JPH0581149U - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention provides an automatic paper feeder capable of smoothly and reliably separating various papers without being limited by thickness, material, and the like. [Structure] A mounting table 33 configured to be detachable from a printer device and capable of mounting a plurality of sheets 9a, and a sheet for pressing the plurality of sheets mounted on the mounting table toward the mounting table. A biasing mechanism 37, a paper feed mechanism 38 that sequentially feeds the lowermost paper of the plurality of papers placed on the placing table, and a surface of the paper that is fed by the paper feed mechanism slidably contacts the paper. A sheet separating mechanism 39 for separating only the sheet of paper and feeding the sheet to the printer, and a sliding contact state with respect to the surface of the sheet in the sheet separating mechanism is controlled according to the type of the sheet fed from the sheet feeding mechanism. The control unit 75 separates the fed sheet from other sheets and feeds it to the printer device.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding device for automatically feeding paper or the like to a paper processing device such as a printer device.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, as this type of paper feeding device, an automatic paper feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-95713 is known. In this automatic paper feeder, a plurality of sheets of paper placed on the base are fed by the carriage roller through the double feed stop needle, then the separate roller and the friction plate. It is configured so that it is reliably separated into one sheet.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the conventional device, when the friction plate is arranged so as to be pressed in the direction of the separate roller by the urging means, for example, when a hard paper such as a cardboard or an envelope is fed, the hard paper is Since it is thick and stiff, it may hit the friction plate and it may not be fed any further, causing paper jams. It is pressed in the direction to increase the gap between the friction plate and the separate roller, and as a result, it may be double-fed with the hard paper to be fed later. Alternatively, when the friction plate is pushed back by the urging force of the urging means, the hard paper is also pushed back toward the base and stays there, and the hard paper to be fed later is also stacked on this portion, and many papers are stacked. The heavy hard paper presses the friction plate, resulting in the problem that the hard paper is fed out in multiple layers.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate such an adverse effect, and its purpose is to automatically feed various kinds of papers without being limited by thickness, material, etc., smoothly and surely. It is to provide a paper device.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve such an object, the automatic paper feeder of the present invention is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from a paper processing device. A sheet urging mechanism that presses the plurality of sheets of paper that have been placed in the direction of the mounting table, and a paper feed mechanism that sequentially feeds the lowermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of paper that has been placed on the mounting table. A sheet separating mechanism that slides on the surface of the sheet fed by the sheet feeding mechanism, separates only a predetermined sheet and feeds the sheet to the sheet processing apparatus,

According to the type of the paper fed from the paper feeding mechanism, the sliding contact state with respect to the surface of the paper in the paper separating mechanism is controlled, and the fed paper is used as another paper. And a control mechanism for separating the sheet from the sheet processing apparatus and feeding the sheet to the sheet processing apparatus.

[0007]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, the sliding contact state with respect to the surface of the paper in the paper separating mechanism is controlled according to the type of paper fed from the paper feeding mechanism. Therefore, of the fed paper, only the paper to be fed to the paper processing apparatus is separated from the other papers.

[0008]

【Example】

 An automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic paper feeder 1 of this embodiment is configured so that it can be detachably mounted on the printer device 3.

In the printer device 3 as described above, when the operation unit (not shown) is turned on, the paper 9 sent from the paper feed tray 5 by the paper feed roller 7 moves to the take-in roller pair 11. After being transferred to the transfer section 13 via the transfer section 13 and subjected to a printing process, it is configured to be sequentially delivered onto the paper discharge stacker 19 via the conveying roller pair 15 and the paper discharge roller pair 17. Further, the main body 21 of the printer device 3 as described above is provided with a paper feed slot 23 so that predetermined papers can be manually fed one by one. The automatic paper feeder 1 of this embodiment is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the paper inlet 23.

When the automatic paper feeding device 1 is attached to the paper inlet 23, the automatic paper feeding device 1 and the printer device 3 are in an interlocking state, and the operation unit (not shown) of the printer device 3 is turned on. Thus, the sheets 9 of a predetermined size are automatically and sequentially delivered from the automatic sheet feeder 1 to the sheet inlet 23. The sheet 9 delivered to the sheet inlet 23 is transferred to the transfer unit 13 via a pair of take-in rollers 11 built in the printer body 21, and is pressed by the transfer roller 25 against the head 27 to a predetermined position. Printing processing is performed. Then, the paper for which the printing process has been completed is sequentially sent out onto the paper discharge stacker 19 via the conveying roller pair 15 and the paper discharge roller pair 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic paper feeder 1 of this embodiment includes a paper feeder main body 29 and a connecting mechanism 31 for connecting the paper feeder main body 29 to the printer main body 21. In the paper feeder main body 29, a mounting table 33 on which a plurality of sheets 9 of arbitrary size can be stacked and mounted, and a pair of both sides of the plurality of sheets 9 mounted on the mounting table 33 are aligned. The side guide 35, a paper urging mechanism 37 for pressing the uppermost surfaces of the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the placing table 33 to urge the sheets 9 toward the placing table 33, and placing the sheet 9 on the placing table 33. The sheet feeding mechanism 38 that sequentially feeds the lowermost sheet 9 of the plurality of sheets 9 that have been formed, and the sheet 9 that has been fed by the sheet feeding mechanism 38 is further separated into one sheet and the printer device 3 Paper separating mechanism 39 for feeding paper to the paper inlet 23 of A paper jam clearing mechanism 41 for clearing the paper jam is provided.

The connecting mechanism 31 includes a pair of engaging protrusions 43 provided so as to project from both sides of the connecting side surface 29 a of the paper feeding device main body 29. The engaging protrusions 43 are provided in the automatic paper feeding device 1. 1 is attached to the paper inlet 23 of the printer device 3 (see FIG. 1), it engages with an engaging recess (not shown) formed in the printer device main body 21 and the automatic paper feeding device 1 Has the function of connecting to.

The paper urging mechanism 37 includes a pair of support arms 49 whose base ends are pivotally supported by a rotary shaft 47 rotatably attached to a bracket 45 of the paper feeder main body 29, and the support arms 49. And a weight roller 53 rotatably attached between the bearings 51 provided at the tips of the rollers. A grip portion 55 is provided at the extending ends of the pair of support arms 49 so as to extend between the extending ends.

Therefore, by moving the grip 55 in the direction of the arrow S in the figure, the pair of support arms 49 moves around the rotation shaft 47, and, for example, the sheet urging state (two-dot chain line in the figure). The weight roller 53 in the state (1) can be separated from the surface of the sheet 9, and the sheet 9 can be replaced or the sheet 9 can be replenished. Further, the paper urging mechanism 37 is provided with a support arm holding means so that the user can use both hands freely when replacing the paper 9 or replenishing the paper 9.

The support arm holding means includes an operating rod 57 attached to the base ends of the pair of support arms 49 across the base ends, and the pair of support arms 49 upright as shown by solid lines in FIG. And a holding portion 59 that holds the operating rod 57 by holding it.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the actuation rod 57 is attached with the other end of an arm tension spring 58 whose one end is attached to the sheet feeding device main body 29. Therefore, the pair of support arms 49 are constantly urged in the direction of the mounting table 33 about the rotation shaft 47.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, by moving the grip portion 55 in the direction of arrow S in the figure against the arm tension spring 58, the actuation rod 57 moves about the rotation shaft 47, When the pair of support arms 49 are erected (state shown by solid lines in the figure), the operating rod 57 is fitted into the holding portion 59 and held. Thus, the pair of support arms 49 are held in an upright state.

Further, the paper feeding mechanism 38 contacts the lowermost paper 9 of the plurality of papers 9 placed on the mounting table 33, and has a predetermined friction coefficient with respect to the paper 9. 61 and abutting on the outflow side edge of the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the mounting table 33, and aligning the outflow side edge of the lowermost sheet 9 sequentially ahead of the upper side sheets. And a gate member 63 to be arranged.

Therefore, as the paper feed roller 61 rotates, the plurality of sheets 9 placed on the placing table 33 are separated by the gate member 63 in order from the lowermost sheet 9 and fed. ..

Even if a plurality of sheets are erroneously fed at the same time during such a sheet feeding, only the lowermost sheet 9 is reliably sent to the printer device 3. A separation roller 65 made of an elastic member and a separation pad 67 made of, for example, an elastic member, which is constantly in contact with the separation roller 65 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67 are constantly in contact with each other at all times, and have a function of further reliably separating the fed paper sheets into one sheet. have.

As shown in FIG. 3, the separation pad 67 is supported by a separation pad support 69, and one end of the separation pad support 69 is rotatable around a shaft 71 to the sheet feeding device body 29. And is urged by the urging spring 73 at the other end.

As a result, the separation pad support 69 is rotated around the shaft 71 by the urging force of the urging spring 73, and the separation pad 67 is always held in a state of being in contact with the separation roller 65. ..

Therefore, the fed paper 9 is fed between the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67, and even if a plurality of papers are erroneously fed, only the lowermost paper 9 is separated. It is separated by the roller 65 and transferred to the printer device 3.

By the way, when a paper jam occurs during the transportation of the paper 9, conventionally, after the plurality of papers 9 placed on the mounting table 33 are removed, the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67 are separated from each other. The paper 9 is forcibly pulled out or the automatic paper feeder 1 is detached from the printer main body 21, and then the paper 9 is removed from the connecting side surface 29a (see FIG. 2). And the paper 9 is damaged. Therefore, the automatic paper feeder 1 according to the present embodiment is additionally provided with a paper jam clearing mechanism 41 for clearing the paper jam with one touch. Hereinafter, the paper jam clearance mechanism 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

When the pair of support arms 49 are erected, the paper jam clearance mechanism 41 simultaneously moves the separation pad support 69 around the shaft 71 in the direction of the arrow P in FIG. 4 against the biasing spring 73. The separation pad 67 is configured to be separated from the separation roller 65 by moving the separation pad 67. By separating the separation pad 67 from the separation roller 65 in this manner, the sheet 9 jammed between the separation pad 67 and the separation roller 65 can be removed.

In the paper jam clearance mechanism 41 applied to the present embodiment, when the operating rod 57 is fitted into the holding portion 59 in the separation pad support 69 (when the pair of support arms 49 is raised). A passive projection portion 69a with which the actuating rod 57 abuts is projected.

When the grip portion 55 is operated to erect the pair of support arms 49, when a pressing force from the actuation rod 57 contacting the passive protrusion 69 a acts, the pressing force is applied from the passive protrusion 69 a. It acts on the separation pad support 69, and tries to move this separation pad support 69 in the direction of arrow P in the figure about the shaft 71 (see FIG. 4). At this time, the pulling force from the above-mentioned arm tension spring 58 (see FIG. 5) acts on the operating rod 57, and further, the separation pad support 69 is urged to bring the separation pad 67 into contact with the separation roller 65. Although the tensile force from the spring 73 acts, since the tensile force of the biasing spring 73 is extremely small, the total tensile force acting on the grip portion 55 is almost equal to the tensile force applied to the operating rod 57. Only power. Therefore, the user can operate the paper jam clearance mechanism 41 with only the force required to raise the pair of support arms 49.

As described above, since the separation pad 67 can be separated from the separation roller by the one-touch by the paper jam clearance mechanism 41 applied to the present embodiment, the paper feeding device main body 29 can be separated from the printer device main body as in the conventional case. The paper jam can be easily and safely recovered without removing the paper from the paper 21 or forcibly pulling the paper out to damage the paper 9.

After the paper jam is recovered, the gripping portion 55 is moved in the direction of the arrow S in the drawing (the direction in which the weight roller 53 is brought into contact with the plurality of papers 9 placed on the mounting table 33) to hold the paper. The fitting state of the portion 59 and the actuation rod 57 is released, and at the same time, the pressing state of the actuation rod 57 against the passive protrusion 69a is also released. As a result, the pair of supporting arms 49 moves about the rotating shaft 47 by receiving the tensile force of the arm tension spring 58, and at the same time, the separation pad support 69 receives the tensile force of the biasing spring 73. Move about axis 71. Thus, the weight roller 53 restores the pressed state against the plurality of sheets 9 again, and the separation pad 67 abuts the separation roller 65 to restore the sheet separation function again.

As described above, the automatic paper feeding device of the present embodiment can easily and reliably release the paper jam and restore the paper separating mechanism with a single touch by a simple operation without damaging the paper. You can switch.

Next, an automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In the description of this embodiment, the same components as those in the embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the automatic paper feeder 1 of the present embodiment, when the paper 9 fed from the above-mentioned paper feed mechanism 38 is relatively thick and strong (hereinafter, such paper (Also referred to as hard paper 9a) is provided with a control mechanism 75 for surely separating the paper into one sheet without impairing the separating ability of the paper separating mechanism 39 and feeding the paper to the printer device 3 (see FIG. 1).

Therefore, in the automatic paper feeder 1 of the present embodiment, when the leading edge of the hard paper 9 fed from the paper feed mechanism 38 hits the separation pad 67, the separation is performed according to the abutting force. The separation pad support 69 and the actuation rod 57 are arranged so that the pad 67 is slightly avoided from the separation roller 65 and an optimum gap is formed between the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67 for separating the hard paper 9a. The relationship with is specified. In this embodiment, the separation pad support 69 and the actuation rod 57 are configured as a part of the control mechanism 75.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7B, another part of the control mechanism 75 described above is provided on the surface of the separation pad support 69 applied to this embodiment on the side of the operation rod 57. A constraining means, namely a constraining surface 69b, is formed. When the hard paper 9a hits the separation pad 67 and the separation pad support 69 rotates about the shaft 71 in the direction of the arrow X in the figure, the regulation surface 69b is provided between the separation pad 67 and the separation roller 65. The gap (t) is an optimum state for surely separating only one hardest sheet 9a of the sheets normally used when the sheet is fed from the sheet feeding mechanism 38 to the printer device 3 (see FIG. 1) and printed. So that the separation pad support 69 is slidably contacted with the surface of the actuation rod 57 to regulate the rotational movement amount of the separation pad support 69, that is, the avoidance amount (y).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7B, the curvature of the regulation surface 69 moves in accordance with the amount of the hard paper 9a placed on the placing table 33 (see FIG. 6). The moving position of the actuating rod 57 (for example, the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure) is configured so that the optimum gap (t) described above is always formed in any case. There is.

With such a configuration, not only when the paper 9 having the normal thickness is separated as shown in FIG. 7A and when the hard paper 9a is separated as shown in FIG. As shown in (b) of FIG. 6, even when various sheets 9 and 9a having different thicknesses and materials are appropriately fed, the automatic sheet feeder 1 according to the present embodiment (see FIG. 6) does not feed the sheets. The avoidance amount (y) of the separation pad support 69 varies within a predetermined range in accordance with the type of the paper 9 or 9a, so that the optimum distance between the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67 is always set. A gap (t) is formed.

As described above, the automatic paper feeding device of the present embodiment sets the gap (t) between the separation roller 65 and the separation pad 67 according to the thickness and material of the paper to be fed. By providing the control mechanism 75 for controlling so that the separating ability of 39 can be maximized, various sheets can be smoothly and reliably separated into one sheet and fed to the printer device.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, the separation pad is fixed to the separation pad support in the above-mentioned embodiments. However, it goes without saying that it is also possible to configure this as a rotary pad.

[0040]

[Effect of the device]

 The automatic paper feeder of the present invention is equipped with a control mechanism for controlling the sliding contact state of the paper in the paper separating mechanism, so that the thickness and material of the paper fed from the paper feeding mechanism can be adjusted. The gap between the separation roller and the separation member can be controlled within a predetermined range so that the separation performance of the paper separation mechanism can be maximized, and various papers can be smoothly and reliably separated from other papers. It can be separated into one sheet and fed to the sheet processing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which an automatic paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a printer device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the overall configuration of the automatic paper feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a paper jam clearance mechanism provided in the automatic paper feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the paper jam clearance mechanism shown in FIG. 3 is operated and the separation pad is separated from the separation roller.

5 is a configuration diagram of the inside of the automatic paper feeder shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the downstream side of paper feeding.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an automatic paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is an enlarged view showing a control mechanism portion applied to the automatic paper feeder of FIG. 6, wherein FIG. 7A is a view showing a state in which normal paper is fed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which hard paper is fed.

[Explanation of symbols]

9a ... Paper, 33 ... Loading table, 37 ... Paper urging mechanism, 38
... Paper feeding mechanism, 39 ... Paper separating mechanism, 75 ... Control mechanism.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Creator Ryota Mizumura 3-14-16 Maesawa-cho, Higashi-Kurume City, Tokyo Daiwa Seiko Co., Ltd. (72) Haruichi Oishi 3-14 Maesawa-cho, Higashi-Kurume City, Tokyo No. 16 Daiwa Seiko Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Kasai 3-14 Maesawacho, Higashi-Kurume City, Tokyo No. 16 16 Daiwa Seiko Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A loading table configured to be attachable to and detachable from a sheet processing apparatus and capable of loading a plurality of sheets, and the plurality of sheets loaded on the loading table are pressed in the direction of the loading table. A sheet urging mechanism, a sheet feeding mechanism that sequentially feeds the lowermost sheet of the plurality of sheets placed on the placing table, and a surface of the sheet fed by the sheet feeding mechanism. According to the type of the paper fed from the paper feeding mechanism and the paper separating mechanism that slides and separates only a predetermined paper and feeds the paper to the paper processing device, An automatic paper feeding device comprising: a control mechanism that controls a sliding contact state with respect to a surface, separates the fed paper from other papers, and feeds the paper to the paper processing device. 2. The sheet separating mechanism includes a separating roller, a separating member which cooperates with the separating roller to separate the sheet fed from the sheet feeding mechanism into one sheet, and feeds the sheet. A separation member support body having one end urged by an urging means so as to support the member and always bring the separation member into contact with the separation roller. Item 1. The automatic paper feeder according to Item 1. 3. The control mechanism is provided with a regulating unit at one end of the separating member support member that cooperates with the sheet urging mechanism, and an outflow side tip portion of the sheet fed from the sheet feeding mechanism. When the abutting member comes into contact with the separating member, the separating member support body regulates the amount of movement of the separating member supporting member against the urging force of the urging means in response to the abutting force, thereby separating the separating roller and the separating roller. By controlling the gap formed between the member and the member, the sheet separating mechanism separates the sheet into one sheet and separates the sheet into the sheet processing apparatus regardless of the type of the sheet fed from the sheet feeding mechanism. The automatic paper feeder according to claim 2, wherein the automatic paper feeder is configured to feed paper.