JPH0524631U - Paper feed cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Simple configuration and no high cost
Be sure to prevent double feeding of recording paper. [Structure] The paper feed cassette 2 has a hopper plate 4 on which a recording paper 5 is placed, and a convex portion 4a for bending the recording paper 5 midway when the recording paper 5 is placed on the hopper plate.
Are integrated.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 This invention relates to a paper feed cassette used in a printer or the like.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 The printer picks up the recording paper, which is stored in multiple layers in the paper feed cassette, one by one by the picking roller and supplies it to the feed roller, and conveys this recording paper to the print position by the feed roller. There are things like this.

By the way, in such a printer, not only one recording sheet but two or more recording sheets may be taken out by the picking roller in the paper feeding stage. This is because some of the recording papers are compressed when the recording papers are cut and the recording papers are in close contact with each other, or the recording papers are in close contact with each other due to static electricity. Is. Therefore, as a measure to prevent such double feeding of recording paper, separation pawls are provided on both sides of the front end of the paper feed cassette, and the topmost recording paper is curled by the separation pawls when the recording paper is taken out. A means for separating the second and subsequent recording sheets and a means for providing a retard roller elastically contacting the feed roller and feeding back the second and subsequent recording sheets by the retard roller are known.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the conventional example in which the separation claws are provided, the contact state between the recording papers cannot be easily released, and it is difficult to reliably prevent the double feeding of the recording papers.

Further, in the conventional example using the retard roller, the shaft of the retard roller is driven via a torque limiter using a friction member. The torque of the torque limiter is set to be smaller than the driving force of the feed roller and the frictional force between the feed roller and the recording paper, and larger than the frictional force between the recording paper and the recording paper. For this reason, there is a problem that the structure is complicated, adjustment is difficult, it is difficult to control the friction coefficient, and a mechanism for rotating the retard roller is required, the structure is complicated, and the cost is increased.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to prevent double feeding of recording papers with a simple structure without increasing the cost.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The paper feed cassette of the present invention is designed such that the hopper plate on which the recording paper is placed releases the contact state between the recording papers, and one of the configurations is that the recording paper is placed on the hopper plate midway. It is provided with a convex portion or a concave portion for bending. In another configuration, the hopper plate is composed of a first plate portion and a second plate portion which are connected via a hinge means so that the recording paper can be bent halfway in a loaded state.

[0008]

[Action]

 The recording paper is bent in the middle of the loading state due to the projections or depressions provided on the hopper plate, and the rotation of the first plate portion and the second plate portion forming the hopper plate. By bending, it is possible to reliably release the close contact between the recording papers.

[0009]

【Example】

 A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. A paper feed cassette 2 is provided under the printer case 1 so as to be slidable in a direction facing the print mechanism 3 in front of the paper feed cassette 2 (left and right in FIG. 1). Inside the paper feed cassette 2, a hopper plate 4 is attached swingably around one end 4a. A recording paper 5 is placed on the hopper plate 4, and the uppermost recording paper is guided to the paper feed roller 3a by the picking roller 6. The recording paper 5 guided to the paper feed roller 3a is sent to the print position by the paper feed roller 3a, printed by the print head 3b and the platen 3c, and after printing, discharged by the discharge roller 3d to the outside of the printer case 1. It The hopper plate 4 is biased upward by a biasing means (not shown).

By the way, in a substantially middle portion of the hopper plate 4, a convex portion or a concave portion for bending the recording paper 5 in the mounted state in the middle, in the illustrated example, the convex portion 4a is formed in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). ) Is integrally provided. The convex portion 4a is bent so that the hopper plate 4 is curved upward and extends over the entire width of the hopper plate. When the recording paper 5 is placed on the hopper plate 4 by the convex portion 4a, the recording paper is bent in the shape of a "V" in the middle, and this bending can surely release the contact state between the recording papers. ..

As a result, when the recording paper 5 is guided to the paper feed roller 3a by the picking roller 6, the uppermost recording paper is surely separated from the lower recording paper and guided to the paper feed roller 3a. Become.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This example is different from the above example in that the hopper plate is divided into two parts so that the intermediate part can be deformed into a convex shape.

The hopper plate 7 comprises a first plate portion 8 and a second plate portion 9, and both plate portions are rotatably connected to each other by connecting pins 10 at their inner ends. Guide pins 12 and 13 are provided on both sides of the rear ends of the plate portions 8 and 9 so as to project toward the side walls 11a and 11a of the sheet feeding cassette 11. The guide pin 12 of the first plate portion 8 is movably inserted into a guide groove 11b formed in the side wall 11a of the paper feed cassette 11. The guide groove 11b is provided horizontally, and the front part (right part in FIG. 3) of the guide groove rises upward. The guide pin 13 on the second plate portion 9 side is movably inserted in a guide groove 11c formed in the side wall 11a. A spring 14 is wound around the connecting pin 10 and a spring 15 is wound around the guide pin 13 of the second plate portion 9, so that neither spring can be disengaged by the stopper pins 16 and 17. The spring 14 on the connecting pin 10 side urges a spring force in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 so that the first and second plate portions 8 and 9 open. Further, the spring 15 on the side of the guide pin 13 biases the second plate portion 9 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The spring force of one spring 15 is set to be larger than that of the other spring 14. Therefore, the hopper plate 7 is usually bent in a convex shape around the connecting pin 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, a lock member is provided to hold the hopper plate 7 in a substantially flat shape. The operation knob 18 constituting this lock member is attached to the paper feed cassette 11 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. Two slide holes 18b, 18b are opened in the horizontal portion 18a of the operation knob 18, and slide pins 19, 19 projecting from the side wall 11a are inserted into each slide hole. An inclined surface 18c is formed at the tip of the horizontal portion 18a. The end of the tension spring 20 is hooked on the lower end of the operation knob 18, and the operation knob is always pulled to the left in FIG. The operation knob 18 is arranged directly below the end portion of the connecting pin 10 as shown in FIG. The tip of the horizontal portion 18a of the operation knob 18 can lock the end of the lowered connecting pin 10.

A method of using the paper feed cassette will be described. First, in order to put the recording paper 21 into the paper feed cassette 11, the locking of the connecting pin 10 by the operation knob 18 is released. When the sheet feeding cassette 11 is released, the second plate portion 9 tends to swing counterclockwise due to the spring force of the spring 15 as shown in FIG. , 11c toward the operation knob 18, so that the first plate portion 8 and the second plate portion 9 stand up and the shape of the hopper plate 7 is bent in a convex shape around the connecting pin 10. Be in a state. When the recording paper 21 is set on the hopper plate 7 in this state, the recording paper is bent in the middle, and this bending can surely release the contact state between the recording papers.

After that, when the hopper plate 7 is pushed down against the spring force of the spring 14, the connecting pin 10 comes into contact with the inclined surface 18 c of the distal end portion of the horizontal portion 18 a of the operation knob 18, and the operation knob is moved by the spring 20. Retreat against the spring force of. Then, when the connecting pin 10 goes over the inclined surface 18c of the operation knob 18 to reach the lower side thereof, the operation knob 18 slides due to the spring force of the spring 14, and the connecting pin 10 is locked to the tip portion of the operation knob 18. It As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the hopper plate 7 is in a substantially flat state, that is, in a state in which it can be fed. As shown in FIG. 5, when the hopper plate 7 is ready for sheet feeding, the spring force of the spring 14 urges the first plate portion 8 upward about the connecting pin 10.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This example is different from the second example in that the state of the hopper plate is changed by opening and closing the cassette lid. Since the other construction is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, the reference numerals are the same.

That is, the cassette lid 22 is attached to the rear portion of the paper feed cassette 11 by the pin 23, and the paper feed cassette can be opened and closed around this pin. Pressing portions 22a are provided on both sides of the back surface of the cassette lid 22 in a protruding manner. The pressing portion 22a contacts the connecting pin 10 when the cassette lid 22 is open. Also, by closing the cassette lid 22, the connecting pin 10 that is in contact with the pressing portion 22a is pushed down, so that the first plate portion 8 and the second plate portion 9 of the paper feeding cassette 11 slide in the guide grooves 11b and 11c. When the cassette lid 22 is completely closed, the locking means (not shown) keeps the cassette lid 22 closed.

To set the recording paper 21, the cassette lid 22 is unlocked and the cassette lid is opened, and the hopper plate 7 is bent by the spring force of the spring 15 into a convex shape as shown in FIG. When the recording paper 21 is placed on the hopper plate 7 in this state, the recording paper is bent so that the contact state between the recording papers can be reliably released.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this example, the hopper plate 24 is common to the second embodiment in that the hopper plate 24 is composed of the first hop plate portion 25 and the second hop plate portion 26. The structure in which the side wall 28a of the paper feed cassette 28 is rotatably supported is different. A spring 29 wound around the connecting pin 27 applies a spring force to the hopper plate 24 so that the hopper plate is bent in a concave shape. 30 is a stopper pin. The guide pin 31 at the front end portion of the first plate portion 25 is movable in the arc-shaped guide groove 28b formed in the side wall. The rear portion of the second plate portion 26 can be held in the paper feed cassette 28 by a lock member (not shown). In order to set the recording paper 32 in the paper feed cassette 28, the recording paper 32 is placed on the concave hopper plate 24 as shown in FIG. 8, and the recording paper 32 is bent in a concave shape. The contact state between recording papers can be reliably released. When the second plate portion 26 is pushed down in this state, the second plate portion becomes horizontal, and the rear portion is held by the lock member so that the sheet can be fed.

When the locked state by the lock member is released, the second plate portion 26 is brought into the state shown in FIG. 8 by the spring force of the bar 29.

In the example of FIG. 8, a cassette lid 33 may be used as a means for pushing down the second plate portion 26 as shown in FIG. In this example, the cassette lid 33 is attached to the paper feed cassette 28 so as to be openable and closable around the pin 34. A pressing portion 33a may be provided on the back surface of the front end of the cassette lid 33, and the pin 35 at the rear end of the second plate portion 26 may be pressed by this pressing portion. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the example of FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, the pressing portion is provided on the cassette lid so as to project so that the first and second plate portions are interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the cassette lid. The two-plate portion may be interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the cassette lid.

[0024]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, the hopper plate is provided with the convex portion or the concave portion, and the hopper plate is constituted by the first plate portion and the second plate portion connected via the hinge means. By doing so, since the recording papers are bent in the middle, the contact state between the recording papers can be surely released with a simple configuration, and the double feeding of the recording papers can be reliably prevented without increasing the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an essential part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a set state of recording paper in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a paper feeding state in the second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a set state of recording paper in a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a set state of recording paper in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a paper feeding state in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Paper feeding cassette 4 Hopper plate 4a Convex portion 5 Recording paper 7 Hopper plate 8 First plate portion 9 Second plate portion 11 Paper feeding cassette 14 Spring 15 Spring 18 Operation knob (lock member) 21 Recording paper 22 Cassette lid 22a Pressing portion 24 Hopper Plate 25 First Plate Part 26 Second Plate Part 28 Paper Feed Cassette 29 Spring 32 Recording Paper 33 Cassette Lid 33a Pressing Part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Koharu Shimizu Inventor 934-13 Shikato, Yotsukaido, Chiba Stock Company Seikosha Chiba Works (72) Inventor Osamu Miyauchi 934-1 Shikado, Yotsukaido, Chiba Stock Company Seikosha Chiba Works

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A hopper plate on which recording paper is placed,
A paper feed cassette, characterized in that it is provided with a convex portion or a concave portion for bending the recording paper in a loaded state. 2. A hopper plate on which recording paper is placed,
A sheet feeding cassette comprising a first plate portion and a second plate portion which are connected to each other via a hinge so that the recording sheet can be bent halfway in a mounted state. 3. The lock member according to claim 2, further comprising a lock member that holds at least one of the first plate portion and the second plate portion to hold the hopper plate in a paper feedable state. And a paper cassette. 4. The hopper plate according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the first plate portion and the second plate portion is rotated in association with an opening / closing operation of a cassette lid for loading / unloading the recording paper. A sheet feeding cassette, wherein the recording sheet is bent halfway when the cassette lid is open, and the sheet is ready to be fed when the cassette lid is closed.