JPH05178471A - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sheet feeding device wherein sheets can be pressed against a feed roller under a constant force regardless of the number of sheets and quantities of the sheets can be stored at one time. CONSTITUTION:A hopper body 61 in which a number of paper sheets P adhered to each other are contained in a standing-upright posture is arranged in the shape of a frame, the upper surface of which is opened, on a base plate 62. A swash plate 63 being a bottom plate is situated in an inclined state in the hopper body 61. A feed roller 41 by which the paper sheets P are delivered one by one from the interior of the hopper body 61 is arranged to a side plate 64 positioned on the lowering side of the swash plate 63, the feed roller being driven with the aid of a feed motor 41a. A weight 71 is arranged movably under gravity throughout a portion ranging from the rising side to the lowering side of the swash plate 63 so that the paper sheets P in the hopper body 61 are pressed against the feed roller 41 side. The weight 71 is smoothly and freely dropped along a slide rail 72 by means of roller 73 and 76 located at the lower part of the weight. A press plate 77 making contact with the paper sheets P is arranged in front of the weight 71.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device used in general office machines having a sheet feeding mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a printing apparatus used for a form issuing process such as bills and checks, it is necessary to feed the sheets one by one from a hopper that stores sheets of the forms to a printer.

In this type of hopper, a hopper main body for storing a large number of closely attached sheets in an upright posture, a means for laterally pressing the sheets in the hopper main body, and a sheet arranged on the side receiving the pressure to store the sheets. A sheet feeding mechanism having a feed roller for feeding the sheets one by one from the inside of the hopper body is adopted.

Conventionally, as a means for pressing the paper in the hopper body toward the feed roller, a press roller elastically biased toward the paper by a spring is generally used.

[0005]

The pressing force of the press roller by the spring changes depending on the thickness of the paper inside the hopper body. That is, when the amount of paper is large, the amount of spring deformation is large and the pressing force is large, and when the amount of paper is small, the amount of spring deformation is small and the pressing force is small. In this way, the force that presses the paper toward the feed roller changes depending on the thickness of the paper inside the hopper body, and a constant pressing force cannot be ensured, so conventional paper feed mechanisms can store paper in the hopper body at one time. The number is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and can secure a constant pressing force against the feed roller regardless of the number of sheets and can store a large amount of sheets at one time. It is intended to provide.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A hopper body for storing a large number of closely attached sheets in an upright position, and means for laterally pressing the sheets in the hopper body,
In a sheet feeding device having a feed roller arranged on the side receiving the pressure and feeding the sheets one by one from the inside of the hopper body, the side on which the feed roller is located is the descending side and the opposite side is the ascending side. A sheet feeding device provided with a swash plate that is inclined below the sheet and a weight that is movably provided by its own weight from the rising side to the falling side of the swash plate and presses the sheet toward the feed roller. It is a paper machine.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the first aspect, at the exit of the sheet fed from the hopper body by the feed roller, the sheet feed roller is rotated in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction. A double feed prevention roller that provides resistance is provided on the surface opposite to the working surface.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the paper feeding device described above, a plurality of interlocked feed rollers are arranged in the paper feeding direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the second aspect, the double feed prevention roller is provided so as to be adjustable forward and backward with respect to the sheet surface.

[0011]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the sheet is pressed against the feed roller by the weight moving downward along the swash plate by its own weight, and a certain contact resistance is secured between the feed roller and the sheet. , Feed the paper one by one from the inside of the hopper body. The pressing force due to the weight of the weight is always constant and does not change.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the feed roller applies a feeding force to one side surface of the sheet, and the opposite surface of the sheet is provided with a light resistance by the double-rotating double-prevention roller, so that the sheets overlap. Of the two sheets of paper that are to be sent out, the sheet on the double feed prevention roller side is locked to separate the two sheets of paper.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of feed rollers that are interlocked with each other reliably deliver sheets of different sizes in the feed direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the double feed prevention roller is moved forward or backward depending on the thickness of the sheet.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a printing device equipped with the paper feeding device according to the present invention. Each unit is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU).

First, an outline of this printing apparatus will be described.
In the first part of the paper transport line, form paper (bills, checks, etc.) is stored by type (main paper, cover, receiving paper, back cover, partition paper, etc.), and this paper is designated as the paper transport line. A plurality of hoppers for sequentially sending out in order (for example, two hoppers 21a for the main sheet, a hopper 21b for the cover sheet, a hopper 21c for the receiving sheet, a hopper 21d for the back cover sheet, a hopper 21e for the partition sheet).
) Is installed. The main paper hopper 21a can store 1000 × 2 sheets, and the other hoppers can store 500 sheets. Specific sheet feeding devices provided in the hoppers 21a to 21e will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS.

The plurality of sheet conveying lines 22 drawn out from the hoppers 21a to 21e are unified, and a bar code reader 24 is provided to face the unified sheet conveying line 23. The paper carrying line 23 is branched into a plurality of printer carry-in lines 25, and a supply-side gate 26 for selecting the printer carry-in line 25 is provided at each of the branch parts.
A plurality of printers 27 for printing predetermined requirements on paper are provided at the tip of each printer carry-in line 25.

The sheet conveying line is composed of a pair of guide plates provided in parallel and a large number of rollers which will be described later and are inserted into the guide plates.

Further, a plurality of printer carry-out lines 31 drawn out from each of the printers 27 are unified and a shutter 32 is provided.
And is connected to a magnetic printing machine (MICR encoder) 33 via. Hereinafter, this magnetic printing machine 33 is referred to as MICR. Further, a shutter 35 is also provided on the paper carrying line 34 on the carry-out side of the MICR 33, and the paper carrying line passing through the shutter 35 is branched into a plurality of stacker collecting lines 37, 37a. Collection side gates 38, 38a for selecting 37a are provided, and a plurality of stackers 39 for storing properly printed sheets and rejects for storing improper sheets are provided at the tip of each stacker collection line 37, 37a. A stacker 39a is provided.

Next, in each of the hoppers 21a to 21e, a feed roller 41 for feeding the sheets in the hopper one by one is provided on one side where a large number of sheets stored inside are pressed. The feed rollers 41 of each of the hoppers 21a to 21e are driven by a feed motor 41a to feed the sheets one by one. Further, the presence or absence of the paper in the hopper is detected by an empty sensor 42 (reflection type photo sensor). In addition, a double feed prevention roller 43, which rotates in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction and gives a light resistance to one side of the paper to prevent double feeding of the paper, is provided at the hopper outlet and is reversely rotated by the reverse motor 43a. ing.

A common motor is used for the paper transport line 22.
A large number of paper conveying rollers 13a driven by the rotation transmission mechanism 12a by the 11a, and a large number of jam sensors 44 (reflective type) that confirm the paper feeding from each of the hoppers 21a to 21e and detect the presence of a jam (JAM) state. Photo sensor). The paper carrying roller 13a carries a paper by sandwiching the paper between a roller on one side which is always driven in the normal direction and a roller on the other side which faces the roller.

The jam condition is an abnormal condition in which the paper is crumpled in the conveying line and causes a paper jam. Even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the feed motor 41a was activated, the corresponding jam sensor 44 detects the paper jam. If the paper is not sensed, it can be detected that the paper is jammed at the feeding portion before the jam sensor 44. Each jam sensor 44
Check the paper passing time between the
Jam detection between 44 can also be performed.

Each jam sensor 44 is connected to each hopper 21a to 21e.
When the sheet is detected, it also has a function of stopping the feed motor 41a of the corresponding hopper to stop the sheet feeding by the corresponding feed roller 41. That is, from one of the hoppers 21a to 21e to the feed roller 41
When the corresponding jam sensor 44 detects the sheet sent by, the jam sensor 44 stops the feed motor 41a of the corresponding hopper. At this time, the jam sensor 44
Since the constantly rotating sheet conveying roller 13a located in front of the sheet sandwiches the sheet, the roller 13a keeps conveying the sheet without any trouble.

In the single sheet conveying line 23,
Along with the bar code reader 24, a paper length sensor 45 for detecting an abnormality in the length of the paper conveyed in a state where the front and rear papers are partially overlapped by the paper detection time and the paper moving speed.
(Reflective photo sensor) and an abnormality in the thickness of the sheets conveyed in a state where the two sheets are completely overlapped are detected via a movable member that engages with the sheets of the thickness of the double-fed sheet and rotates. Double feed sensor 46 (reflective photo sensor) and bar code sensor 47 (reflective photo sensor) that detects the edge of the paper and activates the bar code reader 24.
And a jam sensor that detects the jam condition based on the presence of paper
48 (reflection type photo sensor) is provided.

The bar code reader 24 reads the type, size, etc. of the paper from the bar code attached to the form paper, and confirms that the paper taken out from the hoppers 21a to 21e is the proper one as instructed. Check whether or not.

A paper feed control roller 49 is provided on the paper feed side of the bar code reader 24. The paper feed control roller 49 holds the paper at the bar code reader position until the printer 27 issues a paper feed command, and is driven by the motor 49a.

The plurality of printer carry-in lines 25 are provided with a large number of sheet conveying rollers 13b driven by a common motor 11b via a rotation transmission mechanism 12b.

The supply side gate 26 provided at the branch portion of the printer carry-in line 25 is a switching blade attached to a support shaft 51 which is rotated by a rotary solenoid (not shown). Close the printer carry-in line and open the other printer carry-in line.

Each of the plurality of printers 27 has therein a print head (wire dot printer head) (not shown) which is two-dimensionally moved relative to the required printing surface of the paper in relation to the paper. There is.

The plurality of printer carry-out lines 31 are provided with a large number of sheet carrying rollers 13c driven by a common motor 11c via a rotation transmission mechanism 12c.

The shutter 32 provided on the carry-in side of the MICR 33 is driven back and forth by a solenoid to drive the MIC.
At the time of R33 magnetic printing, the paper is retracted from the paper transport line and fed into the MICR 33. At other times, it projects into the paper transport line and locks the paper. In front of the shutter 32 and on the unloading side of the MICR 33, a sheet is detected to detect the shutter 32.
Paper detection sensors 52 and 53 (reflective photosensors) for opening the paper are respectively provided. When the paper detection sensor 52 on the front side detects the paper and the paper detection sensor 53 on the carry-out side detects the carry-out of the paper from the MICR 33, the shutter 32 is opened and the paper detected by the sensor 52 is detected by M.
Carry it into the ICR33.

A common motor is used in the paper transport line 34.
A large number of paper conveyance rollers 13d driven by the rotation transmission mechanism 12d by 11d are provided.

The shutter 35 provided on the paper carrying line 34 is driven forward and backward by a solenoid, and when a jam occurs in the stacker collecting lines 37, 37a, it projects into the paper carrying line and locks the paper. In this case, the sheet detection sensor 54 (reflective photosensor) provided on the front side detects the sheet, and moves backward from the sheet conveyance line to convey the sheet to the stackers 39 and 39a.

The stacker collection lines 37, 37a are provided with a large number of sheet conveying rollers 13e driven by a common motor 11e via a rotation transmission mechanism 12e.

The collecting side gates 38, 38a are switching blades attached to a support shaft which is rotated by a rotary solenoid (not shown). The tips of the switching blades close one stacker collecting line and collect the other stacker. Open the line.

The stacker for storing proper sheets in order
For 39, the jam sensor 55 (reflective photo sensor) for detecting the paper jam condition that occurred in front of the entrance, and the fact that a certain amount of paper (finally the back cover) has been stored in the stacker is detected A storage completion detection sensor 56 (reflective photosensor), a lock 57 that is detachably attached to the apparatus main body to fix the mounting state of the stacker 39, and a plurality of detection units for detecting the storage paper length set in the stacker 39. Sensor 58 and a sensor 59 for detecting whether or not the stacker 39 is set in the apparatus main body.

When the storage completion detection sensor 56 detects that the stacker 39 is full of paper, the collection side gate 38 is automatically switched, and the paper is carried from one stacker 39 to the other stacker 39. Can be switched. The stacker 39 on the storage completion side releases the lock 57 and removes it from the apparatus main body so that the sheets stored inside can be taken out without breaking the storage order.

The reject stacker 39a for storing an inappropriate sheet also has a jam sensor 55a (reflective photo sensor) for detecting a sheet jam state occurring in front of the entrance of the reject stacker 39a.

The drive motors 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d and 11e of the rollers 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d and 13e provided on the respective sheet conveying lines 22, 25, 31, 34 and 37 are provided with various jam sensors for feeding the sheets. The operation is stopped when a jammed state is detected or when an open state of the device door is detected by a door open detection sensor (not shown).

In the above-described structure, this printing apparatus sends out a specified type of paper one by one from a plurality of hoppers 21a to 21e in a predetermined order according to a command from a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown). Then, the type, size, thickness, etc. of the paper are checked by the bar code reader 24 and various detection sensors in the vicinity thereof in the integrated transport line 23. Then, the proper paper that conforms to the command from the CPU is transferred to the printer carry-in line 25 selected by the plurality of supply side gates 26 by the paper feed control roller 49 which is activated only when the printer 27 to be printed is in the paper receiving state. Then, the sheets are sequentially carried in to the selected printer 27, and the predetermined requirements are printed on the designated XY coordinates of the paper inside the printer 27.

Further, the printed paper is carried out from the printer 27 while keeping the order of carrying into the printer, and the MICR
When the sheet 33 is in the sheet receiving state, the shutter 32 is opened and the sheet is carried into the MICR 33, where magnetic printing is performed. Further, when the stacker collection line 37 and the stacker 39 are in the sheet receiving state, the shutter 35 is opened, and the sheets are carried into the stacker 39 selected by the collection side gate 38 and are stored in the stacker 39 in order. Storage completion detection sensor 56
When the stacking completion state is detected by one of the stackers, the collection side gate 38 is switched, and the collection of the paper by the other stacker is started.

The paper judged to be improper by the check by the bar code reader 24 or the like is the printer 27, the MIC.
R33, etc. are passed through, and a reject stacker 39a is passed through a recovery line 37a selected by a combination of gates 38, 38a.
To store.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the hopper will be described.
The sheet feeders 21a to 21e will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a hopper body 61 for accommodating a large number of closely attached sheets P in an upright position is provided on a base plate 62 in a frame shape with an upper opening. Further, a swash plate 63, which is a bottom plate of the hopper body 61, is provided in an inclined shape so that the left side is the lower side and the right side is the upper side in the figure.

On the side plate 64 located on the descending side of the swash plate 63,
The feed roller 41 that feeds the sheets P one by one from the inside of the hopper body 61 is provided, and a part of the feed roller 41 is fitted inside through the opening of the side plate 64. The feed roller 41 has a vertical groove on its peripheral surface for ensuring contact resistance with the paper, and is rotated in the forward direction via the pulley 65, belt 66 and pulley 67 by the feed motor 41a attached to the lower surface of the base plate 62. It is driven to send out sheets one by one from the inside of the hopper body.

Further, as a means for pressing the paper P in the hopper body 61 toward the feed roller 41, a weight 71 is provided movably by its own weight from the ascending side to the descending side of the swash plate 63. Below the weight 71, there are rollers 73 which are fitted into a pair of slide rails 72 provided on the swash plate 63 and roll, and an elongated hole 74 formed in the swash plate 63 (FIG. 2).
A pair of rollers 76, which are pivotally supported and roll on the lower surface of the swash plate, are attached to a mounting member 75 inserted under the swash plate, and smooth free fall movement along the slide rail 72 is secured. A pressing plate 77 that comes into contact with the paper P is provided on the front surface of the weight 71.

As shown in FIG. 2, the base plate 62
On the left side of the front plate 81 mounted on the upper side, an exit portion 82 for the paper fed from the inside of the hopper body by the feed roller 41.
The double feed prevention roller 43, which rotates in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction 83, is provided via the outlet portion 82.
And a receive roller 84 that is normally driven in the paper feed direction. The double feed prevention roller 43
Gives a light resistance to the surface of the paper opposite to the surface on which the feed roller acts.

The double feed prevention roller 43 has a shaft 85.
The bearing is supported by an adjusting plate 86 which is rotatable about a fulcrum. The adjusting plate 86 is elastically pulled by a coil spring 88 stretched between a mounting plate 87 fixed on the base plate 62 and the mounting plate. It is locked by the tip of an adjusting screw 89 screwed to 87.

By adjusting the angle of the adjusting plate 86 with the adjusting screw 89, the double feed prevention roller 43 is adjusted forward and backward with respect to the paper surface, and the paper discharge gap between the double feed prevention roller 43 and the receive roller 84 is made. It is adjusted according to the thickness of the paper.

As shown in FIG. 3, two feed rollers 41 are arranged in the paper feeding direction, and these two feed rollers 41 pass through a pulley 91, a belt 92 and a pulley 93 driven by the feed motor 41a. It is linked to the paper feed direction.

The double feed prevention roller 43 and the receive roller 84 are both formed in a comb shape as shown in FIG. 3, and a plurality of convex ring portions of both rollers 43 and 84 are integrated with the front plate 81 and the side plate 64. They are opposed to each other at the paper outlet 82 through the formed comb-shaped guide 94. The rollers 43, 84 having this shape have a small contact area with the paper and have a relatively small contact resistance with the paper as compared with the feed roller 41, so that the paper can be handled softly.

On the other hand, in the roller rotation direction, as shown in FIG. 3, the double feed prevention roller 43 is reversely driven by the reverse motor 43a attached to the lower surface of the base plate 62 through the pulley 95, the belt 96 and the pulley 97. On the other hand, the receive roller 84 is normally driven in the same direction as the feed roller 41 at the same speed by the rotation taken out from the drive belt 66 of the feed roller 41 via the pulley 98. The feed roller 41 and the receive roller 84
Is protected against reverse rotation by a one-way clutch.

The empty sensor 42 (reflection type photo sensor) is attached to the side plate 64, and the presence or absence of paper in the hopper body is monitored from the hole 99 opened in the side plate 64.

In the paper feeding device thus constructed,
As shown in FIG. 1, the weight P that moves downward along the swash plate 63 by its own weight presses the sheet P toward the feed roller 41 to secure a constant contact resistance between the feed roller 41 and the sheet. Then, the sheets that come into contact with the feed roller 41 are sent out one by one from inside the hopper body. The pressing force due to the weight of the weight 71 is
It does not change regardless of the position of the weight 71 and is always constant.

When two sheets are attempted to be taken out due to static electricity or the like, a force in the sending direction is strongly applied to the sheet on the side which comes into contact with the feed roller 41, but reverse rotation occurs. The paper on the side in contact with the double feed prevention roller 43 is subjected to a force that resists feeding,
Since it is locked by 43, the double feed prevention roller 43 surely separates the two sheets.

Since the double feed prevention roller 43 is a roller rubber which is reversed by the relay circuit at a low speed of 1 rotation / minute during the paper separating operation, unlike the fixed rubber, the roller rubber is not unevenly worn.

Further, even if the papers of different sizes in the paper feed direction can be reliably delivered by the two feed rollers 41, and if the thickness of the papers P stored in the hopper body is changed, Since the double feed prevention roller 43 can be adjusted back and forth according to the thickness of the sheet, it is possible to deal with various sheets having different sizes and sheet thicknesses.

[0059]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the sheet is pressed against the feed roller side by the weight provided so as to be movable by its own weight from the ascending side to the descending side of the swash plate. Regardless of the number of sheets, it is possible to always apply a constant load pressure to the paper and press the paper against the feed roller with a constant force. Therefore, whether you store a large amount of paper at a time or a small amount of paper at the same time, you can always reliably feed the paper with the feed roller under the same conditions, and select a specific paper feeder depending on the number of stored paper. It is highly versatile as a paper feeding device that can be used for all office machines that handle paper.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the double feed preventing roller that rotates in the opposite direction is provided on the surface of the paper opposite to the surface on which the feed roller acts, the two papers that are about to be fed out in duplicate. Among these, it is possible to provide a highly reliable sheet feeding device that can reliably separate the two sheets of paper by giving a resistance to the sheet feeding on the side of the double feed prevention roller and can feed the sheets one by one.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plurality of interlocking feed rollers arranged in the paper feeding direction can surely feed the paper having different sizes in the feeding direction, and the specific feeding size corresponding to the paper size. There is no need to select a paper feeder. This point is also versatile.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the double feed prevention roller is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the sheet surface, this adjustment can correspond to the sheet thickness, and a specific sheet feeding device corresponding to the sheet thickness can be provided. No need to choose. This point is also versatile.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same paper feeding device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same paper feeding device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the entire printing apparatus including the same paper feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Paper 41 Feed roller 43 Double feed prevention roller 61 Hopper body 63 Swash plate 71 Weight 82 Exit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hopper body for storing a large number of closely-contacted sheets in an upright posture, a means for laterally pressing the sheets in the hopper body, and a hopper arranged on the side receiving the pressure, one sheet at a time. In a sheet feeding device having a feed roller for feeding from inside the main body, an obliquely provided lower side of the sheet so that the side on which the feed roller is located is the lower side and the opposite side is the upper side. A sheet feeding device comprising: a plate; and a weight that is provided so as to be movable by its own weight from an ascending side to a descending side of the swash plate and presses a sheet toward a feed roller side. 2. A double feed prevention roller which rotates in a direction opposite to the paper feeding direction and applies resistance to the surface of the paper opposite to the feed roller acting surface at the exit of the paper fed from the hopper body by the feed roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding device is provided. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of interlocked feed rollers are arranged in the sheet feeding direction. 4. A double feed prevention roller is provided so as to be adjustable forward and backward with respect to the sheet surface.
The paper feeder described.