JP2011126611A - Sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeder capable of surely separating and conveying only an uppermost sheet from stacked sheets even when the thick and rigid sheet like a reversible thermosensitive recording medium is used, oil content exists between the sheets, and the sheets are adhered with each other. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet feeder includes a suction means 3 sucking and holding a conveying direction front part of the sheet and turned so as to tilt and raise a horizontal surface of the stacked sheet, a pressing means 5 for pressing a conveying direction rear part of the sheet, a separating means 4 for separating the sheets one by one by blowing air to the sheet 1 raised in accordance with the turning motion of the suction means 3, and an air guide plate 7 arranged so as to be abutted to the uppermost sheet raised by the suction means 3. The air guide plate 7 guides the air injected from the separating means 4 so that the uppermost sheet is separated from the sheets on and after the next position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus that separates and conveys one sheet from a plurality of stacked sheets.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a sheet feeding device that separates and sucks sheets one by one from stacked sheets by a suction unit and feeds the sucked sheets to a conveyance path. As the sheet feeding device, there are a friction type (for example, see Patent Document 1) and an air type (for example, see Patent Document 2). The air-type sheet feeder separates sheets from a sheet bundle by blowing air and feeds the separated uppermost sheet while adsorbing it.

  Patent Document 2 includes a separating nozzle that blows air to the front end side of the stacked sheet-like paper in the traveling direction, and a separation nozzle that blows air to the front end of the sheet-like paper that is adsorbed in the vacuum chamber. A supply source for supplying air to the separating nozzle and the separating nozzle includes a common blower, a duct communicating with the blower, and a flow path switching means for switching the air supply direction inside the duct. A disclosed sheet feeding apparatus is disclosed.

  Conventional hard copy forms images by externally adhering and fixing a colorant such as ink or toner to a sheet-like recording medium such as paper, or a recording layer on a substrate such as paper like thermal recording paper. And forming a visible image by applying energy thereto. However, with the spread of copiers and facsimiles and the output of information from computers, the consumption of paper-based recording media has increased rapidly, causing social problems such as natural destruction, energy consumption, and waste disposal. In order to solve this problem, attention has been paid to a reversible recording medium that can erase a visible image that has been recorded once and can repeatedly form an image.

  The reversible recording medium is used, for example, for process management in a machine assembly factory or the like, and specifically, for displaying information on a component box. In such use, when oil or iron powder or the like is used for the part itself, the oil or iron powder or the like may adhere to the reversible recording medium attached to the part box. A cleaning liquid for a reversible thermosensitive recording medium, which needs to be cleaned to collect such contaminated reversible recording medium, stack and erase, and can be cleaned without impairing the function of the reversible thermosensitive recording medium, and A cleaning method has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). On the other hand, in the apparatus for printing and erasing sheet-like reversible thermosensitive recording media collected in close contact with oil as described above, oil is present on the sheet surface. In the case of a feeding device using a frictional force as described in Document 1, slipping may occur, and non-feeding or double feeding may occur.

  In Patent Document 4, a reversible recording medium is continuously transported in a recording (writing / erasing) apparatus, for example, a plurality of stacked reversible recording media on a paper feed tray without being transported in a double feed state in which the media are stuck to each other. A feedable recording medium has been proposed. However, when the reversible recording medium laminated in the recording apparatus is separated and conveyed in the shearing direction (perpendicular to the laminating direction), the laminated reversible recording medium is in a state in which oil is interposed and closely adhered. In addition, the transport load for separation becomes very large, and oil adheres to the paper feed roller and the separation roller, and the friction coefficient is lowered, so that non-paper feed, double feed, etc. may occur frequently. Even when a reversible recording medium using a magnet member is used, the transport load for separation is larger than the force pulling in the transport direction by the magnet, and non-paper feeding may occur frequently.

Patent Document 2 describes an apparatus for separating and conveying sheets. Since this sheet paper feeding device is a device for separating and conveying general paper, a load for separating the stacked sheets is a friction force between the sheets. When applied to transport of the reversible thermosensitive recording medium, the laminated reversible recording medium is separated and transported in the shearing direction (perpendicular to the laminating direction), so that oil is interposed in the laminated reversible recording medium, In the close contact state, the conveying load for separation becomes very large, so that the conveying force by the air adsorbing belt means is insufficient.
Further, even if only the uppermost sheet is adsorbed by the air adsorbing belt means, two oils are adsorbed and overlapped at the same time in a state in which oil is interposed in the laminated reversible recording medium and the media are in close contact with each other. Sending may occur. Furthermore, even when the stacked uppermost sheet and the next and lower sheets are handled by a separating nozzle that blows air toward the front end side in the traveling direction, the sheet has a thickness and rigidity like a reversible recording medium. In a state where oil is interposed between and in close contact with each other, the sheet cannot be separated only by the force of blowing air, and there is a possibility that double feeding may occur.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, the uppermost sheet among the stacked sheets is adsorbed by a suction cup and tilted to restore the second and subsequent sheets on a plane and separate them using the stiffness of the sheet. Although an apparatus that conveys only the uppermost sheet is described, when applied to a reversible recording medium, the adhesive force is too great when the laminated reversible recording medium is in contact with oil. Therefore, the sheet is not separated only by the restoring force of the stiffness of the sheet, and the second and subsequent sheets may remain in close contact with the uppermost sheet while being inclined.
Further, in the example of Patent Document 1, when the suction cup as the suction means is tilted, the stress applied to the suction cup is not uniform in the front end direction and the rear end direction of the paper, and the suction cup itself is freely movable up and down. Since there is no degree, there is a problem that the durability of the suction cup is greatly influenced and deteriorates easily.

  When the conveyance device that combines the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above is studied, the position where the air is blown from the separating nozzle described in Patent Document 2 to the front end side in the traveling direction is next to the uppermost position of the stacked sheets. If it does not hit the boundary surface with the pinpoint at a pinpoint, it cannot be separated, and if the air hits the suction part between the uppermost sheet and the sucker, the sucker may come off from the uppermost sheet Therefore, it is important to control the position where the air from the separation nozzle is blown.

  Further, Patent Document 1 describes an aspect in which the suction means (suction cup) is tilted. However, since the tilt direction is parallel to the sheet conveyance direction, the sheet adhesion force is in the leading edge direction and the trailing edge direction. In order to peel off the leading end portion of the sheet with air, a large injection force is required. Further, since the boundary between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet is in close contact with the rear end side other than the inclined portion, the restoring force due to the stiffness of the sheet works in the close contact direction rather than the separating direction. Further, when a sheet feeding table that can be raised and lowered to maintain the uppermost position of the sheet as described in Patent Document 1 is provided, the uppermost position on the rear end side other than the inclined portion of the sheet is raised. Because it is added to the boundary part of the next sheet, a large injection force is required so that the air reaches the rear end of the sheet, and the device itself must be large and powerful, which increases the cost. There is.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the sheet has a thickness and rigidity like a reversible thermosensitive recording medium, and oil is interposed between the sheets so that the sheets are in close contact with each other. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus that can reliably separate and convey only the uppermost sheet from the stacked sheets even in the state.

In order to solve the above problems, a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
[1] In a sheet feeding device that separates only the uppermost sheet among the stacked sheets and feeds the separated sheet to the conveyance path.
A suction means that holds the front of the sheet in the conveying direction by suction, and rotates to be inclined and lifted with respect to the horizontal surface of the stacked sheets;
Pressing means for suppressing the rear side of the sheet conveying direction;
Separating means for separating the sheets one by one by blowing air to the lifted sheet following the rotation of the suction means;
An air guide plate disposed so as to contact the uppermost sheet lifted by the suction means;
In the sheet feeding device, the air guide plate guides the air jetted from the separating unit so as to separate the uppermost sheet and the next and lower sheets.
[2] In the above [1], the air guide plate has a convex portion on a front end side in a sheet conveying direction, and a thickness of a protruding portion of the convex portion is smaller than a thickness of one sheet. It is a sheet feeding apparatus of description.
[3] The sheet feeding device according to any one of [1] to [2], wherein the separation unit is an air injection device, and is fixed to the air guide plate.
[4] The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the suction unit includes a suction pad having a suction portion made of a rubber member and having a bellows shape. is there.
[5] The suction unit is disposed so as to adsorb a corner portion on the front end side in the sheet conveyance direction, and the rotating shaft rotates at an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the sheet conveyance direction. 1] to [4].
[6] The sheet feeding apparatus according to [5], wherein the suction unit is arranged to suck both corners on the front end side in the sheet conveyance direction.
[7] The sheet feeding device according to any one of [5] to [6], wherein an ejection port of the air ejection device is disposed toward a corner portion on a front end side in a sheet conveying direction. It is.
[8] The raising means for raising the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle composed of stacked sheets until it abuts against the pressing means, and the pressure at which the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle raised by the raising means abuts on the pressing means. Pressure control means for controlling,
[1] to [7], wherein when the pressure control means controls the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle and the pressing means to come into contact with zero pressure, the separating means blows air. ] Is a sheet supply apparatus according to any one of the above.
[9] The apparatus according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the separating unit ejects air at an angle according to an inclination angle formed by rotation of the suction unit and a horizontal plane of the sheet. It is a sheet supply apparatus of description.
[10] The pressing means is a pressing roller, and the pressing roller is rotationally driven in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction via a torque limiter, and adjusts the position of the next fed sheet. The sheet supply apparatus according to any one of [1] to [9].
[11] The separation means includes a first air injection device fixed to the air guide plate, and a second air injection device fixed to a sheet holder that accommodates the stacked sheets. The sheet supply apparatus according to any one of [1] to [10].
[12] In the above [11], the second air ejecting device ejects air at the timing when the leading end of the uppermost sheet sucked and held by the suction means passes over the ejection port. This is a sheet feeding apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the sheet has thickness and rigidity like a reversible thermosensitive recording medium, and further, oil is interposed between the sheets, and even when the sheets are in close contact with each other, Only the uppermost sheet can be reliably separated and conveyed.

As an effect of the present invention, according to claim 1, in the sheet feeding apparatus that separates only the uppermost sheet among the stacked sheets and feeds it to the conveyance path, the front of the sheet in the conveyance direction is held by suction. A suction means that rotates to incline with respect to the horizontal plane of the stacked sheets; and
A pressing unit that suppresses the rear of the sheet in the conveyance direction; a separating unit that blows air on the sheet that is lifted following the rotation of the suction unit to separate the sheet one by one; and a top sheet that is lifted by the suction unit An air guide plate disposed so as to abut against the air, and the air guide plate guides the air jetted from the separating means so as to separate the uppermost sheet and the next and lower sheets. Since it is a sheet feeding device, it is possible to reliably separate only the uppermost sheet.For example, when the sheet is a sheet having thickness and rigidity such as a reversible recording medium, or oil is interposed between the sheets. Even if the sheet is in contact with the sheet, the sheet can be separated. Moreover, the effect of removing dirt such as foreign matter between sheets can be obtained by air blowing.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the first aspect, the air guide plate has a convex portion on the leading end side in the sheet conveying direction, and the thickness of the protruding portion of the convex portion is the sheet 1. Since the thickness is less than the thickness of the sheet, air can be blown to the contact surface between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet with an accuracy equal to or less than the thickness of one sheet, and the uppermost sheet can be reliably separated. . Further, air is not blown between the suction means and the uppermost sheet, and it is possible to prevent the adsorbed uppermost sheet from being detached from the suction means.
According to the invention of claim 3, in the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, the separation means is an air injection device, and is provided fixed to the air guide plate. Air can be reliably blown to the boundary portion between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet for separation.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the suction means comprises a suction pad having a suction portion made of a rubber member and having a bellows shape. Therefore, for example, when a sheet having thickness and rigidity such as a reversible recording medium is attracted and lifted and warped, the suction pad is partially compressed and tensioned. In addition, the adsorbed sheet can be securely held, and the compression and tension forces applied to the suction pad are distributed and relaxed by the bellows shape, so that local stress is not applied, and the durability of the suction pad is reduced. Can be improved.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the suction means is disposed and rotated so as to adsorb a corner on the front end side in the sheet conveying direction. Since the rotation axis forms an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the sheet conveyance direction, the sheet corner portion having a small contact area and a weak adhesion force is attracted and lifted, and is warped up. Due to the rigidity of the sheet, the restoring force to return the sheet to the plane from the bent state increases, and the next and lower sheets not adsorbed from the uppermost sheet adsorbed by the suction means return to the plane, Only the uppermost sheet can be more reliably separated.
According to the invention of claim 6, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 5, the suction unit is arranged so as to adsorb both corners on the front end side in the sheet conveying direction, so that it is more reliable. The top sheet can be separated.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to any one of the fifth to sixth aspects, the ejection port of the air ejection device is arranged toward a corner on the front end side in the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, peeling is spread from a portion where the contact area between the sheets is small and the adhesion force is weak, and separation can be performed reliably. In addition, since the air injection force can be reduced, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the raising means for raising the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle made of the stacked sheets until the uppermost surface comes into contact with the pressing means. The pressure control means for controlling the pressure at which the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle raised by the raising means contacts the pressing means;
When the pressure control means controls the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle and the pressing means to come into contact with zero pressure, the separating means blows air so that the uppermost sheet and the next sheet Since the uppermost sheet and the next sheet are separated and conveyed by the blown air without being in contact with each other, double feeding can be prevented.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the separating means conforms to an inclination angle formed by the suction means rotating and forming a horizontal surface of the sheet. Since air is ejected at an angle, even when multiple sheets are adsorbed in a bundle and warped up, the air is directed to the horizontal plane of the sheet with respect to the contact surface between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet. By hitting the restoring direction, the wind pressure acts in the separating direction, and only the uppermost sheet can be reliably separated.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the pressing means is a pressing roller, and the pressing roller is in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction via the torque limiter. In order to adjust the position of the next sheet to be rotated, the next sheet is moved following by the static electricity generated by repeatedly separating and transporting the uppermost sheet. Even if it is displaced, it is returned to its original position by the pressing roller, and further regulated so as not to be conveyed in the reverse direction of the conveying direction from the original set position, so that continuous separation and conveyance is performed reliably. Is possible.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the separation means is laminated with a first air injection device fixed to the air guide plate. Since it consists of the second air injection device fixed to the sheet holder that accommodates the sheet, even if the first air injection device moves with the sheet and the amount of air blown to the next and lower sheets decreases, Since it is compensated by the second air injection device, reliable separation is possible.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device of the eleventh aspect, the second air ejecting device is at a timing when the leading end of the uppermost sheet sucked and held by the suction means passes over the ejection port. Since the air is ejected, the uppermost sheet can be prevented from coming off from the suction pad, and separation can be performed reliably.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an overall schematic configuration in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view showing an overall schematic configuration in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating movement of adsorption of the uppermost sheet in the sheet feeding device of the present invention. (A) is a top view showing a configuration of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and (B) is a graph showing the relationship between the adhesion between sheets and the length from the leading edge. is there. FIG. 3 is a top view showing a schematic configuration in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and shows a state where a separation unit moving cylinder is OFF. FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating a schematic configuration in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding device of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating a state where a separation unit moving cylinder is ON. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration and movement of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration and movement of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration and movement of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration and movement of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the whole schematic structure in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the whole in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. FIG. 6 is a top view showing a schematic configuration in a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and showing a state where a separation unit moving cylinder is OFF. FIG. 6 is a top view showing a schematic configuration in a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and is a view showing a state where a separation unit moving cylinder is ON. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure and movement of the principal part which adsorb | suck the uppermost sheet | seat in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure and movement of the principal part which adsorb | suck the uppermost sheet | seat in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure and movement of the principal part which adsorb | suck the uppermost sheet | seat in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure and movement of the principal part which adsorb | suck the uppermost sheet | seat in the 2nd embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of this invention. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram in a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the examples shown below, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, and the like can be changed within a range that can be conceived by those skilled in the art. Any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as the operations and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 and 2 show the overall schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.
The sheet feeding apparatus 100 according to the present invention sucks and holds the front of the sheet 1 in the conveyance direction, and rotates the suction unit 3 that rotates so as to be inclined and lifted with respect to the horizontal plane of the sheet bundle 1A formed of stacked sheets. The pressing means 5 for suppressing the rear in the conveying direction, the separating means 4 for blowing the air to the sheet 1 lifted following the rotation of the suction means 3 and separating them one by one, and the uppermost position lifted by the suction means 3 And an air guide plate 7 disposed so as to come into contact with the sheet. The air guide plate 7 guides the air jetted from the separating means 4 so as to separate the uppermost sheet and the next and lower sheets.

  A belt conveyor 6 is connected to the sheet feeding apparatus 100. One uppermost sheet separated from the stacked sheets 1 is conveyed and set to the belt conveyor 6 and is conveyed to the cleaning device of the next process.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a bundle 1 </ b> A of stacked sheets 1 is set in a sheet holder 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the position of the stacked sheet 1 bundle 1 </ b> A in the front-rear and left-right directions is regulated by the sheet holder 2. In the present embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the sheet 1 will be described as an IC tag sheet of a reversible recording medium.

  The stacked sheet bundle 1 </ b> A is placed on the bottom plate 52. A raising unit that raises the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle 1A until it comes into contact with the pressing unit 5; and a pressure control unit that controls a pressure at which the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle 1A raised by the raising unit comes into contact with the pressing unit 5. . The raising means comprises a sheet raising plate 53 connected to a sheet raising drive unit 51 driven by a sheet raising motor. The sheet raising plate 53 is raised by the normal rotation of the sheet raising motor 50, and the pressure generated by the raising is the sheet. The bottom plate 52 is added via the pressure spring 8, and the sheet bundle 1 </ b> A is lifted together with the bottom plate 52. When the sheet raising motor 50 is reversely rotated, the sheet raising plate 53 is configured to descend. The seat raising plate 53 is detected by the seat raising home position (HP) detection sensor 12 and the seat upper limit detection sensor 11 at the most lowered position and the most raised position, respectively. Further, the stopped sheet raising plate 53 stands by at the position of the sheet raising HP detection sensor 12.

  The uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle 1 </ b> A is biased by a pressing roller (sheet conveying roller) 5 that is a pressing unit and a sheet pressing spring 8. A sheet pressure sensor 15 is disposed at the same position as the height at which the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle 1A and the pressing roller 5 abut, and the force R applied to the pressing roller 5 is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pressing roller 5 is connected to a pressing roller driving pulley 43 through a torque limiter 44, and is further connected to a pressing roller driving belt 42, a pressing roller motor pulley 42, and a pressing roller rotation motor 40. ing. When the pressing roller rotating motor 40 rotates, the pressing roller 5 is configured to rotate in the direction opposite to the conveying direction indicated by the arrows in FIGS. At this time, since the position of the uppermost sheet 1 is regulated in the front-rear and left-right directions by the sheet holder 2, the torque limiter 44 is operated, and the uppermost sheet 1 is a surface opposite to the conveying direction of the sheet holder 2 (FIG. In the state of being energized by the broken line A).

3 and 4 are cross-sectional views showing a configuration of a main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet, and FIG. 5 is a top view thereof.
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the suction pad 3, which is a suction means, comes into contact with the uppermost surface of the bundle of stacked sheets 1 to adsorb the uppermost sheet, and as shown in FIG. The suction pad 3 is disposed at a position (3A) for sucking the center of the leading end in the conveyance direction of the uppermost sheet or a position (3B, 3C) for sucking the corners.

  The suction pad 3 is fixed to the tip portion of the suction pad moving lever 30, and the suction pad moving lever 30 is configured to be rotatable about a central axis 31. Further, when the suction pad moving lever 30 and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 are fixed rotatably and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 is turned on, the suction pad moving lever 30 is lifted around the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. . When the suction pad 3 adsorbs both corners at the top in the transport direction of the uppermost sheet, at least both corners at the top in the transport direction of the uppermost sheet 1 are warped. The pressing roller 5 is urged by a pressure R by a sheet pressing spring 8 and is in a state of pressing a rear portion in the transport direction of the bundle of sheets 1.

  Further, the tip portion where the suction pad 3 comes into contact with the uppermost sheet 1 is made of a rubber member, and when both corners at the head in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1 are warped as shown in FIG. As shown by the arrows, a tensile force is applied to the tip of the rubber member, and a compression force is applied to the rear end. Furthermore, the suction pad 3 has a bellows shape 3D and has a degree of freedom of expansion and contraction in the vertical direction. For this reason, the tensile force at the front end and the compressive force at the rear end applied to the suction pad 3 are dispersed and relaxed over the entire pad by the bellows shape 3D, so that local stress is not applied.

FIG. 5A shows the main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 from the upper side.
The suction pads 3 </ b> B and 3 </ b> C are arranged so as to adsorb the corner on the front end side in the conveyance direction of the uppermost sheet, and the rotation axis of rotation is an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the conveyance direction of the sheet, for example, 40˜ It makes about 50 °. The suction pad adsorbs the uppermost sheet, moves away from the next and lower sheets, and rotates so as to incline with respect to the horizontal plane. Warps up in the direction indicated by the white arrow.

FIG. 5B is a graph showing the adhesion between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet at the position of the length L from the leading edge of the sheet. The broken line indicates the adhesion force when the suction pad 3A rotates in the horizontal direction with respect to the conveyance direction and lifts the suction portion of the uppermost sheet, and the solid lines indicate about 45 in the suction pads 3B and 3C with respect to the conveyance direction. It shows the adhesion force when it is rotated along an axis that makes an angle and the suction part of the uppermost sheet is lifted.
The suction pads 3B and 3C lift the uppermost sheet from the corner portion in the vicinity of 45 ° with respect to the sheet conveyance direction. Therefore, the shorter the length L from the leading end, the shorter the contact portion, and the smaller the contact force. On the other hand, since the suction pad 3A is lifted horizontally with respect to the conveyance direction, when the length of the close contact portion between the sheets is smaller than the length L from the front end, the close contact force of the front end portion is higher than when the corner portion is lifted. Becomes larger.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, it is preferable that the ejection port of the air ejection device 4 serving as a separating unit is arranged toward a corner on the front end side in the sheet conveying direction. Specifically, among the air injection nozzles 4, 4 A and 4 B that inject air to the suction portions at the corners are both corner portions at the leading end in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1 lifted in the direction of about 45 ° with respect to the conveyance direction of the sheet. From the outside, the air is also blown so as to form an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the transport direction. In this case, compared to the case where air is ejected horizontally with respect to the conveyance direction, the adhesion between the sheets is also small as shown in FIG. 5B, so that the output of air ejection can be reduced.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 are cross-sectional views for explaining the main part that adsorbs the uppermost sheet and the movement thereof in the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, an air guide plate 7 is disposed on the upper surface of the sheet 1. A hole is provided in a part of the air guide plate 7, and the suction pad 3 is disposed through the hole. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 9, when the suction pad 3 attracts and lifts both corners in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1, the sheet 1 and the air guide plate 7 come into contact with each other, and the sheet 1 Warps to make an angle θ. The air ejecting device 4 ejects air at an angle according to the inclination angle θ formed by the rotation of the suction pad 3 and the horizontal surface of the sheet. That is, the nozzle of the air injection device 4 as the separation means is installed so as to have an angle approximate to the inclination angle θ.

  The tip of the air guide plate 7 is provided with a convex portion having a height H as shown in FIG. The thickness (height) H of the protruding portion of the convex portion is set to a value smaller than the thickness T corresponding to one sheet 1. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, when the suction pad 3 attracts and lifts both corners at the beginning of the conveyance direction of the sheet 1, the sheet 1 enters inside the step H of the air guide plate 7. The leading end of the air guide plate 7 is disposed in the vicinity of the ejection port of the air ejection device 4. When air is ejected from the nozzle of the air ejection device 4, the leading edge of the sheet 1 in the state of warping up by the air guide plate 7 is conveyed. It is comprised so that air may hit against both corners. Further, due to the step H of the air guide plate 7, the injected air hits the boundary surface between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet, and does not hit the contact surface between the uppermost sheet and the suction pad 3.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the pressing roller 5 is rotationally driven via a torque limiter 44 in the direction opposite to the arrow conveying direction (direction of arrow a). As a result, the sheet 1 in contact with the pressing roller is configured to stop in a state where it is urged by a surface (broken line A) in the direction opposite to the conveying direction in the sheet holder 2. In this state, as shown in FIG. 10, when the uppermost sheet and the next sheet shown by the broken line are separated, the frictional force between the uppermost sheet and the pressing roller 5 is larger than the idling load of the torque limiter 44. In this case, the pressing roller 5 rotates in the direction of arrow b in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the rear end of the uppermost sheet passes through the pressing roller 5 and the next sheet becomes the uppermost surface and the pressing roller 5 contacts, the uppermost sheet 1 is moved to the sheet pressing spring 8. Is urged by the pressure R, and is returned by the frictional force of the pressing roller 5 until it hits a surface (broken line A) in the direction opposite to the conveying direction, and the rear end of the sheet 1 is a surface in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the sheet holder 2 When it hits (broken line A), the torque limiter 44 idles again, and the seat 1 stops in a biased state. By controlling the position of the sheet 1 in this way, the next sheet moves following and is displaced due to static electricity generated by repeatedly separating and conveying the uppermost sheet. However, since it is returned to the original position, continuous separation and conveyance can be performed reliably.

6 and 7 are top views showing a schematic configuration of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 6, the suction pad 3, the air guide plate 7, and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 are configured on a moving table 33, and the moving table 33 is set on a slide rail 32 and can move left and right. Further, the moving table 33 is connected to the separation unit moving cylinder 10 so that when the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is OFF, the suction pad 3 stops at a position where the suction pad 3 comes into contact with both corners at the head in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1. It is configured. Further, a separation unit HP sensor 13 that detects the position of the moving table 33 as a home position is disposed.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is ON, the air guide plate 7 and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 on the moving table 33 move on the belt conveyor 6 along the slide rail 32. When the sheet 1 is released from the suction pad 3, it is placed on the belt conveyor 6. Further, a separation unit open position detection sensor 14 for detecting the position of the moving table 33 is disposed. The sheet holder 2, the air injection device 4, and the pressing roller 5 are fixed to the structure.
The suction pad 3, the air injection device 4, the suction pad moving cylinder 9, and the separation unit moving cylinder 10 shown in FIG. 2 are connected to the compressor 20 by an air tube 21, and the air injection nozzle solenoid valve 22 and the suction pad moving cylinder are interposed therebetween. An electromagnetic valve 23, a suction pad electromagnetic valve 24, and a separation unit moving cylinder electromagnetic valve are provided, and air supply ON / OFF switching is performed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a vacuum generator 26 is connected between the suction pad 3 and the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 corresponding to the leading two corners in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1. When the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned on and air is supplied, the suction portion of the suction pad 3 is evacuated by the vacuum generator 26 and sucks the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle 1A. Further, when the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned OFF, the vacuum state of the suction portion of the suction pad 3 is broken, and the surface of the sheet 1 is released and separated.

FIG. 12 is a control block diagram in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 12, the sheet feeding apparatus 100 is controlled by a sheet feeding apparatus controller 101. The operation unit 200 and the sheet feeding apparatus controller 101 are connected to control information input such as the number of processed sheets, start and stop, and screen display such as termination and abnormality display. The feeding device controller 101 detects the upper limit of the sheet detection sensor 11, the sheet rising HP detection sensor 12, the separation unit HP sensor 13, the separation unit open position detection sensor 14, the sheet pressure sensor 15, and the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16. The operation of the injection nozzle electromagnetic valve 22, the suction pad moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 23, the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24, the separation unit moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 25, the pressing roller rotating motor 40, and the sheet raising motor 50 is controlled.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. Hereinafter, the operation will be described.
In START, a start button is pressed from the operation unit 200, and a start signal is input (S0). If there is no input, the standby state is maintained. When the start signal is inputted, it is confirmed whether each operation part is arranged at a default position. First, the seat rising HP detection sensor 12 is confirmed (S1). 1 is ON when the seat raising plate 53 is in the default position, but when it is OFF, since the sheet raising plate 53 is not at the default position, the seat raising motor 50 is reversely rotated (S2). To the default position. If the sheet raising HP detection sensor 12 is ON (S3), the sheet raising motor 50 is stopped (S4).

  Next, the separation unit HP sensor 13 is confirmed (S5). When the separation unit HP sensor 13 is ON, it indicates that the moving table 33 is in the default position. In the case of OFF, since the moving table 33 is not in the default position, the suction pad moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 23 is first turned ON (S6), and the suction pad moving lever 30 is centered on the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. It shall be in a lifted state. In this state, the separation unit moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 25 is turned ON (S7), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned ON, and the moving table 33 is positioned where the sheet 1 is released from the suction pad 3 as shown in FIG. To move. Next, in order to return to the default position, the suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 23 is turned off (S8), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned off, and the moving table 33 is returned to the default position where the separation unit HP sensor 13 is turned on.

  Next, the suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 23 is turned OFF (S9), and the suction pad 3 is set to a position where both corners at the head in the transport direction of the sheet 1 can be sucked. When the pressing roller rotating motor 40 is turned on in this state, the pressing roller 5 is rotationally driven in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 8, but at this time, since the sheet raising plate 53 is in the default position, The uppermost surface of the sheet 1 and the pressing roller 5 are separated from each other. This is the preparation operation before sheet feeding.

Next, an actual paper feeding operation indicated by “A” will be described.
The sheet raising motor 50 is rotated forward (S11), the sheet raising plate 53 is raised, and the uppermost sheet 1 comes into contact with the pressing roller 5 and the sheet pressure sensor 15. At this moment, the sheet pressure sensor 15 is turned on (S12), and when the sheet raising motor 50 is rotated forward, the sheet raising plate 53 is raised and the sheet pressing spring 8 is compressed. When the pressure sensor 15 detects a predetermined pressure by the force R applied to the pressing roller 5 (S13), the sheet raising motor 50 is stopped (S14). As shown in FIG. 4, the prescribed pressure value at this time is a value that does not separate the uppermost sheet 1 from the pressing roller 5 even if the first corners in the conveying direction of the sheet 1 are warped and the sheet 1 is bent. Is set to

  Next, the presence / absence of the sheet 1 is confirmed by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 (S15). When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is OFF, since there is no sheet 1 on the bottom plate 52, the absence of sheet is displayed on the operation unit (S16), and an end operation indicated by "B" is performed. When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is ON, since at least one sheet 1 is present on the bottom plate 52, the sheet feeding operation is started.

  When the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned on (S17), the suction portion of the suction pad 3 is evacuated by the vacuum generator 26 and sucks the upper surface of the sheet 1 as shown in FIG. 8 (a in FIG. 1). The suction force F of the suction pad 3 in this state is set to be larger than the drag force W that the sheet 1 tries to return to a flat surface when the sheet 1 is bent in a bundle state. Therefore, when oil or the like is interposed between the sheets and the adhesion is strong, the sheets may be lifted by a bundle of a plurality of sheets.

  Next, when the suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 23 is turned on (S18) and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 is turned on, the suction pad moving lever 30 rotates about the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. The connected suction pad 3 is lifted. Since the suction pad 3 adsorbs both corners at the beginning in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1, the corners at the beginning in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1 are lifted and warped as the suction pad rises. The pressing roller 5 is urged by the sheet pressing spring 8 with the pressure R, and the rear portion of the sheet 1 in the conveying direction is pressed. As shown in FIG. 5A, both corners at the beginning of the sheet 1 in the conveying direction are warped at an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the sheet conveying direction indicated by the arrow, and the air guide plate 7 and the sheet 1 come into contact with each other. It will be in the state shown (b in FIG. 1).

  In this state, the air injection device nozzle electromagnetic valve 22 is turned ON (S19), and air is injected from the nozzle of the air injection device 4, and the air is bounded by the air guide plate 7 between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet. Guided to be sprayed onto the part. When the warped sheet is a bundle of two or more sheets, the air peeling force N is added to the drag force W to bend and return. By setting the amount of air that can be peeled off even if oil is present at the boundary between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet, the speed of air, and the angle θ at which the sheet 1 is bent, Separation can be reliably performed according to the situation of 1 (c in FIG. 1).

After the uppermost sheet is peeled from the next and lower sheets, the sheet raising motor 50 is turned on in the reverse direction (S20), the sheet raising plate 53 is lowered, and the pressing force of the sheet pressing spring 8 is reduced. The value of the seat pressure sensor 15 becomes 0 (S21). At this moment, by stopping the sheet raising motor 50 (S22), the force R that the uppermost surface of the bundle of stacked sheets 1 presses against the pressing roller 5 becomes 0. The frictional force between the sheet and the next sheet is zero. When the separation unit moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 25 is turned on in this state (S23), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned on, and the air guide plate 7 and the suction pad on the moving table 33 as shown in FIGS. The movable cylinder 9 moves on the belt conveyor 6 along the slide rail 32 while holding the separated sheet 1 (d in FIG. 1).
During this time, the air injection nozzle solenoid valve 22 is turned off (S24), and the air injection from the air injection device 4 stops.

  Since the sheet 1 is moving on the belt conveyor 6 along the slide rail 32, the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned OFF (S25), the sheet 1 is released from the suction pad 3, and set on the belt conveyor 6 ( E) in FIG. The uppermost sheet separated from the sheet bundle 1 </ b> A is conveyed by a belt conveyor 6 to a cleaning device for performing the next process cleaning.

  The separation unit moving cylinder solenoid valve 25 is turned off (S26), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned off, and the air guide plate 7 and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 on the moving table 33 are moved along the slide rail 32. The position shown in FIG. 6, that is, the suction pad 3 moves to the default position where it abuts on both corners at the beginning of the sheet 1 in the conveyance direction (f in FIG. 1).

  When the suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 23 is turned off (S27), the suction pad moving cylinder 9 is turned off, and the suction pad moving lever 30 is rotated about the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. Returns to the default position where both corners at the head of the sheet 1 in the conveying direction can be sucked (g in FIG. 1).

Here, when there is no repeat signal for feeding the second and subsequent sheets, the end operation “B” is performed. On the other hand, if there is a repeat signal for feeding the second and subsequent sheets, the presence / absence of the sheet 1 is confirmed by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 in this state (S29).
When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is OFF, since there is no sheet 1 on the bottom plate 52, the absence of sheet is displayed on the operation unit (S30), and the end operation “B” is performed. When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is ON, the feeding operation “A” is repeatedly performed.

  In the end operation “B”, the pressure roller rotation motor 40 is turned off (S31), and the rotation of the pressure roller 5 is stopped. Next, the seat lift motor 50 is reversely rotated (S32), the seat lift plate 53 is lowered to the default position, and when the seat lift HP detection sensor 12 is turned on (S33), the seat lift motor 50 is stopped (S34). End the operation.

14 and 15 show the overall schematic configuration of the second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a front view of a second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a top view thereof.
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a belt conveyor 6 is connected to the sheet feeding apparatus 100, and one sheet separated by the sheet feeding apparatus 100 is set on the belt conveyor 6, and the belt conveyor 6 Is transferred to a cleaning device for cleaning the next process.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the sheet feeding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a first air injection device 4A and a second air injection device 4B as separation means, and the first air injection The nozzles of the apparatus 4A are fixed to the air guide plate 7, and the nozzles of the second air injection apparatus 4B are fixed to the front end of the frame holding the stacked sheets in the sheet conveyance direction.

As shown in FIG. 16, the first air injection device 4A is provided on the moving table 33 together with the suction pad 3, the air guide plate 7, and the suction pad moving cylinder 9, and the moving table 33 is set on the slide rail 32. Can be moved left and right.
As shown in FIG. 17, when the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned on, the first air injection device 4 </ b> A moves along the slide rail 32 in addition to the air guide plate 7 and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 on the moving table 33. It moves on the belt conveyor 6.

As shown in FIG. 17, even when the uppermost sheet 1 is moved onto the belt conveyor 6, the nozzle of the second air ejecting device 4 </ b> B is fixed to the frame 2 of the structure and does not move.
Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the second air injection device 4B is supplied with air via the compressor 20 and the fixed air injection nozzle electromagnetic valve 27, and controls the air injection separately from the first air injection device 4A. Is possible.

FIG. 22 is a control block diagram of the second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.
A fixed air injection nozzle solenoid valve 27 is added to the control block diagram in the first embodiment described above, and the fixed air injection nozzle solenoid valve 27 is controlled by the sheet feeding device controller 101 as shown in FIG. Is done.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the second embodiment of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, and shows operations different from the flow in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Note that steps S35 to S41 shown in FIG. 23 are the same as steps S11 to S17 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, steps after S41 will be described.

  The suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned on (S41), and as shown in FIG. 18, the suction pad 3 is evacuated by the vacuum generator 26 and sucks the upper surface of the sheet 1 (a in FIG. 14). The suction force F of the suction pad 3 in this state is set to be larger than the drag force W that attempts to return to the plane when the sheet 1 is bent in a bundle state. Accordingly, when oil or the like is interposed between the plurality of sheets and the adhesion is strong, the plurality of sheets may follow and be lifted up in a bundle shape.

  Next, when the suction pad moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 23 is turned on (S42), the suction pad moving cylinder 9 is turned on, and the suction pad moving lever 30 is lifted around the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. Both corners on the front end side in the sheet 1 conveying direction where the suction pad 3 is attracted are lifted and warped. The pressing roller 5 is urged by the pressure R from the upper surface of the sheet bundle 1 </ b> A via the sheet pressing spring 8 and presses the rear portion of the sheet 1 in the conveyance direction. The suction pads shown in 3B and 3C in FIG. 5 warp both corners on the front end side in the conveyance direction of the sheet 1 in the direction of about 45 ° as indicated by arrows. Then, the air guide plate 7 and the sheet come into contact with each other, and the state shown in FIG. 19 is obtained (b in FIG. 1).

  Next, the air injection device nozzle solenoid valve 22 is turned ON (S43), and the air injected from the air injection device 4A fixed to the air guide plate 7 is guided by the air guide plate 7 as shown in FIG. And sprayed on the boundary between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet. Even when the second and lower sheets lifted up following the uppermost sheet move without separation, the air injection device 4A also moves with the air guide plate. Air can be blown to the boundary part.

  When the lifted sheet is a bundle of two or more sheets, the peeling force N due to the air injected from the air injection device is added to the drag W that the sheet bundle is bent to return to the plane. In addition, it is preferable that the amount and speed of air that can be separated even when oil is present at the boundary between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet, and the angle θ for deflecting the sheet 1 are set (see FIG. 1 c).

  After the uppermost sheet is peeled from the next sheet, the sheet raising motor 50 is turned on in the reverse direction (S44), the sheet raising plate 53 is lowered, the pressure of the sheet pressing spring 8 is lowered, and the sheet The value of the pressure sensor 15 decreases. It is determined whether the output value of the seat pressure sensor 15 has become 0 (S45). At this moment, when the reverse of the sheet raising motor 50 is turned off and stopped (S46), the pressure R when the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle 1A comes into contact with the pressing roller 5 becomes 0. The frictional force between the next sheets is zero.

  When the separation unit moving cylinder solenoid valve 25 is turned on in this state (S47), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned on, and as shown in FIGS. 17 and 20, the air guide plate 7 on the moving table 33, the suction The pad moving cylinder 9 and the air injection device 4 move on the belt conveyor 6 along the slide rail 32 while holding the separated sheet 1 (d in FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 20, the second air injection device nozzle electromagnetic valve 27 is turned on at the timing when the leading edge of the separated sheet 1 passes the position P in the vertical direction of the injection port of the second air injection device 4B. (S48), air is injected from the nozzle of the second air injection device 4B. The jetted air flows along the back surface of the uppermost sheet that is sucked and held by the suction pad 3 and is in contact with the air guide plate, and flows into the boundary portion between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet. Thereafter, the first air injection device nozzle solenoid valve 22 is turned off (S49), and the air injection from the first air injection device 4A is stopped.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the second air ejecting device is at a timing when the rear end of the uppermost sheet separated and conveyed passes the position P in the vertical direction of the ejection port of the second air ejecting device 4B. The nozzle solenoid valve 27 is turned off (S40), and the injection of air from the nozzle of the second air injection device 4B is stopped.

  Since the separated sheet 1 is moving on the belt conveyor 6, the suction pad electromagnetic valve 24 is turned OFF (S51), the sheet 1 is released from the suction pad 3, and set on the belt conveyor 6 (FIG. 14). e). The uppermost sheet separated from the sheet bundle 1 </ b> A is conveyed by the belt conveyor 6 to a cleaning device for performing the next process cleaning.

  Next, the separation unit moving cylinder electromagnetic valve 25 is turned off (S52), the separation unit moving cylinder 10 is turned off, and the air guide plate 7 and the suction pad moving cylinder 9 on the moving table 33 are moved to the slide rail 32. Along the position shown in FIG. (F in FIG. 14)

  When the suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 23 is turned off (S53), the suction pad moving cylinder 9 is turned off, and the suction pad moving lever 30 rotates about the central axis 31 as shown in FIG. Return to the default position where both corners at the head of the sheet 1 in the conveying direction can be sucked. (G in FIG. 14)

Here, the presence / absence of a repeat signal for feeding the second and subsequent sheets is checked (S54). If there is no signal, the end operation “B” is performed. On the other hand, if there is a repeat signal for feeding the second and subsequent sheets, the presence / absence of the sheet 1 is confirmed by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 in this state (S55).
When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is OFF, since there is no sheet 1 on the bottom plate 52, the absence of sheet is displayed on the operation unit (S56), and the end operation “B” is performed. When the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 16 is ON, the feeding operation “A” is repeatedly performed.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment in which the air ejecting device 4 is fixed to the air guide plate 7 and the sheet holder 2, the sheet has a thickness and rigidity like a reversible thermosensitive recording medium, Even in the state where the oil component is interposed between the sheets and the sheets are in close contact with each other, only the uppermost sheet can be more reliably separated from the stacked sheets and conveyed.

1 sheet (IC tag sheet)
1A Sheet bundle 2 Sheet holder 3 Suction means (suction pad)
3D bellows shape 4 Separation means (air injection device)
4A 1st air injection device 4B 2nd air injection device 5 Pressing means (pressing roller)
6 Belt Conveyor 7 Air Guide Plate 8 Pressure Spring 9 Suction Pad Moving Cylinder 10 Separation Unit Moving Cylinder 11 Sheet Upper Limit Detection Sensor 12 Sheet Lift HP Detection Sensor 13 Separation Unit HP Sensor 14 Separation Unit Opening Position Detection Sensor 15 Sheet Pressure Sensor 16 Sheet Presence detection sensor 20 Compressor 21 Air tube 22 Air injection device nozzle solenoid valve 23 Suction pad moving cylinder solenoid valve 24 Suction pad solenoid valve 25 Separation unit moving cylinder solenoid valve 26 Vacuum generator 27 Fixed air injection nozzle solenoid valve 30 Suction pad moving lever 31 Suction pad moving lever central axis 32 Slide rail 33 Moving table 40 Press roller rotation motor 41 Press roller motor pulley 42 Press roller drive belt 43 Press roller drive pulley 4 the torque limiter 50 sheet lifting motor 51 seat increases driver 52 a bottom plate 53 sheet increases plates 100 a sheet feeding apparatus 101 a sheet feeding apparatus controller 200 operating unit

JP-A-56-65735 JP 2000-177870 A JP 2007-261121 A JP 2008-068507 A

Claims (12)

Among the stacked sheets, in the sheet feeding device that separates only the top sheet and feeds it to the conveyance path,
A suction means that holds the front of the sheet in the conveying direction by suction, and rotates to be inclined and lifted with respect to the horizontal surface of the stacked sheets;
Pressing means for suppressing the rear side of the sheet conveying direction;
Separating means for separating the sheets one by one by blowing air to the lifted sheet following the rotation of the suction means;
An air guide plate disposed so as to contact the uppermost sheet lifted by the suction means;
The sheet feeding device, wherein the air guide plate guides the air jetted from the separating unit so as to separate the uppermost sheet and the next and lower sheets.   2. The sheet feeding according to claim 1, wherein the air guide plate has a convex portion on a leading end side in a sheet conveying direction, and a thickness of a protruding portion of the convex portion is smaller than a thickness of one sheet. Feeding device.   3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the separation unit is an air ejection device and is fixed to the air guide plate. 4.   The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suction means includes a suction pad having a suction portion made of a rubber member and having a bellows shape.   5. The suction means is disposed so as to adsorb a corner portion on the front end side in the sheet conveyance direction, and a rotating rotation shaft forms an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the sheet conveyance direction. The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the above.   The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the suction unit is disposed so as to suck both corners on the front end side in the sheet conveyance direction.   The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein an ejection port of the air ejection device is disposed toward a corner portion on a front end side in a sheet conveying direction. A raising means for raising the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle made of stacked sheets until it abuts against the pressing means, and a pressure for controlling the pressure at which the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle raised by the raising means abuts on the pressing means Control means,
8. The separation means blows air when the pressure control means controls the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle and the pressing means to come into contact with zero pressure. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1.   9. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separating unit ejects air at an angle according to an inclination angle formed with the horizontal surface of the sheet by the rotation of the suction unit. .   The pressure means is a pressure roller, and the pressure roller is rotationally driven in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction via a torque limiter, and adjusts the position of the next fed sheet. The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of 9.   The separation means includes a first air injection device fixed to the air guide plate, and a second air injection device fixed to a sheet holder that accommodates the stacked sheets. The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of 1 to 10.   12. The sheet feeding according to claim 11, wherein the second air ejecting apparatus ejects air at a timing at which a leading end of the uppermost sheet sucked and held by the suction unit passes over the ejection port. apparatus.

Images