JPH03147643A - Decompression adsorbing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exceedingly prevent a sucker from being into a reversed state and obtain a sufficient suction force by forming a groove part which is opened on the peripheral surface of a suction cylinder continuously to a suction port, on the top edge surface of the suction cylinder. CONSTITUTION:In some cases in paper feeding operation, a sucker 29 is reversed because of the deterioration of the sucker 29 due to the use for a long period, when a suction cylinder 25 is lowered and contacts the paper surface. In this state, a copying paper 20 can not be sufficiently pulled up because the suction force is weak. Even if the copying paper 20 is closely attached on the top edge surface 25a of the suction cylinder 25, the air between the copying paper 20 and the sucker 29 is sucked from the groove parts 31 and 32 opened on the peripheral surface of the suction cylinder 25. At this time, since the air stream acts in the direction for sucking the sucker 29 downward as shown by the arrow A, the sucker 29 is returned to the normal state from the reversed state by the suction force, and can adsorb the copying paper 20 by the sufficient suction force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Objective of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application)] The present invention relates to a vacuum suction device incorporated in, for example, a paper feed mechanism of a copying machine.

(Prior Art) A copying machine is generally configured to include a copying mechanism within a main body and a paper feed mechanism that supplies copying paper to the copying mechanism. The paper feed mechanism built into such copying machines stacks copy paper and transports it one sheet at a time from the top position, from a paper case containing a large number of copies. Instead, in recent years, a vacuum suction device using a suction cup has been developed in order to prevent paper from being damaged.

FIG. 6 shows this type of paper feeding mechanism, in which the vacuum suction device 1 has a suction cylinder 3 (see FIG. ), a rubber suction cup 4 fitted to the lower end of the suction cylinder 3, and a suction source (not shown) connected to the suction cylinder 3 via a tube 5. There is. And paper case 6
The suction cylinder 3 is fixed to a movable arm 8 which is provided above and is moved up and down by a lifting mechanism 7. This thing is
First, the suction cylinder 3 (suction cup 4) is lowered by the elevating mechanism 7 until it comes into contact with the upper surface of the copy paper 9, and then the suction cup 4 and the copy paper 9 are moved by suction of air from the suction port 2a by the suction source. The pressure is reduced between the two sheets of copy paper 9 to attract and hold it, and in this state, the elevating mechanism 7 raises the suction cylinder 3 again to lift the copy paper 9 and supply it to the conveyance roller 10 section. There is.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, in such a decompression suction device 1, the seventh
As shown in Figure (a), the entire inner surface (lower surface) of the suction cup 4 is brought into close contact with the paper 9 surface, and suction is performed from the n suction ports 2a, thereby achieving a large suction force. . However, due to deterioration of the suction cup 4 due to long-term use, the suction cup 4 may turn over when the suction cylinder 3 is lowered and comes into contact with the paper surface, as shown in FIG. 7(b). If this turned-over suction cup 4 does not return to its original normal state,
Only the lower surface of the suction cylinder 3 is in close contact with the paper surface, and the suction force is weak, so that the copy paper 9 is not lifted up enough and may fall midway, leading to a risk that the paper will not be fed. Such turning over of the suction cup 4 can be overcome by increasing the diameter of the suction cup 4, but in the above-mentioned copying machine, there are limits to the size setting of the suction cup 4 due to the relationship with other mechanisms. be.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a vacuum suction device that can prevent the suction cup from turning over as much as possible and can obtain sufficient suction power.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The reduced pressure adsorption device of the present invention includes a suction tube having a suction port on its tip surface, and a suction tube that is fitted and attached to the tip of the suction tube. The suction cup is equipped with a flexible suction cup that spreads outward from the tip of the suction cup, and a suction source that is connected to a suction tube and sucks air from the suction port, and the sheet-like object to be sucked is sucked and held by the suction cup. The present invention is characterized by a structure in which a groove is provided on the distal end surface of the suction cylinder, which is continuous with the suction port and has a groove of rMJ ml on the circumferential surface of the suction cylinder.

(Function) According to the above means, even if the suction cup is turned upside down and the suction port on the tip surface of the suction cylinder is blocked by the suction object, the periphery of the suction cylinder is Air between the object to be attracted and the suction cup is sucked through the groove portion that opens at the surface. At this time, the air flow acts in the direction of returning the suction cup to its original state, so the suction cup returns to its normal state due to its suction force, and in turn, sufficient suction is achieved by suctioning the object with force. can do.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a paper feed mechanism of a color copying machine will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

First, to briefly describe the overall configuration of a color copying machine, which is an image recording device, based on FIG. It is composed of The copying mechanism 13 is roughly divided into an exposing section 15 and a developing section 16. The exposing section 15 forms a latent image of the original 17 on the microcapsule paper 18, while the developing section The unit 16 develops a latent image on the microcapsule paper 8 onto a copy paper 20 that is supplied from a paper feed mechanism 14, which will be described later, through a conveyance path 19, and then discharges the copy paper 20.

Here, the paper feeding mechanism 14 will be explained with reference also to FIG.

The copy paper 20 is called a color developer paper, and the copy paper 20 is
A large number of sheets are stored in a so-called cassette-type paper case 21, which is removably disposed at the bottom of the paper sheet 1, in a stacked state with their tips aligned by an alignment plate 21a. Then, above this paper case 21, a vacuum adsorption device 2 according to the present embodiment is provided.
2 and an elevating mechanism 23 that moves the vacuum adsorption device 22 up and down. Although not shown in detail, this elevating mechanism 23 is provided with a movable arm 24 horizontally stretched between a pair of frames (not shown) provided on both sides of the paper case 21, and a driving arm (not shown). The movable arm 24 is configured to be moved up and down along the frame by a source. A suction cylinder 25 of the vacuum suction device 22 and a paper surface detection switch 26 are attached to the movable arm 24. Further, the conveyance path 1
The entry point 9 is directly placed diagonally above the leading end side of the paper case 21, and is provided with a feed roller 27a and a pinch roller 27b that approaches and separates from the feed roller 27a.

Now, the vacuum adsorption device 22 is configured as follows. That is, the suction tube 25 is made of plastic, for example, and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. The opening at 25a is a suction port 28a. Two flexible suction cups made of rubber, for example, are fitted and attached to the lower end of the suction tube 25, and the two suction cups spread downward in a circular shape from the tip of the suction tube 25. It is spreading in a shape. On the other hand, one end of a flexible tube 30 is fitted into the upper part of the suction cylinder 25, and the other end of this tube 30 is connected to a suction source. Although not shown, this suction source may be, for example, the tube 30
The piston is drawn out and moved by a motor from a cylinder connected to the piston, and air is thereby sucked from the suction port 28a as the suction source is driven.

As also shown in FIG.
Grooves 31 and 32 are formed that open on the circumferential surface.

In this case, the grooves 31, 32 are provided radially extending in opposite directions from the suction rTI 28a.

As will be described later, the paper feed mechanism 14 configured as described above sucks the topmost sheet of copy paper 20 in the west of the paper case 21 by the suction cup 29, lifts it upward, and moves it to the feed roller 27a. and the pinch roller 27b, whereby the copy paper 20 is supplied to the developing section 16 of the copying mechanism 13 through one conveyance path. Therefore, the copy paper 20 becomes a sheet-like object according to the present invention.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

In order to obtain a copy of the manuscript 17, the user must
After setting the original 17 on the top surface of the machine, a copy start switch (not shown) is pressed.

Then, the copying mechanism 13 is activated and a latent image of the original 17 image is formed on the microcapsule paper 18 by the exposure section 15. Then, in synchronization with this, the paper feeding mechanism 14 feeds paper to the copying mechanism 13.

This paper feeding operation is performed as follows. That is, first,
The suction cup 29 (suction cylinder 25) and the paper surface detection switch 26 are lowered by the elevating mechanism 23, and the lowering is stopped based on the detection of the upper surface of the copy paper 20 by the paper surface detection switch 26. Then, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the lower end surface 25a of the suction tube 25 comes into contact with the upper surface of the copy paper 20, so that the inner surface of the suction cup 29 comes into close contact with the copy paper 20. Next, by suctioning air from the suction port 28a by the suction source, the suction cup 29
A sheet of copy paper 20 is sucked and held by reducing the pressure between the paper and the copy paper 20, and in this state, the suction cylinder 25 is raised again by the elevating mechanism 23 to lift the copy paper 20. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the pinch roller 27b is separated from the feed roller 27a, and when the lifted copy paper 20 is transferred to the lower part of the feed roller 27a, the pinch roller 27b is The leading end of the copy paper 20 is sandwiched between the rollers 27a and 27b. Thereafter, the suction source is stopped, and the copy paper 20 is fed by the feed roller 27a through one conveyance path to the developing section 16, where an image is formed on the copy paper 20.

During such paper feeding operation, due to deterioration of the suction cup 29 due to long-term use, when the suction tube 25 is lowered and comes into contact with the paper surface, as shown in FIG. 2(b), Suction cup 2
Sometimes it turns over. In this state,
The suction force is weak, resulting in a situation where the copy paper 20 is not lifted sufficiently. However, at this time, even if the copy paper 20 is in close contact with the tip surface 25H of the suction tube 25,
Air between the copy paper 20 and the two suction cups is sucked through the grooves 31 and 32 opened on the circumferential surface of the suction cylinder 25. At this time, the air flow acts in the direction of sucking the two suction cups downward as shown by arrow A in FIG. 2(b), so the suction cup 29 is in its normal state ( Returning to the state shown in FIG. 2(a), the copy paper 20 can be suctioned with sufficient suction force.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the two suction cups turn over when the suction tube 25 is lowered and comes into contact with the copy paper 20, the suction cups can be removed by the suction of air from the grooves 31 and 32. 29 can be returned to its normal state immediately. Therefore, unlike conventional ones, where there is a risk of paper feeding not being carried out due to the suction cup 4 turning over, it is possible to prevent the two suction cups from turning over as much as possible, and sufficient suction force is required. The copy paper 20 can be sucked by the holder. As a result, even if the diameters of the two suction cups are small, stable suction can be performed, and the reliability of the device is improved.

In the above embodiment, two grooves 31 and 32 are provided, but as shown in FIG. 35 to 38 may be formed, and the shape, number, etc. of the grooves can be changed as appropriate.

In addition, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist, such as being applicable not only to copying machines but also to various devices.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the vacuum adsorption device of the present invention, a groove portion that is continuous with the suction port and opens on the circumferential surface of the suction cylinder is provided on the tip surface of the suction cylinder. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the suction cup from turning over as much as possible, and a sufficient suction force can be obtained, which is an excellent effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the suction cup turned upside down, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the suction cup when it is sucking copy paper. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the paper feeding mechanism, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the copying machine. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 3 showing a conventional example, and FIG. 7 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 2 showing a conventional example. In the drawing, 11 is the main body of the copying machine, 13 is a copying mechanism, 14 is a paper feeding mechanism, 20 is copy paper (object to be attracted), 22 is a vacuum suction device, 23 is a lifting mechanism, 25 and 33 are suction tubes, and 25a
, 33a is a tip surface, 28a. 34 is suction ■, 29 is suction cup, 31, 32. 35 to 38
indicates a groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A suction tube having a suction port on the tip surface, a flexible suction cup that is fitted and attached to the tip of the suction tube and spreads out from the tip of the suction tube, and a suction cup that is connected to the suction tube and draws air. A suction source that sucks from the suction port, and a sheet-shaped object to be sucked is sucked and held by the suction cup, wherein a suction source is provided on the distal end surface of the suction cylinder, continuous with the suction port, and on the circumferential surface of the suction cylinder. 1. A vacuum adsorption device characterized in that it is provided with a groove portion that opens at the bottom.