JP2001019181A - Connection mechanism for sheet feeder and image forming device provided with this connection mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To drive a swivel gear by a drive gear, by making the swivel gear on the sheet feeder main unit side automatically jump out to mesh the swivel gear with the drive gear in the image forming device main unit side, when a sheet feeder main unit is connected to an image forming device main unit. SOLUTION: A swivel gear 202 mounted in a sheet feeder main unit 201 is mounted in a swivel gear arm 205, the swivel gear 202 is swiveled by its own weight with a support point shaft 212 serving as the center and stored in the sheet feeder main unit 201, and the other end of a swivel arm 209 is swiveled with the support point shaft 212 serving as the center to jump out outside the sheet feeder main unit 201, in a condition not connecting an image forming device main unit 101 to the sheet feeder main unit 201. While the other end of the swivel arm 209 jumping out from the sheet feeder main unit 201 is pressed by the image forming device main unit 101, the swivel gear arm 205 is swiveled by an energizing spring 210 with the support point shaft 212 serving as the center, and the swivel gear 202, jumping out outside the sheet feeder main unit 201, is moved to the side of the image forming device main unit 101, in a condition connecting the image forming device main unit 101 to the sheet feeder main unit 201.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coupling mechanism of a sheet feeding apparatus which has no driving system and is driven by receiving power from an image forming apparatus main body, and an image forming apparatus having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet feeding apparatus supplies a sheet to an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile or the like. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a main part of a sheet feeding apparatus 201 to be used.

The sheet feeding device 201 has positioning pins 2 in the left and right width direction on the side facing the image forming apparatus main body 101.
03 is protruded, and a fitting hole 103 into which these are fitted is formed on the image forming apparatus main body 101 side, and both are positioned and integrated by the positioning pin 203 and the fitting hole 103. . Further, a drive gear 102 for driving the sheet feeding device 201 is provided on the image forming apparatus main body 101 side, and a swing gear for receiving a driving force from the driving gear 102 is provided on the sheet feeding device 201 side. A dynamic gear 202 is provided.

[0004] The swing gear 202 is provided at one end of a gear arm 205 swingable about a shaft 212 with a caulking shaft 21.
1, a moment in the B direction is always applied to the gear arm 205 by a swing spring 206 about a shaft 212 which is a rotation fulcrum of the idler gear 208.

When the sheet feeding device 201 is connected to the main body 101 of the image forming apparatus, the driving gear 1
02 and the swing gear 202 are meshed with each other, and the swing gear 202 is urged in the B direction in which the drive gear 102 rotates in the A direction.

As shown in FIG. 11, the paper cassette 224 of the sheet feeding device 201 is fixed to the sheet feeding device 201 while being pressed by a cassette click spring 218.

[0007]

However, in FIG. 10, when the sheet feeding device 201 and the image forming apparatus main body 101 are not connected to each other, the swing gear 202 of the sheet feeding device 201 has a swing spring 206. , And always jumps out of the sheet feeding device 201. For this reason, at the time of coupling with the image forming apparatus main body 101, the projection may accidentally hit the tooth surface or be damaged, causing abnormal noise, or in some cases, it is difficult to receive the driving force from the driving gear 102. There was a possibility that.

When the sheet feeding device 201 is held by hand when the recording paper is fully loaded in the paper cassette 224 of the sheet feeding device 201 and the sheet feeding device 201 is not connected to the image forming apparatus main body 101, the paper cassette 224 is used. Cannot be supported by the spring force of the cassette click spring 218, and there is a possibility that the paper cassette 224 will pop out, fall, and be damaged.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a swing gear on the sheet feeding device main body side when the sheet feeding device main body is connected to the image forming device main body. Automatically swings outward to engage the swing gear with the drive gear on the image forming apparatus main body side, so that the drive gear can drive the swing gear, and at the same time, the sheet feeding apparatus main body An object of the present invention is to provide a coupling mechanism of a sheet feeding device that can prevent a sheet cassette from falling off and improve usability.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drive gear mounted on an image forming apparatus main body for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet capable of meshing with the drive gear. A rocking gear attached to the feeding device main body, wherein the rocking gear meshes with the driving gear based on coupling the sheet feeding device main body to the image forming device main body, and In the sheet feeding apparatus for driving the sheet feeding apparatus main body by taking the driving force into the sheet feeding apparatus main body via the oscillating gear, one end is mounted on a fulcrum shaft, and the oscillating gear is mounted on the other end. A swinging gear arm, a swinging arm having one end fixed to the fulcrum shaft and the other end protruding toward the image forming apparatus main body, and interposed between the swinging gear arm and the swinging arm. Around the axis It includes a biasing spring for biasing the dynamic gear arm in the swing direction of the swing arm, wherein the swing gear is
At the time of non-coupling with the image forming apparatus main body, it swings in one direction around the fulcrum axis by its own weight and is stored in the sheet feeding apparatus main body. The end is pressed by the image forming apparatus main body, swings about the fulcrum axis in the other direction via the urging spring, and moves out of the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and the swing gear is driven by the drive gear. It is characterized in that it is made to mesh with.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elastic member for locking a sheet cassette mounted on the main body of the sheet feeding apparatus, and the elastic member is provided when the main body of the image forming apparatus and the main body of the sheet feeding apparatus are not connected. The swing arm moves so as to abut on the elastic member to regulate the displacement of the elastic member, and when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are connected, the swing arm makes contact with the elastic member. The elastic member is moved so as to be released so that the elastic member can be displaced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a guide groove is formed in one of the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and a guide guide engaging with the guide groove is formed in one of the other. , Characterized in that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a rolling wheel is provided at the other end of the swing arm.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are not connected to each other, the sheet feeding apparatus main body moves so as to cover an upper portion of the oscillating gear. When the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are connected, a swing gear cover that moves so as to open the swing gear above is provided.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1 to 5
A coupling mechanism of the sheet feeding device according to any one of, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding device in a state where the image forming unit is coupled to the sheet feeding device,
It is characterized by having.

According to the present invention, according to the present invention, the swing gear attached to the main body of the sheet feeder is attached to a swing gear arm having one end mounted on a fulcrum shaft. In a state where the sheet feeding device main body is not coupled to the image forming device main body, the sheet feeding device main body swings in one direction around the fulcrum shaft by its own weight, is drawn into the sheet feeding device main body, is housed, and has one end connected to the fulcrum. The other end of the swing arm fixed to the shaft swings in the same direction about the fulcrum shaft and moves so as to jump out of the sheet feeding device main body. On the other hand, when the sheet feeding device main body is coupled to the image forming device main body, the other end of the swing arm that protrudes from the sheet feeding device main body is pressed by the image forming device main body, and the swing arm is The swing gear arm swings in the other direction about the fulcrum axis and the swing gear arm also swings in the same direction about the fulcrum axis by an urging spring. It moves to the forming apparatus main body side.

Thus, the oscillating gear meshes with the driving gear on the image forming apparatus main body side, and power is transmitted from the constantly rotating driving gear to the oscillating gear. At this time, the oscillating gear tries to rotate in the same direction even after meshing with the drive gear. However, when the oscillating gear collides with the drive gear, the urging Since the spring is urged in the return direction, the two mesh with each other in a state where they are pressed against each other.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a laser printer 101 having a Duplo type sheet feeding device will be described as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the sheets P stacked on the main body cassette 1 are picked up by a half-month paper feed roller 2 and separated one by one by a separation pad 3, and only the uppermost sheet P is conveyed to a conveying roller. The pair 16 is conveyed to the registration roller pair 5 along the pre-registration guide 4.

The conveyed sheet P is conveyed by the registration roller pair 5 in accordance with the rotation of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 7 arranged in the process cartridge 6, and is transferred onto the sheet P by the transfer roller 8. The toner image on the image forming means 7 is transferred. Next, the sheet P is guided by the conveyance guide 9 and the entrance guide 10, and is heated by the roller pair of the fixing roller 11 and the pressure roller 12.
Pressure is applied to fix the toner image on the sheet P as a permanent image. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed along the conveyance guide rib 13, and is discharged and stacked on the face down tray 15 by the conveyance roller pair 14.

When the sheet is fed from the sheet feeding device 201 provided at the lower portion of the image forming apparatus main body 101, the sheets P stacked on the sheet feeding device 201 are supplied in the same manner as described above.
Is picked up by the half-moon feeding roller 22 and separated one by one by a separation pad 23, and only the uppermost sheet P is conveyed. The sheet is conveyed along a pair 4 to a pair of registration rollers 5, and thereafter, an image is formed through the same process as described above.

[First Embodiment] In FIG. 2, a drive gear 102 provided on an image forming apparatus main body 101 is always counterclockwise (A) by a motor and a gear train (not shown).
Direction). The sheet feeding device 201 has a swing gear 202, which is fixed to a gear arm (swing gear arm) 205 by a swaging shaft 211, and the gear arm 205 is an idler gear 208.
Along with the shaft 212, a shaft (fulcrum shaft) 212 is attached. The swing arm 209 is interlockable and rotatable with a gear arm 205 via a swing spring (biasing spring) 210, and is fixed to a shaft 212 similarly to the idler gear 208.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet feeding device 201
In a state in which the image forming apparatus main body 101 is not placed on the swing gear 202, the swing gear 202 rotates in the direction C (counterclockwise) in FIG. Stopper 21 of gear arm 205
7 descends to a position where it contacts the abutting portion of the gear plate 207, and sinks into the sheet feeding device 201.

When the image forming apparatus main body 101 is installed above the sheet feeding apparatus 201 as shown in FIG. 2 described above, the abutment table 107 on the image forming apparatus main body 101 side is provided with a swing arm. 209 and the swing arm 2
09 and the gear arm 205 is
2 is rotated clockwise around a swing spring 210 via a swing spring 210, thereby pushing up the swing gear 202, and the swing gear 202 meshes with the drive gear 102.

In this case, the driving gear 102 and the swing gear 20
2 are flanges 102a and 2a, as shown in FIG.
The backlash is compensated by the abutment of the drive gear 102a, and the swing gear 202 is swingable about the shaft 212 in a direction in which the swing gear 202 bites with respect to the rotation direction of the drive gear 102. It is possible to maintain.

In FIG. 5, the click spring (elastic member) 218 for fixing the paper cassette 224 is displaced from 218-1 to 218-3 as shown by a broken line by the attachment / detachment of the paper cassette 224.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 described above, when the sheet feeding device 201 is not connected to the image forming apparatus main body 101, the paper cassette 22 of the sheet feeding device 201 is
4 is fixed at the position of the solid line 218-2 by the click spring 218 in FIG. Further, since the boss 219 provided on the swing arm 209 is supported so as to suppress the click spring from bending in the direction of 218-3 from the back surface, the paper cassette 224 includes:
The sheet cannot be pulled out from the sheet feeding device 201.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, when the sheet feeding device 201 is coupled to the image forming apparatus main body 101, the boss 219 is rotated by the rotation of the swing arm 209.
Is a stopper hole 22 formed in the click spring 218.
Move to position 0. Therefore, when the click spring 218 is bent in the direction of 218-3, the boss 219 enters the stopper hole 220, so that the support of the click spring 218 is lost and the paper cassette 224 can be detached.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing a state where the image forming apparatus main body 101 and the sheet feeding apparatus 201 are connected, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view showing a state before the connection. is there. In the following embodiment, only differences from the above-described first embodiment will be described, and others will be omitted.

The guide 214 is provided in the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus.
The positioning boss 106 formed on the sheet feeding device 201 is easily fitted into a fitting hole 215 formed on the sheet feeding device 201. Further, the guide groove 105 formed in the image forming apparatus main body 101 is for the guide guide 214 to enter. The guide groove 105 facilitates the positioning boss 106 to be guided to the fitting hole 215, and It is set slightly larger than the diameter of the guide guide 214 so as to function as positioning. Guide guide 21
The tip of the tip 4 is formed into a tapered shape so that the tip of the swing arm 209 can be easily inserted into the guide groove 105. The non-tapered portion of the guide 214 is set so as to completely enter the guide groove 105.

Although not shown, the guides 214 are formed at four positions on the upper surface of the sheet feeding device 201, that is, front, rear, left and right.
5 are also formed at four places.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view showing a state in which the image forming apparatus main body 101 and the sheet feeding apparatus 201 are connected.

In this embodiment, the swing arm 20
A swing roller 216 is provided at the tip end of the nozzle 9, and the swing roller 216 is disposed so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in the drawing). For this reason, when the image forming apparatus main body 101 and the sheet feeding apparatus 201 are combined, the abutment table 107 is connected.
However, when the swing roller 216 hits the swing roller 216, the swing roller 216 rotates on the abutment table 107 and pushes down the swing arm 209, so that the movement of the swing gear 202 can be smoothly operated.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the image forming apparatus main body 101 and the sheet feeding apparatus 201 in a non-coupled state.

In this embodiment, a gear cover 22 for protecting a swing gear 202 is provided on the sheet feeding device 201 side.
1 and a guide rail 222 that allows the gear cover 221 to slide in the horizontal direction, and a slit 223 is formed in the swing arm 209.
Then, the image forming apparatus main body 10 is attached to the sheet feeding apparatus 201.
1, the swing arm 209 is moved to the abutment 107.
To rotate about the swaging shaft 212. Also,
The gear cover 221 that can be moved in the horizontal direction by the guide rail 222 is loosely coupled to the slit 223 of the swing arm 209 at a boss provided at one end thereof, and the swing arm 209 rotates. Thus, the gear cover 221 moves rightward in the drawing, and the upper part of the swing gear 202 is opened.

In this embodiment, the gear cover 221 is provided with a slit 22 formed in the swing arm 209.
Although described as a method of sliding by interlocking with 3, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a rack gear is provided immediately on the gear arm 205, and a spur gear having the same rotation center as the swing arm 209 is provided on the swing arm 209. The slide method described above is also possible.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A driving gear attached to the image forming apparatus main body; and a swing gear attached to the sheet feeding apparatus main body so as to mesh with the driving gear, and the sheet feeding apparatus main body is coupled to the image forming apparatus main body. By this, it swings in the other direction via the urging spring and is moved out of the sheet feeding device main body, the swing gear meshes with the drive gear, and the driving force of the drive gear is transmitted via the swing gear. The sheet gear is taken into the main body of the sheet feeding device to drive the main body of the sheet feeding device, and the oscillating gear oscillates by its own weight when it is not coupled to the main body of the image forming device, and moves into the main body of the sheet feeding device. When the sheet feeding device main body is coupled to the image forming device main body, the operator may accidentally come into contact with the swing gear portion,
It is possible to prevent the gear from being distorted at the time of meshing due to the gear being damaged or the like, and the malfunction from being caused by tooth skipping or the like.

Further, the present invention has an elastic member for locking the sheet cassette of the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are not connected to each other, the elastic member is displaced by the swing arm. And the elastic member can be displaced when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are connected to each other, so that the sheet cassette can be carried in a fully loaded state without increasing the number of moving parts. In addition, it is possible to prevent the sheet cassette from being accidentally dropped and damaged, and to prevent the sheet cassette from falling down.

Further, according to the present invention, a guide groove is formed in one of the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and a guide guide engaging with the guide groove is formed in one of the other. In addition, the positioning can be reliably performed, and the swing gear mechanism can be stabilized.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing a rolling wheel at the other end of the swing arm, the operation of the swing arm can be made smooth and the function of the swing gear mechanism can be stabilized. .

Further, according to the present invention, when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are not connected to each other, they move so as to cover above the swing gear, and when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are connected, By providing the swinging gear cover that opens and moves above the swinging gear, it is possible to prevent an object from dropping into the sheet feeding apparatus main body or a risk of putting a finger or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the entire image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the first embodiment when a sheet feeding device is coupled to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the first embodiment before the sheet feeding device is connected to the image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a state in which a driving gear and a swing gear mesh with each other.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the second embodiment when a sheet feeding device is coupled to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the second embodiment before a sheet feeding device is connected to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of the third embodiment when a sheet feeding device is coupled to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the fourth embodiment before a sheet feeding device is coupled to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating a conventional example when a sheet feeding device is coupled to an image forming apparatus main body.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a conventional sheet feeding apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Image Forming Apparatus Main Body 102 Drive Gear 105 Guide Groove 106 Positioning Boss 107 Butt Stand 201 Sheet Feeding Device 202 Swing Gear 204 Caulking Shaft 205 Gear Arm 206 Swing Spring 209 Swing Arm 210 Swing Spring 214 Guide Guide 215 Fitting Hole 216 Swing roller 217 Stopper part 218 Click spring 219 Boss 220 Stopper hole 221 Swing gear cover 222 Guide rail 224 Paper cassette

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a drive gear attached to an image forming apparatus main body for forming an image on a sheet; and a swing gear attached to the sheet feeder main body so as to mesh with the drive gear. Based on coupling the sheet feeding device main body to the forming device main body, the oscillating gear meshes with the driving gear, and the driving force of the driving gear is taken into the sheet feeding device main body via the oscillating gear, and In a sheet feeding device for driving a sheet feeding device main body, a swing gear arm having one end pivotally mounted on a fulcrum shaft and the other end mounted with the oscillating gear, and one end fixed to the fulcrum shaft and the other end imaged A swing arm protruding toward the forming apparatus main body, interposed between the swing gear arm and the swing arm, and attaching the swing gear arm about the fulcrum axis in the swing direction of the swing arm. With an urging spring Wherein the swing gear swings in one direction around the fulcrum shaft by its own weight when not coupled to the image forming apparatus main body and is housed in the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and the image forming apparatus main body. When the swing arm is coupled with the other, the other end of the swing arm is pressed by the image forming apparatus main body, swings in the other direction around the fulcrum axis via the urging spring, and is moved out of the sheet feeding apparatus main body, The coupling mechanism of the sheet feeding device, wherein the swing gear meshes with the drive gear. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member for locking a sheet cassette mounted on the sheet feeding device main body, wherein the swing arm is an elastic member when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding device main body are not connected to each other. The swing arm is moved so as to release the contact with the elastic member when the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are connected to each other. The coupling mechanism of the sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member can be displaced. 3. A guide groove is formed in one of the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body, and a guide guide engaging with the guide groove is formed in one of the other. The coupling mechanism of the sheet feeding device according to claim 1. 4. The coupling mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a rolling wheel is provided at the other end of the swing arm. 5. When the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet feeding apparatus main body are not connected to each other, the sheet feeding apparatus main body is moved so as to cover the swing gear above, and the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet are moved. The coupling mechanism of the sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising: a swing gear cover that moves so as to open an upper portion of the swing gear when being coupled to the feeding device main body. 6. A coupling mechanism for a sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed on a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding device while being coupled to the sheet feeding device. An image forming apparatus comprising: