SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets of paper or other material comprising a plurality of sheet mounting dev­ ices (I, II), each of which is provided with sheet feed means (9,9′) engageable with a sheet mounted on the respective sheet mounting device (21,21′), the sheet feed means (9,9′) being driven by a sheet feed gear (7,7′); and means (15,16) for effecting feeding of a sheet from one selected sheet mounting device (21,21′) only at a time, characterised in that each sheet feed gear (7,7′) is disposed adjacent to but spaced from a sun gear (5,13); there being transmission means (4,12) for trans­ mitting drive to each said sun gear (5,13) so that the latter may be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise in a pred­ etermined sequence; each sun gear (5,13) being permanently in mesh with a respective planet gear (6,6′) which is movable about the sun gear (5,13) into and out of an operative position in which it meshes with the respective sheet feed gear (7,7′); and cam means (15,16) for controlling the movement of the planet gears (6,6′) into and out of their operative positions so that, in dependence upon the particular said sequence adop­ ted, each of the sheet feed means (9,9′) may be operated at a time when the other sheet feed means (9,9′) is or are not oper­ ated.

Description: This invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets of paper or other material. Although not so restricted, it relates more particularly to a cut sheet feeder which can select a cut sheet from a number of different kinds of sheets and feed the selected sheet to a printer. It is well known that a sheet feeding apparatus of the above-mentioned construction has been employed in various printers used for a typewriter or a word processor. A cut sheet feeder has been suggested which incorporates an electrical selector element, such as a motor or a solenoid, the feeder being electrically connected to a printer, so that the printer can be directly controlled by the motor or solenoid. It has also been suggested, in the US patent US-A-4,248,415 (Steinhilber), that a cut sheet feeder should be driven by a sequence of anti-clockwise rotation and clockwise rotation of a paper feeding motor. In each construction, however, a one-way clutch or a ratchet is used to move a paper feeding member freely against the movement of the sheet which is fed into the paper feed mechanism and this increases costs. According, therefore, to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets of paper or other material comprising a plurality of sheet mounting devices each of which is provided with sheet feed means engageable with a sheet mounted on the respective sheet mounting device, the sheet feed means being driven by a sheet feed gear; and means for effecting feeding of a sheet from one selected sheet mounting device only at a time, characterised in that each sheet feed gear is disposed adjacent to but spaced from a sun gear; there being transmission means for transmitting drive to each said sun gear so that the latter may be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise in a predetermined sequence; each sun gear being permanently in mesh with a respective planet gear which is movable about the sun gear into and out of an operative position in which it meshes with the respective sheet feed gear; and cam means for controlling the movement of the planet gears into and out of their operative positions so that, in dependence upon the particular said sequence adopted, each of the sheet feed means may be operated at a time when the other sheet feed means is or are not operated. Thus the present invention enables sheets of various sizes to be fed from a plurality of sheet mounting devices into a printer and enables the necessary power for the sheet feeding apparatus to be derived from a paper feeding mechanism of a printer. The invention, moreover, enables a sheet feeding apparatus to be made of simple construction at low cost. Preferably, each planet gear is mounted on a respective selector lever assembly which is itself rotatably mounted coaxially with the respective sun gear. Preferably, each selector lever assembly has a part which is engageable with part or parts of a respective selector cam, the said parts of the respective selector cams being arranged so as to disengage the respective parts at different angular positions of the sun gears. Preferably, each said part of the selector lever assemblies and selector cams is constituted by a projection. Each selector cam may have two projections which are spaced from each other so that the respective selector lever projection may pass between them. Preferably, one of the projections of each selector cam is engageable with the respective selector lever projection to stop movement of the respective selector lever assembly. Preferably, there is a stopper engageable with each selector lever assembly to stop movement thereof. Each of the sheet feed means preferably comprises a pair of rollers mounted on a shaft on which is mounted the respective sheet feed gear. The transmission means may comprise a belt drive for transmitting drive from a motor which may be rotated both clockwise and anti-clockwise. The invention is illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a paper feeding apparatus, in accordance with this invention, provided with first and second sheet mounting devices, Figure 2(a) is a top plan view and Figure 2(b) is a sectional side view of part of the paper feeding apparatus of figure 1, Figure 3 is a top plan view of a part of the construction show in Figure 2(b), Figures 4(a) to 4(e) are views corresponding to that of Figure 2(b) but showing the parts thereof in successive positions adopted thereby in order to feed a cut sheet from the first sheet mounting device to a printer, and Figures 5(a) to 5(c) are views corresponding to that of Figure 2(b) but showing the parts thereof in successive positions adopted thereby in order to feed a cut sheet from the second sheet mounting device to the printer. Referring to the drawings, a paper feeding apparatus according to the present invention comprises a platen transmission gear pulley 3 which receives motive power through a platen gear 2 of a printer (not shown), the platen gear 2 driving a platen 21 and being itself driven by a paper feeding motor 18. Power is transmitted from the transmission gear pulley 3 to a pulley gear 5 (which constitutes a sun gear) via a timing belt 4 and the transmitted power is further conveyed from the pulley gear 5 to a pulley gear 13 (which constitutes a sun gear) via a timing belt 12. The sun gears 5, 13 are respectively rotatably mounted on shafts 5 a , 13 a . Planet gears 6, 6' are respectively rotatably mounted on selector planet levers 10, 10', the planet gears 6, 6' being permanently in mesh with the sun gears 5, 13 respectively. The selector planet levers 10, 10' are rotatably mounted on the shafts 5 a , 13 a respectively. The planet gears 6, 6' are movable around the sun gears 5, 13 respectively so as to bring them into and out of mesh with paper feeding roller shaft gears 7, 7' respectively, the latter being respectively mounted on paper feeding roller shafts 8, 8'. The shafts 8, 8' respectively carry pairs of paper feeding rollers 9, 9' which are respectively disposed adjacent to first and second sheet mounting devices I, II. Sheets (not shown) of different sizes (or otherwise differing from each other) may be respectively mounted in the sheet mounting devices I, II. Thus if one of the planet gears 6, 6' is engaged with its respective paper feeding roller shaft gear 7, 7', power which has been transmitted to the respective sun gear 5, 13 is, as shown in Figure 2, transmitted to the respective paper feeding rollers 9, 9' through the respective paper feeding roller shaft 8, 8', whereby the respective paper feeding rollers 9, 9' are rotated to feed the respective sheets from either the sheet mourting device I or the sheet mounting device II. A selector lever 11, 11' is attached to its respective selector planet lever 10, 10' in such a way that it can be rotated when there is no application of power, each selector lever 11, 11' being connected to its respective selector planet lever 10, 10' at a normally constant angle by means of a respective selector lever spring 17, 17'. Each selector lever 11, 11' has a respective projection 22, 22' at its end remote from the respective selector planet gear lever 10, 10'. The projection 22' is engageable with and may pass between spaced apart projections 15 a , 15 b of a selector cam 15, while the projector 22 is engageable with and may pass between spaced apart projections 16 a , 16 b of a selector cam 16. The selector cam 15 also has a projection 15 d one end of which extends to the projection 15 b and the other end of which extends to a projection 15 c on the selector cam 15. Similarly, the selector cam 16 has a projection 16 d one end of which extends to the projection 16 b and the other end of which extends to a projection 16 c on the selector cam 16. The projections 22, 22' of the selector levers 11', 11 engage the various projections of the selector cams 15, 16 only as a result of a combination of counter-clockwise rotation and clockwise rotation of the paper feeding motor 18 of the printer, as described below. The selector cams 15 and 16 are of different shape and therefore a different combination of anti-clockwise rotation and clockwise rotation of the paper feeding motor 18 is required to move the selector levers 11, 11' over the cams 15, 16. Accordingly, as described below, it is possible to apply power to one only of the pairs of paper feeding rollers 9, 9'. As indicated above, the sun gears 5 and 13 are connected via the timing belt 12 so that power is transmitted between the two gears. The sun gear 5, which is provided for feeding a cut sheet set on the sheet mounting device I, frictionally engages the selector planet lever 10. The planet gear 6 is rotatably mounted at one end of the selector planet lever 10, and at the other end of the latter, the selector lever 11 is urged counter-clockwise by the selector lever spring 17. Similarly, the sun gear 13, which is provided for feeding a cut sheet set on the sheet mounting device II, frictionally engages the selector planet lever 10'. The planet gear 6' is rotatably mounted at one end of the selector planet lever 10', and at the other end of the latter, the selector lever 11' is urged counter-clockwise by the selector lever spring 17'. Reference is now made to Figures 4(a) to 4(e) which illustrate the operation of feeding a cut sheet which is set on the sheet mounting device I into a printer (not shown). When the paper feeding motor 18 is rotated, the platen gear 2 drives the sun gear 5 through the timing belt 4 so that the sun gear 5 rotates the sun gear 13 clockwise through the timing belt 12. At this time, although the selector planet levers 10, 10' are frictiorally urged to rotate clockwise by reason of the rotation of the sun gears 5, 13, the selector planet levers 10, 10' stop at reset positions A in contact with reset shafts or stoppers 14, 14' (see Figure 4(a)). Subsequently, when the sun gears 5 and 13 are turned counter-clockwise by the motor 18, the selector planet levers 10, 10' rotate counter-clockwise, as illustrated in Figure 4(b). This causes the selector levers 11, 11' to move to positions B in which each projection 22, 22' is in contact with the left hand side of the projections 16 a , 15 a of selector cams 16, 15. When the sun gears 5, 13 continue rotating counter-clockwise, as seen in Figure 4(c), the selector lever 11 slides up to a position C in which the projection 22 is in contact with the left hand side of the projection 16 b of the selector cam 16. At the same time, the selector lever 11' slides to a position C and stops there as the projection 22' is in engagement with the projection 15 c of the selector cam 15. When the direction of rotation of the motor 18 is reversed, the rotation of the sun gears 5, 13 is also changed, that is, the gears 5, 13 rotate clockwise by an amount such that the selector levers 11, 11' move to positions D, as shown in Figure 4(d). At this time, the selector lever 11 is disengaged from the projection 16 a and is moved from the position D to a position E by the selector lever spring 17. On the other hand, the selector lever 11' remains in position D because the projection 22' engages the projection 15 b of the selector cam 15. As seen in Figure 4(e), when the direction of rotation of the motor 18 is once again reversed, the sun gears 5, 13 rotate counter-clockwise. Then, the selector lever 11 moves to a position G and the planet gear 6 comes into mesh with the paper feeding roller shaft gear 7 so that a cut sheet set on the sheet mounting device I is advanced to the platen 21 by means of the paper feeding roller 9. The selector lever 11' stops at a position F because the projection 22' is in engagement with the projection 15 d of the selector cam 15. As a result, the planet gear 6' does not mesh with the paper feeding roller gear 7' and consequently a cut sheet set on the sheet mounting device II is not fed. Figures 5(a) to 5(c) illustrate the operation of feeding a cut sheet which is set on the sheet mounting device II into the printer. The selector levers 11, 11' which have been reset by the reset shafts 14, 14', as shown in Figure 4(a), rotate counter-clockwise simultaneously with the rotation of the sun gears 5, 13 as shown in Figure 5(a). The selector lever 11' moves from a position H to a position I through the space between the projections 15 a , 15 b of the selector cam 15. Under these circumstances, the projection 22' of the selector lever 11' is guided by the projection 15 b . On the other hand, the selector lever 11 slides into contact with the projection 16 a of the selector cam 16 up to a position J. When the rotation of the motor 18 is reversed, as shown in Figure 5(b), the sun gears 5, 13 rotate clockwise so that the selector levers 11, 11' also rotate clockwise. The selector 11' moves to a position K and then moves to a position L by reason of the action of the selector lever spring 17, whereby the lever 11' is out of engagement with the projections 15 a and 15 b . At the same time, the selector lever 11 moves back to a position M and remains in engagement with the projection 16 a . When the rotation of the motor is reversed once again, as shown in Figure 5(c), the sun gears 5, 13 rotate counter-clockwise. As the selector lever 11' is disengaged from the selector cam 15, the planet gear 6' meshes with the paper feeding roller gear 7'. As a result, the uppermost cut sheet set on the sheet mounting device II is advanced to the platen 21 by the paper feeding rollers 9', the uppermost sheet being separated from the other sheets by separating pawls 20. At the same time, the selector lever 11 is disengaged from the projection 16 a at a position N, engages with the projection 16 d , and stops at a position O, so that the planet gear 6 does not mesh with the paper feeding roller gear 7. The top edge of the sheet fed out of the paper feeding apparatus contacts the portion between the platen 21 and paper advancing rollers 19 mounted on a shaft 1 adjacent to the platen 21, whereby the sheet deflects during the clockwise rotation of the platen 21. When the proper deflection has occurred, the platen 21 is turned counter-clockwise, so that the sheet is wound around the platen 21 by means of the paper advancing rollers 19, whereby the sheet is fed into the printing mechanism (not shown). When the platen 21 rotates counter-clockwise, the selector planet lever 10' is turned clockwise so that the selector planet gear 6' comes out of mesh with the paper feeding roller gear 7', and the paper feeding roller shaft 8' and the paper feeding rollers 9' rotate freely as a result of their engagement with the sheet which is being fed into the printing mechanism. Further, the selector planet lever 10' also returns to the reset position A. By repeating the above-mentioned procedure, it becomes possible to feed a sheet continuously. As will be appreciated, by a different selection of successive clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the paper feeding motor 18, it is possible to ensure that, at a time when one selector lever is in an inoperative position or positions, the other selector lever is moved into its operative position so as to effect rotation of the respective paper feeding shaft and thus effect feeding of a sheet from the respective sheet mounting device into the printing apparatus. It is thus possible to rotate only a selected paper feeding shaft 8, 8' by appropriate design of the selector cams 15, 16 and by effecting appropriate counter-clockwise rotation and clockwise rotation of the platen 21, that is, counter clockwise rotation and clockwise rotation of the paper feeding motor 18 of a printer. If desired, it is possible to utilize gears (not shown) instead of the timing belts 4, 12 for power transmission. The paper feeding apparatus described above makes it possible to feed differently sized sheets into the printing apparatus merely by controlling the motor 18 of the printer by appropriate software. Furthermore, it is possible to produce the said paper feeding apparatus at low cost without using high-priced parts such as a one-way clutch.

Claims: A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets of paper or other material comprising a plurality of sheet mounting devices (I,II), each of which is provided with sheet feed means (9,9') engageable with a sheet mounted on the respective sheet mounting device (21,21'), the sheet feed means (9,9') being driven by a sheet feed gear (7,7'); and means (15,16) for effecting feeding of a sheet from one selected sheet mounting device (21,21') only at a time, characterised in that each sheet feed gear (7,7') is disposed adjacent to but spaced from a sun gear (5,13); there being transmission means (4,12) for transmitting drive to each said sun gear (5,13) so that the latter may be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise in a pre-determined sequence; each sun gear (5,13) being permanently in mesh with a respective planet gear (6,6') which is movable about the sun gear (5,13) into and out of an operative position in which it meshes with the respective sheet feed gear (7,7'); and cam means (15,16) for controlling the movement of the planet gears (6,6') into and out of their operative positions so that, in dependence upon the particular said sequence adopted, each of the sheet feed means (9,9') may be operated at a time when the other sheet feed means (9,9') is or are not operated. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that each planet gear (6,6') is mounted on a respective selector lever assembly (10,11,10',11') which is itself rotatably mounted coaxially with the respective sun gear (5,13). Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 characterised in that each selector lever assembly (10,11,10',11') has a part (22,22') which is engageable with part or parts (15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d , 16 a , 16 b , 16 c , 16 d ) of a respective selector cam (15,16), the said parts (15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d , 16 a , 16 b , 16 c , 16 d ) of the respective selector cams (15,16) being arranged so as to disengage the respective parts (22,22') at different angular positions of the sun gears (5,13). Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 characterised in that each said part (22,22', 15 a , 15 b , 15 c , 15 d , 16 a , 16 b , 16 c , 16 d ) of the selector lever assemblies (10,11,10',11') and selector cams (15,16) is constituted by a projection. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 characterised in that each selector cam (15,16) has two projections (15 a , 15 b , 16 a , 16 b ) which are spaced from each other so that the respective selector lever projection (22,22') may pass between them. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or 5 characterised in that one of the projections (15 d , 16 d ) of each selector cam (15,16) is engageable with the respective selector lever projection (22,22') to stop movement of the respective selector lever assembly (10,11,10',11'). Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2-6 characterised in that there is a stopper (14,14') engageable with each selector lever assembly (10,11,10',11') to stop movement thereof. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that each of the sheet feed means (9,9') comprises a pair of rollers mounted on a shaft (8,8') on which is mounted the respective sheet feed gear (7,7'). Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that the transmission means (4,12) comprise a belt drive for transmitting drive from a motor (18) which may be rotated both clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Inventors: KITAHARA, KOHEI, NAKAGAWA, HITOSHI
Applicants: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B41J11
IPC codes: B41J13, B65H3, B41J11