JPH06345312A - Sheet receiving tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select a discharged paper tray arbitrarily by installing a sheet guide on a discharged paper tray, with the leg part side and the hook part side inverted, making the projection height of the sheet guide higher on the side remote from the paper discharge roller side, or reversely making the projection height of the sheet guide higher on the paper discharge roller side. CONSTITUTION:The sizes and shapes of locking holes of a discharged paper tray 11 where a leg part 16 and a hook part 15 of a sheet guide 14 are fitted are set in such a manner that when the leg part 16 is fitted in the hole, the expanding habit is given and when the hole is narrowed down to narrow the opening of the leg part 16, the sheet guide can be moved up and down.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet receiving tray such as a sheet discharge tray used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer or a sheet handling apparatus such as a printing machine. The present invention relates to improvement of stackability in a paper discharge tray or the like that receives sheets discharged from a stack and stacks them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional paper discharge tray is arranged on a moving path of a copy paper discharged from an image forming apparatus, and a moving direction of the copy paper is set to a longitudinal direction on a mounting surface of the copy paper. And a discharge tray having a plurality of rib-shaped projections extending in the moving direction, wherein at least one of the plurality of rib-shaped projections is located at a position corresponding to the leading end in the moving direction in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the locking hole is formed so as to have a habit of expanding and to have a protrusion height higher than that of other rib-shaped protrusions, and is formed penetratingly on the mounting surface of the copy paper. And a flexible leg part that is formed in the leg part. When the leg part protrudes higher than other rib-shaped projections, the leg is gripped by the upper and lower surfaces of the inner edge of the locking hole. And a gripping part for holding the protruding position of the part, and a part other than the leg part in the longitudinal direction. By forming a reference portion formed on the base end side of the same leg portion and having a lower protrusion height than other rib-like protrusions, and by vertically moving the leg portion in the locking hole, There is known a paper discharge tray capable of changing the projection height with respect to other rib-shaped projections (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-58559).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the operation of the paper discharge tray. In the figure, reference numeral 11 is a paper ejection tray, 14 is a rib-shaped protrusion whose protruding height is variable, 24 is a paper ejection roller pair of the image forming apparatus main body, and A is a paper ejection roller pair 24 height. In the same figure (a), when normal copy sheets are properly stacked on the discharge tray 11, (b) is a stack defect in which weak copy paper, for example, thin copy sheets, is folded into a Z shape on the discharge tray 11. 6C, the rib-shaped projection is displaced to change the protrusion height on the leading end side in the moving direction in the longitudinal direction to be high, so that the copy paper having a weak waist, for example, is thin. However, the cases where the above-mentioned stacking defects do not occur and the stacking is performed favorably are shown. By displacing the rib-like protrusions as shown in FIG. 2C, the reason why the stack defect can be prevented is that the rib-like protrusions 14 having a height higher than those of other rib-like protrusions are brought into contact with the top surface. However, it is said that the copy paper is moved and placed on the discharge tray 11 in the same state as the one-point contact with only the top surface of the copy paper.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
4) The upper surface position of the paper discharge tray (11) immediately below is set at a position lower than the paper discharge means by a predetermined amount (A) so that a certain number of sheets can be stacked. The height of the upper surface of the paper discharge tray is set to be high at both ends in the paper discharge direction, so that the paper can be easily aligned at the lower end. The sheet guide 14 supports the lower surface of the ejected paper at the center in the width direction orthogonal to the paper ejection direction, and causes both ends of the paper in the width direction to be bent by its own weight to cause the paper to bend. It is considered that this also prevents the sheets from being folded due to the difference in height between the sheet discharging unit and the upper surface of the sheet discharging tray in order to strengthen the stiffness in the sheet discharging direction, and improves the stacking property. Therefore, for example, when the thin stiff paper is discharged, it seems that the stackability is improved as the protruding height of the sheet guide end is increased. However, when the height difference between the sheet discharge means and the upper surface of the sheet discharge tray differs depending on the model, the optimum sheet guide height for improving stacking property and the like also differ. For example, in FIG.
As shown in (a), when the height B of the pair of paper ejection rollers 24 is relatively high and the protruding height of the sheet guide 14 on the downstream side in the paper ejection direction becomes excessively high, the top inclination of the sheet guide 14 is increased. If it becomes too sudden, a stack defect such as a Z-fold is likely to occur. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 7B, conversely, the stackability is improved by reducing the height difference between the upstream end and the downstream end in the sheet discharge direction of the sheet guide. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent stack defects from occurring on various sheets, and to be common to various types of sheet handling apparatuses. It is to provide a sheet receiving tray that can be used for.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 projects upward in the sheet conveying direction on the upper surface portion on which the sheet sent from the sheet conveying means is placed. In a sheet receiving tray to which an extending sheet guide is attached, the sheet guide is configured such that a projecting height on the downstream side in the sheet transport direction and a projecting height on the upstream side in the sheet transport direction are variable. is there. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sheet receiving tray according to the first aspect, the sheet guide attachment portion of the tray body and the sheet guide can be attached by reversing the upstream and downstream sides of the sheet conveyance direction. In addition, in any of the mounting states, the seat guide attached is configured so that the other end can swing with a specific one end side as a swing fulcrum.

[0007]

According to the first and second aspects of the invention, the sheet guide, which is attached to the upper surface portion on which the sheet sent from the sheet conveying means is placed and which projects upward and extends in the sheet conveying direction, is a sheet conveying direction. Since the protruding height on the downstream side and the protruding height on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction are variable, the protruding height on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction is higher than that on the upstream side in the same direction, and conversely on the upstream side in the same direction. A state in which the protruding height is higher than that on the downstream side in the same direction can be taken. Particularly, in the invention of claim 2, the sheet guide can be attached to the tray main body by reversing the upstream and downstream sides in the sheet conveying direction, and the specific one end side of the sheet guide attached in any attachment state. Since the other end can be swung as a swing fulcrum, on the upper surface of the tray body, the swing fulcrum of the seed guide can be placed on the side opposite to the side where the projecting height of the sheet guide is to be changed in the sheet conveying direction. By attaching the sheet guide so that the specific one end will be located,
It is possible to select a state in which the protrusion height on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction is higher than that on the upstream side in the same direction, or conversely, a state in which the protrusion height on the upstream side in the same direction is higher than that on the downstream side in the same direction.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a discharge tray of an electrophotographic copying machine (hereinafter referred to as a copying machine) which is an image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a paper discharge tray 11 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the paper discharge tray 11 is attached to a copying machine.
This copying machine has an end face cover 25 having a discharge port,
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of discharge roller pairs 25 and first and second stays 22 and 23 for mounting the discharge tray 11 are provided near the discharge port. The first stay 22 is provided near the discharge port of the end surface cover 25, and the second stay 23 is provided inside the copying machine. With these stays 22 and 23, the discharge tray 11 is partially inserted into the copying machine through the discharge port of the end face cover 25.
Can be attached to a copier. Figure 4
The end face cover 25 is omitted.

The paper discharge tray 11 of this embodiment comprises a tray body 13 directly attached to a copying machine and a slide tray 1 slidably attached to the lower surface of the tray body 13.
2 and a sheet guide 14 attached to the upper surface of the tray body 13. The tray body 13 has a flat plate shape, and an engaging piece portion 20 that engages with the second stay 23 from below is formed at an end portion (hereinafter, referred to as a mounting end portion) on the upstream side in the paper discharge direction. A stand portion 21 that engages with the first stay 22 from above is formed on the lower surface portion. A concave portion 19 is formed at the center in the width direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction on the upper surface portion serving as the copy paper placement surface, and the concave portion 19 penetrates to the lower surface side at a certain interval along the paper discharge direction. A pair of locking holes 17 and 18 for mounting the sheet guide are formed. Further, a plurality of rib-shaped projections 13a extending in the paper discharge direction are formed on the upper surface portion other than the concave portion 19 in order to reduce the contact resistance with the copy paper.

The slide tray 12 is for varying the total length of the paper discharge tray 11 in the paper discharge direction between the most pulled out state shown in FIG. 1 and the most pushed in state shown in FIG. Like the tray body 13, the tray body 13 has a flat plate shape, and a recess is formed in the center of the upper surface in the width direction, and the upper surface other than this recess extends in the paper discharge direction to reduce the contact resistance with the copy paper. A plurality of rib-shaped protrusions 12a are formed.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 5A, the front view of FIG. 5B, and the left side view of FIG. 5C, the sheet guide 14 is a vertical piece having a top portion that comes into contact with copy paper. 30 and a bifurcated reference piece 31 branching from the base of the vertical piece 30
It has and. The heights of the vertical piece 30 and the reference piece 31 are predetermined such that the lower surface of the reference piece 31 is in close contact with the upper surface of the recess 19 of the tray body 13 and the upper surface of the vertical piece 30 is the upper surface of the rib-like protrusion 13a. Set up to have a relationship. For example, if the upper surface of the vertical piece 30 is set to be slightly higher than the upper surface of the rib-shaped projection 13a, the leading edge of the copy paper that first comes into contact with the paper discharge tray is curved so that the central portion becomes higher in the width direction. By doing so, you can sit down.

The hook portion 15 hangs on one side in the longitudinal direction on the bottom surface of the reference piece 31 by a predetermined amount and extends outward in the longitudinal direction in a hawk shape, and on the other side, the leg portion 1 is formed.
6 are formed in a hanging state. The hook portion 15 and the foot portion 16 are formed by the above-mentioned actual open flat 1-5855.
In the specific example disclosed in No. 9, the structure is basically the same as the hook portion and the leg portion in the height-adjustable rib-shaped protrusion corresponding to the seat guide 14 of the present embodiment. That is, the hook portion 15 inserted into the locking hole 17 on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction serves as a swing fulcrum so that the leg portion 16 side can swing, and the lower surface of the reference piece 31 is the concave portion of the tray body 13. 1
9 Leg part 1 than in the attached state in which it closely adheres to the upper surface
It is possible to maintain a state in which the protruding height on the 6 side is high. Specifically, upper and lower ribs 33 and 32 are formed on the outer surface near the lower end of the leg portion 16 at intervals corresponding to the plate thickness of the tray body 13, and these are used to form the locking hole 18 on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. A gripping portion for gripping the upper and lower surfaces of the inner edge and holding the protruding state of the leg portion. Further, the leg portion 16 is flexible, and the leg portion 16 is provided with expansion habit in a state of being fitted into the locking hole 18 on the downstream side in the paper discharge direction, and the leg portion 16 is opened against this behavior. The size and shape of the locking hole 18 are set so that the locking hole 18 can be moved up and down in a narrowed state.

Then, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned actual flat 1-
Unlike the specific example disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 58559, the sheet guide 14 can be attached to the tray main body 13 even if the leg portions 16 are located on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction, as shown by the solid line in FIG. Moreover, even in this attached state, the hook portion 15
Is a swing fulcrum so that the leg portion 16 side can swing, and the protrusion on the leg portion 16 side is larger than in a mounting state in which the lower surface of the reference piece 31 is in close contact with the upper surface of the concave portion 19 of the tray body 13. A state in which the height is high (a state indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4) can be retained. Specifically, the size and shape of the locking hole 17 on the upstream side in the paper discharge direction is given a widening habit in a state where the leg portion 16 is fitted therein.
In addition, it is set so as to be able to move up and down in a state where the leg 16 is narrowed so as to narrow the opening against this habit. For example, it is set to have the same size and shape as the locking hole 18 on the downstream side in the same direction. Further, the both locking holes 17 and 18 are completely pulled out by swinging the leg portion 16 in a squeezed state with the hook portion 15 inserted into the locking holes 18 and 17 as a swing fulcrum. The size and shape are set so that the hook portion 15 can be completely pulled out after the leg portion 16 is completely pulled out.

According to the above construction, the sheet guide 14 is attached to the tray body 13 in the same state as the leg 16 is attached to the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. As shown by the solid line in the figure, the mounting state in which the leg portion 16 is located on the upstream side in the paper discharge direction can be arbitrarily selected, and in any mounting state, the lower surface of the reference piece 31 is the recess 19 of the tray body 13. It is possible to selectively take a state in which the protrusion 16 is in close contact with the upper surface and a state in which the protruding height of the leg 16 side is higher than that in the state. Therefore, the sheet guide 14
The projecting heights from the upper surface of the tray main body on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction can be changed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of stack defects for various copy sheets, and it is possible to use a common discharge tray for various copy machines.

In the above embodiment, the sheet guide 14 is attached to the tray body 13 in order to change the protruding heights of the sheet guide 14 from the upper surface of the tray body on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction. As a state,
As shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4, the mounting state in which the leg portion 16 is on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction, and the mounting state in which the leg portion 16 is on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction as shown by the solid line in FIG. Although the state can be arbitrarily selected, instead of this, as shown in FIG. 6, instead of the hook portion 15, a leg portion 40 similar to the leg portion 16 may be formed. That is, the leg portion 40, which replaces the hook portion 15, has upper and lower ribs 41 and 42 formed on the outer surface near the lower end thereof at intervals corresponding to the plate thickness of the tray body 13 like the leg portion 16. These constitute a gripping portion that holds the upper and lower surfaces of the inner edges of the locking holes 18 and 17 and holds the protruding state of the leg portion. Further, the leg portion 40 is flexible, and the expansion habit is imparted in a state of being fitted in the locking holes 18 and 17, and the leg portion 16 is squeezed so as to narrow the opening against the habit. The size and shape of the locking holes 18 are set so that the locking holes 18 and 17 can be moved up and down in the closed state. According to this example, without removing the sheet guide 14 from the tray main body 13, the sheet guide 14
Since the protruding heights from the upper surface of the tray main body on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper discharge direction can be changed, it is possible to prevent the sheet guide 14 from being lost or damaged.

Further, the sheet guide 14 is connected to the tray body 13
Without removing the sheet guide 14 from the upper surface of the tray body on the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction,
In order to be able to change each, it is also possible to configure as shown in FIG. 7. That is, in this example, instead of forming the upper ribs 33 and 41 on the leg portions 16 and 40 in order to maintain the state in which the protruding heights of the leg portions 16 and 40 are increased, instead of forming the upper ribs 33 and 41 on the leg portions 16 and 40, A fulcrum member 50 that supports a part of the vertical piece 14 in the longitudinal direction from below is slidably attached to the tray body 13. This fulcrum member 5
For example, 0 can be configured by a roof-type flexible member in which upper and lower ribs 53, 52 are formed on the outer surface near the lower end at intervals corresponding to the plate thickness of the tray body 13. As shown in FIG. 7B, the upper and lower ribs 53, 52 grip the upper and lower inner edge surfaces of the through holes 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 for attachment and slide movement formed in the tray body 13. It can be attached to the tray body 13. It should be noted that through holes for attachment and slide movement shown in the drawing are provided at three positions, namely, a downstream side end in the sheet discharge direction, a center in the sheet discharge direction, and an upstream end in the sheet discharge direction, and a sheet discharge direction length corresponding to the length of the fulcrum member 50. Wide portions 54, 55, 56 having a certain width are formed, and these are connected by through-hole portions 57, 58 having a narrow width. In the wide portions 54, 55, 56, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), this is because the lower part of the fulcrum member 50 fitted in the wide portions 54, 55, 56 remains in contact with both widthwise edges due to the expansion habit. , The narrow through-holes 57, 58 are prevented from entering, and the narrow through-holes 57, 58 are formed only when the lower opening is narrowed against the spreading habit as shown in FIG. It is designed such that it can enter into 58 and can be positioned in any of the wide portions 54, 55, 56. Further, in this example, the lower surface of the reference piece 31 of the sheet guide 14 is the tray body 1.
In order to make the mounting state such that the fulcrum member 50 is narrowed, the tray main body 13
The fulcrum member 50 must be completely removed from the tray body 13 by pulling it out to the lower side of the tray body 13. Such a fulcrum member 5
To prevent loss due to removal of 0, for example,
The top of the fulcrum member 50 is a sheet with a horizontal collar having a width that does not fall into the through holes 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 even when the lower part of the opening is narrowed against the habit of expanding. It may be formed at the surface of the fulcrum member 50 such that the upper surface of the guide piece 31 contacts the lower surface of the vertical piece 30 of the guide 14 while being in contact with or close to the lower surface of the vertical piece 30.

[0017]

According to the first and second aspects of the invention, the protruding height on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction is higher than that on the upstream side in the same direction, and conversely, the protruding height on the upstream side in the same direction is the same. Since it can be in a higher state than that on the downstream side, stack defects can be prevented from occurring for various sheets, and the sheet receiving tray can also be used in common for various types of sheet handling devices. it can. Particularly, according to the invention of claim 2, the sheet guide can be attached to the tray main body by reversing the upstream and downstream sides in the sheet conveying direction, and the specific one end side of the attached sheet guide is attached in any attachment state. By configuring the other end side to be swingable as a swing fulcrum, the protruding height on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction is higher than that on the upstream side in the same direction, and conversely, the protruding height on the upstream side in the same direction is the same. Since it is possible to select a state that is higher than that on the downstream side in the direction, a simple improvement over the conventional seat guide that is configured so that the other end side can swing with a specific one end side as a swing fulcrum, It is possible to provide a sheet receiving tray that can prevent the occurrence of stacking defects for the sheets, and can be commonly used by various types of sheet handling apparatuses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a paper discharge tray 11 according to an embodiment.

2A to 2C are explanatory diagrams of a relationship between a protruding height of a sheet guide 14 of a discharge tray 11 and stackability of copy sheets.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are explanatory views of the relationship between the height of the paper discharge rollers 24 and stackability.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the paper discharge tray 11 according to the embodiment is attached to a copying machine.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a sheet guide of the paper discharge tray 11. (B) is a front view of the seat guide 14. (C) is a left side view of the seat guide 14.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a sheet guide according to a modification.

FIG. 7A is a front view of a sheet guide 14 according to another modification. (B) is a partial plan view of the tray main body to which the sheet guide 14 is attached. (C) is a left side view of the seat guide 14. (D) is a left side view of the sheet guide 14 in a state where the fulcrum member 51 is squeezed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Paper Output Tray 12 Slide Tray 13 Tray Main Body 14 Sheet Guide 15 Hook 16 Leg 17 Locking Hole 18 Locking Hole 19 Recess 20 Engagement Piece 24

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sheet receiving tray in which a sheet guide that projects upward and extends in the sheet conveying direction is attached to an upper surface portion on which the sheet sent from the sheet conveying means is placed, A sheet receiving tray, wherein a projecting height on the downstream side in the transport direction and a projecting height on the upstream side in the sheet transport direction are variable. 2. The mounting portion of the sheet guide of the tray main body and the sheet guide can be mounted by reversing the upstream and downstream sides of the sheet conveying direction, and the sheet guide is mounted in any mounting state. 2. The sheet receiving tray according to claim 1, wherein a specific one end of the sheet guide is used as a swing fulcrum so that the other end can swing.