Sheet conveying device, image reading device, and image forming apparatus

• US 8,925,913 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2013
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Kubo, Hiroshi, Kitaoka, Shinya, Akai, Takeshi, Ariga, Takuma, Suzuki, Michitaka, Suzuki, Yoshito, Kimura, Norio, Yamada, Jun, Morita, Kenichiro, Okamoto, Ikuhisa, Saito, Satoshi, Shimazu, Takehisa, Heishi, Fumiyuki, Utagawa, Hiroaki, Hayasaka, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): JOERGER, KAITLIN S
• Application Number:
  US13/905,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20130320611A1
• Time in Patent Office: 586 Days
• Field of Search: 271/109, 271/117, 271/118
• US Class Current: 271/117
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2402/44 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2404/623 gate arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/521 Presence of foreign object or undesirable material, i.e. material of another nature than the handled material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/06 Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/39 Scanning
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0615 reciprocating and rotatable in one direction only
• 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

Abstract

A sheet conveying device such as a feed mechanism includes a pick-up roller and a cover member. The pick-up roller feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet such as a document on a placing table such as a document placing table on which the sheet is placed. The cover member such as a pick-up cover covers the pick-up roller. The cover member is supported at both ends thereof on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller.

Claims

1. A sheet conveying device comprising:

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed; and

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller;

wherein

the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller such that the cover member pivots about the shaft of the pick-up roller.

2. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein a DC motor is used as a driving source that rotationally drives the pick-up roller.

3. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is rotatably supported on the shaft of the pick-up roller or on the shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller.

4. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a holding member that holds the pick-up roller, wherein

the holding member and the cover member are separate parts.

5. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the cover member has an axial length larger than that of the pick-up roller.

8. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the cover member comes into contact earlier than the pick-up roller when the pick-up roller is lowered for sheet conveyance.

9. The sheet conveying device according to claim 8, wherein the pick-up roller is lowered for sheet conveyance by rotating a holder about a driving shaft.

10. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is provide with ribs.

11. The sheet conveying device according to claim 10, wherein the ribs are at two places on the cover member at a set distance in an axial direction therebetween.

12. The sheet conveying device according to claim 10, further comprising a paper feeding cover,

wherein the paper feeding cover includes a plurality of ribs provided at an end on the placing table side of the paper feeding cover.

13. The sheet conveying device according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of ribs of the paper feeding cover are provided between the ribs of the cover member to prevent a front edge of the sheet from entering a clearance between the cover member and the paper feeding cover.

14. The sheet conveying device according to claim 13, wherein the ribs of the cover member partially overlap with the ribs of the paper feeding cover.

15. The sheet conveying device according to claim 4, wherein the holding member includes driving shaft mounting portions for being rotatably mounted on a driving shaft and pick-up mounting portions on which the pick-up roller is rotatably mounted with the shaft bearings interposed therebetween.

16. The sheet conveying device according to claim 15, further comprising pick-up shaft insertion cutouts,

wherein the pick-up shaft insertion cutouts extends parallel to the document conveying direction from the pick-up mounting portions.

17. The sheet conveying device according to claim 16, wherein when the cover member is mounted on the shaft bearings, a tip of a rotation restricting portion is positioned at the pick-up shaft intersection cutouts.

18. The sheet conveying device according to claim 17, wherein the tip of the rotation restricting portion contacts the pick-up shaft insertion cutouts so as to prevent the cover member from rotating in a set direction.

19. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising grooves on the shaft of the pick-up roller at outside positions where the shaft bearings are fitted.

20. The sheet conveying′

device according to claim 19, further comprising retaining members, the retaining members being mounted in the grooves.

6. An image reading device comprising:

a document placement unit; and

a conveying unit that conveys a document on the document placement unit through a document read position of a document reading unit toward a destination of conveyance, wherein the conveying unit includes;

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed; and

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller,

wherein the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller such that the cover member pivots about the shaft of the pick-up roller.

7. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image reading unit that reads an image on a document while conveying the document,

an image forming unit that forms the image read by the image reading unit on a recording material;

wherein

the image reading unit includes;

a document placement unit; and

a conveying unit that conveys a document on the document placement unit through a document read position of a document reading unit toward a destination of conveyance, wherein the conveying unit includes;

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed; and

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller,

wherein the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller such that the cover member pivots about the shaft of the pick-up roller.

21. A sheet conveying device comprising:

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed; and

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller, wherein;

the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller, and

a tip of the cover member comes into contact earlier than the pick-up roller when the pick-up roller is lowered for sheet conveyance.

22. A sheet conveying device comprising:

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed;

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller,

the cover member being supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller;

a holding member that holds the pick-up roller, wherein;

the holding member and the cover member are separate parts, and

the holding member includes driving shaft mounting portions for being rotatably mounted on a driving shaft and pick-up mounting portions on which the pick-up roller is rotatably mounted with the shaft bearings interposed therebetween; and

pick-up shaft insertion cutouts, the pick-up shaft insertion cutouts extends parallel to the document conveying direction from the pick-up mounting portions,

wherein when the cover member is mounted on the shaft bearings, a tip of a rotation restricting portion is positioned at the pick-up shaft intersection cutouts.

23. A sheet conveying device comprising:

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed;

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller, wherein;

the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller; and

grooves on the shaft of the pick-up roller at outside positions where the shaft bearings are fitted.

24. A sheet conveying device comprising:

a pick-up roller that feeds, into an apparatus, a sheet on a placing table on which the sheet is placed;

a cover member that covers the pick-up roller, wherein;

the cover member is supported at both ends thereof and co-axially arranged on a shaft of the pick-up roller or on shaft bearings that receive the shaft of the pick-up roller, and

the cover member is provide with ribs; and

a paper feeding cover,

the paper feeding cover includes a plurality of ribs provided at an end on the placing table side of the paper feeding cover.