JP2003276953A - Sheet feeding device and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeding device capable of accumulating sheets while arranging usable faces in order and preventing the occurrence of confusion on an image formation face. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet feeding device 3 is provided with a loading unit 4 for loading reusable sheets 100, a roller 60a for feeding out the sheet, a pair of rollers 24b, 64 for feeding the fed sheet into a copying machine body 2, a pair of rollers 25 for carrying the sheet into the loading unit 4, a stacker 120 whose external part is exposed to load the sheet, a paper feeding unit 20 for feeding the sheet on the stacker 120, a detection sensor 23 for detecting a blank paper face of the sheet on the downstream side of the paper feeding unit 20, a surface and rear surface inversion unit 6 provided between the detection sensor 23 and a pair of rollers 25 to invert a surface and a rear surface of the sheet selectively and convey the sheet to a pair of rollers 25, and a stamp unit 10 for applying marking on a used face of the sheet. Each constituent part other than the stacker 120 is arranged in the device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

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 forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a sheet to the image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus equipped with the sheet feeding apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to form an image on one surface (front surface) and a blank sheet on the other surface (rear surface) and an image on the other surface, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile is used again. 2. Description of the Related Art A sheet feeding device is known that can feed sheets to a sheet to reuse sheets and effectively use resources, and can reduce the influence on the environment.

As such a sheet feeding device, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-293503, an automatic document feeder (ADF) mounted on an image forming apparatus is used to perform AD.
A technique for determining whether one side of a sheet placed on F is reusable is disclosed. In this technique, when it is determined that the sheet can be reused by using the ADF, the sheet is disposed from the ADF to a lower portion of the image forming apparatus via a reuse sheet conveying passage formed in the image forming apparatus. The sheet is conveyed to the sheet feeding device in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet feeding device and accumulated in the sheet feeding device. Further, as a technique prior to this, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-8147, a detecting means for detecting whether or not one side of the sheet is a blank sheet is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet stacker, and the detecting result of this detecting means
A sheet feeding device capable of sorting reusable sheets and non-reusable sheets is disclosed. According to these technologies,
Reusable sheets having at least one side blank (hereinafter referred to as a reusable sheet) are automatically aligned so that the blank side (reusable side) is in the same direction.

Further, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-57966, an image is already recorded by marking means in order to avoid confusion between the already image-recorded surface of the reuse sheet and the surface on which a new image is recorded. There is disclosed a technique for marking a raised surface. According to the technique disclosed in the same publication, it is possible to perform marking on the image-recorded surface by utilizing the image forming means without providing any special marking means.

[0005]

However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-293503, since the ADF and the feeding device are arranged via the image forming apparatus, the ADF is fed into the image forming apparatus. There is a problem that the internal structure of the image forming apparatus has to be changed in order to secure a reuse sheet conveyance path to the apparatus. In addition, the stacking / conveying direction of the reused sheets accumulated in the feeding device and the feeding direction in which the reused sheets are fed from the feeding device are opposite to each other in the same passage, so that the reusing sheets are accumulated / There is a problem that it is difficult to perform feeding smoothly and quickly.

Further, since the feeding device of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-8147 has a character as a sorting device for reused sheets, the sheets to be sorted must be temporarily stored in the sheet stacker in the device, Since the discharge stacker for accumulating the non-reusable sheets is also arranged in the feeding device, there is a problem that the feeding device itself becomes large.

Further, since the technique of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-57966 has a marking means in the image forming apparatus, it is difficult to mark one side of the reuse sheet unless the image forming apparatus side is changed.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is compact,
Provided are a sheet feeding device capable of stacking sheets while aligning reusable surfaces of reusable sheets, and using reusable sheets without causing confusion on an image forming surface, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device. The task is to do.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding device which is mounted on an image forming apparatus and which feeds sheets, wherein the sheets are stacked. Sheet stacking means, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means, feeding means for feeding the sheet fed out from the sheet feeding means to the image forming apparatus, and sheets for the sheet stacking means The sheet carrying-in means for carrying in the
Stacker means for placing the sheets carried in by the sheet carrying-in means, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets placed on the stacker means, and sheet feeding downstream of the sheet feeding means. A sheet is provided between the detection unit and the sheet carrying-in unit, and a first detecting unit for detecting which of the front and back sides of the sheet is a blank sheet, and selectively reverses the sheet to the sheet carrying-in unit. It is characterized in that it comprises front and back reversing means for conveying and marking means for giving a marking indicating that it has been used on one surface of the sheet, and each means except the stacker means is arranged in the apparatus. .

In the first aspect, the sheets placed on the stacker means are fed by the sheet feeding means, and the first detecting means detects which of the front and back sheets is a blank sheet, The sheet is selectively turned upside down by the front / back reversing means provided between the sheet carry-in means and the sheet, and the sheet is conveyed to the sheet carry-in means. On the other hand, the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit are unrolled by the unrolling unit and fed to the image forming apparatus by the feeding unit. A marking indicating that the sheet has been used is attached to one surface of the sheet fed to the image forming apparatus by the marking unit. If the marking means is arranged on the sheet carry-in path between the stacker means and the sheet stacking means, the marking is provided before being stacked on the sheet stacking means, and the sheet is fed by the feeding means. By arranging the sheet on the feeding path, the marking is added when the sheet is fed to the image forming apparatus. According to this aspect, the sheets placed on the stacker unit are stacked on the sheet stacking unit with the reusable surfaces aligned by the front and back reversing unit while the front and back of the sheet are confirmed by the detecting unit, and the sheet stacking unit transfers the sheets to the image forming apparatus. Since the used sheet is marked by the marking means on the reused sheet that is fed, it is possible to prevent confusion with the used surface even when a new image of the image forming apparatus is formed. At the same time, since the stacker means is exposed to the outside of the apparatus, the space occupied by the stacker means in the apparatus is not required, so that the entire apparatus can be made compact and the stacker means can be re-installed without opening and closing the door. You can easily set the available seats.

In the first aspect, further, an elevating means for elevating the sheet stacking means and a second detecting means for detecting whether or not there is a sheet on the stacker means are provided, and the second detecting means is provided. If the presence of sheets is detected and the sheet stacking means is lowered by a predetermined amount when the sheet feeding means is not operating, the sheet feeding means operates to carry the sheets into the sheet stacking means. Since it is performed when not in the state, there is no operation error in carrying in and feeding the reuse sheet.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a second aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding device for feeding sheets to an image forming apparatus, which comprises a plurality of sheet stacking means for stacking the sheets. A sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means, a sheet carrying-in means for carrying the sheet into any of the plurality of sheet stacking means, and a sheet for carrying the sheet carried into the sheet stacking means Stacker means, sheet feeding means for feeding sheets placed on the stacker means, and detecting which of the front and back sheets of the sheet fed downstream of the sheet feeding means is a blank sheet One side of the sheet, and a detecting means, a front and back reversing means which is provided between the detecting means and the sheet carrying-in means, and which selectively reverses the sheet and carries it to the sheet carrying-in means. Marking means for giving a mark indicating that the sheet has been used, and each of the stacker means, the sheet feeding means, the detecting means and the front and back reversing means of the sheet stacking means for carrying in the sheet by the sheet carrying-in means. The marking means is arranged on one side and the marking means is arranged on the other side of the sheet stacking means.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the operation and effect of the first aspect, a plurality of sheet stacking means are provided and the reusable sheets are stacked in any one of the plurality of sheet stacking means. One of the sheet stacking means can be used as a stacking means and a sheet stacking means for unused sheets, and each of the stacker means, the sheet feeding means, the detecting means, and the front / back reversing means is a sheet carrying-in means in which a sheet is carried in by a sheet carrying-in means. Since the marking means is arranged on one side and the marking means is arranged on the other side, the entire apparatus can be made compact and, in turn, lightweight.

In the second aspect, if the sheets placed on the stacker means are carried into the sheet stacking means closest to the stacker means, the sheet carry-in path is shortened. The occurrence of paper jams (jams) can be suppressed.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, a third aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets to an image forming apparatus, wherein the sheets are stacked and arranged side by side.
1st and 2nd sheet stacking means, 1st and 2nd sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means, and 1st sheet provided above the second sheet stacking means A sheet feeding path for feeding the sheet fed from the feeding means to the image forming apparatus, and a sheet feeding path provided upstream of the first sheet feeding means in the sheet feeding direction, and provided in the first sheet stacking means. Sheet carrying-in means for carrying in sheets, stacker means for mounting the sheets carried in to the first sheet stacking means, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets mounted on the stacker means, A detection unit that detects whether the front side or the back side of the sheet fed downstream of the sheet feeding unit is a blank sheet, and is provided between the detection unit and the sheet loading unit. And the front and back reversing means for selectively reversing the sheet to the sheet carrying-in means and the sheet arranged on the sheet feeding path and used on one surface of the sheet fed out from the first sheet stacking means. Marking means for giving a marking indicating that there is a certain thing.

According to the third aspect, in addition to the operation and effect of the first aspect, the number of sheet stacking means is two, and
A sheet feeding path for feeding the sheet fed from the first sheet feeding means to the image forming apparatus is provided above the second sheet stacking means, and the marking means is arranged in the sheet feeding path. Since the sheet carrying-in means for carrying the sheets into the first sheet stacking means is provided on the upstream side of the first sheet feeding-out means in the sheet feeding-out direction, the effective space in the apparatus is utilized, so that the entire apparatus is further improved. Can be made compact.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding device which supplies sheets to the image forming apparatus and serves as a mounting base of the image forming apparatus, wherein the sheets are stacked. Means, sheet feeding means for feeding out the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means, feeding means for feeding the sheet fed out from the sheet feeding means to the image forming apparatus, and carrying in the sheets to the sheet stacking means Of the sheet carry-in means, the stacker means for placing the sheets carried in by the sheet carry-in means, the sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets placed on the stacker means, and the sheet feeding means. It is provided between the detection means for detecting whether the front or back side of the sheet fed to the downstream side is a blank sheet, and the detection means and the sheet carry-in means, and selects the sheet. A front and back reversing means for reversing the front and back to convey the sheet to the sheet carrying-in means, and a marking means for giving a marking indicating to one side of the sheet that the sheet has been used. It is characterized by having done. According to this aspect, in addition to the actions and effects of the first aspect, the sheet feeding device serves as a mounting base of the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is placed on the upper portion of the sheet feeding device. The installation area of the feeding device and the image forming apparatus can be reduced. In this aspect, if the stacker means is exposed to the outside of the apparatus, the space occupied by the stacker means in the apparatus becomes unnecessary, so that the entire apparatus can be made compact and reused without opening and closing the door. Possible seats can be set easily.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including the sheet conveying apparatus according to any of the first to fourth aspects described above. According to this aspect, it is possible to obtain the image forming apparatus having the actions and effects of the sheet conveying apparatus of the first to fourth aspects.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Structure> As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine 1 of this embodiment is a copying machine main body 2 for forming an image on a sheet surface.
And a sheet feeding device 3 that has a placement surface for placing the copying machine body 2 on the top and that feeds sheets one by one to the copying machine body 2.

The main body 2 of the copying machine is directed toward a photosensitive drum which is arranged in the central portion and is capable of forming a latent image on the outer peripheral surface by an optical system.
It has a sheet carry-in guide 50 arranged in a substantially vertical direction for carrying in a sheet fed from the sheet feeding device 3. A sheet loading guide 5 is provided on the upstream side of the photosensitive drum.
A pair of conveying rollers is provided which converts the conveying direction of a sheet conveyed in a substantially vertical direction along 0 to a substantially horizontal direction and conveys it to the photosensitive drum side. Inside the copying machine main body 2, a sheet conveying path is formed in a substantially horizontal direction starting from the position where the conveying roller pair is arranged.

Around the photosensitive drum, a developing device for developing the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum into a toner image, a cleaner for cleaning the photosensitive drum, a charging roller for giving a charge for forming the latent image to the photosensitive drum, and the like are arranged. It is set up. A transfer roller is disposed at a position facing the photosensitive drum with the sheet conveying path interposed therebetween, and is in contact with the photosensitive drum via the sheet to transfer the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum to the sheet. Further, a fixing device having a heat roller and the like for heating and fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet is arranged on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum along the sheet conveying path.
Each of the units of the copying machine main body 2 is a control unit (not shown) in response to an operation instruction from an operator (operator) from an operation unit (not shown) provided on the upper right side of the front side (front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). The operation is controlled by.

The sheet feeding device 3 is provided with a device frame 15 which serves as a casing of the sheet feeding device 3, and the front side of the device frame 15 (front side of the paper in FIG. 1) includes each unit described later. A front opening / closing door is provided to enable repair / inspection of mechanical parts and control parts, and replenishment / replacement of seats. Near the front opening / closing door, a reflection-integrated type door opening / closing detection sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the front opening / closing door is arranged. In addition, a plurality of casters, which abut on the floor surface and permit the movement of the sheet feeding device 3, are pivotally provided at the lower portion of the device frame 15.

In the sheet feeding device 3, the first sheet stacking unit 4 and the second sheet stacking unit 5 capable of stacking sheets in a box shape having an upper opening in the device frame 15 are arranged laterally (laterally). It is installed side by side. The first sheet stacking unit 4 mainly stacks a reused sheet 100 having a blank surface on one side of which image formation is possible and the other side of which can be reused (image formation), and the second sheet stacking unit 5 double-sided. Unused sheets 110 having a blank surface are mainly stacked.
That is, each of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 has a plate-like sheet stacking base 7 supported in a substantially horizontal direction.
0 and 71, the reused sheets 100 are mainly accumulated on the sheet stacking table 70, and the unused sheets 110 are mainly accumulated on the sheet mounting table 71.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thick plate-shaped rear plates 72 are substantially provided on the rear sides of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 (the rear side of the paper in FIGS. 1 and 2). It is arranged vertically. The central portion of the back plate 72 is cut out in a rectangular shape in a substantially vertical direction to the bottom positions of the first and second sheet stacking units 4, 5, and the vertical cutout ends are
Elevating racks 48a and 48b for raising and lowering the sheet stacking bases 70 and 71 and elevator racks 49a and 49b are formed, respectively.

Lifting motors 44 and 45, which are forward / reverse stepping motors, are fixed to the bottoms of the sheet mounting tables 70 and 71 via a motor supporting member having a substantially trapezoidal cross section. Lifting gears 41a and 42a functioning as pinions are fixed to the motor shafts of the lifting motors 44 and 45, respectively. The lifting gear 41a is the lifting rack 48a described above.
It also meshes with an elevating gear 41b having the same shape as the elevating gear 41a. The lifting gear 41b also functions as a pinion and meshes with the lifting rack 48b.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
When the elevating gears 41a and 41b are rotated in the direction of the arrow by driving 4, the sheet mounting table 70 is raised in a substantially vertical direction while the reused sheets 100 are accumulated, and the elevating gears 41a and 4b
When 1b rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow direction, the sheet mounting table 70 descends in a substantially vertical direction with the reused sheets 100 accumulated. Such a rack and pinion structure has a sheet mounting table 71, a lifting motor 45, and lifting racks 49a and 49b.
The same applies to the elevating gears 42a and 42b. A switch button (not shown) for lowering the sheet stacking bases 70 and 71 to replenish and replace the reused sheet 100 and the unused sheet 110 is disposed on the front side of the sheet of FIG. By pressing this switch button, the operator can lower the sheet placing tables 70 and 71 to arbitrary positions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus frame 1 is located at a lower position on both sides of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5.
Slide guides 46a, 46b, 47a, 47b slidably abutting inside and outside are fixed to a slide guide rail having a C-shaped cross-section supported by 5, respectively. Therefore, the operator can open the above-mentioned front opening / closing door and pull out each of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 to the front side of the paper surface of FIG. In addition, on the back side of the back plate 72 (the back side of the paper in FIG. 1), the first and second
Reflection-integrated stacking unit position detection sensors for detecting the home positions of the sheet stacking units 4 and 5 are provided.

In addition, on one side of the first sheet stacking unit 4 (on the side of the reuse sheet stacker 120 described later),
A pair of sheet carry-in rollers 25 for carrying the recycled sheet 100 into the first sheet stacking unit 4 is provided. In the sheet carrying-in roller pair 25, the roller arranged on the upper side is a driving roller, and the roller arranged on the lower side by being pressed against the driving roller is a driven roller (the same applies to each roller pair described later. reference). In the vicinity of the driven rollers of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, a transmission-integrated sensor (not shown) is arranged in order to control the timing of carrying the recycled sheet 100 into the first sheet stacking unit 4. The second sheet stacking unit 5 lacks such a configuration because the unused sheets 110 are mainly stacked as described above.

On the other hand, on the outer side of the apparatus frame 15 at the upper side of the first sheet stacking unit 4, the reused sheet 100 is
A reusable sheet stacker 120 for mounting the reusing sheet is supported by the apparatus frame 15 at its base portion, and the mounting portion on which the reusable sheet 100 is mounted is exposed obliquely from the apparatus frame 15. A reflection-integrated type empty sensor 121 for detecting whether or not the reuse sheet 100 is placed (existing) is arranged at substantially the center of the bottom surface of the placing portion of the reuse sheet stacker 120. Note that the reuse sheet 100 to be placed is provided on the width direction side of the reuse sheet stacker 120.
An approximately triangular alignment plate that aligns the widthwise positions of the is fixed movably.

Above the base of the reuse sheet stacker 120, there is arranged a sheet feeding unit 20 for feeding the reuse sheet 120 placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120 into the apparatus frame 15. Sheet feeding unit 2
0 is a kick roller 21 for feeding the uppermost reuse sheet 100 placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120,
A sheet feeding roller 22 that is fitted to a roller shaft that is rotatably supported by the apparatus frame 15 and that feeds the reusable sheet 100 to the downstream side, and a reusable sheet that is disposed at a position that abuts the outer peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller 22. A rubber separation pad 26 having a frictional force capable of separating 100 pieces one by one is configured.

At both ends of the paper feed roller 22 and the kick roller 21, long plate-shaped connecting plates are provided, one side of which is supported by the roller shaft of the paper feed roller 22 and the other side of which is rotatable. A roller shaft of a kick roller 21 is provided between the other sides of the connecting plates, and the kick roller 21 is fitted on the roller shaft. Further, pulleys (not shown) are fixed to the roller shafts of the kick roller 21 and the paper feed roller 22, respectively, and an endless belt (not shown) is stretched between the pulleys. Therefore, the kick roller 21 rotates around the roller shaft of the sheet feeding roller 22 due to its own weight and comes into contact with the uppermost reusable sheet 100 placed on the reusable sheet stacker 120 so that the kick roller 21 is fed from the side of the sheet feeding roller 22. It is possible to feed the uppermost reuse sheet 100 by the supplied rotational driving force, and the reuse sheet 10 fed by the kick roller 21.
0 is separated into one sheet by the frictional force of the separation pad 26 and is fed to the downstream side by the sheet feeding roller 22.

A horizontal guide 16 for guiding the reuse sheet 100 in a substantially horizontal direction is disposed downstream of the paper feed roller 22 and the separation pad 26. The upper and lower sides of the horizontal guide 16 are composed of line sensors such as CCDs, and the paper feed roller 2
A detection sensor 23 that detects which of the upper and lower surfaces of the reuse sheet 100 fed in 2 is a blank surface is provided.
It should be noted that the detection sensor 23 is a sensor in which the two line sensors are slightly misaligned in the vertical position with the horizontal guide 16 sandwiched therebetween, and the detection sensor 23 detects the rear end portion of the reuse sheet 100 conveyed in the horizontal guide 16 in the conveyance direction. Function.

On the downstream side of the horizontal guide 16, there is arranged a front / back reversing unit 6 for selectively reversing the front / back of the fed reuse sheet 100. Front and back reversing unit 6
Is a reversal auxiliary guide 150 that is located above the first sheet stacking unit 4 and forms a part of the reversing path of the reused sheet 100, and is located on the side of the first sheet stacking unit 4 and connected to the horizontal guide 16. A part of the reversing path of the reused sheet 100 and a discharge path of the reused sheet 100 are formed. The pair of conveying rollers 24a arranged, the pair of discharging rollers 28 arranged at the lower end portion of the reverse discharging guide 160, and the reuse sheet 10 in the front / back reversing unit 6 having a wedge-shaped tip.
First to third flappers 27a for restricting the transport direction of 0,
It is configured to have 27b and 27c. In the carry-out roller pair 28, the roller on the side of the first sheet stacking unit 4 is a driving roller, and the roller on the side of the reuse sheet stacker 120 is a driven roller (see FIG. 4).

The reversing auxiliary guide 150 is obliquely provided in order to avoid interference with the feeding lever 90 described later. On the other hand, the reverse carrying-out guide 160 is a first guide piece, substantially U, whose upper side is curved in an arc shape and which is connected to the lower guide piece of the horizontal guide 16 at an acute angle and whose lower side is extended to the driven roller of the carry-out roller pair 28. A pair of conveying rollers 24a having a character shape and arranged so that the upper side is along the upper side of the first guide piece.
Second guide piece that guides the conveyance of the reused sheet 100 from the driven roller to the driving roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, and the driving of the driven roller and the carry-out roller pair 25 of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 having an arc shape. It is composed of three members, that is, a third guide piece that guides the conveyance of the reuse sheet 100 between the roller and the roller.

The first flapper 27a is arranged between the lower guide piece of the horizontal guide 16 and the first guide piece of the reversing discharge guide 160, and a position for closing the horizontal guide 16 (hereinafter referred to as a horizontal guide closing position). .) And a position that is formed by the first guide piece and the second guide piece and closes the sheet unloading path that can convey the reused sheet 100 downward (hereinafter, referred to as unloading path closing position). It is possible. The second and third flappers 27b and 27c are arranged between the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 and the first guide piece, and guide the leading end of the reused sheet 100 to the carry-out roller pair 28 (see FIG. 1). State. Hereinafter referred to as the carry-out route guidance position.)
And a position for guiding the reuse sheet 100 to the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 side (see FIG. 5B. Hereinafter, referred to as carry-in roller guide position). Normally, the first flapper 27a is located at the carry-out path closing position, and the second and third flappers 27b and 27c are located at the carry-out path guiding position.

On one side of the first sheet stacking unit 4 (on the side of the reusable sheet stacker 120), a partition plate 14 extending from the vicinity of the carry-out roller pair 28 to the bottom plate of the apparatus frame 15 and curved at the lower side is arranged. There is. The partition plate 14 constitutes, together with the side surface of the device frame 15, a discharge sheet stacker 7 that stores the reused sheets that have been recorded on both sides and have been discharged from the discharge roller pair 28. Further, a discharge sheet retainer 8 for urging the reused sheet, which has been recorded on both sides, toward the partition plate 14 by a spring (not shown) is fixed to the side surface of the device frame 15 facing the partition plate 14. In addition,
A side opening / closing door (not shown) is provided on a side surface of the device frame 15 facing the partition plate 14, and the side opening / closing door is opened by a handle (not shown) fixed at a position higher than the discharge sheet presser 8. Thus, it is possible to discharge the reused sheets that have been recorded on both sides and that have been stored in the discharge sheet stacker 7.

Further, the first and second sheet stacking units 4,
On the upper part of the sheet 5, the uppermost reuse sheet 100 and the unused sheet 1 stacked on the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5.
10 (see also FIG. 4), the feeding roller 60 feeding the abutting sheet in the sheet feeding direction to the copying machine main body 2.
a and 60b are provided. The feeding roller 6
The arrangement position of 0b with respect to the second sheet stacking unit 5 is
In order to shorten the lateral length of the sheet feeding device 3, the sheet feeding device 3 is positioned slightly toward the center (to the left in FIG. 1) of the position where the feeding roller 60a is arranged with respect to the first sheet stacking unit 4.

The roller shafts of the feeding rollers 60a and 60b are feeding levers 90 having a substantially L-shaped cross section, which are rotatable about support shafts 9a and 9b pivotally supported by the apparatus frame 15.
It is rotatably supported by 91. Feeding lever 9
The end portion on the opposite side of the L-shaped bending portion via the support shafts 9a of 0 and 91 has an arcuate shape in cross section. Feeding lever 9
In the vicinity of the arcuate end portions of 0 and 91, a reflection-integrated payout roller position sensor 67 that faces the arcuate end portion and detects the position of the payout rollers 60a and 60b by two values of ON and OFF.
a and 67b are provided respectively. That is, when the feeding rollers 60a and 60b are in contact with the uppermost sheet, the arcuate ends of the feeding levers 90 and 91 reflect the light from the roller position sensors 67a and 67b, and the arc of the roller position sensors 67a and 67b. Turns on the output signal.

Above the second sheet stacking unit 5, a pair of sheet carry-in rollers 2 is provided above the first sheet stacking unit 4.
A feed passage for communicating the sheet carry-in guide 50 of the copying machine main body 2 from the side opposite to 5 and feeding the reused sheets 100 stacked in the first sheet stacking unit 4 to the copying machine main body 2. A sheet feeding guide 80 that forms a sheet is disposed.

In the sheet feeding guide 80, a sheet feeding roller 61 which is arranged on the upstream side (lower side) and which feeds the reused sheet 100 fed by the feeding roller 60a to the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction, and the sheet feeding roller 61. A separation roller 65 that presses against the roller 61 and separates the reused sheets 100 one by one, a reused roller 100 that is composed of a driving roller and a driven roller that presses against the driving roller, and the fed reused sheet 100 is further downstream in the sheet feeding direction. Transport roller pair 24b, transport roller pair 24
A transmission-integrated sensor that is arranged in the vicinity of the downstream of b and detects the leading end of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction, and a stamp unit 10 that marks the image forming surface of the reuse sheet 100 as described below, indicating that it has been used. , And a registration roller pair 64 configured by a driving roller and a driven roller that is pressed against the driving roller to correct skew of the reused sheet 100 and feed the sheet to the sheet conveyance guide 50 side of the copying machine body 2. It is arranged.

The stamp unit 10 is fixed to a pinion to which power from a stamp motor 35 (see FIG. 4) is transmitted via a gear (not shown), a rack which is movable by meshing with the pinion, and a rack. It is configured to have a quick-drying marker having an opening / closing plate at its tip and a marker receiver that is fixed to the lower guide piece of the sheet feeding guide 80 and serves as a marker receiving material. The marker receiver has claws for opening and closing the opening and closing plate of the marker at both ends. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the stamp unit 10, when the reuse sheet 100 is fed in the sheet feeding direction (direction of arrow A), the marker 1 whose opening / closing plate is opened at the upper end of the marker receiver is used.
0a moves in a direction intersecting with the sheet feeding direction (direction of arrow B) to give a mark to the reuse sheet 100.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, from the upper side of the second sheet stacking unit 5, it communicates with the sheet carry-in guide 50 of the copying machine main body 2, and the unused sheet stacked on the second sheet stacking unit 5 is used. A sheet feeding guide 81 that forms a feeding path for feeding the sheet 110 to the copying machine main body 2 is arranged. The sheet feeding guide 81 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction, and the above-described sheet feeding guide 80 merges with the sheet feeding guide 81 in a bifurcated shape near the upper end of the apparatus frame 15.

In the sheet feeding guide 81, a sheet feeding roller 62 for feeding the unused sheet 110 arranged on the upstream side (lower side) and fed by the feeding roller 60b to the downstream side (upper side) in the sheet feeding direction. And a separation roller 6 that is pressed against the paper feed roller 62 to separate the reused sheets 100 one by one.
6. A registration sensor 6 which is arranged in the vicinity of the downstream of the paper feed roller 62 and detects the leading end of the unused sheet 110 in the transport direction.
8 and a pair of registration rollers 24c configured by a driving roller and a driven roller that is in pressure contact with the driving roller to correct skew of the unused sheet 110 and feed the sheet to the sheet conveying guide 50 side of the copying machine body 2. They are arranged in order.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet feeding device 3 is
In addition to the lifting motors 44 and 45 and the stamp motor 35 described above as drive sources, a paper feed motor 29 that rotates the paper feed roller 22 (and the kick roller 21), a transport roller pair 24a, a sheet carry-in roller pair 25, and a carry-out roller. Roller pair 2
Transport motor 31 for rotating each drive roller 8
A sheet feeding motor 30a for rotating the feeding roller 60a and the sheet feeding roller 61, a sheet feeding motor 30b for rotating the feeding roller 60b and the sheet feeding roller 62, a conveyance roller pair 24b, and registration roller pairs 64, 24c. And a feeding motor 32 for rotating the drive roller. Stepping motors are used as these motors, and the elevating motors 44 and 45, the conveyance motor 31, and the stamp motor 35 can be rotated forward and backward. Also,
The first flapper 27a is the plunger of the solenoid 33,
The second and third flappers 27b and 27c are mechanically connected to the plunger of the solenoid 34 via connecting members (not shown).

A reverse clutch (not shown) is interposed on the roller shaft of the drive roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, and the drive roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 moves in one direction even if the transport motor 31 rotates forward and backward. It is configured to rotate. Further, the feeding motor 32 and the registration roller pair 6
A connecting clutch (not shown) is interposed between the driving rollers 4 and 24c, and the pair of registration rollers 64 and 6 are provided.
7 is configured to transmit the rotational drive from the feed motor 32 when it is connected by a connecting clutch.

Further, the sheet feeding apparatus 3 is provided with a control unit (not shown) having a CPU block for controlling the sheet feeding apparatus 3. The CPU block includes a CPU that operates as a central processing unit, a ROM that stores a basic control program for the sheet feeding device 3, a RAM that serves as a work area of the CPU, and an internal bus that connects these. An external bus is connected to the CPU block. The external bus includes an actuator control unit (not shown) including a driver control section that controls a motor driver that drives each of the above stepping motors, a solenoid control section that controls the solenoids 33 and 34, and a clutch section that controls connection of each clutch. A sensor signal receiving unit that receives signals from the above-described sensors, a power supply control unit that controls supply of DC power converted from commercial AC power to an actuator control unit by a power supply unit (not shown), and copying machine main body 2
An interface for exchanging signals is connected to the control unit.

<Operation> Next, regarding the operation of the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU of the control unit is the main subject, and (1) the first
Loading operation of the reused sheet 100 to the sheet stacking unit 4, (2) Sheet feeding operation to the copying machine main body 2, (3)
The operation when replenishing and replacing the seat will be described in order.

(1) Loading Operation into First Sheet Stacking Unit The CPU stands by until the empty sensor 121 is turned on, that is, until the reused sheet 100 is placed on the reused sheet stacker 120, When the empty sensor 121 is turned on, it is determined whether the sheet feeding motor 30a that rotationally drives the feeding roller 60a is rotationally driven.

When the determination is affirmative, the process waits until the rotational drive of the sheet feeding motor 30a is stopped, and when the determination is negative, the feeding roller 60a is the uppermost reused sheet 100 stacked on the first sheet stacking unit 4. Since it is in contact with
The elevating motor 44 has the elevating gears 41a and 41b shown in FIG.
Is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow direction to move the sheet stacking base 70 by a predetermined amount (about 10
(about mm), and then stop. As a result, the reuse sheet 1 placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120
00 is ready to be loaded into the first sheet stacking unit 4.

Next, the paper feed motor 29 and the transport motor 31
Is driven to convey the reuse sheet 100 for a predetermined distance to the downstream side, and then the operations of these motors are stopped. As a result, the uppermost reusable sheet 100 placed on the reusable sheet stacker 120 is fed by the kick roller 21, separated one by one by the paper feed roller 22 and the separation pad 26, and placed in the horizontal guide 16. The re-used sheet 1 is carried in, and the inside of the reversal auxiliary guide 150 is further conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 24a.
00 is conveyed to the downstream side by a distance corresponding to a length slightly shorter than the length of 00, and as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, the rear end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the conveyance direction is the conveyance roller pair 24a.
The kick roller 21 and the paper feed roller 2 are sandwiched between
2 and the rotation of the transport roller pair 24a are stopped. At such a sandwiched position, the detection sensor 23 is used by the reuse sheet 100.
It is possible to measure by detecting the rear end portion in the conveyance direction and counting the preset number of steps (pulse number) with respect to the rotation of the conveyance motor 31. The first flapper 2
7a is located at the carry-out path closed position, and assists the front end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction to be sandwiched by the transport roller pair 24a. 5 and 6, a black triangle mark on the reuse sheet 100 indicates an image forming surface (the same applies to FIGS. 8 and 9 described later).

During this time, the CPU measures the number of pixels of the image recorded on both sides of the reuse sheet 100 by the input from the detection sensor 23, and when the number of pixels is larger than the predetermined value, the image is recorded on that side. If the number of pixels is less than a predetermined value, the surface is determined to be blank. Therefore, the CPU
It is possible to determine whether the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 being conveyed in the horizontal guide 16 is blank paper, the lower surface is blank paper, both upper and lower surfaces are blank paper, and both upper and lower surfaces have been recorded (image formation completed). The CPU stops driving the paper feed motor 29 when the detection sensor 23 detects the rear end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, when the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 is recorded and the lower surface is blank, or when both sides of the reuse sheet 100 are recorded, the solenoid 33 is turned on. The first flapper 27a is positioned from the carry-out path closed position to the horizontal guide closed position, the second and third flappers 27b and 27c are held at the carry-out path guided position while the solenoid 34 is in the OFF state, and the carry motor 31 is set to a predetermined number of steps. Drive in reverse. By the reverse drive of the carry motor 31, the carry-out roller pair 28 holds the reused sheet 100 and carries it to the lower discharged sheet stacker 7 side. The second and third flappers 27b and 27c located at the carry-out route guide position assist the leading end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction to be nipped by the transport roller pair 28.

When both sides of the reused sheet 100 have been recorded, the rear end of the reused sheet 100 in the conveying direction leaves the nip of the carry-out roller pair 28 and is conveyed in a sufficient number of steps so as to drop toward the discharged sheet stacker 7. The motor 31 is reversely driven and then stopped. As a result, the reused sheets 100 on both sides of which have been recorded are accumulated in the discharge sheet stacker 7 as non-reusable sheets. Therefore, the operator can take out the unreusable sheet by opening the side opening / closing door provided on the side surface of the apparatus frame 15 as described above.

When the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 has been recorded and the lower surface is blank, the reverse rotation drive of the transport motor 31 is stopped with the rear end of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction being nipped by the transport roller pair 28. Next, the solenoid 34 is turned on, the second and third flappers 27b and 27c are moved from the carry-out route guide position to the carry-in roller guide position, and the carry motor 31 is driven to rotate normally. As a result, the third flapper 27c assists the leading end of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction to be pinched by the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, and the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 places the reused sheet 100 at the top of the sheet stacking table 70. Reusable sheets 100 loaded on top
It is carried onto the top (state of FIG. 5 (B)). When the sensor (not shown) arranged near the driven roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 detects the rear end of the recycled sheet 100 in the transport direction, the CPU stops the forward drive of the transport motor 31. In this way, the reuse sheet 100 whose top surface has been recorded on the reuse sheet stacker 120 and whose bottom surface is blank is
By switching back the sheet conveying path in the front / back reversing unit 6, it is stacked on the first sheet stacking unit 4 while the upper surface remains the recorded surface.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the reuse sheet 1
When the lower surface of 00 is recorded and the upper surface is blank, the solenoid 33 is turned on to move the first flapper 27a from the carry-out path closed position to the horizontal guide closed position, and the solenoid 34 is turned on to set the second and the third. The flappers 27b and 27c are positioned from the carry-out route guide position to the carry-in roller guide position. Further, the reverse rotation driving force is transmitted from the conveyance motor 31 to the drive roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 26 via the reverse rotation clutch described above. As a result, the second flapper 27b assists the leading end of the reused sheet 100 in the transport direction to be pinched by the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, and the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 places the reused sheet 100 at the top of the sheet stacking table 70. It is carried in on the reuse sheet 100 stacked on the upper portion (state of FIG. 6B). Figure 5
When the lower surface has been recorded and the upper surface is blank as shown in (B), as in the case of the reuse sheet 100, the CPU causes the sheet loading roller pair 25 to be re-loaded by a sensor (not shown) arranged in the vicinity of the driven roller. When the rear end of the utilization sheet 100 in the transport direction is detected, the reverse rotation drive of the transport motor 31 is stopped. As described above, the reuse sheet 100 whose lower surface is already recorded on the reuse sheet stacker 120 and whose upper surface is blank is turned so that the sheet conveyance path in the front and back reversing unit 6 is U-turned, so that the front and back surfaces are inverted and the first sheet is reversed. It is loaded on the loading unit 4.

The above-described carrying-in operation to the first sheet stacking unit is performed until the empty sensor 121 is turned off.
In other words, the same process is repeated until there are no more sheets placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120. Therefore, the reused sheets 100 are stacked on the first sheet stacking unit 4 in a state where the front and back surfaces are aligned.

(2) Sheet feeding operation to the copying machine main body When the CPU receives a sheet feeding instruction signal from the control unit (not shown) of the copying machine main body 1, the first sheet stacking included in the sheet feeding instruction signal. An instruction to feed the reused sheets 100 stacked in the unit 4 or a second sheet stacking unit 5
It is decoded whether it is an instruction to feed the unused sheets 110 stacked on the sheet.

When it is instructed to feed the unused sheet 110, the sheet feeding motor 30b is driven. As a result, the feeding roller 60b feeds the unused sheet 110 at the uppermost portion of the second sheet stacking unit 5, separates the fed unused sheet 110 by the sheet feeding roller 62 and the separation roller 66, and separates them one by one. Side (upper side).

When the registration sensor 68 detects the leading end of the unused sheet 110 in the transport direction, the CPU determines whether the sheet feeding motor 30b has transported the unused sheet 110 for a predetermined number of steps. , Unused sheet 11
The transport of 0 is continued. As a result, the unused sheet 110
The leading end of the sheet in the conveying direction is abutted against the pair of registration rollers 24c and is curved, so that the skew generated in the sheet feeding guide 81 is corrected. On the other hand, when the determination is affirmative, the unused sheet 110
Since the skew feeding is corrected, the feeding motor 32 is driven, and at the same time, the driving of the feeding motor 32 is transmitted to the registration roller pair 24c with the connecting clutch described above in the connected state. Accordingly, the registration roller pair 24c feeds the unused sheet 110 in the sheet feeding guide 81 toward the sheet conveying guide 50.

The unused sheet 110 carried into the main body 2 of the copying machine is converted into a substantially horizontal direction by the pair of conveying rollers and conveyed on the sheet conveying path, and is pressed against the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller to form toner. After the image is formed and the toner image is heated and fixed by the fixing device, the toner image is discharged from the copying machine main body 2.

On the other hand, when it is instructed to feed the reuse sheet 100, the empty sensor 121 is in the ON state and
By determining whether or not the delivery roller position sensor 67a is in the off state, it is determined whether or not the above-described loading operation to the first sheet stacking unit is in progress. When the determination is affirmative, when a sensor (not shown) arranged in the vicinity of the driven roller of the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 detects the rear end of the reused sheet 100 in the transport direction, the sheet is placed on the uppermost portion of the reused sheet stacker 120. The feeding of the (next) reused sheet 100 is temporarily stopped, and the lifting motor 44 is moved to the lifting gear 41 shown in FIG.
The sheet stacking base 7 is driven to rotate in the directions of arrows a and 41b.
The reuse sheet 100 at the top of 0 is the feeding roller 60.
The feeding roller position sensor 67a is driven until it comes into contact with a and the feeding roller position sensor 67a is turned on. As a result, the reuse sheet 100 can be fed from the first sheet stacking unit 4.

Next, the CPU drives the sheet feeding motor 30a and the feeding motor 32. As a result, the feeding roller 60a feeds the uppermost reuse sheet 100 of the first sheet stacking unit 4, and the reuse sheet 1 is fed.
00 is separated one by one by the paper feed roller 61 and the separation roller 65 and is conveyed to the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction.

When the transmission-integrated sensor arranged in the vicinity of the downstream side of the transport roller pair 24b detects the leading end of the reusable sheet 100 in the sheet feeding direction, the CPU causes the feeding motor 32 to position the marking. It is determined whether or not the sheet has rotated by a predetermined number of first steps, and when the determination is negative, the conveyance of the reuse sheet 100 is continued. On the other hand, when the determination is affirmative, the stamp motor 35 is driven in the normal direction for the predetermined number of steps. As a result, marking is provided on the upper surface side of the reuse sheet 100, as shown in FIG. 3, on the upper surface (recorded surface) of the reuse sheet 100 in the sheet feeding direction.

Further, it is judged whether or not the feeding motor 32 has conveyed the reused sheet 100 of a predetermined second step number (second step number> first step number), and in the case of negative determination,
The conveyance of the reuse sheet 100 is continued. As a result, the leading end of the reused sheet 100 in the conveying direction is brought into contact with the pair of registration rollers 64 and is curved, so that the skewing generated in the sheet feeding guide 80 is corrected. On the other hand, when the determination is affirmative, the skew feeding of the reuse sheet 100 has been corrected, so the feeding motor 3
The driving force of 2 is supplied to the registration roller pair 64 by the connecting clutch described above, and the reuse sheet 1
00 is fed toward the sheet conveyance guide 50.

Next, by determining whether or not the feeding motor 32 has rotated by a predetermined third step number (third step number> second step number), the rear end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the conveying direction. Is conveyed to the downstream side of the registration roller pair 64, and when the determination is negative, the reuse sheet 1
The transport of 00 is continued. When the determination is affirmative, the stamp motor 35 is reversely driven a predetermined number of steps to move the marker 10
A is returned to the home position in preparation for the next marking of the reuse sheet 100 and then stopped. At this time, the opening / closing plate of the marker 10a is returned to the home position while being closed by the claws formed on the marker receiver.

The reuse sheet 100 fed into the main body 2 of the copying machine is changed in the conveying direction to a substantially horizontal direction by a pair of conveying rollers and conveyed on the sheet conveying path, and is pressed against the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller. A toner image is formed on a white paper surface, the toner image is heated and fixed by the fixing device, and then the toner image is ejected from the copying machine main body 2. One side of the reused sheet 100 discharged from the copying machine main body 2 has already been marked by the stamp unit 10 of the sheet feeding device 3.

The above-described sheet feeding operation to the main body of the copying machine is executed for the number of fed sheets included in the sheet feeding instruction signal, and the operator can operate the copying machine main body 2 from the operation unit of the copying machine main body 2. The designated number of unused sheets 110 or reused sheets 100 are sequentially fed one by one. When the feeding of the number of fed sheets included in the sheet feeding instruction signal is completed, the temporarily stopped carrying-in operation to the first sheet stacking unit 4 is restarted.

(3) Operation during seat replenishment / replacement When the door open / close detection sensor detects the opening of the front open / close door, the CPU controls the power supply control unit to ensure the safety of the operator. CPU block, lifting motor 44,
Power supply to other than 45 is stopped. This makes the first
Even if the carrying-in operation to the sheet stacking unit and the sheet feeding operation to the copying machine main body are in operation, the operation is temporarily suspended. The CPU stores the state value of each mechanism unit at the time of interruption in the RAM and prepares for restarting.

In this state, the operator pulls out each of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 to the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1 and presses the switch button provided on the motor supporting member. The sheet mounting bases 70 and 71 are lowered and the second
Unused sheets 110 are collectively supplied to the sheet stacking unit 5, and reused sheets 100 and unused sheets 110 stacked on the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 are first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5. It is possible to exchange between. Further, since the safety of the operator is ensured, it is possible to deal with a paper jam (jam) or the like. In addition, in the case of repairing each mechanical unit and control unit, in order to further secure safety, the main switch (not shown) that turns on or off the supply of commercial AC power to the power supply unit is turned off. Done after.

When the CPU detects the home positions of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 with the above-mentioned stacking unit position detection sensor and also detects that the front opening / closing door is closed with the door opening / closing detection sensor. , Sheet stacking stand 7
The uppermost sheets of 0 and 71 are feeding rollers 60a and 6
0b, the lifting motors 44, 45 are driven to rotate in the arrow directions of the lifting gears 41a, 41b shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not a and 67b have detected the ON state. When the determination is negative, the rotation driving of the lifting motors 44 and 45 is continued, and when the determination is positive, the rotation driving of the lifting motors is stopped.

Then, the CPU reads the state value of each mechanical unit stored in the RAM at the time of interruption and restarts the operation before the interruption. When the carrying-in operation is interrupted during the carrying-in operation to the first sheet stacking unit 4, the sheet stacking base 70 is lowered by a predetermined amount and the subsequent operation is continued as described above.

<Operation, etc.> As described above, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the front and back reversing unit 6 is checked while checking the front and back surfaces of the reused sheet 100 placed on the reused sheet stacker 120 with the detection sensor 23. To selectively reverse the front and back surfaces of the reused sheet 100 and load the reused sheet 100 on the first sheet stacking unit 4, and the reusing sheet 100 is first transferred to the first sheet stacking unit 60a.
It is fed from the sheet stacking unit 4 and fed to the copying machine main body 2. Therefore, the reusable sheets 100 stacked on the first sheet stacking unit 4 have their blank surfaces (reusable surfaces) aligned. Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to change the internal structure of the copying machine main body 2 as in the prior art, only by changing the internal structure of the sheet feeding device 3, and the sheet feeding device 3 is changed. The reusable sheet 100 and the unused sheet 110 can be supplied to the copying machine main body 2.

Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the feeding roller 60a, the paper feeding roller 61 and the separating roller 65 are arranged at the front end side of the first sheet stacking unit 5 in the sheet feeding direction. A sheet carry-in roller pair 25 is arranged on the rear end side of the sheet stacking unit 5 in the sheet feeding direction. Therefore, the unused sheets 110 are loaded / fed in the first sheet stacking unit 4 in only one direction. Therefore, as in the prior art, it is possible to carry in the reuse sheet /
Since the feeding directions are not the opposite directions but the same directions, it is possible to smoothly and promptly carry in / feed the reuse sheet.

Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the mounting portion of the reuse sheet stacker 120 is exposed to the outside of the sheet feeding device 3. Therefore, the reusable sheet 100 can be easily set without opening and closing the front opening / closing door, and the space occupied by the reusable sheet stacker 120 in the sheet feeding device 3 is not required unlike the prior art. Therefore, the sheet feeding device 3, and thus the copying machine 1 becomes more compact. Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the front / back reversing unit 6, the detection sensor 23, the sheet feeding unit 20, and the reusable sheet stacker 120 are sequentially arranged on the rear side of the first sheet stacking unit 4 in the sheet feeding direction. Therefore, the sheet feeding device 3 as a whole can be made compact while having a sheet sorting function. Moreover, since the stamp unit 10 is arranged on the opposite side (the sheet feeding guide 80 side) through the first sheet stacking unit 4, the sheet feeding device 3 as a whole can be made compact and thus lightweight. .

Further, in the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, the reused sheet 100 fed from the first sheet stacking unit 4 is used.
On the recorded side (used side) of the sheet feeding guide 8
Since the marking is added by the stamp unit 10 arranged at 0, the operator can prevent the reuse sheet 100 from being confused with the surface on which the image is newly formed in the copying machine main body 2.

In the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, the reuse sheet 100 placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120 is also used.
Of the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 are carried into the first sheet stacking unit 4 near the reuse sheet stacker 120. Therefore, the reuse sheet stacker 12
Since the sheet carry-in path from 0 to the first sheet stacking unit 4 is shortened, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a paper jam (jam) in the carry-in path.

Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the empty sensor 121 detects the presence of the reused sheet 100 and the feeding roller 60a is not operated, the lifting motors 44 and 45 are mounted on the sheet stacking base. 70 and 71 are lowered by a predetermined amount so that the reuse sheet 100 can be carried in. For this reason, since the sheet is carried into the first sheet stacking unit 4 from the reuse sheet stacker 120 when the feeding roller 60a is not in the operating state, there is no operation error in carrying in and feeding the reuse sheet 100. It does not occur, and reliability can be secured.

Furthermore, in the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, the reuse sheet stacker 120 and the first sheet stacking unit 4 are used.
The discharged sheet stacker 7 is disposed by effectively utilizing the lateral lower space of the first sheet stacking unit 4 between the sheet stacking unit 4 and the sheet discharge path 28 of the reverse sheet discharge guide 160. Since the recorded sheets are made to fall, it is possible to distinguish the reuse sheet 100 and the double-sided recorded (non-reusable) sheets and to accumulate the double-sided recorded sheets, and to perform double-sided opening from the side opening / closing door. Since a structure capable of discharging recorded sheets is adopted, the space required for the discharged sheet stacker 7 can be appropriately reduced, and the sheet feeding device 3 can be made compact.

In the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, the reversing auxiliary guide 1 of the front / back reversing unit 6 of the reuse sheet 100 is also used.
A sheet feeding guide for feeding the reusable sheet 100 from the first sheet stacking unit 4 by arranging 50 and the reverse discharge guide 160 above and laterally in the effective space of the first sheet stacking unit 6. Since 80 is arranged above the second sheet stacking unit 5, the sheet feeding device 3 can be made more compact. Further, in the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the first and second sheet stacking units 4 and 5 are arranged side by side in the lateral direction, so that the size of the sheet feeding device 3 in the height direction can be suppressed. it can.

Further, the apparatus frame 15 of the sheet feeding apparatus 3 of the present embodiment has a mounting surface for mounting the copying machine main body 2, and the sheet feeding apparatus 3 is mounted on the copying machine main body 2. Therefore, the installation area of the copying machine 1 (the sheet feeding device 3 and the copying machine main body 2) can be reduced.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the detection sensor 23 detects the rear end portion of the reused sheet 100 in the conveying direction. However, for example, a transparent sheet is provided between the detection sensor 23 and the conveying roller pair 24a. A body type detection sensor may be arranged to detect the rear end of the reuse sheet 100 in the conveyance direction. By doing so, the load on the CPU that counts the number of pixels in parallel can be reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, the electric reverse clutch and the connecting clutch are exemplified for rotating the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 in one direction, but a mechanical structure in which a one-way clutch and a gear, a cam and a gear and the like are combined is used. There is no question that you may use.

Further, in this embodiment, the reuse sheet 10 is used.
When both sides of 0 are recorded, the first flapper 27a is positioned at the horizontal guide closing position, and the second flapper 27b, and the second flapper 27b, like the case where the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 is recorded and the lower surface is blank. An example in which the reuse sheet 100 is dropped to the discharged sheet stacker 7 by the reverse rotation drive of the carry motor 31 while holding 27c at the carry-out route guide position is shown in FIG.
In the state shown in (B), the second and third flappers 27b, 27c
Even if the sheet is held at the carry-out route guide position, the reused sheet having the double-sided recording can be dropped onto the discharged sheet stacker 7 by the reverse rotation of the conveyance motor 31.

Further, in the present embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation, the reuse sheet 10 is placed in the first sheet stacking unit 4.
Although the example in which 0 is stacked and the unused sheet 110 is stacked in the second sheet stacking unit 5 has been shown, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the control unit on the side of the sheet feeding device 3 controls each mechanical unit has been described, but the control unit on the side of the copying machine main body 2 may control each mechanical unit.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine will be described. In the present embodiment, different front and back reversing units 6 are used, and the stamp unit is arranged on the upstream side of the first sheet stacking unit 4. In the following embodiments, the same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different portions will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, the front / back reversing unit 6 of this embodiment includes the reversing auxiliary guide 150 of the first embodiment.
Instead of, instead of being connected to the horizontal guide 16, the inversion auxiliary guide 15
An auxiliary guide 161 shorter than 0 and slightly inclined downward is arranged. The stamp unit 11 is fixed to the auxiliary guide 161.

Further, from the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, the auxiliary guide 1 is connected to the second guide piece and the third guide piece of the reversal carry-out guide 160 and has the same length as the auxiliary guide 161.
62 is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction. Auxiliary guide 162
A stamp unit 12 is fixedly installed in the. In addition,
The stamp units 11 and 12 each include a stamp motor 36, which is a stepping motor (not shown) capable of forward and reverse rotation.
Driven by.

Further, the front / back reversing unit 6 of the present embodiment.
Does not include the third flapper 27c shown in the first embodiment, and does not include the stamp unit 10 in the path of the sheet feeding guide 80.

In the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 has been recorded and the lower surface is blank, the CPU turns off the solenoids 33 and 34. While keeping the first flapper 27a at the carry-out route closing position and the second flapper 27b at the transport route guiding position,
The stamp motor 3 is driven while the transport motor 31 is driven.
6 is driven to operate the stamp unit 11 via a gear (not shown). As a result, the reuse sheet 10
0 is marked on the upper surface of the sheet stacking table 70
Is carried in (see FIG. 8B) on the reuse sheet 100 stacked on the uppermost part of the sheet and stacked. The CPU is
When the reuse sheet 100 is placed on the sheet mounting table, the stamp motor 36 is reversely driven to return the marker of the stamp unit 11 to the home position in preparation for the next marking of the reuse sheet 100 and then stop.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the reuse sheet 1
When the upper surface of 00 is recorded and the lower surface is blank, the conveyance motor 31 is driven, and the reverse rotation drive of the conveyance motor 31 is stopped in a state where the rear end of the reuse sheet 100 in the conveyance direction is nipped by the conveyance roller pair 24a. . Next, the solenoid 33 is turned on to position the first flapper 27a at the horizontal guide closed position, the second flapper 27b from the carry-out route guide position to the carry-in roller guide position, and the carry motor 31 is driven in reverse. As a result, the driving force of the carry motor 31 is transmitted to the sheet carry-in roller pair 25 via the reverse rotation clutch, and the first and second flappers 27a and 27b have their leading ends in the carrying direction of the reused sheet 100 in the sheet carry-in roller pair 25. To be sandwiched between. When the reusable sheet 100 is nipped by the sheet carry-in roller pair 25, the stamp motor 36 is driven to operate the stamp unit 12 via a gear (not shown). As a result, the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 is marked and the front and back surfaces are reversed so that the reuse sheet 100 is loaded onto the reuse sheet 100 stacked on the top of the sheet stacking table 70 (see FIG. 9B). ), Accumulated. Note that the CPU uses the reuse sheet 10
When 0 is placed on the sheet placing table, the stamp motor 3
6 is driven in reverse to return the marker of the stamp unit 12 to the home position in preparation for the marking of the next reuse sheet 100, and then stop.

When both sides of the reuse sheet 100 have been recorded, the conveyance motor 31 is driven to drive the reuse sheet 10
The reverse rotation drive of the carry motor 31 is stopped with the rear end portion of the carry direction 0 being sandwiched by the carry roller pair 24a. next,
The solenoids 33 and 34 are turned on, and the first flapper 2
7a is located at the horizontal guide closing position, and the second flapper 27b is located at the carry-in roller guide position from the carry-out route guide position. Then, the conveyance motor 31 is driven in the reverse direction, the reuse sheet 100 leaves the nip of the carry-out roller pair 28, and is driven in the reverse direction for the number of steps sufficient to drop in the direction of the discharged sheet stacker 7, and then stopped. As a result, the reuse sheet 10 on both sides of which has been recorded
0 is accumulated in the discharge sheet stacker 7.

In the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, the reuse sheet stacker 120 has a reuse sheet 1 of which one side is blank.
When 00 is placed, the number of switchbacks of the conveyance (reversal) method by the front / back reversing unit 6 is 0 or 1. On the other hand, the front / back reversing unit 6 of the first embodiment
In the case of the conveyance (reversal) method, it is necessary to switch back once or twice between the inside of the reversal auxiliary guide 150 and the carry-out roller pair 28. Therefore, the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment can load the reused sheets 100 in the first sheet stacking unit 4 more quickly than the copying machine 1 of the first embodiment.

Further, in the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, even if the copying machine main body 2 is a high speed machine, the stamp units 11 and 12 perform marking before the reusable sheet 100 is stacked, so that the storage can be improved. It is possible to feed the reused sheet 100 from the first sheet stacking unit 4 that functions as following the processing speed of the copying machine main body 2.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine will be described. In this embodiment, a different reversing method is adopted for the front / back reversing unit 6, and the sheet stacking units are arranged in the vertical direction. The present embodiment is suitable for a copying machine main body which is relatively smaller than the copying machine main body of the above-described embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 10, the sheet feeding device 3 of this embodiment has a first tray 104 in which the reused sheets 100 are mainly stacked in the device frame 15, and a first tray 104 below the first tray 104. And a second tray 105 on which the unused sheets 110 are arranged and which is mainly stacked.

The first and second trays 104 and 105 are provided at their bottoms with a sheet feeding slant plate 108 which is pivotally supported by the tray and is rotatable around slanting axes 106 and 107 for feeding stacked sheets. It has 109. First and second tray 10
Elevating motors 44 and 45 for inclining the sheet feeding inclined plates 108 and 109 are fixed to the bottom surfaces of the sheets 4 and 105. The motor shafts of the lifting motors 44 and 45 have
Lifting levers 140 and 141 having a substantially L-shaped cross section are fixed to the bottom surface of the paper feed tilt plates 108 and 109 on the opposite side of the tilt shafts 106 and 107 with the fixed position of 5 interposed therebetween.

Therefore, by driving the elevating motors 44 and 45, it is possible to elevate and lower the sheet end portion on the leading end side of the elevating levers 140 and 141. In addition, in FIG. 10, the first
The tray 104 shows a state in which the reuse sheet 100 placed on the reuse sheet stacker 120 can be carried in.
The tray 105 is in a state in which the unused sheet 110 can be fed by driving the elevating motor 45.

Further, at lower positions on both sides of the first and second trays 104 and 105, slide guides 46a which slidably contact the slide guide rails having a C-shaped cross section supported by the apparatus frame 15 inside. 46b, 47a,
47b are fixed. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the operator opens the front opening / closing door to move the first,
Each of the second trays 104 and 105 can be pulled out to the front side of the paper surface of FIG.

The front and back reversing unit 6 of this embodiment is the first
The transport roller pair 24a and the sheet carry-in roller pair 2 of the embodiment
Instead of 5, the large-diameter reversing roller 151 is rotatably supported by the apparatus frame 15, and the reversing roller 151 has driven rollers 124 and 125 pressed against each other. The reversing roller 151 is supplied with a rotational driving force from the carry motor 31. Further, instead of the reversal auxiliary guide 150, it has a short guide piece connected to the upper guide piece of the horizontal guide 16. Further, the front / back reversing unit 6 of the present embodiment is configured to lack the third flapper 27c shown in the first embodiment. The reverse rotation clutch as in the first embodiment is not interposed on the roller shaft of the reversing roller 151.

Further, the sheet feeding device 3 of this embodiment is
In order to reduce the size, the partition plate 14 of the first embodiment is omitted, and the discharge sheet stacker 7 has a side plate of the apparatus frame 15 bent to the lower side of the reuse sheet stacker 120 in a substantially L-shaped cross section, and the reuse sheet. It is formed of a side plate extending from the stacker 120 in a substantially V-shaped cross section to the lower middle (near the upper position of the second tray 105).

On the other hand, on the opposite side of the front / back reversing unit 6 with the first and second trays 104 and 105, a sheet feeding guide 82 extending in a substantially vertical direction is arranged. The sheet feeding guide 82 includes the first and second trays 104, 1
The feed-out guides for guiding the reuse sheet 100 and the unused sheet 110 fed out from 05 join together. In the sheet feeding guide 82, a registration roller pair 64b that corrects skew of the unused sheet 110 is arranged on the downstream side (upper side) from the confluence point of the feeding guide of the unused sheet 110, and the reused sheet is used. The stamp unit 10 and the reuse sheet 10 for marking the reuse sheet 100 are provided on the downstream side of the confluence point of the feeding guides 100.
A pair of registration rollers 64a for correcting the skew feeding of 0 are sequentially arranged.

Further, the sheet feeding mechanism of the present embodiment has the kick roller 21 and the paper feed roller 22 of the first embodiment.
And sheet feeding unit 2 composed of a separation pad 26
The same structure as 0 is adopted. That is, in the present embodiment, the kick roller 21 of the first embodiment corresponds to the feeding rollers 60a and 60b, the paper feed roller 22 of the first embodiment corresponds to the paper feed rollers 61 and 62, and The separation pad 26 corresponds to the separation pads 26a and 26b.

Next, the operation of the copying machine 1 of this embodiment will be described.

In the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, when the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 is recorded and the lower surface is blank, the CPU
Holds the first flapper 27a in the carry-out path closing position and the second flapper 27b in the carrying path guiding position while keeping the solenoids 33 and 34 in the OFF state, drives the carrying motor 31 in the normal direction, and causes the reversing roller 151 to move in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Rotate in the direction.
As a result, the reuse sheet 100 nipped and conveyed between the reversing roller 151 and the driven roller 124 is transferred to the first tray 1
It is carried in and accumulated on the reuse sheet 100 stacked on top of 04. Note that the CPU operates the elevating motor 44 before starting the above operation to cause the first tray 104 to reuse the reuse sheet stacker 12 as shown in FIG.
It goes without saying that the reuse sheet 100 placed on 0 can be carried in.

When the upper surface of the reuse sheet 100 has been recorded and the lower surface is blank, the transport motor 31 is driven, and the transport motor 31 is driven with the rear end portion of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction being sandwiched by the transport roller pair 24a. Stop the reverse drive of. Next, the solenoid 34 is turned on to position the first flapper 27a at the horizontal guide closed position, the second flapper 27b from the carry-out route guide position to the carry-in roller guide position, and the carry motor 31 is driven in reverse.
As a result, the reversing roller 151 rotates in the reverse direction, and the first and second flappers 27a and 27b assist the reversing roller 151 so that the leading end of the reuse sheet 100 in the transport direction is nipped. The reusable sheet 100 sandwiched between the reversing roller 151 and the driven roller 125 has the front and back surfaces reversed and the reusable sheet 10 placed on the uppermost part of the first tray 104.
It is brought in and accumulated on 0.

When both sides of the reuse sheet 100 have been recorded, the transport motor 31 is driven to drive the reuse sheet 10.
The reverse rotation drive of the carry motor 31 is stopped with the rear end portion of the carry direction 0 being sandwiched by the carry roller pair 24a. next,
The solenoid 33 is turned on to position the first flapper 27a at the horizontal guide closed position. The solenoid 3
No. 4 is kept in the off state, and the second flapper 27b is positioned at the carry-out route guide position. Then, the conveyance motor 31 is driven in the reverse direction, the reuse sheet 100 leaves the nip of the carry-out roller pair 28, and is driven in the reverse direction for the number of steps sufficient to drop in the direction of the discharged sheet stacker 7, and then stopped. As a result, the reused sheets that have been recorded on both sides are accumulated in the discharge sheet stacker 7. The sheet feeding operation is almost the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In the copying machine 1 of this embodiment, since the large-diameter reversing roller 151 is used, it can be expected that the carrying (reversing) process in the front / back reversing unit 6 can be executed at high speed. In addition, the reuse sheet 100 as in the first and second embodiments,
A large-capacity sheet feeding unit (LCT) is not used to stack the unused sheets 110, and the first and second trays 104, 10
5, the first and second trays 104 and 105 are arranged so as to be stacked in the vertical direction (vertical direction), so that the lateral dimension of the sheet feeding device 3 can be suppressed. The copying machine 1 can be downsized. Further, since the sheet conveying distance is shorter than that in the first embodiment, it is possible to further reduce the paper jam of the sheet in the conveying path.

[0109]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheets placed on the stacker means have their reusable surfaces aligned by the front and back reversing means while the front and back sides are confirmed by the detecting means. The reused sheet stacked on the sheet stacking means and fed from the sheet stacking means to the image forming apparatus has a marking on the used surface, so that a new image is formed on the image forming apparatus. Even when the stacker is used, confusion with the used surface can be prevented, and since the stacker means is exposed to the outside of the apparatus, the space occupied by the stacker means in the apparatus is unnecessary, and the entire apparatus can be made compact. Further, it is possible to obtain the effect that the reusable seat can be easily set without opening and closing the door.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, a plurality of sheet stacking means are provided and the reusable sheets are stacked on any one of them.
The sheet can be used as a sheet stacking unit for reused sheets and a sheet stacking unit for unused sheets, and the stacker unit, the sheet feeding unit, the detecting unit, and the front and back reversing unit can each carry in the sheet by the sheet loading unit. Since the sheet stacking means is disposed on one side and the marking means is disposed on the other side, it is possible to obtain an effect that the entire apparatus can be made compact and thus lightweight.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the number of sheet stacking means is two, and the sheet fed from the first sheet feeding means is used in the image forming apparatus. A sheet feeding path for feeding the sheet to the first sheet stacking means is provided above the second sheet stacking means, the marking means is arranged in the sheet feeding path, and the sheet carrying-in means for carrying the sheet into the first sheet stacking means is provided. By providing the first sheet feeding means on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction, the effective space in the apparatus is utilized, so that it is possible to obtain an effect that the entire apparatus can be made more compact.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the sheet feeding device serves as a mounting base of the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is provided above the sheet feeding device. Since it is placed, it is possible to obtain an effect that the installation areas of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus having the action and effect of the sheet conveying apparatus of any of the first to fourth aspects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a copying machine according to a first embodiment to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a sheet mounting table of the first sheet stacking unit of the copying machine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing a stamp unit of the copying machine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a relationship between a roller and an actuator of the copying machine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the operation of the copying machine according to the first embodiment when a sheet whose upper surface has been recorded is placed on the reuse sheet stacker, and FIG. The rear end in the conveyance direction is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers, and (B) shows the state in which the rear end in the transport direction of the reused sheet is sandwiched by the pair of carry-out rollers and the pair of sheet transport rollers.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the operation of the copying machine according to the first embodiment when a sheet whose lower surface is recorded is placed on the reuse sheet stacker, and FIG. The rear end in the direction is sandwiched by the pair of transport rollers, and (B) shows the state in which the reused sheet is inverted and sandwiched by the pair of sheet transport rollers.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a copying machine according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the operation of the copying machine according to the second embodiment when a sheet whose upper surface has been recorded is placed on the reuse sheet stacker, and FIG. The rear end in the direction is pinched by the pair of transport rollers, and (B) shows the state in which the reused sheets are loaded into the first sheet stacking unit.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the operation of the copying machine according to the second embodiment when a sheet whose lower surface has been recorded is placed on the reuse sheet stacker, and FIG. In the state in which the rear end portion in the direction is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers, (B) shows a state in which the reused sheet is reversed and is carried into the first sheet stacking unit.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a copying machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier (image forming apparatus) 2 Copier main body (image forming apparatus) 3 Sheet feeder 4 First sheet stacking unit (sheet stacking means, first sheet stacking means) 5 Second sheet stacking unit (sheet stacking means) , Second sheet stacking means) 6 front and back reversing unit (front and back reversing means, discharge means) 10, 11, 12 stamp unit (marking means) 20 sheet feeding unit (sheet feeding means) 23 detection sensor (first detection) Means and detection means) 24b Conveying roller pair (part of feeding means) 24c, 64 Registration roller pair (part of feeding means) 44, 45 Lifting motor (part of lifting means) 60a, 60b Feeding roller (feeding out) Means) 25 sheet carrying-in roller pair (sheet carrying-in means) 104 first tray (sheet stacking means, first sheet stacking means) 105 second tray (Sheet stacking means, the second sheet stacking means) 100 reuse sheet 110 unused sheet 120 reuse sheet stacker (stacker means) 121 empty sensor (second detecting means)

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C058 AB16 AE08 AF04 AF55 GB27                       GB36                 2C061 AP03 AP04 AQ06 AS02 JJ04                       JJ07                 2H072 AA01 AA12 AA22 AB01                 3F100 AA01 CA12 DA09 EA02

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device mounted on an image forming apparatus to feed a sheet, comprising: a sheet stacking unit for stacking the sheet; and a sheet feeding unit for feeding out the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit. A feeding unit that feeds the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit to the image forming apparatus, a sheet carrying-in unit that carries the sheet into the sheet stacking unit, and an outside of the apparatus that is carried in by the sheet carrying-in unit. Stacker means for placing a sheet on the stacker, a sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet placed on the stacker means, and a sheet on either the front or back side of the sheet fed on the downstream side of the sheet feeding means. A first detecting means for detecting whether the surface is blank, and provided between the detecting means and the sheet carrying-in means,
Front and back reversing means for selectively reversing the sheet and conveying it to the sheet carrying-in means, and marking means for giving a marking indicating that it has been used on one surface of the sheet, excluding the stacker means A sheet feeding device characterized in that each means is disposed in the device. 2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the marking means is arranged on a sheet carrying-in path between the stacker means and the sheet stacking means. 3. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the marking unit is arranged on a sheet feeding path along which the sheet is fed by the feeding unit. 4. An elevating means for elevating and lowering the sheet stacking means, and a second detecting means for detecting whether or not a sheet is present on the stacker means, wherein the elevating means is the second The detection means detects the presence of a sheet, and when the sheet feeding means is not operating,
The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking unit is lowered by a predetermined amount. 5. A sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet to an image forming apparatus, comprising: a plurality of sheet stacking units for stacking the sheets; and a sheet feeding unit for feeding the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. Sheet carrying-in means for carrying in a sheet into any one of the plurality of sheet stacking means, stacker means for mounting a sheet carried into the sheet stacking means, and sheet feeding for the sheet stacked in the stacker means A sheet feeding means for controlling the sheet feeding means, a detecting means for detecting which of the front and back sides of the sheet fed downstream of the sheet feeding means is a blank sheet, and provided between the detecting means and the sheet carrying-in means. The
Front and back reversing means for selectively reversing the sheet and conveying it to the sheet carrying-in means, and marking means for giving a marking indicating that it has been used on one surface of the sheet, the stacker means, the sheet Each of the sheet feeding means, the detecting means, and the front and back reversing means is arranged on one side of the sheet stacking means on which the sheet is carried in by the sheet carrying-in means, and the marking means is arranged on the other side of the sheet stacking means. A sheet feeding device characterized in that 6. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheets placed on the stacker unit are carried into a sheet stacking unit closest to the stacker unit. 7. A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a sheet to an image forming apparatus, comprising: first and second sheet stacking units that stack the sheets and are arranged side by side; and sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The first to pay out
And a second sheet feeding means, and the first sheet stacking means, which is provided above the second sheet stacking means.
A sheet feeding path for feeding sheets fed from the sheet feeding means of the first sheet feeding means to the image forming apparatus; and a first sheet stacking path provided upstream of the first sheet feeding means in the sheet feeding direction. Sheet carrying-in means for carrying in sheets to the means, stacker means for mounting the sheets carried in to the first sheet stacking means, and sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets carried by the stacker means A detection unit for detecting whether the sheet surface of the sheet fed downstream of the sheet feeding unit is a blank sheet, and provided between the detection unit and the sheet loading unit,
A front and back reversing means for selectively reversing the sheet and conveying it to the sheet carrying-in means; and a sheet arranged on the sheet feeding path and used on one surface of the sheet fed from the first sheet stacking means. Marking means for giving a marking indicating that there is,
A sheet feeding device equipped with. 8. A sheet feeding device that supplies sheets to an image forming apparatus and serves as a mounting base of the image forming apparatus, the sheet stacking means for stacking the sheets, and the sheet stacking means. A sheet feeding means for feeding the formed sheet, a feeding means for feeding the sheet fed out from the sheet feeding means to the image forming apparatus, a sheet loading means for loading the sheet to the sheet stacking means, and a sheet loading Stacker means for placing the sheets carried in by the means, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets placed on the stacker means, and sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets downstream of the sheet feeding means. Detecting means for detecting whether the front or back side of the sheet is a blank sheet, provided between the detecting means and the sheet carrying-in means,
Each of the above-mentioned means is provided with a front-back inverting means for selectively reversing a sheet and conveying it to the sheet carrying-in means, and a marking means for giving a marking indicating that it has been used on one surface of the sheet. A sheet feeding device characterized by being arranged in a frame. 9. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the stacker unit is arranged so as to be exposed to the outside of the apparatus. 10. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.