JPH0416447A - Manual sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate manual insertion operation by forming a manual insertion sheet feed path by means of a manual insertion sheer tray in a closed state. CONSTITUTION:When a sheet P is inserted downward along a sheet feed tray 11 in a closed state, the sheet P is regulated by a regulating member 15 and dropped due to its own weight. When the forward end of the sheet P is brought into contact with a manual insertion sheet feed roller 16 and the forward end of the sheet P is detected by a sensor 17, the manual insertion sheet feed roller 16 is started based on a signal from the sensor 17, and the manual insertion sheet P is fed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a manual sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more particularly to a manual sheet feeding device that manually feeds sheets downward.

(■) Conventional technology Conventionally, image forming devices such as copying machines have a sheet feeding system that automatically feeds sheets one by one from a cassette loaded with sheets as image formation is performed. A so-called manual feeding method is provided, in which an operator manually feeds an arbitrary sheet according to the purpose of the image forming apparatus from a paper feeding port provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus.

In recent years, automatic feeding methods have become mainstream, such as the front loading method in which cassettes a and b are loaded from the front of the copying machine, as shown in the copying machine shown in FIG.

In this method, a cassette is included inside the copying machine, and the cassette must be pulled out to the front when replenishing sheets.

Regarding the manual paper feed method in which the operator feeds arbitrary sheets one by one, a manual paper feed table d is attached to the paper feed slot C provided on the side of the copying machine body, and the operator Place the sheet material on the paper feed table d, and press the manual paper feed roller e.
When the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the sheet and the sensor f provided in front of the roller e detects the sheet, the paper feed roller e starts operating.

(8) Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, in the copying machine shown in FIG. 4, the space on the main body i11 side is saved compared to the cassette paper feeding system in which a cassette is mounted on the side. However, since the manual paper feed tray d protrudes laterally, there is still a drawback that a considerable amount of space is required on the side of the main body.

Also, during manual feeding operation, the operator places the sheet on the manual paper feed tray d provided on the side from the front of the main unit, inserts it horizontally and laterally, and makes sure that the leading edge of the sheet hits the manual paper feed roller e. Hitting the target is not an easy task, and there are also problems in terms of operability.

Therefore, the present invention provides a manual paper feed tray that can be opened and closed on the side, and allows sheets to be fed by manually feeding the paper vertically downward with the manual paper feed tray closed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manual sheet feeding device that allows easy manual feeding operation and saves space.

(d) Means for solving the problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and includes:
For example, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an openable/closable manual paper feed tray (11) and a regulating member (15) for regulating the skew of a sheet CP) are connected to a pair of manual paper feed rollers ( 1
6), a sensor (17) provided near the upstream side of the pair of manual paper feed rollers (16) to detect the sheet;
A manual sheet feeding device (10) having a manual sheet feeding device (10) is characterized in that a manual sheet feeding bus (18a, 11) is configured by the manual sheet feeding tray (11) in a closed state.

(Paper feed tray (11) in a closed state based on a configuration that is more than just a phantom effect)
When the sheet (P) is inserted downwards along the When they come into contact and are detected by the sensor (17), the manual feed roller (16) is started based on the signal from the sensor (17), and the manual sheet (P) is fed.

Note that the reference numerals in parentheses are for illustrative purposes only, and do not limit equivalent configurations.

(f) Examples The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of a front-loading copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and in which paper is manually fed from above.

The image of the original placed on the original platen 1 is formed as an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 3 via the optical system 2, and this latent image is formed into a toner image by the developing device 4, and transferred to the transfer section 5. In the paper feed section 6
After the image is transferred onto the sheet P conveyed from the image forming apparatus, and further fixed in the fixing section 7, the image is discharged from the paper discharging section 8 to the outside of the apparatus.

The paper feed section 6 includes a paper feed section consisting of a plurality of cassettes 9a, 9b, etc. loaded with sheets P of different sizes or materials, and a manual sheet feed section 10. is also shown in perspective view in FIG. The lower end of a scoop-shaped manual feed tray 11 with a curved inner surface is supported by a shaft 12 approximately at the center of the right side of the copying machine main body 13, and the open state is indicated by a dotted line. A horizontal groove 14 is provided in this manual feed tray 11, and a side regulating plate 15 is guided in the horizontal direction by this groove 14.
A plurality of vertical protrusions 1 are provided on the inner surface of the manual feed tray 11.
1a, and guides llb, llb having substantially the same shape as the side regulating plates 15 are provided on both side edges.

Further, a pair of manual paper feed rollers 16 is provided on the main body 13 close to the lower end of the inner surface of the manual feed tray 11, a paper feed sensor 17 is provided near the upstream side of this roller pair 16, and a paper feed sensor 17 is provided on the inner side of the manual feed tray 11. A guide 18a forms a part of the side plate of the main body 13, and this guide 18a
The guide 18b faces the manual feed roller pair 16 downwardly.
is provided on the main body 13. A pair of register rollers 19 is provided upstream of the photoreceptor 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The operator inserts the manual sheet P between the manual tray 11 and the guide 18a provided on the main body 13 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. The sheet P slides smoothly on the protrusion 18a of the tray 11 with little frictional force, and the sheet P slides smoothly onto the protrusion 18a of the tray 11,
The leading edge of the sheet P accurately contacts the nip portion of No. 6. At this time, the side regulating plate 15 is adjusted to the width of the sheet P by the horizontal groove 14.

Then, the paper feed sensor 17 detects the sheet P, and in response to the signal, the pair of manual paper feed rollers 16 starts rotating, and the leading edge of the sheet P comes into contact with the nip portion of the pair of registration rollers 19 and is bent. The posture of the seat P is regulated. Then, in synchronization with the image on the photoreceptor 3, the registration roller pair 19 transports the sheet P, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet P in the transfer section 5, and then the toner image is transferred onto the sheet P in the fixing section 7. After being fixed, the sheet P is discharged from the paper discharge section 8 to the outside of the apparatus.

Note that when a jam occurs in the manual feed sheet P, the operator rotates the manual feed tray 11 clockwise around the shaft 12 to open it and clear the jam.

As explained above, since the sheet P is inserted from the top to the bottom, the installation space of the main body 13 is significantly reduced, and this is in addition to the reduction in the installation space of the so-called front loading type cassettes 9a and 9b. This makes it possible to save installation space for the device main body 13.

Further, since the manual sheet P can be smoothly inserted from above using its own weight at the height of the main body 13, the manual sheet P can be easily operated.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the manual tray 11 of the previous embodiment is formed into a flat manual tray 20 having a bracket 20b, which is pivotally supported by the shaft 12 provided on the main body 13.

Further, a vertically curved guide 13a is formed on the main body 13, and an upwardly curved protrusion 18 is formed on the main body 13.
b is provided on the guide surface 13 facing the guide 18a.
c is formed, and the outer surface of this guide surface 13c is the tray 2.
0 is formed on the contact surface 13d when the robot is standing upright.

Further, a contact surface 20a is formed at the outer lower end of the tray 20, and when the tray 20 is opened to the position indicated by the dotted line, the contact surface 20a contacts the main body 13, and the tray 20 is held diagonally outward and upward. It has become so.

The guide 18a is provided with a paper feed roller 21 and a separation pad 22 facing the paper feed roller 21. Thus, this embodiment exhibits the same functions and effects as the previous embodiment in the state shown in FIG.

Then, with the tray 20 open, a stack of manual sheets P can be stacked on the tray 2o, fed by the paper feed roller 21, separated by the separation bat 22, and fed one by one. The longitudinal paper feeding method of the present invention and the conventional manual paper feeding method enable various usage methods depending on the installation location and purpose of use.

(g) As described in detail, according to the present invention, when the openable manual paper feed tray is closed, the manual feed sheet can be reliably inserted from above by its own weight, thereby facilitating the manual feeding operation. In addition, since no installation area is required for the manual feed tray, the installation space of the apparatus main body can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view of another embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a sectional front view of a conventional copying machine. 10... Sheet feeding device (manual sheet feeding section), 1
1... Manual paper feed tray 15... Regulating member (
side regulation plate), 16... manual paper feed roller pair, 17
---Sensor (paper feed sensor) 8a. 1... Manual feed bus (guide, manual feed tray) P... Sheet

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A manual paper feed tray that can be opened and closed laterally, a regulating member that restricts the skew of sheets, a pair of manual paper feed rollers, and a manual paper feed tray provided near the upstream side of the pair of manual paper feed rollers. and a sensor for detecting the sheet, the manual sheet feeding device comprising: a manual sheet feeding path configured by the manual sheet feeding tray in a closed state.