US20030230847A1 - Sheet feed roller - Google Patents
Sheet feed roller Download PDFInfo
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- US20030230847A1 US20030230847A1 US10/448,104 US44810403A US2003230847A1 US 20030230847 A1 US20030230847 A1 US 20030230847A1 US 44810403 A US44810403 A US 44810403A US 2003230847 A1 US2003230847 A1 US 2003230847A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- sheet
- feed roller
- roller
- helices
- projections
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H27/00—Special constructions, e.g. surface features, of feed or guide rollers for webs
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2404/00—Parts for transporting or guiding the handled material
- B65H2404/50—Surface of the elements in contact with the forwarded or guided material
- B65H2404/52—Surface of the elements in contact with the forwarded or guided material other geometrical properties
- B65H2404/521—Reliefs
- B65H2404/5213—Geometric details
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an improved sheet feed roller for feeding various types of sheets in imaging machines, such as printers, copying machines or facsimile machines, so as to print information onto the sheet or read out information from the sheet.
- imaging machines such as printers, copying machines or facsimile machines
- Sheet feed rollers are generally classified into two types.
- a first type makes use of rollers having an outer peripheral surface with a high friction coefficient.
- the sheet is sandwiched between the feed roller and a pinch roller and transferred primarily by friction force.
- the feeding of the sheet relies upon unstable friction force, and it is often difficult to achieve a sufficient feeding accuracy.
- a second type wherein the outer peripheral surface of the roller is provided with a plurality of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet. In this instance, the sheet is positively transferred under engagement of the spikes and corresponding microscopic recesses formed in the sheet by the spikes.
- sheet feed rollers are disclosed, for example, in JP 08-310703A, JP 10-109777A, JP 10-203675A, JP 10-236683A, JP 2000-159377A, JP 2000-159378A and JP 2000-159379A.
- the sheet feed rollers with the microscopic spikes may not realize a satisfactory feeding accuracy, depending upon the material of the sheet to be transferred, or the pressure under which the spikes are pierced into the sheet.
- the feeding accuracy is typically represented by the difference between the desired feeding distance and the actual feeding distance, per unit rotation of the feed roller.
- the inventors conducted thorough research and investigations to seek measures for improving the feeding accuracy of the feed rollers, and found the mechanism whereby unsatisfactory feeding accuracy occurs, as follows. That is to say, the feeding accuracy of the feed roller provided with the microscopic spikes is degraded by fluctuation of the piercing depth of the spikes, which occurs depending upon the material of the sheet to be fed and/or the pressure for urging the feed roller against the sheet.
- the piercing depth of the spike is insufficient, there occurs fluctuation of the sheet feeding between the spike and the recess formed in the sheet by the spike. Fluctuation of the piercing depth of the spike also causes fluctuation of the sheet feeding.
- FIG. 1( a ) is a sectional view of a sheet feed roller 10 , wherein the projection 11 is in the form of a spike 12 having a height H, and the spike 12 is pierced into the sheet 21 A under an urging force F 1 .
- the sheet 21 A is relatively hard, and the piercing depth of the spike 12 into the sheet 21 A is D 1 and the feeding radius of the sheet 21 A is R 1 .
- the piercing depth D 1 of the spike 12 is insufficient so that the spike 12 moves as shown by imaginary line 12 ′, without being synchronized with the recess 22 in the sheet 21 A, thereby causing fluctuation in sheet feeding.
- the actual feeding distance of the feed roller 10 deviates from the desired feeding distance and reduced by an amount corresponding to the fluctuation of the sheet feeding.
- the sheet feeding radius R 2 is smaller than the predetermined value R 0 . Therefore, when a relatively soft sheet 21 B is to be fed under an increased urging force F 0 that is made optimum for feeding a relatively hard sheet 21 A without noticeable fluctuation in sheet feeding, the sheet feeding distance per unit rotation of the feed roll is decreased to 2 ⁇ R 2 that is smaller than the predetermined distance 2 ⁇ R 0 .
- the spikes 32 under the same urging force F 0 are not only pierced into a relatively hard sheet 21 A with the desired piercing depth D 0 , but also pierced into a relatively soft sheet 21 B with a piercing depth that is not increased beyond the desired depth D 0 , due to a contact of the lower surface of the sheet 21 B with the outer surface 30 A of the roller 30 .
- the feed roller 30 of the type shown in FIG. 2 is not easy to produce efficiently and at reasonable cost, since it would be necessary either to subject the outer surface 30 A of the roller 30 to grinding or the like machining so as to remove materials and thereby leave the microscopic spikes 32 on the outer surface 30 A, or to join separately prepared microscopic spikes 32 to the flat outer surface 30 A of the roller 30 .
- a sheet feed roller having an outer peripheral surface, said outer peripheral surface including at least one feed surface region that extends at least locally in an axial direction of the roller and over an entire circumference of the roller, said feed surface being provided with a plurality of projections, said plurality of projections being comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet.
- the projections on the feed surface of the feed roller are comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet, it is always possible to maintain the optimum piercing depth of the spikes by the stoppers even when the hardness of the sheet changes from time to time. In this way, the desired sheet feeding radius or distance can be maintained without causing fluctuations, thereby realizing a highly precise sheet feeding.
- each of the projections comprises one of the spike and the stopper.
- projection comprising the stoppers may be arranged adjacent to the projections comprising the spikes, and the distance between the adjacent spikes can be increased. Such an arrangement may also be advantageous when the distance between the adjacent projections cannot be readily reduced due to roll forming conditions or the like.
- each of the projections comprising the spikes may further comprise the stopper.
- the stopper of the projection limit the radial position of the sheet relative to the feed roller.
- each of the projections is arranged in that region of the feed surface, which is defined by first helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, and second helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, wherein the second helices are crossed with the first helices.
- helices signifies helical lines that extend in the axial direction of a cylindrical body, along the outer peripheral surface thereof.
- a roll forming device comprising a first roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the first helices, and a second roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the second helices, thereby minimizing the production cost of the sheet feed roller.
- At least one projection comprising the spike may be arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising the stopper, along the first or second helices.
- each of the projections is arranged in that region of the feed surface, which is defined by generatrices extending along the outer peripheral surface in parallel with an axial direction of the roller, and circumferential lines extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, wherein the circumferential lines are crossed with the generatrices.
- generatrices signifies straight lines that, in the case of a cylindrical body, extend axially along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body.
- a roll forming device comprising a first roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the circumferential lines, and a second roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the circumferential lines, thereby minimizing the production cost of the sheet feed roller.
- At least one projection comprising the spike may be arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising the stopper, along the generatrices or the circumferential lines.
- the stopper has a flat surface that is substantially at right angles to a radial direction of the roller.
- the flat surface of the stopper serves to positively maintain the desired optimum piercing depth of the spikes, in highly accurate manner
- FIGS. 1 ( a ) to 1 ( c ) are sectional views showing a conventional sheet feed roller.
- FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another conventional sheet feed roller.
- FIG. 3( a ) is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a first embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 3( b ) is a perspective view showing a modification thereof.
- FIG. 4 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 3( a ) or 3 ( b ).
- FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to section 5 - 5 in FIG. 4, but showing the feed roller in use.
- FIG. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the first embodiment.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 6.
- FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 6.
- FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 10 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 9.
- FIG. 11 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the second embodiment.
- FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a first die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 11.
- FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a second die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 11.
- FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 15 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 14.
- FIG. 16 is a sectional view corresponding to section 16 - 16 in FIG. 15, but showing the feed roller in use.
- FIG. 17 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the third embodiment.
- FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 17.
- FIG. 19 is a graph showing the deviation of sheet feeding distances obtained by performance tests under various surface pressure conditions.
- FIG. 20 is a developed view similar to FIG. 4, showing the sheet feeding surface region of the modified feed rollel
- FIG. 21 is a graph showing the deviation of sheet feeding distances obtained by further performance tests under various surface pressure conditions.
- FIG. 3( a ) A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3( a ), wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by reference numeral 101 .
- the feed roller 101 may be suitably used in an imaging machine, such as printers, copying machines or facsimile machines, for feeding a sheet S on which image information is printed.
- the feed roller 101 includes a cylindrical roller body 102 provided on both axial ends with shaft end portions 103 for rotatably supporting the feed roller 101 in the imaging machine.
- the feed roller 101 has an outer peripheral surface provided with at least one feed surface region 104 that extends at least locally in an axial direction of the roller 101 and over an entire circumference thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3( a ), there are provided three feed surface regions 104 that are spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the feed roller 101 .
- FIG. 3( b ) A modification is shown in FIG. 3( b ), wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by reference numeral 101 A includes a cylindrical roller body 102 A provided on both axial ends with shaft end portions 103 A for rotatably supporting the feed roller 101 A in the imaging machine.
- the feed roller 101 A differs from that shown in FIG. 3( b ) essentially in that the outer surface of the roller 101 A as a whole constitutes a feed surface region 104 A.
- the sheet feed rollers 101 , 101 A are rotatably mounted in the imaging machine with their feed surface regions 104 , 104 A in pressure contact with pinch rollers PR so that the sheet S sandwiched between the feed surface regions 104 , 104 A and the pinch rollers PR is highly accurately fed toward the downstream side of the feed roller 101 , 101 A.
- FIG. 4 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region 104 , 104 A of the feed roller 101 , 101 A shown in FIG. 3( a ) or 3 ( b ), and FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to section 5 - 5 in FIG. 4, but showing the feed roller 101 , 101 A in use.
- the entire feed surface region 104 of the roller 101 is comprised of a number of diamond-shaped microscopic areas defined by a plurality of first helices L 1 that are in parallel with each other, and a plurality of second helices L 2 that are also in parallel with each other but arranged so that they are crossed with the first helices L 1 .
- Each of such microscopic areas is provided with a microscopic first projection 105 or a microscopic second projection 106 , which are combined with each other such that the first and second projections 105 and 106 are arranged alternately with each other along the first helices L 1 , and either the same first projections 105 or the same second projections 106 are arranged continuously along the second helices L 2 .
- reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of the sheet feeding region 104
- reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of the roller 101 .
- the first helices L 1 are oriented so as to form an angle of 45° with reference to the axial direction W of the roller 101 and spaced from each other by a pitch P 1 .
- the second helices L 2 are oriented so as to form an angle of ⁇ 45° with reference to the axial direction W of the roller 101 and spaced from each other by the same pitch P 1 .
- the projections 105 and 106 are arranged alternately with each other in the axial direction W of the roller 101 so as to be spaced from each other by a pitch P 2 . It is to be noted, however, that the directions and the pitches of the first and second helices L 1 , L 2 are not limited to those of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4.
- the first projection 105 is in the form of a microscopic pyramid having a height H 1 .
- the first projection 105 has a spike 105 A at it top portion, which can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet, and four facets 105 B, 105 C of which two facets 105 B are opposed to the first helices L 1 and the other two facets 105 C are opposed to the second helices L 2 .
- the first projection 105 forms an angle ⁇ between opposite edges of each facet 105 B, 105 C.
- the second projection 106 is in the form of a frustum of a microscopic pyramid having a height H 2 that is lower than the height H 1 of the first projection 105 .
- the second projection 106 has a flat top surface 106 A, which can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of the spike 105 A of the adjacent first projection 105 , and four facets 106 B, 106 C, of which two facets 106 B are opposed to the first helices L 1 and the other two facets 106 C are opposed to the second helices L 2 .
- the second projection 106 forms an angle ⁇ between opposite edges of each facet 106 B, 106 C.
- the opposite facets 105 B or 105 C of the first projection 105 form an angle ⁇ that is within a range of 30° to 60°. It is to be noted that the angle ⁇ between the opposite facets 105 B or 105 C of the first projection 105 is slightly different from the angle ⁇ between the opposite edges of each facet 105 B, 105 C. If the angle ⁇ between the opposite facets 105 B or 105 C of the first projection 105 is larger than 60°, there may be instances wherein a sufficient piercing depth D for a relatively hard sheet cannot be achieved, thereby causing slipping of the sheet while it is being fed. On the other hand, if the angle ⁇ is smaller than 30°, there may be instances wherein the mechanical strength of the spike 105 A is insufficient, thereby degrading the durability of the feed roller.
- the piercing depth D of the first projection 105 is within a range of 10 ⁇ m to 40 ⁇ m. If the piercing depth D is smaller than 10 ⁇ m, there may be instances wherein slipping of the sheet occurs due to insufficient piercing depth. On the other hand, if the piercing depth D is larger than 40 ⁇ m, there may be instances wherein the surface of the sheet S cannot be properly supported by the stoppers 106 A of adjacent second projections 106 particularly when the sheet S is relatively hard, thereby causing fluctuation in the sheet feeding radius depending upon the hardness of the sheet S.
- the tip of the spike 105 A may be sharp from the viewpoint of piercing function, it is often preferred from the viewpoint of manufacturing technology that the spike 105 A is in the form of a frustum of a pyramid.
- the spike has a top surface with a surface area not greater than 400 ⁇ m 2 , more preferably not greater than 100 ⁇ m 2 , and more preferably not greater than 50 ⁇ m 2 .
- the tip surface 106 A has a surface area within a range of 160-3600 ⁇ m 2 , more preferably 400-2500 ⁇ m 2 .
- the first projection 105 in the illustrate embodiment is in the form of a pyramid, it may be in the form of a cone provided that it has a spike that can be pierced into the sheet S.
- the second projection 106 in the illustrate embodiment is in the form of a frustum of a pyramid, it may be in the form of a frustum of a cone, provided that it has a top surface serving as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of the first projection 105 .
- FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising a first die 120 and a second die 121 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 3( a ), and FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing the first die 120 and the second die 121 , respectively.
- the first roll forming die 120 has an outer surface provided with ridges 120 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboring ridges 120 A are spaced from each other with a groove 120 B therebetween, wherein the groove 120 B is of triangular cross-section. Each ridge 120 A is of a trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 120 C on its top, for forming grooves along the first helices L 1 on the sheet feeding surface region 104 .
- the second roll forming die 121 has an outer surface provided with ridges 121 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof.
- Neighboring ridges 121 A are spaced from each other alternately with a groove 121 B and another groove 121 C therebetween, wherein the groove 121 B is of triangular cross-section and the groove 120 C is of trapezoidal cross-section.
- a groove 121 B with triangular cross-section is arranged between the first and the second ridges 121 A, 121 A
- a groove 121 C with trapezoidal cross-section is arranged between the second and the third ridges 121 A, 121 A, and such an arrangement of the ridges and the grooves is repeated in the circumferential direction of the second roll forming die.
- each ridge 121 A of the second die 121 is substantially of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 121 D on its top, for forming grooves along the second helices L 2 on the sheet feeding surface region 104 .
- the roller body 102 is clamped between the first and second roll forming dies 120 , 121 , which are arranged with their respective center axes in parallel with each other.
- the roller body 102 By urging the roller body 102 against the first and second roll forming dies 120 , 121 under a predetermined working pressure, and rotating these dies 120 , 121 , it is possible to form the desired feed surface region 104 on the roller body 102 .
- the angle formed between the ridge 120 A and the center axis of the first roll forming die 120 is the same as the angle (e.g., +45°) between the first helices L 1 on the sheet feeding surface region 104 and the center axis of the feed roller 101 .
- the angle formed between the ridge 121 A and the center axis of the second roll forming die 121 is the same as the angle (e.g., ⁇ 45°) between the second helices L 2 on the sheet feeding surface region 104 and the center axis of the feed roller 101 .
- the facets 105 B, 106 B of the projections 105 , 106 opposed to the first helices L 1 are formed by the wall surfaces 120 D of the triangular grooves 120 B in the first die 120
- the facets 105 C of the projections 105 opposed to the second helices L 2 are formed by the wall surfaces 121 E of the triangular grooves 121 B in the second die 121
- the facets 106 C opposed to the second helices L 2 are formed by the wall surfaces 121 F of the trapezoidal grooves 121 C in the second die 121
- the stoppers 106 A of the second projections 106 are formed by the bottom surfaces 121 G of the trapezoidal grooves 121 C of the second die 121 .
- all of the grooves in the first roll forming die 120 are comprised of triangular grooves 120 B. It is however possible to arrange one or more trapezoidal grooves between neighboring triangular grooves 120 B. As for the second roll forming die 121 , it is likewise possible to arrange two or more trapezoidal grooves 121 C between neighboring triangular grooves 121 B. By appropriately selecting the number of the trapezoidal grooves provided for the roll forming dies 120 , 121 , it is possible to realize a desired arrangement of the microscopic projections 105 , 106 on the sheet feeding surface region 104 wherein the number of the stoppers 106 A is optimized for each spike 105 A.
- the first and second dies 120 , 121 of the roll forming device shown in FIGS. 6 - 8 are arranged with their respective center axes in parallel with each other, as mentioned above.
- the roller body 102 is oriented in parallel with the dies 120 , 121 and urged against the dies 120 , 121 under a predetermined working pressure, while the dies 120 , 121 are rotated.
- the roll forming dies 120 , 121 When such an infeed roll forming process is applied to formation of the sheet feeding surface region 104 A of the sheet feed roller 101 A shown in FIG. 3( b ), which extends over the entire length of the roller body 102 A, the roll forming dies 120 , 121 must have a large width corresponding to the axial length of the sheet feeding surface region 104 A, thereby making it difficult to achieve an uniform roll forming over the entire length of the roller body 102 A.
- the roll forming device has a slightly different arrangement in that the center axis of the first die 120 is inclined relative to the center axis of the roller body 102 B by a predetermined angle, and the center axis of the second die 121 is oppositely inclined relative to the center axis of the roller body 102 B by the same angle of the opposite sign, without causing intersection of the center axes of the dies 120 , 121 with the center axis of the roller body 102 B.
- the roller body 102 is urged against the dies 120 , 121 under a predetermined working pressure, while the first and second roll forming dies 120 , 121 are rotated, so as to feed the roller body 102 axially relative to the dies 120 , 121 under a predetermined speed, and thereby form the feed surface region 104 uniformly over the roller body 102 .
- FIG. 9 A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9, wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by reference numeral 131 .
- the feed roller 131 includes a cylindrical roller body 132 provided on both axial ends with shaft end portions 133 for rotatably supporting the feed roller 131 in the imaging machine.
- the feed roller 131 has an outer peripheral surface provided with three sheet feeding surface regions 134 that are spaced from each other axially and extend over an entire circumference of the roller 131 .
- the sheet feed roller 131 is rotatably mounted in the imaging machine with its sheet feeding surface regions 134 in pressure contact with pinch rollers PR so that the sheet S sandwiched between the feed surface regions 134 and the pinch rollers PR is highly accurately fed toward the downstream side of the feed roller 131 .
- FIG. 10 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region 134 of the feed roller 131 shown in FIG. 9, wherein reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of the sheet feed roller 131 , and reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of the feed roller 131 .
- each feed surface region 134 of the roller 131 is comprised of a number of rectangular microscopic areas defined by a plurality of circumferential lines L 3 that extend over the sheet feeding surface region 134 , and a plurality of generatrices L 4 that extends axially over the sheet feeding surface region 134 .
- Each of such microscopic areas is provided with a microscopic first projection 135 or a microscopic second projection 136 , which are combined with each other such that the first and second projections 135 and 136 are arranged alternately with each other along the generatrices L 4 , and either the same first projections 135 or the same second projections 136 are arranged continuously along the circumferential lines L 3 .
- the first projection 135 is in the form of a microscopic pyramid having a spike 135 A at it top portion, which can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet, and four facets 135 B, 135 C of which two facets 135 B are opposed to the circumferential lines L 3 and the other two facets 135 C are opposed to the generatrices L 4 .
- the second projection 136 is in the form of a frustum of a microscopic pyramid having a flat top surface 136 A, which can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of the spike 135 A of the adjacent first projection 135 , and four facets 136 B, 136 C, of which two facets 136 B are opposed to the circumferential lines L 3 and the other two facets 136 C are opposed to the generatrices L 4 .
- FIG. 11 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising a first die 140 and a second die 141 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 9, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views showing the first die 140 and the second die 141 , respectively.
- the first roll forming die 140 has an outer surface provided with ridges 140 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof.
- Each ridge 140 A has a flat top surface 140 D for forming grooves in the sheet feeding surface region 134 so as to extend along the.
- Neighboring ridges 140 A are spaced from each other alternately with a groove 140 B or another groove 140 C therebetween, wherein the groove 140 B is of triangular cross-section and the groove 140 C is of trapezoidal cross-section.
- Each ridge 140 A is of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 140 D on its top, for forming grooves along the circumferential lines L 3 on the sheet feeding surface region 134 .
- the second roll forming die 141 has an outer surface provided with ridges 141 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboring ridges 141 A are spaced from each other alternately with a groove 141 B, which is of triangular cross-section.
- each ridge 141 A of the second die 141 is substantially of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 141 C on its top, for forming grooves along the generatrices L 4 on the sheet feeding surface region 134 .
- the facets 135 C, 136 C of the projections 135 , 136 opposed to the generatrices L 4 are formed by the wall surfaces 141 D of the triangular grooves 141 B of the second die 141
- the facet 135 B of the projection 135 opposed to the circumferential lines L 3 are formed by the wall surfaces 140 E of the triangular grooves 140 B of the first die 140
- the facets 136 B of the projection 136 opposed to the circumferential lines L 3 are formed by the wall surfaces 140 F of the trapezoidal grooves 140 C of the first die 140
- the stoppers 136 A of the projection 136 are formed by the bottom surfaces 140 G of the trapezoidal grooves 140 C of the first die 140 .
- FIG. 14 A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 14, wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by reference numeral 151 .
- the feed roller 151 includes a cylindrical roller body 152 provided on both axial ends with shaft end portions 153 for rotatably supporting the feed roller 151 in the imaging machine.
- the feed roller 151 has an outer peripheral surface provided with three sheet feeding surface regions 134 that are spaced from each other axially and extend over an entire circumference of the roller 151 .
- the sheet feed roller 151 is rotatably mounted in the imaging machine with its sheet feeding surface regions 154 in pressure contact with pinch rollers PR so that the sheet S sandwiched between the feed surface regions 154 and the pinch rollers PR is highly accurately fed toward the downstream side of the feed roller 151 .
- FIG. 15 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region 154 of the feed roller 151 shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 is a sectional view corresponding to section 16 - 16 in FIG. 15, but showing the feed roller 151 in use.
- the entire feed surface region 154 of the roller 151 is comprised of a number of diamond-shaped microscopic areas defined by a plurality of first helices L 5 that are in parallel with each other, and a plurality of second helices L 6 that are also in parallel with each other but arranged so that they are crossed with the first helices L 5 .
- Each of such microscopic areas is provided with a microscopic projection 155 .
- reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of the sheet feeding region 154
- reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of the roller 151
- the first helices L 5 are oriented so as to form an angle of 45° with reference to the axial direction W of the roller 151 and spaced from each other by a pitch P 1
- the second helices L 6 are oriented so as to form an angle of ⁇ 45° with reference to the axial direction W of the roller 151 and spaced from each other by the same pitch P 1 .
- the projections 155 are aligned in the axial direction W of the roller 151 so as to be spaced from each other by a pitch P 2 . It is to be noted, however, that the directions and the pitches of the first and second helices L 5 , L 6 are not limited to those of the embodiments shown in FIG. 15.
- the projection 155 includes a lower portion in the form of a frustum of pyramid, and an upper portion in the form of a pyramid, wherein the bottom surface of the upper portion is smaller than the top surface of the lower portion.
- the upper portion forms a spike 155 A that can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet.
- the top surface of the lower portion can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of the spike 155 A.
- the lower portion of the projection 155 has four facets 155 C that are opposed to the first or second helices L 5 , L 6 .
- the upper portion of the projection 155 has four facets 155 D that are opposed to the first or second helices L 5 , L 6 .
- the first projection 155 forms an angle ⁇ between opposite edges of each facet 155 C, 155 D.
- the projection 155 has a height H 1
- the lower portion has a height H 2 .
- FIG. 17 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising a first die 160 and a second die 161 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 14, and FIGS. 18 and 19 are perspective views showing the first die 160 and the second die 161 , respectively.
- the first roll forming die 160 each has an outer surface provided with ridges 160 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboring ridges 160 A are spaced from each other with a groove 160 B therebetween, wherein the groove 160 B is of stepped cross-section defined by a trapezoidal portion and a triangular portion. Each ridge 160 A is of a trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 160 C on its top, for forming grooves along the first helices L 5 on the sheet feeding surface region 154 .
- the second roll forming die 161 has an outer surface provided with ridges 161 A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof.
- Neighboring ridges 161 A are spaced from each other with a groove 161 B therebetween, wherein the groove 161 B is of stepped cross-section defined by a trapezoidal portion and a triangular portion.
- Each ridge 161 A is of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cutting surface 161 C on its top, for forming grooves along the second helices L 6 on the sheet feeding surface region 154 .
- the angle formed between the ridge 160 A and the center axis of the first roll forming die 160 is the same as the angle (e.g., +45°) between the first helices L 5 on the sheet feeding surface region 154 and the center axis of the feed roller 151 .
- the angle formed between the ridge 161 A and the center axis of the second roll forming die 161 is the same as the angle (e.g., ⁇ 45°) between the second helices L 6 on the sheet feeding surface region 154 and the center axis of the feed roller 151 .
- the facets 155 C of the lower portion of the projection 155 which are opposed to the first helices L 5 , are formed by the wall surfaces 160 E, 161 E at the trapezoidal portions of the triangular groves 160 B, 161 B
- the facets 155 D of the upper portion of the projection 155 which are opposed to the second helices L 6
- the stoppers 155 B of the projections 155 are formed by the bottom surfaces 160 D, 161 D of the trapezoidal portions of the grooves 160 B, 161 B.
- Example 2 a sheet feed roller similar to that shown in FIG. 3( a ) was used as Example 2, to measure the sheet feeding distance under various surface pressures of the pinch rollers PR.
- the sheet feeding surface 104 X of the feed roller as Example 2 has an arrangement of the projections 105 , 106 wherein two projections 106 X having stoppers are arranged between two neighboring projections 105 X having spikes.
- the sheet feed roller used as Control was the same as that described above. The result of the tests is shown in FIG. 21.
- FIGS. 19 and 21 are graphs wherein the abscissa indicates the theoretical feeding distance that can be obtained by multiplying the moving angle of the feed roller with the nominal diameter of the feed roller, and the ordinate indicates the deviation of the feeding distance, i.e., the difference between the theoretical feeding distance and the actual feeding distance. It is noted that the surface pressure of the pinch rollers is per 1 mm in the axial direction of the feed roller. The sheets used for the performance tests were coated sheets for ink jet printers.
- the angle of the first helices L 1 relative to the center axis of the roller is +45°
- the angle of the second helices L 2 relative to the center axis of the roller is ⁇ 45°
- the distance between the neighboring helices is 0.35 mm
- the projections with the spikes or stoppers are in the form of pyramid of which the opposite facets form an angle of 50° relative to each other.
- the dimensions ( ⁇ m) of the projections are as shown in the following Table. Projections Items Example 1 Example 2 Control Projection Height 75 80 75 with spike Top surface 10 ⁇ 10 7 ⁇ 7 10 ⁇ 10 Projection Height 62 49 — with stopper Top surface 8 ⁇ 20 40 ⁇ 40 —
- the sheet feed rollers of Examples 1 and 2 according to the present invention exhibit larger average sheet feeding distance due to suppressed fluctuation in sheet feeding, and stable feeding distance due to fluctuations relative to the surface pressure of the pinch rollers.
- the projections on the feed surface of the feed roller are comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet, it is always possible to maintain the optimum piercing depth of the spikes by the stoppers even when the hardness of the sheet changes from time to time. In this way, the desired sheet feeding radius or distance can be maintained without causing fluctuations, thereby realizing a highly precise sheet feeding.
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- Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
Abstract
A sheet feed roller capable of achieving highly accurate sheet feed distance has an outer peripheral surface including a feed surface that extends at least locally in an axial direction of the roller over an entire circumference of the roller. The feed surface of the roller is provided with a plurality of projections, including microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an improved sheet feed roller for feeding various types of sheets in imaging machines, such as printers, copying machines or facsimile machines, so as to print information onto the sheet or read out information from the sheet.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- Sheet feed rollers are generally classified into two types. A first type makes use of rollers having an outer peripheral surface with a high friction coefficient. In this instance, the sheet is sandwiched between the feed roller and a pinch roller and transferred primarily by friction force. The feeding of the sheet relies upon unstable friction force, and it is often difficult to achieve a sufficient feeding accuracy. For overcoming such difficulty associated with the feed rollers of the first type and improving the feeding accuracy of the sheet, there has been proposed a second type wherein the outer peripheral surface of the roller is provided with a plurality of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet. In this instance, the sheet is positively transferred under engagement of the spikes and corresponding microscopic recesses formed in the sheet by the spikes. The latter type of sheet feed rollers are disclosed, for example, in JP 08-310703A, JP 10-109777A, JP 10-203675A, JP 10-236683A, JP 2000-159377A, JP 2000-159378A and JP 2000-159379A.
- However, it has been found by the inventors that even the sheet feed rollers with the microscopic spikes may not realize a satisfactory feeding accuracy, depending upon the material of the sheet to be transferred, or the pressure under which the spikes are pierced into the sheet. Here, the feeding accuracy is typically represented by the difference between the desired feeding distance and the actual feeding distance, per unit rotation of the feed roller.
- The inventors conducted thorough research and investigations to seek measures for improving the feeding accuracy of the feed rollers, and found the mechanism whereby unsatisfactory feeding accuracy occurs, as follows. That is to say, the feeding accuracy of the feed roller provided with the microscopic spikes is degraded by fluctuation of the piercing depth of the spikes, which occurs depending upon the material of the sheet to be fed and/or the pressure for urging the feed roller against the sheet. When the piercing depth of the spike is insufficient, there occurs fluctuation of the sheet feeding between the spike and the recess formed in the sheet by the spike. Fluctuation of the piercing depth of the spike also causes fluctuation of the sheet feeding. On the other hand, when a required piercing depth of the spike is achieved by a sufficient urging force of the roller against the sheet, in an attempt to avoid occurrence of fluctuation of the sheet feeding, the sheet feeding radius changes depending upon the piercing depth and inevitably causes fluctuation of the sheet feeding. The above-mentioned mechanism will be more fully explained below with reference to FIGS.1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) and FIG. 2.
- FIG. 1(a) is a sectional view of a
sheet feed roller 10, wherein theprojection 11 is in the form of aspike 12 having a height H, and thespike 12 is pierced into thesheet 21A under an urging force F1. It is assumed that thesheet 21A is relatively hard, and the piercing depth of thespike 12 into thesheet 21A is D1 and the feeding radius of thesheet 21A is R1. In this instance, the piercing depth D1 of thespike 12 is insufficient so that thespike 12 moves as shown byimaginary line 12′, without being synchronized with therecess 22 in thesheet 21A, thereby causing fluctuation in sheet feeding. The actual feeding distance of thefeed roller 10 deviates from the desired feeding distance and reduced by an amount corresponding to the fluctuation of the sheet feeding. - When the urging force F1 is increased so as to increase the piercing depth D1 from the state shown in FIG. 1(a), it is possible to decrease fluctuation in sheet feeding. As shown in FIG. 1(b), an optimum piercing depth D0 is achieved under an increased urging force F0, with which the fluctuation in sheet feeding is decreased to a negligible level. In this instance, the sheet feeding radius R0 is a predetermined, optimum value and the slipping rate between the feed roller and the sheet is substantially zero so that a predetermined sheet feeding distance 2πR0 is achieved for each rotation of the feed roller.
- In this way, it is possible to achieve a predetermined feeding distance 2πR0 under an increased urging force F0, insofar as a relatively
hard sheet 21A is concerned. When, however, a relativelysoft sheet 21B is to be fed by the feed roller under the same urging force F0, there arises a tendency that the predetermined sheet feeding distance 2πR0 is not achieved. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1(c), when thespike 12 of thefeed roller 10 is pierced into the relativelysoft sheet 21B, the piercing depth D2 is larger than the optimum depth D0 since thesheet 21B exhibits a relatively small piercing resistance. In this instance, because the distance between the center axis of the feed roller and the tip end of thespike 12 is not changed, the sheet feeding radius R2 is smaller than the predetermined value R0. Therefore, when a relativelysoft sheet 21B is to be fed under an increased urging force F0 that is made optimum for feeding a relativelyhard sheet 21A without noticeable fluctuation in sheet feeding, the sheet feeding distance per unit rotation of the feed roll is decreased to 2πR2 that is smaller than the predetermined distance 2πR0. - In order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to achieve a constant piercing depth D0 irrespective of the hardness of the sheet. To this end, there may be used a
feed roller 30 as shown in FIG. 2, wherein microscopic projections in the form ofspikes 32 having a triangular section are provided on theouter surface 30A of theroller 30. In this instance, as with the case of thespikes 12 shown in FIG. 1(b), thespikes 32 under the same urging force F0 are not only pierced into a relativelyhard sheet 21A with the desired piercing depth D0, but also pierced into a relativelysoft sheet 21B with a piercing depth that is not increased beyond the desired depth D0, due to a contact of the lower surface of thesheet 21B with theouter surface 30A of theroller 30. - However, the
feed roller 30 of the type shown in FIG. 2 is not easy to produce efficiently and at reasonable cost, since it would be necessary either to subject theouter surface 30A of theroller 30 to grinding or the like machining so as to remove materials and thereby leave themicroscopic spikes 32 on theouter surface 30A, or to join separately preparedmicroscopic spikes 32 to the flatouter surface 30A of theroller 30. - An alternative method for producing the
feed roller 30 of the type shown in FIG. 2 is disclosed in the patent documents cited above, wherein a round rod is subjected to roll forming so that the material at the outer surface of the rod is raised to form the spikes. While such a method makes it possible to produce thefeed roller 30 efficiently and at low cost, there arises a problem that even when it is desired to form amicroscopic spike 32 having exactly triangular section and height D0, limitations imposed on the production technology make it inevitable that aspike 32 having a somewhat flared root portion is formed. As a result, it is still impossible to maintain substantially constant the piercing depth of thespike 32 as it is pierced into a relatively soft sheet, since the piercing depth depends on the hardness of the sheet and the piercing resistance of the spike at its flared root portion. Therefore, the problem of fluctuation in sheet feeding radius or sheet feeding distance remains unsolved. - It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the problems of the prior art mentioned above, and to provide an improved sheet feed roller capable of achieving a highly precise sheet feeding distance without fluctuations, irrespective of the hardness of the sheet, and suitable for production at high manufacturing productivity and at low cost.
- To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feed roller having an outer peripheral surface, said outer peripheral surface including at least one feed surface region that extends at least locally in an axial direction of the roller and over an entire circumference of the roller, said feed surface being provided with a plurality of projections, said plurality of projections being comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet.
- With the sheet feed roller according to the present invention, since the projections on the feed surface of the feed roller are comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet, it is always possible to maintain the optimum piercing depth of the spikes by the stoppers even when the hardness of the sheet changes from time to time. In this way, the desired sheet feeding radius or distance can be maintained without causing fluctuations, thereby realizing a highly precise sheet feeding.
- In the case of a sheet feed roller for ink jet printers, for example, due to limitations in machine design, the total urging force applied to the sheet feed roller in use is made relatively low. In order to achieve an optimum piercing depth for each spike, it is sometimes necessary to reduce the number of the spikes that are simultaneously in engagement with the sheet. Thus, it is preferred that each of the projections comprises one of the spike and the stopper. In this instance, it is possible to reduce the number of the spikes that are simultaneously in engagement with the sheet since projection comprising the stoppers may be arranged adjacent to the projections comprising the spikes, and the distance between the adjacent spikes can be increased. Such an arrangement may also be advantageous when the distance between the adjacent projections cannot be readily reduced due to roll forming conditions or the like.
- Alternatively, each of the projections comprising the spikes may further comprise the stopper. In this instance, it is possible to ensure that each spike can be pierced into the sheet by a constant, optimum piercing depth since the stopper of the projection limit the radial position of the sheet relative to the feed roller.
- It is preferred that each of the projections is arranged in that region of the feed surface, which is defined by first helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, and second helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, wherein the second helices are crossed with the first helices. Here, the term “helices” signifies helical lines that extend in the axial direction of a cylindrical body, along the outer peripheral surface thereof. In this instance, it is possible to efficiently form the projections by a roll forming device comprising a first roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the first helices, and a second roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the second helices, thereby minimizing the production cost of the sheet feed roller.
- In the arrangement described above, at least one projection comprising the spike may be arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising the stopper, along the first or second helices. Such an arrangement of the spikes and the stoppers makes it readily possible to ensure that each spike can be pierced into the sheet by a constant, optimum-piercing depth.
- It is alternatively preferred that each of the projections is arranged in that region of the feed surface, which is defined by generatrices extending along the outer peripheral surface in parallel with an axial direction of the roller, and circumferential lines extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, wherein the circumferential lines are crossed with the generatrices. Here, the term “generatrices” signifies straight lines that, in the case of a cylindrical body, extend axially along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body. In this instance also, it is possible to efficiently form the projections by a roll forming device comprising a first roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the circumferential lines, and a second roll forming die for forming grooves on the outer surface of the feed roller so as to extend along the circumferential lines, thereby minimizing the production cost of the sheet feed roller.
- In the arrangement described above, at least one projection comprising the spike may be arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising the stopper, along the generatrices or the circumferential lines. Such an arrangement of the spikes and the stoppers makes it readily possible to ensure that each spike can be pierced into the sheet by a constant, optimum piercing depth.
- It is further preferred that the stopper has a flat surface that is substantially at right angles to a radial direction of the roller. The flat surface of the stopper serves to positively maintain the desired optimum piercing depth of the spikes, in highly accurate manner
- The present invention will be more fully explained below with reference to some preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.
- FIGS.1(a) to 1(c) are sectional views showing a conventional sheet feed roller.
- FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another conventional sheet feed roller.
- FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3(b) is a perspective view showing a modification thereof.
- FIG. 4 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 3(a) or 3(b).
- FIG. 5 is a sectional view corresponding to section5-5 in FIG. 4, but showing the feed roller in use.
- FIG. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the first embodiment.
- FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 6.
- FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 6.
- FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 10 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 9.
- FIG. 11 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the second embodiment.
- FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a first die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 11.
- FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a second die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 11.
- FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a sheet feed roller according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 15 is a developed view of the sheet feeding surface region of the feed roller shown in FIG. 14.
- FIG. 16 is a sectional view corresponding to section16-16 in FIG. 15, but showing the feed roller in use.
- FIG. 17 is a view showing the arrangement of a roll forming device for forming the feed roller according to the third embodiment.
- FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a die of the roll-forming device shown in FIG. 17.
- FIG. 19 is a graph showing the deviation of sheet feeding distances obtained by performance tests under various surface pressure conditions.
- FIG. 20 is a developed view similar to FIG. 4, showing the sheet feeding surface region of the modified feed rollel
- FIG. 21 is a graph showing the deviation of sheet feeding distances obtained by further performance tests under various surface pressure conditions.
- A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3(a), wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by
reference numeral 101. Thefeed roller 101 may be suitably used in an imaging machine, such as printers, copying machines or facsimile machines, for feeding a sheet S on which image information is printed. Thefeed roller 101 includes acylindrical roller body 102 provided on both axial ends withshaft end portions 103 for rotatably supporting thefeed roller 101 in the imaging machine. Thefeed roller 101 has an outer peripheral surface provided with at least onefeed surface region 104 that extends at least locally in an axial direction of theroller 101 and over an entire circumference thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3(a), there are provided threefeed surface regions 104 that are spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of thefeed roller 101. - A modification is shown in FIG. 3(b), wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by
reference numeral 101A includes acylindrical roller body 102A provided on both axial ends withshaft end portions 103A for rotatably supporting thefeed roller 101A in the imaging machine. Thefeed roller 101A differs from that shown in FIG. 3(b) essentially in that the outer surface of theroller 101A as a whole constitutes afeed surface region 104A. - The
sheet feed rollers feed surface regions feed surface regions feed roller - As mentioned above, FIG. 4 is a developed view of the sheet feeding
surface region feed roller feed roller feed surface region 104 of theroller 101 is comprised of a number of diamond-shaped microscopic areas defined by a plurality of first helices L1 that are in parallel with each other, and a plurality of second helices L2 that are also in parallel with each other but arranged so that they are crossed with the first helices L1. Each of such microscopic areas is provided with a microscopicfirst projection 105 or a microscopicsecond projection 106, which are combined with each other such that the first andsecond projections first projections 105 or the samesecond projections 106 are arranged continuously along the second helices L2. - In FIG. 4, reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of the
sheet feeding region 104, and reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of theroller 101. The first helices L1 are oriented so as to form an angle of 45° with reference to the axial direction W of theroller 101 and spaced from each other by a pitch P1. The second helices L2 are oriented so as to form an angle of −45° with reference to the axial direction W of theroller 101 and spaced from each other by the same pitch P1. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, theprojections roller 101 so as to be spaced from each other by a pitch P2. It is to be noted, however, that the directions and the pitches of the first and second helices L1, L2 are not limited to those of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4. - The
first projection 105 is in the form of a microscopic pyramid having a height H1. Thefirst projection 105 has aspike 105A at it top portion, which can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet, and fourfacets facets 105B are opposed to the first helices L1 and the other twofacets 105C are opposed to the second helices L2. Thefirst projection 105 forms an angle θ between opposite edges of eachfacet second projection 106 is in the form of a frustum of a microscopic pyramid having a height H2 that is lower than the height H1 of thefirst projection 105. Thesecond projection 106 has a flattop surface 106A, which can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of thespike 105A of the adjacentfirst projection 105, and fourfacets facets 106B are opposed to the first helices L1 and the other twofacets 106C are opposed to the second helices L2. Thesecond projection 106 forms an angle θ between opposite edges of eachfacet - It is preferred that the
opposite facets first projection 105 form an angle φ that is within a range of 30° to 60°. It is to be noted that the angle φ between theopposite facets first projection 105 is slightly different from the angle θ between the opposite edges of eachfacet opposite facets first projection 105 is larger than 60°, there may be instances wherein a sufficient piercing depth D for a relatively hard sheet cannot be achieved, thereby causing slipping of the sheet while it is being fed. On the other hand, if the angle φ is smaller than 30°, there may be instances wherein the mechanical strength of thespike 105A is insufficient, thereby degrading the durability of the feed roller. - It is also preferred that the piercing depth D of the
first projection 105 is within a range of 10 μm to 40 μm. If the piercing depth D is smaller than 10 μm, there may be instances wherein slipping of the sheet occurs due to insufficient piercing depth. On the other hand, if the piercing depth D is larger than 40 μm, there may be instances wherein the surface of the sheet S cannot be properly supported by thestoppers 106A of adjacentsecond projections 106 particularly when the sheet S is relatively hard, thereby causing fluctuation in the sheet feeding radius depending upon the hardness of the sheet S. - As for the
first projection 105 having aspike 105A to be pierced into the sheet S, although the tip of thespike 105A may be sharp from the viewpoint of piercing function, it is often preferred from the viewpoint of manufacturing technology that thespike 105A is in the form of a frustum of a pyramid. In this instance, it is preferred that the spike has a top surface with a surface area not greater than 400 μm2, more preferably not greater than 100 μm2, and more preferably not greater than 50 μm2. As for thesecond projection 106, while it is desirable for thetop surface 106A to have as large a surface area as possible, from the viewpoint of the stopper function, it is often preferred from the viewpoint of manufacturing technology that thetip surface 106A has a surface area within a range of 160-3600 μm2, more preferably 400-2500 μm2. Furthermore, although thefirst projection 105 in the illustrate embodiment is in the form of a pyramid, it may be in the form of a cone provided that it has a spike that can be pierced into the sheet S. Also, although thesecond projection 106 in the illustrate embodiment is in the form of a frustum of a pyramid, it may be in the form of a frustum of a cone, provided that it has a top surface serving as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of thefirst projection 105. - When the
roller body 102 is comprised of a metal material, the sheet feedingsurface region 104 can be advantageously formed by a pair of roll forming dies by a roll forming process to be described hereinafter. FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising afirst die 120 and asecond die 121 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 3(a), and FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing thefirst die 120 and thesecond die 121, respectively. - The first roll forming die120 has an outer surface provided with
ridges 120A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboringridges 120A are spaced from each other with agroove 120B therebetween, wherein thegroove 120B is of triangular cross-section. Eachridge 120A is of a trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cuttingsurface 120C on its top, for forming grooves along the first helices L1 on the sheet feedingsurface region 104. Similarly, the second roll forming die 121 has an outer surface provided withridges 121A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboringridges 121A are spaced from each other alternately with agroove 121B and anothergroove 121C therebetween, wherein thegroove 121B is of triangular cross-section and thegroove 120C is of trapezoidal cross-section. Thus, for example, agroove 121B with triangular cross-section is arranged between the first and thesecond ridges groove 121C with trapezoidal cross-section is arranged between the second and thethird ridges ridge 121A of thesecond die 121 is substantially of trapezoidal cross-section, and has acutting surface 121D on its top, for forming grooves along the second helices L2 on the sheet feedingsurface region 104. - When the sheet feeding
surface regions 104 are to be formed on aroller body 102, theroller body 102 is clamped between the first and second roll forming dies 120, 121, which are arranged with their respective center axes in parallel with each other. By urging theroller body 102 against the first and second roll forming dies 120, 121 under a predetermined working pressure, and rotating these dies 120, 121, it is possible to form the desiredfeed surface region 104 on theroller body 102. - As seen in exploded views, the angle formed between the
ridge 120A and the center axis of the first roll forming die 120 is the same as the angle (e.g., +45°) between the first helices L1 on the sheet feedingsurface region 104 and the center axis of thefeed roller 101. Similarly, the angle formed between theridge 121A and the center axis of the second roll forming die 121 is the same as the angle (e.g., −45°) between the second helices L2 on the sheet feedingsurface region 104 and the center axis of thefeed roller 101. - With such an arrangement of the roll forming device, the
facets projections triangular grooves 120B in thefirst die 120, thefacets 105C of theprojections 105 opposed to the second helices L2 are formed by the wall surfaces 121E of thetriangular grooves 121B in thesecond die 121, thefacets 106C opposed to the second helices L2 are formed by the wall surfaces 121F of thetrapezoidal grooves 121C in thesecond die 121, and thestoppers 106A of thesecond projections 106 are formed by the bottom surfaces 121G of thetrapezoidal grooves 121C of thesecond die 121. - In the roll forming device shown in FIGS.6 to 8, all of the grooves in the first roll forming die 120 are comprised of
triangular grooves 120B. It is however possible to arrange one or more trapezoidal grooves between neighboringtriangular grooves 120B. As for the secondroll forming die 121, it is likewise possible to arrange two or moretrapezoidal grooves 121C between neighboringtriangular grooves 121B. By appropriately selecting the number of the trapezoidal grooves provided for the roll forming dies 120, 121, it is possible to realize a desired arrangement of themicroscopic projections surface region 104 wherein the number of thestoppers 106A is optimized for eachspike 105A. - As mentioned above, the first and second dies120, 121 of the roll forming device shown in FIGS. 6-8 are arranged with their respective center axes in parallel with each other, as mentioned above. The
roller body 102 is oriented in parallel with the dies 120, 121 and urged against the dies 120, 121 under a predetermined working pressure, while the dies 120, 121 are rotated. In this instance, it is possible to form the sheet feedingsurface region 104 on theroller body 102 without causing an axial movement of theroller body 102 relative to the first and second dies 120, 121, provided that the width of the sheet feedingsurface region 104 on theroller body 102 as seen in the axial direction is the same as the width of the dies 120, 121. This type of roll forming method is known as infeed roll forming process. - When such an infeed roll forming process is applied to formation of the sheet feeding
surface region 104A of thesheet feed roller 101A shown in FIG. 3(b), which extends over the entire length of theroller body 102A, the roll forming dies 120, 121 must have a large width corresponding to the axial length of the sheet feedingsurface region 104A, thereby making it difficult to achieve an uniform roll forming over the entire length of theroller body 102A. In order to eliminate such difficulty, it is preferred to carry out a thru-feed roll forming process wherein the roll forming device has a slightly different arrangement in that the center axis of thefirst die 120 is inclined relative to the center axis of the roller body 102B by a predetermined angle, and the center axis of thesecond die 121 is oppositely inclined relative to the center axis of the roller body 102B by the same angle of the opposite sign, without causing intersection of the center axes of the dies 120, 121 with the center axis of the roller body 102B. In this instance, theroller body 102 is urged against the dies 120, 121 under a predetermined working pressure, while the first and second roll forming dies 120, 121 are rotated, so as to feed theroller body 102 axially relative to the dies 120, 121 under a predetermined speed, and thereby form thefeed surface region 104 uniformly over theroller body 102. - A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9, wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by
reference numeral 131. Thefeed roller 131 includes acylindrical roller body 132 provided on both axial ends withshaft end portions 133 for rotatably supporting thefeed roller 131 in the imaging machine. Thefeed roller 131 has an outer peripheral surface provided with three sheet feedingsurface regions 134 that are spaced from each other axially and extend over an entire circumference of theroller 131. - The
sheet feed roller 131 is rotatably mounted in the imaging machine with its sheet feedingsurface regions 134 in pressure contact with pinch rollers PR so that the sheet S sandwiched between thefeed surface regions 134 and the pinch rollers PR is highly accurately fed toward the downstream side of thefeed roller 131. - As mentioned above, FIG. 10 is a developed view of the sheet feeding
surface region 134 of thefeed roller 131 shown in FIG. 9, wherein reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of thesheet feed roller 131, and reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of thefeed roller 131. It can be seen that eachfeed surface region 134 of theroller 131 is comprised of a number of rectangular microscopic areas defined by a plurality of circumferential lines L3 that extend over the sheet feedingsurface region 134, and a plurality of generatrices L4 that extends axially over the sheet feedingsurface region 134. Each of such microscopic areas is provided with a microscopicfirst projection 135 or a microscopicsecond projection 136, which are combined with each other such that the first andsecond projections first projections 135 or the samesecond projections 136 are arranged continuously along the circumferential lines L3. - The
first projection 135 is in the form of a microscopic pyramid having aspike 135A at it top portion, which can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet, and fourfacets facets 135B are opposed to the circumferential lines L3 and the other twofacets 135C are opposed to the generatrices L4. Thesecond projection 136 is in the form of a frustum of a microscopic pyramid having a flattop surface 136A, which can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of thespike 135A of the adjacentfirst projection 135, and fourfacets facets 136B are opposed to the circumferential lines L3 and the other twofacets 136C are opposed to the generatrices L4. - When the
roller body 132 is comprised of a metal material, the sheet feedingsurface region 134 can be advantageously formed by a pair of roll forming dies by a roll forming process to be described hereinafter. FIG. 11 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising afirst die 140 and asecond die 141 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 9, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views showing thefirst die 140 and thesecond die 141, respectively. - The first roll forming die140 has an outer surface provided with
ridges 140A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Eachridge 140A has a flattop surface 140D for forming grooves in the sheet feedingsurface region 134 so as to extend along the. Neighboringridges 140A are spaced from each other alternately with agroove 140B or anothergroove 140C therebetween, wherein thegroove 140B is of triangular cross-section and thegroove 140C is of trapezoidal cross-section. Eachridge 140A is of trapezoidal cross-section, and has acutting surface 140D on its top, for forming grooves along the circumferential lines L3 on the sheet feedingsurface region 134. Similarly, the second roll forming die 141 has an outer surface provided withridges 141A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboringridges 141A are spaced from each other alternately with agroove 141B, which is of triangular cross-section. Here also, eachridge 141A of thesecond die 141 is substantially of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cuttingsurface 141C on its top, for forming grooves along the generatrices L4 on the sheet feedingsurface region 134. - With such an arrangement of the roll forming device, the
facets projections triangular grooves 141B of thesecond die 141, thefacet 135B of theprojection 135 opposed to the circumferential lines L3 are formed by the wall surfaces 140E of thetriangular grooves 140B of thefirst die 140, thefacets 136B of theprojection 136 opposed to the circumferential lines L3 are formed by the wall surfaces 140F of thetrapezoidal grooves 140C of thefirst die 140, and thestoppers 136A of theprojection 136 are formed by the bottom surfaces 140G of thetrapezoidal grooves 140C of thefirst die 140. - In the roll forming device shown in FIGS.10-12, it is possible to arrange two or more
trapezoidal grooves 140C between neighboringtriangular grooves 140B. By appropriately selecting the number of the trapezoidal grooves provided for the roll forming dies 140, 141, it is possible to realize a desired arrangement of themicroscopic projections surface region 134 wherein the number of thestoppers 136A is optimized for eachspike 135A. - A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 14, wherein the sheet feed roller is generally denoted by
reference numeral 151. Thefeed roller 151 includes acylindrical roller body 152 provided on both axial ends withshaft end portions 153 for rotatably supporting thefeed roller 151 in the imaging machine. Thefeed roller 151 has an outer peripheral surface provided with three sheet feedingsurface regions 134 that are spaced from each other axially and extend over an entire circumference of theroller 151. - The
sheet feed roller 151 is rotatably mounted in the imaging machine with its sheet feedingsurface regions 154 in pressure contact with pinch rollers PR so that the sheet S sandwiched between thefeed surface regions 154 and the pinch rollers PR is highly accurately fed toward the downstream side of thefeed roller 151. - As mentioned above, FIG. 15 is a developed view of the sheet feeding
surface region 154 of thefeed roller 151 shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 is a sectional view corresponding to section 16-16 in FIG. 15, but showing thefeed roller 151 in use. It can be seen that the entirefeed surface region 154 of theroller 151 is comprised of a number of diamond-shaped microscopic areas defined by a plurality of first helices L5 that are in parallel with each other, and a plurality of second helices L6 that are also in parallel with each other but arranged so that they are crossed with the first helices L5. Each of such microscopic areas is provided with amicroscopic projection 155. - In FIG. 15, reference character R denotes a direction parallel to the circumferential direction of the
sheet feeding region 154, and reference character W denotes a direction parallel to the center axis of theroller 151. The first helices L5 are oriented so as to form an angle of 45° with reference to the axial direction W of theroller 151 and spaced from each other by a pitch P1. The second helices L6 are oriented so as to form an angle of −45° with reference to the axial direction W of theroller 151 and spaced from each other by the same pitch P1. Thus, as shown in FIG. 14, theprojections 155 are aligned in the axial direction W of theroller 151 so as to be spaced from each other by a pitch P2. It is to be noted, however, that the directions and the pitches of the first and second helices L5, L6 are not limited to those of the embodiments shown in FIG. 15. - The
projection 155 includes a lower portion in the form of a frustum of pyramid, and an upper portion in the form of a pyramid, wherein the bottom surface of the upper portion is smaller than the top surface of the lower portion. The upper portion forms aspike 155A that can be pierced into the sheet S so as to feed the sheet. The top surface of the lower portion can be brought into engagement with the surface of the sheet S as a stopper for limiting the piercing depth D of thespike 155A. The lower portion of theprojection 155 has fourfacets 155C that are opposed to the first or second helices L5, L6. Similarly, the upper portion of theprojection 155 has fourfacets 155D that are opposed to the first or second helices L5, L6. Thefirst projection 155 forms an angle θ between opposite edges of eachfacet projection 155 has a height H1, and the lower portion has a height H2. - When the
roller body 152 is comprised of a metal material, the sheet feedingsurface region 154 can be advantageously formed by a pair of roll forming dies by a roll forming process to be described hereinafter. FIG. 17 shows the arrangement of a roll forming device comprising afirst die 160 and asecond die 161 for forming the feed roller according to the embodiment of FIG. 14, and FIGS. 18 and 19 are perspective views showing thefirst die 160 and thesecond die 161, respectively. - The first roll forming die160 each has an outer surface provided with
ridges 160A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboringridges 160A are spaced from each other with agroove 160B therebetween, wherein thegroove 160B is of stepped cross-section defined by a trapezoidal portion and a triangular portion. Eachridge 160A is of a trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cuttingsurface 160C on its top, for forming grooves along the first helices L5 on the sheet feedingsurface region 154. Similarly, the second roll forming die 161 has an outer surface provided withridges 161A that are arranged at a constant distance over the entire periphery thereof. Neighboringridges 161A are spaced from each other with agroove 161B therebetween, wherein thegroove 161B is of stepped cross-section defined by a trapezoidal portion and a triangular portion. Eachridge 161A is of trapezoidal cross-section, and has a cuttingsurface 161C on its top, for forming grooves along the second helices L6 on the sheet feedingsurface region 154. - As seen in exploded views, the angle formed between the
ridge 160A and the center axis of the first roll forming die 160 is the same as the angle (e.g., +45°) between the first helices L5 on the sheet feedingsurface region 154 and the center axis of thefeed roller 151. Similarly, the angle formed between theridge 161A and the center axis of the second roll forming die 161 is the same as the angle (e.g., −45°) between the second helices L6 on the sheet feedingsurface region 154 and the center axis of thefeed roller 151. - With such an arrangement of the roll forming device, the
facets 155C of the lower portion of theprojection 155, which are opposed to the first helices L5, are formed by the wall surfaces 160E, 161E at the trapezoidal portions of thetriangular groves facets 155D of the upper portion of theprojection 155, which are opposed to the second helices L6, are formed by the wall surfaces 160F, 161F at the triangular portions of thegroves stoppers 155B of theprojections 155 are formed by the bottom surfaces 160D, 161D of the trapezoidal portions of thegrooves - Performance Tests
- In order to confirm functional advantages of the sheet feed roller according to the present invention, performance tests were conducted as follows. First of all, a
sheet feed roller 101 shown in FIG. 3(a) was used as Example 1, to measure the sheet feeding distance under various surface pressures of the pinch rollers PR. Another sheet feed roller was used as Control, wherein theprojections 106 having thestoppers 106A were replaced by theprojections 105 having thespikes 105A, to measure the sheet feeding distance under various surface pressures of the pinch rollers PR. The result of the tests is shown in FIG. 19. - In the next place, a sheet feed roller similar to that shown in FIG. 3(a) was used as Example 2, to measure the sheet feeding distance under various surface pressures of the pinch rollers PR. In this instance, as shown in FIG. 20, the
sheet feeding surface 104X of the feed roller as Example 2 has an arrangement of theprojections projections 106X having stoppers are arranged between twoneighboring projections 105X having spikes. The sheet feed roller used as Control was the same as that described above. The result of the tests is shown in FIG. 21. - It can be seen that FIGS. 19 and 21 are graphs wherein the abscissa indicates the theoretical feeding distance that can be obtained by multiplying the moving angle of the feed roller with the nominal diameter of the feed roller, and the ordinate indicates the deviation of the feeding distance, i.e., the difference between the theoretical feeding distance and the actual feeding distance. It is noted that the surface pressure of the pinch rollers is per 1 mm in the axial direction of the feed roller. The sheets used for the performance tests were coated sheets for ink jet printers.
- In the sheet feed rollers used in the performance tests as Examples 1, 2 and Control, the angle of the first helices L1 relative to the center axis of the roller is +45°, the angle of the second helices L2 relative to the center axis of the roller is −45°, the distance between the neighboring helices is 0.35 mm, and the projections with the spikes or stoppers are in the form of pyramid of which the opposite facets form an angle of 50° relative to each other. The dimensions (μm) of the projections are as shown in the following Table.
Projections Items Example 1 Example 2 Control Projection Height 75 80 75 with spike Top surface 10 × 10 7 × 7 10 × 10 Projection Height 62 49 — with stopper Top surface 8 × 20 40 × 40 — - It will be appreciated from FIGS,19 and 21 that the sheet feed rollers of Examples 1 and 2 according to the present invention exhibit larger average sheet feeding distance due to suppressed fluctuation in sheet feeding, and stable feeding distance due to fluctuations relative to the surface pressure of the pinch rollers.
- With the sheet feed roller according to the present invention, since the projections on the feed surface of the feed roller are comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet, it is always possible to maintain the optimum piercing depth of the spikes by the stoppers even when the hardness of the sheet changes from time to time. In this way, the desired sheet feeding radius or distance can be maintained without causing fluctuations, thereby realizing a highly precise sheet feeding.
- While the present invention has been described above with reference to some preferred embodiments, various modifications or variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims (8)
1. A sheet feed roller having an outer peripheral surface, said outer peripheral surface including at least one feed surface region that extends at least locally in an axial direction of the roller and over an entire circumference of the roller, said feed surface being provided with a plurality of projections, said plurality of projections being comprised of microscopic spikes that can be pierced into the sheet, and stoppers for limiting a piercing depth of the spikes in the sheet.
2. The sheet feed roller according to claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of projections comprises one of said spike and said stopper.
3. The sheet feed roller according to claim 1 , wherein each of said projections comprising said spike further comprises said stopper.
4. The sheet feed roller according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein each of said projections is arranged in that region of said feed surface, which is defined by first helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, and second helices extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, said second helices crossing said second helices.
5. The sheet feed roller according to claim 4 , wherein at least one projection comprising said spike is arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising said stopper, along said first helices or said second helices.
6. The sheet feed roller according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein each of said projections is arranged in that region of said feed surface, which is defined by generatrices extending along the outer peripheral surface in parallel with an axial direction of the roller, and circumferential lines extending in parallel with each other on the outer peripheral surface, said circumferential lines crossing said generatrices.
7. The sheet feed roller according to claim 6 , wherein at least one projection comprising said spike is arranged alternately with at least one projection comprising said stopper, along said generatrices or said circumferential lines.
8. The sheet feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein said stopper has a flat surface that is substantially at right angles to a radial direction of the roller.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2002-157,556 | 2002-05-30 | ||
JP2002157556A JP2004001925A (en) | 2002-05-30 | 2002-05-30 | Sheet feed roller |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20030230847A1 true US20030230847A1 (en) | 2003-12-18 |
Family
ID=29727517
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/448,104 Abandoned US20030230847A1 (en) | 2002-05-30 | 2003-05-30 | Sheet feed roller |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20030230847A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2004001925A (en) |
CN (1) | CN1475365A (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040251618A1 (en) * | 2003-06-13 | 2004-12-16 | Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. | Recording medium conveyance device and ink jet recording apparatus equipped therewith |
US20060163803A1 (en) * | 2005-01-26 | 2006-07-27 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Feeding Device And Image Recording Apparatus Equipped With The Feeding Device |
US20060187290A1 (en) * | 2005-02-21 | 2006-08-24 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Image forming apparatus |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP4748723B2 (en) * | 2006-05-31 | 2011-08-17 | リコーエレメックス株式会社 | Sheet feeding roller device and image forming apparatus |
JP5478168B2 (en) * | 2009-09-14 | 2014-04-23 | テクシアマシナリー株式会社 | Sheet feed shaft |
CN107876579A (en) * | 2017-12-06 | 2018-04-06 | 江阴戴勒姆动力设备有限公司 | One kind is around piece ratio-frequency welding feed arrangement |
JP2023176281A (en) * | 2022-05-31 | 2023-12-13 | テクシアマシナリー株式会社 | Sheet feeding shaft, manufacturing device thereof, and manufacturing method thereof |
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US20060163803A1 (en) * | 2005-01-26 | 2006-07-27 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Feeding Device And Image Recording Apparatus Equipped With The Feeding Device |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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CN1475365A (en) | 2004-02-18 |
JP2004001925A (en) | 2004-01-08 |
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Owner name: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SHIKAHAMA, SHIGERU;MIYASHITA, MORIHIRO;REEL/FRAME:014412/0845 Effective date: 20030728 |
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