JP2000170783A - Rotational force transmission mechanism, sheet feeding device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable smooth engagement between rotating bodies of a coupling. SOLUTION: A rotating force transmission mechanism is configured such that one of a pair of rotating shafts 206 and 213 arranged linearly has one rotating shaft 21.
3 is provided between opposing ends of a pair of rotating shafts which move in a circular motion with respect to the other rotating shaft 206 about an axis intersecting the one rotating shaft, and are separated from each other. Is provided with a coupling 311 for connecting a pair of rotating shafts when it is linear, and releasing the connection when one of the rotating shafts is separated, and further provided at opposite ends of the pair of rotating shafts, respectively. A pair of rotating bodies 303 and 304 are provided, and claw pieces 314 and 315 that engage with each other protrude from opposing surfaces of the pair of rotating bodies, and the outer peripheral radius and the amount of protrusion of one of the claw pieces 314 are rotated. And the tip 315a of the other claw piece 315 abuts the outer circumference 314a of the claw piece of one rotating body when one rotating shaft approaches the other rotating shaft. It has become.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotating force transmitting mechanism for transmitting a rotating force between opposed ends of a pair of rotating shafts arranged linearly, and to transmitting a rotating force by the rotating force transmitting mechanism. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus having a sheet feeding means for feeding a sheet after being fed, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the sheet feeding apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a rotational force transmitting mechanism is used, for example, in a sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus.

Note that the image forming apparatus includes a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and a multifunction peripheral thereof.

The sheets include plain paper, thin resin sheets which are substitutes for plain paper, postcards, cardboard,
There are sealed letters and plastic thin plates.

[0005] The sheet feeding device is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and separates and feeds the sheets one by one to the main body.

However, a sheet conveyed in the image forming apparatus may be jammed or wrinkled (so-called jam occurs) due to various causes.

When a jam occurs in the image forming apparatus,
In order to make it easier to remove the sheet or to improve the maintainability of service personnel, a part of the image forming apparatus main body can be opened and closed, or a part of the image forming apparatus component is unitized and It can be taken out.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, a sheet feeding device 201 for feeding sheets is often unitized. The sheet stacking cassette (sheet stacking means) 216 of the sheet feeding apparatus 201 can rotate in the direction of arrow A about a rotation center axis 202 intersecting with the surface of the sheet S so as to be inserted into and removed from the image forming apparatus main body. . The sheet feeding apparatus 201 requires a motor for rotating a pickup roller (sheet feeding means) 209 for feeding a sheet, and this motor is provided in an image forming apparatus main body which is also a main body of the sheet feeding apparatus. Often.

As shown in FIG. 9, a motor (rotary drive source)
When the motor 210 is provided in the image forming apparatus main body, the motor 210
The rotation driving force of the coupling 211 is, for example, the driving-side rotating body 203 and the driven-side rotating body 204 of the low-cost coupling 211 that can be separated.
Is transmitted to the pickup roller 209 via
When the sheet stacking cassette 216 is pulled out of the image forming apparatus main body, the driving side rotating body 203 and the driven side rotating body 204
Are separated so that they are not transmitted.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 10, a pair of claw pieces 214 and 215 protrude from opposing surfaces of the driving-side rotator 203 and the driven-side rotator 204 to transmit a rotational force in the rotation direction. ing. The driving-side rotator 203 includes claw pieces 214 and 2
The drive shaft 206 is provided movably in the thrust direction so as to be easily engaged with each other, and is urged toward the driven-side rotator 204 by a spring 205.

Note that the rotational force of the motor 210 is
12, transmitted to the drive shaft 206 via the electromagnetic clutch 207.

[0012]

As described above, when the rotational force of the motor 210 is transmitted to the pickup roller 209 by the conventional coupling 211, the sheet stacking cassette 216 is transferred to the image forming apparatus main body. At the time of pushing, the driven-side rotator 204 approaches and comes into contact with the driving-side rotator 203 obliquely forward while drawing an arc together with the sheet stacking cassette 216, so that the tip of the claw 215 may abut on the outer periphery of the claw 214. .

In this case, the drive side rotating body 203 escapes by the spring 205 so that the claw pieces 214 and 215 are easily engaged with each other. However, since the driving side rotating body 203 receives a force from diagonally forward, it is sufficient. Claw piece 214 which cannot escape to the side (easily escapes if the force is parallel to the drive shaft 206).
With the sheet stacking cassettes 21 remaining in contact with each other,
The user 6 may be pushed into the image forming apparatus main body until the user contacts the stoppers 208, 208.

However, the push-in resistance is large, and the user notices an abnormal state, and again, the sheet stacking cassette 21
There was a case where 6 was pushed again.

For this reason, the sheet stacking cassette 216 is
In some cases, it could not be pushed into the image forming body.

It is assumed that the sheet stacking cassette 216 is
Is pushed in, as shown in FIG.
There is a possibility that the driven shaft 213 having the following will be bent in the shape of “<”.

The driven shaft 213 shown in FIG. 7 is greatly bent in order to make it easy to understand the bent state. However, the driven shaft 213 is not bent so much but is slightly bent.

Therefore, when the driven shaft 213 is bent, the driven shaft 213 cannot rotate smoothly, and the sheets cannot be reliably fed one by one by the pickup roller 209.

Further, in the image forming apparatus provided with the above-described sheet feeding device, the sheet may not be reliably fed, and the image may not be accurately formed.

(Purpose) According to the present invention, a rotational force transmitting mechanism capable of smoothly engaging rotating members of a coupling, and a sheet feeding means and a rotational drive source are connected by the rotational force transmitting mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device which is provided and an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet feeding device.

[0021]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rotating force transmitting mechanism, wherein one of a pair of rotating shafts arranged linearly has one rotating shaft with respect to the other rotating shaft. Provided between the opposite ends of the pair of rotating shafts that move in a circular motion about an axis that intersects with the pair of rotating shafts, and when the pair of rotating shafts are linear, A coupling for connecting the rotating shafts, the coupling for releasing the connection when the one rotating shaft is separated, and further comprising a pair of rotating bodies respectively provided at opposed ends of the pair of rotating shafts, Claw pieces that engage with each other protrude from the opposing surfaces of the pair of rotating bodies, and the outer peripheral radius and the protruding amount of the claw pieces protrudingly provided on one of the rotating bodies become smaller toward the downstream side in the rotation direction. And the tip of the claw protruding from the other rotating body is such that the one rotating shaft is the other rotating shaft. It is adapted to abut against the outer periphery of the claw piece of the one of the rotating body when approaching.

When a pair of rotating shafts are arranged in a straight line, the coupling engages with a pair of rotating bodies to transmit a rotational force between the pair of rotating shafts. When the pair of rotating shafts are separated from each other, the pair of rotating bodies are also separated from each other, so that the coupling cannot transmit the rotational force.

When one of the rotating shafts approaches the other rotating shaft in a circular motion about the axis intersecting with the one rotating shaft from the state where the pair of rotating shafts are separated from each other, When the positions of the claw pieces are shifted from each other, the claw pieces are smoothly engaged with each other, and the coupling connects the pair of rotation shafts.

However, when the positions of the pawls are substantially the same, the pawls cannot be engaged. In this case,
The tip of the claw projecting from one of the rotating bodies abuts on the outer periphery of the claw of the other rotating body, and presses the outer periphery with the circular motion of one of the rotating shafts.

Since the outer peripheral radius and the protrusion amount of the claw of the other rotating body are set to be smaller toward the downstream side in the rotation direction, the other rotating body is pressed by the claw of one of the rotating bodies. And a rotating force is generated and rotated, and finally,
The claws are engaged with each other, so that the coupling can transmit the rotational force.

Therefore, the coupling can be used without deforming the rotating shaft regardless of the position of the claw piece.
Engage securely and transmit torque.

At least one of the pair of rotating bodies is movable in the thrust direction, and the rotating body is biased toward the other rotating body by an elastic body.

The sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention feeds the sheets on a sheet stacking means rotatably provided with respect to the main body by an axis for stacking the sheets and intersecting the sheet surface. A rotation shaft for rotating the sheet feeding means,
The rotational force transmission mechanism is provided between an end of the main body facing a drive rotary shaft rotated by a rotary drive source.

The sheet stacking means is usually housed in the main body. The rotational force of the drive rotation source is transmitted to the sheet feeding means via a coupling, and the sheet feeding means feeds the sheet on the sheet stacking means.

The sheet stacking means is rotated around the shaft and pulled out when a jam occurs. At this time, the driven side rotating body is separated from the driving side rotating body,
The rotation force of the rotation drive source is not transmitted to the sheet feeding means.

After the jam has been cleared, the sheet stacking means is rotated about an axis and pushed into the main body.

At this time, if the claw pieces of the driving-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body of the coupling are displaced from each other, they engage smoothly. However, if they are not displaced, they interfere with each other and do not engage with each other, but when the sheet stacking means is pushed into the main body while rotating, one of the claws comes into contact with the outer periphery of the other claw. Since the outer peripheral radius and the protrusion amount of the claw pieces become smaller toward the downstream side in the rotation direction, the rotating body having the other claw piece rotates, and the other claw piece becomes one of the one claw piece. It rotates and moves to a position where it engages with the claw piece. As a result, the claw pieces of both rotating bodies are engaged with each other, and the rotational force of the rotary drive source is transmitted to the sheet feeding means.

Therefore, the coupling can be used without deforming the rotating shaft regardless of the position of the claw piece.
Engage securely and transmit torque.

[0034]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
A description will be given based on FIGS.

The torque transmitting mechanism of the present invention is, for example, shown in FIG.
A manual sheet feeding unit 30 which is a sheet feeding device shown in FIG.
1 And the manual sheet feeding unit 3
Reference numeral 01 is provided in the main body 1 of the copying machine 2 which is an image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

In the image forming apparatus, in addition to the copying machine,
There are a facsimile, a printer, a multifunction peripheral thereof, and the like, and the manual sheet feeding unit 301 can be incorporated in these devices.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a copying machine (image forming apparatus) 1 into which a manual sheet feeding unit 301 is incorporated.

In FIG. 1, a document G placed on a document table glass 9 is scanned by moving a lamp 10 of the optical system 3 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The reflected light 19 is transmitted to a plurality of mirrors 1
An image is formed on the photosensitive drum 20 via 1 to 16 and the lens 18 to form an electrostatic latent image.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a primary charger, reference numeral 42 denotes a developing device, reference numeral 43 denotes a transfer charger, reference numeral 44 denotes a separation charger, and reference numeral 45 denotes a cleaner. These are arranged around the photoconductor drum 20 and constitute the image forming unit 17 together with the photoconductor drum 20.

Reference numerals 60a, 60b, 60c and 60d are:
3 illustrates a sheet supply cassette. Reference numeral 301 denotes a manual sheet feeding unit (sheet feeding device).

The sheet supply cassettes 60a, 60b, 60
Pickup rollers 30, 209, feed rollers 31, 220, and retard rollers 32, 221 are provided around c, 60d and the manual sheet supply unit 301.

One of the sheet supply cassettes 60a, 60
0b, 60c or manual sheet feeding cassette 2
The sheet fed from the feed roller 16 by the pickup rollers 30 and 209 is fed to the feed roller 3
1, 220 and retard rollers 32, 221 one by one, conveyed to a pair of registration rollers 35, and transferred to a transfer charging unit in synchronization with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 20 visualized by a developing unit 42. It is sent over 43. The sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred is placed on the separation charger 4.
After being separated from the photosensitive drum 20 by the operation of
6 and sent to the fixing device 27. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 27 is discharged onto a sheet discharge tray (not shown) by an inner sheet discharge roller pair 28 and an outer sheet discharge roller pair 29, and is sequentially stacked.

Next, a sheet feeding section 301 which is a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same parts as those shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

The sheet feeding section 301 is used when copying an image to another sheet which is not stored in the sheet feeding cassettes 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d.

The sheet feeding section 301 is formed as a unit, and includes a sheet stacking cassette 216 on which sheets are stacked,
A pickup roller (sheet feeding means) 209 for feeding sheets from the sheet stacking cassette 216, and a feed roller 22 for separating sheets one by one when the sheets fed from the sheet stacking cassette 216 are double fed.
0, a retard roller 221, and other parts necessary for feeding a sheet (not shown).

The sheet feeding section 301 is configured such that a portion of the sheet stacking cassette 216 rotates with respect to the main body 1 about a rotation center shaft 202 provided on the main body 1 of the copying machine 2. . The rotation center shaft 202 is provided in a direction intersecting with the sheets stacked on the sheet feeding unit 301. The main body 1 of the copying machine 2 includes a sheet feeding unit 301.
It is also the main body.

The reason why the sheet stacking cassette 216 is rotated is to perform jam processing when a jam occurs in the manual sheet feeding unit 301, and to clean a portion inside the main body of the sheet feeding unit 301 from the sheet feeding unit 301. This is to facilitate maintenance such as replacement of parts.

The sheet feeding section 301 receives a rotational driving force from a motor (rotary driving source) 210 on the main body 1 via a coupling 311 which is a rotational force transmitting mechanism that can be engaged and separated. The coupling 311 includes a driving-side rotator 303 and a driven-side rotator 304.
As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 to 8, the driving-side rotating body 303
A pair of claw pieces 31 is provided on the surface facing the rotating body 304
4,315 protrude in the thrust direction. The claw piece 314 of the driving-side rotating body 303 is formed such that the outer peripheral radius and the protruding amount become smaller toward the downstream side in the rotation direction. The claw 315 of the driven side rotating body 304 is formed by protruding a part of the outer periphery of the driven side rotating body 304 in the thrust direction as it is.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drive-side rotating body 303 on the drive shaft 206 is provided with a protrusion (not shown) on the drive shaft 206 and grooves 316 and 316 of the drive-side rotating body 303.
The spring 205 presses the driven-side rotating body 304 fixed to the driven shaft 213 toward the driven-side rotating body 304 by being engaged with the driven shaft 213.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drive shaft 206 receives a rotational driving force from the motor 210 via a belt 212 and an electromagnetic clutch 207. Normally, it is in a free state by receiving a rotational driving force.

The sheet stacking cassette 216 is usually stored in the main body 1. In the pickup roller 209,
The torque of the motor is transmitted via the coupling 311, and the pickup roller 209 feeds the sheet S on the sheet stacking cassette 216.

When a jam occurs or when maintenance is required, the sheet stacking cassette 216 is rotated from the main body 1 around the rotation center shaft 202 and pulled out. At this time, the driven-side rotator 304 is separated from the drive-side rotator 303, so that the torque of the motor 210 is not transmitted to the pickup roller 209. The drive shaft 206 is rotatable because the electromagnetic clutch 207 is not acting.

After the jam has been cleared or the maintenance has been completed, the sheet stacking cassette 216
And is pushed into the main body 1. At this time,
Claw piece 314 of drive side rotating body 303 of coupling 311
When the position of the claw 315 of the driven-side rotator 304 is shifted from the position of the claw 315 of the driven-side rotator 304, the engagement is smoothly performed.

However, if the position is not shifted, they interfere with each other and do not engage as shown in FIG. 6, but as the sheet stacking cassette 216 is pushed into the main body 1 while rotating, the driven side rotating body The tip 315a of the nail piece 315 of 304
Is the arc-shaped outer periphery 3 of the claw piece 314 of the driving-side rotating body 303.
14a and is pressed. The claw piece 314 has a smaller outer radius and a protruding amount toward the downstream side in the rotation direction. For this reason, the claw piece 314 is not shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
3 with the claw piece 315 to engage with the claw piece 315 and rotate.
The contact surfaces 314b and 315b of the contact members 4 and 315 contact each other.

As a result, both the rotating bodies 303, 30
Reference numeral 5 denotes the rotational force of the motor 210
9 can be transmitted.

The retracting rotation is performed by the driven-side rotating body 30.
4 in some cases, and both rotators 303 and 304 in some cases.

The claw piece 314 is attached to the driven-side rotating body 3.
04 and a nail 315 may be provided on the drive-side rotating body 304.

[0058]

The rotational force transmitting mechanism according to the present invention is such that, regardless of the position of the claw piece of the coupling, the rotational shaft is deformed to cause misalignment of the pair of rotational shafts. Therefore, it is possible to reliably engage and transmit the rotational force.

According to the sheet feeding device of the present invention, the sheet loading means can be taken in and out of the main body without deforming the rotating shaft by the above-mentioned torque transmitting mechanism. The sheet can be reliably fed by the sheet feeding means.

Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention is equipped with the above-mentioned sheet feeding apparatus for reliably feeding sheets,
An image can be accurately formed on a sheet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a copying machine which is an image forming apparatus equipped with a manual sheet feeding unit which is a sheet feeding device having a rotational force transmission mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a manual sheet feeding unit which is a sheet feeding device having a rotational force transmission mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a driving-side rotating body of the coupling.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a manual sheet feeding unit in the process of pushing a sheet stacking cassette into a main body.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a manual sheet feeding unit in the process of pushing a sheet stacking cassette into a main body.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the coupling for explaining the engagement between the pawl pieces of the driving-side rotator and the driven-side rotator of the coupling;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the coupling for explaining the engagement between the pawls of the driving-side rotator and the driven-side rotator of the coupling;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the coupling for explaining the engagement between the claw pieces of the drive-side rotator and the driven-side rotator of the coupling;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a sheet feeding device provided with a conventional rotation drive mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventional coupling.

[Explanation of symbols]

 G Document S Sheet 1 Copying Machine Body (Main Body) 2 Copying Machine (Image Forming Apparatus) 17 Image Forming Means 202 Rotation Center Shaft (Axis) 205 Spring (Rotation Force Transmission Mechanism) 206 Drive Shaft (Rotation Shaft) 207 Electromagnetic Clutch 208 Positioning Piece 209 pickup roller (sheet feeding means) 210 motor (rotation driving source) 212 electromagnetic clutch 213 driven shaft (rotating shaft) 216 sheet stacking cassette (sheet stacking means) 220 feed roller 301 manual sheet feeding section (sheet feeding device) Numeral 303 Drive-side rotating body (rotating body) 304 Driven-side rotating body (rotating body) 311 Coupling (rotational force transmission mechanism) 314 Claw piece 314a Outer circumference 314b Contact surface 315 Claw piece 315a Tip 315b Contact surface 316 Groove

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pair of rotating shafts arranged linearly, one of which rotates circularly with respect to the other rotating shaft about an axis intersecting with the one rotating shaft to approach and separate from the other rotating shaft. Provided between the opposed ends of the pair of rotating shafts,
A rotating force transmission mechanism comprising: a coupling that couples the pair of rotating shafts when the pair of rotating shafts is linear, and releases the connection when the one rotating shaft is separated; A pair of rotating bodies provided at opposite ends of the pair of rotating shafts, and a pair of claws that are engaged with each other on opposite surfaces of the pair of rotating bodies, and protrude from one of the rotating bodies; The smaller the outer radius and the amount of protrusion of the claw piece, the smaller it goes toward the downstream side in the rotation direction,
In addition, the tip of the claw protruding from the other rotating body may be configured to contact the outer periphery of the claw of the one rotating body when the one rotating shaft approaches the other rotating shaft. Characteristic torque transmission mechanism. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the pair of rotating bodies is
The rotating force transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body is movable in a thrust direction, and the rotating body is biased toward the other rotating body by an elastic body. 3. A sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet on a sheet loading means rotatably provided with respect to the main body is rotated by an axis for stacking the sheets and intersecting the sheet surface. A sheet feeding device comprising: the rotating force transmission mechanism according to claim 1, between a facing end of a rotating shaft and a driving rotating shaft that is rotated by a rotating drive source on the main body. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet feeding device according to claim 3; and image forming means for forming an image on a sheet supplied by the sheet feeding device.