JPH0512252B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a cut sheet feeding device that feeds cut sheets one by one from a hopper, and more particularly to a cut sheet feeding device that has improved operability when loading cut sheets into a hopper.

(Technical Background) A cut sheet feeding device that feeds cut sheets one by one from a hopper is known.

This type of cut sheet feeding device rotates the hopper roller while pressing the cut sheet against the hopper roller, and feeds out the cut sheet that is in contact with the hopper roller. On the other hand, the cut sheet is loaded between the hopper roller and the pressing member while the member for pressing the cut sheet against the hopper roller is retracted from the hopper roller.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This type of apparatus is equipped with a set lever for loading a cut sheet into a hopper, and the above-mentioned pressing member is retracted from the hopper roller by operating this set lever. At this time, the set lever is operated against the biasing force of the spring for biasing the aforementioned pressing member toward the hopper roller.

Generally, the narrower the operating range of the set lever is, the more operability is improved if the set lever can be operated with one hand rather than both hands, so it is desirable to have a mechanism to achieve these things. It will be done.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that allows a set lever to be easily operated with one hand.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides pressing means for pressing the cut sheet against the hopper roller on the left and right sheet guides, a common support for releasing this pressing force, and a long hole near the center. a first set lever which rotates around its end; a post into which the common support member is loosely fitted at one end; and a post which is loosely fitted into the elongated hole at the other end; A link mechanism consisting of a second set lever with a rotation fulcrum provided therebetween is arranged on the left and right sides of the hopper section into which cut sheets are loaded, and the ends of the left and right first set levers are connected by a set lever shaft.

(Function) According to the above means, when the first set lever is operated, the first set lever rotates about the set lever shaft. Therefore, the elongated hole of the first set lever also rotates to bias the post of the second set lever. As a result, the second set lever rotates in a predetermined direction, and moves the common support body toward or away from the hopper roller.
On the other hand, since the first set lever and the set lever shaft are fixed to each other, when one first set lever rotates, the other first set lever rotates via the set lever shaft. This causes the second set lever on the other side to rotate as described above,
The pressing means are moved by a common support.

(Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a cut sheet, 2 is a sheet guide with an L-shaped cross section that supports the cut sheet 1, and 3 is a pivot support for movably the sheet guide 2. 4 is a U-shaped hopper sheet support frame that supports the center of the cut sheet 1; 5 is a guide shaft for supporting the cut sheet 1;
Hopper roller that feeds out, 6 is cut sheet 1 1
The hopper roller 5 and the separation claw 6 are attached to the sheet guide 2. 7 is a movable shaft serving as a common support that moves up and down along the edge of the sheet guide 2 into which the pressure sleeve 7a is inserted and fitted into the groove of the pressure sleeve 7a, as shown in FIG. 8 is a side frame in which an L-shaped long groove 8a is formed in which the movable shaft 7 moves; 9 is a pressure spring that biases the pressure sleeve 7a upward along the long groove 8a; is moored to the sheet guide 2. Reference numeral 10 indicates a first set lever having a long hole 10a and is pivotally attached to a set lever shaft 10b. Reference numeral 11 indicates a shaft 11a as a rotation axis, and a post 11b provided at one end enters the elongated hole 10a of the first set lever 10 to move the movable shaft 7. a second set lever 12 supporting the sheet guide 2;
13 is a lock lever that is pressed by the guide shaft 3 and locks the sheet guide 2 by frictional force; 14 is a first feeding guide; 15 is a first feed roller; is the second feeding guide, 17
is the paper chute, 18 is the third feeding guide, 19
is the second feed roller, 20 is the stacker frame, 21 is the stacker sheet support frame, 2
2 is a platen, and 23 is a print head. In addition,
The movable shaft 7 serves as a common support for the left and right sleeves 7a.

In the above embodiment, the cut sheet 1 is placed in the sheet guide 2.
is piled up, and as shown in FIG. 8, the front end of the cut sheet 1 is biased upward by the pressure sleeve 7a to press the cut sheet 1 against the hopper roller 5, and in this state, the drive shaft 1
The operation is started by rotating the cut sheet 2, and the cut sheets 1 are fed out one by one by this operation. The cut sheet 1 reaches the first feed roller 15 via the first feed guide 14, is further fed by the first feed roller 15, and then passes through the second feed guide 16, the paper shoot 17, and the third feed guide 1.
8, the sheet reaches a second feed roller 19, is further fed by this second feed roller 19, is discharged to a position supported by a stacker frame 20 and a lid sheet support frame 21, and is deposited. During this feeding, printing is performed when the cut sheet 1 passes between the printing head 23 and the platen 22.

Next, the loading operation of the cut sheet 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. First, the first
When the set lever 10 is pulled in the direction of the arrow, the first set lever 10 rotates counterclockwise about the set lever shaft 10b as a rotation axis. At this time, post 1
1b receives rotational force from the elongated hole 10a, and the second set lever 11 rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 11a. Therefore, the movable shaft 7 moves downward along the long groove 8a against the biasing force of the pressure spring 9. As a result, the movable shaft 7
As shown in the figure, it is stopped at the lower right position, and a sufficient gap is created between the pressure sleeve 7a and the hopper roller 5, so that the cut sheet 1 can be easily loaded. After loading cut sheet 1,
When the set lever 10 is pushed in the opposite direction, the movable shaft 7 is moved upward along the long groove 8a by the biasing force of the pressure spring 9. As a result, the front portion of the cut sheet 1 is lifted by the pressure sleeve 7a, and the cut sheet 1 is pressed against the hopper roller 5. At this time, since there is a loose fit between the long hole 10a of the first set lever 10, the post 11b of the second set lever 11, one end of the long side of the second set lever 11, and the movable shaft 7, the pressure spring 9 The pressure sleeve 7a is accurately biased toward the hopper roller 5 side via the movable shaft without being affected by the link mechanism, and the left and right pressing forces are equalized. As is clear from the above description, the pressure spring 9 functions as a type of detent spring that stops the movable shaft 7 at two positions, the upper left end and the lower right end of the long groove 8.

Note that the cut sheet feeding device of the above embodiment is as follows:
In addition, we offer multiple types of cut sheets with different paper widths,
For example, the structure is such that cut sheets of A4, B4, B5, etc. can be loaded into the hopper and separated stably. This configuration will be explained below.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the combined state of the sheet guide 2 and the hopper roller 5. The hopper roller sleeve 24, which has an octagonal shaft hole, is inserted into the drive shaft 12, which has an octagonal cross section. The sheet guide 2 is inserted through the hopper roller sleeve 24 and the guide shaft 3, and a snap ring 25 is fitted to the hopper roller sleeve 24 to prevent it from coming off, making it an integral piece. A toothed rubber ring 26 is attached to the outer periphery of the hopper roller sleeve 24, and the hopper roller sleeve 24 and the toothed rubber ring 26 form the hopper roller 5.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the combined state of the sheet guide 2 and the movable shaft 7. A pressure sleeve 7a is inserted into the movable shaft 7, and the end of the sheet guide 2 is inserted into the groove of the pressure sleeve 7a. are mated. As a result, the pressure sleeve 7
a can move up and down along the edge of the sheet guide 2 together with the movable shaft 7, and as the sheet guide 2 moves, the pressure sleeve 7a can move in the printing line direction. Further, a spring hook 28 is formed at the end of the pressure sleeve 7a, so that one end of the pressure spring 9 can be anchored thereto. Therefore, when the sheet guide 2 is moved, the pressure spring 9 is also moved, so that the biasing force of the pressure spring 9 is applied with the same strength to a position equidistant from the end of the cut sheet 1. This is important in preventing the cut sheet 1 from being skewed.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the elements shown in FIG. 6 cut along the plane A-A', showing the pressure sleeve 7.
a is rotatable with respect to the movable shaft 7,
This shows that the rotation is restricted by the sheet guide 2.

FIG. 8 is a rear view seen from the rear to show the pressed state of the cut sheet, and shows that the hopper roller 5 and the pressure sleeve 7a press the cut sheet 1 at positions equidistant from the left and right ends of the cut sheet 1. ing. In addition, pressure roller 2
7 and the subpressure roller 29 are subjected to biasing forces by left and right spacer springs 30 and 31, respectively. Therefore, when the sheet guide 2 is moved, the pressure roller 27 and the subpressure roller 29 are automatically moved to the center of the cut sheet 1. move in a specific manner. The drive shaft 12 is also connected to a motor (not shown) via an electromagnetic clutch 32 on the left.

Next, the operation of positioning the sheet guide according to the paper width of the cut sheet 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. First, pull down Lockleba 13 towards you,
(Turn counterclockwise in Figure 1) to release the lock. As a result, the right sheet guide 2 shown in FIG. 4 becomes movable along the guide shaft 3 and the drive shaft 12, so the cut sheet 1 is pressed against the left sheet guide 2 and then moved to the right sheet guide 2. Move to the left. In this way, when the side plate of the right sheet guide 2 has brought the cut sheet 1 all the way to the left, it pushes the lock lever 13 backward (rotated clockwise in Figure 1), brings it into contact with the guide shaft 3, and applies frictional force. Locks. Note that the lock lever 13 is made of highly elastic plastic, and deforms at this time.

In this embodiment, the left sheet guide 2 can also be moved by loosening the lock screw 33. Since the printing start position is changed according to the printing format, it is possible to slightly adjust the printing position from the edge of the cut sheet.

Note that a post may be installed in place of the long hole of the first set lever, and a long hole may be provided in place of the post of the second set lever.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, a link mechanism consisting of a first set lever and a second set lever is provided on the left and right sides of the device, and since the left and right link mechanisms are connected by a set lever shaft, a common set lever can be used. The support does not seesaw, the set lever can be operated with one hand, and the operating range of the set lever can be narrowed, so there is an advantage of very good operability.

Further, since the link mechanism and the common support are loosely fitted, there is an advantage that the pressing force is applied equally to the left and right hopper rollers without being affected by the link mechanism, and skewing of cut sheets can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
3 and 3 are partial side views illustrating the loading operation of the cut sheet, FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the positioning operation of the sheet guide, FIG. 6
The figure is a cross-sectional view showing the combined state of the sheet guide and the movable shaft, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the A-A' plane shown in Figure 6, and Figure 8 shows the pressed state of the cut sheet. It is a rear view seen from the rear. 1...Cut sheet, 2...Sheet guide, 3
... Guide shaft, 4 ... Hopper seat support frame, 5 ... Hopper roller, 6 ... Separation claw, 7 ... Movable shaft, 7a ... Pressure sleeve, 8 ... Side frame, 8a ... Long groove,
9... Pressure spring, 10... First set lever, 10a... Long hole, 10b... Set lever shaft, 11... Second set lever, 11a...
Shaft, 11b...post, 12...drive shaft, 13...lock lever, 14...first feeding guide, 15...first feed roller, 16...second
Feeding guide, 17...Paper shoot, 18...
Third feeding guide, 19... second feed roller,
20...Statska frame, 21...Statska seat support frame, 22...Platen, 23
... Print head, 24 ... Hopper roller sleeve, 25 ... Snap ring, 26 ... Toothed rubber ring, 27 ... Pressure roller, 28 ... Spring hook, 29 ... Subpressure roller, 30 and 31 ... ...Spacer spring, 3
2...Electromagnetic clutch, 33...Lock screw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a cut sheet feeding device in which a hopper roller of a sheet guide of a hopper can be moved integrally with the paper width of the cut sheet, pressing means for pressing the cut sheet against the hopper rollers are provided on the left and right sheet guides. At the same time, a common support for releasing this pressing force is provided, a first set lever having a long hole (or post) near the center and rotating around the end, and the common support at one end. A post (or long hole) that fits loosely into the long hole (or post) at the other end.
A link mechanism consisting of a second set lever with a rotation fulcrum provided between one end and the other end is arranged on the left and right sides of the hopper section into which the cut sheet is loaded, and the ends of the left and right first set levers are A cut sheet feeding device characterized by being connected by a set lever shaft.