JP2007091431A - Sheet storage case and sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress overlapping feeding of sheets with regard to a sheet storage case and a sheet feeder. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet feeder 1 includes a device main body 2 and the sheet storage case 3. The sheets stored in the sheet storage case 3 in a stacked state are taken out in a prescribed taking-out direction T one by one from the top. The device main body 2 includes a taking out device 10 for taking the sheets out of the sheet storage case 3 mounted thereto, and a blower 11 for circulating airflow in a duct 6 of the sheet storage case 3. The sheet storage case 3 includes a storage part 5 for placing the plurality of sheets thereon in the stacked state for storage, and the duct 6 continuously provided in the storage part 5 and allowing circulation of the airflow by the blower 11. An opening 7 for making the inside of the duct 6 communicate with the inside of the storage part 5 is formed on a first portion 13a provided on a side in the taking-out direction T of a side wall 13 of the storage part 5. The airflow is blown from the opening 7 to the sheets, from a taking-out side to facilitate separation of the sheets. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet supply device used in, for example, a printer or a copying machine, and a sheet storage case thereof.

For example, a sheet supply apparatus of a copying machine has a sheet storage case that stores sheets for forming an image in a stacked state. A large number of sheets stored in the sheet storage case are taken out one by one from the top, and an image is formed on the removed sheets.
The sheet supply device includes a sheet supply device in which an air flow is supplied to the inside of the sheet storage case (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In Patent Document 1, air is blown from the side of the paper stored in the sheet storage case and in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is taken out.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-284784 JP 2003-177653 A

By the way, two sheets of paper taken out from the sheet storage case may be sent out in a state where they overlap each other at the same time or at the same time. Such double feeding causes image formation failure and jamming. Therefore, it is required to prevent double feeding.
Further, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the air flow is blown from one side surface of the stacked sheets, and the overlapped sheets may not be separated and double feeding may occur.

Further, dust such as paper dust and dust may be generated in the sheet storage case. If the sheet is sent out while the dust is attached to the sheet, it may cause image formation failure or jam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet storage case that can suppress the occurrence of double feeding of sheets and thereby suppress the occurrence of image formation failure and jamming, and a sheet supply apparatus using the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet storage case and a sheet supply apparatus using the sheet storage case that can suppress image formation defects and jamming due to paper dust and dust on the sheet.

  The sheet storage case of the present invention is attachable to the apparatus main body, and in the state of being attached to the apparatus main body, the sheet storage case in which the sheets stored in a laminated state are taken out one by one from the top in a predetermined extraction direction And a bottom portion and a side wall that rises from the bottom portion, a housing portion that can receive and accommodate at least a part of the plurality of sheets in a stacked state, and an air flow that is connected to the housing portion and is generated by the apparatus main body. Is provided in a portion on the side of the take-out direction in the side wall of the housing portion, and an opening forming portion in which an opening for communicating the inside of the duct and the housing portion is formed. And According to this invention, for example, when the sheet storage case is attached to the apparatus main body, the air flow generated by the apparatus main body is sent through the duct, so that the air flow can be blown out from the opening to the inside of the storage unit. It becomes. Since the blown air flow is blown to the stacked sheets from the take-out direction, the uppermost sheet and the other sheets are easily separated from each other. Further, it is possible to allow the air flow to be sucked from the opening. In this case, the dust in the housing portion can be sucked and discharged together with the air flow. Therefore, it is possible to suppress image formation defects and jams.

  Further, in the present invention, the portion on the side of the take-out direction in the side wall of the housing portion has a recess at the upper part that allows entry of the sheet in the take-out direction, and the opening is formed in the recess. There may be. In this case, the air flow blown out from the opening can be concentrated and applied to the uppermost part that can enter the recess and a part of the vicinity of the uppermost part among the plurality of stacked sheets. And the remaining sheets can be reliably separated from each other.

In the present invention, at least a part of the duct may be formed integrally with at least a part of the side wall and the bottom of the housing part. In this case, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.
A sheet supply device according to the present invention includes a device main body for supplying a sheet and the sheet storage case according to the present invention, and the device main body includes a take-out device for taking out a sheet from the attached sheet storage case, and a sheet storage case. And air blowing means for circulating an air flow through the duct. In this invention, the sheet storage case is attached to the apparatus main body, and the air flow is generated by the air blowing means, whereby the air flow can be flown into the sheet storage case, and the sheet is taken out one by one from the top by the take-out device. be able to. As a result, the effect by the above-mentioned sheet storage case can be acquired.

In the present invention, the air blowing means may supply air to the duct, and the air flow generated thereby may blow out into the sheet storage case through the opening. In this case, the air flow from the opening is blown onto the stacked sheets, and only one sheet at the top can be reliably separated and taken out.
In the present invention, the air blowing means may suck air in the duct, and thereby an air flow may be sucked from inside the sheet storage case through the opening. In this case, as the airflow is sucked through the opening, the dust in the sheet storage case can be sucked out, and as a result, the dust can be prevented from adhering to the sheet.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in front view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the sheet feeding apparatus shown in FIG. Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The sheet supply apparatus 1 includes an apparatus main body 2 that supplies sheets, and a sheet storage case 3 that stores sheets to be supplied by the apparatus main body 2. The sheet supply apparatus 1 is applied to, for example, an image forming apparatus and functions as a sheet supply unit of the image forming apparatus. A sheet, specifically, a sheet for forming an image is used as a sheet supply unit 4. The image is supplied to the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus.

The sheet storage case 3 can be attached to the apparatus main body 2. In a state where the sheet storage case 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the sheets stored in a stacked state inside the sheet storage case 3 are taken out one by one from the top in the predetermined extraction direction T by the apparatus main body 2.
In this embodiment, the sheet storage case 3 is formed with an opening in which a storage portion 5 that stores a sheet, a duct 6 through which an air flow can flow, and an opening 7 that connects the inside of the duct 6 and the storage portion 5 are formed. And a unit 8 which can be relatively displaced relative to the apparatus main body 2 integrally.

The apparatus main body 2 includes a housing 9 as a fixing member and a take-out device 10 that takes out a sheet from the attached sheet storage case 3.
The housing 9 supports the take-out device 10, supports the sheet storage case 3 at the first and second positions so as to be relatively displaceable, and restricts the relative displacement of the sheet storage case 3 at the first position. It can be held, and this restricted state can be released.

  Specifically, the housing 9 has a side plate 9 a that constitutes a part of a holding portion for holding the sheet storage case 3. The side plate 9a extends along the vertical direction. In the first position shown in FIG. 1, the side portion of the sheet storage case 3 is disposed in close proximity to and opposed to the side plate 9a. The sheet in the sheet storage case 3 held in the first position (attached state) can be taken out by the take-out device 10. Further, at the second position (not shown), the side portion of the sheet storage case 3 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the side plate 9a. The second position is a position for supplying sheets into the sheet storage case 3.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the apparatus main body 2 has the air blower 11 as a ventilation means which distribute | circulates an airflow through the duct 6 of the sheet | seat storage case 3 in a 1st position. The air flow from the blower 11 is blown out from the opening 7 of the sheet storage case 3 to the storage unit 5, and the occurrence of double feeding of sheets can be suppressed.
The accommodating part 5 of the sheet accommodating case 3 includes a bottom part 12 and a side wall 13 rising from the bottom part 12, and the inside thereof is open upward (see arrow Z). The bottom 12 is rectangular in plan view. The side wall 13 has a rectangular annular shape in plan view. The side wall 13 has four parts forming each side of the rectangle, that is, a first part 13a, a second part 13b, a third part 13c, and a fourth part 13d. The first portion 13a is disposed on the take-out direction T side with respect to the sheet. The second and third portions 13b and 13c are arranged to face each other in the sheet width direction W, that is, the direction perpendicular to the take-out direction T and along the bottom portion 12, and the sheet is interposed therebetween. Is placed. The fourth portion 13d is disposed to face the first portion 13a. Between the first and fourth portions 13a and 13d, a sheet (shown by a one-dot chain line) is arranged with its edges aligned.

  Inside the accommodating portion 5, there is a mounting base 14 on which a sheet can be placed, and a biasing member 15 provided below the mounting base 14 and elastically biasing the mounting base 14 upward. Yes. The urging member 15 is disposed below the end portion of the mounting table 14 on the downstream side in the take-out direction T. The accommodating portion 5 can accommodate a plurality of sheets on the platform 14 in a stacked state, and urges the accommodated plurality of sheets upward by the urging member 15.

The first portion 13 a as a portion on the side in the take-out direction T in the side wall 13 has a concave portion 16 that allows a plurality of sheets to enter in the take-out direction T at an upper portion thereof.
The concave portion 16 is opened toward the inside and the upper side of the housing portion 5. The concave portion 16 is made larger than the maximum width of the accommodated sheet in the sheet width direction W, and a part of the sheet near the top of the plurality of stacked sheets in the vertical direction, that is, It has a predetermined size so that the uppermost sheet and the second and subsequent sheets can be separated. Moreover, the recessed part 16 has the inclined surface 16a as an extraction direction T side part. The inclined surface 16a is inclined obliquely with respect to the take-out direction T at a predetermined angle, for example, an angle within a range of 30 to 60 degrees. Thereby, as will be described later, an air flow is easily introduced between the sheets.

  The duct 6 is connected to the housing part 5, and is disposed on the side in the take-out direction T from the housing part 5, specifically, adjacent to the recess 16 of the housing part 5, and the duct 6, the housing part 5, Are integrally formed. The duct 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape extending straight and long in the sheet width direction W. The duct 6 has a bottom wall portion 6a, a first side wall portion 6b, a second side wall portion 6c, and a top wall portion 6d, and these portions extend in the sheet width direction W. Further, the duct 6 has an end wall portion 6e provided at one end portion in the sheet width direction W and a connection portion 6f provided at the other end portion in the sheet width direction W. The connection portion 6f has a connection opening 6g for connection to the apparatus main body 2.

The top wall portion 6d of the duct 6 has a rib 17 as a guide portion for guiding the sheet when the sheet is taken out. The ribs 17 are formed integrally with the top wall portion 6d, and are arranged at a plurality of locations at predetermined intervals in the sheet width direction W.
The openings 7 are arranged at a plurality of locations spaced apart from each other in the sheet width direction W of the duct 6. Each opening 7 has a long shape in the sheet width direction W. Thereby, it is possible to easily separate the sheets. The opening 7 is formed in the opening forming portion 8.

  The opening forming portion 8 includes a top wall portion 6d of the duct 6 and a second side wall portion 6c. The opening forming portion 8 is provided adjacent to the first portion 13 a as a portion on the side in the take-out direction T in the side wall 13 of the housing portion 5. The opening forming portion 8 also functions as a portion on the take-out direction T side in the side wall of the accommodating portion 5, and defines an inclined surface 16 a that is a part of the concave portion 16 of the accommodating portion 5. An opening 7 is formed at a corner formed by the top wall portion 6 d and the second side wall portion 6 c, and the opening 7 opens toward the recess 16. The opening forming portion 8 is formed so that the air flow blown from the opening 7 is inclined obliquely upward with respect to the take-out direction T and blown in the direction opposite to the take-out direction T.

  Although not shown, the blower 11 includes a blower fan, an electric motor as a drive source that drives the blower fan, and a casing that houses the blower fan and guides the airflow generated by the blower fan, and the side plate 9a. Is attached. The blower 11 has an opening formed in the casing and has an inlet opening (not shown) and an outlet opening 11a at the upstream end and the downstream end in the flow direction of the air sent by the blower fan. is doing.

The outlet opening 11 a is provided in the side plate 9 a of the housing 9 of the apparatus main body 2. In the vicinity of the outlet opening 11a, the connection openings 6g of the duct 6 of the seat storage case 3 in the mounted state face each other so as to communicate with each other. Thereby, the airflow produced | generated by the air blower 11 can distribute | circulate inside the duct 6. FIG.
The blower 11 can supply air to the duct 6 of the sheet storage case 3, and thereby blow the air flow F <b> 1 into the storage portion 5 through the opening 7 of the sheet storage case 3. The blown air flow F <b> 1 contributes to suppressing the occurrence of double feeding when the sheet is taken out by the take-out device 10.

The take-out device 10 includes a pickup roller 18, a supply roller 19 as a feeding unit, and a separation roller 20 as a separating unit. The take-out device 10 is disposed at a position corresponding to the central portion of the sheet in the width direction W of the sheet.
The supply roller 19 is disposed downstream of the pickup roller 18 in the take-out direction T, and sends the uppermost sheet taken out by the pickup roller 18 at a predetermined timing. A separation roller 20 is disposed opposite to the supply roller 19. The sheets are passed one by one between the nip portions of the supply roller 19 and the separation roller 20. The separation roller 20 is for allowing only the uppermost sheet to pass between the nip portions.

  In the sheet supply apparatus 1, the plurality of sheets before being taken out are placed on the platform 14 and urged upward by the urging member 15. In this state, the pickup roller 18 is in contact with an end portion that is a part of the upper surface of the uppermost sheet and that is on the downstream side in the take-out direction T. When the pickup roller 18 rotates in a predetermined direction, the uppermost sheet is sent in a predetermined take-out direction T, and is sent to a nip portion between the supply roller 19 and the separation roller 20 while being guided by the rib 17. The fed sheet is fed out between the nip portions as the supply roller 19 rotates.

  In the present embodiment, when the sheet is taken out by the take-out device 10, an air flow from the opening 7 is blown onto the sheet. As a result, the uppermost sheet comes into contact with the pickup roller 18 and is reliably fed in the take-out direction T. On the other hand, the sheets other than the uppermost portion receive a force opposite to the take-out direction T by the air flow. In addition, in the plurality of sheets stacked closer to the top, the edges on the take-out direction T side tend to be separated from each other in the vertical direction, and a gap is easily generated between the edges. An air flow is blown from the gap, and the sheets are easily separated. Further, even if the pickup roller 18 integrally feeds a plurality of sheets, the edge portions of these sheets come into contact with the inclined surface 16a of the recess 16 and temporarily stop. At this time, with respect to the take-out direction T, the edges of the sheet are easily separated in the vertical direction. As a result, the sheets are easily separated from each other by the air flow from the opening 7.

  As described above, in the sheet storage case 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the air flow generated by the apparatus main body 2 is sent through the duct 6 while being attached to the apparatus main body 2. Can be blown out into the housing 5. Since the blown air flow is blown to the laminated sheets from the take-out side, the uppermost sheet and the other sheets are easily separated from each other as described above. Therefore, the occurrence of double sheet feeding is suppressed, and the occurrence of image formation defects and jams can be suppressed.

In addition, since the opening 7 is formed in the recess 16, air blown from the opening 7 is applied to the uppermost part that can enter the recess 16 and a part of the sheet in the vicinity of the stacked sheets. Since it can spray in a concentrated manner, the uppermost sheet and the remaining sheets can be reliably separated from each other.
Moreover, since the duct 6 and the accommodating part 5 are integrally formed, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified. In order to obtain this effect, it is only necessary that at least a part of the duct 6 is formed integrally with at least a part of the side wall 13 and the bottom part 12 of the housing part 5.

  Further, the sheet supply apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a take-out apparatus 10 and a blower 11 as a blowing unit. As a result, by attaching the sheet storage case 3 to the apparatus main body 2 and generating an air flow by the blower 11, the air flow can be flown into the sheet storage case 3, and the sheet is removed from the top by the take-out device 10. Can be taken out one by one. As a result, the above-described effects of the sheet storage case 3 can be obtained.

  Further, the blower 11 as a blowing means supplies air to the duct 6 so that the air flow generated thereby blows out into the sheet storage case 3 through the opening 7. As a result, the air flow generated by the air blowing means is blown out from the opening 7 of the sheet storage case 3 attached to the apparatus main body 2, so that only one sheet at the top is reliably separated from the stacked sheets. Can be taken out.

Moreover, the following modifications can be considered about this embodiment. In the following description, differences from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet feeding apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention in a front view. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the sheet feeding apparatus 1 shown in FIG. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in the sheet supply apparatus 1 of the second embodiment, an air flow is sucked from the opening 7 in a state in which the same sheet storage case 3 as that of the first embodiment is attached to the apparatus main body 2. It is also possible to make it. Specifically, the apparatus main body 2 has a blower 21 as a blowing means. In other respects, the first and second embodiments are similarly configured.

  The blower 21 has a blowing direction opposite to that of the blower 11 of the first embodiment (see, for example, FIG. 1). An inlet opening 21 a of the blower 21 is disposed in close proximity to the side plate 9 a of the housing 9 so as to communicate with the connection opening 6 g of the duct 6 of the sheet storage case 3. The blower 21 sucks the air in the duct 6 of the sheet storage case 3 so that the air flow F <b> 2 is sucked from the sheet storage case 3 through the opening 7. Thereby, together with the air flow F2, dust such as paper dust in the storage portion 5 of the sheet storage case 3 can be sucked out and discharged. As a result, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering to the stacked sheets, and consequently to prevent image formation defects and jamming.

In addition, by sucking the air flow F2 from the opening 7 on the take-out direction T side, dust is removed from a portion through which the sheet passes when being taken out in the accommodating portion 5, so that adhesion of dust to the sheet is effectively prevented. be able to.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the sheet supply device 1 has been described. However, the above-described effects can be obtained with the above-described sheet storage case 3.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the opening 7 may be provided singly or at least one may be provided. Further, the shape of the opening 7 may be short in the sheet width direction W. In addition, when the duct 6 and the storage portion 5 of the sheet storage case 3 are formed separately and fixed to each other, or when the concave portion 16 of the storage portion 5 of the sheet storage case 3 is abolished, A case where a part of the side wall 13 is notched or a case where the sheet storage case 3 is fixed to the apparatus main body 2 so as not to be relatively displaced is also conceivable.

  As described above, the sheet supply device 1 may be applied to a document supply unit of an image reading apparatus in addition to a paper supply unit of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile. In the image reading apparatus, the sheet supply apparatus 1 supplies a sheet to an image reading unit as a supply target unit. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

It is sectional drawing in the front view of the sheet supply apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial cross section top view of the sheet supply apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing in the front view of the sheet supply apparatus of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the sheet supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sheet supply apparatus 2 ... Apparatus main body 3 ... Sheet storage case 5 ... Storage part 6 ... Duct 7 ... Opening 8 ... Opening formation part 10 ... Extraction apparatus 11, 21 ... Blower (blower means)
12 ... bottom 13 ... side wall 13a ... 1st part (the part which exists in the said extraction direction side among the side walls of an accommodating part)
16 ... concave part F1, F2 ... air flow T ... take-out direction

Claims (6)

A sheet storage case that can be attached to the apparatus main body, and in a state of being attached to the apparatus main body, the sheets accommodated in a stacked state therein are taken out one by one from the top in a predetermined extraction direction,
Including a bottom part and a side wall rising from the bottom part, and an accommodating part capable of placing and accommodating at least a part of a plurality of sheets in a stacked state;
A duct that is connected to the housing and through which an air flow generated by the apparatus body can circulate;
An opening forming portion provided in a portion of the side wall of the housing portion on the side in the take-out direction and having an opening for communicating the inside of the duct and the inside of the housing portion;
A sheet storage case comprising: The sheet storage case according to claim 1,
The portion on the side of the take-out direction of the side wall of the housing portion has a concave portion that allows entry of the sheet in the take-out direction, and the opening is formed in the concave portion. Sheet storage case. In the sheet storage case according to claim 1 or 2,
At least a part of the duct is formed integrally with at least a part of the side wall and the bottom of the housing part. An apparatus body for supplying a sheet;
The sheet storage case according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
With
The device body is
A take-out device for taking out the sheet from the attached sheet storage case;
A sheet supply apparatus comprising: air blowing means for circulating an air flow through a duct of the sheet storage case. The sheet supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The air supply unit supplies air to the duct, and the air flow generated thereby blows out into the sheet storage case through the opening. The sheet supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The sheet supply device according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing unit sucks air from the duct, and thereby air is sucked from the inside of the sheet storage case through the opening.

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