JP5251487B2 - Tandem type paper feeding device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tandem sheet feeder that moves sheets stacked on a second tray to a first tray and an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, and a facsimile machine including the tandem sheet feeder.

  In Patent Document 1, a first tray for stacking sheets, a sheet feeding unit for feeding sheets one by one from the first tray, and a second tray for stacking sheets arranged in parallel with the first tray. And a tandem type paper feeder that includes a transfer means for transferring the loaded paper on the second tray to the first tray.

  In this type of tandem type paper feeder, it is necessary to accurately position the relative positions of the first tray and the second tray in the pull-out direction.

  On the other hand, in the technique of Patent Literature 1, after the first tray is pushed into the back side in the pulling direction and abutted against the positioning member, the second tray is pushed into the back side and abutted against the first tray. Positioning is achieved by locking with a locking mechanism.

Japanese Patent No. 2831458

  However, there is a problem that only positioning by abutment or locking tends to cause a shift due to play or the like, and it is difficult to perform accurate positioning.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that a large force is required when the first tray and the second tray in the retracted state are subjected to a pull-in direction force. Moreover, since the 1st tray and 2nd tray in the accommodation state are only pressed with respect to the apparatus main body, there exists a problem that a tray will jump out at the time of conveyance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the relative positioning of the first tray and the second tray can be accurately performed, the force when pulling out the tray can be reduced, and the tray can be ejected during transportation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tandem type paper feeding device that can prevent the above-described problem and an image forming apparatus including the paper feeding device.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first tray for stacking sheets, a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets one by one from the first tray, and a second tray for stacking sheets arranged in parallel to the first tray. And a transfer means for transferring the loaded paper of the second tray to the first tray, a first biasing means for biasing the first tray toward the back side in the tray pulling direction, and a housing A fixed positioning member; an abutting portion that is provided on the first tray and contacts the positioning member from the front side in the pulling direction; second biasing means that biases the second tray toward the front side in the pulling direction; and a pulling operation of the second tray And a locking member detachably provided on the positioning member in conjunction with the drawer operation section of the second tray, and the first tray is biased toward the back in the pulling direction by the first biasing means. And pulled out to the positioning member The abutting portion abuts from the front side in the direction, the second urging means urges the second urging means to the front side in the pulling direction, and the locking member locks to the positioning member from the back side in the pulling direction. The second tray is positioned.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first tray for stacking sheets, a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets one by one from the first tray, and a second tray for stacking sheets disposed horizontally and parallel to the first tray. A first urging unit that urges the first tray toward the front side in the pulling-out direction of the tray, and a fixing unit to the housing. The first positioning member, the first tray pulling operation section, the first locking member that is detachably attached to the positioning member in conjunction with the first tray pulling operation section, and the second tray are attached to the front side in the pulling direction. A second urging means for urging, a pull-out operation portion for the second tray, and a locking member that is detachably provided on the positioning member in conjunction with the pull-out operation portion for the second tray. 2 trays on the front side in the pull-out direction By energizing to the locking member is locked from withdrawal direction inner side to the positioning member, characterized in that it is positioned first tray and the second tray.

  According to the first and second inventions, the first tray and the second tray are each urged by the urging means and brought into contact with the positioning member. It can be performed.

  Since the first tray and the second tray are positioned by a common positioning member, the relative positioning between the first tray and the second tray can be facilitated.

  Since the positioning member is used for both the positioning of the first tray and the positioning of the second tray, it is possible to reduce the number of components and only adjust the mounting position of one positioning member when position adjustment is necessary. Therefore, the position can be easily adjusted.

  Since each of the first tray and the second tray is locked to the positioning member, it is possible to prevent the tray from jumping out of the apparatus main body during transportation.

  Since at least one of the trays is urged forward in the pulling direction by the urging means, the pulling force when pulling out the tray can be reduced.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the tandem type paper feeder according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1A shows the storage state of the first tray and the second tray, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which two trays are pulled out, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tandem-type sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a positioning member. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image forming main body 2 and a paper feeding device 3 provided below the image forming main body 2. An image is formed on the fed paper by the image forming main body, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 5.

  The image forming body 2 includes a contact glass 10 on which a document to be copied is placed, and an optical unit 11 that irradiates the document placed on the contact glass 10 to expose the photoreceptor 12. A charger 13, a developer 14, and a transfer / separator 15 are disposed around the photoconductor 12. The developer remaining on the photoconductor is placed between the charger 13 and the transfer / separator 15. A cleaning device 16 for removal is provided. The sheet fed from the sheet feeding device 3 is conveyed from the registration roller pair 18 to the transfer separator 15, and after the developer image is transferred, the developer image is fixed by the fixing unit 17, and then the sheet discharge tray 5. To be discharged. The registration roller pair 18 is configured to carry a sheet supplied from the sheet feeding device 3 through the conveying path 22 or a sheet supplied from the manual feed unit 23.

  The sheet feeding device 3 includes a tandem sheet feeding unit 25 that houses the first tray 20 and the second tray 21, and a sheet feeding unit (mono sheet feeding unit) 26 that houses the third tray 19. In the tandem paper feeding unit 25, after the paper P1 stacked on the first tray 20 is exhausted, the paper P2 stacked on the second tray 21 is moved to the first tray 20 by the transfer means 27 (described later). ing. The second tray 21 is disposed horizontally and in parallel with the first tray 20. In FIG. 1, reference numerals L <b> 1 to L <b> 5 denote guide rails that guide the drawing and mounting of each tray.

  Hereinafter, the tandem type paper feeding unit (tandem type paper feeding device) 25 of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the first tray 20, the stacked transfer paper P <b> 1 is fed by the pickup roller 32, separated one by one by the separation roller pair 33, and conveyed. During the paper feeding operation by the pickup roller 32, the pressure plate 52 is rotated via the sector gear 53 a and the pressure shaft 53 by the rotation of the forward / reverse rotation motor 54 shown in FIG. 2, and the paper P 1 is pressed upward by the bottom plate 37. .

  Next, the transfer means 27 that moves the transfer paper P2 from the second tray 21 to the first tray 20 will be described. The moving back fence 41 is moved by the wire 43 supported and driven by the pulleys 44 to 47 by the rotation of the forward / reverse rotating motor 48. That is, the paper P2 is pressed by the pressing portion 41a of the moving back fence 41 and transferred to the position of the paper P1 on the first tray 20. The pressing portion 41a is coupled to the wire 43 below the bottom plate 40, and can transfer the transfer paper P2 to the position of P1. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 51 denotes a detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of the paper P on the bottom plate 40.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, in the tandem type paper feeding unit 25, the paper transport side wall 63a of the storage unit 61 that stores the first tray 20 and the second tray is biased toward the first tray 20 side. The first urging member 65 is fixed, and a pressing roller (slider) 67 is attached to the tip of the first urging member 65. The first urging member 65 attaches the pressing roller 67 to the first tray 20 side. It is energizing towards.

  The first tray 20 is provided with a mountain-shaped slope 69 projecting from the pressing roller 67 side. The inclined surface portion 69 is composed of a first inclined surface 69 a whose inclined surface faces the front side in the pulling direction of the first tray 20 and a second inclined surface 69 b which faces the back side.

  The pressing roller 67 urged by the first urging member 65 presses the first inclined surface 69a, thereby constituting first urging means 62 that urges the first tray 20 toward the back side in the pulling direction. Yes.

  On the other hand, a positioning member 71 is fixed to the bottom surface of the storage portion 61, and the first tray 20 is provided with a contact portion 70 that contacts the positioning member 71 from the front side in the tray pulling direction. In a state where the first tray 20 is urged to the rear side by the urging means 62, the abutting portion 70 is brought into contact with the positioning member 71 for positioning.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the positioning member 71 is provided with a protruding piece 71 a cut and raised upward, and the bottom of the first tray 20 is protruded downward. The contact portion 70 contacts the protruding piece 71 a from the front side to position the first tray 20 with respect to the positioning member 71.

  The positioning member 71 is disposed across the bottoms of the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 as shown in FIG.

  Next, positioning of the second tray 21 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, one end 73 a of a spring (second urging means) 73 is fixed to the inner wall 63 b of the storage portion 61 where the second tray 21 is stored. 73b urges the second tray 21 forward in the pull-out direction. A lock member 76 is rotatably provided on a handle (drawer operation portion) 74 provided on the front side of the second tray 21 via a link 75, and the second tray 21 is biased forward by a spring 73. In this state, the lock member 76 is engaged with the positioning member 71 from the back side. The lock member 76 is disengaged from the positioning member 71 by operating the handle 74.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a locking hole 77 is formed in the positioning member 71, and a tip 76 a of the lock member 76 is locked in the locking hole 77 from above. The positioning member 71 has a plate shape and is fixed to a stay 78 provided in the housing, but a long slot is formed in the front-rear direction (tray pull-out direction) in a portion to which the fixing screw 79a and the step screw 79b are attached. Thus, the movement of the positioning member 71 during the position adjustment is guided. The adjustment screw 80 is attached with the screw head 80 a facing the front side, and the screw portion 80 b is screwed to the stay 78. The screw head 80 a is gripped with respect to the positioning member 71 so as to be idle. With this configuration, when the adjusting screw 80 is turned in one direction, the positioning member 71 moves forward, and when turned in the other direction, it moves backward (moves to the back side).

  When the image forming apparatus 1 is shipped, one fixing screw 79a is attached to the fixing round hole 81 to prevent the positioning member 71 from rattling.

  Next, functions and effects of the tandem type paper feeding unit (tandem type paper feeding device) according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, when the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 are in the stored state, the first tray 20 is urged to the back side in the pulling direction by the first urging means 62. From the front side, the contact portion 70 is positioned by contacting the positioning member 71. When the first tray 20 is stored, the pressing roller 67 is pushed in and mounted so as to get over the second inclined surface 69 b of the inclined portion against the urging force of the first urging member 65.

  When the second tray 21 is pushed in against the urging force of the spring (second urging means) 73, the lock member 76 is engaged with the positioning member 71 from the back side to be positioned. The lock member 76 is engaged with the positioning member 71 from the back side while the second tray 21 is urged forward in the pull-out direction by the spring 73.

  When pulling out the first tray 20, the first tray 20 is pulled forward, and the pressing roller 67 is pulled out so as to exceed the first inclined surface 69 a of the slope portion 69.

  When the second tray 21 is pulled out, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the handle (operating portion) 74 is pulled, the lock member 76 is rotated via the link 75 and disengages from the positioning member 71. 74 can be pulled out.

  According to the present embodiment, the first tray 20 is urged to the back side by the first urging means 62 and the abutting portion 70 is abutted against the side positioning member 71 from the front side. Misalignment can be prevented and accurate positioning can be performed. Similarly, the second tray 21 is urged forward by the second urging means 62 and the lock member 76 is locked to the positioning member 71 from the back side. Positioning can be performed.

  Since the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 are positioned by the common positioning member 71, the relative positioning of the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 can be easily and reliably performed.

  The first tray 20 is urged toward the rear side in the storing direction by the first urging member means 62, and the second tray 21 is locked to the positioning member 71 from the back side. The second tray 21 can be prevented from jumping out of the apparatus main body during transportation.

  Since the second tray 21 is biased forward in the pulling direction by the second biasing means 73, the pulling force when pulling out the second tray 21 can be reduced.

  Since the positioning member 71 is used for both the positioning of the first tray 20 and the positioning of the second tray 21, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and adjust the mounting position of one positioning member 71 when position adjustment is necessary. Therefore, the position can be easily adjusted.

  In the storage state of the first tray 20 and the second tray 21, the positioning member 71 is biased toward the back side by the first tray 20, and is biased toward the front side by the second tray 21, Since the forces on the back side and the front side simultaneously act on the positioning member 71 and can cancel each other, it is possible to prevent the biased force from acting on the positioning member 71 and to hold the positioning member 71 stably.

  Since the head 80a of the adjusting screw for adjusting the position of the position adjusting member 71 is exposed to the front side of the storage portion 61, the position adjustment is performed with the first and second trays 20 and 21 being attached to the storage portion 61. It is possible to adjust the position easily and accurately.

  The first urging means 62 protrudes from the side surface of the first tray 20 and has an inclined surface 69 with the inclined surface 69a facing the front side in the pulling direction, a pressing roller (slider) 67 that moves the side surface of the first tray 20, Since the pressing roller 67 is urged toward the side surface of the first tray 20 by the urging member 65, the first tray 20 is directed to the back side in the pull-out direction with a simple configuration. Can be energized.

  Since the locking member 76 is configured to be engaged with and disengaged from the locking hole 77 provided in the positioning member 71, the positioning member 71 is simply provided with the hole 77, so that the manufacturing is easy.

  Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as the above-described embodiments, and the details of the portions are described. The description will be omitted, and the following description will mainly describe differences from the embodiment described above.

  A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a tandem paper feeder according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5A shows a storage state of the first tray and the second tray, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which pulled out 2 trays.

  In the second embodiment, the back wall 63b is provided with a spring (first urging means) 73 that urges the first tray 20 toward the front side in the tray drawing direction, and the first tray 20 faces the front side. Is energized. A locking member 76 that locks the positioning member 71 from the back side is provided, and the first tray 20 is locked to the positioning member 71. The positioning structure of the second tray 21 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  According to this 2nd Embodiment, there can exist an effect similar to 1st Embodiment mentioned above.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, since the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 are urged toward the pulling direction (front side) by the second urging means 73, the first tray 20 and the second tray 21 are urged. It is possible to reduce the pull-out force of both of the two trays 21.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the configuration of the positioning member 71 is not limited to the shape of the above-described embodiment. For example, the locking portion that locks the locking member 76 of the second tray 21 is not limited to the locking hole 77, and The protruding piece 71 a that is locked to the first tray 20 is not limited to be provided on the bottom side of the first tray 20, but is provided on the side of the first tray 20 to be side portions of the first tray 20. Alternatively, the contact portions 70 may be provided to contact each other.

  The slider 67 is not limited to a roller, and may be a sliding member that moves on the side surface with low friction, and may be a sliding member.

It is a cross-sectional view which shows the schematic structure of the tandem paper feeder which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (A) shows the accommodation state of a 1st tray and a 2nd tray, (B) shows a 2nd tray. It is a figure which shows the state pulled out. It is a top view of the tandem-type paper feeder which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment state of a positioning member. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the schematic structure of the tandem paper feeder which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (A) shows the accommodation state of a 1st tray and a 2nd tray, (B) shows a 2nd tray. It is a figure which shows the state pulled out.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 20 1st tray 21 2nd tray 25 Tandem type paper feed part 27 Transfer means 62 1st biasing means 65 1st biasing member 67 Pressing roller (slider)
69 slope part 71 positioning member 71a projecting piece 72 spring (second biasing means)
74 Handle (drawer operation part)
76 Locking member (locking member)
77 Locking hole

Claims (6)

A first tray on which sheets are stacked, a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets one by one from the first tray, a second tray that is disposed in parallel and horizontally with respect to the first tray, and a second tray In a tandem type paper feeding device comprising transporting means for transporting stacked paper to the first tray,
A first urging means for urging the first tray toward the rear side in the pulling direction of the tray, a positioning member fixed to the housing, an abutting portion provided on the first tray and in contact with the positioning member from the front side in the pulling direction; A second urging means for urging the two trays forward in the pulling direction, a pulling operation portion of the second tray, and a locking member that is detachably provided on the positioning member in conjunction with the pulling operation portion of the second tray The first tray is urged toward the rear side in the pulling direction by the first urging means, the abutting portion comes into contact with the positioning member from the front side in the pulling direction, and the second tray has the second urging means. A tandem type sheet feeding device characterized in that the first tray and the second tray are positioned by being biased forward in the pulling direction and the locking member being locked to the positioning member from the back in the pulling direction.   The first urging means protrudes from the side surface of the first tray and has an inclined surface with an inclined surface facing forward in the pulling direction, a slider that moves the side surface of the first tray, and a slider that faces the side surface of the first tray. The tandem sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an urging member that urges the tandem sheet. A positioning member projecting piece contact portion of the first tray is in contact, and a locking hole in which the second tray engaging member for engaging the locking member with the operation of the withdrawing operation of the second tray The tandem sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the tandem sheet feeding device is interlocked with and disengaged from the locking hole. A first tray on which sheets are stacked, a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets one by one from the first tray, a second tray that is disposed in parallel and horizontally with respect to the first tray, and a second tray In a tandem type paper feeding device comprising transporting means for transporting stacked paper to the first tray,
First urging means for urging the first tray toward the front side in the pulling out direction of the tray, a positioning member fixed to the housing, a pulling out operation unit of the first tray, and a positioning member in conjunction with the pulling out operation unit of the first tray Interlocked with the first locking member detachably provided on the first, the second urging means for urging the second tray forward in the pull-out direction, the pull-out operation portion of the second tray, and the pull-out operation portion of the second tray And a locking member that is detachably provided on the positioning member. The first tray and the second tray are urged forward in the pulling direction, and the locking members are engaged with the positioning member from the back in the pulling direction. A tandem type sheet feeding device characterized in that the first tray and the second tray are positioned by stopping.   The positioning member has a position adjusting screw, is provided straddling under the first tray and the second tray and is movably attached along the pulling direction, and the head of the position adjusting screw is located at the front end in the pulling direction. The tandem sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the tandem sheet feeding device is provided.   An image forming apparatus comprising the tandem sheet feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and forming an image on a sheet supplied from the tandem sheet feeder.

Images