JPH08217278A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable multiple paper feeding from two trays without increasing cost and making a device large, and also to prevent paper feeding from a desired tray from being interrupted even if paper sheets are set in the other tray. CONSTITUTION: A paper sheet 1 in a using tray selected from first and second trays 2, 3 is brought in contact with a paper feeding roll 5 by an operating means 4, the contact of the remaining paper sheet 1 in the non-using tray with the paper feeding roll 5 is shut off, and torque in the paper feeding direction of the using ray is transmitted to the paper feeding roll 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device useful for an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet feeding device which shares one sheet feeding roll and selectively feeds sheets from two sheet trays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional paper feeding device, there is a paper feeding device which feeds paper selectively from two paper trays sharing one paper feeding roll.
No. 61 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-135242.

The former paper feeding device has a detector for detecting the presence or absence of manual paper in front of a paper tray having a manual paper insertion slot at the top, and a paper feed whose rotation direction changes according to the output of the detector. Equipped with a roll and a retard roll that comes into contact with the paper feed roll and follows the rotation of the paper feed roll when feeding the manual paper, and if the manual paper is not detected, the feed roll rotates with the retard roll stopped. With this configuration, the sheets on the paper tray are conveyed one by one, and when the manual feed sheet is detected, the paper feed roll is rotated in the opposite direction and the retard roll is driven to convey the manual feed sheet. ing.

On the other hand, the latter paper feeding device has a paper tray and
A manual feed tray rotatably supported by a rotation shaft is provided, and the manual feed tray is rotated and placed on the paper tray to switch to the manual feed paper.

[0005]

However, according to the conventional sheet feeding device, in the case of the sheet feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-94661, one sheet of manual paper set on the sheet tray is fed by the retard roll. Since it has a structure for feeding paper, two sets of paper feeding devices are required to perform multiple manual feeding.
There is an inconvenience of increasing cost and increasing the size of the device.

On the other hand, in the case of the paper feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-135242, when the manual feed tray is arranged on the paper tray, the manual feed paper set in the manual feed tray is preferentially fed, so There is an inconvenience that the paper tray cannot be used normally if the manual paper is set in the tray.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device capable of selectively feeding multiple sheets from two trays without increasing the cost or increasing the size.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device which does not interfere with paper feeding of a desired tray even if paper is set in another tray.

[0009]

In view of the above problems, the present invention can selectively feed multiple sheets from two trays without increasing cost and upsizing, and sheets are set in other trays. However, in order not to interfere with the feeding of the desired tray, it is necessary to store a plurality of sheets of paper between the first and second trays, which are opposed to each other, and between the first and second trays. The paper feed rolls that are arranged and rotatable in both paper feed directions of the first and second trays, and the papers of the first and second trays are pressed to press the papers of the first and second trays. First and second elastic members that bring the leading end of the sheet into contact with the sheet feeding roll, and elastically contact the sheet feeding roll on the sheet feeding passages of the first and second trays, so that the sheet feeding roll First and second retard members for sandwiching the paper between and to prevent double feeding of the paper; Of the used trays selected from the second tray and the second tray are kept in contact with each other, the contact between the paper of the remaining unused trays and the paper feed roll is cut off, and the rotational force in the feeding direction of the used tray is supplied. The present invention provides a paper feeding device configured by an operating means for transmitting to a paper roll.

It is preferable that the operating means includes a retard releasing member for breaking the contact of the paper in the unused tray with the paper feeding roll and pressing the retard member corresponding to the unused tray to retract the paper from the paper feeding passage. Further, it is preferable that the retard releasing member presses a position closer to the sheet feeding side than a nip position between the retarding member and the sheet feeding roll.

Further, it is preferable that the first and second trays have a front wall located at the leading end of the sheet to regulate the number of sheets to be rushed at the time of sheet feeding and to be retracted in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding roll. .

[0012]

The operation means causes the paper in the used tray selected from the first tray and the second tray to be the paper feed roll, disconnects the contact of the paper feed roll from the paper in the remaining unused trays, and The rotation force in the paper feed direction according to the tray being used is transmitted. This allows paper to be fed from the used tray and prohibits paper from the unused tray. When the paper feed roll is rotated in this state, paper is fed from the used tray having the paper in contact with the paper feed roll while the double feed is prevented by the corresponding retard member.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The sheet feeding device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the construction of a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This paper feeding device includes a main tray 2 that accommodates a plurality of stacked sheets of paper 1, a sub-tray 3 that accommodates a plurality of stacked sheets of paper 1, and a paper-feeding posture for feeding the paper 1 of the sub-tray 3 ( (State of Figure 1)
And a switching mechanism 4 for switching to one of the paper feeding postures (the state of FIG. 2) for feeding the paper 1 in the main tray 2, and the paper feeding for feeding the paper 1 from the tray 2 or 3 selected by the switching mechanism 4. A roll 5, a pull-out roll 6 for feeding the paper 1 fed by the paper feed roll 5 to an image recording unit (for example, a transfer unit of a copying machine), and a paper feed path on the main tray 2 and the sub tray 3. It is configured to include retard members 7A and 7B that elastically contact the paper roll 5 and prevent double feeding of the paper 1 by the paper feed roll 5.

The main tray 2 and the sub-tray 3 have bottom plates 8 and 10 which rotate about axes 8A and 10A.
The bottom plates 8 and 10 are provided with springs 9 and 11 that press the bottom plates 8 and 10 toward the paper feed roll 5 to bring the leading ends of the respective sheets 1 into contact with the paper feed roll 5.

The switching mechanism 4 has a switching lever 12, is mounted on a gear 13 that rotates within a predetermined range, gears 16 and 17 meshing with the gear 13, and the shaft of the gear 16, and the bottom of the gear 16 is rotated by the rotation of the gear 16. Plate releasing members 14 and 15 for pressing one of the plates 8 and 10 against the elastic force of the springs 9 and 11 to the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5;
It is attached to the shaft of the gear 17, and when the gear 17 rotates, one of the sheets 1 on the main tray 2 or the sub-tray 3,
And a retard releasing member 18 that presses one of the retard members 7A and 7B corresponding thereto to the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5. The retard releasing member 18 has a through hole 18A through which the shaft 5A of the paper feed roll 5 penetrates and projecting portions 18B and 18C for pressing the paper 1. The through hole 18
It rotates in the range of A. Therefore, the above-described gear 13 also has the gear 17 and the gear 1 in the range of the through hole 18A.
The rotation range is regulated based on the gear ratio of 3.

3 and 4 show the structure of a gear mechanism for driving the paper feed roll 5 and the drawing roll 6. This gear mechanism includes a drive gear 20 provided on the outer periphery of the motor shaft 19, an intermediate gear 21 for transmitting the drive torque of the drive gear 20 to a gear 6A provided on one side of the pulling roll 6, and a drive gear 20 for driving the drive gear 20. It has an intermediate gear 22 that transmits torque to the drive transmission gear 33, a spring 24 that biases the drive transmission gear 33 in the direction of the arrow, and a hook 26 that engages with the drive transmission gear 23. Solenoid 25 for engaging and releasing
A ring gear 27A to 27D for transmitting the drive torque received from the drive transmission gear 33 to the paper feed roll 5, a ring gear bracket 27 for supporting the ring gear 27A to 27D in a substantially U shape, and a ring gear bracket 27 by operating the switching lever 12. A plate-shaped spring 28 for rotating the ring gear 27A about the ring gear 27A is provided.

The drive transmission gear 33 coaxially meshes with the ring gear 27A and has the first gear 2 having a notch 23A.
3, a second gear 32 that meshes with the intermediate gear 22 and has a notch 32A, and an engagement protrusion (not shown) with which the hook 26 of the solenoid 25 engages. . In the drive transmission gear 33, the intermediate gear 22 is in the cutout portion 32A of the second gear 32 in the non-feeding state, and
The ring gears 27A are located in the notches 23A of the first gear 23, respectively, and the paper feed roll 5 is in a free state. At the time of paper feeding, the solenoid 25 operates to release the engagement of the hook 26, and the spring 24 causes By rotating in the direction of the arrow, the intermediate gear 22 and the second gear 32 mesh with each other, and the ring gear 27A and the first gear 23 mesh with each other, so that the driving torque of the intermediate gear 22 is transmitted to the paper feed roll 5. Has become. When the drive transmission gear 33 makes one rotation, the non-feeding state, that is, the above-mentioned intermediate gear 22 moves to the second position.
To the notch 32A of the gear 32 of the ring gear 27A
Are located in the notches 23A of the first gear 23, respectively, and the paper feed roll 5 is separated from the drive system. That is, the drive transmission gear 33 drives the paper feed roll 5 while the paper 1 is taken out from each of the trays 2 and 3 and then sent to the pull-out roll 6, and then idles.

The ring gear bracket 27 rotates about the ring gear 27A, and the ring gear 27D meshes with the gear 5A of the paper feed roll 5 to rotate the paper feed roll 5 clockwise (state shown in FIG. 3). The ring gear 27B meshes with the gear 5A of the paper feed roll 5 to take the posture (state of FIG. 4) for rotating the paper feed roll 5 counterclockwise.

The operation of the paper feeding device will be described below. When the paper 1 is fed from the main tray 2, the operator first switches the switching lever 12 to the state shown in FIG. This switching causes the gear 13 to rotate in the clockwise direction, and the gear 16 and the gear 17 meshed with the gear 13 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction. As a result, the plate release members 14, 1
5, and the retard release member 18 rotates counterclockwise.

When the plate releasing members 14 and 15 rotate counterclockwise, the bottom plate 8 and the paper 1 guided by the bottom plate 8 rotate counterclockwise about the axis 8A by the elastic force of the spring 9, The sheet 1 on the inner side is brought into contact with the paper feed roll 5, and the plate release member 15 presses the sub-tray 3 against the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5 against the elastic force of the spring 11 to move the sub-tray 3 to the paper feed roll 5. Away from.

On the other hand, when the retard release member 18 rotates counterclockwise, the retard member 7A is moved to the paper feed roll 5
The sheet 1 of the sub-tray 3 is pushed to the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5 by the protruding portion 18B, and the retard member 7A and the sheet 1 of the sub-tray 3 are separated from the paper feed roll 5.

Further, the pressing spring 28 rotates the ring gear bracket 27 of the gear mechanism counterclockwise by the operation of the switching lever 12, and the ring gear 27B meshes with the gear 5A of the paper feed roll 5, as shown in FIG. .

When the paper feeding posture is established in this manner, the operator next inputs a command for feeding paper from the main tray 2 from the control panel or the like. As a result, in the state of FIG. 4, the motor shaft 19 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the intermediate gear 21,
And one of the pull-out rolls 6 connected via the gear 6A rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the engagement of the hook 26 is released by the operation of the solenoid 25, and the drive transmission gear 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow by the pulling force of the spring 24. do it,
The first gear 23 and the ring gear 27A mesh with each other, and the second gear 32 and the intermediate gear 22 mesh with each other. Then, the intermediate gear 22, the drive transmission gear 33, the ring gears 27A, 2
7B and the paper feed roll 5 connected via the gear 5A rotate in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction).

When the paper feed roll 5 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the paper 1 on the main tray 2 contacting the paper feed roll 5 is removed from the inside by the paper cutting of the paper feed roll 5 and the retard member 7B.
Sheets are sent out one by one, and are conveyed to a predetermined image recording unit via a drawing roll 6.

On the other hand, when feeding the paper 1 from the sub-tray 3, the operator first switches the switching lever 12 to the state shown in FIG. This switching causes gear 1
3 rotates counterclockwise, and the gear 16 and the gear 17 meshed with this rotate clockwise. As a result, the plate releasing members 14 and 15 and the retard releasing member 18 rotate clockwise.

When the plate releasing members 14 and 15 are rotated clockwise, the bottom plate 10 and the sheet 1 below the sheet 1 are rotated clockwise about the shaft 10A by the elastic force of the spring 11, and the innermost sheet 1 is moved. The plate releasing member 14 presses the bottom plate 6 against the side opposite to the sheet feeding roll 5 against the elastic force of the spring 9 while separating the sheet feeding roll 5 from the sheet feeding roll 5.

On the other hand, when the retard releasing member 18 rotates in the clockwise direction, the retard member 7B is pressed to the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5, and the protrusion 18C of the retard member 7B feeds the paper 1 on the main tray 2 to the paper feed roll 5. To the opposite side to feed the retard member 7B and the paper 1 on the main tray 2 to the paper feed roll 5
Away from.

Further, the pressing spring 28 rotates the ring gear bracket 27 of the gear mechanism in the clockwise direction by the operation of the switching lever 12, so that the ring gear 27D meshes with the gear 5A of the paper feed roll 5, as shown in FIG.

When the paper feeding posture is established in this manner, the operator next inputs a command for feeding paper from the sub tray 3 from the control panel or the like. As a result, in the state of FIG. 3, the motor shaft 19 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the intermediate gear 21,
And one of the pull-out rolls 6 connected via the gear 6A rotates in the direction of the arrow, the engagement of the hook 26 is released by the operation of the solenoid 25, and the drive force transmission gear 33 moves in the direction of the arrow by the pulling force of the spring 24. As the first gear 23 and the ring gear 27A rotate,
The gear 32 and the intermediate gear 22 mesh with each other. Then, the intermediate gear 22, the drive transmission gear 33, the ring gear 27.
The paper feed roll 5 connected through A, 27C, 27D and the gear 5A rotates in the arrow direction (clockwise direction).

When the paper feed roll 5 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the papers 1 in the sub-tray 3 which are in contact with the paper feed roll 5 are fed one by one from the inside by the paper cutting of the paper feed roll 5 and the retard member 7A, and the pull-out roll 6 Then, it is conveyed to a predetermined image recording section.

As described above, in the sheet feeding device of this embodiment, since the retard member 7A for the sub tray 3 and the retard member 7B for the main tray 2 are provided for the single sheet feeding roll 5, the cost is increased. Multiple sheets can be selectively fed from both trays without increasing the size. Further, by switching by the switching mechanism 4, the paper feeding operation is performed independently for the paper feeding from each of the trays 2 and 3. Therefore, even if the paper 1 is set in the other tray, the paper of the desired tray is set. It does not hinder the feeding of 1.

In the above embodiment, the paper feed from the main tray 2 and the paper feed from the sub-tray 3 are switched by a manual lever operation. However, a motor or the like is controlled by an instruction from the control panel or an external device. The device may be used for switching.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the pressing position A of the retard releasing member 18 to the retard members 7A and 7B is the paper nip position between the retard members 7A and 7B and the paper feed roll 5. When the pad 29 is worn, when the pad 29 is worn, the retard member 7 is pressed by pressing the pad 29 as shown in FIG.
The amount of evacuation for A and 7B has changed, and also (b) in FIG.
As described above, the pressing on the holder 30 causes a problem that the paper is damaged if the paper is pressed while sandwiching the paper. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the pressing position A of the retard releasing member 18 to the retard members 7A and 7B is set to the tray nip position of the retard members 7A and 7B and the paper feed roll 5 from the tray. It is preferable to set it on the side.
Also, the retard releasing member 1 for the retard members 7A and 7B
Even if the pressing position A of 8 is set to the sending side of the retard members 7A and 7B and the paper feeding roll 5 from the paper nip position, that is, to the pulling roll side, the retracted amount of the retard members 7A and 7B does not change, but the nip is caused by the feeding. You cannot press the paper that has been positioned. Therefore, the retard member 7A,
When the 7B retracting operation is performed, the sheet exceeds the nip position, and when the sheet is next fed, a double feed easily occurs.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the paper feeding device of the present invention. The sheet feeding device of this embodiment is configured by adding a front wall 31 for restricting the protrusion of the sheet 1 into the retard members 7A and 7B to the configuration of the sheet feeding device of the first embodiment. With such a configuration, when the paper 1 is fed in the vertical type, the front wall 31 regulates the number of sheets of the paper rushing into the retard members 7A and 7B, thereby making it possible to prevent double feeding. At this time, if the front wall 31 is provided, it may interfere with the operation of the retard releasing member 18, so the front wall 31 may be configured to be retractable to the side opposite to the paper feed roll 5. preferable.

[0036]

As described above, according to the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, the sheets of the first and second trays are pressed toward both trays, and the operation means is operated by the first and second trays. The paper in the used tray selected from the above is brought into contact with the paper feed rolls placed between the trays, the contact of the paper feed roll is cut off from the paper in the remaining unused trays, and the rotational force in the paper feed direction of the used tray is supplied. Since it is transmitted to the paper roll, it is possible to selectively feed multiple sheets from two trays without increasing cost and size, and even if sheets are set in other trays, the desired tray can be fed. It can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a gear mechanism according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a gear mechanism according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship of a pressing position of a retard releasing member with respect to a retard member.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between pressing positions of the retard releasing member with respect to the retard member.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Paper 2 Main Tray 3 Sub Tray 4 Switching Mechanism 5 Paper Feed Roll 5A Gear 6 Pulling Roll 6A Gear 7A, 7B Retard Member 8 Bottom Plate 8A Axis 9 Spring 10 Bottom Plate 10A Axis 11 Spring 12 Switching Lever 13 Gear 14 Plate Release Member 15 Plate release member 16 Gear 17 Gear 18 Retard release member 18A Through hole 19 Motor shaft 20 Drive gear 21 Intermediate gear 22 Intermediate gear 23 First gear 23A Notch 24 Spring 25 Solenoid 26 Hook 27 Ring gear bracket 27A to 27D Ring gear 28 Pressing spring 29 pad 30 holder 31 front wall 32 second gear 32A notch 33 drive transmission gear

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first tray and a second tray which respectively accommodate a plurality of sheets and are arranged to face each other; and a first tray and a second tray which are arranged between the first tray and the second tray. Of the first tray and the second tray by pressing the sheets of the first and second trays so that the leading ends of the sheets of the first and second trays can be rotated. Between the first and second elastic members that come into contact with the sheet feeding roller, and elastically contact the sheet feeding rolls on the sheet feeding passages of the first and second trays, and between the sheet feeding rolls at the time of sheet feeding. 1st and 2nd to prevent double feeding of paper by sandwiching paper with
Of the retard member, the contact between the paper of the used tray selected from the first and second trays and the paper feed roll is maintained, and the contact between the paper of the remaining unused tray and the paper feed roll is cut off. A sheet feeding device comprising an operating means for transmitting a rotational force of the used tray in the sheet feeding direction to the sheet feeding roll. 2. The retarding means, wherein the operation means retracts the paper in the unused tray from the paper feed roll and presses the retard member corresponding to the unused tray to retract the paper from the paper feed path. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding device includes a releasing member. 3. The paper feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the retard releasing member presses a position closer to the paper feeding side than a nipping position of the retarding member with the paper feeding roll. 4. The first and second trays each have a front wall located at the leading edge of the sheet to regulate the number of sheets that enter the sheet at the time of sheet feeding and to be retractable in the direction opposite to the sheet feeding roll. 1,
Two or three paper feeders.