JP2005082389A - Paper stacking device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper stacking device capable of securely and stably stacking sheets of paper without falling and securely aligning the ends of sheets of paper without variation. <P>SOLUTION: This paper stacking device comprises a paper tray 6 for stacking thereon the sheets of paper discharged from a paper discharge means. The sheets of paper are moved to a stopper end fence 3 according to the inclination of the bottom plate 2 of the paper tray 6 to align the ends of the sheets of paper. A step 6a for falling the rear ends of the sheets of paper onto the paper tray 6 is formed on the paper tray 6 so that the ends of the next sheets of paper fed to the paper tray 6 is not brought into contact with the rear ends of the former sheets of paper stacked on the paper tray 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper stacking device installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof, and in particular, handles a wide range of transfer paper of various sizes from a small size to a large size. The present invention relates to a paper-compatible paper stacking apparatus.

  A paper discharge tray installed in the image forming apparatus is provided in a recording paper discharge portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the recording paper discharged through the discharge roller is moved toward the end plate according to the inclination of the bottom plate to make the paper A tray for aligning is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The paper discharge tray is provided with a convex block formed in a step shape so that a plurality of convex portions are gradually lowered from the outside toward the central portion at a position biased to one side from the central portion of the end plate, By making the end of the paper abut against the convex block, the paper can be deposited while being inclined to one side of the tray.

  Therefore, in the discharge tray, only by attaching a convex block to the end plate, the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus main body via the discharge roller is inclined so as to be along one side. Can be accommodated. According to the discharge tray, the recording paper can be easily aligned, and the operator can align the recording paper on the side from which the paper is taken out. It can be done.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-16675

  By the way, a paper discharge means for discharging the paper and a paper tray for stacking the paper discharged by the paper discharge means are provided, and the paper is directed to the end plate (stopper / end fence) according to the inclination of the bottom plate of the paper tray. In the paper stacking apparatus that moves the paper and aligns the leading edge of the paper, the A1Y size paper has a shorter paper length than the A0T and A1T size paper, so the position of the rear edge of the paper remains on the paper transport path. End up. For this reason, the leading edge of the next sheet hits the trailing edge of the sheet, and sheet stacking troubles such as a sheet falling backward out of the stacking device or sheet misalignment may occur.

  Also, since the stopper / end fence is arranged only in the center, the leading edge of the A1Y or A0T wide paper is likely to be inclined due to impact or vibration during alignment of the leading edge of the paper. In some cases, a paper stack NG such as adhesion of a floor or a trailing edge of the paper blocking the conveyance path may occur. In particular, when the size is small, the paper may fall forward out of the stack device.

  Also, due to impact or vibration during alignment of the leading edge of the paper, the position of the stopper / end fence shifts to the front side, and as above, the paper tip is stuck to the floor, and the leading edge of the paper does not reach the stopper / end fence. In some cases, a sheet stack NG occurs such that the trailing edge of the sheet blocks the conveyance path.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to reliably and stably stack the sheets without dropping them, and to reliably align the leading ends of the sheets without variation. To provide a paper stacking device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is provided with a paper tray for stacking the paper discharged by the paper discharge means, and the paper is used as a stopper end fence according to the inclination of the bottom plate of the paper tray. In a paper stacking apparatus that moves the paper toward the top and aligns the leading edge of the paper, the leading edge of the next paper sent to the paper tray does not hit the trailing edge of the previous paper already stacked in the paper tray. In addition, a step for dropping the rear end of the front sheet onto the sheet tray is formed on the sheet tray.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the stopper / end fence is arranged evenly with respect to a central axis in the width direction of the paper tray, and And a contact surface that uniformly contacts the leading edge of the discharged paper.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the stopper / end fence is fixed to the bottom plate of the paper tray by a magnet. .

  According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to reliably and stably stack the sheets without dropping them, and to reliably align the leading ends of the sheets without variation. In particular, the A1Y size length (594 mm) sheet trailing edge can be eliminated from the sheet conveyance path, and stacking of A1Y size length can be realized. In general, if the paper tray is extended to the rear to make it larger, it is possible to stack the paper without making a step, but if the stack reaches the maximum A0T size, the paper tray becomes larger and it becomes difficult to reduce the space. . Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a sheet having an A1Y size length can be stored in front of the step, and the leading edge of the next sheet A1Y size is stacked by the step so that the length of the previous sheet A1Y size is stacked. Since the rear end of the A1Y size paper can be eliminated from the paper transport path, stacking of the A1Y size length can be realized.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 can be obtained, and the variation in alignment of the leading edge of the sheet can be suppressed, and the sheet stack can be stabilized. Also, it is possible to prevent the small size paper from falling forward out of the stacking device. In this configuration, in particular, the stopper / end fence is evenly arranged around the center of the discharged paper, and the stopper surface (contact surface) of the stopper / end fence is set to 30 with respect to the A1Y size width (841 mm). % Of the contact surface is preferable. In this case, it is possible to increase the contact surface between the leading end of the sheet and the stopper / end fence in a well-balanced manner as a whole.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 or claim 2 can be obtained, and the position of the stopper / end fence can be shifted due to impact or vibration at the time of aligning the leading edge of the paper. , The leading edge of the paper can be reliably aligned, and the paper stack can be stabilized. In general, if the stopper end fence is fixed to the bottom plate of the paper tray with a screw or the like, the end fence can be prevented from being displaced without attaching a magnet. However, when the screw is fixed, the stopper / end fence cannot be configured to be freely drawn out, so that the paper take-out property and the operability of the long document receiver are deteriorated. If the stopper / end fence is fixed to the bottom plate of the paper tray with a magnet as in this configuration, the stopper / end fence can be configured to be freely drawn out.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image-formed paper 10 is discharged out of the machine by a discharge roller pair (paper discharge means) 1 and travels along the back of the machine. According to the inclination of the bottom plate 2, it heads for the stopper end fence 3 in the front of the machine. By the stopper rubber 4 which is an overlap fixed on the sheet 11 arranged in parallel on the tray bottom plate 2, the paper 10 moves stably and abuts against the stopper end fence 3 to contact the front end of the paper. Are matched.

  The stopper end fence 3 is fixed to the tray bottom plate 2 by a magnet 12 set inside. The A1Y size 5 paper trailing edge enters the step 6a of the paper tray 6, and the A0T size 7 and A1T size 8 paper trailing edges are supported by the paper tray 6, so the paper trailing edge remains in the paper transport path. There is nothing, and the sheets are stacked. Three paper trays 6 are arranged in parallel.

  The stopper / end fence 3 can be extended to the front side of the machine by the shaft 13 set on the stopper / end fence 3 and can take the paper that has moved together. Further, when copying the long document 9, the stopper / end fence 3 can be extended to the front side of the machine so that the long document 9 can be received.

  As described above, the sheet tray 6 can store sheets of A1Y size length (594 mm) in front of the stepped portion 6a. The step portion 6a prevents the leading edge of the next sheet A1Y size length from hitting the trailing edge of the stacked previous sheet A1Y size length.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the stopper / end fence 3 is arranged evenly with respect to the central axis O in the width direction of the paper tray 6 and is equally applied to the leading edge of the paper discharged to the paper tray 6. It has a contact surface 3a in contact therewith. In particular, in the present embodiment, the stopper / end fence 3 is evenly arranged around the center of the discharged paper, and the stopper surface (contact surface) 3a of the stopper / end fence 3 has an A1Y size width ( 841 mm), the contact surface is 30% or more. That is, the ratio of the total length of the contact surfaces 3a along the width direction of the sheet tray 6 to the A1Y size width = [length in the width direction of each contact surface 3a 70 mm × 4 locations (number of stopper surfaces) / 841 mm] × 100 = 33.3%

  As described above, in this embodiment, the front sheet is prevented from hitting the leading edge of the next sheet sent to the sheet tray 6 with respect to the trailing end of the previous sheet already stacked on the sheet tray 6. A step portion 6a for dropping the rear end onto the paper tray 6 is formed in the paper tray. Therefore, in particular, the A1Y size length (594 mm) sheet trailing edge can be eliminated from the sheet conveyance path, and stacking of A1Y size length can be realized. In general, if the paper tray 6 is extended to the rear to increase the size, it is possible to stack the paper without adding the stepped portion 6a. However, when the stack reaches the maximum A0T size, the paper tray 6 becomes larger and the space is reduced. Becomes difficult. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a sheet of A1Y size can be stored in front of the step portion 6a, and the leading end of the next sheet A1Y size has a length of the stacked previous sheet A1Y size by the step portion 6a. Since it is possible not to hit the trailing edge, it is possible to eliminate the trailing edge of the A1Y size paper from the paper transport path and to stack the A1Y size.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the stopper / end fence 3 is arranged uniformly with respect to the central axis O in the width direction of the paper tray 6, and comes into contact with the front end of the paper discharged to the paper tray 6. It has a surface 3a. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the alignment variation at the leading edge of the paper and stabilize the paper stack. Also, it is possible to prevent the small size paper from falling forward out of the stacking device. In particular, in this embodiment, the stopper / end fence 3 is evenly arranged around the center of the discharged paper, and the stopper surface (contact surface) 3a of the stopper / end fence 3 is A1Y size width (841 mm). 30% or more of the contact surface. Therefore, it is possible to increase the contact surface between the front end of the sheet and the stopper / end fence 3 with a good balance as a whole.

  In this embodiment, the stopper / end fence 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 2 of the paper tray 6 by the magnet 12. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the position of the stopper / end fence 3 from being displaced due to impact, vibration, or the like during alignment of the leading edge of the sheet, to reliably align the leading edge of the sheet, and to stabilize the sheet stack. In general, if the stopper / end fence 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 2 of the paper tray 6 with screws or the like, it is possible to prevent the end fence 3 from being displaced without attaching a magnet. However, when the screws are fixed, the stopper / end fence 3 cannot be configured to be freely drawn out, so that the paper take-out property and the operability of the long document receiver are deteriorated. If the stopper / end fence 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 2 of the paper tray 6 by the magnet 12 as in this configuration, the stopper / end fence 3 can be configured to be freely drawn out.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus to which a paper stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 1 is an enlarged side view of a paper stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view of a paper stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the front end side of the paper stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Bottom plate 3 Stopper / end fence 3a Contact surface 6 Paper tray 6a Step part (step)
12 Magnet

Claims (3)

In a paper stacking device comprising a paper tray for stacking paper discharged by the paper discharge means, and moving the paper toward the stopper / end fence according to the inclination of the bottom plate of the paper tray to align the front end of the paper,
A step for dropping the rear end of the front paper onto the paper tray so that the front end of the next paper sent to the paper tray does not hit the rear end of the previous paper already stacked in the paper tray. Is formed on the paper tray.   The stopper end fence is disposed evenly with respect to the central axis in the width direction of the paper tray, and has a contact surface that uniformly contacts the leading edge of the paper discharged to the paper tray. The paper stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper stacking apparatus is a paper stacking apparatus. 3. The paper stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper end fence is fixed to a bottom plate of the paper tray by a magnet.

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