JPH08133499A - Paper feeding cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a paper feeding cassette which makes effective use of the space, and is capable of increasing the loading capacity of the transcript paper with a simple constitution at a low cost. CONSTITUTION: Two storing parts 19, 20 which are provided with respectively oscillating independent bottom plates 22, 25 are formed on a case body 17, and a supporting part 16 capable of supporting the case body 17 by a paper feeding cassette storing part 1 by changing the direction by 180 deg. is formed on the case body 17. When four storing parts are provided, the supporting part capable of supporting the case body by the paper feeding cassette storing part by changing the direction by 90 deg. is formed on the case body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette used in a copying machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional paper feed cassette is of a first type which is of a size suitable for the size of a transfer paper, and
There is a second type in which a partition plate is arranged in a paper feed cassette of a certain size according to the size of the transfer paper. The first type has a drawback that it is necessary to prepare a paper feed cassette for each size of transfer paper. On the other hand, in the second type, it is not necessary to prepare a paper feed cassette for each size of transfer paper. However, there is a drawback that space is wasted when the size of the transfer paper is small. Further, in these first type and second type paper feed cassettes, when the transfer paper in the paper feed cassette is no longer fed, the paper feed cassette must be detached from the main body to replenish the transfer paper. . Therefore, there is a drawback that the work at the time of replenishment is troublesome.

Therefore, there is a paper feeding cassette disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-31545 which simplifies the work of replenishment. This paper feed cassette is formed with a paper feed section provided with a bottom plate having a guide groove, and a replenishment section provided with a carry having a guide member that engages with the guide groove. Then, the transfer sheets to be fed are stacked on the bottom plate of the sheet feeding section, the transfer sheets to be replenished to the sheet feeding section are stacked on the carry of the replenishing section, and the transfer sheets stacked on the sheet feeding section are fed. To be paper. After that, when the transfer paper in the paper feeding unit is used up, the guide member is engaged with the guide groove to replenish the paper feeding unit with the transfer paper stacked on the carry. This allows
It is possible to increase the stacking amount of transfer paper by the amount of transfer paper for supply.

Further, the above-mentioned second type of paper feed cassette has a drawback that space is wasted when the size of the transfer paper is small. On the other hand, JP-A-4-1643
There is an image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. In this image forming apparatus, a paper feed cassette storage section is formed on the front surface of the main body. A paper feed cassette of a size suitable for the size of the transfer paper is removably housed in the paper feed cassette housing portion. Since the size of the transfer paper is small, other paper feed cassettes or transfer paper storage cassettes are removably stored in the space created in the paper feed cassette storage portion when the paper feed cassette is stored. There is. As a result, the space can be effectively utilized even when the size of the transfer paper is small.

[0005]

However, in the paper feeding cassette disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-31545, when the transfer paper stacked on the guide plate is moved to the paper feeding section, the transfer paper is transferred. Since the paper is easily caught and deformed, there is a problem that the paper is jammed when the paper is fed to the main body.

The image forming apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-16430 requires two paper feed cassettes or one paper feed cassette and one transfer paper storage cassette. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to effectively utilize a space and to increase the load of transfer paper with a simple structure at low cost.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A case in which two accommodating parts each having a swinging bottom plate independently formed are formed, and a supporting part capable of supporting the case by changing the direction by 180 ° is formed in the case cassette in the case. Is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the case body is formed with four accommodating portions each independently provided with a swingable bottom plate, and the case body is supported in the sheet cassette accommodating portion by changing the direction by 90 °. The support part that can be formed is formed on the case body.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the case body is formed with two accommodating portions each having a swinging bottom plate independently, and the case body is changed in the direction of 180 ° in the sheet cassette accommodating portion. Since the supporting part which can be supported is formed on the case body, when the size of the transfer paper used is 1/2 the size of the paper feed cassette, it can be stored twice as much as the normal paper feed cassette. Moreover, since the paper can be fed only by changing the direction of the paper feed cassette by 180 ° and setting it, the space can be saved, and the load of the transfer paper can be increased by the amount of the transfer paper for supply.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the case body is provided with four accommodating portions each independently provided with a swinging bottom plate, and the case body is accommodated at 90 ° in the sheet cassette accommodating portion.
Since the support part that can support in different directions is formed on the case body, when the size of the transfer paper used is 1/4 of the size of the paper feed cassette, compared to the storage capacity of a normal paper feed cassette. Can be stored 4 times, and the paper can be fed by simply changing the orientation of the paper feed cassette by 90 ° and setting it, thus saving space and increasing the load of transfer paper by the amount of transfer paper for supply. To be done.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the invention described in claim 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The main body of the image forming apparatus (not shown) has a sheet feeding cassette storage unit 1 having an opening in the front thereof.
And a transport path 2 through which the transfer sheet is transported from the paper feed cassette storage section 1 to an image forming section (not shown). The paper feed cassette storage unit 1 is provided with a feeding roller 3 on the upper surface on the transport path 2 side (front in the paper feeding direction). A sheet feeding roller 4 is provided on the upper surface of the transport path 2, and a separation roller 5 that is in contact with the sheet feeding roller 4 is provided on the lower surface. Further, the lower surface of the paper feed cassette storage unit 1 on the side of the transport path 2 is urged upward about a shaft 6 provided below the paper feed roller 4 and the separation roller 5 to swing. A bottom plate lifting lever 7 is provided as possible. Further, the paper feed cassette storage unit 1 is provided with a rail 8 reaching the rear end surface from the opening in the front in the paper feeding direction, and a rail 9 reaching the rear end surface from the opening in the rear in the paper feeding direction. There is.

A storage tray 10 is stored in the paper feed cassette storage section 1 as described above. A guide 11 that engages with the rail 8 is formed on the outer side surface of the storage tray 10,
A guide 12 that engages with the rail 9 is formed.
The storage tray 10 is supported by the rails 8 and 9 so as to be pulled out to the front side. On the inner bottom surface of the storage tray 10, convex portions 13 are formed at four locations,
A vertically long hole 14 is formed in the front in the paper feeding direction. A paper feed cassette 15 is stored in the storage tray 10. In this paper feed cassette 15, concave portions 16 that engage with the convex portions 13 are formed point-symmetrically at four corners of the bottom surface of the case body 17 as support portions. The paper feed cassette 15 is supported in the storage tray 10 by the convex portion 13 and the concave portion 16. Even when the orientation of the sheet feeding cassette 15 is changed by 180 ° in a horizontal plane, the convex portion 13 and the concave portion 16 are engaged with each other and the front side surface of the sheet feeding cassette 15 in the sheet feeding direction and the storage Tray 10
The paper feed cassette 15 is supported in the storage tray 10 in a state where the front side surface of the paper feed direction is close to the paper feed cassette 15.

A partition plate 18 for partitioning the front and the rear in the sheet feeding direction is formed in the center of the case body 17. The storage section 19 is formed by being partitioned by the partition plate 18 in the front in the sheet feeding direction, and the storage section 20 is formed in the rear in the sheet feeding direction.
Are formed. A bottom plate 22 is swingably supported around a shaft 21 fixed near the partition plate 18 on the upper side of the storage portion 19, and a hole 23 corresponding to the hole 14 is provided in the bottom portion. Are formed. A bottom plate 25 is also supported in the storage portion 20 so as to be swingable around a shaft 24 fixed near the partition plate 18 on the upper side surface thereof, and a hole 26 corresponding to the hole 14 is provided at the bottom portion. Has been formed. Transfer sheets 27 are stacked on the bottom plates 22 and 25.

In such a structure, the bottom plate raising lever 7 is inserted into the holes 14 and 23 to push up the bottom plate 22. As a result, the transfer paper 27 in the storage section 19 is pushed up, and the transfer paper 27 in the uppermost layer is pressed against the feeding roller 3. Then, the feeding roller 3 is rotated, so that the uppermost transfer sheet 27 is sent to the transport path 2. Then, the sheet feed roller 4 and the separation roller 5 prevent double feeding, and the transfer sheets 27 are fed one by one. After that, when all the transfer paper 27 in the storage section 19 is no longer fed, the storage tray 10 is pulled out from the image forming apparatus, the direction of the paper feed cassette 15 in the storage tray 10 is changed by 180 °, and the storage tray 10 is removed. It is stored again in the main body of the image forming apparatus. At this time,
The bottom plate lifting lever 7 is inserted into the holes 14 and 26, and the bottom plate 2
Push up 5. Therefore, like the transfer paper 27 in the storage section 19, the transfer paper 27 in the storage section 20 is also pressed by the feeding roller 3. Then, the uppermost transfer sheet 27 is sent out to the conveying path 2 by the feeding roller 3, the double feeding is prevented by the sheet feeding roller 4 and the separating roller 5, and the transfer sheets 27 in the storage section 20 are fed one by one. To be done.

As described above, the two storage parts 1 in which the bottom plates 22 and 25 which swing respectively in the case body 17 are independently provided are provided.
9 and 20 are formed, and the case body 1 is placed in the paper feed cassette storage unit 1.
Since the case body 17 is formed with the concave portion 16 capable of supporting 7 by changing the direction by 180 °, when the size of the transfer paper 27 used is 1/2 of the size of the paper feed cassette 15,
The paper can be stored twice as much as a normal paper cassette, and the paper can be fed simply by changing the direction of the paper cassette 15 by 180 °. Therefore, the space is saved, and the stack amount of the transfer papers 27 is increased by the amount of the transfer papers 27 stacked in the storage section 20.

A second embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 is shown in FIG.
And FIG. 3 will be described. The same parts as those described in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, in the sheet feeding cassette 28 in this embodiment, the partition plate 1 includes the supporting portions 30 and 31 having the substantially semicircular engaging portion 29 in the case body 17.
It is formed at a position of line symmetry with 8 as the center. The support portion 30 is formed on both outer side surfaces of the storage portion 19 in the front in the sheet feeding direction. The support portions 31 are formed on both outer side surfaces in the front of the storage portion 20 in the sheet feeding direction, which are line-symmetric with respect to the storage portion 19. Further, bottom plate pads 32 and 33 for improving the paper feeding performance are attached to the bottom plates 22 and 25 at the centers of the leading ends in the paper feeding direction. Also, as shown in FIG.
In the insertion portion 35, which is a paper feed cassette storage portion formed on the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 34, the support portions 30, 3 are provided.
A main body receiving portion 36 that engages with one engaging portion 29 is formed. Then, the paper cassette 2 is inserted into the insertion portion 35.
8 is inserted into the storage portion 19 side and the engaging portion 29 of the support portion 30 engages with the main body receiving portion 36,
The paper feed cassette 28 is positioned and supported. However, even if the paper feed cassette 28 is inserted into the insertion portion 35 by changing the direction by 180 ° in the horizontal plane, the engagement portion 29 of the support portion 31 engages with the main body receiving portion 36, and The paper cassette 28 is positioned and supported. It should be noted that in the paper feed cassette 28 inserted into the insertion portion 36, either the storage portion 19 or the storage portion 20 is always exposed.

In such a structure, the bottom plate 22 is pushed up by the bottom plate raising lever 7, and the uppermost transfer sheet 27 placed in the storage section 19 is pressed against the feeding roller 3.
Then, the uppermost transfer sheet 27 is sent out to the conveying path 2 by the feeding roller 3, the double feeding is prevented by the sheet feeding roller 4 and the separation roller 5, and the transfer sheets 27 in the storage section 19 are fed one by one. To be paper. After that, when all the transfer sheets 27 in the storage unit 19 are no longer fed, the orientation is changed by 180 ° and the storage unit 20 side of the paper feed cassette 28 is inserted into the insertion unit 35. Then, the bottom plate 22 is pushed up by the bottom plate raising lever 7, and the uppermost transfer sheet 27 placed in the storage section 20 is pressed against the feeding roller 3. Then, the uppermost transfer sheet 27 is sent out to the conveying path 2 by the feeding roller 3, the double feeding is prevented by the sheet feeding roller 4 and the separation roller 5, and the transfer sheets 27 in the storage section 20 are fed one by one. To be paper.

As described above, the two housing parts 1 in which the bottom plates 22 and 25 which swing respectively on the case body 17 are independently provided are provided.
9 and 20 are formed, and the case body 17 is inserted into the insertion portion 35.
Since the supporting portions 30 and 31 which can be supported in different directions are formed on the case body 17, when the size of the transfer paper 27 used is 1/2 of the size of the paper feed cassette 28, normal paper feeding is performed. It can be stored twice as much as the storage amount of the cassette, and can be fed by simply changing the direction of the paper feeding cassette 15 by 180 ° and setting it. Therefore, the space is saved, and the stack amount of the transfer papers 27 is increased by the amount of the transfer papers 27 stacked in the storage section 20. In addition, since one of the storage portions of the paper feed cassette 28 is exposed, after the orientation of the paper feed cassette 28 is changed by 180 ° and set, when the image forming apparatus is operated, the storage portion 19 where the transfer paper 27 is lost or The transfer paper 27 can be replenished in the storage section 20. Therefore, the loss of the replenishment time of the transfer paper 27 is omitted.

An embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The paper feed cassette 37 is a square case body 38 on which a support portion 40 having a substantially semicircular engagement portion 39 is formed. Inside the case body 38, four compartments 42 are formed by a partition plate 41. The fronts of the storage portions 42 in the sheet feeding direction face different directions, and a front end in the sheet feeding direction is provided on each side of the case body 38. Each of the storage sections 42 described above
Each time, a bottom plate 44 is provided so as to be swingable around a shaft 43 fixed near the rear end of the side surface in the sheet feeding direction. A bottom plate pad 45 is attached to each of the bottom plates 44 in front of the sheet feeding direction. Further, on the outer side surface of the paper feed cassette 37, a support portion 40 corresponding to each front end of each storage portion 42 in the paper feed direction is formed. Although not shown, the positions of the feeding roller, the paper feeding roller, and the separating roller of the image forming apparatus main body are provided at positions corresponding to the bottom plate pad 45 deviated from the center. Furthermore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, an insertion portion which is a paper feed cassette storage portion is formed on the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body.

In such a structure, the four housing portions 4 each having the bottom plate 44 that swings independently on the case body 38 are provided.
2 is formed, and the supporting portion 40 that can support the case body 38 by changing the direction by 90 ° is formed in the insertion portion, so that the size of the transfer paper used is 1 with respect to the size of the paper feed cassette 37. When it is / 4, the amount of paper can be stored four times as much as that of a normal paper feed cassette, and paper can be fed simply by changing the orientation of the paper feed cassette 37 by 90 ° and setting it. Therefore, the space is saved, and the stacking amount of the transfer paper is increased by the amount of the transfer paper for supply.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the case body is formed with two accommodating portions each independently provided with a swinging bottom plate, and the case body is changed by 180 ° in the sheet cassette accommodating portion. Since the supporting part that can support the paper feed cassette is formed on the case body, when the size of the transfer paper used is 1/2 the size of the paper feed cassette, it is twice the storage capacity of the normal paper feed cassette. Can be stored and the paper cassette orientation is 1
Since the paper can be fed only by changing the setting by 80 °, the space can be saved, and the stack amount of the transfer paper can be increased by the amount of the transfer paper for supply.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the case body is provided with four accommodating portions each independently provided with a swinging bottom plate, and the case body is supported in the sheet cassette accommodating portion by changing the direction by 90 °. Since the support that can be formed is formed on the case body, when the size of the transfer paper used is 1/2 the size of the paper cassette, it can be stored four times as much as the normal paper cassette. And the paper cassette orientation is 9
Since the sheet can be fed by simply changing the setting by 0 ° and setting it, the space can be saved, and the stack amount of the transfer sheet can be increased by the amount of the transfer sheet for supply.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the vicinity of a sheet feeding cassette of an image forming apparatus showing a first embodiment of the invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the vicinity of a paper feed cassette of the image forming apparatus showing the second embodiment of the invention according to claim 1;

3A and 3B show a sheet feeding cassette according to a second embodiment of the invention described in claim 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a vertical side view.

4A and 4B show a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a vertical side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,35 Paper feed cassette storage section 16,30,31,40 Support section 17,38 Case body 19,20,42 Storage section 22,25,44 Bottom plate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A case body is provided with two accommodating portions each independently provided with a swinging bottom plate, and a supporting portion capable of supporting the case body by changing the direction by 180 ° is provided in the sheet cassette accommodating portion. A paper feed cassette characterized by being formed on the body. 2. A case body is provided with four accommodating portions each independently provided with a swingable bottom plate, and a supporting portion capable of supporting the case body in a 90 ° direction is provided in the sheet cassette accommodating portion. A paper feed cassette characterized by being formed on the body.