Sheet feeding or delivering – Feeding – With means to interrupt feeding
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-02
2004-03-16
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Feeding
With means to interrupt feeding
C271S263000, C271S265040
Reexamination Certificate
active
06705609
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing the feeding of individual sheets of paper, and more particularly, to an apparatus for sensing the feeding of individual sheets of paper in which the feeding of two or more overlapping sheets can be detected in a sheet feeding apparatus for continuously transferring sheets of paper one by one along a predetermined paper traveling path
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, such a sheet feeding apparatus can be adapted for use in combination with, for example, a printing machine in a printing house, an automatic teller machine (ATM) in a bank, and the like. The sheet feeding apparatus is equipped with a driving roller and a driven roller which contact each other, and has a sheet feeding scheme in which a sheet of paper is fed between the driving roller and the driven roller such that they are compressed against the sheet of paper
For example, in the case of a printing machine in a printing house, individual sheets of paper to be printed are transferred from section to section so that different processes are performed in sequences and if the individual sheets of paper are not correctly supplied, there may be a paper jam or printing may be adversely affected. In addition, in the case of an automatic teller machine (ATM), the number of bills of cash and bank notes dispensed by the ATM must be accurately checked.
When a sheet feeding apparatus for transferring individual sheets of paper does not supply sheets of paper one by one but rather feeds two or more sheets of paper at a time, an error occurs in the sheet feeding apparatus during its feeding operation and this can lead to further problems as well. Thus, it is required to always check the thickness of a sheet of paper fed between two corresponding rollers pressed against the sheet of paper.
FIG. 1
is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating the construction of a typical sheet feeding apparatus given as an example to explain a conventional individual paper feed sensing apparatus.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the sheet feeding apparatus is provided with a plurality of pairs of driving roller
12
and a driven roller
14
which are supported on a frame
10
The outer surfaces of the driving roller
12
and the driven roller
14
in each pair are in contact with each other to discharge to the outside a sheet of paper P fed therebetween along a predetermined paper traveling path. The driving rollers
12
are mechanically coupled to each other through a power transfer means such as gears, belts or the like, and rotate by means of a separate drive motor (not shown) to feed a sheet of paper along the predetermined paper traveling path such that the driving rollers
12
and the driven rollers
14
are compressed against the sheet of paper.
In the meantime, the sheet feeding apparatus as constructed above includes a paper feed sensing apparatus for detecting the thickness of a sheet of paper being fed. The paper feed sensing apparatus functions to check a space between the driving rollers
12
and the driven rollers
14
which are in contact with each other. There are also diverse kinds of paper feed sensing apparatuses, but almost all paper feed sensing apparatuses employ a paper feed sensing mechanism in which they detect a physical variation in the space between the driving rollers
12
and the driven rollers
14
and then output the detected result to the outside through an electronic sensor
18
.
For this purpose, a driving roller
12
and a driven roller
14
coupled to the sensor
18
are replaced by a metal driving roller
20
and a support bearing
22
, respectively, which have been machined very precisely. The outer surface of the metal driving roller
20
is treated very precisely and its concentricity is very precise. The support bearing
22
serves as a driven roller whose outer surface is in contact with that of metal driving roller
20
. Of course, the support bearing
22
is manufactured such that its outer surface is also treated very precisely to have more precise concentricity.
The metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
, machined precisely as mentioned above, are coupled to the sensor
18
. Accordingly, when there is a variation in the thickness of a sheet of paper passing between the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
, the distance between the center axes of rotational motion of the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
are also changed, which is detected by the sensor
18
.
However, in the case of such a conventional paper feed sensing apparatus, when the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
are not manufactured with sufficient precision, the apparatus does not operate reliably. Generally, a sheet of paper has a thickness of 0.1 mm or less. Thus, if either the metal driving roller
20
or the support bearing
22
is slightly eccentric or its outer surface is slightly non-uniform, the thickness of a sheet of paper being fed cannot be detected correctly.
For example, when a sheet of paper having a thickness of 0.1 mm passes between the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
in a state in which external foreign matter is adhered to the outer surface of either the metal driving roller
20
or the support bearing
22
, the sensor
18
detects the total thickness obtained by adding the thickness of the sheet and that of the foreign matter. At this time, if the thickness of the foreign matter is 0.1 mm, the sensor
18
will recognize one sheet of paper as two sheets of paper.
Moreover, the sensor
18
measures the distance between the rotational center axes of the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
to detect a variation in the distance. Accordingly, if foreign matter adhered to the outer surface of either the metal driving roller
20
or the support bearing
22
has an irregular thickness or pattern, there occurs a variation in the distance between the rotational center axes of the metal driving roller
20
and the support bearing
22
, which may make it impossible to measure the distance between the rotational center axes thereof. Further, when the support bearing is constructed as a ball having a number of balls fit into a space between the rotational center axis and the outer surface of a wheel portion, the space between the rotational center axis and the outer surface of the wheel portion is not constant on a microscopic level.
As a result, for the above-mentioned conventional paper feed sensing apparatus, there is the problem in that it must employ a high-priced metal driving roller
20
and support bearing
22
whose outer surface is machined very precisely and whose concentricity is very precise, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost. In addition, there is a limitation of measurement in that when foreign matter is adhered to the outer surface of either the metal driving roller
20
or the support bearing
22
, measurement is inaccurate. There arises a further problem in that a separate device for preventing the adhesion of foreign matter is required, thereby increasing both the complexity of the paper feed sensing apparatus and the frequency of malfunction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above-described problems, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for sensing the feeding of individual sheets of paper adapted for use with a sheet feeding apparatus, which can simplify the structure of the sheet feeding apparatus, reduce the frequency of malfunction, and enable the feeding of two or more overlapping sheets of paper between driving rollers and driven rollers to always be detected correctly and reliably irrespective of presence of foreign matter on the rollers and without using expensive rollers, bearings or the like as a means for sensing the thickness of a sheet of paper being fed.
To accomplish the primary object of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for sensing the feeding of individual sheets of paper which is adapted fo
FL Technology Inc
Joerger Kaitlin
Walsh Donald P.
LandOfFree
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