JPH0530026Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention is a paper feeder that is attached to a copying machine and is used to feed a large number of recording papers one by one, which are loaded and stored in the copying machine body according to the copying process. Regarding paper devices.

[Conventional technology]

In general, the paper feed device of a copying machine is such that a paper cassette containing from several dozen to more than 100 sheets of recording paper is inserted into the cassette mounting part of the copying machine, and then fed by a feed roller on the copying machine side. A small paper feeding device that feeds each sheet into the copying process is mainly used.

Such paper feed cassettes are easy and convenient to handle if you frequently replace them with other paper feed cassettes to change the size of the recording paper, but if you use large quantities of the same size of paper in conjunction with each other, Since the storage container is small, recording paper must be frequently replenished, which is inefficient.

Recently, we have been working on the cassette mounting part of copying machines.
A paper feed stacker with a large capacity of up to 1,000 sheets is attached, and recording paper is continuously fed into the copier using a paper feed roller equipped on the paper feed stacker side. Efficient paper feeding devices that do not require replenishment have been proposed.

FIG. 2 shows one example of this, in which a paper feeder A is attached to a cassette mounting portion B of a copying machine, and has the following functions.

The paper feed table 21 on which the recording paper S is loaded has guide grooves 22 provided in a pair of left and right side frames (not shown), respectively.
It is designed to be able to move up and down horizontally along lines a and 22b. The up and down movement of the paper feed tray 21 is achieved by the rotation of coaxial pulleys P1 and P2 through gears G1 and G2 connected to the motor, and these pulleys are connected to the wire W.
1 and W2.

The position of the recording paper S on the paper feed tray 21 is regulated in the feeding direction by a front guide plate 23 and a rear guide plate 24, and in the width direction by a pair of left and right width regulating members 25. is located at the center of

The recording sheets S on the paper feed table 21 are carried out from the top by the feed roller 26, but if two or more sheets are fed out in duplicate, only the top one is carried out by the sorting roller 27. It is fed into the copying machine via the guide section 28.

Furthermore, when the top height of the recording paper S is lowered due to its being carried out, the actuator 29 of the micro switch (not shown) acts to turn on the switch, driving the aforementioned motor and raising the paper feed tray 21. The height of the recording paper S is always kept constant, and the feeding roller 26 and the sorting roller 27 ensure reliable conveyance.
The structure is such that it can be transported.

However, such paper feeding devices also have some problems in terms of functionality and handling.

That is, the operation of the actuator 29 described above may act unstablely due to the undulation or floating of the recording paper S, or only the center portion of the recording paper S may be locally pressed by the delivery roller 26 described above. Therefore, both wings of the paper float up, making stable feeding impossible.

Furthermore, when replenishing the recording paper S, since the aforementioned pair of left and right width regulating members 25 are fixed, it is extremely difficult to store the paper, and there are many cases where the side edges of the paper are bent or damaged. It was hot. Also, as publicly known examples, Utility Model Application No. 60-162525 and Utility Model Application No. 60-162526 are known, but in the present invention, the guide plate for width regulation is placed on the left and right sides at the upper position of the recording paper storage section of the paper feeder. It differs from the known example in that it can be rotated at the same time, making it easy to load recording paper, and that it is linked with the exterior cover, further improving operability.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

The present invention provides a paper feeding device that maintains the topmost height of the recording paper constant, keeps the leading edge of the recording paper in a flat state, enables stable feeding, and also facilitates replenishment of the recording paper. The purpose is to

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention determines the height of the top of the recording paper by optically detecting the position of the delivery roller that is pushed up by the recording paper, and also has upper parts on both sides of the delivery roller that stabilize the paper surface. In addition to adding a guide plate, the pair of left and right width regulating members can be rotated upward and retracted to facilitate the replenishment of recording paper. A left and right guide plate 1 that regulates both sides of the recording paper S, a front guide plate 23 that regulates the front end face of the recording paper S in the paper feeding direction, and a rear guide plate 24 that regulates the rear end face of the recording paper S, and In a paper feeding device equipped with a recording paper storage container having an elevating means, the uppermost position of the stacked recording paper S fed out by the paper feeding means is detected, and the recording paper S is present at the uppermost paper feeding position. a detection means for emitting a command signal to raise the elevating means when the elevating means is not in use; and an elastic member rotatably attached to the support fitting 12 of the main body for regulating the uppermost paper feeding position and in a direction to press the surface of the recording paper. The guide means at the upper part is biased by the upper part, and is pivotally supported by the left and right guide plates 1, and is swingable along the left and right guide plates 1. A common stay member 3 is installed and fixed at the upper part, and the recording It has a side pressure plate 2 that presses the side surface of the recording paper that rotates in conjunction with the cover 4 of the paper storage container, and the inner surface of the side pressure plate 2 is made to form the same plane as the inner surface of the left and right guide plate 1. This is achieved by a paper feeding device characterized by being pivotally supported on the left and right guide plates 1.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows the main parts of the paper feeding device according to the present invention.

The figure is a perspective view showing the configuration of each position regulating member and carrying-out member with respect to the recording paper S inside the paper feeding device.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a left and right guide plate fixed symmetrically in the direction of conveyance (arrow) of the recording paper S, and its connecting portion 1a forms a front guide portion of the recording paper S, so as to guide the front end of the recording paper S. It's getting old.

2 are pivotally attached to the left and right guide plates 1 by shafts 2a, and pins 1b on the left and right guide plates 1
A pair of left and right side pressure plates of the present invention are supported by a pair of left and right side pressure plates, each of which has an outwardly slanted surface 2b at its lower end and an outwardly bent portion 2c at each side edge. In the illustrated state, the inner surface and upper edge of the side pressure plate 2 are configured to coincide with the inner surface and upper edge of the vertical guide plate 1, respectively.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a stay member having a U-shaped cross section and connected to the side pressure plate 2. The lower surfaces of both ends of the stay member 3 are fixed to the upper part of the side pressure plate 2 by screws, spot welding, etc., respectively. When the cover 4 of this paper feeding device is locked, the back surface of the top plate 4a of the cover 4 comes into contact with the cover 4, so that the side pressure plate 2 cannot rotate. Further, a hook 4b is attached to the inner surface of the cover 4 and has a rising portion 4c to be engaged with a bent portion 2c provided on the upper portion of the side pressure plate 2.

On the other hand, 6 is a feed roller that presses the center of the front end of the recording paper S by its own weight, and 7 is a separating roller that is further placed in the conveyance direction shown by the arrow, and rotates about one roller shaft 8 as a fulcrum. The feed roller 6 is pivotally attached to a swinging member 9 that can be rotated. Although not shown, both the roller shaft 8 and the delivery roller 6 are connected to a power source and are rotated clockwise at the same circumferential speed.

10 is a photo sensor unit which is a detection member of the present invention, and when the optical path between the built-in light emitting and light receiving elements is blocked by the shutter plate 9a at the tip of the swinging member 9, a switch acts to stop the motor. The operation of the climbing platform, which will be described later, will be stopped. Also, a conventionally used micro switch may be used instead of the photo sensor unit.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an upper guide plate newly provided according to the present invention, which is arranged on both sides of the feed roller 6, and its bottom portion 11a presses both upper sides of the left and right guide plate 1 of the recording paper S to stabilize it. It's starting to work.

The upper guide plate 11 is rotated counterclockwise by the action of a torsion spring 14, which is an elastic member that is pivotally attached to a support metal fitting 12 fixed to the main body of the paper feeder and fitted onto the shaft 13 at the broken part thereof, as shown in the figure. The bottom portion 11a is attached so that it can swing back and forth by a predetermined angle from its horizontal state.

In the paper feeding device of the present invention having such a configuration, the side edges of the stacked recording sheets can be aligned by the left and right guide plates 1, the side pressure plate 2, and the rear guide plate 5, and the recording sheets can be aligned. Since the front end of the recording paper S whose position is regulated is pressed over almost its entire width by the feed roller 6 and the left and right upper guide plates 11, it may float locally or curl. In particular, the upper ends of the left and right guide plates 1 do not bend laterally during feeding, and stable feeding is performed even in the copying machine.

Further, when the height of the paper surface decreases as the recording paper S is carried out, the feed roller 6 rotates clockwise, so that the shutter plate 9 retreats from the optical path of the photo sensor unit 10 and activates the switch to turn on the motor. Rotate.

When the motor rotates, a lifting table, that is, a paper feed table (not shown) rises, and the uppermost paper surface pushes up the feed roller 6 and rotates the swinging member 9 counterclockwise, the shutter plate 9a The optical path of the photo sensor unit 10 is cut off again and the switch is activated to stop the sheet feed platform from rising. However, in the case of the present invention, the switch is a non-contact type, so the operation is not burdensome. Detection accuracy is extremely high and a constant height of the paper surface can be obtained.
Further, even if the height of the paper surface changes to some extent, the feed roller 6 is pressed against it by its own weight, so the pressure load does not change, and therefore, a stable feed action is maintained.

Furthermore, when replenishing the recording paper S, when the cover 4 is unlocked and opened counterclockwise using the shaft 4d as a fulcrum, the rising portion 4c of the hook 4b engages with the bent portion 2c of the side pressure plate 2. When the above-mentioned pair of left and right side pressure plates 2 are automatically rotated counterclockwise and retracted, replenishment becomes easy. After replenishment, when the cover 4 is closed, the stay is Since the member 3 also returns, the side pressure plate 2 descends and automatically regulates the width position of the recording paper S. In particular, in the present invention, the stay member 3 is provided on the swingable left and right side pressure plates, so the side pressure plate 2 can stably hold the recording paper without curving outward. Since the stay member 3 allows the paper to be simultaneously removed from the paper feed section and returned to the original state, replenishment of the recording paper can also be carried out smoothly.

[Effect of idea]

In the recording paper storage container of the paper feeding device of the present invention, the leading edge of the recording paper in the paper feeding section is pressed by a guide member to maintain flatness, and the top position of the recording paper is monitored so as to remain constant at all times. Therefore, the recording paper can be fed reliably. Further, since the distance between the side pressure plates on both sides of the recording paper is maintained by the stay members fixed to them, alignment of both sides can be performed reliably. Therefore, it has become necessary to provide a paper feeding device for a copying machine that is easy to handle for replenishing recording paper and can stably feed recording paper to the copying machine in good condition. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a paper feeding device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional paper feeding device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Left and right guide plate, 1a... Connection part, 2... Side pressure plate, 2b... Inclined surface, 3... Stay member, 4...
...Cover, 4b...Hatch fitting, 6...Feeding roller, 7...Separating roller, 8...Shaft, 9...Swinging member, 9a...Shutter plate, 10...Photo sensor unit, 11...Top Guide plate, 12... Support metal fittings, 13... Shaft, 14... Torsion spring,
S... Recording paper.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] Left and right guide plates 1 that regulate both sides of the recording paper S stacked on the elevating paper feed table 21, and the recording paper S
In a paper feeding device equipped with a recording paper storage container having a front guide plate 23 regulating the front end face in the paper feeding direction and a rear guide plate 24 regulating the rear end face of the recording paper S, and an elevating means for raising the recording paper S, The uppermost position of the stacked recording paper S fed out by the paper means is detected, and when the recording paper S is not present at the uppermost paper feeding position, the paper feeding tray 2 is moved by the elevating means.
1, and a detecting means for regulating the paper feeding position at the top, is rotatably attached to the support fitting 12 of the main body, and is supported by an elastic member in the direction of pressing the surface of the recording paper. The upper guide means is biased by the upper part, and is pivotally supported by the left and right guide plates 1, and is swingable along the left and right guide plates 1. A common stay member 3 is installed and fixed at the upper part, and the recording paper is stored. It has a side pressure plate 2 that presses the side surface of the recording paper that rotates in conjunction with the cover 4 of the container, and the inner surface of the side pressure plate 2 is made to form the same plane as the inner surface of the left and right guide plate 1. A paper feeding device characterized in that it is pivotally supported on a left and right guide plate 1.