JPH0262330A - Cassette removal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have a sheet material storage cassette inserted from a front side by forming a locking means by which either a first or a second moving means is not to be actuated unless a cassette is moved by the moving means other than the one to be locked to reach a removal preparation position. CONSTITUTION:When a cassette reaches a removal preparation position B, projections 12c, 12d of stoppers 12a, 12b are pushed down by forecourts of oscillating plates 20a, 20b, and pins 10a, 10b that are fixed in a lift frame 2 are cancelled. Then, a revolutional supporting point 1a is lifted up to the center by the lift frame 2 and a cassette 14 through the force of torsion bars 3a, 3b. For the next revolution of the lift frame and the cassette, the removal preparation position B is set to the position where it does not interfere with a device itself. The revolution of the lift frame and the cassette is stopped at a removal position C that is determined by pins 28a, 28b. At the removal position C, the cassette can be removed by a worker from the front part of the device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printing machines,
The present invention relates to a cassette detaching device for attaching and detaching a sheet material storage cassette to a sheet material feeding section of various printers, etc.

(Prior Art) FIGS. 10 to 13 show examples of conventional image forming apparatuses, which will be explained in order below.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an image forming apparatus that has conventionally been put into practical use most often. One sheet in the sheet material storage cassette 101 is fed by a feeding roller 102 . After the sheet is fed to the timing roller 103, the sheet is temporarily stopped, and the timing roller 103 starts driving in accordance with the writing timing of the image writing device 108. Reference numeral 105 denotes a process cartridge that integrates an image forming drum 104 (detailed drawings are omitted here), a charger, a developer, a cleaner, etc. The toner image developed on the drum is transferred by a transfer charger 109. transferring the toner image onto the sheet and fixing the toner image on the sheet to the sheet by a fixing device 106;
The sheet is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 110.

Figures 11 and 12 have almost the same operating procedure as the embodiment shown in Figure 10, except that the position of the sheet material storage cassette, the path from the cassette to the timing roller, the sheet material discharge route, and the discharge surface are different. Therefore, the explanation here is omitted.

However, the above conventional example has the following problems. First, in the conventional technique shown in FIG. 10, the sheet material storage cassette 101 and the discharge tray 110 are located in opposite directions with respect to the main body of the apparatus, so that the operator cannot move to replenish sheet materials and collect discharged sheet materials. It becomes necessary. Furthermore, the printed surface of the ejected sheet material faces upward, which is a so-called face-up method, but there is a drawback that page alignment cannot be performed in continuous stacking.

Furthermore, in the prior art shown in FIG. 11, the sheet material storage cassette 101 and the discharge tray 110 are located in the same direction, and this is an improved embodiment in which sheet material can be replenished and discharged from the same direction of the device. The face-up method has become mainstream, which not only makes it impossible to align the pages, but also prints in the opposite direction relative to the operator standing on the output tray side.

Further, the prior art shown in FIG. 12 is an embodiment in which page alignment is improved, but it is a face-down method in which the printed surface is facing down. Therefore, although page alignment is possible, it is necessary for the operator to turn over the ejected sheet to check the print.

Therefore, in order to solve one or more problems, the device shown in Fig. 13 was invented (details can be found in Japanese Patent Application No.
), a sheet material storage cassette 101 is provided at the top of the main body, the sheet material is fed substantially downward from the front side by a feeding roller, and after being printed on the sheet material by a process cartridge 105, it is fixed by a fixing device 106. The paper ejection direction is such that when page alignment is required, the ejection tray 110 is lowered, and a face-down type is adopted using an ejection path switching claw (not shown here), and when printing confirmation is required, the ejection tray 110 is lowered.
10 is raised and the discharge route is changed using the same switching claw to take the face-up type. In this case, the printing position inside the apparatus is vertical with respect to the operator standing on the discharge surface side.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the case of the conventional device shown in FIG. In this case, the sheet material storage cassette 101 had to be inserted from the rear, and therefore the operator had to move to the rear of the device to replenish the sheet material, and there was a drawback that it was necessary to secure a working space for this purpose. .

This invention improves the sheet material storage cassette attachment/detachment device in the conventional image forming apparatus (Japanese Patent Application No. 62-206126) shown in FIG. To provide a cassette attachment/detachment device into which a material storage cassette can be inserted from the front.

Means for Solving Problem 1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cassette attachment/detachment device for attaching a cassette for storing sheet materials to a sheet material feeding device, as the attachment position of the cassette. , has three positions: a feeding position for holding the sheets in the cassette in a feeding operation state, a loading/unloading position for loading the cassette, and a loading/unloading preparation position located between the feeding position and the loading/unloading position. a first moving means for moving the cassette from the feeding position to the loading/unloading preparation position; a second moving means for moving and holding the cassette from the loading preparation position to the loading/unloading position; and a locking means that does not operate the other moving means until the moving means reaches the attachment/detachment preparation position, and the first and second moving means and the locking means are operatively connected in series.

(Function) The sheet material storage cassette is moved once from the feeding position to the mounting/unloading preparation position, and then the sheet material storage cassette is installed in the mounting/unloading position. It becomes possible to attach and detach from the

(Embodiment) The present invention will be explained below based on the illustrated embodiment. In FIGS. 1 to 7 showing a cassette attachment/detachment device according to an embodiment of the present invention, 1 is a main body of the device, and 2 is a main body of the device. Rotation fulcrum 1
The lift frame 3a, 3b rotates around a, and is a pair of torsion springs serving as a second moving means for rotating the lift frame 2. A pin 4 is attached to the main body side, and a protrusion 2a is attached to the lift frame side. It always generates the force that lifts the lift frame.

The lift frame 2 has arc-shaped racks 5a and 5b formed at the rear of its side wall, centered around a rotation fulcrum la, and these racks are equipped with a gear 7a that is fixed to the main body side plates 6a and 6b.
, 7b. Furthermore, these gears 7a and 7b are
They are fitted into racks 9a and 9b fixed to the rear ends of stages 8a and 8b, respectively, which are allowed to move only in the front and rear directions with respect to the main body of the apparatus.

The lift frame 2 also has a bin 10a on the front side wall.
, 10b and lla, llb, and bins lOa, lO
Reference numeral b denotes a stopper 12a as a locking means that is fixed to the main body side plates 6a and 6b.

12b in an attached state, and the bottles lla and llb are fitted with stoppers 13a and 13 which are fixed to the main body side plates 6a and 6b in accordance with the fitting timing of the stoppers 12a and 12b.
It is arranged to release b.

Lift frame 2 again. It has a space in the center to accommodate the paper cassette 14. The paper cassette 14 can be inserted and removed freely through the cassette removal port 26 of the lift frame 2, but the protrusions 14a, 14 on the front side of the paper cassette 14
b makes contact with the front edge 2c of the lift frame and prevents it from being pulled out backwards.

On the other hand, a paper feed shaft 15 and a release shaft 16 are rotatably positioned and fixed in front of the lift frame with respect to the main body side plates 6a and 6b. A paper feed roller 17 is attached to the paper feed shaft 15 at the center in the axial direction, and the release shaft 16 has a handle lever 18 that rotates together with the release shaft, and release levers 19a and 19b as first moving means. are fixed to the release shaft 16, and rocking plates 20a and 20b, which are rotatable with respect to the release shaft 16, are positioned in the axial direction at the illustrated positions. Further, a handle 21 is fitted into a bottle 18a fixed to the tip of the handle lever through an elongated hole 21a of the handle. Note that the handle can be moved only in the longitudinal direction of the device by the guide portion 21b. In addition, a return spring 29 is installed between the handle lever 18 and the main body.
9a and 19b have bins 22a parallel to the release axis.

22b is attached, and a bin 23a is attached below.

23b is fixed and engages with grooves 14c and 14d on the front side of the paper presser 14. Rocking plate 2
0a and 20b are fan-shaped as shown in FIG. 4, and curved round elongated holes 20c and 20d are provided in the center. Further, chevron-shaped protrusions 20e and 20f are formed on a part of the outer circumference.

Via 22a of the aforementioned release levers 19a, 19b.

22b passes through the elongated hole of this rocking plate without contacting it.

The stages 8a and 8b mentioned above can be moved only in the front and rear directions of the apparatus by means of guide members (not shown).
Elongated holes 8c and 8d are formed in both front sides of the stage. Stage stoppers 25a and 25b are engaged with the elongated holes so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction via bins 24a and 24b, and a bin 26a is fixed to the front part of the stage.

26b by springs 27a and 27b.

In the above configuration, FIGS. 2 to 5 show the feeding position IA that allows sheets to be fed from the sheet material storage cassette according to the claims of the present invention. The following describes the operating procedure until the cassette moves in the next arbitrary direction to the attachment/detachment preparation position B where it does not interfere with the fixing member of the device, and to the attachment/detachment position C where the operator attaches and detaches the cassette.

First, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the operator slowly pushes the handle 21 toward the rear of the device, the handle lever 18 begins to rotate. The swing plate 20a is fixed to the release shaft 16 along with this rotation.

20b starts rotating. One end of the elongated hole on the swing plate 2
Before the pins 22a, 22b come into contact with the pins 22a, 22b, the chevron-shaped protrusion 20e of the rocking plate.

20f is the protrusion 25c of the stage stopper 25a, 2bb
, 25d and press down. Therefore, the stage stopper is removed from the pins 22a and 22b, and the spring 27
a, 27b to move forward. If you move the handle further backwards, one end of the swing plate elongated hole part will be 20g and 20h.
comes into contact with the pins 22a and 22b of the release levers 19a and 19b. At this time, the pins 22a and 22b are not receiving any external force from the stage stoppers 25a and 25b, so the release lever rotates rearward as the handle 21 moves. Since the release lever engages with the grooves 14c and 14d of the cassette 14 via the pins 23a and 23b, the cassette 14 moves in the same direction opposite to the paper feeding direction as the handle moves.

When the cassette reaches the attachment/detachment preparation position B shown in the figure,
The front edges of the swing plates 20a, 20b or the stoppers 12a, 12
The pin 10a is fixed to the lift frame 2 by pushing down the protrusions 12c and 12d of the pin 10a.

Release 10b. The lift frame 2 is lifted up about the pivot point 1a together with the cassette 14 by the force of the torsion bars 3a, 3bcy). Therefore, the cassette attachment/detachment preparation position B is set at a position that will not interfere with the main body of the apparatus during the next rotation of the lift frame and the cassette. The lift frame and cassette then stop rotating at the attachment/detachment position C determined by pins 28a and 28b fixed to the main body of the apparatus.

At this attachment/detachment position C, the operator can attach/detach the cassette from the front of the apparatus.

Next, the operation of loading the cassette will be explained.

First, the operational state of each part when rotating the lift frame will be explained.

When the handle lever 18 rotates the lift frame, pins lla and ll provided on the lift frame
b releases the stoppers 13a and 13b that had been pushed in until then. Then, the end rack part of the stopper is the pin 22a of the release lever.

22b.

Therefore, the pins 23a and 23b at the tips are also positioned and fixed. Furthermore, when you let go of the handle, the handle, handle lever, and swing plate will move.

Return spring 29 engaged between the handle lever and the main body
It returns to the previous position.

On the other hand, when the lift frame rotates, the arcuate rack portion 5
a and 5b rotate gears 7a and 7b. Therefore gear 7
Stages 8a and 8b that fit into racks 9a and 9b move rearward as the lift frame rotates. Furthermore, the stage stoppers 25a and 25b, which are pulled by the stage springs 27a and 27b to the tips of the stage elongated holes 8c and 8d, are also moved rearward and lifted at a position beyond the pins 22a and 22b of the release lever. Stops as the frame rotates (6th
(See figure (b)).

When inserting the paper cassette, each part is in the above state, so
A protrusion 14a for attaching the cassette to the front opening of the lift frame;
After the lift frame 14b is inserted until it comes into contact with the front edge of the lift frame, the lift frame is pushed down, and the stages 8a and 8b will move forward from now on. Stage stopper 25a
, 25b engage with the pins 22a and 22b, but since the pins are fitted with stoppers 13a and 13b that are fixed to the side plates of the main body, the stage stoppers remain engaged with the pins and move the stage as the stage moves. Stretch the springs 27a and 27b.

As the lift frame is pushed in, the cassette also descends, and eventually f/414 c on both sides of the front of the cassette.

14d engages with pins 23a and 23b of the release lever. When the lift frame reaches the predetermined pushing position against the main body, the pins on both sides of the lift frame
, llb is a stopper 13a.

13b is canceled. Therefore, the stage stop/pa is released by the release lever 1 by the force of the stage springs 27a and 27b.
9a, 19b are pulled together with the cassette to the first feeding position where they can be fed, while the lift frame is again moved to the stopper 1.
2c, 12d and pins 10a, 10b stop the rotation and stop the series of insertion operations.

(Other examples) Other embodiments are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the lift frame 2 is raised perpendicularly to the main body 1. The paper feed force sensor) 14 is retracted from the paper feeding position A indicating the paper feeding position to the detachment preparation position B by the release levers f9a and 19b. Here sensor 32
As a result, the input gear 31, which receives the drive from the main body side, starts driving. A support column 29 is fixed to the lift frame and guided toward the main body so that it can move only in the vertical direction. The input gear 31 is an idler gear 3
6 and 37, each of which is rotatably fixed to the main body side, and an endless drive member 30 such as a chain is engaged with the outer periphery thereof. Further, one location of the endless drive member is fixed to the support column 29 by a fixing member 35. Therefore, the lift frame to which the support column 29 is fixed starts to rise in response to a drive start signal from the sensor 32, and stops at the attachment/detachment position C where the shutter 29a formed on the support column 29 cuts off the sensor 33 installed on the main body side.

From here, the operator pulls out the paper feed cassette in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, or in the case of the reverse operation, the lift frame descends and when the shutter 29a turns off the sensor 34, the lowering operation is stopped.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which a link is used to lift the lift frame around an imaginary pivot point behind the main body.

The links 45 and 46 are fixed at rotation center points 35c and 46c, respectively, on the main body side, and are rotatably fixed to the lift frame at 45a and 46a. Further, these two links are connected by a connecting rod 48 at 35b and 36b.

For example, a spring 47 filled with gas or the like as shown in the figure is 47a on the main body side and 45a on the link 45.
They are connected at d. Therefore, the release levers 19a and 19b move the paper cassette 14 from the sheet feeding position A where paper can be fed to the attachment/detachment preparation position B, and accordingly, the swing plates 20a and 20b lift up the stoppers 12a and 12b, and the lift frame When the bottles 10a and 10b at the tip are released, the links 45 and 46 are rotated by the internal pressure of the spring 47. The link 46 has a shorter rotating arm relative to the lift frame than the link 45. Therefore, since the two springs rotate at the same time by the same angle, the lift frame lifts up around the virtual rotation center P and stops at the attachment/detachment position C.

It should be noted that all of the embodiments of one or more cassette attachment/detachment devices are attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Therefore, in the above embodiments, the sheet material storage cassette is built into the main body of the image forming apparatus, so the installation space of the entire main body is small, and it is also easy for the operator to perform face-up and page alignment with the printing direction upright. It is possible to implement a device capable of both face-down and face-down capability.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, when the sheet material storage cassette is detached from the main body of the sheet feeding device, first, from the feeding position where the sheet material storage cassette is in the feeding operation state, the sheet material storage cassette is The operator moves the sheet material storage cassette backwards to the loading/unloading preparation position, and then moves it up/down, left/right, or rotating to the loading/unloading position where the sheet material storage cassette is actually loaded/unloaded. Replenishment using the material storage cassette and collection of sheet materials ejected to the output tray are performed in the same direction (front direction)
The operator does not need to move for replenishment, and there is no need for a dedicated space for the replenishment operation of attaching and detaching the sheet material storage cassette, resulting in space savings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of one implementation of the cassette removal device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are partially sectional side views of the device shown in FIG. 2. , FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 2, FIGS. 6(a) and (b), FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining the operation of FIG. Schematic diagrams illustrating other embodiments of the present invention, FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus to which a conventional cassette attachment/detachment device is applied. Explanation of symbols■...Main body 2...Lift frame 3a
, 3b... Torsion springs 6a, 6b... Side plates 8a, 8b... Stages 12a, 12b...
Stoppers 13a, 13b...Stopper 14...Sheet material storage cassette 15...Paper feed shaft 16...Release shaft 17...
Paper feed roller 18...handle lever 19a, 19
b... Release levers 20a, 20b - Rocking plates 25a, 25b... Stage stopper A... Feeding position B... Detachment preparation position C... Delivery position BCK8b) Figure 6 ( σ) Figure 6 (b) Figure 7 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a cassette attachment/detachment device that attaches a cassette for storing sheet materials to a sheet material feeding device, the cassette attachment positions include a feeding position where the sheets in the cassette are held in a feeding operation state, and a desorption position where the cassette is attached/detached. and a first moving means having three positions: a desorption preparation position located between the feeding position and the desorption position, and for moving the cassette from the feeding position to the desorption preparation position; a second moving means for moving and holding the cassette; and a locking means that does not operate the other moving means until the cassette is moved by the first or second moving means and reaches a detachment preparation position. A cassette attachment/detachment device comprising first and second moving means and locking means connected in series.