JPH09309631A - Automatic sheet feeding tray mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic sheet feeding tray mechanism in which its operating characteristic is improved in such a way that it may easily be performed when a sheet is supplied or when a sheet is replaced with a new one and its printer can be made small in size. SOLUTION: A slider section 2 is provided with a side plate to be abutted against an outer circumferential surface of a side plate of a win body 1 of a tray. A side surface of a lid member 3 is provided with a hinge section 7 in respect to the slider section 2. The slider section 2 and the lid 3 are integrally formed. Another side surface of the lid member 3 is provided with a claw 10 for use in locking the lid when the lid is closed. In order to attain a more positive lock of the lid member 3, a lock plate 20 for use in locking the claw 10 of the lid member 3 to the slider section 2 is slidably attached to the side plate of the slider section 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feed tray mechanism used in a video printer or the like for accommodating and supplying printing paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are several sizes of printing paper used in a printer, and an automatic paper feed tray for supplying each paper to the printer is adapted to the paper size. FIG. 19 shows a conventional automatic paper feed tray. In this automatic paper feeding tray, a partition plate 103 is provided in the tray body 101 so as to be compatible with two types of paper sizes, and a lid portion 102 is attached to the upper portion of the tray body 101 so as to be openable and closable to prevent adhesion of dust and the like. Yes, the partition plate 103 is arranged at the length position of a small size sheet.

As shown in FIG. 19A, when accommodating a small size sheet, the partition plate 103 is raised to accommodate the printing sheet. As shown in FIG. 3B, when accommodating a large size sheet, the partition plate 103 is tilted down to increase the accommodating size of the sheet. When replacing or accommodating paper, hold the tray body with one hand and open the lid with the other hand to replace the paper. When storing too much paper, it may cause a trouble such as paper jam.
A label is attached on the tray at a position that is easy to see, and the number of sheets that can be stored is limited.

[0004]

In conventional paper feed trays, the tray size must always be the maximum size of paper used. Therefore, this has been an obstacle to reducing the size of the printer that accommodates the paper feed tray.

In addition, when the tray main body is replaced or accommodated, the tray main body must be handled with both hands as described above, and the tray main body must be detached from the printer to supply the paper, which complicates the work. Met. In order to take out a short paper called a standard size, it was necessary to tilt the partition plate 103 and then replace the paper.
When accommodating long paper called wide paper, the waist of the paper is bent because the paper is put in the lateral direction (Fig. 19C).
(See), it was difficult to put in a small number of items. As described above, the conventional paper feed tray has poor workability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper feed tray mechanism capable of improving the operability so that the paper can be easily fed or replaced, and the printer can be downsized. .

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tray main body for accommodating a sheet, a slider portion which can be slid from the tray main body in accordance with the sheet size to enlarge the sheet storage portion, and one side of the slider portion. The turning portion provided on the side surface includes a lid portion on one side of which is openably and closably mounted, and a claw provided on the side surface of the lid portion opposite to the turning portion and a lid portion when the lid portion is closed. An automatic paper feed tray mechanism comprising: a lock portion provided at a position on a side surface of a slider portion facing the pawl, and the pawl and the lock portion are engaged with each other to lock the lid portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a tray main body for accommodating a sheet, a slider portion that can be slid from the tray main body in accordance with the sheet size to enlarge the sheet accommodating portion, and a rotation provided on a rear side surface of the slider portion. And a lid provided with a rear end of the side surface openably and closably mounted, the claw provided on the side surface of the lid, and the slider side surface facing the claw when the lid is closed. And an elastic member for urging the lid portion in the opening direction, and the claw and the lock portion engage with each other to lock the lid portion. is there.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided one end fixed to the lower surface of the lid, the other end provided with a weight, and an intermediate part having a rotating part for rotatably moving the other end. When the lid is opened with a paper pressing plate, the paper pressing plate extends substantially along the lower surface of the lid, and the end of the weight reaches a predetermined position in the tray main body to reach the number of sheets to be stored. 4. The automatic paper feed tray mechanism according to claim 3, wherein when the lid is closed, the paper pressing plate bends at the rotating portion and the weight holds the paper when the lid is closed.

The automatic paper feed tray main body constructed as described above operates as follows. The invention described above can accommodate wide paper (paper longer than standard paper) by adopting a structure in which the slider portion is drawn out to enlarge the paper storage portion and the front cover is not closed, and the printer is compatible with wide paper. It doesn't have to be large. According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the turning portion is provided on the side surface of the lid portion and the lid portion can be opened laterally, the work of accommodating and exchanging the sheets can be easily performed. Further, in the invention of claim 2, since the elastic member for urging the lid portion in the opening direction, the pawl and the lock portion for closing and locking the lid portion are provided, the automatic paper feed tray can be used by using both hands as in the conventional case. You don't have to handle it, you can easily supply and replace paper with one hand, and you can open and close the lid to put the automatic paper feed tray in and out of the printer body. According to the third aspect of the invention, since the sheet pressing plate is provided, the sheet can be restricted when the lid is opened and the sheet is accommodated. Further, since the paper pressing plate presses the paper after storing, the paper can be reliably conveyed into the printer by suppressing the warp of the paper.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an automatic paper feed tray according to the present invention. FIG.
(A) is a side view with the lid opened, and (B) is a front view thereof. 2 is a top view when the lid is closed, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray body. This automatic paper feed tray can store two sizes of paper, standard size and wide size. This tray is composed of a tray body 1, a slider portion 2 slidable on the tray body 1, and a lid portion 3 attached to the slider portion 2 so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tray main body 1 has a shape in which side plates are provided vertically on opposite end sides of a rectangular bottom plate, and fitting recesses 15 and 16 are formed in the upper portions of the side plates. There is. On the outer surface of the side plate, rail portions that allow the slider portion 2 to slide are formed in parallel vertically. Further, engaging recesses 17 and 18 are formed on the outer surface of the side plate for auxiliary fixing the slider portion 2 in standard size and wide size. A fixing portion 13 that is fixed when the printer body is housed is formed in the lower portion thereof.

The slider portion 2 is provided with a side plate so as to contact the outer peripheral surface of the side plate of the tray body 1. Slider part 2
Engaging projections that engage with the engaging recesses 17 and 18 are formed on the inner surface of the claw 6 at the side plate end (not shown). A front plate 2a is attached to the front end portions of both side plates, a hinge 7 for the slider portion 2 is provided on the side surface of the lid portion 3, and the slider 2 and the lid portion 3 are integrally formed (FIG. 1 (B). )reference). The slider 2 and the lid portion 3 are molded with a resin having high bending resistance such as polypropylene resin, and a rotatable hinge portion 7 is formed at a joint portion between the slider 2 and the lid portion 3. Since it is desirable that the lid portion 3 is in a wide open state when it is not closed, the hinge 7
Is molded in the open state. Alternatively, there is a method of creating a clickable hinge which is used in a lid of a detergent or shampoo container. By doing so, the lid portion naturally opens when no force is applied, and the operation is very easy. On the side surface of the other lid portion 3, a claw 10 for locking the lid portion when the lid portion is closed is provided. Further, upwardly projecting portions 12 are provided at substantially central portions on both sides of the upper surface of the lid portion 3.

In order to more securely lock the lid portion 3, a lock plate 20 for locking the claw 10 of the lid portion 3 on the slider portion 2 is slidably attached to the side plate of the slider portion 2. A spring 21 is attached to the end portions of the front plate 2a and the lock plate 20, and always urges the lock plate 20 so as to press it in the direction opposite to the front plate 2a side. A lock portion 23 of the pawl 10, an operation knob portion 22, a spring guide and the like are integrally formed on the lock plate 20, and slide together with the slider portion 2. The lock portion 23 has a protrusion on the outer side, and the claw 10 is engaged therewith.

Next, the operation of the automatic paper feed tray loaded with standard size paper will be described. As shown in FIG. 1A, the front plate 2a of the slider portion 2 is brought into contact with the end portion of the tray body 1. An engaging convex portion (not shown) formed on the claw 6 of the slider portion 2 engages with an engaging concave portion 17 of the tray body 1, and the slider portion 2 is auxiliary fixed to the tray body 1. This state is the state shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 4, put the standard size paper from the state where the lid 3 is opened sideways,
The lid 3 is closed. As shown in FIG. 5, the two claws 10 are
The lid portion 3 is locked by engaging with the lock portion 23 on the lock plate 20 (see FIG. 5B). At the same time, the fitting convex portion 5 of the lid portion 3 is fitted into the fitting concave portion 16, and the slider portion 2
Is completely fixed to the tray body 1 (see FIG. 5A).

Next, when the operation knob portion 22 which is a part of the lock plate 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the lock plate 20 slides leftward in the figure, and the lock portion 23 also moves with it (see FIG. 6 ( See A)). As shown in FIG. 6B, the lock portion 2
3 is disengaged from the lid claw 10 and the lid 3 opens at the hinge 7.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the main part of the printer main body when the above-mentioned automatic paper feed tray is set in the printer main body. In the printer body, there is a storage unit that stores an automatic paper feed tray. When the automatic paper feed tray is stored in this storage portion, the front cover 31 that can be freely opened and closed is provided above the automatic cover.
Is arranged. The front cover 31 is rotatably supported by the shaft 32 of the printer main body at the rear end portions of both ends, and a projection 33 is provided below the shaft 32. This protrusion 33
However, as shown in the drawing, the leaf spring 34 urges the front cover in the closing direction when the front cover is below a certain angle with respect to the horizontal direction, and in the opening direction when the front cover is above the certain angle. Although not shown, the speed of opening and closing the front cover 31 is moderated by an oil damper. Paper fed from the automatic paper feed tray is printed inside the printer and discharged onto the upper portion of the lid portion 3 of the automatic paper feed tray.

As shown in FIG. 8, standard size paper 19
The front cover 31 can be completely closed when is mounted on the automatic paper feed tray. Front cover 31
Since the internal size is a size capable of accommodating a standard size sheet even when is closed, the ejected sheet 19 is directly mounted on the lid 3.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of an automatic paper feed tray for loading wide size paper. When a wide size sheet is used as shown in FIG. 9A, the user pulls out the front plate 2a of the slider section 2. The engaging convex portion (not shown) of the claw 6 of the slider portion 2 is the engaging concave portion 1 of the tray body 1.
8, the slider portion 2 is auxiliary fixed to the tray body 1. The two claws 10 are engaged with the lock portion 23 on the lock plate 20, and the lid portion 3 is locked. At the same time, the fitting convex portion 5 of the lid portion 3 is fitted into the fitting concave portion 15 and the slider portion 2 is completely fixed to the tray body 1 (FIG. 9).
(B)).

Next, when the operation knob portion 22 which is a part of the lock plate 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the lock plate 20 slides leftward in the figure, and the lock portion 23 also moves with it (see FIG. 9 ( See C)). The lock portion 23 is disengaged from the lid claw 10 and the lid portion 3 is opened at the hinge 7.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the wide size paper 20 is mounted on the automatic paper feed tray, the slider 2 of the automatic paper feed tray is pulled out, so that the protruding portion 12 of the lid 3 is pulled out. But it is moving forward. Therefore, the lower front end portion of the front cover 31 comes into contact with the protruding portion 12 of the lid portion 3 and cannot be completely closed. The paper 19 fed from the automatic paper feed tray is printed and discharged to the upper part of the lid portion 3, but since the front cover 31 is not closed, the paper is loaded on the lid portion 3 as it is. If the front cover 31 is closed, the inside is fitted to the standard size paper, so if the wide size paper is used, the storage size will be insufficient and a paper jam will occur, but since the front cover 31 is open, A stable paper ejection operation that does not cause paper jams can be performed.

In this way, the tray body and the slider portion can be slid, and the slider portion can be slid to accommodate the sheet size. Therefore, when the sheet is small, the tray size can be downsized, and the printer body can also be downsized. If the paper size is large, the slider may be pulled out as needed to handle it. Also, because the lid can be opened sideways,
Even in the case of wide paper, since the paper is not supplied from the longitudinal direction, the work of accommodating and exchanging the paper is easy and the operability is improved. Further, the paper can be easily accommodated by engaging the claws of the slider portion with the concavities and convexities formed on the tray body and easily releasing the claws of the lid portion.

In the first embodiment, the hinge 7 is simply resin-molded, but as shown in FIG.
6 and the spring 37 may be used. in this case,
The lid 37 is always biased in the opening direction by the spring 37.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the automatic paper feed tray mechanism according to the present invention. (A) is a top view when the lid is closed, and (B) is a side view when the lid is open. Since the basic configuration of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, the corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. A shaft 7 having the lid 3 as a support shaft is formed at the rear ends (ends in the direction opposite to the front plate 2a) of both side plates of the slider portion 2. Around the shaft 7 of the rotary hinge portion. A spring 8 is provided. One end of the spring 8 is attached to the slider portion 2 and the other end is attached to a side surface of the lid portion 3 and is biased to open the lid portion 3. When the lid portion 3 is fully opened, the rear end portion of the lid portion 3 is held in contact with the tray body 1 at an angle. A pawl 41 is formed on the front portion of the lid portion 3, and a lock button 9 is arranged on the slider portion 2 at a position to be engaged with the pawl 41. As shown in FIG. 3A, a paper retainer 40 is provided at the rear end of the lid 3. Detailed configurations of the lock button 9 and the paper pressing member 40 will be described later.

The operation of the automatic paper feed tray loaded with standard size paper will be described. As shown in FIG. 12B, the front plate 2a of the slider portion 2 is brought into contact with the end portion of the tray body 1. The engaging protrusion of the claw 6 of the slider 2 is the tray body 1.
The slider portion 2 is auxiliary fixed to the tray main body 1 by being engaged with the engaging concave portion 17 of.

As shown in FIG. 13, the front cover 31 of the printer and the lid portion 3 of the automatic paper feed tray are opened, and standard size paper is put in this state. Figure 1 when inserting paper
The sheet 19 can be put in without removing the tray body 1 from the printer as shown in FIG. 3, and when removing the remaining sheet in the tray, holes 42 formed in the tray body 1 and the slider portion 2 (see FIG. 14). You can insert your fingers to lift and remove the paper. Simultaneously with closing the lid portion 3, the fitting convex portion 5 of the lid portion 3 fits into the fitting concave portion 15, and the slider portion 2 is completely fixed to the tray body 1 (see FIG. 15). The claw 41 of the lid part 3 is engaged with and locked by the claw of the lock button 9 provided on the slider part 2, and the lid part 3 is held.

Here, the structure for locking the lid will be described. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a locking operation with the claw 41 of the lid portion. (A) shows a locked state,
(B) shows the unlocked state. The lock button 9 has a substantially plate shape, and is attached so as to be rotatable around a shaft 91.
The lower part of the lock button 9 has a concave portion, and the user presses the concave portion with a finger. The upper part of the lock button 9 is formed with an engaging concave part on the side surface of the tray body 1 for engaging with the claw 41 of the lid part 3. A leaf spring 92 is arranged between the side surface of the slider 2 and the concave portion of the lock button 9, and biases the upper portion of the lock button 9 in the closing direction.

When the lock button 9 attached to the slider portion 2 is pushed in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 16 (A)), the lock button 9 rotates about the shaft 91 formed on the slider portion 2 as a fulcrum, The lock is released as shown in FIG. 16B, and the lid 3 is opened upward by the spring 8. At this time, the leaf spring 92 integrally formed with the lock button 9 is in a compressed state, and when the finger is released from the lock button 9, the lock button 9 returns to its original state.

Next, the sheet pressing plate 40 will be described. FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing the operation of the pressing plate.
(A) shows a state in which the lid is closed, and (B) shows a state in which the lid is opened. The paper pressing plate 40 has a weight 42 at the rear end and a lid at the front end. A pin is taken out from the lid portion 3, and a hole is formed in the front end portion of the paper pressing plate 40, and the pin is inserted into the hole and fixed by welding. A hinge portion 43 is provided between the welding fixing portion 44 of the sheet pressing plate 40 and the weight 42 so that the sheet pressing plate 40 can be bent toward the tray body 1.
With the lid 3 closed, the weight of the weight 42 causes the hinge 43 to move.
The paper pressing plate 40 is bent by and the weight 42 lightly presses the paper (FIG. 17A). If the paper is warped against the printer, the weight 42 suppresses the warpage,
Smoothly supplies paper to the printer. When the lid 3 is opened, the paper pressing plate 40 is tilted substantially parallel to the lower surface of the lid 3, and the paper is restricted so that the paper is not stored above the end of the weight 42 (see FIG. 17B. )).

Similarly to the case shown in FIG. 8, when the standard size paper 19 is mounted on the automatic paper feed tray, the front cover 31 can be completely closed. Even if the front cover 31 is closed, the internal size is a size capable of accommodating a standard size sheet, and thus the ejected sheet 19 is directly mounted on the lid 3.

FIG. 18 is a side sectional view of an automatic paper feed tray for loading wide size paper. When using wide size paper, the user pulls out the front plate 2a of the slider 2. In FIG. 1C, the engaging projection 6 of the claw of the slider 2 is shown.
Engages with the engaging recess 18 (FIG. 1C) of the tray body, and the slider 2 is auxiliary fixed to the tray body 1. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the wide size sheet 20 is mounted on the tray body 1 and the lid 3 is closed. The fitting convex portion 5 of the lid portion 3 is fitted into the fitting concave portion 15 and completely fixed (see FIG. 8).

As shown in FIG. 10, since the slider 2 of the automatic paper feed tray is pulled out, the protruding portion 12 of the lid portion 3 is moved forward. Therefore, the lower front end portion of the front cover 31 comes into contact with the protruding portion 12 of the lid portion 3 and cannot be completely closed. The paper 20 fed from the automatic paper feed tray is printed and discharged to the upper portion of the lid portion 3, but the front cover 31 does not close, so the paper is loaded on the lid portion 3 as it is. If the front cover 31 is closed, the inside is fitted to the standard size paper, so if the wide size paper is used, the storage size will be insufficient and a paper jam will occur, but since the front cover 31 is open. , Stable paper discharge operation without paper jam can be performed.

In this way, since there is a lock button for opening the lid, it can be operated without using both hands, and even if the tray main body is not pulled out completely, there is a restriction on the paper pressing plate, and storage of print paper can be facilitated. However, the paper can be smoothly supplied to the printer by reducing the warp of the paper.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the rotating portion is provided on the side surface of the lid portion and the lid portion can be opened laterally, the work of accommodating and exchanging sheets is easy and the operability is improved. Is improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the elastic member for urging the lid portion in the opening direction, the pawl and the lock portion for closing and locking the lid portion are provided, automatic feeding is performed using both hands as in the conventional case. You don't have to handle the paper tray, you can easily supply and replace the paper with one hand, you can open and close the lid to put the automatic paper feed tray in and out of the printer body, improving operability.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the sheet pressing plate is provided, the sheet can be restricted when the lid is opened and the sheet is accommodated, and the sheet jam can be prevented. Further, since the paper pressing plate presses the paper after storing, the paper can be reliably conveyed into the printer by suppressing the warp of the paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are configuration diagrams showing a first embodiment of an automatic paper feed tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the automatic paper feed tray when the lid is closed.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray body.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of storing a sheet by opening a lid portion.

5A and 5B are explanatory views showing a state of the automatic paper feed tray when the lid is closed.

6A and 6B are explanatory views showing a state of an automatic paper feed tray when unlocking is performed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of essential parts of the printer body when the above-described automatic paper feed tray is set in the printer body.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which standard size sheets have been printed and ejected to an automatic sheet feeding tray set in the printer body.

9A to 9C are side cross-sectional explanatory views of an automatic paper feed tray in which wide size paper is mounted.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which wide-sized paper has been printed and ejected to an automatic paper feed tray set in the printer body.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing another example of the first embodiment of the automatic paper feed tray according to the present invention.

12A and 12B are configuration diagrams showing a second embodiment of the automatic paper feed tray mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of accommodating standard-size paper in an automatic paper feed tray set in the printer.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a bottom portion of a slider portion.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of the automatic paper feed tray when the lid is closed.

16A and 16B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the lock button.

17A and 17B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the paper pressing plate.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of accommodating standard-size paper in an automatic paper feed tray set in the printer.

19A to 19C are explanatory views showing the sheet accommodation operation of the conventional automatic sheet feeding tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tray Main Body 2 Slider Part 3 Lid Part 7 Hinge 10 Claw 12 Projecting Part 13 Fixing Part 15, 16 Fitting Recess 20 Lock Plate 21 Spring 22 Knob 23 Lock Part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tray main body for accommodating a sheet, a slider portion that can be slid from the tray main body according to the sheet size to enlarge the sheet accommodating portion, and a rotating portion provided on one side surface of the slider portion, and one side surface. A lid part that is openably and closably attached, and a claw provided on the side surface of the lid part opposite to the rotating part, and a position of a side surface of the slider part facing the claw when the lid part is closed. An automatic paper feed tray mechanism, wherein the claw and the lock portion are engaged with each other to lock the lid portion. 2. A tray main body for accommodating a sheet, a slider portion which can be slid from the tray main body in accordance with the sheet size to enlarge the sheet accommodating portion, and a rotating portion provided on a rear side surface of the slider portion, and a side rear surface. A claw provided on a side surface of the lid section, and a lock section provided on a side surface of the slider section facing the claw when the lid section is closed. An elastic member for urging the lid portion in the opening direction, and the claw and the lock portion engage with each other to lock the lid portion. 3. A paper pressing plate having one end fixed to the lower surface of the lid, the other end provided with a weight, and an intermediate part having a rotating part for rotatably moving the other end. When the lid is opened, the paper pressing plate extends substantially along the lower surface of the lid, and the end of the weight reaches a predetermined position in the tray main body to limit the number of sheets to be stored, 4. The automatic paper feed tray mechanism according to claim 3, wherein, when the lid is closed, the paper pressing plate bends at the rotating portion, and the weight holds the paper.