JPH04197935A - Automatic paper feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select between two sheet accommodating parts in a small mounting space with a small number of parts to enable sheet feeding by providing one paper feed roller, a first and a second sheet accomodating parts, a change-over cam, and the like. CONSTITUTION:A change-over cam 17 is operated to be brought into contact with the sheet separating claw of a first sheet storage part 3, for instance, on the first sheet storage part 3 side or with the sheet storage part 3 itself, and the first sheet storage part 3 is separated from a paper feed roller 15. Then the paper feed roller 15 comes in contact with second sheets 8 in a second sheet storage part 7 from the lower side. When the paper feed roller 15 in this state is rotated in the sheet delivery direction, the second sheets 8 with the tip parts thereof formed into wedge shape are delivered in turn from the lower side. When the change-over cam 17 is then brought into contact with a friction member 10 disposed on the second sheet storage part 7 side, the energizing force of the second sheets 8 to the paper feed roller 15 side by the friction member 10 disappears, and thereby the second sheets 8 are separated from the paper feed roller 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding mechanism used in printers, copiers, and the like.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of automatic paper feeding mechanism has a structure in which one paper feeding roller is provided for one hopper or paper feeding cassette. Here, one paper feed roller refers to one in which the roller part is arranged on one axis, and therefore, it is one in which the roller part is arranged in series over the entire length on one axis. There is also a structure in which roller portions are provided separately at multiple locations on one axis.

In an automatic paper feeder that is provided with a plurality of paper feed cassettes to selectively feed paper of a plurality of sizes, separate paper feed rollers are provided for each of the plurality of paper feed cassettes, A paper feed cassette or the like was selected by selecting and driving each paper feed roller.

[RI that the invention attempts to solve! ! ] The above-mentioned conventional automatic paper feeding mechanism has the disadvantage that the number of parts increases because each cassette or hopper has one paper feeding roller, and the mounting space increases. .

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has a first paper storage section that has a claw for paper separation and is capable of sending out the first paper that has been set in order from the top, and a rotation fulcrum. a second paper storage section which holds a second paper sheet with a wedge-shaped leading end of the paper sheet and allows the second paper sheet to be sent out sequentially from the bottom; A paper feed roller arranged on one axis and in contact with the first and second paper set in the second two paper storage units; It has a switching cam for contacting one of the sheets set in the section.

In the present invention, a paper feed roller on one axis means
Similar to the conventional example, this includes not only rollers provided at one location on one axis, but also rollers provided at 21 or more separate locations in the axial direction.

In the present invention, the switching cam may be switched using a drive source such as a manual lever or an a-magnetic solenoid. The switching of the switching cam may be configured such that the switching cam is provided with a torque limiter that slips when a certain amount of torque is applied, and the paper storage section corresponding to the rotational direction of the paper feed roller is automatically selected. .

[Effect]

In the configuration of the present invention, the switching cam is operated to bring the switching cam into contact with the first paper storage unit side, for example, the paper separation claw of the first paper storage unit or the paper storage unit itself;
When the first paper storage section is separated from the paper feed a-ra, the paper feed roller comes into contact with the second paper in the second paper storage section from below. If the paper feed roller is rotated in the paper feeding direction in this state, the second paper having a wedge-shaped leading end is sequentially fed from the bottom.

Next, when the switching cam is brought into contact with the friction member disposed on the second paper storage section side, the biasing force of the second paper toward the paper feed roller side by the friction member is eliminated, so that the second paper is The paper is separated from the paper feed roller. On the other hand, since the first paper storage section is not contacted by the cam, the first paper set in the first paper storage section is brought into contact with the paper feed roller. If the paper feed roller is rotated in the paper feeding direction in this state, the first paper sheets are sequentially fed out from the top.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a first paper feed force set 3 serving as a first paper storage section is swingably supported on a frame 1 via a support shaft 2. A first paper 4 is set in the first paper feed cassette 3, and the leading edge of the topmost sheet of paper 4 is inserted into the first paper feed cassette 3 via an arm (not shown). It engages with a paper separation pawl 5 that is attached to be vertically movable. A spring 6 is interposed between the first paper feed cassette 3 and the frame I to bias the cassette 3 away from the frame I.

The frame 1 is provided with a second paper cassette 7 as a second paper storage section at a predetermined interval from the first paper cassette 3. A second sheet 8 of a different size from the sheet 4 is set. A plate-shaped friction member 10 is rotatably supported on the front end side of the second paper feed cassette 7 via a rotation fulcrum 9 on the frame l. This friction member 10 is provided with a friction pad 11 on the second paper 8 side, and is moved counterclockwise away from the frame 1 by a spring 12 interposed between the friction member 10 and the frame 1, that is, the second It is biased in the direction toward the paper feed cassette 7 side. This friction member 10
A stopper 13 is provided on the frame 1 on which the friction member 10 is arranged, and the stopper 13 restricts the rotation of the friction member 10 in the clockwise direction in the figure against the spring 12. This friction member 10 moves the paper 8 by the action of a spring 12.
The tip of the paper 8 is wedge-shaped, and the paper 8 is held together with the cassette 7.

A paper feed roller 15 is rotatably supported by the frame 1 via a central shaft 14 between the first paper feed cassette 3 and the second paper feed force set 7 . This paper feed roller 15 is arranged on one axis of the central shaft 14 . The paper feed roller 15 has a shape determined according to the width of the first and second paper sheets 4 and 8, etc.
It may be provided at one location of a predetermined width on the axis of the book, or may be provided at two or more locations.

The paper feed roller 15 is made to be able to come into contact with the upper surface of the paper 4 in the first paper feed cassette 3 and to be able to come into contact with the lower surface of the paper 8 in the second paper feed cassette 7 . Therefore,
The first paper 4 set in the first paper cassette 1 is
A top-up system is adopted in which sheets 4 are sequentially fed from above, and a second sheet 8 set in the second paper feed cassette and two doors is fed from below.

A bell crank-shaped switching cam 17 is rotatably supported by the frame 1 at a position in front of the paper feed roller 15 via a pin 16. A manual lever 18 or an automatic lever 19 indicated by a dashed line is fixed to the bin 16 of the switching cam 17.
By driving the switching cam 9, the switching cam 17 is moved as indicated by the arrow A in the figure.
It can be switched counterclockwise as shown by or clockwise as shown by arrow B. The automatic lever 19 has
For example, an electromagnetic solenoid 20 is connected as a drive source for the automatic lever 19, and by operating the electromagnetic solenoid 20, the switching cam 17 can be driven. By driving this switching cam 17 in the direction of arrow A,
−, ); fi17A of the switching cam 17 is the friction member 10
The friction member 10 is moved in the direction of separating the friction member 10 from the second paper 8 against the spring 12 until it comes into contact with the stopper 13 . At this time, the other end 1 of the switching cam 17
7B is moved in the direction away from the claw 5 of the first paper 4. By this movement of the other end 17B, the first paper feed cassette 3
The upper surface of the paper 4 is brought into contact with the paper feed roller 15 by the biasing force of the spring 6. On the other hand, by driving the switching cam 17 in the direction of arrow B, one end 17A of the switching cam 17 is moved in a direction away from the friction member 10, contrary to the above, and the other end 17B engages with the pawl 5 and moves the switching cam 17 through the paper 4. The first paper feed cassette 3 is pressed against the spring 6 to separate the paper 4 set in the first paper feed cassette 3 from the paper feed roller 15.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

To take out the first paper 4 set in the first paper feed cassette 3, the switching cam 17 is driven in the direction of arrow A by operating the manual or automatic lever 18 or 19. As a result, one end 17A of the switching cam 17 comes into contact with the friction member 10, pushes up the friction member 10 against the spring 12, and moves until it comes into contact with the stopper 13. As a result, the second paper 8 set in the second paper feed cassette 7 is no longer biased toward the paper feed roller 15 by the friction member 10, so that the paper 8 is separated from the paper feed roller 15. Become. On the other hand, the other end 17B of the switching cam 17 is separated from the paper separation claw 5 of the first paper feed cassette 3, and the first paper feed cassette 3 is rotated clockwise around the support shaft by the biasing force of the spring 6. The upper surface of the paper 4 contacts the paper feed roller 15. In this state, if the paper feed row 15 is rotated clockwise as indicated by arrow C, the sheets 4 will be fed out one by one while being regulated by the claws 5.

Next, when trying to send out the second paper 8 set in the second paper feed cassette 7, use the lever 18 or 19.
is driven to move the switching cam 17 in the direction of arrow B. By this operation, one end 17A of the switching cam 17 moves in a direction away from the friction member 10, and the friction member 10 is brought into contact with the leading edge of the paper 8 by the biasing force of the spring 12.
The paper 8 is urged toward the paper feed roller 15 along with its own weight. At this time, the leading edge of the paper 8 is made into a wedge shape by the action of the friction member 10, and an appropriate frictional force is applied to the leading edge of the paper 8 by the friction pad 11 provided on the friction member 10. This prevents multiple sheets of paper from being sent out. On the other hand, the other end 17B of the switching cam 17 is
It comes into contact with the claw 5 of the first paper feed cassette 3 and pushes the claw 5 downward.

This push-down blade is transmitted to the first paper feed cassette 3 via the paper 4, and pushes the paper feed cassette 3 down against the spring 6. As a result, the paper 4 set in the first paper feed cassette 3 moves in the direction away from the paper feed roller 15.
The paper 4 is now in a state where it is impossible to feed it out. In this state, when the paper feed roller 15 is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow, the sheets 8 are sequentially fed out from below the second sheet 8.

Thereafter, by appropriately switching the switching cam 17 as described above, the first paper 4 or the second paper 8 set in the first paper feed cassette 3 or the second paper feed cassette 7 can be changed to the required one. It can be sent accordingly.

According to this embodiment as described above, there are the following effects.

One paper feed roller 15 disposed between the first and second paper feed force sensors 3.7 allows the paper 4. 8 can be sent out. In this way, since one paper feed roller 15 can feed paper 4.8 of different sizes, not only the number of parts can be reduced, but also the mounting space can be reduced, and the apparatus can be made more compact. . The switching cam 17 for selecting the paper 4.8 has a simple structure and can be provided at low cost. Furthermore, the leading edge of the second paper 8 set in the second paper feeding cassette 7 that feeds paper in a trade-in method is formed into a wedge shape by a friction member 10, and a friction pad 11 is used to properly tighten the leading edge of the second paper 8. Since a strong frictional force is applied, even in the trade-in method, it is possible to reliably send out one sheet at a time.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the invention.

In this second embodiment, the same or equivalent components as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG.
A torque limiter 21 is provided coaxially with the torque limiter 5, and a substantially oval-shaped switching cam 22 is supported by the center shaft 14 at an eccentric position via the torque limiter 21. The torque limiter 21 is configured to slip when a torque greater than a certain torque is applied between the center shaft 14 and the switching cam 22 and not transmit the rotation of the center shaft 14 to the switching cam 22. A tip side 22A of the switching cam 22 is capable of abutting against a friction member 10 rotatably supported by the frame 1 via a rotational fulcrum 9. The other end 22B of the switching cam 22 is connected to the paper separation claw 5 of the first cassette 3.
It is said that it is possible to come into contact with Therefore, the tip side 22A of the switching cam 22 is brought into contact with the friction member 10, and the friction member 1
0, the paper 8 in the second cassette 7 is separated from the paper feed roller 15, while the switching cam 2
When the other end 22B of the paper feed force set 3 is in contact with the claw 5 of the first paper feed force set 3, the paper 4 of the first paper feed cassette 3 is separated from the paper feed roller 15.

In such a configuration, in order to feed the paper 4 to the first paper feed cassette 7) 3, the paper feed roller 15 is
All you have to do is rotate it clockwise as indicated by arrow E in the figure. That is, when the paper feed roller 15 is rotated in the direction of arrow E,
The switching cam 22 supported by the central shaft 14 via the torque limiter 21 is also rotated in the same direction. Due to this rotation, the tip side 22A of the switching cam 22 comes into contact with the friction member 10, and pushes the friction member 10 up against the spring 12. When the friction member 10 comes into contact with the stopper 13 due to this pushing up, the switching cam 22 cannot rotate any further, so a slip occurs at the torque limiter 21, and the switching cam 22 is held in its position. The Rukoto. On the other hand, the paper feed roller 15 continues to rotate in the E direction regardless of the switching cam 22.

At this time, the first cassette 3 switches its claw 5 and is not pressed by the cam 22, so the upper surface of the paper 4 comes into contact with the paper feed roller 15 due to the action of the spring 6, and the paper feed roller 15 moves in the E direction. As a result of the rotation of the paper 4, the sheets 4 are sequentially fed out.

Next, in order to send out the paper 8 set in the second paper feed cassette 7, the paper feed roller 15 is driven counterclockwise as indicated by arrow F via the central shaft 14, contrary to the above description. As a result, the switching cam 22 similarly rotates counterclockwise, and the tip end side 22A moves in a direction away from the friction member 10, and the other tip side 22B comes into contact with the pawl 5, and the pawl 5
Then, the first paper feed cassette 3 is pushed down against the spring 6. When the first paper feed cassette 3 comes into contact with a predetermined position on the frame 1 due to this pushing down, further rotation of the switching cam 22 becomes impossible, and the slip flop is activated at the torque limiter 21 as described above. live,
The switching cam 22 will maintain this state. As a result, the first paper 4 set in the first paper feed cassette 3 is separated from the paper feed roller 15.

On the other hand, a! was being pushed up by the tip side 22A of the switching cam 22! The friction member 10 is released from being pushed up by the counterclockwise rotation of the switching cam 22, and is rotated counterclockwise around the rotational fulcrum 9 by the biasing force of the spring 12. paper 8
The leading end of the paper 8 is moved toward the paper feed roller 15 side, and the lower surface of the paper 8 is brought into contact with the paper feed roller 15. As a result, the paper 8 is fed by the paper feed roller 15 rotating in the direction of arrow F.
It will be sent out sequentially from the bottom.

This embodiment can also achieve the same effects as the first embodiment, and by simply changing the rotation direction of the paper feed roller 15, the first paper 4 or the second paper 4 can be 〇An additional effect can be added that the paper 8 can be automatically fed. Further, since the structure is simple, it can be provided at low cost, and since the torque limiter 2X and the switching cam 22 are mounted using the central shaft 14, the mounting space can be made smaller.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
The present invention includes modifications within a range that can achieve the object of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment described above, when separating the paper 4 of the first paper feed cassette 3 from the paper feed roller 15, the claw 5 is pushed down by the switching cam 17°22. It is also possible to push down the switching cam 17.22.
It is sufficient that the paper 4 of the first paper feed cassette 3 is separated from the paper feed roller 15 by contacting the first paper feed force set 3 side. Further, other switching means such as a clutch may be used instead of the torque limiter 210 in the second embodiment. Furthermore, the first and second paper feed cassettes 3.7 serving as paper storage units are not limited to the illustrated shape but may have other shapes, and their names are not limited to the word cassette.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention uses one paper feed roller, first and second paper storage units, switching cams, etc., so that two paper storage units can be installed with a small number of parts and a small mounting space. This has the advantage that paper can be selectively supplied.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the invention. 3...First paper feed power set, 4...First paper, 5
... Nail, 7... Second paper feed cassette, 8... Second paper, 10... Friction member, 15... Paper feed roller,
17...Switching cam, 17A...One end, 17B...
...Other end, 22...Switching cam, 22A...Tip - side, 22B...Tip other side.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an automatic paper feeding mechanism that feeds paper one sheet at a time from a stack of papers, the second paper feed mechanism has a claw for paper separation at the paper leading edge position and is capable of feeding out the set first paper in order from the top. a first paper storage section, a friction member disposed at a position away from the first paper storage section and having a rotational fulcrum, and a second paper holding section with the leading edge of the paper wedged by the friction member; a second paper storage section that is capable of feeding out the second paper sheets sequentially from the bottom; and a first paper storage section that is arranged between the first and second paper storage sections and set in each paper storage section. or a paper feed roller that is capable of contacting the second paper and is arranged on one axis that separates and supplies the first or second paper; An automatic paper feed mechanism comprising: a switching cam that contacts either one of the friction members of the storage section and separates the first paper or the second paper from the paper feed roller.