JPH09110191A - Paper feed cassette and image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To favorably guide a paper feed cassette constituted of a main cassette and a slide cassette movable against the main cassette also from the slide cassette side to a device main body and mount it to the main body. SOLUTION: In a paper feed cassette for receiving paper sheets to be fed to an image recording device, and provided with a main cassette 21 having guide parts 211a, 211c at positioning and mounting to a device main body, and a slide cassette 22 movably provided against the main cassette so as to fit for the size of the received paper sheet, mounting guide parts 226a, 226b for the device main body are also provided on the slie cassette side, and hence the paper feed cassette can be mounted to the device main body also from the slide cassette side without any troubles.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an original used in an image recording device such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile,
More particularly, the present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that conveys a sheet-shaped material such as a recording sheet and a sheet feeding cassette and an image recording apparatus that uses such a sheet feeding cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to supply recording sheets in a recording apparatus, the sheets are manually inserted one by one, or automatically and continuously fed by an automatic sheet feeding apparatus. Is well known. FIG. 9 shows a cross section of an apparatus using automatic paper feeding by a paper cassette,
In the figure, 1 is an image recording apparatus or an image forming apparatus main body,
Reference numeral 2 denotes a paper feed cassette including cassettes 21 and 22.
Generally, a paper feed cassette used in this type of apparatus is prepared in a dedicated size according to the size in order to support various paper sizes. However, in this case, there are problems that it takes a lot of time to replace it, and that a storage place for an unused cassette is required. Further, it is common that the size of the cassette is set to the maximum paper size and the position of the guide member is adjusted according to the edge of the paper. However, due to the downsizing of the device, if the main body is shorter than the length of the paper to be fed, it will be used with the paper feed cassette protruding from the main body. Had the problem of being space inefficient.

Therefore, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-197299,
A cassette which can be expanded and contracted in the paper feeding direction has been proposed, as proposed in JP-A-6-48590. In this case, when it is used in a small size, it has the same length as the device, and only when used in a large size, the cassette protrudes from the main body, which may cause troubles such as cassette replacement, storage location problem, and installation space problem. Resolved

[0004]

The conventional telescopic cassette described above is also provided with a positioning member for positioning the main cassette in the main body, and a guide member up to the positioning portion when the cassette is mounted. It was designed to be inserted into the main body from the main cassette side. On the contrary, when the slide cassette is attached to the main body from the slide cassette side, the cassette is not positioned with respect to the main body in the extended state unless the positioning guide portion of the main cassette is inserted to a position where it engages with the main body. Therefore, until the positioning guide portion is engaged, it can be mounted at a position other than the proper position, which causes problems such as damaging the stacked sheets of paper and damaging the cassette.

Further, in order to improve the operability in adjusting the position of the rear end guide member, a position alignment display is provided on the bottom surface of the cassette. However, in the case of corresponding to various sizes, the position to be adjusted is different when shortened and when extended. However, there is a problem in that both alignment displays must be provided near the rear end guide, which is very confusing.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to guide a telescopic cassette to a proper position from the beginning of engagement so as to enable a simple and reliable mounting operation.

Another object of the present invention is to facilitate the position adjustment of the rear end guide member according to the paper size and the expansion / contraction operation of the cassette.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention generally provides not only a main cassette but also a slide cassette side with an engaging portion for a mounting guide with a main body, and a slide. In addition to the stopper that locks the expansion / contraction position of the cassette, a stopper to prevent separation is provided. Further, the display of the position of the rear end guide is divided into one for shortening and one for expanding, and only the necessary items are displayed near the rear end guide in each case. Corresponding to the claims, they are as follows.

A first invention according to the present application is a paper feed cassette for accommodating paper to be fed to an image recording apparatus, which comprises a main cassette provided with a guide portion for positioning and mounting the apparatus main body. In a paper feed cassette having a slide cassette movably provided with respect to a main cassette in accordance with the size of paper to be stored, a mounting guide portion for the apparatus main body is also provided on the slide cassette side.

A second invention according to the present application is a paper feed cassette for accommodating paper to be fed to an image recording apparatus, which comprises a main cassette provided with a guide portion for positioning and mounting the apparatus main body. A first position for a shortening position for determining a relative position of shortening or extension of the main cassette and the slide cassette in a paper feeding cassette having a slide cassette movably provided with respect to the main cassette according to the size of a sheet to be stored. Locking part and second for extended position
And the operating portions for locking and releasing the respective locking portions are provided, and the third locking portion provided on the same side as the second locking portion or on the extension direction side in the portion other than the operating portion. Is provided.

A third aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding cassette for storing sheets to be fed to an image recording apparatus, which comprises a main cassette provided with a guide portion for positioning and mounting on the apparatus main body. In a paper feed cassette having a slide cassette that is movable relative to the main cassette according to the size of the paper to be stored, the rear end guide is configured to be movable with respect to the slide cassette according to the paper size. It is characterized in that both the alignment display for shortening and the display for extension are provided, and the display for extension is hidden when shortening.

A fourth invention according to the present application is characterized in that it has the paper feed cassette, and comprises means for recording an image on a paper fed from the paper feed cassette.

[0013]

In the present invention, when the cassette is mounted on the main body, not only the main cassette but also the slide cassette is provided with the engaging portion for the mounting guide with the main body.
The set is guided to a predetermined position on the main body from the beginning of the cassette mounting operation on the main body. In addition, the main cassette is provided with a rear end guide position display when shortened, the slide cassette is provided with a rear end guide position display when extended, and the display when extension is hidden when shortened Only the adjustment position is displayed.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of a recording apparatus provided with a telescopic cassette of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall Structure) FIGS. 1 to 8 show an embodiment according to the present invention. The overall configuration is the same as the conventional one. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a recording apparatus main body, and a paper feed cassette 2 is provided at a lower portion thereof in a detachable manner in the arrow H direction. A sheet feeding roller 3 is fixed to the sheet feeding roller shaft 4. The paper feed roller shaft 4 is rotatably supported by the main body 1 and is rotated by an arrow A by a paper feed motor (not shown).
Is rotated in the direction. Numerals 5 and 13 are conveyance rollers which are rotatably supported by the main body 1 and are rotated in the arrow B direction by a conveyance motor (not shown). A pinch roller 12 is rotatably pressed against the transport roller 5 with a predetermined pressure. Reference numeral 14 is a spur, which is rotatably pressed against the transport roller 13 with a predetermined pressure. A paper discharge roller 6 is rotatably supported by the main body 1 and rotated in the direction of arrow C by a gear train from a transport roller (not shown). Reference numeral 7 denotes a paper ejection spur that is rotatably pressed against the paper ejection roller 6 with a predetermined pressure. A carriage 8 is equipped with a print head 9 and is moved forward by a carriage motor (not shown) in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. 10
Forms a conveyance path for the paper P taken out from the cassette 2 by the conveyance guide. Reference numeral 12 denotes a paper discharge tray on which the discharged paper P is stacked.

(Overall Operation) Next, the overall operation will be described. When a printing command is sent from a computer (not shown), a sheet feeding motor (not shown) rotates and the sheet feeding roller 3 rotates.
The paper feed roller 3 conveys the paper P stacked in the cassette 2 to the conveyance roller 5 along the conveyance guide 10. The sheet P is abutted against the nip formed by the transport roller 5 and the pinch roller 12, and the skew is corrected. Next, the transport rollers (not shown) rotate the transport rollers 5 and 13, and the sheet P moves to a position right below the head 9 and stops. Then, the carriage 8 and the head 9 are moved forward by a carriage motor (not shown). At this time, printing is performed by the printing circuit according to the image signal from the computer. Further, the transport rollers 5 and 1
The conveyance of the paper P by 3 and the printing by the head 9 are alternately repeated, and the paper P is finally ejected to the paper ejection tray 12 by the paper ejection roller 6 and the paper ejection spur 7.

(Engagement of Main Body and Cassette) Further, details of the engagement of the main body 1 and the cassette 2 will be described.

On the inner wall 11 of the main body 1, ribs 11b, 11d, 11i and 11j are formed as engaging portions of the cassette 2, and guide grooves 11a and 11c are formed by the ribs 11b and 11d. Further, the positioning projections 11e, 1 are provided in the guide groove 11a.
1f and tapered portions 11g and 11h are provided.

(Cassette structure) 21 is a main cassette,
22 is a slide cassette.

On the side wall 211 of the main cassette 21, guide ribs 211a and 211c for engaging with the main body 1 are provided.
Further, guide ribs 211b and 211d are provided for engagement with the slide cassette 22. Guide rib 211a
Positioning engagement parts 211e and 211f are provided in the. Further, locking bosses 212a and 212b for the slide cassette 22 are provided on the back surface of the bottom surface 212. A position display 213 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom surface 212.

The side wall 221 of the slide cassette 22 has guide grooves 221a, 22 for engaging with the main cassette 21.
1b is provided. A position indicator 224 and a retaining portion 225 are provided on the upper surface of the bottom surface 223. Further, the rear end wall 222 has guide ribs 226 for engaging the main body on both sides.
a and 226b are guide ribs 211a of the main cassette,
It is provided at a position corresponding to 211c.

Reference numeral 23 is a middle plate, one end of which is pivotally supported by the main cassette 21 and is biased by a spring 24 in the direction of arrow D to push up the stacked sheets P.

Reference numeral 25 is a reference side separation claw, which is the main cassette 21.
It is rotatably supported by the side wall 221 and contacts the upper surface of the sheet P by its own weight.

Reference numeral 27 is a side edge guide for regulating the side surface of the sheet P, and 28 is a rear edge guide for regulating the rear edge of the sheet P.
Further, the trailing edge guide 28 has a position index 28a for adjusting the position according to the size of the paper P.

Reference numeral 26 is a non-reference side separation claw, which is pivotally supported by the side end guide 27 and abuts against the upper surface of the paper P by its own weight.

A slide lock lever 29 is a boss 223 provided on the upper surface of the bottom surface 223 of the slide cassette 22.
It is pivotally supported by a and is urged by the spring 30 in the direction of arrow E.
Further, a slope 29a is provided at one end and a locking portion 29b is provided at the other end.

Reference numeral 31 is a releasing member, which is the slide cassette 22.
The rear end wall 222 is pivotally supported. The slope 29a provided at one end of the slide lock lever 29 contacts the boss 31a of the release member 31. The locking portion 29b at the other end engages with the locking boss 212a or 212b of the main cassette 21 to fix the relative positions of the main cassette 21 and the slide cassette 22.

(Cassette connection) Next, the main cassette 2
The combination of 1 and the slide cassette 22 will be described.
(FIG. 5) The guide ribs 211a of the main cassette 21 and the guide grooves 221a of the slide cassette 22, as well as the guide ribs 21
1d and 221b are engaged so that the main cassette 21
The slide cassette 22 is moved to the outside in the direction of arrow F. The retaining portion 225 of the slide cassette 22 rides over a protrusion (not shown) on the back surface of the main cassette.

Next or at the same time, the locking portion 29b of the slide lock lever 29 is engaged with the locking boss 212a to fix the extended position.

(Expansion / contraction operation) When the releasing member 31 of the rear end wall 222 of the slide cassette 22 is rotated in the direction of arrow G,
The slope 2 of the slide lock lever 29 by the boss 31a
9a is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow E, and the engaging portion 29 at the other end is rotated.
The engagement between b and the boss 212a is released. In this state, the slide cassette 22 is moved in the direction of the arrow F, and the locking portion 29b
Is fixed in a shortened state by engaging with the boss 212b.

When extending, the reverse operation is performed. However, when the engaging portion 29b is moved beyond the boss 212a, such as when the releasing member 31 is rotated in the direction of the arrow G and the extending operation is performed, Since the retaining portion 225 engages with the protrusion (not shown) on the back surface of the main cassette, further extension is prevented, and the main cassette 21 and the slide cassette 22 are not separated.

(Mounting to Main Body) The mounting of the above-mentioned coupled cassette 2 and main body 1 will be described. The structure on the main body side is substantially symmetrical in FIG.

When the cassette 2 is inserted into the main body 1 in the direction of arrow H, the bottom corners of the slide cassette 22 are ribs 1.
It is lifted by 1i and 11j. As a result, the cassette 2 moves to the guide groove 11a without rubbing on the desk. Further, the guide rib 226 of the slide cassette 22
a and 226b are guided to the guide groove 11a by the tapered portion 11g of the main body 1, and the rib 226a engages with the rib 11b and the rib 226b engages with the rib 11d. When further inserted,
Similarly, the engaging ribs 211a and 211b of the main cassette 1 engage with the ribs 11b and 11d of the main body 1, and finally the positioning portions 211e and 211f of the main cassette 21 engage with the positioning portions 11e and 11f of the main body 1. The installation is completed at the butting position.

(Alignment display of the rear end guide) When the difference between the maximum size and the minimum size is large, if the slide cassette is expanded and contracted to expand and contract, the overlap amount between the main cassette and the slide cassette is small at the extended position. Therefore, sufficient strength cannot be secured. Therefore, the amount of overlap can be secured by reducing the movement amount of the slide cassette and attaching the rear end guide 28 for restricting the rear end of the smaller size at the shortened position to the slide cassette so as to be movable in the shortening direction.

The mounting portion 22 of the rear end guide 28 of the bottom surface 223 of the slide cassette 22 in the extended position (FIG. 1).
A position indicator 224 indicating the paper size that can be used at the time of extension is provided in the peripheral portion of 7, and the position index 28a of the rear end guide 28 can be adjusted according to the size of the paper to be loaded.

In the shortened position (FIG. 3), the rear end guide mounting portion 227 of the slide cassette 22 is
The position indicator 224 of the slide cassette 22 is hidden under the bottom surface 212 of the main cassette 21 and does not appear on the front surface by cutting into the cutout portion 214 of the bottom surface 212 of the main cassette 21. Instead, the position indicator 28a of the rear end guide 28 can be aligned with the position indicator 213 provided on the upper surface of the bottom surface 212 of the main cassette 21.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and the same effects can be obtained by other configurations.

The guide and positioning means for mounting the cassette and the main body may be provided with the guide ribs and the guide grooves on the bottom surface of the cassette and the main body. Good.

Further, the display of the position of the rear end guide may be configured so as to cover up the shortened portion even during extension.

Further, the retaining portion can be formed by utilizing the guide rib and the guide groove for connecting the main cassette and the slide cassette, and it is not provided integrally with the cassette, and a separate member is formed after the connection. It can be installed.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cassette is guided to the predetermined position from the initial stage when the slide cassette is mounted on the apparatus main body, not only the operability is improved, but also the cassette is damaged. It is also possible to prevent damage to the loaded sheets.

Further, since the rear end guide position display is covered during the shortening, only the stackable size is displayed during the shortening, which facilitates the positioning.

Further, since the locking portion is provided further on the extending direction side than the locking position when the main cassette and the slide cassette are extended, the cassette may be separated after passing the locking position during the extension operation. There is no.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an expanded state of a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the extended state of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a shortened state of the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a shortened state of the sheet feeding cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a connecting portion of a main cassette and a slide cassette in the paper feeding cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an engaging portion between the sheet feeding cassette and the apparatus main body according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an engaging portion of the apparatus main body on which the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the entire device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the entire conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Device main body 2 ... Cassette 11a, c ... Guide groove 11b, d, i,
j ... Guide rib 21 ... Main cassette 211a, c ... Guide rib 211b, d ... Guide groove 212a, b ... Locking boss 213 ... Position display 22 ... Slide cassette 221a, b ... Guide groove 224 ... Position display 225 ... Fall prevention part 226a , B ... Engaging rib 28 ... Rear end guide 28a ... Position index 29 ... Slide lock lever 29a ... Slope 29b ... Locking part 31 ... Release member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding cassette for storing sheets to be fed to an image recording apparatus, comprising a main cassette provided with a guide portion for positioning and mounting the apparatus main body and a sheet size to be accommodated. A sheet feeding cassette having a slide cassette movably provided with respect to a main cassette, wherein a mounting guide part for the apparatus main body is also provided on the slide cassette side. 2. A sheet feeding cassette for storing sheets to be fed to an image recording apparatus, the main cassette having a guide portion for positioning and mounting the apparatus main body, and a sheet cassette to be accommodated according to a sheet size to be stored. In a paper feed cassette having a slide cassette movably provided with respect to the main cassette, a first locking portion for a shortening position for determining a relative position of shortening or extending the main cassette and the slide cassette, and an extending position Second locking portion and an operating portion for locking and unlocking each locking portion are provided, and the portion other than the operating portion is the same as the second locking portion, or on the extension side. A sheet feeding cassette comprising a third locking portion provided. 3. A sheet feeding cassette for storing sheets to be fed to an image recording apparatus, the main cassette having a guide portion for positioning and mounting in the apparatus main body, and a sheet cassette to be accommodated according to a sheet size to be stored. In a paper feed cassette having a slide cassette movably provided with respect to the main cassette, a rear end guide is configured to be movable with respect to the slide cassette according to a paper size, and the rear end guide alignment display is shortened, A paper cassette characterized in that it is provided with both for extension and hides the extension display when shortened. 4. An image recording apparatus comprising the paper feed cassette according to claim 1, further comprising means for recording an image on a paper fed from the paper feed cassette. .