JP2573376Y2 - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for automatically supplying paper to a paper processing apparatus such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic sheet feeding apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-95713 has been known as this type of sheet feeding apparatus. In this automatic sheet feeder, after a plurality of sheets placed on a base are fed by a carriage roller via a double feed prevention needle by a carriage roller, the sheets are reliably fed by a separate roller and a friction plate. Are configured to be separated into one.

[0003]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In such a device,
If a paper jam occurs during the paper feeding, the fed paper is in a state of being sandwiched between the separate roller and the friction plate. In order to remove such paper, it is necessary to forcibly pull out the nipped paper after the paper feeding device is once removed from the printer device or after the separation roller or the friction plate is once removed.

Accordingly, in the conventional apparatus, not only the time and labor required for clearing the paper jam but also the forcible pulling out of the paper results in damage to the paper. Moreover,
In order to return the paper separating mechanism, the paper feeder must be attached to the printer, or the separated roller or friction plate must be attached again with high accuracy so that they are pressed optimally to each other. It is troublesome.

The present invention has been made to eliminate such adverse effects, and has as its object to easily and reliably release a paper jam and return a paper separating mechanism by a simple operation without damaging the paper. The present invention is to provide an automatic paper feeder that can switch between the automatic paper feeder and the automatic paper feeder.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic paper feeder according to the present invention is configured to be detachable from a paper processing apparatus, and a mounting table on which a plurality of sheets can be mounted. And a paper urging mechanism for pressing the plurality of sheets placed on the mounting table in the direction of the mounting table, and sequentially from the lowest layer of the plurality of sheets mounted on the mounting table. A paper feeding mechanism for feeding paper, a paper separating mechanism that slides on the surface of the paper fed by the paper feeding mechanism, separates only predetermined paper, and feeds the paper to the paper processing apparatus;

When a paper jam occurs during paper feeding, the paper separating mechanism is released in conjunction with the release operation of the paper urging mechanism to release the paper jam, and after the paper jam is released, the paper jam is released. A paper jam release mechanism for returning the paper separating mechanism again in conjunction with the return operation of the biasing mechanism.

[0008]

When a paper jam occurs in the paper separation mechanism during paper feeding, the paper urging mechanism pressing a plurality of papers placed on the mounting table is separated from the paper surface and held.
The paper jam release mechanism operates to release the paper separation mechanism. As a result, it is possible to remove the sheet in the sheet separating mechanism. When the held paper urging mechanism is returned after the paper jam is removed, the paper jam release mechanism is operated again to return the paper separation mechanism for separating and feeding the paper.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic paper feeder 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be detachably mounted on a printer device 3.

[0010] The printer 3 is operated by turning on an operation unit (not shown) so that the paper feed tray 5 is turned on.
The paper 9 sent out by the paper feed roller 7 is transferred to the transfer unit 13 through the take-in roller pair 11 and subjected to printing processing, and then sequentially through the transport roller pair 15 and the paper discharge roller pair 17. It is configured to be sent out onto the discharge stacker 19. Also, the main body 2 of such a printer device 3
1 is provided with a paper hand slot 23 so that predetermined sheets can be sequentially hand-fed. Automatic paper feeder 1 of the present embodiment
Is configured to be detachable from the paper manual slot 23.

When the automatic paper feeder 1 is attached to the paper slot 23, the automatic paper feeder 1 and the printer 3 are in an interlocked state, and the operation section (not shown) of the printer 3 is turned on to operate. The paper 9 of a predetermined size is automatically sent out from the automatic paper feeder 1 to the paper hand slot 23 automatically.
The paper 9 sent out to the paper slot 23 is transferred to the transfer unit 1 via a pair of intake rollers 11 built in the printer main body 21.
3 and is subjected to a predetermined printing process while being pressed by the head 27 by the transfer roller 25. The paper on which the printing process has been completed is sequentially sent out onto the discharge stacker 19 via the transport roller pair 15 and the discharge roller pair 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic paper feeder 1 of this embodiment includes a paper feeder main body 29 and a connecting mechanism 31 for connecting the paper feeder main body 29 to the printer main body 21. The paper 9 of the arbitrary size is
, A pair of side guides 35 for aligning both sides of a plurality of sheets 9 placed on the mounting table 33, and a plurality of sheets mounted on the mounting table 33. The uppermost surface of the sheets 9 is pressed to place these sheets 9 on the mounting table 3.
A paper urging mechanism 37 for urging in three directions, a paper feeding mechanism 38 for sequentially feeding paper from the lowermost sheet 9 of the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the mounting table 33, and a paper feeding mechanism 38 A paper separation mechanism 39 that separates the fed paper 9 into one sheet and feeds it to the paper slot 23 of the printer device 3, and a paper jam release mechanism 41 that releases paper jam during paper feeding
And are provided.

The connecting mechanism 31 has a pair of engaging projections 43 provided to protrude from both sides of the connecting side surface 29a of the sheet feeding device main body 29. Is attached to the paper slot 23 of the printer device 3 (see FIG. 1), it engages with an engagement concave portion (not shown) formed in the printer device main body 21, and the automatic paper feeder 1 It has the function of connecting to.

The paper urging mechanism 37 includes a pair of support arms 49 whose base ends are pivotally supported by a rotation shaft 47 rotatably mounted on a bracket 45 of the paper feeding device main body 29, and these support arms 49. And weight rollers 53 rotatably mounted between bearings 51 provided at the tips of the rollers. The extension ends of the pair of support arms 49 include:
A grip 55 is provided between the extending ends.

Accordingly, by moving the gripper 55 in the direction of the arrow S in the figure, the pair of support arms 49 move about the rotation shaft 47, for example, in the paper biased state (2 in the figure).
The weight roller 53 in the state shown by the dashed line) can be separated from the surface of the sheet 9, and replacement of the sheet 9 or replenishment of the sheet 9 becomes possible. Further, the paper urging mechanism 37 is provided with a support arm holding means so that the user can use both hands freely when the paper 9 is replaced or the paper 9 is refilled.

The support arm holding means raises the operating rod 57 attached to the base end side of the pair of support arms 49 across the base ends and the pair of support arms 49 as shown by a solid line in FIG. And a holding portion 59 for holding and holding the operating rod 57 when the operation rod 57 is held.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operating rod 57 is provided with the other end of an arm tension spring 58 having one end attached to the paper feeder main body 29. For this reason, the pair of support arms 49 are constantly urged in the direction of the mounting table 33 about the rotation shaft 47.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, by moving the grip portion 55 in the direction of arrow S in the figure against the arm tension spring 58, the operating rod 57 moves about the rotation shaft 47, When the support arm 49 is standing up (the state shown by the solid line in the figure), the operating rod 57 is fitted into the holding portion 59 and is held. Thus, the pair of support arms 49 are held upright.

The paper feed mechanism 38 contacts the lowermost sheet 9 of the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the table 33,
The paper feed roller 61 having a predetermined coefficient of friction with respect to the paper 9 and the outflow side edge of the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the mounting table 33 contact the outflow side edge of the lowermost sheet 9. And a gate member 63 that aligns and arranges the sheets in order so as to precede the sheet on the upper side thereof.

For this reason, when the paper feed roller 61 rotates, the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the placing table 33 are
The sheet 9 is separated and fed by the gate member 63 in order from the lowermost sheet 9.

At the time of such paper feeding, even if a plurality of sheets are erroneously fed at the same time, only the lowermost sheet 9 is reliably sent to the printer device 3.
9 is provided with a separation roller 65 made of, for example, an elastic member, and a separation pad 67 made of, for example, an elastic member constantly in contact with the separation roller 65.

The separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67
In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, they are always in contact with each other, and have a function of separating the fed paper more reliably into one sheet.

As shown in FIG. 3, the separation pad 67 is supported by a separation pad support 69. One end of the separation pad support 69 is rotatable by the shaft 71 on the sheet feeding device main body 29. It is pivotally supported, and the other end is urged by an urging spring 73.

As a result, the separation pad support 69 rotates about the shaft 71 by the urging force of the urging spring 73, and the separation pad 67 is always kept in contact with the separation roller 65.

Accordingly, the fed sheet 9 is fed between the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67, and even if a plurality of sheets are erroneously fed, only the lowermost sheet 9 is separated. It is separated by the rollers 65 and transported toward the printer device 3.

When a paper jam occurs during the transfer of the paper 9, conventionally, after the plurality of papers 9 placed on the mounting table 33 are removed, the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 6 are removed.
7, the paper 9 is forcibly pulled out or the automatic paper feeder 1 is detached from the printer main body 21, and then the paper 9 is removed from the connecting side surface 29a (see FIG. 2). And the paper 9 is damaged. Therefore, the automatic paper feeder 1 according to the present embodiment has a paper jam release mechanism 4 for releasing the paper jam with one touch.
1 has been added. Hereinafter, the paper jam release mechanism 41 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the pair of support arms 49 are erected, the paper jam release mechanism 41 simultaneously pushes the separation pad support 69 against the urging spring 73 about the shaft 71 as shown in FIG.
By moving in the direction of the middle arrow P, the separation pad 6 is moved.
7 is separated from the separation roller 65. By separating the separation pad 67 from the separation roller 65 in this manner, the separation pad 67 and the separation roller 6 are separated.
5 can be removed.

In the paper jam clearing mechanism 41 applied to the present embodiment, the separation pad support 69 has the operating rod 57
Is fitted into the holding portion 59 (when the pair of support arms 49 are erected), the passive projection 6 against which the operating rod 57 contacts
9a is protruded.

The pair of support arms 4 are operated by operating the grip 55.
When the pressing force from the operating rod 57 abutting on the passive projection 69a acts when the stand 9 is raised, the pressing force acts on the separation pad support 69 from the passive projection 69a, and the separation pad support 69 Is moved about the axis 71 in the direction of arrow P in the figure (see FIG. 4). At this time, the operating rod 5
7, a tensile force from the above-described arm tension spring 58 (see FIG. 5) acts on the separation pad support 69, and an urging spring 7 for bringing the separation pad 67 into contact with the separation roller 65.
However, since the tensile force of the urging spring 73 is very small, the total tensile force acting on the grip portion 55 is almost only the tensile force applied to the operating rod 57. Becomes Therefore, the user can use the pair of support arms 4.
The paper jam clearing mechanism 41 can be operated only by the force necessary to raise the sheet 9.

As described above, the paper jam releasing mechanism 41 applied to the present embodiment allows the separation pad 67 to be touched with one touch.
Can be separated from the separation roller, so that the paper feeder body 29 can be easily and safely removed without damaging the paper 9 by removing the paper feeder main body 29 from the printer main body 21 or forcibly pulling out the paper. You can recover.

After the paper jam is recovered, the gripping portion 55 is moved in the direction of arrow S in the drawing (the direction in which the weight roller 53 comes into contact with the plurality of papers 9 placed on the mounting table 33) to thereby hold the holding portion. The engagement state between the operating rod 57 and the operating rod 57 is released, and at the same time, the passive projection 69 a
Is also released. As a result, the pair of support arms 49 move about the rotation shaft 47 under the tensile force of the arm extension spring 58, and at the same time, simultaneously separate the separation pad support 6.
9 moves around the shaft 71 under the tensile force of the urging spring 73. Thus, the weight roller 53 recovers the pressed state against the plurality of sheets 9 again, and the separation pad 67 comes into contact with the separation roller 65 to recover the sheet separation function again.

As described above, the automatic paper feeder of the present embodiment can easily and reliably switch between the release of the paper jam and the return of the paper separation mechanism with a simple operation without damaging the paper. Can be. It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the claims.

[0033]

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention is configured to release and return the paper separating mechanism in conjunction with the operation of the paper urging mechanism, so that the paper is not damaged by a simple operation.
The release of the paper jam and the return of the paper separation mechanism can be easily and reliably switched with one touch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which an automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a printer.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the entire configuration of the automatic sheet feeding apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a paper jam release mechanism provided in the automatic paper feeder shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which a paper jam release mechanism shown in FIG. 3 is operated and a separation pad is separated from a separation roller.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the inside of the automatic sheet feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from a sheet feeding downstream side.

[Explanation of symbols]

9: paper, 33: mounting table, 37: paper urging mechanism, 38:
Paper feed mechanism, 39: paper separation mechanism, 41: paper jam release mechanism.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Kasai 3-14-16 Maezawacho, Higashikurume-shi, Tokyo Daiwa Seiko Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-17651 (JP, A) 60-33537 (JP, A) JP-A-49-120635 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65H 1/00-3/68

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A sheet mounting device configured to be detachably attached to a sheet processing apparatus, and a mounting table on which a plurality of sheets can be mounted; and pressing the plurality of sheets mounted on the mounting table in a direction toward the mounting table. Paper urging position to be pressed and press
A sheet urging mechanism that can be switched to and held at a pressing release position for releasing the state, a paper feeding mechanism that sequentially feeds the lowermost sheet of the plurality of sheets placed on the mounting table, A paper separation mechanism that slides on the surface of the paper fed by a paper mechanism, separates only predetermined paper, and feeds the paper to the paper processing device; In response to the release operation of the urging mechanism, the paper separation mechanism is released to release the paper jam, and after the paper jam is released, the paper separation mechanism is again actuated in conjunction with the return operation of the paper urging mechanism. An automatic paper feeder, comprising: a paper jam release mechanism for returning the paper jam. 2. The sheet separating mechanism includes: a separating roller; a separating member that cooperates with the separating roller to separate the sheet fed from the sheet feeding mechanism into one sheet and feeds the sheet; A separating member supporting member, one end of which is urged by urging means so as to always contact the separating member with the separating roller. Item 2. The automatic sheet feeding device according to Item 1. 3. The paper jam release mechanism includes a passive projection formed on the separation member support so as to be interlocked with the paper urging mechanism, and the passive projection is provided on the paper urging mechanism. By being pressed in conjunction with the releasing operation, the separation member support is moved against the urging force of the urging means to separate the separation member from the separation roller, and the paper urging mechanism When the pressing state against the passive projection is released in conjunction with the return operation of the above, the separation member support is moved by the urging force of the urging means, and the separation member is brought into contact with the separation roller. The automatic sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein