JP2003201054A - Paper tray - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently perform a guiding and holding operation in storing paper sheets by foldably providing an expansion tray and an auxiliary tray for trays such as an ejection tray and a manual tray disposed in an image forming device, and to facilitate the folding. <P>SOLUTION: The ejection tray 1 disposed in a delivery part of an image recording device or the like has the expansion tray 5 at the tip in the ejecting direction via a pivot part 4, the auxiliary tray 10, and also recording paper having a maximum size storably in an opening state of all tray members. A stopper member 11 disposed projectedly at the free-side tip of the auxiliary tray 10, when it is folded to the expansion tray 5, goes into an opening 7 of the expansion tray 5. However, when the stopper member is stored in a recessed part 2 of the ejection tray 1, the tip of the auxiliary tray 10 lowers to prevent the stopper member 11 from projecting to a storing surface of the recording paper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper tray on which recording paper carrying a toner image is fixed by a fixing device and then discharged by a discharging roller device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a discharge tray for accumulating and accommodating recording sheets on which recording has been performed in a recording section of an image forming apparatus, recording sheets having a size larger than the tray size can be stably accommodated. For this purpose, an expansion tray that can be folded or pulled out is provided. Particularly in copiers and facsimile machines, in response to the desire to reduce the installation area, a paper discharge tray is also provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus. The area is getting smaller. Therefore, a paper tray with a small area (short in the recording paper moving direction)
It is necessary to provide an expansion tray capable of accommodating recording paper such as A3 in addition to the one formed to have a size capable of accommodating A4 recording paper.

[0003]

However, when the extension tray is provided in the paper ejection tray, there is a restriction that the length of the extension tray cannot be longer than the length of the paper ejection tray. When the tray is formed in the size of A4 size, the leading end of the recording sheet of A3 in the sheet ejection direction may protrude from the expansion tray. And
When the front end of the ejected A3 recording paper in the ejection direction falls off from the expansion tray, the trailing edge of the recording paper is likely to be lifted, and is pushed out by the recording paper ejected later and dropped from the ejection tray. It is easy to cause problems such as

According to the present invention, in order to improve the accommodability of paper, an expansion tray provided in addition to the paper ejection tray is formed so as to be compactly accommodable, thereby improving the accommodability of recording paper to be ejected. , And to reduce the installation area of the image forming apparatus.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper tray for stacking paper. According to the invention of claim 1, the paper tray is an extension tray rotatable with respect to a tray body.
An auxiliary tray that is rotatable with respect to the expansion tray is provided, and a stopper for recording paper is formed at least at the front end of the auxiliary tray in the paper discharge direction, and the auxiliary tray stores paper in the expansion tray. At the position extended to the position, the tray body, the extension tray, and the auxiliary tray are extended in a substantially linear shape, and the stopper of the auxiliary tray is projected to the end portion. Due to the installation space of the device body, etc., even in a device in which a paper tray of a sufficient size cannot be provided, the tray main body of the paper tray that is made small is With the auxiliary tray provided so as to be foldably connected, a large size recording paper such as A3 size can be accommodated, and it is possible to prevent inconvenience such as the recording paper dropping from the paper tray.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the expansion tray is formed with an opening or notch for accommodating the auxiliary tray so as not to interfere with the stopper of the auxiliary tray when the auxiliary tray is accommodated. The auxiliary tray stopper is housed in the notch so that the auxiliary tray does not protrude from the extension tray. Therefore, when the expansion tray and the auxiliary tray are accommodated in the discharge tray main body which is made small, the stopper member does not project to an extra position, so that the sheet storability can be improved. . Also,
The expansion tray and the auxiliary tray can be set according to the size of the recording paper to be ejected, and the expandability can be easily exhibited for the tray body that can accommodate only small-sized paper. Becomes

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the paper tray includes an expansion tray rotatable with respect to the tray body and an auxiliary tray rotatable with respect to the expansion tray. A tray and an auxiliary tray storage portion are formed, and when the expansion tray and the auxiliary tray are stored, the tip of the auxiliary tray is stored while being guided by a guide portion formed in the storage portion of the paper tray. Then, each tray of the extension tray and the auxiliary tray can be stored in the storage portion of the tray main body by folding the tray from the used state, and the tip of the auxiliary tray is not caught at the time of storage, and can be easily stored. You can take action.
Further, the stopper members provided on the extension tray and the auxiliary tray can securely hold the recording papers contained therein, and the stopper members do not interfere when the trays are folded, and the storability can be maintained excellently. .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of a paper discharge tray which is an embodiment of the paper tray of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The example shown in FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper discharge tray 1 that is provided in a recording paper discharge unit of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer and that can stack a large number of recording papers. The paper discharge tray 1 is provided in a paper discharge unit for a device such as a printer, a facsimile machine, or any other image recording device having an arbitrary configuration, which prints on recording paper using paper of various sizes. It is described as being able to be provided. Further, the example shown in FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are all extended with respect to the paper discharge tray 1. The paper discharge tray 1 has a width capable of accommodating the maximum size of paper discharge usable in the image recording apparatus, for example, A
When the sheet of four sizes is fed laterally (conveyance direction is the width direction) (longitudinal feed of A3 size), it is formed to have a width (or depth) corresponding to the state of accommodating the recording paper. The combined length of and is formed to correspond to the width of the A4 size.

A concave portion 2 having a predetermined width is formed in the width direction of the paper discharge tray 1, that is, in the center portion in the direction orthogonal to the recording paper discharge direction, and the extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are folded in. The expansion tray 5 is prevented from projecting to the upper surface when it is accommodated in the recess 2 in this state. An extension tray 5 is supported at the tip of the recess 2 such that the shaft support portions 4 on both sides are substantially the same as the sheet ejection surface of the sheet ejection tray 1. The auxiliary tray 10 is provided so as to be rotatable around the shaft support 12. Each of the extension tray 5 rotatably provided with respect to the paper discharge tray 1 and the auxiliary tray 10 rotatably supported by the extension tray 5 when opened in the state shown in FIG. In order that the tray that rotates with respect to each support portion may be locked in the illustrated state, the shaft supporting portions 4 and 12 are provided with a locking function as a stopper member and combined.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the expansion tray 5 has a stopper member 11 provided at the tip end portion of the auxiliary tray 10 which can be inserted into a substantially central portion on the base side supported by the shaft support portion 4. Although the opening portion 7 is provided, the stopper member 11 may be formed as a notch portion into which the stopper member 11 can be inserted instead of the opening portion. Then, with respect to the tray main body 1 of the discharge tray, in a state of being rotated around the shaft supporting portion 4 and folded, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, inside the recess 2 of the discharge tray 1, The expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 can be accommodated in a folded state. In the folded state as described above, the rear surface of the expansion tray 5 is flush with the upper surface of the main body of the paper discharge tray 1, so that large irregularities that hinder the storage of recording paper are not formed. Further, a stopper member 6 is provided on the base portion of the extension tray 5 so as to project, and when the extension tray 5 is accommodated in the recess 2 of the paper discharge tray 1, the stopper member 6 is a tip portion in the paper discharge direction. When the recording sheet of A4 size is fed laterally, the leading end portion of the recording sheet is locked.

A stopper member 11 is provided at the tip of the auxiliary tray 10 supported by the tip of the extension tray 5 via a shaft support 12 in a state of being bent at a substantially right angle. It is provided at a position where the leading end of a maximum size sheet that can be created by the image forming apparatus, for example, A3 size recording sheet can be locked. Further, in a state where the auxiliary tray 10 is folded and stacked on the extension tray 5, as shown in FIGS.
Is inserted into the opening 7 or the notch provided in the base of the extension tray 5, so that the back surface of the auxiliary tray 10 does not protrude excessively with respect to the extension tray 5 and the guiding action of the recording paper can be performed well. To Then, with the above configuration,
The extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 can be stored in the storage portion of the tray main body of the paper ejection tray 1 by folding the trays from the use state, and the tip portion of the auxiliary tray 10 may be caught during storage. Instead, it is possible to carry out the storing operation easily. Further, the stopper members 6 and 11 provided on the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 securely lock the discharge side end portion of the discharged recording paper during the operation in which the trays are set in the used state. It can be held, the stopper member does not get in the way when the trays are folded, and the storability can be favorably maintained.

When the extension tray 5 is opened with respect to the discharge tray 1 and the auxiliary tray 10 is opened with respect to the extension tray 5, as shown in FIG. 2, A3 size recording sheets can be accommodated. It is possible to configure a large size discharge tray. However, the auxiliary tray 10 is the extension tray 5
Since it is not fixedly held, the tip end portion of the auxiliary tray 10 is held in a state of falling into the concave portion 2 of the sheet discharge tray 1 by rotating the tip end portion of the auxiliary tray 10 about the shaft support portion 12. It That is, since the concave portion 2 is cut downward from the recording paper guide surface of the paper discharge tray 1, the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are accommodated so as to enter the concave portion 2. It Therefore, the stopper member 11 of the auxiliary tray 10 that has entered the opening 7 of the expansion tray 5 does not project above the recording paper accommodation surface of the expansion tray 5 and may interfere with the accommodation of recording paper. Absent.

As described above, in the paper discharge tray 1 in which the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are rotatably provided around the shaft supporting portion with respect to the main body, for example,
Even if the main body of the paper discharge tray 1 is formed to correspond to A4 size recording paper, the expansion tray 5 can accommodate B4 size recording paper, and the auxiliary tray 10 can also be used in combination to form A3 portrait paper. Can accommodate recording paper. When the recording paper is stored in the discharge tray 1, the stopper member 6 of the extension tray 5 is used.
For the maximum size recording paper, the stopper member 11 of the auxiliary tray 10 can be used to hold and hold the leading ends of the recording paper in the paper discharge direction. In the paper discharge tray configured by combining the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10, the length of the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 is formed so as to correspond to the length of the discharged paper in the conveying direction. It is desirable that the widths of the extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are as wide as possible so that a large-sized recording sheet can be stably guided and the holding action can be performed favorably.

The expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are
When the extension tray 5 is housed in the recess 2 in a state in which the auxiliary tray 10 is placed on the extension tray 5 in the discharge tray 1 that is rotatably provided around each shaft support, the recess 2 is simply It may be formed as a concave portion. However, when the extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are folded in a stacked state, as shown in FIG. 8, the tip of the auxiliary tray 10 is caught on the bottom surface of the concave portion 2 to accommodate the extension tray 5 and the like. Is likely to occur.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a guide portion 3 is provided upstream of the concave portion 2 on the sheet discharge side, and the tip portion of the auxiliary tray 10 is slid by the guide portion 3. Make it move and fold. That is, when the expansion tray 5 is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft support portion 4 in the folding direction, the tip end portion of the auxiliary tray 10 that freely swings away from the expansion tray 5 is guided by the guide. The extension tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 are accommodated in the concave portion 2 while being guided by being guided along the inclined surface of the portion 3 and being rotated by folding the auxiliary tray 10 in the clockwise direction around the pivotal support portion 12. . Further, the conditions such as the angle and the length on the slope for guiding the guide portion 3 to the tip of the auxiliary tray can be formed according to the length of the auxiliary tray 10.

As described above, the paper discharge tray 1 constructed by combining the expansion tray 5 and the auxiliary tray 10 with respect to the tray body fixes the conventional general toner image and discharges it as recording paper. The image forming apparatus can be provided in the sheet discharge section of the image forming apparatus, but in addition, it can be provided in the sheet discharge section of any printing apparatus or image recording apparatus. That is, it can be provided in an ink jet type printer, a printer using an ink film, and any other image recording device, etc., and the expansion tray is used in accordance with the size of the discharged paper used in the image recording device. 5 or the auxiliary tray 10 is provided by being extended, respectively, and the produced recording paper can be accommodated in a stable state. Further, the depth and size of the concave portion 2 provided in the paper discharge tray 1 are configured according to the sizes of the auxiliary tray and the extension tray which can be housed therein, and the concave portion 2 is formed on the recording paper storage surface of the paper discharge tray. It suffices that trays to be accommodated do not protrude.

The paper tray in which the expansion tray and the auxiliary tray are combined can be configured as a discharge tray for ADF or the like, or as a manual feed tray for feeding paper to the printing portion of the image forming apparatus. However, the use of the discharge tray is not limited to the configuration of the discharge tray. Then, as described above, the expansion tray and the auxiliary tray are configured to be slidable or foldable with respect to the tray having the paper tray in the apparatus, so that a large-sized paper can be accommodated in the basic tray. It is possible to exert a stable support action when setting a large size paper.

[0018]

Since the device of the present invention is configured as described above, the installation space of the device main body
Even in a device that cannot provide a sufficiently large paper tray, the extension tray and the auxiliary tray that is foldably connected to the extension tray are provided for the tray main body of the paper tray that is small in size. It is possible to accommodate a large size recording paper such as A3 size, A3 size, and the like, and prevent occurrence of inconvenience such as the recording paper dropping from the paper tray. Further, the expansion tray and the auxiliary tray can be set corresponding to the size of the recording paper to be ejected, and the expandability can be easily increased with respect to the tray main body that can accommodate only small-sized paper. It can be demonstrated. Then, by folding each tray of the extension tray and the auxiliary tray from the used state, they can be stored in the storage section of the tray body,
The tip of the auxiliary tray is not caught during storage, and the storage operation can be performed easily. Furthermore, the stopper members provided on the extension tray and the auxiliary tray are
The stored recording paper can be securely held, and the stopper members do not get in the way when the trays are folded, and the storability can be favorably maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper discharge tray.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the discharge tray in a fully opened state.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the extension tray in a folded state.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view with an extension tray open.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a rotating operation when the extension tray is folded.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a folding operation of a conventional expansion tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 paper ejection tray, 2 recesses, 3 guide parts,
4 Shaft Supports, 5 Expansion Tray, 6 Stopper Members, 7 Openings, 10 Auxiliary Tray, 11
Stopper member, 12 shaft support.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A paper tray for stacking recording paper, the paper tray comprising: an expansion tray rotatable with respect to a tray body; and an auxiliary tray rotatable with respect to the expansion tray. A stopper for recording paper is formed at least at the front end of the auxiliary tray in the paper discharge direction, and at the position where the auxiliary tray is extended to the paper storage position with respect to the expansion tray, the tray main body, the expansion tray, and the auxiliary tray. Is extended substantially linearly, and the stopper of the auxiliary tray is projected to the end portion. 2. The extension tray is formed with an opening or a notch for accommodating a stopper of the auxiliary tray so as not to interfere with the stopper of the auxiliary tray when the auxiliary tray is accommodated, and the auxiliary or the notch is provided in the opening or notch of the extension tray. The paper tray according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary tray does not protrude from the extension tray by accommodating a tray stopper. 3. A paper tray for stacking recording paper, the paper tray comprising: an expansion tray rotatable with respect to a tray body; and an auxiliary tray rotatable with respect to the expansion tray, An extension tray and an auxiliary tray storage portion are formed in the paper tray, and when the extension tray and the auxiliary tray are stored, the tip of the auxiliary tray is stored while being guided by a guide portion formed in the storage portion of the paper tray. Paper tray characterized by.