KR20050055499A - Image forming apparatus having motion preventing unit of paper cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a paper cassette on which a printing medium is loaded, an apparatus body provided with an insertion unit for sliding and separating the paper cassette, and an inside of the apparatus body. The image forming apparatus picks up the printing medium of the paper cassette to draw an image on the printing medium. And an image forming unit to be formed, and a cassette flow preventing unit installed in the insertion unit and preventing the vertical flow of the paper cassette during sliding of the paper cassette.

Description

Image forming apparatus having motion preventing unit of paper cassette

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus provided with a cassette flow preventing unit (Unit) to prevent the flow of the paper cassette during sliding of the paper cassette (Sliding). will be.

In general, an image forming apparatus refers to an image signal according to a digital signal input from a computer, a scanner, or the like, a print medium such as paper or an overhead projector film (hereinafter, referred to as 'paper'). ) Refers to a device for transferring in the form of a visible image, and typically includes a facsimile, a laser printer, a light-emitting diode printer, a digital copier, and a multifunction printer.

Looking at the configuration of the image forming apparatus as described above, the conventional image forming apparatus forms an appearance and the device body is provided with a predetermined paper transfer path so that the paper is transported therein, the device body is slid, separated and combined with a plurality of sheets are stacked A paper cassette and an image forming unit which is provided inside the apparatus body and picks up the paper loaded in the paper cassette, transfers it along the paper conveying path, and forms a predetermined image on the conveyed paper. . At this time, the image forming unit includes a pick-up roller that contacts the paper loaded in the paper cassette and picks up the paper, a feed roller that feeds the picked paper to the paper feed path, and A feed roller for transferring the paper in the direction in which the image forming unit is provided, and a transfer roller for transferring a predetermined image to the conveyed paper.

Therefore, the conventional image forming apparatus is operated as follows.

That is, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when a plurality of sheets of paper are stacked in the paper cassette and then slided to the main body of the apparatus, the pick-up roller is driven to pick up the paper after contacting the paper loaded in the paper cassette by driving the pickup roller. When is picked up, the feed roller and feed roller are driven to transfer the picked paper along the paper feed path.

Thus, the image forming unit forms a predetermined image on the sheet to be conveyed in this way.

However, since the conventional image forming apparatus is not provided with any means for preventing the flow of the paper cassette, the paper cassette is slid while moving the paper cassette severely in the up and down direction, and the like. There is a problem that occurs.

In addition, the conventional image forming apparatus has no means for guiding and supporting the paper being picked up when the pickup roller picks up the paper, so that the paper is often picked up, shaken by contact shock, etc. of the pickup roller, and picked up and fed or twisted. Problems arise that are picked up and fed and cause skew of the paper.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the flow of the paper cassette during sliding of the paper cassette.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the shaking of paper when picking up the paper.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention for realizing the above object includes a paper cassette on which a printing medium is loaded, an apparatus body provided with an insertion unit for sliding and separating and combining the paper cassette, and a printing medium of the paper cassette provided inside the apparatus body. An image forming unit for picking up an image and forming an image on a print medium, and a cassette flow preventing unit installed in an insertion unit and preventing a vertical flow of the paper cassette during sliding of the paper cassette.

At this time, the cassette flow prevention unit is a predetermined length extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the paper cassette is sliding, the shaft guide hinged to both sides of the device body and the side wall of the paper cassette sliding to the device body, respectively It is preferable to include at least one guide buffer installed on the shaft guide so as to correspond to the upper surface and elastically supporting the paper cassette.

The guide buffer includes a guide roller for rolling along the upper sidewall of the paper cassette and a roller supporting the guide roller in a rolling motion, with one end coupled to the shaft guide and the other end coupled to the guide roller. It is preferable to include a bracket (Roller bracket), and a guide spring (Guide spring) is installed on the upper surface of the roller bracket so as to be interposed between the device body and the roller bracket to elastically support the roller bracket.

In addition, the shaft guide may be provided with a paper shake prevention unit to prevent the shaking of the print medium when the pickup of the print medium.

At this time, the paper shake prevention unit is in contact with the print media loaded on the paper cassette, the paper support roller for supporting the print medium, the roller connecting shaft coupled to the paper support roller, coupled to the shaft guide and the roller connecting shaft on both sides A roller holder in which a long hole of a hole is formed to be inserted and flowed up and down, and one end is connected to the roller connecting shaft, and the other end is hinged to the side of the roller holder, and the shaft support is vertically flowed along the roller connecting shaft. It is preferred to include a rod (Rod), and a buffer spring interposed between the shaft support rod and the upper surface of the roller holder and elastically supporting the shaft support rod.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a cassette flow preventing unit and a paper shake prevention means of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 It is AA partial sectional drawing of 2. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cassette flow preventing unit and the paper shake preventing means shown in FIG. 2 are in contact with the paper cassette, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of part B of FIG.

As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention forms an exterior and is separated from the apparatus main body 120 and the apparatus main body 120 provided with a predetermined paper conveying path so that the paper is conveyed therein. And a cassette flow preventing unit coupled to the paper cassette 160 in which a plurality of sheets are stacked, and provided inside the apparatus body 120 to prevent vertical flow of the paper cassette 160 when the paper cassette 160 slides. 130 and an image forming unit 180 provided inside the apparatus main body 120 and picking up and transporting the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 and forming a predetermined image on the paper.

In more detail, the device body 120 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the front surface of the insertion portion 122 is provided so that the paper cassette 160 is coupled, the upper surface is transported along the inner paper transfer path The paper discharge unit 190 is provided to discharge the paper on which the image is formed.

Insertion portion 122 is provided to the size that the paper cassette 160 is slidably fitted, the upper side of the insertion portion 122 to prevent the vertical flow of the paper cassette 160 when sliding the paper cassette 160 The cassette flow prevention unit 130 is installed, and a cassette detection sensor (Sensor) 121 is installed on one side of the inserting portion 122 to detect the paper cassette 160 when the paper cassette 160 is completed. do.

Cassette flow prevention unit 130 is a predetermined length extending along the upper surface of the insertion portion 122 is hinged (Hinge) coupled to both sides of the device body 120 (Hinge) of the shaft guide 131, Each of the two side portions is provided with a pair of guide buffers 132 elastically supporting the paper cassette 160.

The shaft guide 131 extends a predetermined length in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper cassette 160 is slid in a circular rod shape, and is hinged to both side surfaces of the apparatus main body 120.

The guide shock absorber 132 is installed at both sides of the shaft guide 131, respectively, and is installed at positions corresponding to upper surfaces of both side walls of the paper cassette 160 sliding to the apparatus body 120, and both sides of the paper cassette 160. Guide rollers 133 for rolling along the upper surface of the wall and guide rollers 133 support the guide rollers 133 for rolling along the upper surfaces of both side walls of the paper cassette 160. The roller bracket 134 is coupled to the guide 131 and the other end is coupled to the guide roller 133, and is installed on the upper surface of the roller bracket 134, one end is supported by the roller bracket 134, the other end is the insertion portion It is composed of a guide spring 135 that is supported on the device body 134 that is the upper surface of the 122 to elastically support the roller bracket 134. At this time, the guide spring 135 is preferably formed of a coil spring (Coil spring).

The cassette detection sensor 121 is preferably formed of a photo sensor that can detect the presence or absence of the paper cassette 160 by emitting and receiving a predetermined light, and when the paper cassette 160 is combined, the paper cassette ( The insertion part 122 of the apparatus main body 120 to emit a predetermined light toward the guide roller 133 or the roller bracket 134 supporting the guide roller 133 in contact with the upper surface of both side walls 160. It is implemented by being installed on one side.

The paper discharge unit 190 is a portion where the image-formed paper is discharged, and is provided along the upper surface of the apparatus main body 120 so that the discharged paper may be sequentially aligned, but is inclined at a predetermined angle.

The paper cassette 160 is formed in a box type in which an upper surface is opened so that a plurality of sheets are loaded and supplied, and upper surfaces of both side walls are formed in a smooth flat shape so that the above-described guide rollers 133 smoothly contact the clouds. At the end portion of the upper surface of both side walls, a protrusion 165 protruding to a certain height is formed so that the guide roller 133 may be raised by a certain height when the paper cassette 160 is completely combined. The paper cassette 160 has a knock-up plate 162 for supporting the paper loaded through the opened upper surface from the lower side thereof, and a knock-up plate 162 for supporting the knock-up plate 162 upward. Plate pushing means (not shown) are provided.

Accordingly, when the paper cassette 160 is combined, the guide roller 133 is rolled along the upper surface of both side walls of the paper cassette 160, and then is positioned on the upper surface of the protrusion 165. The cassette detecting sensor 121 ) Detects whether the guide cassette 133 is raised to a certain height or the roller bracket 134 supporting the guide roller 133, that is, whether the paper cassette 160, that is, whether the paper cassette 160 is coupled You can check.

The image forming unit 180 transfers paper and forms an image on the conveyed paper, and includes a photosensitive member (not shown) in which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member. ), A transfer roller (not shown) which transfers a predetermined image developed on the photosensitive member to the paper to form an image on the paper, and picks up the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 and sequentially transports them along the paper feed path. It includes a plurality of rollers (not shown).

At this time, a plurality of rollers that pick up the paper and transport them sequentially along the paper transport path, the pickup roller to contact the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 to pick up the paper, and to feed the picked paper to the paper transport path A feed roller, a conveying roller for conveying the fed paper in the direction in which the image forming unit 180 is provided, and a sheet on which an image is formed via the image forming unit 180 are discharged toward the external paper discharge unit 190. A media roller is included.

On the other hand, the pickup roller of the image forming apparatus 100 is in contact with the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 to pick up the paper, at this time, when the pickup roller picks up the paper is given a predetermined contact impact. Therefore, the paper to be picked up is often picked up and fed while being shaken or picked up and fed while being twisted to cause skew problems of the paper, and thus, the image forming apparatus 100 of the present invention prevents paper shake to prevent such problems. The unit 140 is provided.

Specifically, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is implemented by pressing the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 with a predetermined size when the pickup roller picks up the paper, and the paper cassette of the apparatus body 120 ( It is implemented by being installed on the upper surface portion of the insertion portion 122 facing the paper loaded on 160. That is, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is roll-contacted with the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 to support the paper, and the paper support roller 141 and the roller which is coupled through the paper support roller 141 in the transverse direction. The connecting shaft 144 and the paper support roller 141 may be rotated, and the one end may be installed at the upper surface portion of the insertion part 122 so that the paper support roller 141 may be rotated. It is implemented by including a roller holder 142 coupled to the shaft guide 131 and the shaft hole is formed at the other end portion to be fitted with the roller connecting shaft 144.

However, when the paper shake prevention unit 140 is configured as described above, the paper shake preventing unit 140 may not properly respond when the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 is loaded with a small amount and when a large amount of paper is loaded. Therefore, the paper shake prevention unit 160 of the present invention further includes roller up and down flow means to smoothly support the paper regardless of the number of sheets of paper loaded in the paper cassette 160.

At this time, the roller up and down flow means is a vertical flow hole 143 of the long hole respectively formed on both sides of the roller holder 142 so that the roller connecting shaft 144 penetrating the paper support roller 141 can be inserted and flow up and down a predetermined section And, as the roller connecting shaft 144 flows up and down a certain section, one end is connected to the roller connecting shaft 144 and the other end is hinged to the side of the rear end of the roller holder 142 The support rod 145 and the roller support shaft 144 and the paper support rollers 141 coupled thereto support the axial support rod 145 and the rollers to be partially flowed upwardly or downwardly according to the number of sheets of paper loaded. Interposed between the upper surface of the holder 142 is configured to include a buffer spring 146 elastically supporting the shaft support rod 145.

On the other hand, when the paper shake prevention unit 140 is configured in this way, the paper support roller 141 always flows to the lowermost side when the paper cassette 160 is separated. Thus, when a plurality of sheets of paper are loaded in the paper cassette 160 and then combined with the apparatus main body 120, the paper supporting roller 141 may be caught by the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160.

Therefore, in the present invention, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is installed to be moved in the paper direction of the paper cassette 160 only when the paper cassette 160 is completely coupled to the apparatus body 120 in order to prevent such a problem. . Specifically, the guide buffer 132 and the paper shake prevention unit 140 installed in one shaft guide 131 are installed in different directions, respectively, when the guide buffer 132 is moved in the downward direction, the paper shake prevention unit When the guide 140 is moved upward, and the guide buffer 132 is moved upward, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is installed to move downward.

Hereinafter, operations and effects of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described in detail.

First, when a predetermined image is to be formed on the paper, the user pulls the paper cassette 160 out of the apparatus body 120 of the image forming apparatus 100, and then separates the paper cassette 160 from the paper cassette 160. ) A lot of paper is loaded inside. At this time, the guide buffer 132 for rolling contact with the upper surface of the both side walls of the bar paper cassette 160 in the state of the device body 120 does not have the paper cassette 160 is coupled to the shaft guide 131 in the downward direction A certain portion is moved, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is moved to a predetermined portion in the upward direction.

Then, when the stacking of the paper in the paper cassette 160 is completed, the user pushes the paper cassette 160 loaded with the paper into the insertion unit 122 of the device body 120, the paper cassette 160 is the device body Coupled to (120). At this time, the guide buffer 132 is in contact with the upper surface of both side walls of the paper cassette 160 as the paper cassette 160 is coupled, and the rolling motion, when the paper cassette 160 is completed, the paper cassette 160 In contact with the protrusion 165 formed on the end portion of the upper surface of both side walls of the raised by a certain height as the height of the protrusion 165. Then, the paper shake prevention unit 140 is moved to a predetermined portion in the downward direction as the guide buffer 132 is raised to a certain height. The paper support roller 141 of the paper shake prevention unit 140 is in contact with the paper located on the uppermost side of the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 to support the paper.

Thereafter, the pickup roller, the feed roller, and the like provided in the apparatus main body 120 pick up the paper loaded in the paper cassette 160 and then transfer the picked paper in the direction of the image forming unit 180. At this time, the pickup roller is in contact with the paper of the paper cassette 160 to pick up the paper, since the paper is supported by the paper shake prevention unit 140 is smoothly picked up without shaking or twisting as in the prior art will be.

Thereafter, the image forming unit 180 forms a predetermined image on the paper, and then discharges the paper to the paper discharge unit 190 by using a discharge roller or the like. Thus, the predetermined image forming operation is completed.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, it is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and variations can be made therefrom. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a cassette flow preventing unit that prevents the vertical flow of the paper cassette when the paper cassette is sliding, it is possible to minimize problems such as noise caused by the flow of the conventional paper cassette. It has an effect.

In addition, since the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a paper shake prevention means for preventing the shaking of the paper when picking up the paper, all the problems such as skew due to the paper shaking or the paper twisting during the pickup of the conventional paper. There is an effect that can be solved.

In addition, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a cassette sensor for sensing the paper cassette when the paper cassette is completed, there is an effect that can recognize the presence of the cassette without a separate device.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

2 is a perspective view showing a cassette flow preventing unit and a paper shake preventing means of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cassette flow preventing unit and the paper shake preventing means shown in FIG. 2 are in contact with the paper cassette;

5 is an enlarged perspective view of part B of FIG. 4.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: image forming apparatus 120: apparatus body

121: cassette detection sensor 122: insert

130: cassette flow prevention unit 131: shaft guide

132: guide buffer 133: guide roller

134: roller bracket 135: guide spring

140: paper shake prevention unit 141: paper support roller

142: roller holder 144: roller connecting shaft

146: buffer spring 160: paper cassette

162: knock-up plate 180: image forming unit

Claims (5)

A paper cassette on which a print medium is loaded; An apparatus body having an insert portion provided to slide and separate the paper cassette; An image forming unit provided inside the apparatus body and picking up a print medium of the paper cassette to form an image on the print medium; And And a cassette flow preventing unit installed in the insertion unit and preventing a vertical flow of the paper cassette when the paper cassette is slid. The method of claim 1, wherein the cassette flow prevention unit A predetermined length is extended in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the paper cassette is slid, and the shaft guides are hinged to both sides of the apparatus body, and the shaft guides correspond to the upper surface of the side wall of the paper cassette sliding to the apparatus body. And an at least one guide buffer for elastically supporting the paper cassette. The method of claim 2, wherein the guide buffer A guide roller for rolling along the upper sidewall of the paper cassette, a roller bracket supporting the guide roller in a rolling motion, one end of which is coupled to the shaft guide, and the other end of which is coupled to the guide roller, and the apparatus body And a guide spring installed on an upper surface of the roller bracket so as to be interposed between the roller bracket and the roller bracket. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the shaft guide is provided with a paper shake prevention unit to prevent shaking of the print medium when picking up the print medium. 5. The paper shake prevention unit according to claim 4, wherein A paper support roller which contacts the print medium loaded on the paper cassette to support the print medium, a roller connecting shaft coupled to the paper supporting roller, and a shaft guide coupled to the shaft guide, and the roller connecting shaft fitted to both sides of the paper cassette. A roller holder having an up-and-down flow hole of a long hole, one end of which is connected to the roller connecting shaft, and the other end of which is hinged to a side of the roller holder, and an axis supporting rod which is vertically flowed along the roller connecting shaft, and the shaft supporting rod And a buffer spring interposed between the roller holder and an upper surface of the roller holder to elastically support the shaft support rod.