JPH04349771A - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the size of the feeder small by reducing the installing space of a paper feed roller and an auxiliary roller. CONSTITUTION:The length of a feeder roller shaft 23 is reduced and the shaft 23 is supported by a bearing unit 22 at both ends of which a feeder roller bearing 30 is provided, the one end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25 is decreased and the end is supported by an auxiliary roller bearing 34a of the bearing unit 22 and the other end is prolonged to be extended to the outside of the bearing unit thereby delivering a torque from a motor 17 to its end and gears 26,27,24 to transmit the torque of the auxiliary roller to the paper roller are provided in the bearing unit 22.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for sorting and conveying documents such as originals one by one in a facsimile machine or the like.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of apparatus, as shown in FIG.
a paper feed roller 3 and a separation piece 4 that separate sheets one by one; an auxiliary roller 5 that feeds the paper 1 into the paper feed roller 3; and a reading unit (not shown) that reads the paper 1 sorted by the paper feed roller 3 and separation piece 4. The paper 1 placed on the document table 2 is fed between the paper feed roller 3 and the separation piece 4 by the auxiliary roller 5, and the paper 1 placed on the document table 2 is fed from the bottom paper to
The sheets were separated one by one and sent to the conveyance roller 6, and read by the reading section.

[0003] In such a conventional automatic paper feeder,
As shown in FIG. 9, the paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary roller 5 are
It is attached to a paper feed roller shaft 7 and an auxiliary roller shaft 8 that extend long on both sides, and the paper feed roller shaft 7 and auxiliary roller shaft 8 are arranged with an interval wider than the width of the paper to be used. Bearings 11 and 12 are installed on the side plates 9 and 10.
and 13 and 14, and is rotatably held. Further, one ends of the paper feed roller shaft 7 and the auxiliary roller shaft 8 extend outside the side plate 10, and gears 15 and 16 are attached thereto. A motor 17 is attached to the side plate 10, and the rotational force of the motor 17 is applied to the motor shaft gear 1.
8, is transmitted to the auxiliary roller 5 via intermediate gear 19 and gear 16, and further transmitted to paper feed roller 3 via intermediate gear 20 and gear 15.

[0004]Although automatic paper feeding devices that do not use auxiliary rollers are also known, even in that case, the paper feeding roller is held on a shaft that has a length longer than the paper width, and the portion outside the paper width is It was rotatably held by a bearing (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-214548).

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to such a configuration, since the paper feed roller and the auxiliary roller are held by the side plates on both sides arranged with an interval wider than the paper width, the long paper feed roller shaft 7 and the auxiliary roller are A roller shaft 8 must be used, and therefore its feed roller shaft 7 and auxiliary roller shaft 8
It was necessary to secure enough area to incorporate the device, which was a major obstacle in downsizing the device. Furthermore, the configuration is extremely inconvenient when it comes to maintenance of the paper feed roller 3, which is subject to severe wear.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic paper feeder that can reduce the area required for installation and is easy to maintain.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention shortens the length of the portion of the paper feed roller shaft attached to the paper feed roller that extends to both sides of the paper feed roller. The paper feed roller is rotatably held by a bearing unit that includes a pair of paper feed roller bearings that rotatably hold both ends of the paper feed roller shaft. Then, the length of the auxiliary roller shaft attached to the auxiliary roller is shortened only at the part extending from the auxiliary roller to one side, and the shortened end is attached to the auxiliary roller bearing part formed in the bearing unit. Hold it rotatably. The length of the part of the auxiliary roller shaft that extends from the auxiliary roller to the other side is left as long as in the past, and the driving force from the motor is transmitted to that end. A driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force of the roller to the paper feed roller is provided.

[0008]

[Function] By adopting the above-described structure, the present invention can shorten the length of both ends of the paper feed roller shaft and the length of one end of the auxiliary roller shaft. Therefore, the required installation area can be reduced. When attaching the automatic paper feeder to a facsimile machine, there will be extra space between the side plates on both sides and the paper feed roller, and between the side plate on one side and the auxiliary roller, so it is important to make effective use of this space. This makes it possible to downsize the device. Furthermore, since the paper feed roller shaft is shortened, maintenance of the paper feed roller becomes extremely easy.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the automatic paper feeder installed in a facsimile machine, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a bearing unit used in this embodiment, which is different from the conventional example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Identical parts are given the same reference numerals. 1 to 5, 22 is a bearing unit that holds the paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary roller 5;
Details will be described later. 23 is a paper feed roller shaft fixed to the paper feed roller 3, and 24 is a gear attached to one end of the paper feed roller shaft 23 via a one-way clutch. As shown in the figure, the paper feed roller shaft 23 is made so that the portion extending to both sides of the paper feed roller 3 is extremely short, and does not extend to the side plates 9 and 10 on both sides. Reference numeral 25 denotes an auxiliary roller shaft fixed to the auxiliary roller 5, and the portion extending from the auxiliary roller 5 to one side (to the left in FIG. 2) is made extremely short and does not extend to the side plate 9. 26 is a gear attached to the short end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25; 27 is a gear that is attached to the short end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25;
This is an intermediate gear arranged to mesh with gears 24 and 26. These gears 24, 26, and 27 constitute a driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force of the auxiliary roller to the paper feed roller.

The side of the auxiliary roller shaft 25 opposite to the side on which the gear 26 is attached is long as in the conventional case, and the bearing 1
It is rotatably held on the side plate 10 via 4. A gear 16 is attached to its end. A motor 17 is held on the side plate 10, and its driving force is transmitted to the auxiliary roller 5 via a motor shaft gear 18, an intermediate gear 19, and a gear 16.
is configured to be transmitted to Here, as can be clearly seen from FIG. 2, there is an extra space between the bearing unit 22 and the side plate 10, so in order to make effective use of that space, the motor 17 is installed within that space, that is, between the bearing unit 22 and the side plate 10. is placed next to. By adopting this configuration, no extra space is required for arranging the motor 17, and the entire facsimile apparatus can be downsized. Further, since a space is also created between the bearing unit 22 and the side plate 9, the entire device can be further miniaturized by using that space for mounting appropriate parts of the facsimile device.

The bearing unit 22 has paper feed roller bearings 30 at both ends thereof, which rotatably support both ends of the paper feed roller shaft 23. The paper feed roller bearing portion 30 includes a support base 31 on which the paper feed roller shaft 23 is placed, and a locking pawl 32 having a hole 32a through which the paper feed roller shaft 23 passes. As can be clearly seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, this locking claw 32 is connected to the hole 3.
The end of the paper feed roller shaft 23 is pressed against the inclined surface 32c of the head and pushed in the direction shown by arrow C to lock the paper feed roller shaft 23. The claw 32 bends in the direction shown by arrow D, allowing the paper feed roller shaft 23 to be inserted into the hole 32a. Further, the length of the paper feed roller shaft 23 is determined so that when both ends thereof are inserted into the holes 32a of the locking claws 32, the ends substantially penetrate the support portions 32b. With this configuration, if for some reason the paper feed roller shaft 23
Even if the paper feed roller shaft 23 applies an upward force P to the upper surface 32e of the hole 32a when an upward force is applied to the Therefore, no force is applied to the locking pawl 32 to cause it to bend in the direction of arrow D, so that the paper feed roller shaft 23 will not be accidentally removed from the locking pawl 32.

In FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the bearing unit 22 further includes two upright plates 34 and 35 near one of the paper feed roller bearings 30. As shown in FIGS. One upright plate 34
An auxiliary roller bearing portion 34a consisting of a through hole that rotatably holds one end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25 is formed in the auxiliary roller bearing portion 34a. Moreover, bearing grooves 34b and 35b for rotatably holding the shaft of the intermediate gear 27 are formed in both the upright plates 34 and 35. In the figure, 37 is a mounting portion for mounting the bearing unit 22 to a base (not shown) of the device. This bearing unit 22 is integrally molded from resin or the like.

The method of using the automatic paper feeder configured as described above will be explained below. Bearing unit 22
To attach the paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary roller 5 to the paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary roller 5, first push the paper feed roller shaft 23 to which the paper feed roller 3 and the gear 24 are attached into the paper feed roller bearing part 30 from above, and then attach the paper feed roller shaft 23 to the intermediate gear. 27 shaft into the bearing groove 34b,
35b, and then one end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25 to which the auxiliary roller 5 is attached is inserted into the auxiliary roller bearing 34a, and the gear 26 is attached to the end. As a result, the paper feed roller 3, the auxiliary roller 5, and the intermediate gear 27 are held with respect to the bearing unit 22. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, this bearing unit 22 is attached to a predetermined position between the side plates 9 and 10 on both sides using the attachment part 37, and the right end of the auxiliary roller shaft 25 is attached to the side plate 10 via the bearing 14. The gear 16 is attached to the tip. Further, a motor 17, an intermediate gear 19, etc. are attached to the side plate 10 and meshed with the gear 16. As described above, the automatic paper feeder of this embodiment can be assembled.

When performing automatic paper feeding, the power of the motor 17 is transmitted to the auxiliary roller 5 via the motor shaft gear 18, the intermediate gear 19, the gear 16, and the auxiliary roller shaft 25. Power is transmitted to the paper feed roller 3 via the gear 26, the intermediate gear 27, the gear 24, and the paper feed roller shaft 23. As a result, the auxiliary roller 5 and paper feed roller 3 rotate, and paper is fed in the same manner as in the conventional apparatus shown in FIG.

[0015]

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention shortens both ends of the paper feed roller shaft and holds both ends in a bearing unit, and also shortens one end of the auxiliary roller shaft. Since the side is held by the bearing unit, and a driving force transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the auxiliary roller to the paper feed roller is provided in the bearing unit, the overall size can be reduced and this can be used in facsimile machines, etc. In this case, it is no longer necessary to hold the paper feed roller shaft and the auxiliary roller shaft by side plates on both sides provided at an interval wider than the width of the paper, as in the past, and the space between the paper feed roller and the side plates on both sides of the paper feed roller is eliminated. A space is created between the auxiliary roller and one side plate, and by making effective use of this space, it is possible to downsize the device.Furthermore, since the paper feed roller axis is shortened, maintenance of the paper feed roller is extremely easy. This has the effect of making it easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] A schematic plan view showing a state in which the automatic paper feeder shown in Fig. 1 is incorporated into a facsimile machine.

[Figure 3] Cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Figure 2

[Fig. 4] Cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Fig. 2

[Fig. 5] A schematic perspective view of the bearing unit used in the above embodiment.

[Fig. 6] A schematic cross-sectional view of the paper feed roller bearing portion in the bearing unit shown in Fig. 5.

[Fig. 7] Front view of the paper feed roller bearing shown in Fig. 6.

[Figure 8]
Schematic side view of a conventional automatic paper feeder

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of the conventional device shown in FIG. 8 with some parts omitted;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Paper 3 Paper feed roller 4 Separation piece 5 Auxiliary roller 9, 10 Side plate 14 Bearing 17 Motor 22 Bearing unit 23 Paper feed roller shaft 24 Gear 25 Auxiliary roller shaft 26 Gear 27 Intermediate gear 30 Paper feed roller bearing part 34a Auxiliary roller bearing part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed roller having a paper feed roller shaft that extends short on both sides, an auxiliary roller that has an auxiliary roller shaft that extends short on one side and long on the opposite side, and the paper feed roller on both ends. a bearing unit having a paper feed roller bearing portion that rotatably holds both ends of the shaft; and an auxiliary roller bearing portion that rotatably holds the short end of the auxiliary roller shaft at one end; An automatic sheet feeder comprising: a motor that transmits a driving force to a longer end; and a driving force transmitting means that is disposed within the bearing unit and that transmits the driving force of the auxiliary roller to the paper feeding roller.