JPH09240847A - Paper feeding tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make this tray to store a plural types of paper including the longest sized one as well as to reduce the setup space and overall height of an image former. SOLUTION: A peripheral wall 26 at the rear end of a paper feeding tray 15 is formed as a paper end contact surface 27 positioning the rear end of a longest size sheet S. In addition, height of this peripheral wall 26 from a bottom plate 21 is determined so as to be lower at the side of a rear end part but higher at the front side in the longitudinal direction of the longest size sheet S respectively, and furthermore, such a laminate height regulating part 28 as contacting with an uppermost top face of the longest size sheet S is formed on an upper edge at the rear end side of the peripheral wall 26. With this formation, even if the height of the end of a space 14 under a sheet conveyor route 6 of an image former 1 is low, the longest size sheet S is made storable together with the paper feeding tray 15, conducing to a fact that an overall height of this image former 1 is lowered as specified therewith.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed tray used in an image forming apparatus or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional paper feed trays are used to position paper in order to store paper of various sizes. For example, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-297737, a rear end regulating member that regulates the rear end of a paper sheet is rotatably provided on the side surface of a main body case forming a cassette. The member is opened at the time of use and is housed in a recess formed on the side surface of the main body case when not in use, and in any case, since the rear end regulation member is fixed, the rear end regulation member and the main body case are engaged with each other. There is a paper sheet storage cassette that has a protrusion and a locking hole that mate with each other.

Further, as described in JP-A-5-278870, a rear end regulating portion for regulating the rear end of the maximum length of paper is fixedly provided on the bottom surface of the cassette body, and There is a universal paper feed cassette in which a trailing edge regulating means for regulating the trailing edge of a sheet shorter than a sheet of length is erected when it is used and when it is not used, it is laid down in a recess at the bottom of the cassette body.

Furthermore, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 28127/1990, a slide type base piece for extending the base rearward is provided at the rear end of the cassette base so as to be rotatable from the horizontal direction to the back side. There is a paper cassette installed in.

Further, when a paper feed cassette is mounted, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-123059, it is arranged laterally to the main body of the image forming apparatus, or in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1-191865. As described in the publication, it may be arranged inside the main body of an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine.

In the image forming apparatus, units for forming an image are arranged along the sheet conveying path. Therefore, in order to reduce the installation space of the image forming apparatus, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 1-191865. As noted, it is desirable to place the paper feed cassette below the paper transport path.

[0007]

By the way, since the pressure roller and the paper discharge roller of the fixing device are often arranged below the paper conveying path, the components other than the image forming unit are not provided in the space below the paper conveying path. In many cases, it is placed near the edge. In addition, in order to discharge the printed paper to the discharge tray provided at the end of the paper transport path without any stagnation, the downstream side of the paper transport path is inclined downward to make the paper slippery. ing. Alternatively, in order to drop the paper discharged by the paper discharge rollers into the paper discharge receiver on the downstream side of the paper transport path, the end of the paper discharge receiver may be arranged at a position lower than the paper discharge rollers. ing. As described above, a height difference occurs in the sheet conveyance path depending on the arrangement and shape of each part, and in the space below the sheet conveyance path, the end on the paper discharge side is often low.

For this reason, if a large number of sheets, including the longest size sheet that is not used very often, are stacked and stored under the sheet conveying path, the height of the space under the sheet conveying path is reduced. , Must be higher than the storage space for frequently used paper. As a result, a dead space is generated and the overall height of the device is increased. In the image forming apparatus, there is a demand not only for the installation space but also for reducing the overall height, which is not preferable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed tray that contributes to downsizing of an image forming apparatus and can store various kinds of paper.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed tray, which is a box-shaped case for accommodating a plurality of types of paper in a stacked state including a longest size paper having a maximum length in a paper feed direction. A rear end regulating member that comes into contact with a longitudinal rear end of the paper other than the longest size, and the rear end regulating member is positioned on the bottom plate of the case according to the longitudinal size of the paper. In a paper feed tray having a support portion that is detachably supported, of the peripheral walls rising from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate of the case, the peripheral wall at the rear end serves as a paper end contact surface for positioning the rear end of the longest size paper. The height of the peripheral wall from the bottom plate is determined so as to be lower on the rear end side in the longitudinal direction of the longest size sheet and higher on the front side thereof.
At the upper edge of the peripheral wall on the rear end side, a stacking height restricting portion is formed which abuts on the uppermost surface of the longest size sheet. Therefore, since the height of the end of the case, which is the end of the longest size paper, is low, even if the height of the end of the space under the paper transport path of the image forming apparatus is low, It becomes possible to store the paper together with the case. By removing the trailing edge regulating member from the case, the longest size paper can be stored in the case, and the rear edge of the longest size paper is located at the paper edge contact surface formed by the edge of the peripheral wall of the case. Determined. The height of the peripheral wall on the rear end side of the case is kept low, but the stacking height of the longest size is limited by the stacking height regulating portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding tray according to the first aspect, the bottom plate of the case is formed with a recess for detachably accommodating the rear end regulating member. Therefore, when the rear end regulating member is removed from the support portion, it can be stored in the recess.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the paper feeding tray according to the second aspect, wherein the rear end regulating member and the concave portion are formed with engaging portions that are engageably and disengageably engaged with each other. Therefore, the rear end regulating member is prevented from falling out of the recess.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is an image forming apparatus. Explaining the main body 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 by cutting out a part of the main body 2, an electrophotographic image forming unit 3 is provided inside the main body 2. Also, in the main body 2,
A paper transport path 6 is formed from the manual insertion slot 4 to the paper discharge receiver 5. The paper transport path 6 carries a paper sheet inserted from the manual insertion slot 4 and a paper feed tray in a paper feed tray described later. A paper feed roller 8 for feeding paper, a registration roller 9, and a transfer charger 10, which is a component of the image forming unit 3,
The fixing unit 11, the discharge roller 12 and the like are sequentially arranged.

A space 14 is formed between the bottom portion 13 of the main body 2 and the sheet conveying path 6. In the present embodiment, the pressure roller 11 of the fixing device 12 is provided below the paper transport path 6.
In order to support the sheet discharged by the discharge rollers 12 at the end of the discharge receiver 5, the end of the discharge receiver 5 is located at a position lower than the discharge roller 12, The height of 14 is lower on the side of the paper receiving tray 5. A paper feed tray 15 is attached to the space 14 so that it can be pulled out from the side of the manual insertion port 4.
A power supply unit 16 is arranged in the back of the. The paper feed tray 15 includes a box-shaped case 17 having an open upper surface, a paper tray 18 that supports a large number of paper sheets S and presses the uppermost paper sheet S against the paper feed roller 8, and a paper feed roller 8. An arc-shaped guide 19 that guides the printed sheet S to the transport roller 7, a plurality of trailing edge regulating members 20 that regulate the positions of the trailing edges of the sheets S of different sizes, and the positions of the side edges of the sheet S are regulated. It has a side edge regulating member (not shown).

The structure of the case 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The length of the case 17 is determined to be the longest size, and the width also corresponds to the maximum width size.
On the bottom plate 21 of the case 17, a plate-shaped rear end regulating member 20 is positioned in accordance with the length of the sheet S and is supported by a slit-shaped supporting portion 22 that is detachably supported, and is removed from these supporting portions 22. A recess 23 for accommodating the rear end regulating member 20 is formed. Locking grooves 24, which are locking parts, are formed on both sides of the rear end regulating member 20, and locking projections 25, which are locking parts elastically locked in these locking grooves 24, are provided on both sides of the recess 23. It is formed on the edge.

The peripheral wall at the rear end of the peripheral wall 26 rising from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate 21 of the case 17 is formed as a paper end contact surface 27 for positioning the rear end of the longest size paper S. Further, a stacking height regulating portion 28 that abuts on the uppermost surface of the longest size sheet S is integrally formed at the upper edge of the rear end side of the peripheral wall 26 (the sheet edge contact surface 27 in this example).
The height of the peripheral wall 26 from the bottom plate 21 is equal to that of the longest size sheet S.
When the height from the bottom plate 21 to the lower surface of the stacking height regulating portion 28 is h at the rear end side of the sheet in the longitudinal direction, the wall surface 26 of the portion surrounding the paper S shorter than the longest size is set to H higher than h. Has been.

In such a structure, as shown in FIG. 1, the height of the space 14 below the paper transport path 6 is low on the side of the paper discharge receiver 5, but the height of the case 17 is the longest size. Since the edge S of the sheet S is as low as h, the sheet S of the longest size can be stored together with the case 17 without interfering with the ceiling surface of the space 14 or the like.

When an A4 size sheet S shorter than the longest size sheet S or a letter size sheet S is stored in the case 17, the rear end regulating member 20 is supported by the supporting portion 22 corresponding to any size. Then, the trailing edge regulating member 20 regulates the position of the trailing edge of the sheet S. In this case, since the paper S stored in the case 17 does not reach the portion where the height of the case 17 is low, the paper S can be stacked up to the height H. Converted to the number of loaded sheets, 250 in this example
It is about one sheet.

When the longest size sheet S such as legal size is to be stored in the case 17, the trailing edge regulating member 20 is removed from the supporting portion 22 and the trailing edge position of the sheet S is regulated by the sheet edge contact surface 27. can do. Longest size paper S
The stacking height to be loaded on the case 17 is limited by the stacking height regulating portion 28. In this example, the number of legal-size sheets S to be stacked is about 100. Therefore, the rear end of the longest size sheet S does not interfere with the ceiling surface of the space 14.

As described above, the end portion of the space 14 has a non-uniform shape in which the ceiling surface projects downward.
Since the longest size paper S can be stored together with the paper feed tray 15 without increasing the overall height of the main body 2, the overall height of the main body 2 can be reduced.
The above is the effect corresponding to the invention of claim 1.

As described above, when the longest size sheet S is used, the trailing edge regulating member 20 is removed from the supporting portion 22, but the removed trailing edge regulating member 20 is attached to the bottom plate 21 of the case 17.
Since it can be accommodated in the recess 23, the accommodation place for the rear end regulating member 20 is secured, and it is never lost. This is an effect corresponding to the second aspect of the invention.

In this case, the locking groove 24 of the rear end regulating member 20
Since the locking projection 25 of the recess 23 elastically locks with each other, it is possible to prevent the trailing end regulating member 20 from falling out of the recess 23. This is an effect corresponding to the third aspect of the present invention.

It should be noted that one side of the recess 23 in which the locking projection 25 is not formed and the rear end regulating member 20 facing the one side.
By defining the shape and size of the recessed portion 23 so that a space such as a finger can be formed between the recessed portion 23 and one side thereof, or by forming a recess or the like for hanging a finger on one surface of the rear end regulating member 20, It is easy to take out the rear end regulating member 20. Also,
The recess 23 may have a depth for accommodating a plurality of trailing edge regulating members 20, or a plurality of recesses 23 for accommodating one trailing edge regulating member 20 may be formed in the bottom plate 21.

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the invention, among the peripheral walls rising from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate of the case, the peripheral wall at the rear end is formed as a paper end contact surface for positioning the rear end of the longest size paper. Therefore, the position of the trailing edge of the longest size sheet can be regulated by the sheet edge contact surface. The height of the peripheral wall from the bottom plate is determined so that it is lower on the rear end side in the longitudinal direction of the longest size paper and higher on the front side than that. Since the stacking height regulation part that abuts the uppermost surface of size paper is formed, even if the height of the end of the space under the paper transport path of the image forming device is low, the longest size paper will be Can be stored. Further, even if the end portion of the space for accommodating the paper feed tray has a low shape, the longest size paper can be accommodated together with the paper feed tray without increasing the overall height of the space. Can contribute to lowering the overall height dimension of.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bottom plate of the case of the paper feeding tray is formed with the recess for detachably accommodating the rear end regulating member, the rear end regulating member is removed from the supporting portion. In this case, the rear end regulating member can be stored in the concave portion, which can prevent the rear end regulating member from being lost.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rear end regulating member and the concave portion are formed with engaging portions that are engaged with each other in a disengageable manner, the rear end regulating member comes off from the concave portion. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a mounting state of a paper feed tray in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention with a part cut away.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of a paper feed tray together with a trailing edge regulating member.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a paper feed tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Paper Tray 17 Case 20 Rear End Restricting Member 21 Bottom Plate 22 Supporting Part 23 Recesses 24, 25 Locking Part 27 Paper End Abutting Surface 28 Stacking Height Restricting Part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped case for accommodating a plurality of types of sheets including a longest size sheet having the maximum length in the sheet feeding direction in a stacked state, and a sheet other than the longest size, which is attached to the rear end in the longitudinal direction. A sheet feeding unit having a rear end regulating member which is in contact with the bottom plate of the case, and a supporting portion which supports the rear end regulating member by positioning the rear end regulating member according to the size of the sheet in the longitudinal direction and detachably supporting the sheet. In the tray, the peripheral wall at the rear end of the peripheral walls rising from the peripheral edge of the bottom plate of the case is formed as a paper edge contact surface for positioning the rear end of the longest size paper, and the height of the peripheral wall from the bottom plate is Stacking height regulation is set so that it is lower on the rear end side of the longest size paper in the longitudinal direction and higher than it on the front side, and the upper edge of the rear end side of the peripheral wall is in contact with the uppermost surface of the longest size paper. Paper feed tray Ray. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate of the case is formed with a recess for detachably accommodating the rear end regulating member. 3. The sheet feeding tray according to claim 2, wherein the rear end regulating member and the recessed portion are formed with engaging portions that are engageable with and disengageable from each other.