JPH0330352Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a paper feeding mechanism for feeding recording paper stored in a cassette to the main body of each apparatus such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a printer.

(Prior art) When feeding recording paper (cut recording paper) in a cassette sheet by sheet in a facsimile machine, etc.,
A paper feed roller is brought into contact with the recording paper located at the top of the cassette, and this paper feed roller is rotated by the drive motor, and only the top recording paper is fed into the main body of the device by the frictional force. .

By the way, in order to feed the uppermost recording paper, it is necessary to bring the paper feed roller into contact with the recording paper with a predetermined pressing force. However, simply positioning the paper feed roller in a fixed position in order to apply a predetermined pressing force does not allow the topmost recording paper to come into contact with the paper feed roller when the cassette is attached to the paper feed mechanism. Problems such as bending or wrapping around the paper feed roller occur, and when detached, the uppermost recording paper comes into contact with the paper feed roller and remains inside the main body of the apparatus. Therefore, paper jams and other malfunctions occur in the device.

Therefore, conventionally, a moving means is added to the paper feeding mechanism to move the paper feeding roller to a fixed position when the cassette is installed. Additionally, a specially shaped guide member may be incorporated into the paper feeding mechanism to guide the cassette to a predetermined position.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the former moving means is added to the paper feeding mechanism, the paper feeding mechanism becomes extremely complicated, resulting in an increase in the size and cost of the apparatus. Furthermore, when the latter guide member is incorporated, there are problems in terms of workability, such as a large force being required to attach and detach the cassette.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and includes a paper feeding roller that is pivotally supported on the rotating end side of a rotating member that is rotatably supported. The output shaft of the drive motor is positioned on the rotation axis of the rotation member to fix the drive motor to the rotation member, and the paper feed roller is elastically held in a direction away from the recording paper when paper is not being fed. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding mechanism in which the paper feed mechanism is as follows.

(Embodiments of the invention) Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a paper feeding mechanism 2 of the present invention provided in a main body 1 of an apparatus such as a copying machine. The paper feeding mechanism 2 has guide grooves 3 (only one of which is shown) provided on both side walls of the apparatus main body 1, respectively. This guide groove 3 opens on the side of the cassette attachment/detachment port 1a of the main body 1 of the apparatus. The cassette 4, which is partially inserted into the cassette attachment/detachment opening 1a, has a rectangular cassette body 5, and at the end of each opposing outer wall surface of the cassette body 5, as shown in FIG. 5a (only one of which is shown) is provided.
A plate-shaped receiving member 6 is arranged in the cassette main body 5, and one end of the receiving member 6 is attached to a side wall inside the cassette main body 5 with a pivot branch 6.
It has been a. A spring 7 is arranged between the back wall on the other end side of the receiving member 6 and the bottom wall of the cassette body 5. A plate member 8 extends upward from the bottom wall of the cassette body 5 on the side of the fitting projection 5a, and claw members 8a, 8a are integrally bent and formed on both sides of the upper end of the plate member 8. Therefore, when a plurality of recording papers 9 are stored in the cassette main body 5, the receiving member 6 is pressed by the spring 7 in a direction away from the bottom wall of the cassette main body 5, so that the recording paper 9 located at the top
The tip ends thereof are engaged with both claw members 8a, 8a.

A rotating member 10 is disposed above the guide groove 3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This rotating member 10 is formed into a U-shape by having a pair of extension parts 10A, 10A bent on both sides so as to be in one line, and coaxially disposed on the base end side of each extension part 10A, 10A. It is supported by a pair of support shafts 11, 11. These support shafts 11, 11 are supported by rotatable members on the side walls of the main body 1 of the apparatus. Both ends of the core metal 12A of the paper feed roller 12 are rotatably supported at the tips (rotational ends) of the extension parts 10A, 10A. A drive motor 13 is fixed inside the rotating member 10. This drive motor 13 is connected to the reduction section 1
It consists of a geared motor including 3A, and the output shaft 13
B is fixed to the rotating member 10 so as to be positioned on the rotation axis of the support shaft 11. A drive gear 14 is fixed to the output shaft 13B, and an idle gear (driving force transmitting means) 15, which is rotatably attached to one of the extension parts 10A, meshes with the driving gear (driving force transmitting means) 14. There is. Further, a gear (driving force transmission means) 16 fixed to the core metal 12A of the paper feed roller 12 is meshed with the idle gear 15. One end of a coil spring 17 is fixed to a protrusion 10a protruding from the distal end side of the outer wall surface of one extension part 10A, and the other end of this coil spring 17 is fixed to the upper side wall of the main body 1 of the apparatus. Therefore, the extension portion 10A of the rotating member 10
is held in a fixed position (approximately horizontal position) by the elastic force of the coil spring 17 when paper is not being fed.
In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes a guide member that guides the recording paper 9 to the platen roller 19 during feeding.

Next, the operation of the paper feeding mechanism according to the present invention will be explained.

That is, first, the cassette 4 containing the recording paper 9 is inserted into the cassette attachment/detachment opening 1a, and the insertion protrusion 5 is inserted.
a, 5a into the guide grooves 3, 3, and cassette 4.
By pushing the cassette 4 into the main body 1 of the apparatus, the cassette 4 is installed in a predetermined position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Next, the drive motor 13 is operated to feed paper, and the output shaft 13B is rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. In this case, since the rotating member 10 is supported by the supporting shafts 11 and 11, and the output shaft 13B is located on the rotation axis of the supporting shaft 11, the drive motor 13
Upon the start of operation, a counterclockwise moment is applied to the outer side of the drive motor 13 due to the reaction force. Therefore, the rotating member 10 to which the drive motor 13 is fixed rotates counterclockwise about the support shafts 11, 11 by this moment against the elastic force of the coil spring 17. Then,
The paper feed roller 12 supported by the extension parts 10A, 10A moves downward and comes into contact with the uppermost recording paper 9 in the cassette 4.

Since the drive motor 13 continues to operate even after the paper feed roller 12 contacts the top recording paper 9, the paper feed roller 12 is then rotated via the drive gear 14, idle gear 15, and gear 16. be done. Therefore, the uppermost recording paper 9 is fed by the paper feed roller 1.
The recording paper 9 is bent by the claw members 8a, 8a due to the frictional force of 2, separated from the recording paper 9 below, separated from the claw members 8a, 8a, and fed to the printing side via the guide member 18.

When the drive motor 13 is stopped with the end of paper feeding, the above-mentioned moment no longer acts on the rotating member 10, so the rotating member 10 is moved by the coil spring 1.
The paper feeding roller 12 is rotated clockwise by the elastic force of the recording paper 9 and returns to its original position.

When removing the cassette 4, the cassette 4 can be pulled out along the guide groove 3 through the cassette attachment/detachment opening 1a.

(Effects of the invention) According to the invention, the paper feed roller is rotatably supported on the rotating end side of the rotating member, and the drive motor is arranged with its output shaft on the rotating axis of the rotating member. At the same time, the paper feed roller is elastically held in the direction away from the recording paper when paper is not being fed, so that when the cassette is attached or removed, the paper feed roller is fixed to the rotation member at the top of the recording paper. When the paper feed roller is separated from the paper, the rotating member is rotated by the reaction force of the drive motor to bring the paper feed roller into contact with the topmost recording paper, and the recording paper can be fed as is. Therefore, by simply incorporating a rotating member and using the reaction force of the drive motor, it is possible to smoothly feed the recording paper in the cassette without causing paper jams or malfunctions, thereby reducing the size of the device. Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper feeding mechanism that is easy to use and has an inexpensive structure.
In addition, since the driving force transmission means is also used as a means for applying a load to the output shaft for generating a reaction force of the drive motor, there is no need for a special rotational force generation means for the rotating member, and the device can be easily operated. It is possible to achieve smaller size and lower cost. Furthermore, since the cassette can be attached or detached simply by inserting or removing it into the main body of the apparatus, the attachment and detachment work is extremely easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the paper feeding mechanism according to the present invention;
Figures 3 and 3 are longitudinal sectional side views showing the paper feed roller positions when the cassette is not installed and when the cassette is installed, respectively.
This figure is a longitudinal side view illustrating the paper feeding operation of the paper feeding mechanism shown in FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Device body, 3... Guide groove, 4... Cassette, 8a, 8a... Claw member, 9... Recording paper, 10
...Rotating member, 10A...Extension portion, 11...Support shaft, 12...Paper feed roller, 13...Drive motor,
13B...Output shaft, 17...Coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A cassette containing a plurality of recording papers is installed, a paper feed roller is brought into contact with the recording paper, and the paper feed roller is rotationally driven to feed the recording papers. A paper feed mechanism comprising a drive motor, the paper feed roller being pivotally supported on the rotation end side of a rotation member rotatably supported, and the output shaft of the drive motor being connected to the rotation member. a driving force transmitting means fixed to the rotating member so as to be located on the rotational axis of the drive motor, and transmitting the driving force of the drive motor to the paper feed roller, and the drive motor is connected to the recording roller when the paper is not being fed. A paper feeding mechanism characterized in that the paper feeding roller is elastically held in a direction away from the paper and is brought into contact with the recording paper by the rotational reaction force of the drive motor during paper feeding.