JPH07110720B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial applications]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeding device that separates and feeds paper, plastic, and other papers that have been stacked and stored in advance toward printers, printing machines, copiers, and other processing apparatus bodies.

[Prior art]

In general, as a method of separating and supplying the stacked sheets of paper one by one from the uppermost portion, the uppermost sheet on the stacker is engaged with the sheet feeding rotating body (hereinafter referred to as a sheet feeding roller).
A so-called corner claw separation method is known, in which only one sheet is separated and fed by a pair of left and right separation claws (corner claws) that are fed out with the top sheet of the top sheet. A so-called gap separation system is also known in which paper is fed out by a paper feed roller engaged with the paper feed, and at the same time, the paper is separated and fed in a gap corresponding to one sheet prepared on the downstream side of the paper feed. However, in the latter gap separation method, a member forming a gap for one sheet located on the downstream side of the sheet fed by a commonly used sheet feeding roller has a change in the gap or the vertical position. May cause misfeeds.Therefore, the cassette system that prepares a plurality of paper stackers according to the paper size and attempts to supply a wide range of paper by attaching and detaching and replacing these stackers has the above-mentioned positional relationship at the time of replacement and installation. It has not been proposed because it goes crazy. Therefore, the present inventor uses the conventional gap separation method by forming a paper feed gap between the paper feed roller and the leading end locking member that locks the leading end of the paper of the stacker, so that the main body device (machine frame of the paper feed device is formed. The idea that it is possible to easily maintain a constant gap between the sheet feeding roller prepared on the side of (4) and the tip locking member on the side of the cassette body.

[Object of the Invention]

In view of the above, the present invention is a separation method using a conventional separation claw,
The separation method based on the gap can be easily exchanged by attaching and detaching the cassette body, so that it is possible to separate and feed a wide range of paper from feeding thick paper such as cards to feeding very thin paper. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device that can reliably and stably supply paper.

[Solution]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the paper feeding device according to the present invention is provided with a paper feeding rotating body mounted on a rotary shaft supported by a device frame and connected to an appropriate driving means, with respect to the top paper of the paper stored in the paper feeding cassette. In the device in which the paper feed cassette is detachably attached to the apparatus machine frame so that
The paper feed cassette includes a first cassette body having a pair of left and right separating claws that engage with the leading edge portion of the top sheet on both sides of the paper storage frame, and the paper feed rotating body at the tip portion of the paper storage frame. A second cassette body provided with a sheet feeding gap therebetween and provided with a leading end locking member for separating the sheet supplied to the gap by the sheet feeding rotating body into one sheet in cooperation with the sheet feeding rotating body. And each of which accommodates different types of sheets in the first cassette body and the second cassette body, and selectively selects one of the first cassette body and the second cassette body. Only the cassette body of the second cassette body can be mounted in the apparatus frame, and the distance between the leading edge of the stored sheets of the first cassette body and the sheet feeding rotator is equal to the leading edge of the stored sheets of the second cassette body and the sheet feeding rotator. The first cassette body and the second cassette body are longer than the distance between Is characterized in that having different paper feeding direction mounting position relative to the apparatus machine frame of the body. Further, in the first cassette, a spring for urging the paper storage frame toward the paper feed roller is arranged in either the cassette body or the machine frame, and the second cassette body is vertically moved in the paper storage frame. It is also characterized in that a spring for urging the sheet placing table toward the sheet feeding roller is disposed on either of the sheet placing table and the sheet storage frame which are movably provided.

[Explanation of action]

According to the present invention, the first cassette body has a pair of left and right separation claws engaged with both ears of the leading edge of the sheet, and the uppermost sheet is repeated at the center of the sheet with a relatively long distance from the leading edge of the sheet. As a result, it is possible to bend the front end of the paper and reliably separate the paper. Next, in the second cassette body, a paper feed gap is formed between the paper feed roller and the front end locking member that abuts and locks the front end of the paper,
If this cassette body is mounted with the paper feed roller as a reference, there is no fear that the paper feed gap will be accidentally changed. Moreover, the distance between the front end locking member and the paper feed roller is set to be relatively short in this paper feeding gap, and the front end of the paper after being fed by the paper feeding roller is inadvertently tilted at the position of the front end locking member. And reliable separation and feeding are achieved one by one.

[Explanation of Examples]

The one shown in the figure is a processing device (printing machine) composed of a printer.
This is a case where the sheet feeding device B is detachably attached to A and the sheets are separately supplied to the sheet feeding port of the processing device A one by one. The printer is an ordinary thermal transfer printer, and includes a platen 1 for backing up the paper in the printing section P, a printing element 2, a carriage 3 for mounting the printing element 2 and moving step by step at character intervals, and a platen 1. Platen paper feed mechanism 4 for stepwise feeding the paper at the position in the row direction
And a drive motor M of this paper feed mechanism, which prints on the paper by the print element 2 according to the print signal output from the computer or the input key, and the carriage 3
Is moved stepwise according to the character spacing to execute the next printing. When the printing of one line is completed, the paper feeding mechanism 4 is operated to stepwise feed the sheet to the next line. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 is a casing in which the platen 1 is fixedly supported by an internal frame 6. The platen 1 is composed of a shaft-shaped stem material positioned in the width direction of the paper, and the surface facing the paper is formed of an elastic material such as rubber. A paper meter 7 having a U-shape is configured around the platen 1, and paper is taken in from a paper feed port 7a at one end of the platen 1 and printed at the platen 1 site, and then ejected from a paper ejection port 7b at the other end. It has become. Then, a sheet feeding mechanism for feeding the sheet to the platen 1 portion on the sheet path 7 and at the same time feeding the sheet stepwise to the platen 1 portion is prepared as follows. Since the platen 1 shown in the figure has a structure that does not have a paper feed function, a paper feed roller 8 is rotatably supported by the frame 6 adjacent to the platen 1 separately from the platen 1, and the paper feed roller 8 Has one end connected to the drive motor M by the gear transmission mechanism 9
, And a knob 10 for manual rotation shown in FIG. 2 is provided at the other end. A paper guide 11 is arranged opposite to the paper feed roller 8 across the paper path 7 and pinch rollers 12 and 13 are arranged. The pinch rollers 12 and 13 are arranged in two rows near the paper feed port 7a and near the platen 1. The pinch rollers 12 and 13 are fixed to the frame 6 with screws 15 so as to be constantly pressed against the paper feed roller 8 side by the leaf spring holder 14. is there. The carriage 3 is movable left and right in the paper width direction, and its rear end 3a is fitted to the guide rail 16 of the frame 6, and its front end 3b is fitted to a shaft 17 attached to the frame. Although not shown, a stepping motor is fixed to one of the pulleys at the left and right ends of the platen 1 as usual, and is fixed to the endless wires. Therefore, a print element 2 composed of a thermal head is swingably attached to a carriage 3 by a shaft 19 so as to come into contact with the platen 1 when printing and to separate when not printing, and is connected to a print control circuit by a flexible wiring. There is. Further, a ribbon tape is mounted on the carriage 3, and when the carriage 3 moves in the printing direction, the tape is wound up in response to the movement. 20 is a paper sensor arranged in the paper feed path 7. The paper sensor detects the trailing edge of the paper during printing, determines the last line of printing, and stops the printing operation. Outlet 7b
Discharge from. In the printer shown in the figure, the paper feed mechanism 4 is constituted by the paper feed roller 8 arranged in the vicinity of the fixed platen, but the platen itself is constituted by a rotatable roller-like member and the pinch roller is pressure-contacted regardless of this. After that, a drive motor may be connected to the roller platen to feed the paper by rotating the platen. Therefore, the paper feeding device B of the present invention automatically feeds the paper from the paper ejection port 7b to the frame 6 of the printing machine A together with the paper ejection device for guiding the paper to the paper ejection stacker 23 for stacking and storage.
Is configured as. The paper feeding / discharging unit B is provided with a paper feeding stacker 22 and a paper discharging stacker 23 in the apparatus frame 21 at a position continuous with the paper feeding port 7a and the paper discharging port 7b of the printing machine A, and the frame 6 of the printing machine A is provided. It is designed to be detachably attached to. Therefore, the paper discharge device includes a paper discharge roller 25 arranged near the paper discharge port 7b of the printing machine A, and an openable and closable paper discharge guide 26 that faces the paper discharge roller 25 and guides the sheet to the paper discharge stacker 23. , The paper output stacker 23, and in particular, the paper output stacker 23 is composed of a paper rear end receiving portion 23a, a back surface receiving portion 23b, and a manual feed switch 27 for inserting the paper from the illustrated gap between the both receiving portions. is there. The manual feed slit 27 is connected to a path 28 prepared so that the manual feed paper can be supplied to the pressure contact between the paper feed roller 8 and the pinch roller 12 of the paper feed port 7a of the printer A. A paper discharge path 29 from the paper discharge port 7b of the printer A to the paper discharge stacker 23 is formed between the paper discharge roller 25 and the paper discharge guide 26, and the paper discharge roller 25 is the platen paper described above. The paper is discharged at the same speed as the paper transport speed of the feeding mechanism 4. Next, the sheet feeding device B will be described.
Is a paper feed stacker 22, a paper feed roller 30 that engages with the uppermost paper of the sheets stacked and stored in the paper feed stacker 22, and the paper fed by the paper feed roller 30 is pinched with the paper feed roller 8 described above. It comprises a paper feed path 31 leading to a pressure contact with the roller 12. These are attached to a machine frame 21 as shown in FIGS. The device frame 21 is composed of a pair of left and right side plates 32, 33 and a bottom plate 34 connecting the both side plates.
Rotating shafts 30a of the paper feed roller 30, rotating shaft 35 of the paper discharge roller 25, transmission gears 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 thereof, and chucking members 41, 42 for the printing machine A are attached to the rollers 2, 33. At the same time that the paper feed stacker 22 is installed on the bottom plate 34,
34a constitutes a paper feed path 31 for guiding the paper fed out by the paper feed roller 30 to the paper feed port 7a. The rotary shaft 30a attached to the left and right side plates 32, 33 is equipped with the paper feed roller 30, and the gears 36, 38, 39, 40 are used for the printing machine A in the same manner as the rotary shaft of the paper discharge roller 25 described above. It is connected to the drive motor M on the side, and the paper feed roller 30, the platen paper feed roller 8 and the paper discharge roller 25 are integrally rotated at the same timing. That is, power is transmitted from the output shaft 41 of the drive motor M built in the printing machine A to the rotary shaft 8a of the platen paper feed roller 8 by gear transmission. The paper feeding device B is attached to the gear 42 in the gear transmission system.
The gear 36 meshes with each other, and the gear 36 to gear 37 drives the rotary shaft 35 of the paper discharge roller 25, and the gear 36 to gears 38, 39, and 40 also rotate the rotary shaft 30a of the paper feed roller 30. There is. The paper feed roller 30 is composed of two or more rollers spaced apart in the axial direction. The illustrated one is composed of three pieces, and this is to enable various papers having different paper thicknesses and paper widths to be described later to be fed by exchanging the paper feed stacker 22. The positional relationship between the paper width and the rollers is selected so that the paper is fed by three rollers and the paper having a small width such as a postcard is fed by two rollers. A paper stacker 22 is provided between the paper feed roller 30 and the bottom plate 34.
A mounting space 43 is prepared, and a leaf spring guide 34 is attached to the bottom 34 of this space 43 so as to rise immediately from the rear end in the sheet feeding direction toward the front end and directly under the sheet feeding roller 30. The leaf spring guide 44 has a spring action to bias the sheet feeding stacker 22 mounted in the mounting space 43 toward the sheet feeding roller 30, and at the same time when the sheet feeding stacker 22 is inserted into the space 43. It is composed of an inclined plate-shaped member that also serves as a guide. According to the present invention, the paper feed stacker 22 is composed of two or more paper feed cassettes that respectively store papers of different widths and sizes. The first cassette body 22A is configured by attaching separation claws 46, 46b that engage with the top edge of the top sheet of the paper stored in the left and right sides of the paper storage frame 45 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Is
The second cassette body 22B has a leading end locking member that forms a feeding gap at the leading end of the paper storage frame 47 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to prevent the passage of two sheets of paper between it and the feeding roller 30. 48a, 48b
And is installed in the mounting space 43 of the machine frame 21. The first cassette body 22A is composed of left and right side plates 45a and 45b and a bottom plate 45c in which a paper storage frame 45 is integrally molded with resin. The left and right side plates 45a and 45b are provided with separation claws 46a and 46b at the ends thereof. The rear end of 50 is supported by a pin 49, and the separation claws 46a and 46b are attached so as to swing up and down. In the first cassette body 22A, idle rollers 52a and 52b are embedded in a portion of a bottom plate 45c facing the paper feed roller 30, and the paper feed roller 30 rotates when the sheets on the cassette body 22A run out. The load when doing is reduced. Along with this, the first cassette body 22A has a protrusion 53 that hangs down from the bottom, and this protrusion 53 is adapted to coincide with a guide groove 54 formed in the bottom plate 34 of the machine frame 21 of the apparatus. When inserting and setting in the mounting space 43, the guide groove 54 positions the left and right directions. Further, the first cassette body 22A and the mounting machine frame 21 are fitted with the latching projections 55 formed on one side thereof and the latching holes 56 formed on the other side, and are retained in the state shown in FIG. ing. That is, in the state shown in FIG. 1, the rear end portion of the first cassette body 22A is coupled by the latching projection 55 and the latching hole 56, and the tip portion becomes swingable around this coupling portion, and the leaf spring guide described above. At 44, the paper feed roller 30 is urged. Next, in the second cassette body 22B, the paper storage frame 47 has the left and right side plates 47.
It is composed of a molded body of a, 47b and bottom plate 47c.
A paper table 57 is arranged inside 47 so as to be vertically movable. That is, the rear end portion of the mounting table 57 is supported by the bottom plate 47c of the storage frame 47 by the pin 58, and the tip end portion is movably supported around the pin 58, and is arranged between the storage frame 47 and the bottom plate 47c. Spring 59
Therefore, the mounting table 57 is biased toward the sheet feeding roller 30. The second cassette body 22B shown in the drawing is provided with left and right side plates 47 of a storage frame 47 so that cards such as postcards can be stored in a horizontal position and a vertical position.
A slide side plate 60 is attached to one of a and 47b so that the position in the width direction can be adjusted. That is, the width dimensions of the left and right side plates 47a, 47b are set according to the size in the horizontal posture, and the slide side plate 60 has the bent pieces.
61 is fitted and supported in the guide groove 62 of the bottom plate 47c, and the slide side plate 60 is moved to the right side in FIG. The second cassette body 22B has a bottom plate similar to the first cassette body 22A.
A projection 53 hanging from 47c is formed, and a fitting projection 55 is provided at the same time as being fitted into the guide groove 54 of the machine frame 21 for mounting. A positioning piece having a U-shaped groove 63 extending from the left and right side plates 47a, 47b is provided on the second cassette body 22B.
The sheet feeding roller 30 and the cassette body 2 are fitted to the rotary shaft 30a of
Positional relationship with 2B, especially the paper feed roller 30 and the tip locking member 48a
The paper feed gap between the and is kept constant. The leading edge locking member 48a is formed integrally with the storage frame 47, and locks the leading edge of the sheet on the sheet loading table 57, and at the same time feeds out one of the uppermost sheets in cooperation with the sheet feeding roller 30. As described above, a paper feed gap is formed between the paper feed roller 30 and the paper feed roller 30 to prevent passage of two sheets of paper. Therefore, according to the present invention, the positions of the first cassette body 22A and the second cassette body 22B with respect to the paper feed roller 30 are set so that the leading edge of the storage paper of the first cassette body 22A shown in FIG.
Is set to be larger than that of the second cassette body 22B shown in FIG. 3 with respect to the point of contact with the sheet (point of imparting the conveying force). The illustration shows each cassette body
Since the 22A and 22B are attached to the hooking holes 56 and 56 'of the apparatus frame 21 by the hooking protrusions 55, from the position of the hooking protrusions 55, the front end of the paper storage frame (actually The length up to the leading edge of the paper is set larger on the first cassette body 22A side than on the second cassette body 22B side.

【The invention's effect】

In the first cassette body, a pair of left and right separating claws are engaged with both ears of the leading edge of the sheet, and the uppermost sheet is fed out at the center of the sheet with a relatively long distance from the leading edge of the sheet, thereby bending the leading edge of the sheet. It is possible to surely separate at the waist. Further, in the second cassette body, since the paper feed gap is formed between the paper feed roller and the leading end locking member that abuts and locks the leading end of the paper, the paper fed into the gap by the paper feed roller is It is separated into one sheet. Therefore, by selectively mounting the first cassette body and the second cassette body in the apparatus frame according to the type of paper, from the feeding of thick paper such as a card to the feeding of extremely thin paper. It is possible to separate and feed a wide range of paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the sheet feeding device of the present invention,
2 is a top view, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view, FIG. 4 is a top view of the cassette 22B, FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the drive system, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the paper tray, and FIG. Is a plan view thereof. 21 …… Device frame, 30 …… Feeding roller 22 …… Feeding stacker

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiaki Amano 1-7 Yukiya Otsuka-cho, Ota-ku, Tokyo Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-59-138534 (JP, A) 62-128026 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed rotator mounted on a rotary shaft connected to an appropriate drive means supported by an apparatus frame so that the uppermost paper of the paper stored in a paper feed cassette is engaged. In a device in which a cassette is detachably attached to the apparatus frame, and the sheets of the sheet cassette mounted in the apparatus frame are separated and supplied by the sheet feeding rotating body, the sheet cassettes are placed on both sides of the sheet storage frame as top sheets. And a pair of left and right separating claws that engage with the front end of the sheet feeding frame and a sheet feeding frame, and a sheet feeding gap is formed between the sheet feeding frame and the sheet feeding rotator. At least with a second cassette body provided with a front end locking member that cooperates with the paper feed rotating body to separate the paper fed into this gap into one sheet, and the first cassette body and the second cassette body Store different types of paper in the cassette body and Only one of the first cassette body and the second cassette body can be selectively attached to the apparatus frame, and the front end of the storage sheet of the first cassette body and the sheet feeding rotary body can be mounted. So that the distance between the first cassette body and the second cassette body is larger than the distance between the leading edge of the stored sheets of the second cassette body and the paper feed rotating body. A paper feeder characterized by being different. 2. The first cassette body is provided with a spring for urging the paper storage frame toward the paper feed rotator on either the cassette body or the machine frame, and the second cassette body is a paper storage body. 2. The spring for urging the paper tray on the side of the paper feeding rotary member is arranged in either the paper tray provided in the frame so as to be vertically movable or the paper storage frame. Paper feeder.