JPH08127436A - Sheet material supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To prevent the sheet material supply device from falling when the sheet material storage container is pulled out, and at the same time to facilitate the loading and unloading of the sheet material storage container that stores a large amount of sheet material. A sheet having a sheet material storage that can be taken in and out of a sheet material supply device main body, and a main guide mechanism that guides and supports the sheet material storage device in the withdrawal direction with respect to the sheet material supply device main body In the material supply device, the sheet material storage is provided with an auxiliary guide for guiding and supporting the sheet material storage with respect to the installation surface of the sheet material supply device main body.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a large-capacity sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet material to, for example, an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional large-capacity sheet material supplying device of this type has a large-capacity sheet material storage 201 for accommodating a sheet material 200, as shown in FIG. The storage 201 was housed in the sheet material supply device main body 202 so as to be drawn out. The sheet material supply device main body 202 is movably supported by casters 205a and 205b, and an image forming apparatus 206 such as a printer is mounted on the sheet material supply device main body 202.

The support mechanism of the sheet material storage 201 is
Rail 203 provided on the sheet material feeding device main body 202
Then, the guide 204 provided in the sheet material storage 201 is fitted, and the guide 204 is moved along the rail 203, so that the sheet material storage 201 is taken in and out of the sheet material supply device main body 202. Was becoming.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional example, when the sheet material storage 201 is pulled out from the sheet material supply device main body 202 and the sheet material 200 is stored up to the maximum specified capacity, the sheet material supply device main body 202 is removed. The weight of the drawn-out sheet material storage 201 becomes large,
When a slight force F is applied to the sheet material storage device 201 at a position away from the casters 205a of the sheet material supply device body 202, as shown in FIG.
No. 02 caster 105a is the center of rotation, the sheet material feeding apparatus main body 102 and the image forming apparatus tilt, and in the worst case, the image forming apparatus 106 and the sheet material feeding apparatus main body 10
The connection between the two may be released, and the image forming apparatus 106 may fall down, resulting in injury.

Further, the drawn sheet material storage 101
When the sheet material storage 101 is mounted on the sheet material supply device main body 102 after storing a large capacity sheet material 100 in the sheet material storage device 1 or the sheet material storage case 1 storing the large capacity sheet material 100
When 01 is pulled out from the sheet material feeding device main body 102, the guide 104 is tilted in the clearance between the guide 104 and the rail 103, or the rail 103 moves the sheet material 1
There is a drawback in that a large force is required to move the sheet material storage 101 by bending due to the weight of 00 and increasing frictional resistance.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the sheet material feeding device from collapsing when the sheet material storage is pulled out, and at the same time The purpose is to facilitate the loading and unloading of a sheet material storage that stores a large amount of material.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a large number of sheet materials are accommodated,
Sheet material provided with a sheet material storage that can be taken in and out of the sheet material supply device main body, and a main support means that supports the sheet material storage device so as to be movable in the withdrawal direction with respect to the sheet material supply device main body In the feeder, the sheet material storage is provided with an auxiliary support means for supporting the sheet material storage with respect to the installation surface of the sheet material supply device.

When the sheet material storage is stored in the sheet material supply device main body, the auxiliary supporting means of the sheet material storage device is separated from the sheet material supply device installation surface, and the sheet material storage device is the sheet material supply device main body. The auxiliary guide comes into contact with the sheet material supply device installation surface when pulled out from the sheet material supply device.

The main body of the sheet material feeding device is movable with respect to the sheet material feeding device installation surface.

The auxiliary supporting means is characterized in that the auxiliary material is in rolling contact with the surface of the sheet material feeding device such as wheels.

An image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including the above-mentioned sheet material supplying device and an image forming portion for forming an image on the sheet material supplied from the sheet material supplying device.

Further, the image forming apparatus main body having the image forming section is provided on the sheet material supplying apparatus.

[0013]

According to the present invention, when the sheet material storage is pulled out from the sheet material supply device main body, the auxiliary support means provided in the sheet material storage device comes into contact with the sheet material supply device installation surface, and the sheet material storage device is It is supported by the main supporting means and the auxiliary supporting means for the main body of the sheet material feeding device.

If this auxiliary supporting means is configured to make rolling contact, it can be moved smoothly in the loading / unloading direction while supporting the load of the sheet material storage.

Particularly, if the wheels are used as the auxiliary supporting means, the sheet material storage can be moved more easily.

When used in an image forming apparatus, it becomes easy to take in and out a sheet material for the image forming apparatus.

Further, in the case where the image forming apparatus main body is provided on the sheet material supply device, the stability is good even when the sheet material storage containing a large amount of sheet material is pulled out, and the compact construction is achieved. Moreover, the device configuration has high stability.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the present invention will be described by taking as an example a sheet material supplying device connected to a laser beam printer as an image forming device.

First, the structure of the sheet material supply device will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is provided a sheet material storage 5 for accommodating a large number of sheet materials S such as printing paper. This sheet material storage 5 is the sheet material supply device main body 2
Can be taken in and out of.

A sheet material stacking plate 7 is provided in the sheet material storage 5 so as to be vertically movable. This sheet material loading plate 7
As shown, the four corners are suspended by the wire rope 9. The wire rope 9 is wound around the winding shaft 8 and is configured to be wound and unwound by rotating the winding winch 22 fixed to the winding shaft 7.

When the sheet stacking plate 7 is raised, a drive unit including a motor as a drive source and a one-way clutch (not shown) is taken up by a take-up winch 22 via a connection gear 21 fixed to the take-up shaft 8. Connected to.

The sheet material storage 5 is movably supported in the drawing direction with respect to the main body 2 of the sheet material supplying device via a main guide mechanism as a main supporting means, and the main guide mechanism supplies the sheet material. A rail 6 provided on the main body frame 3 of the apparatus main body 2 and a guide 4 provided on the sheet material storage 5 are configured.

That is, the sheet material storage 5 can be pulled out in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 (front side of the apparatus main body) with respect to the sheet material supply device main body 2, and the sheet material storage 5 can be pulled out. By this, the connection between the winding shaft 8 and the drive unit (not shown) is released, and the wire rope 9 wound around the winding winch 22 is unwound and lowered by the weight of the sheet material S and the sheet material stacking plate 7, and the sheet material is lowered. It is possible to replenish S.

A brake damper 23 is provided on the opposite side of the take-up shaft 8 via a gear 27 to which the take-up shaft 8 is fixed, in order to reduce the impact of receiving the sheet material storage 5 at the time of lowering. .

The motor, which is a drive source (not shown), is based on a detection means (not shown) that detects the uppermost surface of the sheet material S stacked on the sheet material stacking plate 7 so that the uppermost surface is at a substantially constant position. Is driven to raise the sheet material stacking plate 7. As shown in FIG. 2, above the sheet material storage 5, the pickup roller 10 serving as a sheet material feeding means for feeding out the sheet material S stacked on the sheet material stacking plate 7, and the pickup roller 10
There is provided a reversing separation means composed of a feed roller 11 and a retard roller 12 for separating the sheet material S sent out in (1). The pickup roller 10 slidably contacts the uppermost surface of the sheet material S at a substantially constant position to send out the sheet material S, and the reverse separating means is the pickup roller 1
Among the sheet materials S sent by 0, only the uppermost sheet material S is separated and conveyed.

Then, the separated sheet material S is sent to the printer 1 as the main body of the image forming apparatus.

Here, the sheet material supplying apparatus main body 2 also serves as a pedestal for mounting the printer 1 constituting the image forming apparatus main body, and the sheet material S sent from the sheet material supplying apparatus is provided on the side. It is supplied to the printer 1 through the transport path 13.

The printer 1 is provided with front loading type sheet cassettes 14 and 15 which are mounted from the front. The sheet materials S stored in the sheet cassettes 14 and 15 are separated and fed one by one by the forward / reverse rotation means including the pickup roller 10b, the feed roller 11b, and the retard roller 12b.
The sheet material S sent out from the sheet cassettes 14 and 15 and the sheet material supply device 2 is used in the image forming unit 10.
At 1, an image is formed.

The image forming section 101 has a process cartridge 102 which is detachable from the printer body. The process cartridge 102 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 for electrophotography, which is an image carrier, and the photosensitive drum 103. Charging means 104, developing means 105 for forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum 103, photosensitive drum 103
The cleaning means 106 and the like for removing the toner image remaining on the surface of the sheet were provided. Photosensitive drum 103
Is exposed by the image light emitted from the scanner unit 107 according to the image signal.

The image forming section 101 is also provided with a transfer roller 108 for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 to the sheet material S. The transfer roller 108 connects the photosensitive drum 103 to the sheet cassette 1
4, 15 or the sheet material S sent from the sheet material supply device is pressed, and the toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 is applied by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 to the transfer roller 108. The image is transferred to the sheet material S.

The fixing unit 10 is provided on the downstream side of the image forming unit 101.
9 are provided. A fixing roller 110 is arranged in the fixing unit 109, and the toner image transferred onto the sheet material in the image forming unit 101 is fixed by heat and pressure applied by the fixing roller 110. Then, the sheet material S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the discharge tray 111.

The sheet material storage 5 is provided with the sheet material supply device main body 2 by the guide 6 and the rail 4 as described above.
It is supported so that it can move in the pull-out direction,
In the present invention, the sheet material storage 5 is provided with the auxiliary wheel 41 as an auxiliary support means for supporting the sheet material storage 5 against the installation surface F of the sheet material supply device. The auxiliary wheel 41 is attached to the bottom surface of the sheet material storage 5, and is fixed so that the rotation direction is the direction in which the sheet material storage 5 is pulled out. Of course, the direction of rotation may be made variable by using casters.

On the other hand, a plurality of moving wheels 42 are attached to the bottom surface of the sheet material feeding device body 2 so that the sheet material feeding device body 2 is movably supported with respect to the installation surface F. The moving wheels 42 are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the sheet material feeding device body 2 and support the sheet material feeding device body 2 at four points.

As shown in FIG. 2, only one auxiliary wheel 41 is provided at the center between the left and right moving wheels 42, 42 at the leading end of the bottom surface of the sheet storage case 5 in the drawing direction. Then, in the state where the sheet material storage 5 is stored in the sheet material feeding device main body 2, as shown in FIG.
Only separated. In addition, the auxiliary wheel 41 in the stored state
The position of is shifted in phase from the moving wheel 42 by x.

When the sheet material storage 5 is pulled out from the sheet material supply device main body 2 for replenishing the sheet material,
As shown in FIG. 1B, the rear end of the sheet material storage 5 is supported by the moving wheels 42, 42 of the sheet material supply device main body 2 via the rail 4 and the guide 6 as main supporting means, The tip of the storage case 5 is supported by the auxiliary wheel 41.

That is, in the sheet material storage 5 drawn out from the sheet material supply device 2, the guide 6 is inclined due to the clearance between the guides 6 and the rails 4 and the weight of the sheet material storage 5 so that the sheet material supply device 2 is installed. The auxiliary wheel 41, which has been separated from the surface F, comes into contact with the installation surface F and supports the sheet material storage 5 when the amount of drawing out the sheet material storage 5 increases.

The sheet material storage 5 is supported not only by the rails 4 and the guides 6 but also by the auxiliary wheels 41, so that the load applied to the guides 6 and the rails 4 is reduced and the frictional resistance is reduced. Sheet material storage 5
Easy to put in and take out.

Further, when the sheet material storage 5 is pulled out to the full and the sheet material S is put in, even if a force is applied to the sheet material storage 5 by mistake, the auxiliary wheels 41 support the sheet. The material storage 5 does not tilt, and the sheet material supply device 2 and the image forming apparatus 1 do not fall down.

When the sheet material storage 5 is accommodated in the sheet material supply device main body 2, the auxiliary wheel 41 is away from the installation surface of the sheet material supply device 2 is the sheet material supply device 2
When the moving wheels 42 set at the four corners of the auxiliary wheel 41 are moved in a direction different from the direction of the auxiliary wheel 41 installed on the lower surface of the sheet material storage 5 (the direction in which the sheet material storage 5 is pulled out), This is to prevent them from interfering with the movement.

In this respect, if the auxiliary wheel 41 is formed by a caster having a freely rotatable direction, even if the auxiliary wheel 41 is in contact with the installation surface, the direction of the auxiliary wheel 41 follows the movement of the sheet material feeding device main body 2. Changes and does not interfere with movement,
Depending on the case, it may be brought into contact with the installation surface F in the housed state.

When the sheet material feeding device 2 is moved along the slope, the auxiliary wheel 4 is provided at the boundary between the horizontal plane and the slope.
In order to prevent 1 from hitting the slope, the auxiliary wheel 41 needs to be separated from the installation surface F.

However, if the auxiliary wheels 41 and the moving wheels 42 in the housed state are in phase with each other in the pull-out direction, there is no problem even if they are at the same height. However, alignment of the auxiliary wheel 41 and the moving wheel 42 is troublesome.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the auxiliary wheel.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary wheel 41 is attached rotatably around a shaft 50 provided in the sheet material storage 5. In addition, the shaft 1A attached to the auxiliary wheel 41
A force is applied by the spring 51 mounted between the shafts 5a attached to the sheet material storage 5 so that the abutting surface 41b of the cheek j-ring 41 and the bottom surface of the sheet material storage 5 abut.

When the sheet material storage 5 is stored in the sheet material feeding device 2, the auxiliary wheel 41 hits the stay 52 of the sheet material feeding device 2 as shown in FIG. Is rotated in the direction of arrow a, and the auxiliary wheel 41 is held at a position away from the installation surface F of the sheet material feeding device 2.

When the sheet material storage 5 is pulled out from the sheet material supply device 2, the abutment surface 41b of the auxiliary wheel 41 supports the sheet material storage 5 by the spring 51, as shown in FIG. 4 (b). The pulling force of the sheet material storage 5 is reduced and the sheet material supply device 2 is prevented from falling.

As the structure of the auxiliary supporting means, a rotatable belt or the like can be used in addition to the wheels, and not only the rolling contact type but also the sliding contact type may be used.

In the above embodiment, the case where the sheet material feeding device main body 2 is movably supported by the moving wheel 42 is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to the case of the stationary type in which the moving wheel 42 is not provided. it can.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By providing auxiliary support means in the sheet material storage that is pulled out from the sheet material supply device, and by using as a support when the sheet material storage is pulled out, even when a force is unexpectedly applied to the end of the sheet material storage, There is no need to worry about tilting or falling.

When a large amount of sheet material is stored in the sheet material storage, the sheet material storage is provided on the sheet material supply device main body and the sheet material supply device installation surface by the auxiliary supporting means and the main supporting means. Since it is supported, the proportion of the load supported by the main supporting means is reduced, the force required for taking in and out the sheet material storage is reduced, and the sheet material storage can be easily moved.

With the structure in which the auxiliary supporting means makes rolling contact, it is possible to smoothly move in the loading / unloading direction while supporting the load of the sheet material storage.

Particularly, if the wheels are used as the auxiliary supporting means, the sheet material storage can be moved more easily.

If the sheet material supplying device is used in the image forming apparatus, it becomes easy to take in and out the sheet material for image formation.

If the main body of the image forming apparatus is provided on the sheet material feeding device, a compact device construction with high stability can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus and a sheet material feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 (a) shows a sheet material storage box housed in the sheet material feeding apparatus and an auxiliary guide. Shows a state in which the sheet material feeding device is installed away from the sheet material feeding device installation surface, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the sheet material storage is pulled out from the sheet material feeding device and the auxiliary guide is in contact with the sheet material feeding device installation surface. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus and the sheet material feeding device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a sheet material supply device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a sheet material storage of the conventional sheet material supply device is pulled out.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer (Image Forming Apparatus Main Body) 2 Sheet Material Supplying Apparatus Main Body 4 Rail (Main Support Means) 5 Sheet Material Storage 6 Guide (Main Supporting Means) 41 Auxiliary Wheel (Auxiliary Supporting Means) 42 Moving Wheel (Sheet Material Supplying Equipment Side) )

Front page continued (72) Inventor Takashi Kuwata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material storage containing a large number of sheet materials and capable of being put in and taken out from the main body of the sheet material feeding device, and the sheet material storage is moved in the putting-out direction with respect to the main body of the sheet material feeding device. A sheet material feeding device including a main supporting means for freely supporting, wherein the sheet material storage is provided with auxiliary supporting means for supporting the sheet material storage against an installation surface of the sheet material feeding device. Sheet material supply device characterized by. 2. When the sheet material storage is stored in the sheet material supply device main body, the auxiliary supporting means of the sheet material storage device is separated from the sheet material supply device installation surface, and the sheet material storage device supplies the sheet material. The sheet material feeder, wherein the auxiliary guide comes into contact with the sheet material feeder installation surface when pulled out from the apparatus body. 3. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet material feeding device main body is movable with respect to the sheet material feeding device installation surface. 4. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary supporting means is configured to make rolling contact with the sheet material feeding device installation surface. 5. The sheet material feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary supporting means is constituted by wheels. 6. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet material supplying device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, and an image forming section for forming an image on a sheet material supplied from the sheet material supplying device. apparatus. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an image forming apparatus main body including an image forming unit is provided on the sheet material feeding device.