JP2582130Y2 - Paper cassette bracket escape mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

In the present invention, a bracket escape mechanism for a paper feed cassette, more specifically, a bracket for regulating the upper surface of the uppermost cut paper among cut papers housed in the paper feed cassette is attached. The present invention relates to a bracket escaping mechanism for escaping a paper feed cassette so that the bracket does not collide with a feeding roller provided in the apparatus main body when the paper cassette is mounted on the apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c) are schematic views showing states of respective steps of a sheet cassette mounting operation according to a conventional example. In the figure, H is a paper feed cassette with a bracket 1 attached to the tip, 2 is a projection provided on the side surface, 3 is a feed roller provided on the apparatus main body side, 4 is also provided on the apparatus main body side, and is a circle below. It is a guide rail having an arc-shaped guide surface 4a for releasing a sheet cassette.

First, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), when the sheet cassette H is mounted horizontally on the apparatus main body from the left side of the figure in the direction of the arrow, the projection 2 comes into contact with the guide surface 4a of the guide rail 4 and is guided by this. The paper cassette H is pushed down.
As shown in (b), when the protrusion 2 reaches the vertex of the guide surface 4a, the relief amount (the downward movement amount) of the sheet cassette H becomes the maximum L, and as a result, the bracket of the sheet cassette H The sheet feeding cassette H can be further advanced inside without the portion 1 contacting the feeding roller 3.

[0004] Then, as shown in (c), at the mounting end position, the projection 2 moves over the vertex of the guide surface 4a, so that the sheet cassette H moves upward L, so that the sheet cassette H is fed out. The cut paper in the paper feed cassette H is mounted in a predetermined positional relationship with the roller 3 and can be pressed against the feed roller 3 with an appropriate paper feed pressure.

[0005]

In the above-described conventional bracket escape mechanism for a paper feed cassette, the entire paper feed cassette is moved up and down. There was a problem that a large space was required and a large-scale mechanism was required.

[0006] The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional mechanism,
An object of the present invention is to provide a bracket escape mechanism for a paper feed cassette that can release a bracket from a feeding roller while saving space in the vertical direction of the paper feed cassette.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, an arm whose front end side can swing up and down in the mounting direction is pivotally supported on the side surface of the paper feed cassette. And the projection is provided at a position closer to the support shaft side from the tip of the arm, and engages with the projection of the arm in the process of mounting the paper feed cassette on the apparatus main body to push down the arm. The bracket is lowered to a position where the bracket does not collide with the feeding roller, and a guide rail having a downwardly convex arcuate guide surface is provided to be lifted and returned at the mounting end position. It is characterized in that a biasing member that constantly biases upward is provided.

[0008]

In the process of mounting the sheet cassette on the apparatus main body, the projection of the arm is guided by the arc-shaped guide surface of the guide rail,
When the tip of the arm descends, the bracket escapes downward from the feeding roller, and when the paper cassette reaches the mounting end position, the urging member for urging the guide surface of the guide rail and the tip end of the arm upward. By the action, the bracket is raised and returned to the predetermined position. What is moved up and down by the guide by the guide surface of the guide rail is not the paper feed cassette but an arm pivotally supported on the side surface of the paper feed cassette. Since a bracket that can move up and down independently of the sheet cassette is fixed to the end of the arm, only the bracket escapes from the feeding roller during the process of attaching the sheet cassette to the apparatus main body.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Members that are the same as or correspond to those of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. FIG.
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic diagrams showing states of respective steps of a sheet cassette mounting operation according to the embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a main body side plate that supports the feeding roller 3 and fixes the guide rail 4, the upper guide plate 6, and the lower guide plate 7. The paper cassette H guided by the upper guide plate 6 and the lower guide plate 7 and mounted in the apparatus main body has an arm 8 on the side thereof, the tip of which is moved up and down by a shaft 9 behind the paper feeding direction. Is mounted to be swingable. Further, a projection 2 that engages with the guide rail 4 is provided at a position slightly closer to the distal end side than the center of the arm 8. The bracket 1 is fixed to the tip of the arm 8. Thus, the arm 8 can move up and down with respect to the sheet cassette H. A biasing member (not shown) such as a spring is attached between the arm 8 and the sheet cassette H, and the distal end side of the arm 8 is constantly biased upward.

As is apparent from FIG. 2C, the bracket 1 is disposed so as to be located near the downstream side of the feeding roller 3 with the sheet feeding cassette H mounted at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body. Among the cut sheets stacked and stored in the sheet cassette H, the upper surface of the uppermost cut sheet is pressed, and one cut sheet is formed between the cut sheet and a regulating piece (not shown) inside.
This is to create a gap such that the sheets are separated and passed one by one. The upper surface of the bracket 1 is located at a position higher than the contact position of the lower end of the feeding roller 3 with the uppermost cut sheet, so that the bracket 1 does not collide with the feeding roller 3 when the sheet feeding cassette H is mounted. , The bracket 1 must be released from the feeding roller 3. That is, it must be retracted downward.

In this embodiment, as shown in (a), when the sheet cassette H is mounted in the direction of arrow A, as shown in (b), the projection 2 of the arm 8 is guided by the guide rail 4 in the middle thereof, as shown in (b). Since the arm 8 slides along the surface 4a, the arm 8 is pushed down against the upward urging force of the urging member. Therefore,
The bracket 1 also escapes from the feeding roller 3. In this state, the sheet feeding cassette H can be mounted further back without any trouble. In the mounting end position shown in (c), the projection 2 gets over the guide surface 4a of the guide rail 4, the arm 8 is returned upward by a return spring (not shown), and the projection 2 is stopped by the stop surface 4b of the guide rail 4. And bracket 1
Is set at a predetermined position.

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention,
A bracket is fixed to the end of the arm that moves up and down by the guide surface of the guide rail, and only the bracket is released from the feed roller via the arm during the mounting process of the paper cassette to the device body. There is no need to take up space for raising and lowering the paper cassette. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or the like having a plurality of paper feed cassettes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state of each process of a sheet feeding cassette mounting operation according to a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state of each step of a sheet cassette mounting operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 H Paper cassette 1 Bracket 2 Projection 3 Feeding roller 4 Guide rail 4a Arc-shaped guide surface 8 Arm

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A cut sheet is stored in a stacked state, and an uppermost cut sheet of the cut sheets is fed out by a feed roller provided in the apparatus main body in a state where the cut sheets are mounted on the apparatus main body. The bracket does not collide with the feed-out roller when a paper feed cassette in which a bracket for regulating the upper surface of the uppermost cut sheet is mounted at the leading end position near the downstream side of the roller is mounted on the apparatus main body. A bracket escape mechanism for a paper feed cassette for escaping, wherein an arm whose front end side can swing up and down with respect to the mounting direction is pivotally supported on a side surface of the paper feed cassette, and the bracket is attached to the arm front end. At the same time, a projection is provided at a position closer to the support shaft side from the tip of the arm. Then, the arm is pushed down to lower the bracket to a position where the bracket does not collide with the feeding roller, and a guide rail having a downwardly convex arcuate guide surface for raising and returning at a mounting end position is provided. A bracket escape mechanism for a paper feed cassette, comprising a biasing member for constantly biasing the distal end side of the arm upward.