JPH09315603A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the necessity of using the same number of paper feeding mechanism parts as the kinds of paper by installing a pickup roller between paper storage parts, moving the paper storage parts vertically in an interlocked state, and feeding paper from the storage part on the upper side or lower side of the pickup roller. SOLUTION: In the case of feeding paper from a lower stage, a casette holder 2 is first moved up. When a paper feed signal is inputted from a printer body control part, a pickup roller motor is rotated in a lower stage corresponding direction, and a pickup roller 6 is rotated in a direction F through a gear and a shaft. Paper 20 is pressed to the pickup roller 6 with specified force by a spring 17 so as to generate specified frictional force between the paper 20 and the pickup roller 6, and the paper 20 is passed through a clearance between the opening part upper end of a cassette and a partition plate 13 and through an opening part of the cassette holder 2 and fed in a direction P. In case of feeding paper from an upper stage, the cassette holder 2 is moved down, and the pickup roller 6 is rotated reversely to feed the paper in the direction P.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder,
In particular, the present invention relates to a page printer for feeding a plurality of types of paper, a facsimile machine, and a paper feeder of a copying machine.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional sheet feeding device of this type is used for the purpose of feeding a sheet to a device for printing an image on a plurality of types of sheets in a page printer, a facsimile machine and a copying machine. ing. The structure of the conventional paper feeding device is generally a structure (conventional example 1) in which the mechanism of the paper feeding device that feeds one type of paper is vertically stacked as many as the required number of paper types. Has been. Or
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-102017, a structure (conventional example 2) is used in which an arbitrary cassette 36 is moved up and down by an elevator mechanism and is moved to and set at one pick roller.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a sheet feeding device of the second conventional example. A large number of cassettes 36 are housed in an elevator 38 side by side in the vertical direction, and a pulley 37 driven by a motor is used.
Rotates in the a direction, the elevator 38 connected to the belt 39 rises, and in the b direction, the elevator 38 descends to move the selected cassette 36 to a height where the pick roller is located. Next, the belt 40 is connected to the selected cassette 36, and the belt 40 is rotated by the rotation of the pulley 41.
The cassette 36 connected to is moved forward and set on the pick roller 6.

[0003]

In the prior art example 1, the height per step is the height of the cassette plus the height of the pick roller and the mechanism section (paper feed mechanism section) around it. This is necessary, and when using N types of paper, it is necessary to simply increase the height by N times, which makes it difficult to downsize the apparatus. Further, since the number of paper feed mechanisms is required for the number of paper types, the number of parts is increased, and the failure rate is increased in proportion to the number, so that the reliability of the apparatus is significantly lowered.

Further, in the conventional example 2, a robust elevator structure and driving means for supporting a plurality of cassettes are required, and the height from the upper surface of the lowest cassette to the upper surface of the highest cassette of the elevator is required. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the size of the apparatus because a space for moving the selected cassette and moving the selected cassette from the inside of the elevator to the position of the pick roller is required. Further, regarding the control of the cassette selection, the control of the vertical movement by the elevator and the control of the front-back movement are required, and the control is complicated.
In addition, when the cassettes are switched, it may take a long time because the distance that the cassettes move is long.

An object of the present invention is a paper feeding device for feeding a plurality of types of paper, which is smaller than the conventional example 1 and highly reliable, and smaller than the conventional example 2. ,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device in which control of cassette selection is easy and the operation of replacing cassettes when selecting a cassette is not required.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a pick roller is installed between two paper accommodating portions, and the two paper accommodating portions are moved up and down in conjunction with each other. When feeding paper from the lower side of the pick roller, lower the sheet storage section so that the lower surface of the sheet is in contact with the pick roller, and if feeding from the sheet storage section below the pick roller, raise the sheet storage section. It is possible to obtain a paper feeding device that feeds paper by bringing the upper surface of the paper into contact with the pick roller and by setting the rotation direction of the pick roller to be the rotation direction opposite to the paper feeding from the upper side. In the present invention, it is not necessary to use the same number of paper feed mechanism units as the number of paper types, and it is possible to change the paper type by a slight movement of the paper storage unit, so that a small paper feeding device can be obtained. .

In the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, a cassette (1 in FIG. 2) partitioned into upper and lower stages and a pick roller (6 in FIG. 2) installed between the upper and lower stages are arbitrarily selected. A tilting motor (3 in FIG. 2) for tilting the cassette (1 in FIG. 2) so that the paper (20 in FIG. 2) stored in one of the upper and lower stages comes into contact with the pick roller (6 in FIG. 2); A pick roller motor (9 in FIG. 2) capable of rotating and driving the pick roller (6 in FIG. 2) in both forward and reverse directions, and a tilt motor (3 in FIG. 2) and a pick motor depending on the selected stage. It has a paper feed device control unit (21 in FIG. 4) for controlling a pick roller motor (9 in FIG. 2) for driving the roller.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a printer device equipped with the paper feeding device of the present invention. The printer device is provided with a first paper feeding device similar to the conventional device in the paper feeding unit, and a paper feeding device of the present invention for feeding two kinds of papers as the second paper feeding device in addition to the first paper feeding device. ing.

The printer device comprises a paper feed unit 26 including a plurality of paper feed devices, an image forming process unit 27, a fixing unit 28, and a control unit 29. The image forming process unit 27 forms an image based on the image information sent from the control unit 29, and the formed image is fed from the paper feeding unit 26 to the paper 2
The image is transferred to 0, is fixed by the fixing unit 27, and is discharged as a printer output.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing the structure of the second paper feeder of FIG. 1, and is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cassette 1 which is a main component of the paper feeding device of the present invention.

First, the structure of the cassette 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The cassette 1 has an opening 1 </ b> A extending over one side surface and a part of the side surfaces on both sides thereof in order to allow a sheet to pass therethrough and not to interfere with the shaft 7 of the pick roller 6. Further, since the cassette 1 is slidably inserted into the cassette holder 2 and held therein, the guide portions 1B corresponding to the rails 16 provided on both side surfaces of the cassette holder 2 are provided.
On both outer sides.

Since the partition plate 13 can be opened and closed when replenishing paper to the lower stage, the cassette 1 has shaft portions 1C on both inner side surfaces, and the partition plate 13 is rotatably attached with it as a fulcrum. The partition plate 13 has a notch portion 13A for the pick roller so that the pick roller 6 contacts the upper sheet 20.
Having.

The bottom of the cassette 1 is provided with the cassette 1 for pressing the lower sheet against the upper pick roller 6.
A pressing plate 14 is provided with a spring 17 interposed between the pressing plate 14 and the bottom plate.

Next, the structure of the sheet feeding device will be described with reference to FIG.

The cassette 1 is divided into upper and lower stages by a partition plate 13, and the sheets 20 are stored in the respective stages. A cassette cover 19 is attached to the cassette 1. A pressing plate 14 is attached to the cassette cover 19 with a spring 17 interposed therebetween, and presses the upper sheet 20 downward. The cassette 1 is equipped with a cassette cover 19, and the cassette holder 2
Is inserted and retained.

The cassette holder 2 has a similar opening 2A at a position corresponding to the opening 1A of the cassette 1. Further, rails 16 corresponding to the guide portion 1B of the cassette 1 are attached to both inner side surfaces. Shaft 2 on both sides
B is provided, and both sides are rotatably held by the support plate 11. Further, similarly, a gear portion 2C is provided outside the both side surfaces at a position keeping a predetermined distance from the shaft portion 2B, and is coupled to the gear 4 rotatably held by the gear frames 12 installed on both sides.

The gear 4 is connected to the shaft of the tilting motor 3, and the gear 4 is driven by the rotation of the tilting motor 3,
When the cassette holder 2 is rotated in the a direction, the cassette holder 2 is raised in the A direction, and when the gear 4 is rotated in the b direction, the cassette holder 2 is lowered in the B direction to change the inclination angle of the cassette holder 2.

A DC motor or a stepping motor is used as the tilting motor 3, and a stepping motor is generally used.

The pick roller 6 is attached to the shaft 7 and is installed between the partition plate 13 and the sheets stored in the lower stage when the cassette 1 is inserted in the cassette holder 2. The shaft 7 is rotatably held by a gear frame 12 that stands on both sides of the cassette holder 2. A gear is attached to one end of the shaft 7 and is coupled to the shaft of the pick roller motor 9.

The pick roller motor 9 is the tilting motor 3
Similarly, a DC motor and a stepping motor are used, and a stepping motor is generally used.

The tilt position sensor 10 is a one-dimensional position detection sensor that operates electrically or optically, and the gear frame 12 faces the side surface of the cassette holder 2.
The position of the cassette holder 2 is detected.

As shown in FIG. 4, the paper feeding device controller 21
CPU 30, memory 31, motor drivers 32, 33,
The printer main body controller 34, the sensor interface 35, and the printer main body controller 22, the tilt position sensor 10, the tilt motor 3, and the pick roller motor 9 are provided.
Is connected to In case of forward / reverse rotation in the memory 31,
Data of the phase of the pulse to be given to the tilting motor 3 and the pick roller motor 9 is stored, and the CPU 3
0 refers to the memory switch and outputs a signal based on one of the data to the motor drivers 32 and 33, and accordingly, the motor drivers 32 and 33 output drive pulses to the motors to control the drive of each motor. To do.

Next, the paper feeding operation of the paper 20 of the paper feeding device will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. Before feeding paper for printing, first, the upper and lower stages are selected according to the flow shown in FIG. Even if a cassette selection signal is input from the printer main body control unit 22 during printing, this upper / lower stage selection control is not performed, but is stored in the memory 31 and performed after the printing operation is completed, or is invalidated.

When a cassette selection signal is input from the printer body controller 22, it is first determined whether the instruction is the upper one (step S1). Next, in the case of the upper stage, the memory switch that determines the rotation direction of the pick roller motor is set in the direction corresponding to the upper stage (step S2). Next, the output of the tilt position sensor 10 is read to determine whether the current position is at the upper stage (step S3). If it is the upper stage, the process is finished, and if it is not the upper stage, the cassette holder 2 is lowered (step S4). Then, the tilt position sensor 10 is read again and it is determined whether or not the upper position is reached (step S5). If it is in the upper stage, the process ends, and if it is not in the upper stage, the process returns to step S4, and steps S4 and S5 are repeated until it reaches the upper stage. If the cassette selection signal is not the upper instruction, the memory switch for determining the rotation direction of the pick roller motor is set to the lower corresponding direction which is the opposite direction to the upper corresponding direction (step S6). Next, the output of the tilt position sensor 10 is read to determine whether the current position is in the lower stage (step S7). If it is the lower stage, the process is finished, and if it is not the lower stage, the cassette holder 2 is raised (step S
8). Then, the tilt position sensor 10 is read again and it is determined whether or not the lower position is reached (step S9). If the lower level is reached, the process ends. If not, the process returns to step S8, and steps S8 and S9 are repeated until the lower level is reached.

Next, the paper feeding operation from the lower stage will be described with reference to FIG. When a paper feed signal is input from the printer main body control unit 22, the pick roller motor 9 rotates in the lower corresponding direction, and the pick roller 6 rotates in the F direction via the gear 8 and the shaft 7. The paper 20 is pressed against the pick roller 6 with a predetermined force by the spring 17, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the paper 20 and the paper 20, and the paper 20 is opened in the opening 1A of the cassette 1.
The sheet is fed in the P direction through the gap between the upper end of the partition plate 13 and the partition plate 13 and the opening 2A of the cassette holder 2.

Similarly, the paper feeding operation from the upper stage will be described with reference to FIG. When a paper feed signal is input from the printer body control unit 22, the pick roller motor rotates in the upper direction corresponding direction, and the pick roller 6 rotates in the R direction via the gear 8 and the shaft 7. The paper 20 is pressed against the pick roller 6 with a predetermined force by the spring 25, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the paper 20 and the paper 20, and the paper 20 is opened in the opening 1A of the cassette 1.
And, it is fed in the P direction through the opening 2A of the cassette holder 2.

Next, as another embodiment of the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, a mode in which the cassette holder 2 is deleted will be shown. By adopting this form, the number of parts is reduced and further miniaturization is possible.

As shown in FIG. 8, the sheet holder 23 is partitioned into upper and lower stages by the partition plate 13 and stores sheets in the respective stages. Further, the paper holder 23 has a shaft portion 23A and a gear portion 23B on both side surfaces similarly to the cassette holder 2 of FIG. 2, and has a paper feeding side surface and an opening (not shown) extending to both side surfaces. . Therefore, the rotation of the gear 4 coupled to the shaft of the tilting motor 3 changes the tilt angle with the shaft portion 23A as a fulcrum. Further, the partition plate 13 has pin portions 23C on both inner side surfaces.
The partition plate 13 is pivotally supported by and is opened and closed when the lower sheet is replenished with paper. Further, the cover 24 is pivotally supported by the pin portion 23C like the partition plate 13, and the paper is supplied to the upper stage by opening and closing the cover 24. A spring 25 and a pressing plate 26 are attached to the cover 24, and the cover 2
In the state where 4 is closed, the upper sheet 20 is pressed downward. At the bottom of the sheet holder 23, a spring 17 and a pressing plate 14 (not shown) similar to those attached to the cassette 1 of FIG.
Is pressed against the upper pick roller 6.

In the present invention, the tilting motor 3 and the pick roller motor 9 may be DC motors, and the rotation direction may be switched by switching the plus and minus of the input power source by a relay.

Further, the structure for allowing the lower sheet to be replenished may be a structure in which the partition plate 13 is slid.

Further, the cassette holder 2 and the paper holder 2
As a structure for moving 3, it is also possible to use a structure in which a belt driven by a pulley is used for moving or a cam is rotated for moving.

Further, the cassette holder 2 and the paper holder 2
Instead of changing the inclination angle of 3, the structure may be slid vertically.

As described above, in the paper feeding device of the present invention, the pick roller is installed between the two paper storage units, and
When the two paper storage units are moved up and down in conjunction with each other to feed paper from the storage unit above the pick roller, lower the storage unit so that the lower surface of the paper comes into contact with the pick roller and feed the paper. When feeding from the storage section on the side, raise the storage section to bring the top surface of the paper into contact with the pick roller, and set the rotation direction of the pick roller to the rotation direction opposite to that from the upper side. Since it is not necessary to use the same number of paper feed mechanism units as the number of paper types and the paper types can be switched by a slight movement of the paper storage unit, a small paper feeding device can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a printer including a paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette according to the paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit of the sheet feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow when selecting the upper and lower stages of the paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet feeding operation from the lower stage of the sheet feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet feeding operation from the upper stage of the sheet feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a conventional paper feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cassette 2 Cassette Holder 3 Tilt Motor 6 Pick Roller 9 Pick Roller Motor 10 Tilt Position Sensor 11 Support Plate 12 Gear Frame 13 Partition Plate 14 Holding Plate 16 Rail 17 Spring 19 Cassette Cover 20 Paper 21 Paper Feeding Device Controller 22 Printer Main unit control unit 23 Paper holder 24 Cover 25 Spring 26 Holding plate

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding apparatus for feeding a plurality of types of paper, comprising two paper storage units arranged vertically and a pick roller installed between the two paper storage units. Then, when the two paper storage units are moved up and down in conjunction with each other to feed the paper from the paper storage unit above the pick roller, the two paper storage units are lowered and the lower surface of the paper is set to the pick roller. If the sheet is fed in contact with the sheet and is fed from the sheet storage section below the pick roller,
Paper feeding, characterized in that the two paper storage units are raised to bring the upper surface of the paper into contact with the pick roller, and the pick roller is rotated in the opposite rotation direction to the paper feed from above. apparatus. 2. A cassette divided into upper and lower stages by a partition plate, a cassette holder that holds the cassette detachably, and a pick roller installed between the upper and lower stages of the cassette. And a tilting motor that tilts the cassette holder so that the paper stored in one of the upper and lower stages contacts the pick roller, and a pick roller motor that can rotationally drive the pick roller in both forward and reverse directions. A sheet feeding device having a sheet feeding device control unit that controls the tilting motor and the pick roller motor according to the selected stage. 3. A cassette divided into upper and lower stages by a partition plate, a pick roller installed between the upper and lower stages of the cassette, and a sheet stored in one of the arbitrarily selected upper and lower stages. A tilting motor that tilts the cassette so as to contact the pick roller, a pick roller motor that can drive the pick roller to rotate in both forward and reverse directions, and the tilting motor according to the selected step. A sheet feeding device having a sheet feeding device control unit that controls the pick roller motor. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the cassette has an opening on a side surface for passing a sheet. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the partition plate has a cutout portion that receives the pick roller. 6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the partition plate has an opening / closing structure for replenishing sheets from the upper portion of the cassette to the lower portion. 7. A first pressing plate is provided on the bottom of the cassette with a spring sandwiched between the cassette and the bottom plate of the cassette, the first pressing plate presses the lower sheet of paper upward, and the upper part of the cassette has a spring. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein a cover to which a second holding plate is attached is attached with the sheet sandwiching the sheet, and the upper sheet is pressed downward by the second holding plate.