JPH07110712B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that sequentially feeds sheets to a sheet supply port of a processing device such as a copying machine, a printing machine, a printer, a facsimile.

[Prior Art] Generally, in this type of apparatus, a cassette containing paper is installed in a paper supply port of a processing device, such as a paper feed cassette of a copying machine, and the paper in the cassette is fed by a feed roller incorporated in the processing device. It is widely known to take in the sheets one by one according to the processing steps such as copying.

Since such a cassette is used by being detached and replaced according to the paper size, it is required to be lightweight and compact, and there is a disadvantage that the amount of paper that can be stored is limited.

Therefore, a paper feeding device that stores a large amount of paper is attached to the paper feeding port of the processing device, and the stacker loaded with a large amount of paper sequentially feeds the paper to the feed roller part of the paper feeding port with a paper feeding means such as a roller or a belt. It has been proposed to supply and to take in one by one according to the process of the processing device.

In other words, the paper is always prepared from the paper feeding device to the part of the feed roller on the processing device side, the next paper is supplied when the paper is exhausted by the feed roller, and the paper is always prepared and waiting on the feed roller. Paper feeders that are placed in are widely used.

However, in this apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet is conveyed by the distance (1) shown in the drawing from the sheet feeding means (51) on the sheet feeding apparatus (A) side to the feed roller (52) of the processing apparatus (B). It takes a considerable amount of time to complete, and there is a problem that the sheet feeding timing on the side of the processing apparatus cannot be met in time.

For example, a sensor (S
When e) does not detect the paper, the paper feed means (51) is activated to feed the paper, the sensor (Se) detects the arrival of the paper, stops the paper feed means (51), and feeds the paper with the feed roller. When it is attempted to supply the paper, the paper is intermittently supplied to the processing device at a distance (l) shown in the figure, and the processing device is forced to perform the intermittent processing according to the distance l.

In addition, this distance (l) is unavoidable due to the fact that a paper feeding device is attached to the processing device, and when a paper feeding device such as a normal cassette loading port is attached to a copying machine, the distance is equal to one sheet. Close distances are needed.

In this case, it suffices to obtain a processing timing signal from the processing device side to activate the paper feeding means to lead the paper, but it is not possible to obtain a signal from the processing device side. Since it cannot be used by attaching it to the device, the versatility of the device remains a problem.

[Object of the Invention] In view of the above, the present invention is capable of continuously supplying a sheet to a sheet feeding port of a processing apparatus at intervals according to the processing speed, and is capable of responding to continuous sheet feeding timing of the processing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device that does not hinder the work efficiency of the device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is connected to a copying, printing, and other processing apparatus having a feed roller at a paper feed port and stacks and stores a sheet, and engages with the stacker. Paper feeding means for feeding the paper, a driving device for driving the paper feeding means, a control means for stopping the driving device after the paper reaches the feed roller position from the paper feeding means, and a paper from the paper feeding means. The paper from the paper feeding means is temporarily stopped at the feed roller position and made to stand by, and the paper which is in standby by the feed roller rotating in response to the paper feeding instruction from the processing device side. In the paper feeding device for feeding the paper into the processing device, the paper feeding means is provided at the position where the feed roller is engaged with the waiting paper, and the paper feeding means is provided between the paper feeding means and the driving device. Means of feeding A one-way clutch that allows the follower rotation in the opposite direction and a rotation detecting unit that detects the stop of the driven rotation of the sheet feeding unit are provided, and the next sheet is fed to the sheet feeding unit based on the rotation detection signal of the rotation detecting unit. The instruction signal was issued.

[Example] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an example shown in the drawings.

The illustrated apparatus exemplifies a copying machine (B) as a processing device and a cassette loading port (11) as its paper feeding port, and the paper feeding device indicated by the general symbol (A) is at this cassette loading port (11). It is installed as needed, and paper is supplied in the apparatus in synchronization with the copying process.

The copying machine B has a cassette loading port 11 and a feed roller 12 connected to a drive system (not shown) with a normal structure. With this feed roller 12, cassette loading port
A switch (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of paper is provided at 11.

Therefore, if a cassette corresponding to the paper size is attached to the cassette loading port 11, the feed roller 12 engages with the uppermost paper of the cassette and feeds it out, and sends it to a registration roller (not shown) in the copying machine.

Therefore, the paper feeder A is a paper storage unit that stores a large amount of paper.
And A _1, is composed of the succession to the sheet storing section A ₁ paper discharge unit A ₂ Prefecture, constructed by mounting the sheet discharge section A ₂ in the shape conforming to the cassette loading slot 11 of the main body of the copying machine B, Paper feeder A
The whole is connected to the copying machine body B.

The sheet storage unit A ₁ includes a sheet storage frame 2, a stacker 3 that can be moved up and down in the sheet storage frame 2, and a sheet feeding unit 4 connected to a motor or other drive system.

The illustrated stacker 3 is fitted in a guide groove 23 formed in the paper storage frame 2, and is suspended by a wire 33 on pulleys 32 arranged on the left and right side frames 21a and 21b, respectively. Therefore, the stacker 3 can be raised or lowered by rotating the take-up rollers 35, 36 in either forward or reverse directions by the drive motor M ₂ .

A sheet feeding means 4 is arranged above the sheet storage frame 2 so as to feed the sheet toward a sheet unloading section A ₂ described later. In the illustrated example, the rotary shaft 17 is supported by the long grooves on the left and right side frames 21a and 21b, the kick roller 42 is attached to the rotary shaft 17, and the kick roll 42 is set to the width of the top paper of the paper 31 on the stacker. The sheet feeding unit 4 is provided at a position in contact with the center.
The rotary shaft 17 of the kick roller 42 is connected to a drive motor M ₁ as a drive device.

Along with the kick roller 42, separation pawls 5, so-called corner pawls are engaged at both side corners of the paper exit end of the paper storage frame 2 so as to restrain both side ears of the paper on the paper loading table 3.
When the paper is unwound at 42, only the topmost paper rides over the separation claw and is separated and fed.

In addition to the kick roller, the separating means is composed of a roller that rotates in the paper feeding direction and a fixed roller that is in pressure contact with this roller. It may be a roller that rotates in a horizontal direction.

The paper carry-out section A ₂ is composed of a carry-out guide 6 for guiding the paper delivered from the paper supply means 4 to the feed roller 12 of the copying machine body B.

The carry-out guide 6 shown in the figure is an ordinary plate-shaped guide piece, and the portion of the copying machine body B facing the feed roller 12 is the roller.
It is composed of a movable guide piece 61 which can be freely attached to and detached from 12.

This is because when the feed roller 12 of the main body B of the copying machine is in a stopped state, the leading end of the sheet fed by the sheet feeding means 4 surely enters between the roller 12 and the guide piece 61, and the feed roller 12 is started to rotate. This is because the paper is surely brought into pressure contact with and engaged with the roller 12, and the paper is fed into the main body B of the copying machine by its conveying force. The movable guide piece 61 is swingably supported on the feed roller 12 so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the feed roller 12, and the solenoid (not shown) keeps the roller until the leading edge of the sheet enters the feed roller 12.
After the sheet is separated from the sheet 12 and the sheet enters the gap between the sheet and the roller 12, the sheet is pressed against the feed roller 12 and the sheet is fed into the copying machine by the rotation of the roller 12.

The carry-out guide 6 is not limited to the plate-like guide piece as shown in the figure, but may be constituted by an endless belt, a conveying roller, etc. In short, the paper from the paper feeding means 4 is fed by the feed roller 12 of the copying machine body B. If it guides to, it may be appropriately selected whether it has a function of conveying the paper itself or merely guides it.

Therefore, in the present invention, the driven rotary member that engages with the sheet P waiting at the portion of the feed roller 12 and is driven to rotate with the transfer thereof.
Provide 13. In the case of the one shown in the drawing, since the trailing edge of the paper in standby is engaged with the paper feeding means 4, the paper feeding means 4 is composed of a rotating body (illustrated kick roller 42) such as a roller or an endless belt. A one-way clutch 14 that allows the roller 42 to be driven in the sheet feeding direction is interposed between the kick roller 42 and the drive device (the drive motor M ₁ described above).

Therefore, when the sheet P is transferred into the apparatus by the feed roller 12, the sheet feeding means 4 (kick roller 42 in the figure) is also driven to rotate.

The driven rotating body 13 which is also used as the paper feeding means 4 is provided with rotation detecting means 15 for detecting the rotation thereof. In the one shown in the figure, a one-way clutch is interposed between a drive shaft 17 connected through a drive device M ₁ , a reduction gear 15, and a ladder chain 16 and a kick roller 42, and a rotating plate 19 integral with a collar 18 thereof is used for kicking. It is provided integrally with the roller 42.

At least two detected parts (slits shown in the drawing) 19a are formed on the rotary plate 19 in the rotation direction, and a detection means 20 is provided facing the detected part 19a to detect the detected part.

The detecting means 20 is a photo sensor, and the detected portion 19a of the rotary plate 19 is formed by a slit, and a pulse signal is obtained from the detecting means 20 as the kick roller 42 rotates.

Therefore, the signal from the detecting means 20 can be used to recognize when the paper feeding means starts rotating, when it stops, and when a predetermined amount of paper is conveyed after the rotation starts.

In other words, the rising signal from the detection means 20
The carry amount can be recognized by the signal pulse number, and the rotation stop can be recognized by the falling signal. 21 is a drive unit M ₁ and sheet feeding means 4.
It is fixed to the paper storage frame 2 by a stay that holds the paper, and a bracket 22 attached to the stay holds the drive shaft 17 of the paper feeding means 4 so as to be vertically swingable.

Therefore, the rotation detection signal of the driven rotating body 13 is detected by the rotation detecting means.
If the sheet feeding instruction signal is issued to the sheet feeding means 4 based on the signal obtained from step 20, the next sheet can be fed to the feed roller 12 at a predetermined timing by the sheet feeding means 4 and the present invention is achieved. However, the embodiment will be described.

First, there are two methods of temporarily stopping the paper on the carry-out guide 6 and making it stand by.

The first is a method of feeding the paper fed from the paper feeding means to the position of the feed roller 12 in a stopped state, and the second is a method of temporarily stopping the paper fed from the paper feeding means on the way to the feed roller 12. In this method, the sheet is put on standby, and when the preceding sheet passes the feed roller position, the sheet feeding means is rotated again to reach the feed roller position.

For example, the former is provided with a sensor means (S ₁ ) for catching the paper reaching the position of the feed roller at its front end or rear end,
It suffices that the sheet feeding means 4 be stopped by the sheet arrival signal from the sensor means (S ₁ ), and the feeding start of the sheet feeding means 4 will be described later.

The latter is provided with a sensor means (not shown) for detecting the arrival and passage of the paper at the feed roller position, and the paper is temporarily stopped before the leading edge of the paper reaches the feed roller 12 from the start of feeding described later, and the destination paper is It suffices to obtain a signal that has passed the feed roller position from the sensor means and rotate the paper feeding means 4 again to advance the paper to the feed roller position and stop at the arrival signal.

The start of the sheet feeding of the sheet feeding means 4 can be obtained based on the rotation detection signal from the driven circuit body 13 described above. However, when the sheet feeding device is started, there is a sheet ready and waiting at the feed roller 12 position. Since it is not limited (it is possible to have such an apparatus configuration), the sensor means S ₁ for catching the arrival of the sheet at the position of the feed roller 12 at the leading or trailing edge of the sheet is provided especially in the illustrated one.

When the sensor means S ₁ does not have the paper at the position of the feed roller 12, a paper feed instruction signal is issued to the paper feed means 4.

Then, when the first sheet is waited at the position of the feed roller 12 and is conveyed by the feed roller 12 which rotates according to the sheet feeding instruction on the processing device B side, a rotation detection signal is obtained from the detection means 20 of the driven rotating body 13.

In the structure of the illustrated embodiment, this rotation detection signal can be any signal at the time of starting rotation of the driven rotor 13, at the end of rotation, or when a predetermined amount of paper is conveyed from the start of rotation, but either of these signals can be obtained. Based on the signal, the timing for feeding the next sheet is set at the optimum timing with respect to the preceding sheet fed into the apparatus by the feed roller 12.

The processing device shown in the drawing has different paper sizes, and it is preferable that the trailing edge of the preceding sheet and the leading edge of the next sheet are fed at a constant interval one after another. The paper feed instruction signal is sent to the paper feed means 4 after the time for forming the desired interval between the front and back paper sheets by using the signal of the paper feed means.

That is, a sheet feeding instruction is given to the sheet feeding means 4 via a timer or other delay means on the basis of a rotation stop signal when the rear end of the sheet waiting at the position of the feed roller 12 has passed the driven rotary body 13 (kick roller 42). It emits a signal.

In the structure of the illustrated embodiment, when the sheet feeding means 4 is driven by the driving device M ₁ and the sheet reaches a predetermined position and is stopped, a rotation stop signal is similarly outputted from the detecting means, but this is prohibited. The prohibition method is to prohibit by a timer from the activation of the drive device, or the one shown in the figure is arranged so that the paper is not present at the position of the feed roller 12 when the drive of the paper feeding means 4 is stopped, so that the sensor S _The above-mentioned signal is prohibited by the signal of ₁ paper out.

In the present invention, the driven rotating body 13 does not necessarily serve as the sheet feeding means 4, but a rotating body such as a roller that engages with the sheet and is driven to rotate is provided on the carry-out guide 6, and this rotating body is always idle. It may be used as a roller or may be used as a conveying roller after being transmitted from the paper feeding means 4.

Further, the method of detecting the stop of the rotating body by the detecting means 20 has been described, but it goes without saying that it is also possible to detect the time when the rotating body is driven to rotate or further detect the timely timing during rotation.

[Advantages of the Invention] The present invention relates to a stacker that is connected to a copying, printing, and other processing device that has a feed roller at a paper feed port and that stacks and stores paper, and a paper feed that engages and feeds paper. Means, a driving device for driving the paper feeding means, a control means for stopping the driving device after the paper reaches the feed roller position from the paper feeding means, and a paper from the paper feeding means to the feed roller position It has a carry-out guide, and temporarily stops the paper from the paper feeding means at the feed roller position and makes it stand by, and the feed roller that rotates in accordance with the paper feeding instruction from the processing device moves the waiting paper into the processing device. In a paper feeding device for feeding, a paper feeding means is provided at a position for engaging a paper waiting at a feed roller position, and is provided between the paper feeding means and a drive device, and a paper feeding direction of the paper feeding means. Allows driven rotation to A one-way clutch and a rotation detecting means for detecting a driven rotation stop of the paper feeding means are provided, and a paper feeding instruction signal for the next paper is issued to the paper feeding means based on the rotation detection signal of the rotation detecting means. Therefore, a normal cassette is installed in the paper feed port of the processing device, and even if the uppermost paper is fed into the device by the feed roller, the next paper is always prepared underneath it. It is possible to physically feed the paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a conventional device, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an explanatory view of the outline of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a main part, FIG. 4 is an explanatory side view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a conceptual explanatory view of an operating state. 11 ... Paper feed port 12 ... Feed roller B ... Processor A ... Paper feed unit 4 ... Paper feed unit 3 ... Stacker 4 ... Paper feed unit M ₁ ...... Drive unit (Drive motor) 6 ... … Carry-out guide 13 …… Driven rotor 14 …… One-way clutch 15 …… Rotation detection means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A stacker, which is connected to a copying, printing, and other processing apparatus having a feed roller at a paper feed port and stacks and stores paper, and a paper feed unit that engages the paper and feeds it. A drive unit for driving the sheet feeding unit, a control unit for stopping the driving unit after the sheet reaches the feed roller position from the sheet feeding unit, and a carry-out guide for guiding the sheet from the sheet feeding unit to the feed roller position. The paper from the paper feeding means is temporarily stopped at the feed roller position and made to stand by, and the paper in standby is put into the processing device by the feed roller which rotates in response to a paper feeding instruction from the processing device side. In the paper feeding device for feeding, the paper feeding means is provided at a position that engages with the paper waiting at the feed roller position, and is provided between the paper feeding means and the driving device. Paper feeding direction A one-way clutch that allows the following rotation of the sheet feeding device and a rotation detecting device that detects the stop of the driven rotation of the sheet feeding device are provided, and based on the rotation detection signal of the rotation detecting device, the next sheet is fed to the sheet feeding device. A paper feeding device characterized in that a paper instruction signal is issued.