JPH0445018A - Guide operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of parts and lower a height by push--pressing a gear by means of the outer periphery portion of a retaining member which consists of a circular plate shape elastic body and is fitted to a support shaft supporting rotatably the gear meshing with guide member racks that move in opposite directions. CONSTITUTION:A pair of guides 13 which move mutually in opposite directions by means of the linkage of one gear 15 and a pair of rack members 14, are formed. A space between guides 13 is extended or contracted according to the width of a paper sheet mounted on a paper feed stand 11. The gear 15 is supported rotatably by means of a support shaft 16. The gear 15 is fitted to the shaft 16 by means of a screw 18 with a washer through a gear retaining member 1.7. The member 17 is constituted out of a circular plate shape elastic material, and equipped with at its center portion, a hole 17a which is put on the rotation stop 16a of the shaft l6, and its outer periphery portion 17b push- presses the gear 15 as it is bended downward. In addition, the spring constant of the portion 17b is regulated by means of cutouts 17c. As a result, the height of a device is lowered, and the number of parts is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention is a facsimile machine or a copying machine in which a plurality of sheets of paper such as original documents or recording paper are set and fed out one by one on a paper feed tray. The present invention relates to a guide actuating device for a guide that regulates side edges.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, a paper feed tray 1 on which paper such as originals or recording paper is set is provided with a pair of guides 2 for regulating the side lines of the paper. 2 are movable symmetrically with respect to each other in the directions shown by the arrows according to the paper width. The guide actuating device for moving the pair of guides 2 symmetrically is attached to each guide, as shown in FIGS. A rack member 3, a gear 4 disposed between the rack members 3 and meshing with both rack members 3, a support shaft 5 formed on the paper feed table 1 so as to rotatably support the gear 4, and the gear 4. An annular projection 4 formed on the top surface of
a, a coil spring 7 which is arranged on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 5a at the tip of the support shaft 5 and applies a pressing force to the plate 6, and a coil spring 7 which is placed on the shaft portion 5a to fix the coil spring 7. It had fixed screws 8, washers 9, etc.

In the conventional device configured in this way, the pair of rack members 3 move symmetrically due to the engagement between the gear 4 and the pair of rack members 3, and therefore the pair of rack members 3 move symmetrically.
The guides attached to each move symmetrically to each other. At this time, the pressing force of the plate 6 by the coil spring 7 is applied to the annular protrusion 4a of the gear 4, so that an appropriate frictional force is generated between the two, providing an appropriate resistance to the movement of the guide.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, this configuration not only requires a large number of parts, but also requires a large number of man-hours for manufacturing because the plate and coil spring must be screwed to the paper feed table. Furthermore, since the plate is pressed by a coil spring, it is necessary to secure a space for the length of the coil spring, which poses problems such as making the entire paper feed tray thinner. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a guide actuating device that requires fewer parts and manufacturing man-hours, and can reduce the height and thin the entire paper feed tray. The purpose is to provide.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses a disk-shaped gear holding member that engages with a rack member connected to a guide to press the rotating gear and provide appropriate resistance. The gear is configured to use an elastic body and press the gear with its outer circumference.

Function: With the above-described structure, the present invention can press and hold the gear with a disc-shaped elastic body instead of the conventional plate and coil spring that presses it, reducing the number of parts and manufacturing man-hours. Furthermore, since no coil springs are used, the height can be reduced.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a guide actuating device according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to a paper feed table, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the guide actuating device, and FIG. -1 arrow sectional view. In Figures 1 to 3, 11 is a paper feed tray;
13 is a pair of guides, 14 is a rack member provided on each of the guides 13, and the guide 13 is installed at a predetermined position on the paper feed tray 11. Here, the pair of rack members 14 are arranged to face each other. Reference numeral 15 indicates a gear that meshes with the pair of rack members 14, and reference numeral 16 indicates a support shaft formed integrally with the paper feed tray 11 to rotatably support the gear 15. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3, the support shaft 16 is made slightly higher than the thickness of the gear 15. Further, the gear 15 is the third
In the figure, it has a tooth 15a on the lower surface side and a 7 flange 15b having a larger diameter than the tooth 15a on the upper surface side, and this flange 15
b restrains the rack 14 so that it does not come off. In addition,
In FIG. 1, illustration of the flange is omitted to simplify the drawing.

A keyhole-shaped detent 16a is formed at the top of the support shaft 16. A gear holding member 17 is made of a disc-shaped elastic body. This gear holding member 17 has a keyhole-shaped hole 17a in the center thereof, which is fitted into the rotation stopper 16a of the support shaft 16.
As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3, the outer peripheral portion 17b is bent toward the bottom. With this configuration, the gear 15 can be pressed with the outer peripheral portion 17b while the gear holding member 17 is attached to the support shaft 16. Note that notches 17c are formed at appropriate intervals in the outer circumferential portion 17b, and the spring constant of the outer circumferential portion 17b is adjusted to an appropriate value. 18 is a screw with a washer for fixing the gear holding member 17 to the support shaft 16.

The operation of the guide actuating device configured as described above will be explained below.

The guide actuating device having the above configuration is assembled by installing a guide 13 in the groove 12 of the paper feed tray 11 and a rack member 1 fixed thereto.
4, and the rack members 14 are made to face each other. Next, the gear 15 is fitted onto the support shaft 16 so that its teeth 15a mesh with the teeth of the rack member 14. After the hole 17a formed in the gear holding member 17 is fitted into the rotation stopper 16a formed on the upper part of the support shaft 16, the gear holding member 17 is screwed to the support shaft 16 using the screw 18 with a washer.

The guide actuating device assembled as described above is assembled at the outer circumferential portion 1 of the gear holding member 17 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
7b is in a state where it holds the gear 15.

At this time, since the gear holding member 17 is made of an elastic material, the gear 16 can be pressed and held with an appropriate pressing force.
An appropriate restraining force can be applied to the rotation of the gear 15, that is, the movement of the guide 13. In addition, since the hole 17a of the gear holding member 17 is fitted into the rotation stopper 16a of the support shaft 16, the gear holding member 17 rotates as the gear 150 rotates, resulting in a pressing force on the gear 15 and, in turn, on the gear 15. There is no possibility that the deterrent force against rotation will be impaired.

In addition, although the above embodiment shows a guide actuating device that moves a pair of guides, the present invention is not limited to this case, but can also be applied to a guide actuating device that moves only one guide. .

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention has a structure in which a gear interlocking with a guide is pressed and held by a gear holding member made of a disk-shaped elastic body. The number of parts and manufacturing man-hours can be reduced compared to using a plate that presses the plate and a coil spring that presses it, and the height can also be much lower than that of a coil spring, making the entire structure thinner. It has an effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a guide actuating device according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to a paper feed table, Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the guide actuating device, and Fig. 3 is I-1 in Fig. 2. 4 is a perspective view of a general paper feed table, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a conventional guide actuating device, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line Vl--Vl in FIG. 11...Paper feed tray, 12...Groove, 13...Guide,
14... Rack member, 15... Gear, 15a...
Teeth, 15b...Flange, 16...Spindle, 16a.
... Rotating stopper, 17... Gear holding member, 17a...
Hole, 17b...outer periphery, 17c...notch, 18.
・Screw with washer. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other name Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A guide that can be moved to a position according to the paper width,
The guide includes a rack member provided on the guide, a gear that meshes with the rack member, a support shaft that rotatably supports the gear, and a gear holding member that is fixed to the support shaft and presses and holds the gear. A guide actuating device characterized in that the gear holding member is made of a disk-shaped elastic body and presses the gear with its outer peripheral portion.