JPH0834563A - Paper feed device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a paper feed device which can feed paper into a paper folding part at an arbitrary speed, irrespective of a discharge speed and dis charge intervals of a paper output device. CONSTITUTION:During introduction of paper, a size of a sheet is detected by a paper size detecting means composed of a paper detecting means 2, a speed detecting means 3, and the like, and after the introduced sheet is once stored in a paper storage tray 4, and the sheet is fed into a paper folding part 12. At this time, a feed belt 7 is driven with a predetermined timing, one of the lower side of sheets is fed into the paper folding part 12. Accordingly, the length of a paper conveying path 11 can be shortened, and further, sheets can be fed into the paper folding part 12 one by one at an arbitrary speed, with no affection of a paper discharge speed and discharge intervals of a paper output device. Further, since a paper size can be known within the device, no communication with the paper output device is required.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeding device, and more particularly to a paper feeding device capable of feeding a paper to a paper folding portion at an arbitrary speed regardless of a paper discharging speed of a paper output device and a paper discharging interval. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional paper folding device is used by being connected to a paper output device such as a copying machine or a printer. One of the conventional paper folding devices is as follows. On the upstream side of the paper folding unit, a paper conveyance path having a length sufficient to measure the maximum paper length is provided, and the paper length is detected in the paper conveyance path. According to the detection result, the paper length is classified into one of several specified length ranges corresponding to the existing folding pattern, and the folding pattern corresponding to the classification is selected. Then, the difference between the above-mentioned paper length and the lower limit of the length range in which the paper can be inserted, that is, the surplus length is measured, and the folding position of the paper once or several times is determined by the measurement value of the surplus length. The paper is folded according to the folding pattern.

The conventional paper folding apparatus described above is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-29456, entitled "Sheet Folding Method and Apparatus therefor". However, the conventional device requires a long paper conveyance path, which causes a problem that the entire device becomes large.

As a prior art proposed to solve the above problem, there is a "paper folding device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-226461. According to this prior art, the first and second detection means provided on the downstream side of the first folding roller pair and the second folding roller pair, which are provided in parallel with the folding direction of the sheet, in the sheet conveying direction, Disclosed is a paper folding device which detects the leading edge of a sheet and detects the signal and controls the rotation direction of the pair of first and second folding rollers and the guide position of the sheet guide in synchronization with each other by the control means. Thus, the paper folding apparatus is compact in construction without the conventionally used means for detecting the trailing edge of the paper and the paper transport path for measuring the maximum length of the paper.

[0005]

However, although the above-mentioned paper folding apparatus can prevent the size from increasing, the paper conveying speed of the paper folding apparatus is immediately after the paper is discharged from the paper output device. If the loading speed on the paper folding device side is slow, the paper ejected from the paper output device will be jammed at the carry-in port, and if it is fast, the paper output device will try to pull it out. Therefore, there is a problem in that the paper transport speed of the paper folding device must be matched with the discharge speed of the paper output device. Also,
In a paper folding device configured to run a sheet once folded in the paper feeding direction in a direction perpendicular to the sheet and fold the paper for the second time, there is a risk of colliding with a sheet to be folded in the next paper feeding direction when the direction is changed. In order to prevent the above-mentioned paper collision, it is necessary to limit the interval for carrying the paper from the paper output device to the paper folding device. Further, since the paper folding device is used by being connected to the paper output device so as to be able to transmit and receive signals to and from the paper output device, there is a problem that it cannot be used for a device or the like that cannot exchange signals.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to feed a sheet to a paper folding section at an arbitrary speed regardless of the discharging speed of the sheet output device and the sheet discharging interval. To provide. The other purpose is
It is to provide a paper feeding device that can be used alone.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a paper feeding device for feeding a paper to a paper folding portion, and is a paper detecting means capable of detecting the size of the paper which is carried in. And a sheet storage tray for temporarily storing the carried-in sheet and a sheet of paper stored in the sheet storage tray at a timing at which the sheets do not collide with each other at the sheet folding section. It is characterized in that it is provided with a paper feeding means for feeding to one side.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the storage of the paper in the paper storage tray and the delivery of the paper to the paper folding portion by the paper delivery means are performed in parallel.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided means for detecting or inputting the size of the paper stored in the paper storage tray, and the paper can be placed on the paper storage tray and used independently. The feature is that it is possible.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the operation of temporarily storing the carried-in paper in the paper storage tray and the operation of sending out the paper stored in the paper storage tray to the paper folding unit are performed independently. be able to. Therefore, it becomes possible to shorten the paper transport path, and communication with the paper output device becomes unnecessary. Further, it becomes possible to feed the paper to the paper folding section without being affected by the paper discharge speed and the paper discharge interval of the paper output device.

Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the sheets can be accommodated in the sheet accommodating tray and sent to the sheet folding section in parallel, the time during which the sheet folding device is in a rest state can be reduced. Can be shortened.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the size of the paper stored in the paper storage tray can be automatically detected or manually input. Therefore, it can be used separately from the paper output device.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a paper carry-in port for taking in paper outputted from a paper output device such as a copying machine or a printer to a paper feeding device, 2 is a paper detecting means capable of detecting the leading edge, trailing edge and width of the carried-in paper, Three
Is a speed detecting means for detecting the carry-in speed of the paper carried in from the paper carry-in entrance 1, and 4 is a paper storage tray in which the paper is temporarily stored. Reference numeral 5 denotes a carry-in roller pair for carrying the paper inserted from the paper carry-in port 1 to the paper storage tray 4 in accordance with the speed detected by the speed detecting means 3. As the speed detecting means 3, a well-known means using a roller that rotates at the same speed as the conveying speed due to contact with a sheet and a means that detects the number of rotations per unit time can be used. It should be noted that the speed detecting means 3 may be deleted if the speed at which the paper is carried into the paper feeder is predetermined.
Further, when it is known that the paper output from the paper output device is a standard paper, the paper detection unit 2
The paper size can be detected only by detecting the width of the paper.

Reference numeral 7 is a feed belt for conveying the paper stored in the paper storage tray 4 to the paper folding portion, and 8 is a retard pad for holding the upper paper by a frictional force. Due to the difference between the frictional force of the feed belt 7 and the frictional force of the retard pad 8, only the lowermost sheet of the plurality of sheets accommodated in the sheet accommodating tray 4 is conveyed. The feed belt 7 and the retard pad 8 constitute a paper separating section. Reference numeral 11 denotes a transport path for transporting the paper to the paper folding unit 12, 9 is a paper detection unit for detecting entry and passage of the paper to the transport path 11, and 10 is a paper folding unit 1.
It is a pair of conveyance rollers that conveys up to 2. The paper folding section 12
Is a pair of conveyance rollers 13, a paper guide 14, and
It is composed of a second pair of paper folding rollers 15, 16 and the like. The paper folding unit 12 may be, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
A "paper folding device" such as that described in JP-A 1-2226461 can be used.

Each of the roller pairs 5, 10, 13, 1 described above
5, 16 and the feed belt 7 are connected to a driving means (not shown) via a clutch or the like, and when the driving force is not required, the clutch is disengaged so as to be rotatable. Further, the above-mentioned driving means may be distributed and driven from one driving means via driving force transmitting means such as a shaft, a crank, and a gear, or a plurality of driving means may be provided to individually drive the driving means. It may be driven.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the relationship between the control unit and each component of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 21 is a control unit for controlling the peripheral devices described below based on signals from the respective detecting means of the apparatus, and 22 is a start button for instructing the start of the paper folding operation. Reference numeral 23 denotes the carrying-in roller pair 5, the feed belt 7, and the carrying roller pair 1.
A driving motor for driving 0, etc., 24 is a paper folding unit control means for controlling the paper folding unit 12, and 25 is an adjusting folding control unit for aligning the end faces of the paper folding according to the size of the paper. Note that other reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts as in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an automatic paper feeding operation when the paper feeding device of the present embodiment is used by being connected to the paper output device. In the figure, a represents a detection signal of the paper detection unit 2, b represents a drive time of the feed belt 7, and c represents a detection signal of the paper detection unit 9.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. When the sheet is discharged from the sheet output means (not shown), the sheet is carried in from the sheet carry-in port 1 and the speed detecting means 3 measures the sheet carry-in speed. Next, at the time t1 in FIG. 3, the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means 2, the signal a rises, and after a certain period of time, the sheet is nipped by the pair of carry-in rollers 5 and conveyed at a constant speed. When the trailing edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means 2 at time t2, the signal a falls. By the above operation,
One sheet is stored in the sheet storage tray 4.

At this time, the control unit 21 obtains the length of the sheet from the times t1 and t2 of the signal a detected by the sheet detecting unit 2 and the detection result of the speed detecting unit 3. In addition, the width of the sheet detected by the sheet detecting unit 2,
Alternatively, the control unit 21 determines the paper size from the length and width of the paper, and the adjustment folding control unit 25 determines the adjustment folding amount accordingly.

Subsequently, at a time t3 immediately after the time t2, the feed belt 7 which receives power from the drive motor 23 is activated. As a result, the lowermost sheet of the sheets temporarily stored in the sheet storage tray 4 is sent out by the feed belt 7 toward the sheet detecting means 9 and the conveying roller pair 10. This delivery speed is a speed required by the paper folding unit 12, and may of course be different from the speed at which the paper output unit ejects the paper. After being driven for a predetermined time, the feed belt 7 is separated from the drive motor 23 and becomes free, and is rotated by following the paper.

The sheet sent to the sheet folding section 12 by the feed belt 7 as described above is detected by the sheet detecting means 9 at time t4, and is sandwiched by the pair of conveying rollers 10 after a certain period of time. , A pair of rollers for transporting at a constant speed
It is transported up to 3. It should be noted that, even after the time t4, it is clear that the operation of accommodating the paper carried out from the paper output device in the paper accommodating tray 4 is continued.

When the paper is conveyed to the paper folding unit 12 by the above operation, the paper feeding operation for one paper is completed. The paper folding unit 12 folds the conveyed paper according to a preset paper folding specification. At this time, the amount of adjustment folding is determined based on the paper size information.

Subsequently, when the next sheet is fed to the sheet folding section, the control section is provided in order to prevent the sheet folded and the sheet carried into the sheet folding section 12 from colliding with each other. 21
Is the time t at which the trailing edge of the sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means 9.
At a time t6 when a fixed time T has elapsed from 5, the feed belt 7 is activated again. As a result, the next sheet is conveyed to the transport path 11.
Is sent to. Subsequent operations are the same as those described above, so description thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to completely separate the delivery of the sheet from the sheet output device and the delivery of the delivered sheet to the sheet folding device, and the sheet output device can be separated. There is an effect that the delivery speed of the paper and the delivery speed to the paper folding device can be arbitrarily selected. Further, there is an effect that the paper can be delivered to the paper folding unit at an arbitrary interval regardless of the paper discharge interval of the paper output device.

Next, the case where the paper feeding device of this embodiment is used alone without being connected to the paper output device will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. In the figure, b represents the drive time of the feed belt 7, and c represents the detection signal of the paper by the paper detection means 9.

A sheet bundle of the same size is stored in advance in the sheet storage tray 4 by an operator, and the size of the sheet is manually input in advance from an operation panel (not shown) or the like. A sensor for detecting the paper size may be provided in the paper storage tray 4 to automatically detect the paper size. Alternatively, the paper size may be obtained by detecting the width of the paper by the paper detection unit 9.

When the start button 22 (see FIG. 2) is pressed to start the paper feeding operation, at time t11,
The feed belt 7 starts to start. Due to the difference between the frictional force of the feed belt 7 and the frictional force of the retard pad 8, only the lowermost sheet of the plurality of sheets accommodated in the sheet accommodating tray 4 is fed to the feed belt 7. Transport to 12.

The sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means 9 at time t12 and reaches the conveying roller pair 10 after a fixed time. When the sheet is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 10 and conveyed at a constant speed, the feed belt 7 is separated from the driving unit so that the succeeding sheet is not conveyed.
It rotates following the paper. Further, the sheet is conveyed to the conveying roller pair 13 by the conveying roller pair 10 and is folded into a predetermined form at the sheet folding unit 12.

At time t13, when the sheet detecting means 9 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the time is set in order to prevent collision between the folded sheet and the sheet that is next carried into the sheet folding section 12. The feed belt 7 is started at time t14 when a predetermined time T has elapsed from t13. As a result, at the time t14, the next sheet is sent to the transport path 11. After that, the same operation as described above is repeated. As described above, the sheet conveyed to the sheet folding unit 12 is folded according to a preset sheet folding specification, and is adjusted and folded according to the size of the sheet.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even when the paper feeding device is used alone without being connected to the paper output device, the paper is fed at the speed required by the paper folding part and within the paper folding part. Paper can be supplied at intervals that do not cause collision.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 6 denotes a pressing rod that is rotatably held with one end as a fulcrum and has a rotatable roller at the other end, and other reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts to those in FIG.

The pressing rod 6 is driven to rotate clockwise by a driving means such as a solenoid (not shown), and has a function of pressing and aligning the end portions of the sheets placed on the sheet storage tray 4. , Serves as a pinch roll for the feed belt 7. When the edge of the sheet is pressed by the pressing rod 6, when the sheet is accommodated in the sheet accommodating tray 4, the edge of the sheet is not aligned with the sheet separating section due to the influence of the sheet ejection speed of the sheet output device and the curl of the sheet. You can prevent things from happening. The drive of the presser bar 6 is controlled by the control unit 21 shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. In the figure, a indicates the sheet detecting means
, B is the drive time of the presser bar 6, c is the drive time of the feed belt 7, and d is the detection signal of the paper detection means 9.

The paper ejected from the paper output means has time t
At time t2 detected by the paper detection means 2 at 1
When the sheet has passed the sheet detecting means 2 and is accommodated on the sheet accommodating tray 4, the pressing bar 6 and the feed belt 7 are driven at time t3. As a result, the sheet placed on the sheet storage tray 4 is pressed by the pressing rod 6 at its end, and the lowermost sheet is sent out to the transport path 11 by the feed belt 7. This sheet is detected by the sheet detecting means 9 during the time t4 to t5.

When the sheet detecting means 9 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, in order to prevent the collided sheet from colliding with the sheet to be carried into the sheet folding section 12, the time t5 to the fixed time T At the time t6 after the passage of time, it is judged whether or not the pressing rod 6 and the feed belt 7 may be activated. In the example shown in the figure, at the time t6, the paper discharged from the paper output means is in the process of being stored in the paper storage tray 4. Therefore, when the pressing rod 6 is activated, the paper is pressed by the pressing rod 6. And cause a paper jam. Therefore, the presser bar 6 does not start at the time t6, but starts at the time t8 immediately after the time t7 when the paper passes the paper detecting means 2.

As a result, at time t8, the leading end of the paper stored in the paper storage tray 4 is pressed by the pressing rod 6, and the lowermost paper is sent out to the transport path 11 by the feed belt 7. Since the presser bar 6 is driven for a short time, it does not prevent the next sheet discharged from the sheet output means from being stored on the sheet storage tray 4. Thereafter, the same operation as described above is performed.

In the above description, the paper feeding device of this embodiment is connected to the paper output device. However, when it is operated independently without being connected, the paper discharged from the paper output means is taken into consideration. No need. Therefore, after the time t5 when the sheet detecting means 9 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, wait for the time T that guarantees the prevention of the sheet collision at the sheet folding section 12 to elapse, and then at the time t6, the pressing rod. 6 and the feed belt 7 may be activated to send the next sheet to the transport path 11.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the end portion of the paper placed on the paper storage tray 4 is pressed by the presser bar 6 and the lowermost paper is conveyed by the feed belt 7. I'm trying to send it to road 11,
It is possible to prevent the end surface of the sheet from being not aligned with the sheet separating section, and it is possible to provide a more reliable sheet feeding apparatus.

Next, as the paper folding unit 12, for example, the "paper folding device" disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-226461 can be used. The principle of the paper folding operation of the paper folding device will be briefly described. When the paper is carried into the paper folding unit 12, the paper is carried by the pair of carrying rollers 13 and is swung to the left and right.
Is rocked by. As a result, the bending is alternately formed in front of the first and second paper folding roller pairs 15 and 16, and the bending is wound by the predetermined amount by the first and second paper folding roller pairs 15 and 16. In this way, a predetermined number of folds are formed in zigzag. The fold line is determined by the size of the paper.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, since the paper storage tray 4 is provided, the distance from the paper carry-in port 1 to the paper folding section 12 can be shortened, and the paper output device can be connected. When it is used, it can be used without being affected by the paper discharge speed or the paper discharge interval. Further, the paper feeding device can be used alone, and automatic continuous paper feeding can be performed.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the invention, the paper carried in from the paper output device or the like is temporarily stored in the paper storage tray and then sent to the paper folding section. Therefore, the paper feeding device of the present invention can be connected to the paper output device without being affected by the paper discharge speed and the paper discharge interval of the paper output device. Further, the paper stored in the paper storage tray can be sent to the paper folding unit at an arbitrary speed without being affected by the paper discharge speed of the paper output device. In addition, communication with the paper output device becomes unnecessary.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to carry out the paper accommodation in the paper accommodation tray and the delivery to the paper folding section in parallel. Therefore, the time during which the paper folding device is at rest can be shortened, and the work efficiency is improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since it can be used separately from the paper output device and can be used alone, the range of utilization can be expanded and the frequency of use can be increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a relationship between a control unit of the present embodiment and devices around it.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an operation of automatic paper feeding when the paper feeding device of the present embodiment is used while being connected to a paper output device.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a paper folding operation when the paper feeding device of this embodiment is used alone.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a paper feeding device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing an automatic paper feeding operation when the paper feeding device of the present embodiment is used while being connected to a paper output device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper carry-in port, 2 ... Paper detection means, 3 ... Speed detection means, 4 ... Paper storage tray, 5 ... Loading roller pair, 6 ... Press rod, 7 ... Feed belt, 8 ... Retard pad, 9
... Paper detection means, 10 ... Transport roller pair, 11 ... Transport path,
12 ... Paper folding section.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Shunichi Kazehaya 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama Fuji Zerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihiko Hara 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama Fuji Inside Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding device for feeding a paper to a paper folding section, a paper detection means capable of detecting the size of the paper that is carried in, a paper storage tray for temporarily storing the paper that has been carried in, and the paper. A paper feeding device, comprising: a paper feeding unit that feeds one sheet of paper stored in a storage tray to the paper folding unit at a timing at which the paper collision does not occur. . 2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the storage of the paper in the paper storage tray and the delivery of the paper to the paper folding section by the paper delivery means are performed in parallel. Characteristic paper feeding device. 3. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting or inputting a size of the paper stored in the paper storage tray, wherein the paper is placed on the paper storage tray and independently. A paper feeding device characterized in that it can be used.