JP2008037592A - Image forming device and paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a paper residual amount detection accuracy without using a special part and a complicated mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: Paper sheets are so disposed that the front end positions of the paper sheets contained in a paper feed tray 10 are differentiated by a paper rear end guide plate 17 and a paper front end aligning plate 20. When the residual amount of paper sheets is large, the distance between the front end position (point B) of the paper sheets to be fed and a paper feed roller 12 is long, and the time required for the paper sheets to arrive at a paper detection sensor 11 on a paper feed path is long. On the contrary, when the residual amount of paper sheets is small, the distance between the front end positions (point A) of the paper sheets to be fed and the paper feed roller 12 is short, and the time for the paper sheets to arrive at the paper detection sensor 11 on the paper feed path is long. Consequently, the paper residual amount value can be determined by measuring the paper arrival time required for the paper sheets to arrive at the paper detection sensor 11 after a paper feed is instructed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet feeding device.

  Conventionally, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with a mechanism for detecting a remaining amount of paper and knowing a guideline for replenishing paper (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Patent Document 1 proposes an image forming apparatus that can issue a warning or the like with the remaining number intended by the user by using a remaining sheet detection sensor as a remaining sheet detection unit and changing its position.

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the remaining amount detecting means, the moving driving means for moving the position, and the like are expensive.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228620 proposes a means for detecting the remaining amount of paper based on the sheet conveyance time to a predetermined location without using a remaining amount detection sensor as the remaining amount detection means.

  This conventional detection method uses the fact that a difference occurs in the paper conveyance time to a predetermined location due to the difference in the idling time of the feed roller eccentric according to the remaining amount of paper. There is a problem that it is low.

JP 11-292348 A JP-A-7-144790

  In the conventional technology described above, special parts and complicated mechanisms are required to detect the remaining amount of paper with high accuracy, and the cost increases. There was a problem that becomes low.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus that can accurately detect the remaining amount of paper without using special parts or complicated mechanisms.

[Paper Feeder]
In order to achieve the above object, a sheet feeding device according to the present invention includes a sheet arranging unit that arranges sheets so that the leading end positions of sheets stored in a sheet feeding tray are different from each other,
A paper transporting means for transporting paper in the paper feed tray to a paper transport path based on a paper feed instruction;
Detecting means for detecting that the paper transported in the paper transport path has reached a predetermined position;
Measuring means for measuring a paper arrival time from when the paper feeding instruction is performed until the detection means detects arrival of the paper;
Determining means for determining the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed tray based on the paper arrival time measured by the measuring means.

Preferably, the paper placing means is
The sheet rear end guide plate has an inclined surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction and aligns the rear ends of the sheets stored in the sheet feeding tray along the inclined surface.

  Preferably, the paper arrangement means further includes a paper leading edge aligning plate for aligning the leading edges of the paper in the paper feed tray with an inclination with respect to the vertical direction.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes warning means for warning the user when the remaining amount of paper determined by the determination means is equal to or less than a preset number of sheets.

[Image forming apparatus]
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention also includes a paper placement unit that places the paper so that the leading end positions of the paper stored in the paper feed tray are different from each other, and the paper in the paper feed tray based on a paper feed instruction. A sheet conveying unit that conveys the sheet to the sheet conveying path; a detecting unit that detects that the sheet conveyed in the sheet conveying path has reached a predetermined position; and A paper feeding device comprising: a measuring unit that measures a paper arrival time until the arrival of the paper is detected; and a determination unit that determines a paper remaining amount of the paper feeding tray based on the paper arrival time measured by the measuring unit; ,
An image output device for outputting an image to the paper fed by the paper feeding device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect the remaining amount of paper at low cost without using special parts or complicated mechanisms.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a sheet feeding device in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The paper feeding device in the present embodiment detects that the paper feeding tray 10, the transport roller 13 for transporting the paper from the paper feeding tray 10, and the paper transported in the transport path have reached a predetermined position. And a paper feed control unit (not shown) for controlling these paper feed operations.

  In the paper feed tray 10, a paper transport roller 12, a paper feed roller 14, a no paper sensor 15, a level sensor 16, a paper rear end guide plate 17, a paper placement plate 18, and an elevating means 19 are provided. .

  The no paper sensor 15 is a sensor for detecting that the paper in the paper feed tray 10 has run out. The level sensor 16 is a sensor for detecting the position of the top surface of the paper.

  The lifting / lowering means 19 has a function of raising and lowering the sheet placing plate 18 in parallel with the bottom surface of the sheet feeding device by driving a motor, and moves the sheet placing plate 18 upward until the uppermost surface of the sheet contacts the sheet feeding roller 14. Based on the signal from the level sensor 16, it is stopped at the paper feed position.

  The sheet rear end guide plate 17 has an inclined surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and aligns the rear ends of the sheets stored in the sheet feeding tray 10 along the inclined surface. Further, the paper rear end guide plate 17 may be provided with an actuator for aligning the rear end of the paper.

  The sheet rear end guide plate 17 constitutes a sheet arranging unit that arranges the sheets so that the leading end positions of the sheets stored in the sheet feeding tray 10 are different from each other. By this paper arrangement means, the paper leading edge position is set differently according to the remaining amount of paper when paper is fed.

  Upon receiving a paper feed instruction, the paper feed control unit drives the paper feed roller 14 and the paper transport rollers 12 and 13 in this order to transport the paper to the outside of the paper feed device 10, and the transported paper is placed on the transport path. Pass the paper detection sensor 11.

  FIG. 2 shows a top view of the paper feeding device of this embodiment. The paper trailing edge guide plate 17 is formed in a portion where the paper placement plate 18 is cut out so as not to hinder the movement of the paper placement plate 18. The rear end guide plate 17 is fixed without moving along with the movement of the sheet placing plate 18.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the paper rear end guide plate 17 and the paper placement plate 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet trailing edge guide plate 17 has an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and is configured to hold the sheet trailing edge obliquely. Yes.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a hardware configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment performs communication for transmitting and receiving data with a CPU 21, a memory 22, a storage device 23 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and an external computer via a network. It has an interface (IF) 24, a user interface (UI) device 25 including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display and a keyboard, and an image output device 26.

  The image output device 26 outputs an image on the paper fed by the paper feeding device. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 27. The CPU 21 executes predetermined processing based on the image processing program stored in the memory 22 or the storage device 23 to control the operation of the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 5 shows a functional configuration of the paper feed control unit 30 realized by executing the image processing program.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed control unit 30 includes a paper arrival time measurement unit 31, a timer 32, a paper remaining amount determination unit 33, a paper arrival time / paper remaining amount value table 34, and a warning unit 35. It consists of and. Upon receiving a paper feed instruction, the paper feed control unit 30 drives the paper feed roller 14 and the paper transport rollers 12 and 13 to transport the paper.

  The paper arrival time measurement unit 31 measures the time from when a paper feed instruction is given until the paper detection sensor 11 provided on the transport path detects the arrival of the paper. Specifically, the paper arrival time measuring unit 31 sets a timer 32 when a paper feed instruction is issued, and reads the timer value of the timer 32 when the paper detection sensor 11 detects the arrival of the paper, thereby reaching the paper. Measure time.

  Based on the paper arrival time measured by the paper arrival time measurement unit 31, the remaining paper amount determination unit 33 determines the remaining paper amount in the paper feed tray 10 with reference to the paper arrival time / paper remaining value table 34. .

  In the paper arrival time / paper remaining value table 34, as shown in FIG. 6, the relationship between the paper arrival time and the paper remaining value is stored. The relationship between the paper arrival time and the paper remaining value can be obtained by measuring the actual time. When there are a plurality of paper types, it is desirable to measure and store the relationship between the paper arrival time and the paper remaining value for each paper type.

  The warning unit 35 warns the user when the remaining amount of paper determined by the remaining paper amount determination unit 33 is less than or equal to a preset number.

  Next, the reason why the relationship between the paper arrival time and the remaining paper value is as shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

  For example, when the remaining amount of paper is large, the distance between the leading end position of the paper to be fed (point B in FIG. 1) and the paper transport roller 12 becomes long, so that the paper reaches the paper detection sensor 11 on the paper transport path. The time will be longer.

  On the other hand, when the remaining amount of paper is low, the distance between the leading edge of the paper to be fed (point A in FIG. 1) and the paper transport roller 12 becomes short, and the paper reaches the paper detection sensor 11 on the paper transport path. The time to do becomes longer.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding device when the remaining amount of paper is reduced and the paper placing plate 18 is raised by the lifting means 19.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the leading edge of the paper is between points A and B, the paper arrival time is the same as when the paper leading edge is at point A and when the paper leading edge is at point B. This is an intermediate value for the paper arrival time. Therefore, if the paper arrival time is known, the paper remaining value can be determined from the relationship shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the paper feeding device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the user desires a remaining amount of paper to be alerted and warned of paper supply from a UI device 26 such as a controller panel provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus or a terminal such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus via a network. A value is set for the warning unit 35 (S101).

  When a paper feed instruction is issued (S102), the paper feed control unit 30 determines the presence or absence of paper in the paper feed tray 10 by the no paper sensor 15 (S103). If it is determined in S103 that there is no paper, the paper feed control unit 30 notifies the user that there is no paper using the UI device 26 (S104), and the process ends.

  When it is determined in S103 that there is a sheet, the sheet arrival time measurement unit 31 uses the timer 32 to receive a sheet feed instruction and the sheet arrival sensor 11 detects the arrival of the sheet. Is measured (S105). Then, the sheet remaining amount determination unit 33 refers to the sheet arrival time / sheet remaining amount value table 34 and converts the sheet arrival time calculated by the sheet arrival time measurement unit 31 into a sheet remaining value (S106).

  Then, the warning unit 35 compares the remaining sheet value obtained by the remaining sheet determination unit 33 with a preset remaining sheet warning value (S107), and the remaining sheet value is less than the remaining sheet warning value. In this case, a warning about the remaining amount of paper is given to the user via the UI device 26 (S108).

  When there is an instruction for continuous printing (S109), the process returns to S102, and when there is no instruction for continuous printing, the process ends.

  The paper detection sensor 11 for measuring the paper arrival time, the paper transport rollers 12, 13 and the paper feed roller 14 are conventional mechanisms. For this reason, according to the paper feeding device of this embodiment, as long as an arrangement unit for arranging the leading ends of the papers to be different from each other is provided, no special parts or complicated configurations are required, and the remaining paper value is accurately determined. It is possible to make a determination at a low cost.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment described above, the sheets are arranged so that the leading end positions of the sheets differ by the sheet trailing edge guide plate 17. In the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, a paper leading edge aligning plate 20 is provided in addition to the paper trailing edge guide plate 17.

The sheet leading edge aligning plate 20 aligns the leading edges of the sheets in the sheet feeding tray 10 with an inclination with respect to the vertical direction.
The paper leading edge aligning plate 20 is fixed to the paper placing plate 18 and moves up and down as the paper placing plate 18 moves up and down. The paper leading edge aligning plate 20 is made of a material and dimensions that do not interfere with the paper feeding. When the paper feeding roller 14 is driven, the uppermost sheet is aligned with the paper leading edge aligning plate 20. It is possible to reach the paper transport roller 12 without being interrupted.

  FIG. 10 shows a top view of the sheet feeding device of this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding device when the remaining amount of paper is reduced and the paper placing plate 18 is raised by the lifting / lowering means 19.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the paper rear end guide plate 17 and the paper front end aligning plate 20 arrange the paper so that the front end positions of the paper stored in the paper feed tray 10 are different from each other. Means are configured. The paper placement means sets the front end position of the paper to be different according to the remaining amount of paper when the paper is fed.

  According to the paper feeding device in the present embodiment, by providing the paper leading edge aligning plate 20 that aligns the leading edges of the paper, it becomes possible to arrange the paper more reliably than in the paper feeding device in the first embodiment. .

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given using the paper feeding device that feeds the image output unit. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case, and the feeding of feeding a previously held paper is not limited. If it is a paper device, it can be similarly applied to a paper feeding device used in an ATM (Automated Teller Machine).

1 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of a sheet feeding device in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a paper rear end guide plate 17 and a paper placement plate 18. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a paper feed control unit 30 in the paper feed device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a diagram for explaining the contents of a paper arrival time / paper remaining value table 34; FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding device when the remaining amount of paper changes in the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the sheet feeding device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a paper feeding device in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a top view of a sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a paper feeding device when the remaining amount of paper changes in the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Paper feed tray 11 Paper detection sensor 12, 13 Paper conveyance roller 14 Paper feed roller 15 No paper sensor 16 Level sensor 17 Paper rear end guide plate 18 Paper placement plate 19 Lifting means 20 Paper front end alignment plate 21 CPU
22 memory 23 storage device 24 communication IF (interface)
25 UI (User Interface) Device 26 Image Output Device 27 Control Bus 30 Paper Feed Control Unit 31 Paper Arrival Time Measurement Unit 32 Timer 33 Paper Remaining Determination Unit 34 Paper Arrival Time / Paper Remaining Value Table 35 Warning Units S101 to S109 Steps

Claims (8)

Paper placement means for placing the paper so that the leading edge positions of the paper stored in the paper feed tray are different from each other;
A paper transporting means for transporting paper in the paper feed tray to a paper transport path based on a paper feed instruction;
Detecting means for detecting that the paper transported in the paper transport path has reached a predetermined position;
Measuring means for measuring a paper arrival time from when the paper feeding instruction is performed until the detection means detects arrival of the paper;
Determining means for determining the remaining amount of paper in the paper feed tray based on the paper arrival time measured by the measuring means;
A paper feeder. The paper placing means is
2. The paper feed according to claim 1, comprising a paper rear end guide plate having an inclined surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction and aligning the rear end of the paper stored in the paper feed tray along the inclined surface. apparatus. The paper placing means is
The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, further comprising a sheet leading edge aligning plate that tilts and aligns the leading edges of the sheets in the sheet feeding tray.   4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a warning unit configured to warn a user when the remaining amount of paper determined by the determination unit is equal to or less than a preset number of sheets. Paper placement means for placing the paper so that the leading end positions of the paper stored in the paper feed tray are different from each other; paper transport means for transporting the paper in the paper feed tray to the paper transport path based on a paper feed instruction; Detecting means for detecting that the paper transported in the paper transport path has reached a predetermined position, and paper arrival time from when the paper feeding instruction is issued until the detecting means detects the arrival of the paper A sheet feeding device comprising: a measurement unit that measures the amount of paper; and a determination unit that determines a remaining amount of paper in the paper feed tray based on a paper arrival time measured by the measurement unit;
An image output device for outputting an image to paper fed by the paper feed device;
An image forming apparatus. The paper placing means is
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a sheet rear end guide plate having an inclined surface inclined with respect to a vertical direction and aligning a rear end of the sheet stored in the sheet feeding tray along the inclined surface. apparatus. The paper placing means is
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a sheet leading edge aligning plate that aligns the leading edges of the sheets in the sheet feeding tray with respect to the vertical direction.   8. The warning device according to claim 5, further comprising a warning unit that issues a warning to a user when the remaining amount of paper determined by the determination unit is equal to or less than a preset number of sheets. The image forming apparatus described.

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