JPH09194063A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeding device to reliably separate paper sheets one by one, stop a paper sheet between a handling roller and a paper feed roller in a constant position, and improve truing-up of the forward ends of collated papers. SOLUTION: A separation plate 21 is arranged in the separation bed 20 of a slide plate 17. A rolling surface 21a is formed on the upper surface of the separation plate 21 and a paper feed roller 2 is rolled over the rolling surface 21a. A guide surface 21b is arranged downstream of the feed direction for a paper sheet 32 of the rolling surface 21a and a difference in level 21d is formed in a boundary between the rolling surface 21a and the guide surface 21b. The guide surface 21b is positioned in a level lower than that of the rolling surface 21a resultant from formation of the difference in level 21d. When an intersection point between a vertical line 71 passing through the center of a shaft 2a of the paper feed roller 2 and vertical to the guide 21b and the guide surface 21b forms a guide surface intersection point 72, the boundary corner part 21c of the difference in level 21d is positioned further upstream of the feed direction of the paper sheet 32 compared with the guide surface intersection point 72.

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 for feeding sheets by separating them one by one from a sheet bundle, and is particularly suitable for a folding advertising collator or the like for folding a newspaper advertisement in a newspaper shop. Regarding paper equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Flyers for newspaper advertisements are printed using various types of paper having different sizes and thicknesses. Also,
The printed finish of the leaflets also varies. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a conventional friction feed type paper feeder used in a newspaper advertising collator.
-88439). In the collator, a plurality of paper feeding devices are arranged in the height direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the paper feed tray 1 is disposed so as to be inclined so that its tip end portion is located downward, and can swing within a limited range about the support shaft 1a. It has become. A sorting device 31 is arranged near the leading end of the paper feed tray 1. This sorting device 31
The paper feed plate 40 is disposed above the paper feed tray 1 so as to be located above the extension of the paper feed tray 1. Further, on the upper part of the separating device 31, the sheet feeding plate 40 in the sheet feeding direction (arrow direction) is provided.
A separating plate 49 is disposed on the downstream side of the. A sorting board unit 45, which will be described later, is installed inside the sorting apparatus 31. A guide plate 42 extending in the horizontal direction is disposed on the downstream side of the separating plate 49 in the sheet feeding direction, and one end of the guide plate 42 is connected to the sheet feeding plate 40.
The other end of the guide plate 42 is curved downward.

Above the separating plate 49, the paper feed roller 2 is arranged so that its peripheral surface is in contact with the separating plate 49.
The paper feed roller 2 is supported by the paper feed roller shaft 2a, and a one-way clutch (not shown) is arranged between the paper feed roller 2 and the paper feed roller shaft 2a. The paper feed roller 2 is rotatably driven by a drive device (not shown) via the clutch and the paper feed roller shaft 2a. The paper feed roller shaft 2 a is supported by the swing bracket 33.
A driven roller shaft 41a is arranged on the upstream side of the swing bracket 33 in the sheet feeding direction, and the driven roller 41 is supported by the driven roller shaft 41a. Paper feed roller shaft 2
The a and the driven roller shaft 41a are bridged by a timing belt (not shown), and the driven roller 41 is driven to rotate as the paper feeding roller 2 rotates. Further, the driven roller 41 is configured to press the sheet (leaflet) bundle at a predetermined sheet feeding pressure.

A pair of conveying rollers 9a and 9b are provided on the downstream side of the sheet feeding roller 2 in the sheet feeding direction so as to face each other in the vertical direction, and the above-mentioned guide plate 42 serves as the conveying rollers 9a and 9b. It extends to the position. A sensor 11 is provided on the downstream side of the transport rollers 9a and 9b so that the presence or absence of a sheet at the position indicated by the broken line can be detected.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the separating plate unit 45. As shown in FIG. 7, the separating plate unit 45 includes a pedestal 46, a first rocking plate 47, a second rocking plate 48, and the like. The gantry 46 is a U-shaped member including a bottom plate and two side plates 46b, and the bottom plate is fixed to the loosening device 31. The side plate 46b of the pedestal 46 supports a shaft 46a, and the shaft 46a supports a first swing plate 47 swingably. The first oscillating plate 47 is also a U-shaped member, and the first oscillating plate 47 includes two side plates 47d arranged in parallel with each other and a plate 47c sandwiched between the side plates.
It is composed of The plate 47c is provided with a protrusion 47b for engagement, and the slide plate 52 engages with this protrusion 47b. This slide plate 52 is capable of reciprocating in the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG.
2 is provided with an elongated hole 52a inclined with respect to the moving direction. The protrusion 47b of the first swing plate 47 is engaged with the elongated hole 52a. The reciprocal movement of the slide plate 52 is performed via a link mechanism (not shown).

The side plate 47d supports a shaft 47a, and the second swing plate 48 is swingably supported by the shaft 47a. A separation plate 49 and a pressing plate 50 are arranged on the upper surface of the second swing plate 48. A hemispherical support body 51 is provided below the separation plate 49 among the second swing plate 48, and the support body 51 is provided.
An inclined plate 53 is disposed below the. The inclined plate 53 is capable of reciprocating in the direction indicated by arrow B in FIG. 7, and has an inclined surface inclined with respect to this moving direction. Therefore, the separating plate 49 swings up and down with the movement of the inclined plate 53. The reciprocating movement of the inclined plate 53 is performed via a link mechanism (not shown).

By the reciprocating movement of the slide plate 52 and the inclined plate 53, the angle of the separating plate 49 and the separating plate 4
It is possible to individually adjust the pressing force (separation pressure) of the sheet feeding roller 9 to the sheet feeding roller 2.

Next, the operation of the conventional paper feeding apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described. First, the driven roller 41 is retracted above the paper feed tray 1, and the sheet bundle is placed on the paper feed tray 1. Then, the sheet bundle slides down on the paper feed tray 1, and the leading end of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the separating plate 49. Then, the swing bracket 33 is swung to move the driven roller 41.
To contact the sheet.

Next, when the paper feed roller 2 and the driven roller 41 start to rotate, the driven roller 41 which is driven and rotated by the paper feed roller 2 presses the sheet bundle at a predetermined paper feed pressure to work together with the paper feed roller 2. Send out the topmost sheet in the sheet bundle.
This sheet passes between the paper feed roller 2 and the separating plate 49 and moves between the transport rollers 9a and 9b. In this case,
When the lower sheet comes into close contact with the uppermost sheet and the lower sheet and the uppermost sheet reach between the separating plate 49 and the sheet feeding roller 2, the frictional force between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the sheet and Since the frictional force between the sheet and the separating plate 49 is larger than the frictional force between the sheets, the conveying force of the sheet feeding roller 2 is not transmitted to the lower sheet, and the lower sheet is separated. Stop at position 49. Therefore, the sheets are supplied one by one to the transport rollers 9a and 9b.

Next, the paper feed roller 2 sends the separated sheet toward the transport rollers 9a and 9b. Then, when the sensor 11 on the exit side of the transport rollers 9a and 9b detects the leading edge of the sheet, the drive device stops the driving of the paper feed roller 2. After that, the sheet is sent out by the transport rollers 9a and 9b. At this time, no driving force is applied to the paper feed roller 2, but a one-way clutch is provided between the paper feed roller 2 and the paper feed roller shaft 2a. The sheet moves between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating plate 49 without resistance.

Next, when the sensor 11 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the paper feed roller 2 restarts to feed the next sheet. In this way, the sheets are fed one by one from the sheet bundle.

By the way, when the sheet is a leaflet, the leaflet has a smooth surface like thin paper and art paper having a small basis weight. Such leaflets are likely to adhere to each other, and the density of the printed image differs between the front surface and the back surface of the sheet. Therefore, in a sheet bundle obtained by bundling these sheets, it is difficult to separate the sheets one by one from the sheet bundle. However, the sheet feeding device is required to smoothly feed such a sheet bundle, and is required to surely separate each sheet into one sheet. Especially when the density of the printed image is different on the front and back sides of the sheet, when the sheets are stacked so that the front and back sides of the sheet appear alternately, a sheet bundle (laminated paper) is formed. There are cases where they come into contact with each other and cases where the back surfaces come into contact with each other. Therefore, the coefficient of friction between the sheets in the stacked sheet bundle is not constant. Even for such a sheet bundle, it is necessary to perform the sheet separating operation by the sheet feeding device.
One or more sheets are fed at the same time, and so-called double feeding is likely to occur.

In order to prevent this double feeding, the pressing force (sorting pressure) of the sorting plate 49 against the sheet feeding roller 2 is adjusted for various sheets. That is, the pressing force of the separating plate 49 with respect to the sheet feeding roller 2 is set to a large value to deal with the above-mentioned sheet bundle that is difficult to separate.

Further, the paper feed roller 2 and the separating roller are separated so that the frictional force between the paper feed roller 2 and the sheet and the frictional force between the separating plate 49 and the sheet are larger than the frictional force between the sheets. The material and hardness of the plate 49 are set. That is, the material of the paper feed roller 2 is synthetic rubber, and the hardness of the synthetic rubber is set to about 20 to 30 °. Also, the separation board 49
The material is a urethane rubber, and the hardness of this rubber is set to about 70 to 90 ° to cope with the above-mentioned sheet bundle that is difficult to separate.

[0016]

However, the above-described conventional sheet feeding device has the following problems. That is,
When the separating pressure is set high, the sheet feeding roller 2 is crushed by the separating sheet 49, and the contact area between the separating sheet 49 and the sheet feeding roller 2 increases. Further, when the sheet is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating plate 49, the contact pressure by which the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating plate 49 press the sheets becomes large. When the paper feed roller 2 rotates, in addition to the uppermost sheet, the next and subsequent sheets are fed to the vicinity of the contact portion between the paper feed roller 2 and the separating plate 49. That is, although several sheets are fed near this contact portion, if the friction coefficient (adhesion) between the sheets is high, the uppermost sheet and the next sheet are completely brought into close contact with each other, and the sheet is fed. The paper is fed to the contact portion between the paper roller 2 and the separating plate 49. Since the frictional force between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the sheet and the frictional force between the separating plate 49 and the sheet are larger than the frictional force between the sheets, the uppermost sheet is separated from the next sheet. . However, the paper feed roller 2 and the separating plate 4
When the contact area with the sheet 9 is large, the pressing force applied to the sheets is large in proportion to the contact area, so that the adhesive force between the uppermost sheet and the next sheet is large and blocking between the sheets occurs. There is a problem that double feed occurs. Even when double feeding does not occur, the preceding sheet drags the next sheet, and the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating plate 49
There is a problem that the stop position of the next sheet varies at the contact portion with the sheet. Usually, a plurality of sheet feeding devices are arranged in the height direction, and the sheets are fed and collated from the respective devices, but since the stop positions are not constant, the alignment of the leading ends of the sheets becomes poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the sheets can be reliably separated one by one, and the stop position of the sheets between the separating plate and the sheet feeding roller is fixed, and the sheets are collated. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device in which the front ends of the formed sheets are well aligned.

[0018]

A sheet feeding device according to the present invention includes a sheet feeding roller for feeding a sheet on its peripheral surface, and a separating member for separating the sheet between the peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller. In the sheet feeding device including the above, the separating member is positioned downstream of the rolling surface in the sheet feeding direction and a rolling surface on which the sheet feeding roller rolls with the sheet sandwiched therebetween, and guides the feeding of the sheet. And a step that makes the guide surface lower than the rolling surface at the boundary between the guide surface and the rolling surface, and the step passes through the center of the paper feed roller. It is characterized in that it is provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the intersection of a vertical line perpendicular to the guide surface and the guide surface.

In this case, the paper feed roller may be formed of a soft material that is softer than the material of the separating member. It is preferable that the friction coefficient μ ₁ of the sheet feeding roller is larger than the friction coefficient μ ₂ of the separating member.

[0020]

In the sheet feeding device according to the present invention, the separating member is provided with the rolling surface and the guide surface located on the downstream side of the rolling surface in the sheet feeding direction, and the guide surface and the rolling surface are provided. At the boundary of, the step is formed so that the guide surface is lower than the rolling surface in the vertical direction. The sheet feeding roller is rolled on such a separating member, the sheet is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller and the separating member, and the sheets are separated to obtain one sheet. Note that, hereinafter, the intersection of the guide surface and a vertical line passing through the center of the paper feed roller and perpendicular to the guide surface is referred to as the guide surface intersection.
Since the step of the separating member is provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the intersection of the guide surfaces, when the separating pressure of the separating member is set to a predetermined value and the separating member is pressed against the feed roller, the separation member is separated. The step of the member contacts the peripheral surface of the paper feed roller. That is, the step and the paper feed roller make a line contact. Compared to the surface contact, the line contact can obtain an equivalent pressure with a smaller force. Therefore, even when the separating pressure is relatively low, the frictional force between the sheet feeding roller and the sheet and the frictional force between the separating member and the sheet are larger than the frictional force between the sheets. , Sheets can be separated into one sheet.

When the sheet feeding roller is made of a soft material as compared with the separating member, when the separating pressure is set to a relatively high value, the sheet feeding roller comes into contact with the rolling surface and the guide surface in addition to the step. . That is, the paper feed roller and the separating member are in surface contact with each other. However, even in this case, since the step of the separating member is provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the intersection of the guide surfaces, the sheet feeding roller does not contact the guide surface near the step. Therefore, the contact area is reduced, and the frictional force between the sheet feeding roller and the sheet and the frictional force between the sheet separating member and the sheet at the contact portion between the sheet feeding roller and the sheet separating member cause friction between the sheets. Greater than force. As a result, the sheet is separated into one sheet, and the stopping position of the next sheet in the separating member is stabilized.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed tray 1 includes a support shaft 1a.
, So that the paper feed tray 1 can be swung within a limited range about the support shaft 1a. A base 19 is provided on the extension of the tray 1, and a pair of transport rollers 9a and 9b are provided to face each other in the vertical direction on the downstream side of the base 19 with respect to the sheet feeding direction. There is. A transport guide plate 6 is disposed above the base 19, and the transport guide plate 6 is a transport roller 9a.
And 9b.

Above the base 19, a paper feed roller shaft 2a is provided.
Are arranged, and the paper feed roller 2 is supported by the paper feed roller shaft 2a. The paper feeding roller shaft 2a is driven by a driving device (not shown), so that the paper feeding roller 2 rotates about the paper feeding roller shaft 2a.
An auxiliary paper feed roller shaft 3a parallel to the paper feed roller shaft 2a is disposed upstream of the paper feed roller 2 in the sheet feeding direction. The auxiliary paper feed roller shaft 3a is attached to the paper feed bracket 4
The sheet feeding bracket 4 is swingably supported by the sheet feeding roller shaft 2a. The auxiliary paper feed roller shaft 3a supports the auxiliary paper feed roller 3 having the same shape as the paper feed roller shaft 2a. One-way clutches (not shown) are arranged between the paper feed roller 2 and the paper feed roller shaft 2a and between the auxiliary paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary paper feed roller shaft 3a, respectively. The paper feed roller 2 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 3 are connected by a timing belt (not shown). The above-described transport guide plate 6 is installed below the paper feed roller 2, and the transport guide plate 6 has a notch 6a. A separation unit 15 is provided in the notch 6a, and the separation unit 15 is composed of a separation plate 21 and the like as described later.

A sensor 11 is arranged downstream of the conveying rollers 9a and 9b to detect the presence or absence of the sheet at the position indicated by the broken line.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the paper feed roller and its lower portion in an enlarged manner. As shown in FIG. 2, a separating table 20 is arranged on the rocking plate 17 of the separating board unit 15, and a separating board 21 is arranged on the separating table 20. A slide plate 18 is arranged on the upstream side of the sheet handling table 20 in the sheet feeding direction so as to be in contact with the sheet handling table 20.
A rolling surface 21a is provided on the upper surface of the separating plate 21,
The above-mentioned paper feed roller 2 is arranged above the rolling surface 21a. The paper feed roller 2 is made of rubber and has a separating plate 21.
It is softer than. Further, the friction coefficient of the sheet feeding roller 2 is larger than the friction coefficient of the separating plate 21.

A guide surface 21b parallel to the rolling surface 21a is provided on the downstream side of the rolling surface 21a in the sheet feeding direction, and the guide surface 21b guides the feeding of the sheet 32. A step 21d is formed at the boundary between the rolling surface 21a and the guide surface 21b and extends in the width direction of the separating plate 21. Due to this step 21d, the guide surface 21b is lower than the rolling surface 21a in the vertical direction. The height of the step 21d, that is, h in FIG. 1, is usually set in the range of 0.5 to 1 mm. A boundary corner portion 21c is formed at the top of the step 21d. Here, the paper feed roller 2
An imaginary line passing through the center of the axis 2a and perpendicular to the guide surface 21b is defined as a vertical line 71, and an intersection of the vertical line 71 and the guide surface 21b is defined as a guide surface intersection 72. The boundary corner portion 21c is located on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction of the sheet 32, as compared with the guide surface intersection point 72. The distance E between the boundary corner portion 21c and the guide surface intersection 72 is set to 4 mm, for example. The step 21d
Height h of 0.5 to 1 mm, and the boundary corner 21c
The distance E between the guide surface intersection 72 and the guide surface intersection 72 is 4 mm, but neither the height h nor the distance E is limited to these values.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the separating plate unit 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the separating plate unit 15 is composed of a frame 16, a rocking plate 17, a sliding plate 18, and the like. The gantry 16 is a U-shaped member and is fixed to the base 19 shown in FIG. A shaft 24 is attached to a side plate 16a of the gantry 16, and a swing plate 17 is swingably supported by the shaft 24. As described above, the rocking plate 17 is provided with the separation table 20 on the upper surface side of the end portion on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction.
Are arranged, and a separating plate 21 is fixed on the separating table 20. Further, on the upper surface of the oscillating plate 17 on the upstream side,
A regulation plate 22 is provided slidably, and a spring (not shown) constantly urges the separation table 20 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 to lock the separation table 20 to the swing plate 17. ing. Also,
A support 23 is provided in a region directly below the separation plate 21 of the oscillating plate 17, and a tip portion 23a of the support 23 has a hemispherical shape. An inclined plate 25 is arranged below the support body 23. The inclined plate 25 is capable of reciprocating in the direction indicated by arrow B in FIG. 3, and has an inclined surface inclined with respect to this moving direction. Since the support 23 is in contact with this slope, the separation plate 21 swings up and down as the inclined plate 25 moves. The movement of the inclined plate 25 is
It is designed to be carried out via a link mechanism (not shown). By the reciprocating movement of the inclined plate 25, the pressing force (separation pressure) of the separation plate 21 against the sheet feeding roller 2 can be adjusted.

On the upper surface of the oscillating plate 17, a sliding plate 18 wider than the sheet feeding roller 2 is provided on the upstream side of the separating table 20 in the sheet feeding direction. This sliding plate 18
Like the oscillating plate 17, is supported by a shaft 24 and can be swung about the shaft 24. Paper feed roller 2
When the sheet passes through the gap between the sliding plate 18 and the sliding plate 18 and a sheet enters the separating portion (a contact portion between the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2), the swing plate 18 causes the sheet to move by a spring (not shown). The sheet is biased toward the peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller 2 to increase the contact pressure (sheet feeding pressure) of the sheet with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller 2. In addition,
When the biasing force of the spring is released, the sliding plate 18 swings due to its own weight. However, since the tip end portion 18a of the sliding plate 18 is bent, the tip end portion 18a is inclined by the inclined portion 20a of the separation table 20.
The sliding range of the sliding plate 18 is regulated.

Next, the operation of the sheet feeding device of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

First, the auxiliary sheet feeding roller 3 shown in FIG. 1 is retracted above the sheet feeding tray 1, and the sheet bundle is placed on the sheet feeding tray 1. When the paper feed roller 2 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 3 start rotating, the paper feed bracket 4 swings,
The auxiliary sheet feeding roller 3 contacts the uppermost sheet. Then, since the driving force is directly applied to the uppermost sheet from the auxiliary sheet feeding roller 3, this sheet is sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the rolling surface 21a of the separating plate 21, and the sheet is fed from the sheet feeding roller 2. When driven, it passes between the paper feed roller 2 and the separating plate 21.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the separating plate 2
Since the boundary corner portion 21c of No. 1 is provided by being displaced by E from the guide surface intersection point 72 in the sheet feeding direction, when the separating pressure of the separating plate 21 is set to a predetermined value, the separating plate 21 is first set.
Boundary corner portion 21c of the sheet comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller 2. That is, the contact between the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2 is a line contact. Compared to the surface contact, the line contact can obtain an equivalent pressure with a smaller force. Therefore, the contact pressure of the separation plate 21 with respect to the sheet feeding roller 2 is equal to the contact pressure in the surface contact even with a smaller set force (separation pressure). Therefore, a sorting force equivalent to the conventional one can be obtained with a considerably smaller setting force (sorting pressure) than the sorting mechanism of the conventional sheet feeding device. In addition, the guide surface 2 of the separating plate 21 is formed by the step 21d.
Since a slight gap (0.5 to 1 mm) is formed between 1b and the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 2, the guide surface 21
The sheet on b is not subjected to the separating pressure of the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2. Therefore, the paper feed roller 2 and the rolling surface 2
After passing between the sheet 1a and the sheet 1a, the sheet is separated into one sheet, and the obtained sheet can be fed toward the conveying rollers 9a and 9b.

When the handling pressure is set to a higher value, the result shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, since the rubber feed roller 2 is softer than the separating plate 21, the sheet feeding roller 2 is crushed by the rolling surface 21a of the separating plate 21, and the sheet feeding roller 2 has the boundary corner portion 21c.
In addition, it comes into contact with the rolling surface 21a and the guide surface 21b. Therefore, the sheet is separated and conveyed also on the guide surface 21b. In this case, the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2 are in surface contact with each other, but since the boundary corner portion 21c of the separating plate is provided on the upstream side of the guide surface intersection 72 in the sheet feeding direction, a contact portion having a large contact pressure, That is, the area of contact between the rolling surface 21a and the sheet feeding roller 2 is considerably smaller than that of the conventional separating mechanism of the sheet feeding device. Therefore, blocking is less likely to occur in the sheet sandwiched between the sheet feeding roller 2 and the separating plate 21. Further, the stop position of the next sheet at the loosening section is also stable.

Next, the paper feed roller 2 sends out the separated sheet toward the transport rollers 9a and 9b. When the sensor 11 on the exit side of the transport rollers 9a and 9b detects the leading edge of the sheet, the sheet feeding roller 2 stops driving. After that, the sheet is sent out by the transport rollers 9a and 9b. In this case, no driving force is applied to the paper feed roller 2, but a one-way clutch is provided between the paper feed roller 2 and the paper feed roller shaft 2a.
The sheet can move between the paper feed roller 2 and the separating plate 21 without resistance. Next, when the sensor 11 detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the paper feed roller 2 restarts to feed the next sheet. By repeating this operation, the sheets are separated from the sheet bundle on the sheet feeding tray 1 one by one and continuously fed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the step 2
1d is provided, and the boundary corner portion 21 of this step 21d
Since c is provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the guide surface intersection 72 of the sheet feeding roller 2, the contact between the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2 is a line contact through the sheet. Therefore, the sheets can be reliably separated one by one with a small setting force. Further, when the separating pressure is large, the separating plate 21 and the sheet feeding roller 2 are in surface contact with each other, but the contact area in this case is such that the boundary corner portion 21c feeds the sheet from the guide surface intersection point 72 of the sheet feeding roller 2. Since it is provided on the upstream side in the direction, it becomes small. As a result, the sheets can be reliably separated one by one, and the stopping position of the next sheet at the separation section is stabilized, and the front ends of the collated sheets are aligned well.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A step is formed at the boundary between the guide surface and the rolling surface, and this step is located upstream of the intersection point between the guide surface and a vertical line that passes through the center of the paper feed roller and is perpendicular to the guide surface. Since the sheet feeding roller and the upper end of the step are in line contact with each other, the sheets can be reliably separated one by one with a small setting force regardless of the printing conditions of the sheets.

Further, even if the paper feed roller is made of a soft material and the paper feed roller and the separating member are in surface contact with each other, the contact area is small, so that the sheets are reliably separated one by one. In addition, since the stopping position of the next sheet in the separating member is stable, the gathered sheets have good leading edge alignment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a paper feed roller and a lower portion thereof in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a separating board unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a separating plate and a sheet feeding roller during operation of the sheet feeding device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view showing a separating plate and a sheet feeding roller during operation of the sheet feeding device.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a conventional friction feed type sheet feeding device used in a newspaper advertising collator.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a separating board unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1; paper feed tray 1a; spindle 2; paper feed roller 2a; paper feed roller shaft 3; auxiliary paper feed roller 3a; auxiliary paper feed roller shaft 4; paper feed bracket 6; transport guide 6a; notches 9a, 9b; Conveyor roller 11; Sensors 15 and 45; Separation plate unit 16 and 46; Stand 16a; Shaft 17; Swing plate 18; Slide plate 18a; Tip portion 19; Base 20; Separation table 20a; Inclined portion 21; Separation plate 21a; Rolling surface 21b; Guide surface 21c; Boundary corner portion 21d; Step 22; Regulation plate 23; Support 23a; Tip portion 24; Shaft 25; Inclined plate 31; Separation device 32; Sheet 33; Swing bracket 40; Paper feed plate 41; driven roller 41; driven roller shaft 42; guide plates 46b, 47d; side plates 46a, 47a; shaft 47; first swing plate 47b; protrusion 47c; plate 48; second swing plate 50 A press plate 51, a support 52, a slide plate 52a, an elongated hole 53, an inclined plate 71, a vertical line 72, a guide surface intersection 81, and an arrow

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding device comprising a paper feed roller for feeding a sheet on its peripheral surface and a paper separating member for separating a sheet between the peripheral surface of the paper feeding roller, wherein the paper separating member comprises: A rolling surface on which the sheet feeding roller rolls with the sheet sandwiched between them, a guide surface located downstream of the rolling surface in the sheet feeding direction for guiding the delivery of the sheet, and the guide surface and the rolling surface. And a step for making the guide surface lower than the rolling surface at the boundary with the step, and the step has a vertical line passing through the center of the sheet feeding roller and perpendicular to the guide surface, and the guide surface. A sheet feeding device provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction from the intersection. 2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding roller is formed of a soft material that is softer than the material of the separating member.