JP2003095447A - Paper feeding cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assist a side guide so as to prevent it from falling down due to a shock caused when mounting it in a paper feeding part by arranging a reinforcing means for the side guide on the other party side to be mounted in the paper feeding part for the side guide regulating both sides of a paper sheet in a paper feeding cassette. SOLUTION: A support member 44 is arranged between a side plate 40 on the other party side on a mounting side of the paper feeding cassette and the side guide 33, and the support member 44 is rotated centered on a support shaft 43 by following the travel of the side guide 33 to support the side guide 33 on the side plate 40. The support member 44 is locked by a second arm 47 at a position where it is put down in a recessed part of the side plate 40, while it supports the side guide 33 while it is erected at a right angle on the side plate 40 for a paper sheet having a small width. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the side guide 33 from falling down even when a large pressing force acts while a large quantity of paper sheets are set in the paper feeding cassette.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding cassette provided with a position regulating member that regulates the side surface and the rear end portion of a sheet to be stored, and particularly regulates the side surface regulating member (side guide) or the rear end portion. The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette in which a support member that prevents the end guide from falling is provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a facsimile machine, a paper feeding cassette for accommodating paper of an arbitrary size is arranged in a paper feeding section.
A large number of sheets are stacked and accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette, and the sheets are separated one by one using a sheet feeding roller of a sheet feeding device provided in a sheet feeding section and a sheet separating unit such as a separating claw. However, it is sent to the image recording unit. A position regulating member such as a side guide as a side face regulating member or an end guide for regulating the rear end portion in the paper storage portion of the paper feed cassette in order to regulate the rear end portion and the side surface in the paper feeding direction. When the paper feed cassette is mounted in the paper feed unit of the image forming apparatus after the paper is set in the paper storage device, the regulation member is fixed to the regulation position to press and hold the paper. Even if a shock or the like is applied, the paper is regulated so that the paper does not shift and the corners of the paper do not come out of the locking position by the separation claw. Among the position regulating members provided in the paper feed cassette, the side guides serving as the side face regulating members are provided so that the two guides interlock in order to press both side faces of the sheet in the center registration type. Then, after the paper is stored in the paper feed cassette, one side guide is moved to position the other side guide so as to press the other side surface of the paper.

[0003]

In recent years, the number of sheets that can be accommodated in a paper feed cassette has tended to increase, and the paper feed cassette has also been made compact in response to the miniaturization of image forming apparatuses. Therefore, since the mechanism arranged inside the housing of the paper feed cassette and the position regulating member is also downsized, the strength of each constituent member alone tends to decrease. However, when a paper feed cassette containing a large amount of paper is attached to the paper feed unit of the image forming apparatus, the weight of the paper is large, and therefore the position of the side guide or the like is affected by the impact or the like during the attachment. The regulation member may be pushed by a large force and fall down, and the corner portion of the sheet may come off from the separation claw provided on the side guide.

Particularly, with respect to the mounting direction of the paper feed cassette,
In a paper feed cassette in which the feeding direction of the paper is set at a right angle, there is a problem that a large impact is applied to the side guide on the front end side in the mounting direction of the paper feed cassette. Then, when the regulation by the side guide is not properly performed, the separation claws are not accurately locked, and when the sheet feeding operation is performed as it is, the timing of the removal from the two separation claws is different. As a result, a sheet feeding failure such as a sheet skew or double feeding may occur. In order to solve the problem that the side guide falls down, the side guide is configured as a substantially T-shaped one or an L-shaped one in which the lower member is laterally projected to improve the self-sustainability of the side guide. It is also possible to make it possible. However, in order to reduce the size of the paper feed cassette, it is not possible to obtain a space for increasing the width of the side guides. Therefore, at present, another reinforcing means for the side guides is required.

The present invention makes it possible to miniaturize a paper feed cassette capable of accommodating a large amount of paper and to maintain good regulation performance for the paper even when the paper feed cassette is mounted in the paper feed section due to an impact. Is intended to provide.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette capable of accommodating paper of any size and provided with position restricting members for restricting the side surface and the rear end surface of the accommodated paper. The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized in that a support member for preventing the position regulating member from falling is provided so as to be stored therein.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the supporting member is rotatably supported by either the wall surface of the cassette or the position regulating member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the support member is configured to interlock with a side surface regulating member housed in the paper feed cassette.

With the above-mentioned structure, the side guides can be prevented from falling down, so that the side surface of the sheet can be properly regulated and the separation of the corner portion of the sheet from the separation claw can be prevented. Therefore, when the paper is fed by the paper feed roller, there is no deviation in the timing at which the paper comes out of the left and right separation claws, and a feeding failure such as a double feed does not occur. Further, since the support member can be housed, the parts are not lost and the management of the members is easy as compared with the detachable type. Further, since the support member is rotatably provided, it is possible to provide the support member with a plurality of locking means and accommodate a plurality of sizes of paper. Further, since the support member can be easily set on the side guide in correspondence with the movement of the side guides according to the paper size, the support member can be easily set without forgetting to set the support member. It can be carried out.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The sheet feeding cassette of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The paper feed cassette 20
1 is configured as shown in the plan view of FIG. 1 and the side view of FIG. 2, and is configured as a so-called universal type sheet feeding cassette capable of storing a sheet of any size in the sheet storage unit 25. It The paper feed cassette 20 has a paper feed direction X set at a right angle to a paper feed direction Y of the image forming apparatus, and a handle 23 is provided on the front side of the housing 21. On the front side of the mounting side, a pair of leg members 24, 24a on both sides are provided so as to project,
The leg member 2 is attached to and detached from the paper feeding unit of the image forming apparatus.
A guide member (not shown) provided with 4, 24a in the paper feeding section
Let me guide you.

A bottom plate 30 is swingably provided in the paper storage portion 25 of the paper feed cassette 20 via hinge portions 31 and 31a, so that the paper can be fed to the bottom plate 3 by means of the bottom plate 30.
Front plate 2 set to 0 and placed at the front end in the paper feeding direction X
Be able to raise the 2 side greatly. In order to define the sheets to be stored in the sheet storage section 25, an end guide 32 that presses the rear end of the sheet on the delivery side and side guides 33 and 34 that regulate both sides of the sheet are provided. The three guide members 32 to 34 are provided so as to be respectively guided along the guide members 27, 28, and 28a provided on the bottom plate 26 of the housing 21, and the guide members can be fixed at arbitrary positions. It is supposed to be.

Further, in a center registration type paper feed cassette in which the center of paper feed is set with respect to the central portion of the paper feed cassette, side guides 3 for restricting both sides of the paper are provided.
3 and 34 use an interlocking mechanism arranged along the bottom plate 36 to provide the two side guides 33 and 34 such that they can be brought into and out of contact with each other. Separation claws 35 and 35a are respectively supported by the two side guides 33 and 34. The separation claw 35 will be described with reference to an example of the side guide 33 and the separation claw 35.
The end portion of the support stay 36 provided with is provided so as to be rotatable around the hinge portion 37. The support stay 36 and the separation claw 3
Reference numeral 5 denotes a bent metal plate, and a large curved portion is arranged below the bottom plate 30 so that swinging of the bottom plate 30 is not hindered. Further, the separation claws 35, similar to those generally used in the past, hold substantially triangular flat plate portions at both corners in the sheet feeding direction by locking them, and feed them by the feeding force of the sheet feeding roller. The separating claw 35 and the separating claw 35 allow the paper to be separated.

Of the two side guides 33 and 34, the side guide 33 located at the leading end of the paper feed cassette insertion side has a side guide 33 even when the paper feed cassette 20 is mounted on the paper feed unit. In order to prevent the guide 33 from moving or falling, a support member 44 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided. The support member 44 is provided with a support shaft 43 on a shaft support portion 42 provided on the side plate 40 of the paper feed cassette 20 and is rotatable about an elongated hole 45 for the support shaft 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when a large-sized sheet is accommodated in the sheet accommodating portion, the supporting member 44 is accommodated in the concave portion 41 provided in the cassette side plate 40, and the arm 47 as one arm member. Only the part is protruding.

When the paper stored in the paper feed cassette 20 is of a small size, as shown in FIG. 4, the support member 44 is projected to a position perpendicular to the cassette side plate 40 and the arm 46 is projected. The tip end of is engaged with the side guide 33. The tips of the arms 46 and 47 of the support member 44 are formed lower than the upper plate of the side guide 33. For example, the tip of the step 49 on the tip side of the arm 46 is located above the side guide 33. Enter the lower surface of the plate, the tip of the arm 46 is the side guide 33
Is locked to the receiving surface 33a. Further, the tip portion of the stepped portion 49 of the arm 46 engages with the lower surface of the upper plate of the side guide 33, so that the supporting action for the side guide 33 can be satisfactorily exhibited.

In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support member 44 is used.
A link 50 is provided between the side guide 33 and the side guide 33, and is linked to the movement of the side guide through the link 50.
The support member 44 is configured to rotate. The link 50 is supported by a long hole 52 with respect to a shaft 51 provided in the side guide 33, and is attached at a predetermined position of the support member 44 by using a pin 53. The support member 44 is connected via a pin 53. Further, since the support portion of the support member 44 for the support shaft 43 and the support portion of the link 50 for the side guide 33 are respectively supported through the long holes 45 and 52, each component is slightly manufactured. Even if there is an error or the like, the swinging operation of the two link arms 44 and 50 can be performed in a stable state.

Then, the two link arms are rocked in accordance with the movement of the side guides, and the supporting member has an action of preventing the side guides from falling when the side guides are pressed by the sheet at the stop position of the side guides. 44 so that they can do better. It should be noted that providing the link 50 with respect to the support member 44 is not always an essential component, and when assuming that the support member is manually set, the operator does not place the link 50 and uses an operator's finger. It goes without saying that a mechanism for swinging the support member 44 may be provided.

The example shown in FIG. 5 illustrates the case where three locking means are provided on the support member 44, and a support portion 42 provided on the cassette side plate 40 is supported by a support shaft 43. The support member 44a is provided so as to be rotatable by 180 °.
The support member 44a is provided with a long arm 46 and two long and short arms 47 and 48 protruding from both sides thereof. Then, the side guides are positioned and locked in correspondence with three modes, namely, a state in which the arm 46 is erected, a state in which the arm is laid down on one side, and a state in which the arm is laid down on the other side. To be able to That is, when the support member 44a provided with the three arms shown in this embodiment is used, the position of the side guide 33 is the distance L from the center of the support shaft 43, and the distance L is the distance L.
The case of 1 can correspond to the case of 0. In this embodiment, when the first arm 46 of the supporting member 44a is parallel to the cassette side plate, if there is a possibility that the second and third arm members will hit the cassette side plate, a hole is formed in the contacting part. It is possible to rotate the support member 44a by 180 ° about the support shaft 43 by taking measures such as punching.

The state where the side guides are in close contact with the cassette side plate (when the interval is 0) is a state in which the maximum size of sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet cassette is accommodated.
In that case, since the side guides are directly supported by the cassette side plates, there is no need for auxiliary means for preventing falling. On the other hand, in the state where the side guide is projected to the innermost side, for example, in the case of vertical feeding of A4 size paper, the side guide is locked and held by the arm 46. When using the third arm 48,
It is assumed that B5 lateral feed or the like corresponds. By reinforcing the side guide 33 by using the support member 44a, even if the paper feed cassette is attached to the paper feed unit while a large amount of paper is stored, the side guide is impacted by the impact. It is possible to prevent the sheet from falling and hindering the alignment of the sheets, and to prevent the inconvenience that the corners of the leading edge of the sheet come off the separating claws.

Paper feed cassette 2 constructed as described above
0 can be attached to the image forming apparatus configured as shown in FIG. 6 to perform a paper feeding action. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a paper feed unit 1 in which a recording unit 2 and a paper feed cassette 20 are mounted.
Although an example in which 5 and 5 are integrally provided is shown, a plurality of paper feed cassettes can be attached to the paper feed unit 15. In the case where another one or a plurality of paper feed cassettes can be added to the lower portion of the paper feed cassette 20 shown in the drawing, a cassette mounting portion and a paper feed device are additionally provided, and The paper sent out from the paper cassette is guided through the guide path 1.
Feeding is possible by connecting 8 vertically.

In the recording section 2 of the image forming apparatus 1, a charging member 4, a writing member 5 and a developing roller 7 are provided around the photosensitive drum 3 which forms a toner image, in accordance with the rotation direction thereof. Developing device 6 arranged corresponding to drum 3
And are provided. Further, the transfer roller 8 is arranged with the sheet conveying path 10 interposed therebetween, and a voltage having a predetermined value is applied from the back side of the sheet passing through the sheet conveying path 10 to transfer the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 3. The charging member 4
A brush member 9 for agitating the residual toner to weaken the adhesive force of the toner is disposed in the upstream portion of the.

In order to convey the sheet inside the recording unit 2, a sheet conveying path 10 is arranged, and the sheet is conveyed by the conveying roller device 12 in time with the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 3. To do. Further, in the paper feed path 10, the paper feed cassette 20 set in the paper feed unit 15 is provided.
The paper fed from the paper feed roller 16 is guided to the paper conveyance path by the paper guide 17, and is conveyed to the conveyance roller device 12 by the conveyance roller device 11. Then, the conveyance roller device 12 is driven in synchronism with the toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 3, and the toner image is transferred between the photoconductor drum 3 and the transfer roller 8.

In the recording section 2, the drum surface of the photosensitive drum 3 is uniformly charged by the charging member 4, and then the writing member 5 irradiates the image light to the electrostatic latent image. Is formed, and toner is supplied from the developing roller 7 to the electrostatic latent image to form a visible toner image. The toner image is transferred from the photoconductor drum 3 toward the paper by applying a voltage having a predetermined value from the back side of the paper, and the paper carrying the toner image is fixed through the fixing device 13. The recording paper thus produced is recorded on the paper, and the produced recording paper is accumulated on the ejection portion provided on the upper surface of the paper feeding portion 15 by the ejection roller device 14.

In the paper feed section 15, a paper feed roller 16 is arranged at an upper position on the paper feed side of the paper feed cassette, and the paper feed cassette mounting section is used for attaching and detaching the paper feed cassette. The guide members 19 and 19a to be used are provided.
The leg member 24 provided on the housing of the paper feed cassette,
24a and guided members (not shown) formed on both sides of the housing are slid on the guide members 19 and 19a,
The operation of attaching and detaching the paper cassette is performed. Further, with the paper feed cassette 20 pushed in and stopped, the bottom plate 30 is raised to press the upper surface of the paper against the paper feed roller 16 to cope with the paper feed operation. In addition, a vertical guide path 18 is provided in the frame on the paper feeding side of the paper feeding unit 15.
When, for example, a plurality of paper feed cassette accommodating mechanisms similar to the paper feed unit 15 are vertically stacked, the paper supplied from the lower paper feed cassette is
The sheet can be conveyed toward the sheet conveying path 10 of the recording unit via the vertical guide path 18.

[0024]

As described above, since the side guides can be prevented from falling down, it is possible to properly regulate the side surface of the sheet and prevent the corner portion of the sheet from separating from the separation claw. Therefore, when the paper is fed by the paper feed roller, there is no deviation in the timing at which the paper comes out of the left and right separation claws, and a feeding failure such as a double feed does not occur. Further, since the support member can be housed, the parts are not lost and the management of the members is easy as compared with the detachable type. Further, since the support member is rotatably provided, it is possible to provide the support member with a plurality of locking means and accommodate a plurality of sizes of paper. Further, since the support member can be easily set on the side guide in correspondence with the movement of the side guides according to the paper size, the support member can be easily set without forgetting to set the support member. It can be carried out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper feed cassette.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a paper feed cassette.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a support member for preventing the side guide from falling.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a position of a supporting member in the case of a sheet having a narrow width.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the support member.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 image forming apparatus, 2 recording section, 3 photoconductor drum, 4 charging member, 5 writing member, 6
Developing device, 7 developing roller, 8 transfer roller, 10 paper transport path, 11 · 12 transport roller device, 13 fixing device, 14 discharge roller device,
15 paper feed section, 16 paper feed roller, 17
Paper guides, 18 guide paths, 19 cassette guides, 20 paper feed cassettes, 21 housings, 22
Front plate, 23 handle, 24 leg member,
25 paper storage unit, 26 bottom plate, 27/28 guide, 30 bottom plate, 31 hinge,
32 end guides, 33/34 side guides, 35 separation claws, 36 support stays, 37
Hinge, 40 Cassette side plate, 41 Recessed part, 42 support part, 43 support shaft, 44 support member, 45 long hole, 46-48 arm, 49
Step, 50 link, 51 support shaft, 52
Long hole, 53 pins.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding cassette capable of accommodating a sheet of an arbitrary size and provided with a position regulating member for regulating a side surface and a rear end surface of the accommodated sheet, respectively. A sheet feeding cassette, which is provided with a supporting member that can be stored. 2. The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the support member is rotatably supported by either the wall surface of the cassette or the position regulating member. 3. The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the support member is configured to interlock with a side surface regulation member housed in the paper feed cassette.