JPH0739899Y2 - Paper guide device for paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention is a guide for arranging an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer so as to correspond to the sheet feeding device and guiding the leading edge of the sheet. The present invention relates to a mechanism, and more particularly, to a sheet feeding device configured to feed out a sheet or the like having an upward curl in a guided state.

(Prior Art) In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a toner image is transferred onto a sheet to create one-sided copied paper, while another toner image is transferred to the back side of the paper to make a double-sided copy. When making a copy or when making another copy by transferring another image to the image side of the one-sided copied sheet, the one-sided copied sheet is temporarily stored in an intermediate tray, and the sheet feeding provided in the intermediate tray is performed. Paper is sequentially fed by an apparatus toward the image transfer portion. The sheet feeding device from the intermediate tray as described above is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-21833.
The one configured as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5 etc. is used. In the intermediate tray shown in this conventional example, a pressing means for pressing the paper toward the paper feed roller is arranged on the delivery side of the intermediate tray that stores the one-side copied paper.

With the above-mentioned pressing means, when the one-sided copied sheet passes through the fixing device, the leading end of the sheet is prevented so that the influence of curling caused by heat or pressure does not hinder the sheet feeding. The sheet is regulated in the horizontal state so that the sheet feeding operation by the sheet feeding roller can be normally performed. Then, the sheets sent out by the sheet feeding rollers provided in the intermediate tray as described above are introduced into the sheet separating device and subjected to the separating action, and are conveyed one by one toward the sheet conveying path.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional device as described above,
Even if the paper feeding action can be favorably performed, there is a problem that the paper feeding portion from the intermediate tray has a relatively complicated configuration. Further, in the case where a regulating member is not provided for the leading end of the sheet of the complicated mechanism as described above, when feeding a curled sheet or a sheet that has absorbed moisture, both sides of the sheet in the width direction are fed. The part that is curled upward may be caught on both sides of the paper feed roller or the guide plate that constitutes the paper transport path, so that the paper feeding operation may not be performed accurately, There has been a problem that a corner portion of the leading edge of the sheet is bent, and a folded portion called dog year is formed. If the corners of the paper are bent, it may interfere with the movement of the paper in the paper transport path after that, which may cause jams, etc. There were many.

(Purpose of the Invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventionally used device, and guides the paper by pressing the upward curl of the paper to both sides of the paper separating device of the paper feeding unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of favorably performing the operation of feeding a curled paper or the like by disposing the guide plate member and providing an attachment mechanism having a simple structure.

(Means for Solving Problems) In the present invention, a paper feed roller and a paper separating device are arranged corresponding to the end of the paper feeding side from the tray, and the paper stored in the tray by the paper separating device is arranged. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that judges and sends out. In the present invention, a guide member for guiding the paper is arranged on the upstream side of the paper separating device and on both sides of the paper separating device, and the height of the paper guiding surface of the guide member with respect to the paper mounting surface of the tray is increased. The height is configured to be low at a position close to the paper sorting device, and to be high at a position away from the paper sorting device. Also,
In the present invention, the guide member arranged for guiding the paper on the upstream side of the paper separating device and on both sides of the paper separating device is provided on the reference line side in the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction of the paper separating device. Multiple sets can be placed on the opposite side depending on the paper size.

(Operation) As described above, in the paper guide device of the paper feeding device of the present invention, the guide member constituted by the guide plate member having a relatively simple structure is provided on both sides of the roller device provided at the end of the tray. By arranging, the sheet feeding operation can be performed in a good state even for a curled sheet or the like.

Therefore, in the paper guide device of the present invention, even if the paper stored in the paper tray or the intermediate tray is curled on both sides, the curled portion can be aligned with the upper surface of the tray by the guide member or the like. Since it can be corrected to such a state, it is possible to prevent misfeeds and bending of the paper, and it is possible to feed single-sided copied paper and the like satisfactorily.

(Embodiment) The configuration of the paper guide device of the paper feeding device of the present invention will be described according to the illustrated example. The examples shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are for explaining the technical means on which the present invention is based, and show an example in the case of being applied to a device for feeding single-side copied sheets from the intermediate tray 1. ing. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed roller 2 is arranged at the end of the intermediate tray 1, and the upper portion of the paper feed roller 2 is provided so as to protrude from the upper surface of the tray. . Further, the paper separating device 4 arranged at the end of the intermediate tray is similar to the paper separating device conventionally used, with the separating roller 5 and the driving roller 6 facing each other vertically. Between the driving roller 6 driven in the paper feeding direction by holding the separating roller 5 at the stop position or rotating the separating roller 5 in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction. It is configured so that it can perform the paper separating action. Then, the sheet that has been subjected to the sorting action by the sheet sorting device 4 configured as described above is carried out by the transport roller device 8 toward the sheet transport path.

In the above-described paper feeding device, the paper guide 10 is arranged in the upstream portion of the paper separating device, so that the leading end of the paper fed by the paper feeding roller 2 directly collides with the separating roller 5. It is constructed so that it can be prevented by the paper guide 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper guide 10 is formed by cutting out a roller portion to form a recess 12, and leg members are formed on both sides of the recess.
The protrusions 11 and 11a are provided. The tip end portions of the leg members 11 and 11a are formed on substantially the same plane as the horizontal plane including the nip portion of the sheet separating device, or are positioned slightly below the nip portion (on the drive roller side). Is configured as follows.

Then, the leading end of the paper sent out from the intermediate tray is guided downward by the paper guide 10 so that the part nipped by the paper separating device coincides with the line of the nip part between both rollers. I will be able to guide you to. Therefore, by arranging the paper guide as described above, the single-sided copied sheet carried out from the intermediate tray 1 by the sheet feeding roller 2 is directly brought into contact with the sorting roller 5 of the sheet sorting device 4, and It is possible to prevent the leading edge of the sheet from being bent on the side opposite to the sheet feeding direction.

The example shown in FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
When the one-sided copied sheet passes through the fixing device, it is possible to deal with the case where curling occurs due to heat or pressure. That is, when the curled single-sided copied paper has an upward curl, the paper can be fed with the curl corrected by guiding while pressing both sides of the paper. Is configured as follows.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the guide surfaces 21a, 23a of the guide plate members 21, 23 ..
.. allows the curl portions Pc on both sides of the paper P to be gradually pressed toward the upper surface of the tray from the end portion so that the curl can be corrected without difficulty.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of guide members 20 can be arranged on both sides of the separating roller 5, for example, when the image forming apparatus is a side registration type apparatus. Since the distance between the reference line G and the separating roller 5 in the sheet conveying direction is set relatively narrow, one guide member 25 is arranged between the reference line and the separating roller 5. On the other side of the separating roller 5, a plurality of guide members 26 to 28 are arranged according to the paper size, and the curls at the end portions of various sizes of paper are corrected by the corresponding guide members. It is designed so that it can be fed to the paper feed section by a separation roller.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the guide member 20 of the present invention is constructed by disposing guide plate members having different guide surfaces. In the embodiment of the guide member of the present invention shown in FIG. 5, three inner guide plate members 21, an outer guide plate member 23 and an inner guide plate member 22 which are close to the separating roller 5 are provided. A plate member is arranged. And
A guide surface 21 formed on the lower surface of each of the guide plate members 21 to 23.
As shown in the figure, a to 23a can press the sheet downward from the outside in order to bring the edge of the sheet closer to the upper surface of the tray, so that the curl can be corrected. It is formed as a curved surface having such a shape.

Further, the guide member of the present invention can also be configured by disposing two guide plate members, an outer guide plate member 23 and an inner guide plate member 21, as shown in FIG. In that case, the guide surface 23a of the outer guide plate member 23 is configured to be more distant from the surface of the tray than the guide surface 21a of the inner guide plate member 21, and the two guide surfaces sequentially curl the paper to the lower side. It is configured so that it can be guided toward and flatten the paper. The guide member of the present invention is not limited to being arranged in correspondence with the separating roller as described above, but may be arranged in correspondence with a paper feeding roller or the like.

In the case of a device in which the paper feed roller is arranged corresponding to the upper surface of the paper loading surface of the paper tray or the intermediate tray, the guide member configured as described above is provided on both sides of the paper feed roller. It can also be arranged and configured. And
When the guide member is arranged corresponding to the paper feed roller, the curl paper having both end portions of the paper protruding upward is pressed by the guide member while curling the paper, and the paper conveying operation is performed. It can be carried out. Further, the guide member, the arrangement interval of the guide plate member,
The shape of the guide surface, etc. can be set arbitrarily, and when feeding single-sided copy paper from the intermediate tray, it is placed on both sides of the paper sorting device to press the curled portion upward. Can be done.
Therefore, even for a sheet having a property of causing a large curl such as a single-sided copy sheet, the sheet feeding operation can be performed normally without being affected by the sheet curl in the sheet feeding unit. .

By arranging the guide members as described above on both sides of the paper separating device, in the paper feeding device of the present invention, the guide plate member arranged on the outside with respect to the curl portion of the paper is moved to the inside. Since the sheet is pushed down sequentially as it reaches the guide plate member, the sheet width is corrected to be parallel to the nip line of the roller device over the entire width of the sheet, and the feeding operation by the roller device is normally performed. I can do it in a simple state. Also, as described above,
By exerting the action of pushing down the curl of the paper by the guide member, even when feeding the single-sided copy paper from the intermediate tray, the curled portion of the paper is caught by other members arranged in the paper feeding section of the intermediate tray, It is possible to prevent misfeeds.

The guide member having the above-described structure of the present invention can be provided in the paper feeding portion of the paper tray. When the guide member of the present invention is provided in the paper feed portion of the paper tray, the paper on the both sides of the roller device is absorbed by the paper that absorbs moisture and becomes weak. Since it is possible to perform a pressing action on the sheet at the portion, the sheet can be carried out toward the sheet conveying path in a normal posture without causing oblique feeding or the like.

As described above, the guide member of the present invention can be arranged at an arbitrary interval with respect to the sheet separating device. In the intermediate tray shown in FIG. 1, the paper guide 10 and the paper guide 10 shown in FIG. In the case of combining the above-mentioned guide members, a predetermined number of guide members are arranged on both sides of the paper guide provided in the separating roller 5, and the curl of the one-side copied sheet is corrected. To be able to perform the paper separating action for the one-sided copied paper. Further, the paper guide device of the paper feed unit of the present invention can be arranged by combining the paper guide and the guide member at the paper feed roller portion with respect to an ordinary paper tray. The shape of the member and the like can be arbitrarily configured.

(Effects of the Invention) The paper guide device of the paper feeding device of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and is relatively simple on both sides of the roller device provided at the paper feeding side end of the tray. By disposing the guide member or the like having the configuration, it becomes possible to perform the paper feeding operation in a good condition even for curled paper or the like.

Therefore, in the paper guide device of the present invention, even if the paper stored in the paper tray or the intermediate tray is curled on both sides, the curled portion can be aligned with the upper surface of the tray by the guide member or the like. Since it can be corrected to such a state, it is possible to prevent misfeeds and bending of the paper, and it is possible to feed single-sided copied paper and the like satisfactorily. Further, in the paper guide member of the present invention, the guide surface of the one close to the paper feeding device is arranged close to the paper loading surface of the tray, and the paper guide surface is set to a high position for the one far away. Therefore, the effect of pressing the curl of the paper can be exerted without difficulty, and the operation of guiding the paper toward the paper separating device can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the constitution of a paper feeding device which is the basis of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example in which a guide member of the present invention is arranged with respect to rollers 4 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the guide member. Reference numeral 1 in the drawing: 1 ... intermediate tray, 2 ... paper feed roller, 4 ... paper separating device, 5 ... separating roller, 10 ... paper guide,
11 …… Leg member, 20 …… Guide member.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A paper feeding device in which a paper feeding roller and a paper separating device are arranged in correspondence with an end portion of a paper feeding side from a tray, and the paper contained in the tray is judged and fed by the paper separating device, A guide member for guiding the paper is arranged on the upstream side of the paper separating device and on both sides of the paper separating device, and the height of the paper guide surface of the guide member with respect to the paper mounting surface of the tray is set to the paper separating device. A paper guide device for a paper feeding device, which is configured to have a lower height at a position closer to the sheet and a higher height at a position away from the sheet separating device. 2. A guide member arranged to guide the paper on the upstream side of the paper separating device and on both sides of the paper separating device is on a reference line side in a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction of the paper separating device. A paper guide device for a paper feed device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of sets are arranged on the opposite side in correspondence with the paper size.