SHEET FEEDER

Abstract: In a sheet feeding apparatus, a member supporting at one end thereof a rotatable pressure roller (3) is mounted turnably at the other end thereof on an input shaft driven by a motor (6). This member is coupled to the input shaft via a friction generating mechanism (9) which generates a friction force. This friction force allows the rotatable pressure roller to be pressed onto a sheet to be fed at an optimum pressure.

Description: The present invention relates to a paper sheet feeder for feeding a cut sheet such as paper into an apparatus for using the cut sheet such as a copying machine, printing machine, etc. (DE-A-3 334 522). The cut sheets which are at present used for the apparatus such as the copying machine are different in their material quality, thickness, surface condition, etc., and the sheet feeder for feeding such sheets into the apparatus is required to have a secure stability of its function. A construction of the conventional sheet feeder for the copying machine is disclosed in Japanese patent publication (Unexamined) No.56-64356/1981, according to which a cut sheet of paper fed into the apparatus is held up, pressed onto a feed-in roller, and under the rotating force of the feed-in roller the paper is conveyed by a frictional force to be fed into the apparatus. At this time, the pressing force exerted between the paper and the feed-in roller is generally produced by the recovery force of a spring. However, according to such construction, the recovery force of the spring varies by the size of the paper or by variation of the remaining number of sheets, by which the pressing force varies. Further, there is rerquired a torque for holding up the piled sheets of paper of a large weight, for which a motive power source is also required, involving a large energy loss. Further, in order to provide a timing for holding up the cut paper, cams and clutches are necessitated. The increased number of parts leads to a higher cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus which eliminates or reduces the variation of the pressing force between the feed-in roller and the cut sheet that may be caused by the difference in the kind or size of the cut sheet fed into a main apparatus and performs stabilized operation. A sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention has a construction comprising loading means for loading a sheet; pickup means having a roller which is rotatable itself and turnable for separation from and tight contact with said sheet for feeding in said sheet; driving means for generating engery for rotating and turning said pickup means; connecting means for connecting said pickup means with said driving means; and a torque generating means for transmitting a prescribed driving torque from said driving means to said connecting means so as to turn said pick-up means into said tight feeding contact with said sheet at a prescribed pressure. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the sheet feeding device of Fig 1 in a waiting condition; Fig. 3 is a side view of the sheet feeding device of Fig. 1 in an operating condition; Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a construction of one embodiment of the torque generating means according to the present invention; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a construction of another embodiment of the torque generating means according to the present invention. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the paper sheet feeding device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Stacked sheets 1 to be fed into a copying machine (not illustrated) are loaded on a tray 2 and held in position. A roller 3 is a pick-up roller constructed by an elastic member so as to carry out stabilized feeding of a cut sheet 1 loaded on the tray 2. A roller 4 is a feed roller of an elastic member provided downstream of the pick-up roller 3. A member 5 provided opposite to the feed roller 4 is a shuffling member for separating a cut sheet 1 sent forward by the pick-up roller 3 into a sheet unit. A motor 6 is for driving the pick-up roller 3 and the feed roller 4, and is capable of rotating in a direction of feeding in the cut sheet 1 and in a direction reverse thereto. A train of gears 7 are fixed to a chassis 25 so as to transmit the driving force of the motor 6 to the pick-up roller 3 and the feed roller 4, and are generally supported in a freely rotatable manner on pins provided on the chassis 25. Further, in order to so construct that the pick-up roller 3 is capable of turning about the rotary axis of the feed roller 4, there is provided a supporting member 8 connecting a rotary shaft 11 of the feed roller 4 with the pick-up roller 3. A torque generating mechanism 9 is to generate a pressure contact force between the pick-up roller 3 and the cut sheet 1 by giving a rotary torque to the supporting member 8. Detailed construction of the torque generating mechanism 9 will be explained later. A gear 10 is an input shaft gear positioned at the ultimate end of the grear train 7 and at the nearest position to the paper feed roller 4. Rotary shaft 11 is an input shaft fixed to the input shaft gear 10. The feed roller 4 is supported on the input shaft 11 by means of a one-way clutch 18 as shown in Fig. 4 so that, when the input shaft 11 rotates in the direction of feeding the cut sheet 1 into the apparatus the feed roller 4 also follows to rotate, and when the former rotates in the reverse direction, the latter does not follow. A pulley 12 is a pulley on the feed roller side, being fixed to the feed roller 4. A pulley 13 is a pulley on the pick-up roller side, being fixed to the pick-up roller 3. A belt 14 is a toothed timing belt for coupling the feed roller side pulley 12 and the pick-up roller side pulley 13. The driving force of the motor 6 transmitted to the input shaft 11 is transmitted through the feed roller 4, the feed roller side pulley 12, the timing belt 14, and the pick-up roller side pulley 13 to rotate the pick-up roller 3. Construction of the torque generation mechanism 9 will be explained with reference to the drawings. In Fig. 4, the first embodiment of the construction is shown. There are provided an input side boss 15 fixedly supported on the input shaft 11 and an output side boss 16 supported on the input shaft 11 in a freely rotatable manner (with its movement restricted to a longitudinal direction of the shaft). A coil spring 17 is a coil spring constructed to extend over the outer peripheries of the bosses 15 and 16 on both sides. The inner diameter d of the spring 17 under free condition is smaller than the outer diameter D of each of the input and output side bosses 15 and 16. That is to say, D > d. The coil spring 17 is fitted onto the outer peripheries of the input and output bosses 15 and 16 under the condition of being expanded from its free state. When the amount of expansion at this time is expressed by as δ corresponds to the difference of the diameters, the relation becomes: δ = (D - d)/2. The friction force by frictional movement generated between each of the input and output bosses 15 and 16 and the coil spring 17 and the expansion amount δ are in proportional relation to each other. By this friction force there is obtained a pressure contact force between the pick-up roller 3 and the cut sheet 1. An end 17a of the coil spring 17 on the side of the output side boss 16 is fixed to the output side boss 16. The coil spring 17 is wound in a manner to be relaxed when the motor 6, i.e., the input shaft 11, rotates in the arrow marked direction A. When the motor 6 starts to rotate in the arrow marked direction A from the waiting condition as shown in Fig. 2, the rotary force of the input shaft 11 is transmitted to the output side boss 16 by the friction force between the input side boss 15 and the coil spring 17, thereby causing the supporting member 8 to turn in the arrow marked direction A. When the supporting member 8 has been turned to the position of operating condition as shown in Fig. 3, it becomes no longer turnable in the arrow marked direction A with the cut sheet 1. At this time, as the input side boss 15 continues to rotate, a sliding torque is generated between the coil spring 17. This sliding torque produces the pressure contact force for bringing the pickup roller 3 into pressure contact with the cut sheet 1. By appropriate selection of at least one of the ratio of the diameter of the input side boss 15 to the inner diameter of the coil spring 17 in free condition, strength of the coil spring, friction coefficient of the input side boss 15 on the outer peripheral surface, the pressure contact force of the pick-up roller 3 to the cut sheet 1 can be optionally set. By the way, in the embodiment of Fig. 4, the coil spring 17 is fixed at its end 17a to the output side boss 16, but it is not always necessary to fix an end of the coil spring 17 to the boss. When the two ends of the coil spring 17 are not fixed, a sliding torque is produced between a boss which has a smaller friction with the coil spring 17 than the other boss. In order to differentiate the friction forces between the coil spring 17 and the respective input and output side bosses 15 and 16, the material qualities of the bosses 15 and 16 on the input and output sides may be differentiated to make the friction coefficients different from each other, or the diameters of the input and output side bosses 15 and 16 may be slightly differentiated from each other. Alternatively, instead of the coil spring 17a, a friction plate may be placed between the input side boss 15 and the output side boss 16 to make frictional connection of the input and output side boss. Further, the input and output side bosses 15 and 16 may be directly brought into frictional contact with each other by suitably selecting their material qualities. The condition of the pick-up roller 3 being brought into pressure contact with the cut sheet 1, i.e., the operating condition of the feed apparatus, is shown in Fig. 3. Thereafter, after the sheet feeding operation is completed or until the next sheet feeding operation is started, it is necessary to provide a waiting condition as shown in Fig. 2, i.e., to separate the pick-up roller 3 from the stacked sheets 1 to ease handling of the cut sheet 1. For this purpose, the motor 6 is rotated in the direction (B) reverse to the direction of rotation (A) during the sheet feeding operation to hold up the pick-up roller 3 (at this time, the relation between the coil spring 17 and the input and output bosses 15 and 16 is reversed from that of the sheet feeding time). Upon detection of the position of the pick-up roller 3 with a position sensor 24, which sends a detected signal to a control circuit 23, the control circuit 23 stops the rotation of the motor 6. In Fig. 5 there is shown a construction of another embodiment of the torque generating machanism. There are provided an input side disc 19 fixed to the input shaft 11 and an output side disc 20 which is fixed to the supporting member 8 and supported in freely rotatable manner on the input shaft 11, and is positioned opposite to the input side disc 19 with a gap 1. In contact with the input side disc 19 and the output side disc 20, a viscous fluid 21 having a prescribed viscosity is filled in a casing 22. Even if a torque in excess of a certain level is given as an input of the torque generating mechanism, such torque is restricted by friction transmission or viscosity and the upper limit of the torque to be transmitted is determined. As such upper limit value becomes the pressure contact force of the pick-up roller 3, the pressure contact force can be determined by the viscosity of the viscous fluid 21, the gap between the input and output side discs, the area of the disc surface, and the surface roughness. Under the condition where the apparatus is not energized with electric power, the pick-up roller 3 is at all times in the position separated from the cut sheet 1, so as to enable replacement or replenishment of the cut sheet 1. From this state, a signal for start of sheet feeding is sent to the motor 6 from the control circuit 23 connected to a copy start button or the like (not illustrated). The motor 6 which has received this signal rotates in the paper feeding direction (arrow marked direction A in Fig. 1), by which, as aforedescribed, via the torque generating mechanism 9, the pick-up roller 3 is pressed under the prescribed pressure in contact with the cut sheet 1. On completion of the sheet feeding operation, the control circuit 23 sends a signal to rotate the motor 6 in the reverse direction (arrow marked direction B in Fig. 1) to the direction (A) of rotation during the sheet feeding operation. At this time, in the embodiment of Fig. 4, because the motor rotates in the direction of tightening the coil spring 17, there is a construction in which the input side boss 15 and the output side boss 16 are formed into one piece, so that the driving force is transmitted direct to the supporting member 8. In the embodiment of Fig. 5, as the torque transmission is made by friction or viscosity in the same direction as the sheet feeding direction, the torque is exerted in a manner to hold upward the pick-up roller 3 and the supporting memeber 8. The thus held up pick-up roller 3 and supporting member 8 are position-sensored with the position sensor 24 such as a micro-switch provided at a position above the cut sheet 1 to stop the motor 6. As the resistance of friction or viscosity is larger than the toque which is exerted to inhibit holding up by the own weights of the pick-up roller 3 and the supporting member 8, a waiting condition as shown in Fig. 2 is maintained until the next signal for sheet feeding is supplied from the control circuit 23 (until the motor 6 is driven).

Claims: A sheet feeding apparatus comprising: loading means (2) for loading a sheet (1); pickup means having a roller (3) being positioned above said sheet for feeding in the sheet, said roller being rotatable itself and turnable for separation from and tight feeding contact with said sheet; driving means (11) for generating energy for rotating and turning said pickup means; connecting means (8) for connecting the roller of said pickup means with said driving means; and characterised by torque generating means (17; 19-21) for transmitting a prescribed driving torque from said driving means to said connecting means so as to turn said pick-up means into said tight feeding contact with said sheet at a prescribed pressure. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller of the pick-up means is constructed by an elastic member. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the torque generating means (17) gives the prescribed torque to the connecting means by a friction force. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving means comprises a rotary shaft (11) provided at a turning axis of the pick-up means, and a motor (6) for driving the rotary shaft to rotate, and wherein the torque generating means comprises first rotary means (15) fixed to the rotary shaft, second rotary means (16) connected to the pick-up means and disposed to oppose to the first rotary means, and a coil spring (17) wound around outer periperies of both the first and the second rotary means, a torque for turning the connecting means about the rotation axis of the rotary shaft being produced by a friction force between said coil spring and the outer periphery of one of said first and second rotary means. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the torque generating means comprises a first face plate (19) connected to the driving means, a second face plate (20) disposed at the center of turning of the pick-up means and being opposed to the first face plate, and a viscous fluid (21) disposed between said first face plate and said second face plate for transmitting the prescribed torque.

Inventors: ONO, HIRONORI, URATA, YOSHITO
Applicants: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B65H3
IPC codes: G03G15, B65H3