JPS6387425A - Angular paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform proper paper feeding motion with simple operation, by shifting a separate claw of a cassette holder to a paper engaged position at a time when a cassette is set to the cassette holder, while installing such a device that makes a paper falling preventive member of the cassette retreat from the engaged position. CONSTITUTION:A cassette 2 in a state of letting a tip of transfer paper P collide with a falling preventive member 4 is inserted into a cassette holder 3 and a bottom part of the falling preventive member 4 is supported by a support block 7. At the time of setting, if the cassette 2 is obliquely pressed down into the cassette holder 3, a cam member 5 slides on a slide plate 3f and a rear end 6b of the separate claw engaged with a step part 5a is rotated, and the tip end side is jumped up. Furthermore the engagement is released by movement of the cam member 5, and it is returned to the home position. And, when the cam member 5 is further slidden, the falling preventive plate 4 comes off the support block 7, hanging downward, whereby its engaged stop with the transfer paper P is released as well, and this paper P slidingly drops down and comes into contact with the separate claw, thus it stops at a paper feeding position.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides an angular paper feeding device that feeds sheets of paper placed and stored in a cassette held in an inclined state one by one into the main body of a device such as a printer. Regarding.

When paper is automatically fed one sheet at a time in printers, copying machines, etc., an angular paper feeding device is used in which the cassette that stores the paper is mounted at an angle to the main body of the device in order to make the main body of the device more compact. is frequently used. Since the cassette of this type of device is inclined, it is necessary to temporarily stop the paper from slipping within the cassette until the paper is set at the paper feeding position. However, at the paper feeding position, the paper feeding roller feeds the paper one sheet at a time while being in pressure contact with the paper, so if the leading edge of the paper remains restrained, it will impede the paper feeding operation, which poses a problem.

Therefore, conventionally, as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-128859, the tip of the paper stored in an inclined cassette is brought into contact with a wall, and the axis of the paper feed roller that feeds the paper is centered. A rotatable arm is provided with a plurality of weight rollers to hold down the paper, while the paper is pushed up from the back side and brought into pressure contact with the weight rollers to prevent the paper from falling off and to prevent the paper from falling off. Highly accurate automatic paper feeding is made possible by utilizing the difference in the coefficient of friction that occurs between paper rollers and the like.

5. However, this type of paper feeding device places and stores the paper with the leading edge of the paper in contact with the wall, so the paper is fed in a state that prevents the paper from falling off or bending. However, since it requires multiple weight rollers to hold the paper at a predetermined pressure, the structure is complicated and the operations when loading and storing the paper are cumbersome. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of these problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an angular paper feeding device that can avoid paper feeding failures due to paper curvature and the like and perform paper feeding operations appropriately.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cassette for placing and storing paper, a cassette holder installed on the main body side for accommodating the cassette, and a cassette holder for holding the front end of the paper. For this purpose, a drop-off prevention member provided on the cassette, a separation claw provided on the cassette holder, and one that retracts the drop-off prevention member from a position where paper is hung when the cassette is inserted into the cassette holder; The apparatus is characterized in that it includes means for moving the separation claw to a position where the paper is hung.

The operation of the present invention will be explained in detail in the following examples.

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 includes, as main parts, a drop-off prevention member 4 disposed on a cassette 2 for placing and storing transfer paper P, and a separation claw 6 disposed on a cassette holder 3 for storing the cassette 2. It is installed in a thermal transfer printer 8 shown in FIG.

The cassette 2 stores and stores the transfer paper P and feeds the paper to the thermal transfer printer 8 side.As shown in FIG. is housed in the cassette holder 3 of. This cassette 2
The left side wall 2b, the right side wall 2C and the rear side wall 2 are attached to the bottom plate 2a.
d is erected, and two fall-off prevention members 4 are disposed on the side facing the rear side wall.

The falling-off prevention member 4 has an abbreviated shape and is attached to the front edge 2e of the bottom plate 2a.
It is rotatably supported via a hinge in the inner part of a notch 2f formed at a predetermined interval, and the bottom surface is normally placed on the upper surface of a support base 7, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 4, the leading edge of the transfer paper P is hooked to the L-shaped leading edge 4a, and when the cassette 2 is loaded, the transfer paper P falls from the support stand 7 under its own weight. The structure is such that the transfer paper P can be slid down to the paper feed side by changing the posture of the transfer paper P to the unlatched state.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cam member 5 has a curved upper surface with a stepped portion 5a and a concave groove 5b formed thereon, and has two measuring portions on the back surface of the transfer paper receiving plate 2g placed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 2a. Each cam member 5
A part of the upper surface is fixed, and the lower surface is in contact with a cam slide plate 3f, which will be described later.

A projection 6c of a separating claw 6, which will be described later, engages with the stepped portion 5a on the upper surface, and a push-down member 3j fixed to the cassette holder 3 can be fitted into the groove 5b. Further, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped transfer paper guide 2h is fixed on both sides of the transfer paper receiving plate 2g that holds the cam member 5, and a compression spring is interposed between the transfer paper guide and the left and right side walls 2b, 2c. It is designed to prevent horizontal misalignment when feeding transfer paper. Incidentally, coil springs 2i, 2i are disposed near the transfer paper guides 2h, 2h, and a transfer paper pressing rod 2j is hooked to the upper end of the coil spring to apply a pressing force to the transfer paper P. It is energizing. In addition, the rear side wall 2d
A handle 2k for operating the cassette 2 is fixed to the handle 2k.

The paper discharge tray 9 is a substantially rectangular housing, and is attached to the upper part of the cassette 2 via a support pin, and has a left side wall 9b, a right side wall 9C, and a front side wall 9d erected on a bottom plate 9a. Then, a platen roll 8 (described later)
The transfer paper P discharged from a and conveyed via the paper discharge roller 8h and the paper guide 81 is deposited.

The cassette holder 3 accommodates the cassette 2, and is formed into a substantially rectangular box shape as shown in FIG.
and a support stand 7, etc., and is disposed on the side of the thermal transfer printer 8 shown in FIG. 5 via a support plate IO. This cassette holder 3 has a bottom plate 3a, a left side wall 3b and a right side wall 3.
c is erected, and the rear ends of both side walls are connected by one bar 3d.

Furthermore, two separation claws 6 are provided at the front of the cassette holder 2. The separation claw 6 has an abbreviated shape with a tip 6a having a protrusion parallel to the front edge of the bottom plate 3a, and when the drop-off prevention member 4 releases the transfer paper P from the tip 6a. , the transfer paper P is held at the paper feeding position.

As shown in FIG. 4, a semicircular rear end portion 6b having a protrusion 6c is pivotally supported by a fixed shaft 3e projecting from the left and right side walls 3b, 3c. As shown in FIG. 3, the support stand 7 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 3a, and the upper surface protruding from a long hole 3k drilled at 3f from the cam slide plate, which will be described later, is prevented from falling off. The member 4 is adapted to slide. The cam slide plate 3f is placed on the upper surface of the bottom 13a via a compression spring 3g (see FIG. 4), is movable up and down, and the cam member 5 is in contact with the upper surface. As shown in FIG. 4, the support plate 10 has a substantially fan shape and is connected to the fixed shaft 3e
The upper end 10a is pivotally supported. The lower end 10b is pivotally supported by a guide member 11 having a horizontal guide hole 11a via a connecting shaft 11b that is slidable through the guide hole.
The cassette holder 3 is supported in a variable angle state. Further, one end of the cassette holder 3 has the left and right side walls 3b,
It is pivotally supported by the thermal transfer printer 8 via a mounting shaft 31 inserted into a shaft hole 3h provided at the front end of the printer 3c. In addition, a pin-shaped push-down member 3j is provided protruding from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 3b, 3c in the vicinity of the shaft hole 3h.

FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing the thermal transfer printer.

The thermal transfer printer 8 records images, data, etc. in multiple colors, and is mainly equipped with a platen roll 8a, a thermal head 8b, a paper feed roller 8c, and the like. The platen roll 8a is arranged approximately at the center of the thermal transfer printer 8, and is rotated at a predetermined speed by a motor 8d via a belt. Paper P is wound.

The paper feed roller 8c is arranged at the lower end side of the angular paper feed device 1, and is adapted to come into pressure contact with the transfer paper P stored in the cassette 2, and feeds the transfer paper P one sheet at a time by rotation of the motor 8e. Pay out the paper guide 8f and conveyance roller 8
g, and conveyed to the platen roll 8a side.

Next, the operation of the angular paper feeding device of this embodiment will be explained.

■As shown in FIG. 6(a), when the cassette 2 containing a plurality of sheets is pushed diagonally downward with the leading edge of the transfer paper P in contact with the drop-off prevention member 4, the cam member 5 moves on the cam slide plate 3f. As the cassette 2 slides, the cassette 2 moves toward the bottom plate 3a under the control of the push-down member 3j that comes into contact with the curved upper surface.

(2) As the cam member 5 slides, the rear end side 6b of the separation claw 6 that engages with the stepped portion 5a rotates, and the front end side 6a is raised upward as shown in FIG. 6(b).

(2) On the other hand, due to the movement of the cam member 5, the engagement between the cam member 5 and the separation claw 6 is released, and the separation claw 6 rotates and returns to the normal position as shown in FIG. 6(c).

(2) When the cam member 5 is further lowered by the push-down member 3j in contact with the upper surface of the cam member 5, the cam slide plate 3f is lowered and the entire cassette 2 is pushed down. At this time, since there is a gap between the leading edge of the transfer paper P and the paper feed roller 8C, the transfer paper P can be transferred to the paper feed roller 8C without any problem.
It passes below C (see Fig. 6(c)).

(2) As shown in FIG. 6(d), when the push-down member 3j is fitted into the groove 5b of the cam member 5, the cassette 2 is raised by the pushing force of the compression spring 3g. At the same time as it rises, the fall prevention member 4 that has been sliding on the top surface of the support base 7 comes off the support base 7 and falls under its own weight, changing its posture, and the transfer paper P is unlatched and slides downward. .

■When the transfer paper P slides, it comes into contact with the tip 6a of the separation claw 6, and then as the cassette 2 rises, the paper feed roller 8C
The transfer paper P is pressed with a predetermined pressing force. At this time, the drop-off prevention member 4 is removed from the leading edge of the transfer paper P, so only the paper feed roller 8C is in pressure contact with the transfer paper P (see Figure 5) ■ The paper feed roller 8c is rotating. Then, the transfer paper P is fed out from the cassette 2, wound around the paper guide 8a, and printed sequentially.

叉m FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the transfer paper receiving plate 2g is configured to be rotatable in the clockwise direction with respect to the cassette 2, as shown by a in FIG. The support stand 7 of the prevention member is attached to the cam slide vi3f. The other configurations are generally the same as the first embodiment. 8th
A diagram showing the operation of the second embodiment is shown in the figure. The operation is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 6, which explains the operation in the first embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted. In the second embodiment, if the number of sheets of transfer paper stored in the cassette is small, there is a risk that the drop-off prevention member 4 may come into contact with the paper feed roller 8C when setting the cassette. It is preferable to design it so that it is longer than the first embodiment.

- Matasato Ω The present invention includes a drop-off prevention member that changes its posture by falling under its own weight before the transfer paper comes into pressure contact with the paper feed roller, and a separation claw that holds the paper that slides down at the paper feed position. When the cassette is set, the fall prevention member is removed from the transfer paper.
Paper feeding problems caused by curvature of the leading edge of the paper, etc., which conventionally occurred when feeding transfer paper, are avoided. Therefore, it is possible to perform the automatic paper feeding operation properly at all times.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an angular paper feeding device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette holder, and Fig. 4 is a - A cross-sectional view of the angular paper feed device taken along line IV, FIG. 5 is a side view partially showing the state in which the angular paper feed device is attached to a thermal transfer printer, and FIG. 6 is a paper feeding operation of the angular paper feed device. FIG. 7 is a side view of an angular paper feeding device showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the paper feeding operation of the second embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Angle paper feeding device, 2... Cassette, 3... Cassette holder, 4... Dropping prevention member, 6... Separation claw, 8... Thermal transfer printer. Patent Applicant: Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Figure 2 Procedures Masaru Shufu (1) November 4, 1985 Patent Application No. 230516, filed in 1985 2, Name of the invention Angle paper feeding device 3, Person making the amendment Relationship with the incident Patent applicant address Osaka Kokusai Building 2-30 Azuchi-cho, Higashi-ku, Osaka Name Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Representative 1) Hideo Shima 4, Detailed description of the invention in the agent's specification and drawings 6 , Contents of the amendment, -- (1) Delete "As shown in Figure 7 a" on page 11, line 12 of the specification. (2) After “End” on page 11, line 13 of the specification, “
Insert J (position indicated by a in Figure 7). (3) Correct "Support 7" on page 11, line 14 of the specification to "Support 1a." (4) Replace Figure 7 of the drawing attached to the specification with the attached drawing.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A cassette for placing and storing paper, a cassette holder installed on the main body side to accommodate the cassette, and a drop-off prevention member provided on the cassette for hooking the front end of the paper. , a separation claw provided on the cassette holder and, when the cassette is set in the cassette holder, one that retreats the drop-off prevention member from a position where paper is latched, and moves the separation claw to a position where the paper is latched; An angular paper feeding device characterized by comprising: means for causing the paper to feed.