JP3112526B2 - 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 image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a laser printer, etc., which has two paper feeding paths, an automatic paper feeding path from a cassette and a manual paper feeding path by manual feeding. It relates to a paper feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a paper feeder having two types of paper feed paths, an automatic paper feed path for feeding paper from a cassette and a manual feed path for feeding paper manually, for example, A structure as shown in FIG. 5 is implemented. That is, by disposing two opposing guide plates 2 and 3 in front of the pair of registration rollers 1, automatic feeding of recording paper (not shown) from a cassette (not shown) is performed. A paper path 4 is formed. A paper feed roller 6 attached to a paper feed roller shaft 5 is disposed at an entrance of the automatic paper feed path 4, and paper is fed to an outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 6. A separating member 7 that separates the recording paper one by one is abutted.
On the other hand, two opposing guide plates 8 and 9 are further provided in front of the registration roller 1, and a manual paper feed path 10 through which recording paper manually fed by the guide plates 8 and 9 is fed. Is formed. This manual feed path 10
A manual feed roller 12 attached to the manual feed roller shaft 11 and a manual feed roller 14 attached to the manual feed roller shaft 13 are disposed on the near side with their outer peripheral surfaces in contact with each other.

In such a configuration, recording paper from a cassette is fed through an automatic paper feed path 4, and after the leading end of the recording paper contacts the registration roller 1, the registration paper is synchronized with an internal mechanism. 1 starts rotating, and the recording paper is carried in. Further, the manually fed recording paper is fed in the manual paper feed path 10 and, similarly to the case of feeding from the cassette, is carried in by the registration roller 1 which starts rotating in synchronization with the internal mechanism. .

[0004]

In a conventional paper feeder having two systems of paper feed paths 4 and 10, an automatic paper feed path 4 and a manual paper feed path 10, two directions with respect to the registration roller 1 are provided. Since the paper feed paths 4 and 10 are formed independently from each other, a wide space must be secured in order to form these paper feed paths 4 and 10.

Further, since the two paper feed paths 4 and 10 join before the registration roller 1, the space at the junction is reduced, and the deflection of the recording paper that occurs before the registration roller 1 starts rotating is reduced. There is also a problem that it is difficult to absorb and the recording paper is damaged.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic paper feed path for feeding recording paper from a cassette to a registration roller, and a manual paper feeding for feeding manually fed recording paper. In a sheet feeding device having a path, a rotating body for manual sheet feeding is disposed at a position immediately before the registration roller on one of the opposing guide plates forming the automatic sheet feeding path. Then, outer peripheral portions of the rotating body and the registration roller alternately cross each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a manual feed path is formed, and a guide plate facing the rotating body is provided, and recording is performed on a surface of the guide plate facing the rotating body. A plurality of ribs are formed along the paper feeding direction, and an elastic member that guides the recording paper fed manually toward the registration roller is attached, and the height of the elastic member at the attachment portion to the guide plate is set. The height was lower than the height of the rib.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the rotating body for manual paper feeding also serves as a part of the guide plate forming the automatic paper feeding path, the automatic paper feeding path and the manual paper feeding path are separated. The space required for formation is substantially the same as adding a rotating body to the automatic paper feed path, and the automatic paper feed path and the manual paper feed path can be formed in a narrow space. . In addition, since the outer peripheral portions of the rotating body and the registration roller intersect alternately, the space between the rotating body and the registration roller can be further reduced by approaching the center of rotation of the rotating body and the registration roller. Is prevented from entering between the rotating body and the registration roller.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the height of the elastic member at the mounting portion to the guide plate is lower than the height of the rib, the recording paper fed manually along the rib after the manual insertion is placed on the elastic member. The transition to is performed smoothly.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a pair of registration rollers 15 is mounted on a registration roller shaft 16, and the registration rollers 15 are provided so as to rotate synchronously with a photosensitive member (not shown). A plurality of registration rollers 15 are attached to each registration roller shaft 16 at predetermined intervals as shown in FIG. A paper feed roller 18 attached to a paper feed roller shaft 17 is provided below the registration roller 15, and the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 18 is fed from a cassette (not shown). A separation unit 19 that separates recording paper (not shown) one by one is abutted. Two opposing guide plates 20 and 21 are provided between the paper feed roller 18 and the registration roller 15, and the two guide plates 20 and 21 separate the registration roller from the cassette. An automatic paper feed path 22 for feeding recording paper to the paper 15 is formed.

A portion of one of the guide plates 20, 21 near the registration roller 15 is cut out, and a manual feed path 23 for feeding the manually inserted recording paper is formed at the cutout position. A manual roller 24, which is a rotating body, is rotatably provided while being held by a manual roller shaft 25. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of manual rollers 24 are held on the manual roller shaft 25 at predetermined intervals. Below the manual feed roller 24, a guide plate 26 that is connected to the guide plate 21 and forms the manual feed path 23 by being opposed to the manual feed roller 24 is provided. Also,
The manual feed roller shaft 2 penetrates the guide plate 26 and
7, a manual feed roller 28 is provided which is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the manual feed roller 24. The manual feed roller 24 arranged in this way also serves as a member for configuring the automatic paper feed path 22 in addition to forming the manual feed path 23.

A plurality of ribs 29 are formed on the surface of the guide plate 26 facing the manual feed roller 24 along the recording paper feeding direction. One ends of a plurality of elastic members 30 for guiding toward the registration roller 15 are positioned and affixed between the adjacent ribs 29. The portion where the elastic member 30 is attached to the guide plate 26 is lower than the height of the rib 29.

Next, the manual feed roller 24 and one of the registration rollers 15 are arranged such that their outer peripheral portions alternately cross each other. Further, the curved surface between the manual feed roller 24 and the registration roller 15 and the space immediately before the registration roller 15 surrounded by the guide plate 20 have a flexure capable of bending the leading end side of the fed recording paper. The unit 31 is provided.

In such a configuration, when the paper is fed from the cassette, the recording paper separated one by one by the separating member 19 is conveyed along the guide plate 21, and the recording paper is further separated. Is guided by the outer peripheral surface of the manual feed roller 24 and the elastic member 30 and rises in the automatic paper feed path 22. The leading end of the recording paper is the stationary registration roller 1.
5 and stops, and the excess feed amount is absorbed by bending at the bending portion 31. Then, from this state, the recording paper is fed into the apparatus when the registration roller 15 starts rotating in synchronization with an internal mechanism such as a photoconductor. Here, since the manual feed roller 24 and the registration roller 15 alternately cross each other at the outer peripheral portion, the leading end of the fed recording paper is prevented from entering between the manual feed roller 24 and the registration roller 15. Is done.

When paper is fed manually, the fed recording paper is conveyed along a guide plate 26, further conveyed on a rib 29, and a resilient member 30 and a manual roller 24. And the manual paper feed path 2
Go up in 3. Then, similarly to the case of the recording paper fed from the cassette, the recording paper fed manually is stopped by colliding with the registration roller 15 having a stationary end, and the recording paper is bent at the bending portion 31. Yields
The sheet is fed into the apparatus by the registration roller 15 which has started to rotate. Here, since the portion where the elastic member 30 is attached to the guide plate 26 is lower than the height of the rib 29, the recording paper conveyed on the rib 29 is smoothly transferred onto the elastic member 30, and the elasticity is improved. It is possible to prevent the recording paper from being caught on the portion where the member 30 is attached to the guide plate 26, thereby preventing the recording paper from being damaged. In addition, since the manual feed roller 24 and the registration roller 15 alternately cross each other at the outer peripheral portion, the leading end of the recording paper fed manually may also enter between the manual feed roller 24 and the registration roller 15. Is prevented.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the automatic paper feed path for feeding the recording paper from the cassette to the registration roller and the manual paper feeding for feeding the manually fed recording paper are provided. In the sheet feeding device having a path, a rotating body for manual sheet feeding is disposed at a position immediately before the registration roller of one of the opposing guide plates forming the automatic sheet feeding path. However, since this rotating body also serves as a part of the guide plate forming the automatic paper feed path, the space required for forming the automatic paper feed path and the manual paper feed path is substantially automatic. Only a rotator is added to the paper feed path. Therefore, the automatic paper feed path and the manual paper feed path can be formed in a small space, and the outer peripheral portion between the rotator and the registration roller can be formed. Cross each other alternately Therefore, the space between the rotating body and the registration roller can be further reduced by bringing the rotation center of the rotating body and the registration roller close to each other, and the fed recording paper can be prevented from entering between the rotating body and the registration roller. According to the second aspect of the present invention, a manual feed path is formed, and a guide plate facing the rotating body is provided, and a surface of the guide plate facing the rotating body is arranged along the recording paper feeding direction. By forming a plurality of ribs and attaching an elastic member that guides the recording paper fed manually to the registration roller, the height of the elastic member at the mounting portion to the guide plate is made lower than the height of the rib. ,
The recording paper fed along the ribs after the manual feeding is smoothly transferred onto the elastic member, and the recording paper is prevented from being damaged during the transfer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a guide plate on which a rib is formed and an elastic member is attached.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a manual feed roller attached to a manual feed roller shaft.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a registration roller attached to a registration roller shaft.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an example of the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Registration Roller 20 Guide Plate 21 Guide Plate 22 Automatic Feeding Path 23 Manual Feeding Path 24 Rotating Body 26 Guide Plate 29 Rib 30 Elastic Member

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A paper feeding device having an automatic paper feeding path for feeding recording paper from a cassette to a registration roller and a manual paper feeding path for feeding manually fed recording paper, A rotating body for manual paper feeding is disposed at a position just before the registration roller on one of the opposed guide plates forming a sheet feeding path, and an outer periphery of the rotating body and the registration roller is provided. A paper feeder characterized by crossing alternate members. 2. A manual feed path is formed, and a guide plate facing the rotating body is provided, and a plurality of ribs are formed on a surface of the guide plate facing the rotating body along a recording paper feeding direction. And an elastic member that guides the recording paper fed by manual feed toward the registration roller is attached, and the height of the elastic member at the attachment portion to the guide plate is set lower than the height of the rib. The paper feeding device according to claim 1.