JPH03267257A - Sheet storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To get rid of any crumpling and bending or curling at the edge of a sheet as well as to prevent a paper jam from occurring by forming a sheet butting surface of a sheet storage tray into such a form as adjusted to an actual form at each tip part of the recording paper, and making the edges so as to be uniformly bumped against the sheet butting surface. CONSTITUTION:Recording paper S is housed in a storage space 49 of a sheet storage tray 17 consisting of two guide members 3, 4 as being guided by a grip roller 5, and it is butted to a bottom surface 3c and stopped. When the recording paper S is cut by a cutter 41, it is cut as bent to some extent, so that a tip of the recording paper S comes to concavity at the central part. So, at time of butting against the bottom surface 3c, both ends of the recording paper S are strongly butted and thereby crumpling and bending or curling are produced there. Accordingly, a form of the bottom surface 3c is made up so as to make respective edges of the recording paper S uniformly hit on this bottom surface, through which crumpling and bending or curling are prevented from occurring and any jam occurrence can be eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a sheet storage device used in image forming devices such as copying machines and facsimile machines, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a sheet storage device for storing sheets ejected from an image forming device. The present invention relates to a seat storage device.

(0) Prior Art Conventionally, recording paper that is discharged after an image is recorded in an image forming apparatus is usually stored in a sheet storage device (hereinafter referred to as a sheet storage tray). As an example of a facsimile device to which a conventional sheet storage tray is applied, there is a device shown in FIG. 4 (Japanese Patent Application No. 134175/1982) proposed by the applicant of the present application.

In FIG. 4, the sheet storage tray 45 is connected to the main body 3 of the apparatus.
It is provided below the sheet discharge port No. 1. As shown in detail in FIG. 5, this sheet storage tray 45 has a first tray with which the discharged recording paper S comes into contact and guides the recording paper S downward.
A second guide member 50 for forming a seat storage space 49 faces the first guide member 47.

This second guide member 50 is connected to the stay 5 of the device main body 31.
Consisting of a plastic plate fixed to 1, the same member 8
The lower end of the seat storage space 49 is connected to the lower end of the seat storage space 49 by a support shaft 52. Device main body 31 and seat storage space 4
9 is provided with a click mechanism (not shown) that locks the first guide member 47 in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. is held in the closed position.

Now, when a large amount of recording paper S is stored in the sheet storage tray 42 and exceeds its storage capacity, the click mechanism that holds the first guide member 47 in a closed state is activated by the weight of the stored recording paper S. The first guide member 47 is automatically released, and the first guide member 47 rotates clockwise about the support shaft 52 and is locked to the stay 51 in the open position shown by the imaginary line. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the first guide member 4
7 is open, this first guide member 47 forms a guide portion for the recording paper S, and the recording paper S discharged from the facsimile 3° moves along this first guide member 47. Further, when the recording paper S is short or not long, it is preferable to use the first guide member 47 in an open state as described above.

A plurality of ribs 53 are provided on the inner wall surface of the first guide member 47, as shown in FIG. At the same time, when the first guide member 47 is locked in the open position, the sheet is guided downwardly between the first guide member 47 and the second guide member 50. As shown in FIG. 8, a V-shaped and narrowly closed gripping portion 55 for gripping the leading edge of the fed recording paper S is formed.

Furthermore, when the first guide member 47 is closed,
At the upper end of the first guide member 47, there is an opening where, when a long type of recording paper S is stored, the trailing end of the looped recording paper S is reversed and fully discharged to the outside. There are 56.

Since the sheet storage device previously filed by the applicant of the present application is configured as described above, the recording paper S fed out from the recording paper roll 37 is heated by the thermal head 39 according to the image information, and the surface of the recording paper S is Image information is recorded on the top. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, the recording paper S is conveyed by the rotation of the platen roller 36 and passes through the cutter 41.
Its tip abuts at an obtuse angle against a first guide member 47 forming a sheet storage space 49 . The leading edge of the recording paper S is guided downward by the rib 53, and the leading edge Sa is gripped by being wedged into the gripping portion 55 at the bottom of the sheet storage space 49.

When the recording paper S is continuously fed out in this state, the 10th
As shown in the figure, the recording paper S forms a loop from an opening 56 formed at the top of the sheet storage tray 45, and a guide member 57 and an upper case 59 provided near the opening 56 form a loop.
The loop portion is discharged out of the machine using the end face as a guide surface, and finally, as shown in FIG. 11, it curls greatly and hangs down outside the facsimile 30. Next, the cutter 41 is operated and the rear end of the recording paper S is cut off, and the recording paper S, which is partially hanging outside the machine, is moved in the direction of the arrow by using its own weight and the rotational force of the blade of the cutter 41. When the tip end Sa is held in the V-shaped grip portion 55, the rear end hangs down as shown in FIG. 12.

This series of operations is repeated and the recording sheets S accumulate in the sheet storage tray 45, so the recording sheets S on which images have been formed are lined up in page order, eliminating the need for page alignment operations.
Even the recording paper S with curls can be reliably gripped. Furthermore, since the sheet storage tray 45 is also shaped to be inserted into the apparatus main body 31, it has a great advantage in terms of space saving.

Further, as an improvement of the above-mentioned seat storage device proposed by the present applicant, a device shown in FIG. 13 has already been devised.

In FIG. 13, the recording paper S on which the image has been formed is moved by the platen roller 36 to the first guide member 4 and the second guide member 4 on the downstream side.
The sheets are conveyed to a sheet storage space 49 constituted by a guide member 3 . The leading edge Sa of the recording paper S is moved into the sheet storage space 49 by the grip roller 5 provided on the second guide member 3.
The rear end of the recording paper S is drawn into the first
The guide member 4 extends out of the device in a loop shape from an open portion 56 formed at the upper end thereof and hangs down.

The grip roller 5 rotates only in the same direction as the traveling direction of the recording paper S to reliably guide the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S and prevent the recording paper S from falling out of the sheet storage space 49. It has the function of pressing the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S to securely grip it.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional seat storage device shown in FIG. 4, the first guide member 47 is locked to the second guide member 50 by a click mechanism (not shown). When a predetermined number of recording sheets S or more are stored in the first guide member 47, the click mechanism is activated and the first guide member 47 is opened, so that the recording sheets S are stored in the sheet storage space 49. The recording paper S stored in the sheet storage space 49 slips and falls onto the desk or floor, and even the recording paper S stored at one end of the sheet storage space 49 cannot be stacked. It is not suitable for

In addition, in the latter sheet storage device shown in FIG. 13, which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, roll-shaped recording paper is used as the recording paper for images, so the recording paper is divided into one page or one page.
It is cut and discharged by the guide member 57 for each communication. The guide member 57 theoretically moves the recording paper S vertically.
Although it is supposed to be cut in a straight line, it is actually cut on recording paper S.
The recording paper is cut with the blade bent due to the resistance between the two men, and the recording paper is not necessarily cut vertically.

When cutting the recording paper, the way the guide member 57 bends will actually differ depending on the rigidity of the guide member 57, so the locus of the cutting of the recording paper S will also differ, but as shown in FIG.
The tip is concave at the center or δtake.

A sheet storage device 1 in which recording paper S having such a tip shape forms a straight line? ! 149, the left and right sides of the recording paper S hit the bottom more strongly than the center, so the left and right sides are only bent as shown in FIG. If this stiffness is allowed to occur, wrinkles or bends may occur on both sides of the leading edge of the recording paper S, as shown in FIG. 15, which may cause the recording paper S to jam. In particular, the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S is
When the recording paper S is reliably placed into the sheet storage space 49, the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S will definitely be wrinkled.

Therefore, the present invention has been developed to improve the shape of the bottom surface of the sheet storage tray in which the recording paper is stored, so that the leading edge of the recording paper on which an image has been formed can be stored in the sheet storage tray in a stable state. The purpose is to provide a storage device.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and for example, when shown with reference to FIGS.
In the sheet storage device in which the leading edge of the recording paper (S) discharged from the recording paper (S) is guided downward and has an abutment surface (3c) against which the edge of the leading edge (Sa) of the recording paper (S) abuts, The holding surface (3c) is the recording paper (S) that is stored.
A sheet storage device characterized in that the sheet storage device is formed in a shape that matches the actual shape of the tip end (Sa) of the sheet storage device.

(E) Function Based on the above configuration, the recording paper (S) on which the image has been formed is ejected downward and guided into the sheet storage tray.
The edges of the tips (Sa) of the sheet storage tray uniformly abut against the abutment surface (bottom surface) of the sheet storage tray and are stored. This prevents defects such as wrinkles and bends on both sides of the leading edge of the recording paper (S), and the recording paper is stored in a reliable state.

Note that the above-mentioned symbols in parentheses are shown for reference to the drawings, and do not limit the configuration of the present invention in any way.

B) Example An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Components having the same functions as those shown in FIGS. 4 to 15 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, a facsimile device 1 according to the present invention has a pair of paper ejecting rollers 2 on the downstream side of a cutter 41, and this pair of paper ejecting rollers 2 is a support to which driving force is transmitted by a motor (not shown). It consists of a drive roller 2a fixed to a shaft 2c, and a pinch roller 2b which is pressed by a spring (not shown) to the roller 2a and rotates as a result.

A grip roller 5 is disposed between the second guide member 3 disposed below the paper ejection roller pair 2 and is rotatable by a spindle 6 and slidable along the axis of the spindle 6. It is installed. Furthermore, the grip roller 5 is
A protrusion position 5A (see Fig. 1) in which a part of the outer peripheral surface of the second guide member 3 protrudes from the rib 3a, and a retraction value W (position on the left side in the figure) in a state hidden from the rib 3a. It is movable and is biased in the protruding direction by biasing means (not shown). When the recording paper S on which an image has been formed is ejected, the grip roller 5 rotates only in the direction of the arrow to draw in the recording paper S.

Note that a first guide member 4 is disposed at an outer position opposite to the second guide member 3, and the first guide member 4 and the second guide member 3 form a seat storage space 4.
A sheet storage tray 17 forming a sheet storage tray 9 is configured.

The bottom surface 3C of the sheet storage tray 17 is an abutting surface against which the edge of the leading edge Sa of the discharged recording paper S abuts.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface 3C is raised so as to be one step higher only near the center or on both sides. This bottom surface 3C is designed to fit the cutting shape of the recording paper S.
The edges of the tip Sa are formed in such a shape that they uniformly abut on both sides and the center.

The operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described next.

Now, the recording paper S fed out from a paper feed roll (not shown) similar to the recording paper roll 37 in FIG. is recorded.

Furthermore, the recording paper S on which the image has been formed is discharged into the sheet storage tray 17 by the pair of paper discharge rollers 2.

When the recording paper S reaches the position of the first guide member 4, its leading end Sa abuts the first guide member 4 at an obtuse angle and is guided downward into the sheet storage space 49. Thereafter, the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S hits the bottom surface 3C of the sheet storage tray 17, and the advance of the recording paper S is stopped. At this time, since the bottom surface 3c is formed to match the cutting shape of the recording paper S, the edge of the leading edge Sa uniformly contacts the bottom surface 3C, and the leading edge is free from wrinkles, bends, etc. Prevented.

Normally, the length of the recording paper S is longer than the distance from the pair of paper ejection rollers 2 to the bottom of the sheet storage space 49.
The rear end side continues to be fed out by the pair of paper discharge rollers 2 as before, forming a loop shape. This loop-shaped portion of the recording paper S is facilitated by the rotation of the pinch roller 2b of the paper ejection roller pair 2, and is ejected out of the apparatus from the opening portion 56 as shown in FIG.

When discharging the loop portion of the recording paper S, the leading edge S of the recording paper S
Since paper a is gripped by the grip roller 5 and the first guide member 4, the lower part of the loop does not slip up, and only the upper part of the loop is discharged as the paper discharge roller pair 2B rotates. Furthermore, the recording paper S by the thermal head 39
When recording is completed, the trailing edge of the recording paper S is cut by the cutter 41.
However, the paper ejection roller pair 2 continues to rotate, and the rear end of the recording paper S is reliably ejected out of the apparatus.

By the same operation, the recording sheets S on which images have been formed are sequentially stored in the sheet storage tray 17.

The number of stored recording sheets S is large, and the frictional force at the contact portion between the stored recording sheets S and the grip roller 5 is as follows.
When the biasing force (not shown) becomes larger than the biasing force that biases the grip roller 5, the clip roller 5 begins to retreat to the left retracted position in the figure, and the clip roller 5 from the second guide member 3 The amount of protrusion becomes smaller. In this way, a large number of recording sheets S are stored in the sheet storage tray 17 in a stable state without wrinkles or bends, as shown in FIG. 3.

In the above-described embodiment, the center part of the rib 3a (abutment surface) of the sheet storage tray 17 was raised one step to match the cutting shape of the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S, or the leading edge Sa of the recording paper S was refined. In order to increase the number of contact points when Sa hits the bottom surface 3c, the bottom surface 3c may have a shape of two or more steps. It is also possible to have the same shape that matches the .

Further, when the shape of the bottom surface 3c is matched to the cutting shape of the recording paper S, the bottom surface 3c may be formed in a concave shape such that both sides thereof are raised.

(G) As described in detail, the present invention provides a sheet storage device that discharges recording paper on which an image has been formed onto a sheet storage tray, in which the shape of the bottom surface (abutting surface) of the sheet storage tray is recorded. By configuring the shape to match the cut shape of the paper S, the discharged recording paper can be stably stored in the sheet storage tray, and the leading edge of the recording paper will not be wrinkled or bent during storage. , it becomes possible to eliminate the factors that cause recording paper jams.

In addition, even when multiple cylinders of recording paper are stored in the sheet storage tray, the recording paper does not wrinkle or bend.
High-quality image recording can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a sheet storage device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the leading edge of recording paper and the bottom surface (abutting surface) of the sheet storage tray, and FIG. Similarly, FIGS. 4 and 5 are longitudinal side views of a printer to which a conventional sheet storage device is applied, FIG. 6 is an operation view, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the first guide member. 8th
12 are operational views of the device shown in FIG. 5, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the recording paper, and FIG. 15 is an operational view. S...Recording paper Sa...Tip 3...Second
Guide member 3C...Bottom surface (abutting surface) of sheet storage tray 4...First guide member, 5
...Grip roller, 5A...Protrusion position 17
... Sheet storage tray 30 ... Facsimile machine 39 ... Thermal head (image recording section)
49... Seat storage space 56... Opening part Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a sheet storage device that guides the leading edge of the recording paper discharged from the image recording unit downward and has an abutting surface against which the edge of the leading edge of the recording paper abuts, the abutment A sheet storage device characterized in that a surface is formed in a shape that matches the actual shape of the leading end of the recording paper to be stored.