JP2006232535A - Paper sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet feeder capable of preventing damage of paper sheets caused by the friction with a paper sheet reference plate. <P>SOLUTION: An LCC (Large Capacity Cassette) 1 comprises a stacking plate 21, side reference plates 23, 24, a rear end reference plate, or the like. The stacking plate 21 is elevatable/lowering while stacking paper sheets P to be fed to an image forming apparatus 100. The side reference plates 23, 24 and the rear end reference plate position the paper sheets P placed on the stacking plate 21. Each of the side reference plates 23, 24 and the rear end reference plate has inclined portions 42A-42C which are inclined in the separating direction from the paper sheets P downwardly in the elevating/lowering direction of the stacking plate 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device (hereinafter referred to as LCC: Large Capacity Cassette) that stores a large amount of paper to be fed to a processing device that performs predetermined processing on paper.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an LCC that supplies paper to a processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus is disposed on a side surface of the processing apparatus and stores a large amount of paper of a size that is most frequently used in the processing apparatus. The LCC includes a stacking plate on which sheets are placed, and feeds paper sequentially from the uppermost sheet on the stacking plate. When the sheet on the stacking plate decreases and the uppermost surface of the sheet becomes lower, the stacking plate rises and raises the uppermost surface of the sheet. In this way, the LCC raises the stacking plate as the paper is fed, so that a large amount of paper on the stacking plate is fed in order from the top.

In recent years, image forming apparatuses have a tendency to increase the number of processed sheets due to diversification of usage purposes and multifunctionalization by adding a printer function and a FAX function. Therefore, the number of sheets stored in the LCC tends to increase, and some LCCs can store 4000 sheets or more. In the conventional LCC which can store a large amount of sheets in this way, all the sheet reference plates for positioning the stored large number of sheets are arranged vertically. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). The paper reference plates are arranged vertically, and the paper reference plates are brought into contact with both side surfaces and the rear ends of all the papers placed on the stacking plate, thereby positioning the paper.
JP-A-11-5543

  However, when a large amount of sheets are stacked on the stacking plate, the lower one of the stacked sheets is raised while rubbing with the sheet reference plate for a longer distance. For this reason, damage such as fraying or bending may occur at the end of the paper.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device capable of preventing paper damage due to rubbing with a paper reference plate.

  The paper feeding device of the present invention is configured as follows in order to solve the above-described problems.

  (1) A stacking plate that can be moved up and down for placing a sheet to be fed to the processing apparatus, and a sheet reference plate for positioning the sheet placed on the stacking plate, wherein the sheet reference plate is And an inclined portion that is inclined in a direction away from the sheet toward the lower side in the ascending / descending direction of the stacking plate.

  In this configuration, a gap is provided between the sheet and the inclined portion of the sheet reference plate. For this reason, the sheet placed on the stacking plate rises without rubbing against the inclined portion of the sheet reference plate. As a result, the distance between the sheet and the sheet reference plate is shortened.

  (2) The sheet reference plate has a vertical portion provided at a vertical position at an upper end portion.

  In this configuration, all the sheets placed on the stacking plate are accurately positioned by the vertical portion when raised to a predetermined height. Then, the paper is fed in a correctly positioned state.

  (3) The paper reference plate positions a rear end of the paper placed on the stacking plate.

  In this configuration, a gap is provided between the rear end of the paper placed on the stacking plate and the inclined portion of the paper reference plate. For this reason, the rear end of the paper placed on the stacking plate rises without rubbing against the inclined portion of the paper reference plate. As a result, the distance that the trailing edge of the sheet and the sheet reference plate rub together is shortened.

  (4) The sheet reference plate positions a side surface of the sheet placed on the stacking plate.

  In this configuration, a gap is provided between the side surface of the paper placed on the stacking plate and the inclined portion of the paper reference plate. For this reason, the side surface of the paper placed on the stacking plate rises without rubbing against the inclined portion of the paper reference plate. As a result, the distance between the side surface of the paper and the paper reference plate is shortened.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) By providing a gap between the sheet and the inclined portion of the sheet reference plate and shortening the distance that the sheet and the sheet reference plate rub against each other, it is possible to prevent damage to the sheet due to the rub against the sheet reference plate. it can.

  (2) By shortening the distance in which the sheet and the sheet reference plate rub against each other, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being damaged due to the rub against the sheet reference plate and to feed the sheet in an accurately positioned state.

  (3) A gap is provided between the trailing edge of the paper and the inclined portion of the paper reference plate, and the distance between the trailing edge of the paper and the paper reference plate is shortened, thereby reducing the amount of paper caused by friction with the paper reference plate. Damage to the rear end can be prevented.

  (4) A gap is provided between the side surface of the paper and the inclined portion of the paper reference plate, and the distance that the side surface of the paper and the paper reference plate rub against each other is shortened. Damage can be prevented.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 as a processing apparatus that receives paper fed from an LCC 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The LCC 1 is disposed on the side of the image forming apparatus 100. In this embodiment, only one LCC 1 is arranged on the side of the image forming apparatus 100, but a plurality of LCCs 1 may be arranged in parallel. Further, in the present invention, the paper means that other sheet bodies such as an OHP film are included.

  The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on the paper P by an electrophotographic image forming process. The image forming apparatus 100 includes paper feed cassettes 101, 102, 103, and 104 at the bottom and a paper discharge tray 105 at the top. A paper transport path F <b> 1 is provided between the paper feed cassettes 101, 102, 103 and the paper discharge tray 105. A photosensitive drum 106 is disposed in the vicinity of the paper transport path F1. Around the photosensitive drum 106, a charging device 107, an optical scanning unit 108, a developing unit 109, a transfer device 110, a cleaning unit 111, and the like are disposed.

  On the upstream side of the photosensitive drum 106 in the paper conveyance path F1, a registration roller 112 that supplies the paper P to the transfer portion between the photosensitive drum 106 and the transfer device 110 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 106. Has been placed. A fixing device 113 is disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 106 in the paper conveyance path F1.

  The charging device 107 charges the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 to a predetermined potential. The optical scanning unit 108 forms an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 based on image data input from the outside. The developing unit 109 supplies toner to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and forms a toner image. The toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 is transferred onto the paper P by the transfer device 110 and further fixed onto the paper P by the fixing device 111. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 105. The toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 after the toner image is transferred to the paper P is collected by the cleaning unit 111.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a reversal conveyance path F2 for reversing the front and back of the paper P on which the image is formed on one side and conveying it to the transfer unit when forming images on both sides of the paper P. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a paper transport path F3 that joins the paper feed cassette 104 to the paper transport path F1 on the upstream side of the registration rollers 112. The paper transport path F3 is provided substantially horizontally. The paper transport path F3 is connected to a manual feed tray 114 that is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 and supplies a non-standard size paper and a paper receiving unit 115 that receives the paper P supplied from the LCC 1. Alternatively, the paper P supplied from the paper receiving unit 115 is conveyed to the transfer unit.

  FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing the configuration of the LCC 1. The LCC 1 includes a sheet placing table 2, a pickup roller 3, a feed roller 4, a reverse roller 5, a transport roller 6, and a housing 9 that stores these members.

  The sheet mounting table 2 includes a stacking plate 21, a front reference plate 22, side reference plates 23 and 24 (see FIG. 3 for the side reference plate 24), a rear end reference plate (not shown), a side detection sensor 31, and the like. ing. The paper P is positioned and stacked by the front reference plate 22, the side reference plates 23 and 24, and the rear end reference plate on the horizontally arranged stacking plate 2. Each of the side reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate corresponds to the paper reference plate of the present invention.

  The pickup roller 3 is swingable within a predetermined range in the vertical direction with the rotation axis of the feed roller 4 as the central axis. The pickup roller 3 rotates in contact with the uppermost surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21, and guides the uppermost paper P between the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5. The position of the uppermost surface of the sheet P with which the pickup roller 3 abuts during sheet feeding is the sheet feeding position.

  The paper P passes between the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5. As for the reverse roller 5, both the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5 rotate clockwise in FIG. When the pickup roller 3 simultaneously guides a plurality of sheets P between the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5, only the uppermost sheet P contacts the feed roller 4 and is guided to the transport roller 6. The paper P other than the uppermost one sheet is returned to the stacking plate 21 side by the reverse roller 5.

  The LCC 1 can store a large number (approximately 5000 sheets in this embodiment) of paper P on the stacking plate 21. The LCC 1 is capable of storing a plurality of sizes such as A3 size, B4 size, A4 size, and B5 size.

  For this reason, the side reference plates 23 and 24 are movable within a predetermined range on the stacking plate 21 in the front-rear direction of the LCC 1, that is, the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction. One movement of the side reference plates 23 and 24 is transmitted to the other in the opposite direction. As a result, the paper placed on the stacking plate 21 is fed with reference to the center position in the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction. Further, the rear end reference plate is movable on the stacking plate 21 within a predetermined range in the left-right direction of the LCC 1, that is, the paper feeding direction.

  A lifting motor is provided on the back surface of the paper mounting table 2. When the rotation of the lifting motor is transmitted through the wire, the stacking plate 21 moves up and down along a guide shaft (not shown) while maintaining a horizontal state.

  Slide rails 7 and 8 are provided on portions of the inner wall surface of the housing 9 and the outer wall surface of the paper placement table 2 that face each other. The sheet mounting table 2 is guided by slide rails 7 and 8 and is detachable from the front side of the housing 9. The sheet mounting table 2 moves in a horizontal direction between a storage position stored inside the housing 9 and an exposed position where the entire surface of the stacking plate 21 is exposed to the front side of the housing 9.

  3 and 4 are side cross-sectional views showing the configuration of the side reference plates 23 and 24. FIG. The side reference plate 23 has a vertical portion 41 </ b> A and an inclined portion 42 </ b> A on the surface that contacts the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21.

  The vertical portion 41 </ b> A is provided perpendicularly to the upper end portion of the side reference plate 23. The vertical dimension of the vertical portion 41A is substantially the same as the raising / lowering width of the pickup roller 3 at the time of paper feeding, and is, for example, the same dimension as the thickness of about 30 to 50 sheets. The vertical portion 41A comes into contact with the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 to accurately position the paper P.

  The inclined portion 42A is provided from the lower end of the vertical portion 41A to the lowermost portion of the side reference plate 23. The inclined portion 42A is moved up and down (vertical) so that the dimension L1 of the gap K1 between the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the inclined portion 42A is about 2 mm to 3 mm at the bottom. In the direction), the lower part is inclined in a direction away from the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21.

  The side reference plate 24 is formed in the same manner as the side reference plate 23. That is, the side reference plate 24 has a vertical portion 41B and an inclined portion 42B, and the inclined portion 42B is a dimension of the gap K2 between the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the inclined portion 42B at the bottom. The lower part is inclined in a direction away from the paper P so that L2 is about 2 mm to 3 mm.

  Further, although not shown in the drawing, the rear end reference plate has a vertical portion 41C and an inclined portion 42C like the side surface reference plates 23 and 24, and the inclined portion 42C is placed on the stacking plate 21 at the lowermost portion. The lower side of the sheet P is inclined in a direction away from the sheet P so that the dimension of the gap between the side surface of the sheet P and the inclined portion 42C is about 2 mm to 3 mm.

  As described above, the side surface reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate are provided with the inclined portions 42A to 42C, so that the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the side surface reference plates 23 and 24 and Gaps K1 to K3 (K3 is not shown) are provided between the inclined portions 42A to 42C of the rear end reference plate, respectively.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the lifting and lowering operation of the stacking plate 21 when the paper P is replenished. The sheet placing table 2 further includes a side detection sensor 31, a lower limit detection sensor 32, and an empty detection sensor 33. The side detection sensor 31 detects the side of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 at a height corresponding to the lower part of the vertical portions 41A to 41C.

  The LCC 1 further includes a control unit (not shown). When the paper P is replenished, when the side surface detection sensor 31 detects the side surface of the paper P as shown in FIG. 5A, the control unit detects that the side surface detection sensor 31 detects the side of the paper P as shown in FIG. The loading plate 21 is lowered until no side surface is detected.

  When the stacking plate 21 is lowered, a space for supplying paper P is formed. The supplied paper P is accurately positioned by the front reference plate 22, the vertical portions 41A and 41B of the side reference plates 23 and 24, and the vertical portion 41C of the rear end reference plate.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, when the paper P is replenished, the controller detects the side of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 again. Then, the stacking plate 21 is lowered again until the side surface detection sensor 31 does not detect the side surface of the paper P.

  As described above, every time the paper P is replenished, the stacking plate 21 is lowered by the thickness of the replenished paper P, so that the paper P is always the vertical portion of the front reference plate 22 and the side reference plates 23 and 24. 41A, 41B and the vertical portion 41C of the rear end reference plate are replenished while being accurately positioned. Therefore, although the gaps K1 to K3 are provided between the inclined portions 42A to 42C and the paper P, the paper P is stacked on the stacking plate 21 in a state where the ends are accurately aligned. .

  In addition, the lower limit detection sensor 32 detects that the stacking plate 21 has been lowered to the lowest limit of the lift area. When the lower limit detection sensor 32 detects that the stacking plate 21 has been lowered to the lowest limit of the lifting / lowering area, the control unit loads the stack even when the side detection sensor 32 detects the side of the paper P during paper feeding. The plate 21 is not lowered. This prevents damage to the lifting motor or the like that raises and lowers the stacking plate 21.

  Further, the empty detection sensor 33 detects whether or not there is a sheet P on the stacking plate 21.

  According to LCC1, the gap K1 is provided between the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the inclined portion 41A of the side surface reference plate 23, and the distance between the side surface of the paper P and the side surface reference plate 23 is rubbed. By shortening, it is possible to prevent the end portion of the paper P from being damaged such as frayed or broken due to friction with the side reference plate 23.

  Similarly, a gap K2 is provided between the side surface of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the inclined portion 41B of the side surface reference plate 24 so that the side surface of the paper P and the side surface reference plate 24 rub against each other. By shortening, it is possible to prevent the end portion of the paper P from being damaged due to friction with the side reference plate 24.

  Further, similarly, a gap K3 is provided between the rear end of the paper P placed on the stacking plate 21 and the inclined portion 41C of the rear end reference plate, and the rear end of the paper P and the rear end reference plate rub against each other. By shortening the distance, it is possible to prevent the end portion of the paper P from being damaged due to friction with the rear end reference plate.

  Further, the vertical portions 41A to 41C are provided at the upper end portions of the side surface reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate, so that the sheets P are stacked on the stacking plate 21 with the end portions accurately aligned. Can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the paper P from being damaged by rubbing with the side reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate, and to feed the paper P to the image forming apparatus 100 in an accurately positioned state.

  Note that the vertical dimensions of the vertical portions 41A to 41C are not limited to be substantially the same as the raising / lowering width of the pickup roller 3 at the time of paper feeding, and are, for example, slightly larger than the thickness of 500 sheets. May be. Even in this case, in the inclined portions 42 </ b> A to 42 </ b> C, the side reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate do not rub against the side surfaces of the paper P, so that damage to the edge of the paper P can be suppressed. .

  Further, in the side surface reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate, the lower portions of the vertical portions 41A to 41C are not limited to the inclined portions 42A to 42C as in the above-described embodiment, and the inclined portions are partially formed. Even if it is provided, the rubbing between the sheet P and the side reference plates 23 and 24 and the rear end reference plate in the inclined portion is eliminated, so that damage to the end of the sheet P can be suppressed.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus as a processing apparatus that receives paper from an LCC according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the front which shows the structure of LCC. It is sectional drawing of the side which shows the structure of a side reference board. It is sectional drawing of the side which shows the structure of a side reference board in an enlarged manner. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a lifting / lowering operation of a stacking plate at the time of paper supply.

Explanation of symbols

1 LCC (paper feeder)
2 Sheet loading table 3 Pickup roller 21 Stacking plate 22 Front reference plate 23, 24 Side reference plate 41A to 41C Vertical portion 42A to 42C Inclined portion 100 Image forming apparatus (processing apparatus)
P paper

Claims (4)

A stacking plate that can be raised and lowered to place paper to be fed into the processing device;
A paper reference plate for positioning the paper placed on the stacking plate,
The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet reference plate has an inclined portion that is inclined in a direction away from the sheet toward the lower side in the lifting and lowering direction of the stacking plate.   The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet reference plate has a vertical portion provided vertically at an upper end portion.   The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper reference plate positions a rear end of the paper placed on the stacking plate.   The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet reference plate positions a side surface of a sheet placed on the stacking plate.

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