JPS6387422A - Angular paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the adjustment of pressure-contact force between paper and a paper feed roller, by making a cassette holder alter its angle centering on the shaft as far as the specified distance from a turning center of the paper feed roller set up at an upper part of the cassette holder. CONSTITUTION:A tilt angle of an angular paper feeder is determined according to classification, material, size, etc., of transfer paper P to be housed in a cassette 2. And, when there is necessary to increase pressure-contact force of the transfer paper P to a paper feed roller 6c rather than this setting, the upper end side of a cassette holder 3 is pressed to an arrow A direction whereby this cassette holder 3 can be rotated as far as the specified distance with a setting shaft 3i at the lower end as a fulcrum. At this time, since there is a fixed distance l between the paper feed roller 6c pivotally supported at the home position, the tilt angle grows larger, so that the pressure-contact force of the transfer paper P against the paper feed roller 6c is increased to some extent. And, a connecting shaft 4b is engaged with a guide hole 4a, thus its movement is prevented from occurring. With this constitution, adjustment for the pressure-contact force becomes facilitated.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Emperor! BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an angular paper feeding device that feeds sheets of paper placed and stored in an inclined state one by one.

In printers, copying machines, etc., when paper in a cassette is automatically fed into the main body of the machine, an angular paper feeding device is used that mounts the cassette at an angle to the main body of the machine in order to make the entire machine more compact. is frequently used. Generally, when paper is fed in this type of device, the paper feed roller is brought into pressure contact with the paper and the paper is taken out from the cassette using frictional force.
In this case, if the contact pressure between the paper feeding roller and the paper is too large, the paper may be fed in duplicate, and if it is too small, a paper feeding error may occur, such as not being able to take out any of the sheets. Further, problems similar to those described above are likely to occur due to changes in paper hardness, surface roughness, etc. Therefore, the conventional paper feeding device is
As shown in Publication No. 4, a plurality of fulcrums that rotatably support the paper feed table are provided on the main body support of the device, and the paper can be easily loaded. ! The contact pressure between the feed roller and the paper can be adjusted by making the center of rotation of the paper feed tray placed on the paper feed stand movable to any position, or as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-48839. There is a paper feed cassette in which the height of the paper can be varied depending on the thickness of a spacer provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate of the paper feed cassette, and the contact pressure between the paper and the roller can be adjusted according to the size of the paper.

However, with the conventional device in which multiple fulcrums are provided to support the paper feed tray and the center of rotation is moved to an arbitrary position, the rotation of the paper feed tray can be adjusted according to the paper size. The center had to be selected, and the operation to center the paper at the appropriate position was cumbersome.Furthermore, with conventional devices that change the height position of the paper depending on the thickness of the spacer provided on the bottom surface of the bottom plate of the paper cassette,
Since the spacer must be selected and attached to the bottom plate according to the paper size, it is difficult to handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of these problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can adjust the pressure force between a sheet and a paper feed roller with a simple operation.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cassette holder that accommodates a cassette for storing paper, and a paper feeder installed above the cassette holder with respect to the main body of the apparatus. It is characterized by being pivotally supported around an axis spaced a certain distance from the center of rotation of the roller so that the angle can be changed freely.

Operation Rotating the cassette holder changes the angle of the cassette holder with respect to the main body of the device. At this time, since the center of rotation of the cassette holder and the paper feed roller are separated, changing the angle of the cassette holder changes the contact pressure between the paper stored in the cassette and the paper feed roller.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the angular paper feeding device of the present invention.

The angular paper feeding device 1 consists of a cassette 2 for placing and storing the transfer paper P as a main part, a cassette holder 3 for storing the cassette, etc., and is shown in FIG. 3 through a guide member 4, a support plate 5, etc. It is attached to the thermal transfer printer 6.

The cassette 2 stores and stores the transfer paper P and feeds the paper to the thermal transfer printer 6. As shown in FIG. It includes a paper discharge tray 9 and the like, and is housed in a cassette holder 3, which will be described later. The falling-off prevention member 7 has an abbreviated shape and is pivotally supported in the inner part of a notch 2b formed in the front edge of the bottom plate 2a.
It is placed on the upper surface of the support base 11, and is configured to fall under its own weight during paper feeding operation, causing the transfer paper P to slide down to the paper feeding side. The cam member 8 is curved, has a stepped portion 8a and a groove 8b formed on its upper surface, and has its lower surface in contact with a cam slide plate 3f shown in FIG. A protrusion 10c of a separating claw 10, which will be described later, engages with the stepped portion 8a on the upper surface, while a push-down member 3g, which will be described later, provided on the cassette holder 3 can be fitted into the groove 8b. In addition, as shown in Fig. 2, the transfer paper P
Transfer paper guides 2d, 2d are fixed to both sides of the transfer paper receiving plate 2C on which the transfer paper is placed via compression springs (not shown).
It is possible to prevent horizontal displacement when feeding the transfer paper P. Further, a transfer paper pressing rod 2f is hooked to coil springs 2e, 2e disposed near the transfer paper guide 2d, so as to press the transfer paper P.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge tray 9 has a substantially rectangular casing and is attached to the upper surface of the cassette 2 via a pin. Transfer paper P discharged from a platen roll 6a (described later) and conveyed via a paper discharge roller 6h and a paper guide 6i is deposited on the inclined bottom plate 9a.

The cassette holder 3 accommodates the cassette 2, and, as shown in FIG. 3, is formed with left and right side walls standing up on both sides of a bottom plate 3d, and is equipped with a separating claw 10, a support base 11, etc., and is equipped with a thermal transfer printer described below. It is arranged on the side of 6. The separation claw 10 has an abbreviated shape and has a protruding portion 10a at which the transfer paper P is held. As shown in FIG. 4, a semicircular rear end portion 10b having a protrusion 10c is pivotally supported by a fixed shaft 3C projecting from the left and right side walls 3a, 3b. As shown in FIG. 3, the support stand 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 3d, and the upper surface on which the drop-off prevention member 7 is placed is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate 3d by the compression spring 3e (
The cam slide plate 3f protrudes from the elongated hole 3j via the cam slide plate 3f (see FIG. 4). In addition, the left and right side walls 3a, 3
A bottle-shaped push-down member 3g is provided on the inner surface of b.

As shown in FIG. 4, the guide member 4 is a substantially rectangular plate fixed to the upper surface of a thermal transfer printer 6 (described later).
(See Figure 5). Then, a horizontally straight guide hole 4
A is formed in the guide hole, and a slidable connecting shaft 4b is formed in this guide hole.
is loosely inserted.

The connecting shaft 4b is locked at a position where the pressing force between the paper feed roller 6C and the transfer paper P is adjusted by the rotation of the cassette holder 3.

The support plate 5 is a substantially fan-shaped plate, and as shown in FIG. 4, the lower end 5b is pivotally supported by the connecting shaft 4b, and the upper end 5a is pivotally supported by the fixed shaft 3C, and supports the cassette holder 3. are doing. A curved guide portion 5C is provided at the top.
is formed, and the push-down member 3g is loosely inserted into this guide portion, so that the cassette holder 3 can be rotated. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower end of the cassette holder 3 is connected via a mounting shaft 31 (described later) that is inserted into a shaft hole 3h (see FIG. 3) provided at the ends of the left and right side walls 3a, 3b. The thermal transfer printer 6 is pivotally supported. The mounting shaft 31 is supported by the thermal transfer printer 6, and is located at a predetermined distance l from the center of rotation of the paper feed roller 6C, which will be described later.
The cassette holder 3 can be rotated around this mounting shaft 31 to freely change its angle.

The thermal transfer printer 6 records images, data, etc. in multiple colors, and as shown in FIG. 5, includes a platen roll 6a, a thermal head 6b, a paper feed roller 6C, etc. as main parts. The platen roll 6a is arranged approximately at the center of the thermal transfer printer 6, and is rotated at a predetermined speed by a motor 6d via a belt. The paper P is wound. Paper feed roller 6C
is arranged at the lower end side of the angular paper feeding device 1 and is adapted to come into pressure contact with the transfer paper P stored in the cassette 2,
The transfer paper P is fed out one by one by the rotation of the motor 6e and transported to the platen roll 6a via a paper guide 6f and a transport roller 6g.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

■The type and material of the transfer paper P placed and stored in the cassette 2,
The inclination angle of the angular sheet feeding device 1 is determined in advance according to the size and the like.

■If it is necessary to increase the pressure of the transfer paper P against the paper feed roller 6C compared to the current setting, use the cassette holder 3
Push the upper end side in the right direction in FIG. 4 (in the direction of arrow A) and rotate it a certain distance clockwise about the mounting shaft 31 at the lower end as a fulcrum. At this time, the paper feed roller 6C, which is pivotally supported in a fixed position,
Since there is a certain distance l between the mounting shaft 31 of the cassette holder 3 and the mounting shaft 31 of the cassette holder 3, the rotation of the cassette holder 3 increases the inclination angle, and therefore the transfer paper relative to the paper feed roller 6C The pressure contact force of P increases.

(2) When the cassette holder 3 stops moving and is held at a predetermined angle, the connecting shaft 4b is locked in the kite hole 4a and movement in the opposite direction is prevented.

■ When the transfer paper P is stored in the cassette 2 and the cassette 2 is pushed down in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
a jumps up (see Figure 6). Push down member 3
The cam member 8 is pushed down at g, and the cassette 2 is moved to the bottom plate 3d.
By moving downward to the side, the transfer paper P passes below the paper feed roller 6C.

When this happens, the separating claw 10 returns to its normal position as shown in FIG. 6C. As the cassette 2 moves, the fall prevention member 7 sliding on the support base 11 comes off the support base 11 and falls under its own weight, and the transfer paper P slides and the leading end is held by the separation claw 7. The push-down member 3g is fitted into the groove 8b of the cam member 8,
When the cassette 2 is raised, the pressure contact force is set by changing the angle of the cassette holder 3, so the transfer paper P is pressed against the paper feed roller 6C with an appropriate pressure force (see FIG. 6d).

■When the paper feed roller 6C rotates, the transfer paper P is transferred to the cassette 2.
The paper is fed out from the paper guide 6r and the conveyance roller 6g.
The paper is wound around the platen roll 6a via the paper, and printing is sequentially performed.

In addition, when reducing the pressing force of the transfer paper P, the above-mentioned skein/gutter holder 3 is rotated counterclockwise to vary the inclination angle.

Matasato Shikou In the present invention, the cassette holder is rotatably supported on the main body of the device at a certain distance from the center of rotation of the paper feed roller, so the angle of the cassette containing paper can be varied. The pressure force between the transfer paper and the paper feed roller can be adjusted by using the transfer paper, and there is no need to take out and adjust the spacer with a spring that pushes up the paper, making it possible to adjust the pressure force with an extremely simple operation. becomes. Furthermore, since the mechanism is simple, it is easy to manufacture and the manufacturing cost is low.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an angular paper feeding device showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cassette holder, Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the angular paper feeding device along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the thermal transfer printer. FIG. 6 is a side view, partially in cross section, showing a state in which the paper feeding device is installed, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the paper feeding operation of the angular paper feeding device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Angle paper feeding device, 2... Cassette, 3... Cassette holder, 4... Guide member, 6... Thermal transfer printer, 8... Cam member. Patent applicant: Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cassette holder that houses a cassette for storing and storing paper can freely change its angle with respect to the main body of the device around an axis that is a certain distance from the center of rotation of the paper feed roller installed above the cassette holder. An angular paper feeding device characterized by being pivotally supported.