The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 1997
Filed:
Sep. 04, 1996
Hiroyuki Kato, Nagoya, JP;
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Aichi-ken, JP;
Abstract
Sheet-supply device including a sheet support supporting a stack of cut sheets including an uppermost sheet; a rotatable sheet-supply roller having a rotational shaft and an outer peripheral surface around the rotational shaft, the peripheral surface including a sheet contact portion and a sheet non-contact portion alternately in confrontation with the uppermost sheet depending on the rotational phase of the sheet-supply roller, the sheet contact portion and the rotational shaft having a distance therebetween greater than a distance between the non-contact portion and the rotational shaft; drive unit capable of switching between a transmission condition for transmitting rotational force to the sheet-supply roller and a non-transmission condition for interrupting transmission of rotational force to the sheet-supply roller, the drive unit serially feeding cut sheets from the sheet support by switching to the transmission condition and rotating the sheet-supply roller with the sheet contact portion in contact with the uppermost cut sheet; and a bearing member abutting, when the drive unit is in the non-transmission condition, the uppermost cut sheet to support the sheet-supply roller oriented with the sheet non-contact portion in confrontation with the uppermost cut sheet.