JP2001130809A - Paper feeding spur roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure by decreasing the number of components, and to reduce a manufacturing cost. SOLUTION: A roller body portion 10 is formed from one piece of a metal linear material 15, and composed of a pair of spiral springs 11 axially arranged close to each other. A pair of shaft portions 20 is composed of a pair of coil springs 21 formed from the metal linear material, and a large number of solid particles 25 are stuck on a circular outer peripheral surface of the pair of the spiral springs 11. The pair of the spiral springs 11 and the pair of the coil springs 21 are successively composed by the metal linear material 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed spur roller for feeding paper in cooperation with a paper feed roller,
The present invention relates to a spur roller for feeding paper in which a large number of solid particles are fixed on the outer peripheral surface of a spur roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, printers, facsimile machines,
2. Description of the Related Art A copying machine or the like is provided with a paper feed mechanism that transports a paper supplied from a paper supply unit along a predetermined paper transport path. In a paper feed mechanism of this type of apparatus, a plurality of pairs of paper feed rollers for feeding paper are provided. In addition, usually, a plurality of paper feed rollers having an axial shape and a plurality of paper feed rollers cooperating with the paper feed rollers are provided. A spur roller is provided.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a conventional printer is provided with a reciprocating print head 101 for printing on paper P in a printing section 100a of a paper transport path 100. General paper feed rollers 104 and 105 (a driving roller 104 and a plurality of driven rollers 105) are provided near the upstream side of the printing unit 100a, and in order to prevent the printing area from being stained when the printed area is pressed by the roller, Near the downstream side of the printing unit 100a, a shaft-shaped paper feed roller 102 that comes into contact with the back surface of the paper P, and a plurality of papers having a diameter of several mm to several tens mm (for example, 12 to 18) that come into contact with the printed surface of the paper P.
Spur rollers 103 are provided in parallel.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the spur roller
103 has a roller main body 110 and a shaft 115 made of a coil spring inserted through a shaft hole 114 formed in the roller main body 110. Both ends of the shaft 115 are attached to a member on the machine frame side of the printer. Is supported, and the roller main body 114 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable. The sheet P is fed by a spur roller 103 by a spring action of a coil spring constituting the shaft portion 115.
It is possible to feed the paper while securely pressing the paper 102.

The roller body 110 has a thin metal plate 111 having a large number of protrusions 112 formed on an outer peripheral portion thereof, and a coupling hole 111a of the thin metal plate 111 so as to sandwich the thin metal plate 111 from both side surfaces thereof.
And a pair of auxiliary members 113 made of synthetic resin, which are connected through a pair. The thin metal plate 111 is formed by etching or press punching. In order to reduce the contact area between the protrusion 112 and the surface of the paper P, the thickness thereof is formed to be very thin (for example, about 100 μm). There is a need. Therefore, in order to reliably support the roller body 110 via the shaft 115 and to increase the rigidity of the thin metal plate 111,
The roller body 110 is constructed by combining the metal thin plate 111 and a pair of auxiliary members 113.

[0006]

In the spur roller shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the thickness of the thin metal sheet 111 of the roller body 110 is very small (about 100 μm), and a large number of minute Since it is necessary to form a protruding portion 112, the metal sheet 111 is formed by etching or press punching.
It is very difficult to accurately mold the material, and the manufacturing cost is considerably high.

In addition, the roller body 110 is made of the metal sheet 11.
The spur roller 103 has a structure in which two or three parts of 1 and a pair of auxiliary members 113 are combined, and the spur roller 103 includes three parts of a roller body 110 (a thin metal plate 111 and a pair of auxiliary members 113) and a shaft 115. Since the structure is a combination of four parts, the manufacturing cost of the parts is high, and the assembly cost of assembling those parts is also high. An object of the present invention is to fix a large number of solid particles on the outer peripheral surface of a spur roller to simplify the structure, to reduce the number of parts of the spur roller, and to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed spur roller for feeding paper in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein a large number of solid particles are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the spur roller. It is characterized by being fixed. This paper feed spur roller is formed, for example, to have a diameter of several mm to several tens of mm. When applied to a printer, the paper feed spur roller is printed near a downstream side of a portion to be printed on paper by a print head in a predetermined paper transport path for transporting paper supplied from a paper supply unit. It is disposed so as to contact the surface of the paper on the side.

As the solid particles, for example, inorganic particles such as alumina, glass, silicon carbide and diamond, and resin particles such as polyethylene terephthalate may be used. Further, it is desirable to fix a large number of solid particles on the outer peripheral surface of the spur roller with a paint or an adhesive, and as the paint, for example, a urethane-based or epoxy-based paint may be applied. An adhesive such as a system may be applied.

In this paper feed spur roller, the solid particles fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the spur roller come into contact with the surface of the paper,
The paper is pressed by the spur roller via the solid particles to the paper feed roller and fed. Here, it is desirable that the particle size of the solid particles be 30 to 300 μm. This makes it possible to reliably feed the paper without slipping while keeping the contact area with the paper small. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to a printer, it is possible to prevent the printing portion from being stained by the roller when pressing the printed area. And since it is a simple structure which fixed many solid particles to the outer peripheral surface of a spur roller, manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed spur roller for feeding a sheet in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein the roller main body of the spur roller is formed of a spring made of a metal wire. A large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the roller body. Note that the roller body may be formed of one elastic thin metal wire.

In this paper feed spur roller, it is possible to feed the paper by pressing the paper against the paper feed roller with an appropriate force by the spring action of the spring constituting the roller body.
Since the distance between the metal wires at the center of the shaft can be reduced in the spring, the roller body can be pivotally supported via the shaft. Therefore, the original function of the spur roller for reliably feeding the sheet without slipping while keeping the contact area with the sheet small can be ensured, and the number of parts can be reduced, thereby significantly reducing the manufacturing cost. In addition, other operations substantially the same as the operation of the first aspect are achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed spur roller for feeding a sheet in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein the roller main body of the spur roller is made of a single metal wire and has a shaft. The pair of spiral springs are arranged close to each other in the direction of the center, and a large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs.

In this paper feed spur roller, the roller body is constituted by a pair of spiral springs arranged in proximity to each other in the axial direction, so that a pair of spiral springs is continuously formed by one metal wire. It becomes possible to configure. Moreover, since the roller body can be made moderately thick in the axial direction, it is advantageous in pivotally supporting the roller body through the shaft, and the rigidity of the roller body in the axial direction is increased. The portion can be prevented from being deformed in the axial direction. In addition, since the roller body and the shaft are made of the same metal wire, the sorting operation during recycling can be facilitated. In addition, other operations substantially the same as the operation of the second aspect are achieved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feed spur roller according to the third aspect, a pair of shaft portions of the spur roller is constituted by a pair of coil springs made of a metal wire. The pair of spiral springs is continuously formed of one metal wire.

In this spur roller for feeding paper, it is possible to feed the paper by pressing the paper against the paper feeding roller with an appropriate force by the spring action of the coil spring constituting the shaft. And, since a pair of coil springs and a pair of spiral springs are continuously formed by one metal wire and the spur roller for paper feeding is formed by one part, the structure of the spur roller is greatly simplified, Manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced. In this spur roller for feeding paper, a pair of shafts is rotatably supported by a member on the machine frame side of an apparatus to which the paper feeding spur roller is applied, and the roller body rotates together with the pair of shafts. . Other effects are the same as those of the third aspect.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a spur roller provided in a paper feeding mechanism of a printer. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a paper feed mechanism 2 for transporting a paper P supplied from a paper supply unit (not shown) along a predetermined paper transport path 3, and a printing unit of the paper transport path 3. A reciprocating print head 4 for printing on paper P at 3a is provided.

In the paper feed mechanism 2, general paper feed rollers 7, 8 (a driving roller 7 and a plurality of driven rollers 8) are provided near the upstream side of the printing section 3a. A paper feed roller 5 (driving roller) is provided near the downstream side of the printing unit 3a and in contact with the back surface of the paper P, and comes into contact with the surface of the paper P on which printing is performed.
A plurality of sheets unique to the present application (eg, 10 to
(20) paper feed spur rollers 6 (driven rollers) are provided in parallel at appropriate intervals in the axial direction. With reference to the printing section 3a, the paper feed rollers 7 and 8 on the paper feed side serve as paper feed rollers, and the paper feed roller 5 and the plurality of spur rollers 6 on the paper discharge side serve as paper discharge rollers.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a spur roller 6 for feeding paper (hereinafter referred to as a spur roller 6) has a roller body 10 having a diameter a (for example, a = 9.0 mm) and a roller body 10 having a diameter a. Diameter b extending axially on both sides from the center of
(For example, b = 1.0 mm), and the entire length in the axial direction is configured to be c (for example, c = 20.0 mm).

The roller body 10 is made of a single elastic metal wire 15 and is arranged in the axial direction close to each other.
A pair of spiral springs 11 is formed, and a pair of shaft portions 20 is formed of a pair of coil springs 21 made of a thin metal wire 15 having elasticity. The pair of spiral springs 11 and the pair of coil springs 21 are The metal wires 15 are continuously formed.

Here, as the metal wire 15, for example, a thin stainless steel wire having a diameter d (for example, d = 300 μm) is applied, and this metal wire 15 constitutes one shaft portion 20. The coil spring 21 is formed from the outer end to the inner end, and then one spiral spring 11 of the roller body 10 is formed from the shaft center side to the outer peripheral side, and then the other spiral spring 11 is formed on the outer peripheral side. And the coil spring 21 forming the other shaft portion 20 is formed from the inner end to the outer end. As described above, the pair of spiral springs 11 and the pair of coil springs 21 are continuously formed in a single stroke by the metal wire 15.

In each of the spiral springs 11, a portion from the outer peripheral portion to the radial center portion is formed as a spiral spring portion at substantially equal intervals, and a portion from the radial central portion to the vicinity of the center portion has a spiral that is closer to the center. A bulging portion 11 which is a spring portion and which is connected to the shaft portion 20 while slightly bulging outward in the axial direction toward the center.
a. The coil spring 21 of each shaft 20 is
The coil spring is formed with almost no gap.

The outer peripheral portion of the pair of spiral springs 11 is formed in a circular shape, and the outer peripheral portion is configured to be in close contact with the outer peripheral portion. The axial width of the outer peripheral portion of the roller body 10 (the pair of spiral springs 11) is It is about 2d (for example, about 600 μm). A large number of solid particles 25 made of alumina having a particle size e (for example, e = 30 to 300 μm) are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs 11 and the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface by urethane-based paint. .

Specifically, a large number of solid particles 25 are mixed into the paint, and the solid particle-containing paint is mixed with a pair of spiral springs 11.
A large number of solid particles 25 are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs 11 and the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface by coating and drying the outer peripheral surface and its vicinity. Therefore, the solid particles 25 can be very easily fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs 11 and the vicinity of the outer periphery. In order to fix the pair of spiral springs 11 and to appropriately suppress elastic deformation of the spiral spring 11 in the radial direction, metal wires arranged in the axial direction near the outer peripheral portion of the spiral spring 11. 15 and metal wires 15 adjacent to each other in the radial direction partially (eg, at a plurality of locations)
They are connected by an adhesive portion 12 made of the paint containing the fixed particles.

Here, if the particle diameter e of the solid particles 25 is smaller than 30 μm, the outer peripheral portions of the large number of solid particles 25 fixed to the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of spiral springs 21 become almost circular,
The contact area with the paper P is increased, and the printed area of the printed paper P is easily stained. On the other hand, if the particle diameter e of the solid particles 25 is larger than 300 μm, the solid surface of the pair of spiral springs 21 is solid. In addition, it is difficult to fix the particles 25, and conversely, the contact area with the paper P is reduced, and the slip with the paper P is likely to occur. Therefore, the particle size e of the solid particles 25 is set to 30 to 300 μm.

The operation and effect of the spur roller 6 will be described. A pair of shafts 20 are pivotally supported by members on the machine frame side of the printer so that the roller body 10 can rotate together with the pair of shafts 20. When the paper feed roller 5 is rotationally driven, the plurality of spur rollers 6 rotate following the rotation. The paper P sent to the downstream side through the printing unit 4 by the paper feed rollers 7 and 8 is pressed by the shaft-shaped paper feed roller 5 by the plurality of spur rollers 6, and the rotating paper feed roller 5 and the spur roller 6 to the downstream side.

The spur roller 6 presses the paper P against the feed roller 5 with an appropriate force by the spur roller 6 and reliably feeds the paper by the spring action of the pair of spiral springs 11 and the pair of coil springs 21. Can be. Since the spiral spring 11 is provided with the bulging portion 11a, the connection between the roller body 10 and the shaft 20 can be strengthened, and the concentration of stress at the connection between the roller body 10 and the shaft 20 can be prevented. Can be enhanced.

According to the spur roller 6, the pair of coil springs 11 and the pair of spiral springs 21 are connected to one metal wire 1
5, a large number of solid particles 25 are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs 11 constituting the roller main body 10 and the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface, so that the structure can be significantly simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. It can be significantly reduced. Moreover, since the pair of spiral springs 11 are arranged close to each other in the axial direction, 1
The pair of spiral springs 11 and the pair of coil springs 11 can be continuously formed by the metal wire 15.

Since the central portion of the roller body 10 can be made moderately thick in the axial direction, the rigidity of the roller body 10 in the axial direction is increased, and the roller body 10 is prevented from being deformed in the axial direction. be able to. The roller body 10
And the shaft portion 20 are made of the same metal wire 15, so that the separation work at the time of recycling can be facilitated.

A modified example of the spur roller 6 will be described. 1) Instead of the solid particles 25 made of alumina, various solid particles such as inorganic particles such as glass, silicon carbide and diamond, and resin particles such as polyethylene terephthalate may be applied. A pair of spiral springs 11
Instead of the urethane-based paint, an epoxy-based paint or the like may be used as the paint for fixing the solid particles to the outer peripheral surface of the (roller body 10), or instead of the paint,
An adhesive such as an epoxy-based adhesive may be applied. Metal wire 1
As 5, an elastic thin steel wire other than stainless steel or another wire may be applied, or wires having various diameters may be applicable. The size of the spur roller (a to d
Etc.) can be set as appropriate.

2] As shown in FIG.
A is composed of a pair of spiral springs 27 formed of a single metal wire and arranged in proximity to each other in the axial direction, and a shaft 28 is formed separately from the roller body 26. A coil spring 29 made of one metal wire,
A large number of solid particles 25 are fixed on the outer peripheral surface of a roller body 26 composed of a pair of spiral springs 27. A shaft hole 26a is formed in the center of the roller body 26, and the shaft 28 is inserted through the shaft hole 26a, and the roller body 26 is rotatably supported by the shaft 28. This spur roller 6
According to A, it becomes possible to rotate the roller body 26 more smoothly. In addition, the number of parts is
However, the same operation and effect as those of the spur roller 6 can be obtained.

3) The roller main body is composed of three or more spiral springs made of one metal wire and arranged in close proximity in the axial direction, and a large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of these spiral springs. You may make it. Further, by using a slightly thick metal wire 15, the roller main body may be constituted by one spiral spring. 4) A spur roller may be constituted by a roller main body made of a spiral spring and a pin-shaped shaft portion that is a separate member from the roller main body.

5] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the spur roller 6B is provided with a roller body 30 made of a circular thin metal plate instead of a roller body made of a spiral spring. A large number of solid particles 32 are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the portion 30 in the same manner as described above. Roller body 30
A boss portion 30a is formed by projecting a central portion of the roller body portion 30 in the axial direction, and a shaft portion 35 made of a coil spring is inserted into the boss portion 30a, thereby pivotally supporting the roller body 30 via the shaft portion 35. It has become.

In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a spur roller of a paper feed mechanism of a printer. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to spur rollers of various devices such as a facsimile machine and a copying machine. . In addition, it is also possible to implement the present invention in a form in which various changes are added to the above-described embodiment and modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0035]

According to the paper feed spur roller of the first aspect, only the solid particles fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the spur roller are brought into contact with the surface of the paper, and the contact area with the paper is kept small, It is possible to reliably feed the paper without slipping. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to a printer, when the printed area is pressed by the roller, the printed area is pressed via the solid particles on the outer peripheral surface of the spur roller, so that the print area can be prevented from being stained. And
Since it has a simple structure in which a large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the spur roller, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

According to the paper feed spur roller of the second aspect,
Since the roller body of the spur roller is formed of a spring made of a metal wire, and a large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the roller body, the roller body is made of a single spring made of a metal wire. Since it can be configured, the number of parts of the paper feeding spur roller can be reduced, and the production cost can be significantly reduced. The other effects are substantially the same as those of the second aspect.

According to the paper feed spur roller of the third aspect,
The roller body of the spur roller is composed of a pair of spiral springs made of a single metal wire and arranged in close proximity in the axial direction, and a large number of solid particles are fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs. As a result, a pair of spiral springs can be continuously formed with a single metal wire, and the thickness of the roller body can be appropriately increased in the axial direction of the roller body. In addition to being pivotable, the axial rigidity of the roller body can be increased, and the roller body can be prevented from being deformed in the axial direction. The other effects are substantially the same as those of the second aspect.

According to the paper feed spur roller of the fourth aspect,
A pair of shaft portions of the spur roller are formed of a pair of coil springs made of a metal wire, and a pair of coil springs and a pair of spiral springs are continuously formed of a single metal wire, for paper feeding. Since the spur roller is composed of one part, the structure of the spur roller can be significantly simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a main part of a printer including a spur roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the spur roller.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the spur roller.

FIG. 4 is an exploded front view of a spur roller according to a modification.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a spur roller according to another modification.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the spur roller of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a main part of a printer including a spur roller according to the related art.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a spur roller according to the related art.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a spur roller according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Paper feed roller 6, 6A, 6B Spur roller for paper feed 10, 26, 30 Roller body 11, 27 Spiral spring 15 Metal wire 20, 28, 35 Shaft 21, 29 Coil spring 25, 32 Solid particles

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed spur roller for feeding paper in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein a large number of solid particles are fixed to an outer peripheral surface of the spur roller. 2. A paper feed spur roller for feeding a sheet in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein the roller main body of the spur roller is formed of a spring made of a metal wire, and a plurality of spur rollers are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the roller main body. A spur roller for feeding paper, wherein the solid particles are fixed. 3. A paper feed spur roller for feeding a sheet in cooperation with a paper feed roller, wherein a roller main body of the spur roller is formed of a single metal wire and is arranged in proximity to the axial direction. A spur roller for feeding paper, comprising a pair of spiral springs, wherein a large number of solid particles are fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the pair of spiral springs. 4. A pair of shaft portions of the spur roller is constituted by a pair of coil springs made of a metal wire, and the pair of coil springs and the pair of spiral springs are continuously formed by one metal wire. The spur roller for feeding paper according to claim 3, characterized in that: