JP3350086B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine and a printer.
About the supply KamiSo location supplying plain paper as the recording paper to the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional paper feeding apparatus, a plurality of detachable paper cassettes are mounted in order to automatically supply recording papers of a plurality of sizes, and recording papers of different sizes are separately fed from each paper cassette. It is configured to be paper. The paper feed sections of each paper cassette are independently connected to a transport path consisting of a guide plate and the like, and each transport path is provided with a transport roller and a recording paper detection sensor for detecting jam. ing. When a recording sheet jam occurs in the transport path, the user opens the guide plate or the like of the transport path, and
The recording paper is removed, and the apparatus is returned.

[0003]

In the paper feeder having the above-mentioned structure, the control section detects the occurrence of a jam and displays the position of the jam occurrence to the user based on a signal from the recording sheet detection sensor of each transport path. Display with lamps. The user opens the guide plate or the like of the displayed transport path, removes the recording paper, and returns the apparatus to normal. However, since the transport paths are connected to the respective paper cassettes, the arrangement of the transport paths in the apparatus is complicated, and the work efficiency is not good because the transport paths are arranged in a narrow space. When the length of each conveying path is long, there is a problem that unless the number of recording paper detection sensors to be installed is increased, the position where the jam has occurred cannot be specifically displayed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to display a position of a jammed recording sheet in correspondence with a sheet feeding cassette so that a user can easily perform the operation of removing the recording sheet, or a sheet feeding operation in which the removing operation is automatically performed. It is to provide the equipment.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of paper feed cassettes for accommodating recording paper, and a separate paper feeder for separating and feeding recording paper from the paper feed cassette. A paper section, a first conveyance path for guiding recording paper separated and fed, a second conveyance path formed in the paper feeding cassette section and guiding recording paper from another paper feeding cassette section,
Conveying roller and device provided in the paper cassette unit
A conveying roller pair provided on the main body, and a conveying roller pair for conveying the recording paper in the first and second conveying paths;
A paper feeder comprising a plurality of paper feed cassettes arranged to overlap each other and connected to respective second transport paths, wherein the paper feed apparatus is disposed close to the transport roller pair on an upstream side in a recording paper transport direction ,
A recording paper detection sensor for detecting recording paper, and a display unit for displaying a recording paper jam corresponding to each paper cassette unit are provided in the plurality of paper cassette units, and based on a signal from the recording paper detection sensor. To determine the occurrence of recording paper jam and record
Control to stop the paper conveyance and display a recording paper jam on the display unit, and further drive the separation paper feeding unit.
The recording paper detection sensor detects the recording paper
After a predetermined time from the time when the
A control unit is provided for performing such control.

Further, when the recording paper detection sensor detects a recording paper jam in the conveyance paths of the plurality of paper feed cassettes, the control section causes the recording paper jam to occur in the conveyance direction in the conveyance path. The recording paper jam is displayed only on the display unit corresponding to the paper feed cassette unit on the most downstream side.

[0007]

[0008]

Further, the transport roller is configured to be driven independently of the separation paper feed unit for each transport path of the paper feed cassette unit, and the recording paper is discharged to a discharge position. The control unit is configured to selectively drive a transport roller of the transport path where the recording paper is jammed.

[0010]

According to the above-mentioned means, the recording paper jam is displayed on the display unit in correspondence with the transport path formed in the paper feed cassette unit, the recording paper detection sensor and the display unit, and the signal from the recording paper detection sensor. With the control unit, the user can recognize which paper feed cassette unit is the conveyance path where the recording paper is jammed. Also, the signal from the recording paper detection sensor
Control the separation paper feed unit by the control unit
Signal from the same sensor
The detection and the drive timing of the separation sheet feeding unit can be controlled.

Further, the control section displays the recording paper jam only on the display section of the paper feed cassette section mounted at the most downstream side from the conveyance path where the recording paper is jammed, so that the user can record the jammed recording paper. It is possible to recognize which sheet feeding cassette unit the leading end of is located in the conveyance path.

[0012]

[0013]

Further, by selectively driving only the transport roller without driving the separation paper feed unit by the control unit, the transport roller of the transport path where the recording paper is jammed is driven to move the recording paper to the discharge position. Can be discharged.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 1 is mounted at all mounting positions of the paper feeder.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a paper feed cassette which is detachable from the paper feeder main body, and four sets of the same paper feed cassette are mounted at mounting positions arranged vertically in the main body.

Paper feed cassette 1 for storing recording paper 2 inside
Is provided with a pressure plate 3 for urging the recording paper 2 upward, a slit-shaped conveyance guide hole 4 formed in the main body of the paper feed cassette 1, a separation roller 5, a pressure roller 6, a jam display lamp 7, and the like. I have.

When the paper cassette 1 is mounted, the pickup roller 11 is attached to the recording paper 2 by the separation roller 5.
Is a feed roller 12, and the pressure roller 6 is a transport roller.
13 contact each other. Further, a recording paper detection sensor 14 is arranged at a position close to the transport roller 13.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a main part of the present embodiment.

The recording paper 1 is pressed against the pickup roller 11 by the urging force of the pressure plate 3, and when the pickup roller 11 rotates in the direction of arrow A, several recording papers 2 are separated by a two-dot chain line. Is extruded along the path L1 shown by. The recording paper 2 includes a separation roller 5 and a feed roller 12.
As a result, only the uppermost recording paper 2 is further extruded along the path L1 and reaches a roller pair including the pressure roller 6 and the transport roller 13. Recording paper 1 that reaches the roller pair
Is detected by the recording paper detection sensor 14 by contacting the recording paper detection rod 14a. At this time, the recording paper detection sensor
Reference numeral 14 outputs a detection signal to a control unit (not shown). The recording paper 2 sandwiched between the pressure roller 6 and the transport roller 13 is transported upward, passes through the transport guide hole 4 of the upper paper cassette 1, and is transported further upward by the pressure roller 6 and the transport roller 13. Alternatively, the paper is supplied to an image forming apparatus (not shown) by a pair of conveying rollers 16 after passing through the guide plate 15 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a roller driving mechanism and a control unit according to this embodiment.

The roller driving mechanism is provided independently at each mounting position of the sheet feeding cassette 1, and each is controlled by the control unit 30.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a drive motor, on which a pulley 21a is fixed. Reference numeral 22 denotes a one-way type electromagnetic clutch, which transmits the rotation of the pulley 22b to the rotating shaft 22a when the exciting current is supplied.

The control unit 30 supplies a drive current to the drive motor 21 and supplies a drive current to the electromagnetic clutch 22 in order to feed the recording paper 2 in a predetermined paper feed cassette 1 in response to a paper feed command from the image forming apparatus control unit. The period for supplying the exciting current is controlled. Further, the control unit 30 is controlled by the start timing of the supply of the recording paper 2 and the input timing of the detection signal from the recording paper detection sensor 14.
Judge the occurrence of the jam of the recording paper 2 in the conveyance guide hole 4 and the occurrence position. Control unit 30 that has determined that a jam has occurred
Stops the driving of each roller, outputs a jam detection signal to the jam indicator lamp 7 corresponding to the transport guide hole 4 where the jam has occurred, and turns on the jam indicator lamp 7.
Further, the control unit 30 determines the attachment / detachment state of the paper cassette 1 at the paper cassette mounting position based on the paper cassette detection signal output from the paper cassette detection switch 17.

The drive motor 21 supplied with the drive current rotates the pulley 21a. The pulling force of the pulley 21a is the belt 21b
The rotational force is transmitted to the pulley 13a by the belt 22c, and the rotational force of the pulley 13a rotates the transport roller 13 via the one-way clutch 13b, and moves the transport roller 13 in the direction of arrow A. Rotate to. At this time, when the exciting current is supplied to the electromagnetic clutch 22, the rotational force of the pulley 22b is transmitted to the rotating shaft 22a by the electromagnetic clutch 22 to rotate the feed roller 12. Further, the rotation of the rotating shaft 22a is transmitted to the pickup roller 11 via the belt 12a, and rotates the pickup roller 11. Here, the electromagnetic clutch 22 is of a one-way type, and has a structure in which even when the pulley 22b is rotated in the direction of the arrow A during non-excitation, its rotational force is not transmitted to the rotating shaft 22a. This prevents the recording paper 2 from being transported from the paper feed cassette 1 when the user rotates the transport roller 13 by hand or the like during non-excitation.
The one-way clutch 13b is configured to transmit the rotational force of the pulley 13a to the transport roller 13, but not to transmit the rotational force of the transport roller 13 to the pulley 13a when the transport roller is rotated by a user. ing.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the sheet feeding control of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart thereof.

When a paper feed command is input to the control unit 30, the control unit 30
30 outputs a drive current to rotate the drive motor 21 (S
1). After that, the excitation current is output and the pickup roller 1
1 and the feed roller 12 are rotated (S2). When the recording paper 2 separated and fed by the pickup roller 11 and the feed roller 12 turns on the recording paper detection sensor 14 and outputs a recording paper detection signal (S3), the exciting current is turned off after t1 (second). (S4). At this time, the recording paper 2 is conveyed upward while being sandwiched between the pressure roller 6 and the conveyance roller 13. The control unit 30 performs t2 after the recording paper detection signal is input.
After (seconds), check the ON / OFF state of the recording paper detection signal (S
5) If it is off, it is determined that the conveyance has been completed normally.
(S6) If it is ON, it is determined that a jam has occurred, the drive current to all the drive motors 21 is turned off (S7), and a jam detection signal is output to output a jam detection lamp. 7 is turned on (S8). When the jammed recording paper 2 is removed (S9), paper feeding is started again by a paper feeding command.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing the control when the jammed recording paper is discharged, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart thereof.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of control when a paper jam occurs in the second sheet cassette 1 from the top.

By the paper feed control shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
The conveyance of the recording paper 2 is started from the fourth paper feed cassette 1 from the top (S10). At this time, the drive currents to the respective drive motors 21 are all turned on, and the recording paper 2 in the transport guide hole 4 is transported upward by the transport rollers 13. Control unit 30
Monitors the occurrence of a jam based on the recording paper detection signal from the recording paper detection sensor 14 at each stage (S11). If no jam occurs, the conveyance of the recording paper 2 is completed normally (S12).

If it is determined from the recording paper detection signal from the recording paper detection sensor 14 that a jam has occurred, the control unit 30 selects the jam display lamp 7 to be turned on.
Turn on the recording paper detection sensor 14 corresponding to the first row from the top,
It is judged off (S13), and if it is on, the jam indication lamp is lit on the first sheet feeding cassette 1, and all the driving motors 21 are stopped (S14).
Judgment of ON / OFF of the recording paper detection sensor 14 of the stage
(S15). The control unit 30 sequentially determines ON and OFF of the recording paper detection sensors 14 of the second and third stages, performs the same control as the control for ON and OFF of the first stage, and is ON. The uppermost one of the recording paper detection sensors 14 is determined, the jam indicator lamp 7 of the paper cassette 1 corresponding to the recording paper detection sensor 14 is turned on, and all the drive motors are turned on.
21 is stopped (S15 to S19).

The user removes the paper cassette 1 for which the jam display lamp 7 is lit (S20). Here, it is assumed that the jam indicator lamp 7 in the second stage is lit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a recording paper discharging operation in a state where the second-stage paper feed cassette 1 is removed.

By removing the second-stage paper cassette 1, the leading end of the jammed recording paper 2a protrudes into the mounting position. The control unit 30 turns off the sheet cassette detection signal of the second-stage sheet cassette detection switch 17 (S2
1) After s1 (second), the drive currents to the third and fourth drive motors 21 are turned on (S22). In the state shown in FIG. 8, the drive current to the third and fourth drive motors 21 is turned on, and the third and fourth transfer rollers 13 are rotated. Is discharged to the mounting position of the paper feed cassette 1. After the fourth-stage recording paper detection signal is turned off,
After s2 (second), the drive current to the fourth-stage drive motor 21 is turned off (S23, S24), and then the third-stage recording paper detection signal is turned off. Turn off the drive current (S2
5, S26). The jam recording paper 2a is automatically generated by the above operation.
Is completed to the mounting position (S27).

The control unit 30 controls the jam recording paper 2a.
Without automatically discharging the paper, the user can pull the leading end of the jam recording paper 2a protruding to the mounting position,
The transport roller 13 and the pressure roller 6 are rotated by the jammed recording paper 2a. Since the rotation of the transport roller 13 is not transmitted to the pulley 13a by the one-way clutch 13b shown in FIG. 3, only the transport roller 13 and the pressure roller 6 rotate independently. At this time, the transport rollers 13 and the pressure rollers 6 of all the stages holding the jam recording paper 2a rotate simultaneously and independently.

By providing the one-way clutch 13b, only the transport roller 13 and the pressure roller 6 can be independently rotated, so that the jam recording paper 2a can be removed with a small force.

In the paper feeder having the above-described configuration, when a paper jam occurs, the paper feed cassette 1 with the jam indicator lamp 7 turned on is removed, so that the paper jam 2a can be easily discharged. The jam recording paper 2a can be discharged automatically or by the user's hand. Further, by providing the transport guide hole 4 in the paper feed cassette 1, the configuration of the transport path of the recording paper 2 can be simplified, and the occurrence of a jam can be prevented by a signal from the same recording paper detection sensor 14. By detecting and further controlling the driving of each roller, the number of sensors used can be reduced, so that the cost can be reduced.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a jam occurs across a plurality of paper feed cassettes, the control of the feed path of the paper feed cassette, the recording paper detection sensor, the display, and the control unit is performed. It is possible to recognize which paper cassette unit is the conveyance path where the recording paper is jammed . In addition, the paper cassette that indicates the occurrence of jam
On the other hand, the recording paper is
Has not arrived, and the paper
Since the feed roller pairs are separated from each other, the user can supply the most downstream sheet in the paper feed cassette where the jam has occurred.
The paper cassette can be easily pulled out, and the recording paper can be easily removed. In addition, by controlling the separation paper feed unit by the control unit in accordance with the signal from the recording paper detection sensor, it is possible to detect the recording paper jam and control the separation paper feed unit by the signal from the same sensor. Costs can be reduced by reducing the number of sensors for detecting recording paper. Further, the control unit displays the recording paper jam only on the display unit of the paper feed cassette unit at the most downstream from the conveyance path where the recording paper is jammed, so that the user can recognize the position of the leading end of the recording paper, so that the user can The recording paper can be removed by removing only the paper feed cassette indicating the recording paper jam. Furthermore, the control unit can selectively drive only the transport roller of the paper cassette unit where the recording paper is jammed to discharge the recording paper, so that the control unit automatically transports the recording paper in the transport path in the discharge direction. A sheet feeding device capable of causing the sheet feeding can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a roller driving mechanism and a control unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart illustrating sheet feeding control according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating sheet feeding control according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing control when a jammed recording sheet is discharged according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating control when a jammed recording sheet is discharged according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a discharging operation of a jammed recording sheet according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper feed cassette, 2 ... Recording paper, 4 ... Conveyance guide hole, 5 ... Separation roller, 6 ... Pressure roller, 7 ... Jam indicator lamp, 12 ... Feed roller, 13 ... Conveyance roller, 13b ... One-way clutch, 14 … Recording paper detection sensor, 21… Drive motor, 22… Electromagnetic clutch, 30
... Control unit.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of paper cassettes for accommodating recording paper; a separation paper supply unit for separately feeding recording paper from the paper cassette; and a second paper feeding unit for guiding the separately fed recording paper. 1 a transport path, are formed on the paper feed cassette portion, and a second transport path for guiding the recording sheet from the other sheet cassette portion, before
Conveying rollers and device books provided in the paper cassette unit
A first roller and a second roller which are provided on a body .
And a pair of transport rollers for transporting the recording paper in the transport path.
A paper feeding device connected to a transport path, which is disposed close to the transport roller pair in the upstream side in the recording paper transport direction , and corresponds to a recording paper detection sensor for detecting a recording paper, and each paper feeding cassette unit. And a display section for displaying a recording paper jam is provided in the plurality of paper feed cassette sections, and based on a signal from the recording paper detection sensor, the occurrence of a recording paper jam is determined and the recording paper
Is stopped and the display section is controlled to display a recording paper jam , and further, the separation sheet feeding section is driven.
The recording paper sensor was detected by the recording paper detection sensor
After a predetermined time from the time point, the separation sheet feeding section is stopped.
A sheet feeding device, characterized in that a control unit for controlling the sheet feeding is provided. 2. When the recording paper detection sensor detects a recording paper jam in a conveyance path of the plurality of paper feed cassettes, the control unit causes the conveyance path in which the recording paper is jammed to move in a conveyance direction. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper jam is displayed only on a display unit corresponding to the sheet feeding cassette unit on the most downstream side. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transport roller is configured to be driven independently of the separation paper feed unit for each of the transport paths of the paper feed cassette unit. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a control unit selectively drives a conveying roller of the conveying path where recording paper is jammed.