JP2015067418A - Conveying roller joint mechanism, sheet conveying apparatus, and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor roller joint mechanism and a sheet conveyor in which a rotating body such as a rotating roller can be easily attached to a drive shaft, and even when the rotating body is reversely rotated, the engagement of a shaft joint is difficult to be released. An apparatus and an image processing apparatus are provided. A manual sheet feeder 60 includes a roller unit 62 having a support 95 with a rubber roller 87 mounted thereon, and a drive shaft 63 that is rotationally driven by a motor. Four protrusions 93 are provided on the engaging convex portion 91 of the supported portion 89 of the roller unit 62, and four grooves 81 are formed in the engaging concave portion 77 </ b> A of the joint 77 of the drive shaft 63. The protrusion 93 has flat side surfaces 93A and 93B. The inner surface on the upstream side in the forward rotation direction 83 in the groove 81 is a flat facing surface 84. The inner surface on the downstream side of the groove 81 has a flat facing surface 85 and a guide surface 86. When the roller unit 62 is rotated in the reverse direction of the forward rotation direction 83, the side surface 93B and the facing surface 85 come into surface contact. [Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention includes a rotating body that conveys a sheet member by rotating in contact with the sheet member, and a driven shaft of the rotating body and a rotationally driven driving shaft are separably engaged by a shaft joint. The present invention relates to a conveyance roller joint mechanism, a sheet conveyance device, and an image processing apparatus including the sheet conveyance device.

  A conventional image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer includes a sheet conveying device that takes out and conveys a sheet member accommodated in a sheet feeding cassette. The sheet conveying device includes a rotating roller that rotates in contact with the sheet member, and conveys the sheet member in a predetermined direction by transmitting a rotational driving force in one direction from a motor or the like to the rotating roller. To do. The rotating shaft of the rotating roller is connected to a driving shaft that transmits a rotational driving force from a motor by a shaft coupling (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-30670

  As this type of shaft joint, for example, a structure having a structure in which a convex portion formed on the rotating shaft is fitted into a concave portion formed on the driving shaft and these are meshed in the rotational direction is known. However, in the case of a structure that engages by fitting, the rotating roller cannot be easily attached to the drive shaft. On the other hand, a structure is conceivable in which the side surface that does not mesh when a rotational driving force in one direction is input to the concave portion is inclined to facilitate the insertion of the convex portion into the concave portion. However, in the case of this structure, when the sheet member is clogged in a state where the rotary roller is in contact with the inside of the sheet conveying apparatus or the image processing apparatus, inconvenience occurs when the sheet member is removed. Specifically, when the sheet member is pulled out in the direction opposite to the conveying direction in order to remove the sheet member, the rotating roller rotates in the reverse direction, and the convex portion moves along the inclined surface of the concave portion. The engagement by the shaft joint may be released.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable a rotating body such as a rotating roller to be easily attached to a drive shaft, and even when the rotating body is reversely rotated. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveying roller joint, a sheet conveying apparatus, and an image processing apparatus including the sheet conveying apparatus that are difficult to disengage the joint.

  A conveyance roller joint mechanism according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first shaft joint, a second shaft joint, a rotating body, a concave portion, and a convex portion. The first joint is provided at an end portion of a drive shaft that is rotationally driven in a predetermined forward rotation direction. The second joint is provided at an end portion of a driven shaft that is slidably disposed on a coaxial line of the driving shaft. The rotating body is attached to the driven shaft so as to be in contact with the sheet member. The rotating member is transmitted to the driven shaft, and the rotational force of the forward rotation direction transmitted to the driven shaft and the contact friction with the sheet member cause the sheet member to Transport in the transport direction corresponding to the forward rotation direction. The recess is provided in either the first shaft joint or the second shaft joint. The convex portion is provided on either the first shaft joint or the second shaft joint, and transmits the rotational driving force in the positive rotational direction from the driving shaft to the driven shaft in contact with the concave portion. It has a drive transmission surface. The recess has a first side and a second side that define the recess. The first side surface is a flat surface that is in surface contact with the drive transmission surface during transmission of the rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction and is formed perpendicular to the axis. The second side surface is located at a position facing the first side surface in the recess, and a depth side in the depth direction along the axial direction in the recess is perpendicular to the axis and extends along the axial direction. The tip end side in the axial direction of the recess is an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and is inclined in a direction away from the first side surface.

  A sheet conveying apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the conveying roller joint mechanism, and conveys the sheet member by the rotational driving force in the positive rotation direction transmitted to the rotating body by the conveying roller joint mechanism.

  An image processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the sheet conveying apparatus.

  This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are appropriate for the following detailed description, with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. . Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to embodiments that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily attach the rotating body to the drive shaft, and it is difficult to disengage the shaft joint even when the rotating body is reversely rotated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of the image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the manual sheet feeder provided in the image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a paper feeding unit provided in the manual paper feeding device of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drive shaft provided in the manual sheet feeder of FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part VII in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a roller unit provided in the manual sheet feeder of FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the roller unit of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a manual sheet feeder 60 and an image processing apparatus 10 including the manual sheet feeder 60 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the vertical direction of the state where the image processing apparatus 10 is installed on a flat surface (the state shown in FIG. 1) is defined as the up and down direction 6. Further, the front-rear direction 7 is defined with the surface on which the operation display panel 17 is provided as the front surface (front surface). Further, a left-right direction 8 is defined with reference to the front of the image processing apparatus 10. In addition, embodiment described below is only an example which actualized this invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention.

  First, a schematic configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 10 is a so-called in-body discharge type multifunction peripheral, and includes various functions such as a printer, a copier, a FAX apparatus, and a scanner. The image processing apparatus 10 forms an image of the input image on a printing paper P (an example of a sheet member of the present invention) using a printing material such as toner. Note that the image processing apparatus 10 is not limited to a multifunction machine, and the present invention can be applied to a dedicated machine such as a printer, a copying machine, a FAX apparatus, or a scanner.

  The image processing apparatus 10 includes a scanner 12 and an image forming apparatus 14. The scanner 12 performs processing for reading an image of a document, and is provided on the upper portion of the image processing apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 14 performs an image forming process based on an electrophotographic method, and is provided on the lower side of the scanner 12. Further, the image forming apparatus 14 includes two paper feed cassettes 27 and 28 arranged in two upper and lower stages. The upper paper feed cassette 27 is provided integrally with the housing 29 at the bottom of the image forming apparatus 14. The lower paper feed cassette 28 is of an expansion type connected as an optional device to the bottom surface of the casing 29 of the image forming apparatus 14. The paper feed cassette 28 is configured to be detachable from the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 14. A paper discharge unit 30 is provided on the right side of the image forming apparatus 14. Note that the image forming apparatus 14 is not limited to an electrophotographic system, and may be an inkjet recording system, or a recording system or printing system other than that.

  A paper discharge space 21 for discharging the printing paper is provided above the image forming apparatus 14. The paper discharge unit 30 is provided so as to connect the image forming apparatus 14 and the scanner 12 while forming a discharge space 21 between the image forming apparatus 14 and the scanner 12. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the front side and the left side of the paper discharge space 21 are open. Further, the rear side and the right side of the paper discharge space 21 are not opened, the rear side is closed, and a paper discharge unit 30 is provided on the right side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the scanner 12 includes a document table 23. When the image processing apparatus 10 functions as a copying machine, a copy is instructed from the operation display panel 17 after a document is set on the document table 23 and the document cover 24 is closed. Thereby, the reading operation by the scanner 12 is started, and the image data of the document is read. Then, the read image data is sent to the image forming apparatus 14. 1 and 2, the document cover 24 of the scanner 12 is not shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the scanner 12 includes an ADF 13. The ADF 13 is provided on the document cover 24. The ADF 13 is an automatic document feeder including a document tray 45, a feeding mechanism 46, a plurality of transport rollers 47, a sheet press 48, a paper discharge unit 49, and the like. The ADF 13 drives each of the feeding mechanism 46 and the conveying roller 47 with a motor (not shown), thereby allowing the document set on the document tray 45 to pass through the reading position 43 on the document placing table 23 and discharging the sheet 49. Transport to. The feeding mechanism 46 includes a feeding roller 46A that takes out a document and a transport roller 46B that transports the document taken out by the feeding roller 46A, and is fed from the document tray 45 by the feeding roller 46A. The original is conveyed downstream in the feeding direction by the conveying roller 46B. And it is further conveyed by the conveyance roller 47 provided in the feed direction downstream side. In the process of transporting the document by the ADF 13, the image of the document that passes through the reading position 43 is read by the scanner 12.

  The image forming apparatus 14 forms an image on a printing paper P having a predetermined size such as an A size or a B size based on image data read by the scanner 12 or image data input from the outside. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the image forming apparatus 14 discharges the printing paper P on which an image has been formed on one side to the paper discharge space 21, or switches the printing paper P back to turn the reverse conveyance path 39. And an image can be formed on the back surface thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 14 mainly includes a paper feeding device 15, an electrophotographic image transfer unit 18 (an example of an image processing unit of the present invention), a fixing unit 19, a manual paper feeding device 60, A control unit (not shown) that comprehensively controls the sheet sensor 20 and the image forming apparatus 14 is provided. Further, the image forming apparatus 14 includes a conveyance motor and a discharge motor (both not shown). These are provided inside a housing 14 that forms an outer frame cover, an inner frame, and the like of the image forming apparatus 14.

  The paper feeding device 15 is provided in each of the inside of the image forming device 14 and the paper feeding cassette 28. The paper feeding device 15 takes out and transports the printing paper P stored in the paper feeding cassettes 27 and 28 one by one. The sheet feeding device 15 includes a pickup roller 51, a feeding roller 52, and a retard roller 53. The feed roller 52 is positioned above the retard roller 53, and these constitute a pair of transport rollers in a state of being pressed against each other. The paper feed cassettes 27 and 28 include a tray-shaped paper storage unit 22 on which printing paper P on which an image is formed by the image transfer unit 18 is stacked. The pickup roller 51 and the feeding roller 52 are provided on the upper side of the right end portion of the paper storage unit 22. When an instruction for feeding the printing paper P is input to the image processing apparatus 10, the transport motor is driven to rotate. Thereby, the pickup roller 51 and the feeding roller 52 are rotated, and the retard roller 53 is driven and rotated by this rotation. The pickup roller 51 feeds the printing paper P from the paper storage unit 22 disposed at the paper feeding position, and the feeding roller 52 transports the printing paper P downstream in the feeding direction. A vertical conveyance path 26 is formed upward from the feeding roller 52. As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical conveyance path 26 extends upward on the right side surface of the housing 14, and the end thereof reaches the paper discharge space 21. The printing paper P is transported upward along the vertical transport path 26 by the feeding roller 52.

  An image transfer unit 18 is provided above the sheet feeding device 15. The image transfer unit 18 performs an image transfer process on the printing paper P conveyed from the paper feeding cassettes 27 and 28 and the manual paper feeding device 60. Specifically, the image transfer unit transfers the toner image onto the printing paper P using a printing material such as toner based on the input image data. As shown in FIG. 3, the image transfer unit 18 includes a photosensitive drum 31, a charging unit 32, a developing unit 33, an LSU (Laser Scanner Unit) 34, a transfer roller 35, and a cleaning unit 36. I have. The photosensitive drum 31 is provided on the left side of the vertical conveyance path 26. When the image forming operation is started, the charging unit 32 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 to a uniform potential. Further, the laser beam corresponding to the image data is scanned from the LSU 34 to the photosensitive drum 31. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 31. Thereafter, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image by the developing unit 33, and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 31. The transfer roller 35 is provided on the right side of the vertical conveyance path 26 and is disposed so as to face the photosensitive drum 31 with the vertical conveyance path 26 interposed therebetween. When the printing paper P passing through the vertical conveyance path 26 passes through the nip portion between the transfer roller 35 and the photosensitive drum 31, the toner image is transferred to the printing paper P by the transfer roller 35. The printing paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred passes through the vertical conveyance path 26 and is conveyed to the fixing unit 19 disposed downstream (that is, above) in the conveyance direction of the printing paper P with respect to the image transfer unit 18. .

  The fixing unit 19 fixes the toner image transferred to the printing paper P onto the printing paper P by heat. The fixing unit 19 includes a heating roller 41 and a pressure roller 42. The pressure roller 42 is urged toward the heating roller 41 by an elastic member such as a spring. Thereby, the pressure roller 42 is pressed against the heating roller 42. The heating roller 41 is heated to a high temperature by a heating means such as a heater during the fixing operation. When the printing paper P passes through the fixing unit 19, the toner constituting the toner image is heated and melted by the heating roller 41, and the printing paper P is pressurized by the pressure roller 42. As a result, the toner is fixed to the printing paper P by the fixing unit 19. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the printing paper P, and an image is formed on the printing paper P.

  A paper discharge port 37 through which the printing paper P is discharged is provided at the end of the vertical conveyance path 26. That is, the vertical conveyance path 26 is provided between the feeding roller 52 and the paper discharge port 37. Near the end of the vertical conveyance path 26, specifically, a portion 26A (hereinafter referred to as “curved path 26A”) from the branch point T1 on the downstream side of the fixing unit 19 to the paper discharge port 37 in the vertical conveyance path 26. Curved from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. In the vicinity of the paper discharge port 37, a discharge roller pair 25 that is rotated in both directions by the discharge motor (not shown) is provided. The printing paper P that has passed through the fixing unit 19 and is conveyed to the curved path 26A is conveyed from the paper discharge port 37 toward the paper discharge space 21 by the discharge roller pair 25 that is rotated in the normal rotation direction by the discharge motor. The

  When single-sided printing is performed in the image forming apparatus 14, the printing paper P on which the toner image is transferred on one side by the image transfer unit 18 passes through the fixing unit 19 and then passes through the vertical conveyance path 26 from the paper discharge port 37. It is discharged outside.

  On the other hand, when double-sided printing is performed in the image forming apparatus 14, the printing paper P on which an image is first formed on one side passes through the fixing unit 19, and then the front and back are reversed and again in the conveyance direction of the printing paper P. It is conveyed in the reverse direction from the upstream side and sent into the reverse conveyance path 39. Specifically, the discharge roller pair 25 is stopped in a state where the leading end of the printing paper P on which an image is formed on one side is exposed to the outside from the paper discharge port 37. At this time, the rear end of the printing paper P is held in a state of being sandwiched by the discharge roller pair 25 in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 37. Thereafter, the discharge roller pair 25 is reversely rotated by reverse rotation driving of the discharge motor (not shown). Thereby, the printing paper P is again conveyed in the reverse direction along the curved path 26A. That is, the printing paper P is fed back along the curved path 26A. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 14 includes a reverse conveyance path that branches from the curved path 26 </ b> A and merges with the vertical conveyance path 26 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the printing paper P as viewed from the image transfer unit 18 side. 39 is formed. The reverse conveyance path 39 is formed on the housing 29 on the right side of the vertical conveyance path 26. The reverse conveyance path 39 is a vertical conveyance path that extends substantially in parallel with the vertical conveyance path 26. A branch point T1 of the reverse conveyance path 39 is between the fixing unit 19 and the discharge roller pair 25 in the curved path 26A, and a junction point T2 is between the feeding roller 52 provided in the sheet feeding cassette 27. .

  The printing paper P sent from the curved path 26 </ b> A to the reverse conveyance path 39 is guided downward along the reverse conveyance path 39. In the reverse conveyance path 39, a conveyance roller 40 is provided in the vicinity of the junction T2. The printing paper P guided downward along the reverse conveyance path 39 is sent again to the vertical conveyance path 26 by the conveyance roller 40 before the junction T2. Then, it is conveyed again to the image transfer unit 18 through the vertical conveyance path 26. The printing paper P that has reached the image transfer section 18 is again opposed to the photosensitive drum 31 on the surface on which no image is formed. By sequentially passing through the image transfer unit 18 and the fixing unit 19, an image is formed on the opposite surface where no image is formed. Thereafter, the printing paper P on which images are formed on both sides passes through the curved path 26A and is discharged from the paper discharge port 37 to the discharge space 21 by the discharge roller pair 25 returned to the normal rotation.

  A manual feed tray 44 that is rotatably supported by the housing 29 is provided on the right side surface of the housing 29. The manual feed tray 44 constitutes the right side surface of the housing 29 in a state of being closed with respect to the housing 29. When the manual feed tray 44 is opened with respect to the housing 29, it is supported in an attitude slightly inclined upward as shown in FIG. That is, the manual feed tray 44 is gently opened downward toward the downstream side in the feeding direction toward the inside of the housing 29 in the opened state. In this state, the manual feed tray 44 can place a plurality of print sheets P on the upper surface thereof. Further, when the manual feed tray 44 is opened with respect to the housing 29, the paper feed opening 38 that is a feed path of the printing paper P from the manual feed tray 44 to the vertical conveyance path 26 is opened. A manual paper feeder 60 is provided above the paper feed opening 38. The manual paper feeder 60 conveys the printing paper P placed on the manual tray 44 to the vertical conveyance path 26 through the paper feed opening 38.

  In such a configuration in which the manual feed tray 44 and the manual paper feed device 60 are provided, the print paper P fed from the manual feed tray 44 may be jammed in the paper feed opening 38. In this case, the user can pull out the printing paper P jammed at the paper feed opening 38 with the manual feed tray 44 opened. At this time, when the jammed printing paper P is in pressure contact with the rubber roller 87 of the roller unit 62 provided in the manual paper feeding device 60, the roller unit is brought into contact with the rubber roller 87 when the printing paper P is pulled out. 62 rotates. The rotation direction at this time is not the normal rotation direction 83 (see FIG. 4) when transporting the printing paper P from the manual feed tray 44, but the rotation direction opposite to the normal rotation direction 83. In the present embodiment, even when the roller unit 62 is reversely rotated in the direction opposite to the normal rotation direction 83, the manual sheet feeding device 60 is devised so that the roller unit 62 is not easily detached.

  Next, the configuration of the manual sheet feeder 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the manual sheet feeding device 60 in the housing 29, showing a state in which the manual tray 44 is opened, and the manual sheet feeding device supported by the support frame 54. Only 60 and the manual feed tray 44 are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the manual sheet feeder 60 is attached to the support frame 54. The support frame 54 is an internal frame of the housing 29, and is provided below the junction T <b> 2 of the vertical conveyance path 26 and the reverse conveyance path 39. The support frame 54 is formed in a shape that is long in the front-rear direction 7 of the housing 29. A manual feed tray 44 is rotatably supported on the support frame 54.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the manual sheet feeder 60 includes a sheet feeding unit 64. The paper feed unit 64 includes a base frame 61, a roller unit 62, and a drive shaft 63. The base frame 61 is formed by injection molding a synthetic resin or the like. The base frame 61 is formed in a shape that is long in the front-rear direction 7 like the support frame 54. The base frame 61 is fixed to the support frame 54 or the like. More specifically, the rear end of the base frame 61 is fixed to the frame of the housing 29, and the front end is fixed to the support frame 54 with a fastener such as a screw (not shown). A roller unit 62 and a drive shaft 63 are attached to the base frame 61.

  The base frame 61 is formed in a narrow rectangular parallelepiped shape. The base frame 61 has an internal space that is open at the top and is surrounded by a bottom wall and four side walls. In addition, a rectangular roller accommodating portion 67 in which the right side wall 71 protrudes to the right side is formed in the central portion of the base frame 61 in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction 7). The roller unit 62 is rotatably accommodated in the roller accommodating portion 67. The bottom side of the roller accommodating portion 67 penetrates. That is, the roller accommodating portion 67 does not have a bottom surface, and the bottom side penetrates. That is, the roller accommodating portion 67 does not have a bottom surface, and the bottom side is opened. In a state where the roller unit 62 is accommodated in the roller accommodating portion 67, the roller surface of the roller unit 62 is exposed from the opening on the bottom side to the paper supply opening 38 (see FIG. 3), and can come into contact with the printing paper P.

  A plurality of reinforcing ribs 65 and 66 provided at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the base frame 61 are formed at portions other than the roller housing portion 67 of the base frame 61. The reinforcing ribs 65 and 66 are formed so as to stand vertically upward from the bottom wall of the base frame 61. The plurality of front-side reinforcing ribs 65 are formed so as to connect the side walls 71 and 72 on both sides of the base frame 61 in the lateral direction (left-right direction 8). On the other hand, the plurality of reinforcing ribs 66 on the rear side are provided at a predetermined interval from the right side wall 71 of the base frame 61. Thus, a shaft housing portion 68 is formed between the plurality of reinforcing ribs 66 and the side wall 71 on the rear side of the base frame 61. The drive shaft 63 is accommodated in the shaft accommodating portion 68.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the roller accommodating portion 67 has partition walls 74 and 75 that are separated in the longitudinal direction of the base frame 61. A roller accommodating portion 67 is partitioned by the partition walls 74 and 75 and the side walls 71 and 72. Each of the partition walls 74 and 75 is formed with a bearing (not shown) that rotatably supports the supported portions 89 and 90 of the roller unit 62. The bearing is a groove cut out in a U shape downward from the upper ends of the partition walls 74 and 75, and the supported portions 89 and 90 are supported by the bearing. The configuration of the roller unit 62 will be described later.

  The drive shaft 63 is formed by injection molding synthetic resin or the like. The drive shaft 63 is rotated in a predetermined forward rotation direction 83 (see arrows in FIGS. 4 to 8) when a rotational driving force is transmitted from a motor (not shown) while being accommodated in the shaft accommodating portion 68. To do. As shown in FIG. 6, the drive shaft 63 includes a shaft portion 69, a joint 77 (an example of the first shaft joint of the present invention), and a drive gear 78. A shaft portion 69 is disposed inside the shaft housing portion 68. The joint 77 is formed at one end of the shaft portion 69, that is, an end portion of the shaft portion 69 on the side of a supported portion 89 (see FIG. 8) described later. The joint 77 is formed integrally with the distal end portion of the shaft portion 69. The joint 77 is engaged with the supported portion 89 of the roller unit 62 that plays the role of a joint, and transmits the rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction 83 from the shaft portion 69 to the supported portion 89. In the present embodiment, the transport roller joint mechanism of the present invention is realized by the joint 77, the supported portion 89, and the roller unit 62.

  A drive gear 78 is attached to the other end of the shaft portion 69. The drive gear 78 is disposed outside the rear side wall 73 on the rear side of the base frame 61. A through-hole (not shown) for inserting the shaft portion 69 is formed in the side wall 73. The shaft portion 69 is disposed in the shaft housing portion 68 by the shaft portion 69 being inserted into the through hole from the outside of the side wall 73. A gear cover 79 is provided so as to continue inward from the side wall 73. When the drive shaft 63 is inserted to a position where the joint 77 engages with the supported portion 89 of the roller unit 62, the drive gear 78 is accommodated in the gear cover 79.

  Next, the joint 77 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the joint 77 includes an engaged recess 77 </ b> A having a plurality of grooves 81 (an example of the recess of the present invention) that are recessed in the axial direction of the drive shaft 63. The groove 81 is formed in a concave shape that is recessed substantially vertically from the end of the shaft portion 69 in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the engagement recess 77 </ b> A of the joint 77 is provided with four grooves 81 formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the drive shaft 63.

  The distal end portion of the joint 77 is formed in a shape and size that can be inserted into an inner hole of an outer peripheral wall 89 of a supported portion 89 described later. The four grooves 81 are formed in a shape and size into which a protrusion 93 of a supported portion 89 on the roller unit 62 side described later can be inserted. In the present embodiment, the protrusions 93 are inserted into the four grooves 81 in a state where the distal end portion of the joint 77 is inserted into the outer peripheral wall 89 </ b> A of the supported portion 89. As a result, the four grooves 81 engage with the protrusions 93 provided in the supported portion 89, and the rotational driving force 83 in the forward rotation direction 83 is transmitted from the drive shaft 63 to the supported portion 89.

  Each groove 81 has a pair of facing surfaces 84 and 85 facing each other in the circumferential direction of the drive shaft 63, and a guide surface 86 continuing to one facing surface 85. The facing surface 84 is an upstream side surface of the groove 81 in the forward rotation direction 83. The facing surface 84 is a flat surface extending in the axial direction of the drive shaft 63 and perpendicular to the axial direction. The entire surface of the facing surface 84 is flat. The facing surface 85 constitutes a part of the downstream side surface in the forward rotation direction of the groove 81, and extends in the axial direction of the drive shaft 63 and is perpendicular to the axial direction, like the facing surface 84. It is a flat surface. As shown in FIG. 7, the facing surface 85 is a portion on the back side in the depth direction of the groove 81 (the bottom side of the groove 81) on the side surface of the groove 81 on the downstream side in the forward rotation direction. On the other hand, the guide surface 86 is an inclined surface formed so as to continue from the end of the facing surface 85 on the shaft tip side toward the tip.

  The guide surface 86 of the groove 81 is inclined in a direction away from the facing surface 84. In other words, the opening on the end side in the axial direction of the joint 77 in the groove 81 is formed in a divergent shape by the guide surface 86. Thus, since the groove 81 has a divergent shape, when the supported portion 89 on the roller unit 62 side and the joint 77 on the drive shaft 63 are engaged, the protrusion 93 of the supported portion 89 is connected to the joint 77. It becomes easy to insert into the groove 81.

  Next, the roller unit 62 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The roller unit 62 is an example of the rotating body of the present invention, and conveys the printing paper P placed on the manual feed tray 44 by a rotational driving force and contact friction. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the roller unit 62 includes a support body 95, a rubber roller 87, and a slide shaft 88. The support body 95 is a resin product formed in a cylindrical shape, and holds the rubber roller 87 on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The rubber roller 87 is a cylindrical roller member made of an elastic material such as NBR or silicon. The rubber roller 87 is supported by the support body 95 by inserting the support body 95 into the inner hole of the rubber roller 87. A supported portion 89 is integrally formed at one end of the support body 95 in the axial direction. The supported portion 89 protrudes outward from the center of one side surface of the roller unit 62 in the axial direction. The supported portion 89 is an example of a driven shaft according to the present invention, and is arranged so as to be slidable on the coaxial line of the drive shaft 86 as will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the supported portion 89 has a cylindrical outer peripheral wall 89A (an example of the cylindrical portion of the present invention) having a hollow interior. The outer peripheral wall 89A is rotatably supported by the partition wall 74 of the roller accommodating portion 67.

  Further, the supported portion 89 also serves as a joint that receives a rotational driving force from the joint 77, and is configured to be able to engage with the joint 77. In a state where the roller unit 62 is mounted on the roller housing portion 67, the supported portion 89 and the joint 77 are connected in the axial direction. In this state, when a rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction 83 is input from the joint 77 to the supported portion 89, the roller unit 62 is rotated, thereby causing a positive friction due to contact friction between the rubber roller 87 and the printing paper P. The printing paper P can be conveyed in the conveyance direction corresponding to the rotation direction 83 (the direction toward the paper feed opening 38). The configuration of the supported portion 89 will be described later.

  A slide shaft 88 is supported in the inner hole of the support body 95 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. A coil spring 92 is interposed between the slide shaft 88 and the support body 95. The coil spring 92 is interposed in a compressed state. The coil spring 92 always urges the slide shaft 88 in the direction of pushing the slide shaft 88 outward from the inner hole of the support body 95 in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 9B, the slide shaft 88 is provided with a hook 96 that engages with the support body 95 in the axial direction. The hook 96 restricts displacement in the pushing direction in which the slide shaft 88 is pushed out from the inner hole of the support body 95. On the other hand, the hook 96 regulates the slide shaft 88 in the pushing direction, but the displacement in the depth direction of the inner hole of the support body 95, that is, the displacement in the direction in which the slide shaft 88 enters the inner hole of the support body 95. Is not regulated. For this reason, when an external force larger than the bias of the coil spring 92 is applied in the axial direction, the slide shaft 88 and the support body 95 slide relative to each other in the axial direction. The interval with 90 is reduced. In this manner, the slide shaft 88 is slidably supported by the support body 95, so that the supported portion 89 of the support body 95 is slidably disposed on the coaxial line of the drive shaft 86. Further, since the slide shaft 88 and the support body 95 are displaced toward each other, the supported portion 89 is detached from the joint 77 of the drive shaft 63 only by applying an external force in the axial direction, and the engagement is released. be able to. Thereby, the roller unit 62 can be easily removed from the roller accommodating portion 67 and can be easily attached to the roller accommodating portion 67.

  The supported portion 89 is an example of the second shaft joint of the present invention. The supported portion 89 includes an engaging convex portion 91 including a plurality of protrusions 93 (an example of the convex portion of the present invention). The engaging convex portion 91 is formed at the tip of the supported portion 89, that is, the end portion of the supported portion 89 on the joint 77 side. The engaging convex portion 91 engages with the engaged concave portion 77A of the joint 77 formed on the driving shaft 63, and the rotational driving force in the positive rotational direction 83 transmitted from the driving shaft 63 to the supported portion 89 is obtained. This is transmitted to the rubber roller 87 via the support 95. The plurality of protrusions 93 provided in the engaging convex portion 91 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of an inner hole 94 that extends in the axial direction and is formed inside the outer peripheral wall 89 </ b> A of the supported portion 89. Specifically, the protrusion 93 protrudes from the inner peripheral surface of the inner hole 94 toward the center of the inner hole 94, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the inner height 94. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 93 is a protruding rib formed in a rectangular shape protruding from the inner peripheral surface. Further, the engaging convex portion 91 has four protrusions 93 provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the inner hole 94. These protrusions 93 are formed in a shape and size that can be inserted into the groove 81 of the joint 77 of the drive shaft 63.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the side surface 93 </ b> A (an example of the drive transmission surface of the present invention) on the upstream side in the forward rotation direction 83 among the side surfaces 93 </ b> A and 93 </ b> B of the protrusion 93 is the axial direction of the drive shaft 63. And a flat surface perpendicular to the axial direction. The entire side surface 93A is formed flat. Similarly, the other side surface 93B is formed as a flat surface. The side surface 93 </ b> A of the protrusion 93 comes into surface contact with the facing surface 84 of the groove 81 when the rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction 83 is transmitted to the drive shaft 63 in the state of being inserted into the groove 81. On the other hand, the downstream side surface 93 </ b> B of the forward rotation direction 83 does not contact the facing surface 85 of the groove 81 when the rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction 83 is transmitted to the drive shaft 63. However, when an external force in the direction opposite to the forward rotation direction 83 is applied to the roller unit 62 and the supported portion 89 rotates in the reverse direction, the side surface 93B comes into surface contact with the facing surface 85.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the joint 77 has the groove 81, and the groove 81 has the opposing surfaces 84 and 85 and the guide surface 86. Therefore, when the roller unit 62 is attached to the roller accommodating portion 67, the protrusion 93 of the engaging convex portion 91 of the supported portion 89 is guided to the back side of the groove 81 so as to be guided by the guide surface 86. For this reason, the protrusion 93 of the engaging convex part 91 is smoothly and reliably inserted into the groove 81. Thereby, attachment of the roller unit 62 becomes easy. Even when a rotational driving force in the positive rotational direction 83 is applied to the driving shaft 63, the entire area of the side surface 93 </ b> A of the protrusion 93 of the engaging convex portion 91 is in surface contact with the facing surface 84 of the groove 81. Is reliably transmitted from the side surface 93 </ b> A to the roller unit 62 through the facing surface 84. Further, in the operation of removing the printing paper P jammed by the roller unit 62, even if the roller unit 62 is rotated backward in the direction opposite to the normal rotation direction 83, the side surface 93 </ b> B of the protrusion 93 is in contact with the guide surface 86. Instead, a part of the surface comes into surface contact with the facing surface 85. Therefore, the projection 93 is displaced in the axial direction along the guide surface 86, and the engagement convex portion 91 of the supported portion 89 is prevented from being detached from the engaged concave portion 77 </ b> A of the joint 77.

  In the above-described embodiment, the coupling 77 of the drive shaft 63 has the groove 81 and the supported portion 89 has the protrusion 93. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the joint 77 of the drive shaft 63 may have a protrusion 93 and the supported portion 89 may have a groove 81.

  In the above-described embodiment, the roller unit 62 including the support body 95, the slide shaft 88, the rubber roller 87, and the like is illustrated as an example of the rotating body. However, the rotating body is not limited to such a configuration. The present invention can also be applied to a rotating body having a configuration in which the rotating shaft can be displaced in the axial direction and the engaging convex portion 91 is formed at the end of the rotating shaft. Of course, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the rotating body of the present invention has a rotating shaft that is slidably arranged on the coaxial line of the drive shaft 63, and an engaging convex portion 91 is provided on the rotating shaft. If it is.

  In the above-described embodiment, the manual sheet feeding device 60 that conveys the printing paper P on the manual tray 44 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to the manual sheet feeding device 60. The sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention includes a rotating body such as a pickup roller 51 of the paper feeding cassettes 27 and 28, a feeding roller 46A of the feeding mechanism 46 of the ADF 13, and various conveying rollers arranged in the vertical conveying path 26. The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which printing paper or a document is conveyed by being rotated.

  Since the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the detailed description preceding the claims, the embodiments described herein are exemplary only and not limiting. I want to be understood. Accordingly, all modifications that do not depart from the boundaries of the claims or the equivalents of the boundaries and limits are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

10: image processing device 14: image forming unit 44: manual feed tray 54: support frame 60: sheet conveying device 61: base frame 62: roller unit 63: drive shaft 77: joint 81: groove 83: forward rotation direction 84, 85: Opposing surface 86: inclined surface 88: slide shaft 89, 90: supported portion 91: engaging convex portion 93: projection 93A, 93B: side surface 95: support

Claims (5)

A first shaft joint provided at an end of a drive shaft that is rotationally driven in a predetermined positive rotation direction;
A second shaft joint provided at an end of the driven shaft that is slidably disposed on the coaxial line of the driving shaft;
The sheet member is attached to the driven shaft so as to be in contact with the sheet member, and the sheet member is moved in the positive rotation direction by the rotational driving force in the positive rotation direction transmitted to the driven shaft and the contact friction against the sheet member. A rotating body that transports in the corresponding transport direction;
A recess provided in either the first shaft joint or the second shaft joint;
Provided on either the first shaft joint or the second shaft joint, and having a drive transmission surface that contacts the recess and transmits the rotational driving force in the forward rotation direction from the drive shaft to the driven shaft. A convex portion,
The recess has a first side and a second side defining the recess;
The first side surface is a flat surface that is in surface contact with the drive transmission surface at the time of transmission of the rotational driving force in the positive rotation direction, and the entire area formed perpendicular to the axis is flat.
The second side surface is located at a position facing the first side surface in the recess, and a depth side in the depth direction along the axial direction in the recess is perpendicular to the axis and extends along the axial direction. A transport roller joint mechanism that is a surface and is an inclined surface in which the tip end side in the axial direction of the recess is continuous with the flat surface and is inclined in a direction away from the first side surface. The end portion of the second shaft joint has a cylindrical tubular portion formed inside in a cavity,
The convex portion is provided on the second shaft joint, protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the axis from the inner surface of the cylindrical portion, and is a protruding rib formed in a rectangular shape having the drive transmission surface perpendicular to the inner surface And
The end of the first shaft joint is formed so as to be able to be inserted into the cylindrical portion,
The recess is provided in the first shaft joint, and the first side surface disposed opposite to the drive transmission surface in a state where an end portion of the first shaft joint is inserted into the cylindrical portion. The conveyance roller joint mechanism according to claim 1 which is a slot which has.   The transport roller joint mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the recess is formed in a shape that spreads toward the tip end side in the axial direction by the inclined surface.   A sheet conveying apparatus comprising the conveying roller joint mechanism according to claim 1 and conveying a sheet member by a rotational driving force in the positive rotation direction transmitted to the rotating body by the conveying roller joint mechanism.   An image processing apparatus comprising the sheet conveying apparatus according to claim 4.

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