JP4237106B2 - Sheet material feeding device, feeding method, and image forming apparatus provided with sheet material feeding device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding apparatus that separates and feeds stacked sheet materials one by one, a feeding method, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet material feeding apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet material feeding device that presses a sheet material accumulated in a sheet material stacking member and separates and feeds the stacked sheet materials one by one at a separation unit has been known (for example, Patent Documents). 1 and 2).
JP-A-8-91612 JP 2003-26348 A

The sheet material feeding device is configured to press and contact the sheet material accumulated in the sheet material stacking member and feed the sheet material to the separation unit, and press-contacts the sheet material with a leading end in the sheet material feeding direction. And an inclined member having an inclined surface that abuts.
The inclined member forms a contact surface with the feeding means in a projecting shape along the axial direction of the feeding means, and the tip of the inclined surface is in contact with the feeding means at the edge, and the sheet material is fed by the feeding means. Is fed to the separating portion, and the fed sheet material is separated by the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming portion.
In such a sheet material feeding apparatus, when the sheet material is fed to the inclined surface of the inclined member by the feeding means, or when the sheet material enters the nip forming portion of the inclined member, the leading edge of the sheet material becomes the inclined surface. A collision sound at the time of a collision or a sound of a sheet material entering at a nip forming portion (a sound of flipping a sheet material) may be generated due to a difference in rigidity of various sheet materials.
Normally, the next sheet feeding timing is determined by the registration sensor in front of the registration means that the previously fed sheet material has passed through the registration sensor (in the case of a multi-stage feeding device, the conveyance position sensor upstream of the registration sensor). The next sheet material is fed from the confirmation.
However, feeding at a low speed opens a feeding interval between sheet materials, while in an apparatus configuration that requires a narrow feeding interval, feeding is performed at a high speed from the time of feeding. There is only a feeding means.
In order to increase the feeding speed, if the motor slew-up control is performed when entering the nip formation of the sheet material, the separation load is in the middle of the process. There is a risk of adjusting.
The object of the present invention is to supply the sheet material by performing through-up control of a stepping motor used as a drive source at a predetermined timing between the nip forming portion and the registration means portion in feeding in consideration of the above situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material feeding device that can increase the speed of feeding, eliminate the occurrence of collision sound and flipping sound, and perform stable feeding control, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet material feeding device.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a sheet feeding device that presses a sheet material stacked on a sheet material stacking member and feeds the sheet material to a separation unit, and press-contacts the sheet material. An inclined member that has an inclined surface with which the tip in the feeding direction abuts, and has a protruding portion along the axial direction of the feeding means at the contact portion with the feeding means, and the inclined surface tip contacts with the feeding means at the edge; A stepping motor as a drive source, a clutch mechanism for driving the feeding means on and off, and a control unit for controlling these, the sheet material is fed to the separation unit by the feeding means, and the fed sheet material is inclined. separated by the inclined surface and the nip forming unit of the member, following the sheet feeding apparatus for conveying the sheet material to the registration unit section, wherein the control unit, in between the said nip forming portion register means section 1) or at the timing of (2) to perform a through-up control of the stepping motor and said.
(1) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Is fed to the registration means, and then the leading edge of the next sheet material is detected by a registration sensor, and the next sheet material is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means, and a predetermined slack is applied to the next sheet material. Then, the clutch mechanism is turned off, and then the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed.
(2) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Before the detection of the leading edge of the next sheet material by the registration sensor, the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed, and the next sheet material is fed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means. After conveying and forming a predetermined slack in the next sheet material, the clutch mechanism is turned off.
Further, according to the present invention, the feeding unit presses the sheet material accumulated in the sheet material stacking member and feeds the sheet material to the separation unit, and the inclined member presses the feeding unit, and the feeding direction of the sheet material An inclined surface against which the leading end of the feeding unit abuts, the inclined member forms a contact surface with the feeding unit in a protruding shape along the axial direction of the feeding unit, and the leading end of the inclined surface is edged to the feeding unit The sheet material is fed to the separation unit by the feeding means, the fed sheet material is separated by the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming unit, and a stepping motor is used as a drive source, said feeding means is driven by the clutch mechanism, and conveying the sheet material, the sheet feeding method for conveyed to the registration unit section, the following (1) in between the nip forming unit and the registration unit portion, or (2 Wherein the method feeding the sheet feeding performed at timing slew-up control of the stepping motor.
(1) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Is fed to the registration means, and then the leading edge of the next sheet material is detected by a registration sensor, and the next sheet material is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means, and a predetermined slack is applied to the next sheet material. Then, the clutch mechanism is turned off, and then the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed.
(2) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Before the detection of the leading edge of the next sheet material by the registration sensor, the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed, and the next sheet material is fed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means. After conveying and forming a predetermined slack in the next sheet material, the clutch mechanism is turned off.
Further, the present invention includes: the feeding sheet material feeding apparatus, and wherein the image forming apparatus and an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet material fed from the sheet feeding apparatus.

According to the present invention, when feeding the sheet material to the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming portion, the collision sound and the flipping of various sheet materials are performed by feeding the sheet material at a low feeding speed. Sound can be reduced, and separation performance can be stabilized at a low speed, so that feed quality can be stabilized.
In addition, by performing through-up control of a stepping motor used as a drive source at a predetermined timing between the nip forming portion and the registration means portion during feeding, the sheet material feeding speed can be increased, and the collision sound and the flipping sound can be achieved. Occurrence of the feed is eliminated, and stable feeding control can be performed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus configured as a printer. The image forming apparatus main body 30 includes a sheet material feeding device 20, a registration unit 17 that performs registration adjustment of an image forming position with respect to the sheet material 2 fed from the sheet material feeding device 20, and a sheet material. 2 is provided with image forming means 21 for forming an image.
First, the configuration and operation of the registration unit 17 and the image forming unit 21 will be described. In the registration means portion 17 of this embodiment, the registration sensor 18 detects the leading edge of the sheet material 2. The sheet material 2 is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the sheet material feeding device 20.
At that time, when the sheet material feeding device 20 is stopped, the registration roller (registration unit) 17 and the opposing roller 16 are stopped at this time, and the leading edge of the sheet material 2 fed out is located between the registration roller 17 and the opposing roller 16. It hits the nip.
By feeding a predetermined amount by the sheet material feeding device 20, a slack is formed at the front end of the sheet material 2, and when the full width of the front end of the sheet material 2 abuts against the registration roller 17, the skew of the sheet material 2 is corrected. Is done.
As a result, when the sheet material 2 is conveyed to the image forming unit including the image forming means 21 by driving the registration roller 17 at the time of image formation, the timing of the image forming position can be achieved.

Further, in the image forming section of the present embodiment, the image forming means 21 has a drum-shaped photoconductor 22, and this photoconductor 22 is rotationally driven counterclockwise in FIG. 1 during the image forming operation. At this time, the surface of the photosensitive member 22 is charged to a predetermined polarity by a charging roller 23 which is an example of a charging device, and a light-modulated laser beam emitted from the exposure device 24 is applied to the surface of the charged photosensitive member 22. L is irradiated, whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 22.
This electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing device 25. A transfer roller 26, which is an example of a transfer device, is disposed facing the photoconductor 22, and the sheet material 2 fed from the sheet material feeding device 20 in the direction of arrow A in a manner described later is transferred to the photoconductor 22. The toner image on the photosensitive member 22 is transferred to the sheet material 2 through the transfer portion between the roller 26 and the roller 26.
The transfer residual toner that is not transferred to the sheet material 2 and adheres to the photosensitive member 22 is removed by the cleaning device 27. Further, the sheet material 2 that has passed through the transfer section passes through the fixing device 28 as indicated by an arrow B, and at this time, the toner image on the sheet material 2 is fixed to the sheet material by the action of heat and pressure.
The sheet material 2 that has passed through the fixing device 28 is discharged to a paper discharge unit 29. As described above, a predetermined image is formed by the image forming means 21 on the sheet material 2 fed from the sheet material feeding device 20.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sheet material feeding device of the printer of FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet material feeding device 20 includes a main body case 10 through a box-shaped main body case 10 having an open upper portion and an opening 10 b formed in the rear portion of the main body case 10. The cassette 11 is detachably mounted inside.
In this cassette 11, a sheet material stacking member 1, generally called a bottom plate, is arranged, and holes formed in the ear portion 1a projecting on the rear end side project on each side wall 11b of the cassette 11. The pin 11a is rotatably fitted.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a compression spring 3 is disposed between the front end side of the sheet material stacking member 1 and the bottom wall 11c of the cassette 11, so that the front end side of the sheet material stacking member 1 faces upward. It is energized.
A shaft 8 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is rotatably supported by the main body case 10, and a sheet material feeding member 4 configured as a feeding roller made of an elastic body is attached to the shaft 8. On the other hand, it is fixed concentrically.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state in which the leading end portion X of the uppermost sheet material of the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking member is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sheet material 2 described above is stacked on the sheet material stacking member 1.
When the sheet material stacking member 1 is biased upward by the compression spring 3, as shown in FIG. 3, the front end side portion X of the uppermost sheet material 2a of the sheet material 2 stacked on the sheet material stacking member 1 is shown. Is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4. Hereinafter, this portion is referred to as a pressure contact portion X.

In the present embodiment, the uppermost sheet material 2a is made of paper or a resin sheet. As will be described later, the uppermost sheet material 2a is sent out in the direction indicated by the arrow S in FIG. 3 as the sheet material feeding member 4 rotates, but downstream of the above-mentioned pressure contact portion X in the sheet material conveyance direction. On the side, an inclined member 6 having an inclined surface 9 is arranged.
A portion where the feeding member 4 is in contact with the inclined member 6 constitutes a separation portion.
The portion indicated by reference numeral 12 of the inclined member 6 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 by the biasing action of the compression spring 5 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Hereinafter, this portion is referred to as a pressure contact portion 12.
As described above, the inclined member 6 includes the press contact portion 12 that presses against the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4, and the portion on the upstream side in the sheet material feeding direction from the press contact portion 12 is configured as the inclined surface 9. Has been. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, protrusions 13 protruding from the respective side surfaces of the inclined member 6 are slidably fitted to guide rails 7 provided in the main body case 10.
Accordingly, the inclined member 6 is supported so as to be movable in a direction in which the inclined member 6 is in contact with or separated from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4, that is, in a direction in which the inclined member 6 approaches or separates from the outer peripheral surface. The pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 by a compression spring 5 disposed between the feeding member 4 and the main body case 10.
A pair of hooks 15 are provided at the lower part of the inclined member 6, and when these engage with a locking portion (not shown) of the main body case 10, the inclined member 6 moves above its highest position. As a result, separation from the main body case 10 is prevented.
As can be seen from FIG. 2, the pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 extends in the axial direction of the sheet material feeding member 4 made of a feeding roller, and its width W is narrower, so that the sheet material is fed out than the pressure contact portion 12. The portion 14 of the inclined member 6 on the downstream side in the direction is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4.
It is also possible to divide the press contact portion 12 into a plurality of the sheet material 2 a in the feeding direction S and to press these press contact portions 12 to the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking member 1 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4, and the pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 is the sheet material feeding member. The distance LS along the sheet material feeding direction S between the portion 4 and the portion in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface is set to a short distance of about 2 mm to 6 mm.

Furthermore, when the friction coefficient of the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 with respect to the sheet material 2 is μ1, the friction coefficient between the sheet materials is μ2, and the friction coefficient of the pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 with respect to the sheet material 2 is μ3, μ1>μ2> μ3 is set. If the inclined member 6 is made of resin, the coefficient of friction of the inclined member 6 with respect to the sheet material 2 can be reliably lowered.
When a feeding signal is issued from a control unit (not shown), a motor (not shown) starts to operate, and the sheet material feeding member 4 including the shaft 8 and a feeding roller fixed thereto is shown in FIG. And it is rotationally driven counterclockwise in FIG.
As a result, the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 is moved, so that the uppermost sheet material 2 a pressed by the compression spring 3 and pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 becomes the sheet material feeding member 4. It is sent out in the direction of arrow S shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the leading end portion X of the uppermost sheet material of the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking member hits the inclined surface of the inclined member. In this way, the sheet material feeding member 4 is pressed against the sheet material 2a loaded on the sheet material stacking member 1 at its outer peripheral surface, and sends out the sheet material 2a pressed against the outer peripheral surface by movement of the outer peripheral surface. To help.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the leading end of the sheet material 2 a sent out abuts against the inclined surface 9 of the inclined member 6. At this time, the angle θ2 formed between the inclined surface 9 of the inclined member 6 and the feeding direction of the sheet material 2 is such that the tip of the sheet material 2a that abuts against the inclined surface 9 is guided to the inclined surface 9 as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is set at an acute angle so that it can move toward the pressure contact portion 12. This angle θ2 is preferably 50 ° to 70 °.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a sheet material passing between the outer peripheral surface and the pressure contact portion of the inclined member while receiving a frictional force from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member. As described above, the uppermost sheet material 2a guided to the press contact portion 12 receives the frictional force from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 as shown in FIG. It passes between 6 pressure contact parts 12.
The inclined member 6 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the uppermost sheet material 2a, and this is subjected to frictional force from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4. The sheet material 2a passes through.
At this time, as described above, since the friction coefficients μ1, μ2, and μ3 are set to μ1>μ2> μ3, the uppermost sheet material 2a is hindered by the frictional force received from the sheet material feeding member 4. Without being sent out from the cassette 11, it passes through the portion of the pressure contact portion 12.
Next, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the sheet material 2a is conveyed to a transfer portion between the photoconductor 22 and the transfer roller 26. At this time, the toner image on the photoconductor 22 is transferred to the sheet material. Transferred onto 2a. According to the sheet material feeding device 20 described above, the uppermost sheet material 2a among the plurality of sheet materials 2 stacked on the sheet material stacking member 1 is separated from other sheet materials, for example, 2b and 2c. Only the uppermost sheet material 2a can be fed.
The operation at this time will be clarified with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, when the tip of the uppermost sheet material 2a hits the inclined surface 9 of the inclined member 6, the force exerted by the sheet material 2a on the inclined surface 9 is F, and the inclined surface 9 of this force F The component force in the direction perpendicular to F1 is F1, and the component force in the direction along the inclined surface 9 is F2.
Further, if the force by which the compression spring 3 shown in FIG. 1 presses the inclined member 6 against the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 is referred to as a separation pressure Q, the direction of action of the separation pressure Q is that of the sheet material 2a. An angle indicated by θ1 is formed with respect to the delivery direction.
Therefore, the pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 is shown in FIG. 5 by setting the separation pressure so that the separation pressure Q is smaller than the component F1α of the component force F1 along the acting direction of the separation pressure Q. As described above, the sheet material 2a is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 by a distance substantially corresponding to the thickness of the sheet material 2a, and the sheet material 2a passes therethrough.

On the other hand, when the next sheet material 2b in contact with the uppermost sheet material 2a as shown in FIG. 5 is fed together with the sheet material 2a by the frictional force received from the uppermost sheet material 2a, The front end of the sheet material 2b hits the inclined surface 9 of the inclined member 6, and a force Fp is applied to the inclined surface 9. This force Fp is also divided into a component force Fp1 in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface 9 of the inclined member 6 and a component force Fp2 in a direction along the inclined surface 9 to generate a component Fp1α opposite to the separation pressure Q.
However, generally, the frictional force acting between the sheet materials 2 is small and is, for example, about 50% of the frictional force acting between the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 and the sheet material 2. For this reason, the force Fp1α is also very small, and the inclined member 6 can be prevented from being separated from the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 larger than the thickness of the uppermost sheet material 2a.
For this reason, the next sheet material 2 b is stopped by the inclined surface 9, and is not fed beyond the press contact portion 12. The same applies when the sheet material 2c below the next sheet material 2b is fed together and hits the inclined surface 9.
As described above, the illustrated sheet material feeding device 20 can feed only the uppermost sheet material 2 a among the stacked sheet materials 2. In addition, since the friction coefficient of the pressure contact portion 12 with respect to the sheet material 2a can be reduced, the sheet material 2 conveyed between the pressure contact portion 12 of the inclined member 6 and the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member 4 performs stick slip. The trouble which raises can be prevented and generation | occurrence | production of abnormal noise can be suppressed effectively.
The features of the sheet material feeding device of the present invention having the above-described configuration are as follows. That is, the sheet material feeding apparatus according to the present invention includes a feeding means 4 that presses against the uppermost surface 2a of the sheet material bundle 2 stacked on the sheet material stacking member 1 and feeds the sheet material to the separation unit. It has an inclined surface 9 that press-contacts the peripheral surface of the means 4 and abuts the leading end of the sheet material in the feeding direction, and a contact portion (pressure contact portion, protruding shape) along the axial direction of the feeding means at the contact portion with the feeding means Part) 12 and an inclined member 6 whose tip of the inclined surface 9 abuts the feeding means at the edge, a stepping motor 19 as a drive source, a clutch mechanism for driving the feeding means on and off, and for controlling them (not shown) A control unit (CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O port), the sheet material is fed to the separation unit by the feeding means, and the fed sheet material is separated by the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming unit, Resist sheet material In the sheet material feeding device for conveying to the stepped portion, the control unit is configured to perform through-up control of the stepping motor at a predetermined timing and the nip forming unit in between the register means portion.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the feeding timing in the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the stepping motor 19 for driving the sheet material feeding member 4 and the registration roller 17 schematically shown in FIG. 2, the feeding unit clutch (not shown), and the registration roller clutch (not shown) are registered. The feeding timing controlled by the sensor 18 is shown.
When detecting that the registration sensor 18 is turned off (passing the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material) and feeding the next sheet material 2, the stepping motor 19 is raised to a low speed, which is through-up control, at the point a. The feeding clutch is turned on, and the sheet material 2 is fed to the registration means portion (registration roller) 17.
Next, at the point b, the leading edge of the next sheet material 2 is detected by the registration sensor 18 and conveyed by a predetermined amount by a feeding roller (feeding means) 4 to form a predetermined slack in the sheet material 2 and then a feeding clutch. Turn off. Thereafter, the stepping motor 19 is raised to a predetermined high speed at point c, the registration clutch is turned on at point d, and the sheet material 2 is conveyed to the image forming unit by the registration roller.
FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the feeding timing in the second embodiment of the present invention. 7, as in FIG. 6, a stepping motor 19 for driving the sheet material feeding member 4 and the registration roller 17 schematically shown in FIG. 2, a feeding unit clutch (not shown), a registration roller clutch ( (Not shown) is a feeding timing for controlling the registration sensor 18.
As in FIG. 6, when the registration sensor 18 is detected to be turned off and the next sheet material 2 is fed, the stepping motor 19 is raised to a low speed that is through-up control at the point a, and the feeding clutch is turned on. Then, the sheet material 2 is fed to the registration means portion (registration roller) 17.
Next, before the leading edge of the sheet material 2 is detected by the registration sensor 18 at the point b, the stepping motor 19 is raised to a predetermined high speed, and the sheet material feeding member (feeding roller, feeding means) 4 at the point c. Then, after a predetermined amount is conveyed and a predetermined slack is formed on the sheet material 2, the feeding clutch is turned off.
The registration clutch is turned on at point d, and the sheet material 2 is conveyed to the image forming unit. Therefore, when there is no fluctuation in the conveyance load of the sheet material 2 (the sheet material 2 passes through the inclined surface nip portion and the conveyance load is stable), the motor speed can be stably increased, and the feeding interval can be reduced. Become.

As described above, according to the present invention, when feeding the sheet material to the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming portion, by feeding the sheet material at a low feeding speed, It is possible to reduce the collision sound and the playing sound, and it is possible to stabilize the separation performance at a low speed, so that the feeding quality can be stabilized.
In addition, by performing through-up control of a stepping motor used as a drive source at a predetermined timing between the nip forming portion and the registration means portion during feeding, the sheet material feeding speed can be increased, and the collision sound and the flipping sound can be achieved. Occurrence of the feed is eliminated, and stable feeding control can be performed.
The present invention can also be applied to various types of image forming apparatuses other than the form shown in FIG. 1 or sheet material feeding apparatuses thereof, for example, a plurality of sheet material feeding units each accommodating sheet materials of different sizes. The present invention can be widely applied to an image forming apparatus having a feeding apparatus, an image forming apparatus including a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, or a multifunction machine, or a sheet material feeding apparatus thereof.

1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus configured as a printer. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a sheet material feeding device of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a front end portion X of the uppermost sheet material of the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking member is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the sheet material feeding member. Schematic which shows the state which the front end part X of the uppermost sheet | seat material of the sheet | seat material loaded on the sheet | seat material stacking member contacts the inclined surface of an inclination member. Schematic which shows the sheet material which passes between between an outer peripheral surface and the press-contact part of an inclination member, receiving a frictional force from the outer peripheral surface of a sheet material feeding member. FIG. 3 is a timing diagram illustrating a feeding timing in the first embodiment of the present invention. The timing diagram explaining the feed timing in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 sheet material stacking member, 2 sheet material, 2a uppermost sheet material, 4 feeding means (sheet material feeding member, feeding roller), 6 inclined member, 9 inclined surface, 12 contact portion of inclined member (pressure contact) Part), 17 registration means part (registration roller), 19 stepping motor, X pressure contact part

Claims (3)

Feeding means that presses the sheet material loaded on the sheet material stacking member and feeds the sheet material to the separation unit, and has an inclined surface that presses against the feeding means and abuts on the leading edge in the feeding direction of the sheet material. An inclined member having a projecting portion along the axial direction of the feeding means at the abutting portion with the means, and an inclined member whose tip of the inclined surface abuts the feeding means at the edge, a stepping motor as a drive source, and the feeding means are turned on / off A clutch mechanism for driving, and a control unit for controlling the clutch mechanism. The sheet member is fed to the separation unit by a feeding unit, and the fed sheet material is separated by the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming unit. In the sheet material feeding device that conveys the material to the registration means,
The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit performs through-up control of the stepping motor between the nip forming unit and the registration unit at the following timing (1) or (2) .
(1) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Is fed to the registration means, and then the leading edge of the next sheet material is detected by a registration sensor, and the next sheet material is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means, and a predetermined slack is applied to the next sheet material. Then, the clutch mechanism is turned off, and then the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed.
(2) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Before the detection of the leading edge of the next sheet material by the registration sensor, the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed, and the next sheet material is fed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means. After conveying and forming a predetermined slack in the next sheet material, the clutch mechanism is turned off. An inclined surface in which the feeding means presses against the sheet material stacked on the sheet material stacking member and feeds the sheet material to the separation unit, and the inclined member presses against the feeding means and the leading end of the feeding direction of the sheet material hits The inclined member forms a contact surface with the feeding means in a protruding shape along the axial direction of the feeding means, and the tip of the inclined surface is in contact with the feeding means at the edge, The sheet material is fed to the separation unit by the feeding unit, the fed sheet material is separated by the inclined surface of the inclined member and the nip forming unit, a stepping motor is used as a driving source, and the feeding unit is a clutch. In the sheet material feeding method that is driven by the mechanism, conveys the sheet material, and conveys the sheet material to the registration unit,
A sheet material feeding method, wherein through-up control of the stepping motor is performed between the nip forming portion and the resist means portion at the following timing (1) or (2) .
(1) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Is fed to the registration means, and then the leading edge of the next sheet material is detected by a registration sensor, and the next sheet material is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means, and a predetermined slack is applied to the next sheet material. Then, the clutch mechanism is turned off, and then the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed.
(2) When the passage of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet material is detected by the registration sensor and the next sheet material is fed, the stepping motor is raised to a low speed and the clutch mechanism is turned on at the same time, and the next sheet material is Before the detection of the leading edge of the next sheet material by the registration sensor, the stepping motor is started up to a predetermined high speed, and the next sheet material is fed by a predetermined amount by the feeding means. After conveying and forming a predetermined slack in the next sheet material, the clutch mechanism is turned off.   An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet material feeding device according to claim 1; and image forming means for forming an image on the sheet material fed from the sheet material feeding device.

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