JP2022010478A - Sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

To cool a heater for heating air in a short time.SOLUTION: A cooling operation, in which a blower fan 42 is operated to cool a heater 43, is performed with the heater 43 stopped. Then, air is blown to a position which avoids an end part of a sheet when the cooling operation is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a paper feeding device provided with a blowing means for blowing air to a sheet.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine is provided with a paper feeding device that separates sheets loaded on a storage tray one by one and supplies them to the image forming apparatus.

The paper feeding device includes a vertically movable loading tray on which sheets are loaded, a feeding means for feeding the sheets in contact with the upper surface of the sheets, and a separating means for separating the fed sheets into one sheet and feeding the sheets. A transport means for transporting the separated sheets toward the image forming apparatus is provided. Then, the sheet on the elevating tray is guided to the image forming apparatus along the paper feed path by the feeding means, the separating means, and the conveying means.

In such a paper feed device, a heater consisting of a heater and a radiator for heating air and a blower fan for blowing air to the sheet are provided, and the air warmed by the heater is blown to the sheet on the loading tray by the blower fan. It is known that the sheet is dehumidified and handled by blowing it as warm air on the end of the heat sink (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-189181

However, in a paper feeding device that blows warm air onto a sheet to handle it, it is necessary to blow warm air at an optimum temperature depending on the type of sheet such as the thickness, size, and material of the sheet. That is, the temperature of the hot air blown to the sheet is changed as the type of the sheet on the loading tray is changed. At this time, when the hot air is changed from the high temperature to the low temperature, it takes a long time from stopping the heater to the low temperature. During that time, there was a problem that the paper could not be fed and the productivity was lowered.

An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device capable of reducing the warm air blown when handling sheets to a predetermined temperature in a short time and shortening the waiting time when performing a paper feeding operation. do.

A loading tray for loading sheets, a paper feeding means for feeding sheets on the loading tray, a blowing means for blowing air to the end of the sheet on the loading tray, and a heater for heating the air blown by the blowing means. In a sheet feeding device equipped with, a cooling means for cooling the heater by operating the blower means with the heater stopped, and an end portion of the sheet for cooling the heater with the cooling means. A deflection means for blowing air in a direction avoiding the above is provided.

According to the paper feeding device of the present invention, since the blowing means is operated in a state where the heating of the air by the heater is stopped, the heater can be cooled easily and efficiently.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the image formation system including the paper feed device of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the internal structure of a paper feed device. It is a block diagram which shows the control composition of a paper feed device. It is a flowchart which shows the blowing operation of a blowing mechanism. It is a flowchart which shows the cooling operation of a heater. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the moving operation of a louver at the time of cooling of a heater. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the louver movement operation at the time of cooling of a heater in another embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an image forming system including a paper feeding device. The image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 2 on which a document reading device 3 and a document feeding device 4 are mounted, and a paper feeding device 5 connected to the image forming apparatus 2. The image forming apparatus 2 is an image forming unit on a sheet supplied from any one of the upper cassette 10, the lower cassette 11 or the paper feeding device 5 based on the image data read from the original image by the document reading device 3. An image is formed in step 7, and the image-formed sheet is accumulated in the accumulating unit 8. A document sheet can also be fed to the document reading device 3 by the document feeding device 4.

The image forming unit 7 includes a charger 7a, a floodlight (laser head or the like) 7b, a photosensitive drum 7c, a developer 7d, a transfer charger 7e, and a fixing roller 7f. An electrostatic latent image (still image) is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 7c charged by the charger 7a by the floodlight 7b, and toner is adhered to the electrostatic latent image by the developer 7d. Then, the toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 7c is transferred by the transfer charger 7e to the sheet supplied from either the upper or lower cassettes 10 or 11 or the paper feeding device 5. The sheet to which the toner is transferred is sent to the fixing roller 7f arranged on the downstream side, the toner on the sheet is heat-fixed, and then the sheet is discharged to the accumulating portion 6 by the paper ejection roller pair 9.

The upper and lower cassettes 10 and 11 are provided with a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the sheets stored in the cassettes 10 and 11, respectively. The paper feeding mechanism is provided with a delivery roller that comes into contact with the uppermost surface of the sheet and feeds the sheet, and a pair of separation rollers that separate and feed the fed sheet one by one. The sheet sent out by the paper feeding mechanism is conveyed through the conveying path 12. Then, it is sent to the image forming unit 7 along the transport path 13.

The sheets handled by the image forming apparatus 2 and the feeding apparatus 5 include, in addition to plain paper, OHP sheets, tracing paper, coated paper, and the like, and the sheet sizes also correspond to a plurality of types.

The document reading device 3 transfers light to a document conveyed to a predetermined reading position by the document feeding device 4, and receives the reflected light from the document by the photoelectric conversion element 3a. Then, the photoelectric conversion element 3a converts the received light into an electric signal to generate image data from the document. The image data generated in this way is transmitted as an image signal to the floodlight 7b of the image forming apparatus 2.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the paper feed device 5. As shown in FIG. 1, slide rails 21a and 21b are provided on both the left and right sides of the storage 20, respectively. The storage 20 is supported by the housing 50 so as to be able to be pulled out via the slide rails 21a and 21b. The feeding mechanism 30 includes a feeding roller 31, a feeding roller 32, and a separating roller 33 driven by the feeding motor MT1. The sheets stored in the storage 20 are fed out by the feeding roller 31, and are separated and fed one by one by the paper feeding roller 32 and the separating roller 33. Further, a transport roller pair 34a, 34b is provided downstream of the feeding mechanism 30 in the sheet feeding direction, and the sheet fed by the transport roller pair 34a, 34b is supplied to the image forming apparatus 2.

A loading tray 22 that can be raised and lowered is provided in the storage 20. The loading tray 22 is formed of a flat plate so that a plurality of sheets can be loaded on the plate. Further, an upper surface detection sensor S1 for detecting the position of the uppermost surface of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 22 is provided above the storage 20, and a lower limit detection sensor S2 is provided on the lower side in the storage 20. It is provided. The loading tray 22 is configured to move up and down by the elevating mechanism 28 from a position where the load tray 22 is detected by the upper surface detection sensor S1 and then raised by a predetermined amount to a position detected by the lower limit detection sensor S2.

The elevating mechanism 28 raises the loading tray 22 by winding the wire 26 attached to the loading tray 22 and the winding pulley 27 for winding the wire 26, and rotating the winding pulley 27 in one direction to wind the wire 26. It has an elevating motor MT2 that lowers the loading tray 22 by rotating the take-up pulley 27 in the other direction and loosening the wire 26.

A pair of side regulation plates 23 for aligning the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction are provided in the storage 20. The pair of side regulation plates 23, 24 are configured to be movable in the seat width direction according to the size of the seat in the storage 20. Further, a rear end regulating plate 25 is provided that moves in the sheet feeding direction and aligns the rear end of the sheet in the feeding direction. Note that FIGS. 1 and 2 show only the first side regulation plate 23 arranged on one end side in the seat width direction.

On the back side of the sheet regulation surface of the first side regulation plate 23, a first ventilation mechanism 40 as a first ventilation means arranged on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction and an upstream side in the sheet transfer direction are arranged. A second blowing mechanism 50 is provided as a second blowing means to be blown. The first and second blower mechanisms 40 and 50 blow air from the outlets 41b and 51b to the sides of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 22 to float the sheet and allow air to enter between the sheets. By doing so, you can handle the sheets.

The first side regulating plate 23, the first blowing mechanism 40, and the second blowing mechanism 50 are integrated into a unit, and the first blowing mechanism 40, as the first side regulating plate 23 moves, The second blower mechanism 50 is also configured to move.

The first blower mechanism 40 includes a first duct (blower) 41 having a suction port 41a and an outlet 41b, and a first blower fan 42 and a heater (heating) arranged in the first duct 41. It is equipped with a vessel) 43. The outlet 41b of the first duct 41 is connected to the first outlet opening 23a provided in the first side regulation plate 23, and is provided at a position where air is blown onto the upper portion of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 53. Has been done. The blower fan 42 arranged in the first duct 41 rotates to suck air sucked from the suction port 41a of the first duct 41 from the outlet 41b to the side of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 22. Spray. Further, when blowing warm air, the heater 43 is operated, and the air in the first duct 42 warmed by the heater 43 is blown from the outlet 41b to the side portion of the seat by the blower fan 42.

Further, on the air outlet 41b side in the first duct 41 of the first air blowing mechanism 40, a first louver 44 as a deflection means for changing the air blowing range and the air blowing direction of the air blown from the air outlet 41b is provided. It is provided. The first louver 44 is configured such that one end on the back side of the first duct 41 is attached to the rotation shaft 44a and is rotated by the rotation of the rotation shaft 44a. The first looper 44 has an open position (see FIG. 6A) in which air can be blown to the end of the sheet on the loading tray 22 by fully opening the outlet 41b, and the outlet 41b facing the end of the sheet. The part is cut off and the air is moved to the cutoff position (see FIG. 6B) where air cannot be blown to the edge of the sheet. Then, the cooling operation is executed when the first louver 44 is in the cutoff position. At the cutoff position, the first louver 44 cuts off the portion of the air outlet 41b facing the end of the sheet as shown in FIG. 6B, and blows air upward from the uppermost sheet. There is. That is, during the cooling operation, the first louver 44 moves from the open position to the shielding position, and the air blowing direction is deflected. Further, the first louver 44 is controlled to swing up and down at regular intervals when air is blown to handle the seat. As a result, the wind pressure of the air blown to the end of the sheet is changed, and the direction of the air is changed to improve the handling accuracy of the sheet.

The second blower mechanism 50 is arranged on the upstream side of the first blower mechanism 40, and is arranged in the second duct 51 having the suction port 51a and the air outlet 51b, and in the second duct 51. It is equipped with a second blower fan 52. The outlet 51b of the second duct 51 is connected to the second outlet opening 23b provided in the first side regulation plate 23, and air is blown to the upper portion on the upstream side of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 22. It is a position. Further, the second blower fan 52 also blows the air sucked from the suction port 51a of the second duct 51 from the air outlet 51b to the side portion of the sheet loaded on the loading tray 22.

Further, the louver 45 is also provided in the second blower mechanism 50. The louver 45 is controlled to swing up and down at regular intervals in synchronization with the first louver 44 of the first blowing mechanism 40 when air is blown to handle the seat. That is, the second louver 45 also generates strength and weakness in the wind pressure of the air blown to the end of the sheet like the first louver 44 of the first blowing mechanism 40, and changes the wind direction of the air.

The heater 43 of the first blowing mechanism 40 is composed of a heating element 43a made of a nichrome wire or the like and a heat radiating element 43b made of a plurality of fins. A thermistor S3 for detecting the temperature of the heater 43 (heater temperature) is attached to the heat radiating body 43b. When the heating element 43a is energized, it generates heat to turn on the heater 43, and when the energization is cut off (stopped), the heater 43 is turned off. The heat radiating element 43b dissipates the heat transmitted from the heating element 43a to warm a wide range of surrounding air. As described above, the warmed air becomes warm air by the first blower fan 42, flows through the first duct 41, and is blown from the outlet 41 to the side portion of the seat. The thermistor S3 measures the surface temperature of the radiator 43b. That is, in the present embodiment, the surface temperature of the heat radiating body 43b is set as the heater temperature.

FIG. 3 is a control system block diagram of the paper feed device 5 shown in FIG. The paper feed device 5 is provided with a control unit having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a timer TM for measuring time. Further, the paper feed device 5 includes a top surface detection sensor S1 for detecting the position of the sheet accompanying the raising and lowering of the loading tray 22, a lower limit detection sensor S2 for detecting the loading tray 22 at the lower limit position, and a thermistor for measuring the temperature of the heater 41. It is equipped with S3. Further, a paper feed motor MT1 for driving the feeding roller 31, a paper feeding roller 32, and a separation roller 33, a transport motor M2 for driving one of the transport rollers 34a, an elevating motor MT3 for raising and lowering the loading tray 22, and air to be blown. The heating element 43a of the heater 43 for heating the heater 43, the first and second fan motors MT4 and MT5 for driving the first and second blower fans 42 and 52 for blowing air to the seat, and the first and first fan motors MT4 and MT5. It is provided with a rotation motor MT6 for rotating the louvers 44 and 45 of 2.

Then, the control unit 100 receives various information from the operation unit 101 in which information on the sheet size and material, the type of sheet such as special paper, double-sided printing, single-sided printing, reduced printing, enlarged printing, and other printing modes are input. Drive of the paper feed motor MT1, the transfer motor MT2, the elevating motor MT3, the heater 43, the first and second blower fans 42, 52 based on the detection and measurement results of the top surface detection sensor S1, the lower limit detection sensor S2, and the thermistor S3. To control. In addition, the control unit 100 transmits information such as an error due to damage to parts, an elevating failure of the loading tray 22, and a paper feed failure to the display unit, and notifies the display unit. In this embodiment, the control unit 100 is provided in the paper feeding device 5, but it may be provided in the image forming device 2 or the image reading device 3. Further, the operation unit 101 and the display unit 102 may also be attached to the image forming device 2 or the image reading device 3.

Here, to explain the temperature control of the heater 43, the control unit 100 keeps the heater temperature constant near the set temperature by comparing the heater temperature measured by the thermistor S3 with the set temperature set by the seat type. It is controlled like this.

Specifically, an upper limit value obtained by adding a constant value to the set temperature and a lower limit value obtained by subtracting a constant value are provided, and when the temperature of the thermistor S3 reaches the lower limit value with the heater 43 stopped (OFF), the heater is used. Turn 43 into operation (ON). When the upper limit is reached with the heater 43 turned on, the heater 43 is turned off. For example, when the set temperature is 60 ° C., the upper limit value is set to 61 ° C. and the lower limit value is set to 59 ° C. As a result, when the temperature of the thermistor S3 reaches 59 ° C., the heater 43 is turned on, and when the temperature of the thermistor S3 reaches 61 ° C. in the ON state, the heater 43 is turned off. As a result, the temperature of the heater 43 when the set temperature is 60 ° C. is controlled between 59 ° C. and 61 ° C.

Next, the blowing operation by the first blowing mechanism provided with the heater 43 will be described with reference to the operation flowchart of FIG. The blowing operation is executed when it is confirmed that the storage 20 is closed and when a paper feeding command is received. The air blowing operation is also executed for the sheet paper feeding operation, and the air blowing operation is stopped when the paper feeding operation is completed. However, when the heater 43 is operating, the heater 43 continues to operate even when the ventilation is stopped, and continues to heat the air in the first duct 41.

In the above, it is assumed that the blowing operation is terminated when the paper feeding operation is completed, but it may be executed after the paper feeding operation is completed. That is, the ventilation operation may be executed again after the ventilation operation is stopped.

In the blowing operation, first, sheet information such as paper quality, paper thickness (basis weight), and size of the sheet is acquired (ST01). These sheet information are input by the user by operating the operation unit, and each time the type of the sheet is changed, the user operates the operation panel to input new information.

Based on the input sheet information, it is determined whether or not air handling is necessary (ST02). When it is determined that air handling is necessary, it is determined whether or not the heater 43 is necessary, that is, whether or not air handling by warm air is performed (ST03). If it is determined that the heater 43 is unnecessary by this determination, the cooling operation of the heater 43 is executed (ST10). On the other hand, when the heater 43 is required, it is confirmed whether or not the set temperature of the heater 43 has been changed (ST04). Regarding this determination, the temperature table based on the sheet information is stored in advance in the ROM of the control unit 100, and the set temperature is acquired from the temperature table based on the sheet information acquired in the step (ST01), and the set temperature is different from the previous set temperature. It is determined by comparison whether or not the set temperature has been changed.

When it is confirmed that the set temperature of the heater 43 has been changed, the heat generation temperature of the heater 43 is detected by the thermistor S3 (ST05). Then, it is determined from this measured value whether or not the heater 43 needs to be cooled. Specifically, the detected heat generation temperature of the heater 43 is compared with the set temperature, and when the detected heat generation temperature of the heater 43 is higher than the set temperature, it is determined that the heater 43 needs to be cooled. On the other hand, when the detected heat generation temperature of the heater 43 is equal to or lower than the set temperature, it is determined that the heater 43 does not need to be cooled.

When it is determined that the heater 43 needs to be cooled, the cooling operation of the heater 43 is executed (ST10). On the other hand, when it is not necessary to cool the heater 43, the set temperature is adjusted. Then, when this temperature control is completed, the first blower fan 42 is operated, air is blown toward the side portion of the seat through the first duct 41, and the seat is separated (ST07 to ST09).

In the temperature adjustment operation of the heater 43, when the measured temperature of the thermistor S3 is equal to or lower than the set temperature, the heater 43 is turned on, and when the thermistor S3 detects that the temperature has reached the set temperature, the adjustment is completed. On the other hand, when the temperature setting has not been changed (ST04) or after the cooling operation, the measured temperature of the thermistor S3 is confirmed, and if it is different from the set temperature, the heater 43 is set by turning it on or off. Adjusted to approach temperature. In this way, the first blower fan 42 is operated with the heater 43 stopped until the temperature of the heater 43 reaches a predetermined temperature lower than the temperature measured by the thermistor S3, and the first duct is operated. Air is flowed along 41.

Here, in the cooling operation of the heater 43, the first blower fan 42 is operated with the heater 43 stopped until the temperature of the heater 43 reaches a predetermined temperature lower than the temperature measured by the thermistor S3. Air flows along the duct 41.

That is, here, as a cooling means, the first blower fan 42 blows air with the heater 43 turned off. As a result, the warmed air in the first duct 41 is blown out from the outlet 41b, and the air outside the first duct 41 is taken in from the suction port 41a. The air taken in from the suction port 41a flows in the first duct 41 toward the outlet 41b while in contact with the radiator body 43 of the heater 43, and cools the heater 43.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart showing a cooling operation. The cooling operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, the set temperature control of the heater 43 is stopped, and the heater 43 is stopped (OFF) (ST11). After that, the rotation motor MT6 is reversely driven to rotate the first louver 44 upward (ST12). When the rotary motor MT6 is driven by a predetermined amount, the rotary motor MT6 is stopped to stop the rotation of the first louver 44 (ST13 to ST14). As a result, the first louver 44 moves from the open position where the outlet 41b as shown in FIG. 6A is fully opened to the shutoff position as shown in FIG. 6B and stops. At the cutoff position, the first louver 44 shuts off the portion of the air outlet 41b below the upper surface position of the sheet, and opens the portion above the upper surface position of the seat.

In this state, the first blower fan 42 is operated (ON) and cooling is started (ST15). As a result, the heater 43 can be cooled to a set temperature in the process of passing the air flowing from the suction port 41a toward the air outlet 41b through the heater 43. Further, since the louver 44 has moved to the cutoff position, the warm air at the initial stage of the cooling operation is blown from the upper part of the outlet 41b to the upper side of the sheet and blown to the edge of the sheet as shown in FIG. 6B. It will never be done.

Then, when the heater temperature measured by the thermistor S3 reaches the set temperature, the blower fan 42 is stopped (OFF) and cooling is completed (ST16 to ST17). After that, the rotation motor MT6 is driven in the forward direction to rotate the louver 44 downward (ST18). When the rotary motor MT6 is driven by a predetermined amount, the rotary motor MT6 is stopped to stop the rotation of the first louver 44 (ST19 to ST20). As a result, the first louver 44 is returned from the cutoff position to the open position, and air is blown to the end portion of the sheet. The predetermined drive amount of the rotary motor MT6 described above is a drive amount corresponding to the distance between the open position and the cutoff position. That is, it is the driving amount required for the first louver 44 to rotate from the open position to the cutoff position.

Here, the set temperature in the step (ST16) when the heater 43 is not required in the step (ST03) of the blowing operation can be performed by the environment sensor S4 provided in the paper feeding device 5. When such an environment sensor S4 is used, it is automatically set to a temperature obtained by adding a constant value to the measured temperature in the storage 51. The set temperature at this time may be a predetermined temperature (for example, 20 ° C. or lower).

In the above embodiment, the air volume of the air by the first ventilation mechanism 40 is set to an air volume suitable for handling the seat, and the heater 43 is cooled by the set air volume even during the cooling operation. However, in the cooling operation of the heater 43, the air volume may be larger than the set air volume suitable for seat handling. Further, if the rotation speed of the first blower fan 42 during the cooling operation is set to the maximum, the heater 43 can be cooled in a shorter time.

Next, other embodiments will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the first louver 44 is moved to a blocking position that blocks the portion of the air outlet 41b facing the end of the sheet so that warm air during cooling is not blown to the end of the sheet. However, the outlet 41b is shut off, a part of the first duct 41 is opened, and a deflection mechanism is provided to deflect the direction in which the air is blown out, and warm air during cooling is blown to the end of the sheet. It may not be.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration and operation of other embodiments. The deflection mechanism 60 has a first louver 44 and a first louver that rotate to a first position for guiding air toward the outlet 41b and a second position for guiding air toward the opening 61a. It includes a rotation motor MT6 that rotates 44, and a plurality of gears (not shown) as transmission members that transmit the drive of the rotation motor MT6 to the rotation shaft 44a of the first louver 44. Further, the deflection mechanism 60 has a guide position for forming a part of the first duct 41 and guiding air toward the outlet 41b, and an opening 65 for opening a part of the first duct 41 to blow out air. The guide member 61 that rotates to the opening position forming the guide member 61, and the three gears 62 that transmit the drive of the rotation motor MT6 to the rotation shaft 61a of the guide member 61 via the rotation shaft 44a of the first louver 44. , 63, 64, and the like.

Then, during the cooling operation, the rotary motor MT6 is reversely driven to move the first louver 44 from the first position to the second position, and the guide member 61 is moved from the guide position to the opening position, thereby moving from the opening 65. Air can be discharged to the outside of the first duct 41. This makes it possible to prevent the warm air at the initial stage of the cooling operation from being blown to the edge of the sheet.

Specifically, in steps 12 (ST12) to 14 (ST14) of the cooling operation in FIG. 6, when the rotary motor MT6 is reversely driven by a predetermined amount and stopped, the first louver 44 is moved from the first position to the second position. The guide member 61 rotates from the guide position to the opening position while rotating to the position (see FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b)). In this state, when the first blower fan 42 is turned on to start cooling the heater 43, the air (warm air) warmed by the heater 43 is opened by the first louver 44 as shown in FIG. 7 (b). Guided by 65, it blows out of the first duct 41 from the opening 65 and is not sprayed on the edge of the sheet.

In the first step 18 (ST18) to step 20 (ST20) of FIG. 6 when the heater 43 reaches the set temperature and the cooling is completed, the louver is stopped by driving the rotary motor MT6 in a forward rotation by a predetermined amount. The 44 rotates from the second position to the first position, and the guide member 61 rotates from the opening position to the guide position (see FIGS. 7 (b) and 7 (a)). As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, the guide member 61 closes the opening 65, and the air is blown out from the outlet 41b. The predetermined drive amount of the above-mentioned rotary motor MT6 in the other embodiment is a drive amount corresponding to the distance from the first position to the second position. That is, it is the driving amount required for the louver 44 to rotate from the first position to the second position.

According to the above embodiment, since the first blower fan 42 is driven with the heater 43 turned off, the temperature of the heater 43 in the first duct 41 can be lowered in a short time.

Further, by moving the louver 44 to the shielding position when the heater 43 is cooled, it is possible to prevent the warm air at the time of cooling from being blown to the sheet. This makes it possible to eliminate printing unevenness that occurs when warm air having a temperature higher than the appropriate temperature is blown depending on the type of sheet.

2 Paper feed device 5 Paper feed device 20 Storage 23, 24 Pair of side regulation plates 23, 24
30 Feeding mechanism 22 Loading tray 40 First blower mechanism 42 Blower fan 42
41 Duct 41a Suction port 41b Blowout port 42 Blower fan 43 Heater 44 Louver MT6 Rotating motor MT6
S3 thermistor

Claims (6)

A loading tray for loading sheets, a paper feeding means for feeding sheets on the loading tray, a blowing means for blowing air to the end of the sheet on the front loading tray, and air blown by the blowing means. In a sheet feeder equipped with a heater for heating,
A cooling means for cooling the heater by operating the blower means with the heater stopped, and a direction in which air is blown away from the end of the sheet when the heater is cooled by the cooling means. A sheet feeding device characterized by being provided with a deflecting means for blowing air. The deflecting means deflects the air blowing direction by the blowing means into a first direction in which air is blown to the end of the sheet and a second direction in which air is blown away from the end of the sheet. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1. A temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heater is provided.
The cooling means is characterized in that the blower means is operated with the heater stopped until the temperature of the heater detected by the temperature detecting means becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature. The sheet feeding device according to 1. The blower means includes a duct having a suction port and an air outlet, and a blower fan which is arranged in the duct and sucks air from the suction port and blows out air from the air outlet, and the heater is the heater. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding device is arranged in a duct. The blower means includes a duct having an outlet and a blower fan that blows air along the duct to blow air out of the outlet.
The first direction by the deflecting means is a direction in which air is blown out from the outlet toward the end of the sheet on the loading tray, and the second direction is a direction in which air is blown out from the outlet. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet is blown out from the outlet toward the upper side of the sheet. The blowing means is provided at a position where air is blown out to the end of the sheet on the loading tray, and a second outlet provided at a position where air is blown away from the end of the sheet on the loading tray. Equipped with a duct with an air outlet,
The first direction by the deflection means is a direction in which air is blown toward the first air outlet, and the second direction is a direction in which air is blown toward the second air outlet. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet feeding device is provided.

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