阅读说明：本技术 供纸装置以及图像形成装置 (Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus ) 是由 周鹏 魏存露 于 2019-10-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及供纸装置以及图像形成装置,其中,供纸装置具有：送风部,其位于待搬送纸张侧面,对纸张送风,使纸张浮起；吸引部,其位于纸张上侧,对浮起的纸张施加吸引力；搬送部,其位于纸张上侧,吸引部将纸张吸引到搬送部后,所述搬送部沿预定搬送路径搬送纸张至供纸装置下游的搬送辊对；在纸张进入搬送辊对后,所述吸引部根据纸张信息改变吸引力。由此,能够通过改变吸引部对浮起的纸张施加吸引力,使得纸张进入搬送辊对之后,纸张与搬送部表面的摩擦力降低,从而降低纸张表面摩擦受损的风险。(The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus, wherein the paper feeding device comprises: an air supply part which is positioned on the side surface of the paper to be conveyed and supplies air to the paper to enable the paper to float; a suction unit which is positioned above the sheet and applies suction to the floating sheet; a conveying section that is located above the sheet, and conveys the sheet along a predetermined conveying path to a conveying roller pair downstream of the sheet feeding device after the sheet is attracted to the conveying section by the attraction section; after the sheet enters the conveying roller pair, the suction portion changes the suction force according to the sheet information. Thus, the suction force applied to the floating paper by the suction portion is changed, so that the friction between the paper and the surface of the conveying portion is reduced after the paper enters the conveying roller pair, thereby reducing the risk of friction damage to the surface of the paper.)

1. A sheet feeding device includes:

an air supply part which is positioned on the side surface of the paper to be conveyed and supplies air to the paper to enable the paper to float;

a suction unit which is positioned above the sheet and applies suction to the floating sheet;

a conveying section that is located above the sheet, and conveys the sheet along a predetermined conveying path to a conveying roller pair downstream of the sheet feeding device after the sheet is attracted to the conveying section by the attraction section; it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

after the sheet enters the conveying roller pair, the suction portion changes the suction force according to the sheet information.

2. The sheet feeding apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sheet information includes a sheet thickness or a sheet size.

3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the suction portion includes:

a fan;

an air port for attracting the paper toward the paper;

a wind power adjusting unit that can change an attractive force of the tuyere.

4. The sheet supplying apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3,

after the sheet enters the conveying roller pair, the conveying section stops conveying.

5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the conveying section stops conveying before a trailing end of the sheet enters the conveying section.

6. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the conveyance section stops conveyance when the trailing end of the sheet reaches a predetermined position.

7. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the suction portion further includes:

an air duct connecting the fan and the air inlet;

the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate, the shielding plate is positioned in the air duct, and the wind power of the air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

8. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the suction portion further includes:

an air duct connecting the fan and the air inlet;

the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate, the shielding plate is located on the air opening and used for shielding the air opening, and the wind power of the air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

9. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the suction portion further includes:

the air channel is connected with the fan and the air port, and an auxiliary air port is arranged on the side wall of the air channel;

the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate positioned on the auxiliary air opening, and the wind power of the auxiliary air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

10. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet feeding apparatus according to claims 1 to 9.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus having a suction unit capable of changing a suction force according to paper information.

Background

In a conventional paper feeding device, the paper feeding device includes an air blowing section, a suction section, and a conveying section. The air supply part is positioned on the side surface of the paper to be conveyed and is suitable for supplying air to the paper to enable the paper to float. The suction unit is positioned above the sheet and applies a suction force to the floating sheet. The conveying part is positioned above the paper, and after the paper is sucked to the conveying part by the suction part, the conveying part conveys the paper to a conveying roller pair downstream of the paper feeding device along a preset conveying path.

In the conventional paper feeding device, once the paper feeding device is started, the suction part applies a suction force to the floating paper to keep constant. In order to quickly attract the floating paper to the conveying section, the attraction force exerted on the paper by the attraction section is large. However, when the leading end of the sheet enters the pair of conveying rollers, the suction portion still applies a large suction force to the sheet, which is likely to cause a problem. For example: since the paper is attracted by a large attraction force, a large friction force exists between the paper and the surface of the conveying part during moving, so that the surface of the paper is easily abraded or wrinkled, and the paper feeding quality is affected.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the risk of frictional damage to the surface of a sheet by changing the suction force applied to the floating sheet by the suction portion so that the frictional force between the sheet and the surface of the conveying portion is reduced after the sheet enters the pair of conveying rollers.

The present invention provides a paper feeding device, comprising: an air supply part which is positioned on the side surface of the paper to be conveyed and supplies air to the paper to enable the paper to float; a suction unit which is positioned above the sheet and applies suction to the floating sheet; a conveying section that is located above the sheet, and conveys the sheet along a predetermined conveying path to a conveying roller pair downstream of the sheet feeding device after the sheet is attracted to the conveying section by the attraction section; after the sheet enters the conveying roller pair, the suction portion changes the suction force according to the sheet information.

As a result of intensive studies by the inventors of the present invention, it has been found that, after the leading end of the sheet enters the pair of conveying rollers, the sheet can be moved forward along the predetermined conveying path by the driving force applied to the sheet by the pair of conveying rollers. On the other hand, the attraction force applied to the sheet by the attraction section affects the frictional force between the sheet and the surface of the conveying section. When the attraction force exerted on the paper by the attraction part is large, the pressure value between the paper and the surface of the conveying part is large, so that the friction force between the paper and the surface of the conveying part is large; when the attraction force applied to the sheet by the attraction section is small, the pressure value between the sheet and the surface of the conveying section is small, resulting in a small frictional force between the sheet and the surface of the conveying section.

By changing the suction force of the suction unit according to the paper information after the paper enters the conveying roller pair as described above, the frictional force between the paper and the surface of the conveying unit can be reduced at a proper time without affecting the normal conveyance of the paper, and the risk of frictional damage to the surface of the paper can be reduced.

In addition, when the front end of the currently transported sheet enters the pair of transport rollers, the rear end of the currently transported sheet is exposed to the surface of the sheet located below the currently transported sheet. In this case, the suction unit changes the suction force according to the sheet information, and can prevent the sheet positioned under the currently transported sheet from being sucked up, thereby preventing the transport progress of the currently transported sheet from being disturbed.

In the above paper feeding device, the paper information may include a paper thickness or a paper size.

Therefore, after the front end of the paper enters the conveying roller pair, the suction part changes the suction force according to the thickness of the paper or the size of the paper, the current conveyed paper is ensured to be in a floating state, the changed suction force is not easy to suck the paper positioned at the lower layer of the current conveyed paper, and the damage or wrinkling of the surface of the current conveyed paper due to the influence of friction force can be effectively avoided.

In the above paper feeding device, the suction portion may include: a fan; an air port for attracting the paper toward the paper; a wind power adjusting unit that can change an attractive force of the tuyere.

Therefore, the fan is started to generate wind power, and the generated wind power is output through the air opening. The air opening outputs wind power, so that attraction force is exerted on the paper facing the air opening, and the paper is attracted to the conveying part. The air force adjusting unit can change the suction force of the air opening so as to reduce the friction force between the surface of the currently conveyed paper and the surface of the conveying part after the front end of the currently conveyed paper enters the conveying roller pair, thereby preventing the friction damage or wrinkling of the surface of the paper.

In the above paper feeding device, the conveyance of the sheet by the conveyance unit may be stopped after the sheet enters the pair of conveyance rollers.

Thereby, the currently transported paper sheet continues to move along the predetermined transport path by the driving force applied by the transport roller pair, the transport section stops transporting,

the paper conveying device has the advantages that the situation that paper positioned at the lower layer of the current conveying paper is conveyed by the conveying part after floating can be avoided, so that the normal conveying process of the current conveying paper is ensured, and the phenomenon that the paper feeding device stops due to the fact that a plurality of pieces of paper are conveyed simultaneously is prevented.

In the above paper feeding device, the conveyance section may stop conveyance before the trailing end of the paper sheet enters the conveyance section.

Therefore, when the front end of the currently conveyed paper enters the conveying part and the rear end of the currently conveyed paper does not enter the conveying part, the conveying part stops conveying to avoid the conveying part from conveying the paper positioned below the currently conveyed paper, and the normal operation of the paper feeding device is ensured.

In the above paper feeding device, the conveying section may stop the conveyance when the trailing end of the paper reaches a predetermined position.

Therefore, when the front end of the currently conveyed paper enters the conveying part and the rear end of the currently conveyed paper reaches a preset position, the conveying part stops conveying to prevent the paper at the lower layer of the currently conveyed paper from floating upwards and being conveyed by the conveying part, so that the paper is conveyed by the paper feeding device sequentially, and the flow of the paper conveying process is improved.

In the above-described reading apparatus, the suction unit may further include: an air duct connecting the fan and the air inlet; the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate, the shielding plate is positioned in the air duct, and the wind power of the air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

The shielding plate is located in the air duct, and therefore the circulation condition of the wind power in the air duct can be adjusted by rotating the shielding plate. When the surface of the shielding plate is parallel to the extending direction of the air duct, the obstruction of the wind power in the air duct is minimum, so that the wind power output by the air opening is maximum, namely the attraction force applied to the current paper carrying is maximum. Correspondingly, when the surface of the shielding plate is perpendicular to the extending direction of the air duct, the wind force in the air duct is blocked to the maximum, so that the wind force output by the air opening is the minimum, namely the attraction force applied to the currently conveyed paper is the minimum. After the paper enters the conveying roller pair, the attraction force applied to the paper can be changed by rotating the shielding plate, so that the friction force applied to the surface of the paper is reduced, and the friction damage to the surface of the paper is prevented.

In the above paper feeding device, the suction unit may further include: an air duct connecting the fan and the air inlet; the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate, the shielding plate is located on the air opening and used for shielding the air opening, and the wind power of the air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

The shielding plate is positioned on the air port, so that the size of the air port can be adjusted by utilizing the shielding plate, and the wind power output by the air port is further adjusted. When the shielding plate completely shields the air opening, the wind power conveyed by the air duct cannot be output from the air opening, so that the attraction force applied to the currently conveyed paper by the attraction part completely disappears. When the shielding plate completely opens the air opening, the wind power output by the air opening is maximum, namely the attraction force on the current paper to be conveyed is maximum. By adjusting the relative position of the shielding plate and the air opening, the attraction force on the paper can be changed, so that the friction force between the paper and the surface of the conveying part can be timely reduced.

In the above paper feeding device, the suction unit may further include: the air channel is connected with the fan and the air port, and an auxiliary air port is arranged on the side wall of the air channel; the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate positioned on the auxiliary air opening, and the wind power of the auxiliary air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

Therefore, the size of the auxiliary air opening can be adjusted by utilizing the shielding plate, and the size of the wind power output by the auxiliary air opening is further adjusted, so that the size of the attraction force borne by the currently conveyed paper is changed, and the purpose of reducing the friction force between the surface of the paper and the surface of the conveying part is achieved.

The paper feeding device of the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus, and can provide the above-described effects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the suction unit and the conveying unit shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of the suction portion shown in fig. 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alternatives thereof are possible in light of the above disclosure, and that the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described herein.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the reading apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sheet feeding apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, a sheet feeding device 100 has: an air blowing unit 110 which is located on a side surface of the sheet 101 to be conveyed and blows air to the sheet 101 to float the sheet 101; a suction unit 200 positioned above the sheet 101 and configured to apply a suction force to the floating sheet 101; a conveying unit 310 positioned above the sheet 101, wherein after the sheet 101 is attracted to the conveying unit 310 by the attraction unit 200, the conveying unit 310 conveys the sheet 101 along a predetermined conveying path to the conveying roller pair 300 downstream of the sheet feeding device 100; after the sheet 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the suction portion 200 changes the suction force according to the sheet 101 information.

In this embodiment, the paper feeding device 100 transports the paper 101 in an air feeding mode.

An arrow 201 in fig. 1 indicates the direction of the attraction force applied to the sheet 101 by the attraction section 200, the direction of the attraction force being vertically upward.

When the leading end of the current transport sheet 101 enters the transport roller pair 300, the transport roller pair 300 transports the current transport sheet 101, and if the suction force applied to the sheet 101 by the suction unit 200 is not changed, the load on the transport roller pair 300 increases. In particular, when the current conveyance paper 101 is a long paper, the load of the conveyance roller pair 300 increases more significantly.

When the rear end of the currently transported paper 101 enters the transport unit 310, if the transport unit 310 continues to rotate, the paper positioned below the currently transported paper 101 is easily taken up into the transport unit 310, and a jam occurs. Therefore, the conveyance section 310 stops conveyance before the rear end of the currently conveyed sheet 101 enters the conveyance section 310. When the conveyance unit 310 stops, the conveyance roller pair 300 conveys the current conveyance sheet 101, and a friction force is generated by a relative movement between the current conveyance sheet 101 and the conveyance unit 310.

When the conveyance unit 310 stops conveyance, the conveyance roller pair 300 conveys the sheet 101, and the attraction force applied to the sheet 101 by the suction unit 200 affects the frictional force between the sheet 101 and the surface of the conveyance unit 310. When the attraction force applied to the paper 101 by the attraction part 200 is large, the pressure value between the paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310 is large, so that the friction force between the paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310 is large; when the suction force applied to the sheet 101 by the suction unit 200 is small, the pressure value between the sheet 101 and the surface of the conveying unit 310 is small, and the friction between the sheet 101 and the surface of the conveying unit 310 is small. After the paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the suction part 200 changes the suction force according to the paper information, so that the friction force between the paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310 can be timely reduced without affecting the normal conveying of the paper 101, and the risk of the friction damage of the surface of the paper 101 is reduced.

When the leading end of the current transport sheet 101 enters the transport roller pair 300, the trailing end of the current transport sheet 101 is exposed to the sheet surface located below the current transport sheet 101. At this time, the suction unit 200 changes the suction force according to the information of the sheet 101, and can prevent the sheet positioned below the currently transported sheet 101 from being sucked up, thereby preventing the transportation progress of the currently transported sheet 101 from being disturbed.

The paper information includes a paper thickness or a paper size.

Therefore, after the front end of the paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the suction part 200 changes the suction force according to the thickness or the size of the paper 101, so that the current conveyed paper 101 is ensured to be in a floating state, the changed suction force is not easy to suck the paper 101 below the current conveyed paper 101, and the damage or the wrinkling of the surface of the current conveyed paper 101 due to the influence of friction force can be effectively avoided.

For example: when the thickness of the sheet 101 is thick and the size is large, the amount of change in the suction force applied to the sheet 101 by the suction unit 200 is a first amount before and after the sheet 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300; when the thickness of the paper 101 is small and the size is small, the amount of change in the suction force applied to the paper 101 by the suction unit 200 is a second amount before and after the paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, and the second amount is smaller than the first amount because the floating force required to float the thin and small paper 101 is small compared to the thick and large paper 101.

The paper feeding apparatus 100 further includes: a housing (not shown in the figures); a drawer 320, said drawer 320 being located within said housing, said drawer 320 being adapted to hold sheets to be carried, said sheets being placed in said drawer 320 in a stacked manner.

The housing has a top wall, a bottom wall, and a side wall between the top wall and the bottom wall. The top wall, the bottom wall and the side wall enclose a cavity.

The air blowing unit 110, the suction unit 200, and the conveying unit 310 are all located in the housing.

The air supply part 110 is disposed on a side wall of the housing, and the number of the air supply part 110 is one or more. The air blowing unit 110 blows air to the paper 101 to apply a vertically upward thrust to the paper 101, thereby floating the paper 101.

The number of the air supply part 110 is one or more. When the air supply part 110 is plural, the air supply part 110 is distributed on the side wall of the housing at intervals, and is disposed on the front side and the left and right sides of the paper 101.

Fig. 1 shows one of the air blowing units 110 located on the front side of the sheet 101 and the other air blowing unit 110 located on the left side of the sheet.

An arrow 111 in fig. 1 indicates the direction of the wind applied to the paper 101 by the wind blowing part 110, and the wind direction is parallel to the surface of the paper 101 or obliquely upward. Fig. 1 shows a situation that the wind direction of the air supply part 110 at the front side of the paper 101 is inclined upwards, and the wind direction has an angle with the surface of the paper 101, so that the paper 101 is acted by a vertical upwards force, and the paper 101 floats.

In the initial stage of starting the air supply part 110 positioned at the front side of the paper 101, the wind direction of the air supply part 110 is parallel to the surface of the paper 101. When the paper 101 is separated from the paper positioned under the paper 101, the wind direction of the air supply part 110 is changed to be obliquely upward, and air is blown between the two separated papers, so that the floating rate of the paper 101 is improved.

Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the suction unit 200 and the conveying unit 310 shown in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 2, the number of the conveying members 310 is one or more. Fig. 2 shows a case where the number of the conveying members 310 is four.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the conveying unit 310 includes a conveying gear 312 and a timing belt 311 disposed on the conveying gear 312. The paper 101 floats up to the timing belt 311 by the attraction force applied by the attraction section 200, and the conveyance gear 312 rotates to move the timing belt 311, thereby conveying the paper 101 along a predetermined conveyance path.

The suction part 200 is provided on the top wall of the housing, and the number of the suction parts 200 is one or more. The suction portion 200 applies a suction force in a vertically upward direction to the sheet 101, so that the sheet 101 continues to float upward until it comes into contact with the conveying portion 310.

The conveying roller pair 300 rotates to apply a driving force to the sheet 101 conveyed along a predetermined conveying path. The conveying roller pair 300 includes a drive roller and a driven roller, and the driven roller is driven to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the drive roller.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of the suction unit 200 shown in fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the suction unit 200 includes: a fan 210; an air opening 220 that attracts the sheet 101 toward the sheet 101; a wind force adjusting unit that can change the attraction force of the tuyere 220; and an air duct 230 connecting the fan 210 and the air outlet 220.

In this embodiment, the synchronous belt 311 of the conveying unit 310 is sleeved on the air duct 230, and the surface of the synchronous belt 311 is parallel to the surface of the paper 101. The air inlet 220 supplies air to the paper 101 through the space between the adjacent synchronous belts 311.

Thus, wind power can be generated by activating the fan 210, and the generated wind power is output through the tuyere 220. The air opening 220 outputs wind force, thereby applying an attraction force to the sheet 101 toward the air opening 220 to attract the sheet 101 to the conveyance part 310. The suction force of the air inlet 220 can be changed by the wind force adjusting unit to reduce the friction between the surface of the current paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310 after the front end of the current paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, thereby preventing the surface of the paper 101 from being damaged or wrinkled due to friction.

The number of the tuyere 220 is one or more. When the number of the air ports 220 is plural, the plural air ports 220 may be arranged at intervals along the conveying direction of the paper 101. The case where the number of the tuyere 220 is four is shown in fig. 3.

In this embodiment, the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate 240, the shielding plate 240 is located on the air inlet 220, the shielding plate 240 is used for shielding the air inlet 220, and the wind power of the air inlet 220 is changed by adjusting the shielding plate 240.

Therefore, the size of the tuyere 220 can be adjusted by using the shielding plate 240, and the size of the wind output from the tuyere 220 can be adjusted. When the shielding plate 240 completely shields the air opening 220, the wind force transmitted by the air duct 230 cannot be output from the air opening 220, and thus the suction force applied by the suction unit 200 to the currently carried paper 101 completely disappears. When the shielding plate 240 completely opens the air opening 220, the wind output from the air opening 220 is the largest, that is, the attraction force applied to the currently carried paper 101 is the largest. By adjusting the relative position of the shielding plate 240 and the air opening 220, the attraction force applied to the paper 101 can be changed, so as to reduce the friction force between the paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310 at the right moment.

In other embodiments, the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate, and the shielding plate is located in the wind channel 230, and the wind power of the wind inlet 220 is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

Accordingly, the flow of the wind in the wind path 230 can be adjusted by rotating the shielding plate 240. When the surface of the shielding plate 240 is parallel to the extending direction of the air duct 230, the wind resistance in the air duct 230 is the smallest, so that the wind force from the air opening 220 is the largest, that is, the attraction force applied to the currently carried paper 101 is the largest. Accordingly, when the surface of the shielding plate 240 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the air duct 230, the wind force in the air duct 230 is blocked most, and thus the wind force from the air opening 220 is minimum, that is, the attraction force applied to the currently carried paper 101 is minimum. After the paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the suction force applied to the paper 101 can be changed by adjusting the rotation angle of the shielding plate 240 relative to the air duct 230, so that the friction force applied to the surface of the paper 101 is reduced, and the friction damage of the surface of the paper 101 is prevented.

In another embodiment, the side wall of the air duct 230 is further provided with an auxiliary air port; the wind power adjusting unit is a shielding plate positioned on the auxiliary air opening, and the wind power of the auxiliary air opening is changed by adjusting the shielding plate.

Therefore, the shielding plate 240 can be used to adjust the size of the auxiliary air opening, and further adjust the wind power of the auxiliary air opening, so as to change the current attractive force applied to the paper 101 to be conveyed, and achieve the purpose of reducing the friction between the surface of the paper 101 and the surface of the conveying part 310.

The number of the auxiliary tuyeres is one or more. The air opening 220 is matched with the auxiliary air opening to apply attraction force to the paper 101 in the floating state.

Referring to fig. 1, after the sheet 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the conveying portion 310 stops conveying.

After the currently transported paper 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300, the conveying part 310 stops conveying, and the currently transported paper 101 continues to move along the preset conveying path by the driving force applied by the conveying roller pair 300, so that the paper 101 at the lower layer of the currently transported paper 101 can be prevented from being conveyed by the conveying part 310 after floating, the normal conveying process of the currently transported paper 101 is ensured, and the phenomenon that the paper feeding device 100 stops due to the fact that multiple sheets of paper are conveyed simultaneously is prevented.

The paper feeding apparatus 100 further includes: a first sensor 410, the first sensor 410 being adapted to detect whether the leading end of the sheet 101 enters the conveying roller pair 300.

In this embodiment, the first sensor 410 is disposed on the conveying path and is located between the conveying roller pair 300 and the conveying member 310. The first sensor 410 can accurately calculate the time when the leading end of the paper 101 reaches the conveying roller pair 300, thereby ensuring that the conveying member 310 is closed in time.

In this embodiment, the conveyance of the conveyance unit 310 is stopped before the rear end of the sheet 101 enters the conveyance unit 310.

Thus, when the front end of the currently transported paper 101 has entered the transport unit 310 and the rear end of the currently transported paper 101 has not entered the transport unit 310, the transport unit 310 stops transport to prevent the transport unit 310 from transporting the paper located below the currently transported paper 101, thereby ensuring normal operation of the paper feeding device 100.

In this embodiment, the paper feed device 100 further includes: a second sensor 420, the second sensor 420 being located at a rear end side of the conveying part 310, the second sensor 420 being adapted to detect whether a rear end of the sheet 101 enters the conveying part 310.

In another embodiment, the conveyance of the conveyance unit 310 may be stopped when the rear end of the sheet 101 reaches a predetermined position.

Wherein a third sensor is provided at the predetermined position, the third sensor being adapted to detect whether the rear end of the sheet 101 reaches the predetermined position.

Therefore, when the front end of the currently transported paper 101 enters the transporting unit 310 and the rear end of the currently transported paper 101 reaches a predetermined position, the transporting unit 310 stops transporting to prevent the paper below the currently transported paper 101 from floating up and being transported by the transporting unit 310, so that the paper is sequentially transported by the paper feeding device 100, and the flow of the paper transporting process is improved.

The present invention also provides an image forming apparatus including the above-described paper feeding apparatus 100.

The paper feeding device 100 can be applied to an image forming apparatus, and can provide the above-described effects.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.