JP2005206336A - Paper feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeding device absorbing a shock at the time of push-in and positioning by a rotary shock absorber operated interlocking with movement of a storage mechanism, eliminating failure of components and disturbance of loaded paper sheets and preventing deterioration of operability at the time of pull-out. <P>SOLUTION: This paper feeding device for an electrophotographic device is equipped with a storage member capable of storing a plurality of paper sheets, a movement mechanism for moving the storage member to a printable position, and a holding mechanism for holding the storage member after the storage member is moved to the printable position. The holding mechanism is provided with the rotary shock absorber operated interlocking with the movement of the storage member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device of an electrophotographic apparatus.

  6 and 7 show the structure of a paper feeding device, that is, a device generally called a hopper, and a holding mechanism for holding the hopper in a printable position, that is, a mechanism generally called a latch in a conventional electrophotographic apparatus. is there.

  6 and 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a hopper, 2 denotes a main body of the electrophotographic apparatus, and 3 denotes a slide mechanism for moving the hopper 1 to the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus. A swing member 5 to which a rotatable roller 4 is attached is provided on the back surface of the hopper 1 and can be rotated around a shaft 10 fixed to the hopper 1 by a spring 6. In addition, a hook 7 is provided on the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus so as to face the swing member 5. In this configuration, the paper 8 is stacked on the hopper 1 with the hopper 1 pulled out, and when the hopper 1 is stored in the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus, the roller 4 slides along the hook 7 to the trough 9. Depressed and held in a printable position.

  Further, as an example of adding a buffering function to the holding mechanism when the hopper is pushed, the rotating member is stopped against the stopped member, and the abutting portion of the rotating member can be elastically deformed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-247626 A

  When storing a hopper loaded with paper in the conventional paper feeding device described above, depending on the operator, it may be pushed in vigorously, and an impact is applied at the time of contact between the roller and the hook, resulting in damage to the parts or disturbance of the loaded paper. A bug sometimes occurred.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device having an impact absorbing mechanism that solves the above problems, absorbs an impact when the roller and the hook are in contact, and does not deteriorate the operability when the hopper is pulled out. is there.

  The above object is achieved by attaching a gear and a damper to the swing member integrated with the roller, rotating the swing member when the hopper is pushed in, the gear meshes with the damper, and the mechanism that disengages when the hopper is pulled out. The

  According to the paper feeding device of the present invention, the impact when the hopper is pushed in is absorbed, and it is possible to prevent problems such as breakage of parts. Further, when pulling out the hopper, the resistance by the mechanism that absorbs the impact does not work, so the operability is not lowered.

  The purpose of absorbing the impact when the roller and hook contact is achieved without reducing the operability when pulling out the hopper.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the same parts as those in FIGS. 6 and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hopper 1 has a structure that can be moved to a main body 2 of an electrophotographic apparatus via a slide mechanism 3. A swing member 5 integrated with the roller 4 is attached to the hopper 1, and a hook 7 is provided opposite to the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a shaft 15 that is fixed to the bracket 17 passes through a long hole 16 that is opened in the swing member 5, and a bearing 15 is attached to a portion that contacts the swing member 5 of the shaft 10. The swing member 5 is rotatable about the shaft 10. The shaft 10 is integral with the gear 11 and is fixed to the bracket 17 so as not to rotate. The gear 11 meshes with the gear 13 of the damper 12 attached to the swing member 5.

  In the state where the hopper 1 is pulled out from the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the swing member 5 is pulled by the spring 18, and the bearing 15 is held against the right end of the long hole of the swing member 5. The gear 11 and the gear 13 are disengaged.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the operator pushes the hopper 1 into the main body 2 of the electrophotographic apparatus and the roller 4 and the hook 7 come into contact, the bearing 15 slides along the long hole 16 by the pushing force, and the gear 11 and the gear 11 13 mesh.

  As shown in FIG. 4, as the hopper 1 is further pushed, the roller 4 slides along the hook 7, so that the swing member 5 rotates around the shaft 10 with the gear 13 and the gear 11 engaged with each other. By this rotation, the gear 13 of the damper 12 rotates, and a resistance force in the reverse direction acts on the rotation of the swing member 5 to absorb the impact.

  And as shown in FIG. 5, when it gets over the peak part 14 of the hook 7, it will be in the state hold | maintained. When the hopper 1 is pulled out, the bearing 15 slides along the long hole 16 due to the pulling force of the operator, and the gear 11 and the gear 13 are disengaged, so that the resistance force by the damper 12 is not applied. Therefore, the damper 12 is effective only when pushed in, and the damper 12 is not effective when pulled out. Therefore, the components are not damaged or the stacked paper is not disturbed, and the operability at the time of drawing is not lowered.

It is a side view which shows the Example of this invention, and shows the positional relationship and operation | movement relationship of opening / closing of a hopper and a latch mechanism. In the Example of this invention, it is a side view which shows the detail of the latch mechanism part at the time of hopper drawer | drawing-out. In the Example of this invention, it is a side view which shows the detail of the latch mechanism part at the time of roller collision. In the Example of this invention, it is a side view which shows the detail of the latch mechanism part at the time of the slide of a roller. In the Example of this invention, it is a side view which shows the detail of a latch mechanism part when a hopper is hold | maintained in the printable position. It is a side view which shows a prior art example, and shows the positional relationship and operation | movement relationship between opening and closing of a hopper, and a latch mechanism. In a prior art example, it is a side view which shows the detail of a latch mechanism part when a hopper is hold | maintained in the printable position.

Explanation of symbols

1 is a hopper, 2 is a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus, 3 is a slide mechanism, 4 is a roller, 5 is a swing member, 6 is a spring, 7 is a hook, 8 is paper, 9 is a trough, 10 is a shaft, and 11 is a gear. , 12 is a damper, 13 is a damper gear, 14 is a crest, 15 is a bearing, 16 is a long hole, 17 is a bracket, and 18 is a spring.

Claims (2)

  A storage member capable of storing a plurality of sheets, a moving mechanism for moving the storage member to a printable position, and a holding mechanism for holding the storage member after the storage member has moved to a printable position The sheet feeding device of the electrophotographic apparatus comprising: the sheet feeding device, wherein the holding mechanism includes a rotary buffer device that operates in conjunction with the movement of the storage member. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when the storage member moves away from the printing position, the interlocking between the rotary shock absorber and the movement of the storage member is released.

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