JPH04191224A - Sheet material feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a sheet material from being obliquely fed by arranging at least two feeding rotary bodies to feed the sheet material by way of making contact with the sheet surface of a sheet material storage part along the sheet material feeding direction. CONSTITUTION:At least 2 feeding rotary bodies 21, 41 are arranged with intervals along the sheet material delivery direction. These delivery rotary bodies are made to make contact with a sheet material P by applying desired sheet feeding pressure. Consequently, it is possible to stably feed paper sheets without oblique delivery due to carrier resistance by separated load of a separation claw 13 and guide plates.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is applicable to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles, and other types of equipment using sheet materials.
Sheet materials loaded in the sheet material storage section (removable paper feed cassette, sheet material loading tray, same tray, same deck, manual paper feed tray, etc.) or loaded on a single sheet (transfer material, printing material, etc.) Paper, photosensitive paper, electrostatic recording paper, printing paper, OHP sheets, envelopes, postcards, sheet manuscripts, sheets, cut sheets, etc.) are stored in the image forming section, printing section, exposure section, processing section, etc. The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding device (paper feeding device) that feeds (feeds paper) to a sheet material processing section.

(Prior art) Sheet materials (
The configuration of the means for feeding one sheet of paper (such as transfer material) is as follows.
Separation in which a paper feed roller (sheet material feeding rotating body) is brought into contact with the top surface of the stacked sheets, and the rotational force of the roller feeds the topmost sheet and engages the tip of the stacked sheets. A configuration in which only the uppermost sheet material is separated from the next and subsequent sheet materials by a claw and then fed is generally adopted as a simple means configuration. In addition, the sheet material storage section, including a separation claw, is often configured as a paper feed cassette that can be freely attached to and detached from copiers and other machines. For the purpose of improving performance, a configuration has been proposed in which a separating claw is provided only on one side of the sheet material on the feeding reference side.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In such a one-sided separation claw structure, the paper feed roller that feeds the sheet material in contact with the sheet material is not connected to the sheet material as in a normal paper feeding device such as a two-sided separation claw structure. If the configuration is such that multiple pieces are arranged along the axis on a shaft arranged perpendicular to the feeding direction (sheet material width direction), the sheet material feeding force by the paper feeding roller on the side closer to the separation claw (The sheet material is fed from the sheet material storage section due to the sheet material feeding force of the paper feed roller on the first side being greater than the distance from the separation claw.) On the side closer to the separation claw, the sheet material locking resistance tends to cause slippage between the paper feed roller and the sheet material, and as a result, the sheet material conveyance amount (sheet material feeding force) by the paper feed roller on the side closer to the separation claw is likely to occur. ) and the amount of sheet material conveyed by the paper feed roller on the side farther from the separation claw, which tends to cause skew feeding of the sheet material.

Therefore, in such a one-sided separation claw configuration, the paper feed roller is provided only on the sheet material conveyance reference side where the separation claw is arranged.
Although the structure is configured to suppress the occurrence of skew feeding of the sheet material caused by the difference in the sheet material conveyance amount between the paper feed rollers on the side near the separation claw and the side far from the separation claw, it is still possible to It is impossible to prevent the sheet material from being skewed due to the sheet material conveyance resistance caused by the guide plates.

Furthermore, even if the sheet material is fed in a skewed manner from the sheet material storage section, the skewed feeding of the sheet material itself can be corrected by a skew correction member such as a registration roller disposed in the sheet material conveyance path. , the deviation of the fed sheet material in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction that occurs up to that point cannot be corrected, and registration deviation in the width direction of the sheet material (lateral registration deviation) is likely to occur.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and is capable of stably feeding sheet materials without causing skew, regardless of the sheet material separation load of the sheet material separation means, sheet material conveyance resistance due to kite plates, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet material feeding device that makes it possible to do this.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is a sheet material feeding device characterized by the following configuration.

(1) A sheet material feeding device characterized in that at least two feeding rotating bodies for feeding the sheet material are arranged along the sheet material feeding direction in contact with the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section.

(2) When the plurality of feeding rotors contact the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section, they contact the sheet material surface sequentially from the feeding rotary body on the downstream side in the sheet material feeding direction, The sheet material feeding device according to (1), characterized in that when they are separated from the sheet material surface, they are sequentially moved away from the feeding rotary body on the upstream side in the sheet material feeding direction.

(3) The sheet material accommodating section has a separating means for separating one sheet of the sheet material stored in the sheet material accommodating section, and when the plurality of feeding rotary bodies come into contact with the sheet material surface of the sheet material accommodating section, the separating means is provided. The sheet material surface is contacted sequentially from the feeding rotary body on the side closer to the sheet material, and when the sheet material surfaces are separated from the sheet material surface, the separating means is made to contact the sheet material surface sequentially from the feeding rotary body on the far side. The sheet material feeding device according to feature (1).

(4) The sheet material accommodating section has a separating means for separating one sheet of the sheet material stored therein, and the separating means is provided on one end side of the sheet material in a direction orthogonal to the sheet material feeding direction. The sheet material feeding device according to any one of (1) to (3).

(5) The sheet material storage section has a sheet material lifting means for raising the sheet material to a predetermined sheet feeding height level, and the actuator is characterized in that it acts at a fixed point regardless of the width of the sheet material ( The sheet material feeding device according to any one of 1) to (4).

(Function) The feeding rotary body that feeds the sheet material in contact with the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section can be a rotating roller body or a rotating endless belt body.

At least two or more such feeding rotors are arranged at intervals along the sheet material feeding direction, and they are brought into contact with the sheet material (grip) by applying a desired paper feeding pressure. )
By doing so, the sheet material to be fed can be fed stably without being skewed due to the separation load of the separation claws, the conveyance resistance due to guide plates, etc.

Generally, when separating and feeding one sheet material by a separating claw, only the rotating body closest to the separating claw (referred to as the first feeding rotating body) wears out, but according to the above arrangement, the first Even if the feeding rotary body wears out, the paper feeding pressure for separating and conveying the sheet material can be supplemented by the second feeding rotary body, and the first feeding rotary body can prevent the buckling loop of the sheet material. Since it partially plays the role of a regulating member that regulates the amount of paper that is formed, it is possible to reduce the possibility of paper feeding failure.

Since skew can be prevented without providing a feeding rotary body in the direction perpendicular to the sheet material feeding direction, the paper feeding width (the sheet material width in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction) can be widened. In addition, even if the intermediate plate is lifted at a single point regardless of the width of the sheet material using the intermediate plate pressure means that loads and lifts the sheet material, even if the sheet material is inclined in the width direction, the change in paper feeding pressure due to the inclination will not affect the feeding. Since it is only within the width of the rotating body, the permissible range of inclination in the width direction of the sheet material is widened. Therefore, cassettes of various sheet material sizes can be mounted on the paper feed table.

The order in which the first and second feeding rotors come into contact with and separate from the sheet material will be explained.

Due to the contact pressure of the first feeding rotary body, the uppermost sheet material being fed tends to buckle due to the frictional force between the uppermost sheet material and the next sheet material below it. - If the sheet material is buckled to a certain degree, the leading end of the sheet material may get into the corner of the separating claw, and the leading end of the sheet material may easily break. And then - degree enters the second
Even if the feeding rotary body moves away, the next sheet material does not return. Therefore, it is preferable that the first feeding rotary body is separated later.

In addition, the paper feeding position is detected by the position of the first feeding rotary body (this is a position close to the separation claw, which is desirable in order to bring the separation claw, which is the actual paper feeding position, a certain distance closer). . Therefore, in order to increase the stability of detecting the top surface position of the sheet material by maximizing the time during which the first feeding rotary body is supposed to be in contact with the sheet material, the first feeding rotary body should contact the sheet material first. It is desirable to separate after hitting.

(Example) <Example 1> Figures 1 to 5 show an example of the sheet material feeding device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a paper feed cassette as a sheet material storage section, which includes a cassette box body (cassette box body) 11, an intermediate plate (sheet mounting plate) 12, a sheet material separation claw 13, and the like.

The middle plate 12 can freely rotate upward and downward within the cassette box body using the rear side (not shown) as a fulcrum.

The sheet material separation claw 13 is set to the sheet material conveyance standard 0-0 (second
It is arranged only on one side of the cassette box (Fig.), and can freely rotate in the vertical direction around a shaft 11b provided on the inner surface of the side wall 11a of the cassette box body. The paper feeding height position is regulated within a predetermined range. P is a sheet material loaded on the middle plate 12 and housed in the cassette box body, and the separating claw 13 engages with the front corner of the upper surface of the stacked sheet material P, and uses its own weight to separate the corner of the sheet material. It's a ride to the club. 11C (Fig. 2) is the loaded sheet material P
The side holding member is shown.

The paper feed cassette 10 of this embodiment is of the so-called front loading type, which is attached to and removed from the apparatus main body from the front side of the apparatus main body, and is engaged and guided by a guide stay 3 fixed on the apparatus main body side. It is attached and detached by sliding it against the main body of the device in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a paper feed shaft rotatably supported by a bearing between the front and rear side plates (not shown) of the apparatus main body, and 30 (Fig. 2) indicates a paper feed shaft disposed at the rear end of the paper feed shaft 20. The paper clutch 30a is a clutch gear and receives rotational force from a drive source (not shown) of the main body of the apparatus. When the paper feed clutch 30 is in the off state, the clutch gear 30a is not coupled to the paper feed shaft 20, and the clutch gear 30a, which receives rotational force from the drive source, idles on the paper feed shaft 20, and the rotational force is applied to the shaft 20. is not transmitted. When the paper feed clutch 30 is turned on, the clutch gear 30a is connected to the paper feed shaft 20.
The rotational force of the drive source is transmitted to the paper feed shaft 20.

Reference numeral 22 designates a first arm (paper feed roller arm) which is supported by a loose fit on the paper feed shaft 20, and is freely swingable in the vertical direction about the shaft 20. A horizontal shaft 23 is fixed to the tip side of this arm 22, and a first paper feed roller 21 as a sheet material feeding rotary body is rotatably mounted and supported on one end side of this shaft 23. be.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a second arm (auxiliary feeding roller arm) which is loosely supported on the other end of the horizontal shaft 23 so as to be able to swing and rotate vertically about the shaft. A horizontal shaft 44 is fixedly provided, and a second sheet feeding roller 41 as a sheet material feeding rotating body is rotatably mounted and supported on this shaft 44.

A pin shaft 43 is provided to protrude laterally from the arm of the first arm 42 on the opposite side of the second paper feed roller 41 with the horizontal shaft 23 in the center, and this pin shaft 43 is attached to the side surface of the first arm 22. The second arm 42 is fitted into a long hole 22b provided in the vertical direction.
The vertical swinging range of the pin shaft 43 about the shaft 23 is limited to the movement range of the pin shaft 43 within the elongated hole 22b.

31 is a first timing pulley fixed to the paper feed shaft 20;
4 is a second timing pulley that is concentrically integrated with the first paper feed roller 21, and 45 is a third timing pulley that is concentrically integrated with the second paper feed roller 41.
Timing pulley 25 is the first and second pulley 31
- The first timing belt 46 is suspended between the second and third pulleys 24 and 45, and the second timing belt 46 is suspended between the second and third pulleys 24 and 45.

When the paper feed shaft 20 is rotationally driven, its rotational force is transmitted to the first paper feed roller 21 via the first timing pulley 31 → first timing belt 25 → second timing pulley 24, and the roller 21 rotates the sheet material. Rotationally driven in the feeding direction. Furthermore, it is transmitted to the second paper feed roller 41 via the second timing pulley 24 → second timing belt 46 → third timing pulley 45, and the roller 41 is also rotationally driven in the sheet material feeding direction. In other words, when the paper feed shaft 20 is rotationally driven, the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 21
41 are both rotationally driven in the sheet material feeding direction. The rotational circumferential speeds of the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are set to be approximately the same.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a pickup arm 51 that moves the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 downward by two inches, and is fixed to a pickup shaft 50 that is rotatably supported between the front and rear side plates of the main body of the apparatus. It is. An arm 54 is fixed to the back end of the pickup shaft 50, and this arm 54 is connected to a reciprocating plunger 55a of a solenoid (electromagnetic solenoid-plunger device) 55.

When the solenoid 55 is de-energized, the plunger 55a is not retracted, and the pickup shaft 50 is in a rotational angle state in which the pickup arm 51 is directed diagonally downward to the right as shown in FIGS. In this state, the pickup arm 51 escapes downward from the tip of the second arm 42 and does not support the arm 42. Therefore, the second arm 42, which supported the second paper feed roller 21, is centered around the shaft 23. In addition, the first arm 22 supporting the first paper feed roller 21
each rotates downward by its own weight around the shaft 20.

Conversely, when the solenoid 55 is energized, the plunger 55a
When the pickup shaft 50 is pulled in, the pickup arm 51 is rotated diagonally upward to the right as shown in FIGS. The second arm 42 is rotated upward around the center and lifted up, and the rotation range of the second arm 42 with respect to the first arm 22 is as described above between the pin shaft 43 and the elongated hole 22b.
Since the first arm 22 is also regulated by the shaft 20, the first arm 22 is also lifted and rotated upwardly around the shaft 20. That is, the rollers 21 and 41 are held in an upwardly lifted state during the first and second paper feeds.

The first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are arranged along the feeding direction of the sheet material in the paper feed cassette lO mounted on the main body of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 2, and are provided with separation claws 13. It is arranged closer to the sheet material conveyance reference side O-0.

The first paper feed roller 21 is the paper feed roller on the downstream side in the sheet material feeding direction or the side closer to the separation claw 13, and the second paper feed roller 41 is the paper feed roller on the upstream side in the sheet material feeding direction or the side far from the separation claw 13. This is the paper feed roller.

5 is the inner bottom 12 of the paper feed cassette 10 installed in the main body of the apparatus.
This is a pressure plate for lifting up the shaft 4, and the pressure shaft 4 is rotated forward and backward by a lid motor (not shown).
Rotates clockwise and counterclockwise around the center. When the paper feed cassette 10 is attached to the main body of the apparatus, the pressure shaft 4 is rotated in the normal direction, so that it enters the cassette box 11 from the bottom to the top through the opening lid on the bottom plate surface of the cassette box 11 and presses the inside. The middle plate 12, the sheet material P loaded thereon, and the separating claw 1 are brought into contact with the lower surface of the plate 12, and as a result of the subsequent clockwise rotation of the pressure plate 5,
3 is lifted upward inside the cassette box body 11.

Conversely, when the pressure shaft 4 is rotated in the opposite direction and the pressure plate 5 is rotated counterclockwise, the intermediate plate 12, stacked sheet material P, and separation claw 13 are rotated.
is lowered, and the pressure plate 5 is retracted downward from inside the cassette box body 11.

32 is a photointerrupter that detects the rotation angle of the first arm 22, and 22S is a sensing section provided on the first arm 22 side.

(1) When the paper feed cassette 10 is not attached to the main body of the apparatus, the solenoid 55 is energized and the tip of the second arm 42 is lifted and held by the pickup arm 51 as shown in FIG. The second and first paper feed rollers 41 and 21 are held lifted upward from the cassette mounting section. Further, the pressure plate 5 is held at a rotation angle position where it is retracted downward from the cassette mounting portion.

Therefore, when the paper feed cassette IO is inserted into the cassette mounting portion of the apparatus main body, the paper feed rollers 21 and 41, the pressure plate 5
does not pose an obstacle to loading the cassette.

(2) When a sensor (not shown) detects that the paper feed cassette 10 has been pushed into the loading section of the main body of the apparatus using the front loading method and has been placed in the correct loading position, the pressurizing shaft rotates in the forward direction. As a result, the pressure plate 5 rotating clockwise releases the middle plate 12, sheet material P, and separation claw 13 in the cassette lo.
is lifted upward inside the cassette box body 11. Further, when the current to the solenoid 55 is cut off, the pickup arm 51 rotates downward, and the lifting and holding of the second arm 42 is released, so that the arms 42 and 22 are moved to the shafts 23 and 22, respectively.
The first and second paper feed rollers 2 rotate downward around 20.
1 and 41 are in contact with the uppermost sheet material surface of the stacked sheet material P in the cassette 10, riding on the surface of the uppermost sheet material P with its own weight.

In this case, when the second arm 42 of the pickup arm 51 is lifted and the first arm 22 rotates downward about the shaft 20, the first paper feed roller 21 first comes into contact with the surface of the sheet material, and then the arm 22 The second paper feed roller 41 comes into contact with the surface of the sheet material by rotating downward about the shaft 23 .

The pressure plate 5 continues to be rotated clockwise, and the intermediate plate 12, the stacked sheet material P, the separating claw 13, and the first and second paper feeders and rollers that contact and ride on the stacked sheet material P by their own weight. 21・
41 against their weight.

Then, the first arm 2
At the moment when the pressure plate 5 is detected in cooperation with the second side sensor sink 22S and the photo interrupter 32, the clockwise rotation of the pressure plate 5 is stopped, and the middle plate 12 is stopped from rising any further and is held at the raised position. Ru. FIG. 1 shows this state, which is a paper feeding standby state.

(3) In response to the paper feed start signal, the paper feed clutch 30 is turned on, the paper feed shaft 20 is rotationally driven, and in conjunction with this, the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are rotated as described above. Rotationally driven in the sheet material feeding direction, the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials P is fed, and the separating claw 13 of the uppermost sheet material
The corner portion of the leading end, which is locked by the separating claw 13, is released from the lower side to the upper side of the separating claw 13, and the uppermost sheet material is separated from the next stacked sheet materials and fed from the inside of the cassette.

The leading end of the fed sheet material is gripped by a pair of conveying rollers 33, relayed, and conveyed. .

(4) When the leading end of the fed sheet material reaches the conveying roller pair 33 and is relayed, the solenoid 55 is energized, and the pickup arm 51 as shown in FIG.
, the second arm 42 is lifted and the first
The second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are lifted upward and held in a non-contact state with the two surfaces of the stacked sheet materials.

In this case, the pickup arm 51 causes the second arm 42 to
is rotated upward around the shaft 23 and lifted, firstly, the second paper feed roller 41 is separated from the sheet material surface, and after this second arm 42 is rotated upward to a predetermined regulation angle, The first arm 22 rotates upward around the shaft 20 and is lifted, thereby separating the first paper feed roller 21 from the sheet material surface. Therefore, the next sheet material immediately below the uppermost sheet material that is being fed is held in place by the rigidity between the lower part of the first paper feed roller 21 and the separating claw 13, but is inadvertently buckled and is fed double. The tip will not break or break.

As described above, even if the second and first paper feed rollers 41 and 21 are sequentially separated from the uppermost sheet surface of the stacked sheet materials and are not in contact with each other, the leading edge side of the uppermost sheet material is already on the conveying roller. Since the transport is relayed to pair 33, the transport continues.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the first and second feeding rollers 21 and 41 are held apart from the two surfaces of the stacked sheet materials, and the uppermost sheet material is being conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 33. .

When the paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are lifted as described above and separated from the two surfaces of the stacked sheet materials, the paper feed clutch 3 is activated.
0 is turned off and the rotational drive of the paper feed rollers 21 and 41 is stopped.

(5) The uppermost sheet material is transported by the transport roller pair 33, and when the rear end of the transport sheet material has finished passing under the first paper feed roller 21, the power supply to the solenoid 55 is turned off. The lifting and holding of the second arm 42 by the pickup arm 51 is released, and the above (2)
As in the case of section 1, first the second paper feed roller 41 and then the first paper feed roller 21 are brought into contact with the upper surface of the stacked sheet material P, and the first paper feed roller 41, which is waiting for the next paper feed, is brought into contact with the upper surface of the stacked sheet material P. 1
Return to the state shown in the figure.

(6) The operation cycle of (3), (4), and (5) below is repeated every time paper is fed, so that the stacked sheets stored in the cassette 10 are separated and fed one by one from the top. .

As the stacked sheet materials P are fed and consumed, the upper surface level of the stacked sheet materials P gradually decreases. Along with this, the predetermined paper feeding height position of the first paper feeding roller 21 also decreases, and the photointerrupter 32 and the sensing section 22a of the first arm 22 detect that the drop has reached a predetermined permissible lower limit. The lid motor is driven, the pressure plate 5 is rotated clockwise, and the intermediate plate 12, stacked sheet material P, separation claw 13, and first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are lifted and raised. , 1st
The drive of the lifter motor stops when the photo interrupter 32 and sensing unit 22S cooperate to detect that the paper feed roller 21 has returned to the predetermined paper feed height position based on the upward rotation of the first arm 22. Then, further lifting of the intermediate plate 12 by the pressure plate 5 is stopped. That is, the first paper feed roller 21 is returned to the predetermined paper feed height position.

In this way, as the stacked sheet material P is fed and consumed, the intermediate plate 12 is intermittently and sequentially raised, and the first paper feed roller 21
is maintained at a predetermined paper feed height position.

FIG. 4 shows a state at a time when the feeding consumption of the stacked sheet material P has progressed considerably.

When the last sheet of the loaded sheet material P is fed, the absence of sheet material is detected by a detection means (not shown), or the cassette 1
0 from the device, it is detected, and the pressurizing shaft 4 is reversely rotated by the lifter motor, thereby releasing the lifting of the intermediate plate 12 by the pressurizing plate 5, and removing the intermediate plate 12, separation claw 13, or cassette. The pressure plate 5 is lowered into the box body 11, and the pressure plate 5 is retracted downward from the cassette mounting portion, and the solenoid 55 is energized, and the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are lifted upward from the cassette mounting portion. evacuate. This makes it possible to remove the cassette without any trouble.

<Embodiment 2> Figs. 6 to 10 show another embodiment, in which Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the main part in a paper feeding standby state, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the main part. The same reference numerals are given to the same members and portions as those of the device of the first embodiment described above, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

60 is a paper feed arm that can freely rotate around the paper feed shaft 20; 61
63 is a relay shaft rotatably supported parallel to the paper feed shaft 20 on the tip side of this arm, and 63 is a paper feed roller holder rotatably supported by this relay shaft. The paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are mounted and supported so as to be freely rotatable about shafts 23 and 44, respectively.

65 is a drive gear concentrically integrated with the relay shaft 61, 66.6
7 is a gear concentrically integrated with the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41, respectively, and a drive gear 65 is connected to both gears 66 mentioned above.
・It is meshed with 67. The rotational force of the paper feed shaft 20 is transferred to a timing pulley 31 and a timing belt 25 integrated with this shaft.
, is transmitted to the relay shaft 61 via a timing pulley 68 integrated with the relay shaft 61, and the relay shaft 61 and drive gear 66
- Both the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are rotationally driven via 67.

60a is an upper bent piece of the paper feeding arm 60, which also serves as a sensing portion of the photo interrupter 32.

Reference numeral 69 denotes an auxiliary pressure spring stretched between this upper bent piece and the stationary member of the device.

Reference numeral 70 designates a solenoid in which a plunger 70a is connected to the upper bent piece 60a on the opposite side of the spring 69, and when energized, the plunger 70a is retracted to move the paper feed arm 60 to the upper bent piece 60a. It serves to lift and rotate clockwise around the paper feed shaft 20 against the weight of the member attached to the paper feed shaft 20 and against the force of the spring 69.

The paper feed roller holder 63 has a weight 6 on the first paper feed roller 21 side.
3a is added to constantly generate a rotational moment clockwise in FIG. 1 about the relay shaft 61.

The first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are arranged along the feeding direction of the sheet material in the paper feed cassette 10 attached to the main body of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, and are provided with separation claws 13. It is arranged closer to the sheet material conveyance reference side 0-0.

The first paper feed roller 21 is the paper feed roller on the downstream side in the sheet material feeding direction or the side closer to the separation claw 13, and the second paper feed roller 41 is the paper feed roller on the upstream side in the sheet material feeding direction or the side far from the separation claw 13. This is the paper feed roller.

(1) When the paper feed cassette 10 is not attached to the main body of the apparatus, the solenoid 70 is energized, and the paper feed arm 60 is rotated clockwise about the paper feed shaft 20 as shown in the first O. The second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are held lifted upward from the cassette mounting section. Further, the pressure plate 5 is held at a rotation angle position where it is retracted downward from the cassette mounting portion. Therefore, when the paper feed cassette 10 is inserted into the cassette mounting section, the paper feed rollers 21 and 41 and the pressure plate 5 do not become an obstacle to the cassette mounting.

(2) When a sensor (not shown) detects that the paper feed cassette IO has been pushed into the mounting section of the apparatus main body and has been placed in the correct mounting position, the pressure plate 5 12. The stacked sheet material P and the separation claw 13 are lifted up. Further, the power supply to the solenoid 7° is cut off, and the paper feed arm 6o rotates around the axis 2°, the shaft 61 attached to the arm 60,
The weight of the holder 63, the rollers 21, 41, etc. and the tensile force of the spring 69 rotate counterclockwise, and the first and second paper feed rollers 21, 41 move to the top of the stacked sheet materials P in the cassette 10, respectively. Contact with the upper sheet material surface.

In this case, as described above, the paper feed holder 63 has a clockwise rotation moment about the shaft 61, and the first paper feed roller 21 side is tilted downward, and the paper feed arm 60 is in that position.
As the rollers rotate downward, the first paper feed roller 21 first comes into contact with the sheet material surface, and then the second paper feed roller 41 comes into contact with the sheet material surface.

The pressure plate 5 continues to be rotated clockwise to lift the intermediate plate 12, the stacking sheet P, the separating claw 13, and the first and second paper feed rollers 21 and 41 that are in contact with the stacked sheet materials. When it is detected by the upward rotation of the paper feed arm 60 that it has risen to a predetermined height position, the clockwise rotation of the pressure plate 5 is stopped, and the intermediate plate 12 is stopped from rising any further, and its rise is stopped. held in position. FIG. 6 shows this state, which is a paper feeding standby state.

(3) Based on the paper feed start signal, the paper feed clutch 30 is turned on similarly to the first embodiment, and the first and second paper feed rollers 21 are turned on.
- 41 rotates, and the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials P is separated and fed one by one, and is relayed and transported by a pair of transport rollers 33.

The paper feeding pressure (contact pressure) of the first and second paper feeding rollers 21 and 41 on the sheet material surface is based on the weight of the paper feeding arm 60, shaft 61, holder 63, gears 65, 66, 67, and rollers 21 and 41. In addition, springs 69 provide additional support. The paper feeding pressure supplementarily applied by this spring 69 can be applied equally to the first and second paper feeding rollers 21 and 41, and the paper feeding pressure can be stabilized (only the amount generated by the weight 63a is The paper feeding pressure of the first paper feeding roller 21 near the separation claw 13 can be increased by the amount of this weight 63a without causing any difference).

(4) When the leading edge of the uppermost sheet material that has been fed is relayed to the pair of transport rollers, the solenoid 70 is energized, and the paper feed arm 60 rotates clockwise around the shaft 20. The paper feed roller holder 63 is lifted and the paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are separated from the sheet material surface. In this case, the paper feed roller holder 63 is rotated clockwise around the shaft 61, so first the second paper feed roller 41 is separated from the sheet material surface, and then the first paper feed roller 21 is separated from the sheet material surface.

Even if the paper feed rollers 21 and 41 are separated, the uppermost sheet material continues to be transported by the transport roller pair 33. FIG. 8 shows this state.

The driving of the first and second paper feeding rollers 21 and 41 is stopped by turning off the clutch 30 when they are completely separated from the sheet material.

(5) When the rear end of the sheet material being transported by the transport roller pair 33 has finished passing under the first paper feed roller 21, the power to the solenoid 70 is cut off and the lifting of the paper feed arm 60 is released. As in the case of (2) above, first the first paper feed roller 21 comes into contact with the upper surface of the stacked sheet material P, and then the second paper feed roller 41 comes into contact with the top surface of the stacked sheet material P, and the next paper feed starts. The state returns to the standby state shown in FIG. 6.

(6) The following operation cycles (3), (4), and (5) are repeated for each paper feed, so that the sheets stored in the cassette 10 are separated one by one from the top.

The sequential lifting of the intermediate plate 12 by the pressure plate 5 in order to keep the upper surface level of the loaded sheet material P substantially constant regardless of the feed consumption of the sheet material is the same as in the first embodiment.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the configuration of the sheet material feeding device of the present invention, the sheet material fed by the feeding rotary body from the sheet material storage section is prevented from being fed obliquely, and the sheet material is stably fed. sheet material feeding.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 5 show the first embodiment of the apparatus, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the main parts in a paper feed standby state, Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, and Figure 3 is a paper feed roller. Fig. 4 is a side view of the main part when the sheet material is running low, and Fig. 5 is a side view of the main part when the cassette is not installed. It is. 6 to 10 show the embodiment of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, in which FIG. 6 is a side view of the main parts in the paper feed standby state, FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 8 is a paper feed standby state. Fig. 9 is a side view of the main part when the sheet material is being conveyed by intermediate rollers, Fig. 9 is a side view of the main part when the sheet material is running low, and Fig. 10 is a side view of the main part when the cassette is not installed. FIG. 10 is a paper feed cassette (sheet material storage section), 21 and 41 are first and second paper feed rollers (paper feed rotating body), 13 is a separation claw, 12 is an intermediate plate, and 5 is a pressure plate.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A sheet material feeding device characterized in that at least two feeding rotating bodies for feeding the sheet material are arranged along the sheet material feeding direction in contact with the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section. (2) When the plurality of feeding rotors contact the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section, they contact the sheet material surface sequentially from the feeding rotary body on the downstream side in the sheet material feeding direction, 2. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when these are separated from the sheet material surface, they are sequentially moved away from the feeding rotary body on the upstream side in the sheet material feeding direction. (3) Separating means for separating one sheet of sheet material stored in the sheet material storage section, and the plurality of feeding rotors are separated by the separation means when they contact the sheet material surface of the sheet material storage section. It is characterized by contacting the sheet material surface sequentially starting from the feeding rotary body on the near side, and when they separate from the sheet material surface, the separating means moves them sequentially away from the feeding rotary body on the far side. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1. (4) The sheet material accommodating section has a separating means for separating one sheet of the sheet material stored therein, and the separating means is provided on one end side of the sheet material in a direction orthogonal to the sheet material feeding direction. The sheet material feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. (5) A claim characterized in that the sheet material storage section has a sheet material lifting means for raising the sheet material to a predetermined sheet feeding height level, and the actuator acts at a fixed point regardless of the width of the sheet material. The sheet material feeding device according to any one of Items 1 to 4.