JPH0750348Y2 - Paper feed mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial field of application" The present invention is configured such that sheets can be fed one by one into a main body of an apparatus such as a copying machine or a printing machine by using a removable paper feed table. The present invention relates to a paper feed mechanism, and more particularly to a paper feed mechanism capable of feeding a plurality of types of paper.

“Prior Art” Conventionally, there is known a manual paper feeding mechanism that can feed paper of any size, for example, a paper width adjusting guide, and this kind of paper feeding mechanism is generally installed in a main body of a printing machine or the like. A detachably mounted paper feed tray, a paper feed roller pivotally supported at a predetermined position in the main body of the apparatus so as to face the tip end side of the top surface of the paper feed tray, and a tip end side of the paper feed tray as a paper feed roller. A paper width adjusting device having a contacting / separating means for contacting / separating, first depositing sheets on the upper surface of the sheet feeding table with the sheet feeding table separated from the sheet feeding roller, and then providing the sheet on the upper surface of the sheet feeding table. Position with the guide,
Next, by using the contacting / separating means, the paper is pressed against the peripheral surface of the feeding roller, and then the paper feeding roller is rotated so that the paper can be fed into the apparatus main body while sequentially pulling the paper from the paper feeding table. I am configuring.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] The contacting / separating means is divided into a means for automatically contacting / separating by using an actuator and a means for manually contacting / separating by using a lever member or the like. However, since the automatic contacting / separating means is configured to operate the actuator or the like in conjunction with the print start signal, for example, the control circuit and the structure are inevitably complicated, which goes against the demand for size reduction as well as cost increase. .

For this reason, in recent years, the demand has rapidly expanded, and in small and inexpensive printers and the like, manual contacting / separating means using a lever member or the like is used without using such automatic contacting / separating means. .

However, in the conventionally known manual contacting / separating means, generally, the paper feed tray and the contacting / separating means such as the lever member are separately configured, and the operation direction of the lever member corresponds to the sheet contacting / separating direction. Since it is often set in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction, a space for operating the lever member is required, and the occupied space is inevitably large, which does not necessarily meet the demand for downsizing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet feeding mechanism which has a simple structure and can meet the demand for a small size, and further has good operability.

"Means for Solving the Problem" The present invention is, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed roller 3 provided in an apparatus main body 1 for forming an image.
And a paper feed table 2 which is mounted on the apparatus main body 1 and is swingably supported in a direction toward and away from the paper feed roller 3 about a fulcrum 4 provided at a predetermined position. The mechanism includes a lever member 6 movably provided along the side surface of the paper feed tray 2 via an elastic member 5, and a locking member 7 provided in the apparatus main body 1. By swinging the paper tray 2 in a direction of separating from the paper feed roller 3, the locking member 7 and the elastic member 5 are engaged with each other by the elastic force, and the paper feed tray 2 is held by the paper feed roller 3.
The lever member 6 is held at a position away from the lever member 6 and is in an engaged state with the locking member 7.
Is disengaged from the locking member 7 by moving it against the elastic force of the elastic member 5, and the paper feed table 2 is allowed to swing in the direction approaching the paper feed roller 3 due to its own weight. We propose a paper feed mechanism characterized by being configured as described above.

[Operation] Therefore, according to such a sheet feeding mechanism, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the sheet feeding table 2 is pivotally supported by the sheet feeding port 8 in the apparatus main body 1 via the fulcrum 4. After that, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the lever member 6 is swung in the direction in which the paper feeding table 2 is separated from the paper feeding roller 3, so that the lever member 6 is locked.
And the position is maintained by the elastic force of the elastic member 5.

Then, in this state, after the sheets 9 are deposited on the paper feed tray 2, the paper feed tray 2 is resisted against the elastic force as shown in FIG. 2 (C).
By moving the lever member 6 in parallel along a plane substantially parallel to the upper surface, the engagement is released, and the sheet weight of the sheet feed table 2 itself automatically approaches the sheet feed roller 3 side. Is pressed against the paper feed roller 3.

And by rotating the paper feed roller 3 in this state,
The paper 9 can be fed into the apparatus main body 1 while sequentially pulling out the paper 9 from the paper feed table 2.

Then, in order to run out of paper or replace paper of a different size and perform feeding again, the operation shown in FIGS. 2B to 2C may be repeated.

Therefore, according to such a technical means, the lever member 6 is configured to be movable not in the contacting / separating direction of the sheet feeding roller 3 but on a surface substantially parallel to the upper surface of the sheet feeding table 2, and therefore, for example, the lever is used. The member 6 can be arranged on the back side of the paper feed table 2, and the lever member 6 can be easily operated even when sheets are stacked. Moreover, since the operating space is small, a large space saving is achieved.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily hold the position of the sheet feeding table 2 in a state where the sheets 9 can be stacked and to resist the elastic force only by swinging the sheet feeding table 2 away from the sheet feeding roller 3. The engagement is released by moving the lever member 6, and as a result, the sheet 9 approaches the sheet feeding roller 3 side by its own weight and the sheet 9 and the sheet feeding roller 3 can be pressed against each other. The operation is simple and reliable, and the operability can be significantly improved.

Further, according to the present invention, only the lever member 6, the locking member 7 and the elastic member 5 are provided outside the paper feed table 2 and the paper feed roller 3, so that the structure is extremely simplified.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, but merely illustrative examples. Nothing more than.

1 to 3 show a sheet feeding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device showing a state in which the sheet feeding mechanism is attached to a sheet feeding port 8 opened in a wall surface of a printer main body 1. 2 (A) to 2 (C) are sectional views showing the operation of attaching / detaching the sheet feeding device, and FIG. 3 is a lever member 6 which is a main part of the device.
It is a perspective view which shows the shape of.

The paper feed mechanism includes a paper feed table 2 formed on the upper surface (hereinafter referred to as a stacking surface 2A) so that one or a plurality of paper sheets 9 can be accumulated and held, and the paper feed table 2 movably in a direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction. Loading surface 2A
A pair of guide members 11 provided in the central portion, and a friction surface formed at a portion facing the roller 3 on the leading end side of the sheet feeding table 2 in the sheet feeding direction.
12 and a lever member 6 provided on one side wall surface 2B of the paper feed table 2, and a paper feed sheet facing the side wall surface in a notch groove 13 provided on both side wall surfaces 2B of the paper feed table 2. The feed table 2 is provided by supporting an engaging shaft on a pin-shaped projection 4 projecting on the wall surface side of the mouth 8.
Is configured to be swingable and tilted downward toward the paper feed port 8 and mounted in the paper feed port 8.

When the paper feed table 2 is swingably supported in the paper feed port 8 with the pin-shaped projection 4 as a fulcrum, the friction surface 12 can be pressed against the paper feed roller 3 by its own weight. The notch position of the notch groove 13 is set to the front side of the side wall surface.

On the other hand, on the printer body 1 side, a paper feed roller 3 that can contact the friction surface 12 provided on the leading end side of the stacking surface 2A, and a paper separating material 14 that contacts the downstream peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 3. The separation material
14 Support member 15 bent downward from the supporting position in an L-shape, and the bent vertical surface 15a abuts and supports the leading end of the sheet 9 laid on the stacking surface 2A, and the tip of the lever member 6. The key-shaped locking member 7 is provided so as to project from the bottom surface of the apparatus main body 1 side below the paper feed table 2 so as to be able to engage with. And the support member 15
The upper surface side of the separating member 14 extends further toward the back side than the supporting position of the separating member 14, and the supporting member 15 is pivotally supported at the extending position so that the separating member 14 can be supported by using a biasing force (not shown). It is configured so that it can be pressed against the peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 3.

Further, the key-shaped locking member 7 has a front side portion which is slightly vertically projected so as to be bent in an L shape toward the side opposite to the sheet feeding roller 3, and the lever member 6 can be engaged below the bent portion. It constitutes the engagement recess 7a.

Next, the shape and structure of the lever member 6, which is the gist of this embodiment, will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lever member 6 is provided with a pair of ribs 61 along both ends in the longitudinal direction, and a tip 63 of a keel portion 62 sandwiched by the ribs 61 is positioned to face the key-shaped locking member 7. While extending, the tip 63 is bent in an L shape so that it can be engaged with the engaging recess 7a of the locking member 7.

Further, a long hole 64 is bored in the keel portion 62, and it is configured to be slidable in the feeding direction along the back surface of the paper feed table 2 via a pin 65 fitted in the long hole 64. A spring 5 attached to the tip of the rib 61 biases the lever member 6 toward the sheet feeding roller 3 so as to be able to pull the elastic force.

Further, on the wall surface of the one rib 61, a handle portion 66 is projectingly provided in a T shape in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction, and the handle portion neck portion 67.
Is fitted into the long groove 68 formed by notching the side wall surface 2B of the paper feed table 2.

As a result, by manually sliding the handle portion 66 toward the base end side of the paper feed tray 2, the entire lever member 6 can be moved in the anti-feed direction against the elastic force of the spring 5.

Next, the operation procedure of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the cutout grooves 13 provided on the both side wall surfaces of the paper feed tray 2 are set in the paper feed port 8
The paper feed tray 2 is mounted in the paper feed port 8 by engaging with the pin-shaped projections 4 projecting on the wall surface side, and as a result, as shown in FIG. The friction surface 12 comes into pressure contact with the paper feed roller 3, and the tip of the keel portion 62 of the lever member 6 comes into contact with the upper vertical wall 7b of the key-shaped locking member 7.

Then, when the paper feed table 2 is lifted upward with the pin-shaped projection 4 as a fulcrum from this state, since the paper feed table 2 is pulled by the spring 5, the tip 63 of the keel portion 63 is locked by the locking member 7.
While being processed along the upper vertical wall 7b, it engages with the lower engaging recess 7a and is locked.

In this state, when a predetermined number of sheets of paper 9 are accumulated on the upper surface of the paper feed table 2, the leading end of the paper slides on the paper feed table 2 while supporting the paper 9
Abut 15

Next, by pulling the handle portion 66 in the anti-feeding direction against the elastic force of the spring 5, the engagement between the tip of the keel portion 62 and the engaging recess 7a of the locking member 7 is released, and the paper feed tray The paper 2 is oscillated horizontally around the fulcrum 4 by its own weight, and the paper 9 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the feeding roller 3.

Then, by rotating the feeding roller 3 in this state,
The sheets 9 pulled out from the sheet feeding table 2 are separated one by one by a separating material 14 and fed.

Then, in order to run out of paper or replace paper of a different size and perform feeding again, the operation shown in FIGS. 2B to 2C may be repeated.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, operations such as stacking and exchanging sheets and pressure contact between the sheet and the feed roller can be performed simply and reliably, and the operability is significantly improved. ,
Further, since it requires almost no operation space for performing the operation, it is possible to meet the demand for small size.

Further, according to the present invention, since only the lever member, the locking member and the elastic member are required outside the paper feed table and the paper feed roller, the structure is extremely simplified.

It has various remarkable effects.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show a paper feed tray according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the paper feed tray in a state of being attached to a paper feed port provided on a side wall of a printing machine, and FIG. (A) to (C) are cross-sectional views showing a procedure for attaching and detaching the paper feed table. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of a lever member, which is a main part of the apparatus.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A paper feed roller provided in a main body of an apparatus for forming an image, and when mounted on the main body of the apparatus, shakes in a direction in which the paper feed roller comes in contact with and separates from a fulcrum provided at a predetermined position. In a paper feed mechanism including a paper feed table movably supported, a lever member movably provided along a side surface of the paper feed table via an elastic member and a locking member provided in the apparatus main body are provided. The lever member engages with the elastic force of the elastic member and the locking member by swinging the paper feed tray away from the paper feed roller, and separates the paper feed tray from the paper feed roller. The lever member, which is held in a position and is in engagement with the locking member, is disengaged from the locking member by moving against the elastic force of the elastic member, and A person who approaches the paper feed roller due to its own weight A paper feeding mechanism characterized by being configured to allow swinging in any direction