JPH01128861A - Sheet supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contain and support sheets of various sizes while maintaining accurate flatness with a simple construction, by providing a sheet containing part with not only a sheet-supplying means but left and right pressing means for pressing against the sheet-supplying means, and detachably fitting a sheet- supporting member therebetween. CONSTITUTION:A sheet-supplying device comprises a mechanism for separately supplying one of a plurality of sheets contained in sheet-containing parts 18. Left and right hopper guides 20 are provided with separating pawls 20a as a plurality of separating means capable of being selected according to the characteristics (e.g., stiffness) of the contained sheets, a center guide 22 is provided with a friction-type center separator 29, and the separating means other than the selected separating means are retracted to the exterior of a sheet- supplying passage. A sheet-supporting member 60 is detachably fitted by utilizing the center guide 22. The member 60 guides and supports the sheets in the sheet- containing pats 18 while maintaing flatness and preventing the sheets from sagging at an intermediate part thereof, and comprises a center plate 61 and a plate guide 62. With this construction, high paper-supplying performance and reliability can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention automatically transfers unprocessed sheets one by one to a sheet processing device, such as a recording device or a reading device, that can continuously process a plurality of sheets. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that feeds sheets.

[Conventional technology]

A sheet holding section in a sheet storage section of a sheet processing device is generally provided with a pressing means (usually a pressing plate) for pressing the sheet against a sheet feeding means (usually a paper feeding roller), and holds the sheet from the back side. and is configured to press against the sheet feeding device.

Sheet feeding devices generally have a structure that allows them to feed sheets of different sizes, and some are capable of adjusting the sheet feeding position.

The pressing means is generally composed of two parts, a pair of left and right parts. These two parts are usually movable in the left and right direction, can be adjusted according to the sheet size and supply position, and often serve as guides in the width direction of the sheet.

Another structural example of the pressing means includes a pressing member having a width wider than the maximum sheet width that can be supplied, on which a pair of left and right guide members for guiding the sheet in the width direction can be slid on the sheet holding surface. There is a structure that is attached to the

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the conventional sheet feeding device described above, the sheets stored in the sheet storage section are held from the back side by a pair of left and right pressing plates or a pair of left and right guide members, and when wide sheets are stored, Only the left and right portions of the sheet width will be retained.

As a result, the area near the center line in the width direction of the sheet may bend due to its own weight, and the flatness of the stored sheet may not be maintained in the sheet storage section, leaving curls on the sheet or reducing the reliability of sheet feeding. there were.

To solve this problem, a method has been proposed in which a third holding guide member is provided between a pair of left and right guide members that press and hold the sheet to prevent the sheet from bending near the center line.

However, in recent sheet feeding devices that feed extremely small sheets such as postcards and business cards, when the third holding guide member is provided, the movable range of the left and right pair of holding sections is limited, and It becomes impossible to store and hold sheets of this size.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention was developed in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and has a simple and compact structure, can store and hold sheets of various sizes while maintaining accurate flatness, and has excellent paper feeding performance and reliability. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device with high performance.

In the present invention, in addition to the sheet supply means, the sheet storage section is provided with left and right pressing means that are released when the sheet is inserted and press the stored sheet against the sheet supply means when the sheet is supplied, and the left and right pressing means A sheet holding member is removably attached between the sheet holding members, and the sheet holding member includes a first portion that operates in association with the pressing means, and a first portion that is movably engaged with the first portion. The above-mentioned object is achieved by a sheet feeding device comprising a second portion movably mounted between the left and right pressing means.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a main part of a recording apparatus equipped with a sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a sheet feed roller 1 is rotatably supported in a recording device such as a printer, and in front of the sheet feed roller 1 is a guide rail 2 installed parallel to the sheet feed roller 1.
A carriage 3 is provided which reciprocates along the recording head 3, and a recording pad 4 is mounted on the carriage 3.

A pinch roller 6.6 for applying frictional conveyance force to the sheet (recording medium such as paper or a thin plastic plate) 5 is pressed onto the circumferential surface of the sheet feed roller 1, and also,
A paper guide 7 for guiding the sheet is provided around the sheet feeding roller 1.

A sheet feeding device (cut sheet feeder) 8 is removably attached to the upper part of the recording apparatus described above.

The sheet supply device 8 automatically supplies a plurality of sheets stored in the sheet storage portion into the recording apparatus one by one, and automatically discharges the recorded sheets 5.

This sheet feeding device 8 includes a paper feeding roller 11 that is drivably connected to a gear train that is connected to a roller gear (roller gear la in FIG. 7) provided on the shaft of the sheet feeding roller 1 when installed in the recording device. and a paper discharge roller 12 are provided.

In this way, when the sheet feeding device 8 is installed, the sheet feeding motor in the recording device rotates the sheet feeding roller 1, and the power is transmitted to the feeding roller 11 and the paper ejecting roller 12 through the gear train of the sheet feeding device. By transmitting the information to the stacker 9, the sheet 5 is automatically fed and automatically ejected, and the ejected sheets 5 are stacked on the stacker 9.

A clutch is attached to the shaft of the paper feed roller 11, and the clutch is turned on and off by switching the rotational direction of the sheet feed motor, thereby controlling the rotation of the paper feed roller 11. .

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device 8, FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet storage section when ordinary sheets are loaded in the sheet storage section, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the sheet storage section when stacking cardboard.

2 to 4, a stacking plate 18 is urged by a spring 19 toward the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 11, and the stacking plate 18 is directly pressed against the paper feed roller 11 when there is no sheet.

Two loading plates 18 are provided on the left and right, and each loading plate 18.
18 is rotatably supported on each of the two left and right hopper guides 20, 20 which are movable in the middle direction of the sheet 5 independently along the guide shaft 21. It is.

A center guide 22 is mounted between the left and right hopper guides 20, 20 and is movable independently in the left-right direction along the guide shaft 21.

A hopper wire 23 extending upward is attached to the center guide 22, and guides and supports the upper half of the sheet 5 pressed and supported between the stacking plate 18 and the paper feed roller 11.

A front cover 24 is removably attached to the front surface of the sheet feeding device 8, and inside the front cover 24 is a paper ejection pinch roller 24a that is pressed against the circumferential surface of the paper ejection roller 12 by a slope spring 24b. is installed. This paper discharge pinch roller 24. A is arranged corresponding to each paper ejection roller 12 provided at a plurality of positions.

The paper ejection roller 12 is normally driven at approximately the same circumferential speed (usually slightly higher circumferential speed) in conjunction with the sheet feed roller 1 (FIG. 1) of the recording apparatus, and the paper ejection pinch roller 24a is driven by the sheet feed roller 1 (FIG. 1). 12, the recorded sheet 5 sent out from the recording device is reliably pulled up.
It is configured to be deposited into a stacker 9 (FIG. 1).

A stacker wire 25 extending upward is detachably attached to the stacker 9 and guides and supports the sheets 5 stacked on the stacker 9.

Legs 41, 41 projecting downward are provided on the left and right sides of the front bottom of the sheet feeding device 8, and the tip of each leg 41 engages with the shaft of the sheet feed roller l (Fig. 1) when installed. A front opening type substantially horizontal groove 42 is formed.

Further, a claw member 27 is provided on the right wall portion 26 of the recording device at a position a predetermined distance behind the leg portion 41. This claw member 27 is pivotably mounted around the bin 43 and is biased forward by a spring 44.

When the sheet feeding device 8 is attached to the recording device, the grooves 42.42 of the left and right leg portions 41.41 engage with the shaft of the sheet feeding roller l (FIG. 1), and the sheet feeding device 8 is attached to the right wall portion 26. The claw member 27 that is attached to the key part 45 (first
3), the sheet feeding device 8 can be reliably fixed to the recording device.

In FIGS. 2-4, the left and right loading plates 18.18 are rotatably supported around pivots 46.46 provided at the upper ends of the left and right hopper guides 20.20, respectively.

On the other hand, a release lever 28 is swingably supported at one end (the right end in FIG. 2) of the guide shaft 21 that supports each popper guide 20 so as to be movable left and right. A release shaft 28a is connected which engages the loading plate 18.18.

Therefore, by rotating the release lever 28, each loading plate 18.18 is pressed by the pressing spring 19.
19 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and can be separated from the paper feed roller 11.

At the outer lower ends of the left and right hopper guides 20.20 and on the front side of the stacking plate 18.18, there are separating claws for separating a plurality of sheets (ordinary sheets) 5 on the stacking plate 18.18 one by one. (Separation means) 20a, 20a are provided.

On the other hand, in the sheet storage portions (sheet loading surfaces) of the left and right loading plates 18.18, guide members 18a movable in forward and backward directions are provided.
, 18a are attached.

That is, when each guide member 18a, 18'a retreats (evacuates) from the sheet storage surface, the entire sheet storage section of the stacking plate 18.18 is flattened and becomes in a state where ordinary sheets etc. are fed, and the sheet feeding roller When feeding sheets by driving 11, the stacked sheets are moved through the left and right hopper guides 20 and 20.
The sheets are guided by the separating claws 20a, 20a and separated one by one and supplied into the recording apparatus.

At this time, the friction type center separator (separation means) 29 attached to the center guide 22 is retracted to the rear.

When each of the guide members 18a, 18a is advanced to protrude from the loading surface, the hopper guide 20.20 and the separating claws 20a, 20a are not used;
By protruding the center separator 29 to the use position, a state suitable for supplying thick sheets of paper towels or the like is achieved.

That is, the guide member 1 on the upper surface of the left and right loading plates 18 and 18
When feeding thick sheets such as postcards stored inside 8a and 18a by driving the paper feed roller 11,
The sheets are guided by the left and right guide members 18a, 18a, separated one by one by the friction type center separator (separation means) 19, and fed into the recording apparatus.

In FIG. 3, in which the separating claws 20a, 20a are used, the plurality of sheets 5 in the sheet storage section are guided by the hopper guides 20, 20 and brought to the top when the feed roller 11 rotates and a feeding force is applied. When the upper sheet passes over the separating claws 20a, 20a, the leading edge of the sheet curls, so that it can be reliably separated and conveyed (supplied) one by one.

On the other hand, the hopper guide 20.20 and the separation claw 20a,
Guide members 18a, 18 standing upright without using 20a
FIG. 4, in which a and a protruding friction type separation means 29 are used, is a suitable state for supplying a stiff sheet 5 such as a postcard.

That is, if the sheets 5 stored in the sheet storage section are thick paper such as postcards, the above-mentioned separation claw 20a method is difficult to curl and makes it difficult to reliably separate only one sheet. Separation claw 20a on 20
, 20a, the cardboard (stiff sheet) 5 is separated using a center separator 29 which is a friction type separation means attached to the center guide 22 so as to be movable back and forth.

The tip of the center separator 29 is given an appropriate angle, and when the thickness a5 sent out by the paper feed roller 11 passes through the inclined part of the center separator 29, the tip of the top layer closest to the paper feed roller 11 Only sheets can be sent out.

Here, the center separator 29 is provided with a member having a high friction coefficient, such as foamed urethane, having spring properties such as a polyester sheet at its tip, and the cardboard is separated by utilizing the friction with the center separator 29. It can be configured as follows.

FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the center separator 29 and the guide member 18a.

As mentioned above, the separation claws 20a, 20a and the separator 29 are not used at the same time, but are used alternatively, so when the separation claws 20a, 20a are used, the center separator 29 is retracted out of the sheet conveyance path. There is a need. Conversely, when using the center separator 29, the separating claws 20a, 20a are provided in the sheet conveyance path.
It is necessary to operate it so that it is not located.

Therefore, the center separator 29 is made movable,
When the separation claws 20a, 20a are used, the center separator 29 is configured to move away from the sheet conveyance path.

In this case, guide members 18a, 18 supported by the loading plate 18.18 and movable (protruding and retracting) with respect to the loading plate 18.
a, and the guide member 18a.

When the center separator 18a is projected to the use position and the inner side of the separating claws 20a and 20a is used as the sheet conveyance path, the center separator 29 is also moved to the use position (sea+-ta).
It is preferable to protrude into the feed path.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an interlocking mechanism between the guide members 18a, 18a and the center separator 29.

In FIG. 5, the left and right guide members 18a, 18a and the center separator 29 in the middle are connected by a link mechanism, and by driving the link mechanism using a solenoid 47 provided in the device, the guide members 18a% lea
and the center separator 29 are automatically and simultaneously moved to the use position or the retracted position.

In this way, in the sheet feeding device that supplies the plurality of sheets 5 stored in the sheet storage section (on the stacking plate 18) one by one, one sheet is separated and supplied from the plurality of sheets 5 stored in the sheet storage section. A plurality of separation means 20a, 20a, and 29 are provided, which have a mechanism and can be selected according to the characteristics such as the stiffness (thickness) of the stored sheet 5, and separation means other than the selected separation means are provided. It is possible to obtain a sheet feeding device configured to retract the sheet out of the sheet feeding path and hold the sheet at the retracted position.

Further, the selection of the plurality of separating means 20a, 20a, and 29 is performed by moving a guide member 18a provided in the sheet storage section 18.

Furthermore, the selection of the plurality of separating means 20a, 29 is performed by retracting the separating means 29 out of the sheet supply path and moving a guide member 18a provided in the sheet storage section,
The guide member 18a is configured to move in conjunction with the gravel removal operation of the separation means 29.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the sheet ejection mechanism with the sheet supply device 8 attached to the recording apparatus.The sheet ejection mechanism will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, a paper ejection pinch roller 24a is attached to the inner surface of a front cover 24 which is removably provided to cover the front of the paper ejection roller 12 via a leaf spring 24b. Roller 24a (usually multiple 11
il) is pressed against the front side of each corresponding paper ejection roller 12 by the spring force of each handling spring 24b.

The sheet 5 sent out from the recording device is transported by the paper ejection roller 1.
The sheet is conveyed to the stacker 9 by the rotational force of 2 and the pressing force of the sheet discharge pinch roller 24a.

Therefore, the sheet conveyance force of the paper ejection roller 12 is increased by the pressure contact force of the paper ejection pinch roller 24a.
Even after the conveyance force of the sheet feed roller l in the recording apparatus is lost, the sheet from the recording apparatus can be reliably fed by the paper discharge roller 12.

In a conventional recording device, the conveying force (sheet feeding) of the sheet feeding roller 1 is transferred to the pinch roller 6 below the recording head 4.
(Fig. 6), there is an unrecordable area (bottom margin) at the bottom end of the sheet 5 corresponding to the distance between the recording head 4 and the pinch roller 6, resulting in waste of the sheet 5 and poor image arrangement. There were restrictions.

In contrast, in the structure of the embodiment, the paper ejection roller 12 is driven at a circumferential speed in synchronization with the sheet feed roller l, and a paper ejection pinch roller 24a is provided which presses against the paper ejection roller 12.
The paper ejection roller 12 is provided with a large (reliable) sheet feeding force, and even after the sheet feeding roller 1 has no conveying force, the sheet can be fed only by the paper ejection roller 12, resulting in a bottom margin. It becomes possible to record up to the bottom end of the sheet 5 without any trouble.

Therefore, when the sheet supply device 8 is installed in the recording apparatus, if this is detected and the drive of the paper ejection roller 12 is controlled,
The recordable range for the sheet 5 can be increased as appropriate, and can be increased to the point where there is no bottom margin if necessary.

Further, the circumferential speed of the paper ejection roller 12 is set slightly faster than the circumferential speed of the sheet feeding roller 1 (for example, about 0.2 to 0.8%), and the sheet 5 is This allows for reliable transportation without causing any slack.

However, if the rotation speed of the paper ejection roller 12 is faster than the sheet feed roller l, the tension of the sheet 5 between the paper ejection roller 12 and the sheet feed roller l increases due to variations in the thickness of the sheet 5, and the sheet 5 is transported. Since the load increases, the sheet feed stacking rate may decrease.

Therefore, in the structure of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a friction clutch 15 is provided at the end of the paper ejection roller 12, and when a load of more than a certain level is applied to the paper ejection roller 12, the rotational speed of the paper ejection roller 12 is reduced. A mechanism is provided to slow it down. By doing so, the sheet 5 can always be fed with a constant transport load, and a decrease in sheet feeding accuracy can be prevented.

FIG. 7 shows a gear train that transmits power from the roller gear 1a on the axis of the sheet feed roller l to the paper feed roller 11 and the paper discharge roller 12, and FIGS.
This shows the clutch attached to the shaft.

In FIG. 7, a roller gear 1a fixed to the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 in the recording apparatus is meshed with a gear 13a pivotally supported on the sheet supply device 8, and these gears laS 1
The driving force of the sheet feeding roller 1 is transmitted to the sheet feeding device 8 by the meshing of the sheets 3a.

On the other hand, a paper feed gear 17, a clutch 16, and a clutch gear 14 are attached to the shaft of the paper feed roller 11, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The clutch 16 and the clutch gear 14 are directly connected to each other, and the clutch 16 and the clutch gear 14 are rotatable about the shaft of the paper feed roller 11 as a support shaft.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a clutch pawl 14a is provided on the flange surface of the clutch gear 14, and when the clutch gear 14 rotates, the clutch pawl 14a moves on the outer circumference of the clutch 16. Sliding.

Further, the shaft of the paper feed roller 11 is supported by a one-way clutch (not shown), and is rotatable only in the six directions of arrows.

FIG. 8 shows the state where the clutch is ON, and the clutch pawl 14 is inserted through the notch hole 16a formed on the outer periphery of the clutch 16.
a has entered and engaged with the paper feed gear 17. In this state, the rotation of the clutch gear 14 is transmitted to the paper feed gear 17,
Paper feed roller 11 rotates.

In FIG. 7, the driving force of the roller gear 1a is transmitted to the clutch gear 14 through gear trains 133 to 13e provided in the sheet feeding device 8. Therefore, the clutch gear 14 operates regardless of whether or not the paper feed roller 11 rotates Φ.
If the roller gear 1a provided on the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 in the recording apparatus rotates out of rotation, it will always rotate.

A friction clutch gear 15 is attached to the shaft of the paper ejection roller 12.
(Fig. 7) is installed, and as shown in Fig. 7,
The clutch gear 14 and the friction clutch gear 1
5 are meshed and connected by gear trains 13f to 13h, and the rotation of the clutch gear 14 is connected to the paper discharge roller 12.
It is configured to be transmitted to.

FIG. 10 is a developed view of the peripheral surface of the clutch 16 on which the clutch pawl 14a (FIGS. 8 and 9) slides.

In FIG. 10, the peripheral surface of the clutch 16 has HPI, H
There is a stopper F2, and Sl indicates the notch hole 16a.

There are boundary lines La and Lb at the boundary between area SHP 1 on the HPl side and area 5HP2 on the HF2 side, and when the clutch pawl 14a moves from HPI to P2, HP 1
-L b -HP 2 is moved, and when moving from HF2 to HPl, HP 2-=L a-=HPl is moved.

The direction in which the clutch pawl 14a moves from HF2 to HPI is the direction in which the sheet feed roller 1 performs forward feeding (FWD), and the direction in which the clutch pawl 14a moves from HPI to HF2 is in reverse feeding (R
EV).

8 to 10, even if the clutch pawl 14a is in any position, the clutch pawl 14a is inserted into the notch hole S1.
(16a), an initialization operation is performed to ensure that the clutch pawl 14a is inserted into HPl. HP
Since the distance from I to Sl is constant, if the clutch pawl 14a is located at HPI, it is easy to reliably move it to 31.

In the initialization operation, the clutch pawl 14a is set to 31 and Sl.
When the clutch pawl 14a is moved in the HP1 direction when the clutch pawl 14a is in the area surrounded by
Because it is inserted inside and the clutch is turned on,
In order to avoid this, the clutch pawl 14a is initially moved to HF2.

Since the clutch pawl 14a reliably moves from SHP 2 to HPI, all initialization operations are performed on the clutch pawl 1 to HF2.
This can be done by moving 4a and then moving to HPI.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the clutch sequence, and clutch control will now be described with reference to FIG. 11.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the recording device is provided with a C5F sensor 31 that detects the presence or absence of the sheet feeding device 8 and a sheet sensor 30 that detects the presence or absence of the sheet 5. When the sheet sensor 30 is OFF, the feeder mode is set and initialization begins.

In FIG. 11, when the print key is turned on in step F1, the process proceeds to step F2B and the C3F sensor 31 is turned on (
If it is ON, the process proceeds to step F3, where it is determined whether the sheet sensor 30 is ON (sheet present).

If there is no sheet feeding device in step F2, printing 1 is performed.

If there is a sheet in step F3, printing 2 is performed.

If there is no sheet in step F3, proceed to step F4, and use REV (reverse feed) to return 10 lines and FWD (
Rotate the sheet feed roller l by 10 lines using advance feed),
The aforementioned clutch pawl 14a is moved to HPl (FIG. 10).

Next, proceed to step F5 and rotate 4 lines in the return direction,
Clutch pawl 14a is moved from HPI to hole SL (FIG. 10) to turn the clutch ON.

Next, in step F6, when the sheet is fed by one line in the feeding direction, the sheet feeding operation starts, and the sheet 5 is fed into the recording apparatus.

Then, in step F7, the sheet safe 'J-' in the recording device is
-30 while detecting the presence or absence of the sheet.
The paper feeding operation is performed until the state becomes N (sheet present).

After the sheet sensor 30 is turned on, perform the operation of forwarding 3 lines and returning 4 lines in step F8, and then turn off the clutch 16.
state.

Furthermore, the process advances to the next step F9 and the sheet 5 is conveyed to the recording position.

Here, in step F8, the clutch 16 is turned off by returning REV), and the 12th
As shown by X in the figure, the sheet 5 is returned (RE V
) to move the sheet 5 away from the pressure of the pinch roller 6 and to curl the sheet 5, thereby simultaneously eliminating the problem of the sheet 5 getting wedged into the pinch roller 6 and running diagonally. can do.

Furthermore, as described above, when the sheet feeding device 8 is installed in a recording device, even after the sheet feeding force of the printing device is lost, the lifting force (carrying force) of the paper ejection roller 12 of the sheet feeding device 8 is used. Sheet feed can be precisely controlled, so
It is possible to print freely up to the bottom edge of the sheet without creating a bottom margin.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of a recording apparatus equipped with a sheet feeding device 8 according to the present invention.

In FIG. 12, the distance from the sheet sensor 30 to the front pinch roller 6 is defined as line A, and the sheet sensor 3
Assuming that the distance from 0 to the recording head 4 is line B, when the sheet feeding device 8 is not installed, a bottom margin of (B-A) striking force is generated on the sheet 5.

Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, control can be performed to change the printing range of the sheet 5 depending on the presence or absence of the sheet feeding device 8.

In FIG. 11, when the sheet supply device 8 (FIG. 12) is not installed, "Print 1" control is performed, and when the sheet supply device 8 is installed, "Print 2" control is performed.

In "Printing 1", the sheet sensor 30 (
12), and after the sheet sensor 30 turns OFF (no sheet), feed the sheet 5 to line A. In "Printing 2", after the sheet sensor 30 turns OFF, The recording head 4 can record on the sheet 5 while controlling the sheet 5 to be fed to the B row.

If such printing control is performed, the printable range of the sheet 5 can be expanded by installing the sheet feeding device 8.

Next, the deposition of a film on the recording device by the sheet supply device 8 will be explained.

FIG. 13 is a right side view showing a state in which the sheet feeding device 8 is connected to the upper part of the recording device.

In FIG. 13, a groove 42 is formed in the right side plate 26R and left side plate 26L (not shown) of the sheet feeding device 8 to engage with the shaft 48 of the sheet feeding roller l of the recording device. This groove 42 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction of the recording apparatus, and its opening faces forward.
They are formed on left and right leg portions 4141 extending downward from L and 26R.

When installing, move the sheet feeding device 8 to the sheet feeding roller l.
The connecting groove 42.4 is lowered from the upper rear of the shaft 48 of the
After placing the shaft 48 of the sheet feed roller l against the upper wall of
of? Bind into R42.

At this time, since the upper wall of the valley groove 42, 42 protrudes forward longer than the lower wall, the shaft 48 of the sheet feed roller 1
can be easily fitted.

As shown in FIG. 13, the right side plate 26R has a pin 4.
A claw member 27 is rotatably pivotally connected to 3 and biased clockwise by a spring 44 (with the retaining portion forward).

In the installed state shown in FIG. 13, the claw member 27 is inserted into an engaging portion 45 provided on the exterior of the recording device, and the spring force of the spring 44 urges the tip claw portion of the claw member 27 forward. This prevents the sheet feeding device 8 from coming off the recording device.

Here, the sheet feeding device 8 receives power from the sheet feeding motor of the recording apparatus through meshing of the gear 13a and the roller gear la of the sheet feeding roller 1.

Therefore, when a load is applied when driving the sheet feeding roller 11 or the sheet ejecting roller 12 of the sheet feeding device 8, the gear 13a on the sheet feeding device side tends to move away from the roller gear 1a in the direction of arrow A. do. For this reason, in the conventional sheet feeding apparatus, the meshing between the gear 13a and the roller gear la becomes insufficient, and problems such as tooth skipping occur.

However, the sheet feeding device 8 according to the present invention shown in FIG.
In this case, the gear 13a is installed to be located directly above the roller gear la in the vertical direction.
Even if 3a tries to move in the direction of arrow A due to the above load, some displacement in the direction of arrow A occurs, but the displacement is also in the tangential direction and does not lead to problems such as tooth skipping.

When removing the sheet feeding device 8 from the recording device, keep the distal end claw portion of the claw member 27 separated from the engaging portion 45 provided on the exterior of the recording device by rotating it in the direction of arrow C. , move the sheet feeding device 8 in the direction of arrow B (backward upward direction)
Remove it from the recording device while rotating it.

At this time, since the release direction of the claw member (direction of arrow C) and the direction of removal of the sheet feeding device 8 (direction of rotation in the direction of arrow B) are selected to be one direction between the paths, the sheet feeding device 8
can be easily removed from the recording device.

FIG. 14 is a right side view of another embodiment of the structure of the coupling portion between the sheet feeding device 8 and the recording device.

The structure of FIG. 14 replaces the rotatable pawl member 27 and spring 44 in the structure of FIG.
6R is formed with a downward protrusion 26a, and a recess 10a is formed in the upper part of the outer device O of the recording apparatus, so that the protrusion 26a is inserted into the fourth part 10a from above.

The bonding structure shown in FIG. 14 differs from the bonding structure shown in FIG. 13 in the above points, and other parts are substantially the same as those shown in FIG. Detailed explanation will be omitted.

According to the coupling structure of the sheet feeding device 8 shown in FIG. 14,
When a load is applied during sheet conveyance, a force in the direction of arrow A is applied to the sheet feeding device 8 so as to move it in a direction directly opposite to the opening of the coupling fI42, 42.

Therefore, if the coupling groove 42 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (approximately horizontal direction), the positioning protrusion 26a that engages with the outer device 0 of the recording device presses against the outer device 0. Therefore, the sheet feeding device 8 will not be separated from this outer device 0.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet til! is composed of the discharge roller 12 and the discharge pinch roller 24a. The sheets 5 discharged upward through the output means are deposited on a stacker 9, to which is attached a stacker wire 25 forming an extended surface for holding the processed sheets (the deposited sheets) 5. ing.

However, on the surface (rear side) opposite to the sheet depositing surface of this stunker 9 (specifically, the stacker wire 25), there are sheets stored in the sheet storage section consisting of the stacking plate 18 and the hopper wire 23. Projections 25a, 25a for guiding and holding the sheet 5 are provided.

By providing these projections 25a, 25a, problems such as the seat 5 in the seat storage section buckling as shown by the dotted chain line Y in FIG. It has become possible to accurately convey the sheet by the paper roller 11.

The sheet guide protrusion 25a provided on the back surface of the stacker wire 25 may be integrally formed by bending the wire itself as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
It is also possible to provide the straight stacker wire 25 by fixing a separately molded member of plastic or the like with adhesive or the like.

Figure 15 shows the front cover 24 in Figures 1 and 2.
It is a partial perspective view showing the inside of.

In FIGS. 1, 2, and 15, the front cover 24 has a guide for guiding the sheet 5 to be conveyed to the stacker 9 through a sheet ejecting means consisting of the ejecting roller 12 and the ejecting pinch roller 24a. The front cover 24 has a plurality of longitudinal guide ribs 5 arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction of the seat on the inner surface of the front cover 24.
1 is formed.

However, a suitable number of the plurality of guide ribs 51, for example, two left and right guide ribs (guiding means) 51 located at a predetermined interval, are provided with a suitable number of guide ribs 51 for storage on the stacker 9 (including the stacker wire 25). An abutment protrusion 52 is provided to prevent the stacked sheets 5 from buckling and falling.

By providing the abutting protrusion 52 on the guide means formed by the front cover 24, the stacked sheets 5 on the stacker 9 can be moved as shown by the two-dot chain line Z in FIG. This prevents the problem of buckling and allows the processed sheets 5 to be stored in the correct stacking posture on the stacker 9 (including the stacker wire 25). As shown in Figure 2, the left and right hopper guides 20.20
A center guide 22 that can move left and right along a guide shaft 21 is provided between them, and the center guide 22 has a friction-type roller that is suitable for separating and feeding stiff (thick) sheets 5 such as postcards. Separation means (center separator) 2
9 is attached so that it can move (advance and retreat).

However, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this separating means 29 has a mechanism for preventing the sheet 5 from buckling in the direction forward in the sheet conveying direction (lower side in FIGS. 4 and 4) from its separating portion 29a. A sheet guide portion 55 for preventing this is integrally provided.

The sheet guide section 55 is intended to prevent the sheet 5 from buckling and entering the gap between the paper guide of the recording device and the sheet feeding device 8 as shown by the two-dot chain line W, and is particularly When using thick paper such as postcards, the problem that tends to occur when the sheet 5 is reversely fed to turn off the clutch 16 (FIG. 9) or to correct the skew of the sheet 5, as shown by the two-dot chain line W above. This is effective in preventing severe bankring.

Since the sheet guide section 55 is provided integrally with the central separation means 29, it is effective in preventing the above-mentioned buckling when feeding thick paper such as postcards, and the separation claws 20a,
When feeding a normal sheet using 20a, it can be retracted at the same time as the separating means 29 is retracted.

Therefore, without increasing the number of parts or requiring extra space, the sheet guide can be automatically set in the use position when necessary, such as when using thick paper such as postcards, and can be automatically retracted when not in use. I was able to form a department.

FIG. 16 is a front perspective view of the sheet feeding device immediately before mounting a sheet holding member that holds the center line of the sheet, and FIG. 17 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 16.

In FIGS. 16 and 17, a sheet holding member 60 is removably attached between the left and right hopper guides 20, 20 using the center guide 22.

This sheet holding member 60 holds the sheets 5 set in the hopper (sheet storage section), that is, the sheets 5 stored between the left and right stacking plates 18, 18, without causing any sagging in the middle part (the part near the center line). This is for guiding and supporting while maintaining a flat surface.

The seat holding member 60 is composed of a center plate (first part) 61 and a plate guide (second part) 62, and the center plate 61 is rotatably connected to the plate guide 62 by a hinge structure or the like. ing.

Further, the sheet holding member 60 has its guide plate 6
2 is removably attached by fitting and latching the center guide 22.

The center plate 61 is provided with a hook 63 for fitting with the release shaft 28a.

When attaching the sheet holding member 60 consisting of a center plate (first portion) 61 and a plate guide (second portion) 62 to the sheet feeding device 8, the plate guide 62 is attached to the center guide 22, and the center plate 61 The hook 63 is fitted onto the release shaft 28a.

The release shaft 28a is connected to a release knob 28, and when the release knob 28 is rotated, the center plate 61 is also rotated.

Originally, the release knob 28 and the release shaft 28a were for separating the stacking plate 18.18 from the paper feed roller 11, but since the center plate 61 is also engaged with the release shaft 28a, Loading plate (pressing plate) 18
．． Perform the same operation as rotation 18.

That is, the plate guide 62, which is the second part, rotatably holds the center plate 62, which is the first part, and also holds the sheet holding member 60, which is made up of the first and second parts, in the sheet feeding device 8. It has the function of being attached to.

Further, the rotatably supported center plate (first portion) 61, like the loading plate (pressing means) 18. is held under pressure, and is rotated and released by operating the release knob 28 when inserting a sheet or the like.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the sheet feeding device of the present invention, in addition to the sheet feeding means, the sheet storage section includes:
Left and right pressing means are provided which are released when inserting a sheet and press the stored sheet against the sheet feeding means when feeding a sheet, and a sheet holding member is mounted between the left and right pressing means so as to be able to recover the sheet. The sheet holding member includes a first portion that operates in conjunction with the suppressing means, and a second portion that is movably engaged with the first portion and movably attaches the first portion between the left and right pressing means. This is a highly reliable sheet feeding device with excellent sheet feeding performance, which has a simple and compact configuration and can store and hold sheets of various sizes while maintaining accurate flatness. is obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a recording device equipped with a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a recording device using a separation claw. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the paper feeding mechanism using a center separator, FIG. 5 is a side view of the interlocking mechanism of the center separator and guide member in FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the power transmission mechanism of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the clutch mechanism of the paper feeding roller in an ON state; 9 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 8 in the OFF state, FIG. 10 is a developed view of the circumferential surface of the clutch of FIG. 8, FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the operation sequence of the clutch of FIG. 8, and FIG. 12 is 13 is a side view of the structure of the joint between the sheet feeding device and the recording device, and FIG. FIG. 15 is a side view showing another example of the structure of the coupling part with the recording device; FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the inside part of the front cover in FIG. 1;
This figure is a front perspective view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 1 with a sheet holding member attached thereto, and FIG. 17 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 16. 1--Sheet feed roller, 4--
--- Recording head, 5 --- Sheet, 8 --- Sheet supply device, 9 ---
−・・−Stacker, 1 '1・・−・−・−・・
Paper feed roller, 12...- Paper ejection roller, 18-
・-・・- Loading plate (seat storage section), 18 a-・-
・-・-Guide member, 20・----1--・-Hopper guide, 20a・-・・・-Separation claw, 22-・・-
1 Center guide, 28-1...Release knob, 28a---Release shaft, 29.・−1−−−−・・・Center separator (separation means),
60...-- Sheet holding member, 61...-...
・-・-・First part (center plate), 62--
--1.--Second part (plate guide), 63
°・・・・・・・・・・Hook. Agent Patent Attorney Yasutake Ooto

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a sheet feeding device that separates and supplies sheets stored in a sheet storage section one by one to a sheet processing device such as a recording device or a reading device, in addition to the sheet feeding means, a sheet inserting device is inserted into the sheet storage section. Left and right pressing means are provided which are released at times and press the stored sheet against the sheet supplying means during sheet feeding, and a sheet holding member is removably attached between the left and right pressing means, and the sheet holding member is , a first part operative in conjunction with the pressing means;
A sheet feeding device comprising: a second portion movably engaged with the first portion and movably mounting the first portion between the left and right pressing means.