JPH0761616A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a paper feeding device without any need of position adjustment for an auxiliary member. CONSTITUTION:A compression spring (auxiliary member position adjusting means) 12 is provided between each of two feed rollers 5 and an auxiliary roller (auxiliary member) 9, and constitution is thereby so made that when a gap between the two feed rollers 5 is changed to suit the breadth of a paper sheet 4, the auxiliary roller 9 on a shaft is automatically adjusted at an optimum position, for example, at an intermediate position between the rollers 5. According to this constitution, the position of the roller 9 does not need any adjustment, even when paper sheets having different breadth are used, thereby enabling the sheets to be easily set. Also, the negligence of the positional adjustment of the roller 9 does not occur. Thus, a sheet jam or oblique motion does not appear, or the sheets become free from a wrinkle. Furthermore, as the roller automatically moves to an optimum position, the accurate positional adjustment thereof is ensured, compared with the case of positional adjustment on the basis of a user's perception.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided in an image recording device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, or a document reading device and separates and feeds a plurality of laminated sheets one by one. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or an original reading apparatus, a sheet feeding device for separating and feeding a plurality of sheets of recording paper or original sheets one by one. Many use a feeder (so-called cut sheet feeder).

There are various sheet separating mechanisms provided in such a sheet feeding apparatus, and a typical one among them is one using a separating claw. This is because, as shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 14, the separating claws 56 are provided on both sides of the front end of the sheets 54 stacked on the stacking plate 50 in the feeding direction.
The uppermost sheet 54 is pressed against the feeding roller 55 by pressing the stacking plate 50 upward with the pressing spring 52, and the feeding force is applied to the uppermost sheet 54 by the feeding roller 55. As shown in the schematic sectional view of FIG. 15, the sheet 54 forms a loop between the separating claw 56 and the feeding roller 55, and further, as shown in the schematic sectional view of FIG. It will be overtaken and separated and fed one by one.

In the above-described sheet feeding apparatus, as shown in the schematic perspective view of FIG. 17, since the separation claw 56 and the two feeding rollers 55 are located at both ends in the sheet width direction, the wide sheet 54 is When the sheet is fed, the separating claw 56 and the feeding roller 55 are greatly separated from each other to the left and right, and a loop formed on the sheet 54 is formed at both ends of the sheet, but it cannot be neatly formed in the central portion and is folded in the opposite direction. It may not be possible to smoothly ride over the separation claw 56. Further, wrinkles may occur when the leading edge of the sheet abuts between the transport rollers 57 and 57a to form a loop.

Therefore, as shown in a schematic perspective view of FIG. 18, an auxiliary roller (auxiliary member) 59 is provided between the two feeding rollers 55 to assist the sheet 51 in loop formation. A device was proposed.

In a more recent sheet feeding device, in order to reduce the cost, the feeding roller and the separating claw are adjusted to the sheet width so that one sheet feeding device can cope with various sheet widths. There are many things that can be adjusted in the seat width direction.

In the conventional sheet feeding apparatus in which the position of the separating claw and the feeding roller can be adjusted in this way, when the position of the separating claw and the feeding roller is adjusted according to the sheet width, the auxiliary roller is used. In accordance with this, the user manually adjusted the position so that it is located approximately in the middle of the two paper feed rollers.

[0008]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional sheet feeding apparatus, it takes a lot of time to adjust the position of the auxiliary roller, and only the separating claw and the feeding roller are adjusted in position to adjust the position of the auxiliary roller. Forgetting, there was a problem that the sheet wrinkles during feeding, or the sheet is fed obliquely.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus that does not require position adjustment of an auxiliary member.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, in the sheet feeding device according to the present invention, when the intervals between the plurality of feeding rollers (5) are changed, the plurality of feeding rollers (5) are changed. An auxiliary member position adjusting means (12) for automatically adjusting the axial position of the auxiliary member (9) is provided so that the auxiliary member (9) and the auxiliary member (9) maintain a predetermined positional relationship.

[0011]

According to the sheet feeding device having the above structure, even when sheets having different widths are used, the distance between the plurality of feeding rollers (5) can be changed according to the width of the sheet so that the auxiliary member position can be improved. The adjusting means (12) automatically adjusts the auxiliary member (9) to the optimum position. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the auxiliary member (9).

The reference numerals in the above parentheses are for comparison with the drawings and do not limit the structure of the present invention.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the same sheet feeding apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the same sheet feeding apparatus. It is a figure.

As shown in the drawing, the frame body 1 of this sheet feeding apparatus.
Is divided into a left frame body 1a and a right frame body 1b, and a loading plate 3 biased upward by a pressing spring 2 is housed inside each of the frame bodies 1a and 1b. When a large number of recording sheets 4 are stacked on the stacking plate 3 and the two feeding rollers 5 are rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, one recording sheet 4 in the uppermost layer is separated into left and right separating claws. It is configured to be separated by (separating means) 6 and to be fed to the conveying rollers 7, 7a. At the time of feeding by the two feeding rollers 5, the sheet 4 stacked on the stacking plate 3 is pressed against the two feeding rollers 5 and an auxiliary roller provided between the two feeding rollers 5. The (auxiliary member) 9 is also pressed and pressed to be fed. The auxiliary roller 9 is attached together with the shaft 8 to which the two feeding rollers 5 are attached. A driving force is transmitted to the shaft 8 from a motor (not shown).

The left and right frame bodies 1a and 1b are provided so as to be positionally adjusted in the width direction of the seat 4 by sliding along the shaft 8. Further, side guides 10 for guiding both side ends of the seat 4 are integrally provided on the inner wall portions of the left and right frames 1a and 1b, respectively.

The two feeding rollers 5 can be rotated integrally with the shaft 8 by fitting the projection 5a of the feeding roller 5 into the groove 8a formed in the shaft 8 and can be rotated together with the shaft 8. It is attached so that it can slide along the seat width direction. Further, the two feeding rollers 5 are rotatably connected to the left and right side guides 10 by sandwiching the side guides 10 on the corresponding sides by flanges 5d and 5e formed integrally with the respective rollers 5. ing. Therefore, the two feeding rollers 5 are not only adjusted in position according to the sheet width of the left and right side guides 10 but also adjusted to appropriate positions according to the sheet width.

Further, the outer circumference of each of the feeding rollers 5 is made of a high friction material such as rubber, and the sectional shape thereof is as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the arc portion 5b and the chord portion 5c having a smaller diameter than the arc portion 5b are arcuate. Due to this shape,
At the time of rotation, the arc portion 5b comes into pressure contact with the seat 4 and the chord portion 5b
c is separated from the seat 4.

The left and right separation claws 6 are formed integrally with the left and right frame bodies 1a and 1b, respectively, and the claw portions 6a for pressing the front end corners of the seat 4 and the abutting portions for abutting the front end portions of the seats. 6b and.

As for the auxiliary roller 9, similar to the feeding roller 5, the auxiliary roller 9 is provided in the groove 8a formed in the shaft 8.
The protrusion 9a is fitted to the shaft 8 so as to be rotatable integrally with the shaft 8 and slidable along the shaft 8 in the seat width direction. Further, like the feeding roller 5, the cross-sectional shape of the auxiliary roller 9 is also arcuate from an arc portion 9b that comes into pressure contact with the sheet 4 and a chord portion 9c that is smaller in diameter than the arc portion 9b and is separated from the sheet 4. ing. Then, when the arc portion 5b of the feeding roller 5 is pressed against the sheet 4, the shaft portion 8 is also pressed so that the arc portion 9b of the auxiliary roller 9 is pressed against the sheet 4.
Is attached to.

As a characteristic of this sheet feeding device, the same compression spring 12 acting to widen the gap between the rollers 5 and 9 is provided between the feeding roller 5 and the auxiliary roller 9, respectively. It is provided in a state of being wound around the shaft 8. The two compression springs 12 maintain a predetermined positional relationship between the respective feeding rollers 5 and the auxiliary rollers 9 when the distance between the respective feeding rollers 5 is changed according to the sheet width.
For example, the auxiliary roller 9 is automatically adjusted so that the auxiliary roller 9 is positioned in the middle of each feeding roller 5 (auxiliary member position adjusting means). Further, the compression force of the compression spring 12 is set to be slightly larger than the frictional sliding load between the auxiliary roller 9 and the shaft 8 even when the distance between the auxiliary roller 9 and the feeding roller 5 is widest. It is set.

Next, the operation of the sheet feeding apparatus having the above-mentioned structure when setting the sheet will be described.

First, the left and right side guides 10 are widened slightly larger than the width of the sheet 4, and the sheet 4 is stacked on the stacking plate 3. Then, the interval between the left and right side guides 10 is adjusted according to the width of the seat 4. Simultaneously with the adjustment of the left and right side guides 10, the two feeding rollers 5 are adjusted to proper positions according to the sheet width as described above. Further, at the same time, the auxiliary roller 9 is automatically adjusted to the middle position of each feeding roller 5 by the two compression springs 12.

Therefore, in the sheet feeding device having the above structure,
Even when using seats 4 with different widths, the side guide 1
If only 0 is adjusted, it is not necessary to adjust the positions of the separation claw 6, the feeding roller 5 and the auxiliary roller 9, and the sheet 4 can be easily set. Further, it is possible to avoid forgetting the position adjustment of the auxiliary roller 9 by adjusting the positions of only the separating claw 6 and the feeding roller 5. Further, since the auxiliary roller 9 is automatically adjusted to the intermediate position between the two feeding rollers 5, there is an effect that the position can be adjusted more accurately than when the position is adjusted by the intuition of the user.

The application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described first embodiment, and various embodiments such as the following are possible. <Embodiment 2> As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 4, as the auxiliary member position adjusting means, a tension spring 12A is used without using a compression spring, and both ends of the tension spring 12A are integrated with each feeding roller 5. Alternatively, the hook 5F may be fixed to the hook 5F that is integrally provided, and the hooks 9F that are integrally provided on both sides of the auxiliary roller 9. <Third Embodiment> As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 5, an elastic member 12B such as rubber may be used instead of the tension spring 12A of the second embodiment. <Embodiment 4> As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 6, a plurality of auxiliary rollers 9 are used, and a spacer 13 or the like is provided between each of the auxiliary rollers 9 so as to keep a constant space therebetween. A method of inserting a compression spring 12 between the roller 9 and each feeding roller 5 is also conceivable. <Fifth Embodiment> As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 7, a plurality of auxiliary rollers 9 may be used, and a compression spring 12 may be provided between the auxiliary rollers 9. <Embodiment 6> Further, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 8, different compression springs 14 and 15 are attached to the left and right of the auxiliary roller 9 so that the auxiliary roller 9 is not in the middle of each feeding roller 5 but in a constant ratio. It may be possible to approach either of the feeding rollers 5 with. <Embodiment 7> As shown in the schematic perspective view of FIG. 9, the cross-sectional shape of each of the feeding roller 5 and the auxiliary roller 9 may be circular instead of arcuate. Further, as shown in the schematic perspective view of FIG. 10, the sectional shape of the auxiliary roller 9 may be a shape in which a part of the outer circumference is projected. In this case, the protruding portion of the auxiliary roller 9 presses the sheet 4. <Embodiment 8> As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 11, each feeding roller 5 is integrally provided with a rack 5R, and a shaft 9J is provided inside the auxiliary roller 9 and the gear 1 is attached to the shaft 9J.
6 is attached, and the gear 16 in the auxiliary roller 9 is engaged with both of the racks 5R facing each other. Thereby, each of the feeding roller 5 and the auxiliary roller 9 may maintain a predetermined positional relationship. <Embodiment 9> Further, a schematic perspective view of FIG. 12 and FIG.
As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. 3, pipes 9S and 9L having different diameters are connected to the respective feeding rollers 5 and are telescopically fitted to each other, and the pipe 9L having the larger diameter is used as the auxiliary roller 9. You may do it. Also in this case, even if the interval between the feeding rollers 5 is changed, the auxiliary rollers 9
The state of does not change much and can help separate feeding.

In any of the above-mentioned embodiments, the auxiliary roller 9 can be automatically moved to the optimum position when the distance between the feeding rollers 5 is changed, so that the sheet is not wrinkled. , Can be separated and fed smoothly.

[0026]

As described in detail above, according to the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention, even when using sheets having different widths, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the auxiliary member, and therefore, the sheet setting is performed. Can be done easily.

Further, since it is not necessary to forget to adjust the position of the auxiliary roller, neither jamming nor skewing will occur during feeding, and wrinkles will not occur on the sheet.

Further, since the auxiliary member automatically moves to the optimum position, compared to when the position is adjusted by the intuition of the user,
The position can be adjusted accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is another schematic perspective view of the sheet feeding device according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a separation feeding operation in a conventional example.

FIG. 15 is another schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the separating and feeding operation in the conventional example.

FIG. 16 is another schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the separating and feeding operation in the conventional example.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a separation feeding operation in a conventional example.

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a separate feeding operation in another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 frame 3 stacking plate 4 sheet 5 feeding roller 5R rack (auxiliary member position adjusting means) 6 separation claw (separating means) 8 shaft 9 auxiliary roller (auxiliary member) 9S, 9L pipe (auxiliary member position adjusting means) 12 compression Spring (same means) 12A Extension spring (same means) 12B Elastic member (same means) 13 Spacer (same means) 14,15 Compression spring (same means) 16 Gear (same means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A separating unit for separating the uppermost sheet of a plurality of stacked sheets from other sheets, and a plurality of units provided on the same shaft for imparting a feeding force to the uppermost sheet. And a plurality of feeding rollers and at least one auxiliary member that is provided on the same shaft as the plurality of feeding rollers and assists the feeding force of the feeding rollers with respect to the sheet. The means, the plurality of feeding rollers, and the auxiliary member are movable in the sheet width direction, and when the distance between the plurality of feeding rollers is changed, the plurality of feeding rollers and the auxiliary member are predetermined. 2. A sheet feeding device, comprising: an auxiliary member position adjusting means for automatically adjusting the on-axis position of the auxiliary member so as to maintain the above positional relationship.