JP2020132355A - Paper feed device and image formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a paper feed device that includes a paper feed tray that can be safely removed from a device body part by a plurality of operators in maintenance service.SOLUTION: A paper feed device 20 includes a paper feed tray 21 loading and placing a long sheet thereon, detachable from a device body part and having three or more handle parts 215a to 215d that are provided at two or more different lateral faces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a paper feed device and an image forming system.

In the image forming system, an image is formed on the paper by feeding the paper one by one from the paper feed tray containing a plurality of sheets and transporting the paper to the image forming unit. As the paper size, not only A3, which is the general maximum size of sheet paper, but also so-called long paper, which is a paper having a length exceeding this, may be used.

Further, in Patent Document 1, by connecting an external paper feeding device capable of loading and storing a plurality of sheets of long paper to an image forming device, long paper is continuously fed and conveyed to form an image. The image forming system is disclosed.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a paper feeding device including a plurality of multi-stage paper feeding trays in order to continuously supply a large amount of paper to an image forming device in the field of light printing. In the paper feed device of Patent Document 2, each of the plurality of paper feed trays can be individually pulled out from the main body of the device by the sliding rails provided on both the left and right sides.

JP-A-2018-27830 JP-A-2009-143646

At the time of maintenance of the paper feed tray, the maintenance work is performed by removing it from the main body of the device for easy handling. Further, in a paper feed tray corresponding to a normal paper size, maintenance can be performed by one operator. However, in a paper feed tray capable of loading long paper, the length of the paper to be loaded is long, and therefore the paper feed tray becomes large. Since it is difficult for one worker to safely work on such a large paper feed tray, maintenance work is performed by a plurality of workers.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed device provided with a paper feed tray that can be safely removed from the main body of the device by a plurality of workers.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) A paper feed tray for loading and placing long sheets, which can be pulled out from the main body of the device along a drawer direction intersecting the sheet transport direction.
A paper feed unit that feeds and conveys the paper placed on the paper feed tray one by one in the conveying direction.
The paper feed tray is provided with a support member provided in the device main body and guides the movement of the paper feed tray from the loading position loaded in the device main body to the drawer position on the front side in the drawer direction. Is a paper feeding device having a structure that is removable from the main body of the device and has three or more grips provided on two or more different side surfaces.

(2) The paper feeding device according to (1) above, wherein at least one grip portion is provided on the side surface on the front side in the drawing direction.

(3) The paper feeding device according to (1) or (2) above, wherein at least one grip portion is provided on the side surface on the back side in the drawing direction.

(4) The support member has a first drawer position in which the user cannot access the grip portion on the back side and a second drawer on the front side of the first drawer position in which the user can access. The paper feed tray can be guided to the position,
The supply according to (3) above, further comprising a switching unit for switching between a regulated state in which the drawer position is restricted to the first drawer position and a non-regulated state in which the drawer position can be pulled out to the second drawer position. Paper device.

(5) The supply according to any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein at least a pair of grip portions are provided at positions corresponding to the front side surface and the back surface side in the pull-out direction. Paper device.

(6) The support member is a slide rail extending in the drawer direction and having one end fixed to the main body of the apparatus and the other end supporting the paper feed tray. The paper feeding device according to any one of 5).

(7) Two of the support members are provided on both sides in the transport direction.
The two grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the drawer direction, and the grip portions are arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to the two support members. The paper feeding device according to any one of (1) to (6) above.

(8) Two or more of the grips are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction, and the distance between the two grips on the front side of the paper feed tray is from 300 mm. The paper feeding device according to any one of (1) to (7) above, which is set in any of the range of 600 mm.

(9) Two or more of the grips are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction, and the two grips arranged on the outermost side of the side surface on the front side. Is a paper feeding device according to any one of (1) to (8) above, which is arranged within 400 mm from each of the side surfaces on both sides in the transport direction.

(10) A lock mechanism that regulates the withdrawal of the paper feed tray at the loading position, and
Two or more grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction.
The paper feeding device according to any one of (1) to (9) above, further comprising a release portion that releases the regulation by the lock mechanism when the user grips at least two of the grip portions.

(11) The paper feeding device according to any one of (1) to (10) above, and
An image forming device that forms an image on a sheet fed from the paper feeding device,
An image forming system comprising.

The paper feed device according to the present invention includes a paper feed tray that is detachable from the main body of the device and has three or more grip portions provided on two or more different side surfaces. As a result, the paper feed tray can be safely removed by a plurality of workers.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the image formation system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structure of an image formation system. It is a perspective view of the paper feed device which shows the state which pulled out the paper feed tray. It is a side schematic diagram which shows the structure of a paper feed tray. It is a top view which shows the structure of the paper feed tray. It is a side schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of a paper feed device. It is a top view of the paper feed device. It is a schematic diagram explaining the state which pulled out the paper feed tray to the 2nd drawer position on the front side. It is a perspective view which shows the other structural example of the grip detection part. It is a side view which shows the structure of the lock mechanism. It is a flowchart which shows the unlock process. It is a top surface schematic diagram which shows the structure of the handle in the modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted. In addition, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios. In the drawings, the vertical direction is the Z direction, the front and back directions of the image forming system are the Y directions, and the directions orthogonal to these Y and Z directions are the X directions. Further, in the following description, the X direction may be referred to as the paper transport direction, and the Y direction may be referred to as the paper width direction. Further, the direction intersecting the X direction (transportation direction) is the withdrawal direction, but in the present embodiment, the withdrawal direction is the Y direction. Further, the X direction may be referred to as the left-right direction, and the Y direction may be referred to as the front and back directions.

Further, in the present specification, the term "long sheet" and "sheet" are replaced with the term "long paper" or "paper", and the term "long paper (or paper)" is mainly made of pulp. Included is plain paper composed, coated paper in which the surface of a substrate composed of pulp is coated with resin or the like, or a resin film mainly composed of resin.

In addition, the term long paper (long sheet) is used for paper having a longer paper length in the longitudinal direction (conveying direction) than general standard size paper. This standard size is, for example, 19 inches (about 482 mm). As the long paper, for example, a long paper having a length of 488 mm or more in the longitudinal direction is used. As the long paper, for example, paper having a length in the longitudinal direction up to 900 mm can be used.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system including a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image forming system.

(overall structure)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming system 1 includes an image forming device 10 and a paper feeding device 20. In the following embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding device 20 will be described as a separate configuration connected to the image forming apparatus 10, but the image forming apparatus 10 and the housing are shared and configured as one. It may have been done.

(Image forming apparatus 10)
The image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an image forming unit 13, an operation display unit 14, a paper feeding unit 17, a transport unit 18, and a communication unit 19 as hardware configurations. These are connected to each other via a signal line such as a bus for exchanging signals.

(Control unit 11)
The control unit 11 is a CPU, and controls each unit of the device and performs various arithmetic processes according to a program.

(Memory unit 12)
The storage unit 12 includes a ROM for storing various programs and various data in advance, a RAM for temporarily storing programs and data as a work area, a hard disk for storing various programs and various data, and the like. In addition, the storage unit 12 stores information on the size (paper width, paper length), basis weight (weight), and paper type (coated paper, plain paper, etc.) of the paper stored in each paper feed tray.

(Image forming unit 13)
The image forming unit 13 forms an image by, for example, an electrophotographic method, and includes a writing unit (not shown) and an image forming unit corresponding to each of the basic colors. The image forming unit includes a developing unit containing a two-component developer composed of a band electrode, toner and a carrier, and a cleaning unit. The toner images formed by the image forming portions of each color are superposed on the intermediate transfer belt and transferred to the paper S conveyed in the secondary transfer portion. The toner image on the paper S is fixed on the paper S by being heated and pressurized at the fixing portion on the downstream side.

(Operation display unit 14)
The operation display unit 14 is provided with a touch panel, a numeric keypad, a start button, a stop button, etc., and is used to display the status of the image forming system 1 and to set the type of paper placed on the paper feed tray and input instructions. To.

(Paper feed unit 17)
The paper feed unit 17 includes a plurality of paper feed trays. It is equipped with a delivery roller that feeds out the highest-ranked paper among the plurality of sheets S loaded and placed in the paper feed tray, and one sheet from the highest-ranked paper bundle placed in the paper feed tray. Send out to the transport path on the downstream side.

(Transport section 18)
The transport unit 18 transports the paper S fed from the paper feed tray of the paper feed unit 17. The transport unit 18 includes transport paths 181 and 182, a plurality of transport roller pairs provided along the transport paths 181 and 182, and a drive motor (not shown) for driving these transport roller pairs. .. The paper S transported through the transport path 181 is discharged to the outside of the machine after the image is formed by the image forming unit 13, and is placed on the paper ejection tray 183. When performing double-sided printing in which an image is also formed on the back surface of the paper S, the paper S having an image formed on one side is conveyed to a double-sided transport path 182 at the lower part of the main body of the apparatus. The paper S transported to the transport path 182 is inverted on the front and back by the switchback path, then merges with the transport path 181 for one side, and the image forming unit 13 again forms an image on the other side of the paper S. To.

(Communication unit 19)
The communication unit 19 is an interface for the image forming apparatus 10 to communicate with the paper feeding device 20 and an external device such as a PC. The communication unit 19 transmits and receives various set values and various information necessary for operation timing control to and from the paper feeding device 20. The communication unit 19 uses a network interface based on standards such as SATA, PCI, USB, Ethernet (registered trademark), and IEEE 1394, and various local connection interfaces such as a wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and IEEE 802.11. Be done.

(Paper Feeding Device 20)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper feed device 20 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a paper feed unit 33, a transport unit 34, a paper length detection unit 35, a load capacity detection unit 36, and a grip detection unit 37. It includes a lock mechanism 38 and a communication unit 39. These are connected to each other via a signal line such as a bus for exchanging signals. The paper feed unit 33 and the transport unit 34 cooperate with each other to function as a paper feed transport unit. Further, the paper length detecting unit 35 functions as a long length detecting unit.

(Control unit 31, storage unit 32, communication unit 39)
The control unit 31 and the storage unit 32 have the same configuration as the control unit 11 and the storage unit 12 described above. The control unit 31 controls the lock mechanism 38 and functions as a release unit for releasing the regulation by the lock mechanism 38.

The control unit 31 is communicably connected to the control unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 via a communication line. The control unit 11 and the control unit 31 cooperate to control the entire image forming system 1. The control unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the communication unit 39 are the same as the corresponding components of the image forming apparatus 10 described above, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

(Paper tray 21)
Here, the paper feed tray 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the paper feed device 20 showing a state in which the uppermost paper feed tray 21 is pulled out. 4 and 5 are schematic views showing the configuration of the paper feed tray 21, FIG. 4 is a side view, and FIG. 5 is a top view. As shown in these figures, the paper feed unit 33 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 21. These paper feed trays 21 have a so-called multi-stage configuration in which they are arranged in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the paper feed trays 21 has a housing 211, an elevating plate 212, a tip regulation plate 213 (see FIG. 1), a rear end regulation plate 214, handles 215a to 215d, and the like. It is composed. Handles 215a to 215d provided on the paper feed tray 21 (hereinafter, these handles 215a to 215d are collectively referred to simply as "handles 215"). The handle 215 functions as a grip portion. Each paper tray 21 has the same configuration, and an elevating plate 212, a front end regulation plate 213, a rear end regulation plate 214, and a paper feed unit 33 (see FIG. 1) are arranged inside the housing 211. There is.

Further, in the present embodiment, each of the paper feed trays 21 is provided with a total of three or more handles 215 on the front side and the back side of the four side surfaces (front side, back side, and both side surfaces). Has been done. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, two handles 215a and 215b are provided on the panel on the front side of the paper feed tray 21, and two handles 215c and 215d are provided on the back side. Further, the grip detection unit 37 is arranged inside the handles 215a and 215b on the front side. The grip detection unit 37 detects the hand of the user holding the handle 215a or the handle 215b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed tray 21 is configured to be able to be pulled out from the device main body 22 (housing) of the paper feed device 20. Specifically, a pair of slide rails 23a and 23b (see FIGS. 1 and 3), which are support members, are arranged on the left and right side surfaces of the housing 211. The slide rails 23a and 23b extend in the drawing direction (Y direction), one end on the back side thereof is fixed to the device main body 22 of the paper feeding device 20, and the other end is fixed to the housing 211. There is.

The user pulls the paper feed tray 21 toward the front while grasping the handle 215 by hand. The user can load the paper S into the drawn paper feed tray 21.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the plurality of handles 215 on the front side (front side) of the paper feed tray 21, the user can stably load the paper S into the paper feed tray 21. .. In particular, when the paper feed tray 21 is fully loaded with long paper, the entire paper feed tray 21 becomes heavy, and when the user operates it with one hand with one handle, it is strong and vigorous. You have to pull it out and load it. At this time, there is a risk that an accident may occur in which the user strongly contacts the paper feed tray, or defects such as deformation of parts such as slide rails may occur. Further, if the paper S is loaded vigorously, the paper S tends to be uneven due to the impact, and the quality of the output image may be deteriorated. In this embodiment, such a problem can be prevented.

Here, a detachable configuration of the paper feed tray 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the overall configuration of the paper feed device 20. FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of the paper feed device 20. FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which the paper feed tray 21 is pulled out to the second drawer position on the frontmost side. The second drawer position is on the front side of the first drawer position shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, a plurality of dropout prevention members 24 are provided on the side surface side of the apparatus main body 22 corresponding to the respective paper feed trays 21. The user can operate the fall prevention member 24 by opening the door 22a on the right side surface. The fall-off prevention member 24 functions as a switching unit (switching member). When the dropout prevention member 24 is attached to the device main body 22, the paper feed tray 21 is in the regulated state. In this regulated state, as shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 216 fixed to the bottom of the paper feed tray 21 collides with the dropout prevention member 24, so that the paper feed tray 21 is located at a position higher than the first drawer position. It cannot be pulled out to the front side. Further, in the regulated state in which the dropout prevention member 24 is attached, the paper feed tray 21 may unintentionally fall off when the paper feed tray 21 is operated not during maintenance but during replenishment of paper S. To prevent. At the first drawer position of FIG. 6, access to the handles 215c and 215d on the back side is not possible. Further, at this first drawer position, the user can load the paper S into the paper feed tray 21, but cannot attach / detach the paper feed tray 21.

The fall-off prevention member 24 is screwed and fixed to the side surface of the housing of the device main body 22. The user can pull out the screw-tightened fall-off prevention member 24 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7 while turning it. By removing the dropout prevention member 24 from the device main body 22, the paper feed tray 21 is put into an unregulated state. As described above, in this non-regulated state, the paper feed tray 21 can be pulled out to the second drawer position on the front side of the first drawer position, as shown in FIG. In the second drawer position, the user can access the handles 215c and 215d on the back side, and the paper feed tray 21 is removable from the slide rails 23a and 23b. That is, it is removable from the paper feed device 20. When performing maintenance work, the paper feed tray 21 is pulled out to the second drawer position so that the handles 215c and 215d on the back side can be accessed. Then, one of the two users (workers) grips the handles 215a and 215b on the front side, and the other user lifts the handles 215c and 215d on the back side while holding the paper feed. The tray 21 can be removed from the paper feeding device 20 (device main body 22). The dropout prevention member (switching portion) may be provided on the paper feed tray 21 side instead of the device main body portion 22, and the switching portion is not a screw type but a user rotates a knob (handle). It may be configured to switch between a regulated state and a non-regulated state. Further, the control unit 31 may be configured to automatically switch by an electric component such as a solenoid.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the paper feed tray 21 capable of loading long paper, the paper feed tray has a structure that is detachable from the device main body 22 and is provided on two or more different side surfaces. It has three or more grips. By doing so, it is possible to provide a paper feed device including a paper feed tray that can be safely removed from the device main body by a plurality of workers.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the two handles 215a and 215b on the front side and the two handles 215c and 215d on the back side are arranged at corresponding positions, respectively. That is, the handle 215c is provided at the same position in the X direction facing the handle 215a, and the handle 215d is provided at the same position in the X direction facing the handle 215b. By doing so, the paper feed tray 21 can be handled stably when the handles on both the front side and the back side are gripped.

Further, it is preferable to set the distance L1 between the two handles 215a and the handle 215b (the distance between the centers of both handles) in the range of 300 mm to 600 mm. 300 mm to 600 mm is an interval that is easy for a general adult worker to grasp. Further, the two handles 215a and 215b on the front side are set so as to be symmetrical with respect to the slide rails 23a and 23b as support portions, respectively. That is, it is preferable to set the distance L21 from the left side surface to the left handle 215a and the distance L23 from the right side surface to the right handle 215b to be the same distance. Further, it is preferable to set both L21 and L22 within 400 mm. This is a distance that a general adult worker can easily grasp without any trouble.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, of the four side surfaces of the paper feed tray 21, two handles 215 are provided on each of the two side surfaces, the front side and the back side. An example is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or five or more handles 215 may be provided on three or more of the four side surfaces. When a total of three handles 215, at least one on the front side and at least one on the back side, are provided, the paper is fed into the surface (XY plane) formed by connecting these three handles 215. It is preferable to arrange the tray 21 so as to include the position of the center of gravity. With such an arrangement, the paper feed tray 21 can be stably handled when it is attached or detached during maintenance.

Here, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 again, the configurations of the remaining paper feed unit 33, the transport unit 34, the paper length detection unit 35, and the load capacity detection unit 36 will be described.

(Paper feed unit 33)
Similar to the above-mentioned paper feed unit 17, the paper feed unit 33 includes a paper feed roller that feeds out the highest-level paper among a plurality of sheets S loaded and placed in the paper feed tray 21. The topmost sheet of the placed paper bundle is sent out one by one to the transport path on the downstream side. Instead of the roller method, an air suction type paper feed unit may be used. In this air suction type paper feed section, an endless belt provided with a plurality of small-diameter holes is arranged at a position directly above the topmost paper, and the paper S is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the belt by suction by a suction fan provided inside. The paper S is fed by rotating the belt while adsorbing the paper S.

(Transport section 34)
The transport unit 34 has the same configuration as the transport unit 18 described above. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 34 is provided with a plurality of transport paths 341, 342, and 343 corresponding to each paper feed tray 21. The paper S conveyed through these transfer paths 341 to 343 is sent to the transfer path 181 of the image forming apparatus 10 on the downstream side.

(Paper length detection unit 35)
Refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 again. A plurality of sheets of paper S loaded by the user are placed on the elevating plate 212. The front, back, left, and right sides of the paper S placed in the paper feed tray 21 are regulated by the front end regulating plate 213, the rear end regulating plate 214, and a pair of side regulating plates. The tip regulation plate 213 is fixedly arranged with respect to the housing 211, and the position in the transport direction is fixed. The rear end regulation plate 214 slides in the X direction (transportation direction). The user places (loads) the paper S on the elevating plate 212 while abutting the bundle of the paper S against the tip regulation plate 213 on the left side. The end portion (tip side) of the paper S is regulated and aligned by the tip regulation plate 213. Further, the user operates the lever of the rear end regulation plate 214 to release the fixing member until the rear end regulation plate 214 hits the rear end of the bundle of paper S placed on the elevating plate 212. Slide in the X direction.

The paper length detection unit 35 includes a plurality of sensors 351 to 353. A plurality of these sensors are provided along the X direction, and detect the length of the paper S placed on the elevating plate 212 in the X direction. For example, the sensor is an optical sensor and detects the presence or absence of the paper S at the arranged position. The number of optical sensors can be appropriately set according to the length and type of paper to be detected. Further, as another example, the paper length detecting unit 35 may detect the paper length by detecting the position of the sliding rear end regulating plate 214 in the X direction. For example, by connecting the position of the rear end regulation plate 214 to the rear end regulation plate 214 with a wire, it is detected by the resistance value of the volume resistor that rotates at the rotation amount according to the slide movement amount. It may be detected by a rotary encoder that rotates according to the amount of slide movement.

(Load capacity detection unit 36)
The load capacity detection unit 36 includes a top surface detection sensor 361, an elevating motor 362, an encoder 363, a wire w, and pulleys h1, h2, and h3. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the elevating plate 212 is suspended in a horizontal (XY plane) state by wires w connected to the four corners. The pulleys h1, h2, and h3 are arranged in the front and back directions, respectively. The pulleys h1, h2, and h3 on the front side are connected by a wire w. Further, the pulleys h1, h2, and h3 on the back side are also connected by the wire w in the same manner. The two pulleys h1 in the front and the back are connected by a rotating shaft. At the time of lift-up, the motor 362 is rotationally driven in a predetermined direction to rotate the two pulleys h1. As a result, the wire w is wound up, and the elevating plate 212 connected to the wire w moves upward while maintaining a horizontal state.

A top surface detection sensor 361 is arranged above the elevating plate 212. The top surface detection sensor is composed of, for example, an actuator and an optical sensor. At the time of lift-up, the top surface detection sensor 361 detects that the top surface of the bundle of paper S placed on the elevating plate 212 has reached a predetermined height. As a result, the control unit 31 stops the operation of the motor 362. As the paper S is fed and the top surface of the bundle of paper S is lowered, the output of the top surface detection sensor 361 is turned off, and the motor is operated until the top surface detection sensor 361 is turned on again accordingly. As a result, the upper surface of the bundle of paper S is maintained at a constant height. Further, when the paper feed tray 21 is pulled out by the user, the motor 362 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction, so that the elevating plate 212 is lowered to the lower limit position and the lock mechanism 38 is released (described later).

The encoder 363 detects the position of the elevating plate 212 in the height direction. The encoder 363 may be incorporated in the control board, for example, if the motor 362 is a stepping motor. With this encoder 363, the relative movement amount of the elevating plate 212 can be detected. The absolute position of the elevating plate 212 may be specified by providing a sensor that detects that the elevating plate 212 is located at the reference position. Alternatively, the absolute position may be specified by rotationally driving the motor 362 in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction for a sufficient time to lower it once to the lower limit position, resetting the position information, and then lifting it up. .. When the top surface detection sensor 361 is on, the load amount detection unit 36 can detect the load amount of the paper S placed on the elevating plate 212 from the height position of the elevating plate 212 thus specified. As the load capacity of the paper S, height information (thickness of the bundle) can be obtained, but it may be converted into sheet number information according to the thickness per sheet of paper.

(Grip detection unit 37)
The grip detection unit 37 is, for example, an optical sensor or an electrostatic touch sensor. The grip detection unit 37 is provided inside the handles 215a and 215b on the front side, respectively. The grip detection unit 37 detects the user's grip on each of the handles 215a and 215b.

As another example of the grip detection unit 37, the configuration as shown in FIG. 9 may be used. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the grip detection unit 37. The grip detection unit 37 includes a lever 371, a rotation shaft 372, a swing plate 373, and a detection sensor 374. The rotating shaft 372 supports the lever 371 so as to be swingable, and one end thereof is connected to the swing plate 373. The lever 371 of the grip detection unit 37 is arranged inside the handle 215. When the grip detection unit 37 as shown in FIG. 9 is applied, the handle 215 (shown by a broken line in FIG. 9) may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped appearance and a recess that opens downward. it can. When the user inserts a fingertip into this recess of the handle 215 from below and grips the lever 371 together with the handle 215, the lever 371 rotates in the direction of the arrow until it hits the inner peripheral surface of the handle 215. The paper feed tray 21 is pulled out toward the front side (Y direction) by a further user urging operation on the handle 215 whose rotation has stopped. By the operation of gripping the handle 215 of the user, the lever 371 rotates to the broken line position, so that the rocking plate 373 also swings to the broken line position, and the optical detection sensor 374 is turned on. Further, when the user releases the handle 215 (lever 371), the lever 371 returns to the original position due to its own weight (the state of the solid line in FIG. 9), and the detection sensor 374 is turned off. The control unit 31 detects the user's grip on the handle 215 (and lever 371) when the detection sensor 374 is turned on.

(Lock mechanism 38)
Next, the locking mechanism 38 will be described with reference to FIG. The lock mechanism 38 is composed of a lever with a claw 381, a spring 382, a solenoid 383, a rotation restricting member 384, and the like. The claw lever 381 can rotate about the fulcrum p1, is urged counterclockwise by a spring 382 connected to the contact p2, and is regulated by a rotation restricting member 384 provided on the apparatus main body 22. It is stopped at the position. One end p4 of the spring 382 is fixed to the device main body 22, and is connected to the lever 381 with a claw by the contact p2, and is connected to the plunger of the solenoid 383 by the contact p3. The spring 382 has a spring property between contacts p2 and p4.

The lever 381 with a claw has a protrusion (return portion) having an inclined surface at the tip thereof, and meshes with the protrusion 216 fixed to the bottom of the housing 211 of the paper feed tray 21. By engaging, the movement of the housing 211 in the arrow direction (Y direction (drawing direction)) is restricted, that is, the paper feed tray 21 is locked and its withdrawal is prohibited. In the locked paper feed tray 21, when the solenoid 383 is driven (on), the claw lever 381 rotates in the direction of the arrow (in FIG. 10, after rotation is shown by a broken line). In this rotating state, the engagement between the claw lever 381 and the protrusion 216 is released, so that the disengaged state is achieved and the paper feed tray 21 can be pulled out. When the solenoid 383 is turned off, the restoring force of the spring 382 returns to the original state, that is, the locked state. The HP sensor 25 (home position sensor) in the figure causes the control unit 31 to detect that the paper feed tray 21 is pushed into a predetermined position on the back side and the loading is completed. In the fully loaded state, the paper feed unit 33 can feed and convey the paper S in the paper feed tray 21.

(Unlocking process based on gripping the handle 215)
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an unlocking process based on the gripping state of the handle 215, which is executed by the control unit 31.

(Step S101)
The control unit 31 determines whether or not the user has gripped the handle 215. Specifically, the control unit 31 determines the presence or absence of a grip operation based on the output of the grip detection unit 37. If there is an operation of gripping the handle 215 of any of the paper feed trays 21 (YES), the process proceeds to step S102.

(Step S102)
The control unit 31 acquires the output signal of the grip detection unit 37 provided on the paper feed tray 21 (hereinafter, referred to as “target paper feed tray 21”) determined in step S101 among the plurality of paper feed trays 21. To do. If the control unit 31 determines that two or more handles 215 are gripped (YES), the process proceeds to step S103, and if one or less (NO), the process proceeds to step S104.

(Step S103)
The control unit 31 releases the target paper feed tray 21. Specifically, the control unit 31 controls the lock mechanism 38 of the target paper feed tray 21 to put it in the released state.

(Step S104)
The control unit 31 maintains the locked state of the target paper feed tray 21. In this state, the user cannot pull out the paper feed tray 21 (prohibited).

In the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of grip portions provided on the front side of the paper feed tray in the withdrawal direction for the user to pull out the paper feed tray, and the grip portions are gripped by the user. By providing a release unit for releasing the regulation by the lock mechanism, it is possible to prevent the user from pulling out the paper feed tray in an unstable state.

(Modification example)
In the example shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 31 determines whether or not two or more handles 215 are gripped, and if so, the regulation by the lock mechanism 38 of the target paper feed tray 21 is released. Controlled to do. This determination may be changed according to the index of the load capacity of the paper S loaded on the target paper feed tray 21. Specifically, as an index of the load capacity, when the load capacity is small, the regulation of the lock mechanism may be released by gripping only one handle 215. This is because when the load capacity of the paper feed tray 21 is small, the paper feed tray 21 can be stably pulled out even by one-handed operation (that is, the operation of one handle 215).

Specifically, the first example of the load capacity index is whether or not it is "long paper". If the paper S loaded on the target paper feed tray 21 by the paper length detecting unit 35 is normal paper shorter than a predetermined length (for example, 29 inches) (“not long paper”), one piece. The regulation of the lock mechanism 38 is also released by gripping the handle 215. In the case of long paper, the regulation of the lock mechanism 38 is released by gripping two or more handles 215 as in the process shown in FIG.

A second example of the load capacity index is whether or not the load capacity of the paper is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When the amount of paper S loaded on the target paper feed tray 21 by the load amount detection unit 36 is not more than a predetermined value (for example, 1/3 or less of the maximum load amount), only one handle 215 is attached. The lock mechanism is also released by gripping. Then, when the value exceeds a predetermined value, the regulation of the lock mechanism is released by gripping the two or more handles 215. A third example of the load capacity index is a combination of paper length and load capacity. For example, in the case of long paper with a maximum load capacity of 1/3 or less, or non-long paper with a maximum load capacity of 2/3 or less, the lock mechanism can be regulated by gripping only one handle 215. To release. In such another modification, by changing the judgment condition according to the load capacity index, short paper other than long paper, or even long paper, when the load capacity is small and light, is supplied. Since the paper tray 21 can be pulled out with one hand, it is not necessary to operate with both hands when it is not necessary, and deterioration of operability can be prevented.

The configuration of the paper feeding device 20 and the image forming system 1 including the paper feeding device 20 described above has been described as a main configuration in explaining the features of the above-described embodiment, and is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and claims for patent. Within the range of, the species can be modified. Further, the configuration provided in the paper feeding device and the image forming system is not excluded.

(Other variants)
FIG. 12 is a schematic top view showing the configuration of the handle in the modified example. In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the panel on the front side (front side) of the paper feed tray 21 and the two handles 215 (handles) provided independently on the back side are separated from each other. 215a to 215d) were used as grips. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 12A, the common handle main body 218 may be provided with two openings 218a and 218b. Although only the handle on the front side is shown in FIG. 12 (a), the handle on the back side may have the same configuration (the same applies to FIG. 12 (b)).

In FIG. 12A, the handle body 218 is provided with openings 218a and 218b. The openings 218a and 218b may be recesses. The openings 218a and 218b function as gripping portions, and grip detection portions 37 are provided for each. In FIG. 12B, the handle main body 219 is provided with recesses 219a and 219b. The recesses 219a and 219b are portions where the upper surface of the handle main body 219 is recessed when viewed from the front side (Y direction). Instead of the recesses 219a and 219b, for example, a marking portion that is color-coded so that it can be identified may be used. The recesses 219a and 219b function as gripping portions, and grip detection portions 37 are provided respectively. In FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), for example, an electrostatic touch sensor can be applied as the grip detection unit 37 provided corresponding to the grip portion, and the respective grip portions (218a, 218b, 219a) can be applied. , 219b) is detected by the user, and the control unit 31 performs the unlocking process shown in FIG.

Further, the means and methods for performing various processes in the paper feed device 20 according to the above-described embodiment can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a USB memory or a DVD (Digital Versaille Disc) -ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. Further, the above program may be provided as a single application software, or may be incorporated into the software of a device such as a detection unit as one function.

1 Image formation system 10 Image formation device 11 Control unit 12 Storage unit 13 Image formation unit 14 Operation display unit 17 Paper feed unit 18 Transport unit 19 Communication unit 20 Paper feed device 21 Paper feed tray 211 Housing 212 Lifting plate 213 Tip regulation plate 214 Rear end regulation plate 215, 215a to 215d Handle 216 Protrusion 22 Device main body 23a, 23b Slide rail 24 Fall prevention member 25 HP sensor 31 Control unit 32 Storage unit 33 Paper feed unit 34 Transport unit 35 Paper length detection unit 36 Load capacity Detection unit 37 Grip detection unit 38 Lock mechanism 39 Communication unit

Claims (11)

A paper feed tray on which long sheets are loaded and placed, and a paper feed tray that can be pulled out from the main body of the device along a drawer direction that intersects the sheet transport direction.
A paper feed unit that feeds and conveys the paper placed on the paper feed tray one by one in the conveying direction.
The paper feed tray is provided with a support member provided in the device main body and guides the movement of the paper feed tray from the loading position loaded in the device main body to the drawer position on the front side in the drawer direction. Is a paper feeding device having a structure that is removable from the main body of the device and has three or more grips provided on two or more different side surfaces. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein at least one grip portion is provided on the side surface on the front side in the drawing direction. The paper feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one grip portion is provided on the side surface on the back side in the drawing direction. The support member extends to a first drawer position where the user cannot access the grip portion on the back side and a second drawer position on the front side of the first drawer position where the user can access. The paper feed tray can be guided,
The paper feed according to claim 3, further comprising a switching unit for switching between a regulated state in which the drawer position is restricted to the first drawer position and a non-regulated state in which the drawer position can be pulled out to the second drawer position. apparatus. The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a pair of grip portions are provided at positions corresponding to the front side surface and the back surface side in the drawing direction. Any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the support member is a slide rail extending in the drawing direction and having one end fixed to the main body of the device and the other end for supporting the paper feed tray. The paper feed device described in. Two of the support members are provided on both sides of the transport direction.
A claim that two grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the drawer direction, and the grip portions are arranged at positions symmetrical with respect to the two support members. The paper feeding device according to any one of items 1 to 6. Two or more grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction, and the distance between the two grip portions on the front side surface is in the range of 300 mm to 600 mm. The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is set to any one of the above. Two or more grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction, and the two grip portions arranged on the outermost side on the front side surface are the grip portions. The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is arranged within 400 mm from each of the side surfaces on both sides in the transport direction. A lock mechanism that regulates the withdrawal of the paper feed tray at the loading position,
Two or more grip portions are provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray on the front side in the pull-out direction.
The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a release portion that releases the regulation by the lock mechanism when the user grips at least two of the grip portions. The paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
An image forming device that forms an image on a sheet fed from the paper feeding device,
An image forming system comprising.