JP2018203512A - Loading device, and paper feeding device, image forming device and image forming system including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem that in a power feeding device that winds a wire with a pulley and moves a loading plate up and down, which needs a sensor and a detection mechanism for detecting the wire so as to detect reverse winding of the wire and increases a possibility of malfunction for them.SOLUTION: A loading device makes lengths of a plurality of wires for suspending and supporting a loading plate different, and makes a length in a portion not wound by a pulley equal. Thus, the loading plate tilts when reverse winding occurs, the device detects the tilt and detects occurrence of the reverse winding, and stops the operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention is a paper feed that is provided or attached to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction machine having these functions, and supplies the image forming paper to these image forming apparatuses. The present invention relates to a loading device provided in the apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, a main body built-in type paper feeding device that feeds stored paper one by one from the uppermost layer sequentially by a paper feeding means is provided. In addition, an external paper feeding device that can be connected to an image forming apparatus and can accommodate a large amount of paper is also used. These sheet feeding apparatuses employ a horizontal lifting type stacking plate lifting mechanism capable of high speed and mass processing. The horizontal raising / lowering method refers to a method of raising and lowering a loading plate for loading and storing sheets while maintaining the level. As a result, the uppermost layer of the sheets stored on the stacking plate is kept at a predetermined sheet feeding position, and the sheet feeding operation of sequentially feeding the sheets one by one from the uppermost layer and feeding them to the image forming apparatus is normally executed. In this horizontal lift type stacking plate lifting mechanism, a wire is used as a driving force transmitting means for lifting the stacking plate.

  In a method using a wire as a normal driving force transmission means, one end of the wire is fixed to the stacking plate, and the other end is wound by a pulley that rotates to pull the wire toward the pulley, and the sheet stacking plate is pulled. Move up and down. The loading plate is lowered toward a predetermined paper supply position by rotating the lifter motor forward and releasing the wire wound around the pulley from the pulley, and by rotating the lifter motor reversely and winding the wire by the pulley. It is raised toward the paper feed position.

  However, when the loading plate is stopped by a foreign object or the like below the loading plate while the loading plate is being lowered, the lower limit of the loading plate is not detected, and the lowering of the loading plate continues beyond the original limit. It can be done. If the lifter motor continues to rotate normally in this state, "reverse winding" occurs on the wire. This “reverse winding” means that the wire wound around the pulley is released by the forward rotation of the lifter motor, and then the wire is wound around the pulley in the reverse winding by continuing the forward rotation of the lifter motor. . When “reverse winding” occurs in the wire in this manner, the lifter plate is raised despite the forward rotation of the lifter motor. When this reverse winding occurs, the sheet placed on the stacking plate pushes up the ceiling of the sheet feeding device containing the stacking plate, which may cause deformation such as ceiling deformation and breakage of the wire.

  As a means for detecting reverse winding in a conventional paper feeder, there is a method of detecting reverse winding by detecting a slack deflection of a wire as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2009-184800 A

  However, in the prior art, since the slack of the wire is detected, the slack due to the reverse winding of the wire cannot be distinguished from the deflection due to a factor other than the reverse winding of the wire, and the reverse winding of the wire can be accurately detected. There was a problem that it was not possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem existing in the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a stacking apparatus capable of detecting reverse winding with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example and has the following configuration.

The present invention includes a stacking plate for stacking sheets;
Elevating means for elevating the loading plate with a plurality of wires that suspend and support the loading plate;
Detecting means for detecting the inclination of the loading plate,
At least one of the plurality of wires has a length different from that of the other wires, and detection of reverse winding of the wire is detected by detecting the inclination of the stacking plate by the detecting means. Is on the loading device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect reverse winding.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming processing system including a paper feeding device A and a paper post-processing device according to the present invention. FIG. It is a state figure at the time of reverse winding of the loading board of this invention. 2 is a block diagram of a paper feeding device. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating control of a paper feeding device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a paper feeding device A is connected to an image forming device B, and supplies paper to the image forming device B according to the contents instructed by the operator in the image forming device B. The image forming apparatus B includes a display unit (or operation unit) 101 for an operator to input an instruction and display a status, a warning, and the like. In addition to the state of the image forming apparatus B, the display unit 101 can also display the states of the paper feeding apparatus A and the paper post-processing apparatus C. The sheet feeding apparatus A includes a stacking plate, a lifting mechanism thereof, and a tilt detection function (tilt sensor) of the stacking plate, which will be described later with reference to FIG. The tilt sensor is provided to detect the tilt of the stacking plate due to the wire elongation due to the weight of the loaded sheet bundle and correct it to a horizontal state. The image forming apparatus B forms an image on a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding apparatus A. The image forming apparatus B is connected to the sheet post-processing apparatus C. A sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus is sent to the sheet post-processing apparatus C.

  As a post-processing mode in the paper post-processing apparatus C, there is the following mode when the image forming apparatus B is a copying machine. (1) A normal mode in which sheets are simply stacked in the discharge order. In this mode, processing is executed by designating the paper size and the number of copies. (2) Stipple mode for performing stapling. In this mode, the processing is executed by instructing the number of sheets, the number of copies, the number of bindings, the binding position, and the like. (3) A sorting mode for performing sorting processing. In this mode, processing is executed by designating the paper size and the number of sorting copies. (4) Punch mode. In this mode, drilling is performed. In addition, other mode setting and processing are possible as required.

Work instructions relating to these processes are transmitted from the operation panel of the image forming apparatus B to control means including the CPU 1 (see FIG. 3) by key operation, and the image forming apparatus B, the sheet post-processing apparatus C, the paper feeding apparatus A, and the like. A process execution signal is exchanged between the two. Configuration of Paper Feeding Device A FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a stacking plate driving unit of the paper feeding device A according to this embodiment. The loading plate driving unit can also be called a loading device. The paper feeding device A according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a stacking plate 201 on which paper is stacked and a paper feeding unit (not shown) that feeds paper. The stacking plate 201 is housed in a storage (not shown), and the storage is guided by a slide rail so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (depth direction in the figure). When the open button of the storage is pressed, the stacking plate 201 is lowered to the bottom and the storage is pushed out of the exterior frame. When the close button of the storage is pressed, the storage is pulled into the exterior frame, and the stacking plate 201 is detected by the paper feed position sensor (also referred to as a paper sensor) with the top surface of the paper placed thereon. Ascend until Further, during the image forming operation, the paper feeding device A raises the stacking plate 201 in response to the supply of the loaded paper until the top surface of the paper is detected by the paper feed position sensor.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the stacking plate driving unit has ends fixed to approximately four corners of the stacking plate 201 for stacking sheets, the pulley 202 for moving the stacking plate 201 up and down, the pulley 203, and the stacking plate 201. , And a plurality of wires wound by pulleys 202 and 203, and a lifter motor 1 and a lifter motor 2 (not shown) to be described later for driving the pulley 202 and the pulley 203, respectively. Four pulleys are prepared corresponding to each wire, and two of them are set as one set, and one set of pulleys is driven by one lifter motor. However, FIG. 2 shows one pulley of each set. The pulley not shown is configured in the same manner as the illustrated pulley. All the pulleys may be driven by one motor. In that case, it is desirable that all the pulleys be configured coaxially. There may be four or more wires and pulleys. The number of wires and pulleys may be three each, but it is desirable that there are four or more each for stable holding of the stacking plate.

  One end of each of the four wires is attached to the stacking plate 201, the other end is attached to the circumference of each of the pulley 202 and the pulley 203, and each wire is wound around the pulley 202 and the pulley 203, respectively. The loading plate 201 is suspended by four wires and is supported in a horizontal state (or supported by suspension). Here, the wire hanging on the pulley 202 and the wire hanging on the pulley 203 are different in length. The length here is the length from the connecting portion between the pulley 202 and the wire to the connecting portion between the stacking plate 201 and the wire. Since the stacking plate 201 is horizontally held by the wires having different lengths, the difference in length is absorbed by winding a long portion of each wire with respect to the shortest wire on each pulley. In other words, when the stacking plate 201 is horizontal, the winding amount of each wire wound around the pulley 203 is different. For this reason, the difference in length can be taken up and absorbed only in a predetermined rotation direction of the pulley. The lengths of the wires may all be different, two or three may be the same length, and the other wires may be different lengths. If only one wire has a different length from the other wires, it is desirable to keep that one wire shorter than the other wires. This is because even if the length is increased by one, the level of the stacking plate 201 may be maintained by the other three. In FIG. 2A, the wire of the pulley 202 is approximately a quarter of the circumference of the pulley and is longer than the pulley 203, and that portion is wound around the pulley 202.

  The lifter motor 1 and the lifter motor 2 can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions. When the pulley 202 and the pulley 203 are rotated in the reverse direction by driving the lift motor, the wire is wound and the stacking plate 201 is pulled up. At this time, the stacking plate 201 rises while being maintained in a horizontal posture. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the pulley 202 and the pulley 203 are rotated in the forward direction, the wires are simultaneously fed out and the stacking plate 201 is lowered while being kept in a horizontal posture. When the stacking plate 201 is lowered, the lifter motor 1 and the lifter motor 2 may rotate the pulley 202 and the pulley 203 forward, respectively, and then the stacking plate may be lowered by its own weight. Further, the loading plate 201 is equipped with an inclination sensor 204 that detects the inclination of the loading plate 201.

  The user presses the open button of the storage in order to replenish paper, and pulls out the storage. At this time, the stacking plate 201 is lowered to a position for replenishing paper.

  Here, when the empty stacking plate 201 descends, as shown in FIG. 2C, when a foreign object or the like enters the stacking plate, the stacking plate 201 is not lowered even if the lift motor is driven. For this reason, the loading plate 201 is not detected by the lower limit detection SW 205, and the pulley 202 and the pulley 203 continue to feed the wire. If the wire continues to be fed out as it is, the wire will eventually be reversed and the stacking plate 201 will begin to rise. However, since the length of the wire hung on each pulley is different and the stacking plate 201 is held horizontally by winding in the opposite direction of the difference in length, the timing at which the reverse winding is started is It depends on the length. For wires with the same length, the timing at which reverse winding starts is also the same. However, the longer wire begins to wind backward at a later timing than the shorter wire. For this reason, due to the reverse winding, the portion of the stacking plate 201 that is lifted by the short wire is pulled up higher, and can no longer be kept horizontal (FIG. 2D). The inclination of the stacking plate 201 can be detected by the inclination sensor 204. Therefore, when the pulley is rotating forward (or forward rotating), that is, when the loading plate 201 is lowered, if the inclination of the loading plate 201 is detected, it is possible that reverse winding has occurred. Notify the user to that effect.

That is, when reverse winding of the wire occurs, the wire lengths of the pulley 1 and the pulley 2 are made different to prevent breakage, and the starting point (end point) of the wire is changed to a position that is not symmetric. As a result, the lengths of the wires that are not wound around the pulleys are equalized as long as they are not reversely wound. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2D, when the wires are wound in the reverse direction, the lengths of the wires not wound on the pulleys are different, and the stacking plate 201 is greatly inclined. By detecting this by the tilt sensor 204, the reverse winding of the wire is detected, the lifter motor 1 and the lifter motor 2 are stopped, and an alert is displayed on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus.
The control configuration and control procedure for that purpose will be described below.

Control Configuration and Procedure As shown in FIG. 3, the lifter motor 302 and the lifter motor 303 are driven and controlled by the CPU 301. The CPU 301 controls the entire sheet feeding apparatus A, and controls the operation of the stacking plate driving unit as well as the operation of the sheet feeding unit during sheet feeding.

  When a paper feed unit having a pickup roller, a paper feed roller driven by a paper feed motor 306, and a separation roller is operated in accordance with a command from the CPU 301, the paper is fed to the image forming apparatus B one by one from the topmost stacked paper Supplied. When all the sheets on the stacking plate 201 are supplied, the sheet sensor 307 detects that there is no sheet. In the image forming apparatus B, the out of paper is notified. Instead of the paper sensor 307, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of paper on the stacking plate 201 may be provided.

FIG. 4 shows a control procedure for raising and lowering the stacking plate 201 executed by the CPU 301. As shown in FIG. 4, when the open button of the storage provided in the operation unit 308 is pressed, the process of FIG. 4 is started. In S101, the CPU 301 drives the lift motors 302 and 303 by a motor drive circuit (not shown) to lower the stacking plate 201.
Next, in S <b> 102, the CPU 301 determines whether the stacking plate 201 is at the lower limit position using the lower limit sensor (lower limit detection SW) 205.
When the CPU 301 determines that the stacking plate 201 is not in the lower limit position in S102 (S102: No), in S103, the CPU 301 uses the tilt sensor 204 to determine whether the stacking plate 201 is not tilted. If there is no inclination, it means that it is horizontal.
If it is determined in S103 that the stacking plate 201 is not inclined (S103: Yes), the CPU 301 executes the flow subsequent to S102 again.
When the CPU 301 determines that the stacking plate 201 is inclined in S103 (S103: No), the CPU 301 determines that the stacking plate is in the reverse winding state, and stops the lowering of the stacking plate 102 in S104.
In step S <b> 105, the CPU 301 displays a foreign object detection notification on the display unit 101 of the image forming apparatus B.

Next, in order for the user to remove the foreign matter G, in step S106, the CPU 301 unlocks the storage case, pushes it out to a pullable position by a biasing member (not shown), and pulls out the storage case to the sheet supply position. And allow you to move.
In step S <b> 107, the CPU 301 determines whether the storage is stored in the sheet feeding device A and locked. The CPU 301 repeatedly executes S107 until it is determined that the storage is housed in the paper feeding apparatus A and locked (S107: Yes).
If the CPU 301 determines in S107 that the storage is housed in the paper feeding apparatus A and locked (S107: Yes), the CPU 301 executes the flow subsequent to S101 again.
When the CPU 301 determines that the stacking plate 201 is in the lower limit position in S102 (S102: Yes), the CPU 301 stops the lowering of the stacking plate 201 in S108.
In step S109, the CPU 301 unlocks the storage case, pushes it out to a pullable position by an unillustrated urging member, and allows the storage case to be pulled out and moved to the sheet supply position.

In step S <b> 110, the CPU 301 determines whether the storage is stored in the sheet feeding device A and locked. The CPU 1 repeatedly executes S110 until it is determined that the storage is housed in the paper feeder A and locked (S110: Yes).
If the CPU 301 determines in S110 that the storage is housed in the paper feeding apparatus A and is locked (S110: Yes), in S111, the CPU 301 drives the lift motors 1 and 2 by the motor drive circuit to drive the pulley 202. , 203 to wind the respective wires and raise the stacking plate 201.

In step S <b> 112, the CPU 301 determines whether the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle placed on the stacking plate 201 or the stacking plate 201 is at the sheet feeding position using a sheet feeding position sensor. The CPU 301 repeatedly executes S112 until it is determined that the uppermost surface of the sheet or the stacking plate 201 is in the sheet feeding position (S112: Yes).
If the CPU 301 determines in S112 that the uppermost surface of the sheet is at the paper feed position (S112: Yes), in S113, the CPU 301 stops driving of the lifting motor to stop the lifting of the stacking plate, and the sheet replenishment flow is performed. finish.

  As described above, the reverse winding can be detected by determining the lengths of the plurality of wires instructing the stacking plate 201 so that at least one of them is different from the length of the other wires. When the wire is reversely wound, the lifter motor 1 and the lifter motor 2 are stopped to prevent the apparatus from being damaged. Further, the difference in the length of the wire can be adjusted by making a difference in the winding amount around the pulley, and the level of the stacking plate 201 can be maintained. Furthermore, if the inclination sensor 204 of the stacking plate 201 is an existing one, there is no need to newly add a reverse winding detection sensor.

  [Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the paper feeding device is mounted on the image forming apparatus. However, the paper feeding device may be integrally provided in the image forming apparatus.

  A paper feeding device, B image forming device, C post-processing device

Claims (9)

A stacking means for stacking sheets;
A supporting means for supporting the stacking means up and down by at least first and second wires having different winding amounts;
Elevating means for elevating and lowering the stacking means by winding and releasing the first and second wires;
Detecting means for detecting the inclination of the loading means;
Determining means for determining that at least one of the first and second wires by the elevating means is reverse wound in response to the detection means detecting the inclination of the loading means;
A loading apparatus comprising:   2. The stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lengths of the portions of the first and second wires that are not wound on the lifting means are equal in a state where the reverse winding is not generated.   The elevating means includes a rotating member that winds and releases the first and second wires by rotation, and the rotating member has a connection start point with the first and second wires, and the first and second wires The stacking device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a connection start point with the second wire is different in a rotation direction of the rotating member.   The loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising notification means for notifying the occurrence of the reverse winding.   5. The reverse winding is generated after the lifting and lowering means is rotated in a direction to release the first and second wires and all of the plurality of wires are released. Or the loading device according to claim 1. A stacking means for stacking sheets;
A supporting means for supporting the stacking means up and down by at least first and second wires having different winding amounts;
Elevating means for elevating and lowering the stacking means by winding and releasing the first and second wires;
Detecting means for detecting the inclination of the loading means;
Informing means for notifying abnormality of the elevating means in response to the detection means detecting the inclination of the loading means,
A loading apparatus comprising: The loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A feeding means for feeding sheets stacked on the stacking device;
A feeding device comprising: A feeding device according to claim 7;
Image forming means for forming an image on the sheet fed by the feeding device;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A feeding device according to claim 7;
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet fed by the feeding apparatus;
An image forming system comprising:

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