JPS60118543A - Film sheet delivering mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To send out a film sheet more quickly by moving a pair of transfer rollers to sandwich an end of the film sheet lifted by an adsorbing means with said pair of transfer rollers and transferring the film sheet in the sending-out direction while rotating the pair of trnafer rollers. CONSTITUTION:As a cam 35 rotates in the direction of arrow d, a frame 31 pivots about a shaft 32 in the opposite direction to that of arrow c to move a pair of transfer rollers 30 mounted on the frame 31 from the front of sending- out direction to a sandwiching position and sandwich an end of a film sheet lifted by an adsorber 5 with the pair of transfer rollers 30. Next, as the cam 35 rotated, the frame 31 is reversed in the direction of arrow c and the pair of transfer roller 30 are rotatably driven in the direction of arrow e while moved in the sending-out direction to send out the sandwiched film sheet S onto a holding plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a film sheet feeding mechanism, for example, a photosensitive film sheet that is lifted from a supply cassette by a suction means in order to form an image with a laser beam, in the direction of an exposure section. Regarding the mechanism for sending out.

BACKGROUND ART Hitherto, as this type of feeding mechanism, those described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-36734 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-25820 have been known. In the latter case, a method is adopted in which a film silt suction tube is moved along a guide groove.

In both methods, the suction means is moved in the feeding direction, so the moving mechanism itself is large and complicated, and the disadvantage is that it takes more time than necessary to lift the film sheet with the suction means and feed it out. have.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and its purpose is to provide a film sheet feeding mechanism that is small and has a simple structure and can shorten the time required for feeding. There is a particular thing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above objects, the film sheet feeding mechanism according to the present invention includes a film sheet feeding mechanism that feeds one film sheet lifted by a suction means in one direction by rotation of a pair of conveying rollers. In the feed-out mechanism, the pair of conveyor rollers is rotatably driven and installed so as to be able to reciprocate from the front in the feed-out direction to the pinching position of the leading edge of the film sheet at approximately the same height, and the pair of conveyor rollers rotates and moves the tip of the film sheet from the front in the feed-out direction to the pinching position. The device is characterized in that it moves to a position to pinch the leading end of the film sheet, and then feeds out the film sheet while moving in the feeding direction.

That is, in the present invention, the moving means can be made smaller and simpler, and the feeding speed is increased by moving a pair of conveying rollers to nip and convey the leading edge of the film sheet lifted by the suction means. It is.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a laser beam printer equipped with an embodiment of the processing mechanism according to the present invention, and its outline will first be explained.

Photosensitive film (S) is supply cassette (1)
A suction cup (5) connected to an air cylinder (1o) is installed at the upper end of the sheet (S). The suction cup (5) together with the air cylinder (10) is movable in two downward directions using the pongee (8) as a fulcrum, and descends to release the photosensitive film (S).
After contacting the air cylinder (1o), the air suction operation of the air cylinder (1o) sucks the sea 1-(S), and the one sheet (S) on the top layer
) lift the tip.

The conveyor roller pair (30) is installed so as to be movable in the front and back direction at approximately the same height as the tip of the sheet paper (S) lifted up by the suction cup (5), and rotates in response to a sheet conveyance start signal. While being driven, it moves to the right in the figure, pinches the tip of the sheet (S) that has already been lifted, and immediately conveys this sheet (S) onto the holding plate (40).

The holding plate (40) is installed horizontally on the path from the conveying roller pair (30) to the sub-scanning drum (45), and has a slightly longer overall length than the sheet (S), and its surface is similar to the sheet (S). ) is finished so that it can slide. Also,
A bushing lever (41) is mounted on the transport roller pair (30) side of the holding plate (40), and a stopper (43) is mounted on the front scanning drum (45) side, which rotates about the shafts (42) and (44), respectively. It is movable, that is, it is installed so that it can move forward and backward in the sheet conveyance path. The bushing lever (41) moves into the conveyance path (rotation clockwise in the figure) (S)
It has the function of urging the rear end of the

The stopper (43) has a hook-shaped tip, and when the stopper (43) is in the position where it enters the conveyance path, the tip of the sheath (S) comes into contact with the stopper (43) to accurately hold the sheath (S) on the holding plate (40). It has a positioning function.

First, the stopper (43) enters the conveyance path, and with the bushing lever (41) retracted from the conveyance path, the sheet (S) is sent onto the holding plate (40) by the conveyance roller pair (30), By rotating the bushing lever (41) clockwise, the rear end of the seat (S) is pushed, and the seat (
Positioning is performed by bringing the tip of S) into contact with the stopper (43). Next, the bushing lever (41) is rotated counterclockwise at a speed that does not cause the sheet (S) to be displaced, and the stopper (43) is rotated clockwise to remove it from the conveyance path. , BUTSUSHRE BUNNY again (
41) in the clockwise direction to push the rear end of the sheet (S), the sheet (S) is conveyed to the left and its leading edge is sandwiched between the sub-scanning drum (45) and the nip roller (46). be absorbed.

The sub-scanning drum (45) is continuously rotated counterclockwise during the printing operation, and is rotated from the nip opening (46).

(46) is also constantly in contact with this drum (45) and rotates as a result. When the sheet (S) is sandwiched between the drum (45) and the front and rear nip rollers (46), it is immediately conveyed to the left in the figure by the rotational force of the sub-scanning drum (45).

On the other hand, the laser beam unit (50) is
), the laser beam generated from the beam generator (51) is irradiated between the nip rollers (46), (46) via the reflecting mirror (52), and the laser beam is placed above the sub-scanning drum (
45) Main scanning is performed on the photosensitive film sheet (S) being conveyed thereon to form a predetermined image.

The sheet (S) on which the image has been formed in this way is sent out to the left in the figure from the opening of the sub-scanning drum (45) and the nip roller (46) at the rear stage, and is successively suspended from the tip by its own weight to the tick-up cassette (55). stored inside. The tick-up cassette (55) has a lid that is opened and closed upon detecting the transport of the sheet (S), and is provided with sufficient light shielding measures.

The sheet (S) stored in this tick-up case (55) is still exposed, and the case (55) is still exposed.
5) The image is taken out from the printer while still being stored in the printer, and processed in a developing and fixing device.

Next, the sorting (mechanism) and feeding mechanism of the sheet (S) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

In Figures 2 to 5, the supply cassette (1) is installed so that it can be pulled out of the machine with sufficient light shielding measures.
A large number of photosensitive film sheets (S) are stacked on a push-up plate (2), the tip of which is lifted by a spring (3), and the upper surface of the sheet (S) changes depending on the number of sheets loaded. It is designed to maintain the same height regardless of the height.

In this embodiment, four suction cups (5) are used, each of which is attached to a support plate (6), and the support plate (6) is connected to a shaft ( 8) is rotatably attached. That is, the four suction cups (5) are arranged directly above the tip of the sheet (S) in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction thereof, and are installed so that they can each independently move up and down. Moreover, this suction cup (5) is connected to the chamber (11) of the air cylinder (10), which is installed on the support plate (6) via the adapter (9). The end of the piston rod (12), which is biased in the direction of the arrow (1) by a return spring (not shown), is connected to a link means (13).

The link means (13) includes a link (15) rotatably attached to the shaft (14) and a link (1) fixed to the drive shaft (16).
7) are connected by a link (18), and the piston rod (12) is connected to a connecting pin (19) of the links (15) and (18). In addition, the drive shaft (16)
On the end of the.

A gear (20) is installed that transmits rotational force only in the direction of arrow (a) via a one-way clutch that can be turned off. That is, when the gear (20) is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow (,), the link (I7) as well as the drive shaft (↑6) also rotates in the direction of the arrow (,).
a), the link (15) also rotates in the same direction in conjunction with the link (IS), the piston rod (12) moves in the opposite direction to the arrow (b), and the chamber (11) A negative pressure is established inside the chamber (11), and a negative pressure is established within the suction cup (5) communicating with this chamber (11). When the rotational driving force from the gear (20) is cut off, the piston rod (12) moves in the direction of the arrow (
b), and the negative pressure state is released.

On the other hand, two types of cams (22a) = (22a), (22b) - (22b) fixed to the drive shaft (23) are mounted on the roller (21) rotatably attached to the end of the support plate (6).
) is installed, and a gear (24) that transmits rotational force only in the direction of arrow (a) is attached to the end of the drive shaft (23) via a one-way clutch that can be turned on and off. The support plate (6) is biased counterclockwise around the shaft (8) as the weight balance is heavier on the left side in FIG.
The rotation angle is determined by each roller (21) coming into contact with the outer peripheral surface of each cam (22a), (22b).

Therefore, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the gear (24), and the cams (2'2a) and (22a) are moved along with the drive shaft by the arrow (a).
) direction, the force, m (22a), (22b)
The support plate (6) rotates based on the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the support plate (6).

The shapes of the cams (22a) and (22 et al.) are shown in Figure 7 (a).
As shown in (b), the suction cup (
5) is moved up and down to attract and lift the tip of one jTTiN photosensitive film sheet (S) loaded in the cassette (1) (see FIG. 4). Note that this operation will be described later.

Next, the delivery mechanism will be explained.

The transport roller phantom (30) includes a long roller (30a) and plate-shaped rollers (30b) that are in contact with both ends of the long roller (30a).
It is rotatably attached to frames (31) and (31). The frames (31), (31) are rotatably supported by a shaft (32) at their lower ends, and are constantly urged in the direction of arrow (c) by a spring (not shown), and a roller (33) provided in the middle part The cam (35) fixed to the drive shaft (34)
) is positioned to abut the upward rotation angle. Further, a gear (36) that transmits rotational force only in the direction of the arrow (, ()) is attached to the end of the drive shaft (34) via a one-way clutch that can be turned on and off.Furthermore,
One end of the shaft (32) and the shaft (37) of the conveying roller (30a) is configured to be able to transmit rotational force using a pulley, a timing belt, etc. (not shown), respectively, and the shaft (37) of the conveying roller (30a)
) is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow (e), and the roller (30b)
rotates as a result of this.

That is, each time the cam (35) rotates, the pair of transport rollers (30) rotates around the frame (31), (
31) performs one reciprocating rotation, the tip is approximately the same as the tip of the sheet (S) lifted by the suction cup (5).
Move forward and backward at the height, as shown in Figure 4, as indicated by the arrow (c).
), the tip of the sheet (S) lifted by the suction cup (5) is pinched, and the sheet (S) is placed on the holding plate (40) by its own rotational force. send out.

In Section 22, a series of operations for supporting and sending out S (S) will be explained.

First, at the start of the mackerel final operation, the cam (22a)
, points (al) and (bl) on the outer peripheral surface of (22b) (see Figure 7 (a) and (b)) contact the roller (21),
The support plate (6) rotates clockwise to attach each suction cup (5)
is located at the highest point (see FIG. 9(i)). First, the one-way clutch of the gear (24) is turned on by the sheet (S) supply start signal, and the cams (22a) and (22b)
rotates in the direction of arrow (a) and reaches the 90° rotation position, points (112) and (b2) on the outer circumferential surface are aligned with the roller (21).
and each suction cup (5) is in contact with the lowest point i.e. the cassette (1)
(See FIG. 9(ii)). Outside this, the gear (
20) is turned on and the drive shaft (16) is turned on.
), the link (17) rotates in the direction of arrow (a),
The piston rod (12) moves in the opposite direction to the arrow (b) to create a negative pressure inside the suction cups (5), and each suction cup (5) suctions the tip of the sheet (S).

In this state, the cams (22a) and (22b) are further
When rotated, points (a3) and (b3) on the outer peripheral surface come into contact with the roller (21), and the cams (221+) and (22) on both sides come into contact with the roller (21).
Since points (b2) and (b3) in b) have the same diameter,
The support plate (6) does not rotate, and the suction cups (5) on both sides,
(5) is held at the lowest point. Inner cam (22a)
= (22a) has a large diameter between points (a2) and (a3), so the support plate (6) rotates clockwise, and the suction cups (5) and (5) in the center point (see Figure 9(ii)). With this, the center part of the tip of S (S) is lifted by the central suction cup (5), (5), and both sides are lifted by the suction cup (5) on both sides,
At step (5), the sheet is pressed, and only one sheet of the top layer is handled securely.

When the cams (22a) and (22b) further rotate 90 degrees, points (a4) and (b4) on the outer peripheral surface come into contact with the roller (21), and point (a) of the inner cams (22a) and (22a)
3) to (a4) have the same diameter, so the support plate (6)
The inner suction cup (5L (5) is held at the midpoint without rotating.

The cams (22b) and (2211) on both sides are connected to the point (a3)-(
+) Since the diameter is large across 4), the support plate (6)
rotates clockwise, and the suction cups on both sides (5), (5
) moves up to the midpoint (see Figure 9(iv)). With this, the leading edge of the sheet (S) is aligned horizontally, and the cam (22a).

When (22b) further rotates by 90° and rotates once, the a-ra (21) contacts the point (al) = (bl), and the suction cup (5) is located at the uppermost point (see Fig. 9 (22b)). V
), see Figure 4). That is, cams (22a), (22b)
With one rotation of the cylinder (10) and the suction operation of the cylinder (10), the leading edge of the uppermost sheet (S) is lifted horizontally to the uppermost point of the suction cup (5).

When this state is detected by the appropriate detection means, the gear (36)
The one-way clutch is turned on and the cam (35) rotates in the direction of arrow (d), causing the roller (33) to move toward the cam (35).
As the contact point moves from (cl) to (c2), the frames (31), (, 31) rotate in the opposite direction of the arrow (c) about the shaft (32), and the conveyor roller pair moves. (
3o) is held up by the tip of the (S). At the same time, the one-way clutch of the gear (20) is turned off, the piston rod (12) returns in the direction of arrow (b), and the negative pressure in the suction cup (5) is released.

The transport port/ra pair (30) is driven to rotate at the same time as the movement starts, and when the tip of the sear (S) is inserted, the suction cup (5)
) (S) whose adsorption is released is immediately sent out onto the holding plate (40). The cam (35) rotates once for each feeding, but as the contact point of the roller (33) to the cam (35) moves from (C2) to (C1), the pair of conveyance rollers (30) ) (S) and moves forward itself (in the direction of arrow (c)).

Further, the rotation of the conveyance roller pair (30) is stopped at the time when the sheet (S) is sent out onto the holding plate (40). When the sheet (S) is conveyed on the sub-scanning drum (45) in the following process, the drive of the pond is stopped as soon as possible to prevent uneven conveyance of the sheet (S) due to vibrations caused by the drive. It's for a reason.

In the above-described operation, the sheets (S) are reliably sorted by the shift in the upward movement timing of the suction cup (5), and are sent out one by one starting from the two-most layer. In this embodiment, the suction cup (5) is
), but if the transport roller pair (30) can be inserted at the height (1v) in FIG.
Operations v) to (V) may be omitted. Accordingly, the shapes of the cams (22a) and (22b) will also be changed in units of 1.20°. As in this example, (iv) to (
The operation v) becomes effective when the height of the intermediate point where the sheet (S) is divided and the leading edge is aligned is significantly different from the conveying surface by the pair of conveying rollers (30). That is, the ninth
In the state (iii) in the figure, the higher the intermediate point is set, the greater the lag effect becomes.

Shimeka, on the other hand, hold the central part of (S) high.
By doing so, both sides shift toward the center, and 2
When the outer suction cup (5) or the sheet (S) was picked up and lifted, the leading edge of the sheet (S) became wavy, which hindered the insertion into the pair of transport rollers (30). There is a risk that this will occur. The reason for aligning the heights of the suction cups (5) at the midpoint is to prevent such waving.

On the other hand, the handling and feeding operations are controlled by a sequence or a microcomputer in combination with print switch signals, timers, etc., and this control section is controlled by the push lever (
41), a stopper (43), etc., are installed in the electrical equipment box (56) together with a control unit for the operation of the stopper (43), etc.

Note that the feeding mechanism according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, the pair of conveyance rollers (30) of the feeding mechanism may move horizontally to nip the tip of the sheet (S) without moving in an arc shape.

In addition to laser beam printers, the present invention can also be applied to medical X-ray imaging devices.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the leading edge of the film sheet is nipped by moving the conveying roller without moving the suction means in the feeding direction. The moving means can be made smaller and simpler than the conventional one, and since the transport roller pair itself rotates and moves in the feeding direction to feed the film sheet, the sheet can be fed out faster by the amount of movement. Therefore, printing speed can be increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show a laser beam printer equipped with an embodiment of the delivery mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram, and FIG.
The figures are perspective views of the handling mechanism and feeding mechanism, Figures 3 and 4.
The figure is a front view for explaining the operation of the handling mechanism and the feeding mechanism, Figure 5 is a plan view thereof, Figure 6 is a sectional view of the air cylinder, Figures 7 and 8 are front views of the cam, Figure 9 The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the suction cup. (S)...Photosensitive film sheet, (1)...Safly cassette, (5)...Suction cup, (10)...Air cylinder, (30)...Transport roller illusion, ( 31)
... Frame, (32) ... Shaft, (33) ... Roller, (35) ... Cam. Patent applicant: Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent attorney: 2 people (see above) Figure 6 Figure 7 C) Figure 7 (b) Figure 8 Figure 9

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a film sheet feeding mechanism in which a film sheet picked up by a suction means is sent out in one direction by the rotation of a pair of conveying rollers, the pair of conveying rollers is rotationally driven and from the front in the feeding direction. A pair of transport rollers is installed at a nipping position of the leading edge of the film sheet so as to be able to reciprocate at approximately the same height, and the transport roller pair moves from the front in the feeding direction to the nipping position to nip the leading edge of the film sheet, and A film sheet feeding mechanism that feeds out a film sheet while moving in a feeding direction. (2) The conveying roller pair is rotatably installed at the tip of a frame that is rotated back and forth by a cam means, and is moved back and forth from the front in the feeding direction to the nipping position as the frame rotates. A film sheet according to claim 1.