JPS6335538B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper storage device, and more particularly to a paper storage device for storing a large number of sheets of different sizes and/or different types that are sequentially sent out in a copying machine or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Many paper storage devices such as copying machines are of a type that feeds and stores paper in an inclined state. FIG. 1 shows a typical conventional example of such a paper storage device. That is, the paper 5 is conveyed by a suitable conveyance device such as a belt-type conveyance device 4, and then sent out to the tray 1 by a roller pair consisting of an idler roller 2 and a delivery roller (drive roller) 3. It will be done. At this time,
The sheet 5 is tilted upward at an angle θ ₁ as can be seen from the figure, in the direction of arrow X ₁ for large size sheets, in the direction of arrow X ₃ for small size sheets, medium size The sheets of paper are fed out in the direction of arrow _X2 .
As shown in the figure, the tray 1 has a portion 8 located on the side closer to the feeding device (roller pair 2, 3) and inclined in the same direction as the sheet feeding direction, and a portion 8 located on the side far from the feeding device and inclined in the same direction as the paper feeding direction. said inclined portion 8
and a portion 9 inclined in the opposite direction. Thus, sheets of relatively small size are placed on the inclined portion 8 and aligned at their ends 10, while
Large-sized sheets are accommodated in the tray 1 so as to span both the inclined sections 8 and 9 and are aligned at the end 11 of the inclined section 9.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, such conventional paper storage devices cannot necessarily achieve the intended purpose. For example, for thick and large paper, as the number of sheets stored in the tray increases,
Due to the large frictional force between the sheets and the stiffness of the sheets, the sheets may not be stacked in order and their edges may become loose as shown in the figure. be. Therefore, in this case, it becomes impossible to stack large sheets of paper aligned at the end portion 11. In addition, in the case of relatively thin and weak paper, when the paper is fed out from the feed roller, both sides of the paper will hang down toward the tray 1, and when the paper is placed and stored in the tray, Both sides of the paper may fold inward onto the tray, making it impossible to stack paper smoothly on the tray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a paper storage device that can solve the problems of conventional devices as described above.

Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, a plurality of roller pairs are arranged in parallel in a direction transverse to the paper feeding direction in order to sequentially feed the paper in an upwardly inclined state while nipping the paper, The sheet extends in front of the roller pair in the feeding direction, has a front end at a lower position than the roller pair, and a rear end at a higher position than the roller pair, and is inclined so that the sheet fed by the roller pair can be and a tray for receiving and accommodating the sheets with their trailing edges aligned with the front end, wherein each roller pair has a shape in which the lower roller has flanges on both sides, and the upper roller has flanges on both sides. The outer flange of the lower roller of at least both outer roller pairs of the plurality of roller pairs is shaped so that the lower roller engages with the lower roller between the flanges thereof, and the outer flange of the lower roller of at least both outer roller pairs of the plurality of roller pairs is The diameter is larger than that of the flange.

Embodiments The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in particular FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. FIG.

2 to 4 show a preferred embodiment of the paper storage device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a plurality of roller pairs arranged in parallel for feeding out the paper. Further, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing the entire paper storage device of the present invention including a tray.

In FIG. 2, the roller pair consists of a plurality of idler rollers 2 rotatably attached to a shaft 12 and a plurality of delivery rollers 3 corresponding to each idler roller. Each feed roller 3 is
It has flanges 6, 6' on both sides. here,
According to the invention, those delivery rollers A, B,
The outer flanges 6' of D and E are the inner flanges 6
(generally about 0.5 to 1.5 mm)
big). This outer flange 6' can be used, for example, as shown in side view in FIG. It can be easily applied by adding it to the outside of the roller.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, five feed rollers are provided, but in such a case, the flanges 6, 6 of the central roller C have the same diameter. Further, the number of feed rollers is not limited and can be arbitrarily selected depending on the size (width) of the paper. Thus, when the shaft 13 is driven, the paper 5 is sent out while being held between the idler roller 2 and the delivery roller 3. In this case, the feed roller A,
Since the outer flanges 6' of B, D, and E have larger diameters than the inner flanges 6, the overall size of the paper is larger than that of the inner flange 6, as shown in FIG. This allows you to have a slightly curved waist facing outward. Therefore, when the paper 5 is placed on the tray and accommodated, both sides of the paper 5 are prevented from hanging downward and folding inward. Furthermore, the second
The roller pairs shown in the figure are rollers A to A as shown in the figure.
The structure is such that the above-mentioned stiffness is imparted not only to paper with a width that extends across rollers B, C, and D, but also to smaller paper that extends across rollers B, C, and D. It may be omitted to vary the flange diameters of rollers B and D depending on the properties of the rollers. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is more effective to provide the protruding portion 6A' on the outer periphery of the outer large-diameter flange 6' in order to impart the above-mentioned stiffness to the paper. The present invention is not limited to those provided with such protrusions.

Next, reference will be made to the schematic diagram in FIG. 4 for an entire embodiment of the paper storage device of the present invention, which combines the roller pair, the paper transport device, and the tray as described in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. This will be explained in particular.

As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the tray 7 in the paper storage device of this embodiment has two inclined parts 14 and 15. Both of those inclined portions 14 and 15 are connected to the roller pairs 2 and 3.
The paper is tilted in the same direction relative to the horizontal plane as the paper fed by the paper. Here, the first inclined portion 14 located closer to the roller pair 2, 3 is inclined at an angle θ ₂ larger than the angle θ ₁ at which the paper is sent out by the roller pair 2, 3. On the other hand, the second inclined portion 15 located farther from the roller pair is inclined at an angle θ ₃ that is smaller than the sheet feeding angle θ ₁ and larger than the horizontal angle. That is, the relationship between the angles is θ ₂ >θ ₁ >θ ₃ . Two slopes 1
4 and 15 have a bifurcated shape at a point T, and this bifurcation point T is located at a higher position (usually about several mm) than the point S where the feed roller and idler roller nip and feed the paper. In addition, in the example,
The two inclined parts 14 and 15 have approximately equal lengths (i.e., l ₁ ≒ l ₂ ), and their total length (l ₁ +
l ₂ ) is configured to be shorter than the length of the paper to be accommodated. The relationship between these angles and various dimensions was determined by experimenting with various angles and dimensions, and found that both large-sized (long length) and small-sized (short length) paper can be placed on the tray. This relationship has been confirmed to be favorable for successful placement and accommodation. The theoretical reasons why such a relationship is preferable are unclear in many ways, but below we will explain the operation of the paper storage device of this embodiment and also discuss possible reasons. explain.

When the paper storage device according to the present invention having the above configuration is operated, the paper 5 transported by the transport device 4 is sent out in an upwardly inclined state by the pair of rollers 2 and 3, as in the conventional device. In this case, as described above, the paper is fed out with a slightly curved waist as a whole due to the large diameter flange 6' on the outside of the delivery roller 3. The sides of the tray will not hang downward and be folded over the tray. Also, depending on the size (length) of the paper, the roller pairs 2 and 3 move the paper to X ₁ , X ₂ or
They are sent out toward the tray 7 in the direction of _X3 , respectively. In the tray 7, the branching point T between the inclined part 14 and the inclined part 15 is located at a higher position than the contact point S of the roller pair, and both the inclined parts 14 and 15 are inclined in the same direction as the inclined direction of the sheet to be fed out. As a result, all the sheets slide down the slopes under their own weight and are aligned at the end 16 on the feed roller side. At this time, since the first inclined portion 14 is inclined at a steep angle as shown in FIG. 4, even sheets having a relatively large frictional force between the sheets can surely slide down and be aligned at the end portion 16.
In the case of a small size (short length) paper whose length is approximately equal to and shorter than the length _l1 of the inclined portion 14, the branching point T of the inclined portions 14 and 15 is closer to the contact point S of the roller pair. Because it is in a high position, X ₂ or X ₃
The leading edge of the sheet hits the surface of the inclined portion 14, and then the trailing edge of the sheet hits the tray 7.
The tray 7 slides down the slope 14 due to its own weight until it hits the end 16 of the tray 7, and is placed and accommodated on the tray 7. In the case of short paper, even if the angle θ ₂ is large and the slope part 14 is steeply sloped,
Since the abutment force applied to the end portion 16 due to the weight of the paper is not so large, the inclined portion 14
There will be no inconvenience such as the paper being bent at the top. On the other hand, almost 2 pieces of paper of such short length
Large size (long) paper that is twice or more long, that is, approximately the total length of the length l ₁ of the sloped part 14 and the length l ₂ of the sloped part 15 In the case of sheets of equal or longer length, when fed in the _X1 direction, the sloped portion 14 and the sloped portion 15
Since the lengths of the paper are almost equal, when the paper is fed out by about half of its length, the tip of the paper is inclined at an angle θ ₃ smaller than the feeding angle θ ₁ . It is dropped onto the slopes 14 and 15 so as to hit the surface of 15,
Thereafter, the paper is placed so that its trailing edge is at the end 16 of the tray 7.
The slope parts 15, 14 due to their own weight until they hit the
, and is placed on the tray 7 and accommodated therein. At this time, approximately half the length of the paper is dropped onto the surface of the steeply sloped portion 14, so
Its own weight provides a sliding force toward the edge 16, and therefore, even if the paper is long, the entire paper slides over the surfaces of the slopes 14 and 15 until its trailing edge hits the edge 16. Although it will slide down, approximately half of the length of the paper will be placed on the surface of the sloped portion 15 with a gentle slope, so that even if the paper is long, the force against the end portion 16 will be reduced accordingly.
The inconvenience of the paper being bent at the edge 16 does not occur.

In the paper storage device configured as described above, the amount of paper stored in the tray is determined by the amount of paper stored in the first inclined portion 14 of the tray 7, as is clear from FIG.
It is determined by the distance l ₃ between the mounting surface of the roller 3 and the lower end of the feed roller 3. Therefore, it is necessary to take this into consideration when determining the relative positions of the roller pair and the tray.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the paper storage device of the present invention, despite its simple structure, can handle everything from large size paper to small size paper, especially wide paper to small width paper. It is also possible to store a large number of sheets of different types of paper in an orderly manner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a conventional paper storage device, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a combination of a feed roller and an idler roller in a paper storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a side view showing a flange member used to construct the feed roller of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a paper storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention using the pair of rollers of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the whole. 2... Idler roller, 3... Feeding roller, 5... Paper, 6... Flange, 6'... Large diameter flange, 7... Tray, 14... First inclined part, 15... Second 16...tray end.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of roller pairs arranged in parallel in a direction transverse to the paper feeding direction in order to sequentially feed the paper in an upwardly inclined state while sandwiching the paper, and a plurality of roller pairs extending in front of the roller pairs in the paper feeding direction; The front end is inclined at a lower position than the pair of rollers, and the rear end is inclined at a position higher than the pair of rollers, and receives the sheets sent out by the pair of rollers and aligns the rear edges of the sheets with the front end. In the paper storage device, the lower roller has flanges on both sides, and the upper roller has flanges on both sides, and the upper roller has flanges on both sides. It is shaped so that it engages between the
A paper storage device characterized in that an outer flange of a lower roller of at least both outer roller pairs among the plurality of roller pairs has a larger diameter than an inner flange thereof.