JPS609791Y2 - Electronic copy machine paper feed device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a completely new paper feeding device for an electronic copying machine that accommodates copy paper of different sizes and can selectively feed copy paper of a desired size.

Conventionally, the structure of the paper feed device of an electronic copying machine consists of a cassette automatic paper feed section that accommodates and sequentially feeds copy paper of a specified size, and a manual paper feed section that can manually feed copy sheets of a non-standard size one by one. It consists of

However, as electronic copying paper becomes faster and more sophisticated, there has recently been a strong demand for diversification of copying paper sizes from various fields of convenience, and it is not possible to meet the demand if copies of various sizes are desired to be collected to some extent.

Alternatively, a plurality of cassettes may be replaced to obtain one of a desired size, but the cassette itself becomes larger due to the increase in the number of sheets stored due to higher speeds, which places a heavy burden on the user.

Therefore, we are dealing with this by using a double cassette system, etc.
Although it can only accommodate a small number of sizes, it has the disadvantage of taking up a large amount of space.

The present invention was developed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an electronic copying machine that can accommodate copy paper of various sizes and automatically select and feed paper of the desired size. This paper aims to provide a paper feeding device.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is an electronic copying machine main body consisting of an upper housing 1a and a lower housing 1b.

A document table 2 is provided above the upper housing 1a, and an optical system 3 comprising a lamp, a mirror, a lens, etc. and forming a reflected optical path 3a is provided inside.

A drum 4, which is a photoreceptor, is rotatably supported at the projection image formation position of the reflected optical path 3a.

Further, along the peripheral wall of the drum 4, a charging charger 5, a developing device 6, a transfer charger 7, a scraper, a static elimination charger 8, and a cleaner 9 are provided in the above numerical order.

Further, the upper housing 1a is provided with a guide body 10 that opens toward the lower housing 1b, and one end of a conveyance path 11 consisting of a plurality of rollers and a conveyance belt is opposed to the guide body 10.

A transfer section 12 formed between the drum 3 and the transfer charger 7 and a fixing device 13 are provided facing each other in the middle of this conveyance path 11, and the other end is provided through a paper discharge port 14. and faces the tray 15.

On the other hand, a paper feeding device 16, which will be described later, is housed in the lower housing 1b.

That is, this includes a plurality of cassettes 17a to 17b that accommodate copy sheets P of various sizes, a carriage 18 that accommodates these cassettes 17a to 17b, and a drive mechanism 19 shown in FIG. 3 that drives this carriage 18. , the cassettes 17a to 17d are connected to the guide body 10.
It is comprised of a selection mechanism 20 and a paper feed roller 21 shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, which are opposed to each other.

Each part will be explained in detail below.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the cassettes 17a to 17d is made up of a box 22 formed in a size that can accommodate the largest size of copy paper P among various sizes of copy paper P. A concave cutout 22a is provided at one end in the direction, and hooking pieces 23.2 are provided at both sides of the cutout 22a.
3 is installed protrudingly.

Further, a stop plate 24 having spring plates 24a, 24a on both sides is removably inserted into the box body 22, and this stops at one end of the copy paper P (the cassette 17a... (The bottom edge of the copy paper P is actually
is now supported.

Further, the bottom of the box body 22 has a double bottom as shown in FIG. 7, and the upper bottom plate 25 is elastically supported by a spring 25a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 18 is provided with wheels 18a on the bottom so that it can be moved on rails 26, 26 placed on the lower housing 1b.

Furthermore, guide pieces 27 are provided on the inner wall of the carriage 18 to face each other along the vertical direction, and between these guide pieces 27, hooking pieces 23, 23 protrude from the upper edge of the cassette 17a... It is designed so that it can be clamped and supported in a three-dimensional state.

Furthermore, a rack 28 connected to the drive mechanism 19 is provided on the same longitudinal side of the upper edge of the carriage 18.

On the other hand, in the drive mechanism 19, a drive chain wheel 30a is connected to a drive source (not shown) capable of forward and reverse rotation, and when the drive chain wheel 30a rotates, a driven chain wheel 30b rotates via a drive shaft 30. Cheno 3 hung between chain wheel 30c
1 runs endlessly.

Further, a first clutch brake 32 for the forward rotation direction and a second clutch brake 33 for the reverse rotation direction are engaged with the Cheno 31.

These first. First and second pinion gears 32a and 33a, which mesh with the rack 28, are connected to the second clutch brakes 32 and 33, respectively.

On the other hand, the selection mechanism 20 has a camshaft 35 connected to the drive shaft 30 via a half-rotation clutch section 34.

As shown in FIG.
A clutch main body 36 has engagement recesses 36at36b provided with an interval of
A solenoid 37 that is energized every time the solenoid 37 rotates by 80 degrees, and a claw portion 38a that engages the engaging recesses 36a and 36b as the solenoid 37 is energized and restricts the transmission of the rotational force of the drive shaft 30 to the camshaft 35. It consists of a swingable lever 38.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of cams 39 and 39 of the same shape are fitted onto the cam shaft 35, and these are fitted with vertical pieces of rotating levers 40 and 40 formed in an oval shape. Cam fluores 40a, 40a provided in the parts are biased by tension springs 41, 41, respectively, and come into pressure contact with each other.

A hook 42 is suspended from a horizontal piece of the rotating lever 40 via a pin.

When the rotating lever 40 is rotated counterclockwise and the horizontal piece is tilted most downwardly, one of the hooking claws 42 comes into contact with a switch 43 provided below, which is connected to the first or Either one of the two clutch brakes 32 and 33 is energized.

Further, on the inner wall of the lower housing 1b, as shown in FIG.
4a to 44d are provided, and these are copy size push buttons 46a to 16 of a copy size selection operation panel 45 provided near the document table 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.
d and the lamps 47a to 47d.

The position detection switches 44a to 44d are actuators 48a to 48d provided on the outer wall of the carriage 18 corresponding to the positions of the cassettes 17a to 17d.
are approaching and separating.

Rotating lever 4 of the selection mechanism 20 configured in this way
The paper feed roller 21 can move toward and away from the copy paper P by a rotational displacement of 0.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the paper feed roller 21 is formed in an inverted shape and is pivotally supported by a vertical piece of a roller lever 49 that is rotatable about its bent portion as a fulcrum.

This roller lever 49 is biased by a tension spring 50 stretched on the horizontal piece so that the upper edge of the horizontal piece comes into pressure contact with the edge of the rotating lever 40, and is driven as the lever 49 rotates. It has become.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

If the original is placed with the original side facing down on the original platen 2 and the copy size specification is the same as last time, for example, if the original is placed in the cassette 1
If the user wishes to continue obtaining the copy paper P stored in 7a, he or she presses a copy button (not shown).

Then, the optical system 3 scans the surface of the document, and forms a projected image on the drum 4, which has been charged in advance by the charger 5.

A latent image pattern is formed on the drum 4, and the developing device 9 visualizes this.

On the other hand, in the paper feeding device 16, the cassette 17a is suspended by the hooks 42, 42, and the paper feeding roller 21 is on standby in contact with the copy paper P.

When the original image faces the transfer unit 12, the copy paper P
The timing is adjusted so that the weight is the same.

Transfer charger 7 applies charges to these to obtain a transferred image on copy paper P.

Then, the scraper peels the copy paper P from the drum 3 and guides it to the conveyance path 11, the fixing device 13 fixes the transferred image, and the copy paper P is discharged to the tray 15 via the paper discharge port 14. .

Next, a case will be described in which copy sheets P of different sizes are required.

First, a desired size is selected from the copy size selection operation panel 45, a copy size push button (for example, 46d) is pressed, and then a copy button is pushed.

Each part except the paper feeding device 16 performs the same function as described above.

In the paper feeding device 16, the half-rotation clutch section 34 operates to rotate the camshaft 35 by 180 degrees, and the cam 39.39 pushes down the catch pawl 42.42 via the rotation lever 40.

Therefore, the cassette 17a is accommodated in the carriage 18, but the catch claws 42.42 are still slightly lowered and come into contact with the switch 43.

Then, the push button 46d is electrically connected to the switch 43, and sends an electric signal to the first or second clutch brake 32,33, and the first or second pinion gear 32a.
, 33a.

When the actuator 48d corresponding to the designated cassette 17d contacts the position detection switch 44d, the first
Alternatively, the second clutch brake 32,33 stops the movement of the carriage 18 and holds it stationary.

At this time, the cassette 17d is located directly below the guide body 10.

At the same time, the half-rotation clutch section 34 operates again, and the cam 39
．． Rotate 39 by 180°.

Therefore, the hooking claws 42, 42 rise and the cassette 17d
Hook the hook pieces 23, 23 and pull it out from the carriage 18.

Along with this, the roller lever 49 rotates, and the paper feed roller 21 rolls into contact with the copy paper P to sequentially feed it to the conveyance path 11.

In the above embodiment, four cassettes 17a to 17d were accommodated in the carriage 18, but the number is not limited to this.

Further, the cassettes 17a to 17d may be tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the paper feeding direction to form multiple cassettes, as long as the structure accommodates a plurality of cassettes in an upright position and allows a desired cassette to face the transport path 11. good.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of cassettes each having a copy machine of a different size are accommodated in a movable carriage, and this carriage is displaced by a drive mechanism, so that a cassette containing copy paper of a desired size is transported. The selection mechanism stops the carriage when it faces the road, and
The cassette is pulled out from the carriage, and the copy paper in the cassette is rotated by the rotation of the paper feed roller that rolls into contact with the copy paper, so that the copy paper is fed one by one into the conveyance path, so it is possible to have copy paper of various sizes. It is ideal for continuous high-speed copying because it allows you to quickly obtain copies of the desired size with simple operations, and the copy paper automatically rolls into contact with the paper feed roller when the cassette is aligned. The positioning of the copy paper is reliable, and the reliability of paper feeding is improved.

In addition, since the cassettes are stored in the carriage in an upright position, the height of the device itself does not change at all even when the number of cassettes to be set is increased.

and when the carriage is moved and displaced so that a cassette containing copy paper of a desired size faces the conveyance path, the carriage is temporarily stopped, the cassette is pulled out from the carriage, and the copy paper in the cassette is rolled into contact with the paper feed roller. Therefore, not only the height of the device does not change, but also a drive mechanism that moves the carriage, a selection mechanism that pulls out the cassette from the carriage and rolls the copy paper into contact with the paper feed roller, or a feed mechanism that includes a feed roller. Also, it does not become complicated regardless of the number of cassettes set in the carriage.

Therefore, this device has a very practical effect in that the casing of the device can also be used as a stand for an electronic copying machine.

Furthermore, when the cassette containing copy paper of the desired size is placed opposite the conveyance path, the cassette is in an upright position.
Horizontally displacing the cassette storage carriage is structurally optimal, and therefore, compared to, for example, moving the carriage up and down, the load on the drive mechanism that drives the carriage is reduced, and it also avoids making the device unnecessarily large. It becomes possible to set a large number of cassettes while preventing this.

Paper feeding from a booklet set is normally carried out by rolling a feeding roller into contact with the copy paper in the cassette, and using the frictional force acting between the two.

Therefore, in order to prevent paper feeding errors such as feeding multiple sheets of copy paper from the cassette at the same time, the force acting between the copy paper and the feed roller needs to be kept constant. For those that are stored horizontally,
Changes in gravity due to increases or decreases in the number of copy sheets in the cassette affect the paper feeding state and cause paper feeding errors.

In contrast, in the present invention, since the cassette is stored in an upright position, the influence of gravity on paper feeding is reduced, and paper feeding can be performed reliably at all times without causing paper feeding errors. It also becomes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view of an electronic copying machine, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of main parts, and Fig. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view of an electronic copying machine. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the half-rotation clutch section, FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical arrangement diagram, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the operation panel for copy size selection, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the paper feeding state of the cassette. P... Copy paper, 11... Conveyance path, 4.
... Photoreceptor (drum), 17a, 17b, 17c
, 17d=cassette, 18...carriage, 1
9... Drive mechanism, 20... Selection mechanism,
21...Paper feed roller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A plurality of cassettes each having copy sheets of different sizes, a movable carriage that accommodates these cassettes in a three-dimensional state, a drive mechanism that drives and moves the carriage based on a copy size selection signal, and this drive mechanism a selection mechanism that stops the operation of the drive mechanism when the carriage is displaced and a cassette containing copy paper of a desired size faces the conveying path, and engages with the opposing cassette to pull out the cassette from the carriage;
A paper feeding device for an electronic copying machine characterized by comprising a feeding roller that sequentially feeds copy sheets one by one by rolling into contact with copy sheets in a cassette facing a conveyance path by this selection mechanism.