Medium supplying apparatus, method for driving medium supplying apparatus, computer readable medium including drive-control program and recording device

• US 20060098072A1
• Filed: 10/21/2005
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Negishi, Satoshi, Okuhara, Katsumi, Takeuchi, Atsuhiko, Horie, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 7,726,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/104
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/103 for the sheet feeding section
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/03 indicating an entity which is measured, estimated, evaluated, calculated or determined but which does not constitute an entity which is adjusted or changed by the control process per se
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/04 for distinguishing adjusting from controlling, i.e. manual adjustments
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/11 indicating that the input or output entities exclusively relate to machine elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2404/1421 rotating, pivoting or oscillating around an axis, e.g. parallel to the roller axis
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/20 Location in space
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/414 of mode of operation
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/416 of material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/50 Timing
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/512 Starting; Stopping
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/52 Age; Duration; Life time or chronology of event
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2557/64 for detecting type or properties of handled material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0607 cooperating with means for automatically separating the pile from roller or rotary separator after a separation step
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0615 reciprocating and rotatable in one direction only
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0669 Driving devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0684 on moving support, e.g. pivoting, for bringing the roller or like rotary separator into contact with the pile
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/5261 Retainers of the roller type, e.g. rollers
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/56 Elements, e.g. scrapers, fingers, needles, brushes, acting on separated article or on edge of the pile B65H3/52 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/565 : for reintroducing partially separated articles in the stack
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 5/062 : between rollers or balls
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 7/18 : Modifying or stopping actuation of separators

Abstract

A method for driving a medium supplying apparatus which supplies medium by a pick-up roller, wherein an operation of stopping rotation of the pick-up roller is inserted at least one of before an operation of supplying medium to a separating position where, when a plurality of sheets of medium are fed together by the pick-up roller displaced to the supplying position, an uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of medium is separated from a lower sheet or sheets, and before an operation of returning the separated lower sheet or sheets after separating the uppermost sheet from the lower sheet or sheets.

Claims

1. A method for driving a medium supplying apparatus which supplies medium by a pick-up roller, wherein an operation of stopping rotation of the pick-up roller is inserted at least one of before an operation of supplying medium to a separating position where, when a plurality of sheets of medium are fed together by the pick-up roller displaced to the supplying position, an uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of medium is separated from a lower sheet or sheets, and before an operation of returning the separated lower sheet or sheets after separating the uppermost sheet from the lower sheet or sheets.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pick-up roller is displaceable between a supplying position and a retracting position and wherein the operation of stopping the rotation is changed according to the supplying position and retracting position of the pick-up roller.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation of stopping the rotation is changed according to types of medium.

5. A medium supplying apparatus for supplying a medium, wherein the driving method according to claim 1 can be adopted.

6. A recording device for making a record on a medium, comprising the medium supplying apparatus according to claim 5.

7. A method for driving the medium supplying apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the operation of stopping the rotation is changed according to a recording condition.

8. A liquid jetting device for jetting liquid onto a medium, comprising the medium supplying apparatus according to claim 5.

4. A computer readable medium including a set of instructions for a medium supplying apparatus which supplies medium by a pick-up roller, the set of instructions comprising:

an operation of stopping rotation of the pick-up roller is inserted at least one of before an operation of supplying medium to a separating position where, when a plurality of sheets of medium are fed together by the pick-up roller displaced to the supplying position, an uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of medium is separated from a lower sheet or sheets, and before an operation of returning the separated lower sheet or sheets after separating the uppermost sheet from the lower sheet or sheets.

9. A method of controlling a medium supplying device having a pick-up roller driven by a motor, an intermediate roller disposed downstream of the pick-up roller along a medium path, a retard roller facing the intermediate roller, and a paper return movable to enter the medium path, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) contacting the pick-up roller with a sheet of medium;

(b) rotating the motor, while keeping the pick-up roller in contact with the sheet of medium, so that the pick-up roller picks up and supplies the sheet of medium along the medium path to a first position of the medium path where the retard roller faces the intermediate roller and to a second position of the medium path where the paper return enters the medium path; and

(c) inserting stoppage of the motor for a predetermined time period into a duration lasting from a time point at which the rotation of the motor in the step (b) is started and to a time point at which the sheet of medium reaches the first or second position.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the inserting stoppage of the motor (c) is changed according to a position of the pickup roller.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the inserting stoppage of the motor (c) is changed according to types of medium.

12. A method of controlling a medium supplying device having a paper supplying roller driven by a motor, a retard roller facing the paper supplying roller, and a paper return movable to enter a medium path, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) contacting the paper supplying roller with a sheet of medium;

(b) rotating the motor, while keeping the paper supplying roller in contact with the sheet of medium, so that the paper supplying roller picks up and supplies the sheet of medium along the medium path to a first position of the medium path where the retard roller faces the paper supplying roller and to a second position of the medium path where the paper return enters the medium path; and

(c) inserting stoppage of the motor for a predetermined time period into a duration lasting from a time point at which the rotation of the motor in the step (b) is started and to a time point at which the sheet of medium reaches the first or second position.

13. A method of controlling a medium supplying device having a pick-up roller driven by a motor and displaceable between a supplying position and a retracting position, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) judging whether the pick-up roller is disposed at the supplying position or the retracting position;

(b) displacing the pick-up roller to dispose the pick-up roller at the supplying position, and rotating the motor for a first predetermined time period if it is judged, in the step (a), that the pick-up roller is disposed at the retracting position;

(c) rotating the motor for a second predetermined time period if it is judged, in the step (a), that the pick-up roller is disposed at the supplying position,

wherein the first predetermined time period is longer than the second predetermined time period.