JPH1059589A - Sheet tray device on which sheet is loaded and sheet feed device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a sheet tray device which can supply and discharge both of cut sheet and continuous sheet smoothly by one tray. SOLUTION: A subtray 2 of a sheet tray (1, 2) can be used at least at three kinds of positions for a main tray 1 by a lock mechanism. When sheet having larger size than the main tray 1 is loaded, the subtray 2 is elongated, and when continuous sheet 11 is discharged through the tray, the subtray 2 is set at an intermediate position between a storage position and an expansion and open position so that the continuous sheet 11 is bent and guided at gentle curve downward owing to its intermediate position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a sheet tray device for placing sheets, which is an output device (recording device) of an information processing device such as a personal computer, a word processor, and a facsimile, and a sheet feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in most cases, a recording medium of a recording apparatus is output to a sheet. Among these, a cut sheet cut for each page and conveyance holes provided on both sides are used. , And a continuous sheet that extends over several pages.

On the other hand, since the processing capability of personal computers and the like has been dramatically improved in recent years, recording apparatuses that output only character information and recording apparatuses that can output image information such as photographs have recently appeared. Data can be output by the recording device. Therefore, these various data,
A recording device capable of outputting both the cut sheet and the continuous sheet has appeared.

[0004]

However, the above-described conventional example has the following problems.

Although there are supply / discharge trays for various cut sheet sizes, these supply / discharge trays cannot be used for continuous sheets. -It was necessary to prepare a paper output tray.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet tray apparatus and a sheet feeding apparatus for placing sheets of a recording apparatus in which both a cut sheet and a continuous sheet can be smoothly fed and discharged by one tray. It is intended for.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the present invention according to claim 1 is directed to a main tray on which sheets can be placed and a wrap around an end of the main tray. A sub-tray movably mounted; and a lock mechanism for holding a rotation position of the sub-tray, wherein the sub-tray is held at a plurality of rotation positions with respect to the main tray. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sub-tray includes a storage position folded on the main tray, an expansion position extended substantially linearly with the main tray, the storage position and the expansion position. And a position between the open position and the open position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism comprises a first fitting shaft provided on the main tray;
A second fitting shaft having a first cam and provided on the sub-tray and rotatably and slidably mounted on the first fitting shaft. An operating member having a plurality of second cams fitted and engaged with the first cam and rotatably and slidably mounted on the second fitting shaft; Urging means for urging the member toward the sub-tray side.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the sub-tray is set at an intermediate position when a continuous sheet is discharged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the sheet tray device can be detachably mounted on the sheet feeding device main body.
Further, when an automatic paper feeder for automatically feeding a sheet is provided in the apparatus main body, the automatic paper feeder can be attached to the automatic paper feeder.

The invention according to claim 6 is such that the sub-tray extends from the main tray and switches between a position where a large size can be placed and a position where the sub-tray is bent downward from the main tray to guide the continuous sheet downward. It is characterized by being possible.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above-mentioned sheet tray device, wherein means for feeding a sheet placed on the sheet tray device, means for processing the fed sheet, and Feeding means for sending to the sheet tray,
It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 8 is that the processing means comprises:
It is a recording means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the sheet tray device is detachable from a sheet feeding device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the sheet feeding device includes an automatic sheet feeding means, and the sheet tray device is detachable from the automatic sheet feeding means.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the automatic sheet feeding means is detachable from a sheet feeding device.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tractor for feeding continuous sheets placed on the sheet tray device, and the continuous sheets sent via the tractor pass through the processing means to the main tray. It is guided downward through a sub-tray.

[Operation] Based on the above configuration, the sheet tray is held by the holding means with the sub-tray set at a plurality of corresponding positions according to the size and type of the sheet. Thus, various cut sheets and continuous sheets can be processed by one tray.

The sub-tray is set at an intermediate position when the continuous sheet is discharged, so that the sub-tray can be guided out of the tray without being caught by the sub-tray.

The sheet tray can be detachably mounted on the apparatus main body, and when the apparatus main body is provided with an automatic sheet feeding apparatus, the sheet tray can also be detachably mounted on the automatic sheet feeding apparatus. Thus, the cut sheet and the continuous sheet can be fed and discharged with one feed / discharge tray regardless of the presence or absence of the automatic paper feeder.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 shows sheet trays 1 and 2 for both feeding and discharging, which are characterized by the present invention. This sheet tray is also referred to as a supply / discharge tray.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a main tray, and embosses 1A for attachment to a main body (or an automatic paper feeder) are provided on the left and right. Reference numeral 2 denotes a sub tray, and reference numeral 3 denotes a lock lever. This figure shows a state where the sub-tray 2 is in the expanded position by a lock mechanism described later.

The sheet tray (1, 2) according to the present invention comprises:
This is for processing (feeding / discharging) both cut sheets and continuous sheets of various sizes without any trouble. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in which a feeding / discharging tray is attached to the apparatus main body.
FIG. 2 shows a storage state in which the sub-tray 2 is folded on the main tray 1.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 30 denotes a paper feed roller for feeding the cut sheet 9 as a recording sheet, 4 denotes a driven roller for pressing the sheet 9 against the paper feed roller 30, 5 denotes a first discharge roller, Reference numeral 6 denotes a second discharge roller, 7 denotes a carriage on which a recording head (recording means) 7a is mounted, and a carriage for performing main scanning, and 8 denotes an exterior of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the automatic sheet feeding device is not mounted on the apparatus main body, that is, a state of manual sheet feeding in which sheets 9 are set one by one on the sheet trays (1, 2) and recording is performed. . The sheet 9 used is A4 size, which is the size of a general sheet.

Now, the leading end of the sheet 9 stacked on the main tray 1 is located at the nip position between the paper feed roller 30 and the driven roller 4, and the paper 9 is recorded by rotating the paper feed roller 30 in the direction of the arrow. The head 7a is transported to a certain printing position. When the sheet 9 is transported to the printing position,
The carriage 7 on which the recording head 7a is mounted moves in the main scanning direction to perform printing on the sheet 9, and the recording sheet 9 is discharged onto the main tray 1 by the first and second discharge rollers 5, 6.

A driven roller for pressing the sheet 9 against the sheet discharging rollers 5 and 6 is not shown. in this way,
With sheets of normal size such as A4 and B5, the sub-tray 2 can be stored in the storage position and manual sheet feeding can be performed, and the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced.

Next, a case where a large sheet such as A3 is manually fed will be described. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the sub-tray 2 is rotated and extended from the main tray 1 so as to be substantially linear with the main tray 1 at an expanded position. The lock mechanism for holding the sub-tray 2 at the rotation position will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sub-tray 2
By rotating the sheet tray close to 0 degrees, the area of the entire tray portion of the sheet tray becomes large, and large-sized sheets such as A3 can be stably placed on the main tray 1 and the sub-tray 2. Without manual support, manual paper feed is possible. The manually fed sheet is printed by the recording head 7a in the same manner as in FIG. 2, and is discharged onto the trays 1 and 2 again.

Next, the case of passing a continuous sheet will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a tractor for engaging a hole provided in a side portion of the continuous sheet to convey the sheet, and reference numeral 11 denotes a continuous sheet. In this apparatus, the continuous sheet 11 is fed from the rear side of the apparatus main body. Then, a sheet path structure of a continuous sheet discharged further rearward is provided.

In such a sheet path, since the paper feeding portion and the paper discharging portion of the continuous sheet are on the same side of the silver recording device, the operability of the recording device is good, but the paper feeding and paper discharging path is not good. In the related art, there is a problem that the sheets are stuck to each other to cause a jam, but in the present invention, as shown in FIG. It is held at an intermediate position between the storage position and the expanded position.

Thus, by holding the trays 1 and 2 in such a state, the distance l between the feeding and discharging of the continuous sheet 11 is secured, and the continuous sheet 11 is jammed during the feeding of the continuous sheet 11. No such problems occur.
Further, since the curvature for discharging the continuous sheet 11 is large and loose, the continuous sheet 11 is not damaged.

As described above, the sheet tray (1, 2) according to the present invention has a function as both a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray, and further stores the sub-tray 2 in the storage position, the expansion position, and the intermediate position. By holding the sheet at the three positions, it is possible to cope with the feeding and discharging of cut sheets of various sizes and continuous sheets.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the feed / discharge trays 1 and 2 are shared is shown. However, as shown in FIG. 15, the feed trays 1 and 2 and the discharge trays 1 'and 2 are used. 'May be dedicated.

<Embodiment 2> Next, a state in which an automatic paper feeder is attached to the apparatus main body will be described. With reference to FIG. 5, a case where an A4 size sheet that is normally used is fed by an automatic sheet feeder will be described.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 12 denotes an automatic paper feeder detachably mounted on the apparatus main body;
2 is a spring, 103 is a paper feed roller, 104 is a separation claw, 10
5 is a guide, and 106 is a hook that engages with the pin 100. In the present embodiment, the sheet trays (1, 2) are detachably mounted on an automatic sheet feeding device (automatic sheet feeding means) 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sub-tray 2 is in the storage position, so that the sheet 9 after feeding is
Many sheets will be stacked on top. As described above, a small-sized sheet that is not too large can store and use the sub-tray 2 and can reduce the installation area of the apparatus main body, similarly to the manual sheet feeding described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a case where a large sheet such as A3 is fed by the automatic sheet feeding device (automatic feeding means) 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the sub-tray 2 is located at the spread position, so that the area of the tray is increased, and sheets 9 such as A3 can be easily stacked.

FIG. 7 shows a case where the continuous sheet 11 is used in a state where the automatic paper feeder 12 is placed on the apparatus main body. As in the case of FIG. 4, by setting the sub-tray 2 to the intermediate position, it is possible to feed and discharge the continuous sheet 11 without any trouble even when the automatic sheet feeder 12 is used.

By the way, in this apparatus, when the continuous sheet 11 is used with the automatic paper feeder 12 mounted on the main body of the apparatus, the operation is performed with the sub-tray 2 stored (the state of FIG. 5). When the sub-tray 2 is set to the open position (the state shown in FIG. 6), the first continuous sheet falls to the front side without climbing up the sub-tray 2. In some cases.

As described above, the sheet tray (1, 2) according to the present invention has a function as both a sheet feeding tray and a sheet discharging tray regardless of the presence or absence of the automatic sheet feeding device 12, and furthermore, the sub-tray. By holding 3 at the storage position, the expansion position, and the intermediate position, it is possible to handle cut sheets of various sizes and processing (feeding / discharging) of the continuous sheet 11.

Next, the holding structure of the sub-tray 2 of the sheet tray (1, 2) will be described.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the lock mechanism 20 of the sub-tray 2 of the sheet tray (1, 2). FIG. 8 is a view of the sheet tray (1, 2) as viewed from the back, and shows a state where the sub-tray 2 is at the storage position. In the figure, 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a pressure spring (biasing means) for pressing the operation lever (operation member) 3 against each other.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the lock mechanism 20, in which the pressure spring 13 is omitted for easy viewing.

In the figure, 1a is provided on the main tray 1, and a first fitting shaft for the boss 3A of the operation lever 3 to slide, and 1b regulates the rotation of the operation lever 3. Key provided on the first fitting shaft 1a for
c is a fitting hole for fitting with the shaft of the sub-tray 2, 2 a is a second fitting shaft provided on the side of the sub-tray 2 because the operating lever 3 slides, 2 b is a cam 3 c of the operating lever 3
The sub-tray cam 2c for fitting with the fitting hole 1c of the main tray 1 has a fitting shaft 3a, and the first fitting shaft 1a of the main tray 1 and the second shaft 2 of the sub-tray.
A portion of the lever sliding surface of the boss portion 3A for sliding with the key groove 3a is a key groove for fitting with the key 1b of the main tray 1, and a portion 3c is fitting with the cam 2b of the sub tray 2. These cams are provided at angles corresponding to three types of rotation positions of the holding position of the sub-tray 1.

The fitting hole 1c of the main tray 1 and the fitting shaft 2c of the sub-tray are fitted.
Can be rotated. The first fitting shaft 1a of the main tray 1 and the second shaft 2a of the sub-tray 2 have the same diameter, and the sliding surface 3a of the operating lever 3 has the first fitting shaft 1a.
With respect to the second fitting shaft 2a, rotation is impossible and the second fitting shaft 2a is slidable in the axial direction. I have.

Further, the pressure spring 13 shown in FIG.
Thereby, the operation lever 3 is urged in the direction of the arrow 21a. Returning to FIG. 8 again, the main tray 1 and the sub-tray 2 can be rotated by the fitting hole 1c and the fitting shaft 2c, and the operation lever 3 is further rotated by the first fitting shaft 1a.
The upper part can be slid left and right. Also, the pressure spring 13
The operation lever 3 is always urged in the direction of the sub-tray 2 with the elasticity of.

In FIG. 8, the sub-tray 2 is in the storage position. At this time, the cam 2b of the sub-tray is inserted into one of the cams 3c of the operation lever 3, and the cam 2b is pressed by the urging force of the pressure spring 13. The sub-tray 2 is fixedly held, and is held at the storage position.

Next, the operation of pulling out the sub-tray 2 from the storage position will be described with reference to FIGS.

To pull out the sub-tray 2 from the storage position, the end 2d (FIG. 1) of the sub-tray 2 is pulled up by the operator. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, by pulling up the sub-tray 2, the operation lever 3 moves in the direction of the arrow 21b, and the cam 2b is moved to the cam 3 of the operation lever 3.
c, the sub-tray 2 becomes rotatable.

Referring to FIG. 11, a detailed description will now be given.
If the upper side of b is 2 bu and the lower side is 2 bd, the force generated on the cam surface 2 bu by pulling up the sub-tray 2 is Fu, the angle of the cam surface 2 bu is θ, the pressure spring 13
Assuming that the urging force on the operation lever 3 is Fs, the force for moving the lever in the direction of the arrow 21b is Fu · sin θ> Fs.

Due to such a force relationship, the rotated sub-tray 2 is moved to the second cam 3c provided on the operation lever 3 in advance so that the sub-tray 2 is held at a predetermined angle.
Then, the cam 2b of the sub-tray enters and is held at the intermediate position.

FIG. 12 shows this state. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the cam 2b when the sub-tray is held at the intermediate position. As in FIG. 11, the force applied to the cam 2b by the weight of the sub-tray 2 is Fd, the angle of the cam surface 2bd is ε, By setting the angle ε such that sin ε <Fs / Fd, where Fs is the urging force of the spring 13 on the operation lever 3, the sub-tray 2 is held at this position.

In the same manner as when the sub-tray 2 is pulled up from the intermediate position, the cam 2b is disengaged from the cam 3c of the operation lever 3 and enters the next cam 3c.
The sub-tray 2 is held at the spread position shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows how the holding of the sub-tray 2 is released. As shown in FIG.
The cam 3 of the operation lever 3
c is disengaged from the cam 2b of the second fitting shaft 2a, and the sub-tray 2 becomes rotatable.

As described above, the holding angle (set position) of the sub-tray 2 can be arbitrarily determined by the phase of the cam 2b and the cam 3c of the operation lever 3, and the operating force for pulling up the sub-tray 2 , Sub tray 2
The operating force of the operating lever 3 for releasing the holding of the pressure spring 1
It can be set arbitrarily by the biasing force of No. 3 and the angle of the cam surface.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the sub-tray constituting the sheet tray can be held at a plurality of rotation positions with respect to the main tray, various types of cut sheets and continuous sheets can be processed smoothly by one tray.

Further, since the tray can be detachably attached to the apparatus main body and the automatic paper feeder provided in the apparatus main body, it depends on the presence or absence of the automatic paper feeder in the recording apparatus. The cut sheet and the continuous sheet can be supplied and discharged by one supply and discharge tray without any need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a sheet supply / discharge tray (sheet tray) according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of a recording apparatus having a supply / discharge tray according to the first embodiment (a sub tray is in a storage position).

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the recording apparatus having the supply / discharge tray according to the first embodiment (the sub tray is in an expanded position).

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of the recording apparatus including the supply / discharge tray according to the first embodiment (the sub tray is at an intermediate position).

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view of a recording apparatus with an automatic sheet feeder including a sub tray according to the second embodiment (the sub tray is in a storage position).

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of a recording apparatus with an automatic sheet feeder provided with a sub tray according to the second embodiment (the sub tray is in a storage position).

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a recording apparatus with an automatic sheet feeder including a sub tray according to the second embodiment (the sub tray is at an intermediate position).

FIG. 8 is a front view of a lock mechanism of a sub-tray of the supply / discharge tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lock mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the lock mechanism when the sub-tray is rotated.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a force relationship of a cam when the sub-tray is rotated.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the lock mechanism when the sub-tray is held.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a force relationship of a cam when a sub-tray is held.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the lock mechanism when releasing the holding of the sub-tray.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional side view of a recording apparatus having a supply / discharge tray according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main tray 1a 1st fitting shaft 2 Subtray 2a 2nd fitting shaft 2b 1st cam of 2nd fitting shaft 1, 2 supply / discharge tray 3 Operation lever (operation member) 3c Operation lever Plural second cams 7a Recording head (processing means) as recording means 1 recording sheet (cut sheet) 10 tractor 11 continuous sheet 12 automatic paper feeder (automatic feeding means) 13 pressure spring (biasing means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Agency reference number FI Technical display location H04N 1/00 108 H04N 1/00 108Q

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A main tray on which sheets can be placed, a sub-tray rotatably mounted at an end of the main tray, a lock mechanism for holding a rotational position of the sub-tray,
A sheet tray device for placing sheets, wherein the sub-tray is held at a plurality of rotation positions with respect to the main tray. 2. The sub-tray includes: a storage position folded on the main tray; an expansion position substantially linearly extended with the main tray; and a storage position between the storage position and the expansion position. The sheet tray device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet tray device is rotatable between a position and a position. 3. The lock mechanism comprises: a first fitting shaft provided on the main tray; a first cam rotatably mounted on the first fitting shaft; and a first cam provided on the sub tray. A second fitting shaft provided, non-rotatably and slidably fitted to the first fitting shaft;
An operating member having a plurality of second cams engaged with the first cam and rotatably and slidably mounted on the second fitting shaft; and The sheet tray device according to claim 1, further comprising: urging means for urging the sheet tray toward the side. 4. The sheet tray device according to claim 1, wherein the sub-tray is set at an intermediate position when a continuous sheet is discharged. 5. A sheet tray device which is detachably mountable to a sheet feeding device main body and has an automatic sheet feeding device for automatically feeding sheets in the device main body. The sheet tray device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet tray device can be mounted on a sheet feeding device. 6. The sub-tray extends from the main tray and can be switched between a position where a large size can be placed and a position where the sub-tray is bent downward from the main tray to guide a continuous sheet downward. The sheet tray device according to claim 1, wherein 7. A sheet feeding device, comprising: the sheet tray device according to claim 1; means for feeding a sheet placed on the sheet tray device; means for processing the fed sheet; And a feeding means for feeding the sheet to the sheet feeding device. 8. The sheet feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit is a recording unit. 9. The sheet feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the sheet tray device is detachable from the sheet feeding device. 10. The sheet feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the sheet feeding device includes an automatic sheet feeding device, and the sheet tray device is detachable from the automatic sheet feeding device. 11. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the automatic sheet feeding means is detachable from the sheet feeding apparatus. 12. A tractor for feeding a continuous sheet placed on the sheet tray device, wherein the continuous sheet sent via the tractor passes through the processing means, passes through the main tray and the sub-tray, and The sheet feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the sheet is guided to the sheet feeding device.