JP2020158234A - Medium supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce a drop time of a medium in a medium supply device.SOLUTION: A sheet feeding device 1 (an example of a medium supply device) includes: a loading platform 10; a suction transport mechanism 20; a suction mechanism 30; and an upper air blowing mechanism 40. A plurality of sheets P (an example of a medium) is loaded on the loading platform 10. The suction transport mechanism 20 transports the uppermost sheet P1 among the sheets P loaded on the loading platform 10 in a transporting direction D1. The suction mechanism 30 sucks suction air A1 to suck the uppermost sheet P1 to the suction transport mechanism 20. The upper air blowing mechanism 40 brings the sheet P back to the loading platform 10 by blowing air onto an upper surface of the sheet P sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9B

Description

The present invention relates to a medium supply device.

Conventionally, as a paper feeding device that supplies paper to a printing unit or the like of a printing device, a loading platform on which a plurality of sheets are loaded and a suction transfer that conveys the highest-ranking sheet among the plurality of sheets loaded on the loading platform. A paper feeding device including a mechanism and a suction mechanism for sucking the top-level paper to a suction transfer mechanism by sucking air is known.

By the way, if a jam occurs during continuous paper feeding and the transfer is stopped, the sheet is left in the transfer path. In this case, the paper other than the paper that caused the jam is also subject to the jam release, and even the usable paper may be a waste paper.

Therefore, there has been proposed a paper feeding device that reversely conveys the paper onto the loading platform when a jam occurs in the paper conveyed by the suction conveying unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-223978

As described above, the paper feed device that reversely conveys the paper onto the loading platform can suppress the available paper from becoming waste paper, but when the suction transfer unit reversely conveys the paper, it sucks. The mechanism causes the paper to be sucked onto the suction transport section. Therefore, since the reverse-conveyed paper is in a state of being adsorbed by the suction-conveying unit, it takes time to fall onto the loading platform even if the levitation air for floating the paper is stopped. The operation of returning the medium adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism to the loading platform is not limited to the case of reverse transporting the medium, but is also performed when the transport of the medium is temporarily stopped.

As described above, it takes time for the medium to fall back on the loading platform in order to return the medium such as the paper adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism to the loading table.

An object of the present invention is to provide a medium supply device capable of reducing the falling time of a medium.

In one aspect, the medium supply device includes a loading platform on which a plurality of media are loaded, an adsorption transfer mechanism for transporting the highest-level medium among the plurality of media loaded on the loading platform in the transport direction, and air. A suction mechanism that attracts the highest-level medium to the suction and transport mechanism by sucking, and an upper portion that returns the medium to the loading platform by blowing air onto the upper surface of the medium that is sucked by the suction and transport mechanism. It is equipped with an air blowing mechanism.

According to the above aspect, the drop time of the medium can be reduced in the medium supply device.

It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the printing system in one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the paper feed apparatus in one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the upper air blowing mechanism in one Embodiment. It is a top view (the 1) which shows the blocking part in one Embodiment. It is a top view (No. 2) which shows the blocking part in one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control structure of the paper feed device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the operation of each part at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a figure (the 1) for demonstrating the operation of the paper feed device at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a figure (the 1) for demonstrating the operation of the upper air blowing mechanism at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a figure (the 2) for demonstrating the operation of the paper feed device at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a figure (No. 2) for demonstrating the operation of the upper air blowing mechanism at the time of jam detection in one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the upper air and the separation air blowing mechanism in a modification.

Hereinafter, a paper feeding device (an example of a medium feeding device) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the printing system 100.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a paper feeding device 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the upper air blowing mechanism 40.
4A and 4B are plan views showing the blocking unit 31.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a control configuration of the paper feed device 1.
It should be noted that the front-back, up-down, and left-right directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 4B and 8A to 10 described later are merely examples when the transport direction D1 (see FIG. 2) of the paper P is set to the front. However, for example, the front-rear direction and the left-right direction are horizontal directions, and the vertical direction is a vertical direction.

The printing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes two paper feeding devices 1 and 1 and a printing device 101.

The two paper feeding devices 1 and 1 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction to supply the paper P to the printing unit 110 of the single printing device 101. The target to which the two paper feeding devices 1 and 1 supply the paper P is not limited to the printing device 101, and may be another device such as a conveying device. Further, the paper P is an example of a medium, and the medium may be another medium such as a film.

The number of paper feed devices 1 may be one or three or more. Further, the direction in which the plurality of paper feeding devices 1 are arranged may be the front-rear direction or the left-right direction, and is not particularly limited. Further, the paper feeding device 1 may be integrally provided with the printing device 101.

The two paper feed devices 1 and 1 are different in length and direction from the upper paper feed transport path R1 of the upper paper feed device 1 and the lower paper feed transport path R2 of the lower paper feed device 1. Can have the same configuration. Therefore, a single paper feed device 1 will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper feeding device 1 includes a loading platform 10, a suction transport mechanism 20, a suction mechanism 30, two upper air blowing mechanisms 40 and 40, a transport mechanism 50, and paper detection. It includes a sensor 64, a central levitation air blowing mechanism 71, a central separation air blowing mechanism 72, two side levitation air blowing mechanisms 81 and 81, and two side separation air blowing mechanisms 82 and 82.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the paper feeding device 1 includes a control unit 61, a storage unit 62, an interface unit 63, a loading platform elevating drive unit 91, a suction transfer drive unit 92, and a transfer drive unit 93. To be equipped with.

A plurality of sheets P are loaded on the loading platform 10 shown in FIG. The loading platform 10 moves up and down by driving the loading platform elevating drive unit 91 shown in FIG.

The suction transfer mechanism 20 has a transfer belt 21 and pulleys 22 and 23 on which the transfer belt 21 is hung. One of the pulleys 22 and 23 is a drive pulley and the other is a driven pulley. The drive pulley is rotated by driving the suction transfer drive unit 92 shown in FIG. 5, and rotates the transfer belt 21. As a result, the suction transport mechanism 20 transports the top-level paper P1 in the transport direction D1 (right side in FIG. 2). As will be described in detail later, the suction transport drive unit 92 rotates the drive pulley in the reverse direction, so that the suction transport mechanism 20 transfers the paper P in the reverse transport direction D2 (see FIG. 8A) opposite to the transport direction D1. Reverse transport is possible.

The transport belt 21 is provided with a plurality of through holes for passing the suction air A1 sucked by the suction mechanism 30 described later.

Although the suction transport mechanism 20 is an example, two (a plurality of examples) are arranged side by side in the width direction of the paper P at the center in the width direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the transport direction D1 of the paper P. ing. In this case, it is preferable that one suction mechanism 30 described later is arranged in each suction transport mechanism 20. Of course, only one suction transport mechanism 20 may be arranged.

The suction transfer mechanism 20 may have another transfer member such as a transfer roller instead of the transfer belt 21 as the transfer member. When the suction transfer mechanism 20 has a transfer roller, the transfer drive unit 82 rotates the drive roller (convey roller) instead of the drive pulley.

The suction mechanism 30 sucks the suction air A1 upward from the region surrounded by the transfer belt 21 of the suction transfer mechanism 20 through the plurality of through holes of the transfer belt 21. As a result, the suction mechanism 30 sucks the uppermost paper P1 among the plurality of papers P loaded on the loading platform 10 to the suction transport mechanism 20.

The suction mechanism 30 has a blocking portion 31 that shuts off the suction of the suction air A1.
The blocking portion 31 is arranged on the bottom surface inside the suction mechanism 30 (inside the chamber), for example. The cutoff portion 31 may be arranged on the bottom surface outside the suction mechanism 30 (outside the chamber).

4A and 4B are plan views showing the blocking unit 31.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the blocking portion 31 has a shutter 31a, an opening member 31b, and a rotating shaft member 31c.

The shutter 31a swings (rotates) in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions within a range of, for example, 45 degrees, with the rotation shaft member 31c as the rotation center axis by driving a shutter drive unit (for example, an actuator such as a motor) (not shown). ).

The shutter 31a has, for example, four blade portions 31a-1. The four blade portions 31a-1 are provided at equal intervals (for example, 90 degree intervals) in the rotation direction of the shutter 31a.

The opening member 31b is, for example, a disk-shaped plate material. The opening member 31b has, for example, four through holes 31b-1 for passing the suction air A1 sucked by the suction mechanism 30. The four through holes 31b-1 are provided at equal intervals (for example, 90 degree intervals) in the rotation direction of the shutter 31a, similarly to the blade portions 31a-1.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the shutter 31a has a blocking position (1) in which the blade portion 31a-1 covers the through hole 31b-1 to block the suction of the suction air A1 shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. 4A. In addition, since the blade portion 31a-1 does not cover the through hole 31b-1, the suction of the suction air A1 is not blocked, and the blade portion 31a-1 swings (moves) to the retracted position (2) retracted from the blocking position (1).

Since the opening member 31b is arranged, the opening member 31b blocks the suction of the suction air A1 in the portion of the opening member 31b where the through hole 31b-1 is not provided. Since blocking the suction of the suction air A1 by 31b does not easily affect the suction force of the paper P, it can be considered that the suction of the suction air A1 is not blocked. Further, when the through hole provided on the bottom surface of the suction mechanism 30 has the same shape as the through hole 31b-1 of the opening member 31b and is provided so as to overlap the through hole 31b-1, the opening member 31b is omitted. When the shutter 31a moves to a blocking position and a retracting position that cover the through hole provided on the bottom surface of the suction mechanism 30, the opening member 31b does not block the suction of the suction air A1.

The blocking unit 31 is an example of a blocking means for stopping or weakening the suction of air to the paper P. The shutoff means may be a suction mechanism control circuit that controls the power ON / OFF of the air suction source (air suction means) such as the fan of the suction mechanism 30 and the strength of the air volume. Further, the blocking unit 31 adjusts the air volume of the suction air A1 by the rotation of the shutter 31a, but the direction of the rotation axis and the number of shutters are not particularly limited. Further, the air volume of the suction air A1 may be adjusted by sliding the shutter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the two upper air blowing mechanisms 40, 40 can have the same configuration except that they are symmetrical. Therefore, a single upper air blowing mechanism 40 will be described below. As with the suction transfer mechanism 20 and the suction mechanism 30, the upper air blowing mechanism 40 may be arranged one or more in the center of the width direction (horizontal direction) of the paper P, and the position where the upper air blowing mechanism 40 is arranged is particularly high. Not limited.

The upper air blowing mechanism 40 has a fan 41 which is an example of a supply source (air supply means) of the upper air A2, and a flow path 42 of the upper air A2 supplied by the fan 41. The upper air blowing mechanism 40 returns the paper P to the loading platform 10 by blowing the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper P sucked by the suction mechanism 20 (not shown in FIG. 3) by the suction mechanism 30. The upper air blowing mechanism 40 is preferably blown diagonally downward or vertically downward, for example, but is horizontal if the upper air A2 is blown from above the paper P adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism 20. The upper air A2 may be blown out. As will be described in detail later, the upper air blowing mechanism 40 returns the paper P0 shown in FIG. 9B, which has been conveyed to the upper side of the loading platform 10 in the reverse conveying direction D2 (see FIG. 8A) by the suction conveying mechanism 20, onto the loading platform 10. As described above, it is preferable to blow the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper P.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport mechanism 50 has a plurality of roller pairs (an example of a transport member) arranged in the upper paper feed transport path R1 or the lower feed feed transport path R2. One of the roller pairs may be a driving roller and the other may be a driven roller, or both may be driven rollers. In the drive roller of the transport mechanism 50, the transport drive unit 93 rotates the drive roller to transport the paper P in the transport direction D1, and the transport drive unit 93 reversely rotates the drive roller to rotate the drive roller in the transport direction D1. The paper P can be reverse-transported in the reverse transfer direction D2 (see FIG. 8A) in the opposite direction to the above.

The control unit 61 shown in FIG. 5 has a processor (for example, a CPU: Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing device that controls the operation of the entire paper feeding device 1, and controls the operation of each unit such as the suction mechanisms 30 and 40. To do. When the paper feeding device 1 is integrally provided with the printing device 101, the control unit of the printing device 101 may function as the control unit 61.

The storage unit 62 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) which is a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is recorded in advance, or as a work storage area as necessary when the processor executes various control programs. RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a semiconductor memory that can be written and read at any time, is used.

The interface unit 63 exchanges various information with an external device such as a control unit of the printing device 101. For example, the interface unit 63 receives information such as a paper feed request and a paper feed stop request from the control unit of the printing device 101, and the control unit 61 controls the operation of each unit of the paper feed device 1 based on these information. To do.

The paper detection sensor 64 shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, an optical sensor that detects the passage of paper P.
The central levitation air blowing mechanism 71 is arranged on the downstream side of the transport direction D1 with respect to the plurality of papers P loaded on the loading platform 10, and for example, to lift about 10 sheets of paper P including the top-level paper P1. The central levitation air A3 is blown diagonally upward.

The central separation air blowing mechanism 72 is arranged on the downstream side of the transport direction D1 with respect to the plurality of sheets P loaded on the loading platform 10, and is a center for separating the uppermost sheet P1 and the second sheet P2. The separation air A4 is blown diagonally upward.

The two side levitation air blowing mechanisms 81 and 81 (only the right side is shown in FIG. 2) can have the same configuration except that they are symmetrical. Therefore, a single side levitation air blowing mechanism 81 will be described below.

The side levitation air blowing mechanism 81 is located on the right side or the left side in the width direction with respect to the plurality of papers P loaded on the loading platform 10, and like the central levitation air blowing mechanism 71, for example, 10 including the topmost paper P1. The side levitation air A5 for raising about a sheet of paper P is blown diagonally upward. The central levitation air blowing mechanism 71 and the two side levitation air blowing mechanisms 81 and 81 are examples of a levitation air blowing mechanism that blows air so as to float a plurality of papers P including the uppermost paper P1.

The two side-separated air blowing mechanisms 82 and 82 shown in FIG. 3 can have the same configuration except that they are symmetrical. Therefore, a single side separation air blowing mechanism 82 will be described below.

The side separation air blowing mechanism 82 is located on the right side or the left side in the width direction of the plurality of sheets P loaded on the loading platform 10, and is side-separated to separate the uppermost sheet P1 and the second sheet P2. Air A6 is blown diagonally upward. The central separation air blowing mechanism 72 and the two side separation air blowing mechanisms 82 and 82 are examples of a separation air blowing mechanism that blows air so as to separate the uppermost sheet P1 and the second sheet P2. ..

The side separation air blowing mechanism 82 has a fan 82a which is an example of a supply source (air supply means) of the side separation air A6, and a flow path 82b of the side separation air A6 supplied by the fan 82a. Although not shown, the central floating air blowing mechanism 71, the central separating air blowing mechanism 72, and the side floating air blowing mechanism 81 also have a fan and a flow path like the side separating air blowing mechanism 82.

The loading platform elevating drive unit 91 shown in FIG. 5 has a motor (an example of an actuator) for elevating and lowering the loading platform 10.

The suction transfer drive unit 92 has a motor (an example of an actuator) for rotating the drive pulley, which is one of the pulleys 22 and 23 of the suction transfer mechanism 20.

The transport drive unit 93 has a motor (an example of an actuator) for rotating the drive rollers of the transport mechanism 50.

Next, the printing apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
The printing apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 1 includes a printing unit 110, a suction transfer mechanism 120, a transfer mechanism 130, and an inversion unit 140. Note that, in FIG. 1, a merging transport path R3 and a discharge transport path in which the upper paper feed transport path R1 of the upper paper feed device 1 and the lower paper feed transport path R2 of the lower paper feed device 1 merge. R4 is shown by a solid line, and the circulation inversion transport path R5 is shown by a broken line.

The printing unit 110 has, for example, a line head type inkjet head (not shown) for each color used for printing. The printing method of the printing unit 110 may be a printing method other than the inkjet printing method.

The suction transfer mechanism 120 is arranged so as to face the printing unit 110. The suction transport mechanism 120 transports the paper P by the transport belt while sucking the paper P, for example.

The transport mechanism 130 has a plurality of roller pairs (transport members) arranged in the confluence transport path R3, the discharge transport path R4, or the circulation reversal transport path R5. One of the roller pairs may be a driving roller and the other may be a driven roller, or both may be driven rollers.

The reversing unit 140 has a reversing path, a switchback roller pair, and the like for reversing the front and back of the paper P whose surface is printed by the printing unit 110 and transported to the circulation reversing transport path R5.

The paper P on which only one side is printed or both sides are printed in the printing unit 110 is discharged from the discharge transport path R4, and is discharged from another printing device or a paper ejection device (medium) arranged in series with the printing device 101. It may be transported to an example of a discharge device) or an aftertreatment device.

Hereinafter, the operation of the paper feed device 1 at the time of jam detection and the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9B.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of jam detection.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of each part when jam is detected.
8A and 9A are diagrams for explaining the operation of the paper feed device 1 when jam is detected.

8B and 9B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the upper air blowing mechanism 40 at the time of jam detection.

Each process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is started by detecting a jam based on, for example, an output signal of a sensor (not shown) of the printing device 101 or the paper feeding device 1, and is performed by the control unit 61 shown in FIG. ..

First, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the control unit 61 stops the central levitation air A3, the central separation air A4, the side levitation air A5, and the side separation air A6. The central separation air blowing mechanism 72, the side floating air blowing mechanism 81, and the side separating air blowing mechanism 82 are controlled (step S1).

Further, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the upper air A2 is blown by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 based on the paper information (an example of the medium information) described later of the plurality of papers P loaded on the loading platform 10. (Step S2).

When the control unit 61 determines that the upper air A2 is blown out by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 (step S2: YES), the upper air blowing mechanism starts blowing the upper air A2 as shown in FIG. 8B. Control 40 (step S3). At this time, the control unit 61 may adjust the air volume of the upper air A2 based on the above paper information.

When the control unit 61 determines that the blowing operation of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 is unnecessary (step S2: NO), the control unit 61 does not cause the upper air blowing mechanism 40 to blow the upper air A2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8A, the control unit 61 draws the paper P0 in the upper side feed transfer path R1 or the lower side feed transfer path R2 by the suction transfer mechanism 20 and the transfer mechanism 50 in the reverse transfer direction D2. The suction transport drive unit 92 and the transport drive unit 93 shown in FIG. 5 are controlled so as to reverse transport P (step S4).

It should be noted that the central levitation air A3, the central separation air A4, the side levitation air A5, and the side separation air A6 are stopped (step S1), the upper air blowing mechanism 40 starts blowing the upper air A2 (step S3), and adsorption. The start of reverse transfer by the transfer mechanism 20 and the transfer mechanism 50 (step S4) may be performed simultaneously or in a different order, not in the above-mentioned order.

Next, the control unit 61 determines whether the paper P0 reversely transported in the reverse transport direction D2 has passed through the paper detection sensor 64 after being detected by the paper detection sensor 64 (whether it is no longer detected by the paper detection sensor 64). Determine (step S5). The control unit 61 repeatedly determines whether or not the paper P0 has been detected by the paper detection sensor 64 (step S5) until a predetermined time elapses (step S6: YES). This predetermined time is a time for determining that there is no paper P0 to be reverse-conveyed, and may be determined, for example, by the size, orientation (vertical or horizontal), transport interval, and the like of the paper P.

When the paper detection sensor 64 does not detect the passage of the paper P0 (step S5: NO) and the predetermined time elapses (step S6: YES), the control unit 61 ends the process shown in FIG.

When the paper detection sensor 64 detects the passage of the paper P0 (ON → OFF at the times t1 and t3 shown in FIG. 7) as shown in FIG. 9A, the control unit 61 shows (step S5: YES), as shown in FIG. 9A. The suction transfer drive unit 92 is controlled so as to stop the reverse transfer by the suction transfer mechanism 20, and the suction of the suction air A1 is blocked (OFF) by, for example, the above-mentioned blocking unit 31 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The suction mechanism 30 is controlled so as to do so (step S7). As a result, the paper P0 adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism 20 is dropped by the upper air A2 blown out by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 and returned to the loading platform 10.

Next, the control unit 61 determines whether the second and subsequent sheets of paper P0 that are reversely conveyed in the reverse transfer direction D2 are detected by the paper detection sensor 64 (step S8). The control unit 61 repeatedly determines whether or not the paper P0 is detected by the paper detection sensor 64 (step S8) until a predetermined time elapses (step S9: YES). This predetermined time may be the same as the predetermined time in step S6 described above.

When the paper P0 is not detected by the paper detection sensor 64 (step S8: NO) and the predetermined time elapses (step S9: YES), the control unit 61 ends the process shown in FIG.

When the paper detection sensor 64 detects the paper P0 (OFF → ON at the time t2 shown in FIG. 7) again as shown in FIG. 9A (step S8: YES), the control unit 61 reverse transports by the suction transport mechanism 20. The suction transport drive unit 92 is controlled so as to restart the suction, and the suction mechanism 30 is controlled so as to start (ON) the suction of the suction air A1 (step S10), and the process returns to the process of step S5.

As shown in FIG. 7, the blowing of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 continues from the start in step S3 of FIG. 6 until the process shown in FIG. 6 is completed. This is because even if the upper air blowing mechanism 40 blows the upper air A2, the suction of the paper P0 to the suction transport mechanism 20 is maintained by the air volume of the suction air A1 by the suction mechanism 30 which is stronger than the air volume of the upper air A2. Because. However, since the paper P0 sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20 drops and returns to the loading platform 10 after the process of step S7 in which the suction mechanism 30 stops sucking the suction air A1, the suction mechanism 30 The upper air blowing mechanism 40 may blow the upper air A2 only while the suction of the suction air A1 is stopped (for example, triggered by the passage detection (OFF) of the paper P0 by the paper detection sensor 64).

Here, the paper information in step S2 described above is, for example, the size of the paper P, the orientation of the paper P, the type of the paper P, and the like. The paper information is acquired by, for example, the control unit 61 based on the print job.

The size of the paper P is, for example, A3 (297 × 420 mm), A4 (210 × 297 mm), and the like. The orientation of the paper P is vertical in which the longitudinal direction of the paper P is parallel to the transport direction D1 or horizontal in which the longitudinal direction of the paper P is orthogonal to the transport direction D1. The type of paper P is plain paper, thick paper, thin paper, or the like, but may be a basis weight or the like.

For example, when the paper P is thick paper, the paper P falls on the loading platform 10 in a short time only by stopping the suction of the suction air A1 by the suction mechanism 30 even if the upper air A2 is not blown by the upper air blowing mechanism 40. Sometimes. Therefore, for example, when the paper P is thick paper, the control unit 61 determines that the blowing of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 is unnecessary (step S2: NO), and determines that the upper air A2 by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 is unnecessary. The balloon (step S3) may be omitted.

Further, for example, when the paper P is thick paper, the control unit 61 makes the air volume of the blowout (step S3) of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowout mechanism 40 weaker than when the paper P is thin paper. The blocking unit 31 may be controlled. In this way, the control unit 61 may adjust at least one of the blowout amount of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowout mechanism 40 and the presence / absence of the blowout operation based on the paper information.

Based on the paper information, the control unit 61 has at least one of the central levitation air A3, the central separation air A4, the side levitation air A5, and the side separation air A6, and at least one of the blowout amount and the presence / absence of the blowout operation. At least one of the central levitation air blowing mechanism 71, the central separation air blowing mechanism 72, the side levitation air blowing mechanism 81, and the side separating air blowing mechanism 82 may be controlled so as to adjust.

Further, the control unit 61 acquires environmental information such as humidity and airflow of the environment in which the paper feeding device 1 is installed from a sensor (not shown) in addition to the above-mentioned paper information (or instead of the paper information), and this environment. Based on the information, at least one of the blowout amount of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowout mechanism 40 and the presence / absence of the blowout operation may be adjusted. For example, the lower the humidity, the smaller the weight of the paper P and the longer it takes to drop the paper P on the loading platform 10 adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism 20, and the stronger the updraft, the more the paper P is sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20. It takes time to drop the paper P onto the loading platform 10. When the control unit 61 adjusts at least one of the blowout amount of the upper air A2 by the upper air blowout mechanism 40 and the presence / absence of the blowout operation according to the length of the falling time of the paper P on the loading platform 10. Good.

In the present embodiment described above, the paper feed device 1, which is an example of the medium supply device, includes a loading platform 10, a suction transfer mechanism 20, a suction mechanism 30, and an upper air blowing mechanism 40. A plurality of sheets P (an example of a medium) are loaded on the loading platform 10. The suction transfer mechanism 20 conveys the uppermost sheet P1 among the plurality of sheets P loaded on the loading platform 10 in the transfer direction D1. The suction mechanism 30 sucks the suction air A1 to suck the uppermost paper P1 to the suction transfer mechanism 20. The upper air blowing mechanism 40 returns the paper P to the loading platform 10 by blowing air on the upper surface of the paper P (paper P0) sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20.

As a result, for example, the paper P0 conveyed in the reverse transfer direction D2 on the upper side feed transfer path R1 or the lower side feed transfer path R2, or the paper feed (medium supply) is temporarily stopped to feed the paper. The paper P that has been sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20 such as the paper P that disappears can be knocked down by the upper air blowing mechanism 40 by blowing the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper P so that the paper P can be returned to the loading platform 10 in a short time. it can. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the time required for the paper P adsorbed by the adsorption / transport mechanism 20 to fall onto the loading platform 10. As a result, when there are a plurality of papers P0 that are reversely conveyed in the reverse transfer direction D2 after jam detection, the next paper P0 cannot be reversely conveyed until the paper P0 that has been adsorbed by the suction transfer mechanism 20 falls. It is possible to suppress an increase in the downtime of the paper feeding device 1 due to the fact that the paper feeding cannot be restarted immediately after being temporarily stopped. In the present embodiment, since the paper P is dropped on the loading platform 10 by the upper air blowing mechanism 40, the paper P is loaded on the loading platform 10 in an orderly manner as compared with the case where the paper P naturally falls. You can also.

Further, in the present embodiment, the paper feeding device 1 includes a control unit 61 that controls the suction mechanism 30 and the upper air blowing mechanism 40. The suction transport mechanism 20 can reverse transport the paper P0 in the reverse transport direction D2 opposite to the transport direction D1. The control unit 61 controls the suction mechanism 30 so as to stop or weaken the suction of the suction air A1 to the paper P0 transported to the upper side of the loading platform 10 in the reverse transfer direction D2 by the suction transfer mechanism 20, and also controls the paper P0. The upper air blowing mechanism 40 is controlled so that the paper P0 is returned to the loading platform 10 by blowing the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper. As a result, the time during which the upper side paper feed transport path R1 or the lower side feed feed transport path R2 is reversely transported in the reverse transport direction D2 and the paper P0 sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20 falls onto the loading platform 10 is set. It can be shortened not only by blowing the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper P by the air blowing mechanism 40, but also by stopping the suction of the suction air A1 by the suction mechanism 30 or weakening the air volume. Therefore, the downtime of the paper feed device 1 can be further reduced. Further, since the paper P0 is reversely conveyed in the reverse transfer direction D2 by the suction transfer mechanism 20, the paper P0 staying in the upper side feed transfer path R1 or the lower side feed transfer path R2 after jam detection can be reused. it can. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of waste paper (discarded medium) due to jam detection. In the present embodiment, since the two (plurality) paper feeding devices 1 and 1 are arranged, the upper side paper feeding is performed as compared with the case where a single paper feeding device 1 is arranged. The transport path R1 and the lower paper feed transport path R2 (particularly the upper paper feed transport path R1) become longer. As a result, the number of sheets of paper P0 that is reverse-conveyed from the upper paper feed transfer path R1 or the lower side feed transfer path R2 at the time of jam detection also increases, and the time required for reverse transfer tends to increase. In this respect, in the present embodiment, as described above, it is possible to shorten the time for the paper P0 that has been reverse-conveyed and adsorbed by the adsorption-conveyance mechanism 20 to fall (return) onto the loading platform 10, so that there are a plurality of sheets. When the paper P0 is sequentially returned to the loading platform 10, the downtime of the paper feed device 1 can be reduced as the number of sheets of the paper P0 back-conveyed increases.

Further, in the present embodiment, the paper feeding device 1 includes a control unit 61 that controls the upper air blowing mechanism 40. Based on the paper information (an example of medium information) of a plurality of sheets P loaded on the loading platform 10, the control unit 61 determines the amount of blown air of the upper air A2 by the upper air blown mechanism 40 and the presence / absence of the blown operation. Adjust at least one. As a result, the control unit 61 controls according to the falling time of the paper P adsorbed on the loading platform 10 by the suction transport mechanism 20, which fluctuates depending on the size, orientation, type, etc. of the paper P. Therefore, it is possible to reliably shorten the time for the paper P0 adsorbed by the adsorption / transport mechanism 20 to fall onto the loading platform 10.

<Modification example>
Next, the paper feed device 2 (an example of the medium supply device) in the modified example shown in FIG. 10 will be described. In the paper feed device 2 in this modification, the above-mentioned paper feed device 1 is provided only in that the upper air and the separate air blowout mechanism 210 that also serve as the upper air blowout mechanism 40 and the side separation air blowout mechanism 82 shown in FIG. 3 are arranged. Unlike, others can be the same. Therefore, detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the upper air and separation air blowing mechanism 210 in the modified example.

As shown in FIG. 10, the two upper air and the separation air blowing mechanism 210 can have the same configuration except that they are symmetrical. Therefore, a single upper air and separation air blowing mechanism 210 will be described below.

The upper air and separation air blowing mechanism 210 has a fan 211, a common flow path 212, an upper air flow path 213, a separation air flow path 214, and a switching mechanism 215.

The fan 211 is an example of a supply source (air supply means) of air (upper air A2 and side separated air A6).

The common flow path 212 is a flow path for air supplied by the fan 211.
The upper air flow path 213 is a flow path to which the upper air A2 is supplied from the 211 via the common flow path 212. The separation air flow path 214 is arranged below the upper air flow path 213, and is a flow path to which the side separation air A6 is supplied from the fan 211 via the common flow path 212. The upper air flow path 213 functions as an example of an upper air blowing mechanism that returns the paper P to the loading platform 10 by blowing the upper air A2 onto the upper surface of the paper P sucked by the suction transport mechanism 20. Further, the separated air flow path 214 is an example of a lower air blowing mechanism that blows air upward (for example, diagonally upward).

In this modification, the upper air blowing mechanism 40 and the side separating air blowing mechanism 82 of the above-described embodiment are combined with the upper air and the separated air blowing mechanism 210, but the upper air blowing mechanism 40 and the upper air blowing mechanism 40 are arranged. A blowing mechanism having a common fan may be arranged, which also serves as a side floating air blowing mechanism 81. In this case, as the lower air blowing mechanism, a floating air flow path is arranged instead of the separated air flow path 214.

The switching mechanism 215 is, for example, a plate material that can be moved to a position that closes the upper air flow path 213 and a position that closes the separation air flow path 214. The switching mechanism 215 sets the target to which air is supplied by the fan 211 to the upper air flow path 213 (upper air blowout mechanism, upper air A2), the separate air flow path 214 (separate air blowout mechanism (lower air blowout mechanism), and side). Switch to separation air A6).

Even if the switching mechanism 215 switches the air supplied by the fan 211 between the upper air A2 and the side separation air A6 in this way, as described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 above, the upper air Since it is not necessary to blow out A2 and the side separation air A6 at the same time, there is no problem. However, a position where the switching mechanism 215 blocks both or one of a part of the upper air flow path 213 and a part of the separated air flow path 214, and a position where neither the upper air flow path 213 nor the separated air flow path 214 is blocked. The upper air A2 and the side separation air A6 may be blown out at the same time. When the switching mechanism 215 moves to a position that blocks both or one of a part of the upper air flow path 213 and a part of the separation air flow path 214, the air volume of the upper air flow path A2 or the side separation air flow path A6 is adjusted. can do.

In this modification, the paper feed device 2 has a separation air flow path 214 which is an example of a lower air blowing mechanism that blows air upward, an upper air flow path 213 (an example of an upper air blowing mechanism), and a separation air flow path 214. A fan 211 (an example of an air supply means) that supplies air to both (an example of a separation air blowing mechanism) and an upper air flow path 213 and a separation air flow path 214 that are supplied with air by the fan 211. It is provided with a switching mechanism 215 for switching. As a result, the upper air A2 and the side separated air A6 can be selectively supplied by using, for example, an existing air supply means (fan 211) for supplying the side separated air A6 (or the side floating air A5). it can. Therefore, it is possible to omit the additional installation of the air supply means accompanying the arrangement of the upper air blowing mechanism (upper air flow path 213).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and the components can be modified and embodied within a range that does not deviate from the gist at the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by an appropriate combination of the plurality of components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, all the components shown in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. It goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible within the range that does not deviate from the gist of the invention. The inventions described in the claims at the time of filing the application of the present application are described below.

[Appendix 1]
A loading platform on which multiple media are loaded and
A suction transport mechanism that transports the highest-level medium among the plurality of media loaded on the loading platform in the transport direction, and
A suction mechanism that sucks the uppermost medium to the suction transport mechanism by sucking air,
A medium supply device including an upper air blowing mechanism that returns the medium to the loading platform by blowing air onto the upper surface of the medium adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism.

[Appendix 2]
A control unit that controls the suction mechanism and the upper air blowing mechanism is further provided.
The suction transport mechanism can reverse transport the medium in the reverse transport direction opposite to the transport direction.
The control unit controls the suction mechanism so as to stop or weaken the suction of air to the medium transported to the upper part of the loading platform in the reverse transport direction by the suction transport mechanism, and also controls the suction mechanism of the medium. The medium supply device according to Appendix 1, wherein the upper air blowing mechanism is controlled so as to return the medium to the loading platform by blowing air on the upper surface.

[Appendix 3]
A control unit for controlling the upper air blowing mechanism is further provided.
The control unit is characterized in that it adjusts at least one of the amount of air blown by the upper air blowing mechanism and the presence / absence of blowing operation based on the medium information of the plurality of media loaded on the loading platform. The medium supply device according to Appendix 1.

[Appendix 4]
A lower air blowing mechanism that blows air upward,
An air supply means for supplying air to both the upper air blowing mechanism and the lower air blowing mechanism, and
The medium supply device according to any one of Supplementary note 1 to 3, further comprising a switching mechanism for switching an object to which air is supplied by the air supply means between the upper air blowing mechanism and the lower air blowing mechanism.

1,2 Paper feed device 10 Loading platform 20 Suction transport mechanism 21 Suction belt 22,23 Pulley 30 Suction mechanism 31 Blocking part 31a Shutter 31a-1 Blade part 31b Opening member 31b-1 Through hole 31c Rotating shaft member 40 Upper air blowing mechanism 41 Fan 42 Flow path 50 Conveyance mechanism 61 Control unit 62 Storage unit 63 Interface unit 64 Paper detection sensor 71 Central levitation air blowout mechanism 72 Central separation air blowout mechanism 81 Side levitation air blowout mechanism 82 Side separation air blowout mechanism 82a Fan 82b Flow path 91 Loading platform elevating drive unit 92 Suction transport drive unit 93 Transport drive unit 100 Printing system 101 Printing device 110 Printing unit 120 Suction transport mechanism 130 Transport mechanism 140 Reversing section 210 Upper air and separation air blowout mechanism 211 Fan 212 Common flow path 213 Upper Air flow path 214 Separation air flow path 215 Switching mechanism A1 Suction air A2 Upper air A3 Central floating air A4 Central separation air A5 Side floating air A6 Side separation air D1 Transfer direction D2 Reverse transfer direction P Paper R1 Upper side feed transfer path R2 Lower side paper feed transfer path R3 Confluence transfer path R4 Discharge transfer path R5 Circulation reverse transfer path

Claims (4)

A loading platform on which multiple media are loaded and
A suction transport mechanism that transports the highest-level medium among the plurality of media loaded on the loading platform in the transport direction, and
A suction mechanism that sucks the uppermost medium to the suction transport mechanism by sucking air,
A medium supply device including an upper air blowing mechanism that returns the medium to the loading platform by blowing air onto the upper surface of the medium adsorbed by the suction transport mechanism. A control unit that controls the suction mechanism and the upper air blowing mechanism is further provided.
The suction transport mechanism can reverse transport the medium in the reverse transport direction opposite to the transport direction.
The control unit controls the suction mechanism so as to stop or weaken the suction of air to the medium transported to the upper part of the loading platform in the reverse transport direction by the suction transport mechanism, and also controls the suction mechanism of the medium. The medium supply device according to claim 1, wherein the upper air blowing mechanism is controlled so as to return the medium to the loading platform by blowing air on the upper surface. Further provided with a control unit for controlling the upper air blowing mechanism,
The control unit is characterized in that it adjusts at least one of the amount of air blown by the upper air blowing mechanism and the presence / absence of blowing operation based on the medium information of the plurality of media loaded on the loading platform. The medium supply device according to claim 1. A lower air blowing mechanism that blows air upward,
An air supply means for supplying air to both the upper air blowing mechanism and the lower air blowing mechanism, and
The medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a switching mechanism for switching an object to which air is supplied by the air supply means between the upper air blowing mechanism and the lower air blowing mechanism. Supply device.

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