JPH07117863A - Paper feeding mechanism for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To precisely discriminate a size of paper sheet set in a paper feeding tray without costing much labor in and time, CONSTITUTION:A moving shaft 14 is arranged in the end part, of a paper guide 5, the moving shaft 14 is interlocked with a cam 15, the cam 15 and a gear 16 are combined for converting the sliding motion of the paper guide 5 into the rotary motion, and a paper size indicating plate 17 is connected to the rotary shaft of the gear 16. The paper size indicating plate 17 is formed into a disk, in which letters A3, B4, A4 are indicated on its side face, and the letters are arranged in such relation that the letter A4 is positioned in the front when the paper guide 5 is positioned in the A4 position, while these letters can be seen from the outside through a window 12 arranged on the side face of a paper feeding tray 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed mechanism for a printer or a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is an external view of a printer having a paper feed tray 3 built therein. The upper part is the printing part 1 and the lower part is the paper feed part 2. The paper 4 is placed on the paper feed tray 3 having a shape like a drawer, set, and the whole paper feed tray 3 is inserted into the paper feed part 2. It has a built-in structure.

FIG. 3 shows the paper feed tray 3.
Since the paper guide 5 for fixing the paper is supported by the two shafts 6, the paper guide 5 has a structure in which the position can be adjusted according to the size of the paper, and can accommodate paper of any size.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the B4 size paper 4 is actually stored in the paper feed tray 3.

In addition, there is generally known a method in which a paper guide 5 can be slid by using a gear or the like so that a paper of an arbitrary size can be accommodated.

In the case of the paper feed tray capable of handling paper of any size as described above, the following method is known as means for knowing the size of the set paper.

A method of directly checking the internal state by pulling out the paper feed tray.

As shown in FIG. 5, a sheet size sensor 7 and a sheet remaining amount sensor 8 are provided inside the sheet feed tray 3 to detect the state of the sheet. Known types of sensors include a contact reaction type that senses whether or not a sheet is in contact, and a light reaction type that senses a position by blocking light from the sheet. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the information detected by the sensors 7 and 8 is converted into an electric signal and sent to an electronic display board 9 on the upper part of the printer for display.

As shown in FIG. 7, a label 10 is provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray 3 to indicate the size of the paper 4 being set.
How to display using.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned prior art, if the paper feed tray is pulled out to check the internal state to check the state of the paper, it takes a lot of time and labor. I will end up.

In the case of the method of providing the sensor, the structure becomes complicated and the cost becomes high. Further, since the display method is indirect, it may not be displayed accurately due to variations in the sensitivity of the sensor and circuit defects. In addition, the information on the paper is unknown unless the power is turned on.

In the case of the method of displaying by label, it is troublesome to replace the label every time the paper size is changed, and there is a possibility that the replacement may be forgotten.

In view of the above problems, the present invention has as its object the realization of a method capable of accurately identifying the size of the paper set in the paper feed tray at any time and without any trouble. .

[0014]

A feature of the present invention is that a cam is attached to a part of a paper guide, and a sliding motion of the paper guide is converted into a rotary motion by combining the cam and a gear to form a gear and a disk shape. A paper size display plate is provided on the same rotation axis to link with the movement of the paper guide, the side of the paper size display plate displays the size of the paper corresponding to the position of the paper guide, and the side of the paper feed tray displays the paper size. Provide a window so that the side of the display board can be seen directly from the outside, and make the paper size display on the side of the paper size display board that matches the stored paper, or use a pulley on a part of the paper guide. Connect the belts supported by
Converts the slide movement of the paper guide to the reciprocating movement of the belt, displays the paper size corresponding to the position of the paper guide on the belt surface, and the paper size display surface of the belt can be seen directly from the outside on the side of the paper feed tray. A window so that the paper size indication on the surface of the belt visible from this window matches the stored paper, or a window is provided on the paper tray that is always in contact with the edges of the paper, The direction is from the smallest to the largest paper size that can be stored, and from the maximum to the zero paper amount in the vertical direction. Either have a shape that can be seen directly, or make the length of the paper guide the same as the side surface of the paper feed tray and make contact with the two opposite side surfaces of the paper feed tray, with a window on the two side surfaces. Installation, windows Is that made it possible to see the position of the Luo paper guide directly.

[0015]

Function: The size of the paper set in the paper feed tray can be directly identified from the outside.

[0016]

2 is an external view of a printer to which the present invention is applied. The printer has a configuration in which the printing unit 1 and the paper feed unit 2 are vertically overlapped with each other, and the paper 4 can be set in the drawer-shaped paper feed tray 3, and the paper feed tray 3 can be built in the paper feed unit 2, so The paper tray 3 does not stick out and has an excellent space-saving structure.

There are two paper feed trays 3, which can store two kinds of papers at the same time, and the papers 4 can be switched according to a print instruction.

FIG. 8 shows the flow of the paper 4 inside the printer (in this figure, the flow of the paper 4 from the lower paper feed tray 3 is particularly shown). The paper 4 placed on the paper feed tray 3 is sent to the upper printing unit 1 by the roller 11 to be printed, and then discharged from the upper part.

FIG. 1 shows the details of the paper feed tray 3 of the present invention. Since the left and right paper guides 5 are provided with holes and supported by the shaft 6 passing therethrough, they can freely slide in the arrow direction. How to set the paper
First, the paper is arranged so as to be aligned with the paper positioning line 13, and then the paper guide 5 is slid and fixed so as to fit both widths of the paper. The paper feed tray 3 can handle paper of three sizes A3, B4, and A4. A moving shaft 14 is provided at an end portion of the paper guide 5, and the moving shaft 14 is used for the cam 1.
5, the cam 15 and the gear 16 are combined to convert the sliding motion of the paper guide 5 into the rotary motion,
A paper size display plate 17 is connected to the rotation axis of the. The paper size display plate 17 has a disk shape and has A3, B4, A4 on the side surfaces.
The characters are written so that when the paper guide 5 is at the position A4, the character A4 is in the front position. These characters are displayed on the side of the paper feed tray 3 through the window. The size of the paper set in the paper feed tray 3 is
Can be directly identified from the outside.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG.
By using the belt 18, the paper size display plate 19 can be provided on any side surface of the paper feed tray 3, so that the paper size can be confirmed from any direction of the printer.

FIG. 10 shows the details of the paper feed tray 3 of another embodiment. The paper guide 5 is provided not only on both sides of the paper but also in the longitudinal direction. This paper guide 5
Is connected to a belt 18 supported by a pulley 19, and when the paper guide 5 is slid, the belt 18 also reciprocates. A window 12 is provided on the side of the paper feed tray 3 so that the belt can be seen directly, and the size of the paper corresponding to the position of the paper guide 5 is displayed on the surface of the belt 18 seen through the window 12. The size and remaining amount of the sheets set in 3 can be directly identified from the outside.

FIG. 11 shows the details of the paper feed tray 3 of another embodiment. A window 12 is provided on the side surface of the paper feed tray 3 which is always in contact with the end surface of the paper. Window 12
The paper size is from A4 to A3 in the left-right direction,
In the vertical direction, the end of the topmost sheet 4 of the sheets 4 stacked and stored can be seen from the outside from the maximum remaining sheet amount to zero. Depending on the position of this corner, the paper 4 set in the paper feed tray 3
The size of can be identified directly from the outside.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the window 12. The window 12 is provided with a display showing the size and remaining amount of the paper 4.
When (a) the paper size is B4 and the remaining amount of paper is about half, (b) the paper size is A4 and the remaining amount of paper is the maximum, and (c) shows the paper size is A3 and the remaining amount of paper is If there is almost no, it means.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the shape of the paper guide is the same as the side surface of the paper feed tray,
That is, if the paper tray is shaped so as to come into contact with two facing side surfaces and windows are provided on both side surfaces, the paper size can be identified from both sides of the printer.

The present invention can be applied not only to printers but also to all products having a paper feeding mechanism such as copying machines.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the cam is attached to a part of the paper guide, and the sliding motion of the paper guide is converted into the rotary motion by combining the cam and the gear, so that the gear and the disk shape are changed. The same paper size display plate is installed on the same rotation axis and linked with the movement of the paper guide, the side of the paper size display plate displays the size of the paper corresponding to the position of the paper guide, and the side of the paper feed tray displays the paper size. Provide a window so that the side of the size display plate can be seen directly from the outside, and make sure that the paper size display on the side of the paper size display plate that is visible from this window matches the stored paper, or as a part of the paper guide. By connecting the belt supported by the pulley, the sliding movement of the paper guide is converted into the reciprocating movement of the belt, and the size of the paper corresponding to the position of the paper guide is displayed on the belt surface. Provide a window on the side of the paper tray so that the paper size display surface of the belt can be seen directly from the outside so that the paper size display on the belt surface visible from this window matches the stored paper, or A window is provided on the side where the sides of the paper always contact with each other, and the windows are stacked and stored in the left and right direction from the smallest to largest size of paper that can be stored, and the vertical direction from the maximum to zero remaining paper size. The shape of the top edge of the loaded paper can be viewed directly from the outside, or the length of the paper guide can be the same as the side of the paper tray, It has a shape that touches one side, and a window is provided on the above two sides so that you can directly see the position of the paper guide from the window, so you can pull out the paper feed tray from the paper feed section, expensive sensors etc. Use various parts Or, even without the work such replace the label during the paper size change, the size of the paper loaded on the paper feed tray,
Can be directly identified from the outside.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a detailed view of a paper feed tray to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a paper feed tray having a conventional configuration.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a paper feed tray (a state in which paper is stored) according to a conventional configuration.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a paper feed tray provided with a sensor having a conventional configuration.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display by an electronic display board having a conventional configuration.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a paper feed tray in which a paper size is labeled with a conventional configuration.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of paper in a printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of a paper feed tray of another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a paper feed tray of another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a paper feed tray of another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a window of a paper feed tray of another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a paper feed tray of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Printing unit, 2 ... Paper feeding unit, 3 ... Paper feeding tray, 4 ... Paper,
5 ... Paper guide, 6 ... Axis, 7 ... Paper size sensor, 8
... Paper remaining amount sensor, 9 ... Lightning display board, 10 ... Label,
11 ... Roller, 12 ... Window, 13 ... Paper positioning line, 1
4 ... Moving shaft, 15 ... Cam, 16 ... Gear, 17 ... Paper size display board, 18 ... Belt, 19 ... Pulley.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit for performing printing on paper, a paper feed unit for feeding the paper, a paper feed tray for housing the paper contained in the paper feed unit, and a fixed position of the paper in the paper feed tray. And a paper guide that has a slide mechanism, and its position can be freely adjusted according to the size of the paper. A cam is attached, and the cam and gear are combined to convert the sliding movement of the paper guide into rotational movement.A gear and a disk-shaped paper size display plate are provided on the same rotary shaft to interlock with the movement of the paper guide. The side of the paper size display plate displays the size of the paper corresponding to the position of the paper guide, and the side of the paper tray has a window through which the side of the paper size display plate can be seen directly from the outside. Paper size indicator on the side of the paper size indicator that matches the size of the stored paper. 2. The belt according to claim 1, wherein a belt supported by a pulley is connected to a part of the paper guide, and the sliding movement of the paper guide is converted into a reciprocating movement of the belt. The size of the corresponding paper is displayed, a window is provided on the side of the paper feed tray so that the paper size display surface of the belt can be seen directly from the outside, and the paper size display of the belt surface visible from this window is stored. A paper feeding mechanism of a printer, which is characterized in that they match each other. 3. The paper guide feed tray according to claim 1, wherein a window is provided on a surface of the paper guide paper feed tray which is always in contact with a side of the paper, and the window is vertically opened and closed from the smallest to the largest storable paper size. The paper feed mechanism of the printer is characterized in that the direction is such that the edge of the topmost sheet of the sheets stacked and stored can be seen directly from the outside when the remaining amount of sheets is from zero to zero. . 4. The paper guide according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the length of the paper guide is the same as the side surface of the paper feed tray, and the paper guide is in contact with two facing side surfaces of the paper feed tray. Is a paper feed mechanism for a printer, which has a window so that the position of the paper guide can be seen directly from the window.