JPH021287Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention relates to a paper cassette feeding device that allows a paper feeding cassette to be attached and removed without operating a lever.

Prior Art Conventionally, a copying machine is equipped with a push-up member that is biased by a biasing means to press a sheet in a paper feed cassette against a paper feed roller that is fixed in position on the copy machine. Previously, the paper cassette was attached and detached by operating the cassette attachment release lever, but in this case, a mechanism was required to operate the release lever, and the operation of attaching and detaching the paper cassette was cumbersome. It was hot.

In order to solve the above problem, the applicant has
In Japanese Patent No. 55-119638, a paper feeding device was proposed in which a cassette could be attached and detached without operating a lever.
This paper feeding device is provided with a push-up member for pushing up the cassette bottom plate, and a push-down member that moves integrally with the push-up member, in the cassette attachment/detachment passage. By retracting the push-down member from the cassette attachment/detachment passage when the cassette is pulled out, the push-up member that pushes up the cassette bottom plate is retracted, and at the same time, the push-down member is Therefore, by holding the push-down member, the push-up member is held at the retracted position.

In the above paper feeding device, in order to ensure the holding by the holding member, the holding position is slightly above the position where the push-down member is most retracted. That is, after the push-down member is once moved to the most retracted position, it is raised again by the urging means provided on the push-up member, and is moved to a position slightly above the most retracted position. Retained. Therefore, the push-down member, which has been once retracted from the cassette attachment/detachment passage, will protrude slightly onto the attachment/detachment passage after the cassette is pulled out. The biasing force of the biasing means provided on the push-up member is quite strong, and this bias force is also applied to the push-down member that moves integrally with the push-up member. Therefore, when reinstalling the cassette, it is necessary to press down the push-down member that is biased with a strong force and slightly protrudes into the cassette attachment/detachment passage, and this requires an extremely large force.
This worsens the operational feeling when the cassette is installed.

Purpose The present invention was developed in view of these points, and its purpose is to minimize the force required to attach the paper cassette in a device that attaches and detaches the paper cassette without operating a lever. An object of the present invention is to provide a cassette paper feeding device that is capable of handling paper.

Embodiment The schematic structure of an embodiment of the cassette paper feeding device according to the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIG. A cassette bottom plate 2 is provided which is swingably supported by a non-limiting support shaft. A Sabaki sheet 3 having a large friction coefficient is fixed to the upper surface of the cassette bottom plate 2 to prevent double feeding of transfer paper. A lever hole 4 is formed in the bottom of the main body of the paper feed cassette 1 so that the cassette bottom plate 2 can be swung by a push-up lever to be described later. Further, a lock cam 5, a lock release rib 6, a push-up release cam 7, and a cassette guide rib 8 are formed at one end of the paper feed cassette 1, and a lock cam 5, a push-up release cam 7, and a guide rib are formed at the other end. 8 is provided in a similar position.

The holding portion 9 that holds the paper feed cassette 1 has a size that can accommodate and hold the paper feed cassette 1, and has lock rollers 10a at positions facing the lock cams 5, 5 formed on the paper feed cassette 1.
10a, push-down levers 12, 12, push-up lever 13, and pressure lever 14, which are fixed to a rotatably supported lever shaft 11 and swing together; It is comprised of push-down levers 12, 12, which swing integrally via a lever shaft 11 by regulating the swinging of the lever 14, and a lock member 15, which controls the swinging of the push-up lever 13. For details, see Push lever 1
2 and 12 have push-down rollers 12a and 12a at one end, and notches 1 formed on both sides of the holding frame 10.
The push-down roller 12a is arranged so as to move within the inside of the push-down roller 12b.

The push-up lever 13 has a push-up roller 13a at one end.
It is disposed so as to be swingable from the outside to the inside of the holding frame 10 via a notch 13b formed at the center of the bottom surface of the holding frame 10.

The pressure lever 14 is provided at the end of the lever shaft 11, includes a lock portion 16 having a slope inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the pressure lever 14, and is biased clockwise by a spring 17. ing.
Incidentally, since the biasing force by this spring 17 serves as a force for pushing up the push-up lever 13,
As the spring 17, one having a large spring constant is used.

A locking member 15 that restricts the swinging of the pressure lever 14 is rotatably supported on a shaft 18 and biased clockwise by a biasing means (not shown). It includes a lock wedge 20 having an acute-angled tip, and a trigger lever 21 that projects into the holding frame 10 through a notch 21a of the holding frame 20. Note that the biasing force that biases the lock member 15 to rotate is extremely weak compared to the spring 17 that biases the pressure lever 14.

The locking member 15 restricts the rotation of the pressure lever 14 that urges the lever shaft 11 to rotate clockwise when the paper feed cassette 1 is removed from the holding portion 9 as shown in FIG. are doing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the lock wedge 20 of the lock member 15 and the lock member 16 of the pressure lever 14
Rotation of the pressurizing lever 14 is stopped by contact with the pressurizing lever 14. This is because the lock wedge 20 of the lock member 15 makes an acute angle α with the rotation direction of the pressure lever 14.
and makes contact with the lock member 16 at an acute angle β close to a right angle, and furthermore, the spring 17
Since the rotation biasing force of the pressure lever 14 is set to be much stronger than the rotation biasing force of the lock member 15 about the shaft 18, the lock member 15 rotates clockwise. The pressure lever 14 is not rotated counterclockwise against the bias of the spring 17, and the force that causes the pressure lever 14 to rotate counterclockwise with respect to the lock member 15 is transferred to the lock member 16. It is added to Rock Quest 20 from
Since the angle β between the lock member 15 and the lock portion 16 is close to a right angle, the axis 1 of the lock member 15
Most of the component forces are in the 8 directions, and the component forces in the tangential direction, that is, in the direction of rotating the lock member 15, are extremely small, and cannot overcome the large frictional force between the lock wedge 20 and the lock part 16, and the lock member 15
The pressurizing lever 14 will not rotate clockwise even if the pressure lever 14 is rotated counterclockwise. As a result, the locking member 15 and the pressure lever 14 remain stationary relative to each other in the abutting relationship shown in FIG. 2 unless an external force acts on them.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the lever shaft 11 to which the pressure lever 14 is fixedly rotates at the rest angle of the pressure lever 14 when the paper feed cassette 1 is removed from the holding part 9. It's still. Pressure lever 1
Similarly to 4, the push-up lever 13 and push-down levers 12, 12 fixed to the lever shaft 11 are also stationary. In addition, in this state, the push-down lever 12,
The push-down rollers 12a, 12a provided in 12 are
As shown in FIG. 3, its top surface is the holding frame 10.
It is configured so that it is at the same height as the bottom of the

In the above configuration, the paper feed cassette 1 is placed in the holding section 9.
3, the paper feed cassette 1 is positioned facing the holding frame 10 by the guide rib 8 provided at its tip, and is pushed in in the direction of the arrow. At this time, as described above, since the push-down rollers 12a are at the same height as the bottom surface of the holding frame 10, they do not provide any resistance to the movement of the paper feed cassette 1, and the paper feed cassette 1 is pushed in smoothly. . The pushed paper feed cassette 1 is positioned in the holding frame 10 by the locking cams 5, 5 being pressed by the locking rollers 10a, 10a, and at the same time, the trigger lever 21 of the locking member 15 is pressed by the lock release rib 6, and the lock is locked. The member 15 is rotated counterclockwise about the axis 18. Lock member 1
5, the pressure lever 14, whose rotation was restricted by contacting the lock wedge 20 with the lock part 16 as shown in FIG. The contact with the lock portion 16 is released, and the contact with the roller 19 of the lock member 15 is made. As mentioned above, the clockwise biasing force of the locking member 15 is extremely small compared to the clockwise biasing force of the pressure lever 14.
The pressure lever 14 in contact with the roller 19 of the locking member 15 rotates itself clockwise while rotating the locking member 15 counterclockwise. By this rotation of the pressure lever 14, the push lever 13 and the push lever 12, 1 are moved through the lever shaft 11.
2 are also rotated together.

The pivoted push-up lever 13 rises inside the paper feed cassette 1 through the lever hole 4 formed in the bottom of the paper feed cassette 1, and as shown in FIG.
The cassette bottom plate 2 on which the transfer paper S is placed is pushed up by the push-up rollers 13a, and the top surface of the transfer paper S is pressed against the paper feed roller 22. The pressing force of the transfer paper S against the paper feed roller 22 is determined by a spring 17 provided on the pressure lever 14.

On the other hand, the push-down levers 12, 12, which rotate integrally with the push-up lever 13, raise the push-down rollers 12a along the notches 12b, 12b formed on the side surface of the holding frame 10, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the push-up release cam 7 of the paper feed cassette 1 does not come into contact with the paper feed cassette 1, and a gap is maintained. This is the push-down roller 12
If a comes into contact with the push-up release cam 7, the push-up lever 13, which is interlocked with the push-down lever 12, will not be able to push up the cassette bottom plate 2 with sufficient push-up force, which may cause paper feeding failure. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, even if the transfer paper S becomes the last sheet, the push-down roller 12a is configured to have a gap between it and the push-up release cam 7.

When removing the paper cassette 1 from the paper cassette 1 installed state shown in FIGS. Rotsukuro 10a,
The positioning of the paper feed cassette 1 by the lock cams 10a and lock cams 5, 5 formed on both sides of the paper feed cassette 1 is released. At the same time, the push-up release cams 7 formed on both sides of the paper feed cassette 1 release the push-down rollers 12.
The push-down lever 12 that comes into contact with the paper feed cassette 1 and continues to pull the paper feed cassette 1 is lowered, and the top surface of the push-down roller 12a becomes at the same height as the bottom surface of the holding frame 10, as shown in FIG. . Along with this, lever shaft 1
The push-up lever 13, which is interlocked with the push-down lever 12 via the lever 1, is also lowered, as shown in FIG.
The height is approximately the same as the bottom surface of the holding frame 10. Furthermore, the pressurizing lever 14 which is interlocked with the push-down lever 12 is in the state shown in FIG. 4 when the paper feed cassette 1 is attached.
2, it is rotated counterclockwise around the lever shaft 11 and lowered to the position shown in FIG. On the other hand, since the lock member 15 is biased to rotate clockwise around the shaft 18,
As the pressure lever 14 is lowered, the roller 19 is rotated clockwise while rolling on the pressure lever 14. Further, when the pressure lever 14 is lowered, the lock wedge 20 of the lock member 15 slides on the lock member 16 of the pressure lever 14, and the contact relationship between the roller 19 and the pressure lever 14 is lost, as shown in FIG. When the push-down roller 12a is lowered to the same height as the holding frame 10, the locking member 15 and the pressure lever 14 have a positional relationship as shown in FIG.

In the positional relationship shown in FIG. 2, the locking member 15 prevents the pressure lever 14 from rotating clockwise as described above.
Even if the paper feed cassette 1 is pulled out further from the state shown in the figure, the push-down lever 12 and the push-down roller 12a do not rise, and the push-down roller 1 moves as shown in FIG.
The uppermost surface of the holding frame 2a remains at the same height as the bottom surface of the holding frame 10. Therefore, the pressing roller 1
2a does not become an obstacle when the paper feed cassette 1 is installed.

Effects As is clear from the above explanation, in the paper cassette feeding device according to the present invention, when the paper feeding cassette is removed from the main body of the device, the push-down member is locked at the retracted position outside the attachment/detachment path, and the paper cassette is removed again. Therefore, the paper feed cassette can be installed smoothly without becoming an obstacle when the paper feed cassette is installed in the main body of the apparatus, and the operation feeling is good.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a paper feed cassette attaching/detaching device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the pressure lever is restricted from rotating by a locking member.
Figure 3 is a sectional view showing how the paper feed cassette is attached to the holding section, Figure 4 is a diagram showing the state in which the rotation restriction of the pressure lever by the locking member is released, and Figure 5 is a view showing how the paper feed cassette is attached. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the push-down lever in the state where the paper feed cassette is attached, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of removing the paper feed cassette from the holder. be. 1...Paper feed cassette, 6...Lock release rib,
7...Push-up release cam, 9...Holding section, 10...
Holding frame body, 11... Lever shaft, 12... Push down lever, 13... Push up lever, 14... Pressure lever, 15... Lock member, 16... Lock part, 2
0...Lock quench, 21...Trigger lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] The paper feed cassette 1 is removably attached to the cassette holder 9 of the apparatus main body via the attachment/detachment passage, and when the paper feed cassette 1 is taken out from the apparatus main body, the contents of the paper feed cassette 1 are The push-down member 12, which is disposed integrally with the push-up member 13 that pushes up the cassette bottom plate 2 and is movable up and down within the attachment/detachment path, is moved to a retracted position outside the attachment/detachment path using the release member 7 provided on the paper feed cassette 1. In the cassette paper feeder which releases the push-up of the cassette bottom plate 2 by the push-down member 13 by pushing it down, the push-up member moves up and down integrally with the push-down member 12 and the push-up member 13, and the push-up member 13
a pressing member 14 that urges the cassette bottom plate 2 in the upward direction; a locking member 16 having an inclined surface inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the pressing member 14; The formed acute-angled locking edge 20 engages the locking member 16.
The lock member 15 is rotatably biased in a direction to come into contact with the slope of the paper feed cassette 1, and when the paper feed cassette 1 is taken out from the main body of the apparatus, the acute-angled lock wedge 20 touches the pressure member 1.
It is characterized by forming an acute angle with the rotational urging direction of No. 4, and making contact with the slope of the locking member 16 at an acute angle close to a right angle, thereby locking the push-down member 12 in a retracted position outside the attachment/detachment path. Cassette paper feeder.