JPS59212858A - Paper feeding device of copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To send a cassette to a paper feeding part automatically according to desired transfer paper size by moving up and down a holder for plural paper feed cassettes and feeding paper. CONSTITUTION:A copying machine body 1 has the paper feeding part 2 and transfer paper is sent out of a cassette C to a guide 4. A paper pressing-up device 12 is provided under the paper feeding part 2. The cassette holding member 13 which moves up and down is fitted. A motor 15, screw shaft 16, and guide shaft are provided on a flank 14. The member 13 moves up and down while held on its shaft 16, guide shaft, etc., and is in a nearly box shape, and this member slides four cassettes C1-C4 of different size horizontally and freely and has cassette loading holes K1-K4 vertically. The holes K1-K4 have an external opening 21 and a main body side opening 22 for pressing cassettes out of the holes toward the paper feeding part 2 in the main body 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feeding device for a copying machine, and more particularly to a paper feeding device that automatically moves a desired paper feeding power cent to a paper feeding section.

Among conventional copying machines, especially those designed to be smaller or cheaper, there is only one paper feed section with a paper feeding power center attached to the main body of the copying machine. If you want to use paper, you need to replace the paper cassette each time, and it is time-consuming to move the paper feed cassette that is not in use to another storage location, making the operation extremely inefficient. Not only is this disadvantageous, but there are also inconveniences such as damage to the paper feed cassette made of plastic or the like when the paper feed power center is attached to and removed from the paper feed section.

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Defects and malfunctions inherent in the paper feeding device of copying machines
The purpose is to solve one problem, and the gist thereof is to provide a skein/gutter holding member that is capable of horizontally sliding a plurality of paper feed force centers and that accommodates them by stacking them in multiple stages in the downward direction; an elevating device for moving the force center holding member in the -h downward direction on the side of the paper feed section of the copying machine main body; a position detector for detecting the position of the force center holding member; and a cassette selected based on the cassette selection signal. A paper feeding device in a copying machine is provided with a control means for raising and lowering a cassette holding member until the paper feeding cassette reaches the paper feeding section, and the lifting device moves the cassette holding member up and down based on a cassette selection signal. (1-1 down) to the specified A device, and do not remove the paper feed cassette from the cassette holding member (1-1 down).
The present invention provides a paper feeding device for a copying machine that allows the paper feeding power center to be replaced.

Next, with reference to the attached page 1, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described to provide an understanding of the present invention.

Here, FIG. 1 is a side view of a copying machine equipped with a paper feeding device having only one paper feeding section according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The figure is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the lifting device that drives the paper feeding device, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the same control circuit, and FIG. 5 is the two paper feeding units according to another embodiment. 1 is a side view of a copying machine having a

In Figures 1 and 2, ■ indicates the paper feed section 2 of the copying machine, into which the paper feed force center is inserted and held during copying operations.
The transfer paper in the paper feed cassette l-C is transferred from the feed 111E cassette C inserted into the paper feed section 2 to the transport guide 1'4.4 by the rotating paper feed port ~U3. The photoreceptor 7 is fed out along the conveyance roller 5 and the timing roller 6.
The toner image on the photoreceptor 7F- is transferred by contacting the surface of the photoreceptor 7F-, and then the transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is transferred between the pressure roller 9a and the heat roller 9h by the conveyor bell l-8. The paper is fed out while passing through the paper ejection roller 10 to the tray 1.
1, the transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged.

It should be noted that - the configuration of the copying machine as described above is merely an example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

]);1 A well-known pushing device 12 for pushing the transfer paper in the paper feed force sensor 1-0 in the direction of the paper feed roller 3 is provided at the lower part of the distributed paper section 2. However, such a push-up device 1
2 does not necessarily need to be provided separately from the paper feed cassette C as shown in the figure, but may be provided in the paper feed cassette C itself.

0; 1. A cassette holding member 13 that can be raised and lowered is installed on the side of the copying machine main body 1 on the side of the paper feed section 2 and is movable in the vertical direction. side 14
The motor 15, the vertical threaded port/nod 16 connected to the motor 15, and the threaded rod 7 parallel to the threaded rod 16 are removed, and the cassette holding member 13 is There is a protrusion 18a at the end of the person's eye.
and 18.1 is formed integrally with the 11 part 4A13, and one protruding part 18.1 has L; I= +1lf
An f-threaded portion 19 is formed vertically, and the screw port/nod 16 is screwed into this 1llllf-threaded portion 19.

Also, the other protrusion 181. has a vertical guide hole 20
is drilled in the guide hole 20, and the guide rod 7 is inserted into the guide hole 20.
The print n1pJ is freely attached.

The cassette holding member 13 has the protrusions 18a and 181
．． It has a substantially box-shaped shape with a "left and right" end, and has four paper feed cassettes and throats of different sizes C1, C2, C, , C.
, into the cassette mounting hole which can be slid freely under a horizontal force ti> and which is stacked downward in multiple stages as shown in the figure. 2, 3, and 4 are provided at regular intervals, and each cassette mounting hole has an outer opening 21 for inserting a supply SIE cassette throat from the outside.
The cassette/gutter mounting hole has a main body side opening 22 for pushing out the inner paper feeding cassette/gutter in the direction of the paper feeding section 2 in the main body 1 of the copying machine.

The above paper feed cassettes c+ to C4 are for storing transfer papers of different sizes, for example, c is B5,
C2 accommodates transfer paper according to standards such as A4, C3 accommodates B4, and C4 accommodates A3. However, the paper feeding power and the number of its mounting holes are 1. It is not limited to four stages as above,
There is no problem in general with 3 or less stages or 5 stages or more, and the illustrated one is only an example.

The force center holding member 13 is supported on the side surface 14 of the copying machine main body 1 by the threaded rod 16 and the guide rod 17 as described above. A pair of support rollers 24a and 24b are rotatably attached to the side of the main body of the back surface 23 of the holding portion 13, and the support rollers 24a and 24b are rotatably attached to the side of the main body of the copying machine 1. It is preferable that the cassette holding member 13 is prevented from being rotated by turning the cassette holding member 13.

Further, the side surface 144 of the copying machine main body 1 has a position detection /lj+
A type of limit switch LSI, LS2, LS3
,1. , S, are arranged vertically, and each limit switch 1
-51 to LS4, and the projection 25 that detects the downward direction (17 position) of the cassette holding member 13 is attached to one of the projections 181. +?ii.

The operation panel provided on the top of the copying machine main body 1 displays the size of transfer paper (B5.B4, A4.A) as shown in No. 31.
3) corresponding to the number of cassette support keys CK(,C
3 and CK4 are provided in K2, C, and CK4, and the cassette support key selected by the operator is configured to input the cassette date selection signal to the control means shown in FIG.

Next, the elevating and lowering control operation of the cassette holding member 13 will be explained with reference to FIGS.
The control circuit 27 may be constituted by a relay, a comparator, an arithmetic unit, or other individual circuits, or may include a storage device RAM containing a control program as shown in the figure.
, a central processing unit CPU that processes information according to a program built into this ROM, a temporary storage RAM that temporarily stores calculation results and other data, and cassette selection signals and position detection from cassette support keys CKI to CK. The limit switches LS to L are a type of device.
Input interface circuit 17k that converts the current position signal from S into a format suitable for data processing within the CPU.
A microcomputer may be used, which includes an output interface circuit IF for matching the command signal sent from the CPU to the motor 15 with the processing within the control circuit of the motor 15, and the like.

In the following operating procedure, the case where the microcomputer described in - is used will be explained.

1) Assuming that the paper feed unit 1-0 containing A3 transfer paper is located at the position corresponding to the paper feed section 2 as shown in I, the following procedure is shown in Fig. 4. This will be explained with reference to a flowchart.

Each step is displayed as a, b, c, . . . .

In this state, when the operator selects and presses one of the cassette support keys CKI to CK (a), an unillustrated switch that is linked to the pressed cassette support key is activated and a selection signal is output. The signal passes through the /D converter 28, reaches the input interface circuit F1, and is transmitted to the CPU. Such a cassette selection signal is, for example, a cassette support key CK.
, are signals with different voltages ranked corresponding to CK4, for example, pressing CKI gives 1 volt, pressing C1 gives 2 volts, pressing CK3 gives 3 volts, and pressing GK gives 4 volts. A selection signal having a voltage of 1 is generated/=1=,
L, this is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 28 and transmitted to the CPU.

Upon receiving this selection signal, CI) U transmits this selection signal and the current position signal transmitted from one of the currently operating Rimi-Noto-Isochi LS to LS4 in step (b). compare.

In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper feed cassette CK
4 is on the front side of the paper feed section 2, and the uppermost glue limit switch LS and the protrusion 25 interfere with each other, and the limit switch LS,
The current position signal, which is digitized via the A/D converter 29, is sent to the CPU via the input interface circuit IF.
transmitted to. The current position signal sent from the limit switches LS to LS is connected to the cassette support key CK.
Ranked according to the value of the selection signal output by pressing I to CK4, 4 volts when LS4 is ON, 3 volts when LS3 is ON, 2 volts when LS2 is ON, and LS is OFF. When 'N, a 1 volt current position signal is sent to the CPU.

Therefore, in step b, if the cassette selection signal and the current position signal are equal, this indicates that the selected cassette is already present in that state in front of the paper feed section 2, so the process goes to step C. and maintains the stopped state of the motor 15. At this point, the operator pushes the paper feed cassette in the direction shown by the arrow 30 in FIG. Proceeding to step b, a signal corresponding to the magnitude relationship between the cassette selection signal and the current position signal is sent to the motor 15, and the motor 15 is rotated forward or reverse (step C) to raise and lower the cassette holding member 13, and then step b When the force cent selection signal and the current position signal become the same,
That is, when the selected cassette is placed in front of the paper feed section, the motor 15 is stopped in step C.

For example, assume that the paper feed cassette C3 is currently in front of the paper feed section 2. At this time, the protrusions 25 are engaged with the eight L ports, and the current position signal of the three ports 1- is transmitted to the CPU.

Here, if the operator presses the A4 cassette support key CK2
When the key is pressed, a 2 volt cassette selection signal is sent to the CPU in response to this key, and the difference is calculated in step d. Since the difference between the values of each signal in L is positive, the motor 15 is rotated in the normal direction, and the cassette holding member 13 is lowered, and eventually the protrusion 25 engages the limit switch LS, and the current position of 2 volts is reached. The signal is transmitted to the CPU, and since it matches the cassette selection signal, the motor 15 is stopped in step C.

Conversely, when the operator presses the cassette support key CK when the paper cassette C3 is in front of the paper feed section 2, a 4-volt cassette selection signal is sent to the CPU and compared with the 3-volt current position signal. , since the difference is negative, motor 1
5 is reversed, and the cassette holding member 13 is lifted up.
The motor 15 stops at the position where the cassette C4 loaded with No. 3 transfer paper comes to the front of the paper feed section 2.

In the following explanation, the paper feed section 2 is located within the main body 1 of the copying machine.
However, in the present invention, paper feed sections 2a and 2b are provided in two stages, upper and lower, as shown in FIG. 5, and paper feed rollers 3a and 3 are provided correspondingly. It is also applicable to a relatively large copying machine installed.

In this case, the paper feeding section can be selected by selecting the paper feeding section closest to the desired paper feeding power center.
In a copying machine with four stages of paper feed force centers as shown in the figure, it is possible to reach the target paper feed section by moving the cassette holding member 13 by a maximum of one force set, which improves operability. improves.

In this case, the conveyance roller 5 is
The bending angle of the transfer paper increases when feeding the transfer paper to the printer, increasing the risk of paper jams. In the case of , such defects are removed by IJF.

It should be noted that the vertically movable paper feeding device as described in 1- can be additionally attached to the side of the copying machine main body 1 without modifying the internal structure of the copying machine main body 1. It is also possible to modify and install an existing copying machine.

In the above explanation, the screw throat 16 rotated by the motor 15 is used as the elevating device for the cassette holding member 13.
Instead of a chain that runs in the vertical direction, an air cylinder that moves forward and backward in the vertical direction, a hydraulic cylinder, and other threaded rods 16, a rank is formed on the back surface of the cassette holding member 13,
It is also possible to use a structure in which a pinion is engaged with this or other link mechanism, and the cassette holding member 13
Position detectors that detect the position of the document are not limited to Mitsutswitches, but also reed switches, door switches, photoswitches, and other contact and non-contact types. If the cassette holding member 13 is allowed to rise and the transfer paper of an appropriate size is electrically fed into the paper feed section 2, work efficiency will be further improved. If a mechanism is adopted that automatically pulls the paper feeding force center stopped at the front of the copying machine 2 into the copying machine main body 1, the work efficiency will be further improved.

As described above, the present invention includes a cassette holding member that is horizontally slidable and accommodates a plurality of paper feed centers stacked in multiple stages in the downward direction; A lifting device that moves vertically on the side of the paper section, a position detector that detects the position of the force center holding member, and a position detector that detects the position of the force center holding member, and a - A control means for raising and lowering the cassette holding member. (The cassette containing the paper feed unit is automatically fed to the front of the paper feed unit, so there is no need to transport the paper cassette to another storage location when replacing the paper feed unit. When replacing the paper strength centrifuge, there is no need to remove the paper cassette from the cassette holding member, just by pushing the paper cassette into the paper feeding section or pulling it out from the paper feeding section.
The efficiency of copying work is increased by four points, and losses in paper feeding power are also prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a copying machine equipped with a paper feeding device having only one paper feeding section according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken along arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the control circuit, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the control circuit. FIG. (Explanation of symbols) 1...Copying machine body 2...Paper feed section 3...Paper feed roller 13...Cassette holding member 16...Screw roller (elevating device) LS, ~LS,...・Position detector CKI-ct

Claims (1)

[Claims] a force center holding member that is capable of horizontally sliding a plurality of paper feeding force centers and that accommodates them in a stacked manner in multiple stages in a downward direction;
A lifting device that moves the force center holding member in the vertical direction on the side of the paper feed section of the copying machine main body, a position detector that detects the position of the force center holding member, and a cassette feed selected based on a cassette selection signal. A paper feed device for a copying machine, comprising a control means for raising and lowering the force center holding member until the paper force point reaches the paper feeding section.