JP2007230699A - Paper feeding cassette, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeding cassette for reducing registration turbulence of a paper bundle, while reducing paper deformation more than ever before, when taking out stored paper. <P>SOLUTION: This paper feeding cassette 1 is placed with a sheet, and is arranged in an image forming apparatus, and has a bottom surface 9 for placing the sheet, a hole 15 used for lifting the placed sheet from the bottom surface 9 or a cutout 21, and has a paper feeding space 17 for placing the feeding sheet and a storage space 18 placing the storing sheet. In the paper feeding cassette, the hole 15 or the cutout 21 is arranged on the bottom surface 9 of the paper feeding space 17 and/or the storage space 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

  In general, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a plurality of paper feed cassettes for storing paper are arranged. These paper feed cassettes are provided on slide rails and configured to be able to be pulled out from the apparatus main body. Further, a lift plate is provided on the paper placement surface of the paper feed cassette, and a large number of papers are placed on the lift plate and stored.

  Then, the sheet placed and stored in the sheet feeding cassette is lifted by a lift plate and conveyed to the image forming unit of the apparatus main body by a sheet feeding roller, a separation claw, or the like.

Also disclosed is a paper feed cassette that uses the remaining space other than the paper feed space as a storage space for A4 paper when feeding A4 paper to the image forming unit using a paper feed cassette that can store A3 paper. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-60064 A

  However, when removing the paper stored in the paper cassette, it is difficult to remove the paper without deforming it because a finger must be inserted between the bottom surface and the paper.

  Further, as in Patent Document 1, when A4 paper is stored in both the paper feed space and the storage space, or when A3 paper is stored, A4 or A3 paper is taken out from the paper feed cassette. In some cases, the gap for inserting the hand is very small, and it is more difficult to remove the sheet without deforming it. In addition, it is conceivable to divide the paper and take it out little by little, but the alignment of the paper bundle is disturbed, so that it has been necessary to prepare it again.

  In consideration of the problems of conventional paper cassettes, the present invention provides a paper cassette and image formation that are less deformed and less disturbed in alignment of paper bundles when taking out the stored paper. An object is to provide an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the first present invention provides:
A sheet feeding cassette on which a sheet is placed and installed in an image forming apparatus,
A bottom surface on which the sheet is placed;
It is a paper feed cassette provided with the hole or notch used for pushing up the sheet | seat described above from the said bottom face.

The second aspect of the present invention is
The cutout is the paper feed cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention, which is formed from the bottom surface to the side surface.

The third aspect of the present invention
The sheet feeding cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention, further comprising a lid that is provided on the bottom surface so as to cover the hole and is movable to the sheet placement space side by an external force from the back side of the sheet feeding cassette. .

The fourth aspect of the present invention is
A paper feed space for placing the sheet to be fed;
A storage space for placing the sheet to be stored;
The hole or the notch is the paper feed cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention, which is provided on the bottom surface of the paper feed space and / or the storage space.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is
A paper feed cassette according to the first invention;
An image forming unit for forming an image on the sheet fed from the paper feed cassette;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit that fixes the image on the sheet.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a paper feed cassette and an image forming apparatus in which, when taking out the stored paper, there is less deformation of the paper and disturbance in alignment of the paper bundle than in the conventional case.

  The copier as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below, and the paper feed cassette of the present invention will be described at the same time.

  First, the configuration of the copying machine according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine according to the present embodiment includes four sheet feeding cassettes 1 for storing sheets on which images are formed, at the bottom of a main body 2 thereof. In addition, a manual feed tray 3 is provided on the upper portion of the paper feed cassette 1. The paper feed cassette 1 is configured to be drawable from the main body 2 by a slide rail.

  An image forming unit including a photosensitive drum, a charger, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a cleaning unit for forming a toner image on the paper supplied from the paper feed cassette 1 or the manual feed tray 3 4 is provided.

  Further, a fixing unit 5 for fixing the toner image on the paper and a discharge unit 6 for discharging the paper on which the toner image is fixed are provided.

  In addition, the copying machine according to the present embodiment includes a document reading unit 7 that reads an image of a document with an exposure lamp, a lens, a mirror, and the like at the top of the main body 2. A dotted arrow shown in FIG. 1 indicates an optical path, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum at a portion where the arrow is in contact. A solid line arrow indicates a paper conveyance path, and a feed roller 8 for supplying paper from the paper feed cassette 1 to the image forming unit 4 is disposed above the paper feed cassette 1.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of the paper feed cassette 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 1 in the present embodiment is formed on the bottom surface 9 for placing the paper to be fed to the image forming unit 4 of the main body 2 and around the bottom surface 9. And a side frame 10. Further, a connector 11 for electrically connecting the paper feed cassette 1 and the main body 2 when set on the main body 2 is provided on the back surface 1 a of the paper feed cassette 1. Note that an arrow A indicates a paper feeding direction in which paper is fed from the paper feeding cassette 1 to the image forming unit 4. An insertion direction when the paper feed cassette 1 is set in the main body 2 is indicated by an arrow B.

  The bottom surface 9 of the paper feed cassette 1 is provided with a lift plate 12 for lifting the paper for feeding. When the paper is fed, the lift plate 12 has an end in the paper feed direction A. Rotate to lift up and lift the paper (see FIG. 1).

  A pair of movable paper guides 13 for positioning the paper width in the direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction A are provided. Further, a movable paper trailing edge guide 14 for positioning the trailing edge of the paper with respect to the paper feeding direction A is provided.

  The paper feed cassette 1 according to the present embodiment is formed to have a size that allows A3 paper to be placed when the paper trailing edge guide 14 is moved most in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction A. Yes.

  Of the inner side surfaces of the side frame 10, if the inner side surface located in the paper feeding direction A is 10a and the inner side surface in the position facing the inner side surface 10a (the opposite direction to the paper feeding direction A) is 10b, the inner side surface 10b. A hole 15 that is a through hole is formed in the bottom surface 9 in the vicinity.

  Next, a state where A4 paper is placed will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which A4 paper is placed on the paper feed cassette according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when A4 paper is placed, the paper 16 is placed so that the leading end 16 a of the paper 16 comes into contact with the inner surface 10 a with reference to the paper feeding direction A, and the pair of paper guides 13 can The position of the direction is specified. Further, the position of the rear end 16 b of the paper 16 is defined by the paper rear end guide 14. In this way, the paper 16 to be fed is placed in the paper feed space 17 that is a space on the paper feed direction A side with the paper trailing edge guide 14 as a reference.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the space on the opposite side of the paper feeding direction A with respect to the paper trailing edge guide 14 of the paper feeding cassette 1 is used as a storage space 18 for storing A4 paper 19. . Note that the paper 16 and the paper 19 are the same A4 paper, but the reference numerals are changed depending on the place where they are placed. An example of the mounting space of the present invention corresponds to the paper feed space 17 and the storage space 18 of the present embodiment.

  After the feeding paper 16 and the storage paper 19 are stored in this way, the paper feeding cassette 1 is set on the main body 2 along the slide rail.

  When there is no more paper 16 placed in the paper feed space 17, the paper feed cassette 1 is pulled out in the direction opposite to the insertion direction B, the paper 19 stored in the storage space 18 is taken out, and the paper feed space 17. Place.

  Here, when taking out the paper 19, a finger is inserted into the hole 15 from the back surface 1 c side of the paper feed cassette 1, the paper 19 is lifted, and the paper 19 is taken out.

  Then, after the taken-out paper 19 is placed in the paper feed space 17, the paper feed cassette 1 is set in the main body 2.

  As described above, since the sheet can be lifted with a finger from the bottom through the hole 15, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of bending of the edge of the sheet and deformation such as twisting when the sheet is taken out.

  In the present embodiment, the case of taking out A4 paper for storage has been described as an example. However, in order to form an image on A3 paper, a plurality of A3 paper is placed in the paper feed cassette 1, When taking out the remaining A3 paper after use, it is possible to lift the A3 paper by inserting a finger into the hole 15 and take out the paper.

  That is, when A3 paper is placed, or when A4 paper is placed in the paper feeding space 17 and the storage space 18, it is difficult to insert a hand because the gap with the side frame 10 is small. Conventionally, it has been difficult to take out the paper, but in this embodiment, the paper can be easily taken out because the paper can be lifted from the bottom.

  In addition, not only A4 paper but also other sizes of paper such as B5 may be stored in the storage space 18, and a finger may be inserted into the hole 15 when the paper is taken out.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the hole 15 is formed only on the bottom surface 9 of the storage space 18, but it may be formed only on the bottom surface 9 of the sheet feeding space 17 or may be formed on both sides. . In the case where the sheet is formed on the bottom surface 9 of the sheet feeding space 17, for example, it can be used when taking out A4 sheet or B5 sheet remaining for changing the sheet size in the middle.

  Further, in the present embodiment, only the hole 15 is formed, but a lid 20 may be provided so as to cover the hole 15 as shown in FIG. The lid 20 is attached to the bottom surface 2 so as to be openable and closable upward. FIG. 5 is an external view of the paper feed cassette with the lid 20 open. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion where the lid 20 of the paper feed cassette 1 is formed. As shown in FIG. 6, the sheet 19 can be lifted by lifting the lid 20 upward with a finger from the back surface 1 c side of the sheet feeding cassette 1. An example of an external force from the back side of the present invention corresponds to a force by a finger in the present embodiment, but the lid 20 may be lifted using a jig.

  Moreover, not the hole 15 of this Embodiment but the notch 21 as shown in FIG. 7 may be formed. The notch 21 is formed from the bottom surface 9 to the inner surface 10b. FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the notch 21 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, by inserting a finger from below and moving the finger along the notch 21, the paper 19 is lifted up, so that the paper 19 can be easily taken out.

  In the present embodiment, only one hole 15 is formed on the bottom surface 9 of the storage space 18, but a plurality of holes 15 may be formed on the bottom surface 9 of the storage space 18, for example. Also, a plurality of notches 21 may be formed. For example, if a cutout is further formed in the side frame 10 forming the surface 1a, it is easier to take out the paper by putting a finger in the two cutouts and lifting the paper.

  The paper feeding cassette according to the present invention has an effect that, when taking out the stored paper as compared with the conventional case, the paper deformation is less than that in the conventional case, and the alignment of the paper bundle is less disturbed. It is useful as a paper feed cassette used in an image forming apparatus such as the above.

1 is a front configuration diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention The perspective view of the state which mounted the paper in the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention The perspective view of the modification of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention The perspective view of the modification of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention Sectional drawing of the modification of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention The perspective view of the modification of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention Sectional drawing of the modification of the paper feed cassette in embodiment concerning this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feed cassette 2 Main body 3 Manual feed tray 4 Image forming unit 5 Fixing unit 6 Ejection unit 7 Document reading unit 8 Feeding roller 9 Bottom surface 10 Frame body 11 Connector 12 Lift board 13 Paper guide 14 Paper rear edge guide 15 Through-hole 16, 19 Paper 17 Paper feed space 18 Storage space

Claims (5)

A sheet feeding cassette on which a sheet is placed and installed in an image forming apparatus,
A bottom surface on which the sheet is placed;
A paper feed cassette provided with holes or notches used to push up the previously placed sheet from the bottom surface.   The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the notch is formed from the bottom surface to a side surface.   The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, further comprising a lid that is provided on the bottom surface so as to cover the hole and is movable to a placement space side on which the sheet is placed by an external force from the back side of the paper feed cassette. . A paper feed space for placing the sheet to be fed;
A storage space for placing the sheet to be stored;
The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the hole or the notch is provided on the bottom surface of the paper feed space and / or the storage space. A paper feed cassette according to claim 1;
An image forming unit for forming an image on the sheet fed from the paper feed cassette;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit that fixes the image on the sheet.

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