Patent Grant
12049373
This application is a national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/IB2020/062371 which has an International filing date of Dec. 23, 2020, which claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2020-007309, filed Jan. 21, 2020, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet feeding device.
Various image forming apparatuses handling a sheet roll are known to include a sheet feeding mechanism that performs a sheet feeding operation, after a user manually has inserted the leading end of a sheet roll into a sheet feeder and after the image forming apparatus has detected the leading end of the sheet roll.
When a known image forming apparatus performs a sheet feeding operation, a user takes time to insert the leading end of a sheet roll manually into the sheet feeder. When feeding the sheet roll, the leading end of the sheet roll that was inserted obliquely into the sheet feeder causes skew of the orientation of the sheet roll, resulting in making a service call.
Further, for example, PTL (JP-2018-150107-A) discloses a technique that an image forming apparatus includes a sensor that changes the output value according to the distance to the sheet. The image forming apparatus causes a sheet roll to rotate in a sheet winding direction to separate a sheet from the sheet roll, so that the sensor then detects the leading end of the sheet stripped off or separated from the sheet roll. However, since the separation state of the sheet changes due to the thickness, stiffness, and the curling state of the sheet, the inconvenience that the output value of the sensor becomes unstable is not eliminated.
An object of the present disclosure is to a sheet feeding device that reliably detects and conveys the leading end of a sheet of a sheet roll to a sheet feeder, and an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet feeding device.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a sheet feeding device includes a sensor, a roller, and a support on which the sensor and the roller are disposed. The support supports the sensor and the roller so that the sensor and the roller contact a surface of the sheet roll. The sensor and the roller face toward an axial center of the sheet roll. The roller is spaced apart from the sensor in a circumferential direction of the sheet roll. The sensor has a detection accuracy capable of detecting a step at a leading end of the sheet roll.
According to the present disclosure, the leading end of a sheet of a sheet roll is detected reliably and is conveyed to a sheet feeder.
The accompanying drawings are intended to depict example embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. Also, identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the several views.
Now, a description is given of a sheet feeding device according to the present disclosure and an image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure, with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are not limiting the present disclosure and any deletion, addition, modification, change, etc. can be made within a scope in which person skilled in the art can conceive including other embodiments, and any of which is included within the scope of the present disclosure as long as the effect and feature of the present disclosure are demonstrated. Further, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to same components and corresponding parts having the same configurations or functions, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.
A sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure feeds a sheet from a sheet roll. The sheet roll is a recording medium around which a long sheet (also referred to as a “sheet”) is wound in a roll shape.
A description is given of an example of the configuration of an image forming apparatus to which a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied, with reference to
The image forming apparatus that is an aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure is an inkjet printer that prints on a recording medium by discharging ink droplets corresponding to the image data but the configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the inkjet printer. For example, the present disclosure may be applied to an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method to convey and print a recording medium such as a copier and a printing machine.
In
The image forming apparatus 80 includes a timing belt 67 along the main guide rod 64. The timing belt 67 is an endless belt that is stretched between a drive pulley 68 and a driven pulley 69. The drive pulley 68 is driven and rotated by a main scanning motor 70. The driven pulley 69 is disposed in a state in which the driven pulley 69 applies a predetermined stretching amount to stretch the timing belt 67 taut. As the main scanning motor 70 drives to rotate the drive pulley 68, the drive pulley 68 rotates the timing belt 67 in the main scanning direction according to the rotational direction of the drive pulley 68.
The carriage 66 is coupled to the timing belt 67. As the drive pulley 68 rotates to move the timing belt 67 in the main scanning direction, the carriage 66 reciprocally moves in the main scanning direction along the main guide rod 64.
The image forming apparatus 80 further includes a cartridge holder 71 and a maintenance unit 72. The cartridge holder 71 and the maintenance unit 72 are detachably attached (stored) to one end of the housing 81 in the main scanning direction (Y direction). The cartridge holder 71 holds cartridges 73 that contain inks of respective colors, which are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Each cartridge 73 is replaceably stored in the cartridge holder 71. The carriage 66 has recording heads of respective colors, which are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Each cartridge 73 of the cartridge holder 71 is coupled with the recording head of the corresponding color, via a pipe. According to this configuration, ink is supplied from the cartridges 73 of the cartridge holder 71 to the recording heads of the respective colors via the pipe.
In the image forming apparatus 80, while the carriage 66 moves in the main scanning direction, the recording heads provided in the carriage 66 discharge ink droplets of respective colors onto the sheet P that is conveyed intermittently on a platen (plate) 74 (see
The sheet P is not limited to a paper sheet but may be various types of sheets such as a roll-type film. In order to clarify the description, hereinafter, a sheet during sheet conveyance is referred to as the sheet P, the sheet P in a roll shape is referred to as a sheet roll Pr (Pa, Pb), and a core tube (core portion) of the sheet roll Pr is referred to as a core tube Ps.
As illustrated in
The image forming apparatus 80 intermittently conveys the sheet P in the sub-scanning direction. Then, while the conveyance of the sheet P in the sub-scanning direction is stopped, as the carriage 66 moves in the main scanning direction, ink droplets are discharged from the nozzle row of each recording head provided on the carriage 66 onto the sheet P on platen 74. By so doing, an image is formed (recorded) on the sheet P in a roll shape.
The maintenance unit 72 performs maintenance of the recording head, such as cleaning of the ink discharging face of the recording head, capping the recording head, and discharging (removing) ink that is not used. By so doing, the maintenance unit 72 discharges (removes) unnecessary ink from the recording head and maintains the reliability of the recording head.
The image forming apparatus 80 further includes an encoder sheet over at least the moving range of the carriage 66 in parallel to the timing belt 67 and the main guide rod 64. The carriage 66 includes an encoder sensor that reads the encoder sheet. The image forming apparatus 80 controls the driving of the main scanning motor 70 based on the sensing result of the encoder sensor obtained by reading the encoder sheet, so as to control the movement of the carriage 66 in the main scanning direction.
Further, a reflective sensor (e.g., an encoder sensor and a sheet leading end detection sensor) mounted on the carriage 66 detects both lateral side ends of the sheet P conveyed to an image forming device 60. At that time, the size of the sheet P is detected according to the positions of the lateral side ends of the sheet P in the main scanning direction that is read by the sheet leading end detection sensor.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A controller 100 controls drive devices 7a and 7b to rotate the pairs of sheet conveying rollers 6a and 6b, the registration roller 10, and the registration pressure roller 17.
Sheet roll receiving bases 8a and 8b are disposed below the sheet roll Pr (i.e., the sheet rolls Pa and Pb) to prevent the sheet roll Pr from falling from the spool bearing bases 5a and 5b.
The sheet P passes through the corresponding one of the sheet conveyance passages 9 that are supported and partly defined by respective medium conveyance guides 18a and 18b. Then, the sheet P is conveyed to the platen 74 in the image forming device 60. Note that, in a case in which a duplex printing is performed to form images on both faces (both sides) of the sheet P, the sheet P is reversed in a sheet reverse unit 19 to reverse the front face to the back face of the sheet P.
In the image forming device 60, the recording heads that contain respective colors of inks discharge the ink droplets (liquid) of respective colors onto the sheet P according to image data, so that the image forming device 60 forms an image on the sheet P. A cutter 76 is disposed at the sheet ejection portion in the normal direction T of the sheet conveyance direction (positive X direction in
In order to align the leading end of the sheet P that is a continuous sheet fed from the sheet roll Pr, the cutter 76 is fixed to a wire or a timing belt wound around or stretched between a plurality of pulleys. One of the plurality of pulleys is coupled with the drive motor. As the drive motor drives and conveys the continuous sheet P in the main scanning direction (i.e., Y direction), the sheet P is cut to the predetermined length. The cut sheet P is ejected to the sheet ejection portion.
Note that
Further, in the above description, the parts and components related to the two sheet rolls Pa and Pb are distinguished by describing with the suffixes “a” and “b” (for example, the spool bearing bases 5a and 5b). Hereinafter, the suffixes “a” and “b” are omitted, except when the parts and components may need to be distinguished.
Here, a description is given of a comparative method of setting a sheet roll.
A flange (flange member) 77 is set at both ends in the width direction of the sheet roll Pr, so that each spool 1 (spools 1a and 1b) is set to the flange 77. A user sets the sheet roll to which the spool 1 (or spools 1a and 1b) is set, to a sheet feeder receiver (spool bearing base) of the image forming apparatus (see
As illustrated in
In addition, the leading end of the sheet roll needs to be inserted evenly as possible, and therefore the user has to be careful. Furthermore, in a case in which the leading end of the sheet is not inserted evenly, the sheet in this uneven state may be fed obliquely, resulting in skew. Therefore, the operation may be performed again to prevent occurrence of a paper jam.
Further, as illustrated in
In order to address this inconvenience, the sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has a configuration in which the leading end of the sheet of the sheet roll is detected. By detecting the difference of step (height) of the leading end of the sheet, the leading end of the sheet P is detected, and therefore the sheet is fed to the sheet feeder (sheet feeding portion). The sheet feeder is a unit to supply the sheet of the sheet roll to a supplying target. For example, the sheet feeder is the pair of sheet conveying rollers 6 or the sheet conveyance passage 9 illustrated in
The sheet feeding device 90 includes at least an arm 91, a roller 92, a sensor 93, and the pair of sheet conveying rollers 6 that functions as a sheet conveyor. It is more preferable that the sheet feeding device 90 further includes an entrance guide plate 95.
In
The arm (guide plate) 91 functions as a support of the sheet roll Pr and is rotatable about the rotation center 911. The arm 91 is pressed against one end of the axis of the rotation center 911 toward the sheet roll Pr by a biasing member such as a spring. Accordingly, the arm 91 contacts the outer diameter of the sheet roll Pr even when the diameter of the sheet roll Pr changes. The white arrows indicate the moving direction of the arm 91, to be more specific, the rotational direction of the arm 91.
Further, the arm 91 has a roller 92 and a sensor 93 on the opposite end of the axis of the rotation center 911. Since the arm 91 is pressed toward the sheet roll Pr, the roller 92 and the sensor 93 are supported to come into contact with the surface of the sheet roll Pr.
The arm 91 acts as a guide plate to guide the sheet P stripped off or separated from the sheet roll Pr in the sheet conveyance direction. The arm 91 may have a shape along the outer diameter of the sheet roll Pr (e.g., arc shape) at the portion (end portion) to which the sheet roll Pr is set. According to the shape of the arm 91, when the sheet roll Pr is set, the sheet roll Pr is reliably held (without falling). The arm 91 also functions as the sheet roll receiving table 8 illustrated in
The arm 91 as a support also functions as a guide plate to guide the sheet roll Pr, so that the number of parts and components is reduced, thereby restraining the cost.
The roller 92 and the sensor 93 are disposed facing substantially the center of the sheet roll Pr, in other words, toward the axial center of the sheet roll Pr, regardless of the diameter of the sheet roll Pr.
The roller 92 is spaced apart from the sensor 93 in the circumferential direction of the sheet roll Pr, so that the roller 92 and the sensor 93 are disposed at offset positions (different positions) from each other in the circumferential direction of the sheet roll Pr.
The sensor 93 has the detection accuracy capable of detecting a step (thickness) at the leading end of the sheet roll Pr.
The entrance guide plate 95 guides the sheet P that has been stripped off or separated from the sheet roll Pr, in the sheet conveyance direction. In the configuration example of
Next, a description is given of the control of the function of the sheet feeding device 90.
A controller 110 executes the overall control of the sheet feeding device 90. Note that
The controller 110 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM).
The CPU executes various programs and controls the entire image forming apparatus 80 based on arithmetic processing and control programs.
The RAM is a volatile storage medium to read and write information at high speed and functions as a work area when the CPU executes a program.
The ROM is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium in which various programs and control programs are stored.
The motor drive circuit 120 drives the motor under the control by the controller 110 to drive a sheet roll driver 130.
The sheet roll driver 130 rotates the sheet roll Pr in the normal direction or the reverse direction. The sheet roll driver 130 includes a sheet roll rotation motor, for example.
The motor drive circuit 140 drives the motor under the control by the controller 110 to drive a sheet conveyance driver 150.
The sheet conveyance driver 150 drives a sheet conveyor 160.
The sheet conveyor 160 is a sheet conveyor that conveys the sheet P, for example, the pair of sheet conveying rollers 6.
Next, a description is given of the operation example to set the sheet roll Pr.
When the controller 110 detects that the sheet roll Pr is set to the sheet feeding device 90, for example, based on the detection result of the sensor 93 (step S11), the controller 110 controls the motor drive circuit 120 to cause the sheet roll driver 130 to rotate the sheet roll Pr in the reverse direction. The controller 110 turns on the sheet roll rotation motor (sheet roll driver 130) to rotate the sheet roll Pr in a direction to wind the sheet in the sheet reverse operation, in other words, to perform a reverse rotation (step S12). Then, the sensor 93 starts to perform detection of the leading end of the sheet roll Pr (step S13). As the sensor 93 detects the leading end of the sheet roll Pr, the controller 110 turns off the motor drive circuit 120 to stop the sheet roll rotation motor at the sheet leading end stop position (step S14), and then turns on the sheet roll rotation motor to rotate the sheet roll Pr in the normal direction (normal rotation) in the sheet conveyance direction to feed the leading end of the sheet roll Pr in the sheet conveyance direction (step S15). The motor drive circuit 140 rotates the sheet conveyor 160 to convey the leading end of the sheet P into the inside of the motor drive circuit 140 (step S16).
Next, a description is given of the configuration example of the arm 91 as a support and an operation example of detection of the leading end of the sheet roll.
In the operation in which the sensor 93 detects the leading end of the sheet roll (reverse rotation), the roller 92 is disposed on the upstream side of the arm 91 in the sheet conveyance direction and the sensor 93 is disposed on the downstream side of the arm 91 in the sheet conveyance direction. In other words, the sensor 93 is disposed downstream from the roller 92 in the sheet conveyance direction, i.e., the rotational direction of the sheet roll Pr.
The sensor 93 includes an encoder sensor that includes, for example, an actuator 931 and a slit 932 in the actuator 931. The actuator 931 is disposed between two side plates 933 that construct the sensor housing. A shaft 934 is fitted into a bearing of the side plates 933 and rotates about the shaft 934. The actuator 931 has an asymmetrical shape centered on the shaft 934, for example, as illustrated in
The sensor 93 has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. The number of lights passing from the light emitting portion to the light receiving portion through the slits 932 of the actuator 931 is counted, in other words, the number of signal waveforms are counted, so that the leading end of the sheet roll Pr is detected.
In the configuration example of
In the following description, two or more rollers 92, in other words, the plurality of rollers, are also referred to as roller portions.
The sensor 93 and the rollers 92 are disposed close to each other and offset from each other, in other words, disposed offset in the circumferential direction of the sheet roll Pr. According to this configuration, since the rollers 92 are disposed upstream from the sensor 93 in the sheet conveyance direction, the roller 92 presses the leading end of the roll sheet Pr immediately before the sensor 93 detects the leading end of the sheet roll Pr (
According to this configuration, while the tip end of the sensor 93 is in close contact with the surface of the sheet roll Pr, as illustrated in
Note that the roller 92 (or the rollers 92) is disposed upstream from the sensor 93 in the sheet conveyance direction in the example of the present embodiment but the leading end of the sheet roll Pr may be detected with a configuration in which the rollers 92 and the sensor 93 are disposed in the opposite positions, as illustrated in
Further, since two rollers 92 are provided and the sensor 93 is disposed between the rollers 92 as illustrated in
Further, since the sheet feeding device 90 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has the configuration in which each roller 92 and the sensor 93 are disposed offset (shifted) from each other in the circumferential direction of the sheet roll Pr, even if there is a partial scratch, for example, it is less likely that the scratch is extended on both the roller 92 and the sensor 93.
In a case of the arrangement of the roller 92 and the sensor 93 as illustrated in
On the other hand, when a strip-shaped projecting streak (scratch) is formed on the surface of the sheet roll Pr, the signal waveform illustrated in
Next, a description is given of detection of a recessed streak (concave-shaped scratch).
In a case of a recessed streak (scratch), the shape of the tip end of the sensor 93 is generally greater than the recessed streak (scratch) and the edge of the scratch does not have the acute angle as the angle of the leading end of the sheet roll. Therefore, the streak or scratch is not detected. By making the shape of the actuator greater than the recessed streak (scratch), the sensor 93 does not detect the recessed streak (scratch), and therefore the detection is not made with error. Accordingly, the detection accuracy is achieved.
According to the configuration illustrated in
As described above, the configuration example of the sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is explained. However, it is preferable that the sensor 93 is configured as described below.
The “normal” direction (normal rotation) illustrated in
In the “reverse rotation” direction, the “load at the reverse rotation” is generated to the actuator 931, so that a force is applied in a direction in which the actuator 931 bites the sheet roll Pr.
On the other hand, in the “normal rotation” direction, when the “load at the normal rotation” is generated to the actuator 931, the actuator 931 rotates about a shaft 934 as a rotation fulcrum to reduce the load. In other words, the actuator moves in a direction to reduce the load applied to the actuator when the load is generated to the actuator on the contact portion of the actuator and the sheet roll Pr as the sheet roll Pr rotates in the sheet feeding operation.
Here, the detection of the leading end of the sheet roll Pr in the “reverse rotation” direction is an operation when the sheet roll Pr is set to the sheet feeder of the sheet feeding device.
When compared with the rotational direction of the sheet roll Pr along with the operations (e.g., the sheet feeding operation and the printing operation) in the “normal rotation” direction, the “normal rotation” direction takes a substantially longer time to perform the operation. When the large force is applied to the actuator 931 in the “normal rotation” direction, it is more likely that the operation failure occurs due to damage of the sensor 93 and wear of the actuator 931. Therefore, the sheet feeding device has the configuration in which the load is avoided (eliminated) when the sheet roll is rotated in the “normal rotation” direction, so as to prevent the damage and operation failure.
Even when the actuator 931 of the sensor 93 has the frictional load with the sheet roll Pr, a roller 935 rotates to reduce the load to the actuator 931, thereby preventing damage and the operation failure.
Note that this configuration example describes the configuration in which the actuator rotates, but the configuration is not limited to this configuration example. For example, the configuration in which the actuator moves vertically and has the tip end provided with a rotatable roller may be applied to the present disclosure.
Next, a description is given of a variation of a support having the sensor and the roller.
While the configuration example illustrated in
The sheet feeding device 90A basically has the configuration identical to the configuration of the sheet feeding device 90, except that the sheet feeding device 90A includes an arm 91A instead of the arm 91 of
According to this configuration, immediately after the roller 92 (or the rollers 92) and the sensor 93, which are held by the support 97, have detected the leading end of the sheet roll Pr, the leading end of the sheet roll Pr is stopped at the position between the entrance guide plate 95 and the arm 91A, so that the leading end of the sheet roll Pr is fed to the pair of sheet conveying rollers 6 in the “normal rotation” operation. Accordingly, the normal rotation operation starts in the shortest time from the detection of the leading end of the sheet roll.
The support 97 is disposed to face toward the substantially center of the sheet roll Pr.
According to this configuration, even as the diameter of the sheet roll Pr changes, the support 97 is continuously in contact with the surface of the sheet roll Pr.
As described above, since the image forming apparatus that feeds the sheet in a roll shape includes the sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with a simple operation that a user sets the sheet roll to the image forming apparatus, the sheet thickness sensor such as the encoder sensor automatically detects the leading end of the sheet roll to convey the leading end of the sheet roll to the sheet feeder of the sheet feeding device. Accordingly, the manual effort taken for setting the sheet roll is omitted and the sheet is inserted into the sheet feeder reliably, and therefore the sheet is prevented from being inserted obliquely or at an angle, into the sheet feeder.
Further, since the sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects the leading end of the sheet roll while the leading end of the sheet roll is closely contact with the surface of the sheet roll, the leading end of the sheet roll is detect reliably regardless of the state of the thickness, stiffness, and curling of the sheet. Further, variation in manual insertion of the sheet is eliminated when setting the sheet roll, and therefore the leading end of the sheet roll is inserted into the sheet feeder reliably.
The present disclosure is not limited to specific embodiments described above, and numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings within the technical scope of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that, the disclosure of this patent specification may be practiced otherwise by those skilled in the art than as specifically described herein, and such, modifications, alternatives are within the technical scope of the appended claims. Such embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope and gist of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are included in the embodiments described in claims and the equivalent scope thereof.
The effects described in the embodiments of this disclosure are listed as the examples of preferable effects derived from this disclosure, and therefore are not intended to limit to the embodiments of this disclosure.
The embodiments described above are presented as an example to implement this disclosure.
The embodiments described above are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, or changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.
These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and gist of this disclosure and are included in the scope of the invention recited in the claims and its equivalent.
Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in various other ways, for example, in an order different from the one described above.
This patent application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-007309, filed on Jan. 21, 2020, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
[PTL 1]
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| WO2021/148870 | 7/29/2021 | WO | A |
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