JP2000072266A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: The present invention provides a paper feeder capable of adjusting the angle of entry of paper with a simple configuration and appropriately separating and feeding a plurality of papers regardless of paper thickness or paper quality. A paper feeder includes a friction pad.
Is attached to the guide holder 13 and is urged by the pressure spring 16 to be in pressure contact with the paper feed roller 11. The guide holder 13 is rotatably connected to a link 15 via a fulcrum 14 by a predetermined angle.
8 so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
An adjusting screw 19 is attached to a lower end portion of the link 15, and the link 15 is arranged so as to be movable by a predetermined amount in the vertical direction when the adjusting screw 19 is rotated.
Therefore, when the link 15 is moved in the vertical direction by the adjusting screw 19, the guide holder 13
1, the downstream side in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper 20 rotates in the vertical direction around the pressure contact point with the pressure contact 1, and the angle of penetration θ of the recording paper 20 into the pressure contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12 is substantially reduced. Change.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that appropriately separates and feeds a plurality of sheets regardless of a sheet thickness or a sheet quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses and image reading apparatuses such as facsimile machines, copiers and printers, a plurality of cut sheets are stored in a paper feed cassette or a document table and separated one by one. It has a paper feeder to feed paper,
In such a sheet feeding apparatus, a plurality of sheets are usually placed on a sheet feeding cassette or a document table, and separated and fed one by one from the uppermost sheet. In this case, it is important to appropriately separate and convey only the uppermost sheet to prevent double feed and jam.

Therefore, conventionally, in a paper feeding device, the uppermost sheet placed horizontally in the paper feeding device is sent out by a feeding roller, and is sent out by the frictional force with the uppermost sheet. The second and subsequent sheets are separated by a friction pad that is pressed against the sheet feed roller at a predetermined pressure.

In such a paper feeder, conventionally, the friction pad is fixedly held and urged in the direction of the paper feed roller by a predetermined elastic member, so that the friction pad abuts against the paper feed roller. That is, the angle of the surface of the friction pad with respect to the axis of the paper feed roller is set to be constant.

However, in such a paper feeder, depending on the paper quality and thickness of the paper, when the paper feed roller comes into contact with the uppermost paper and feeds out the uppermost paper, the second paper is appropriately removed. Multiple sheets are conveyed even past the friction pad position without being able to separate the subsequent sheets.
A so-called double feed could occur.

Therefore, conventionally, the plate surface of the recording paper peeling plate pressed by the paper feed roller is held by a peeling plate fixing member, and the plate surface of the recording paper peeling plate is pressed by the paper feeding roller, and the peeling plate fixing member is pressed. A paper feed mechanism that supports a guide member that can move in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis of the paper feed roller with a tension bracket so that the angle at which the leading end of the recording paper contacts the recording paper release plate can be changed (See JP-A-2-282131).

In this conventional paper feed mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper peeling plate 2 is moved in the circumferential direction of the paper feed roller 3 in accordance with the thickness of the paper 1 so that the thickness of the paper 1 is reduced. When the paper 1 is thick (having a strong waist), as shown in FIG.
The angle of entry θ between the sheet peeling plate 2 and the paper feed roller 3 into the press contact portion is adjusted to an angle of entry θ1 that is a smaller angle by a predetermined angle, and when the sheet 1 has a small thickness (weakness), FIG. As shown in (1), the penetration angle θ of the paper 1 into the press contact portion between the paper peeling plate 2 and the paper feed roller 3 is adjusted to a penetration angle θ2 (θ1 <θ2) which is a predetermined angle larger.

When the penetration angle θ is adjusted in accordance with the thickness of the paper 1 and the strength of the waist, the separation performance of the paper 1 is improved, and the paper can be properly separated.

Conventionally, in a paper separating mechanism provided with an adjusting mechanism for pressing a friction member against a paper feeding roller and adjusting the angle of entry of the paper into the friction member, the adjusting mechanism is provided by using a rotating shaft of the paper feeding roller. A support arm that is a swing axis, a holding member that is provided on the support arm and holds the friction member in contact with and urges the outer peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller, and a support member that swings the support arm to form the friction member. A rocking means for adjusting the position with respect to the paper feed roller and a paper separating mechanism provided have been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-324816).

[0010]

However, such a conventional paper feeding mechanism and paper separating mechanism are large and complicated in structure, increasing the size of the paper feeding device itself and increasing the cost. There was a problem.

That is, in the paper feed mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-282131, a tension bracket is provided along the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller, and a peeling plate is fixed along the tension bracket. Since the peeling plate fixing member is moved via the guide member to adjust the angle of entry of the paper, the structure is large and complicated, and the paper feeder itself becomes large and the cost increases. There was a problem.

Also, in the paper separating mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-324816, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the angle of entry of the paper includes a support arm using a rotation axis of a paper feed roller as a swing axis, and A holding member provided on the support arm and holding the friction member in contact with and biasing the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller; and a swing for adjusting the position of the friction member with respect to the paper feed roller by swinging the support arm. However, there is a problem that the structure is large and complicated, the paper feeder itself becomes large, and the cost increases.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the friction pad is attached to a guide member which is supported to be rotatable by a predetermined angle in a sheet feeding direction around a pressure contact with a sheet feeding roller. A link member that is movable in the rotation direction of the guide member, and an adjustment member that moves the link member in the rotation direction of the guide member is attached to the link member, and the link member is moved by the adjustment member And the guide member is moved in the rotation direction to adjust the angle of the friction pad with respect to the paper feed roller. By simply adjusting the adjustment member, the angle of the friction pad is changed to thereby adjust the friction pad of the paper. The angle of entry into the paper feed roller is easily adjusted according to the paper quality and thickness of the paper, and the paper is separated one by one with a small and simple configuration. And paper feed Te, and its object is to provide good sheet feeding device of the sheet feeding performance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the guide member is disposed over a predetermined length in the sheet feeding direction, and the link member is provided at an end of the guide member opposite to the sheet feeding roller in the sheet feeding direction. The movable member is mounted movably in the rotation direction along the rotation direction of the guide member, and the adjusting member is configured to move the link member in the rotation direction of the guide member. By changing the angle of the friction pad with the configuration, the angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and the paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality, paper thickness, etc., and the paper is separated and fed one by one without fail Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device having a good sheet feeding performance.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the adjusting member is a screw member for moving the link member by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle, so that the angle of the friction pad can be more easily and finely adjusted. With a smaller and simpler configuration, the angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and paper thickness, etc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device which further surely separates sheets one by one and feeds the sheets one by one, thereby further improving the sheet feeding performance.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a friction pad is pressed against a rotationally driven paper feed roller at a predetermined angle by a predetermined urging member. A plurality of set sheets are caused to penetrate into a pressure contact between the paper feed roller and the friction pad at a predetermined penetration angle according to an angle at which the friction pad is attached, and one sheet is formed by the paper feed roller and the friction pad. In a paper feeder that separates and feeds paper at a time, the friction pad is attached to a guide member that is supported to be rotatable by a predetermined angle in a paper feed direction about the pressure contact with the paper feed roller, The guide member is connected to a predetermined link member movable in a rotation direction of the guide member, and the link member includes the link member and the guide member. A predetermined adjustment member for moving in the rotation direction is attached, and when the link member is moved by the adjustment member, the guide member is moved in the rotation direction to move the friction pad with respect to the paper feed roller. The above object is achieved by adjusting the angle.

According to the above construction, the friction pad is attached to the guide member which is rotatably supported at a predetermined angle in the sheet feeding direction about the pressure contact with the sheet feeding roller. A link member movable in the direction of rotation of the guide member, an adjusting member for moving the link member in the direction of rotation of the guide member is attached to the link member, and when the link member is moved by the adjusting member, the guide member Is moved in the rotation direction to adjust the angle of the friction pad with respect to the paper feed roller. By simply adjusting the adjusting member, the angle of the friction pad is changed and the paper is moved to the friction pad and the paper feed roller. The angle of entry can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and thickness of the paper. With a small and simple configuration, the paper can be separated one by one without fail. And paper feed, it is possible to improve the sheet feeding performance.

In this case, for example, as set forth in claim 2, the guide member is disposed over a predetermined length in the paper feeding direction, and the link member is provided in the paper feeding direction of the guide member. The guide member is movably attached to the end opposite to the paper feed roller in the rotation direction along the rotation direction of the guide member, and the adjusting member moves the link member in the rotation direction of the guide member. May be moved.

According to the above arrangement, the guide member is disposed over a predetermined length in the paper feeding direction, and the link member is
The guide member is movably mounted in the rotation direction along the rotation direction of the guide member at an end of the guide member opposite to the paper supply roller in the paper supply direction, and the adjustment member is connected to the guide member by the rotation of the guide member. The angle of the friction pad is changed with an even smaller and simpler configuration so that the angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and the paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and thickness of the paper. The paper can be separated and fed one by one,
Paper feed performance can be improved.

Further, for example, as described in claim 3, the adjusting member may be a screw member, and may move the link member by an amount corresponding to a rotation angle.

According to the above configuration, since the adjusting member is a screw member that moves the link member by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle, the angle of the friction pad can be more easily and finely adjusted. In addition, with a smaller and simpler configuration, the angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality, paper thickness, etc., and the paper is reliably separated one by one. Then, the sheet is fed and the sheet feeding performance can be further improved.

[0022]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, various technically preferable limitations are added. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description. The embodiments are not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of a paper feeder 10 to which an embodiment of the paper feeder of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a paper feeder 10 includes a paper feed roller 11 and a friction pad 1 having a predetermined frictional resistance.
2, the paper feed roller 11 is rotated by a motor (not shown) in a counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 at a paper feed timing.

The friction pad 12 is fixedly attached to a guide holder (guide member) 13. The guide holder 13 has an end opposite to the paper feed roller 11 in the paper feed direction linked via a fulcrum 14. (Link member)
15 to be rotatable by a predetermined angle. One end of a pressure spring 16 is fixed to the lower surface of the portion of the guide holder 13 where the friction pad 12 is attached, and the other end of the pressure spring 16 is Is fixed to a supporting member 17 such as a frame.
The friction pad 12 is pressed against the paper feed roller 11 with a predetermined pressure by urging the guide holder 13 toward the paper feed roller 11 by the pressure spring 16.

The link 15 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction guided by the support guide 18, that is, in the rotation direction of the guide holder 13, and an adjusting screw (adjusting member) 19 is provided at the lower end of the link 15. It is screwed. The link 15 is moved up and down by a predetermined amount while being guided by the support guide 18 when the adjustment screw 19 is rotated. Link 15
Is moved in the vertical direction, a guide holder 13 is rotatably attached to the link 15 via a fulcrum 14, and the guide holder 13 is pressed by a pressing spring 16 near an end opposite to the fulcrum 14. , The inclination angle of the link 15 changes by an amount corresponding to the amount of vertical movement of the link 15 about the pressure contact point with the paper feed roller 11.

The paper feeding device 10 is provided on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the paper feeding roller 11, that is, on the left side of the paper feeding roller 11 in FIG.
A paper feed cassette 21 containing a plurality of recording papers (sheets) 20 is provided, and the recording paper 20 in the paper feed cassette 21 is moved to the uppermost recording paper 20 by rotation of the paper feed roller 11. Roller 11 and friction pad 12
The recording paper 20 is separated one by one by the frictional force of the friction pad 12 and fed in the right direction in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described below. The paper feeding device 1 adjusts the inclination angle of the friction pad 12 in accordance with the paper quality and thickness of the recording paper 20 to be fed, so that the recording paper 20 is moved between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12. The feature is that the penetration angle θ of the recording paper 20 is adjusted to improve the separation property of the recording paper 20.

In the paper feeding device 1, the recording paper 20 is set in the paper feeding cassette 21, and the paper feeding roller 11 is rotated at a predetermined paper feeding timing, so that the recording paper 20 in the paper feeding cassette 21 is recorded on the uppermost stage. The paper is separated and fed one by one from the paper 20.

That is, the guide pad 13 on which the friction pad 12 is mounted is urged toward the paper feed roller 11 by the pressing spring 16 in the direction of the paper feed roller 11, so that the friction pad 12 is pressed against the paper feed roller 11 at a predetermined pressure. The paper feed cassette 11 is rotated by the rotation of the paper feed roller 11.
The recording paper 20 sent from the sheet feeding roller 11 to the space between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12 is a recording paper 2 other than the topmost recording paper 20 even if a plurality of recording papers 20 are fed.
0, that is, the recording paper 20 on the friction pad 12 side
Is prevented from moving in the sheet feeding direction by the frictional resistance of the friction pad 12, and only the uppermost recording sheet 20 is separated and sent out by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 11.

However, depending on the paper quality, paper thickness, etc. of the recording paper 20, the recording paper 20 can be properly separated or separated depending on the angle of entry θ of the recording paper 20 into the pressure contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12. Or not.

That is, the friction pad 12 attached to the guide holder 13 is provided with a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the recording paper 20 in advance, and the recording paper 2
Numeral 0 is designed to penetrate into the pressure contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12 at a predetermined penetration angle θ.

However, for example, in the case where the recording paper 20 is thick, if the penetration angle θ of the recording paper 20 is large, the recording paper 20 may not be properly separated, and conversely, In the case where the recording paper 20 is thin, if the penetration angle θ of the recording paper 20 is small, the recording paper 20 may not be properly separated.

Therefore, the paper feeding device 10 of the present embodiment is
By simply adjusting the rotation of the adjusting screw 19, the angle of inclination of the friction pad 12 can be changed to adjust the angle of entry θ of the recording paper 20 into the pressure contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12. That is, the guide holder 13 to which the friction pad 12 is attached is rotatably connected to the link 15 via the fulcrum 14 by a predetermined angle, and the link 15 is guided by the support guide 18 and can move in the vertical direction. It is arranged in. An adjusting screw 19 is attached to a lower end portion of the link 15, and the link 15 is arranged so as to be movable by a predetermined amount in the vertical direction when the adjusting screw 19 is rotated. The guide holder 13 is urged toward the paper feed roller 11 by a pressure spring 16 near the end opposite to the fulcrum 14.

Therefore, the link 1 is adjusted by the adjusting screw 19.
1 is moved upward, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, the guide holder 13 moves around the pressure contact point with the paper feed roller 11 on the downstream side in the paper feed direction of the recording paper 20 (see FIG. 1). (Right side) is rotated upward, and the angle of penetration θ of the recording paper 20 into the pressure contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12 is substantially increased. On the contrary, the link 1 is
When the recording paper 5 is moved downward as indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1, the guide holder 13 rotates around the pressure contact with the paper supply roller 11 so that the downstream side in the paper supply direction of the recording paper 20 rotates downward. And the penetration angle θ of the recording paper 20 into the press contact portion between the paper feed roller 11 and the friction pad 12 is substantially reduced.

Therefore, the user of the paper feeding device 10 rotates the adjusting screw 19 as appropriate according to the paper quality of the recording paper 20, and
By adjusting the angle of the friction pad 12,
The penetration angle θ of the recording paper 20 can be adjusted. For example, in the case of a thick recording paper 20, the link 15 is pulled down by the adjusting screw 19 to reduce the inclination angle of the guide holder 13 (the inclination angle of the friction pad 12), and the penetration angle of the recording paper 20 is reduced. Then, the separation performance of the thick recording paper 20 is improved, and the recording paper 20 can be appropriately separated and fed. When the recording paper 20 is thin, the link 15 is pushed upward by the adjusting screw 19 to increase the inclination angle of the guide holder 13 (the inclination angle of the friction pad 12).
When the penetration angle of 0 is increased, the separation performance of the recording paper 20 having a small thickness is improved, and the recording paper 20 can be appropriately separated and fed.

The paper feeding device 10 is provided with the recording paper 20.
Is adjusted by connecting the guide holder 13 to which the friction pad 12 is attached to the link 15 and moving the link 15 in the vertical direction with the adjusting screw 19, thereby achieving a simple configuration and a small size. Can be done by mechanism.

As described above, the sheet feeding device 10 according to the present embodiment
According to the above, the friction pad 12 is
And a guide holder 13 supported rotatably at a predetermined angle in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper 20 around the pressure contact with
The guide holder 13 is connected to a link 15 movable in the rotation direction of the guide holder 13, and an adjustment screw 19 for moving the link 15 in the rotation direction of the guide holder 13 is attached to the link 15 as an adjustment member. When the link 15 is moved by the adjusting screw 19, the guide holder 13 is moved in the rotation direction, and the angle of the friction pad 12 with respect to the paper feed roller 11 is adjusted.

Therefore, only by adjusting the adjusting screw 19, the angle of the friction pad 12 is changed, and the angle θ of the recording paper 20 entering the friction pad 12 and the paper feed roller 11 is determined. The recording paper 20 can be easily adjusted according to the
Can be surely separated and fed one by one to improve the sheet feeding performance.

Further, the guide holder 13 is disposed over a predetermined length in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper 20, and the link 15 is
The guide holder 13 is attached to an end of the guide holder 13 opposite to the feed roller 11 in the feed direction so as to be movable in the turning direction along the turning direction of the guide holder 13, and the adjusting screw 19 is attached to the link 15. The guide holder 13 is moved in the rotation direction.

Therefore, by changing the angle of the friction pad 12 with a more compact and simple configuration, the recording paper 2
0 can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and thickness of the recording paper 20, and the recording paper 20 can be reliably separated and fed one by one. Thus, the paper feeding performance can be improved.

Further, since the adjusting member is the adjusting screw 19 for moving the link 15 by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle, the angle of the friction pad 12 can be adjusted more easily and finely. With an even smaller and simpler configuration, the angle θ at which the recording paper 20 enters the friction pad 12 and the paper feed roller 11 can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality, paper thickness, and the like of the recording paper 20. Can be reliably separated and fed one by one to further improve the sheet feeding performance.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0044]

According to the paper feeder of the present invention, the guide member supports the friction pad so as to be rotatable by a predetermined angle in the paper feed direction about the pressure contact with the paper feed roller. Attached to the guide member, a link member movable in the rotation direction of the guide member is connected to the guide member, and an adjustment member for moving the link member in the rotation direction of the guide member is attached to the link member. When the link member is moved, the guide member is moved in the rotating direction and the angle of the friction pad with respect to the paper feed roller is adjusted. Therefore, only by adjusting the adjustment member, the angle of the friction pad is changed. The angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and the paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and paper thickness of the paper. Reliably and the paper feed is separated one by one, it is possible to improve the feeding performance.

According to the sheet feeding device of the second aspect of the present invention,
A guide member is disposed over a predetermined length in the sheet feeding direction, and a link member is provided at an end of the guide member in the sheet feeding direction opposite to the sheet feeding roller along the rotation direction of the guide member. The adjustment member is movably mounted in the rotation direction and the link member is moved in the rotation direction of the guide member. The angle of entry into the friction pad and the paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality and paper thickness of the paper, and the paper is reliably separated and fed one by one to improve the paper feed performance. be able to.

According to the sheet feeding apparatus of the third aspect,
Since the adjusting member is a screw member that moves the link member by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle, the angle of the friction pad can be more easily and finely adjusted, and the configuration is more compact and simple. The angle of entry of the paper into the friction pad and the paper feed roller can be easily adjusted according to the paper quality, paper thickness, etc., and the paper is separated and fed one by one without fail. The performance can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of a paper feeding apparatus to which an embodiment of the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the sheet feeding device when the penetration angle is increased in the case of thin recording paper.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the main part when the penetration angle is increased when the paper quality of the paper feeding device is thick.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 paper feeder 11 paper feed roller 12 friction pad 13 guide holder 14 fulcrum 15 link 16 pressure spring 17 support member 18 support guide 19 adjustment screw 20 recording paper 21 paper feed cassette

Claims (3)

[Claims] A friction pad is pressed against a rotationally driven paper feed roller at a predetermined angle by a predetermined urging member, and a plurality of sheets set by rotation of the paper feed roller are separated from the paper feed roller and the friction pad. A paper feed device that separates and feeds one by one by the paper feed roller and the friction pad by causing the pressure contact of the friction pad to penetrate at a predetermined penetration angle according to the mounting angle of the friction pad.
The friction pad is attached to a guide member rotatably supported at a predetermined angle in a paper feeding direction about a pressure contact point with the paper feed roller, and the guide member is rotated in a rotation direction of the guide member. The link member is connected to a predetermined link member, and the link member is provided with a predetermined adjustment member for moving the link member in the rotation direction of the guide member. The paper feeding device, wherein when moved, the guide member is moved in the rotating direction to adjust an angle of the friction pad with respect to the paper feeding roller. 2. The guide member is disposed over a predetermined length in a sheet feeding direction of the sheet, and the link member is an end portion of the guide member opposite to the sheet feeding roller in the sheet feeding direction. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting member moves the link member in the rotating direction of the guide member, and the link member is moved in the rotating direction of the guide member along the rotating direction of the guide member. Paper feeder. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting member is a screw member, and moves the link member by an amount corresponding to a rotation angle.