Device for Feeding Paper for Use in a Facsimile

The present invention generally concerns a device for feeding documents for use in a facsimile system, wherein the gap between a preceding document and an incoming document is kept enough to prevent a paper jam caused by an overlapping of the documents.

Generally, there are two kinds of such devices. One type includes a sensor for sensing the trailing end of the preceding document when the trailing end passes by a pick-up roll, so that the next incoming document will be loaded, in response to the sensing signal, by the pick-up roll after a predetermined time delay. Another type is manufactured such that the pick-up roll is provided with an element like a notch for restricting the pivoting motion of the pick-up roll to a certain degree, so that the documents may be loaded successively with the gap between the documents being kept enough to prevent the document jam.

The former type of feeding device requires an external control device such as i.e. a clutch for connecting and disconnecting the pick-up roll to the drive shaft and a control circuit for controlling the clutch. The latter type of feeding device requires a hooking element (e.g., pin, etc.) for enabling the pick-up roll to rotate along with the rotating shaft, and a ratchet gear for permitting only one directional rotation of the rotating shaft, i.e., the document feeding direction. Hence, the conventional document feeding device for a facsimile machine has a complicated construction because of the increased number of the components thereof, thus increasing the production cost.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for feeding documents without paper jams, by employing an element for delaying the entry of an incoming document.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for delaying the rotation of a pick-up roll time period to temporarily prohibit the document feeding device from loading a document.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for feeding documents separately, maintaining a gap between a preceding document and an incoming document.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device for controlling the cycling of the driving power connected to a pick-up roll in a document feeding device.

According to the present invention, a device for feeding documents for use in a facsimile includes: a pick-up roll for picking-up an undermost document stacked in a document tray; a transferring roll for transferring the document picked-up by the pick-up roll, the two rolls being mounted substantially parallel to each other, the two rolls being synchronized with each other; a shaft extended toward either end along the axis of the pick-up roll, for rotating the pick-up roll; a bushing, fixedly mounted on one end portion of the shaft, for transferring driving power to the shaft, the bushing having a cylindrical portion and a notch portion; a driving gear, loosely mounted on the end portion of the shaft, for the pick-up roll, the driving gear having a cylindrical portion and a plurality of notch portions; and a clutch spring, mounted over the respective cylindrical portions formed on the driving gear and the bushing, for connecting the driving power of the driving gear to the bushing.

Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description with respect to the preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plane view of an inventive device for feeding documents;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the driving mechanism for the pick-up roll of the inventive device for feeding documents;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A' of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B--B' of FIG. 1.

An embodiment for feeding documents taken according to the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings only by way of example.

A bushing 3 having a cylindrical portion 3.sub.b and a notch portion 3.sub.a is fixedly mounted at an end portion of a shaft 2 of a pick-up roll 1 for example, by engagement of D-shaped opening 3.sub.c with notched portion 2.sub.a of sheet 2. Opposing the cylindrical portion 3.sub.b, there is loosely mounted so as to rotate freely about shaft 2, a driving gear 4 having a cylindrical portion 4.sub.a and a plurality of notch portions 4.sub.b at the end-most portion of the shaft 2. The notch portions 4.sub.b are provided equidistantly along the periphery of the cylindrical portion 4.sub.a. The cylindrical portions 3.sub.b and 4.sub.a have the same diameter, and contactingly face each other. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the two cylindrical portions 3.sub.b and 4.sub.a are encircled by a clutch spring 5 with its internal and external ends 5.sub.a and 5.sub.b respectively caught in the notch portions 3.sub.a and 4.sub.b. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the external end 5.sub.b of the clutch spring 5 is bent into such a form that is may be resiliently pushed out from the notch portions 4.sub.b.

In operation, when the undermost one of the documents stacked in a document tray (not shown) is fed onto the pick-up roll 1, driving gear 4 of the pick-up roll and driving gear 7 of transferring roll 6 are synchronized with each other, so that the pick-up roll 1 and transferring roll 6 rotate simultaneously in the same direction. Hence, the document is transferred to the transferring roll 6 from the pick-up roll 1.

Specifically describing the transferring of power to the pick-up roll 1, the clutch spring 5 is closely tightened to the cylindrical portions 4.sub.a and 3.sub.b in the rotatable direction, so that the rotational force of the driving gear 4 is transmitted through the clutch spring 5 to the bushing 3, thus rotating the pick-up roll 1 in the direction of an arrow C. Consequently, the document is automatically fed and transferred to the transferring roll 6. Then, if the leading end of the document contacts the transferring roll 6, the document is tensed between the pick-up roll 1 and the transferring roll 6 because the diameter of the pick-up roll 1 is smaller than that of the transferring roll 6. Namely, the document feeding speed by the pick-up roll 1 is slower than the document transferring speed by the transferring roll 6. Thus, there is produced a phase difference .DELTA..THETA. between the shaft 2 and the driving gear 4 of the pick-up roll 1, and between the pick-up roll 1 and the bushing 3.

In this case, if the length of the document is assumed as L, the phase difference .DELTA..THETA. between the bushing 3 and the driving gear 4 will be 2L(1/D.sub.a -1/D.sub.b). Here, D.sub.a and D.sub.b respectively indicate the diameters of the pick-up roll 1 and the transferring roll 6. The phase difference between the pick-up roll 1 and the driving gear 4 is .DELTA..THETA., which is accumulated by the fact that the external and internal ends 5.sub.b and 5.sub.a of the clutch spring 5 are respectively caught in the notch portions 4.sub.b of the driving gear 4 and the notch portion 3.sub.a of the bushing 3, so that rotational force to the direction D is produced by the phase advancing of the bushing 3.

If the length of the document being fed is longer than that of a regular document, the phase difference .DELTA..THETA. is increased and thus the tension of the clutch spring 5 is also increased. Then, the torque of the clutch spring 5 is increased in the direction D, so that the external end portion 5.sub.b is released from the notch portion 4.sub.b and moves to the next notch portion 4.sub.b ' so as to absorb a part of the torque, thereby decreasing the phase difference .DELTA..THETA. below a certain value. In this way, the phase movement proper for the length of a document is achieved, and the phase difference .DELTA..THETA. remains until the trailing end of the document emerges from the pick-up roll 1, so that the next document is fed onto the pick-up roll 1. The rotation of pick-up roll 1 is delayed for a given period to temporarily prohibit the pick-up roll 1 from picking up and feeding the next document until the torque in the clutch spring has again decreased. Hence, even if the shaft 2 is rotated in a direction C of increasing the phase difference .DELTA..THETA., the clutch spring 5 closely contacts the cylindrical portions 3.sub.b and 4.sub.a until there exists nogap between them, so that the rotational force in the direction C is transferred to the pick-up roll 1 via the clutch spring 5, the bushing 3 and the rotating shaft 2, thereby feeding the next document. The document interval I between the preceding document and the incoming document is

This continuous movement causes the incoming document to be properly fed with a certain time interval, keeping a certain gap with the preceding document.

As described above, the present invention enables the stacked documents to be properly fed one by one, so that the reliability of the machine is improved, and the document transferring mechanism is simplified, decreasing the size and weight of machine.

Although specific constructions and procedures of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the elements and constructions disclosed. One skilled in the art will easily recognize that the particular elements or subconstructions may be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.