JPH11165884A - Sheet material stacking means and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent overloading when stacking sheet materials on sheet material stacking means and improve operability. An overload prevention plate (8) capable of holding two positions is provided on a rear end regulating plate (3) of a sheet cassette (1).
In the first position shown by the solid line, the locking claws 5a, 5b of the locking plate 4
Is engaged with the locking claws 1a and 1b on the side of the paper feed cassette 1, so that the rear end regulating plate 3 is not easily displaced and overloading is prevented. At a second position indicated by a two-dot chain line, locking claws 5a, 5b and locking claws 1a, 1 for lightly gripping the locking plate 4 and the vertical plate 3b.
Since b is separated, the rear end regulating plate 3 can be easily moved, and supply of recording paper (sheet material) is not hindered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet material such as a printer and a copying machine, and more particularly, to a cassette capable of stacking sheet materials of different sizes (hereinafter, referred to as a universal cassette). .).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows a copying machine 70 as an image forming apparatus.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the apparatus. A front loading type cassette as a sheet material stacking means is accommodated in a lower portion of the apparatus.

In a copying machine 70, an original placed on an original platen glass 73 is illuminated by an illumination lamp 74, and the reflected light is reflected by a first mirror 75, a second mirror 76, and a third mirror 7.
7, zoom lens 78, fourth mirror 79, fifth mirror 8
An image is formed on the photosensitive drum 82a by being guided to the photosensitive drum 82a of the process cartridge 82 by an optical system including the 0th and sixth mirrors 81. The transfer paper stored in the paper feed cassette 84 is pressed by the paper feed roller 83 by the middle plate 85, and is fed in order from the uppermost transfer paper. The fed transfer material collides with the registration roller 89 and is conveyed after the timing is adjusted, and the image formed on the photosensitive drum 82a is transferred. The transfer material on which the image is formed is conveyed by a conveyance belt 90, the image on the transfer material is fixed by a fixing device 91, and is conveyed out of the apparatus by a discharge roller 92.

A copying machine 70 is a first type for forming an image of a document.
It is composed of a frame 71 and a second frame 72 for feeding, transferring, and fixing transfer paper (sheet material). Second frame 72
A paper feed cassette 84 is accommodated in the lower part of FIG. The paper feed cassette 84 is provided with a side regulating plate 88 for regulating the width of the transfer paper and a rear end regulating plate 86 for regulating the rear end of the transfer paper in order to be able to feed various sizes of transfer paper. .
The side regulating plate 88 is configured to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, and the rear end regulating plate 86 is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction relative to the drawing.

A loading amount regulating member 87 is provided above the rear end regulating plate 86 to prevent the transfer paper from being overloaded.

In the case of replenishing recording paper, the paper feed cassette 84
Is operated so as to grab a handle (not shown) provided on the front side and pull it out toward the user. The lever provided on the handle is the middle plate 85
Is pressed down, and then the paper cassette 84 is moved to the copier 70.
Drawn from.

The user adjusts the position of the side regulating plate 88 and the position of the rear end regulating plate 86 according to the size of the recording paper to be used. If the recording paper is simply dropped from above, the stacking amount regulating member 87 and the rear end of the paper will collide. Therefore, the recording paper is placed on the middle plate 85 after the rear end of the paper is placed under the stacking amount regulating member 87.

After that, the cassette 84 is stored in the copying machine 70, and the replenishing operation is completed.

Although not shown, there is also a sheet cassette indicated by Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-26934. In this paper feed cassette, a lid having a center of rotation is provided at the top of the paper feed cassette, and the vertical portion of the rear end regulating member is inclined by the rotation operation (open / close) of the lid. The inclination of the rear end regulating plate facilitates storage of the recording paper.

[0010]

However, the first conventional example has the following disadvantages when storing the transfer paper.

When a stack of transfer papers is set in the cassette, the stacking amount regulating member 87 hinders the transfer papers from being simply placed from above. Therefore, when holding the transfer paper bundle, it is necessary to grasp the transfer paper with the right hand and put the opposite end of the paper under the load amount regulating member 87. When the loading amount regulating member 87 is bent, the rear end regulating plate 86 may be strongly pressed, and the rear end regulating plate 86 may be shifted to the left. If the trailing edge regulating plate 86 is shifted to the left, the transfer paper may not be set correctly, which may result in poor paper feed or skew of the paper, resulting in poor image formation.

Further, in recent years, the copier body has been increasingly required to be downsized, and the diameter of the paper feed roller has been reduced. When the roller diameter is small, the area where the leading end of the paper contacts the roller is reduced, and when the paper is slightly displaced rearward, the paper feeding failure is more likely to occur.

[0013] Right-handed users still have difficulty supplying paper for left-handed users.

The second conventional example is effective for a fixed-size cassette (recording paper size is constant), but cannot deal with a variety of recording paper sizes such as a universal cassette. Further, the structure of the cassette is complicated, and the adjustment is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object the following.
An object of the present invention is to prevent overloading when loading sheet materials on the sheet material loading means and improve operability.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention is a sheet material loading means for loading a sheet material, wherein the sheet material is moved according to the size of the sheet material. An end regulating member that regulates an end position by bringing an end into contact with an abutting surface; and an overload that regulates a height direction of the stacked sheet material protruding from the abutting surface toward the sheet material loading space. Wherein the overloading prevention means includes a first position protruding from the contact surface toward the sheet material loading space, and a sheet material loading space side with respect to the contact surface. And a second position retracted from the second position.

When the overload preventing means is at the first position, the overload preventing means is positioned in the height direction of the sheet material to be stacked while the end is in contact with the contact surface of the end regulating member. Since the sheet material protrudes from the sheet material, the user can easily recognize the overload of the sheet material, and it is possible to prevent a situation in which the sheet material is forcibly set and a feeding failure occurs.

When the overload preventing means is at the second position, the overload preventing means is retracted from the sheet material loading space side with respect to the contact surface of the end regulating member. Even when the sheets are stacked from the direction along the surface, there is no obstacle, and the sheets can be stacked by a natural operation, and the operability is improved. When the sheet materials are stacked substantially horizontally, the sheet materials can be set from above, so that the operability is improved irrespective of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, there is provided a movement regulating mechanism for regulating movement of the end regulating member in a direction opposite to a direction in which the end regulating member is brought into contact with an end of the sheet material. When the overload preventing means is at the first position, the movement restricting mechanism is actuated, and the overload preventing means operates the second
When in the position, the movement restricting mechanism can be released.

When the overload preventing means is at the first position, the movement restricting mechanism operates even when the sheet material is brought into contact with the contact surface of the end regulating member set at the predetermined position. Then, since the end regulating member does not move in the direction opposite to the direction in which the end portion of the sheet material is brought into contact, that is, in the direction in which the end portion of the sheet material is pressed, the stacking position of the sheet material does not shift. Particularly, when the sheet material is fed from the sheet material stacking means, if the rear end position in the feeding direction is regulated by the end regulating member, it is possible to prevent defective feeding and skew of the sheet material. .

If the overload preventing means is set at the second position, the movement restricting mechanism can be released, and the end restricting member can be moved in the direction opposite to the direction in which the end restricting member comes into contact with the end of the sheet material. Therefore, the end regulating member can be moved to a desired position according to the size of the sheet material to be stacked.

In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the movement restricting mechanism includes a wedge-shaped first engagement portion provided on the sheet material stacking means and a wedge-shaped first engagement portion provided on the end portion regulating member. When the overload prevention means is at the first position, the first engagement part is pressed toward the second engagement part, and the overload prevention means When in the second position, the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion can be separated from each other.

If the first engaging portion of the sheet material stacking means and the second engaging portion of the end regulating member are both formed in corresponding wedge shapes, the relative movement in the direction in which the mutually engaged wedges bite can be prevented. Although restricted, relative movement in the direction in which the engaged wedges are separated from each other is allowed. In other words, when the end regulating member is moved in a direction opposite to the direction in which the end regulating member is brought into contact with the end of the sheet material, if the wedges of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are formed so as to bite in this direction, Is restricted, and movement in the opposite direction is allowed. In addition, if the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion are separated from each other, they can move in any direction. Therefore, when the overload preventing means is at the first position, the first engaging portion is pressed toward the second engaging portion, and when it is at the second position, the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are pressed. If the joining portion can be separated, the movement regulating mechanism can be realized with a simple configuration.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sheet stacking means according to the first to third aspects, wherein the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking means is fed to an image forming apparatus main body, and the sheet is stacked on the sheet. This is an image forming apparatus for forming an image.

With this arrangement, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a sheet stacking means having a simple structure and good operability, and capable of preventing defective feeding and skew of the sheet and forming a good image. be able to.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a sectional explanatory view of a rear end regulating plate (end regulating member) set in a universal cassette (sheet material stacking means), and FIG. 2 shows the rear end regulating plate. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view seen from the front, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view.

The main body of the copying machine as an image forming apparatus is the same as that of the conventional example, and the description is omitted. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited to the copying machine as in the present embodiment,
A printer, facsimile or the like may be used.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a sheet cassette main body 1 is shown.
7 is the same as the paper feed cassette 84 shown in FIG. 7, and omits a recording paper mounting plate (called a middle plate) 85 provided in the front half of the paper feed cassette main body 1.

Near the center of the rear half of the paper feed cassette body 1, there is formed a step 1a which is one step lower. This step 1
A rear end regulating plate 3 is arranged at a, and a vertical groove 1b is formed in the center of the step portion 1a in the sheet feeding direction. The engaging claws 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b provided on the rear end regulating plate 3 are loosely fitted into the vertical grooves 1b, and the rear end regulating plates 3 are free along the vertical grooves 1b when not locked as described later. Can reciprocate.

A large number of locking engaging claws 1c and 1d as first engaging portions are formed on both sides of the vertical groove 1b. The engaging claws 1c and 1d are a continuous body of a repetition of a slope on the upper right and a vertical surface, and can be engaged with locking claws 5a and 5b as a second engaging portion provided on the rear end regulating plate 3 described later. is there.

The rear end regulating plate 3 is integrally formed of resin except for the loading amount regulating member 8, and is formed in a substantially L-shape by a horizontal plate 3a and a vertical plate 3b that support the engaging claws 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b. Have been. A locking plate 4 is provided behind the lower center of the vertical plate 3b. Locking claws 5a, 5b are provided at both lower ends of the locking plate 4.
Are provided so that the locking claws 5a and 5b are engaged with the engaging claws 1c and 1d.

The locking plate 4 is formed in a substantially L-shape by a horizontal plate 4a and a vertical plate 4b, and the horizontal plate 4a is obtained by extending a part of the horizontal plate 3a. The thickness of the horizontal plate 4a is formed to be half that of the horizontal plate 3a so that the horizontal plate 4a can be easily elastically deformed. At the upper part of the vertical plate 4b, there is provided an engaging portion 4c which engages with the loading amount regulating plate 8.

The vertical plate 3b is provided with a notch in the center of the upper part, and a load control plate 8 as an overload preventing means is arranged in this notch. Both ends of the loading amount regulating plate 8 are rotatably supported by the vertical plate 3b. Loading capacity control plate 8
Is rotatably supported in the direction of the arrow, and can be moved to a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a two-dot chain line that enables the recording paper to be supplied and the rear end regulating plate 3 to be movable.

In the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 (first position), since the loading amount regulating plate 8 and the vertical plate 4b are engaged, the rear end regulating plate 3 does not easily displace. When the loading amount regulating plate 8 is in the state of the two-dot chain line (second position), the rear end regulating plate 3 can be easily shifted in the direction of arrow A, and the locking plate 4 is tilted in the direction of arrow B. The locking claws 5a, 5b are engaged with the engaging claws 1c,
The engagement with 1d is released, and the rear end regulating plate 3 can be moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A.

Here, the locking plate 4 having the locking claws 5a and 5b, the loading amount regulating plate 8, and the engaging claws 1 of the sheet cassette main body 1.
A movement regulation mechanism is constituted by c and 1d.

Next, the case of setting a recording sheet of A size will be described. The side regulating plate is placed at a position corresponding to the width of A4 (not shown). Thereafter, the rear end regulating plate 3 is set. In order to adjust the rear end regulating plate 3 to the length position of A4, the loading amount regulating plate 8 is first brought into a substantially vertical state as shown by a two-dot chain line.

When the locking plate 4 and the vertical plate 3b are lightly pinched, the horizontal plate 4a is bent upward, the locking claws 5a and 5b also move upward, and the locking claws 5a and 5b and the engaging claws 1c and 1d are moved. Separate from Therefore, the rear end regulating plate 3 can be easily moved, and the rear end regulating plate 3 is slid so that the inverted triangular mark 3c and the mark 1e of A4 provided on the cassette body 1 are aligned. In a free state where the locking plate 4 and the vertical plate 3b are not held, the locking claws 5a, 5b and the engaging claws 1c, 1d are engaged with each other, so that the rear end regulating plate 3 does not shift backward. . Next, A4
And the loading amount regulating plate 8 is tilted by 90 ° so as to be in a horizontal state. At this time, the rear end of the stacking amount regulating plate 8 comes into contact with the engaging portion 4c, so that the locking claws 5a and 5b surely engage with the engaging claws 1c and 1d, and the rear end regulating plate does not displace. .

If the amount of recording paper is larger than the specified amount, the loading amount regulating plate 8 cannot be set horizontally, so that the user can understand that the amount of paper is too large. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the setting from being forcibly set, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a sheet feeding failure.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view of a rear end regulating plate set in a universal cassette, FIG. 5 is a plan explanatory view, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the rear end regulating plate viewed from the front. is there.

4 to 6, the same or equivalent members as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. A rear end regulating plate (end regulating member) 13 is provided on the step portion 1a, and a vertical groove 1b is formed in the center of the step portion 1a in the sheet feeding direction. The rear end regulating plate 13 set in the vertical groove 1b has the engaging claws 16a and 16b loosely fitted in the vertical groove 1b, and can freely reciprocate along the vertical groove 1b as in the first embodiment.

The rear end regulating plate 13 is formed in a substantially L-shape by a horizontal plate 13a and a vertical plate 13b that support the engaging claws 16a and 16b, so that the rear end of the recording paper set in the universal cassette 1 does not shift. The rear end is regulated. Vertical plate 1
A locking plate 14 is provided behind 3b.

A pair of locking claws 15a, 15b as a second engaging portion are provided near the center of the lower portion of the locking plate 14, and the locking claws 15a, 15b can be provided at any position as the first engaging portion. The engaging pawls 1c and 1d can be engaged. Locking claw 15
Reference numerals a and 15b denote triangular prisms each having a vertical surface for preventing retreat and an inclined surface for facilitating engagement and facilitating advancement. The engaging claws 1c and 1d have a vertical surface and an inclined surface connected alternately and continuously.

The thickness of the horizontal plate 14a is 1/2 of the thickness of the vertical plate 14b. When the handle 14c is inclined toward the vertical plate 13b, the horizontal plate 14a is elastically deformed and the locking claws 15a, 15
b is separated from the engaging claws 1c and 1d, and the rear end regulating plate 13 can be easily moved.

Load-amount regulating plates (overload preventing means) 10 and 12 are supported by pins 22 and 23 at both upper ends of the vertical plate 13b so as to be able to rotate horizontally. The loading capacity regulating plates 10 and 12 regulate the maximum loading capacity of the recording paper at the position indicated by the solid line (first position), and the tip of the opposite side has a handle 14.
c and the engaging claws 15a, 15b and the engaging claws 1c, 1d
Cannot be easily disengaged.

If the loading amount regulating plates 10 and 12 are shifted to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line (the second position), the handle 14c can be easily tilted, and the handle 14c and the vertical plate can be easily moved as in the first embodiment. By pinching 13b, the rear end regulating plate can be very easily moved forward and backward.

Here, the locking plate 14 having the locking claws 15a and 15b, the loading amount regulating plates 10 and 12, and the engaging claws 1c and 1d of the sheet cassette main body 1 constitute a movement restricting mechanism.

When the recording paper is set, the loading amount regulating plates 10, 1
2 is placed at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the paper bundle is placed on the cassette 1 from above. At this time, if the positioning of the rear end regulating plate 13 is improper, that is, if there is a gap of several mm or more between the vertical plate 13b of the rear end regulating plate 13 and the rear end of the recording paper, the handle is 14c is gently pushed in the direction to shorten the gap to move. After the gap becomes almost 0 mm, the loading amount regulating plates 10 and 12 are adjusted to the positions indicated by the solid lines. As a result, the rear end regulating plate 13 is securely locked to the cassette 1, and furthermore, overloading of the recording paper and lifting of the rear end portion due to curl are prevented.

[0049]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the overload preventing means is at the first position, the stacking is performed while the end portion is in contact with the contact surface of the end regulating member. Since the overload prevention means protrudes from the contact surface in the height direction of the sheet material, it is easy for the user to recognize the overloading of the sheet material. Can be prevented.

When the overload preventing means is at the second position, the overload preventing means is retracted from the sheet material loading space side with respect to the contact surface of the end regulating member. Even when the sheets are stacked from the direction along the surface, there is no obstacle, and the sheets can be stacked by a natural operation, and the operability is improved. When the sheet materials are stacked substantially horizontally, the sheet materials can be set from above, so that the operability is improved irrespective of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed.

According to the second aspect, when the overload preventing means is at the first position, when the sheet material is brought into contact with the contact surface of the end regulating member set at the predetermined position, the sheet is stacked. In addition, the movement restricting mechanism operates, and the end regulating member does not move in the direction opposite to the direction in which the end portion contacts the end of the sheet material, that is, in the direction in which the end of the sheet material is pressed. The loading position does not shift. Particularly, when the sheet material is fed from the sheet material stacking means, if the rear end position in the feeding direction is regulated by the end regulating member, it is possible to prevent defective feeding and skew of the sheet material. .

When the overload preventing means is set at the second position, the movement restricting mechanism can be released, and the end restricting member can be moved in the direction opposite to the direction in which the end restricting member contacts the end of the sheet material. Therefore, the end regulating member can be moved to a desired position according to the size of the sheet material to be stacked.

According to the third aspect, the movement regulating mechanism has the wedge-shaped first engaging portion provided on the sheet stacking means and the wedge-shaped second engaging portion provided on the end regulating member. So
If the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are both formed in corresponding wedge shapes, the relative movement in the direction in which the engaged wedges bite is regulated, but the engaged wedges are separated from each other. Relative movement in the direction is allowed. In other words, when the end regulating member is moved in a direction opposite to the direction in which the end regulating member is brought into contact with the end of the sheet material, if the wedges of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are formed so as to bite in this direction, Is restricted, and movement in the opposite direction is allowed. In addition, if the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion are separated from each other, they can move in any direction. Therefore, when the overload preventing means is at the first position, the first engaging portion is pressed toward the second engaging portion, and when it is at the second position, the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are pressed. If the joining portion can be separated, the movement regulating mechanism can be realized with a simple configuration.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a sheet material stacking means having a simple structure and good operability, and capable of preventing defective feeding and skew of the sheet material to form a good image. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a rear end regulating plate set in a universal cassette.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a rear end regulating plate as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a rear end regulating plate.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a rear end regulating plate according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view of a rear end regulating plate according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a rear end regulating plate according to a second embodiment as viewed from the front.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus illustrating a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,84 Paper cassette main body 1a Step 1b Vertical groove 1c, 1d Engaging claw 3 Rear end regulating plate 3a, 13a Horizontal plate 3b, 13b Vertical plate 4 Locking plate 4a, 14a Horizontal plate 4b, 14b Vertical plate 5a, 5b, 15a, 15b Engagement claw 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 16a, 16b Engagement claw 8, 10, 12 Loading amount regulating member 70 Image forming apparatus 71 First frame 72 Second frame 83 Feed roller 86 Rear end regulating plate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material stacking means for stacking a sheet material, wherein the sheet material is moved in accordance with the size of the sheet material and an end of the sheet material is brought into contact with a contact surface to regulate an end position. A sheet regulating means, comprising: a part regulating member; and an overload preventing means for projecting from the contact surface to the sheet material loading space side to regulate a height direction of the stacked sheet material. Has a first position protruding from the contact surface toward the sheet material loading space, and a second position retracted from the sheet material loading space with respect to the contact surface. . 2. A movement restricting mechanism for restricting a movement of the end restricting member in a direction opposite to a direction in which the end restricting member comes into contact with an end of the sheet material, wherein the overload preventing means is located at the first position. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the movement restricting mechanism is actuated in some cases, and the movement restricting mechanism is releasable when the overload preventing means is at the second position. Loading means. 3. The movement restricting mechanism includes a wedge-shaped first engaging portion provided on the sheet material stacking means and a wedge-shaped second engaging portion provided on the end regulating member. When the overload preventing means is at the first position, the first engaging portion is pressed toward the second engaging portion, and when the overload preventing means is at the second position, 3. The sheet material stacking means according to claim 2, wherein the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion can be separated from each other. 4. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet material loading means according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material loaded on the sheet material loading means is fed to an image forming apparatus main body, and an image is formed on the sheet material. apparatus.