JPH0543074A - Automatic paper feeding device and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely feed sheets without influenced by the firmness of sheets. CONSTITUTION:A paper feeding roller 1 feeding piles sheets 100 is disposed, and a separation plate 6, abutting a part of a tip part of the fed sheets 100, is provided on a downstream side. The thickness of the paper feeding roller 1 is formed thin with flexible materials so as to bend the sheets 100 to an inner side respectively for allowing forming a loop when the sheets 100 pass over the separation plate 6. This constitution enables paper feeding with one mechanism from very thin sheets to thick sheets such as postals or envelopes.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding device for feeding recording paper to a recording device or a copying machine or sequentially feeding originals to an image reading device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic feeding device for sequentially feeding stacked recording papers and originals (other than papers) to a recording device or an image reading device one by one,
The following three methods are often used.

The most widely used method as the first method is the nail separation method. As shown in FIG. 28, the substantially triangular separation nails 101 installed at both ends of the paper 100 and the stacked papers. A pair of paper feed rollers 102 (partially omitted) that are in contact with the upper surface and feed the paper 100 to the downstream side, and the paper feed roller shaft 1
03, a pressure plate 104 for pressing the paper 100 against the paper feed roller 102, a spring (not shown) for pushing up the pressure plate 104, and to prevent double feeding of the paper 100,
A separation sheet 105 attached to a pressure plate 104 at a position facing the paper feed roller 102 and a paper cassette 106 are provided, and the waist of the paper at both ends of the stacked paper 100 (a force applied when the paper is about to be bent) ) To make a loop,
The separation claws 101 are separated one by one so as to be separated.

As a second method, there is a friction separation method, which is a separation roller 10 having a relatively large diameter as shown in FIG.
2 and a separation pad 10 that is pressed against the separation roller 102.
7, a spring (not shown) for pressing the separation pad 107, a feed roller 108 for intermittently feeding the paper 100, and a pinch roller 109. This is a method of separating by using frictional force at the corners.

As a third method, there is a so-called bank separation method. As shown in FIG. 30, a bank 110 having a predetermined angle is provided downstream of the paper 100 in the conveying direction, and the pressure plate 104 and the pressure plate spring 111 are provided. The paper 100 is pressed against the paper feed roller 102 by the conveying force of the paper feed roller 102.
The paper 100 is bent along the inclined surface of the bank 110 so as to be separated and fed one by one.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional paper separation system has the following problems.

First, in the first method, which is the nail separation method,
Since both ends of the paper 100 are bent by the separation claws 101 in a loop shape to be separated, a relatively thick paper or a paper that is hard to bend such as a postcard or an envelope is difficult to form a loop and is difficult to separate. Moreover, since relatively thin paper has no stiffness, several loops were formed together, and it was difficult to separate the sheets one by one.

Further, even if the paper has a normal thickness, the paper absorbs moisture at high temperature and high humidity as an environment of use, so that the stiffness of the paper becomes weak and there is a problem that several sheets are separated like the thin paper described above. It was

Moreover, the paper feed roller 1 is used to form a loop.
02 must be increased, and a predetermined frictional force is generated at the portion of the pressure plate 104 that contacts the lowermost end of the sheet 100 to cause double feeding (the last two sheets are fed together). Since the separation pad 105 is provided for prevention, the paper feed roller 102 and the separation pad 10 are used when there is no paper.
Since 5 slides directly, the load increases and a motor with a large torque is required.

Further, a space for forming a loop of paper is required above the separation claw 101, which has a drawback that the device becomes large.

In the second method, the friction separation method, the friction pad 107 and the separation roller 102 separate the sheet by the ironing operation. Although it can be separated up to about 50 mm, the separation of thin paper is unstable, and the separation roller 10
The diameter of 2 had to be relatively large, and the device had become large.

Further, the separating pad 107 and the separating roller 10
In the case of No. 2, if the lower layer is not always in contact, the lower layer sheet is fed, and therefore the separation roller 102 must be rotated together even after the sheet is fed, and the rotation load of the separation roller 102 is always applied, which is large. I needed a motor.

Moreover, in the printing apparatus, unevenness in the paper feed occurs due to the load fluctuation when the trailing edge of the paper comes off, and the image quality is deteriorated.

Further, in order to separate the sheet at the edge portion, the sheet 1 is attached to the contact portion between the separation roller 102 and the separation pad 107.
It is necessary to separately provide a means for abutting 00, and it is necessary to provide the conveying means 108 and 109 on the upstream side of the sheet, or to provide the separating roller 102 with another separable pad to feed the sheet. The device becomes complicated and large,
It was expensive.

The third method, which is the bank separation method, has a relatively simple structure, but since it uses the waist of paper, it is not postcard or paper of equivalent thickness (equivalent waist strength). There was a problem that it could not be separated and could only be used for automatic paper feeders for thick paper such as postcard feeders.

In all of the above three methods, from thin paper to postcard,
It is not possible to reliably separate various types of paper such as envelopes, so you can limit the range of paper that can be used, or switch by combining each method or replace the entire device before use. Therefore, not only the operability is deteriorated, but also the device itself becomes expensive and large.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a stacking means for stacking and supporting sheets, a feeding means for sending out the sheets stacked on the stacking means, and a downstream side of the sheets sent out by the feeding means. Arranged and provided with separating means for contacting a part of the leading end of the sheet, and loop permitting means for permitting the formation of a loop when the sheet sent out by the feeding means passes over the separating means. Is.

The loop allowing means may cause the feeding means to follow the direction in which the sheet bends when forming a loop for the sheet to get over the separating means.

Further, specifically, the portion of the feeding means that comes into contact with the sheet is made of a flexible material, and the feeding means bends to allow the formation of loops, or the feeding means. Is composed of a feeding shaft and a feeding rotating body slidably provided on the feeding shaft. The feeding rotating body is allowed to form a loop by moving in the axial direction of the feeding side. It is recommended that the configuration be changed.

[0020]

According to the above construction, the separating means is brought into contact with a part of the seat to allow the formation of a loop that occurs when the seat tries to get over the seat, so that the waist strength of the seat and the like can be reduced by one mechanism. It is possible to separate various sheets regardless of.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a sheet feeding device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof.

A sheet feeding roller 1 is made of a material having a high friction coefficient (for example, rubber or urethane foam) and is formed in a thin disk shape so that it is easily bent in the plate thickness direction. Further, a boss portion 1a for connecting with a roller shaft described later is integrally formed in the center portion. 2 is a roller shaft,
The paper feed roller 1 is fixed at a predetermined position, and a thrust receiver (not shown) regulates the position in the thrust direction. Pulleys 2a are fixed to both ends of the roller shaft 2 so that a belt, which will be described later, can be hung on the pulleys 2a. A transmission shaft 3 has drive pulleys 3a fixed to both ends thereof and is rotatably supported by bearings (not shown). 4 is a motor, and a stepping motor is preferable because rotation control in both directions is easy. The motor 4 is
The transmission shaft 3 is attached to the transmission shaft 3 and can be rotated in both directions by rotation of the motor 4. A belt 5 is stretched between the pulley 2a and the drive pulley 3a, and transmits the rotation of the transmission shaft 3 to the roller shaft 2.
The belt 5 may be either a timing belt or a flat belt. The roller shaft 2 is supported by an oscillating arm (not shown) provided so as to rotate about the transmission shaft 3, and the rotation of the transmission shaft 3 causes a component force of the rotational force. Then, the roller shaft 2 makes a rotational movement around the transmission shaft 3 in rotation and revolution.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a separating plate, which has a substantially arcuate end surface 6a and is formed of a thin sheet material having elasticity such as a polyester sheet. The separation plate 6 is located between the paper feed rollers 1 and is installed in parallel with a line connecting the contact points of the paper feed rollers 1 on the downstream side of the contact portion between the paper feed rollers 1 and the paper 100. .. The separation plate 6 is attached to a paper tray, which will be described later, and has a slit 6b at a position facing the paper feed roller 1.
Are formed. The slits 6b are provided at two places, but one of them is not shown. 7 is a paper tray and paper 10
0 is loaded and its position is regulated.

Reference numeral 7a denotes a slit 6b of the separating plate 6 described above.
The opening is formed in the same manner as the above, but the illustration is omitted. A stopper 7b is formed integrally with the paper tray 7 and is located downstream of the separating plate 6 with a predetermined width. At this time, it is preferable that the width is smaller than the outer shape of the separating plate 6 because the separated sheets do not interfere with each other. Also, the stopper 7
b is arranged with a slight gap to the separation plate 6 and is formed to be short in the height direction as well.
However, when it comes into contact with the stopper 7b, the separation plate 6 stops at a predetermined angle. Reference numeral 7c is a side guide, and 7d is an end guide, which regulates the position of the paper 100 in the left-right direction and in the rear direction.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be explained.

First, in FIGS. 4 and 7, when the motor 4 described above is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the transmission shaft 3 and the drive pulley 3a also rotate in the same direction. The belt 5 and the pulley 2a also rotate in the same direction, and the roller shaft 2 also rotates in the same direction. The paper feed roller 1 also rotates in the direction of arrow A, and at the same time, revolves in the direction of arrow B (the direction in which it abuts against the paper 100) by the rotational force of the transmission shaft 3.

The sheet feeding roller 1 contacts the uppermost sheet 100a of the stacked sheets 100 and conveys it in the direction of arrow C.
Since the sheet 100 moves as a whole and pushes the separating plate 6, the separating plate 6 rotates counterclockwise (direction of arrow D) and the stopper 7
It comes into contact with b and stops. Since the sheets other than the sheet 100a are pushed in the direction of the arrow C only by the frictional force between the sheets, the separation plate 6
To stop (see FIGS. 5 and 8).

Further, when the paper feed roller 1 is rotated to convey the uppermost sheet 100a in the direction of the arrow, the sheet 1
Since 00a cannot be deformed at the point of contact with the paper feed roller 1 due to the stiffness of the paper, it deforms near the center of the separation plate 6 and bends upward to try to get over it (see FIGS. 6 and 9). ). At this time, the paper 100a tries to pull the paper feed roller 1 inward by the amount of bending. This amount is 6
It depends on the shape of the end face 6a, but is L2-L1 in FIG. Here, since the sheet feeding roller 1 is a thin plate-shaped disc, it is deformed inward and does not prevent the sheet 100a from trying to get over the separating plate 6. At this time, the paper feed roller 1 is deformed by being pulled inward by the tension of the paper 100a.

The deformation of the paper 100a at this time is partial, and as shown by the slanted line 100b in FIG. 10, the paper 100 has two arc-shaped sides with the separation plate 6 as the bottom between the paper feed rollers 1. In addition, a substantially triangular bulge occurs. Since this deformation is caused by the conveying force of the paper feed roller 1 and the tension of the paper 100a itself, by appropriately setting the shape of the separation plate 6, it does not occur on the paper below it.

After only the uppermost sheet 100a can be separated, the sheet is delivered to the main transport roller (not shown) on the downstream side, and the motor 4 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow A. After returning to the same position, one cycle of separating and feeding the paper is completed.

At the position shown in FIG. 4, the roller shaft 2 is held at that position even if the motor 4 is stopped by a click member or a holding member (not shown).

When the number of sheets 100 is reduced by repeating the separation, as shown in FIG. 11, the feed roller 1 rotates in the direction of arrow B at a larger angle and is separated from the separating plate 6 a little. The separation amount between the separation plate 6 and the sheet 100a increases,
Since the loop for the paper 100a to get over the separation plate 6 becomes large, the distance between the paper feed roller 1 and the separation plate 6 increases, which facilitates the deformation of the paper, and the conveyance force for forming the loop is initially You can do it like the first one. At this time, the positional relationship between the transmission shaft 3 and the roller shaft 2 and the shape of separation are appropriately set.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state in which there is no paper. The paper feed roller 1 is slightly inserted into the slit 6b of the separation plate 6 and the slit 7a of the paper tray 7, and a stopper (not shown) Two rotations of the roller shaft can be stopped. For this reason, when there is no paper, the paper feed roller 1 idles, so that it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the motor.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, when a cardboard such as a postcard is used, the separating plate 6 is further deformed above the stopper 7b, so that the loop of the cardboard can be made small and the conveying force at the time of separation is increased. Can be prevented.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 14 and 15 are vertical sectional views showing a second embodiment. Parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The paper feed roller 1 is formed in a half-moon shape with a part of the outer periphery cut out, and is otherwise formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Push-down cams 10 are attached to both ends of the roller shaft 2 instead of the pulleys, and the position of the roller shaft 2 is not changed and the roller shaft 2 is unidirectional (arrow A) at the same place.
Rotate to.

The cam 10 has a circular arc-shaped push-down portion 10a having a large outer shape, and is attached to both ends of the roller shaft 2 in the same phase. In addition, the pushing-down portion 10 is pushed in the same direction as the cutout portion 1b of the sheet feeding roller 1.
a is mounted so as to face each other.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a pressure plate, which is mounted at a position facing the paper feed roller 1 and fixed to the end of the pressure plate spring 12. The pressure plate spring 12 has the other end fixed to a part (not shown) of the paper table, is formed of a thin plate of a spring material such as stainless steel, and presses the paper 100 against the paper feed roller 1.

As in the first embodiment, the pressure plate 11 has a slit having a width slightly larger than the thickness of the paper feed roller 1 so that the paper feed roller can be used when there is no paper. 1 and the pressure plate 11 do not slide directly, and an overload on the motor can be prevented.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a pressure plate lever, which is attached to both sides of the pressure plate spring 12, and has a contact portion 13a for engaging with the push-down cam 10 at the end thereof.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.

In FIG. 14, the cutout portion 1b of the paper feed roller 1 is normally opposed to the paper 100, and the paper 100
Is not in contact with the paper feed roller 1.

The sheet 100 is regulated in all directions, and is in contact with the separating plate 6 on the downstream side. Now, when the paper feed roller 1 rotates clockwise (arrow A), the push-down cam 10 and the pressure plate lever 13 are disengaged, and the pressure plate spring 1 is released.
The pressure plate 11 is pushed upward by the urging force of 2, and the sheet 1
00 abuts the paper feed roller 1 (FIG. 15).

The process of separating only the sheet 100a is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. Paper feed roller 1
1 completes one cycle in the direction of arrow A,
Return to state 4. At this time, the paper 100 is below the paper feed roller 1, but the cutouts 1b of the paper feed roller 1 face each other, so the paper 100 can be moved freely.

In this embodiment, the paper feed roller 1 only needs to rotate at the same position, and the engagement amount of the paper 100a separated from the separation slope 6 is always constant, and stable separation is possible.

[Third Embodiment] FIGS. 16 and 17 are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the paper feed roller 1 is formed of an elastic foam material such as urethane sponge (independent foaming is preferable in order to obtain sufficient elastic force), and the outer peripheral surface has a high friction coefficient. A coating such as silicon may be applied. When separating the paper 100a, the paper feed roller 1 can change the interval by deforming the sponge without slipping at the contact portion with the paper 100a. Further, since the contact area with the paper 100 is large, it is less likely to be affected by the condition of the paper surface and dust.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIGS. 18 and 19 are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing a fourth embodiment.

The separating roller 1 is formed of a commonly used rubber or the like in a ring shape. A key groove 2b is formed on the roller shaft 2 with a predetermined length in the axial direction. A slide bush 14 is slidably attached to the roller shaft 2, and the paper feed roller 1 is fixed to the outer periphery thereof.
A compression spring 15 urges the slide bushes 14 in directions away from each other. A stopper 16 is attached to a predetermined position of the roller shaft 2 and regulates the axial position of the slide bush 14. Thus, the rotation of the roller shaft is transmitted to the paper feeding roller 1 and the paper feeding roller 1 can move in the axial direction of the roller shaft 2.

During operation, the slide bush 14 moves to the center against the urging force of the compression spring 15 by the pulling force of the sheet 100a, and one sheet 100a is separated as described above.

[Embodiment 5] FIGS. 20 and 21 are side views showing a fifth embodiment. Although the construction is basically the same as that of the second embodiment, the separating plate 6 has a bearing portion 6c. It is formed of a rigid body that is rotatably supported and is held vertically by a separation spring 17 (compression spring). (The stopper is not shown) The separation plate 6 is tilted at a predetermined angle during separation, and a loop is easily formed on the paper 100a. That is, in the case of thin paper such as thin paper, the inclination angle of the separation plate 6 is small and a relatively large loop is formed, and in the case of paper such as thick paper which is strong, the inclination angle of the separation plate 6 is small. Becomes large and small loops are formed.

[Sixth Embodiment] FIGS. 22 and 23 are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing a sixth embodiment. The paper feed roller 1 is formed to have a normal wide width, and is mainly responsible for conveyance, and the second embodiment. The sheet feeding roller 1d is formed in a thin disk shape, and at the time of separation, the second sheet feeding roller 1d is deformed in the axial direction, so that the sheet 1
00a can make a loop. in this case,
Since the first paper feed roller 1 does not move in the axial direction, the paper can be conveyed in parallel even after being separated, and the conveyance performance is extremely good.
Further, it is particularly suitable for separating on one side of the sheet, and when separating the A4 size and the postcard, the position of the separation plate 6 can be freely arranged so as to separate according to the postcard placed on one side.

[Embodiment 7] FIGS. 24 and 25 show a seventh embodiment, in which slits 1e are radially formed in the sheet feed roller 1 in the plate thickness direction, so that deformation in the plate thickness direction is easy. The degree of freedom with respect to the material and outer diameter of the paper feed roller 1 is increased.

[Embodiment 8] FIG. 26 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an eighth embodiment. In this embodiment, the end face 6a of the separating plate 6 is shown.
The base 6c of the above is inclined to the front side. In this way, by tilting the base 6c in advance, the paper 1
Even when the number of 00 is small, it can be sent out more reliably.

FIG. 27 is a schematic view showing a recording device provided with the automatic paper feeding device of the present invention.

The paper 100 picked up by the paper feed roller 1 of the automatic paper feeder X is sent to a pair of pinch rollers 20 and conveying rollers 21. Furthermore, roller pair 2
The paper 100 sent by 0, 21 advances along the platen 22 of the recording apparatus Y, the recording head 23 performs recording based on predetermined image information, and the recorded paper is discharged by the discharge roller pair 24, 25. Is discharged to the paper discharge tray 26.

The recording head 23 is an ink jet recording head which is constructed integrally with the ink tank and is easily replaceable.
The recording head 23 is provided with an electrothermal converter, and the recording is performed by ejecting ink from the ejection port by utilizing the pressure change caused by the growth and contraction of bubbles caused by the film boiling caused by the applied thermal energy.

The recording method is not limited to the ink jet method, and any other method may be used. Further, the present invention may be applied to a document reading device.

In the above embodiment, the separating plate is made of a flexible material or is provided so as to be swingable and biased by a spring. However, a means for holding the separating plate at a predetermined angle is provided. Alternatively, the angle may be manually adjusted according to the thickness of the paper.

[0060]

As described in detail above, the present invention is
By allowing the loop forming means to allow a loop formed when trying to get over the separating means, separation feeding can be performed without being influenced by the thickness and material of the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to separate various sheets from ultra-thin paper to postcards, thick paper such as envelopes with one mechanism, and
Since the structure is simple, it is possible to provide a small-sized and inexpensive automatic paper feeder and recording apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device shown in FIG.

3 is a loss diagram of the device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

8 is a front view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

9 is a front view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

10 is a plan view showing the deformation of the sheet at the time of separation in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which thick paper is separated in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a front view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a side view of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a front view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

21 is a side view of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 22 is a front view showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a front view showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a side view showing the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing the entire recording apparatus provided with the automatic paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing an example of a claw separation system in a conventional paper feeding device.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing an example of a friction separation system in a conventional paper feeding device.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing an example of a bank separating system in a conventional paper feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Paper Feeding Roller 6 Separation Plate 6a End Face 7 Paper Stand 100 Paper (Sheet)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shoto Imon 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Hasegawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Within the corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A stacking unit for stacking and supporting sheets, a feeding unit for sending out the sheets stacked on the stacking unit, a downstream end of the sheet sent out by the feeding unit, and a front end portion of the sheet. An automatic sheet feeding device comprising: a separating unit that abuts against a part of the sheet; and a loop allowing unit that allows the formation of a loop when the sheet sent out by the feeding unit passes over the separating unit. .. 2. The automatic feeding according to claim 1, wherein the loop allowing means causes the feeding means to follow the direction in which the sheet bends when forming a loop for the sheet to get over the separating means. Paper equipment. 3. The automatic sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the feeding unit that comes into contact with the sheet is formed of a flexible material, and the feeding unit bends to allow a loop to be formed. 4. The feeding means comprises a feeding shaft and a feeding rotating body slidably provided on the feeding shaft, and the feeding rotating body moves in the axial direction of the feeding shaft. The automatic sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the formation of the loop is allowed by performing. 5. The feeding means is composed of a pair of rotary feeding bodies, the separating means is located downstream from the pair of rotary feeding bodies, and the width of the separating means is The automatic sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the interval is set smaller than the interval between the rotary feeding members. 6. A stacking means for stacking and supporting sheets, a feeding means for sending out the sheets stacked on the stacking means, a leading end portion of the sheet which is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet sent out by the feeding means. A separating means that abuts a part of the sheet, a loop permitting means that allows the formation of a loop when the sheet sent out by the feeding means passes over the separating means, and the sheet is separated and sent out one by one by the separating means. A recording device for recording an image on the sheet.