JPH06600B2 - Sheet material feeding / transporting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism.

<Prior Art> A copying machine such as an electrostatic copying machine is equipped with a sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism for feeding a sheet material such as copying paper as required in each copying process. This sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism generally includes a feeding roller for feeding sheet material such as copy paper from a copy paper cassette one by one,
A timing roller for starting the conveyance of this sheet material in synchronization with the rotation of the rotary drum is provided, and when the distance between the feeding roller and the timing roller is large, an intermediate roller is further provided between both rollers. . In the sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism including the intermediate roller, the first sheet material detecting means is usually arranged on the upstream side of the intermediate roller, and the second sheet material detecting means is provided on the upstream side of the timing roller. Is provided.

In this type of sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism, the sheet material is fed from the copying paper cassette by the action of the feeding roller, and when the first sheet material detecting means detects the leading edge of the sheet material, the intermediate roller is in an operating state. And the first
The sheet material detecting means detects the leading edge of the sheet material, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the feeding roller becomes inactive, and thus the sheet material fed by the feeding roller is fed by the intermediate roller. Then, the sheet material is fed and the second sheet material detecting means detects the leading edge of the sheet material, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the intermediate roller is deactivated, and thus the leading edge of the sheet material is timed. When the roller is placed in the waiting state as required, and then the timing roller is activated in synchronization with scanning exposure, the conveyance of this sheet material is restarted and the sheet material is synchronized with the rotation of the rotary drum. It is conveyed toward the transfer area.

However, as described above, in the sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism, the control is complicated because the operation control of the intermediate roller is performed by the first sheet material detecting means and the second sheet material detecting means. Since the intermediate roller acts as a load on the trailing end side of the sheet material, a deviation may occur between the movement of the rotary drum and the conveyance of the sheet material. When such a deviation occurs, the desired copy is performed. Can't get

<Object of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved sheet material capable of reliably conveying a sheet material as desired with a relatively simple configuration and control. It is to provide a feeding and conveying mechanism.

<Summary of the Invention> According to the present invention, a first support shaft on which a first roller is mounted, and a second support shaft disposed downstream of the first support shaft and on which a second roller is mounted. And a third support shaft disposed downstream of the second support shaft and having a third roller mounted thereon, the first support shaft including the first clutch means. A driving source is drivingly connected, the third supporting shaft is drivingly connected to the driving source via a second clutch means, and the first supporting shaft and the second supporting shaft are the first supporting shaft. A first transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force to the second support shaft when the rotation is made in a predetermined direction.
Is drivingly connected via a transmission means of the third support shaft and the second support shaft, and when the third support shaft rotates in a predetermined direction, the driving force thereof is the second support shaft. Is drivingly connected via a second transmission means that transmits the first supporting shaft to a predetermined direction via the first clutch means when the first clutch means is in a connected state. When the second support shaft is rotated in a predetermined direction via the first transmission means, and the second clutch means is in the engaged state, the second clutch means is operated via the second clutch means. A sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism, characterized in that the support shaft 3 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the second support shaft is rotated in a predetermined direction via the second transmission means. To be done.

<Preferred Embodiments of the Invention> A sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism configured according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1 showing a part of an electrostatic copying machine equipped with a sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism according to the present invention, the illustrated electrostatic copying machine has a cylindrical rotary drum 2 having a photoconductor on its peripheral surface. I have it. Around the rotary drum 2 which is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 4, a transfer corona discharger 8 is arranged corresponding to the transfer area 6, and a peeling corona discharger 12 corresponding to the peeling area 10. Is provided.

A sheet material transport mechanism is arranged below the rotary drum 2, and a first copy paper cassette 14 and a second copy paper cassette 16 are mounted at the upstream end of the sheet material transport mechanism. A first cassette receiving portion 18 and a second cassette receiving portion 20 are arranged vertically spaced apart from each other on the copying machine body side, and a receiving member 22 provided in the first cassette receiving portion 18 is provided.
The first copy paper cassette 14 is detachably attached to the first cassette, and the second copy paper cassette 16 is detachably attached to the receiving member 24 provided in the second cassette receiving portion 20. First
Of the copying paper cassette 14 is provided with a box-shaped cassette container 26 having an open upper surface, and a mounting plate 28 is mounted in the cassette container 26 so as to be vertically rotatable about a rear end of the cassette container 26 as a fulcrum. A coil spring 30 for elastically biasing the front end side of the mounting plate 28 upward is interposed between the wall and the mounting plate 28. The second copy paper cassette 16 has substantially the same configuration as the first copy paper cassette 14 described above, and is provided with a box-shaped cassette container 32 having an open upper surface. The mounting plate 34 is mounted so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction with the rear end as a fulcrum, and a coil spring 36 is interposed between the cassette container 32 and the mounting plate 34. The first copy paper cassette 14 and the second copy paper cassette 16 are configured to accommodate sheet materials such as copy papers of different sizes. In a specific example, the first copy paper cassette 14 has For example, JIS A4 size sheet material is accommodated and the second copy paper cassette 16
For example, a JIS B5 size sheet material is accommodated.

In the illustrated embodiment, a first sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 38 is provided for conveying the sheet material contained in the first copy paper cassette 14 to the transfer area 6 of the rotary drum 2, and the second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 38. A second sheet material feeding / transporting mechanism 40 is provided for transporting the sheet material stored in the copying paper cassette 16 of the second sheet material feeding / transporting mechanism 40 to the transfer area 6 of the rotating drum 2. The sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism according to the present invention is applied. More specifically, the first sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 38 includes the first cassette receiving portion 1
8 and a timing roller 44 disposed downstream of the feeding roller 42 (the timing roller 44 is a timing roller in the second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40 as will be described later). A driven roller 46 for conveying the sheet material in cooperation with the timing roller 44 is disposed below the timing roller 44. The feeding roller 42 is mounted on a support shaft 50 which is rotated in the direction shown by an arrow 48, and the support shaft 50 is driven by a drive source (not shown) of the copying machine via clutch means 52 (FIG. 3). It is connected. The timing roller 44 is mounted on a support shaft 56 which is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 54, and the support shaft 56 is drivingly connected to the drive source (not shown) via clutch means 58 (FIG. 3). ing.
Further, the driven roller 46 is mounted on a support shaft 60 rotatably arranged below the support shaft 56. Therefore, the sheet material delivered from the first copying paper cassette 14 by the action of the feeding roller 42 which is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 48 passes through the guide plate 62 and the guide plates 64, 66 and 68 at the timing. It is fed to the nip portion between the roller 44 and the driven roller 46.

The second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40 includes a feeding roller 70 (constituting a first roller) arranged in the second cassette receiving section 20, and the above-described timing roller 44 (second sheet material). It includes a third roller in the feeding / conveying mechanism 40) and an intermediate roller 72 (constituting a second roller) disposed between the feeding roller 70 and the timing roller 44. The feeding roller 70 is a support shaft 76 that rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow 74 (constitutes a first support shaft).
The support shaft 76 is drivingly connected to the drive source (not shown) via a clutch means 78 (constituting a first clutch means) (FIGS. 2 and 3). The intermediate roller 72 is mounted on a support shaft 80 (which constitutes a second support shaft) that is rotatably arranged. The support shaft 80 and the support shaft 76 are arranged such that the support shaft 76 is in a predetermined direction, that is, an arrow 74. It is drive-coupled via the first transmission means 82 which transmits the driving force to the support shaft 80 when it rotates in the direction indicated by.
Below the intermediate roller 72, an intermediate driven roller 84 is provided for feeding the sheet material in cooperation with the intermediate roller 72.
The intermediate driven roller 84 is mounted on a support shaft 86 that is rotatably arranged below the support shaft 80. Further, in relation to the second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40, a supporting shaft 56 to which the timing roller 44 is attached (constituting a third supporting shaft in the second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40), The support shaft 80 is drive-coupled via the second transmission means 88 which transmits the driving force to the support shaft 80 when the support shaft 56 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 54. Therefore, the sheet material delivered from the second copying paper cassette 16 by the action of the feeding roller 70 rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 74 passes between the guide plate 90 and the guide plate 92, and the intermediate roller 72 and the intermediate roller 72. It is fed to the driven rollers 84, and the guide plates 66 and 62 and the guide plates 94 and 68 are further operated by the action of the intermediate roller 72 and the intermediate driven roller 84.
It is fed to the nip portion between the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 through the gap.

First copy paper cassette 14 or second copy paper cassette 1
As described above, the sheet material fed to the nip portion of the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 from 6 is resumed in synchronization with the scanning exposure of the document (specifically, movement of the document table). In the case where the scanning exposure is performed by the scanning operation, the sheet material conveyance is restarted when the document placing table moves to a predetermined position, and the scanning exposure is performed by the movement of all or a part of the optical system. When the whole or a part of the optical system moves to a predetermined position, the conveyance of the sheet material is restarted) and the action of the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 (the sheet material is fed from the second copy paper cassette 16). If it is, it may be affected by the intermediate roller 72 and the intermediate driven roller 84 as will be described later.) It is conveyed to the transfer area 6 through between the guide plate 96 and the guide plate 98. It is. On the other hand, with the rotation of the rotary drum 2 in the direction indicated by the arrow 4, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 2 by a well-known image forming means (not shown). In the transfer area 6, the sheet material is carried in as required in synchronization with the movement of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 2, and the toner image on the photoconductor is transferred to the surface of the sheet material by the action of the transfer corona discharger 8. It Rotating drum 2
The sheet material adhered to the surface of the sheet is then peeled from the surface of the rotary drum 2 by the action of the peeling corona discharger 12 in the peeling area 10, and the toner image on the sheet material is peeled by the action of the fixing device (not shown). After being fixed, it is ejected outside the copying machine.

Next, the above-mentioned second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 3 together with FIG. Mainly referring to FIG. 2, two feeding rollers 70 are mounted on the support shaft 76 at intervals in the axial direction. The support shaft 80 on which the support shaft 76 and the intermediate roller 72 are mounted is drivingly connected by the first transmission means 82. In the specific example, the support shafts 50, 5 are
6, 60, 76, 80 and 84 have both ends in the front-rear direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1, the up-down direction in FIG. 2) via the support member 100, as shown in FIG. Vertical front substrates (not shown) spaced apart at
And a vertical rear substrate 102 are rotatably mounted. The illustrated first transmission means 82 is a vertical rear substrate 1 of the support shaft 76.
02. A first transmission rotary element 1 such as a sprocket fixed to a rear end portion projecting rearward from 02 by a mounting screw 104.
06 and a second transmission rotary element 11 such as a sprocket mounted on a rear end portion of the support shaft 80 projecting rearward from the vertical rear substrate 102 via a one-way bearing 108 known per se.
0, the first transmission rotary element 106 and the second transmission rotary element 110 are drivingly connected via a transmission element 111 such as a chain. As is well known, the one-way bearing 108 transmits the rotational force to the support shaft 80 only when the second transmission rotary element 110 is rotated in a predetermined direction. In the specific example, the support shaft 80 is used. On the other hand, when the second transmission rotary element 110 is relatively rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 112 (FIG. 1), the rotational force is transmitted to the support shaft 80. The support shaft 80 and the support shaft 56 on which the timing roller 44 is mounted are drivingly connected by the second transmission means 88. The illustrated second transmission means 88
Of the third transmission rotary element 116 such as a sprocket fixed to the rear end portion of the support shaft 56 protruding rearward from the vertical rear substrate 102 by a mounting screw 114 and the second transmission rotary element 110 of the support shaft 80. A fourth transmission rotating element 120 such as a sprocket mounted via a unidirectional bearing 118 further rearward than the mounting portion, and the third transmission rotating element 116 and the fourth transmission rotating element 120 are transmission elements such as chains. It is drive-connected via 122. The one-way bearing 118 has substantially the same configuration as the one-way bearing 108. In the specific example, the fourth transmission rotary element 120 is arranged relative to the support shaft 80 in the direction shown by the arrow 112 (FIG. 1). The rotational power is transmitted to the support shaft 80 when it is rotated.

A sprocket 126 that constitutes a first input rotary element is provided at the rear end of the support shaft 76 via a sleeve member 124.
Is rotatably mounted, and the turning force of the sprocket 126 is selectively transmitted to the support shaft 76 via the clutch means 78 (which constitutes the first clutch means). As shown in FIG. 2, the clutch means 78 includes an input hub portion 128 provided on the sprocket 126 and an output hub portion 130 provided on the first transmission rotary element 106. The input hub portion 128 extends from the inner surface of the sprocket 126 inward in the axial direction of the support shaft 76 toward the output hub portion 130, and the output hub portion 130 extends from the outer surface of the first transmission rotary element 106 in the axial direction outside of the support shaft 76. Towards the above input hub 1
It extends toward 28. The input hub portion 128 and the output hub portion 130 straddle the first hub portion 130 and the second hub portion 130, and the first transmission coil spring 132
The first transmission coil spring 132 is rotatably fitted with a ratchet wheel 134 that constitutes a first control rotation element. The first transmission coil spring 132 has a predetermined direction from the input side end 132a to the output side end, that is, in the specific example, the sprocket 126 is indicated by an arrow 136 (FIG. 3) relative to the first transmission rotating element 106. 2 is wound in a left-handed direction as viewed from the bottom in FIG. 2, and its input side end 132a is inserted into a notch 134a formed at the outer end of the ratchet wheel 134. The ratchet wheel 134 has a cylindrical shape, and a claw 138 is provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. In relation to the ratchet wheel 134, a first rotation control means for blocking the rotation of the ratchet wheel 134 is additionally provided, and the illustrated first rotation control means is provided on the electromagnetic solenoid 140 and the output end of the electromagnetic solenoid 140. It has a locking claw 142. Because it is configured like this,
When the electromagnetic solenoid 140 is deenergized, the locking claw 142 is located in the movement path of the claw 136 of the ratchet wheel 134,
The locking claw 142 and the claw 136 are engaged with each other to prevent the claw wheel 136 from rotating. Thus, the contraction of the first transmission coil spring 132 is prevented, the rotational force of the sprocket 126 is not transmitted to the first transmission rotation element 106, and the support shaft 76 is not rotated (thus, the clutch means 78). Is not connected). On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid 140 is biased, the locking claw 142 retracts from the movement path of the claw 136 of the ratchet wheel 134, and the engagement between the locking claw 142 and the claw 136 is released.
The ratchet wheel 134 becomes rotatable. In this way, the first transmission coil spring 132 is contracted by the rotation of the sprocket 126 in the direction shown by the arrow 136 (FIG. 3), and the turning force of the sprocket 126 is the first transmission coil spring 132.
Is transmitted to the first transmission rotary element 106 via the shaft, and thus the support shaft 76 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 74 (FIG. 1) (thus, the clutch means 78 is in the connected state).
The clutch means 78 is in the connected state). Clutch means 7
When 8 is in the connected state, the feeding roller 70 moves in the direction of arrow 74.
The rotary power of the first transmission rotary element 106 is transmitted to the support shaft 80 via the transmission element 111, the second transmission circuit element 110, and the one-way bearing 108. The intermediate roller 72 is also rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 112 (FIG. 1). At this time, the feeding roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 are rotated at substantially the same peripheral speed (the peripheral speed is the moving speed of the roller peripheral surface, and thus the sheet material is conveyed at this speed). It has become.

Further, the sleeve member 14 is provided at the rear end of the support shaft 56 described above.
The sprocket 146 that constitutes the second input rotary element is rotatably mounted via the shaft 4, and the turning force of the sprocket 146 serves as the clutch means 58 (the second clutch means in the second sheet material feeding and conveying mechanism 40). Are selectively transmitted to the support shaft 56 via
The clutch means 58 includes an input hub portion 148 provided on the sprocket 146 and an output hub portion 150 provided on the third transmission rotary element 116, as shown in FIG. The input hub portion 148 extends from the inner surface of the sprocket 146 axially inward of the support shaft 56 toward the output hub portion 150, and the output hub portion 150 extends from the outer surface of the third transmission rotary element 116 to the axial direction outer side of the support shaft 56. Toward the input hub portion 14
It extends toward 8. Input hub section 148 and output hub section
A second transmission coil spring 152 is fitted over 150, and the second transmission coil spring 152 further has a second transmission coil spring 152.
The ratchet wheel 154 that constitutes the control rotation element of is rotatably fitted. The input side end 1 is attached to the second transmission coil spring 152.
52a to the output side end in a predetermined direction, that is, in the specific example, with respect to the third transmission rotary element 116, the sprocket 14
6 is contracted when it is relatively rotated in the direction shown by arrow 156 (FIG. 3), in other words, it is wound left-handedly when viewed from below in FIG.
4 is inserted into a notch 154a formed at the outer end of the No. The ratchet wheel 154 has a cylindrical shape, and a claw 158 is provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. In relation to the ratchet wheel 154, a second rotation control means for preventing rotation of the ratchet wheel 154 is additionally provided, and the illustrated second rotation control means is provided at the electromagnetic solenoid 160 and the output end of the electromagnetic solenoid 160. It has a locking claw 162. With this configuration, when the electromagnetic solenoid 160 is deenergized, the locking claw 162 is located in the movement path of the claw 156 of the claw wheel 154, and the locking claw 162 and the claw 156 are engaged with each other. Rotation of 156 is blocked. Thus, the contraction of the second transmission coil spring 152 is prevented, the rotational force of the sprocket 146 is not transmitted to the third transmission rotary element 116, and the support shaft 56 is not rotated (thus, the clutch means 58). Is not connected). On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid 160 is energized,
The locking claw 162 retracts from the moving path of the claw 156 of the ratchet wheel 154, the engagement between the locking claw 162 and the claw 156 is released, and the ratchet wheel 154 becomes rotatable. That way, sprocket 1
The second transmission coil spring 152 is contracted by the rotation of the arrow 46 in the direction indicated by the arrow 156 (FIG. 3), and the turning force of the sprocket 146 is transmitted through the second transmission coil spring 152 to the third transmission rotation element. 116, and thus the support shaft 56 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 54 (FIG. 4) (thus, the clutch means 58 is in the connected state). When the clutch means 58 is in the engaged state, the timing roller 44 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 54 (FIG. 1), and the rotational force of the third transmission rotation element 116 is transmitted by the transmission element 122,
It is transmitted to the support shaft 80 via the fourth transmission rotary element 120 and the one-way bearing 118, and the intermediate roller 72 is also indicated by the arrow 112.
It is rotated in the direction shown in FIG. At this time, the timing roller 44 and the intermediate roller 72 are rotated at substantially the same peripheral speed, and the peripheral speeds of the feed roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 when the clutch means 78 is in the engaged state. It is set to be slightly lower than the peripheral speed of. At this time, the peripheral velocities of the timing roller 44 and the intermediate roller 72 are substantially the same as the moving velocity of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 2 which is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 4, as will be easily understood.

Next, the drive system will be described with reference to FIG. The drive system arranged on the rear side of the vertical rear substrate 102 (FIG. 2) of the copying machine includes a double sprocket 166 rotatably mounted on the short shaft 164. The large sprocket portion 164 of the double sprocket 166 is drivingly connected to an output sprocket (not shown) of the drive source (not shown) via a transmission element 170 such as a chain. Further, a transmission element 174 such as a chain wound around the small sprocket portion 172 of the double sprocket 166 is wound around the sprocket 126 mounted on the support shaft 76 via the idle sprocket 176, and then, the idle sprocket. The small sprocket part 172 is wound around the sprocket 180 mounted on the support shaft 50 via 178 and further wound around the sprocket 146 mounted on the support shaft 56 via the idle sprocket 182. In the specific example, with respect to the first sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 38, the sprocket 180 rotatably mounted on the support shaft 50 and the support shaft 5 are provided.
0 is selectively drive-connected via the clutch means 52 having substantially the same structure as the clutch means 58 and 78, and the clutch means 52 is an electromagnetic solenoid 184 for controlling connection and disconnection. Is included.

Therefore, when the drive source (not shown) is activated, the transmission element 1
70 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 186, and the double sprockets 166 are rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 188. Thus, the transmission element 174 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 190 and the sprockets 126, 140 and 180 are moved by the arrow 1.
It is rotated in the directions indicated by 36, 156 and 192.

The copying machine described above is provided with a main switch (not shown) for supplying a current to the copying machine main body and a copying start switch (not shown) for performing a copying operation, and the timing roller 44. Sheet material detecting means 194 for detecting the sheet material is disposed on the upstream side of the sheet material.

Next, the operation and effect of the second sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 40 having the above-described structure will be described with reference to the copying operation.

Referring mainly to FIG. 2, when a main switch (not shown) is closed (ON), a drive source (not shown) is operated, and the transmission elements 170 and 174 are used to drive the sprockets 126, 146 and 180 indicates arrows 136 and 15 respectively
6 and 192 (see FIG. 3).
At this time, the electromagnetic solenoids 140, 160 and 18
No. 4 is not biased, and the feeding rollers 42 and 72, the intermediate roller 72, and the timing roller 44 do not rotate.

Then, when the copy start switch (not shown) is pressed,
The electromagnetic solenoid 140 is energized and the sprocket 126
Is transmitted to the first transmission rotary element 106 via the first transmission coil spring 132. As a result, the support shaft 76 is rotated, and the feeding roller 70 is moved to the arrow 74 (FIG. 1).
Is rotated in the direction indicated by. In addition, the first transmission rotary element 1
The turning force of 06 is the transmission element 111 and the second transmission rotation element 1
The intermediate roller 72 is also rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 112 by being transmitted to the support shaft 80 via the 10 and the one-way bearing 108 (the intermediate driven roller 84 is also driven as required). Thus, the uppermost sheet material in the second copy paper cassette 16 is delivered from the second copy paper cassette 16 by the action of the feed roller 70, passes between the guide plate 90 and the guide plate 92, and the intermediate roller 72 and The intermediate roller 72 is fed to the intermediate driven roller 84, and the intermediate roller 72 and the intermediate driven roller 84 act between the guide plates 66 and 62 and the guide plates 94 and 68 to direct the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 toward the nip portion. Sent.

When the sheet material has been fed and the leading edge thereof has been conveyed to the sheet material detecting means 194 (FIG. 1), the sheet material detecting means 194 detects this and the electromagnetic solenoid 140 is deenergized after a predetermined time has passed. To be done. The above-mentioned predetermined time is a little longer than the time required for the leading edge of the sheet material to be conveyed from the sheet material detecting means 194 to the nip portion of the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46. As a result, the locking claw 142 provided at the output end of the electromagnetic solenoid 140 is engaged with the claw 136 of the ratchet wheel 134, and the clutch means 78 is disengaged, so that the feeding roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 are separated. The rotation is stopped (at this time, the rotation of the intermediate driven roller 84 is also stopped). Thus, the feeding of the sheet material is stopped, and the sheet material is held in a state where the leading end of the sheet material is nipped by the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 40 at the nip portion (hence, the sheet material conveyance waiting state).

On the other hand, when a copy start switch (not shown) is pressed, rotation of the rotary drum 2 in the direction indicated by arrow 4 is started. Then, when the scanning exposure is started after that and all or part of the document placing table or the optical system is moved to a predetermined position, the electromagnetic solenoid 160 is energized. As a result, the clutch means 58 is brought into the connected state as described above, and the sprocket 1
The turning force of 46 is transmitted to the third transmission rotary element 116 via the second transmission coil spring 152. That way,
The support shaft 56 is rotated, and the timing roller 44 moves to the arrow 5
4 (FIG. 1) in the direction shown in FIG.
The driven roller 46 is also driven as required). Further, the turning force of the third transmission rotary element 116 is transmitted to the support shaft 80 via the transmission element 122, the fourth transmission rotary element 120 and the one-way bearing 118, and the intermediate roller 72 also rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 112. Is moved (also at this time, the intermediate driven roller 8
4 is driven). In this way, the sheet material in the sheet material conveyance waiting state is started to be conveyed, and the sheet material is conveyed toward the transfer area 6 through between the guide plates 96 and 98. At the start of such conveyance, as is easily understood, the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 act on the leading end of the sheet material, and the intermediate roller 72 and the intermediate driven roller 84 act on the trailing end side. Therefore, the sheet material is surely started to be conveyed, and the sheet material is surely conveyed to the transfer area 6 without deviation.

When the sheet material has been conveyed and the trailing edge of the sheet material has passed the sheet material detection means 194 (FIG. 1), the sheet material detection means 194 detects this and the electromagnetic solenoid 160 is deenergized after a lapse of a predetermined time. The above specified time is
This is the time required from the trailing edge of the sheet material passing through the sheet material detecting means 194 to passing through the nip portion of the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46. As a result, the locking claw 162 provided at the output end of the electromagnetic solenoid 160 engages with the claw 156 of the ratchet wheel 154, and the clutch means 58 is disengaged, and the timing roller 44 is released.
And the rotation of the intermediate roller 72 is stopped (at this time, the rotation of the driven roller 46 and the intermediate driven roller 84 is also stopped).

When one sheet material is fed from the second copy paper cassette 16, the sheet material is fed as described above. On the other hand, in the case of continuous copying, in other words, when the sheet material is continuously fed from the second copy paper cassette 16 at intervals of one sheet, for example, the electromagnetic solenoid 160 is deenergized simultaneously with the electromagnetic force. The solenoid 140 is energized. The electromagnetic solenoid 140 may be biased when the sheet material detecting means 194 detects the trailing edge of the sheet material being conveyed, and the sheet material detecting means 194 is also provided.
Detects the trailing edge of the sheet material and then the electromagnetic solenoid 16
It may be until the 0 is deenergized, or after a predetermined time has elapsed after the electromagnetic solenoid 160 was deenergized. Then, the clutch means 78 is brought into the engaged state again, and the feeding roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 are rotated in the directions shown by arrows 74 and 112 (FIG. 1) at substantially the same speed as described above, and While the sheet material is being conveyed further downstream, the next new sheet material is delivered from the second copy paper cassette 16. Then, the fed sheet material is transferred to the timing roller 44 as described above.
And is fed to the nip portion of the driven roller 46 (the next sheet material is in a sheet material conveyance waiting state). Then, the sheet material is conveyed toward the transfer area 6 as described above in synchronism with the scanning exposure in the next copying process, and the operation is continuously repeated.

In the specific example, the peripheral speeds of the feeding roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 when the clutch means 78 is in the connected state are higher than the peripheral speeds of the timing roller 44 and the intermediate roller 72 when the clutch means 58 is in the connected state. To
The sheet material delivered from the second copy paper cassette 16 is in a sheet material conveyance waiting state in a relatively short period of time, and high speed copying is achieved. If the above is not taken into consideration, the peripheral speeds of the feeding roller 70 and the intermediate roller 72 when the clutch means 78 is in the connected state are compared with the timing roller 44 and the intermediate roller when the clutch means 58 is in the connected state. It may be set to be substantially equal to the peripheral speed of 72 or smaller than the peripheral speeds of the timing roller 44 and the intermediate roller 72.

Incidentally, the case of feeding the sheet material from the first copying paper cassette 14 is not directly related to the present invention, and will be briefly described with reference to FIG. In this case, when the copy start switch (not shown) is pressed, the electromagnetic solenoid 184
(FIG. 3) is activated. Thus, the clutch means 5
2 becomes a connected state, and the arrow 192 of the sprocket 180
Rotational force in the direction shown in FIG. 3 is transmitted to the support shaft 50, and the feeding roller 42 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 48. Thus, the feeding roller 42 acts on the uppermost sheet material, and the uppermost sheet material is delivered from the first copying paper cassette 14. The thus-delivered sheet material is fed toward the nip portion of the timing roller 44 and the driven roller 46 through the guide plate 62 and the guide plates 64, 66 and 68, and thereafter, in the transfer area in the same manner as described above. 6 is conveyed. The selection of the feeding from the first copying paper cassette 14 and the feeding from the second copying paper cassette 16 is performed by operating a changeover switch (not shown).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a copying machine provided with a sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism constructed according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism according to the present invention as seen from above. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of the drive system of the copying machine of FIG. 1 as seen from the front. 14 ... 1st copy paper cassette 16 ... 2nd copy paper cassette 18 ... 1st sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 20 ... 2nd sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism 44 ... Timing roller (3rd roller) 56 ... Support shaft (third support shaft) 58 ... Clutch means (second clutch means) 70 ... Feed roller (first roller) 72 ... Intermediate roller (second roller) 76 ... Support shaft (first support) Shaft) 78 ... Clutch means (first clutch means) 80 ... Support shaft (second support shaft) 82 ... First transmission means 88 ... Second transmission means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first support shaft having a first roller mounted thereon, a second support shaft disposed downstream of the first support shaft and having a second roller mounted thereon, A third support shaft disposed downstream of the second support shaft and having a third roller attached thereto, the first support shaft being drivingly connected to the drive source via the first clutch means. , The third support shaft is drivingly connected to the drive source via a second clutch means, and the first support shaft and the second support shaft rotate the first support shaft in a predetermined direction. The driving force is transmitted to the second supporting shaft via the first transmission means, and the third supporting shaft and the second supporting shaft are connected to each other by the third supporting shaft. When the first clutch means is in a connected state, it is drive-coupled via a second transmission means that transmits the driving force to the second support shaft when it is rotated in a predetermined direction. It is first with the first support shaft via a clutch means of the first is rotated in a predetermined direction
When the second support shaft is rotated in a predetermined direction through the transmission means of, and the second clutch means is in the connected state,
The third support shaft is rotated in a predetermined direction via the second clutch means, and the second support shaft is rotated via the second transmission means.
2. A sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism, characterized in that the supporting shaft of is rotated in a predetermined direction. 2. The first transmission means comprises a first transmission rotation element fixed to the first support shaft and a second transmission rotation element mounted to the second support shaft via a one-way bearing. A transmission rotation element, a transmission element drivingly connecting the first transmission rotation element and the second transmission rotation element, and the second transmission means includes a third transmission shaft fixed to the third support shaft. A transmission rotary element, a fourth transmission rotary element mounted on the second support shaft via a one-way bearing, a transmission element drivingly connecting the third transmission rotary element and the fourth transmission rotary element. The sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. An input hub portion provided on a first input rotary element, wherein the first clutch means is rotatably mounted on the first support shaft and is rotated in a predetermined direction by the drive source. And an output hub portion provided on the first transmission rotary element,
The first input rotation element is fitted over the input hub portion of the first input rotation element and the output hub portion of the first transmission rotation element, and the first input rotation element is fitted to the first transmission rotation element. A first transmission coil spring wound from an input side end to an output side end in a direction that contracts when the element is relatively rotated in a predetermined direction, and rotatably fitted to the first transmission coil spring. A first controlled rotation element and first rotation control means for selectively blocking rotation of the first controlled rotation element, wherein the input side end of the first transmission coil spring is the first rotation control element. A second input rotary element connected to the first control rotary element, and the second clutch means is rotatably mounted on the third support shaft and is rotated in a predetermined direction by the drive source. An input hub portion provided on the third transmission rotary element, and an output hub portion provided on the third transmission rotary element,
The second input rotary element is fitted over the input hub portion of the second input rotary element and the output hub portion of the third transmission rotary element, and the second input rotation is performed with respect to the third transmission rotary element. A second transmission coil spring wound from the input side end to the output side end in a direction that contracts when the element is relatively rotated in a predetermined direction, and rotatably fitted to the second transmission coil spring. And a second rotation control means for selectively blocking rotation of the second control rotation element, wherein the input side end of the second transmission coil spring is the second control rotation element. 3. The sheet material feeding and conveying mechanism according to claim 2, which is connected to the controlled rotation element. 4. The peripheral speed of the first roller is configured to be higher than the peripheral speed of the third roller.
The second roller is rotated at a peripheral speed substantially the same as the peripheral speed of the first roller when the second clutch means is in the connected state, and the second roller is rotated when the second clutch means is in the connected state. 4. The sheet material feeding / conveying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the roller is rotated at a peripheral speed substantially the same as the peripheral speed of the third roller. 5. The first roller is a feeding roller for feeding a sheet of copy paper from a copy paper cassette, and the third roller is the feed roller.
5. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the roller is a timing roller for timing the start of transportation when the sheet copy paper is transported toward the transfer area. Feeding and conveying mechanism.