JP3483391B2 - Sheet feeding device and recording 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 apparatus equipped in a recording apparatus for feeding a sheet from a plurality of sheet feeding ports to record an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional recording apparatus for recording an image by supplying sheets from a plurality of sheet supply ports will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the case where the recording sheet S is fed from the first cassette 101a will be described with reference to FIGS. The presence / absence of the recording sheet S is detected by the sheet presence / absence sensor 102a for the recording sheet S placed and accommodated in the first cassette 101a (step S101), and when the recording sheet S is present in the first cassette 101a, it is fed. The feeding roller 103a is driven to rotate once, and the uppermost recording sheet S is separated and fed one by one in cooperation with the separating claw 104a (step S102).

The recording sheet fed by the feeding roller 103a
The sheet S is conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 105 (step
S103), a predetermined time from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 103a
Interval T ₁Detected by the sheet sensor 106 (step
S104), and further, the recording sheet S is conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 105.
The recording sheet S is fed by a predetermined amount (step S105).
The nip part of the feed roller pair 107 whose ends are held stationary
And a proper loop is formed on the recording sheet S.
As a result, the skew of the recording sheet S is corrected and the recording sheet is
After performing the cueing of the sheet S (step S106),
The conveyance by the la pair 105 is stopped (step S107).

Next, the feed roller pair 107 is rotationally driven to convey the recording sheet S to a recording area facing the ink jet recording head 108 (step S108). Feed roller pair
When the recording start position of the recording sheet S conveyed by 107 reaches the recording area (step S109), the recording head S ejects ink according to the image information to record the image (step S110). , Discharge roller pair
The sheet is conveyed by 109 (step S111), discharged and placed on the discharge tray 110 arranged outside the machine, and the recording operation is completed (step S112).

If the sheet presence sensor 102a does not detect the recording sheet S in the first cassette 101a in step S101, it is recognized that there is no recording sheet S in the first cassette 101a. A sheet-less error is displayed on the operation panel (not shown) (step S113), and the feeding operation is ended (step S114).

In step S104, if the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 106 within a predetermined time T ₁ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 103a, it is recognized that a jam has occurred and the sheet is conveyed. The roller pair 105 is stopped (step S115), a jam error is displayed on the operation panel (not shown) (step S116), and the feeding operation is ended (step S117).

Next, the second cassette will be described with reference to FIGS.
A case where the recording sheet S is fed from 101b will be described. Recording sheet S placed and stored in the second cassette 101b
The presence / absence of the recording sheet S is detected by the sheet presence / absence sensor 102b (step S121), and when the recording sheet S is present in the second cassette 101b, the feeding roller 103b is driven to rotate once to form the separation claw 104b. The highest recording sheet S through collaboration
Are separated and fed one by one (step S122).

The recording sheet S delivered by the feeding roller 103b is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 111 (step S123), and further conveyed by the conveying roller pair 105 (step S124), from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 103b. It is detected by the sheet sensor 106 within a predetermined time T ₂ (step S125), the recording sheet S is further conveyed by a predetermined amount by the conveying roller pair 105 and 111 (step S126), and the leading end of the recording sheet S is held in a stopped state. Feed roller pair 107
After hitting the nip portion of the recording sheet S, an appropriate loop is formed on the recording sheet S to correct the skew of the recording sheet S, and after the recording sheet S is indexed (step S127).
), The conveyance by the pair of conveyance rollers 105 and 111 is stopped (step S128).

Next, the feed roller pair 107 is rotationally driven to convey the recording sheet S to the recording area facing the ink jet recording head 108 (step S129). Feed roller pair
When the recording start position of the recording sheet S conveyed by 107 reaches the recording area (step S130), the recording head S ejects ink according to the image information to record an image (step S131). , Discharge roller pair
The sheet is conveyed by 109 (step S132), discharged and placed on the discharge tray 110 arranged outside the machine, and the recording operation is completed (step S133).

If the sheet presence sensor 102b does not detect the recording sheet S in the second cassette 101b in the step S121, it is recognized that there is no recording sheet S in the second cassette 101b. An error message indicating that there is no sheet is displayed on the operation panel (not shown) (step S134), and the feeding operation is ended (step S135).

In step S125, if the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 106 within a predetermined time T ₂ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 103b, it is recognized that a jam has occurred and the sheet is conveyed. Roller pair 105,
Stop 111 (step S136), display a jam error on the operation panel (not shown) (step S137),
The feeding operation is ended (step S138).

In the above structure, the first cassette 101a
When the recording sheets S of the same size are stored in the first and second cassettes 101b and the recording sheets S in one of the cassettes are exhausted, the recording sheet S is switched to the one having the recording sheets S. It is configured to be delivered.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, step S10
In step 1, when the sheet presence sensor 102a detects that there is no recording sheet S in the first cassette 101a, the process proceeds to step S121, and in step S121, the sheet presence sensor 102b detects the inside of the second cassette 101b. The presence or absence of the recording sheet S is detected.

After that, the same control as described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 is performed, and, for example, in a state where the sheet presence sensor 102a detects that there is no recording sheet S in the first cassette 101a, When the feeding start of the recording sheet S from the first cassette 101a is designated, the control unit of the apparatus main body does not perform the feeding operation of the recording sheet S from the first cassette 101a, and The feeding operation of the recording sheet S from the cassette 101b is started.

[0015]

However, in the above-described conventional technique, the sheet presence / absence sensors 102a and 102b are individually arranged in correspondence with the number of a plurality of cassettes such as the first and second cassettes 101a and 101b. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a plurality of sensors, which increases the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, resulting in an increase in cost.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems.
The purpose is to eliminate the sheet presence sensors individually provided in the plurality of sheet supply ports as in the conventional example, and to detect a plurality of sheets by the detection information of the sheet sensor provided on the upstream side in the vicinity of the processing unit (recording unit). Provided is a sheet feeding device capable of starting feeding of a sheet from another sheet feeding port of a plurality of sheet feeding ports when one sheet in the feeding port is exhausted, and a recording apparatus including the sheet feeding device. It makes it possible.

[0017]

A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to provide a plurality of sheet supply ports for supplying a sheet, a processing means for performing a predetermined process on the sheet, Respective feeding paths connected to the plurality of sheet supply ports join at a merging point, a feeding path that feeds a sheet to the processing unit, and a sheet feeding direction downstream side of the merging point, and The sheet sensor is disposed upstream of the processing unit in the sheet feeding direction, detects a sheet, and the sheet is fed within a predetermined time after the feeding of the sheet is started from one of the plurality of sheet feeding ports. A sheet feeding device comprising: a control unit that controls to start feeding of a sheet from another sheet feeding port of the plurality of sheet feeding ports when the sheet is not detected by the sensor. .

Since the present invention is configured as described above, for example, in the case where a plurality of sheet supply ports are formed of a plurality of sheet cassettes, sheets of the same size are set in the plurality of sheet cassettes. In this case, after the sheet feeding is started from one of the plurality of sheet cassettes and the sheet is not detected by the sheet sensor provided on the upstream side in the vicinity of the processing means within a predetermined time, the plurality of sheet cassettes It is possible to start feeding sheets from other sheet cassettes.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in the case of being applied to an ink jet printer as an example of a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention and a recording apparatus having the same will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing the configuration of a recording apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a first cassette. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the feeding and recording operations of the recording sheets placed and stored in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the feeding and recording operations of the recording sheets placed and stored in the second cassette, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a state in which recording sheets respectively placed and accommodated in the second cassette are fed in cooperation and a recording operation is performed.

In this embodiment, a case where two sheet cassettes are provided as a plurality of sheet supply ports will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a case where other sheet cassettes are provided. The present invention can be appropriately applied to a configuration including a plurality of sheet supply ports such as a case where a plurality of sheet decks are provided instead of a sheet cassette, a case where a plurality of manual feed ports are provided, and a case where these are combined. It is a thing.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1a and 1b denote first and second sheet cassettes serving as sheet supply ports for placing and accommodating recording sheets S made of paper, synthetic resin, or the like, on a pressure plate (not shown). The placed recording sheet S is moved up and down. In this embodiment, the recording sheets S of the same size are placed and housed in the cassettes 1a and 1b.

Reference numerals 3a and 3b denote sheet feeding rollers having a half-moon shape in cross section which serve as sheet feeding means, and a feeding motor 14 controlled by a control unit 12 shown in FIG. 2 and described later in detail through a motor driver 13. , 15 drives one revolution for each feeding operation. As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding rollers 3a and 3b are configured to return to the original standby state shown in FIG. 1 by making one rotation from the standby state in which the flat portion faces the recording sheet S.

Then, a pressure plate (not shown) rises to press the recording sheet S against the feed rollers 3a and 3b, and the cassette 1
Separation claws 4a provided on the upper tip side of a and 1b,
The recording sheet S whose tip corners are restricted by 4b is fed out by the feeding rollers 3a and 3b which are appropriately rotated in the feeding direction (the arrow direction in FIG. 1), and the uppermost recording sheet S is fed.
It will be fed one by one from the beginning.

The sheet feeding path 16a connected to the first sheet cassette 1a is provided with a sheet in the vicinity of the pair of conveying rollers 5 which is rotationally driven by a conveying motor 17 which is controlled by the controller 12 via a motor driver 13. Upstream side in the feeding direction (hereinafter,
It is connected to a confluence A provided on the “upstream side”.

Further, the feeding path 16b connected to the second sheet cassette 1b is controlled by the control unit 12 by the motor driver 13
It is connected to the merging point A via a pair of transport rollers 11 which is rotatably driven by a transport motor 18 controlled via.

A sheet sensor 6 for detecting the leading edge and trailing edge of the recording sheet S and the presence / absence of the recording sheet S are arranged on the downstream side of the conveying roller pair 5 in the sheet feeding direction (hereinafter, simply referred to as “downstream side”). The sheet sensor 6 is connected to the control unit 12 and transmits detection information of the leading and trailing edges of the recording sheet S and the presence / absence of the recording sheet S to the control unit 12.

At the downstream side of the sheet sensor 6, a feed motor 19 controlled by the control unit 12 via a motor driver 13.
The feed roller pair 7 driven by the sheet sensor 6 is disposed, and the leading end of the recording sheet S is held in a stopped state by the cooperation of the feed roller pair 7 and the transport roller pairs 5 and 11 based on the detection information of the sheet sensor 6. The recording sheet S is abutted and locked to the nip portion of the feed roller pair 7 that has been formed, and the recording sheet S is conveyed by a certain amount by the conveying roller pairs 5 and 11 to form a loop on the recording sheet S to correct skewing. After that, the feed roller pair 7 is rotationally driven at a predetermined timing to convey the recording sheet S to the recording area where the recording head 8 faces.

On the downstream side of the feed roller pair 7, a direction parallel to the sheet surface and orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction (hereinafter,
Guide shaft arranged in "seat width direction"
An inkjet recording head 8 mounted on a carriage movably supported by 20 is provided.

The ink jet recording head 8 is configured as a recording means for recording an image on a recording sheet S according to image information as an example of a processing means for performing a predetermined process on a sheet. A platen 21 that supports the back surface of the recording sheet S, which is conveyed in the sheet conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) by the pair of feed rollers 7 in a plane shape, is arranged at a position opposite to 8.

The carriage on which the recording head 8 is mounted is driven by a carriage motor 23 controlled by a control unit 12 via a carriage motor driver 22 to move along the guide shaft 20 in the sheet width direction (main scanning direction). To do.

A discharge roller pair 9 rotationally driven by a discharge motor 24 controlled by a control unit 12 via a motor driver 13 is arranged on the downstream side of the recording head 8.
The recording sheet S is sandwiched and supported by the feed roller pair 7 and the discharge roller pair 9, and the back surface is supported by the platen 21, and according to the image information sent from the control unit 12 via the head driver 25. The recording head 8 ejects ink to record an image, and the recording sheet S conveyed by the discharge roller pair 9 is discharged and placed on a discharge tray 10 provided outside the machine.

As the recording means in this embodiment, an ink jet recording system is used in which ink is ejected from the recording head 8 for recording. That is, the recording head 8 has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage, and an energy acting portion provided in a part of the liquid passage, and energy for generating droplet forming energy that acts on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with generating means.

As the energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, electromagnetic waves such as laser are irradiated to generate heat, and droplets are ejected by the action of the heat generation. There are a recording method using an energy generating means, a recording method using an energy generating means for heating a liquid and discharging the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor.

Among them, a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy has a high density of liquid ejection ports (orifices) for ejecting recording liquid droplets to form ejection liquid droplets. Since they can be arranged, high resolution recording is possible.

Among them, the recording head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating means can be easily made compact, and the IC technology and the microfabrication technology, which have been remarkably improved in the technological progress and reliability in the recent semiconductor field, have been developed. This is advantageous because the advantages can be fully utilized, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

Further, although the ink jet recording system is used as the recording means in the above-mentioned embodiment, the electrothermal converter is energized in response to a recording signal, and a film generated in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. It is more preferable to perform the recording by ejecting the ink from the ejection port due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles generated in the ink by utilizing the boiling.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740796.

The control unit 12 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a CPU which is a central information processing unit, a ROM which is a read-only memory, and a RAM which is a readable / writable memory at any time.
The CPU is a central processing unit, which reads programs and various data from an external device such as a ROM and an input device (not shown) described later, performs necessary calculations and determinations, and performs various controls.

Further, the CPU controls the various motors described above through the motor driver 13 based on the detection information from the sheet sensor 6 to perform the rotational driving operation of the various rollers, so that the recording sheet S can be rotated at a predetermined timing. It is designed to be transported by.

Further, the CPU is equipped with a counter unit, and in the respective feeding paths from the first and second sheet cassettes 1a and 1b to the sheet sensor 6, the feeding rollers 3a and 3b are respectively provided. The recording sheets S placed and stored in the first and second sheet cassettes 1a and 1b are fed out by the feeding rollers 3a and 3b from the time when the rotation operation is started, and are conveyed by the conveying roller pairs 5 and 11. The time required for detection by the sheet sensor 6 is counted respectively.

Then, the arrival time preset or measured and set in advance and the actual arrival time measured by the counter are compared and calculated to detect a sheet out error or a jam error and perform an operation not shown. An error is displayed on the display unit 26 provided on the panel to notify the operator.

An arithmetic program corresponding to the feeding operation and the recording operation is stored in the ROM, and the CPU performs a predetermined arithmetic operation by the arithmetic program based on the detection signal transmitted from the sheet sensor 6 to supply the sheet. The sending operation and the recording operation are executed. Further, the ROM stores various programs for operating the CPU and various data necessary for feeding operation, recording operation and the like.

Further, the RAM is a working area for temporarily storing the data in the instruction and the operation result by the CPU,
It comprises a buffer area and the like for storing various data input from an external device or the like (not shown).

Next, in the above-mentioned structure, the operation of feeding sheets from the first and second sheet cassettes 1a and 1b, which are a plurality of sheet feeding ports, and recording an image will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, the case where the recording sheet S is fed from the first sheet cassette 1a will be described with reference to FIG.

The recording sheet S placed and accommodated in the first sheet cassette 1a is immediately moved to the feeding roller 3a without detecting the presence or absence of the recording sheet S by the sheet presence sensor as in the above-mentioned conventional example. The uppermost recording sheets S are separated and fed one by one by being rotated and driven in cooperation with the separating claw 4a (step S1).

The recording sheet S fed by the feeding roller 3a is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 5 (step S
2), a predetermined time from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3a (the leading end of the recording sheet S conveyed by the feeding roller 3a and the conveying roller pair 5 along the feeding path from the first sheet cassette 1a to the sheet sensor 6). the but the recording sheet S by the sheet sensor 6 is detected by (step S3), and the conveying roller pair 5 further from the time the leading end is detected by the sheet sensor 6 to time + alpha time) T ₁ theoretical reaching the sheet sensor 6 After being conveyed by a predetermined amount (step S4), the leading end of the recording sheet S hits the nip portion of the feed roller pair 7 held in a stopped state, an appropriate loop is formed on the recording sheet S, and the recording sheet S is skewed. Is corrected and the recording sheet S is indexed (step S5), and then the conveyance by the conveyance roller pair 5 is stopped (step S6).

Next, the feed roller pair 7 is rotationally driven to convey the recording sheet S to the recording area facing the recording head 8 (step S7). The recording start position of the recording sheet S conveyed by the feed roller pair 7 reaches the recording area (step S8), and the carriage on which the recording head 8 is mounted is driven by the carriage motor 23 to guide the guide shaft.
On the recording sheet S conveyed while moving in the main scanning direction along the line 20, the recording head 8 ejects ink according to the image information to record an image (step S9).

The recording sheet S on which an image is recorded is conveyed by the pair of discharge rollers 9 (step S10), discharged and placed on the discharge tray 10 arranged outside the machine, and the recording operation is completed (step S10). S11).

In step S3, when the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 6 within the predetermined time T ₁ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3a, the recording sheet S is jammed or It recognizes that the recording sheet S in the first sheet cassette 1a has run out, stops the conveying roller pair 5 (step S12), and displays an error on the display unit 26 on the operation panel (not shown) (step S13). The sending operation is finished (step S14).

Next, the case where the recording sheet S is fed from the second sheet cassette 1b will be described with reference to FIG.

Similarly to the above, the second sheet cassette 1b
The recording sheet S placed and stored in the recording sheet S is immediately driven to rotate one rotation of the feeding roller 3b without detecting the presence or absence of the recording sheet S by the sheet presence / absence sensor as in the above-described conventional example, and is separated from the separation claw 4b. By cooperation, the uppermost recording sheets S are separated and fed one by one (step S21).

The recording sheet S fed by the feeding roller 3b is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 11 (step S
22) and is further conveyed by the conveying roller pair 5 (step S
23), a predetermined time from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3b (the recording sheet S conveyed through the feeding path from the second sheet cassette 1b to the sheet sensor 6 by the feeding roller 3b and the conveying roller pair 5 and 11). Of the sheet sensor 6 within the theoretical time of the tip of the sheet reaching the sheet sensor 6 + β time) T ₂
Is detected by (step S24), and the sheet sensor 6
The recording sheet S is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the pair of conveying rollers 5 and 11 from the time when the leading edge is detected by (step S25),
The front end of the recording sheet S hits the nip portion of the feed roller pair 7 held in a stopped state, an appropriate loop is formed in the recording sheet S, the skew of the recording sheet S is corrected, and the recording sheet S After cueing (step S2
6), the conveyance by the pair of conveyance rollers 5 and 11 is stopped (step S27).

Next, the feed roller pair 7 is rotationally driven to convey the recording sheet S to the recording area facing the recording head 8 (step S28). When the recording start position of the recording sheet S conveyed by the feed roller pair 7 reaches the recording area (step S29), the recording head S ejects ink according to the image information and records the image. In step S30, the sheet is conveyed by the pair of ejection rollers 9 (step S31), ejected and placed on the ejection tray 10 arranged outside the machine, and the recording operation ends (step S32).

In step S24, if the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 6 within a predetermined time T ₂ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3b, a jam occurs or the second time occurs. Sheet cassette 1
Recognizing that the recording sheet S in b has run out, the conveying roller pairs 5 and 11 are stopped (step S33), and an error is displayed on the display unit 26 on the operation panel (not shown) (step S3).
4) The feeding operation is completed (step S35).

In the above structure, when the first sheet cassette 1a and the second sheet cassette 1b contain the recording sheets S of the same size, when the recording sheets S in one cassette are exhausted, The recording sheet S may be fed by switching to the cassette having the recording sheet S.

This control may be automatically performed when it is determined that the recording sheets S in the first and second sheet cassettes 1a and 1b have the same size, or by the user's operation. May be selectively used.

Further, the first and second sheet cassettes 1a,
The size of the recording sheet S in 1b is detected by a size detecting means.
The size of each of the sheet cassettes 1a and 1b is input to the control unit from a personal computer (not shown) connected to the recording device by the control unit 27. The above-mentioned selection of control by the user may also be made from the personal computer.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, step S3
In the case where the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 6 within a predetermined time T ₁ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3a, it is recognized that the recording sheet S in the first sheet cassette 1a is gone. Go to step S21,
In step S21, the feeding roller 3b is immediately driven to rotate, and the operation is changed to the operation for feeding the recording sheet S from the second sheet cassette 1b as described above.

Further, in step S24 of FIG. 5, if the recording sheet S is not detected by the sheet sensor 6 within the predetermined time T ₂ from the rotation start time of the feeding roller 3b, a jam occurs or 2 sheet cassettes 1
Recognizing that the recording sheet S in b has run out, step S
Proceeding to 33, the conveying roller pairs 5 and 11 are stopped, an error is displayed on the display unit 26 on the operation panel (not shown) (step S34), and the feeding operation is ended (step S35).

After that, the control is performed in the same manner as described above with reference to FIGS.
When it is detected that there is no recording sheet S in the first sheet cassette 1a, and the start of feeding the recording sheet S from the first sheet cassette 1a is designated, the control unit 12 causes the first sheet The feeding operation of the recording sheet S from the second sheet cassette 1b is started without performing the feeding operation of the recording sheet S from the cassette 1a.

On the contrary, when the recording sheets S in the second sheet cassette 1b run out while the recording sheets S in the second sheet cassette 1b are being fed, the first sheet cassette 1a
It is also possible to configure to change to the operation of feeding the recording sheet S from.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of having two sheet supply ports has been described, but the case of having three or more sheet supply ports and the case where the recording sheets S of the same size are accommodated. Similarly, when the recording sheets S are exhausted, the recording sheets S are sequentially supplied from other sheet supply ports.
It is also possible to arrange so that it can be switched to feed.

As the form of the above-mentioned ink jet recording device, in addition to the form used as an image output terminal device of information processing equipment such as a computer, a form of a copying device combined with a reader or the like, and a form of a facsimile device having a transmitting / receiving function. It may be one that takes

Although an example of using the ink jet recording method as the above-mentioned recording means has been described, the present invention need not be limited to the ink jet recording method, and other thermal transfer recording methods, heat sensitive recording methods, Can also be applied to an impact recording method such as a wire dot recording method or another recording method. Further, it is not necessary to limit to the serial recording method, and a so-called line recording method may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the processing means is constituted by the recording means for recording an image on the sheet according to the image information has been described. However, as another construction, the processing means is recorded on the sheet-shaped original. It is also possible to apply it to an image reading device configured to read image information of a sheet-like document fed by the sheet feeding device described above, which is configured by an image reading unit that reads image information.

[0066]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, the sheet presence / absence sensor which is individually provided in a plurality of sheet supply ports as in the prior art is omitted, and the sheet sensor provided upstream of the processing means is provided. According to the detection information of the sheet, it is possible to start sheet feeding from the other sheet supply port of the multiple sheet supply ports when one of the multiple sheet supply ports is exhausted. It is possible to reduce man-hours and reduce costs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a recording apparatus including a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a feeding and recording operation of a recording sheet placed and accommodated in a first cassette.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a feeding and recording operation of a recording sheet placed and accommodated in a second cassette.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a state in which recording sheets loaded and accommodated in the first and second cassettes are fed together to perform a recording operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b ... First and second sheet cassettes 3a, 3b
... Feeding roller, 4a, 4b ... Separation claw, 5 ... Conveying roller pair, 6 ... Sheet sensor, 7 ... Feeding roller pair, 8 ... Recording head, 9 ... Discharging roller pair, 10 ... Discharging tray, 11 ... Conveying roller pair , 12 ... Control unit, 13 ... Motor driver, 14, 15 ... Feed motor, 16a, 16b ... Feed path, 17, 18 ... Conveyor motor, 19 ... Feed motor, 20 ... Guide shaft, 21 ... Platen, 22 ... Carriage motor driver, 23 ... Carriage motor, 24 ... Discharge motor, 25 ... Head driver, 26 ... Display unit, 27 ... Size detecting means, A ... Confluence point, S ... Recording sheet

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 7/06 B41J 3/04 B41J 13/00

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of sheet supply ports for supplying a sheet, a processing means for performing a predetermined process on the sheet, and respective feeding paths connected to the plurality of sheet supply ports meet at a confluence point. A sheet feeding path for feeding the sheet to the processing means, a sheet arranged downstream of the confluence point in the sheet feeding direction and upstream of the processing means in the sheet feeding direction, and detecting the sheet If the sheet is not detected by the sensor and the sheet sensor within a predetermined time after the sheet feeding is started from one of the plurality of sheet feeding ports, the other sheet feeding of the plurality of sheet feeding ports is performed. A sheet feeding device comprising: a control unit that controls to start feeding a sheet from a mouth. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is at least a time required for the sheet to be conveyed from the sheet supply port to the sheet sensor. 3. The other sheet supply port is selected so that the sheet fed from the other sheet supply port has the same size as the sheet fed from the one sheet supply port. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1. 4. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for detecting the size of the sheet fed from the sheet feeding port and inputting the size to the control unit or directly inputting to the control unit. Sending device. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the processing means comprises recording means for recording an image on a sheet according to image information, and the recording is performed. The recording device is characterized in that the means is an inkjet recording system that performs recording by ejecting ink according to a signal. 6. The recording means of the recording apparatus discharges ink from a discharge port by utilizing film boiling generated in ink by thermal energy applied by an electrothermal converter. The recording device described. 7. The sheet feeding from one of the plurality of sheet feeding ports is started without detecting the presence or absence of the sheet at the sheet feeding port. A sheet feeding device, or the recording device according to claim 5.