JPH06227527A - Paper pack-loading paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stop the rental fee for a paper pack from becoming expensive without damaging a paper on the inside and generating a noise by simplifying a paper supply operation so that a packaging sheet can be separated smoothly and quickly. CONSTITUTION:In a state where the trailing end of a paper pack 20 is held by the upstream side end of a pack-opening roller 2 after the paper pack 20 inserted into a paper feeder from a paper insertion hole is conveyed to a middle position by a conveying roller, the tongue piece 21 of a bag-shaped packaging sheet 20a for packaging the paper pack 20, which sheet is inserted between a paper-mounting surface 81 and the roller 2, is pressure-welded and pulled. Then, the paper pack 20 is opened when the upside sheet of the packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20, which comes into contact with the front edge of the roller 2, is conveyed downstream by rotation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper pack loading paper feeding device for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, and more particularly, a paper pack for a paper pack loaded in the main body automatically. The present invention relates to a paper pack loading paper feeder that can feed removed and exposed paper sheet by sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a paper feeding device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine which has been widely spread, all paper feeding operations are performed manually. That is, normally, the sheet replenishing operation of the sheet feeding device includes the following working steps. 1. 1. Pull out (pull out) the paper feed cassette (tray) from the paper feed device. Remove the top cover of the paper cassette 3. Open the paper pack packaging. 4. 4. Align the paper taken out from the paper pack. 5. Lift the paper pressing member (corner claw) inside the paper cassette. Load paper into cassette 7. 7. Place the paper pressing member on the loaded paper. Attaching the Paper Feed Cassette (Tray) to the Paper Feed Device As described above, in the paper feed device, a large number of paper supply operation steps as described above are required, and especially for a user who uses a large amount of paper. The work was extremely troublesome and time-consuming. Therefore, there has already been proposed a paper feeding device in which a paper pack in which a predetermined number of sheets are packed together is loaded into the paper feeding device main body as it is, and the mechanism inside the device opens the package to feed the paper. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-203534, a stack of sheets, each of which is wrapped with a predetermined number of packaging sheets, is stacked in multiple stages, and the left and right side surfaces of the packaging sheets are cut by a cutter while advancing one stage. After cutting, the upper and lower surfaces of the cut wrapping sheet are vacuum-sucked to open the wrapping sheet, and the opened sheet bundle is nipped and placed on the carrier, and then the sheet bundle is carried. There has been proposed an unsealing and stacking method and apparatus for packaging sheets, which are conveyed by the movement of the sheet to a mounting position and stacked.
Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-97145, a paper wrapping material is made of a cardboard, a resin, or other strong material into a box shape.
Proposes a technology to use the box-shaped packaging material as a cassette for feeding by mounting the feeding roller and separating claw etc. at the paper feeding position of the main body of the image forming device after separating it from the box-shaped packaging material. Has been done.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the former method employs a method in which the cutter cuts the packaging sheet and the upper and lower surfaces of the cut packaging sheet are adsorbed and opened. Even the wrapped paper may be cut by the cutter.
Such paper cutting is a fatal defect for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that forms an image on paper. In addition, since the suction mechanism is used to open the packaging sheet, the device becomes large in size, mechanical noise is generated, and there is a problem in the office environment. Furthermore, after opening, the opened bundle of paper is nipped and placed on the transport table, and then the sheet of paper is transported to the stacking position by the movement of the transport platform and stacked, so that the opened bundle of paper is sandwiched and transported. In the process, the stacked state of the sheet bundle may be disturbed, and in some cases, the sheet bundle may be scattered. Further, in the latter, since the box-shaped packaging material of paper is used as a paper feeding cassette, it is necessary to form the packaging material with a material having high strength such as cardboard and resin, but since these materials are generally expensive, A paper storage member that stores hundreds of sheets of paper to be used in a copying machine or the like and is discarded after use has a drawback that the cost is high and it is not economical. In addition, perforations for cutting are provided at the tip of the box-shaped packaging material, but when the paper is stored for a long time, the humidity of the outside air penetrates through the perforations and the paper absorbs the humidity. In some cases, it may adversely affect the image formation on the paper. Further, the box-shaped packaging material inevitably has a structure in which a part of the box-shaped packaging material protrudes outside the apparatus in consideration of the attachment / detachment to / from the apparatus main body, which is contrary to the recent demand for space saving in copying machines and the like. . The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, remarkably simplifies the paper supply operation, allows the packaging sheet to be peeled off smoothly and quickly, and can damage the internal paper and generate noise. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper pack loading paper feeding device in which the usage fee of the paper pack is not expensive.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention press-contacts a pull-out end pulled out to the outside of the bottom of a packaging sheet of a paper pack in which a bundle of sheets is enclosed by a bag-shaped packaging sheet. By frictionally transporting the packaging sheet, the packaging sheet is unsealed from the paper pack, and the packaging sheet of the paper pack that comes into contact with the upstream edge is held while holding the paper pack in place at the upstream edge. It is provided with a pack unsealing roller that is rotatably conveyed downstream, and a sheet feeding unit that feeds the sheets of the sheet bundle exposed when the packaging sheet is unsealed by the pack unsealing roller.

[0005]

[Function] The pack unsealing roller presses against the draw-out end of the packaging sheet and frictionally conveys it, thereby unsealing the packaging sheet from the paper pack and holding the paper pack in place at the upstream edge. , The wrapping sheet of the paper pack that comes into contact with the upstream edge is rotatably conveyed downstream. The sheet feeding unit feeds the sheets of the sheet bundle exposed by the packaging sheet unsealing the packaging sheet one by one.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the outline of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The copying machine reads an image of a document and forms an image on a fed sheet according to an electrostatic photography process, and an image forming section A having a well-known structure, and a sheet feeding section B which is capable of fully automatic feeding with a sheet pack. It consists of Since the configuration and operation of the image forming unit A are the same as those of the conventional one, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the configuration and operation of the sheet feeding unit B will be described.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a dust box for storing a packaging sheet of an opened paper pack, 2 is also a back fence,
A pack opening roller that rotationally conveys and separates a packaging sheet of a paper pack, 4 is a drive motor of a conveyance roller described later, 5 is a drive shaft of the drive motor 4, 6 is a paper feed tray on which paper is stacked, and 7 is a paper tray. A plurality of side fences are provided according to the paper size to regulate the side edge of the paper on the paper feed tray 6, 8 is a conveyance roller for conveying the paper in the width direction,
A paper feed roller 9 feeds the paper toward the image forming unit A.

FIG. 2 shows a paper feed section B as seen from the right front side of the copying machine.
FIG. On the front side (front side) of the copying machine, sheet insertion ports 11, 12, and 13 of the sheet pack are provided for A5 size, A4 size, and A3 size, respectively.
The right end of each sheet insertion port 11, 12, 13 is set to the reference position at the corresponding position of the sheet insertion port 11, 12, 13, and
Insert the paper pack with the tongue of the paper pack on the left side. In FIG. 2, 14 is the pack opening roller 2
It is a pack opening drive motor for driving. Hereinafter, the opening process of the paper pack 20 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the opening process of the paper pack. The packaging sheet 20a is made of one bag-shaped sheet material. Packaging sheet 20
The tongue piece 21 integrated with the packaging sheet 20a is provided on the outer surface of the bottom portion of a.
Is attached. The tongue piece 21 is reinforced with a reinforcing material such as Mylar so as not to be bent by an external force. At the time of loading the paper pack 20, as shown in (a), one end of the packaging sheet 20a has already been opened, and when the loading operation of the paper pack 20 ends, the pack opening roller 2 starts to rotate, The tongue piece 21 of the paper pack 20 is pulled parallel to the paper placement surface 81 and conveyed by friction while blocking the paper pack 20 at one end thereof.
As shown in (b), the pack opening roller 2 has a tongue piece 21.
Since the upper surface sheet of the packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20 that contacts at one end is conveyed downward at the same time as the friction conveyance of
The operation of extracting the packaging sheet 20a from the paper pack 20 is facilitated. As shown in (c), the pack opening roller 2
As the tongue 21 rotates, the tongue piece 21 continues and the wrapping sheet 20
A is frictionally conveyed and sent out in the direction of the dust box 1. Eventually,
As shown in (d), the packaging sheet 20a is completely removed from the paper pack 20, and the entire bundle of paper P inside is exposed.

Doors 31, 32 and 33 shown in perspective views or sectional views in FIGS. 4 to 6 are provided at the paper insertion openings 11, 12 and 13 respectively corresponding to the paper insertion openings 11, 12 and 13. The doors 31, 32, 33 guide the paper packs 20 inserted in the paper insertion openings (11, 12, 13) into the main body of the paper feed section B. For example, when the A4 size paper pack 20 is inserted into the paper insertion opening 12, the door 31,
Only 32 can be opened, and the insertion slot 13 for A3 size
Since the door 33 is not opened, the paper pack 20 can be guided so as not to shift backward. Further, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 5 as an example of the support portion of the door 31, after the paper pack 20 is inserted, the doors 31, 3 are pushed by the urging force of the spring 34.
2, 33 automatically return to their original vertical orientation. In this embodiment, the doors 31, 32, 3 correspond to the paper insertion openings 11, 12, 13 for A5, A4 and A3 paper sizes.
3 is provided, but as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7, it is also possible to deal with B series sheets by increasing the division position of the sheet insertion port. Alternatively, a perspective view of FIG.
As shown in the vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 9, for example, a sliding groove 35 is provided in the central portion of the door 31 in the left-right direction, and a guide piece 36 is fitted into the sliding groove 35, and the guide piece 36 is adjusted to the sheet size. The sheet end of the sheet pack 20 may be regulated by moving it to the left and right. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the type detection operation of the paper pack 20 of the paper pack detection mechanism provided near the paper insertion opening 11. A reflective sensor 40 is provided near the reference position on the right side of the sheet insertion port 11,
By reading the bar code 41 provided on one side of the paper pack 20 that has entered the paper insertion opening 11,
The type of the paper pack 20 is detected.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a drive mechanism of the transport roller 8, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a state of pressure contact of the transport roller 8 with respect to the paper pack 20 that has entered. In these figures, 51 is a drive gear that rotates integrally with the drive shaft 5, and 5
2 is an arm rotatable about the drive shaft 5, 53 is a planet gear that is attached to the tip of the arm 52 and meshes with the drive gear 51, and 54 is provided at a position facing the transport roller 8,
It is a driven roller formed of a low friction member to smoothly convey the paper pack 20. The transport roller 8 is located above the paper entry path so as not to obstruct the entry of the paper pack 20 when refilling the paper. The driven roller 54 is not a roller but a plate-shaped member,
For example, a Teflon (trade name) sheet may be used. As shown in FIG. 12, when the drive gear 51 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the transport roller 8 provided coaxially with the planetary gear 53 rotates in the counterclockwise direction together with the arm 52 and moves upward as shown by a broken line. Position, paper pack 2
When the drive gear 51 is rotated in the clockwise direction so as not to obstruct the entry of 0, the transport roller 8 also rotates in the clockwise direction and drops onto the upper surface of the paper pack 20. When the drive gear 51 rotates in the clockwise direction, the transport roller 8 rotates in the counterclockwise direction and transports the contacted paper pack 20 in the arrow (right) direction.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a pseudo load mechanism of the transport roller 8, FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a modified example thereof, and FIG.
[FIG. 8] is a vertical sectional view of a damper of the modified example. As shown in FIG. 13, the coil spring 56 presses the friction member 55 formed of cork, felt, or the like against the planet gear 53 to generate a sliding friction force on the side surface of the planet gear 53, and to cause the conveyance roller 8 to move. Give a load. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, in the modified example, the damper 57 is attached to the arm 52 by the fixing screw 58, and the rotating shaft of the planetary gear 53 is connected to the damper 57 to create a pseudo load.
Although a hydraulic damper is used as the damper 57, for example, a pseudo load generating mechanism such as a powder torque limiter may be used. In FIG. 15 showing the configuration of the damper 57 (hydraulic damper), 60 is a rotary shaft directly connected to the planetary gear 53, 63 is oil, 61 is a seal member for preventing leakage of the internal oil 63, and 62 is a cover. Cover 62
The inside of the is filled with viscous oil 63,
Inside thereof, the impeller formed at one end of the rotating shaft 60 is adapted to rotate. As shown in FIG. 12, when the transport roller 8 contacts the paper pack 20, the pseudo load mechanism starts to rotate. As a result, the transport roller 8 that has been driven by the drive gear 51 until then starts transporting, and further transports the paper pack 20 into the inside of the apparatus. At this time, since the paper packs other than the special packs can be identified by the bar code 41 of the paper pack 20, when the paper packs other than the special pack are inserted, the transport roller 8 is reversed to move the paper pack. Can be discharged.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the moving mechanism of the side fence, and FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state in which the side fence is tilted. As shown in FIG. 16, the gear portion of the side fence drive motor 70 includes a rack 71 of the front side fence 7a and a rack 72 of the rear side fence 7b.
Are in mesh. When the fence drive motor 70 is rotated, both side fences 7a and 7b move toward or away from each other. When the paper pack 20 enters the main body, as shown in FIG. 17, the front side fence 7a is pushed by the paper pack 20 and falls to the back side,
It facilitates the entry of the paper pack 20. When it is detected that the side fence 7a has fallen down, the pack opening roller 2 moves upward and separates from the paper placement surface (the bottom surface of the paper pack storage portion) 81, and a gap is formed therebetween, as described later. To do. Therefore, the tongue piece 21 of the paper pack 20 that has entered the main body is connected to the pack opening roller 2 and the paper placement surface 8.
It is designed to enter the gap formed between the two. Since the side fence 7a is retractable and can be erected by the restoring force of the spring, when the final end of the paper pack 20 crosses the side fence 7a, the side fence 7a rises to its original position. After the side fence 7a is raised, the fence drive motor 70 is driven to move the side fence 7 to the central portion which is the transport reference position of the paper pack 20. The transport roller 8 is located behind the side fence 7. When the paper presence sensor detects the absence of paper, the side fence 7
Moves to the retracted position (maximum size).

The length of the tongue piece 21 is determined by the size of the pack opening roller 2. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for calculating the length of the tongue piece 21. When L1 is the radius of the pack opening roller 2 and L2 is the length of the tongue piece 21, the length of the tongue piece 21 is determined so as to satisfy the condition of L2 ≧ L1. Thus, when the rear end of the paper pack 20 hits the pack opening roller 2, the end of the tongue piece 21 is located at the lower end of the pack opening roller 2, so that the pack opening roller 2 moves to the tongue piece 21.
Can be reliably friction-pulled. Further, in this embodiment, since the pack opening roller 2 also serves as a back fence, the structure of the opening mechanism is simplified, and moreover,
The opening operation can be smoothly performed. The paper mounting surface 81 on which the paper pack 20 is mounted is made of a low friction member such as a Teflon sheet.

The opening mechanism is mainly the pack opening roller 2
And the drive shaft 91, and the pack opening roller 2
The drive shaft 91 is slightly movable in the upward direction. When the loading operation of the paper pack 20 is started, the pack opening roller 2 is lifted, so that the tongue 21 can easily enter. When the required torque at the time of opening the pack becomes strong, the pressure applied to the tongue piece 21 of the pack opening roller 2 also increases, and as a result, the carrying force increases. The pack opening roller 2 may have a structure divided into a plurality of parts.

FIG. 25 shows the positional relationship among the pack opening roller 2, the drive shaft 91, and the bottom surface of the paper pack storage portion in the pack opening operation. As shown in FIG.
The drive shaft 91 is located upstream of the pack opening roller 2, and the distance L between the sheet mounting surface 81 and the lower end of the drive shaft 91 is smaller than the diameter 2r of the pack opening roller 2 and larger than the radius r (r ≦ L. <2r). In other words, the lower end of the drive shaft 91 is located between the axial center of the pack opening roller 2 and the upper end. Next, when the loading operation of the paper pack 20 is started, a gap is formed between the pack opening roller 2 and the paper placement surface 81 as shown in FIG.
When 1 comes, the pack opening roller 2 is lowered without rotating the pack opening roller 2. When the pack opening roller 2 descends and holds the tongue piece 21 between it and the paper placing surface 81, the pack opening roller 2 is rotated to remove the tongue piece 21 as shown in FIG. Pull in the C direction. At this time, the pack opening roller 2 also serves to block the towed paper pack 20. The paper pack 20 is opened by pulling the tongue 21 while the paper pack 20 is stopped (see FIG. 3). After the packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20 is pulled out, it moves and is carried into the dust box 1.

FIG. 19 is a control block diagram of the entire copying machine. The CPU 102 reads control information from the ROM 100, which contains programs for performing various controls of the copying machine,
Through the data bus 103, the detection information from the sensor group 104 indicated by S1 and S2 is obtained, the information is exchanged with the RAM 101, and the motor group 105 and the like indicated by M1 and M2 are controlled. Note that the sensor group 104 includes a paper presence detection sensor, a paper pack detection sensor, and the like. The motor group 105 includes a transport motor for the paper pack 20 and a pack opening drive motor 14.
106 is an I / O port, 107 is a motor current detection circuit, and 108 is a motor drive circuit.

20 and 21 are a perspective view and a front view showing a door locking mechanism, and FIG. 22 is a front view showing a modification thereof. The lock mechanism of the door will be described based on these drawings. Only when the paper bottom bottom detection filler (not shown) detects the bottom bottom of the paper, the solenoid 111 is urged and the door lock member 112 retracts to the retracted position, so that the door 31 can be opened and closed. Further, in the modification shown in FIG. 22, similarly, when the sheet is bottomed out and the sheet bottoming detection filler 110 is lowered, the door locking piece 113 mounted coaxially with the sheet bottoming detection filler 110 is counterclockwise. The door 31 can be opened and closed by rotating in the rotating direction. The door lock mechanism described above also functions as a paper feed cassette lock mechanism. That is, when the paper in the paper feed cassette 120 has bottomed out, as shown in FIG.
Is urged, the door lock member 112 at the front end of the solenoid 111 withdraws from the hole in the side wall of the paper feed cassette 120, and the lock of the paper feed cassette 120 is released.
The paper feed cassette 120 can be taken out. That is, when the paper feed cassette 120 is unlocked, the solenoid 111 is urged to lock the lock member 11.
The paper feed cassette 120 can be attached / detached by retracting 2 and the lock member 112 locks the paper feed cassette 12 by cutting off the energization of the solenoid 111 when locked.
The paper feed cassette 120 is locked because it projects into the perforation on the 0 side.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart of the automatic opening control of the paper pack. First, it is determined whether or not there is paper in the paper feed cassette 120 (S1), and if there is, the door 31
~ 33 are locked so that the paper pack 20 cannot enter (S2). When there is no more paper in the paper feed cassette 120, a preparation operation is started in preparation for inserting the paper pack 20.
That is, first, the side fence 7 is moved to the retracted position, and the paper feed tray 6 is lowered. The retracted position of the side fence 7 is outside the maximum paper size. During this time, the doors 31 to 33 are still locked.
The paper pack 20 cannot be inserted. When the preparation for insertion is completed, a pack conveyance control subroutine is executed (S3), the doors 31 to 33 are unlocked, and then the inserted paper pack 20 is inserted into the paper feed tray 6 (paper feed cassette 1).
20) The paper is conveyed to the inside and the paper size is detected. If there is no conveyance error (NO in S4), the pack opening control subroutine is executed (S5), and further the paper setting subroutine is executed (S6).

The transfer control of the paper pack 20 executed in the pack opening control subroutine will be described. 26 and 27 are flowcharts of the pack transport control subroutine. When the paper pack 20 is inserted (YES in S11), it is determined whether the paper pack 20 has been inserted to the pack transport start reference position (S12). If the determination result is No, it is further determined whether the elapsed time after insertion has passed a predetermined time (S13). If the determination result is Yes, a transport error is displayed (S23), and for example, the paper pack 20 If the insertion is insufficient, the operator is prompted to reinsert it. When the paper pack 20 reaches the pack conveyance start reference position, a message to that effect or a buzzer is issued to prompt the operator to stop pushing the paper pack 20 (S1).
4). Next, after a lapse of a predetermined time (S15), the carry roller 8 is rotated to start carrying the paper pack 20 (S16) (see FIG. 27). This is to prevent an operation error by delaying the start of conveyance by a time sufficient for the operator to let go of the paper pack 20. Further, at this time, the paper size is also detected at the same time. When the paper pack 20 is conveyed inside the side fence 7, the front side fence 7a stands up. When the sensor detects the rising of the side fence 7a, the transport roller 8 stops (S17). If the sensor cannot detect the rising of the side fence 7a even after the lapse of a predetermined time, it is determined that the paper pack 20 has not been normally conveyed, the driving of the transportation roller 8 is stopped, and a transportation error is displayed. Then, the paper pack 20 is conveyed by moving both side fences 7a and 7b inward, and the paper pack 20 is set to the central position (S18). The amount of movement of the side fence 7 at this time is determined according to the paper size detected in advance, and the side fence 7 is stopped after moving by that distance (S19). If the paper size is not determined at this point, the movement is stopped by the motor current detection described later. A sensor may be installed on the back side fence 7b to stop the movement by detecting the contact of the paper pack 20. Furthermore, if you install multiple sensors in the paper feed direction,
Even if the paper pack 20 is skewed and conveyed, it can be surely corrected by the side fence 7. After that, it is confirmed whether or not the sheet has been certainly conveyed (S20), and if the sheet has not been conveyed, after a predetermined time has passed (S21), a conveyance error display is performed (S22).

The insertion of the paper pack 20 is detected by a reflection type sensor 40 installed near the paper insertion opening shown in FIG. Further, the conveyance start position information is marked on the paper pack 20, and the marking is read by the reflective sensor 40 to determine the pack conveyance start reference position. This marking is also used as a paper size detection mark described later. In order to prevent the paper pack 20 from falling out due to its own weight, the pack conveyance start reference position is the paper pack 2
The position where 0 has reached the position of the transport roller 8 and the transport roller 8 can reliably transport it. Under the above conditions, the pack conveyance start reference position is set to a constant distance from the rear end in the insertion direction regardless of the paper size, so that the paper pack 20 is always conveyed when the operator inserts it to a constant position regardless of the paper size. Since the operation is started, it is possible to prevent the operator's operation mistake. Although the method of determining the passage of time in step S15 detects the elapsed time from the leading edge of the paper pack 20 to the detection of the marking, the opening time of the doors 31 to 33 may be detected. When the marking cannot be detected or the detected marking does not have the predetermined pattern, it is determined that the paper pack 20 is not the dedicated pack or the insertion direction of the paper pack 20 is wrong, and the conveyance is started. Instead, the reinsertion instruction may be given. Further, the paper size is detected by marking a bar code 41 corresponding to the paper size on the paper pack 20 and reading the bar code 41 by the reflection type sensor 40 installed at the paper pack insertion slot. 40
Is a method for measuring the length of the paper by measuring the transportation time from the detection of the marking of the pack transportation start reference position to the detection of the rear end of the paper pack 20, and the paper size (paper width) at the doors 31 to 33. A method of determining the paper size in combination with detection may be considered. Furthermore, if the detected paper size is the same as the size of the paper that has been used up to that point, the conveyance continues as it is, and if it is different, the conveyance is stopped and the operator is alerted to detect an operation error. it can. If the operator notices an operation error at this stage, the transport roller 8 can be reversed by a switch operation or the like, and the paper pack 20 can be returned to the original position.

Next, the opening control of the paper pack 20 will be described. FIG. 28 is a flowchart of the pack opening control subroutine. When the opening control of the pack is started, the paper feed tray 6 (or the paper feed cassette 120) is first locked (S31). This is to prevent the paper pack 20 from being pulled out during the opening operation and hindering the opening operation. Next, normal rotation of the pack opening roller 2 is started (S32), and the tongue piece 21 and the packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20 held between the pack opening roller 2 and the paper placing surface 81 are removed from the dust box 1 The paper pack 20 is opened by moving it in the direction. If the opening of the paper pack 20 is not completed (NO in S33), it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the opening operation.
For example, a pack opening error is detected because the paper pack 20 is not a dedicated pack, or when the paper pack 20 is inserted in the opposite direction and the tongue 21 is absent, or when the tongue 21 is not pinched (for example) ( S34). In the state where the pack opening error occurs (YES in S34), the motor current of the pack opening drive motor 14 does not increase due to the pulling of the tongue piece 21 of the pack opening roller 2. Therefore, the pack opening error is detected by detecting the motor current. Judgment becomes possible. In this case, an error message is displayed (S35), the pack opening device 2 is pressed against the paper pack 20 again, and the opening operation is repeated. If the pack opening error still occurs even after repeating a plurality of times, the opening operation is stopped. When the opening of the paper pack 20 is completed (YES in S33), the rotation of the pack opening roller 2 is stopped. As a means for detecting the completion of opening the paper pack, the completion of opening the paper pack can be detected by detecting a decrease in the motor current of the pack opening drive motor 14 that drives the pack opening roller 2. That is, since the pack opening roller 2 rotates with a slightly high torque during the conveyance of the opened packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20, the current value of the motor current maintains a predetermined value.
When the packaging sheet 20a of the paper pack 20 is completely pulled out, the load on the pack opening drive motor 14 is removed, and the motor current of the pack opening drive motor 14 decreases. Therefore, the completion of opening the paper pack can be detected from the difference in the current values.

If the entrance sensor 40 does not measure the paper size of the paper pack 20, the side fence 7 can also measure the paper size. For example, when the side fence 7 is moved to reach the end of the paper pack 20, the side fence 7 is further moved.
Cannot move, and the current value of the side fence drive motor 70 that drives the side fence 7 increases. Therefore, the paper size can also be measured by measuring the time from the start of the movement of the side fence 7 to the rise in the current of the side fence drive motor 70. further,
The detection of the end position of the paper pack 20 is performed by detecting the current of the side fence drive motor 70, and the side fence 7b on the back side.
It is also possible to detect the contact of the paper pack 20 by installing a sensor in the. Further, the movement amount of the side fence 7 can be measured by counting the number of rotations of the side fence drive motor 70 by attaching an encoder to the side fence drive motor 70 in addition to timing the above-mentioned time. Can be detected. Side fence 7
Even if the paper size is measured with, the opening operation is continued if the paper size is the same as the paper size used so far, and if the paper size is different, the A message is displayed to warn the operator, and the operator is prompted to select whether to continue the opening operation or to reload the paper pack 20, and prevent the erroneous opening operation of the paper pack 20 due to an operation error of the operator. .

Further, during the operation of opening the pack, a message such as "in operation" is displayed so that the operator can grasp the situation, and when the operation is completed, the operation is completed by displaying "operation completed" or a buzzer sound. It is like this. During the opening operation, it is possible to set each mode such as selection of the paper feed cassette 120, setting of the number of copies, use of a sorter, etc. After the opening operation, the copying operation is automatically performed. When the opened sheets are replenished while the sheets remain in the sheet feeding tray 6 (sheet feeding cassette 120), the bottom plate of the sheet feeding tray 6 is lowered by pressing the corresponding operation switch. The paper feed cassette 120 is locked and cannot be pulled out until the bottom plate of the paper feed tray 6 is completely moved downward. After the lowering of the bottom plate of the paper feed tray 6 is completed, the lock of the paper feed cassette 120 is released. After the paper feed tray 6 is pulled out and the paper is replenished, when the paper feed cassette 120 is set, the paper feed cassette 1 is again set.
After locking 20, the bottom plate of the paper feed tray 6 is raised to complete the paper feed preparation.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the pack unsealing roller presses against the draw-out end of the packing sheet of the paper pack and frictionally conveys the packing sheet, thereby unsealing the packing sheet from the paper pack. While holding the paper pack in place at the upstream edge, the packaging sheet of the paper pack that comes into contact with the upstream edge is rotatably conveyed downstream. It does not damage the paper inside the pack or make noise, and
The usage fee of the paper pack does not become expensive, the paper supply operation is remarkably simplified, the pull-out end of the packaging sheet can be shortened as much as possible, and the packaging sheet can be smoothly and quickly peeled off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of an entire copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper feeding unit of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an opening process of a paper pack.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a door of a sheet insertion port.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a support portion of a door of a sheet insertion port.

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a sheet insertion port door.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a paper pack is inserted into a paper insertion opening.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a door according to a modified example.

FIG. 9 is likewise a vertical sectional view.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a paper pack type detection operation of the paper pack detection mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a drive mechanism of a transport roller.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of pressure contact between an entered sheet pack and a transport roller.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a pseudo load mechanism of a transport roller.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a pseudo load mechanism of a transport roller according to a modification.

FIG. 15 is likewise a longitudinal sectional view of a damper of the pseudo load mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a moving mechanism of a side fence.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state where the side fence has fallen down.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of calculating the length of a tongue piece.

FIG. 19 is a control block diagram of the entire copying machine.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a door lock mechanism.

FIG. 21 is likewise a front view.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a lock mechanism of a door according to a modified example.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a lock mechanism of the paper feed cassette.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a paper pack automatic opening control.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the pack opening roller, the drive shaft, and the bottom surface of the paper pack storage unit.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a pack transport control subroutine.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart following FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a pack opening control subroutine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Dust Box 2 Pack Opening Roller 4 Drive Motor 6 Paper Feed Tray 7 Side Fence 8 Conveying Roller 9 Paper Feeding Roller 11, 12, 13 Paper Insert Port 14 Pack Opening Drive Motor 20 Paper Pack 20a Packaging Sheet 21 Tongue 31, 32, 32, 33 Door 51 Drive Gear 53 Planetary Gear 70 Fence Drive Motor 81 Paper Placement Surface (Bottom of Paper Pack Storage) 100 ROM 101 RAM 102 CPU 104 Sensor Group 105 Motor Group 111 Solenoid 112 Lock Member 120 Paper Feed Cassette

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomohito Shimizu 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaru Shiina 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock company Ricoh

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When a paper pack in which a bundle of paper is wrapped with a wrapping sheet is inserted into the main body of the paper feeding device, the wrapping sheet of the paper pack is automatically removed to expose the bundle of paper inside, In a paper pack loading paper feeding device for feeding the exposed papers of the paper bundle one by one, the bottom of the packaging sheet of the paper pack in which the paper bundle is enclosed by the bag-shaped packaging sheet By carrying out frictional contact with the pull-out end pulled out to the outside, the packaging sheet is unsealed from the paper pack, and the upstream edge is held while holding the paper pack in a fixed position at the upstream side. A pack unsealing roller that rotatably conveys the packaging sheet of the paper pack downstream, which contacts the edge portion of the sheet, and a sheet of paper in the sheet bundle that is exposed by unpacking the packaging sheet by the pack unsealing roller. A sheet pack loading sheet feeder having a sheet feeding unit for feeding sheets one by one.