JPH06127707A - Paper feed cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide promptness of positioning a paper guide and to prevent unprepared moving after positioning. CONSTITUTION:A paper guide positioning member 21 is provided movably in a paper feedout direction, and a positioning cam part 22, slidably engaged with an engaging shaft part 29 provided in paper guides 11L, 11R, is provided in the paper guide positioning member 21, to constitute the positioning cam part 22 of a plurality of parallel cam groove parts 23a, 23b and a tilt cam groove part 21h, continuously connecting the adjacent parallel cam groove parts 23a, 23b, formed in accordance with a plurality of paper guide restricting positions of the paper guides 11L, 11R.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette suitable for use in a copying machine or various printers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a paper feed cassette is generally provided with a paper guide for regulating the positions of both side edges of the paper so that the paper can be fed while preventing skew. . FIG. 2 shows a conventional structure of a paper feed cassette having such a paper guide. In the figure, 1 is a main body case.
The main body case 1 is provided with a paper storage unit 2 capable of storing a predetermined number of papers. Further, in the main body case 1, paper guides 11L and 11R are perpendicular to the paper feeding direction (arrow X direction) so that both side edges of various papers having different width dimensions (for example, letter paper and A4 size paper) can be regulated in position. It is provided so as to be movable in the width direction (arrow Y direction).
Usually, the paper guides 11L and 11R are provided so that they can approach and separate by the same length synchronously by using the simultaneous slide mechanism 12 so that the position of the paper can be quickly regulated. The simultaneous slide mechanism 12 includes a rack member 13L (13R) attached to the paper guide 11L (11R) so as to extend in the paper width direction (Y direction), and both rack members 13L (1R).
3R) and a gear member 14 that is rotatably supported by the main body case 1 via an adjusting screw 15 so as to mesh with the main body case 1. The rotation resistance of the gear member 14 is increased or decreased by adjusting the tightening degree of the adjusting screw 15.

Here, for example, when the paper guide 11L is moved by a predetermined length toward the center of the main body case 1 in the paper width direction while resisting the rotation resistance of the gear member 14, the other paper guide 11L is simultaneously moved. The slide mechanism 12 (rack members 13L, 13R, gear member 14) moves toward the center by the same length as the paper guide 11L. Therefore, when switching the storage paper from letter paper to A4 size paper, one of the paper guides 11L (or 11R) is moved toward the center and positioned at the paper restriction position for A4 size paper with the pointer portion 16 as a guide. By doing so, the both side edges of the sheet can be regulated by the sheet guides 11L and 11R. 2, 3 and 4 are guide grooves for guiding the paper guides 11L and 11R in the Y direction.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned paper feeding cassette, the paper guides 11L and 11R are positioned at a predetermined paper regulating position while resisting the rotation resistance of the gear member 14 with the pointer portion 16 as a guide. Has a drawback that it requires a careful movement operation and is troublesome.

Further, the sheet guides 11L and 11R may move for some reason after they have been positioned at the sheet regulation position, causing skewed sheets. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, it is conceivable that the gear members 14 of the slide mechanism 12 may become unrotatable after the paper guides 11L and 11R are positioned at the paper regulating position and then the adjustment screw 15 is strongly tightened. However, this requires the adjustment screw 15 to be tightened using a screwdriver or the like, which is troublesome, and the position of the paper guides 11L and 11R cannot be easily corrected after tightening.

The above-mentioned inconvenience is caused by the paper guide 11
A paper feed cassette of a type in which L and 11R are individually moved without using the simultaneous slide mechanism 12, or one paper guide (for example, 11L) is fixed and the other paper guide (1
1R) is also moved in a paper feed cassette in which the paper position is regulated.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to enable the paper guide to be quickly and accurately positioned at the paper regulating position according to the width dimension of the accommodated paper, and prevent the paper guide from being inadvertently moved after the positioning. An object is to provide a paper feed cassette that can be used.

[0008]

A paper feed cassette according to the present invention is provided with a main body case capable of accommodating a predetermined number of sheets, and a movable body width direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction in the main body case. A paper guide that is provided so that the paper can be fed with its side edge position regulated by moving the paper guide and positioning it at the paper regulating position according to the width dimension of the paper. In the paper cassette, a paper guide positioning member is provided movably in the paper feeding direction, and the paper guide positioning member is provided with a positioning cam portion that slidably engages with an engaging portion provided on the paper guide. Continuously contact the adjacent parallel cam parts with the parallel cam parts that are formed in parallel with the paper feed direction and are displaced according to the plurality of paper regulation positions of the paper guide. Characterized by being composed of an inclined cam portion.

[0009]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when the sheets to be accommodated in the main body case are switched from, for example, letter sheets to A4 size sheets, the sheet guide positioning member is moved in the sheet feeding direction so that the positioning cam portions are parallel for letters. The engagement portion on the paper guide side that was engaged with the cam portion (the parallel cam portion corresponding to the letter paper regulation position of the paper guide) is slid on the inclined cam portion or the like, and the parallel cam portion for A4 size paper (paper guide It engages with the parallel cam portion corresponding to the A4 size sheet regulation position). This allows the paper guide to
The sheet is moved in the sheet width direction and positioned at the A4 size sheet regulation position.

As described above, the paper guide can be positioned at the A4 size paper regulating position only by moving the paper guide positioning member, and the position of the paper guide can be adjusted quickly and accurately. Further, since the paper guide positioned at the A4 size paper regulating position engages with the predetermined parallel cam portion of the positioning cam portion through the engaging portion and its movement in the paper width direction is regulated, after being positioned at the paper regulating position. It doesn't move.

As described above, the paper guide can be quickly and accurately positioned at the paper regulating position according to the width dimension of the accommodated paper, and the careless movement of the paper guide after the positioning can be prevented.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, this paper feed cassette has a basic configuration (main body case 1, paper guides 11L and 11R, simultaneous slide mechanism 12, etc.) similar to that of the conventional example, and a paper guide positioning member having a positioning cam portion 22. 21 is used to quickly and accurately position the paper guides 11L and 11R at the respective paper regulating positions. Note that FIG.
The same parts as those in the figure showing the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Here, the paper guide positioning member 21 is
It is provided so as to be movable in the paper feeding direction (X direction). More specifically, the paper guide positioning member 21 is
A mounting member 25 mounted on the outer surface of the main body case 1 is provided via a guide groove 26 so as to be movable only in the paper feeding direction (X direction). The paper guide positioning member 21 is provided with a positioning cam portion 22 that slidably engages with an engagement portion (cylindrical engagement shaft portion 29) provided on the paper guide 11L.

The positioning cam portion 22 of the paper guide positioning member 21 has a plurality of parallel cam portions formed parallel to the paper feeding direction (X direction) and displaced in accordance with a plurality of paper regulating positions of the paper guide 11L. (23a, 23
b) and an inclined cam portion (24) that continuously connects adjacent parallel cam portions (23a, 23b). In the present embodiment, the positioning cam portion 22 is formed of a parallel cam groove portion 23a for letter paper, a parallel cam groove portion 23b for A4 size paper, and an inclined cam groove portion 24. The cam groove portions 23a, 23b, Reference numeral 24 is formed so that the engaging shaft portion 29 of the paper guide 11L can be slidably fitted therein.

Further, the parallel cam groove portion 23a for letter paper of the positioning cam portion 22 has a paper guide positioning member 21.
Further, it is formed in parallel with the paper feeding direction (X direction) according to the letter paper regulation position of the paper guide 11L. Similarly, the parallel cam groove portion 23b for A4 size paper is misaligned with the parallel cam groove portion 23a for letter paper on the paper guide positioning member 21 according to the A4 size paper regulating position of the paper guide 11L. Is formed. The length of each of the cam groove portions 23a and 23b is determined so that the engagement shaft portion 29 of the paper guide 11L can be fitted and inserted with a predetermined margin in the X direction. The inclined cam groove portion 24 of the positioning cam portion 22 continuously connects the parallel cam groove portion 23a for letter paper and the parallel cam groove portion 23b for A4 size paper, and is constant in the paper feeding direction (X direction). Has a slope of.

Next, the operation will be described. Body case 1
When the paper to be stored in the paper is switched from letter paper to A4 size paper, for example, the paper guide positioning member 21 is moved in the paper feeding direction (X direction) so that the parallel cam groove portion 23a of the positioning cam portion 22 for the letter paper. The engaging shaft portion 29 on the side of the paper guide 11L that has been engaged is slid in the inclined cam groove portion 24 and the like and fitted into the parallel cam groove portion 23b for A4 size paper. As a result, the paper guide 1
1L and 11R move in the paper width direction (Y direction) and move to A4
It is positioned at the size paper regulation position.

As described above, the paper guide positioning member 21
To move the paper guides 11L and 11R to A4
It can be positioned at the size paper regulation position, and the position of the paper guides 11L and 11R can be adjusted quickly and accurately. Further, the paper guide 11L includes the engagement shaft portion 29.
Since the movement in the paper width direction (Y direction) is restricted by the parallel cam groove portion 23b for the A4 size paper of the positioning cam portion 22 via the, it does not start to move after the A4 size paper restriction position is positioned.

When switching to letter paper, the paper guide positioning member 21 is moved to operate the paper guide 1.
The paper guides 11L and 11R are positioned at the letter paper regulating position by inserting the 1L engagement shaft portion 29 into the parallel cam groove portion 23a for letter paper of the positioning cam portion 22.

According to this embodiment, however, the paper guide positioning member 21 is provided so as to be movable in the paper feeding direction (X direction), and the paper guide positioning member 21 has an engaging shaft portion provided on the paper guide 11L. The positioning cam part 22 that slidably engages with the positioning cam part 22 is provided.
A plurality of parallel cam groove portions (23a, 23b) formed in parallel with and displaced from the paper feeding direction (X direction) according to a plurality of paper regulating positions of the paper guide 11L.
Since the adjacent parallel cam groove portions (23a, 23b) are constituted by the inclined cam groove portion 24 that continuously connects, the paper guides 11L, 11R are quickly and accurately located at the paper regulating position according to the width dimension of the accommodated paper. Positioning can be performed, and inadvertent movement after positioning can be prevented.

Further, since the engaging portion is formed by the cylindrical engaging shaft portion 29 provided integrally with the paper guide 11L,
The paper guides 11L and 11R can be positioned at the respective paper regulating positions by making smooth and reliable sliding contact with the positioning cam portion 22 of the paper guide positioning member 21. Further, the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts.

In the above embodiment, one of the paper guides 11L and 11R (11L), which can be approached and separated by the same length synchronously by the simultaneous slide mechanism 12, is moved by using the paper guide positioning member 21. However, the paper guide (11
L, 11R) is a sheet feeding cassette of a type that can be individually moved without using the simultaneous slide mechanism 12,
Two paper guide positioning members 21 may be prepared and the paper guides (11L, 11R) may be individually positioned at the respective paper regulating positions using the respective positioning members 21. Further, in a paper feed cassette of a type in which one paper guide (for example, 11L) is fixed and the other paper guide (11R) is moved and operated to regulate the paper position, the other paper guide (11R) is positioned for paper guide positioning. The member 21 is used to move and position each sheet regulation position.

Further, although the parallel cam portions (23a, 23b) and the inclined cam portion (24) of the positioning cam portion 22 are formed in a groove shape, they are formed in a rail shape, and the engaging portion on the paper guide 11L side is formed in the rail. Shaped cam portions (23a, 23
b, 24) and a sandwiching member which can slide.

Further, in the case of the sheet feeding cassette having three or more sheet regulation positions, the positioning cam portion 22 is correspondingly provided.
The same number of parallel cam portions are provided and adjacent parallel cam portions are connected by the inclined cam portion.

[0024]

According to the present invention, a paper guide positioning member is provided so as to be movable in the paper feeding direction, and a positioning cam that slidably engages the paper guide positioning member with an engaging portion provided on the paper guide. And a positioning cam portion is formed such that a plurality of parallel cam portions formed in parallel with the sheet feeding direction and displaced from each other according to a plurality of sheet regulation positions of the sheet guide and adjacent parallel cam portions are continuously formed. Since it is composed of the inclined cam portion to be connected, it is possible to quickly and accurately position the paper guide at the paper regulating position according to the width dimension of the accommodated paper, and prevent inadvertent movement after the positioning. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional paper feed cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body Case 11L, 11R Paper Guide 21 Paper Guide Positioning Member 22 Positioning Cams 23a, 23b Parallel Cam Groove Part (Parallel Cam Part) 24 Inclined Cam Groove Part (Inclined Cam Part) 29 Engagement Shaft Part (Engagement Part)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main body case capable of accommodating a predetermined number of sheets, and a paper guide movably provided in the main body case in a paper width direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. In the paper feed cassette that can be fed with the side edges of the stored paper being regulated by positioning it at the paper regulation position according to the width of the stored paper, the paper guide positioning member is set in the paper feed direction. The paper guide positioning member is movably provided with a positioning cam portion that slidably engages with an engaging portion provided on the paper guide. The positioning cam portion is provided in accordance with a plurality of paper regulating positions of the paper guide. It is composed of a plurality of parallel cam portions formed parallel to the sheet feeding direction and displaced from each other, and an inclined cam portion that continuously connects adjacent parallel cam portions. And a paper cassette.