JP6025195B2 - Sheet transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus that is mounted on an electronic device such as a sheet feed scanner or a printer that handles a sheet such as a read original or printing paper, and conveys the sheet on a conveyance path.

  This type of sheet conveying apparatus is mounted on a wide variety of electronic devices such as a copier, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine thereof, in addition to a sheet feed scanner and a printer.

  During the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus, the sheet may jam in the middle of the sheet conveying path and become jammed. In a sheet conveying apparatus, to recover from a failure such as a sheet jam, or to perform maintenance of a reading device or a print head mounted at a position facing the conveying path in the sheet conveying apparatus or an electronic device in which the sheet conveying apparatus is mounted. In addition, a cover that can be opened and closed is often provided in the middle of the transport path.

  This type of cover is closed during normal operation of the sheet conveying apparatus, and is open during failure recovery work and maintenance work. Note that a sheet conveying apparatus provided with such a cover is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707.

  By the way, this type of cover may be provided with a lock mechanism or a cover urging mechanism that urges the cover toward the closed state in order to keep the cover closed during normal operation of the sheet conveying apparatus. It is common. As the lock mechanism, for example, a mechanism having a concave / convex engagement relationship, a lock-type form or a crescent-type form is known. Of these, those having a concave / convex engaging relationship and those in the form of locks are often provided with a biasing force applying mechanism that biases the convex or ridge toward the locked state.

JP 2004-45554 A

  However, the lock mechanism provided to keep the cover closed during normal operation of the sheet conveying apparatus has a large number of parts and has a complicated structure, which can be an adverse effect of downsizing the sheet conveying apparatus, Invited to rise.

  Furthermore, both the lock mechanism and the cover urging mechanism that may be provided on the cover for the same purpose have only the function of maintaining the cover in the closed state. There is no function to keep the cover open during maintenance. For this reason, when performing failure recovery work and maintenance work of the sheet conveying apparatus, the user needs to perform trouble recovery work and maintenance work while keeping the cover open by hand. In particular, in the case of a cover urging mechanism that maintains the cover in a closed state, the user must maintain the cover in an open state by applying a force that overcomes the urging force by the cover urging mechanism. The workability of the disaster recovery work and maintenance work was impaired.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveying apparatus that has a simple structure and can easily perform failure recovery work and maintenance work.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed in a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval. A cover that is attached via a rotation fulcrum and is rotatable between an open state in which the cutout portion formed in the outer wall is opened and a closed state in which the cutout portion is closed, and the rotation of the cover. A chevron formed on the frame so as to protrude toward the moving fulcrum, and attached to the cover so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction approaching / leaving the chevron, and approaches the chevron A movable element biased in a direction, and the movable element contacts one hem portion of the chevron when the cover is closed, and the other of the chevron when the cover is open By contacting the hem part of the cover, the cover Sheet transport device is obtained, characterized in that the latched state and an open state, respectively.

  A driving roller supported by the frame and driven by a driving source; and a driven roller supported by the cover and biased with respect to the driving roller. The driving roller and the driven roller are The chevron is formed by the drive roller, and the driven roller can reciprocate along the central axis in a direction approaching / separating from the drive roller. And the center axis is biased in the direction approaching the drive roller, whereby the mover may be constituted by the driven roller.

  A window of a sheet reading device may be located in a region of the inner wall that is exposed to the notch when the cover is open.

  A print head may be located in a region of the inner wall that is exposed to the notch when the cover is open.

  The sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention has a simple structure, and can easily perform failure recovery work and maintenance work.

1A and 1B are views showing a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a top view, FIG. 1B is a side view, and FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the sheet conveying apparatus by the Example of this invention. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a main part with a cover closed, and FIG. . 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a main part in a state where the cover is opened and closed, and FIG. It is. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a main part with a cover open, and FIG. .

  A sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention is a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed on a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval. Have. The cover is attached to the frame via a rotation fulcrum, and is rotatable between a closed state in which the cutout portion formed on the outer wall is closed and an open state in which the cutout portion is opened.

  In particular, the sheet conveying apparatus is attached to the cover so as to reciprocate in a direction approaching / separating from the chevron part provided on the frame so as to protrude toward the pivot point of the cover, and And a mover urged in a direction approaching the mountain-shaped portion.

  When the cover is in the closed state, the mover contacts one of the bottom portions of the chevron, while in the open state, the mover contacts the other bottom portion of the chevron so that the cover is closed and opened. Latched in each state.

  With this configuration, the sheet conveying apparatus has a simple structure, and can easily perform failure recovery work and maintenance work.

  That is, although the sheet conveying apparatus has a simple structure without a conventional lock mechanism, the cover can be kept closed during normal operation of the sheet conveying apparatus.

  In addition, since the sheet conveying apparatus maintains the cover in an open state when the sheet conveying apparatus is recovered or maintained, the user manually opens the cover when performing the sheet conveying apparatus's failure recovery or maintenance work. There is no need to maintain the state. Therefore, it is excellent in the workability of the trouble recovery work and maintenance work of the sheet conveying apparatus.

  Furthermore, the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention further includes a driving roller that is pivotally supported by a pair of frames and a driven roller that is pivotally supported by the cover for conveying the sheet with the sheet sandwiched therebetween. Is constituted by a driving roller, while the mover may be constituted by a driven roller.

  In this case, since the driving roller and the driven roller that are originally provided in the sheet conveying device function as a chevron and a mover, respectively, the sheet conveying device has a simpler structure.

  Hereinafter, a more specific embodiment of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1C, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A, a sheet conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a printer, a flat bed scanner, and a sheet feed scanner (or a facsimile machine). This is an example applied to a sheet feed scanner unit 10 of a multifunction machine having each function. The sheet feed scanner unit 10 is mounted on a main body (not shown) of the multifunction device so as to be openable and closable via a hinge 41, and also functions as a document presser for a flat bed scanner unit (not shown) in the multifunction device. Is. Reference numeral 42 denotes a pad for pressing a document to be read by the flat bed scanner unit.

  The sheet feed scanner unit 10 includes a sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention and a reading device 21 such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor).

  The sheet conveying apparatus includes a take-in tray 11 on which one or more originals (sheets) are placed with a reading surface to be read by the reading device 21 facing down, and a plurality of sheets placed on the take-in tray 11. Are picked up from the document placed on the top one by one into the sheet feed scanner unit 10, and have a pair of drive separation roller 13A and driven separation roller 13B.

  The pick roller 12 is configured to be movable up and down so as to descend only when necessary. Each of the pick roller 12 and the drive separation roller 13A is mechanically connected to an electric motor (not shown) as a drive source via a gear or the like. The driven separation roller 13B is rotatably provided on a fixed frame including the inner wall 14, and is urged by a coil spring 13C with a predetermined amount of urging force against the drive separation roller 13A. In some cases, the fixed frame including the inner wall is movably attached to the basic frame.

  The sheet conveying apparatus further includes a drive feed roller 16A that forms a set for conveying the document in a U-turn in a conveying path defined by the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15 facing the inner wall 14 at a predetermined interval. It has a first driven feed roller 16B and a second driven feed roller 16D.

  The drive feed roller 16A is provided on a fixed frame including the inner wall 14, and is mechanically connected to an electric motor (not shown) as a drive source via a gear or the like. The first driven feed roller 16B is biased by a coil spring 16C with a predetermined biasing force against the drive feed roller 16A. Similarly, the second driven feed roller 16D is urged with a predetermined urging force against the drive feed roller 16A by a double-sided spring (not shown).

  The sheet conveying apparatus further includes a driving pulling roller (driving discharge roller) 17A and a driven pulling roller (driven discharge roller) 17B that make a pair for pulling the document that has been conveyed in a U-turn. The driving pulling roller 17A is supported by a fixed frame including the inner wall 14 on a central axis X17A, and is mechanically connected to an electric motor (not shown) as a driving source via a gear or the like. On the other hand, the driven separation roller 17B is provided so as to be able to reciprocate on a cover 31 rotatably attached to a fixed frame as will be described later, and has a predetermined size with respect to the drive pulling roller 17A by a coil spring 17C. It is energized by the energizing force.

  A document pulled by the pair of driving pulling roller 17A and driven pulling roller 17B is read by the reading device 21 through a reading window 22 attached to a notch formed in the inner wall 14. The reading device 21 is provided on a fixed frame including the inner wall 14. The reading window 22 also functions as an inner wall. Since the original is read while being conveyed by the sheet conveying apparatus, the reading device 21 is a line sensor fixedly arranged, but scanning reading is performed.

  The document that has been read by the reading device 21 is sequentially discharged onto the discharge tray 18 by a pair of driving pulling roller 17A and driven pulling roller 17B. The discharged document is placed on the discharge tray 18 with the surface read by the reading device 21 facing upward, and the user can collect the document.

  When the sheet feed scanner unit 10 has a double-sided automatic reading function of a document, the document is transported by the sheet transporting device, and a reading device (not shown) provided in the flat bed scanner unit. Information is read by diversion. In this case, the surface facing upward when the document is placed on the take-in tray 11 is read.

  3B, the sheet conveying apparatus is attached to a fixed frame including the inner wall 14 via a rotation fulcrum X31, and an open state in which a notch formed in the outer wall 15 is opened. A cover 31 is provided that is rotatable between a closed state in which the notch is closed. Recovery from failures such as sheet jamming in the conveyance path, or a reading device 21 mounted at a position facing the conveyance path in a sheet conveyance apparatus or a multi-function machine in which the sheet conveyance apparatus is mounted, a reading window 22 protecting the same, etc. When performing maintenance of the device, the cover 31 is opened, so that the user can easily insert a hand or a tool into the conveyance path. In the open state, the cover 31 is restricted from rotating excessively in the closing direction by partly contacting the fixed frame. Similarly, in the closed state, the cover 31 is restricted from rotating excessively in the opening direction by partly contacting the fixed frame.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 3B, the sheet conveying apparatus is driven as a mountain-shaped portion provided on the fixed frame including the inner wall 14 so as to protrude toward the rotation fulcrum X31 of the cover 31. It has a pulling roller 17A. In FIG. 3B, a line segment aa indicates the protruding direction of the mountain of the driving pulling roller 17A as the mountain-shaped portion. Further, in the figure, the symbol Mt indicates the peak of the mountain of the driving pulling roller 17A as the mountain portion. Reference numerals Mf1 and Mf2 respectively indicate the skirt portions of the mountain of the drive pulling roller 17A as the mountain-shaped portion. Therefore, the vertex Mt is located on the line segment aa indicating the protruding direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the sheet conveying apparatus is further attached to the cover 31 so as to be able to reciprocate along the central axis X17B in a direction approaching / separating from the chevron (drive pulling roller 17A), and A driven traction roller 17B is provided as a mover that is urged by the coil spring 17C together with the central axis X17B (biasing force F) in a direction approaching the chevron.

  In the sheet conveying apparatus, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the cover 31 is closed, the driven traction roller 17B as a mover is placed on one skirt portion Mf1 of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A). By contact (contact point P), the cover 31 is latched in the closed state.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the cover 31 is open, the driven traction roller 17B as a mover contacts the other skirt portion Mf2 of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A) (contact point P). Thus, the cover 31 is latched in the open state.

  As will be described later, even if the contact point P exists at any position in the skirt portion Mf1 of the mountain-shaped portion, when the user releases his / her hand from the cover 31, the cover 31 automatically turns to FIG. Transition to the closed state shown in (b).

  On the other hand, as will be described later, even if the contact point P exists at any position in the skirt portion Mf2 of the mountain-shaped portion, when the user removes his / her hand from the cover 31, the cover 31 is automatically in FIG. 5 (a). And it transfers to the open state shown by (b).

  Next, the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the cover 31 is closed during normal operation of the sheet conveying apparatus (sheet feed scanner unit). In this closed state, the driven traction roller 17B as a movable element abuts on one hem portion Mf1 of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A) with a force corresponding to the urging force F of the coil spring 17C (contact point P). Thus, the cover 31 is latched in the closed state. The cover 31 in the closed state functions as a part of the outer wall that defines the conveyance path together with the inner wall.

  Even if the user releases his / her hand from the cover 31 before reaching the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B from the closed state of the cover 31 (FIGS. 3A and 3B). In the cover 31, the contact point P of the mover (driven traction roller 17B) is directed from the vertex Mt of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A) to the first one skirt portion Mf1 based on the urging force of the coil spring 17C. It moves so as to return automatically, and is latched in the closed state shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b).

  Next, recovery from a failure such as a sheet jam in the conveyance path, or a reading device 21 mounted in a position facing the conveyance path in a sheet conveyance apparatus or a multi-function peripheral equipped with the sheet conveyance apparatus and a reading window protecting the same When performing maintenance of a device such as 22, the user rotates the cover 31 in the opening direction. As the cover 31 rotates in the opening direction, the contact point P of the mover (driven traction roller 17B) moves from one hem portion Mf1 of the mountain portion (drive traction roller 17A) to the vertex Mt of the mountain portion. To reach the state shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). In the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the contact point P coincides with the apex Mt of the mountain-shaped portion (drive pulling roller 17A).

  When the user further opens the cover 31, the contact point P of the movable element (driven traction roller 17 </ b> B) with the further rotation of the cover 31 in the opening direction is the apex Mt of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17 </ b> A). To move toward the other skirt portion Mf2 of the chevron, reaching the state shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). That is, when the driven traction roller 17B as a mover contacts the other skirt portion Mf2 of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A) (contact point P), the cover 31 is latched in the open state.

  Even if the user releases his / her hand from the cover 31 before the cover 31 reaches the open state (FIGS. 5A and 5B) from the state shown in FIGS. In the cover 31, the contact point P of the mover (driven traction roller 17B) is directed from the vertex Mt of the mountain-shaped portion (drive traction roller 17A) toward the second other hem portion Mf2 based on the urging force of the coil spring 17C. It moves so as to advance automatically, and is latched in the open state shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).

  Then, through the notch in the outer wall 15 that is opened when the cover 31 is latched in the open state, the user inserts a hand or a tool into the conveyance path and recovers from an obstacle such as a sheet jam in the conveyance path, or Then, maintenance is performed on devices such as the reading device 21 mounted at the position facing the conveyance path in the sheet conveying apparatus and the multifunction machine on which the sheet conveying device is mounted, and the reading window 22 that protects the reading device 21.

  After the failure recovery operation or maintenance operation is completed, the user urges the cover 31 in the closing direction so that the contact point P of the movable element (driven traction roller 17B) becomes the other skirt of the chevron (drive traction roller 17A). Even if the user moves his hand from the cover 31 beyond the vertex Mt from the portion Mf2 to the one bottom portion Mf1, the contact point P moves from the vertex Mt toward the second one bottom portion Mf1. In other words, as a result of the automatic movement, the cover 31 is latched in the closed state shown in FIGS.

  In the embodiment described above, the sheet conveying device that is mounted on the sheet feed scanner unit of the multifunction peripheral and conveys the document whose information is to be read has been described. However, the sheet conveying device according to the present invention is a printer, a copier, It may be mounted on a printer unit in a facsimile machine or a multi-function machine thereof and transport a sheet to be printed. In this case, a print head, an ink tank, a toner cartridge, an ink ribbon, or an area that is exposed to the notch when the cover of the inner wall that defines the paper conveyance path together with the outer wall is opened, or A platen or the like may be located.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical scope described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sheet feed scanner part 11 Intake tray 12 Pick roller 13A Drive separation roller 13B Driven separation roller 14 Inner wall 15 Outer wall 16A Drive feed roller 16B First driven feed roller 16D Second driven feed roller 17A Drive pulling roller (drive discharge roller, mountain) Mold part)
17B driven traction roller (driven discharge roller, mover)
17C Coil spring 18 Discharge tray 21 Reading device 22 Reading window 31 Cover Mf1, Mf2 Bottom part Mt Vertex X17A, X17B Central axis X31 Rotation fulcrum

Claims (6)

A sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed in a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval,
A cover that is attached to the frame via a rotation fulcrum and is rotatable between a closed state in which the cutout portion formed in the outer wall is closed and an open state in which the cutout portion is opened;
A chevron portion provided on the frame so as to protrude toward the rotation fulcrum of the cover;
A mover attached to the cover so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction approaching / leaving the chevron, and biased in a direction approaching the chevron ,
A drive roller supported by the frame and driven by a drive source;
A driven roller pivotally supported by the cover and biased against the drive roller ;
The driving roller and the driven roller convey a sheet with a sheet sandwiched between both rollers,
The chevron is configured by the drive roller,
The driven roller is capable of reciprocating along the central axis in a direction approaching / leaving the drive roller, and is urged by the central axis in a direction approaching the drive roller, whereby the mover is Composed of driven rollers,
When the movable element is in contact with one hem part of the chevron when the cover is in a closed state, the movable element is in contact with the other hem part of the chevron when the cover is in an open state, A sheet conveying apparatus that is latched in each of a closed state and an open state. A sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed in a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval,
A cover that is attached to the frame via a rotation fulcrum and is rotatable between a closed state in which the cutout portion formed in the outer wall is closed and an open state in which the cutout portion is opened;
A chevron portion provided on the frame so as to protrude toward the rotation fulcrum of the cover;
A mover attached to the cover so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction approaching / leaving the chevron, and biased in a direction approaching the chevron,
When the movable element is in contact with one hem part of the chevron when the cover is in a closed state, the movable element is in contact with the other hem part of the chevron when the cover is in an open state, Latched in closed and open states ,
A sheet conveying apparatus , wherein a window of a sheet reading device is located in a region of the inner wall exposed to the notch when the cover is open . A sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed in a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval,
A cover that is attached to the frame via a rotation fulcrum and is rotatable between a closed state in which the cutout portion formed in the outer wall is closed and an open state in which the cutout portion is opened;
A chevron portion provided on the frame so as to protrude toward the rotation fulcrum of the cover;
A mover attached to the cover so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction approaching / leaving the chevron, and biased in a direction approaching the chevron,
When the movable element is in contact with one hem part of the chevron when the cover is in a closed state, the movable element is in contact with the other hem part of the chevron when the cover is in an open state, Latched in closed and open states ,
A sheet conveying apparatus , wherein a print head is located in a region of the inner wall exposed to the notch when the cover is open . The region exposed to the notch in the open state of the cover of said inner wall, the sheet conveying device according to claim 1 or 3 window of the reading device of the seat is located. Wherein the region exposed to the notch in the open state of the cover, the sheet conveying device according to claim 1 or 2 print head is positioned within the inner wall. A sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet in a conveying path defined by an inner wall formed in a frame and an outer wall facing the inner wall at a predetermined interval,
A cover that is attached to the frame via a rotation fulcrum and is rotatable between a closed state in which the cutout portion formed in the outer wall is closed and an open state in which the cutout portion is opened;
A chevron portion provided on the frame so as to protrude toward the rotation fulcrum of the cover;
A mover attached to the cover so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction approaching / leaving the chevron, and biased in a direction approaching the chevron ,
A drive roller supported by the frame and driven by a drive source;
A driven roller pivotally supported by the cover and biased against the drive roller ;
The driving roller and the driven roller convey a sheet with a sheet sandwiched between both rollers,
The chevron is configured by the drive roller,
The driven roller is capable of reciprocating along the central axis in a direction approaching / leaving the drive roller, and is urged by the central axis in a direction approaching the drive roller, whereby the mover is Composed of driven rollers,
When the movable element is in contact with one hem part of the chevron when the cover is in a closed state, the movable element is in contact with the other hem part of the chevron when the cover is in an open state, Latched in closed and open states ,
A sheet conveying device , wherein a window of a sheet reading device and a print head are located in a region of the inner wall exposed to the notch when the cover is open .

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