JP7205260B2 - Layer transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a layer transfer device having a sheet feeding section.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus having a sheet feeding section is known (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-300061). This image forming apparatus has a pair of body frames in the housing body in order to ensure rigidity. An image forming section and a sheet feeding section are arranged between the pair of body frames.

JP 2003-107822 A

By the way, in the conventional technology, since the image forming section and the sheet feeding section are supported by a common body frame, if the body frame is deformed, the sheet feeding section may not be able to stably feed the sheets due to the deformation. was there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to stably supply a sheet.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a layer transfer device according to the present invention provides a layer for transferring at least one layer of the multilayer film on the surface of the sheet on which the toner image is formed, the multilayer film having a plurality of layers. A layer transfer device capable of performing transfer. The layer transfer device includes a housing body, a transfer section that transfers a layer onto a sheet, and a sheet supply section that is positioned above the transfer section and supplies the sheet to the transfer section.
The housing main body is a main body side frame made of metal, and includes a pair of main body side frames positioned apart from each other in the width direction of the sheet perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction, and a pair of main body side frames extending in the width direction. and a connecting shaft. The sheet supply unit includes a supply roller that conveys the sheet, and a pair of supply side frames that rotatably support the supply roller and are spaced apart from each other in the width direction. The supply side frame is separate from the main body side frame and supported by the shaft.

According to this configuration, even if the main body side frame is deformed, since the supply side frame is separate from the main body side frame, the rigidity of the sheet feeding section can be maintained by the supply side frame. Therefore, the sheet supply section can stably supply the sheets.

Also, the pair of supply side frames may each have a first notch, and the first notch may be engaged with the shaft.

According to this, it is easy to assemble the sheet feeding section to the shaft.

Further, the shaft has a first chamfer formed flat in the direction in which the shaft extends, a second chamfer formed on the opposite side of the first chamfer and parallel to the first chamfer, and the first notch has a first guide extending from the edge of the supply side frame and a circular first retaining hole connected with the first guide, the width of the first guide being greater than the diameter of the shaft and larger than the distance from the first chamfered portion to the second chamfered portion, and the diameter of the first holding hole may be larger than the diameter of the shaft.

According to this, it is possible to hold the sheet supply unit so as not to come off from the shaft after the sheet supply unit is attached to the shaft.

Further, the first chamfered portion may be arranged along a direction different from that of the first guide when the sheet feeding portion is assembled to the housing body.

According to this, the sheet feeding section is less likely to come off from the shaft when the sheet feeding section is attached to the housing body.

Further, the direction in which the first guide extends may form an angle of 80 to 100° with respect to the first chamfered portion.

The housing body has an opening and further includes a cover that is rotatable between a closed position that closes the opening and an open position that opens the opening, and the cover is rotatably engaged with the shaft. It is good also as a structure with.

According to this, since the shaft connects the pair of main body side frames and also serves as the rotation shaft of the cover, an increase in the number of shafts can be suppressed.

The cover also has a second cutout for engaging the shaft, the second cutout having a second guide extending from the edge of the cover and a second circular retaining hole communicating with the second guide. , the width of the second guide is smaller than the diameter of the shaft and larger than the distance from the first chamfered portion to the second chamfered portion, and the diameter of the second holding hole is larger than the diameter of the shaft. good too.

According to this, after the cover is attached to the shaft, the cover can be held so as not to come off from the shaft.

Further, in a state in which the cover is assembled to the housing body, the first chamfered portion may be arranged along a direction different from that of the second guide in the range from the closed position in which the cover is rotatable to the open position. good.

According to this, the cover is less likely to come off from the shaft when the cover is attached to the housing body.

When the cover is in the middle between the open position and the closed position, the direction in which the second guide extends may form an angle of 80 to 100° with respect to the direction in which the first chamfer extends.

According to this, when the cover is assembled to the housing body, the cover is less likely to come off from the shaft even when the cover is opened and closed.

Further, when the cover is in the open position and when the cover is in the closed position, the direction in which the first guide extends may be along a direction different from the direction in which the second guide extends.

According to this, when the cover is attached to the housing body, the sheet feeding section is less likely to come off from the shaft.

Also, the shaft may have a groove formed in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the shaft extends, and the groove may be configured to engage with the supply side frame.

According to this, the sheet feeding side frame can be positioned in the width direction by the groove of the shaft.

According to the present invention, it is possible to stably supply the sheet.

1 illustrates a layer transfer device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which opened the cover of the layer transfer apparatus. It is the perspective view (a) which shows a layer transfer apparatus, and the perspective view (b) which shows a main body side frame and a supply side frame. They are views (a) and (b) of the shaft viewed from different directions, a YY cross-sectional view (c), and a ZZ cross-sectional view (d). It is the perspective view (a) which looked at the fixing member from one side, and the figure (b) which looked at the other side. It is a figure which shows the notch (a) of a supply side frame, and the notch (b) of a cover. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the fixing member is in the first position, and FIG. 3B is a ZZ cross-sectional view of the shaft. FIG. 11(a) shows a state in which the fixing member is in the second position, and FIG. 11(b) is a YY cross-sectional view of the shaft. FIG. 10(a) shows a state in which the fixing member is in the third position, and FIG. 11(b) is a YY cross-sectional view of the shaft. FIG. 4A shows a notch in the cover when the cover is in the closed position, and FIG. 4B shows the notch in the cover when the cover is in the middle between the open position and the closed position.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, first, the overall structure of the layer transfer device will be briefly described, and then the structure of the characteristic portion of the present invention will be described.
In the following description, the direction shown in FIG. 1 will be used. 1 is defined as "front", the left side of FIG. 1 is defined as "rear", the front side of FIG. 1 is defined as "left", and the back side of FIG. 1 is defined as "right". Moreover, the upper and lower sides of FIG. 1 are referred to as "up and down".

As shown in FIG. 1, the layer transfer device 1 superimposes a multi-layer film (for example, foil such as aluminum foil) made up of a plurality of layers on the surface of a sheet S on which a toner image has been formed by an image forming device such as a laser printer. A layer transfer can be performed to transfer at least one layer of the multilayer film onto the toner image. The layer transfer device 1 includes a housing 2 , a sheet tray 3 , a sheet transport section 10 , a film supply section 30 and a transfer section 50 .

The housing 2 is made of resin or the like, and includes a housing main body 21 and a cover 22 . The housing body 21 has an opening 21A (see FIG. 2) at the top. The opening 21A is an opening for attaching and detaching a film unit FU, which will be described later, to the housing body 21. As shown in FIG.

The cover 22 is a member for opening and closing the opening 21A. A rear end portion of the cover 22 is rotatably supported by the housing body 21 . The cover 22 is rotatable between a closed position (position shown in FIG. 1) that closes the opening 21A and an open position (position shown in FIG. 2) that opens the opening 21A.

In this embodiment, the cover 22 is opened by lifting the front end of the cover 22 from below. Specifically, the rear end of the cover 22 is located above the front end when the cover 22 is in the closed position, and the rear end of the cover 22 is located above the front end when the cover 22 is in the open position. located below the department.

The sheet tray 3 is a tray on which sheets S such as paper and OHP films are placed. A sheet tray 3 is provided at the rear of the housing 2 . The sheet S is placed on the sheet tray 3 with the surface on which the toner image is formed facing downward.

The sheet conveying section 10 includes a sheet supply section 11 and a sheet discharge section 12 . The sheet supply section 11 is positioned above the transfer section 50 . The sheet supply unit 11 has a supply roller 111 that conveys the sheet S and a retard roller 112 .

The supply roller 111 conveys the sheet S on the sheet tray 3 toward the transfer section 50 . The retard roller 112 faces the supply roller 111 . The retard roller 112 rotates in the sheet returning direction to separate the sheets S one by one.

The sheet discharge section 12 discharges the sheet S that has passed through the transfer section 50 to the outside of the housing 2 . The sheet discharge section 12 has a plurality of conveying rollers.

The film supply section 30 is a section that supplies the multilayer film F so as to overlap the sheet S conveyed from the sheet supply section 11 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the film unit FU can be attached to and detached from the housing body 21 through the opening 21A. The film unit FU has a supply reel 31 and a take-up reel 35 . A multilayer film F is wound around the supply reel 31 .

Multilayer film F is a film consisting of a plurality of layers. Specifically, the multilayer film F is
It has a supporting layer and a supported layer. The support layer is a tape-shaped transparent substrate made of a polymeric material, and supports the layer to be supported. The layer to be supported has, for example, a release layer, a transfer layer, and an adhesive layer. The peeling layer is a layer for facilitating peeling of the transfer layer from the support layer, and is arranged between the support layer and the transfer layer.

The transfer layer is the layer to which the toner image is transferred and includes foil. A foil is a thinly rolled metal such as gold, silver, copper, or aluminum. The transfer layer is arranged between the release layer and the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer is a layer for facilitating adhesion of the transfer layer to the toner image.

The supply reel 31 is made of resin or the like, and has a supply shaft portion 31A around which the multilayer film F is wound. One end of the multilayer film F is fixed to the supply shaft portion 31A. The multilayer film F is wound around the supply reel 31 with the support layer on the outside and the supported layer (transfer layer) on the inside.

The take-up reel 35 is made of resin or the like, and has a take-up shaft portion 35A for winding the multilayer film F thereon. The other end of the multilayer film F is fixed to the take-up shaft portion 35A. The multilayer film F is wound around the take-up reel 35 with the support layer facing outside and the supported layer (transfer layer) facing inside.

1 and the like, for the sake of convenience, a state in which the multilayer film F is maximally wound around both the supply reel 31 and the take-up reel 35 is illustrated. Actually, when the film unit FU is new, the roll-shaped multilayer film F wound around the supply reel 31 has the maximum diameter, and the take-up reel 35 is wound with the multilayer film F. Alternatively, the diameter of the roll-shaped multilayer film F wound around the take-up reel 35 is minimized. At the end of the life of the film unit FU (when the multilayer film F is used up), the diameter of the roll-shaped multilayer film F wound around the take-up reel 35 becomes maximum, and the supply reel 31 holds the multilayer film F. The diameter of the roll-shaped multilayer film F that is not wound or that is wound around the supply reel 31 is minimized.

With the film unit FU attached to the layer transfer device 1, the take-up reel 35 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by a drive source (not shown). When the take-up reel 35 rotates, the multilayer film F wound around the supply reel 31 is pulled out, and the taken-out multilayer film F is taken up by the take-up reel 35 . Specifically, during layer transfer, the multilayer film F is pulled out from the supply reel 31 by feeding the multilayer film F with a pressure roller 51 and a heating roller 61 which will be described later. Then, the multilayer film F sent out from the pressure roller 51 and the heating roller 61 is taken up by the take-up reel 35 .

The transfer portion 50 is a portion for transferring a transfer layer onto the toner image formed on the sheet S by applying heat and pressure while the sheet S and the multilayer film F are stacked. The transfer section 50 includes a pressure roller 51 and a heating roller 61 . The transfer unit 50 heats and presses the sheet S and the multilayer film F in a nip portion between the pressure roller 51 and the heating roller 61 .

The pressure roller 51 is a roller in which a cylindrical cored bar is covered with a rubber layer made of silicone rubber. The pressure roller 51 is arranged above the multilayer film F and is capable of contacting the back surface of the sheet S (the surface opposite to the surface on which the toner image is formed).

Both ends of the pressure roller 51 are rotatably supported by the cover 22 . The pressure roller 51 sandwiches the sheet S and the multilayer film F between itself and the heating roller 61 , and is driven to rotate by the driving source, thereby causing the heating roller 61 to rotate.

The heating roller 61 is a roller in which a heater (not shown) is arranged inside a cylindrically formed metal tube, and heats the multilayer film F and the sheet S. As shown in FIG. The heating roller 61 is arranged below the multilayer film F and is in contact with the multilayer film F. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the heating roller 61 is moved by a contact/separation mechanism 70 for bringing the heating roller 61 into contact with/separating from the multilayer film F. As shown in FIG. When the cover 22 is closed, the contact/separation mechanism 70 moves the heating roller 61 to the contact position where it contacts the multilayer film F in accordance with the timing at which the sheet S is supplied to the transfer section 50 . Further, the contact/separation mechanism 70 positions the heating roller 61 at a separation position away from the multilayer film F when the cover 22 is opened or when the transfer unit 50 does not perform layer transfer to the sheet S. there is

In the layer transfer apparatus 1 configured as described above, the sheets S placed on the sheet tray 3 with the surface of the sheets S facing downward are conveyed one by one toward the transfer section 50 by the sheet supply section 11 . The sheet S is superimposed on the multilayer film F supplied from the supply reel 31 on the upstream side of the transfer section 50 in the sheet conveying direction, and conveyed to the transfer section 50 in a state in which the toner image of the sheet S and the multilayer film F are in contact with each other. be.

In the transfer section 50, the sheet S and the multilayer film F are heated and pressed by the heating roller 61 and the pressure roller 51 when passing through the nip portion between the pressure roller 51 and the heating roller 61, and the toner image is formed. Foil is transferred on top.

The multilayer film F separated from the sheet S is taken up by the take-up reel 35 . On the other hand, the sheet S from which the multilayer film F has been peeled off is discharged from the housing 2 by the sheet discharging section 12 with the surface to which the foil has been transferred facing downward.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the housing body 21 has a pair of body side frames 21S, a shaft 200, and a fixing member 300. As shown in FIGS.

The main body side frame 21S is made of metal and is a member for ensuring the rigidity of the housing main body 21 . The pair of main body side frames 21S are spaced apart in the left-right direction, that is, in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction (simply referred to as the "width direction" in the following description).

Shaft 200 is made of metal. Shaft 200 has a cylindrical shape. Here, the dimension of the diameter of shaft 200 is assumed to be C1. The shaft 200 extends in the width direction (horizontal direction). The shaft 200 connects the pair of main body side frames 21S.

When assembling the layer transfer device 1, the shaft 200 is rotatable with respect to the main body side frame 21S. After the layer transfer device 1 is assembled, both ends of the shaft 200 are fixed to the main body side frames 21S by the fixing members 300. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the shaft 200 has a first portion 210 that engages with the cover 22 and a second portion 220 that engages with the supply side frame 11S. A first portion 210 and a second portion 220 are formed at both ends of the shaft 200, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the first portion 210 has an arcuate surface portion 210C having a diameter C1, a first chamfered portion 211, and a second chamfered portion 212. As shown in FIG. The first chamfered portion 211 is formed flat in the direction in which the shaft 200 extends. The second chamfered portion 212 is located on the opposite side of the first chamfered portion 211 and formed parallel to the first chamfered portion 211 . A distance D3 from the first chamfered portion 211 to the second chamfered portion 212 is smaller than the diameter C1.

The second portion 220 is a portion forming the bottom of a groove formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the shaft 200 extends. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4D, the second portion 220 has an arc surface portion 220C having a diameter C2 smaller than C1, a first chamfered portion 221, and a second chamfered portion 222. ing. The first chamfered portion 221 is formed flat in the direction in which the shaft 200 extends. The second chamfered portion 222 is located on the opposite side of the first chamfered portion 221 and formed parallel to the first chamfered portion 221 . A distance D4 from the first chamfered portion 221 to the second chamfered portion 222 is smaller than the diameter C2. In this embodiment, the distance D4 is the same as the distance D3, but the distance D4 and the distance D3 may be different.

The widths of the two second portions 220 are different, and the width D1 of the groove located on one side is smaller than the width D2 of the groove located on the other side.

The fixing member 300 is a member that rotates the shaft 200 during assembly of the layer transfer device 1 and fixes the shaft 200 to the main body side frame 21S after assembly.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the fixing member 300 has a shaft holding portion 310, a positioning portion 320, and a grip portion 330. As shown in FIGS. The shaft holding portion 310 is a portion into which both ends of the shaft 200 enter and engage. The grip portion 330 is a portion that is gripped by an operator to rotate the fixing member 300 when assembling the layer transfer device 1 .

The positioning portion 320 is deformable in the direction in which the shaft 200 extends, and has an engaging protrusion 320A at its tip that is movable in the direction in which the shaft 200 extends. The engagement protrusion 320A engages with one of three holes B1, B2, and B3 provided in the main body side frame 21S to determine the position of the fixing member 300 in the rotation direction (FIG. 7(a)).

As shown in FIG. 7A, the body side frame 21S has three holes B1, B2, B3. When the engaging protrusion 320A of the positioning portion 320 of the fixing member 300 engages with the hole B1, the position of the shaft 200 in the rotational direction is positioned at the first position (position shown in FIG. 7B). When the shaft 200 is located at the first position, the first chamfers 211, 221 extend along the first direction.
As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when positioning portion 320 of fixing member 300 is engaged with hole B2, shaft 200 is positioned at the second position in the rotational direction. When the shaft 200 is located at the second position, the first chamfered portions 211 and 221 extend along the second direction. The angle θ1 at which the shaft 200 rotates from the first position to the second position is desirably 35 to 55°, and is 40° in this embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when positioning portion 320 of fixing member 300 is engaged with hole B3, shaft 200 is positioned at the third position in the rotational direction. When the shaft 200 is located at the third position, the first chamfered portions 211 and 221 extend along the third direction. The angle θ2 at which the shaft 200 rotates from the first position to the third position is desirably 80 to 100°, and is 90° in this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the sheet supply section 11 has a pair of supply side frames 11S. The supply side frame 11</b>S is made of metal and is a member for ensuring the rigidity of the sheet supply section 11 . The pair of supply side frames 11S are positioned apart from each other in the sheet S width direction. The supply side frame 11S is separate from the main body side frame 21S. The supply side frames 11S are connected to each other by a resin frame (not shown).

The supply side frame 11S rotatably supports the supply roller 111. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the supply roller 111 is supported by a resin bearing and supported by the supply side frame 11S via a resin frame (not shown).

A pair of supply side frames 11S are supported by a shaft 200. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the pair of supply side frames 11S each have a first notch 110, and the first notch 110 engages the shaft 200, more specifically, the second portion 220 of the shaft 200. As shown in FIG. Thus, the pair of supply side frames 11S are engaged with the shaft 200. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6( a ), the first notch 110 has a first guide 113 and a first holding hole 114 .

The first guides 113 are a pair of surfaces that guide the shaft 200 . The shaft 111 is guided to the first holding hole 114 through between the pair of surfaces. The first guide 113 extends from the edge of the supply side frame 11S. The width H1 (the distance between the pair of surfaces) of the first guide 113 is smaller than the diameter C2 of the second portion 220 of the shaft 200 and is larger than the distance D4 from the first chamfered portion 221 to the second chamfered portion 222. big.

The first holding hole 114 is a curved surface that holds the shaft 111 . The first holding hole 114 is a circular hole connected to the first guide 113 . Diameter C3 of first retaining hole 114 is greater than diameter C2 of second portion 220 of shaft 200 .

As shown in FIG. 9B, the first chamfered portion 221 extends in a direction different from that of the first guide 113 when the sheet feeding portion 11 is assembled to the housing body 21 . Specifically, when the sheet feeding unit 11 is assembled to the housing body 21, the direction in which the first guide 113 extends may form an angle of 80 to 100° with respect to the first chamfered portion 221. Desirable (see FIG. 9(b)). In this embodiment, the direction in which the first guide 113 extends is along the first direction and forms an angle of 90° with respect to the first chamfered portion 221 .
After the sheet supply side frame 11S is engaged with the shaft 200, the sheet supply side frame 11S does not rotate because the back frame (not shown) of the sheet supply unit 11 comes into contact with the housing body 21. are positioned as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 22 has a second cutout 120 that engages the shaft 200 , specifically the first portion 210 of the shaft 200 . Cover 22 is rotatably engaged with shaft 200 . That is, the shaft 200 is the pivot shaft of the cover 22 .

As shown in FIG. 6B, the second notch 120 has a second guide 121 and a second holding hole 122. As shown in FIG.

The second guides 121 are a pair of surfaces that guide the shaft 200 . The second holding hole 122 is a curved surface held by the shaft 111 . The shaft 111 is guided to the second holding hole 122 through between the pair of surfaces. A second guide 121 extends from the edge of the cover 22 . The width H2 of the second guide 121 is smaller than the diameter C1 of the shaft 200 and larger than the distance D3 from the first chamfered portion 211 to the second chamfered portion 212 .

The second holding hole 122 is a circular hole connected to the second guide 121 . Diameter C4 of second holding hole 122 is larger than diameter C1 of shaft 200 .

As shown in FIG. 9B, in a state where the cover 22 is assembled to the housing body 21, when the cover 22 is in the open position, the first chamfered portion 211 forms a second guide 121 extending from the second guide 121. Along a third direction different from the direction. Further, in a state in which the sheet feeding section 11 and the cover 22 are assembled to the housing main body 21, when the cover 22 is at the open position and when the cover 22 is at the closed position, the direction in which the first guide 113 extends is It is along a direction different from the direction in which the second guide 121 extends.

Here, FIG. 10A shows a state in which the cover 22 is moved to the closed position while the cover 22 is attached to the housing body 21 . As can be seen from FIGS. 9B and 10A, when the cover 22 is assembled to the housing body 21, the first chamfered portion 211 is opened from the closed position in which the cover 22 is rotatable. The range to the position is along the third direction different from the direction in which the second guide 121 extends. The direction in which the second guide 121 extends is in the range of the acute angle formed by the fourth direction and the second direction in the range from the closed position to the open position in which the cover 22 is rotatable.

FIG. 10(b) shows a state in which the cover 22 is in the middle between the open position and the closed position.
As shown in FIG. 10(b), when the cover 22 is in the center between the open position and the closed position, the direction in which the second guide 121 extends is 80 to 100 degrees greater than the third direction in which the first chamfered portion 211 extends. It is desirable to form an angle of °. In this embodiment, the direction in which the second guide 121 extends forms an angle of 90° with respect to the third direction in which the first chamfered portion 211 extends.

Next, a procedure for assembling the sheet feeding section 11 and the cover 22 to the housing body 21 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the sheet feeding section 11 is assembled to the housing body 21, the positioning section 320 of the fixing member 300 is engaged with the hole B1, and the shaft 200 is moved to the first position in the rotational direction. to After that, the first cutout portion 110 of the supply side frame 11S is engaged with the second portion 220 of the shaft 200 so that the first guide 113 and the first chamfered portion 221 of the second portion 220 of the shaft 200 are parallel to each other. Let Then, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the fixing member 300 is rotated from the first position to the second position. Then, the shaft 200 rotates from the first position to the second position, and the first chamfered portion 221 and the first guide 113 become non-parallel.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the second cutout portion 120 of the cover 22 is aligned so that the second guide 121 of the cover 22 and the first chamfered portion 211 of the first portion 210 of the shaft are parallel to each other. is engaged with the shaft 200. Since the first portion 210 and the second portion 220 have substantially the same shape, the second portion 220 is shown as a representative for ease of viewing of the drawing.
Then, the cover 22 is closed and the fixing member 300 is rotated from the second position to the third position as shown in FIG. 9(a). Then, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 10A, the second guide 121 and the first chamfered portion 211 are non-parallel, and the first guide 113 and the first chamfered portion 221 are non-parallel. Therefore, the sheet feeding section 11 and the cover 22 are not removed from the shaft 200.例文帳に追加When removing the sheet feeding portion 11 and the cover 22 from the housing body 21, the procedure may be reversed.

According to the above, the following effects can be obtained in this embodiment.
According to the layer transfer device 1, the supply side frame 11S that supplies the sheet S is separate from the main body side frame 21S. S can be supplied.

Since the pair of supply side frames 11</b>S each have the first notch 110 that engages with the shaft 200 , the sheet supply unit 11 can be easily attached to the shaft 200 .

The width H1 of the first guide 113 is smaller than the diameter C2 of the second portion 220 of the shaft 200 and larger than the distance D3 from the first chamfered portion 221 to the second chamfered portion 222. is larger than the diameter C2 of the second portion of the shaft 200, the sheet feeding portion 11 can be held so as not to come off from the shaft 200 after the sheet feeding portion 11 is attached to the shaft 200. - 特許庁

The shaft 200 is rotatable with respect to the main body side frame 21S, and in the state where the sheet feeding section 11 is assembled to the housing main body 21, the first chamfered portion 221 extends along a direction different from that of the first guide 113. Therefore, when the sheet feeding section 11 is attached to the housing body 21 , the sheet feeding section 11 is less likely to come off from the shaft 200 .

Since the shaft 200 connects the left and right main body side frames 21S and also serves as the rotation shaft of the cover 22, an increase in the number of shafts 200 arranged in the entire housing main body 21 can be suppressed.

The width H2 of the second guide 121 is smaller than the diameter C1 of the shaft 200 and larger than the distance D3 from the first chamfered portion 211 to the second chamfered portion 212, and the diameter C4 of the second holding hole 122 is Since the diameter C<b>1 of the shaft 200 is larger than the diameter C<b>1 of the shaft 200 , the cover 22 can be held so as not to come off from the shaft 200 after the cover 22 is attached to the shaft 200 .

With the cover 22 assembled to the housing body 21, the first chamfered portion 211 of the shaft 200 is oriented in a direction different from that of the second guide 121 in the range from the closed position to the open position where the cover 22 is rotatable. , the cover 22- is less likely to come off the shaft 200 when the cover 22 is attached to the housing body 21. - 特許庁

As shown in FIG. 10(b), when the cover 22 is in the middle between the open position and the closed position, the direction in which the second guide 121 extends forms an angle of 80 to 100° with respect to the first chamfered portion 211. Because of this configuration, the cover 22 is less likely to come off from the shaft 200 even when the cover 22 is opened and closed in a state where the cover 22 is attached to the housing body 21 .

The direction in which the first guide 113 extends is along a direction different from the direction in which the second guide 121 extends when the cover 22 is assembled to the housing body 21. Therefore, when the cover 22 is assembled to the housing body 21, sheet feeding is difficult. The portion 11 is difficult to come off the shaft 200 .

The shaft 200 has a second portion 220 as a groove formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the shaft 200 extends. The supply side frame 11S can be positioned in the width direction of the sheet S by engaging the second portion 220 with the supply side frame 11S.
Also, the widths of the grooves of the two second portions 220 are different, and the width D1 of the groove located on one side is smaller than the width D2 of the groove located on the other side. As a result, the narrow groove enables accurate positioning with the supply side frame 11S on one side, and the wide groove on the other side facilitates engagement between the shaft 200 and the supply side frame 11S.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be used in various forms as exemplified below.

In the above embodiment, the transfer layer containing foil was exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the transfer layer may be formed of thermoplastic resin without containing foil or coloring material, for example.

In the above embodiment, the multilayer film F is composed of four layers, but the present invention is not limited to this. good too.

In the above-described embodiment, the supply side frame 11S is formed with a notch portion that engages with the shaft 200, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the notch, a through hole with no guide may be formed. In this case, one of the pair of supply side frames 11S may be a notch and the other may be a through hole.

Although the supply side frame 11S is made of metal in the above embodiment, it may be made of other materials such as resin.

Each element described in the above embodiment and modifications may be implemented in any combination.

1 layer transfer device 11 sheet supply section 11S supply side frame 21 housing main body 21A opening 21S main body side frame 22 cover 50 transfer section 51 pressure roller 61 heating roller 110 first notch 111 supply roller 113 first guide 114 first holding hole 120 second notch 121 second guide 122 second holding hole 200 shaft 300 fixing member S sheet

Claims (11)

A layer transfer device capable of performing layer transfer by superimposing a multilayer film composed of a plurality of layers on a surface of a sheet on which a toner image is formed, and transferring at least one layer of the multilayer film onto the toner image,
a housing body;
a transfer unit that transfers the layer to the sheet;
a sheet supply unit located above the transfer unit and supplying a sheet to the transfer unit;
The housing main body is a main body side frame made of metal. a shaft connecting the side frames;
The sheet supply unit includes a supply roller that conveys a sheet, and a pair of supply side frames that rotatably support the supply roller and that are spaced apart from each other in the width direction,
The layer transfer device, wherein the supply side frame is separate from the main body side frame and supported by the shaft. The pair of supply side frames each have a first notch,
2. A layer transfer device according to claim 1, wherein said first notch is engaged with said shaft. The shaft has a first chamfer formed flat in the direction in which the shaft extends, and a second chamfer formed on the opposite side of the first chamfer and parallel to the first chamfer. and
The first notch has a first guide extending from an edge of the supply side frame and a circular first holding hole connected to the first guide,
the width of the first guide is smaller than the diameter of the shaft and larger than the distance from the first chamfered portion to the second chamfered portion;
3. The layer transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the diameter of said first holding hole is larger than the diameter of said shaft. 4. The layer transfer device according to claim 3, wherein the first chamfered portion extends in a direction different from that of the first guide when the sheet supply portion is assembled to the housing body. 5. The layer transfer device according to claim 4, wherein the direction in which the first guide extends forms an angle of 80 to 100 degrees with respect to the first chamfered portion. The housing body has an opening,
further comprising a cover rotatable between a closed position that closes the opening and an open position that opens the opening;
6. A layer transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein said cover is rotatably engaged with said shaft. the cover has a second notch that engages the shaft;
The second notch has a second guide extending from the edge of the cover and a circular second holding hole connected to the second guide,
the width of the second guide is smaller than the diameter of the shaft and larger than the distance from the first chamfered portion to the second chamfered portion;
7. The layer transfer device according to claim 6, wherein the diameter of said second holding hole is larger than the diameter of said shaft. In a state in which the cover is assembled to the housing body, the first chamfered portion extends along a direction different from that of the second guide in a range from the closed position in which the cover is rotatable to the open position. 8. The layer transfer device according to claim 7, wherein the layer transfer device comprises: A direction in which the second guide extends forms an angle of 80 to 100° with respect to a direction in which the first chamfer extends when the cover is in the middle between the open position and the closed position. 9. A layer transfer device according to claim 8. 8. When the cover is in the open position and when the cover is in the closed position, the direction in which the first guide extends is along a direction different from the direction in which the second guide extends. 10. A layer transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 10. the shaft has a groove formed in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the shaft extends,
11. A layer transfer apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said groove engages said feed side frame.

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