Sensing device capable of detecting paper jam conditions and office apparatus therewith

A sensing device includes a housing, a supporting component, a grating module, a first roller, a second roller, and a control unit. When a media contacts with the second roller, the second roller drives the first roller to move the supporting component relative to the housing according to a thickness of the media, so as to adjust positions of the first roller and a grating wheel of the grating module relative to the housing. When the media drives the second roller to rotate, the second roller drives the first roller to rotate the grating wheel. The control unit determines whether the media proceeds at a predetermined speed according to a corresponding sensing signal generated by the grating module during rotation of the grating wheel, which allows a user to recognize a progress state of the media.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a sensing device and an office apparatus therewith, and more particularly, to a sensing device capable of detecting paper jam conditions and an office apparatus therewith.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With advancement of technology, various office apparatuses are widely used in people's daily lives for helping people deal with paperwork. In order to make sure that paper jam conditions can be solved immediately, a conventional office apparatus is usually provided with a detector disposed on a passage of paper for detecting a paper feeding condition for improving efficiency of printing or copy. The detector usually utilizes a cantilever arm or a linkage to contact with paper to generate a corresponding signal to determine the paper feeding condition. However, such detector may cause interference of feeding or even paper jam conditions, which is not convenience in use.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Therefore, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a sensing device capable of detecting paper jam conditions and an office apparatus therewith for solving the aforementioned problems.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present disclosure discloses a sensing device including a housing, a supporting component, a grating module, a first roller, a second roller and a control unit. The supporting component is movably disposed on the housing. The grating module is installed inside the housing. The grating module includes a grating wheel, a light emitting component and a light receiving component. The grating wheel is rotatably disposed on the supporting component. The light emitting component is for emitting light. The light receiving component is for receiving the light emitted by the light emitting component to generate a corresponding sensing signal. The first roller is disposed coaxially with the grating wheel and for driving the grating wheel to rotate. The second roller contacts with the first roller and is for driving the first roller to rotate. When a media contacts with the second roller, the second roller drives the first roller to move the supporting component relative to the housing according to a thickness of the media, so as to adjust positions of the first roller and the grating wheel relative to the housing, and the second roller drives the first roller to rotate the grating wheel when the media drives the second roller to rotate. The control unit is electrically connected to the light emitting component and the light receiving component. The control unit determines whether the media proceeds at a predetermined speed according to the corresponding sensing signal generated by the light receiving component during rotation of the grating wheel.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light emitting component and the light receiving component are disposed on the two opposite sides of the grating wheel. A plurality of apertures is formed on a periphery of the grating wheel at intervals, and the light emitted by the light emitting component passes through the plurality of apertures to the light receiving component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light emitting component and the light receiving component are disposed on a same side of the grating wheel. A plurality of reflecting sections is formed on a periphery of the grating wheel at intervals, and the light emitted by the light emitting component is reflected to the light receiving component by the plurality of reflecting sections.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensing device further includes a recovering component disposed between the supporting component and the housing and for driving the supporting component to recover.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one slot is formed on the housing, and the supporting component includes at least one sliding portion slidably installed inside the at least one slot.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the second roller rotates along a first rotating direction, the second roller drives the first roller to rotate along a second rotating direction opposite to the first rotating direction to simultaneously drive the grating wheel to rotate along the second rotating direction.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present disclosure further discloses an office apparatus including a main body, a driving roller assembly, and a sensing device. A passage is formed inside the main body. The driving roller assembly is disposed inside the main body and for driving a media to move along the passage. The sensing device is for determining whether the media proceeds along the passage normally. The sensing device includes a housing, a supporting component, a grating module, a first roller, a second roller and a control unit. The housing is disposed inside the main body. The supporting component is movably disposed on the housing. The grating module is installed inside the housing. The grating module includes a grating wheel, a light emitting component and a light receiving component. The grating wheel is rotatably disposed on the supporting component. The light emitting component is for emitting light. The light receiving component is for receiving the light emitted by the light emitting component to generate a corresponding sensing signal. The first roller is disposed coaxially with the grating wheel and for driving the grating wheel to rotate. The second roller contacts with the first roller and is for driving the first roller to rotate. When the media contacts with the second roller, the second roller drives the first roller to move the supporting component relative to the housing according to a thickness of the media, so as to adjust positions of the first roller and the grating wheel relative to the housing, and the second roller drives the first roller to rotate the grating wheel when the media drives the second roller to rotate. The control unit is electrically connected to the light emitting component and the light receiving component. The control unit determines whether the media proceeds at a predetermined speed according to the corresponding sensing signal generated by the light receiving component during rotation of the grating wheel.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second roller and the driving roller assembly are disposed on two opposite sides of the passage.

In summary, in the present disclosure, when the media proceeds along the passage, the media drives the second roller to rotate the first roller to rotate the grating wheel, so that the control unit can determine whether the media proceeds along the passage at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component during rotation of the grating wheel. In such a way, such mechanism can determine that a paper jam condition occurs when the control unit determines the media does not process along the passage at the predetermined speed. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, there is only the second roller rotatably contacting with the media, which effectively prevents interference of feeding and reduces a possibility of the paper jam condition.

These and other objectives of the present disclosure will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present disclosure can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Please refer toFIG. 1andFIG. 2.FIG. 1is a partial internal structural diagram of an office apparatus1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2is a partial exploded diagram of the office apparatus1according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the office apparatus1can be scanning equipment, copy equipment, printing equipment, or multi-function equipment having the aforementioned functions. As shown inFIG. 1andFIG. 2, the office apparatus1includes a main body10, a driving roller assembly11, a sensing device12and a driven roller assembly13. The main body10includes an outer shell, which is not shown in figures, an upper assembly100and a lower assembly101. The upper assembly100and the lower assembly101are installed inside the outer shell. A passage P is formed between the upper assembly100and the lower assembly101for allowing a media2, such as paper, to pass therethrough. The driving roller assembly11includes a first driving assembly11aand a second driving assembly11bdisposed on the lower assembly101for driving the media2to proceed along the passage P.

The driven roller assembly13includes a first driven assembly13aand a second driven assembly13bmovably disposed on the upper assembly100and located at positions corresponding to the first driving assembly11aand the second driving assembly11bof the driving roller assembly11respectively. The driven roller assembly13is for resiliently pressing the media2downwardly when the driving roller assembly11drives the media2to proceed along the passage P. The sensing device12is disposed on the upper assembly100and for determining whether the media2proceeds along the passage P normally. In other words, in this embodiment, the driving roller assembly11and the sensing device12can be located two opposite sides of the passage P. However, it is not limited thereto. For example, in another embodiment, the driving roller assembly11and the sensing device12also can be located at a same side of the passage P. It depends on practical demands.

Please refer toFIG. 1toFIG. 4.FIG. 3is a diagram of the sensing device12and the driven roller assembly13according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 4is an exploded diagram of the sensing device12according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 1toFIG. 4, the sensing device12includes a housing120, a supporting component121, a first roller122, a second roller123and a recovering component124. The housing120is disposed on the upper assembly100. The supporting component121is movably disposed on the housing120. The recovering component124is disposed between the supporting component121and the housing120and for driving the supporting component121to recover. The recovering component124can be a resilient clip. The first roller122is rotatably disposed on the supporting component121. The second roller123contacts with the first roller122and is for driving the first roller122to rotate.

Specifically, in this embodiment, two slots1200are formed on the housing120. The supporting component121includes two sliding portions1210. The two sliding portions1210of the supporting component121are slidably installed within the two slots1200on the housing120, which allows the supporting component121to move relative to the housing120. However, structures of the housing120and the supporting component121are not limited to this embodiment. That is, mechanism which allows the supporting component121to move relative to the housing120is included within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the second roller123is installed on a pivoting shaft130of the second driven assembly13bof the driven roller assembly13. When the media2proceeds along the passage P, the media2pushes the driven roller assembly13and the second roller123to adjust a position of the second roller123relative to the upper assembly100according to a thickness of the media2, so that the first roller122is driven by the second roller123to move the supporting component121relative to the housing120. However, structures of the housing120, the supporting component121and the second roller123of the present disclosure are not limited to the figures of this embodiment. It depends on practical demands. For example, the second roller123can be separated from the driven roller assembly13and still resiliently press the media2downwardly when the media2proceeds along the passage P.

Please refer toFIG. 3toFIG. 5.FIG. 5is a functional block diagram of the sensing device12according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 3toFIG. 5, the sensing device further includes a grating module125and a control unit126. The grating module125is installed inside the housing120and includes a grating wheel1250, a light emitting component1251and a light receiving component1252. The grating wheel1250is disposed coaxially with the first roller122and rotatable along with the first roller122. The control unit126is electrically connected to the light emitting component1251and the light receiving component1252. The light emitting component1251is for emitting light toward the grating wheel1250. The light receiving component1252is for receiving the light emitted by the light emitting component1251to generate a corresponding sensing signal. The control unit126determines whether the media2proceeds along the passage P at a predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component1252during rotation of the grating wheel1250, so as to determine whether a paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P.

Furthermore, it should be noticed that, in this embodiment, the light emitting component1251and the light receiving component1252can be disposed on two opposite sides of the grating wheel1250. A plurality of apertures1253is formed on a periphery of the grating wheel1250at intervals. When the grating wheel1250rotates, the light emitted by the light emitting component1251passes through the plurality of apertures1253to the light receiving component1252, so that the light receiving component1252generates the corresponding sensing signal. Therefore, the control unit126can determine whether the media2proceeds along the passage P at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component1252during rotation of the grating wheel1250, so as to determine whether a paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P. However, structures of the light emitting component1251, the light receiving component1252and the grating wheel1250are not limited to this embodiment. For example, please refer toFIG. 6.FIG. 6is a diagram of a grating wheel1250′ according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 6, in this embodiment, a plurality of reflecting sections1253′ is formed on a periphery of a grating wheel1250′ at intervals. The light emitting component1251and the light receiving component1252can be disposed on a same side of the grating wheel1250′. Therefore, when the grating wheel1250′ rotates, the light emitted by the light emitting component1251is reflected to the light receiving component1252by the plurality of reflecting sections1253′, so that the light receiving component1252generates the corresponding sensing signal. Therefore, the control unit126can determine whether the media2proceeds along the passage P at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component1252, so as to determine whether a paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P.

Operational principle of the office apparatus1of the present disclosure is described as follows. Please refer toFIG. 2,FIG. 7andFIG. 8.FIG. 7andFIG. 8are diagrams of the office apparatus1at different states according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. In order to illustrate the operational principle of the office apparatus1more specifically,FIG. 7andFIG. 8only illustrate partial components of the office apparatus1. As shown inFIG. 2andFIG. 7, when the media2is driven by the driving roller assembly11to proceed along the passage P at a predetermined speed, the media2contacts with the second roller123to move the second roller123relative to the upper assembly100according to the thickness of the media2, so that the first roller122is driven by the second roller123to move the supporting component121relative to the housing120along a moving direction S1to adjust positions of the first roller122and the grating wheel1250relative to the housing120. When the media2proceeds along the passage P, the media2drives the second roller123to rotate along a first rotating direction R1by a frictional force therebetween, so that the first roller122is driven by the second roller123to rotate the grating wheel1250along a second rotating direction R2opposite to the first rotating direction R1at a predetermined rotating speed corresponding to the predetermined speed. When the grating wheel1250rotates along the second rotating direction R2at the predetermined rotating speed, the light emitted by the light emitting component1251can correctly pass through the plurality of apertures1253to the light receiving component1252, so that the light receiving component1252generates a sensing signal corresponding to the predetermined rotating speed. Therefore, the control unit126can determine that the media2proceeds along the passage P at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component1252, so as to determine no paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P.

On the other hand, as shown inFIG. 8, when a paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P, a proceeding speed of the media2is not identical to the predetermined speed because the media2is buckled. Therefore, the second roller123cannot be driven by the media2to rotate normally. Furthermore, the grating wheel1250cannot be driven by the first roller122to rotate at the predetermined rotating speed. Therefore, the light receiving component1252cannot correctly receive the light emitted by the light emitting component1251and cannot generate the sensing signal corresponding to the predetermined rotating speed. In such a way, the control unit126can determine that the media2does not proceed along the passage P at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component1252, so as to determine the paper jam condition occurs inside the passage P.

In contrast to the prior art, in the present disclosure, when the media proceeds along the passage, the media drives the second roller to rotate the first roller to rotate the grating wheel, so that the control unit can determine whether the media proceeds along the passage at the predetermined speed according to the sensing signal generated by the light receiving component during rotation of the grating wheel. In such a way, such mechanism can determine that a paper jam condition occurs when the control unit determines the media does not process along the passage at the predetermined speed. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, there is only the second roller rotatably contacting with the media, which effectively prevents interference of feeding and reduces a possibility of the paper jam condition.