Abstract:
The present invention provides a rotation controlling apparatus for controlling the rotation generated in a rotation drive source and transmitting the rotation to an output portion, comprising a first rotation transmitting member which is connected to the rotation drive source and to which the rotation is transmitted from the rotation drive source; a second rotation transmitting member for transmitting the rotation from the rotation drive source to the output portion when it is engaged by the first rotation transmitting member; a support means adapted to support one of the first and second rotation transmitting members and movable to cause it to be engaged by or disengaged from the other rotation transmitting member; a trigger means for shifting the support means to engage one of the rotation transmitting members by the other; and a rotation transmission controlling means operated by a rotational force from the second rotation transmitting means to shift the support means, thereby disengaging the first rotation transmitting member from the second rotation transmitting member. The present invention also provides an image forming system having such rotation controlling apparatus.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a rotation controlling apparatus for controlling the rotation by utilizing a cam, and a sheet feeding system having such rotation controlling apparatus. 
     2. Related Background Art 
     In the past, the control of rotation in a driving mechanism such as rollers was effected by independent control motors, or clutches such as electromagnetic clutches or spring clutches. In a sheet feeding system used in a compact printer or copying machine, since it was required to control one revolution of a rotary element exactly and inexpensively, a spring clutch as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 has generally been used. 
     Now, such spring clutch will be fully described. 
     In FIGS. 10 to 13, a sheet supply roller 101 is mounted on a roller holder 102. The roller holder 102 has a semi-circular cross-section and is fixedly or non-rotatably mounted on a sheet supply shaft 103 by means of a pin and the like (not shown). On the sheet supply shaft 103, there are mounted a rotatable input gear 105 rotated by a rotational force from an external driving system 104, and a boss 106 secured to the sheet supply shaft 103 and slightly spaced apart from the input gear. The input gear 105 and the boss 106 are provided at their confronting ends with cylindrical extensions 105a, 106a, respectively, having substantially the same diameters, and a spring 107 is mounted around these extensions with a slight gap therebetween. One end of the spring is bent toward an axial direction to be inserted into a hole formed in the boss 106. The spring 107 is so mounted that, when the input gear 105 is rotated, the spring is contracted to be urged against the extensions. The other end of the spring is cocked radially outwardly, so that it is engaged by a control ring 108 extending between and rotatably mounted around inner shoulders 105b, 106b of the input gear 105 and of the boss 106. The control ring 108 is provided at its peripheral surface with a pawl 108a by which a flapper 110 mounted on a solenoid 109 can be engaged. When the solenoid 109 is turned OFF, the flapper 110 is engaged by the pawl 108a, whereas, when the solenoid is turned ON, the flapper is disengaged from the pawl. 
     With this arrangement, when the solenoid 109 is turned OFF, since the spring 107 can be contracted inwardly toward the extension 105a of the input gear 105, the spring 107 tends to move together with the input gear. However, since the rotation of the end of the spring is regulated by the flapper 110 via the control ring 108, as shown in FIG. 13, the spring 107 is loosened until the spring 107 and the input gear 105 are slipped relative to each other, and, thereafter, this condition is maintained (clutch-off condition). 
     On the other hand, when the solenoid 109 is turned ON, since the flapper 110 is disengaged from the control ring 108, the spring 107 becomes a free condition. Thus, when the input gear 105 is rotated, the spring 107 is contracted to be firmly urged against the cylindrical extension 105a of the input gear 105 as shown in FIG. 12, with the result that the boss 106 is rotated integrally with the input gear 105, thus rotating the sheet supply roller 101 (clutch-on condition). By turning the solenoid 109 OFF again after the turning ON of the solenoid, the rotation of the control ring 108 is regulated again after one revolution of the sheet supply shaft 103, so that the rotation of the input gear is not transmitted to the boss. In this way, one revolution of the sheet supply roller is controlled. 
     However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, since the spring 107 is always slidingly contacted with the cylindrical extension 105a, the following problems arose. 
     (1) Since the spring 107 acting as a driving force transmitting portion is slid on the cylindrical extension 105a, there arises a problem regarding the wear. Thus, the hardness of surfaces of the spring and the cylindrical extension must be adjusted, or the spring and the cylindrical extension must be made of special material such as sintered alloy. 
     (2) In order to turn the clutch ON and OFF smoothly, the proper lubricant must be applied on the cylindrical extension 105a. 
     (3) The proper clearance must be provided between the spring 107 and the cylindrical extension 105a. 
     If any one of these requirements (1)-(3) is insufficient, since the torque becomes unbalance, the spring clutch will generate unacceptable noise, poor torque transmission (slip) and/or sequential movement. Further, since the special material must be used, the apparatus is made expensive. Further, the assembling the adjustment of the apparatus become very difficult. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention aims to eliminate the aforementioned conventional drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotation controlling apparatus wherein it is no need to use the expensive parts, and the setting is easy and any adjustment is not required. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a rotation controlling apparatus for controlling the rotation generated in a rotation drive source and transmitting the rotation to an output portion, comprising: a first rotation transmitting member which is connected to the rotation drive source and to which the rotation is transmitted from the rotation drive source; a second rotation transmitting member for transmitting the rotation from the rotation drive source to the output portion when it is engaged by the first rotation transmitting member; a support means adapted to support one of the first and second rotation transmitting members and movable to cause it to be engaged by or disengaged from the other rotation transmitting member; a trigger means for shifting the support means to engage one of the rotation transmitting members by the other; and a rotation transmission controlling means operated by a rotational force from the second rotation transmitting means to shift the support means, thereby disengaging the first rotation transmitting member from the second rotation transmitting member. 
     With this arrangement, when the first rotation transmitting member is engaged by the second rotation transmitting member by the trigger means, the rotation is transmitted from the rotation drive source to the output portion, and, when the first rotation transmitting member is disengaged from the second rotation transmitting member by the rotation transmission controlling means, the rotation from the rotation drive source is not transmitted to the output portion. Further, since the support means is shifted by utilizing the rotational force of the second rotation transmitting member, when the first rotation transmitting member is disengaged from the second rotation transmitting member by the rotation transmission controlling means, the rotation is not transmitted to the second rotation transmitting member, and thus, the rotation is not transmitted to the rotation transmission controlling means, too, thereby stopping the support means, so that the transmission of the rotation from the rotation drive source to the output portion is automatically blocked. 
     Preferably, the rotation transmission controlling means comprises a rotatable cam member having a first cam surface by which the support means can be slidingly contacted and adapted to engage the first rotation transmitting member by the second rotation transmitting member, and a second cam surface for separating the first rotation transmitting member from the second rotation transmitting member. 
     The cam member is rotated by the rotational force of the second rotation transmitting member, and, when the support means is slidingly contacted by the first cam surface, the first rotation transmitting member is engaged by the second rotation transmitting member to transmit the rotation therebetween, and, when the support means is slidingly contacted by the second cam surface, the first rotation transmitting member is disengaged from the second rotation transmitting member thereby not to transmit the rotation therebetween. 
     From this condition, when the support means is shifted from the second cam surface to the first cam surface by the trigger means, the first rotation transmitting member is engaged by the second rotation transmitting member again, thus transmitting the rotation from the rotation drive source to the output portion. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view of a rotation controlling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a view looked at from a direction shown by the arrow II in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III--III in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an elevational sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing an operating condition; 
     FIG. 5 is an elevational sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing another operating condition; 
     FIG. 6 is an elevational sectional view of a rotation controlling apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is an elevational sectional view of a rotation controlling apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is an elevational sectional view of a rotation controlling apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a view looked at from a direction shown by the arrow B in FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventional sheet supplying apparatus using a one-revolution clutch; 
     FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the one-revolution clutch of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is an elevational sectional view of the one-revolution clutch of FIG. 10, showing a clutch-on condition; 
     FIG. 13 is an elevational sectional view of the one-revolution clutch of FIG. 10, showing a clutch-off condition; 
     FIG. 14 is an elevational sectional view of an image forming system using the rotation controlling apparatus according to the present invention; and 
     FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control means used in the system of FIG. 14. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view of a rotation controlling apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view looked at from a direction shown by the arrow II in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are views showing operating conditions. 
     In FIGS. 1 to 5, a semi-circular sheet supply roller 2 is mounted on a free end of a boss 1a uprightly extending from a base frame 1 of the rotation controlling apparatus. A sheet supply shaft 3 extends through the boss 1a and protrudes from the base frame 1 to an opposite direction, and a sheet supply gear 4 and a sheet supply cam 5 are integrally mounted on the protruded portion of the sheet supply shaft 3. A cylindrical boss portion 5A is formed on a peripheral surface of the sheet supply cam 5, and a spring 6 is arranged between the cylindrical boss 5A and a cylindrical boss 1b protruding from the base frame 1 opposite to the sheet supply roller 2 to bias the sheet supply cam 5 in an anti-clockwise direction in FIG. 1. 
     On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, an inner surface of the sheet supply cam 5 includes a cam surface comprising a surface 5a spaced apart from a center of rotation of the cam by a distance r 1 , a protrusion 5b having a substantially vertical wall, a curved surface 5c spaced apart from the center of rotation by a distance r 2 , and an inclined surface 5d smoothly connecting the curved surface 5c to the surface 5a. Further, an inclined wall surface 5f is formed to be spaced apart from an inclined portion 5e extending between the protrusion 5b and the curved surface 5c by a distance l 1 . 
     On the other hand, a pendulum member 8 is rotatably mounted around a shaft 7. A pendulum gear 9 is rotatably supported by a pin shaft 8a formed on the pendulum member 8, and an end of the pendulum member 8 extends toward the cam surface and has a pin 8b having a diameter d i  smaller than the distance l 1 . Similarly, a pin 8c having a diameter d 2  is formed on the other end of the pendulum 8. On the rotation shaft 7 of the pendulum member 8, there is rotatably supported a gear 10 which is meshed with the pendulum gear 9, and the gear 10 is connected to a motor output gear 11a of a motor 11 acting as a rotation drive source via an intermediate gear 11b. Further, the pin 8c having the diameter d 2  and formed on the other end of the pendulum member 8 is fitted into a slot 13a formed in an armature 13 of a solenoid 12. The armature 13 is rotatably supported around a frame of the solenoid 12 at 12a, and a tension spring 14 is arranged between a hooked portion 13b of the armature 13 and a hooked portion 12b of the solenoid frame. Thus, when the solenoid 12 is in an OFF condition, the pendulum member 8 is biased so that the pin 8b is urged against the cam surface. 
     Further, the armature 13 is so arranged that, when the pin 8b of the pendulum member 8 is abutted against the surface 5a of the cam surface, the armature is in a waiting position having an angle θ 1  (FIG. 3) with respect to the solenoid 12. Further, an inner end of the inclined wall surface 5f extends to a position spaced apart from the center of rotation of the cam by a distance r 3 . The distance r 3  must be set to satisfy a relation (r 3  -r 2 )≦(d 1  +2m), where m is module. 
     Incidentally, the ON/OFF control of the motor 11 and the solenoid 12 is effected on the basis of signals from a control means C (FIG. 15) of an image forming system A (FIG. 14). 
     With the arrangement as mentioned above, when a sheet supply command is emitted from the control means C, first of all, the solenoid 12 is turned ON to attract the armature 13. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 4, the pin 8b of the pendulum member 8 is separated from the cam surface 5a and is stopped at a position higher than the top of the cam protrusion 5b. Thus, the sheet supply cam 5 is rotated in the anti-clockwise direction by the spring 6 until the pin 8b of the pendulum member 8 is abutted against the inclined wall surface 5f. 
     Then, when the solenoid 12 is turned OFF, the pin 8b of the pendulum member 8 is shifted to the cam surface 5c through between the inclined portions 5e and 5f by means of the return spring 14 of the solenoid 12. Now, since there is the relation (r 3  -r 2 ) ≦(d 1  +2m), as soon as or immediately before the pin 8b is separated from the inclined wall surface 5f, the pendulum gear 9 is meshed with the sheet supply gear 4. Then, when the pin 8b is abutted against the cam surface 5c, the smooth drive transmission is permitted, since the diameter d 1  and position of the pin 8b are so set as to provide a proper backlash. 
     Then, the sheet supply cam 5 and the sheet supply roller 2 are rotated by a driving force from the motor 11. When the pin 8b is shifted from the cam surface 5c to the inclined portion 5d, the meshing amount between the pendulum gear 9 and the sheet supply gear 4 is gradually decreased. When such meshing amount becomes zero, the pin 8b is abutted against the cam protrusion 5b again by the force of the spring 6, so that the sheet supply cam 5 and the sheet supply roller 2 are stopped at their original positions after one revolution. Accordingly, it is possible to perform the one revolution control of the sheet supply roller 2 without stopping the motor 11. 
     Thus, it is possible to feed out a sheet one by one from a cassette K (FIG. 2) stacking sheets P, by intermittently rotating the sheet supply roller 2. Further, as mentioned above, the ON/OFF control of the solenoid 12 is effected by the control means C provided in the image forming system A (FIG. 14). 
     Incidentally, in the illustrated embodiment, while the sheet supply cam 5 was secured to the sheet supply shaft 3 acting as an rotation output portion, the sheet supply gear 4 may be meshed with an additional gear which is secured to the sheet supply shaft so that the rotation is outputted from the sheet supply gear. In this case, it is possible to optionally set the number of output rotation in accordance with the gear ratio between the sheet supply gear and the additional gear. 
     A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except for the configuration of the cam. Therefore, regarding this embodiment, only the cam configuration is explained, and the detailed explanation of the other parts will be omitted. 
     A regulating wall surface 51g is arranged contiguous to an inclined wall surface 51f, which regulating wall surface is spaced apart from the center of rotation of the cam by a distance r 4  and is opposed to a cam surface 51a spaced apart from the center of rotation by a distance r 1 . Further, a regulating wall surface 51h is arranged contiguous to the other end of the inclined wall surface 51f and is spaced apart from the center of rotation of the cam by a distance r 3 . It should be noted that the distance r 4  is so selected that, when the armature 13 is attracted by the solenoid 12, the pin 8b of the pendulum member 8 is adequately separated from the rotating range of a cam protrusion 51b. 
     As a result, although the position of the pin 8b depends upon the accuracy in attachment of the solenoid 12 in the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, since the pin 8b is abutted against the regulating wall surface 51g, the accuracy in the attachment of the solenoid 12 can be more relieved and the pin 8b can be prevented from being dropped off from a cam 51. Further, since there is provided the regulating wall surface 51h, it is possible to prevent the pin 8b of the pendulum 8 from falling down from the inclined wall surface 51f due to the weak attraction force of the solenoid 12 or the weak biasing force of the spring 6 while the solenoid is in the ON condition, and to prevent the cam 51 from being idly rotated due to the spring force even if the OFF timing of the solenoid 12 is slightly delayed. Incidentally, in this case, a relation (r 3  -r 2 )&lt; (d 1  +2m) must be satisfied. 
     A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. 
     The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the point that a tension spring 52 for affording the initial rotation is used in place of the torsion spring 6. The reason for the provision of the tension spring is that, when the torsion coil spring 6 is used as in the first embodiment, the coils in the spring may be disordered depending upon the number of coils or the coils may be displaced not to provide biasing force (rotating force) depending upon the slope of the spring. In this third embodiment, the tension coil spring 52 is arranged between the base frame 1 and the cam 5 so that the cam can be rotated in the manner as described in the first embodiment, thereby obtaining the stable rotation of the cam. 
     A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This fourth embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the following points. That is to say, as the solenoid, a solenoid 61 of plunger type is used and a plunger 62 of the solenoid has a return spring 63 mounted thereon and is connected to the pendulum member 8 at 62a. On the other hand, in another drive system from the motor gear 11a, there is disposed a feed gear 66 connected to the motor gear via idler gears 64, 65, and a feed roller 69 rotated integrally with the feed gear 66 extends toward a downstream side of the sheet supply roller 2. Another feed roller 68 held by a roller holder 67 is urged against the feed roller 69 with a predetermined pressure. With this arrangement, the sheet P can be picked up one by one by means of the sheet supply roller 2 and can be fed by the feed roller 69 without stopping it. 
     Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, the cam configuration and/or position of the solenoid may be changed in accordance with their uses. Further, in the illustrated embodiments, while examples that the present invention is applied to a sheet supplying apparatus of the image forming system such as a printer, copying machine and the like were explained, the present invention is not limited to such examples, but can be applied to any systems wherein one revolution should be controlled. Further, in the illustrated embodiments, while one revolution control was explained, 1/2 revolution or 1/3 revolution may be controlled by appropriately selecting the cam surface. 
     As mentioned above, since the rotation is transmitted to the cam and the transmission of the rotation to the cam is controlled by the cam surface of the cam to thereby output the rotation, the present invention provides the following advantages: 
     (1) Contrary to the conventional technique, since the wear cannot be considered, the special material and working are not required. 
     (2) Contrary to the conventional technique, the maintenance such as application of lubricant and adjustment is not required at all. 
     (3) Since the reduction in cost of material, number of parts and number of working steps can be achieved and the adjustment is not required, the apparatus can be made more inexpensive than the conventional apparatuses. 
     (4) Since the transmission is effected by meshing the gears, the transmission torque can be increased. 
     (5) Since the rotation can surely be stopped, the noise can be eliminated and the over-rotation or continuous rotation does not occur. 
     Next, a laser beam printer embodying an image forming system according to the present invention having a sheet supplying means including the rotation controlling apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 14. 
     The laser beam printer comprises a scanner unit 201 for illuminating and scanning a laser beam in accordance with image information, and a process cartridge 202 including therein a photosensitive drum (image bearing member) 203, a primary charger (corona discharger) 204, a developing device 205 containing toner therein, and a cleaner 206. 
     The laser beam emitted from the scanner unit 201 is incident to the photosensitive drum 203 in the process cartridge 202 via a reflection mirror 207. The photosensitive drum 203 is previously charged by the primary charger 204, and thus, when the laser beam is illuminated on the photosensitive drum, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum. The latent image is then visualized by the developing device 205 to form a toner image. 
     On the other hand, sheets P fed out from a sheet supply cassette 208 by means of a sheet supply roller (sheet supply rotary member) 2 are separated one by one by means of pawl members 211 formed on the sheet supply cassette 208. The separated sheet P is guided between upper and lower guide plates 212a, 212b to reach a pair of regist rollers 213a, 213b temporarily stopped, where the skew-feed of the sheet is corrected. Then, the sheet P is fed to a transfer station by the paired regist rollers 213a, 213b in synchronous with a leading end of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 203. 
     The transfer station includes a transfer charger 214 for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 203 onto the sheet P. The back of the sheet P is charged by the transfer charger 214 with the charging polarity opposite to that of the toner, so that the toner image is transferred onto the sheet P. After the toner image has been transferred to the sheet P, the latter is charged by a separating charger 215 with the polarity opposite to that of the transfer charger 214 and then is separated from the photosensitive drum 203. The residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 203 is removed by the cleaner 206 for preparation for the next image formation. 
     On the other hand, the sheet P separated from the photosensitive drum is sent to a fixing device 217 by means of a conveying means 216. In the fixing device 217, the transferred toner image is permanently fixed to the sheet P. Then, the sheet P is ejected onto an external ejection tray 219a or an internal ejection tray 219b through a feed path selected by a flapper 218.