JPS6138089B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feeding cassette mounting device, in particular,
The present invention relates to a paper feeding cassette mounting device for mounting a paper feeding cassette to a mounting portion of an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine.

In order to securely attach the paper feed cassette to the main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, 1/3 to 1/5 of the length of the paper feed cassette must be inserted into the mounting body, otherwise it will be attached to the main body. As a result, the cassette may wobble, reducing the positioning accuracy of the paper feeding cassette. A decrease in positional accuracy has the drawback of causing double feeding or skewed feeding of copy sheets. Furthermore, the machine becomes particularly large when two or multiple paper feed cassettes are installed in the machine. The main body may be enlarged to accommodate the paper feed cassette, but this increases the area occupied by the machine and poses problems such as transportation and increased costs.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that is equipped with a cassette mounting device that allows the paper feeding cassette to be mounted and removed easily without reducing the positional accuracy of the paper feeding cassette while reducing the size of the machine.

The present invention provides a paper feeding cassette mounting device for mounting a paper feeding cassette in a mounting portion of an image forming apparatus main body, wherein the paper feeding cassette mounting device is rotatably provided in the mounting portion, and at least a portion of the paper feeding cassette is mounted on the mounting portion of the image forming apparatus main body. To provide a paper feed cassette mounting device, characterized in that it has a mounting guide member movable between a mounting guide position where the paper feed cassette is protruded and held and a retracted position where the paper feed cassette is retracted into the main body. It is something.

Hereinafter, drawings showing embodiments of the present invention will be described. The illustrated embodiment shows a case in which two paper feeding cassettes can be attached to the main body 1. First, the copy paper 3 loaded in the lower paper feed cassette 2 is conveyed one by one from above by the rotation of the pick-up roller 4, passes through guides 5 and 6, timing rollers 7 and 8, and then is transferred to the conveyance guide 9. , 10 to the photosensitive drum 11.

On the other hand, the upper paper feed cassette 12 is attached to the main body 1 in the same manner as the lower paper feed cassette.

However, since the paper feed cassette 12 has a short length to be attached to the main body 1, it is attached via the attachment guide member 13. The attachment guide member 13 is in the form of an auxiliary rail and can securely hold the paper feed cassette 12.

The copy paper 14 loaded in the paper feed cassette 12 is conveyed one by one from above by the rotation of the pick-up roller 15, and is passed through the guides 16, 17 and the roller 1.
8 and 19, and further through guides 5 and 20, timing rollers 7 and 8, and conveyance guides 9 and 10, and are attracted to the photosensitive drum 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, by arranging the mounting guide members 13, 13 so as to sandwich both sides of the paper cassette 12, the paper cassette 12 can be reliably mounted on the main body 1.

The mounting guide member 13 for securely mounting the paper feed cassette on the main body has a mounting guide position protruding from the main body when the paper feed cassette is mounted, and a mounting guide member 13 located inside the main body when the paper feed cassette is not mounted. It is possible to move between the retracted position and the retracted position. Of course. In the illustrated embodiment, these attachment guide members 13, 13 are configured to close the opening of the paper feed cassette when the paper feed cassette 12 is removed.

Next, the attachment guide member will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. Since these pair of mounting guide members 13, 13 have completely symmetrical structures, corresponding parts are indicated by the same numbers. In Fig. 3, the solid line indicates the state in which the paper feed cassette (not shown in Fig. 3) is attached to the main body, that is, the state in which the installation guide member is protruded, and the two-dot chain line indicates the paper feed cassette (not shown in Fig. 3). This shows a state in which the cassette is not installed in the main body, that is, a state in which the installation guide member is retracted into the main body. The mounting guide member 13 is attached to the guide rail surface 2
1, and a bearing 2 on the side opposite to this guide rail surface.
2, and a shaft 23 passing through this bearing 22.
is fixed to the main body 1.

Furthermore, a spring 24 is attached to the shaft 23, and the end 24A of the spring is attached to the mounting guide member 13, and the other end 24B is attached to the mounting guide member 13.
are brought into contact with a main body (not shown) to apply elastic rotational force to the mounting guide member 13. Installation guide member 13
A lock mechanism portion 25A is fixed to the end of the body, and a lock mechanism portion 25B is fixed to the main body (not shown).

When the paper feed cassette is installed, the installation guide member 13 on the right side of the figure moves clockwise from the dotted line state and changes to the solid line state, and the part 2 shown above moves clockwise from the dotted line state to the solid line state.
It is locked and fixed by a locking mechanism consisting of 5A and 25B.

The mounting guide member on the left side of the figure also has a bearing 22 on the side opposite to the rail surface 21 as described above.
The shaft 23 is fixed to the main body (not shown) so as to pass through the main body.

Furthermore, a spring (not shown) is attached to the shaft 23 in the same manner as described above to apply a clockwise load to the mounting member 13. A lock mechanism 2 is attached to the end of this installation guide member 13.
5 is installed and the paper feed cassette is attached to the main body, the attachment guide member rotates counterclockwise and is locked by the locking mechanism 25.

In this way, the paper feed cassette 12 is attached to the main body 1.
When the mounting guide member 13, 1 is mounted, the mounting guide member 13, 1 is fixed.
It can be fixed by 3.

In the present invention, the lock mechanism 25 moves the mounting guide member 13 to the above mounting guide position (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3) when the paper feed cassette is mounted.
The paper feed cassette is configured to be locked when the paper feed cassette is installed. An example of this is shown in the fourth section.
It is shown in the figure. In FIG. 4, a is a plan view of the lock mechanism, b is a front view, and c is a side view. The illustrated locking mechanism consists of a portion 25A attached to the mounting guide member 13 and a portion 25B attached to the main body.

The lock mechanism portion 25A is mounted so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane around a lock shaft 26 projecting outward from the side surface of the attachment guide member 13 and a vertical shaft 27 provided on the side surface of the member 13. Includes lever 28. The lever 28 is adapted to pivot about a shaft 27 between a position 28' shown in dotted lines and a position shown in solid lines in FIG. A spring 29 is provided and is adapted to abut the paper feed cassette to be installed at this dotted line position.

The lock mechanism portion 25B has a lock base plate 30 fixed to the main body, which includes the above-mentioned lock shaft 26.
A hole 31 is formed for receiving the tip of. An arm 32 is attached to the lock base plate 30 by a fulcrum shaft 33 and is rotatable between a position where the hole 31 is partially closed and a position where the hole is completely opened. A torsion spring 34 is provided that biases the arm 32 clockwise about the fulcrum shaft 33 mentioned above. The movement of this arm is changed to the position where the hole 31 is partially closed (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4b) and the hole 31 as described above.
Stoppers 35 and 36 are fixed to the lock base plate 30 in order to limit the position between the fully open position (the position indicated by the dotted line 32' in FIG. 4b), and one end of the torsion spring 34 is is hung on the stopper 36, and the other end is a dowel 37 fixed to the surface of the arm 32.
Can be applied to. The lock shaft 26 is provided with a V-groove 26a, and the arm 3 is located at the position shown by the solid line above.
2 engages with the V-groove 26a, and the mounting guide member 13
It's starting to lock.

A tension coil spring 38 is provided which pulls the arm 32 against the force of the torsion spring 34 towards the position indicated by the dotted line 32'. A dowel 39 is fixed to the arm 32, and this is inserted into the lock board 30 through an arc-shaped elongated hole 40 provided in the lock board 30.
The dowel 39 protrudes from the dowel 39, and one end of the tension coil spring 38 is attached to the dowel 39. Further, the lock board 30 is provided with an elongated hole 40'.
A shaft 41 that can be slid by fitting into this elongated hole 40'
is provided, and the other end of the above-mentioned tension coil spring 38 is attached to this shaft 41. Another tension coil spring 43 is hung between the spring hook 42 fixed to the lock board 30 and the shaft 41, and this tension coil spring 43 is set to be stronger than the above-mentioned tension coil spring. Coil spring 38, 4
The resultant force of 3 is set to overcome the force of the torsion spring 34 described above. Therefore, when the paper feed cassette is not installed, that is, the installation guide member 13
is in the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 3, and the locking mechanism portion 25A is in a position away from the locking mechanism portion 25B, the arm 32 and the shaft 41 are in the position shown in FIGS. 4b and 4a, respectively. chain line 3
2' and 41' positions.

Assume that the paper feed cassette is inserted in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 4a in the set loading device equipped with the above locking mechanism. As the paper feed cassette is inserted in the direction of arrow A, the tip of the mounting guide member 13 rotates in the direction of arrow B. The paper feed cassette is positioned in the insertion direction by coming into contact with a stopper 44 fixed at the tip of the mounting guide member 13. At this time, the shaft 2 disposed near the stopper 44 of the mounting guide member 13
The lever 28 is rotated about 7 and moves from the position 28' shown by the two-dot chain line to the position shown by the solid line. Note that when the paper feed cassette is not attached, the lever 28 is at a position 28' indicated by a two-dot chain line due to the action of a torsion spring 29. When the paper feed cassette is installed, the lock shaft 26 has its tip protruded into a hole 31 provided in the lock board 30, and the V-groove 26a is located close to the lock board 30.

Now, when the paper feed cassette is installed and comes into contact with the stopper 44 and the lever 28 is rotated to the position shown by the solid line, the shaft 41 is moved to two points by the other end of the lever 28. Position 41' indicated by dashed line
Therefore, the tension coil spring 43 no longer acts to pull the arm 32, and the tension force of the tension coil spring 38 also becomes weak, so that the force of the torsion spring 34 becomes Overcoming the force of the coil spring 38, the arm 32
The V groove 26 of the lock shaft 26 is opened by the force of the torsion spring 34.
In this way, the mounting guide member 13
is reliably positioned.

When the paper feed cassette is removed from the mounting guide member 13, the series of operations described above is reversed and the lock is automatically released.

In the above embodiment, the locking mechanism of the mounting guide member 13 is automatically locked and unlocked in conjunction with the mounting or removal of the paper feed cassette, but only the locking mechanism of the mounting guide member 13 is It may be configured independently and manually released.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the paper feed cassette mounting device prevents the mounting guide member from protruding outside the main body when the paper feed cassette is not mounted, making it difficult to transport the machine. It is also suitable for downsizing machines. Furthermore, by providing the locking means, the installation guide member is reliably locked in the position by the installation guide member positioning device that operates in conjunction with the installation of the paper feed cassette. The cassette rattles,
Accordingly, accidents such as double feeding or skew feeding of copy sheets are completely prevented from occurring.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which two paper feeding cassettes are attached to the main body of the copying machine, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the cassettes are attached. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cassette mounting guide member in the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 4a, b, and c are a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing the locking mechanism in the device of the present invention. 1... Main body, 2... Paper feed cassette, 3... Copy paper, 4... Pick-up roller, 5, 6... Guide, 7, 8... Timing roller, 9, 10...
... Conveyance guide, 11 ... Photosensitive drum, 12 ... Paper feeding cassette, 13 ... Mounting guide member, 14 ...
Copy paper, 15... Pick-up roller, 16,1
7... Guide, 18, 19... Roller, 20...
Guide, 21... Guide rail surface, 22... Bearing,
23...Shaft, 24...Spring, 24A, 24
B... Spring end, 25A, 25B... Lock mechanism, 26... Lock shaft, 26a... V groove,
27... shaft, 28... lever, 29... torsion spring, 30... lock board, 31... hole, 32...
Arm, 33... fulcrum shaft, 34... torsion spring,
35, 36... Stopper, 37... Dowel, 38
... tension coil spring, 39 ... dowel, 40 ... oblong hole, 41 ... shaft, 42 ... spring hook, 43 ... tension coil spring, 44 ... stopper.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A paper feeding cassette mounting device for mounting a paper feeding cassette 12 in a mounting portion of an image forming apparatus main body 1, which is rotatably provided in the mounting portion, A paper feeder characterized by having a mounting guide member 13 which is movable between a mounting guide position where at least a portion thereof protrudes from the main body and holds the paper feed cassette 12 and a retracted position where the paper feed cassette 12 is retracted into the main body. cassette loading device. 2. The paper feeding cassette mounting device according to claim 1, which includes means for locking the mounting guide member at the mounting guide position. 3. The paper feed cassette mounting device according to claim 2, wherein the locking means is released in conjunction with the removal of the paper feed cassette. 4. The paper feed cassette loading device according to claim 2, wherein locking and release by the locking means are linked to mounting or removal of the paper feed cassette.