JPH03279133A - Automatic paper feed device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select an automatic paper feed mode between a lower take-out mode and an upper take-out mode in accordance with a kind of mediums by arranging a sheet bed and a separating pad up and below a paper feed roller which can be rotated normally and reversely. CONSTITUTION:A lower sheet bed 1 is moved upward so as to allow sheets set on the sheet bed 1 to abut against the lower surface of a paper feed roller 6, and then, the paper feed roller 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A so as to feed the sheet stacked on the lower sheet bed 1. Further, when the paper feed roller 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow B, sheets stacked on an upper sheet bed 21 are fed. When sheets are fed from the upper sheet bed 21, the lower sheet bed 1 are lowered so that the sheets set on the lower sheet bed 21 are spaced from the paper feed roller 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for an information input device, and more particularly to an apparatus equipped with a plurality of paper feeders.

(Prior Art) There are two types of automatic paper feeding devices: a top-feeding type that feeds stacked sheets of paper in order from the top, and a bottom-feeding type that feeds stacked sheets in order from the bottom. In the bottom take-out type, the weight of the stacked sheets acts as a frictional load on the sheets being sent out, so the amount of sheets that can be stacked is limited. On the other hand, with the top-feed type, there is no limit to the amount of paper that can be loaded, but as shown in Figure 5, when trying to feed envelopes, the bottom of the envelope (in the case of horizontal feeding) or the side In the case of gluing (in the case of vertical paper feeding), since the portion of the paper is thick, the top surface of the stacked paper is slanted, causing uneven contact with the paper feed roller 6, resulting in paper skew.

When such an automatic paper feeder is installed in a printer of an information processing device, for example, a manual feeder is provided in addition to the automatic paper feeder, and a structure is adopted in which sheets can be fed one by one by manual insertion from the manual feeder. is normal. FIG. 4 shows an example of a printer equipped with a top-feeding automatic paper feeder and a manual feed tray. 1 is a paper tray that is driven up and down by a drive device (not shown); 6 is a paper tray that is moved around a fulcrum bin 7; A paper feed roller is pivotally attached to the tip of the swingable arm 8, 24 is a separation pad pressed against the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 6 by a spring (not shown), 36 is a feed roller, and 37 is a paper feed roller 6 The feed roller 36 pinches the paper sent out by the feed roller 36.
Intermediate rollers 38, 39 and 40 form a paper path, a guide plate 41 is a print head, and 42 is a manual feed stand.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In a printer equipped with a top-feeding automatic paper feeder as shown in FIG. The problem arises that it is difficult to process. On the other hand, if the automatic paper feeder is of a bottom-feeding type, problems will arise when processing a large amount of media at once. Further, the manual feed table 42 is used not only when printing only one sheet but also when performing jump processing for another sheet during automatic processing with the automatic paper feeder. At this time, the number of media to be processed is large (if this occurs, the operator must insert the paper one by one, making manual feeding processing cumbersome).

The present invention aims to provide an automatic paper feeder that solves the above-mentioned problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The automatic paper feeding device of the present invention includes a paper tray 21.1 and a separation pad 2 located above and below a paper feeding roller 6 that can be driven in forward and reverse directions.
8.24 is placed. The lower paper table 1 is configured to be moved upward by a lifting mechanism 5 or a spring, and is moved upward so that the upper surface of the paper stacked on the paper table 1 comes into contact with the lower surface of the paper feed roller 6. do. Upper paper table 21
is provided with an opening 23 from which the upper end of the paper feed roller 6 protrudes, and the paper stacked on the paper tray 21 is provided so that its own weight or the leading edge of the paper is biased toward the paper feed roller 6. It is pressed against the paper feed roller 6 by an expansion spring (not shown). The upper paper tray 21 can be configured to be swingable in the vertical direction and used as a manual feed tray when it is rocked upward.

(Function) In the apparatus configured as described above, the lower paper tray 21 is moved upward and the paper stacked on the paper tray is transferred to the paper feed roller 6.
By rotating the paper feed roller 6 in the direction shown by arrow A in FIG. 2 while in contact with the lower surface of the paper tray 1, the paper stacked on the lower paper table l is automatically fed. Also, stack paper on the upper paper table 21 and move the paper feed roller 6 to arrow B in FIG.
If it is rotated in the direction, eight sheets of paper loaded on the upper paper tray 21 are fed. When feeding paper from the upper paper tray 21, the lower paper tray 1 is moved down to separate the sheets stacked on it from the paper feed roller 6.

(Embodiment) Figures 1 to 3 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the apparatus shown in Figure 0, which shows the state when automatically feeding paper from the tray 1 or manually feeding paper from the upper paper tray 21, the upper paper tray 21 is
It is rotatable around a fulcrum pin shown at 2 and can be fixed in the position shown in FIG. 1 and the position shown in FIG. 2, and the upper paper tray 21 in the position shown in FIG. 2 is used as a manual feed tray. .

In Fig. 1.2, l is the lower paper table, which is guided by a guide device (not shown) so as to be able to rise and fall freely.
A lifting mechanism 5 consisting of a rack and pinion 3.4 is provided. 6 is a paper feed roller, and a fulcrum pin 7 is attached to the device frame.
It is pivotally attached to the tip of arm 8 which is pivotally attached at . The paper feed roller 6 is attached to a fulcrum pin 7 by its own weight or by a spring (not shown).
When the arm 8 comes into contact with the stopper 9, its lower limit is defined. Reference numeral 10 denotes a motor that drives the paper feed roller 6, and this motor is a motor that can be driven in forward and reverse directions, and includes a pinion 11 provided on its output shaft, an intermediate gear 12 provided in a freely rotating state on the fulcrum pin 7, and The paper feed roller 6 is rotationally driven via a driven gear (not shown) fixed to the paper feed roller shaft 13.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an upper paper tray, which is pivoted to the apparatus frame by means of a fulcrum pin 22 so as to be able to swing up and down, and can be fixed at the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by a detent mechanism (not shown). The upper paper tray 21 is provided with an opening 23 as shown in FIG.
When the upper paper tray 21 is swung downward, the opening 2
The upper end of the paper feed roller 6 protrudes from the paper feed roller 3 .

Reference numeral 24 denotes a lower separation pad, which is rotatably mounted around a support shaft 25 and pressed against the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 6 by the biasing force of a spring (not shown). The support shaft 25 is substantially integral with the separation pad 24, and a lever 26 is fixed to one end thereof, and a push rod 27 extends toward the lever 26 from the upper sheet tray 21°. The first paper tray 21 is moved downward.
In the state shown in the figure, the pushing rod 27 contacts the lever 26 and moves it downward, thereby separating the lower separation pad 24 from the paper feed roller 6.

Reference numeral 28 denotes an upper separation pad, which is pivotally supported by a support shaft 29 to a side plate 30 of the upper paper tray, and is urged counterclockwise in the figure by a spring (not shown). The separation pad 28 and the support shaft 29 are substantially integrated, and a lever 31 is fixed to the end of the support shaft 29. In the state shown in FIG. 2 in which the upper paper table 21 is moved upward, the stopper 32 provided on the device frame is moved against the lever 31.
The upper separation pad 28 is held in a state separated from the upper paper table 21 by swinging the separation pad 28 clockwise.

In addition, 35 is a leading edge guide plate for sheets stacked on the lower paper table 1, 36 is a feed roller, 37 is an intermediate roller, and 38
and 39 are guide plates, which have the same structure as the conventional device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the state when automatically feeding paper from the upper paper tray 21. The lower paper tray 1 has been lowered and the paper loaded on it has been separated from the paper feed roller 6, and the upper paper tray 1 has been moved downward. Paper stand 2
1 has moved downward, and the upper separation pad 28 attached thereto is in contact with the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 6. Further, the lower separation pad 24 is pushed by the pushing rod 27 of the upper paper tray that has moved downward, and is separated from the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 6. Upper paper table 2
The leading end of the lower surface of the paper stacked on the upper separation pad 28 is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed roller 6, and when the paper feed roller 6 is driven by the motor 10 in the direction shown by arrow B in the figure, The bottom layer is separated by the separating action and sent to the feed roller 36. This upper paper table 21
According to automatic paper feeding from the printer, even when using media such as envelopes that have different thicknesses in the paper width direction, the paper does not hit the paper feed roller 6 unevenly, so the paper can be fed accurately. be able to.

When automatically or manually feeding paper from the lower paper tray 1, both the upper and lower paper trays 21.1 are moved upward from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. 2. . In this state, the upper end of the paper stacked on the lower paper table 1 contacts the paper feed roller 6 and lifts it slightly, and the arm 8 is separated from the stopper 9.

Therefore, the contact force between the paper and the paper feed roller 6 is a constant value determined by the weight of the paper feed roller 6, the biasing force of a counter (not shown) that biases the arm 8, the tangential force from the pinion 11 applied to the intermediate gear 12, etc. The value is . Then, the lower separation pad 24 released from the restraint of the pushing rod 27 comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 6, so that the motor 10 rotates the paper feed roller 6 in the direction of arrow A. The sheets stacked on the table 1 can be fed one by one to the feed roller 36 via the intermediate roller 37.

On the other hand, the upper separation pad 28, which is pivotally connected to the upper paper tray 21 that has moved upward, is separated from the paper feed roller 6 by the upward movement of the upper paper tray 21, and the lever 31 and the stopper 32
When they come into contact with each other, an open paper path 33 is formed between the separation pad 28 and the upper paper tray 2, so paper can be manually inserted from the upper paper tray 21 and fed to the feed roller 36 as needed. can.

In the apparatus described above, the upper paper table 21 is provided so as to be able to swing up and down, and is used as a paper table for automatic paper feeding at the bottom and a paper table for manual feeding. 24 and the paper feed roller 6, but the structure is not necessarily limited to that of the above embodiment. For example, the upper and lower separation pads 28, 24
The contact and separation can be performed using a solenoid or the like, or a structure in which the upper separation pad 28 is attached to the arm 8 of the paper feed roller can also be adopted.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the automatic paper feeder of the present invention described above, media such as envelopes with different thicknesses in the width direction are fed from the upper paper tray.
Moreover, a large amount of loaded media can be automatically fed from the lower paper tray, and depending on the type of medium, it is possible to select automatic paper feeding by taking out from the bottom or taking out from the top. Also, while automatically feeding paper from the lower paper table,
It is also possible to automatically feed other sheets of paper from the upper paper tray, and the structure can also be configured to allow manual sheet feeding, so an automatic sheet feeding device capable of various parallel printing operations can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a side view showing automatic paper feeding from the upper paper table;
FIG. 2 is a side view showing automatic paper feeding and manual paper feeding from the lower paper tray, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper paper tray. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a conventional example of an automatic paper feeder for a printer;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the paper feeding state of envelopes. In the figure, 1: Lower paper tray 5: Lifting mechanism 6: Paper feed roller 21: Upper paper tray 22: Fulcrum pin
23: Opening 24: Lower separation pad 28: Upper separation pad

Claims (1)

[Claims] Paper trays (21), (1) and separation pads (28), (24) are placed above and below the paper feed roller (6), which can be driven in forward and reverse directions.
) is arranged, and the lower paper table (1) moves up to bring the top surface of the paper loaded on the paper table into contact with the bottom surface of the paper feed roller (6) to perform automatic paper feeding. The paper tray (21) has an opening (23) from which the upper end of the paper feed roller (6) protrudes, so that the bottom surface of the paper stacked on the upper paper tray (21) is the top surface of the paper feed roller (6). An automatic paper feeding device characterized in that paper is automatically fed by coming into contact with the paper.