JP3432647B2 - Paper cassette - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention stacks and holds sheets to be fed on a sheet stacking surface, and regulates the movement of the sheets in the width direction at the time of sheet feeding with at least one guide member so that the sheets are placed at a predetermined position. The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette for positioning guide.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recording devices such as printers, copiers and facsimiles often have a paper feed cassette for holding a fixed amount of paper for recording characters or images.

The sheets stacked and held in the sheet feeding cassette must be kept at a predetermined position with respect to the sheet feeding mechanism on the apparatus main body side in order to feed the sheets one by one in the correct direction.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
Corresponding to the size of the actually used paper by making screw holes 2a at positions corresponding to the sizes of the usable paper (A4, B4, A3, etc.) on the paper stacking surface 2 of the paper feed cassette 1. The mounting surface of the guide member 3 is tightened and fixed in the screw hole 2a by a screw 4, and the guide member 3 guides the sheet to regulate its movement and position it at a predetermined position.

Although only one guide member is shown in FIG. 5, as a paper feed cassette for guiding the paper by the guide member, one of the left and right sides of the paper is one side of the frame of the paper feed cassette. To guide one side of the sheet facing one side in contact with the frame with one guide member, to guide each of the left and right sides of the sheet opposite to each other with one guide member, and the sheet There is a guide member that guides each of the left and right sides facing each other by one guide member, and the leading end of the sheet in the sheet feeding direction is brought into contact with the frame of the sheet feeding cassette to further regulate the trailing edge of the sheet by a regulating member. .

On the other hand, the size of the paper manufactured according to the standards such as A4, B4, A3, etc., depends on the manufacturer or
Some variation occurs in each production lot. Therefore, even if the sheets have the same size (for example, A4 size) according to the standard, they are actually slightly larger than the standard size, or conversely,
There is a small sheet of paper.

Therefore, the screw holes 2a formed in the sheet stacking surface 2 according to the size of the sheet to be used are formed at positions where the guide member 3 is in close contact with the edge of the standard size sheet without any gap. Instead of the above, in consideration of the existence of a sheet larger than the standard size, the sheet is slightly provided outside so that a sheet of a size slightly larger than the standard size can be stored.

[0008]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional paper feeding cassette, the guide member is slightly fixed to the outside in consideration of the deviation of the used paper size from the standard size. When a paper smaller than the standard size is used, a gap is generated between the paper and the guide member.

Therefore, the paper, the movement of which should be restricted by the guide member, can be moved by the gap.
There is a problem that a sheet is conveyed obliquely when it is fed, which causes so-called skew.

Further, since the guide member is fixed by screwing a screw into a screw hole formed on the sheet stacking surface for each size of sheet that can be used, there is a change in the sheet size to be used. In this case, the user has to move the screw from the screw hole in which the guide member was previously attached to the screw hole corresponding to the changed paper size.

Not only is the moving work very troublesome, but the user must prepare a driver for this purpose. Also, if a user who is unfamiliar with the screw installation work tightens the screw diagonally into the screw hole, the thread of the screw hole is scraped and the guide member cannot be mounted, and the paper cassette must be replaced with a new one. There were also problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to easily change the fixing position of the guide member according to the size of the paper used, and also to prevent the paper size from being different from the standard size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feed cassette that can eliminate the gap between the guide member and the paper.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a paper feed cassette according to a first aspect of the present invention is configured such that paper to be fed is stacked and held on a paper stacking surface, and a width direction of the paper when the paper is fed. In a paper feed cassette that regulates the movement of the sheet by at least one guide member and guides the positioning to a predetermined position, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the mounting hole formed in the mounting surface of the guide member and the paper feeding direction of the paper stacking surface. A long and narrow groove hole, a fixing member in which an upper locking portion and a lower locking portion are formed at both ends of a column portion inserted into the mounting hole and the groove hole, and a column portion of the fixing member. And a helical spring wound between the upper locking portion of the fixing member and the mounting surface of the guide member , wherein the lower locking portion of the fixing member is
The width is smaller than the width of the slot and the length is the groove.
It is formed to be longer than the width of the hole, and the upper locking
The part has a forming direction that matches the length direction of the lower locking part.
It is characterized in that a raised handle portion is formed .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed cassette according to the first aspect.
In the paper feeding cassette described above, a mounting member has a mounting hole formed in a mounting surface, and restricts a rear end portion of the sheets stacked and held on the sheet stacking surface to a predetermined position, and a sheet stacking surface of the sheet cassette. A fixing member in which a slotted hole elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the sheet feeding direction is formed, and an upper side locking portion and a lower side locking portion are formed at both ends of a column portion inserted into the mounting hole and the slotted hole, respectively. And a helical spring wound between the upper locking portion of the pillar portion of the fixing member and the mounting surface of the restriction member, the lower locking portion of the fixing member having a width The above
It is smaller than the width of the slot and its length is greater than the width of the slot.
It is formed longer than the
Handle with the forming direction aligned with the length direction of the lower locking part
It is characterized in that a portion is formed .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed cassette according to the first aspect.
Or the paper feed cassette 2, formed on the upper surface of the lower engaging portion of the fixing member, while forming a continuous groove serving as a slip, the lower engaging portion on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface And a continuous groove formed on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface.
The groove is the size of the paper that can be used in the entire length of the slot.
Specify the size of the paper centered on the position corresponding to the
It is formed only in the range considering the variation from the case size.
Characterized in that that.

[0016]

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outline of a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a large number of stacked sheets P are stacked and held on the sheet stacking surface 2 of the sheet feeding cassette 1. The sheet P is separated and fed sheet by sheet in the sheet feeding direction indicated by an arrow A by a sheet feeding mechanism of the apparatus body (not shown).

Both sides of the sheet P in the width direction are in close contact with the left side guide member 3l and the right side guide member 3r, respectively, and their movement in the width direction is restricted. Further, the front side of the sheet P in the sheet feeding direction A closely contacts the front frame 1a of the sheet feeding cassette 1 without any gap, while the rear side of the sheet P in the sheet feeding direction A has no gap in the regulating member 3b. It is in close contact.

Left guide member 3l, right guide member 3
In order to bring r and the regulating member 3b into close contact with the respective sides of the paper P, the left guide member 3l is provided on the paper stacking surface 2.
Corresponding to, the slot 2 elongated in the direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction A
bl is formed, and an elongated slot 2br is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction A corresponding to the right guide member 3r.
Corresponding to the restricting member 3b, a slot 2bb elongated in a direction substantially parallel to the sheet feeding direction A is formed.

Left guide member 3l, right guide member 3
r and the regulating member 3b are fixed members 5l,
It is slidably attached to the slots 2bl, 2br and 2bb by 5r and 5b, respectively.

2 and FIG. 2 show the structure of the fixing members 5l, 5r and 5b and how to attach the left guide member 3l, the right guide member 3r and the regulating member 3b to the slots 2bl, 2br and 2bb. This will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 and 3, only the fixing member 5r will be described, but the same applies to the fixing member 5l and the fixing member 5b.

In the assembly view of FIG. 2, the fixing member 5r is finally attached to both ends of the column portion 5rp by the upper engaging portions 5ru.
The lower locking portion 5rl and the lower locking member 5rl are integrally formed. However, at this stage, the handle member 5rt in which the column portion 5rp and the upper locking portion 5ru are integrally formed and the lower locking member 5r are formed.
parted with l. The upper locking portion 5ru is formed with a grip portion 5rut for manually pinching the fixed member 5r to rotate or lift it.

First, the coil spring 6r is wound around the column portion 5rp of the handle member 5rt. The upper end of the coil spring 6r is
It is locked to the upper locking portion 5ru. Next, pillar 5rp
Is inserted into the mounting hole 3rh formed in the mounting surface of the right guide member 3r, and in this state, the lower locking member 5rl is fixed to the lower end of the column portion 5rp.

As the fixing method, adhesion with an adhesive, screwing, a handle member 5rt and a lower locking member 5r.
It is possible to use a known method such as forming 1 by a plastic material and heat-welding it.

In order to insert the fixing member 5r integrally attached with the right guide member 3r in this manner into the slot 2br so as to be slidably attached to the sheet stacking surface 2, the lower engaging member 5rl is provided. The width c is smaller than the width a of the slot 2br, and the length d of the lower locking member 5rl is the slot 2br.
Is formed so as to be larger than the width a.

FIG. 3 (a) is a view of the vicinity of the mounting position of the fixing member 5r from a distance in the longitudinal direction of the slot 2br by setting the width and length dimensions of the lower locking member 5rl in such a manner. ), The column portion 5rp can be inserted into the groove hole 2br by making the length direction of the lower locking portion 5rl substantially coincide with the length direction of the groove hole 2br.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the column portion 5rp is pushed deeper into the groove hole 2br, the helical spring 6r.
Has its one end contracted while being locked by the upper locking portion 5ru to generate a restoring force in the downward direction. The right guide member 5r is pressed against the sheet stacking surface 2 by the restoring force.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the fixing member 5r is rotated so that the longitudinal direction of the slot 2br and the longitudinal direction of the lower engaging portion 5rl are displaced. The rotation angle is preferably about 90 degrees, in which case the lower locking portion 5
The length direction of rl and the length direction of the slot 2br are substantially orthogonal to each other, and the lower locking portion 5rl having a length d longer than the width a of the slot 2br firmly holds the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 firmly. And lock.

It is to be noted that the forming direction of the handle portion 5rut formed on the upper side engaging portion 5ru and the length direction of the lower side engaging member 5rl are made coincident with each other in the lower direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the slot 2br. This is for intuitively informing the user of the longitudinal direction of the side locking member 5rl, and by doing so, the user
The right guide member 5r can be smoothly attached to and detached from the sheet stacking surface 2.

Now, by rotating the fixing member 5r, the slot 2b
When the pressing force applied to the fixing member 5r is released in a state where the length direction of r and the length direction of the lower locking portion 5rl are displaced, that is, when the user releases the handle portion 5rut, As shown in FIG. 3D, the upper locking portion 5ru is pushed up by the restoring force of the spiral spring whose lower end is locked by the right guide member 3r. That is, the entire fixing member 5r is pushed upward.

The fixed member 5r pushed up moves up to a position where the lower locking portion 5rl is locked to the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2. At that position, the spiral spring 6r is in a contracted state, and the mounting surface of the right guide member 3r and the sheet stacking surface 2 are held by the lower end of the spiral spring 6r and the lower engaging portion 5rl. Meanwhile, they are pressed against each other by the restoring force of the spiral springs 6r.

Thus, the right guide member 3r is loaded with the restoring force of the spiral spring 6r and the fixing force corresponding to the static friction coefficient between the lower surface of the mounting surface of the right guide member 3r and the upper surface of the paper stacking surface 2. It is fixed to the surface 2.

To remove the right guide member 3r from the sheet stacking surface 2, the procedure of FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (d) may be reversed.

As described above, the right-side guide member 3r fixed to a position suitable for the size of the used paper is changed to another size of the used paper and fixed in accordance with the changed size. If you want to change the position,
In the state shown in (d), the fixing member 5r is slid in the length direction of the slot 2br, or, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the lower engaging portion 5rl is attached to the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2. Is slid away from the sheet, or the right side guide member 3r is removed from the sheet stacking surface 2 and moved to a position to be changed. After moving to the position to be changed, it is fixed at that position in the state shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to change the mounting position of the guide member by detaching a screw or the like each time the size of the paper used is changed, unlike the conventional case. Since the fixing member 5r may be slid along the slot 2br, the mounting position of the guide member can be easily changed according to the size of the paper used.

Further, since the mounting position of the guide member is not fixed at one point, but the fixing position can be continuously changed within the length of the slot 2br, the standard size of the paper size can be adjusted according to variations. It enables fine adjustment of the position. Therefore, the movement of the paper P in the width direction and the paper feed direction is surely regulated, the paper does not swing to the left and right at the time of paper feed, skew can be prevented, and two or more paper sheets are fed at one time. So-called double feeding can also be prevented.

In the embodiment described above, the width c of the lower engaging portion 5rl is made smaller than the width a of the slot 2br so that the right guide member 3r can be detached from the sheet stacking surface 2. The winding spring 6r is wound around the pillar portion 5rp of the fixing member 5r, and the mounting hole 3 of the right guide member 3r is further attached.
The right side guide member 3r is slidable by inserting the rh and the groove hole 2br in this order and then fixing the lower locking portion of the area that cannot pass through the groove hole 2br to the lower end of the column portion 5rp. Can be attached to 2. However, in that case, the right guide member 3r cannot be removed from the sheet stacking surface 2.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the right guide member 5
The force for fixing r to the sheet stacking surface 2 was a force corresponding to the restoring force of the spiral spring 6r and the coefficient of static friction between the right guide member 5r and the sheet stacking surface 2, but in the present embodiment, In order to fix the right guide member 5r to the sheet stacking surface 2 more firmly, in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), on the upper surface of the lower locking portion 5rl, A groove extending in the length direction, that is, in a direction substantially orthogonal to the length direction of the slot 2br with the right guide member 5r attached to the sheet stacking surface 2 is continuously formed in the width direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lower engaging portion 5rl is provided around the groove hole 2br, which is at least a portion of the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 that contacts the lower engaging portion 5rl.
A continuous groove that meshes with the continuous groove formed on the upper surface of the.

As a result, the groove formed on the upper surface of the lower engaging portion 5rl by the restoring force of the spiral spring 6r meshes firmly with the groove formed on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2, and the stronger fixing force is applied to the right side. The fixing member 5r can be fixed to the sheet stacking surface 2.

When the right fixing member 5r is moved along the slot 2br, the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 and the upper surface of the lower engaging portion 5rl are separated from each other as shown in FIG. 3 (c). Then, the engagement between the groove formed on the upper surface of the lower locking portion 5rl and the groove formed on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 is released.

As a result, the right side fixing member 5r is attached to the slot 2b.
When moving along r, it is possible to move against a relatively weak frictional force due to the restoring force of the helical spring 6r. Therefore, the right side fixing member 5r can be easily moved to an arbitrary position along the slot 2br, and once fixed at a predetermined position, the groove formed on the upper surface of the lower side locking portion 5rl has a groove formed on the sheet stacking surface 2 The paper P can be more reliably guided by being firmly fixed in a groove formed on the lower surface of the paper with a strong fixing force.

It should be noted that the groove formed on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 is not formed over the entire length of the groove hole 2br, but rather is formed.
As shown in FIG. 4B, it suffices to form only in a range in which the deviation from the standard size of the paper size is taken into consideration, with the position corresponding to the standard size of the usable paper as the center.

By doing so, as compared with the case where the groove is formed on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface 2 over the entire length of the groove hole 2br, the labor for cutting the die for manufacturing the sheet feeding cassette is saved, The manufacturing cost of the mold can be reduced.

[0048]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pillar portion of the fixing member slides along the groove hole of the sheet stacking surface so that the fixing position of the guide member can be adjusted according to the size of the sheet to be used. It can be easily changed, and the gap between the guide member and the paper can be eliminated regardless of the deviation of the paper size from the standard size. Further, the guide member moved to the predetermined position is firmly pressed and fixed to the sheet stacking surface by the restoring force of the helical spring at that position. Well
Also, the width of the lower locking portion of the fixing member is smaller than that of the groove hole.
It is smaller than the width and its length is longer than the width of the slot.
Since it is formed in a long shape,
Insert the guide member by aligning with the length direction of
The fixed member can be removed from the paper stacking surface
Meanwhile, the length direction of the lower locking part and the length direction of the slot
And fixing the fixing member to the paper stacking surface.
The guide member can be easily moved. Furthermore,
Forming direction of the handle formed on the upper locking part and lower locking
Since the length direction of the part matches, the length direction of the slot
Intuitive to the user in the longitudinal direction of the lower locking part with respect to
The user can tell the
It can be removed from the surface smoothly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the guide member, a regulating member for regulating the rear end of the sheet at a predetermined position is attached to the sheet stacking surface so as to be slidable substantially in the sheet feeding direction. Since it is pressed and fixed to the sheet stacking surface by the restoring force of the sheet, the mounting position of the regulation member can be easily changed according to the size of the sheet used, and the regulation member and the sheet are fixed regardless of the deviation from the standard size. The gap between and can be eliminated. Also, the fixed
The width of the lower locking part of the member is smaller than the width of the slot.
And its length is longer than the width of the slot.
The length direction of the lower locking part and the length direction of the slot
Fixing part where the regulation member is inserted by
While it is possible to remove the material from the paper stacking surface,
The length direction of the lower locking part and the length direction of the slot can be offset.
With, the fixing member can be fixed to the paper stacking surface.
This facilitates the movement of the restriction member. Furthermore, on the upper locking part
Forming direction of the formed handle part and length direction of the lower locking part
Since they match with, the lower side in the length direction of the slot
Intuitively telling the user the direction of the length of the locking part
The user can remove the regulating member from the paper stacking surface.
It can be done smoothly.

[0050] According to the invention of claim 3, the upper surface of the lower engaging portion of the fixing member, while forming a continuous groove serving as a slip, the lower engaging the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface Since the continuous groove that meshes with the continuous groove formed in the stop portion is formed, the groove of the lower engaging portion and the groove of the lower surface of the paper stacking surface are firmly held by the restoring force of the spiral spring. The guide member or the regulating member does not move due to a large force received by the meshing and the paper. Further, the paper stack
The continuous groove formed on the lower surface of the surface is
Position corresponding to the standard size of paper that can be used
Centered on the deviation of the paper size from the standard size
Since it is formed only in the range considering
When forming a groove on the lower surface of the paper stacking surface
Comparing, cutting die for manufacturing paper cassette
It saves time and labor and reduces die manufacturing costs.
it can.

[0051]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial assembly view of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a procedure for attaching a guide member to a sheet stacking surface.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of a fixing member and a part of a sheet stacking surface according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a conventional paper feed cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 paper feed cassette 2 Paper stacking surface 2bl, 2br, 2bb Slotted hole 3 Guide member 3l left guide member 3r Right guide member 3b Control member 4 screws 5l, 5r, 5b fixing member 6r Tsurumaki spring

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A paper feed cassette for holding and holding paper to be fed on a paper stacking surface, and for controlling movement of the paper in the width direction at the time of feeding by at least one guide member to position and guide the paper at a predetermined position. A mounting hole formed in the mounting surface of the guide member, a slot hole elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet stacking surface, and a column portion inserted into the mounting hole and the slot hole. Is wound between the fixing member having upper and lower locking portions formed at both ends thereof and the upper locking portion of the pillar of the fixing member and the mounting surface of the guide member. And a width of the lower locking portion of the fixing member is
It is smaller than the width of the slot and its length is the width of the slot.
Longer than that of the upper locking portion.
Made the forming direction coincide with the length direction of the lower locking portion.
A paper feed cassette characterized in that a handle portion is formed . 2. A regulation member for regulating a rear end portion of sheets stacked and held on the sheet stacking surface to a predetermined position, and a sheet feeding surface of the sheet stacking surface of the sheet cassette. And a fixing member in which an upper side engaging portion and a lower side engaging portion are formed at both ends of a column portion inserted into the mounting hole and the groove hole, respectively. A spiral spring wound between the upper locking portion of the pillar portion of the fixing member and the attachment surface of the regulating member ;
The width of the lower locking part of the fixing member is smaller than the width of the slot.
And the length is longer than the width of the slot.
In addition, the forming direction is
The handle part is formed to match the length direction of the lower locking part.
The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed cassette is provided. To 3. A top surface of the lower engaging portion of the fixing member, while forming a continuous groove serving as a slip, continuously formed in said the lower engaging portion on the lower surface of the sheet stacking surface to form a continuous groove that mates with a groove, the said sheet stacking
The continuous groove formed on the lower surface of the surface is
Position corresponding to the standard size of paper that can be used
Centered on the deviation of the paper size from the standard size
3. The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed cassette is formed only in a range that takes into consideration the above.