JPH10218383A - Paper feeding cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To feed a plurality of kinds of paper by one paper feeding cassette by providing a pair of paper side guides which can be moved in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the paper is advanced and by providing a plurality of paper rear end guides to guide the end of the paper according to the various sizes of paper. SOLUTION: A pair of right and left paper side guides 10a, 10b which can be moved in a right left direction are spaced opposite to each other in the upstream side of the direction B in which the paper is advanced of a friction pad 9 arranged in a base plate 4. The pair of right and left paper side guides 10a, 10b regulate both side ends of the paper placed on a paper placing surface 3 to the direction B in which the paper is advanced. Five paper rear end guides 12 extending in parallel to each other are provided on the paper placing surface 3 of the base plate 4 such that they are orthogonal to the direction shown by an arrow B. These paper rear end guides 12 regulate the rear end of the paper placed on the paper placing surface 3 to the direction B in which the paper is advanced.

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 for stacking a plurality of sheets and feeding the sheets one by one to a recording apparatus. The present invention relates to a sheet cassette that can be supplied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of printers such as thermal transfer printers and laser beam printers and recording devices such as electronic copiers which have conventionally been used as output devices such as computers, word processors, and facsimile machines perform desired recording. Then, a paper cassette containing a plurality of sheets is mounted on the recording apparatus, and the sheets stored in the paper cassette are separated one by one from above and fed toward the printing position of the recording apparatus (supply). ). And
In a recording apparatus, for example, A3 size, A4 size,
Paper of various sizes such as B4 size, B5 size, and postcard size is used, and a plurality of paper feed cassettes corresponding to the paper size are used as the paper feed cassette.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a conventional general paper feed cassette 1. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a configuration of a main part, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. FIG.

In the conventional paper feed cassette 1, a paper mounting surface 3 having a different depth is formed at the bottom of a box-shaped cassette main body 2 on which the upper surface is opened and paper is stacked and placed inside. .
Of these, B5 size paper is placed on the deeper paper placement surface 3a, and A4 size paper is placed on the shallower paper placement surface 3b. ing. Also, the B5 size paper mounting surface 3a has
The entire lower surface of the 5-size sheet is placed in contact with the sheet.
Because it is formed in a "substantially U-shape" except for the five sizes,
The portion corresponding to the B5 size sheet of the A4 size sheet is placed without contact. At the downstream side of the paper feed cassette 1 in the paper feed direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG.

[0005] Such a conventional paper feed cassette 1
If the user selects the paper size and uses the B5 size paper to record on the B5 size paper, the B5 size paper is stacked on the paper mounting surface 3a. And if you want to record on A4 size paper,
A4 size sheets are stacked on the sheet placing surface 3b. Then, the uppermost sheet is separated from other sheets by a sheet separating mechanism (not shown) or the like, and is supplied one by one to the recording apparatus.

[0006]

However, in the conventional paper feed cassette 1 described above, the same paper feed cassette 1 can be used when recording on B5 size paper and A4 size paper. When recording on a postcard, the paper feed cassette 1 must be separately prepared.

In addition, the necessity of a plurality of paper feed cassettes 1 means that the number of parts is increased and the economic burden is increased, and that a space for storing the unused paper feed cassettes 1 is required. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of these points, and has as its object to provide a paper feed cassette capable of feeding a plurality of types of paper of different sizes using a single paper feed cassette. .

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a side edge of a sheet placed on a sheet placing surface is provided. A pair of paper side end guides for guiding the paper are provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction of the paper, and a plurality of paper rear end guides for guiding the rear end of the paper are provided with different paper sizes. In addition, they are arranged at intervals in the paper feeding direction. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to feed a plurality of types of sheets having different sizes with one sheet feeding cassette.

The paper feed cassette according to the present invention is characterized in that sheets of a size whose rear end cannot be accommodated downstream of the paper rear end guide in the paper feeding direction are loaded over the paper rear end guide. The point is to put it. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to feed a plurality of types of sheets having different sizes with one sheet feeding cassette.

A third feature of the paper cassette according to the present invention is that the paper cassette is provided near the paper rear end guide on the paper mounting surface to prevent the paper that passes over the paper rear end guide from being bent. The point is that a bending preventing means is formed. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a harmful effect such as formation of a fold mark on the sheet, and it is possible to stably mount the sheet on the sheet mounting surface.

The paper feed cassette according to the present invention is characterized in that the bending preventing means is disposed outside the paper rear end guide in the width direction and has an upper end surface at the same height as the paper rear end guide. This is in that it is constituted by a pair of paper guide portions. By employing such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the load when the paper is placed over the paper rear end guide, and to stably place the paper.

The paper feed cassette according to the fifth aspect is characterized in that the upper end surface of the paper guide portion is formed parallel to the paper mounting surface. By adopting such a configuration, the sheet can easily be stably placed over the sheet rear end guide.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the paper cassette is characterized in that the paper loading section is located downstream of each paper guide section in the paper transport direction and is located downstream of the upper end edge of each paper guide section in the paper transport direction. The point is that a downstream paper guide inclined portion having an inclined surface up to the placement surface is formed. By adopting such a configuration, the sheet can be gently bent on the sheet guide portion and placed without applying a load.

The paper feed cassette according to the present invention is characterized in that the paper guide section and the paper rear end guide are provided on the upstream side of the paper feed direction in the paper feed direction from the upper edge of each of these upstream sides. The point is that an upstream paper guide inclined portion having an inclined surface up to the mounting surface is formed. And
By employing such a configuration, the rear portion of the sheet beyond the sheet rear end guide can be gently placed on the sheet placement surface.

The paper cassette according to the present invention is characterized in that the paper loading surface has the same width as the paper trailing edge guide on the paper loading surface of the paper trailing edge guide on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction. And a sheet rear end inclined guide that is inclined downward from the surface to the upstream side in the paper feeding direction. By adopting such a configuration, the rear portion of the sheet can be stably placed, so that the positioning of the sheet rear end guide can be reliably performed, and the sheet can be stably placed as a whole.

The paper feed cassette according to the ninth aspect is characterized in that the paper trailing end guide for guiding the trailing end of the postcard-size paper among the paper trailing end guides is provided on the postcard trailing end guide which can be turned upside down. It is in the formed point. And, by adopting such a configuration, paper such as a postcard having a strong waist does not need to pass over the paper rear end guide in the upright state.
We can avoid burdening paper.

A feature of the paper feed cassette according to the present invention is that a sheet of A4 size is provided on the inclined surface of the downstream paper guide inclined portion, the upper end surface of the paper guide portion and the inclined surface of the upstream paper guide inclined portion. And the B4 size paper is placed along the inclined surface of the downstream paper guide inclined portion and the upper end surface of the paper guide portion. By adopting such a configuration, the A4 size paper and the B4 size paper can be stably mounted on the paper mounting surface, respectively, over the paper rear end guide.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a sheet feeding cassette 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a main part, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially cut side view taken along the line II. Note that the same reference numerals are given to components similar to or equivalent to those of the conventional paper feed cassette 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment is capable of feeding paper P in a paper feed direction indicated by an arrow B.
And a substantially flat cassette body 2 on which the cassettes can be stacked. The cassette body 2 has a substantially flat substrate 4 whose one surface is a sheet mounting surface 3 on which the sheet P is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of right and left side plates 5a and 5b formed in a substantially flat plate shape are provided on both sides in the right and left direction of the substrate 4 perpendicular to the paper feeding direction indicated by the arrow B. The direction is parallel to the paper feeding direction B. A mounting portion 6 for mounting the cassette main body 2 to a recording device (not shown) is provided on the left and right outer sides of the distal ends (upper portions in FIG. 1) of the side plates 5a and 5b. A paper upper guide 7 for positioning the upper end of the A4 size plain paper PWa or the B4 size plain paper PWc is provided at the rear upper edge of each of the side plates 5a and 5b in the paper feed direction B.
a, 7b extend inward in parallel with the paper placing plate 23.

Two recesses 8 are formed at a distance from each other in the vicinity of the leading end of the paper placing surface 3 of the substrate 4, and a friction pad 9 is fixed inside each of the recesses 8. .
The friction pad 9 separates the paper P placed on the paper loading surface 3 one by one by a paper feed roller (not shown) of the recording device and feeds (feeds) the paper P one by one. P is prevented from being separated and transmitted at a time. For this reason, the friction pad 9 is formed of a material having a large coefficient of friction with the paper P, for example, rubber, cork, or the like, and has an upper end surface slightly protruding from the paper mounting surface 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right paper-side end guides 10a, 10b movable in the left-right direction are provided on the upstream side of the friction pad 9 disposed on the substrate 4 in the paper feed direction B.
Are arranged so as to face each other with an interval. The paper side end guides 10a and 10b regulate both side edges of the paper P placed on the paper loading surface 3 at right angles to the paper feeding direction B. Accordingly, each of the sheets P is independently moved in the left-right direction so as to be sandwiched from both sides in the left-right direction.

The paper-side end guides 10a, 10b
In addition, sheet side end ribs 11 are formed at appropriate positions on the side plates 5a and 5b at positions facing the side surfaces of the sheet P. The paper-side end ribs 11 are for reducing a contact portion with the side surface of the paper P, and thereby, the paper-side end guides 10a and 10b and the side plate 5 are provided.
a, 5b and the paper P are reduced in contact load,
The driving force required for the paper feed motor (not shown) can be reduced. Further, since the paper side end rib 11 is formed integrally with the cassette body 2, it can be manufactured at low cost.

On the paper mounting surface 3 of the substrate 4, five paper rear end guides 12 extending in parallel with each other are arranged so as to be orthogonal to the paper feeding direction shown by the arrow B. I have. The paper rear end guide 12 regulates the rear end position of the paper P placed on the paper mounting surface 3 in the paper feeding direction B. The five paper trailing end guides 12 are, in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the paper feeding direction B, the paper trailing end guides 12a and the B5 size plain paper when the A4 size plain paper PWa is used in the longitudinal direction. When the PWb is used in the vertical direction, the paper rear end guide 12b is used. When the reciprocating postcard RPC is used in the vertical direction, the postcard rear end guide 12c is used. When the postcard PC is used in the vertical direction, the postcard rear end guide 12d and the postcard PC are used. When used in the horizontal direction, it is a postcard rear end guide 12e. Note that the paper trailing edge guide 12 for regulating the trailing edge position of the B4 size plain paper PWc is not provided.
The paper upper guides 7a and 7b are stably mounted.

Here, when the A4 size plain paper PWa is placed on the paper placing surface 3, the rear end side of the A4 size plain paper PWa is the B5 size paper trailing end guide 12b. It is placed so as to get over. When the B4 size plain paper PWc is placed, the B4 size plain paper PWc is placed over the B5 size paper trailing end guide 12b and the A4 size paper trailing end guide 12a. . The plain papers PWa and PWc are passed over the paper trailing end guides 12a and 12b as smoothly as possible without being bent, and are stably placed. In the vicinity of the paper trailing end guide 12b, a fold preventing means 13 is provided.
Are formed.

That is, an upper end surface parallel to the paper placement surface 3 and at the same height as the paper rear end guide 12b is provided on the paper placement surface 3 outside the width direction of the B5 size paper trailing end guide 12b. Left and right pair of paper guide flat portions 14a,
14b are formed on the downstream side of the sheet guide flat portions 14a, 14b in the sheet feeding direction B, and the downstream side upper edge 15a of each of the sheet guide flat portions 14a, 14b. , 15b are formed with downstream slopes 16a, 16b having gentle slopes extending from the paper feed direction B to the paper placement surface 3 in the downstream direction.

The pair of left and right paper guide flat portions 14a,
The A4 size plain paper PWa and the B4 size plain paper PWc are both placed on the paper guide flat portion 14a located on the left side in the paper feeding direction B of the 14b. On the other hand, the paper guide flat portion 14b located on the right side in the paper feed direction B is mainly composed of the A4 size guide flat portion 17 for placing the A4 size plain paper PWa and the B4 size plain paper PWc. And a B4 size guide flat portion 18 for mounting the guide. The A4 size guide flat portion 17
Are arranged inside in the width direction, and the B4 size guide flat portion 18 is arranged outside in the width direction.

The paper guide flat portion 14a is formed in consideration of a distance such that the postcard trailing end guide 12c on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction B and the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16a do not overlap. The length to the downstream side in the paper feeding direction B is determined. The length of the A4 size guide flat portion 17 is set to the same length as the paper guide flat portion 14a so that the A4 size plain paper PWa placed here is stably placed. Is formed. On the other hand, the B4 size guide flat portion 18 is a B4 size plain paper PWc.
Is larger in the paper feeding direction B, the flat portion extends downstream from the A4 size guide flat portion 17.

On the other hand, of the pair of downstream paper guide inclined portions 16a and 16b, the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16a located on the left side in the paper feeding direction B has an A4 size plain paper PWa and a B4 size paper. Both of the plain papers PWc are placed. However, the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16b located on the left side in the paper feed direction B is mainly used for placing the A4 size plain paper PWa.
4 size downstream guide inclined portion 19 and mainly B
And a B4 size downstream guide inclined portion 20 on which four sizes of plain paper PWc are placed. The A4 size downstream guide inclined portion 19 is connected to the A4 size guide flat portion 17, and the B4 size downstream guide inclined portion 20 is connected to the B4 size guide flat portion 18. .

Further, each downstream side paper guide inclined portion 16
Although the inclination angles of the inclined surfaces a and 16b may be arbitrarily determined, the A4 size plain paper PWa and the B4 size plain paper PWc are not bent excessively by the paper trailing end guides 12a and 12b. The angle is determined so that it can be mounted over the vehicle.

Accordingly, the A4 size plain paper PWa and the B4 size plain paper PWc are gently bent along the gentle slopes of the respective downstream side paper guide inclined portions 16a, 16b to form the respective sheet guide flat portions 14a, 14b. After the sheet 14b is reached, the sheet trails the sheet rear end guide 12b and is stably placed.

The paper guide flat portions 14a, A4
The upper edges 14a ', 17', and 12b 'of the upper and lower edges 14a', 17 ', and 12b' are provided on the sheet placement surface 3 on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction B of the size guide flat portion 17 and the B5 size sheet rear end guide 12b.
An upstream paper guide inclined portion 21 having a gentle slope from the paper feed direction B to the paper placement surface 3 in the upstream direction of the paper feed direction B is formed. This is because when the rear portion of the plain paper PWa of A4 size gets over the paper trailing end guide 12b and is placed again on the paper placing surface 3, it is gently bent down along the inclined surface and lowered. Things. As a result, the A4 size plain paper PWa is gently bent along the upstream paper guide inclined portion 21 from the upper end surface of the paper rear end guide 12b to the paper placement surface 3, and the paper rear end guide 12a It is being guided by.

Therefore, the paper guide flat portion 14
a, 14b and the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16a,
16b, or these and the upstream paper guide inclined portion 21 constitute the bending preventing means 13.

Paper feed direction B of the paper trailing end guide 12b
A paper trailing edge inclined guide that has the same width as the paper trailing edge guide 12b and that is inclined downward from the paper loading surface 3 in the upstream direction in the paper feed direction B on the downstream side of the paper loading surface 3. 22 are formed. Therefore, the B5
The plain paper PWb of the size is positioned more stably by the paper rear end guide 12b after the rear portion thereof is inclined along the paper rear end inclination guide 22, so that it can be placed more stably. .

On the other hand, the postcard PC and the reciprocating postcard RPC
Trailing end guide 12 for each postcard used for positioning the trailing end
c, 12d, and 12e are respectively movable up and down as shown by a double-headed arrow C in FIG. 2, and in use, in a direction perpendicular to the sheet placement surface 3 as shown by a broken line in FIG. When not used, it is turned over so as to be parallel to the paper placing surface 3 as shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 so that its surface is substantially flush with the paper placing surface 3. I have.

At the leading end (upper in FIG. 1) of the cassette body 2 located downstream in the paper feeding direction B, the uppermost sheet P of the plurality of sheets P placed on the sheet loading surface 3 P
Is provided with a frictional separation mechanism 23 that separates the sheet P from other sheets P located thereunder. This friction separating mechanism 23
The separation plate 24 with which the sheet P comes into contact is rotated about a rotation shaft 25, so that the angle between the separation plate 24 and the sheet mounting surface 3 of the substrate 4 can be controlled.

In this embodiment, as the paper P that can be placed in the paper feed cassette 1, A4 size plain paper PWa, B5 size plain paper PWb, B4 size plain paper PWc, postcard PC, reciprocating Although the postcard RPC has been exemplified, the types of the paper P include plain paper PW, postcard PC and, for example, OHP paper, thermal paper, various types of thick paper, various types of coated paper, various types of metal foil, and chemical sheets. It can be selected from various types of resin sheets and the like, and as the size of the paper P, in addition to A4 size, B5 size, B4 size, postcard size, for example, A3 size, A5 size, A6 size, B6 size, legal size And so on. Further, the combination of the paper quality of the paper P and the size of the paper P can be selected from various types as needed.

Next, the operation of the paper feed cassette 1 having the above-described configuration according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

According to the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment,
Paper P having a different size, that is, a postcard PC (vertical direction,
Horizontal), reciprocating postcard RPC, A4 size plain paper PWa
(Vertical direction), B5 size plain paper PWb (vertical direction), and B4 size plain paper PWc (vertical direction) can be selectively stored on one surface.

FIG. 3 shows a postcard P with respect to the sheet placing surface 3.
FIG. 4 shows a paper storage state when C is used in the horizontal direction, and FIG.
FIG. 5 shows a paper storage state when the postcard PC is used in the vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface 3. FIG. 5 shows a case where the reciprocating postcard RPC is used in the horizontal direction with respect to the paper mounting surface 3. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the paper storage state when A4 size plain paper PWa is used in the vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface 3, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the paper storage state. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show the paper storage state when B5 size plain paper PWb is used in the vertical direction with respect to the placing surface 3. The paper storage state when used in the direction is shown.

First, the paper mounting surface 3 of the cassette body 2
When a plurality of postcards PC are placed in the horizontal direction (the longitudinal direction of the postcards PC is perpendicular to the paper feeding direction), as shown in FIG. 4 stand up. Then, the post-end trailing end guide 12e and a pair of left and right paper-side end guides 10a, 1
When the rear end and the side end of the postcard PC in the paper feed direction B are positioned by 0b, the front end of the postcard PC in the paper feed direction B is opposed to the separation plate 24 constituting the friction separation mechanism 23.

Next, the paper placing surface 3 of the cassette body 2
When a plurality of postcards PC are placed in a vertical direction (a direction in which the longitudinal direction of the postcard PC coincides with the paper feeding direction), as shown in FIG. Is turned over on the substrate 4, and the post card rear end guide 12d is erected as shown by a broken line in FIG. The post guide rear end guide 12d and the pair of left and right paper side end guides 10 are provided.
The rear end and the side end of the postcard PC in the paper feed direction B are positioned by a and 10b. At this time, the front end of the postcard PC in the paper feed direction B is separated from the separation surface 3 of the separation plate 24 constituting the friction separation mechanism 23.
2.

Next, the paper placing surface 3 of the cassette body 2
In the horizontal direction, a plurality of reciprocating postcards RPC
(The longitudinal direction of the postcards coincides with the paper feed direction), the two postcard rear guides 12d and 12e are turned over on the substrate 4 as shown in FIG. The use rear end guide 12c is erected. Then, the post-end rear guide 12c and the pair of left and right paper side end guides 10c are provided.
The rear end and the side end of the reciprocating postcard RPC in the paper feeding direction are positioned by a and 10b. At this time, the front end of the reciprocating postcard RPC in the paper feeding direction is opposed to the separation plate 24 constituting the friction separating mechanism 23. ing.

Next, the paper mounting surface 3 of the cassette body 2
In the vertical direction (B5
When the plain paper PWb of the size is placed in a direction in which the longitudinal direction coincides with the paper feeding direction), as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, three postcard rear end guides 12c, 1 are provided.
2 d and 12 e are turned over on the substrate 4. Then, the sheet rear end guide 12b and the pair of left and right sheet side end guides 1
0a and 10b position the rear end and the side end of the B5 size plain paper PWb in the paper feeding direction. At this time, the leading end of the B5 size plain paper PWb in the paper feeding direction is the friction separating mechanism 23.
Are arranged so as to face the separation plate 24 constituting The rear portion of the B5 size plain paper PWb is placed gently down along the paper trailing edge inclined guide 22.

Next, a plurality of sheets of A4 size plain paper PW
a is placed in the vertical direction (the direction in which the longitudinal direction of the plain paper PWa of A4 size coincides with the paper feeding direction), as shown in FIGS. The rear end guides 12c, 12d, and 12e are turned over on the substrate 4. Then, the sheet rear end guide 12a and the left and right 1
The pair of paper side end guides 10a and 10b position the rear end and the side end of the A4 size plain paper PWa in the paper feed direction B. At this time, the A4 size plain paper PWa in the paper feed direction B
Is made to face a separation plate 24 constituting the friction separation mechanism 23. Also, A4 size plain paper PW
1A, the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16a and the A4 size downstream guide inclined portion 19 on the left side of FIG. 1 from the paper placement surface 3, and the paper guide flat portion 1 on the left side of FIG.
The sheet is stably placed over the sheet trailing end guide 12b so as to sequentially follow the 4a and A4 size guide flat portions 17 and the upstream sheet guide inclined portion 21.

Next, a plurality of B4 size plain paper PW
When c is placed in the vertical direction (the direction in which the longitudinal direction of the plain paper PWc of B4 size coincides with the paper feed direction), as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, three postcards are used. The rear end guides 12c, 12d, and 12e are turned over on the substrate 4. Then, a pair of left and right paper upper guides 7
a, 7b and a pair of left and right sheet side guides 10a, 10
b, the side end and a part of the upper end of the B4 size plain paper PWc in the paper feed direction B are positioned.
Are arranged so as to face the separation plate 24 constituting Further, the B4 size plain paper PWc is transferred from the paper placing surface 3 to the downstream paper guide inclined portion 16a on the left side of FIG.
Along the 4-sided downstream guide inclined section 20 and the paper guide flat section 14a and the B4 size guide flat section 18 on the left side of FIG.
The paper trailing edge guides 12a for the 2b and A4 sizes are stably mounted, respectively.

Each of the sheets P placed on the sheet placement surface 3 of the cassette body 2 as described above is rotated by a sheet feed motor provided in the recording apparatus, whereby the topmost sheet P is placed. Only the separation plate 2 constituting the friction separation mechanism 23
4, the paper P is separated from other paper P located below and sent out.

As described above, the paper feed cassette 1 according to the present embodiment has five types of paper: A4 size plain paper PWa, B5 size plain paper PWb, B4 size plain paper PWc, postcard PC and reciprocating postcard RPC. P can be selectively stored on the same surface.

Therefore, according to the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to separate and feed a plurality of types of paper P of different sizes using one surface of one paper feed cassette 1. Therefore, the space of the paper feed cassette 1 can be effectively used, and the number of components of the paper feed cassette 1 corresponding to the paper P can be reliably reduced, thereby reducing the economic burden. Can be.

Further, according to the paper feed cassette 1 of the present embodiment, since one surface of one paper feed cassette 1 is used for placing the paper P, the thickness of the paper feed cassette 1 can be reduced. it can.

Further, a large-sized sheet of paper, for example, A4 size plain paper PWa or B4 size plain paper P
Wc passes over the paper trailing end guide 12b and is placed on the paper placing surface 3
Even if the paper is placed on the paper trailing end guide 12b.
Since the gentle slopes are formed on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper feeding direction B, it is possible to prevent the harmful effects such as the folding of the paper P, and to stably mount the paper P without damaging it.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be changed as needed.

For example, in the present embodiment, the postcard guides 12c, 12d and 12e for guiding the rear ends of the postcard PC and the reciprocating postcard RPC are guides which can be turned upside down. Guides 12c, 12d,
12e may be formed like the paper trailing end guide 12b for the B5 size, and the inclined surfaces may be formed on the upstream side and the downstream side.

[0056]

As described above, according to the paper feed cassette of the present invention, a single paper feed cassette can stably store a plurality of types of paper having different sizes without being damaged. Not only can the number of cassette parts be reliably reduced and the economic burden reduced,
This provides an extremely excellent effect that the space for storing unused paper cassettes can be reliably reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment of a paper feed cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away side view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when a postcard is used in a horizontal direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when a postcard is used in a vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when a reciprocating postcard is used in a horizontal direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when A4 size plain paper is used in a vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

7 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view along the line III-III in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when B5 size plain paper is used in the vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

9 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a paper storage state when B4 size plain paper is used in the vertical direction with respect to the paper mounting surface of FIG. 1;

11 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view along the line VV in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a configuration of a main part of a conventional paper feed cassette.

13 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view along the line II of FIG. 12;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper feed cassette 2 Cassette main body 3 Paper loading surface 10 Paper side end guide 11 Paper side end rib 12 Paper rear end guide 13 Bending prevention means 14 Flat paper guide portion 16 Downstream paper guide inclined portion 21 Upstream paper guide inclination Part 22 Paper rear end inclined guide

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed cassette having a paper mounting surface for mounting a plurality of papers, wherein a pair of papers guide side edges of the paper mounted on the paper mounting surface. An end guide is provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to a paper feeding direction which is the paper feeding direction, and a plurality of paper trailing end guides for guiding a trailing end of the paper are fed according to different paper sizes. A paper cassette, wherein the paper cassettes are arranged at intervals in the direction. 2. A paper sheet having a size whose rear end cannot be accommodated downstream of the paper rear end guide in the paper feeding direction is placed over the paper rear end guide. Paper cassette described. 3. A folding preventing means is formed near the paper trailing edge guide on the paper placing surface to prevent the paper from being folded over the paper trailing edge guide. The sheet cassette according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The paper folding device according to claim 1, wherein the bending preventing means is constituted by a pair of paper guide portions which are disposed outside the paper rear end guide in the width direction and have an upper end surface having the same height as the paper rear end guide. The paper feed cassette according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The paper feed cassette according to claim 4, wherein an upper end surface of said paper guide portion is formed parallel to said paper mounting surface. 6. A downstream side having an inclined surface from the upper end edge on the downstream side of each of the paper guide portions to the paper mounting surface in the downstream direction of the paper feed direction on the downstream side in the paper feed direction of each of the paper guide portions. The paper feed cassette according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a side paper guide inclined portion is formed. 7. An inclined surface extending from the upper edge of each of these upstream sides to the paper placement surface in the upstream direction of the paper feeding direction, on the upstream side of the paper guide portion and the paper trailing end guide in the paper feeding direction. The paper feed cassette according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein an upstream paper guide inclined portion is formed. 8. The paper mounting surface on the downstream side of the paper rear end guide in the paper feeding direction has the same width as the paper rear end guide and is inclined downward from the paper mounting surface on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction. The sheet feeding cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a sheet trailing end inclined guide is formed. 9. A postcard trailing end guide that guides a trailing end of a postcard-sized sheet of the sheet trailing end guide is formed as a tiltable postcard trailing end guide.
The sheet cassette according to claim 8. 10. A sheet of A4 size is placed along the inclined surface of the downstream paper guide inclined portion, the upper end surface of the paper guide portion, and the inclined surface of the upstream paper guide inclined portion,
10. The sheet according to claim 7, wherein a B4 size sheet is placed along the inclined surface of the downstream sheet guide inclined portion and the upper end surface of the sheet guide portion. Paper cassette described.