JPH05246567A - Paper sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform switching of the order of the feed of a document bundle between a feed from above and a feed from below according to a working function, in the paper sheet feeding device of a composite machine having a facsimile function and a duplicator function. CONSTITUTION:Paper sheet feeding means 4-9 having an upper and a lower paper sheet feeding function and switching means 16 and 20 are provided. The upper paper sheet feeding function is a function to feed documents from the upper part of a document bundle set in a pile at a paper sheet feed tray. The lower paper sheet feed function is a function to feed paper sheets from the lower part of the document bundle. Switching means 16 and 20 perform switching operation of the upper and the lower paper sheet feed function according to the use of either a facsimile function or duplicating function. In case the upper paper sheet feed function is operated when the facsimile function is selected, documents P set in a stacked state at a paper feed tray such that page numbers are continued, in order, from a low number from above to below are fed, in order, from a low page number. When the duplicating function is selected, the lower feed function is operated, and copying paper sheets are stacked on a discharge tray such that a page number is continued, in order, from a low number from above to below in a state that an image surface faces upward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder for automatically feeding originals in a multifunction machine having a facsimile function and a copying machine function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional facsimile machine having a copying machine function is well known. In the paper feeding device of the facsimile machine having such a composite function,
It has either one of an upper paper feeding function of sequentially feeding originals from the top of a bundle of originals set in a paper feeding tray or a lower paper feeding function of sequentially feeding originals from the bottom. That is, in the case of a paper feeding device having an upper paper feeding function, when used as a facsimile device, the originals are stacked and set in the paper feeding tray so that the image surface faces upward and the page numbers continue from the top to the bottom. Then, the originals having the lower page numbers are sequentially fed, and the original images are transmitted to the facsimile apparatus of the other station in that order.

Further, in the case of a paper feeding device having a lower paper feeding function, when used as a facsimile device, the originals are stacked and fed so that the image surface faces downward and the page numbers continue from the bottom to the top. When set on the tray, the originals with the smallest page numbers are fed in order, and the original images are transmitted to the facsimile apparatus of the other station in that order.

[0004]

However, in general, an image of an original is imaged regardless of whether the original image is transmitted using the facsimile function or the original is copied using the copying machine function. Since the page numbers are handled so that the page numbers continue from the top to the bottom in the state in which the page number is up, the above-mentioned facsimile apparatus, when used as a copying machine,
Copy papers are discharged to the discharge tray in ascending order of page numbers, and in the stack of copy papers, the page numbers are stacked in ascending order from the bottom, and the copy papers are piled up in the reverse order again. There is a problem that it has to be fixed.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention relates to a multifunction peripheral having a facsimile function and a copying machine function, and feeds a bundle of originals depending on whether it is used as a facsimile machine or as a copying machine. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device that can switch the order of paper feeding from above and paper feeding from below.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a sheet feeding device of a multi-functional machine having a facsimile function and a copying machine function. A paper feed unit having an upper paper feed function for sequentially feeding originals from above and a lower paper feed function for sequentially feeding originals from below the stack of documents, and whether to use the facsimile function or the copier function In accordance with the above, the switching means for switching between the upper paper feeding function and the lower paper feeding function of the paper feeding means is provided.

[0007]

According to the above construction, when the use of the facsimile function is selected by the switching means, for example, when the upper paper feeding function of the paper feeding means is operated, at this time, the page numbers in the paper feeding tray are arranged in ascending order from the top. The originals that are set so as to continue below are fed in order from the top of the original bundle, that is, in the order of increasing page numbers, and original images are transmitted to other stations in that order.

On the other hand, when the use of the copying machine function is selected by the switching means, the lower sheet feeding function of the sheet feeding means operates. Therefore, when documents are set in the paper tray such that the page numbers are in the ascending order from the top to the bottom, the documents are set from the bottom of the document stack, that is, the document with the next page number, as in the case of sending by the facsimile function. The sheets are fed in order from the copy sheet with the next page number to the copy sheet with the smallest page number in the discharge tray. That is, the copy paper is
The pages are stacked on the sheet ejection tray so that the page number is ascending from the top to the bottom with the image side facing up.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a configuration of a sheet feeding device 2 according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a facsimile device 1 in which the sheet feeding device 2 is incorporated. A facsimile machine 1 shown in FIG. 3 is a multifunction machine having a copying machine function in addition to a facsimile function, and its paper feed device 2 includes a paper feed tray 3, a pair of paper feed rollers 4 and 5, and a pair of auxiliary rollers 6. , 7, a pair of feed rollers 8 and 9, and the like.

A contact sensor 41, a glass plate 42, and the like are arranged on a document table 40 to which the document P is fed by the sheet feeding device 2. The contact sensor 41 is a device for reading the image of the original P pressed by the polyester film 43, and when transmitting the image of the original P, the image data read by the contact sensor 41 is converted into a digital signal and transmitted. To be done. The glass plate 42 irradiates the image surface of the fed document P with light from a light source 44 which constitutes an exposure device, and its optical image is arranged below the document table 40 by a SELFOC lens 45. The outer peripheral surface of the drum-shaped photosensitive member 46 is exposed. The document P sent onto the glass plate 42 is collected by a document receiving table 48 via a discharge roller 47.

Around the photosensitive member 46, in addition to the exposure device, a charging device 49, an LED print head 50, a developing device.
51, the transfer separation device 52, and the cleaning device 53 are arranged in this order in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 46 (indicated by the arrow R). The LED print head 50 is a device that converts image data received by a facsimile function into an optical signal and exposes the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 46.

A paper feed / transport path 55 is provided from the paper feed port 54 to the transfer / separation device 52, and a paper discharge / transport path 57 is provided from the transfer / separation device 52 to the fixing device 56. The copy paper discharged through the fixing device 56 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 58.

In the sheet feeding device 2 shown in FIG. 1, the large friction peripheral surface portion 4a has a larger friction coefficient for each half circumference (hatched portion) of the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of paper feed rollers 4, 5. ，
5a. Further, the length of the outer circumference of the paper feed rollers 4, 5 is set to be longer than the distance D from the paper feed rollers 4, 5 to the feed rollers 8, 9.

The rotating shaft 10 of the upper feed roller 8 is driven by a stepping motor 14 to form a gear 13, a belt 12, and a gear.
It is transmitted to the feed roller 8 via 11 and driven to rotate. The lower feed roller 9 is pressed against the upper feed roller 8 and follows the feed roller 8. The rotation shaft 15 of the upper sheet feeding roller 4 is rotated by the stepping motor 14 into a gear 18
It is transmitted to the gear 17 via the clutch 16 so as to be switchable and is rotationally driven. Also, the rotation axis of the lower paper feed roller 5
19 is switchably transmitted to a gear 21 via a clutch 20, and the gear 21 is meshed with the gear 17.

A gear 22 is provided on the rotary shaft 15 of the upper paper feed roller 4, and the gear 22 is transmitted to a gear 24 provided on the rotary shaft 23 of the upper auxiliary roller 6 via a belt 25. A gear 26 is provided on the rotary shaft 19 of the lower paper feed roller 5, and this gear 26 is transmitted to a gear 28 provided on the rotary shaft 27 of the lower auxiliary roller 7 via a belt 29. The gear 22
An intermediate gear 30 is meshed with the gear 26.

The auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 have an elliptical cross section, and the upper auxiliary roller 6 and the lower auxiliary roller 7 are set such that their major axes are offset by a rotation angle of 90 °. The rotation shafts 23 and 27 of these auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are support shafts.
It is supported by a support arm 32 that is vertically swingable about a fulcrum 31 so as to be vertically movable. The rear end of the support arm 32 is connected to a solenoid 33, and the solenoid 33 is driven to vertically swing the support arm 32. Also,
The support arm 32 is urged by the spring 34 to be positioned downward, and the auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are moved downward when the solenoid 33 is released. The rotation shafts 23 and 27 of the auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are inserted into the half-moon shaped guide sleeves 35 and 36, respectively, so that the vertical movement is guided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a fax button 60 for inputting an operation start command for a facsimile function and a copy button 61 for inputting an operation start command for a copying machine function are provided on the operation unit 59 of the facsimile apparatus 1. It is provided. When giving the operation command of the fax function by the fax button 60,
In response to this, the clutch 16 and the clutch 20 in the sheet feeding device 2 are turned off (FIG. 1). When the copy button 61 gives an operation command for the copying machine function, the clutch 16 is turned on and the clutch 20 is turned off in response to this (FIG. 2).

Next, the operation of the sheet feeding device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 depending on whether the facsimile function of the facsimile apparatus 1 is used or the copying machine function is used. (1) During the facsimile function operation When the image of the original P is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus of another station by the facsimile function, the stack of the originals P stacked in the normal order starting from the smallest page number faces the image side up. And set on the paper feed tray 3 (FIG. 3). In the reset state, the upper and lower paper feed rollers 4, 5 are set such that their large friction peripheral surface portions 4a, 5a face the auxiliary rollers 6, 7 as shown in FIG. 5 (A).

When the fax button 60 is pressed to input a command to start the operation of the facsimile function, the clutch 16 is turned off and the clutch 20 is turned on. Accordingly, the rotation of the stepping motor 14 is transmitted to the lower sheet feeding roller 5 via the gears 18, 17, 21, the clutch 20, and the rotating shaft 19. The rotation of the lower paper feed roller 5 is performed by the gear 26, the intermediate gear 30, the gear 2
2. It is transmitted to the upper paper feed roller 4 via the rotary shaft 15.
As a result, the upper and lower paper feed rollers 4 and 5 are driven to rotate clockwise.

The rotation of the stepping motor 14 is transmitted to the feed rollers 8 and 9 via the gear 13, the belt 12, the gear 11 and the rotary shaft 10. As a result, the upper feed roller 8
Is rotated clockwise, and the lower feed roller 9 in contact therewith is rotated counterclockwise. That is, the original P sent from the paper feed rollers 4 and 5 is rotationally driven so as to be sent to the original table 40.

Further, the rotation of the upper paper feed roller 4 is a gear.
The rotation of the lower paper feed roller 5 is transmitted to the upper auxiliary roller 6 via the belt 22, the belt 25, the gear 24, and the rotary shaft 23.
Lower auxiliary roller 7 via belt 29, gear 28 and rotating shaft 27
Be transmitted to. As a result, the upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are rotationally driven in the same direction as the upper and lower paper feeding rollers 4 and 5. At this time, the solenoid 33 is not driven. Therefore, the support arm 32 is directed downward by the urging force of the spring 34 as shown in FIG. 1, and the upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are pushed downward. That is, at this time, the upper auxiliary roller 6 approaches the upper surface of the bundle of documents P, and the lower auxiliary roller 7
Is slightly separated from the lower surface of the bundle of documents P.

In this state, the paper feed rollers 4 and 5 and the auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are rotated so that the state shown in FIG.
By the operation shown in (C), the document P is fed from the bundle of documents P to the feed rollers 8 and 9. That is, since the rotation phases of the upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are set such that their long axes form an angle of 90 °, the bundle of documents P is bundled on the peripheral surface of the upper auxiliary roller 6 on the long axis side. The upper surface of the paper feed roller 4,
The auxiliary roller 7 on the lower side is pressed in the lateral direction and functions as a member for receiving the bundle of documents P. In this manner, the original P on the upper surface side of the original P bundle is fed to the feed rollers 8 and 9 by the large friction peripheral surface portion 4a of the upper paper feeding roller 4.

The peripheral length of the large friction peripheral surface portion 4a of the paper feed roller 4 is the distance D from the paper feed rollers 4, 5 to the feed rollers 8, 9.
Since it is longer than the above, the leading edge of the fed original P is pinched by the feed rollers 8 and 9 while the feeding operation by the large friction peripheral surface portion 4a is being performed, and as shown in FIG. The paper is fed to one original platen 40.

In this way, the originals P set on the paper feed tray 3 are fed to the original table 40 sequentially from the top, that is, in order from the smallest page number. The image of the document P fed to the document table 40 is read by the close contact sensor 41, and the read image data is converted into a digital signal and transmitted to a facsimile machine of another station. The original P, which has finished reading the image, is sent to the original receiver 48 by the discharge roller 47 and collected. As a result, the images of the document P are transmitted in ascending order of page numbers.

(2) When the copying machine function is operating When copying the image of the original P by the copying machine function, the originals P that are superposed in the normal order, starting from the smallest page number, as in the case of the previous image transmission. The stack of sheets of paper is set in the paper feed tray 3 (FIG. 3) with its image side facing up. In the reset state, the large friction peripheral surface portions 4a, 5a of the upper and lower paper feed rollers 4, 5 are in the state of facing the auxiliary rollers 6, 7 as shown in FIG. Is the same as.

When the copy button 61 is pressed to input the operation start command for the copying machine function, the clutch 16 is set to ON and the clutch 20 is set to OFF. As a result, the rotation of the stepping motor 14 is transmitted to the upper paper feed roller 4 via the gears 18, 17, the clutch 16, and the rotary shaft 15. The rotation of the upper paper feed roller 4 is transmitted to the lower paper feed roller 5 via the gear 22, the intermediate gear 30, the gear 26, and the rotary shaft 19. As a result, the upper and lower paper feed rollers 4 and 5 are rotationally driven counterclockwise. The rotation of the stepping motor 14 is the gear 13, the belt 12, the gear 11,
The transmission to the feed rollers 8 and 9 via the rotary shaft 10 is the same as in the case of the above image transmission.

Further, the rotation of the upper paper feed roller 4 is a gear.
The rotation of the lower paper feed roller 5 is transmitted to the upper auxiliary roller 6 via the belt 22, the belt 25, the gear 24, and the rotary shaft 23.
Lower auxiliary roller 7 via belt 29, gear 28 and rotating shaft 27
The upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are rotationally driven in the same direction as the upper and lower sheet feeding rollers 4 and 5. At this time, the solenoid 33 is driven, and the support arm 32 is directed upward as shown in FIG. 2 against the bias of the spring 34, whereby the upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are pushed upward. There is. That is, at this time, the lower auxiliary roller 7 approaches the lower surface of the bundle of documents P, and the upper auxiliary roller 6 is slightly separated from the upper surface of the bundle of documents P.

In this state, rotation of the paper feed rollers 4 and 5 and the auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 causes the rotation of FIGS.
By the operation shown in (C), the document P is fed to the feed rollers 8 and 9 from below the bundle of documents P. That is, since the rotation phases of the upper and lower auxiliary rollers 6 and 7 are set so that their long axes form an angle of 90 °, the document P is formed on the peripheral surface of the lower auxiliary roller 7 on the long axis side. The lower surface of the bundle is the paper feed roller 4,
The auxiliary roller 7 on the upper side is pressed in the lateral direction and functions as a member for receiving the bundle of documents P. In this way, the original P on the lower surface side of the original P bundle is fed to the feed rollers 8 and 9 by the large friction peripheral surface portion 5a of the lower paper feeding roller 5.

The peripheral length of the large friction peripheral surface portion 5a of the paper feed roller 5 is a distance D from the paper feed rollers 4 and 5 to the feed rollers 8 and 9.
Since the length is longer than that, the leading edge of the fed original P is pinched by the feed rollers 8 and 9 while the feeding operation by the large friction peripheral surface portion 5a is being performed, and as shown in FIG. The paper is fed to one original platen 40.

In this way, the originals P set on the paper feed tray 3 are sequentially fed to the original table 40 from the bottom, that is, the originals P having the subsequent page numbers. The image of the original P fed onto the original table 40 is placed on the glass plate 42 as the light source of the exposure device.
It is irradiated by 44 and its optical image is exposed on the surface of the photoconductor 46 by the SELFOC lens 45. The exposed image is developed by the developing device 51, and the image is transferred by the transfer separation device 52 to the copy paper supplied from the paper feed port 54 through the paper feed conveyance path 55. The transferred copy paper is separated from the photoconductor 46, sent to the fixing device 56 via the paper discharge conveyance path 57, and the fixed copy paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 58. The exposed original P is sent to the original receiving tray 48 by the paper discharge roller 47 and collected. As a result, the copy sheets having the subsequent page numbers are sequentially stacked on the discharge tray 58. That is, copy sheets are stacked on the discharge tray 58 from the top to the bottom in the order of increasing page number with the image side facing up.

In the above embodiment, the case where the original P is fed with the image surface facing upward on the paper feed tray 3 so as to continue from the top to the bottom of the page number has been described. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the original P is fed with the image side facing downward on the paper feed tray 3 so that the page numbers continue from the bottom to the top. In this case, the sheets are fed from the bottom of the original bundle when transmitting images, and from the top of the original bundle when copying, so that the copying papers are copied from the top to the bottom in order of page number. Can be stacked on the discharge tray 58 so as to follow.

[0032]

According to the present invention, in the sheet feeding device of the multi-functional machine having the above-mentioned structure and having the facsimile function and the copying machine function, the originals are fed one by one from the stack of the originals set on the sheet feeding tray. A paper feeding unit having an upper paper feeding function for paper and a lower paper feeding function for sequentially feeding the originals from below the original stack, and the paper feeding unit of the paper feeding unit according to whether the facsimile function or the copying function is used. Since the switching means for switching between the upper paper feeding function and the lower paper feeding function is provided, the paper feeding order of the document stack is increased depending on whether it is used as a facsimile machine or a copying machine. It is possible to switch between paper feeding from below and paper feeding from below. Therefore, it is possible to transmit images in ascending order of page numbers when transmitting document images, and to make copy sheets overlap in ascending order of page numbers when copying document images.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state of a paper feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention during a facsimile function operation.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state when the paper feeding device is operating as a copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a facsimile device in which the paper feeding device is incorporated.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing an operation unit of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram when the facsimile function of the sheet feeding device is operating.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram when the copy machine function of the sheet feeding device is operating.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Composite machine, 2 ... paper feeder, 3 ... paper tray, 4-9 ...
Paper feeding means, 16, 20 ... Switching means

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/00 108 L 7046-5C

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding device of a multi-functional peripheral having a facsimile function and a copying machine function, wherein an upper paper feeding function of sequentially feeding originals from a stack of originals stacked on a paper feed tray A paper feeding unit having a lower paper feeding function for sequentially feeding originals from below, and an upper paper feeding function and a lower paper feeding function of the paper feeding unit depending on whether a facsimile function or a copying function is used. A sheet feeding device, comprising: a switching unit that switches and operates.