JPS61178336A - Paper supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit the continuous supply of blanks by providing in a position of a feed roller a rotor engaging the blank on standby and driven as the blank is transferred and providing a detecting means for detecting the rotation of the rotor and generating the paper supply directing signal to transfer the next blank. CONSTITUTION:A rotor 13 engages a blank P on standby in a position of a feed roller 12 and is driven rotatably as the blank is transferred. The rotation of a kick roller 42 of a paper supply means which is the rotor 13 is detected by a detecting means. The next blank supply directing signal is sent to the paper supply means with reference to the rotation detecting signal of the detecting means so that the next blank is drawn out in an optimum timing with the preceding blank supplied into the device by the feed roller 12 and the blanks are continuously copied and typed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a paper feed device that sequentially supplies paper to a paper supply port of a processing device such as a copying machine, a printing machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine.

[Prior art]

Generally, this type of device uses a cassette 1 that stores paper in the paper supply port of a processing device, such as a paper feed cassette of a copying machine.
It is widely known that a cassette is attached to a cassette and a foot roller built into the processing device takes in sheets one by one from the cassette according to the progress of processing such as copying.

Since the cassette is used by attaching and detaching it depending on the paper size, it is required to be lightweight and compact, which inconveniently limits the paper storage capacity.

Therefore, a paper feed device that stores a large amount of paper is attached to the paper feed port of the processing device, and paper is sequentially fed from a stacker loaded with a large amount of paper to the feed roller part of the paper feed port using paper feed means such as rollers and belts. A method has been proposed in which the paper is supplied and the paper is taken in one by one according to the process of the processing device.

In other words, paper is always prepared from the paper feeder to the feed roller on the processing device side, and when the feed roller runs out of paper, the next paper is supplied, so that the feed roller is always prepared with paper and is waiting. paper feeding devices are widely used.

However, in this device, as shown in FIG.
52), it takes a considerable amount of time for the paper to reach the illustrated distance (after being conveyed using a ladle), which causes the inconvenience that the paper cannot be fed in time for the paper feeding timing on the processing device side.

For example, a sensor (
Se) or when no paper is detected, the paper feeder (51) is activated to feed the paper, and when the sensor (Se) detects the arrival of paper, the paper feeder (51) is stopped and the feed roller feeds the paper to the device. When an attempt is made to feed the paper into the processing device, the paper is intermittently fed to the processing device at a distance of 5 degrees, and the processing device also stops processing intermittently according to this distance.

In addition, this distance (e/) cannot be determined because a paper feeder is attached to the processing device, and when a paper feeder is attached to a normal cassette loading slot in a copying machine, etc., the distance (e/) is the distance for one sheet of paper. A distance close to is required.

In this case, it is possible to obtain a processing timing signal from the processing device and start the paper feeding means to feed the paper first, but it is not possible to obtain a signal from the processing device.It is necessary to attach paper feeding devices to various processing devices. Therefore, there remains a problem with the versatility of the device.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of the above, the present invention is capable of continuously supplying paper to the paper feed port of a processing device at intervals according to the processing speed, and is capable of responding to the continuous paper feeding timing of the processing device, thereby increasing the work efficiency of the processing device. The purpose is to provide a paper feeding device that does not cause any problems.

[Solution]

The present invention is based on the idea that paper fed from a paper feeding device is fed into the device by a feed roller at a paper feeding port on the processing device side, and the next paper is fed first toward the paper feeding port. A rotating body that engages with waiting paper at the roller position and is driven as the paper moves (conveys), and a detection means that detects this rotation are provided, and the paper is fed based on the rotation detection signal from the detection means. A paper feed instruction signal for conveying the next paper is emitted to the means.

[Explanation of Examples]

The present invention will be described in detail below according to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In the illustrated example, a copying machine (C) is used as a processing device, and a cassette loading port (11) is used as an example of its paper feeding port, and the paper feeding device indicated by the overall symbol ^ can be attached to this cassette loading port as necessary. The paper is fed into the apparatus in synchronization with the copying process.

The copying apparatus B is provided with a feed roller 12 of a conventional structure in a cassette loading port 11 connected to a drive system (not shown). Along with this feed roller 12, a switch (not shown) is provided in the cassette loading port 11 to detect the presence or absence of paper.

When the cassettes 1 to 1 according to the paper size are loaded into the cassette loading port 11, the feed roller 12 engages with the topmost paper of the cassette, feeds it out, and sends it to registration rollers (not shown) in the copying machine.

Therefore, the paper feeding device A has a paper storage section A1 that stores a large amount of paper, and a paper ejection section A2 that is continuous with the paper storage section A1.
The paper ejecting section A2 is configured to have a shape compatible with the cassette loading port 11 of the main body B of the copying machine and is mounted thereon.
The entire paper feed device is connected to the main body B of the copying machine.

The paper storage section A1 is composed of a paper storage frame 2, a stacker 3 that can be raised and lowered into the storage frame 2, and a paper feeding means 4 connected to a motor or other drive system.

The illustrated stacker 3 is fitted into a guide groove 23 formed in the paper storage frame 2, and is suspended by a wire 33 on pulleys 32 disposed on each of the left and right side frames 21a and 21b.

Therefore, the stacker 3 can be raised or lowered by rotating the take-up rollers 35 and 36 in either the forward or reverse direction by the drive motor M2.

At the top of the storage frame 2, a paper feeding means 4 is arranged to feed out the paper toward a paper discharging section A2 which will be described later. In the illustrated example, the rotation shaft 41 is connected to the left and right side frames 21a, 21b by the long groove 2.
4, and a kick roller 42 is mounted on this rotating shaft 41.
The kick roller 42 is provided at a position in contact with the center of the paper width of the rising paper of the paper 31 on the stacker 3, thereby forming the paper feeding means 4.

The rotation shaft 41 of this kick roller 42 is connected to a drive motor M1.

Along with this kick roller 42, separation claws 5, so-called corner claws, are engaged with the paper exit end of the storage frame 2 at both corners so as to restrain both side edges of the paper on the paper stacking table 3. When the sheets are fed out, only the uppermost sheet passes over the separating claw 5 and is separated and fed.

In addition to the kick roller, the separation means consists of a roller that rotates in the paper feeding direction and a fixed roller that is indented on this roller. It may also be a roller that rotates in the direction.

The paper discharging section A2 includes a discharging guide 6 that guides the paper fed out from the paper feeding means 4 to the feed roller 12 of the copying machine main body B.
It is made up of.

The illustrated carry-out guide 6 is a normal plate-shaped guide piece, and the portion of the main body B of the copying machine that faces the feed roller 12 is composed of a movable guide piece 61 that can move toward and away from the roller 12 .

This means that when the feed roller 12 of the copying machine main body B is in a stopped state, the leading edge of the paper fed by the paper feeding means 4 is
and the guide piece 61, and when the feed roller 12 starts to rotate, the paper is surely moved between the feed roller 12 and the guide piece 61.
This is because the paper is brought into pressure contact with and engaged with, and the paper is fed into the main body B of the copying machine by its carrying force. The movable guide piece 61 is instructed to swing toward and away from the feed roller 12, and is moved away from the roller 12 by a solenoid (not shown) until the leading edge of the paper enters the feed roller 12. After the paper enters the gap, it comes into pressure contact with the feed roller 12, and the rotation of the roller 12 feeds the paper into the copying machine.

Note that the carry-out guide 6 is not necessarily limited to a plate-shaped guide piece as shown in the figure, but may also be composed of an endless belt, a conveyance roller, etc. As long as the paper is guided, it may be selected as appropriate whether it has the function of transporting the paper or merely guides the paper.

Therefore, in the present invention, a rotating body 13 is provided at the feed roller 12 portion, which engages with the waiting paper P and rotates as the paper P is transported. In the illustrated example, the trailing edge of the waiting paper is engaged with the paper feeding means 4, so the paper feeding means 4 is connected to a roller,
A rotating body such as an endless belt (kick roller 42 shown)
), and a one-way clutch 14 is interposed between the kick roller 42 and the drive device (the aforementioned drive motor M1) to allow the roller 42 to be driven in the paper feeding direction.

Therefore, when the paper P is transferred into the apparatus by the feed roller 12, the paper feeding means 4 (the illustrated kick roller 42) is also driven to rotate.

The rotary body 13 which also serves as the paper feeding means 4 is provided with a detection means 15 for detecting its rotation.

The illustrated one is a drive device M1, a reduction gear 15, a drive shaft 17 connected via a ladder chain 16, and a kick roller 42.
A one-way clutch is interposed between the kick roller 12 and the kick roller 12, and a rotating plate 19 integral with the collar 18 is provided integrally with the kick roller 12.

At least two detected portions (slits in the figure) 19a are formed in the rotational direction of the rotary plate 19, and a detecting means 20 is provided to face and detect the detected portions.

The detection stage 20 is a photo sensor that detects the detected portion 1 of the rotary plate 19.
Reference numeral 9a is formed of slits 1~, and is configured so that a pulse signal can be obtained from the detection means 20 as the kick roller 42 rotates.

Therefore, it is possible to recognize by the signal from the detection means 20 when the paper feeding means starts rotating, when it stops, and when a predetermined amount of paper has been conveyed after starting rotation.

That is, the initial stage of rotation can be recognized by the rising signal from the detection means 20, the conveyance amount can be recognized by the number of signal pulses, and the stop of rotation can be recognized by the falling signal.

Note that 21 in the figure is a stay that holds the drive device fitVlt and the paper feeding means 4 and is fixed to the storage frame 2, and 22 is a bracket attached to this stay that holds the drive shaft 1 of the paper feeding means 4.
7 is held so that it can freely swing up and down.

Therefore, a rotation detection signal of the rotating body 13 is obtained from the detection means 20, and based on the signal, a paper feeding instruction signal is issued to the paper feeding means 4.The paper feeding means 4 feeds the next sheet to the feed roller 12 at a predetermined timing. The embodiments of the present invention will now be described.

First, there are two methods for temporarily stopping the paper on the unloading guide 6 and making it wait.

The first is the feed roller 12 which feeds the paper fed from the paper feeding means.
The second method is to hold the paper fed from the paper feeding means in a -Q stop on the way to the feed roller 12, and wait when the previous paper passes the feed roller position. This is a method in which the paper feeding means is rotated again to reach the feed roller position.

For the former, for example, it is sufficient to provide a sensor means (Sl) that captures the paper that has reached the feed roller position at its leading or trailing end, and to stop the paper feeding means 4 in response to a paper arrival signal from this sensor means (Sl). , the start of paper feeding by the paper feeding means 4 will be described later.

The latter is equipped with a sensor means (not shown) at the feed roller position to detect the arrival and passage of the paper, and stops the paper from the start of picking up the paper, which will be described later, before the leading edge of the paper reaches the feed roller 12 to pick up the paper before it reaches the feed roller 12. It is only necessary to obtain a signal from the sensor means that the sheet has passed the feed roller position, rotate the sheet feeding means 4 again, advance the sheet to the feed roller position, and stop it when the arrival signal is received.

The start of paper feeding by the paper feeding means 4 is obtained based on the rotation detection signal from the rotating body 13 described above, but it is difficult to imagine that there will be paper ready and waiting at the position of the feed roller 12 when the paper feeding device is started. However, the present invention is not limited to this (such a device configuration is also possible), so the illustrated one is sometimes provided with a sensor means S1 that detects when the paper reaches the position of the feed roller 12 at the leading or trailing edge of the paper.

Then, this sensor means S1 causes the paper to be transferred to the feed roller 1.
If it does not exist in the second position, a paper feeding instruction signal is issued to the paper feeding means 4.

Thereupon, when the first sheet waits at the position of the feed roller 12 and is conveyed by the feed roller 12 which rotates in response to a sheet feeding instruction from the processing device B side, a rotation detection signal is obtained from the detection means 20 of the rotating body 13.

In the structure of the illustrated embodiment, this rotation detection signal can also be obtained when the rotation of the rotating body 13 is started, when the rotation is finished, or when the paper has been conveyed a predetermined amount after the rotation start. Based on this signal, the timing for feeding the next sheet is set at the optimum timing with respect to the previous sheet fed into the apparatus by the feed roller 12.

The illustrated processing device has different paper sizes and is preferably an apparatus in which the trailing edge of the previous paper and the leading edge of the next paper are fed one after another at a constant interval. Using this signal, a sheet feeding instruction signal is sent to the sheet feeding means 4 after a time period has elapsed to form a desired distance between the front and rear sheets.

That is, the trailing end of the sheet waiting at the feed roller 12 position is fed to the sheet feeding means 4 via a timer or other delay means based on a rotation stop signal after passing through the rotating body 13 (kick roller).

It is designed to emit a paper instruction signal.

In the structure of the illustrated embodiment, the sheet feeding means 4 is driven by its driving device M1.
When the paper is driven by 1 and reaches a predetermined amount and stops, the detection means similarly outputs a rotation stop signal, but this is prohibited.

The method of prohibition is to use a timer from the start of the drive device, or in the case shown in the figure, the timing is set so that there is no paper at the position of the feed roller 12 when the die movement of the paper feed means 4 stops, so a sensor is used. The S1 no-paper signal is designed to prohibit the use of the king's name in the letter L.

In the present invention, the rotating body 13 is not necessarily the paper feeding means 4.
For example, it is possible to provide a rotating body such as a roller that engages with paper and rotates drivenly on the unloading guide 6, and use this rotating body as an idle roller all the time, or as a paper feeder.
- Even if the power is transmitted from stage 4 and used as a conveyance roller, it will not be pulled.

Furthermore, although the method of detecting the stoppage of the rotating body using the detection means 20 has been shown, it is of course possible to detect the driven rotation of the rotating body, the time of startup, or even detect the appropriate time during rotation. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention has the following configuration, even if the paper feeding means of the paper feeding device and the feed roller prepared at the paper feeding port of the processing device are located at a distance, the paper is not fed into the device by the feed roller. This system detects the movement of the paper and issues a paper feed instruction signal to the paper feed means to feed the next paper first. Therefore, after the paper is fed into the device using the conventional feed roller, the paper is fed to the paper feed means. Compared to a paper feed roller that is driven, it is possible to replenish paper to the feed roller position continuously or at predetermined intervals without any interruption, thereby enabling the processing device to perform continuous processing such as copying and printing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional device, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of a practical example of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the outline of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is a plan explanatory diagram of the main part, FIG. 4 is a side explanatory diagram thereof, and FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the operating state. Paper feed port...11 Feed roller...
12 Processing device...B Paper feeding device...A
Paper feeding means...4 Rotating body...13th i
Illustration procedure correction book ceremony) Otsutsuki, 7th, 1985

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A stacker that is connected to a copying, printing, or other processing device that has a feed roller at its paper feed port and that stacks and stores paper, and a paper feed unit that engages with and feeds paper. and an unloading guide that guides the paper from the paper feeding means to the feed roller position, and temporarily stops the paper from the paper feeding means at the feed roller position and makes it standby in response to a paper feeding instruction from the processing device side. In a paper feeding device that feeds this waiting paper into a processing device using a rotating feed roller, a rotating body that engages with the waiting paper and follows the paper as it is conveyed by the rotation of the feed roller. and a detection means for detecting the rotation of the rotary body, and is configured to issue a feed instruction signal for the next sheet to the paper feed means based on a rotation detection signal from the detection means. 2. A one-way clutch is interposed between the paper feeding unit and the drive device to allow the driven rotation of the paper feeding unit in the paper feeding direction, and the paper feeding unit is driven by the paper conveyed by the rotation of the feed roller. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a detection means for detecting the rotation of the sheet. 3. A sensor means for detecting when the paper has reached the feed roller position is provided at an appropriate position on the unloading guide, and a paper arrival signal from the sensor means is used to issue a paper feed stop signal to the paper feed means to make the paper wait. The waiting paper is conveyed by the rotation of the feed roller, and the detection means of the rotary body issues a paper feed instruction signal to feed the next paper to the paper feed means, and the next paper is fed to the paper feed means. 2. A paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a signal from said sensor means when the paper reaches the feed roller position is used to issue a paper feeding stop signal to the paper feeding means. 4. A sensor means for detecting arrival and passage of paper at the feed roller position is provided at an appropriate position on the conveyance guide, and a paper feeding instruction is provided to feed the next paper from the detection means of the rotating body to the paper feeding means. At the same time as issuing a signal, the next paper is stopped and waited on the conveyance guide before reaching the feed roller position, and the paper feeding means is activated again by receiving a signal from the sensor means to pass the paper ahead of the feed roller position. 2. A paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the next paper is caused to reach a feed roller position from a standby position.