JPS594536A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a cassette possible to load or unload smoothly, by making a paper feed roller rotatable in both directions through a driving device via clutch device, while leaving the clutch device disconnected in time of no paper feeding, in case of a paper feeder provided with a paper feed roller. CONSTITUTION:A feed roller 1 is attached to a feed shaft 2 supported by a paper feeding part of a device body via a one-way clutch 1a being locked only when the feed shaft 2 rotates in an A direction (paper feeding direction) while a solenoid clutch 3 is as well attached to the shaft end. Also a latch plate 7, which stops rotation of the feed shaft 2 by means of engagement with a latch 8 in time of driving a plunger 9, is attached to the feed shaft 2. And, when a cassette 5 is pulled out, the solenoid clutch 3 is turned to OFF and thereby the latch plate 7 and the latch 8 are made to open away each other. With this method, no force is imposed on the feed shaft 2 so that the cassette 5 can be pulled out without disarranging a pile of paper 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a feeding device such as a copying machine. In particular, the present invention relates to a feeding device that feeds sheets using a feeding roller.

Hereinafter, a feeding device using a cassette will be described as an example.

A circular paper feed roller (hereinafter referred to as paper feed roller) has a member for conveying paper around the entire circumference, and a paper feed roller that loads paper and pushes up and supports the paper with an internal elastic member such as a spring. In a paper feeding device that uses a paper cassette (hereinafter referred to as cassette), when the cassette is placed at the paper feeding position,
The stacked papers in the cassette are always pressed against and in contact with the paper feed roller by a spring. Since the paper feed roller has a drive mechanism, a large rotating force is required to rotate the paper feed roller when it is not being driven. Therefore, if you try to remove or install the cassette while the stacked paper is in contact with the paper feed roller as described above, excessive force will be applied to the paper stacked in the cassette, and the top stacked paper will be removed from the cassette. There is a risk that it may come off or, in extreme cases, damage the loaded paper.

Conventionally, in order to avoid such a danger, when attaching or detaching the horn set, the paper feed roller or the cassette body was removed to a position where the paper feed roller and the loaded paper did not come into contact with each other, and then the
I was loading and unloading the cassette. However, in order to implement these methods, a space is required to remove the paper feed roller or cassette, which increases the size of the entire device such as a copying machine. ,
Since the drive mechanism provided to the feeding roller must also be moved at the same time, the mechanism becomes complicated and reliability decreases. On the other hand, when removing the cassette, the cassette must be placed into the apparatus and then set at the paper feeding position, which is inconvenient in use.

Furthermore, since the paper is sent out by moving a constantly rotating roller into contact with and away from the topmost sheet of paper, the timing of paper feeding varies widely, resulting in poor stability.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and provides a supply system that does not increase the size of the device (allows the cassette to be freely attached and detached, has high operability, and eliminates the mechanism for movement, increasing reliability). The purpose is to provide a paper device.

Furthermore, since the rotation of the paper feed roller can be controlled using a simple mechanism, more stable paper feeding has become possible.

Next, referring to the drawings, the present invention will be described according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1
is a feeding roller, and a one-way clutch 1a is attached to this feeding roller 1, and is attached in a direction in which it is locked when the feeding shaft 2 rotates in the direction of arrow A. Feeding shaft 2
An electromagnetic clutch 3 for driving the feeding shaft is attached to the feed shaft, and the power for driving the electromagnetic clutch 3 is input to a clutch gear 3a. A paper entry guide P4 attached to the main body of the apparatus is disposed above the feeding roller 1, a cassette 5 is disposed below the cassette 5, and stacked papers 6 are disposed within the cassette 5. A latch board 7 for stopping the rotation of the feed shaft 2 is attached to the feed shaft 2, and the latch board 7 controls the rotation of the feed shaft 2 by a latch 8. The latch 8 is driven by a plunger 9 that engages with the latch 8, and the latch 8 and the latch disk 7 are normally separated. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cassette 5 shown in FIG. 1. In this figure, the stacked papers 6 are placed on a stacking tray 5a inside the cassette, and the stacking tray 5a is elastically supported by a spring 5b.

In the above configuration, first, a case will be considered in which the cassette 5 is pulled out from the apparatus main body (not shown).

When pulling out the cassette 5, move the cassette 5 to the arrow B in Figure 1.
move in the direction. Since the direction of arrow B is the locking direction of the one-way clutch 1a of the feed roller 1, the feed shaft 2 must move very lightly in order to pull out the cassette 5 without disturbing the stacked sheets 6.

By the way, when the cassette 5 is pulled out, the electromagnetic clutch 3 is de-energized, and the latch plate 7 and latch 8 are separated. (The operations of the latch plate 7 and the latch 8 will be described later.) Therefore, no force is applied to the feeding shaft 2, and it rotates extremely lightly, and the direction of rotation is free. The cassette 5 can be pulled out without disturbing the stacked papers 6 at all.

However, during use, the cassette 5 is not always pulled out straight in the direction of arrow B, and as shown in FIG.
Normally, the receiver of the cassette 5 has a gap G between the portion 5d and the cassette 5, so the movement of the cassette 5 in the left and right direction is not completely restricted. Therefore, the cassette 5 may be pulled out while being swung slightly diagonally or from side to side.

Such a case is shown in FIG. Figure 4 shows the top stacked paper 6a and the feeding rollers 1, 1', 1" one-way clutch la.
, l'a, 1//a and a top view of the feeding shaft 2. Now, if we consider the case where the cassette 5 (not shown) is swung in the direction of arrow C in the figure, the stacked sheets 6a move from the position indicated by the solid line in the figure in the direction indicated by the dotted chain line. At this time, the one-way latches la and l'a of the feeding rollers 1 and 1' are free to rotate,
On the other hand, since the feeding roller 1''a is in the locking direction, the paper 6
Due to the movement of a, the feed roller 1'' rotates together with the feed shaft 2, and the feed rollers 1 and 1' rotate in the direction in which the one-way clutch is free to rotate.Therefore, most of the load is not applied to the paper 6a. First, the paper 6a can move with the movement of the cassette 5 without being disturbed.It is clear that the same holds true when the paper 6a is swung in the opposite direction to the arrow C.

Pull out the cassette 5 from above (even if you pull it out diagonally,
Even if you pull it out further left and right, the paper 6 loaded in the cassette 5
will not be disturbed.

Next, consider loading the cassette into the device.

In FIG. 5, the position of the paper stack 6 before loading the cassette 5 into the apparatus is shown by a broken line, and the position after loading is shown by a solid line. cassette 5
When the paper is not loaded, the loaded paper 6 is pushed up by the spring 5b, and the front end of the paper is located at the position indicated by the above-mentioned broken line. This position is regulated by a separation claw 5C within the cassette 5, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the front end portion 4a of the paper entry guide 4 is formed to be inclined rearward, thereby preventing jammed paper from becoming entangled. When attempting to load the cassette 5 in this state, as shown in FIG. The stacked paper 6 is pushed down by the portion 4b, and comes into contact with the feeding roller 1 at the sufficiently depressed position, so the feeding roller l is rotated by the one-way clutch 1a, and the stacked paper 6 is pushed down.
It will not damage the front end of the Furthermore, as is clear from FIG. 5, the paper entry guide 4 is located sufficiently above the lower surface of the feed roller 1 when the cassette 5 is loaded, so the paper entry guide 4 interferes with the loaded paper 6 when feeding paper. It never happens. When loading the cassette 5, the stacked papers 6 in the cassette 5 will not be disturbed even if the cassette 5 is loaded slightly diagonally or shaken from side to side, just like when it is pulled out.

However, if the lateral movement of the cassette is very small, it is easy to imagine that there will be no problem in attaching or detaching the cassette even without a one-way clutch.

Next, the latch plate 7 and latch 8a shown in FIG.
, 8b, and the plunger 9 will be explained.

The feed roller 1 (feed shaft 2) is driven by an electromagnetic clutch 3.
Since it is controlled by ON and OFF of the electromagnetic clutch 3, the release time of the electromagnetic clutch 3 (when the power of the electromagnetic clutch is
The time from when the feed shaft stops until the feed shaft stops varies. Since this variation in release time results in a variation in the amount of paper feed, it is desirable to make it as small as possible in a machine with a high paper feed speed. For this purpose, the electromagnetic clutch may be stopped using a brake device that can always apply a load at a constant timing.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show details of the brake device in this embodiment. The latch plate 7 is fixed to the feeding shaft 2.

The latch is an arm portion 8b for vertically moving the claw portions 8a and 8a.
The claw portion 8a and the arm portion 8b are each rotatably attached to a shaft 12. The claw part 8a is the latch plate 7
In the engaged state, the arms 8b are held down by the nonones 11 of the U-shaped portions of the arms 8b. Further, when the arm part 8b is separated, the arm part 8b is pulled downward by the spring 12, and the claw part 8a is lifted by the U-shaped lower end of the arm part 8b. The arm portion 8b of the latch is driven vertically by the plunger 9, but normally, the arm portion 8b of the latch is driven by the plunger 9.
is pulled downward, so that the claw portion 8a is separated from the latch plate 7.

At the same time as the power to the electromagnetic clutch 3 is turned off, the plunger 9 is pulled, the claw portion 8a and the latch plate 7 are engaged to apply a brake, and the rotation of the feeding shaft 2 is stopped. After the rotation of the feed shaft 2 stops, the blanker is turned off, the arm part 8b is pulled by the claw 12, the claw part 8a is lifted, and the blanker is separated from the latch plate 7.

The time during which the claw portion 8a is engaged with the latch plate 7 is very short, but even if the cassette 6 is pulled out during this time, the latch claw portion 8a is only pushed downward by the spring 11, and the latch plate remains closed. 7 can be rotated in the direction of the arrow (direction to pull out the cassette), so do not damage the latch or
It does not disturb the stacked papers in the cassette.

In the embodiment, the brake device applies a load to the feed shaft 2 at a constant timing, so it may be an electromagnetic brake.

In this embodiment, it is also possible to attach the latch plate 7 to the feed shaft 2 via a one-way clamp in the same direction as the feed roller 1, and to integrate the latch claw portion 8a and the arm portion 8b. .

Furthermore, in a machine with a low feeding speed, the amount of paper fed varies little due to variations in the release time of the electromagnetic clutch, so a brake device may not be necessary.

Furthermore, if the diameter of the feed roller is large and the amount of paper pushed in is small, there is no problem even if there is no paper intrusion guide, but when using paper that has been sucked or deformed, The entry guide can increase reliability during cassette installation and removal.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a feeding device consisting of a circular feeding roller and a paper feeding cassette, the paper feeding cassette can be completely freely attached and detached while the feeding shaft is fixed. The ease of handling can be improved. Moreover, this does not increase the machine dimensions.

In addition, by combining it with an appropriate brake device, stable operation can be obtained even when feeding at high speeds.
Reliability in paper feeding can be improved.

Furthermore, by providing the paper entry guide, stable operation can be achieved without disturbing the paper when the cassette is attached or removed, even when the paper is deformed or becomes soft due to absorption of moisture.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the cassette, and Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of Fig. 1 (parts omitted).
, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the movement of the cassette in an embodiment of the present invention during loading, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing separation within the cassette of an embodiment of the present invention. Diagram showing the upper limit of the nail,
FIG. 8.9 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a brake device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1... Feeding roller 1a... One-way clutch 2... Feeding shaft 3... Electromagnetic clutch 4... Paper intrusion guide 5... Cassette 6... Loading paper 7... Latch Panel 8... Latch 9... Plunger 1'T)... Shaft 11.12... Panel Figure 8 Figure 9 Continued from Figure 1 page 0 Inventor Ryuji Yonemori 3-chome, Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. 30-2 Canon Co., Ltd. 0 Inventors Yuji Haseyo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a feeding device that feeds sheets, a shaft that supports a feeding roller and can rotate in forward and reverse directions, a driving device that drives the shaft, and a clutch device that connects and connects the driving force between the shaft and the driving device. A feeding device comprising: a clutch device that does not apply a load to the shaft when the shaft is not driven.