JPS59227635A - Sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate an electric power loss, by turning on and off a main power source depending on the output signal of a sensor which detects the start of pulling of a waiting sheet into a machine. CONSTITUTION:A sensor 52, which detects the start of pulling of a waiting sheet into a machine caused by the action of the sheet feed mechanism A of the machine, is provided. A main powe source turn-on/off means is provided so that a main power switch is turned off when the start of pulling of the waiting sheet is not detected by the sensor 52 until the lapse of a prescribed time since the preceding detection and that the main power switch is turned on by the signal of the sensor when the start of pulling of the waiting sheet is detected by the sensor after the lapse of the prescribed time. A sheet feeder is thus prevented from waiting in a state of electricity supply, so that an electric power loss is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic sheet feeding device that is installed as an option in image forming devices such as copying machines, recording devices, printing machines, and other various sheet processing devices (hereinafter referred to as the “machine”). .

More specifically, it has a sheet storage section and a single-sheet special unit that is connected to the sheet feeding unit of this machine such as an image forming apparatus, and the standby sheet of the single-sheet special unit is connected to the machine side. This sheet feeding system repeats the operation of pulling the sheet into the machine side by the operation of the sheet feeding mechanism, and each time the sheet is pulled in, the sheet is automatically conveyed one sheet from the sheet storage section to the special equipment section for each sheet, and then placed on standby. Regarding the sending device.

This type of sheet feeding device is a so-called off-line type that is used by simply physically connecting it, such as by inserting a special section for handling one sheet into the sheet feeding section of this machine. By increasing the sheet storage capacity of the sheet storage section to, for example, 2,000 sheets, the machine can easily replenish sheets during continuous copying and recording of large amounts of sheets. This enables continuous execution to the end without any interruption, and is already in practical use.

An object of the present invention is to reduce power loss as much as possible in such an option-offline type sheet feeding device to achieve power economy.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a very schematic configuration of an example of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine @B and the sheet feeding apparatus A attached thereto. C is the pedestal on which the machine B is placed.

In the sheet feeding device A, ■ is a sheet storage section, 2 is an exterior casing of the sheet storage section, and 3 is a vertically movable sheet loading storage stand disposed inside the exterior casing 2, with both left and right sides on the tip side. To install rollers in the vertical direction, a plate 4 is fixed to each plate, and a pair of rollers 5, 5 are pivotally mounted on the outside of each plate, vertically. By fitting it into the rail, it can be placed approximately horizontally and freely move up and down along the rail. Reference numeral 8 denotes a chain for vertically moving the sheet loading storage table, which is suspended between the upper and lower sprockets 9 and 10. A part of this chain 8 is fixedly connected to the tip protrusion 3a of the table 3, and a driving source mechanism (not shown) is connected to the chain 8. This causes the chain 8 to rotate forward a
When it is rotated, the platform 3 moves in two parts and moves downward by rotating in the opposite direction. Reference numerals 11 and 12 indicate a paper feed roller and a single sheet separating claw which are disposed at the upper part of the exterior housing 2 of the sheet storage section.

Reference numeral 13 denotes an opening/closing door provided on the rear side of the seat storage exterior decoration 2, and when this door is opened, the seat loading/storage table 3 automatically moves downward to a predetermined lower limit position in response to an opening signal from the door. Sheets P are stacked and set on the lowered platform 3. Next, when the door is closed, the closing signal causes the platform 3 to
is automatically driven upward. This stand 3
Due to the upward movement of the stack sheet P on the table, the uppermost sheet surface of the sheet P on the table comes into contact with the lower surface of the paper feed roller 11, and when it rises a little further, the surface of the sheet (not shown) is placed on the table 3 based on the signal from the two-sided level sensor. Further upward movement is stopped.

J4 is a flat box body serving as a timing unit for one sheet, and is arranged so as to protrude forward from the upper part of the front panel of the outer decoration 2 of the sheet storage area. To install sheet feeding device A on this machine B,
This is done by fully fitting the flat box body 14 portion of the sheet feeding device, which serves as a single-sheet timing unit, into the sheet cassette loading port 15 on the side of the machine B. Spacer plates 16 are provided downward on both sides of the front end of the flat box body 14, and their lower ends touch the bottom surface of the cassette loading port 1.5 to support the flat box body 14 fitted into the cassette loading port 15.

17 and 18 are first and second shafts arranged in the flat box body 14 on the base side and the tip side of the housing with the shafts 19-20 parallel to each other.
This is a sheet conveying roller. First sheet conveyance roller 1
7 is attached to the shaft 19 via a one-way clutch 21, and its upper surface projects slightly above the upper surface of the flat box 14 through a through hole formed in the upper surface plate 22 of the flat box body 14.

23 is a driven roller disposed in constant contact with the upper surface of the roller 17. The second sheet conveying roller 18 is connected to the shaft 20
The shaft 20 is mounted along a vertically elongated hole formed in the side plate of the housing 14 via a one-way clutch 24, and the shaft 20 is supported so that it can freely swing downward, and is constantly moved upward by a spring plate 26. The top surface of the roller 18 is pressed against the housing top plate 22.
It protrudes upward from the top plate surface through a through hole drilled in the top plate.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a sheet guide plate that can be freely raised and lowered about a shaft 28 with respect to the 22 surface portion of the top plate of the casing between the first and second sheet conveying rollers 17 and 18, and is normally kept in a reclined state. Accordingly, a sheet passage 29 is formed between the guide plate 27 and the decorative bead face plate 22. Sl is a sheet detection sensor provided in the housing 14 at the open position of the first and second sheet conveying rollers 17 and 18, and its actuator 30 is connected to the sheet passage 29 through a through hole made in the housing top plate 22. It protrudes inward.

31 is a paper feed roller on the side of the machine B, and 32 is a freely rotating roller whose shaft 433 is loosely fitted to the shaft. When the flat box body 14, which is the single-sheet timing unit on the sheet feeding device A side, is fully inserted into the cassette loading slot 15 on the side of the machine B, the freely rotating roller 33 of the paper feed roller shaft 32 The upper surface of the second sheet conveying roller 18 of the flat box body 14 comes into corresponding contact with the lower surface of the roller 33, and the elastic force of the spring plate 26
- 18 are in pressure contact with each other.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an image forming drum within the machine B, which is driven to rotate around a shaft 35 in the direction of the arrow. 36 is an image transfer means, 37 and 38 are a pair of sheet guide plates and sheet conveyance registration rollers arranged between the paper feed roller 31 and the image transfer means 36, 39 is a fixing device, 40 is inside a paper discharge roller, and 41 is a paper discharge It's a tray. wood@
Inside B, image forming process equipment for the image forming drum 34, etc. are built-in, but these are omitted from the diagram.

In the state shown in the figure when the sheet feeding device A is connected and installed to the machine B, the passage 29 between the housing top plate 22 and the guide plate 27
When there is no sheet in the sheet and the sheet sensor S1 is off, the off signal causes the paper feed roller 11 and the first and second sheet conveyance rollers 17 and 18 to be driven to rotate. Due to the rotation of the paper feed roller 11, a feeding force is applied to the uppermost sheet of the stacked sheet (P) on the platform 3, and the sheet is separated and fed out one by one by the separation claw 12, and then the leading end of the sheet is rotated. The sheet enters between a certain first sheet conveyance roller 17 and the driven roller 23, is intermediately conveyed, and enters the passage 29. The paper feed roller 11 has a sheet leading end that is connected to the roller pair 17-.
23, its rotational drive is stopped, but since the feed roller 11 is attached to the drive shaft 42 via a one-way clutch 43, it continues to be relayed by the roller pair 17 and 23. Until the rear end of the sheet being conveyed passes under the paper feed roller 11, it rotates freely due to the moving force of the sheet, and the sheet conveyance resistance is reduced.

The sheet conveyed into the passage 29 is detected by a sheet sensor S1 on the way.
The robot comes into contact with the actuator 30, turns on the sensor S1, and is transported further forward. The timer operation of a timer device (not shown) for instructing the drive stop of the first and second sheet conveying rollers 17 and 18 is started based on the point in time when the sensor S1 is turned on. Due to the action of this timer device, the sheet is further conveyed forward before the rotation of the rollers 17 and 18 is stopped.
sheet conveyance roller 18 and paper feed roller shaft 32 on the B side of the machine
It passes between the freely rotating rollers 33 of. The above-mentioned timer device operates so that the first and second sheet conveying rollers 17 and 18 are stopped, including their inertial rotation, at the point when their leading edges exactly reach the front edge position of the casing top plate 22. .

As a result, the top plate 2 of the casing 14, which is a special equipment section,
Only one sheet is in a standby state at the predetermined position of No. 2. Depending on the size of the sheet, the trailing edge of the standby sheet is located at the position of the paper feed roller 11 and the first sheet conveyance roller 17, or at a position where the underside of the paper feed roller 11 has not yet been cut. The actuator 30 of the sheet sensor S1 is in contact with the standby sheet and is in an on state.

When the paper feed roller 31 on the side of the machine B is driven one revolution by the operation of the machine B, the standby sheet is fed toward the pair of registration rollers 38 of the machine.

At this time, the first and second sheet conveyance rollers 17 and 18 (
Since the paper feed rollers 11 and 11 are respectively attached to the shafts via one-way clutches, they rotate freely as the standby sheet fed by the rotation of the paper feed roller 31 moves, reducing sheet conveyance resistance. When the trailing edge of the fed sheet passes the actuator 30 position of the sensor S1, the sensor S1 is turned off, and the off signal causes the paper feed roller 11,
The rotational drive of the first and second sheet conveyance rollers 17 and 18 is started again, and one sheet is fed out from the sheet storage section 1 side by the same operation as described above, and the sheet is transferred to the special section 14 for one sheet. The sheet is conveyed so as to follow the previous sheet and enters a standby state.

From then on, each time the paper feed roller 31 on the side of the machine B is rotated, a standby sheet is fed into the machine B, and the sheet is transported from the sheet storage section 1 to the special machine section 14 one by one. The cycle of waiting repeats. The table 3 is intermittently driven upward every time the stacked sheets on it are consumed, for example, about 10 to 30 sheets, so that the stacked sheets P always touch the bottom surface of the paper feed roller 11.
contact is maintained between the top surfaces of the

In this way, a large number of sheets, for example 2000 sheets, stacked and set on the table 3 can be continuously fed to the machine B as long as the machine B is in operation.

By the way, such an optional offline type automatic sheet feeding device A drives the paper feed roller 31 on the machine B side and feeds the sheet in the special section 14 into the machine B, and then feeds the next sheet. Other control circuits such as a motor drive control circuit, a motor drive power supply circuit, and a power transformer of the feeding device A are kept in an ON state by being constantly energized so that the motor drive control circuit, motor drive power supply circuit, power transformer, etc. are continuously conveyed to the special equipment section 14. This energization continues even when the machine B is on standby, and the energization during that time is a loss of power, and the longer the standby period of the machine B is, the greater the power loss rate becomes.

The present invention automatically shuts off the main power switch on the sheet feeding device A side when the operation standby period of the machine B side becomes longer than a predetermined time, and then
The main power switch is automatically returned to the on state as soon as the sheet feeding device resumes operation, thereby eliminating power loss caused by the sheet feeding device standing by in the above power supply state. be.

1. That is, the present invention provides a sheet feeding device of this type, which includes a sensor that detects the start of retraction of the standby sheet on the main machine side based on the operation of the sheet feeding mechanism on the main machine side, and the retraction of the standby sheet by the sensor. If the start detection is not made within a predetermined period of time from the previous detection point, turn off the main power switch of the device, and then turn off the main power switch based on the signal when the sensor detects the start of waiting seat retraction. Main power auto-on to return to on
The object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device characterized in that it is equipped with an off means.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the main power automatic on/off means, and 50 is a motor control circuit for the sheet feeding device.
A main control circuit including other control circuits such as a motor drive power supply circuit and a power transformer, 51 is a power line (power cord) that supplies power to the main control circuit, and 52 is a plug at the end of the power line, which is connected to a power outlet (not shown). ). 53 is a main power switch provided on the power line 51;
54 is a step-down transformer whose primary side is connected to the two power supply lines 51 on the plug 52 side of the switch 53; 55 is a relay that turns on and off the main power switch 53; and 56 is a retriggerable monomulti , a relay drive circuit that operates a vibrator, and S2 a microswitch as a sensor that detects the start of retraction of a standby sheet to the main machine side. It is attached to the outer surface of the tip wall, and the special equipment part 14
When the standby sheet is fed in the direction of the registration roller 38 by the rotational drive of the paper feed roller 31 on the side of the machine B, the fed sheet contacts and passes the actuator 57, and the switch is turned on and the standby sheet is transferred to the main machine. The start of side retraction is detected. When the rear end of the sheet finishes passing the actuator 57 position, the switch s2 returns to OFF. Buck tance 54
secondary side, IJ L/-55, relay drive circuit 56,
The sensors s2 are wired together as shown. Reference numeral 58 denotes a sub-power line including a manual switch 59 connected to the power line 51 in parallel to the step-down transformer 54 and the main power switch 53.

In the main power switch 53, when the sensor S2 is not turned on for a predetermined period of time or more, the relay control circuit 56 de-energizes the relay 55 and automatically turns off the power line 51.

When the power supply line 51 is in the OFF state, when the standby sheet in the special equipment section 14 is fed by the rotation of the paper feed roller 31 of the machine B, the sensor S2 is turned on as described above at the initial stage of feeding. Become. As a result, a signal T' is input to the trigger input terminal T of the relay control circuit 56 as shown in FIG. At the rising edge of this signal T', an ON signal Q' is output from the output terminal Q of the relay control circuit 56 to the relay 55, and the ON signal Q causes the relay 55 to switch to the main power switch 5
It operates in the direction of turning on 3. When this switch 53 is turned on, the main control circuit 50 is energized, and the main control circuit 50 drives and controls the mechanism of the sheet feeding device to convey the next sheet from the sheet storage section 1 to the special equipment section 14 one by one. and enters the standby state.

A predetermined timer time t is set in the relay control circuit 56 from the rising edge of one signal T (from the start of feeding of the previous standby sheet until the next sheet is conveyed to the special equipment section 14 and the standby is completed). If the signal T' associated with the start of feeding by the paper feed roller 31 of the next standby sheet is not inputted to the relay control circuit 56 by the time the timer t elapses (longer than the time t) Relay control circuit 5
6 to the relay 55 is turned off, the main power switch 53 is automatically turned off, and the power to the main control circuit 50 is cut off. If the next signal T is not input before the timer time t has elapsed, the timer time t is changed to the chain signal T.
The process starts and progresses again using the rising point of ' as the base point.

In other words, until the timer time t expires, the next standby sheet in the special equipment section 14 is a continuous sheet in which the signal T' is input to the relay control circuit 56 as the paper feed roller 31 on the side of the machine B is fed by rotational drive. The main power switch 53 remains on as long as the target feeding cycle is repeated.

However, if the paper feed roller 31 feeds the sheet from the sheet special unit 14 to the machine B side due to a temporary interruption in the operation of the machine, etc., and the timer 5 hours or more breaks out, the last standby sheet before the break occurs. A signal/signal T is input to the relay control circuit 56 by the feeding of the sheet, and the main power switch 53 is automatically turned off t seconds after the rising edge of the signal T.
The feeding device A enters a standby state with power to the main control circuit 50 cut off. By the time the main power switch 53 is turned off, the next sheet has been fed out from the sheet storage section 1 and conveyed to the special equipment section 14, and the standby has been completed.

Thereafter, when the machine B side resumes operation and the paper feed roller 31 starts feeding the standby sheet, the main power switch 53 is automatically turned on by inputting the signal T to the relay control circuit 56.

In this way, the main control circuit 50 of the sheet feeding device A during a standby period longer than a predetermined time due to temporary interruption of operation of the machine B, etc.
The power supply is automatically cut off to reduce wasteful power consumption. Furthermore, when the operation of the machine is restarted, the main control circuit 50 of the sheet feeding device A can be immediately and automatically brought into a power supply state.

6. The manual switch 59 of the auxiliary power supply line 58 is used to drive the platform 3 down when the door 13 is opened to load and set sheets on the platform 3 of the sheet storage section l or to replenish sheets. Lifting drive of the platform 3 when the door 13 is closed,
It is turned on temporarily to supply power to the main control circuit 50 when necessary to carry out the conveyance of the first sheet to the special equipment section 14, standby, etc., and is normally kept in the off state.

The sensor S2 that detects that feeding of a standby sheet from the special equipment section 14 to the machine side by the paper feed roller 31 on the machine B side has started is not a micro switch, but may be a reed switch,
A proximity sensor, a transmissive type or a reflective type photoelectric sensor, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the sensor S2 may be turned on and off using an actuator provided on the paper feed roller 31 side and rotated together with the feed roller 31 to detect the start of sheet feeding, without causing the fed sheet to act on the sensor. You can also do this.

Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show examples of main power automatic on/off means using a mechanical timer mechanism.
is a microswitch arranged in series as a main power switch in the power supply line 51, and the microswitch 53
is turned off when the actuator 70 is pressed and turned on when the pressure is released, and is mounted and supported on the outer surface of the end wall of the flat box body 14, which serves as a special unit for handling one sheet. 60
Similarly, the lever is mounted and supported on the outer surface of the end wall of the box body 14 and is freely rotatable about the shaft 61. An oil damper type mechanical timer 62 is installed at the lower end of the downward arm of this lever.
The lever 60 is held in a substantially vertical position as shown in FIG. 4(a) by the piston rod 63, which is continuous at the tip of the forward/retractable rod 63, and is normally protruded by the pressing force of the spring 64 in the oil damper. There is. Also, when the lever 60 is in the vertical position, the lower end of the lever 60 is connected to the switch 53.
The switch contacts and presses the actuator 70, and the switch is held in the OFF state. That is, the power supply line 51 is maintained in an off state.

When the standby sheet in the special machine section 14 is fed by the start of rotation of the paper feed roller 31 on the side of the machine B, the lever 60 in this vertical position is held in place by the tip of the upward arm of the lever 60. By pushing and passing, it is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 61. The lever 60 is rotated while compressing the spring 64 inside the oil damper and pushing the piston rod 63 into the damper (Fig. 4(b)), but the spring 64 is weak and the oil distribution valve Since 65 is the opening direction, the opening can be done smoothly with little rotational resistance.

By rotating the lever 60 counterclockwise, the switch 53
'The suppression of the actuator 70 is released. That is, the power supply line 51 is turned on and power supply to the main control circuit 50 of the sheet feeding apparatus A is started.

On the other hand, once the lever 60 has been rotated counterclockwise, the oil damper type mechanical timer 6 is activated after the rear end of the feeding sheet has passed.
It takes a predetermined timer time t set to 2 to gradually restore the initial substantially vertical posture. If the switch 53 is restored, the switch 53 will be turned off at that point, but the on state will be maintained during that time. Also, the next standby sheet is not fed within the restoring timer time.
3 is kept on continuously.

Therefore, in this case as well, the same effect as in the example shown in FIG. 2 can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a main unit such as an image forming apparatus and a sheet feeding device attached thereto, Figure 2 is a block circuit diagram of an example of automatic main power on/off means, and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of a main power automatic on/off means. The operation timing charts of FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic diagrams of main parts before and after operation of another embodiment of the main power automatic on/off means. A is a sheet feeding device, B is an image forming device Kasagi machine. 0

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has a sheet storage section and a special unit for one sheet, which is connected to the sheet feeding unit of this machine such as an image forming device, and the standby sheet of the special unit for one sheet is placed on the side of the machine. The sheet feeding mechanism repeatedly pulls the sheet into the machine, and each time the sheet is pulled in, the sheet is automatically conveyed one by one from the sheet storage section to the special machine section, and the sheet is placed on standby. The device includes a sensor that detects the start of retraction of the standby sheet from the machine side based on the operation of the sheet feeding mechanism of the machine side, and the sensor detects the start of retraction of the standby sheet from the previous detection point at a predetermined constant rate. Automatic main power on/off means that turns off the main power switch of the device if the operation is not completed by the time elapsed, and then returns the main power switch to on based on the signal when the sensor detects the start of retracting the standby seat. A sheet feeding device comprising: