JPH0826496A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the cost of a paper feeding device by providing regulating members to regulate the widthwise position of a paper sheet at a bottom plate integrally, in the case of the paper feeding device in which many cutlike paper sheets mounted on the bottom plate are separated one by one by means of separating means and are conveyed in a paper feed direction by means of paper feed rollers. CONSTITUTION:In the case of the case 1 of a paper feeding device, a bottom plate 2 is turnably fitted to a position upstream of a conveying direction and a spring 3 to push the bottom plate 2 upward is provided downstream of the conveying direction. On both sides of the side end portion of the approximate center portion of the conveying direction on the upper surface side of the bottom plate 2, wide position regulating members 2a, 2b that stand up in a hooklike shape are provided integrally with the bottom plate 2, and friction pad members 4, 5 are provided on the upper surface equivalent to the direct top position of the energizing position of the spring 3. As a result, the reduction of the number of parts is realized and at the same time the precision of the fitting positions of the position regulating members can be improved, and in addition the replenishment of cut paper can be conducted smoothly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention separates a large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate one by one by separating means.
The present invention relates to a paper feeding device that conveys paper in a paper feeding direction by a paper feeding roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a recording apparatus such as a printer that uses cut recording paper (hereinafter referred to as cut paper) as paper, a large number of cut papers placed on a bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means. A sheet feeding device that conveys the sheet in the sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller is provided.

In such a paper feeding device, in order to stably feed the cut paper, the paper feed table on which the cut paper is placed is provided with a position regulating means in the width direction, One type of cut paper having a width dimension regulated by the position regulation means is placed on the paper feed table.

[0004]

However, in the conventional paper feeding device, the position regulating means is provided as a separate member from the bottom plate and the paper feeding table, which causes a problem that the device cost becomes high.

In addition, when replenishing the cut sheets, the bottom sheets are pushed down so that the cut sheets set on the bottom plate do not come into contact with the separating means or the paper feed roller, but the number of sheets is larger than the set number. If the cut sheets of paper are to be replenished, the stacking thickness of the cut sheets will be larger than the planned gap in the height direction, and the top cut sheet will come into contact with the separating means or the paper feed roller and be pulled. Or, there is a possibility that the separating means may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive paper feeding device capable of smoothly supplying cut paper. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device that can smoothly perform an operation when manually feeding a sheet of a size smaller than a predetermined size.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for separating a large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate one by one by a separating means and conveying them in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller. A sheet feeding device provided with a regulating member that is integrally provided on the bottom plate and that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction.

Further, a large number of cut sheets placed on the bottom plate are separated one by one by the separating means and conveyed in the sheet feeding direction by the sheet feed roller, and at the time of replenishing the sheets, the bottom plate is pushed down to feed the sheets. In the paper feeding device for releasing the contact between the separating means and the paper feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means while being integrally provided on the bottom plate and the bottom plate is pushed down. And a regulation member that regulates the position in the width direction of the sheet while regulating the sheet so as not to contact the sheet feeding roller.

Further, a large number of cut sheets placed on the bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and at the time of sheet replenishment,
In a sheet feeding device that pushes down the bottom plate to release the contact between the sheet and the separating means and the sheet feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is integrally provided on the bottom plate and the bottom plate is pushed down. Is regulated in such a manner that it does not come into contact with the separating means and the paper feed roller, and regulates the position in the width direction of the sheet, and the sheet inserted in the state of being regulated by the regulating member when replenishing the sheet. The tip position of
It is provided with a leading edge position regulating member that regulates the leading edge of the sheets stacked above so as to be positioned further downstream in the transport direction.

Further, in a sheet feeding device for separating a large number of cut sheets placed on the bottom plate one by one by a separating means and conveying them in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, the sheet is integrally provided on the bottom plate. A restriction member for restricting the position of the paper in the width direction, a movable restricting member provided on the bottom plate so as to be movable in the width direction, and restricting the position of the paper in the width direction, and the movable restricting member for restricting the restriction. In the state where the separating means is moved to a position narrower than the member, a retracting means for retracting the separating means from the sheet conveying path is provided.

Further, a large number of cut sheets placed on the bottom plate are separated one by one by the separating means and conveyed in the sheet feeding direction by the sheet feeding roller, and at the time of replenishing the sheets, the bottom plate is pushed down. In the paper feeding device that releases the contact between the separating means and the paper feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means by being provided integrally with the bottom plate and pushing down the bottom plate. A restricting member that restricts the position of the paper in the width direction and a restricting member that restricts the position of the paper in the width direction and a movable member that is movably provided in the width direction on the bottom plate and restricts the position of the paper in the width direction. The regulating member and the retracting means for retracting the separating means from the sheet conveying path when the movable regulating member is moved to the narrower position than the regulating member are provided.

Further, a large number of cut sheets placed on the bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and at the time of sheet replenishment,
In a sheet feeding device that pushes down the bottom plate to release the contact between the sheet and the separating means and the sheet feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is integrally provided on the bottom plate and the bottom plate is pushed down. Is provided so as not to come into contact with the separating means and the paper feed roller, and a regulating member for regulating the position of the sheet in the width direction, and a position movably provided in the width direction on the bottom plate. In the state in which the movable restricting member that restricts the moving member and the movable restricting member have moved to a narrower position than the restricting member, the retracting device that retracts the separating device from the paper transport path, and the restricting member when the paper is replenished The apparatus is provided with a leading edge position regulating member that regulates the leading edge position of the sheet inserted in the state of being regulated so that the leading edge of the sheets stacked above is located further downstream in the transport direction.

[0013]

Therefore, since the position regulating member for the width direction of the cut sheet is integrally provided on the bottom plate for stacking the cut sheet, the number of parts of the apparatus can be reduced and the position regulating member can be attached. The position accuracy can be greatly improved.

Further, since the position regulating member in the width direction of the cut sheet is provided with the position regulating function in the height direction when the cut sheet is replenished, the cut sheet comes into contact with the separating means and the sheet feeding roller at the time of replenishment. Such a situation can be avoided.

Further, since the position of the leading edge of the cut sheet at the time of replenishment is regulated so as to shift toward the downstream side in the conveying direction, the bottom plate is moved from the replenishment position to the paper feed position without resistance. Therefore, a smooth paper feeding operation is possible.

Further, when a sheet having a width narrower than that of the cut sheet which is normally used is used, the separating means is evacuated, so that such a narrow sheet is prevented from being caught by the separating means. And a smooth paper feeding operation is possible.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 show a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sheet feeding device is fixedly arranged in a recording device (not shown) that uses cut sheets as sheets, such as a printer.

In the figure, a bottom plate 2 is rotatably attached to a case 1 of the sheet feeding device at a position upstream in the carrying direction, and a spring for pushing the bottom plate 2 upward is provided downstream in the carrying direction. 3 are provided.

Wide position regulating members 2a and 2b rising up like hooks are integrally provided on the bottom plate 2 on both sides of the upper end of the bottom plate 2 at the substantially central portion in the carrying direction. Friction pad members 4 and 5 are provided on the upper surface corresponding to the position immediately above the biasing position of 3.

A guide plate member 6 that is movable in the width direction of the bottom plate 2 is provided at the end of the bottom plate 2 on the upstream side in the carrying direction. The guide plate member 6 is shaped so as to extend around the end of the bottom plate 2 and extend to the lower surface side of the bottom plate 2 so as to sandwich the bottom plate 2. The protrusion 6a is formed in the portion extending to the lower surface side of the bottom plate 2. Is provided.

A locking plate member 1a parallel to the bottom plate 2 is disposed in the case 1 at a position close to the tip of the protrusion 6a. The locking plate member 1a is the guide plate member 6 at the most position. A hole 1b is formed in which the protrusion 6a can be inserted at the open position.

A drive shaft 7 received by a bearing (not shown) is arranged above the upper surface of the bottom plate 2, and the drive shaft 7 has a cross section at a position where it can contact the friction pad members 4 and 5. Half-moon-shaped sheet feeding rollers 8 and 9 are fixed, and an auxiliary sheet-feeding roller 10 having a substantially half-moon shape in cross section is fixed to an intermediate position between the sheet feeding rollers 8 and 9.

A gear 11 is fixed to one end of the drive shaft 7, and a gear 13 fixed to the drive shaft of the motor 12 is meshed with the gear 11. Therefore, when the motor 12 is driven, the rotational force of the drive shaft of the motor 12 is transmitted to the drive shaft 7 via the gear 13 and the gear 11,
The paper feed rollers 8 and 9 rotate.

On the upper surface of the bottom plate 2 at the end on the downstream side in the conveying direction, there are recesses 2c for allowing the separation claws 15 and 16 to fall.
2d is provided. The separation claws 15 and 16 are the case 1
The arm members 17 and 18 are rotatably supported on the tip end portions of the arm members 17 and 18, and the arm members 17 and 18 are connected by a connecting member 19 arranged on the lower surface side of the bottom plate 2. . Further, the arm members 17 and 18 are formed such that the end portion side, which is connected by the connecting member 19 with respect to the rotation fulcrum, is deflected upward.

A guide member 20 is provided at an end portion of the case 1 on the downstream side in the transport direction, the guide member 20 being in contact with the recording apparatus main body and guiding the separated sheet to the transport path of the recording apparatus main body. From the end wall where the guide member 20 is provided, rib members 21, 22, 23 having a substantially trapezoidal shape for locating the position of the leading end portion of the fed sheet are attached.

The push rod member 24 is for regulating the height position of the bottom plate 2 which is biased upward by the spring 3, and when the paper is replenished, the spring 3 is used.
The bottom plate 2 is pushed downward against the urging force of. The tip of the push rod member 24 abuts on the recess 2e provided at the side end of the bottom plate 2.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the positional relationship between the protrusion 6a of the guide plate member 6 and the hole 1b of the locking plate member 1a. In this case, the size of the cut sheet to be set is A4 size.

In the figure, when the guide plate member 6 is positioned at the position A that is most opened in the width direction (corresponding to the dimension in the lateral direction of A4 size), the hole 1 of the locking plate member 1a is shown.
The protrusion 6a of the guide member 6 is located immediately above b. Therefore, when the bottom plate 2 is pushed downward by the push rod member 24, the projection 6a of the guide plate member 6 is projected into the hole 1b of the locking plate member 1a, thereby pushing the push rod member 2
4 can push down the bottom plate 2.

On the other hand, when the guide plate member 6 is displaced from the position A to the widthwise center of the bottom plate 2 and is moved to the position B, the guide plate member 6 is located immediately below the projection 6a of the guide member 6 at the locking plate member 6. Hole 1b of 1a is not located. Therefore, when the bottom plate 2 is pushed down by the push rod member 24, the protrusion 6a of the guide plate member 6 abuts on the upper surface of the locking plate member 1a, whereby the push rod member 24 pushes down the bottom plate 2. I can't.

Further, the locking plate member 1a and the guide plate member 6
An extremely small gap D1 is provided between the guide plate member 6 and the projection 6a, so that the guide plate member 6 can be appropriately moved in the width direction of the bottom plate 2.

With the above construction, the push rod member 24, as shown in FIG.
The paper feed rollers 8 and 9 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 10 are positioned at a predetermined height position where they can come into contact with the paper PP placed on the bottom plate 2, whereby the force F is applied by the spring 3.
The rotating position of the bottom plate 2 biased by is held.

In the paper feed standby state, the paper feed rollers 8 and 9
The rotation mode of the auxiliary sheet feeding roller 10 is set such that the plane portion thereof faces the bottom plate 2. Further, in this state, the weights of the separating claws 15 and 16 cause the arm members 17 and 18 to rotate.
When the sheet PP is not placed on the separation claw 15,
The reference numeral 16 drops into the recesses 2 c and 2 d of the bottom plate 2 and is positioned below the surface of the bottom plate 2. Further, when the sheet PP is placed on the bottom plate 2, the separation claws 15 and 16 are provided.
Presses the uppermost part of the placed paper PP.

For example, a standard size sheet PP of A4 size or the like
When replenishing, the push rod member 24 is pushed down while the guide plate member 6 is positioned at the most opened position in the width direction. As a result, the bottom plate 2 is pushed down as described above (see FIG. 7).

Further, when the bottom plate 2 is pushed down, the connecting member 19 is pushed downward, so that the arm members 17, 1
The separation claws 15 and 16 attached to the opposite side of 8 are
As a result, the space between the bottom plate 2 and the separation claws 15 and 16 is ensured.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the flat surface portion 8a of the surface of the paper feed roller 8 faces the bottom plate 2, and the height of the flat surface portion 8a is higher than that of the bottom plate 2 of the position regulating member 2b. In the parallel portions, the height of the plane that faces the bottom plate 2 of the portion 2ba that regulates the position of the sheet PP in the height direction is set to a position lower by the dimension D2. further,
The position is set so that the height of the lowest position of the separation claw 16 is higher than the height of the flat surface portion 8a of the paper feed roller 8 by the dimension D3.

Therefore, when the bundle of sheets PP is inserted into the position regulating members 2a and 2b with their widths aligned, the sheets PP are
The height of the uppermost part of the portion is 2a of the position regulating members 2a and 2b.
Since the height does not exceed the height regulated by a and 2ba, the paper PP is fed by the paper feed rollers 8 and 9 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 10.
It is possible to prevent the situation where the paper P
Inconveniences such as P being pulled can be prevented.

Further, since the separation claws 15 and 16 are located at a position higher than the paper feed roller 8, the paper PP is prevented from contacting the separation claws 15 and 16 when the paper PP is replenished. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the separation claws 15 and 16 from being damaged when the sheet PP is supplied. Also,
The separation claws 15 and 16 need only have strength enough to buckle the corners of the sheet PP at the time of sheet feeding and separate the sheets.
There is also an advantage that the strength required for Nos. 5 and 16 can be reduced, and therefore inexpensive parts can be used and the cost can be reduced.

Now, when the replenishment of the sheet PP is completed, as shown in FIG. 9, the front end of the sheet PP is the rib member 2.
Hit 1,2,23. Here, the rib member 21,
22 and 23 are arranged at positions that receive the sheet PP at a position closer to the dimension D4 than the separation claws 15 and 16, and therefore receive the sheet PP.
It is possible to avoid a situation in which the sheet PP hits the separation claws 15 and 16.

Further, since the rib members 21, 22, 23 are formed so that the planar shape becomes narrower from the bottom of the case 1 toward the upper side, the leading end portion of the sheet PP is shown in FIG.
An inclination of angle R is formed as shown at 0.

Therefore, after the supply of the paper PP is completed,
When the push rod member 24 is returned to the state shown in FIG. 6, the urging force F of the spring 3 causes the bottom plate 2 to rotate upward, and accordingly, the separation claws 15 and 16 rotate downward due to their own weight. And returns to the original state, and contacts the uppermost portion of the sheet PP from above and presses it.

Further, since the front end of the sheet PP is formed with an inclination, the sheet P is rotated when the bottom plate 2 is rotated upward.
P does not get caught on the rib members 21, 22, and 23,
It is possible to prevent a situation in which the leading edge of the paper PP is continuously drawn.

In this way, it is possible to set the cut sheet PP that is normally applied to the recording apparatus.

By the way, when a paper PA having a size smaller than the standard size, such as an envelope, is fed to the recording apparatus, the user performs so-called manual feeding. In this case, the guide plate member 6 is moved to a position narrower than the standard position to match the size in the width direction of the paper PA to be manually fed.

When the push rod member 24 is pushed down in this state, the bottom plate 2 cannot be pushed down because the projection 6a abuts the locking plate member 1a at this time, as described above.
It is held at the height KK (see FIG. 11).

Further, at this time, since the other sheets are removed from the bottom plate 2, the arm members 17 and 18 are rotated by the weight of the separating claws 15 and 16, and the separating claws 15 and 16 are rotated.
Fall into the recesses 2c and 2d of the bottom plate 2 and are positioned below the surface of the bottom plate 2, whereby the paper PA
It is possible to avoid a situation in which the abutment hits the separation claws 15 and 16.

Therefore, the paper PA placed on the bottom plate 2
Is fed to the conveyance path of the recording apparatus by the paper feed rollers 8 and 9 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 10.

By the way, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the size of the guide plate member 6 ends before the position restricting member 2a, and the guide plate member 6 and the position restricting member 2a are provided so as not to interfere with each other. Instead of the guide plate member 6, a guide plate member 30 as shown in FIG. 12 can be used. 12, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 and corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, the guide plate member 30 has a tip portion 30a extending to the downstream side in the conveying direction formed to have a size lower than the height of the position regulating member 2a, and the bottom plate is wrapped around the end portion of the bottom plate 2. The bottom plate 2 is sandwiched by the portion of the bottom portion 2 extending to the lower surface side and the tip portion 30a. In addition, a projection 30a that projects into the hole 1b of the locking plate member 1a is provided in the portion of the bottom plate 2 that extends to the lower surface side.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the position regulating member in the width direction of the cut sheet is integrally provided on the bottom plate for stacking the cut sheet, the number of parts of the device can be reduced, and the accuracy of the mounting position of the position regulating member is significantly increased. The effect of being able to improve.

Further, since the position regulating member in the width direction of the cut sheet is provided with the position regulating function in the height direction when the cut sheet is replenished, the cut sheet comes into contact with the separating means and the paper feed roller at the time of replenishment. It is possible to avoid such a situation.

Further, since the position of the leading edge of the cut sheet at the time of replenishment is regulated so that the upper one is shifted to the downstream side in the conveying direction, the bottom plate is moved from the replenishment position to the paper feed position without resistance. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that a smooth paper feeding operation is possible.

Further, when a sheet having a width narrower than that of the cut sheet which is normally used is used, the separating means is evacuated, so that a situation in which such a narrow sheet is caught by the separating means is avoided. It is also possible to obtain an effect that a smooth paper feeding operation is possible.

Although A4 is used as the standard paper size in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can be similarly applied to other sizes. The present invention can be applied in the same manner even when the end portions in the longitudinal direction are arranged in the front-back direction of the conveying direction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a bottom plate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial perspective view showing an example of a configuration around a separation claw.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view showing an example of the positional relationship between a guide plate member and a locking plate member.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial view illustrating a state of a sheet feeding standby state of the sheet feeding device in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial view illustrating a state of the paper feeding device of FIG. 1 during paper supply.

FIG. 8 is a schematic partial view for explaining the positional relationship between paper and a paper feed roller or separation claw.

FIG. 9 is a schematic partial view for explaining the alignment of the leading ends of sheets.

FIG. 10 is a schematic partial view for explaining the alignment of the leading ends of sheets.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial view for explaining an operation when feeding a sheet having a width narrower than the standard.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a paper feeding device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Case 2 Bottom Plates 2a, 2b Position Restricting Members 2c, 2d, 2e Recess 3 Spring 4, 5 Friction Pad Member 6,30 Guide Plate Member 6a, 30a Protrusion 7 Drive Shaft 8, 9 Feed Roller 10 Auxiliary Feed Roller 11, 13 Gears 12 Motors 15 and 16 Separation claws 17 and 18 Arm members 19 Connecting members 21, 22 and 23 Rib members 24 Push rod members

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device that separates a large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate one by one by a separating means and conveys them in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, provided integrally with the bottom plate. And a regulation member that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction. 2. A large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and at the time of replenishing the sheets, the bottom plate is pushed down. In the paper feeding device for releasing the contact between the separating means and the paper feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means by being provided integrally with the bottom plate and the bottom plate is pushed down. A sheet feeding device, comprising: a regulation member that regulates a position in which the sheet does not come into contact with the sheet feeding roller and that regulates a position of the sheet in the width direction. 3. A large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and the bottom plate is pushed down when replenishing the sheets. In a sheet feeding device for releasing contact between a sheet and the separating means and the sheet feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means which is provided integrally with the bottom plate and is pressed down. And a regulation member that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction and a leading end position of the sheet that is inserted while being regulated by the regulation member when replenishing the sheet. A sheet feeding device comprising a leading end position regulating member that regulates the leading end of the sheets stacked above to be located further downstream in the transport direction. 4. A sheet feeding device that separates a large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate one by one by a separating means and conveys them in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, provided integrally with the bottom plate. A restriction member for restricting the position of the paper in the width direction, a movable restricting member provided on the bottom plate so as to be movable in the width direction, and restricting the position of the paper in the width direction, and the movable restricting member for restricting the restriction. A sheet feeding device comprising: a retracting unit that retracts the separating unit from a sheet transport path when the separating unit is moved to a width position narrower than the member. 5. A large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and are conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and at the time of replenishing the sheets, the bottom plate is pushed down. In the paper feeding device for releasing the contact between the separating means and the paper feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means by being provided integrally with the bottom plate and the bottom plate is pushed down. A restricting member that restricts the position of the paper in the width direction and a restricting member that restricts the position of the paper in the width direction and a movable member that is movably provided in the width direction of the bottom plate and restricts the position of the paper in the width direction. A sheet feeding device, comprising: a regulating member; and a retracting unit that retracts the separating unit from a sheet conveying path when the movable regulating member is moved to a width position narrower than the regulating member. 6. A large number of cut sheets placed on a bottom plate are separated one by one by a separating means and conveyed in a sheet feeding direction by a sheet feeding roller, and the bottom plate is pushed down when replenishing the sheets. In a sheet feeding device for releasing contact between a sheet and the separating means and the sheet feeding roller, the height of the uppermost sheet is set to the separating means which is provided integrally with the bottom plate and is pressed down. And a regulation member that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction and a regulation member that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction, and a movable member that is movably provided in the width direction on the bottom plate and regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction. When the regulating member and the movable regulating member are moved to a width position narrower than that of the regulating member, the separating means retracts the separating means from the sheet conveying path, and the position of the regulating member is regulated when the paper is replenished. The position of the tip of the sheet to be inserted by state, the sheet feeding apparatus characterized by having a restriction to end position regulating member such that the tip of the paper stacked on the upper is located in the more downstream side in the conveying direction.