JP2807416B2 - Large capacity paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a large-capacity paper feeder mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine having a single paper feed port (not having a plurality of paper feed ports).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an offset / copy printer has a single paper feed port, and the number of sheets that can be loaded at one time in the paper feed section is about 500 to 1000 sheets. Further, in a printing machine having no such a plurality of paper feed ports, when feeding paper of a size different from the paper set in the paper feed unit, the paper is stacked on the paper feed tray. This has been done by once removing excess paper and reloading paper of a different size on the paper feed tray, or by setting an interrupt cassette with other paper set in the paper feed slot.

Recently, a large-capacity (about several times as large as conventional) sheets can be loaded at a time in a paper feed unit by mounting the above-described printer having only a single paper feed port. And a large-capacity sheet feeder (hereinafter, LCT (Larg (Larg
e Capacity Tray)).

Hereinafter, the conventional LCT will be described with reference to an example of a currently available “multiple sheet feeding unit”. As shown in FIG. 16, the LCT has an internal housing 22 that can be moved up and down with respect to an external housing 21 that forms a device side plate. In the internal housing 22, a paper feed table 25 configured to be movable up and down in a state where a large amount of paper Pa is loaded, and a paper P loaded on the paper feed table 25
A pair of left and right side fences 23 for regulating the position in the width direction of “a” is provided. Each side fence 23
Are vertically stretched and supported by the respective fence support members 24 disposed at the upper and lower ends of the internal housing 22. Depending on the size of the paper stacked on the paper feed table 25, With reference to the center of the sheet feeding table 25, the sheet feeding table 25 is configured to be symmetrically movable only in the left and right directions.

The paper feed tray 25 can operate independently of the internal housing 22.
The paper feed position of the paper Pa to the paper feed port 27 of the printing machine (not shown) is adjusted, and the paper Pa is supplied to the paper feed table 25 and replaced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, the LCT lowers the internal housing 22 together with the paper feed table 25 to secure an interruption space S for another paper at the front portion of the paper feed port 27. Inserting and setting an interrupt cassette 26 in which another interrupt paper Pb different in size from the paper Pa is set into the interrupt space S, and feeding the interrupt paper Pb from the interrupt cassette 26, a single paper feed is performed. Mouth 27
, Without interrupting the paper Pa on the paper feed table 25, it is possible to feed interrupt paper Pb of a different size from the paper Pa loaded on the paper feed table 25.

Further, in this LCT, the fence support members 24 of the side fences 23 and the
5 is moved left and right to adjust the movement of the paper Pa stacked on the paper feed table 25 in the left and right direction, that is, the horizontal registration adjustment. FIG. 19 shows a state in which horizontal registration adjustment has been performed to the right with respect to O, and FIG. 19 shows a state in which horizontal registration adjustment has been performed to the left with respect to the central reference position O of the paper feed port 27.

[0008]

By the way, when the LCT is mounted on a printing press having a single paper feed port, when a large-capacity sheet other than the size initially set in the LCT is to be fed, It is necessary to remove the paper set on the paper feed tray of the LCT, move the side fence of the paper feed tray in the width direction of the paper to be fed, and reset the paper feed size. Also, when returning the paper feed size to the original size, the same operation as described above is required. For this reason, although the number of sheets to be fed is not so large, the above-described operation of resetting the sheet feeding size is performed every time the sheet size to be fed is different because the LCT is mounted. This is very inefficient and its operability is significantly reduced. Therefore, such an LCT is generally provided with a mechanism that enables the above-described interrupted sheet feeding.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional LCT, each side fence 23 is vertically stretched and supported between a pair of upper and lower fence support members 24 disposed in the inner casing 22. Therefore, these side fences 23 cannot be expanded and contracted between the fence support members 24 in the vertical direction. For this reason, the conventional LC
In order to perform the above-described interrupt sheet feeding at T, it is necessary to lower the side fence 23 together with the fence support member 24 in order to secure the interrupt space S. In the conventional LCT, as described above, Then, the side fence 23 is lowered (submerged) together with the inner housing 22 on which the fence support member 24 is disposed, so that an interrupt space S is secured above the outer housing 21 and interrupt feeding is performed. Is possible.

In the conventional LCT, as described above, the internal housing 22 is moved up and down to secure the interrupt space S. Therefore, the internal housing 22 is moved in the left-right direction so that the horizontal registration of the paper is performed. Adjustment is difficult due to its configuration and causes a problem that the structure is complicated. Therefore, in the conventional LCT, as described above, the fence support member 24 of each side fence 23 and the paper feed table 25 that moves up and down are moved left and right, so that the paper feed table 25 is moved.
The horizontal registration adjustment of the paper Pa stacked thereon is performed in the left-right direction.

As described above, in the conventional LCT, the lateral registration adjustment is performed by moving only the side fences 23, the fence support members 24 of the side fences 23, and the sheet feeding table 25 that moves up and down to the left and right. Therefore, the interruption paper Pb is placed on the upper part of the internal housing 22 or
When the above-described interrupt sheet feeding is performed by inserting and setting the interrupt cassette 26 in which the interrupt sheet Pb is set in the interrupt space S, the horizontal registration adjustment for the interrupt sheet Pb cannot be performed.

In the case of a normal copying machine (PPC),
It has a plurality of paper feed ports, and generally does not feed interrupt paper from the LCT paper feed port, so that the above-described problem does not occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a large-capacity power supply capable of easily securing an interruption space for interruption paper without lowering an internal housing or the like. A paper device is provided. Also,
It is another object of the present invention to provide a large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus capable of performing horizontal registration adjustment of interrupt sheets during interrupt sheet feeding.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus mounted on an image forming apparatus having a single sheet feeding port. The interruption space secured by lowering the paper supply tray by a predetermined amount to supply interruption papers other than the paper stacked on the movable paper supply tray is set on the paper supply tray. A side fence for restricting the position in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet is configured to be able to be retracted and released.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the side fence has a structure that can be folded at an intermediate portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the side fence has an extendable structure, and the sheet on the sheet tray is retracted from the sheet feeding position by lowering the sheet tray at the time of interruption sheet feeding. The side fence is contracted to a predetermined position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the side fence expands and contracts in conjunction with the lowering of the sheet tray at the time of the interruption sheet feeding and the raising of the sheet tray at the time of canceling the interruption sheet feeding.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the side fence is mounted on a paper feeding unit housing that can move left and right with respect to the main body structure of the large-capacity paper feeding device. Even when the interrupt sheet feeding device is mounted, the lateral registration can be moved together with the interrupt sheet feeding device.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a paper feed unit housing 1, a left / right movement knob 2, a left / right movement feed screw 3, a left / right movement feed nut 4, a guide rod 5, a paper feed tray 6, a side fence 7, a dustproof cover 9, a caster 10 , Body base 1
1, body side plates 12a, 12b, exterior panels 14a, 14
b.

Here, the main body structure of the large-capacity sheet feeding device is as follows.
Guide rod 5, body base 11, body side plates 12a, 1
2b, etc., and the paper feeding unit housing 1
And a pair of front and rear side plates 1a and 1b, as shown in FIG.
A dustproof cover 9 attached to the upper portions of these side plates 1a and 1b, and a bottom plate 1 for integrating these side plates 1a and 1b.
c and the front plate 1d, and the main body side plates 12a,
The two guide rods 5 are supported between the main body side plates 12a and 12b so as to be movable in the lateral registration direction between the main body side plates 12a and 12b.

As shown in FIG. 1, the left / right movement knob 2 is rotatably supported by a main body side plate 12a on the front side, and a drive pulley 2a for rotating the timing belt 13 is integrally formed at the base thereof. Is fixed. The left / right movement knob 2 is operated from outside the apparatus main body through a window provided on the exterior panel 14a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the feed screw 3 for moving left and right has a screw portion on the back side thereof, and the side plate 1 on the front side of the paper feeding unit housing 1.
a, which is rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) mounted on a front side main body side plate 12a. A driven pulley 3a (FIG. 1) that is driven and rotated by the rotation of the timing belt 13 is integrally fixed to an end portion of the main body side plate 12a that extends through the bearing and extends toward the front side.

In FIG. 1, the feed screw 6 is turned by turning the knob 2 to turn the feed screw 3 for moving the feed tray 3 through the timing belt 13. This is performed by relatively moving the feed nut 4 for left and right movement screwed into the sheet feeding unit 1 and moving the sheet feeding unit housing 1 along the guide rod 5. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as described later, the interrupt cassette 30
(See FIG. 7) is set in the sheet feeding unit housing 1, so that the horizontal registration adjustment for the interrupt sheet Pb is also possible. Here, it is also possible to drive the feed screw 3 with a motor.

The side fences 8 described later are disposed in the paper feed unit housing 1 and are moved together with the paper feed unit housing 1 during the above-described lateral registration adjustment. The movement of 1 does not affect the paper Pa. Here, as a method of disposing each side fence 8, the main body side plates 12a and 12b may be fixed at a predetermined position with respect to the paper size, or may be compatible with a free size by a combination of a rack and a pinion. , Are fixed on the main body base 11, and these main body side plates 12
Exterior panels 14a and 14b are attached to a and 12b, respectively. As described above, the exterior panel 14a is provided with a window for exposing the left / right movement knob 2.

The paper feed tray 6 is supported by a lifting mechanism shown in FIG. That is, on the lower surface of the paper feed tray 6, FIG.
As shown in the figure, two stays 15 are fixed. Both ends of each of these stays 15 are fixed to two front and rear timing belts 16 for elevating and lowering the paper feed tray, respectively (a timing belt on the near side is not shown).
These timing belts 16 are stretched over respective drive pulleys 17 and respective driven pulleys 18 pivotally supported by a pair of front and rear side plates 1a and 1b of the sheet feeding unit housing 1 (front side plate 1a). Is not shown). Thus, the paper feed tray 6 is supported by the support shaft 1 of the two drive pulleys 17 of the pair of front and rear side plates.
The drive gear 19 fixed at the end of the tray 7a is connected to the motor gear 51 of the tray elevating motor 50 via the idle gear 20.
The timing belt 16 is rotated forward and reverse by the rotation of the timing belt 16, so that each of the stays 15 and the sheet feeding unit housing 1 are rotated.
Is moved up and down in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the side fence 7 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to be folded at an intermediate portion thereof by a four-bar link mechanism. Is folded over to a position that does not hinder the operation of attaching and detaching the interrupt cassette to the interrupt space, as shown in FIG. That is, in the case of performing the interrupt sheet feeding in the present embodiment, first, the sheet Pa stacked on the sheet feed tray 6 is fed until the uppermost surface of the sheet Pa is out of the interrupt space for setting the interrupt cassette. The paper tray 6 is lowered. Next, the upper part of each side fence 7 is turned over to the front side (or the back side).

As a result, the inner casing 22 is not provided as in the prior art.
Without lowering the side fence 23 (FIG. 17), the part corresponding to the interruption space above each side fence 7 is retracted to a position where the operation of attaching / detaching the interruption cassette to / from the interruption space is not hindered. It can be installed in the interrupt space, and LCT
In a printing press having a single paper feed port with a paper feeder, it is possible to easily realize interrupt paper feeding of paper of different types and sizes.

In this embodiment, when canceling the interrupted sheet feeding and restarting the sheet feeding by the sheet feeding tray 6, first, the interrupting cassette set in the interrupting space is removed, and then the folding cassette is turned over. After raising each side fence 7 to the original position shown in FIG. 1 and returning it, the paper feed tray 6 is raised and the paper Pa
Is reset to a predetermined paper feed position.

Each of the side fences shown in FIGS.
The second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each side fence 8 in the second embodiment has an expandable and contractible structure in which an upper side fence 8a and a lower side fence 8b are fitted to each other. By lowering the paper feed tray 6 during paper feeding, the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6 is retracted from the paper feed position, and the upper side fence 8a
Is reduced to a predetermined position to secure an interrupt space S required for interrupt sheet feeding.

That is, in the case of performing the interrupt sheet feeding in this embodiment, first, the uppermost surface of the sheets Pa stacked on the sheet feed tray 6 is moved from the interrupt space S for setting the interrupt cassette 30. The paper feed tray 6 is lowered to a position where the paper feed tray 6 comes off. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper side fence 8a of each side fence 8 is pushed into the lower side fence 8b side, and the upper end of each side fence 8 comes out of the interruption space S for setting the interruption cassette 30. Shrink each side fence 8 until it comes off.

6 and 7, reference numeral 40 denotes a printing machine as an image forming apparatus, reference numeral 41 denotes a paper feed roller, and the paper feed roller 41 feeds paper Pa and Pb to the printer 40. I do.

Thus, similar to the first embodiment,
Without lowering the side fences 23 together with the internal housing 22 (FIG. 17) as in the conventional example, the upper part of each side fence 8 can be attached and detached to the interrupt space S of the interrupt cassette 30 at the position corresponding to the interrupt space S. Can be mounted in the interrupt space S of the interrupt cassette 30, and different types and sizes of the printing press 40 having a single paper feed port in which the LCT is mounted. Can be easily realized.

In this embodiment, when canceling the interrupted paper feed and restarting the paper feed by the paper feed tray 6, first, the interrupt cassette 30 set in the interrupt space S is removed. After extending the reduced side fences 8 to their original positions shown in FIG. 6, the paper feed tray 6 is raised to reset the paper Pa to a predetermined paper feed position.

In the above-described second embodiment, the side fences 8 are manually extended and retracted. However, these side fences 8 are provided in the third embodiment shown in FIGS. As described in the above, the paper feed tray 6 may be configured to expand and contract in conjunction with the elevation. That is, this third
In this embodiment, in order to perform the interrupted sheet feeding, the uppermost surface of the paper Pa on the sheet feeding tray 6 in the fully loaded state is moved to a position where the uppermost surface of the sheet Pa is out of the interrupting space S for setting the interrupting cassette 30. When the paper tray 6 is lowered, the upper side fences 8a of the side fences 8 are pushed into the lower side fences 8b, respectively, as shown in FIG. In order that the upper end of the side fence 8a reaches a position outside the interrupt space S for setting the interrupt cassette 30,
Each side fence 8 is automatically reduced.

Thus, similarly to the above-described embodiments, the portion corresponding to the interrupt space S above each side fence 8 is retracted to a position where the operation of attaching / detaching the interrupt cassette 30 to / from the interrupt space S is not hindered. , Interrupt cassette 3
0 can be installed in the interrupt space S, and interrupt printing of different types and sizes of paper can be easily realized in a printing press having a single paper feed port with an LCT installed.

In this embodiment, in order to cancel the interrupted sheet feeding and restart the sheet feeding by the sheet feeding tray 6,
The interrupt cassette 30 set in the interrupt space S is removed, and the paper feed tray 6 is raised to remove the paper Pa.
Is reset to a predetermined paper feed position, the side fences 8, which have been reduced, are automatically extended to their original positions shown in FIG.

Here, as a method of interlocking the raising / lowering operation of the paper feed tray 6 and the expansion / contraction operation of each side fence 8,
For example, the sheet feeding tray 6 and each side fence 8 are connected to each other by a shaft or the like, and the sheet feeding tray 6 and each side fence 8 are integrated with each side fence 8 having a predetermined length. The paper tray 6 and each side fence 8 with a wire instead of a shaft, or drive each side fence 8 by a driving means such as a motor in conjunction with the elevation of the paper tray 6. Several methods are conceivable, such as expansion and contraction.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of an interlocking mechanism for interlocking the raising / lowering operation of the paper feed tray 6 and the expansion / contraction operation of each side fence 8. FIG. In this interlocking mechanism, as shown in FIG. 8, each side fence 8 is
Each of the side fences 8 includes an upper side fence 8a and a lower side fence 8 as shown in FIG.
b, pins 31 and 32 implanted in respective opposing portions
Elastic body 3 made of elastic springs stretched on
3, the direction in which the upper side fence 8a is displaced upward, ie, the upper side fence 8
The elastic force in the direction in which “a” extends with respect to the lower side fence 8b is urged. Here, instead of the pins 31 and 32, bent portions may be provided on the upper and lower side fences 8a and 8b, and the elastic body 33 may be bridged over these bent portions.

As shown in FIG. 9, the upward displacement of the upper side fence 8a due to the contracting force of the elastic body 33 is applied to the locking piece 34 provided by bending and raising the lower side fence 8b. It is regulated by the contact of the pin 31 implanted in 8a. Here, each of the side fences 8 has its upper side fence 8a in a state where the pin 31 abuts on the locking piece 34, that is, in a state where each side fence 8 is extended to the maximum.
Is set so as to face a predetermined position in the interrupt space S, that is, a position where the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6 that has been raised to the uppermost position advances above the uppermost surface of the paper Pa.

At the lower end of each upper side fence 8a of each side fence 8, there is provided an interlocking portion 35 which extends into the elevating path of the paper feed tray 6 and interferes with the paper feed tray 6 descending. ing. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the interlocking portion 35 in the present embodiment is configured by a tongue piece formed by bending the lower end of the upper side fence 8 a.
The interlocking section 35 may be configured by, for example, a pin planted on the side of the lower end of the upper side fence 8a.

Thus, when the sheet feed tray 6 is lowered to perform the interrupted sheet feeding, a predetermined interlocking start position between the elevating operation of the sheet feeding tray 6 and the expansion / contraction operation of each side fence 8, ie, the interrupted sheet feeding, As shown in FIG. 9, at the position above the lowering completion position of the paper feed tray 6 at least by the height corresponding to the interrupt space S, the feeder 35 descends to the interlocking portion 35 of the upper side fence 8 a. The lower surface of the paper tray 6 abuts, and in this state, the paper feed tray 6 further descends to its lowering completion position, so that the upper side fence 8 a of each side fence 8 is linked with the lowering operation of the paper tray 6. Are depressed against the rising force of the elastic body 33, and are respectively lowered (reduced) to positions where they are retracted from the interrupt space S.

Each side fence 8 raises the paper feed tray 6 by releasing the interrupted paper feed, and the contraction force of the elastic body 33 is maintained until the paper feed tray 6 and the interlocking portion 35 are disengaged. Respectively, and is returned to the original position.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the sheet feeding tray 6 and the interlocking section 35 are engaged as a means for interlocking the raising and lowering operation of the sheet feeding tray 6 and the expansion and contraction operation of each side fence 8. However, as another interlocking means, the interlocking portion 35 is not formed at the lower end of the upper side fence 28a, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, an interlocking member 36 made of a shaft or a wire whose upper end is locked (or fixed) is provided on the upper side fence 8a.
And the penetrating interlocking member 36
A locking member 37 having an outer diameter larger than the through hole 6a of the paper feed tray 6 may be attached to the lower end of the paper feed tray 6.

In this interlocking means, as described above, the sheet feeding tray 6 is lowered at the time of interrupted sheet feeding, so that the through hole 6 of the sheet feeding tray 6 is provided at the predetermined interlocking start position.
The locking member 37 is locked to the portion a, and in this state, the sheet feeding tray 6 is further lowered to the lowering completion position, and in conjunction with the lowering operation of the sheet feeding tray 6, each of the side fences 8 is moved. The upper side fence 8a is
3 are depressed against the ascending force, and are respectively lowered (reduced) to a position where they are retracted from the interrupt space S.

The side fences 8 are elastically moved until the through-hole 6a of the paper feed tray 6 and the locking member 37 are disengaged by lifting the paper feed tray 6 by releasing the interrupted paper feed. Each is extended by the contraction force of the body 33,
It returns to its original position.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 15, the attachment / detachment of the interrupt cassette 30 to / from the interrupt space S in a state where the LCT configured as described above is mounted on the printing press 40 having a single paper feed port. The operation will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the LCT is a cassette attaching / detaching mechanism having guides 42 and 42 for guiding the interrupt cassette 30 so that the interrupt cassette 30 does not contact the sheet feed roller 41 when the interrupt cassette 30 is mounted. (FIG. 12), and a cassette raising / lowering drive device 43 for pushing up the leading end of the interrupt sheet Pb accommodated in the interrupt cassette 30 in a state where the interrupt cassette 30 is mounted. The interruption sheet Pb can be fed from the interruption cassette 30. The guides 42 are fixedly provided on the upper portions of the side plates 1a and 1b, respectively.

The interrupt cassette 30 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the paper storage case 30a and the bottom plate 30b
And a gear 30c connected to the bottom plate 30b. Here, the interrupt cassette 3 in this embodiment is used.
The thickness of 0 is 50 mm.

The bottom plate 30b is connected to the gear 30 connected thereto.
The paper storage case 30 is swung by the rotation of c.
a.

A transmission gear 44 for transmitting rotation to the gear 30c is meshed with the gear 30c.
Is configured to be rotated forward and reverse by a cassette lifting drive 43.

In FIG. 13, when the gear 30c is rotated clockwise, as shown in FIG. 14, the bottom plate 30b is swung upward, and the leading end of the interrupting paper Pb stacked on the bottom plate 30b is pushed up. Then, the uppermost sheet of the interruption sheet Pb comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller 41, and interruption sheet feeding becomes possible. The cassette lifting / lowering drive device 43 according to the present embodiment is configured by a DC motor that can rotate forward and backward, and a control circuit (not shown) controls the forward and reverse rotation directions.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A case will be described in which the interrupt cassette 30 is mounted in a state where the upper paper Pa is fully loaded or is nearly full.

In the normal case, that is, when the interrupt cassette 30 is mounted when the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6 is not fully loaded, as described above, the interrupt space S required for mounting the interrupt cassette 30 is set. First, the tray lowering key (not shown) is pressed to lower the sheet feeding tray 6. As a result, the paper feed tray 6
It is lowered and stopped until the intermediate detection means (photo sensor) 45 in FIG. 15 outputs a detection signal.

However, the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6
In the fully loaded state or in a state close to being fully loaded, as shown in FIG. 15, even if the sheet feeding tray 6 is lowered and stopped until the intermediate detecting means (photo sensor) 45 outputs a detection signal, An interrupt space S required for mounting the interrupt cassette 30 cannot be secured between the roller 41 and the uppermost surface of the tray loaded paper Pa.

Therefore, in the LCT of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, when the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6 is full or almost full, as shown in FIG. Since the detection means (photo sensor) 45 has been reached, the tray down key is pressed for several seconds (here, 3 seconds or more).
When pressed down, the paper tray 6 is set to the lower limit detection means (photo sensor)
The paper feed tray 6 is lowered until it is detected and stopped by 46.

Here, the separation distance L between the intermediate detecting means 45 and the lower limit detecting means 46 in the direction in which the sheet tray 6 is raised and lowered.
Is set to be larger than the thickness of the interrupt cassette 30 (here, 50 mm) (here, 100 mm).
And)

Thus, in the present embodiment, the sheet feed tray 6
When the lowering operation is completed, the space S between the paper feed roller 41 and the uppermost surface of the paper stacked on the tray Pa can be secured to 100 mm or more. As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the thickness of the interrupt cassette 30 is 50 mm, it is possible to sufficiently secure an interrupt space S necessary for mounting the interrupt cassette 30.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as described above, the paper Pa on the paper feed tray 6 is fully loaded,
Even when the interrupt cassette 30 is mounted in a state near full load, as in the conventional case, the interrupt cassette 30 is placed between the sheet feed roller 41 and the top surface of the tray loaded paper Pa.
There is no need to remove the extra tray loaded paper Pa in order to secure the interrupt space S necessary for mounting the paper.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The interrupting sheet feeding process can be performed with a simple configuration in which the sheet feeding tray is lowered without elevating the sheet feeding unit housing and the upper part of the side fence is retracted from the interrupting space. In particular, in a configuration in which the side fence expands and contracts in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the paper tray, only an interrupt command is given,
The operation necessary for a series of interrupt sheet feeding can be automatically performed, and the mounting operation of the interrupt cassette can be facilitated. Further, with this configuration, even when returning to tray feeding, a series of operations necessary for tray feeding can be automatically performed only by giving a return command after removing the interrupt cassette. Further, according to the present invention, since the paper feed unit housing can be moved left and right during interrupt paper feeding, horizontal registration adjustment for interrupt paper can also be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing the appearance of a first embodiment of a large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a paper feeding unit housing of the first embodiment of the large capacity paper feeding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a sheet feeding tray elevating mechanism of the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing the appearance of a second embodiment of the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a paper feeding unit housing of a large capacity paper feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a large-capacity sheet is fed in a second embodiment of the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a state in which an interrupt cassette is mounted in a large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing an interlocking mechanism between a sheet feeding tray and a side fence in a third embodiment of the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing an interlocking mechanism between a sheet feeding tray and a side fence in a third embodiment of the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing another interlocking mechanism between the sheet feeding tray and the side fence in the third embodiment of the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the large-capacity sheet feeding device of the present invention is mounted on a printing press and an interrupt sheet is fed by an interrupt cassette.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a cassette attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching an interrupt cassette to / from the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the paper storage case of the interrupt cassette mounted on the large-capacity paper feeder according to the present invention corresponds to the paper feed roller of the printing press.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the leading end of an interrupt sheet set in a sheet storage case of an interrupt cassette attached to the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention is brought into contact with a sheet feed roller of a printing press to feed a sheet. It is a side view.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view showing a state in which paper is fully loaded on a paper feed tray of the large capacity paper feeder of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic side view of a conventional large-capacity sheet feeding device.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view showing a state in which an interrupt cassette is used in a conventional large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a schematic side view showing a state in which horizontal registration adjustment has been performed rightward with respect to a central reference position of a paper feeding port in a conventional large-capacity paper feeding apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a horizontal registration adjustment to the left with respect to a center reference position of a sheet feeding port is performed in a conventional large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feeder housing 2 Left / right movement knob 3 Left / right movement feed screw 4 Left / right movement feed nut 5 Guide rod 6 Paper feed tray 7, 8 Side fence 8a Upper side fence 8b Lower side fence 11 Main body base 12a, 12b Main body side plate 13 Timing Belt 30 Interruption Cassette 31, 32 Pin 33 Elastic Body 34 Locking Piece 35 Linking Section 36 Linking Member 37 Locking Member 40 Printing Machine (Image Forming Apparatus) 41 Feed Roller 42 Guide

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A large-capacity sheet feeding device mounted on an image forming apparatus having a single sheet feeding port feeds interrupt sheets other than sheets stacked on a sheet tray configured to be movable up and down. The side fence for restricting the width direction position of the paper stacked on the paper feed tray can be released from the interruption space secured by lowering the paper feed tray by a predetermined amount. A large-capacity sheet feeding device characterized by comprising. 2. The large-capacity sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the side fence has a structure that can be folded at an intermediate portion. 3. The side fence has an extendable structure. By lowering the sheet tray at the time of interrupted sheet feeding, the sheet on the sheet tray is retreated from a sheet feeding position, and the side fence is moved to a predetermined position. 2. The large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is retracted to a position. 4. In conjunction with the lowering of the paper feed tray at the time of the interrupted paper feed and the raising of the paper feed tray at the time of releasing the interrupted paper feed,
4. The large-capacity sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the side fence expands and contracts. 5. The side fence is mounted on a paper feeding unit housing that is movable left and right with respect to the main body structure of the large capacity paper feeding device, and the paper feeding unit housing is provided for an interrupt paper feeding device such as an interrupt cassette. 5. The large-capacity sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal registration can be moved together with the interrupt sheet feeding device even when the sheet is mounted.