JP2002255360A - Paper edge guide, paper feeder having this paper edge guide and recorder having this paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact paper edge guide easy in operability by minimizing force required for releasing an engaging state of a locking projection and a locking object part while enhancing elastic force of an elastic means. for further firmly maintaining the engaging state of the locking projection and the locking object part. SOLUTION: This edge guide 1 is composed of a base part 13, and a guide part 14 for guiding the side end of paper P. The base part 13 is provided with an elastically deformable elastic part 18, and the locking projection 19 separates and approaches to a hopper 2 by elastic deformation of the elastic part 18. An operation part 16 for displacing the locking projection 19 upward rotates with an elastic rotary shaft 22 as the center. The operation part 16 rotates with the elastic rotary shaft 22 as the center, and elastically deforms the elastic part 18 by the principle of a lever, and displaces the locking projection 19 upward.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for feeding a recording material, wherein a guide position for guiding a side of the recording material in accordance with the width of the recording material is set. The present invention relates to a paper edge guide that can be displaced by sliding on a supporting rear guide. Further, the present invention relates to a sheet feeding device provided with the sheet edge guide and a recording device provided with the sheet feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some recording apparatuses typified by a facsimile, a printer and the like include a paper feeder for feeding a recording material to a recording section for recording on a printing paper as a recording material. Some of the sheet feeding devices include a sheet edge guide for guiding side edges of a plurality of recording materials to be stacked.
The paper edge guide has a function of aligning the side edges of a plurality of recording materials to be stacked, and at the same time, prevents the recording material to be fed from being fed in an obliquely inclined posture. It plays a role in regulating the feeding attitude. Therefore, the guide position can be freely displaced in accordance with the width of the recording material, and is generally fixed by fixing means so that the guide position is not easily displaced. It is.

One example of such a paper edge guide according to the prior art is disclosed in JP-A-6-115716 and JP-A-7-115716.
-2855681. FIG. 7A shows a first conventional technique disclosed in JP-A-6-115716, and FIG. 7B shows a first conventional technique disclosed in JP-A-7-285.
No. 681 discloses a second conventional technique. Hereinafter, the related art will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the first prior art shown in FIG. 7A will be outlined. Here, FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a sheet edge guide in a sheet storage container (symbol S indicates a sheet). In the first related art shown in FIG. 7A, a “side guide plate” denoted by reference numeral 201 corresponds to the above-described paper edge guide. The side guide plate 201 is provided so as to be movable in the direction B on the bottom surface 206 of the tray body, so that a guide position suitable for the size of the sheet S can be taken. A stopper member 202 is integrally provided on the side guide plate 201 via an elastic connecting portion 203, and the pressing member 204 is pressed to rotate the stopper member 202 about the elastic connecting portion 203 as a rotation axis, so that a bottom surface 206 is formed. Guide unevenness 20 provided on
5 can be released.

Next, the second prior art shown in FIG. 7B will be outlined. Here, FIG. 7B is a side sectional view of the paper guide member. In the second related art shown in FIG. 7B, a “paper guide member” denoted by reference numeral 301 corresponds to the above-described paper edge guide. The paper guide member 301 is
The image forming apparatus includes a mounting portion 303 that can be moved on the sheet mounting plate 302 and a guide portion 304 that guides a side portion of the sheet.
The guide portion 304 has an elastic piece 305, and the elastic piece 305 has, at the lower end of the L-shape, a locking projection 306 for locking with a locking groove (not shown) formed in the paper placing plate 302. A pressing lever 307 extending parallel to the guide 304 is integrally provided. When the pressing lever 307 is pressed, the elastic piece 305 is bent in a direction in which the locking projection 306 is separated from the locking groove (not shown), and the paper guide member 301 is moved in the paper width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 7). In addition, at the position where the paper guide member 301 is adjusted to the paper width, the paper guide member 301 can be fixed by locking the locking projection 306 and the locking groove (not shown).

[0006]

By the way, in the first and second prior arts described above, a locking projection provided on a "paper edge guide" and a locked portion to be engaged with the locking projection. The guide position is fixed by engagement with the (irregular surface). In order to release the engaged state and displace the guide position of the paper edge guide, urging means (elastic means) It is necessary to operate the operation unit against the above.
That is, in the first related art, by pressing the holding portion 204 against the elastic force of the shaft-like connecting portion 203,
In the second related art, the engagement state between the locking projection and the locked portion can be released by pressing the pressing lever 307 against the elastic force of the elastic piece 305.

Here, in order to more firmly and reliably fix the guide position of the paper edge guide, the urging force of the urging means is increased, and the engagement state between the locking projection and the locked portion is increased. Needs to be maintained more robustly. However, with this configuration, in order to release the engagement state between the locking projection and the locked portion, the operating portion, that is, the holding portion 204 in the first related art, is used.
Alternatively, the pressing force of the pressing lever 307 in the second conventional technique is increased, and the operability is deteriorated. On the other hand, in order to minimize the force for pressing the operation unit, the principle of leverage is used. In the first prior art, the holding unit 204 is extended upward and elastically connected to the holding unit 204. In the second prior art, it is necessary to extend the pressing lever 307 upward, but in any case, the compactness of the paper edge guide is lost. The disadvantage is that it is done.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to reduce the urging force of the urging means in order to more firmly maintain the engagement state between the locking projection and the locked portion. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper edge guide which is easy to operate and compact in size, while minimizing the force necessary for releasing the engagement state between the locking projection and the locked portion while increasing the height.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper edge guide for feeding a recording material in a sheet feeding device for feeding the recording material according to the width of the recording material. A paper edge guide that can be displaced by sliding a guide position for guiding a recording material side end on a back guide that supports the recording material from the back surface, the fixing device including fixing means for fixing the guide position. Means for engaging with a locking member provided so as to be able to be separated from and approaching to the back guide, and an uneven surface formed on the back guide along the sliding direction; A locking projection formed so as to protrude toward the rear guide, and maintaining the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface, enabling the locking member to be biased toward the rear guide. Energizing member, engaging with the locking member Disengaging the locking projection from the concave-convex surface by displacing the locking member in a direction away from the back guide against the urging means; An operation member formed independently, and an urging force reduction for reducing an urging force received by the operation member from the urging member when the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface is released by the operation member. Means.

[0010] The engagement between the concave and convex surface formed on the rear guide supporting the recording material from the rear surface and the engaging projection engaging with the concave and convex surface is more firmly maintained, so that the guide position is more firmly maintained. In order to fix, it is necessary to increase the urging force of the urging member capable of urging the locking member provided with the locking projection toward the rear guide, but the locking member and the operating member are integrated. In this case, the force for operating the operation member to release the engaged state is also increased, and the operability is reduced. Further, if the size of the operation member is increased to prevent this, the compactness of the paper edge guide will be impaired.

However, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the locking member and the operating member are formed separately and independently, the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface as described above is thereby improved. Even when the urging force of the urging member is increased to maintain the rigidity, between the locking member and the operating member,
It is possible to interpose an urging force reducing means for reducing the urging force that the operating member receives from the urging member, thereby making it possible to increase the size of the operating member and at the same time to reduce the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface. The operability at the time of canceling can also be improved.

The paper edge guide according to claim 2 of the present application is
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reduction of the biasing force by the biasing force reducing unit is realized by a principle of a lever composed of a power point, a fulcrum, and an action point, and the biasing force reducing unit is displaceable in a direction away from the back guide. And a part of the locking member to be engaged, a separating force acting part as the acting point, and a rotating shaft as the fulcrum provided at a position separated from the separating force acting part; It is provided at a position separated from the separating force acting portion with the rotating shaft interposed therebetween, and a distance from the position to the rotating shaft is larger than a distance from the separating force acting portion to the rotating shaft. And a turning power acting portion as the power point, the operating member being turned around the turning axis by receiving a force in a turning direction by the turning power acting portion. It is characterized by having.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reduction of the biasing force by the biasing force reducing means is realized by the principle of leverage using a rotatably provided operating member. With the structure, the urging force reducing means can be configured at low cost.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper edge guide,
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the separating force acting portion has a hook shape that engages with a hook receiving portion formed on the locking member. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the separating force acting portion provided on the operating member has a hook shape which engages with the hook receiving portion formed on the locking member, this ensures a simple structure. It is possible to apply a force in the separating direction to the locking member.

The paper edge guide according to claim 4 of the present application is
The recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation member is provided so as to protrude from the sheet edge guide main body in a direction away from the recording material side end. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the operating member is provided so as to protrude from the paper edge guide main body in a direction away from the recording material side end, thereby improving the operability of the operating member. I do.

The paper edge guide according to claim 5 of the present application is
The operation member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation member is formed by integral molding using a resin material. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the operating member is formed by integral molding using a resin material, it is possible to configure the operating member at low cost.

The paper edge guide according to claim 6 of the present application is
In any one of claims 1 to 5, the locking member and the urging member are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material. According to the invention as set forth in claim 6 of the present application, the locking member and the urging member are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material, so that the locking member and the urging member can be formed at low cost. Can be configured.

The paper edge guide according to claim 7 of the present application is
In any one of the first to sixth aspects, all the constituent elements are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, all the components of the paper edge guide are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material, so that the entire paper edge guide can be configured at low cost. Becomes possible.

The paper feeder according to claim 8 of the present invention is characterized by claim 1
The paper edge guide according to any one of the above items 7 to 7, is provided. According to the invention described in claim 8 of the present application, in the paper feeder, the above-described claims 1 to 7 of the present application are provided.
The same operation and effect as the invention described in any one of the above items can be obtained.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus having a recording section for performing recording on a recording material, wherein the recording apparatus is provided with the sheet feeding apparatus according to the eighth aspect. According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as those of the first aspect of the present invention.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the “sheet feeding device” according to the present invention will be outlined with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the sheet feeding device 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 corresponds to a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2 showing a plan view of the hopper 2 described in detail later.

In FIG. 1, a paper feeder 100 holds a plurality of sheets P as recording materials in an inclined state, and feeds the uppermost sheet P held in the inclined state to a feed roller 3. And press the paper feed roller 3 in this state.
Is a paper feeding device for feeding the paper P to the recording head 9 by rotating the paper P.

The paper feeder 100 has a hopper 2 as a "back guide" for guiding the back of the paper P held in a stacked state. The hopper 2 is provided so as to be rotatable about the rotation center 2a in the directions of the arrows shown in FIG. 1 (clockwise and counterclockwise in FIG. 1), and is always pressed against the paper feed roller 3 by a compression coil spring 6. It is provided in a state in which it is urged to rotate in the direction of rotation.

The hopper 2 is provided with a cam mechanism (not shown). The cam mechanism rotates the hopper 2 in a direction in which the hopper 2 is pressed against the paper feed roller 3 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 6. In contrast, on the contrary, the hopper 2 is configured to be switchable so as to rotate in a direction away from the paper feed roller 3 against the urging force of the compression coil spring 6. Therefore, when feeding the paper P, the hopper 2 presses the uppermost one of the stacked papers P against the paper feed roller 3, and the paper P is fed out by the paper feed roller 3 in the feeding direction. After that, the pressure contact state between the paper P and the paper feed roller 3 is released.

The paper feed roller 3 has a substantially D-shape when viewed from the side, and is provided so as to be able to rotate forward and backward around a paper feed roller shaft 3a by a drive motor (not shown). A friction member (for example, rubber material) 3 b is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 3.
Is wound, whereby a frictional force with the paper P is ensured, so that the paper P is reliably fed out. A friction member 4 is provided on the leading end side of the sheet P in the hopper 2, whereby a frictional force with the lowest sheet P is ensured, and when the top sheet P is fed out, The entirety of the next and subsequent sheets P is configured to be securely held on the hopper 2.

The leading edge of the sheet P held in the stacked state contacts the separation pad unit 5 so that the leading edge position is regulated and the leading edges are aligned. The separation pad unit 5 is provided with a separation pad 5a, and the separation pad unit 5 is provided so that the separation pad 5a can advance and retreat with respect to the paper feed roller 3. Also,
The separation pad unit 5 is urged by a compression coil spring 6 in a direction in which the separation pad 5a is constantly pressed against the paper feed roller 3.

The separation pad 5a is formed of a friction member which increases the frictional resistance between the separation pad 5a and the sheet P. When the paper P is not fed, the flat surface of the paper feed roller 3 is placed facing the separation pad 5a as shown in FIG.
In this state, the advance / retreat stroke of the separation pad unit 5a is determined so that the separation pad 5a and the flat surface of the paper feed roller 3 are separated from each other. Accordingly, the transport rollers 8 for transporting the sheet P to the recording head 9
So that no transfer load is applied to them. When the paper P is fed, the paper feed roller 3 rotates so that when the arc surface of the paper feed roller 3 faces the separation pad 5a, the paper feed roller 3 and the separation pad 5a are pressed against each other.・ The forward / backward stroke of the unit is determined. Therefore, the fed paper P is nipped by the paper feed roller 3 and the separation pad 5a, thereby preventing the paper P following the next paper from being double fed. By the way, in the paper feeding device 100, the side edges of the paper P to be deposited are guided by the edge guide 1 according to the present invention, whereby the side edges of the paper P are aligned, and when the paper P is fed. , The paper P is prevented from skewing. Here, the function of the edge guide 1 will be outlined with reference to FIG. 2 showing a plan view of the hopper 2. The hopper 2 has a fixed guide 2c.
While the edge guide 1 is
The hopper 2 is attached to the hopper 2 so that its guide position can be displaced in accordance with the width of the sheet P. The arrow in FIG. 2 indicates the direction in which the edge guide 1 is displaced (the direction of the front and back of the paper surface in FIG. 1).
Indicates a guide surface for guiding the side edge of the sheet P in the edge guide 1. Therefore, when setting a plurality of sheets P in the sheet feeding device 100, the edge guide 1 is displaced, and the guide surface 1a is abutted against the side end of the sheet P. As described above, the guide surface 1 is adjusted according to the width of the paper P of various sizes.
a is displaced, the side edges of the sheet P are guided by the fixed guide 2c and the edge guide 1, and the side edges of the plurality of stacked sheets P are aligned, and the sheet P is skewed during feeding. Is reliably prevented. The outline of the sheet feeding device 100 has been described above.

Incidentally, downstream from the paper feed roller 3 in the feeding direction,
A recording unit of a recording apparatus, whose overall configuration is not shown, is provided. Reference numeral 8 denotes the above-described transport roller. The transport roller 8 includes a transport drive roller 8a that is driven and rotated, and a transport driven roller that is pressed against the transport drive roller 8a and is driven and rotated. A recording head 9 for performing recording on the paper P is provided downstream from the transport roller 8, and a platen 10 that defines a gap between the paper P and the recording head 9 is disposed opposite the recording head 9. On the downstream side from the recording head 9, a paper discharge roller 11 composed of a paper discharge drive roller 11a and a paper discharge driven roller 11b pressed against the paper discharge drive roller 11a is arranged, and recording is performed by the paper discharge roller 11. Paper P
Is configured to be discharged.

Next, the structure, operation and effects of the edge guide 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 and FIGS. 1 and 2 as necessary. Here, FIG. 3A is an external perspective view of the edge guide 1, and FIG.
(B) is a view on arrow Z in FIG. 3 (A). 4 is a side sectional view (BB sectional view in FIG. 2) of the edge guide 1 and a partially enlarged view thereof, and FIG. 5 is an X arrow view and a partially enlarged view thereof in FIG. 3 (A). It is. Further, FIG.
6A is a side sectional view of the edge guide 1 showing a state in which the edge guide 1 is fixed to the hopper 2, and FIG. 6B is a side sectional view showing a state in which the edge guide 1 can be displaced on the hopper 2.

In FIG. 3A, the edge guide 1 has a base 13 in the form of a plate having a surface parallel to the sheet mounting surface 2b of the hopper 2. A guide part 14 is provided on the base 13.
And a part thereof extends to near the lower edge of the hopper 2 beyond the base 13. Further, the guide portion 1 is formed with a guide surface 1a which is in contact with the side edge of the sheet P described above.

On the upper edge side of the hopper 2 at the base portion 13, a sliding portion 15 which is engaged with the upper edge of the hopper 2 and has a hook shape in a side view is formed (see FIG. 1). When the sliding portion 15 slides while engaging with the upper edge of the hopper 2, the movement in the direction away from the hopper 2 and the movement toward the lower edge of the hopper 2 are restricted. A T-shaped projection 12 having an inverted T-shape in cross section is formed on a surface of the base 13 facing the paper mounting surface 2b of the hopper 2 so as to project toward the paper mounting surface 2b. (See FIG. 1 and FIG. 5).
When the edge guide 1 is displaced in a state (shown in FIG. 1) in which the character projection 12 is fitted in a guide hole 2d (see FIG. 2) extending in the displacement direction of the edge guide 1 in the hopper 2, the edge guide 1 is further displaced. The movement in the direction away from the hopper 2 is restricted, and the movement to the upper edge side and the lower edge side of the hopper 2 is further restricted. As shown in FIG. 2, an insertion hole 2e having a slightly larger size is formed at one end of the guide hole 2d, and the T-shaped projection 12 is formed in the insertion hole 2e.
And the T-shaped projection 12 and the guide hole 2d are engaged (the state shown in FIG. 1).

Returning to FIG. 3, a window hole 14b is provided in the middle of the guide portion 14, and the window hole 14b has
An operation unit 16 described in detail later is formed. Slots 17, 17 are formed in the base 13 from both sides of the window hole 14 b in the direction of displacement of the edge guide 1, thereby forming an elastic portion 18 as a “locking member”. Here, all the components of the edge guide 1 are integrally formed by resin molding in order to reduce the cost. Therefore, the elastic portion 18 made of the resin material is provided with elasticity by the slots 17, 17. The elastic portion 18 can be elastically deformed independently of the base portion 13 in a direction away from and close to the sheet mounting surface 2b of the hopper 2 (see FIG. 6).

Next, in FIG. 3 (B), a locking projection 19 is formed on a surface of the elastic portion 18 facing the paper mounting surface 2b. As shown in FIG. 4, the locking projection 19 has a triangular shape protruding toward the paper placing surface 2b. The triangular shape includes an inclined surface 19b on the guide surface 1a side and a guide surface 1a and the opposite vertical surface 19a. On the other hand, the paper placing surface 2 of the hopper 2
In FIG. 2B, an uneven surface 21 is formed so as to extend in the direction of displacement of the edge guide 1 (see also FIG. 2). It is fixed on the mounting surface 2b. More specifically,
The uneven surface 21 has a saw blade shape in cross section as shown in FIG. 4, and the direction of the blade is such that the inclined surface 21 a faces the inclined surface 19 b of the locking projection 19. Therefore, even if the edge guide 1 receives the force F from the paper P and moves in the direction away from the side edge of the paper P, the vertical surface 19a of the locking projection 19 is caught on the vertical surface 21b of the uneven surface 21. Accordingly, the edge guide 1 is restrained from moving in a direction away from the side edge of the sheet P, so that an appropriate guide position can be maintained. On the other hand, since the inclined surface 19 b of the locking projection 19 faces the inclined surface 21 a of the uneven surface 21, the edge guide 1
1a, so that the sheet P can be moved in a direction approaching the side edge of the sheet P without any special operation.

Here, the engagement state between the locking projection 19 and the uneven surface 21 is maintained by the elastic force of the elastic portion 18. Therefore, when the edge guide 1 is displaced in a direction away from the side edge of the sheet P (leftward in FIG. 4),
It is necessary to operate the operation portion 16 described later in detail to displace the locking projection 19 upward against the elasticity of the elastic portion 18. On the other hand, as described above, the direction approaching the side edge of the paper P (FIG. 4)
To the right) of the lock projection 19
Can naturally ride on the slope 21 a forming the uneven surface 21 against the elasticity of the elastic portion 18.
The edge guide 1 can be displaced in a direction approaching the side end of the paper P without operating the locking projection 19 upward by operating the 6. As described above, the elastic portion 18 functions as a biasing member capable of biasing the locking projection 19 toward the uneven surface 21.
And the operating portion 16 for displacing the locking projection 19 in a direction to separate the locking projection 19 from the paper placing surface 2b constitutes a fixing means for fixing the guide position of the edge guide 1 at a predetermined position.

Next, the operation section 16 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the operation part 16 is formed in the window part 14b, and the guide part 14 and the elastic rotation shaft 22 are formed.
Are linked by When the elastic rotation shaft 22 is elastically twisted, the operation unit 16 can rotate as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG.
In order to rotate the operation unit 16, a force M is applied to a portion above the elastic rotation shaft 22 toward the paper P side end.
Therefore, the portion on which the force M acts acts as the “rotating power acting portion” of the operating portion 16. In addition, in the figure, the turning power acting portion is indicated by reference numeral 23. The operation unit 16 is a guide unit 1
4 (see FIG. 6A) so that the operation unit 16 can be easily operated (pushed).

On the other hand, below the elastic rotating shaft 22,
The operation section 16 is configured to engage with the elastic section 18. The operation section 16 will be described in detail below, as shown in FIG.
A hook portion 24 having an inverted T-shape in a plan view is formed from below 2. On the other hand, the elastic part 18
The hook receiving portion 25 with which the hook portion 24 can be hooked.
Is formed, and when the hook portion 24 is displaced upward due to the rotation of the operation portion 16, the hook portion 24 is engaged with the hook receiving portion 25, and from this state, the hook portion 24 is further moved.
Is displaced upward, the elastic portion 18 is elastically deformed, and the locking projection 19 is displaced (upward) away from the paper placing surface 2b (the state of FIG. 6B). Therefore, the hook portion 24 functions as a "separation force acting portion" that separates the locking projection 19 from the paper placing surface 2b.

Here, referring to FIG. 6, the elastic portion 18 is elastically deformed by the operating portion 16 and the locking projection 19 is displaced upward to release the engagement state between the locking projection 19 and the uneven surface 21. The urging force reducing means for reducing the urging force that the operation unit 16 receives from the elastic portion 18 when performing the operation will be described. The operating portion 16 and the elastic portion 18 forming the locking projection 19 are formed separately and independently, and the operating portion 16 is provided so as to be rotatable about the elastic rotating shaft 22 as described above, and rotates. As a result, the hook portion 24 is engaged with the hook receiving portion 25, and after the engagement, the hook 24 is further displaced upward, thereby displacing the locking projection 19 upward. Here, in the operation unit 16, the rotation power operation unit 23 is moved from the elastic rotation shaft 22.
The distance from the elastic rotation shaft 22 to the hook portion 24 is larger than the distance from the elastic rotation shaft 22 to the hook portion 24. Therefore, the relationship between the elastic rotating shaft 22 as a fulcrum in the principle of leverage, the turning power acting portion 23 as a power point, and the hook portion 24 as an acting point is established, whereby the urging force of the elastic portion 18, that is, Even if the force for elastically deforming the elastic portion 18 capable of urging the locking projection 19 toward the uneven surface 21 is large, the elastic portion 18 can be elastically deformed by a small force M. Therefore, while the engagement state between the locking projection 19 and the uneven surface 21 is reliably maintained, the engagement state can be easily released by the urging force reducing means. Note that the present embodiment is merely an example,
If the operating portion 16 formed separately and the urging force reducing means for reducing the urging force applied to the operating portion 16 when the engagement state between the locking projection 19 and the uneven surface 21 is released are used, Such a configuration may be used.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the locking member and the operating member are formed separately and independently, the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface is firmly maintained. Therefore, even when the urging force of the urging member is increased, it is possible to interpose the urging force reducing means for reducing the urging force received by the operating member from the urging member between the locking member and the operating member. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the operability when releasing the engagement state between the locking projection and the uneven surface without increasing the size of the operation member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hopper and an edge guide which constitute the sheet feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is an external perspective view of an edge guide according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a view on arrow Z in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an edge guide according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view of the edge guide according to the present invention, as viewed in a direction indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 3A.

6A is a side sectional view showing a state in which the edge guide according to the present invention is fixed to a hopper, and FIG. 6B is a side sectional view showing a state in which the edge guide can be displaced on the hopper.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a sheet storage container showing a first related art, and FIG. 7B is a side sectional view of a paper guide member showing a second related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Edge guide 2 Hopper 12 T-shaped projection 13 Base 14 Guide part 15 Sliding part 16 Operation part 17 Slot 18 Elastic part 19 Locking projection 21 Uneven surface 22 Elastic rotation axis 23 Twice power acting part 24 Hook part 25 Hook receiver Part 100 Paper feeder P Printing paper

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Katsura Miyazawa 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Seiko Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Koichiro Yokoyama 3-5-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Seiko Epson Incorporated F term (reference) 3F343 FA02 FB03 FB04 FC12 GA03 GB01 GC01 GD01 HD18 HE03 HE12 HE16 HE18 JA03 LA04 LA13

Claims (9)

[Claims] In a paper feeding device for feeding a recording material, a guide position for guiding a side edge of the recording material according to a width of the recording material is slid on a back guide supporting the recording material from the back. A paper edge guide that can be displaced by moving, comprising a fixing means for fixing the guide position, wherein the fixing means is provided so as to be separated from and close to the back guide; A locking projection that engages with an uneven surface formed on the back guide along a sliding direction and is formed to protrude from the locking member toward the back guide; An urging member for maintaining the state of engagement with the uneven surface, the urging member being capable of urging the locking member toward the back guide, and engaging with the locking member to press the locking member with the urging means In the direction away from the back guide An operating member formed independently of the locking member to release an engagement state between the locking projection and the concave and convex surface; and A sheet edge guide, comprising: urging force reducing means for reducing the urging force received by the operation member from the urging member when the engagement state is released. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reduction of the biasing force by the biasing force reducing means is realized by a principle of a lever including a power point, a fulcrum, and an action point, and the biasing force reducing means is separated from the back guide. A separating force acting portion as the acting point, which is displaceable in a direction to be engaged with and engages with a part of the locking member; and a turn as the fulcrum provided at a position separated from the separating force acting portion. A moving shaft, provided at a position separated from the separating force acting portion with the rotating shaft interposed therebetween, and a distance from the position to the rotating shaft is a distance from the separating force acting portion to the rotating shaft. A turning force acting portion as the force point, which is provided so as to be larger than the distance, wherein the turning portion is turned around the turning axis by receiving a force in a turning direction by the turning action portion. That it is composed of operating members Feature paper edge guide. 3. The paper edge guide according to claim 2, wherein the separating force acting portion has a hook shape that engages with a hook receiving portion formed on the locking member. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is provided so as to protrude from a sheet edge guide body in a direction away from a recording material side end. Paper edge guide. 5. The paper edge guide according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is formed by integral molding using a resin material. 6. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein the locking member and the urging member are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material. Edge guide. 7. The paper edge guide according to claim 1, wherein all components are integrally formed by integral molding using a resin material. 8. A sheet feeding device comprising the sheet edge guide according to claim 1. Description: 9. A recording apparatus having a recording section for performing recording on a recording material, wherein the recording apparatus includes the sheet feeding device according to claim 8. Description: