JPH08104449A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To stabilize a paper feeding action without increasing the length of the second paper tray which is mounted onto a manual paper feed port and also used for a cover. CONSTITUTION: The base end of the second paper tray 6 for placing the rear side of paper P is pivoted so as to rotate vertically at a position of the second pivot shaft 8 to a main body, and the rear part sliding shaft 12 of the first paper tray 5 for placing the front end side of the paper P is slidably-supported on the longitudinal guide groove 9 in the second paper tray 6. A link 7 where the base end is pivoted so as to rotate vertically at a position of the first pivot shaft 10 and the front end side of the first paper tray 5 are connected to each other through a connecting pin 11 to regulate the vertical rotation of the link 7 by a cam 17 and energize the front end side of the first paper tray 5 by an energizing spring 16 so as to connect and disconnect it to/from a paper feed roller 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of a sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser printer, a facsimile, and more particularly, a cut sheet (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) which is a recording medium. The present invention relates to the structure of a paper feeding device for manually feeding paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-2189, a main body of a copying machine is manually fed from the side thereof to a paper feeding section of the copying machine. The base end of the paper loading table is vertically rotatable with respect to the paper loading table, and when the paper loading table is not used, the paper loading table can be folded almost parallel to the side surface of the main body (vertical shape). It has been known.

In the above-mentioned prior art, in order to maintain the angle formed by the upper surface of the sheet mounting table and the horizontal plane at a predetermined value during use, it is necessary to provide a stopper mechanism between the base end of the sheet mounting table and the main body. If the stopper mechanism is made strong so as to withstand the weight when the paper P is loaded, there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated or bulky. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the main body 10
The base end of the pressing plate 102 for pressing the front end of the paper P by the spring 102a toward the lower surface of the paper feed roller 101 of the paper feed unit disposed in the main body 10 at the position of the first pivot shaft 103.
The second pivot shaft 1 at the base end of the rear mounting table 104 which also serves as a lid for supporting the end side of the paper P while being rotatably mounted with respect to 0.
Reference numeral 05 denotes a main body 100 below the first pivot shaft 103.
The rear end pin 107 of the intermediate mounting table 106, which is mounted on the first pivotally supporting shaft 103 and is rotatably attached to the first pivot shaft 103, is inserted into the guide groove 108 on the free end side (rear end side) of the rear mounting table 104. It is configured so that it can be slidably inserted, and the angle θ1 formed between the intermediate mounting table 106 and the main body side surface 100a during use is kept in a state of being regulated to a predetermined value within 90 degrees with respect to the main body side surface 100a Was proposed.

[0004]

However, according to this configuration, in order to maintain the inclination angle of the intermediate mounting table 106 with respect to the horizontal plane to be small, the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and FIG. 7 (b), the position of the second pivot at the base end of the rear mounting table 104 is appropriately higher than that of the first pivot 103.
In this configuration, when the rear mounting table 104 is rotated upward so as to close the opening 109 on the side surface of the main body 100 when not in use, the intermediate mounting table 104 is set to the first position. Since the rear end pin 107 moves upward toward the free end side of the rear mounting table 104 along the guide groove 108 of the rear mounting table 104, the rear end pin 107 rotates upward around the pivot shaft 105. The length dimension of can not be shortened. Therefore, there is a problem that the vertical size of the paper feed port becomes large.

Further, in order to reduce the degree of bending of the sheet P placed on the rear mounting table 104 from the pressing plate 102, if the length of the intermediate mounting table 106 is increased, the length of the rear mounting table 104 is increased. The length of the rear mounting table 104 should be set longer than that, and the length of the rear mounting table 104 in the paper feeding direction of the paper P when using the manual feeding is not too long. There was a problem that it was not possible to make it compact without protruding it to the outside.

Further, in the above configuration, when the paper feed roller 101 is rotated, the paper P on the pressing plate 102 is rubbed and separated by the circumferential friction surface thereof, so that the paper stacked on the pressing plate 102 is separated. In order to sufficiently achieve the friction separating action regardless of the height dimension of P, the horizontal distance L1 from the first pivot shaft 103 at the base end of the pressing plate 102 to the shaft center 101a of the sheet feeding roller 101.
Is preferably large. In other words, the pressing plate 10
It is preferable to reduce the vertical swing angle of 2.

However, in the above configuration, since the intermediate mounting table 106 does not have a function of pressing the sheet against the sheet feeding roller 101, the size of the pressing plate 102 (horizontal distance L1) and
The shaft center 101a of the paper feed roller 101 from the first pivot 103
There is a problem in that the effect of the paper feeding action by the friction separation is determined by the vertical distance H2 up to. The present invention has been made to solve these problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device that is compact and can sufficiently achieve the effect of the paper feeding action.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an apparatus for feeding a cut sheet to a sheet feeding portion of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, the tip of the cut sheet. A first mounting table for mounting a rear side of the cut sheet, a second mounting table for mounting a rear side of the cut sheet and slidably supporting a rear part of the first mounting table, and a tip of the first mounting table. A link that rotatably supports the side, the base end of the link is pivotally attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be vertically rotatable, and the leading end side of the first mounting table with respect to the sheet feeding roller of the sheet feeding unit. The second mounting table is pivotally mounted so as to be vertically rotatable at a position lower than the base end of the link while being configured so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from each other and to be biased.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the first aspect, the link is configured so as to move in the distance from the sheet feeding roller according to the sheet feeding operation. The invention described in claim 3 is claim 1 or claim 2.
In the paper feeding apparatus described above, the second mounting table is provided with a guide groove for slidably guiding a connecting pin provided at a rear portion of the first mounting table, and an auxiliary member for supporting a rear end of the cut sheet. A plate is slidably provided.

[0010]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a side view of the printer, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the paper feeding device. Inside the manual paper feed port 2 opened on one side plate 1a of the main body 1 of the printer, a paper feed roller 3 having a substantially D-shaped side cross section that rotates intermittently via a transmission gear mechanism 15 will be described later, and a paper P. And a guide plate 4 for guiding the front end and the lower surface of the
A first placing table 5 as a placing table on which the front end side of the sheet P is placed, and a first placing table 5 on which the rear side of the sheet P is placed
A second mounting table 6 for slidably supporting the rear part of the rear part;
A link 7 for rotatably supporting the tip side of the mounting table 5 is arranged.

Each of the first mounting table 5 and the second mounting table 6 is an injection molded product made of synthetic resin, and is formed of a flat plate portion and guide plate portions on both left and right sides thereof, and has an upwardly U-shaped cross section. The second mounting table 6 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable upward about a second pivot shaft 8 with respect to the main body 1 on the lower side of the manual sheet feeding port 2, and extends along the sheet feeding direction of the second mounting table 6. The length in the direction is substantially equal to the vertical dimension of the manual paper feed port 2, and is configured so that the manual paper feed port 2 can be covered when the second mounting table 6 is erected parallel to the one side plate 1a. . Long guide grooves 9, 9 (only one of which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) are formed in the guide plate portions on the left and right sides of the second mounting table 6 along the sheet feeding direction.

The link 7 is arranged outside the side portion of the second mounting table 6, and the base end of the link 7 is centered on the first pivot shaft 10 with respect to the main body 1 located above the second pivot shaft. It is rotatably supported in the vertical direction, and rotatably connects the tip end of the first mounting table 5 and the tip end of the link 7 via a connecting pin 11. The sliding shafts 12, 12 (only one of which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) projecting outward are provided on the left and right sides of the rear end side of the first mounting table 5 in the guide grooves on the left and right sides of the second mounting table 6. 9 and 9 are slidably fitted. Further, on the upper surface of the flat plate 6a of the second mounting table 6, it is movable along the sheet feeding direction,
An auxiliary plate 13 that can slip into the lower surface of the flat plate 5a of the first mounting table 5 is mounted, and the rear side of the paper P is mounted on the upper surface of the auxiliary plate 13 and is attached to the flat plate 5a of the first mounting table 5. The sheet P is placed so as to bridge it. The upper surface of the tip of the first mounting table 5 is arranged so as to face the lower surface of the paper feed roller 3.

The link 7 is constructed so as to intermittently rotate up and down according to the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 3 in the sheet feeding operation. The sheet feeding roller 3 has a contact portion having a circumferential surface that comes into contact with the surface of the sheets P stacked on the mounting table 5, and a non-contact portion that does not come into contact with the sheet. When the paper feed roller 3 is stopped by the conveyance of the sheet to face the surface of the paper P, the paper feed roller 3 makes one rotation in accordance with the paper feed command, and then stops. Further, in synchronization with the intermittent rotation of the paper feed roller 3, the front end side of the first mounting table 5 is moved toward and away from the paper feed roller 3.

As one example thereof, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the link 7 is biased upward by the biasing spring 16 so that the front end side of the first mounting table 5 is brought closer to the sheet feeding roller 3, while the regulating plate portion 7a of the link 7 is A cam 17 that abuts against the upper surface and restricts the link 7 downward (in a direction away from the paper feed roller 3) against the force of the biasing spring 16.
And a cam shaft 18 that rotates integrally with the cam 17.
The transmission gear 19 attached to the above is meshed with the driven gear 21 that rotates integrally with the support shaft 20 to which the paper feed roller 3 is fixed. A rotating body 22 having an engagement step portion 22a on one side of the circumference is fixed to the support shaft 20, and an engagement claw piece 24 operated by an actuator 23 such as an electromagnetic solenoid engages with the engagement step portion 22a. Then, the paper feed roller 3 is stopped, and the cam 17 holds the link 7 in the downward posture.

A drive gear 26 rotated by a drive motor 25 is meshed with a toothless gear 27 that rotates integrally with a support shaft 20 to which the paper feed roller 3 is fixed, so that the paper feed roller 3 has the above-described posture. It is set so that the tooth-missing portion (not shown) of the tooth-missing gear 27 faces the drive gear 26 when stopped. With this configuration, when the second mounting table 6 is rotated downward around the second pivot 8 as shown in FIG. 2 during the manual paper feeding operation, the first mounting table 5 slides. The shaft 12 is restricted at the position where it abuts on the front end of the guide groove 9, and the first mounting table 5 and the second mounting table 5
The tilted posture of the mounting table 6 is maintained. Then, the auxiliary plate 13
Is pulled out from the second mounting table 6 and the paper P is mounted on the upper surface of the second mounting table 6 and the upper surface of the flat plate 5a of the first mounting table 5.

Next, the sheet feeding operation by the sheet feeding device having the above-mentioned structure will be described. In the initial state (sheet feeding standby state),
The actuator 23 such as an electromagnetic solenoid is in an OFF state, the engaging claw piece 24 is engaged with the engaging stepped portion 22a of the rotating body 22, and the non-contact portion of the sheet feeding roller 3 is the first.
It faces the surface of the paper P on the mounting table 5 and is stopped (see FIG. 5). Further, in this state, the toothless portion of the toothless gear 27 faces the drive gear 26.

Next, when the power of the printer is turned on, the drive motor 25 operates and the drive gear 26 is constantly rotating. In this state, the force of the urging spring 16 urges the cam 17 to rotate upward via the regulating plate portion 7a of the link 7, and this force urges the transmission gear 19 in the direction of rotating in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Therefore, the tooth-chipped gear 26 is biased via the driven gear 21 so as to rotate in the arrow A direction. However, since the tooth-chipped portion of the tooth-chipped gear 27 is stopped as described above with the tooth-chipped portion facing the drive gear 26, the tooth-chipped gear 27 does not rotate.

When a print command is input to the printer and a paper feed command is issued from a control board (not shown), the actuator 23 is temporarily turned on and the engaging claw piece 24 is disengaged from the engaging step 22a. Since the tooth portion of the toothless gear 26 to which the initial rotational force is applied in the direction of arrow A by the biasing spring 16 meshes with the drive gear 26 to rotate, the sheet feeding roller 3 that rotates integrally with the support shaft 20. Rotates once in the direction of arrow A in FIG. In synchronization with this, the transmission gear 1 via the driven gear 21.
9 and the cam 17 are rotated in the direction of arrow B (see FIG. 2).

Further, since the link 7 is urged upward by the force of the urging spring 16, the link 7 is urged by the first pivot shaft 10.
Rotate upwards around. This link 7 and the first mounting table 5
Since the first mounting table 5 is connected to the tip of the first mounting table 5 via the connecting pin 11, the first mounting table 5 rotates upward about the sliding shaft 12 at the rear end, and The surface of the sheet P contacts the contact portion of the rotating sheet feeding roller 3, and only one sheet P is conveyed in the direction of the guide plate 4.

The engaging claw piece 24, which is in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the rotating body 22 when the actuator 23 is in the OFF state, engages with the engaging step portion 22a by one rotation of the sheet feeding roller 3 and stops the rotation. Therefore, the non-contact portion of the sheet feeding roller 3 faces the surface of the sheet P on the first mounting table 5, and the cam 17 stops in a state of pressing the link 7 downward. In this case, the distance from the first pivot shaft 10 of the link 7 to the connecting pin 11 is short, and therefore the link 7 interlocked with the rotation of the cam 17 is connected.
Even if the vertical swing angle of the first mounting table 5 is large, the sliding shaft 12, which is the center of rotation of the first mounting table 5, is located far away from the outer side of the main body 1. Can be made longer and the vertical rocking angle of the first mounting table 5 can be made smaller, so that the contact of the paper feed roller 3 can be achieved regardless of the height dimension of the paper P stacked on the first mounting table 5. It is possible to achieve a reliable and stable paper feeding action without causing variations in the friction separating action of the parts.

Next, in the state where the manual feeding work is not performed, as shown in FIG.
And, as shown in FIG. 4, after pushing the auxiliary plate 13 along the flat plate 6a of the second mounting table 6, the second mounting table 6 is rotated upward about the location of the second pivot shaft 8. , The slide shaft 12 at the rear end of the first mounting table 5 moves along the guide groove 9 in the second mounting table 6, and the first mounting table 5 is set upside down so that its rear end is in the upper position. Be folded. At this time, the tip side of the first mounting table 5 is connected to the link 7 via the connecting pin 11, and the link 7 is connected to the first pivot shaft 1
Since the first mounting table 5 can be rotated around 0, the tip side of the first mounting table 5 presses the link 7 in the direction of rotating downward against the force of the biasing spring 16.

Therefore, the length of the second mounting table 6 and the guide groove 9
The length dimension of the first mounting table 5 can be determined irrespective of the length of the first mounting table 5, and the inclination angle of the first mounting table 5 with respect to the horizontal plane can be reduced. The bending of the sheet P placed over the upper surface of the sheet 5 is also reduced. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b),
At the time of manual insertion work, the posture is regulated by the cam 17 similar to that in the above-mentioned embodiment and the biasing spring 30 biases upward so that the first mounting table 5 and the link 7 are held substantially horizontally. Also in this embodiment, when the second mounting table 6 is rotated upward about the second pivot 8 as a center,
The slide shaft 12 at the rear end of the first mounting table 5 moves along the guide groove 9 in the second mounting table 6, and the first mounting table 5 is folded up so that its rear end is in the up position. Be done. At this time, when the sliding shaft 12 comes into contact with the rear end of the guide groove 9 and is regulated, the front end side of the first mounting table 5 is connected to the link 7 via the connecting pin 11, and the link 7 is also connected.
Is rotatable about the first pivot shaft 10, so that the tip end side of the first mounting table 5 pushes the link 7 in the direction of rotating downward against the force of the biasing spring 30. In this case, when the length of the first mounting table 5 is set to be long, the first mounting table 5 and the link 7 can be folded until they become substantially parallel to the second mounting table 6 which is vertically stood. Become.

In any of the above-mentioned embodiments, the length of the first mounting table 5 can be set long without increasing the length of the second mounting table 6 which also serves as the lid for closing the manual feed port 2. It can be done. The biasing springs 16 and 30 may be mounted so as to bias the front end side of the first mounting table 5 toward the paper feed roller 3 side.

[0024]

As described above, claim 1
The invention described above is an apparatus for feeding cut sheets to a sheet feeding unit of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, and a first placing table for placing a front end side of the cut sheets and a rear side of the cut sheets. A second mounting table which is mounted and slidably supports the rear portion of the first mounting table, and a link which rotatably supports the tip end side of the first mounting table, and the base end of the link is provided. , The image forming apparatus main body is pivotally attached to the main body so as to be vertically rotatable, and the tip end side of the first mounting table is configured so as to be capable of coming into contact with and separating from the sheet feeding roller of the sheet feeding section and urging the second sheet. The base end of the mounting table is rotatably pivoted vertically below the base end of the link.

Therefore, the rear end of the first mounting table is slidably supported with respect to the second mounting table, while the tip of the first mounting table is rotatably connected to the tip of the rotatable link. Therefore, the length of the first mounting table can be set longer without increasing the length of the second mounting table. As a result, it is possible to prevent the second mounting table from protruding long from the main body during the manual paper feeding operation. There is an effect that it can be prevented and the paper feeding device can be made compact.

During the manual paper feeding operation, when the second mounting table is rotated downward so as to be pulled out from the main body, if the first mounting table is regulated at a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the sheet feeding roller, The tilt angle of the mounting table is also regulated. At this time, even if the length of the link is short, since the rear part of the first mounting table serves as the center of rotation in a state where the rear part of the first mounting table is supported by the second mounting table, the center of rotation is located far away from the main body. And therefore the first
Since the length of the mounting table in the sheet feeding direction can be increased and the vertical swing angle of the first mounting table can be reduced, the sheet feeding can be performed regardless of the height dimension of the cut sheets stacked on the first mounting table. The effect of being able to achieve a reliable and stable paper feeding operation without causing variations in the friction separation effect of the rollers.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the first aspect, the link is configured to move in the distance from and to the sheet feeding roller according to a sheet feeding operation. The distal end side of the first mounting table is rotated relative to the sheet feeding roller through the rotating operation of the first mounting table, and the rear portion of the first mounting table is supported by the second mounting table even if the link length is short. Since the rotation center becomes the rotation center in the opened state, the rotation center is located far away from the outside of the main body. Therefore, the length of the first mounting table in the sheet feeding direction is increased and the first mounting table is also increased. Since the vertical swinging angle of the sheet can be made small, regardless of the height dimension of the cut sheets stacked on the first mounting table, the friction separating action of the sheet feeding roller does not vary, and reliable and stable sheet feeding is possible. The effect is that the action can be achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the first or second aspect, a connecting pin provided at a rear portion of the first mounting table is slidably mounted on the second mounting table. While a guide groove for guiding is provided, an auxiliary plate for supporting the rear end of the cut sheet is provided slidably,
As the second mounting table is rotated up and down, the first mounting table is also automatically rotated up and down, and the rotating operation of the mounting table associated with the manual paper feeding operation can be performed with one touch. Further, since the auxiliary plate is slidably provided on the second mounting table, the arrangement position of the auxiliary plate may be set according to the length of the cut sheet, and the length of the second mounting table itself can be increased. Instead, the cut paper can be placed stably according to the length of the cut paper,
This has the effect of providing a compact paper feeding device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a printer showing a paper feed section in a broken section.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the paper feeding device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a paper feeding device.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a state in which a first mounting table and a second mounting table are folded.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a drive mechanism of a paper feed roller.

FIG. 6A is a second embodiment of the sheet feeding device,
The side view of the state which expanded the mounting body and the 2nd mounting base is shown,
(B) shows the side view of the state which folded the 1st mounting body and the 2nd mounting base.

FIG. 7A is a side view showing a state in which the mounting table of the conventional sheet feeding device is expanded, and FIG. 7B is a side view in which the mounting table is folded.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body 2 Manual Paper Feed Port 3 Paper Feeding Roller 5 1st Placement Table 6 2nd Placement Table 7 Link 8 Second Pivot Shaft 9 Guide Groove 10 First Pivot Shaft 11 Connecting Pin 12 Sliding Shaft 16, 30 Energizing Spring 17 cam

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for feeding cut sheets to a sheet feeding section of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, wherein a first placing table for placing a front end side of the cut sheets and a rear side of the cut sheets are provided. A second mounting table which is mounted and slidably supports the rear portion of the first mounting table, and a link which rotatably supports the tip end side of the first mounting table, and the base end of the link is provided. The first mounting table is pivotally attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be vertically rotatable, and the front end side of the first mounting table is configured so as to be capable of coming into contact with and separating from the sheet feeding roller of the sheet feeding section and urging the second sheet mounting unit. A sheet feeding device, wherein a base end of a table is pivotally attached at a position below the base end of the link so as to be vertically rotatable. 2. The paper feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link is configured to move in a distance or a distance with respect to the paper feeding roller according to a paper feeding operation. 3. The second mounting table is provided with a guide groove for slidably guiding a connecting pin provided at a rear portion of the first mounting table, and an auxiliary plate for supporting a rear end of the cut sheet. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sheet feeding device is provided slidably.