JPS58216847A - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to constantly selectively feed a replaced paper without requiring any troublesome selecting operation for the paper, by a method wherein a paper-feeding means on a replacing side is automatically selected in response to the replacement of a cassette. CONSTITUTION:In the paper feeder provided with upper and lower paper-feeding parts, when a cassette contained in the upper stage is drawn out and a cassette containing a paper of a desired size is fitted into the upper stage, paper-feeding rollers 9 for the upper stage are automatically selected even when, for example, the lower stage has been selected in the preceding operation. In addition, when the cassette in one of the paper-feeding parts is drawn out, the side of the other of the paper-feeding parts is selected and indicated. For realizing the above operations, the paper feeder is provided with a controlling circuit comprising detecting switches 11-1, 12-1 for detecting the cassettes in the upper and lower paper-feeding parts, upper/lower selecting flip-flop, a switching circuit for driving upper/lower selecting lamps, a switching circuit for selectively driving the paper- feeding rollers, solenoids for driving the paper-feeding rollers, etc.

Description

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

Conventionally, paper feeding devices in copying machines, etc. have 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 cassette system in which a large number of sheets of paper are placed on a paper feed tray. 2. Description of the Related Art 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 multiple frequently used papers. If you do that,
- 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 A and B4 size paper in the paper feed section of the copying machine, you can 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 load paper of several sizes in this way, the paper is automatically loaded by selecting the paper of the desired size set without replacing the cassette, etc. It is paper fed and very convenient.

However, even if paper of a frequently used size is set, there are often cases where it is desired 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 of the cassettes installed in the upper or lower tier and setting the cassette containing the paper desired to be used in this area. At the time of this exchange, if the previously selected cassette side is replaced, even if the print switch is operated as is, the replaced desired paper will be automatically fed, and a copy size error will not occur. However, when replacing a cassette, the previously selected cassette is not necessarily replaced, and the user may misunderstand that the replacement cassette is the one that has been selected. I often forget to select the item.

As a result, paper of the replaced size was not fed, and undesired paper was automatically fed into the previously installed cassette, resulting in frequent copying errors. If a large sheet of paper is fed, all the necessary images can be copied, and the copies can be used as is, although the paper 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, if you replace the cassette or paper, the paper feed roller on the replacement side is automatically selected, and no selection operation is required.
The replaced paper of the desired size will be automatically fed. Here, the user replaces the cassette etc. because the desired cassette is not set in the copying machine, etc., and wants to use the paper in the replaced cassette, so he selects the replacement paper. The ability to automatically feed paper without the need for paper feeding makes it a very useful paper feeding device.

Further, in the present invention, when a cassette is pulled out, the other cassette side is automatically selected, and other paper sizes etc. installed are displayed. In this case, the first or lower row of the selected side is displayed. If the configuration is such that when one cassette is pulled out, the other cassette side is displayed, the display will be displayed even if no cassette is installed in the other paper source side, and the print switch will be operated based on this display. This results in an operational error. Furthermore, it is not preferable to keep the display section driven in terms of durability and energy saving.

According to the present invention, when a cassette is pulled out, the selection is displayed only when a cassette is attached to another paper feed section.

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, ■ is the power switch, 2 is a document cover that covers the document table made of a transparent glass plate on which the document is placed on the main body of the copying machine, 3 is the operation section of the copying machine, 4 is the print switch, and 5 is the upper stage. A paper accommodating cassette 6 is attached to the paper feeding section, a paper accommodating cassette 6 is attached to the lower paper feeding 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. , a 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 screen indicating the operation of the interrupt key 33;
Reference numeral 7 indicates a display lamp that is linked to the paper selection key 34 and indicates which of the cassettes 5 and 6 installed in the upper or lower row is being selected, and 38 indicates a size display section that displays the paper size in the selected cassette. It is. 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 A4 size paper 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 37b indicating the lower stage is lit as shown in FIG. 3(b). If the paper stored in the lower cassette 6 is A3 size, 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. In the upper and lower paper feed sections, there are paper feed rollers 9. facing the mounting position of the cassette 5. Although not shown in the figure, a paper feed roller 9. The lO rotates once and feeds 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 the selective biasing of a renoid, etc., and rotates the corresponding paper feed roller 9 or IO one rotation.Furthermore, on the front of the cassette installation section, there are four sensors that detect the size of the installed cassette. Switches 11 and 12 are provided respectively. The detection switches 11 and 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 switches 11-1+12-1 are used to detect whether or not a cassette is attached, eight types of cassette sizes (paper sizes) can be detected by the combination of the remaining three switches. Furthermore, in order to detect the presence or absence of paper in the mounted cassette 5 or 6, a light receiving element 118114 is provided to sandwich the cassette and face the light emitting lamps 13, 14 when the cassette is mounted. On the cassette 5°6 side, the light from the light emitting lamps 13 and 14 reaches the light receiving elements 113 and 11 when there is no paper in the cassette.
A detection window reaching 4 is provided. When the light-receiving elements 113 and 114 receive light, that is, when they detect that there is no paper, the tick indicator lamp 39 indicating paper is turned on to notify the user that there is no paper. At this time,
If there is no paper left in the selected cassette, the lamp lights up. However, if paper is stored in the selected cassette, the lamp will not light even if the non-selected cassette is out of paper.

According to the paper feeding device configured as described above, A4. A
If the cassettes 5 and 6 containing three sizes of paper are installed, the user operates the paper selection key 34, confirms that the lamp for the desired size of paper is lit, and presses the print switch 4. As a result, the paper feed roller 9 or lO on the selected size side is driven one rotation, and copying can be performed on paper of the desired size. For example, when copying on A4 size paper, 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 to avoid copying mistakes. Does not occur. In this case, if you know that the A4 size cassette 5 is installed in the upper row, press the paper selection key 3.
4 and confirm that the selection lamp 37a indicating the upper row is lit, then the print switch 4 may be operated. 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 automatically feeds paper of a desired size through the selection operation described above, but also automatically feeds paper in the cassette on the replacement side without any selection operation when replacing the cassette (paper) that you want to use. It also has a configuration that automatically feeds paper. Tsum 9: If you want to use B4 size paper, pull out the upper cassette 5 and install the cassette containing B4 size paper in the upper tier. Even if the lower tier was selected last time, it will automatically move to the upper tier. The paper feed roller 9 is selected. Furthermore, even if the upper row is selected, the upper row is still selected. By replacing the cassette, the lamp 87a indicating that the upper row has been selected lights up as shown in FIG. 3(c), and the size display section 38
The lamp indicating the B4 size lights up.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when one of the cassettes is pulled out,
This is to selectively display the other paper feeding units. In other words, as shown in FIG. 1, A4. If cassettes 5 and 6 containing A3 size paper are installed in the device, and the upper cassette is pulled out when the upper cassette is selected, the lower cassette side will be removed as shown in Figure 3(b). Select and display.

At this time, unless a cassette is installed in the lower tier, the indicator lamp 37b (or 37a) indicating the upper or lower tier will not be lit.

A circuit configuration for realizing the above-described operation is shown in the fifth buttock. In the figure, 1l-1 and 12 are the detection switches described in FIG. 4 that detect the cassettes 5.6 mounted on the upper and lower stages. The detection switches 1]-, , 12- are each grounded via a resistor, and the other is supplied with a power supply VD. The connection portion between the detection switch 11 111 and the resistor is connected to the set terminal S and reset terminal R of a flip-flop 55 composed of two Nandt gates via an inverter 11 51.52 and a differentiating circuit 53.54, respectively. ing. Further, each of the above-mentioned connections is connected to one input terminal of a NOAG 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 NOAG) 58 and 59. Noagu) 58.59 output is inverter 60,6]
The signal is supplied to the reset terminal R and the set terminal S of the flip-flop 55 through the above.

Set and reset output Q of the above flip-flop 55
, Q are applied to each input terminal of the AND gates 6'2 and 63. The other input terminals of the AND gates 62 and 63 are applied with detection signals U and D, respectively, which are -11, . this goo)
The outputs 62 and 63 drive the upper and lower display lamps 37a and 37b in the operating section 3 via the switching circuit 64.

Supplied to the terminal. The other input terminals of the AND gates 65 and 66 are supplied with a paper feed signal from the copy control circuit 67 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 68 via the controllers 65 and 66, and the switching circuit 68 drives the solenoids 110 and 120 that are used to drive the paper feed roller 11 or 12 one rotation. do. Here, the solenoid number 0.120 rotationally drives the upper and lower paper feed cola numbers +2, and when a paper feed signal is output from the AND gate 65, the solenoid +10 is driven via the switching circuit 68.

In the above circuit configuration, if the flip-flop 55 is set, the upper paper feed section (paper feed roller 9) is selected, and when reset, the lower paper feed section (paper feed roller 10) is selected. is selected. Furthermore, when the detection switch 11-1 detects a cassette and turns ON, a trigger signal (differential signal) is output to set the differential circuit 53 and the Gino rip-flop 55 in order to select the loaded cassette. be done. Then, the detection switch 12-1 is turned on.
Then, a differential output is derived from the differentiating circuit 54, and the flip-flop 55 is reset.

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 upon cassette exchange according to the present invention.

Then, the circuit for selecting the installed cassette by operating the paper selection key 34 is connected to one side of the paper selection key 34 which is grounded and the other to the power supply VI), which is connected via the differentiation circuit 69 to the circuit that selects the installed cassette. 71 and 72, respectively. Reset output Q1 and set output Q of the flip-flop are respectively supplied to the other input terminals of 71 and 72. And Noagu) 7
The output of 1.72 is passed through inverters 73 and 74,
It is input to the reset terminal R and set terminal S of the flip-flop 55, 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.
By resetting the flip-flop 55, the lower cassette is selected.

Incidentally, the inverters 60.61 and 78.74 are inverters with open collectors, and supply only the 'L' signal to the set and reset terminals of the Noritsubu flop 55.
Although not shown in the circuit of Fig. 5, the configuration for displaying the cassette size installed on the selected side is the force cut size detection switch 11゜12 shown in Fig. 4. The corresponding lamp on the size display section 38 may be turned on based on the detection signal from the detection switch 12.For example, if the upper stage is selected, the lower stage detection switch 12
The detection signal is ignored, and the corresponding size lamp is driven by the size signal from the upper detection switch +1.

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

Now, when there is no cassette installed in the paper feed section of the copying machine, for example, if you want to use the A
A cassette 5 containing paper of the same size is installed. With this attachment, the detection switch 11-1 is turned ON, the output of the inverter 51 is inverted from "H1+ to 11L", and the differential circuit 53 outputs a differential signal. As a result, the differential signal is supplied to the set terminal S of the solid flop 55, the flip-flop 55 is set, and its output Q becomes H'''.

This set output Q is applied to an AND gate 62. The signal U (H") is input to the other input terminal of the AND gate 62 when the detection switch 11- is turned on, and the AND gate 62 is in the operating state. Therefore, the set output Q(' A lamp 87 indicating that the upper stage has been selected via the switching circuit 62 by "H")
a is driven.

Also, at this time, since the upper row is selected, the detection signal of the size detection switch 11 becomes valid, and the lamp indicating A4 size lights up as shown in FIG. 3(a). Further, in this state, the set output Q of the flip-flop 55 activates the AND gate 65 via the AND gate 62, and the solenoid 110 for selectively driving the upper paper feed roller 9 becomes operational. Then, when the user operates the print switch 4, the copying operation is started, and the copying control circuit 67 outputs a paper feed signal in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor and the like. By this paper feed signal, the AND gate 6
5 is opened and the solenoid 110 is driven, so that the paper feed roller 9 is driven one rotation, and A4 size paper is fed 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 changes from (+H11 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 to 0.Therefore, due to the reset output Q of the Noritub flop 55 being "H", The AND gate 62 closes, the AND gate 63 opens, and the lamp 37b lights up to indicate that the lower tier has been selected.The lamp 37b indicating the A3 size is lit by the size signal from the lower tier size detection switch 12, as shown in FIG. 3(b). At this time, the AND gate 66 for selecting the lower paper feed roller lO
is in an operating state, and when the copy control circuit 67 outputs a paper feed signal after the print switch 4 is operated, this signal drives the solenoid 120 via the switching circuit 68.

As mentioned above, A4. In a state where each cassette 5, 6 containing A3 size paper is installed,
If the lower cassette 6 is currently selected, the display shown in FIG. 3(b) is displayed, and the lower paper feed roller 10 is driven one rotation by the output of the paper feed signal. When the user desires to copy A4 size paper, the paper selection key 34 is pressed.
By operating 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, the differential signal (
I)') is supplied to each Noag) 71.72. On the other side of the Noah gate 72, the flip-flop 55 is reset because the lower cassette is selected.
Since the “L” signal of the cent output Q is input,
NOR gate 72 outputs an "H" signal. Therefore, the output of the inverter 74 with an open collector becomes LI+, setting the Noritsu flop 55, displaying and switching as shown in FIG. 3(a), and selecting the upper cassette 5. This paper selection key 34 again, the cassette that had been selected in the upper row will now select the cassette in the lower row.Next, we will explain the case where the cassette is replaced according to the present invention.Here, as explained above, the A size cassette is placed in the upper row. The explanation will be made assuming that A3 size cassettes 6 are set in the lower and lower shelves respectively.Also, it is assumed that the lower cassette side is currently selected.Therefore, if you wish to make a B4 size copy, the paper will be stored in the A3 size cassette 6. It becomes necessary to replace the loaded cassette with the upper or lower paper feed section.At this time, when the upper A4 size cassette is pulled out, the input side of the differentiating circuit 56 falls from it Hn to "L", and the differentiating circuit 56 is the differential signal (“'L”) at that time, which is applied to the Noah gate 5.
8. And Noah Gate 5
The other input terminal of 8 is “°L” of the inverter 52.
Since the signal is supplied, both input terminals become "L11", and the output of the NOR gate 58 becomes "H". Therefore, the output of the inverter 60 becomes "L", and the flip 70
Reset knob 55.

However, in this case, the flip 70 knob 55 is in a reset state and only remains in that state.

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 1m is turned on. As a result, the output of the inverter 51 is inverted to "'L", and the differential signal from the differentiating circuit 53 at that time is applied to the set terminal of the flip-flop 55, so that the flip-flop 55 is set. Therefore, the replaced upper cassette is automatically selected, and there is no need to operate the paper selection key 34. On the other hand, if the lower cassette to be replaced is selected,
In other words, when replacing the lower A3 size cassette with a B4 size cassette while the clip frog 55 is reset, when the A3 size cassette is removed, the input side of the differentiator circuit 57 changes from (IH) to "L". At this time, the differential signal 11LI+ is applied to the NOR gate 59, and the other input terminal of the NOR gate 59 is supplied with the "Ll+ signal from the upper stage inverter 5I, so that the output of the NOR gate 59 becomes flH". As a result, the output of the input terminal 61 becomes 11 L 11, and the flip-flop 55 also switches the cell display to the upper stage.

Then, when a B4 size cassette is installed in the lower stage, the output of the inverter 52 is reversed from "H" to "L", the flip-flop 55 is reset via the differentiating circuit 54, and the replaced cassette in the lower stage is automatically inserted. selected. −
If you replace the cassette with one containing paper of the desired size as described above, the replaced cassette will always be selected, no matter what state the upper or lower selection is. As shown above, the cassettes 5 installed in the upper and lower paper feed sections
, 6, the cassettes installed in the other paper feeding units will be displayed. Now, if you pull out the upper and lower cassettes in order, the detection switches 11 12 will turn OFF.
becomes FF, and -11-1 goo) 62.63 is closed, and the indicator lamp 37a or 87
b is not lit. When the tab υ is pulled out and the cassette is not installed in any other paper feeding section, the lamp 37 that displays the selection of the upper row is driven, and according to the automatic paper feeding device of the present invention, the cassette (or This system is designed so that when the cassette (or paper) is replaced, the replacement paper feeding means is automatically selected when the paper is fed by selecting the desired size paper from among several types of paper clips installed. It is a very useful paper feeding device that can always selectively feed the replaced paper without having to perform the troublesome paper selection operation, and can save time and waste of paper due to copying errors. . Additionally, when you pull out any set of paper, if there is any other paper set, that set paper is selected and displayed, allowing you to check the set paper and making the operation much easier. It becomes convenient. At this time, if there is no other paper set, it will no longer be possible to perform a print operation by mistake without displaying the selection display.

[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 FIGS. 3(a) and (b) (C) is a diagram showing an example of the display state of the display unit related to the operation unit of the present invention;
The figure is a partially cut-away perspective view showing the structure of the paper feeding section in which various cassettes according to the invention are installed, and FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the control circuit configuration for realizing the automatic paper feeding device of the invention. The circuit diagram is 03: Operation unit, 34: Paper selection key, 37: Upper and lower row selection display lamp, 38: Size display section, 4 print switch, 5 and 6: Paper storage cassette, 9°10: Upper and lower row feeding Paper rollers, 11, 12: Cassette size detection switch, 11 12, : Cassette 1' detection switch, 13. I18/14.1+4: Paper presence/absence detector, 55: Flip-flop for selecting upper and lower rows. 62.63: ANDG, ), 64: Upper and lower selection lamp drive switching circuit, 67: Copy control circuit. 68: Switching circuit for paper feed roller selection drive. 110.120: Paper feed roller drive solenoid. Agent Patent Attorney Aihiko Fukushi (2 others) Figure 3 Figure 4//4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an apparatus that sets a plurality of types of paper, selects and operates a paper feeding means provided opposite to the set paper using a selection means, and automatically feeds the set desired paper, A drive control means for selectively operating the paper feeding means on the set side when the paper is set; a selection means for pulling out the set paper and selecting a paper feeding means on the other paper side; and a selection operation for the paper feeding means. 1. An automatic paper feeder comprising: display means for indicating the side on which paper is set; and means for setting the display means in a non-driving state if no paper is set on the side selected by the selection means.