JPH0439221A - Paper sheet transfer device for picture image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate taper rollers by arranging, on the upstream side of a paper-sheet transfer passage, a paper-feeding part for feeding paper sheets toward an aligning device, and by housing paper sheets in the paper-sheet tray of the paper-feeding part that is inclined to the transfer direction of the paper sheets, and also by providing a paper-feeding means for feeding paper sheets from the paper-sheet tray in the same direction as the transfer direction of the paper-sheet transfer device. CONSTITUTION:A paper-feeding part 5 for feeding paper sheets P toward an aligning device 1 is arranged, and a paper-sheet tray 6 of this paper-feeding part 5 is arranged so as to be inclined to the transfer direction of the paper sheets P. When a paper sheet P is sent out from the paper-sheet tray 6, it is sent out in such an inclined condition that the corner part thereof is placed on the inner side of a reference line. Thus, it is not necessary to provide such a means as taper rollers, and the constitution of the paper-sheet aligning part 1 can be simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a paper conveyance device in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine or a printer, and in particular, the present invention relates to a paper conveyance device in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine or a printer. The present invention relates to a device that allows sheets to be sent out from a sheet feeding unit in a separated state, and then sent toward a guide means by a diagonal feed roller in a sheet aligning device section, thereby facilitating alignment.

(Prior Art) In image forming apparatuses that use cut paper, such as electronic copying machines and printers, the cut paper sent out from a paper storage device such as a paper tray is placed so that the side of the paper is aligned with the reference line of the paper conveyance path. The sheets are conveyed in a parallel state, and the sheets are positioned by a sheet aligning device disposed immediately in front of the image transfer section, and then fed into the image transfer section. In the following explanation, the terms "side of the paper" and "corner" are
This term is used to refer to the surface of the paper on the reference line side and the corner of the leading edge of the paper on the reference line side.

However, the side surface of the paper may not be transported along the reference line due to friction between the paper and a roller device disposed in the paper transport path, a guide plate, etc. forming the paper transport path, and the like. Therefore, in general image forming apparatuses, a paper alignment device consisting of a diagonal feed roller and a side guide is arranged immediately before the image transfer section, and the paper alignment device aligns the side of the paper along the reference line. It uses a mechanism that positions the machine according to the state.

However, if the paper is conveyed through the paper conveyance path with its sides protruding outward from the side guides,
The corners of the paper abut against the side guides, causing inconveniences such as rotating the paper or bending the corners.

Therefore, in order to prevent the above-mentioned inconvenience from occurring, in conventional image forming apparatuses, a means for separating the paper from the side guide is placed in front of the paper alignment device, and the side of the paper is aligned with the reference line. In some cases, a mechanism is used to move the device further away from the side guide.

As described above, as a paper aligning device that uses means for temporarily separating the paper from the side guides, for example, a device such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 109344/1984 is used. The conventional sheet aligning device is configured as shown in FIG. 8, in which the sheet aligning section 1 includes a side guide 2 disposed on the side of the sheet conveyance path, a diagonal feed roller 3.3, and a tapered roller 4.

In the paper aligning device, the paper P sent from the paper feeder is diagonally fed by the tapered roller 4 so that the side surface of the paper is separated from the side guide 2, and the paper P is fed diagonally into the paper P.
Set the state shown in 1.

After that, the diagonal feed roller 3.3 performs diagonal feeding in a direction opposite to the feeding direction by the tapered roller,
The paper is conveyed from P2 to the state indicated by P3. Then, the sheet is positioned so that the side surface of the sheet is pressed against the side guide, and the sheet is conveyed toward the image transfer section.

Note that, in addition to the paper sent out from the paper storage device, the paper alignment device configured as described above also reverses the single-sided copied paper on which an image has been recorded on one side, and then sends it again toward the image transfer unit. This is a technical means that is also applied to devices that make double-sided copies.

The diagonal feed roller placed at the front feeds the paper diagonally toward the side guide, and the side of the paper is pressed against the side guide to position it. The larger the size, the longer the distance required to align the paper. It has disadvantages such as requiring a large amount of

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the paper aligning device of the conventional paper transport device as described above, the action of separating the paper from the side guide by the tapered roller continues until the paper passes through the portion of the tapered roller. Therefore, there is a problem in that the degree of diagonal feeding differs depending on the paper size.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the paper is A4 size and B4 size, the distance that the corner of the paper is separated from the side guide is greatly different as shown by the distances a and b. , a problem arises in that the stability of the operation of the paper alignment device decreases.

In addition, in the above-mentioned state, the paper aligning section is straightened (objective of the invention). To provide a device capable of simplifying the configuration of a paper aligning part and shortening the distance for positioning the paper by using a means for feeding the paper from a paper storage device in a state directed toward It is an object.

(Means and effects for solving the problems) The present invention has the following features:
A guide means is disposed on the side of the paper conveyance path, a diagonal feed roller is disposed for diagonally feeding the paper toward the guide means, and the side of the paper is abutted against the guide means, whereby the paper is The present invention relates to a sheet conveyance device using an alignment device configured to position and feed a sheet on its side.

In the apparatus of the present invention, a paper feeding section for feeding paper toward the alignment device is arranged, a paper tray of the paper feeding section is arranged at an angle with respect to the paper transport direction, and the paper is transported from the paper tray. A paper feed means for feeding the paper is arranged in the same direction as the paper conveyance direction of the paper path.

By configuring as described above, in the present invention, when the paper is sent out from the paper storage device, the corners of the paper are slanted toward the inside of the reference line.
It is not necessary to provide a conventional means such as a taber roller, and the configuration of the paper alignment section can be simplified.

In addition, even if the size of the paper sent out from the paper feed section is different, the distance between the corners of the paper and the reference line can be maintained constant, so the distance for paper alignment in the paper alignment section can be shortened. This allows the device to be made smaller.

(Example) The configuration of a paper conveyance device of an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described according to an illustrated example.

The example shown in FIG. 1 shows the relationship between the paper feed section and the paper alignment section. The paper feeding means for feeding the paper from the paper tray can be any means such as a belt feeder or a roller device.

Further, in the paper alignment section 1, as in the case of the conventional paper alignment device, a diagonal feed row 53.3a and a side guide 2 for setting a reference line are arranged. Note that the diagonal feed roller is shown as an example in which a roller member is attached to a shaft that is at a predetermined angle with respect to the paper conveyance direction; The paper is sandwiched between the upper and lower rollers with their axes crossing each other.
Any other roller device may be used, such as a device called a cross roller for diagonal feeding.

The paper tray 6 has a side guide 7 at an angle of θ with respect to a reference line.
The guide 7a on the sending side is arranged at right angles to the side guide 7. Further, the inclination angle θ can be set in a range of 2 to 5 degrees,
It is possible to set the angle to any desired angle depending on the characteristics of the image forming apparatus.

In the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the paper stored in the paper tray is fed diagonally toward the paper alignment section 1 with the corner on the feeding side protruding inside the conveyance path beyond the reference line. The paper is transported within the paper transport path.

Then, the paper P2 in the diagonal feeding state is transferred to the diagonal feeding roller 3.
The row 53 first performs a diagonal feeding action toward the side guide 2. Next, the next diagonal feed roller 3a further applies a diagonal feed action, and the aligned paper P3 is sent toward the image transfer section with its side surface aligned with the side guide.

The paper tray 6 and feeder 10 arranged in the paper feed section 5 of the present invention can be configured as shown in FIG. 22 and FIG. 2a, for example. In the paper tray 6, the bottom plate 8 is configured to be moved up and down by a drive means (not shown), and the paper P placed on the plate 8 is pressed against the feeder 10.

In addition, in the paper tray, the guide 7a on the paper feeding side moves the paper tray to the paper feed section of the image forming apparatus so that its upper end is located slightly below the upper end of the paper P supported by the bottom plate. be accommodated in

Further, the upper limit position of the paper P is set by the pressure roller 15, and by supporting the arm 16 that supports the pressure roller 515 at a fixed position with respect to the main body frame of the apparatus, the paper It is possible to control the rise of

Instead of providing the roller at a fixed position, a sensor or the like may be placed on the support arm 16 to cut off the drive to the bottom plate when the roller 15 is raised to a certain height. , you can also set the upper limit position of the paper.

In the illustrated embodiment, the feeder 10 disposed above the paper tray on the sending side includes a plurality of belts 11.
is passed between the drive roller 12 and the pinch roller, and the paper is fed out by friction between the belt and the paper. Furthermore, in the feeder of the present invention, a separating roller 13 is disposed below the belt, and even when sheets are fed from the paper tray in a multi-feed state, the paper separating means separates the sheets and separates the sheets one by one. send out.

With the above-described configuration, in the paper conveyance device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the paper is sent out from the paper storage device, the corner of the paper is slanted toward the inside of the reference line. Therefore, there is no need to provide a conventional means such as a tapered roller. Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, the distance for aligning sheets can be shortened, and the configuration of the sheet aligning section can be simplified.

The examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 described above are examples in which the tapered rollers are omitted from the conventional sheet aligning device, but the examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 6a are similar to the conventional sheet aligning device. This figure shows a case where one paddle wheel is used to perform the functions of the taper roller and the upstream diagonal feed roller.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the upstream roller of the two diagonal feed rollers provided in the sheet alignment section 1 is configured with a paddle wheel 20, and the paddle wheel is positioned at the position indicated by the chain line in the figure and at the position indicated by the solid line. It is configured to be able to swing between the two positions.

In the above embodiment, the paper fed from the paper feed section is
The paddle wheel 20 supported as shown by the chain line moves the paper from the state Pl to the state shown P2, and the corner of the paper is separated from the reference line.

Next, by rotating the paddle wheel to the position shown by the solid line, the paper is diagonally fed from the position P2 to the state P3, as shown in FIG. Send it out with it aligned.

The paddle wheel is arranged so that the paddle slides on the upper surface of the guide plate 27, as shown in FIG. Make it work.

Further, in order to change the feeding direction of the paddle wheel 20, a rotating means configured as shown in FIGS. 5 and 5a can be used.

In the embodiment described above, the paddle wheel 20 is connected to a drive motor 22 via a drive shaft 21, and a unit constituted by these members is supported by a bracket 23. Further, a support shaft 24 provided on the upper part of the bracket 23 is supported by an upper support plate 26 of the sheet conveying device, and the unit is provided in a state that the unit can be rotated with respect to the support shaft.

In order to rotate the unit, a drive means using a rotary solenoid 25 is provided for the support shaft. The drive means can use any drive mechanism other than the rotary solenoid, but a drive arm or the like provided on the rotary solenoid is connected to the drive shaft via a link or the like, and the drive shaft is The paddle wheel 20 can be rotated as described above by rotating within a certain angle range.

When separating the corner of the paper from the side guide, as shown in FIG. Feed the paper diagonally to the position shown in P2 to separate the corners of the paper from the side guides.

Next, rotate the paddle wheel 20 clockwise,
Set the paper so that the angle θ2 is in the opposite direction to the side guide 2, and feed the paper diagonally to the state shown in P2 to P3, so that the side of the paper is aligned with the reference line set by the side guide 2. The paper is aligned in the same state, and sent out toward the image transfer section. In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and later, only one paddle wheel may be provided, but it is also possible to arrange a diagonal feed roller downstream thereof.

In the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the angle θ1 of the paddle wheel with respect to the feeding direction is 2 to 10 degrees,
θ2 can be set to about 15 degrees, and the timing at which the paddle wheel is rotated can be controlled to correspond to conditions such as the paper size, or to correspond to the conveyance speed of the paper. By doing so, it is possible to perform the paper alignment action.

In another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 7a, a diagonal feed roller 31 is arranged on the lower surface of the lower guide plate 27, and a ball 30 presses the paper P against the diagonal feed roller 31. 1 shows an apparatus using means.

In the embodiment described above, the diagonal feed roller can be configured to be able to switch the conveyance direction using a rotating means provided on the vertical axis, as in the case of the paddle wheel, and can be configured to change the conveyance direction with respect to the paper. As in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the action of diagonally feeding toward the side guide after separating from the reference line can be performed by one diagonally feeding row. In the above embodiment, by arranging the ball facing the diagonal feed roller and pressing the paper, it is possible to allow the paper to move freely, and it is possible to prevent the paper from being forced to move diagonally. It is possible to prevent the feeding action from being applied.

As described above, by using the roller device provided with the means for switching the conveying direction, the sheet conveying device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention can align the sheets over a relatively short distance, and can move the sheets sideways. This eliminates the possibility of bending the corners of the paper by hitting it too hard against the guide.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the paper conveying device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to omit means such as a tapered roller when the paper tray is arranged at an angle. Therefore, the configuration of the paper alignment section can be simplified.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the paper is sent out from the paper storage device, the corner of the paper is fed with the corner slanted toward the inside of the reference line, so that the corner of the paper does not hit the side guide. This eliminates inconveniences such as damage to paper.

In addition, even if the size of the paper fed from the paper feed section is different, the distance between the corners of the paper and the reference line can be maintained constant, so the distance for paper alignment in the paper alignment section can be adjusted. The length can be shortened, and the device can be configured in a compact size.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a paper conveying device of an image forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a paper feeding section, FIG. 2a is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the present invention. An explanatory diagram of an example, FIG. 4 and FIG. 4a are respectively a plan view and a side view of the diagonal feeding mechanism using a paddle wheel, FIG. 5 is a side view of the configuration of the paddle wheel and a rotating means, and FIG. 5a is a plan view thereof. FIGS. 6 and 6a are explanatory diagrams of paper alignment action by a device using paddle wheels, respectively, FIG. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7a is a side view thereof, and FIG. 8 9 is a plan view showing the configuration of a conventional paper aligning device, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a corner is separated from a side guide due to a difference in paper size. Reference numeral 1 in the figure: Paper alignment section, 2: Side guide, 3: Diagonal feed roller, 4: Taper roller, 5: ...Paper feed section, 6...Paper tray, 7...Guide member, 8...
Bottom plate, 10... Feeder, 11...
... Belt, 13 ... Judging roller, 15
...Press roller, 2o...Paddle wheel, 23...Bracket, 25...
Rotary solenoid, 30...Ball, 31
・・・・・・Diagonal feed roller. Figure 2a Figure 3 Figure 6 Figure 6α Figure z P/

Claims (1)

[Claims] A guide means is disposed on the side of the paper conveyance path, a diagonal feed roller is disposed for diagonally feeding the paper toward the guide means, and the side of the paper abuts against the guide means. Accordingly, in a paper conveyance device including an alignment device configured to position and feed the paper on a side surface, a paper feed unit that feeds the paper toward the alignment device is disposed at an upstream portion of the paper conveyance path, A paper feeding means is provided for storing paper in a paper tray of the paper feeding unit that is tilted with respect to the paper transport direction in the paper transport path, and feeding the paper from the paper tray in the same direction as the transport direction of the paper transport device. A paper conveying device for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that: