JP2005206311A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove foreign matters adhered to a surface of a paper feeding roller, and back and front surfaces of paper. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feeding device comprises a paper feeding roller 3 delivering stacked paper 2; a pair of carrying rollers 201, 207 disposed downstream to the paper feeding roller 3, and clipping and carrying the paper delivered by the paper feeding roller 3; and a plurality of foreign matter removing members 211, 212 removing the foreign matters adhered to the pair of the carrying rollers 201, 207. Therefore, adhering articles on the back and front surfaces of the paper can be removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device used in a printing device or an image reading device.

  In a printing device, an image reading device, or the like, a paper feeding device for feeding paper or the like is used as means for supplying paper or a document. In such a sheet feeding device, if deposits such as dust, dust, and sand adhere to the surface of the fed sheet, these deposits may adhere to the transport roller. These adhering substances cause the conveyance roller to become dirty, causing slippage between the paper and the conveyance roller, which may cause a jam or a paper feed error. In image reading, an image on a sheet may be read by using a contact sensor such as CIS. However, if the adhering material adhering to the sheet is rubbed against the contact glass on the surface of the contact sensor, the contact is detected. May cause scratches on the glass. Thus, when the contact glass is scratched, it appears as a white line in the read image, resulting in a deterioration in image quality. Therefore, in such a paper feeding device, a mechanism for removing the deposits adhering to the surface of the paper is required. Conventionally, as a method for removing foreign matter in the paper feeding device, for example, the structure described below is used. There was a thing.

  Hereinafter, a conventional foreign matter removing mechanism of the paper feeder will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism for removing foreign matter in a conventional paper feeder.

  This foreign matter removing mechanism includes a resin roller 606, a frictional charging member 607, and a collecting unit 608 that stores the collected foreign matter, and removes foreign matter on the paper 601.

  A conventional foreign matter removal process configured as described above will be described.

  The frictional charging member 607 is brought into contact with a resin roller 606 on the same side as the photosensitive drum 605 to form a pair with a conveyance roller 604 that conveys the paper 601 from the paper supply unit 602 to the transfer unit 603, thereby charging the resin roller 606. By doing so, the foreign matter on the paper 601 is attached to the resin roller 606, and the attached foreign matter is collected in the collecting unit 608.

  In addition, as another conventional paper feeding device having another mechanism for removing the deposit, a paper feeding device provided with a cleaning member on the upstream side of the document reading unit is known (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). 6).

  The paper feeding device disclosed in (Patent Documents 1 and 2) is configured such that a cleaning member such as a cloth or sponge protrudes into the document transport path so that one surface of the document and the cleaning member are in sliding contact with each other. As described above, the cleaning member is brought into sliding contact with one surface of the document, so that the adhered matter adhered to the surface of the document is wiped off.

  In addition, the paper feeding device disclosed in (Patent Document 3) includes a dust collecting box including a guide member for guiding a document and a dust collection box between the document placing table and a document loading unit that loads the document to the document reading unit. It is set as the structure provided with the apparatus. The document guide member is formed with a number of slots having an inclination of 10 to 45 degrees with respect to the document transport direction. With this configuration, the adhering matter adhering to the manuscript being slid and conveyed on the manuscript guide member is swept away by the edge of the slot, and dropped into the dust collection box and collected.

Further, in the paper feeding device disclosed in (Patent Document 4), hanging members such as plastic films, felts, and brush members are arranged from the upper guide plate constituting the paper feed path of the manual feed tray toward the lower guide plate. It is. As a result, it is possible to prevent an object on the paper that is easy to roll from entering the paper conveyance path.

The paper feeding device disclosed in (Patent Documents 5 and 6) has a configuration in which a brush is disposed near the entrance of the paper conveyance path. In this way, by arranging the brush, dust on the surface of the document is swept away.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-19201 JP 2001-278487 A JP 58-104563 A JP-A-1-139252 JP 2002-362754 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-99658

  However, the paper feeding device as shown in FIG. 5 is configured to remove foreign matter generated when the paper 601 contacts the transport roller 604 or the paper feeding roller 609 installed in the device 600. There wasn't. Further, since the foreign matter originally attached on the back surface (transfer roller 610 side) of the paper is not removed, the transfer roller 610 is soiled by the foreign matter, and the foreign matter adheres to the photosensitive drum 605, which is referred to as black stripes or stains on printing. There was a problem that the print quality deteriorated. Further, as the number of sheets conveyed increases, there is a problem in that a paper feed error occurs because the surface friction force of the conveyance roller 604 is reduced by foreign matters adhering to the conveyance roller 604. For this reason, it is possible to remove the foreign matter on the conveying roller 604 by the resin roller 606. However, in the high-speed sheet feeding apparatus, the conveying roller 604 and the resin roller 606 are in contact with each other because the sheet interval is short. Since the time is short, sufficient foreign matter removal cannot be obtained, and a paper conveyance failure occurs. Therefore, there is a problem in that the user must periodically clean the conveyance roller 604.

  That is, in the paper feeding device, even if the foreign matter removing device is installed only on the roller installed on the printing surface side, the foreign matter cannot be removed sufficiently and the foreign matter adhering to the transport roller 604 cannot be removed. In order to restore the conveying force of 604, the conveying roller 604 must be cleaned.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a paper feed roller that feeds the stacked sheets and a sheet that is disposed downstream of the paper feed rollers and that is fed by the paper feed roller, and conveys the paper to the image processing unit. In this configuration, a pair of conveying rollers and a foreign matter removing unit that removes foreign matters attached to each of the pair of conveying rollers are provided.

  As a result, it is possible to remove foreign matters such as paper dust attached to each of the pair of conveying rollers installed between the image processing unit and the paper feed roller and foreign matters attached to the front and back surfaces of the paper. It is possible to improve printing quality, image reading accuracy, and the like.

According to the present invention, a paper feed roller that feeds the stacked sheets, and a pair of transport rollers that are arranged on the downstream side of the paper feed roller and sandwich the paper fed by the paper feed roller and transport it to the image processing unit The apparatus includes a pair and a foreign matter removing unit that removes foreign matter attached to each of the pair of transport rollers, and removes foreign matter attached to each of the transport rollers and removes attached matter on the front and back of the paper. By doing so, it is possible to prevent paper jamming and improve the printing quality, image reading accuracy, and the like.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a pair of paper feed rollers for feeding out the stacked sheets and a pair of papers that are arranged downstream of the paper feed rollers and that are fed by the paper feed rollers to be conveyed to the image processing unit. Each of the pair of transport rollers that sandwich both sides of the paper, each having a pair of transport rollers, and a foreign material removing unit that removes the foreign material adhering to each of the pair of transport rollers Since the foreign matter removing means is disposed on the surface, the foreign matter attached to the respective surfaces of the pair of transport rollers can be removed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the pair of conveying rollers includes a first roller having a rotation shaft made of an elastic member, and a first roller disposed opposite to the first roller. A sheet feeding device comprising a second roller made of a resin member that is driven and rotated by a roller, and presses the surfaces of the first roller and the second roller with a predetermined elastic force, so This has the effect that the deposit can be reliably removed by this pressure contact.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the foreign matter removing means includes a first foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter adhering to the first roller surface, and a second roller surface. The paper feeding device is configured to include a second foreign matter removing member that removes the attached foreign matter, and the foreign matter removing member is provided on both the first roller and the second roller. The kimono can be removed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the first foreign matter removing member is in contact with and slides on the foreign matter removing roller that rotates in contact with the first roller and the foreign matter removing roller. A first frictional charging member that charges the foreign matter removal roller, and the second foreign matter removal member comprises a second frictional charging member that contacts and slides on the second roller to charge the second roller. In the paper feeding device, the foreign matter adhering to the surfaces of the first roller and the second roller is adsorbed by static electricity, so that the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the roller can be reliably removed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper feeding device according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein the second foreign matter removing member is provided on a first cover portion that is attached to the main body of the device so as to be freely opened and closed. Since the paper conveyance path can be opened by opening and closing the cover portion, the foreign matter collecting portion can be easily cleaned.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the foreign matter removed from the surfaces of the first roller and the second roller is stored in the vicinity of the first friction charging member and the second friction charging member. In the sheet feeding device provided with a plurality of foreign matter storage portions, the foreign matter removed from the surface of each roller is stored in the foreign matter storage portion, and thus the removed foreign matter can be prevented from being scattered.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first frictional charging member can be separated from and contacted with a second roller that rotates in contact with the first roller. A paper feeding device attached to a second cover part rotatably attached to the apparatus main body, and the paper conveyance path can be opened by opening and closing the cover part, so that the foreign matter collecting part can be easily cleaned. Has the effect of being able to

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper feeding device according to the second, third, fourth, sixth or seventh aspect, wherein the second roller or the foreign matter removing roller is made of polypropylene resin. Is made of a material having good chargeability, so that the roller can be charged with static electricity sufficient for removing foreign matter.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper feeding device according to the fourth or sixth aspect, wherein the first and second frictional charging members are urethane foam, and the member has a good frictional charging property. Since the charging is performed, the roller can be charged with static electricity sufficient for removing foreign matter.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the image processing unit is a paper feeding device that is an image recording unit that records an image on paper, and is attached to the front and back surfaces of the paper. By removing the foreign matter, the foreign matter does not adhere to the transport roller, and therefore, it has the effect of preventing paper jams and feeding errors.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the image processing unit is a paper feeding device that is an image reading unit that reads an image recorded on a sheet, and is provided on the front and rear surfaces of the sheet. By removing the adhered foreign matter, it is possible to prevent the surface of the contact sensor or the like from being scratched, so that the image quality of the read image can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a laser printer provided with a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of foreign matter removing means included in a paper feeding section of the laser printer in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a foreign matter collecting unit included in the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. 2, FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view when the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. 2 is incorporated in the paper feed roller unit, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view in which a foreign matter removing unit of FIG.

  First, in the laser printer of FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cassette as a paper storage unit, and paper 2 set in the cassette 1 is separated one by one by a paper feed roller 3 and a separation pad 4 which will be described later. It reaches a position facing a photosensitive drum 7 which is a recording unit as an image forming unit through a sheet conveying unit composed of a roller 6 and the like. A latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 7 by the laser writing device 8, the latent image is visualized with toner by the developing device 9, transferred onto the paper 2 by the transfer roller 10, and then conveyed to the fixing device 11. To fix the visible toner image. Thereafter, the sheet 2 is discharged to a discharge tray 13 through a discharge roller 12. In the case of duplex printing, when the paper 2 is on the paper discharge roller 12, the paper discharge roller 12 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the paper 2 is conveyed again to the registration roller 6 by the conveyance rollers 14 and 15, and is applied to the back surface of the paper 2. Perform printing. When the paper 2 is thick paper, the paper is fed from the manual feed guide 16 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 17.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, a foreign matter removing device 213 (hereinafter referred to as a foreign matter removing device 213) as foreign matter removing means provided in the paper feed unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Here, the foreign matter refers to paper dust generated by friction between the paper and the conveying member, dust attached to the paper surface, or the like. As shown in the figure, the foreign matter removing device 213 includes a conveying roller 201, a foreign matter removing roller 202, a first friction charging member 203, a first foreign matter collecting unit 204, an elastic member 206, a second roller 207, and a second friction. The charging member 208, the second foreign material recovery unit 209, and the elastic member 210 are configured. Reference numeral 201 denotes a transport roller 201 as a first roller that sandwiches and transports the paper 2 separated and fed by the paper feed roller 3 and the separation pad 4, and is composed of a rubber elastic member and can be driven to rotate by a drive shaft (not shown). It is pivotally supported. Reference numeral 207 denotes a driven conveyance roller as a second roller constituted by a polypropylene resin (PP) member that is driven to rotate by the conveyance roller 201. 202 is a foreign matter removing roller made of a resin member made of the same material as that of the driven carrying roller 207, and is a resin member roller slidably held in contact with the peripheral surface of the carrying roller 201, and 203 is a foreign matter removing roller 202. This is a first frictional charging member made of urethane foam that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface and charges the foreign matter removing roller 202 to generate an electrostatic force. Here, the second roller 207 and the foreign member removing roller 202 of the resin member are not limited to the embodiment of the present invention, and may be made of other than polypropylene resin. The foreign matter removing roller 202 and the first frictional charging member 203 constitute a first foreign matter removing member 211. As a result, the foreign matter adhering roller 202 is charged by the first frictional charging member 203 so that the foreign matter attached to the back surface of the paper 2 can be removed. Reference numeral 204 denotes a first foreign matter collection unit that collects and stores foreign matter removed from the transport roller 201 by the electrostatic force of the foreign matter removal roller 202. Reference numeral 205 denotes a second cover portion that is attached to the laser printer main body so that the first frictional charging member 203 can be attached to and detached from the foreign matter removing roller 202, and the lid of the foreign matter collecting portion 204 is also used. It has become the composition. Reference numeral 206 denotes an elastic member 206 for bringing the foreign matter removing roller 202 into pressure contact with the conveying roller 201. Reference numeral 208 denotes a second friction charging member that contacts the outer periphery of the driven conveyance roller 207 and frictionally charges the driven conveyance roller 207 and is made of urethane foam made of the same material as the first friction charging member 203. The second frictional charging member 208 constitutes a second foreign matter removing member 212. Accordingly, the driven transport roller 207 is electrostatically charged by the second frictional charging member, and has an electrostatic force, and can remove foreign substances adhering to the surface of the paper 2. Here, the first and second frictional charging members 203 and 208 described above may be made of a material other than urethane foam as long as it can be frictionally charged satisfactorily. Reference numeral 209 denotes a second foreign matter collection unit that collects foreign matter removed by the driven conveyance roller 207. Reference numeral 210 denotes an elastic member for bringing the driven conveyance roller 207 into pressure contact with the conveyance roller 201. Reference numeral 300 denotes a front cover as a first cover (hereinafter referred to as a front cover) that is attached to the exterior of the laser printer body so as to be freely opened and closed and is opened and closed in the direction of arrow A to open the paper conveyance path. 207 and the second frictional charging member 208 are attached, and a second foreign matter collecting unit 209 is formed.

  Next, a process for collecting foreign matter adhering to the surface of the conveying roller 201 and the front and back of the paper 2 will be described.

  On the front and back surfaces of the paper 2, there are foreign matter originally attached to the paper 2 and foreign matter (for example, paper dust) generated on the front and back surfaces of the paper 2 by contacting the paper feed roller 3 and the separation member 4. . The sheet 2 is conveyed by the sheet feeding roller 3 to the conveying roller 5 (consisting of the conveying roller 201 and the driven conveying roller 207), and passes between the conveying roller 201 and the driven conveying roller 207. At this time, the foreign matter adhering to the printing surface (one surface) of the paper 2 adheres to the driven conveyance roller 207 charged by the second friction charging member 208 and is scraped by the second friction charging member 208. It is dropped and recovered by the second foreign matter recovery unit 209. Further, the foreign matter adhering to the non-printing surface (the other surface) of the paper 2 adheres to the surface of the conveying roller 201. The adhered foreign matter is attracted to the foreign matter removing roller 202 charged by the first frictional charging member 203, scraped off by the first frictional charging member 203, and collected by the first foreign matter collecting unit 204.

  Here, the foreign material recovery unit will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows a state where the paper transport path is opened with the front cover 300 of FIG. 2 opened (the front cover 300 is not shown in FIG. 3). As shown in the figure, the cover member 205 of the foreign matter collection part opens and closes in the directions of arrows B and C with the rotation fulcrum part 301 formed in the apparatus main body as a fulcrum, and removes the foreign matter collected by the first foreign matter collection part 204. It is configured so that it can be cleaned.

In the above embodiment, the foreign matter removing mechanism of the transport roller 5 installed only in the central portion of the paper 2 where a lot of foreign matter is generated has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the paper is not limited to this. By making the width of the foreign matter removing roller 202 larger than the width of 2, the foreign matter attached to the edge of the paper 2 can be removed. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the first foreign matter removing unit including the foreign matter removing roller 501, the frictional charging member 502, the elastic member 503, and the foreign matter collecting unit 504 is used as the paper feed roller 3. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the conveyance force from being lowered due to the foreign matter adhering to the paper feed roller 3, and the cleaning operation of the surface of the paper feed roller 3 can be omitted.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a printer that records an image on paper has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to document conveyance such as a copying machine or a scanner having an image reading unit as an image forming unit. Needless to say. The present invention can be widely used in a sheet feeding unit and a sheet conveying mechanism for feeding a sheet of a document to be read or a sheet for printing in a sheet feeding apparatus such as a copier or a printer.

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device used in a printing device or an image reading device.

1 is a configuration diagram of a laser printer including a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram of a foreign matter removing unit included in the paper feeding unit of the laser printer in FIG. The perspective view which shows the foreign material collection | recovery part which the foreign material removal means of FIG. 2 has 2A is an exploded perspective view when the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. 2 is incorporated in the paper feed roller unit, and FIG. 2B is a side view in which the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. The figure which shows the mechanism which removes the foreign material in the conventional paper feeder

Explanation of symbols

2 Paper 3 Feed roller 4 Separation pad 5 Transport roller 201 First roller (transport roller)
202 Foreign matter removing roller 203 First frictional charging member 204 First foreign matter collecting portion 205 Second cover portion 206 Elastic member 207 Second roller (driven conveyance roller)
208 Second frictional charging member 209 Second foreign matter collecting unit 210 Elastic member 211 First foreign matter removing member 212 Second foreign matter removing member 213 Foreign matter removing device (foreign matter removing means)
300 Front cover (first cover)

Claims (11)

A pair of feed rollers that feeds the stacked sheets, a pair of transport rollers that are arranged downstream of the feed rollers and that feed the sheets fed by the feed rollers to the image processing unit, and the pair of transport rollers A paper feed device comprising: foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter adhering to each of the conveying rollers. The pair of conveying rollers is composed of a first roller having a rotating shaft made of an elastic member and a second roller made of a resin member that is disposed to face the first roller and is driven to rotate by the first roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein: The foreign matter removing means includes a first foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter attached to the surface of the first roller, and a second foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter attached to the surface of the second roller. The paper feeding device according to claim 2. The first foreign matter removing member includes a foreign matter removing roller that rotates in contact with the first roller, and a first friction charging member that slides in contact with the foreign matter removing roller to charge the foreign matter removing roller. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the second foreign matter removing member comprises a second friction charging member that slides in contact with the second roller to charge the second roller. apparatus. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the second foreign matter removing member is provided in a first cover portion attached to the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed. A plurality of foreign matter storage portions for storing foreign matter removed from the surfaces of the first roller and the second roller are provided in the vicinity of the first frictional charging member and the second frictional charging member. 4. The sheet feeding device according to 4. The first frictional charging member is provided in a second cover portion rotatably attached to the apparatus main body so as to be able to be separated from and contacted with a second roller portion that rotates in contact with the first roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein The paper feeding device according to claim 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7, wherein the second roller or the foreign matter removing roller is made of polypropylene resin. 7. The sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the first and second friction charging members are urethane foam. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit is an image recording unit that records an image on a sheet. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit is an image reading unit that reads an image recorded on a sheet.

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