JP2587965B2 - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a sheet that automatically supplies sheets to a sheet processing apparatus that continuously processes a plurality of sheets, such as a recording apparatus and a classification and counting apparatus. It relates to a supply device.

[Conventional technology]

Sheets used in sheet processing devices such as recording devices (printers) and sorting and counting devices that continuously process sheets (recording media such as paper and plastic thin plates) include thin sheets such as airmail paper and greetings. Thick sheets such as cards, sheets with smooth surfaces such as OHP sheets and coated paper, sheets with rough surfaces such as bond paper,
There are a wide variety of sheets having different characteristics, such as a hard sheet such as art paper, a soft sheet such as tissue paper, and a sheet having a small size such as a business card or a postcard.

In the sheet feeding device, it is necessary to change the characteristics of the device due to the difference in the characteristics of the sheet.

In particular, one sheet is transferred from the sheet storage unit to the sheet processing apparatus.
Separating means for feeding one sheet at a time is susceptible to the characteristics of the sheets (such as stiffness and coefficient of friction).

For this reason, conventionally, the sheet feeding device is almost exclusively used according to the characteristics (type) of the sheet, and a part of the driving unit of the sheet feeding device is commonly used according to the type of the sheet.
There is only a type corresponding to a plurality of types of sheets by replacing or adding a sheet storage portion and a separating means.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional sheet feeding apparatus that uses a plurality of types of sheets properly, a part of the sheet feeding mechanism is replaced or added, so that the structure becomes complicated and large, and the reliability and reliability of the sheet feeding are improved. There were problems that the durability was not sufficient, the cost was high, and the operability was poor.

In particular, since a plurality of separation units that are alternatively positioned in the sheet supply path are individually operated and switched, there is a possibility that an erroneous operation may be performed for the type of sheet.

In addition, there are various problems with parts that may not be used, such as replacement parts and additional parts, such as storage of the parts when not in use.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention has been made in view of the above prior art,
An object of the present invention is to eliminate the possibility of losing parts by eliminating the operation of attaching and detaching an unused friction separating means, and to eliminate the possibility of erroneous operation when switching a sheet to be fed to a sheet of a different type, thereby improving usability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding apparatus which is greatly improved.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet feeding unit for feeding out a sheet stored in a sheet storage unit, a separation claw having a function of separating sheets fed by the sheet feeding unit one by one, and a sheet storage unit. Movably provided from the retracted position to the operating position in accordance with the characteristics of the sheets stored in the
A friction separating unit having a function of separating the sheet by abutting a leading end of the sheet, and a guide provided in the sheet storage unit, and guiding the sheet at a use position where the sheet cannot be separated by the separation claw when the friction separating unit is in the operating position. A retractable guide member, and automatically moving the friction separating means from the retracted position to the operating position in conjunction with the operation of moving the guide member from the retracted position to the use position; An interlocking means is provided for automatically moving the friction separating means from the operating position to the evacuation position in conjunction with the operation of moving the guide member from the use position to the evacuation position.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a main part of a recording apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a sheet feed roller 1 is rotatably supported in a recording device such as a printer, and in front of the sheet feed roller 1,
A carriage 3 that reciprocates along a guide rail 2 installed in parallel with the sheet feed roller 1 is provided, and a recording head 4 is mounted on the carriage 3.

On the peripheral surface of the sheet feed roller 1, pinch rollers 6, 6 for applying a frictional conveying force to a sheet (recording medium such as paper or plastic thin plate) 5 are pressed. A paper guide 7 for guiding sheets is provided around the periphery.

A sheet feeding device (cut sheet feeder) 8 is detachably mounted on the upper portion of the above recording device.

The sheet feeding device 8 automatically feeds a plurality of sheets stored in the sheet storage unit one by one into the recording device and automatically discharges the recorded sheets 5.

The sheet feeder 8 includes a feed roller (drivably connected to a gear train connected to a roller gear (a roller gear 1a in FIG. 7) provided on the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 when mounted on a recording apparatus). Paper feed means) 11 and a paper discharge roller 12 are provided.

In this way, when the sheet feeding device 8 is mounted, the sheet feeding roller 1 is rotated by the sheet feeding motor in the recording device, and the power is fed to the sheet feeding roller 11 and the sheet discharging roller 12 through the gear train of the sheet feeding device. By communicating to
The automatic feeding and discharging of the sheets 5 are performed, and the discharged sheets 5 are stacked (stacked) on the stacker 9.

A clutch is attached to the shaft of the paper feed roller 11, and the rotation of the paper feed motor is switched to turn the clutch ON and OFF, thereby controlling the rotation of the paper feed roller 11. .

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device 8, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet storage unit when ordinary sheets are stacked in the sheet storage unit, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sheet storage unit when thick paper such as a postcard is stacked in the sheet storage unit. .

2 to 4, the loading plate 18 is urged toward the peripheral surface of the paper feeding roller 11 by a spring 19, and the loading plate 18 is directly pressed against the paper feeding roller 11 when there is no sheet.

Two loading plates 18 are provided on the left and right, and each loading plate 18
Are rotatably supported by two left and right hopper guides 20, 20 which are independently movable in the width direction of the sheet 5 along the guide shaft 21.

The guide shaft is located between the left and right hopper guides 20, 20.
A center guide 22 that can move independently in the left-right direction along with 21 is mounted.

A hopper wire 23 extending upward is attached to the center guide 22, and guides and supports an upper half portion of the sheet 5 pressed and supported between the stacking plate 18 and the paper feed roller 11.

A front cover 24 is detachably mounted on the front surface of the sheet feeding device 8, and inside the front cover 24, a paper discharge pinch roller 24a pressed against the peripheral surface of the paper discharge roller 12 by a leaf spring 24b. Is installed. The paper discharge pinch rollers 24a are arranged corresponding to the paper discharge rollers 12 provided at a plurality of positions.

The discharge roller 12 is normally driven at substantially the same peripheral speed (usually a slightly higher peripheral speed) in conjunction with the sheet feed roller 1 (FIG. 1) of the recording apparatus, and the discharge pinch roller 24a is connected to the discharge roller. When the sheet 5 is pressed against the recording sheet 12, the recorded sheet 5 sent out from the recording apparatus is reliably pulled up and deposited in the stacker 9 (FIG. 1).

A stacker wire 25 extending upward is detachably attached to the stacker 9 and guides and supports the sheets 5 deposited on the stacker 9.

Legs 41, 41 protruding downward are provided on the left and right of the front portion of the bottom surface of the sheet feeding device 8, and the tip of each leg 41 is engaged with the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 (FIG. 1) at the time of mounting. A substantially horizontal groove 42 of a front opening type is formed.

A claw member 27 is provided on the right wall 26 of the recording apparatus at a position behind the leg 41 by a predetermined distance.
The claw member 27 is pivotally mounted around a pin 43 and is urged forward by a spring 44.

When the sheet feeding device 8 is attached to the recording device, the grooves 42, 42 of the left and right legs 41, 41
The sheet feeding device 8 is engaged with the shaft of FIG. 1 and the claw member 27 attached to the right wall portion 26 is engaged with the key portion 45 (FIG. 13) at the top of the recording apparatus. It can be securely fixed to the recording device.

2 to 4, left and right loading plates 18, 18 are pivot shafts provided at the upper ends of the left and right hopper guides 20, 20, respectively.
It is supported rotatably around 46,46.

On the other hand, a release lever 28 is swingably supported at one end (right end in FIG. 2) of the guide shaft 21 which supports each hopper guide 20 so as to be movable left and right.
The release shaft 28 which engages the left and right loading plates 18
a is connected.

Therefore, by rotating the release lever 28, each of the stacking plates 18, 18 can be separated from the paper feed roller 11 against the pressing springs 19, 19 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

Separation claws for separating a plurality of sheets (ordinary sheets) 5 on the loading plates 18, 18 one by one at the outer lower ends of the left and right hopper guides 20, 20 and in front of the loading plates 18, 18. (Separation means) 20a, 20a are provided.

On the other hand, guide members 18a, 18a movable in the reciprocating direction are provided on the sheet storage portions (sheet loading surfaces) of the left and right loading plates 18, 18, respectively.
Is installed.

That is, when each of the guide members 18a, 18a retreats (retreats) from the sheet storage surface, the entire sheet storage portion of the stacking plates 18, 18 is flattened to supply a normal sheet or the like. When the sheet is supplied by driving, the stacked sheets are guided by the left and right hopper guides 20, 20, are separated one by one by the separation claws 20a, 20a, and are supplied into the recording apparatus.

At this time, the friction type center separator (separating means) 29 attached to the center guide 22 is retracted rearward.

When each of the guide members 18a, 18a is advanced and projected from the loading surface, the hopper guides 20, 20, and the separation claws 20a, 20a are not used, and the center separator 29 is projected by being projected to the use position. This is a state suitable for supplying a thick sheet such as.

That is, the left and right loading plates 18, 18
The thick stacked sheets, such as postcards, stored inside the a and 18a are guided by the left and right guide members 18a and 18a when the sheet is driven by driving the paper feed roller 11, and the friction type center separator (friction separation) is used. (Means) 29, the sheets are separated one by one and supplied into the recording apparatus.

In FIG. 3 using the separation claws 20a, 20a, the plurality of sheets 5 in the sheet storage section are guided by the hopper guides 20, 20 when the feeding roller 11 is rotated and a feeding force is applied, and the sheets 5 are finally moved. When the upper layer sheet gets over the separation claws 20a and 20a, the leading end of the sheet is curled, so that the sheets can be reliably separated and conveyed (supplied) one by one.

On the other hand, the hopper guides 20, 20 and the separation claws 20a, 20a are not used, and the upright guide members 18a, 18a and the protruding friction type separation means 29 are used. 5 is in a state suitable for supplying.

That is, when the sheet 5 stored in the sheet storage unit is a thick paper such as a postcard, the above-described separation claw 20a does not easily curl, and it is difficult to reliably separate only one sheet. The thick paper (strong sheet) 5 is separated using a center separator 29 which is a friction-type separating means attached to the center guide 22 so as to be able to move forward and backward without using the separation claws 20a, 20a on the top 20.

The leading end of the center separator 29 is given an appropriate angle, and when the thick paper 5 sent out by the paper feed roller 11 passes through the inclined portion 29a of the center separator 29, the uppermost layer closest to the paper feed roller 11 is formed. Can be sent out.

Here, the center separator 29 is provided with a member having a high coefficient of friction, such as urethane foam, provided with a spring property by a polyester sheet or the like at the tip, and separates the cardboard using friction with the center separator 29. It can be configured as follows.

FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of the center separator 29 and the guide member 18a.

As described above, since the separation claws 20a and 20a and the separator 29 are not used at the same time and are used alternatively,
When using the separation claws 20a, 20a, it is necessary to retract the center separator 29 out of the sheet conveyance path. On the contrary, when the center separator 29 is used, it is necessary to operate the separation claws 20a so that the separation claws 20a are not positioned in the sheet conveyance path.

Therefore, the center separator 29 is movable,
When the separation claws 20a, 20a are used, the center separator 29 is configured to separate (retreat) from the sheet conveyance path.

In this case, guide members 18a, 18a supported by the loading plates 18, 18 and movable (projecting and retracting) with respect to the loading plates are provided, and the guide members 18a, 18a are projected to the use position to separate the separation claws 20a, When the inner side of 20a is set as the sheet transport path, it is preferable that the center separator 29 is also configured to protrude to the use position (in the sheet transport path) in conjunction with this.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an interlocking mechanism between the guide members 18a, 18a and the center separator 29.

In FIG. 5, the left and right guide members 18a, 18a and the center separator 29 in the middle are connected by a link mechanism,
By driving the link mechanism using a solenoid 47 provided in the apparatus, the guide members 18a, 18a and the center separator 29 are automatically and simultaneously moved to a use position or a retracted position.

In this manner, in the sheet feeding device that supplies the plurality of sheets 5 stored in the sheet storage unit (on the stacking plate 18) one by one, one sheet is separated and supplied from the plurality of sheets 5 stored in the sheet storage unit. A plurality of separation means 20a, 20a, 29 which have a mechanism and can be selected according to characteristics such as stiffness (thickness) of the stored sheet 5 are provided, and separation means other than the selected separation means are provided. Can be obtained in a configuration in which the sheet is retracted outside the sheet supply path and held at the retracted position.

The selection of the plurality of separation units 20a, 20a, and 29 is performed by moving a guide member 18a provided in the sheet storage unit 18.

Further, the selection of the plurality of separation units 20a and 29 is performed by retreating the separation unit 29 out of the sheet supply path and moving the guide member 18a provided in the sheet storage unit, and is linked to the retraction operation of the separation unit 29. Then, the guide member 18a is configured to move.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a sheet discharging mechanism in a state where the sheet feeding device 8 is mounted on the recording device.
The paper discharge mechanism will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 6, a discharge pinch roller 24a is attached via a leaf spring 24b to an inner surface of a front cover 24 which is detachably provided so as to cover the front of the discharge roller 12. The rollers 24a (usually a plurality) are pressed against the front sides of the corresponding discharge rollers 12 by the spring force of the respective leaf springs 24b.

The sheet 5 sent out from the recording device is the discharge roller
The sheet 12 is conveyed to the stacker 9 by the rotation force of 12 and the pressing force of the discharge pinch roller 24a.

Accordingly, the sheet conveying force of the sheet discharging roller 12 is increased by the pressing force of the sheet discharging pinch roller 24a, and the sheet is discharged from the recording apparatus even after the sheet feeding roller 1 in the recording apparatus loses the conveying force. The sheet can be reliably fed by the paper roller 12.

In the conventional recording apparatus, the conveying force of the sheet feed roller 1 (sheet feed) disappears at the position of the pinch roller 6 (FIG. 6) below the recording head 4, so that the recording head 4 and the pinch roller There is a non-recordable area (lower margin) corresponding to the distance between the sheets 6, which causes waste of the sheet 5 and restrictions on the image arrangement.

On the other hand, in the structure of the embodiment, the discharge roller 12 is driven at substantially the same peripheral speed in synchronization with the sheet feed roller 1 and the discharge pinch roller 24a is pressed against the peripheral roller. Have a (certain) sheet feeding force,
Even after the conveyance force of the sheet feed roller 1 is lost, the sheet can be fed only by the paper discharge roller 12, and it is possible to record up to the lower end of the sheet 5 without generating a lower end margin.

Therefore, when the sheet feeding device 8 is attached to the recording apparatus, if the sheet feeding device 8 is detected and the driving of the sheet discharging roller 12 is controlled,
The recordable range for the sheet 5 can be appropriately increased, and if necessary, can be increased to a state where there is no lower margin.

Further, the peripheral speed of the discharge roller 12 is set to be slightly faster (for example, about 0.2 to 0.8%) than the peripheral speed of the sheet feed roller 1, and the sheet 5 may be loosened between the discharge roller 12 and the sheet feed roller 1. It can be transported without any problem.

However, if the rotation speed of the discharge roller 12 is faster than that of the sheet feed roller 1, the tension of the sheet 5 between the discharge roller 12 and the sheet feed roller 1 increases due to variations in the thickness of the sheet 5 and the sheet is conveyed. Since the load increases, the sheet feeding accuracy may decrease.

Therefore, in the structure of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a friction clutch 15 is provided at the end of the paper discharge roller 12,
A mechanism is provided to reduce the rotation speed of the paper discharge roller 12 when a load of a certain level or more acts on the paper discharge roller 12. By doing so, the sheet 5 can always be fed with a constant conveyance load, and a decrease in sheet feeding accuracy can be prevented.

FIG. 7 shows a gear train for transmitting power from the roller gear 1a on the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 to the paper feed roller 11 and the paper discharge roller 12, and FIGS. Shows the engaged clutch.

In FIG. 7, a roller gear 1a fixed to the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 in the recording apparatus meshes with a gear 13a pivotally supported by the sheet feeder 8, and the gears 1a, 13a mesh with the sheet feed roller. 1 is transmitted to the sheet feeding device 8.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a feed gear 17, a clutch 16 and a latch gear 14 are mounted on the shaft of the feed roller 11, and the feed gear 17
The clutch 16 and the clutch gear 14
Is rotatable about the shaft of the paper feed roller 11 as a support shaft. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a clutch claw 14a is provided on a flange surface of the clutch gear 14, and when the clutch gear 14 rotates, the clutch claw 14a moves on the outer periphery of the clutch 16. Slide.

Further, the shaft of the paper feed roller 11 is supported by a one-way clutch (not shown), and is rotatable only in the direction of arrow A.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the clutch is ON, in which the clutch pawl 14a enters through the notch hole 16a formed in the outer periphery of the clutch 16 and engages with the sheet feeding gear 17. In this state, the rotation of the clutch gear 14 is transmitted to the paper feed gear 17, and the paper feed roller 11 rotates.

In FIG. 7, the driving force of the roller gear 1a is transmitted to the clutch gear 14 via gear trains 13a to 13e provided in the sheet feeding device 8. Therefore, the clutch gear 14
Regardless of whether the paper feed roller 11 is rotated or not, the roller always rotates when the roller gear 1a provided on the shaft of the sheet feed roller 1 in the recording apparatus rotates.

A friction clutch gear 15 is mounted on the shaft of the discharge roller 12.
(FIG. 7) is attached, and as shown in FIG.
The clutch gear 14 and the friction clutch gear 15 are meshed and connected by gear trains 13f to 13h,
The rotation of the clutch gear 14 is transmitted to the paper discharge roller 12.

FIG. 10 is a developed view of the peripheral surface of the clutch 16 on which the clutch claws 14a (FIGS. 8 and 9) slide.

In FIG. 10, stoppers for HP1 and HP2 are provided on the peripheral surface of the clutch 16, and S1 indicates the cutout hole 16a.

At the boundary between the area SHP1 on the HP1 side and the area SHP2 on the HP2 side, La and
There is a boundary line of Lb, and when the clutch claw 14a moves from HP1 to HP2, it moves from HP1 → Lb → HP2, and when it moves from HP2 to HP1, it moves from HP2 → La → HP1. .

The direction in which the clutch pawl 14a moves from HP2 to HP1 is the direction in which the sheet feed roller 1 performs forward feed (FWD).
The direction of movement from P1 to HP2 is the direction in which reverse feed (REV) is performed.

8 to 10, even when the clutch pawl 14a is at an arbitrary position, an initialization operation is performed to securely insert the clutch pawl 14a into the notch hole S1 (16a). 14a moves to HP1. Since the distance from HP1 to S1 is constant, if the clutch pawl 14a is located at HP1, it is easy to reliably move it to S1.

The initialization operation is performed when the clutch claws 14a are S1 and S1 and Lb
When the clutch claw 14a is moved in the direction of HP1 when the clutch claw 14a is moved in the direction surrounded by the circle, the clutch claw 14a is inserted into S1 and the clutch is in the ON state. Moved to HP2 and implemented.

Since the clutch claw 14a surely moves from SHP2 to HP1, all initialization operations move the clutch claw 14a to HP2,
Then, it can be performed by the operation of moving to HP1.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a clutch sequence. Next, clutch control will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a CSF sensor 31 for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet supply device 8 and a sheet 5 are provided in the recording apparatus.
There is a sheet sensor 30 that detects the presence or absence of
When the CSF sensor 31 is ON and the sheet sensor 30 is OFF, the mode becomes a feeder mode and the initialization is started.

In FIG. 11, when the print key is turned on in step F1, the process proceeds to step F2B to determine whether or not the CSF sensor 31 is ON (the sheet feeding device is present). It is determined whether or not (there is a sheet).

If there is no sheet feeding device in step F2, printing 1 is performed.

 If there is a sheet in step F3, printing 2 is performed.

If there is no sheet in step F3, the process proceeds to step F4, where REV (return feed) is used for 10 lines and FWD (advance feed).
The sheet feed roller 1 is rotated by 10 rows to move the clutch pawl 14a to HP1 (FIG. 10).

Next, proceed to step F5, rotate the return line four lines,
The clutch claw 14a is moved from HP1 to the hole of S1 (FIG. 10), and the clutch is turned on.

Next, when the sheet is fed by one line in the feed direction in step F6, the sheet feeding operation starts, and the sheet 5 is supplied into the recording apparatus.

Then, in step F7, the sheet sensor 30 in the recording device
The sheet feeding operation is performed until the sensor 30 is turned on (there is a sheet) while detecting the presence or absence of the sheet.

After the sheet sensor 30 is turned on, the operation of step F8 for three-line feed and four-line return is performed, and the clutch 16 is turned off.

Further, the process proceeds to the next step F9, and conveys the sheet 5 to the recording position.

Here, in step F8, the clutch 16 is turned off by return (REV) feed, and X
As shown in the figure, the sheet 5 is separated from the pressing force of the pinch roller 6 by the return feed (REV) of the sheet 5 and the sheet 5 is curled, so that one of the sheets 5 in the width direction bites into the pinch roller 6. , It is possible to simultaneously solve the problem of skew.

Further, as described above, when the sheet feeding device 8 is mounted on the recording device, even after the sheet feeding force of the recording device has been lost, the sheet feeding device 8 may be pulled up by the sheet discharge roller 12 (conveying force). Since the sheet feed can be controlled accurately,
Printing can be freely performed up to the sheet bottom without generating a bottom margin.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a recording apparatus equipped with the sheet feeding device 8 according to the present invention.

In FIG. 12, when the distance from the sheet sensor 30 to the front pinch roller 6 is line A, and the distance from the sheet sensor 30 to the recording head 4 is line B, the sheet 5 when the sheet feeding device 8 is not mounted. , A bottom margin for (BA) lines is generated.

Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, it is possible to perform control to change the printing range of the sheet 5 depending on the presence or absence of the sheet feeding device 8.

In FIG. 11, when the sheet feeding device 8 (FIG. 12) is not mounted, the control of “Print 1” is performed, and when the sheet feeding device 8 is mounted, the control of “Print 2” is performed.

In “Print 1”, the sheet sensor 30
(Fig. 12) ON / OFF is read, and the sheet sensor 30
After the sheet is turned OFF (no sheet), sheet 5 is fed to line A, and in "print 2", the sheet sensor is
It is possible to record on the sheet 5 by the recording head 4 while controlling to feed the sheet 5 to the B line after 30 is turned off.

By performing such printing control, the printable range of the sheet 5 can be expanded by mounting the sheet feeding device 8.

Next, attachment / detachment of the sheet feeding device 8 to / from the recording device will be described.

FIG. 13 is a right side view showing a state where the sheet feeding device 8 is connected to the upper portion of the recording device.

In FIG. 13, the right side plate 26R and the left side plate 26L (not shown) of the sheet feeding device 8 are formed with a groove 42 for engaging with the shaft 48 of the sheet feed roller 1 of the recording device. This groove
42 is formed at right angles to the vertical direction of the recording device,
The opening faces forward. In the illustrated example, the left and right grooves 42, 42 are formed in left and right legs 41, 41 extending downward from the left and right side plates 26L, 26R.

At the time of mounting, the sheet feeding device 8 is lowered from above and behind the shaft 48 of the sheet feed roller 1, and the shaft 48 of the sheet feed roller 1 is brought into contact with the upper wall of the coupling grooves 42, 42. The supply device 8 is slid forward to couple the shaft 48 into the groove 42.

At this time, since the upper wall of each groove 42 protrudes forward longer than the lower wall, the engagement of the sheet feed roller 1 with the shaft 48 can be easily performed.

As shown in FIG. 13, a claw member 27 is attached to the right side plate 26R so as to be rotatable about a pin 43 and urged clockwise (an engagement portion is forward) by a spring 44. I have.

In the mounted state shown in FIG. 13, the claw member 27 is inserted into an engagement portion 45 provided on the exterior of the recording apparatus, and the claw member 27 is
The sheet feeding device 8 is prevented from coming off the recording device by the spring force of the spring 44 for urging the front claw portion of the sheet feeding device forward.

Here, in the sheet feeding device 8, the power from the sheet feeding motor of the recording device is transmitted by meshing between the gear 13a and the roller gear 1a of the sheet feeding roller 1.

Therefore, when a load is applied when driving the paper feed roller 11 or the paper feed roller 12 of the sheet feeding device 8, the gear 13a on the sheet feeding device side tends to move in the direction away from the roller gear 1a in the direction of arrow A. I do. For this reason, in the conventional sheet feeding apparatus, the meshing between the gear 13a and the roller gear 1a becomes insufficient, and causes problems such as tooth skipping.

However, the sheet feeding device 8 according to the present invention shown in FIG.
Since the gear 13a is mounted so as to be located directly above the roller gear 1a in the vertical direction, even if the gear 13a attempts to move in the direction of arrow A due to the load, a slight displacement in the direction of arrow A occurs. However, the displacement is also in the tangential direction, and does not lead to a problem that tooth skipping occurs.

When removing the sheet feeding device 8 from the recording device, the tip claw portion of the claw member 27 is rotated in the direction of arrow C to keep the claw member 27 separated from the engaging portion 45 provided on the exterior of the recording device. Then, the sheet feeding device 8 is detached from the recording device while rotating in the direction of arrow B (upward rearward).

At this time, the release direction of the claw member (direction of arrow C) and the removal direction of the sheet feeding device 8 (direction of rotation in the direction of arrow B)
Are selected in substantially the same direction, the sheet feeding device 8 can be easily removed from the recording device.

FIG. 14 is a right side view of the structure of another embodiment of the connecting portion between the sheet feeding device 8 and the recording device.

The structure shown in FIG. 14 is different from the structure shown in FIG. 13 in that instead of the rotatable claw member 27 and the spring 44, a downward projecting portion 26a is formed on the right
A concave portion 10a is formed in the upper portion of the upper portion, and the projecting portion 26a is inserted into the concave portion 10a from above.

The connecting structure in FIG. 14 is different from the connecting structure in FIG. 13 in the above points, and other portions are substantially the same as those in FIG. 13, and corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and Detailed description is omitted.

According to the connection structure of the sheet feeding device 8 in FIG.
When a load during sheet conveyance acts, a force in the direction of arrow A acts on the sheet feeding device 8 to move the sheet feeding device 8 in a direction exactly opposite to the openings of the coupling grooves 42, 42.

Therefore, if the coupling groove 42 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (substantially the horizontal direction), the positioning projection 26a engaging with the exterior 10 of the recording apparatus will press against the exterior 10, so that The sheet feeding device 8 does not come off from the exterior 10.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet 5 discharged upward through the sheet discharging means including the discharge roller 12 and the discharge pinch roller 24a is deposited on the stacker 9, and the processed sheet ( A stacker wire 25 forming an extension surface for holding the deposited sheet 5 is attached.

However, on the surface (rear surface) opposite to the sheet stacking surface of the stacker 9 (specifically, the stacker wire 25), the sheet stored in the sheet storage portion including the stacking plate 18 and the hopper wire 23 is provided. Protrusions 25a, 25a for guiding and holding 5 are provided.

By providing the projections 25a, 25a, such a problem that the sheet 5 in the sheet storage unit buckles as shown by the two-dot chain line Y in FIG. Sheet conveyance by the feed roller 11 can be performed accurately.

The sheet guide projection 25a provided on the back surface of the stacker wire 25 is integrally formed by bending the wire itself as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the straight stacker wire 25 is formed of plastic or the like. It is also possible to provide a member formed separately by fixing the member by bonding or the like.

FIG. 15 is a partial perspective view showing the inside of the front cover 24 in FIG. 1 and FIG.

1, 2 and 15, the front cover 24 has a stacker 9 on the inner side thereof through a sheet discharging means including a discharge roller 12 and a discharge pinch roller 24 a.
The front cover 24 has a plurality of vertical guide ribs 51 arranged on the inner surface of the front cover 24 at predetermined intervals in the sheet width direction.

However, an appropriate number of the plurality of guide ribs 51, for example, two left and right guide ribs (guide means) 51 at predetermined intervals are stored on the stacker 9 (including the stacker wire 25). A contact protrusion 52 is provided to prevent the (stacked) sheet 5 from buckling and falling.

By providing the abutting projections 52 in the guide means formed by the front cover 24, the deposited sheet 5 on the stacker 9 can be irrespective of the size and the like of the sheet 5 as shown by the two-dot chain line Z in FIG. Buckling is prevented,
The processed sheet 5 is stacked on a stacker 9 (stacker wire).
25 (including 25).

As shown in FIG. 2, a center guide 22 movable left and right along a guide shaft 21 is provided between the left and right hopper guides 20, 20. The center guide 22 has a strong (thick) postcard or the like. A) Separation means (center separator) 29 of a friction type suitable for separating and feeding the sheet 5 is mounted so as to be movable (advance / retreat).

However, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this separating means 29 prevents the sheet 5 from buckling forward (downward in FIGS. 4 and 4) from the separating portion 29a in the sheet conveying direction. The sheet guide portion 55 is provided integrally.

The sheet guide portion 55 is for preventing the sheet 5 from buckling and invading into the gap between the paper guide of the recording apparatus and the sheet supply apparatus 8 as indicated by a two-dot chain line W. When using thick paper such as a postcard, the clutch 16 (FIG. 9) can be turned off or the sheet 5
This is effective in preventing buckling (buckling) as shown by the two-dot chain line W, which is likely to occur when the sheet 5 is reversely fed to correct the skew.

Since the sheet guide portion 55 is provided integrally with the central separating means 29, it is effective in preventing the buckling when feeding thick paper such as a postcard, and is usually performed by using the separation claws 20a, 20a. When the sheet is supplied, the sheet can be retracted at the same time as the separation unit 29 is retracted.

Therefore, a sheet guide that can be automatically set to the use position when needed, such as when using thick paper such as a postcard, without increasing the number of parts and without requiring extra space, and is automatically retracted when not in use. Part could be composed.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a sheet feeding unit that feeds out a sheet stored in the sheet storage unit,
A separating claw having a function of separating sheets fed by the sheet feeding means one by one; and a movable claw provided from a retracted position to an operating position in accordance with the characteristics of the sheets stored in the sheet storing portion. Friction separating means having a function of abutting and separating the sheet, and a retractable guide provided in the sheet storage portion and guiding the sheet at a use position where the friction separating means is in an operating position and cannot separate the sheet with a separation claw. The sheet separating device automatically moves the friction separating unit from the retracted position to the operating position in conjunction with an operation of moving the guide member from the retracted position to the use position, and uses the guide member. An interlocking means for automatically moving the friction separating means from the operating position to the evacuation position in conjunction with the operation of moving from the position to the evacuation position is provided. Since the guide member and the separating means used when feeding a sheet (postcard or the like) for which the separation claw cannot be used are automatically moved in conjunction with each other, there is no need to attach / detach the friction separation means which is not used. In addition to being able to prevent loss, a sheet feeding apparatus is provided in which the possibility of erroneous operation when switching the sheet to be fed to a different type of sheet is eliminated and the usability is greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a recording apparatus provided with a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a sheet feeding mechanism using a center separator, FIG. 5 is a side view of an interlocking mechanism of a center separator and a guide member of FIG. 4, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a sheet discharging mechanism shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is a side view showing a power transmission mechanism of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view in the off state of FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a development view of the clutch peripheral surface of FIG. 8, FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the operation sequence of the clutch of FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a recording apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a side view showing another example of the structure of the connecting portion between the sheet feeding device and the recording device, and FIG. 15 is a side view of the front cover in FIG. It is an inside partial perspective view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sheet feeding roller, 1a ... Roller gear, 4 ... Recording head, 5 ... Sheet, 8 ... Sheet feeding device, 9 ...
… Stacker, 11… paper feed roller, 12… paper discharge roller,
13a to 13h: gear train, 16: clutch, 18: loading plate (sheet storage section), 18a: guide member, 20: hopper guide, 20a: separation claw, 22: center guide, 23
…… hopper wire, 24 …… front cover, 24a…
... Protrusion, 27 ... Claw member (locking member), 29 ... Center separator (separating means), 42 ... Groove for coupling, 48 ...
... Sheet feed roller shaft, 51... Guide rib (guide means), 52.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-63-277146 (JP, A) JP-A-62-41752 (JP, U) JP-A-63-96042 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A sheet feeding unit for feeding out the sheets stored in the sheet storing unit; a separating claw having a function of separating the sheets fed by the sheet storing unit one by one; A friction separating means provided movably from the retracted position to the operating position in accordance with the characteristics and having a function of separating the sheet by abutting the leading end of the sheet; and a friction separating means provided in the sheet storage portion, wherein the friction separating means operates. A retractable guide member that guides the sheet at a use position where the sheet cannot be separated by the separation claw when the sheet feed device is at the position, wherein the guide member is automatically moved in conjunction with an operation of moving the guide member from the retracted position to the use position. Automatically moving the friction separating means from the retracted position to the operating position and moving the guide member from the use position to the retracted position. A sheet feeding device provided with interlocking means for moving a step from an operation position to a retracted position.