JP4932468B2 - Paper cassette - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette used as a large capacity paper feed cassette (hereinafter referred to as LCC: Large Capacity Cassette) that accommodates a large amount of paper to be fed to a processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus.

A conventional paper feed cassette such as an LCC stores the most frequently used paper among a plurality of types of paper. Such a sheet cassette includes a sheet stacking plate that moves up and down within a predetermined range, and sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking plate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Then, the sheets are fed in order from the sheet positioned at the top of the plurality of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking plate. The sheet stacking plate rises as the number of stacked sheets decreases, and descends when paper is supplied to the sheet stacking plate.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-86681

  Another conventional paper cassette such as an LCC is a universal type that can select and stack a plurality of types of paper. Hereinafter, a schematic configuration of such a universal type LCC will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view of a conventional universal type LCC.

  In FIG. 8, reference numeral 21 denotes a paper stacking plate for stacking sheets of a desired size. The sheet stacking plate 21 can be moved up and down by a lift-up mechanism (not shown).

  Reference numerals 23 and 24 denote paper position regulating members that contact the side surfaces of the stacked paper in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction X to position the paper.

  By the way, as described above, in the universal type LCC, it is possible to select and stack a plurality of types of paper. As shown in FIG. 8, the paper stacking plate 21 is formed with spaces A and B in which the paper position regulating members 23 and 24 can move. Accordingly, the paper position regulating members 23 and 24 are moved in the direction of the arrow M in the space portions A and B according to the size of the paper loaded on the paper stacking plate 21 by, for example, a rack / pinion gear (not shown). It is free.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses have a tendency to increase the number of sheets to be used and the types of paper sizes to be used due to diversification of purposes of use and multifunctionalization by adding a printer function and a FAX function.

  For this reason, as the LCC, a universal type as shown in FIG. 8 is often used, and generally, A3 size paper to B5 size paper can be stored. At this time, the paper stacking plate 21 has a size (area) on which the maximum size paper can be stacked, and a positioning mechanism for positioning the paper according to the paper size is provided. This positioning mechanism includes paper position restriction members 23 and 24 that slide (move) in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction. The paper position restriction members 23 and 24 are slid (moved) according to the paper size, and various types of paper. The sheet is positioned by being brought into contact with the side surface of the sheet. By conveying the sheet in such a state that the sheet is positioned, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being conveyed obliquely, and thus to prevent a missing printed image.

  By the way, as described above, in order to slide (move) the paper position restricting members 23 and 24 by the universal type LCC, a notch for allowing the paper position restricting members 23 and 24 to slide (move) (FIG. 8). The space portions A and B) shown in FIG.

  Here, the notches (spaces A and B shown in FIG. 8) provided in the above-described sheet stacking plate 21 will be described with reference to FIG.

  9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the space B is an open space even when sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking plate 21. Therefore, foreign matter such as a clip may be accidentally dropped from above the space B (arrow E shown in FIG. 9), for example, when paper is supplied.

  The issues that the background art has are summarized below.

  Among conventional paper feed cassettes such as LCC, a type that stores only the most frequently used paper among a plurality of types of paper does not need to be configured so that the paper position regulating member can be moved. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a notch (space part) on the paper stacking plate, and foreign objects such as clips are not dropped. However, in recent years, image forming apparatuses tend to increase in the number of sheets to be used as the number of sheets to be processed increases. Under such circumstances, the number of sheets to be processed can be accommodated, but is used. The problem remains that it is not possible to cope with the increase in the types of paper sizes.

  Furthermore, among the conventional universal type paper cassettes, those which are not LCCs have a small paper stacking amount (that is, the total weight of the paper loaded on the paper stacking plate is small). The formed paper stacking plate can be formed integrally with the paper position regulating member. Therefore, it is possible to make the paper position regulating member movable without providing a notch (space) in the paper stacking plate. However, in recent years, image forming apparatuses have a tendency to increase the number of types of paper used as the number of required processing sheets increases. However, there remains a problem that it cannot cope with the increase in the number of processed sheets.

  On the other hand, in the conventional universal type LCC, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, it is possible to cope with an increase in the number of processed sheets and to cope with an increase in the types of paper sizes used. However, since it is necessary to provide a cutout portion (space portion) on the paper stacking plate, foreign matters such as clips may be accidentally dropped from above the cutout portion (space portion), for example, when paper is supplied. . And when a foreign material falls in a notch part (space part), the problem that a lift-up mechanism etc. will be damaged may arise.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a shielding member that shields a notch (space portion) while responding to an increase in the number of processed sheets and an increase in the types of paper sizes that are required for image forming apparatuses in recent years. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feed cassette that can prevent a foreign matter from dropping into a notch (space) and prevent damage to a lift-up mechanism or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The invention according to claim 1 is a sheet stacking plate that is capable of moving up and down in a space in which sheets are stacked and surrounded by side surfaces. ,
And a sheet position regulating member movable in the restricting position corresponding to the size of the sheets stacked on said sheet stacking plate,
The paper stacking plate is provided with a space that allows movement of the paper position regulating member,
A shielding member that shields the space portion is disposed in the space portion,
The shielding member is made of a flexible sheet, has a hole through which the paper position restriction member passes, and moves integrally with the paper position restriction member in a state where the paper position restriction member penetrates the hole. The sheet stacking plate is interposed between the lowermost portion of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking plate and the upper surface of the sheet stacking plate inside the range regulated by the sheet position regulating member, and outside the range. One end portion is always in contact with the side surface through a curved portion at any position in the movement process .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper feed cassette according to the first aspect, the paper position regulating member is movable in a direction orthogonal to a paper transport direction of the paper loaded on the paper stacking plate. It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the paper feed cassette according to the first or second aspect, the paper position regulating member is movable in a paper conveyance direction of the paper loaded on the paper stacking plate. characterized in that was.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the paper feed cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 3, alternatively selectable to loading universal paper of any size of a plurality of kinds of sizes and wherein the Oh Rukoto in type.

The invention according to claim 5, in the sheet feed cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the paper feed cassette is alternatively select a paper of any size of a plurality of kinds of sizes It is a universal type that can be loaded.

The invention according to claim 6, in the sheet feed cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the paper feed cassette, characterized in that it is a large capacity sheet feeding type (LCC).

  The present invention has the following effects due to the above configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shielding member is moved following the movement of the paper position regulating member. Thereby, the fall of foreign matters such as dust and clips into the space can be reliably blocked. Even if the paper position regulating member is moved to any position, the space portion is held in the non-opened state by the shielding member, so that it is possible to reliably block the fall of foreign matter such as dust and clips into the space portion. Furthermore, even if the movement of the shielding member proceeds as seen from the side surface of the sheet feeding cassette, the shielding member rises along the side surface of the sheet feeding cassette without buckling the end of the shielding member on the side surface of the sheet feeding cassette. Accordingly, the movement of the sheet position regulating member that moves integrally with the shielding member is increased by moving the shielding member smoothly and by raising the shielding member along the side surface of the scarce city cassette. I can do it.
According to the second aspect of the present invention , the sheet stacking plate is provided with the sheet position restricting member that is movable to the restricting position according to the sheet size in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction of the stacked sheets. Further, since the space portion that allows the movement of the sheet position regulating member is shielded by the shielding member, the fall of foreign matter such as dust and clips into the space portion can be blocked. For this reason, troubles such as a lift-up mechanism of the paper feed cassette due to foreign matters are not caused.

According to the invention of claim 3, the paper position restriction member that is movable to the restriction position according to the paper size in the paper conveyance direction of the stacked paper and that is provided on the paper stacking plate is provided. Since the space part allowing the movement of the member is shielded by the shielding member, it is possible to block the fall of foreign matter such as dust and clips into the space part. For this reason, troubles such as a lift-up mechanism of the paper feed cassette due to foreign matters are not caused.

According to the invention of claim 4 , since the shielding member is transparent, it is possible to visually confirm the space downward, and it is possible to easily confirm the presence or absence of foreign matter, and work during maintenance and inspection. It can also improve the performance.

According to the invention of claim 5 , in the configuration in which the sheet position regulating member is moved and used in order to select a plurality of types of sheets and stack a desired sheet in a state of being positioned on the sheet stacking plate, It is possible to reliably block foreign matter such as dust and clips from entering the space.

According to the invention of claim 6 , the following effects can be obtained.

  Since LCC stacks a large number of sheets, a space for storing sheets is deepened. Therefore, the user needs to bend down when replenishing paper at the bottom of the paper stacking plate. At this time, if foreign matter such as dust or a clip is accidentally dropped into the space, a failure such as a lift-up mechanism of the paper feed cassette caused by the foreign matter is caused. Therefore, by holding the space portion in a non-opened state by the shielding member, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from falling and to use the LCC stably and continuously.

  Hereinafter, a paper feed cassette according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component same as the component of the conventional universal type LCC shown in FIG.8 and FIG.9.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus as a processing apparatus that receives paper fed from an LCC as an embodiment of a paper feeding cassette according to the present invention. The LCC 1 is disposed on the side of the image forming apparatus 100. In this embodiment, only one LCC 1 is arranged on the side of the image forming apparatus 100, but a plurality of LCCs 1 can be arranged in parallel. In this embodiment, the LCC 1 supplies the sheet P, which is an example of a sheet body, to the image forming apparatus 100, but can supply other sheet bodies such as an OHP film.

  The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on the paper P by an electrophotographic image forming process. The image forming apparatus 100 includes paper cassettes 101, 102, 103, and 104 inside, and a paper discharge tray 105 at the top. A first paper transport path F <b> 1 is provided between the paper feed cassettes 101, 102, 103 and the paper discharge tray 105. A photosensitive drum 106 is disposed in the vicinity of the first paper transport path F1. Around the photosensitive drum 106, a charging device 107, an optical scanning unit 108, a developing unit 109, a transfer device 110, a cleaning unit 111, and the like are disposed.

  On the upstream side of the photosensitive drum 106 in the first paper conveyance path F1, a resist that supplies the paper P to the transfer portion between the photosensitive drum 106 and the transfer device 110 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 106. A roller 112 is disposed. A fixing device 113 is disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 106 in the first paper transport path F1.

  The charging device 107 charges the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 to a predetermined potential. The optical scanning unit 108 forms an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 based on image data input from the outside. The developing unit 109 supplies toner to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and forms a toner image. The toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 is transferred onto the paper P by the transfer device 110 and further fixed onto the paper P by the fixing device 113. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 105. The toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 106 after the toner image is transferred to the paper P is collected by the cleaning unit 111.

  The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a second paper transport path F2 for reversing the front and back of the paper P on which the image is formed on one side and transporting it to the transfer unit when forming images on both sides of the paper P. ing. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a third paper transport path F3 that joins the paper feed cassette 104 to the first paper transport path F1 upstream of the registration rollers 112. The third paper transport path F3 is provided substantially horizontally. The third paper transport path F3 leads to a manual feed tray 114 that is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 and supplies a non-standard size paper and a paper receiving unit 115 that receives the paper P supplied from the LCC1. The paper P supplied from the tray 114 or the paper receiving unit 115 is transported to the first paper transport path F1.

  The LCC 1 includes a lift-up mechanism 2 (a detailed mechanism is not shown) that feeds the paper P to the image forming apparatus 100, a pickup roller 3, a feed roller 4, a reverse roller 5, a transport roller 6, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction showing the schematic configuration of the LCC 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view parallel to the paper transport direction showing the schematic configuration of the LCC 1. The LCC 1 is disposed on both sides of the paper stacking plate 21 on which the paper P is stacked, the front reference plate 22 that positions the downstream side surface of the paper P in the paper transport direction X, and the Y direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction X. First sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 for positioning the side surfaces of P (hereinafter referred to as side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24), and a second sheet for positioning the upstream side surface of the sheet P in the sheet transport direction X A position restricting member 25 (hereinafter referred to as a trailing edge sheet position restricting member 25) is provided. The sheet P is in a state in which four side surfaces are positioned on the sheet stacking plate 21 arranged horizontally with respect to the installation surface of the LCC 1 by the front reference plate 22, the side sheet position restriction members 23 and 24, and the rear end sheet position restriction member 25. Are stacked and stored.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper P passes between the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5, and is conveyed to the third paper conveyance path F <b> 3 via the conveyance roller 6. Both the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5 rotate clockwise in FIG. At this time, when the pickup roller 3 simultaneously guides a plurality of sheets P between the feed roller 4 and the reverse roller 5, only the uppermost sheet P comes into contact with the feed roller 4 to the transport roller 6. Led. The sheets other than the uppermost sheet are returned to the sheet stacking plate 21 side by the reverse roller 5.

  By repeating such a paper feeding operation, the amount of paper P stacked on the paper stacking plate 21 is reduced, and the position of the uppermost portion of the paper P is lowered. When the position of the uppermost part of the paper P becomes lower than the lower limit position of the predetermined range, the pickup roller 3 does not contact the upper surface of the paper P, and the paper P cannot be fed. Therefore, when the uppermost position of the paper P approaches the lower limit position of the predetermined range, a lift-up mechanism (not shown) is actuated by the output from the paper sensor 27 attached to the top plate 26 of the LCC 1 as shown in FIG. Then, the sheet stacking plate 21 moves upward by a predetermined amount.

  When the operation of the lift-up mechanism is repeated and there is no paper P on the paper stacking plate 21, the paper stacking plate 21 that has been raised to the upper limit position is lowered. As the paper stacking plate 21 is lowered, a storage space for the paper P is formed above the paper stacking plate 21, and the paper P is replenished in this space.

  The LCC 1 is a so-called large-capacity paper feed type that can store a large number of sheets (approximately 5000 to 8000 sheets) of paper P on the paper stacking plate 21. The LCC 1 is a universal type capable of storing paper of various sizes such as A3 size, B4 size, A4 size, and B5 size.

  Accordingly, the side sheet position restricting members 23 and 24 are movably installed in the direction of arrow M in FIG. 2, and the rear end sheet position restricting member 25 is movably installed in the direction of arrow N in FIG. 3, and can be moved according to the sheet size. It is.

  Here, the movement mechanism of the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a moving mechanism for the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25.

  Rack gears 23 </ b> A and 24 </ b> A installed on the bottom surface 28 (see FIG. 2 or 3) of the LCC 1 are integrally provided on the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24. The rack gears 23A and 24A are meshed with the pinion gear 23B in parallel with the arrow M direction. The pinion gear 23B is pivotally supported on the bottom surface 28 (see FIG. 3) of the LCC1.

  When one of the side surface paper position regulating members 23, 24 is moved in the arrow M direction, the rack gears 23A, 24A are moved in the arrow M direction, and the pinion gear 23B is rotated. That is, the rotation of the pinion gear 23B causes the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 to move by the same distance in opposite directions.

  As described above, since the side surface paper position regulating members 23 and 24 can move in the opposite directions by the same distance, the paper P stacked on the paper stacking plate 21 has a central position in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction X. Paper is fed to the standard. Accordingly, the paper P can be smoothly conveyed to the image processing apparatus 100. Further, since both side surfaces of the sheet P perpendicular to the sheet transport direction X are positioned by the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24, the moving distance of the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 can be reduced.

  The side surface paper position regulating members 23 and 24 are supported on the bottom surface 28 (see FIG. 3) of the LCC 1 so as to be movable in the arrow M direction. Therefore, the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 can position the sheet P in the arrow M direction on the sheet stacking plate 21 regardless of the vertical movement of the sheet stacking plate 21 by a lift-up mechanism (not shown). I can do it.

  A pinion gear 25A is pivotally supported at the lower end portion of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25, and the pinion gear 25A is attached to the bottom surface 28 of the LCC 1 (see FIG. 3) in the same direction as the paper conveyance direction X. It meshes with the rack gear 28A.

  Depending on the size of the paper P to be stacked on the paper stacking plate 21, the rear end paper position restricting member 25 is moved in the direction of arrow N via the pinion gear 25A and the rack gear 28A, and the rear end paper position restricting member 25 is moved to the paper. Positioning is performed by contacting the upstream side surface of P.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view seen from the direction of arrow T in FIG. As described above, the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 are movable in the direction of arrow M by the rack gears 23A and 24A and the pinion gear 23B. Similarly, the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25 can be moved in the direction of arrow N by the pinion gear 25A and the rack gear 28A.

  The side surface paper position restricting members 23 and 24 and the rear end paper position restricting member 25 are installed on the bottom surface 28 (see FIG. 2 or FIG. 3) of the LCC 1, and the sheet stacking plate 21 is lifted by a lift-up mechanism (not shown). Each can move independently of the vertical movement. Accordingly, the paper stacking plate 21 is formed with notches 41A, 41B, 41C to allow the side paper position restricting members 23, 24 and the trailing edge paper position restricting member 25 to move, and the notches 41A, 41B, 41C. Thus, there are space portions A, B, and C.

  7A, 7B, and 7C are formed of a flexible member, and are shielding members for holding the space portions A, B, and C in a non-open state. In this embodiment, the shielding members 7A, 7B, and 7C are transparent PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) sheets and have a thickness of 1 mm to 1.5 mm. The material and thickness of the shielding member are not limited to this, and may be determined as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 2, the shielding members 7 </ b> A and 7 </ b> B are formed such that end portions facing the side surface 1 a of the LCC 1 become curved surfaces 7 a and 7 b. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3, the shielding member 7 </ b> C is formed so that the end portion facing the side surface 1 b of the LCC 1 becomes the curved surface 7 c.

  Hereinafter, the shape and function of the shielding members 7A, 7B, and 7C will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the state of the space portions A and B and the shielding members 7A and 7B.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the paper stacking plate 21 has notches 41 </ b> A and 41 </ b> B that allow movement of the side paper position regulating members 23 and 24 in a concave shape in the arrow Y direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction X. The space portions A and B are formed. Therefore, the shielding members 7A and 7B that shield the spaces A and B are disposed between the lowermost portion of the paper P (not shown) stacked on the paper stacking plate 21 and the upper surface of the paper stacking plate 21. To do. That is, the shielding members 7A and 7B block foreign matter from falling into the space portions A and B, and prevent a failure such as the lift-up mechanism of the LCC 1 caused by the foreign matter.

  The shielding members 7A and 7B are formed with holes Ha and Hb through which the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 pass, respectively, and the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 are suspended through the holes Ha and Hb, respectively. Has been. That is, when the shielding members 7A and 7B are arranged, the side paper position regulating members 23 and 24 are passed through the holes Ha and Hb in a state where the paper P (not shown) is not stacked on the paper stacking plate 21. Then, it may be placed on the paper stacking plate 21.

  In FIG. 5, the side surface paper position regulating members 23 and 24 indicated by solid lines are in a state in which the paper of the minimum size among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1 is positioned. On the other hand, the side surface paper position restricting members 23 and 24 indicated by a two-dot chain line are in a state in which the maximum size paper among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1 is positioned.

  As described above, the side surface paper position regulating members 23 and 24 are movable according to the size of the paper P (not shown). That is, in FIG. 5, the distance from the side sheet position restriction members 23 and 24 indicated by the solid line to the side sheet position restriction members 23 and 24 indicated by the two-dot chain line is freely movable in the arrow M direction.

  Since the shielding members 7A and 7B are disposed through the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24, when the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 are moved, the shielding members 7A and 7B also follow together. Moved. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the shielding members 7A and 7B are located at any position from the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 indicated by solid lines to the side paper sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 indicated by two-dot chain lines. The spaces A and B are held in a non-open state. Therefore, the shielding members 7A and 7B can surely shield the space portions A and B, and can reliably prevent the foreign matter from dropping into the space portions A and B.

  6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the shielding member 7 </ b> B indicated by a solid line is in a state where positioning of the minimum size paper among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1 is performed. On the other hand, the shielding member 7 </ b> B indicated by a two-dot broken line is in a state where the maximum size paper is positioned among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when positioning the smallest paper size among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1, the side surface 1a of the LCC 1 and the curved surface 7b (7a) are in contact with the shielding member 7B (7A). Is configured to do. The curved surface 7b (7a) prevents the end portion from buckling even when the end portion of the shielding member 7B (7A) is in contact with the side surface 1a of the LCC 1, thereby smoothly moving the shielding member 7B (7A). Can be done. That is, when the shielding member 7B (7A) moves in the direction toward the side surface 1a of the LCC 1 integrally with the side surface paper position regulating member 24 (24), the end of the shielding member 7B (7A) is moved to the side surface 1a. Along the way, the shape changes. As described above, since the shielding member 7B (7A) is formed of a flexible member, such a change in shape can be realized.

  Further, as described above, since the shielding members 7A and 7B are formed of a transparent member, the lower portions can be visually recognized from the space portions A and B, and the falling object can be easily confirmed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and shielding members 7 </ b> A and 7 </ b> B are arranged in a pair on the sheet stacking plate 21. Accordingly, the shielding members 7A and 7B can also be moved together as the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 move, so that the space portions A and B can be reliably shielded.

  In the above, the positional relationship between the movement of the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and the shielding members 7A and 7B and the space portions A and B has been described. However, the movement of the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25 and the shielding member 7C and the space portion C. The positional relationship is also based on the same idea.

  Hereinafter, the positional relationship between the movement of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25 and the shielding member 7C and the space C will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a notch 41 </ b> C is formed in a substantially central portion of the paper stacking plate 21 in the same direction as the paper transport direction X, and has a space C that allows movement of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25.

  Therefore, the rear end paper position regulating member 25 is passed through the hole Hc, and the shielding member 7C is disposed on the paper stacking plate 21, thereby shielding the space C and extending foreign matter into the space C. It is preventing.

  Further, when the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25 is moved according to the size of the sheet P, the shielding member 7 </ b> C also moves following the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25.

  According to the size of the paper P to be stacked on the paper stacking plate 21, when the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25 and the shielding member 7C are moved together to position the downstream side surface of the paper P, the space C In this case, the downstream side of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25 may be opened.

  However, on the upstream side of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25, the open space portion C is shielded by stacking the paper P on the paper stacking plate 21. That is, a part of the space C can be shielded by the paper P, so that foreign matter can be prevented from falling into the space C.

  The shielding member 7C is configured such that the side surface 1b of the LCC 1 and the curved surface 7c (see FIG. 3) are in contact with each other when positioning the smallest paper size among the paper sizes that can be stored in the LCC 1. Even when the end portion of the shielding member 7C comes into contact with the side surface 1b of the LCC 1, the curved surface 7c prevents the end portion from buckling, and the shielding member 7C can be moved smoothly. In other words, when the movement of the shielding member 7C in the direction toward the side surface 1b of the LCC 1 is integrated with the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25, the end portion of the shielding member 7C rises along the side surface 1b. Will change. As described above, since the shielding member 7C is formed of a flexible member, such a change in shape can be realized.

  Moreover, since the shielding member 7C is formed of a transparent member as described above, the lower part can be visually recognized from the space C, and the falling object can be easily confirmed.

  Further, the paper stacking plate 21 is provided with a pair of a trailing edge paper position regulating member 25 and a shielding member 7C. Therefore, the shielding member 7C can be moved together with the movement of the trailing edge paper position regulating member 25, and the space C can be reliably shielded.

  Further, in this embodiment, the shielding member A can be used even when a minimum size sheet is stacked on the sheet stacking plate 21 and positioned by the side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and the trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25. , B, and C are sized so as not to overlap each other.

  In the above-described embodiment, the LCC 1 disposed on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is applied to the sheet feeding cassettes 101, 102, 103, and 104 mounted in the image forming apparatus 100. It goes without saying that even if applied, It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a paper feed cassette connected to a paper processing apparatus other than the image forming apparatus 100.

1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus as a processing apparatus that receives paper from an LCC shown as an embodiment of a paper feed cassette according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction showing a schematic configuration of LCC1. FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the LCC 1 in parallel with the paper conveyance direction. It is the schematic plan view seen from the arrow T direction in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the state of space part A and B and shielding member 7A, 7B. It is II-II sectional drawing shown in FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a moving mechanism for side sheet position regulating members 23 and 24 and a trailing edge sheet position regulating member 25. FIG. It is a top view of the conventional universal type LCC. It is II sectional drawing in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

P paper 1 LCC (paper cassette)
21 Paper loading plate 23, 24 Side paper position restriction member (paper position restriction member)
25 Rear end paper position regulating member (paper position regulating member)
7A, 7B, 7C Shielding member 7a, 7b, 7c Curved surface Ha, Hb, Hc Hole A, B, C Space

Claims (6)

A paper stacking plate that is capable of moving up and down in a space that is loaded with paper and surrounded by a side surface;
And a sheet position regulating member movable in the restricting position corresponding to the size of the sheets stacked on said sheet stacking plate,
The paper stacking plate is provided with a space that allows movement of the paper position regulating member,
A shielding member that shields the space portion is disposed in the space portion,
The shielding member is made of a flexible sheet, has a hole through which the paper position restriction member passes, and moves integrally with the paper position restriction member in a state where the paper position restriction member penetrates the hole. The sheet stacking plate is interposed between the lowermost portion of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking plate and the upper surface of the sheet stacking plate inside the range regulated by the sheet position regulating member, and outside the range. A paper feed cassette characterized in that one end portion always abuts on the side surface via a curved portion at any position in the movement process . The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 1, wherein the sheet position regulating member is movable in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveyance direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking plate . The paper feed cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the paper position regulating member is movable in a paper transport direction of the paper loaded on the paper stacking plate . The shielding member includes a sheet feeding cassette according to any one of the transparent member Der Ru claims 1 to 3. A plurality of types of any size sheet cassette according to any of the alternatively selected and Ru Oh in stackable universal type claims 1 to 4 the paper size. Paper feed cassette according to any one of Ah Ru claims 1 to 5 in large capacity sheet feeding type.

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