JPS625855B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feeding cassette for automatically feeding paper in a copying machine, and more particularly to a paper feeding cassette that enables automatic feeding of thick letters as paper.

Generally, in a transfer type electrophotographic copying machine, a toner image is formed on a photoreceptor through charging, exposure, and development steps, and this toner image is transferred onto a transfer paper by a corona discharge means or the like. Thereafter, the toner image is semi-permanently fixed onto the transfer paper by a fixing device. Usually, the paper used for this transfer paper has a weight of about 50 to 250 (g/m ² ) in practical use. Of these, approximately 60 to 90 (g/m ² ) paper is used because of its high frequency of use and ease of automatic paper feeding.
The paper is stored in a paper feeding cassette or the like, and is reliably fed by an automatic paper feeding mechanism. However, for thick letters of 100 g/m ² or more, the general automatic paper feeding mechanism described above cannot be used for the following reasons. Therefore, at present, paper is almost always fed manually.

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the state in which the cassette of a normal cassette type automatic paper feed mechanism is installed in the main body of the copying machine.
FIG. 2 is a top view showing the cassette viewed from above. The cassette 11 stores a normal transfer paper 16 on a transfer paper mounting table 12 rotatably supported on a side wall of the cassette 11. One end of the push-up member 14 is rotatably supported by the main body 17, and the other free end is arranged so as to come into contact with the lower surface of the transfer paper mounting table 12. The elastic member 15 has one end attached to the main body 17 and the other end to the push-up member 14, and applies a force to push up the transfer paper mounting table 12 through the push-up member 14. One end of the transfer paper presser 13 is rotatably supported by the side wall of the cassette 11, and the other end is shaped to restrict the tip and top surface of the transfer paper 16. The cassette 11 also has a protrusion 13a in a portion facing the side wall, and the protrusion 13a is fitted into an elongated hole 11a provided in the side wall of the cassette. The protrusion 13a becomes movable by the length of the long axis of the elongated hole 11a, and this becomes the movement width of the transfer paper presser 13.

As a result, the uppermost position of the pushed-up transfer paper 16 is at a constant height _h1 from the bottom of the cassette.
Also, a paper feed roller 19 rotatably supported on the main body.
The height of is also kept constant at _h2 . This is to stabilize the paper feeding force by always keeping the distance between the paper feed roller 19 and the transfer paper 16 constant, and to make the position of the fed transfer paper 16 into the main body 17 constant.

With the above configuration, the transfer paper presser 13 that presses down the transfer paper 16 from above is required, but ordinary transfer paper that is light and weak can be fed by climbing over the transfer paper presser 13. However, thick letters such as postcards that are heavy and stiff may not be able to get over the transfer paper presser 13, or if a strong paper feeding force is applied and the paper gets over the transfer paper presser 13, the paper may bend. There is a fear.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a paper feeding cassette that can also automatically feed thick letters such as postcards.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a paper feeding cassette that enables automatic paper feeding of thick letters by attaching the cassette of the present invention to a paper feeding unit in which a cassette for storing ordinary paper that is light and weak is removable. do.

The paper feed cassette of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the paper feeding cassette of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. .
In the figure, reference numeral 21 is a cassette main body that is detachably installed in a paper feed section of the main body of the copying machine. This cassette 2 has a paper guide 22 which is fixed to the bottom and regulates and guides both ends of thick letters such as postcards, and a regulating piece _23-1 which places the thick letters on the top and regulates the rear end of the thick letters. a pedestal 23, a regulating claw 24 that regulates the tip of the thick letter and feeds it one sheet at a time, a paper position regulating member 25 that regulates the top position of the thick letter placed on the pedestal 23, and a pedestal 23. It has a spring 26 that always pushes upward, a spring holding member 27 that holds the spring 26, and a stopper 28 that restricts the movement range of the paper position regulating member 25.

The above-mentioned pedestal 23 has a regulating piece 23 _-1 by bending both side edges approximately 90 degrees in order to regulate the rear end of the thick paper.
, and one end of a spring 26 that is pushed upward is fixed to an extension 23 _-2 in the center thereof. Further, the pedestal 23 has a rotating shaft 29 attached to the regulating piece 23 _-1 , and this rotating shaft 29 connects to the elongated hole 22 _-1 bored in the paper guide 22.
Since it is pivotally supported by the rotary shaft 29, it can be rotated around this rotating shaft 29. The other end of the spring 26 is fixed to a spring holding member 27 fixed to the bottom of the cassette, and by pushing down the extension 23 _-2 , the pedestal 23 is pushed upward around the rotating shaft 29. . The paper position regulating member 25 has claw portions 25 _-1 provided to oppose the corner portions of both ends of the thick letter and regulate the position of the paper, and the paper guide 2
2, and is provided with a hole _25-2 for regulating the rotation range. A stopper 28, which is formed by appropriately cutting and bending the paper guide 22, is inserted into the hole _25-2 . In other words, the edge of the hole _25-2 is engaged with the stopper 28, so that the rotation range of the paper position regulating member 25 is regulated. A regulating claw 24 is fixed to the frontmost bent portion 25 _-3 of the paper position regulating member 25, and between the claw portion 25 _-1 of the paper position regulating member 25 and the tip of the regulating claw 24, A distance d is formed through which a piece of thick letter can pass.

In the configuration as described above, the cassette 21
If it does not accommodate thick letters, as shown in Figure 5,
The pedestal 23 is pushed upward by the spring 26, and the leading edge of the pedestal 23 is engaged with the claw portion _25-1 .
Being pushed up. Therefore, the paper position regulating material 25
is pushed up at the same time, but its movement is restricted by the stopper 28 and the hole _25-2 , and each mechanism is stopped in the state shown in the figure.

Therefore, if the pedestal 23 is pushed down and a large number of thick letters 30 are accommodated, the state shown in FIG. 6 will be obtained. The top of the thick letter 30 is always located at the same height regardless of the number of sheets, and the pedestal 23 is lowered by the thickness of the thick letter 30. FIG. 6 shows the state in which the cassette 21 is mounted on the copy paper main body, and the paper feed roller 31 is shown opposite to this mounting portion. Paper feed roller 3
1, the notch faces the thick letter 30 when not in operation, and when it rotates during operation, the circumferential surface faces the thick letter 30.
It feeds paper by coming into contact with it.

When the paper feed roller 31 rotates, the uppermost thick letter 30 _-1 is moved by the claw portion 25 _-1 of the paper position regulating member 25.
The paper is fed through the space between and the tip of the regulating claw 24. At this time, the feeding of the next thick letter 30 _-2 is regulated by the regulating claw 24, and only the uppermost thick letter 30 _-1 is in the 6th position.
Paper is fed as shown in the figure. The distance d between the claw portion 25 _-1 and the tip of the regulating claw 24 is such a gap that two or more thick letters 30 cannot pass through.

As an example, when d=0.355 mm for a thick letter 30, for example, a postcard thickness of about 0.25 mm, 2
No sheet feeding occurred.

Here, in FIG. 6, the biasing force of the spring 26 acts to press the thick paper 30 _-1 against the claw portion 25 _-1 of the paper feed claw 25 . In this state, it is difficult to feed the thick letter 30 _-1 at the top. However, when feeding paper, the paper feed roller ₃₁ pushes down the entire thick paper ₃₀ as shown in FIG.
The acting force due to 6 is eliminated. In other words, the claw part 25 _-1
will only come into contact with the thick letter 30 _-1 due to its own weight. This does not affect paper feeding in any way.

However, in FIG.
When the paper feeding operation of step 1 is completed, the cutout part of the paper feeding roller 31 faces the thick paper 30, so that the spring 2
The uppermost thick letter 30 is attached to the claw part 25 _-1 by the bias of 6.
_-1 is pressed. For this reason, subsequent conveyance requires a sufficiently large conveyance force that resists the pressure contact force.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cassette ₁₁ as explained in FIG. , and reaches the conveyance roller 32 installed inside the copying machine. Thereafter, the paper _20-1 is stopped at a stopper 33 in order to synchronize with the toner image formed on the rotating drum. Then, when synchronization is achieved, the stopper 33 is released by means such as a solenoid, and the ordinary paper 20 _-1 is transported to the drum by the transport roller 32. In this case, when the regular paper 20 _-1 is stopped at the stopper 33 and the conveying roller 32 tries to convey the regular paper 20 _-1 with strong force, the regular paper 20 _-1 will be pushed into the copy paper guide 34. This causes wrinkles, curls, folds, etc., which can cause paper jams.

In addition, even if the conveying roller is rotated via the clutch means in an attempt to prevent this, and the normal paper 20 _-1 reaches the stopper 33 at the same time, this is detected and the clutch is deenergized, the characteristics of the clutch,
Due to the time lag, the clutch is not completely disengaged at that point. Therefore, since the conveyance roller 32 continues to rotate during that time, the wrinkles and
Waviness, paper folding, etc. cannot be completely prevented. In addition, the addition of a clutch mechanism, detection means, etc. causes problems of increased cost and complexity of the mechanism.

Therefore, currently only one conveyance roller 32 _-1 is connected to a motor drive means to serve as a driving roller, and conveyance roller 32 _-2 is made a driven roller.
It is configured to be able to transport transfer paper suitable for copying.
When the transfer paper stops at the stopper 33, the conveyance roller 32 is provided with a weak conveyance force that does not cause paper folding or paper jams.

In a copying machine having the paper feed conveyance system as described above, as shown in FIG.
After the carrying force for 0 _-1 disappears, spring 2
This thick paper 30 _-1 is stably conveyed against the friction or catching that acts between the thick paper 30 -1 and the claw portion 25 _-1 due to the _force exerted by 6. That is difficult.

In the present invention, after the paper feed roller 31 finishes feeding the paper,
A means for preventing the thick paper _30-1 from coming into pressure contact with the claw portion _25-1 by the spring 26 is provided to ensure stable paper feeding. In other words, even after the paper is fed, the action of the spring 26 causes the thick paper 30 _-1 to be held at the claw portion 2.
5 _-1 is provided with a regulating mechanism so as not to come into pressure contact with the thick paper 30 _-1 , and only the weight of the claw portion 25 _-1 itself acts on the thick paper 30 -1.

The cassette of the present invention will be further explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a pedestal end portion _23-3 is integrally formed to further extend and restrain the extension portion _23-2 of the pedestal 23 to which one end of the spring 26 is fixed. . A pedestal restraining member 35 is provided opposite to this pedestal end portion 23 _-3 and has a restraining portion 35 _-1 in which a large number of serrated teeth are formed. The pedestal restraint member 35 is a solenoid support plate 37 for fixing the solenoid 36.
The solenoid 36 is attached movably in the pulling direction of the solenoid 36. That is, elongated holes 35 _-2 and 35 _-3 are bored at two places in the pedestal restraint part 35, and pins 37 _-1 and 37 _-2 are inserted through these elongated holes 35 _-2 and 35 _-3 .
is fixed to the solenoid support plate 37, the pedestal restraining material 3 is fixed within the range of the long holes _35-2 and _35-3 .
5 moves.

The solenoid support plate 37 has one end fixed to the spring support plate 27 with screws or the like, and the other end fixed to the bottom of the cassette body. The solenoid 36 has its operating piece 36 _-1 connected to the pedestal restraint member 35, and when energized, pulls the pedestal restraint member 35 to the left in the figure. At this time, the locking state between the restraining part 35 _-1 of the pedestal restraint member 35 and the pedestal end 23 _-3 of the pedestal 23 is released, and the action of the spring 26 releases the pedestal 23 .
3 is pushed up to the position shown in FIG. 5 and stopped. Here, the restraining portion 35 _-1 of the pedestal restraining material 35 is as follows:
The tooth portion is formed in a shape that does not restrict the upward movement of the pedestal end portion 23 _-3 but restricts the downward movement.
Further, the solenoid 36 is energized via a connector 38 provided at the tip of the cassette 21 body. In other words, when the cassette 21 is installed in the copying machine main body, the connector 38 connects to the two guide pins 39.
The paper is guided by the printer and connected to the connector on the copying machine main body side, and a power supply signal is supplied from the copying machine main body side.

The operation of the cassette constructed as described above will be explained below.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cassette before storing thick letters and before being attached to the main body of the copying machine. pedestal 2
3 is the spring 2 inside the spring retainer 27
With the force of 6, the paper position regulating member 25 is brought into contact and pushed up, and the claw portion 25 _-1 is stopped in a restrained state by the stopper 28 . At this time, the pedestal restraining material 35 is in contact with the pedestal end 23 _-3 ,
The force of the spring 26 is exerted only on the pedestal restraining member 35.

Next, when storing the thick letter 30, use the cradle 2.
Press 3 fully downwards with your hand as shown in Figure 8.
The pedestal 23 can be easily lowered due to the shape of the teeth of the restraining part 35 _-1 of the pedestal restraint member 35, but once it is lowered, it cannot be lowered unless the pedestal restraint member 35 is pulled by the solenoid 36. , unable to move upward. Further, as the pedestal 23 moves downward, the paper position regulating member 25 also moves downward, but stops when it is restrained by the stopper 28. At this time, the claw portion 25 of the pedestal 23 and the paper position regulating member 25
_-1 , there is enough space to store thick letters 30. (See Figure 8).

Figure 9 shows three thick letters in the cassette in the condition shown in Figure 8.
0 is stored and then installed in the copying machine 40. At this time, the cassette side connector 38 is connected to the copying machine main body side connector. For example, when the copying machine is powered on, a signal from the copying machine main body 38 enters the solenoid 36 via the cassette side connector 38, and the solenoid 36 is energized. As a result, the pedestal restraining material 35 is attached to the pedestal end 23 _-3
release. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
rotates upward, and when the paper position regulating member 25 is restrained by the stopper 28, the pedestal 23 also stops. In this FIG. 9, the spring 2
The force 6 acts between the paper position regulating member 25 and the thick paper 30 _-1 . Further, FIG. 10 shows paper feeding by the paper feeding roller 31. As shown in FIG.

Paper feeding starts as soon as you press the copy button.
Since the paper feed roller 31 rotates while pressing the thick letter 30 downward, the force of the spring 26 acts between the paper feed roller 31 and the thick letter 30, producing a strong paper feeding force. This spring force is
5 _-1 and thick letter 30 do not work. Claw part 2
5. Between _{the -1} and the thick paper 30, there is a paper position regulating material 2.
Only the force of 5's own weight is acting on it. In other words, during the paper feeding operation by the paper feeding roller 31, the uppermost thick letter _30-1 is sent out without being affected in any way.

On the other hand, the solenoid 36 is deenergized at the same time as the copy button is pressed, and the restraining portion 35 _-1 of the pedestal restraining member 35
is latched to the pedestal end _23-3 and stopped. At this point, the force of the spring 26 is not acting between them.

Next, in FIG. 11, when the paper feed roller 31 makes one revolution and sends the thick paper 30 _-1 to a conveyance roller (not shown) with a relatively weak conveyance force inside the copying machine main body 40, that is, The operation after the paper feeding operation by the paper feeding roller 31 will be explained. In this case, for the pedestal 23 and the thick letter 30, the paper position regulating member 25 is
8 until it stops. However, the pedestal end 23 _-3 is
It is restrained by the restraining part 35 _-1 , and is held in almost the same position as shown in FIG. Therefore, after the paper feed roller 31 completes one rotation, the paper feed roller 31
Even when the damaged part of the paper and the thick paper 30 are separated from each other, the pedestal 23 and the thick paper 30 do not move upward, and there is no paper between the claw part 25 _-1 and the surface of the thick paper 30. Only the force corresponding to the own weight of the position regulating member 25 acts. Therefore, even a conveyance roller with a relatively weak conveyance force can sufficiently convey the paper. And thick letter 3
When the paper 0 _-1 is completely separated from the claw portion 25 _-1 , the solenoid 36 is energized, and the pedestal 23, the thick letter 30, and the paper position regulating member 25 move upward, returning to the state shown in FIG. 9.

The above is the operation during single copying, but during multi-copying, the single copying continues and the solenoid is deenergized at the same time as the paper feed roller 31 starts rotating in conjunction with the copying machine main body, and the second copy is thick letters are fed, and the above-described operation is repeated for a predetermined number of sheets.

In FIG. 12, a polymer resin sheet material 41 with a low coefficient of friction is fixed to the surface of the pawl portion 25 _-1 of the sheet position regulating member 25 facing the thick letter 30, and the uppermost thick letter 30 _-1 This further reduces the hindrance during paper feeding due to the pressure contact force with the claw portion 25 _-1 . In other words, when feeding paper, the uppermost thick letter 30 _-1 can be made to slide more smoothly, and the paper can be fed more smoothly. It is appropriate to attach the resin sheet material 41 using an adhesive.

Although the present invention has been described using thick letters as an example, the present invention is not limited to thick letters, and can of course be applied to light, stiff, and thin paper that has been commonly used in the past.

As explained above, according to the paper feed cassette of the present invention, not only is it possible to automatically feed thick letters using a cassette, which has been difficult in the past, but also it is possible to reliably feed each sheet. Further, after the paper feed roller acts, only the weight of the paper position regulating member acts on the uppermost paper to be fed, and there is no problem in transporting the paper into the copying machine by the transport means.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a sectional view and a top view showing an example of a conventional automatic paper feeding cassette, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the automatic paper feeding cassette according to the present invention, and FIG. is an enlarged view of the main part of Figure 3, and Figure 5
The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Figure 3, and a cross-sectional view from Figure 6 to
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cassette for explaining the operation of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. 21: cassette, 22: paper guide, 23: pedestal, 23 _-3 : pedestal end, 24: regulating claw, 25: paper position regulating material, 25 _-1 : claw, 26: spring, 30: thick letter, 31: paper feed roller, 35: pedestal restraint material, 36: solenoid, 36 _-1 : operating piece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Detachably installed in the paper feed section of the copying machine body,
A device that feeds sheets one by one from a paper feed cassette 21 that accommodates a large number of sheets includes a pedestal 23 that is rotatably provided in the paper cassette and on which sheets are placed, and the pedestal. a biasing means 26 that biases the paper in one direction to push up the paper placed thereon to a prescribed position; a position regulating member 25 that is swingably provided and regulates the position of the top of the pushed paper; A leading edge regulating member 24 that is attached to the position regulating member to regulate the leading edge of the stored paper and is arranged with an interval d of two sheets or less between the position regulating member and the pushed-up uppermost paper. A paper feed roller 31 for feeding the press-contact paper from the interval between the position regulating member and the leading edge regulating member, and a roller for driving the paper supply roller and bringing the paper into pressure contact with the uppermost paper during paper feeding. A paper feeding roller driving means that is driven to a non-pressure contact state with the uppermost paper when the paper is not fed after paper feeding, and a regulating mechanism 35 that regulates the urging force of the urging means in one direction.
and a means 36 for activating the regulating mechanism to release the pushing up of the paper when the paper feed roller and the uppermost portion are not in pressure contact with each other by the paper feed roller drive means.