JP6938718B2 - Seat loading device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet loading device for loading sheets, and more particularly to a sheet loading device having a sheet remaining amount display unit indicating the remaining amount of the loaded sheets.

Conventionally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been widely applied as a copying machine, a printer, a plotter, a facsimile, a multifunction device having a plurality of these functions, and the like. As an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet loading device capable of loading a large number of sheets is widely used. As a seat loading device, a device having a seat remaining amount display unit that displays the seat remaining amount in conjunction with the seat loading plate in the seat loading device is known so that the user can check the seat remaining amount in the seat loading device. (See Patent Document 1).

This sheet loading device has a main frame body of a seat cassette and an auxiliary frame body slidably provided on the main frame body, and has an auxiliary frame with respect to the main frame body according to the size of the seat to be stored. The seat cassette can be expanded and contracted by sliding the body. In the image forming apparatus having this sheet loading device, the sheet feeding unit is arranged on the back side of the apparatus main body. For this reason, the seat cassette is provided by arranging the main frame on the back side of the main body of the device and arranging the auxiliary frame on the front side of the main body of the device so that it can be pulled out.

In this sheet loading device, as a seat remaining amount display unit, a retractable rotating shaft having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction from the main frame body to the auxiliary frame body and an end portion of the rotating shaft on the main frame body side. It has a detection unit provided and a display unit provided at an end portion of the rotation shaft on the auxiliary frame side. The detection unit is provided so as to project inward from the rotation shaft in the seat width direction, and rotates the rotation shaft as the seat loading plate moves up and down. The display unit has an arm portion that protrudes outward in the seat width direction from the rotation shaft and a display piece that can move up and down according to the rotation of the arm portion, and the arm portion is rotated by the rotation shaft. Then, the display piece moves to a height corresponding to the rotation angle on the front surface of the auxiliary frame body, and the remaining amount of the seat is displayed. That is, the detection unit rotates according to the movement of the seat loading plate, the rotation shaft transmits the rotation of the detection unit to the arm portion, and the rotational movement of the arm portion is converted into the vertical movement of the display piece as the remaining amount of the seat. Is displayed. With this configuration, since the rotating shaft can be expanded and contracted, the user can easily recognize the display of the remaining amount of the seat even when the auxiliary frame is pulled out from the main frame.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-106983

However, in the sheet loading device of Patent Document 1 described above, the length of the movable range of the display piece depends on the length of the arm portion. That is, if it is desired to lengthen the movable range of the seat remaining amount display unit, the arm portion must be lengthened, and if the arm portion is lengthened, the seat loading device may become larger in the seat width direction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a seat loading device capable of expanding the display range of the seat remaining amount display unit without inviting an increase in size of the device body while having a seat cassette that can be expanded and contracted according to the seat size. do.

The sheet loading device of the present invention has a first loading means and a second loading means provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the insertion position in the drawer direction with respect to the first loading means. A loading unit whose size can be expanded corresponding to different seat sizes by moving the loading means of the second loading means with respect to the first loading means in the drawer direction, and a loading unit provided on the first loading means so as to be able to move up and down. One end side is connected to the loading portion to be loaded, the first rotating portion and the second rotating portion that rotate in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the loading portion, and the first rotating portion, and the second the other end is connected to the rotating portion, a lifting portion to form a linkage with the said first and second rotating unit first stacking means, provided on said second stacking means, the lifting unit It is characterized by including a display unit that displays the amount of sheets loaded on the loading unit by moving according to the ascent and descent of the loading unit.
Further, the sheet loading device of the present invention includes a first loading means, a second loading means provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the insertion position in the pulling direction with respect to the first loading means, and the first loading means. A loading unit that is provided on the loading means so as to be able to move up and down and on which sheets are loaded, a display unit that is provided on the second loading means and displays the amount of sheets loaded on the loading unit, and the first loading unit. The means is provided with an elevating portion parallel to the withdrawal direction, and the elevating portion is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction while substantially maintaining a state parallel to the withdrawal direction in response to the elevating and lowering of the loading portion. The display unit is provided with a moving unit, and the display unit is in a state in which the second loading means is pulled out from the first loading means even when the second loading means is located at the insertion position. Also, it is characterized in that it can be moved according to the movement of the moving portion.

According to the present invention, while having a stretchable sheet cassette according to Shi Tosaizu, without increasing the size of the apparatus main body, it can enlarge the display range of the sheet remaining amount display unit.

It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is the state which inserted the auxiliary frame body, (b) is the state which pulled out the auxiliary frame body. It is a schematic perspective view of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is the state which inserted the auxiliary frame body, (b) is the state which pulled out the auxiliary frame body. It is the schematic of the sheet remaining amount display part of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a perspective view excluding the main frame body and auxiliary frame body, ( c) is a rear view of (b). It is a schematic side view of the sheet remaining amount display part of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is the state which inserted the auxiliary frame body, (b) is the state which pulled out the auxiliary frame body. Is. It is a schematic perspective view of the modification of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of another modification of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is a rear perspective view, (b) is a front perspective view. It is the schematic of the seat remaining amount display part of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) is the side view of the state with few sheets, (b) is the side view of the state with many sheets. .. It is the schematic of the seat remaining amount display part of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (a) is the side view of the state with few sheets, (b) is the side view of the state with many sheets. .. It is a schematic perspective view of the sheet remaining amount display part of the sheet cassette of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In this embodiment, a printer that employs an electrophotographic image forming process is described as an example of the image forming apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus 1 adopting the electrophotographic image forming process, and may be an image forming apparatus of another type, for example, a printer adopting an inkjet image forming process. In the present embodiment, as shown in each figure, the front side toward the image forming apparatus 1 is the front direction F, the back side (dorsal side) is the rear direction B, the left side is the left direction L, and the right side is the right direction R. The upper side is the upward direction U, and the lower side is the downward direction D. Further, the left-right direction is the width direction W.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter, referred to as an apparatus main body) 10. The apparatus main body 10 includes a sheet feeding unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a sheet conveying unit 50, a sheet discharging unit 60, and a control unit 70. The sheet S, which is a recording material, forms a toner image, and specific examples thereof include plain paper, synthetic resin sheets that are substitutes for plain paper, thick paper, and sheets for overhead projectors.

The sheet feeding unit 30 is arranged in the lower part of the apparatus main body 10, includes a sheet cassette (seat loading device) 31 for loading and accommodating the sheet S, and a feeding roller 32, and the sheet S is an image forming unit. Send to 40. Details of the sheet cassette 31 will be described later.

The image forming unit 40 includes a process cartridge 41, a laser scanner 42, a transfer roller 43, and a fixing unit 44, and performs image forming.

The process cartridge 41 is configured by integrally forming the photosensitive drum 45 and the process means acting on the photosensitive drum 45 into a cartridge, and is removable from the apparatus main body 10. A laser scanner 42 irradiates a laser beam according to the image information, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 45, and toner development is performed in a developing section (not shown) in the process cartridge 41. The sheet S sent to the image forming unit 40 is sent to the fixing unit 44 after the toner image is transferred as an unfixed image by applying a bias to the transfer roller 43.

The fixing portion 44 includes a fixing roller 44a and a pressure roller 44b. The sheet S is sandwiched and conveyed between the fixing nips formed by the fixing roller 44a and the pressure roller 44b, so that the toner image transferred to the sheet S is pressed and heated and fixed to the sheet S. ..

The sheet transport unit 50 includes a pre-transfer transport path 51, a pre-fixing transport path 52, a discharge path 53, and a re-transport path 54. The sheet transporting section 50 transports the sheet S fed from the sheet feeding section 30 from the image forming section 40 to the sheet discharging section 60.

The sheet discharge unit 60 has a discharge roller pair 61 arranged on the downstream side of the discharge path 53, and a discharge tray 62 formed on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 10. The sheet S conveyed from the discharge path 53 is conveyed through the nip portion of the discharge roller pair 61, discharged to the discharge tray 62, and loaded.

The control unit 70 is composed of a computer, and includes, for example, a CPU (not shown), a ROM that stores a program that controls each unit, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and an input / output circuit that inputs / outputs signals to and from the outside. It has.

Next, the image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 1 configured in this way will be described.

When the image forming operation is started, the photosensitive drum 45 is first rotated to charge the surface. Then, the laser scanner 42 emits laser light to the photosensitive drum 45 based on the image information, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 45. When toner adheres to this electrostatic latent image, it is developed and visualized as a toner image.

On the other hand, the feeding roller 32 rotates in parallel with the operation of forming the toner image, and feeds while separating the uppermost sheet Sa of the sheet cassette 31. Then, the sheet S is conveyed to the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 45 and the transfer roller 43 via the pre-transfer transfer path 51 in time with the toner image of the photosensitive drum 45. Further, an image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 45 to the sheet S, and the sheet S is conveyed to the fixing portion 44, where the unfixed toner image is heated and pressurized to be fixed on the surface of the sheet S, and the discharge roller pair 61. Is discharged from the discharge tray 62 and loaded on the discharge tray 62.

Next, the configuration of the sheet cassette 31 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The seat cassette 31 includes a main frame body (first loading means) 80 that is detachably provided to the apparatus main body 10 and an auxiliary frame body (first loading means) 80 that is movably provided in the front-rear direction with respect to the main frame body 80. It has a second loading means) 90. In this sheet cassette 31, the entire size can be expanded or contracted by moving the auxiliary frame body 90 in the front-rear direction with respect to the main frame body 80 according to the sheet size to be stored.

In the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the feeding roller 32 is arranged on the rear side of the apparatus main body 10. Therefore, the seat cassette 31 is provided so that the main frame body 80 is arranged on the rear side of the device main body 10 and the auxiliary frame body 90 is arranged so as to be pulled out on the front side of the device main body 10. As shown in FIG. 2, a display window 91 formed of a through hole for exposing the display end portion 120b, which will be described later, is formed on the front side portion of the auxiliary frame body 90. That is, the auxiliary frame body 90 has a display window 91 that exposes the display end portion 120b on the side in the direction of pulling out from the main frame body 80.

As shown in FIG. 1A, when the auxiliary frame body 90 is inserted, the front surface of the auxiliary frame body 90 is located on the same plane as the front wall surface of the apparatus main body 10 (insertion position). Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), in the state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is most pulled out, the front surface of the auxiliary frame body 90 is positioned so as to protrude in the forward direction F from the device main body 10 (drawer position). At this time, the seat cassette 31 can store a seat SL having a size larger than the seat S that can be accommodated with the auxiliary frame body 90 inserted. That is, the auxiliary frame body 90 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the insertion position with respect to the main frame body 80.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seat cassette 31 is provided with a seat loading plate (loading member) 33. The seat loading plate 33 is rotatably supported with respect to the main frame body 80 about the rotation center 33a. The seat S is loaded on the seat loading plate 33 in the seat cassette 31. That is, the seat loading plate 33 is provided on the main frame body 80 so as to be able to move up and down, and the seat S is loaded. Further, the seat cassette 31 includes a drive transmission gear 34 that transmits drive from a drive source (not shown), a fan gear 35 that receives drive from the drive transmission gear 34, and a swing arm 36 that moves integrally with the fan gear 35. For example, it is provided on the right side of the sheet cassette 31. The drive source, the drive transmission gear 34, the fan gear 35, and the swing arm 36 constitute an ascending means for raising the seat loading plate 33.

The swing arm 36 is provided so as to be swingable around the rotation axis of the fan gear 35. The upper tip of the swing arm 36 slides up the bottom surface of the seat loading plate 33 to push up the seat loading plate 33 (see FIG. 7). That is, when the drive is transmitted from the drive source, the swing arm 36 rotates and pushes up the seat loading plate 33 to raise it, or rotates in the opposite direction and lowers the seat loading plate 33 by its own weight. Further, a sensor for detecting that the uppermost sheet Sa of the sheet bundle housed in the sheet cassette 31 has come into contact with the feeding roller 32 is provided, and the control unit 70 uses the detection of this sensor to drive the drive source. Stop and stop the seat loading plate 33. Therefore, the seat loading plate 33 rises more as the number of seats S in the seat cassette 31 decreases.

The sheet cassette 31 is provided with, for example, a sheet remaining amount display unit 100 on the right side of the sheet cassette 31. The sheet remaining amount display unit 100 has a sheet remaining amount detecting unit (moving unit) 110 held by the main frame body 80, and a sheet remaining amount display lever (display unit) 120 held by the auxiliary frame body 90.

The sheet remaining amount detecting unit 110 is connected to the first link member (first rotating unit) 111, the second link member (second rotating unit) 112, and the two link members 111, 112. It has a connecting member (elevating part) 113. The first link member 111 is arranged on the rear side with respect to the second link member 112.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first link member 111 is rotatably supported by a shaft 81 with respect to the main frame 80 at one end and rotated by a shaft 113a with respect to the connecting member 113 at the other end. Supported as possible. Further, the first link member 111 has a show engaging hole 111a that slidably engages with the shaft 33b protruding from the seat loading plate 33 in the width direction W along the longitudinal direction. As a result, the first link member 111 rotates as the seat loading plate 33 moves up and down. That is, the ascending means moves the connecting member 113 via the first link member 111 by raising and lowering the seat loading plate 33.

The second link member 112 is rotatably supported by the shaft 82 with respect to the main frame 80 at one end and rotatably supported by the shaft 113b with respect to the connecting member 113 at the other end. That is, the sheet remaining amount detecting unit 110 has a first link member 111 and a second link member 112 that are rotatably connected to the connecting member 113 and the main frame body 80, respectively. As a result, the second link member 112 rotates as the seat loading plate 33 moves up and down.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the length of the first link member 111 (the length between the shaft 81 with respect to the main frame 80 and the shaft 113a with respect to the connecting member 113) is L1. Further, the length of the second link member 112 (the length between the shaft 82 with respect to the main frame body 80 and the shaft 113b with respect to the connecting member 113) is L2. In this case, the dimensions of each part are set so that L1 = L2.

The connecting member 113 is connected to the first link member 111 and the second link member 112 by two shafts 113a and 113b, respectively. That is, one end side of the connecting member 113 is connected to the first link member 111, and the other end side is connected to the second link member 112. Here, the dimensions of each part are set so that the length L3 between the two shafts 113a and 113b and the length L4 between the two shafts 81 and 82 provided on the main frame 80 are the same. doing. That is, the connecting member 113, the first link member 111, the second link member 112, and the main frame 80 form a parallel link mechanism. That is, the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 is provided on the main frame 80 and has a substantially horizontal connecting member 113, and the connecting member 113 maintains a substantially horizontal state as the seat loading plate 33 moves up and down. It is provided so that it can be moved in the vertical direction.

Further, in FIG. 4, the solid line indicates that a large number of sheets are loaded on the seat loading plate 33, so that the display end 120b is located above, and the broken line indicates that a small number of sheets are loaded on the seat loading plate 33. As a result, the display end 120b is located below.

As shown in FIG. 3C, the connecting member 113 has two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d facing each other along the longitudinal direction. The positions of the axes 81, 82, 113a, and 113b are determined so that the two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d are substantially horizontal (parallel to the horizontal plane) regardless of the rotation of the two link members 111 and 112. ing. An engaging portion 120c, which will be described later, of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is slidably sandwiched between these two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d in the front-rear direction. That is, the connecting member 113 is provided substantially horizontally, allows movement in the substantially horizontal direction with respect to the engaging portion 120c, and is integrally interlocked in the substantially vertical direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is rotatably supported by the shaft 120a with respect to the auxiliary frame body 90. The seat remaining amount display lever 120 has a display end portion 120b exposed from the display window 91 of the auxiliary frame body 90 at the front end portion. Therefore, the user can confirm the remaining amount of the sheet S housed in the sheet cassette 31 by visually recognizing the position (height) of the display end portion 120b on the display window 91. The display end portion 120b is formed linearly in the front-rear direction.

Further, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 has an engaging portion 120c that engages with the connecting member 113 at the rear end portion. The engaging portion 120c is slidably sandwiched between the two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d of the connecting member 113 in the front-rear direction. That is, the engaging portion 120c can move substantially horizontally with respect to the connecting member 113, and can move integrally with the connecting member 113 in the vertical direction. The engaging portion 120c does not necessarily have to be sandwiched between the two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d. For example, the engaging portion 120c may be placed on either of the two sliding surfaces 113c or 113d of the connecting member 113 by gravity or an urging force by an elastic body. It suffices if they are in contact with each other.

Further, the two sliding surfaces 113c and 113d form a concave portion having a concave cross section in the connecting member 113. On the other hand, the engaging portion 120c forms a convex portion protruding from the seat remaining amount display lever 120 in a convex shape. That is, the connecting member 113 is provided with a concave portion, and the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is provided with a convex portion that engages with the concave portion. However, the relationship between the concave portion and the convex portion is not limited to this, and a concave portion is provided on one of the connecting member 113 and the seat remaining amount display lever 120, and the concave portion is engaged on the other side of the connecting member 113 and the seat remaining amount display lever 120. It suffices to provide a matching convex portion.

As described above, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is provided on the auxiliary frame body 90 and moves according to the raising and lowering of the connecting member 113 to display the amount of the seat S loaded on the seat loading plate 33. Further, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 moves the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 in each of the state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is located at the insertion position and the state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is pulled out from the insertion position. It can be moved accordingly. That is, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can be moved according to the movement of the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 in a state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is located at a position between the insertion position and the withdrawal position. In other words, in a state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is pulled out from the main frame body 80, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can move according to the movement of the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110.

Further, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can freely set the ratio between the length L5 of the shaft 120a and the display end 120b and the length L6 of the shaft 120a and the engaging portion 120c, and the display end 120b can be freely set by this ratio. The length of the movable range of can be set as appropriate. Therefore, the size of the display window 91 in the height direction can be freely determined without affecting the size of the device main body 10 in the width direction W.

Next, the operation of the sheet cassette 31 of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

When the seat cassette 31 accommodating the seat S is mounted on the apparatus main body 10 with the auxiliary frame body 90 inserted, the seat loading plate 33 rotates around the rotation center 33a by driving a drive source (not shown). Move. At this time, since the uppermost sheet Sa rotates until it comes into contact with the feeding roller 32, the sheet loading plate 33 rotates upward as the number of sheets S housed in the sheet cassette 31 decreases.

When the seat loading plate 33 rises, the first link member 111 engaged with the shaft 33b of the seat loading plate 33 rotates upward. Here, the connecting member 113, the first link member 111, the second link member 112, and the main frame body 80 form a parallel link mechanism. Therefore, the first link member 111 and the second link member 112 rotate by the same angle. As a result, the connecting member 113 held by the two link members 111 and 112 can move along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction and the vertical direction while keeping the two opposing sliding surfaces 113c and 113d substantially horizontal. It becomes.

As the connecting member 113 rises, the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 rotates upward, and the display end portion 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 rotates downward. Therefore, the display end portion 120b can move downward in the display window 91, and can indicate to the user that the number of sheets S in the sheet cassette 31 is decreasing.

Next, a case where the auxiliary frame body 90 is pulled out from the main frame body 80 to accommodate a large-sized sheet S will be described. In this case, in the state where the auxiliary frame body 90 is pulled out, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is pulled out together with the auxiliary frame body 90 in the front direction of the device main body 10. At that time, the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is pulled out along the two opposing sliding surfaces 113c and 113d of the connecting member 113. That is, when the auxiliary frame body 90 is pulled out from the main frame body 80, the engaging portion 120c moves along the connecting member 113. Since the connecting member 113 moves up and down while maintaining a substantially horizontal position according to the remaining amount of the seat, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 correctly determines the remaining amount of the seat S in the seat cassette 31 regardless of the expansion and contraction of the auxiliary frame body 90. Can be shown.

As described above, according to the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the connecting member 113 moves up and down according to the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33, and the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 is the position of the auxiliary frame body 90. Regardless of this, it can be interlocked with the connecting member 113 that moves up and down. Therefore, the display end 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can accurately display the seat remaining amount. Further, since the seat remaining amount display lever 120 moves in the substantially horizontal direction and the substantially vertical direction, it is not necessary to consider the movement of the seat S in the width direction. As a result, the display range of the seat remaining amount display unit 100, that is, the height of the display window 91 can be expanded without inviting an increase in the size of the apparatus main body 10 while having the sheet cassette 31 that can be expanded and contracted according to the sheet size. ..

Further, according to the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the seat remaining amount display lever 120 has a free ratio of the length L5 of the shaft 120a and the display end 120b to the length L6 of the shaft 120a and the engaging portion 120c. Can be set to. Therefore, since the length of the movable range of the display end portion 120b can be appropriately set by this ratio, the size of the display window 91 in the height direction does not affect the size of the width direction W of the apparatus main body 10. You can decide what you want.

In the present embodiment described above, the case where the display end portion 120b is linear in the front-rear direction has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the display end portion 120b may have a crank portion 120d having a crank-shaped bend. In this case, the position of the display window 91 in the width direction W on the auxiliary frame 90 can be freely changed according to the design without adding any parts.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the display end portion 120b is directly exposed to the display window 91 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the display end portion 120b may have a display piece 121 exposed from the display window 91. In this case, the auxiliary frame 90 is provided with a rail portion 92 along the vertical direction. Then, the display piece 121 is attached to the rail portion 92 so as to be able to move up and down, and a part of the display piece 121 is exposed from the display window 91. Further, the bottom surface of the display piece 121 is supported from below by the tip end portion 120b of the display end portion 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120. As a result, the display piece 121 moves linearly along the rail portion 92, so that when the display end portion 120b moving on the arc-shaped orbit is directly visually recognized without appearing in the display window 91 in the front-rear direction. In comparison, the visibility of the user can be improved.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the connecting member 113 is supported by the fan gear 135 and the second link member 112, but the other configurations are the same. In the same manner, a detailed description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the seat cassette 31 has a drive transmission gear 34 that transmits drive from a drive source (not shown), a fan gear 135 that receives drive from the drive transmission gear 34, and a swing that moves integrally with the fan gear 135. The moving arm 36 is provided, for example, on the right side of the seat cassette 31. The fan gear 135 is rotatably supported with respect to the main frame body 80 with the shaft 135a as the center of rotation. The drive source, the drive transmission gear 34, the fan gear 135, and the swing arm 36 constitute an ascending means for raising the seat loading plate 33.

The seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 includes a fan gear (first rotating unit) 135, a second link member 112, and a connecting member 113 connected to these. The second link member 112 is arranged on the front side with respect to the fan gear 135.

The fan gear 135 is rotatably supported by the shaft 135b with respect to the connecting member 113. As a result, the rotation of the fan gear 135 causes the seat loading plate 33 to move up and down, and at the same time, the connecting member 113 to move. Here, the length of the fan gear 135 (the length between the shaft 135a and the shaft 135b with respect to the connecting member 113) is L7. Further, the length of the second link member 112 (the length between the shaft 82 with respect to the main frame body 80 and the shaft 113b with respect to the connecting member 113) is L8. In this case, the dimensions of each part are set so that L7 = L8. Further, the length L9 between the two shafts 135b and 113b of the connecting member 113 and the length L10 between the two shafts 135a and 82 provided on the main frame 80 are the same in each part. The dimensions are set. That is, the connecting member 113, the fan gear 135, the second link member 112, and the main frame body 80 form a parallel link mechanism. That is, the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 is provided on the main frame body 80, has a connecting member 113, and is in the vertical direction in a state where the connecting member 113 is substantially maintained in a substantially horizontal state in response to the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33. It is possible to move to.

In the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, when the seat cassette 31 accommodating the seat S is mounted on the apparatus main body 10 with the auxiliary frame body 90 inserted, the seat loading plate 33 is driven by a drive source (not shown). , Rotates around the rotation center 33a. At the same time as the seat loading plate 33 rises, the connecting member 113 moves via the fan gear 135, and the connecting member 113 moves along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction and the up-down direction while keeping the connecting member 113 substantially horizontal.

Therefore, even with the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the connecting member 113 moves up and down according to the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33, and the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 does not depend on the position of the auxiliary frame body 90. , It can be interlocked with the connecting member 113 that moves up and down. Therefore, the display end 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can accurately display the seat remaining amount. Further, since the seat remaining amount display lever 120 moves in the substantially horizontal direction and the substantially vertical direction, it is not necessary to consider the movement of the seat S in the width direction. As a result, the display range of the seat remaining amount display unit 100, that is, the height of the display window 91 can be expanded without inviting an increase in the size of the apparatus main body 10 while having the sheet cassette 31 that can be expanded and contracted according to the sheet size. ..

Further, according to the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, since the connecting member 113 is directly moved by the fan gear 135 which is the raising means, the connecting member 113 is held by using a link member different from the raising means. The number of parts can be reduced as compared with the above.

<Third embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the configuration is different from that of the first embodiment in that the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 has the support mechanism 140 and the transmission member 141, but the other configurations are the same. Similarly, a detailed description will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the sheet remaining amount detecting unit 110 has a support mechanism 140 and a transmission member 141. The support mechanism 140 supports the connecting member 113 so as to be able to move up and down while maintaining parallelism. As the support mechanism 140, for example, an existing or new appropriate mechanism such as a link mechanism, a slide mechanism, a pulley mechanism, etc. can be applied.

The transmission member 141 has a support hole 141a formed at the base end portion, an abutting portion 141b formed at the tip end portion, and a supported hole 141c formed at a substantially central portion. The support hole 141a is rotatably supported by a shaft 83 provided in the main frame body 80. The contact portion 141b can contact the bottom surface of the connecting member 113. The supported hole 141c has a shape along the longitudinal direction and slidably engages with the shaft 33b protruding from the seat loading plate 33 in the width direction W. As a result, the transmission member 141 is rotatably connected to the seat loading plate 33, supports the connecting member 113 from below, and moves up and down the connecting member 113 in accordance with the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33. When the contact portion 141b of the transmission member 141 is lowered, the connecting member 113 is lowered by its own weight.

In the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, when the seat cassette 31 accommodating the seat S is mounted on the apparatus main body 10 with the auxiliary frame body 90 inserted, the seat loading plate 33 is driven by a drive source (not shown). , Rotates around the rotation center 33a. At the same time as the seat loading plate 33 rises, the connecting member 113 is moved via the transmission member 141, and the connecting member 113 moves along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction and the vertical direction while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture.

Therefore, even with the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the connecting member 113 moves up and down according to the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33, and the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 does not depend on the position of the auxiliary frame body 90. , It can be interlocked with the connecting member 113 that moves up and down. Therefore, the display end 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can accurately display the seat remaining amount. Further, since the seat remaining amount display lever 120 moves in the substantially horizontal direction and the substantially vertical direction, it is not necessary to consider the movement of the seat S in the width direction. As a result, the display range of the seat remaining amount display unit 100, that is, the height of the display window 91 can be expanded without inviting an increase in the size of the apparatus main body 10 while having the sheet cassette 31 that can be expanded and contracted according to the sheet size. ..

Further, according to the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism of the connecting member 113 can be further simplified. The elevating mechanism of the connecting member 113 is not limited to the transmission member 141, and may be directly pushed up by, for example, the seat loading plate 33.

<Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the configuration is different from that of the first embodiment in that the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 has the push-up member 150 and the inclined portion 151, but the other configurations are the same, so the reference numerals are the same. The detailed description will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the seat remaining amount detecting unit 110 is an inclined portion 151 provided at a contact portion between the pushing-up member 150 provided on the main frame body 80 and the connecting member 113 and the pushing-up member 150. And have. The push-up member 150 is provided so as to be movable in the drawer and insertion directions of the auxiliary frame 90, and at least the downward movement is restricted, and the push-up member 150 is provided in the drawer and insertion directions of the auxiliary frame 90 as the seat loading plate 33 moves up and down. Moving. In the present embodiment, when the seat loading plate 33 is raised, it moves in the front direction F, and when the seat loading plate 33 is lowered, it moves in the rear direction B.

The inclined portion 151 has an inclined surface 150a formed on the push-up member 150 and an inclined surface 113e formed on the connecting member 113. The inclined surface 150a and the inclined surface 113e of the inclined portion 151 are inclined in the direction in which the pushing member 150 pushes up the connecting member 113 when the connecting member 113 and the pushing member 150 are urged in the direction of pressing each other.

In the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, when the seat cassette 31 accommodating the seat S is mounted on the apparatus main body 10 with the auxiliary frame body 90 inserted, the seat loading plate 33 is driven by a drive source (not shown). To rise. At the same time, the push-up member 150 moves in the forward direction F, and the connecting member 113 is moved along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction and the up-down direction while keeping the connecting member 113 substantially horizontal via the inclined portion 151.

Therefore, even with the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the connecting member 113 moves up and down according to the raising and lowering of the seat loading plate 33, and the engaging portion 120c of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 does not depend on the position of the auxiliary frame body 90. , It can be interlocked with the connecting member 113 that moves up and down. Therefore, the display end 120b of the seat remaining amount display lever 120 can accurately display the seat remaining amount. Further, since the seat remaining amount display lever 120 moves in the substantially horizontal direction and the substantially vertical direction, it is not necessary to consider the movement of the seat S in the width direction. As a result, the display range of the seat remaining amount display unit 100, that is, the height of the display window 91 can be expanded without inviting an increase in the size of the apparatus main body 10 while having the sheet cassette 31 that can be expanded and contracted according to the sheet size. ..

Further, according to the seat cassette 31 of the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism of the connecting member 113 can be further simplified.

31 ... Seat cassette (seat loading device), 33 ... Seat loading plate (loading member), 34 ... Drive transmission gear (raising means), 35 ... Fan gear (raising means), 36 ... Swing arm (raising means), 80 ... Main frame (first loading means), 90 ... Auxiliary frame (second loading means), 91 ... Display window, 110 ... Sheet remaining amount detection unit (moving unit), 111 ... First link member ( 1st rotating part), 112 ... 2nd link member (2nd rotating part), 113 ... connecting member (elevating part), 113e ... inclined surface (tilted part), 120 ... seat remaining amount display lever ( Display unit), 120c ... Engagement unit, 120d ... Crank unit, 121 ... Display piece, 135 ... Fan gear (raising means, first rotating unit), 140 ... Support mechanism, 141 ... Transmission member, 150 ... Push-up member , 150a ... Inclined surface (inclined portion), 151 ... Inclined portion, S ... Sheet.

Claims (17)

It has a first loading means and a second loading means provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the insertion position in the withdrawal direction with respect to the first loading means, and the first loading means of the second loading means. A loading unit whose size can be expanded corresponding to different seat sizes by moving in the drawer direction with respect to the loading means of
A loading unit for the vertically movably provided in the first stacking means, the sheet is stacked,
A first rotating portion and a second rotating portion that rotate in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the loading portion,
One end side is connected to the first rotating portion, the other end side is connected to the second rotating portion, and a link mechanism is formed together with the first and second rotating portions and the first loading means. Elevating part and
The second loading means is provided with a display unit that displays the amount of sheets loaded on the loading unit by moving according to the raising and lowering of the elevating unit .
A seat loading device characterized by this. The elevating part moves up and down while maintaining a state parallel to the withdrawal direction.
The sheet loading device according to claim 1. The display portion has an engaging portion and has an engaging portion.
The elevating portion has an engaged portion with which the engaging portion is engaged, and the elevating portion has an engaged portion.
The display unit can move in the pull-out direction with respect to the elevating portion by guiding the engaging portion by the engaged portion, and can move in the vertical direction together with the elevating portion.
The sheet loading device according to claim 1 or 2. When the second loading means is pulled out from the first loading means, the engaging portion moves in the pulling direction along the engaged portion.
The sheet loading device according to claim 3 , wherein the sheet loading device is characterized by the above. One of the engaging portion and the engaged portion is a concave portion, and the other of the engaging portion and the engaging portion is a convex portion that engages with the concave portion.
The sheet loading device according to claim 3 or 4. The display unit includes a lever, a rotating shaft that rotatably supports the lever on the second loading means, and a display end portion provided at the tip of the lever and exposed in the withdrawal direction of the second loading means. And have
The display end portion moves up and down by rotating around the rotation axis by raising and lowering the engaging portion, and displays the amount of sheets loaded on the loading portion.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the sheet loading device is characterized by the above. The loading portion moves up and down while rotating.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sheet loading device is characterized by the above. It has an ascending means for raising the loading portion, and the ascending means moves the elevating portion via the loading portion.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The second loading means has a display window that exposes the display unit on the pull-out direction side.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The display unit includes a lever that moves in response to vertical movement of the lifting unit, and a display piece is raised along the display window by the lever with exposed from the display window,
The sheet loading device according to claim 9. The display portion has a crank portion having a crank-like shape.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The elevating portion, the first rotating portion, the second rotating portion, and the first loading means form a parallel link mechanism.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The first rotating portion rotates by raising and lowering the loading portion.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the sheet loading device is characterized by the above. The first loading means and
A second loading means provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the insertion position in the withdrawal direction with respect to the first loading means.
A loading unit that is provided on the first loading means so as to be able to move up and down and on which a sheet is loaded,
A display unit provided in the second loading means and displaying the amount of sheets loaded on the loading unit, and
The first loading means is provided with an elevating portion parallel to the pull-out direction, and the elevating portion is substantially maintained in a state of being parallel to the pull-out direction in response to the elevating and lowering of the loading portion in the vertical direction. It is equipped with a movable part that is provided so that it can be moved.
The display unit moves the moving unit regardless of whether the second loading means is located at the insertion position or the second loading means is pulled out from the first loading means. Can be moved according to
Features and to Resid over preparative stacking apparatus that. The moving part
A support mechanism that supports the elevating part so that it can be raised and lowered,
It has a transmission unit that is rotatably connected to the first loading means, supports the elevating portion from below, and elevates and elevates the elevating portion in response to the elevating and lowering of the loading portion.
Sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1 4, characterized in that. The moving part
The first loading means is provided so as to be movable in the withdrawal direction and the insertion direction of the second loading means, and the movement of the second loading means is restricted downward, and the second loading means is provided according to the raising and lowering of the loading portion. A push-up portion that moves in the withdrawal direction and the insertion direction of the loading means, and
It has an inclined portion provided on at least one of the elevating portion and the pushing-up portion, and the pushing-up portion is inclined in a direction of pushing up the elevating portion when the pushing-up portion moves toward the elevating portion.
Sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1 4, characterized in that. The display portion has an engaging portion that engages with the elevating portion.
The engaging portion is guided by the elevating portion and moves along the elevating portion when the second loading means moves in and out of the first loading means in the withdrawal direction.
The sheet loading device according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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