JPS6366038A - Sheet material feeding unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the storage capacity of a cassette without modifying an existing image forming device by providing a projection engageable with the cassette storage section of the image forming device to constitute a sheet material feeding unit to which multiple cassettes can be fitted. CONSTITUTION:A cassette can be removably fitted to the cassette guide 6 of an image forming device A. In this device, a sheet material feeding unit B is removably connected to increase the storage capacity of the cassette. Two types of cassettes 32, 36 can be stored in this feeding unit B, a projection 30 to be inserted into the said guide 6 is provided at the front end, and the tip of this projection 30 is brought into contact with the tip of the guide 6. A sheet material feeding means including feed rollers 40, 41 is provided in the feeding unit B, and these feed rollers 40, 41 are rotated by a motor provided in the device A via a gear train.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Usage The present invention is intended for use in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and laser beam printers, such as sheet-like transfer paper, print paper, etc.
The present invention relates to a sheet material feeding unit that improves the ability to feed sheets (hereinafter referred to as sheet materials). Here, the supply capacity means increasing the number of sheets that can be loaded in a cassette by creating multiple stages of sheet materials of the same size, or being able to supply different types of sheet materials, etc.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, there are the following sheet material feeding devices that make it possible to add another multi-stage cassette 8a structure to the existing single-stage cassette mechanism in the image forming apparatus Cζ. .

- Some image forming apparatuses have a sheet material loading cassette attached to the image forming apparatus from the beginning of manufacture, but a separate sheet material feeding device is provided below or beside the water device.

In this device, when attaching another device to the main body of the device, the accuracy of the installation decreases, and the sheet material fed from the cassette of another device is less accurate than the sheet material fed from the first cassette. Printing accuracy (mainly accuracy in the width direction of the sheet material) deteriorates.

Some are designed from the beginning of manufacture to allow attachment of accessory devices. However, in small machines, a single-stage cassette is sufficient for a typical user and does not require expensive equipment that also allows the connection of multi-stage cassettes.

→ Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the end, the mechanisms of both devices become large and difficult for the user to handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to increase the storage capacity of cassettes without making any improvements to existing image forming apparatuses, guarantee printing accuracy, and obtain a small, inexpensive, and simple sheet material feeding device. It is in.

Means for solving the problem The present invention 1. t1 For an image forming apparatus that removably stores a cassette loaded with sheet materials of a predetermined size, in a sheet material feeding unit that can be installed in the cassette storage part of the image forming apparatus, the cassette storage part of the image forming apparatus A sheet material having a desired size is selected from among a protruding portion that removably fits into a cassette, a storage portion that removably stores a cassette, and a cassette connected to a drive system of the image forming apparatus and stored in the storage portion. The sheet material feeding unit is comprised of a sheet material feeding unit.

(e) Operation Based on the above-described configuration, the cassette of the image forming apparatus is removed and the protrusion of the sheet material feeding unit is inserted therein. Next, the cassette attached to the sheet feeding unit is inserted into the storage section of the unit. By inserting the cassette, the dimensions of the sheet material stored in the cassette are transmitted to the device on the main body side.

By inserting the protrusion, the drive system of the device on the main body side and the drive system of the sheet feeding unit conveyance device are interconnected.

Thereafter, the sheet material is fed in the same manner as in the apparatus on the main body side.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a sheet material feeding unit of the present invention installed in a conventional image forming apparatus (laser beam printer in the illustrated example) A.
(Multi-stage cassette unit) B is shown installed.

Before explaining the sheet material feeding unit B of the present invention, the second
The image forming apparatus A will be briefly described with reference to the drawings and FIG. In FIG. 2, a middle plate 21 is installed in the cassette 2 so as to be movable up and down, the sheet material 1 is stacked on the middle plate 21, and the uppermost sheet material is transferred to the feeding roller 3 by the compression spring 22. It's pressed against me.

FIG. 3 shows that the cassette 2 is inserted from the insertion port 23 in FIG. 2.
Shows the state in which it has been pulled out.

Returning to FIG. 2 again, the tip of the cassette 2 is provided with a plurality of (1 to 3) protrusions 25 for displaying the type of size of the sheet material loaded on the cassette 2. .

When the cassette 2 is inserted along the guide 6, its tip abuts the tip 61 of the cassette guide, and the cassette 2 is installed at a predetermined position.

At this time, the protrusion 25 at the tip of the cassette presses the detection switch 62 for the device, identifies the type of cassette 2, and detects the device A.
control@:4 (not shown). Based on the signal, the dimensions of the sheet material 1 are identified, the scanning of the laser beam of the laser scanner 13 (described later) is controlled, and the sheet material 1 is
to print at the desired position.

In response to the print command, the feeding roller 3 starts rotating.

The separation pad 5 uses the bottle 9 as a rotation fulcrum and the spring 1
0, it is in pressure contact with the feeding roller 3. Feeding roller 3
and the separation pad 5 that is in pressure contact with the sheet material 1.
are separated one by one and fed to a register rollerfing.

A laser beam from a laser scanner 13 is irradiated onto a drum 15 via a reflecting mirror 14.

Register roller 7 synchronized with laser beam irradiation
starts rotating and conveys the sheet material that has reached the register roller 7 to the transfer section 16. An image is created by the developer N17 on the surface of the drum 15 irradiated with the laser beam, and the image is transferred to the sheet material in the transfer section 16.The sheet material passes through the fixing unit 18 and the image is fixed thereon. After that, it is discharged onto the pedestal 20 by the discharge roller 19.

An embodiment of the sheet material feeding unit B of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 5.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the protrusion 30 of the rate material feeding unit B has slid along the cassette guide 6 of the image forming bag fiA, and the tip of the protrusion 30 has butted against the tip 61 of the guide 6. . The unit I-B can accommodate two types of cassettes 32 and 36. The construction of the cassettes 32, 36 is substantially similar to that of the cassette 2 described above. Cassette 1
．． The sheet material 1 is stacked on the middle plates 33, 37 of the plates 32, 36, and is pushed up by springs 34, 38.

A protrusion 31 is provided at the tip of the protrusion 30 of the unit B,
It collides with the member 11 that supports the separation pad 5 of the device A, and pushes down using the slope of the member 11 to create a gap between the feeding roller 3 and the separation pad 5.

Next, a function for displaying the dimensions of sheet materials that can be loaded in the cassettes 32 and 36 will be explained.

In FIG. 1, a guide arm 48 attached to unit B and freely movable in the left-right direction in the figure can lightly touch a detection switch 62 of device A. 4th r
I! J includes, for example, three detection switches 62 a
p 62 b p 62 c and correspondingly 3
guide arms 48a, 48b.

48c. The guide arm 48a is moved by the protrusion 32a of the cassette 32 to actuate the detection switch 62a. In this way, arms 48a, 48b
, 48c indicates the dimensions of the sheet material.

These MA1 units B may be connected using a conventional connection locking mechanism. For example, if the device has a cassette locking mechanism, the locking mechanism can be used as is.

In the illustrated example, these devices A and unit B are used on the same plane. However, if unit B is small, it can be supported in a cantilevered manner by device A alone.

The protrusion 30 has almost the same shape as the cassette 2 and protrudes, but it can be easily handled by providing a rotation fulcrum at the base so that it can be folded when removed.

Although the tip of the protrusion 30 is inserted to the same position as the cassette 2 of the device A, it may be positioned near the insertion opening 23 of the cassette 2.

Next, the drive system of the sheet material feeding unit B will be explained with reference to FIG. A drive gear 55 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the motor 51 of device A. The driving force is transmitted to the conveying roller 45 by the captive wheel 55, and the driving force is further transmitted to the gear train 50.
is transmitted to the drive gear 52 via. The transmitted driving force is applied to the feed roller 40 or 41 by an electromagnetic clutch 53 installed coaxially with the feed roller 40 or 41.
rotation is controlled.

A conveying roller 45 is provided in the middle, but the feeding roller 40
Alternatively, the conveying roller 45 can be omitted by rotating the roller 41 multiple times.

Although the electrical connections between device A and unit B are not shown, they may be coupled using a conventional connector or may be connected using a cord.

Next, the width direction reference when conveying the sheet material will be explained. The feed roller 3 and separation pad 5 of the apparatus A are attached approximately to the center of the largest sheet material used (FIG. 5). This is because in this gIwA separation method, the i contacts approximately the center of the sheet material, so that the left and right balance can be maintained and stable feeding can be achieved. Cassette 2 in Figure 5
is a cassette installed in a conventional device. Sheet material 1 is the largest size sheet material used. As shown in the figure, the small-sized sheet material 1' is made into a cassette so that it can be placed in the center.

However, when connecting sheet material feeding unit B,
As with the upper cassette 36 of unit B, linking the dimensions of the cassette with the controller of apparatus A is mechanically complex and expensive. Therefore, the left side n (laser writing start side) of the sheet material 1 of the largest size used as the upper cassette 36
By placing a small-sized sheet material 1' in a cassette based on , it is possible to feed the sheet material 1' without changing the timing at which laser writing starts. However, the user must check the dimensions of the sheet inserted in the cassette and check the size of the sheet!・
It is necessary to issue instructions for images appropriate for the material.

The same thing can be applied to the lower cassette.

The operation of the sheet material feeding unit B of this embodiment will be explained. Cassette 321i! By inserting it into the device 7B, the protrusion 32a attached to the tip of the cassette 32
moves the guide arm 48a to the left and activates the detection switch 62a of device A. In response to a print command from the mounting ERA, first, either the upper or lower stage is selected, and the feeding roller 40 or 41 starts rotating. As the feeding roller rotates, the sheet material in the cassette 32 is conveyed by the sheet separating claw 35 (or 39) attached to the tip of the cassette 32 (or 36).

The sheet material is guided between guide plates 42, 43 and conveyed to conveying rollers 45 which are constantly rotating.

The sheet material is further moved to guide plates 46° 47 by rollers 45.
Guided by Q. Since there is a gap between the feeding roller 3 and the separation pad 5, the sheet material guided between the guide plates 46 and 47 can be smoothly moved between them without stopping or slowing down the speed of the sheet material. pass. The sheet material guided by register roller 71ζ is paused to synchronize with the laser beam. Under breath, the sheet material is printed through the eleven passes described above.

Although the above is an explanation of one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the sheet material feeding unit B may have only one cassette storage section. In this case, if the storage section of device A and the storage section of another type are configured,
It would be good to be able to install cassettes of different sizes. Of course, cassettes of the same shape may be loaded.

Further, even in the case of 2ζ and multiple stages as shown in FIG. 1, the cassettes 32 and 36 and the cassette 2 shown in FIG. 2 may be of the same size, or may be cassettes of different sizes.

Furthermore, the rollers 40 and 41 are driven by another drive source included in the unit B. It may also be controlled by I. In this case, the wires may be connected so that the cola 40° 41 and the roller 3 rotate simultaneously according to the signal from the device A, or the roller 4 is rotated from the cassette 36 or 32 every time paper is fed from the roller 3.
1 or 40, one sheet of sheet material may be fed, and then wait under the roller 3 until the next sheet feeding command (apparatus A) is issued.

(g) Effects of the invention According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

■ There is no need to make any changes to the image forming device.

■ Since the mounting accuracy is high, printing accuracy is also guaranteed.

■ The cassette of the sheet material feeding unit is easy to handle.

■ The height of the entire device remains unchanged, which is advantageous in space occupancy and operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the sheet material feeding unit of the present invention is installed in a known image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the known image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, with the cassette removed. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a connecting portion between an image forming apparatus and a sheet material feeding unit. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of sheet material loading positions within the cassette. A: Image forming apparatus, B: Sheet material feeding unit, 1: Sheet 1-material, 2-: Cassette, 3:
・・Feed roller, 5・・Separation pad, 6・
・Cassette guide, 7...Register 4-ra
, 9...pin, 10...spring, 11
...Support member, 13...Laser scanner,
14...Reflection mirror, 15...Drum,
16... Transfer section, 17... Developing device, 18
...Fixing unit, 19...Ejection roller, 2
0... pedestal, 21... middle plate, 22... spring, 23... insertion port, 30... protrusion, 32. 36... cassette, 33, 37...
・Middle plate, 34.38...Spring, 35.3
9... Separation claw, 40.41... Feeding roller,
42゜43.44,46,47...Guide plate, 4
5...Transportation cola, 48...Guide arm
, 50... Gear train, 51... Motor, 52
...Gear, 53...Electric clutch, 6
1...Detection switch ◇ Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A sheet material feeding unit that can be attached to a cassette storage section of an image forming apparatus that removably stores a cassette loaded with sheet materials of a predetermined size, the image forming apparatus a protruding part that removably fits into the cassette storage part of the cassette storage part; a storage part that removably stores the cassette;
A sheet material feeding unit comprising means for feeding sheet material from a cassette stored in the storage section.