JPH10175745A - Cleaning device for paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve dispersion of cleaning interval, eliminate a collecting mechanism, simplify a device and make maintenance easy by providing a cleaning roller which comes into contact with a paper feeding roller and is adhesive in surface and making the cleaning roller freely attachable/detatchable to/from the paper roller. SOLUTION: A cleaning roller 5 is the one in which adhesive is applied to the surface of a rubber roller. When paper 2 fed from a paper feeding tray passes between a carrier roller 3 and a separation roller 4 as paper feeding rollers, paper powder is generated and sticks to the carrier roller 3 and the separation roller 4. Because the cleaning roller 5 comes into contact with the separation roller 4 and is rotated with the roller 4, paper powder stuck to the separation roller 4 can be removed. Because paper powder remains stuck to the cleaning roller 5, a collecting mechanism completely becomes unnecessary. The cleaning roller 5 is exchanged when adhesive strength is lowered. The cleaning roller 5 is provided by bringing into contact with also the carrier roller 3. The cleaning roller 5 is made freely attachable/detachable to/from the separation roller 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder used for a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and more particularly, to a cleaning device for cleaning paper dust attached to a paper feed roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned copying machine and the like have a built-in or detachable paper feeder, from which paper is fed into the apparatus to perform copying and printing. Such a paper feeder is provided with a paper feed roller on which the stacked papers are placed and which feeds the papers one by one into the apparatus in order from the top. This paper feed roller generally includes an upper conveying roller and a lower separating roller. The separating roller is rotated in reverse so that two or more sheets fed by the conveying roller do not overlap with each other, and only the upper sheet is separated. Is sent.

[0003] Incidentally, such a paper feed roller is in contact with the paper during conveyance, and paper dust is generated when the paper rubs against the roller surface. Then, much of the generated paper dust adheres to the surfaces of the transport roller and the separation roller, and eventually causes a paper feed failure or paper feed unevenness.

For this reason, paper dust has been conventionally cleaned at appropriate intervals. This cleaning is performed by stopping the image forming apparatus and manually wiping the transport roller and the separation roller with alcohol.

[0005] However, in such a cleaning method, it is difficult to maintain a stable cleaning state due to variations in the degree of work and intervals. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3-1288
No. 31 proposes a device provided with a collecting mechanism for bringing a mylar into contact with a conveying roller and a separating roller, thereby removing paper dust and collecting the paper dust accumulated here.

[0006]

However, even if this mylar is used, a mechanism for collecting scraped paper dust must be provided, and the configuration of the paper feeding device becomes complicated. The present invention
Considering the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to improve the variability of the cleaning interval, to simplify the apparatus by eliminating the recovery mechanism, and to simplify the maintenance.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder having a paper feed roller.
A cleaning roller is provided which is in contact with the paper feed roller and has an adhesive surface.

Alternatively, the cleaning roller is provided so as to be able to freely contact and separate from the paper feed roller, and the cleaning roller is moved between a storage location and a use location so as to contact and separate from the paper feed roller. It is desirable that Further, the cleaning roller may be driven by a motor so as to be able to freely contact and separate from the paper feed roller, and the motor may be operated for every predetermined number of paper feeds to contact and clean the paper feed roller. .

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the cleaning device of the present invention. The image forming apparatus main body has a built-in or detachably attached paper feed tray 1 in which a large number of sheets 2 are placed in a stacked state. The uppermost sheet of the sheet 2 is sent out by a feed roller (not shown), and is transported by a conveying roller 3 comprising a pair of rubber rollers.
And into the nip point of the separation roller 4 and is sent to the image forming apparatus main body. In the above, the feeding roller, the transport roller 3
The separation roller 4 and the like are collectively referred to as a paper feed roller.

At this time, since the separation roller 4 rotates so as to feed the paper 2 back to the paper feed tray 1, even if two or more papers 2 are stacked instead of one, the lower paper is fed back. Only the top sheet is fed into the image forming apparatus main body. The present invention is characterized in that a cleaning roller 5 is added to the above configuration. The cleaning roller 5 is formed by applying an adhesive used for a gum tape or the like to the surface of a normal rubber roller.

When the paper 2 sent from the paper feed tray 1 passes between the rotating transport roller 3 and the separation roller 4, the paper 2 is rubbed with the roller to generate paper dust, and the transport roller 3 and the separation roller 4 are rubber rollers. This paper dust adheres to the surface.

In order to remove the paper dust, the cleaning roller 5 having an adhesive surface is brought into contact with the separation roller 4 and rotates therewith, thereby removing the paper dust attached to the separation roller 4. it can. Since the paper dust remains adhered to the cleaning roller 5, no collection mechanism is required at all. However, the adhesive strength of the cleaning roller 5 to which the paper dust has adhered gradually decreases, and eventually the adhesive power is completely lost. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the roller when the adhesive strength has decreased to a certain extent.

FIG. 1 shows only the cleaning roller 5 which comes into contact with the separation roller 4. However, the same cleaning roller 5 can be provided in contact with the transport roller 3. The length of the cleaning roller 5 is the same as the length of the conveying roller 3 and the separating roller 4 which are in contact with each other.
Provided adjacent to the bearing.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cleaning roller 5 is configured to be able to contact and separate from the separation roller 4. FIG. 2A shows a state at the time of contact, and FIG. 2B shows a state at the time of non-contact.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a specific configuration for making contact and non-contact as shown in FIG. In the figure, the cleaning roller 5 is supported at both ends by bearings 8, 8, and the upper bearings 8, 8 are supported by lower bearings 9, 9 below them via springs 10, 10. The lower bearings 9 and 9 can slide in the grooves 11 and 11 manually or the like.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a guide 12 provided on a frame (not shown),
It is movable upward along the direction 12 by the urging force of the springs 10 and 10.

The right side of FIG. 3 is the storage location of the cleaning roller 5,
When moved here, the cleaning roller 5 separates from the separation roller 4 as shown in FIG. Then, the upper bearings 8, 8 are pressed by the blocks 13, 13 provided on the frame or the like, and are pushed downward. Next, when the blocks 13, 13 are removed and the cleaning roller 5 is moved to the left side in FIG. 3, it moves to the place of use, and the upper bearings 8, 8 are lifted upward by the springs 10, 10.
The state comes into contact with the separation roller 4, that is, the state shown in FIG.

When a copying machine or the like is operating, the cleaning roller 5 is normally in the state shown on the right side of FIG. 2B or FIG. When paper dust accumulates on the transport roller 3 and the separation roller 4 and maintenance needs to be performed, the blocks 13 and 13 are removed by an operator or the like, and the state shown in FIG. , Paper dust will be removed. The blocks 13, 13 may be fixed to the frame of the apparatus, and the cleaning roller 5 may be moved.

If the cleaning roller 5 is in constant contact with the separation roller 4 as shown in FIG. 1, the rotational load on the separation roller 4 becomes large, and there is a possibility of causing rotation unevenness. With this configuration, the rotation load of the separation roller during copying can be reduced, and rotation unevenness can be prevented.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment, in which the cleaning roller 5 is not in contact with the separation roller 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning roller 5 is supported at both ends by upper bearings 8, 8, and the upper bearings 8, 8 are lower bearings 9, 9 thereunder.
Are supported via springs 10, 10. In this embodiment, the upward movement of the upper bearings 8, 8 is suppressed by the stoppers 15, 15. Stopper 1 on both sides
5 and 15 are fixed to the connecting rod 16, and a gear 17 is provided at the tip of the connecting rod 16. The gear 17 has a gear 18
Are engaged with each other, and a motor 19 is connected to the gear 18.

In FIG. 4, the stoppers 15, 15 keep the upper bearings 8, 8 from rising, but when paper dust accumulates on the separation roller 4 or the like and it is time to clean, the motor 19 is rotated to stop the stopper. 15 and 15 move in the direction of the arrow, the upper bearings 8 and 8 rise, and the cleaning roller 5 rises and contacts the separation roller 4 to clean. When cleaning is complete,
9, the stoppers 15 and 15 are returned to the positions shown in FIG. The interval for driving the motor 19 is
For example, the number of copies is designated, and when the designated number of copies are made, the motor 19 rotates and the cleaning roller 5 contacts the separation roller 4 to remove paper dust. In this way, the cleaning can be performed automatically, and the maintenance work can be omitted and the operation can be simplified.

[0021]

According to the present invention as described above,
In a paper feeder having a paper feed roller for paper feed,
Since the cleaning roller is in contact with the paper feed roller and has a sticky cleaning roller, the cleaning roller can remove paper dust by contacting the paper feed roller. Since it adheres to the surface, a mechanism for recovery is not required. In addition, because of the contact of the cleaning roller, the paper dust can be removed without any variation in the operation.

Further, if the cleaning roller is provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the paper feeding roller, it is necessary to keep the cleaning roller apart during normal copying operation and to contact it only when necessary, thereby preventing rotation unevenness. . Further, if the cleaning roller is driven by a motor and is freely movable toward and away from the paper feed roller, and the motor is operated for every predetermined number of paper feeds and comes into contact with the paper feed roller for cleaning, Cleaning can be performed automatically, reducing maintenance work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cleaning device of a paper feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a state in which a cleaning roller is in contact with a sheet feeding roller, and FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cleaning roller is separated.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment which moves between a storage place and a use place.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment driven by a motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3, 4 Paper feed roller 5 Cleaning roller 19 Motor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding device having a cleaning mechanism, wherein a paper feeding device having a paper feeding roller for feeding paper is provided with a cleaning roller which is in contact with the paper feeding roller and has an adhesive surface. 2. The paper feeder with a cleaning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning roller is provided so as to be able to freely contact and separate from said paper feed roller. 3. The paper feeder with a cleaning mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning roller moves toward and away from the paper feed roller by moving between a storage location and a use location. 4. The cleaning roller is driven by a motor so as to be able to freely contact and separate from the paper feed roller, and the motor is operated every predetermined number of paper feeds to contact and clean the paper feed roller. The sheet feeder with a cleaning mechanism according to claim 2.