JPH0865446A - Paper release mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a mechanism that has a simple structure and smaller number of components by fitting a drive roller and a release lever parting a roller press contact member in press contact onto the roller in a separable way around a support shaft of the drive roller so as to eliminate the need for excess components to fit the release lever. CONSTITUTION: A drive roller 1 such as a feed roller and a roller press contact member 3 such as a sensor unit to nip paper in press contact around the drive roller 1 and supplied from the roller 1 are provided in a separable way. Then a release lever 6 parting the drive roller 1 and the roller press contact member 3 is fitted around the support shaft of the drive roller 1 in a swingable way. The base end of the release lever 6 fitted coaxially to the drive roller 1 is effectively formed to a cam 6A using the roller press contact member 3 as a cam follower. Since the release lever 6 is fitted around the support shaft of the drive roller 1, it is not required to provide a support shaft for lever mount separately.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper releasing mechanism applied to a scanner section or a recording section of a facsimile machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a scanner section of a facsimile apparatus using a contact image sensor as an original reading means has a feed roller 1 and a peripheral surface of the feed roller 1 in a conveyance path of an original P as shown in FIG. The sensor unit 3 pressed by the spring 5 is provided so that the image of the document P fed by the feed roller 1 can be continuously read by the sensor unit 3 nipping on the reading surface 3a.

In a scanner section using this type of sensor, when a document jam occurs in the conveyance path, the document P
Remains in the state of being nipped between the feed roller 1 and the sensor unit 3, and therefore, in order to release the paper for pulling out the document P, it is necessary to separate the two from the separation position. Therefore, the feed roller 1 and the sensor unit 3 are provided so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from each other, and at the time of releasing the paper, either one of them can be retracted to the separation position. Most commonly, as shown in FIG. 6, a support shaft 7 is provided in the vicinity of the feed roller 1, and the sensor unit 3 (or the feed roller 1) is moved up and down around the support shaft 7 by a swinging operation (arrow a). The release lever 8 for (arrow b) is attached.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional paper release mechanism, an extra component is required for mounting the release lever, and the number of components is large, and the assembly is complicated, and the space required for lever operation is large. There are some drawbacks such as larger size.

The present invention newly provides a paper releasing mechanism having a simple structure capable of overcoming the above drawbacks.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a paper releasing mechanism according to the present invention, a drive roller such as the feed roller and the sensor unit for nipping a sheet which is pressed against the peripheral surface of the drive roller and fed by the roller. Such a roller pressing contact member is provided so as to be capable of contacting and separating, and a release lever that separates the driving roller and the roller pressing contact member is swingably attached around the support shaft of the driving roller.

Here, in order to ensure a smooth switching operation of the release lever mounted coaxially with the drive roller, it is effective to form the base end of the release lever into a cam using the roller pressing member as a cam follower. When mounting the release lever, it is rational to make the cam formed at the base end contact the bracket supporting the roller pressure contact member on the side of the roller pressure contact member.

The releasing mechanism according to the present invention can be similarly applied to the paper releasing of the recording portion in which the platen roller is provided as the driving roller and the thermal head is provided as the roller pressing member.

[0009]

In the above paper release mechanism, the release lever is attached around the support shaft of the drive roller, so that a separate support shaft for lever attachment is not required.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows an outline of an embodiment of a paper releasing mechanism according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a rubber feed roller (driving roller) for feeding an original (not shown), 2 is a roller shaft (support shaft) on which the roller 1 is fitted, and both ends thereof are bearing members (see FIG. It is supported in place by bearings (not shown).

Reference numeral 3 denotes a sensor unit which constitutes a contact type image sensor, and a reading surface 3a provided on the upper surface of the sensor unit is pressed against the peripheral surface of the feed roller 1, and a document fed by the feed roller 1 is nipped by the reading surface 3a. Then, the original image is read. This sensor unit 3 is attached to the sensor bracket 4 arranged on the lower side, and the sensor bracket 4
Is urged upward by a spring 5 elastically contacting the lower surface of the.

At both ends of the sensor bracket 4 located on both sides of the feed roller 1, bracket side end portions 4a which are once raised up and then horizontally extended laterally are integrally formed. Further, a guide piece 4b bifurcated from the end of the bracket side end 4a is erected, and the end of the roller shaft 2 is sandwiched by the guide piece 4b and positioned. As a result, the sensor unit 3 can be retracted from the pressure contact position to the separation position while maintaining the relative positional relationship with the feed roller 1 by pressing the spring 5 downward while bending the spring 5.

A release lever 6 for separating the sensor unit 3 from the separated position to the separated position is attached to both ends of the roller shaft 2 of the feed roller 1 so as to be swingable coaxially with the roller shaft 2. . The release lever 6 may be a lever type in which its working end is brought into contact with the upper surface of the sensor unit 3 or the like, but in order to ensure a smooth contact / separation switching operation of the sensor unit 3, its base end portion 6A.
Is preferably formed on a cam using the sensor unit 3 as a cam follower. Further, the cam contact position of the release lever 6 with respect to the sensor unit 3 is selected on the upper surface of the bracket side end portion 4a extending laterally on both sides of the sensor unit 3.

The details of the shape and mounting structure of the release lever 6 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The release lever 6 is integrally molded of a flexible synthetic resin, and is attached to the roller shaft 2 with a shaft through hole provided in the base end portion 6A in a loosely fitted state that does not exert frictional resistance on the rotation of the shaft 2. And a base end portion 6 that is protruded so that the base end is pointed in a triangular shape.
On the lower half surface of A, the bracket side end portion 4 forming the cam driven surface
continuous cam surfaces 6a, 6 that are in close proximity to or in contact with the upper surface of a
b is formed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the flat cam surface 6a formed near the tip end faces the upper surface of the bracket side end 4a in parallel with the upper surface of the bracket side end 4a at a close position when the release lever 6 is tilted. As shown in FIG. 3, when the release lever 6 is raised, the flat cam surface 6b formed in the portion near the base end rides on the upper surface of the bracket side end portion 4a while pushing it down and making surface contact. The sensor unit 3 abuts and the sensor unit 3 is retracted to the separated position to maintain a stable state. Therefore, in the paper releasing mechanism using the cam 6A, the stable switching of the contacting / separating operation of the sensor unit 3 with respect to the feed roller 1 (arrow B in FIG. 1) can be performed by the raising / lowering operation of the release lever 6 (arrow A in FIG. 1). Become.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the paper releasing mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is applied to a scanner section of a facsimile machine equipped with a contact image sensor as a specific example.

Here, 10 is a main body of the apparatus, 11 is a front upper portion of the main body 10, and a feeder cover (panel cover) which is openably and closably attached to the main body 10 so as to sandwich the conveyance path of the original P. The hinge pin 13 provided on the frame 12 is fitted into the shaft support hole 15 of the side plate 14 made of a metal plate protruding from both sides of the main body, and the hinge pin 13 is attached so as to be openable and closable with the hinge pin 13 as a fulcrum. Other,
Reference numeral 16 is a leaf spring stopper attached to the side surface of the cover frame 12, and when the cover opening is opened to a certain regulation angle as shown in FIG. The hemispherical projection 17 provided on the outer surface of the above-mentioned inserts into the groove 18 provided on the side plate 14 and serves as an opening stopper that prevents further opening of the cover.

In this facsimile apparatus, the lever accommodating portion 20 is formed by forming a step 19 on the side surface of the frame 12 at the lower portion of the side surface of the cover frame 12.
Is recessed, and release levers 6 attached to both ends of the roller shaft 2 are compactly contained in the lever accommodating portion 20.

In the paper releasing mechanism constructed as described above, since the releasing lever 6 can be mounted coaxially around the roller shaft 2 of the feed roller 1, a separate lever mounting spindle is not required. Therefore, as compared with the conventional mechanism, it is sufficient to prepare a single lever, the number of parts is small, and the mounting work is very simple. Also, the space required for lever operation is small.

When the mounting structure illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is adopted, as described above, the release lever 6 is compactly housed in the side space of the cover frame 12, and FIG. As shown, the release lever 6
It appears in an exposed position that can be operated by the operator only when the feeder cover 11 is required to be opened when the jam is released, and when the cover 11 is closed from the cover open state of FIG. Since 19 comes into contact with the tip of the release lever 6 and pushes it back to the non-operating position, even if the operator forgets to return the lever, the lever is automatically returned in conjunction with the cover closing operation. The convenience of being performed is obtained.

In the above embodiment, the case where the sensor unit 3 is retracted from the feed roller 1 by the operation of the release lever 6 is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to the case where the unit is fixed and the roller is movable.

The paper releasing mechanism according to the present invention is a mechanism provided so that the drive roller and the roller pressure contact member can be brought into contact with and separated from each other in the sheet conveying path, for example, for releasing the paper between the platen roller and the thermal head in the thermal transfer recording section. Can be similarly applied.

[0024]

As described above, in the paper release mechanism of the present invention, the release lever is attached around the support shaft of the drive roller to separate the drive roller and the roller pressure contact member that is in contact with and separable from the drive roller. Therefore, an extra component is not required for mounting the release lever, and a mechanism having a simple structure with a small number of components is realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a scanner unit showing an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1, showing an operation of a release lever.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of FIG. 1, showing an operation of a release lever.

4 is a side sectional view of a main part of a facsimile apparatus showing a specific example of mounting the release lever shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a cover open state of FIG. 4; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a scanner unit showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Feed roller (driving roller) 2 Roller shaft 3 Sensor unit (contact type image sensor) 3a Reading surface 4 Sensor bracket 4a Bracket side end 4b Guide piece 5 Spring 6 Release lever 6A Base end (cam) 6a, 6b Cam surface 10 Main Body 11 Feeder Cover 12 Cover Frame 19 Step 20 Lever Housing P Document

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drive roller and a roller pressure contact member which presses against a peripheral surface of the drive roller and nips a sheet fed by the roller, are provided so as to be separable from each other, and the drive roller is provided around a support shaft of the drive roller. A paper release mechanism, wherein a release lever for separating the roller pressure contact member from the roller is swingably attached. 2. The paper releasing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a base end portion of the releasing lever is formed on a cam using the roller pressing member as a cam follower. 3. The paper releasing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein a cam formed at the base end portion of the release lever is brought into contact with a bracket supporting the roller pressure contact member on the side of the roller pressure contact member.