JPH0213523A - Recording sheet conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To separate a recording sheet one by one by providing a means for temporarily stopping a sucker during a process where the recording sheet is carried together with the sucker from a lamination sheet. CONSTITUTION:A recording sheet S begins to be lifted by means of a sucker 20. When the recording sheet S is lifted by a predetermined height, a motor is stopped so as to stop circular motion of rolls 39, 40. Consequently, the recording sheet S is stopped at the opposite corner sections by means of a separation pawl 89 and stops while being curved. If air flows between the recording sheets during temporal stoppage of the sucker 20 and two sheets are taken out simultaneously, the underside recording sheet S is separated. Upon expiration of the timer in a microcomputor, the sucker 20 starts to lift again and the recording sheet S is released from the separation pawl 89 and carried to the side of recording section.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a recording sheet conveying device that separates a large number of laminated sheet films one by one and feeds them into a recording section, which is used for example in an imager. It is related to.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a means for separating recording sheets in this type of apparatus, a method of separating recording sheets using a suction cup using the suction force of a vacuum pump or the like has often been adopted.

This conventional example will be explained using FIGS. 10 and 11.
FIG. 10 shows a method of separating the recording sheet S in the casing 2 by bending it using the separating claw 1. The separation claws 1 abut against the corners of both ends of the recording sheet S placed and stored at a predetermined position in the housing 2, and push the recording sheet S downward. The suction cup 3 enters the housing 2 from above, sucks the uppermost recording sheet s1, lifts it upward, and conveys it to the recording section side. When lifting the recording sheet S1 upward, the separation claw 1 presses both corners, so the recording sheet S1 curves, and when lifted further, the recording sheet S1 bends at both corners and is separated. It comes off from the claw 1, and the uppermost recording sheet) Sl is separated.

FIG. 11 shows a method of bending and separating the recording sheet S1 in a wave-like manner by swinging the suction cup 3 back and forth. After the suction cup 3 lifts the uppermost recording sheet S1 upward, the suction cup 3 swings back and forth around a fulcrum 4 using a cam or a link (not shown) with an amplitude that is small enough not to drop the recording sheet S1. Start exercising. Due to this swinging movement, even if the second recording sheet S2 is lifted up in close contact with the uppermost recording sheet S1, by curving the uppermost recording sheet S1 in a wave-like manner, the two sheets A gap is created between the first recording sheet 1-52, the second recording sheet S2 falls into the housing 2, and the uppermost recording sheet S1 is separated.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The recording sheets S may not be transported out of the housing 2 due to high humidity, generation of static electricity between the recording sheets S, or other various causes. There is an inconvenience that comrades are stuck together and are sent out on top of each other without being separated. Therefore, in the method of bending and separating the recording sheet (S) using the conventional separating claw 1 shown in FIG. 10, the uppermost recording sheet (S) and the second recording sheet S2 are Even if the topmost recording sheet (S1) is curved in the case of close contact, if the time that it is curved is short, the second recording sheet (1-32) will be the same as the third highest recording sheet (S1). The two sheets are bent and both come off from the separation claw 1 at the same time.

Even if two sheets overlap and are transported to the recording unit side, or even if the uppermost recording sheet S1 and the second recording sheet S2 are separated after being separated from the separating claw 1, the second recording sheet The sheet S2 will fall and land on the separation claw 1. Therefore, a suction failure occurs during the next suction conveyance, and in particular, the faster the suction cup 3 lifts the recording sheet S, the higher the probability that the two sheets will come off the separation claw 1 when the two sheets are together.

In addition, in the method of separating the recording sheet S by swinging the suction cup 3 in the front-rear direction and curving the recording sheet S in a wavy manner as shown in FIG. , a movement for transporting the recording sheet S to the recording section, and a swinging movement for separating the recording sheet S, which makes the recording sheet S complicated. Furthermore, since the second recording sheet (S2) that falls due to the rocking motion is displaced with respect to the predetermined position where it was initially placed, it is placed in the predetermined position and stacked after falling. The product lands misaligned against the laminated sheet layer. In addition, since the suction cup 3 moves above the recording sheet S without contacting the laminated sheet layer, the second recording sheet S2 is separated by the rocking movement and is the top of the laminated sheet layer. If the recording sheet S2 falls to the third position, or if the number of laminated sheet layers is small, the recording sheet S2 will fall over a long distance, making it difficult to reach the predetermined position.

The misalignment of the recording sheet S that occurs in this manner causes image misalignment when the recording sheet S is next attracted and conveyed to the recording unit side for recording.

[Object of the Invention] The object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and is to lift a recording sheet by a certain height above the laminated sheet layer and temporarily stop it in a curved state. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording sheet conveying device that separates recording sheets one by one.

[Summary of the Invention] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to move a suction cup to the recording sheets stacked and stored in a housing, suck the recording sheet with the suction cup, and to suck the recording sheet together with the suction cup. The recording sheet conveying device is a device for conveying the recording sheet, and includes means for temporarily stopping the suction cup during the process of conveying the recording sheet together with the suction cup from the laminated sheet layer. be.

[Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sheet feeding device, in which a housing 10 accommodates a plurality of recording sheets 1-S. Suction cup 2
0 is provided with a suction force by an air hose 30, and is configured to suction the recording sheet S while being pressed by a spring 31. The suction cup support arm 32 provides linear movement and circular motion to the suction cup 20, and the linear movement is provided by two sets of rotary arms 35, 36 that perform crank movements about shafts 33, 34. The recording sheet 1 on which the suction cups 20 are stacked is mounted on the suction cup support arm 32.
- The first part is horizontal when it is in contact with S at right angles.
A long hole 37 and a sliding surface 38 are provided, and the rotary arm 35
．． Rollers 39 and 40 provided at 36 come into rolling contact with the first elongated hole 37 and the sliding surface 38, respectively. Further, the suction cup support arm 32 is provided with a second elongated hole 41 in a direction perpendicular to the first elongated hole 37.
An L-shaped bar 44 that is rotatable about a shaft 43 is connected to the elongated hole 41 via a roller 42. Further, a guide plate 45 is provided on the suction cup support arm 32, and a fixed stopper shaft 46 is disposed in relation to this guide plate 45. A tension spring 47 is hooked between the stopper shaft 46 and the suction cup support arm 32, so that the suction cup support arm 32 is always urged in the direction of the stopper shaft 46. A long hole 48 is provided in the L-shaped bar 44, and a shaft 4 is inserted into this long hole 48.
A roller 51 of a disc 50 rotating around 9 is fitted. Note that 52 and 53 are rollers for conveying the recording sheet S sucked by the suction cup 2o to the recording unit side.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a power transmission mechanism to each of these mechanisms, and the drive source is an electric motor 60. electric motor 60
The rotational force is transmitted to the shaft 63 via gears 61 and 62, and from the gear 64 fixed to the shaft 63, the rotational force is transmitted to the rotating arms 35 on both sides.
, rotational force is transmitted to the shafts 33 and 49, which rotate the discs 50, respectively, via intermittent gears 67 and 68. In addition,
The gear 64 has, for example, 40 teeth, and the gears 67 and 68 each have a shape of a normal gear with 20 teeth with one tooth missing for intermittent feeding, and each have 19 teeth. Gear 64.67.
At 68 are positioning cams 69.7 that rotate together.
0.71 are connected to each other, and rotational force is transmitted from the shaft 33 via the sprocket 72, 73 and the chain 74 to the shaft 34 which rotates the rotary arm 36. These power transmission systems are held by a frame 75.75, and the suction cup support arms 32 and the like are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the frame 75.75.

FIG. 3 shows that the number of recording sheets S decreases and the suction cup support arm 32
is in the lowest position, the shaft 33.34 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the rollers 39.40 are in the lowest position. Since the first elongated hole 37 of the suction cup support arm 32 is fitted with the roller 39, the front portion including the elongated hole 37 is
The suction cup support arm 3z follows the crank motion of the roller 39 all around the locus of the roller 39. On the other hand, the suction cup support arm 32
A tension spring 47 acts on the sliding surface 38 that is in contact with the roller 40 at the rear portion thereof, that is, the sliding surface 38 that is pressed against the roller 40 .

Until the guide plate 45 attached to the suction cup support arm 32 comes into contact with the stopper 46, it moves upward following the rotational movement of the roller 40, but after the guide plate 45 comes into contact with the stopper 46, the roller 40 moves up and down. It will continue its circular motion in a state away from 32. The rollers 39 and 40 are respectively connected to the shaft 33.
34, the crank motion is in the same phase, so the third
From the lowest position of the suction cup support arm 32 shown in the figure, the guide plate 45
Until the position where the suction cup 20 and the collar 46 come into contact with each other, the suction cup 20 performs a linear movement in the vertical direction perpendicular to the recording sheet S, and the angle with respect to the recording sheet S is kept constant.

The position of the stopper shaft 46 corresponds to the thickness of the stacked sheets when the maximum number of recording sheets S is formed, and the position of the stopper shaft 46 is such that the suction cup 20 is in contact with the bottom surface of the housing 10 at the lowest position of the suction cup support arm 32, as shown in FIG. If the adjustment is made, even if the thickness of the laminated sheet changes as the recording sheet S is taken out, the parallelism between the suction surface of the suction cup 20 and the recording sheet S is ensured. Therefore, even if the number of recording sheets 1S remaining inside the housing 10 is small, the recording sheets 1S can be reliably sucked and taken out. Further, when the number of recording sheets S is large, the spring 31 biasing the suction cup 20 is compressed, and the suction cup 20 is placed at a position corresponding to the remaining number of recording sheets S.
The suction surface No. 0 suctions the recording sheet S parallel to the recording sheet S. The upper limit of this parallel state is shown in FIG. 1, where the guide plate 45 and the stopper 46 are in contact with each other, and both the rollers 39 and 40 are in contact with the first elongated hole 37 and the sliding surface 38 of the suction cup support arm 32, respectively. are doing. The suction surface at the tip of the suction cup 20 rises to this position while maintaining parallelism with the recording sheet S.

FIG. 4 shows the state in which the rollers 39 and 40 are near the top. At this time, the suction cup support arm 32 does not move in the direction of arrow B due to the regulation of the rollers 42. Therefore, during the transition from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. 4, the suction cup 20 moves approximately in an arc with the roller 42 as a fulcrum.

A suction cup mounting plate 80 is attached between the left and right suction cup mounting arms 32, and as shown in FIG. A quantity detection device is installed. A detection lever board 81 is attached to the suction cup mounting plate 80.
is provided with a shaft 82. A detection lever 8 is attached to the shaft 82.
0 is attached, the detection lever 83 is capable of linear movement in the same direction as the suction cup 20 using the shaft 82 as a guide, and is biased by a spring 84. Furthermore, slits 85 are formed at the end of the detection lever 83 at intervals corresponding to the thickness of the unit number of recording sheets S, for example, every 25 sheets. A photodetector 86 is attached to the detection / There is.

First, the suction cup 20 and the detection plate 83 located above the housing 10 are pushed up by the circular motion of the rollers 39 and 40, and the suction cup support arm 32 and the suction cup mounting plate 80 are pushed up. invade inside. Next, when the suction cup 20 and the detection lever 83 contact the top of the recording sheet S, the suction cup mounting plate 80 is further pushed up, but the suction cup 20 and the detection lever 83 contact the recording sheet S. Stop at a position. Since the photodetector 86 is lowered together with the suction cup mounting plate 80, it crosses the slit 85 of the detection sensor 8-83 and generates a pulse.

Figure 6 shows the state where the roller 39.40 is at the lowest position,
A chopper 87 having a notch in a part of a disc is attached to the shaft 34 that rotates the roller 40. When the chopper 87 is in the state shown in FIG.
It is adjusted so that the signal is generated from 8. When this signal is input, the microcomputer finishes counting and stores the pulses from the photodetector 88. Furthermore, the rollers 39 and 40 continue their circular motion, and this time the suction cup support arm 32,
Start lifting the suction cup mounting plate 80.

Photodetector 86 also begins to rise and crosses slit 85 again to generate a pulse. Each time the microcomputer receives this pulse signal, it subtracts "1" from the previously stored count, and eventually it becomes "0." This state corresponds to the position where the tip of the suction cup 20 and the detection lever 83 just begins to abut the topmost portion of the recording sheet S.

Through the above-described operation, the position where the uppermost recording sheet Sl starts to come into contact with the uppermost layer of the laminated sheet layer, that is, the state where the uppermost recording sheet Sl starts to be lifted from the laminated sheet layer can be detected, regardless of the remaining amount of the laminated sheet layer. 20 suction cups
starts lifting the recording sheet S. In addition, Koro 3
9. Since the speed of the circular motion of 4o is known, we can record the time by using the counting timer function of the microcomputer and counting the time starting from the point where the pulse count value becomes "0". The electric motor 60 is stopped at the point where the sheet s has been lifted by a certain height, and the roller 39
．． 40 circular motions can be stopped.

In FIG. 7(a), the separating claw 89 comes into contact with the corners of both ends of the stacked recording sheets 1-S, and separates the recording sheets S
is pushed downward. The recording sheet s is held at both corners by separation claws 89 and stopped in a curved state, and the time during which the recording sheet s is stopped is also counted by a timer using a microcomputer. Temporarily, the second recording sheet)
Even if S2 is electrodeposited with the first recording sheet s1 and lifted up, air flows in between the recording sheets 1-S during the temporary stoppage of the suction cup 20, and the recording sheet S2
Separate. Since the separated second recording sheet S2 is held at both ends by the separating claws 89, it falls to the same position on the laminated sheet layer.

FIGS. 7(b) and 7(c) show a state where the recording sheet S is lifted by the suction cup 20 by a height h from the top layer of the laminated sheet and stopped, regardless of the number of remaining laminated sheet layers. ing. When the timer of the microcomputer finishes counting, the suction cup 20 begins to lift up again, and the recording sheet S is removed from the separating claw 89 and conveyed toward the recording section.

In the embodiment described above, a remaining amount detection mechanism including the detection lever 83, photodetector 86, etc. was used to detect the position where the suction cup 2o starts lifting the uppermost recording sheet from the laminated sheet layer. , it is also possible to use the method shown in FIG. That is, contact terminals 93 and 94 are provided on the stopper 91 of the suction pipe 9o to which the suction cup 20 is attached, and on the suction cup mounting portion 92, respectively.

If a voltage is applied between the lead wires 95 and 96, the suction cup mounting portion 92 will rise after the state shown in FIG. 8, and the contact terminal 93 will soon come into contact with the connection terminal 94. Since the position where the contact terminals 93 and 94 come into contact is the position where the uppermost recording sheet S1 starts to be lifted from the laminated sheet layer, the connection terminals 93 and 94 are in contact with each other.
A current flows due to the contact of 94, and the topmost recording sheet s
It is possible to detect the lifting start position of l. Similarly, by providing a micro-sinch in the stopper 91 of the suction pipe 9o and configuring the switch to turn on when the stopper 91 and the suction cup mounting plate 92 come into contact with each other, it is possible to lift the uppermost recording sheet s1. It is possible to detect the starting position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, instead of the separating claws 89 that press the corner portions at both ends of the recording sheet S, a resistance member 97 such as a brush may be used to press the end surface of the recording sheet S. . In this case, the resistance member 97 pinches the recording sheet S and acts as a resistance at the end of the recording sheet S when lifting the recording sheet S, so that the recording sheet S can be curved.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the recording sheet conveying device according to the present invention can bend and temporarily stop the recording sheet in the process of lifting the uppermost recording sheet from the laminated sheet layer. , has the effect of improving the separability of recording sheets.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Drawings 1 to 9 show an embodiment of the recording sheet conveying device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of the conveying device, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the operation. Explanatory diagram, Figure 5 is a front view of the remaining amount detection device, Figures 6 and 7 are operation explanatory diagrams, and Figure 8 is a front view of the remaining amount detection device.
9 are configuration diagrams of other embodiments, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams of conventional examples. Reference numeral 10 is a housing, 20 is a suction cup, 30 is an air hose, 32
39.40 is a roller, 83 is a detection lever, 86 is a photodetector, and 89 is a separation claw. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. 1192-

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device that moves a suction cup to recording sheets stacked and stored in a housing, sucks the recording sheet with the suction cup, and conveys the recording sheet together with the suction cup, A recording sheet conveying device comprising means for temporarily stopping the suction cup during the process of conveying the recording sheet together with the suction cup from the laminated sheet layer. 2. The recording sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the suction cup temporarily stops at a position a predetermined distance from the uppermost recording sheet of the stacked sheet layers. 3. The casing is provided with a separation member that abuts against the ends of the stacked recording sheets and separates the recording sheets one by one, so that the recording sheets are lifted by the suction cup and temporarily Claim 1: The stopping position is a position before the recording sheet is removed from the separating member.
The recording sheet conveying device described in 2. 4. Remaining amount detection means for detecting the remaining amount of the stacked recording sheets is provided, and the position at which the suction cup temporarily stops is determined using the detection means. The recording sheet conveyance device described in .