JP2002234620A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate setting of paper sheet and to dispense with a pressure foot of a back end. SOLUTION: This paper feeder comprises a pressing plate 30 taking an pressing position for pressing a tip of a paper sheet P disposed in a case 1 from the downside to a paper feeding roller 2 disposed in the deep sheet part of a set opening 1a of the paper sheet or a releasing position for releasing the pressing, and a support plate 40 that is disposed at the back of the pressing plate and supports the back part of the paper sheet from the downside. The support plate 40 is turnable in a first direction for expanding the opening of the set opening 1a or in a second direction for narrowing it. The support plate 40 is connected to the pressing plate 30 through an interlocking mechanism 50 for moving the pressing plate to the releasing position when the support plate is turned in the first direction or to the pressing position when the support plate is turned in the second direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder used for an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, and the like. In particular, a plurality of sheets (sheet-shaped recording media) are set in a sheet feeding unit without using a cassette,
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for feeding the sheets one by one to an image forming unit or the like of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet feeding device for setting a plurality of sheets in a sheet feeding unit without using a cassette and feeding the sheets one by one to an image forming unit or the like of an image forming apparatus has been known. For example, the one shown in FIG. 3 is known. The paper feeder includes a case 1, a set port 1a for a sheet P provided in the case 1, a sheet feed roller 2 provided at the back of the set port 1a, a pressing plate 3, and a support plate 4. And

The case 1 is usually formed integrally with the case of the image forming apparatus. The set port 1a extends in the width direction of the sheet (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3), and a plurality of sheets P are fed from the set port 1a to the sheet feeding section (on the pressing plate 3 and the support plate 4). Is set to A separation pad 5 for separating and feeding the paper P one by one is pressed against the paper feed roller 2 by a compression coil spring 5a.

[0004] The pressing plate 3 is rotatably attached to the case 1 about a shaft 3a. A compression coil spring (hopper spring) 6 is provided between the bottom surface of the pressing plate 3 and the case 1, and the operation of the spring 6 causes the pressing plate 3 to move as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the leading end Pa of the sheet is urged to press the sheet feed roller 2 from below, but this pressing is released by an operation lever (not shown) as shown in FIG. Is available. That is,
The pressing plate 3 can take a pressing position (see FIG. (B)) and a releasing position (see FIG. (A)) for releasing the pressing by operating an operation lever (not shown).

[0005] The support plate 4 is disposed behind the pressing plate 3 (rearward in the sheet feeding direction), and supports the rear portion Pb of the sheet P from below. The support plate 4 is fixed in an inclined state such that the set sheet P slides on the upper surface of the support plate 4 by its own weight and heads toward the paper feed roller 2. The pressing plate 3 and the supporting plate 4 are provided with side guides 3b and 4a for guiding a side edge of the sheet P.

In the above-described paper feeder, the operation lever (not shown) is operated to set the paper P in a state where the pressing of the pressing plate 3 is released as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, the leading edge Pa of the paper P is pressed against the paper feed roller 2 by the pressing plate 3. Thereafter, when there is a print signal from the personal computer or the like (not shown) to the image forming apparatus, the paper feed roller 2 rotates and the paper is fed one by one to the image forming unit (not shown) in order from the top sheet.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional paper feeder, since the support plate 4 is fixed in an inclined state, the opening height h1 of the set opening 1a is narrow, and it is difficult to set the paper P. There was a problem. It is conceivable that this problem can be solved by arranging the support plate 4 horizontally and increasing the opening height h2 of the set port 1a as shown in FIG. 4A, for example. However,
When the support plate 4 is disposed horizontally, when the leading end Pa of the paper P is pressed toward the paper feed roller 2 by the pressing plate 3 as shown in FIG. Since P tends to move backward (in the direction of the arrow (b)), if it is left untouched, the contact between the paper P and the paper feed roller 2 becomes impossible (or extremely unstable), resulting in poor feeding. In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 2B, a rear end presser 7 is required to prevent the paper P from moving backward, but if the rear end presser 7 is provided, the setting port 1a is provided. Is not so wide in practice. In addition, in order to improve the sheet setting property, the rear end presser 7 is configured to be slidable in the directions of the arrows X1 and X2. Operation to hold the trailing edge of the paper)
Operation becomes complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a paper feeding apparatus in which paper can be easily set and a rear end press need not be provided.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder, comprising: a case; a paper set opening provided in the case; and a back portion of the set opening. A pressing plate that can take a pressing position for pressing the leading end of the paper against the paper feeding roller from below, and a release position for releasing the pressing, and a pressing plate disposed behind the pressing plate, With a support plate that supports the rear from below,
The support plate is configured to be rotatable in a first direction in which the opening of the set opening is widened or in a second direction in which the opening of the set port is narrowed, and the support plate and the pressing plate are configured to connect the support plate to the first direction. When the support plate is turned in the second direction, the pressing plate is moved to the release position, and when the support plate is turned in the second direction, the pressing plate is moved to the pressing position. It is characterized by having been done. The paper feeder according to claim 2 is the paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the width of the pressing plate in the paper transport direction is the smallest width of the paper to be fed in the paper transport direction. Is smaller than the width in the sheet feeding direction.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder, comprising: a case; a paper set opening provided in the case; a paper feed roller provided in a deep portion of the set opening; A pressing position that presses the leading end of the paper from below, a pressing plate that can take a release position to release the pressing, and a support plate that is disposed behind the pressing plate and supports the rear part of the paper from below, The support plate is configured to be rotatable in a first direction in which the opening of the set opening is widened or in a second direction in which the opening of the set port is narrowed, and the support plate and the pressing plate are configured to connect the support plate to the first direction. When the support plate is turned in the second direction, the pressing plate is moved to the release position, and when the support plate is turned in the second direction, the pressing plate is moved to the pressing position. The support plate is pivoted in the first direction. When the, along with widened opening of the set port, so that the pressing plate moves to the release position. Therefore, paper can be easily set from the widened setting opening. Thereafter, when the support plate is rotated in the second direction, the pressing plate moves to the pressing position, and the sheet can be fed. As described above, according to the paper feeding device of the first aspect, it is possible to obtain an effect that the paper can be easily set and it is not necessary to provide the rear end press. According to the sheet feeding device of the second aspect, in the sheet feeding device of the first aspect, the width of the pressing plate in the sheet conveying direction is the smallest width in the sheet conveying direction among the sheets to be fed. Is smaller than the width of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction, the sheet feeding operation can be performed reliably even for the sheet having the smallest sheet width in the sheet feeding direction.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention, in which (a) shows a state in which a support plate 40 is rotated in a first direction.
(B) is a figure which shows the state rotated in the 2nd direction.
FIG. 2 is a partially cut plan view. In these figures, the same parts as those of the prior art shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The feature of this embodiment is that the support plate 40 widens the opening of the setting opening 1a as shown in FIG. 1A, or narrows the opening of the setting opening 1a as shown in FIG. 1B. While being configured to be rotatable in the second direction, the support plate 40 and the pressing plate 30
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), when rotated in the first direction, the pressing plate 30 was moved to the release position, and the support plate 40 was rotated in the second direction as shown in FIG. 1 (b). In this case, they are connected by an interlocking mechanism 50 that moves the pressing plate 30 to the pressing position.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is rotatably mounted on shafts 13 provided on the case 1. The support plate 40 is rotatably mounted on shafts 14 provided on the case 1.

The interlocking mechanism 50 includes the shafts 13, 13 and 1
4 and 14. In particular,
The interlocking mechanism 50 includes a contact / release unit provided at the rear end of the pressing plate 30 and a contact / release unit provided at the distal end of the support plate 40, as described below. Press plate 3
0, a pair of recesses 31, 31 are formed at the rear end, and a lower surface 33 of a portion 32 between the recesses 31, 31
Form a contact / release portion on the pressing plate 30 side. Projections 41, 41 provided at the tip of the support plate 40 enter the recesses 31, 31.
The rod 42 supported by the support plate 40 constitutes a contact / release portion on the support plate 40 side.

That is, when the support plate 40 is rotated in the direction of arrow Y1 by holding the rear end 44 of the support plate 40 from the state shown in FIG. 1B, the rod 42 comes into contact with the lower surface 33 of the rear end of the pressing plate 30.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the pressing plate 30 rotates clockwise around the shaft 13 against the urging force of the hopper spring 6 and moves to the release position, and from the state shown in FIG. When the support plate 40 is rotated in the direction of the arrow Y2 with the rear end 44, the restriction (contact) of the rod 42 on the lower surface 33 of the rear end of the pressing plate 30 is released, and as shown in FIG. Press plate 30
Is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft 13 by the urging force of the hopper spring 6 and moves to the pressing position. In addition,
In FIG. 1B, the paper P is omitted.

On both sides of the support plate 40, projections 45, 45 are provided.
Are provided, and concave portions 15a, 15a engaging and disengaging with the protrusions 45, 45 are formed on an inner surface of the case (main body of the image forming apparatus or the like) 1 where a setting port 1a is formed.
(Only one shown), 15b, 15b (only one shown)
Are provided. Therefore, when the support plate 40 is rotated in a state as shown in FIG.
45 is engaged with the concave portions 15b, 15b with a click feeling, and the support plate 40 is temporarily fixed at the position shown in FIG.
When the support plate 40 is rotated in a state as shown in FIG.
The projections 45, 45 are engaged with the concave portions 15a, 15a with a click feeling, and the support plate 40 is temporarily fixed at the position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Is rotated, the opening of the set opening 1a is widened to have an opening height h4, and as shown in FIG.
In a state where 0 is rotated, the opening of the setting port 1a is narrowed.

The side guides 36, slidable in the paper width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) are provided on the pressing plate 30.
A side guide 46 is provided on the support plate 40 so as to be slidable. Press plate 30
At the rear end of the side guides 36, 36, recesses 37, 3
The projections 47, 47 provided at the distal ends of the side guides 46, 46 on the support plate 40 side enter these recesses 37, 37. Therefore, the support plate 4
When the side guides 46 on the 0 side are slid, the side guides 36 on the press plate 30 are also slid. The projecting pieces 47, 47 of the side guides 46, 46 on the side of the support plate 40 only enter the recesses 37, 37 of the side guides 36, 36 on the side of the press plate 30, so that the above-described rotation of the press plate 30 and the support plate 40 is performed. Movement is not inhibited. Reference numerals 38, 38 denote tongues formed inside the distal ends of the side guides 36, 36 on the pressing plate 30 side, for suppressing curling upward of the leading end of the sheet.

The width W of the pressing plate 30 in the sheet transport direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is determined by the width of the sheet P to be fed.
The width of the sheet having the smallest width in the sheet feeding direction is set smaller than the sheet width in the sheet feeding direction (see W1 in FIG. 2).

In the above-described paper feeding apparatus, the supporting plate 40 is operated to release the pressing of the pressing plate 30 against the paper feeding roller 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the support plate 40 is operated, and the paper (not shown) is pressed against the paper feed roller 2 by the pressing plate 30 as shown in FIG. 1B.
Thereafter, when there is a print signal from the personal computer or the like (not shown) to the image forming apparatus, the paper feed roller 2 rotates and the paper is fed one by one to the image forming unit (not shown) in order from the top sheet.

According to the above-described paper feeder, the following operational effects can be obtained. (A) A case 1, a paper setting port 1a provided in this case, a paper feed roller 2 provided in the inner part of the set port 1a, and a leading end P of the paper P with respect to the paper feed roller 2.
a pressing position for pressing a from below (see FIG. 1 (b));
A support plate includes a pressing plate 30 that can take a release position (see FIG. 1) for releasing the pressing, and a support plate 40 that is disposed behind the pressing plate 30 and supports the rear portion Pb of the sheet P from below. The plate 40 widens the opening of the setting port 1a (see the opening height h4) or narrows it in the first direction (FIG. 1).
(See (b)) While being configured to be rotatable in the second direction, the support plate 40 and the pressing plate 30 release the pressing plate 30 when the supporting plate 40 is rotated in the first direction. 1 (see FIG. 1A), and when the support plate 40 is rotated in the second direction, the pressing plate 30 is pressed to the pressing position (see FIG. 1B).
When the support plate 40 is rotated in the first direction, the connection
As shown in (a), the opening of the setting opening 1a is widened (the opening height becomes h4), and the pressing plate 30 moves to the release position. Therefore, the paper P can be easily set from the widened setting opening 1a. After that, when the support plate 40 is rotated in the second direction, FIG.
As shown in (b), the pressing plate 30 moves to the pressing position, and the paper can be fed. In this state, the support plate 40 is inclined downward in the paper feed direction, and the set paper P slides on the upper surface of the support plate 40 by its own weight toward the paper feed roller 2. Even without the trailing edge presser 7 as shown in FIG. As described above, according to this paper feeder, it is possible to easily set the paper, and it is possible to obtain the effect that there is no need to provide a rear end press. (B) Since the width W of the pressing plate 30 in the sheet conveyance direction is configured to be smaller than the width W1 of the sheet having the smallest width in the sheet conveyance direction among the sheets to be fed. Even for a sheet having the smallest width in the sheet feeding direction, the sheet can be slid by the support plate 40 (in other words, a trailing edge suppressing action), and a reliable sheet feeding operation can be performed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention.

[0021]

According to any one of the first and second paper feeders, it is possible to easily set the paper and to obtain the effect that there is no need to provide a rear end press. Claim 2
According to the above-described sheet feeding device, a reliable sheet feeding operation is performed even for a sheet having the smallest width in the sheet feeding and conveying direction.

[0022]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention, in which (a) is a view showing a state in which a support plate 40 is rotated in a first direction, and (b) is a view showing The figure which shows the state rotated in the 2nd direction.

FIG. 2 is a partially cut plan view of the embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of a conventional technique.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P paper Pa front end Pb rear 1 case 1a set opening 2 paper feed roller 30 pressing plate 40 support plate 50 interlocking mechanism

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A case, a paper set opening provided in the case, a paper feed roller provided in the back of the set opening, and a leading end of the paper pressed against the paper feed roller from below. A pressing position, a pressing plate that can take a release position for releasing the pressing, and a supporting plate disposed behind the pressing plate and supporting a rear portion of the paper from below, the supporting plate is provided with a The support plate and the pressing plate are configured to be rotatable in a first direction in which the opening is widened or in a second direction in which the opening is narrowed, and when the support plate is rotated in the first direction. The press plate is moved to the release position, and is connected by an interlocking mechanism that moves the press plate to the press position when the support plate is rotated in the second direction. Paper equipment. 2. The width of the pressing plate in the sheet conveyance direction is smaller than the width of the sheet having the smallest width in the sheet conveyance direction among the sheets to be fed. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein: