JPS6131014B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feed device for copying machines, printing machines, etc., which is equipped with a paper feed stand for storing paper that can be taken in and out of the main body of the machine and can be moved up and down within the main body. .

The paper feeding tray for storing paper in the paper feeding device is taken out from inside the main body of the machine to supply or replace paper, and then inserted into the main body of the machine. When the paper feed tray reaches a predetermined position within the main body of the machine, it is lifted until the topmost sheet of the stored paper comes into contact with the paper feed roller, and only the topmost sheet is fed by the rotation of the paper feed roller. is sent to the destination via a pair of separation rollers.
Conventionally, a paper feed tray for storing paper is moved in and out of the main body of the machine by hand, and only the vertical movement of the paper feed tray within the main body of the machine is performed by power. The manual loading and unloading of the paper feed tray differs from person to person, and there are drawbacks such as the stacked sheets falling apart or malfunctions occurring due to forceful pushing of the paper feed tray. For this reason, the inventor of the present invention provided a paper feed tray movable up and down within a paper feed frame that is attached to the main body of the machine so as to be able to move in and out of the machine, and the movement in and out of the paper feed frame and the vertical movement of the paper feed tray are carried out by a single common drive. It is proposed that
issue).

In order to accurately feed only the topmost sheet of paper stacked on the paper feed tray one by one, it is important to always maintain the position of the topmost sheet accurately. To do this, it is necessary to promptly detect the decrease in paper, raise the paper feed table, and correct the position of the uppermost paper. In order to accurately perform this positional correction, the paper feed tray must not be moved suddenly, but must be done quietly to avoid the effects of inertia and the like. On the other hand, when the paper feed frame is moved in and out of the main body of the machine, there are problems with inertia when the stacked paper stops and the danger of the paper feed frame suddenly coming out from the main body of the machine. It is better to do this as soon as possible without causing these problems.

The present invention aims to improve on previous proposals and meet the above-mentioned needs.

According to the present invention, a paper feed frame in which a paper feed tray is movable up and down is attached to the main body of the machine so that it can be moved in and out of the main body of the machine, and the movement of the paper feed frame into and out of the main body of the machine and the movement of the paper feed frame into and out of the main body of the machine and the movement of the paper feed frame into and out of the main body of the machine, and In this case, a deceleration mechanism is provided between the vertical movement mechanism of the paper feed tray and the drive source, and the vertical movement of the paper feed tray is controlled by the paper feed frame. This is achieved by making the movement slower than the movement in and out.

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

In FIG. 1, a paper feed unit 1 stacks sheets of paper 3 on a paper feed tray 2, and the uppermost paper contacts a paper feed roller 4 and is fed out. The paper thus sent out passes through a pair of separation rollers 5 and reaches a buffer section 6. The buffer section 6 includes a curved guide plate (not shown), an oblique roller 7, a pair of register rollers 8, and the like. The paper reaches the copying position in synchronization with the toner image formed on the photoreceptor drum 9 which rotates under the cooperation of the registration roller pair 8, and is transferred onto the photoreceptor drum 9 under the action of the corona discharge transfer device 10. The toner image is transferred to. The paper is then ejected onto a paper ejection tray 13 via a fixing roller 11 and an ejection roller 12.

As will be described later, the paper feed tray 2 is configured to be movable up and down, and in the illustrated embodiment, movable perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

In FIG. 2, the paper feed tray 2 is fixed to endless belts 13 disposed on both sides thereof, and the endless belts 13 are hung on pulleys 14A, 14B, and 14C. One pulley 14A is equipped with bevel gears, and these bevel gears are connected to another bevel gear 16 provided on the drive shaft 15.
When the drive shafts 15 are engaged and thereby the drive shafts 15 are rotationally driven, each endless belt 13 cooperates with the paper feed tray 2.
can be rotated to move it up and down. A worm gear 17 is fixed to one end of the drive shaft 15, and this worm gear 17 meshes with a worm provided on a belt pulley 18, thereby performing a deceleration effect here. 19 is a tension pulley.

The above-mentioned parts of the paper feed section are attached to a paper feed frame 20, and the paper feed frame 20 is movable relative to the main body of the machine 22 by a slider 21 schematically shown in FIG. 23 is a stopper for positioning the paper feed frame 0 within the main body 22 of the machine.

The main body 22 of the machine includes a drive motor 24 that can rotate in reverse.
is arranged, and the pulley 24 of this drive motor 24
A, a drive belt 26 is hung around a pulley 18, a tension pulley 19, and a pulley 25 attached to a main body 22 of the machine.

In FIG. 3, two levers 27 and 28 are mounted on the paper feed frame 20 so as to be rotatable around fulcrums 27A and 28A, respectively. Foot lever 2
7 is for detecting the lowest position of the paper feed tray;
Stopper 2 attached to the paper feed tray 2 at the lowest position of
9 and acts to prevent the paper feed tray from rising. The foot lever 27 is always given the habit of rotating counterclockwise around the fulcrum 27A by the tension spring 30. 31 is a paper feed tray release pin provided on the main body 22 of the machine. The lever 28 is for detecting the paper feeding position of the paper feeding frame, and is always given the habit of rotating clockwise around a fulcrum 28A by a spring 32. The left end of the foot lever 28 is pushed down by the sheet feed tray when the sheet feed tray 2 is at the lowest position, thereby disengaging the hook portion of the foot lever 28 from the stopper 33 attached to the main body 22 of the machine. It's becoming like that.

The operation mode of the paper feeding device described above is as follows.

In the state shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed frame 20 enters the deepest part of the machine main body 22, and the stopper 23 is on the right side.
The paper feed tray 2 is in the lowermost position. When the paper feed frame 20 is in this position, the lower end of the hook lever 27 hits the release pin 31 as shown in FIG. The match is off. Further, since the paper feed tray 2 is pushing down the left end of the foot lever 28, the hook portion of the foot lever 28 and the stopper 33 are also disengaged. When replenishing or replacing paper, press the switch ``OUT'' in this state. The drive motor 24 rotates in the reverse direction, and the drive belt 26 rotates in the direction of arrow R. At this time, since the paper feed tray 2 is at the lowest position, it cannot move downward, and therefore the drive shaft 15, belt pulley 18, etc. do not rotate, and as a result, the belt pulley 18 and the tension pulley 19 is carried along by the running of the drive belt 26. That is, the paper feed frame 20 moves in the direction of arrow P and exits the main body of the machine. The running speed of the paper feed frame is the same as that of the drive belt 26, which is relatively large, so that the running time of the paper feeding frame is short. At a predetermined position, the paper feed frame 20 operates a switch (not shown), thereby stopping the rotation of the drive motor 24.
The paper feed frame stops at the position shown in FIG.

When the paper feed frame 20 starts to move in the direction of arrow P from the position shown in FIG. 29. Thereby, the paper feed tray 2 is prevented from moving upward until the paper feed frame 20 returns again to the position shown in FIG.

After replenishing or replacing the paper on the paper feed table 2 at the position shown in FIG. 4, press the switch "IN" to rotate the drive motor 24 in the forward direction. As mentioned above, since the sheet feed tray 2 is prevented from rising, the drive shaft 15 cannot rotate, and therefore the belt pulley 18 and tension pulley 19 are affected by the rotation of the drive belt in the Q direction. The paper feed frame 20 is taken and inserted into the main body of the machine at a relatively fast speed. Paper feed frame 20
is again in the position shown in FIG. 2, and at this time, the lower end of the lid lever 27 hits the release pin 31, so that the hook portion of the lid lever 27 is disengaged from the stopper 29, and the paper feed table 2 becomes in a state where it can be raised. If the drive motor 24 continues to rotate further, the paper feed frame 20
comes into contact with the stopper 23, so that the paper feed frame 2
Since running of 0 is prevented, the Q of the drive belt 26 is
Rotation in the direction is performed by rotating the endless belt 13 via the belt pulley 18, the worm provided thereon, the worm gear 17, the drive shaft 15, the bevel gear 16, the bevel gear provided on the pulley 14A, and the pulley 14A. Raise the paper table 2. In this case, the speed of the endless belt 13 is lowered than the speed of the drive belt 26 due to the deceleration effect between the belt pulley 18 and the worm gear 17, and therefore the rising speed of the paper feed platform 2 also increases. The speed is slower than the speed in which the frame 20 moves in and out. As shown in FIG. 5, when the uppermost paper on the paper feed tray 2 reaches the paper feed position where it contacts the paper feed roller 4, the rotation of the drive motor 24 is stopped. Detection that the uppermost sheet has reached the sheet feeding position can be performed by a conventionally known method such as using an optical detection device or detecting the lifting of the sheet feeding roller 4 using a switch. As described above, since the rising speed of the paper feed tray 2 is slow, the above detection ensures an accurate stopping position of the paper feed tray.
Advantageously, the raising speed of the paper feed tray is 2 cm per second, and the speed of entry and exit of the paper feed frame is 10 to 20 cm per second.

Paper is fed in the state shown in FIG. 5, and when the uppermost position of the paper is lowered, the drive motor 24 is rotated again by the above-mentioned detection device to raise the paper feed tray 2. In this case as well, since the paper feed tray 2 is raised slowly, reliable and accurate positioning of the paper feed tray is guaranteed.

When the switch "OUT" is pressed in the state shown in FIG.
3, the paper feed tray 2 is lowered without the paper feed frame being extracted. When the paper feed tray 2 reaches the lowest position, the left end of the foot lever 28 is held by the spring 32.
The hook portion is rotated counterclockwise against the action of the stopper 33, and the hook portion is disengaged from the stopper 33, so that the paper feed frame 20 can be moved out from the main body of the machine. When the drive motor 24 continues to rotate, the paper feed tray 2 cannot be lowered, so the rotation of the drive belt 26 serves to move the paper feed tray 20 forward, as described above. be. It is of course possible to use chains, wires, etc. in place of the belts 13, 26.

In FIG. 6, the paper feed table 2 is supported by belts 34, 34, which are connected to pulleys 35A, 3.
It is hung on 5B. A common belt 36 is hung on both pulleys 35A, and this belt 3
6 is also hung on a pulley 37 rotatably mounted on the paper feed frame 20. The pulley 37 includes a gear 37A, which engages with a pinion 18A provided on the belt pulley 18.
As a result, the gear sets 18A and 37A perform a deceleration action, and therefore the speed of the paper feed table 2, which moves up and down via the belts 36 and 34, becomes gentle.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, pulley mechanisms are arranged on both sides of the paper feed tray 2, and the paper feed tray 2 is supported by wires 38 of the pulley mechanisms. In each pulley mechanism, one end of the wire 38 is locked to a large diameter pulley 39A of a double pulley 39 with a diameter difference, and the wire 38 is
8 goes around this large diameter several times and then goes to the upper pulley 40.
A pulley 41 hangs downward and is fixed to the paper feed tray 2.
From this point, it passes through the upper pulley 40 and reaches the small diameter pulley 39B of the double pulley 39. When the double pulley 39 is rotated, the wire 38
Paper feed tray 2 supported via a pulley 41 at the fold of
is raised or lowered under deceleration by a pulley mechanism. The double pulley 39 is driven by the drive belt 26 via a suitable transmission.

A plurality of paper feed frames with vertically movable paper feed trays are arranged in a multi-tiered manner, and sheets of different sizes are placed on the paper feed trays in each paper feed frame, and selectively placed in one of the paper feed frames. Of course, it is also possible to feed the paper more quickly.

By configuring the present invention as described above,
In a paper feeding device that uses a single drive source to move the paper feed tray in and out of the machine main body and to move it up and down, the paper feeding performance of the machine can be improved by making the movement in and out of the machine main body faster and the vertical movement slower. It was possible to increase this.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a copying machine equipped with a paper feeding device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram of the paper feeding device with the machine frame in the paper feeding position and the paper feeding table in the lowest position, and FIG. 3 Figure 4 is a partial view of the locking device, Figure 4 is a diagram of the paper feeder showing the paper feed frame in the position where it extends out of the main body of the machine, and Figure 5 shows the paper feed tray being lifted to the paper feed position. FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are a front view and a partial side view showing still another embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Paper feed part, 2...Paper feed stand, 3...Paper, 13...Endless belt, 17...Worm gear, 18A...Pinion, 20...Paper feed frame, 22...Machine main body, 24...Drive motor, 26...Drive belt , 27, 28...foot lever, 29...stopper, 31...paper feed release pin,
33...stopper, 37A...gear, 38-41...pulley mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a paper feeding device such as a copying machine or a printing machine, which is equipped with a paper feeding table 2 for storing paper that can be taken in and taken out of a machine main body 22 and is mounted so as to be vertically movable within this machine main body. Then, the paper feed frame 20 in which the paper feed tray 2 is movable up and down is attached to the machine main body 22 so that it can be moved in and out of the machine main body 22, and the movement of the paper feed frame 20 into and out of the machine main body 22 and the feeding within the paper feed frame 20 are controlled. One common drive source 24 for vertically moving the paper tray 2 is provided, in which case the vertical movement mechanisms 13 to 16 of the paper feed tray 2:
A deceleration mechanism 17: 18A, 37A: 38-40 is provided between 34-37: 38-41 and the drive source 24, so that the vertical movement of the paper feed tray 2 is slower than the movement in and out of the paper feed frame 20. A paper feeding device characterized by the following. 2 Motor 24 capable of forward and reverse rotation as a driving source
and a mechanism 18, 19, 24A, 25, 26 for moving the paper feed frame 20 in and out, which is drivingly connected to this motor, and a mechanism for vertically moving the paper feed frame 13-16: 34-37.
The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: is drivingly connected to the mechanism for moving the paper feeding frame in and out, and deceleration mechanisms 17:18A, 37A are arranged between both mechanisms. 3 Motor 24 capable of forward and reverse rotation as a driving source
and mechanisms 18, 19, 24A, 25, 26 for moving the paper feed frame 20 in and out, which are drive-coupled to this motor, and the vertical movement mechanism for the paper feed tray 2 is provided with pulley mechanisms 38, 3.
9, 40, and 41, and are drivingly connected to a movement mechanism for moving the paper feed frame in and out.