JPH0648592A - Sheet loading and storing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a sheet stacking / storing device capable of performing stable positioning even when a large number of sheets are fed, and performing positioning on the trailing edge side of sheets according to the sheet size. thing. [Structure] A front end reference member 5 for positioning by positioning one end of a sheet on the same side surface in the cassette tray 2 in the width direction.
And the rear end reference member 6 are provided respectively, and these are made of metal parts. [Effect] Even if a large number of sheets are fed, the reference member is not worn and the positional accuracy of the sheets can be secured.
Further, by changing the mounting position of the rear end reference plate 6, positioning can be performed according to the sheet size.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet stacking / storing device capable of stacking and storing sheets which are detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and laser beam printers are detachably equipped with sheet feeding cassettes in which sheets are stacked and stored.
An example of the paper feed cassette will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 51 is a plastic cassette tray which is the frame of the cassette. An intermediate plate 52 is provided at the bottom of the cassette tray 51 to stack sheets. The middle plate 52 is pushed upward by a spring (not shown). Reference numeral 53 is a separation claw for separating and feeding only the uppermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the middle plate 52.

Reference numeral 54 is a metal reference plate for abutting and positioning the stacked sheets in the width direction. 55 is a cassette tray 51 provided on the same side in the width direction as the reference plate 54.
Is a rear end reference surface that is a part of Reference numeral 56 is a skew feed roller that conveys the sheet while pressing it against the reference plate 54, and 57 is a roller holder that holds the skew feed roller 56. The roller holder 57 is biased upward by a spring (not shown).

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 58 denotes a side spring for abutting the sheet against the reference plate 54, which positions the sheets stacked on the intermediate plate 52 in the width direction. Reference numeral 59 is a separation sheet for preventing the lowermost sheet stacked on the middle plate 52 from being double-fed.

The stacking work and the positioning work of the sheets on the paper feed cassette are performed as follows. First, when a sheet is loaded into the paper feed cassette, the sheet is stacked on the middle plate 52 in the cassette tray 51 so as to pass over the separation claw 53 and be sandwiched between the middle plate 52 and the separation claw 53. At this time, the sheet is pressed in the width direction by the pressing force of the side spring 58, and one end of the sheet is abutted against the reference plate 54 and the rear end reference surface 55.

Next, when the paper feed cassette is mounted on the main body of the apparatus, a feeding roller (not shown) comes into contact with the leading edge of the uppermost sheet. The rotation of the feeding roller and the separation claw 53 separates and feeds only the uppermost sheet. Further, the conveyance roller (not shown) is pressed by the skew feeding roller 56,
By the rotation of the conveyance roller, the fed sheet is conveyed while being pressed against the reference plate 54 and the rear end reference surface 55, and is conveyed while being held at an appropriate position during image formation. ing.

[0008]

However, the structure shown in the above prior art has the following problems.

(1) Since the sheet is conveyed while being pressed against the rear end reference surface 55, the plastic rear end reference surface 55 is gradually worn away, and when a large number of sheets are conveyed, the width direction of the sheet is increased. The position of will shift by the amount of wear.

(2) In the above-mentioned conventional example, the oblique feed roller 56 is used. However, without using the oblique feed roller 56, a pair of a conveyance roller and a roller that applies a force only in the conveyance direction applies a conveyance force to the entire width of the sheet. Even with the added configuration, the rear end reference surface 55 is worn by the edge of the sheet and the problem (1) cannot be solved.

(3) In the existing cassette, the reference plate 54
There is one in which the surface corresponding to the rear end reference surface 55 is composed of one metal part. However, in this case, a metal part becomes large and a fastener such as a screw is newly added to accurately position and fix a large part. It becomes necessary and the manufacturing cost becomes high. Further, the above metal parts alone cannot cope with the difference in sheet size.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to maintain stable positioning of the sheets even when a large number of sheets are fed, and to position the sheet on the trailing edge side according to the sheet size. To provide a sheet stacking / storing device capable of

[0013]

A typical means according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a frame body, an intermediate plate for stacking sheets mounted in the frame body, and the intermediate plate. A pressure member for urging the sheet, a reference member for positioning the sheet by abutting in the width direction, and a pressing member for pressing the sheet against the reference member, wherein the reference member is the frame. A front end reference member that determines the position of the front end side of the sheet to be attached to the body, and one or a plurality of rear end reference members, wherein the front end reference member and the rear end reference member are metal parts. .

[0014]

According to the above means, as the reference member for positioning the sheet in the width direction, the front end reference member for determining the position on the front end side of the sheet and the one or more rear end reference members are provided. A position reference surface on the rear end side of the sheet can be installed according to the length.

Further, since the leading end reference member and the trailing end reference member are made of metal parts, even if a large number of sheets are fed, the reference members are not worn and the sheets are always positioned at stable positions. Can be delivered.

[0016]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] An embodiment of a sheet stacking and storing apparatus using the above means will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a paper feed cassette, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the paper feed cassette. A sheet feeding cassette 1 is a sheet stacking / storing device, and the configuration of the sheet feeding cassette 1 will be described below.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a cassette tray which is a frame body of the cassette 1, and is formed of resin into a housing shape having an open upper surface. Reference numeral 3 denotes an intermediate plate, which is attached to the bottom of the cassette tray 2 so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 3a. The middle plate 3 is urged from the back side in a clockwise direction about a fulcrum 3a by a not-shown pressing member (spring or the like), and the leading end of the sheets stacked on the middle plate 3 is moved toward the main body of the apparatus. It presses against the feeding roller. Denoted at 4 is a separation claw, which is provided at the leading end of the cassette tray 2 in the sheet conveying direction and locks the leading end of the middle plate 3 biased in the clockwise direction. The separating claw 4 separates and feeds only one uppermost sheet stacked on the intermediate plate 3 at the time of sheet feeding.

Reference numeral 5 is a front end reference plate, and 6 is a rear end reference plate, which are mounted on the same side surface in the width direction in the cassette tray 2 and are positioned by abutting one end of the sheet in the width direction. It constitutes a reference member to be performed.
The leading end reference plate 5 is provided on the leading end side in the sheet conveying direction, and the trailing end reference plate 6 is provided on the trailing end side in the sheet conveying direction, and these are made of metal parts (such as aluminum and stainless steel). .

Reference numeral 7 denotes an oblique feeding roller, which feeds the sheet fed from the middle plate 3 to the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6.
It is conveyed while being pressed against. This skew feed roller 7
Is rotatably held by an arm-shaped roller holder 8 which is rotatable around a fulcrum 8a. Roller holder 8 above
Is biased in the clockwise direction about the fulcrum 8a by a biasing means (not shown), and is locked at a position where the oblique feeding roller 7 projects above the cassette tray 2.

Reference numeral 9 is a reference guide surface, which guides a sheet so as not to be caught by the edge of the rear reference plate 6 when the sheet is loaded in the cassette 1.

In FIG. 2, 10 is a side spring which is a pressing member and is provided on the inner surface of the cassette holder 2 opposite to the reference member. This side spring
Reference numeral 10 is for pressing the sheets stacked on the middle plate 3 in the width direction and pressing them against the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6 for positioning in the width direction.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a separation sheet, which is provided on the intermediate plate 3 and prevents the lowermost sheet from being double-fed.

Next, a sheet loading operation and a sheet feeding operation for the sheet feeding cassette 1 will be described with reference to FIG. When sheets are stacked on the middle plate 3, the sheets are pressed by the side springs 10 and one end is pressed against the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6, and the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2).
Is positioned.

When the paper feed cassette 1 is mounted on the main body of the apparatus and the feeding roller (not shown) rotates, only one sheet on the uppermost surface is fed by the separating claw 4 due to the frictional force with the feeding roller. To be done. At this time, the sheet is fed while being pressed against the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6 by the pressing force of the side springs 10. Then, when the sheet enters the nip between the conveying roller (not shown) of the apparatus main body and the oblique feeding roller 7, the sheet is conveyed by the frictional force of the conveying roller, and at the same time, the sheet is conveyed by the oblique feeding force of the oblique feeding roller 7. The sheet is conveyed while being pressed against the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6.

According to the above structure, the following effects can be obtained. (1) When the sheet is conveyed, the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6
Since the sheet is conveyed while being pressed against, the edge of the sheet is likely to be worn, but the front reference plate 5 and the rear reference plate 6 do not wear because metal parts are used. Therefore, even if a large number of sheets are fed, the posture and position of the sheets do not change, and stable position accuracy can be secured. (2) The sheet feeding cassette is manufactured separately according to various sheet sizes. However, by mounting the rear end reference plate 6 on the cassette holder 2 according to the sheet length, It is possible to position the rear end reference plate 6 at an optimum position according to the size. (3) Since only two small metal parts are used as the reference member, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where one large metal part is used. (4) Further, since the front end reference plate 5 and the rear end reference plate 6 can be manufactured as a common part, there is no difference in parts management, which is convenient for handling.

[Second Embodiment] Next, another example of the paper feed cassette will be described with reference to FIG. Since the structure of the paper feed cassette 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same members are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, two sheet metals were used as the reference member for positioning the sheet in the width direction, but in this embodiment, two metal rods are provided instead of these.
That is, in FIG. 3, rod-shaped front end reference rods 12 and rear end reference rods 13 are provided as reference members on the sheet abutting side (lower side in the drawing) of the cassette tray 2.

According to the above structure, the following effects can be obtained. (1) No need for punching, bending, etc. of the reference member, and if the material has a well-defined outer diameter tolerance, the rod can be produced only by the process of cutting the length. It can be reduced. (2) Since the rod does not easily deform, it is easy to manage and inspect parts during transportation. (3) It is easy to attach to the cassette tray 2, and by providing a plurality of attachment parts in a common mold,
It is possible to load sheets of various sizes with one cassette, and it is possible to position sheets of various sizes at appropriate positions.

[Third Embodiment] Next, another example of the paper feed cassette will be described with reference to FIGS. A universal cassette 14 is capable of loading sheets of various sizes with one cassette. The configuration of the universal cassette 14 will be described below.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a universal cassette tray which is a frame body of the universal cassette 14, and is formed of resin into a casing shape whose upper surface is open. 16 is an intermediate plate, which is a fulcrum on the bottom of the universal cassette tray 15
It is attached so as to be rotatable around a. This middle plate 16
Is urged in the clockwise direction from the back side by a pressure member (spring or the like) not shown, centering around the fulcrum 16a.
The leading end of the sheets stacked on top is pressed against the feeding roller on the apparatus main body side. Reference numeral 17 denotes a separation claw, which is provided at the leading end of the universal cassette tray 15 in the sheet conveying direction, and has the middle plate 16 urged clockwise.
The front end of is locked. The separating claw 17 separates and feeds only one uppermost sheet stacked on the intermediate plate 16 at the time of sheet feeding.

Reference numeral 18 is a front end reference plate, and 19 is a rear end reference plate, which are provided on the same side in the width direction of the universal cassette tray 15 and are positioned by abutting one end of the sheet in the width direction. It constitutes a reference member for performing. The tip reference plate 18 is a universal cassette tray.
The rear end reference plate 19 is fixedly attached to the front end side of the sheet conveying direction 15, and is attached to the rear end side of the sheet conveying direction along with a rear end regulating member 22 described later. The front end reference plate 18 and the rear end reference plate 19,
Metal parts (for example, aluminum, stainless steel, etc.) are used.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an oblique feeding roller, which is used to feed the sheet fed from the middle plate 16 to the front end reference plate 18 and the rear end reference plate 19
It is conveyed while being pressed against. This skew feeding roller 20
Is an arm-shaped roller holder that can rotate around a fulcrum 21a.
It is rotatably held by 21. Above roller holder 21
Is biased clockwise by a biasing means (not shown) about the fulcrum 21a, and is locked at a position where the oblique feed roller 20 projects above the universal cassette tray 15.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 22 denotes a trailing edge regulating member for positioning the trailing edge of the sheets stacked on the intermediate plate 16 in the conveying direction. A rear end adjusting lever 23 forming a rack is provided on the outer side of the rear end regulating member 22 (on the left side in the drawing), and at the bottom of the universal cassette tray 15, there is a size indicator 25 indicating the sheet size. An end adjustment rack 24 and an elongated hole-shaped rear end regulation guide 26 are formed respectively. Further, as described above, the rear end reference plate 19 is attached to the rear end regulating member 22 on the cassette tray 15 side (lower side in the drawing).

Therefore, the rear end regulating member 22 is fixed by the engagement of the rack formed on the rear end adjusting lever 23 and the rear end adjusting rack 24, and the engagement of the rear end adjusting lever 23 is released. By moving in the direction of the arrow X, the trailing edge regulating member 22 is moved to the position corresponding to the sheet size.
Can be moved along 26.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a side regulating member which is a width direction regulating member and serves to position the sheets stacked on the intermediate plate 16 in the width direction. A side adjusting lever 28 having a rack is formed outside the side regulating member 27 (upper side in the drawing).
The universal cassette tray 15
A side adjustment rack 29 and a long hole-shaped side regulation guide 30 are formed at the bottom of each. A side spring 31, which is a pressing member, is attached inside the side regulating member 27 (lower side in the drawing).

Therefore, the side regulating member 27 includes a rack formed on the side adjusting lever 28 and a side adjusting rack 29.
It is fixed by meshing with the side adjustment lever
By releasing the engagement of 28 and moving it in the direction of the arrow Y, the side regulating member 27 can be moved along the size regulating guide 30.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a separation sheet, which is provided on the intermediate plate 16 and prevents the lowermost sheet from being double-fed.

Next, a sheet loading operation for the universal cassette 14 will be described with reference to FIG. First, so that the line of the inside (right side of the drawing) edge of the trailing edge regulating member 22 matches the size indication 25 of the sheet size to be loaded,
Using the rear end adjusting lever 23, the rear end regulating member 22 is moved on the rear end adjusting rack 24 in the arrow X direction.

Next, the sheets are stacked on the intermediate plate 16, and the side regulating member 27 is moved by using the side adjusting lever 28, and the side regulating member 27 is moved until the side spring 31 presses one end of the sheet. The upper side 29 is moved in the direction of the arrow Y, and the side adjusting lever 28 is engaged with the side adjusting rack 29 to be fixed.

As described above, the sheets loaded in the cassette 14 can be positioned in the X and Y directions. At this time, the position reference of the sheet in the direction of the arrow Y is the front end reference plate 18 and the rear end reference plate 19, and the positioning is performed by these reference plates immediately after the start of the feeding of the sheet, and the rear end of the sheet is the rear end reference plate. After passing through the plate 19, only the tip reference plate 18 performs positioning in the arrow Y direction.

According to the above structure, the following effects can be obtained. (1) It becomes possible to position the sheet in the width direction (arrow Y direction) according to the length of the sheet. (2) By determining the position in the width direction at a position closer to the rear end of the sheet, the image forming position of the sheet can be positioned even in the cassette. (3) By changing the shape of the trailing edge regulation guide 26, it is possible to change the position of the trailing edge reference plate 19 in the width direction according to the length of the sheet, which further improves versatility. it can.

[0042]

As described above, the present invention has, as the reference member for positioning the sheet in the width direction, the front end reference member for determining the position on the front end side of the sheet and one or more rear end reference members. Thus, the rear end side of the sheet can be positioned according to the lengths of the sheets having different sizes.

Further, since the leading end reference member and the trailing end reference member are made of metal parts, even if a large number of sheets are fed, the reference members are not worn and the sheets are always positioned at stable positions. Can be delivered.

Particularly, it is effective for positioning the sheets in a sheet stacking and storing apparatus having a pressing member forcibly pressing the sheet against the reference member and a skew feeding member represented by a skew feeding roller.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a paper feed cassette according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the paper feed cassette according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a paper feed cassette according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a paper feed cassette according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a paper feed cassette according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a conventional paper feed cassette.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conventional paper feed cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Paper feed cassette 2 ... Cassette tray 3,16 ... Middle plate 3a, 8a, 16a, 21a ... Support point 4,17 ... Separation claw 5,18 ... Tip reference plate 6,19 ... Rear end reference plate 7, 20 ... Oblique Feed rollers 8,21 ... Roller holder 9 ... Reference guide surface 10, 31 ... Side spring 11, 32 ... Separation sheet 12 ... Tip reference rod 13 ... Rear reference rod 14 ... Universal cassette 15 ... Universal cassette tray 22 ... Rear regulation member 23 ... Rear adjustment lever 24 ... Rear adjustment rack 25 ... Size indication 26 ... Rear regulation guide 27 ... Side regulation member 28 ... Side regulation lever 29 ... Side regulation rack 30 ... Side regulation guide

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --Continued front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Ishii 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A frame, an intermediate plate for stacking sheets mounted in the frame, a pressure member for urging the intermediate plate, and abutting the sheet in the width direction for positioning. A reference member, and a pressing member for pressing the sheet against the reference member, wherein the reference member is a front end reference member that determines the position of the front end side of the sheet attached to the frame body, and one or more rear members. An edge reference member, wherein the leading edge reference member and the trailing edge reference member are metal parts. 2. The sheet stacking and storing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein reference member attachment portions are provided at a plurality of positions on the frame body, and the rear end reference member is attached according to a sheet size. 3. A frame body, an intermediate plate for stacking sheets mounted in the frame body, a pressing member for urging the intermediate plate, and a rear end for positioning the rear end of the sheet in the conveying direction. A width direction regulating member having a regulating member, a pressing member for positioning the sheet in the width direction, and a reference member for abutting and positioning the sheet in the width direction, wherein the reference member is the frame. It has one or a plurality of fixed reference members fixed to the body, and a movable reference member fixed to the rear end regulating member, and the fixed reference member and the movable reference member are metal parts. Sheet stacking storage device.