U.S. patent application number 11/593534 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-10 for paper separation mechanism.
This patent application is currently assigned to TECO IMAGE SYSTEMS CO., LTD. Invention is credited to Ming Chieh Chung, Chien Chung Tseng.
Application Number | 20080006983 11/593534 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38918426 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080006983 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chung; Ming Chieh ; et
al. |
January 10, 2008 |
Paper separation mechanism
Abstract
A paper separation mechanism applied to an office machine is
disclosed. The paper separation mechanism comprises a roller set
driven by a drive motor, a gear set disposed on a side of the
roller set, and an adjusting device disposed on a side of the gear
set for providing a resistant torque. Thereby when the roller set
is driven by the drive motor and a thrust provided by the drive
motor overcomes the resistant torque, the roller set starts to feed
paper.
Inventors: |
Chung; Ming Chieh; (Taipei,
TW) ; Tseng; Chien Chung; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE, FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
TECO IMAGE SYSTEMS CO., LTD
Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
38918426 |
Appl. No.: |
11/593534 |
Filed: |
November 7, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/109 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2403/73 20130101;
B65H 3/0669 20130101; B65H 2403/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/109 |
International
Class: |
B65H 3/06 20060101
B65H003/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 6, 2006 |
TW |
095124701 |
Claims
1. A paper separation mechanism comprising: a roller set driven by
a drive motor; a gear set disposed on a side of said roller set;
and an adjusting device disposed on a side of said gear set for
providing a resistant torque; thereby when said roller set is
driven by said drive motor and a thrust provided by said drive
motor overcomes said resistant torque, said roller set starts to
feed paper.
2. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said
roller set comprises a first roller and a second roller.
3. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said
gear set comprises a first gear, a second gear, and a third
gear.
4. The paper separation mechanism according to claims 2 and 3
wherein said first gear is disposed on a side of said first roller,
said third gear is disposed on a side of said second roller, and
said second gear is meshed between said first gear and said third
gear.
5. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 wherein when
said thrust provided by said drive motor has not overcome said
resistant torque yet, said roller set rotates downwardly till said
roller set contacts said paper.
6. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 further
comprising a protruding shaft disposed on a sidewall of said roller
set for receiving said adjusting device.
7. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said
adjusting device comprises a resilient component, a friction disc,
and a friction plate.
8. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said
resilient component is a spring.
9. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 1 being
applied to a copy machine, a fax machine, a printer, a scanner or a
multi-function peripheral.
10. A paper separation mechanism comprising: a roller set
comprising a first roller and a second roller, wherein said first
roller is driven by a drive motor; a gear set comprising a first
gear, a second gear, and a third gear, wherein said first gear is
disposed on a side of said first roller, said third gear is
disposed on a side of said second roller, and said second gear is
meshed between said first gear and said third gear; and an
adjusting device disposed on a side of said second gear for
providing a resistant torque; thereby when said first roller is
driven by said drive motor and a thrust provided by said drive
motor overcomes said resistant torque, said first gear drives
rotations of said second gear and said third gear and further
drives said second roller to roll in the same direction as that of
said first roller.
11. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 10 being
applied to a copy machine, a fax machine, a printer, a scanner or a
multi-function peripheral.
12. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 10 when said
thrust provided by said drive motor for driving said first gear has
not overcome said resistant torque yet, said roller set rotates
downwardly till said second roller contacts said paper.
13. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 12 wherein
when said thrust provided by said drive motor for driving said
first gear has overcome said resistant torque, said second roller
rolls in the same direction as that of said first roller to feed
said paper.
14. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 10 further
comprising a protruding shaft disposed on a sidewall of said roller
set for receiving said adjusting device.
15. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 10 wherein
said adjusting device comprises a resilient component, a friction
disc, and a friction plate.
16. The paper separation mechanism according to claim 15 wherein
said resilient component is a spring.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a paper separation
mechanism, and more particularly to a paper separation mechanism
applied to an auto document feeder (ADF).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] With the progress of the electronic technology, most office
works rely on functions of the copy machine, the fax machine, the
printer, and the scanner, etc., and such office machines become
indispensable equipments in the office. Since these office machines
occupy lots of space and have different using rates, a
multi-function peripheral (MFP) having multiple functions of
copying, faxing, printing and scanning in one structural unit is
thus developed to conform to the trends of miniaturization and
function integration. Therefore, the consumer can only buy one
multi-function peripheral for performing multiple office works, so
that the occupied space is decreased and the working quality and
efficiency are improved.
[0003] Both the single-function peripheral and the multi-function
peripheral have a paper feeding mechanism and a paper separation
mechanism, so as to feed paper sheets (such as the originals)
placed on the tray into the image processing unit of the peripheral
to be further copied, faxed, printed or scanned. The paper sheets
are separated and fed into the peripheral sheet by sheet by means
of the friction force between the pickup roller and the separation
pad and the normal force provided by the spring disposed under the
separation pad, so as to prevent the problems of paper jam or
multiple feeding.
[0004] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic view showing
the conventional paper separation mechanism. As shown in FIG. 1,
the conventional paper separation mechanism 1 comprises a pickup
roller 11, a separation pad 12, a spring 13, an adjusting component
14 and a drive motor 15. The pickup roller 11 is driven by another
driving device (not shown). Parts of the separation pad 12 contact
with the pickup roller 11 where the paper sheet is fed into the
peripheral. The lower end of the separation pad 12 is connected to
the upper end of the spring 13, and the other end of the spring 13
is installed on the adjusting component 14, which is driven by the
drive motor 15. The spring 13 provides an upward normal force; when
the paper feeding mechanism is turned on and the pickup roller 11
starts to rotate, the pickup roller 11 picks up the uppermost paper
sheet and the second uppermost paper sheet is blocked out of the
pickup roller 11 via the friction force between the pickup roller
11 and the separation pad 12 to prevent the multiple feeding.
However, although such design can prevent the problem of multiple
feeding, the lifespan of the peripheral is shortened due to the
frictional wear between the pickup roller 11 and the separation pad
12 and the heavy load of the drive motor.
[0005] Therefore, it is required to provide an improved paper
separation mechanism to overcome the defects of the above described
prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a paper
separation mechanism, which employs the resistant torque provided
by the adjusting device to reduce the feeding torque provided by
the roller set, and the roller set starts feeding paper after the
thrust provided by the drive motor overcomes the resistant torque.
Accordingly, the friction between the roller set and the separation
pad can be decreased to reduce the frictional wear and prolong the
lifespan of the roller set and the separation pad.
[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a paper separation mechanism. The paper separation
mechanism comprises a roller set driven by a drive motor, a gear
set disposed on a side of the roller set, and an adjusting device
disposed on a side of the gear set for providing a resistant
torque. Thereby when the roller set is driven by the drive motor
and a thrust provided by the drive motor overcomes the resistant
torque, the roller set starts to feed paper.
[0008] In an embodiment, the roller set comprises a first roller
and a second roller.
[0009] In an embodiment, the gear set comprises a first gear, a
second gear, and a third gear. Preferably, the first gear is
disposed on a side of the first roller, the third gear is disposed
on a side of the second roller, and the second gear is meshed
between the first gear and the third gear.
[0010] In an embodiment, when the thrust provided by the drive
motor has not overcome the resistant torque yet, the roller set
rotates downwardly till the roller set contacts the paper.
[0011] Preferably, the paper separation mechanism further
comprising a protruding shaft disposed on a sidewall of the roller
set for receiving the adjusting device. The adjusting device
comprises a resilient component, a friction disc, and a friction
plate. For example, the resilient component is a spring.
[0012] In some embodiments, the paper separation mechanism is
applied to a copy machine, a fax machine, a printer, a scanner or a
multi-function peripheral.
[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a paper separation mechanism. The paper separation
mechanism comprises a roller set comprising a first roller and a
second roller, wherein the first roller is driven by a drive motor;
a gear set comprising a first gear, a second gear, and a third
gear, wherein the first gear is disposed on a side of the first
roller, the third gear is disposed on a side of the second roller,
and the second gear is meshed between the first gear and the third
gear; and an adjusting device disposed on a side of the second gear
for providing a resistant torque. Thereby when the first roller is
driven by the drive motor and a thrust provided by the drive motor
overcomes the resistant torque, the first gear drives rotations of
the second gear and the third gear and further drives the second
roller to roll in the same direction as that of the first
roller.
[0014] In an embodiment, when the thrust provided by the drive
motor for driving the first gear has not overcome the resistant
torque yet, the roller set rotates downwardly till the second
roller contacts the paper.
[0015] In an embodiment, when the thrust provided by the drive
motor for driving the first gear has overcome the resistant torque,
the second roller rolls in the same direction as that of the first
roller to feed the paper.
[0016] The above objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in
the art after reviewing the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the conventional paper
separation mechanism;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the paper separation
mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the adjusting device of
the paper separation mechanism according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] The present invention will now be described more
specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to
be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments
of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration
and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be
limited to the precise form disclosed.
[0021] Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic view showing
the paper separation mechanism according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention. The paper separation mechanism
2 is applied to an office machine, such as a copy machine, a fax
machine, a printer, a scanner or a multi-function peripheral. As
shown in FIG. 2, the paper separation mechanism 2 comprises a
roller set 21, a gear set 22 and an adjusting device 23. The roller
set 21 comprises a first roller 211 and a second roller 212, and
the first roller 21 is driven by the drive motor (not shown)
through the transmission shaft 24. The gear set 22 comprises a
first gear 221, a second gear 222, and a third gear 223, wherein
the first gear 221 is disposed on a side of the first roller 211,
the third gear 223 is disposed on a side of the second roller 212,
and the second gear 222 is an idle gear meshed between the first
gear 221 and the third gear 223, so that when the first gear 221 is
rotated, the third gear 223 can also be rotated through the
transmission of the second gear 222. In addition, the adjusting
device 23 is disposed on a side of the second gear 222 and provides
a resistant torque.
[0022] When the drive motor begins driving the first roller 211 to
rotate the first gear 221 and the first roller 211 simultaneously,
the second gear 222 and the third gear 223 cannot be rotated since
the adjusting device 23 provides the resistant torque. In the
meantime, the whole roller set 21 rotates downwardly till the
second roller 212 contacts the paper sheet (not shown). When the
thrust provided by the drive motor overcomes the resistant torque
provided by the adjusting device 23, the first gear 221 has
sufficient torque to drive rotations of the second gear 222 and the
third gear 223 meshed with the second gear 222, so the second
roller 212 can roll in the same direction as that of the first
roller 211, and thus, the uppermost paper sheet can be easily
delivered into the paper feeding mechanism. After the feeding
demand disappears, the drive motor provides a reverse driving
torque, so that the whole roller set 21 will rotate upwardly and
the second roller 212 will be lifted and apart from the surface of
the paper sheet to stop the paper delivery.
[0023] Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view showing
the adjusting device of the paper separation mechanism according to
the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
3, the adjusting device 23 comprises a resilient component 231, a
friction disc 232 and a friction plate 233. A protruding shaft 25
is disposed on a sidewall 213 of the roller set 23, and the
resilient component 231 (such as a spring), the friction disc 232
and the friction plate 233 are sequentially sleeved on the
protruding shaft 25, and then, the second gear 222 is fixed at the
end of the protruding shaft 25. Via the normal force provided by
the resilient component 231, the friction disc 232 will apply a
force on the friction plate 233 to provide the resistant torque
(also named friction torque). Certainly, the adjusting device 23
can be made with various modifications, but not limited to the
embodiment shown in FIG. 3. For example, the relative positions,
the amounts or the types of the resilient component 231, the
friction disc 232 and the friction plate 233 can be modified, and
also, the position, the shape or the material of the protruding
shaft 25 can be changed according to the design of the paper
separation mechanism.
[0024] Certainly, the position and the amount of the gear set 22
are not limited to the disclosed embodiment, and the amount of the
adjusting device 23 can be increased in response to various
requirements, and the adjusting device 23 is not limited to be only
disposed on the second gear 222. For example, the adjusting device
23 can be additionally disposed on a side of the third gear
223.
[0025] In conclusion, according to the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the paper separation mechanism employs the
resistant torque provided by the adjusting device to reduce the
feeding torque provided by the roller set, so that when the first
roller of the roller set is driven by the drive motor, the roller
set rotates downwardly to enable the second roller to contact the
paper sheet. After the feeding torque provided by the drive motor
overcomes the resistant torque provided by the adjusting device,
the roller set starts feeding paper with the cooperation of the
first, second and third gears. Accordingly, the friction between
the roller set and the separation pad can be decreased to reduce
the frictional wear and prolong the lifespan of the roller set and
the separation pad. Therefore, the paper separation mechanism of
the present invention possesses industrial value.
[0026] While the invention has been described in terms of what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be
limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is
intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which
are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
* * * * *