Feeding device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To shorten the time until cutting of a packaging material is completed, and eliminate a trouble of taking out a sheet bundle from a sheet pack.SOLUTION: A feeding device includes: first cutting members 31a and 31b for cutting an upper portion and a lower portion of a first side surface F6 positioned at one end in a width direction of a sheet pack 300 placed on a placing portion 105, in a feeding direction, respectively; second cutting members 32a and 32b for cutting an upper portion and a lower portion of a second side surface F3 positioned downstream side of a feeding direction, in a width direction, respectively; and third cutting members 33a and 33b for cutting an upper portion and a lower portion of a third side surface F4 positioned on the other widthwise end side, in the feeding direction, respectively. A height position cut by the first cutting members 31a and 31b, a height position cut by the second cutting members 32a and 32b, and a height position cut by the third cutting members 33a and 33b are the same, and portions that are cut off from each other are connected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device that feeds sheets, and an image forming apparatus including the feeding device, such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine thereof, or a printing machine. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a device in which a cutter member that cuts a packaging material of a sheet pack that wraps a sheet bundle in which a plurality of overlapping sheets is wrapped is moved by a moving means (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In detail, the device in Patent Document 1 is configured to move one cutter in a U-shape along three of the four sides of a one-piece package (sheet pack) that contains printing paper (a stack of sheets), cutting the three sides. The user then removes the printing paper from the one-piece package with the three sides cut. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional technology, the three sides of a sheet pack (one-wrap package) are cut with one cutting member (cutter), so it takes a long time to complete cutting of the three sides. In particular, in the technology of Patent Document 1, a device for cutting the packaging material of the sheet pack is provided separately from a feeding device for feeding the sheets, which requires a user to take out a sheet bundle from the sheet pack with three sides cut off, and then set the taken-out sheet bundle in the sheet feeding device, which is time-consuming.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a feeding device and an image forming apparatus which shorten the time required to complete cutting and eliminate the need to remove a stack of sheets from a sheet pack. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The feeding device of the present invention is a feeding device that feeds sheets in a predetermined feeding direction, and includes a loading section on which a substantially rectangular parallelepiped sheet pack consisting of a sheet bundle and a packaging material that wraps the sheet bundle can be loaded, a first cutting member that cuts, in the feeding direction, an upper portion and a lower portion of a first side surface that is located at one end in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction among four side surfaces of the sheet pack loaded on the loading section, a second cutting member that cuts, in the width direction, an upper portion and a lower portion of a second side surface that is located downstream in the feeding direction among the four side surfaces of the sheet pack loaded on the loading section, and a third cutting member that cuts, in the feeding direction, an upper portion and a lower portion of a third side surface that is located at the other end in the width direction among the four side surfaces of the sheet pack loaded on the loading section, a pair of side fences that determine a position in the width direction of the sheet pack placed on the placement section; and a reference fence that determines a downstream position in the feeding direction of the sheet pack placed on the placement section; Equipped with The first cutting member moves along a first guide portion formed in a first side fence located at one end of the pair of side fences in the width direction and extending in the feeding direction, the second cutting member moves along a second guide portion formed in the reference fence and extending in the width direction, and the third cutting member moves along a third guide portion formed in a second side fence located at the other end of the pair of side fences in the width direction and extending in the feeding direction, and the first guide portion, the second guide portion, and the third guide portion are connected at the same height as each other. It is something. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a feeding device and an image forming apparatus that shorten the time required to complete cutting of the packaging material and eliminate the need to remove the sheet stack from the sheet pack. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a feeding device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of a feeding device. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cut portion in the sheet pack. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a top view showing the operation of the first to third cutting members. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing first to third moving means. [Figure 8]11 is a schematic diagram showing the feeding device after the packaging material of the sheet pack has been cut and the top surface has been turned up. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sheet pack. [Figure 10] 13A is a diagram showing the operation when the sheet pack is normally cut, and (B) and (C) are diagrams showing the operation when the sheet pack is not normally cut. [Figure 11] 13A and 13B are perspective views showing the operation of a cutting member in a feeding device as a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0010] First, the overall configuration and operation of an image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a copier as an image forming apparatus, reference numeral 2 denotes an original reading section that optically reads image information from an original D, reference numeral 3 denotes an exposure section that irradiates a photosensitive drum 5 with exposure light L based on the image information read by the original reading section 2, reference numeral 4 denotes an image creating section that forms a toner image (image) on the photosensitive drum 5, and reference numeral 7 denotes a transfer section (image forming section) that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 to a sheet P. Further, reference numeral 10 denotes an original transport section (automatic original transport device) that transports the set original D to the original reading section 2, and 12 and 13 denote feeding devices that feed sheets P accommodated in a paper feed cassette. In addition, reference numeral 17 denotes a pair of registration rollers (pair of transport rollers) that transport the sheet P toward the transfer section 7, 20 denotes a fixing device that fixes the toner image (unfixed image) carried on the sheet P, 21 denotes a fixing roller installed in the fixing device 20, 22 denotes a pressure roller installed in the fixing device 20, and 31 denotes an output tray on which the sheet P discharged from the device main body 1 is stacked. Further, reference numeral 105 denotes a placement portion provided with a lift plate 106 that can be raised and lowered in each of the feeding devices 12 and 13, and reference numeral 50 denotes a feeding mechanism as a feeding means installed in each of the feeding devices 12 and 13.

[0011] With reference to FIG. 1, the operation of the image forming apparatus main body 1 during normal image formation will be described. First, the document D is transported (fed) from the document table in the direction of the arrow in the figure by the transport rollers of the document transport unit 10, and passes over the document reading unit 2. At this time, the document reading unit 2 optically reads image information of the document D passing above it. The optical image information read by the document reading unit 2 is converted into an electrical signal and then transmitted to the exposure unit 3 (writing unit). The exposure unit 3 then emits exposure light L, such as a laser beam, based on the image information of the electrical signal toward the photoconductor drum 5 of the imaging unit 4.

[0012] Meanwhile, in the image creating unit 4, the photosensitive drum 5 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and after going through a predetermined image creating process (charging process, exposure process, and development process), an image (toner image) corresponding to the image information is formed on the photosensitive drum 5. Thereafter, the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred onto a sheet P conveyed by a pair of registration rollers 17 in a transfer section 7 serving as an image forming section.

[0013] On the other hand, the sheet P conveyed to the transfer unit 7 (image forming unit) operates as follows. First, one of the multiple feeding devices 12, 13 of the image forming apparatus main body 1 is automatically or manually selected (for example, it is assumed that the lower feeding device 13 is selected). Then, the uppermost sheet of sheets P, such as paper, stored in the feeding device 13 is fed by the feeding mechanism 50 and conveyed toward the conveying path K. Thereafter, the sheet P passes through the conveying path K on which multiple conveying rollers are arranged, and reaches the position of the registration roller pair 17. At this time, the registration roller pair 17 is in a state of stopping rotation, and the leading edge of the sheet P hits the nip of the registration roller pair 17, thereby correcting the skew of the sheet P. Then, the pair of registration rollers 17 start to rotate, and the sheet P, after having had its skew corrected by the pair of registration rollers 17, is transported toward the transfer section 7 (image forming section) in a timed manner to align it with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5.

[0014] After the transfer process, the sheet P passes through the position of the transfer unit 7, and then reaches the fixing device 20 via a transport path. The sheet P that has reached the fixing device 20 is fed between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22, and the toner image is fixed onto the sheet P by the heat received from the fixing roller 21 and the pressure received from both members 21 and 22 (the fixing process). The sheet P after the fixing process with the toner image fixed onto it is sent out from between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22 (the fixing nip), and then discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 1 and stacked on the paper output tray 31 as an output image. In this way, a series of image forming processes is completed.

[0015] Next, the feeding device in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Of the multiple feeding devices 12, 13 inscribed in the device main body 1, only the lower feeding device 13 will be described below. However, the upper feeding device 12 has a configuration similar to that of the lower feeding device 13 except for its installation position, so its description will be omitted.

[0016] Referring to Figure 2, the feeding device 13 is provided with a loading section 105 configured to be capable of stacking multiple sheets P, a feeding mechanism 50 for feeding the sheets P loaded on the loading section 105, and the like. The placement section 105 is configured so that a portion thereof can be raised and lowered so that the downstream side in the feeding direction of the uppermost placed sheet P (the right side in FIG. 2) reaches a predetermined height position (the position of the pickup roller 51). Specifically, the placement section 105 is configured to include a lifting plate 106 that can rotate about a rotation center shaft 106a, and a fixed plate 108 that does not rise and fall. The lifting plate 106 is disposed downstream in the feeding direction of the fixed plate 108, and is configured to be lifted and lowered by rotating in forward and reverse directions about the rotation center shaft 106a. Also, referring to FIG. 2, the feeding mechanism 50 is made up of a feed roller 52, a pick-up roller 51, a separation roller 53, and the like.

[0017] Feed roller 52 is installed on the leading edge (downstream side) of sheet P placed on placement section 105 in the feeding direction (the direction of the white arrow in Figure 2), and contacts the top surface of the uppermost sheet P and rotates along the feeding direction of sheet P (counterclockwise rotation in Figure 2) to feed sheet P in the feeding direction indicated by the dashed dotted arrow. 2 along the running direction while in contact with the surface (top surface) of the uppermost sheet P placed on the placement portion 105, and conveys the sheet P toward the position of the feed roller 52. The pickup roller 51 is configured to be capable of contacting and separating from the sheet P (uppermost sheet P) placed on the placement portion 105 (lifting plate 106). That is, the pickup roller 51 is formed to be movable between a retracted position where it does not contact the sheet P placed on the placement portion 105, and a contact position (the position shown in FIG. 2) where it contacts the sheet P. The separation roller 53 is disposed so as to form a nip portion between itself and the feed roller 52 . When one sheet P is sandwiched in the nip portion and when no sheet P is sandwiched in the nip portion, separation roller 53 rotates in the forward direction (the direction of the dashed arrow in FIG. 2, which is a clockwise direction) along the feeding direction. In contrast, when multiple sheets are sandwiched in the nip portion, separation roller 53 rotates in the reverse direction (the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. 2, which is a counterclockwise direction) to the above-mentioned forward direction. As a result, the uppermost sheet P of the multiple sheets P sandwiched in the nip portion is fed in the feeding direction along with the rotation of feed roller 52, and the lower sheet P is transported in the reverse direction to the feeding direction (forward direction), thereby preventing double feeding of sheets P.

[0018] Here, in the feeding device 13 in this embodiment, the lift plate 106 moves up and down depending on the number of sheets P stacked on the mounting section 105 (lift plate 106) so that the pickup roller 51 can come into contact with the uppermost sheet P stacked on the mounting section 105 (lift plate 106). Then, the pickup roller 51 descends to a position where it comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet P placed on the mounting section 105 (lift plate 106) whose vertical position has been adjusted, and then the sheet P is fed. Furthermore, the feeding device 13 in this embodiment is provided with a pair of side fences 101, 102 (see FIG. 3) that regulate the position in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2) of the sheet P placed on the placement unit 105. The side fences 101, 102 are installed at both ends in the width direction so as to sandwich the sheet P, and are configured to be movable in conjunction with each other in the width direction by a manual movement mechanism in accordance with the width size of the sheet P (configured so that the distance between them in the width direction can be increased or decreased). Furthermore, the feeding device 13 in this embodiment is provided with a reference fence 107 and an end fence 103 that regulate the position in the feeding direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) of the sheet P placed on the placement section 105. The reference fence 107 is installed so that the side surface (leading end) of the sheet P on the downstream side in the feeding direction abuts against the reference fence 107. The end fence 103 is installed so as to abut against the side surface (rear end) of the sheet P on the upstream side in the feeding direction, and is configured to be movable in the feeding direction in accordance with the size of the sheet P in the feeding direction by a manual movement mechanism.

[0019] In the feeding device 13 configured in this manner, when no sheet P is set on the loading section 105, this state is detected by an end detection sensor (not shown), and the pickup roller 51 is retracted to the retracted position. Then, when the sheet P is set on the placement portion 105, this state is detected by the end detection sensor, and the pickup roller 51 is moved from the retracted position toward the contact position (the position shown in FIG. 2). 2, the pickup roller 51 starts rotating counterclockwise while in contact with the top surface of the uppermost sheet P placed on the placement unit 105, and at the same time, the feed roller 52 and the separation roller 53 start rotating. As a result, the uppermost sheet P of the sheet stack PT placed on the placement unit 105 by the pickup roller 51 is transported toward the nip portion between the feed roller 52 and the separation roller 53, and one sheet P is separated from the nip portion and transported toward the image forming unit. Furthermore, when all the sheets P placed on the placement section 105 are fed and no sheets P are set on the placement section 105, this state is detected by the end detection sensor, and the pickup roller 51 moves again to the retracted position.

[0020] Hereinafter, the characteristic configuration and operation of the feeding device 13 (image forming apparatus 1) in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10 etc. The feeding device 13 in this embodiment is configured so that a sheet pack 300 (see, for example, FIGS. 4 to 9) in which sheets P of a predetermined size and a predetermined number (e.g., A4 size, 500 sheets) are stacked (as a sheet stack PT) can be set. Then, in the feeding device 13, the packaging material 301 (see, for example, FIG. 4) of the sheet pack 300 is cut, and the feeding device 13 is ready to feed the sheets P.

[0021] Usually, when the sheets P run out in the feeding device 13, the wrapping material 301 (made of paper, for example) wrapping the sheet stack PT in the sheet pack 300 is removed, and the sheet stack PT from which the wrapping material 301 has been removed is set in the feeding device 13 (paper feed tray) pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 1. At this time, there is a risk that the sheet stack PT in a misaligned state due to the sheets P of the sheet stack PT being misaligned in the width direction, for example, is set in the feeding device 13. The feeding device 13 is provided with a pair of side fences 101, 102 that regulate the position of the set sheet bundle PT in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 1 and 2), and a reference fence 107 and an end fence 103 that regulate the position of the sheet bundle PT in the feeding direction (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). However, since the frictional force between the sheets P located on the lower side of the sheet bundle PT is stronger than that between the sheets located on the upper side, as described above, when the end fence 103 or the side fences 101, 102 are moved and abutted against the sheet bundle PT, they do not move, and the above-mentioned positional deviation is difficult to eliminate. In contrast, the feeding device 13 in the present embodiment is configured so that the sheet pack 300 can be set without removing the packaging material 301, and is configured so that the packaging material 301 of the set sheet pack 300 can be automatically cut off, thereby making it less likely that the above-mentioned problems will occur.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 3, the feeding device 13 (sheet feeding tray) is provided with a placement section 105 consisting of a fixed plate 108 and a lifting plate 106. The placement section 105 is configured to be able to place a substantially rectangular parallelepiped sheet pack 300 (consisting of a sheet stack PT and a packaging material 301 that wraps the sheet stack PT, as shown in Fig. 4). The feeding device 13 is also provided with a pair of side fences 101, 102 which determine the widthwise position of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105, a reference fence 107 which determines the downstream position of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105 in the feeding direction, and an end fence 103 which determines the upstream position of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105 in the feeding direction. The pair of side fences 101, 102 and the end fence 103 are each moved in accordance with the size of the sheet pack 300 (sheet stack PT) in the same manner as previously described with reference to FIG. 2 and the like.

[0023] Here, the feeding device 13 in the present embodiment is provided with first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b for cutting the packaging material 301 of the sheet pack 300 set inside.

[0024] 3, 6, 7, etc., the first cutting members 31a, 31b are moved by the first moving means 80a and cut (cut) the upper and lower portions of the first side F6 located at one end in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the feed direction) of the four sides F3 to F6 (see FIG. 5) of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105 in the feed direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, and the direction of arrow α in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7). In detail, the first cutting members 31a, 31b move along the first guide portions 102a, which are rectangular hole-shaped portions formed at the upper and lower portions of the first side fence 102, which is located at one end side of the pair of side fences 101, 102 in the width direction, and which extend in the feeding direction.

[0025] In addition, the second cutting members 32a, 32b are moved by the second moving means 80b and cut the upper and lower portions of the second side F3, which is located downstream in the feed direction among the four sides F3 to F6 (see Figure 5) of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105, in the width direction (the direction of arrow β in Figures 6 and 7). More specifically, the second cutting members 32a and 32b move along second guide portions 107a, which are rectangular hole-shaped portions formed at the upper and lower portions of the reference fence 107 and extend in the width direction.

[0026] In addition, the third cutting members 33a, 33b are moved by the third moving means 80c to cut the upper and lower portions of the third side surface F4, which is located on the other end side in the width direction of the four sides F3 to F6 (see Figure 5) of the sheet pack 300 placed on the loading section 105, in the feeding direction (the opposite direction to the arrow direction in Figure 5, and the direction of arrow γ in Figures 6 and 7). In detail, the third cutting members 33a, 33b move along the third guide portions 101a having rectangular hole shapes formed at the upper and lower portions of the second side fence 101 located at the other end side in the width direction of the pair of side fences 101, 102, respectively, so as to extend in the feeding direction.

[0027] This will be explained in more detail below. The first side fence 102 is provided with a first upper cutting member 31a and a first lower cutting member 31b as first cutting members, which protrude inward (toward the center in the width direction) from the sheet regulating surface of the first side fence 102. The first upper cutting member 31a and the first lower cutting member 31b are provided on the first side fence 102 so as to be horizontally movable in the feeding direction along the first guide portion 102a. Similarly, the second side fence 101 is provided with a third upper cutting member 33a and a third lower cutting member 33b as third cutting members, which protrude inward (toward the center in the width direction) from the sheet regulating surface of the second side fence 101. The third upper cutting member 33a and the third lower cutting member 33b are provided on the second side fence 101 so as to be horizontally movable in the feeding direction along the third guide portion 101a. Further, the reference fence 107 is provided with a second upper cutting member 32a and a second lower cutting member 32b as second cutting members, which protrude inward (upstream in the feeding direction) from the sheet regulating surface of the reference fence 107. The second upper cutting member 32a and the second lower cutting member 32b are provided on the reference fence 107 so as to be horizontally movable in the width direction along the second guide portion 107a.

[0028] The first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b are capable of performing cuts on the packaging material 301 as shown by the broken lines f1 to f6 in FIG. 5, and the portions that come into contact with the packaging material 301 are formed in a cutter shape. The cutter shapes of the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b may be double-edged or single-edged. In particular, in this embodiment, as described later, the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b do not cut the packaging material 301 by reciprocating movement, but by moving in one direction to cut the packaging material 301, and therefore can be formed in a single-edged shape according to the movement direction.

[0029] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, in the packaging material 301, the upper edge f4 (upper portion) of the third side surface F4, which is a surface portion parallel to the feed direction facing the second side fence 101, is cut by the third upper cutting member 33a, and the lower edge f3 (lower portion) of the third side surface F4 is cut by the third lower cutting member 33b. In addition, in the packaging material 301, the upper edge f5 (upper portion) of the first side surface F6, which is a surface portion parallel to the feed direction facing the first side fence 102, is cut by the first upper cutting member 31a, and the lower edge f6 (lower portion) of the first side surface F6 is cut by the first lower cutting member 31b. In addition, in the packaging material 301, the upper edge f1 (upper portion) of the second side surface F3, which is a surface portion parallel to the width direction facing the reference fence 107, is cut by the second upper cutting member 32a, and the lower edge f2 (lower portion) of the second side surface F3 is cut by the second lower cutting member 32b.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operations of the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b when cutting the packaging material 301. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the first cutting members 31a, 31b (first upper cutting member and first lower cutting member) move horizontally simultaneously in the direction of the arrow α, whereby the upper edge f5 and the lower edge f6 of the first side surface F6 of the packaging material 301 are cut. Furthermore, the second cutting members 32a, 32b (second upper cutting member and second lower cutting member) move horizontally simultaneously in the direction of the arrow β, whereby the upper edge f1 and the lower edge f2 of the second side surface F3 of the packaging material 301 are cut. Furthermore, the third cutting members 33a, 33b (the third upper cutting member and the third lower cutting member) move horizontally simultaneously in the direction of the arrow γ, whereby the upper edge f4 and the lower edge f3 of the third side surface F4 of the packaging material 301 are cut.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing first to third moving means 80a to 80c for moving the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b. The first moving means 80a that moves the first cutting members 31a, 31b, the second moving means 80b that moves the second cutting members 32a, 32b, and the third moving means 80c that moves the third cutting members 33a, 33b are configured in the same manner, so below we will describe in detail the configuration of the first moving means 80a, and omit explanations of the second and third moving means 80b, 80c as appropriate. The first moving means 80a is provided with a support table 131 which supports the first upper cutting member 31a and the first lower cutting member 31b and is slidably held by the first side fence 102. The support table 131 is fixedly attached to a belt 81 which is stretched and supported by a driving roller 81a and a driven roller 81b. A driving force is transmitted to the driving roller 81a from the motor 8a via a two-stage gear consisting of a worm gear and a pulley gear. The driving roller 81a receives the driving force from the motor 8a and rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7, whereby the belt 81 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. As a result, the first cutting members 31a and 31b move horizontally together with the support table 131 in the direction of the arrow α, and the upper side f5 and the lower side f6 of the first side surface F6 of the packaging material 301 are cut. 7, the motor 8b of the second moving means 80b rotates counterclockwise, and the belt 82 rotates counterclockwise, and the second cutting members 32a, 32b move horizontally in the direction of the arrow β together with the support base 132. As a result, the upper side f1 and the lower side f2 of the second side surface F3 of the packaging material 301 are cut. 7, the motor 8c of the third moving means 80c rotates counterclockwise, and the belt 83 rotates counterclockwise, and the third cutting members 33a, 33b move horizontally in the direction of the arrow γ together with the support base 133. As a result, the upper side f4 and the lower side f3 of the third side surface F4 of the packaging material 301 are cut. After the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, 33b have finished cutting the packaging material 301 as described above, they are returned to their reference positions (near the positions shown in FIG. 6, which do not interfere with the subsequent feeding operation of the sheet P) by the first to third moving means 80a to 80c, respectively.

[0032] In this manner, in the present embodiment, the first cutting members 31a, 31b move from the upstream side to the downstream side in the feeding direction to cut the sheet pack 300. The second cutting members 32a, 32b move from one end side to the other end side in the width direction to cut the sheet pack 300. The third cutting members 33a, 33b move from the downstream side to the upstream side in the feeding direction to cut the sheet pack 300. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when viewed from above, the sheet pack 300 is cut in a clockwise direction (the same rotation direction) by the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b. By moving the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b in the same rotational direction in this manner, the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b are less likely to collide with each other. In particular, by controlling the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b to start moving simultaneously from a reference position, such a problem is reliably less likely to occur. Furthermore, even if such simultaneous movement is not started, such a problem is less likely to occur by starting the movement of a nearby cutting member before the adjacent cutting member reaches a position where it completes its cutting. In this embodiment, the same effect can be obtained even if the first cutting members 31a, 31b are moved from the downstream side to the upstream side in the feeding direction to cut the sheet pack 300, the second cutting members 32a, 32b are moved from the other end side to the one end side in the width direction to cut the sheet pack 300, and the third cutting members 33a, 33b are moved from the upstream side to the downstream side in the feeding direction to cut the sheet pack 300 (even if they are configured to cut in the opposite direction (clockwise) in Figure 6).

[0033] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the feeding device 13 in which a sheet pack 300 (sheet stack PT) with the packaging material 301 cut is stored. When the user sets the sheet pack 300 in the feeding device 13, the user operates the operation display panel 100 (see FIG. 1) to execute the cutting mode (a control mode for cutting the sheet pack 300). Note that a detection means for detecting that the sheet pack 300 has been set in the feeding device 13 may be provided, and the detection by the detection means may be used as a trigger to automatically execute the cutting mode. When the cut mode is executed, the cutting operation described above with reference to Figs. 6 and 7 is performed, and the top and bottom edges (top and bottom) of the first to third side surfaces F3, F4, and F6 of the packaging material 301 are cut as described above. Then, when such a cutting operation is completed, the control unit notifies the operation display panel 100 that the cutting operation is completed, and issues an instruction to pull out the feeding device 13 from the image forming apparatus main body 1 and turn over the top surface F1 of the packaging material 301. Based on the instruction displayed on the operation display panel 100, the user pulls out the feeding device 13 and turns over the top surface F1 of the packaging material 301 to the upstream side in the feeding direction. In this embodiment, since the top edges f1, f4, and f5 of the second side surface F3, the first side surface F6, and the third side surface F4 of the packaging material 301 are cut, the top surface F1 of the packaging material 301 can be turned over using the top edge f7 of the fourth side surface F5 (see Fig. 5) on the upstream side in the feeding direction as a fulcrum. In this manner, by flipping over the top surface F1 of the packaging material 301, the top surface of the sheet stack PT wrapped in the packaging material 301 is exposed as shown in FIG. 8(A). 8(A), after flipping over the top surface F1 of the packaging material 301 to expose the top surface of the sheet stack PT, the feeder 13 is pushed into the image forming apparatus main body 1 and the flipping operation completion button displayed on the operation display panel 100 is pressed. This completes the cutting operation.

[0034] When the sheet P is fed from the feeding device 13, the lift plate 106 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8 around the rotation central shaft 106a, and the uppermost sheet P comes into contact with the pickup roller 51. At this time, since the lower sides f2, f3, and f6 of the second side F3, the first side F6, and the third side F4 of the packaging material 301 are cut, the downstream sides of the second side F3, the first side F6, and the third side F4 in the feeding direction do not rise following the lower surface F2 (see FIG. 5) of the packaging material 301 loaded on the lift plate 106, but remain in place. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, the upper part of the downstream side in the feeding direction of the sheet stack PT lifted by the lift plate 106 is positioned above the upper sides f1, f4, and f5 of the second side F3, the first side F6, and the third side F4 of the packaging material 301. Therefore, when the uppermost sheet P of the sheet stack PT is fed by the pickup roller 51, the sheet P is fed satisfactorily without being caught on the second side surface F3 of the packaging material 301 or the like.

[0035] Furthermore, the second side F3, the first side F6, and the third side F4 remain in place without rising together with the lifting plate 106. Therefore, even if the number of sheets in the sheet stack PT decreases and the height of the sheet stack PT decreases as the feeding operation is repeated, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the fed sheets P are fed smoothly without getting caught on the second side F3 or the like. The second side face F3, the first side face F6, and the third side face F4 do not rise together with the lifting plate 106 but remain in place, so that there is no risk of the second side face F3, the first side face F6, and the third side face F4 colliding with a member located above the feeding device 13 and being crushed, and good feeding can be performed.

[0036] In this manner, in the present embodiment, the packaging material 301 of the sheet pack 300 is cut within the feeding device 13, and the sheets P can be fed without any problem while leaving the packaging material 301. Therefore, compared with the case where the sheet stack PT is taken out of the cut sheet pack 300 and the taken-out sheet stack PT is set in the feeding device 13, it is less troublesome and the positional deviation of the sheet stack PT within the feeding device 13 described above does not occur. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the three sides F3, F4, and F6 of the packaging material 301 are cut side by side using three cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b, respectively, so that the time required to complete cutting of all three sides F3, F4, and F6 of the packaging material 301 is shortened compared to the case where the three sides F3, F4, and F6 of the packaging material 301 are cut using a single cutting member. In addition, in this embodiment, the first cutting members 31a, 31b are mounted on the first side fence 102, the third cutting members 33a, 33b are mounted on the second side fence 101, and the second cutting members 32a, 32b are mounted on the reference fence 107, and the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, 33b are configured to independently cut opposing sides. Therefore, even if sheet packs 300 (sheet stacks PT) of different sizes are set in the feeding device 13, cutting operations can be performed on each size (the cuttable sizes are not limited).

[0037] Now, referring to Figures 3, 9, 10(A), etc., the feeding device 13 in this embodiment is configured so that the height position cut by the first cutting members 31a, 31b, the height position cut by the second cutting members 32a, 32b, and the height position cut by the third cutting members 33a, 33b coincide with each other and the cut portions are connected to each other. Specifically, the first guide portion 102a, the second guide portion 107a, and the third guide portion 101a are connected at the same height position when they are adjacent to each other. In other words, the first guide portion 102a, the second guide portion 107a, and the third guide portion 101a are connected at the same height position without being misaligned in the height direction. More specifically, the running paths of the first upper cutting member 31a, the second upper cutting member 32a, and the third upper cutting member 33a are connected because the adjacent ones have the same height. Similarly, the running paths of the first lower cutting member 31b, the second lower cutting member 32b, and the third lower cutting member 33b are connected because the adjacent ones have the same height.

[0038] 9 and 10(A), the upper edge f5 cut by the first upper cutting member 31a is connected to the upper edge f1 cut by the second upper cutting member 32a, and the upper edge f1 cut by the second upper cutting member 32a is connected to the upper edge f4 cut by the third upper cutting member 33a. The lower edge f6 cut by the first lower cutting member 31b is connected to the lower edge f2 cut by the second lower cutting member 32b, and the upper edge f1 cut by the second upper cutting member 32a is connected to the lower edge f3 cut by the third lower cutting member 33b. That is, the packaging material 301 is normally cut. In contrast, referring to FIG. 10(B), if the running paths of the first cutting members 31a, 31b, the second cutting members 32a, 32b, and the third cutting members 33a, 33b are not connected in height between adjacent members, the packaging material 301 will not be cut properly. Also, referring to FIG. 10(C), if the heights of the respective running paths of the first cutting members 31a, 31b, the second cutting members 32a, 32b, and the third cutting members 33a, 33b do not match with each other, the packaging material 301 will not be cut properly. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b are configured to cut at the same height and to connect the cut portions to each other, thereby preventing poor cutting of the packaging material 301, shortening the time required to complete the cutting, and eliminating the need to remove the sheet bundle from the sheet pack.

[0039] <Modification> As described with reference to FIG. 5, in the feeding device 13 as a modified example, the sheet pack 300 is cut in the clockwise direction (the same rotation direction) by the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, and 33b. 11, the feeding device 13 as a modification is configured so that the first cutting members 31a, 31b can move to a position where they enter the second guiding portion 107a on the downstream side in the feeding direction. With this configuration, the upper edge f5 of the first side surface F6 of the packaging material 301 and the upper edge f1 of the second side surface F3 are cut in a state where they are securely connected, and the lower edge f6 of the first side surface F6 of the packaging material 301 and the lower edge f2 of the second side surface F3 are cut in a state where they are securely connected. Although not shown, the feeding device 13 as a modified example is configured so that the second cutting members 32a, 23b can move to a position where they enter the third guide portion 101a at the other end side in the width direction. With this configuration, the upper edge f1 of the second side surface F3 of the packaging material 301 and the upper edge f4 of the third side surface F4 are cut in a state where they are securely connected, and the lower edge f2 of the second side surface F3 of the packaging material 301 and the lower edge f3 of the third side surface F4 are cut in a state where they are securely connected. When the sheet pack 300 is cut in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 6 (the opposite direction to the cutting direction of FIG. 6) by the first to third cutting members 31a, 31b, 32a, 32b, 33a, 33b, the third cutting members 33a, 33b are configured to be movable to a position where they enter the second guide portion 107a on the downstream side of the feeding direction, and the second cutting members 32a, 32b are configured to be movable to a position where they enter the first guide portion 102a at one end side in the width direction, thereby obtaining the same effect as that described above.

[0040] Here, with reference to FIG. 11, the first guide portion 102a, the second guide portion 107a and the third guide portion 101a can also be formed as a single member. Specifically, by providing the pair of side fences 101, 102 and the reference fence 107 integrally as one member, the first guide portion 102a, the second guide portion 107a, and the third guide portion 101a can be easily connected at the same height position without variation in parts, compared to when each fence is provided separately. Therefore, no cutting defects occur in the packaging material 301, the time until the cutting is completed is shortened, and the effort of removing the sheet stack PT from the sheet pack 300 is eliminated. This configuration is suitable for a feeding device in which the size of the sheet pack 300 (sheet stack PT) to be set is fixed and the widthwise positions of the pair of side fences 101, 102 are fixed (for example, the upper feeding device 12 in Figure 1 when the side fence of the lower feeding device 13 is movable and the side fence of the upper feeding device 12 is immovable).

[0041] As described above, the feeding device in this embodiment is the feeding device 13 that feeds the sheets P in a predetermined feeding direction, and is provided with a loading section 105 on which a substantially rectangular parallelepiped sheet pack 300 composed of a sheet bundle PT and a packaging material 301 that wraps the sheet bundle PT can be loaded. Also, first cutting members 31a and 31b are provided for cutting in the feeding direction the upper and lower parts of a first side surface F6 located at one end side in the width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction among the four side surfaces F3 to F6 of the sheet pack 300 loaded on the loading section 105. Also, second cutting members 32a and 32b are provided for cutting in the width direction the upper and lower parts of a second side surface F3 located downstream in the feeding direction among the four side surfaces F3 to F6 of the sheet pack 300 loaded on the loading section 105. Furthermore, third cutting members 33a, 33b are provided to cut, in the feeding direction, the upper and lower parts of a third side surface F4 located on the other end side in the width direction of the four side surfaces F3 to F6 of the sheet pack 300 placed on the placement section 105. The height position cut by the first cutting members 31a, 31b, the height position cut by the second cutting members 32a, 32b, and the height position cut by the third cutting members 33a, 33b are aligned, and the cut portions are connected to each other. This shortens the time required to complete cutting of the packaging material 301 in the sheet pack 300, and eliminates the need to take out the sheet stack PT from the sheet pack 300.

[0042] In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the feeding device 13 installed in a monochrome image forming apparatus 1, but the present invention can naturally also be applied to a feeding device installed in a color image forming apparatus. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the feeding device 13 installed in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus 1, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to feeding devices installed in other types of image forming apparatus (for example, an inkjet image forming apparatus, a stencil printer, etc.). In addition, in this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the feeding device 13 installed inside the image forming apparatus 1, but the present invention can also be applied to a feeding device installed so as to be exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1. Even in such cases, the same effects as those of this embodiment can be obtained.

[0043] In the present embodiment, only a part of the placement portion 105 (the lift plate 106) is configured to be liftable, but the entire placement portion 105 may be configured to be liftable. In the present embodiment, after cutting of the packaging material 301 of the sheet pack 300 placed in the feeding device 13 is completed, the feeding device 13 is temporarily pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 1 and the top surface F1 is manually turned over. Alternatively, a turning mechanism for turning the top surface F1 may be provided in the feeding device 13 so that after cutting of the packaging material 301 of the sheet pack 300 placed in the feeding device 13 is completed, the top surface F1 may be automatically turned over by the turning mechanism without pulling out the feeding device 13 from the image forming apparatus main body 1. Even in such cases, the same effects as those of this embodiment can be obtained.

[0044] It is clear that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and that the present embodiment may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention in addition to the modifications suggested in the present embodiment. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the components are not limited to the present embodiment, and may be any number, position, shape, etc. suitable for implementing the present invention.

[0045] In this specification, the term "sheet" is defined to include not only ordinary paper, but also all sheet-like recording media such as coated paper, label paper, and OHP sheets. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Image forming apparatus (image forming apparatus main body), 13 feeding device; 31a, 31b first cutting member, 32a, 32b second cutting member, 33a, 33b third cutting member, 80a first moving means (first moving mechanism), 80b second moving means (second moving mechanism), 80c Third movement means (third movement mechanism), 101 Second side fence (side fence), 101a 3rd information section, 102 First Side Fence (Side Fence), 102a 1st guide section, 103 End fence, 105 placement portion, 107 Standard fence, 107a 2nd guide section, 300 sheet pack, 301 Packaging materials, F1 top, F2 bottom, F3 second side, F4 3rd side, F5 4th side, F6 1st side, P sheet, PT sheet bundle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0047] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-6287

Claims

1. A feeding device that feeds a sheet in a predetermined feeding direction, a loading section on which a substantially rectangular sheet pack can be loaded, the sheet pack including a sheet bundle and a packaging material for wrapping the sheet bundle; a first cutting member configured to cut, in the sheet feeding direction, an upper portion and a lower portion of a first side surface that is located at one end side in a width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction among four side surfaces of the sheet pack placed on the placement section; a second cutting member configured to cut in the width direction an upper portion and a lower portion of a second side surface of the sheet pack placed on the placement section, the second side surface being located downstream in the feeding direction among the four side surfaces of the sheet pack; a third cutting member configured to cut an upper portion and a lower portion of a third side surface, which is located on the other end side in the width direction among the four side surfaces of the sheet pack placed on the placement section, in the feeding direction; a pair of side fences for determining a position in the width direction of the sheet pack placed on the placement portion; a reference fence for determining a downstream position of the sheet pack placed on the placement portion in the feeding direction; Equipped with the first cutting member moves along a first guide portion formed in a first side fence located at one end side in the width direction of the pair of side fences so as to extend in the feeding direction, the second cutting member moves along a second guide portion formed on the reference fence so as to extend in the width direction, the third cutting member moves along a third guide portion formed in a second side fence located at the other end side in the width direction of the pair of side fences so as to extend in the feeding direction, The feeding device, wherein adjacent ones of the first guide portion, the second guide portion, and the third guide portion are connected at the same height position.

2. A feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the height position cut by the first cutting member, the height position cut by the second cutting member, and the height position cut by the third cutting member are the same, and the cut portions are connected to each other.

3. 3. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the first cutting member or the third cutting member is movable to a position where it enters the second guide portion on a downstream side in the feeding direction.

4. A feeding device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the second cutting member is movable to a position where it enters the third guide portion at the other end side of the width direction, or is movable to a position where it enters the first guide portion at one end side of the width direction.

5. 5. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the first guide portion, the second guide portion and the third guide portion are formed as a single member.

6. The first cutting member moves from the upstream side or downstream side to the downstream side or upstream side in the feeding direction to cut the sheet pack, The second cutting member cuts the sheet pack by moving from one end side or the other end side in the width direction to the other end side or the one end side, 6. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the third cutting member moves from the downstream side or the upstream side in the feeding direction to the upstream side or the downstream side to cut the sheet pack.

7. The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the loading section is configured so that part or all of it can be raised and lowered so that the downstream side of the uppermost sheet loaded in the feeding direction reaches a predetermined height position.

8. 8. An image forming apparatus comprising the feeding device according to claim 1.

Images