JP2012106819A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper separation device suppressing generation of abnormal sound due to paper feeding operation even in long-term use.SOLUTION: The paper separation device includes a paper feeding roller 44 and a separation pad 51, a paper guide surface 75, a separation pad supporting member 53, an energizing member 59, a first elastic member 63 and an inhibiting member 69. The paper feeding roller and the separation pad are arranged in contact with each other to be opposed across a paper conveyance path. The paper guide surface is formed on the separation pad side along the paper conveyance path. The separation pad supporting member is provided to be swingable in a recess 77 formed on the paper guide surface, and the separation pad is attached to the separation pad supporting member. The energizing member 59 energizes the separation pad supporting member to the paper feeding roller side. The inhibiting member inhibits the separation pad supporting member from pressing the first elastic member over a position corresponding to an elastic limit point of the first elastic member when the separation pad supporting member swings.

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet separating apparatus that suppresses abnormal noise generated due to a separating action between a sheet feeding roller and a separating member.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sheet separating apparatus, a sheet stored in the apparatus is fed, and sheet reading or sheet image formation is performed on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. When feeding paper, the paper is fed by a paper feed roller and a separation pad that are arranged opposite to each other across the paper conveyance path, and a plurality of multi-feed papers are separated into one sheet. Only paper is sent downstream.

The separation pad support member to which the separation pad is attached is configured to be able to vibrate (oscillate) while being biased toward the paper feed roller by an elastic member such as a spring. Due to this configuration, during the paper feeding operation, the separation pad and the separation pad support member vibrate due to the influence of the paper fed by the paper feed roller, and this vibration noise is abnormal.

In order to solve the above problem, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-67784), as an anti-noise measure, vibration of the separation pad support member is suppressed by pressing the separation pad support member with an elastic member. Techniques for making them disclosed are disclosed.

JP 2005-67784 A

Certainly, if the above configuration is adopted, an effect as vibration suppression can be obtained, but if it is used for a long time, the elastic force that presses the separation pad support member cannot be obtained due to the deterioration of the elastic member over time, and noise is again generated. There was a problem that it occurred.

SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a sheet separating apparatus that can suppress the generation of abnormal noise caused by sheet feeding operation even during long-term use.

The invention according to claim 1 is as follows. That is, the paper separating device includes a paper feed roller and a separation pad, a paper guide surface, a separation pad support member, a biasing member, a first elastic member, and a suppression member. The paper feed roller and the separation pad are disposed in contact with each other across the paper conveyance path. The paper guide surface is formed on the separation pad side along the paper transport path. The separation pad support member is swingably provided in a recess formed in the paper guide surface, and a separation pad is attached to the separation pad support member. The urging member urges the separation pad support member toward the paper feed roller. The first elastic member is interposed in a gap between the separation pad support member and the recess. When the separation pad support member swings, the restraining member is configured such that the separation pad support member presses the first elastic member beyond a position corresponding to an elastic limit point of the first elastic member. Is suppressed.

According to this, when the separation pad support member swings from the paper feeding operation by the paper feed roller and the separation pad, the first elastic member is moved beyond the elastic limit point of the first elastic member. It can suppress that the said separation pad support member presses. Therefore, the first elastic member can be pressed against the separation pad support member for a long time without causing plastic deformation. That is, abnormal noise caused by vibration of the separation pad support member can be suppressed over a long period of time.

The invention according to claim 2 is as follows. In other words, the restraining member is a rib standing on the inner wall of the recess.

According to this, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the elastic member with the lapse of time only by forming a rib on the inner wall of the recess, and it is possible to suppress abnormal noise caused by vibration of the separation pad support member.

The invention according to claim 3 is as follows. That is, the separation pad support member swings around a predetermined swing axis. Further, the first elastic member is positioned on the swing locus of the separation pad support member, and the swing locus is positioned between the swing shaft and a position corresponding to the elastic limit point. By arranging the swing shaft, the swing shaft functions as the restraining member.

According to this, the first elastic member is positioned on the swing locus of the separation pad support member, and the swing locus is positioned between the swing shaft and a position corresponding to the elastic limit point. Thus, since the rocking shaft is arranged, it is possible to prevent the separation pad support member from pressing the first elastic member beyond the elastic limit point of the first elastic member. Therefore, the first elastic member can be pressed against the separation pad support member for a long time without causing plastic deformation, and abnormal noise caused by the vibration of the separation pad support member can be suppressed for a long time.

The invention according to claim 4 is as follows. That is, the first elastic member is made of polyethylene terephthalate and is interposed in a bent state.

According to this, since the polyethylene terephthalate can be given an elastic force by being bent and used, and since the polyethylene terephthalate is an inexpensive material, The product cost can be reduced while performing the same function. In addition, since the polyethylene terephthalate is bent and used, a gap remains even if the first elastic member is interposed in the gap between the concave portion and the first elastic member. The separation pad support member can be easily inserted into the recess, and can be easily replaced even when the separation pad support member is replaced.

The invention according to claim 5 is as follows. That is, the first elastic member is a rectangular sheet. The sheet body includes a base end portion attached to an inner wall of the concave portion, a free end portion that can swing around the base end portion, and a gap between the base end portion and the free end portion in the sheet body. And a bent portion that is bent. The free end presses the separation pad support member.

According to this, if one end of the sheet body is attached to the inner wall of the recess, the positional relationship between the sheet body and the separation pad support member and the elastic force of the sheet body can be easily changed by changing the folding position of the sheet body. Can be set to Further, since the free end portion has a wide movable range, it is possible to keep the contact even if the separation pad support member swings.

The invention according to claim 6 is as follows. That is, it further includes a second elastic member that is located between the first elastic member and the separation pad support member and is made of foamed synthetic resin.

According to this, the vibration of the separation support member is obtained by pressing the separation support member in combination with the first elastic member composed of polyethylene terephthalate and the second elastic member composed of foamed synthetic resin. Can be more effectively suppressed.

According to the present invention, since the elastic member is prevented from being plastically deformed, it is possible to provide a sheet separating device that can suppress the generation of abnormal noise caused by the sheet feeding operation even during long-term use.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the MFP 2 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the reading unit 4 of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the ADF 10 of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part of the second embodiment.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to FIGS. In addition, this embodiment is only preferable for description, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment unless specified to be particularly limited.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the multi-function machine 2 having the paper separating apparatus 1 will be described in detail below. The multifunction device 2 is a device having a printer unit 3 and a reading unit 4 and having a copy function, a facsimile function, a scanner function, and a PC print function as a single unit or a combination.

The printer unit 3 includes a paper feeding unit 5, an image forming unit 6, and a discharge unit 7. The printer unit 3 feeds recording paper accumulated in the paper feeding unit 5 and sends it to the image forming unit 6. After the image formation based on the electrophotographic method is performed on one side of the recording paper, the image formed on the recording paper is fixed and then discharged to the discharge unit 7. Note that a detailed image forming process and a configuration therefor are omitted in the description of the present invention, but can be appropriately combined with the present invention.

The reading unit 4 includes a document placing table 8, a document pressing plate 9, an ADF 10, and a reading unit 12, and the reading unit 12 is a document with the document pressing plate 9 fixing the document placed on the document placing table 8. Can be read by two methods: a flat bed method for reading the image and an ADF method in which the document is conveyed by the ADF 10 and the reading unit 12 reads the document.

The ADF 10 includes a document transport path 15 through which a document is transported, a transport guide 16 configured along the document transport path 15, and a document tray 17, a sheet separation device 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a document transport direction in the document transport path 15). A conveyance roller 19, a discharge roller 21, and a discharge tray 23. Each of the above-described components will be described below along the flow of ADF-type document reading and conveyance. A document for reading is placed on the document tray 17. The sheet separating device 1 feeds the topmost document one by one from the bundle of documents placed on the document tray 17 and feeds the fed document downstream in the transport direction. The transport rollers 19, 19, 19... Are arranged along the transport path 15, and further feed the document fed from the document tray 17 by the document separation device 1 toward the reading position R and the discharge roller 21. The document that has reached the reading position R is read by the reading unit 12 disposed below while being conveyed by the conveying roller 19 (details of the reading operation will be described later). For the document that has passed the reading position, the discharge roller 21 is driven to be discharged to the discharge tray 23. The document discharged by the discharge roller 21 is stored in the discharge tray 23 formed on the upper portion of the document pressing plate 9.

The reading unit 12 includes a light source 27, a reflection mirror 29, a condenser lens 31, and a charge coupled device 33, and is stored in the document table 8. The reading unit 12 is disposed so as to be visible through a platen glass 37 attached to the upper surface of the document table. Each of the above configurations will be described below along the flow of the document reading operation. When the document reaches the reading position R, the light source 27 irradiates the reading position R with light. The reflection mirrors 29, 29, and 29 guide the reflected light reflected by the document being conveyed to the condenser lens 31. The condensing lens 31 converges the reflected light introduced by the reflecting mirrors 29, 29, 29 on the charge coupled device 33. The charge coupled device 33 photoelectrically converts the convergent light and outputs the converted electric signal to a control unit (not shown). The read image data of the document is generated based on the electrical signal output from the charge coupled device 33 and subjected to various processes such as copying, facsimile transmission, Internet facsimile transmission, or storage in a storage unit (not shown). The

The document separating apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. The document separating apparatus 1 includes a swing member 39, a separating member 49, a first elastic member 63, a restraining member 69, and a paper feed conveyance guide 75.

The swing member 39 includes a pickup roller 41, a paper feed roller 44, and a connection holder 47, and these are integrally configured. The connection holder 47 connects the pickup roller 41 and the paper feed roller 44 and is supported by the housing 71 together with the pickup roller 41 and the paper feed roller 44 via a fixed shaft 45 provided on the housing 71 of the ADF. . The pickup roller 41 is supported via a fixed shaft 42 provided in the coupling portion holder 47 and is connected to the drive shaft 42 by a drive source (not shown) and a gear (not shown) provided coaxially with the fixed shaft 42. And is configured to be rotationally driven.
Further, the pickup roller 41 is made of, for example, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber). The paper feed roller 44 is supported via a fixed shaft 45 and is configured to be rotatable with respect to the fixed shaft 45 by a drive source (not shown) and a gear (not shown) provided coaxially with the fixed shaft 45. . The gears of the pickup roller 41 and the paper feed roller 44 described above are drivingly connected by a timing belt (not shown). The swing member 39 is configured to be swingable around the fixed shaft 45 by a paper feed clutch (not shown), and can be seated on the guide surface of the paper feed conveyance guide 75.

The separation member 49 includes a separation pad 51, a separation pad support holder 53, an adjustment screw 55, and a coil spring 59. The separation pad 51 is attached to a separation pad support holder 53 (to be described later) while facing the paper feed roller 44 across the document conveyance path 15 and in pressure contact with the paper feed roller 44. The material of the separation pad 51 is a material having a friction coefficient so as to be lower than the frictional force between the paper feeding roller 44 and the original and higher than the frictional force between the originals. And cork. The separation pad support holder 53 is integrated with the separation pad 51 attached to the separation pad support holder 53, and is swingably provided in a later-described recess 77 formed in the paper feed conveyance guide 75. The swing described above is an operation that swings in the vertical and horizontal directions. Further, like the separation pad 51, the separation pad support holder 53 has a longitudinal width along the direction of the fixed axis 45. The adjustment screw 55 is fastened to the screw hole 57 and the through hole 58 formed in the bottom surface (the paper feed conveyance guide 75) of the recess 77 so that the height T of the screw head can be adjusted. In the coil spring 59, one end is attached to the surface of the screw head of the adjustment screw 55, and the other end is attached to the separation pad support holder 53, and is arranged to be extendable. The coil spring 59 biases the separation pad support holder 53 toward the paper feed roller 44 side. As a result, the separation pad 51 attached to the separation pad support holder 53 is pressed against the opposing paper feed roller 44.

The first elastic member 63 is a leaf spring formed by bending a sheet body made of a rectangular PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material. The first elastic member 63 is interposed in the gap between the inner wall (more specifically, the inner wall) of the recess 77 and the side surface of the separation pad support holder 53, and more specifically, in the following state. That is, one end (base end portion 64) of the first elastic member 63 is attached to the inner wall (inner wall) of the recess 77, and the other end (free end portion 65) of the first elastic member 63 connects the base end portion 64. The first elastic member 63 is bent between the one end (base end) and the other end (free end) by pressing the side surface of the separation pad support holder 53 while being configured to be swingable in the center. A bent portion 66 that is a spot is located. Thereby, the free end (free end portion 65) of the first elastic member 63 has a wide movable range and maintains contact with the side surface of the separation pad support holder 53 even if the separation pad support holder 53 swings. it can. Here, the inner side wall of the recess 77 to which the first elastic member 63 is attached is the side wall on the downstream side in the document conveying direction. Note that, in order to reliably transmit the pressing force of the first elastic member 63 to the separation pad support holder 53, the first elastic member 63 is a region in contact with the separation pad support holder 53 (free end portion 65). However, it may be made of a material having a high friction coefficient. Further, a plurality of the first elastic members 63 may be provided, and in particular, it is effective to provide a plurality of the first elastic members 63 in the direction of the fixed shaft 45.

As described above, a rectangular sheet (PET material) as the first elastic member 63 is interposed between the separation pad support holder 53 and the inner wall of the recess 77 in a folded state. Therefore, the separation pad support holder 53 can be easily attached to and detached from the recess 77 due to the gap generated by the bending. In addition, when compared with the elastic member of the foamed resin material used without bending, there are the following differences. That is, normally, the separation pad support holder 53 is assembled after the foamed resin elastic member is attached to the inner wall of the recess 77, but the separation pad support holder 53 is inserted into the recess 77 in contact with the foam resin elastic member. For this reason, the elastic member of the foamed resin is pulled with the movement of the separation pad support holder 53 to cause a shape change, and as a result, the movement of the separation pad support holder 53 may be hindered. On the other hand, in the case of the first elastic member formed of a rectangular sheet body, the above-described problem does not occur, so that the separation pad support holder 53 can be easily attached. In the case of replacement, there is a more remarkable effect.

The restraining member 69 has a rib shape standing on the inner wall of the recess 77 and is made of, for example, resin. The restraining member 69 is provided such that the tip of the restraining member 69 is located closer to the separation pad support holder 53 than the elastic limit line A (an assembly of elastic limit points) of the first elastic member 63, and the separation pad support is provided. When the holder 53 swings, the separation pad support holder 53 presses the first elastic member 63 beyond the position corresponding to the elastic limit line A (a collection of elastic limit points) of the first elastic member 63. This is suppressed (see FIG. 5). A plurality of inhibiting members 69 may be arranged, and it is particularly effective to arrange a plurality of inhibiting members 69 along the direction of the fixed shaft 45. Furthermore, when a plurality of restraining members 69 are arranged, it is preferable to provide them in the vicinity of both sides of the first elastic member 63 in the direction of the fixed shaft 45.

The paper feed conveyance guide 75 is a part of the conveyance guide 16 configured along the document conveyance path 15, and more specifically, a conveyance guide formed on the separation pad 51 side along the document conveyance path 15. . A guide surface on the side of the document conveyance path 15 of the paper feed conveyance guide 75 is a paper feed conveyance guide surface 76. The concave portion 77 is formed in the paper feeding / conveying guide surface 76 (paper feeding / conveying guide 75), and a space in which the separation pad support holder 53 is accommodated in the concave portion 77 is formed in the concave portion 77. Further, the inner wall of the recess 77 has four inner walls and a bottom surface, and a gap is formed between the inner wall and bottom surface of the recess 77 and the separation pad support holder 53 provided in the recess 77. . A guide film 81 covering the gap is stuck on the paper feed / conveyance guide surface 76 so that the document fed along the paper feed / conveyance guide surface 76 is not caught in the gap. Further, the guide film 81 supports the separation pad support holder 53 from the upstream side in the document conveyance direction, and has an effect of suppressing the swing of the separation pad support holder 53 to the upstream side of document conveyance.

The operation of the document separating apparatus 1 will be described below. First, the swinging member 39 is seated on the uppermost document in the document stack placed on the document tray 17 by swinging the pickup roller 41 side around the fixed shaft 45. The pickup roller 41 seated on the document rotates around the fixed shaft 42 in the document transport direction and feeds the document. The fed document is fed between the feed roller 44 and the separation pad 51 while being guided by the feed conveyance guide 75. The paper feed roller 44 is driven to rotate around the fixed shaft 45 in the document transport direction, like the pickup roller 41, and further feeds the transported document downstream in the document transport direction. At this time, the separation pad 51 applies a frictional force in the direction opposite to the document conveying direction to the lower surface of the document. As a result, even if the originals are double-fed, only one original can be sent downstream in the original conveying direction.

During the above-described separation operation, the separation pad 51 receives a force in the document conveyance direction from the document conveyed by the pickup roller 41 and the paper feed roller 44 while in contact with the document. Therefore, the separation pad support holder 53 receives the above-described force through the separation pad 51, so that the coil spring 59 and the adjustment screw 55 are used as a base point between the original conveyance direction and the opposite direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4). Swing. When the separation pad support holder 53 swings toward the first elastic member 63 (downstream in the document conveyance direction), the first elastic member 63 is compressed toward the inner wall side (downstream in the document conveyance direction) of the recess 77. move on. On the other hand, since the first elastic member 63 contracts as the compression action from the separation pad support holder 53 becomes stronger, the pressing force against the separation pad support holder 53 also increases. Therefore, the first elastic member 63 can suppress the swing of the first elastic member 63, and as a result, can suppress the abnormal noise caused by the swing of the first elastic member 63. is there.

In addition, since the document passes between the paper feed roller 44 and the separation pad 51, the separation pad 51 and the separation pad support holder 53 are pushed downward by the thickness of the document. Since the separation pad support holder 53 is biased toward the paper feed roller 44 by the coil spring 59 on the bottom surface side of the recess 77, the separation pad support holder 53 is substantially in the document conveyance direction while the separation pad 51 is in contact with the document. It also oscillates in the orthogonal direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 4). Since this vertical swing can also be suppressed by the pressing force of the first elastic member 63, it is possible to suppress abnormal noise caused by the swing of the first elastic member 63.

However, if the separation pad support holder 53 receives a pressing force from the first elastic member 63 and continues to swing to the downstream side in the document transport direction, the elastic limit point of the first elastic member 63 may be exceeded. There is. When the separation pad support holder 53 compresses the first elastic member 63 to a position beyond the elastic limit point, the first elastic member 63 undergoes plastic deformation, and the separation pad support holder 53 is retracted upstream in the document conveyance direction. However, the original shape cannot be restored and the original noise prevention effect cannot be exhibited. Taking this point into consideration, the restraining member 69 is provided on the inner side wall of the recess 77 to which the first elastic member 63 is attached. The restraining member 69 restrains the separation pad support holder 53, which advances downstream in the document conveyance direction, from being advanced further by the tip of the restraining member 69. For this reason, the first elastic member 63 receives the compression action of the separation pad support holder 53 only up to the tip of the restraining member 69.

As described above, when the separation pad support holder 53 swings from the paper feeding operation by the paper feed roller 44 and the separation pad 51, the elastic limit point (elastic limit line A) of the first elastic member 63 is exceeded. It is possible to prevent the separation pad support holder 53 from pressing one elastic member 63. Therefore, the first elastic member 63 can be pressed against the separation pad support holder 53 for a long time without causing plastic deformation. That is, it is possible to suppress abnormal noise caused by the swing (vibration) of the separation pad support holder 53 over a long period of time.

In addition, by simply forming a rib on the inner wall of the recess 77, the first elastic member 63 can be prevented from being deteriorated with time, and abnormal noise caused by the swing (vibration) of the separation pad support holder 53 can be suppressed.

Also, it can be made elastic by bending and using polyethylene terephthalate, and since polyethylene terephthalate is an inexpensive material, it has the same function as other elastic members made of foamed synthetic resin. The product cost can be suppressed while demonstrating.

Further, if one end of the first elastic body 63 (sheet body) is attached to the inner wall of the recess 77, the positional relationship between the sheet body and the separation pad support holder 53 and the sheet can be changed by changing the folding position of the sheet body. The elastic force of the body can be set easily.

Next, the document separation device 90 of the second embodiment will be described below. A difference from the first embodiment is that a rocking shaft 92 and an engaging member 94 are provided as restraining members instead of ribs, and the other configurations are the same as those of the original separating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. is there. Therefore, below, description is abbreviate | omitted about the same structure as Embodiment 1, and the said difference is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 and 7, the part numbers having the same configurations as those in the first embodiment are omitted.

In the document separation device 90 of the second embodiment, a swing shaft 92 (a deterring member) is provided on the separation pad support holder 53. That is, the separation pad support holder 53 has a recess formed on the bottom surface, and the swing shaft 92 is attached to both inner wall surfaces. On the other hand, the engaging member 94 with which the swing shaft 92 is engaged is formed in an inverted L shape, and the end of the engaging member 94 is attached to the bottom surface of the recess 77. Note that the engaging member 94 may be integrally formed with the paper feed conveyance guide 75 including the recess 77.

The separation pad support holder 53 is configured to be swingable around the swing shaft 92 through the swing locus B by the engagement of the swing shaft 92 and the engaging member 94. In addition, the first elastic member 63 is positioned on the swing locus B of the separation pad support holder 53, and the position and swing shaft where the swing locus B corresponds to the elastic limit line C (aggregation of elastic limit points). The swing shaft 92 is disposed so as to be positioned between the swing shaft 92 and the swing shaft 92 functions as a restraining member. That is, even if the separation pad support holder 53 swings around the swing axis, the swing shaft 92 restricts the swing of the separation pad support holder so that the first elastic member 63 is not compressed beyond the elastic limit point. To do.

As described above, the first elastic member 63 is positioned on the swing locus B of the separation pad support holder 53, and the swing locus B is located between the swing shaft 92 and the position corresponding to the elastic limit point (elastic limit line C). Since the swinging shaft 92 is disposed so as to be positioned between them, the separation pad support holder 53 presses the first elastic member 63 beyond the elastic limit point of the first elastic member 63. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the first elastic member 63 can be pressed against the separation pad support holder 53 for a long time without causing plastic deformation, and abnormal noise resulting from the oscillation (vibration) of the separation pad support holder 53 is generated for a long time. Can be suppressed.

Further, since the free end portion 65 of the first elastic member 63 is configured to be swingable like a swinging locus D around the bent portion 64, the free end portion 65 is adapted to swing of the separation pad support holder 53. Although it is possible to follow, when the separation pad support holder 53 swings downward too much, the free end portion 65 jumps upward beyond the separation pad support holder 53, and the free end portion 65 and the bent portion 66 are moved. It may disappear. Taking this point into consideration, the separation pad support holder 53 is restricted so that it cannot swing more than a predetermined angle by the thickness and biasing force of the coil spring 59. In FIG. 7, the separation pad support holder 53 is configured not to swing below the swing limit point a, and the swing limit point a is the free end portion 65 of the first elastic member 63 (the point in FIG. 7). The first elastic member 63 presses the swinging separation pad support holder 53 under the relationship of being positioned above (shown as b). Thereby, the separation pad support holder 53 can be pressed in a state where the free end portion 65 and the bent portion 66 are always provided. A member other than the coil spring 53 may be used as a means for restricting the swing of the separation pad support holder 53.

Various other embodiments are conceivable, but the following configuration may be used as an example. That is, in addition to the first elastic member 63, a second elastic member (not shown) is newly provided, and the first elastic member 63 and the second elastic member are used in parallel. The second elastic member is a sponge-like material made of foamed synthetic resin, and is attached to the separation pad support holder 53 so as to be positioned between the first elastic member 63 and the separation pad support holder 53.

As described above, by pressing the separation support holder 53 in combination with the first elastic member 63 made of polyethylene terephthalate and the second elastic member made of foamed synthetic resin, the separation support holder swings ( Abnormal noise resulting from (vibration) can be more effectively suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking the sheet separating apparatuses 1 and 90 in the ADF 10 as an example. However, in the sheet feeding unit 5 of the printer unit 3, the separation pad and the separation pad support member are provided swingably. In the case where an elastic member for suppressing the swing is provided, the same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper separator 3 Printer part 4 Reading part 8 Original mounting base 9 Original press board 10 ADF12 Reading unit 15 Original conveyance path 17 Original tray 23 Discharge tray 39 Swing member 44 Paper feed roller 45 Fixed shaft 49 Separation member 51 Separation pad 53 Separation pad support holder 63 First elastic member 64 Base end portion 65 Free end portion 66 Bending portion 69 Suppression member 75 Paper feed conveyance guide 76 Paper feed conveyance guide surface 77 Recess 90 Document separation device 92 Oscillating shaft 94 Engagement member A Elastic limit line B Oscillation locus C Elastic limit line D Oscillation locus R Reading position R

Claims (6)

Formed on the paper guide surface and the paper guide surface formed on the side of the separation pad along the paper conveyance path, the paper feed roller and the separation pad arranged in contact with each other across the paper conveyance path A separation pad support member that is swingably provided in the recess and to which a separation pad is attached; a biasing member that biases the separation pad support member toward the paper feed roller; the separation pad support member and the recess; When the separation pad support member swings between the first elastic member interposed in the gap, the separation pad support member moves beyond the position corresponding to the elastic limit point of the first elastic member. And a deterring member that depresses pressing of the first elastic member. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restraining member is a rib standing on the inner wall of the recess. The separation pad support member swings around a predetermined swing axis, the first elastic member is positioned on a swing locus of the separation pad support member, and the swing locus is in contact with the swing shaft and the swing shaft. The paper according to claim 1, wherein the swing shaft functions as the restraining member by arranging the swing shaft so as to be positioned between the position corresponding to the elastic limit point. Separation device. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first elastic member is made of polyethylene terephthalate and is interposed in a bent state. The first elastic member is a rectangular sheet body, and the sheet body includes a base end portion attached to an inner wall of the recess, a free end portion swingable around the base end portion, The sheet body includes a bent portion that is located between the base end portion and the free end portion and is bent, and the free end portion presses the separation pad support member. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 4. 5. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second elastic member that is located between the first elastic member and the separation pad support member and is formed of a foamed synthetic resin. .

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