JP3609149B2 - Roll paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a roll paper feeding device that feeds roll paper wound in a cylindrical shape and held on a roll shaft.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 4, for example, there is a roll paper feeding device that feeds roll paper wound in a cylindrical shape.
When the roll paper 18 is set, the roll paper feeding device removes the paper pool 51 from the paper feed tray 50 and inserts the core portion of the roll paper 18 there. Both end portions are inserted into the respective support holes 50 a on both sides of the paper feed tray 50.
[0003]
Next, the leading end portion of the roll paper 18 is pulled out, and the leading end portion is inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow G between the feed roller 52 and the driven roller 53 that is pressed against the feed roller 52. The knob 54 fixed to one end is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow J, and the leading end of the roll paper 18 is completely held between the feed roller 52 and the driven roller 53.
By doing so, the roll paper feeding device can be brought into a state in which the roll paper 18 can be fed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of the roll paper feeding device having such a configuration, the operator manually pulls out the leading end of the roll paper held rotatably at a predetermined position of the paper feeding tray, and the leading end is fed to the feed roller. Therefore, if the width W of the roll paper is wide as shown in FIG. 5, both end portions 18a and 18b of the drawer end are inclined, and thus, When a plurality of feed rollers 52 and driven rollers 53 are arranged at predetermined intervals on each roller shaft as in a roll paper feeding device that conveys wide roll paper, all the feed rollers 52 are provided. There is a problem that it is difficult to uniformly insert the leading end of the roll paper between the roller and the driven roller 53.
[0005]
For this reason, in such a roll paper feeding device, the leading end of the roll paper is caught in a non-uniform state, or a portion where the grip is insufficient is formed, so that the roll paper fed is wrinkled. It was easy to occur.
In particular, in the case of a roll paper feeding device of the type in which the leading end of the roll paper 18 is pulled out in the winding direction posture as shown in FIG. 6, the winding direction of the leading end of the roll paper 18 is upward. Compared with the case where the wrapping as shown in No. 4 is directed downward, it was difficult to set the roll paper, and wrinkles were easily generated.
[0006]
Therefore, when such a roll paper feeding device is used, it is preferable to have a layout such that the roll paper is wound downward as shown in FIG. However, if even one roll paper feeding device is arranged in a limited space in the main body of the image forming apparatus, an ideal arrangement cannot be easily achieved. For example, the position shown in FIG. In this layout, four roll paper feeding devices 60A to 60D are arranged.
[0007]
In this case, the roll paper feeding device 60D on the backmost side in the lowermost stage turns the roll paper 18 in an upward direction, which is difficult to roll paper set. Because it is difficult, almost no longer used. Further, in the case of this layout, the rotary cutter 19 and the photosensitive drum 16 that cut the roll paper 18 to a predetermined length are on the back side of the apparatus, so that there is a drawback that maintenance is difficult when a jam occurs. .
[0008]
In addition, when the roll paper feeding devices 60E and 60F are arranged in two upper and lower stages as shown in FIG. 8, the maintainability at the time of occurrence of a jam is improved, but the roll paper 18 is wound up as described above. The difficult to set up.
Further, the lower roll paper feeding device 60F has a problem that it is difficult to set the roll paper 18 because the feeding opening of the roll paper 18 is located behind the roll paper 18. Further, since the rear side (right side in the figure) of the roll paper feeding devices 60E and 60F becomes a considerably large dead space, there is a problem in that the space cannot be effectively used.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and roll paper can be arranged so that the space in the apparatus can be used effectively, and the paper does not wrinkle when fed. An object of the present invention is to provide a roll paper feeding device that can perform the above-described process.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the roll paper feeding device as described above, the roll shaft is connected to the motor and the paper feeding means via the clutch , and the clutch is held by the roll shaft. When the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out, the roll shaft rotates in the paper feeding direction in conjunction with the paper feeding means, and the rotational force of the motor is not transmitted to the roll shaft when the motor rotates. Is provided .
[0011]
Further, the clutch is a one-way clutch, and the rotation direction in which the clutch connects the roll shaft and the paper feeding means to rotate integrally is that the paper feeding means is the roll paper when the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out. It is preferable that the rotation direction is to feed paper.
[0012]
Further, when the roll paper is set so that the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch and the roll paper is held on the roll shaft and the leading end of the roll paper is held by the paper feed means, the clutch connects the roll shaft and the paper feed means. When the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out, the paper feeding means may be rotated in the direction of feeding the roll paper.
[0013]
[Action]
According to the roll paper feeding device configured as described above, the winding direction of the leading end portion on the roll paper withdrawal side feeds it in order to arrange it as much as possible in the limited space in the device. Even if the roll paper is facing upward, which is difficult to set in the nip of the device, the rolled paper is placed in the cylindrical shape of the roll paper with the pulled-out tip close to the nip of the paper feeder. If it is slowly rotated by hand, the roll shaft holding the roll paper is connected to the paper feeding means by the clutch, and the paper feeding means rotates in the paper feeding direction.
[0014]
Accordingly, by rotating the portion of the roll paper wound in the cylindrical shape, the leading end of the roll paper that is uniformly fed out at each position in the width direction is surely placed in the nip of the paper feeding device that rotates in the paper feeding direction. Since the holding can be made uniform and the holding amount can be made uniform in the width direction, wrinkles are not generated on the fed roll paper.
[0015]
Further, the clutch is a one-way clutch, and the rotation direction in which the clutch connects the roll shaft and the paper feeding means to rotate integrally is that the paper feeding means removes the roll paper when the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out. If the rotation direction is to feed paper, the clutch can be made inexpensive.
[0016]
Further, the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch, and when the roll paper is set, the clutch connects the roll shaft and the paper feed means so that the paper feed means feeds the roll paper when the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out. If it rotates, the roll shaft and the paper feeding means can be connected to each other and the connection can be released only by turning on and off the clutch.
[0017]
【Example】
Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a roll paper feeding device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a simplified rotational force transmission system of the roll paper feeding device, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a paper feeding device. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 has four roll paper feeding devices 10A to 10D (hereinafter simply referred to as roll paper feeding device 10 unless otherwise specified) in the paper feeding unit. A photosensitive drum 35 that rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A is provided at substantially the center of the main body 1. Around the photosensitive drum 35, a charging unit 36, an exposure unit 40, a developing unit 37, a transfer unit 38, and a cleaning unit are provided. 39 etc. are arranged respectively.
[0018]
When the image forming operation is started, the image forming apparatus irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 35 with light from the exposure unit 40, and thereby the surface of the photosensitive drum 35 uniformly charged by the charging unit 36. The charged surface is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image thereon.
The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner supplied by the developing sleeve of the developing unit 37 to become a toner image (visible image).
[0019]
On the other hand, among the four roll paper feeders 10A to 10D arranged in two stages at the lower part of the apparatus main body 1, the roll paper 18 is sent out at a predetermined timing from the selected paper feeder. Are cut one by one into a predetermined length by the rotary cutter 19. Then, the toner is conveyed toward the transfer portion where the transfer unit 38 is provided at an accurate timing that coincides with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 35.
[0020]
The roll paper 18 cut to the predetermined length has a toner image transferred to the upper surface side in FIG. 3, which is separated from the photosensitive drum 35 and conveyed to the fixing unit 41 where the toner is heated and fixed. Thereafter, the paper is discharged through a discharge conveyance path 43 onto a paper discharge tray 44 formed above the apparatus main body 1.
After the transfer is completed, the residual toner and paper dust remaining on the photosensitive drum 35 are removed by a cleaning blade provided in the cleaning unit 39, and the residual potential remaining on the photosensitive drum 35 is It is removed by a static elimination lamp (not shown) to prepare for the next charging by the charging unit 36.
[0021]
When the roll paper feeding device 10 rotates the gear 17 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 11 shown in FIG. 1 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, the timing belt 2 whose inner surface is meshed with the gear 17 is counteracted. Rotate clockwise.
Accordingly, the pulley 4 meshed with the inner surface of the timing belt 2 also rotates counterclockwise, and the feed roller 3 serving as a paper feed unit that fixes the pulley 4 to the shaft end rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow B. At the same time, the driven roller 13 rotates and the roll paper 18 is fed in the direction indicated by the arrow C.
[0022]
Clutch connecting pulley 5 and pulley 20 are also engaged with timing belt 2, and pulley 21 is also in contact with the outer surface of timing belt 2 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the timing belt 2 rotates, these pulleys rotate.
As shown in FIG. 1, the clutch connection pulley 5 is fixed to a shaft 6, and the shaft 6 is connected to a gear 8 via a one-way clutch 7. The gear 8 meshes with the gear 9, and a gear 15 (see FIG. 2 because it is not visible behind the gear 9 in FIG. 1) is integrally fixed to the gear 9. The gear 15 is meshed with a core gear 22 fixed to one end of the paper pool 12 which is a roll shaft.
[0023]
The paper pool 12 is rotatably supported by a support member (not shown), and a roll portion 18c of a roll paper 18 around which a paper is wound in a cylindrical shape is inserted and attached.
An intermediate transport roller 14 is rotatably disposed downstream of the feed roller 3 in the paper transport direction, and a roller driving pulley 23 is fixed to one end of the shaft portion. A timing belt 31 is stretched between the roller drive pulley 23 and pulleys 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. The timing belt 31 is indicated by an arrow by a pulley 28 that is rotated by a motor 30. It is rotated in the E direction.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 1, the roll paper feeding device 10 has the roll paper 18 set at a predetermined position in the paper pool 12 and the leading end thereof is pulled out and held between the feed roller 3 and the driven roller 13. When the motors 11 and 30 are rotated while the paper can be fed, the timing belt 2 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow F and the timing belt 31 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow E, whereby the clutch connection pulley 5 is illustrated. 1 rotates counterclockwise, and the shaft 6 integral therewith rotates in the same direction.
[0025]
The shaft 6 is connected to the gear 8 via the one-way clutch 7, but when rotating in the above-described counterclockwise direction, the shaft 6 idles and the rotational force is not transmitted to the gear 8. It is not rotated by the rotational force from the shaft 6.
Therefore, the gear 9 meshing with the gear 8, the gear 15 integral with the gear 8, and the winding core gear 22 meshing with the gear 15 are not rotated by the rotational force from the shaft 6.
[0026]
On the other hand, the pulley 4 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow B by the rotation of the timing belt 2 in the direction indicated by arrow F. Accordingly, the feed roller 3 rotates accordingly, and the leading end thereof is fed to the feed roller 3 and the driven roller 13. Is fed in the direction indicated by the arrow C.
Due to the paper feeding, the portion of the roll paper 18 that has been fed out from the roll portion 18c is conveyed to the right in FIG. 2, so that the roll paper 18 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Thereby, a rotational force in the same direction is applied to the core gear 22, and the rotational force is sequentially transmitted to the gears 15, 9, 8.
[0027]
Here, the gear ratios of the gears 8, 9, 15 and the core gear 22 are set so that the rotational speed of the shaft 6 is larger than the rotational speed of the gear 8, and in FIG. The relative rotation in which the gear 8 rotates counterclockwise and the shaft 6 rotates faster than the gear 8 in the same direction is the rotational direction in which the one-way clutch 7 runs idle. Idle.
[0028]
Therefore, the roll paper 18 is fed by the feeding force of the feed roller 3 and further conveyed by the intermediate conveying roller 14 on the downstream side of the sheet feeding, and the image forming unit provided with the photosensitive drum 35 described with reference to FIG. Paper is fed toward the copy.
Then, when the rolled-out length of the roll paper 18 reaches a predetermined length set in advance, the rotary cutter 19 is driven and the roll paper 18 is cut to a predetermined length.
[0029]
When the roll paper feeding device 10 is set in a state in which the roll paper 18 can be fed, the roll portion 18c of the roll paper 18 is placed on the paper pool 12 from one end side as shown in FIG. Until the tip end is pulled out and directed to the nip between the feed roller 3 and the driven roller 13.
In this state, the roll portion 18c of the roll paper 18 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1, and the roll paper 18 is inserted into the nip while holding the tip of the hand 18 to correct the curl.
[0030]
Then, the winding core gear 22 and the gears 15, 9, 8 are sequentially rotated by the rotation of the roll portion 18 c, and this rotational direction is a direction in which the one-way clutch 7 transmits the rotational force to the shaft 6. Rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
Therefore, the clutch connection pulley 5 rotates in the same direction, and the timing belt 2 rotates in the arrow F direction in FIG. As a result, the feed roller 3 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
[0031]
As a result, the feed roller 3 rotates without turning a knob or the like, so that the leading end of the roll paper 18 can be easily placed in the nip between the feed roller 3 and the driven roller 13 in the width direction. Since it can be held evenly, the leading end of the roll paper can be reliably inserted into the nip even with a compact configuration in which four roll papers 18 are laid out in the apparatus as shown in FIG. Therefore, no wrinkles occur on the roll paper 18 when it is fed.
[0032]
In this embodiment, an example is shown in which a one-way clutch is used as the clutch. However, the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch, and the roll paper 18 is held in the paper pool 12 in FIG. When the roll paper is set so that the leading end is held in the nip between the feed roller 3 and the driven roller 13, the electromagnetic clutch is connected so that the gear 8 and the shaft 6 rotate together, and the leading end of the roll paper 18 is pulled out. The feed roller 3 may rotate in the direction in which the roll paper 18 is fed.
[0033]
In this way, the gear ratios of the gears 8, 9, 15 and the core gear 22 are set so that the rotational speed of the shaft 6 is larger than the rotational speed of the gear 8, as in the embodiment of FIG. Even if it is not set, the shaft 6 can be idled with respect to the gear 8 simply by turning off the clutch, so that the gear ratio is not restricted.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the roll paper feeding device is arranged in a limited space in the apparatus as much as possible, so that the winding direction of the leading end portion on the roll paper drawing side is fed. Even when the roll paper is facing upward, which is difficult to set in the nip of the paper device, when loading the roll paper, make sure that each position in the width direction of the leading edge of the roll paper is evenly held in the nip of the paper feeder. Therefore, wrinkles can be prevented from occurring during paper feeding.
[0035]
If the clutch is a one-way clutch, the clutch can be made inexpensive.
Furthermore, if the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch, the operation of connecting the roll shaft and the paper feeding means or idling them simply by turning the clutch on and off can be easily separated. Can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a roll paper feeding device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a rotational force transmission system of the roll paper feeding device.
FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with the roll paper feeding device.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a conventional roll paper feeding device that feeds roll paper wound in a cylindrical shape.
FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a state in which it is difficult for the conventional roll paper feeding device to easily hold the leading end portion of the roll paper in the nip between the feed roller and the driven roller.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing the roll paper when the leading edge of the roll paper is difficult to set and the curl is turned upward.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which four roll paper feeding devices are arranged in the main body of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example in which two roll paper feeding devices are arranged vertically in the main body of the image forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
3: Feed roller (paper feeding means) 6: Shaft (rotating member)
7: One-way clutch 8: Gear (roll paper rotating member)
10A to 10D: Roll paper feeding device 12: Paper pool (roll shaft) 18: Roll paper

Claims (3)

A paper feeding means is wound into a cylindrical shape to feed while clamping the leading end of the roll paper held by the roll axis, the roll paper feeding apparatus that includes a motor for driving the paper feeding means,
Connecting the roll shaft to the motor and the paper feeding means via a clutch;
When the leading end of the roll paper held on the roll shaft is pulled out, the roll shaft rotates in the paper feeding direction in conjunction with the paper feeding means, and the motor rotates when the motor rotates. A roll paper feeding device provided so as not to transmit the rotational force of the roller to the roll shaft . The clutch is a one-way clutch, and the rotation direction in which the clutch connects the roll shaft and the paper feeding means to rotate integrally is determined when the paper feeding means is rotated when the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out. 2. The roll paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the roll paper feeding direction is a rotation direction for feeding the roll paper. The clutch is an electromagnetic clutch, and when the roll paper is set so that the roll paper is held on the roll shaft and the leading end of the roll paper is held by the paper feed means, the clutch moves the roll shaft and the paper feed means. 2. The roll paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when the leading end of the roll paper is pulled out, the paper feeding means rotates in a direction to feed the roll paper.

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