JP2023012996A - Curl restraining mount and sheet package - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a mount capable of restraining curl occurring on a sheet stacked on a paper feed cassette of an image forming device even if the sheet stacked on the paper feed cassette is multi-layered slip paper such as delivery slip paper.SOLUTION: A curl restraining mount 1 has a structure having a notch 10 formed at a front-end side in the paper feeding direction, and a locking hole 11 fitting to a paper stopper 21 disposed at a rear-end side of a paper feed cassette 2. The notch 10 has a shape formed by continuously disposing a first notch part 10a for opening a portion where a paper feeding mechanism 20 of an image forming device abuts and a second notch part 10b for opening the vicinity of the center line of the curl restraining mount 1 in the paper feeding direction. The locking hole 11 has a shape obtained when viewing the paper stopper 21 from above the paper feed cassette 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for suppressing curling of paper stacked in a paper feed cassette provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction machine.

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and multi-function peripherals generally have paper feed cassettes capable of stacking a large number of sheets. Conventional paper cassettes have a structure in which a large number of papers are stacked on a stacking plate that can be raised and lowered, and the uppermost paper is fed by a paper feed mechanism (for example, a paper feed roller). Patent document 1).

In an image forming apparatus equipped with such a paper feed cassette, curling of paper stacked in the paper feed cassette poses a problem. If the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette curls, paper feed problems such as paper jams occur. In the worst case, the image forming apparatus breaks down when a paper feed failure occurs.

Some curls are caused by curling, but curling due to expansion and contraction is a problem for paper loaded in a paper feed cassette of an image forming apparatus. Curl due to expansion and contraction is caused by the expansion and contraction of the fibers that make up the paper due to changes in humidity.

FIG. 5 illustrates the curl that occurs in single-layer paper. Note that single-layer paper means paper made of one type of material. The strength of single-layer paper varies depending on the grain direction. Single layer paper tends to curl parallel to the grain. Long grain single layer paper is used in image forming apparatuses in order to prevent the single layer paper from tearing due to being pulled by the paper feeding mechanism. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the single-layer paper stacked in the paper feed cassette of the image forming apparatus is curled in a state in which the left and right sides of the single-layer paper are simply wound.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of cases where images are formed on multi-layer paper by image forming apparatuses is increasing. A multi-layer paper means a paper in which multiple single-layer papers are laminated. Since each single-layer paper has different fiber properties and adhesives or pressure-sensitive adhesives are used to laminate the single-layer papers, the curl that occurs in the multi-layer paper has a more complicated shape than in the single-layer paper.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a delivery slip sheet 3, which is a typical multi-layered sheet. The delivery slip sheet 3 shown in FIG. 6 is configured by laying out an attached slip 30, a delivery slip 31, a client slip 32, a vendor slip 33 and a sales slip 34 on an A4 size mount. Each slip laid out on the delivery slip sheet 3 is printed with a frame required for the slip, and the boundaries of each slip are processed with broken lines 35a, 35b, 35c such as perforations. Information necessary for delivery of the package is formed (printed) on each slip laid out on the delivery slip sheet 3 by the image forming device. Note that instructions for loading the delivery slip paper 3 in the paper feed cassette are printed in advance on the back side of the delivery slip.

In FIG. 6 , the attached slip 30 and the delivery slip 31 are laid out on the left side of the delivery slip sheet 3 . The sticking slip 30 and the delivery slip 31 are in the form of a seal with the adhesive 3a applied on the back side. As a result, the label 30 and the delivery label 31 can be attached to the package. The client's copy 32 , the vendor's copy 33 and the sales slip 34 are laid out on the right side of the delivery slip form 3 . Since the client slip 32, the trader slip 33 and the sales slip 34 are slips to be stored, the client slip 32, the trader slip 33 and the sales slip 34 are each processed with two punch holes 3b.

FIG. 7 illustrates the curl that occurs in the delivery slip paper 3 . In FIG. 7, the reverse side of the delivery slip sheet 3 is shown facing up. As described above, the left and right sides of the delivery slip 3 have different layer structures, and furthermore, the break lines 35a and the like are processed.

In FIG. 7, the curl generated in the delivery slip sheet 3 is a wavy curl in which the left and right sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 are curled at the boundary between the left slip and the right slip. In the case of the delivery slip sheet 3 as shown in FIG. 7, the amount of curl differs between the left and right sides. In FIG. 7, the amount of curl is large on the side on which the label 30 in the form of a sticker is laid out.

The reason why the boundary between the left and right slips is bent in a mountain-folded state is that the breaking line 35a is processed at the boundary between the left and right slips. The reason why the amount of curl differs between the left and right sides is that there is a difference in expansion and contraction due to changes in humidity between the left side and the right side. The difference in expansion and contraction due to changes in humidity between the left and right votes is due to the difference in layer composition between the left and right votes.

In the case of the corrugated curl illustrated in FIG. 7, the image forming apparatus is more likely to cause paper feed failures. Since curling due to expansion and contraction is mainly caused by changes in humidity, if the humidity of the place where the image forming apparatus is installed can be controlled, the curl caused by expansion and contraction can be suppressed. However, when the image forming apparatus is installed in a place where the humidity cannot be controlled, it is necessary to deal with the curl by means other than humidity control.

As an ingenuity to deal with curling by a method other than humidity control, an invention has already been disclosed in which paper is prevented from being improperly fed in a paper feed cassette by pressing curled paper from above. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200002 discloses a paper feed cassette provided with a member for pressing a curled portion of a sheet. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses a sheet-shaped curl holding member that is placed on the upper surface of paper stacked in a paper feed cassette and holds the curl of the paper.

JP-A-8-324804 JP-A-2003-312872 JP 2010-116223 A

As described above, the curl that occurs in multi-layer paper such as delivery slip paper has a complicated shape, but Patent Document 3 does not suggest this.

Therefore, the present invention provides a backing sheet to be placed on the sheets loaded in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus, and the paper stacked in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus is multi-layered paper such as delivery slip paper. To provide a backing sheet capable of suppressing curl generated in sheets stacked in a paper feed cassette even if there is a curl.

The first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is provided with a notch formed on the front end side related to the paper feed direction and a locking hole that engages with a paper stopper provided on the rear end side of the paper feed cassette, The shape of the notch is such that the first notch opens the part where the paper feeding mechanism of the image forming apparatus abuts, and the second notch opens the vicinity of the center line in the paper feeding direction. , the curl-suppressing mount, wherein the locking hole is shaped to lock the sheet stopper.

Further, the second invention is a sheet package including the curl suppressing mount described in claim 1 and a plurality of sheets to be stacked in a paper feed cassette of an image forming apparatus.

The above-described curl-suppressing mount according to the present invention suppresses curl generated in the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette even if the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette provided in the image forming apparatus is multi-layered paper such as delivery slip paper. configured to allow

The figure which illustrated the curl suppression mount which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a top view of the curl suppression mount set in the paper feed cassette; FIG. 4 is a side view of the curl suppression mount set in the paper feed cassette; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a paper package in which the curl-suppressing mount is packed; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining curling that occurs in single-layer paper; The figure which illustrated an example of the delivery slip paper which is a multilayer paper. The figure explaining the curl which generate|occur|produces in delivery slip paper.

Embodiments according to the present invention will now be described. This embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the drawings are schematic diagrams drawn to facilitate understanding of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a curl-suppressing mount 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the curl-suppressing mount 1 set in the paper feed cassette 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the curl suppression mount 1 set in the paper feed cassette 2. As shown in FIG.

The curl suppression mount 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a sheet-like sheet placed on the paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 2 in order to suppress the curl generated in the paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 2 of the image forming apparatus. It is a mount.

In this embodiment, the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette 2 is the delivery slip paper 3 shown in FIG. This is to make the features of the curl-suppressing mount 1 easier to understand.

As explained with reference to FIG. 7, in the delivery slip sheet 3 explained with reference to FIG. A wavy curl that becomes Both sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 mean both sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 in the longitudinal direction.

In order to cope with the waviness type curl that occurs in the delivery slip paper 3, the curl suppressing mount 1 is provided with a notch 10 formed on the front end side in the paper feeding direction and on the rear end side of the paper feed cassette 2. It has a structure provided with a locking hole 11 that fits with the paper stopper 21 . In FIG. 1, the notch 10 formed on the front end side in the paper feed direction extends from the front end to near the center in the paper feed direction.

The notch 10 extending from the front end to the center in the paper feed direction is formed in the curl suppression mount 1 to prevent the curl suppression mount 1 from interfering with the paper feed mechanism 20 (e.g., paper feed roller) of the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, this is to prevent the portion of the delivery slip sheet 3 bent in a mountain-folded state from interfering with the curl-suppressing mount 1 . The reason why the locking hole 11 is formed in the curl suppressing board 1 is to fit the sheet stopper 21 of the paper feeding cassette 2 into the locking hole 11, thereby fixing the curl suppressing board 1 to the paper feeding cassette 2. . Here, "fitting" means that the paper stopper 21 of the paper feed cassette 2 fits perfectly into the locking hole 11. As shown in FIG.

The left side (right side when viewed from the back side) of the delivery slip paper 3 on which the attached slip 30 and the like are arranged is in the form of a sticker. For this reason, if the portion of the delivery slip sheet 3 bent in a mountain-folded state is pressed from above by the curl suppression backing sheet 1, the sticker-like slip (here, the sticky slip 30 or the delivery slip 31) may be turned over. There is

If the delivery slip paper 3 is sent out from the paper feeding mechanism 20 in a state in which the sealed slip is turned over, the sealed slip adheres to the paper feeding mechanism 20, causing a paper jam. If the seal-like form adheres to the paper feed mechanism 20, it takes time to remove the seal-like form from the paper feed mechanism 20, and it takes time to recover from the paper jam. Therefore, in order to cope with the waviness-type curl that occurs in the delivery slip sheet 3, it is necessary to prevent the curl suppression mount 1 from interfering with the portion of the delivery slip sheet 3 that is bent in a mountain-folded state.

In order to prevent the paper feeding mechanism 20 of the image forming apparatus from interfering with the curl suppression mount 1, and furthermore, to prevent the curl suppression mount 1 from interfering with the part of the delivery slip sheet 3 bent in a mountain-folded state, The shape of the notch 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is as follows: a first notch 10a that opens a portion where the sheet feeding mechanism 20 of the image forming apparatus abuts; It has a shape in which a second notch portion 10b is continuously provided.

By forming such a notch 10 in the curl-suppressing board 1, the curl-suppressing board 1 has a substantially C-shape with an open front end, and the curl-suppressing board 1 has curl-suppressing portions on both sides of the notch 10. It is divided into 1a and an engaging portion 1b in which the notch 10 is not formed. The curl suppressing portions 1a on both sides of the notch 10 press both sides of the delivery slip 3 to reduce the amount of curl on both sides of the delivery slip 3. As shown in FIG. The locking portion 1 b on the rear end side of the curl-suppressing mount 1 is a portion for fixing the curl-suppressing mount 1 to the paper feed cassette 2 .

The image forming apparatus has predetermined specifications for the thickness of paper that the image forming apparatus can handle. For example, the maximum thickness of paper that can be handled by the image forming apparatus is 135 kg in ream weight. If the thickness of the anti-curl mount 1 can be set within the range of sheet thickness that can be handled by the image forming apparatus, trouble will not occur in the image forming apparatus even if the anti-curl mount 1 is erroneously fed into the image forming apparatus. However, within the range of paper thickness that can be handled by the image forming apparatus, the self-weight of the curl-suppressing mount 1 becomes too light, so the amount of curl generated on both sides of the delivery slip paper 3 cannot be reduced.

Therefore, the curl-suppressing mount 1 must be thicker than the range of sheet thickness that can be handled by the image forming apparatus. When thick paper exceeding the range of paper thickness that can be handled by the image forming apparatus is used as the curl-suppressing board 1, it is necessary to devise a way to prevent the curl-suppressing board 1 from being erroneously fed into the image forming apparatus. . As one of the devises, a notch 10 is formed in the curl-suppressing mount 1 to open a portion with which the paper feeding mechanism 20 of the image forming apparatus abuts.

Even if the portion of the image forming apparatus with which the sheet feeding mechanism 20 abuts is opened, it is assumed that the delivery slip sheet 3 fed by the sheet feeding mechanism 20 will feed the curl-suppressing mount 1 into the image forming apparatus. In order to prevent this, in the present embodiment, a locking hole 11 is formed in the locking portion 1b of the curl-suppressing mount 1 so as to engage with the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2. It is designed so that it can be fixed to the paper feed cassette 2 . Note that the paper stopper 21 is a member that regulates the trailing edge position of the paper stacked in the paper feed cassette 2 .

The shape of the locking hole 11 provided in the curl-suppressing mount 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be locked to the paper stopper 21, the shape of the locking hole 11 may be arbitrary. If the shape of the paper stopper 21 is complicated, the shape of the locking hole 11 can be a shape (for example, rectangular or elliptical) that circumscribes the paper stopper 21 .

The size of the curl suppression mount 1 will be explained. The width of the curl suppressing mount 1 is the width of the delivery slip paper 3. For example, if the size of the delivery slip paper 3 is A4 size, the width of the curl suppression mount 1 is 210 mm. The length of the curl suppressing mount 1 is longer than the length of the delivery slip paper 3. This is because the locking hole 11 is provided on the rear end side of the curl suppressing mount 1 . For example, if the size of the delivery slip paper 3 is A4 size, the total length of the curl suppression mount 1 is 311 mm.

The shape and size of the notch 10 are designed according to the size of the paper feeding mechanism 20 and the size of the delivery slip paper 3 . In FIG. 1, the first notch 10a is rectangular (for example, 72 mm wide and 15 mm long). In FIG. 1, the second notch 10b is trapezoidal (40 mm wide at the rear end, 72 mm wide at the front, and 150 mm long).

FIG. 2(a) is a top view of the anti-curl mount set in the paper feed cassette. FIG. 2(b) is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the locking hole 11 and the paper stopper 21. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, the curl-suppressing mount 1 is placed in the paper feed cassette 2 on the delivery slip paper 3 loaded in the paper feed cassette 2 and used. Also, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the locking hole 11 provided in the curl suppressing mount 1 is fitted with the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2, and the curl suppressing mount 1 is attached to the paper feed cassette 2. Fixed.

In this embodiment, the paper stopper 21 has two protrusions 21a. The locking hole 11 has a shape that is one size larger than the paper stopper 21 in order to fit with the paper stopper 21 . Note that the paper stopper 21 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like is only an example, and the shape of the paper stopper 21 is arbitrary. For example, the projection 21a may or may not be on the paper stopper 21. FIG.

Even if the curl-suppressing mount 1 is placed on the delivery slip sheet 3 loaded in the paper feed cassette 2, as shown in FIG. ing. Therefore, the portion where the notch 10 is formed in the curl-suppressing mount 1 does not interfere with the portion of the delivery slip 3 that is bent in a mountain-folded state. In addition, even if the curl suppression mount 1 is placed on the delivery slip paper 3 loaded in the paper feed cassette 2, the paper feed mechanism 20 provided in the paper feed cassette 2 does not curl as shown in FIG. The first notch portion 10a of the notch 10 provided in the mount 1 can be used to contact the top delivery slip sheet 3, and the top delivery slip sheet 3 can be sent out from the paper feed cassette 2.例文帳に追加

When the anti-curl mount 1 is set in the paper feed cassette 2, the locking hole 11 of the anti-curl mount 1 is pushed downward and engages with the top of the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2. . In FIG. 3, the position of the upper portion of the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2 is higher than the position where the paper feed roller abuts on the paper. Therefore, when the locking hole 11 and the paper stopper 21 are fitted, the posture of the curl suppression mount 1 becomes an oblique posture in which the front end is lower than the rear end.

In the curl-suppressing mount 1, the width of the curl-suppressing portion 1a is narrow, and the rigidity of the curl-suppressing portion 1a is low. Therefore, the curl-suppressing mount 1 is more likely to bend near the rear end of the notch 10, and the curl-suppressing portion 1a of the curl-suppressing mount 1 can hold both sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 at the top. For example, if a cardboard with a ream weight of 180 kg is used as the curl-suppressing board 1, the curl-suppressing board 1 bends around the rear end of the notch 10 due to the weight of the curl-suppressing board 1 itself. If a cardboard with a thickness exceeding this is used for the curl-suppressing board 1, the rigidity of the curl-suppressing board 1 will increase, so it is necessary to give the curl-suppressing board 1 a habit of being shaped as shown in FIG.

When both sides of the uppermost delivery slip sheet 3 are pressed by the curl suppressing portion 1a of the curl suppressing mount 1, the amount of curl generated on both sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 is reduced. If the amount of curling on both sides of the delivery slip sheet 3 can be reduced, the uppermost delivery slip sheet 3 can be imaged without causing a paper feed failure even if the uppermost delivery slip sheet 3 has wavy curl. Can be fed to forming equipment. Since the locking portion 1b is separated from the delivery slip 3, it does not interfere with the part of the delivery slip 3 that is bent in a mountain-folded state. In addition, since the portion where the notch 10 is formed in the curl suppressing mount 1 is open, this portion does not interfere with the portion of the delivery slip 3 that is bent in a mountain-folded state.

When the anti-curl backing sheet 1 is set in the paper feed cassette 2, both sides of the uppermost sheet of paper can be pressed down by the curl suppressing unit 1a, so the anti-curling backing sheet 1 can cope with the curl that occurs in single-layer paper. can.

The curl-suppressing mount 1 described so far can be prepackaged with a plurality of sheets of paper. This is because the size and shape of the curl-suppressing mount 1 change according to the size of the paper on which the curl-suppressing mount 1 is placed, the shape of the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2, and the like.

If the anti-curl mount 1 designed according to the size of the paper on which the anti-curl mount 1 is placed and the shape of the paper stopper 21 provided in the paper feed cassette 2 is placed in advance on the uppermost part, the image can be printed on the paper. It is possible to save the trouble of searching for the curl-suppressing mount 1 suitable for the paper on the side of the forming company. In addition, if the anti-curl mount 1 is placed on top of multiple sheets of paper in advance, the anti-curl mount 1 and the paper can be placed on the paper feed cassette 2 at the same time, reducing the workload of forming images on the paper. be able to.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a paper package 4 in which the curl-suppressing mount 1 is packed. The paper package 4 illustrated in FIG. 4 consists of a plurality of papers 40 (for example, the delivery slip paper 3) with the curl suppressing mount 1 placed on the top, and a highly moisture-proof packing paper 41 (for example, kraft paper). It has a form packed with. When the paper package 4 is unpacked in a place with low humidity, the paper 40 is curled. It is possible to suppress curling that occurs in the paper 40 immediately below the curl suppression mount 1 when packed.

1 Curl Suppressing Mount 1a Curl Suppressing Part 1b Locking Part 10 Notch 10a First Notch 10b Second Notch 11 Locking Hole 2 Paper Feed Cassette 20 Paper Feed Mechanism 21 Paper Stopper 3 Delivery Slip Paper 4 Paper Package

Claims (2)

It has a notch formed on the front end side in the paper feed direction and a locking hole that engages with a paper stopper provided on the rear end side of the paper feed cassette. A first notch for opening the portion where the paper mechanism abuts and a second notch for opening the vicinity of the center line in the paper feed direction are formed in a continuous manner, and the shape of the locking hole is the same as that of the paper. A curl-suppressing mount characterized by having a shape that engages a stopper. A sheet package comprising the curl suppressing mount according to claim 1 and a plurality of sheets to be stacked in a paper feed cassette of an image forming apparatus.

Images