JP2008195469A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of preventing an end in a conveying direction of a medium to be recorded from being abutted on a side fence and being buckled using a weight and a medium to be recorded pressing member provided on the side fence, and reducing skew. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feeding cassette 10 is provided with a storage part 1a for the medium to be recorded pressing member 2 at a position corresponding to a rail for varying a position of the side fence 1 when the medium to be recorded such as paper is set. In order to ensure the weight that the medium to be recorded pressing member 2 presses the paper or the like, the weight 4 is provided at a lower side of a bottom plate 3 using the same support shaft 5. When the bottom plate 3 loaded with the paper is raised, an upper end portion 2b of the medium to be recorded pressing member 2 presses the bundle of papers P from above with the side fence 1 by weight of the weight 4. The medium to be recorded is an article like an envelope, and even if it is expanded, the medium to be recorded is not buckled at right and left end edges in a conveying direction, and paper feeding that skew can be eliminated or reduced can be attained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a paper feed cassette capable of setting a plurality of types of recording media such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction machine having two or more functions thereof.

  As an image forming apparatus provided with this type of paper feed cassette, a paper feed pressing member is placed on a recording medium stacked on a pressure plate of a paper feed tray, for example, as in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1. In addition, by suppressing the recording medium from the upper side by the sheet feeding pressing member, it is possible to suppress deflection and bulge, thereby enabling stable and reliable sheet feeding and simply placing the recording medium. There are things that make the set easier.

  Further, as in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, sheet skew can be prevented without forming a bent portion of the sheet between the first and second sheet conveying means, and therefore the first and second sheet conveying means. There is no need for a large space for forming a sheet bending portion between the two, and the apparatus can be downsized.

JP-A-2005-231821 Japanese Patent No. 2738181

  By the way, not only those described in the patent documents as described above, but generally, in order to prevent skew when a recording medium such as paper in a paper feed cassette is supplied, it is covered by a side fence. The end face of the recording medium is pressed.

  However, a recording medium such as an envelope has a problem in that the recording medium is buckled at the left and right ends in the transport direction due to the expansion and deformation of the envelope, and the effect of pressing the side fence cannot be exhibited.

  In this type of paper feed cassette, it is desirable that there is no action other than operating the side fence and end fence when setting the recording medium. For example, in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, When you set envelopes in paper cassettes (envelopes come in various sizes in Japan and overseas, so setting is cumbersome)), you need to place a plate to hold the envelopes from the top. In the conventional paper feed cassette, there is a problem that some extra operation is required, such as a large number of operations when the user sets.

  Therefore, the present invention uses a recording medium pressing member provided on the weight and the side fence to prevent the end in the conveyance direction of the recording medium from being buckled against the side fence, thereby causing a skew. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be reduced.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus including a paper feed cassette that can insert a recording medium as it is into the paper feed cassette from the upper side, does not require an extra operation, and has excellent operability.

  An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an image forming unit that records an image on a recording medium, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium to the image forming unit, and the conveying unit that includes the image forming unit. In an image forming apparatus having a paper supply means for supplying a recording medium and a paper supply cassette for setting the recording medium, a bottom plate for loading the recording medium in the paper supply cassette, and a side of the recording medium A side fence that holds the end portion, a weight supported by the same support shaft as the bottom plate, and a weight provided below the bottom plate, and provided on the side fence, the recording medium is moved upward in conjunction with the movement of the weight. And a recording medium pressing member for further pressing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the recording medium pressing member can be stored in the side fence at least when the recording medium is set in the paper feed cassette. It is characterized by that.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the recording medium pressing member is movable together with the side fence.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the weight can be stored under the bottom plate.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the weight is plate-shaped.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the weight passes through the recording medium pressing member in the vertical direction and extends in the moving direction of the side fence. It has an opening.

  The present invention prevents the end of the recording medium in the conveying direction from buckling against the side fence by pressing the recording medium pressing member from above using a weight load, and prevents the recording medium from being skewed. There is an effect that reduction can be expected.

  In addition, the present invention has an effect that the presser member is accommodated in the side fence when the paper is set, and the operability is excellent.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the main part of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a recording medium when the number of stacked recording media is small in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows a state when there are many load sheets. As shown in the drawing, a side fence 1 that presses the end face of the edge along the conveyance direction of the recording medium is installed in the paper feed cassette 10 in order to prevent skew of the recording medium.

  The side fence 1 hits the edge of the recording medium in the conveyance direction (indicated by the characters of the arrow and the feeding direction in the figure), and is intended to prevent skew during feeding. As described above, there is a case where the recording medium is buckled at the left and right edges in the transport direction by expanding and deforming like an envelope, and the side fence 1 cannot exert the function of pressing the recording medium. Therefore, the recording medium pressing member 2 is provided so that the recording medium can be stored in the storage portion 1a provided in the side fence 1 so that the function of pressing the recording medium can be exhibited regardless of the type of the recording medium. In addition, a plate-like weight 4 is provided on the lower side of the bottom plate 3 using the same support shaft 5 as the bottom plate 3, and the lower end of the recording medium pressing member 2 is attached to the weight 4. The pressing member 2 can sufficiently hold the recording medium from above.

  4 is a plan view of the paper feed cassette 10 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bottom plate 3, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the weight 4. The paper feed cassette 10 is provided with a recording medium pressing member 2 at a position corresponding to a rail portion for changing the position of the side fence 1 when setting a recording medium such as paper. Since the recording medium pressing member 2 is restrained except for the vertical movement using the storage portion 1a, the recording medium pressing member 2 moves following the movement of the side fence 1 and can handle recording media of various sizes with a simple operation. It is like that. Since the structure for changing the position of the side fence 1 is known, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  The weight 4 preferably has the same size as the bottom plate 3 in order to secure the weight for the recording medium pressing member 2 to press the recording medium. In this embodiment, the weight 4 has substantially the same planar shape ( There are differences in the presence or absence of irregularities.) Further, as described above, the same support shaft 5 as the bottom plate 3 is used. Reference numerals 5 a and 5 b in FIGS. 5 and 6 denote bearing portions of the support shaft 5 of the bottom plate 3 and the weight 4, respectively. Therefore, the weight 4 can be stored in the lower side of the bottom plate 3, and space saving as a paper feeding cassette is also achieved.

  Further, the bottom plate 3 and the weight 4 are provided with an opening 3a for passing the recording medium pressing member 2 and an opening-shaped slit 4a. The recording medium pressing member 2 has a retaining member 2a at the lower end as a slit of the weight 4. It is positioned below 4 a and is prevented from coming off, passes through the opening 3 a of the bottom plate 3, and the upper end portion 2 b is located in the storage portion 1 a of the side fence 1.

  FIG. 7 shows a state where the sheet cassette 10 is taken out and the bottom plate 3 is released in the image forming apparatus as described above. Since the mechanism for releasing the bottom plate 3 when the paper feed cassette 10 is removed from the image forming apparatus is well known, description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the recording medium pressing member 2 and the bottom plate 3 use the same support shaft 5, and the relationship with the weight 4 provided below the bottom plate 3 is that of the slit 4 a formed in the weight 4. Since the retaining portion 2a of the recording medium pressing member 2 is formed and attached to the lower side, the recording medium pressing member 2 can freely move in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 7). It can slide and move. Further, since the rotation of the recording medium pressing member 2 is not restricted when viewed from the transport direction, it is free.

  Such a relationship between the recording medium pressing member 2 and the side fence 1 is such that a rail on which the recording medium pressing member 2 can move up and down, specifically a concave storage portion 1a, is provided in the side fence 1 and is conveyed. The rotation of the recording medium pressing member 2 is restricted as viewed from the direction. However, when the sheet P disappears from the bottom plate 3 and the bottom plate 3 and the weight 4 are both lowered when the user replenishes the sheet, the recording medium pressing member 2 can be moved up and down as shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shape of the portion 1a is wider toward the outside of the paper feed cassette 10 than the width of the recording member pressing member.

  Since the center of gravity of the recording member pressing member 2 is in the outward direction of the paper feed cassette 10, the recording member pressing member 2 falls outside in the storage portion 1a where the storage portion 1a is widened. Then, when the paper P is set, the recording member pressing member 2 is completely accommodated in the side fence 1 accommodating portion 1a and does not come into contact with the paper P that is a recording medium. P or the like can be inserted.

  9 and 10, when the bottom plate 3 is raised (the mechanism for raising the bottom plate is also well known, illustration and description thereof is omitted), the upper end portion 2 b of the recording medium pressing member 2 is formed on the sheet P. Hold the bundle together with the side fence 1 from above. For this reason, even if the recording medium set in the paper feed cassette is a recording medium such as an envelope, and the recording medium swells or deforms, the recording medium buckles at the left and right edges in the transport direction. Therefore, it is possible to realize paper feeding that can eliminate or reduce skew. As already described, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when an envelope or the like is set in the paper feed cassette, a plate for pressing the envelope or the like from the upper side must be placed from above. However, in the present invention and the embodiment, this is not the case, and the same operation as that for setting sheets or the like in a normal sheet feeding cassette is sufficient. Further, since the weight needs to be as large as the bottom plate in order to secure the weight, if such a weight is stored under the bottom plate as in the present invention and its embodiments, it contributes to space saving. be able to.

Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the number of recording media is small in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the number of stacked recording media is large in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG. A plan view of the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. Top view of the bottom plate Top view of the same weight Sectional drawing which shows the state when taking out the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. 1 and releasing the bottom plate Sectional drawing of the side edge part of the paper feed cassette of the state of FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an upper body in which paper is set and attached to the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. 1 and a bundle of paper is pressed from above with a recording member pressing member together with a weight. Sectional drawing of the side edge part of the paper feed cassette of the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Side fence 1a: Storage part 2: Recording medium pressing member 2a: Retaining part 2b: Upper end part 3: Bottom plate 3a: Opening 5: Support shaft 4: Weight 4a: Open slit 5a, 5b: Bearing part 10 : Paper cassette P: Paper

Claims (6)

An image forming unit for recording an image on a recording medium;
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium to the image forming unit;
Paper feeding means for supplying the recording medium to the conveying means;
In an image forming apparatus having a paper feed cassette for setting the recording medium,
In the paper cassette,
A bottom plate for loading the recording medium;
A side fence that holds the side edge of the recording medium;
A weight supported by the same support shaft as the bottom plate and provided below the bottom plate;
A recording medium pressing member that is provided on the side fence and presses the recording medium from above in conjunction with the movement of the weight;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium pressing member can be stored in the side fence at least when the recording medium is set in the paper feeding cassette. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium pressing member is movable together with the side fence. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight can be stored under the bottom plate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the weight has a plate shape. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the weight has an opening that passes through the recording medium pressing member in a vertical direction and extends in a moving direction of the side fence.