JPH0641330B2 - Copier - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying machine in which a required number of paper feed cassettes containing sheets of different sizes can be added.

2. Description of the Related Art Most of the conventional relatively small copying machines are provided with a plurality of paper feed cassettes b which can be inserted in the lower part of a main body a as shown in FIG. When copying to c, and the required size of paper c is not in the paper feed cassette b, a separately prepared paper feed cassette b
I replaced it with a copy.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the copying machine as described above, since the sheet feeding cassette b largely protrudes to the side of the main body a, a lot of space is required to install the main body a, and the main body a itself is not installed. Even if it is downsized, the effect of being easily installed in a narrow space is lost. Further, since the number of paper feed cassettes that can be attached to the main body a is small, the paper feed cassette b must be stored in another place, a storage place is required, and most parts of the paper feed cassette b are Since it is projected to the outside, there is a problem that moisture easily enters the paper feed cassette b.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 58-11967
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 0-6538) filed a paper feeding apparatus that does not require a storage location of the paper feeding cassettes by making the paper feeding cassettes multistage.

However, in this paper feeding device as well, since a part of the paper feeding cassette is exposed to the outside of the copying machine main body, the paper stored in the paper feeding cassette comes into contact with the outside air, and moisture absorption of the paper cannot be avoided. .

The present invention has been made for the purpose of improving the above-mentioned conventional problems.

Means and Actions for Solving Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a sheet tray on which sheets of different sizes can be placed, a sheet tray that is detachably supported in a horizontal direction, and is mounted and detached. A paper feed cassette that completely stores the paper placed on the tray, a paper feed roll that rotates so as to send the paper placed on the paper tray toward the copying machine body, and the paper feed A paper feeding device including a paper feeding roll rotating means for rotating the roll, a driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force supplied from the main body of the copying machine to the paper feeding roll rotating means, and a paper path are required. A copying machine that can be provided below the copying machine main body with a stack of stages, in which the copying machine main body has a selection unit for selecting a paper size and a paper feed roll corresponding to the paper size selected by the selection unit. For turning means The sheet feeding device is formed so that its periphery is approximately the same size as the copying machine main body, and the sheet feeding device is a copying machine. When the required number of layers are stacked on the lower side of the main body, the driving force transmission means of each sheet feeding device mutually form a driving force transmission path with the main body of the copying machine stacked on the upper side. In addition to being connected, the paper passage of each paper feeding device is connected to the main body of the copying machine or the paper passage of the paper feeding device stacked on the upper stage to form a conveying passage from the paper feeding device to the main body of the copying machine. Since multiple paper feed cassettes can be stacked and stored in the lower side of the main body, the copier can be easily installed even in a narrow space, and the paper stored in the paper feed cassette does not absorb moisture so Copy defects caused by dampness It can be prevented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a main body of a copying machine, in which a photoconductor 2, a developing device 3, a transfer device 4, a fixing device 5 and a cleaning device 6 are copied. It contains the various devices needed for. Reference numeral 7 designates a plurality of paper feed cassettes that can be mounted in the lower portion of the copying machine main body 1 in a stacked state, and has a flat box shape having a circumference substantially the same as that of the copying machine main body 1 and different sizes inside. A paper tray 7a capable of accommodating the paper 8 is provided so as to be insertable and removable. A bottom plate 7b biased upward by a spring 9 is provided at the bottom of one end of the paper tray 7a, and one end of the paper 8 stored in the paper storage unit 7a by the bottom plate 7b is above the bottom plate 7b. It is designed so that it is pressed from below onto the paper feed roll 10 provided on the. The paper feed roll 10 is rotatably driven via a gear 12 by a paper feed roll rotating means 11 such as a motor provided on a side portion of each paper feed cassette 7, and the paper feed roll rotating means 11 is supplied with each paper feed roll. When the paper cassettes 7 are stacked and mounted on the lower side of the copying machine body 1, the driving force transmitting means forms a transmission path connected to the driving force supply means (not shown) on the copying machine body 1 side. It has become.

In the driving force transmitting means, one of the connectors 13a 13a is connected to the sheet feeding roll rotating means 11 of each sheet feeding cassette 7 via a lead wire 14, and the other 13b of the connector 13 is copied via a lead wire 15. The driving force supplied from the driving force supply means on the copying machine body 1 side, which is connected to one side 16a of the machine body 1 side connector 16, is used for the paper feed roll rotating means 1 described above.
It is designed to supply to 1.

On the other hand, a corner snubber 17 is provided at the side end of the paper feed roll 10 of the paper 8 accommodated in the paper tray 7a of the paper feed cassette 7 and separates the paper 8 fed by the paper feed roll 10. To prevent the paper 8 from being double-fed, and to guide the leading end of the paper 8 fed by the paper feed roll 10 to the end on the paper feed side of the paper feed cassette 7. A concave arc-shaped guide surface 7c and the lower paper feed cassette 7
A slit-shaped paper passage 7d for passing the further fed paper 8 is formed, and when the paper feed cassettes 7 are stacked in a required number of stages, the paper feed cassette 7 side communicates with the copying machine main body 1 side. A transport passage is formed.

Further, a grip 7e is formed at the end of the paper tray 7a opposite to the paper feed side, and a grip 7e is formed by partially recessing the paper tray 7a, and the paper tray 7a can be pulled out by this grip 7e.

On the other hand, the paper 8 fed from the paper feed cassette 7 is fed by the feed roll 18 provided in the copying machine main body 1 to the feed path 1
9 and is further conveyed between the photoconductor 2 and the transfer device 4 via a resist roll 20 provided on the conveyance path 19.

In the figure, 21 is a paper insertion port for manual copying, and 22 is a paper passage 7d of the copying machine main body 1 and the uppermost paper feed cassette 7.
Shows a moisture-proof film such as a conductive mylar provided at the connection part of.

Next, the operation will be described. In use, a required number of paper feed cassettes 7 containing papers 8 of different sizes in a paper tray 7a are prepared and mounted on the lower side of the copying machine main body 1 in a stacked state. Then, the driving force supply means on the main body 1 side of the copying machine and the paper feed roll rotating means 11 of each paper feed cassette 7 are connected to the connector 13,
16 and lead wires 14 and 15 are connected via a driving force transmission means.

Next, to start copying, a sheet size is selected by a selection means (not shown) on the copying machine main body 1 side and the copy switch 23 is pressed, so that the sheet feeding roll of the sheet feeding cassette 7 in which the sheet 8 of the selected size is accommodated. A driving force is supplied to the rotating means 11 from the copying machine main body 1 side to rotate the paper feed roll 10, and the paper 8 is fed.

The fed paper 8 is conveyed by a conveyance roll 18 to a conveyance path 19
To the registration roll 20 after turning on the paper detection switch 24 provided on the conveyance path 19. When the paper detection switch 24 is turned on, the photoconductor 2 is rotated, and a copy is made on the paper 8 in a normal copying process. Then, the copy-finished paper 8 is discharged to a paper discharge tray 25 provided on the side of the copying machine main body 1.

In the above operation, since the photoconductor 2 and the paper 8 are synchronized with each other by a signal from the paper detection switch 24 provided in the middle of the transport path 19, the paper cassettes 7 stacked in a plurality of stages are separated from each other. Even if there is a time lag before the paper 8 reaches the copying machine body 1, the copy timing does not shift.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment in which the sheet 8 is separated without using the corner snubber. The sheet 8 stored in the sheet tray 7a of the sheet cassette 7 is reversed by the sheet feed roll 10. Back to the rear wall 7f of the paper tray 7a.
After feeding the sheet 8 by bringing it into contact with the sheet 8, the sheet feeding roll 10 may be rotated in the forward direction to feed the sheet.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described in detail above, according to the present invention, since the required number of sheet feeding cassettes can be mounted and used in a state of being stacked on the lower part of the copying machine body, the copying machine body can be easily installed even in a narrow place. Since there is no need to store the paper feed cassette separately, no storage space is required.

In addition, since each paper feed cassette is sealed in a state of being stacked on the main body of the copier, outside air does not enter the paper feed cassette and cause the paper to become damp, which prevents copying defects due to paper dampness. become able to.

In addition, the number of required paper feed cassettes can be increased by stacking them in the vertical direction, so multiple paper feed cassettes can be installed in a small space, so that the copying machine itself can be made compact and space-saving, and the paper feed cassettes can be installed. Since a paper passage for passing the fed paper is provided inside, it is possible to feed the paper of each paper feed cassette to the main body of the copying machine without providing a paper transport path outside the paper feed cassette. This also enables downsizing of the copying machine.

Moreover, the control system on the main body side of the copying machine can be used to selectively supply paper from a plurality of paper feed cassettes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a paper feed cassette, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a connection state of the copying machine main body and each paper feed cassette, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in a V circle of FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a used state, and FIG. 7 is a paper separating means. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a conventional explanatory view. 1 is a copying machine main body, 7 is a paper feed cassette, 7a is a paper tray,
8 is a sheet and 11 is a drive source.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper tray on which different sizes of paper can be placed, and a paper tray that supports the paper tray in a horizontal direction so that it can be detachably mounted,
When mounted, a paper feed cassette that completely stores the paper placed on the paper tray, and a paper feed roll that rotates so as to send the paper placed on the paper tray toward the copying machine body, Paper feeding roll rotating means for rotating the paper feeding roll, driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force supplied from the main body of the copying machine to the paper feeding roll rotating means, and a paper feed path. A copying machine in which a required number of stacking units can be provided on the lower side of the copying machine main body, wherein the copying machine main body corresponds to a selection unit for selecting a paper size and a paper size selected by the selection unit. A driving force supplying means for supplying a driving force to the paper feeding roll rotating means through the driving force transmitting means is provided, and the paper feeding device is formed so that its periphery is substantially the same size as the copying machine main body. Along with the paper feeding device When the required number of stages are stacked on the lower side of the main body of the machine, the driving force transmission means of each sheet feeding device forms a transmission path of the driving force between itself and the main body of the copying machine. The paper path of each paper feeding device should be connected to each other and communicate with the paper path of the copying machine main body or the paper feeding device stacked on the upper stage to form a conveying path from the paper feeding device to the main body of the copying machine. A copying machine characterized by.