JP2001080770A - Sheet material feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong the service life of a sheet feeding member such as rollers. SOLUTION: This sheet material feeding device feeds the sheet material S positioned at the top of the sheet material S piled on a sheet storage part 103 to a sheet carrying passage in order. In this case, the sheet material feeding device is provided with a sheet feeding member 12 provided with a sheet abutment surface formed with abrasive teeth for abutting on the sheet material S so as to feed the sheet material to the sheet carrying passage and an abrasive member 15 for relatively sliding-contact with the sheet abutment surface of the sheet feeding member 12 so as to polish the sheet abutment surface for recycle.

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 a copying machine, a printer and a copying machine provided with the sheet feeding apparatus.
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile which forms an image on a sheet by an image forming means, a plurality of sheets are stacked and stored, and a top sheet is placed at a predetermined position. A sheet material storage device for holding the sheet material, and a sheet material feeding device for picking up the uppermost one of the sheet materials stacked and stored in the sheet material storage device and conveying the sheet material to a sheet conveyance path connected to the image forming means. For example, a configuration as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 is conventionally known.

As a conventional image forming apparatus, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a copying machine, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet feeding apparatus provided in the copying machine, and FIG. Perspective views showing a mechanism for transmitting drive to the rollers of FIG.

In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11, a sheet feeding deck 102 for stacking and storing a large number of sheet materials S is used as the sheet material storage device.
01, paper feed cassettes 103 and 105 for loading and storing a predetermined amount of sheet materials S are provided at a lower portion in the image forming apparatus main body 101, respectively, and the sheet materials stacked in these respective sheet material storage devices are provided. In order to transport S to the sheet transport path, the sheet material feeding devices 106 and 2 of the retard separation type are used.
01 and 109 are provided, respectively.

[0005] Each sheet storage device has a sheet mounting table (not shown) on which the sheets S are stacked, and the number of the stacked sheets S is reduced in each sheet mounting table. And holds the uppermost sheet material fed by the sheet material feeding device at a predetermined position.

The paper feeding deck 102, the paper feeding cassette 103,
When the sheet material S stacked in the sheet 105 is fed to the sheet conveying path by each of the sheet material feeding devices 106, 201, and 109, the sheet material S is first sent to the pair of registration rollers 233, where the sheet material is skewed. Correction is performed. Next, in the image forming apparatus, the registration roller 233 rotates at a timing relative to the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 111, and the sheet material S is fed between the photosensitive drum 111 and the transfer charger 112. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 111 of the document or the like is transferred here (image formation).

Thereafter, the sheet material S is transported to the transport belt 113.
Is driven to a fixing device (fixing roller pair) 115, and the transferred toner image is fixed on the sheet surface by the fixing process of the fixing device 115.

This image forming apparatus is capable of performing double-sided copying on the sheet material S and multiple copying on the sheet material S in addition to normal copying that performs single-sided copying on the sheet material S.
In the case of the normal copy mode in which the normal copy is performed, the sheet material S on which the fixing process has been performed by the fixing device 115 is performed.
Is discharged onto a discharge tray 119 outside the apparatus by a pair of conveying rollers 116 and a pair of discharge rollers 117.

In the case of a double-sided copying mode for performing double-sided copying and a multiple-copying mode for performing multiple copying, a pair of conveying rollers 116 or a pair of switchback rollers 127 are used to control the intermediate position via a re-feeding path 120 and a double-sided conveying path 126. It is temporarily placed and stored on the tray 121.

Then, the sheet material S stored on the intermediate tray 121 is conveyed again to the registration roller pair 233 for image formation by the re-feeding device 130, and thereafter, is subjected to the same process as for one-sided copying, and is then transferred to the outside of the machine. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 119.

FIG. 9 shows the uppermost one of the sheet materials S loaded in the sheet cassette 103 as a sheet material storage device among the sheet material feeding devices 106, 201, and 109 provided in the image forming apparatus. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet material feeding apparatus 201 that picks up one sheet and feeds the sheet to a sheet conveying path. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a drive transmission device 213 that transmits a driving force to each roller of the paper feeding device 201.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a sheet feeding device 201 has a plurality of sheet materials S stacked on a sheet mounting table (not shown) in a sheet feeding cassette 103 as a sheet material storage device 203. A pickup roller 205 that feeds the topmost sheet material S one by one from the stored state, and a sheet material 202 fed from the sheet material storage device 203 by the pickup roller 205 into an image forming apparatus main body (illustrated in FIG. A feed roller 206 that conveys the sheet material in the direction indicated by the arrow b), and rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the feed roller 206 when the sheet material fed from the sheet material storage device 203 is a plurality of sheets, and And a retard roller 207 for separating the sheet material into one sheet material S, and a hand of the image forming apparatus main body downstream of each of these rollers. And a pair of conveying rollers 209 disposed.

As shown in FIG. 9, a sheet guide portion 211 is disposed in a sheet material passage area 210 between the pickup roller 205, the feed roller 206, and the retard roller 207. A sheet guide 212 is arranged between the pair of conveying rollers 209 and between the pair of conveying rollers 209 and the main body of the image forming apparatus.
The sheet material 202 is guided and conveyed by 1 and 212.

Further, between the feed roller 206 and the retard roller 207 and the conveying roller pair 209, a sheet material detecting means 241 for detecting the passage of the sheet material 202 is provided.

In the sheet feeding apparatus 201, a feed roller 20 is driven by a drive transmission device 213 shown in FIG.
6. The retard roller 207 and the conveying roller pair 209 are driven. As shown in FIG. 10, the drive transmission device 213 includes a feed roller shaft 215 on which the feed roller 206 is supported, a retard roller shaft 216 on which the retard roller 207 is supported, and a retard roller 216 connected to the retard roller shaft 216. The roller drive shaft 217 is provided substantially in parallel.

The retard roller shaft 216 is supported by a swingable support member (not shown) and is supported by a feed roller shaft 215.
Can be moved in and out of parallel. Further, a coupling 219 and a torque limiter 220 are disposed between the retard roller shaft 216 and the retard roller drive shaft 217. Further, at an end of the feed roller shaft 215, there is provided an electromagnetic clutch 222 for transmitting a driving force transmitted from a main driving unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body via the drive input belt 221 to the feed roller shaft 215. I have.

A feed roller shaft 21 is provided between the feed roller shaft 215 and the retard roller drive shaft 217.
5 is transmitted to the retard roller drive shaft 21.
7 is wound around the retard drive belt 223. Note that the coupling 219 is a retard roller 2
07 is displaced, the drive is performed by the retard roller drive shaft 217.
To the retard roller shaft 216.

The operation when the feed roller 206 and the retard roller 207 are driven by the drive transmission device 213 will be described. In the drive transmission device 213, a rotational drive force provided from a main drive unit (not shown) in the image forming apparatus main body 101 is transmitted to the drive input belt 221 and ON-OFF controlled according to a sheet feeding timing. It is input to a pulley 225 provided on the armature portion of the electromagnetic clutch 222. Here, the electromagnetic clutch 222
Feed roller shaft 215, retard roller drive shaft 217 and retard roller shaft 21 rotating integrally with the rotor portion of
6 are connected by the retard drive belt 223, so that the feed roller shaft 215 and the retard roller shaft 21
6 and the retard roller drive shaft 217 rotate in the same direction,
The feed roller 206 and the retard roller 207 are rotationally driven in synchronization with the sheet feeding timing ON.

When the sheet S is fed one by one in the sheet feeding direction (the direction of the arrow b shown in FIGS. 9 and 10) by the drive transmission means 213, the space between the feed roller 206 and the sheet 202 is set. Torque limiter 220 due to frictional force
Idles, the retard roller 207 rotates in the direction opposite to the drive rotation direction of the retard roller drive shaft 217.

When a plurality of sheet materials 202 are fed, the frictional force between the plurality of sheet materials 202 is larger than the frictional force between the retard roller 207 and the sheet material 202. Since the torque roller is small, the retard roller 207 rotates in the same direction as the rotational driving direction of the retard roller driving shaft 217 without causing the torque limiter 220 to idle. As a result, the drive transmitting unit 213 separates the sheet material 202 on the feed roller 206 side, that is, the uppermost sheet material from the plurality of fed sheet materials 202, and separates the sheet material into the image forming apparatus main body. Double feeding of the material 202 is prevented.

As described above, when the sheet material S separated one by one and fed from the feed roller 206 reaches a predetermined position, the clutch 231 for controlling the transport roller is turned on.
The signal is transmitted, and the transport roller shaft 230 supporting the transport roller 209 is rotated by the drive transmitted from the main drive unit via the belt 232.

Then, the leading end of the sheet material S conveyed to the registration roller pair 233 by the conveyance roller 209 is abutted against the nip portion of the registration roller pair 233 to form a predetermined amount of loop on the sheet material S to skew. After the correction, the ON signal is transmitted to the registration roller control clutch 234, and the registration roller shaft 236 supporting one of the registration roller pairs 233 is rotated by the drive transmitted from the main motor via the belt 235. Thus, the sheet material S is transported to the image forming unit by the registration roller pair 233.

On the other hand, if the sheet detecting means 241 shown in FIG. 9 does not detect the sheet 202 even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the signal for starting the sheet feeding is output due to some trouble, the control of the main body is performed. The apparatus detects the abnormality and notifies the user of the abnormality of the sheet feeding apparatus.

[0024]

The surface of each of the pickup roller 205 and the feed roller 206 of the conventional sheet feeding apparatus 201 as described above is polished to stabilize the conveying force for various sheet materials. Eyes are formed.

However, in recent years, from the viewpoint of consideration for the environment, a sheet material such as recycled paper, which is liable to generate paper dust, is frequently used, and with the improvement of the performance of an image forming apparatus to be used, the sheet conveying speed is increased. Tend to be faster.

As a result, the surfaces of the pickup roller 205 and the feed roller 206 rub against the surface of the sheet material at high speed and are exposed to a large amount of paper dust. As a result, the abrasion of the polishing surface of each roller surface is promoted, so that the life of the roller surface is shortened, and there is a problem in that the timing of occurrence of a trouble due to a variation in feeding timing or a feeding defect becomes earlier.

In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus that realize an extension of the life of a sheet feeding member such as a roller, a reduction in running costs and a reduction in service load, and a stabilization of sheet conveyance performance. is there.

[0028]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problem by sequentially feeding the uppermost sheet material among the sheet materials stacked in a sheet storage section to a sheet conveying path. A sheet feeding member having a sheet contact surface formed with a polished stitch for contacting the sheet material and feeding the sheet material to the sheet conveying path; and a sheet contacting of the sheet feeding member. A polishing member that is in sliding contact with the surface and polishes and regenerates the sheet contact surface.

In the sheet material feeding device, the polishing member reciprocally slidably contacts the sheet contact surface of the sheet material feeding member to regenerate the sheet contact surface, thereby extending the life of the sheet material feeding member and accompanying it. The running cost can be reduced, the service load can be reduced, and the sheet conveyance performance can be stabilized.

The polishing member is, for example, a roller member. In this case, a driving means for driving the roller member to rotate is provided.

As for the sheet feeding member, at least
A pickup roller for picking up the sheet material in contact with the uppermost sheet material among the stacked sheet materials is provided, and the polishing member is configured to be in sliding contact with the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller.

Alternatively, the sheet feeding member includes a pickup roller that contacts at least the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials and picks up the sheet material, and a sheet roller that is picked up by the pickup roller. A feed roller for contacting and feeding the sheet material to the sheet conveying path; and the polishing member is configured to be in relative sliding contact with a sheet contact surface of the feed roller.

Further, a sheet material detecting means for detecting the sheet material conveyed by the sheet feeding member is provided, and the polishing member is provided when the amount of delay of the sheet material conveyance timing by the sheet material detecting means exceeds a set value. Alternatively, the sheet feeding member may be configured to be in sliding contact with the sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member.

Further, a storage means is provided for storing information on the number of conveyed sheets of the sheet material conveyed by the sheet feeding member, and the polishing member is provided when the number of conveyed sheets of the sheet material stored in the storage means exceeds a set value. When this happens, a configuration may be adopted in which the sheet comes into sliding contact with the sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member.

It is preferable to provide a polishing member swinging mechanism for swinging the polishing member away from the sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member.

On the other hand, when a feeding member swinging mechanism for swinging the sheet feeding member so as to be able to separate from the sheet material is provided, the polishing member is configured to feed the sheet by the feeding member swinging mechanism. When the member is separated from the sheet material, the member comes into sliding contact with the sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member so that the sheet contact surface is polished and regenerated. This feeding member swing mechanism, for example,
The pickup roller is configured to swing for each sheet material pickup.

Further, the sheet feeding member has at least two rollers integrally attached to the same supporting member for conveying the sheet material, and one of the rollers is supported by the supporting member. The roller is mounted on a drive shaft that rotationally drives the support member so that one of the rollers is positioned outside the sheet conveying path, and the mounting direction of each roller is reversed with respect to the drive shaft. The polishing member may be configured to be detachable so that the polishing member contacts the other roller located outside the sheet conveying path.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of these sheet material feeding devices, and image forming means for forming an image on the sheet material fed from the sheet material feeding device. I do.

[0039]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. A sheet material feeding device according to each embodiment described below includes three sheet material storage devices (sheet feeding deck 102, sheet feeding cassettes 103 and 105) of a conventional image forming apparatus (copier) shown in FIG. Of the sheet cassettes 103 of the sheet material storage device 203 for convenience of explanation.
An example of a sheet material feeding device for feeding the sheet material S loaded on a sheet is illustrated and described.

The sheet feeder of each embodiment picks up the uppermost sheet S one by one from the sheet S loaded in the sheet cassette 103 of the sheet storage 203 by a pickup roller. When a plurality of sheet materials are sent out, the sheet is separated and fed one by one by a feed roller and a retard roller constituting a sheet material separating mechanism, and then illustrated by a transport roller provided in a sheet transport path. The apparatus transports the sheet material S to a registration roller not to be corrected, corrects the skew of the sheet material S with the registration roller pair, and then transports the sheet material S toward the image forming unit.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet feeding apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a sheet
A pickup roller 11 for feeding the uppermost sheet material S one by one from a state where a plurality of sheet materials S are stacked and stored on a sheet mounting table (not shown) in the sheet feeding cassette 103; 11, a feed roller 12 for transporting the sheet material 202 fed from the sheet material storage device 203 into the image forming apparatus main body (in the direction of the arrow b in the drawing), and disposed opposite to the feed roller 12, When there are a plurality of fed sheet materials, a retard roller 13 for rotating in the same direction as the rotation direction of the feed roller 12 to separate it into one sheet material S, and forming an image on the downstream side of each of these rollers And a transport roller pair 14 disposed in front of the apparatus main body.

The pickup roller 11 is a roller having a circular cross section, and is rotatably held by a pickup roller holding frame 22 which is rotatably mounted around a shaft 21 of the feed roller 12.

The pickup roller holding frame 22 is
One end of the pickup roller 11 is connected to an actuator 24 via an L-shaped crank 23. The actuator 24 moves in the direction of arrow AB in FIG. That is, when feeding the sheet material S, the actuator 24 operates in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, so that the pickup roller holding frame 22 rotates in the direction of the arrow a in the figure, and the pickup roller 11 moves to the sheet material storage device 203. The uppermost sheet material S is picked up by being brought into contact with the stacked and stored uppermost sheet material S and rotating the pickup roller 11 in the direction of arrow a by a driving source (not shown). When a predetermined time has elapsed, the actuator 2
4 moves in the direction of arrow B in the drawing, the pickup roller holding frame 22 rotates in a direction away from the stacked sheet material S, the pickup roller 11 is separated from and brought into contact with the sheet material, and the next sheet material is supplied. Wait until sending.

Downstream of the pickup roller 11, a feed roller 12 is rotatably mounted in the apparatus body. The retard roller 13 is rotatably held by a retard roller holding frame 25 that is rotatably mounted on the main body frame 20 about a shaft 26. The retard roller holding frame 25 is urged by an urging member (not shown) in a direction in which the retard roller 13 contacts the feed roller 12. A transport path in the apparatus body downstream of the feed roller 12 and the retard roller 13 includes:
A transport roller pair 14 is rotatably mounted.

The feed roller 12, retard roller 13, and transport roller pair 14 are driven to rotate by main driving means (not shown) in the main body of the image forming apparatus via the drive transmission device 213 described above with reference to FIG. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the pickup roller 11, the feed roller 12, and the retard roller 13
Upper sheet guides 28 and 29 are disposed in a sheet material passage area 27 between the feed roller 11 and the retard roller 13 and the conveying roller pair 14, and between the conveying roller pair 14 and the image forming apparatus main body. The lower sheet guide section 30 is disposed between the sheet guide sections, and the sheet material S is guided and conveyed by each of the sheet guide sections.

In the sheet feeding apparatus 1, when a plurality of sheet materials are sent out when the uppermost sheet material S is picked up by the pickup roller 11 from the sheet materials S stacked in the sheet material storage device 203, After the sheet S is separated one by one by a feed roller 12 and a retard roller 13 constituting a sheet material separating mechanism, the sheet S is conveyed to a pair of registration rollers (not shown) by a pair of conveyance rollers 14 provided in a sheet conveyance path. Then, after correcting the skew of the sheet material S by the registration roller pair, the sheet material S is conveyed toward the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus.

In the sheet feeding apparatus 1, the feed roller 12, the retard roller 13, and the transport roller pair 14 are provided.
The sheet material detecting means 31 is disposed between the sheet material and the sheet material S. The sheet material detecting means 31 detects passage of the sheet material S conveyed by the feed roller 12 and the retard roller 13. If the sheet material detecting means 31 does not detect the passage of the sheet material S even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the signal for starting the sheet feeding is output due to some trouble, an error in the image forming apparatus main body is caused. The illustrated control device detects an abnormality, and notifies the user of the abnormality of the sheet material feeding device 1 by displaying the abnormality on a display unit (not illustrated).

In the sheet feeding apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the main surface (sheet contact surface) of the feed roller 12 described above.
A polishing line is formed on the feed roller 12, and a polishing roller 15 as a polishing friction member is opposed to the feed roller 12.

The polishing roller 15 has a main surface (a sheet contact surface) of the feed roller 12 on which a polishing cutting blade for reshaping a polishing line is formed. It is arranged so as to be able to contact the sheet contact surface of the feed roller 12 via the link member 17. The polishing roller 15 is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure by a driving unit (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, the polishing roller 15 is normally stationary at a distance from the feed roller 12. In the sheet feeding apparatus 1, information on the number of conveyed sheet materials is stored in a storage unit such as a memory, and each time a predetermined number of sheet materials S are conveyed, When the stored number of conveyed sheet materials becomes equal to or greater than a preset set value, the polishing roller 15 is rotationally driven by the driving means, and the polishing roller swinging solenoid 16 is turned on to operate in the direction of arrow C. As a result, the polishing roller 15 is pressed against the feed roller 12 as shown in FIG. This control is performed by a control signal on the image forming apparatus main body side.

Thus, according to the sheet material feeding device 1, since the polished stitches of the feed roller 12 worn by the feeding of a predetermined number of sheets are re-formed, the friction coefficient of the feed roller 12 with respect to the sheet material is recovered. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of trouble due to roller slip.

Therefore, according to the sheet feeding apparatus 1 and the image forming apparatus having the sheet feeding apparatus 1, the running cost and service load due to the extension of the roller life are reduced, and the reliability is improved.

The timing at which the polishing roller 15 re-forms the polished eyes of the feed roller 12 does not depend on the number of conveyed sheet materials, or the number of conveyed sheet materials, but usually includes a sheet material feeding device. A signal from the sheet material detection means 31 for detecting a sheet conveyance failure from No. 1 is monitored by the control device, and when the delay amount of the sheet material conveyance timing exceeds a set value, that is, the sheet material is detected. It may be performed when the timing is increased by a predetermined amount from a normal value. In this case,
Polishing is re-formed when the feed roller 12 is worn to some extent and the roller slip is light, which is more effective.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views showing a sheet feeding apparatus 2 according to a second embodiment. In this embodiment, the main surface (sheet contact surface) of the pickup roller 11 is ground with an abrasive. Are formed, and the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller 11 is polished. That is, the sheet material feeding device 2 includes the polishing roller 35 as a polishing friction member for reforming a polishing line on the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller 11.

The main surface of the polishing roller 35 is formed with a polishing cutting blade for reshaping a polishing line on the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller 11, and the pickup roller 11 is separated from the sheet material surface. Is fixed at a position where it comes into contact with the surface of the pickup roller 11. The polishing roller 35 is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure by drive transmission means (not shown).

In the sheet feeding apparatus 2, after the pickup roller 11 picks up the sheet S, the solenoid 16 for separating the pickup roller is set at a timing when the sheet S is nipped by the feed roller 12 and the retard roller 13 and is conveyed. 4 moves in the direction of arrow B, so that the pickup roller 11 separates from the surface of the sheet material S and contacts the polishing roller 35 as shown in FIG. At this time, the polishing roller 35 is connected to the drive transmission means and rotates in conjunction with the separating operation.

As a result, each time the sheet feeding operation is performed, the pick-up roller 11 of the sheet feeding apparatus 2 is formed with a polished surface on the surface by the polishing roller 35, and the coefficient of friction with respect to the sheet is always kept stable. Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

The timing at which the polishing roller 35 re-forms the polished eye of the pickup roller 11 is described below.
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the operation is performed based on the number of conveyed sheet materials, or when the sheet material detecting means 31 is provided and the timing of detecting the sheet material increases by a predetermined amount from a regular value. It may be performed. In this case, when the polishing eyes are not re-formed, the actuator 24 is stopped at a position where the pickup roller 11 does not contact the polishing roller 35 when the actuator 24 is operated in the direction of arrow B in the drawing. Good.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing a sheet feeding apparatus 3 according to a third embodiment. In this embodiment, a pickup roller having a sheet contact surface with a polished stitch is provided. A polishing member 36 connected to the main body frame via an elastic member 37 is provided as a polishing friction member for reforming the polishing line of No. 11.

The polishing member 36 has a base end attached to a distal end of a leaf spring-like elastic member 37 attached to the main body frame, so that the polishing member 36 faces the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller 11. In addition, the polishing member 36 has a polishing cutting blade formed on a surface facing the sheet contact surface of the pickup roller 11.
The pickup roller 11 moves the sheet material S
When the pickup roller 1 is separated from the surface of the
The polishing cutting blade abuts on the main surface of the pickup roller 11 and presses against the pickup roller 11 by the spring force of the elastic member 37.

In the sheet feeding apparatus 3, the pickup roller 11 and the feed roller 12 are interlocked by a drive transmission means (not shown), and the pickup roller 11 is separated from the surface of the sheet S. Also during the rotation of the feed roller 12, it rotates.

Thus, the pick-up roller 11 of the sheet material feeding device 3 is formed with a polished surface on the surface by the polishing member 36 every time the sheet feeding operation is performed, so that the coefficient of friction with the sheet material is always kept stable. Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the sheet material feeding device 3, since it is not necessary to transmit a driving force to the polishing member when the polishing line of the pickup roller 11 is reformed, the configuration is simplified.

As in the first embodiment, the timing of reshaping the polished eyes of the pickup roller 11 by the polishing member 36 is determined based on the number of conveyed sheet materials, or the sheet material detecting means. 31.
The detection may be performed when the timing of detecting the sheet material is increased by a predetermined amount from a regular value. In this case,
If the polishing eye is not to be reformed, the actuator 2
4 may be stopped at a position where the pickup roller 11 does not come into contact with the polishing member 36 when operating in the direction of arrow B in the figure.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views showing a main part of a sheet material feeding device 4 according to a fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, a feed roller shaft 41 which is a resin collar is used. A pair of feed rollers 42 (42a, 4a)
2b) is used for conveying the sheet material,
The other is polished by a polishing roller 43 which is a friction member for polishing.

Feed roller shaft 4 of sheet material feeding device 4
7, has a fitting hole 41a into which the feed roller drive shaft 44 is fitted, and is detachably attached to the feed roller drive shaft 44 via a screw 45 and a washer 46, as shown in FIG. ing. Feed roller shaft 4
1 has a symmetrical shape at both left and right ends. The screw 45 and the washer 46 are removed so that the screw 1 and the washer 46 can be fitted into the feed roller drive shaft 44 from either side. Each of the feed rollers 42a and 42b attached to the feed roller drive shaft 44 has a polished surface formed on the main surface (sheet contact surface).

When the feed roller shaft 41 is fitted into the feed roller drive shaft 44 and attached with screws 45 and washers 46, one feed roller is positioned on the sheet material conveyance path, and the other feed roller is It is positioned so as to deviate from the material transport path. Then, in the sheet material feeding device 4, at a position where the main surface of the polishing roller 43 comes into contact with the main surface of the feed roller on the side deviating from the conveyance path,
A polishing roller 43 is rotatably mounted.

The polishing roller 43 has a main surface on which a polishing cutting blade for reshaping a polishing line is formed on one main surface (sheet contact surface) of the feed roller 42, and is driven by drive transmission means (not shown). The feed roller 42 is driven to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotation direction.

In the drawing, 47 is a sheet material guide member on the back side provided in the sheet material storage device, 48 is a sheet material guide member on the near side provided in the sheet material storage device, and 49 is a member. The sheet material urging members attached to the sheet material guide member 48 on the front side are respectively shown, and the sheet materials loaded and stored in the sheet material storage device are:
The sheet is conveyed while being guided by the sheet material guide members 47 and 48 and the sheet material urging member 49.

In the sheet material feeding device 4, the sheet material picked up from the sheet material storage portion by a pickup means such as a pickup roller (not shown) is conveyed by one of the pair of feed rollers 42a. At the same time, the other roller 42b rotates integrally, and a polishing roller 43 driven to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the roller 42b forms a polishing line on the surface.

In the sheet feeding device 4, as in the first embodiment, every time a predetermined number of sheets are conveyed, or when the conveyance timing of the sheet S starts to be delayed from a regular value, An instruction to the user to mount the feed roller 42 in the reverse direction is displayed on a display unit in the image forming apparatus main body.

By this mounting operation in the reverse direction,
As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet material S is conveyed by the roller 42b which has been formed with the polishing line by the polishing roller 43, and the roller 42a which has been used to convey the sheet material and has worn the polishing line is supplied by the roller 42b. Each time the paper is operated, the polishing roller 43 reshapes the surface with polishing.

According to the sheet feeding device 4, by repeating the mounting operation, it is possible to prevent the trouble caused by the roller slip of the feed roller with respect to the sheet by a simple operation.

In this embodiment, a polishing roller is used as a polishing friction member. However, as in the third embodiment described with reference to FIG. 5, a polishing member that does not need to be driven for rotation is used. Needless to say, it may be configured.

In each of the above-described embodiments, one of the pickup roller and the feed roller is polished by using one polishing friction member. However, for example, a plurality of the friction members for polishing are used to separate the pickup roller and the feed roller. Both may be polished.

Further, it is needless to say that the sheet feeding apparatus of each embodiment described above can be applied to an image forming apparatus other than a copying machine such as a printer and a facsimile.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The polishing member reciprocates in sliding contact with the sheet abutting surface of the sheet feeding member to polish and regenerate the sheet abutting surface, thereby preventing the occurrence of feeding failure due to slippage of the sheet feeding member with respect to the sheet material. It is possible to provide a sheet material feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus that realize a reduction in running cost and service load by extending the life of a feeding member and reducing replacement of a sheet feeding member, and stabilize sheet conveyance performance. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, in which a polishing roller swing solenoid is O.
It is a figure showing the state of FF.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment of the sheet material feeding device, showing a state in which a polishing roller swinging solenoid is ON.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus, and illustrates a state where a pickup roller is polished.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the sheet feeding device.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a third embodiment of the sheet material feeding device, illustrating a state where a pickup roller is polished.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main part showing a fourth embodiment of the sheet material feeding device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a principal part showing a fourth embodiment of the sheet material feeding device, showing a state where a feed roller is replaced and attached.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet material feeding device provided in a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a mechanism for transmitting drive to a roller of a conventional sheet material feeding device.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a copying machine as a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2, 3, 4 Sheet material feeding device 11 Pickup roller 12 Feed roller 13 Retard roller 14 Transport roller pair 15, 35, 43 Polishing roller 16 Polishing roller swing solenoid 17 Link member 24 Actuator 31 Sheet material detecting means 36 Polishing Member 37 Elastic member 41 Feed roller shaft 42 (42a, 42b) Feed roller 103 Paper feed cassette 203 Sheet material storage device

Claims (12)

[Claims] A sheet feeding device for sequentially feeding an uppermost sheet material among sheet materials stacked in a sheet storage section to a sheet conveying path, wherein the sheet material is brought into contact with the sheet material and the sheet material is conveyed. A sheet feeding member having a sheet contact surface formed with a polished stitch for feeding to a road; and a sheet sliding contact with the sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member, thereby polishing and regenerating the sheet contact surface. A sheet feeding device, comprising: a polishing member that performs polishing. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the polishing member is a roller member. 3. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a driving unit that drives the roller member to rotate. 4. The sheet feeding member has a pickup roller that picks up the sheet material by contacting at least an uppermost sheet material among the stacked sheet materials, and the polishing member includes the pickup roller. The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said sheet feeding apparatus is in sliding contact with said sheet contact surface. 5. The sheet feeding member according to claim 1, wherein said sheet feeding member contacts at least an uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials and picks up the sheet material, and a sheet material picked up by the pickup roller. 4. A feed roller for abutting and feeding the sheet material to the sheet conveying path, wherein the polishing member is in relative sliding contact with a sheet contact surface of the feed roller. The sheet material feeding device according to the above. 6. A sheet material detecting means for detecting a sheet material conveyed by the sheet feeding member, wherein the polishing member is configured such that a delay amount of a sheet material conveyance timing by the sheet material detecting means is equal to or more than a set value. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when the sheet feeding member comes into contact, the sheet feeding member comes into sliding contact with a sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member. 7. A polishing device, comprising: a storage unit for storing information on the number of sheets of the sheet material conveyed by the sheet feeding member, wherein the polishing member stores a set number of sheets of the sheet material stored in the storage unit. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the above is reached, the sheet is brought into sliding contact with a sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member. 8. A polishing member swinging mechanism for swinging the polishing member so as to be able to separate from a sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member. Sheet material feeding device. 9. A sheet feeding member swinging mechanism for swinging the sheet feeding member so as to be able to separate from a sheet material, wherein the polishing member is configured to rotate the sheet feeding member by the feeding member swinging mechanism. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the sheet feeding member is separated from the sheet feeding member, the sheet feeding member is slidably contacted with a sheet contact surface of the sheet feeding member, and the sheet contact surface is polished and regenerated. . 10. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the feeding member swinging mechanism swings the pickup roller for each sheet material pickup. 11. The sheet feeding member includes at least:
It has two rollers integrally attached to the same support member that conveys the sheet material, wherein one of the rollers is located in the sheet conveyance path, and one of the other rollers is a sheet conveyance member. The polishing member is attached to a drive shaft that rotationally drives the support member so as to be located outside the road, and is detachable so that a mounting direction of each roller can be reversed with respect to the drive shaft. 2. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet contacting device is in contact with the other roller located outside the sheet conveying path. 12. A sheet material feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet material fed from said sheet material feeding apparatus. Image forming apparatus.