JP2000272765A - Sheet feeder and image reader provided therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeder capable of stably feeding hard cardboards having non-routine sizes including photograph documents and name cards. SOLUTION: A separation carrying means 54 having a carrying means 44 for carrying sheets and a separating member pressed closer to or apart from the carrying means 44 is used to separately carry sheets S one by one stacked on a sheet stacking means 1. An isolating means which is moved perpendicular to the feeding direction of the sheets S and associated with the movement of regulating members 39a, 39b for regulate the sheets S in the cross direction is used to isolate the separating member from the carrying means 44 depending on the size of the sheets S.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and an image reading apparatus provided with the same, and more particularly, to a structure of a separating unit provided in the sheet feeding apparatus and separating sheets one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional image forming apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus includes a sheet feeding device for feeding a document to a document reading section for reading an image of a document serving as a sheet.
The sheet feeding device of such a conventional facsimile apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, an upper document guide 101 and a lower document guide 102 forming a document conveyance path R, and separates and conveys a plurality of documents. A separation unit 110 including a separation roller 103 and a separation piece 104, and a document is read from the image reading apparatus
And a discharge roller 108 and a discharge roller 109 for discharging a document read by the image reading device 107 to the outside of the apparatus.

In recent years, a facsimile apparatus has been connected to a personal computer and functioned as a scanner. In addition to the conventional A-type and B-type standard plain paper, the facsimile apparatus has an irregular type such as a color original such as a photograph or a business card. Sheets are being read.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional sheet feeding apparatus, when a thick rigid paper such as a photographic original or a business card having a very high coefficient of friction with the separating piece 104 is fed, the separating section is required. In some cases, the original stopped at 110 and stable feeding could not be performed, or loud chattering noise was generated.

In order to solve such a problem, a mechanism has been invented in which the user manually releases the separation piece depending on the type of the original. However, the user himself recognizes the type of the original and controls the release of the pressing. Was difficult in practice and was rarely used in the market.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and is intended to stably feed a rigid paper such as a photo manuscript or a business card having a size outside the fixed form and having a strong rigidity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding apparatus capable of performing the above-described operations and an image reading apparatus including the same.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus for separating and feeding sheets stacked on a sheet stacking unit one by one, wherein the sheet is moved in a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. A separating member for regulating the width direction of the sheet, a conveying means for conveying the sheet, and a separating member for separating and pressing against the conveying means; And separating means for separating the separating member from the transport means in conjunction with movement of the regulating member.

Further, according to the present invention, the separating means has a release lever which rotates in accordance with the movement of the regulating member, and is moved in a direction for separating the separating member from the transport means by the rotation of the release lever. The release lever is provided with a pressing portion having a cam surface for causing the release lever.

The present invention is characterized in that when the regulating member moves toward the center of the sheet, the regulating member engages with the release lever, rotates the release lever, and separates the separation member from the conveying means. It is assumed that.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a contact member for biasing the sheet to the conveying means is provided regardless of whether the separation member is in contact with or separated from the separation member.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the conveying means is a separation roller, and the separation member is a plate-shaped high friction member which is pressed against the separation roller.

According to the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus provided with a sheet feeding device and reading means for reading an image of a sheet fed from the sheet feeding device. It is characterized by what is described.

Also, as in the present invention, the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means are separated one by one by the separating and conveying means having the conveying means for conveying the sheets and the separating member which is pressed against the conveying means so as to be separated therefrom. Transport. Further, the separating member moves in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction and is separated from the conveying unit by a separating unit that interlocks with the movement of the regulating member that regulates the width direction of the sheet according to the size of the sheet.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a facsimile apparatus which is an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a facsimile apparatus, 100A denotes a facsimile apparatus main body (hereinafter, referred to as an apparatus main body), and the facsimile apparatus 100 includes an operation section A, a reading section B as reading means, and a sheet feeding recording section C. , An electrical part D.

Here, the operation unit A is a facsimile machine 1
00, a key (not shown) for operating each function, an LCD 21 for transmitting the state of the apparatus to the user, and an LED window (not shown) are formed, and a panel cover 22 attached to an upper document guide 29 described later. , Panel cover 22
LCD21 or LED (not shown)
It has an operation board 23 on which isoelectric components are mounted, a rubber key (not shown), and the like.

The rubber key is disposed between the panel cover 22 and the operation board 23. When a user presses the key, a carbon pattern (not shown) on the operation board 23 and a carbon contact printed on the back side of the rubber key are formed. When the contact is made, the pattern on the operation board is made conductive to turn on / off the electric component on the operation board.

The paper feed recording section C is composed of a paper feed section C1 and a recording section C2.
Tray, serving as sheet stacking means for stacking, a pressure plate 2 rotatably held at the lower end of the stacking tray 1, a feed roller 3 for feeding out the recording paper P placed on the stacking tray 1,
A pair of paper feed rollers 4a and 4b for conveying the recording paper P sent from the paper feed roller 3 to the recording section C2, a bank sheet 8 for separating the recording paper P sent from the paper feed roller 3 one by one from the top side; A paper edge sensor 9 for detecting passage of the recording paper P is provided.

The stacking tray 1 has a role of stacking a plurality of sheets of recording paper P and also stacking a document S as a sheet. Further, the pressure plate 2 is urged toward the feed roller 3 by pressure plate springs 18 arranged on both sides in the paper width direction, and is pressed downward by a cam (not shown) or the like during paper supply standby. The recording paper P can be easily replenished when the number of the recording papers P decreases or runs out. Further, when the sheet feeding operation is started, the pressure plate 2 is released from the pressing by the cam or the like and rises by the spring 18, and accordingly, the recording sheet P rises to a position where it can be picked up by the sheet feeding roller 3. .

The bank sheet 8 is formed of an elastic member, and the recording paper P picked up by the paper feed roller 3 causes the recording sheet P to be bent by the resistance force while bending the bank sheet 8. Each sheet is separated from the top.

By configuring the paper feeding section C1 as described above, the recording paper P loaded on the loading tray 1 and the pressure plate 2 is picked up by the paper feeding roller 3 and then one by one by the bank sheet 8. Separated from the top, after which
After the passage is detected by the paper edge sensor 9, the sheet is conveyed to the pair of paper feed rollers 4a and 4b, and further conveyed to the recording unit C2 by the pair of paper feed rollers 4a and 4b.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording section C2 includes a recording head 5 integrally provided with an ink jet head and an ink tank so as to be separable, a carriage 10 for reciprocating the recording head 5, and an image formed by the recording head 5. Discharge roller pair 6 for discharging the recording paper P on which the image is recorded outside the apparatus main body.
a, 6b (7a, 7b).

Here, as the recording head 5, a cartridge type in which only the ink jet head or only the ink tank can be replaced as necessary, or a built-in ink tank and a new recording head when the ink runs out, are used. Use a replaceable one.

In the present embodiment, the recording head 5 can be replaced with an ink jet head exclusively for monochrome or color.

The monochrome inkjet head has, for example, a resolution of 360 dpi and a resolution of 12 dpi.
It has a nozzle row in which eight nozzles (discharge ports) are arranged in one row, and discharges ink from the discharge port at the tip of the nozzle by the pressure of the film boiling generated in the ink by the heat generated by the electrothermal conversion element provided in the nozzle. Is what you do.

In addition, the ink jet head dedicated to color has a black nozzle and a color nozzle separately arranged. The black head has 64 nozzles, and the color head has cyan, magenta, and yellow nozzles. Each of the three colors has 24 nozzles, and the nozzles are arranged in one row. In addition, the ink jet head for exclusive use of color can have a structure in which two ink tanks can be exchanged for black ink and color ink.

On the other hand, the carriage 10 holds the recording head 5 with high accuracy while maintaining the recording head 5 in a main scanning direction (direction of arrow H) perpendicular to the transport direction of the recording paper P (sub-scanning direction, direction of arrow G). The guide bar 11 and the timing belt 13 are slidably held by an abutting portion 10a.

Here, the reciprocating movement of the carriage 10 is performed by a pulley 12 and a timing belt 13 driven by a carriage motor (not shown). At this time, the recording signal and the electric power applied to the recording head 5 are controlled by a flexible cable. 14, supplied from an electric circuit (not shown) of the apparatus main assembly 100A.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a cap functioning as an ink receiving means, which is arranged corresponding to a predetermined standby position (home position) of the carriage 10 and moves up and down as required. The recording head 5 is covered in close contact with an ink discharge port (not shown) to prevent evaporation of ink and adhesion of dust.

In this embodiment, the carriage home position sensor 16 provided on the apparatus main assembly 100A and the light shielding plate 10 provided on the carriage 10 are provided.
b, the recording head 5 is positioned so as to be located at a position relatively opposed to the cap 15.

Here, the carriage home position sensor 16 uses a transmission type photo interrupter. When the carriage 10 moves to the standby position, light emitted from a part of the carriage home position sensor 16 is emitted. Utilizing the fact that the transmission is blocked by the light shielding plate 10b of the carriage 10, the recording head 5
And the cap 15 are detected to be at relatively opposed positions. With this configuration, the carriage 10 can be set at a predetermined standby position.

A discharge roller pair 6 as discharge means
a, 6b, in the discharge roller pair 7a, 7b (see FIG. 1), 6b, 7b are spurs, and the spurs 6b, 7b are:
It is made of a highly water-repellent material, and comes into contact with the recording paper P only at the recording paper surface and at the blade-shaped circumferential portion. The spurs 6b, 7b are connected to the discharge rollers 6a, 7a.
At a plurality of locations separated by a predetermined length in the main scanning direction by a bearing member (not shown) at a position opposing the unfixed image on the recording paper immediately after recording. It is configured to guide and transport the recording paper P without using it.

The recording unit C2 thus configured
When the recording paper P is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow G) by the pair of paper feed rollers 4a and 4b of the paper supply unit C1, the recording head 5 is moved by the carriage 10 in the main scanning direction (direction of arrow H). In addition to performing reciprocating printing, the paper feed roller 4a and the paper discharge rollers 6a and 7a are driven by motors (not shown), respectively. P is transported in the sub-scanning direction. Thereafter, the recording paper P on which the image has been recorded in this manner is transferred to a pair of discharge rollers 6a, 6b, 7a, 7
b, the paper is discharged through the paper discharge path R2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical unit D is provided with a control board 25 for controlling various functions such as copying, facsimile communication and telephone, a control board 25, and a power supply 26 for supplying electricity to each device. A cordless board 27 for controlling the cordless cordless handset telephone, a control board 25, and a bottom plate 28 made of sheet metal to which a power supply 26 is attached. The electrical unit D is arranged below the sheet recording unit C, but is separated from the sheet recording unit C by the frame 24. Even if the ink overflows, this ink
It does not invade.

The reading section B comprises a sheet transport section E disposed on a paper feed recording section C and an image reading section F disposed on a paper discharge path R2. The recording unit C is configured to be conveyed from the rear to the front of the apparatus.

Here, the image reading section F is provided with an upper document guide 29.
, And a hand scanner 32 detachably attached to the apparatus main assembly 100A.

By making the hand scanner 32 attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body 100A, sheet reading with the hand scanner 32 attached to the apparatus main body 100A, and removing the hand scanner 32 to allow the user to remove the sheet from the medium by himself / herself By tracing, two usage modes of hand scanner reading for reading an image are possible. In addition,
Sheet reading is effective when reading a plurality of cut-sheet originals or when accuracy is required, and hand-scanning is effective for reading a medium that cannot be conveyed by a sheet feeding device such as a magazine.

The hand scanner 32 is provided with a color contact sensor 33 for reading an image from a document (medium). When reading a sheet, the hand scanner 32 sandwiches the document S together with a discharge roller 43 and moves the document S out of the apparatus body. The image data read by the paper discharge rollers 34 and the color contact sensor 33 for improving the straightness by manually moving the hand scanner 32 by pressing the medium when reading with the hand scanner and manually moving the hand scanner 32 is converted. Control board 35, color contact sensor 3 for storing in memory after compression processing
3 and a battery 3 for supplying power to the control board 35
6. An actuator (not shown) that is connected to the paper discharge roller 34 and detects the amount of movement of the hand scanner 32 from the rotation angle of the paper discharge roller 34, an encoder including a photo interrupter 37, and a cover 38 that stores the above components. ing.

On the other hand, the sheet transport section E is a regulating member which is movably mounted on the document passing surface in the paper width direction, and regulates the width of the document S having an arbitrary paper width in the width direction and suppresses skew. The sliders 39a and 39b form an upper guide on the transport path R1 of the document S, and are attached to the upper document guide 29 serving as a support member for each member. A lower document guide 40 that forms a guide, a separation unit 54 that separates and transports the set documents S one by one, a transport roller 41 and a transport roller 42 for nipping and transporting the document S to a reading position, and a document S
And a discharge roller 43 for discharging the paper out of the apparatus main body.

Further, a separating section 54 serving as a separating and conveying means is provided.
Is a separation roller 44, which is a conveying means rotatably supported by an upper document guide 29 via a bearing (not shown), and a separation piece holder 4 held by the upper document guide 29 so as to be able to move up and down.
5 and a separating piece 46 as a separating member attached to a lower portion of the separating piece holder 45 as shown in FIG. 5 described later. The separating piece 46 is separated from the separating roller 44 by the spring 47 via the separating piece holder 45. To be pressed against. The separation piece 46 is formed of a high friction member and has a plate-like shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transport roller 42 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 42a movably supported in a vertical direction by a rib 29a formed on the upper document guide 29. 42a is urged downward (in the direction of arrow K shown in FIG. 1) by a roller pressing spring 48 screwed to the upper document guide 29.
The transport roller 42 is pressed against the transport roller 41.
The transport roller 41 is attached via a bearing to a drive board (not shown) and a side plate (not shown) attached outside the document transport path on the frame.

The discharge roller 43 is driven by a roller pressing spring 4 via a cylindrical discharge roller bearing 49 passed through a shaft.
8 is pressed against the paper discharge roller 34. The discharge roller bearing 49 is supported so as to be vertically movable by being sandwiched between the ribs 29 b of the upper document guide 29.

The sliders 39a and 39b are each formed with a rack as shown in the figure, and the rack and a pinion 39A provided between the sliders 39a and 39b are used to move the original S in the width direction. It is designed to move integrally.

By the way, beside the separation piece holder 45,
A separating pressure releasing lever 61, which is a releasing lever constituting a separating means, is rotatably provided around a rotating shaft 64. The separating pressure releasing lever 61 is, for example, a strong photograph or a business card having a fixed size or less. When reading one or the like, when one of the sliders 39a is slid in the direction of the arrow H, the slider 39a comes into contact with the slider 39a, rotates about the rotation shaft 64 as a fulcrum, and presses the separation piece holder 45.

A pressing portion 61b having a cam surface is projected from the side end of the separation pressure releasing lever 61 facing the separation piece holder 45, as shown in FIG. When moving, the pressing portion 61b presses the separation piece holder 45.

On the other hand, the portion of the separation piece holder 45 which is pressed by the separation pressure release lever 61 is inclined as shown in FIG. 5, so that when the separation pressure release lever 61 further rotates, this pressing portion 61 b enters below the separation piece holder 45 and lifts the separation piece holder 45 against the spring 47.

When the separation piece holder 45 is lifted in this way, the separation piece 46 is also lifted, and the separation roller 44 is lifted.
Because you will be separated from the camera,
The sheet can be stably conveyed without stopping at the separation section 54 and without generating a loud chattering sound.

The rotation shaft 64 is provided with a spring (not shown) for urging the separation pressure release lever 61 in a direction to separate the separation pressure release lever 61 from the separation piece holder 45. The spring 39 is used to form the slider 39a. When the separation pressure release lever 61 is moved in the N direction shown in FIG. 6 described later to match the size, for example, A4 size, the separation pressure release lever 61 is rotated in the N direction by this spring.

Then, the separation pressure releasing lever 61
Is rotated, the contact with the separation piece holder 45 is released, and accordingly, the separation piece holder 45 descends, and the separation piece 46 is pressed against the separation roller 44. As described above, when reading a document S of a standard size such as A4 or A5,
By pressing the sheet 6 against the separation roller 44, it is possible to separate a plurality of documents S set.

In the figure, reference numeral 62 denotes a preliminary press-contact arm, which is a contact member.
It is urged against the separation roller 44 by a spring (not shown). When the separation piece holder 45 is lifted in the L direction, the separation piece 46 rises.
2 is urged by the separation roller 44, whereby the set photo, business card, or the like is pressed against the separation roller 44 by the pre-pressing arm 62 and conveyed.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 63 denotes a projection formed on one slider 39a, and 61a denotes a projection formed on the separation pressure release lever 61. When the slider 39a is slid in the H direction, it is formed on the slider 39a. The formed projection 63 is engaged with 61 a formed on the separation pressure release lever 61, and rotates the separation pressure release lever 61 in the H direction.

Next, the sheet reading operation of the reading section B configured as described above will be described.

First, a case where a photograph, a business card, or the like is read will be described.

In this case, the photograph and the business card are smaller than the standard size,
For example, since the size is set to be equal to or less than the L size (width 89 mm) of the photograph, one slider 39a is slid in the direction of arrow H as shown in FIG. Then, when the slider 39a is slid in this manner, as shown in FIG.
, And the separation pressure release lever 61 rotates in the H direction.

Thereafter, when the separation pressure release lever 61 further rotates in the H direction, the pressing portion 6 of the separation pressure release lever 61
As shown in FIG. 5, the separation piece holder 45 is lifted in the L direction by the pressing portion 61b, and the separation piece 46 is separated from the separation roller 44. At this time, the preliminary pressure contact arm 6
2 is pressed by the separation roller 44.

On the other hand, when reading an original of a fixed size, for example, from the state shown in FIG.
Is slid in the direction of arrow N, the release pressure release lever 6
1 is rotated in the N direction by a spring (not shown) attached to the rotation shaft 64, so that the pressure contact with the separation piece holder 45 is released, and accordingly, the separation piece holder 45 descends, and the separation piece 46 The separation roller 44 is pressed.

Next, after setting the sliders 39a and 39b according to the size of the document S, the separation roller 4 is moved along the sliders 39a and 39b set to the document width.
The leading edge of the document is set in a wedge portion 50 formed by the sheet 4 and the separation piece 46. When the document S is set in this manner, the document presence sensor 51 and the document width sensor 52 are turned on, and the apparatus main body 100A enters a reading standby state.

Next, when a reading start signal is sent by a user's operation, the separation roller 44, the conveyance roller 41, and the paper discharge roller 43 start rotating by a motor (not shown).
As a result, in the case of the fixed size original S, the separation piece 46 and the separation roller 44 are separated one by one by the separation unit 54 in a state of being pressed against the separation roller 44.

Further, in the case of a special original having a fixed size or less such as a photograph or a business card, the original is conveyed by the preliminary pressing arm 62 and the separating roller 44 in the separating section 54 in which the separating piece 46 and the separating roller 44 are separated from each other. .

Then, in the case of any of the originals S, thereafter, the original S is sent to the transport roller 41, and the original end detection sensor disposed downstream of the transport roller 41 is turned on. Furthermore,
Thereafter, the original S is a white reference 3 made of a sheet metal and a white paper member.
1 is pressed against the surface of the contact sensor 33 by its own weight, is sent to the paper discharge roller 43 while reading image data, and is discharged out of the apparatus.

As described above, in the case of a document S having a size equal to or smaller than a fixed size paper such as a photograph or a business card, the pressing of the separation piece 46 can be released by sliding the slider 39a in accordance with the size of the document S. Stable feeding is possible even for documents with strong stiffness. Also, in the case of a standard size such as A4, the separation piece 46 is moved by the slider 39a depending on the size of the document S so that the separation roller 46 is separated.
4, the document S can be separated.

As a result, the user can automatically and stably carry the document by merely setting the slider 39a without being conscious of the type of the document S.

In the above description, the case where the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention is provided in a facsimile apparatus which is an example of an image forming apparatus has been described. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to other image forming apparatuses and document reading apparatuses.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, the separating member can be separated from the conveying means in conjunction with the movement of the regulating member for regulating the width direction of the sheet. It is possible to stably feed thick paper that has a size outside the fixed form and that is strong. In addition, this allows a wide variety of documents to be conveyed without the user being aware of the type of document.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a facsimile apparatus as an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a recording unit of a paper feed recording unit of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating a configuration of a sheet transport unit of a reading unit of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a separation piece pressing release operation of the sheet conveying unit.

FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of arrow J in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view showing a state in which a photo document, a business card, or the like of the sheet transport unit is transported.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional sheet feeding apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Loading tray 39a, 39b Slider 44 Separation roller 45 Separation piece holder 46 Separation piece 54 Separation part 61 Separation pressure release lever 61b Pressing part 62 Preliminary press-contact arm 100 Facsimile apparatus 100A Facsimile apparatus main body B Reading part S Document

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means are
In a sheet feeding device that separates and feeds the sheets one by one, a regulating member that moves in a direction orthogonal to a sheet feeding direction and regulates a width direction of the sheet, a conveying unit that conveys the sheet, A separating / conveying means for separating and conveying the sheets one by one, and a separating means for separating the separating member from the conveying means in conjunction with the movement of the regulating member; Means, and a sheet feeding apparatus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the separation unit includes a release lever that rotates with movement of the regulating member, and moves the separation member in a direction to separate the separation member from the conveyance unit by rotation of the release lever. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the release lever includes a pressing portion having a cam surface. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the regulating member engages with the release lever when the regulating member moves to the center side of the sheet, rotates the release lever, and separates the separation member from the conveying means. Item 2. The sheet feeding device according to Item 1. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a contact member for urging the sheet to the conveying means regardless of whether the separation member is in contact with or separated from the sheet. 5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveying means is a separation roller, and said separation member is a plate-shaped high friction member which is pressed against said separation roller. 6. An image reading apparatus comprising: a sheet feeding device; and reading means for reading an image of a sheet sent from the sheet feeding device, wherein the sheet feeding device is any of the above-described ones. Or 1
An image reading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.