JP2688088B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device, and more particularly to a sheet feeding device provided with an auxiliary roller having a non-circular cross section.

[Conventional technology]

In a conventional sheet feeding device, for example, a sheet feeding device of a facsimile, a sheet feeding tray that can store a large number of sheets, a sheet feeding roller arranged near the exit of the sheet feeding tray, and sheet feeding to the sheet feeding roller are provided. And an auxiliary roller having a non-circular cross section for intermittent operation. Further, this type of sheet feeding device is provided with a document detecting sensor for detecting whether or not a document is placed on the sheet feeding tray, and a position detecting sensor for detecting the rotational position of the auxiliary roller. (For example,
(Actual number 62-181545).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above conventional configuration, it is necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the rotational position of the auxiliary roller in addition to the sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the document. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost is inevitably high.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device that can reduce the cost by reducing the number of necessary sensors to simplify the structure.

[Means for solving the problem]

A sheet feeding device according to the present invention includes a sheet storing section, a sheet feeding section,
It has an auxiliary roller and a sensor. The paper storage unit is a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of paper sheets. The paper feed unit is a paper feed unit that is arranged near the exit of the paper storage unit and conveys the paper in the paper storage unit. The auxiliary roller is provided in the paper storage unit and can alternately take a projecting position in which a part of the outer peripheral surface projects toward the paper storage unit side with rotation and a non-projecting position in which the outer peripheral surface does not project toward the paper storage unit side. It is a roller that has a non-circular cross section and that feeds the paper to the paper feed unit. The sensor is a sensor that determines whether there is paper in the paper storage unit or the auxiliary roller is in the protruding position, and when there is no paper in the paper storage unit and the auxiliary roller is in the non-projecting position.

[Action]

In the paper feeding device according to the present invention, the paper is stored in the paper storage unit. Next, by rotating the auxiliary roller, the paper in the paper storage unit is supplied to the paper feeding unit. This supply operation is performed intermittently because the auxiliary roller has a non-circular cross section. The sheet supplied to the sheet feeding unit is discharged to the outside of the sheet storage unit by being conveyed by the sheet feeding unit.

In the above operation, the sensor determines whether there is paper in the paper storage unit or the auxiliary roller is in the projecting position, and when there is no paper in the paper storage unit and the auxiliary roller is in the non-projecting position. . That is, this sensor can detect not only the presence or absence of paper but also the rotational position of the auxiliary roller. Therefore, it is not necessary for the sensors to be provided with sensors corresponding to the detection of the sheet and the detection of the rotation position of the auxiliary roller, respectively, and the structure is simplified and the sheet feeding device can be manufactured at low cost.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view when a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a facsimile device. First
In the figure, the facsimile main body 1 is mainly composed of a recording unit 2.
And a reading unit 3 arranged above it. A document (not shown) is supplied to the reading unit 3 from the paper feeding device 20.

The recording unit 2 is provided with a thermal head 6 for printing the received information on the thermal paper 5. Thermal head 6
A print roller 7 is disposed below the print roller 7, and the tip of the thermal paper 5 wound in a roll is inserted between the thermal head 6 and the print roller 7. A transport path 8 is provided on the downstream side (on the left side in FIG. 1) of the thermal head 6. A pair of upper and lower discharge rollers 9 are arranged on the downstream side of the transport path 8. Further, on the downstream side of the discharge roller 9, a discharge tray for discharging recording paper and originals is attached. A power supply unit 19 is arranged adjacent to the thermal paper 5.

The reading unit 3 is provided with a light source 11, mirrors 12a to 12c, and a CCD unit 13 for reading image information on a document. A document conveying path 14 is provided between the reading unit 3 and the sheet feeding device 20, and a timing switch 15 for controlling each section of the sheet feeding device is provided in the document conveying path 14. Further, a reading roller 16 for transporting a document to a reading section at a predetermined timing is arranged on the upstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the timing switch 15.

An upper surface of the facsimile apparatus main body 1 serves as a document placing table 1a, and an original document guide 18 is attached to an upper end portion of the facsimile apparatus main body 1.

A paper feed roller 21 is arranged adjacent to the mounting table 1a at the end of the paper feed device 20 on the side of the reading unit 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed roller 21 is fixed to a shaft 22 connected to a drive system (not shown). A friction pad 23 is arranged above the paper feed roller 21 so as to face it. The friction pad 23 is made of rubber or the like having a high friction coefficient. The friction pad 23 is fixed to a bracket 24 arranged above the mounting table 1a. A base portion of a pressing leaf spring 25 for pressing the friction pad 23 from the back side is fixed to the bracket 24. On the other hand, on the upstream side of the bracket 24, the bracket
A document holding plate 26 adjacent to 24 is arranged. Presser plate 26
The upper end base of the is rotatably supported by a pin 27 extending parallel to the shaft 22. Further, a spring 28 is arranged in a compressed state between the holding plate 26 and the bracket 24, whereby the holding plate 26 is constantly urged in the arrow X direction.

A hole 30 is formed in the mounting table 1a at a position corresponding to the lower end of the holding plate 26. The auxiliary roller 31 disposed below the mounting table 1a is exposed upward from the hole 30. The auxiliary roller 31 is fixed to a shaft 32 that is connected to a drive system (not shown), and is driven in the arrow Y direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary roller
Reference numeral 31 has an original conveying surface 33 having an elliptical sectional shape. In addition, the switching cam surface is flatter than the transport surface 33.
34 is provided at a position adjacent to the transport surface 33. The lower end of the pressing plate 26 is in contact with the transport surface 33. The switching cam surface 34 has a detection terminal 36 of a detection switch 35.
Are in contact with each other. The main body of the switch 35 is arranged above the mounting table 1a, and the detection terminal 36 extends in an arc from the main body toward the auxiliary roller 31.

 Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

When the operator sends a facsimile using a document, the document is placed on the mounting table 1a of the paper feeding device 20. Then, the leading end of the document is inserted into the paper feed roller 21 side. As a result, many originals are overlaid (A in Fig. 4).
However, it overcomes the spring force of the spring 28 to rotate the pressing plate 26 and also rotates the terminal 36 of the switch 35 upward. As a result, the switch 35 is turned on, and it is confirmed by the control unit (not shown) that the document A is set.

When the operator presses the send button to issue a send command, the shafts 22 and 32 rotate. First, the auxiliary roller 31 rotates in the Y direction, so that the transport surface 33 moves the original A.
The one sheet at the lowermost end is supplied to the paper feed roller 21. Since the auxiliary roller 31 has an elliptical conveying surface 33, and only its long axis side portion projects above the mounting table 1a, the original A is intermittently fed to the paper feeding roller 21. Supplied. The supplied document is conveyed further downstream by the paper feed roller 21 rotating in the Z direction, and is supplied to the reading unit 3 via the reading roller 16 (FIG. 1). In the reading unit 3, the light emitted from the light source 11 is reflected on the surface of the document, and the CCD unit 13 reads it as image information.

As the document A placed on the mounting table 1a is successively supplied to the reading unit 3 as described above, the image information of the document is read by the CCD unit 13, and the read image information is transmitted through a telephone line or the like. To be done.

If all the originals A are supplied to the reading unit 3, the fifth
As shown in the figure, the holding plate 26 comes into contact with the conveying surface 33, and the terminal 36 of the switch 35 comes into contact with the switching cam surface 34. However, in the state shown in FIG. 5, since the terminal 36 is placed above by the cam surface 34, the ON state of the switch 35 is maintained. When the auxiliary roller 31 further rotates in the Y direction, the terminal 36 comes into contact with the flat portion of the cam surface 34. In this state, the terminal 36 is arranged below as shown in FIG. 2, so that the detection switch 35 is turned off. As a result, all the original A has been conveyed,
It is detected that the auxiliary roller 31 is not protruding upward from the placement 1a. When the switch 35 is turned off, the driving of the shafts 22 and 32 is stopped to return to the initial state as shown in FIG.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of the document and the attitude of the auxiliary roller 31 can be detected by using one detection switch 35. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the number of required sensors is reduced, the structure is simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Other embodiments]

(A) Omitting the switching cam surface 34 of the auxiliary roller 31,
The terminal 36 of the switch 35 may be brought into contact with the transport surface 33. In this case, the transport surface 33 also serves as the switching cam surface. This can simplify the structure of the auxiliary roller 31. However, when the switching cam surface 34 is adopted, the vertical movement width of the terminal 36 becomes larger, and therefore the reliability of the operation of the switch 35 is higher.

(B) Instead of the holding plate 26 and the switch 35, a holding plate 40 and a switch 41 as shown in FIG. 6 may be adopted. Sixth
The holding plate 40 in the figure has a projection 42 integrally formed on the base side.
Then, the protrusion 42 turns the switch 41 on and off. This also makes it possible to carry out the present invention in the same manner and obtain the same effect.

(C) Instead of the switch 35 arranged above the mounting table 1a, a switch 43 arranged below the mounting table 1a may be used as shown in FIG. In this case, the detection terminal 44 of the switch 43 extends below the auxiliary roller 31 to the paper feed roller 21 side, and further has its tip end bent upward and protruding from the mounting table 1a.

The tip of the detection terminal 44 is pushed downward when a document is placed on the table 1a. When the auxiliary roller 31 rotates, the terminal 44 also moves up and down accordingly. With these movements, the switch 43 is turned on and off, and the presence or absence of the document and the posture of the auxiliary roller 31 can be detected.

(D) In the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of the document and the rotation position of the auxiliary roller are detected using the mechanically operated switch, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sensor that operates optically or acoustically may be used. You may use. In this case, the sensor is arranged above the mounting table 1a so as to face the auxiliary roller 31. Then, by using the sensor to measure the distance to the facing member, the presence or absence of the paper and the rotation position of the auxiliary roller can be detected.

(E) The present invention can be applied not only to the facsimile apparatus as in the above-described embodiment, but also to, for example, a paper feeding portion in a copying machine.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the sheet feeding device of the present invention, there are cases where there is a sheet in the sheet storage section or the auxiliary roller is in the protruding position, and there are cases where there is no sheet in the sheet storage section and the auxiliary roller is in the non-projecting position. Since the sensor for discriminating is provided, the structure of the sensor portion is simplified and the sheet feeding device can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a facsimile apparatus adopting an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional partial view of a sheet feeding device portion thereof, FIG. 3 is a perspective partial view of an auxiliary roller, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing the operating state of the paper feeding device,
FIGS. 6 and 7 are views corresponding to FIG. 2 showing different embodiments. 1a: mounting table, 21: paper feed roller, 31: auxiliary roller,
35,41,43 …… Detection switch.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Hirabayashi 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References: Showa 62-181545 60-180238 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A paper storage unit capable of storing a plurality of paper sheets, a paper feed unit disposed near an exit of the easy storage unit and configured to convey the paper in the paper storage unit, and provided in the paper storage unit. A non-circular cross-section that can alternately take a protruding position where a part of the outer peripheral surface protrudes toward the paper storage unit side due to rotation and a non-projecting position where the outer peripheral surface does not protrude toward the paper storage unit side. Auxiliary rollers for feeding paper to the paper unit, when there is paper in the paper storage unit or when the auxiliary roller is in a protruding position, and when there is no paper in the paper storage unit and the auxiliary roller is A sheet feeding device, comprising: a sensor that determines whether the position is a protruding position.