U.S. patent application number 10/650402 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-04 for sheet separate-feeding apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kamimura, Yoshihiro, Tsumori, Yoshihiro.
Application Number | 20040041332 10/650402 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31972420 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040041332 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kamimura, Yoshihiro ; et
al. |
March 4, 2004 |
Sheet separate-feeding apparatus
Abstract
A sheet separate-feeding apparatus prevents double-feed of sheet
caused by the separation roller, even in case that plural sheets
overlapped to each other are strongly pushed toward a separation
roller from a sheet stacking portion at the sheet supplying time.
The sheet separate-feeding apparatus includes a separation roller
for feeding out the sheet, and a separation pad which nips the
sheet between the separation roller and it and separates its sheet
from the other sheets, wherein there are provided stopper levers
which are arranged on both sides of a contact portion on a sheet
feeding surface between the separation roller and the separation
pad so that they can come in and out, and which receive the sheet
inserted from the sheet stacking portion.
Inventors: |
Kamimura, Yoshihiro;
(Onojo-shi, JP) ; Tsumori, Yoshihiro;
(Fukuoka-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PEARNE & GORDON LLP
1801 EAST 9TH STREET
SUITE 1200
CLEVELAND
OH
44114-3108
US
|
Assignee: |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
31972420 |
Appl. No.: |
10/650402 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/121 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 3/5223 20130101;
B65H 3/54 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/121 |
International
Class: |
B65H 003/52 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 27, 2002 |
JP |
P. 2002-246521 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Sheet separate-feeding apparatus comprising: a sheet stacking
portion; a separation roller which is attached to a rotary shaft
arranged orthogonally to a sheet feeding direction to rotate with
rotation of said rotary shaft, and feeds out the sheet placed on
said sheet stacking portion; a separation pad which nips the sheet
between said separation roller and it and separates its sheet from
the other sheets; and stopper levers which are arranged on both
sides of a contact portion on said sheet feeding surface between
said separation roller and said separation pad so that they can
come in and out, and which receive the sheet inserted from the
sheet stacking portion.
2. Sheet separate-feeding apparatus comprising: a sheet stacking
portion; a separation roller which is arranged orthogonally to a
feeding direction of said sheet, attached to a rotary shaft to
rotate with rotation of said rotary shaft, and feeds out the sheet
placed on said sheet stacking portion; a separation pad which nips
the sheet between said separation roller and it and separates its
sheet from the other sheets; stopper levers which are arranged in
positions between which said separation pad is interposed so that
it can come in and out, and receive the sheet inserted from the
sheet stacking portion; a movable sheet stacking portion which is
arranged so that it can tilt from said separation roller to the
said sheet stacking portion side; and a mechanism for protruding
said stopper lever in cooperation with tilting of said movable
sheet stacking portion.
3. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein said stopper lever is arranged on this side in said feeding
direction in the vicinity of the contact portion between said
separation roller and said separation pad.
4. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 1,
comprising: a cover which is arranged at a sheet insertion inlet
openably; and a lever operating mechanism which causes said stopper
lever to come in and out in cooperation of opening and closing of
said cover.
5. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein a cover arranged at a sheet insertion inlet openably is
provided; there are provided stopping members arranged on both
sides of said movable sheet stacking portion, and cover stopping
portions for pushing the stopping members, which are arranged on
both ends of said cover; and said movable sheet stacking portion is
tilted in cooperation with opening and closing of said cover.
6. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein said lever operating mechanism comprising: a nearly
L-shaped lever member, of which one end includes said stopper lever
and of which the other end includes a pushing side endportion,
andwhich is rotatably supported at its bending portion; a movable
sheet stacking portion which extends from said sheet stacking
portion in the sheet feeding direction, is supported on said sheet
stacking portion side, and is arranged so that it can tilt; a lever
pushing portion which is provided for said movable sheet stacking
portion, and pushes said pushing side end portion by tilting of
said movable sheet stacking portion in the direction where said
stopper lever is protruded; stopping members arranged on both sides
of said movable sheet stacking portion; and cover stopping portions
which are formed on both sides of said cover protrusively toward
said stopping members, and press said stopping members in
cooperation with opening and closing of said cover to tilt said
movable sheet stacking portion.
7. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 1,
further comprising a catch portion formed protrusively to the
contact side of said stopper lever with said sheet.
8. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus according to claim 1,
further comprising a catch portion formed protrusively to the
contact side of said stopper lever with said sheet.
9. A sheet separate-feeding apparatus comprising: a sheet stacking
portion; a sheet feeding surface extending from the sheet stacking
portion in a sheet feeding direction; a separation roller which is
attached to a rotary shaft arranged orthogonally to said sheet
feeding direction thereby to rotate with rotation of said rotary
shaft, and feeds out the sheet placed on said sheet stacking
portion on to the sheet feeding surface; a separation pad which is
arranged on said sheet feeding surface and brought into
pressure-contact with said separation roller with the sheet nipped
between said separation roller and it; stopper levers which are
arranged on both sides of a contact portion on said sheet feeding
surface between said separation roller and said separation pad so
that they can come in and out; a nearly L-shaped lever member, of
which one end includes said stopper lever and of which the other
end includes a pushing side end portion, and which is rotatably
supported at its bending portion; a movable sheet stacking portion
which extends from said sheet stacking portion in the sheet feeding
direction, is supported on said sheet stacking portion side, and is
arranged so that it can tilt; a lever pushing portion which is
provided for said movable sheet stacking portion, and pushes said
pushing side end portion by tilting of said movable sheet stacking
portion in the direction where said stopper lever is protruded;
stopping members arranged on both sides of said movable sheet
stacking portion; and cover stopping portions which are formed on
both sides of said cover protrusively toward said stopping members,
and press said stopping members in cooperation with opening and
closing of said cover thereby to tilt said movable sheet stacking
portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet separate-feeding
apparatus used in a facsimile apparatus, a printer, and a copying
machine, in which plural sheets such original documents and
recording sheets are separated one by one to be fed.
[0002] Recently, a sheet separate-feeding apparatus in which plural
sheets such original documents and recording sheets are separated
one by one to be fed is used in a facsimile apparatus, a printer,
and a copying machine. As a conventional sheet separate-feeding
apparatus, for example, JP-A-9-240865 has been known.
[0003] FIG. 6 is a main portion sectional view showing one example
of the conventional sheet separate-feeding apparatus. In the
figure, reference numeral 51 is a conventional sheet
separate-feeding apparatus, reference numeral 52 is a casing member
of the sheet separate-feeding apparatus 51, reference numeral 53 is
a sheet stacking portion located on the upper portion side of the
casing member 53, reference numeral 54 is a sheet feeding surface
formed on the lower portion side of the casing member 52, reference
numeral 55 is a rotary shaft located at the lowest portion of the
sheet stacking portion 53 orthogonally to a sheet feeding
direction, reference numeral 56 is a separation roller attached to
the rotary shaft 55, reference numeral 57 is a separation pad
provided in pressure contact with the lower portion of the
separation roller 56, reference character X is a sheet, and
reference character Y is a separation point that is a contact
portion between the separation roller 56 and the separation pad
57.
[0004] The thus constructed sheet separate-feeding apparatus
operates as follows: Namely, the separation roller 56 attached to
the rotary shaft 55 rotates with rotation of the rotary shaft 55,
and feeds out the sheet X placed on the sheet stacking portion 53
onto the sheet feeding surface 54. At this time, by the separation
pad 57 set on the sheet feeding surface 54 in pressure-contact with
the separation roller 56, the sheets X are separated one by one.
Thus, by the sheet separate-feeding apparatus 51, the sheets X
placed on the sheet stacking portion 53 can be separated one by one
to be fed onto the sheet feeding surface 54.
[0005] However, the above conventional sheet separate-feeding
apparatus has the following problem.
[0006] In case that the plural sheets X are strongly pushed from
the sheet stacking portion 53 toward the separation roller 56 when
they are supplied onto the sheet stacking portion 53, the plural
sheets X overlapped to each other are fed into the separation point
Y that is the contact portion between the separation pad 57 and the
separation roller 56, and nipped between the separation pad 57 and
the separation roller 56. Therefore, the plural sheets X are fed
out from the separation roller 56 in an overlap state, so that a
problem of double-feed of sheet X is caused.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention has been made in order to solve the
conventional problem, and its object is to provide a sheet
separate-feeding apparatus which can prevent double-feed of sheet
caused by the separation roller even in case that the plural sheets
overlapped to each other are strongly pushed toward the separation
roller from the sheet stacking portion.
[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a sheet
separate-feeding apparatus of the invention comprises a sheet
stacking portion; a sheet feeding surface extending from the sheet
stacking portion in a sheet feeding direction; a separation roller
which is attached to a rotary shaft provided orthogonally to the
sheet feeding direction, rotates with rotation of the rotary shaft,
and feeds out the sheet placed on the sheet stacking portion onto
the sheet feeding surface; and a separation pad which is arranged
on the sheet feeding surface and brought into pressure-contact with
the separation roller with the sheet nipped between the separation
roller and it, wherein stopper levers which can come out and in
freely are provided on both sides of a contact portion on the sheet
feeding surface between the separation roller and the separation
pad.
[0009] By this constitution, it is possible to provide the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus which can prevent double-feed of sheet
caused by the separation roller even in case that the plural sheets
overlapped to each other are strongly pushed toward the separation
roller from the sheet stacking portion at the sheet supplying
time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a main portion perspective view of a facsimile
apparatus including a sheet separate-feeding apparatus in a first
embodiment of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 2A is a main portion perspective view of the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus in the first embodiment of the
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG.
2A;
[0013] FIG. 3A is a main portion perspective view of the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus in the first embodiment of the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along a line B-B of FIG.
3A;
[0015] FIG. 4A is a main portion sectional view showing a state
where a cover of the sheet separate-feeding apparatus in the first
embodiment of the invention is opened;
[0016] FIG. 4B is a main portion sectional view showing a state
where the cover of the sheet separate-feeding apparatus in the
first embodiment of the invention is closed;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a main portion perspective view showing a stopping
member formed at an end portion of a movable sheet stacking
portion; and
[0018] FIG. 6 is a main portion sectional view showing one example
of a conventional sheet separate-feeding apparatus.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] (Embodiment 1)
[0020] FIG. 1 is a main portion perspective view of a facsimile
apparatus including a sheet separate-feeding apparatus in a first
embodiment of the invention, in which a sheet separate-feeding
apparatus 1 is arranged at the rear upper portion of a facsimile
apparatus Z. The sheet separate-feeding apparatus 1 includes a
casing member 2, and a sheet stacking portion 3 extending on the
upper portion of the casing member 2. At the lower portion of the
sheet stacking portion 3, that is, on a sheet feeding direction
side of the sheet stacking portion 3, a movable sheet stacking
portion 4 is provided. The movable sheet stacking portion 4 is
rotatably supported by the casing member 2 at its upper end
portion. Further, a cover 5 is openably provided on the upper
surface side of the movable sheet stacking portion 4.
[0021] FIG. 2A is a main portion perspective view of the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus in the first embodiment of the
invention. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along a line A-A shown
in FIG. 2A. FIG. 3A is a main portion perspective view of the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus in the first embodiment of the
invention. FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along a line B-B shown
in FIG. 3A. FIG. 5 is a main portion perspective view showing a
stopping member formed at an end portion of a movable sheet
stacking portion. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the separation roller is
omitted.
[0022] In FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, reference numeral 4a is a lever
operating mechanism which causes a stopper lever described later to
come in and out in cooperation with closing and opening of the
cover 5, reference numeral 4b is a stopping member provided on each
side of the movable sheet stacking portion 4, reference numeral 4c
is a stopping groove formed in the stopping member 4b, reference
numeral 4d is a stopping slide inclined portion which is formed at
the stopping member 4b and extends from the stopping groove 4c,
reference numeral 4e is a lever pushing portion arranged at the
lowest portion of the movable sheet stacking portion 4, and
reference numeral 4f is a movable sheet stacking portion side wall
standing on each side of the movable sheet stacking portion 4.
[0023] Reference numeral 5a is a cover stopping portion which is
formed protrusively on each side of the cover 5 and on the opposite
side of a cover rotating shaft of the cover 5 described later, and
fits into the stopping groove 4c of the stopping member 4b in a
state where the cover 5 is opened.
[0024] Reference numeral 6 is a stacking portion shaft supporting
portion provided for the casing member 2, reference numeral 6a is a
stacking portion rotating shaft which is provided for the movable
sheet stacking portion side wall 4f and supported by the stacking
portion shaft supporting portion 6, and reference numeral 7 is a
cover rotating shaft which supports openably the cover 5. The
movable sheet stacking portion 4 has an elastic member such as a
spring on its lower side and is energized to the cover 5 side.
[0025] Reference numeral 8 is a sheet feeding surface formed on the
lower portion upper surface side of the casing member 2, and
reference numeral 9 is a press member arranged in the center on the
upper surface of the movable sheet stacking portion 4.
[0026] Reference numeral 10 is a separation member which is
provided in the center on the upper surface side of the sheet
feeding surface 8 and extends from the press member 9, and
reference numeral 11 is a separation pad which is provided astride
the press member 9 and the separation member 10 and brought into
press-contact with a not-shown separation roller.
[0027] Reference numerals 12a and 12b are lever holes formed on the
sheet feeding surface 8 and on both sides of the separation pad 11,
and these lever holes 12a and 12b are provided in positions where
the separation member 10 is put between them. Lever members
(described later in detail) are provided for these lever holes 12a
and 12b so that they can come in and out. Reference numerals 13a
and 13b are stopper levers each of which is a part of the lever
member protruding from the lever hole 12a, 12b.
[0028] In FIG. 2B, a lever member 14 is formed nearly in the shape
of L. The stopper lever 13a is formed at one end of the lever
member 14, and a pushing side end portion 14b is formed at the
other end thereof. Reference numeral 13c is a catch portion formed
at the stopper lever 13a. The lever member 14 is supported
rotatably by a lever rotating shaft 14aprovided for a bent portion
thereof. Reference numeral 14a is a lever rotating shaft which
supports the lever member 14 rotatably. Reference numeral 14b is a
pushing side end portion which is formed at the other end of the
lever member 14 and pushed by the lever pushing portion 4e of the
movable sheet stacking portion 4. Further, the lever member 14
arranged in the other lever hole 12b has also the same
constitution, that is, it is supported by the lever rotating shaft
rotatably and a catch portion is formed at the stopper lever 13b
that can come in and out.
[0029] The lever operating mechanism 4a which drives the lever
member 14 in cooperation with opening and closing of the cover 5
comprises the cover stopping portion Sa provided for the cover 5,
and the stopping member 4b provided for the movable sheet stacking
portion 4. The lever operating mechanism 4a will be described
below.
[0030] The cover stopping member 5a is provided at each end of the
plate-like cover 5 and protrudes through the cover rotating shaft 7
to the opposite side. On both ends of the movable sheet stacking
portion 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopping members 4b are formed
opposed to the cover stopping portions 5a. The stopping member 4b
includes the stopping groove 4c and the stopping slide inclined
portion 4d formed on the lower portion side of the stopping groove
4c.
[0031] As described before, the movable sheet stacking portion 4 is
energized to the cover 5 side by the spring. When the cover 5
rotates from its closed position in its opened direction, the cover
stopping portion 5a touches and pushes the stopping slide inclined
portion 4d while it is sliding on this stopping slide inclined
portion 4d. Then, the movable sheet stacking portion 4 is pushed up
against the energizing force of the spring. In result, the cover
stopping portion 5a fits into the stopping groove 4c, and the cover
5 is settled in the opened state (refer to FIGS. 2A and 2B) .
Namely, the cover 5 keeps the opened state and the movable sheet
stacking portion 4 is in the pushed down state.
[0032] When the movable sheet stacking portion 4 is pushed down and
the pushing side end portion 14b is pushed upon reception of the
force from the lever pushing portion 4e, the lever member 14
rotates, and the stopper lever 13a (13b) protrudes from the sheet
feeding surface 8 (FIG. 3B.fwdarw. FIG. 2B) . Further, when pushing
by the lever pushing portion 4e is released, the stopper lever 13a
rotates by its own weight in the direction where it comes in the
sheet feeding surface 8.
[0033] The stopper levers 13a and 13b are arranged at least on this
side in the feeding direction in the vicinity of the contact
portion between the separation roller and the separation pad 11. At
this stopper lever 13a, 13b, the catch portion 13c protruding to
the contact side with the sheet is formed. When the cover 5 opens,
the movable sheet stacking portion 4 is pushed down, and the
stopper levers 13a and 13b protrude from the sheet feeding surface
8 (FIG. 2B) . Under the state where the stopper levers 13a and 13b
protrude, the sheet is caught surely by the stopper levers 13a and
13b because of this catch portion. Therefore, it is possible to
surely prevent the sheet from being inserted between the separation
roller and the separation pad 11 over the separation point.
[0034] The sheet separate-feeding apparatus 1 includes a separation
roller that is a pick-up roller which feeds out the sheet on the
sheet stacking portion 3 and the movable sheet stacking portion 4.
Though the separation roller is not shown, it is supported by a
rotary shaft and comes into contact with the upper portion of the
separation pad 11.
[0035] In FIG. 2A, the separation pad 11 is formed of a thin
plate-like cork material and has flexibility. At the lower portion
of the separation pad 11, there are arranged the press member 9 for
pressing the separation pad 11 against the separation roller, and
the separation member 10 which separates, from the plural sheets
overlapped to each other that the separation roller is about to
feed out, only one sheet coming into contact with the separation
roller and causes the separation roller to feed out its sheet.
Further, at the lower portions of the press member 9 and the
separation member 10, springs for energizing the press member 9 and
the separation member 10 to the separation roller side are
arranged.
[0036] Regarding the thus constructed sheet separate-feeding
apparatus in the first embodiment of the invention, its operation
will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0037] FIG. 4A is a main portion sectional view showing a state
where the cover of the sheet separate-feeding apparatus in the
first embodiment of the invention is opened, and FIG. 4B is a main
portion sectional view showing a state where the cover of the sheet
separate-feeding apparatus in the first embodiment of the invention
is closed. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 15 is a rotary shaft,
reference 16 is a separation roller supported by the rotary shaft
15 rotatably, reference character X is a sheet, and reference
character Y is a separation point. Parts similar to those described
with reference to FIG. 2 or 3 are denoted by the same reference
numerals, and their description is omitted.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 4A, when the cover 5 is rotated about the
cover rotating shaft 7 in a direction C to be opened, the cover
stopping portion 5a moves along the stopping slide inclined portion
4d to the upside and fits in the stopping groove 4b. At this time,
the movable sheet stacking portion 4 rotates about the stacking
portion rotating shaft 6a, and the lever pushing portion 4e formed
at the lower end portion of the movable sheet stacking portion 4
moves in a direction D. By this lever pushing portion 4e, the
pushing side end portion 14b of the lever member 14 is pushed into,
the lever member 14 rotates about the lever rotating shaft 14a in a
direction E, and the stopper lever 13a protrudes from the sheet
feeding surface 8.
[0039] Hereby, when the sheets X are supplied to the sheet stacking
portion, even in case that the plural sheets X overlapped to each
other are strongly pushed toward the separation roller 16 from the
upstream side in the feeding direction, the sheets X are caught by
the stopper levers 13a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the
sheets X from being inserted between the separation roller 16 and
the separation pad 11 over the separation point Y.
[0040] Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the cover 5 is rotated about
the cover rotating shaft 7 in a direction F to be closed, the cover
stopping portion 5a moves from the stopping groove 4b along the
stopping slide inclined portion 4d to the downside. At this time,
the movable sheet stacking portion 4 is energized by a not-shown
spring and rotates about the stacking portion rotating shaft 6a,
and the lever pushing portion 4e formed at the lower end portion of
the movable sheet stacking portion 4 moves in a direction G.
Hereby, pushing by the lever pushing portion 4e applied to the
pushing side end portion 14b of the lever member 14 is released,
the lever member 14 rotates about the lever rotating shaft 14a in a
direction H by its own weight, and the stopper lever 13a comes
in.
[0041] After the cover 5 was closed, the plural sheets X overlapped
to each other which have been supplied onto the sheet stacking
portion are not strongly pushed toward the separation roller 16
from the upstream side in the feeding direction. Therefore, the
leading ends of the sheets X are arranged in the suitable point on
this side of the separation point Y. Hereby, it is possible to
surely separate, from the plural sheets X overlapped to each other
that the separation roller 16 is about to feed out, only one sheet
coming into contact with the separation roller 16.
[0042] Here, in the vicinity of the separation point Y, by rotation
of the separation roller 16, feeding force F1 is produced in the
top sheet coming into contact with the separation roller 16.
Simultaneously, fictional force F2 with the top sheet is produced
in the second sheet from the top, and the second sheet is fed in
the same direction by the frictional force F2. However, by pressing
of the separation pad 11, frictional force F3 is produced between
the sheets and the separation pad 11, and the sheets receive the
frictional force F3. Accordingly, in the vicinity of the separation
point Y, the following relation is satisfied: (feeding force
F1)>(frictional force F3)>(frictional force F2) . Hereby,
only the top sheet coming into contact with the separation roller
16 can be fed.
[0043] Since the sheet separate-feeding apparatus in the first
embodiment of the invention is thus constructed, even in case that
the plural sheets X overlapped to each other are strongly pushed
toward the separation roller 16 from the upstream side in the
feeding direction at the sheet X supplying time, the double-feed of
sheet X can be prevented and the plural sheets X can be surely
separated one by one.
[0044] As described above, according to the sheet separate-feeding
apparatus of the invention, the following advantageous effects can
be obtained.
[0045] Namely,
[0046] (1) Even in case that the plural sheets overlapped to each
other are strongly pushed toward the separation roller from the
sheet stacking portion at the sheet supplying time, since the
sheets are caught by the protruding stopper lever, it is possible
to prevent the sheets from being inserted between the separation
roller and the separation pad over the separation point. Therefore,
it is possible to provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus
which can surely separate, from the plural sheets overlapped to
each other that the separation roller is about to feed out, only
one sheet coming into contact with the separation roller, and can
prevent the double-feed of sheet caused by the separation
roller.
[0047] (2) When the sheet is fed onto the sheet feeding surface
side by the separation roller, since the stopper lever is caused to
come in, in a state where the leading ends of the sheets are
arranged in the suitable position on this side of the separation
point, the sheets are fed to the separation roller. Therefore, it
is possible to provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus in
which only one sheet coming into contact with the separation roller
can be surely separated from the other sheets.
[0048] Further, since the stopper lever is arranged on this side in
the feeding direction in the vicinity of the contact portion
between the separation roller and the separation pad 11, it is
possible to provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus which can
surely prevent the sheets from being inserted between the
separation roller and the separation pad over the separation
point.
[0049] Further, in case that the openable cover is provided for the
sheet insertion inlet of the sheet stacking portion, and the lever
operating mechanism which causes the stopper lever to come in and
out in cooperation with opening and closing of this cover is
provided, the following effects can be obtained:
[0050] (1) Since the stopper lever can be protruded from the sheet
feeding surface through the lever operating mechanism by opening
the cover, when the cover is opened to supply the sheets onto the
sheet stacking portion, even in case that the plural sheets
overlapped to each other are strongly pushed toward the separation
roller from the sheet stacking portion, the sheets are caught by
the protruding stopper levers. Therefore, it is possible to provide
the sheet separate-feeding apparatus which can surely prevent the
sheets from being inserted between the separation roller and the
separation pad over the separation point.
[0051] (2) By closing the cover, the stopper lever can be caused to
come in the sheet feeding surface through the lever operating
mechanism. Therefore, after the cover was closed, in a state where
the leading ends of the sheets are arranged in the suitable
position on this side of the separation point, the sheets are fed
to the separation roller, so that it is possible to provide the
sheet separate-feeding apparatus in which only one sheet coming
into contact with the separation roller can be surely separated
from the other sheets.
[0052] Further, the lever operating mechanism includes the movable
sheet stacking portion which extends from the sheet stacking
portion in the sheet feeding direction, is supported on the sheet
stacking portion side, and is arranged tiltably; the lever pushing
portion which is provide for this movable sheet stacking portion,
and pushes the pushing side end by the inclination of the movable
sheet stacking portion in the direction where the stopper lever is
protruded; and the stopping members provided on the both sides of
the movable sheet stacking portion, wherein the stopping members
provided on the both sides of the movable sheet stacking portion
are pressed at the both sides of the cover in cooperation with
opening and closing of the cover thereby to tilt the movable sheet
stacking portion. Hereby, the following effects can be
obtained:
[0053] (1) When the cover is rotated to be opened, the cover
stopping portion presses the stooping member, the movable sheet
stacking portion tilts to the downside, the lever pushing portion
formed at the lower end of the movable sheet stacking portion moves
to the pushing side end portion side of the lever member, the
pushing side end portion is pushed by the lever pushing portion,
the lever member rotates, and the stopper lever protrudes from the
sheet feeding surface. Hereby, when the sheets are supplied onto
the sheet stacking portion, even in case that the plural sheets
overlapped to each other are strongly pushed toward the separation
roller from the upstream side in the feeding direction, the sheets
are caught by the stopper levers. Therefore, it is possible to
provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus which can prevent the
sheets from being inserted between the separation roller and the
separation pad over the separation point.
[0054] (2) When the cover is closed, pressing of the stopping
member by the cover stopping portion is released, the movable sheet
stacking portion is energized by the spring and tilts to the
upside, the lever pushing portion formed at the lower end portion
of the movable sheet stacking portion moves in the direction where
it separates from the pushing side end portion, pushing by the
lever pushing portion applied to the pushing side end portion of
the lever member is released, the lever member rotates by its own
weight, and the stopper lever comes in. Hereby, it is possible to
provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus which can surely
separate, from the plural sheets overlapped to each other that the
separation roller is about to feed out, only one sheet coming into
contact with the separation roller.
[0055] Further, since the sheets are surely caught by the stopper
lever due to the catching portion of the stopper lever formed
protrusively to the contact side with the sheet, it is possible to
provide the sheet separate-feeding apparatus which can surely
prevent the sheets from being inserted between the separation
roller and the separation pad over the separation point.
* * * * *