JP2014094801A - Sheet guide device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet guide device which can restrict a position of a sheet on a paper feed part or the like depending on a size of the sheet.SOLUTION: A sheet guide device comprises: movable members 1, 2 for restricting a position of a sheet; and a tray surface forming member 3 which forms a tray surface for mounting the sheet and has guide holes 31, 32 for guiding movement of the movable members. The tray surface forming member includes first wall parts 31A, 31B and second wall parts 32A, 32B which extend along the guide holes and separate from each other to form the guide holes. The movable member includes: an abutting part which is positioned on a tray surface side with respect to the tray surface forming member and abuts on a peripheral edge part of the sheet; a stopper part 23 positioned on an opposite side to the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member; and a connection part for connecting the abutting part and the stopper part through the guide hole. The first and second wall parts are flexible so as to curve in depth directions of the guide holes and in opposite directions to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet guide device capable of regulating the position of a sheet according to the size of the sheet in a sheet feeding unit or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers and image reading apparatuses such as scanners are provided with a sheet guide device that controls the position of a sheet feeding unit so as to accommodate a plurality of types of sheet sizes. In general, a sheet guide device is slidable by mounting a movable member in a guide hole, and the position of the sheet guide device is regulated by contacting an edge of a sheet such as paper (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3466378

  The movable member is configured to be inserted through the guide hole and locked on the back side in order to prevent the movable member from falling off. For this reason, a mechanism for mounting the movable member in the guide hole is required. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 has a configuration in which the movable member (paper end regulating member) is inserted into the guide hole according to the direction in which the movable member (paper end regulating member) is inserted into the guide hole (guide groove) and the dimensions that allow rotation after insertion. However, this method has a problem that the shape of the movable member is largely restricted.

  According to the present invention, a movable member that regulates the position of the sheet, and a tray surface forming member that forms a tray surface on which the sheet is placed and has a guide hole that guides the movement of the movable member, The tray surface forming member includes first and second wall portions that extend along the guide hole and are spaced apart from each other to form the guide hole, and the movable member is disposed on the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member. A contact portion that is positioned on the surface side and contacts the peripheral edge of the sheet; a retaining portion positioned on the opposite side of the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member; and the contact portion through the guide hole And a connecting portion that connects the retaining portion, and the first and second wall portions are flexible so that they can be bent in opposite directions in the depth direction of the guide hole. A sheet guide device is provided.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a movable member that regulates the position of the sheet, and a tray surface forming member that forms a tray surface on which the sheet is placed and has a guide hole that guides the movement of the movable member. A method for manufacturing a sheet guide apparatus, comprising: a step of preparing the movable member and the tray surface forming member; and a mounting step of mounting the movable member on the tray surface forming member. The surface forming member includes first and second wall portions extending along the guide hole and spaced apart from each other to form the guide hole, and the movable member is on the tray surface side with respect to the tray surface forming member. A contact portion that is in contact with the peripheral edge of the sheet, a retaining portion that is located on the opposite side of the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member, the contact portion and the contact through the guide hole Connect with retaining part The first and second wall portions are flexible so that they can be bent in opposite directions to each other in the depth direction of the guide hole. And the second wall portion is bent in the depth direction and in opposite directions, and the movable member is inserted into the gap to return to the original state, thereby positioning the connecting portion in the guide hole. The manufacturing method characterized by this is provided.

The perspective view of an image reading apparatus. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet guide device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view of the seat guide device of FIG. 2. Explanatory drawing of the mechanism by the side of the back surface of a tray surface formation member. FIG. 3A is an end view taken along the line II of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram of a method for manufacturing the sheet guide device of FIG. 2. (A) And (B) is a figure which shows the cross-sectional shape example of the peripheral part of a movable member, (C) is a figure which shows the cross-sectional example of a guide hole peripheral part.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus 100 to which a sheet guide apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The sheet guide device A is attached to the front portion of the image reading device 100 so as to be freely opened and closed in the direction of the arrow d1, and constitutes a paper feeding unit. A sheet S such as paper that is a read original is placed or stacked on the sheet guide device A, and the position in the width direction is regulated by the sheet guide device A. The sheet S is conveyed in the direction of arrow d2 and read by the image reading apparatus 100. The read sheet is discharged from the back surface of the image reading apparatus 100 in the direction of the arrow d3.

  Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the sheet guide apparatus A is applied to the image reading apparatus 100, the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

  Next, the sheet guide apparatus A will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet guide apparatus A, and FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view of the sheet guide apparatus A. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the mechanism on the back side of the tray surface forming member 3. FIG. 5A is an end view taken along the line II of FIG.

  The sheet guide device A includes movable members 1 and 2, a tray surface forming member 3, and a case member 4.

  The movable members 1 and 2 abut against the peripheral edge of the sheet S in the width direction and regulate the position of the sheet S. In the case of the present embodiment, the two movable members 1 and 2 move in the opposite directions in the direction D1 corresponding to the width direction of the sheet S, thereby regulating the position of the sheet S. However, the number of movable members may be one, and the other may be a fixed member that does not move. Further, in the case of a configuration in which two movable members are provided, the movable members may be independently movable without being interlocked with each other.

  The movable member 1 is integrally provided with a contact portion 11, a connecting portion 12, a retaining portion 13, and a rack portion 14. In addition, the movable member 2 is integrally provided with a contact part 21, a connecting part 22, a retaining part 23, and a rack part 24. The movable member 1 and the movable member 2 have the same configuration except for the shape of the retaining portion 23. In addition, these may be made into the completely same structure, and can reduce a component kind by this.

  The contact portions 11 and 21 include placement surfaces 11a and 21a on which the end portion of the sheet S is placed, and contact pieces 11b and 21b protruding upward from the placement surfaces 11a and 21a, and are substantially L-shaped. Formed. The contact pieces 11b and 21b are in contact with the peripheral edge of the sheet S and perform positioning of the sheet S in the width direction. The contact portions 11 and 21 are located on the tray surface 3 a side (in other words, the front side) with respect to the tray surface forming member 3.

  The connecting portions 12 and 23 connect the contact portions 11 and 21 and the retaining portions 13 and 23 through the guide holes 31 and 32, respectively. When the movable members 1 and 2 are moved, the connecting portions 12 and 23 are in sliding contact with the peripheral edges of the guide holes 31 and 32, and the movement is guided to the guide holes 31 and 32.

  The retaining portions 13 and 23 are located on the opposite side (in other words, the back side) of the tray surface forming member 3 from the tray surface 3a. The retaining portions 13 and 23 are locking portions that prevent the movable members 1 and 2 from coming out of the guide holes 31 and 32 of the tray surface forming member 3. The shape and size of the retaining portions 13 and 23 can be appropriately set as long as the movable members 1 and 2 can be prevented from being detached. In the present embodiment, the retaining portions 13 and 23 have a plate shape wider than the width of the guide holes 31 and 32 in the short direction (D2 direction), thereby preventing the retaining portions 13 and 23 from coming off.

  The rack parts 14 and 24 have a long plate shape, extend in the D1 direction, and are respectively attached to the retaining parts 13 and 23 at positions shifted from the connecting part 12 in the D2 direction orthogonal to the D1 direction. It is connected. On the inner side surface 24c of the rack portions 14 and 24, a tooth portion composed of a plurality of teeth is formed.

  The tray surface forming member 3 has a long plate shape as a whole, and the front surface forms a tray surface 3a on which the sheet S is placed, and the back surface includes rack portions 14 and 24 and a pinion gear 5. A rack-pinion mechanism is provided. On the tray surface 3a, appropriate position indexes (A4, B5, A5, etc.) of the movable members 1 and 2 corresponding to the size of the sheet S are formed.

  In the tray surface forming member 3, linear guide holes 31 and 32 extending in the direction D1 are formed in the same straight line as through holes. The guide hole 31 guides the movement of the movable member 1, and the guide hole 32 guides the movement of the movable member 2. In the present embodiment, the guide holes 31 and 32 are provided in the movable members 1 and 2, respectively, but may be a single guide hole.

  The tray surface forming member 3 includes wall portions 31A and 31B that extend along the guide hole 31 and are spaced apart from each other to form the guide hole 31. Also, the tray surface forming member 3 extends along the guide hole 32 and is spaced apart from each other. Wall portions 32A and 32B are formed. The wall portions 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B are spaced apart in the D <b> 2 direction and extend in the D <b> 1 direction parallel to each other to form the peripheral wall in the D <b> 2 direction of the guide hole 31. Similarly, the wall portions 32A and 32B are spaced apart from each other in the D2 direction and extend in the D1 direction in parallel with each other to form a peripheral wall in the D2 direction of the guide hole 32. Each of the wall portions 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B has a long plate shape.

  The tray surface forming member 3 includes a central portion 33, and one ends of the wall portions 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B are connected to the central portion 33. The central portion 33 forms a peripheral wall at one end in the longitudinal direction (D1 direction) of the guide hole 31. Similarly, one end of the wall portions 32A and 32B is connected to the central portion 33, and the central portion 33 also forms a peripheral wall at one end in the longitudinal direction (D1 direction) of the guide hole 32.

  The tray surface forming member 3 includes end portions 31C and 32C. The other ends of the wall portions 31A and 31B are connected to the end portion 31C, and the end portion 31C forms a peripheral wall at the other end in the longitudinal direction (D1 direction) of the guide hole 31. Similarly, the other ends of the wall portions 32A and 32B are connected to the end portion 32C, and the end portion 32C forms a peripheral wall at the other end in the longitudinal direction (D1 direction) of the guide hole 31.

  In the case of this embodiment, wall part 31A, 31B is the depth direction (in other words, thickness direction of wall part 31A, 31B), and has the flexibility which can bend in a mutually reverse direction. Similarly, the walls 32A and 32B are flexible so that they can be bent in opposite directions in the depth direction of the guide hole 32 (in other words, in the thickness direction of the walls 32A and 32B). This is useful for mounting the movable members 1 and 2 in the guide holes 31 and 32 as will be described later. The walls 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B can have such flexibility depending on the material and shape thereof. As for the material, for example, the tray surface forming member 3 may be integrally formed of a flexible material (for example, resin).

  Ribs 311 and 321 and a shaft portion 33 a are formed on the back surface of the tray surface forming member 3. The rib 311 is formed along the guide hole 31 on the back surface of the wall portion 31B. In the present embodiment, the rib 311 is formed flush with the periphery of the guide hole 31, but may be separated from the periphery of the guide hole 31. Similarly, the rib 321 is formed along the guide hole 32 on the back surface of the wall portion 32 </ b> A. In the present embodiment, the rib 321 is formed flush with the periphery of the guide hole 32, but the guide hole 32. It may be separated from the peripheral edge of.

  The peripheral edge portions 312 and 322 on the back surface of the tray surface forming member 3 slightly protrude. A slight recess between the peripheral edge 312 and the rib 311 forms a moving space MS1 of the rack 24 of the movable member 2. Similarly, a slight recess between the peripheral edge portion 322 and the rib 321 forms a moving space MS2 of the rack portion 24 of the movable member 1.

  The front end portions 14 a and 24 b of the rack portions 14 and 24 are slightly wider than the other portions. The front end portion 14 a is in sliding contact with the peripheral edge portion 322 and the rib 321. To make sliding contact. Thereby, the movement of the movable members 1 and 2 in the direction D1 can be stabilized.

  The shaft portion 33 a is formed on the back surface of the central portion 33, and is formed at an intermediate point on the same straight line as the guide holes 31 and 32. The pinion gear 5 is rotatably attached to the shaft portion 33a and meshes with the teeth of the rack portions 14 and 24. The rack portions 14 and 24 are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the rotation center of the pinion gear 5. For this reason, when either one of the movable members 1 and 2 is moved, the other moves in the reverse direction in conjunction with each other.

  The case member 4 has a thin box shape with an open upper surface, and forms a side portion and a bottom portion of the sheet guide apparatus A. The case member 4 is formed with locking claws at a plurality of locations on the periphery of the tray surface forming member 3, and is locked to the case member 4 so as to cover the upper portion of the case member 4. Holds the tray surface forming member 3.

  Next, a manufacturing method of the sheet guide apparatus A having such a configuration will be described. First, the movable members 1 and 2, the tray surface forming member 3, the case member 4, and the pinion gear 5 are prepared. Next, the process moves to a mounting process for assembling these components. Here, it is obvious that the mounting of the pinion gear 5 on the shaft portion 33a of the tray surface forming member 3 and the mounting of the tray surface forming member 3 on the case member 4 can be easily performed. On the other hand, when the movable members 1 and 2 are mounted on the tray surface forming member 3, it is difficult to pass these through the guide holes 31 and 32. However, in this embodiment, since wall part 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B have flexibility, it can mount | wear easily. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram thereof.

  FIG. 5B shows a mode in the middle of mounting the movable member 2 in the guide hole 32. First, as shown in the figure, the wall portion 32B is bent in one direction D11 in the depth direction of the guide hole 32, and the wall portion 32A is bent in the reverse direction D12 in the depth direction of the guide hole 32. Thereby, a gap in which the guide hole 32 is temporarily enlarged is formed. In this state, the movable member 2 is inserted into the guide hole 32 in the arrow d13 direction. Thereafter, the wall portions 32A and 32B are returned to their original states (returned elastically), the connecting portion 22 is positioned in the guide hole 32, and the posture of the movable member 2 is finely adjusted. Thereby, the mounting of the movable member 2 to the guide hole 32 is completed. The movable member 1 can also be attached to the guide hole 31 in the same manner.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the guide holes 31 and 32 can be temporarily enlarged by utilizing the elastic deformation of the walls 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B, and the shapes and sizes of the movable members 1 and 2 can be increased. , And are less restricted by the convenience of mounting in the guide holes 31 and 32. Therefore, the movable members 1 and 2 can be mounted in the guide holes 31 and 32 relatively easily without greatly reducing the degree of design freedom of the movable members 1 and 2. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the movable members 1 and 2 can be mounted in the guide holes 31 and 32 relatively easily without greatly reducing the design freedom of the movable members 1 and 2. If a mounting hole is provided in the tray surface forming member 3 having the guide holes 31 and 32, the movable members 1 and 2 can be mounted through these holes. However, if a mounting hole is provided, the rigidity and strength of the tray surface forming member 3 must be taken into consideration separately, and there may be cases where measures on the appearance are required. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the movable members 1 and 2 are mounted using the elastic deformation of the walls 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B, it is not necessary to provide a mounting hole, and the guide hole 31, It is also possible to increase the strength by reducing 32, which leads to an improvement in design freedom. Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide an extra mounting hole, the sheet guide device A having excellent design can be realized. Thus, in this embodiment, since the structure accompanying mounting | wearing of the movable members 1 and 2 can be simplified, the sheet | seat guide apparatus A is realizable at low cost. Furthermore, since the guide holes 31 and 32 can be made small and there is no need to provide a mounting hole, the sheet guide apparatus A including the tray surface forming member 3 can be downsized as a whole. As described above, when assembling the sheet guide apparatus A, the movable members 1 and 2 are mounted using the elastic deformation of the walls 31A, 31B, 32A, and 32B. There is also a reduction effect.

  In terms of assembling the movable members 1 and 2, it is advantageous that the walls 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B bend more easily. That is, it is advantageous to be highly flexible (more flexible). On the other hand, when the flexibility of the wall portion is high, there is a concern that the rigidity of the tray surface forming member 3 is lowered and the movable members 1 and 2 are not smoothly moved. However, in this embodiment, since the tray surface forming member 3 is reinforced by the case member 4, the movable members 1 and 2 can be moved smoothly even if the flexibility of the wall portion is increased. In addition, since the rib 311 is formed on the wall 31B among the walls 31A and 31B, the rigidity is reinforced by the rib 311. That is, the rib 311 not only forms the moving space MS1, but also serves as a reinforcement of the wall portion. On the other hand, since the rib 311 does not exist in the wall portion 31A, the wall portion 31A is easily bent, and the assembling property of the movable member 1 is improved. The relationship between the walls 32A and 32B and the rib 321 is the same.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, in this embodiment, the movable members 1 and 2 are mounted by being inserted into the enlarged guide holes 31 and 32. In order to make this insertion smooth, it is preferable that at least a part of the peripheral portion of the movable members 1 and 2 is formed in a tapered shape. By making the peripheral edge into a tapered shape, the insertion from the portion into the guide holes 31 and 32 is facilitated. Examples of the tapered portion include the peripheral portions of the contact portions 11 and 21, the peripheral portions of the retaining portions 13 and 23, and the peripheral portions of the rack portions 14 and 24. In the case of the peripheral portion of the rack portion 14, the tip portions 14a and 24a and the outer side surfaces 14b and 24b are the target portions except for the inner side surfaces 14c and 24c forming the tooth portions.

  FIG. 6A shows a cross-sectional example in which the peripheral edge of the tip 24a is tapered, and the front and back surfaces are both inclined to form a tapered shape. The inclined surface may be only on one side, or may be a wedge-shaped tapered shape as shown in FIG.

  Based on the same idea, the wall portions 31 </ b> A, 31 </ b> B, 32 </ b> A, and 32 </ b> B may be formed in a tapered shape with respect to at least a part of the peripheral portions of the guide holes 31 and 32. FIG. 6C shows an example in which the peripheral edge of the guide hole 32 of the wall portion 32B is tapered, with the upper side being normal and the lower side being curved. Note that the tapered shape may be a wedge-shaped tapered shape as shown in FIG. 6B, and in this case, the back surface side is preferably an inclined surface.

Claims (8)

A movable member that regulates the position of the sheet;
A tray surface forming member having a guide hole for guiding the movement of the movable member while forming a tray surface on which a sheet is placed;
The tray surface forming member is
First and second walls extending along the guide hole and spaced apart from each other to form the guide hole;
The movable member is
An abutting portion located on the tray surface side with respect to the tray surface forming member and abutting against a peripheral edge portion of the sheet;
A retaining portion located on the opposite side to the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member,
A connecting portion for connecting the contact portion and the retaining portion through the guide hole,
The first and second walls are
The guide hole has a flexibility that allows bending in the depth direction of the guide hole and in opposite directions.
The sheet guide apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A case member mounted on the tray surface forming member and further forming a movement space of the retaining portion together with the tray surface forming member;
The sheet guide device according to claim 1. At least a part of the peripheral edge of the movable member is formed in a tapered shape;
The sheet guide apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet guide apparatus is characterized. In the first and second wall portions, at least a part of a peripheral edge portion of the guide hole is formed in a tapered shape,
The sheet guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet guide device is provided. Two movable members are provided,
Each of the movable members has a rack portion connected to the retaining portion and extending along the guide hole,
It further includes a pinion that meshes with each of the rack portions, interlocks the other movable member with the movement of one of the movable members, and causes movement in opposite directions to each other.
The sheet guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet guide device is provided. At least a part of the peripheral edge part other than the tooth part of the rack part is formed in a tapered shape,
The sheet guide device according to claim 5. One of the first and second wall portions includes a rib along the guide hole,
The sheet guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein A sheet guide device manufacturing method comprising: a movable member that regulates a position of a sheet; and a tray surface forming member that forms a tray surface on which the sheet is placed and has a guide hole that guides the movement of the movable member. Because
Preparing the movable member and the tray surface forming member;
A mounting step of mounting the movable member on the tray surface forming member,
The tray surface forming member is
First and second walls extending along the guide hole and spaced apart from each other to form the guide hole;
The movable member is
An abutting portion located on the tray surface side with respect to the tray surface forming member and abutting against a peripheral edge portion of the sheet;
A retaining portion located on the opposite side to the tray surface with respect to the tray surface forming member,
A connecting portion for connecting the contact portion and the retaining portion through the guide hole,
The first and second walls are
Having flexibility to bend in the depth direction of the guide hole and in opposite directions,
In the mounting process,
The first and second wall portions are curved in the depth direction and opposite to each other, and the movable member is inserted into the gap to return to the original state. To position,
The manufacturing method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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