JPH04303344A - Paper feed cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically perform paper loosening in a paper feed cassette without requiring a handwork. CONSTITUTION:On the both side parts of a cassette body 1 on which a cassette cap 2 is mounted in such a manner as to be capable of being opened and closed and in which several pieces of paper P can be stacked and received, paper end pressing members 3, 3 are pivotally supported in such a manner as to be capable of being raised and fallen. Reacting to the closing operation of the cassette cap 2, the paper end pressing members 3, 3 are fallen down on the side of pressing the paper end in the cassette body 1, and when the closing of the cassette cap 2 is completed, the paper end pressing members 3, 3 are returned to the original postures. On the bottom part of the cassette body 1, back face pressing members 6, 6 are provided. Reacting to the closing operation of the cassette cap 2, the back face pressing members 6, 6 are raised into the state of pushing the paper P in the cassette body 1 from under, and when the closing of the cassette cap 2 is completed, the back face pressing members 6, 6 are returned to the original postures.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette used for supplying paper to a copying machine or the like.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when supplying transfer paper to a copying machine, a dedicated paper feed cassette is used. That is, a large number of sheets of transfer paper to be supplied are stacked and stored in a paper feed cassette, and the paper feed cassette is installed in a copying machine.

By the way, if the transfer paper taken out from the wrapping paper is put into the paper feed cassette and fed, the paper may not be properly separated in the copying machine, and several sheets of transfer paper may overlap. Malfunctions such as double feeding may occur, and jams may also occur due to these malfunctions.

[0004] Conventionally, in order to avoid such a situation caused by poor separation of transfer paper, the work of manually sorting and separating the transfer paper one by one before storing it in the paper feed cassette was performed. .

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, as described above, when paper is handled manually, the work is not only complicated, but also when done by a person who is inexperienced with the work, the transfer paper becomes scattered and unusable. There were problems such as losing them.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention aims to provide a paper feed cassette that automatically sorts paper without requiring manual labor.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a first invention provides a cassette body capable of accommodating a large number of stacked sheets of paper, and a cassette lid that is attached to the cassette body so as to be openable and closable. and is pivotally supported on both sides of the cassette body so as to be able to rise and fall, and in response to the closing operation of the cassette lid, it falls to the side that presses the edge of the paper inside the cassette body, and returns to its original position when the lid is closed. The paper edge pressing member is characterized in that a pair of paper edge pressing members are provided.

A second invention provides a cassette body capable of accommodating a large number of stacked sheets of paper, a cassette lid attached to the cassette body so as to be openable and closable, and a cassette lid located at the bottom of the cassette body, the cassette lid being attached to the cassette body. The device is characterized by being provided with a back pressing member that rises to push up the intermediate portion of the paper inside the cassette body from below in response to the lid closing operation and returns to its original position when the lid is closed.

[0009]

[Operation] According to the structure of the first invention, as the cassette lid is closed on the cassette body, the pair of paper edge pressing members pivotally supported on both sides of the cassette body move inside the cassette body. is pushed down as if pushing both ends of the paper. the result,
The sheets of paper stored in a stacked state in the cassette main body are pinched from both sides by paper end pressing members, and are curved and deformed so as to bulge upwards, and then handled. When the cassette lid is completely closed to the cassette body, the paper end pressing member returns to its original state, and the papers in the cassette main body are also returned to their original stacked state before being curved and deformed.

According to the configuration of the second invention, the back pressing member rises as the cassette lid is closed on the cassette main body, and this back pressing member presses the intermediate portion of the paper in the cassette main body from below. Since the paper is pushed up, the paper stacked in the cassette main body is curved and deformed so as to bulge upwards, and is then handled. When the cassette lid is completely closed to the cassette body, the back pressing member returns to its original state, and the papers in the cassette main body are also returned to their original stacked state before being curved and deformed.

[0011]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a paper feed cassette according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part of the paper feed cassette, and FIG. 3 is a cross section showing the operation of the paper feed cassette. It is a diagram.

The paper feed cassette of this embodiment is a cassette used, for example, to supply transfer paper to a copying machine, and includes:
The cassette body 1 has a bottomed box-like cassette body 1 capable of storing a plurality of sheets of transfer paper in a stacked state, and a cassette lid 2 pivotally attached to the rear end of the cassette body 1 so as to be openable and closable. On both sides of the cassette main body 1, paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 are provided with shafts 4, 4, respectively, so as to be able to freely rise and fall toward the end of the transfer paper stored in the cassette main body 1. It is pivotally supported through. Furthermore, these pair of paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 are connected to shafts 4, 4.
The cassette main body 1 is biased by torsion coil springs 5, 5 wound in a rotational direction to rise to a vertical position along the side wall 1a of the cassette main body 1.

Guide protrusions 3a are formed on the outer surfaces of these paper edge pressing plates 3, that is, on the surfaces facing the side walls 1a of the cassette body 1, respectively, for slidingly contacting guide plates 10, 10, which will be described later, on the cassette lid 2 side. has been done.

A pair of back pressing plates 6, 6 extending from each side of the cassette body 1 to an intermediate portion are arranged on the transfer paper mounting table 1b on the bottom surface of the cassette body 1. The base end portions 6a of these back pressing plates 6 are pivotally supported on each side of the cassette body 1 via the shaft 4 so that the mutually opposing distal ends can be raised and lowered.

Further, between the side walls 1a on both sides of the cassette body 1 and each paper edge pressing plate 3, pressing members 7 are arranged to press down the base end 6a of the corresponding back pressing plate 6. There is. These pressing members 7 each have a receiving plate portion 7 that projects horizontally toward the corresponding paper edge pressing plate 3 side.
a on the upper end side and a guide protrusion 7b on the lower end side which also protrudes toward the corresponding paper end pressing plate 3.The cross-sectional outline is an inverted L-shape, and the guide protrusion 7b is normally used to press the back side. so that it is located at a height that does not push down the base end 6a of the plate 6.
It is supported on the bottom surface of the cassette body 1 via a coil spring 8.

On the other hand, on both sides of the cassette lid 2, at positions corresponding to the installation parts of the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 and the pushing members 7, 7 on the cassette main body 1 side, there are holes perpendicular to the lid surface. Guide plates 9, 9 are formed respectively. Guide protrusions 9a that come into sliding contact with guide protrusions 3a of the corresponding paper edge pressing plates 3 are formed on the inward surfaces of these guide plates 9, that is, the surfaces on which these guide plates 9 face each other.

Next, the operation of the paper feed cassette will be explained with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3(a), when the cassette lid 2 is not closed, the pair of paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 are pressed against the cassette by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 5 wound around the shaft 4. It is raised in a vertical position along the side wall 1a of the main body 1. The transfer paper P is stored in a stacked state on the transfer paper mounting table 1b sandwiched between the pair of paper edge pressing plates 3, 3. Also, at this time, since each pushing member 7 is supported by a coil spring 8 at a height position that does not push down the base end 6a of the back pressing plate 6, the left and right back pressing plates 6, 6 can press the transfer paper P. It is placed in a horizontal position and laid down on the transfer paper mounting table 1b.

Under this condition, when the cassette lid 2 starts to be closed as shown in FIG. In sliding contact with the guide protrusion 3a of the paper edge pressing plate 3, each paper edge pressing plate 3 is tilted to the side that presses the edge of the transfer paper P.

In parallel with this, the pushing member 7 is pushed down by the guide plate 9 on the cassette lid 2 side against the coil spring 8, and as a result, the base end 6a of each back pressing plate 6 is pushed down. Pushed by the member 7, each back pressing plate 6 rotates so that its tip side rises. Therefore, the transfer paper P stored in a stacked state is
3, it is compressed and forced into a curved deformation. In addition, the intermediate portion is lifted by the back pressing plates 6, 6 from below.

At this time, the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 pinch the transfer paper P in a V-shape from both sides, so that the curvature of the transfer paper P gradually increases from the lower layer side to the upper layer side. As a result, an air layer is reliably formed between the transfer papers P that overlap one above the other,
The transfer paper P will be automatically separated.

As shown in FIG. 3(3), when the cassette lid 2 is completely closed, the guide protrusion 9a of the guide plate 9 on the cassette lid 2 side touches the corresponding guide protrusion 3 of the paper edge pressing plate 3.
a, each paper edge pressing plate 3 rises to its original vertical position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 5 wound around the shaft 4.

Further, the pushing member 7 pushed down by the guide plate 9 also has its guide protrusion 7b over the base end 6a of the back pressing plate 6 and reaches its lower position, so that the pushing member 7 is not restricted in pressure. The released back pressing plate 6 also returns to its original horizontal position. In this way, within the cassette main body 1, the paper end pressing plates 3, 3 and the back pressing plates 6, 6 return to the state before closing the cassette lid 2, and the transfer paper P returns to its original stacked state. Therefore, by attaching this paper feed cassette to the copying machine as it is, transfer paper can be smoothly fed into the copying machine.

When the cassette lid 2 is opened, the guide plate 9 is retracted upward from the inside of the cassette body 1, so that the guide plate 9 no longer presses the pushing member 7, and the pushing member 7 is moved by the restoring force of the coil spring 8. The guide protrusion 7b climbs over the base end 6a of the back pressing plate 6 and returns to its original height position.

In the above embodiment, when the cassette lid 1 is closed, the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 are tilted, and at the same time, the back pressing plates 6, 6 are raised to lower the intermediate portion of the transfer paper P. For example, if the transfer paper P can be sufficiently curved and deformed only by the pressure applied to the transfer paper P by the paper end pressure plates 3, 3, the back pressure plates 6, 6 may be omitted. Good too.

Further, if the transfer paper P can be sufficiently curved and deformed simply by pushing up from below by the back pressing plates 6, 6, the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 may be omitted. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the guide plate 9 on the cassette lid 2 side,
9 slides directly onto the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 and presses the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3.
Although the configuration in which the guide plates 9, 9 are tilted has been shown, the guide plates 9, 9
These may be tilted by transmitting the movement to the paper edge pressing plates 3, 3 via an intermediate member.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the movement of the guide plate 9 is transmitted to the back pressing plate 6 through the pushing member 7, which is an intermediate member, so that the back pressing plate 6 is raised and lowered. It is also possible to use a configuration in which the guide plate 9 directly raises and lowers the back pressing plate 6.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case of a paper feed cassette used in a copying machine has been described, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a paper feed cassette used to supply paper to a printer or other apparatus.

[0028]

[Effects of the Invention] The first and second inventions have the above-mentioned configuration, and the cassette lid is attached to be openable and closable, and can be folded up and down on both sides of the cassette body, which can accommodate several sheets of paper in a stacked manner. The paper edge pressing member is pivotally supported, the paper edge pressing member is tilted to the side that presses the paper edge inside the cassette body in response to the closing operation of the cassette lid, and the back pressing member is attached to the bottom of the cassette body. In response to the closing operation of the cassette lid, the back pressing member is raised to a state of pushing up the paper inside the cassette body from below, and when the lid is closed, the paper edge pressing member and the back pressing member are returned to their original positions. Therefore, the papers stored in a stacked state in the cassette main body are curved and deformed as the cassette lid is closed, thereby making it possible to automatically separate the papers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part of the paper feed cassette of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation of the paper feed cassette of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1　Cassette body 2　Cassette lid 3 Paper edge pressing member 6 Back pressure member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cassette body capable of storing a large number of stacked sheets of paper; a cassette lid attached to the cassette body so as to be freely openable and closable; The feeder is characterized by being provided with a pair of paper edge pressing members that fall toward the side that presses the paper edge inside the cassette body in response to the closing operation of the cassette lid, and return to the original position when the lid is closed. paper cassette. 2. A back pressing member is provided at the bottom of the cassette body, which rises to push up the paper inside the cassette body from below in response to the closing operation of the cassette lid, and returns to its original position when the lid is closed. A paper feed cassette according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A cassette body capable of accommodating a large number of stacked sheets of paper; a cassette lid attached to the cassette body so as to be openable and closable; In response to
A paper feed cassette characterized by being provided with a back pressing member that returns to its original position when the lid is closed.