JP3359237B2 - Sheet material feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding apparatus for separating and feeding a sheet material from a plurality of stacked sheets of paper or the like, and is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine. The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus, for example, a printer is loaded with a plurality of sheet materials for feeding sheet materials such as paper, and only one of the loaded plurality of sheet materials is loaded. An automatic sheet feeder (ASF) or the like is provided as a sheet material feeding device for separating and feeding.

In this automatic sheet feeder, a feeding roller (pickup roller) or a feeding roller for feeding while applying a frictional force to an uppermost or lowermost sheet material among a plurality of stacked sheet materials. A belt is provided, and a bank or separation claw for separating only one sheet is provided so that another sheet material is not fed along with feeding of this sheet material, A pad having a high coefficient of friction, that is, a so-called separation pad, is provided at a position facing the feed roller so that another sheet material bundle does not move.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the friction surface of the feeding roller or the feeding belt is deteriorated or hardened due to long-term use or the like (the friction coefficient is reduced). The frictional force was reduced due to the decrease, and the sheet material could not be fed properly.

[0005] In addition, paper powder and dust of the sheet material adhere to the friction surface, so that the frictional force is reduced and the sheet material cannot be properly fed. .

[0006] In order to eliminate the sheet conveyance failure due to these causes, the feed roller or the feed belt is taken out from the inside of the apparatus for cleaning, and the friction surface is polished by a polishing sheet kit. And maintenance was poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to properly convey a sheet material by recovering a reduced frictional force. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus which are high quality and excellent in maintainability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a sheet for stacking a sheet material is provided.
A stacking unit and a sheet material stacked on the sheet stacking unit;
Pickup roller for feeding, separation pad, polishing
Pad and cleaning pad, depending on the drive source
Move the position of each pad by rotating
A sheet material is supplied from the sheet stacking section.
When feeding, rotate the holder by the drive source
The separation pad is opposed to the pickup roller,
Before polishing the surface of the pickup roller,
The holder is rotated by the drive source to remove the polishing pad.
Facing the pickup roller, the pickup
When cleaning dirt adhering to the roller surface,
The holder is rotated by a driving source, and the cleaning
The pickup roller faces the pickup roller .

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

Therefore, in each case, the function is exerted by moving the positions of the separation pad, the polishing pad and the cleaning pad by rotating the holder.

[0018] The holder is provided at a predetermined frequency by the drive source.
To grind the surface of the pickup roller
Or adhere to the surface of the pickup roller.
You may want to clean any dirt that may have occurred. More preferably, the fed system
The holder automatically based on the type or number of
Is preferably rotated.

Therefore, the polishing pad and the cleaning pad are moved to the position facing the pickup roller by rotating the holder in advance at a predetermined frequency in accordance with the degree of change in the surface condition of the pickup roller and the degree of contamination on the surface. By setting, the frictional force of the pickup roller is always properly maintained.

Preferably, a polishing means for polishing a surface portion of the separation pad is provided.

Therefore, the frictional force can be recovered from the surface of the separation pad.

Further, the image forming apparatus can be provided with the above-mentioned sheet material feeding apparatus.

[0023]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
The material, shape, relative arrangement, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them unless otherwise specified.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 5 show a sheet material feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. , An automatic sheet feeder (ASF).

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a printer.

As shown in the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes an overall view of a printer apparatus, which is provided with an automatic sheet feeder (ASF) 2 for feeding a sheet for transferring image information.

First, the printer 1 will be briefly described.

Light having image information is irradiated on the photoconductor 4 by the optical system 3, and an image is formed on the photoconductor 4. On the other hand, a plurality of sheet materials S stacked on the sheet stacking section 5 of the auto sheet feeder 2 are separated by the frictional force separating means constituted by the pickup roller 6 and the separation pad 7 so that only one sheet material S is subjected to the image forming timing described above. Are fed along the dotted line in FIG.

Then, the image formed on the photoreceptor 4 is transferred onto the fed sheet material by the transfer roller 8, and then the image is fixed on the sheet material by the fixing roller 9, and is discharged by the discharge roller 10. Is discharged outside the device.

Next, the frictional force separating means constituted by the pickup roller 6 and the separating pad 7, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described in detail.

FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory views (enlarged views of the pickup roller 6 and the separation pad 7) of the operation of the frictional force separating means. As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup roller 6 is configured to move up and down as indicated by an arrow. Then, a separation pad 7 is provided at a position facing the pickup roller 6, and a polishing pad 11 as frictional force recovery means.
The cleaning pad 12 and the cleaning pad 12 are attached to a holder 13 having an arc-shaped cross section that is rotated by a driving source such as a motor (not shown) via springs 7A, 11A and 12A as urging means.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a plate on which the sheet material S is set, and an opening 15 is provided so that each pad can be exposed to the pickup roller 6 side. The surface of each pad is exposed to the pickup roller 6 side from the plate 14 by being urged by each spring.

FIG. 3 shows a normal use state, that is, a state when the sheet material is fed. As shown in the figure, the surface of the separation pad 7 is exposed from the opening 15 and stops at a position facing the pickup roller 6. And
When the pickup roller 6 rotates in the direction of the arrow, only the uppermost sheet material among the plurality of sheet materials S stacked on the sheet stacking unit 5 is fed, and the other sheet is fed along with the feeding of this sheet material. Even if the material is to be fed, the material is not fed beyond the separation pad 7 due to the frictional force of the stopped separation pad 7.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a state in which the holder 13 is rotated to expose the surface as a contact portion of the polishing pad 11 from the opening 15 and is stopped at a position facing the pickup roller 6. . As shown in the figure, the surface of the friction surface of the pickup roller 6 is polished by rotating the pickup roller 6 in a state where the polishing pad 11 is urged by the spring 11A and is in contact with the pickup roller 6 (the surface portion is removed). The reduced frictional force is recovered).

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the holder 13 is rotated to expose the surface as the contact portion of the cleaning pad 12 from the opening 15 and is stopped at a position facing the pickup roller 6. As shown in the figure, when the cleaning pad 12 is urged by the spring 12A and is in contact with the pickup roller 6,
Is rotated, the dirt adhering to the surface of the friction surface of the pickup roller 6 is cleaned, and the reduced frictional force is recovered. If the cleaning is performed by the cleaning pad 12 after the above-mentioned polishing, the shavings of the rollers during the polishing can be removed.

As described above, normally, the sheet is fed at the position shown in FIG. 3 with the holder 13 and the holder 13 is periodically rotated to perform the polishing or cleaning at the position shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. As a result, the frictional force of the pickup roller 6 is kept good, so that a proper sheet material can be always conveyed.

It should be noted that the rotation of the holder 13 is periodically switched by a worker (roller refresh button).
May be performed, the type or number of sheet materials fed for an appropriate period or may be counted and automatically performed at a predetermined frequency, or the state of the friction surface may be detected. A detection device and a detection device for detecting a decrease in the feeding speed may be provided, and the detection device may be rotated when it is determined that polishing or cleaning is necessary.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 6 to 9 show:
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the first embodiment, the holder 13 has an arc-shaped cross section, but in the present embodiment, the holder 13 has a circular (that is, cylindrical) cross section. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the pickup roller 6 and the holder 16. As shown in FIG.
7, the polishing pad 18 and the cleaning pad 19 are shaped along the curved surface of the holder 16 so that the surface of each pad is exposed from the opening 15 of the plate 14 without using a biasing means such as a spring. Has become.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state during normal sheet feeding, in which the surface of the separation pad 17 is exposed from the opening 15.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state at the time of polishing. The surface of the polishing pad 18 is exposed through the opening 15.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state at the time of cleaning. The surface of the cleaning pad 19 is exposed from the opening 15.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the polishing pad is provided with a polishing means for polishing the surface of the separation pad 17. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the second embodiment, so that the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, a polishing pad 20 is formed on the surface.
Pad holder 2 as a polishing means to which is attached
1 is configured such that the surface of the polishing pad 20 can come into contact with and separate from the surface of the separation pad 17, and the surface of the polishing pad 20 abuts (presses) on the separation pad 17 as necessary.
By rotating the holder 16 as shown by the arrow while keeping the friction, the frictional force on the surface of the polishing pad 20 can be kept good, and the quality can be further improved.

(Other Embodiments) FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Heretofore, the sheet material feeding device has been described as an auto sheet feeder (ASF) provided in a printer, but the present invention is not limited to this, and separates and feeds sheet materials from overlapping sheet materials. Applicable to things. FIG. 11 shows another example of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus.

First, the copier will be described briefly.

Reference numeral 22 denotes the entire copying machine. Reference numeral 23 denotes a document processing device as a sheet material feeding device for separating a plurality of stacked document materials one by one and sending them to an image reading unit, which is a so-called ADF (auto document feeder) or RDF (recycling). Document feeder). That is, the plurality of originals P stacked on the original stacking unit 24 are separated one by one by the frictional force separating unit 25 and fed to the reading unit 26, illuminated by the light source 27, and the read image light is reflected. The light is reflected by the mirror 28 and irradiated on the photoconductor 29 to form a latent image on the photoconductor 29, and is developed by the developing device 30.

On the other hand, a plurality of sheet materials Q stacked in a cassette 31 for stacking sheet materials such as paper are separated one by one by a frictional force separating means 32 and fed to an image forming unit. Then, the developed image described above is transferred to the sheet material by the transfer device 33, and the image is fixed by the fixing device 34, and then discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

The holder provided with the pickup roller shown in the first to third embodiments, the separation pad, the polishing pad, and the cleaning pad in the frictional force separating means 25 and the frictional force separating means 32 of the copying machine 22 as described above. The configuration of can be applied

[0050]

The present invention has the following effects.

[0051]

[0052]

[0053]

[0054] The holder rotated by a driving source, by moving the separation pad, the position of the polishing pad and cleaning pad, it is possible to exert each function,
The frictional force of the pickup roller is kept good, and the sheet material
Can be properly transported.

The polishing pad and the cleaning pad are set in advance so as to move to the position facing the pickup roller by rotating the holder at a predetermined frequency in accordance with the degree of change in the surface condition of the pickup roller and the degree of contamination on the surface. By doing so, the frictional force of the pickup roller is always kept good, the sheet material can always be properly transported, and the quality is excellent and the maintenance is excellent.

Further, by providing a polishing means for polishing the surface portion of the separation pad, it becomes possible to recover the frictional force on the surface portion of the separation pad, and the quality is further improved.

Further, it is possible to provide the image forming apparatus with a sheet material feeding apparatus having excellent quality and maintainability as described above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram at the time of operation of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram at the time of operation of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram at the time of operation of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view at the time of operation of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention at the time of operation.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention at the time of operation.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a main part according to a third embodiment of the present invention at the time of operation.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 2 Auto sheet feeder (ASF) 5 Sheet loading part 6 Pickup roller 7, 17 Separation pad 11, 18, 20 Polishing pad 12, 19 Cleaning pad 13, 16 Holder 14 Plate 15 Opening 21 Polishing pad holder 22 Copy machine 23 Document Processing Device 24 Document Loading Unit 25, 32 Friction Force Separation Means 31 Cassette

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/00-3/68

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet stacking section for stacking sheet materials
And for feeding the sheet material loaded on the sheet loading section
Pickup roller, separation pad, polishing pad and cleaning pad
Then, each of the pads is rotated by a driving source.
A holder for moving the position, and when feeding the sheet material from the sheet stacking unit,
The holder is rotated by a drive source to bring the separation pad forward.
When polishing the surface of the pickup roller by facing the pickup roller ,
The holder is rotated by the drive source to remove the polishing pad.
Cleans dirt adhering to the surface of the pickup roller by facing the pickup roller
To rotate the holder by the drive source,
The cleaning pad faces the pickup roller
Sheet feeding apparatus characterized by causing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the drive source is configured to generate the hold at a predetermined frequency.
Rotate the roller to polish the surface of the pickup roller
Or adhere to the surface of the pickup roller.
The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the contaminated dirt is cleaned . 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number or type of the fed sheet material is different.
3. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 2 , wherein the holder is automatically rotated based on the rotation . 4. A polishing method for polishing a surface portion of the separation pad.
Sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a means. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Image forming apparatus provided with a sheet material feeding device
apparatus.