JP2000025960A - Paper feed tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feed tray that is adaptable to paper sheets of different sizes stacked thereon, is rigid, is simple in construction and is small in size and cost. SOLUTION: A paper feed tray 3 has, in its recession 5 in which paper sheets are stacked up, three end fences 6a to 6c projectingly spaced in line for stopping the trailing end of paper sheets, and three pairs of side fences 7a to 7c, 8a to 8c projectingly spaced in line for stopping the respective sides of paper sheets. The root of all these fences 6a to 6c, 7a to 7c and 8a to 8c is easily cuttable by hand or with cutters, so that unnecessary fences are easily removed in dependence on a selected paper sheet size.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed tray,
In particular, the present invention relates to a sheet feeding tray which is convenient to be used in a sheet feeding apparatus having a plurality of sheet feeding trays capable of stacking sheets of a plurality of sizes so that sheets of various sizes can be fed such as a sheet feeding apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional paper feed tray of this type, side fences and end fences are formed separately from the tray body, and the position thereof can be changed by attaching and detaching with screws, that is, the size of the stackable paper can be changed. There are a type and a type in which the same function can be exerted by continuously sliding on the tray body.

[0003]

However, many image forming apparatuses such as copying machines in recent years are provided with a plurality of paper feed trays. Therefore, if the size of paper to be stacked is set at the beginning of use, it is changed after that. There is a fact that there is little to do. On the other hand, if the side fences and end fences can be changed in position from the smallest paper size to the largest paper size as described above, when the loaded paper is small, it will be adjusted to the maximum size. Not only does the set mechanism become useless, but also the number of components for the mechanism for sliding the fence and the mechanism for screwing is increased, and the time required for assembling these mechanisms is increased, thereby increasing costs. There is a problem.
In addition, there is a problem that the weight increases as the size increases due to the mechanism described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is not only capable of accommodating a plurality of sizes of papers, but also has a high strength and is structurally simple.
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed tray that can be reduced in cost.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding tray for achieving the above object.
In a paper feed tray capable of loading paper of multiple sizes,
An end fence for holding a rear end portion of the stacked sheets in the sheet feeding direction is formed integrally with the tray main body for each sheet size so that a plurality of end fences can be cut off in a protruding manner.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of side fences for holding the side edges of the sheets to be stacked are formed integrally with the tray main body for each sheet size so as to be cut off in a protruding manner. And

[0007] According to a third aspect of the present invention, the distance between the walls of the concave portion of the tray main body for stacking the paper is adjusted to the maximum size of the paper to be stacked.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a paper size display is provided on the upper surface of the end fence or the side fence.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the upper part of the end fence or the side fence on the side of guiding the sheet is formed as a curved surface or a slope.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a multi-stage paper feeder suitable for using a paper feed tray according to the present invention, and FIG. This shows a state where the apparatus main body 2 is installed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment of the sheet feeding tray according to the present invention, and shows a state in which the size of sheets to be stacked has not been set.

In the illustrated paper feeder 1, a paper feed tray 3 has four paper feed trays.
In order to form an image in the image forming apparatus main body 2, the paper loaded in any of the paper feed trays 3 is fed by the paper feed roller 4 in order from the top one. It has become.

The paper feed tray 3 of the present embodiment has end fences 6a to 6c inside the concave portion 5 for stacking sheets, which hold down the rear end of the stacked sheets and prevent the sheets from shifting backward. Side fences 7a to 7c and 8a to 8c are also provided in three levels so as to protrude in three steps and to prevent the sheet from being skewed at the time of sheet feeding by pressing both side edges of the sheet.

Paper feed tray 3 and end fences 6a to 6
c, the side fences 7a to 7c, 8a to 8c are integrally formed by molding, and detailed illustration is omitted, but the end fences 6a to 6c and the side fences 7a to 7c, 8
The root portions of a to 8c are formed into a shape that can be easily cut or broken by a tool such as a blade or the like by thinning, for example, and an unnecessary fence is easily removed according to the paper size to be set. You can do it. Of course, as the structure of the base portion of these fences, various known structures that can be easily removed can be adopted.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a sheet 9 of the minimum size is set, and shows a state in which all of the end fences 6a to 6c, side fences 7a to 7c, and 8a to 8c are used without being removed. . FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where large-size paper is set, and end fences 6a to 6c, side fences 7a to 7c, and 8a to 8f.
8C shows a state in which unnecessary inner end fences 6b and 6c and side fences 7b, 7c, 8b and 8c are removed. Further, FIG. 6 shows that the outer peripheral surface of the concave portion 5 is set to the maximum paper size to be loaded, so that the end fences 6a to 6c, the side fences 7a to 7c, 8a ~
8C shows a state in which all of 8c is used.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a paper feed tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Paper feed tray 3 of the present embodiment
Are the end fences 6a-6 required for each paper size.
c, a marking 10 indicating the paper size is provided on the upper end surface of each fence so that the positional relationship between the side fences 7a to 7c and 8a to 8c can be easily understood.

In this embodiment, A3 vertical, A4 horizontal, A4
It supports five types of paper sizes: portrait, B4 portrait, and A5 portrait, and has end fences 6a to 6c and side fences 7a to 7f.
On the upper end surfaces of 7c, 8a to 8c, inscriptions 10 indicating the corresponding paper sizes are A3T (A3 vertical), A4Y (A
4 horizontal), A4T (A4 vertical), B4T (B4 vertical), A5T
It is engraved as shown in (A5 vertical) to facilitate setting of the fence to be used. For example, when using A5 vertical size paper, all the end fences 6a to 6c, side fences 7a to 7c, and 8a to 8c are used as in the state of FIG.
Can be used with A3 vertical size paper. When using A3-size paper, all the end fences 6a to 6c, side fences 7a to 7c, and 8a to
8c is used after removal. In the state of FIG. 5, the present embodiment uses B4 vertical size paper. Of course, for example, since the minimum size paper is used, all the end fences 6a to 6c and the side fences 7a to 7
Even in the case where it can be used while leaving c, 8a to 8c, the unnecessary end fences 6a, 6b and the side fences 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b may be removed and used. Instead of engraving the paper size, a tape in which the size is entered may be attached. Although not shown, overseas-size paper (LT, HLT, DLT) can be similarly handled.

Note that, as shown in FIG.
If the upper edge portion of the inner surface serving as a surface for guiding the paper of the side fences 7a to 7c and 8a to 8c has a curved shape (A) or a sloped shape (B), the paper can be easily set from above. become.

[0018]

As described above, in the paper feed tray according to the first aspect, the end fence for pressing the rear end of the paper to be stacked in the paper feed direction is formed in a protruding shape integrally with the tray body for each paper size. Since it is formed so that multiple cuts can be made, the structure is simple, miniaturization, weight reduction and cost reduction are possible, and there is no need for a mechanism for sliding and screwing, so there is no need to drill holes etc. This has the effect of increasing the strength.

In the paper feed tray according to the second aspect, as described above, a plurality of side fences for holding the side edges of the stacked sheets can be cut off in a protruding manner integrally with the tray body for each sheet size. Since it is formed, in addition to the above-described common effects, there is an effect that the structure is further simplified, and the size, weight, and cost can be further reduced.

In the paper feed tray according to the third aspect, as described above, the dimension between the walls of the concave portion for loading the sheets of the tray main body is adjusted to the maximum size of the sheets to be loaded. In addition to the above-mentioned common effect, there is an effect that a fence for a sheet of the maximum size is unnecessary.

In the paper feed tray according to the fourth aspect, as described above, the paper size is provided on the upper surface of the end fence or the side fence. There is an effect that the corresponding fence can be set.

In the paper feed tray according to the fifth aspect, as described above, the upper part of the end fence or the side fence on the side of guiding the paper is curved or inclined.
In addition to the above-mentioned common effects, there is an effect that the paper can be easily set and the paper can be prevented from being broken at the time of setting the paper.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a multi-stage paper feeder suitable for using a paper feed tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a sheet feeding tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a sheet of a minimum size is set in the first embodiment of the sheet feeding tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a state in which a large-size sheet is set to be used.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which sheets of the maximum size are set to be stacked.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a paper feed tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a curved surface shape (A) or an inclined surface shape (B) of an upper edge portion of a surface for guiding a sheet of an end fence or a side fence.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feeder 2 Image forming apparatus main body 3 Paper feed tray 4 Paper feed roller 5 Concave of paper feed tray 6a-6c End fence 7a-7c, 8a-8c Side fence 9 Paper 10 Inscription indicating paper size

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a paper feed tray capable of stacking a plurality of sizes of sheets, a plurality of end fences for holding a rear end in the sheet feeding direction of the sheets to be stacked are integrally formed with the tray body in a protruding manner for each sheet size. A sheet feed tray formed so as to be cut off. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of side fences for holding the side edges of the sheets to be stacked are formed integrally with the tray main body for each sheet size so that a plurality of side fences can be cut off. Paper tray. 3. The paper feed tray according to claim 1, wherein the dimension between the walls of the concave portion of the tray main body for stacking paper is adjusted to the maximum size of the paper to be stacked. 4. The paper feed tray according to claim 1, wherein a paper size display is provided on an upper surface of said end fence or said side fence. 5. The sheet feeding tray according to claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the end fence or the side fence on a side for guiding the sheet is a curved surface or a slope.