JP-7855959-B2 - Paper feeder, image forming apparatus, paper feeding method, and program

JP7855959B2JP 7855959 B2JP7855959 B2JP 7855959B2JP-7855959-B2

Inventors

江戸陽介
菅原達也
高宮陽介
児島秀俊

Assignees

株式会社リコー

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20220726

Claims (7)

A paper stacking platform on which paper is loaded, An air blowing unit is provided opposite to the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction of the paper loaded on the paper stacking platform, and blows air onto the paper to levitate and separate the paper; A side air blowing unit is provided opposite to the edge of the paper in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the paper loaded on the paper stacking platform, and blows air onto the paper to separate it. A control unit that, after a certain period of time has elapsed since the paper was set on the paper stacking tray while the tray was pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, raises the paper stacking tray to move the paper to the upper limit position, blows air onto the paper from the air blowing unit and the side air blowing unit while the paper on the tray is at the upper limit position to disperse the paper, and after the paper dispersing is completed, lowers the paper on the tray to the position of the intermediate remaining amount sensor between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the paper stacking tray. A paper feeder equipped with a paper feeder.
The air blowing unit has a plurality of nozzles that blow air onto the paper along the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction, The side air blowing unit has a plurality of nozzles that blow air onto the paper along the edge of the paper in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit blows air in the direction of aligning the paper by handling the paper, thereby bringing the paper closer in the direction of alignment.
The airflow rate from each of the aforementioned nozzles can be adjusted for each nozzle. The paper feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit adjusts the amount of air blown onto the paper from the plurality of nozzles according to the size or thickness of the paper.
The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit switches, after the completion of paper handling, whether to lower the paper stacking platform to the lower limit position or to the position of the intermediate remaining paper sensor, depending on the remaining amount of paper on the paper stacking platform.
An image forming apparatus comprising the paper feeding device described in claim 1.
A paper feeding method performed by a paper feed device, The process involves raising the paper stacking platform to move the paper to the upper limit position after a certain period of time has elapsed since the paper was set on the paper stacking platform with the paper stacking platform pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, With the paper on the paper stacking platform having moved to the upper limit position, the process of handling the paper involves blowing air onto the paper from an air blowing unit, which is provided opposite to the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction of the paper stacked on the paper stacking platform and blows air onto the paper to lift and separate it, and from a side air blowing unit, which is provided opposite to the end of the paper in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the paper stacked on the paper stacking platform and blows air onto the paper to separate it, and After the completion of the paper handling, the process involves lowering the paper on the paper stacking platform to the position of the intermediate remaining amount sensor between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the paper stacking platform. A paper feeding method including the following.
Computers, With the paper stacking platform on which the paper is loaded extended from the main body of the image forming apparatus, after a certain period of time has elapsed since the paper was set on the paper stacking platform, the paper stacking platform is raised to move the paper to the upper limit position, and with the paper on the paper stacking platform at the upper limit position, an air blowing unit is provided facing the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction of the paper stacked on the paper stacking platform and blows air onto the paper to levitate and separate the paper, and a side air blowing unit is provided facing the edge of the paper in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the paper stacked on the paper stacking platform and blows air onto the paper to separate the paper, and after the paper handling is completed, a control unit lowers the paper on the paper stacking platform to the position of an intermediate remaining amount sensor between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the paper stacking platform. A program designed to function as such.

Description

This invention relates to a paper feeding device, an image forming apparatus, a paper feeding method, and a program. The paper feeder cannot separate the paper from the paper tray (an example of a paper stacking tray) unless the paper is pre-separated before being loaded. Therefore, in the market, it is common practice to purchase a vibratory or air-powered paper separation device, pre-separate the paper using the device, and then reload the paper into the tray once the separation is complete. Figure 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a paper feeding device according to this embodiment.Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment.Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the configuration of the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment.Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a sheet feeding device according to this embodiment.Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment.Figure 6 shows an example of the overview of the paper feed tray mechanism according to this embodiment.Figure 7 illustrates an example of the raising and lowering operation of the paper feed tray when replenishing sheets in a conventional sheet feeding device.Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the raising and lowering operation of the paper feed tray when replenishing sheets in the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment.Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the paper handling flow in the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment. The following describes in detail embodiments of the paper feeder, image forming apparatus, paper feeding method, and program with reference to the attached drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a paper feeding device according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming unit 2 as an image forming means and a paper feeding unit 3. The image forming unit 2 forms an image on the supplied sheet (a recording medium such as paper) using known methods such as electrophotographic processes and inkjet processes. The detailed configuration of the image forming unit 2 is not essential and therefore will not be explained. The paper feeding unit 3 is equipped with a sheet feeding device 10 (see Figure 4), which is an example of a paper feeding device. This sheet feeding device 10 feeds (supplies) sheets to the image forming unit 2 via a transport path. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the configuration of the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment. Figure 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the sheet feeding device according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a controller 100, a paper feed control unit 101, an upper limit position detection unit 17, a lower limit sensor 18, an intermediate remaining amount sensor 19, a paper feed tray lifting unit 20, a blower fan 22 for floating air, a blower fan 23 for separated air, a blower fan 24 for side air, a blower fan 25 for suction air, and a drive motor 30. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the sheet feeding device 10 (an example of a paper feeding device) includes a paper feeding tray 11, a floating air blowing device 12 as a floating air blowing means, a separating air blowing device 13 as a separating air blowing means, a side air blowing device 14 as a side air blowing means, an air suction device 15 as an air suction means, and a suction belt 16 as a sheet feeding means. The controller 100 controls the image forming operation in the image forming unit 2 based on input signals from the operation input unit or from an externally connected host computer, and also outputs a paper feed signal to the paper feed control unit 101. The paper feed control unit 101 controls various operations in the sheet feeding device 10, such as the separation and suction operation and the paper feeding operation, based on the paper feed signal input from the controller 100. The paper feed tray 11 is located at the bottom of the sheet feeding device 10, and a stack of sheets is placed on its upper surface. In other words, the paper feed tray 11 is an example of a paper stacking platform. Furthermore, the paper feed tray 11 is capable of moving vertically (up and down) by the paper feed tray lifting unit 20. As shown in Figure 2, the paper tray lifting unit 20 is connected to the paper feed control unit 101 and performs the lifting and lowering operation