JP2013052944A - Tray device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tray device easily drawn by a user.SOLUTION: The tray device 50 is housed in an image forming apparatus body 40 in a locked state, and stores sheets for image formation. Such a tray device 50 includes: a handle 55 attached to a front panel 53 and displaced in a drawing direction of the tray device 50 by a user operation; a lock lever 67 locking the tray device 50 to the image forming apparatus body 40; an interlocking member 63 attached at a central rear part of the handle 55 in a connected state to the lock lever 67 and displacing the lock lever 67 in response to the displacement of the handle 55; and a regulation member 65 disposed behind the handle 55 in a connected state with both right and left sides of the handle 55 and displaced together with the handle 55 to rotate the interlocking member 63. When the interlocking member 63 is rotated in response to the displacement of the handle 55, the lock lever 67 is displaced to release the lock.

Description

  The present invention relates to a tray device on which sheets used in an image forming apparatus are stacked.

  A general tray device is normally housed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and is configured to be able to be pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus as necessary. In addition, the tray device may be provided with a lock mechanism so as not to jump out of the main body during normal times.

  Hereinafter, as an example of a tray device provided with a lock mechanism, the one described in Patent Document 1 will be described. In Patent Document 1, the tray device is called a sheet case. When the sheet case is in a predetermined storage position, the engagement arm attached to the sheet case and the protrusion provided on the main body of the image forming apparatus are engaged with each other, whereby the sheet case is in the storage position. Locked. In addition, the sliding direction of the handle member with respect to the seat case and the sliding direction of the seat case with respect to the main body coincide with each other, and the engagement state between the engagement arm and the protrusion is the same as the direction in which the user pulls out the seat case from the main body. By pulling the handle member, the lock member is released by sliding the handle member with respect to the seat case. Thereafter, when the user further pulls the handle member, the seat case is pulled out from the main body.

JP 2006-225146 A (see FIG. 1)

  The handle member is disposed substantially at the center in the lateral direction of the seat case, and the engagement arm and the protrusion are disposed only on the right side of the handle member toward the seat case. Therefore, when a finger is put on the right end of the handle member to pull it out, the force applied by the user is well transmitted to the engagement arm. However, on the contrary, when the finger is placed on the left end of the handle member and pulled out, the slide amount at the left end of the handle member is larger than the slide amount at the right end, so that the force applied by the user is not easily transmitted to the engagement arm. The rotation amount of the engagement arm is relatively reduced. As described above, in the conventional seat case, the rotation amount of the engagement arm may be biased depending on where the user holds the handle member. Due to this bias, there is a problem that it is difficult for the user to pull out the seat case.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tray device that can be easily pulled out by a user.

In order to achieve the above object, a tray device according to an embodiment of the present invention is stored in a locked state in an image forming apparatus main body, and stores sheets for image formation. The tray device includes a front panel, a handle attached to the front panel and displaced in a pull-out direction of the tray device by a user operation, a lock lever for locking the tray device to the image forming apparatus main body,
An interlocking member attached to the center rear of the handle in a state of being connected to the lock lever and displacing the lock lever according to the displacement of the handle, and a rear of the handle in a state of being connected to the left and right sides of the handle And a regulating member that is displaced together with the handle to rotate the interlocking member. Here, when the interlocking member rotates in accordance with the displacement of the handle, the lock lever is displaced so as to release the lock.

  A tray device according to another aspect of the present invention is housed in a locked state in the image forming apparatus main body, and is pulled out from the main body by a user operation. The tray device includes a front panel, a handle attached to the front panel and displaced in a pull-out direction of the tray device by a user operation, a lock lever that locks the tray device to a main body of the image forming apparatus, and the lock lever In the state of being connected to the center of the handle and at least two interlocking members for displacing the lock lever according to the displacement of the handle, and in a state of being connected to the left and right sides of the handle. A restricting member disposed behind the handle and rotating together with the handle to rotate the interlocking member. Here, when the interlocking member rotates in accordance with the displacement of the handle, the lock lever is displaced so as to release the lock.

  According to each aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a tray device that can be easily pulled out by a user.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the schematic structure of the tray apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the structure of a locking mechanism. It is a top view which shows the structure of a locking mechanism. It is a top view which shows the lock hole at the time of storage of a tray apparatus. It is a right view which shows the structure of a locking mechanism. It is a left view which shows the structure of a locking mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the front panel back side. It is a perspective view which shows the interlocking member attached to the front panel back surface. It is a perspective view which shows the connection member which connects a control member and a handle. It is a perspective view which shows a 2nd supporting member. It is a top view which shows the structure of the locking mechanism with which the tray apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is provided. It is a top view which shows the structure of the locking mechanism with which the tray apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment is provided.

  Hereinafter, a tray device according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<< Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus >>
First, an image forming apparatus to which each tray apparatus can be applied will be described. In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus is, for example, a color printer using a tandem type electrophotographic method, and is generally a process unit 10 (for forming toner images of Y, M, C, and K colors). 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K), an intermediate transfer unit 20, a two-stage sheet feeding unit 30 containing recording paper, and a fixing unit 35 are provided in the main body 40.

  Each process unit 10 includes a photosensitive drum 11, a charging charger 12, an exposure device 13, a developing device 14, a cleaning device 15 for the photosensitive drum 11, and the like. The electrostatic latent image drawn on the photosensitive drum 11 is developed by the developing unit 14 to form toner images of each color.

  The intermediate transfer unit 20 includes an intermediate transfer belt 21 that is rotationally driven endlessly in the direction of the arrow Z, and each photoconductor drum 11 is subjected to an electric field applied from a primary transfer roller 22 facing each photoconductor drum 11. The toner image formed above is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 to be synthesized. Note that such an electrophotographic image forming process is well known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  For example, a two-stage sheet feeding unit 30 is disposed at the lower portion of the main body 40. The paper feed unit 30 houses a tray device 50 described later, and takes out the sheets stacked in the tray device 50 one by one. Each taken-out sheet is fed from the nip portion between the paper feed roller 31 and the separating roller 32 provided in the paper feed unit 30 to the nip portion between the intermediate transfer belt 21 and the secondary transfer roller 25 via the timing roller pair 33. The toner image (composite color image) is secondarily transferred here. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed to the fixing unit 35 where the toner is heated and fixed, and is discharged from the pair of discharge rollers 38 to the tray portion 5 disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body.

  Further, a conveyance unit 39 for double-sided printing is installed on the side of the main body 40. When an image is formed on the first side, the paper on which the image is formed on the first side is once sent to the outside as indicated by an arrow B from the paper discharge roller pair 38, and then the paper discharge roller pair 38 is reversed. As a result, the sheet is conveyed (switched back) in the reverse direction, and returned to the timing roller pair 33 via the sheet conveying unit 39.

<< first embodiment >>
Next, a tray device 50 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The tray device 50 is housed inside the main body 40 at a normal time such as when an image is formed, but can be pulled out along the pull-out direction y shown in FIG. Configured. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the tray device 50 is pulled out. In the following description, the position of the tray device 50 at the normal time is referred to as a storage position. A direction that is substantially in a horizontal plane and is perpendicular to the drawing direction y is referred to as a lateral direction x. Here, regarding the horizontal direction x, the paper supply direction is the positive direction. A direction perpendicular to both the directions y and x is referred to as a longitudinal direction z.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 10, the tray device 50 includes a paper storage unit 51, a front panel 53, a handle 55, a lock mechanism storage unit 57, and a lock mechanism 59. The sheet storage unit 51 generally has a box shape with an upper opening. Recording sheets are stacked on the bottom surface of the sheet storage unit 51. The front panel 53 is attached to the front side of the paper storage unit 51 (that is, the front side of the apparatus main body 40). The handle 55 is attached to a predetermined position of the front panel 53. The user puts a finger on the handle 55 and pulls the tray device 50 out of the apparatus main body 40 by pulling it toward the main body 40 toward the front side (that is, the drawing direction y in FIG. 2). Here, for convenience of the following description, a cross section passing through the approximate center of the handle 55 along the lateral direction x is referred to as a longitudinal center plane V as shown in FIG.

  The lock mechanism storage unit 57 has a box shape that can store the lock mechanism 59, and is disposed along the bottom surface and the right side surface of the paper storage unit 51 and the back surface of the front panel 53, for example. 2, 5, and 6, the lock mechanism storage portion 57 is indicated by a solid line, but in FIG. 4A, the lock mechanism storage portion 57 is indicated by a dotted line from the viewpoint of clearly showing the lock mechanism 59 provided therein. Indicated.

  The lock mechanism 59 is shown in a frame drawn by a one-dot chain line (see FIG. 4A and the like). The lock mechanism 59 includes a first support member 61, an interlocking member 63, a regulating member 65, a lock lever 67, a second support member 69, a lock pin 71, and a coil spring 73. Of the inside. The lock mechanism 59 includes a lock hole 75 formed on the apparatus main body 40 side, as shown in FIG. 4B.

  As shown in FIG. 4A and the like, the first support member 61 is fixed behind the handle 55 on the back side of the front panel 53. The interlocking member 63 is attached to the approximate center along the lateral direction x of the first support member 61. Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the first support member 61 is formed with a semicircular recess 611 in a top view. The recess 611 has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center plane V, and has a diameter that allows a second cylindrical member 82 to be described later to be fitted therein.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the interlocking member 63 has a structure in which the first to third cylindrical members 81 to 83 are both supported by two substantially triangular flat plates. Here, the distance d2 between the first columnar member 81 and the third columnar member 83 is preferably larger than the distance d1 between the first columnar member 81 and the second columnar member 82.

  The first columnar member 81 is attached to the first support member 61 such that its own central axis is rotatable along the longitudinal direction z and around the central axis. Thereby, the interlocking member 63 rotates around the first columnar member 81. In the present embodiment, a more detailed mounting position of the first columnar member 81 is a position offset to the right side from the longitudinal center plane V toward the main body 40. Further, the second columnar member 82 is configured to be fitted into the recess 611 formed in the first support member 61 by the rotation of the interlocking member 63.

  As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the regulating member 65 is a rectangular flat plate that is long in the lateral direction x. As shown in FIG. 9, connecting members 651 a and 651 b are attached to the left and right ends of the restricting member 65 one by one. The connecting members 651 a and 651 b are connected to both ends of the handle 55 through through holes formed one on each side of the first support member 61. Here, the length of the connecting rods 651a and 651b is larger by a predetermined amount than the length of the corresponding through hole. With this configuration, the handle 55 can be displaced with respect to the front panel 53. Further, as shown in FIG. 7 and the like, a space is formed between the first support member 61 and the regulating member 65. The interlocking member 63 is attached so that the second cylindrical member 82 passes through the space but the third cylindrical member 83 does not pass through the space. Therefore, the rotation amount of the interlocking member 63 is regulated by the regulating member 65 and the first support member 61.

  The lock lever 67 has a bar shape elongated in the lateral direction. As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, a first hook 68 that hooks on the third cylindrical member 83 is attached to one end of the lock lever 67. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A and the like, a lock pin 71 is attached to the other end of the lock lever 67, and a second hook 70 for hooking a coil spring 73 described later is provided in the middle of the lock lever 67. Is provided. The lock lever 67 described above is supported by the second support member 69 substantially parallel to the lateral direction x.

  The second support member 69 is fixed to the back surface of the front panel 53 as shown in FIG. The second support member 69 is formed with a through hole through which the lock lever 67 can be inserted. The second support member 69 is provided with a third hook 72 aligned with the second hook 70 in the lateral direction x in order to hook the coil spring 73. By such a coil spring 73, the lock lever 67 (especially the lock pin 71) is urged in the lateral direction x (more specifically, the direction of the lock hole 75).

  As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the lock pin 71 is inserted into a through hole 52 formed on the right side surface of the paper storage unit 51. Reference is now made to FIG. 4B. FIG. 4B shows a part of the apparatus main body 40 and the lock mechanism 59 in the storage position of the tray device 50. A lock hole 75 is formed at a position facing the lock pin 71 in this storage position.

  In the tray device 50, the lock pin 71 and the lock hole 75 are in a position facing each other in the storage position. Further, the lock pin 71 is biased by the coil spring 73. Accordingly, the lock pin 71 is fitted into the lock hole 75, and thereby the tray device 50 is locked so as not to protrude from the main body 40.

  On the other hand, when pulling out the tray device 50 from the storage state, the user holds the handle 55 and pulls it in the pulling-out direction y. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4B, the handle 55 is displaced in the pull-out direction y, and the restricting member 65 pushes the second columnar member 82 in the same direction y. As a result, the third cylindrical member 83 of the interlocking member 63 rotates counterclockwise around the first cylindrical member 81. By the rotation of the first cylindrical member 81, the lock lever 67 is pulled in the direction opposite to the lateral direction x. As a result, the lock pin 71 comes out of the lock hole 75 and is unlocked. When the user continues to pull the tray device 50, the tray device 50 is pulled out of the main body 40 as shown in FIG.

  According to the tray device 50, the interlocking member 63 is disposed at a position facing the approximate center of the handle 55. Therefore, even when a finger is placed on the right end of the handle 55 to be pulled out and a finger is placed on the left end to be pulled out, a force having substantially no difference is transmitted from the regulating member 65 to the interlocking member 63. That is, in any case, the displacement amount of the lock lever 67 can be made substantially the same. Thus, according to the present embodiment, variation in the amount of displacement of the lock lever 67 due to the grip position of the handle 55 can be minimized, and the difference in operational feeling when being pulled out can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to provide a tray device 50 that is easier to pull out and has better operability.

  Here, in this embodiment, as a more preferable configuration, the movement trajectory of the second cylindrical member 82 is configured to substantially contact or intersect the longitudinal center plane V in a top view. Therefore, even when a finger is placed on the right end of the handle 55 to be pulled out or a finger is placed on the left end to be pulled out, a substantially equal force can be applied to the interlocking member 63. As a result, the amount of displacement of the lock lever 67 can be made more uniform.

  In particular, in the paper feed unit 30 (see FIG. 1), the sheets are stacked close to the paper feed roller 31 and the separating roller 32 (see FIG. 1), so that the center of gravity is positioned on one side (for example, the right side) of the apparatus main body 40. ). For this reason, in order to reduce the difference in operational feeling during pull-out due to the difference in the grip position, it is very important to minimize variations in the amount of displacement of the lock lever 67.

  In addition, if the displacement of the lock lever 67 varies greatly depending on the grip position, it is necessary to design the lock mechanism 59 so that the lock can be released even with the minimum displacement. However, since this variation can be minimized in the tray device 50, the protruding amount of the lock pin 71 can be minimized. Therefore, the area occupied by the lock mechanism 59 can be reduced, and the space in the tray device 50 can be used effectively. Further, by minimizing the protruding amount of the lock pin 71, it is possible to suppress the volume of the collision sound and the magnitude of the impact when the lock pin 71 is fitted into the lock hole 75 when the tray device 50 comes to the storage position. It becomes. Thereby, for example, when the sheet feeding unit 30 has a multi-stage configuration, it is possible to prevent the sheet from the other tray device 50 from adversely affecting image formation.

  In addition, in order to facilitate the alignment of the paper stacked in the paper storage unit 51 and the nip portion between the paper supply roller 31 and the separating roller 32 provided in the paper supply unit 30, the lock pin 71 and the lock hole 75 are It is preferable that the roller 31 and the roller 32 are on the same side. In the present embodiment, these are arranged on the right side toward the apparatus main body 40.

  In the present embodiment, a lock mechanism 59 is disposed between the paper stacking position in the paper storage unit 51 and the back surface of the front panel 53. Here, the lock mechanism 59 is preferably configured such that the lock lever 67 is displaced in parallel with the lateral direction x. Thereby, the lock mechanism 59 can be reduced in size and the occupied area can be reduced.

  Further, in order to largely displace the lock pin 71 with a smaller displacement of the handle 55, it is preferable that the rotation radius of the third cylindrical member 83 is larger than that of the second cylindrical member 82.

<< Second Embodiment >>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the tray device 90 according to the second embodiment is provided with interlocking members 63a and 63b on the left and right sides with respect to the longitudinal center plane V as compared with the tray device 50 described above. 67a is different in that it includes two hooks 68a and 68b that are hooked on the respective interlocking members 63a and 63b. Other than that, there is no difference between the tray device 90 and the tray device 50, and therefore, description of common points is omitted.

  According to the tray device according to the present embodiment, when a finger is put on the right side of the handle and the finger is pulled out, the regulating member is pushed mainly by the right interlocking member 63b. On the contrary, when the finger is hung to the left, the left interlocking member 63a functions mainly. This also makes it possible to further suppress the difference in the amount of displacement of the lock lever 67a, and to provide a tray device 90 that is easier to pull out and has good operability.

  The number of interlocking members and the number of hooks of the lock lever are not limited to two and may be three or more.

<< Third Embodiment >>
Next, a third embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 12, the tray device 100 according to the third embodiment is generally provided with a first support member 61 a that is formed in an arc shape in a top view as compared with the tray device 50 described above. Is different. In addition, since there is no difference between the tray device 100 and the tray device 50, the description of the common points is omitted.

  The first support member 61a will be described more specifically. The distance d3 between the end portion of the first support member 61a and the end portion of the restriction member 65 is larger than the distance d4 between the center portion of the first support member 61a and the center portion of the restriction member 65. The first support member 61a is configured.

  With the above-described configuration, the displacement amount of the restriction member 65 facing the both end portions of the handle 55 is larger than the displacement amount of the facing portion facing the center portion of the handle 55. More specifically, when the user pulls the center of the handle 55, the displacement amount of the handle 55 itself becomes relatively small, but the handle is pulled out without being inclined. In this case, based on the displacement amount of the handle 55 itself, the regulating member 65 pushes the second cylindrical member 82, and the lock lever 67 is displaced.

  On the other hand, when the end portion of the handle 55 is pulled, d3> d4 is set, and the handle 55 is pulled out in an inclined state, so that the displacement amount of the handle 55 itself becomes relatively large. However, according to the tray device 100, the restricting member 65 pushes the second cylindrical member 82 based on the displacement amount obtained by subtracting the inclination amount of the handle 55 from the displacement amount of the handle 55 itself, and the lock lever is moved accordingly. Displace. In this way, by adjusting d3> d4, it becomes possible to further suppress the displacement amount of the lock lever due to the grip position.

  In the above description, the top view shape of the first support member 61a has been described as an arc shape. However, the first support member 61a is not limited to this, and the first support member 61a has an upper surface such that d3 is larger than d4 as described above. What is necessary is just to have a visual shape.

  The tray device according to the present invention is configured to be easily pulled out by a user, and can be applied to a copying machine, a facsimile, a complex machine of these, and the like in addition to a tandem electrophotographic printer.

40 Image Forming Apparatus Body 31, 32 Paper Feeding Roller, Rolling Roller (Nip)
50 tray device 53 front panel 55 handle 61, 61a first support member 63, 63a, 63b interlocking member 65 restricting member 67, 67a lock lever 71 lock pin 75 lock hole 81, 82, 83 first column member, second column member , Third cylindrical member

Claims (7)

A tray device that is stored in a locked state in the image forming apparatus main body and stores paper for image formation,
A front panel;
A handle attached to the front panel and displaced in a pull-out direction of the tray device by a user operation;
A lock lever for locking the tray device to the image forming apparatus main body;
An interlocking member that is attached to the center rear of the handle in a state of being connected to the lock lever, and that displaces the lock lever according to the displacement of the handle;
A regulating member disposed behind the handle in a state connected to the left and right sides of the handle, and displaced with the handle to rotate the interlocking member,
When the interlocking member rotates according to the displacement of the handle, the lock lever is displaced so as to release the lock. A tray device that is stored in a locked state in the image forming apparatus main body and is pulled out from the main body by a user operation,
A front panel;
A handle attached to the front panel and displaced in a pull-out direction of the tray device by a user operation;
A lock lever for locking the tray device to the main body of the image forming apparatus;
At least two interlocking members that are attached to the left and right rear with respect to the center of the handle in a state of being connected to the lock lever, and that displace the lock lever according to the displacement of the handle;
A regulating member disposed behind the handle in a state connected to the left and right sides of the handle, and displaced with the handle to rotate the interlocking member,
When the interlocking member rotates according to the displacement of the handle, the lock lever is displaced so as to release the lock. The lock lever has a lock pin for locking the tray device to the image forming apparatus main body,
The image forming apparatus main body is provided with nip means for feeding the paper stored in the tray device, and a lock hole formed so that the lock pin fits therein.
The lock pin, the lock hole, and the nip means are disposed on the same side toward the image forming apparatus main body;
The tray apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The lock lever has a rod-like shape and is disposed substantially parallel to one side of the paper stored in the tray device;
The tray apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The interlocking member has a structure in which the first to third columnar members are both supported by two flat plates,
The first columnar support member is attached to the back side of the front panel so as to be rotatable about its own axis,
The second cylindrical member is pushed by the restricting member according to the displacement of the handle, rotates around the first cylindrical member,
The third cylindrical member displaces the lock lever according to the rotation of the second cylindrical member;
The tray device according to claim 1, wherein The rotation radius of the third columnar member is larger than the rotation radius of the second columnar member;
The tray device according to claim 5, wherein In the restriction member, the displaceable amount of the portion facing both end portions of the handle is larger than the displaceable amount of the portion facing the center portion of the handle,
The tray device according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 6.