JP2003140530A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To constitute a paper feeder equipped with a paper container for storing papers and attachably/detachably stored in a storing space inside a housing so that the quantity of the remaining paper stored in the paper container can be easily confirmed. SOLUTION: The paper container 3 is formed like a plate so that the paper A placed on the top surface can be viewed from the front side, and the container 3 is arranged in the shape of a shelf in multistages in the storing space 2 in the housing 1, and the whole front open part for putting the paper container in and out the storing space is closed by a dust-protective opening/closing door 4. Specially, a transparent window 24 for viewing the paper stored in the paper container is arranged in the opening/closing door. Besides, a light guiding window hole 15 for guiding the light incident from above on the paper container placed at the lower stage is formed in the paper container.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeding device provided with a paper container for accommodating paper and storing it in a storage space inside a housing so that the paper can be taken in and out.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine and a printer, a sheet feeding device is generally provided at a lower portion of a main body so that a sheet can be appropriately supplied to an image forming unit for forming an image. In this type of paper feeding device, the paper is separately stored according to the paper size and the orientation, and the paper feeding cassette that can be put in and taken out from the storage space is provided so that the paper can be easily replenished. Has been adopted.

[0003]

However, in order to check the remaining amount of paper stored in the paper feed cassette in order to prepare the paper in case of running out of paper, it is necessary to pull out the paper feed cassette one by one. It is very troublesome to check the remaining amount for all paper feed cassettes, and it cannot be done easily. On the other hand, in a general image forming apparatus,
The display panel indicates that the paper is out of paper in the paper cassette, but a new sensor is required to display the remaining amount of paper, which increases costs and makes it easy to check the remaining amount of paper. It is desirable to have a configuration capable of

The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its main purpose is to:
A paper feeding device having a paper container that stores paper and is stored in a storage space inside the housing so that the remaining amount of paper stored in the paper container can be easily confirmed. To configure.

[0005]

In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, a sheet storage for storing a sheet and storing it in a storage space inside a housing so that it can be put in and taken out. In a sheet feeding device having a body, a sheet container is formed in a flat plate shape so that sheets stacked on the upper surface can be visually recognized from the front side, and is arranged in a multi-tiered manner in a shelf space in a storage space inside a housing. At the same time, an opening / closing door for totally closing the front opening for taking in and out the paper container in the storage space is provided. According to this, it is possible to visually check the sheet as it is stored in the storage space without pulling out the sheet container, and it is possible to check the remaining amount of the sheet on each sheet accommodation panel at a glance.

In the paper feeding device, as described in claim 2, the opening / closing door may be provided with a transparent window through which the paper accommodated in the paper accommodating body can be visually recognized. According to this, the remaining amount of paper can be confirmed through the transparent window without opening the opening / closing door.

In the paper feeding device, as described in claim 3, the paper container has a handle for loading and unloading in front of the paper stacking part on which the paper is placed, and the handle and the paper stacking part are combined. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a hole through which a finger passes is opened. According to this, the handle does not have to be largely projected to the upper surface side of the sheet container, and the handle does not interfere with the visual check of the sheet.

Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 4, in the paper feeding device including the paper container for accommodating the paper and storing it in the storage space inside the housing, the paper container is , The sheets stored in it are arranged in multiple stages in the storage space so that they can be viewed from the front side.
A light guide window for guiding the light incident from above to the lower sheet container is provided. According to this, since the light from the lighting device also hits the paper stored in the lower paper storage body, the internal paper can be easily seen from the front side, and the remaining amount of the paper can be easily confirmed.

In the paper feeding device, as described in claim 5, the paper container can be constructed so as to be horizontally extended between a pair of side wall surfaces facing each other of the storage space. According to this, since it is not necessary to provide a partition between the upper and lower sheet containers, the passage of light is improved, and the visibility of the sheet from the front side is also improved.

In the paper feeding device, as described in claim 6, the paper container is provided with a paper regulating member which comes into contact with an edge of the paper accommodated therein and regulates the paper at a predetermined position. The restricting member may be made of a transparent material. According to this, since the sheet on the back side of the sheet regulating member can be seen through, the remaining amount of the sheet can be more easily confirmed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The configuration of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a copying machine to which the present invention is applied. This copier contains a sheet A and a housing 1
It is provided with a plurality of sheet accommodating bodies 3 that can be stored in and out of the storage space 2 inside thereof. , Multi-tiered in the storage space 2 in the shape of a shelf board,
A front opening portion of the storage space 2 for taking in and out the sheet container 3 is entirely closed by an opening / closing door 4 for preventing dust. An image forming unit 5 is arranged above the storage space 2.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing in detail the paper container 3 shown in FIG. The sheet container 3 is provided with a sheet stacking section 6 on which sheets A are stacked in the center in the front-rear direction. The first, second, and third sheet regulating members 7, 8 and 9 for regulating the sheet are provided, and these sheet regulating members 7, 8 and 9 are formed of a transparent material. As a result, the portion of the sheet A located on the back side of the sheet regulating members 7, 8 and 9 can be seen through, and the remaining amount of the sheet A can be easily confirmed.

The first and second paper regulating members 7 and 8 define the position in the depth direction, are movable according to the size of the paper A to be stored, and position the paper A at the center position. The intervals can be expanded or reduced in cooperation with each other. Third
The paper regulating member 9 defines the position in the width direction,
The mounting position can be changed step by step according to the size of the sheet A to be stored, and one end side of the sheet A is brought into contact with the reference surface 10 formed on the side edge portion of the sheet container 3. The other end of the sheet A is regulated. here,
It corresponds to each size and orientation of A4 portrait, A4 landscape, B4 landscape, and A3 landscape.

A handle 12 for loading and unloading the sheet container 3 is provided in front of the sheet stacking section 6, and a finger insertion hole 13 through which a finger passes is provided between the handle 12 and the sheet stacking section 6. It has been opened. As a result, the handle 12 does not have to be largely projected to the upper surface side of the sheet container 3, and
2 does not get in the way of visually observing the paper.

The sheet container 3 is provided with a light guide window hole 15 for guiding the light incident from above to the lower sheet container 3. The light guide window hole 15 is formed in a region of the sheet stacking unit 6 excluding a region where the smallest size sheet is arranged. In addition, the lightening hole 17 formed in the vicinity of the front edge portion 16 provided with the handle 12 also functions as a light guide window. In addition to this, lightening holes are provided in appropriate places to reduce the weight.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, and shows only a section of the sheet container 3 in a sectional view. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1 cut along the depth direction. Here, the short sheet A is stored in the upper sheet container 3 and the long sheet A is stored in the lower sheet container 3, and the light guide window hole 15 is not closed by the sheet. Since the sheet A accommodated in the sheet container 3 is exposed to the light, the sheet A inside can be easily seen from the front side, and the remaining amount of the sheet can be easily confirmed.

The sheet container 3 is laid across a pair of side wall surfaces 19a and 19b of the storage space 2 which face each other. The side wall surfaces 19a and 19b are provided with guide portions 20a and 20b that engage with the left and right side end portions of the sheet container 3 and support the sheet container 3 so that the sheet container 3 can be taken in and out freely. As a result, the sheet container 3 is supported at both the left and right ends, and it is not necessary to provide a partition between the upper and lower sheet containers 3, so that the passage of light is improved and the visibility from the front side is also improved.

In the storage space 2, a pickup roller 2 for pulling the sheets A contained in the sheet container 3 one by one.
Two are provided. Paper A stored in the paper container 3
Is pressed against the pickup roller 22 by a push-up member (not shown) when the sheet container 3 is stored. The sheet A drawn by the pickup roller 22 is sent to the image forming unit 5 by a conveying roller (not shown), where a required image forming process is performed, and then the sheet A is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 23.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing door 4 shown in FIG. 1 is closed. The opening / closing door 4 is provided with a transparent window 24 through which the sheets A accommodated in the sheet container 3 can be visually recognized, and external light enters through the transparent window 24. Thus, the sheet A accommodated through the transparent window 24 can be visually checked without opening the opening / closing door 4, and the remaining amount of the sheet A can be confirmed at a glance. The transparent window 24 is formed by assembling a window member made of a transparent material with the constituent members of the opening / closing door 4.

Further, the transparent window 24 extends over substantially the entire height of the housing 1, and the toner remaining amount display portion 25 provided on the toner cartridge can be visually observed through the transparent window 24, and the toner remaining amount can be checked. It can be grasped at a glance. Further, it is possible to visually check the paper jam display unit 26 that displays the paper jam at the required position on the paper conveyance path immediately, and it is possible to recognize the paper jam location at a glance. Paper jam indicator 26
Is exposed on the front surface of the housing 1 as shown in FIG.
It suffices to open the open / close door 4 and perform the work of removing the paper jammed according to the display of the paper jam display unit 26.

In this embodiment, the light guide window is provided with a hole to reduce the weight thereof, but it may be formed of a transparent material. Further, although the partition is not provided between the upper and lower sheet containers, the partition may be provided with a hole at a position corresponding to the light guide window or formed with a transparent material. . Further, although the opening / closing door is provided with a transparent window, even if the opening / closing door is not provided, it is possible to visually check the sheets stored in the sheet container without pulling out the sheet container if the opening / closing door is opened. ,
The corresponding advantages are obtained.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to visually check the sheet as it is stored in the storage space without pulling out the sheet container, and the remaining sheet stored in the sheet container can be visually confirmed. You can check the amount at a glance. Also,
Light from above hits the paper stored in the lower paper storage through the light guide window provided in the paper storage, making it easier to see the internal paper from the front side and easily confirming the remaining amount of paper. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing in detail the sheet container shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of the copying machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the copying machine shown in FIG. 1 taken along the depth direction.

5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing door shown in FIG. 1 is closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 case 2 storage space 3 Paper container 4 open / close door 6 Paper stacking section 7/8/9 Paper regulation member 10 Reference plane 12 handles 13 Finger insertion hole 15 Light guide window hole (light guide window) 17 Lightening hole 19a ・ 19b Side wall surface 20a ・ 20b Guide part 24 transparent window A paper

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 1/00 108 B41J 29/12 A (72) Inventor Kenji Shiotani 2-3, Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo No. 8 Matsushita Electric Transmission Systems Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2C061 AP03 AP04 AS02 CD07 CD21 LL02 2H071 AA35 AA38 AA42 AA44 AA54 DA22 EA04 2H072 BB03 BB04 HB07 JC02 3F343 FA02 HC02 KB11 A02 A11 A02 AB30 AB53 AD03 AD06 BA00

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A paper feeding device comprising a paper container for accommodating paper and storing the paper in a storage space inside a housing so that the paper can be put in and taken out. It is formed in a flat plate shape so as to be visible from the front side, and is arranged in multiple stages like a shelf in the storage space inside the housing, and the front opening part for taking in and out the paper storage container in the storage space is entirely formed. A sheet feeding device, which is provided with an opening / closing door that is closed. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing door includes a transparent window through which the sheets accommodated in the sheet container can be visually recognized. 3. The sheet container includes a handle for loading and unloading sheets in front of a sheet stacking unit on which sheets are placed, and a hole through which a finger passes is formed between the handle and the sheet stacking unit. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding device is a sheet feeding device. 4. A paper feeding device comprising a paper container for accommodating paper and storing the paper in a storage space inside a housing so that the paper can be stored in the housing. A sheet feeding device, which is arranged in multiple stages in the storage space so as to be visible from the side, and which is provided with a light guide window for guiding light incident from above to the sheet container in the lower stage. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet container is provided horizontally between a pair of side wall surfaces of the storage space that face each other. 6. The sheet containing member includes a sheet regulating member that comes into contact with an edge of the sheet accommodated therein to regulate the sheet at a predetermined position, and the sheet regulating member is formed of a transparent material. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 4, wherein.