JPH01110440A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable paper in large quantity to be supplied at a time in a device facilitated in its control by providing an extracting and inserting means which extrudes paper feed cassette to a paper feed position and draws out the paper feed cassette from the paper feed position to a circulative position. CONSTITUTION:When a required paper size is instructed in the time of copying, a cassette, positioned most adjacent to a paper feed part 5 and provided with paper of assigned size, moves till the cassette comes to a position corresponding to the paper feed part, and extruding the cassette to a paper feeder by an extruding arm 76, a paper feed roller 15 rotates in accordance with a paper feed signal, performing a paper feed. A number of sheets of feed paper from that cassette is stored in memory in a control part 32, and the rest quantity of every cassette is displayed in each cassette residual quantity display panel. Feeding paper one after another, when a sensor 16 detects no paper left in the cassette, it is returned to a circulative position by the extruding arm 76, and instead, the nearest positioned cassette of paper size is set to the paper feed position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feeding device for a recording device such as an electrophotographic copying machine.

In recording devices such as electrophotographic copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines, it is possible to select and use paper with various paper characteristics such as size, paper quality, and color, depending on the size of the original, user preference, etc. It looks like this.

However, in conventional copying machines, there are only two or three paper cassettes.
Many of the paper sizes, paper thicknesses, and colors that are commonly used are accommodated.
As long as you use these types of paper, you can easily switch between them by pressing a key on the control panel or operating a lever, but if you want to use paper with other paper characteristics, you must replace the paper cassette. Or, it was necessary to replace the paper in the paper cassette. This work for replacing paper is surprisingly time consuming and causes a decrease in copying efficiency.

In addition, many conventional copying machines can only accommodate 1,000 to 2,000 sheets of paper even if two or three paper cassettes are used. If it is a copy machine, even 2000 sheets will run out in about 30 minutes, and you will have to replenish paper every 30 minutes, and each time you will have to stop the copy machine and load paper into the paper feed stand or paper cassette. As a result, the operating rate of the machine becomes extremely poor.

On the other hand, considering the fact that the majority of paper jams in copying machines are caused by inaccuracies when loading paper into the paper feed table or paper cassette, paper feeding has traditionally been done by amateur users. If a specialized service person visits the paper stand and paper cassette once or twice a day,
Most jams will clear up.

However, as mentioned above, if paper needs to be replenished frequently, it is not suitable for specialized service personnel to supply it on a regular basis.
It is desirable to have a paper feeder that can accommodate half a day's worth of paper to one day's worth.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances regarding conventional paper feeding devices for recording devices such as copying machines, and allows for the replenishment of a large amount of paper at one time with simple operation, while also allowing the selection of paper having a variety of characteristics. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device that can feed paper to the main body of the device.

In order to achieve the above object, the paper feeding device of the present invention includes a paper feeding section, a paper replenishing section, and a circulation path that passes through a position facing the paper feeding section and the paper replenishing section, and a plurality of paper feeding cassettes. A cassette circulation device that circulates paper, a plurality of paper feed cassettes provided in the circulation device and capable of accommodating paper of arbitrary sizes, paper types, etc., and a paper feed cassette located opposite the paper feed section. It is characterized by having an extraction means for pushing the paper to the paper feeding position and pulling it out from the paper feeding position to the circulation position.

The present invention will be explained in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system in which a copying machine is combined with a paper feeding device according to the present invention. In FIG. 6, a copying machine main body 3 includes an automatic document feeder (ADF) 1, a sorter 2 and A paper feeder 4 according to the invention is connected.

The paper feeding device according to the present invention is as shown in FIG.

A paper feed section 5 and a paper supply port 6 having a paper supply door 6' are housed in a housing 4a provided on opposite sides.

Inside the housing 4a, in addition to the paper feed section 5 described above.

An environment control section 31 that maintains the atmosphere inside the housing at normal temperature and normal humidity. A control unit 32 that drives and controls the paper feeding device, a paper cassette circulation unit 80 that circulates a plurality of paper cassettes 21 along one circulation path, and a paper cassette that has come to a position facing the paper feed opening of the circulation path. An extraction means 81 is provided for pushing out the paper to the paper feeding section and pulling it back from the paper feeding section to the circulating position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed cassette circulation section 80 has vertical conveyors 82, 83 in two rows on the left and right in the figure, and in this embodiment, the right conveyor 82 facing the paper replenishment port 6 is arranged as shown by the arrow. The paper feed cassette is raised, and the left conveyor 83 facing the paper feed section 5 moves in a direction to lower the paper feed cassette 21.

A horizontal transfer device 84 is provided on the ceiling of the housing to horizontally transfer the paper feed cassette that has been raised to the top by the right conveyor 82 to the top of the left conveyor, and also to transfer the paper feed cassette that has been lowered to the bottom by the left conveyor 83 horizontally to the top of the left conveyor. Cassette 21
A horizontal transfer device 85 is provided at the bottom of the housing to horizontally transfer the material to the bottom of the right-hand conveyor 82. These one pair of vertical conveyors 82, 83 and one pair of horizontal transfer devices 8
4°85, a loop-shaped paper feed cassette circulation path is formed.

Each vertical conveyor 82,83 is constructed as shown in FIG. Pulleys 37, 3 with four chains 33, 34° 50.51 mounted on shafts 35, 36, 41, 48
8:39, 40; 42, 43; 47.49, the chain 45 is crossed and hung on the sprocket wheels 44, 46 fixed to the shafts 41 and 48, respectively.
The shaft 41 is driven by a pulley 53 and a chain 5 by a drive motor 54.
2, the opposing runs of chains 33 and 34 and 50 and 51 move synchronously and at the same speed in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 5, sliders 55 made of angle-shaped members are attached to each chain 33, 50; 34, 51 at regular intervals.

The slider 55 is a member on which the paper feed cassette 21 is placed, and is the fourth slider.
As shown, two holes 56 and 56' are drilled in each. This hole is a positioning hole when the paper feed cassette 21 is conveyed by a vertical conveyor, and a positioning hole for holding the paper feed cassette 21 at the paper feed position in the paper feed section. Protrusions each forming a part of a spherical surface are provided on both sides of the bottom surface of the paper feed cassette 21, and these protrusions are fitted into the positioning holes 56 and 56' to detent and position the protrusions at their respective positions. Of course,
It is also possible to provide a projection on the slider and a recess on the cassette bottom.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the upper horizontally moving bag [84, which extends from the upper right end of the right vertical conveyor 82 to the upper right end of the left vertical conveyor 83 by a bracket 28, 24 fixed to the housing ceiling. A guide rod 25 is supported and extended (see FIG. 3), and a push member 27 is slidably fitted into the guide rod 25. The pushing member 27 is provided with a long hole 57 in a portion extending downward from the sliding portion, and is hung around a sprocket wheel 58.59 provided at the lower part of the guide rod 25 and slightly inside from both brackets 24.28. Figure 7 (a)
), as shown in (b), a pin 2 protrudes sideways at one location.
9 fits into the elongated hole 57. Therefore, by moving the chain 26 in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. When in the downward running section, the pushing member moves from right to left and transfers the paper feed cassette from the top slider of the right vertical conveyor to the top slider of the left conveyor.

When the transfer of the paper feed cassette is completed, the pushing member 27 is returned to the right end position before the next paper feed cassette is raised.

The lower horizontal transfer device 85 also has a similar structure.

By circulating the paper feed cassette through the circulation path as described above, when a cassette containing sheets of a desired paper size comes to a position facing the paper feed section 5, the paper feed cassette is pushed out to the paper feed section 5. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an extraction device 81 for this purpose. The paper feed cassette 21 is provided with a cam groove 21' in which a roller 63 provided at the tip of a push-out arm 76 whose one end is pivotally supported by a member 77 fixed to the machine frame 23 engages. Therefore, when the pushing arm 76 is rotated to the position shown by the chain line by the rotation of the motor 60 via the repulley 61 and the belt 62, the paper feed cassette 21 is advanced to the paper feed position shown by the chain line.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the paper feeding section 5, a paper feeding roller 15 is pivotally supported on the machine frame, and when the paper feeding cassette 21 is pushed out and positioned at the paper feeding position by the pushing arm 76,
The bottom plate 18 in the cassette 21 is attached to the roller 17 at the tip of the push-up arm 13 which is pivotally supported on the fulcrum 12 by a spring 75.
The upper surface of the paper 20 placed on the bottom hole 18 is pressed against the paper feed roller 15 . Corner claws 74 are provided at both corners of the front end of the paper feed cassette 21.

When the paper feed roller rotates in the direction of the arrow due to the paper feed signal,
The paper is fed out one by one from the top of the paper stack and is moved to the feed roller 9.
, 1o and guided by guide plates 7 and 8, and fed into the main body of the copying machine.

The paper feed section includes a sensor (A) 11 that detects the number of the paper feed cassette pushed out to the paper feed section by the pushing arm 76, and a sensor (A) 11 that detects when there is no paper in the cassette. B) 16 and a sensor (C) 14 for detecting whether or not the paper has been sent out correctly.

A flap cover 87 is provided at the paper feed port 86 of the paper feed section 5 by screwing its upper edge onto the upper edge of the paper feed port, and is made of a material so that the paper feed port is normally closed by a weak spring or its own weight. When feeding paper,
When the paper is sent out from the paper feed port, the lid 87 is pushed by the leading edge of the paper and is displaced to the position shown by the broken line, the paper feed port opens, and the paper slides underneath and is fed. The cover of the paper feed slot is
As shown in the figure, a thin elastic plate 88 such as a Mylar sheet
The upper edge of the opening may be attached to the upper part of the paper feeding port of the paper feeding unit housing, and the leading edge of the paper to be fed may be pushed open to the position indicated by the broken line.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

When the door 6' of the paper supply port 6 is opened, the vertical conveyor 8 on the right side is opened.
2, a plurality of paper feed cassettes 21 are lined up at predetermined intervals. Then, the wrapping paper of the paper is opened and one package is placed into the N cassette 21. At this time, when the sheet bundle is pushed into the cassette, the cassette comes into contact with the front plate 23 fixed to the machine frame, and the sheets are accurately placed in the cassette. Supply port 6
When all the paper is stored in the cassette facing the front door and the cassette movement button 90 of the operating section 89 shown in FIG. Due to .85, the right cassette is 1
It goes up N steps, and when it reaches the top, it moves from right to left, and goes down one step at a time by the vertical conveyor on the left, and all the cassettes on the right move to the left, and the cassettes on the left move to the vertical conveyor on the right instead. from the bottom one step at a time and replace them.

After storing paper in all cassettes, open the paper supply door 6'
Once you close it, the preparation is complete.

When the cassettes are circulated once while paper is being set, the sensor 78 installed at the second position from the top of the left vertical conveyor in Figure 3 detects which size paper is in which cassette. , stored in the control unit 32.

When copying, when the required paper size is instructed from the operation section of the copying machine main body, the cassette containing paper of the specified size closest to the paper feed section 5 moves until it is in a position facing the paper feed section, The paper is pushed out to the paper feeding device by the pushing arm 76, and the paper feeding roller 15 rotates in response to a paper feeding signal to perform paper feeding. The number of sheets fed from the cassette is stored in the control unit 32, and the remaining amount of each cassette is displayed on the remaining amount display board 91 of each cassette as shown in FIG. 9, which is located inside the paper supply door. be done. When the paper is fed one after another and the sensor (B) 16 detects that there is no paper in the cassette, the cassette is returned to the circulation position by the pusher arm 76 and the same size paper is placed in the closest position. The paper cassette is set in the paper feed position instead.

If you try to circulate a group of cassettes with the cassette in the paper feed section pushed out and set in the paper feed position, the cassette in the paper feed position will be restricted by the paper feed section and cannot be moved, resulting in a malfunction. become the cause. Therefore, when any of the cassettes is at the paper feeding position, the control section 32 is controlled so that the circulating movement of the cassettes is prohibited.

The environment control section 31 not only controls the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere within the housing 4a to predetermined values, but also maintains the pressure within the housing so that it is slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. As a result, external air is prevented from entering through the gap between the paper feed port and the housing, which are opened when paper is fed, and the inside of the housing can be maintained at a predetermined temperature and humidity at all times, thereby preventing the paper from absorbing moisture.

In the above embodiment, sensor 78 detects the paper size;
We have shown an example of specifying the paper size from the copier itself, but
Since there are a large number of cassettes, it is possible to detect and specify not only paper size but also various paper characteristics such as paper thickness and one color.

Furthermore, this device can be applied not only to a paper feeding device separate from a copying machine or printing machine, but also to a paper feeding unit provided inside a copying machine or printing machine.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to replenish a large amount of paper to the paper feed device of a copying machine at the same time, improving the productivity of the machine, and at the same time, requiring a specialized service person to replenish paper. This is effective in preventing accidents such as jams caused by poor paper setting. Further, paper of various sizes, paper thicknesses, etc. can be selected by a simple operation without manually replacing the paper feed cassette, thereby improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows one of the copying systems combining the paper feeding device of the present invention.
An explanatory diagram showing an example, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the paper feeding device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the vertical conveyor of the cassette circulation device, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the mounting part of the slider, FIG. 6 is a front view showing the configuration of the horizontal movement device of the cassette circulation device,
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are a front view and a side view showing the main parts thereof. FIG. 8 is a front view showing the cassette extraction mechanism in the paper feed section, FIG. 9 is a front view showing an example of the operation panel, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are sectional views showing examples of the paper feed opening. be. 3...Copying machine main body 4...Paper feeder 4a...Housing 5...Paper feed section 6...Paper supply port 6'...Paper supply port layer 9.10...Feed roller 11.14, 16, 78...Sensor 15...Paper feed roller 18...Cassette bottom plate 20...Paper 21...Paper feed cassette 27...Pushing member 29...Pin 31... -Environmental control section 32...Control section 33.34,50,51...Vertical conveyor chain 55...Slider 56.56'...Positioning hole 76...Extrusion arm 80...Paper feeding Power cassette circulation section 81...Cassette extraction means 52, 83'...Vertical conveyor 84.85...Horizontal moving means 86...Paper feed port 87.88...Paper feed port cover 89... Operation section Fig. 6 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 S U 8 S

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A paper feeding section, a paper replenishing section, and a cassette circulation device that circulates a plurality of paper cassettes through a circulation path passing through positions facing the paper feeding section and the paper replenishing section; Multiple paper feed cassettes that can accommodate paper of different sizes, paper types, etc., and a drawer that pushes the paper feed cassette located opposite the paper feed section to the paper feed position and pulls it out from the paper feed position to the circulation position. A paper feeding device having means. (2) The paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein the cassette circulation device is controlled so that circulation movement of the cassette is prohibited when the paper feed cassette is in the paper feed position. (3) The above-mentioned cassette circulation device includes a pair of vertical moving means for vertically moving the paper feeding cassette in opposite directions, and a pair of vertical moving means for vertically moving the paper feeding cassette in opposite directions, and a pair of vertical moving means for horizontally transporting the paper feeding cassette between the two vertical moving means at the upper and lower ends thereof. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, comprising a pair of horizontal moving means. (4) The above-mentioned cassette vertical movement means is attached to a pair of endless chains whose opposing running parts are cyclically driven in the same direction in synchronization by a driving source, and the above-mentioned pair of chains at positions facing each other. 4. A paper feeding device according to claim 3, further comprising a slider for receiving a paper feeding cassette. (5) The paper feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the slider has positioning means for positioning the paper feeding cassette at a circulating position and a paper feeding position, respectively. (6) A cassette circulation device that circulates a paper feed section, a paper replenishment section, and a plurality of paper cassettes through a circulation path passing through positions facing the paper feed section and the paper replenishment section; Multiple paper feed cassettes that can accommodate paper of different sizes, paper types, etc., and a drawer that pushes the paper feed cassette located opposite the paper feed section to the paper feed position and pulls it out from the paper feed position to the circulation position. It corresponds to an instruction signal based on a paper characteristic instruction signal such as paper size from the main body of the paper feeding device and a characteristic information signal of the paper stored in each cassette on the storage device side of each cassette on the paper feeding device side. A paper feeding device comprising a control means for controlling setting of a paper feeding cassette in the paper feeding device. (7) A cassette circulation device that circulates a paper feed section, a paper replenishment section, and a plurality of paper cassettes through a circulation path passing through positions facing the paper feed section and the paper replenishment section; Multiple paper feed cassettes that can accommodate paper of different sizes, paper types, etc., and a drawer that pushes the paper feed cassette located opposite the paper feed section to the paper feed position and pulls it out from the paper feed position to the circulation position. When the paper end of the paper feed cassette at the paper feed position is detected, the paper feed is stopped, the paper feed means is released from the paper feed cassette, and the paper feed cassettes are circulated to pick up the closest paper of the same characteristics. A paper feeding device comprising a control means for controlling a paper feeding cassette containing the paper feeding cassette to be set at a paper feeding position.