JPH05338831A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suck the paper sheet by forming a sucking surface of a paper taking-out means by a projecting and recessed surface, and transforming the paper sheet in contact with the sucking surface according to the ruggedness of the sucking surface. CONSTITUTION:A paper feeding device consists of a paper taking-out means 13 which is formed by a paper feeding cassette where a number of paper sheets 15 are layered and stored and the sucking surface formed by a projecting and a recessed surface, and arranges a sucking port to the recessed part 14a, and a paper carrying means to carry the taken-out paper sheets 15 to other part. When the paper sheets 15 are sucked to the sucking surface 14 of the paper taking-out means 13, the paper sheets 15a in contact with the sucking surface is transformed according to the shape of the projecting and the recessed part 14a, 14b of the sucking surface 14. Then, a space A is generated between the paper sheet in the present position and the paper sheet 15b in the following position, enabling secure separation of the paper sheet 15a in contact with the sucking surface from the paper sheet 15b in the following position, and also enabling the carriage of the paper sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus for use in a printing apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, a reading apparatus such as an image scanner and various readers, and other various apparatuses that handle thin sheet media. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a sheet material feeding mechanism for a copying machine, a printer or the like, a corner separating claw method or a reversing roller method has been used in order to reliably feed sheet materials one by one. There is. However, such a method using mechanical force has a defect that the paper sheet itself is soiled or damaged, and its reliability greatly depends on the rigidity and thickness of the paper sheet, and thus the paper sheet It has the drawback that the design needs to be changed or adjustments must be made depending on the type. In order to make up for such a defect, there is a device using a suction force, but a conventional sheet material feeding device using a suction force is generally configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 52 is a suction drum having a suction hole 51, which is rotatably held by a hollow fixed shaft 53. The hollow fixed shaft 53 is connected to a vacuum pump to generate a negative pressure in the suction hole 51 of the suction drum 52 via the suction body. The paper feed cassette 54 stores paper sheets 55. A conveyor belt 56 forms a conveyor belt overlapping portion 56a and is driven by a pulley 57.

Next, the operation of the above conventional example will be described.
With the above configuration, when the suction drum 52 rotates and the suction holes 51 come into contact with the sheet material 55 stored in the sheet feeding cassette 54, the uppermost sheet material 55a is sucked by the suction drum 52. The sheet material 55 adsorbed by the adsorption drum 52 is conveyed by the rotation of the adsorption drum 52, delivered to the conveyor belt stacking unit 56a, and conveyed to a predetermined position. As described above, even in the above-described conventional sheet material feeding apparatus, the sheet material 55 can be taken out from the sheet feeding cassette 54 and conveyed by generating a negative pressure in the suction hole 51 of the suction drum 52 and rotating the sheet material. ..

[0004]

Generally, when a thin paper sheet is sucked by negative pressure, the holding force obtained by suction is
It is strong against the force of peeling in the direction perpendicular to the adsorption surface, but weak against the force of shifting in the shearing direction. However, in the above-described conventional paper sheet feeding device, the suction drum 52 having the suction port 51 on the cylindrical surface is a mechanism for rotating the hollow fixed shaft 53 to convey the paper sheet 55. The conveying force of the material 55 is the shearing force of the holding force obtained by the above suction. Therefore, in order to obtain a sufficient transport force, it is necessary to apply a considerably strong suction force. In addition, since paper sheets generally have considerable air permeability, there is a problem in that when the stacked paper sheets are strongly adsorbed, a plurality of sheets are adsorbed. Therefore, for a sufficiently thick sheet material, the conventional sheet material feeding device can function with high reliability, but in the case of a thin sheet material, the conventional sheet material feeding device, Due to the above reasons, it was impossible to prevent the conveyance failure and the multiple sheet multi-feeding at the same time. The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an excellent paper sheet feeding device capable of reliably conveying the paper sheets stacked and stored one by one. To do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a structure in which the suction surface of the paper sheet take-out means using the suction force is formed as an uneven surface and the suction port is provided in the concave portion. , When the paper sheet in contact with the suction surface is deformed following the unevenness when it is adsorbed in the suction port, a space is created between the paper sheet in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet at the next position. Thus, the sheet material in contact with the suction surface and the sheet material at the next position can be reliably separated.

Further, in order to make the separation of the sheet material more effective, the space formed when the sheet material comes into contact with the suction surface is formed into an uneven surface so that it can be communicated from the suction port to the outside without being closed. Is formed to facilitate the inflow of outside air into the space between the paper sheet material in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet material at the next position, which occurs during the suction.

Further, in order to prevent the deformation of the sheet material from interfering with the subsequent conveyance of the sheet material, the space formed when the sheet material comes into contact with the suction surface extends from the suction port to the outside. The uneven surface is formed so that it can pass through without being closed and the direction of the uneven part is orthogonal to the paper material conveying direction, and the deformation when the paper material adsorbed to the suction port of the paper surface that is in contact with the suction surface is deformed. It is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the conveying direction of the leaf material.

[0008]

Therefore, according to the present invention, by forming the suction surface of the paper sheet take-out means using the suction force with an uneven surface and disposing the suction port in the concave portion, the paper sheets stacked and stored. When adsorbing, the amount of deformation differs due to the difference in the suction force applied to the paper sheet in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet in the next position, and the deformation amount differs between the paper sheet in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet in the next position. A space is created between them, which facilitates the separation of the paper sheet material in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet material at the next position.

Further, according to the present invention, by forming an uneven surface so that the space formed when the paper sheet comes into contact with the suction surface communicates from the suction port to the outside without being closed, the suction is performed. It is possible to facilitate the inflow of outside air into the space that occurs between the paper sheet that is in contact with the surface and the paper sheet at the next position, and therefore the suction force applied to the paper sheet at the next position is synergistic. Therefore, it is possible to ensure separation of the paper sheet material in contact with the suction surface and the paper sheet material at the next position. Further, according to the present invention, the space formed when the paper sheet comes into contact with the suction surface is communicated from the suction port to the outside without being closed, and the direction of the uneven portion is orthogonal to the paper sheet conveyance direction. By forming the uneven surface so that the deformation of the paper sheet when adsorbed can be made in the direction orthogonal to the paper sheet conveyance direction, the deformation of the paper sheet due to the adsorption can be separated. It is possible to eliminate the influence that hinders the transportation of the.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an opening surface 12 is formed in the front part of the bottom surface of the paper feed cassette 11 which is a paper sheet material holding means. This paper cassette
Reference numeral 11 denotes a suction surface provided in the paper sheet material take-out means 13 described later.
It has an angle θ substantially equal to the swing angle θ of 14 and is fixed by being tilted rearward. Paper sheets 15 are stacked in the paper feed cassette 11 and are in contact with the suction surface (paper sheet at the bottom) 15a.
Faces the opening surface 12. The sheet material take-out means 13 is a suction surface that swings a swing angle θ between the opening surface 12 of the paper feed cassette 11 and the upper surface of a fixed roller 17 of the sheet material transport means 16 described later.
It has 14 and is pivotally supported on a shaft 19 by an arm 18 so as to be swingable. The suction surface 14 is formed as an uneven surface, and the recess 14a is provided with a suction port formed of a large number of small holes, and the vacuum pump 20 sucks air through the pipe 21. Further, the uneven portions 14a and 14b forming the uneven surface are orthogonal to the paper sheet conveying direction.

The sheet material conveying means 16 has a fixed roller 17 which is rotationally driven by a motor 23 via a belt 24, and a swing roller 26 which swings and contacts an upper surface 25 of the fixed roller. The roller 26 is swingably supported by a shaft 28 by an arm 27. The conveyance guide 29 is a guide for conveying the sheet material 15 conveyed from the sheet material conveying means 16 to a predetermined position. The paper feed cassette (paper sheet holding means) 11, the paper sheet taking-out means 13 and the paper sheet conveying means 16 described above are controlled by a control means (not shown).

In the above structure, when a signal for conveying a sheet material is input to the control means, the sheet material feeding device is controlled by the control means and operates as follows. First, the vacuum pump 20 and the motor 23 are operated, and the sheet material take-out means 13 is rotated clockwise in the drawing. By this rotation, the suction surface 14 comes into contact with the lowermost surface of the paper sheet material 15 loaded in the paper feed cassette 11, and the suction force from the suction surface 14 is applied to the paper sheet material 15a in contact with the suction surface. At this time, generally, since the sheet material is breathable, the suction force is also applied to the sheet material 15b laminated at the next position on the lowermost surface, but this force is applied to the lowermost sheet material 15a. Much smaller than. Due to the difference in the magnitude of this force and the unevenness of the suction surface 14, the paper sheet material 15a that is in contact with the suction surface is
Sheet material 1 that is greatly deformed to follow 4a and 14b, and is positioned next
Since 5b is slightly deformed, a space A is formed between the two paper sheets 15a and 15b. The suction force applied to the paper sheet material 15b at the next position is generated by the negative pressure in this space A.
Due to the formation of the sheet, the air flows in from the outside, the negative pressure is reduced, and the suction force applied to the sheet material 15b at the next position is almost eliminated. As a result, only one sheet material 15a in contact with the suction surface is sucked onto the suction surface 14 with the end left.

When the paper sheet material 15a in contact with the suction surface is adsorbed, the paper sheet material take-out means 13 rotates counterclockwise and the end of the paper sheet material 15 is fixed by the fixed roller 17 of the paper sheet material conveying means 16. Transfer to the upper surface. At this time, the oscillating roller 26 is not in contact with the fixed roller 17 as shown by the chain line, and the paper sheet material 15 is the upper surface 2 of the fixed roller.
5 is retreated to a position where it does not hinder the operation of being transferred. In the transfer of the paper sheet material 15 to the fixed roller 17 by the paper sheet material take-out means 13, the paper sheet material 15a in contact with the attracted suction surface
Is bent, and is peeled off and taken out from the sheet material 15b at the next position stacked in a laminated manner so as to turn the page. When the sheet material 15 moves to the upper surface 25 of the fixed roller, the detection means (not shown) detects the movement, and the swing roller 26 rotates clockwise to press the sheet material 15 against the fixed roller 17. By this pressure contact, the sheet material 15 is sandwiched between the fixed roller 17 and the swing roller 26, and is conveyed to the conveyance guide 29 by the fixed roller 17 which is rotating via the belt 24 by the operation of the motor 23.

In the above embodiment, the suction surface 14 of the paper sheet take-out means 13 is simply formed by the concave and convex portions 14a and 14b, and the concave portion 14 is formed.
Although only the suction port is provided in a, the uneven portion 14a, so that the space formed when the sheet material 15 contacts the suction surface 14 can be communicated from the suction port 14 to the outside without being closed. 14b may be formed. In this case, the laminated paper sheets 15
Paper material that comes into contact with the adsorption surface by being adsorbed and deformed
The space A formed between the sheet material 15a and the paper sheet material 15b at the next position is also formed so as to open to the outside, so that the inflow velocity of air into this space A is further increased and the sheet material that is in contact with the suction surface The negative pressure between the material 15a and the paper material 15b at the next position can be surely eliminated. Further, the concavo-convex portions 14a and 14b are formed so that the space formed when the paper sheet material 15 is in contact with the adsorption surface 14 is communicated from the adsorption port to the outside without being closed. It may be formed by one row or several rows of ridges orthogonal to the material conveying direction. In this case, since the deformation of the paper sheet 15 caused by the suction is also in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the paper sheet 15, the deformation of the paper sheet 15 when sucked is in the direction orthogonal to the paper sheet transport direction. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the effect that the deformation of the paper sheet material 15 due to the adsorption prevents the conveyance of the paper sheet material 15 after separation.

Further, according to the present invention, the space formed when the sheet material 15 is in contact with the suction surface is communicated from the suction port to the outside without being closed, and the uneven portions 14a and 14b are also provided.
14 so that the direction of is perpendicular to the paper material transport direction.
Paper sheets when adsorbed by forming a and 14b
The deformation of 15 can be made orthogonal to the paper sheet conveying direction, and the effect that the deformation of the paper sheet 15 due to adsorption hinders the conveyance of the paper sheet 15 after separation can be eliminated.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 3 and 4, 42 is a suction hole 41.
It is a suction drum having a and is rotatably held by the hollow fixed shaft 43. The hollow fixed shaft 43 is connected to a vacuum pump to generate a negative pressure in the suction hole 41 of the suction drum 42 via the paper sheet material 45. The paper feed cassette 44 stores paper sheets 45. The conveyor belt 46 forms a conveyor belt overlapping portion 46a and is driven by a pulley 47.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, when the suction drum 42 rotates and the suction hole 41 comes into contact with the sheet material 45 stored in the sheet feeding cassette 44, the suction force from the suction hole 41 is applied to the uppermost sheet material 45a. Join. At this time, generally, since the sheet material is breathable, the suction force is also applied to the sheet material 45b stacked at the next position on the uppermost surface, but this force is applied to the uppermost sheet material 45a. Much smaller than. Due to the difference in the magnitude of the force and the unevenness of the suction drum surface 42, the uppermost sheet material 45a is largely deformed to follow the uneven surface, and the next sheet material 45b is slightly deformed. Space A between the sheets 45a and 45b
It is formed. The suction force applied to the paper sheet material 45b at the next position is generated by the negative pressure in this space A, but when this space A is formed, the air flows in from the outside and the negative pressure is reduced, and the paper sheet material at the next position is reduced. The suction force applied to 45b is almost eliminated. As a result, only one of the uppermost sheet material 45b is sucked by the suction drum 4
Adsorbed on 2. The sheet material 45a adsorbed on the adsorbing drum 42 is conveyed by the rotation of the adsorbing drum 42, delivered to the conveying belt stacking section 46a, and conveyed to a predetermined position.

[0018]

As is apparent from the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is one in which the suction surface of the paper sheet take-out means using the suction force is formed by the concave and convex portion and the suction port is arranged in the concave portion. When adsorbing the stored and stored sheet material, a space is created between the sheet material in contact with the adsorption surface and the sheet material in the next position. It has an effect that it can be easily separated from the paper sheet. Further, according to the present invention, since the uneven portion is formed so that the space formed when the paper sheet is in contact with the suction surface communicates from the suction port to the outside without being closed, the contact surface with the suction surface is not formed. It is possible to facilitate the inflow of outside air into the space created between the stacked sheet material and the sheet material at the next position, which further reduces the suction force applied to the sheet material at the next position and reduces the suction surface. It is possible to ensure separation of the paper sheet material in contact with the paper sheet material at the next position. Further, according to the present invention, the space formed when the paper sheet comes into contact with the suction surface is communicated from the suction port to the outside without being closed, and the direction of the uneven portion is orthogonal to the paper sheet conveyance direction. Since the uneven portion is formed so that the deformation of the paper sheet when adsorbed can be made in the direction orthogonal to the paper sheet conveyance direction, the deformation of the paper sheet due to the adsorption can occur after separation. It has an effect that it can be prevented from obstructing the transportation of the paper sheet.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an overall configuration of a paper sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are a side sectional view and a plan view of a detailed view of a suction portion of a paper sheet material take-out unit of the paper sheet material feeding device in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an overall configuration of a paper sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed side sectional view of the vicinity of the suction hole of the suction drum of the paper sheet feeder according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the configuration of a conventional paper sheet feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 44, 54 ... Paper feed cassette, 12 ... Opening surface, 13 ... Paper sheet removing means, 14 ... Adsorption surface, 14a ... Adsorption surface (recess), 14b
… Suction surface (convex), 15, 45, 55… Paper material, 15a… Paper material in contact with the suction surface, 15b, 45b… Paper material at the next position, 16
... Paper sheet conveying means, 17 ... Fixed roller, 18, 27 ... Arm, 19, 28 ... Shaft, 20 ... Vacuum pump, 21 ... Pipe,
23 ... motor, 24 ... belt, 25 ... fixed roller upper surface,
26 ... rocking roller, 29 ... transport guide, 41, 51 ... suction hole, 42, 52 ... suction drum, 43, 53 ... hollow fixed shaft,
45a, 55a ... top paper sheet material, 46,56 ... conveyor belt,
46a, 56a ... Conveyor belt overlapping section, 47, 57 ... Pulley.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paper sheet holding means, and a paper sheet taking-out means using a suction force by a negative pressure in which a suction surface is formed by an uneven surface and one or a plurality of suction ports are arranged in the concave portion. A sheet material feeding device comprising a sheet material conveying means for conveying the taken-out sheet material to another part, and a control means for controlling a series of operations of these means. 2. A paper sheet material holding means, a suction surface formed of an uneven surface, and one or a plurality of suction ports arranged in the concave portion thereof.
In addition, when the paper sheet comes into contact with the suction surface, a space formed between the suction surface and the paper sheet has an uneven surface formed so as to communicate from the suction port to the outside. A sheet material feeding device comprising a sheet material conveying means for conveying a material to another part and a control means for controlling a series of operations of these means. 3. A paper sheet holding means, a suction surface formed of an uneven surface, and one or a plurality of suction ports arranged in the concave portion.
In addition, when the paper sheet comes into contact with the suction surface, the space formed between the suction surface and the paper sheet extends from the suction port to the outside so that the convex portion of the uneven surface is in the direction orthogonal to the paper sheet conveyance direction. Paper sheet unloading means formed by one or several rows of ridges, paper sheet transporting means for transporting the taken out paper sheet to other parts, and control for controlling a series of operations of these means And a sheet material feeding device. 4. The paper sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the suction surface of the suction portion of the paper sheet take-out means is cylindrical and rotatable.