JP2004202747A - Photo sensor with actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photo sensor having an actuator which can ensure stable operation of the actuator at all times by a simple constitution and at a low cost. <P>SOLUTION: The bearing part consists of an upper bearing constituting part located at the upper side in a vertical direction to the actuator shaft, and a lower bearing constituting part located at the lower side, so as to prevent fine resin waste generated along with the rotation of the actuator from piling and solidifying between an inner wall of the bearing part and an actuator shaft to obstruct the rotation of the actuator. The upper bearing constituting part and the lower bearing constituting part are arranged to have a relationship without any mutual overlapping part formed in an axial direction of the actuator shaft. Accordingly, discharge of the resin waste to the outside of the bearing part is facilitated. By constituting the bearing part as above, a structure of a mold for molding a photo sensor body including the bearing part can be simplified, and mold manufacturing costs can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for detecting the remaining amount of paper in a paper feeding device, detecting the passage of paper in a passage path, and the like in a printing device such as a printer and an electrophotographic copying machine. The present invention relates to the improvement of the structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In a printing apparatus such as a printer or an electrophotographic copying machine, a paper detection sensor generally detects a remaining amount of paper in a paper feeding unit and detects an appropriate paper passage in a paper passage path. The control device is configured to confirm that there is no abnormality and to proceed to the control of the next step. As the paper detection sensor, a photosensor that is small and has little deterioration in performance is generally used. One of the most typical forms of the paper detection sensor is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-8-133527. There is a photo-interrupter type sensor that detects a sheet by blocking light. Further, a reflection type photosensor that emits light to a sheet and detects reflected light from the sheet is also widely used.
[0003]
However, the means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet by blocking or reflecting light has a disadvantage that it is affected by the characteristics of the sheet serving as a detection medium. For example, since an OHP sheet has excellent light transmittance, a photo-interrupter type sensor for detecting light shielding by a sheet cannot be used. In addition, with the spread of inkjet printers and the like, the types of paper, such as special paper corresponding to the required print quality and special paper for each application, have been diversified. The difference was enlarged, and it became a factor that made it difficult to reliably detect the paper by the reflection type photo sensor.
[0004]
In view of such a problem, a so-called photosensor with an actuator, which is a combination of a photointerrupter sensor and an actuator, has come to be used as a means for reliably detecting paper. The photosensor with an actuator has a structure in which a rotatable actuator is supported on the photosensor body, and the presence or absence of a sheet in a sheet feeding unit of a printing apparatus to be detected, and the passage of a sheet in a passage path, When the actuator rotates and transmits or blocks light, the photointerrupter type sensor operates and detects.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
4 to 6 are a plan view, a side view, and a front view of a photosensor with an actuator showing a conventional example. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the actuator 2 is mounted on a pair of bearings 3 protruding from the photosensor main body 1 so as to face each other. Supported by part 3. The mounting end of the actuator shaft 2a is substantially entirely surrounded by a bearing portion 3 excluding the actuator shaft mounting opening portion 4. The actuator shaft 2a and the inner wall of the bearing portion 3 associated with the rotation of the actuator 2 It is difficult for the fine resin waste generated by the sliding of the actuator 2 to be discharged to the outside of the bearing portion 3. It could be a factor.
[0006]
In addition, in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the shaft holes for mounting the respective distal ends of the actuator shafts 2a must penetrate from the side surface of the bearing portion 3 in the direction of the rotation axis. Instead, a slide mechanism is required for a mold for manufacturing the photosensor body 1. For this reason, there has been a problem that the mold manufacturing cost is increased.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensor with an actuator capable of reducing a mold manufacturing cost and ensuring stable operation of the actuator.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a photosensor with an actuator according to the present invention includes an actuator that can rotate in a vertical direction supported by a pair of bearings protruding from the photosensor body so as to face each other. In the photosensor with an actuator, the bearing portion includes an upper bearing component located vertically above the rotation axis and a lower bearing component located vertically below the rotation axis. In addition, the upper bearing component and the lower bearing component are arranged at a position where there is no overlapping portion in the axial direction of the rotating shaft.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are a plan view, a side view, and a front view showing a photosensor with an actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 1 to 3, a bearing portion 3 is provided on an upper bearing component portion 3 a projecting above the photosensor main body 1 and positioned vertically above an actuator shaft 2 a serving as a rotation axis and an actuator shaft 2 a. The lower bearing constituting portion 3b located on the lower side in the vertical direction is disposed so as to be shifted to a position where there is no overlapping portion in the axial direction of the actuator shaft 2a, and the side surface shape of the bearing portion 3 is such that the actuator shaft 2a is inserted. It has a C-shape having an actuator shaft mounting opening 4 for mounting the actuator shaft.
[0010]
In the present embodiment, the upper bearing constituting part 3a and the lower bearing constituting part 3b constituting the bearing part 3 are arranged so as to be shifted to a position where there is no overlapping part in the axial direction of the actuator shaft 2 which is a rotation axis. The portion where the bearing 3 contacts the actuator shaft 2a to support the actuator 2 is shared by the upper bearing component 3a and the lower bearing component 3b. As a result, the periphery of the actuator shaft 2a is not surrounded by the bearing portion 3 exceeding 50%, and the fine resin generated by the sliding of the actuator shaft 2a and the inner wall of the bearing portion 3 due to the rotation of the actuator 2 The debris is easily discharged to the outside of the bearing portion 3, and the possibility that the resin debris accumulates and solidifies between the outer periphery of the actuator shaft 2 a and the inner wall of the bearing portion 3 is greatly reduced.
[0011]
Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the upper bearing component 3a and the lower bearing component 3b constituting the bearing 3 are disposed at positions where there is no overlapping portion in the axial direction of the actuator shaft 2a. Therefore, a slide mechanism is not required for a molding die for manufacturing the photosensor body 1, and the die manufacturing cost can be reduced.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to simplify the structure of a molding die, and eliminate the cause of operation failure caused by resin dust generated due to rotation of an actuator, which has been difficult in the related art. In addition, a photosensor with an actuator capable of always ensuring stable operation of the actuator can be provided at a low cost with a simple configuration.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a photosensor with an actuator of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a photosensor with an actuator according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a photosensor with an actuator according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional photosensor with an actuator.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a conventional photosensor with an actuator.
FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional photosensor with an actuator.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensor main body 2 Actuator 2a Actuator shaft 3 Bearing part 3a Upper bearing constituent part 3b Lower bearing constituent part 4 Actuator shaft mounting opening 5 Actuator fixed position return coil spring

Claims (1)

In a photosensor with an actuator, which is provided with a vertically rotatable actuator supported by a pair of bearing portions protrudingly opposed to the photosensor body, the bearing portion is vertically upward with respect to the rotation axis. The upper bearing component and the lower bearing component located vertically below the pivot axis. The upper bearing component and the lower bearing component are arranged in the axial direction of the pivot axis. Wherein the photosensor with the actuator is disposed at a position where there is no overlapping portion.

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