JP2001328729A - Sheet storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform reliable positioning and storing corresponding to a fixed shape and a non-fixed shape size sheet as moving operability of a sheet guide is excellently kept. SOLUTION: In a sheet storage device formed that sheets 3 are stored in a sheet tray 1 and the storing position of the sheets 3 is regulated by the sheet guide 2, a guide holder 4 is provided to position and hold the sheet guide 2 on the sheet tray 1 side. A positioning pin 5 is protruded from either of the sheet guide 2 and the guide holder 4, and the positioning pin 5 is provided with a positioning part 5a and a non-positioning part 5b having a cross section smaller than that of the positioning part 5a. Meanwhile, a plurality of positioning holes 6 fitted in a positioning part 5a of the positioning pin 5 are formed in the other member. A communication passage 7 which has width narrower than that of the positioning hole 6 and in which a non-positioning part 5b of the positioning pin 5 is movable is formed between the positioning holes 6. Further, a slide pin sliding along a guide groove is provided together with a whirl stop part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet accommodating apparatus used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc., for accommodating an image forming sheet.
The present invention relates to a sheet storage device in which a position of a storage sheet is regulated by a sheet guide, and a sheet of an irregular size including a fixed size can be stored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc., a sheet accommodating apparatus for accommodating an image forming sheet has been employed. In this type of sheet storage device, sheets are stored in a sheet tray, and a sheet storage position is regulated by a sheet guide. Here, the sheet guide includes an end guide that regulates an end portion (end) in the sheet supply direction and a side guide that regulates a width direction edge (side) orthogonal to the sheet supply direction. As a conventional positioning method of the sheet guide, a positioning pin is protruded from the sheet guide, and a positioning hole for fitting the positioning pin is opened in a guide holding member provided on the sheet tray side. There is known a device which positions a sheet guide by engaging the positioning pin with the sheet guide.

[0003]

However, in such a type of sheet guide positioning system, since the guide holding member has a structure in which the positioning holes are independently opened, the positioning holes are difficult to manufacture. It is necessary to secure a certain pitch or more between them, and there is no particular problem for the standard size, but it is difficult to position the sheet guide at a position corresponding to this for arbitrary non-standard size sheets, There is a technical problem that a guide to a sheet of an arbitrary non-standard size cannot be provided. In order to solve such a technical problem, a method of guiding a sheet of an irregular size has already been proposed.

For example, there is a method in which a positioning member (chuck-like member) of a sheet guide is engaged with a shaft provided in a moving direction of the sheet guide (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 3-1).
No. 28823). However, in this method, the gripping force of the positioning member is not so strong in the first place, and the binding force on the shaft tends to be insufficient.
The sheet guide may move due to the impact force when inserting and setting the sheet tray with respect to the tray receiver,
There is a technical problem that the biting portion of the positioning member is easily worn, and accordingly, it is difficult to maintain the gripping force (positioning force) of the positioning member.

As another method, there is a method in which a stopper claw is provided on a sheet guide so that the stopper claw is engaged with a rack having a predetermined pitch (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8
-217262). However, in this type, stress concentration occurs between the stopper claw and the rack due to the impact force when the sheet tray is inserted and set in the tray receiver, and the rack and the stopper claw are easily broken, particularly, However, technical problems such as cracking of the rack were found in the mode in which the rack was manufactured from resin due to the restriction on the cost of manufacturing parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problem, and provides a sheet accommodation apparatus capable of reliably positioning and accommodating sheets of standard and irregular sizes.

[0007]

That is, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet 3 is accommodated in a sheet tray 1 and a sheet guide 2 regulates an accommodation position of the sheet 3. In the storage device, a guide holder 4 in which a sheet guide 2 is positioned and held on a sheet tray 1 side.
And a positioning pin 5 is protruded from one of the sheet guide 2 and the guide holder 4, and a plurality of positioning holes 6 for fitting the positioning pin 5 are opened in the other member. Is characterized in that a communication path 7 narrower than the positioning hole 6 is formed. Note that reference numeral 8
Is a posture holding member such as a bottom plate that is provided at the bottom of the sheet tray 1 and keeps the sheets 3 in the sheet tray 1 in a supply posture.

In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet storage device in which a sheet 3 is stored in a sheet tray 1 and a storage position of the sheet 3 is regulated by a sheet guide 2. , A guide holder 4 in which the sheet guide 2 is positioned and held on the sheet tray 1 side
And a positioning pin 5 is protruded from one of the sheet guide 2 and the guide holder 4. The positioning pin 5 has a positioning portion 5a and a non-positioning portion 5b having a smaller cross section than the positioning portion 5a. The other member is provided with a plurality of positioning holes 6 into which the positioning portions 5a of the positioning pins 5 are fitted, and between the positioning holes 6, the non-positioning portions 5b of the positioning pins 5 which are narrower than the positioning holes 6 are provided. A movable communication path 7 is formed. According to this aspect, since the sheet guide 2 can be moved while the positioning pin 5 is engaged with the communication path 7, the sheet guide 2 is smoothly guided and conveyed when the sheet guide 2 is moved. As a result, the operability of moving the sheet guide 2 is favorably maintained.

In such technical means, the sheet guide 2 includes both a side guide and an end guide. In addition, the guide holder 4 is not limited to the sheet tray 1 but also includes an embodiment formed integrally with the sheet tray 1. Further, for the object where the positioning pins 5 and the positioning holes 6 are provided, the positioning pins 5 are provided on the sheet guide 2 side.
Is generally provided, but the present invention also includes a reverse layout.

The structure of the positioning pin 5 is as follows.
As long as it is positioned by fitting into the positioning hole 6, any one having a positioning portion corresponding to the shape of the positioning hole 6, such as a columnar shape, an elliptical column shape, and a prismatic shape, may be appropriately selected. In this case, the positioning pin 5 is connected to the communication path 7.
In a mode in which the positioning portion 5a is moved while being engaged with the positioning portion 5a, the positioning portion 5a
A non-positioning portion 5b having a smaller cross section is provided, and when the positioning pin 5 is moved in the communication path 7, the non-positioning portion 5b of the positioning pin 5 may be arranged in the communication path 7. Here, the shape of the non-positioning portion 5b is not limited to the same cross-sectional shape, and may have a different cross-section such as a tapered shape.

The communication path 7 in which the non-positioning portion 5b is movable is intended to include not only a mode in which the non-positioning section 5b slides in the communication path 7 but also a state in which the non-positioning section 5b is loosely fitted. Further, the positioning holes 6 adjacent to each other via the communication path 7 may be arranged independently of each other. However, from the viewpoint of surely corresponding to the sheet 3 of an arbitrary non-standard size, a part of the positioning holes 6 is overlapped with each other. It may be. Here, regarding the dimensional relationship between the positioning hole 6 and the communication path 7, if the width dimension m of the communication path 7 is too close to the width dimension n of the positioning hole 6, the positioning and holding force of the positioning pin 5 will be weakened, and for example, the tray pin There is a concern that the positioning pin 5 may be shifted to the adjacent positioning hole 6 due to the impact force when the sheet tray 1 is inserted and set. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, it is necessary to have a strength that does not cause the adjacent positioning holes 6 to shift due to an impact force when the sheet tray 1 is inserted and set. The width dimension m of the communication passage 7 is 75% or less of the width dimension n of the positioning hole 6.

Although the pitch interval of the positioning holes 6 may be appropriately selected, a sheet 3 of a fixed size or an irregular size may be used.
As a simplest mode to cope with the above, it is preferable to set a constant pitch interval between the plurality of positioning holes 6.
Further, as a preferable mode for accommodating sheets 3 of a fixed size and an irregular size, it is preferable that a pitch interval between the plurality of positioning holes 6 is set to be equal to or smaller than a dimensional tolerance of the sheet 3.
Here, the “dimensional tolerance of the sheet 3” means a value determined by the JIS standard or the ISO standard.

Further, in a mode in which the sheet guide 2 is moved while the positioning pin 5 is engaged in the communication path 7,
The positional relationship between the positioning portion 5a and the non-positioning portion 5b of the positioning pin 5 is usually such that the non-positioning portion 5b is on the distal end side, but the non-positioning portion 5b may be provided on the base end side. At this time, from the viewpoint of keeping the mobility of the sheet guide 2 good, it is preferable that the positioning pin 5 be provided with a non-positioning portion 5b that slides along the communication path 7 on the distal end side.

Further, from the viewpoint of ensuring the ease of the operation of moving the sheet guide 2, it is preferable to prevent the sheet guide 2 from being unnecessarily detached from the guide holder 4. Under such a request, it is preferable that the guide holder 4 restricts the vertical movement range of the sheet guide 2 while allowing a movement allowance for changing the engagement position of the positioning pin 5. Also, from the viewpoint of effectively preventing the sheet guide 2 from rattling with the guide holder 4, the positioning portion 5 a of the positioning pin 5 is fitted into the positioning hole 6 between the guide holder 4 and the sheet guide 2. It is preferable to provide an urging unit that constantly urges the sheet guide 2 in the direction in which the sheet guides 2 and 1 are joined.

Further, from the viewpoint of further stabilizing the movement operation of the sheet guide 2, one of the guide holder 4 and the sheet guide 2 is parallel to the positioning groove formed by the positioning hole 6 and the communication passage 7, and is not shown in the drawing. And a slide pin (slit, which has an outer diameter portion corresponding to the width dimension of the guide groove and slidably fits in the guide groove). (Not shown)
Is preferable. The guide mechanism including the “guide groove + a plurality of slide pins” can perform high-precision positioning, but there is a concern that the movement of the sheet guide 2 may be impaired due to a component manufacturing error, and the guide mechanism may be unstable. According to this, it is possible to avoid this.

In such an embodiment, in order to effectively prevent rattling when moving the sheet guide 2, the member provided with the slide pin or the slide pin is smaller than the guide groove width. It is preferable to provide a detent part (not shown) having a small diameter part and loosely fitting into the guide groove. Here, the detent portion may be separate from the slide pin, or may be provided integrally. In particular,
In a mode in which the positioning pin 5 includes the non-positioning portion 5b having a smaller cross section than the positioning portion 5a, the swing range around the slide pin of the rotation preventing portion as the rotation center is determined by the positioning pin 5
It is preferable that the non-positioning portion 5b is set in a range where the positioning pin 5 does not separate from the positioning groove (the positioning hole 6 and the communication path 7). In this case, the positioning pin 5 separates from the positioning groove during the positioning operation. No more concerns,
To that extent, the positioning operation is facilitated.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment FIG. 2 shows an outline of an image forming apparatus in which a first embodiment of a sheet storage device to which the present invention is applied is incorporated. In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus is an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method, and includes an image forming engine 11 for creating toner images of respective color components, and a sheet P such as paper after being conveyed to a transfer portion. A sheet conveying system 12 for discharging to a predetermined site,
The sheet P temporarily holds the toner image of each color component created by the image forming engine 11 and is conveyed by the sheet conveying system 12.
And a fixing device 14 for fixing each color component toner image held on the sheet P.

In this embodiment, the sheet transport system 12
Are a plurality of sheet storage devices 40 (specifically, 40a to 4a).
0c), the sheet P sent from any one of the sheet storage devices 40 is guided to a transfer portion of the belt module 13 along a predetermined transport path 44, and further, the fixing device 1
Then, the paper is discharged to a discharge tray (not shown) through the tray 4. Here, details of the sheet storage device 40 are shown in FIG. In the figure, a sheet storage device 40 includes a box-shaped sheet tray 51 that stores various sheets P, a sheet guide 52 that regulates the position of the sheet P stored in the sheet tray 51, and a sheet guide 52. A guide plate 53 movably held, and a sheet tray 51
And a bottom plate 54 that is disposed at the bottom of the sheet and raises the sheet P to the feeding position.

In this embodiment, the sheets P in the sheet tray 51 are stored in contact with the front wall and the side wall of the sheet tray 51, and the sheet guide 52 is provided in the sheet tray 51. An end guide 52a for regulating a rear edge (end) position in the P supply direction;
Side guide 5 that regulates the position of one side edge (side) in the sheet tray 51 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet supply direction.
2b. In FIG. 3, the guide plates 53 corresponding to the end guide 52a and the side guide 52b are indicated by 53a and 53b, respectively. Here, the sheet guide 52
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a guide body 521 having an L-shaped cross section is formed, and a stopper piece 522 is formed by bending both sides of a bottom wall of the guide body 521 in the width direction. The upper edge of 522 is formed as a tapered portion 523 that is inclined obliquely downward toward the vertical wall of the guide body 521. On the other hand, the guide plate 53 is provided with channel portions 532 having a U-shaped cross section on both sides in the width direction of a long plate body 531 so that the openings face each other.

In the present embodiment, the sheet guide 52
The supporting structure is such that the sheet guide 52 is placed in the concave portion of the guide plate 53 and the stopper piece 52 of the sheet guide 52 is provided in the channel portion 532 of the guide plate 53.
2 are embraced and accommodated, and positioning pins 60 project downward from the lower surface of the bottom wall of the guide body 521 of the sheet guide 52, while positioning pins 60 are provided on the bottom wall of the guide plate 53. A plurality of positioning holes 70 to be fitted are formed, and a communication path 71 is formed between adjacent positioning holes 70, and positioning pins 6 are inserted into predetermined positioning holes 70.
0 is engaged.

Next, details of the positioning mechanism of the sheet guide 52 are shown in FIG. In FIG.
Is provided with a positioning portion 61 having a columnar shape longer than at least the thickness of the bottom wall portion of the guide plate 53, and a non-positioning portion 62 formed in a distal end side of the positioning portion 61 in a tapered frustoconical shape. I have. On the other hand, the positioning holes 70
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the positioning pin 60
And the width D2 of the communication passage 71 is set to be narrower than the positioning hole 70. Here, the width dimension D2 of the communication passage 71
Is too close to the hole diameter (D1) of the positioning hole 70, even if the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 is fitted into the positioning hole 70, the impact force when the sheet tray 51 is inserted and set in the tray receiver acts. However, since there is a concern that the positioning pin 60 gets over the communication path 71, in order to avoid this, in the present embodiment, the width dimension D2 of the communication path 71 is 75% or less of the hole diameter (D1) of the positioning hole 70. Is set to

Further, in the present embodiment, each positioning hole 7
0 is set in a positional relationship where they are overlapped with each other,
A boundary portion overlapping each other is formed as a communication path 71. For this reason, the pitch interval k (corresponding to the pitch between the centers of the holes) of each positioning hole 70 is shorter and more constant than the hole diameter (D1) of the positioning hole 70, as shown in FIGS. Is set. In particular, in the present embodiment, the pitch k between the positioning holes 70 is determined by the allowable dimensional error (J
(A value determined by the IS standard or the ISO standard) or less, for example, about 2.0 to 2.5 mm.

In this embodiment, the positioning holes 70
Is formed as a through-hole in the guide plate 53, but in order to prevent a decrease in strength due to the communication of the positioning holes 70, the thickness of the guide plate 53 is increased to some extent, or a material having a reliable strength is used. Is preferred. Note that the positioning hole 70 does not necessarily need to be a through hole, and may be a bottomed hole 72, for example, as shown in FIG. In particular, positioning holes 7 made of resin material
In the case where 0 is formed, forming the positioning holes 70 directly in the sheet tray 51 can reduce the number of parts and is advantageous in strength.

Next, a sheet positioning operation of the sheet storage apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheet P is stored and arranged in the sheet tray 51, and in this state, the sheet guide 52 (the end guide 52) is arranged.
a, The side guide 52b) is moved so as to hit the end of the sheet P and one side. At this time, when the sheet guide 52 is moved, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet guide 52 is lifted until the tapered portion 523 of the stopper piece 522 comes into contact with the inner surface of the upper wall of the channel portion 532 of the guide plate 53, and FIG. a)
As shown in (c), the engagement of the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 with the positioning hole 70 is released, and the non-positioning portion 62 of the positioning pin 60 is arranged in the positioning hole 70. When the sheet guide 52 is moved along a predetermined direction while the sheet guide 52 is lifted, the non-positioning portion 62 of the positioning pin 60 can pass through the communication path 71. And moves along the positioning groove formed by the communication passage 71 as it is.

When the sheet guide 52 is released in a state where the sheet guide 52 has reached a predetermined position, FIG.
As shown in (b), the positioning portions 61 of the positioning pins 60 of the sheet guide 52 are fitted into the corresponding positioning holes 70, and the sheet guide 52 is set at a predetermined position. In such a setting process, the positioning pin 60 is
Since the sheet guide 52 is arbitrarily engaged with the positioning holes 70 arranged at every pitch interval k (in this example, set to be equal to or less than the allowable dimensional error of the sheet), the sheet guide 52 is not limited to the standard size, and may be used for a non-standard size sheet. I can surely guide you.

In this embodiment, the guide plate 5
In FIG. 3, a circular positioning hole 70 is formed continuously through a communication passage 71, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. As 60, a positioning section 63 having an oval cross section and a non-positioning section 64 having a cross section smaller than the positioning section 63 are provided on the distal end side, while the positioning section 63 is fitted to the guide plate 53. An oval hole 73 as a positioning hole 70 is provided at a predetermined pitch interval k (corresponding to a center-to-center pitch of holes), and a communication passage 71 is provided between the positioning holes 70.
May be formed. This embodiment is preferable because the pitch interval k can be sufficiently reduced without overlapping the positioning holes 70.

In the present embodiment, the positioning holes 70
Are continuously provided at a constant pitch interval k. However, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, for example, in a region where types of non-standard size sheets are concentrated, a dense pitch interval is used. The positioning holes 70 may be arranged at k and the positioning holes 70 may be arranged at a coarse pitch k 'in a region limited to a sheet of a fixed size. Further, in the present embodiment, the non-positioning portion 62 of the positioning pin 60
Has a tapered shape, but is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the same cross section (for example, A non-positioning portion 65 having a columnar shape may be formed. According to this aspect, since the non-positioning portion 65 having a peripheral surface parallel to the edge of the communication path 71 moves along the communication path 71, when the positioning pin 60 moves, the falling behavior of the positioning pin 60 is reduced. It is effectively regulated, and the rattling of the positioning pin 60 in the width direction is effectively regulated. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the positioning portion 61 and the non-positioning portion 65 are connected by a smooth connection portion 66 so that the positioning pin 60 can be smoothly engaged with the positioning hole 70. Is considered.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the sheet storage apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the sheet storage device includes a sheet tray 51, a sheet guide 52, a guide plate 53, and a bottom plate 5 as in the first embodiment.
The sheet guide 52 includes an end guide 52a that regulates a rear edge position (end) of a sheet supply direction (indicated by an arrow in the drawing) and a position of one side edge of the sheet. Side guide 5 that regulates (side)
2b, but the support structure of the seat guide 52 (end guide 52a, side guide 52b) is different from that of the first embodiment.

That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the end guide 52a has a guide body 80 having an L-shaped cross section. Are integrally formed with a guide shoe 81 protruding from the side wall portion.
The stopper walls 82 are erected on both sides of the stopper. On the other hand, a guide plate 53a (53) corresponding to the end guide 52a has an inner guide plate 92 inside an outer guide plate 91 as shown in FIGS.
(With channel portions 921 having openings facing each other on both sides). The outer guide plate 91 is slidably supported on both sides of the side wall portion of the guide body 80 of the end guide 52a. The guide shoe 81 is slidably disposed in the inner guide plate 92 so that the stopper wall 82 is accommodated in the portion 921.

Further, in the present embodiment, the positioning mechanism of the end guide 52a includes an emboss 801 on a part of the lateral wall portion of the guide body 80, as shown in FIGS.
Is formed below the emboss 801. For example, a columnar intermediate block 100 is disposed below the emboss 801.
The lower surface of the device is provided with a positioning pin 60 (including a positioning portion 61 and a non-positioning portion 62) protruding downward.
In the bottom wall of the inner guide plate 92, a positioning groove formed by a plurality of positioning holes 70 and communication passages 71 with which the positioning pins are engaged is formed, and a biasing force is applied between the intermediate block 100 and the guide shoe 81. A spring 101 is provided so that the intermediate block 100 is pressed against the lower surface of the emboss 801 of the guide body 80.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the end guide 52a is, as shown in FIG.
It is slightly movable relative to zero. That is,
The supporting structure of the end guide 52a with respect to the intermediate block 100 is such that a long hole-shaped locking slit 110 is formed along the moving direction of the end guide 52a in the emboss 801 of the side wall portion of the guide main body 80. A locking pin 111 protrudes from an upper surface of the locking pin 100, the locking pin 111 is slidably locked in the locking slit 110, and a retaining ring 112 is attached to a tip of the locking pin 111. Locking slit 11 with retaining ring 112
This prevents a situation in which the locking pin 111 comes off from zero. Then, the urging spring 101 presses the locking pin 111 against one end of the locking slit 110 (in the moving direction of the end guide 52a when the sheet size becomes large), as indicated by the arrow in FIG. The intermediate block 100 to be pressed is pressed. Here, when the sheet in the sheet tray 51 is pushed up by the bottom plate 54, the sheet supply direction end is restrained by the front wall of the sheet tray 51, and the sheet is changed with the change in the posture of the sheet. Although it slightly moves in the direction of the end guide 52a, the locking slit 110
Is set so that the range of movement of the locking pin 111 is such that the allowance for the movement of the sheet (usually about 3 mm) is allowed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12A and 12B, the side guide 52b has a guide main body 120 having an L-shaped cross section in which a cutout is formed in a part of the lateral wall portion. On the other hand, the guide plate 53b (53) corresponding to the side guide 52b is
It is mounted on the bottom wall. And the side guide 52
In the positioning mechanism b, a positioning rod 130 which moves up and down in an up and down direction is disposed at an appropriate position of a vertical wall portion of the guide main body 120, and a positioning pin 60 (a positioning part 61 and a non-positioning part 62 And a rotation center 132 near the base end (upper end) of the positioning rod 130.
1, the distal end of the operation lever 131 is connected to the base end of the positioning rod 130, and the positioning rod 130 is constantly urged downward by an urging spring 133. Guide plate 5
3b is a positioning hole 7 with which the positioning pin 60 is engaged.
In this embodiment, a positioning groove composed of the communication path 71 and the communication path 71 is formed. Further, a guide mechanism is attached to the side guide 52b in the present embodiment, and the guide mechanism is provided with the positioning groove (the positioning hole 70, the communication passage 71).
The guide body 135 of the side guide 52b corresponding to the linear guide slit 135 is formed in parallel with
A pair of slide pins 136 (having an outer diameter dimension corresponding to the width of the guide slit 135 in this example) protrude from the lower surface of the side wall portion of 20, and the slide pin 136 is slidably engaged with the guide slit 135. And the stability of the movement of the side guide 52b is maintained. Reference numeral 137 denotes a spring that presses and holds the side guide 52b onto the sheet tray 51, and 138 denotes a retaining ring that prevents the slide pin 136 from coming off the guide slit 135.

Accordingly, the sheet positioning operation of the sheet storage device according to the present embodiment will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 9, sheets are accommodated and arranged in a sheet tray 51, and in this state, a sheet guide 52 (end guide 52) is arranged.
a, The side guide 52b) is moved so as to hit the end of the sheet P and one side. At this time, when the end guide 52a is moved, the end guide 52a is opposed to the urging force of the urging spring 101.
May be lifted, and in this state, the end guide 52a may be moved along the positioning groove of the inner guide plate 92 to separate the end guide 52a at a predetermined position.
When the end guide 52a is lifted in this state, the intermediate block 100 is lifted up integrally with the guide main body 80, and the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 of the intermediate block 100 is separated from the positioning hole 70 of the inner guide plate 92, and the positioning hole Positioning pin 6 in 70
The 0 non-positioning portion 62 is positioned. And
When the end guide 52a is moved, the positioning pin 60
Moves in the positioning groove, and when the end guide 52a is released at a predetermined position, the guide body 80 and the intermediate block 10 are moved.
0 is lowered by its own weight and the urging force of the urging spring 101, and the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 is
0, and the end guide 52a is positioned.

On the other hand, as for the side guide 52b, by pushing down the operation end of the operation lever 131, the positioning rod 130 is lifted, and the engagement between the positioning pin 60 and the positioning hole 70 is released. Move the guide 52b and reach the predetermined position,
The pressing operation of the operation lever 131 may be stopped. Then, the positioning rod 130 is pushed down by the urging force of the urging spring 133, the positioning pin 60 formed at the tip of the positioning rod 130 is fitted into the corresponding positioning hole 70, and the side guide 52b is positioned.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since the operation of moving the side guide 52b only requires pressing down the operation lever 131, the operation of lifting the side guide 52b on the back side when the sheet tray 51 is pulled out is unnecessary. Therefore, it is preferable in that the side guide 52b can be easily moved in a narrow operation space.

In this embodiment, the support structure of the end guide 52a is such that the guide body 80 of the end guide 52a is connected to the guide plate 5 via the intermediate block 100.
Although positioned at 3a, as shown in FIG. 11, the end guide 52a is relatively movable with respect to the intermediate block 100 when a predetermined load acts in the push-out direction. Therefore, when the sheet tray 51 is inserted and set in the tray receiver, when the bottom plate 54 lifts the sheet to the supply position, the sheet tends to push the end guide 52a with the change in the posture of the sheet. At this time,
Since the positioning pin 60 is fitted in the positioning hole 70, the intermediate block 100 is restrained by the guide plate 53a. However, the end guide 52a is Block 1
Move relative to 00. Therefore, when a sheet applies a load to the end guide 52a, the end guide 5a
2a moves slightly to absorb the load. Therefore, the sheet is not unnecessarily strongly pressed against the front wall of the sheet tray 51 due to the change in the posture of the sheet, and there is a concern that the sheet may bite on the front wall of the sheet tray 51 and hinder the sheet supply operation. Not at all.

In this embodiment, the end guide 52
Although the relative movement structure (the guide body 80, the intermediate block 100, the locking slit 110, and the locking pin 111) when a load is applied is adopted only for “a”, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided on the side guide 52b. You may.

In the present embodiment, the sheet guide 52 (in this example, the end guide 5
2a) is lifted, but is not limited to this, and may be directly pushed down. In this case, for example, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, a positioning pin 60 is provided on the sheet guide 52, and a positioning portion 61 is provided on the distal end side of the positioning pin 60.
A non-positioning portion 62 is provided on the base side, and a stopper 67 having a cross section larger than the positioning portion 61 is provided on the tip side of the non-positioning portion 62, while a positioning hole 70 and a communication passage 71 are formed in the guide plate 53. , Seat guide 52
An urging spring 140 may be interposed between the sheet guide 52 and the guide plate 53 so that the sheet guide 52 is constantly pushed up. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 13A, when the sheet guide 52 is elastically supported in the normal state, the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 is fitted into the positioning hole 70 to seat the sheet guide. 52 is positioned,
On the other hand, if the sheet guide 52 is pressed down against the urging spring 140, the positioning portion 61 of the positioning pin 60 is detached from the positioning hole 70 and the non-positioning portion 62 is moved as shown in FIG. Since the positioning pin 60 is positioned, the positioning pin 60 slides along the positioning hole 70 and the communication path 71, and the sheet guide 52 moves.

Third Embodiment FIGS. 14A and 14B are explanatory views showing a main part of a third embodiment of a sheet storing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The basic configuration of the sheet storage device according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, but the supporting structure of the side guide 52b is different from that of the second embodiment. Specifically, the support structure of the side guide 52b includes a positioning mechanism similar to that of the second embodiment and a guide mechanism different from that of the second embodiment. That is, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15A and 15B, the positioning mechanism of the side guide 52b is provided with a positioning rod 130 that moves up and down in an appropriate position on the vertical wall portion of the guide body 120. An operation in which a positioning pin 60 (including a positioning portion 61 and a non-positioning portion 62) is formed at the distal end of the positioning rod 130, and a rotation center 132 is disposed in the middle portion near the base end (upper end) of the positioning rod 130 A lever 131 is provided, the distal end of the operating lever 131 is connected to the base end of the positioning rod 130, and the positioning rod 130 is constantly urged downward by an urging spring 133. The guide plate 53b is formed with a positioning groove formed by a positioning hole 70 and a communication passage 71 with which the positioning pin 60 is engaged. One in which the.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15A and 15B, the guide mechanism of the side guide 52b has a linear guide slit parallel to the positioning groove (positioning hole 70, communication passage 71). 135 is formed, and one slide pin 151 and one detent pin 1 are provided on the lower surface of the side wall portion of the guide body 120 of the corresponding side guide 52b.
52 are protruded and movably engaged with the guide slit 135. In this example, the slide pin 151 is provided at a position separated from the positioning pin 60 to some extent, and
5 has an outer diameter D1 corresponding to the width dimension D of 5, and is fitted into the guide slit 135 with a clearance fit (fitting accuracy determined by JIS or ISO standards).
Is slidably moved along. on the other hand,
The detent pin 152 is provided close to the positioning pin 60 such that the distance between the positioning pin 60 and the slide pin 151 is shorter than the distance between the slide pin 151 and the positioning pin 60. It has an outer diameter D2 (D2 <D1) smaller than the outer diameter D1, and moves along the guide slit 135 in a loosely fitted state. At least one of the protruding ends of the slide pin 151 and the detent pin 152 is provided with a retaining ring 15.
3 are provided.

Sometimes, in the present embodiment, the slide pin 1
When the distance between the rotation preventing pin 51 and the detent pin 152 is L, the swingable angle θ of the detent pin 152 about the slide pin 151 as the rotation center is θ = 2 · sin ⁻¹ ｛(D1
−D2) / 2) / L}. Here, in this example,
The swing angle θ of the detent pin 152 is, as described later,
The positioning pin 60 is set in a range where the positioning pin 60 does not separate from the positioning groove (the positioning hole 70 and the communication path 71).

Next, the sheet positioning operation of the sheet storage apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 9, the sheets are accommodated and arranged in the sheet tray 51,
In this state, the sheet guide 52 (the end guide 52a,
The side guide 52b) is moved so as to hit the end of the sheet P and one side. At this time, the positioning operation itself of the end guide 52a and the side guide 52b is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, but the moving operation process of the side guide 52b is different from that of the second embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the side guide 52b
As for the position, by pushing down the operation end of the operation lever 131, the positioning rod 130 is lifted, and the engagement state between the positioning pin 60 and the positioning hole 70 is released. In this state, the side guide 52b is moved. When the guide 52b is moved, the slide pin 151 of the side guide 52b slides along the guide slit 135, so that the movement of the side guide 52b is particularly stable.

In particular, for example, as shown in Embodiment 2,
In a mode in which the pair of slide pins 136 are slidably fitted in the guide slits 135, the positional accuracy of the pair of slide pins 136 with respect to the positioning pins 60 is set to be somewhat high in order to smoothly move the side guide 52b. However, in the present embodiment, only one slide pin 151 is slidably fitted into the guide slit 135, and the other detent pin 152 is loosely fitted into the guide slit 135. Therefore, even if the positional accuracy of the slide pin 151 and the detent pin 152 with respect to the positioning pin 60 is set roughly to a certain degree,
The side guide 52b can operate smoothly along the guide slit 135, and the guiding function of the side guide 52b is kept good.

In the present embodiment, the guide mechanism of the side guide 52b has the detent pin 152 that fits loosely into the guide slit 135, so that the side guide 52b moves when the side guide 52b is moved. Even if 52b is inclined, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 15A, the rotation preventing pin 152 contacts the edge of the guide slit 135, so that the inclination of the side guide 52b is restricted. Therefore, when the side guide 52b is moved, the side guide 52b is not unnecessarily tilted.
The rattling of b is effectively suppressed. In particular, in the present embodiment, when the rotation preventing pin 152 is located at the neutral position of the guide slit 135, the positioning pin 60 is fitted into the positioning hole 70 as shown in FIGS. And the positioning pin 6
When the side guide 52b is tilted when the side slit 52 is disengaged, the detent pin 152 does not move the guide slit 13 as shown in FIGS. 16 (a), (d) or (c), (f).
By contacting the five edges, the positioning pin 60 does not move to a position outside at least the area facing the positioning hole 70. Therefore, after the side guide 52b is moved to a predetermined position and then the operation of pushing down the operation lever 131 is stopped, the positioning rod 130
3, the positioning pin 60 is securely fitted into the corresponding positioning hole 70, and the side guide 5
2b is positioned.

In the present embodiment, the side guide 52
As the guide mechanism b, a detent pin 152 is used separately from the slide pin 151, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. A non-rotating protrusion piece 154 having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the non-rotating member 151 may be integrally provided so as to exhibit a non-rotating function, or FIG.
As shown in (b), a detent protrusion 155 may be provided such that the outer diameter gradually narrows from the base end to the tip.

Embodiment 4 FIGS. 19 (a) and 19 (b) are explanatory views showing the main parts of a sheet storage apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The basic configuration of the sheet storage device according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment, but the support structure of the side guide 52b is different from that of the second embodiment. That is, in the support structure of the side guide 52 b, the basic configuration of the positioning mechanism is the configuration of the positioning pin 60, for example, the non-position of the same cross section (for example, a columnar shape) narrower than the communication passage 71 at the tip of the positioning portion 61. The positioning part 65 is connected via a smooth connecting part 66,
The third embodiment is substantially the same as the third embodiment except that the positioning pin 60 is not detached from the positioning hole 70. On the other hand, as a guide mechanism of the side guide 52b, one slide pin is provided for the guide slit 135. 151
Are slidably fitted.

In this embodiment, the side guide 5
When the 2b is moved, even if the positional relationship between the positioning pin 60 and the slide pin 151 is set to some extent, the guiding function of the side guide 52b is reliably exhibited. Further, in this embodiment, since there is no concern that the positioning pin 60 is detached from the positioning hole 70, the position between the positioning pin 60 and the positioning hole 70 can be obtained without providing the rotation preventing structure as shown in the fourth embodiment. There is no concern at all that the fitting operation is impaired.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, as the positioning mechanism of the seed guide, a plurality of positioning holes are connected by the communication path, and the positioning pins are engaged with the desired positioning holes. In addition, it is possible to reduce the pitch interval of the positioning holes as compared with a mode in which the positioning pins are engaged with the independent positioning holes, and it is possible to secure a sufficient positioning holding force by fitting the positioning holes and the positioning pins. it can. For this reason, it is possible to reliably position and hold the sheet with the sheet guide not only for the standard size sheet but also for the non-standard size sheet,
The positioning accuracy with respect to the non-standard size sheet can always be kept good. In particular, if the positioning pin is moved while the positioning pin is engaged in the communication path between the positioning holes, the sheet guide can be stably conveyed by the engagement between the communication path and the positioning pin. While maintaining good operability of moving the sheet guide, it is possible to reliably position and accommodate a sheet of a fixed or irregular size.

Further, in the present invention, a guide groove is provided as a guide mechanism for the sheet guide in parallel with the positioning groove formed by the positioning hole and the communication path, and has an outer diameter portion corresponding to the width dimension of the guide groove. By providing one slide pin that is slidably fitted in the groove, the movement of the sheet guide can always be stabilized even if the positioning accuracy between the positioning pin and the slide pin is set to some extent. In particular, if a detent portion of the seat guide is added as a guide mechanism of the seat guide, rattling during movement of the seat guide can be effectively suppressed, and if the detent range is optimally set. Further, the fitting operation between the positioning pin and the positioning hole can be further stabilized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a sheet storage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus in which Embodiment 1 of the sheet storage device to which the present invention is applied is incorporated.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view showing the sheet storage device according to the first embodiment;

4A is an explanatory view showing details of a support structure of a sheet guide (end guide), and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4A.

5A is an explanatory view showing a relationship between a positioning pin and a positioning hole, FIG. 5B is an explanatory view showing an engagement state of the positioning pin in the positioning hole, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an engagement state.

6A is a perspective explanatory view showing a relationship between a positioning pin, a positioning hole, and a communication passage according to the embodiment, FIG. 6B is a plan explanatory view thereof, and FIG. 6C is a modified form of the positioning hole and the communication passage. FIG.

FIG. 7A is a perspective explanatory view showing a relationship between a positioning pin, a positioning hole, and a communication path according to a modification of the embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a plan explanatory view thereof.

FIG. 8A is a plan view showing the relationship between a positioning pin, a positioning hole, and a communication path according to another modification of the embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view showing a sheet storage device according to a second embodiment.

10A is an explanatory view showing a support structure of an end guide, FIG. 10B is an arrow view as viewed from a direction B in FIG. 10A, and FIG.
(A) is an arrow view as viewed from the middle C direction.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an example of a support structure between a positioning pin and a sheet guide according to the present embodiment.

12A is an explanatory plan view showing a support structure of a side guide, and FIG. 12B is an arrow view as viewed from a direction B in FIG. 12A.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are explanatory views showing another modification of the positioning mechanism of the positioning pin.

14A and 14B show a main part of a sheet storage device according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 12A shows a support structure of a side guide.
(A) is a plan explanatory view similar to (a), and (b) is an arrow view as viewed from the direction B in (a).

15A is an explanatory view showing a main part of a support structure for a side guide, and FIG. 15B is an explanatory sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 15A.

16 (a) to (c) are plan explanatory views showing the operation of the side guide support structure, and FIGS. 16 (d) to (f) are (a) to (f).
It is the arrow view seen from the front direction of (c).

FIGS. 17A and 17B are explanatory views showing a modification of the guide mechanism of the side guide according to the third embodiment.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show a main part of the sheet storage apparatus according to the third embodiment, and FIG.
(A) is a plan explanatory view similar to (a), and (b) is an arrow view as viewed from the direction B in (a).

19A is an explanatory view showing a main part of a side guide support structure, and FIG. 19B is an explanatory sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 19A.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sheet tray, 2 ... Sheet guide, 3 ... Sheet, 4
... Guide holder, 5 ... Positioning pin, 5a ... Positioning part, 5b ... Non-positioning part, 6 ... Positioning hole, 7 ... Communication path, 8 ... Position holding member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F343 FA02 FB02 FB03 GA01 GB01 GC01 GD01 HD09 HD15 HE03 HE08 HE12 HE16 HE18 KB03 KB17 LA02 LA13 LC12 LD12

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A sheet storage device that stores sheets in a sheet tray and regulates a sheet storage position by a sheet guide, wherein a guide holder for positioning and holding the sheet guide is provided on the sheet tray side. A positioning pin protrudes from one of the guide and the guide holder, and a plurality of positioning holes are formed in the other member so that a positioning portion of the positioning pin fits, and a width between the positioning holes is narrower than the positioning hole. A sheet accommodating device, wherein a communication passage is formed. 2. A sheet storage device in which sheets are stored in a sheet tray and the position of storing the sheets is regulated by a sheet guide, wherein a guide holder for positioning and holding the sheet guide is provided on the sheet tray side. A positioning pin protrudes from one of the guide and the guide holder, and the positioning pin includes a positioning portion and a non-positioning portion having a smaller cross section than the positioning portion. A sheet accommodating device, wherein a plurality of positioning holes into which the positioning pins fit are formed, and a communication passage formed between the positioning holes, the communication path being narrower than the positioning holes and capable of moving a non-positioning portion of a positioning pin. 3. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the communication path between the positioning holes is not more than 75% of the width of the positioning hole. 4. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein a pitch interval between the plurality of positioning holes is constant. 5. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein a pitch interval between the plurality of positioning holes is set to be equal to or smaller than a dimensional tolerance of the sheet. 6. The sheet storage device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning pin includes a non-positioning portion that slides along a communication path at a distal end side of the positioning pin. 7. The sheet storage device according to claim 2, wherein the guide holder restricts a vertical movement range of the sheet guide while allowing a movement allowance for changing an engagement position of the positioning pin. Characteristic sheet storage device. 8. The sheet accommodating device according to claim 2, wherein between the guide holder and the sheet guide, a biasing means for constantly biasing the sheet guide in a direction in which the positioning portion of the positioning pin fits into the positioning hole. A sheet storage device comprising: 9. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein one of the guide holder and the sheet guide is provided with a guide groove in parallel with a positioning groove formed by a positioning hole and a communication path, and the guide is provided on the other side. A sheet accommodating device having an outer diameter portion corresponding to a width dimension of a groove and one slide pin slidably fitted in the guide groove. 10. The sheet holding device according to claim 9, wherein the member provided with the slide pin or the slide pin has a small-diameter portion smaller than the width of the guide groove, and is loosely fitted in the guide groove. A sheet accommodating device characterized by comprising a section. 11. The sheet accommodating device according to claim 10, wherein the positioning pin has a non-positioning portion having a smaller cross section than the positioning portion. A sheet accommodating device, wherein a non-positioning portion of a positioning pin is set in a range that does not separate from a positioning groove.