JP2794884B2 - Manual feeder for copier - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a tray for receiving paper, and a manual paper feed mechanism for feeding out the paper placed on the tray. In addition, the present invention relates to a manual paper feeder of a copying machine capable of feeding paper.

2. Description of the Related Art It has a tray for receiving paper and a manual paper feed mechanism for feeding out the paper placed on the tray. Apart from the paper tray on the copier main body side, a special-size paper postcard or the like, 2. Description of the Related Art A manual paper feeder of a copying machine capable of feeding paper as a supplement when paper is insufficient in a main tray is known.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a copying machine having the manual sheet feeding device 1. As shown in FIG. In the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 2 is visualized by a toner of a developing device 3, and this toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer unit 4. The sheet is sent to the fixing device 7, is fixed by the fixing device 7, and is discharged to the output tray 8.

In this copying machine, paper is sent out from a tray 9 in the main body, and is sent to a transfer device 4 by a conveying roller 11 as a conveying device through a feeding passage 10 in the main body. In addition,
Before reaching the transfer device 4, the sheet is aligned by the alignment roller 12 so that the image on the photosensitive drum 2 is transferred to an appropriate position on the sheet. Also, depending on your choice,
Special paper such as a postcard is fed from the manual paper feeder 1 and sent to the transfer device 4.

A typical example of the conventional manual paper feeder 1 is shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, in the conventional manual paper feeder, each component is independently attached to the copying machine main body. That is, the manual feed tray 13 and the rollers 14 for feeding out the uppermost sheet on the tray 13 one by one.
And a paper feed roller 15 for further feeding the fed paper to the transfer device side, and upper and lower chutes 16 and 17 forming a paper feed path for the fed paper are separately mounted. Had been. The other shoots 18 and 19 are
It forms a part of a paper conveyance path from the tray on the main body side.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As described above, since each component of the manual paper feeder is independently mounted, there are some disadvantages. In the first type, the setting of the contact pressure in the sheet separating section of the sheet feeding roller for feeding the sheet one sheet at a time varies from machine to machine, and depending on the machine, frequent sheet separation errors may occur. Adjusting the pressure was not easy either.

A second disadvantage is that the gap between the upper and lower chutes, ie, the width of the paper feed path, and the gap, ie, the width of another chute pair that forms the transport path for the paper from the main tray, also vary, and The running resistance is increased, and paper jams, that is, jams in the paper feeding passage and the conveyance passage are likely to occur.

Then, when the sheet passing through the chute rushes into the press-contact portion between the transport roller pairs, that is, the nip, the rush position is likely to shift without being in a correct posture,
Jam also occurred in this part.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional manual paper feeder, to be able to easily attach and detach the paper, eliminate the separation error of the paper even after the paper is loaded, and to smoothly feed the paper in the paper feed passage. The present invention is to provide a manual paper feeder of a copying machine that can secure the paper posture during feeding and maintain the paper posture properly.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the object, according to the present invention, a tray for receiving paper, a manual paper feed mechanism for feeding paper loaded on the tray, and a paper fed by the paper feed mechanism And a transport path that forms a part of a feed path that feeds the paper sent from the paper tray provided in the main body of the copying machine. The unit is configured as a sheet feeding device, and the end of the unit on the sheet sending side is detachably attached to a support formed in the sheet feeding passage of the copying machine main body, and when viewed in the sheet feeding direction of the unit. A manual paper feeder for a copying machine is provided, wherein a rear side portion is configured to be detachably attached to the frame on the main body side.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the entire manual paper feeder configured in the unit according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, an upper chute (a chute shown in FIG. 2) forming a paper feed passage is used. It should be understood that 16) is only partially shown in imaginary lines for the sake of illustration, and most of it is omitted. That is, the device shown in FIG.
An upper chute similar to the upper chute 16 in the figure is provided in the manual sheet feeder according to the present invention.

In FIG. 3, a sheet feeding device 20 according to the present invention includes a tray 21 for receiving sheets, and a sheet 22 placed on the tray.
Paper feed mechanism 23 for feeding paper, a paper feed path 25 for passing the paper fed by the paper feed mechanism 23 to a pair of rollers 24 as a conveying device of the copying machine, and a paper tray provided in the copying machine main body. The conveyance path 26 that forms a part of the feeding path for feeding the fed sheet is configured as a unitary sheet feeding device. The paper feed passage 25 is composed of an upper chute 27 (partially shown by imaginary lines) and a lower chute 28, and the transport passage 26 is composed of an upper chute 29 and a lower chute. 30. Further, when the lower chute 28 constituting the paper feed passage 25 and the upper chute 29 constituting the transport passage 26 are formed as an integral member as shown in the figure, material and space can be saved.

A hook 34 is provided at an end 33 on the sheet feed side of a pair of side plates 32 (only the right side is shown in FIG. 3 for convenience of description) forming both side surfaces of the unitized manual sheet feeder 20. It is formed so as to be detachably attached to a shaft 35 as a support formed in a paper feeding passage on the copying machine main body side. By the combination of the hook and the shaft, the paper feed passage 25 and the transport passage 26 of the apparatus 20 are formed.
Are properly positioned in the passage on the copying machine main body side. Further, a portion of the side plate 32 on the rear side as viewed in the sheet feeding direction of the manual sheet feeder unit is formed on a bracket 36, and the bracket 36 is screwed to a frame (not shown) of the copying machine body. Have been.

As described above, the unitary manual paper feeder 20 according to the present invention hooks the shaft 35 with respect to the copying machine main body.
By inserting it so as to engage with it, it can be temporarily fixed in a properly positioned state, and if it is permanently fixed by the bracket 36, it can be easily and properly attached. In particular, by devising the attachment by the hook 34 and the bracket 36, the manual sheet feeder unit can be easily inserted and extracted in a substantially horizontal state, and the accuracy of the attachment position is compensated.

Next, the paper feed mechanism 23 for the paper 22 on the tray will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the paper feed mechanism 23 feeds out the papers one by one to the feed path 35, and a feed roller 38 which comes into contact with the upper surface of the papers and feeds out the papers. It includes a paper feed roller 39 and a retard member 40 that abuts against the paper feed roller and provides a paper feed resistance so that two or more sheets are not fed. The retard member 40 is urged by a spring 41 to apply a constant contact pressure, that is, a retard pressure, to the paper feed roller 39.

In the paper feed mechanism 23, the rollers 38 and 39 are driven by a drive shaft 43 connected to an electromagnetic clutch 42 which receives a driving force transmitted from a driving source such as a motor (not shown). 43 is connected to the paper feed roller 39. A gear 44 is connected to the drive shaft 43.
44 is engaged with the intermediate gear 45, and furthermore, the feed roller 38
And a gear 47 connected to the rotating shaft 46.

In the present invention, the drive shaft 43 is a unitized device.
It is cantilevered by 20 support brackets 48 to save space. Also, intermediate gear 45
, A torque limiter 49 is provided as a slip clutch, and the gear 45 does not rotate unless the torque from the gear 44 exceeds a predetermined value. Further, the rotation shaft 46 of the feed roller 38 is supported by a pair of support arms 50, 50 so as to be pivotable with respect to the drive shaft 43 of the paper feed roller 39. The support arm 50 is provided with a coil spring 51 that raises the delivery roller 38 so that the delivery roller 38 does not come into contact with the sheet when the drive shaft 43 is not biased.

Due to the combination of the spring 51 and the torque limiter 49, the rotation from the drive shaft 43 does not rotate the gear 45 unless the torque in the gear 44 exceeds a predetermined value, and the torque transmitted to the gear 44 is supported. The arm 50 is rotated about the drive shaft 43, whereby the delivery roller 38 descends and comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet. After the contact surface, when the drive shaft 43 further rotates, the torque exceeds a predetermined value, the gear 45 rotates, and the rotation is transmitted to the rotation shaft 46 via the gear 47 to rotate the feed roller 38 to feed the paper. .

When the rotation of the drive shaft 43 that rotates the paper feed roller 39 stops, the rotation of the feed roller 38 naturally stops, and the torque that has pivoted the support arm 50 disappears. Then, the support arm 50 is returned so that the feed roller 38 is separated from the sheet surface. Further, a one-way clutch is provided between the paper feed roller 39 and the drive shaft 43, so that when the support arm 50 returns, even if the gear 44 rotates in the reverse direction, the paper feed roller 39 rotates in the reverse direction. Without stopping.

With the above-described configuration of the paper feeding mechanism, in the related art, the operation was performed by turning on / off the solenoid. However, the operation can be performed without providing a special driving source such as a solenoid. Of course, space can be saved. In addition, the pressing force of the feed roller 38 against the paper can be set by selecting the torque value of the torque limiter 49, which not only eliminates the hassle of adjustment, but also significantly reduces paper misfeeds such as jams. I do.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a rotation shaft 46 of the delivery roller 38 and an extension shaft 53 extending on the opposite side of the roller 38.
Are respectively provided with sheet leading end stoppers 54 and 54 for positioning the leading end of the sheet placed on the tray 21. The stack of sheets 22 can be properly positioned on the tray 21 by the sheet stopper. A detection member 56 is provided on the extension shaft 53 of the feed roller 38 to detect that the sheet 22 is placed in a state of contact with the stopper 54.
Is attached, and corresponding to this detecting member 56, the device
A photo sensor 57 is provided on the side of the frame 20 (see FIG. 4, FIG. 3 omits the photo sensor for convenience of explanation). The detecting member 56 utilizes the fact that the shaft 53 rotates when the leading end of the sheet abuts against the stopper 54.
The portion of the detection member 56 is detected by the photo sensor 57.

The structure of the stopper 54 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The stopper 54 has a stopper member 59 rotatably supported by the shaft 46 (or the shaft 53) of the feed roller 38 and having a sheet contact portion formed at a lower end thereof. An engaging portion 62 is provided which engages with a hook 61 pivotally attached to the support member 60 of the device 20, and the pivoting is prevented when the hook is engaged with the hook. As shown in FIG. 8, the hook 61 is formed with a projection 64 so that the pivoting of the hook 61 with respect to the pivot hole 63 and the support member 60 is restricted. Therefore, the stopper member 62
The lower end portion stops the leading edge of the sheet when the sheet is placed. When the paper is fed, as described above, the feed roller 38 descends and the engaging portion 62 is disengaged from the hook 61, and is rotated so as not to obstruct the passage of the paper as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Can move. When the feeding roller 38 is lifted after the feeding of the paper is completed, the hook 61 is configured to be pivotable and not to hang down.
62 automatically engages the hook 61 to prevent the stopper member 59 from pivoting again. With this configuration, automatic opening and closing of the stopper can be achieved without the need for a driving unit such as a solenoid.

The paper fed by the feed roller 38 is further fed by the feed roller 39. As described above, the retard member 40 is in contact with the paper feed roller 39 by the spring 41 (see FIG. 6). This paper feed roller 39
When two or more sheets of paper sent by the feed roller 38 are fed, that is, double feed occurs due to the combination of the retard member 40 and the retard member 40, the feed roller 39 feeds only the upper sheet, and the retard member moves downward. The above-mentioned double feeding is prevented by giving a frictional resistance to keep the paper there.

In this sheet feeding, the sheets fed by the gears 44, 45 and 47 must not be jammed. Therefore, the ninth
It is preferable to attach a cover as shown in the figure. The cover 65 is a substantially U-shaped member viewed from the side where a hole 66 slightly larger than the shaft diameter is formed so as not to hinder the rotation of the rotation shaft 46 of the delivery roller 38. Further, it is preferable that a thin flexible member 67 be provided up to the chute 28 in order to smoothly feed the paper.

Further, in the manual sheet feeding device 20 according to the present invention, the tray 21 on which sheets are placed is also devised. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the tray 21 is provided with a reference surface 69 which abuts one side of the sheet 22 to determine the placement position. This reference surface 69 has a constant height, as is apparent in FIG. In the present invention, the reference surface 69
Artificial turf with buds skewed toward the bottom of the tray
70 is provided with a small area. By this artificial turf 70, the running performance of the paper placed on the tray 21 is improved, and the accommodation capacity of the paper is also improved.

It is well known that, when the stack of sheets 22 is inserted and placed in the tray 21, the corner portion on one side of the sheet stack is easily curled, so that the portion is easily lifted. If the sheet is sent out by the feed roller 38 in such a floating state, the sheet will get over the positioning reference plane, and the sheet will be fed obliquely, causing a jam. In the present invention, in order to cope with this tendency, an artificial turf 70 in which the direction of the bud is inclined toward the tray bottom surface is provided on the reference surface 69 that determines the placement position. Thereby, the rise due to the curl is suppressed by the lawn. In particular, if the position of the artificial turf 70 is provided on the reference surface 69 on the downstream side as viewed from the sheet insertion signal as shown in the figure, the floating of the sheet can be suppressed most appropriately. Therefore, the oblique feeding of the sheet can be prevented, so that the running performance of the sheet is improved, and the floating is prevented, so that the sheet is reliably placed on the tray, and a large number of sheets can be stored.

In addition, as described above, for placing paper on the tray,
A reference surface 69 is provided on one side. Thereby, not only standard size paper but also various sizes of paper such as postcards and envelopes can be placed. Further, a photo sensor 57 and the like as means for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet are also provided on the reference surface side,
It is possible to detect sheets having different widths.

 Next, a series of operations will be described.

When about 50 sheets 22 in a stack are inserted into the tray 21 along the reference surface 69 until they come into contact with the stopper 54, the detecting member 56 acts on the photo sensor 57 to excite the electromagnetic clutch 42. As a result, rotation from a drive source such as a motor is sent to the drive shaft 43 to rotate the paper feed roller 39 and rotate the support arm 50 by the action of the torque limiter 49 to bring the feed roller 38 into contact with the upper surface of the paper. Is done. As a result, the stopper 54 is opened, and the rotation of the drive shaft 54 continues, so that the feed roller 38 starts to rotate and the paper 22 is fed to the paper feed roller 29.
The sheets are sent one by one to the transfer device of the copying machine.

This operation is sequentially repeated, and when the paper is no longer on the tray, the photo sensor detects it and the electromagnetic clutch is de-energized, the rotation of the drive shaft is stopped, and the feeding roller
38 also leaves the paper.

According to the manual paper feeder of the present invention, a tray for receiving paper, a manual paper feed mechanism for feeding out the paper placed on the tray, and a paper fed by the paper feed mechanism,
A paper feed unit that integrates a paper feed path that passes to a transport device of a copier and a transport path that forms part of a feed path that feeds paper fed from a paper tray provided in the main body of the copier. An end of the unit on the paper feed side is detachably attached to a support formed in a paper feed passage of the copying machine main body, and the unit is located rearward in the paper feed direction of the unit. Since the side portions are configured to be removably attached to the frame on the main body side, the setting of the contact pressure in the paper separating portion of the paper feed roller for feeding paper one by one does not vary from machine to machine, Frequent occurrence of paper separation errors can be prevented, and the contact pressure can be easily adjusted.

In addition, the gap between the upper and lower chutes, that is, the width of the paper feed path, and the gap, that is, the width of another chute pair that forms the transport path for the paper from the main tray, can be kept constant. Can be kept small, and jamming, that is, jamming in the sheet feeding passage and the conveyance passage can be prevented.

Then, when the sheet that has passed through the chute enters the press-contact portion between the conveying roller pairs, that is, the nip, it can be in a correct posture, the entry position does not shift, and jamming at this portion can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a copying machine having a conventional manual paper feeder, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the conventional manual paper feeder, and FIG. Show
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a manual sheet feeder according to the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the manual sheet feeder according to the present invention.
4 is a sectional view taken along line VV, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is a detailed side view of a stopper portion, FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a gear cover,
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the tray, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an artificial turf portion. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Copying machine 2... Photosensitive drum 3... Developing device 4... Transferring device 9. Manual feed tray 14 Feed roller 15 Feed roller 16 Upper chute 17 Lower chute 18, 19 Chute for paper transport passage 20 Manual feeder 21 of the present invention Tray, 22… Paper 23… Paper feed mechanism, 25… Feed path 26… Transport path, 27… Upper chute 28… Lower chute, 29… Upper chute 30… Lower chute, 32 ...... Side plate 33 ...... End of paper feeding side 34 ...... Hook for locking 35 ...... Shaft of copying machine main body 36 ...... Bracket, 38 ...... Sending roller 39 ...... Sending roller, 40 ...... Retard member 41: Spring, 42: Electromagnetic clutch 43: Drive shaft, 47: Rotating shaft 49: Torque limiter 50: Support arm, 54 Paper stopper 56 Detection member 57 Photosensor 59 Stopper member 60 Support member 61 Hook 62 Engagement part 65 Gear cover 69 Mounting position reference plane 70 …… Artificial turf

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-51232 (JP, A) JP-A-63-97541 (JP, A) JP-A-3-23127 (JP, U) JP-A-61-127 41150 (JP, U) Actually open 1987-133552 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65H 1/00-1/30 B65H 3/00-3/68

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A tray for receiving paper, a manual paper feed mechanism for feeding the paper placed on the tray, a paper feed path for passing the paper fed by the paper feed mechanism to a transport device of a copying machine, And a transport path that forms a part of a feed path that feeds the paper fed from a paper tray provided in the main body of the apparatus is configured as a unitary sheet feeder, and an end of the unit on a paper feed side is provided. The unit is detachably attached to a support portion formed in a sheet feeding passage for the copying machine body, and a rear side portion of the unit in the sheet feeding direction is detachably attached to a frame on the body side. And a manual paper feeder for a copying machine.