JPH1053357A - Paper sheet stacking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable stably feeding even sheets of large sizes while keeping a predetermined stacking position by enabling the sides of the sheets to be regulated even on an auxiliary table. SOLUTION: An auxiliary regulating plate 23 is provided which can be drawn out onto a side regulating plate 22 on a manual feed table 14 as an auxiliary table 21 is drawn out and which can slide against the auxiliary table 21 in combination with the side regulating plate 22, and the sides of sheets P stacked on the manual feed table 14 and the auxiliary table 21 can be regulated sufficiently by the cooperation of the side regulating plate 22 and the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 over a wide range that utilizes the length by which the auxiliary table 21 is drawn out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus for feeding paper, and is used, for example, when a sheet is supplied to a copying machine or a printer to form an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional sheet stacking apparatus for feeding paper, for example, a manual feed table of a copying machine, a manual feed table and an auxiliary table provided so as to be able to be pulled out to the manual feed table are provided in order to reduce the machine occupied area. The manual feed table is used by pulling out a necessary amount when needed, so as not to disturb as much as possible, and to be able to feed a large-sized sheet in a stable stacking state.

In order to regulate the posture of the sheet fed from the manual feed table, a side regulating plate as long as possible is provided on the manual feed table so that the stacking posture of a large-sized sheet can be effectively regulated.

[0004]

However, in recent years, as the size has been further reduced, a structure that is protruded from the main body, such as a manual feed table, has been configured to be folded against the main body when not in use. Due to the storage space for such folding, the manual feed table and the side regulating plate provided on the table are difficult to take a sufficient length and are reduced in size. For this reason, there is a problem that the side regulation of the sheet is loosened and the sheet is skewed, thereby causing a paper jam or a printing failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet stacking apparatus for sheet feeding that can stably feed a large-sized sheet in a predetermined stacking posture even when the side surface of the sheet can be regulated even on an auxiliary table. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a sheet stacking apparatus for sheet feeding according to the present invention is combined with a manual feed table provided for a sheet feeding path and drawn out to the manual sheet feeding table. An auxiliary table provided,
In a sheet stacking device for feeding having a side regulating plate provided on a manual feed table so as to be slidable in the width direction thereof, the sheet can be pulled out from the side regulating plate in conjunction with the drawing of the auxiliary table. An auxiliary regulating plate slidable relative to the auxiliary table in conjunction with the side regulating plate is provided.

In such a configuration, when the side regulating plate provided on the manual feed table is slid in the width direction of the manual feeding table, the auxiliary side regulating plate slides relative to the auxiliary table in conjunction therewith. Both the plate and the auxiliary side regulating plate are adjusted to the same position, and the two sides cooperate to regulate the side of the sheet so that paper can be fed to the paper feed path through the manual feed table. When the sheet is pulled out from the table, the sheet is pulled out from the side regulating plate in conjunction with the table, so that the sheets stacked on the manual feed table and the auxiliary table are sufficiently side restricted within a large range utilizing the drawing length of the auxiliary table. The large manual sheet can be placed in the specified loading position without being affected by the fact that the manual feed table is reduced in size. It can be fed paper stably.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) This embodiment 1 is shown in FIG.
1 shows a case of a sheet stacking device B for feeding paper used in a digital copying machine A. Copying machine A is main body 1
The original image on the platen glass 2 on the upper surface is read by the image reader 3. The read image signal is given to the print head 4. The print head 4 performs an image exposure by main scanning in the axial direction on a photosensitive drum 6 located substantially at the center of the main body 1 with a laser beam 5 modulated according to a received image signal. The surface of the photoreceptor drum 6 to be subjected to the image exposure is uniformly charged, and the rotation is a sub-scan, and the latent image is formed as a document by the image exposure.

The latent image on the photosensitive drum 6 is developed with toner by a developing device 7 to become a visible image.

This visible image is transferred to the photosensitive drum 6 and the transfer roller 8.
Is transferred to a recording sheet P such as a plain paper or an OHP sheet sent to a transfer section between them. After the transfer, the recording sheet P is conveyed to the fixing device 9 and subjected to a fixing process, and then discharged to a discharge tray 11 at one end of the main body 1.

The recording sheet P is accommodated in a sheet cassette 12 provided so as to be able to be taken in and out of the bottom of the main body 1 and fed by the rotation of a paper feed roller 13 or the sheet tray 11 of the main body 1 The sheet is fed by manual feed through the manual feed table 14 of the sheet stacking device B provided on the side opposite to the above. The fed recording sheet P is transported to the transfer unit by both or one of the transport rollers 15 and 16 in the paper feed path 17. The transport roller 16 receives the recording sheet P once sent, sets a later timing, and corrects the skew state.

The manual feed table 14 is pivotally supported at its base by a shaft 19 at a paper feed port 18 to a paper feed path 17 of the main body 1.
The main body 1 is supported so as to be rotatable between a use position protruding from the main body 1 shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a storage position folded so as to enter the paper feed port 18 of the main body 1 shown by a virtual line. This allows the manual feed table 14 to be pulled out to the use position when needed, and to be folded to the storage position when not in use so as not to protrude from the main body 1. However, the present invention is not limited to the one adopting the foldable manual feed table as in the first embodiment,
Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a sheet stacking apparatus that employs a fixed manual feed table that is not folded.

The manual feed table 14 is provided with an auxiliary table 21 which is combined with the manual feed table 14 so that it can be pulled out to a required position when needed. By keeping it in a retracted state, it is prevented from becoming an unnecessary protruding state. The manual feed table 14 and the auxiliary table 21 are made of synthetic resin.
1 is provided so as to be taken in and out between the manual feed table 14 and a table cover 24 provided on the lower surface side of the manual feed table 14, and is prevented from falling out of the maximum drawing position by a retaining mechanism (not shown).

The manual feed table 14 is provided with a side regulating plate 22 which can slide in the width direction of the manual feed table 14 as in the prior art.
Is guided on the side of the recording sheet P stacked thereon, so that the recording sheet P is fed in a predetermined posture without skew.
However, with this alone, in the case of a large-sized recording sheet P that is pulled out from the auxiliary table 21, stacked, and manually fed, it is not possible to guide the side protruding from the manual feeding table 14. The paper becomes loose and the paper is skewed, which easily causes paper jams and printing defects. In particular, the paper feed port 18 of a limited size of the main body 1 like the manual feed table 14 of the first embodiment.
In the case where the size is reduced due to the limitation on the storage space of the main body 1 by being stored in a folded state in which it enters, the length of the side surface regulating plate 22 is similarly limited. As a result, the side regulation of the recording sheet P becomes more unstable, which is a problem.

In order to deal with this, in the first embodiment,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an auxiliary side regulating plate 23 which can be pulled out to the side regulating plate 22 in conjunction with the auxiliary table 21 and slid with respect to the auxiliary table 21 in conjunction with the side regulating plate 22. Is provided. The side regulating plate 22 is of a so-called center alignment type, and regulates the recording sheets P of various sizes so that their center lines coincide with the center of the sheet feeding path 17. For this reason, the pair of left and right side face regulating plates 22
4a and 14b are slidably supported by the guides, and the side regulating plates 22 on both sides are interlocked with each other by a gear rack mechanism or the like (not shown) to symmetrically position the center line at which the recording sheet P is aligned. It keeps the distance. Since these slides and the mechanism for interlocking are already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Each side regulating plate 22 is made of a synthetic resin and has a cross section L at which the side regulating surface 22b rises from the sheet stacking surface 22a.
A hollow pocket 25 having an L-shaped cross section is formed between the pocket and the manual feed table 14. The auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 is made of synthetic resin, has an L-shaped cross section having the same shape as the size of the hollow pocket 25, and is housed and held in the hollow pocket 25 so as to be drawn out from the side surface regulating plate 22. The regulating plate 22 slides on the auxiliary table 21 in the width direction in conjunction with the sliding of the manual feed table 14 in the width direction.

A guide hole 2 for guiding the slide of the left and right auxiliary side surface regulating plates 23 is provided in the auxiliary table 21.
A slide pin 23c integrally formed on the lower surface of the rear end of each auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 in the guide hole 21a.
Is fitted. Thereby, the auxiliary side regulating plate 23
Is guided in conjunction with the side regulating plate 22, and when the auxiliary table 21 is moved in and out of the manual feed table 14, the guide hole 21 a is provided with the slide pin 23.
The auxiliary side restricting plate 23 is caught by the c and moves along with the auxiliary side restricting plate 23.

When the side regulating plate 22 provided on the manual feed table 14 is slid in the width direction of the manual table 14, the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 slides with respect to the auxiliary table 21 in conjunction with the sliding. The side regulating plate 22 and the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 are both adjusted to the same position, and the two sides cooperate to move the side surfaces of the recording sheets P stacked on the stacking surfaces 22a and 23a to the side regulating surfaces 22b and 22b. 3b, paper can be fed to the paper feed path 17 through the manual feed table 14 under the regulation as shown in FIG. When the auxiliary table 21 is further pulled out with respect to the manual feed table 14, the auxiliary side restricting plate 23 is pulled out from the side restricting plate 22 in conjunction therewith, so that the recording sheet stacked on the manual feed table 14 and the auxiliary table 21. As shown in FIG. 3A, P is a large range X utilizing the drawing length S of the auxiliary table 21.
The side table can be sufficiently regulated by the
The recording sheet P can be stably fed in a predetermined stacking posture without being affected by the downsizing of the recording sheet P.

In the first embodiment, the side surface regulating surface 23b of the auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 has a rear end slightly projecting inward to be a regulating surface on the same plane as the side surface regulating surface 22b of the side surface regulating plate 22. As shown in FIG. 3A, the side surface regulating plate 22 and the auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 cooperate to guide the recording sheet P at two hatched portions, and regulate the side surface in the X range. To achieve.

FIG. 3 shows the lower end of the slide pin 23c.
(2) hook 2 for retaining as shown in (a) and (b)
3d are integrally formed, and the slide pin 23c is inserted into the guide hole 2
When inserted into 1a from above, the hook 23d elastically engages with the edge of the guide hole 21a to prevent the slide pin 23c from falling out of the guide hole 21a. When the load W as shown in the comparative example of FIG. 4 is applied to the pulled-out auxiliary table 21, the retainer bends like an imaginary line.
And the guide hole 21a is prevented from being disengaged. In addition, since the auxiliary table 21 is prevented from being twisted when the auxiliary table 21 is moved in and out, the auxiliary table 21 can be smoothly moved in and out.

However, these specific structures, the presence or absence of the folding structure of the manual feed table 14, the draw-out structure of the auxiliary table, the sliding method of the side regulating plate 22 and the auxiliary side regulating plate 23, the interlocking structure of both, and the auxiliary structure The interlocking structure between the side regulating plate 23 and the drawer of the auxiliary table 21 can be variously designed, and the present invention is similarly applied to a device that regulates the position of the recording sheet P based on one side.

(Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 5, a screw 31 with a flange is screwed into the lower end of a slide pin 23c, and the screw 31 prevents the screw 31 from coming off. The second embodiment is convenient when the auxiliary table 21 and the auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 are separated for repair or the like. The same effect can be obtained by screwing a washer instead of the flanged screw 31.

(Embodiment 3) In Embodiment 3, as shown in FIG. 6, the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 enters and exits the hollow pocket 25 together with the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 on the side where the side regulating surface 23b is formed. A leaf spring 32 is provided. The rear end 32a of the leaf spring 32 is fixed to the auxiliary side surface regulating plate 23 by insert molding or the like, the front end side is free, and the middle is convexly curved toward the side surface regulating surface 23b.
As shown in the figure, the protruding portion pulled out from the hollow pocket 25 projects to the same plane as the side surface regulating surfaces 22b and 23b,
The side surface regulating surface 32b is formed at an intermediate position between the side surface regulating surfaces 22b and 23b, and also regulates the side surface of the recording sheet P. Therefore, the stability of the side surface regulation for the recording sheet P is improved, and the side surface regulation plates 22 and the auxiliary side surface regulation plate 23 are pressed against the side edges of the recording sheet P so that the side surface regulation surfaces 22b and 23b are largely separated. Recording sheet P
And damage to the side edge of the recording sheet P due to contact with the side surface of the recording sheet P can be reduced. Further, since the leaf spring 32 gives an appropriate click feeling when the auxiliary table 21 is pulled out, it is possible to prevent the use state from being changed carelessly, and it is easy to notice the change in the use state, and it is easy to misuse. It can be used for prevention.

(Embodiment 4) In Embodiment 4, as shown in FIG. 7, a rigid lever 33 is provided in place of the leaf spring 32 of Embodiment 3. The lever 33 has a rear end portion 33a pivotally supported by the auxiliary side regulating plate 23 by a shaft 34, so that the free end side can enter and exit the hollow pocket 25 together with the auxiliary side regulating plate 23. As shown in FIG. The protruding portion drawn out from 25 protrudes to the same plane as side regulating surfaces 22b and 23b by spring 35, and forms side regulating surface 33b at an intermediate position between side regulating surfaces 22b and 23b. Enforce regulations.

In the fourth embodiment, the same operation and effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

[0027]

As described above, according to the sheet stacking apparatus for sheet feeding according to the present invention, the sheets stacked on the manual feed table and the auxiliary table by the cooperation of the side regulating plate and the auxiliary side regulating plate. The side table can be sufficiently regulated in a large range utilizing the drawer length of the auxiliary table, and the sheet can be stably placed in the specified loading position without the influence of the downsized manual feed table. Can be fed. Further, the auxiliary side regulating plate is moved to a required position in conjunction with the side regulating plate and the auxiliary table, so that a special operation for the auxiliary side plate is not required, and it can be used with ordinary simple operations and is convenient. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a digital copying machine including a sheet stacking apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet stacking apparatus used in the copying machine of FIG.

3A and 3B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing an interlocking state of a side regulating plate, an auxiliary side regulating plate, and an auxiliary table of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a part of a sheet stacking apparatus as a comparative example.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a part of a sheet stacking apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a part of a sheet stacking apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a part of a sheet stacking apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A Digital copier P Recording sheet 1 Main body 14 Manual feed table 14a, 14b Guide hole 17 Paper feed path 18 Paper feed port 19 Axis 21 Auxiliary table 21a Guide hole 22 Side regulating plate 23 Auxiliary side regulating plate 23c Slide pin 23d Hook 25 Hollow pocket 31 screw 32 leaf spring 32b side regulating surface 33 lever 33b side regulating surface 35 spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A manual feed table provided toward a paper feed path, an auxiliary table provided so as to be able to be pulled out to the manual feed table, and a side regulation provided on the manual feed table so as to be slidable in the width direction thereof. In the sheet stacking device for feeding paper having a plate, an auxiliary regulating plate which can be pulled out with respect to the side regulating plate in conjunction with pulling out of the auxiliary table and slidable with respect to the auxiliary table in conjunction with the side regulating plate. A sheet stacking device for feeding paper, comprising: