JP3323802B2 - Paper feeder and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet by sheet feeding means having a sheet feeding roller and an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet feeding device, and more particularly to cleaning a sheet feeding roller of the sheet feeding device. It is about structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a paper feeder for feeding a sheet by a paper feeder having a paper feed roller, which includes a brush member as cleaning means for cleaning the paper feed roller. As described in JP-A-53-106130 and JP-A-57-37942, they are arranged so as to always contact the paper feed roller.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a paper feeder equipped with such a brush member.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a paper feed roller. Here, this paper feed roller 100
Is formed on a paper feed roller rubber 105 having a high coefficient of friction while forming a roller surface, and fixed on the paper feed roller rubber 105, and is held on a paper feed shaft 107 which is appropriately rotated by drive means and control means (not shown). A paper feed roller collar 106, a paper feed roller 108 that first pushes down the upper surface of the sheet bundle S, and a paper feed tray 101 that feeds the rear end of the sheet conveyed by a conveying device (not shown) after the paper feed operation.
An idler roller 109 that separates the sheet and the sheet feeding roller 100 while remaining inside the sheet and that is rotatable so as to minimize the resistance force received by the sheet.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 117 denotes a roller cleaning brush which is a cleaning means.
Due to 17, adhered to the surface of the paper feed roller rubber 105,
Paper powder derived from a sheet composed of fibrous materials, fillers, and the like is removed. Reference numeral 118 denotes a brush holder that holds the roller cleaning brush 117, and the brush holder 118 is attached to a frame 119 of an image forming apparatus including a paper feeding device.

[0005] The paper feed roller rubber 105
The paper dust consisting of fibers and filler adhering to the surface of the paper is scraped off by the roller cleaning brush 117, so that the paper feed roller rubber 1 is removed.
05 can be maintained for a certain period of time.

[0006]

By the way, in such a conventional paper feeding apparatus, especially when paper in which the fibrous paper dust is easily peeled off from the surface is fed, the paper dust is removed. Large amount adheres to roller rubber surface. Here, when a large amount of paper dust adheres to the surface of the roller rubber as described above, the roller cleaning brush 117 is configured to always contact the paper feed roller 100 in a fixed state as described above. Paper dust becomes deposited on the brush.

[0007] When the paper dust accumulates on the brush in this manner, there is a problem that the cleaning effect is lost and a paper feeding failure occurs.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a paper feeder capable of removing extraneous matter such as paper dust adhering to a cleaning means, and a paper feeder having the same. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus having the same.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus including a sheet feeding unit having a sheet feeding roller and a cleaning unit for cleaning a surface of the sheet feeding roller. A notch portion that does not contact the sheet is formed on the circumferential surface of the sheet feeding roller, and a secondary cleaning unit that removes an adhering substance attached to the cleaning unit is provided in the notch portion. The cleaning means is cleaned by the secondary cleaning means every rotation.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the secondary cleaning means is fixed to a notch of the paper feed roller.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the secondary cleaning means is detachably attached to a notch of the paper feed roller.

Further, in the present invention, while the paper feed roller is provided detachably, the secondary cleaning means is movably or removably attached to a notch portion of the paper feed roller, and the paper feed roller is attached / detached. Next, the cleaning means is configured to be moved or removed.

Further, according to the present invention, the secondary cleaning means is attached to a notch portion of the paper feeding roller so as to move with the rotation of the paper feeding roller, and the secondary cleaning means is moved with the rotation of the paper feeding roller. A guide member for guiding the secondary cleaning unit to a position where the cleaning unit can perform cleaning is provided.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the guide member is a cam.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus including a sheet feeding unit having a sheet feeding roller and a cleaning unit for cleaning a surface of the sheet feeding roller. A sheet feeding tray, a secondary cleaning unit that removes deposits adhering to the cleaning unit, and the secondary cleaning unit in a position where the cleaning unit can be cleaned in conjunction with the attaching / detaching operation of the sheet feeding tray. Moving means for moving.

Further, according to the present invention, the moving means holds the secondary cleaning means at a position where the secondary cleaning means is separated from the cleaning means at the time of paper feeding, and operates the secondary cleaning means in conjunction with an operation of removing the paper feed tray. The cleaning means is moved to a cleaning-possible position.

Further, in the present invention, the secondary cleaning means is a brush member having a large number of wires implanted therein, and the wires of the brush member are implanted at random and at a uniform density without a dense portion. It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus provided with an image forming section and a paper feeding device, wherein the paper feeding device is the paper feeding device according to any one of the above-mentioned claims 1 to 9. It is assumed that.

Further, as in the present invention, a secondary cleaning means is provided in a notch formed on the circumferential surface of the paper feed roller and which does not contact the sheet, and the secondary cleaning means supplies the paper every time the paper feed roller rotates. An object attached to the cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the paper roller is removed.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet feeding tray which is detached from the sheet feeding device when the sheet bundle is set in the sheet feeding device, is loaded with the sheet bundle, and is mounted again on the sheet feeding device.
Is a middle plate that supports the stacked sheet bundle S and presses in the direction of a later-described sheet feeding roller 5 that is a sheet feeding force generating source, and 3 presses the lower surface of the middle plate 2 to raise the middle plate 2 upward. The middle leaf springs 4 that are pushed up are separation sheets that generate a frictional force with the lowermost sheet and prevent double feeding of the last paper.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper feed roller. The paper feed roller 5 forms a roller surface and has a D-cut shape having a high friction coefficient and a D-cut shape, and fixes the paper feed roller rubber 5A. At the same time, by a driving unit (not shown) controlled by a controller 90 shown in FIG. First, the sheet is separated from the sheet feeding roller rubber 5A while the trailing end of the sheet conveyed by a conveying device (not shown) remains in the sheet feeding tray 1 after the sheet feeding operation. And an idler roller 9 that is rotatable and minimizes the resistance of the sheet.

By providing the feeding roller rubber 5A and the feeding roller collar 6 having the D-cut shape described above, a notch 5B that does not contact the sheet is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 5. It has become.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a roller cleaning brush which is a cleaning means for removing paper dust derived from a sheet composed of fibrous material, filler and the like attached to the surface of the paper feed roller rubber 7. Is held.
Reference numeral 22 denotes a brush base.
The brush holder 19 is rotatably held via a rotation shaft 20.

Also, 21 has a brush base 22 at one end,
The other end is a brush spring that is locked to the brush holder 19 and generates a force that presses the brush holder 19 in the direction of the feed angle shaft 7. The spring force of the brush spring 21 causes the roller cleaning brush 18 to feed the feed roller rubber 5A. At appropriate pressure. 23 is a frame for holding the brush base 22, and 24 and 25 are casings for protecting electric components (not shown).

Reference numeral 10 denotes a scraper which is a secondary cleaning means provided in a cutout portion of the paper feed roller 5, specifically, on the paper feed roller collar 6, and the scraper 10 is rotated every time the paper feed roller 5 rotates. Abuts against the roller cleaning brush 18,
The roller cleaning brush 18 is cleaned.
By cleaning the roller cleaning brush 18 each time the paper feed roller 5 rotates, the accumulation of paper dust on the roller cleaning brush 18 can be prevented.

On the other hand, reference numeral 11 denotes a separation pad for preventing sheets from being stacked, 12 denotes a separation pad holder for holding the separation pad 11, and 13 denotes one end of which is held by the sheet feeding tray 1 and the other end thereof is pushed by the separation pad holder 12. Hit, separation pad 1
1 is a separation pad spring that presses the sheet in the direction of the paper feed angle axis 7.
Reference numerals 4 and 15 denote first and second transport guides for determining the transport direction of the sheet, 16 a transport roller for transporting the fed sheet, and 17 a transport roller facing the transport roller 16 to form a nip.

Next, the paper feeding operation of the paper feeding device thus configured will be described.

The sheet bundle S is stacked on the middle plate 2 of the removed sheet tray 1 by the user, and the sheet bundle S is set in the sheet feeding device by mounting the sheet tray 1 on the sheet feeding device again. Is done. In this state, the sheet bundle S comes into contact with the idler roller 9 by receiving the urging force of the middle plate spring 3.

On the other hand, after this, when the paper feeding operation is started,
The paper feed angle shaft 7 is rotated, whereby the paper feed roller collar 6,
The paper feed roller rubber 5A, that is, the paper feed roller 5 starts rotating at the same time and comes into contact with the sheet.

The paper feed roller 5 comes into contact with the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle S being pushed up by the urging force of the middle plate spring 3, and applies a frictional force to one of the uppermost surfaces. Under this force, at least one uppermost sheet starts to advance, and eventually reaches a nip formed by the feed roller 5 and the separation pad 11 urged by the separation pad spring 13.

Here, in this nip, the separation pad 1
Due to the frictional force of 1 and the separating effect of the wedge shape, the sheets other than the uppermost one are stopped, while only the uppermost one is fed ahead. After that, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet Sf is transferred to the first and second conveyance guides 14,
15, the transport roller 16 and the transport roller 1
The tip of the nip constituted by 7 receives a strong conveying force, and is conveyed to an image forming unit or the like.

When the sheet is fed as described above, especially when a sheet having a low surface strength is used, paper dust and filler generated from the sheet adhere to the feed roller rubber 5A. The roller is removed by the roller cleaning brush 18 pressed against the paper feed roller rubber 5A.

When the sheet feeding roller 5 rotates to such a position that the sheet Sf enters the nip constituted by the conveying roller 16 and the conveying roller 17, the notch 5B of the sheet feeding roller 5 becomes as shown in FIG. The roller cleaning brush 18 comes into the notch 5B by the urging force of the brush spring 21.

On the other hand, after the roller cleaning brush 18 enters the notch 5B and the paper feed roller 5 is further rotated, the scraper 10 provided in the notch 5B is rotated.
Abuts on the roller cleaning brush 18 and rotates about the paper feed roller shaft 7 while pushing up the roller cleaning brush 18. This rotation causes the scraper 10 to scrape off the surface of the roller cleaning brush such as paper dust.

By scraping off the surface of the roller cleaning brush 18 with the scraper 10 as described above, the accumulation of paper dust can be prevented, and in particular, the fibrous paper dust can be easily separated from the surface. Even when paper that comes in is used, the cleaning effect of the roller cleaning brush 18 can be prolonged, and the conveyance performance of the paper feed roller 5 can be maintained.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a brush member constituting the scraper 10. FIG. 3 (a) is a brush member in which wires such as threads and hairs are discretely implanted by normal press-fitting. And (b) are brush members in which wires are implanted at random and at a uniform density without dense portions.

Here, comparing the two brush members in terms of the effect of removing paper dust accumulated on the roller cleaning brush 18 composed of a brush member having a high density, the brush member shown in FIG. The cleaning effect is higher when the brush member shown in b) is used. This is because the wire material of the brush member in (b) is more likely to enter the roller cleaning brush 18 and has the effect of scraping out paper dust and the like that have entered the deeper portion of the roller cleaning brush 18. here,
As the appropriate density of the wire of the brush member shown in (b),
1400-2000 lines / inch ² are preferred.

When the scraper 10 is mounted on the feed roller collar by flocking or bonding, there is a lack of reliability in terms of rubber management and the strength of the connection of the scraper 10 to the feed roller collar 6. Therefore, by providing a separate scraper holder for holding the scraper 10 and attaching the scraper holder to the paper feed roller 5, it is possible to eliminate variations and mistakes in the manufacturing process, and to manufacture components more stably. Becomes

Next, such a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the sheet feeding apparatus according to this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a side view in the direction A in FIG. 4 and 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts.

4 and 5, reference numeral 31 denotes a scraper holder which is exchangeably mounted on the paper feed roller 5, and reference numeral 32 denotes a scraper which is mounted on the scraper holder 31. 33 is a paper feed angle axis,
Reference numerals 35 and 36 denote first and second paper feed cams which are fitted with the paper feed angle shaft 33 and hold the paper feed roller collar 6. In addition,
Reference numerals 34 and 37 denote holding pieces projecting from the first and second sheet feeding cams 35 and 36, respectively, and holding the scraper holder 31.

Here, at least the first paper feed cam 35 and the idler roller 9 on the first paper feed cam side are connected to the paper feed angular shaft 33.
The first paper feed cam 35 and idler roller 9 are normally positioned in the thrust direction by a stopper member 38. The paper feeding operation and the roller cleaning brush cleaning operation in the present embodiment configured as described above are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

Next, a method of assembling the scraper holder 31 will be described.

First, the first member is operated by operating the stopper member 38.
Release the positioning of the paper feed cam 35 and idler roller 9,
Thereafter, the first paper feed cam 35 and idler roller 9 are moved in the direction opposite to the arrow shown in FIG. Here, when the first paper feed cam 35 is moved in this way, the holding piece 34 of the first paper feed cam 35 also moves, whereby the holding of the paper feed roller collar 6 by the holding piece 34 is released. The roller 5 can be removed.

Next, the paper feed roller 5 is removed, and thereafter,
6, a new scraper holder 31 is inserted obliquely as shown in FIG. 6, the first locking portion 31A of the scraper holder 31 is locked to the holding piece 37 of the second paper feed cam 36, and the scraper holder 31 is moved to the second paper feed cam. 36.

Next, the first paper feed cam 35 and idler roller 9 are moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
The second locking portion 31B of the scraper holder 31 is locked to the holding piece 34 of. Thus, the scraper holder 31 is held by the first and second paper feed cams 35 and 36. When the first paper feed cam 35 and the idler roller 9 move to the position where the scraper holder 31 is held in this way, the stopper member 38 is locked by a locking portion (not shown), whereby the first paper feed cam 35 and the idler roller 9 are moved. 9 is positioned and fixed.

When the scraper 32 is replaceably attached to the feed roller 5 in this manner, when the feed roller rubber 5A reaches its end of life, the feed roller rubber 5A
Only the scraper 32 can be replaced, and the life of the scraper 32 can be managed independently.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or corresponding parts.

In the figure, 41 is a scraper, 42
Is a scraper holder, and the scraper holder 42 is rotatably attached to the feed roller collar 6 via a rotation shaft 43.

The feed roller collar 6 has an opening 6A as shown in FIG. 8 described later so that the feed roller 5 can be attached to and detached from the feed angle shaft 7. Normally, the scraper holder 42 is held at a position where the opening 6A is closed by a not-shown locking means provided on the paper feed roller collar 6, whereby the paper feed roller 5 comes off from the paper feed angular shaft 7. Not to be. In addition,
The sheet feeding operation and the roller cleaning brush cleaning operation in the present embodiment configured as described above are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

Next, the paper feed roller 5 constructed as described above
The method of mounting is described with reference to FIG.

When mounting the paper feed roller, first, (a)
After the scraper holder 42 is rotated to open the opening 6A of the paper feed roller collar 6 as shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed roller 5 is inserted in the direction shown by the arrow, and the paper feed roller 5 is brought into contact with the paper feed square shaft 7.

Next, after the paper feed roller 5 hits the paper feed angle shaft 7, the paper feed roller 5 is rotated about 180 ° in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the scraper holder 42 is closed as shown in FIG. After this,
The thrust direction of the paper feed roller 5 is fixed by means not shown.

As described above, when the scraper 41 is rotatably mounted on the paper feed roller 5 and the paper feed roller 5 is mounted on the paper feed square shaft 7, the scraper 41 is rotated so that the paper feed roller 5 is rotated. 5 can be easily attached to the paper feed angle shaft 7. This makes it possible to easily replace the scraper 41 together with the paper feed roller 5.

In the above description, a case has been described in which the scraper holder 42 is rotatably assembled to the sheet feeding roller collar 6, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the scraper holder 42 is supplied. You may make it attach to the paper roller collar 6 so that attachment or detachment is possible. Thereby, only the scraper 41 can be reused.

When the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 5 is small, the contact with the roller cleaning brush may not be sufficient even if a fixed type scraper is arranged. Next, a description will be given of a configuration in which the roller cleaning brush can be reliably cleaned even when the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 5 is small as described above.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of such a paper feeder according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a view showing a state where the paper feed rollers are removed from FIG. It is. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts.

9 and 10, reference numeral 51 denotes a scraper, 52 denotes a scraper holder, and one end of the scraper holder 52 is supported by a shaft hole 53 provided in the paper feed roller collar 6 (not shown). A boss is formed, and a driven boss 55 is formed at the other end.

A cam block 54 is a guide member fixed to the casing 25. A driven boss 55 of the scraper holder 52 is engaged with the cam block 54 so that the scraper holder 52 (scraper 51) is engaged.
A cam surface 57 for guiding the roller cleaning brush 18 to a position where the roller cleaning brush 18 can be cleaned is formed.

By locking the driven boss 55 on the cam surface 57 of the scraper holder 52, when the feed roller 5 rotates, the scraper holder 52 moves along the cam surface 57 with the driven boss 55. With reference to 55, as shown in FIG. 10, the roller cleaning brush 18 is moved while changing its posture to a position where it can be cleaned.

Reference numeral 56 designates the cam block 54 as the casing 25
It is a screw to fix to. Note that the sheet feeding operation and the sheet feeding roller rubber cleaning operation in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Next, the cleaning operation of the roller cleaning brush 18 will be described.

The posture of the scraper holder 52 is determined by the cam surface 57 and the driven boss 55 that is interlocked with the cam surface 57. In the standby state shown in FIG. 9, the scraper 51 and the scraper holder 52 are at positions facing the paper stacking surface.

Next, when the paper feed roller 5 is rotated to feed the paper and the scraper 51 enters the phase for cleaning the roller cleaning brush 18, the driven boss moves along the cam surface 57 of the cam block 54. Along with 54, the scraper holder 52 rotates about the shaft hole 53, whereby the scraper 51 moves to a position where it contacts the roller cleaning brush 18 as shown in FIG. After that, the paper feed roller 5
Is rotated, the roller cleaning brush 18 is cleaned by the scraper 51.

As described above, by guiding the scraper 51 to the position where the roller cleaning brush 18 can be cleaned by the cam block 54, the roller cleaning brush 18 using the scraper 54 can be used even when the diameter of the paper feed roller is small.
Can be cleaned. Further, by changing the shape of the cam surface 57, the roller cleaning brush 18 of the scraper 54 can be used.
Since the contact position with the roller cleaning brush 18 can be freely set, the roller cleaning brush 18 having a different strength can be cleaned by changing the shape of the cam surface 57.

In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which the notch 5B of the sheet feeding roller 5 is provided with a scraper. Next, the sheet feeding roller having no notch 5B is formed. A description will be given of a roller cleaning brush that cleans the roller 5 with a scraper.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of a sheet feeding device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts.

In the figure, reference numeral 61 denotes a paper feed tray, and 62 denotes a drive shaft driven by a drive source (not shown), and an input pulley 63 is connected to the drive shaft 62. 64
Is a pickup arm that is rotatable up and down by a control mechanism (not shown) with the drive shaft 62 as a fulcrum.
7 is rotatably held. The pickup roller 67 is fixed to an output pulley 66 that receives a driving force of an endless belt 65 that transmits the rotation of the input pulley 63, and includes a drive shaft 62, an input pulley 63, and an endless belt 65.
, And is rotated by a driving force from a driving source transmitted through the motor.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a feed roller which is a paper feed roller which is rotated in a sheet feeding direction by being driven by a driving source (not shown), and 69 is driven by a driving source (not shown) to push back a multi-fed sheet. This is a retard roller that rotates in a direction, or in a direction following a sheet fed without double feeding.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a torque limiter which regulates the variability of the rotation direction of the retard roller 69 and the ability to prevent double feed, 71 denotes a retard holder which holds the retard roller 69 so as to be freely rotatable, and 72 denotes a retard holder which presses the retard holder 71 and This is a retard spring that presses the roller 69 in the direction of the feed roller 68.

Reference numeral 73 denotes a roller cleaning brush for cleaning the feed roller 68; 74, a brush holder for holding the roller cleaning brush 73; 75, a brush spring for pressing the roller cleaning brush 73 against the feed roller 68; It is a frame to do.

Reference numeral 76 denotes a scraper for removing paper dust and the like adhering to the surface of the roller cleaning brush 73; 77, a scraper holder that holds the scraper 76 and can rotate coaxially with the rotation axis of the feed roller 68; A striking roller 79 that determines the attitude of 77 is a scraper driving cam provided on the side wall of the paper feed tray 61 and constituting a moving means of the scraper 76 together with the striking roller 78.

Next, the paper feeding operation of the paper feeding device configured as described above will be described.

The drive is transmitted to the output pulley 66 through the endless belt 65 by the drive of the drive source (not shown) and the control of the pickup arm 64, and the pickup roller 67 rotates in a state of contacting the uppermost surface of the sheet S.

At this time, the uppermost sheet advances in the direction of the arrow due to the frictional force received from the pickup roller 67, and the leading end of the sheet enters the nip between the feed roller 68 and the retard roller 69. At this time, the feed roller 6
8 rotates in the direction in which the paper is fed, and the retard roller 69 rotates in the direction of returning the sheet if the torque is less than a certain fixed torque via the torque limiter 70; While adding, it follows the paper feed direction.

Thus, the multi-fed sheet is returned to the sheet feeding tray by the rotation of the retard roller 69 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction. When no double feed occurs, a friction force exceeding the load torque applied by the retard roller 69 is applied by the feed roller 68,
Further, it proceeds in the transport direction.

Thereafter, the fed sheet is guided by a part of the sheet feed tray 1 or the conveyance guides 13 and 14, and the leading end enters a nip constituted by the conveyance roller 16 and the conveyance roller 17. It receives a strong conveying force and is conveyed to an image forming unit or the like.

At the time of this sheet feeding, the roller cleaning brush 73 always contacts the feed roller 68 and cleans the paper dust and the like that gradually adheres to the feed roller 68.

By the way, when there is no sheet in the sheet feeding tray 61 and the user pulls out the sheet feeding tray 61 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. , And descends along the scraper driving cam 79.

With this movement, the scraper holder 7
6 and the scraper 75 rotate around the rotation axis of the feed roller 68 to clean the surface of the roller cleaning brush 73 so as to scrape off the paper dust or the like accumulated by the scraper 75.

As described above, even in the sheet feeding device using the feed roller 68 (sheet feeding roller) in which the notch 5B is not formed, the roller cleaning brush 73 can be cleaned by the scraper 75, and the surface strength is low. Even when paper or paper with a large amount of filler is used, stable paper feeding can be maintained for a long period of time.

A feed roller 68 (paper feed roller)
And the operation of removing the cleaned paper dust and the like can be realized in the daily operation of the user. further,
Since the scraper 75 does not operate every time paper is fed, the life of the roller cleaning brush 73 and the scraper 75 can be extended, and the life of the paper feeding device can be extended.

In the description of the present embodiment, the feed roller 6 having no notch 5B
8 has been described as an example, the configuration of the present embodiment can also be applied to a sheet feeding device using a sheet feeding belt instead of the sheet feeding roller. In this case, the scraper holder 76 is mounted, for example, coaxially with the rotation axis of one roller on which the paper feed belt is stretched.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet feeding device according to any of the first to fifth embodiments described above.

Here, in such an image forming apparatus, the sheets fed one by one from the paper feed tray 1 by the paper feed roller 5 are separated by the first and second transport guides 15 and 16.
The tip of the nip formed by the transport roller 17 and the transport roller 18 is guided by the guide roller, receives a strong transport force, and is transported to the registration roller 80.

Thereafter, when the leading end position of the developed image formed on the photosensitive drum 81 reaches the position of the transfer nip where the photosensitive drum 81 and the transfer roller 82 come into contact, the rotation of the registration roller 80 is controlled. The timing is set so that the leading edge of the sheet is conveyed to the transfer nip. Note that the photosensitive drum 81 and the transfer roller 82 constitute an image forming unit.

After the developed image on the photosensitive drum 81 is transferred to the sheet at the transfer nip in this way, the sheet is separated from the photosensitive drum 81 and is conveyed to the fixing device 84 by the conveying belt 83. In the fixing device 84,
The sheet is nipped between the heating member 85 and the pressure roller 86 to fix the unfixed image transferred to the sheet.
Thereafter, the sheet on which the toner image has been fixed passes through the conveyance path B, and is discharged to the tray 89 of the image forming apparatus main body 88 by the discharge roller pair 87.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention, the secondary cleaning means is used to rotate the paper feed roller every time the paper feed roller is rotated, or when the user changes the paper feed tray, which is a routine operation by the user. The deposits attached to the cleaning means for cleaning the surface can be removed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a reduction in the frictional force of the paper feed roller and maintain the paper feed performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a roller cleaning brush cleaning operation of the scraper according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a brush member constituting the scraper.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view in the direction A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of mounting the scraper holder according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a method of mounting a paper feed roller according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet feed roller is removed from FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a roller cleaning brush cleaning operation of the scraper according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional sheet feeding device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device according to any of the first to fifth embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Feed Roller 5A Feed Roller Rubber 5B Notch 6 Feed Roller Collar 7,33 Feed Angle Shaft 18,73 Roller Cleaning Brush 19,74 Brush Holder 10,32,41,51,76 Scraper 31,42,52 , 77 scraper holder 54 cam block 57 cam surface of scraper holder 61 paper feed tray 68 feed roller 78 butting roller 79 scraper drive cam S sheet bundle

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (56) References JP-A 4-75848 (JP, U) JP-A 1-85347 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/00-3/68

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device comprising: sheet feeding means for feeding a sheet by a sheet feeding means having a sheet feeding roller; and cleaning means for cleaning a surface of the sheet feeding roller, wherein a circumferential surface of the sheet feeding roller is provided. A notch portion that does not come into contact with the sheet, and a notch portion provided with a secondary cleaning device that removes an adhering substance attached to the cleaning device. A sheet feeding device for cleaning the cleaning means by means of a cleaning device. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the secondary cleaning unit is fixed to a notch of the sheet feeding roller. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the secondary cleaning unit is detachably attached to a notch of the sheet feeding roller. 4. The paper feed roller is provided detachably, while the secondary cleaning means is movably or removably attached to a notch of the paper feed roller, and the secondary cleaning means is detachably attached to the paper feed roller. 2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding device is configured to be moved or removed. 5. The secondary cleaning means is attached to a notch of the paper feed roller so as to move with the rotation of the paper feed roller, and the secondary cleaning means is rotated with the rotation of the paper feed roller. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member for guiding the unit to a position where the cleaning unit can perform cleaning. 6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 5, wherein the guide member is a cam. 7. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising: sheet feeding means having sheet feeding rollers for feeding sheets, and cleaning means for cleaning a surface of the sheet feeding rollers, wherein the sheet feeding tray stores the sheets. A secondary cleaning unit that removes deposits attached to the cleaning unit; and a movement that moves the secondary cleaning unit to a position where the cleaning unit can be cleaned in conjunction with the attachment / detachment operation of the paper feed tray. Means, and a sheet feeding device. 8. The moving means holds the secondary cleaning means at a position for separating the cleaning means from the cleaning means at the time of paper feeding, and cleans the secondary cleaning means in conjunction with an operation of removing the paper feed tray. The paper feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the paper feeding device is moved to a possible position. 9. The secondary cleaning means is a brush member in which a large number of wires are planted, and the wires of the brush member have no dense portions, and are planted randomly and at a uniform density. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein 10. An image forming apparatus comprising an image forming unit and a sheet feeding device, wherein the sheet feeding device is the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. Forming equipment.