JP3346837B2 - 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 paper feeder which uses a paper feed cassette device capable of storing a plurality of sizes of paper and supplies paper of a desired size to a main body of a copying machine or the like which requires paper feed. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a paper feed cassette device for supplying paper to a copying machine or the like, a paper size display label on which a paper size is printed is printed on a window formed on a front surface of the paper feed cassette device. While the paper size is displayed on the operator when the printer is inserted, a projection for changing the combination according to the paper size is provided on the rear side of the paper feeding cassette device for the copying machine body. By reading this projection, the paper size in the paper feed cassette device is identified.

[0003]

Conventionally, the means for displaying the size of the paper accommodated in the paper cassette apparatus on the operator and the means for identifying the size of the paper in the apparatus main body are separate.

Therefore, when attempting to change the size of the paper in the paper cassette unit, the operator replaces the size display label to be displayed on the window in accordance with the size of the paper to be replaced, and reads the label with the size reading switch. The combination of protrusions to be formed must be changed according to the paper size, and two types of operations must be performed in accordance with the paper size exchange, which requires time for the replacement operation.

Moreover, the combination of projections according to the paper size is difficult to discern visually, and it is easy to make a mistake when referring to a manual or the like. The size displayed from the window by the size display label differs from the combination of projections. Also, there has been a problem that reliability is poor, for example, the combination of protrusions is completely wrong.
Therefore, the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems, and eliminates the need to perform the operation of replacing the projection separately from the operation of replacing the size display label when replacing the paper size as in the related art. The main unit can automatically recognize the change in paper size, reducing the operator's change operation due to paper size exchange.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device in which a display size does not conflict with a recognition size in the apparatus main body, and a paper feeding error such as a size difference due to a recognition error or a paper feeding failure does not occur.

[0006]

[0007]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing for accommodating paper to be supplied in an apparatus main body and detachably mounted on the apparatus main body, Identification means having a display unit for displaying a plurality of storable paper sizes on both sides thereof, and an instruction unit formed integrally with the display unit and indicating the plurality of paper sizes for each paper size Detecting means for recognizing the indication unit of the identification means to detect the paper size; and a sheet contained in the housing among a plurality of paper sizes formed on the housing and displayed on the display unit when said display unit for displaying the paper size that is the storage in the window is positioned, a portion corresponding to the paper size that is the storage of the instruction unit and having a window portion for display size only outward Only the detection hand inside the device body Attaching means for removably attaching the identification means so that the identification means can be read, and changing a portion read by the detection means of the indicating unit with a change in a sheet size displayed through the window. It is.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing for accommodating paper to be supplied in an apparatus main body and detachably mounted on the apparatus main body, and a plurality of papers accommodating in the housing. An identification unit having a display unit for displaying the size on both front and back sides and an instruction unit formed integrally with the display unit and indicating the plurality of paper sizes for each paper size; and recognizing the instruction unit of the identification unit. Detecting means for detecting the paper size, and a window for displaying only the paper size accommodated in the housing out of a plurality of paper sizes formed on the front surface of the housing in the mounting / removing direction and displayed on the display unit. And a display unit for displaying the size of the stored paper in the window is located, and only a portion of the instruction unit corresponding to the stored paper size is detected by the detection unit in the apparatus main body. Read by Mounting means for removably mounting the identification means so as to be removable, and changing a reading portion of the indication unit by the detection means with a change in a paper size displayed from the window. is there.

Further, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
Ru der those providing the instruction unit which corresponds to the number of the paper size displayed on the display unit on downward said identification means and displays a plurality of paper sizes on the same surface of the display section above of the identification means.

[0010]

The present invention is constructed as described above, and when the paper size in the housing is exchanged, the display of the paper size on the operator and the display of the paper size on the operator are performed only by replacing the identification means integrally having the display unit and the instruction unit. The instruction of the paper size to the apparatus main body can be performed in conjunction with the instruction. Therefore, when the user changes the paper size in the housing, the user does not need to perform the operation of rearranging the instruction unit as in the conventional case, and the change operation accompanying the paper size exchange is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional case. There is no possibility that a paper feeding error or the like due to a mistake in the rearrangement of the parts occurs.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an internal configuration of a main body 1 of a copying machine or the like, in which an image forming means 2 for charging, exposing, developing, transferring, peeling, cleaning, discharging, fixing, etc. is built in. A document table 3 for supporting a document is provided on an upper surface of the apparatus main body 1.

A housing for accommodating sheets supplied to the image forming means 2 is provided at a lower portion of the apparatus main body 1, and is a front loading type paper feeder which is inserted and removed from the front side of the apparatus main body 1. A cassette device 10 is mounted.

The image forming means 2 has the following configuration. That is, a drum-shaped photoconductor 20 is disposed substantially at the center of the apparatus main body 1, and around the photoconductor 20,
Along the direction of rotation, a charging charger 21, an exposure unit 22a of an exposure device 22, a developing device 23, a transfer charger 25 as a transfer unit, and a peeling charger 2 are well known in the art.
6. A cleaning device 27 and a static elimination device 28 are sequentially arranged.

The exposure device 22 includes an exposure lamp 51 surrounded by a reflector 50, first to third reflection mirrors 52 to 54 for guiding a reflected light image from the original by the exposure lamp 51 to a lens 55, and a lens. The light image transmitted through 55 is
Fourth to sixth reflection mirrors 56 to 58 are provided to guide the photoconductor 20 through the slit glass 59.

Further, the paper automatically fed from the paper feed cassette device 10 is transferred into the apparatus main body 1 through an image transfer section 30 between the photosensitive member 20 and the transfer charger 25. A sheet transport path 31 leading to the tray 12 provided on the left side of the tray 1 is formed.

Various devices for transporting the paper are arranged along the paper transport path 31. That is, in the vicinity of the image transfer unit 30, a pair of registration rollers 32 for aligning the leading edge of the paper and transporting the paper while synchronizing the transport of the paper and the rotation operation of the photoconductor 20 are arranged upstream thereof. The fixing device 33 includes a heat roller 33a and a press roller 33b that is in contact with the heat roller 33a, and a sheet discharge roller pair 35 is further downstream. ing. Further, a transport belt 36 is provided between the peeling charger 26 and the fixing device 33.

A pickup roller 37 for taking out the sheets P to be stored one by one and a sheet transporter for taking out the sheets P picked up by the pickup roller 37 are provided in the vicinity of the receiving portion of the sheet feeding cassette device 10. Conveyor row to be sent to road 31
And a separation transport roller 38 including a separation roller.

Next, the paper feed cassette device 10 and the size of the paper stored in the paper feed cassette device 10 are operated.
And a discriminating means which is provided on the front side of the apparatus main body 1 and instructs a control device (not shown) via a size detecting switch 60 which is a detecting means having first to third switches 60a to 60c. The port 61 will be described in detail.

Plate 61 made of a plastic flat plate
Of the first to fourth areas 62a to 62a
Each of the areas 62a to 62d is divided into sheet sizes A3 and A3 which can be stored in the sheet cassette device 10.
4, B4, and B5 are printed and displayed. At the upper and lower ends of the areas 62a to 62d, the first to fourth protrusions 63a to 63d, each of which has a different shape and are unique to each paper size and serve as an instruction unit for switching the size detection switch 60, are provided. Are formed. In the control device (not shown), the paper size is identified according to Table 1 based on the detection result from the size detection switch 60 by switching of the switches 60a to 60c.

[0020]

[Table 1] 64a and 64b are first and second stoppers formed on the plate 61.

On the other hand, the paper feed cassette device 10 is capable of storing sheets of various sizes by sliding a side guide 10a. Is formed with a notch 10c, and a window 10c
A support frame 67 for supporting a plate 61 inserted into the slit 10d from above the cassette cover 10b is provided.

Either first or second stoppers 64a, 64b are fitted into the bottom surface of the slit 10d, and first and second grooves 68a, 68b for positioning the plate 61 in the slit 10d are provided. Is formed.

Assume that the sheet cassette 10 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1 with the plate 61 mounted on the support frame 67. One of the projections 63a to 63d specific to the paper size displayed on the window 10c switches the size detection switch 60.

Next, the copying operation of the apparatus main body 1 will be described. First, a document is set on the document table 3, and copy conditions such as the number of copies and the paper size are set by a numeric keypad on a control panel (not shown).

For example, if the set paper size is A
When the A4 size paper is stored in the paper cassette unit 10 and the presence of the paper is confirmed on the control panel, the copy key (not shown) is turned on and the copy is performed. -Start the operation.

On the other hand, if A4 size paper is not stored in the paper feed cassette device 10 after setting the paper size, the other size paper in the paper feed cassette device 10 is transferred to the A4 size paper.
It will be exchanged for paper of the size.

That is, after the paper cassette unit 10 is slid to the front side and the stored B5 size paper is taken out, the side guide 10a is slid to the A4 position to newly feed A4 size paper. It is stored in the cassette device 10. Further, the window 1 of the cassette cover 10b
At 0c, since the previous paper size B5 is still displayed as shown in FIG. 7, the plate 61 is once taken out from the support frame 67 and the first sheet of the display section 62 is displayed as shown in FIG. [A4] described in the area 62a of the window section 10c
Replaced to be located at As a result, when the sheet cassette device 10 is mounted at a position where the sheet can be supplied to the apparatus main body 1,
The first projection 63a indicating the A4 size is opposed to the position of the size detection switch 60, and it is detected that the sheet in the sheet cassette device 10 is the A4 size.

As described above, the paper size is exchanged for the paper cassette unit 10 by exchanging the paper for the desired size, further replacing the plate 61, and changing the display size of the window 10c to the exchanged size. The operation of is ended.

Then, the paper feed cassette device 10 containing the A4 size paper is returned to the paper feed position again, and the first projection 6
The size detection switch 60 is switched by 3a,
The setting of the A4 size paper is completed.

Next, after setting other necessary copy conditions, a copy key (not shown) is turned on to start a copy operation. When the copy operation is started, the photosensitive member 2
In the case of No. 0, the respective steps of charging, exposure and development are sequentially performed by the image forming means according to the rotation, and a developer image is formed.

On the other hand, in the paper feed cassette device 10,
A4 size paper taken out by the pick-up roller 37 is separated one by one by separation / conveying means 38 and sent to the registration roller 32, and is synchronized with the developer image on the photosensitive member 20 by the image forming means 2. Then, the developer is sent to the image transfer section 30 between the photoconductor 20 and the transfer charger 25, and the developer image on the photoconductor 20 is transferred. Further, the sheet on which the developer image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive member 20 by a separation charger 26, conveyed by a conveyance belt 36, sent to a fixing device 33 to fix the image, and discharged in the direction of the paper discharge tray 12. Is done. Then, the above-described copy operation is repeated to obtain the required number of copies, and then all the copy operations are completed.

With this configuration, the sheet cassette device 1
With the replacement of the paper size within 0, the cassette cover 10b
In order to change the paper size displayed in the window 10c of
By merely replacing the plate 61, the protrusions 63a to 63d for operating the size detection switch 60 can be automatically changed. Therefore, the change operation by the operator, which must be performed at the time of paper size exchange, is significantly simplified as compared with the conventional case, and the operability is improved. In addition, this allows anyone to easily replace the paper, prevent mistakes in the change operation, and prevent paper feed errors and the like.

Further, since the plate 61 is made of plastic, it can be easily wiped off when it is soiled, and can maintain a clear display even after long-term use.

Conventionally, a projection for identifying the size is provided on the rear side of the paper cassette unit. Therefore, after the paper cassette unit is pulled out to the front side and the paper is exchanged,
In order to change the combination of the projections provided on the rear side of the paper feed cassette device, the entire paper feed cassette device had to be taken out from the main body of the device. In the state where the sheet cassette device 10 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 1,
Since the plates having 3a to 63d can be replaced, the operability is further improved.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be changed without departing from the spirit thereof.
It is sufficient if the operator can simultaneously change the instruction section for identifying the paper size in the apparatus main body in accordance with the operation of changing the display on the display section for visually confirming the paper size. 1 means for each size
A plate may be used for each sheet, and each time a sheet is replaced, the plate may be replaced with another plate. Alternatively, display portions are provided on both sides of the plate, and one plate is provided.
More paper sizes may be displayed.

The structure of the discriminating means is also arbitrary, and a slit-shaped indicating portion 71 may be formed around the display portion 70 as in another embodiment shown in FIG. With such a configuration, the strength is increased as compared with a case where the projection portion may be damaged when the pointing portion has a projection shape. Further, the indicating unit is optional, such as a structure that can be read optically or a structure that can be read magnetically according to the structure of the size detection switch in the apparatus main body. If it is, it is not limited to a copying machine.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the paper size in the housing is changed, only the identification means detachably attached to the housing is replaced, and the new paper size is changed. Can be clearly indicated to the user and the apparatus main body can be instructed, so that the operation of changing the identification means at the time of changing the paper size can be extremely easily performed, and the operability at the time of changing the paper size is remarkably improved. The change operation can be performed easily and without mistake, and the function is expanded. In addition, since a complicated mechanism is not required, there is no hindrance to reducing the size and weight or reducing the cost of the sheet feeding cassette device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an apparatus main body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an apparatus main body according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a sheet cassette apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a cassette cover and a size detection switch according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a cassette cover according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cassette cover according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which 5 is displayed.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the window of the cassette cover according to the embodiment of the present invention has an A
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which No. 4 is displayed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a plate according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copy machine 10 ... Paper feed cassette device 10c ... Window part 60 ... Size detection switch 61 ... Plates 63a-63d ... First to fourth protrusion 67 ... Support frame

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/00 501 B65H 7/02 G03G 15/00 516

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A housing for accommodating paper to be supplied in an apparatus main body and detachably attached to the apparatus main body, a display unit for displaying a plurality of paper sizes storable in the housing on both front and back sides, and The plurality of paper sheets formed integrally with the display section
With an instructing unit for instructing the paper size for each paper size
A step, a detecting means for recognizing the indication section of the identifying means to detect the paper size, and the display section formed on the housing.
Of the paper sizes displayed in the
And a window for displaying only the paper size stored in the window and displaying the size of the paper stored in the window.
When the display unit to be positioned is located ,
Only the part corresponding to the paper size
Mounting means for removably mounting the identification means so that the identification means can be read by the detection means inside the window.
When the paper size displayed by the
A sheet feeding device, wherein a portion read by the detection unit is changed . 2. A housing for accommodating paper to be supplied in the apparatus main body and detachably mounted on the apparatus main body, a display unit for displaying a plurality of paper sizes storable in the housing on both front and back sides, and An identification unit formed integrally with the display unit and having an instruction unit for instructing the plurality of paper sizes for each paper size; a detection unit for recognizing the instruction unit of the identification unit and detecting the paper size; wherein it is housed in the window portion and having a window portion that displays only the paper size that is accommodated in the housing of the plurality of paper sizes to be formed in the detachable direction toward the front of the casing is displayed on the display unit to the outside when the display unit that displays the paper size and is located, the so only the portion corresponding to the sheet size that is the storage of the instruction unit is readable by the detection means in the device body before <br/> Identification means Instead capable comprises a securing means for securing, the sheet feeding apparatus, characterized in that to change the reading portion by the detecting means of the instruction unit according to the change of the paper size to be displayed from the window. 3. A display device comprising :
Number of paper sizes and the identification means up and down
The finger corresponding to the number of paper sizes displayed on the display
3. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit.
A paper feeding device according to any one of the above .