JPS6026561A - Sheet material receiving tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact receiving tray by clamping a sheet end in a closed portion below a receiving space formed of a first guide member for guiding downward the discharged sheet and a second guide member opposed to said first guide member and allowing the sheet rear end to be reversed in the upper portion of said space. CONSTITUTION:A receiving tray 13 is formed with a sheet receiving space 15 by a first guide member 14 against which a discharged sheet abuts and is introduced downward and a second guide member 16 opposed thereto. With the closed guide member 14, a narrow closing portion 19 for clamping a leading end of sheet material fed downward is formed in the lower portion of the sheet material receiving space 15 and an opening portion 20 for allowing a tail end of the sheet material to be reversed is formed in the upper end of the member 14. When the leading end 6' of a recording paper 6 is introduced into the space 15 and included into the bottom of the space 15, and the tail end is simultaneously cut off by a cutter 11, the tail end of the paper is preversed and fed out of the device by the elastic force of the paper and turning force of the cutter blade to be received in the receiving tray 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet material storage tray, and more specifically,
The present invention relates to a sheet material storage tray that is provided near the bottom of sheet ejection of an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine or a copying machine, and receives and stores sheet material ejected from the image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a strong demand for image forming apparatuses such as facsimile machines and copying machines to be smaller and lighter. As a result, in the past, trays for storing recording paper, manuscripts, and other sheet materials ejected from image forming devices were not built into the machine body, but were attached in a way that protruded outside the machine. It was common to downsize the . As a result, even if the main body of the machine is made smaller, the installation space during use becomes larger due to the protrusion of the tray section, so the drawback is that it is not actually made smaller. was there.

In addition, rolled paper, such as thermal recording paper used in facsimile machines, has strong curling patterns, which also has the disadvantage that it is difficult to store paper in an orderly manner on a linear tray surface like in the past. Recently, there has been a trend to reduce the outer diameter of the paper while keeping the length the same, especially in response to the demand for downsizing of the main body of the machine. , flower markings have become more prominent, and there is a strong desire to develop a paper storage method that accommodates this.

Furthermore, when creating records of multiple original documents using such an image forming apparatus, if the recording is performed sequentially from the first page of the original, the recorded sheets will be ejected from the apparatus with the image side facing up. Since the recorded sheets stored in the conventional tray are stacked sequentially on -F with the first page facing down, the sheets stacked on the tray are stacked as originals. The order is reversed. for that,
Conventionally, after the recording operation is completed, it is necessary to rearrange the recorded sheets in order from the first page, that is, to perform a page alignment operation, which is very time-consuming.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional image shape, and to provide a sheet that can be attached to the apparatus main body without protruding significantly outside the apparatus main body, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the entire apparatus. To provide a material storage tray.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material storage tray that can reliably hold a large number of sheet materials in the tray, can correctly hold even tightly curled sheet materials, and can easily take out the sheet materials. The goal is to provide the following.

Another object of the present invention is that after storing a large number of sheet materials,
To provide a sheet material storage tray capable of sequentially storing a large number of sheet materials without the need for page alignment operations.

The sheet material storage tray according to the present invention is characterized by a first guide member against which the leading edge of the tel-out sheet is brought into contact and guides it downward, and a holder that faces the first guide member and forms a sheet storage space. A second guide member is formed at the lower part of the storage section to grip the leading edge of the sheet fed downward, and a long guide member is provided at the upper end of the first guide member. The distance between the sheet ejecting section of the image forming apparatus described above and the closing section that grips the leading edge of the sheet described in "2" is determined in the feeding direction of the sheet material used. The reason is that it is shorter than the length.

In the above, the distance between the sheet discharge part and the closing part is made shorter than the length of the sheet material used in the feeding direction. This is to satisfy the contradictory requirements of storing the tray so that it does not protrude upward or downward within the approximate total height range, and increasing the total tray height as much as possible to ensure that the sheet material is held within this range. Therefore, in other words, unless a particularly short sheet material of about a few Cff1 is to be discharged, the standard
This is intended for use with sheet materials that are used in large quantities.

This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional facsimile machine of this type that is equipped with a sheet material storage tray. The illustrated facsimile machine 1 includes an image reading and transmitting system that reads information from the document using an optical system 3 and transmits image information while feeding the document on a document table 2, and an image reading and transmitting system that feeds the document from a recording paper roll 4 according to the received image information. The apparatus is also provided with an image receiving and recording system that records an image using a thermal head 7 on a thermal recording paper 6 that is transferred by a platen roller 51. 8 is a power supply section including a power supply device and the like.

On the left side of the image forming apparatus main body l, there is provided a document storage tray 10 for storing the original documents 9 that are sequentially sent out from the document table 2, and on the right side of the apparatus main body l, there is provided a thermal storage tray 10 for storing the original documents 9 that are sequentially sent out from the document table 2.
A storage tray 12 is provided, which is a storage tray 12 for storing recorded recording sheets cut into a predetermined length, for example, A4 size, by a cutter 11 after an image is recorded by F7.

L/) with such a conventional image forming apparatus!・
Since the rays 10 and 12 protrude from both sides of the device main body l, even if the device main body is downsized, the actual installation space cannot be reduced much due to the protrusion of these I-rays. If these trays are installed together on one side of the device main body, the installation space can be reduced by one tray, but if they are installed all together on one side of the device main body, documents and records will be Both paper drive systems are concentrated on one side, which reduces the space efficiency inside the device and complicates the drive system, which not only leads to a decrease in reliability but also to a significant increase in costs.

Also, the recording paper discharged onto the tray 12 has an image surface of 1=
Since the pages are ejected sideways, when creating multiple records in sequence, they are stacked so that the first page is at the bottom and the last page is at the top. Therefore, page alignment is required after the recording operation is completed. becomes.

The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional sheet material storage tray of an image forming apparatus as described above, and one embodiment thereof is shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the facsimile machine shown in FIG. 1 equipped with a sheet material storage tray according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those shown in FIG. Therefore, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

A sheet material storage tray 13 according to the present invention is provided near the lower side of the recording paper sheet discharge port of the facsimile machine. Details of the sheet material storage tray 13 are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet material storage tray 13 includes a first guide member 14 against which the ejected sheet is brought into contact and guides it downward, and a sheet storage tray facing the first guide member. It is constituted by a second guide member 16 for forming a space 15. The second guide member 16 is made of a plastic plate or the like fixed to the stay 17 of the facsimile main body 1, and the lower end of the first guide member 14 is pinned to the lower end of the second guide member. 18. In the illustrated embodiment, these guide members are shown as plates, but these guide members do not necessarily have to be plate-shaped. For example, they may be formed by arranging a plurality of wires in the vertical direction. Any member may be used as long as it can prevent the recording paper from moving and guide it into the storage space 15.

Facsimile device main body 1 and first guide member 14
A click mechanism (not shown) for locking the kite member 14 in the state shown in FIG. 3 is provided between the parts.
Normally, the first guide member 14 is held in the closed position shown in FIG. The first guide member 14 can be opened by rotating around the pin, and in the open position shown by the two-dot chain line, the first guide member 14 is locked by the stay 17 of the main body l.

When the first guide member 14 is open as shown in FIG. forms a discharge guide. When the length of the recording paper is short or, conversely, when it is not long, it is preferable to use the first guide member 14 in an open state as described above.

Further, when a large amount of recording paper is stored at one time and the storage capacity is exceeded, the click mechanism that locks the first guide member 14 in the closed state is automatically released by the weight of the stored recording paper. The first guide member 14 can be placed in an open state.

When the first guide member 14 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. A narrow closing portion 19 is formed to grip the leading end of the fed sheet material. In the illustrated embodiment, the sheet material storage space 15 is formed in a V-shape, and a closing portion 19 is formed at the bottom of the space, but this does not necessarily have to be a V-shape; The wall surfaces formed by the members may be slightly apart. In addition, the first guide member 14
In the closed state, the angle formed between the recording paper and the guide member 14 may be an obtuse angle so that the recording paper contacts the guide member 14 and is smoothly guided downward into the storage space 15.

Furthermore, when the first guide member 14 is closed,
At the upper end of the first guide member 14, there is an open portion 20 that allows the rear end of the sheet material to be reversed when the sheet material is stored. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the first guide member 1
When the first guide member 14 is closed, an opening 20 is formed between the upper end of the first guide member 14 and the main body 1, a part of the case 22, and a guide 23, which is large enough to allow the loop-shaped recording paper 6 to be ejected. It is. Therefore, the leading end 6' of the recording paper 6 is introduced into the wedge-shaped storage space 15 of the storage tray 13, and at the same time, the leading end 6' is held in the bottom of the storage space.
A force is applied to the rear end of the recording paper 6 that is continuously fed out.
When cut by step 1, the rear end of the recording paper is turned over and sent out of the device due to the elasticity of the paper and the rotational force of the cutter blade, and the leading edge 6° of the recording paper 6 is held inside the machine. Storing is completed with the rear end hanging out of the machine, and the operation can be continued to store the next recording paper.

The distance between the sheet ejecting section, that is, the cutter 11 in the illustrated embodiment, and the 19 that grips the leading end 6' of the recording paper 6 is the length in the feeding direction of the recording paper 6 used, for example, for four sizes. When recording paper is used, it is configured to be shorter than 30 cm). Therefore, when the recording paper is fed into the storage space 15, the leading end of the recording paper is gripped by the closing portion 19, and the trailing end is held in the tray with the trailing end hanging down outside the machine.

However, when a large number of recording papers are fed in one after another, these recording papers are sequentially stored in the above state, and a large number of recording papers can be held in the storage tray. Since it is held in this state, when the recording paper is taken out after the recording operation is completed, the east side of the recording paper can be easily pulled out from the tray by holding the rear end hanging down from the tray. Further, since each recording sheet is held in the tray in an inverted state, there is no need for the page alignment operation required in conventional trays.

In order to obtain the effects of the present invention as described above, even when the amount of information transmitted and recorded by the facsimile machine is extremely small, a margin is provided on the ejected recording paper so that the above-described predetermined recording can be performed. The paper length may be kept as the minimum standard size.

Here, the cutter 11 shown in - will be explained. The cutter 11 has a movable blade 11b that rotates around a shaft 11a.
and this U (has a fixed blade 11c that cooperates with the moving blade, and the cutting edge 1 lb' of the movable blade 11b is cut as shown in FIG. 6 in order to sequentially cut the recording paper like cutting paper with scissors. The blade 11 is inclined at a certain angle in the longitudinal direction of the blade.
In the longitudinal direction of b! The end portion of IIJ, that is, the gap surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7 becomes large, and there is a risk that the fingertip may come into contact with the cutting edge and injure the fingertip. In the illustrated structure, in order to prevent such a danger, in the extension +: part of the guide 23, "2 0■ Moving blade 11
A guide surface 23' is formed with an inclination angle matching the inclination of the cutting edge 1 l b' of the blade. Therefore, in the longitudinal direction of the blade, the gap 24 between the cutting edge 11b' and the guide surface 23'' always changes at the same rate, and even when it is widest, there is a gap 24 large enough for the fingertip to fit in, as shown in FIG. is not formed, and there is no risk of the fingertip touching the cutting edge 11b' and injuring the fingertip.
3 not only serves to guide the loop-shaped recording paper 6 out of the apparatus, but also serves as a safety cover to protect the operator's fingertips.

Next, the operation of storing sheet materials in the sheet material storage tray according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

First, the thermal recording paper 6 unrolled from the roll 4 is heated by the thermal head 7 according to information, and image information is recorded on the surface of the recording paper 6. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the recording paper 6 is conveyed by the rotation of the brush roller 5, passes through the cutter 11, and its tip is guided to a first guide forming a wedge-shaped or ■-shaped storage space 15. It abuts the member 14 at an obtuse angle. At this time, a plurality of ribs 25 are provided on the inner wall surface of the first guide member 14 as shown in FIG. 9 to reduce the contact resistance with the leading edge of the recording paper and allow the leading edge of the recording paper to be smoothly stored in the storage tray 13. Introduce it into space 15. At this time, due to the wedge effect, the leading end 6' of the recording paper 6 becomes wedged in the closed part at the bottom of the storage space. If the recording paper is continuously fed out in this state, the opening part 2 will open as shown in Figure 10.
0, the recording paper 6 becomes a loop, and is ejected out of the machine using the upper surface of the guide 23 and the end face of the case 22 as a guide surface, and finally, as shown in FIG. It becomes curly and droopy. This situation
When the cutter 11 operates and cuts off the rear end of the recording paper 6, the recording paper hanging outside the machine is reversed in the direction of the arrow using its own weight and the rotational force of the cutter blade. Tip 6
This series of movements of the recording paper 6 is repeated until the recording paper 6 reaches the state shown in FIG. Paper sheets accumulate. At that time, a modification of the storage tray is shown in Figure 13a to more effectively hold the leading edge of the recording paper 6゜.
, b, and c. FIG. 13a shows a tray in which a leaf spring 26 is attached to the lower part of the second guide member 16 to ensure that the leading edge 6' of the recording paper is gripped in the tray. In FIG. 13, a friction material 27 such as rubber is attached to the surface of the second guide member 16 to prevent the edge of the paper from shifting due to frictional force. Figure 13C
is on the surface of the second guide member! +: Provides tooth-shaped unevenness 28, which hooks the edge of the paper to prevent the paper from slipping. In either structure, it is effective to align the grooves in the shape of a 7-shape. In addition, when the number of accumulated recording sheets exceeds the storage capacity of the I-Ray, the click mechanism that locks the first guide member 14, which forms a wedge-shaped sheet material storage space, in the closed state It is automatically released by the weight, and the first guide member 14 is kept in an open state, thereby making it possible to prevent jams (paper jams) inside the machine. Examples of the click mechanism are shown in FIGS. 14, 15, and 16.

FIG. 14 shows a click mechanism using an elastic body such as a leaf spring 29. FIG. 15 shows a magnetic mechanism in which the first guide member is provided with a magnet 31 that is magnetically attracted to a screw 30 fixing the second guide member 16 to the main body stay 17. In Fig. 16, an electromagnet 32 is provided on the second guide member, which attracts the first guide member, and when a predetermined number of sheets are stored, the electromagnet 32 is turned off to release the magnetic force and open the first guide member 14. The click mechanism is shown below.

As is clear from the explanation in 1-1 below, according to the present invention, the leading end of the sheet material is inserted into the closed part at the bottom of the sheet material storage space, and the rear end is turned over and hung outside the machine, thereby removing the special material from the machine body. The installation space of the machine can be significantly reduced without the need for a tray to be moved out, and the effects can be obtained in that the sheet materials can be stored in a well-aligned state regardless of the winding of the sheet materials. Furthermore, multiple sheets can be stored in a tray with the information side facing up and arranged in page order, which not only improves the installation space of the C1i, but also greatly improves operability such as handling of sheet materials. This has the effect of providing improvement. In addition, since the paper can be introduced into the tray immediately after passing through the cutter, there is no need for paper ejection rollers, making the mechanism simple and expected to significantly reduce costs and improve reliability.

Further, unlike the conventional method of placing sheet materials on a tray, since the tray holds only the leading edge, even extremely long sheet materials can be stored.

In the present invention, the holding effect can be further improved by attaching a plate spring friction piece or the like to the tip holding portion in order to make the holding of the sheet material more effective. Furthermore, by providing a safety mechanism that automatically opens the tray when the number of sheet materials equal to the storage capacity tool 1- is loaded, it is possible to prevent sheet materials from jamming inside the machine.

It goes without saying that the wooden invention can be applied not only to storing recording paper but also to storing manuscripts.

Further, in the embodiment described above, only an apparatus for cutting continuous paper has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus using pre-cut paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional facsimile machine, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a facsimile machine equipped with a tray according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of the facsimile machine shown in Fig. 2 with the recording paper storage section in a closed state. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the recording paper storage section in an open state, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the paper loop state in the paper storage section according to the wooden invention, FIGS. 6 and 7 is an explanatory diagram of a safety cover to prevent danger from the cutting edge of the cutter, and Figures 8 to 12 are explanatory diagrams of application examples of the wood storage section.
14 to 16 are explanatory diagrams of the click mechanism related to opening and closing of the paper storage section of the tray of the present invention. 1...Facsimile attachment main body 2...Original table 3...Optical system 4... Recording paper roll 5...Platen roller 6...
・Recording paper 6'... Recording paper leading edge 7... Thermal head 8... Power supply section 9... Original lO... For original i
- Ray 11... Cutter 12... Recording paper tray 13... Sheet material storage tray 14 according to the present invention...
First guide member 15...Sheet material storage space 16...
Second guide member 17...stay 18...pin 19
... Closed part 20 ... Open part 22 ... Upper case 23 ... Guide 24 ... Gap 25 ... Rib 26 ... Leaf spring 27 ... Friction material 28 ... Mine shape Unevenness 29...
Leaf spring 30... Screw 31... Magnet 32... Electromagnet Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 1 Fig. 4 Tsuk≠ Fig. 12 Fig. 13 Fig. 15 Fig. 16

Claims (1)

[Claims] A sheet material storage tray provided near the bottom of the sheet output of the image forming apparatus, a first guide member against which the leading edge of the discharged sheet comes into contact and guides the sheet downward; and a first guide member facing the first guide member. and a second guide member for forming a sheet storage space, and a second guide member that forms a closing part of a narrow IJ that grips the leading edge of the sheet fed downward in the lower part of the storage space, and a second guide member for forming a sheet storage space. An opening part is provided at one end of the guide member 1 to allow the rear end of the sheet to be reversed, and the distance between the exit part of the sheet iJl of the image forming apparatus described in 1 and the closing part that grips the leading edge of the sheet is determined by the following. A sheet material storage tray characterized by being shorter than the length of the sheet material in the feeding direction.