JP2015067391A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing rotation of sheet due to impact in inserting sheet storage means.SOLUTION: A side end position of a sheet of a predetermined size stored in a paper feeding cassette 60 in a width direction is regulated by a rear side regulation member 80 and a front side regulation member 81 which are provided upstream a rear side regulation plate 61 and a front side regulation plate 62 in a sheet feeding direction. Then, in the case of storing a small-sized sheet S3 having a shorter length in the width direction than a sheet of a predetermined size in the paper feeding cassette 60, assisting side regulation members 82 are attached to the rear side regulation member 80 and the front side regulation member 81, and the side end position of the small-sized sheet S3 in the width direction is regulated.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a configuration that regulates a side end position in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet feeding direction of a sheet stored in a sheet storage unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Today, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles are widely used in which an image is formed by feeding a sheet stored in a sheet storage unit to an image forming unit. As such a sheet storage means, there is one in which a plate-like sheet stacking means for stacking sheets is provided so as to be movable up and down.

  Then, when replenishing sheets, the sheet stacking means is lowered, and when feeding sheets, the sheet stacking means is raised and the upper surface of the stacked sheets is moved to a position where it can be fed by the upper pickup roller. Let Further, the sheet storage means is provided in the apparatus main body so that it can be pulled out. When storing a sheet, after the sheet storage means is pulled out, the sheet is set on the sheet stacking means from above.

  The sheet storage means includes a rear end regulating means for regulating the position of the upstream end (hereinafter referred to as the rear end) of the sheets stacked in the sheet stacking means so that sheets of different sizes can be stored. It is provided so as to be movable along the sheet feeding direction. The sheet storage means is provided with side end regulating means for regulating the side end position in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) so as to be movable in the width direction. Then, the side edge of the sheet is regulated by the side edge regulating means, and the rear edge of the sheet is regulated by the rear edge regulating means, thereby regulating the position of the sheet to a predetermined position (see Patent Document 1). .

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a paper feed cassette 50 that is a sheet storage means provided with such a restriction means. The paper feed cassette 50 can selectively accommodate A3 size sheets S1 and 11 × 17 inch size sheets S2. The sheet feeding cassette 50 includes a pair of side end regulating plates 51 and 52 that are movable in the width direction for regulating the positions in the width direction of the two types of sheets S1 and S2 to be accommodated, and the rear ends of the sheets S1 and S2. A rear end restricting plate 63 that is movable in the sheet feeding direction is provided.

  Here, for example, when the paper feed cassette 50 is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body in a fully loaded state, an impact is applied to the paper feed cassette 50, and the side end regulating plates 51 and 52 are bent by this impact, and accordingly the sheet S1. , S2 may rotate using the side end regulating plates 51, 52 as fulcrums. Therefore, the sheet feeding cassette 50 corresponds to the rear end side of the side end of the A3 size sheet S1 and the 11 × 17 inch size sheet S2 in order to prevent the rotation of the sheets S1 and S2 due to the impact at the time of insertion. Ribs 53 and 54 for preventing sheet rotation are provided at the respective positions.

Japanese Patent No. 3359174

  Incidentally, in the conventional sheet storage means, the ribs 53 and 54 for preventing sheet rotation are the side edges of the sheet S1 having the maximum sheet width or the sheet S2 having the maximum sheet length among the sheets that can be stored as described above. It is arranged at a position corresponding to the rear end side. For this reason, when a sheet having a size smaller than these sheets S1 and S2 is stored in the sheet feeding cassette 50, when an impact is applied to the sheet feeding cassette 50 at the time of insertion, the sheet hits the ribs 53 and 54. It will rotate until. Or, even after hitting, the ribs 53 and 54 that can be rotated rotate. As a result, the sheet is displaced inside the sheet feeding cassette 50, and the image on the sheet is displaced by the amount of displacement, or the sheet is skewed and an image is formed obliquely on the sheet.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the rotation of a sheet due to an impact when the sheet storage unit is inserted. .

  In the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is detachably provided on a main body of the image forming apparatus, and stores a sheet, a sheet feeding unit that feeds the sheet stored in the sheet storing unit, and the sheet A pair of side end regulating means provided facing the sheet storing means, and the pair of sides, for regulating the side end position of the sheet stored in the storing means in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction; A pair of upstream end regulating means provided upstream of the end regulating means for regulating the side end position in the width direction of a sheet of a predetermined size stored in the sheet storing means; and the sheet storing When a small-size sheet having a shorter length in the width direction than the predetermined-size sheet is stored in the means, the side-end position in the width direction of the small-size sheet attached to the pair of upstream-side end regulating means It is characterized in that and an auxiliary side end regulating means for regulating.

  When storing a sheet whose length in the width direction is shorter than a sheet of a predetermined size as in the present invention, the auxiliary side end regulating means is attached to the upstream side end regulating means, and the side end position of the sheet is regulated. Thus, the rotation of the sheet due to an impact when the sheet storage means is inserted can be prevented.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a full-color laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mounting portion of the full-color laser beam printer and a sheet feeding cassette that is detachably mounted on the mounting portion. The figure explaining the structure of the near side regulation member provided in the said sheet feeding cassette. The figure explaining the operation | movement which mounts | wears with the auxiliary | assistant side control member in the said near side side control member. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state when sheets of different sizes are stored in the sheet feeding cassette. The figure which shows the structure of the conventional paper feed cassette.

  Hereinafter, an example of the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a full-color laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a full-color laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer), 1A is a printer main body that is an image forming apparatus main body, 1B is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and 20 is a fixing unit. Reference numeral 2 denotes an image reading apparatus which is an upper apparatus installed substantially horizontally above the printer main body 1A. A discharge space P is formed between the image reading apparatus 2 and the printer main body 1A. Reference numeral 30 denotes a sheet feeding device provided in the lower part of the printer main body 1A, and 15 denotes a toner cartridge.

  Image information read by the image reading device 2 or image information input from an external device such as a personal computer (not shown) is subjected to image processing, converted into an electrical signal, and transmitted to the laser scanner 10 of the image forming unit 1B. . In the image forming unit 1B, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 of each process cartridge 11 is scanned with laser light corresponding to image information of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black component colors emitted from the laser scanner 10. As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 whose surface is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by the charger 13 is sequentially exposed, and yellow, magenta, cyan on the photosensitive drum of each process cartridge 11 respectively. And an electrostatic latent image of black are sequentially formed.

  Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed and visualized by the developing device 14 with yellow, magenta, cyan and black toners. The respective color toner images on the respective photosensitive drums are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 16 by the primary transfer bias applied to the primary transfer roller 19. As a result, a toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16.

  On the other hand, the sheet S sent out from the sheet feeding device 30 passes through the registration roller pair 40 and is sent to the secondary transfer portion constituted by the drive roller 16 a and the secondary transfer roller 17. In the secondary transfer portion, the toner image formed in the image forming portion 1B is transferred onto the sheet S at once. Next, the sheet S on which the toner image is transferred in this manner is conveyed to the fixing unit 20, and is fixed to the sheet S as a color image by receiving heat and pressure in the fixing unit 20.

  Thereafter, the sheet S on which the image is fixed is discharged into the discharge space P by the discharge roller pairs 25a and 25b and is stacked on the stacking portion 23 protruding from the bottom surface of the discharge space P. When forming an image on both sides of the sheet S, after the image is fixed, the sheet S is conveyed to the re-conveying path R by a reversing roller pair 22 provided in the double-side reversing unit 1D and capable of forward and reverse rotation. Thereafter, it is conveyed again to the image forming unit 1B.

  Here, the sheet feeding cassette 60 which is a sheet storage means is detachably mounted on a mounting portion 1E shown in FIG. 2 formed at the lower part of the printer main body 1A. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 60 has a back side regulating plate 61 that regulates one position in the depth direction (width direction) orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet S, that is, the downstream position in the depth direction. Is provided to be movable in the depth direction. In addition, the paper feed cassette 60 is provided with a back side regulating plate 61 facing the back side regulating plate 61, and a front side regulating plate 62 that regulates the upstream position of the sheet S in the depth direction is provided so as to be movable in the depth direction. Yes. The back side restricting plate 61 and the front side restricting plate 62 constituting the pair of side end restricting means 61A are positioned at the side end positions on the upstream side in the depth direction and the downstream side in the depth direction by an interlocking mechanism (not shown). Move in conjunction to regulate.

  The paper feed cassette 60 is provided with a rear end regulating plate 63 that regulates the position of the rear end, which is the upstream end of the sheet S in the sheet feeding direction, so as to be movable along the sheet feeding direction. Further, the sheet feeding cassette 60 is provided with a middle plate (not shown) on which sheets are stacked. The sheets stacked on the middle plate are divided into a rear side regulating plate 61, a front side regulating plate 62 and a front side regulating plate 62. The position is regulated by the rear end regulating plate 63.

  A rocking arm 64 having a rocking pin 65 at the tip is supported on the inner wall 60a of the cassette body 60A of the paper feed cassette 60 so as to be rockable about the shaft 64a. Further, on the inner wall surface on the back side of the mounting portion 1E, a pulling unit 66 that is a pulling means for pulling the paper feed cassette 60 into the mounting portion 1E is disposed. The pull-in unit 66 includes a pull-in unit base 69 and a pull-in hook 67 provided at the tip, and a pull-in arm 68 supported on the pull-in unit base 69 so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 70.

  A recess 91 for locking the swing pin 65 of the swing arm 64 is formed in the pull hook 67 of the pull arm 68. An arm pin 71 is provided between the pull-in hook 67 and the fulcrum 70 of the pull-in arm 68, and one end of the arm pin 71 is locked to a base pin 72 provided in the pull-in unit base 69. The other end is locked. The pull arm 73 is urged by the tension spring 73 to rotate about the fulcrum 70.

  When the paper feed cassette 60 is pulled out, the pull-in arm 68 moves from the position shown in FIG. 2 centering on the fulcrum 70 in the pulling direction while resisting the tension spring 73 while the recess 91 engages the swing pin 65. Turn counterclockwise. Thereafter, when the paper feeding cassette 60 is further pulled out, the pull-in arm 68 rotates to a standby position where the locking of the swing pin 65 by the recess 91 is released. If the retractable arm 68 is rotated by a predetermined amount before it is rotated to the standby position, a force that rotates counterclockwise by the tension spring 73 is applied to the retractable arm 68. By this force, the retractable arm 68 moves to the standby position, and then comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) and stops.

  When in the standby position, the pull-in arm 68 is in a position where the swing pin 65 of the swing arm 64 enters the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67 when the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted on the printer main body 1A. For this reason, when the paper feed cassette 60 is inserted into the mounting portion 1 </ b> E, the swing pin 65 enters the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67. Thereafter, when the paper feeding cassette 60 is further pushed in, the pulling arm 68 is pressed to the back side via the swing pin 65 and the pulling hook 67.

  As a result, the retracting arm 68 rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 70 while resisting the tension spring 73, and thereafter, when it is rotated to a predetermined position, the urging force of the tension spring 73 is applied to the retracting arm 68. To rotate clockwise. Then, the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67 engages with the swing pin 65 in the process in which the pull-in arm 68 rotates clockwise as described above. As a result, when the pull-in arm 68 rotates from the tension spring 73, the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted while receiving a biasing force in the depth direction by the tension spring 73 via the pull-in arm 68.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the paper feed cassette 60 is attached to one end (right end) orthogonal to the depth direction upstream of the cassette body 60A in the depth direction, the paper feed cassette 60 is positioned in the depth direction. A positioning part 74 is provided. When the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted, the positioning unit 74 positions the paper feed cassette 60 in the depth direction. In addition, after the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted, the middle plate provided on the cassette body 60 </ b> A so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction is lifted, and the sheet S on the middle plate contacts the pickup roller 75.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear side regulating member 80 is upstream of the rear side wall 60a in the sheet feeding direction and the upstream side wall 60b of the cassette body 60A is upstream of the sheet feeding direction. A front side regulating member 81 is provided on the side. The distance in the width direction between the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 constituting the pair of upstream side end regulating means 80A is the maximum sheet width of sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60. Is set to

  In the present embodiment, since the maximum sheet size is LGL, the interval in the width direction of the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 is set to the LGL width, and FIG. 2 shows an LGL size sheet. The state when S1 is accommodated is shown. The position S of the sheet S1 in the sheet feeding cassette 60 is shifted by the rear side regulating plate 61, the front side regulating plate 62, the rear end regulating plate 63, the back side regulating member 80, and the front side regulating member 81. Is preventing.

  Here, the front side regulating member 81 is positioned on the side surface in the width direction of a predetermined size sheet (LGL size sheet) having the maximum sheet width among sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60 as shown in FIG. It has a regulation part (regulation surface) 81a which regulates. Since the back side regulating member 80 has the same configuration, only the near side regulating member 81 will be described below.

  The front side regulating member 81 is provided with a mounting space 81c for selectively mounting the auxiliary side regulating member 82 as auxiliary side end regulating means from the upper opening. Here, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 regulates the position in the width direction of a small size sheet smaller than the maximum sheet width sheet that can be accommodated in the paper feed cassette 60, and the side edge of the small size sheet. And a convex portion 82a that comes into contact with.

  Further, when the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is attached to the central portion in the sheet feeding direction of the regulating portion 81a of the front side regulating member 81, the upper and lower sides project the convex portion 82a from the front side regulating member 81 to the sheet side. A slit groove 81b which is an opening extending in the direction is formed. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the auxiliary side restricting member 82 is inserted from the opening in the upper part of the mounting space of the front side restricting member 81, the auxiliary side restricting member as shown in FIG. 4B. A convex portion 82 a of 82 projects from the front side regulating member 81 to the inside of the cassette body. In addition, a slide groove (not shown) extending in the vertical direction is formed on the back side of the restricting portion 81a so as to guide the attachment of the auxiliary side restricting member 82 to the attachment space 81c from above.

  In this embodiment, when a small-sized sheet is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is attached to the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81. Thereby, the side end position of the small-sized sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette 60 can be regulated.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the auxiliary member accommodating portion 83 is adjacent to the front side wall 60 b of the cassette body 60 </ b> A at a position near the front side regulating member 81 that does not hinder the stacking of sheets. Is provided. When the auxiliary side restricting member 82 is not used, that is, when a sheet having the maximum sheet width is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60, the auxiliary side restricting member 82 is accommodated in the auxiliary member accommodating portion 83. Thereby, loss of the auxiliary side regulating member 82 can be prevented.

  Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B described later, the regulation width by the auxiliary side regulation member 82 attached to the back side regulation member 80 and the front side regulation member 81 is set to the LGL width ( A4 width (210 mm) smaller than 215.9 mm) is set. When storing a sheet having a size smaller than this, for example, when it is desired to set the restriction width to the B5 width (182 mm), an auxiliary side restriction member in which the protruding amount from the slit groove 81b is set to the B5 width is prepared.

  In the present embodiment, the positions of the rear side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 in the sheet feeding direction can be regulated by LTR (215.9 mm) and A4 (297 mm) size side edges. Is set. 5A shows a state in which the LTR size sheet S2 is stored in the sheet feeding cassette 60. FIG. Accordingly, when the LTR size sheet S2 is stored, the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet S2 hits the restriction surfaces of the restriction portion 80a of the back side restriction member 80 and the restriction portion 81a of the front side restriction member 81, and the width of the sheet S2 The position of the direction is regulated.

  FIG. 5B shows a state in which the A4 size sheet S3 is stored in the paper feed cassette 60. FIG. As described above, when the A4 size sheet S3 is stored, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is attached to the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 as described above. As a result, when the A4 size sheet S3 is stored, the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet S3 abuts on the convex portion 82a that is the restricting surface of the auxiliary side restricting member 82, and the position in the width direction of the sheet S3 is restricted. When the LGL which is the maximum sheet size in the present embodiment is stored, since the LGL sheet width is the same as the LTR sheet width, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is removed as shown in FIG. Accommodates the sheet.

  As described above, when storing a sheet having a shorter length in the depth direction (width direction) than a sheet of a predetermined size, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is used as the back side regulating member 80 and the near side regulating member 81. The side edge position of the seat is regulated. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the rotation of the sheet due to an impact when the paper feed cassette 60 is inserted. As a result, the sheet can be supplied to the image forming unit 1B in a state where skew and positional deviation are suppressed, and image deviation with respect to the sheet can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is configured to be slidably attached and detached in the sheet stacking direction. For this reason, even when the user touches the auxiliary side restriction member 82 or inserts the paper feed cassette 60 with a strong force when the sheet is stored, the auxiliary side restriction member 82 becomes the back side restriction member 80 and the front side restriction member. It does not easily deviate from 81. As a result, the position in the width direction of the sheet can be reliably regulated by the auxiliary side regulating member 82.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Full color laser beam printer, 1A ... Printer main body, 1B ... Image formation part, 1E ... Mounting part, 60 ... Paper feed cassette, 60A ... Cassette main body, 60a ... Back side wall of cassette main body, 60b ... Front side of cassette main body Side wall 61 ... Back side side restricting plate, 61A ... Side end restricting means, 62 ... Front side side restricting plate, 63 ... Rear end restricting plate, 80 ... Back side side restricting member, 80A ... Upstream end restricting means, 81 ... Front side restricting member, 81a ... restricting part, 81b ... slit groove, 81c ... mounting space, 82 ... auxiliary side restricting member, 82a ... convex part, 83 ... auxiliary member accommodating part, S, S1, S2, S3 ... sheet

Claims (6)

A sheet storage means which is detachably provided in the image forming apparatus main body and stores the sheet;
Sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet stored in the sheet storing means;
A pair of side edge regulating means provided facing the sheet storage means in order to regulate the side end position in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction of the sheets stored in the sheet storage means;
A pair of upstream end regulating means provided upstream of the pair of side edge regulating means in the sheet feeding direction for regulating the side end position in the width direction of a sheet of a predetermined size stored in the sheet storage means; ,
When storing a small size sheet having a shorter length in the width direction than the predetermined size sheet in the sheet storage means, the width direction side of the small size sheet is attached to the pair of upstream end regulating means. An image forming apparatus comprising: an auxiliary side end regulating unit that regulates the end position.   The auxiliary side end restricting means protrudes from the pair of upstream end restricting means to the inside of the sheet storing means while being attached to the pair of upstream end restricting means, and restricts the side end position of the small size sheet. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a restricting portion.   The pair of upstream side end regulating means includes a mounting space for mounting the auxiliary side end regulating means from above and an opening for projecting a regulating portion of the attached auxiliary side end regulating means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.   4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet storage unit is provided with a storage unit that stores the auxiliary side end regulating unit when the auxiliary side end regulating unit is not used. 5. Image forming apparatus. A paper feed cassette that is detachably provided in the image forming apparatus main body and stores sheets;
Sheet feeding means for feeding sheets stored in the sheet cassette;
A pair of side edge regulating means provided facing each other in order to regulate the side edge position of the sheet stored in the paper feed cassette, movably provided in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction;
Provided on the side wall of the cassette body of the sheet feeding cassette upstream of the pair of side edge regulating means, and having a mounting space that opens upward and has slit grooves formed on the side regulating surfaces. A pair of upstream side edge regulating means for regulating the side edge position in the width direction of the sheet of a predetermined size stored in the sheet feeding cassette by the regulation surface;
The pair of upstream end regulating means is mounted in the mounting space in order to regulate the side end position in the width direction of the small size sheet having a length in the width direction shorter than the sheet of the predetermined size in the sheet feeding cassette. Auxiliary side end regulating means having a convex portion protruding from the slit groove when
A storage portion provided on a side wall of the cassette body of the paper feed cassette and capable of storing the auxiliary side end regulating means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the upstream side end regulating unit and the housing portion are provided adjacent to a side wall of the image forming apparatus main body.

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