JP2901745B2 - Paper feeder for recording device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention can be applied to a recording device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, a printing machine, etc., which records on paper by printing, transfer, printing, or the like. More specifically, in such a recording apparatus, the present invention relates to a paper supply apparatus in which a paper supply cassette is attached to a main body of the recording apparatus, and paper set in the paper supply cassette is fed by a paper supply roller.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a paper feed cassette provided in this kind of paper feeder has a main body 1 on which sheets of an appropriate size are loaded and set, and a cover 2 covering the main body 1 is opened and closed freely. As shown in FIG. 8, the side guides 4.4 for positioning both sides in the width direction of the set paper 3 and the end guide 5 for positioning the rear end thereof can be freely moved and adjusted in the main body 1 according to the paper size. Is provided.
Conventionally, the sheet cassette 6 is connected to the recording apparatus main body 7.
The sheet is set in a detachable manner, pressed against a sheet feeding roller 8, and the sheet feeding roller 8 is rotated to feed the set sheet 3 to a recording section in the recording apparatus main body 7 as shown by an arrow in the figure.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional paper feeding device, as shown in FIG. 8, a side guide of the paper feeding cassette 6 is taken into consideration in consideration of a dimensional error of the set paper 3 and easiness in setting the paper. 4.4
The end guide 5 is moved and adjusted to a position where there is a slight gap t between the end guide 5 and the set sheet 3.
However, due to an error in the diameter of the paper feed roller 8 or an error in the pressing force of the set paper 3 against the paper feed roller 8, the set paper 3 is skewed as shown in the drawing at the time of paper feeding. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to stably feed a set sheet from a sheet feeding cassette without skew.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a paper feed cassette 18 is attached to a recording apparatus main body such as an apparatus main body 10 as shown in the following embodiment. In the paper feeding device 26 of the recording device for feeding the set paper 17 of the cassette 18 by the paper feed roller 27, when the paper feed cassette 18 is attached, the pressing roller 56 for pressing the set paper 17 is attached.
Is provided in the recording apparatus main body, and at the mounting end of the paper feed cassette 18, when the paper feed cassette 18 is mounted, the pressing roller 56 is guided on the set paper 17;
It is characterized in that a press roller guide 58 which is pushed by the press roller 56 and moves to the retracted position when being removed is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, as shown in the following embodiment, for example, in the first aspect of the present invention, an operating member such as a support arm 55 that moves together with the pressing roller 56 is provided, and It is characterized in that a paper end detection sensor 60 is provided, which is operated by its operating member when the set paper 17 runs out when the paper feed cassette 18 is attached.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at the time of paper feeding,
Feed roller while holding the set paper 17 with the press roller 56
Send out at 27. When mounting the paper cassette 18, the press roller 56 is guided on the set sheet 17 by the press roller guide 58. Conversely, when removing the paper feed cassette 18, the press roller guide 58 is pushed by the press roller 56 and moves to the retracted position.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a paper feed cassette is provided.
When the set paper 17 is exhausted in the state of attachment of 18, the operating member is moved together with the press roller 56 to operate the paper end detection sensor 60 to detect that the set paper 17 is exhausted.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the overall configuration of the internal mechanism of the laser printer. What is indicated by reference numeral 10 in the drawing is an apparatus main body (recording apparatus main body). In the apparatus main body 10, a belt-shaped photoconductor 11 is provided substantially at the center. Around the photoconductor 11, a charger 12, a developing device 13, a transfer device 14, and a cleaning device 15 are arranged in order in the driving direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. Then, an optical writer 16 is arranged below the charger 12 and the cleaning device 15. Further, on the lower side of the optical writer 16, paper feed cassettes 18
Are arranged vertically.

On the front side of the upper surface 10a of the apparatus main body 10, that is, on the operation side indicated by an arrow in the figure, a manual paper feed tray 20 also serving as a paper discharge tray is provided. On the rear side on the left side in the figure, a discharge stack unit 21 dedicated to thick paper such as a postcard is provided. The discharge unit 22 and the discharge stack unit 2 are provided on the upper surface 10a of the apparatus body 10.
3 is provided. In the discharge section 22, paper discharge rollers 24 and 25 are arranged.

Then, the paper feed rollers 27 provided in the paper feed device 26 are appropriately selected and driven, and the cassette paper 17 in the paper feed cassettes 18 is fed in the direction of arrow A. Then, the sheet 17 is conveyed to the upper side of the photoconductor 11 by the registration roller 29 at a certain timing. The photoconductor 11 is driven in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by an arrow. At that time, the surface is uniformly charged by the charger 12 and is irradiated with the laser light L from the optical writer 16 to be statically placed on the photoconductor 11. An electrostatic latent image is formed. This latent image is visualized by toner when passing through the developing device 13. Then, the visible image is transferred by the transfer device 14 to the lower surface of the sheet 17 conveyed above the photoconductor 11. The transferred sheet 17 is conveyed between the heating roller 31 and the pressure roller 32 of the fixing device 30 to fix a visible image. On the other hand, the photoconductor 11 after the transfer of the visible image is cleaned by the cleaning device 15. On the other hand, the recorded paper 17 exiting the fixing device 30 is conveyed by a paper discharge roller 33, guided upward by a paper conveyance guide 34, reversed, and sequentially passed through a paper conveyance path 38 by paper discharge rollers 35, 36, and 37. The paper is transported, and the paper discharge direction is appropriately switched by the switching guide 39, and the paper discharge rollers 40
At 41, a part of the paper 17 is discharged to the discharge / manual paper feed tray 20 in the direction of arrow B. Alternatively, the paper is discharged toward the back side (in the direction of arrow C) by the paper discharge rollers 25 and 26 through the paper conveyance path 42 in the discharge part 22 and is stacked on the paper discharge stack part 23. On the other hand, the sheet 17 discharged in the B direction is configured to switch back by rotating the sheet discharging roller 41 in order to perform double-sided recording, and to send the sheet 17 again to the photoreceptor 11 through the transport path 43 to perform recording on the upper surface. . When the paper 17 is a thick paper, the paper discharge direction is switched by the switching guide 44, and the paper 17 is discharged in the direction of arrow D and stacked on the paper discharge stack unit 21.

By the way, the paper feeding device 26 of the laser printer described above is used.
In detail, the paper feed cassette 18 is provided as shown in FIG. The paper cassette 18 includes a cassette body 50,
A cassette cover 51 that covers the cassette body 50; In the cassette body 50, a bottom plate 52 is disposed. The bottom plate 52 is provided with a pin 52 that stands outward on the left side in the drawing.
aIt is rotatably attached to both side walls (not shown) of the cassette body 50 as a fulcrum. Then, set sheets 17 of an appropriate size are stacked and set on the bottom plate 52. As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette body 50 has side guides 53 for positioning both sides in the width direction of the set paper 17 on its bottom wall 50a.
53 and an end guide 54 for positioning the rear end are provided so as to be movable and adjustable according to the sheet size. The guides 53, 53, 54 are positioned with a slight gap t between the guides 53 and 53. As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette cover 51 has an outwardly facing pin 51a at both ends near the mounting end 50b (right side in the figure) of the cassette body 50, and the cassette 51 can be opened and closed freely using the pin 51a as a fulcrum. It is attached to the both side walls of the main body 50. Further, the cassette cover 51 has, for example, a mounting portion 51b substantially at the center thereof.
, A support arm 55 is rotatably attached thereto, and a pressing roller 56 is rotatably provided at the tip of the support arm 55. Then, the pressing roller 56 is placed on the set sheet 17 and pressed by gravity.

In the above-described paper feeding device 26, as shown in FIG. 7, when the paper feeding cassette 18 is inserted into the apparatus main body 10 and attached, the bottom plate 52 is pushed up by an appropriate urging means, and the set paper 17 is pushed.
Is pressed against the feed roller 27. Thereafter, the paper feed roller 27 is rotated, and as shown in FIG. 2, while pressing the set paper 17 with the press roller 56, the paper is sequentially transferred one by one from the uppermost paper into the apparatus main body 10 as indicated by the arrow in the figure. I will send it out.

In the above-described paper feeding apparatus, the pressing roller 56 is configured to press against the set sheet 17 by gravity. However, a configuration in which the pressing roller is pressed against the set sheet using an appropriate spring or the like may be employed.

Further, in the above-described paper feeding device, the pressing roller 56 is provided in the paper feeding cassette 18, but in the paper feeding device of the present invention, the pressing roller 56 is provided in the apparatus main body. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a support arm 55 is rotatably mounted around a support shaft 57 in the apparatus main body 10, and a pressing roller 56 is rotatably provided at the tip of the support arm 55. On the other hand, the paper feed cassette 18 is provided with a pressing roller guide 58 particularly at the front end 50b of the cassette body 50 on the mounting side. As shown in FIG. 4, the holding roller guide 58 is formed of a plate-like one-way door that is inclined and disposed between two triangular support plate portions 50c and 50d that protrude from the mounting-side tip 50b. Then, for example, one side end 58a is rotatably attached to one support plate portion 50c on the right side in the figure, and is biased by a spring member (not shown) to push the other end 58b to the other support plate portion 50d. Guess it.

In the paper feeding device 26, when the paper feeding cassette 18 is inserted into the apparatus main body 10, the press roller 56 hits the press roller guide 58, and rolls up on the press roller guide 58 to guide it onto the set sheet 17. Is done. When the sheet cassette 18 is attached to the cassette body 50, as shown in FIG.
Is pressed against the feed roller 27, and the press roller 56 is pushed up against the gravity. Thereafter, the paper feed roller 27 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the set paper 17 is fed out one by one into the apparatus main body 10 one by one while pressing the set paper 17 with the press roller 56. On the other hand, the paper cassette 18 is
When removing from the bottom plate, the lifting of the bottom plate 52 is released. Then, the support arm 55 rotates and hangs down. When the paper feed cassette 18 is pulled out, the press roller 56 is pushed open by the press roller 56 from the inside of the cassette body 50 against the spring member, and moves to the retracted position. Then, the pressing roller guide 58 is closed by the spring member.

According to the present invention, in the above embodiment, for example, in consideration of the case where the minimum size paper is set in the paper feed cassette 18, the pressing roller is closer to the paper feed roller 27 from the rear end of the minimum size paper. It is recommended that 56 be provided.

Further, in the present invention, for example, a paper end detecting sensor may be provided in the paper feeding device 26 as in the embodiment described below. In other embodiments,
As shown in FIG. 5, a support arm 55 is rotatably mounted around a support shaft 57 in the apparatus main body 10, and a pressing roller 56 is rotatably provided at a distal end 55a of the support arm 55. The support arm 55 has the base end 55b as an actuator. Further, a paper end detection sensor 60 composed of, for example, a photo sensor is provided above the support arm 55.
On the other hand, the paper feed cassette 18 has a groove in the bottom plate 52 in its length direction.
52b is provided. The cut groove 52b is formed with a groove width slightly larger than the length of the pressing roller 56.

In the above-described paper feeding device 26, paper is sequentially fed in a state where the paper feeding cassette 18 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the set paper 17 runs out,
The support arm 55 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the tip 55a is
While entering into 2b, the base end 55b blocks between the light emitting side and the light receiving side of the paper end detection sensor 60. Then, the paper end detection sensor 60 operates to detect that the set paper 17 has run out.

In this embodiment, the paper end detection sensor 60 is operated by the support arm 55 provided on the apparatus main body 10. However, a similar support arm is provided on the cassette cover 51 shown in FIG. The paper end detection sensor on the 10 side may be configured to operate.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pressing roller for holding the set sheet is provided, the set sheet can be stably sent from the sheet cassette without skew.

A press roller guide is provided at the end of the paper cassette on the mounting side, and the press roller is guided over the set paper by the press roller guide when the paper cassette is mounted. Skew can be prevented by securely pressing. Further, since the press roller guide is configured to be pushed by the press roller and moved to the retracted position when the sheet cassette is mounted, the press roller does not become an obstacle when removing the sheet cassette.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the paper end detection sensor is operated by the operation member that moves together with the press roller, and the paper end is also detected by using a mechanism for preventing skew. The number of parts is reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a main part of a paper feeding cassette of a paper feeding device, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the paper feeding cassette is mounted on an apparatus main body and paper is fed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet feeding device according to the embodiment in a state where the sheet feeding cassette is mounted, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a pressing roller guide of the sheet feeding cassette, and FIG. 5 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the paper feeding device in a state where the paper feeding cassette is mounted, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the paper feeding device in a paper end state, and FIG. 7 is the inside of a laser printer having the paper feeding device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall schematic configuration diagram showing a mechanism. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which a sheet feeding cassette of a conventional sheet feeding device is attached to an apparatus main body to feed a sheet, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding cassette. 10 ... Main body (recording main body), 17 ... Set paper,
18 Paper feed cassette, 26 Paper feeder, 27 Paper feed roller, 55 Support arm (operating member), 56 Presser roller, 58 Presser roller guide, 60 Paper end detection Sensor.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A paper cassette attached to a main body of the recording apparatus;
In a paper feeder of a recording device for feeding the set paper of the paper feed cassette by a paper feed roller, when the paper feed cassette is attached, a press roller for holding the set paper is provided in the main body of the recording device, A feed roller guide for the recording apparatus, which is provided at the leading end of the mounting side with a press roller guide that guides the press roller on the set sheet when the sheet cassette is mounted, and presses the press roller with the press roller to move to a retracted position when removing the sheet cassette. Paper equipment. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operating member which moves together with said presser roller, and a paper end detecting sensor which is operated by said operating member when said set sheet runs out when said sheet cassette is mounted. 2. The paper feeding device of the recording device according to 1.