JPH11165889A - Sheet material feeding device, image recording device, facsimile device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] In a sheet material feeding device, when holding of a sheet material standby position at a sheet feeding standby position is released at the time of sheet feeding, the sheet material loading stage is biased by an urging means so as to exceed a desired speed. With a simple configuration, the generation of noise due to the rapid movement toward the feeding rotating body and violent collision with the feeding rotating body can be effectively suppressed for a long period of time. SOLUTION: One sheet material S is loaded from a sheet material loading table 53.
In a sheet material feeding apparatus that separates and feeds sheets one by one, a feeding rotator 57 that pulls out a sheet material from a sheet material loading table is provided.
And urging means 69 for urging the sheet material loading table toward the feeding rotating body, and means 66 and 68 for interlocking the rotation of the feeding rotating body with the operation of the sheet material loading table by the biasing means. The operation of the sheet material stacking table, which is held and interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotary body, is intermittent in the operation when urging toward the feeding rotary body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding apparatus for separating and feeding sheet materials one by one from a sheet material loading table, and an image forming apparatus and a facsimile apparatus having the sheet material feeding apparatus. About.

In the above, the sheet material is used in office equipment such as a copying machine, a printer, a printing machine, and a facsimile machine, and in other equipment using the sheet material.
Transfer paper, photosensitive paper, thermal paper, electrostatic recording paper, printing paper, originals, cards, envelopes, postcards, and other sheets (cut sheets) to be supplied to sheet processing units such as image reading units and processing units
It is. The material is not limited to paper.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a sheet material feeding device used in an image recording apparatus, a facsimile machine, and the like, a feeding rotating body (sheet material feeding roller) for extracting a sheet material from a sheet material loading table, and a sheet material loading device. Biasing means for urging the table toward the feeding rotary body, and means for interlocking the rotation of the feeding rotary body with the operation of the biasing means for the sheet material stacking table; a. At the time of paper feed standby with the rotation of the feed rotator stopped
A sheet-feeding standby position in which the sheet material stacking table is moved away from the feeding rotary body by a predetermined distance against the urging force of the urging means, and the stacked sheet material on the sheet material loading table is separated from the feeding rotary body. B. At the time of feeding when the rotation of the feeding rotating body is started, the holding of the sheet standby position of the sheet material loading table is released, and the sheet loading table is moved and biased toward the feeding rotating body by the biasing means. There is a configuration in which a stacked sheet material on a sheet material stacking table is brought into a state of being pressed against a feeding rotating body to draw out the sheet material and feed the sheet material.

In such a sheet feeding apparatus,
At the time of feeding, when the sheet standby position holding of the sheet material loading table is released, the sheet material loading table may move toward the feeding rotating body faster than desired speed by the urging means, At this time, there is a problem that noise is generated when the sheet material loading table vigorously collides with the feeding rotating body.

[0005] This problem is caused by the fact that when a biasing force capable of stably feeding the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading table by a predetermined amount is applied to the sheet material loading table by the urging means, the sheet material on the sheet material loading table is In a state where the stacking amount is small, when the holding of the sheet standby position of the sheet material stacking table is released at the time of sheet feeding, the force for moving the sheet material stacking table toward the feeding rotating body is increased, and the sheet is stacked. As the moving motion stroke of the material loading table increases, the sheet material loading table accelerates, and the cushioning effect due to the elasticity of the loaded sheet material itself is small, resulting in a total cushion including the rubber part of the feed rotating body. The effect is insufficient and collision noise is generated.

Conversely, when the amount of stacked sheet materials on the sheet material loading table is large, the holding of the sheet supply standby position of the sheet material loading table is canceled during sheet feeding due to the weight of the large number of loaded sheet materials. The force for moving the sheet material loading table toward the feed rotating body is weakened, and the moving operation stroke of the sheet material loading table is reduced, and the cushioning effect due to the elasticity of the loaded sheet material itself having a large loading amount is achieved. The collision noise is small as compared with a state where the amount of loaded sheet materials is small.

However, also in this case, the collision noise increases as the sheet material is sequentially fed and the amount of sheet material loaded on the sheet material mounting table decreases.

Therefore, as a countermeasure against the above-mentioned problem, a countermeasure is required mainly in a state where the amount of sheet material loaded on the sheet material mounting table is small.

To solve this problem, see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-268.
No. 575, a damper as a load means is provided,
There is one in which the above problem is improved by limiting the moving operation speed of the sheet material mounting table.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, there is a case where a damper as a load means causes a cost increase.

Further, when the load changes due to a change in the characteristics of the damper due to long-term use, there is a possibility that a desired speed limiting effect is reduced or a drive load is increased.

A highly safe damper is relatively expensive.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus of this type, which is configured such that when the holding of the sheet feeding standby position of the sheet loading table is released at the time of sheet feeding, the sheet loading table is desirably biased by the urging means. A simple configuration that effectively suppresses the generation of noise caused by moving toward the feed rotary body faster than the speed of the feed rotary body and colliding vigorously with the feed rotary body over a long period of time. To provide.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus and a facsimile apparatus employing the improved sheet material feeding apparatus.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus, an image forming apparatus and a facsimile apparatus having the following constitutions.

(1) In a sheet material feeding apparatus for separating and feeding sheet materials one by one from a sheet material loading table, a feeding rotator for drawing the sheet material from the sheet material loading table;
Biasing means for biasing the sheet material loading table toward the feeding rotating body; and means for interlocking rotation of the feeding rotating body with operation of the sheet material loading table by the biasing means. And the operation of the sheet stacking table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotating body is intermittent in the operation when biased toward the feeding rotating body. apparatus.

(2) The interlocking of the rotation of the feed rotator and the operation of the sheet loading table by the urging means is such that a cam interlocked with the rotation of the feed rotator is urged by the urging means. (1) The sheet feeding device according to (1), wherein the operation of the sheet loading table operating member abutting on the cam is restricted.

(3) A stepped portion is formed in a cam shape of a portion of the sheet stacking table operating member and the cam contact portion that passes during movement during the urging by the urging means, and the stepped portion is formed. The sheet feeder according to (2), wherein the intermittent operation is performed by temporarily stopping or reversing the movement of the sheet loader operating member in the section.

(4) The stop of the operation member for the sheet material loading table or the resumption of the movement after the reverse rotation is performed even when the sheet material loading table is operated without the sheet material on the sheet material loading table. The sheet feeding device according to (3), which is performed before contacting the rotating body.

(5) The sheet material loading table is configured to be separable from the sheet material feeding device main body as a part of the sheet material loading cassette, and the sheet material loading cassette is set in the sheet material feeding device body. In the state, the sheet material loading table is configured to be urged toward the feed rotating body by the sheet material loading table operating member provided in the sheet material feeding apparatus main body, and the sheet material loading table is configured to be set at the time of the setting. (1) to (4), wherein the sheet material loading table operating member and the sheet material loading table are engaged so as not to be separated from each other.
The sheet feeding device according to any one of the above.

(6) Any one of the above (1) to (5)
An image recording apparatus, comprising: a sheet material feeding device according to any one of (1) to (11), and means for forming and recording an image according to image information on the fed sheet material.

(7) A facsimile apparatus comprising: the image recording apparatus according to (6); and image signal input means for inputting image information received from a communication line to the image recording apparatus.

<Operation> The operation of the sheet material stacking table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotating body is intermittently performed in the operation of urging the sheet rotating body toward the feeding rotating body. When the holding of the sheet standby position of the sheet material loading table is released, the sheet material loading table is intermittently moved by the urging means toward the feed rotating body, thereby moving the sheet material loading table. Is temporarily stopped, so that even if the amount of sheet material on the sheet material loading table is small, the movement acceleration attached to the sheet material loading table can be canceled, and the moving operation of the sheet material loading table toward the feeding rotating body. A state where the stroke is pseudo small can be created. Accordingly, even when the amount of the sheet material on the sheet material loading table is small, the sheet material loading table is prevented from violently colliding with the feeding rotating body, and the generated operation noise (collision noise) is reduced. It becomes possible.

As a specific means for intermittently making the operation of the sheet material stacking table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotary body biasing toward the feeding rotary body, a simple cam is used. A mechanism can be used, and a sheet material feeding apparatus having a simple and low-cost mechanism configuration and having a small change in the noise suppression effect even after long-term use can be obtained.

Further, by adopting this sheet material feeding device,
An improved image recording apparatus and facsimile apparatus can be obtained.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 8) This embodiment is a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

A) Schematic Configuration of Sheet Material Feeding Apparatus and Sheet Material Feeding Operation In FIG. 1, reference numeral 52 denotes a fixed sheet loading table (hereinafter, referred to as a fixed middle plate) disposed substantially horizontally, and 53 denotes a fixed sheet loading table. A sheet loading table (hereinafter, referred to as a swinging plate) is provided on the downstream side of the fixed plate in the sheet conveying direction so as to freely swing up and down around the hinge portion 54. The sheet material (recording paper) S is stacked on the fixed middle plate 52 and the swinging middle plate 53.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a lifter shaft disposed on the distal end side of the swinging plate 53, and reference numeral 56 denotes a lifter arm (sheet material loading table operating member) having a base fixed to and supported by the lifter shaft. The lifter arm 56 is located below the swinging plate 53 to support the swinging plate 53. Tip 56 of lifter arm 56
“a” is interposed between the pressure receiving portion 53a and the engaging portion 53b on the lower surface of the swinging plate and is engaged with the swinging plate 53.

Reference numeral 57 denotes a separation roller as a feeding rotating body, which is disposed above the tip side of the plate 53 during swinging. 58
Denotes a separation roller shaft, and the separation roller 57 is supported by the separation roller shaft via a one-way clutch 59. The one-way clutch 59 is a known needle one-way clutch. When the separation roller shaft 58 rotates in the sheet feeding direction (counterclockwise in FIG.
8 so that the separation roller 57 is rotated integrally with the separation roller shaft 58 so that the separation roller 57 idles with respect to the separation roller shaft 58 when the separation roller 57 rotates in the sheet feeding direction. Has become. Reference numeral 60 denotes a separation pad, which is disposed so as to be pressed against the lower surface of the separation roller 57 with a predetermined pressing force.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the sheet is on standby, and the lifter arm 5
6 is held in a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture. Therefore, the swinging plate 53 supported by the lifter arm 56 is also rotated clockwise by its own weight around the hinge portion 54 to rotate in a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture. , And the leading end of the stacked sheet material S and the separation roller 57 are separated from each other in a non-contact manner. The separation roller 57 is held in a rotation stopped state.

At the time of paper feeding, the separation roller shaft 58 is driven one rotation in the paper feeding direction based on a paper feeding start signal. Thus, the separation roller 57 is also driven one rotation in the sheet feeding direction via the one-way clutch 59.

When the rotation of the separation roller 57 is started, the lifter arm 56 is rotated clockwise about the lifter shaft 55 in conjunction with the rotation of the separation roller 57, as shown in FIG. Plate 5 swinging at tip end 56a
3 is lifted and rotated counterclockwise about the binge portion 54 to be changed from a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture to a front-up rotation angle posture, and the leading end of the stacked sheet material S on the plate 53 during swinging. The upper surface is pressed against the lower surface of the separation roller 57 rotating in the sheet feeding direction with a predetermined pressing force.

Then, the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials S on the plate 53 during the swing is pulled out and fed by the frictional force of the rotating separation roller 57, and the separation roller 57 and the separation pad 60 pressed against the separation roller 57 are pressed. Into the separation nip. At this time, the second or lower sheet material that has been multi-fed together with the uppermost sheet material is prevented from entering the separation nip by the separation pad 60, and only the uppermost sheet material is separated by one sheet and rotated. It is fed through the separation nip by 57.

The uppermost sheet material fed through the separation nip is conveyed along the separation base 61, and the sheet material is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle before the separation roller 57 completes one rotation. The leading end enters the nip portion between the rotary conveying roller 62 and the roller 63 pressed against the roller, and is conveyed by relay.

After the separation roller 57 has rotated by the predetermined rotation angle, the lifter arm 56 is
And is returned to a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture at the time of the first paper feed standby.

As a result, the swinging plate 53 is lowered to a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture, and the leading end of the stacked sheet material S and the separation roller 57 are separated from each other in a non-contact state. The fed uppermost sheet material has a separation nip portion between the separation roller 57 and the separation pad 60, and a separation roller 57 that is sandwiched by the nip portion between the conveyance roller 62 and the roller 63 and continuously rotates. It is transported by the rotary transport roller 62.

The separation roller 57, that is, the separation roller shaft 58
When the rotation is completed, the rotation is stopped. In this case, however, the uppermost sheet material includes the rotary conveying roller 62 and the roller 63.
The separation roller 57 idles around the separation roller shaft 58, which has stopped rotating, in the sheet feeding direction via a one-way clutch 59. When the rear end of the uppermost sheet material passes through the separation nip, the separation roller shaft 58 stops idling.

B) Separation Roller 57 and Its One-Rotation Driving Mechanism FIG. 3 is a front view of the separation roller 57 and its one-rotation driving mechanism with a part omitted. The separation roller shaft 58 has both ends rotatably supported between left and right side plates (not shown) of the apparatus via bearings 64.

The separation roller 57 is provided substantially at the center of the separation roller shaft 58 in the longitudinal direction, and includes a separation roller core portion 57a and a separation roller rubber portion 57b provided outside the separation roller core portion 57a. Let me do it.

A one-turn spring clutch 65 (one-way clutch unit using a spring clutch) is provided at one end of the separation roller shaft 58.

FIG. 4 shows the details of the one-rotation spring clutch 65. (A) is a partially cutaway front view, (b)
And (c) are cross-sectional views along line bb and cc in (a), respectively. A first clutch body 65a is fitted around the separation roller shaft 58, and is prevented from rotating around the separation roller shaft 58 by a pin 65b. 65c is an input gear rotatably fitted to the small outer diameter portion of the first clutch body 65a, and 65d is a second clutch body integrated with the input gear. Reference numeral 65e denotes a coil-wound clutch spring which is fitted over the large outside diameter portion of the first clutch body 65a and both portions of the second clutch body 65d. A control ring 65f is fitted around the clutch spring. Clutch spring 6
One end 65g of 5e is locked to the first clutch body 65a, and the other end 65h is locked to the control ring 65f. 65
i is a control claw provided on the outer surface of the control ring 65f. 65j
Is a solenoid, 65k is a flapper swingable about a fulcrum 65m, and 65n is a return spring.

A drive gear (not shown) is meshed with the input gear 65c, and the input gear 65c always receives a rotational driving force in the paper feeding direction by the drive gear.

In the standby state (FIG. 1), the power supply to the solenoid 65j is turned off, and the flapper 65k
In FIG. 4 (c), the tip hook 65p rotates clockwise toward the control ring 65f by the pulling force of the return spring 65n as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
A control ring 65f is attached to the tip hook 65p of the flapper 65k.
Control ring 65f is engaged, the control ring 65f is stopped, and the control ring 65f is kept in a state where rotation of the control ring 65f is prevented.

In this state, the clutch spring 65e
Are held loose with respect to the first and second clutch cylinders 65a and 65d (clutch-off), and the input gear 65c including the second clutch cylinder 65d is connected to the first clutch cylinder 65a.
, And the rotation is not transmitted to the separation roller shaft 58.

At the time of paper feeding (FIG. 2), the solenoid 6
When the power supply to 5j is turned on, the flapper 65k is attracted to the solenoid 65j, and counterclockwise around the fulcrum 65m against the pulling force of the return spring 65n as shown by the solid line in FIG. Swiveled, flapper 65k
Of the control ring 65f is disengaged from the control claw 65i of the control ring 65f, and the detent of the control ring 65f is released.

Then, the clutch spring 65e is tightly wound around the first and second clutch cylinders 65a and 65d (clutch-on), and the second clutch cylinder 65 is turned on.
d and the first clutch body 65a are integrated via the tightly tightened clutch spring 65e, so that the input gear 65
The rotation force of the second clutch cylinder 65d → clutch spring 6
The rotation is transmitted to the separation roller shaft 58 through a path of 5e → first clutch cylinder 65a → rotation stop pin 65b, and the separation roller 57 is integrally rotated with the separation roller shaft 58 via the one-way clutch 59 in the normal rotation direction (feeding direction). Direction).
The control ring 65f also rotates together with the clutch spring 65e.

The energization of the solenoid 65j is turned off after the one-turn clutch 65 is turned on by energization-on until the separation roller 57 completes one rotation.
As a result, the flapper 65k returns to a state in which the tip hook 65p is rotated clockwise toward the control ring 65f as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4C by the pulling force of the return spring 65n about the fulcrum 65m. When the one-rotation clutch 65 makes one rotation, the control hook 65i of the control ring 65f is reengaged with the tip hook 65p of the flapper 65k and the control ring 65f is stopped, so that the clutch is turned off and the clutch is disengaged. The rotation of the roller shaft 58 is stopped.

That is, each time a pulse-like current is applied to the solenoid 65j, the separation roller shaft 58,
It is driven to rotate.

Numeral 66 denotes a clutch cam integrally provided with the first clutch body 65a of the one-rotation clutch 65, which interlocks the rotation of the separation roller 57 with the operation of the urging means of the plate 53 during swinging. Further, it is a means and a member for intermittently making the operation of the swinging plate 53 interlocked with the rotation of the separation roller 57 in the operation of urging toward the separation roller 57. The clutch cam 66 will be described later.

C) Plate 53 during swinging and its swinging mechanism FIG. 5 is a plan view of the plate 53 during swinging and its swinging mechanism partly omitted, and FIG. 6 is a side view.

As described above, the swinging plate 53 serving as the sheet material stacking table is provided on the downstream side of the fixed middle plate 52 in the sheet material conveyance direction so as to freely swing up and down around the hinge portion 54, and a lifter arm 56. Is swung up and down. The lifter shaft 55 to which the lifter arm 56 is fixedly supported has both ends rotatably supported between left and right plates of the apparatus via bearings 67 and 67.

The lifter arm 56 has a base fixedly supported at a substantially central portion of the length of the lifter shaft 55, and is positioned below the swinging plate 53 to support the swinging plate 53. The tip end portion 56a of the lifter arm 56 is a pressure receiving portion 5 on the lower surface of the plate during swinging.
3a and between the engaging portion 53b, and is engaged with the plate 53 during swinging.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a lifter lever fixedly supported on one end of the lifter shaft 55 (an end corresponding to the end provided with the one-rotation spring clutch 65 of the separation roller shaft 58 described above). The tip portion 68a corresponds to the clutch cam 66 provided integrally with the first clutch body 65a of the one-turn clutch 65.

Reference numeral 69 denotes a lifter spring (biasing means) stretched between a spring hook pin 68b implanted in the clutch cam 68 and a spring hook pin 70 provided on a stationary portion of the apparatus main body.

The lifter lever 69, the lifter shaft 55, and the lifter arm 56 are constantly urged to rotate clockwise in FIG. Thus, the lifter lever 68 rotates according to the change of the cam surface of the clutch cam 66.

Accordingly, in conjunction with one rotation of the separation roller 57, the lifter lever 68 follows and swings in accordance with the outer peripheral cam surface shape of the clutch cam 66 which rotates integrally with the separation roller 57, and the lifter shaft 55 and the lifter arm 56 rocks,
The direction in which the plate 53 moves toward the separation roller 57 during the swing,
On the contrary, it is swung in a direction away from the separation roller 57.

FIG. 7 shows a clutch cam 66 in this embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the outer peripheral cam surface shape of FIG. This clutch cam 6
The outer peripheral cam surface 6 has a shape in which an outer peripheral surface b, a first inclined surface c, a central peripheral surface d, a second inclined surface e, an inner peripheral surface f, and a return surface g are smoothly continued. Each of the outer peripheral surface b, the central peripheral surface d, and the inner peripheral surface f has an arc shape having the same center as the center of the separation roller shaft 58.

Next, the operation of the apparatus during paper feeding will be described with reference to FIGS.
The description will be made in order with reference to FIG. This example is a case where the stacking amount of the sheet material S is relatively small.

[0059] FIG. 6 shows a state of waiting for sheet feeding. During the paper feed standby, the distal end portion 68a of the lifter lever 68 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface b of the clutch cam 66, and the lifter arm 56 is held at a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture against the lifter spring 69. , This lifter arm 56
The swinging plate 53, which is supported by the pivoting member, is also rotated clockwise by its own weight about the hinge portion 54 and is held at a substantially horizontal rotation angle posture, so that the leading end portion of the stacked sheet material S and the separation roller 57 do not come into contact with each other. In a state of being separated.

[0060] When a pulse-like current is applied to the solenoid 65j (FIG. 4), the one-rotation spring clutch 65 is clutch-on, and the separation roller 57 is driven to rotate in the paper feeding direction.
The clutch cam 66 rotates, but at the beginning of the rotation, the range of the outer peripheral surface b of the clutch cam 66 is
8 corresponds to the tip 68a of the lifter lever 68.
Does not work.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 8A, the first slope c of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the distal end 6 of the lifter lever 68.
8a, the lifter lever 68 pivots clockwise along the first slope c, and the lifter arm 56 pivots clockwise in conjunction therewith, and the swinging plate 53 at the distal end 56a of the lifter arm 56. The pressure receiving portion 53a is pushed up, and the plate 53 starts to rise during swinging.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 8B, the central peripheral surface d of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the distal end portion 68 of the lifter lever 68.
When approaching a, the operation of the lifter lever 68 stops,
During the swinging, the lifting of the plate 53 also stops. This state continues as long as the range of the central peripheral surface d of the clutch cam 66 corresponds to the tip portion 68a of the lifter lever 68.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 8C, the second slope e of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the distal end 6 of the lifter lever 68.
8a, the lifter lever 68 pivots clockwise along the second slope e, and the lifter arm 56 pivots clockwise in conjunction therewith, and the swinging plate 53 at the tip end 56a of the lifter arm 56. The pressure receiving portion 53a is pushed up, and the plate 53 starts to rise again during swinging.

When the swinging plate 53 is lifted, the stacked sheet material S
Of the stacking sheet material S comes into contact with the lower surface of the separating roller 57, the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet material S is pulled out by the frictional force of the rotating separating roller 57, and the feeding of the sheet material starts.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 8D, the inner peripheral surface f of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the distal end portion 68a of the lifter lever 68.
The clutch cam 66 and the lifter lever 68
Are separated and a space α is created. In this state, the separation roller 5
The required sheet supply pressure between the sheet material 7 and the stacked sheet materials S is obtained, and the uppermost sheet material is reliably conveyed.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 8E, the return surface g of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the tip 68a of the lifter lever 68.
The lifter lever 68 pivots counterclockwise along the slope of the return surface g, and interlocks with the lifter arm 5.
6 rotates counterclockwise, and the tip 5 of the lifter arm 56
At 6a, the engaging portion 53b of the swinging plate 53 is pushed downward, or the swinging plate 53 starts to descend by its own weight.

In this state, the leading end of the stacked sheet material S is separated from the separation roller 57, but the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet material S is already sandwiched between the separation nip portion between the separation roller 57 and the separation pad 60. Therefore, it is transported continuously.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 8F, the outer peripheral surface b of the rotary clutch cam 66 is connected to the distal end portion 68a of the lifter lever 68.
When this occurs, the operation of the lifter lever 68 stops, and the lowering of the swinging plate 53 also stops. In this state, the operation of one rotation of the clutch cam 66 ends.

[0069] In this state, the uppermost sheet material conveyed as described above is further conveyed by the next-stage conveying roller 62 and roller 63 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and separated by the separation roller 57.
Is rotated by the one-way clutch 59 (FIG. 8 (g)). When the rear end of the conveyed sheet material passes through the separation nip, the co-rotation of the separation roller 57 stops.

The operation described above allows the plate 53 to be intermittently lifted during the swing. That is, the operation of the oscillating plate 53 as the sheet stacking table interlocked with the rotation of the separation roller 57 as the feeding rotator is intermittent in the operation when urging toward the separation roller 57.

In this manner, even when the amount of the stacked sheets S is small, the operation stroke of the swinging plate 53 can be reduced in a pseudo manner. By preventing the distal end portion 56a of the lifter arm 56 from moving away from the pressure receiving portion 53a of the swinging plate 53 by a predetermined amount or more by the engaging portion 53b, FIG.
(B), when the lifter arm 56 stops rotating, the swinging plate 53 on which the stacked sheet material S is placed is prevented from colliding with the separation roller 57 due to inertia. In consideration of the predetermined play, it is preferable that the central peripheral surface d of the clutch cam 66 be set to approximately the center of the rotation stroke of the lifter arm 56 at the time of sheet feeding.

Thus, even when the amount of the sheet material on the sheet material loading table is small, the sheet material loading table is prevented from violently colliding with the feeding rotating body, and the generated operation noise (collision noise) is reduced. It becomes possible to reduce. In addition, a simple cam mechanism is used as a concrete means to make the operation of the sheet loading table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotating body intermittently the operation when urging toward the feeding rotating body. Thus, it is possible to obtain a sheet material feeding device having a simple and low-cost mechanism configuration and having a small change in the noise suppression effect even after long-term use.

Next, a case where the sheet material loading amount is large will be described. In FIG. 8A, when the leading end 68a of the lifter lever 68 reaches the first slope c of the rotary clutch cam 66, the lifter lever 68 rotates clockwise along the first slope c and interlocks. The lifter arm 56 is rotated clockwise, and the pressure receiving portion 53a of the swinging plate 53 is pushed up by the distal end portion 56a of the lifter arm 56, so that the swinging plate 53
Begins to rise. If the stacking amount of the sheet material is large, the upper end of the stacking sheet material S comes into contact with the lower surface of the separation roller 57 at this time, and the uppermost sheet material of the stacking sheet material S is pulled out by the frictional force of the rotating separation roller 57. The feeding of the sheet material starts. Thereafter, the uppermost sheet material is pressed against the separation roller 57 while the tip of the plate 53 is far from the separation roller 57 during the swinging, so that the rotation of the lifter arm 56 also stops. For this reason, the rotation stop of the lifter arm 56 due to the cam shape of the clutch cam 66 in FIG. 8B and the rotation of the lifter arm 56 in FIG. 8C do not occur.

<Second Embodiment> (FIG. 9) In this embodiment, the cam shape of the clutch cam 66 is as shown in FIG. The other configuration of the apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the description will not be repeated.

The cam surface of the clutch cam 66 in this embodiment has an outer peripheral surface b, a first inclined surface c, a central peripheral surface h,
Has a shape in which the inclined surface e, the inner peripheral surface f, and the return surface g are smoothly continuous.

The difference from the cam surface of the clutch cam 66 in the first embodiment is that a projection i is provided between the central peripheral surface h and the second inclined surface e.

As a result, the first clutch of the rotary clutch cam 66
When the slope c of the clutch cam 66 approaches the distal end portion 68a of the lifter lever 68, even if the biasing force of the lifter spring 69 is strong and the momentum cannot be completely stopped by the central peripheral surface h of the clutch cam 66,
When the protrusion i of the clutch cam 66 reaches the tip 68a of the lifter lever 68, the operation of the lifter lever 68 is in the opposite direction to the biasing direction. It is possible to stop.

<Third Embodiment> (FIG. 10) In this embodiment, the cam shape of the clutch cam 66 is as shown in FIG. The other configuration of the apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the description will not be repeated.

This embodiment corresponds to a case where the operation stroke of the lifter lever 68 becomes large, such as when the stacking capacity of the sheet material is increased (for example, the stacking capacity for 250 sheets) as compared with the first and second embodiments. Is what you do. The basic structure remains unchanged even when the operation stroke increases.

The cam surface of the clutch cam 66 in this embodiment has an outer peripheral surface b, a first inclined surface c, a first central peripheral surface d, a second inclined surface e, a second intermediate peripheral surface f, and a third intermediate peripheral surface f. Slope g,
The inner peripheral surface h and the return surface i are smoothly continuous.

The difference from the cam surface of the clutch cam 66 in the first embodiment is that the lifter lever 6 is different from the cam surface.
Operation 8 stops twice.

With this configuration, the lifter lever 68
Even when the operation stroke of the first embodiment becomes large, the operation stroke after the stop once when the sheet material stacking amount is small can be made the same level as that of the apparatus of the first embodiment.

In this configuration, it is also possible to form a projection just before the slope like the clutch cam of the second embodiment. <Fourth Embodiment> (FIGS. 11 to 16) This embodiment is an image recording apparatus (image forming apparatus) using the sheet material feeding apparatus of the first to third embodiments.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 12 is a front view, and FIG. 13 is a schematic view of an internal mechanism.

The image recording apparatus in this embodiment is a multi-function image recording apparatus (facsimile apparatus) having a facsimile function, a copying machine function, and a printer function.

A is the main body of the image recording apparatus. Reference numeral B denotes a sheet material feeding device (sheet feeder) configured as an optional device that is additionally used for the image recording apparatus main body A. The sheet material feeding device B of the present embodiment is a plurality of one or substantially the same ones, which are placed one on top of the other in a predetermined overlapping manner, and the image recording device main body A is mounted thereon in a predetermined manner. Used in combination. FIG.
1. In FIG. 12, the upper and lower two sheet material feeding devices B (1) and B (2) are superposed and fixed at a predetermined position, and the image recording device main body A is mounted at a predetermined position on the sheet feeding devices B (1) and B (2). The combined state is shown.

As shown in FIG. 11, the main body A of the image recording apparatus
An operation panel (control board) 10 disposed on the front side of the upper surface of the apparatus main body (upper side of the front side of the apparatus main body), a handset section (transmitter / receiver) 20 disposed on the rear side of the upper surface of the apparatus main body, the operation panel section 10 and the handset section 13, an image reading unit 30 disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, an image forming unit 40 disposed inside the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. 13, a paper feeding unit 50 disposed on the bottom inside the apparatus main body, and the like. have.

A) Operation panel section 10 In the operation panel section 10, 11 is an operation section, 12 is a display section,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a tally lamp indicating an operation state of the apparatus.

B) Image Reading Unit 30 The image reading unit 30 is provided on the upper part of the image recording apparatus main body A, and is configured so that a plurality of documents D can be stacked. ADF including image reading unit
(Auto document feeder) 32.

A slider 3 slidable in the direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the original D (the width direction of the original D)
1a is provided so that both sides of the document D stacked on the document table 31 can be aligned by the slider 31a. When the document D is a long document, the rear end of the document D can be prevented from protruding from the document table 31 and hanging down by opening the extension document tray 31b (FIG. 11) outward.

As shown in FIG. 13, the ADF section 32 includes a preliminary transport roller 32 which is sequentially arranged in the document transport direction.
a, the pre-conveyance pressing piece 32b pressed against the separation roller 3
2c, a reverse roller 32d pressed against the sheet feed roller 32d,
e, a paper feed roller 32f pressed against this, a close contact type image sensor 33 as an image reading unit, a paper discharge roller 32g, a paper discharge roller 32h pressed against this, a sheet from the preliminary transport roller 32a to the paper discharge roller 32g. The path includes upper and lower original guides 32i and 32j, an original discharge tray 32k, and the like.

In the facsimile transmission mode or the copying machine mode, one or a plurality of originals on the original mounting table 31 are stacked and set with the image side facing down.

When the ADF unit 32 is driven at a predetermined control timing based on the image reading start signal, the original D of the loading set is
b and the preliminary transport roller 32a and the reverse roller 32
The original is separated and fed one by one from the lower document by the separation roller 32c pressed against d. Further, the image data of the document D is photoelectrically read by the contact image sensor 33 by the close contact image sensor 33 being closely slid and conveyed by the cooperation of the document pressing member on the contact image sensor 33 by the sheet supply roller 32e pressed against the sheet supply roller 32f. It is processed. The document D conveyed on the contact type image sensor 33 is discharged to a document discharge tray 32k by a discharge roller 32g pressed against a discharge roller 32h.

The contact type image sensor 33 irradiates the image information surface of the document D with light from an LED array as a light source, and forms the reflected light reflected on the image information surface on the sensor element by a Selfoc lens (trademark). It reads image information.

In this way, the originals D of the stacked set are sequentially fed one by one from the lower one by the driving of the ADF section 32 on the original placing table 31 and are sent to the close contact type image sensor 33 as an image reading section. As the document is conveyed, the image reading process is sequentially performed, and the image-read document D is placed in the document discharge tray 32.
k.

In the case of the facsimile transmission mode, the image information of the document D photoelectrically read by the contact type image sensor 33 is transmitted to the other facsimile machine through the communication line by the communication means. In the case of the copier mode, the image forming operation of the image forming unit 40 described below creates and outputs an image formed matter (hard copy) corresponding to the image information of the original D that has been photoelectrically read.

C) Image Forming Section 40 In the apparatus of this embodiment, the image forming section 40 is a laser beam printer mechanism using a transfer type electrophotographic process.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a rotating drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, referred to as a photosensitive drum) as an image carrier. The image forming section 40 is started at a predetermined control timing based on an image formation start signal, and the photosensitive drum 41 is driven to rotate clockwise as indicated by an arrow at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed).

The rotating photosensitive drum 41 is subjected to a charging process by a primary charger 42 and a laser beam scanning exposure on the charged surface by a laser scanner 43, so that target image information is formed on the rotating photosensitive drum surface. Is formed.

The laser scanner 43 has a laser beam oscillator, a polygon mirror, an F-θ lens, etc., and modulates based on an image signal (time-sequential electric digital pixel signal) output from a device control section (control circuit board) 90. By outputting the laser beam thus obtained and scanning and exposing the charged surface of the rotating photosensitive drum surface via the return mirror 43a,
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to target image information is written and formed on the rotating photosensitive drum surface.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the rotating photosensitive drum surface is then developed as a toner image by the developing device 44.

The toner image is transferred to a transfer portion between the rotary photosensitive drum 41 and a transfer charger (in this example, a bias transfer roller) 45 at the transfer portion at a sheet feeding section 50 or an additional first sheet described later. The sheet is sequentially transferred to the sheet material S fed from the material feeding device B (1) or the second sheet material feeding device B (2) at a predetermined control timing.

The sheet material S to which the toner image has been transferred through the transfer portion is separated from the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 41 and introduced into the thermal fixing device 48 by the transport guide 47, thereby undergoing the toner image fixing process. The sheet is discharged to a sheet discharge tray 49a by a sheet discharge roller 49 as a permanent image.

On the other hand, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 41 after the separation of the sheet material is cleaned by removing the adhered contaminants such as untransferred toner by the cleaning device 46, and is repeatedly provided for image formation.

Facsimile reception mode, copier mode,
In the printer mode, the image forming section 40 and the sheet feeding section 50 or the first sheet feeding apparatus B (1) additionally provided.
Alternatively, the second sheet material feeding device B (2) is driven, and the device controller (control circuit board) 90 sends the laser scanner 4
3, an image signal received from the other party's facsimile machine, or an image signal of the original D photoelectrically read by the original reading unit 30, or input to the image recording apparatus main unit A from a host device such as a computer, word processor, and image reader. An image signal is output, and an image formed product of the image information is output to the paper discharge tray 49a.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 4
1. Primary charging device 42, developing device 44, cleaning device 46
The four process devices described above are integrally incorporated in a common recording cartridge, and are configured as a detachable process cartridge at a predetermined arrangement position in the image recording apparatus main body A.

D) Paper feed unit 50 The paper feed unit 50 is provided at the bottom inside the image recording apparatus main body A. In this embodiment, the paper feed unit is a so-called MP (multi-recording paper) sheet material feeding device. is there.

The sheet feeding device having the sheet feeding section 50 is a sheet feeding device according to the present invention, and is a component member common to the sheet feeding devices of the first to third embodiments. The same reference numerals are given to the portions, and the description will not be repeated.

Sheet sizes that can be stacked are A4, letter,
There are three types of legal. Reference numeral 51 denotes a sheet cassette (MP cassette orchestration) as a sheet material stacking section (sheet material stacking device) of the sheet feeding section 50. The number of sheets that can be stacked is about 100 sheets. As shown in FIG. 1 (side loading method).

The sheet material S stacked in the paper feed cassette 51 has its side end face and rear end face regulated by the MP regulating plate 51a movably mounted in accordance with the size, so that skewing and non-feeding do not occur. ing. The size and the presence or absence of the sheet material S are detected by the MP sheet stacking device sensor 74.

When the sheet feeding from the sheet feeding unit 50 is selected, the sheet material S
As described above, the separation roller 5 is pivoted upward by the lifter arm 56 so that the plate 53 is rotated.
7, are separated one by one by a separation pad 60 (friction piece separation method), and are conveyed along a separation base 61. Further, a conveying roller 62 and a roller 6 for pressing against the
3, inverted by the U-turn guide 75; Further, the sheet material S being fed is moved to the registration sensor 76 after a predetermined time.
And the leading end of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 41 and the leading end of the sheet material S are
After the paper is fed and the image output timing is adjusted so as to coincide with each other at the transfer portion between the transfer charger 1 and the transfer charger 45, the sheet is conveyed to the transfer portion.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the sheet cassette 51. FIG. 51b is a cassette handle, 51c and 51d are abutting portions against the apparatus main body, and 51e is a click portion. The paper feed cassette 51 can be smoothly set in the apparatus main body by the rails disposed on the outer surface thereof being guided by cassette guides 81 to 84 on the apparatus main body side. When the paper feed cassette 51 abuts against the cassette guide portions 83 and 84 by the abutment portions 51c and 51d against the apparatus main body, the cassette side spring 85 is clicked.
By applying e, a predetermined click force is applied so that the sheet feeding cassette 51 does not shift in the pulling-out direction or the direction perpendicular to the pulling-out direction.

E) First and second sheet feeding devices B
(1) · B (2) The first (first stage) and second (second stage) sheet material feeding devices B (1) and B (2) of the upper and lower two stages are the present embodiment as described above. Is a sheet feeder configured as an optional device that is used by being added to the image recording apparatus main body A, and has substantially the same structure. In FIG. 13, the second
The sheet material feeding device B (2) is omitted.

First and second sheet material feeding devices B
In both (1) and B (2), the number of sheets that can be stacked is about 500, and the sheet stacking section (sheet stacking device)
Is configured to be drawn out to the front of the image recording apparatus main body A (front loading). There are two types of stackable recording paper sizes: A4 and letter.

The number of sheets that can be stacked on the entire image recording apparatus is the same as that of the above-described M built in the image recording apparatus main body A when the sheet material feeding apparatus B as an optional device is not provided.
It is possible to vary from about 100 sheets of the P sheet feeding device 50 alone to about 1100 sheets when the sheet feeding device B is provided in two stages.

The sheet feeding device B is arranged such that its top plate 11h is in contact with the bottom lower surface of the image recording device main body A, and the top surface of the top plate 11h is the bottom plate of the image recording device main body A. Alternatively, the sheet material feeding device B is
1h is disposed so as to be in contact with the lower surface of the bottom of the sheet feeding device mounted thereon.

The first-stage first sheet feeding apparatus B
When the sheet feeding from (1) is selected, the sheet material S stacked on the sheet feeding cassette 100 of the sheet material feeding device B (1) urges the middle plate 102 upward by the middle plate spring 104. The paper is then separated one by one by a half-moon-shaped feed roller 101 (hereinafter, referred to as a pick-up roller) as a feeding rotating body and a separation claw member 103 (claw separation method).
The separated sheet material S is further separated into one sheet by a conveying roller 105 (hereinafter, referred to as a feed roller) as a sheet feeding / conveying rotator and a separation roller 106 (hereinafter, referred to as a retard roller) as a separating rotator. Transport (prevent double feed)
Then, it is guided upward by the guide 107 to reach the transport roller 108 and the roller 109 pressed against the transport roller 108.

Then, the conveying roller 108 and the roller 109 provided at the bottom of the image recording apparatus main body A are fed into the image recording apparatus main body A from below through the corresponding sheet material inlet 77, and MP separation is performed. Base 61 and opposing guide 7
8 and thereafter the MP sheet material feeding device 5 described above.
As in the case of paper feeding from 0, the sheet is inverted by the conveying roller 62, the roller 63 pressed against the conveying roller 62, and the U-turn guide 75. Further, the leading end of the sheet material S being fed is detected by the registration sensor 78 after a predetermined time, and the photosensitive drum 41
The sheet is fed and the image output timing is adjusted so that the leading end of the toner image formed on the transfer member between the photosensitive drum 41 and the transfer charger 45 is aligned with the leading end of the sheet S. Is done.

The second sheet material feeding device B which is the second stage
When the sheet feeding from (2) is selected, the sheet operation is performed by the same mechanical operation as in the case of the first sheet feeding apparatus B (1) from the second sheet feeding apparatus B (2). The sheet material is separated and fed one by one, and the sheet material is fed from the conveying rollers (108) and rollers (109) of the second sheet material feeding device B (2) to the first stage as the first sheet material feeding. The sheet enters the vertically penetrating sheet path 110 on the device B (1) side, and is conveyed by the conveying roller 108 and the roller 109 on the first sheet material feeding device B (1) side.
From the main body A of the image recording apparatus. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed in the image recording apparatus main body A in the same manner as in the case of sheet feeding from the first sheet material feeding apparatus B (1) described above.

F) Control System FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the control system of the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire facsimile apparatus; a ROM for storing an MPU, a control program for the MPU, a RAM used as a work area for various data processing and a temporary storage for image information; And an image processing unit for performing resolution conversion and the like.

The CPU 301 is provided with a calendar, a clock function, and the like having a known configuration. An area of the RAM for storing important system setting information such as one-touch key destination information and software switch information is provided by a battery backup for power failure or the like. Protected from accidental disability. This protected RAM area may be constituted by an EEPROM (including a flash memory).

The control system of the facsimile apparatus is the CPU described above.
The configuration is such that 301 and the following elements 302 to 310 are connected through an interface.

The operation unit 302 (10) includes various key switches such as a ten key, a function key, a one-touch key, a start key, a stop key, and the like.

The display unit 303 (12) includes an LCD for displaying various messages and various LEs for displaying a transmission mode and the like.
D, a tally lamp (13) for notifying a distant operator of a communication state and occurrence of a failure.

The reading unit 304 (30) includes a driving unit such as a reading motor, a reading sensor for reading an image, an image processing unit for shading and binarizing the read image, and various sensors for detecting a document. Become.

The recording unit 305 (40) detects a driving unit such as a recording motor, a recording unit for controlling a laser scanner or an electrophotographic process, an image processing unit for performing smoothing of an image to be recorded, a recording paper, and the like. It consists of various sensors.

The central control unit 306 (90) that performs outgoing calls, incoming calls, encoding of image data, and the like has a connection unit composed of MODEM, NCU, and the like. The connection unit includes a communication network 307 and a handset 308 (20). Connected.

The CPU external interface 309 is a CP
An interface for directly transmitting and receiving data from the U301. For example, by connecting to a computer outside the apparatus via a line such as RS232C, SCSI, or LAN, the apparatus is used as a scanner printer or the like of the external computer. The HDD 310 is used as a large-capacity nonvolatile memory for storing image information and the like.

G) Basic Operation of LBP Next, the basic operation of LBP will be described with reference to FIG. 16 which is a conceptual diagram. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 400 denotes a semiconductor laser which blinks a laser beam with respect to image data to be recorded; 401, a polygon motor; 402, a polygon mirror rotated by the polygon motor 401; 403, an optical system for performing image formation and tilt correction; Is a photodetector, 405 is a return mirror, 41 is a photosensitive drum, 44 is a developing device, 45 is a transfer device, S is a recording sheet, 47 is a conveyance guide, and 48 is a fixing device.

In the above configuration, first, the semiconductor laser 4
The laser light emitted from 00 is reflected by the polygon mirror 402 and deflected, and is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 41 via the optical system 403 and the return mirror 405 (main scanning). At this time, the head is caught by the photodetector 404 and the irradiation position is determined. While the main scanning is completed for one line, the photosensitive drum 41 rotates one line (sub-scan). The image formed on the photosensitive drum 41 as described above is developed by the developing device 44 and is transferred onto the recording paper S by the transfer device 45. The sheet is further conveyed along the conveyance guide 47, is fixed by the fixing device 410, and is discharged.

The above-described photosensitive drum 41, developing unit 44,
Elements of the sub-scanning system such as the fixing device 48 are driven in synchronization by a recording motor, a gear, a belt, and the like (not shown).

H) Others In the above embodiment, the state in which the present invention is applied to one of the paper feeding units 50 has been described, but the other paper feeding units B (1) and B
The present invention can also be applied to all paper feed units as long as the apparatus is configured to have the same configuration for (2).

The cassette for transporting the recording paper S in parallel with the drawing direction of the paper cassette 51 has been described.
Can be applied to a cassette of the front loading type that transports the paper as long as the cassette has the same configuration of the paper feeding unit.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a sheet feeding device of a type that is not separated from the apparatus main body if a recording sheet loading table is provided, as long as it has a similar sheet feeding section configuration.

In this embodiment, the swinging plate 53 as the recording paper loading table is moved up and down once every time the separation roller 57 as the feed rotator makes one rotation. The vertical movement is applicable even if it is not one-to-one. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where the swinging plate 53 is once raised during continuous sheet feeding, the separation roller is rotated a predetermined number of times, and then the plate is lowered.

In the present embodiment, the MP clutch 65 is provided on the separation roller shaft 58, and the clutch cam 66 is directly rotated when the separation roller shaft 58 rotates.
There is no problem even if another drive transmission member such as an idler gear enters the middle of the drive transmission.

There is no problem if the intermittent operation is performed by other means such as a link mechanism instead of a cam.

Although the separation roller 57 and the swinging plate 53 are mechanically linked up and down by one operation of the MP solenoid 65j, electrical control is interposed in the middle by a plurality of solenoids and electromagnetic clutches. It is possible to work together without any problem.

In the above embodiment, the image recording apparatus is described as a laser beam type electrophotographic system. However, the present invention can be applied to other electrophotographic systems such as an LED array system and an ink jet system.

Further, the number of paper feeding units and the type and size of the recording paper S to be used are not limited to the contents described in the present embodiment, and can be changed without departing from the configuration of the present invention.

[0141]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the sheet feeding apparatus, when the operation of the sheet loading table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotary body is urged toward the feeding rotary body. In other words, the intermittent operation is performed during the operation, that is, at the time of sheet feeding, the sheet material stacking table is fed by the urging means when the sheet material stacking table is released from the rest position at the time of feeding standby. By intermittently performing the movement toward the body, the movement of the sheet material loading table temporarily stops, so even if the amount of sheet material on the sheet material loading table is small, the movement of the sheet material loading table Acceleration can be canceled, and a state can be created in which the moving operation stroke of the sheet loading table toward the feeding rotating body is pseudo small. Accordingly, even when the amount of the sheet material on the sheet material loading table is small, the sheet material loading table is prevented from violently colliding with the feeding rotating body, and the generated operation noise (collision noise) is reduced. It becomes possible.

As a specific means for intermittently making the operation of the sheet stacking table interlocked with the rotation of the feeding rotary body biased toward the feeding rotary body, a simple cam is used. A mechanism can be used, and a sheet material feeding apparatus having a simple and low-cost mechanism configuration and having a small change in noise suppression effect even after long-term use can be obtained.

Further, by adopting this sheet material feeding device,
An improved image recording apparatus and facsimile apparatus can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sheet material feeding device according to a first embodiment (during standby for sheet feeding);

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sheet feeding apparatus according to the first embodiment (at the time of sheet feeding).

FIG. 3 is a front view of a separation roller and a partly omitted part of a one-rotation drive mechanism thereof.

4A is a partially cutaway front view of a one-turn spring clutch, and FIGS. 4B and 4C are respectively bb in FIG.
Sectional view along line c-c

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a plate during swinging and a part of the swinging mechanism portion omitted.

FIG. 6 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the outer peripheral cam surface shape of the clutch cam.

8A to 8G are explanatory diagrams of an operation process.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the outer peripheral cam surface shape of the clutch cam in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the outer peripheral cam surface shape of the clutch cam in the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of an image recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the same device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an internal mechanism of the apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a sheet feeding cassette part.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control system.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of a basic operation of the LBP.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A image recording apparatus main body (facsimile apparatus) 10 operation panel section 20 handset section 30 image reading section 40 image forming section 50 paper feeding section (MP sheet material feeding apparatus) 51 paper feeding cassette 52/53 fixed and swinging plate ( Sheet material loading table) 56 Lifter arm 57 Separation roller (feed rotating body) 65 One-rotation spring clutch 66 Clutch cam 67 Lifter lever 69 Lifter spring 90 Device control unit B (1) / B (2) First and second sheet material supply Feeder

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material feeding device for separating and feeding sheet materials one by one from a sheet material stacking table, wherein: a feeding rotator for drawing the sheet material from the sheet material stacking table; and the sheet material stacking table. Urging means for urging the sheet feeding rotator toward the feed rotator; and means for interlocking the rotation of the feed rotator with the operation of the sheet loading table by the urging means. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the sheet material mounting table in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating body is intermittent in the operation when urging toward the feeding rotating body. 2. The interlocking of the rotation of the feed rotator and the operation of the sheet loading table by the urging means is such that a cam interlocked with the rotation of the feed rotator is urged by the urging means. 2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the sheet loading table operating member abutting on the cam is restricted. 3. A stepped portion is formed in a cam shape of a portion of the sheet material loading table operating member and the cam contact portion that passes during movement during urging by the urging means, and the stepped portion is provided. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the intermittent operation is performed by temporarily stopping or reversing the movement of the sheet loading base operating member. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of stopping the operation of the sheet material loading table operating member or resuming the movement after the reverse rotation even when the sheet material loading table is operated without the sheet material. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet feeding is performed before the sheet is brought into contact with the body. 5. The sheet material stacking table is configured to be separable from the sheet material feeding device main body as a part of a sheet material loading cassette, and the sheet material loading cassette is set in the sheet material feeding device main body. The sheet material loading table is configured to be urged toward the feed rotating body by the sheet material loading table operating member provided in the sheet material feeding device main body, and the sheet is set at the time of setting. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet loading table operating member and the sheet loading table are engaged so as not to be separated from each other. 6. A sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising: means for forming an image in accordance with image information on the fed sheet material and recording the image. An image recording apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 7. A facsimile apparatus comprising: the image recording apparatus according to claim 6; and image signal input means for inputting image information received from a communication line to the image recording apparatus.