JP3441504B2 - Sheet feeding 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 feeding device for feeding a sheet by a feed roller and a separate roller which rotate in the same direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in a sheet conveying section of a multifunctional printer, a separation sheet feeding apparatus that separates and feeds a large number of stacked printing sheets one by one is generally used as a sheet feeding apparatus. Although various types of sheet feeding devices have been implemented as such a sheet feeding device, for example, there is one that uses a feed roller and a separate roller that rotate in the same direction.

In such a sheet feeding apparatus, a feed roller for feeding a large number of sheet bodies stacked on a sheet holding portion such as a sheet feeding cassette to a sheet conveying path such as the apparatus main body is rotatably supported by a shaft. Then, a separate roller for separating the sheet body fed by the feed roller into one sheet is rotatably supported at a position in contact with the feed roller, and the feed roller and the separate roller are rotationally driven in the same direction. It has a structure in which the drive mechanism is formed by a drive motor and a gear train.

Therefore, in such a sheet feeding device,
When a large number of sheets stacked on the sheet holding unit are fed to the sheet conveying path by the outer peripheral surface of the feed roller that is rotationally driven by the roller driving mechanism, friction of the separate roller that is rotationally driven in the same direction as the feed roller is fed. It is designed to separate a plurality of sheet bodies fed by. That is, in such a sheet conveying device, the frictional resistance between the feed roller and the sheet body is larger than the frictional resistance between the separate roller and the sheet body, and the frictional resistance between the separate roller and the sheet body is larger than the frictional resistance between the sheet bodies. Therefore, the sheet body is separated and fed by utilizing the difference in the frictional resistance.

Further, in the present large-sized and multifunctional copying machines and the like, in order to deal with selective use of printing papers which are sheet bodies having different sizes and directions, a plurality of paper feeding cassettes are used. A sheet holding portion is formed.

Therefore, in such a sheet feeding device,
Each of a plurality of feed rollers for appropriately feeding a large number of sheet bodies stacked in each of a plurality of sheet holding portions to one sheet conveying path is rotatably supported, and each of these feed rollers supplies the sheet. Each of the plurality of separate rollers for separating the fed sheet body into one sheet is rotatably supported at a position where it individually contacts the plurality of feed rollers. Further, a plurality of roller drive mechanisms for rotationally driving each of the feed roller and the separate roller in the same direction are provided, and the conveyance control means for selectively driving only one of these roller drive mechanisms is a microcomputer. It is formed by.

[0007]

In the sheet feeding apparatus as described above, a plurality of sheet bodies conveyed by the feed rollers are separated by a separate roller into one sheet, so that a large number of sheets stacked in the sheet holding portion can be obtained. The sheet bodies can be separately fed to the sheet conveying path one by one.

However, in such a sheet feeding device,
Since the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller that constantly rubs the sheet body is significantly soiled, the frictional resistance between the separate roller and the sheet body may be lower than the frictional resistance between the sheet bodies. In such a case, since the feed roller cannot separate the plurality of sheet bodies into one sheet by the separate roller, a multi-feed in which a large number of sheet bodies are simultaneously fed to the sheet conveying path occurs.

Therefore, as a sheet feeding apparatus which solves such a problem, there is a sheet feeding apparatus in which a cleaning member is constantly kept in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of a separate roller. But,
In this case, the load torque of the separate roller that separates and feeds the sheet body increases due to the cleaning member, so that it is necessary to increase the size of the drive motor and the drive power source, which hinders power saving and reduction in size and weight. It will be.

Therefore, the sheet feeding device of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 63-175639, which solves the above problems, is formed as a detachable sheet feeding cassette in the main body of the image forming apparatus.
In conjunction with this attachment / detachment, the separate roller separates from the feed roller, contacts the cleaning member, and rotates.

However, in this sheet feeding device, it is difficult to clean the outer peripheral surface of the sheet feeding device satisfactorily because the rotation of the separate roller interlocked with the attachment / detachment of the sheet feeding device is insufficient. Further, in this sheet feeding device, since the same part of the flat plate-shaped cleaning member is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller every time, the cleaning member is significantly soiled, and the separate roller is cleaned well. In order to do so, it is necessary to replace the cleaning member frequently.

[0012]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, each of a plurality of feed rollers for appropriately feeding a plurality of sheet bodies stacked on each of a plurality of sheet holding portions to one sheet conveying path is rotatably supported. , A plurality of separate rollers for separating the sheet body fed by each of these feed rollers into a single sheet are rotatably supported at positions individually contacting the plurality of feed rollers, respectively. In the sheet feeding device, a plurality of roller driving mechanisms for rotating and driving the rollers and the separate rollers in the same direction are provided, and a conveyance control unit for selectively driving only one of the roller driving mechanisms is provided. A plurality of roller supporting mechanisms for individually supporting and holding the position of each of the rollers movably in the direction in which the rollers are brought into and out of contact with the feed roller are provided. A plurality of cleaning members are arranged at positions where they individually come into contact with each of the separate rollers held at a position separated from the feed roller, and the conveyance control means uses one roller drive mechanism to provide the feed roller and the separate roller. Drive control means for rotating the drive roller and the sheet body to feed the sheet body to bring the other separate rollers into contact with the cleaning member by the roller support mechanism and rotationally drive the roller drive mechanism by a predetermined amount. Provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a jam of the sheet body sequentially conveyed in the sheet conveying path is provided, and it operates according to the detection output of the jam detecting means. The drive control means is formed so that

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an end detecting means for detecting the end of the sheets stacked on the sheet holding portion is provided, and the end detecting means operates according to the detection output of the end detecting means. A drive control means was formed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, presence / absence determining means for determining the presence / absence of a sheet body is provided in the vicinity of the separating roller, and the presence / absence determining means is provided in the vicinity of the separating roller. The drive control means is formed so as to operate when it judges that there is no body.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet feeding path is provided with a double feeding detecting means for detecting the occurrence of double feeding of the sheet body fed by the feed roller and the separate roller, The drive control means is formed so as to operate according to the detection output of the double feed detection means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the cleaning member is formed in the shape of a rotating body and is rotatably supported, and the cleaning member is rotated at a predetermined angle every time the drive control means is operated. A member rotating mechanism for rotating only is provided.

[0019]

[Action]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when one of the multiple sheet holding units selectively feeds the sheet body to one sheet conveying path, the separate roller of the sheet holding unit in the standby state is driven and controlled by the drive control means. Is feeding a single sheet member of a large number of sheet holding units by rotating the roller driving mechanism by a predetermined amount in a state where the roller supporting mechanism separates it from the feed roller and makes contact with the cleaning member. Clean the separate rollers inside the other sheet holding part.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the jam detecting means detects the occurrence of a jam of the sheet body sequentially conveyed in the sheet conveying path, the drive control means operates to inhibit the feeding operation of the sheet body. Clean the separate roller when there is no

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the end detecting means detects the end of the sheets stacked on the sheet holding portion, the drive control means is activated, so that the sheet feeding operation is not hindered. Clean the separate roller at the timing.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, when the presence / absence determining means determines that there is no sheet body in the vicinity of the separate roller, the drive control means operates to prevent the sheet body feeding operation from being obstructed. Clean the separate roller with.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the double feed detecting means detects the occurrence of double feed of the sheet body fed by the feed roller and the separate roller to the sheet conveying path, the drive control means operates to cause the sheet to move. Clean the separate roller at a timing that does not interfere with the body feeding operation.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning member formed in the shape of a rotary member and rotatably supported is rotated by a member rotating mechanism by a predetermined angle each time the drive control means operates, thereby cleaning the cleaning member. Reduces stains and wear on parts.

[0026]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the separation sheet feeding apparatus 1 which is the sheet feeding apparatus of the present embodiment is formed as a part of the copying machine 2 here, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, here, the apparatus main body 3 of the copying machine 2 is used. The first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7, which are detachably mounted as a plurality of sheet holding units having different paper sizes and paper directions, commonly communicate with a paper transport path 8 which is one sheet transport path. ing.

In the separating / feeding apparatus 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1, the stacked sheet members are provided above the front portions of the first to fourth sheet feeding trays 4 to 7. A paper end sensor 10 which is an end detecting means for detecting the end of the printing paper 9 is fixedly arranged, and a pre-feed roller 11 for preliminarily feeding the stacked printing paper 9 is rotated in front of the paper end sensor 10. Freely supported. Further, in front of this, the pre-feed roller 11
A paper presence / absence detection sensor 12, which is a presence / absence determining means for determining the presence / absence of the printing paper 9 whose feeding has been started at, is fixedly arranged. The feed roller 13 for feeding is rotatably supported. And, in this feed roller 13,
A separate roller 14 rotatably supported and movably supported in the vertical direction is opposed to the lower roller so as to be contactable and separable from below, and is a cleaning member made of a sponge or the like formed in a cylindrical shape that is a rotating body. A certain cleaning roller 15 is rotatably and rotatably supported by a certain position so as to face the separate roller 14 so as to come into contact with and separate from the lower side.

More specifically, in this separating and feeding device 1,
As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the feed clutch 16
The feed roller 13 is directly connected to the rotating shaft 17 connected to the pre-feed roller 11 via a one-way clutch 18 and a gear train 19.
By connecting the separate roller 14 via a torque limiter 21 and a roller limiter 21, a roller drive mechanism 22 is formed that drives the feed roller 13 and the separate roller 14 to rotate in the same direction. Here, a support shaft 23 that rotatably supports the separate roller 14 in the central portion.
The one end 24 on which the gear train 20 and the torque limiter 21 are mounted is fixedly supported, while the other end 25 is vertically swingable. Is supported from below by a link mechanism 26, which is a roller support mechanism, against its own weight.

In this link mechanism 26, an L-shaped rotation link 27 that supports the support shaft 23 of the separate roller 14 from below at its rear end is rotatably supported in the vertical direction, and the lower end thereof is supported. Is urged rearward by a coil spring 28, and an L-shaped rotary link 29, whose rear end and right end engage with the lower end of the rotary link 27, is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction so as to rotate. It is biased forward by 30 and the rear end of this rotary link 29 is held in the left-right direction by an actuator 32 of a solenoid 31.

In the separating and feeding device 1, the support shaft 33 of the rotary link 27 of the link mechanism 26 is connected to the cleaning roller 15 via the one-way clutch 34 and the gear train 35. A member rotating mechanism 36 that rotates the cleaning roller 15 by a predetermined angle each time the solenoid 31 operates is formed.

Further, in the separating / feeding device 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the printing paper 9 is separately fed in front of the feed roller 13 and the separate roller 14.
A sheet double feed detection sensor 37 for detecting the double feed of sheets is arranged, and a set detection sensor 38 for detecting whether or not the first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7 are attached to the apparatus main body 3 is provided. ing.

In the copying machine 2 including the separation / feeding device 1 as a part, the various sensors of the first to fourth paper feeding trays 4 to 7 are circuit-wise illustrated in FIG. 1
0, 12, 37, 38, the feed clutch 16 and the solenoid 31 are RAM (Random Access Memory)
And a ROM (Read Only Memory)
al Processing Unit) and the like are connected to a single microcomputer 39. Further, in the microcomputer 39, one sheet feeding drive motor 40 commonly connected to each of the feed clutches 16 of the first to fourth sheet feeding trays 4 to 7 and the printing sheet 9 are provided.
A main body mechanism unit 41 for forming an image by electrophotography, an operation panel 42, etc. are respectively connected to the operation panel 42. Here, the operation panel 42 has a display 43 for displaying and outputting various characters in a dot matrix, and a copy operation. Copy key 44 for instructing start, and the printing paper 9 used for copying
The size and direction of the first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 4
It is formed by a paper selection key 45 designated by the selection of 7.

Therefore, in the separation sheet feeding device 1 of the copying machine 2, a conveyance control means for selectively driving only one of the roller driving mechanisms 22 of the first to fourth sheet feeding trays 4 to 7, In the case where the conveyance control means rotationally drives the feed roller 13 and the separate roller 14 by the roller driving mechanism 22 of one of the first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7, and feeds the printing paper 9. In addition, the separate rollers 1 of the other first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7 are
4 through the link mechanism 26 to the cleaning roller 15
And a drive control means for driving the roller drive mechanism 22 to rotate by a predetermined amount by the feed clutch 16 and the microcomputer 39.

Further, in the separating / feeding device 1, jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a jam of the printing paper 9 sequentially conveyed through the paper conveying path 8 is arranged at various places in the paper conveying path 8. It is formed of a jam sensor (not shown) or the like, and the jam sensor or the paper end detection sensor 10 for detecting the end of the printing paper 9 stacked on the first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7. Or the paper presence / absence detection sensor 12 for detecting the absence of the print paper 9 in the vicinity of the separate roller 14 and the print paper 9 fed to the paper transport path 8 by the feed roller 13 and the separate roller 14. The drive control means composed of the microcomputer 39 or the like is operated according to the detection output of each of the paper double feed detection sensor 37 and the like for detecting the occurrence of the double feed. There.

In the copying machine 2 including the separation / feeding device 1 having such a structure as a part, the transfer charge 46, the separation charger 47, the toner cleaner 48, and the charging charger 49.
A photosensitive drum 52 and a fixing device 53, in which an exposure optical system 50, a developing device 51, etc. are sequentially opposed to each other, are sequentially arranged on the paper transport path 8, and the main body mechanism unit 41 is formed by the various devices as described above. Are formed.

In such a structure, in the separating and feeding device 1, printing papers 9 having different sizes and directions are stacked on the first to fourth feeding trays 4 to 7, respectively. , These first to fourth paper feed trays 4 to 7
The printing paper 9 is separated and fed from one sheet to one sheet conveyance path 8. Therefore, this separation sheet feeding device 1
In the copying machine 2 of which part is, the main body mechanism unit 41 including the photosensitive drum 52 and the like is electrophotographically applied to the printing paper 9 that is separated and fed to the paper conveyance path 8 and sequentially conveyed as described above. An image (not shown) is copied.

In the separating and feeding apparatus 1, the drive control means including the microcomputer 39 and the like uses the link mechanism 26 to replace the separate roller 14 with the cleaning roller 1.
Since the roller driving mechanism 22 is driven to rotate by a predetermined amount, the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 can be satisfactorily cleaned. Therefore, in this separating and feeding apparatus 1, it is prevented that the frictional resistance between the separate roller 14 and the printing paper 9 is lowered and the separating and feeding becomes impossible due to the contamination of the outer peripheral surface. The performance can be maintained excellent, and the user does not need to frequently clean the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 manually, so that the maintenance work load is reduced.

Moreover, in the separating and feeding device 1, the member rotating mechanism 36 is operated every time the drive control means such as the microcomputer 39 is operated to clean the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 by the cleaning roller 15 as described above. Since the cylindrical cleaning roller 15 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the cleaning roller 15 is also prevented from being soiled and worn.
Since there is no need to frequently replace the, the work load of maintenance is also reduced.

Here, in the separating and feeding device 1, the separate roller 14 is cleaned by being driven to rotate while being separated from the feed roller 13 and in contact with the cleaning roller 15 as described above. During the execution of the operation, the separation feeding of the printing paper 9 cannot be executed. In other words, if such a cleaning operation is regularly executed based on time, the separation feeding of the printing paper 9, which is the main purpose of the separation paper feeding apparatus 1, cannot be started because the cleaning operation is being executed. There is a concern that the operation will be delayed.

Therefore, in the separating / feeding device 1, when a jam sensor detects the occurrence of a jam of the printing paper 9 sequentially conveyed through the paper conveying path 8 or the first to fourth paper feeding trays 4-7. When the paper end sensor 10 detects the end of the printing paper 9 stacked on the paper,
4, when the paper presence detection sensor 12 does not detect the presence of the printing paper 9 or when the paper double feed detection sensor 37 detects the double feed of the print paper 9 fed to the paper transport path 8, By driving the drive control means such as the microcomputer 39 to clean the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 with the cleaning roller 15, the separate roller 14 is cleaned at a timing that does not interfere with the feeding operation of the printing paper 9. It has become.

Therefore, the processing operation for cleaning the separate roller 14 in the separating / feeding device 1 will be described below with reference to the processing operations for separating and feeding the printing paper 9 based on the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9. This will be explained sequentially. First, in this separation sheet feeding device 1, as illustrated in FIG.
When the input operation of the sheet selection key 45 of the operation panel 42 is detected, the sheet feeding operation is started (step S1). Therefore, in the standby state before the start, the first to fourth sheet feeding trays 4 to 4 are connected. All the feed clutches 13 and solenoids 31 of 7 are turned off (step S
2). Therefore, in the state where the solenoid 31 is turned off in this way, as illustrated in FIG.
Since the rear end portion of the rotary link 27 is located below the tension of the roller 8, the separate roller 14 supported by the rotary link 27 of the link mechanism 26 descends and separates from the feed roller 13 and is cleaned. It is in contact with the roller 15. Further, when the feed clutch 13 is turned off, for example, even if the sheet feeding drive motor 40 is operated, the driving force is not transmitted to the roller drive mechanism 22.

When the input operation of the sheet selection key 45 is detected in the step S1 in the separation sheet feeding device 1, the operation waits for the input operation of the copy key 44 of the operation panel 42 (step S3). When the input operation of the copy key 44 is detected in step S3, one solenoid 31 and the feed clutch 13 of the paper feed trays 4 to 7 selected in step S2 are turned on (step S4). For example, when the first paper feed tray 4 is selected as described above, in the first paper feed tray 4, the link mechanism 26 resists the tension of the coil spring 30 as illustrated in FIG. Since the rear end of the rotary link 27 is arranged upward by the tension of the coil spring 28, the separate roller 14 supported by the rotary link 27 of the link mechanism 26 rises and separates from the cleaning roller 15 and feeds. It comes into contact with the roller 13. Further, in the first paper feed tray 4, the feed clutch 13 is turned on, so that the driving force of the paper feed drive motor 40 is transmitted to the roller drive mechanism 22.

Then, in this state, the roller driving mechanism 22 rotationally drives the feed roller 13 and the separate roller 14 by the driving force of the paper feeding drive motor 40, so that the separation paper feeding device 1 is mounted on the first paper feeding tray 4. Print paper 9 to paper transport path 8
Since the sheet is separately fed, the main body mechanism unit 41 forms an image on the printing paper 9 sequentially conveyed through the paper conveyance path 8 by the electrophotographic method, thereby executing the copying operation (step S).
5). Therefore, when the copying operation is executed, the paper transport path 8
The jam sensor monitors the occurrence of a jam of the printing paper 9 that is sequentially conveyed (step S6), and the paper end sensor 10 monitors the occurrence of the end of the printing paper 9 in the first paper feed tray 4 (step S7). The paper double feed detection sensor 37 monitors the occurrence of double feed of the printing paper 9 fed to the paper transport path 8 (step S8).

In the separating and feeding device 1, the copying operation is executed by repeatedly returning to step S5 until the completion of copying is detected while monitoring various operation failures in steps S6 to S8 described above. When the double feed is detected in step S8, the double feed flag (not shown) which is initially set to "0" in the microcomputer 39 is set to "1". After the change, the process moves to step S9 (step S10). Therefore, when the jam occurrence is detected in step S6 as described above or the copy completion is detected in step S9 without detecting the paper end in step S7, it is determined whether the double feed flag and "1" match ( Step S11),
If they do not match, it is considered that the copying operation has been completed without any malfunction, and the copying operation ends (step S12).

In the separating and feeding device 1, when the occurrence of jam of the printing paper 9 which is successively conveyed is detected in step S6 as described above, the paper presence / absence detection sensor 12 separates the paper as shown in FIG. The presence or absence of the printing paper 9 is determined at a position near the roller 14 (step S13). If the printing paper 9 is detected in this step S13, it is determined that a jam has occurred at the paper feeding position, and the paper feeding operation is performed. And the copying operation are stopped (step S14), and the paper feeding operation and the copying operation are prohibited until the execution of the recovery work is detected (step S15), and then a guidance message of jam occurrence is displayed on the display 43 of the operation panel 42 ( (Not shown) is displayed and output to end the processing operation (step S16).

Further, in the separating / feeding device 1, the occurrence of the jam of the printing paper 9 is detected in the above-described step S6, and the absence of the printing paper 9 near the separate roller 14 is detected in the step S13. In this case, it is determined that the jam has occurred on the paper transport path 8 separated from the paper feed tray 4, and the copying operation other than the paper feed is stopped (step S1).
7), the solenoid 31 is turned off (step S1)
8). By doing so, as illustrated in FIG.
The separate roller 14 descends in a rotationally driven state and contacts the cleaning roller 15 by its own weight.
The cleaning operation of the outer peripheral surface of No. 4 is executed (step S19).

When the cleaning operation is started, a countdown of a predetermined time such as 3 seconds is started. Therefore, the cleaning operation is continued by returning to step S19 repeatedly until the timeout is detected. Is executed (step S2
0). Therefore, if a time-out is detected in step S20, the rotation driving of the separate roller 14 is completed by stopping the paper feeding operation (step S2).
1) The cleaning operation of the separate roller 14 is also completed, and thereafter, the process proceeds to steps S15 and S16 to prohibit the paper feeding operation and the copying operation, and then the jam occurrence is displayed and displayed on the display 43 to complete the processing operation. To do.

Further, in this separation sheet feeding apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 6, when the end of the printing sheet 9 of the first sheet feeding tray 4 is detected in step S7 as described above, the sheet feeding is inevitable. Since it is impossible to feed the printing paper 9 from the paper tray 4, as shown in FIG. 8, the copying operation is stopped while the paper feeding operation is continued (step S2).
2), the solenoid 31 is turned off (step S2
3), the cleaning roller 15 is a separate roller 14
The outer peripheral surface of is cleaned (step S24).

In this state, the cleaning operation is continuously executed by repeatedly returning to step S24 until a time-out is detected (step S25). When this time-out is detected, the sheet feeding operation is stopped to separate rollers. The rotation drive of 14 is completed and the cleaning operation is also completed (step S26). Therefore, after the cleaning operation is completed in step S26, the copying operation is prohibited (step S27), and the operation panel 4 is placed in this state.
A paper end guidance message (not shown) is displayed and output on the display 43 of No. 2 and the processing operation is ended (step S28).

Further, in the separating / feeding device 1, as shown in FIG. 6, when the double feeding of the printing paper 9 is detected in the above-mentioned step S11, the paper presence / absence detection sensor 12 detects the separation roller 14 of the separating roller 14. The presence or absence of the printing paper 9 is determined at a nearby position (step S29), and if it is detected in this step S29 that the printing paper 9 is present in the vicinity of the separation roller 14, the process proceeds to step S12 to end the copying operation. If it is detected that the printing paper 9 does not exist, the copying operation is stopped while the paper feeding operation is continued (step S30). Then, by turning off the solenoid 31 (step S31), the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 is cleaned by the cleaning roller 15 (step S31).
32) In this state, the cleaning operation is continuously executed by repeatedly returning to step S32 until a time-out is detected (step S33). When this time-out is detected, the sheet feeding operation is stopped to separate rollers. The rotation driving of 14 is completed and the cleaning operation is also completed (step S34).

As described above, in the separating / feeding device 1, when a jam occurs on the printing paper 9 which is sequentially conveyed through the paper conveying path 8 or when the first to fourth paper feeding trays 4 to 4 are used. Since the outer peripheral surface of the separate roller 14 is cleaned by the cleaning roller 15 when the printing paper 9 stacked on the sheet 7 is finished or when the printing paper 9 fed to the paper transport path 8 is double-fed, The cleaning operation of the separate roller 14 does not hinder the feeding operation of the printing paper 9. Moreover, in the separation sheet feeding device 1, when the jam or the double feeding occurs as described above, the separate roller 1
By performing the cleaning operation after confirming that the printing paper 9 does not exist in the vicinity of 4, it is possible to prevent a jam from occurring due to the cleaning operation.

In the separating / feeding device 1, the separating roller 14 is rotatably driven by a predetermined amount while being in contact with the cleaning roller 15 as described above, so that the separating roller 14 can be cleaned well. Thus, by rotating the cleaning roller 15 by a predetermined angle every time when the cleaning of the separate roller 14 is performed, stains and wear of the cleaning roller 15 are reduced.

Further, in the separating / feeding apparatus 1, the separate roller 14 contacts the cleaning roller 15 by its own weight, so that a dedicated mechanism for pressing the separate roller 14 against the cleaning roller 15 is not required, so that the structure is simple and compact. This contributes to weight reduction and productivity improvement, and since the pressure contact force of the separate roller 14 with respect to the cleaning roller 15 does not decrease with time, the cleaning operation characteristics are stable.

[0054] In the separating feeding device 1 of this embodiment, a single feed roller 13 and the separation roller 14 and driven to rotate the printing paper 9 double <br/> number of the paper feed tray 4 to 7 feeding When feeding, the separate rollers 14 of the other paper feed trays 4 to 7 are brought into contact with the cleaning rollers 15 for cleaning . By doing so, the separate roller 14 can be cleaned at a desired timing without delaying the paper feeding operation.

Note that the directions such as front and rear and up and down in the present embodiment are defined for convenience in order to simplify the description, and this does not limit the actual installation or use direction of the device. Absent. The front in the text of this embodiment is the left side in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, and the right side in FIG.

[0056]

【The invention's effect】

According to the first aspect of the present invention, each of a plurality of feed rollers for appropriately feeding a plurality of sheet bodies stacked in each of a plurality of sheet holding portions to one sheet conveying path is rotatably supported. , A plurality of separate rollers for separating the sheet body fed by each of these feed rollers into a single sheet are rotatably supported at positions individually contacting the plurality of feed rollers, respectively. In the sheet feeding device, a plurality of roller driving mechanisms for rotating and driving the rollers and the separate rollers in the same direction are provided, and a conveyance control unit for selectively driving only one of the roller driving mechanisms is provided. A plurality of roller supporting mechanisms for individually supporting and holding the position of each of the rollers movably in the direction in which the rollers are brought into and out of contact with the feed roller are provided. A plurality of cleaning members are arranged at positions where they individually come into contact with each of the separate rollers held at a position separated from the feed roller, and the conveyance control means uses one roller drive mechanism to provide the feed roller and the separate roller. Drive control means for rotating the drive roller and the sheet body to feed the sheet body to bring the other separate rollers into contact with the cleaning member by the roller support mechanism and rotationally drive the roller drive mechanism by a predetermined amount. By providing the sheet body, the separate roller can be sufficiently cleaned without obstructing the feeding operation of the sheet body, so that the frictional resistance between the separate roller and the sheet body is reduced due to the contamination of the outer peripheral surface, and the separate sheet feeding is possible. This has the effect of being able to favorably prevent inability to execute.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a jam of the sheet bodies sequentially conveyed in the sheet conveying path is provided, and according to the detection output of the jam detecting means. By forming the drive control means so as to operate, it is possible to clean the separate roller at a timing that does not hinder the feeding operation of the sheet body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an end detecting means for detecting the end of the sheets stacked on the sheet holding portion is provided, and the end detecting means operates according to the detection output of the end detecting means. By forming the drive control means, it is possible to clean the separate roller at a timing that does not hinder the sheet feeding operation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, presence / absence determining means for determining the presence / absence of a sheet body in the vicinity of the separating roller is provided, and the presence / absence determining means provides the sheet in the vicinity of the separating roller. By forming the drive control means so as to operate when it is determined that there is no body, the separate roller can be cleaned at a timing that does not hinder the feeding operation of the sheet body, and the cleaning operation of the separate roller is performed. This has the effect of preventing the occurrence of jamming of the sheet body.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet feeding path is provided with a double feeding detecting means for detecting the occurrence of double feeding of the sheet body fed by the feed roller and the separate roller, By forming the drive control means so as to operate according to the detection output of the double feed detection means,
The effect is that the separate roller can be cleaned at a timing that does not hinder the feeding operation of the sheet body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning member is formed in the shape of a rotating body and is rotatably supported, and the cleaning member is rotated by a predetermined angle every time the drive control means is operated. By providing a member rotating mechanism that rotates only the cleaning member, it is possible to reduce the contamination and the wear of the cleaning member, so that it is possible to prevent the cleaning performance of the separate roller from deteriorating with time. It also has an effect that it can contribute to a reduction of the maintenance work load.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates a separation / feeding device that is an embodiment of a sheet feeding device of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show a printing paper which is a sheet body with a feed roller and a separate roller in contact with each other. FIG. 3C is a vertical cross-sectional side view illustrating a state of separate feeding, and FIG. 6C is a vertical cross-sectional side view illustrating a state in which the separate roller is separated from the feed roller.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view illustrating the internal structure of a copying machine including a separation / feeding device as a part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view exemplifying a state in which a print roller, which is a sheet body, is separately fed by a feed roller and a separate roller that are in contact with each other.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a separate roller is separated from a feed roller of a separation sheet feeding device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit structure of a copying machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the overall processing content of a copying operation of the copying machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing contents when a jam occurs on a print sheet to be fed as a part of a copying operation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing contents when printing paper in a paper feeding tray, which is a sheet holding unit, is completed as part of a copying operation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing contents when a multi-feed occurs on a print sheet fed as a part of a copying operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 sheet conveying device 4 to 7 sheet holder 8 sheet transport path 9 sheets 10 End detection means 12 Existence judging means 13 Feed roller 14 Separate roller 15 Cleaning member 16, 39 Transport control means, drive control means 22 Roller drive mechanism 26 Roller support mechanism 37 Double-feed detection means 36 member rotation mechanism

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 3/46 B65H 3/52 330 B65H 7/06 G03G 15/00 516 G03G 21/10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of feed rollers for appropriately feeding a large number of sheet bodies stacked on each of a plurality of sheet holding portions to a single sheet conveying path are rotatably supported by the feed rollers. Each of a plurality of separate rollers for separating the sheet body fed into each sheet is rotatably supported at a position where it individually contacts the plurality of feed rollers. In a sheet feeding device provided with a plurality of roller drive mechanisms that rotate each in the same direction and provided with a conveyance control unit that selectively drives only one of these roller drive mechanisms,
A plurality of roller supporting mechanisms for individually supporting and holding the respective separate rollers movably in the direction of contacting and separating from the feed rollers are provided, and these roller supporting mechanisms hold the rollers at positions separated from the feed rollers. A plurality of cleaning members are arranged at positions where they individually come into contact with each of the separate rollers, and the conveyance control means rotates and drives the feed roller and the separate roller by one roller driving mechanism to feed the sheet body. A sheet feeding apparatus, which is provided with drive control means for contacting the other separate rollers to the cleaning member by the roller support mechanism and rotationally driving the roller drive mechanism by a predetermined amount when the sheet is fed. . 2. A jam detecting means for detecting the occurrence of a jam of a sheet body sequentially conveyed on a sheet conveying path, and a drive control means for operating in accordance with a detection output of the jam detecting means. The sheet feeding device according to item 1 . Wherein the end detection means for detecting the end of the sheet holding portion stacked on the sheet provided, according to claim 1, characterized in that the formation of the drive control means to operate in accordance with the detection output of the end detection means The sheet feeding device described. 4. A presence / absence determining means for determining the presence / absence of a sheet body in the vicinity of the separate roller is provided, and the drive control means is activated to operate when the presence / absence determining means determines that the sheet body is not present in the vicinity of the separate roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet feeding device is formed. 5. A sheet feeding path is provided with a double feeding detecting means for detecting occurrence of double feeding of a sheet body fed by a feed roller and a separate roller, and drive control is performed so as to operate in accordance with a detection output of the double feeding detecting means. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet forming means is formed. 6. A member rotating mechanism is provided which forms a cleaning member in the shape of a rotating body, rotatably supports the cleaning member, and rotates the cleaning member by a predetermined angle each time the drive control means operates. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 .