JPS61257843A - Paper feed device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a great amount of copy paper to be stably fed by configurating a device in such a way that the copy paper in a paper feed cassette which is removably installed underneath an intermediate stacker that has a paper feed stacker, is fed by means of a pick-up roller through its opening section. CONSTITUTION:An intermediate stacker 65 which comprises No.1 stacker, is provided in the center of a paper feed opening 17 together with a paper feed stacker 7 dividing the paper feed opening into two: the upper and lower sections. The intermediate stacker 65 includes an opening section which can be closed, at a position facing to a pick-up roller 57. In case that a paper feed cassette 91 is not loaded, the paper feed operation comes to an end when the copy paper on the stacker 7 is exhausted. But in case that the cassette 91 is loaded, when the copy paper on the stacker 7 is exhausted, the roller 57 comes in contact with the copy paper on a swing plate 95 which is pushed up, of the cassette 91 through the opening section 67 allowing the copy paper to be fed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field of invention] The present invention relates to a paper feeding device that can accommodate an increased amount of paper.

[Technical background of the invention]

Conventionally, an automatic document feeder installed in a paper feeder, such as a copying machine, feeds out documents stacked on a paper feed stacker one by one using a feeder, sends them onto a platen glass with a conveyor belt, and then feeds them again after copying is completed. The paper is ejected from above the platen glass using a conveyor belt and stored in a paper ejection stacker.

The feeding means rotates a rotating arm by excitation of a solenoid, drops a pickup roller attached to the rotating arm onto the document, and feeds out the topmost sheet of the document by rotation of the pickup roller. .

[Problems with background technology]

In such an automatic document feeder, the number of documents that can be accommodated in the paper stacker is limited to, for example, 6 documents due to constraints such as the stroke amount of the solenoid and the length of the rotating arm of the pickup roller.
50 sheets for 4g/fr12 paper and about 30 sheets for 127g/fn2 paper.

Therefore, if more than the above number of originals are to be fed, the feeding must be done several times, which is cumbersome and time consuming.

Furthermore, simply increasing the capacity of the paper feed stacker may result in unstable paper feeding, leading to paper feeding errors or paper jams, or the stacker may become larger.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a small and inexpensive paper feeding device that can stably feed a large amount of paper such as original documents using a single feeding device.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking an automatic document feeder of a copying machine as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feeder such as an automatic document feeder 1
is attached to the copying machine 3 and the sorter 5, and separates the documents on the paper feed stacker 7, which forms part of the first stacker, to the separation unit 9.
The sheet is separated into one sheet, sent onto the platen glass 13 of the copying machine 3 by the conveying section 11, and stored in the sheet discharge stacker 15 after copying.

As shown in FIG. 2, the separating section 9 is provided with a paper feed port 17, and a lower guide 19 and an upper guide 21 are disposed facing each other.

On the lower guide 19 side, there are a separation roller 23 and a shaft 25 attached to a rotating shaft 22 that rotates in the opposite direction to the document conveyance direction.
A set stopper 27 is provided which rotates around .

Further, an arm 29 that can move in and out of the paper feed port 17 is rotatably provided around a shaft 31 .

A spring 33 is attached to one end of this arm 29 between it and the lower guide 19. Further, a roller 35 and an engaging portion 37 are provided at the other end of the arm 29.

Further, an arm 41 is provided so as to be rotatable about the shaft 39. This arm 41 is provided with a roller 43 that engages with the engaging portion 37, and is also fitted with a spring 45, which urges the arm 41 toward the upper guide 21 side.

On the other hand, a paper feed roller 47 is provided on the upper guide 21 side facing the separation roller 23.

This paper feed roller 47 is different from the separation roller 23 and rotates in the paper feeding direction. Note that the separation roller 23 and the paper feed roller 47 are driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) via gears.

A feeding means is attached to the rotating shaft 48 of the paper feed roller 47. That is, an arm 53 including a connecting portion 49 and a locking portion 51 is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 48 .

A rotating body such as a pickup roller (kick roller) 57 is attached to the connecting portion 49 via a shaft 55.
It rotates together with the paper feed roller 47 via a belt 59. Note that the rotating body may be a belt or the like.

Above the arm 53 is a lever 63 attached to a shaft 61.
is provided. This lever 63 supports the locking portion 51 and locks the rotation of the arm 53. Note that the shaft 61 is rotated by a solenoid. This solenoid also drives the shaft 25 of the set stopper 27.

An intermediate stacker 65 that constitutes a first stacker together with the paper feed stacker 7 is provided at the center of the paper feed port 17, dividing the paper feed port 17 into two vertically. This intermediate stacker 65 is
It is constructed as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Note that FIG. 3) is a plan view of the intermediate stacker 65, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view.

The intermediate stacker 65 has an opening 67 at a position facing the pickup roller 55, and a shutter such as the slide plate 6.
9 to open and close. and opening 67
Guides 71L and 71R of the slide plate 69 are provided on both sides of the slide plate 69.

A plate 73 is provided behind the back surface of the slide plate 69 as shown in FIG. 4, and this plate 73 and the intermediate stacker 65
A support portion 75 provided on the back surface of the slide plate 69 is coupled with a spring 77 to urge the slide plate 69 toward the separation roller 23 side. Note that a stopper 79 is provided to restrict the movement.

On the other hand, a protrusion 81 is provided so as to be movable along guides 83L and 83R, and the protrusion 81 and the plate 73ζ are connected via a strip 85 such as a wire or string. Furthermore, striation 8
5 is supported in the middle by pulleys 87 and 89.

The protrusion 81 engages with a protrusion 93 provided on a second stacker, for example, a paper feed cassette 91.

゛The paper feed cassette 91 has an opening 92 at the bottom as shown in Figure 5, and is provided with a rotating plate 95 inside that rotates up and down as the arm 29 rotates, so that it can accommodate the original P. ing. Although not shown, separating claws for separating the original P into one sheet are provided at the front left and right corners of the original cassette 91.

Behind the intermediate stacker 65 configured as described above,
The paper feed stacker 7 is attached. The paper feed stacker 7 is provided with a pair of paper guides 97 that can be slid left and right depending on the document size. This paper guide 97 is used to set the original at a reference position and to regulate the side edges of the original.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
An auxiliary roller 103 is provided on the 9 side.

An arm 107 that rotates around a shaft 105 is provided on the upper guide 101 side. A pinch roller 109 is provided at one end of this arm 107 via a shaft driven by a motor, and a gate stopper 111 is provided at the other end. In addition, in the vicinity of this gate stopper 111, there are a reflective 7-point sensor 113 that detects the leading and trailing edges of the document, and a lever set of photosensors (actuator sensors).
115 are provided.

By the way, in order to detect the leading and trailing edges of the document, a reflective photosensor 11'3 and a lever set photosensor 11 are used.
The reason why two sensors No. 5 are provided is as follows.

Although the reflective photosensor 113 has a fast detection speed, it may not be able to detect a document whose leading edge, trailing edge, or entire document is black, or its detection position accuracy may be poor. The sensor 115, which is a lever set, can detect even black originals, but the response speed is slow because detection is performed by turning the lever.
Accuracy is poor. For this reason, the detection accuracy is improved by combining the two.

A conveyor belt 121 is stretched over the platen glass 13 to convey the document between rollers 117 and 119. Further, a paper ejection guide 123.12 is provided at the paper ejection end of the conveyor belt 121.
5 is provided to guide the document through rollers 127, 129, and 131 to a discharge stacker 15 attached to a cover 133.

Note that the cover 133 is attached above the platen glass 13 and the guide 99, and the cover 133 is provided above the platen glass 13 and the guide 99.
33 is attached to the back of the copy va3 via a hinge so that it can be opened and closed.

With the above configuration, this device operates as follows. First, when the number of originals is small and all the originals can be stored in the paper feed stacker 7, the originals are placed with the copy side down as shown in Figure 2. Place the paper on the paper feed stacker 7 so that it faces toward the paper. At this time, the opening 67 is closed by the spring 77 urging the slide plate 69 toward the separation roller 23 side.

Further, when copying a number of originals that exceeds the capacity of the paper feed stacker 7, the originals are divided into the paper feed stacker 7 and the paper feed cassette 91, and the paper feed cassette 91 is inserted into the lower paper feed slot. As a result, the protrusion 93 of the cassette 91 engages with the protrusion 81 of the intermediate stacker 65, and as the cassette 91 is inserted, the slide plate 69 is pulled toward the paper feed stacker 7 via the strip 85 in FIG. 67 opens.

When the cassette 91 is inserted, the tip of the cassette 91 pushes the arm 41 as shown in FIG. The rotating plate 95 of the cassette 91 is pushed up via the roller 35.

Therefore, the original stored in the cassette 91 is pressed against the lower surface of the periphery of the opening 67.

When a feeding command is issued in such a state, the solenoid is energized, the shaft 61 rotates counterclockwise, and the lever 63 rotates counterclockwise. As a result, there is no longer anything holding the locking portion 51, so the arm 5.3 rotates, the pickup roller 57 falls onto the document P, and the paper feed roller 47 is pressed against the separation roller 23.

On the other hand, the rotation of the shaft 61 causes the shaft 25 to rotate, and the set stopper 27 to rotate downward.

Therefore, the gate of the paper feed port 17 is opened and paper can be fed.

When the pickup roller 57 comes into contact with the document P, the paper feed motor operates, and the paper feed roller 47 and the pickup roller 57 rotate in the feeding direction. This causes the pickup roller 57 to feed out the document starting from the topmost sheet. Then, the original is separated into one sheet by a paper feed roller 47 that rotates in the forward direction and a separation roller 23 that rotates in the reverse direction. This document passes between guides 19 and 21 and is sent out to the transport section 11 side.

When the paper feed motor operates and a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the shaft 61 rotates clockwise, and the lever 63 pushes up the locking portion 51. Therefore, the arm 49 rotates counterclockwise, and the pickup roller 57 rises and separates from the document P.

Further, the rotation of the shaft 61 causes the shaft 25 to rotate, and the set stopper 27 rises, completely cutting off the feeding of the original P.

The leading edge of the sent document P is a reflective photosensor 111
Or, when it is detected by the lever set photosensor 115, the paper feed motor stops, the separation roller 23 and the paper feed roller 47 stop, and the separation roller 23 and the paper feed roller 21 stop.
The pressure contact with is released. Also, the document P is placed at the gate stopper 1.
11, it is registered and becomes a standby state.

When the copying machine 3 is ready to copy in this state, the arm 107 rotates clockwise around the shaft 105, the gate stopper 111 rises, and the pinch roller 109
falls onto the document that was in standby mode. As a result, the original is pinched between the pinch roller 109, the auxiliary roller 103, and G.

As the conveyor belt 121 rotates, the pinch roller 109 rotates and the document is sent out. When the trailing edge of the document is detected by the sensor 113 or 115, the pinch roller 109 stops rotating and the arm 107 rotates counterclockwise. Rotate to. As a result, the pinch roller 109 is raised and the gate stopper 111 is lowered.

The leading edge of the original is detected by the sensor 113 or 115, and after the pinch roller 109 rotates, the trailing edge of the original is detected by the sensor 113 or 115, and the size is detected. The appropriate copy paper is selected.

The document fed onto the lath 13 by the platen is conveyed to the set position, and when copying onto copy paper of the previously selected size is completed, it is stored in the paper discharge stacker 15 via rollers 127, 129, and 131.

This operation is repeated so that the originals on the paper feed stacker 7 are fed and copied.

If the paper feed stacker 91 is not inserted, paper feeding ends when there are no more documents on the paper feed stacker 7.

When the cassette 91 is inserted, when there are no originals on the paper feed stacker 7, the pickup roller 57 comes into contact with the originals stored in the cassette 91 through the opening 67, and the originals in the cassette 91 are sent out.

When copying is completed and the cassette 91 is pulled out, the tip of the cassette 91 pushes down the arm 29, the arm 41 is attracted by the spring 45, and the roller 43 engages with the engaging portion 37, returning to the original state. Return.

According to the apparatus described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Intermediate stacker 65 with paper feed stacker 7 attached
Since an opening 67 that can be opened and closed is provided in the intermediate stacker 65 and a paper feed force set 91 is detachably attached to the bottom of the intermediate stacker 65, the document in the paper feed cassette 91 can be sent out by the pickup roller 57 through the opening 67. .

Therefore, for example, when copying 70 sheets of 64vh2 paper originals, conventionally you would have to place 50 sheets of originals on the paper feed stacker 7 and then once the copying was completed, you would have to reset the remaining 20 sheets and copy. In the document feeding device 1, if you set 50 sheets in the upper paper feed stacker 7 and put the remaining 20 sheets in the lower paper feed cassette 91, when there are no documents in the upper stacker 7, the documents will be automatically placed in the lower paper feed stacker 7. The original in the paper feed cassette 91 can be copied.

In other words, a large amount of originals can be copied at once without having to be divided into multiple copies, making the operation less cumbersome and speeding up the work.

(2) One set of pickup rollers 57 feeds out the originals from the two paper stackers 7 and paper cassettes 91, and since the paper stackers 7 and paper cassettes 91 are close to each other, it is inexpensive and compact. Become.

(3) Conventionally, in order to increase the capacity of the paper feed stacker, the paper feed stacker must be provided below and the height of the paper feed port 17 must be increased.

However, if the size is too large, not only will the pickup roller not be able to make stable contact with the final sheet, but the angle at which the document fed out by the pickup roller will be sent to the separation roller and paper feed roller will become large, leading to feeding errors and paper jams. It becomes easier to wake up.

However, in this embodiment, the originals in the paper feed cassette 91 can be fed out without changing the length or rotation range of the arm 53 to which the pickup roller 57 is attached, which has never been done before. That is, the pickup roller 5
A large amount of originals can be fed without increasing the rotation angle of 7 with fewer feeding errors and fewer paper jams.

[Modified example]

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, the following modifications are possible. - (1) In the embodiment described above, the opening and closing of the slide plate 69 was linked to the attachment/detachment operation of the cassette 91, but the slide plate 69 may be opened and closed manually.

(2) In the above embodiment, the sensor 113, 115 detects the document size and selects the paper cassette, but it is also possible to provide a document cassette for each size and to output a size signal when the document cassette is set.

(3) In the above embodiment, the automatic document feeder of a copying machine is shown as the paper feeder, but it can also be used as a document feeder of an image reader or facsimile, or a copy paper feeder of an image forming device such as a copying machine. can also be applied.

(4) In the above embodiment, the second stacker is the paper feed cassette 9.
1, but the intermediate stacker 6 constituting the first stacker
5 and paper feed stacker 7, the installation may be done in a formal manner, and only originals may be taken in and taken out. Conversely, the first stacker may be of a cassette type.

(5) In the above embodiment, the feeding means rotates up and down about the shaft 48, but the rotating body may move vertically up and down, for example.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device that feeds stacked sheets one by one.

Provided with four vertically movable feeding means for feeding the paper, further having an opening at the bottom facing the feeding means,
A first stacker is provided in which the stored sheets are fed out by the lowered feeding means, and a second stacker is provided in which the stored sheets are fed out by the feeding means that descends below the first stacker and faces from the opening. Since the stacker is provided, the first and second stackers are provided by the feeding means.
It is possible to obtain a small and inexpensive paper feeding device that can stably feed a large amount of paper divided and stored in a stacker.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 5 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a sectional view showing the overall structure of the automatic document feeder, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the separating section, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the intermediate stacker, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the intermediate stacker, and FIG. The figure is a sectional view for explaining the operation. 1-----・Automatic document feeder

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) In a paper feeder that feeds laminated paper one by one,
a vertically movable feeding device for feeding paper; a first stacker having an opening at the bottom facing the feeding device; a first stacker from which the stored paper is fed by the feeding device; 1. A paper feeding device comprising: a second stacker provided below, from which sheets stored in the paper are fed out by the feeding means that descends and faces from the opening. (2) In the paper feeding device according to claim 1,
The paper feeding device, wherein the second stacker is a paper feeding cassette that is detachably attached below the first stacker. (3) Regarding the paper feeding device according to claim 1,
A paper feeding device characterized in that the opening is opened and closed by a shutter. (4) In the paper feed device according to claims 1, 2, and 3, the shutter opens and closes the opening in conjunction with attachment and detachment of the paper feed cassette. paper equipment. (5) In the paper feeding device according to claim 1,
A paper feeding device characterized in that the feeding means has a rotating body attached to an arm that rotates around an axis. (6) In the paper feeding device according to claim 1,
A paper feeding device characterized in that the paper stored in the second stacker is urged toward the opening.