JP3281059B2 - 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 a paper feeder,
More specifically, the present invention relates to improvement of a sheet feeding device such as an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional paper feeder, for example, a paper feeder of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, a document guided by a paper feed guide plate is conveyed by rotation of a paper feed roller. However, dust such as paper dust adheres to the surface of the paper feed roller, and the dust such as paper dust falls and adheres to the surface of an optical system component such as a mirror of the image forming apparatus, which causes deterioration in image quality. There were many things. This point will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 for an example of a document feeder of a facsimile machine. That is, dust 104 such as paper dust of the original 103 guided and conveyed by the paper feed guide plate 102 easily adheres to the surface of the paper feed roller 101, and the dust 104 becomes the scanner space 105.
The sensor hole 106 which falls into the inside, or serves as an entrance / exit path of detection light of a document detection sensor, etc.
The dust 104 such as paper dust often dropped into the scanner space 105 from the gap 107 between the sheet feed guide plate 2b and the lower portion 102b of the sheet feed guide plate. When the upper cover 109 including the scanner space 105 and the like rotatably connected to the apparatus main body 108 of the facsimile apparatus is opened in the direction of arrow A when setting recording paper, the upper surface of the scanner space 105 The dust 104 such as paper dust moves in the direction of arrow B and falls down and adheres to the mirror 110 of the optical system of the image forming apparatus, causing black streaks during recording and printing.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional paper feeding device, particularly in the paper feeding device of the image forming apparatus, dust such as paper dust that adheres to the surface of the paper feeding roller and spills out, or the paper feeding guide plate has Dust such as paper dust spilling out of the sensor holes and gaps between the paper feed guide plates collects in a scanner space or the like, and may be applied to a mirror of an optical system of the image forming apparatus when the upper cover of the image forming apparatus is operated. There is a problem that the image quality may be deteriorated by moving toward the camera.

[0004]

The object of the present invention is to solve such a problem. That is, the present invention rubs off dust such as paper dust adhered to the surface of the sheet feeding roller in the sheet feeding device, removes dust such as paper dust spilling out from holes or gaps in the guide plate, and removes the surface of the sheet feeding roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeder such as an image forming apparatus for cleaning the sheet.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a paper feeder for feeding and transporting an original by a paper feed roller. A rubbing member that slides on the surface of the roller and removes dust adhered to the surface of the paper feeding roller is disposed, and a hole is provided in a paper feeding guide plate that constitutes the document feeding and conveying path in a positional relationship corresponding to the rubbing member. The cleaning agent is dropped from the hole, an elastic member for pressing the rubbing member against the surface of the paper feed roller is provided, and the rubbing member is supported by a paper feeder body by a mounting bracket. The position of the rubbing member in the paper feeding direction can be adjusted by an adjusting mechanism provided on the bracket.

[0006]

In the paper feeder constructed as described above, the lower surface of the paper feed roller is removed by a rubbing member having elastic force (or a rubbing member provided on the elastic member) with a constant force. By simply providing a member, it is possible to efficiently remove dust such as paper dust adhering to the surface of the paper feed roller in the paper feed device without scraping the surface of the paper feed roller or applying a large load to the rotation of the paper feed roller. To remove any dust such as paper dust that spills out of holes or gaps in the paper feeder without dropping it into the scanner space, and also cleans oil and dirt on the surface of the paper feed rollers in the paper feeder. As a result, it is possible to provide a sheet feeding device such as an image forming apparatus with improved image quality.

[0007]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration near a paper feed roller in a paper feed device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a paper feed roller 1 is a document (not shown) on a paper feed guide plate 2 of the paper feed device. And is conveyed to the original reading section and fed. A rubbing member 3 having elastic force is arranged to rub the lower surface of the paper feed roller 1 with a constant force. The rubbing member 3 having elasticity is attached to the upper surface of a mounting bracket 4 extending from the apparatus main body, and the rubbing member 3 and the mounting bracket 4 constitute dust removing means 5. Therefore, the rubbing member 3 having an elastic force can be made of any material as long as it can slidably contact the surface of the paper feed roller 1 and remove dust such as paper dust adhering thereto without falling. A foam member is appropriate in consideration of surface wear.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration in the vicinity of the paper feed roller in the paper feed device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the rubbing member 7 is provided via an elastic member 6 having an elastic force.
It is provided on the upper surface of the mounting bracket 4. Elastic member 6
Any material may be used as long as the rubbing member 7 can be pressed toward the lower surface of the paper feed roller 1 with a certain force. Examples of the material of the elastic member 6 include PET (polyester). The rubbing member 7 that comes into sliding contact with the lower surface of the feed roller 1 is made of any material as long as it has a certain degree of flexibility when rubbing the surface of the feed roller 1 without scraping the surface of the feed roller 1. But it is good. An example is a sponge. By using the elastic member 6 having an elastic force in this manner, even if the thickness of the rubbing member 7 is not uniform, the feeding roller 1 can be used.
Can be pressed against the lower surface of the paper feed roller 1 with a constant force, so that dust such as paper dust adhered to the surface of the paper feed roller 1 can be scraped off without applying a large load to the rotation of the paper feed roller 1. Can be.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a main part of an image forming apparatus having a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a rubbing member 3 (or rubbing member 7) having elasticity and an elastic member are shown. The member 6 extends from the mounting bracket 4 above the optical system component as shown in the figure. Garbage removal means 5
(3, 4, 6, 7) are the lens blocks 14 on the apparatus body side
It is fixed to. Therefore, the rubbing member 3 having elastic force
The rubbing member 7 is pressed against the lower surface of the paper feed roller 1 with a constant force, and scrapes dust such as paper dust adhered to the surface of the paper feed roller 1. Further, holes 9 for a document detection sensor and the like are provided.
Even if dust such as paper dust falls from the gap 11 between the paper feed guide plate entrance / lower 2a and the paper feed guide plate lower 2b, the dust is removed without dropping into the scanner space 12 provided with optical components. ing. Further, the rubbing member 3 having elasticity
The double-sided tape 13 may be attached to the extended portion of the (or rubbing member 7) and the elastic member 6, or the tip of the extended portion may be bent upward to stop dust such as paper dust. Also,
A rubbing member 3 (or a rubbing member 7) having an elastic force to press and rub the surface of the paper feed roller 1 at the entrance 2a of the paper feed guide plate.
The cleaning efficiency for the surface of the sheet feeding roller 1 may be improved by providing a hole 9 at a position corresponding to the above, and dropping a cleaning agent 10 such as alcohol onto the rubbing member 3 from the hole 9. .

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a mounting structure of the dust removing means, and FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4. A guide 15 is provided on a mounting part 8 on the main body side for mounting and fixing the dust removing means 5. In addition, a screw hole 16 is provided so that the dust removing means 5 inserted into the guide 15 can be fixed. A scale 18 is provided beside the long hole 17 provided in the mounting bracket 4 of the dust removing means 5. By loosening the fixing screw 19 for attaching and fixing the dust removing means 5 to the attachment part 8, the mounting bracket 4 of the dust removing means 5 slides in the direction of arrow C in the paper feeding direction to adjust the attaching position. Can be. The scale 18 provides a clue for this adjustment. Here, mounting bracket 4, screw hole 16, slot 1
7. The fixing screw 19 constitutes an adjusting mechanism.

[0011]

According to the present invention, as described above, the rubbing member having elastic force (or the rubbing member provided on the elastic member) is fixed to the lower surface of the paper feed roller. Just providing a dust removal member so that it slides while being pressed by force, removes dust such as paper dust adhering to the surface of the paper feed roller in the paper feeder, Efficiently rubs and removes without applying a large load to the rotation of the paper feeder, and further removes dust such as paper dust spilling out of holes and gaps in the paper feeder without falling into the scanner space. Since the oil and dirt on the surface of the paper feed roller can be cleaned, a paper feed device such as an image forming apparatus with improved image quality can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration near a paper feed roller in a paper feed device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another configuration near a sheet feeding roller in the sheet feeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a main configuration of an image forming apparatus having a sheet feeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an attachment structure of dust removing means.

FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view of a main part of a conventional facsimile machine.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the state change of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... paper feed roller, 2 ... paper feed guide plate, 2a ... paper feed guide plate entrance / bottom, 2b ... lower paper feed guide plate, 3 ...
Rubbing member having elasticity 4 mounting bracket
5: dust removal means, 6: elastic member, 7: rubbing member, 8: mounting part, 9: hole, 10: cleaning agent, 11: gap, 12 ..Scanner space, 1
3 Double-sided tape 14 Lens block 15
・ Guide, 16 ・ ・ ・ Screw hole, 17 ・ ・ ・ Long hole, 18 ・ ・ ・
Scale, 19: Fixing screw, 101: Feed roller, 1
02: paper feed guide plate, 102a: paper feed guide plate entrance / bottom, 102b: paper feed guide plate below, 103: original,
104: dust (paper powder, etc.), 105: scanner space, 106: sensor hole, 107: gap, 108
... the apparatus main body, 109 ... top cover, 110 ... mirror.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device for feeding and feeding a document by contacting the lower surface of the document with the sheet feeding roller, wherein the sheet feeding roller slides in contact with the surface of the sheet feeding roller below the document feeding and feeding path. the rubbing member to remove the dust attached to the surface arranged before
Rub the paper feed guide plate that constitutes the original
A hole is provided in the positional relationship corresponding to the member, and cleaning is performed from the hole.
A sheet feeding device characterized in that the agent is dropped . 2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member for pressing the rubbing member against the surface of the paper feeding roller. Wherein said rubbing member is supported by the sheet feeding apparatus main body by a mounting bracket, according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustable paper feed direction position of the rubbing member by adjusting mechanism provided on the bracket Or the sheet feeding device according to 2.