JP2012056660A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that uses a paper feeding cassette mounted upright and stores paper sideways, and appropriately feeds paper while preventing buckling even if it is raised afterward.SOLUTION: The paper feeding cassette for the image forming apparatus is rotatable around a rotating shaft parallel with a drawing direction of a sliding drawer member, and is set sideways to be laid on the drawer member and set upright to be raised from the drawer member and feeds paper upward when raised. The paper feeding cassette includes a curl forming shape part provided on a surface serving as a bottom face when set sideways and large in the projecting quantity against paper in a width direction outside region of paper while being small in the projecting quantity in a center side region, and a rear end support member provided in a position below the paper when raised and formed in a concave shape separated from the paper in the width direction center side region of the paper.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a sheet on which an image is formed is stored in a sheet feeding cassette, and the sheet feeding cassette is mounted and used. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus to which a paper feed cassette that stores paper in a standing position is mounted.

  As a paper feed cassette mounted on an image forming apparatus, there is a paper cassette that stores paper in a standing position. In such a case, it is desirable to be able to reliably feed one sheet at a time during use, while preventing buckling due to the weight of the sheet, regardless of the number of sheets stored. For this purpose, for example, a paper feeding device is disclosed in which a sheet bundle is sandwiched from both sides except during paper feeding and the clamping force is loosened during paper feeding (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Even when the cassette is mounted in a standing position as described above, it is easier to use the cassette in a substantially horizontal supine posture when storing paper. In view of this, an apparatus has also been proposed in which the cassette can be rotated after being pulled out of the printer body, and the cassette can be placed in a supine posture (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-6-329269 JP 2002-128287 A

  However, as in the technique of Patent Document 1, the paper is sandwiched with a relatively strong force so that it does not buckle at the time of paper feeding. There is. For this reason, it is difficult to satisfy both conditions for preventing paper double feeding. In addition, it is difficult to set the balance of force when feeding paper.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 2 described above, even when the paper is stored with the cassette in the supine posture, the paper may move when the paper is subsequently changed to the standing posture. In some cases, there is a problem that the paper buckles or the arrangement of the support plates that support both sides of the paper changes. In order to prevent the movement of the paper, if the paper is pinched strongly, it will be difficult to feed the paper.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. In other words, the problem is to use a paper cassette that is installed in a standing position, which can store paper in a supine position, and then prevents buckling of the paper even if it is changed to a standing position. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of appropriately feeding paper.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention, which has been made for the purpose of solving this problem, is an image forming apparatus having an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet and a paper feeding unit that supplies the sheet to the image forming unit. The paper section includes a drawer member that slides between a storage position stored in the apparatus main body and a drawer position pulled out from the apparatus main body, and a paper feed that is mounted on the drawer member and stores paper supplied to the image forming section. The sheet feeding cassette is rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the pulling direction of the drawer member, and by the rotational movement, the supine posture leaned on the drawer member and the upright raised from the drawer member This is an area outside the width direction of the paper that is placed in the main body in the standing posture and sends the paper upward in that posture, and is provided on the bottom surface in the supine posture. Separated from the paper at the center of the paper in the width direction, which is provided at the lower position of the paper in the standing position and the curl-shaped part with a large protrusion to the paper and small in the center. And a rear end support member having a concave shape.

  The paper feed cassette of the present invention is mounted on the image forming apparatus in a standing position. When the paper is stored, it is pulled out together with the drawer member and is turned over the drawer member by rotation. Further, since the curl forming shape portion is provided, the sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette has a shape projecting from the center toward the outer side in the width direction. That is, since the paper has a curled shape, it can stand by itself even in a standing posture. Further, since the rear end support member is provided, the rear end in the sheet feeding direction is supported by the rear end support member in the standing position. Since the portion of the rear end support member that is closer to the center in the width direction of the paper has a concave shape, the central portion of the paper that has a curled shape enters the concave shape, and the curled shape is further stabilized. Accordingly, an image forming apparatus that uses a paper feed cassette mounted in a standing posture, can store paper in a supine posture, and can stand on the paper even if it is changed to a standing posture after that. Yes.

Further, in the present invention, the curl forming shape portion is a plurality of long convex portions along the paper feeding direction, and the protrusion amount of the longest protruding portion of each long convex portion is the width of the paper. It is desirable that the ones closer to the direction are larger.
In this case, the protruding amount with respect to the sheet is large in the region outside the width direction of the sheet, and the protruding amount is small in the region near the center.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is desirable that the long convex portion has a larger protruding amount toward the lower side of the sheet in the standing posture.
In this case, the front of the paper in the paper feeding direction, that is, the upper side of the paper in the standing position does not have a curl shape, so that the paper can be easily conveyed.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the sheet feeding cassette mounted in the standing posture is used, and the sheet can be stored in the supine posture. Even if it is changed, the paper can be prevented from buckling and fed properly.

1 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which pulled out the paper feeding part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which fell the paper feed cassette. It is a perspective view which shows the back surface of a paper feed cassette. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where sheets are stored in a sheet feeding cassette. FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the inside of a paper feed cassette. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a state where sheets are stored in a sheet feeding cassette. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which sheets are stored in a sheet feeding cassette and are in a standing posture.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus having a sheet feeding unit that feeds paper upward in a standing posture.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a paper feeding unit 10 that feeds paper in a standing posture. The sheet feeding unit 10 includes a slide unit 11 that is horizontally mounted on the lowermost stage of the image forming apparatus 1 and a sheet feeding cassette 12 that is mounted on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 1 in a standing posture.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming unit 15 and a plurality of paper cassettes 16 and 16 in addition to the paper feeding unit 10. The image forming unit 15 is a general device such as a device capable of forming a tandem color image. The other paper cassettes 16 and 16 are general ones that store paper in a horizontal posture. The paper supply unit 10 is for storing the paper P to be used for image formation in the image forming unit 15 in the paper supply cassette 12. The paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 12 is sent out one by one upward in the figure by a feed roller 18 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet feeding unit 10 of this embodiment is put in and out of the housing of the image forming apparatus 1 in an arrangement in which the sheet feeding cassette 12 is raised with respect to the slide unit 11. This is the standing posture of the paper feed cassette 12. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet feeding cassette 12 can be tilted and placed on the slide portion 11 at the position pulled out from the housing. This state is the supine posture. At this position, operations such as storing the paper P are performed. Then, the procedure shown in FIGS. 3 and 2 is reversed, and the image forming apparatus 1 is mounted.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the slide portion 11 of the paper feeding portion 10 is moved back and forth with respect to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 by a slide rail 21 attached to the inner surface of the casing of the image forming apparatus 1. It is slidably mounted in the direction. In addition, a door 22 that can be opened and closed is provided in a portion of the housing that faces the paper feed cassette 12. The user can open and close the door 22 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3 by pulling the handle 23 of the slide portion 11. This slide portion 11 corresponds to a drawer member.

  Further, the paper feed cassette 12 is attached to the slide portion 11 so as to be rotatable by a rotation shaft 24. However, since it is locked in a standing posture as will be described later, this posture is maintained only by pulling out as shown in FIG. In the standing position, the angle formed between the paper feed cassette 12 and the slide portion 11 is preferably in the range of 75 ° to 85 °.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a lock 25 and a spring 26 are provided on the back surface of the sheet feeding cassette 12 in the standing posture. The lock 25 is urged downward in the figure by the urging force of the spring 26 and the weight of the paper feed cassette 12. Further, the lower portion of the lock 25 is engaged with two claws 11 a (see FIG. 2) formed on the slide portion 11. Thereby, the paper feed cassette 12 is locked in a standing posture. In the supine posture, the lock 25 may be pulled upward to disengage the claw 11a, and the sheet feeding cassette 12 may be laid as it is. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the paper feed cassette 12 can be brought down on the slide portion 11.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper feed cassette 12 is provided with a paper drop prevention plate 27 that can be opened and closed with respect to the upper surface in the supine posture. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the sheet drop prevention plate 27 is opened. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 6, when the tab 29 of the paper drop prevention plate 27 is hooked on the locking portion 30 of the paper feed cassette 12, the paper drop prevention plate 27 is moved by the urging force of the springs 28, 28 on both sides. Locked to the paper feed cassette 12.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, if the tab 29 of the sheet drop prevention plate 27 is locked to the locking portion 30 of the sheet feeding cassette 12, the sheet P can be placed in the standing position with the sheet P stored. There is no risk of falling. As shown in FIG. 4, when the paper is put into and taken out of the paper feed cassette 12, the paper feed unit 10 is in a supine posture and the paper drop prevention plate 27 is flipped up.

  Next, the inside of the paper feed cassette 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, a bottom support 31, a rear support 34, and a width are arranged on the bottom 31 of the paper feed cassette 12 in the supine posture, as shown in FIG. A direction restricting portion 35 is provided. 6 is a view as seen from the back side of FIG. That is, in the standing position, the sheet cassette 12 is arranged so that the lower left side in FIG. That is, the conveyance direction of the paper P is downward left in FIG. Hereinafter, the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is referred to as the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the paper feed cassette 12 of the present embodiment stores the paper P in a centrally aligned arrangement in the width direction and a leading edge aligned arrangement in the transport direction. Therefore, the rear end support part 34 and the width direction restricting part 35 can be moved in accordance with the size of the paper P. The back support portion 33 is fixed to the bottom surface 31. And the width direction regulation part 35 is arrange | positioned at the both sides of the width direction. The width direction restricting portions 35 on both sides move symmetrically in the width direction in accordance with the width of the paper P, and the paper P is arranged at the center in the width direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the arrangement of the paper P in the transport direction is positioned at the front end alignment by the inner wall surface of the paper feed cassette 12 and the rear end support portion 34. The rear end support portion 34 supports the rear end in the transport direction of the paper P, that is, the lower end in the standing posture. The rear end support portion 34 is slidable in the upper right-lower left direction in the drawing, and is arranged according to the size of the paper P. The rear end support portion 34 corresponds to a rear end support member.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, on the surface (the left-hand front surface in the drawing) of the rear end support portion 34 that supports the paper P, there are three steps 34a on both sides in the paper width direction in order from the center side. , 34b, 34c are formed. The region closer to the center is separated from the paper. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when a sheet P having a size in which a width direction end portion is disposed between the step 34b and the step 34c is used, the rear end of the sheet P, the rear end support portion 34, Are spaced apart between the steps 34a-34a closer to the center than on their outer sides. That is, a concave shape that is separated from the paper is formed in the center of the rear end support portion 34.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the back surface support portion 33 of this embodiment is arranged to mesh with the rear end support portion 34. The back support portion 33 is a convex portion that is fixed to the bottom surface 31 of the paper feed cassette 12, and a plurality of the back support portions 33 are formed in a long shape along the paper P feeding direction on the rear end side in the paper transport direction. The amount of protrusion of the back support part 33 from the bottom surface 31 differs depending on the position in the width direction of the paper P and the position in the transport direction. In the width direction, the protrusion amount is large in the outer region, and the protrusion amount is small in the central region. As for the conveyance direction, the protrusion amount is large in the rearward region, and the protrusion amount is small in the frontward region.

  As shown in FIG. 7, three back support portions 33 (projections 33A, 33B, and 33C) are provided on both sides in the width direction. It is not provided near the center in the width direction, for example, between the steps 34a-34a closer to the center of the rear end support portion 34. Further, among the convex portions 33A, 33B, and 33C on one side, the convex portion 33A located near the center is the lowest, and the convex portion 33C located outward is the highest.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the top surfaces of the convex portions 33A, 33B, and 33C of the back surface support portion 33 are slopes whose height gradually decreases in the transport direction (from the upper right to the lower left in the drawing). It has become. Therefore, in the back surface support portion 33, the portion closer to the rear end in the transport direction and the portion closer to the outer side in the width direction protrudes highest. This relationship does not change even if the position of the rear end support portion 34 moves. In the present embodiment, the back surface support portion 33 is formed with the respective convex portions 33A, 33B, and 33C that are long in the transport direction, so that it is easy to slide the rear end support portion 34 along them. .

  When the paper P is stored in the paper feed cassette 12, the rear end in the transport direction of the paper P comes into contact with the rear end support portion 34 and both end portions in the width direction of the rear support portion 33, as shown in FIG. Get on. Due to the shape of the back support portion 33, the paper P has a curl shape in which the center is recessed and the both ends in the width direction are slightly lifted. Accordingly, the back support portion 33 has a shape for forming a curl on the paper, and corresponds to a curl forming shape portion. Since the back support portion 33 is formed only on the rear end side in the transport direction, the front end side of the paper P is stored in a flat state.

  Note that the paper feed unit 10 of this embodiment corresponds to a plurality of types of paper sizes. The arrangement of the back support 33 is determined so that the rear end of any size of paper that can be stored is curled by the back support 33. In other words, the back support 33 is formed in the paper width direction to the inside of the width of the smallest size paper that can be stored. Furthermore, the length of the back support portion 33 is determined so that the planar shape is maintained at the location facing the feed roller 18 (see FIG. 1) for any size paper. That is, the back support portion 33 is not formed in the range from the leading end to within 40% of the length of the minimum size sheet in the sheet transport direction.

  When the paper P is stored in this way, the tab 29 of the paper drop prevention plate 27 is hooked on the locking portion 30 of the paper feed cassette 12 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Note that the amount of paper P to be stored is such that the paper drop prevention plate 27 does not press the paper P. Further, when the sheet feeding cassette 12 is set to the upright posture, the sheet P gets on the rear end support portion 34 by its own weight as shown in FIG. Since the central portion in the width direction of the trailing edge support portion 34 is separated from the paper P, the central portion of the trailing edge of the paper P enters there, and the posture becomes more stable.

  Accordingly, the curl shape in the width direction of the rear end portion is maintained, and the standing posture can be maintained without buckling in the transport direction. In addition, since the portion of the paper P that is closer to the front in the transport direction is stored in a flat state, the paper feeding operation after being mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 is smooth. Then, by standing in this manner, the lock 25 is engaged with the slide portion 11 and the standing posture is maintained.

  As described in detail above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the sheet feeding unit 10 is provided with which the sheet feeding cassette 12 is put in and out with the slide cassette 11 in the standing posture. Then, if the lock 25 of the paper supply unit 10 is removed and the paper supply cassette 12 is laid and the paper drop prevention plate 27 is opened, the operation of storing the paper P in the horizontal position can be performed. Furthermore, since the back surface support portion 33 is formed on the bottom surface 31 of the paper feed cassette 12, the rear end portion of the paper P has a curl shape and does not buckle even in the standing posture. Further, since the central portion of the rear end support portion 34 has a recess, the curl shape is more reliably maintained. Therefore, while using the paper feed cassette 12 mounted in a standing posture, paper can be stored in a supine posture, and even after changing to the standing posture, the paper is prevented from buckling and fed appropriately. It is possible to do.

In addition, this form is only a mere illustration and does not limit this invention at all. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, in the above embodiment, the back support portion 33 is illustrated as having three convex portions formed on one side, but is not limited to three. It may be more, or it may be formed in a single curved surface as long as it does not hinder the operation of the rear end support portion 34. Further, the step of the rear end support portion 34 is not limited to three steps. The image forming unit may use a liquid color material.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Paper feed part 11 Slide part 12 Paper feed cassette 15 Image formation part 24 Rotating shaft 33 Back surface support part 34 Rear end support part

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus having an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a paper feeding unit that supplies the sheet to the image forming unit.
The paper feeder is
A drawer member that slides between a storage position stored in the apparatus main body and a drawer position extracted from the apparatus main body;
A paper feed cassette that is mounted on the drawer member and stores paper to be supplied to the image forming unit;
The paper cassette is
The drawer member is rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the drawing direction of the drawer member, and by its rotational movement, the supine posture is raised on the drawer member, and the standing position raised from the drawer member It is taken in the posture, stored in the device body in the standing posture, and the paper is sent upward in that posture.
A curl-shaped shape portion provided on the bottom surface in the supine posture, with a protruding amount with respect to the paper in a region outside the paper in the width direction and a small protruding amount in the region near the center;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a rear end support member having a concave shape that is provided at a position on the lower side of the sheet in a standing position and is separated from the sheet in a region near the center in the width direction of the sheet. . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The curl forming shape portion is a plurality of long convex portions along the paper feeding direction,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protruding amount of the longest protruding portion of each of the long protrusions is larger toward the outer side in the width direction of the sheet. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the long convex portion has a larger protruding amount toward a lower side of the sheet in a standing posture.

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