JPH0373734A - Paper feeding and separating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To vary the slit width between a paper feeding revolution roller and a frictional roller in simple manners by constituting a frictional roller shifting means with the frictional roller fixed in eccentricity onto a supporting shaft and an operating member connected with the supporting shaft so as to revolve the supporting shaft. CONSTITUTION:When a knob 66 is turned by 90 deg., in order to adjust the slit width (d), the turn is transmitted to a shaft 68 and a joint J supporting shaft 60, and a frictional roller 64 is revolved. At the same time, also a revolution position adjusting gear 70 is turned by the equal angle, overwhelming the elastic resistance of a leaf spring 72. At this position, the leaf spring 72 is elastically engaged between the teeth of the gear 70, and the axis center 0-3 of the frictional roller 64 is held at the position turned by 90 deg., and a slit width d-1 is formed between a paper feeding revolution roller 44 and the frictional roller 64. Further, when the knob 66 is turned by 90 deg. in the direction of arrow, the axis center 0-3 of the frictional roller 64 is held at the position further turned by 90 deg., and the wider slit width is formed between the both rollers 44 and 64.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a paper feeding/separating device used in copying machines, printing machines, etc.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, copying machines, printing machines, etc. have stacked sheets of paper on a paper table for copying or printing.
It is equipped with a device that feeds and separates sheets one by one. This paper supply/separation device is generally composed of a friction roller and a paper supply rotating roller, and is required to perform its functions accurately even when paper of different thickness is used.

In order to achieve this purpose, conventional paper feeding/separating devices are provided with a device for appropriately adjusting the width of the slit formed between the pair of rollers (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 51
(device disclosed in Japanese Patent No.-9921).

The paper supply/separation device with a slit width adjustment device disclosed in the publication includes a friction roller, a rotating roller for paper feeding (supply) that forms a slit width with the friction roller, and a support member for the friction roller. an adjustment operation member that moves the support member in a direction to change the slit width; a device that operates in conjunction with the movement of the support member to display the slit width; and support means for the display device so that the display device can be operated and hung independently.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Although this conventional device has the advantage that the slit width can be easily adjusted even by non-experts, it also has the following problems to be solved.

(1) Since the entire friction roller is moved for each support member (for each support shaft) in the direction of changing the slit width, the construction becomes extremely large-scale. In particular, as the number of rollers increases, this influence becomes greater.

(2) Since the adjustment operation member and the slit width display device are provided as separate devices that interlock with each other, initial alignment work is extremely difficult and troublesome. Furthermore, in order to ensure accurate slit width display, high manufacturing and assembly precision is required for each member.

(3) Due to the large number of parts arranged, due to space constraints,
This is disadvantageous in terms of layout.

(4) Due to the structure, it is not possible to arrange the adjustment operation member at a position where it is easy to operate, and there remains a problem in operability.

(5) The overall structure is complicated, the number of parts is large, and the cost is high.

The present invention has been made based on the above facts, and its main purpose is to have the advantages of the conventional device described above, and also to provide the support shaft of the friction roller without moving in the direction of changing the slit width. The object of the present invention is to provide an excellent paper feeding/separating device that can solve the above problems.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above main object, the present invention provides a friction roller fixed on a support shaft, a paper supply rotating roller disposed so as to form a slit width between the friction roller, and a paper supply rotating roller arranged to form a slit width between the friction roller and the friction roller. and a friction roller moving means for moving the friction roller in a direction in which the friction roller moves in a direction in which the friction roller moves in a direction in which and an operating member connected to the support shaft so as to be able to rotate the shaft.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a paper feeding/separating device improved according to the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a paper feeding (feeding) device of a copying machine, which is equipped with a paper feeding/separating device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a table 4 for stacking and setting papers P is provided on a support 2 provided between side plates (not shown), tilting forward (to the left in the figure). A support 6 is provided above the table 4 with a certain gap, and a paper detection switch 8 is attached to this support 6. The paper detection switch 8 includes a paper detection lever 10. is rotatably supported at one end. When the paper P is not set on the table 4, the paper detection lever 10 is located at a position crossing the insertion direction of the paper P, as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

As a result, the fact that the paper P is not set is displayed on the display section (not shown).

A lift 12 is rotatably supported in front of the support 2. The lift 12 has a plate-shaped portion with a U-shaped cross section and a flat upper surface. A force that constantly rotates the lift 12 upward is applied by a spring 12a provided between the lift 12 and a support 14 disposed below the lift 12.

When the paper P is not set on the table 4, the lift 12 moves the table 4,
Its position is maintained so that it is on the same plane as the upper surface of the support 2.

Above the lift 12, a paper P advance reroller 16 is provided, and further in front of the roller 16, a pair of guide plates 18 are provided. A rearwardly inclined surface 18a is formed at the rear (right side in the figure) end of the guide plate located below the pair of guide plates 18. This inclined surface 18
A is provided in front of the lift 12 at a position where the leading edge of the paper P hits the table 4 when the paper P is set on the table 4.

A paper feeding/separating device 20 according to the present invention is provided at the pair of guide plates 18 .

The device 20 is provided with a pair of friction rollers 64 and a paper supply rotating roller 44. A portion of the outer peripheral surfaces of the friction roller 64 and the paper supply rotating roller 44 that are close to each other are
They are arranged so as to protrude from window holes 18b and 18c formed in the pair of guide plates 18, respectively. The device 20 will be explained in detail later.

In front of the paper supply/separation device 20, a pair of intermediate rollers 2
2 is arranged, and a pair of guide plates 24 and 26 are further provided in front of it. Guide plate 2
A pair of registration rollers 28 are arranged in front of the register 6 .

The paper feeding device of the copying machine described above is a known device except for the paper feeding/separating device related to the present invention. The outline of the action will be explained first.

The stacked papers P for copying are placed on the table 4, and the leading edge of the paper P is placed on the inclined surface 18a of the guide plate 18.
Insert until it hits and set. The paper detection lever 10 is rotated to the upper position shown by the solid line in the figure, and it is displayed that the paper P is set. The leading edge of paper P is 2 in the figure.
It is located on the lift 12 at the position indicated by the dotted chain line.

When you press the switch (not shown) to start copying,
The holding (lock) of the lift 12 is released, and the lift 12 moves to the upper solid line position in the figure by the action of the spring 12a. The upper surface of the leading end of the paper P is pressed against the paper feed roller 16. Then, by rotating the paper feed roller 16 in the direction of the arrow,
A piece of paper in contact with it is sent forward and further passes through between the guide plates 18 by the action of a paper supply/separation device 20, which will be described later. The paper that has passed through the guide plate 18 is sent by the intermediate roller 22 to the registration roller 28 via the guide plates 24 and 26. After the paper is sent to the registration rollers 28, its position is adjusted correctly, and the timing with a rotating drum (not shown) is adjusted, the paper is sent to the rotating drum by the rotation of the registration rollers 28, and transfer is performed.

Next, an embodiment of the paper supply/separation device 20 according to the present invention will be described.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a paper feeder according to the present invention.
The separation device is shown comprehensively. of a copying machine (not shown),
Two support shafts 40 and 60 are rotatably supported between the side plates 30 and 32 via a pair of bearings 41 and 61, respectively.

A collar (cylindrical member) 42 is fixed to the support shaft 40,
In this example, five paper supply rotating rollers 44 are fixed to the collar 42. The paper supply rotating rollers 44 are arranged at equal intervals in the axial direction, and all have the same diameter. Also, the same roller 4
The base 4 is made of rubber having a larger friction coefficient than paper, such as urethane rubber. These support shaft 40, collar 42, and paper supply rotating roller 44 are
As shown in Figure A, both are on the same axis ○-1.

A driving gear 46 is fixed to one end of a support shaft 40 extending outward from the side plate 32, and is driven by a driving means (not shown).
It is configured to be rotationally driven.

On the other hand, the support shaft 60 is provided below and parallel to the support shaft 40 at a certain interval.

A collar (cylindrical member) 62 is fixed to the support shaft 60, and four friction rollers 64 are fixed to the collar 62 in this example. The friction rollers 64 are arranged at equal intervals in the axial direction, and all have the same diameter.

Friction rollers 64 are also arranged to be located between each of the paper supply rotating rollers 44, respectively. The friction roller 64 is made of bottom rubber having a larger friction coefficient than the paper supply rotating roller 44, for example, cork-filled CR rubber (chloroprene).

Note that a slit width d as shown in FIG. 3-A is provided between the friction roller 64 and the paper supply rotating roller 44. The slit width will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3-A, the collar 62 is provided on the axis ○-3 which is eccentric by a dimension with respect to the axis ○-2 of the support shaft 60. Since the friction roller 64 is provided on the same axis as the collar 62, the support shaft 60
This means that it is eccentrically provided by a dimension (distance) D.

Another side plate 34 is arranged outside the side plate 30, and a cup-shaped indicator plate 36 is fixed to the outside of this side plate 34. The instruction plate 36 has a shaft 68 fixed to one end thereof, which is an operating member, so as to be rotatable. The shaft 68 extends inwardly through the hole 34a formed in the side plate 34, and is connected to one end of the support shaft 60 by a well-known joint J on the outside of the side plate 30.

In this example, the joint J is constructed by engaging a concave portion with a U-shaped cross section formed at the end of the shaft 68 and a convex portion with a C-shaped cross section formed on the support shaft 60 with each other. .

By operating the knob 60, the support shaft 60 can be rotated via the joint J. In addition, if necessary,
The shaft 66 can be removed (uncoupled) from the support shaft 6o.

The friction roller 64 and the knob 66 described above constitute a friction roller moving means.

As shown in FIG.
Two indicating portions (marks) 66a are formed. Also,
On the flat part of the indicator plate 36, which has a larger diameter than the knob 66,
An indicator scale 36a, which is another indicator, is provided. A plurality of indication scales 36a are provided along the outer periphery of adjacent knobs 66 at preset intervals. An alternative indication is provided. Each indicator part 66a and 3 formed on the knob 66 and the indicator plate 36
6a constitutes a slit width display means.

At the other end of the support shaft 60 extending outward from the side plate 32,
A rotational position adjusting gear 70 of the support shaft 60 is fixed.

On the other hand, an elastic member serving as a holding member, a plate spring 72 in this example, is fixed to the outside of the plate 32 with screws 74 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the leaf spring 72 is formed by extending the base of an L-shaped plate and bending the extended end. This folded portion is elastic with respect to the base and falls between the teeth of the rotary position adjustment gear 70 and is elastically engaged therewith.

The support shaft 60, in this example, has a rotational position adjustment gear 70 fixed thereto, and a holding member 72 engaged therewith.
A rotational position holding means is configured.

Note that the rotational position holding means may also be formed by, for example, pressing a friction member directly against the support shaft 60 using a spring or the like. In short, by rotating the operating member 66, the support shaft 60
Any means may be used as long as the support shaft 60 can be rotated and the rotational position of the support shaft 60 can be maintained during normal use.

Next, the operation of the paper feeding/separating device 200, which is an embodiment of the present invention and configured as described above, will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, a basic paper supply/separation device will be explained with reference to FIG. As explained earlier, when the switch (not shown) for starting copying is turned on, the paper feed roller 16
A sheet of paper is conveyed from the lift 12 to a paper feeding and separating device 20 . The friction roller 64 of the paper supply/separation device 20 is kept in a locked state by a rotational position holding means consisting of a rotational position adjustment gear 70 and a leaf spring 72 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. On the other hand, since the paper supply rotating roller 44 is rotating in the direction of the arrow, the paper sent by the paper feed roller 16 passes through the pair of guide plates 18 and is sent to the pair of intermediate rollers 22.

When two or more sheets of paper are sent by the paper feed roller 16, the second and subsequent sheets are prevented from moving forward by the friction roller 64 which is in a stationary (fixed) state. Due to the paper separation action of the friction roller 64, only one sheet of paper is sent forward by the paper supply rotating roller 44.

Next, the adjustment function of the slit width formed between the friction roller 64 and the paper supply rotating roller 44 will be explained.

The friction roller 64 and the paper supply rotating roller 44 shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3-A are in the same positional relationship. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3-A, the eccentric axis ○-3 of the friction roller 64 is relative to the axis O-2 of the support shaft 60, and the axis of the paper supply rotating roller 44 is It is located 180 degrees opposite to the heart ○-1.

The friction roller 64 is located at the farthest position from the paper supply rotating roller 44, and there is a slit width d(
In this example, a gap d> is formed. In this specification, the slit width means the distance between the outer circumferential surfaces of both rollers 44 and 64 on a straight line connecting axes O-1 and O-3 of both rollers 44 and 64.

In order to adjust the slit width d, when the knob 66 shown in FIG. 2 is rotated 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
, and the friction roller 64 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 3-B. At the same time, the rotational position adjustment gear 70 also
It overcomes the elastic resistance of the leaf spring 72 and can be rotated by the same angle.

In this position, the leaf spring 72 is elastically engaged between the teeth of the gear 70, and the support shaft 60, and therefore the friction roller 64, is
It is held in the position shown in Figure 3-B. The axis ○-3 of the friction roller 64 is held at a position rotated by 90 degrees from the position shown in FIG.
1 is formed.

In this example, the slit width d-1 is the width of both rollers 44 and 64.
are formed in an overlapping state.

When the knob 66 is further rotated 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
It is held in the position shown in Figure C. Axis center of friction roller 64 ○-3
is held at a position rotated by 90 degrees from the position shown in FIG. 3-B, and a slit width d-2 is formed between both rollers 44 and 64. In this example, the sl knot width d-2 is formed in a state where both rollers 44 and 64 further overlap.

The axes O-1 and O-3 of both rollers 44 and 64 are located at the closest distance. Note that the larger the overlap amount, the more suitable for thin paper, and the smaller the overlap amount, the more suitable for thick paper.

The slit width is appropriately set in advance according to the thickness of the paper used. The eccentric position of the axis of the friction roller 64 is adjusted so that the set slit width is appropriately formed between both rollers 44 and 64 while the knob 66 is rotated 180 degrees.
Each phase of the slit width display means formed by the rotational position adjusting gear 70, the indicating portion of the knob 66, and the indicating scale of the indicating plate 36 is set in advance.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the invention described above based on one embodiment,
The following effects can be obtained.

(1) The width of the slit between the friction roller and the rotating paper supply roller can be changed simply by rotating the support shaft that supports the friction roller, so there is no need to change the basic layout at all. Therefore, the configuration is significantly simplified compared to conventional devices. Further, even if the number of rollers is increased, similar effects can be obtained.

The above effects are extremely significant in copying machines and the like whose structures are becoming more and more complex and which are required to be more compact.

(2) Since the rotational position of the operating member can be directly displayed as the slit width, phase alignment is extremely easy and accurate display can be performed.

(3) Since the slit width can be determined by the rotational position of the support shaft of the friction roller, phase alignment can be performed extremely easily. It is also easy to maintain the rotational position. When a rotational position adjustment gear and an elastic member that engages with the rotational position adjusting gear are used as the holding child, the holding is reliable and the phase alignment can be easily performed. Also, the phase will not go out of order.

(4) The number of parts added to adjust the slit width is significantly smaller than in conventional devices, which is extremely advantageous in terms of space and layout.

(5) Since the operating member is located on the extension line of the support shaft of the friction roller, operability is significantly improved in terms of layout.

(6) The structure as a whole is simple, the number of parts is extremely small, and it can be manufactured at low cost.

Although the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a paper feeding/separating device equipped with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1. 3-A to 3-C are side views schematically showing different aspects of the slit width adjustment function according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view in the direction of the ■ arrow in FIG. FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of the ■ arrow in FIG. 20: Paper supply/separation device 36: Instruction plate 40: Support shaft 44: Paper supply rotating roller 60: Support shaft 64: Friction roller 66: Operation member (knob) 70: Rotation position adjustment gear 72: Holding member (plate spring) d, d-1 and d-2 = slit width D: eccentric distance (dimension) ○-2 = support shaft 600 axis ○-3: axial center of friction roller 64 Fig. 4-222- Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A friction roller fixed on a support shaft, a paper supply rotating roller disposed so as to form a slit width between the friction roller, and a paper supply rotating roller arranged to form a slit width between the friction roller and the friction roller; In a paper supply/separation device comprising a friction roller moving means for moving a friction roller, the friction roller moving means comprises:
the friction roller eccentrically fixed on the support shaft;
A paper feeding/separating device comprising: an operating member connected to the support shaft so as to rotate the support shaft. 2. Paper feeding/separation according to claim 1, wherein a holding member is engaged with the support shaft of the friction roller, and a rotational position holding means for the support shaft is configured between the support shaft and the holding member. Device. 3. The rotational position holding means of the support shaft includes a rotational position adjustment gear fixed to the support shaft, and the holding member formed of an elastic member and engaged with the rotational position adjustment gear. The paper supply/separation device according to 2. 4. The paper feeding/separating device according to claim 3, wherein the elastic member is formed of a leaf spring. 5. The paper supply/separation device further includes means for displaying the slit width in response to movement of the friction roller, and the slit width display means includes an indicator formed on the operating member; The paper feeding/separating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an instruction section formed on an instruction plate provided close to the operating member.