JP3756665B2 - Paper feeding device, image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a paper feeding device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and more particularly, to a paper feeding device having a movable side fence that regulates the width direction of paper.
[0002]
[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention]
In a paper feeding device used in a copying machine or the like, a side fence that regulates the width direction of a paper is required on a paper feeding tray on which paper is stacked. The side fence can be loaded with a fixed side fence type that replaces and fixes the side fence according to the paper size, and can be loaded with paper of any paper size so that paper of various standard sizes can be loaded. A universal type side fence is known in which the user can move the side fence in accordance with the paper size. Further, the unipersal type side fence is further divided into a free stop type that can be fixed at an arbitrary position and a designated position lock type that can be fixed only at a position that matches each paper size.
[0003]
Although the free-stop type side fence can handle paper of all sizes, the user may forget to set the side fence, or if the setting is incomplete, problems such as skew may occur. Fixed side fence types that are less likely to occur and side fences that have a designated position lock type are also widely used. However, even papers that should be the same size have different sizes depending on the manufacturer, and conventional designated position lock type side fences cannot handle this, and the gap between the paper and the size of a certain span between the side fences is small or large. This causes a problem that skew, non-feed, etc. occur due to this.
[0004]
In view of this, there has been proposed a paper feed device of a designated position lock type that can finely adjust the span between the side fences according to the size of the paper, such as the paper feed device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-329271. ing. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the paper feeding device.
[0005]
The paper feed tray 1 is provided with a front side fence 2 on the front side of the apparatus and a rear side fence 3 on the rear side of the apparatus. The side of the paper is regulated by adjusting the span between the side fences. Each of the side fences 2 and 3 has rack portions 2a and 3a, respectively, and meshes with and engages with the gear 4. The gear 4 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum 5 that can move in the directions of arrows A and B in the figure.
[0006]
The front side fence 2 can be locked by the grooves 6a, 6b, 6c of the positioning plate 6 provided integrally therewith. Therefore, by setting the front side fence 2 in any one of the grooves 6a, 6b, 6c, the position of the rear side fence 3 interlocked by the gear 4 is determined, whereby the side fences 2, 3 that match the paper to be set respectively. The span between can be set. For example, when the span between the side fences 2 and 3 is too large with respect to the sheet width, the position of the fulcrum 5 is moved in the direction of arrow A. As a result, the span between the side fences 2 and 3 is reduced by 2L with respect to the movement amount L of the fulcrum 5. Similarly, when the span between the side fences 2 and 3 is too small, if the position of the fulcrum 5 is moved L ′ in the direction of the arrow B, the span between the side fences 2 and 3 is increased by 2L ′. In other words, by finely adjusting the fulcrum 5 in the directions of arrows A and B and fixing it, the optimum span between the side fences 2 and 3 can be set for the paper.
[0007]
The paper feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-329271 is suitable for use in a designated position lock type paper feeding device as described above, but of course cannot be adopted for a fixed side fence type. Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a paper feeding device that can be used in either a designated position lock type or a fixed side fence type, and finely adjust the span between the side fences according to the size of the paper to prevent skew and non-feed. And
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a side for guiding a side edge in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the stacked paper on the tray for stacking the paper is provided. The bracket member includes a bracket member, and at least one of the pair of side fences is fixed to the tray and attached to the tray member, and a guide member that guides a side edge of the paper, and the guide member includes the bracket member. mounted fixably in any position and the movable, Ri Na and adjustable span of the side fences, the guide member, and the movable obliquely intersecting direction with respect to the conveying direction of the sheet above for characterized Rukoto such attached to the bracket member.
[0009]
Those according to the second aspect, the guide member, the biasing member is characterized by being urged in the direction of the span by the side fences is narrowed.
[0010]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, a scale indicating a relative positional relationship is provided on at least one of the guide member and the bracket member .
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus using the paper feeding device according to any one of the first to third aspects .
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the fixed side fence type will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the designated position lock type can also be adopted.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one side fence in the embodiment of the paper feeding device according to the present invention. The side fence 10 of this embodiment includes a side guide 11 and a fixed bracket 12, and the side guide 11 is movably attached to the fixed bracket 12.
[0014]
Specifically, the pair of upper and lower flanges 13, 13 are provided on the side guide 11 so as to extend to the mounting side to the fixing bracket 12 with an interval of two sets, and the fixing bracket 12 includes a pair of upper and lower flanges 14. , 14 are provided to extend to the side guide 11 mounting side with an interval of two sets. Each flange 13 of the side guide 11 is provided with a slit-shaped guide hole 15 in a direction (arrow E direction in the figure) obliquely intersecting with the sheet conveyance direction (arrow C direction in the figure). Each flange 14 is provided with a pin hole 16 (only one flange 14 is shown), and a pin 17 and a guide screw 18 are passed through the guide hole 15 and the pin hole 16 to connect the side guide 11 and the fixing bracket 12. In addition, the position of the surface of the side guide 11 that contacts the paper is attached so as to be variable in the direction of arrow D in the figure. The pin 17 is prevented from coming off by a thrust retaining ring 19, and the guide screw 18 can be fixed at an arbitrary position by tightening into the pin hole 16 of the lower flange 14 with the female screw cut at the tip. It is like that.
[0015]
The side guide 11 is urged in the direction of arrow C in the figure by a spring 20 so that when the guide screw 18 is loosened, the side guide 11 moves so that the span between the opposite side fence (not shown) is narrowed. It is energized. That is, when the guide screw 18 is loosened, the side guide 11 moves along the extending direction of the guide hole 15 indicated by the arrow E in the drawing by the urging force of the spring 20, and even if the size of the stacked paper varies, Take the best position. The same applies to the case of using a non-standard size paper. Further, since the guide hole 15 for making the side guide 11 movable is inclined with respect to the sheet conveyance direction, the movement amount in the side fence span direction (arrow D direction) with respect to the movement amount of the side guide 11 is reduced. The span can be easily finely adjusted.
[0016]
FIG. 3 shows an aspect in which a scale 21 is provided on the side guide 11 or the fixed bracket 12 so that the user can recognize the position of the side guide 11 at a glance. 3A is provided on the upper surface of the flange 14 of the fixed bracket 12, and FIG. 3B is provided on the upper surface of the flange 13 of the side guide 11, both of which are the edge of the flange 13 of the side guide 11 and the flange 14 of the fixed bracket 12. The amount of movement can be discriminated at the intersection with the side edge. In other words, if the side fence 10 of this embodiment is used on both sides of the paper, the center of the paper can be prevented from shifting by adjusting the scales on both sides to be the same value. By shifting the writing position of the written image by the scale value at the time of adjustment, it becomes possible to easily align the center of the image with the center of the paper.
In other words, the sheet feeding device according to the present invention can adjust the span of the pair of side fences by attaching the guide member to the bracket member so that the guide member is movable and can be fixed at an arbitrary position. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate skew and non-feeding, and a fixed-side fence type paper feeding device can handle irregular-size paper. In addition, the guide member is mounted so that the bracket member is movable in an obliquely intersecting direction with respect to the paper transport direction, the movement amount in the side fence span direction with respect to the movement amount of the guide member is reduced, and the fine adjustment of the span is easy and easy to operate. It's good.
Further, the guide member is urged in the direction in which the span is narrowed by the urging member, the guide member automatically abuts on the paper set on the tray, and the operation can be performed easily and reliably. Further, a scale indicating a relative positional relationship is provided on at least one of the guide member and the bracket member, and if this is used on both sides of the paper, the scale on both sides is adjusted to have the same value, thereby adjusting the center of the paper. The shift can be prevented, and if used on one side, the image center and the paper center can be easily aligned by shifting the writing position of the written image in accordance with the scale value.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
Sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention, as has been described above, since the adjustable span of the side fences fixably attached at any position and in movable guide member relative to the bracket member, the loading Even if the size of the paper to be varied varies, it can be guided to the optimum position with respect to the paper, and this has the effect of eliminating skew and non-feed. Further, there is an effect that even a fixed side fence type paper feeding device can cope with paper of an irregular size. In addition, the guide member can be moved in an oblique crossing direction with respect to the paper conveyance direction and attached to the bracket member, so that the amount of movement in the side fence span relative to the amount of movement of the guide member can be reduced, and therefore the fine adjustment of the span Is easy and easy to operate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional paper feeding device.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one side fence in an embodiment of a paper feeding device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing an aspect in which a scale indicating the position of a side guide is provided in an embodiment of a paper feeding device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Side fence 11 Side guide 12 Fixing brackets 13 and 14 Flange 15 Guide hole 16 Pin hole 17 Pin 18 Guide screw 19 Thrust stop ring 20 Spring 21 Scale

Claims (4)

A bracket member having a pair of side fences for guiding side edges in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the stacked sheets on a tray for stacking sheets, and fixing at least one of the pair of side fences to the tray. And a guide member that guides the side edge of the paper. The guide member is attached to the bracket member so as to be movable and fixable at an arbitrary position, and the span of the side fence pair is adjusted. possible and to Ri Na, the guide member, the paper feeding apparatus in the movable obliquely intersecting direction with respect to the conveying direction of the sheet, characterized in Rukoto such attached to the bracket member. The guide member, the biasing member by a sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by being biased in a direction span by the side fences is narrowed. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein a scale indicating a relative positional relationship is provided on at least one of the guide member and the bracket member . An image forming apparatus characterized by using any of the paper feeding apparatus 請 Motomeko 1-3.

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