JP2005320109A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feed cassette capable of setting paper to the paper feed cassette as pack-package and preventing package opening work becoming burden of work conventionally and generation of conveying failure such as non-feeding of the paper, skew and end folding due to setting failure in the paper feed cassette of an image formation device. <P>SOLUTION: In the paper feeding device, the paper is successively conveyed/fed from the uppermost paper by the paper feed cassette for storing the paper and the paper feed roll contacted with an upper part of the stored paper. The pack-packaged paper is stored in the cassette in the package state and a part of the pack-package is cut to the defined shape along perforation previously provided on the pack-packaged paper by driving of the paper feed roll. Thereafter, the package is opened by conveying it and subsequently the papers in the package are successively fed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette of an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a paper feed cassette equipped with a pack wrapping paper opening means.

Conventionally, when storing paper in a paper feed cassette, the packaged paper pack is opened, the paper is taken out, and then stored in the paper feed cassette. In this case, since the handling of the sheet bundle becomes an operator, the aligned and laminated state of the sheets may be broken and scattered, or may be bent or adhered with dirt.
Also, if the stack of sheets is not aligned, it may be blocked by the transport guides in the paper cassette and cannot be stored. Forcibly storing the stack in an inconsistent state will adversely affect the transport quality such as skew and folds. There was a need to realign when storing the cassette. In addition, a separate space for unpacking work is required, and workability in a narrow place is not good.
On the other hand, a paper feeding cassette that can store a packaged paper pack has been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-186065

However, in this conventional example, an unsealing device is separately required in the paper feeding device, and it has been difficult to put it to practical use in terms of cost or an increase in the size of the device. If the pack pieces transported and removed by the paper packaging pack opening process by the paper feeding roller of the paper feeding device are left in the paper feeding device as they are, the operator pulls out the paper feeding cassette and removes it from the paper feeding cassette each time. Had to be taken out and discarded.
This is a burden on the worker and there is also a problem that it is desirable to delete it. Further, when the pack piece is removed and paper is fed in a paper pack ready for feeding, it is expected that the separation performance will not be stable because the last paper is on the bottom pack packaging.
The grounding of the last sheet and the bottom plate mechanism at the bottom of the sheet feeding cassette is preferably in the same state as when a normal sheet bundle is set. Further, when an unopened pack is stored, the apparatus itself cannot detect this, so that it is necessary for the operator to perform a paper feed roller driving operation for opening using an operation button or the like.
If the operator forgets to perform the paper feed roller driving operation for opening, the pack piece that is originally discarded is subjected to a printing process similar to that for paper. In this case, it is necessary to take out and discard the pack pieces discharged to the paper discharge tray each time. In order to improve workability, it is desirable to reduce the frequency of discarding work.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and can be set in a sheet feeding cassette as it is in pack packaging. An object of the present invention is to obtain a paper feed cassette that can prevent the occurrence of conveyance failures such as skew and ear breakage, does not require a new investment such as new equipment introduction or modification, and is advantageous in terms of cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 sets a sheet bundle packed in a wrapping sheet in a sheet feeding cassette, and cuts a part of the wrapping sheet by rotating a sheet feeding roller. In the sheet feeding device that exposes the upper surface of the sheet bundle and then sequentially feeds and conveys the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle by the sheet feeding roller, the wrapping sheet defines a pack piece cut by the sheet feeding roller. The pack piece includes a sheet feeding guide piece having one edge fixed to the uppermost end edge of the pack piece, and the packaged sheet bundle is stored in a sheet feeding cassette to drive the sheet feeding roller. By cutting the pack pieces along the perforation and transporting them, a part of the wrapping paper is opened, and then the paper in the wrapping paper is sequentially fed. To do.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to the first aspect, the pack piece cut off by the rotation of the paper feeding roller is transported through a normal paper transport path and discharged outside the apparatus. .
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeder of the first aspect, the shape of the pack piece cut along the perforation is configured such that a part of the bottom surface of the final paper in the wrapping paper is exposed, The exposed bottom surface of the final sheet is configured to come into contact with a friction member provided on the bottom plate in the sheet feeding cassette.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the unopened sheet bundle is stored in a sheet feeding cassette, the pack piece is cut at the time of opening by rotation of a sheet feeding roller. It is characterized by comprising a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a portion and a control means for recognizing that it is not opened based on a detection signal of the sensor.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device according to any one of the first, third, and fourth aspects, the pack piece cut out by the rotation of the paper feeding roller is provided in the middle of a specified transport path. The pack piece is transported to the collection box by the branching mechanism.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided the paper feeding device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

According to the present invention, in a paper feeding apparatus that sequentially conveys and feeds paper from the uppermost sheet by a paper feeding cassette that stores paper and a paper feeding roller that contacts the upper part of the stored paper, the pack-wrapped paper is put into the cassette in a packaged state. The pack is unpacked by being transported after being cut and cut into a prescribed shape along a perforation previously provided on the pack-wrapped paper by storing and feeding the feed roller. The paper feeding device, which sequentially feeds the paper in the pack, allows a part of the packed paper to be opened by the feeding force of the paper feeding roller, and has a perforation provided in advance. Can be opened and fed into a specified shape along the line, and can be set in a paper feed cassette as it is in pack packaging. Not the sheet feed due to defective, it is possible to prevent skewing, the occurrence of conveyance failure such as breakage ear.
Furthermore, since the conventional sheet feeding device configuration can be used as it is in the present invention, no new investment such as new device introduction or modification is required, which is advantageous in terms of cost as compared with a conventionally known technology that requires a separate opening mechanism. It becomes possible to do.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a paper pack packaging state in the present invention. Arrows indicate the paper feeding and conveying direction. In the upper part of the paper feeding / conveying direction, a part of the paper pack wrapping paper (wrapping paper) S is pulled in the paper feeding direction by driving a paper feeding roller 4 (two-dot chain line) provided on the apparatus side. There is a paper feed guide piece 2 in which an arbitrary position A on the upstream side is bonded to the package in a free state.
The perforation 3 is provided in advance from the position A when the paper is fed from the inside of the pack, and the pack piece 9 indicated by hatching along the perforation 3 by feeding and feeding the paper feed guide piece 2. And the package is opened.
In other words, the present invention is characterized by the structure of the wrapping paper S in a bundle of sheets. When the pack piece 9 is cut and removed along the perforation 3, the paper feeding roller 4 comes into contact with the paper feeding operation. The range of the pack piece 9 is set so that the upper surface of the sheet bundle necessary for implementation is exposed while the front side in the sheet feeding direction of the packaging that does not become an obstacle in subsequent sheet feeding is also exposed in an appropriate range. It is set appropriately. Accordingly, the range of the pack piece 9 (position of the perforation 3) can be variously changed as necessary. For example, the perforation 3 may be extended to a region reaching the front side surface and the back side surface in FIG. 1 so that a part of the front and back surfaces of the sheet bundle is exposed when the pack piece 9 is cut. . Further, as will be described later, the perforation 3 may be extended so as to expose a part of the bottom surface on the bottom surface side of the sheet bundle.
The sheet feeding guide piece 2 is connected to the upper part of the pack piece 9, and specifically, one end edge is fixed to the position of the perforation 3 indicated by A (the rearmost position of the perforation on the upper surface of the sheet bundle). It protrudes forward in the paper feeding direction. Therefore, when the sheet feeding guide piece 2 is pulled in the sheet feeding direction by the sheet feeding roller 4, the entire pack piece cut out along the perforation 3 is fed and conveyed.

FIG. 2 shows a state where the above-described pack-wrapped paper S is stored in the paper feed cassette 1 according to the present invention. A pair of side fences 5, an end fence 6, and a bottom plate (and a bottom plate raising mechanism) 7 are provided inside the paper feed cassette 1 so that paper can be fed even when normal paper is stored.
FIG. 3 shows a cross section when the paper cassette of FIG. 2 is mounted on the apparatus of the paper cassette shown in FIG. The sheet is in a state in which the sheet feeding guide piece 2 is pressure-bonded to the sheet feeding roller 4 by raising the bottom plate 7 while being packaged. Further, downstream of the sheet feeding roller 4, the relay conveyance roller 8 is installed at a position that inherits the conveyance of the sheet feeding guide piece 2 or other paper supplied from the sheet feeding roller 4, and is conveyed to the relay conveyance roller 8. After the image is inherited, the driving of the paper feed roller 4 is stopped and brought into a rotating state, so that the next paper is not fed.
FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate the opening operation of the pack wrapping paper S by driving the paper supply roller 4. Here, the arrangement of the intermediate conveyance roller 8 is preferably a position where the conveyance is inherited before the pack piece 9 is separated from the nip of the sheet feeding roller 4 in the state shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a paper feeder according to the second aspect of the present invention. An arrow 10 indicated by a broken line is a paper feeding / conveying path, and the pack piece 9 is also conveyed along the same path and discharged to the paper discharge tray 11. There is no need for the operator to pull out the paper feed cassette and manually remove it from the paper feed cassette each time, so that the burden on the worker can be reduced.
FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the pack wrapping paper S stored in the paper feed cassette 1 and the bottom plate 7. A friction member 12 is affixed to the center of the sheet feeding direction of the bottom plate 7 so that the sheet fed before the last sheet is not continuously fed. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the perforation 3 that matches the shape of the pack piece 9 is cut into the bottom of the pack packaging so that the friction member 12 contacts the last sheet of the sheet bundle. It is rare.
In the paper pack packaging of the present invention, the pack piece including the bottom of the pack packaging is cut out, so that the contact between the last sheet and the bottom plate mechanism (friction member 12) at the bottom of the sheet feeding cassette is a normal exposed sheet bundle. Since it becomes the same state as when set, separation performance can be stabilized.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a paper feeding device related to the invention of claim 4. A part of the paper feed guide piece 2 provided at the upper part of the stored pack wrapping paper S in the paper feed direction protrudes outward from the paper width direction so that the detection sensor 15 can detect the protruding portion B. It has become.
When the unsealing operation is performed by driving the paper feed roller 4, the protruding portion B is also carried out as a part of the pack piece 9 that can be cut by the perforation 3, so that the apparatus detects the protruding portion B by the detection sensor 15. By detecting the presence or absence, it is possible to reliably recognize whether or not the pack has been opened. In this paper feeding device, the sensor provided in the paper feeding device can detect the unopened state of the paper pack, so that the operator does not need to perform the paper feeding roller driving operation for opening with the operation button or the like. The device itself can automatically drive the feed roller to open the pack.
FIG. 8 shows an example of a sheet feeding device related to the invention of claim 5. A branching mechanism 16 is provided in the middle of the arrow 10 which is a normal sheet transporting path, and the pack piece 9 transported when the pack is opened is transported to the collection box 17 through another path by this branching mechanism. A plurality of pack pieces 9 can be stored in the collection box 17, and the pack pieces can be collected regardless of the operating state of the apparatus by opening and closing a door provided at an arbitrary position of the collection box.
In this paper feeding device, the pack piece generated by cutting out a part of the pack packaging by opening the paper pack is conveyed to the pack piece collection box 17 by a branching mechanism provided in the middle of the specified conveyance path. Therefore, it is not necessary to collect the pack pieces in a plurality of opening operations each time, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.
The paper feeding device of the present invention can be applied not only to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, but also to a general printing device having a cassette type paper feeding device.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the pack packaging of the paper in this invention. It is a perspective view of the pack wrapping paper storing and feeding cassette of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which mounted | wore the apparatus with the paper storage paper feed cassette of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of opening of the pack packaging paper of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the paper feeding conveyance path | route of the paper feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the baseplate raising mechanism of the paper feed cassette of this invention. It is a description perspective view of the pack opening recognition sensor of the paper feeder of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the pack piece branch mechanism after opening of the paper feeder of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feed cassette 2 Paper feed guide piece 3 Perforation 4 Paper feed roller 6 End fence 7 Bottom plate raising mechanism 8 Intermediate conveyance roller 9 Pack piece 10 Arrow 12 Friction member 15 Detection sensor 16 Branching mechanism 17 Recovery box B Projection part S Paper pack Wrapping paper

Claims (6)

A paper bundle packaged with wrapping paper is set in a paper feed cassette, and a part of the paper is cut by rotating the paper feed roller to expose the upper surface of the paper bundle. In the paper feeding device that feeds and conveys sequentially from the topmost paper,
The wrapping paper includes a perforation that defines a pack piece to be cut by a feed roller, and the pack piece includes a feed guide piece having one end fixed to the uppermost end edge thereof,
The packaged sheet bundle is stored in a sheet feeding cassette, the sheet feeding guide piece is fed by driving the sheet feeding roller, and the pack piece is cut and conveyed along the perforation. A paper feeding device configured to open a part of the paper and then sequentially feed the paper in the wrapping paper.   2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the pack piece cut out by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller is transported through a normal sheet transport path and discharged outside the apparatus.   The shape of the pack piece cut out along the perforation according to claim 1 is configured such that a part of the bottom surface of the final paper in the wrapping paper is exposed, and the exposed bottom surface of the final paper is in the paper feed cassette. A sheet feeding device configured to come into contact with a friction member provided on a bottom plate of the sheet.   A sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a part of the pack piece to be cut off when the unrolled sheet bundle is stored in the sheet feeding cassette when the sheet feeding roller is rotated, and based on a detection signal of the sensor The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising control means for recognizing unopened.   5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the pack piece cut out by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller is separated by a branching mechanism provided in the middle of a specified transport path. A paper feeding device that is transported to a collection box.   An image forming apparatus comprising the paper feeding device according to claim 1.

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