JP2863672B2 - Sheet material feeding device and image reading device - 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 apparatus applied to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine, for example, sheet materials such as originals conveyed from a sheet material mounting table are separated one by one by separation means, and the sheets conveyed by the conveyance means after separation. The reading section reads the image information from the material and discharges the material outside the apparatus.

[0003] The sheet material on the mounting table is rotated while a pre-conveying means (hereinafter referred to as a pre-conveying roller) disposed below the mounting table is in contact with the lowest position of the stacked sheet material. In this way, the sheet material is conveyed to the separating means from the lowermost side. The rotation axis of the preliminary transport roller is normally in a fixed state, and the outer peripheral surface of the preliminary transport roller turns on and off the transport force to the sheet material.
For example, there is a configuration in which the outer peripheral surface of the preliminary conveyance roller is moved upward or retracted from the mounting table when the preliminary conveyance roller rotates because of the shape such as an ellipse or a triangle.

On the other hand, there is also a conveying method in which the position of the preliminary conveying roller moves up and down, and the sheet material is conveyed by contacting the sheet material on the mounting table. The vertical movement of the preliminary transport roller is controlled by an electric signal using an electric device such as a plunger or an electromagnetic clutch.

[0005]

However, when a preliminary transport roller having an elliptical or triangular peripheral surface is used, the preliminary transport roller moves in and out of the mounting table when feeding the sheet material. Because the conveyance force acts or does not act, it takes a long time to feed paper, and the effect on the separation means is not stable, which may cause feeding failure such as double feeding or non-feeding of sheet materials. Had become.

Further, in a mechanism in which a plunger or an electromagnetic clutch is used to raise and lower the preliminary conveying roller by an electric signal, the use of electric parts increases costs and increases the size of the apparatus. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus which stabilizes the influence of a preliminary conveying roller on a separating unit without using an electric component or a control unit thereof. It is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a preliminary conveying means for feeding out a sheet material placed on a mounting table, and separating the sheet material sent out by the preliminary conveying means one by one. Separating means for conveying the sheet material, a driving means for driving the separating means and the preliminary conveying means, a sheet material conveying means for conveying the sheet material separated by the separating means at a speed higher than the conveying speed of the separating means, The one-way rotation of the driving means is transmitted to the drive shaft of the driving means to cause the sheet material to be separated and conveyed, and when the separated sheet material is conveyed by the sheet material conveying means, the conveyance speed is reduced. The separation unit rotates with the sheet material due to the difference, and the rotation control unit that interrupts the transmission of the one-way rotation to the drive shaft by the rotation, Supporting means for movably supporting between a feeding position and a non-conveying position, and for transmitting the one-way rotation of the driving means to the driving shaft, thereby moving the preliminary conveying means to a conveying position; Evacuation means comprising rotation generating means for causing the drive shaft to rotate in the other direction when transmission of rotation in one direction from the drive means to the drive shaft is interrupted by the rotation control means. The support member may move the preliminary transporting unit from the transport position to the non-transport position by the rotation of the drive shaft in the other direction generated by the rotation generating unit.

[0009]

[0010]

According to the above construction, when the rotation control means transmits the rotational force from the driving means in one direction to the driving shaft, the rotation causes the supporting means to move the preliminary conveying means to the conveying position, and the preliminary conveying means The sheet bundle loaded on the mounting table is sent out to the separation unit side.

The sheet materials separated one by one by the separation means are further conveyed by the sheet material conveyance means. However, since the conveyance speed of the sheet material conveyance means is faster than the conveyance speed of the separation means, the separation means is not used. It rotates with the sheet material.

By the rotation of the separating means, the rotation control means interrupts the transmission of rotation in one direction to the drive shaft, and the rotation generating means reverses the drive shaft. Retreat to the transport position. This allows
When the separating device rotates, the preliminary transport device is positively retracted from the transport position to the non-transport position.

In this manner, the sheet material can be sequentially fed by positively automatically moving the preliminary conveying means between the conveying position and the non-conveying position only by the rotation of the driving means.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus 100 for forming an image. The apparatus main body 2 of the sheet material feeding apparatus 1 includes an upper main body 2b and a lower main body 2a, and forms a sheet conveying path 2c. On the upstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the sheet material feeding device 1, a sheet material mounting table 13 for mounting a plurality of sheet materials S from which images are to be read is provided. Is provided with a sheet material presence / absence detection sensor 15 for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet material S as a document.

On the downstream side of the sheet material presence / absence detection sensor 15, a preliminary conveyance roller 3 serving as a preliminary conveyance means for sending and conveying the sheet material S as described later, and a case where a plurality of sheet materials S are sent out Are provided with separating rollers 5 as separating means for separating the sheets one by one as described later.

Further, on the downstream side of the separation roller 5, a pair of conveyance rollers 16 for conveying the separated sheet material S, and a reading unit 1 for reading image information of the conveyed sheet material S.
7 and a discharge roller pair 19 for discharging the read sheet material S out of the machine are sequentially arranged. Between the transport roller pair 16 and the reading unit 17, the sheet material S which is separately transported is provided. A cueing sensor 20 for detecting the leading end of the camera is provided. The transport speed V ₂ of the sheet material S by the transport roller pair 16, than the conveying speed V ₁ by the separation roller 5, is set to be faster.

As shown in FIG. 2, a frame 21 having wall plates 21a and 21b is disposed in the lower main body 2a below the sheet mounting table 13, and is rotatable on the wall plates 21a and 21b. As shown in FIG. 3, the separation shaft 6, which is a drive shaft mounted on the, integrally has large-diameter portions 6a and 6b. A separation roller 5 having a boss 5a and a separation gear 35 having a boss 35a are rotatably mounted on the left and right sides of the large diameter portion 6a of the separation shaft 6, respectively. The large diameter portion 6a, the bosses 5a and 35a having the same diameter as this, the clutch spring 11a wound around them, and the like constitute a first clutch (rotation control means) 11 composed of a one-way rotation clutch. I have.

A motor gear 33 meshing with the separation gear 35 is fixed to an output shaft 32 of a driving motor 31 which is driving means fixed to a fixing member (not shown). It rotates in the direction. The first clutch 11 is connected when the separation gear 35 is rotated in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 3) by the motor gear 33, and the rotational force of the drive motor 31 is applied to the separation roller 5 and the separation shaft 6. It is designed to communicate.
Based on the connection of the first clutch 11, the separation roller 5 and the separation shaft 6 rotate in the sheet material feeding direction indicated by arrow A (forward rotation direction).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the vicinity of the large diameter portion 6b of the separation shaft 6, a reverse driven pulley 51a integrally having a winding portion 51b having the same diameter as the separation shaft 6 is rotatably mounted. ing. The reverse driven pulley 51a is connected to the drive motor 31.
Reverse drive pulley 49 fixed to the output shaft 32
And the drive motor 3
At the time of the rotation of 1, it always rotates in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG.

The winding portion 51 of the reverse driven pulley 51a
The second clutch (reverse clutch) 12, which is a one-way rotating clutch, is constituted by b, the large diameter portion 6b of the separation shaft 6, and the clutch spring 12a wound around these. The winding direction of the clutch spring 12a of the second clutch 12 is the same as that of the above-described clutch spring 11a of the first clutch 11, but the loosening torque of the clutch spring 11a and the clutch spring 12a with respect to the separation shaft 6 is smaller than that of the clutch. The spring 12a is set to be larger.

As means for transmitting the reverse power,
It is also possible to use a gear pair instead of the reversing belt 50, or to use a torque limiter that cuts off the drive from the drive motor 31 when a certain load acts, instead of the second clutch 12.

Further, a support shaft 22 is disposed on the frame 21 at a position upstream of the separation shaft 6.
2, an intermediate portion of a support member 7 having wall plates 7a and 7b on both sides is rotatably mounted. A preliminary transport roller 3 integrally having a preliminary transport pulley 23 is rotatably mounted on the support member 7 by a support shaft 25. An idle pulley 27 is rotatably mounted on the support member 7 by a support shaft 26.
7 and a wall plate 7a of the support member 7, an idle pulley 27
A cushion member 29 serving as friction means for applying a load to the support member 7 to generate a rotating force described later on the support member 7 is provided.

A drive pulley 30 is fixed to the left end (lower end in FIG. 2) of the separation shaft 6, and the drive pulley 30, the preliminary transport pulley 23 and the idle pulley 27 are rotation transmitting members. Each is connected by a certain moving belt 9. The drive pulley 30 integrated with the separation shaft 6 rotates in the forward direction indicated by arrow A, and the moving belt 9 rotates in the forward direction indicated by arrow C (counterclockwise in FIG. 1).
, The support member 7 is rotated about the support shaft 22 in the direction of arrow F (forward rotation) by the power generated by the load action of the cushion member 29 described above, and the drive pulley 30 is similarly indicated by arrow B. When the moving belt 9 rotates in the reverse direction and rotates in the direction of arrow D, the support member 7 rotates in the direction of arrow F (reverse direction) in FIG.

The rotation of the support member 7 in the normal rotation direction is regulated by a normal rotation stopper 42 (see FIG. 1) provided below the support member 7, and the rotation of the support member 7 in the reverse rotation direction is controlled by the reverse rotation stopper. 41. When the support member 7 rotates in the normal rotation direction as described above, the preliminary transport roller 3 moves in the ascending direction, and the upper peripheral surface of the preliminary transport roller 3 moves from a hole (not shown) formed in the sheet mounting table 13. It extends above the sheet material mounting table 13 and contacts the lower surface side of the sheet material S.

A document holder 43 whose base is pivotally supported by the upper main body 2b and whose free end is urged downward by a compression spring 45 is disposed above the preliminary transport roller 3. At the time of the above-mentioned ascent, the document presser 43 comes into contact with the preliminary transport roller 3 and gives the preliminary transport roller 3 a transport force for transporting the sheet material S. A separating member 46 whose base is pivotally supported by the upper main body 2b is disposed above the separating roller 5, and is pressed against the separating roller 5 by a compression spring 47. The sheet material S conveyed in cooperation with the rollers 5 is separated.

The transport roller pair 16 and the discharge roller pair 19 are connected to a drive motor 31 via a transmission system such as a gear train or a belt (not shown). Therefore, by the rotation of the drive motor 31, the transport roller pair 16 and the discharge roller pair 19 are simultaneously driven together with the separation roller 5 and the preliminary transport roller 3 described above.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of control of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure,
Reference numeral 55 denotes a control unit such as a facsimile apparatus provided with a document feeder as the sheet feeder of the present invention. The control unit 55 controls the sheet material presence / absence detection sensor 15, the reading unit 17, the cueing sensor 20, the drive motor 31, and the like.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described.

First, the operation of the preliminary conveyance system for feeding out the sheet material S on the sheet material mounting table 13 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preliminary transport roller 3
The driving pulley 3 integrated with the separation roller 5 and the separation shaft 6 is retracted to a position below the sheet material mounting table 13.
0 is driven in the normal rotation direction (direction of arrow A) as described later. Then, the rotation of the driving pulley 30 is rotated by the idle pulley 27 and the preliminary transport pulley 23 via the moving belt 9.
, The support member 7 first rotates about the support shaft 22 in the forward rotation direction indicated by the arrow E, engages with the forward rotation stopper 42, and stops its rotation. Next, the preliminary transport roller 3
The idle pulley 27 rotates in the direction of arrow G in FIG.

In order for the support member 7 and the preliminary transport roller 3 to operate as described above, the rotational resistance of the support member 7 should be reduced as much as possible. In the rotation range, the support member 7 does not rotate due to the weight of the preliminary transport roller 3, the preliminary transport pulley 23, the support shaft 25, the idle pulley 27, the support shaft 26, and the support member 7 itself. It is necessary to apply a load to the rotation of the preliminary transport pulley 23 or the idle pulley 27 to such an extent as to be able to stop at an arbitrary position.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the idle pulley 27 is mounted on the support shaft 26 with the cushion member 29 sandwiched between the idle pulley 27 and the wall plate 7a of the support member 7. The support member 7 can be stopped at an arbitrary position by applying a load. The position of the forward rotation stopper 42 is set so that the preliminary conveyance roller 3 is located above the sheet material mounting table 13 and is also appropriately pressed by the document presser 43 at the same time.

Conversely, when the driving pulley 30 rotates in the reverse direction shown by the arrow B in FIG. 1 and the driving is transmitted to the idle pulley 27 and the preliminary conveying pulley 23 by the moving belt 9, the driving pulley 30 moves to the state shown in FIG. As shown, first, the support member 7 rotates in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow F) about the support shaft 22 and engages with the reverse rotation stopper 41 to stop the rotation.

At this time, the position of the reverse rotation stopper 41 is set so that the preliminary conveying roller 3 is located below the sheet material mounting table 13. Also, within the rotation range of the support member 7,
The outer circumference of each of the preliminary transport pulley 23, the idle pulley 27, and the drive pulley 30 is configured to be substantially constant, so that the rotation of the support member 7 causes the moving belt 9 to be too tight or too loose. There is nothing.

Next, the reading operation of the facsimile apparatus 100 to which the sheet feeding apparatus 1 is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the user sets the sheet material S on the sheet material mounting table 13 (S1), the sheet material presence / absence detection sensor 15 detects this (S2) and sends a detection signal to the control unit 55. The drive motor 31 rotates in the direction of the arrow 37 by the signal from the control unit 55 (S3), and the separation gear 3
5 is rotated in the direction of arrow A (forward rotation direction). Separation gear 3
Since the forward rotation operation of No. 5 is in the direction in which the clutch spring 11a is tightened, the first clutch 11 is connected. By the connection of the first clutch 11, the large diameter portion 6a of the separation shaft 6 and the boss 5a of the separation roller 5 are integrated with the separation gear 35, whereby the separation roller 5 and the separation shaft 6 move in the same direction indicated by the arrow A. Rotate.

On the other hand, the rotation of the drive motor 31 causes the reverse driven pulley 51a and the winding part 51b integral therewith to rotate.
In FIG. 3, it rotates in the direction of arrow B (reverse direction). Second
The large-diameter portion 6b of the separation shaft 6 constituting the clutch 12 rotates in the direction of arrow A, and the winding portion 51b rotates in the direction of arrow B in the opposite direction, but the clutch spring 12a is loose and self-sufficient. Therefore, the rotation of the separation shaft 6 in the direction of arrow A is not prevented. That is, the rotation of the drive motor 31 connects the first clutch 11 and disconnects the second clutch 12, so that the rotation of the drive motor 31 is transmitted to the separation shaft 6 only by the first clutch 11,
The second clutch 12 does not participate in the transmission operation.

Separation shaft 6 and drive pulley 30 integral therewith
Is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the support member 7 rotates in the forward direction as described above, and the preliminary transport roller 3 comes into contact with the sheet material S, thereby feeding the sheet material bundle on the mounting table 13. I do. The fed sheet material bundle is sent to the separation roller 5, and then the lowermost sheet material S is sent to the nip portion of the separation roller 5. When a plurality of sheets S are sent to the nip portion, the sheets are separated and only one sheet S is sent to the transport roller pair 16.

When the user inserts the sheet material S at a speed lower than the peripheral speed of the preliminary conveyance roller 3 when setting the sheet material S on the sheet material mounting table 13, the sheet material S is moved by the preliminary conveyance roller 3. When the sheet material S is inserted faster than the peripheral speed of the preliminary transport roller 3,
The preliminary transport roller 3 is rotated by the sheet material S, and is rotated faster than the rotational speed given from the drive motor 31.

Due to the rotation of the preliminary transport roller 3, the length of the movable belt 9 between the preliminary transport pulley 23 and the driving pulley 30 increases and the idle pulley 27
The support member 7 is turned in the direction of arrow F in FIG. As a result, since the preliminary transport roller 3 descends in a direction away from the sheet material S, there is no problem that the sheet material S is caught by the preliminary transport roller 3 and damages the sheet material S when the sheet material is inserted.

Thereafter, when the user stops inserting the sheet material S, the preliminary transport roller 3 comes in contact with the sheet material S again and feeds the sheet material S. The rotation of the support member 7 is regulated by the reverse rotation stopper 41 so that the support member 7 does not rotate more than necessary in the reverse rotation direction (S3).

When the lowermost first sheet S of the sheet material S fed by the preliminary conveying roller 3 is separated by the separating roller 5 and the separating member 46, and the leading end is detected by the cue sensor 20, The control unit 55 controls the rotation of the drive motor 31 to stop (S4).

In this state, the user sets the image density, resolution and the like when reading the image information, and the reading is started again (S5). In response to a signal from the controller 55, the drive motor 31 is rotated (S6), and the separation roller 5 and the separation shaft 6 are rotated in the normal rotation direction indicated by the arrow A.

The separated sheet material S is transported by a pair of transport rollers 16.
Is carried to the reading unit 17 (S7), and image information is read (S8). After the image reading is completed, the sheet material S is discharged out of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 19 (S9). Thereafter, when the sheet material presence / absence detection sensor 15 detects that the sheet material S still exists on the sheet material mounting table 13 (S10), the next sheet material S is conveyed in the same manner as the above-described operation. When the sheet material S is no longer detected, the control unit 55 controls the drive motor 31 to stop assuming that reading of all the sheet materials S has been completed (S11).

[0046] In the step S7, configured to convey roller pair 16 when conveyed to the reading section 17 of the sheet material S, the peripheral speed V ₂ of the conveying roller pair 16 is faster than the circumferential speed V ₁ of the separation roller 5 Therefore, the separation roller 5 is rotated by the conveyed sheet material S. Accordingly, the separation roller 5 is rotated in the forward direction at a speed higher than the rotation speed of the drive motor 31, that is, the rotation speed of the separation gear 35.

2 and 3, when the boss 5a of the separation roller 5 rotates at a higher speed than the large-diameter portion 35a of the separation gear 35, the clutch spring 11a wound around the boss 5a loosens. Become the first clutch 1
1 is interrupted. As a result, the separation gear 35 idles, and the power transmission operation to the separation shaft 6 is also shut off.

On the other hand, the loosening torque by the clutch spring 12a acts on the large-diameter portion 6b constituting the second clutch 12.
Since the loose torque of the clutch 12 is set to be larger than the loose torque of the first clutch 11,
Rotates in the reverse direction indicated by arrow B. That is, when the first clutch 11 is disconnected, the loosening torque of the second clutch 12 causes the separation shaft 6 to rotate in the reverse direction (arrow B).
Direction). Even if the separation shaft 6 rotates in the reverse direction as described above, the separation roller 5 rotates following the sheet material S and is driven to rotate in the normal rotation direction.

Separation shaft 6 and drive pulley 30 integral therewith
Is rotated in the reverse direction, the moving belt 9 is rotated in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow D, whereby the support member 7 is rotated about the support shaft 22 in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow F). The rotation of the support member 7 is performed until the downstream end of the support member 7 engages with the reverse rotation stopper 41. The reverse rotation of the support member 7 causes the preliminary conveyance roller 3 to move the sheet material placing table 1
3 to move in a direction away from the upper sheet material S, so that unnecessary conveying force to the sheet material S is eliminated.

Thereafter, when the trailing end of the sheet material S passes through the separation roller 5, the sheet material S no longer rotates together with the separation roller 5. As a result, when the first clutch 11 is connected again, the moving belt 9 rotates in the forward rotation direction, and the support member 7 rotates in the forward rotation direction (the direction of arrow E). The sheet material S is fed in contact with the sheet material S. When the first clutch 11 is connected again as described above and the separation shaft 6 rotates in the normal rotation direction, the power transmission function of the second clutch 12 that has transmitted the power of the reverse rotation is released.

When the next sheet material S does not require a preliminary conveyance force, that is, when a plurality of sheet materials S
There is a case where the nip portion between the sheet and the separating member 46 is appropriately wedge-shaped and conveyed by only the separating roller 5.
In such a case, the first clutch 11 is disengaged again before the preliminary conveyance roller 3 comes out above the sheet material mounting table 13 and the preliminary conveyance force is recovered.

For this reason, the supporting member 7 moves the forward rotation stopper 42 and the reverse rotation stopper 41 longer than the time for the separation roller 5 to convey the sheet material S from the separation position to the conveying roller pair 16.
The time required to move between the sheets, that is, the time required for the preliminary conveyance roller 3 to come into contact with the sheet material S from the position farthest from the sheet material S on the sheet material mounting table 13 is set to be longer. Thus, the unnecessary preliminary conveyance force does not act on the next sheet material S in terms of timing (S7).

With the above-described configuration of the sheet material feeding device of the present invention, the pre-conveyance force for the sheet material S can be automatically controlled by one drive motor 31 without any complicated control. Not only can it be activated or blocked, but also the setting of the sheet material S on the sheet material mounting table 13 can be improved.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a first modification of the first embodiment. In this modification, a gear is used instead of the moving belt 9 as a means for driving the preliminary transport roller 3. It was what was. In the figure, a preliminary conveyance gear 56 is coaxially fixed to the preliminary conveyance roller 3, and the preliminary conveyance gear 56 is connected to a support member 7 via a preliminary conveyance transmission gear 57 pivotally supported by a support shaft 57 a. It is connected to a support member gear 59 pivotally supported by the support shaft 22. Further, the support member gear 59 is connected to a drive gear 61 provided integrally with the separation shaft 6 via a drive transmission gear 60 pivotally supported on the frame body 21 by a support shaft 60a. A preliminary transport roller 3 is provided between the preliminary transport gear 56 and the wall plate 7a of the support member 7.
A cushion member 29 for applying a load to the rotation of the member is interposed therebetween.

In the above-described driving force transmission configuration, by selecting the arrangement of each gear and the number of teeth, the support member 7 is selected.
Can be set relatively freely even if there are some restrictions.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second modification of the first embodiment. In this modification, the support shaft of the support member 7 is shared with the separation shaft 6. Drive gear 61
Is connected to a preliminary transport gear 56 integral with the preliminary transport roller 3 via an idle gear 62 pivotally supported by the support member 7 by a support shaft 62a. With such a configuration, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost of the apparatus can be kept low. The drive may be transmitted using a belt instead of the idle gear 62.

FIG. 11 shows a third modification of the first embodiment. In this modified example, the preliminary transport roller 3 and the preliminary transport pulley 23 are connected by a clutch. In the figure, a spring clutch 63 is disposed between the preliminary transport roller 3 and the preliminary transport pulley 23. The spring clutch 63 is used when the preliminary transport roller 3 rotates forward (rotates in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 1). , To shut off.

Since the power transmission system to the preliminary transport roller 3 is configured as described above, even when the driving pulley 30 rotates in the reverse direction, the preliminary transport roller 3 is rotated by the sheet material S. 3 does not rub the sheet material (document) S and contaminate it, and the reverse rotation of the support member 7 can be performed smoothly. Further, when the user sets the sheet material S, even if the sheet material S is inserted faster than the peripheral speed of the preliminary transport roller 3, the spring clutch 63 is disengaged and the preliminary transport roller 3 is released.
Does not damage the sheet material S.

FIG. 12 shows a fourth modification of the first embodiment. This modification shows another means for applying a load to the idle pulley 27 of the support member 7. In the figure, a friction plate 65 is loosely fitted to the support shaft 26 at the position of the inner end of the idle pulley 27, and a part of the friction plate 65 is fixed to the support member 7 so that it cannot rotate. ing. The friction plate 65 is a wall plate 7b of the support member 7.
The idle pulley 27 is pressed by the elastic force of a compression spring 66 disposed between the frictional plate 65 and the friction plate 65 to apply a load to the rotation of the pulley 27. As described above, a load may be applied to the rotation of the preliminary transport pulley 23 using the above configuration.

Next, a modification of the reversing means according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This variant shows a plurality of other means for reversing the separation shaft 6.

In FIG. 13, a friction reverse pulley 67 is rotatably mounted on the outer end of the large diameter portion 6b of the separation shaft 6, and is connected to a reverse drive pulley 49 by a reverse belt 50. The friction reverse pulley 67 has a friction member having a high friction coefficient on a contact surface with the large diameter portion 6b. A compression spring 69 is provided between the friction reverse rotation pulley 67 and the wall plate 21b of the frame 21, and presses the friction member of the friction reverse rotation pulley 67 against the large diameter portion 6b with an appropriate force. The friction reverse rotation pulley 67 is driven in the reverse rotation direction by the rotation of the drive motor 31 via the reverse rotation belt 50. However, while the first clutch 11 is in the connected state and the separation shaft 6 is rotating in the normal rotation direction. In other words, the friction reverse pulley 67 is in a slip state with respect to the large diameter portion 6b. Then, the first clutch 11
Then, the rotation of the friction reverse pulley 67 is transmitted to the separation shaft 6 by the frictional force between the friction reverse pulley 67 and the large diameter portion 6b, and the separation shaft 6 rotates in the reverse rotation direction.

FIG. 14 shows a modification of another reversing means of the separation shaft 6. In the figure, a reverse driven pulley 6c and a reverse rotation drive pulley 49 formed integrally with the separation shaft 6 include:
A friction belt 70 is wound. This friction belt 70
When the first clutch 11 is connected to transmit the drive, as shown in FIG. 15, the output shaft 3 of the drive motor 31
2, ie, the rotation direction of the reverse drive pulley 49 and the separation shaft 6
That is, since the rotation direction of the reverse driven pulley 6c is opposite, the friction belt 70 slips and does not rotate the separation shaft 6. When the first clutch 11 is disengaged, as shown in FIG. 16, the frictional force between the reverse drive pulley 49 and the reverse driven pulley 6c and the friction belt 70 causes the separation shaft 6 to rotate.
Rotates in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3).

FIGS. 17 to 19 show a case where an arc member is used as a reversing means of the separation shaft 6. FIG. In the figure, an arc member 71 is fixed to the base of the support shaft 22, and a high friction member provided on its peripheral surface is in contact with the large diameter portion 6b of the separation shaft 6, and this arc member 71 One end is urged in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 18 by the elastic force of a tension spring 72 fixed to the frame 21.

When the first clutch 11 is transmitting the drive, the separation shaft 6 is rotating in the forward direction of the arrow A as shown in FIG. It turns upward in the direction of arrow S against the elasticity. Then, when the first clutch 11 is disengaged and the connection between the separation gear 35 and the separation shaft 6 is released and the separation shaft 6 is in a free state, the arc member 71 is moved to the tension spring 7 as shown in FIG.
2, the separation shaft 6 is rotated in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow B by this rotation.

[0065]

[0066]

[0067]

FIG. 20 shows a modified example in which the drive transmitted to the reverse rotation driven pulley 51a is transmitted from the separation gear 35. In the figure, a reverse drive gear 76 meshing with the separation gear 35 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 22, and the reverse drive pulley 51 is driven by the reverse belt 50.
a.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, in this embodiment, a timing plate (timing setting means) 80 is fixed to the support shaft 26,
Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. The timing plate 80 adjusts the rotation timing of the support member 7 as described later.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.

In the operation of the preliminary conveyance system, as shown in FIG. 1, when the driving pulley 30 rotates in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. Preliminary conveyance pulley 2 by belt 9
The drive is transmitted to the idle pulley 3 and the idle pulley 27.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 23, when the timing plate 80 is rotating, the support member 7 includes the preliminary transport roller 3, the preliminary transport pulley 23, the support shaft 25, the idle pulley 27, the support shaft 26, and the timing plate. The configuration is such that it does not rise due to the weight of the support member 80 and the support member 7 itself, and cannot be rotated.

However, as shown in FIG. 24, when the timing plate 80 abuts against the support member 7 to restrict the rotation, the cushion member 29 applies a load to the rotation of the idle pulley 27 by frictional force. As shown, the support member 7 is rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 22 (arrow E).
Direction), hits the forward rotation stopper 42 and stops,
Next, the preliminary transport pulley 23 and the idle pulley 27 rotate, that is, the preliminary transport roller 3 rotates. The position of the normal rotation stopper 42 is set so that the preliminary transport roller 3 is positioned above the sheet material mounting table 13 and receives pressure from the document holder 43 at the same time.

Conversely, when the driving pulley 30 rotates in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 1, the driving is transmitted to the preliminary conveying pulley 23 and the idle pulley 27 by the moving belt 9, and as shown in FIG. The member 7 rotates clockwise (in the direction of arrow F) about the support shaft 22 and stops against the reverse rotation stopper 41. At this time, the position of the reverse rotation stopper 41 is set so that the preliminary transport roller 3 is located below the sheet material mounting table 13, and the timing plate 80 returns to the state shown in FIG.

The reading operation in this embodiment is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, step S7 in FIG. 6 will be supplementarily described.
When the separated sheet material S is transported by the transport roller pair 16 and the separation roller 5 is rotated, the clutch spring 1
As in the case of the first embodiment, the rotation of the support member 7 until the support member 7 comes into contact with the reverse rotation stopper 41 after the break of 1a and the preliminary transporting force of the preliminary transporting roller 3 disappears.

Further, when the next sheet material S does not require a preliminary conveyance force, that is, when a plurality of sheet materials S
There is a case where the nip portion between the sheet and the separating member 46 is appropriately wedge-shaped and conveyed by only the separating roller 5.
In such a case, the first clutch 11 can be disengaged again before the preliminary conveyance roller 3 comes out above the sheet material mounting table 13 and the preliminary conveyance force is restored. Is the same as

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the separation roller 5
Is longer than the time for conveying the sheet material S from the separation position to the conveying roller pair 16, that is, the time for the support member 7 to move between the forward rotation stopper 42 and the reverse rotation stopper 41, that is, the time for the preliminary conveyance roller 3 to move on the sheet material mounting table 13. The timing plate 80 is set so that the time from the position most distant from the sheet material S to contact with the sheet material S is longer, and thus the unnecessary preliminary conveyance force in terms of timing is It does not work on the sheet material S (S
7).

Further, the timing at which the preliminary conveyance force acts is
Since the adjustment can be made by changing the shape of the timing plate 80, the device can be designed relatively freely even if there is a space limitation or the like, and the device can be downsized.

FIGS. 25 to 28 show a second modification of the second embodiment in which the preliminary transport roller 3 is driven by a gear instead of the moving belt 9.

FIGS. 27 and 28 are perspective views showing the operation of the timing plate 80 when the drive gear 61 rotates in the direction of arrow A from the state shown in FIG. First,
As shown in FIG. 27, when the timing plate 80 rotates, no load is applied to the rotation of the preliminary conveyance gear 56, so that the support member 7 does not rise. Then, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 25, when the pin 80a of the timing plate 80 abuts on the support member 7 and its rotation is restricted, a load is applied to the preliminary conveyance gear 56 by the frictional force of the cushion member 29, so that the support member 7 , The pre-conveyance roller 3 comes out above the sheet material mounting table 13 and rotates to convey the sheet material S. In such a configuration, by adjusting the timing plate 80, setting the arrangement of the gears, and setting the number of teeth, the design can be made relatively freely even if there are considerable restrictions.

FIGS. 29 and 30 show a third modification in which the rotation shaft of the support member 7 is shared with the separation shaft 6.
Reference numeral 62 denotes an idle gear for transmitting the drive of the drive gear 61 to the preliminary conveyance gear 56, and 62a denotes a support shaft.

The operation of the timing plate 80 at this time is the same as that of the second modification shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. With such a configuration, the number of components can be reduced and the cost can be kept low. It should be noted that there is no problem if the drive is transmitted by a belt instead of the idle gear 62.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.

In this embodiment, FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a cleaning roller (cleaning means) 90 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 26 of the idle pulley 27, and other configurations are the same as those of the first and second embodiments. Is omitted.

The cleaning roller 90 has a highly adhesive member on its peripheral surface so as to clean paper dust and the like adhered to the separation roller 5 when it comes into contact with the separation roller 5.

When the drive motor 31 is rotated by the signal from the control unit 55 to rotate the separation gear 35 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 31, the support member 7 is connected by the first clutch 11 as shown in FIG. As described above, the sheet is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of arrow E), and the preliminary conveying roller 3 comes into contact with the sheet S to feed the sheet S.

The sheet material S separated by the separation roller 5
Is transported by the transport roller pair 16, the first clutch 11 is disengaged, and the support member 7 rotates clockwise (the direction of arrow F) from the state of FIG. 34 to return to the state of FIG. Due to the rotation of the support member 7, the preliminary transport roller 3 descends from the sheet material mounting table 13, and the cleaning roller 90 comes into contact with the separation roller 5 to automatically clean the peripheral surface of the separation roller 5.

Thereafter, the rear end of the sheet material S is
When the separation roller 5 stops rotating along with the sheet material S after passing, the first clutch 11 is connected and the support member 7 rotates counterclockwise (the direction of arrow E), whereby the separation by the cleaning roller 90 is performed. The cleaning of the roller 5 stops.

FIGS. 35 and 36 show a first modification in which the preliminary transport roller 3 is driven by a gear instead of a belt. In this embodiment, a cleaning roller 90 is mounted downstream of the support member 7. The other configuration is the same as that of FIGS. 7 and 8 in the second embodiment. Also in the present embodiment, when the sheet material S is fed by the preliminary conveyance roller 3, the cleaning roller 90 is located at a position separated from the separation roller 5, and the separation roller 5 is rotated by the separated sheet material S so that the first rotation occurs. Clutch 11
Is shut off, the cleaning roller 90 contacts the peripheral surface of the separation roller 5 to perform cleaning.

[0090]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the separation unit is rotated by the separated and conveyed sheet material, the drive shaft is reversed by the rotation generation unit, and the preliminary conveyance unit is positively retracted from the conveyance position to the non-conveyance position by the retraction unit. Since the preliminary conveyance force for the material is reliably shut off, the effect of the preliminary conveyance force on the separation means can be eliminated with a low-cost configuration without performing any complicated control, and the separation means can be stabilized, and the sheet material can be removed. Setability can also be improved.

In addition, since the rotation timing of the support member for supporting the preliminary conveyance means can be adjusted, a relatively free design and miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved.

When the supporting means rotates in a direction in which the preliminary conveying means moves the sheet material to the non-feeding position, the cleaning means rotates together with the supporting member and comes into contact with the separating means. Since the cleaning is performed, good separation and conveyance of the sheet material can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a sheet material feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control operation.

FIG. 5 is an operation view.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the sheet material feeding device according to the first modification.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view of a sheet material feeding apparatus according to a second modification.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a preliminary conveyance roller unit according to a third modification.

FIG. 12 is a front view of an idle pulley according to a fourth modification.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a sheet material feeding device according to Modification Example 5;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a sheet material feeding device according to a sixth modification.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a sheet material feeding device according to a seventh modification.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 17;

19 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a sheet material feeding device according to a modification 8;

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the support member.

FIG. 24 is an operation view of the apparatus of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a vertical sectional side view of the sheet material feeding device according to the first modification.

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a timing plate unit according to the second modification.

FIG. 28 is an operation diagram of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a vertical sectional side view of the sheet material feeding apparatus according to the third modification.

FIG. 30 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 31 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a sheet material feeding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 34 is an operation view of the same.

FIG. 35 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the sheet material feeding device according to the first modification.

FIG. 36 is a plan view of the same.

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A preliminary conveying means for sending out a sheet material placed on a mounting table, a separating means for separating and conveying the sheet materials sent out by the preliminary conveying means one by one; Driving means for driving the conveying means, sheet material conveying means for conveying the sheet material separated by the separating means at a speed higher than the conveying speed of the separating means, one direction of the driving means to a driving shaft of the driving means Transmitting the rotation of the sheet material to perform the separation and conveyance of the sheet material, and when the separated sheet material is conveyed by the sheet material conveyance means, the separation means rotates with the sheet material due to a difference in conveyance speed, Rotation control means for interrupting the transmission of rotation in one direction to the drive shaft by this co-rotation; and supporting the preliminary conveyance means so as to be movable between a sheet material conveyance position and a non-conveyance position. And, by transmitting rotation of the driving unit in one direction to the driving shaft, a supporting unit for moving the preliminary conveying unit to a conveying position, and from the driving unit to the driving shaft by the rotation control unit. Retreating means provided with rotation generating means for causing the drive shaft to rotate in the other direction when transmission of rotation in one direction is interrupted, and in the other direction of the drive shaft generated by the rotation generating means. Wherein the support member moves the preliminary conveying means from a conveying position to a non-conveying position by rotation of the sheet material feeding device. 2. The supporting means includes a supporting member which supports the preliminary conveying means and is swingably provided, and a rotation which is provided on the supporting member and transmits rotation of the drive shaft to the preliminary conveying means. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission member; and a friction unit configured to generate a load for swinging the support member by the rotation transmitted by the rotation transmission member. apparatus. 3. The separation means is rotatably provided on the drive shaft, and the rotation control means has a spring clutch. When the spring is tightened, the separation means includes a spring clutch. by connecting the drive shaft and the drive means rotates the separating means, the separating means is rotated in one direction of interruption of the drive shaft loose the spring by rotate with the sheet material and characterized Rukoto The sheet material feeding device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The torque limiter includes means for transmitting rotation in the other direction to the drive shaft, and a torque limiter interposed between the transmission means and the drive shaft. When rotation in one direction is transmitted to the drive shaft by the rotation control means, transmission of rotation in the other direction is blocked, and when rotation in one direction to the drive shaft is blocked, rotation in the other direction is blocked. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 2, wherein a torque limit value is set so as to be transmitted to the drive shaft. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the torque limiter is a spring clutch. 6. The rotation generating means includes means for transmitting rotation in the other direction to the drive shaft, and a friction transmission member interposed between the transmission means and the drive shaft. The transmission member slides when rotation in one direction is transmitted to the drive shaft by the rotation control unit, and thereby blocks transmission of rotation in the other direction. and wherein the frictional force is set so as to transmit the rotation direction to the drive shaft
The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein 7. The cam, wherein the rotation generating means includes: a cam that frictionally contacts the drive shaft; and a biasing means that applies a rotational force to the cam in a direction to rotate the drive shaft in another direction. When rotation in one direction is transmitted to the drive shaft by the rotation control unit, the rotation is performed until friction with the urging force of the urging unit is balanced by friction, and when rotation in one direction to the drive shaft is interrupted, and wherein Rukoto rotates the drive shaft in the other direction by the biasing force of the biasing means
The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein 8. The timing is set such that the support unit moves the preliminary conveying unit from the non-conveying position to the conveying position longer than a period for conveying the sheet material from the separating unit to the sheet material conveying unit. Features set
The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein 9. The support means is provided for swingably supporting the preliminary transport means, and is provided on the support member and transmits the rotation of the drive shaft to the preliminary transport means. A rotation transmitting member, and friction means for generating a load for swinging the support member by the rotation transmitted by the rotation transmitting member, wherein the means for setting the timing includes the rotation this transmitting member is a timing plate for the friction means after transmitting the rotation after a predetermined time period to generate a load
9. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 8, wherein: 10. The supporting means has a cleaning means for cleaning the separating means, and the cleaning means removes the separating means as the preliminary conveying means moves from the conveying position to the non-conveying position. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding device moves to a position to be cleaned. 11. A preliminary conveying means for feeding out the sheet material placed on the mounting table, a separating means for separating and conveying the sheet materials sent out by the preliminary conveying means one by one; Driving means for driving the conveying means, sheet material conveying means for conveying the sheet material separated by the separating means at a speed higher than the conveying speed of the separating means, one direction of the driving means to a driving shaft of the driving means Transmitting the rotation of the sheet material to perform the separation and conveyance of the sheet material, and when the separated sheet material is conveyed by the sheet material conveyance means, the separation means rotates with the sheet material due to a difference in conveyance speed, Rotation control means for interrupting transmission of rotation in one direction to the drive shaft by this co-rotation; and supporting the preliminary conveyance means so as to be movable between a sheet material conveyance position and a non-conveyance position. A driving unit that moves the preliminary conveying unit to a conveying position by transmitting rotation of the driving unit in one direction to the driving shaft; and a driving unit that drives the driving shaft by the rotation control unit. A retracting unit having a rotation generating unit for causing the drive shaft to rotate in the other direction when transmission of rotation in one direction is interrupted; and a document as a sheet material conveyed by the sheet material conveying unit. Image reading means for reading the described image, and wherein the rotation of the drive shaft in the other direction generated by the rotation generating means causes the support member and the rotation transmitting member to move the preliminary conveyance means from the conveyance position to the non-conveyance position. An image forming apparatus which is moved to a transport position.