JP3361856B2 - Rotating member mounting device and sheet alignment device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary member mounting device for facilitating the workability of assembling a rotary member and a support shaft, and a fence member slidably mounted on a tray. The present invention relates to a sheet aligning device equipped with an operated stopper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a rotating member rotatably supported by a support shaft is attached to a member to be mounted, generally, for example, a thin annular groove is formed at both ends of the support shaft to support the support shaft. An assembly method is employed in which a retaining ring is mounted in the annular groove after being inserted into the rotating member and the mounted member.
Further, when the rotating member and the supporting shaft are small, for example, when the rotating member is a small operating member operated by a fingertip, the supporting shaft is attached to a small frame in advance and the rotating member is attached to the frame. A mounting method is widely used in which the small frame is rotatably supported and the small frame is fixed to a mounted member. That is, when the things to be attached are small, they are made into an attachment unit to facilitate the attachment work to the attached member.

On the other hand, as an apparatus having such a small operation member, there is an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile. This image forming apparatus has a predetermined sheet (for example, a cut sheet as a document or a recording sheet).
There is provided a sheet aligning device for aligning a plurality of sheets on the tray (for example, aligning the sheets from both sides by a pair of side fences) in order to feed the sheets from a predetermined position on the tray to another portion.

In this sheet aligning device, for example, a pair of opposing fence members are detachably attached to a tray or a pair of fence members are opposed so that the fence members for aligning the sheet ends can be moved according to the sheet size. It can be slid in any direction.

[0005]

However, the conventional rotary member mounting method described above has the following problems. That is, when using the retaining ring, it is difficult to attach the retaining ring to the member to be mounted. Further, even when the rotating member or the support shaft is made into a mounting unit in advance, the mounting to the mounted member is facilitated, but the support shaft is fixed to the small frame of the mounting unit with a snap ring, or caulking or Assembly work is not easy because it needs to be fixed by press fitting.

On the other hand, in the above sheet aligning apparatus, when the fence member is detachably attached to the tray, the attaching and detaching work is troublesome, and when the fence member is slidable in the opposite direction, the work is not performed. Although easy, since the fence member slides even with a relatively weak force, the fence member may slide when a sheet is placed, and in such a case, a sufficient alignment function cannot be obtained.
Alternatively, it is necessary to return (close) the fence member to a predetermined position. On the other hand, for example, it is possible to increase the sliding resistance of the fence member to some extent, but the operability when changing the seat size is not good. Furthermore, it is possible to add a manual operation stopper that regulates the sliding of the fence member at any position, but it is necessary to add a plurality of members such as the stopper and its support shaft and the return spring to the narrow fence member so that the return spring is bent. However, it was very difficult to assemble it to a predetermined value, and it was not possible to realize it in terms of assembly cost.

Therefore, the invention according to claims 1 to 3 makes it possible to easily attach the rotating member and its return spring to a particularly narrow member to be attached by devising a method of fixing the support shaft in the axial direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting device for a rotating member that can be used. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sheet aligning device having an excellent aligning function, in which a stopper for restricting the slide is attached to a slidable fence member compactly and with good workability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is a rotating member mounting device for mounting a rotating member rotatable by a support shaft to a mounted member,
Holding the support shaft, wherein provided with a fitting member to be fitted in the axial direction and fitting direction substantially perpendicular of the shaft relative to the mounting member, wherein the member being attached, when insert member is inserted the A locking portion for locking the fitting member at a predetermined position, and a pair of thrust receiving portions for contacting or approaching both end surfaces of the support shaft to restrict axial movement of the support shaft are provided. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the fitting member is provided with a locked portion that is convex or concave in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft and the fitting direction. The locking portion is formed into a concave or convex shape corresponding to the locked portion, and when the fitting member is fitted into the fitting member, at least one of the fitting member and the fitting member is elastically deformed to be engaged. It is also characterized in that the stopper is engaged with the engaging portion. According to the invention of claim 3, a torsion spring for urging the rotating member to one side in the rotating direction is interposed between the rotating member and the inserting member, and the supporting member is provided with the supporting spring. A notch is provided to allow one end of the torsion spring to pass in the torsional bending direction of the torsion spring at a predetermined position in the axial direction of the shaft,
In a state in which the fitting member is fitted in the mounted member, one end of the torsion spring is passed through the notch to bend the torsion spring, and the torsion spring is engaged with the fitting member.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is a fence member slidably provided in a predetermined direction on the tray so as to engage with a side end portion of a sheet placed on the tray,
A sheet aligning device that is rotatably attached to the fence member via a support shaft and is urged to one side in the rotation direction to abut against the tray to restrict sliding of the fence member. an apparatus, together with said rotation stopper held by the supporting shaft is provided an axial and a fitting member that is fitted into the fitting direction substantially orthogonal support shaft relative to the fence members, the fence members, A locking portion that locks the fitting member at a predetermined position when the fitting member is fitted, and a pair of thrust receiving portions that come into contact with or come close to both end surfaces of the support shaft and restrict axial movement of the support shaft. And are provided.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the fitting member holding the support shaft is fitted in the fitting member in the fitting direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft, the fitting member is located on the fitting member side. While being locked at a predetermined position by the locking portion, the support shaft has its both end surfaces abutting or approaching the thrust receiving portion of the mounted member so that the axial movement thereof is restricted. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a retaining ring or press-fit or crimp to fix the support shaft in the axial direction, and the mounting work becomes extremely easy.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the fitting member is fitted into the mounted member, at least one of the fitting member and the mounted member is elastically deformed so that the engaged portion of the fitting member is the mounted member. It is locked by the locking part. Therefore, the work of fixing the fitting member to the member to be mounted is not necessary, and the mounting work becomes easier. In the invention according to claim 3, in the state where the insertion member is inserted in the attached member, one end of the torsion spring is passed through the notch to bend the torsion spring so that the torsion spring is engaged with the insertion member. The torsion spring can be left unbent when the member is fitted, and the torsion spring as the return spring of the rotating member can be easily assembled.

According to the present invention, when the fitting member is fitted into the fence member, the fitting member is locked at a predetermined position by the locking portion of the fence member, and both end surfaces of the support shaft are fence members. The axial movement is restricted by coming into contact with or in the vicinity of the pair of thrust receiving portions. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a retaining ring or press-fit or crimp to fix the support shaft in the axial direction, and it becomes extremely easy to attach the rotation stopper to the fence member.
The stopper mechanism becomes compact. Moreover,
Since the slide of the fence member can be regulated at any position by the stopper, both the operability and the alignment function can be satisfied.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 are views showing an embodiment of an attaching device of a rotating member and a sheet aligning device according to the invention described in claims 1 to 4. 1 to 4, 1A and 1B are a pair of side fences (fence members) that engage with both side ends of a cut sheet (not shown, such as a document sheet or recording sheet) placed on the tray 11. Yes, the side fences 1A and 1B have a pair of guide grooves on the tray 11.
It is provided so as to be slidable in the groove direction (predetermined direction) of 12A and 12B. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, in the tray 11, a pair of racks connected to the side fences 1A and 1B by screws 23 through guide grooves 12A and 12B.
21A and 21B and a pinion gear 22 rotatably attached to the tray 11 by a shaft member 24 with a screw so as to mesh with both racks 21A and 21B are provided.
The 21B slides in the same amount to the left and right on the basis of the center in conjunction with each other when one of them is manually operated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, one of the side fences 1A and 1B has a side fence lever 2 (rotation stopper) attached to one side fence 1A (attached member: hereinafter referred to as side fence 1). ) Is attached via a fitting member 3 and a support shaft 5 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined rotation range. This side fence lever 2 is attached to one side in the rotation direction by a torsion coil spring 4 (torsion spring). It is energized. A plurality of protrusions 2a are provided on the lower portion of the side fence lever 2 in FIG. 2, and the side fence lever 2 causes the protrusions 2a to abut on the tray 11 by the biasing force from the torsion coil spring 4. One slide can be regulated at any position within the slide range.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fitting member 3 has a pair of holding plate portions 31a and 31b for holding the side fence lever 2 via the support shaft 5, and a support shaft for the side fence 1. Both side edge portions 32 which are fitted in a predetermined fitting direction (direction from bottom to top in FIG. 2) substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of 5
a and 32b, and a latch portion 33 (locked portion) formed on the fitting member 3 so as to be convex in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft 5 and the fitting direction. ing. Further, in the side fence 1, a latch locking recess 41 (locking portion) that locks the latch portion 33 at a predetermined position when the fitting member 3 is fitted, and both side edge portions 32a, 32b of the fitting member 3.
When the fitting grooves 42a, 42b for fitting the latch and the latch portion 33 of the fitting member 3 are locked at predetermined positions by the latch engaging recess 41, they come into contact with or come close to both end surfaces of the spindle 5, and the spindle 5 Pair of thrust receiving portions 43a, 43b for restricting axial movement of the
And are provided. Then, when the fitting member 3 is fitted into the side fence 1, at least one of the fitting member 3 and the side fence 1, for example, the latch support plate portion 34 of the fitting member 3 is elastically deformed to the right side in FIG.
The latch portion 33 is locked in the latch locking recess 41 when the fitting depth of the latch reaches a predetermined depth. In this embodiment, the pair of thrust receiving portions 43a and 43b serve not only to restrict the movement of the fitting member 3 in the width direction, but also the support shaft 5.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the fitting member 3 is provided with a torsion coil spring 4 at a predetermined axial position of the support shaft 5.
A notch 35 for passing one end 4e of the coil coil 4 in the torsional bending direction of the torsion coil spring 4 (clockwise direction in FIG. 2) and a spring locking recess 36 for locking the one end 4e of the torsion coil spring 4. With the insertion member 3 fitted in the side fence 1, one end 4e of the torsion coil spring 4 is rotated through the notch 35 to the rotation position of FIG. 2 to bend the torsion coil spring 4 by a predetermined amount. The one end 4e is engaged with the spring locking recess 36 of the fitting member 3.

In the rotation pair mounting device of the present embodiment thus constructed, the fitting member 3 holding the support shaft 5 is inserted into the side fence 1 in a fitting direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft 5. When fitted, the fitting member 3 is locked at a predetermined position by the latch locking recess 41 on the side fence 1 side, and the support shaft 5 is attached to the thrust receiving portions 43a, 43b of the side fence 1 at both end surfaces thereof. Axial movement is restricted due to contact or proximity. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a retaining ring or press-fit or crimp to fix the support shaft 5 in the axial direction, and the mounting work becomes extremely easy. Further, the pair of thrust receiving portions 43a, 43b are portions existing as groove side walls of the insertion grooves 42a, 42b into which the both side edge portions 32a, 32b of the insertion member 3 are inserted, and the portions are utilized to function as the thrust receiving portions. Therefore, not only the number of assembling steps but also the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

When the fitting member 3 is fitted into the side fence 1, at least one of the fitting member 3 and the side fence 1 is elastically deformed and the latch portion 33 of the fitting member 3 is inserted.
Is locked in the latch locking recess 41 of the side fence 1. Therefore, the work of fixing the fitting member 3 to the side fence 1 is not necessary, and the mounting work is further facilitated and the disassembling work, for example, at the time of recycling can be facilitated.

Further, while the support shaft 5 is passed through the torsion coil spring 4 and the support shaft 5 is attached to the side fence lever 2, one end 4e of the torsion coil spring 4 is released.
The fitting member 3 is fitted into the side fence 1, and in the fitted state, the one end 4e of the torsion coil spring 4 is passed through the notch 35 to bend the torsion coil spring 4, and is fitted into the spring locking recess 36 of the fitting member 3. Since they are engaged, an unnecessary spring force does not act when the fitting member 3 is fitted, and the mounting unit including the side fence lever 2, the fitting member 3, the torsion coil spring 4, and the support shaft 5 can be easily assembled. Also, the work of fitting and assembling the side fence 1 can be facilitated. That is, the torsion coil spring 4 as the return spring of the side fence lever 2 can be easily assembled.

Further, in the sheet aligning apparatus of this embodiment, when the fitting member 3 is fitted into the side fence 1 as described above, the fitting member 3 is predetermined by the latch locking recess 41 of the side fence 1. While being locked in the position, both end surfaces of the support shaft 5 come into contact with or come close to the pair of thrust receiving portions 43a, 43b of the side fence 1 so that the axial movement of the support shaft 5 is restricted. There is no need to attach a retaining ring or press-fit or caulking work for fixing, and it becomes extremely easy to attach the side fence lever 2 (rotation stopper) to the side fence 1 and the stopper mechanism It will be compact. Moreover, since the slide of the side fence 1 can be regulated at an arbitrary position by the side fence lever 2 that is a rotation stopper, it is possible to prevent the side fence 1 from sliding carelessly and impairing the alignment function. Therefore, the matching device can satisfy both the operability and the matching function.

In this embodiment, a pair of slidable side fences interlocking with each other is used as a member to be attached (fence member), and a rotation stopper is attached to one of them.
It is also possible to provide one as a fixed fence member and the other as a slidable fence member, that is, one side as a conveyance reference, and to provide a rotation stopper on the movable side fence member. In this case, front and rear fence members may be used instead of the side fences. Further, the locked portion provided on the fitting member may be concave in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft and the fitting direction. In this case, the locking portion provided on the mounted member is formed in a convex shape corresponding to the locked portion.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the fitting member holding the support shaft is fitted in the fitting member in the fitting direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft, the fitting member receives the fitting member. Since the support member is locked at a predetermined position by the mounting member-side locking member, and the support shaft is abutted on or close to the thrust receiving portion of the mounted member at both end surfaces thereof, the axial movement is restricted. It is not necessary to attach a retaining ring or press-fit or crimp to fix the support shaft in the axial direction, and it is possible to facilitate the mounting work and reduce the assembly cost.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the fitting member is fitted into the member to be mounted, at least one of the fitting member and the member to be mounted is elastically deformed so that the engaged portion of the fitting member is fitted. Since it is adapted to be engaged with the engaging portion of the member, it is not necessary to fix the fitting member to the attached member, and the attaching operation can be further facilitated. According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the state where the fitting member is fitted in the mounted member, one end of the torsion spring is passed through the notch to bend the torsion spring and engage the fitting member. It is possible to easily assemble the torsion spring as the return spring of the rotating member without bending the torsion spring when the insertion member is inserted.

According to the invention of claim 4, when the fitting member is fitted into the fence member, the fitting member is locked at a predetermined position by the locking portion of the fence member, and
Since both end surfaces of the support shaft are in contact with or close to the pair of thrust receiving portions of the fence member so that the axial movement of the support shaft is restricted, a retaining ring may be attached to fix the support shaft in the axial direction. This eliminates the need for press-fitting or caulking work, makes it extremely easy to attach the rotation stopper to the fence member, and makes the stopper mechanism compact. Moreover, since the slide of the fence member can be regulated at any position by the stopper, it is possible to provide the sheet aligning device which can satisfy both the operability and the aligning function.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a side fence showing an embodiment of a rotating member attaching device and a sheet aligning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the relevant part.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line LL in FIG.

4A and 4B are views showing a configuration of a tray of the sheet aligning apparatus, FIG. 4A is a front sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4B is a partial plan view of a slide mechanism portion thereof.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rotation stopper is attached to the fitting member.

FIG. 6 is a view on arrow M in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the fitting member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1A Side fence (attached member, fence member) 2 Side fence lever (rotation stopper) 3 Fitting member 4 Torsion coil spring (torsion spring) 4e One end of torsion coil spring 5 spindles 11 trays 31a, 31b Holding plate part 32a, 32b Both side edges 33 Latch part (locked part) 34 Latch support plate part (elastically deformable part) 35 notches 36 Spring recess 41 Latch locking recess (locking part) 42a, 42b Fitting groove 43a, 43b Thrust receiving part

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/04 320 G03G 15/00 518 H04N 1/00 108

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pivoting member rotatable by the support shaft to a mounting device of the rotating member attached to the mounting member, holding the support shaft, the axis of the support shaft relative to said mounted member A fitting member that is fitted in a fitting direction that is substantially orthogonal to the direction is provided, and a locking portion that locks the fitting member at a predetermined position when the fitting member is fitted to the mounted member, and both ends of the support shaft. A device for mounting a rotating member, comprising: a pair of thrust receiving portions that come into contact with or come close to a surface to restrict axial movement of the support shaft. 2. The fitting member is provided with a locked portion that is convex or concave in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the support shaft and the fitting direction, and the locking portion includes the locked portion. When the fitting member is fitted into the mounted member, at least one of the fitting member and the mounted member is elastically deformed to engage the locked portion with the locking portion. The mounting device for the rotating member according to claim 1, wherein the mounting device is configured to stop. 3. A torsion spring for urging the rotating member to one side in the rotating direction is interposed between the rotating member and the fitting member, and the fitting member has a predetermined axial direction of the support shaft. Is provided with a notch that allows one end of the torsion spring to pass in the torsional bending direction of the torsion spring, and the one end of the torsion spring is passed through the notch in a state where the fitting member is fitted in the mounted member to form the torsion spring. The rotating member mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting member is bent and engaged with the fitting member. 4. A fence member slidably provided in a predetermined direction on the tray so as to be engaged with a side end portion of a sheet placed on the tray, and pivotable to the fence member via a support shaft. A sheet aligning device that is movably attached and is urged to one side in the rotation direction, and that abuts on the tray to regulate the sliding of the fence member. held by supporting shaft, provided with an axial and insert member which is fitted into the fitting direction substantially orthogonal support shaft relative to the fence members, the fence member, the fitting penetration member when the insert member is fitted A seat provided with a locking portion that locks at a predetermined position, and a pair of thrust receiving portions that abut or approach both end surfaces of the support shaft to restrict axial movement of the support shaft. Matching device.