JP2000007189A - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeding device which accomplishes easy sheet refilling with proper timing by introducing such a constitution that the number of remaining sheets in a sheet cassette can be sensed using a simple configuration and clear information about it be given. SOLUTION: A remaining quantity of recording sheets of paper P accommodated in a sheet cassette 12 is determines through sensing and calculation for each cassette 12 in conformity to the sheet feed signal, and the result is displayed in a remaining quantity display part 23 of an operational display 21, and in case the set number is attained, a displaying portion on the display part 23 for the applicable cassette 12 is allowed blinking.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for separating and feeding sheets stacked in a sheet cassette one by one to a predetermined position. More specifically, the present invention makes it possible to grasp the remaining amount of sheets by the number of sheets. About things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a paper feeder which separates stacked papers one by one and continuously feeds the processed paper to a processing position by an apparatus main body. For example, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a printer, and the like are known. And the like, and the recording paper to be loaded is fed to an image recording position of the apparatus main body. This type of paper feeder generally has a function of detecting the amount of paper remaining in a paper cassette and displaying the result on a display unit, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-97278. , A projection is provided on an actuator that is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body and rotates according to the remaining amount of paper, and is turned on / off by two optical sensors disposed on the rotation locus of the projection. `` Low paper level '' by signal
And "no paper" are detected.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional paper feeding apparatus, since the remaining amount of paper is detected based on the amount of rotation of the actuator, "the remaining amount of paper is low" due to an assembly error or the like. "And" No paper "are detected at different timings. For this reason, it is not possible to accurately grasp the remaining amount (number of sheets) of the sheets, and the timing of replenishing the sheets is missed, resulting in a stop factor or an error factor of the processing by the apparatus main body. In this case, facsimile reception becomes impossible.

Further, the structure for detecting the remaining amount of paper based on the amount of rotation of the actuator has the disadvantage of becoming complicated and large, and it is necessary to increase the number of sensors in order to improve the accuracy of detecting the remaining amount of paper. And it becomes large. Furthermore, when a plurality of paper cassettes are installed, similar illustrations that indicate the remaining amount of paper for each cassette are merely arranged on the display unit. There is a problem that it is difficult to recognize and the position of the paper cassette is difficult to understand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple structure in which the number of sheets remaining in a sheet cassette can be directly detected and clearly notified, thereby facilitating sheet supply at an appropriate timing. I do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a sheet cassette on which sheets are stacked and sheets are separated one by one from the sheet cassette and fed to a target position. A sheet feeding device comprising: a sheet feeding unit; a remaining amount detecting unit configured to detect a remaining amount of sheets in a sheet cassette; and a notifying unit configured to notify the detected remaining amount of the sheet. Is characterized by detecting the number of sheets remaining in the sheet cassette and notifying the notification means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the detected number of sheets in the sheet cassette is notified, the remaining amount of sheets can be quantitatively confirmed based on the number of sheets. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the remaining amount detecting unit acquires a control signal of a paper feeding unit that separates and feeds the paper in the paper cassette one by one. The number of sheets remaining in the sheet cassette is detected by subtracting the number of sheets from the sheet cassette.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the number of sheets in the sheet cassette is calculated and detected by subtracting from the number of sheets in the sheet cassette based on the sheet feed signal. There is no need to provide a mechanism. Claim 3
According to the invention described in (1), in addition to the structure of the invention described in (1) or (2), the notifying means displays the number of sheets in a sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means. It is characterized by being notified.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the detected number of sheets in the sheet cassette is displayed and output on the display unit, so that it is visually notified. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third aspects, the notifying unit sets the number of sheets in the sheet cassette based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting unit. Is notified when the remaining number becomes equal to or less than a preset remaining number.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is notified that the detected number of sheets in the sheet cassette has become equal to or less than the set number, so that it is possible to easily recognize that the supply of sheets is necessary. it can. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the notifying unit displays the number of sheets in the sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting unit. And when the number of sheets in the sheet cassette becomes equal to or less than a preset number of remaining sheets based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means, the display section flashes to notify the user of the fact. It is characterized by the following.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the fact that the detected number of sheets in the sheet cassette has become equal to or less than the set number is notified by blinking of the display section, so that it is easy to supply sheets. Can be easily distinguished from others even when a plurality of paper cassettes are provided. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the notifying means displays the number of sheets in a sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means. Output, and when the number of sheets in the sheet cassette becomes equal to or less than a preset remaining number of sheets based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means, the display color of the display section is changed, and the effect is changed. It is characterized by reporting.

According to the present invention, the fact that the detected number of sheets in the sheet cassette has become equal to or less than the set number is notified by a change in the display color of the display unit, so that it is necessary to replenish the sheets. Can be easily recognized, and even when a plurality of paper cassettes are provided, it can be easily distinguished from others.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 are views showing an embodiment of a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, and are views showing an example of a case where the sheet feeding apparatus is mounted on a copying machine, for example. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper feeder is provided with a plurality of (four in this embodiment) paper cassettes 12 having a feeding mechanism 11 for pulling out the stacked recording papers P one by one. The remaining amount of the recording sheet P in the sheet cassette 12 is detected by a remaining amount detecting unit described later, and the detected information is displayed and output (notified) on the operation display unit 21 and is mounted on the copying machine.

The feeding mechanism 11 constitutes a part of a sheet feeding means, and pushes up a recording sheet P on which an elastic piece 13 disposed on a bottom surface of a sheet cassette 12 is loaded, and a leading end of the recording sheet P. And a feed roller 1 disposed on the leading end side of the recording paper P.
5 is rotated via a clutch 16 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 in accordance with a sheet feed signal (control signal) from the main body of the copying machine so as to synchronize with image recording by the image recording means of the main body of the copying machine. An arrow B in FIG. 1 restricts double feed by curving the leading end side of the uppermost recording sheet P on which the feed roller 15 rotates in contact with the pawl 14.
In the direction, the recording paper P is separated and fed one by one. The recording paper P sent out from the paper cassette 12 is conveyed by a paper feeding means (not shown), fed to the image recording position of the image recording means of the copying machine main body, and carried out of the apparatus.

The feeding mechanism 11 separates and conveys the recording paper P according to a feed signal from a control unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body in response to pressing of a start key 22 provided on an operation display unit 21 of the apparatus main body. The control unit also detects the remaining amount of the recording paper P in the paper cassette 12 and displays the remaining amount on the paper remaining amount display unit 23 of the operation display unit 21. . That is, the control unit of the apparatus main body constitutes a remaining amount detecting unit, and the operation display unit 21 constitutes a notifying unit. Although not described in detail, the control unit includes a CPU, a memory, an I / O circuit, and the like, and performs overall control of each unit of the apparatus based on sensor signals from various detection units according to a control program stored in advance in its internal memory. For example, an image display on a recording paper P to be read out from one of the first to fourth paper cassettes 12 and fed to an image recording position by reading a document image by a reading unit is displayed. Numeric keypad 2 of part 21
4 is executed for the number of copies input.

The paper cassette 12 has, for example, 250 sheets of A4 size recording paper P in the first stage and A3 size in the second stage.
It is designed to accommodate 250 sheets of recording paper P of a size, 500 sheets of recording paper P of a B4 size in the third row, and 500 sheets of recording paper P of a B5 size in the fourth row. The number of sheets accommodated in the paper cassette 12 is
After being placed and accommodated on the numeric keypad 24 of the operation display unit 12,
The control unit stores the data in the internal memory and outputs it to the remaining paper display unit 23 as shown in FIG.

When the control unit performs image recording on the recording paper P by pressing the start key 22 of the operation display unit 21, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
When the number 6 is OFF, the number of sheets of recording paper P stored in the internal memory is output as a current remaining number to the remaining paper display unit 23 (steps S1 and S10).
When the number 6 is ON, the current number of remaining sheets is displayed by decrementing (subtracting) and rewriting the number of sheets of recording paper P stored in the internal memory for each count of the sheet feed signal sent to the feed mechanism 11 or the like. The display is output to the unit 23 (steps S1 and S2). When the remaining number reaches, for example, 30 sheets (step S3), which is arbitrarily set in advance (step S3), as shown in FIG. The display portion of the corresponding paper cassette 12 in the remaining amount display section 23 blinks to notify that the recording paper S needs to be replenished (step S4), and when the remaining number of sheets becomes zero (step S5). As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the display of the number of remaining sheets of the corresponding paper cassette 12 in the remaining paper amount display section 23 is set to "none" and output, and the display portion blinks to display the recording paper. Copying process unless supplemented of notifying that an impossible (step S6).

Accordingly, the number of sheets of recording paper P stored in the paper cassette 12 is determined by the remaining amount display section 23 of the operation display section 21.
The remaining amount of the recording paper P can be visually confirmed quantitatively based on the number of sheets, and a special mechanism can be obtained by simply decrementing the accommodation number for each sheet feed signal. It can be easily detected without providing.

When the remaining number of recording sheets P reaches the set number, or when the number of recording sheets P is exhausted (when the number reaches another set number), the corresponding number in the remaining amount display section 23 is displayed. The display portion of the paper cassette 12 to be blinked can be notified by flashing, and the paper cassette 12 that requires replenishment of the recording paper P can be notified so as to be easily distinguishable from the others.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the remaining amount in the sheet cassette 12 can be quantitatively and constantly confirmed by the number of sheets displayed for each sheet cassette 12 on the sheet remaining amount display section 23 of the operation display section 21. Therefore, it is possible to accurately grasp the timing of replenishing the recording paper P, and replenish the recording paper P at an arbitrary timing according to the number of copies and the like. Further, when the set number of sheets is reached, the display portion of the corresponding paper cassette 12 in the remaining paper amount display section 23 can be blinked and notified, so that the paper cassette 12 which needs to supply the recording paper P can be easily identified. The replenishment operation can be performed, and the occurrence of "paper out" can be eliminated, and the occurrence of a stop factor or an error factor can be prevented beforehand.

Further, since the remaining number of recording papers P in the paper cassette 12 is detected (calculated) using a paper feed signal, the remaining amount of papers can be accurately detected, and a dedicated detection mechanism is not required. Thus, the size of the copying machine can be reduced.
Further, as another aspect of the present embodiment, although not shown, an LED for lighting red or green or the like is provided in the remaining paper amount display portion 23 of the operation display portion 21 or the remaining paper amount display portion is provided. The paper cassette 1 is displayed by highlighting the
Alternatively, it may be notified that the remaining number of recording papers P in 2 has reached the set number or that "no paper" has been reached (claim 6). Also in this case, the operation and effect of the present embodiment can be obtained.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the notification of the number of sheets in the sheet cassette allows the remaining amount of sheets to be quantitatively confirmed by the number of sheets, so that the timing of sheet supply can be accurately grasped. The "no paper" can be easily eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent "out of paper" from causing a stop factor or an error factor, and to prevent, for example, a facsimile apparatus from becoming unable to receive a facsimile.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the number of sheets in the sheet cassette is calculated and detected from the sheet feed signal to eliminate the need for a dedicated sheet remaining amount detecting mechanism. It can be accurately detectable. Therefore, the size of the device can be reduced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the number of sheets remaining in the sheet cassette is displayed and output so as to be visually noticed, so that the remaining number of sheets can always be confirmed. Therefore, paper can be replenished as appropriate.

According to the present invention, the fact that the number of sheets in the sheet cassette becomes equal to or less than the set number and the sheet needs to be replenished is notified by blinking the display unit or changing the display color. The user can easily recognize the timing of paper supply, and can easily distinguish the paper cassette that needs paper supply by distinguishing from the others by blinking the display unit or changing the display color. Therefore, paper supply can be easily performed at an appropriate timing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention, and is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet feeding mechanism of the sheet.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the display unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the notification of the remaining amount of paper.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view of a display unit for explaining its operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 feed-out mechanism (feeding means) 12 paper cassette 13 elastic piece 14 claw 15 feed-out roller 21 operation display section (notification means) 23 paper remaining amount display section

Claims (6)

[Claims] A sheet cassette for stacking sheets of paper, sheet feeding means for separating sheets one by one from the sheet cassette and feeding the sheets to a target position; and a remaining amount detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of sheets in the sheet cassette. Means, and a notifying means for notifying the detected remaining amount of paper, wherein the remaining amount detecting means detects the number of sheets remaining in the paper cassette and notifies the notifying means. A sheet feeding device for notifying. 2. The paper cassette according to claim 1, wherein said remaining amount detecting means obtains a control signal of a paper feeding means for separately feeding the paper in the paper cassette one by one, and subtracts the control signal from the number of papers in said paper cassette. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the number of sheets remaining in the sheet is detected. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said notifying means displays and outputs the number of sheets in a sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from said remaining amount detecting means to notify said number of sheets. Paper feeder as described. 4. The notifying means, when the number of sheets in a sheet cassette becomes equal to or less than a predetermined remaining number, based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means, notifies the fact. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The notifying means displays the number of sheets in a sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means, and outputs a sheet based on the notifying signal from the remaining amount detecting means. 5. The paper feeding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the number of sheets in the cassette becomes equal to or less than a preset remaining number, the display unit is flashed to notify the user. 6. The notifying means displays the number of sheets in a sheet cassette on a display unit based on a notification signal from the remaining amount detecting means, and outputs a sheet based on the notifying signal from the remaining amount detecting means. 5. The paper feeding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the number of sheets in the cassette becomes equal to or less than a preset remaining number, the display color of the display unit is changed, and the fact is notified. .