Paper-pickup clutch of automatic paper-feeding device

Abstract

A paper-pickup clutch of an automatic paper-feeding device includes a clamping member and a clamping-force adjusting member and can be applied to image processors such as printers, copiers or scanners. The automatic paper-feeding device includes a shaft and a paper-pickup mechanism transmitted to picking up paper by the shaft. The paper-pickup clutch provides a bi-directional clutch function by moving the clamping member toward or away from the paper-pickup mechanism with the clamping-force adjusting member in order to adjust the clamping force of the clamping member working on the paper-pickup mechanism to a certain level. With the certain level of clamping force, the paper-pickup mechanism sustains against paper to be fed and self-rotates with the rotation of the shaft in a first direction for feeding paper and rotates with the shaft in a second direction for releasing paper without further changing the state of the paper-pickup clutch.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.