JPS58183538A - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need of selecting operation and to heighten usability in a paper feeder where desired paper is selectively fed out from plural kinds of paper set in cassettes by selectively indicating the remaining cassette when one cassette is removed at the time of exchanging paper. CONSTITUTION:A copier includes a paper feed portion where cassettes storing paper of different sizes can be loaded in the upper and lower stages. With A4- size and A3-size paper cassettes respectively set in the upper and lower stages, while the lower cassette is selected, when A3-size paper cassette is pulled to exchange the lower cassette for a B4-size paper cassette, a detection switch 12-1 is turned off, and an output of a differentiating circuit 57 becomes L. Therefore, an output of a NOR gate 59 becomes H, and FF55 is set through an inverter 61, so that the upper cassette is selected. Simultaneously, a lamp 37a is lighted to indicate that the upper cassette is selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding device for selectively feeding a desired paper from among a plurality of types of paper that have been sent.

Conventionally, paper feeding devices in copying machines and the like have been either a cassette system in which a cassette containing a large number of sheets of paper is attached to the paper feeding section, and the paper in the cassette is fed, or a large number of sheets of paper are placed on a paper feeding table. However, automatic paper feeders such as a set of trays that feed loaded sheets one by one using a separating means or the like are widely used. If a copying machine is equipped with two or more paper feeding devices of this type in the paper feeding section and configured to selectively feed paper of two or more sizes, it is possible to load frequently used paper. By doing so, it is possible to omit the troublesome operation of changing the cassette etc. for the desired paper. In other words, with a cassette-type paper feeding device, if you set a cassette containing A4 and B4 size paper in the paper feed section of the copying machine, you can simply select the desired size of paper from among them. , the paper will be fed automatically. In a copying machine equipped with a paper feed mechanism that can feed paper of several sizes in this way, the paper can be loaded automatically by selecting the paper of the desired size set without replacing the cassette, etc. It is paper fed and is very convenient.

However, no matter how frequently used paper sizes are set, it is often the case that you want to use not only the set paper but also paper of other sizes. In such a case, it is necessary to replace the cassette by, for example, pulling out one cassette installed in the second or lower part and setting the cassette containing the paper you want to use in this part. At this time of replacement, if the previously selected cassette side is replaced, even if the IT print switch is operated, the replaced desired paper will be automatically fed, and a copy size error will not occur.

However, when replacing a cassette, it is often the case that the user selects a different cassette, or forgets to select the replacement cassette after replacing the cassette.

Therefore, paper of the replaced size is not fed, and paper is automatically fed into the cassette that was previously installed.
Copying errors were common. Here, if a sheet larger in size than the desired sheet is fed, all the necessary images can be copied, and the folded copy can be used, although the sheet is wasted. However, if paper smaller than the replaced paper size is stored in the other cassette, only a portion of the necessary image can be copied, resulting in a copying error. Therefore, after selecting the cassette, the user has to operate the print switch and start the copying process again, which is a huge waste of time and paper.

The present invention simplifies the above-mentioned operations and provides an automatic paper feeder that does not cause copying errors. That is, in the present invention, when a cassette or paper is replaced, the paper feed roller on the replaced side is selectively activated, so that the paper (in the cassette) on the replaced side is automatically fed. Therefore, when the cassette or paper is replaced, the paper feed roller on the replacement side is automatically selected, and the replaced paper of the desired size is automatically fed without requiring any selection operation.

Furthermore, even though the desired cassette is already installed, the user pulls out one of the cassettes in an attempt to install the desired cassette. At this time, if an undesired cassette is pulled out, the cassette of the desired size remains attached.

Therefore, the present invention is characterized in that, when a cassette is pulled out, the remaining installed cassettes are displayed and the paper feeding means for that cassette is selectively driven.

This notifies the user that a desired size of paper is loaded by pulling out the cassette, making the copier easier to operate and more convenient to use.

The automatic paper feeder according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a copying machine equipped with an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a power switch, 2 is a document cover that covers a document table made of a transparent glass plate on which a document is placed, 3 is an operation section of the copier, 4 is a print switch, and 5 is an upper stage cover. A paper accommodating cassette is attached to the paper feed section, 6 is a paper storage capacity center attached to the lower paper feed section, and 7 is a paper discharge tray for receiving the paper after copying is completed. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the operation unit 3 includes a numeric key 31 for setting the number of copies, an erase key 32 for erasing contents such as the number of copies, and an interrupt key 33 for making another copy in the middle of continuous copying. , paper selection key 34 for selecting each installed cassette 5.6. Reference numeral 35 indicates a display device for displaying the set number of copies, 36 indicates a display lamp indicating the operation of the interrupt key 33, and 37 operates in conjunction with the paper selection key 34 to select the cassette 5.6 mounted on the upper or lower row. An indicator lamp 38 indicates the contents inside the cassette, and a size indicator 38 indicates the paper size in the selected cassette.

In other words, when the paper selection key 34 is pressed once, the lower cassette 6 which has been selected up to now indicates that the upper cassette 5 has been selected as shown in FIG. 3(a). At this time, if the paper 8 of size A is stored in the cassette 5 in the upper paper feed section, the A4 lamp in the size display section 38 lights up. If the paper selection key 34 is pressed again in this state, the lower paper feed section is selected and the display lamp 3 indicating the lower row is selected.
7b lights up as shown in FIG. 3(b).0 Then, if the paper stored in the lower cassette 6 is of size A, the A3 lamp on the size display section 38 lights up. The installed cassette is selected as described above.

Further, in Fig. 2, reference numeral 39 is an indicator lamp for performing various checks, and the lamp is displayed when paper is jammed in the conveyance path, when there is no paper in the cassette, when maintenance is required, etc. is driven and makes it known.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of upper and lower paper feed sections according to the present invention. , paper feed rollers 9 and 10 are provided in the upper and lower paper feed sections, respectively, facing the mounting positions of the cassettes 5 and 6. Although not shown in the figure, the paper feed rollers 9 and 10 are connected to each other through a one-rotation mechanism. , 10 are rotated once to feed one sheet of paper in the cassette to a conveyance roller in the main body of the copying machine. The one-rotation mechanism is selectively driven by selective energization of a solenoid or the like to rotate the corresponding paper feed roller 9 or 10 once. In addition, on the front of the cassette mounting section there is a 4
Detection switches 11 and 12 are respectively installed. The detection switches 11-, 12 are pressed by projections corresponding to the size provided on the cassette side, and the cassette size, that is, the paper size is detected based on the state of these projections. Here, if the detection switch 11-1.12-] is used to detect whether or not a cassette is installed, the remaining 3
Eight types of cassette sizes (
Paper size) can be detected. Furthermore, in order to detect the presence or absence of paper in the mounted cassette 5 or 6, light receiving elements 113 and 114 are provided opposite the lamps 13 and 14 with the cassette sandwiched between the cassettes. On the side of the cassette 5.6, the light from the lamps 13 and 14 reaches the light receiving elements 113 and 1 when there is no paper in the cassette.
A detection window of up to 14 is provided. When the light receiving elements 113 and 114 receive light, that is, there is no paper.
If this is detected, the check indicator lamp 39 indicating the paper is turned on to notify the user that there is no paper. At this time, if the selected cassette is out of paper, the lamp lights up. However, if paper is stored in the selected cassette, the lamp will not light up even if the non-selected cassette is out of paper.

In a paper feeder configured as described above, A4 paper is stored in the upper and lower rows.
, if the cassettes 5 and 6 containing As size paper are installed, the user operates the paper selection key 34, confirms that the lamp for the desired size paper is lit, and presses the print switch 4. . As a result, the paper feed roller 9 or 10 on the selected size side is driven one rotation, and copying can be performed on paper of the desired size. For example, A,
When copying on paper of the same size, operate the paper selection key 34, look at the size display section 38, confirm that the A4 size lamp is lit, and operate the print switch 4.
No copying errors occur. In this case, if you know that the A4 size cassette 5 is installed in the upper row, operate the paper selection key 34, confirm that the selection lamp 37a indicating the upper row is lit, and operate the print switch 4. It's okay.

When the print switch 4 is operated in this way to perform copying and the paper in the cassette runs out, the "paper out" lamp lights up to notify the user that paper needs to be replenished.

The present invention not only allows paper of a desired size to be self-supplied by the above-described selection operation, but also when the cassette (paper) to be used is replaced, the paper in the replacement cassette is fed without the selection operation. It also has a configuration for automatic paper feeding. That is, when the upper cassette 5 is pulled out, the indicator lamp 37b of the remaining lower cassette 6 is turned on. Then, if the remaining lower cassette 6 does not contain paper of the desired size, the lower paper feed roller 10 facing the cassette 6 is automatically selected so that paper can be automatically fed from that hole. .

At this time, even if the upper paper feed roller 9 is selected before pulling out the upper cassette, the lower paper feed roller 10 is automatically selected.

Furthermore, the present invention is configured such that when a new desired cassette is installed in the cassette that has been pulled out, the paper feed roller on the replacement side is automatically selected even if the paper feed roller on the opposite side to the replacement side has been selected. .

FIG. 5 shows a circuit configuration for realizing the above-described operation. In the figure, reference numerals 11-1 and 12-1 are the detection switches described in FIG. 4 that detect the cassettes 5.6 mounted on the upper and lower stages. The detection switches 11-+ and 12-1 are each grounded via a resistor, and the other is supplied with a power supply +VD. Connections between the detection switches 11-1, 12-+ and the resistors are connected to inverters 51, 52 and differentiating circuits 53.
54 to a set terminal S and a reset terminal R of a flip-flop 55 constituted by two Nant gates. Further, each of the above-mentioned connections is connected to one input terminal of a NOR gate 58,59 via a differentiating circuit 56.57. The output signal from the inverter 51.52 is supplied to the other input terminals of the above-mentioned NOAR game) 58.59. Noah game) 58.59 ru. The seven outputs and reset outputs Q and Q of the flip-flop 55 drive the upper and lower display lamps 37a and 37b in the operation section 3 via the switching circuit 62. Further, the set and reset outputs Q and Q of the flip-flop 55 are supplied to input terminals of AND gates 63 and 64. The other input terminals of the AND gates 63 and 64 are supplied with a paper feed signal from a copy control circuit 65 of the main body of the copying machine in order to feed paper. Therefore, the paper feed signal is supplied to the next stage switching circuit 66 via the controllers 63 and 64, and the switching circuit 66 drives the solenoids 67 and 68 that are used to drive the paper feed roller 11 or 12 one rotation. do. Here, the solenoids 67 and 68 drive the upper and lower paper feed rollers 11 and 12 one rotation, and when a paper feed signal is output from the AND gate 63, the solenoid 67 is driven via the switching circuit 66. .

According to the circuit configuration described above, when the flip-flop 55 is set, the upper paper feed section (the paper feed roller 9) is selected, and when it is reset, the lower paper feed section (the paper feed roller 10) is selected. ) is selected. Further, when the detection switch 11-1 detects a cassette and turns on, a trigger signal for setting the flip-flop 55 is outputted from the differentiating circuit 53 in order to select the loaded cassette. Then, when the detection switch 12-175KON is turned on, a differential output is derived from the differentiating circuit 54, and the flip-flop 5
Reset 5. Further, the Noah gates 58 and 59 detect that the cassette 5 or 6 has been pulled out, and automatically select the cassette side that is not pulled out.

The above is the circuit configuration for automatically selecting a cassette by replacing the cassette according to the present invention.

In the circuit for selecting the installed cassette by operating the paper selection key 34, one of the contacts of the paper selection key 34 is grounded, and the other is connected to the power supply. 71 and 72 via a differentiating circuit 69. The reset output Q1 and the set output Q of the flip-flop 55 are respectively supplied to the other input terminals of the Noah game) 71 and 72. The outputs of the NOA game) 71 and 72 are input to the reset terminal R and set terminal S of the flip-flop 55 via inverters 73 and 74, respectively. In other words, when the paper selection key '34 is suppressed (ON), if the upper cassette has been selected, a reset signal is output from the Noah gate 71, and by resetting the flip-flop 55, the lower cassette is selected. Ru.

Incidentally, the inverters 60, 61 and 73, 74 are inverters with open collectors, and supply only the IIL" signal to the set and reset terminals S and R of the flip-flop 55, and cut off the IIH" signal. Although not shown in the circuit of FIG. 5, the configuration for displaying the size of the cassette installed on the selected side is based on the detection signal from the cassette size detection switch 11 and 12 shown in FIG. , the corresponding lamp on the size display section 38 may be turned on. For example, if the upper paper feed section is selected, the size detection signal from the lower detection switch 12 is ignored, and the corresponding size lamp is driven by the size signal from the upper detection switch 11.

In order to understand the present invention, the operation of the circuit configured as described above will be explained in order.

Now, when no cassette is installed in the paper feed section of the copying machine, for example, A, which you want to use in the upper paper feed section,
A cassette 5 containing paper of the same size is installed. With this installation, the detection switch 11-1 is connected to the ONL inverter 5.
The output of 1 is inverted from "H" to "L", and the differential circuit 53 outputs a differential signal. This makes flip-flop 5
A differential signal is supplied to the set terminal S of the IJ block 55, and the flip-flop 55 is set, and its output Q becomes H''.

This set output Q drives the lamp 37a through the switching circuit 62, which indicates that the "two-stage" mode has been selected. Also, since the upper row is selected at this time, the detection signal of the size detection switch 11 becomes valid, and as shown in FIG.
) As shown in <A, the lamp indicating the size lights up. In this state, the set output Q of the flip-flop 55 puts the AND gate 63 into operation, and the solenoid 67 for selectively driving the upper paper feed roller 9 becomes operable. When the user operates the print switch 4, the copying operation is started, and the copying control circuit 65 outputs a paper feed signal in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor and the like. This paper feed signal opens the AND gate 63 and drives the solenoid 67, thereby driving the paper feed roller 9 once and feeding the A4 size paper 8 from the cassette 5 mounted on the upper stage. This operation is repeated every time a paper feed signal is output.

Next, with the A4 size cassette 5 installed in the upper part, the A3 size cassette 6 is installed in the lower part, and this A3 size cassette 6 is installed in the lower part.
A case of copying on paper of the same size will be explained. When the cassette 6 is installed, the lower detection switch 12-1 is turned on, and the output of the inverter 52 is inverted from "H" to "L". Therefore, the differential signal is input to the reset terminal R of the flip-flop 55 via the differentiating circuit 54, and the flip-flop 55 is reset. Therefore, when the reset output Q of the 7-lip flop 55 turns ``H'', the lamp 37b indicating that the lower row has been selected lights up, and the size signal from the lower row size detection switch 12 causes the A3 size to be selected as shown in FIG. 3(b). At this time, the AND gate 64 for selecting the lower paper feed roller 10 is activated, and if a paper feed signal is output from the copy control circuit 65 after operating the print switch 4, this The signal passes through switching circuit 66 to drive solenoid 68 .

As described above, in the state where the upper and lower cassettes 5 and 6 containing A4 and A3 size paper are respectively installed, if the lower cassette 6 is selected, the image shown in FIG. 3(b) is displayed.
The display shown in FIG. 1 is displayed, and the lower paper feed roller 10 is driven one rotation by the output of the paper feed signal. Then, if the user desires to copy A4 size paper, press the paper selection key 3.
By operating 4 once, the upper cassette 5 side containing A4 size paper is selected. In other words, when the contact of the paper selection key 34 is turned on, a differential signal ("L") is supplied from the differentiation circuit 69 to each of the Noah gates 71 and 72.The other gate of the Noah gate 72 indicates that the main stage cassette is selected. Since the flip-flop 55 is reset and the "L" signal of the set output Q is input, the NOR gate 72 outputs the "H# signal. Therefore,
The output of the inverter 74 with an open collector becomes "L", setting the flip-flop 55, and the display changes to the one shown in FIG. Then, the one that had selected the upper cassette will now select the lower cassette.

Next, a case in which a cassette is replaced according to the present invention will be described. Here, the explanation will be made assuming that the cassette 5 of the size KA is set in the upper stage and the cassette 6 of the size A is set in the lower stage, as described above. It is also assumed that the lower cassette side is currently selected. Therefore, when a B4 size copy is desired, it is necessary to replace the cassette containing the paper with the upper or lower paper feed section. At this time, when you pull out the upper A4 size cassette, the differential circuit 5
6 falls from H" to L", and the differential circuit 56
supplies the differential signal It L" at that time to one input terminal of the NOR gate 58.The other input terminal of the NOR gate 58 is supplied with "L"L" of the inverter 52, so both input terminals becomes t I, n,
The output of the NOR gate 58 becomes H". Therefore, the output of the inverter 60 becomes L", and the flip-flop 55 is reset. However, in this case the flip-flop 55
The beam is in a set state, and that state is simply maintained.

As described above, when the upper cassette is pulled out and a desired B4 size cassette is set in the upper cassette, the detection switch 11-1 is turned on. With this, the re-inverter 51
The output of is inverted to LN, and the differentiated signal from the differentiating circuit 53 at that time is applied to the set terminal S of the flip-flop 55, and the flip-flop 55 is turned on. Therefore,
The replaced upper cassette is automatically selected, eliminating the need to operate the paper selection key 34.

On the other hand, if the lower paper source is selected for which the cassette is to be replaced, that is, the flip 70 tab 55 has been reset, then the lower As size cassette is
When replacing the cassette with a size 4 cassette, when the cassette of size A is removed, the input side of the differential circuit 57 falls from H'' to L''. At this time, the differential signal 11L'' of the differential circuit 57
is applied to the NOR gate 59, and the other input terminal of the NOR gate 59 is supplied with "L" from the upper stage inverter 51, so the output of the NOR gate 59 becomes "H". The output is ゝゝL
n, the flip 70 knob 55 is set, and the upper cassette is selected. In this case, the display also switches to the upper row.

By extracting the lower cassette as described above, the upper cassette is automatically selected. If the cassette selected at this time contains sheets of the desired B size, a display thereof, that is, a display as shown in FIG. 3(c) is performed. By looking at this display, the user notices that the desired size of paper is set, and can interrupt the replacement operation midway and make copies. In this case, since the upper cassette is automatically selected, sheets of the desired size can be automatically fed without the need to operate the sheet selection key 34. As described above, when a cassette is pulled out, the remaining installed cassettes are displayed, especially the size, etc., so that the user realizes that the desired cassette is installed. Moreover, since the paper feed roller on the side of the installed cassette is automatically selected, there is no need for a troublesome selection operation.

According to the automatic paper feeder of the present invention, as shown in the top view, the cassette (
A cassette (or paper) is installed, and the desired size paper is selected from among the paper cassettes (or paper).
If you remove one cassette (or paper) by replacing the cassette, the remaining installed cassette will be selected and displayed, and you will notice that the desired size of paper is set and perform the cassette replacement operation. The desired paper is selected without any trouble. Furthermore, since the paper feeding means that faces the remaining paper that has been set is automatically selected, selection operations can be omitted, making the use and operation of the copying machine more convenient.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a copying machine equipped with an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of the operating section according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 (a) (+) )(c) is a diagram showing an example of the display state of the display unit of the operation unit of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the structure of the paper feed unit in which various cassettes according to the present invention are installed FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of a control circuit configuration for realizing the automatic paper feeder of the present invention. 3: Operation section 34; Paper selection key 37: Upper and lower row selection display lamp 38: Size display section 4 Niblint switch 5, 6: Paper storage cassette) 9 + 10
: Upper and lower paper feed rollers 11.12: Cassette size detection switch 55: Flip-flop for upper and lower selection 62: Lower selection lamp driving switching circuit 65: Copy control circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Set a plurality of types of paper, select and operate the paper feeding means provided opposite to the set paper using the selection means, and select the set desired paper. What is claimed is: 1. An automatic sheet feeding device, characterized in that the automatic sheet feeding device is equipped with a driving means for displaying the sheet set on the side opposite to the side from which the sheet is removed when the sheet is replaced. 2. The automatic paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the driving means selectively drives the paper feeding means facing the paper set on the displayed side.