JP2005306579A - Sheet supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain extraction of a paper feeding cassette just above and just under an extracted paper feeding cassette, when one paper feeding cassette is extracted with a simple constitution, when a plurality of paper feeding cassettes are layered in the vertical direction. <P>SOLUTION: Operation parts 11c to 13c are arranged for rotating between a lock position and a lock releasing position with respective paper feeding cassettes 21 to 23, and hook bodies 21a to 23a are also arranged with respective paper feeding cassettes. Locking members 35a to 35c prohibit the extraction of the paper feeding cassettes by being locked on the hook bodies when the operation parts become the lock position by interlocking with the operation parts. When one of the operation parts is rotated to the lock releasing position from the lock position, the locking members corresponding to the operation parts separate from locking of the hook bodies, and put the paper feeding cassettes corresponding to the locking members in an extractable state, and prohibit separation from the hook bodies of he locking members corresponding to the paper feeding cassettes positioned just above and just under the paper feeding cassettes put in the extractable state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer, and in particular, a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes are stacked in a vertical direction (up and down direction), and each sheet feeding cassette is in an up and down direction. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that can be pulled out (inserted / removed) in a direction perpendicular to the sheet.

  In general, an image forming apparatus using an ink jet or electrophotographic process is known. For example, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, a toner formed on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum. An image is transferred to a recording sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as a sheet) to form an image. When an image is formed, the sheet is sent from a sheet feeding device to an image forming unit having an image carrier. The toner image on the image carrier is transferred to the paper.

  As this type of paper feeding device, a plurality of paper feeding cassettes (paper feeding units) are provided, and different sizes of paper are stored in these paper feeding cassettes to selectively form images according to the user's selection or the document size. There is something that sends paper to the unit.

  Further, in addition to the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus itself, a paper feed device may be provided as an optional device. In any case, in such a paper feed device, in order to save space, a plurality of paper feed devices are provided. The paper cassettes are stacked in the vertical direction, and each paper cassette can be inserted / removed in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (for example, the front side). After replenishing the paper, the paper cassette is inserted into the paper feeder.

  By the way, in the above-described paper feeding device, since each paper feeding cassette can be pulled out independently, a user may accidentally pull out a plurality of paper feeding cassettes to the front side simultaneously during paper replenishment. For example, when the user checks the amount of paper or replenishes paper, if the user pulls out another paper cassette without inserting (returning) the paper cassette once drawn into the paper feeder, If the center of gravity moves forward, especially when the amount of paper stored is large, the center of gravity of the paper feeding device may move greatly forward, and the paper feeding device may tilt forward and fall.

  Further, in a state where the image forming apparatus main body is placed on the paper feeding device, if the center of gravity of the paper feeding device moves forward, the balance between the paper feeding device and the entire image forming apparatus main body is lost and an unexpected accident occurs. May occur.

  In order to prevent such a problem, the upper and lower end portions of the stopper member are urged and engaged in the respective concave portions of the upper and lower two-stage sheet cassettes so that the upper and lower two-stage sheet cassettes cannot be pulled out at the same time. When one of the two upper and lower paper feed cassettes is pulled out to the front of the apparatus, the stopper member that has been urged into the upper and lower recesses until the paper feed cassette is pulled out, The cam surface formed in the concave portion of the cassette is engaged with the concave portion on the remaining paper cassette side, and the movement is restrained by the movement regulating member on the extracted paper cassette side, and the remaining paper cassette is installed in the apparatus. There is one in which it is impossible to extract it forward (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3198091 (paragraph (0016) to paragraph (0021), FIGS. 2 to 5)

  By the way, in the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, when one of the upper and lower two-stage paper feeding cassettes is pulled out, the remaining (the other) paper feeding cassette cannot be pulled out. In the paper feeding device, a stopper member is provided in the cassette storage section, a stopper member is provided in the upper and lower two-stage paper feeding cassettes, and a concave portion is formed in the movable restraining member. Only the upper and lower ends of the stopper member are selectively engaged and disengaged.

  Then, with the upper and lower ends of the stopper member engaged with the upper and lower recesses, the engaging state of the stopper member is urged and held by the holding means, and further, according to the withdrawal of one of the paper feed cassettes Thus, a cam surface is formed for engaging the stopper member with the remaining concave portion on the sheet feeding cassette side.

  As described above, in the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, when one of the upper and lower two-stage paper feeding cassettes is pulled out, a mechanism for making it impossible to pull out the other paper feeding cassette is complicated. It becomes a cause of cost increase.

  Further, in the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, in a paper feeding device having two upper and lower paper feeding cassettes, when one paper feeding cassette is pulled out, the other paper feeding cassette cannot be pulled out. However, in a paper feeding device having a plurality of paper feeding cassettes, when one paper feeding cassette is pulled out, it cannot be prevented that the paper feeding cassettes directly above and below the drawn cassette are pulled out. There are challenges.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a sheet feeding cassette that is pulled out when a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes are stacked in the vertical direction and one sheet feeding cassette is pulled out with a simple configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device that can suppress the drawer of the paper feeding cassette directly above and below the paper.

  Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes an apparatus housing and a plurality of paper feed cassettes arranged so as to be able to be pulled out in a predetermined direction with respect to the apparatus housing. Operating means for enabling said paper feeding cassette to be pulled out in a paper feeding device in which said plurality of paper feeding cassettes are stacked vertically and selectively feed recording paper from said paper feeding cassette to said image forming apparatus; And a drawer prohibiting means for prohibiting the drawer of the sheet cassettes located immediately above and immediately below the sheet cassette that is in the drawerable state when one of the sheet cassettes is pulled out by the operating means. It is characterized by this.

  For example, the operation means has an operation portion that is provided for each paper feed cassette and rotates between a lock position and a lock release position, and the drawer prohibiting means is a hook provided for each paper feed cassette. And a locking member that is provided corresponding to each of the paper feed cassettes and that is locked to the hook body to prohibit the paper feed cassette from being pulled out when the operation unit is in a locked position in conjunction with the operation unit. And when one of the operation portions is rotated from the lock position to the lock release position, the locking member corresponding to the operation portion is released from the locking of the hook body and corresponds to the locking member. The paper feed cassette is brought into a drawable state, and the locking member corresponding to the paper feed cassette located immediately above and below the paper feed cassette in the drawable state is prohibited from being detached from the hook body.

  In the present invention, the unit housing includes a plurality of paper feeding units in which one paper feeding cassette is stored, the paper feeding units are stacked in the vertical direction, and the device housing is defined by the unit housing. The image forming apparatus is placed on the apparatus casing.

  As described above, when one of the paper feeding cassettes is ready to be drawn out, the paper feeding device according to the present invention pulls out the paper feeding cassettes located immediately above and immediately below the paper feeding cassette in the drawable state. Therefore, there is an effect that the balance of the sheet feeding device can be reduced by pulling out the sheet feeding cassette.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, but are merely illustrative examples. Not too much.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the illustrated sheet feeding device 10 is used, for example, as an image forming apparatus (not shown) such as a copying machine, and the image forming apparatus is placed on the sheet feeding device 10. The sheet is supplied to the image forming apparatus. Although not shown, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, and the image forming unit forms a toner image on a sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding device.

  For example, the image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a cleaning unit. The charging device uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum, and then according to image data. The surface of the photosensitive drum is exposed by the exposure device, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device into a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto the paper by the transfer device. The paper is then sent to a fixing device, where the toner image on the paper is fixed, and then the paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray or the like. The residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is removed by the cleaning unit, and then the residual charge on the photosensitive drum is removed by the static eliminator.

  The paper feeding device 10 includes a plurality of paper feeding units 11 to 13 (in the illustrated example, three paper feeding units are provided), and these paper feeding units 11 to 13 are arranged in a vertical direction (vertical direction). Are stacked. That is, as many paper feeding units as needed are stacked, and the paper feeding device 10 has at least three paper feeding units. The paper feed units 11 to 13 have unit housings 11a to 13a, respectively, and paper feed cassettes 21 to 23 are mounted on the unit housings 11a to 13a (that is, in the state shown in FIG. 21 to 23 are stacked in the vertical direction).

  For example, sheets of different sizes are stored in the sheet cassettes 21 to 23, and sheets are selectively fed from the sheet cassettes 21 to 23 to the image forming unit according to the user's selection or document size. . In the illustrated example, the device casing 10a is configured by the unit casings 11a to 13a.

  The paper feed cassettes 21 to 23 can be pulled out from the unit casings 11a to 13a in the direction indicated by the solid line arrow A (front side), and the user can check the remaining paper amount in one of the paper feed cassettes 21 to 23 or the paper. At the time of replenishment, one of the paper feed cassettes 21 to 23 is pulled out in the direction indicated by the solid arrow A. Then, after confirmation or replenishment, the drawn paper cassette is inserted into the unit housing.

  Focusing on the paper feed cassette 21, a front cover 21 a is provided on the front surface of the paper feed cassette 21, and a paper tray 21 b is disposed on the paper feed cassette 21. Then, the sheet bundle is stacked on the sheet tray 21b. On the other hand, a guide member 21c extending to the front side is attached to the inner surface of the side wall of the unit casing 11a, and a rail member 21d extending to the front side facing the guide member 21c is attached to the outer side wall of the sheet feeding cassette 21. . When the front cover 21a is pulled toward the front side (the direction indicated by the solid arrow A), the rail member 21d is guided along the guide member 21c, and the paper feed cassette 21 is pulled out to the front side (that is, the guide member 21c and the rail). A slide mechanism is constituted by the member 21d). Similarly, the paper feed cassettes 22 and 23 are provided with front covers 22 a and 23 a, respectively, and are configured in the same manner as the paper feed cassette 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, cover bodies 11b to 13b are formed on the front sides of the unit casings 11a to 13a, respectively, and operation knob portions 11c to 13c described later are provided from the cover bodies 11b to 13b. Yes. As described above, when the paper cassettes 21 to 23 are pulled out from the unit casings 11a to 13a, respectively, the operation knobs 11c to 13c are rotated to change the lock position to the unlock position. 21 to 23 can be pulled out from the unit casings 11a to 13a.

  Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the direction of the solid arrow B shown in FIG. 1, omitting the sheet cassettes 21 to 23 except for the unit housings 11 a to 13 a and the front covers 21 a to 23 a. In addition, on the inner surfaces of the front covers 21a to 23a, hook bodies 31 to 33 extending toward the cover bodies 11b to 13b are formed at the ends of the cover bodies 11b to 13b (FIG. 1). And the gaps 31a-33a are prescribed | regulated between these hook bodies 31-33 and the front covers 21a-23a.

  The above-described operation knob portions 11c to 13c are respectively formed with shaft bodies 34a to 34c extending from the front surface side to the rear surface side, and locking members 35a to 35c are attached to the shaft bodies 34a to 34c, respectively. The rear ends of the shaft bodies 34a to 34c are rotatably supported by support portions (not shown) provided in the unit casings 11a to 11c (FIG. 1).

  The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state in which the operation knob portions 11c to 13c are in the locked position, and the locking members 35a to 35c are first extending portions 36a to 36c that extend obliquely downward in the state shown in FIG. And second extension portions 37a to 37c extending downward continuously from the first extension portions 36a to 36c, and the first extension portions 36a to 36c are inserted into the gaps 31a to 31c. It is in the state.

  In this locked position, since the first extending portions 36a to 36c are inserted into the gaps 31a to 33a, respectively, even if the front covers 21a to 23a are pulled to the labor side (front side), the first extending portions 36a to 36c are inserted. The existing portions 36a to 36c are respectively held by the hook bodies 31 to 33, and the front covers 21a to 23a, that is, the paper feed cassettes 21 to 23 cannot be pulled out to the front side.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the operation knob portion 12c is rotated to the unlocking position and the sheet feeding cassette 22 is pulled out to the front side, and FIG. 4 is a view showing each unit housing 11a to 13a and front cover 21a to 21a. It is the perspective view seen from the direction of solid line arrow C shown in Drawing 1, omitting paper feed cassettes 21-23 except 23a.

  As described above, when the operation knob portion 12c is rotated to the unlocking position, the locking member 35b is rotated accordingly, and the first extending portion 36b is pulled out of the gap 32a, as shown in FIG. Thus, the first extending portion 36b is in an upright state, its outer surface abuts against the inner surface of the second extending portion 37b, and the lower end surface of the second extending portion 37b is the first extending surface. It will be in the state contact | abutted to the outer surface of the extension part 36b. That is, the locking member 35b is in a state where the movement of the locking members 35a and 35c is prohibited.

  In the state shown in FIG. 4, as a result of the movement of the locking members 35a and 35c being prohibited by the locking member 35b, for example, even if the user tries to rotate the operation knob portions 11c and 13c from the locked position to the unlocked position. Since the movement of the locking members 35a and 35c is prohibited, the operation knob portions 11c and 13c cannot be rotated. In other words, the extending portion 36a of the locking member 35a and the extending portion 36c of the locking member 35c remain inserted in the gaps 31a and 33a, respectively, and the paper cassettes 21 and 23 are pulled out to the front side. I can't.

  When the operation knob portion 11c is changed from the lock position to the lock release position, the first extending portion 36a of the locking member 35a comes out of the gap 31a, and the paper feed cassette 21 can be pulled out. At this time, as a result of the movement of the first extending portion 36b of the locking member 35b being prohibited by the second extending portion 37a of the locking member 35a, the sheet feeding cassette 22 cannot be pulled out.

  Further, when the operation knob portion 13c is moved from the lock position to the lock release position, the first extending portion 36c of the locking member 35c is pulled out from the gap 33a, and the paper feed cassette 23 can be pulled out. At this time, as a result of the movement of the second extending portion 37b of the locking member 35b being prohibited by the first extending portion 36c of the locking member 35c, the sheet feeding cassette 22 cannot be pulled out.

  As is clear from the above description, when a plurality of paper feed cassettes are stacked in the vertical direction, if one of the paper feed cassettes is in a drawable state (unlocked state), the paper cassette can be drawn out. Pulling out the paper feed cassette located directly above and below the paper feed cassette is prohibited.

  In this way, in the above-described first embodiment, when the operation knob portion is changed from the lock position to the lock release position, the paper feed cassette corresponding to the operation knob portion is in a drawable state, and is in this drawable state. Since the two paper feed cassettes located immediately above and below the paper feed cassette are in the drawer prohibition state at the same time, there is an effect that the center of gravity of the paper feed device can be stabilized when the paper feed cassette is pulled out.

  When one of the paper cassettes is ready to be pulled out, it is prohibited to pull out the paper cassettes located immediately above and below the paper cassette that has been pulled out. As a result of reducing the balance of the sheet feeding device due to the drawer, it can be used when an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer is stably arranged.

It is a perspective view which shows the paper feeder by Example 1 of this invention in the state which inserted all the paper cassettes in the apparatus housing | casing. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the paper feeding device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of a solid arrow B, omitting the paper feeding cassette excluding each unit housing and front cover. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the sheet feeding device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a state where one sheet feeding cassette is pulled out from the apparatus housing. It is the figure which looked at the paper feeder by Example 1 of this invention from the upper direction. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the paper feeding device shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the direction of a solid arrow C, omitting the paper feeding cassette excluding each unit housing and front cover.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Paper feeder 11-13 Paper feed unit 21-23 Paper feed cassette 11c-13c Operation knob part 31-33 Hook body 21a-23a Front cover 31a-33a Gap 34a-34c Shaft body 35a-35c Locking member

Claims (4)

The image forming apparatus includes an apparatus housing and a plurality of sheet cassettes arranged so as to be able to be pulled out in a predetermined direction with respect to the apparatus casing. The plurality of sheet cassettes are stacked in the vertical direction. In a paper feeding device that selectively feeds recording paper from the paper feeding cassette to the image forming apparatus,
Operation means for enabling the paper cassette to be pulled out;
When one of the sheet cassettes is pulled out by the operation unit, the sheet feeding cassette includes a drawer prohibiting unit that prohibits the drawer of the sheet cassette located immediately above and immediately below the sheet cassette that has been pulled out. A paper feeder characterized by. The operation means includes an operation unit that is provided for each of the paper feed cassettes and rotates between a lock position and an unlock position.
The pull-out prohibiting means is provided for each of the paper feed cassettes and a hook body provided for each of the paper feed cassettes, and is associated with the operation section when the operation section is in a locked position. A locking member that is stopped and prohibits the paper cassette from being pulled out,
When one of the operation portions is rotated from the lock position to the lock release position, the locking member corresponding to the operation portion is released from the locking of the hook body, and the paper feeding cassette corresponding to the locking member is removed. It is characterized in that it is in a drawable state and that the locking member corresponding to the paper feed cassette located immediately above and below the paper feed cassette in the drawable state is prohibited from being detached from the hook body. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1. A plurality of paper feed units that contain one paper cassette in the unit housing,
3. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding units are stacked in the vertical direction, and the device housing is defined by the unit housing.   The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is placed on the apparatus housing.

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