JP2003128268A - Paper-feeding cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and robust paper-feeding cassette which can handle as many sheet sizes as possible. SOLUTION: A sub-container 3 is slidably inserted into a double-structure main-container 2 made of an upper plate 7 and a bottom plate 8. Since the sub-container 3 can slide against the main-container 2 and its rear-end guide member 21 can slide along a sliding face 22 above the sub-container 3, various sheet sizes can be handled by adjusting their positions. The position of the sub-container 3 against the main-container 2 can be adjusted to an intended position where a recess part is formed with an engaging member of the sub- container 3 engaging with the recess part of a rail provided on the bottom plate 8. An escape part 23 is provided at the upper plate 7 of the main-container 2 when the sub-container 3 is pushed into the main-container 2, but strength of the main-container 3 is secured by the bottom plate 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette provided in an image recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a paper feed cassette capable of handling a plurality of sizes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image recording apparatus capable of recording images on various types of paper of different sizes, a dedicated paper feed cassette is provided for each size of paper and a paper feed cassette is selected in accordance with a recorded image. There is a method. Since this method requires a large number of paper feed cassettes, there are drawbacks that the paper feed device becomes large and the paper feed path becomes complicated. In order to eliminate such a defect, an image recording apparatus is known in which one general-purpose paper feed cassette can handle various sizes of paper. The size of the housing of the general-purpose paper feed cassette is determined so that it can hold the maximum size of paper, and the housing is divided by a partition member that can be arbitrarily adjusted in position so that various sizes of paper can be stored. There is.

By the way, an image recording apparatus designed to have a depth shorter than that of the sheet feeding cassette may be used in a state where a part of the sheet feeding cassette is projected from the recording apparatus main body. For this reason, if the size of the housing is large like a general-purpose paper feed cassette, the amount of protrusion remains at the maximum size even when using medium- and small-sized paper, causing a problem of poor usability. .

In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a paper feed cassette which can be expanded and contracted so that the amount of the protrusion becomes small when using small and medium size papers (Actual No. Sho 63-197229). Issue). FIG. 11 shows
It is a perspective view of a paper feed cassette configured to be extendable and contractible. In FIG. 1, the paper feed cassette 100 includes a main body 101, a guide plate 103 slidably provided on a guide 102 provided on the back surface of the main body 101, and a guide 104 formed on the upper surface of the guide plate 103. And an adjusting plate 105 slidably provided on the. The paper feed cassette 10 is provided in the main body 101.
When 0 is reduced, the guide 104 and the adjustment plate 1
An escape portion 107 is provided to prevent the base 106 of 05 from interfering with the main body 101.

In addition, the paper feed cassette may be provided with a width regulating plate (original guide) according to the width of a small size sheet when the small size sheet is accommodated. For example, the actual Kaihei 4
The document guide disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 96438 includes a member (document table) corresponding to the main body 101 of the paper feeding cassette.
It is sandwiched between a spring and a document guide, and the document guide is slid on the document table and aligned with the size of the sheet.

[0006]

The adjusting mechanism for the paper feed cassette and the document guide has the following problems. First, it is difficult for the retractable paper feed cassette 100 to be able to handle a wide range of paper sizes from extremely small to extremely large. For example, by pushing the guide plate 103 and the adjusting plate 105 toward the main body 101 side to reduce the paper feed cassette 100 to the maximum,
Although it is possible to accommodate a sheet of substantially the same size as the depth of the main body 101, a sheet of a size smaller than this cannot be accommodated properly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and provide a paper feed cassette which can accommodate various sizes of paper.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To solve the above problems and to achieve the object, the present invention is a paper feed cassette for accommodating sheets to be supplied to an image recording apparatus, which is mounted on the image recording apparatus. And a sub-container slidably coupled to the main container, and a sub-container provided at the bottom of the sub-container so that the mounting position can be adjusted in the same direction as the sliding direction of the sub-container. The first feature is that the main container is provided with a sheet trailing edge regulating member, and an escape portion for the sheet trailing edge regulating member is formed in the main container.

Further, according to the present invention, in a paper feed cassette for accommodating the paper to be supplied to the image recording apparatus, the main container mounted on the image recording apparatus and the main container are slidably coupled. The sub-container includes a sub-container and a paper trailing edge regulating member that is provided at a bottom portion of the sub-container and is adjustable in mounting position in the same direction as the sliding direction of the sub-container. A second feature is that a mounting surface for mounting the trailing edge regulating member is formed, and an escape portion for receiving the mounting surface for the sheet trailing edge regulating member is formed in the main container.

According to the first and second characteristics, the sub-container and the main container are combined so that the paper feed cassette can be reduced to the maximum extent, and the mounting position of the paper trailing edge regulating member is further removed by the escape portion. It can be adjusted in the depth direction.

Further, according to the present invention, the mounting surface is provided with means for engaging with the sheet trailing edge regulating member and holding the sheet trailing edge regulating member at a position corresponding to a plurality of sheet sizes. There is a third feature.

According to the third feature, since the sheet trailing edge regulating member can be adjusted in position on the mounting surface of the sub-container that has entered the escape portion of the main container, it is possible to accommodate a paper smaller than the size of the main container. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, the escape portion of the main container is
A fourth characteristic is that the main container is formed to have a length corresponding to a mounting position adjustment range of the paper trailing edge regulating member, starting from an end portion of the main container.

According to the fourth feature, since the escape portion has a length corresponding to the mounting position adjustment range of the sheet trailing edge regulating member, the sheet trailing edge regulation is further performed after the paper feed cassette is reduced to the maximum extent. The paper storage space can be reduced only within the range of adjusting the mounting position of the members. Therefore, as the smallest size sheet, it is possible to deal with a sheet having a length obtained by subtracting the mounting position adjustment range of the sheet rear end regulating member from the depth of the main container.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention is attached to the image recording apparatus. In the figure, the main container 2 of the paper feed cassette 1
Is inserted into the lower opening of the printer 4 as an image recording device and held at a predetermined position. Further, a sub-container 3 is provided so as to extend and contract with respect to the main container 2. FIG. 3 shows an expanded state in which the sub-container 3 is pulled out from the main container 2 and accommodates a long size sheet 5, and the sheet 5 is fed in the direction of arrow 6.

Next, a more detailed structure of the paper feed cassette 1 will be described. 1 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding cassette 1 in a state where the sub container 3 is pulled out from the main container 2, that is, in an expanded state, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. Figure 1
In FIG. 2, the main container 2 has a double structure having an upper plate 7 and a bottom plate 8, and a space is formed between the upper plate 7 and the bottom plate 8. The sub-container 3 is inserted into the space between the upper plate 7 and the bottom plate 8 and is assembled to the main container 2 so that it can be taken in and out in the direction of arrow 9.

The top plate 7 and the bottom plate 8 are aligned by fitting a protrusion provided on one side into a hole provided on the other side. For example, in FIG. 2, the protrusions 10 and 11 of the bottom plate 8 are fitted into the holes 12 and 13 of the upper plate 7, while the protrusions 14 and 15 of the upper plate 7 are fitted into the holes 16 and elongated holes 17 of the bottom plate 8. Has been. further,
After aligning with the projections and holes, the top plate 7 and the bottom plate 8 are joined by a so-called snap fit. The snap fit is provided by the member 18 and the bottom plate 8 provided on the upper plate 7.
The members 18 and 20 (members 37 and 38 which will be described later integrally provided with the rails 19 and 20), and the members 18 and 38 are pushed apart by pressing the two members to each other. 37 and 38 are fitted and both are engaged.

Rails 19 and 20 for guiding and fixing the sub-container 3 to the main container 2 at a predetermined position corresponding to the size of the paper are formed on the bottom plate 8. The rail 1
The shapes of 9 and 20 and the part of the sub-container 3 that engages with the Rayleighs 19 and 20 will be described further below with reference to FIGS.

A trailing end guide member 21 for regulating the position of the trailing edge of the sheet is provided on the bottom plate 8, and the trailing end guide member 21 is slidably engaged with a sliding surface 22 of the bottom plate 8. This sliding mechanism will be described further below with reference to FIGS. The upper plate 7 has a relief portion 2 for receiving the sliding surface 22.
3 is formed. The escape portion 23 has the same function as the escape portion 107 described in the section of the prior art, but in the present embodiment, the escape portion 1 has the bottom plate 8 so that the escape portion 1 has the same shape.
The drawback of 07, namely the reduction in rigidity, is avoided.

The upper plate 7 is provided with a step 24, and the cover 25 is covered by utilizing the step 24. The cover 25 has a length sufficient to cover the upper surface of the end handle portion 3a of the sub-container 3, and as the sub-container 3 is taken in and out of the main container 2, the lower end surface of the cover 25 is It slides on the step 24. Therefore, the cover 25 is
The end wall 24 of the step 24 when the sub-container 3 is pushed in to the maximum extent
It is preferable to determine the depth dimension within a range in which the end of the cover 25 does not come into contact with a.

In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiment, FIG. 2 shows a state in which a plate member (plate) provided for directly mounting a sheet is removed. The concavo-convex patterns 26 and 27 are seats for receiving a coil spring (not shown) used for elastically pressing the plate upward.

Next, the sliding mechanism of the rear end guide member will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding cassette 1 showing a state where the sub container 3 is pushed into the main container 2 to the maximum, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing an engagement state of the rear end guide member and the sliding surface. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or equivalent portions. 4 and 5, the rear end guide member 21 is slidable in the direction of arrow 28 with the sliding surface 22 of the bottom plate 8 sandwiched from above and below. The rear end guide member 21 has a guide portion 21a and a pair of bending portions 21b, and the bending portion 21b is made flexible by a hinge portion 29. Therefore, by pinching the upper portion of the pair of bending portions 21b with a finger to bend the pair of bending portions 21b around the hinge portion 29 or releasing the finger to restore the bending portion 21b to the original position, the lower portion of the bending portion 21b is returned. The claw 21c provided at the tip of the sliding surface 22
Can be attached to and detached from the groove 30. The groove 30 is provided in a plurality of sets (seven sets in the illustrated example) according to the size of the sheet, and the rear end guide member 21 is slid to the position where the claws 21c can be fitted into the respective grooves. Make a match. In the example of FIG. 4, the rear end guide member 21 has the claw 21c engaged with the second groove 30 from the front.

Next, a guide mechanism for determining the relative position of the sub container 3 with respect to the main container 2 will be described. Figure 6
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette with the upper plate 7 and the rear end guide member 21 removed, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the guide mechanism portion. In FIGS. 6 and 7, rails 19 and 20 are formed on the upper surface of the lower plate 8. The rails 19 and 2
Reference numeral 0 generally extends in the direction in which the sub-container 3 moves in and out, and positioning recesses 31 and 32 are formed on the outer surface thereof. It should be noted that the reference numeral indicating the concave portion is 1 in order to avoid complicated drawings.
Only the locations are described, but it is understood from the drawings that a plurality of rails 19 and 20 are provided around the rails.

On the other hand, the sub-container 3 is formed with curved levers 33 and 34 which are cantilevered so as to sandwich the rail 19 and curved levers 35 and 36 which sandwich the rail 20. Protrusions 33a, 34a, 35a, 36a are formed on the respective bending levers 33, 34, 35, 36. Then, when the sub-container 3 is taken in and out, the protrusion 3
3a, 34a, 35a, 36a slide on the outer surfaces of the rails 19, 20, respectively, and the projections 33a, 34a, 35a,
A so-called click feeling is obtained every time 36a is fitted into the recesses 31 and 32. Therefore, if the operation of taking in and out the sub-container 3 is stopped at that position, the positions of the sub-container 3 and the main container 2 will be determined at the positions of the corresponding recesses 31 and 32, and the paper of the size determined at that position will be accommodated. You can When the sub container 3 is most pulled out, the protrusions 33a, 34
Of the recesses 31 and 32, a, 35a, and 36a are fitted in the recesses 31 and 32 that are set at the most ends in the pull-out direction of the sub-container 3. Inside the rails 19 and 20, one member 37, 38 that constitutes the snap fit and the hole 16 and the elongated hole 17 into which the protrusions 14, 15 of the upper plate 7 are fitted are formed.

The recesses 31 and 32 have a projection 33 on the recesses 31 and 32 so that the force required for the operation of inserting and removing the auxiliary container 3 into and from the main container 2 is small.
The shape is determined so that the sub-container 3 is reliably positioned when the a, 34a, 35a, and 36a are fitted.

For example, the bending levers 33 and 34 and the concave portion 31
In relation to the above, it is assumed that the projections 33a and 34a pass over the wall surface of the recess 31 with the projections 33a and 34a fitted in the recess 31. In this case, the force over the wall surface of the recess 31 differs depending on the inserting / removing direction of the sub-container 3. That is, when the sub-container 3 is pulled out in the direction of arrow 39 and when it is pushed in the opposite direction of arrow 39, the force for the projections 33a and 34a fitted in the recess 31 to cross over the wall surface of the recess 31 is the latter. Is smaller. This is because the size that contributes to the force for bending the bending levers 33 and 34 differs depending on which direction the force is applied to the protrusions 33a and 34a.

From the above viewpoint, in the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in, the angle θa of the recess 31 is set larger than the angle θb, and the angle θc is set larger than the angle θd. That is, the bending lever 3 of the protrusions 33a and 34a
The angle of the wall surface of the concave portion 31 with which the tip ends of the curved levers 3 and 34 abut is increased, and the concave portions 3 with which the base sides of the curved levers 33 and 34 abut are abutted.
The angle is small on the wall surface of No. 1. With such an angle setting, even when the sub container 3 is moved so that the projections 33a and 34a come out of the recess 31 in any direction, the operation can be performed with substantially the same small force.

Further, the wall surface having the smaller angle is arranged point-symmetrically, and the projections 33a and 34a are sandwiched between the wall surfaces so that the positioning can be reliably performed. Furthermore, the wall with the larger angle and the protrusion 33a,
A clearance is provided between the groove 34a and 34a so as not to affect the positioning. The above-described force relationship and wall angle setting are the same for the relationship between the bending levers 35 and 36 and the recess 32.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding cassette 1 in a state where the sub container 3 is pushed into the main container 2. The sub container 3 is pushed most into the main container 2 and the paper feeding cassette 1 is It is the smallest size. In this state, the protrusions 33a, 34a, 35 of the bending levers 33, 34, 35, 36 are formed.
Of the recesses 31 and 32, a and 36a are fitted in the recesses 31 and 32 which are set at the end of the sub-container 3 in the pushing direction.

Next, another embodiment of the rail and the bending lever will be described. In FIG. 9, the bending lever 3 is replaced with the protrusions 33a and 34a that slide on the rail 19.
Rollers 33c, 34c are provided on 3, 34. Around this time 33
By sliding on the rail 19 with c and 34c,
When the sub-container 3 is taken in and out, a smoother slidability can be obtained.

The adjusting mechanism having a click feeling as described above can also be applied to the guide in the width direction of the paper. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of the paper width guide. In the figure, width guides 43 and 44 are slidably provided on the upper plate 7, and the width guides 43 and 44 are fixed to the upper surfaces of racks 46 and 47. Further, the upper plate 7 has a slit 40 which is opened above the rack 47 along the rack 47. A slit (not shown) similar to the slit 40 is also formed above the rack 46. A guide member (not shown) is provided on the upper surfaces of the racks 46 and 47, and the guide member is fitted in the slit 40 or the like to determine the sliding direction of the width guides 43 and 44.

Curved levers 48 and 49 are provided on the back sides of the racks 46 and 47, and rollers 48a and 49a attached to the curved levers 48 and 49 are ribs 41 attached to the back surface of the upper plate 7. , 42 at the edges. The bending levers 48 and 49 are made of, for example, a spring material or a plastic material, and the rollers 48a and 49a are elastically formed by the ribs 41 and 4a.
Pressed on the edge of 2. Rack 4 on the edges of ribs 41, 42
The recesses 6 and 47 are formed along the longitudinal direction, and a so-called click feeling is obtained each time the rollers 48a and 49a are fitted into the recesses. The formation position of the concave portion is determined so that the width guides 43 and 44 can be positioned corresponding to various paper widths.

Further, the racks 46 and 47 mesh with a pinion 50 which is rotatably supported by the lower plate 8. Therefore, the movement of one of the racks 46 and 47 is associated with the movement of the other, and the movement of the other follows the movement of the other.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the sub-container 3 can be put in and taken out from the main container 2, and the rails 19 and 20 on the main container 2 side provided corresponding to the size of the sheets to be stored are provided. By fitting the projections on the side of the sub-container 3 into the recesses 31 and 32, the size of the paper feed cassette 1 can be set to a predetermined size. Further, by using the rear end guide member 21 which can be slid on the sliding surface 22 of the sub container 3 and held at the predetermined position, it is possible to cope with the size of the paper in more stages.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to properly accommodate a paper of a size smaller than that of the paper feed cassette in the maximum contracted state. . In particular, according to the second aspect of the invention, on the mounting surface provided in the sub-container, since the sheet trailing edge regulating member can be inserted into the main container by using the relief portion, it is smaller than the size of the main container. It can accommodate paper of any size. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the escape portion has a length corresponding to the mounting position adjustment range of the sheet trailing edge regulating member, the sheet trailing edge regulating is further performed after the paper feed cassette is reduced to the maximum extent. The paper storage space can be reduced only within the range of adjusting the mounting position of the members. Therefore, as the smallest size sheet, it is possible to deal with a sheet having a length obtained by subtracting the mounting position adjustment range of the sheet rear end regulating member from the depth of the main container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding cassette according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a sheet feeding cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette mounted in the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a rear end guide member.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part of a paper feed cassette according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of a paper feed cassette according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a conventional paper feed cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Paper feed cassette, 2 ... Main container, 3 ... Sub container, 7
... Top plate, 8 ... Bottom plate, 19, 20 ... Rail, 21 ... Rear end guide member, 22 ... Sliding surface, 23 ... Relief part, 3
1, 32 ... Recessed portion, 33, 34, 35, 36 ... Curved lever, 33a, 34a, 35a, 36a ... Projection portion, 3
3c, 34c, 48a, 49a ...

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Norio Sakurai             Fujize, 3-7-1, Fuchu, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture             Rocks Co., Ltd. Iwatsuki Office F-term (reference) 3F343 FA02 FB02 FB03 FB04 GA02                       GB01 GC01 GD01 HB03 HC04                       HD06 HD15 HE08 HE15 KB03                       KB14 LA04 LA13

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding cassette for accommodating sheets to be supplied to an image recording apparatus, comprising: a main container mounted on the image recording apparatus; and a sub container slidably coupled to the main container. A paper trailing edge regulating member provided at the bottom of the sub-container and having a mounting position adjustable in the same direction as the sliding direction of the sub-container; A sheet feeding cassette, characterized in that an escape portion for a member is formed. 2. A paper feed cassette for accommodating sheets to be supplied to an image recording apparatus, comprising: a main container mounted on the image recording apparatus; and a sub container slidably coupled to the main container. A sheet trailing edge regulating member which is provided at the bottom of the sub-container and whose mounting position is adjustable in the same direction as the sliding direction of the sub-container; Is formed so as to adjust the position of the sheet, and the main container is formed with an escape portion for receiving the mounting surface of the sheet trailing edge regulating member. 3. The mounting surface comprises means for engaging the paper trailing edge regulating member at a position corresponding to a plurality of paper sizes and holding the paper trailing edge regulating member. Item 2. The paper feed cassette according to item 2. 4. The escape portion of the main container is formed with a length corresponding to a mounting position adjustment range of the paper trailing edge regulating member with an end of the main container as a starting point. The paper feed cassette described in 2.