JPH07206172A - Paper sheet regulating mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly move a paper sheet regulating plate even by small force, more easily execute a paper sheet exchange work, and surely prevent dislocation of the paper sheet. CONSTITUTION:This paper sheet regulating mechanism is provided with a regulating guide plate 2 positioned under a bottom plate 111 loading a paper sheet and formed with a slit 3 of prescribed width, a paper sheet regulating part 112b contacted with the paper sheet, a stepped roller 4 provided on the lower end of the paper sheet regulating part 112b and loosely fitted therein easily movably in the slit 3, a roller 11 connected to the center of the lower part of the paper sheet regulating plate 112 and rotatably contacted onto the regulating guide plate 2, a slip preventing member 9 capable of fixing the paper sheet regulating plate 112 on the optional place, and the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet regulation mechanism in a sheet feeding cassette for storing sheets for copying, which is provided in a copying machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a copying machine or the like is often provided with several sheet feeding cassettes as shown in FIG. 2 in order to accommodate sheets of plural sizes at the same time.
These paper feed cassettes are roughly classified into a type in which the size of paper that can be stored is fixed and a type in which the size of paper that can be stored can be freely set.

A copying machine 101 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a paper feed cassette of the latter type, and will be referred to in FIG.
The configuration of the paper feeding cassette of this conventional copying machine will be described with reference to FIG.

2 is a partially cutaway sectional view of the main body when the copying machine 101 is viewed from the right side, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the paper feed cassette shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the first paper feed cassette 105
Is a paper feed cassette capable of accommodating any size of paper 104 of A3 to B5 size, and is provided slidably in a substantially central portion of the copying machine 101, and the front panel 103 is provided. Is attached to the front side of the first paper feed cassette 105, and is operated by the operator in the copying machine 1
01 is a front cover having a handle portion 103a used when pulling out the first paper feed cassette 105 to the front side while standing in front of 01. In a portion of the first paper feed cassette 105 for storing the paper 104, a bottom plate 111 for placing the paper 104, which will be described later, and a horizontal plate for preventing misalignment of the paper 104 in a direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction are described. A pair of paper regulating plates 112 and the like that are movable in the direction are arranged.

The second sheet feeding cassette 106 and the third sheet feeding cassette 107 also have the same construction as the first sheet feeding cassette 105, and are slidably provided below the first sheet feeding cassette 105, respectively. There is.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the bottom plate 111 is a plate for setting the paper 104, and has a pair of openings 114 at predetermined positions. The paper regulating plate 112 has a side surface of a substantially “L” shape, a part of its horizontal portion projects long, and a rack portion 112 a is formed on one side thereof, while the other side,
The paper regulating portion 112 b corresponding to the vertical portion of the “L” shape on the paper regulating plate 112 is arranged at a position penetrating the opening 114. Further, the pair of paper regulating plates 112 are configured such that the respective paper regulating portions 112b face each other and part of the rack portions 112a face each other.

The pinion portion 113 is rotatably disposed between the rack portions 112a having the opposing portions as described above, and the pinion portions 113 are completely meshed with each other without idling, and the pinion portion 113 is in the sheet feeding direction. Both of the pair of paper regulating plates 112 are configured to be movable in the orthogonal direction by the same distance.

In each of the sheet feeding cassettes having the sheet regulating mechanism constructed as described above, for example, the first sheet feeding cassette 1
05 is A4 size, and the second sheet feeding cassette 106 is B
If A4 size paper is already stored in the fourth size and the third paper feed cassette 107 and the operator wants to change the size of the already stored paper, the following operation is usually performed. Done.

That is, the operator inserts the B4 size paper 104 stored in the second paper feed cassette 106 into
Trying to change to a new B5 size, the handle 103
Put your hand on a and pull out the second paper feed cassette 106 toward you (see FIG. 2). Second paper cassette 1 pulled out
After removing the B4 size paper 104 stored in advance in 06, a predetermined amount of the B5 size paper 104 is placed on the bottom plate 111, which is substantially in the middle of the pair of paper regulating plates 112 shown in FIG. Then, in order to narrow the distance between the pair of paper regulating plates 112 in accordance with the paper width, each paper regulating portion 11
2b is manually moved in a direction opposite to each other with a predetermined force, and stopped at a position corresponding to the width of the B5 size sheet. As a result, the position of the B5 size sheet 104 can be properly regulated.

As described above, in principle, the paper regulating mechanism can prevent the positional deviation of the paper 104 during the copying operation, and further, when the paper 104 is replaced, the paper regulating plate 1
Conflicting functions are required, such as the ability to move 12 manually.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the paper 1
Even if the sheet regulating plate 112 is configured to be as hard to move as possible to prevent the positional deviation of 04, it is necessary to manually move the sheet by applying a predetermined force. There is a limit, and for example, in the case where an excessive impact is applied to the copying machine 101 when the paper cassette is taken in and out, the reaction rarely exceeds the above-mentioned predetermined force by the reaction, so that the paper regulation plate 112.
The paper 104 is displaced from the predetermined position,
In some cases, normal copy operation could not be performed.

As a method of solving the problem, the paper regulating plate 1
In order to more securely fix 12 so as not to move, a sheet regulating plate 112 provided with a lock mechanism has been proposed and used. As a result, when the paper 104 is replaced, the paper regulating plate 112 can be manually moved as in the conventional case by releasing the lock mechanism.
Moreover, during the copy operation, the movement of the sheet regulation plate 112 is locked, and the deviation of the sheet 104 can be reliably prevented.

[0014]

However, in such a structure, since attention has been paid only to the enhancement of the deviation prevention function of the sheet 104, the sheet regulation such as the replacement of the sheet 104, which is a contradictory function, has been noticed. Board 112
The manual movement of the above is dealt with only to the extent that it can be moved anyway, and a potential demand of the user to make the movement of the paper regulation plate 112 smoother is possible. It had been ignored.

Therefore, it is sufficient that the sheet 104 is securely fixed only when the sheet 104 is not replaced and the positional deviation does not occur. Regulation plate 11
The idea of allowing the 2 to move smoothly with a little force was not in a situation where it was born at all.

For this reason, the user still has a problem that the movement of the sheet regulating plate 112 makes it difficult to change the sheet.

In consideration of such a problem of the conventional paper regulating mechanism, the present invention allows the upper plate-like portion (for example, the paper regulating plate) to be moved smoothly even with a little force, and the paper can be further improved as compared with the conventional paper. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet regulation mechanism that can be easily replaced and that can reliably prevent positional deviation of sheets.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper regulation mechanism in a paper feed cassette for accommodating paper,
Below the bottom plate on which the paper is placed, a regulation guide plate formed with a slit having a predetermined width, an upper plate-shaped portion with which the paper abuts, and a slit provided on the lower end of the upper plate-shaped portion A lower guided portion that is loosely fitted so as to be easily movable to a roller, a roller connected to the upper plate-shaped portion or the lower guided portion, and rotatably abutted on the regulation guide plate; A sheet regulation mechanism including a locking means capable of fixing the upper plate-shaped portion to a regulation guide plate at an arbitrary place.

[0019]

In the present invention, the regulation guide plate is below the bottom plate on which the paper is placed and has a slit of a predetermined width.
The paper comes into contact with the upper plate-shaped portion, and the lower guided portion is
It is provided at the lower end of the upper plate-like portion and is loosely fitted in the slit so as to be easily movable. The roller is connected to the upper plate-shaped portion or the lower guided portion,
It is rotatably abutted on the regulation guide plate, and the locking means can fix the upper plate-shaped portion to the regulation guide plate at any place. Thereby, for example, a sheet of a predetermined size is placed on the bottom plate, the upper plate-shaped portion that can be smoothly moved is brought into contact with the sheet of the predetermined size by the rotation of the roller, and thereafter the plate-shaped portion of the plate-shaped portion is locked by the locking means. Fixed.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view for explaining the structure of a sheet regulating mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is the sheet shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the regulating mechanism as viewed along arrow A, and the configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to this figure. Since the sheet regulation mechanism of this embodiment has an axially symmetrical shape with the sheet feeding direction as the axis of symmetry, FIG. 1A shows only one side of the symmetrical shape.
Those having the same functions as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the bottom plate 111 is
A plate for setting the sheet 104, and the sheet feeding direction at the central portion thereof is shown as a symmetry axis (in the figure, a symmetry axis 1 is shown as a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. Since the structure is the same even if it is described as being axially symmetric, the following description will be made using the axis of symmetry 1). The regulation guide plate 2 is the bottom plate 1.
11 and has a slit 3 of a predetermined width at a position substantially corresponding to the position of the opening 114.
Reference numeral 12 is substantially L-shaped, and a stepped roller 4 having a concentric step is rotatably attached by a holding pin 5 to the center of the bottom surface of the horizontal portion thereof. The portion 112a (not shown) is also provided similarly to the conventional one. In addition, the paper regulating portion 11 as the upper plate-like portion of the present invention in the substantially "L" vertical portion of the paper regulating plate 112.
The reference numeral 2b penetrates through the opening 114 and projects further upward from the upper surface of the bottom plate 111. The side surface on the side facing the axis of symmetry 1 abuts the end surface of the sheet 104 and regulates the position of the sheet 104. It is for. Further, a bracket 6, which is a part of the locking means of the present invention, is formed by cutting and raising from the center of the side surface toward the direction opposite to the symmetry axis 1 at the center of the side surface of the sheet regulating portion 112b. Here, the horizontal portion of the paper regulating plate 112 and the stepped roller 4 attached to the central portion of the bottom surface thereof correspond to the lower guided portion of the present invention. On the upper portion of the bracket 6, there is rotatably held by a rotary shaft 7a a lever 7 having a substantially "V" shape which is bent at an obtuse angle to the side opposite to the paper regulating portion 112b. The operator has a protective portion 8 as a portion to be picked by a finger, and a rubber non-slip member 9 is attached to the lower end portion on the opposite side.
The anti-slip member 9 is in surface contact with the regulation guide plate 2 and can fix the sheet regulation plate 112 at an arbitrary position. A lock spring 10 for constantly urging the anti-slip member 9 against the surface of the regulation guide plate 2 is attached to the center of the lever 7 below the rotary shaft 7a, and the other end of the lock spring 10 is attached to the sheet. It is fixed to the restriction portion 112b. Further, a pair of rollers 11 is rotatably provided on the lower portion of the bracket 6 by a roller rotation shaft 11a, and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 11 slightly protrudes from the bottom surface of the horizontal portion of the paper regulating plate 112 by a predetermined dimension. ing.
In this state, when the stepped portion 4a of the stepped roller 4 is slidably fitted in the slit 3 and the anti-slip member 9 is not pressed against the surface of the regulation guide plate 2, that is, the lock is released. In the released state, the slit 3
Is slidable in the direction of (the direction of arrow B or arrow C shown in FIG. 1B). Here, the locking means of the present invention includes the lever 7, the anti-slip member 9, the lock spring 10 and the like. Here, FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of the stepped roller 4 of FIG.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

For example, when the operator wants to change the size of the paper 104 to be stored in the paper feed cassette from A4 size to B5 size, first, all the A4 size paper 104 already stored is taken out. Then, a predetermined amount of the B5 size paper 104 is placed on the bottom plate 111, which is substantially in the middle of the pair of paper regulating plates 112. Then, in order to narrow the distance between the pair of paper regulating portions 112b in accordance with the paper width, the fingertips are moved in the direction of approaching the paper regulating portion 112b to the protective portion 8 attached to each paper regulating plate 112 (direction of arrow D). Etc. The locked state of the sheet regulating plate 112 due to the anti-slip member 9 and the like is released only while the protective portion 8 is being picked up. Towards 1 (Fig. 1
As the paper regulating plate 112 shown in (a), the roller 1 can be slid by sliding it in the direction of arrow C shown in FIG.
1 rotates the surface of the regulation guide plate 2 and can move smoothly. Both of the paper regulating portions 112 are provided at the end of the paper 104.
After confirming that b is correctly abutted, the finger is removed from the protection portion 8. When the finger is released, the lever 7 rotates in the direction of arrow E by the restoring force of the lock spring 10, and the surface of the anti-slip member 9 is again biased by the surface of the regulation guide plate 2 with a predetermined force, and the The movement of the sheet regulation plate 112 is blocked by frictional force or the like.

In this way, the width adjustment of the paper regulating plate 112 is completed, the width of the paper 104 can be adjusted by the action of the roller 11 and the like, which is much smoother than the conventional one, and the paper regulating plate is locked by the locking means. However, it is securely fixed only when necessary, and the misalignment of the sheet 104 does not occur.

Although the roller of the present invention has been described in the above embodiment as being attached to the paper regulating portion 112b, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is attached to the bottom surface side of the horizontal portion of the paper regulating plate 112. But of course

Further, the upper plate-shaped portion and the lower guided portion of the present invention, in the above-mentioned embodiment, are substantially "L" -shaped paper regulating plates 11.
Although the case of having an integral structure as 2 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and of course, each may have a separate structure.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a copying machine, but can be applied to any device as long as it has a paper regulating mechanism such as a printer.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description,
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has the advantages that the upper plate-shaped portion can be moved smoothly even with a little force, the paper replacement work can be performed more easily than before, and the positional deviation of the paper can be reliably prevented. .

[Brief description of drawings]

1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sheet regulating mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a direction of an arrow A around the stepped roller portion of FIG. 1A. Schematic plan view seen in

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional view of a main body of a conventional copying machine when viewed from the right side.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the paper feeding cassette shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 symmetry axis 2 regulation guide plate 3 slit 4 stepped roller 5 retaining pin 6 bracket 7 lever 7a rotating shaft 8 protective portion 9 anti-slip member 10 lock spring 11 roller 11a roller rotating shaft 101 copying machine 103 front panel 103a handle portion 104 paper 105 First sheet feeding cassette 106 Second sheet feeding cassette 107 Third sheet feeding cassette 111 Bottom plate 112 Paper regulating plate 112a Rack portion 112b Paper regulating portion 113 Pinion portion 114 Opening portion

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Arihiro Tsunoda 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Mita Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper regulation mechanism in a paper feed cassette for accommodating paper, wherein the paper is in contact with a regulation guide plate below a bottom plate on which the paper is placed and having a slit of a predetermined width. An upper plate-shaped portion that contacts, a lower guided portion that is provided at the lower end of the upper plate-shaped portion and that is loosely fitted so as to be easily movable in the slit, and the upper plate-shaped portion or the lower guided portion. A roller that is connected and rotatably abuts on the regulation guide plate; and a locking means that can fix the upper plate-shaped portion to the regulation guide plate at an arbitrary position. Paper regulation mechanism.