JP2006111395A - Medium housing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely perform printing at a set position, and to sufficiently simplify the printing work. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming device has a loading part to be loaded with the medium, a pair of first medium guide members arranged freely to move in a direction at a right angle against a medium supplying direction and for guiding the medium by linking with each other, and a second medium guide member arranged freely to move within a guide range of the first medium guide member on the loading part. Since the second medium guide member is arranged, an image formation standard of the image forming device and a central position of an image formation range of the medium can be made to coincide with each other. Consequently, image can be surely formed at the set position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium accommodating device and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine, for example, a printer, includes a paper tray serving as a medium containing apparatus for storing paper as a medium and supplying it to a predetermined image forming unit. In the paper tray, a paper guide is disposed to position the paper at a predetermined position, and the paper guide is slidably disposed in synchronization with the center of the paper to be positioned. The Therefore, the paper is set in the paper tray with the center as a reference.

Further, by setting the movement distance of the paper guide corresponding to a predetermined medium size, it is possible to position the paper according to the medium size (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-191148 A

  However, in the conventional printer, when an envelope is used as a medium and printing is performed on an envelope with the flap part opened, the center of the envelope with the flap part opened is used as a reference for the paper tray. If set, the printing reference position of the printer is different from the center position of the envelope printing range, and printing cannot be performed at the set position.

  In that case, it is necessary to edit the image by folding the flap portion in advance or changing the printing range corresponding to the flap portion, and the work for performing the printing is troublesome.

  The present invention solves the problems of the conventional printer, can surely perform printing at a set location, and can simplify the operation for performing printing. The purpose is to provide.

  Therefore, in the medium accommodation device of the present invention, a placement unit for placing the medium, and a placement unit on the placement unit are arranged so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the medium is supplied. A pair of first medium guide members that guide the medium in conjunction with each other; and a second medium guide member that is movably disposed within a guide range of the first medium guide member on the placement section. Have

  According to the present invention, in the medium accommodation device, the placement unit for placing the medium, and the placement unit are disposed on the placement unit so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the medium is supplied. A pair of first medium guide members that guide the medium in conjunction with each other; and a second medium guide member that is movably disposed within a guide range of the first medium guide member on the placement section. Have

  In this case, since the second medium guiding member is disposed, the image forming reference of the image forming apparatus and the center position of the image forming range of the medium can be matched. Therefore, it is possible to reliably form an image at the set location.

  In addition, when using an envelope as a medium, it is not necessary to fold the flap part in advance or change the image formation range corresponding to the flap part to edit the image, so the work for forming the image is simplified. Can be

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, a paper tray as a medium storage device disposed in a printer as an image forming apparatus will be described.

  1 is a plan view of a paper tray in the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the paper tray in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the paper tray in.

  In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a paper tray. The paper tray 11 is arranged for setting paper as a medium in a printer, and the set paper is supplied to a predetermined image forming unit by a supply roller (not shown). The

  A top plate portion 31 as a placement portion is disposed on the paper tray 11, and a medium (not shown) is placed on the top plate portion 31. For this purpose, a pair of paper guides 15 and 16 as first medium guide members are disposed on the top plate portion 31 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is supplied, and interlocked with each other. Guide the paper. A pinion gear 12 as a connecting member is disposed at the center of the paper tray 11 in the width direction, and the pinion gear 12 and racks 13 and 14 as interlocking members are engaged with each other. Guides 15 and 16 are fixed, respectively. Slit-shaped guide holes 17 and 18 are formed as guide guide portions for guiding the paper guides 15 and 16. In this case, the paper guides 15 and 16 are movably disposed in a symmetrical manner with respect to the center of the paper to be positioned. Accordingly, when one of the paper guides 15 and 16 is moved, the other of the paper guides 15 and 16 is also moved, and the paper is set in the paper tray 11 with the center as a reference.

  Further, in the present embodiment, one of the paper guides 15 and 16 on the top plate 31, and one of the guide holes 17 and 18 is within the guide range of the paper guide 15 in the present embodiment. In the embodiment, the fixed paper guide 20 as the second medium guiding member is movably and detachably disposed in the guide hole 17. In the paper tray 11, a medium display portion p1 is formed at a predetermined location along the moving area of the paper guide 15. In the medium display portion p1, various envelopes as a medium are used, and the envelope is attached to the envelope. On the other hand, an appropriate mounting position of the fixed sheet guide 20 when printing (forming an image) is specified. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the medium display unit p1 has, as each envelope, a first position index that represents the type of envelope (for example, “long 3” of JIS standard) and the attachment position. An arrow m1 is displayed. The fixed paper guide 20 displays a mark m2 as a second position index corresponding to the arrow m1. When the arrow m1 and the mark m2 are aligned, the fixed paper guide 20 can be placed at a position for setting an envelope of the type represented by the arrow m1. For example, in the case of the “Long No. 3” envelope, the paper size as the medium size is 120 × 235 (mm) wide, and the envelope length 235 (mm) from the printing standard A as the image forming standard of the printer. The fixed sheet guide 20 is fixed at a half position.

  Next, the fixed paper guide 20 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the fixed sheet guide according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a front view showing a first state of the fixed sheet guide according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The side view which shows the 1st attachment state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 7 is the front view which shows the 2nd state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 8 is a side view showing a second state of the fixed paper guide in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 shows a second attachment state of the fixed paper guide in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view.

  In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a fixed paper guide, and the fixed paper guide 20 rises to the side edge of one of the flat plate portion 32 having a rectangular shape (on the paper guide 15 (FIG. 1) side). The handle portion 33 formed in this manner, the front hanging portion 34 formed by hanging downward at the front end of the flat plate portion 32, and the rear hanging formed by hanging downward at the rear end of the flat plate portion 32. A fixed projection that is rotatably disposed at a central portion of the upper surface of the flat plate portion 32 and the guided projections 36 and 37 formed by projecting downward from the central portion 35 on the back surface of the flat plate portion 32; A fixed disk 25 as an operation member is provided.

  The fixed disk 25 includes a rotating body 41 having a circular shape, a rod portion 43 having a cylindrical shape formed by projecting downward from a lower end of the rotating body 41, and a lower end portion of the rod portion 43. A spring pin 26 is provided as a locking member that is fitted into a hole 44 formed on the upper surface of the rotary body 41. A concave portion 42 for inserting a coin or the like is provided on the upper surface of the rotary body 41 when the fixed disk 25 is rotated. It is formed.

  On the other hand, a concave portion 46 having a circular shape for accommodating the rotating body 41 is formed in the center of the flat plate portion 32, and a through hole 47 for penetrating the rod portion 43 is formed in the center of the concave portion 46. Is done.

  In attaching the fixed paper guide 20 to the paper tray 11, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the rod portion 43 is passed through the through hole 47, and the rotating body 41 is accommodated in the concave portion 46. 25 is attached to the fixed paper guide 20. At this time, the spring pin 26 is directed in a direction parallel to the guide hole 17 and is opposed to the guided protrusion 36.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the guided protrusions 36 and 37 are inserted into the guide holes 17, and the fixed paper guide 20 is placed on the top plate portion 31. Accordingly, the back surfaces of the front hanging parts 34 and 35 and the recessed part 46 are brought into contact with the top plate part 31.

  Next, when a coin or the like is inserted into the recess 42 and the fixed disk 25 is rotated, the spring pin 26 rotates in a direction perpendicular to the state of FIG. 5 as shown in FIGS. Moved to the front of the printer. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the spring pin 26 is locked to the edge of the guide hole 17 and the fixed paper guide 20 is prevented from being pulled out.

  In this way, the fixed paper guide 20 can be fixed to the paper tray 11.

  Next, in the printer having the above-described configuration, an operation in a case where a JIS standard “Long No. 3” envelope is used as a medium and printing is performed on the envelope will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view of the paper tray showing a state in which the envelope is set on the fixed paper guide according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 guides the envelope by the fixed paper guide according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  First, the fixed paper guide 20 is moved, placed at a position where the arrow m1 of the medium display portion p1 and the mark m2 of the fixed paper guide 20 are aligned, and fixed to the paper tray 11. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the JIS standard “long 3” envelope 23 is set in accordance with the fixed paper guide 20, and then the paper guide 16 is moved to the position of the flap 51 of the envelope 23. Then, the envelope 23 is positioned by the fixed paper guide 20 and the paper guides 15 and 16 as shown in FIG.

  At this time, the printing standard A of the printer and the position of 1/2 of the vertical dimension excluding the flap 51 of the envelope 23 are matched.

  Therefore, when printing is performed in accordance with print data created on a personal computer (not shown) and having an image size of 120 × 235 (mm) in width, the portion excluding the flap 51 of the envelope 23, that is, the print range as the image formation range is accurately set. Printing can be performed.

  In this way, the fixed paper guide 20 is disposed, and an appropriate mounting position of the fixed paper guide 20 when printing is performed on the envelope 23 on the medium display portion p1 is displayed. The center position of the printing range of the envelope 23 can be matched. Therefore, it is possible to reliably perform printing at the set location.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to edit the image by folding the flap portion 51 in advance or changing the printing range corresponding to the flap portion 51, the work for performing printing can be simplified.

  Further, not only the envelope 23 but also a medium that is asymmetric in the direction perpendicular to the medium transport direction when the medium is set on the paper tray 11 with the printing reference A and the center of the printing range of the medium coincided with each other. Even when it is used, the medium can be easily set on the paper tray 11. When the fixed paper guide 20 is removed from the paper tray 11, various media that are symmetrical in a direction perpendicular to the medium transport direction can be set on the paper tray 11.

  By the way, when printing is performed on an envelope having a small paper size as a medium, for example, an envelope of “Long size 4” of JIS standard (width 90 × length 205 mm), the paper guides 15 and 16 are further moved. Although necessary, in the present embodiment, the paper guide 15 and the fixed paper guide 20 interfere with each other, and the paper guides 15 and 16 cannot be moved.

  Therefore, a second embodiment of the present invention that can prevent interference between the paper guide 15 and the fixed paper guide 20 will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a paper tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In this case, the fixed sheet guide 30 as the second medium guide member and the sheet guide 15 as the first medium guide member are disposed so as to overlap each other. For this purpose, the sheet guide 15 includes a flat plate portion 81 having a rectangular shape, and a handle portion 82 formed by being raised at one side edge of the flat plate portion 81. The fixed paper guide 30 includes a flat plate portion 83 having a rectangular shape, and a handle portion 84 formed by being raised at one side edge of the flat plate portion 83, and the flat plate portion 81 below the handle portion 84. A space 85 is formed to accommodate the.

  Next, an operation when printing is performed on the envelope 23 (FIG. 10) as a medium in the printer will be described.

  First, the fixed paper guide 30 is moved, placed at a position where the arrow m1 of the medium display portion p1 and the mark m2 of the fixed paper guide 30 are aligned, and fixed to the paper tray 11. Next, the JIS standard “long size 4” envelope 23 is set in accordance with the fixed paper guide 30, and then the paper guide 16 is moved to the position of the flap 51 of the envelope 23, and the flat plate portion is placed in the space 85. When 81 is placed, the envelope 23 is positioned by the fixed paper guide 30 and the paper guides 15 and 16.

  In this case, since the flat plate portion 81 can be placed in the space 85, the paper guide 15 and the fixed paper guide 30 can be overlapped, and the paper guide 15 and the fixed paper guide 20 can be prevented from interfering with each other. be able to. Therefore, an envelope having a small paper size can be positioned.

  Thus, since the paper guide 15 and the fixed paper guide 30 are overlapped, the movement range of the paper guide 15 can be increased, and an envelope of a smaller size can be set.

  In addition, even when an envelope having a small flap portion is used, the envelope can be easily set on the paper tray 11.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a paper guide and a fixed paper guide according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In this case, a fixed sheet guide 92 as a second medium guide member is disposed so as to be detachable from the sheet guide 91 as a first medium guide member. The sheet guide 91 includes a flat plate portion 93 that is divided into two, and a grip portion 94 that is formed to rise from one side edge of the flat plate portion 93. The fixed sheet guide 92 includes a flat plate portion 95 disposed in the center of the flat plate portion 93 and a handle portion 96 formed to rise from one side edge of the flat plate portion 95. In the paper guide 91 and the fixed paper guide 92, the contact surface of the handle portion 94 that comes into contact with the side portion of the paper as the medium coincides with the contact surface of the handle portion 96 that comes into contact with the side portion of the paper. It is arranged to be movable.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the fixed paper guide 92 does not need to be attached to and detached from the paper tray 11 (FIG. 11), and can be moved by a simple operation.

  In each embodiment, the paper guide provided in the printer is described. However, the present invention is applied to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or the like, or a scanner device that reads an image of a set paper. The present invention can be applied to a multi-function machine having the functions of each device, a large-capacity cassette for storing media, and the like.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously based on the meaning of this invention, and does not exclude them from the scope of the present invention.

It is a top view of the paper tray in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the paper tray in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the paper tray in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the 1st state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the 1st attachment state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the 2nd state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the 2nd state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the 2nd attachment state of the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a paper tray showing a state in which an envelope is set on the fixed paper guide according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the paper tray which shows the state which guided the envelope with the fixed paper guide in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the paper tray in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a paper guide and a fixed paper guide according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Paper trays 15 and 16 Paper guide 20 Fixed paper guide 23 Envelope 31 Top plate

Claims (4)

(A) a placement unit for placing the medium;
(B) a pair of first medium guide members disposed on the placement portion so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the medium supply direction and guiding the medium in conjunction with each other;
(C) A medium accommodation device comprising: a second medium guide member movably disposed within a guide range of the first medium guide member on the placement unit.   The medium accommodation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second medium guide member is detachably disposed with respect to the placement unit.   The medium accommodation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second medium guide members are movably disposed so that contact surfaces that contact the side portions of the medium coincide with each other. An image forming apparatus comprising the medium accommodating device according to claim 1.

Images