JP2008137763A - Paper feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeding device capable of feeding envelopes with flaps placed upward and preventing the occurrence of jamming when feeding the envelopes. <P>SOLUTION: A flap pressing member 20 abutting on the flap 11 of the envelope 10 to press the flap 11 to the envelope body 12 side is disposed ahead in a paper feeding path of a bearing holding plate 80 of a pickup roller 70. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for preventing jamming (paper jam) during envelope printing.

In the field of image forming apparatuses such as printers, there is a case where a jam of the recording medium may occur in one of the conveyance paths during the conveyance of a recording medium such as paper or OHP at the time of printing. Various techniques have been proposed.
FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a manual sheet feeder 540 of a conventional image forming apparatus.
As shown in the figure, the manual sheet feeder 540 includes an apparatus body 450 and a manual tray 460. The apparatus main body 450 includes a paper feed roller 350, a pinch roller 360, and a pickup roller 370, and a push-up plate 330 is provided on the manual feed tray 460. The paper feed roller 350 and the pickup roller 370 are rotatably supported on the bearing holding plate 380.

When the envelope 310 is printed as a recording medium, a portion on the downstream side of the paper feed path of the envelope 310 placed on the manual feed tray 460 is pushed up by the swing of the push-up plate 330. Envelope 310 is sandwiched between pickup roller 370 and push-up plate 330, and pickup roller 370 rotates to feed envelope 310 downstream in the paper feed path.
The delivered envelope 310 is conveyed between a paper feed roller 350 that rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the pickup roller 370 and a pinch roller 360 that rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the pickup roller 370, It will be sent to 308.
JP 2006-231557 A

  However, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the envelope 310 is placed on the manual feed tray 460 with the surface on which the flap 311 is provided facing upward, the flap 311 is fed in a state where it jumps up from the envelope body 312. In some cases, the leading end of the flap 311 hits the bearing holding plate 380 and bends to prevent the envelope 310 from being conveyed, causing a jam.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a paper feeding device that can prevent the occurrence of jamming during envelope paper feeding and an image forming apparatus including the paper feeding device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the paper feeding device according to the present invention feeds an envelope placed on the sheet placing surface of the paper feeding tray so that the folds of the flaps are substantially parallel to the paper feeding direction by a pickup roller. A flap holding member that abuts against the flap of the envelope and feeds it against the envelope body side during feeding, in front of the paper feed path from the bearing member of the pickup roller. Is provided.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on an envelope fed from a paper feeding unit, and includes the paper feeding device as the paper feeding unit. To do.

In this way, the envelope flap does not jump up during paper feed, and jamming due to the flap jumping up can be prevented.
In addition, the bearing member of the pickup roller includes a pair of holding plates disposed to face each other with the pickup roller interposed therebetween, and the length of the flap pressing member in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller is the pair of holding plates. It is characterized by being larger than the distance between the outer principal surfaces of the plate.

If it does in this way, a flap can be certainly pushed down toward an envelope main part.
Further, the flap pressing member includes a central portion in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller, and both end portions located on both outer sides of the central portion, and the end portions extend as they extend outward. The edge opposite to the sheet placement surface is formed in a shape including a portion that is separated from the sheet placement surface.

  In this way, for example, when feeding a large sheet having a length longer than the pickup roller in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller, both end portions of the sheet in the parallel direction are lifted. Even if it becomes, it will become difficult to contact the both ends of a flap holding | suppressing member, and it will be suppressed that paper feeding will be prevented by generation | occurrence | production of the friction by contact, and the paper feeding performance can be aimed at.

Further, the distance L1 between the central portions in the direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller is 1.05 times or more as long as the distance L2 between the outer main surfaces of the pair of holding plates.
In this way, the flap can be reliably pressed against the envelope body without being affected by the mounting error of the flap pressing member.

Further, when cut along a plane including the holding plate, a straight line connecting the lower end of the flap pressing member and the contact point of the pickup roller with the envelope body is below the lowest position of the holding plate. The position of the lower end of the flap pressing member is set so as to come.
In this way, the flap can be reliably pressed against the envelope body to a position where it does not hit the holding plate.

Further, the bearing member is pivotally supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around an axis disposed downstream of the pickup roller in the paper feeding direction, and the flap pressing member is configured to swing the bearing member. A portion facing the bearing member and the pickup roller is sometimes cut away so as not to contact the bearing member and the pickup roller.
In this way, the flap pressing member can be brought closer to the pickup roller, and the paper feeding device can be made compact.

Further, the flap pressing member is a plate-like member or a linear member. The flap pressing member is a film-like flexible member.
If it does in this way, a flap holding member can be produced simply.

Hereinafter, an example in which the paper feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention are applied to a manual paper feeding device provided on a side portion of a printer will be described.
[Embodiment 1]
<Printer configuration>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printer 100 including a manual sheet feeder 140 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the manual sheet feeder 140 is provided on the side of the printer 100. The printer 100 is an image forming apparatus that prints an image on a recording medium such as an envelope or paper fed from the manual sheet feeding device 140 by, for example, an electrophotographic method.

  The manual sheet feeder 140 includes a sheet feeder main body 150 and a manual sheet feeder tray 160. When manual sheet feeding is not performed, the manual sheet feeder tray 160 is provided on both sides of the printer 100. The unit 130 is housed in the recess. Note that the method for storing the manual feed tray 160 is not limited to this. For example, when the duplex unit 130 is not arranged, it can be configured such that the side surface is stored in a recess on the side surface of the printer 100 during storage and the side surface is flat. In addition, although a part of the sheet feeding device main body 150 protrudes from the side surface of the printer 100, it may be configured to be flush with the side surface of the printer 100.

<Configuration of paper feeding device>
2A is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the manual paper feed device 140, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a main part of the manual paper feed device 140. Both figures show the state during paper feeding.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the sheet feeder main body 150 is provided with a sheet feed roller 50, a pinch roller 60, and a pickup roller 70, and the manual sheet feed tray 160 is shaken by the tray 160. A push-up plate 30 that is pivotally supported is provided. Hereinafter, the surface on which the recording medium such as the envelope 10 is placed on the upper surface of the manual feed tray 160 (including the push-up plate 30) is referred to as a sheet placement surface.

The paper feed roller 50 and the pickup roller 70 are rotatably supported by a bearing holding member 79 as a bearing member. The bearing holding member 79 is a metal U-shaped member, and a pair of bearing holding plates 80, 80 whose main surfaces are opposed to each other and a connecting plate 82 for connecting the bearing holding plates 80 are integrated. Consists of.
The bearing holding member 79 is swingably held around the axis of the paper feed roller 50 so that the pickup roller 70 comes into contact with a recording medium such as an envelope placed on the manual paper feed tray 160 with an appropriate pressure. Further, it is biased by a known biasing means such as a spring or an elastomer.

The pickup roller 70 may be suspended so as to be swingable independently of the paper feed roller 50, or the position thereof may be fixed so as not to swing.
A holding body 90 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided on the upper portion of the bearing holding member 79. The holding body 90 is provided so as to contain the bearing holding member 79, and the lower side is opened so as not to disturb the swinging of the bearing holding member 79.

A flap retainer 20 for retaining the flap 11 of the envelope 10 is fixed to a surface 91 in front of the sheet feeding path of the holding body 90.
The flap presser 20 is a plate-shaped body having a substantially trapezoidal shape made of metal, and is arranged so as to extend from the holding body 90 toward the sheet placement surface of the manual sheet feed tray 160.
The flap presser 20 is fixed to the holding body 90 with screws. The fixing method of the flap presser 20 is not limited to screwing, and may be performed by other means such as an adhesive or welding. Moreover, the method etc. which open the slit in the holding body 90, and provide the nail | claw corresponding to the said slit in the flap holding | suppressing 20, etc. are also considered. Moreover, it is not restricted to the structure which makes the holding body 90 and the flap presser 20 a separate member, For example, you may comprise these integrally.

The flap presser 20 includes a central portion 20a in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller 70 (hereinafter referred to as “roller axial direction”) and end portions 20b and 20c located outside the central portion 20a. A cutout portion 20d is provided in a portion of the central portion 20a facing the pickup roller 70 (see FIG. 2B).
The notch 20 d is provided to prevent the peripheral surface of the pickup roller 70 from coming into contact with the flap retainer 20 when the bearing holding member 79 swings. By providing the notch 20d, the flap retainer 20 can be disposed at a position closer to the bearing holding member 79. Since the flap retainer 20 is fixed to the holder 90, the fact that the flap retainer 20 can be brought close to the bearing retaining member 79 can reduce the width of the retainer 90 in the sheet feeding direction, and the entire sheet feeder. The size can be reduced.

The end portions 20b and 20c are formed in a shape in which the end edges 20j and 20k are separated from the sheet placement surface of the manual sheet feed tray 160 (the distance increases) as they extend outward (FIG. 2 ( b)).
2A, a straight line 73 connecting the lower end 20e of the central portion 20a of the flap presser 20 and the contact point 71 of the pickup roller 70 with the envelope body 12 is a bearing holding plate. The positional relationship is set so as to be below the lower end 80a of 80 (corresponding to the lowest position). With this positional relationship, when feeding the envelope 10, the flap 11 is securely attached to the envelope body 12 until the position where it does not hit the bearing holding plate 80 at a position in front of the feed path of the bearing holding plate 80. It can be in a pressed state.

  The flap presser 20 and the pair of bearing holding plates 80 are configured such that, in the roller axial direction, the pair of bearing holding plates 80 is formed between the end edge 20m of the central portion 20a of the flap presser 20 and the end edges 20j and 20k of the end portions 20b and 20c. It arrange | positions in the positional relationship which is located between the connection points 20f and 20g. The roller axis direction distance L1 of the central portion 20a is set to be larger than the distance L2 between the outer main surfaces of the bearing holding plates 80, specifically, the distance L1 is set to 1.05 times L2. Yes.

<Envelope feeding operation>
As shown in FIG. 2A, when paper is fed, first, the push-up plate 30 of the manual paper feed tray 160 is swung from a position during standby of feeding (two-dot line) to a position during feeding (solid line). The envelope 10 placed on the sheet placement surface is pushed up so that the fold of the flap 11 is substantially parallel to the sheet feeding direction. Thereby, the main surface of the envelope body 12 comes into contact with the pickup roller 70. At this time, the main surface of the envelope body 12 does not contact the flap retainer 20 (see FIG. 2B). When the flap 11 is awake, it hits the lower end 20e of the central portion 20a of the flap presser 20 and is pressed against the envelope body 12 (see FIG. 2A).

  When the push-up plate 30 is raised to the position at the time of paper feeding, the pickup roller 70 starts rotating and the envelope 10 is fed out toward the paper feeding path 8. At this time, since the flap 11 is pressed by the flap presser 20 at a position below the lower end 20e of the flap presser 20, the contact between the lower end 20e and the envelope 10 of the pickup roller 70 is reduced. The bearing holding plate 80 positioned higher than the straight line 73 connecting the contact 71 is not hit, and the occurrence of a jam due to the flap 11 jumping up hitting the bearing holding plate 80 as in the prior art can be prevented.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the flap presser 20 is provided at a position in front of the sheet feeding path from the bearing holding plate 80, the occurrence of a jam caused by the flap is prevented and the feeding performance of the envelope is improved. Can be planned. Further, the position of the flap retainer 20 is set so that the flap retainer 20 does not come into contact with the main surface of the envelope main body 12 when paper is fed and only the flap 11 comes into contact with the flap 11 when it is flipped up. Therefore, it can be suppressed that the envelope body 12 and the flap presser 20 are rubbed during paper feeding and affect the paper feeding performance.

  Further, the end portions 20b, 20c of the flap retainer 20 are formed in a shape that is inclined upward with respect to the roller axial direction so that the end edges 20j, 20k extend away from the sheet placing surface. ing. Therefore, for example, a bundle of sheets having a size larger than that of the envelope 10 is placed, and the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle is pressed by the pickup roller 70 by the raising of the push-up plate 30, and the sheet is bent by the pressing, Even if both ends in the roller axial direction of the sheet are lifted, both ends of the flap retainer 20 are inclined upward so as to escape from the lifted sheet. It is difficult for the parts 20b and 20c to be pressed down.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the conveyance performance from being deteriorated by pressing both ends of the sheet by the flap retainer 20 during sheet feeding, and it becomes possible to use sheets of various sizes, thereby improving versatility.
When attention is paid to the shape of the flap 11, since the flap 11 is normally cut at both sides in the paper feeding direction, the edges of the cut portions of both the flap presser 20 and the flap 11 that is bounced up are usually seen. Will be engaged, and the flap 11 can be pushed down more smoothly.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the distance L1 is 1.05 times L2 has been described in consideration of the variation in assembly accuracy. However, if L1 is excessively large, both ends of the sheet are lifted when the large size sheet is placed as described above, and the flap presser 20 and the sheet are likely to come into contact with each other during the sheet feeding. The optimum length is determined by experiments or the like according to the size and material of the sheet or envelope to be used. For example, the width of the envelope used in the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction can be maximized. In some cases, it may be smaller than 1.05 times. However, if the distance L1 is too small, the flap may not be sufficiently suppressed, so there will be a limit.

  Similarly, the position of the flap presser 20 is preferably set closer to the bearing holding member 79 from the viewpoint of downsizing of the apparatus. However, the optimum position is considered in consideration of the balance with the pressing effect of the flap 11 and the like. Determined from experiments. Moreover, although the notch 20d is provided in the flap presser 20, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the pickup roller 70 is configured not to swing, a shape that does not include the notch 20d may be used.

In the above description, the edge 20k and the like are linear. However, the shape is not limited to this as long as the shape is effective as a flap presser. For example, the edge 20k may be curved.
Further, the bearing holding plate 80 has a rectangular shape whose lower end 80a has a substantially right angle, but is not limited to this shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, chamfering such as C chamfering or R chamfering, etc. You may use what gave. When chamfering or the like is performed, even if the end of the flap 11 pressed by the flap presser 20 comes into contact with the chamfered portion due to vibration or the like, it is difficult to be caught and a further effect of preventing jamming can be expected.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, the configuration example in the case where a plate-shaped member is used as the flap pressing member has been described. However, as long as it is a member capable of pressing the flap of the envelope, the shape is not limited to the plate shape. For example, you may take the structure which uses a linear member.
FIG. 4 shows a configuration example using a linear flap presser 21.

  As shown in the figure, the flap retainer 21 is separated from the sheet placement surface as it extends outward from both ends of the first straight portion 21a parallel to the roller axial direction and the first straight portion 21a. The second straight portions 21b and 21c are metal members, and the end portions 21d and 21e of the second straight portions 21b and 21c are fixed to the holding body 90 by, for example, screws or welding. The flap retainer 21 corresponds to the shape of the outline of the flap retainer 20 of the above-described embodiment configured by a linear member.

  The positional relationship between the linear portion 21a of the flap presser 21 and the bearing holding member 79 is the same as in the above embodiment. That is, as shown in the partially enlarged view, the straight line portion 21a of the flap retainer 21 is positioned in front of the paper feed path, and a straight line 73 connecting the lower end of the straight line portion 21a and the contact point 71 of the pickup roller 70 with the envelope body 12 is shown. However, it comes below the lower end 80a of the bearing holding plate 80.

Even when such a linear member is used, the flap 11 of the envelope 10 can be pressed down during paper feeding in the same manner as in the above embodiment, and the occurrence of a jam caused by the flap 11 can be prevented.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, it can also be set as the structure which arrange | positions flake shaped flap holding | suppressing 22a, 22b. This corresponds to a configuration in which only both end portions of the flap presser 20 in the first embodiment are cut. The material of the flap pressing member can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. For example, when the setting direction of the envelope 10 is determined to be only the direction shown in the figure, the attachment work can be simplified by arranging only 22b as the flap presser.

[Modification]
(1) In the above embodiment, the flap retainer 20 is made of metal, but it goes without saying that its shape, material, etc. are not limited to the above as long as it is a member capable of retaining the flap 11. Absent. For example, the material can be made of resin. A flexible member such as a film may be used. Even when the flap 11 is pressed down, even if the portion of the envelope body 12 opposite to the side where the flap 11 is located is lifted and comes into contact with the flexible member, This can reduce the friction and improve the paper feeding performance.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the manual sheet feeding device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a sheet or envelope set (placed) in a sheet feeding cassette or tray The present invention is generally applicable to a paper feeding device that feeds out recording media one by one and supplies them to an image forming apparatus such as a printer. Further, the image forming apparatus including the paper feeding device is not limited to a printer, and can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine.

  Further, the above embodiments and modifications may be combined.

  The present invention can be widely applied to the field of printing apparatuses and the like, and the present invention can prevent the occurrence of jam even if an envelope printing function is provided to the printing apparatus. The industrial applicability is extremely large.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a printer 100 that includes the manual sheet feeder 140 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the manual sheet feeder 140, and FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective view of the manual sheet feeder 140. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a bearing holding plate 80. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a flap presser 21 according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structural example of another flap holding | suppressing 22a, 22b. (A) is a schematic sectional view of a conventional manual sheet feeder 540, and (b) is a schematic perspective view of the manual sheet feeder 540.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Envelope 11 Flap 12 Envelope main body 20, 21, 22a, 22b Flap presser 20a Center part 20b, 20c End part 20d Notch part 20e Lower end 20j, 20k, 20m Edge 30 Push-up plate 70 Pick-up roller 71 Contact 80 Bearing holding Plate 80a Lower end 90 Holding body 100 Printer 140 Manual paper feeder 150 Paper feeder main body 160 Manual paper feed tray

Claims (9)

A paper feeding device that feeds out an envelope placed on a sheet placing surface of a paper feeding tray with a pickup roller so that a fold of a flap is substantially parallel to a paper feeding direction,
A paper feed mechanism characterized in that a flap pressing member is provided in front of the paper feed path from the bearing member of the pick-up roller and abuts against a flap of the envelope during paper feeding and presses it against the envelope body side. apparatus. The pickup roller bearing member is:
Including a pair of holding plates opposed to each other with a pickup roller interposed therebetween,
2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a length of the flap pressing member in a direction parallel to an axis of the pickup roller is larger than a distance between outer main surfaces of the pair of holding plates. The flap holding member is
The center portion in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller, and both end portions located on both outer sides of the center portion,
The said each edge part is formed in the shape containing the part which the edge which opposes the said sheet mounting surface separates from the said sheet mounting surface as it extends outside. The sheet feeding device according to 2.   4. The distance L1 of the central portion in a direction parallel to the axis of the pickup roller is 1.05 times or more as long as a distance L2 between the outer main surfaces of the pair of holding plates. The paper feeder described. When cut by a plane including the holding plate,
A straight line connecting the lower end of the flap pressing member and the contact point between the pickup roller and the envelope body is located below the lowest position of the holding plate,
The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a position of a lower end of the flap pressing member is set. The bearing member is pivotally supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around an axis disposed downstream of the pickup roller in the paper feeding direction.
The flap holding member is
6. The part facing the bearing member and the pickup roller is cut out so as not to contact the bearing member and the pickup roller when the bearing member swings. The sheet feeder according to item 1.   The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the flap pressing member is a plate-like member or a linear member.   The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flap pressing member is a film-like flexible member. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on an envelope fed from a paper feeding unit,
An image forming apparatus comprising the paper feeding device according to claim 1 as the paper feeding unit.

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