GB2177069A

GB2177069A - Feed unit for feeding paper or other record medium

Info

Publication number: GB2177069A
Application number: GB08613128A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tadashi Yasuoka
Original assignee: Seikosha KK
Current assignee: Seikosha KK
Priority date: 1985-06-05
Filing date: 1986-05-30
Publication date: 1987-01-14
Also published as: FR2582988A1; SG54789G; GB2177069B; DE3618908C2; FR2582988B1; HK29690A; DE3618908A1; JPS61282232A; GB8613128D0

Abstract

A feed unit (1) for feeding paper or other record medium to a record producing apparatus (2), has a hole (6) to receive an anchoring shaft (18) of the record producing apparatus and a rotatably mounted hook bolt (10) the bolt (10) being movable between a position in which the hook (11) extends transversely of the hole (6) so as to prevent withdrawal of the anchoring shaft (18) therefrom and position allowing such withdrawal and a release arm (12) which extends from the lock lever (10) and which has a manually engageable portion (13) to move the bolt (10) into its releasing position,the portion (13) being manually engageable from the exterior of the feed unit (1), through recesses (14) in the sides of cover (9). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Feed unitforfeeding paper or other record medium The present invention relates to a paper feed unit and, although the invention is not so restricted, it relates more particularly to a feed unit which is detachably mounted on a body of a record producing apparatus, such as a printer, copier, or facsimile system, the feed unit acting to feed sheets of paper or other record medium into the body of the said apparatus.

A paperfeed unit has been suggested which may be set, for example, on a printer and which is pro videdwith a lock leverto preventthe unit from being easily detached from the printer due to vibration or inclination, orforother cause. The lever hasadetent which engages a pole or shaft secured to the bodyof the printerto connect the paperfeed unitto thesaid body. A lock release button is disposed in a handle of the paperfeed unit. When the button is depressed, the detent ofthe lever is disengaged.

When, however, such a paper feed unit is detached from the body of the printer or is mounted on the body, it is necessary to operate the handle or recess of the unit manually so asto move the unit upwardly or downwardly while the lock release button is kept depressed. This makes it difficu It to mount or detach the paper feed unit. When the feed unit is withdrawn from the body ofthe printer, if the operator inadvertently fails to depress the lock release button, the unit cannot be detached from the body. In addition, the detent ortheengaged pole orshaft may be partiallydeformed or damaged.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a feed unit which may be easily mounted on and de tachedfrom the record producing apparatus without the need to push the lock release button.

According to the present invention, there is there foreprovidedafeedunitforfeeding paperorother record medium to a record producing apparatus, the feed unit having a hole adapted to receive an anchoring shaft ofthe record producing apparatus when the feed unit is mounted on the latter,thefeed unit also having a rotatably mounted lock lever provided with a detent, the lock lever being movable between an operative position in which the detent extends transversely ofthe hole so as to prevent withdrawal ofthe anchoring shaft therefrom when the feed unit is so mounted and an inoperative position in which such withdrawal may be effected, and a lock release arm which extends from the lock lever and which has a manually engageable portion which is engageable to move the lock lever into its inoperative position, the manually engageable portion being manuallyen- gageable from the exterior of the feed unit.

The hole preferably extends vertically and is open at its bottom to receive the said anchoring shaft, the manually engageable portion being spaced from a vertical line passing through the centre of rotation of the lock lever. Moreover, the lock release arm preferably extends substantially perpendicularly to the lock lever.

Preferably, at least one side ofthe feed unit is provided with a recess into which the fingers of an operatop may be inserted so as to operate the manually engageable portion. An opening is preferablyformed in the wall of the or each recess,themanuallyengage- able portion protruding into the or each recess through its opening.

The arrangement is preferably such th at when an operator raises the feed unit by inserting his fingers into the or each said recess, the manually engageable portion may be simultaneously raised so asto move the lock lever into its inoperative position.

Means are preferably provided for urging the lock lever towards its operative position.

The feed unit preferably has a groove into which may be inserted a second anchoring shaft of there cord producing apparatus.

The invention also comprises a record producing apparatus on which is detachably mounted a feed unit as set forth above.

The invention is illustrated, merely byway of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lisa right side elevation of a paper feed unit according to the present invention and a record producing apparatus, the feed unit being shown as having been detached from the body of the record producing apparatus; and Figure2 is a right side elevation of the feed unit and the record producing apparatus shown in Figure 1, thefeed unit being shown as having beensetonthe bodyofthe record producing apparatus.

Terms such as "left" and "right", "upper" and "lower", as used in the description below are to be understood to refer to directions as seen in the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a paper feed unit 1 that can be detachably mounted on a body 2 of a record producing apparatus, such as a printer. It isto be noted that only those portions of the unit 1 and the body 2 which are related to the present invention are described below.

As shown in Figure 1 ,the paperfeed unit 1 has a side plate 3 on the right hand side thereof. A support plate 5, which is secured to the side plate 3 with three screws 4, has an engagement hole 6that is open on its lower side. The plate 3 has a groove 3a and a cover 9 is mounted on and secured to the plate 3 by means of screws 7, 8. The support plate 5 is spaced a given distance from the side plate. Mounted between the side plate 3 and the support plate 5 is a lock lever 10 which is rockable about its centre of rotation on a screw 7, the latter being disposed atthe upper end of the lever 10. The lever 10 has a detent 11 at its lower end. The detent 11 can be disposed in a position in which it extends across the hole 6 as viewed from the side.

A lock release arm 12 extends substantially hori zontally from a portion (in this case, the centre of rotation) ofthe lever 10. The right hand end of the arm 12 is bent to form a hook portion 13. The cover 9 is provided with an angled handling recess 14thathasa depth and a length sufficientto allowfingertipsto be inserted into it. An opening orthrough hole 15 is formed inthewall ofthe recess 14, and thus in the side plate 3, and the hook portion 13 protrudes into the recess 14throughthe opening 15. The lever 10 is biased in a clockwise direction by a return spring (not shown). The clockwise rotation of the lever 10 is res tricted by a stopper (not shown) .The left hand side of the feed unit 1 has a configuration which isthesame as that ofthe right hand side as described above.

The body 2 ofthe record producing apparatus comprises a casing 16 in which a printer mechanism is housed. The mechanism has a frame 17 having anchoring shafts 18 and 19 which are adapted to enter into the hole 6 and the groove 3a, respectively, in the feed unit 1 so asto connectthefeed unit 1 to the body 2 of the record producing apparatus. When the paper feed unit 1 is mounted on the body 2 ofthe record producing apparatus in the position shown in Figure 2, the anchoring shaft 18 is located at and extends throughthe upperend ofthe hole6 and is locked therein bythe detent 11 which atthis time extends across the hole 6 so as to prevent removal ofthe anchoring shaft 18therefrom.When, however, the lever 10 is moved counter-clockwise as described below, the detent 11 is moved to a position in which it no longer extends across the hole 6, whereby the anchoring shaft 18 is no longer locked in the latter.

The body2 has a knob 20to enable the usertofeed paperorother record medium manually.

In orderto mountthe paperfeed unit 1 on the body 2 ofthe record producing apparatus orto detach the unit 1 from the body 2, the fingers of both hands are first inserted into the recesses 14 on the opposite sides of the unit 1. As a result, the fingertips necessarily come into contact with the hook portion 13ofthe lock release arm 12. Then, if the feed unit 1 is raised, a counter-clockwise rotating force acts on the release arm 12, shifting the lock lever 10 towards the rig htto an inoperative position illustrated by chain-dotted lines in Figure 1. This causes the detent 11 to be moved away from the position in which it extends across the hole 6. Then, if the feed unit 1 is raised or lowered while the fingers remain in contact with the recesses 14 and the hook portion 13, the feed unit 1 can be detached from, or mounted on,the body 2.

That is to say, the lock lever 10 is released simply by raising thefeed unit 1 in a normal fashion. When the fingers are withdrawn from the recesses 14, the lock lever 10 is returned to its operative or lock position, i.e. its leftward position, as shown in Figure 1, by the action ofthe return spring.

It is to be understood that many modifications and variations can be made bythoseskilled intheart within the scope ofthe present invention as defined bythe appended claims. For example, the shape of the lock release arm 12 orthe position at which the arm 1 2 is connected to the lock lever 10 may be varied at will. The requirement is that when a force that vertically pushes up the hook portion 13 acts on the hook portion 13 atthe end ofthe arm 12, a rotational moment occurs. Consequently, the position at which the arm 12 is connected to the lock lever 10 should be located offthe vertical line passing through the centre of rotation of the lock lever 1 0.

Itis also possible to mountthe lock lever 10 only on one side ofthe feed unit 1 . Since the anchoring shaft 19 of the body 2 ofthe record producing apparatus is received in the groove 3a of the feed unit only to ensurethatthefeed unit 1 may be mounted in a stable position,the casing 16 ofthe body 2 may be arranged tosupporta portion ofthefeed unit1. Further,the shaft 18 may extend horizontallyfrom an inner surface ofthe casing 16 or may be formed integrally with the casing 16.

In the paper feed unit described above, the unlocking operation can be automatically performed simply by raising the paperfeed unit in a normal manner.

Therefore, the feed unit can be mounted and detached quite easily and quickly. Further, since the paper feed unit of the present invention can be made up of a smaller number of components than priorart units, it is more economical and easierto assemble.

Claims

1. Afeed unitforfeeding paper or other record medium to a record producing apparatus, the feed unit having a holeadaptedto receive an anchoring shaft ofthe record producing apparatus when the feed unit is mounted on the latter, the feed unit also having a rotatably mounted lock lever provided with a detent, the lock lever being movable between an operative position in which the detent extends transversely ofthe hole so asto prevent withdrawal ofthe anchoring shaft therefrom when the feed unit is so mounted and an inoperative position in which such withdrawal may be effected, and a lock release arm which extends from the lock lever and which has a manually engageable portion which is engageableto move the lockleverinto its inoperative position,the manually engageable portion being manuallyen gageablefrom the exterior ofthefeed unit.

2. Afeed unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the hole extends vertically and is open at its bottomto receivethe said anchoring shaft,themanuallyen- gageable portion being spaced from a vertical line passing through the centre of rotation ofthe lock lever.

3. Afeed unit as claimed in claim 2 in which the lock release arm extends substantially perpendicular ly to the lock lever.

4. Afeed unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one side ofthefeed unit is provided with a recess into which the fingers of an operator may be inserted so as to operate the manually engageable portion.

5. Afeed unit as claimed in claim 4 in which an opening isformed inthewall oftheoreach recess, the manually engageable portion protruding into the or each recess through its opening.

6. Afeed unit as claimed in claim 2 or3 and in claim 4 or 5 in which the arrangement is such that when an operator raises the feed unit by inserting his fingers intothe or each said recess,themanually engageable portion may be simultaneously raised so as to move the lock lever into its inoperative position.

7. Afeed unit as claimed in any preceding claim comprising meansforurgingthelocklevertowards its operative position.

8. Afeed unit as claimed in any preceding claim in which the feed unit has a groove into which may be inserted a second anchoring shaft ofthe record producing apparatus.

9. Afeed unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

10. A record producing apparatus on which is detachably mounted a feed unit as claimed in any preceding claim.

11. A paperfeed unit detachably mounted to a body of a recording apparatus, said paperfeed unit comprising: a holewhich is open on its lower side and into which an anchoring shaft of the recording apparatus can be inserted; a lock lever rotatably sup ported tothe paperfeed unit and having adetent capable of closing the opening oftheholeasviewed from the side; a lock release arm extending from a portion ofthe lock lever and having a hook portion at its end, the hook portion being located offthe vertical line passing through the centre of rotation of the lock lever; and a handling recess into which fingers can be inserted to handle the paper feed unit, the recess being formed in at least one side surface of a cover of the paper feed unit, the hook portion being located with in the recess.

12. Any novel integer or step, or combination of integers or steps, hereinbefore described and/or shown in the accompanying drawings irrespective of whether the present claim is within the scope of, or relates to the same or a different invention from that of, the preceding claims.