JP2625024B2 - Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus applied to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet stacking mechanism and a sheet feeding apparatus in an installation table of an image forming apparatus. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device provided with a mechanism.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers,
When image formation is performed by using a large number of cut sheets of a predetermined size, the cut sheets are stacked in a large amount on a special sheet mounting table, and fed to the image forming unit one by one by a sheet feeding mechanism. A sheet feeding device for paper was used.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional sheet feeding apparatus, as described above, when a large number of sheets are stacked, the height of the sheets increases and the stacking mechanism becomes extremely large. Accordingly, there is a disadvantage that the sheet feeding apparatus becomes very large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact sheet feeding apparatus in which a second sheet storage unit for replenishing sheets is provided in a sheet storage unit and the initial sheet storage amount can be reduced.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a first sheet storage unit that stores a sheet to be supplied to an image forming unit, and the first sheet. A sheet feeding unit that feeds sheets from the storage unit; and a second sheet storage unit that stores sheets to be supplied to the first sheet storage unit, wherein the first and second sheet storage units are disposed inside the apparatus main body. In the sheet feeding device arranged side by side, the first sheet storage unit includes a first sheet mounting table that stacks the sheets and moves up and down, and the first sheet mounting table is moved by the sheet feeding unit. Lifting means for raising and lowering between a sheet feeding position for feeding out a sheet and a lowering position for replenishing the sheet;
First detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet on the sheet stacking table, wherein the second sheet storage section can load a sheet and move horizontally toward the first sheet storage section And a second sheet mounting table supported by the first sheet mounting table, and the second sheet mounting table is horizontally moved between a standby position and a transfer position for transferring sheets to the first sheet mounting table at the lowered position. Drive means for causing the second sheet mounting table to be pulled out of the apparatus main body in a direction intersecting with the direction of movement by the driving means; and a support means arranged on the sheet mounting table and on the sheet mounting table. And second detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet.

Further, a display means for displaying the presence or absence of a sheet in the second sheet storage unit based on the detection by the second detection means is provided.

Further, when it is detected by the first detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet in the first sheet storage section that there is no sheet in the first sheet storage section, the first sheet storage section stores the sheet in the second sheet storage section. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is moved to the first sheet storage unit.

Next, an image forming apparatus includes the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding device. It is characterized by.

(E) Operation Based on the above configuration, the first sheet mounting table arranged at the sheet feeding position is lowered by the elevating means when the first detecting means detects no sheet, and is arranged at the lowering position. . The second sheet stacking means, which has been waiting at the standby position with the sheets stacked on the first sheet mounting table arranged at the lowered position, is moved horizontally by the driving means and arranged at the transfer position. At the delivery position, the second
When the sheet on the sheet stacking table is transferred to the first stacking table, the first detecting means detects the presence of the sheet, and the first sheet stacking table is raised by the elevating means to feed the sheet. Placed in the position. On the other hand, the absence of the sheet is detected by the second detection means, and the second sheet stacking table on which the sheet is absent is pulled out of the apparatus main body by the support means in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the driving means. The sheet can be replenished in the state in which the sheet is held.

(F) Example Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a copying machine, and reference numeral 2 denotes an installation base of the copying machine 1. A sheet feeding device 51 is stored in the mounting table 2. And this sheet feeding device
51 is a compact but capable of accommodating a large number of cut sheets S.

First, the copier 1 will be described, and then the sheet feeding device 51 will be described.

The copying machine 1 includes cassettes 5 and 6 which are removably mounted in a body 3 of the copying machine 1. These cassettes 5 and 6 can be pulled out at right angles to the sheet S transport direction. . The fuselage 3 includes a pressure plate 7, a platen 9, a light source
10, mirrors 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and a lens 18 are provided. Further, the cassette 5 is provided with a paper feed roller 19, and the cassette 6 is provided with a paper feed roller 20. Further, a separation unit 21 including a separation roller and a transport roller is provided downstream of the roller 19, and a similar separation unit 22 is provided downstream of the roller 20. A paper feed path 23 is provided downstream of the separation units 21 and 22, and a pair of transport rollers 25 is provided in the path 23. Further, on the downstream side of the path 23, a pair of registration rollers 26 is provided.
Is disposed downstream of the roller pair 26.
Are arranged. A transport section 29 is provided downstream of the copying section 27, and a fixing device 30 is provided downstream of the transport section 29. Further, a transport roller 31 is disposed downstream of the fixing device 30, a flapper 32 is disposed downstream of the roller 31, and a discharge roller pair 33 is disposed downstream of the flapper 32. Are arranged. Meanwhile, the flapper
32, a re-transport path 35 is provided.
In 35, a pair of transport rollers 36, 37, 39 and a pair of re-feed rollers 40 are provided. A manual feed tray 41 protrudes from the right side of the body 3, and a paper feed roller 42 is disposed at a base end of the tray 41. Further, on the downstream side of the roller 42, there is disposed a separation unit 43 including a separation roller and a conveyance roller.
A manual feed path 45 communicating with 23 is provided. Further, a hole 46 is formed in the lower part of the machine body 2, and a transport path 49 communicating with the paper feed path 23 is provided near the inner side of the hole 46. Is provided with a pair of transport rollers 50.

Next, the sheet feeding device 51 is moved to a conveying path close to the hole 46.
A feeding mechanism 52 for feeding the sheet S to the sheet feeding mechanism 49;
Sheet storage unit 53 for storing sheets S fed by
And a lifting device 54 serving as a lifting means described later, and a second sheet storage unit 55 for replenishing the sheet storage unit 53 with sheets S.
It is composed of

The feeding mechanism 52 is shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. A paper feed motor 57 is mounted inside a rear side plate 56 provided inside the installation base 2, a gear 58 is attached to a motor shaft 57 a penetrating the side plate 56, and a gear 59 is meshed with the gear 58, The equal gears 58, 59 are supported by a gear case or the like. The gear 59 is connected to an input shaft of a clutch 60.A pulley 62 and a transport roller 63a are fixed to an output shaft 61 of the clutch 60. Further, a support plate 64 is rotatably supported by the shaft 61. The support plate 64 has a shaft 65
Are rotatably supported, a pulley 66 is fixed to the shaft 65, and a timing belt 67 is stretched over the pulleys 62 and 66. Pickup rollers 68 are provided at both ends of the shaft 65.
Is fixed. Further, a separation roller 63b is fixed to the motor shaft 57a. Note that a separation portion 63 is formed by the transport roller 63a and the separation roller 63b. A paper feed path 69 is provided above the separation unit 63, and the leading end faces the hole 46 and communicates with the transport path 49.

Next, the sheet storage section 53 is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. The front and rear side plates 70, 71 and the right side plate 72 are erected inside the installation base 2, and the guide rail 73,
74 is mounted vertically, and guides 75 and 76 are attached to the front and rear ends of an intermediate plate 77 which is a sheet mounting table so as to wrap the guide rails 73 and 74, and the intermediate plate 77 is passed through the guides 75 and 76,
The guide rails 73 and 74 are guided in a horizontal posture. Further, two concave portions 77a and 77b are formed in the middle plate 77. The pickup roller is located above the right side plate 72.
A sheet feeding path 72a for guiding the sheet (S) from the sheet 68 to the separation section 63 is provided.

2 and 3, shafts 78, 79 are rotatably mounted at intermediate positions between the upper and lower ends of the front and rear side plates 70, 71 shown in FIGS. The sprockets 80, 81 and 82, 83 are fixed to the front and rear ends, respectively, and chains 84, 85 are stretched on these sprockets 80, 82, 81, 83, respectively. The chains 84 and 85 are guided by the small screws 86 and 87 into the guides.
The middle plate 77 follows the movement of the chains 84, 85, and is fixed to the rear plate 71 at the rear end of the shaft 78. Motor 88
Is connected to the end of the shaft 78. Guides 75, 7
6 Vertical holes in the front and rear plates 70, 71 to move up and down
89,90 are provided.

Next, the second sheet storage section 55 is shown in FIGS. A pair of rails on the left side of the mounting table 2 in the front-rear direction
A sheet stack 92 is provided with two rotatable rollers 93 on the left and right sides, so that the sheet stack 92 can enter and exit from the front side of the installation table 2. Note that the rail 91 may be formed to be extendable and contractable so that the sheet stack 92 is taken out to the near side. Further, the left side plate of the sheet stacking body 92 is formed to be long, and the right side plate is formed to be short so as not to prevent the sheet table 94 from moving to the left.

Further, shafts 95 and 96 are rotatably supported on the front and rear side plates of the sheet stacking body 92, and a forward / backward rotatable motor 97
The motor 97 is fixed to the rear plate of the sheet stack 92. Sprockets 98a, 98b and 99a, 99b are attached to the front and rear ends of the shafts 95, 96, respectively.
Chains 100 and 101 are stretched between 98a and 99a and 98b and 99b, and a seat table 94 is attached to the chains 100 and 101 at the ends of the protrusions 94a. The sheet table 94 is supported on a table (not shown) provided on the sheet stack 92 by a plurality of rollers 102, and can be moved in the left and right directions in FIG. The seat table 94 is provided with a concave portion 94b, and interpolates with the middle plate 77 when moved to the right.

Next, a sensor microswitch and the like will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a sheet height sensor 103 is provided with a protrusion 64 extending from a support plate 64 of the pickup roller 68.
It is fixed so as to be turned on and off at a. When the sheet S on the middle plate 77 pushes up the pickup roller 68, the protruding portion 64a rises to turn on the sensor 103.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the middle plate 77 slightly rises above the seat table 94, the micro switch 104 for detecting the position of the middle plate 77 contacts the left end side portion 77a of the middle plate 77. It is provided to be in contact. The middle plate 77 can be lowered below the microswitch 104.

As shown in FIG. 2, the installation base 2 is provided with a micro switch 105, which is provided with a stopper (not shown) for detecting that the sheet stack 92 has been inserted and reaching a predetermined position and for stopping the sheet stack. Have been.

Also, a micro switch 10 is provided inside the rear plate of the seat base 94.
6,107 are provided, and a projection 94a on the back side of the seat table 94 is provided.
When the switch comes into contact with the switch 106, the return position of the seat table 94 is detected, and when it comes into contact with the switch 107, the projecting limit position is detected.

A microswitch 108 for detecting that the middle plate 77 is at the lowest position below the microswitch 104 is provided as shown in FIG.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a hole 94 is formed in the seat table 94.
C is provided, and the sensor lever 109 urged to protrude upward from the hole 94C is pivotally supported by the pin 109a, descends when the sheet S is stacked on the seat table 94, and rotates clockwise around the pin 109a. The photointerrupter 110 is turned on to turn on the photointerrupter 110 as the second detecting means.

Similarly, a hole 77C is provided in the middle plate 77, and the sensor lever 111 is provided.
Is pivotally supported by the pin 111a so as to protrude from the hole 77C,
When the sheets S are stacked on the middle plate 77, the sensor lever 111 turns on the photo interrupter 112, which is the first detecting means.

As shown in FIG. 7, a display unit 113 serving as a display means is provided.
When the photo interrupter 112 is turned off, the lamp 114 is inspected and a message such as "Sheet ran out" is displayed. When the photo interrupter 110 is turned off, the lamp 115 is inspected. Display such as "sheet replenishment required".

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. The operator stacks the sheet S on the sheet table 94 in a state where the sheet stack 92 is pulled out. When the sheets S have been stacked, the sheet stack 92 is inserted (Step 1). When the sheet stack 92 reaches a predetermined position, the micro switch 105 is pressed and the micro switch 1 is pressed.
05 is turned on, and the sheet stack 92 is stopped at that position by the stopper action (Step 2).

In response to the signal of micro switch 105 on, motor 97
Rotates forward (rotation in a direction to move the seat table 94 rightward in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the seat table 94 starts moving rightward (Step 3). When the seat base 94 reaches a predetermined position, the microswitch 107 is pressed by the protruding portion 94a and turned on (Step 4).
Is stopped (Step 5), and the motor 88 is rotated forward (the direction in which the middle plate 77 is raised) (Step 6). When the middle plate 77 reaches a little higher than the seat table 94, the right end side of the middle plate 77 The unit 77C turns on the microswitch 104 (Step 7). In this state, the sheet S has been delivered from the sheet table 94 to the middle plate 77.

In response to the signal of the micro switch 104 being turned on, the motor 97
Starts reverse rotation (Step 8), the seat table 94 moves to the left,
When returning to the predetermined position, the protrusion 94a of the seat table 94 turns on the micro switch 106 (Step 9), and at the same time, the motor
97 is stopped, the sheet table 94 stops, and stops at a position where sheets S can be stacked (Step 10). Lamp 115 in this state
(See FIG. 7) is lit to inform the operator that the sheet S needs to be replenished (Step 11).

On the other hand, in (Step 6), the middle plate 77 starts to rise by the motor 88, and when the sheet S stacked on the middle plate 77 pushes up the pickup roller 68, the protrusion 64a of the support plate 64 turns on the sheet height sensor 103. (Step 12). In response to this signal, the motor 88 stops and enters a paper feed waiting state (Step 1).
3).

Then, when the operator turns on the copy start key,
When the paper feed motor 57 (shown in FIG. 4) is started, the clutch 60 is turned on for a predetermined time at a predetermined timing, and the rotational force of the motor 57 is changed to the gears 58 and 59, the shaft 61, the pulley 62, the timing belt 67 The light is transmitted to the pickup roller 68 via the pulley 66 and the shaft 65. Then, the sheet S is fed to the separation unit 63 by the pickup roller 68, separated one by one, and the sheet S is conveyed to the sheet feeding path 69. (Step21). Further, the sheet S is conveyed from the paper supply path 69 to the paper supply path 23 through the conveyance path 49, is conveyed to the registration roller pair 26 by the conveyance roller pair 25, and is synchronized with the image of the copying unit 27 by the roller pair 26. Transported. Then, the image of the sheet S is copied by the copying unit 27, and the sheet S is transported to the fixing device 30 by the transport unit 29. Then, the sheet S is fixed with an image by the fixing device 30 by 30 and is conveyed by a conveying roller 31 to a flapper 32. Further, the sheet S is guided by a flapper 32 to a discharge roller pair 33, and the roller pair It is discharged out of the aircraft by 33. The sheet S is sequentially fed by the same operation, and the height of the sheet S decreases, and the sheet height sensor 103
The protruding portion 64a of the support plate 64 is separated from the sensor 103, and the sensor 103 is turned off (Step 22).

Then, in response to the off signal, the lift motor 88 starts forward rotation (Step 23), the intermediate plate 77 moves up, and the projection 64a turns on the sensor 103 (Step 24), and the lift motor 88 stops (Step 25). Further, when the desired number of sheets S have been copied (Step 26), the sheet feeding motor 57 stops (Step 27), and the copying operation ends. (Step 28) When the copying operation is repeated by the same operation and the sheet S is left on the intermediate plate 77, the photo interrupter 112 is turned off (Step 29). At this time, the above (Step1
In 1), when the sheet S has been replenished in the sheet table 94 that has run out of the sheet S (Step 29) or when the sheet S has not been replenished, the lamp 114 is turned on to wait for replenishment of the sheet S (Step 30). Reverse (Step3
1) When the middle plate 77 contacts the micro switch 108 (see FIG. 3) (Step 32), the lift motor 88 is stopped (St.
ep33).

Then, in response to the signal from the micro switch 108, the motor 97 starts normal rotation. That is, returning to (Step 3), (Step 3)
(4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13), the copy is held, and the second sheet storage 55 is lit by the lamp 115 to prompt the supply of the sheet S.

(G) Advantages of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the first and the second
1st and 2nd detecting the presence or absence of a sheet respectively in the sheet storage unit
Is provided, the first sheet detecting section detects that the sheets are stacked in the second sheet storage section,
When it is detected that there is no sheet in the sheet storage unit, it is possible to automatically move to the second sheet storage unit.
A large amount of sheets can be fed in a compact space.

In addition, when replenishing sheets to the second sheet stacking table, the second sheet stacking table can be pulled out of the apparatus main body via the support means in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the driving means. The second in the withdrawn state
It is possible to supply sheets to the sheet mounting table of
The replenishment operation becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device, FIG. 3 is a front view showing a sheet storage unit lift device and a sheet feeding mechanism, FIG. FIG. 4 is a detailed plan view of the sheet feeding apparatus, FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views showing detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet, respectively, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the display means, and FIGS. The figures are flowcharts each showing the operation of the present embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus (copying machine), 2 ... Stand (installation stand), 51 ... Sheet feeding apparatus, 52 ... Sheet feeding means,
53: first sheet storage unit, 54: lifting / lowering means (lift device), 55: second sheet storage unit, 77: first sheet mounting table (middle plate), 91: support means ( Rail), 94 second sheet mounting table (sheet table), 97 driving means (motor), 110, 112 ... detecting means (photo interrupter), 1
13 ... display means (display section), S ... sheet.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A first sheet storage unit for storing a sheet to be supplied to an image forming unit; a sheet feeding unit for feeding a sheet from the first sheet storage unit; and a supply to the first sheet storage unit. A sheet feeding device including a second sheet storage portion for storing sheets, wherein the first and second sheet storage portions are juxtaposed in an apparatus main body; wherein the first sheet storage portion includes the sheet A first sheet mounting table for loading and lifting the sheet, and elevating the first sheet mounting table between a sheet feeding position for feeding out the sheet by the sheet feeding means and a lowering position for replenishing the sheet. The second sheet storage unit includes a first sheet storage unit configured to store a sheet and store the first sheet in the first sheet storage unit. Supports horizontal movement toward the part And a drive for horizontally moving the second sheet mounting table between a standby position and a transfer position for transferring sheets to the first sheet mounting table at the lowered position. Means, support means for supporting the second sheet mounting table so as to be able to be pulled out of the apparatus main body in a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the driving means, and sheets arranged on the sheet mounting table and on the sheet mounting table And a second detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet feeding device. 2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the presence or absence of a sheet in said second sheet storage section based on detection by said second detection means. 3. The second sheet storage unit when a first sheet storage unit detects that there is no sheet in the first sheet storage unit by detecting first the presence or absence of a sheet in the first sheet storage unit. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stored in the first sheet storage unit is moved to the first sheet storage unit. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding device. Image forming apparatus.