JP2002205828A - Feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of a paper jam. SOLUTION: In this feeder, a fixed guide 4 is provided at one side edge of a paper feeding tray 3 provided at a paper feeding port of a casing 1, and a movable guide 5 movable along an orthogonal direction to a paper feeding direction a is provided on the paper feeding tray 3. A feed roller 11 is arranged near the fixed guide 4 in the paper feeding port 2, and a paper separating part 20 is provided below the feed roller 11. Paper sheets S are set on the paper feeding tray 3 between the movable guide 5 and the fixed guide 4, and the feed roller 11 abutting on the paper sheet S is rotated to deliver the paper sheet S by sheet by the separating part 20. In this constitution, a lower inclined face 10a inclining at a specified angle β slightly outward along the paper feeding direction (a) is formed at the lower part of a paper side edge opposed face 10 of the movable guide 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder used for, for example, an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a technique of a printer equipped with a paper feeder, there is a technique described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-84236. One example of the technique will be described with reference to FIGS. A printer, a housing 1
A fixed guide 4 is provided along one side edge of the paper feed tray 3 provided in the paper feed port 2 of the paper feed direction 2, and directions b and c orthogonal to the paper feed direction a are provided on the paper feed tray 3. The movable guide 5 which can move along is provided.

The movable guide 5 is a molded product made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, a bottom plate portion 5a movably abutting on the upper surface of the paper feed tray 3, and a bottom plate portion 5a of the bottom plate portion 5a. A side plate portion 5b bent at a right angle from the side edge, an engagement frame portion 5c that extends from the bottom plate portion 5a beyond the upper edge of the paper feed tray 3 and engages with the back surface of the paper feed tray 3, and a right angle fold from the side plate portion 5b. The front plate 5d is bent and has a front plate 5d parallel to the bottom plate 5a. The knob 6 is integrally formed on the front plate 5d, and the front plate 5d extends from the bottom plate 5a to the front plate 5d through the side plate 5b. U-shaped slit 7
Is formed, the elastic piece 8 with the knob 8a is formed, and a large number of saw-toothed lock grooves 9 are formed at positions facing the elastic piece 8 of the paper feed tray 3 along the directions of arrows b and c. A serrated lock claw (not shown) formed on the back surface of the elastic piece 8 is engaged with the lock groove 9.
By elastically deforming the elastic piece 8 by holding the elastic piece 8a,
By moving the lock claw away from the lock groove 9, the movable guide 5 can be moved to a desired position.

[0006] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a paper feed roller 11 is disposed in the paper feed port 2 near the fixed guide 4, and a swing lever 12 that rotatably supports the paper feed roller 11 is supported. The pivot lever 12 is pivotally supported by a base frame 14 via a shaft 13.
The paper feed roller 11 is urged toward the paper feed tray 3 by a spring 15 stretched between the base frame 14 and the base frame 14, and is driven by a motor 16 provided on the base frame 14 via a gear mechanism 17 in the swing lever 12. The paper feed roller 11 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow d.
A support plate 19 extending forward from the lower edge of the paper feed tray 3.
A paper separating unit 20 made of a rod-like elastic material having a large frictional resistance such as rubber is provided at a position below the upper paper feed roller 11,
A feed roller 21 and a printing unit 2 are provided downstream of the paper feed roller 11.
2 and a paper discharge roller 23 are provided. Incidentally, reference numeral 24 denotes a pressing roller.

In the above configuration, the sheet S is set on the sheet feed tray 3 between the movable guide 5 and the fixed guide 4, so that the lower edge of the sheet S is brought into contact with the sheet separating section 20, and the sheet By rotating the sheet feeding roller 11 in contact with the sheet S in the direction of arrow d, the sheet S is separated one by one by the separating action of the sheet separating unit 20, and the separated sheet S is separated by arrow e
The printing paper S is fed between the feed roller 21 and the press roller 24 which rotate in the direction, and is printed by the print head 22a of the printing unit 22, and the printed paper S is discharged by the discharge roller 23 and the press roller 24. Discharge from 25.

As shown in FIG. 9, the sheet side edge facing surface 10 of the side plate portion 5b of the movable guide 5 is formed in parallel with the sheet feeding direction a, so that the sheet S is formed along the sheet side edge facing surface 10.
Is sent out. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, by setting the facing angle α between the sheet side edge facing surface 10 and the upper surface of the sheet feeding tray 3 to 90 °, a number of sheets S set on the sheet feeding tray 3 are aligned. It has become.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional configuration,
As shown in FIG. 11A, when the sheet S is fed in the sheet feeding direction a by rotating the sheet feeding roller 11 in the direction of arrow d, the lower edge of the sheet S is caught by the sheet separating section 20 and The sheet S may be inclined by turning right f around the sheet separating unit 20 as a fulcrum (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11).

As shown in FIG. 11B, even if the sheet S is sent out in a skewed state, the lower edge corner Sa of the sheet S is temporarily reversed in the direction opposite to the arrow e as shown in FIG. The paper S is turned leftward by contacting the
And the skew is corrected (broken line state).

Here, when the inclination angle θ of the paper S at the limit at which the skew of the paper S by the paper feed roller 11 can be corrected (the skew correction possible limit) is actually measured, 4 ° to 4 °.
1 °.

When the inclination angle θ of the sheet S exceeds the skew correction limit, not only the feed roller 21 cannot completely correct the skew of the sheet S, but also FIG.
In the state shown in FIG. 1A, the sheet S is tilted so that the side edge Sb of the sheet S becomes the lower end corner 10A of the sheet side edge facing surface 10A.
Is pressed by a relatively large pressing force P, the lower end corner 10A bites into the side edge Sb of the sheet S, and the sheet S is deformed, so that a paper jam may occur.

The sheet side edge facing surface 10 and the sheet feeding tray 3
Is set to 90 °, but the side plate portion 5b is slightly inclined to the bottom plate portion 5a side due to molding deformation of the movable guide 5 or the like, and the facing angle α becomes 90 ° or less. As a result, the side edge Sb of the sheet S set on the sheet feed tray 3 is pressed against the sheet side edge facing surface 10, and the paper jam becomes more likely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeder that prevents a paper jam from occurring in view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a fixed guide is provided on one side edge of a sheet feeding tray provided at a sheet feeding port of a housing, and the feeding guide is provided. A movable guide is provided on the paper tray, the movable guide being movable in a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction. A paper feeding roller is disposed near a fixed guide in the paper feeding port, and is provided below the paper feeding roller. A paper separation unit is provided, and paper is set on a paper tray between the movable guide and the fixed guide, and the lower edge of the paper is brought into contact with the paper separation unit in a state where the lower edge is in contact with the paper separation unit. By rotating the paper feed roller in contact,
In a sheet feeding device in which sheets are fed one by one to a feed roller by a separating action of a sheet separating unit, a sheet inclination at a lower limit of a sheet side edge facing surface of the movable guide at a limit of skew correction by the feed roller. A lower inclined surface which is inclined outwardly along the sheet feeding direction at substantially the same inclination angle as the angle is formed, and a portion other than the lower inclined surface of the sheet side edge facing surface is a parallel surface parallel to the sheet feeding direction. The parallel surface is inclined at a predetermined angle slightly outward from a vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the sheet feeding tray along a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.

According to the above configuration, the paper can be accurately set on the paper feed tray along the parallel surface of the movable guide, and when the set paper is sent out in the paper feed direction, the lower edge of the paper is set. Is caught on the paper separating section and the paper is tilted by turning around the paper separating section as a fulcrum, but the side edge of the tilted paper is almost along the lower inclined surface of the movable guide. As described above, the lower end corner of the sheet side edge facing surface does not bite into the side edge of the sheet, so that the sheet can be smoothly fed out without a paper jam.

Further, since the parallel surface of the movable guide is inclined at a predetermined angle slightly outward from the vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the paper feed tray along a direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction, the parallel surface is movable. Even when the guide is inclined inward due to deformation of the guide or the like, the angle between the parallel surface and the paper feed tray becomes 90 ° or more, and the paper jam does not occur because the side edge of the paper is strongly pressed against the parallel surface. You can do so.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a fixed guide is provided on one side edge of a paper feed tray provided at a paper feed port of a housing, and a fixed guide is provided on the paper feed tray in a direction perpendicular to a paper feed direction. A movable guide is provided along the movable guide, a paper feed roller is disposed near the fixed guide in the paper feed port, and a paper separating unit is provided below the paper feed roller. The paper is set on a paper feed tray between the fixed guide and the paper feed roller which is in contact with the paper is rotated, so that the paper is fed one by one to the feed roller by the separating action of the paper separating unit. The paper device is characterized in that a lower inclined surface that is slightly outwardly inclined at a predetermined angle along the paper feeding direction is formed below the surface of the movable guide facing the paper side edge.

According to the above configuration, when the paper set on the paper feed tray is fed in the paper feeding direction, the lower edge of the paper is caught by the paper separation unit, and the paper is turned around the paper separation unit as a fulcrum. Even if the sheet is inclined, the inclined side edge of the sheet is substantially along the lower inclined surface of the movable guide, so that the lower end corner of the sheet side edge facing surface bites into the side edge of the sheet as in the related art. And the paper can be smoothly fed out without any paper jam.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the inclination angle of the lower inclined surface is set to be substantially the same as the inclination angle of the sheet at the limit of skew correction by the feed roller. It is characterized by:

According to the above configuration, even if the sheet is fed in a skewed state by the sheet feeding roller, the side edge of the sheet can be moved if the inclination angle of the sheet is within the limit of the skew correction by the feeding roller. The guide is guided by the lower inclined surface of the guide, and the sheet is smoothly fed without causing a paper jam, and the skew of the sheet can be reliably corrected by the feed roller.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3.
In the invention described in the above, a portion other than the lower inclined surface of the sheet side edge facing surface is a parallel surface parallel to the sheet feeding direction, and the parallel surface of the sheet feeding tray extends in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. It is characterized by being inclined a predetermined angle slightly outward from a vertical axis with respect to the upper surface.

According to the above configuration, the paper can be accurately set on the paper feed tray along the parallel surface of the movable guide, and the parallel surface can be fed along a direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction. Since the parallel surface is inclined a predetermined angle outward from the vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the paper tray, even if the parallel surface is inclined inward due to deformation of the movable guide or the like, the facing angle between the parallel surface and the paper feed tray. Is 90 ° or more, and a paper jam due to the side edge of the paper being strongly pressed against the parallel surface can be prevented.

[0022]

1 to 4 show an ink jet printer provided with a paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
At a predetermined angle β outwardly in the paper feeding direction a.
A lower inclined surface 10a that is inclined is formed, and a portion other than the lower inclined surface 10a of the sheet side edge facing surface 10 is a parallel surface 10b that is parallel to the paper feeding direction a. Is the paper feed tray 3 along the orthogonal directions b and c.
A predetermined angle γ slightly outward from the vertical axis O with respect to the upper surface of
It is inclined. Configurations other than the above are shown in FIGS.
Are substantially the same as in the conventional example shown in FIG.

According to the above configuration, the sheet S can be accurately set on the sheet feed tray 3 along the parallel surface 10b of the movable guide 5, and when the set sheet S is sent out in the sheet feed direction a. Even if the lower edge of the sheet S is hooked on the sheet separating section 20 and the sheet S is tilted by turning around the sheet separating section 20, the side edge S of the tilted sheet S
b is substantially along the lower inclined surface 10a of the movable guide 5, so that the lower end corner 10A of the sheet side edge facing surface 10 does not bite into the side edge Sb of the sheet S as in the related art. Paper can be fed smoothly without any paper jam.

The sheet feeding procedure will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the sheet S is set on the sheet feeding tray 3 along the parallel surface 10b of the movable guide 5, and the lower edge of the sheet S is set. Is brought into contact with the sheet separating section 20 (see the solid line in FIG. 5), and the sheet feeding roller 11 in contact with the sheet S is rotated in the direction of arrow d.
When the separated paper S is sent out in the paper feeding direction a, the lower edge of the paper S is caught by the paper separation unit 20, and the paper S is moved rightward with the paper separation unit 20 as a fulcrum. By tilting by turning f (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5),
Even if the paper S is sent out in a skewed state, the side edge Sb of the paper S is guided by the lower inclined surface 10a of the movable guide 5, and the paper S is sent out smoothly without a paper jam.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the sheet S fed in the skewed state as described above contacts the feed roller 21 which temporarily reverses the lower edge corner Sa in the direction opposite to the arrow e. By doing so, the sheet S is turned left and the skew is corrected (in a broken line state).

If the inclination angle β of the lower inclined surface 10a is too small, the lower corner 1
0A may bite into the side edge Sb of the sheet S, causing a paper jam. If the inclination angle β of the lower inclined surface 10a is too large, the side of the sheet S skewed by the lower inclined surface 10a. There is a possibility that a state in which the edge Sb cannot be guided may occur.

Therefore, the inclination angle β of the lower inclined surface 10a is set to be substantially the same as the inclination angle θ (4 ° to 4.1 ° in actual measurement) of the sheet S in the limit of the skew correction by the feed roller 21. I have. As a result, even if the sheet S is fed in a skewed state, the side edge Sb of the sheet S is moved to the lower inclined surface 1.
The paper S can be guided smoothly by the guide roller 0a without causing a paper jam, and the skew of the paper S can be reliably corrected by the feed roller 21.

The parallel surface 10b of the movable guide 5 is inclined at a predetermined angle γ slightly outward from the vertical axis O with respect to the upper surface of the paper feed tray 3 along a direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction a. If the inclination angle γ is too small, the parallel surface 10b is slightly inclined inward due to deformation of the movable guide 5 or the like, so that the facing angle γ between the parallel surface 10b and the paper feed tray 3 becomes 90 ° or less. The side edge Sb of the sheet S may be strongly pressed against the parallel surface 10b and cause paper jam. If the inclination angle γ of the parallel surface 10b is too large, the parallel surface 10b Side edge S
It becomes difficult to align b.

Therefore, the inclination angle γ of the parallel surface 10b is set to 1 °, so that even if the parallel surface 10b is inclined inward due to molding deformation of the movable guide 5, etc.
The facing angle α between the parallel surface 10b and the paper feed tray 3 is 90
° or more, and it is possible to prevent paper jam due to the side edge Sb of the paper S being strongly pressed against the parallel surface 10b.

In the above embodiment, an ink jet printer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a paper feeder of a laser printer or a thermal transfer printer.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, paper can be accurately set on the paper feed tray along the parallel surface of the movable guide, and when the set paper is sent out in the paper feed direction. The lower edge of the sheet is caught on the sheet separating section,
Even if the sheet is rotated by the sheet separating portion as a fulcrum, the side edge of the tilted sheet is substantially along the lower inclined surface of the movable guide. The lower end corner does not bite into the side edge of the sheet, so that the sheet can be fed smoothly without causing a paper jam.

The parallel surface of the movable guide is inclined at a predetermined angle slightly outward from a vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the sheet feeding tray along a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction. Even when the guide is inclined inward due to deformation of the guide or the like, the angle between the parallel surface and the paper feed tray becomes 90 ° or more, and the paper jam does not occur because the side edge of the paper is strongly pressed against the parallel surface. You can do so.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the paper set on the paper feed tray is sent out in the paper feeding direction, the lower edge of the paper is caught by the paper separation part, and the paper separation part is used as a fulcrum. Even if the paper is tilted by turning the paper, the side edge of the tilted paper is almost along the lower inclined surface of the movable guide. The paper does not bite into the side edges, and the paper can be smoothly fed out without any paper jam.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the sheet is fed in a skewed state by the feed roller, if the inclination angle of the sheet is within the limit of the skew correction by the feed roller,
The side edge of the paper is guided by the lower inclined surface of the movable guide, and smoothly fed out without paper jam.
The skew of the sheet can be reliably corrected by the feed roller.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, paper can be accurately set on the paper feed tray along the parallel surface of the movable guide, and the parallel surface is in a direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction. Is inclined a predetermined angle slightly outward from the vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the paper feed tray along the upper surface of the paper feed tray. Therefore, even if the parallel surface is tilted inward due to molding deformation of the movable guide, the parallel surface and the paper feed tray Is 90 ° or more, and paper jam due to the side edge of the paper being strongly pressed against the parallel surface can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an ink jet printer including a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part.

FIG. 3 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrows BB in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing a sheet feeding function.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main part.

9 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows CC in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows DD in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a schematic explanatory view showing a sheet feeding function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 housing 2 paper feed port 3 paper feed tray 4 fixed guide 5 movable guide 10 paper side edge facing surface 10a lower inclined surface of paper side edge facing surface 10b parallel surface of paper side edge facing surface 11 paper feed roller 20 paper separating unit 21 feed roller S paper a paper feeding direction β inclination angle of lower inclined surface γ inclination angle of parallel surface θ inclination angle of paper

Claims (4)

[Claims] A fixed guide is provided on one side edge of a paper feed tray provided at a paper feed port of a housing, and is movable on the paper feed tray in a direction orthogonal to a paper feed direction. A guide is provided, a paper feed roller is arranged near the fixed guide in the paper feed port, and a paper separating portion is provided below the paper feed roller, and a paper separating portion is provided between the movable guide and the fixed guide. The paper is set on the paper feed tray, and the lower edge of the paper is brought into contact with the paper separation unit. By rotating the paper feed roller that comes into contact with the paper, the paper is separated by the paper separation unit. In a sheet feeding device configured to feed one sheet at a time to a feed roller, a sheet is fed to a lower portion of a surface of the movable guide opposed to a sheet side edge at a tilt angle substantially equal to a tilt angle of a sheet at a skew correction limit by the feed roller. Outward along the paper direction An inclined lower inclined surface is formed, and a portion other than the lower inclined surface of the sheet side edge facing surface is a parallel surface parallel to the sheet feeding direction, and the parallel surface is in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. A sheet feeding device that is inclined a predetermined angle outwardly from a vertical axis with respect to the upper surface of the sheet feeding tray. 2. A movable guide movably provided on one side edge of a paper feed tray provided at a paper feed port of a housing and movable on the paper feed tray in a direction orthogonal to a paper feed direction. A guide is provided, a paper feed roller is arranged near the fixed guide in the paper feed port, and a paper separating portion is provided below the paper feed roller, and a paper separating portion is provided between the movable guide and the fixed guide. In the paper feeding device, the paper is set on a paper feeding tray, and a paper feeding roller that comes into contact with the paper is rotated to feed the paper one by one to a feeding roller by a separating action of a paper separating unit. A sheet feeding device, characterized in that a lower inclined surface which is slightly outwardly inclined at a predetermined angle in the sheet feeding direction is formed below a surface of the guide facing the sheet side edge. 3. The inclination angle of the lower inclined surface is set to be substantially the same as the inclination angle of the sheet at the limit of skew correction by the feed roller.
Paper feeder as described. 4. A portion other than the lower inclined surface of the sheet side edge facing surface is a parallel surface parallel to the sheet feeding direction, and the parallel surface is:
4. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet feeding apparatus is inclined at a predetermined angle slightly outward from a vertical axis with respect to an upper surface of the sheet feeding tray along a direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction.