JP2008265998A - Paper feeding cassette, paper feeder, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely hold a position of paper by simple operation with a space-saving constitution. <P>SOLUTION: This paper feeding cassette is stored in a paper feeder, and is taken in and out in the orthogonal direction to the paper carrying direction, and has a cassette frame 11, a tray 121 for placing the paper, a pair of cursors 12 having a contact surface 12a respectively contacting with opposed edge parts of the paper placed in the tray and positioning a paper placing place in a specific position of the tray, a rack rail 203a and a pinion 203b for moving the pair of cursors 12, a joining pin 21 and others for regulating the movement of the cursors 12 in a state of positioning the paper placing place in the specific position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a FAX, and an image forming apparatus using the same.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus 100 generates an image as a toner image and forms an image on the sheet supplied from the manual feed tray 110 or the sheet feeding device 120, and the toner image on the sheet. An image fixing unit 140 that fixes the printed matter is provided.

  The paper feeding device 120 is provided below the image forming unit 130 and the like.

  The sheet feeding device 120 includes a plurality of combinations of a tray 121 on which sheets are stacked and a conveying roller 122 for guiding the sheets from the tray 121 to the image forming unit 130.

  Next, FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a paper feeding cassette built in the paper feeding device 120. As shown in FIG. 8, the paper feed cassette 200 includes a casing unit 202 formed integrally with the puller 201, a tray 121 provided inside the casing unit, and a stop provided at the bottom of the casing unit 202. Member 204.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the tray 121 is connected to the housing portion 202 by a rotating shaft 121a on the side surface on the side where the stop member 204 is provided, and the rotating shaft 121a is centered on the rotating shaft by a spring mechanism (not shown). Rotate and tilt. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the tray 121 is inclined and can be disposed in an inclined state so that the paper in the paper feeding device 120 is conveyed in contact with the conveying roller 122.

  In addition, a pair of cursors 203 are provided at both ends of the tray 121 to change the facing width according to the paper size.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration near the cursor 203, and FIG. 10A is a schematic front view showing the configuration near the cursor 203. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10A, the cursor 203 is attached with a rack rail 203 a arranged in a space formed by the tray 121 and the bottom surface of the housing unit 202, and the rack rail 203 a is the back surface of the tray 121. Meshes with a pinion 203b attached to the.

  With the above structure, when one of the cursors 203 is moved, the other is interlocked to change the facing width. Accordingly, the paper can be arranged at a position suitable for conveyance according to the width of the paper to be stored.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10A, on the side surface of the cursor 203, a helical spring (not shown) cursor 203 and a lever 203c fixed thereto are provided. The lever 203c is biased by the force of the helical spring and meshes with the rack surface 202b having unevenness provided on the bottom surface of the housing unit 202, thereby restricting the movement of the cursor 203 in the rack rail 203a direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B, the lever 203c can be rotated against the urging force of the helical spring by the user's operation. As a result, the engagement between the tip of the lever 203c and the rack surface 202b is released, and the cursor 203 can be moved to a desired position in the direction of the rack rail 203. After positioning, the user releases his hand from the lever 203c and again engages the tip of the lever 203c with the rack surface 202b.

  As described above, the paper feed cassette 200 is provided with the cursor 203 capable of adjusting the opposing width along the paper width, so that papers of various sizes can be stored and fed at appropriate positions. It has become.

  By the way, in the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. 8, the paper carry-out direction shown by arrow A in the figure is orthogonal to the movement direction of the paper feed cassette shown by arrow B in the figure where the user operates the cassette for paper supply. ing.

  In such a case, the following problems may occur. In other words, the loaded paper may be pressed in the direction of arrow B in the figure due to other reasons when the cassette is inserted or removed. When a large amount of paper is loaded on the tray 121 or when the momentum for inserting and removing the cassette is strong, a force larger than the urging force of the lever 203c is momentarily applied to the cursor 103 and the lever 203c, and the control of the lever 103c is performed. Is canceled and the cursor 203 moves. In this case, the paper is displaced from an appropriate position on the tray 121, which causes a paper jam at the time of conveyance.

In the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. 8, a regulating member 205 is provided on the outer side of the cursor 203 in order to cope with such a problem. The restricting member 205 is fixed to the housing unit 202 by fitting the protruding portion 205 a into the opening 206 provided on the bottom surface of the housing unit 202. The restricting member 205 fixed at a fixed position on the housing unit 202 reinforces the cursor 203, so that the cursor 203 is maintained at the initial position against the pressing of the sheet.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-16625 (for example, FIG. 1, paragraphs (0015) and (0016))

  However, the conventional paper cassette has the following problems.

  That is, in the above configuration, the positioning operation of the cursor 203 and the setting of the restriction member 205 are performed by the user pulling out the paper feed cassette 200 from the paper feed device 120, releasing the lever 203c, attaching the restriction member 205, and the like. It was necessary to consider a series of procedures to be performed, and the work was complicated.

  Further, as described with reference to FIG. 8, the restricting member 205 is configured to be provided on the outer side of the cursor 203, but as indicated by the hatched area C in FIG. In addition, a space in which the restricting member 205 can be disposed is required, resulting in an increase in the size of the housing unit 202.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a paper feeding cassette that can reliably hold the position of a sheet by a simple operation with a space-saving configuration, and a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus using the same. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention provides:
A paper feed cassette that is housed in a paper feed device and is taken in and out in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction,
A housing,
A tray for placing paper provided in the housing;
A pair of cursors provided in the housing, each having a contact surface that comes into contact with an opposing edge portion of the paper placed on the tray and positioning the paper placement position at a specific position on the tray When,
A cursor moving unit for moving the pair of cursors so as to change the interval between the contact surfaces;
A regulation unit that regulates movement of the cursor in a state where the paper placement location is positioned at the specific position;
The restricting unit performs the restricting operation in a state where the housing is housed in the paper feeding device, and releases the restricting operation in a state in which the housing is pulled out from the paper feeding device; It is a paper feed cassette.

The second aspect of the present invention is
The restricting portion has a coupling pin that comes into contact with the housing with a constant pressure,
The housing has a through hole or a recess provided at a location corresponding to the specific position of the tray,
In the state where the housing is housed in the paper feed cassette, the coupling pin is further pressed from above the housing and passes through the through-hole of the housing or fits into a recess. It is a paper feed cassette of the present invention.

The third aspect of the present invention
In the paper feeding cassette according to the second aspect of the present invention, a tip portion of the coupling pin facing the housing is rounded.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is
The coupling pin is the paper feed cassette according to the second aspect of the present invention, which is further pressed from above the housing by contacting a main surface of a ceiling member in the paper feed device.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is
In the paper feeding cassette according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the tip of the coupling pin that contacts the main surface of the ceiling member is rounded.

The sixth aspect of the present invention
The ceiling member of the paper feed cassette that comes into contact with the coupling pin is the paper feed cassette according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, whose edge is inclined.

The seventh aspect of the present invention
The coupling pin is the paper feed cassette according to the second aspect of the present invention built in the cursor.

Further, the eighth aspect of the present invention is
The restricting portion is the paper feeding cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention, which is provided at least on the cursor on the back side with respect to a direction in which the paper feeding cassette is put in and out.

The ninth aspect of the present invention provides
1 is a sheet feeding device that houses one of the first to eighth sheet feeding cassettes of the present invention;

The tenth aspect of the present invention is
A sheet feeder according to the ninth aspect of the present invention;
The image forming apparatus performs image formation on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding device.

  According to the present invention as described above, the position of the sheet can be reliably held by a simple operation with a space-saving configuration.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a paper feed cassette 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (a) is a side view thereof. However, in FIG. 1, the same or corresponding parts as those in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed cassette 1 according to the present embodiment is in a state of being housed in a housing 300 of the paper feed device, and includes a cassette frame 11, a tray 121 disposed in the cassette frame 11, and a pair of The cursor 12 is provided.

  The cassette frame 11 has a box-like shape with an open top for carrying paper, and is provided with a lid portion 13 and an opening / closing puller 14 on the front side in the drawing direction indicated by arrow B in the figure, while On the back side, a stop member 15 for preventing a collision with the inner wall of the housing 300 is provided.

  The cursor 12 is attached with a rack rail 203 a disposed on the outer surface of the cassette frame 11, and the rack rail 203 a meshes with a pinion 203 b attached on the back surface of the cassette frame 11. Accordingly, when one of the cursors 12 is moved, the other is interlocked to change the facing width. Accordingly, the paper can be arranged at a position suitable for conveyance according to the width of the paper to be stored.

  Further, the tray 121 has a function of inclining about the rotation axis 121a with respect to the sheet conveyance direction indicated by arrow B in the drawing.

  A through hole 11 a is opened on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 11. In the plan view, the through holes 11 a are arranged along the moving direction of the cursor 12. Further, a rear end pressing member 16 for restricting the position of the rear end of the paper placed on the tray 121 is provided on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 11.

  Further, a beam-like ceiling member 301 provided along the pull-out direction is provided on the ceiling of the casing 300 of the sheet feeding device, and is in contact with the coupling pin 21 exposed from the upper surface of the cursor 12 described later. Yes.

  Next, with reference to the schematic side view of FIG. 2A, the configuration of the cursor 12 will be further described. The cursor 12 is a resin member having a substantially L-shaped cross section having a contact surface 12a that contacts the edge of the loaded paper and a placement surface 12b that contacts the main surface of the paper. By changing the width of the sheet, various types of paper sheets are arranged at specific positions suitable for carrying out in the tray 121 shape.

  The cursor 12 has a hollow structure including the contact surface 12a, and incorporates a coupling pin 21 and a coil spring 22 into which the coupling pin 21 is fitted.

  The coupling pin 21 is provided with a leading end 21a toward the cassette frame 11 side, a leading end 21b toward the ceiling member 301 of the sheet feeding device casing 300, and a flange 21c provided in the middle of the pin shaft. It has been. The tip portions 21a and 21b are both rounded.

  The coil spring 22 is disposed between the flange portion 21c and the inner wall of the cursor 12 on the cassette frame 11 side. Thereby, the coupling pin 21 can move up and down within the range regulated by the frame portion 23 and the collar portion 21c provided in the cursor 12 according to the external force. The frame portion 23 is fixed by a beam 23 a provided obliquely inside the cursor 12.

  In the ceiling member 301, the entrance-side edge portion 301 a has a tapered surface that is inclined with respect to the main surface 301 b that faces the bottom surface of the cassette frame 11.

  In the above configuration, the paper feed cassette 1 corresponds to the paper feed cassette of the present invention, the cassette frame 11 corresponds to the casing of the present invention, the tray 121 corresponds to the tray of the present invention, and the cursor 12 corresponds to the present invention. Corresponds to the cursor. The rack rail 203a and the pinion 203b correspond to the cursor moving part of the present invention, and the configuration including the connecting pin 21, the coil spring 22, the frame part 23, and the beam 23a of the cursor 12 corresponds to the restricting part of the present invention. The coupling pin 21 corresponds to the coupling pin of the present invention, and the ceiling member 301 corresponds to the ceiling member of the present invention.

  The operation of the sheet feeding cassette 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration is as follows.

  The side view of FIG. 2A shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment is housed in the housing 300 of the paper feed device, and the paper can be carried out to an image forming apparatus (not shown).

  In this state, the cursor 12 is positioned suitable for transporting the paper, but the position of the coupling pin 21 and the position of the through hole 11a of the cassette frame 11 are the same.

  Further, the upper surface of the cursor 12 is in contact with the main surface 301b of the ceiling member 301. At this time, the distal end portion 21b of the coupling pin 21 also comes into contact with the main surface 301b of the ceiling member 301. Receiving pressure in the opposite direction (see arrow in the figure).

  Therefore, in FIG. 2A, the coupling pin 21 passes through the through hole 11 a by pressing from the ceiling member 301. As a result, the cursor 12 is fixed to the cassette frame 11.

  Next, a side view of FIG. 2B shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment is pulled out from the housing 300 of the paper feed device and is ready to supply paper.

  In this state, the position of the cursor 12 in the vicinity of the lid 13 is the same as that in the state shown in FIG. 2A, but the connecting pin 21 is released from the contact with the ceiling member 301. Until the portion 21c is fixed at the position related to the frame portion 23, the coil 21 is pulled upward (arrow in the figure) according to the urging force of the coil spring 22.

  That is, in FIG. 2B, the cursor 12 is released from the cassette frame 11 when the connecting pin 21 is extracted from the through hole 11a. The coupling pin 21 is extracted from the through hole 11a, and only the tip 21a is fitted into the through hole 11a. Thereby, although the cursor 12 maintains the position at the time of initial fixation, the user can move the cursor 12 from the position to a desired place with a slight force. At this time, since the undergraduate 21c is engaged with the frame 23, the connecting pin 21 cannot move, but the beam 23a is deformed by the force at the time of movement. Due to this deformation, the connecting pin 21 is slightly turned together with the frame 23, and the tip 21a gets over the edge of the through hole 11a.

  The user can confirm that the cursor 12 can be moved from the initial positioning position with a click feeling generated when the tip 21a gets over the edge of the through hole 11a by the above-described action.

  In the above description, the cursor 12 positioned on the lid portion 13 side has been described. However, the cursor 12 provided on the stop member 15 side is also fixed and fixed to the cassette frame 11 by the same operation. Is released.

  Next, when the state shown in FIG. 2B is shifted to the state shown in FIG. 2A, that is, when the paper feed cassette 1 is stored in the housing 300 of the paper feed device, the operation of the cursor 12 is as follows. It becomes as follows. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the tip end portion 21 b of the coupling pin 21 exposed at the upper portion of the cursor 12 has a round shape and is inclined with respect to the moving direction of the paper feed cassette 1. Since the surface is in contact with the edge portion 301a, the coupling pin 21 gradually moves downward along the inclination of the edge portion 301a in accordance with the movement of the sheet feeding cassette 1. When the paper cassette 1 is pulled out from the housing 300 of the paper feeder, contrary to the above case, the tip 21b of the engagement pin 21 gradually moves upward along the inclination of the edge 301a. To do.

  As described above, the operation of the connecting pin 21 is performed in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the sheet feeding cassette 1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the coupling pin 21 is fixed to the cassette frame 11 before the movement of the cassette frame 11 is restricted by the stop member 15, so that when the storage of the paper feed cassette 1 is completed. The cursor 12 is completely fixed.

  In the paper feed cassette 1 according to the present embodiment as described above, the position of the cursor 12 is fixed by the coupling pin 21 that is interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the paper feed cassette 1. It is possible to easily fix the cursor 12 by performing only the operation of moving the cursor 12 to a specific position when loading.

  Further, since the cursor 12 is fixed by the connecting pin 21 passing through the through hole 11a of the cassette frame 11, it is possible to realize the same secure fixing as in the case where a regulating member is used separately, and the fixing. There is no need for a separate member for this purpose.

  Accordingly, the position of the sheet can be reliably held by a simple operation with a space-saving configuration.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the coupling pin 21 has a structure in which only the distal end portion 21a is fitted into the through hole 11a when the pressing by the ceiling member 301 is released. However, this has the following effects. That is, the user can move the cursor 12 from the position to a desired position with a slight force when the connecting pin 21 is not in contact with the ceiling member 301. FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, in the cursor 12, the connecting pin 21 is given a constant pressure based on the restoring force of the lifted beam 23a, so that the tip 21a moves while being in contact with the bottom surface of the cassette frame 11. At this time, every time the cursor 12 passes through each of the plurality of through-holes 11a, the tip 21a is fitted into each through-hole 11a, and the user confirms the click feeling caused by the elasticity of the beam 23a at the time of the insertion. By doing so, it is possible to easily know the optimum position where the cursor 12 should be fixed. As shown in FIG. 4B, instead of the beam 23a, the cursor 12 may have a configuration in which the area of the sliding portion 24 with the coupling pin 21 is increased. In this case, the coil spring 24 is also provided on the distal end portion 21b side of the flange portion 21c, and a click feeling can be given by the action of the coil spring 24.

  In the above configuration, the coupling pin 21 is built in the cursor 12, but may be provided outside the cursor. FIG. 5A is an example in which the coupling pin 21 and the coil spring 22 are provided on the side surface of the plate-like cursor 30 having the contact surface 30a. In this configuration, the movement range of the collar portion 21 c is limited by the frame portion 30 b provided on the cursor 30. Also in this configuration, as in the example of FIG. 4B, as shown in FIG. 5B, a coil spring 25 is provided instead of the frame portion 30 b, and the cursor 30 has a sliding portion 30 c with the coupling pin 21. A click feeling can be obtained as a configuration with a large area.

  In the above configuration, the tip 21b of the coupling pin 21 is rounded, and the ceiling member 301 of the casing 300 of the sheet feeding device has been described as having an edge 301a having a tapered surface. The distal end portion 21 b of the coupling pin 21 may have a plane configuration that is parallel or oblique to the main surface 301 b of the ceiling member 301. As long as the coupling pin 21 can be moved up and down along the inclined edge portion 301a, the tip portion 21b is not limited to a specific shape.

  On the other hand, the tip 21b of the coupling pin 21 may be rounded, and the edge of the ceiling member 301 may be a surface perpendicular to the main surface 301b of the ceiling member 301 instead of a tapered surface. In short, the edge 301a is not limited to a specific shape as long as the connecting pin 21 can be moved along the roundness of the tip 21b.

  In the above configuration, the configuration for fixing the cursor 12 including the coupling pin 21 and the through hole 11 a may be provided only in one of the pair of cursors 12. In particular, when it is provided only on one side, it is preferably provided on the stop member 15 side, that is, on the back side with respect to the direction in which the paper feed cassette 1 is put in and out. This is because when the paper feeding cassette 1 is opened and closed, the loaded paper is easily pressed.

  In the above-described configuration, the cursor 12 and the cassette frame 11 are fixed to each other in the sheet cassette 1 when the connecting pin 21 of the cursor 12 is pressed by the ceiling member 301 of the casing 300 of the sheet feeder. Although described as a thing, the member which presses the coupling pin 21 is not limited to the structure in the housing | casing of a paper feeder.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration when the sheet feeding cassette of the present embodiment is multi-layered. As shown in FIG. 6, in the upper and lower stacked sheet cassettes, the bottom surface of the cassette frame 40 of the upper sheet cassette is positioned directly on the ceiling of the lower sheet cassette, and the lower sheet cassette The connecting pin 21 of the cursor 12 is pressed. At this time, the cassette frame 40 is provided with a recess 40a having a depth sufficient to fix the cursor 12 and the cassette frame 40 in place of the through hole 11a.

  The present invention can also be implemented with such a configuration. In short, the means and configuration for applying the pressure of s to the coupling pin can be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the paper feed device on which the paper feed cassette is mounted.

  In the above configuration, the cursor moving unit of the present invention has been described as including the rack rail 203a and the pinion 203b and interlocking the pair of cursors 12. However, the distance between the contact surfaces of the cursor is changed. If it can be moved like this, it is not limited to the specific configuration. For example, it may be realized more simply as a groove or a convex row provided on the housing along the cursor movement direction. Alternatively, the pair of cursors may be moved independently without being linked.

  In the above description, the description has been made centering on the paper feed cassette. However, the present invention may be realized as a paper feed device including the paper feed cassette. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 7 may be used as an image forming apparatus.

  The present invention has an effect that the position of a sheet can be reliably held by a simple operation with a space-saving configuration, and is useful in a sheet feeding cassette, a sheet feeding apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and the like.

Schematic plan view of a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention (A) Schematic side view showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention (b) Schematic side view showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention (A) The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the coupling pin of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention (b) The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the coupling pin of paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention (A) The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the coupling pin of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention (b) The figure for demonstrating the other structural example of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention (A) The figure for demonstrating the other structural example of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention (b) The figure for demonstrating the other structural example of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention The figure for demonstrating the other structural example of the paper feed cassette of embodiment of this invention Configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a conventional technique Configuration diagram of a conventional paper cassette Plan view of the main part of a conventional paper cassette (A) The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the paper feed cassette by a prior art (b) The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the paper feed cassette by a prior art

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feed cassette 11 Cassette frame 11a Through-hole 12 Cursor 12a Contact surface 12b Placement surface 13 Cover part 14 Pull 15 Stop member 16 Rear end pressing member 21 Binding pin 21a, 21b Front end part 21c Gutter part 22 Coil spring 23 Frame part 23a Beam 300 Case 301 Ceiling member 301a Edge 301b Main surface

Claims (10)

A paper feed cassette that is housed in a paper feed device and is taken in and out in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction,
A housing,
A tray for placing paper provided in the housing;
A pair of cursors provided in the housing, each having a contact surface that comes into contact with an opposing edge portion of the paper placed on the tray and positioning the paper placement position at a specific position on the tray When,
A cursor moving unit for moving the pair of cursors so as to change the interval between the contact surfaces;
A regulation unit that regulates movement of the cursor in a state where the paper placement location is positioned at the specific position;
The restricting unit performs the restricting operation in a state where the housing is housed in the paper feeding device, and releases the restricting operation in a state in which the housing is pulled out from the paper feeding device; Paper cassette. The restricting portion has a coupling pin that comes into contact with the housing with a constant pressure,
The housing has a through hole or a recess provided at a location corresponding to the specific position of the tray,
The coupling pin is further pressed from above the casing in a state where the casing is housed in the sheet cassette, and passes through the through hole of the casing or fits into a recess. The paper cassette described in 1.   The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 2, wherein a tip portion of the coupling pin facing the housing has a roundness.   The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 2, wherein the coupling pin is further pressed from above the housing by contacting a main surface of a ceiling member in the sheet feeding device.   The paper feed cassette according to claim 4, wherein a tip end portion of the coupling pin that contacts the main surface of the ceiling member has a roundness.   The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 5, wherein an edge of the ceiling member of the sheet feeding cassette that comes into contact with the coupling pin is inclined.   The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 2, wherein the coupling pin is built in the cursor.   The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion is provided at least on the back side of the cursor with respect to a direction in which the paper feed cassette is put in and out.   A paper feeding device that houses the paper feeding cassette according to claim 1. A sheet feeding device according to claim 9,
An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding apparatus.

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