device and the second conveyance device,

wherein the controller has a normal mode to perform a normal-size conveyance control by taking up each document from a bundle of documents having the same size, and a multi-size mode to perform a multi-size conveyance control by taking up each document from a bundle of documents having various sizes, and

wherein the normal mode is carried out, the controller controls to stop the document after a first preset time passes after a trailing edge of the document has been detected, and when the multi-size mode is carried out, the controller controls in place of using the first preset time by the second preset time which is set to be a longer time than the first preset time.

2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller controls to stop the document at a position in the vicinity of downstream of the second conveyance device.

3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller controls to stop the document in a state in which the document is not interposed by the second conveyance device.

4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second preset time is longer than the first preset time at least by a time period corresponding to a distance for which the document is conveyed, when the trailing edge of the document is inclined to a conveyance direction due to a document skew.

5. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second preset time is always fixed independent of a combination of sizes of documents placed on the document tray.

6. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second preset time is fixed according to a combination of sizes of documents placed on the document tray.

7. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the document sensor is provided in the vicinity of the second conveyance device.

8. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a driver having a drive source for driving the document feeder and the first conveyance device in a first rotary direction of the drive source, and driving the second conveyance device in a second rotary direction opposite to the first rotary direction.

9. The image forming apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller drives the document feeder and the first conveyance device to start the document conveyance by operating the drive source in the first rotary direction, thereafter successively drives the second conveyance device by operating the drive source in the second rotary direction, stops the drive source after the first preset time or the second preset time passes after the trailing edge of the document is detected by the document sensor, and then controls to convey the document to a further downstream conveyance path.