JPH066120Y2 - Thick paper supply cassette - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a supply cassette selectively mounted in a supply cassette receiving portion of a copying machine, and more specifically, a thick paper containing thick paper such as a postcard. Regarding the supply cassette.

[Conventional technology]

JP-A-55-140438, JP-B-55-506
No. 81, JP-A-56-59253, JP-A-56-155133 and the like, in a copying machine, a supply cassette detachably mounted in a copying machine housing is used. Paper feeding devices are widely used. The housing is provided with a supply cassette receiving portion, and in this supply cassette receiving portion, in order to send out the sheets stored in the supply cassette in a laminated state one by one, the uppermost one of the stacked sheets. Is provided with a driven delivery roller that is brought into contact with the upper surface of the sheet. The supply cassette is provided with a pair of separating means that act on both sides of the front edge of the plurality of sheets of paper stored in a stacked state. As such a separating means, particularly when the paper is a thick paper such as a postcard, a stop claw that presses the upper surface of the uppermost paper in the stacked state and a leading edge of the stacked paper are regulated. It is convenient to use the one composed of the control piece and the control piece. The sheet delivered from the supply cassette by the action of the delivery roller is moved along the lower surface of the stop claw and passed through the gap between the lower surface of the stop claw and the upper end of the restriction piece. Then, the sheet is conveyed through the conveying path defined between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, and its leading edge is brought into contact with the nip of the conveying roller pair (timing roller pair) in the stopped state. As the paper is further fed by the action of the feeding roller, the paper is curved in a convex shape upward in the conveying path, and thus the skew of the paper (the leading edge of the paper does not form a right angle with respect to the conveying direction). The phenomenon of progressing inclining) is reliably corrected. Further, when the sheet is bent into a desired shape, an appropriate detector usually detects it, and thereby the driving of the feed roller is stopped.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

The conventional copying machine of the above-described form has the following problems to be solved. If the paper is of normal thickness, the paper sent out from the supply cassette is brought into contact with the nip of the pair of conveying rollers that are stopped, without causing any problem, and the paper is not required. It is curved as it is. However, in the case of thick paper such as official postcards, since the so-called stiffness of the paper is considerably strong, the paper does not bend as desired after the front edge of the paper comes into contact with the nip of the transporting roller while stopped (as required. If it is not curved, the thick paper fed out may not be detected by the detector, and slippage may be generated between the feeding roller and the paper.

The invention of the present application has been made in view of such a fact, and its technical problem is to improve a thick paper feeding cassette that accommodates thick paper such as official postcards, and in the case of thick paper such as official postcards, The paper sent out from the supply cassette is curved in the transport path as required.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to solve the above technical problem, in the thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention, a guide surface extending obliquely upward toward the downstream in the feeding direction is disposed on the downstream side in the feeding direction with respect to the separating means, and the feeding is performed. The thick paper is guided upward by the guide surface toward the downstream side in the feeding direction and abuts against the inner surface of the upper guide plate, whereby it is gradually curved upward from the front edge portion thereof and advanced. To configure.

That is, according to the present invention, as a thick paper feeding cassette that solves the above technical problem, the thick paper feeding cassette includes a feeding roller that acts on the uppermost paper of a plurality of papers stored in a stacked state in the feeding cassette. And a supply cassette receiving section, a pair of conveying rollers that are selectively rotated, and an upper guide plate that defines an upper side of a conveying path from the supply cassette receiving section to the conveying roller pair. A thick paper feeding cassette selectively mounted on a receiving portion, comprising a pair of separating means acting on both sides of the leading edge of a plurality of thick papers stored in a stacked state,
Each of the pair of separating means restricts the stop claw that presses the upper surface of the uppermost thick paper among the thick papers stored in the stacked state and the leading edge of the thick paper stored in the stacked state. And the uppermost thick sheet fed by the action of the feeding roller is moved along the lower surface of the restraining pawl, and is placed between the lower surface of the restraining pawl and the upper end of the regulating piece. In a thick paper feed cassette that is fed through a gap, a guide surface that extends upward toward the downstream in the feed direction is provided on the downstream side in the feed direction with respect to the separating means, and the thick paper that is fed is the guide surface. Is guided upward toward the downstream side in the supply direction and brought into contact with the inner surface of the upper guide plate, whereby it is gradually curved upward from the front edge portion thereof and advanced. A thick paper feed cassette having the above structure is provided.

[Action]

In the thick paper supply cassette of the present invention, thick paper such as official postcards sent from the thick paper supply cassette is
By the guide action of the guide surface that extends upward in the sheet feeding direction, the guide surface is inclined upward in the sheet feeding direction, the sheet is fed out, and the upper guide plate that regulates the upper side of the conveying path is contacted. They are touched and further forward. At this time, the thick paper is gradually curved upward from the front edge thereof. Thus, when the leading edge of thick paper is brought into contact with the nip of the pair of conveying rollers that are stopped,
It is possible to obtain a state in which the thick sheet is curved in a convex shape upward as required in the transport path.

After the leading edge of the thick paper is brought into contact with the stopped conveyance roller pair, it is necessary to bend the thick paper in a generally upward convex shape with a considerable force that overcomes the stiffness of the thick paper. Yes, it is therefore quite difficult to bend thick paper as desired. However, when the thick paper is brought into contact with the upper guide plate sequentially from its front edge,
The thick paper is gradually advanced from the front edge of the thick paper instead of being temporarily bent while moving the thick paper forward along the upper guide plate without completely stopping the advance of the thick paper. Since the sheet is pressed, the thick paper can be bent easily and stably.

Instead of disposing the guide surface extending obliquely upward toward the downstream side in the paper feeding direction in the thick paper supply cassette,
It may be arranged at the upstream end in the sheet feeding direction of the transport path (transport path defined between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate) provided in the copying machine housing. Then, the following problems occur. When a guide surface that extends obliquely upward toward the downstream in the paper feeding direction is arranged at the upstream end of the transport path, if a normal paper supply cassette containing normal paper is installed instead of the thick paper supply cassette, The normal paper fed from the normal paper supply cassette is also brought into contact with the inner surface of the upper guide plate due to the guiding action of the guide surface, and is gradually curved from the front edge thereof. However, compared to thick paper, normal paper has a considerably weak waist, and therefore, when it is made to abut against the inner surface of the upper guide plate and gradually bend from its front edge, the front edge becomes excessively curved, It is not uncommon for the leading edge to be directed upstream rather than downstream in the paper feeding direction, causing bending or jamming at the leading edge.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a part of a copying machine to which the preferred embodiment of the thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention is applied. The copier comprises a housing 2 (only part of which is shown in FIG. 1). An upper supply cassette receiving portion 4 and a lower supply cassette receiving portion 6 are arranged in the housing 2 at intervals in the vertical direction. The upper supply cassette receiving portion 4 includes a support member 8 having a front wall extending substantially vertically and a bottom wall extending slightly upward from the lower end of the front wall toward the right, and the support member 8. And a push-up mechanism 10 that acts on the installed cassette. The upper supply cassette receiver 4 further includes a driven delivery roller 12 rotatably disposed above the support member 8. The lower supply cassette receiving portion 6 also has substantially the same configuration as the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4, and is substantially vertically inclined from the lower end of the front wall and the lower end of the front wall to the right. A support member 14 having an extending bottom wall, and a lifting mechanism 16 acting on a supply cassette mounted on the support member 14.
And further includes a driven delivery roller 18 rotatably disposed above the support member 14.

An opening 20 is formed in the right side wall of the housing 2 so as to correspond to the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4, and an opening 22 is formed so as to correspond to the lower supply cassette receiving portion 6. A proper supply cassette is selectively attached to and detached from the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4 through the opening 20, and a proper supply cassette is selectively attached to and detached from the lower supply cassette receiving portion 6 through the opening 22. . In FIG. 1, a thick paper feeding cassette 24, which is a preferred embodiment of the thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention, is attached to the upper feeding cassette receiving portion 4, and a lower feeding cassette receiving portion 6 has a normal thickness. A normal paper supply cassette 26 containing paper is installed.

Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 1, a pair of conveying rollers 28 and 30 are also disposed in the housing 2. A transport path 36 is defined by the upper guide plate 32 and the lower guide plate 34 between the upper supply cassette receiver 4 and the transport roller pair 28. A transport path 38 is defined between the transport roller pair 28 and the transport roller pair 30 by a guide plate 35 and a guide plate 37. Further, a transport path 44 is defined between the lower supply cassette receiving portion 6 and the transport roller pair 30 by the upper guide plate 40 and the lower guide plate 42.

When thick paper is supplied from the thick paper supply cassette 24 attached to the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4, the feed roller 12 of the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4 is rotated in the arrow direction. The thick paper delivered from the thick paper supply cassette 24 by the action of the delivery roller 12 is advanced through the transport path 36, is curved in the transport path 36, and enters the nip of the pair of transport rollers 28 whose front edge is in a stopped state. They are brought into contact with each other (curvature of thick paper will be described in detail later). After that, the pair of transport rollers 28 and 30 are rotated in the arrow direction at a required timing,
The thick paper is conveyed through the conveyance path 38, and then is conveyed further downstream from the conveyance roller pair 30. At that time, a toner image is transferred from the surface of the photosensitive drum (not shown) to the surface of the thick paper, then the toner image is fixed on the surface of the thick paper, and then the thick paper having the fixed image is transferred from the housing 2. Is discharged. When the plain paper is supplied from the plain paper supply cassette 26 mounted on the lower supply cassette receiver 6, the feed roller 18 of the lower supply cassette receiver 6 is rotated in the arrow direction. The plain paper fed from the plain paper supply cassette 26 by the action of the feed roller 18 is advanced through the conveyance path 44, and its front edge is brought into contact with the nip of the conveyance roller pair 30 in the stopped state, and the conveyance path is conveyed. Bent at 44. Thereafter, the pair of transport rollers 30 is rotated in the direction of the arrow at a required timing, and the plain paper is transported further downstream from the pair of transport rollers 30. At that time, a toner image is transferred from the surface of the photosensitive drum (not shown) to the surface of the plain paper, then the toner image is fixed on the surface of the plain paper, and then the plain paper having the fixed image is transferred from the housing 2. Is discharged.

The configuration of the copying machine other than the thick paper supply cassette 24 is well known to those skilled in the art.
Therefore, detailed description of these configurations and operations will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2 together with FIG. 1, a thick paper feed cassette 2
4 will be described.
4 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 46 whose upper surface is open.
It is equipped with. The width of this case 46 (the dimension in the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is the same as the width of the other supply cassettes selectively attached to the upper supply cassette receiving portion 4 in the copying machine. It corresponds to the width of 4. In the left half of the case 46, the case 4
The upright restriction plate 4 is provided on the bottom wall 6 at a predetermined interval in the width direction.
8 and 50 are fixed. Such regulation plates 48 and 5
A mounting plate 52 is arranged between 0s. This board 52
In the thick paper feeding direction (direction from the lower side to the upper side in FIG. 2), the projections 54 and 56 projecting outward in the width direction are formed on both sides of the upstream end (the lower end in FIG. 2). The protrusions 54 and 56 are the restriction plates 48 and 5, respectively.
It is rotatably inserted in the hole formed in 0. Thus, the mounting plate 52 is mounted between the regulation plates 48 and 50 so as to be rotatable around the protrusions 54 and 56 extending in the width direction as the rotation centers. A notch 58 located at the center in the width direction is formed at the upstream end of the board 52, and the notch 5 is formed.
Rear end regulating pieces 60 and 6 projecting upward on both sides of
2 is formed. At the downstream end (upper end in FIG. 2) of the board 52, a hanging piece 64 is formed to hang downward as shown in FIG. A pair of friction members 66 are attached to the downstream end of the upper surface of the mounting plate 52 at intervals in the width direction. Friction member 66 may be conveniently formed from felt or the like having a high coefficient of friction.

Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 2, a push-up member 68 is also arranged in the illustrated thick paper feed cassette 24.
The push-up member 68 has a base portion 70 extending in the width direction and leg portions 72 and 74 extending in the downstream direction (upward in FIG. 2) from both ends of the base portion 70. A base portion 70 of the push-up member 68 is penetrated through a notch (not shown) formed in the lower end of the regulation plate 50, and the push-up member 68 is disposed so as to be rotatable around the base portion 70 as a swing center. One leg portion 72 of the push-up member 68 extends between the bottom wall of the case 46 and the riding plate 52.
The other leg portion 74 of the push-up member 68 extends outside the regulation plate 50 (right side in FIG. 2). Such leg 74
The bottom wall of the case 46 has an opening 7
6 is formed. When the thick paper feed cassette 24 is mounted on the upper feed cassette receiver 4 of the copying machine as required, the lifting mechanism 1 of the upper feed cassette receiver 4 is pushed.
0 acts on the tip end portion of the leg portion 74 of the push-up member 68 through the opening 76 of the case 46, and elastically biases the push-up member 68 in a direction in which the tip end portion of the leg portion 74 is raised. This elastic biasing action is transmitted to the riding plate 52 via the leg portion 72 of the pushing-up member 68, and the downstream side (upper part in FIG. 2) of the riding plate 52 is raised in the direction in which the projection 5
4 and 56 are elastically swung about the swivel center.

Continuing the description with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, movable members 82 and 84 are rotatably mounted on the outer surfaces of the restriction plates 48 and 50 via pins 78 and 80, respectively. Separation means 86 and 88 protruding inward in the width direction are formed at the downstream ends of the movable members 82 and 84 extending in the downstream direction along the outer side surfaces of the regulation plates 48 and 50. Separation means 86 and 8 that act on both sides of the leading edge of a plurality of thick paper sheets stacked in the thick paper feed cassette 24.
8 each have a stop claw 90, as clearly shown in FIG.
And a restriction piece 92. The stop claw 90 extends toward the downstream side with a slight downward inclination. A flexible sheet member 94 is attached to the lower surface of the restraining claw 90. The flexible sheet member 94 is projected to the downstream side somewhat beyond the stop claw 90. The restricting piece 92 has a main portion 96 that extends substantially vertically and an upper end portion 98 that extends upward with some inclination in the downstream direction. The upper end of the restricting piece 92 and the stop claw 90
The thickness between the flexible sheet member 94 and the flexible sheet member 94 attached to the lower surface of the sheet is approximately the same as the thickness of one sheet of thick paper (when the thick sheet is a postcard, it may be about 0.15 mm. ) A gap is formed. The swiveling of the movable members 82 and 84 with the pins 78 and 80 as the swiveling centers is the rising position shown in FIG. 3 and the position where the separating means 86 and 88 arranged at the downstream end are shown in FIG. To a somewhat lowered position from the lower position.

Thus, the illustrated thick paper feed cassette 24 has the following improvements in accordance with the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the supply cassette, the separating means acting on both sides of the leading edge of the sheet are generally located close to the front wall of the case. However, in the thick paper feeding cassette 24 constructed according to the present invention, the separating means 86 and 88 arranged at the downstream ends of the movable members 82 and 84 have the front wall 1 of the case 46.
00, and there is a gap between the separating means 86 and 88 and the front wall 100 of the case 46. A pair of columnar guide members 102 are formed on the inner surface of the front wall 100 of the case 46 at intervals in the width direction. The separating means 86 and 8 when viewed in the feeding direction of thick paper
The guide member 102 located on the downstream side of 8 is the case 46.
Is projected slightly beyond the front wall 100 of the above. A guide surface 104 is formed on the upper surface of the guide member 102 so as to extend upward toward the downstream side in the supply direction.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in the thick paper supply cassette 24 as described above, a plurality of thick papers 106, which are, for example, official postcards, are allowed to be stacked to form a stack on the board 52. Placed on. Both side edges of the thick paper 106 are positioned adjacent to the regulation plates 48 and 50, a front edge thereof is positioned adjacent to the main portion 96 of the regulation piece 92 of the separating means 86 and 88, and a rear edge thereof is mounted. 52
Is positioned adjacent to the restriction pieces 60 and 62 formed at the upstream end of the sheet, and thus the thick paper 106 in the stacked state.
The position of is regulated as required. Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 1 together with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a thick paper feeding cassette 2 containing a plurality of stacked thick papers 106
4 is mounted on the upper cassette receiving portion 4 of the copying machine as required, the push-up mechanism 10 of the upper cassette receiving portion 4 is pushed.
However, it acts on the loading plate 52 via the push-up member 68 of the thick paper supply cassette 24, and the downstream portion of the loading plate 52 is raised. Thus, as clearly shown in FIG. 3, the upper front end of the uppermost thick paper 106 among the stacked thick papers 106 is pressed against the feed roller 12 of the upper supply cassette receiver 4. Further, the upper side front end both sides of the uppermost thick paper 106 of the stacked thick paper 106 are pressed against the flexible sheet member 94 attached to the lower surfaces of the stoppers 90 of the separating means 86 and 88. (The movable members 82 and 84 having the separating means 86 and 88 formed at the downstream ends are brought to the raised position shown in FIG. 3 by such pressing).

When the delivery roller 12 is driven to rotate in the arrow direction,
The highest thick paper 1 of the thick paper 106 in the stacked state
06 is sent in the supply direction (leftward in FIG. 3). The uppermost thick paper 106 sent out is moved along the flexible sheet member 94 attached to the lower surface of the stopper claw 92 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It is made to incline slightly downward toward and reaches the guide surface 104 through the gap between the flexible sheet member 94 and the upper end 98 of the restriction piece 92. Since the guide surface 104 extends obliquely upward toward the downstream side in the feeding direction, the traveling direction of the fed thick paper 106 is changed by the guiding action of the guide surface 104, and the thick paper 10
6 is made to advance in the direction inclined upward toward the downstream in the supply direction. The thick paper 106 whose traveling direction has been changed is then brought into contact with the upper guide plate 32,
Due to this, it is gradually curved from its front edge and is advanced along the guide plate 32. The bending of the thick paper 106 does not mean that the entire leading edge of the thick paper 106 is temporarily bent after the leading edge of the thick paper 106 comes into contact with the conveyance roller pair 28 in a stopped state. Since it is gradually generated from the leading edge of the thick paper 106 while being advanced, it can be realized easily and stably regardless of the waist strength of the thick paper 106. After the leading edge of the thick paper 106 is brought into contact with the nip of the conveyance roller pair 28 in the stopped state, the rotation of the delivery roller 12 is stopped. Then, the rotation driving of the pair of conveying rollers 28 and 30 is started with the required tining, and the thick paper 106 is conveyed further downstream.

When the normal paper supply cassette is attached to the upper cassette receiving portion 4 instead of the thick paper supply cassette 24, the normal paper supply cassette is provided with a guide surface extending obliquely upward toward the downstream in the supply direction. Therefore, the fed regular paper is generally advanced without abutting the upper guide plate 32, and its leading edge is abutted on the nip of the conveying roller pair 28 which is in a stopped state, and thereafter. The end portion is further advanced so that it is bent.

[Effect of device]

According to the thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention, even if the fed paper is a thick paper such as a postcard, the thick paper fed out can be easily and stably curved in the transport path as required. To be

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing a part of a copying machine to which a preferred embodiment of a thick paper feeding cassette of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the thick paper supply cassette illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the thick paper feed cassette illustrated in FIG. 1. 2 ... Housing 4 ... Upper side cassette receiving part 12 ... Sending roller 24 ... Thick sheet feeding cassette 28 ... Conveying roller pair 32 ... Upper guide plate 34 ... Lower guide plate 36 ... Conveyance path 48 ... ... Regulating plate 50 ...... Regulating plate 52 ...... Mounting plate 82 ...... Movable member 84 ...... Movable member 86 ...... Separating means 88 ...... Separating means 90 ...... Stop claw 92 ...... Regulating piece 94 ...... Flexibility Sheet member 102 ... Guide member 104 ... Guide surface 106 ... Thick paper

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A supply cassette receiving section having a feed roller that acts on the uppermost sheet of a plurality of sheets stored in a stack state in a supply cassette, and a pair of conveying rollers that are selectively driven to rotate. A thick paper supply cassette selectively mounted in the supply cassette receiving portion in a copying machine having an upper guide plate that defines an upper side of a conveying path from the supply cassette receiving portion to the conveying roller pair. A pair of separating means that act on both sides of the leading edge of the plurality of thick sheets stored in the stacked state, each of the pair of separating means being the topmost one of the thick sheets stored in the stacked state. Of the thick paper is composed of a stop claw that presses the upper surface of the thick paper and a restricting piece that restricts the leading edge of the thick paper stored in a stacked state, and is sent by the action of the sending roller. In a thick paper feed cassette in which the upper thick paper is moved along the lower surface of the restraining pawl and is sent out through a gap between the lower surface of the restraining pawl and the upper end of the restriction piece, in a feeding direction rather than the separating means. On the downstream side, a guide surface that is inclined upward toward the downstream in the supply direction is provided, and the thick paper to be fed is guided upward by the guide surface toward the downstream in the supply direction, and the inner surface of the upper guide plate is provided. A thick paper feeding cassette, characterized in that the thick paper feeding cassette is configured to be abutted against the front edge of the sheet, and thereby to be gradually curved upward from the front edge portion thereof to be advanced.